1. THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS

God gave Moses a detailed plan of a tent he should build, which was portable, to go along with the Israelites as they journeyed from Egypt to Canaan. At once we see Egypt as the type of bondage, sin, and our old carnal Adamic nature, and Canaan as the type of the great promise of salvation and a life free from sin.

The outer fence was made of posts of wood covered with brass and set in sockets of brass. This signifies that humanity will be used of God as part of the means of shutting man into God. The fact that the posts were covered with brass and socketed in brass signifies that there is a compulsion in their position and ministry, and that there is no latitude for vacillation or change. The whole fence was covered with linen cloth, with hooks and joinings of silver. Linen speaks of righteousness and silver of redemption, that is, their righteousness is held in place by the redemptive power of Christ. Another fact that is pertinent is that they were placed five cubits apart, which means that God Himself would place them in the Body and it would be a ministry. This fence was 100 cubits long and 50 cubits wide, thus making the perimeter 300 cubits, which was the number of Gideon’s overcomer company. This plan or pattern contains in symbolic language every iota of God’s word, from the Holy Spirit working in the life of the sinner outside of the tent, to bring him in through the gate, to the believer being installed into the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies with all the attributes of the risen Christ manifested in him.

This pattern therefore contains the very essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His love. This revelation has now come to the Church so that all of God’s people might participate and be made ready for that mountaintop experience into which we shall soon enter, through tribulation or fire.

2. SOLOMON’S TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM

The pattern shown by Solomon’s temple tells us that there is a second stage that mankind would come to in the development of God’s plan where we would be “lively stones built up a spiritual household.” These stones would not stand up of themselves, but would have golden bars supporting them inside and plastered with gold outside. Gold speaks of the divine nature. Therefore our old, cold, dead, stone nature would be covered up with God’s nature, and our nakedness vindicated by the Almighty. THIS, OF COURSE, SPEAKS OF THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST.

The next important point here is that the GLORY of this temple would increase over the glory of Moses’. The glory at one time under Moses was so great that his face shone and the people could not look upon him. This, of course, deals with the subject historically. What is meant by this is that there was a time when God dealt with the church on a lower level spiritually than He is dealing with us now. AT PRESENT WE ARE MOVING OUT OF THE SOLOMON’S TEMPLE EXPERIENCE and going into the third experience, or the COMING FORTH INTO THE NATURE OF THE CHRIST MAN.

According to 2nd Chronicles 3:3, the measurement of the temple was 60 x 20 Cubits equaling 1200 Square Cubits (120 x 10). Ten is the number of government or the perfection of divine order, i.e. The Ten Commandments. (For further information on the number ten, see “Number in Scripture,” by E.W. Bullinger).

One hundred and twenty brethren were in the upper room at Pentecost, and it speaks of that victorious indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Moses was 120 years old when he died. His life was divided into three segments of 40 years. Each segment was a time of tribulation, and the third 40 years of tribulation brought him victory over death itself.

The Porch measured 20 x 20 Cubits and its height was 20 cubits and the Holy of Holies was 20 x 20. Twenty is a symbolic figure of the witness of Christ and the Holy of Holies is the place of the total fulfillment of humanity when he comes into the fulness of Christ.

3. JESUS CHRIST THE MAN, OR THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD TEMPLE

“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the BEGINNING OF THE CREATION OF GOD.” Revelation 3:14

“The first begotten of the dead.” Revelation 1:5

Jesus Christ is the beginning of the construction of the THIRD TEMPLE. In Christ, we are that third temple and the final fulfillment of all that has been written about temples in the Bible.

Jesus Christ told the Jews, in effect, that Herod’s temple was not the true temple, but that His body was the true temple.

John 2:18-20, “Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that Thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt Thou rear it up in three days? But He spake of the temple of His body.”

Paul speaks of this temple.

1st Corinthians 6:19, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

It is very interesting to note that this teaching is believed even in modern Israel. There is, however, one exception in Israel’s belief – it being that they think they are that third temple. In a natural sense they are, but in the spiritual sense we, the Israel of God, which includes both Jew and Gentile, are that temple.

The story is told of the reference to the third temple being made by a high-ranking Israeli when things seemed very dark for Israel during the 1973 October war.

His words to Premier Golda Meir were, “This is the end of the Third Temple.” In that dark hour for Israel, he would not be playing with words had the meaning not been fully known to the Premier. He was referring to Israel in no uncertain terms.

For a long time, our colleges and seminaries have been teaching that the symbolic meaning of the word Canaan is a glory land beyond death, and thus fostering a doctrine of a far away heaven on some far away planet. Now, through the revelation of the Holy Spirit and the Christ within us, we know for sure that the experiences of heaven are ordained of God for us to have here and now while we are in this life. Jesus, through His life, demonstrated that He dwelt in heavenly places while on earth. For example:

“No man hath ascended up to heaven but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” John 3:13.

This passage and many others clearly say that Jesus, though He was on earth, also was in heaven. Not just heaven in us, but us in heaven.

TRUE ENOUGH, most Christians have to die before God can get them still enough to bring them into the reality of the Spirit, but now we are understanding the ways and purposes of God, and we know that God will bring heaven down to earth (terra firma) as soon as the saints allow the Kingdom of God to come within them.

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10.

LIKE JESUS

We can be like Jesus. This will happen not because we are trying hard to be; as a matter of fact, we will never be by trying, but because we are learning to step out of the way and LET HIM MAKE US LIKE HIMSELF.

JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD is God’s final pattern of that which He is creating with His word in the earth. “He spoke and it was done.” By the anointed word of God, we are being recreated in His image and likeness. There is a teaching which would disarm you, which says that you can do nothing about it. You have been given of God a free will, and you can prevent God to the point of going to hell if you desire. On the other hand, you can give God the right of way in your life to bring you into conformity with His image. Romans 6:16 states that whatsoever spirit YOU obey, his servant you will become. Thus God expects you to exercise your franchise in submitting yourself to Him that He might put you in alignment with Christ.

THE NECESSITY FOR THE MESSAGE

The necessity for this message lies in the fact of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being a MYSTERY which was never fully revealed in any age, but is to be fully revealed to this generation of the end-time.

Daniel 12:9, “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”

Paul also, in his letter to the Ephesians (3:3-5), bears out the same idea.

“How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery, (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”

Some of my readers may say, “But it has been already revealed to the apostles and the prophets.” But Paul says no. He received words which he was commanded not to utter. 2nd Corinthians 12:4.

1) John, in receiving the revelation of Jesus Christ, was given the thing in mystery, and this mystery is only being revealed to the sons of God by the Holy Ghost for our time.

2) In Revelation 10:4, John was commanded not to write that which the SEVEN THUNDERS uttered. I believe some of the revelations we are receiving now are these that John was commanded not to write.

3) In Daniel 12:9, the angel told Daniel that at the time of the end, the mysteries of the Gospel would be revealed. “And He said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”