The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

The Tabernacle Foretells of Jesus, “the Way” to the Father

This posting is the third in a series of communications designed to reveal what Jesus was referring to when He stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14: 6.)” Today’s posting is going to focus in on the spiritual meaning of “the Way.”

In our first posting we looked at the parables of Jesus and gained insight into the reality that we can best understand them by looking for their spiritual interpretation. We also learned that all the words of Jesus are to interpreted as parables. To review this posting please follow this link:  The-Messages-of-Jesus-are-Understood-by-the-Spiritual-Interpretation-of-His-Parables

The Holy Spirit

In the second posting we analyzed the words of Jesus,  “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14: 6,)” from a parabolic perspective (an analogy that uses earthly objects as references in communicating a spiritual truth.)

In doing so we identified that the Tabernacle was the only possible earthly reference to John 14: 1-6 above. This is because the Father dwelt deep inside the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle, and for that reason it was the only place for man to come into the Father’s presence.

Next we identified a spiritual analogy to the Tabernacle in the book of Revelations:

“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God (Rev 21:2-4,)”

We used the this scripture to prove the existence of a spiritual Tabernacle in Heaven. Accordingly, we concluded that this is the spiritual truth that Jesus was communicating to His disciples in John 14: 1-6. We also concluded that that Jesus is stating that He is the fulfilment of the Tabernacle and therefore we must drill down into the details of the Tabernacle for answers to the meaning of “the way, the truth and the life.”

To review this posting in detail, simply follow this link: The-Way-to-the-Father-is-Through-the-Spiritual-Tabernacle-Called-Jesus

The Parabolic Nature of “the Way” is Revealed in Hebrews

Let’s start by looking at a scripture from Hebrews as it validates the parabolic nature of the Tabernacle:

Hebrews 9: 8-15

New King James Version (NKJV)

the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience— 10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

Priest Before The Ark Of The Covenant

This scripture states that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first Tabernacle was still standing, but rather, it was symbolic for the time of reformation, which is the spiritual reformation brought by Jesus. Accordingly, this scripture validates the symbolic or parabolic qualities of the Tabernacle.

The term, “Holiest of All” used in the scripture above is a reference to the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle. It is  synonymous with the terms, “Holy of Holies,” and “Most Holy Place.” It is in this chamber that the Father would speak with Moses and Aaron, in accord with God’s covenant with Israel.

Now, some interesting things become evident when comparing this scripture to John 14: 1-6. Both scriptures describe “the way,” into the Father’s presence. Hebrews 9: 8-15 uses the phrase, “the way into the Holiest of All,” while John 14: 6 states that “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Hebrews scripture communicates that “the way,” to the Holiest of All (where the Father is) through the entrances into and through the three chambers of the Tabernacle (the only possible way into this area of the Tabernacle – see the diagram below.)

On the other hand the scripture from John communicates that the way to the Fathers is through Jesus (the way, the truth and the life,) the spiritual Tabernacle in heaven. Consequently, when we look at the scriptures that define the Tabernacle components leading to the Holiest of all, we gain insight into the spiritual pathway that Jesus called Himself “the way, the truth and the life.”

In addition, there is a word in John 14: 6 that provides insight into the attributes of the Tabernacle that we should be looking for, and that word is “through.” This word indicates that we must enter at some external entrance, and then navigate through the internal components of the structure to get to the intended destination.

Applying this concept of “through,” to the earthly Tabernacle would provide us the earthly analogies necessary to decode the spiritual interpretation of “the way, the truth and the life” as defined by Jesus in John 14. It would also do the same for “the way to the Holiest of All,” as defined in Hebrews 9. So lets take a look at what passing “through” the Tabernacle means at a very high level.

First it means that we must enter at the gate that leads into the Courtyard and then navigate through the Courtyard until we came to the entryway into the Holy Place. Then we would have navigate through Holy Place until we came before the veil that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. This time we would have to pass through the veil and then navigate to the Father (presence is above the Ark of the Covenant.)

In this regard, it is clear that the things that must be passed through are the entrances to the three Tabernacle chambers and the chambers themselves. Now, if the entrances are each considered to be a part of the chamber they lead into, then at a high level we have just have three major component of the Tabernacle. This corresponds to the three words that Jesus used in John 14 to describe Himself, which are “the way, the truth and the life.”  For that reason these three chambers of the Tabernacle are a primary focus in getting a better understanding John 14: 1-6, and subsequently Jesus.

A cautionary note is required here, as this information taken by itself does not show that these three chambers are the objects of Jesus’ parable. For now they are simply the focus of our search. To acquire a definitive proof we will need to delve deeper into these chambers, looking for clues in the scriptures that reveal the spiritual truths that either verify or disprove this premise.

This is where we plan to pick up with our next posting.

It should be noted that a major portion of this website is devoted to correlating the attributes and functions of the Tabernacle to the words and actions of Jesus. These articles can be found by scanning the index contained on the homepage of this site: Possess-The-Vision.

God’s blessings be with you.