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The Tabernacle Is Prophetic of Jesus
The Tabernacle was built to be the earthly abode of God: the place where God would dwell among His people. The following picture is an artist’s depiction of what the Tabernacle may have looked like.
Moses built the Tabernacle in strict conformance to the specifications given by God. For example, in the following scripture, God gives Moses a detailed list of items that are required to build the Tabernacle:
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” (Exodus 25:1-9)
Statements like this one are frequently found in the scriptures written by Moses. Many of these references emphasize the building of the Tabernacle precisely according to God’s instructions. This fact suggests that the form and content of the Tabernacle are extremely important to God; that perhaps it is designed on a heavenly model, one that will enable Him to dwell among His people as He once did in the Garden. In fact, we see that God dwelt in the chamber of the Tabernacle called the Holy of Holies, just above the Ark of the Covenant.
Therefore, if we believe that Jesus is God and that He came in human form to dwell with His people on Earth, then we can look to the Tabernacle, its functions and purpose to validate that Jesus is who we believe Him to be (because God does not change). In other words, we can look at the scriptures that define the specifications, processes and objects found in the Tabernacle, and then find corresponding attributes, words and actions in the life of Jesus Christ to demonstrate that in Him is a far superior fulfillment of the Tabernacle covenant. The good news is that we have already done this and have found Jesus to be a far superior fulfillment to each and every component of the Tabernacle. Even better news is that we will be presenting all of this to you in the subsequent postings.
Interestingly, when we searched for an understanding of what Jesus meant when He claimed to be “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” our discernment was that He was referring to the entryways to the three chambers of the Tabernacle. We believe that the material presented here in this body of work strongly supports this case. A side benefit of looking at Old Testament scripture pertaining to the Tabernacle from the perspective of Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life is that you will come away with a splendid insight into who Jesus is and why He came. This understanding, in turn, can dramatically improve your relationship with God by providing insight into how to progress toward a closer, more intimate relationship with Him.
So, this is where we are headed. We are going to do a correlational study of the Tabernacle to the life of Jesus. Doing so will support the proposition that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus is the prophetic fulfillment of the Tabernacle, and that Jesus was referring to the Tabernacle when He stated: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
As a result of this we will proceed with our presentations by stating the above points as facts to be proven by supporting details that will follow. So, for example, we will be presenting a diagram of the Tabernacle that includes, “the Way, the Truth and the Life,” as the names of the entryways of the Tabernacle, with the understanding that we will provide scriptural support that backs up the premise as we progress through our series of postings.
Some have argued that there is no scripture that directly confirms that names of the Tabernacle entryways and therefore we cannot know what Jesus meant when in His statement. While it is true that these names are not provided in the Bible, I would also like to say that there is no scriptural reference where Jesus states; “I am the Christ.” Yet we know that Jesus is the Christ because we read about His life, His words and actions, that substantiate this premise. We plan to do exactly this by way of a study of scripture that will enable you will understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Tabernacle and at the same time give you valuable insight into what being, “the Way, the Truth and the Life,” means. Once we understand that, then we will understand that Jesus was in fact referring to the Tabernacle in His proclamation.
We initiate our series of postings with a diagram of the Tabernacle upon which the names (the Way, the Truth, and the Life) are used to identify the entryways into the three major compartments of the Tabernacle.
The Way leads us into the Courtyard, the Truth leads us into the Holy Place, and the Life leads us into the Most Holy Place. It should also be noted that the Tabernacle is constructed in such a way that these passageways must be entered in order. The Way must be entered prior to entering the Truth, and the Truth must be entered prior to entering the Life. This significance will be discussed later.
Our plan is to investigate each of these three chambers to identify what Jesus is leading us toward. We will find that Jesus is drawing us into a closer relationship with God the Father. He is drawing us into the Father by using the model of the Tabernacle as a model of Himself. Jesus knows that if we follow this clue, we will grow and strengthen our relationship with Father and Him.
What we are about to discover is that the Tabernacle structure communicates three distinct levels of relationship we can have with God. As we have stated previously, these relationships can only be obtained by passing through the doors of the Tabernacle in only one possible sequence. However, as one progresses, God waits for those who seek Him with all their heart.
While all of this may seem mysterious at this high level, we plan to provide the details in subsequent postings. For now, we will present a high-level overview of our journey through the Tabernacle and its correlation with Jesus’ life. With that said, let us start with the Tabernacle Courtyard.
The Tabernacle Courtyard
Our presentation of the Tabernacle Courtyard is found in the following post:
The-Tabernacle-Courtyard-and-Jesus
The Tabernacle Holy Place
Our presentation of the Tabernacle Holy Place is found in the following post:
The-Tabernacle-Holy-Place-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus
The Tabernacle Most Holy Place
Our presentation of the Tabernacles Most Holy Place is found in the following post:
The-Tabernacle-Most-Holy-Place-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus
All of these links will also lead the reader toward a better understanding of the objects found inside each of the major chambers of the Tabernacle. They will also lead toward a better understanding how each object is prophetic of the coming of Jesus.
Once these concepts have been digested, then applying what has been learned is advised. The following links can help in this regard:
Jesus-is-the-Way-the-Truth-and-the-Life
SEEKING JESUS 
Thanks and God Bless
The tabernacle is NOT a representation of our personal relationship with God. It was designed as an earthly representation of His Spiritual organization to come through Christ Jesus. It demonstrated the need to approach Him in pure worship through the sacrificial arrangement of his Son. The Jewish nation pictured the Spiritual Israel of the Greek Scriptures. The High Priest and his associates represented Jesus and his 144000 associate priests in Heaven. The Most Holy is the dwelling place of Almighty God Himself in Heaven where Jesus and his associates officiate. They bring blessing to His chosen people on the earth now and will continue to do so in a complete way after Armageddon and on through Christs 1000 year reign, leading faithful humans on earth to perfection of mind and body while transforming the earth into the Paradise it was originally intended to be.
I agree that the Tabernacle is not a representation of our personal relationship with God. I checked the post to see if I made this statement and did not find it.
In any event, what I am trying to say here is that the Tabernacle is a model of the types of relationships that man can have with God. For example, man can have a relationship of grace with God. This is modeled perfectly in the Courtyard of the Tabernacle. It was in this area that a perfect lamb was slain, shedding it blood for the forgiveness of sins. It shed its blood and its body was burned on the Brazen Laver. Of course the lamb was symbolic of Jesus and the Laver was symbolic of His cross.
The laver was another object found in the Courtyard and it was a place of cleansing prior to the priest entering into a more intimate ministry inside the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. The laver had a mirrored finish that allowed the priest to see his reflection as he washed. They believed that their reflection in the laver was an image of how God saw them and it therefore left them examining their readiness for a closer relationship with God. All of this is symbolic of our washing in the words of Jesus, as we contrast our past actions in regard to His. Are we ready for a closer relationship with Him?
Therefore, I see this as an important time of preparation prior to entering into the Holy Place where we gain access to this closer relationship, are enlightened to more clearly see the pathway that the Lord wants us to travel, and enter into the spiritual warfare necessary to accomplish the mission that Jesus left us in charge of when He left.
All of this said, I believe that all of this is perfectly modeled in the Tabernacle which was a blueprint for Christ to come, as you mentioned in your note. Please note however that scripture calls us to be like Him. In the 17th chapter of John Jesus prays for His disciples and for all of us who follow Him through their actions. In it He prays: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.” If this is the case and we are one with Jesus who in turn, is one with the Father, then the model of the Tabernacle applies to us as well.
This of course is not the entire discourse of what I have been writing about, but it was constructed simply to help in understanding that the Tabernacle helps us to better understand Jesus, who is our model for living life under His ministry.
I hope this helps in the understanding of what has been posted here.
May God bless and keep you always,
Joe
Please let me know if you’re looking for a author for your weblog. You have some really great articles and I think I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d love to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a
link back to mine. Please shoot me an email if interested.
Cheers!
Dear Pastor Gordon
The Book Possess the vision is a wonderful book that every Bible
teacher must have.I have never come across a book that reveals deep
understanding about Jesus Christ like this. Thank God for your insight
into the study of Tabernacle.
As a pastor, I need a copy of this book and I would appreciate If you could
bless me with a copy to aid me in my pastoral and teaching work
My postal address is. Bible Faith Tabernacle. P . O . Box 365
Oshodi, Lagos100010 Nigeria
May God bless you more abundantly. Thanks
Dear Pastor,
I am happy to inform you that I am currently in the process of updating the book, “Possess the Vision,” and will be publishing it on this web site for all to have for free. So either sign up to be notified when these documents are published or just check in occasionally.
May God’s blessings be upon you, your family, and your ministry in the name of Jesus Christ.
Papa Joe Gordon
papajoe.gordon@gmail.com
p.s. what is your name?