Podcasts about heavenly temple

How can impure, earthbound humans gain access to God, who is holy and in heaven? In ancient Israel and much of the ancient world, the answer was obvious: by means of a temple.  Tune in as we talk with Nicholas Moore about his recent book, The Open Sanctuary: Access to God and the Heavenly Temple in the New Testament (Baker Academic, 2024), which explores how the heavenly temple emerged as an important theological concept for early Christians.  Nicholas Moore is Lecturer in New Testament at Cranmer Hall, St John's College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

How can impure, earthbound humans gain access to God, who is holy and in heaven? In ancient Israel and much of the ancient world, the answer was obvious: by means of a temple.  Tune in as we talk with Nicholas Moore about his recent book, The Open Sanctuary: Access to God and the Heavenly Temple in the New Testament (Baker Academic, 2024), which explores how the heavenly temple emerged as an important theological concept for early Christians.  Nicholas Moore is Lecturer in New Testament at Cranmer Hall, St John's College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biblical-studies

How can impure, earthbound humans gain access to God, who is holy and in heaven? In ancient Israel and much of the ancient world, the answer was obvious: by means of a temple.  Tune in as we talk with Nicholas Moore about his recent book, The Open Sanctuary: Access to God and the Heavenly Temple in the New Testament (Baker Academic, 2024), which explores how the heavenly temple emerged as an important theological concept for early Christians.  Nicholas Moore is Lecturer in New Testament at Cranmer Hall, St John's College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Become a CTC Partner: https://crosstocrown.org/partners/Free LXX English translation: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/Literal Standard Version: https://www.lsvbible.comKey playlists:The Kingdom and the Last Days: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5Yobt1jZDd-fWWua2bpHUIYaznHgLZ20Zechariah: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5Yobt1jZDd99n2SBXrhdBklo36yRstVtFeatured playlist: The Church (That Meets in My Home) — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5Yobt1jZDd9Zzn8Ufa-BNciyYv04Cl6mMy books:Exalted: Putting Jesus in His Place — https://www.amazon.com/Exalted-Putting-Jesus-His-Place/dp/0985118709/ref=tmm_pap_title_0God's Design for Marriage (Married Edition) — https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Design-Marriage-Married-Amazing/dp/0998786306/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493422125&sr=1-4&keywords=god%27s+design+for+marriageGod's Design for Marriage (Pre-married Edition) — https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Design-Marriage-What-Before/dp/0985118725/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_topcrosstocrown.org@DougGoodin@CrossToCrown

God's purpose is for us to be Temples of God, revealed through His earthly Temples, patterned after His heavenly Temple (Dwelling Place), all pictures of His ultimate eternal Temple (redeemed man in Christ). All Temples (earthly & heavenly) reveal different aspects of His ultimate Temple, revealing how we are to function to His glory. Jesus was the 1st functioning human Temple, indwelt by the Holy Spirit (John 1:14, 2:19-21, 4:21-24). Although man was made to be God's Temple, sin resulted in his spiritual death, so God couldn't indwell him. But Christ made it possible for our spirit to be born again & His Spirit to indwell us, making us His temples. God's earthly Temples are built according to a heavenly blueprint (Heb 8:5), so God's Heavenly Temple, the Father's House, the New Jerusalem gives the clearest revelation about the shape of His ultimate Temple. When God shows John where He'll dwell with His People (Bride) for all eternity (His heavenly Temple), He showed him the New Jerusalem, shaped like a great Mountain, Mt Zion, shining with His glory (Rev 21:2-3,9-11). The peak is the holiest place, the holy of holies, His Throne Room, the centre of all authority, down from which flows the river of life alongside its golden streets (Rev 22:1,2). Its 4-square design means the river divides & flows in 4 main directions to water the city (holy place), and then flows out the gates to the land beyond (outer court). Height represents holiness, so holy places are built on high ground to signify their closeness to God. Thus, God's Throne is at the peak of his holy Mount (Rev 22:1-2). Mountain signifies Kingdom. The river flows downhill from the throne, so the throne must be at the peak (Rev 22:1). This describes us as temples of God. Our highest place is our spirit (Eph 2:6), like a mountain peak. It's where God's authority, glory & presence dwells in the Holy Spirit (the holy of holies), the throne room where Christ is enthroned in us, if we've received Him as Lord. God, the Fountain of living waters, lives in our spirit (Jer 2:13, John 4:14), and desires His river of life to flow out of our spirit (John 7:38), down into our soul, imparting life, authority, power, wisdom, love, health to it, so it can express His life & nature to God's glory. The fact the New Jerusalem, the heavenly City & Temple of God is shaped like a pyramid Mountain is confirmed by Heb 12:22-24. As the daughter of the heavenly Zion (Zech 9:9, Gal 4:26), earthly Zion is made after the image of its mother, so earthly Mt Zion is named after the heavenly Mt Zion (Temple Mount), so if the image of the heavenly Mt Zion is a mountain, so too the heavenly Temple. God's original template for His Dwelling Place (Temple) design is a pyramid mountain City. The whole heavenly Temple (the 3rd Heaven) is also described as ‘Eden, the Garden of God' = Paradise (Ezek 28:12-13, 2Cor 12:4), so earthly Eden was its image. Both have a garden, tree of life (Gen 2:9, Rev 2:7, 22:2,14), river of life (Gen 2:10-14, Rev 22:1-2) & cherubim, who often appear in temples as guardians of the throne (Gen 3:24, Rev 4:6-8, Ezek 28:14). Thus, Eden was God's 1st earthly Temple. Lucifer was originally a cherub in Eden, on the holy heavenly Mountain of God, before he was cast down to earth (Ezek 28:12-14,16-17, Isa 14:12-15, Rev 12:4, Luke 10:18). So, the centre of Eden (God's heavenly Temple) is the holy Mountain, Mt Zion, the New Jerusalem, a Garden City, shaped like a Pyramid. As a cherub, Lucifer lived in this Mount and ministered in the throne room, but in pride tried to ascend within Heaven and establish his own throne above all the angels in God's Throne Room (Holy of Holies), to sit enthroned on the Mount alongside the Most High, but was cast down to the earth (Isa 14:13-15). This confirms God's Throne is at the highest point of this Mount, for he tried to ascend & exalt his throne to the highest place in Heaven, when God was enthroned, to be like (equal in authority to) the Most High. As Eden is a name for the whole Heavenly Temple, centred on a Mountain, so it's the name for the whole original earthly Temple, centred on a Mountain, with (1) its Peak on the west side of Eden (holy of holies), where an underground spring was the source of a great river flowing down into (2) the Garden (holy place) on a plateau on the mountain's east side, with the tree of life, where man lived & walked with God, where it divided into 4 rivers, which watered the whole earth (Gen 2:8-14). So, Eden was on higher ground than the rest of the earth (water flows downhill), signifying its holiness as God's temple. After the fall, man was cast out of the Garden, and (3) went further east (3:24-25), onto lower ground at the base of the Mount, but still within Eden (the outer court), a place of God's Presence (4:16), with an ordained place of sacrifice (4:4), for Cain was cast out of Eden into another land, east of Eden, away from God's special Temple Presence (4:16).

God's purpose is for us to be Temples of God, revealed through His earthly Temples, patterned after His heavenly Temple (Dwelling Place), all pictures of His ultimate eternal Temple (redeemed man in Christ). All Temples (earthly & heavenly) reveal different aspects of His ultimate Temple, revealing how we are to function to His glory. Jesus was the 1st functioning human Temple, indwelt by the Holy Spirit (John 1:14, 2:19-21, 4:21-24). Although man was made to be God's Temple, sin resulted in his spiritual death, so God couldn't indwell him. But Christ made it possible for our spirit to be born again & His Spirit to indwell us, making us His temples. God's earthly Temples are built according to a heavenly blueprint (Heb 8:5), so God's Heavenly Temple, the Father's House, the New Jerusalem gives the clearest revelation about the shape of His ultimate Temple. When God shows John where He'll dwell with His People (Bride) for all eternity (His heavenly Temple), He showed him the New Jerusalem, shaped like a great Mountain, Mt Zion, shining with His glory (Rev 21:2-3,9-11). The peak is the holiest place, the holy of holies, His Throne Room, the centre of all authority, down from which flows the river of life alongside its golden streets (Rev 22:1,2). Its 4-square design means the river divides & flows in 4 main directions to water the city (holy place), and then flows out the gates to the land beyond (outer court). Height represents holiness, so holy places are built on high ground to signify their closeness to God. Thus, God's Throne is at the peak of his holy Mount (Rev 22:1-2). Mountain signifies Kingdom. The river flows downhill from the throne, so the throne must be at the peak (Rev 22:1). This describes us as temples of God. Our highest place is our spirit (Eph 2:6), like a mountain peak. It's where God's authority, glory & presence dwells in the Holy Spirit (the holy of holies), the throne room where Christ is enthroned in us, if we've received Him as Lord. God, the Fountain of living waters, lives in our spirit (Jer 2:13, John 4:14), and desires His river of life to flow out of our spirit (John 7:38), down into our soul, imparting life, authority, power, wisdom, love, health to it, so it can express His life & nature to God's glory. The fact the New Jerusalem, the heavenly City & Temple of God is shaped like a pyramid Mountain is confirmed by Heb 12:22-24. As the daughter of the heavenly Zion (Zech 9:9, Gal 4:26), earthly Zion is made after the image of its mother, so earthly Mt Zion is named after the heavenly Mt Zion (Temple Mount), so if the image of the heavenly Mt Zion is a mountain, so too the heavenly Temple. God's original template for His Dwelling Place (Temple) design is a pyramid mountain City. The whole heavenly Temple (the 3rd Heaven) is also described as ‘Eden, the Garden of God' = Paradise (Ezek 28:12-13, 2Cor 12:4), so earthly Eden was its image. Both have a garden, tree of life (Gen 2:9, Rev 2:7, 22:2,14), river of life (Gen 2:10-14, Rev 22:1-2) & cherubim, who often appear in temples as guardians of the throne (Gen 3:24, Rev 4:6-8, Ezek 28:14). Thus, Eden was God's 1st earthly Temple. Lucifer was originally a cherub in Eden, on the holy heavenly Mountain of God, before he was cast down to earth (Ezek 28:12-14,16-17, Isa 14:12-15, Rev 12:4, Luke 10:18). So, the centre of Eden (God's heavenly Temple) is the holy Mountain, Mt Zion, the New Jerusalem, a Garden City, shaped like a Pyramid. As a cherub, Lucifer lived in this Mount and ministered in the throne room, but in pride tried to ascend within Heaven and establish his own throne above all the angels in God's Throne Room (Holy of Holies), to sit enthroned on the Mount alongside the Most High, but was cast down to the earth (Isa 14:13-15). This confirms God's Throne is at the highest point of this Mount, for he tried to ascend & exalt his throne to the highest place in Heaven, when God was enthroned, to be like (equal in authority to) the Most High. As Eden is a name for the whole Heavenly Temple, centred on a Mountain, so it's the name for the whole original earthly Temple, centred on a Mountain, with (1) its Peak on the west side of Eden (holy of holies), where an underground spring was the source of a great river flowing down into (2) the Garden (holy place) on a plateau on the mountain's east side, with the tree of life, where man lived & walked with God, where it divided into 4 rivers, which watered the whole earth (Gen 2:8-14). So, Eden was on higher ground than the rest of the earth (water flows downhill), signifying its holiness as God's temple. After the fall, man was cast out of the Garden, and (3) went further east (3:24-25), onto lower ground at the base of the Mount, but still within Eden (the outer court), a place of God's Presence (4:16), with an ordained place of sacrifice (4:4), for Cain was cast out of Eden into another land, east of Eden, away from God's special Temple Presence (4:16).

Key Events: Wrath to Israel/fulfillment of prophecies (10:7) Coming of the Kingdom of God (Dan. 2, 7) Heavenly Temple opened/1st resurrection/priests to God (11:15-19, 15:8) Great Tribulation (Dan. 12, but also 7) Christ/saints ruling the nations from Heaven/fall of Babylon/Rome (Dan. 7) (Bonus: 2nd resurrection, final judgment, new heavens/earth)Become a CTC Partner: https://crosstocrown.org/partners/Free LXX English translation: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/Literal Standard Version: https://www.lsvbible.comKey playlists: The Kingdom and the Last Days: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5Yobt1jZDd-fWWua2bpHUIYaznHgLZ20 Zechariah: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5Yobt1jZDd99n2SBXrhdBklo36yRstVtFeatured playlist: The Church (That Meets in My Home) — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5Yobt1jZDd9Zzn8Ufa-BNciyYv04Cl6mMy books:Exalted: Putting Jesus in His Place — https://www.amazon.com/Exalted-Putting-Jesus-His-Place/dp/0985118709/ref=tmm_pap_title_0God's Design for Marriage (Married Edition) — https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Design-Marriage-Married-Amazing/dp/0998786306/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493422125&sr=1-4&keywords=god%27s+design+for+marriageGod's Design for Marriage (Pre-married Edition) — https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Design-Marriage-What-Before/dp/0985118725/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_topcrosstocrown.org@DougGoodin@CrossToCrown

God's ultimate purpose for man is that we should be TEMPLES of the LIVING GOD, with God living in us and shining His glory through us. God introduced the concept of Temples (places where God chooses to dwell among men) to the human race from the beginning, which is why temples are in every ancient culture & religion. All EARTHLY TEMPLES of God were patterned according to a heavenly blueprint, the HEAVENLY TEMPLE (Heb 8:5). The Bible describes a sequence of earthly Temples, and all these earthly & heavenly Temples are pictures, encoding revelation of God's ultimate eternal Temple – redeemed Man in Christ. We need to put together all the clues provided by all the different temples, to see how they all harmonise together, to give a complete picture of who we're called to be as His ultimate Temple. All Temples of God have a tripartite structure: (1) HOLY of HOLIES, (2) HOLY PLACE & (3) OUTER COURT. Likewise, we (1) ARE a SPIRIT, (2) HAVE a SOUL, and (3) LIVE in a BODY. Gen 2:7: “The Lord formed man (1) of the dust of the ground (man's BODY), and (2) BREATHED into his nostrils the BREATH of LIFE (man's SPIRIT); and (3) man became a living SOUL.” The fusion of man's SPIRIT (created by God's breath) & BODY (made from the earth) formed his SOUL. We're not just individually Temples of God, but are designed to be part of one great corporate TEMPLE of God consisting of all believers. We're LIVING STONES that fit together into a far greater Temple of God. Each has a unique place in that greater Temple of the Holy Spirit. We are all (1) living stones in the TEMPLE of God the Spirit, (2) members of the FAMILY of God the Father, and (3) members of the BODY of Christ the Son. So, we need to think corporately as well as individually. In Matthew 16, Peter is used as an example of a believer, who comes into and becomes part of God's Temple by faith in Christ (v15-17). Jesus said in v18: “you are Peter (petros, small stone), and ON this ROCK (petra, massive foundation stone) I will build My CHURCH.” The FOUNDATION STONE or ROCK for the Church is CHRIST Himself (1Cor 3:11, 10:4). Peter, an example & picture of all believers, is a small LIVING STONE, that becomes part of the Church, the Temple of God, built on the FOUNDATION ROCK - CHRIST. As living stones built on Christ, we partake of His life & nature (made of the same stuff). He then predicted His death & resurrection (v21). By laying His life down and then rising from the dead, he established Himself as the FOUNDATION STONE for the CHURCH, the TEMPLE of God. The CHURCH only came into existence as the new TEMPLE of God after He laid Himself down as its FOUNDATION STONE in His death & resurrection. In v18, Jesus declared He will BUILD His CHURCH on HIMSELF as the ROCK FOUNDATION. But first, He had to lay Himself down as the Foundation Stone (v21). He's saying in v18-21: “I am the foundation ROCK & foundation SACRIFICE of my new Temple, the Church.” So, thru His death & resurrection, His Temple has a firm FOUNDATION, consecrated to God - the risen CHRIST, who upholds the whole Building before God. Having declared Himself the ROCK-FOUNDATION of His CHURCH, He said: “I first have to die as the foundation Blood Sacrifice, to make this a reality” (v21). He died and was buried as the Foundation Sacrifice, dedicating Himself to God as the FOUNDATION for God's Temple. On the basis of His shed Blood, He was resurrected & established & consecrated to God as the Foundation Stone for God's eternal Temple (Heb 13:20). To be in the Kingdom (Temple) of God, we must enter in through Christ, our Threshold Stone, through faith in His sacrificial death & resurrection for us. To reject His Blood Sacrifice, counting it as something of no value, is to trample on Him & His precious Blood, resulting in eternal punishment (Heb 10:29). CHRIST Himself is the FOUNDATION STONE or ROCK (1Cor 3:11). He completed the laying down of this FOUNDATION of HIMSELF in His death, burial & resurrection. So, He's now our living FOUNDATION. 1Peter 2:4: “COMING to HIM (the risen CHRIST) as to a LIVING STONE (the FOUNDATION STONE), rejected indeed by men (His death), but chosen by God & precious (His resurrection & exaltation).” 1Peter 2:5: “You also, as LIVING STONES, are being BUILT UP (together) as a spiritual HOUSE (upon Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit), a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Thru our union with CHRIST, the LIVING FOUNDATION STONE, we are blessed with His life & nature, and so become LIVING STONES, built together into the Temple of God upon Christ, our Foundation. So, Christ told Peter he was a LIVING STONE, BLESSED with eternal life, part of God's Temple, built on the ROCK of CHRIST, the LIVING FOUNDATION STONE in Matthew 16, and Peter applies this to all believers in 1Peter 2:5. This House is the HOLY TEMPLE of God, the DWELLING PLACE of God (1Cor 3:16-17, Eph 2:21-22).

God's ultimate purpose for man is that we should be TEMPLES of the LIVING GOD, with God living in us and shining His glory through us. God introduced the concept of Temples (places where God chooses to dwell among men) to the human race from the beginning, which is why temples are in every ancient culture & religion. All EARTHLY TEMPLES of God were patterned according to a heavenly blueprint, the HEAVENLY TEMPLE (Heb 8:5). The Bible describes a sequence of earthly Temples, and all these earthly & heavenly Temples are pictures, encoding revelation of God's ultimate eternal Temple – redeemed Man in Christ. We need to put together all the clues provided by all the different temples, to see how they all harmonise together, to give a complete picture of who we're called to be as His ultimate Temple. All Temples of God have a tripartite structure: (1) HOLY of HOLIES, (2) HOLY PLACE & (3) OUTER COURT. Likewise, we (1) ARE a SPIRIT, (2) HAVE a SOUL, and (3) LIVE in a BODY. Gen 2:7: “The Lord formed man (1) of the dust of the ground (man's BODY), and (2) BREATHED into his nostrils the BREATH of LIFE (man's SPIRIT); and (3) man became a living SOUL.” The fusion of man's SPIRIT (created by God's breath) & BODY (made from the earth) formed his SOUL. We're not just individually Temples of God, but are designed to be part of one great corporate TEMPLE of God consisting of all believers. We're LIVING STONES that fit together into a far greater Temple of God. Each has a unique place in that greater Temple of the Holy Spirit. We are all (1) living stones in the TEMPLE of God the Spirit, (2) members of the FAMILY of God the Father, and (3) members of the BODY of Christ the Son. So, we need to think corporately as well as individually. In Matthew 16, Peter is used as an example of a believer, who comes into and becomes part of God's Temple by faith in Christ (v15-17). Jesus said in v18: “you are Peter (petros, small stone), and ON this ROCK (petra, massive foundation stone) I will build My CHURCH.” The FOUNDATION STONE or ROCK for the Church is CHRIST Himself (1Cor 3:11, 10:4). Peter, an example & picture of all believers, is a small LIVING STONE, that becomes part of the Church, the Temple of God, built on the FOUNDATION ROCK - CHRIST. As living stones built on Christ, we partake of His life & nature (made of the same stuff). He then predicted His death & resurrection (v21). By laying His life down and then rising from the dead, he established Himself as the FOUNDATION STONE for the CHURCH, the TEMPLE of God. The CHURCH only came into existence as the new TEMPLE of God after He laid Himself down as its FOUNDATION STONE in His death & resurrection. In v18, Jesus declared He will BUILD His CHURCH on HIMSELF as the ROCK FOUNDATION. But first, He had to lay Himself down as the Foundation Stone (v21). He's saying in v18-21: “I am the foundation ROCK & foundation SACRIFICE of my new Temple, the Church.” So, thru His death & resurrection, His Temple has a firm FOUNDATION, consecrated to God - the risen CHRIST, who upholds the whole Building before God. Having declared Himself the ROCK-FOUNDATION of His CHURCH, He said: “I first have to die as the foundation Blood Sacrifice, to make this a reality” (v21). He died and was buried as the Foundation Sacrifice, dedicating Himself to God as the FOUNDATION for God's Temple. On the basis of His shed Blood, He was resurrected & established & consecrated to God as the Foundation Stone for God's eternal Temple (Heb 13:20). To be in the Kingdom (Temple) of God, we must enter in through Christ, our Threshold Stone, through faith in His sacrificial death & resurrection for us. To reject His Blood Sacrifice, counting it as something of no value, is to trample on Him & His precious Blood, resulting in eternal punishment (Heb 10:29). CHRIST Himself is the FOUNDATION STONE or ROCK (1Cor 3:11). He completed the laying down of this FOUNDATION of HIMSELF in His death, burial & resurrection. So, He's now our living FOUNDATION. 1Peter 2:4: “COMING to HIM (the risen CHRIST) as to a LIVING STONE (the FOUNDATION STONE), rejected indeed by men (His death), but chosen by God & precious (His resurrection & exaltation).” 1Peter 2:5: “You also, as LIVING STONES, are being BUILT UP (together) as a spiritual HOUSE (upon Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit), a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Thru our union with CHRIST, the LIVING FOUNDATION STONE, we are blessed with His life & nature, and so become LIVING STONES, built together into the Temple of God upon Christ, our Foundation. So, Christ told Peter he was a LIVING STONE, BLESSED with eternal life, part of God's Temple, built on the ROCK of CHRIST, the LIVING FOUNDATION STONE in Matthew 16, and Peter applies this to all believers in 1Peter 2:5. This House is the HOLY TEMPLE of God, the DWELLING PLACE of God (1Cor 3:16-17, Eph 2:21-22).

God introduced the concept of TEMPLES to the human race from the very beginning, which is why you see temples in every ancient culture and religion. Even if the religion is corrupted, man has an understanding of the fundamental concept of a temple as it is part of God's original general revelation to mankind. A TEMPLE is designed to be a DWELLING PLACE of GOD, and God introduced TEMPLES to reveal His ULTIMATE PURPOSE for mankind. God created man to be His TEMPLE, and now His plan is to redeem us, so that we might be the DWELLING PLACE of God, that God would dwell with us and IN US! In salvation, the forgiveness of sin is just the beginning, the necessary preparation in order to make possible the fulfilment of His ultimate purpose - that we might become the holy Temples of the Living God. Each Temple of God was a visual aid, a teaching tool, designed to reveal what it means to be a Temple of God (the nature, design and operation of a temple). Ultimately, these temples are all revelations of redeemed MAN in Christ – God's ultimate and eternal Dwelling Place, which we see fulfilled in Rev 21-22. All the earthly temples of God are pictures of God's ultimate eternal TEMPLE – redeemed MANKIND in Christ. We are designed to be Temples of the Living God, so that God might dwell in us and be glorified through us. The EARTHLY Temples were made according to a HEAVENLY blueprint – the HEAVENLY Temple (Heb 8:5). So, earthly Temples are images of the heavenly Temple (Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem), both of which are pictures of God's ultimate eternal Temple – redeemed MAN in Christ. The Bible describes a sequence of earthly Temples, which are patterned after the heavenly Temple, and all these earthly and heavenly Temples are pictures (revelations) of God's ultimate eternal Temple – redeemed MAN. The ultimate fulfilment in Christ is not just that we individually are Temples of God, but that God joins all redeemed humanity in Christ together into a union, so that together, we all form one great corporate Temple of God, Christ & His Body - the Dwelling Place of God forever. This is God's vision for mankind. All the different temples have different characteristics, each providing different pieces of the complete picture. They all harmonise together, but each one carries only part of the whole revelation of God's ultimate Temple. To get the full picture of what we are called to be, we must put together what each temple reveals. The main earthly temples are: (1) The Garden of Eden, (2) Mount Sinai, (3) The Tabernacle of Moses, (4) the 1st Temple of Solomon, (5) the 2nd Temple (Herod's Temple), (6) the 3rd (Tribulation) Temple, (4) the 4th (Millennial) Temple. Individually, we are Temples of God, and God is also fitting us together as living stones to form one great ultimate Temple of God (1Peter 2:5). We understand spiritual things by their physical analogy, so by understanding all the analogies (the earthly and heavenly temples) we can learn much about God's ultimate Temple (the Church), and we will understand how we are designed to be God's Temple, and how everything works and connects together. Basically, a Temple has 2 PARTS: (1) the Temple BUILDING, and (2) the GOD who dwells within the Temple, for a Temple is the Dwelling Place of God: “(2) the LORD GOD Almighty and (1) the LAMB (Christ and those who are in Christ) are its TEMPLE” (Rev 21:22). A Temple is a Holy Place, for God's PRESENCE dwells within the Temple, and His GLORY shines out from the Temple, sometimes represented as RIVERS of LIVING WATER flowing out from the Temple (Gen 2:10, Ezek 47, Joel 3:18, Rev 22:1-2, John 7:37-39). Through the New Covenant, established by Jesus Christ, His believers become Temples of the Living God, indwelt by the Spirit of God. This is God's plan & purpose for man coming to pass – that God would dwell in man, that man would become a Temple of God. Jesus came & died & rose again to make this possible (1Cor 3:16-17: 6:17-20, 2Cor 6:16, Rev 21:3). Man is the ultimate Temple of God, so all the other temples are teaching tools to reveal God's purpose for man, and how man is designed to connect with God and function under the grace and power of God. Jesus came as a sinless man, the PROTOTYPE TEMPLE of God, a man indwelt by and filled with the Spirit of God - showing us what man is meant to be like. He declared He was a TEMPLE of God (John 8:12). By His death & resurrection, Jesus multiplied and reproduced Himself in us (John 12:23-24). Through the New Birth the Holy Spirit indwells every believer, making us all into Temples of God. The Spirit is the Fountain of living waters within us (Jer 2:13, 17:13), a continual Source of outpoured grace (rivers of life) flowing into our heart, causing us to worship God & empowering us to serve Him. (John 4:13-14). So now there are many Temples, and God is building us all together into one great Temple (Christ) – His ultimate Purpose.

God introduced the concept of TEMPLES to the human race from the very beginning, which is why you see temples in every ancient culture and religion. Even if the religion is corrupted, man has an understanding of the fundamental concept of a temple as it is part of God's original general revelation to mankind. A TEMPLE is designed to be a DWELLING PLACE of GOD, and God introduced TEMPLES to reveal His ULTIMATE PURPOSE for mankind. God created man to be His TEMPLE, and now His plan is to redeem us, so that we might be the DWELLING PLACE of God, that God would dwell with us and IN US! In salvation, the forgiveness of sin is just the beginning, the necessary preparation in order to make possible the fulfilment of His ultimate purpose - that we might become the holy Temples of the Living God. Each Temple of God was a visual aid, a teaching tool, designed to reveal what it means to be a Temple of God (the nature, design and operation of a temple). Ultimately, these temples are all revelations of redeemed MAN in Christ – God's ultimate and eternal Dwelling Place, which we see fulfilled in Rev 21-22. All the earthly temples of God are pictures of God's ultimate eternal TEMPLE – redeemed MANKIND in Christ. We are designed to be Temples of the Living God, so that God might dwell in us and be glorified through us. The EARTHLY Temples were made according to a HEAVENLY blueprint – the HEAVENLY Temple (Heb 8:5). So, earthly Temples are images of the heavenly Temple (Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem), both of which are pictures of God's ultimate eternal Temple – redeemed MAN in Christ. The Bible describes a sequence of earthly Temples, which are patterned after the heavenly Temple, and all these earthly and heavenly Temples are pictures (revelations) of God's ultimate eternal Temple – redeemed MAN. The ultimate fulfilment in Christ is not just that we individually are Temples of God, but that God joins all redeemed humanity in Christ together into a union, so that together, we all form one great corporate Temple of God, Christ & His Body - the Dwelling Place of God forever. This is God's vision for mankind. All the different temples have different characteristics, each providing different pieces of the complete picture. They all harmonise together, but each one carries only part of the whole revelation of God's ultimate Temple. To get the full picture of what we are called to be, we must put together what each temple reveals. The main earthly temples are: (1) The Garden of Eden, (2) Mount Sinai, (3) The Tabernacle of Moses, (4) the 1st Temple of Solomon, (5) the 2nd Temple (Herod's Temple), (6) the 3rd (Tribulation) Temple, (4) the 4th (Millennial) Temple. Individually, we are Temples of God, and God is also fitting us together as living stones to form one great ultimate Temple of God (1Peter 2:5). We understand spiritual things by their physical analogy, so by understanding all the analogies (the earthly and heavenly temples) we can learn much about God's ultimate Temple (the Church), and we will understand how we are designed to be God's Temple, and how everything works and connects together. Basically, a Temple has 2 PARTS: (1) the Temple BUILDING, and (2) the GOD who dwells within the Temple, for a Temple is the Dwelling Place of God: “(2) the LORD GOD Almighty and (1) the LAMB (Christ and those who are in Christ) are its TEMPLE” (Rev 21:22). A Temple is a Holy Place, for God's PRESENCE dwells within the Temple, and His GLORY shines out from the Temple, sometimes represented as RIVERS of LIVING WATER flowing out from the Temple (Gen 2:10, Ezek 47, Joel 3:18, Rev 22:1-2, John 7:37-39). Through the New Covenant, established by Jesus Christ, His believers become Temples of the Living God, indwelt by the Spirit of God. This is God's plan & purpose for man coming to pass – that God would dwell in man, that man would become a Temple of God. Jesus came & died & rose again to make this possible (1Cor 3:16-17: 6:17-20, 2Cor 6:16, Rev 21:3). Man is the ultimate Temple of God, so all the other temples are teaching tools to reveal God's purpose for man, and how man is designed to connect with God and function under the grace and power of God. Jesus came as a sinless man, the PROTOTYPE TEMPLE of God, a man indwelt by and filled with the Spirit of God - showing us what man is meant to be like. He declared He was a TEMPLE of God (John 8:12). By His death & resurrection, Jesus multiplied and reproduced Himself in us (John 12:23-24). Through the New Birth the Holy Spirit indwells every believer, making us all into Temples of God. The Spirit is the Fountain of living waters within us (Jer 2:13, 17:13), a continual Source of outpoured grace (rivers of life) flowing into our heart, causing us to worship God & empowering us to serve Him. (John 4:13-14). So now there are many Temples, and God is building us all together into one great Temple (Christ) – His ultimate Purpose.

The dramatic words of v7-10 were spoken at the Gates of Jerusalem, when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to God's earthly holy Hill in a procession (2Sam 6, 1Chr 15). This was the ascension of the Lord Himself, enthroned on the Ark (Ps 132:5-8) to His chosen resting place in the city of the great King (Ps 48:2, Matt 5:35). Thus, it's a type of Christ's Ascension to His throne in the New Jerusalem, God's heavenly holy Hill, as well as His ascension to sit on David's throne at His 2nd Coming. It's a Messianic Psalm ultimately fulfilled in His Ascension. v3-6 poses & starts to answer a big question: “Who may ASCEND into the Hill of the LORD or STAND in His Holy Place?” (v3). God's requirement to ascend & stand in His Presence is perfection (v4), so it's impossible for us, but God provides salvation by grace (v5-6). In v7-10, He answers the big question, revealing the unique perfect Man, Christ, who ascended to Heaven, the King of Glory, mighty in battle who defeated all foes & accomplished our salvation. It reveals that with Him many will ascend, showing how God provides us salvation by grace (v5). We can't climb to God, but He came down to us, so we could rise with Him (Heb 2:10). He fulfilled the conditions of v4; then ascended to Heaven (v7-10), to make a way for us to rise with Him. Before this no man ascended to Heaven (John 3:13). He alone fulfils God's standards. The scene describes this glorified Man ascending to Heaven & coming to its Gates to request access. v7-10: “Lift up your heads, O you Gates! and be lifted up, you everlasting Doors! and the KING of GLORY shall come in. Who is this KING of GLORY? (God does not seek entrance to Heaven, so this refers to Christ, His anointed human King). The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle (He's the Lord God, who became a man, fought the battle & won the victory for us). Lift up your heads, O you Gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this KING of GLORY? The LORD of HOSTS (armies), He is the KING of GLORY. Selah.” v3 asked: 'Who can ascend?' Here is the answer. He lived a perfect life, defeated all foes & ascended, but not on His own. He's the Lord of armies. When He enters thru the Gates, His army of saints enter with Him, united to Him by faith. He gained access to Heaven for all under His command. Thus Ps 24 deals with the issue of salvation, asking & answering: “Who may ascend?” (v3). To enter requires moral perfection (v4). When we receive Him, we receive His righteousness, so in Him we ascend into God's Presence & receive His blessing (v5). He's the Head and we, His Body, rise with Him. He rose as our representative, so we ascend in Him. Thus Christ, the Righteous One, is the Way to God (John 14:6,12). Moses' Tabernacle teaches our access to the Holy Place (v3) is only by His Blood. Ps 24:7-10 also reveals His future earthly ascension to David's throne. He humbly offered Himself to Israel as her King with salvation, but the leaders didn't receive Him. He said He'd only return when they repent & receive Him as King (Matt 23:37-39). They'll do this at Armageddon & then He'll return as King of Glory to Zion, save them from their enemies & establish His Kingdom (Zech 14:3-4). When Israel receives Him as King, He'll manifest His glory to, thru & for her. Notice, He didn't force Himself into Heaven, or force His reign on Israel, and He doesn't force Himself on us. We must receive Him as our King, and then He'll manifest His glory in & thru us. He reveals & offers Himself to us to be our Lord & Saviour. When we open the gates of our heart to Him, He comes in with His glory, 1st into our spirit, then into different parts of our soul. So v7-10 can be applied personally. He fulfilled it by ascending into the Heavenly Temple, but we're also God's Temple & He has the right to enter our holy of holies & be enthroned there. The Gospel declares v7 (Rev 3:20). By these words, He seeks access to our Temple, and we must open our gates & let Him in. When we do, He enters our spirit & imparts His glory (manifested nature) to us, as a free gift, making our spirit righteous, holy, full of His life & light, enabling us to ascend into God's Presence in Him. Since He's already ascended, as soon as He enters into us, we automatically ascend in our spirit to the Father thru our union to Him, by His power & righteousness in us. He comes in as the Lord, delivering us from the power of darkness & translating us into His Kingdom. Then His glory (love) works in our souls from within, changing us from glory to glory, so we increasingly fulfil His righteous requirements (v4). As we increase in holiness, the more we can ascend into His Presence to commune with Him (v3). He continues to ask for more access to every part of our soul, with the words of v7, so as we open our doors, inviting Him in to reign, He manifests Himself in us as the King of Glory, the Lord strong & mighty in battle, releasing His power & victory in us.

The background to Ps 24 is the ascension of the Ark of the Covenant (God's earthly throne) to its rightful place in Jerusalem in a great procession, with much rejoicing (2Sam 6, 1Chron 13,15). It signified God arising to be enthroned in Jerusalem, His chosen dwelling place (Ps 132). The event's importance is reflected in the pomp & pageantry of Ps 24. This is a type of Christ's Ascension to sit on God's throne in the New Jerusalem & future ascension to sit on His earthly throne in Jerusalem. What gave significance to this event is the holiness of the Hill of the Lord (His dwelling place) and the King of Glory enthroned on the Ark. The question & answers in Ps 24 were part of the dramatic ceremony, enacted before the city gates. The answers affirm only the King of Glory is worthy to enter thru the Gates and ascend to His place on the holy Hill. Likewise, Christ alone (the King of Glory) is worthy to ascend into Heaven, but He did it for us, so that in Christ, we also can ascend into God's holy Presence in Heaven. Ps 24 is in 3 parts: *(1) The Sovereign Creator, who owns all things (v1-2). *(2) The Heavenly Temple – the requirements for Ascension (v3-6), how can a man know such a high God, stand before Him & receive His blessing? Perfection is required, which is a problem for us. *(3) The true Redeemer – the King of Glory (v7-10). God became a man, and made a way to bring men to God. *PART 1. The Truth about God (v1-2): "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness (expanded in next line), the world and those who dwell therein (its produce and people)" (v1). This is quoted x2 in 1Cor 10:25-28 (see Ps 50:10-11). WHY does it all belong to Him? He is its Maker & Manager: "For He has (1) founded it on the seas (Maker, Gen 1:2,9,10, 2Pet 3:5), and (2) established it on the waters (rivers, symbolic of His Providence)" (v2). ‘Established' (imperfect tense) speaks of His ongoing management of the earth. He's the rightful Owner of all things. We are just tenant possessors of the earth & stewards of God's resources, for which we'll give account. Our life is not for us to do with as we please. God's authority is absolute over all, He has the right to do whatever He wants with us & the world. When we see this, it humbles us. The big question we must ask is: "How can I be right with God?" This seems impossible due to the infinite gap between us as sinful creatures & the holy God. Holiness is represented by height, so God is high above us (Is 57:15, 55:8). For man to be right with God & commune with Him requires us to ascend, but how is this possible? This is what David asks in PART 2: God's requirements for Ascension (v3-6): "Who may ASCEND the Hill of the Lord? (Heavenly Jerusalem) or STAND in His Holy Place?" (v3). The answer, the moral requirements for ascension, is given in v4: "(1) He who has clean hands & (2) a pure heart" (v4a). Here Hebrew parallelism works like stereo vision to give a full 3D picture, emphasising both his (1) outward actions & (2) inward attitudes & motives must be pure & perfect. This is followed by another parallelism emphasising (1) perfect holiness & (2) perfect righteousness: "(1) who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor (2) sworn deceitfully" (v4b). These represent the (1) God-ward requirement of true worship, free from idolatry, and (2) man-ward requirement of integrity, being a person of our word (no lies, deception or bearing false witness). 'Idol' also means vanity (that which is hollow). Rather than finding meaning, comfort & identity in the Creator, man seeks it in the creation, superficial things, even things with no reality, that don't ring true & against nature (like gender ideology). Thus, God requires perfection (Matt 5:48), but all sin (only Jesus fulfils these requirements), so what hope have we? But v5 says God provides a way for men to be saved and be made righteous by grace: "He shall receive blessing from the Lord (as a free-gift), and righteousness from the God of his salvation (enabling him to ascend)" (v5). These ones who ascend to God, not by their own righteousness, but by His grace, are described as God-seekers: "This is Jacob, the generation (the group of people) of those who SEEK Him, who SEEK Your face. Selah" (v6). They want to know Him & be right with Him. He promises they will find Him (Deut 4:29, Jer 29:13, Matt 7:7-8). David uses Jacob to represent those who are imperfect, but seek God (Gen 32:9-12), whom He brings to Himself by a process of coming to saving faith, when they come to an end of themselves & their own strength, knowing they can't stand before God on their own, and so cling to Him for blessing (Gen 32:24-29). So, to ascend to God requires a perfect righteousness, which God graciously gives to those who seek Him. How He made salvation possible, solving our sin-problem is revealed in PART 3: The King of Glory (v7-10), which describes the Ascension of Christ, the righteous Man, the King of glory - the subject of the next study.

The background to Ps 24 is the ascension of the Ark of the Covenant (God's earthly throne) to its rightful place in Jerusalem in a great procession, with much rejoicing (2Sam 6, 1Chron 13,15). It signified God arising to be enthroned in Jerusalem, His chosen dwelling place (Ps 132). The event's importance is reflected in the pomp & pageantry of Ps 24. This is a type of Christ's Ascension to sit on God's throne in the New Jerusalem & future ascension to sit on His earthly throne in Jerusalem. What gave significance to this event is the holiness of the Hill of the Lord (His dwelling place) and the King of Glory enthroned on the Ark. The question & answers in Ps 24 were part of the dramatic ceremony, enacted before the city gates. The answers affirm only the King of Glory is worthy to enter thru the Gates and ascend to His place on the holy Hill. Likewise, Christ alone (the King of Glory) is worthy to ascend into Heaven, but He did it for us, so that in Christ, we also can ascend into God's holy Presence in Heaven. Ps 24 is in 3 parts: *(1) The Sovereign Creator, who owns all things (v1-2). *(2) The Heavenly Temple – the requirements for Ascension (v3-6), how can a man know such a high God, stand before Him & receive His blessing? Perfection is required, which is a problem for us. *(3) The true Redeemer – the King of Glory (v7-10). God became a man, and made a way to bring men to God. *PART 1. The Truth about God (v1-2): "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness (expanded in next line), the world and those who dwell therein (its produce and people)" (v1). This is quoted x2 in 1Cor 10:25-28 (see Ps 50:10-11). WHY does it all belong to Him? He is its Maker & Manager: "For He has (1) founded it on the seas (Maker, Gen 1:2,9,10, 2Pet 3:5), and (2) established it on the waters (rivers, symbolic of His Providence)" (v2). ‘Established' (imperfect tense) speaks of His ongoing management of the earth. He's the rightful Owner of all things. We are just tenant possessors of the earth & stewards of God's resources, for which we'll give account. Our life is not for us to do with as we please. God's authority is absolute over all, He has the right to do whatever He wants with us & the world. When we see this, it humbles us. The big question we must ask is: "How can I be right with God?" This seems impossible due to the infinite gap between us as sinful creatures & the holy God. Holiness is represented by height, so God is high above us (Is 57:15, 55:8). For man to be right with God & commune with Him requires us to ascend, but how is this possible? This is what David asks in PART 2: God's requirements for Ascension (v3-6): "Who may ASCEND the Hill of the Lord? (Heavenly Jerusalem) or STAND in His Holy Place?" (v3). The answer, the moral requirements for ascension, is given in v4: "(1) He who has clean hands & (2) a pure heart" (v4a). Here Hebrew parallelism works like stereo vision to give a full 3D picture, emphasising both his (1) outward actions & (2) inward attitudes & motives must be pure & perfect. This is followed by another parallelism emphasising (1) perfect holiness & (2) perfect righteousness: "(1) who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor (2) sworn deceitfully" (v4b). These represent the (1) God-ward requirement of true worship, free from idolatry, and (2) man-ward requirement of integrity, being a person of our word (no lies, deception or bearing false witness). 'Idol' also means vanity (that which is hollow). Rather than finding meaning, comfort & identity in the Creator, man seeks it in the creation, superficial things, even things with no reality, that don't ring true & against nature (like gender ideology). Thus, God requires perfection (Matt 5:48), but all sin (only Jesus fulfils these requirements), so what hope have we? But v5 says God provides a way for men to be saved and be made righteous by grace: "He shall receive blessing from the Lord (as a free-gift), and righteousness from the God of his salvation (enabling him to ascend)" (v5). These ones who ascend to God, not by their own righteousness, but by His grace, are described as God-seekers: "This is Jacob, the generation (the group of people) of those who SEEK Him, who SEEK Your face. Selah" (v6). They want to know Him & be right with Him. He promises they will find Him (Deut 4:29, Jer 29:13, Matt 7:7-8). David uses Jacob to represent those who are imperfect, but seek God (Gen 32:9-12), whom He brings to Himself by a process of coming to saving faith, when they come to an end of themselves & their own strength, knowing they can't stand before God on their own, and so cling to Him for blessing (Gen 32:24-29). So, to ascend to God requires a perfect righteousness, which God graciously gives to those who seek Him. How He made salvation possible, solving our sin-problem is revealed in PART 3: The King of Glory (v7-10), which describes the Ascension of Christ, the righteous Man, the King of glory - the subject of the next study.

In Revelation 15:5, John sees the temple of the Tabernacle of Testimony in heaven opened. This powerful vision marks a pivotal moment in unfolding God's divine plan and signals the preparation for the final judgments to be poured out on the earth. What is the significance of the Tabernacle? How are Revelation and Leviticus 26 tied together? Is the Study of Revelation really about eschatology? How was salvation obtained in the Old Covenant? Did God forsake Jesus on the cross? Let's find out! *****Support This Channel*****Paypal: https://paypal.me/jimivision?locale.x=en_USMonthly Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JimivisionCash App: https://cash.app/$JimivisionVenmo: https://venmo.com/Jimmy-Cooper-17 Contact KenEmail: askbible4family@gmail.com Phone: 401-47-BIBLE https://www.bible4.family Mail To:Jimmy CooperJimivision MediaP.O. Box 654Hixson, TN 37343

 The Courtyard and Kingdom of YHWH, like the rest of the Tabernacle of YHWH hold a lot of meaning, some more obvious than others. They may seem a bit boring on the surface, but there's so much more when one takes the time to look deeper and study. 

So last winter we began our series in the book of Hebrews anticipating that God would show us how just Jesus, in the New Testament era, fulfills all the Laws and sacrificial demands that we had seen established and on display in the book of Leviticus, which we had covered the previous fall. And, through the first nine chapters of Hebrews, the Lord certainly did just that.Having now completed this summer's Summer of Psalms series, we're going back into Hebrews because there is still much more to be said. More glories to be seen. More truths to marvel over. More of Jesus for us to learn and love. If you were with us last winter and Spring, you may remember the three-word phrase that has formed the DNA of the book of Hebrews up until this point is this: Jesus is better. You may also remember, importantly, that the author to the Hebrews did not wave the “Jesus is better” flag as a matter of mere opinion, as suggestion, or as an educated guess. Rather, armed with thorough knowledge of the Old Testament, Jewish practices, and logic, the author to the Hebrews has presented an airtight and irrefutable case to his fellow Hebrews that Jesus (Ch. 1), is better than the angels, that Jesus (Ch. 3) is better than Moses, that Jesus (Ch. 4) offers a better rest than Joshua, that Jesus (Ch. 5) is the better High Priest, that Jesus' (Ch. 7) Priestly line is better than that of Aaron, that Jesus (Ch. 7-8) is the guarantor of a better covenant, and that Jesus (Ch. 9) ministers in a better Temple.Essentially, if you were to take all major threads of the Old Covenant promises and practices, and trace them all to their ultimate end, who you'd find waiting there as the fulfillment of them all is Jesus, every time. Because Jesus is better. And that is news worth hearing. That is truth worth forming your world around. But I want to make sure, as we head back into Hebrews, that we're capturing the full freight of what “Jesus is better” means. Because, I don't know about you, but when I hear that something is better than something else, my first reaction is not to just go and discard the other thing that is now, no longer better. For example…if you were to convince me that vanilla ice cream was somehow better than chocolate ice cream, which, I can promise you, you will not be able to do. But if you were to, I wouldn't then go over to my freezer, grab the cartons of chocolate ice cream, and just start throwing them all away. I mean, sure, you've convinced me, vanilla is better than chocolate, but chocolate is still good. Chocolate still has a good flavor. In fact, a few scoops of chocolate alongside the vanilla might go along well with it – may even improve it's overall taste – the less better flavor supplementing the better one. Insufficiency of the TempleThough we may get away with that kind of thinking when it comes to ice cream, the author to the Hebrews will not let us get away with it here. For when he says, “Jesus is Better,” he means it in an utterly exclusive sense. An “out with the old, in with the new” sense. A “not this, but this instead” sense. Hebrews means to argue, in such a way, so as to convince the Jewish Christian readers to never, never, never go back to the old (ie. Temple, priests, sacrifices) now that the new has come. The text in which he is going to do that most emphatically in the book of Hebrews is the one before us this morning. Hebrews 10:1, “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.” See, if any Jewish man or woman had been reading up until this point with even the slightest thought of going back to the Law, going back to the sacrifices at the Temple, going back to the annual Day of Atonement, it'd be here that their thought would have its feet kicked right out from under it. The Law has but a shadow. Not the true form. It can never make perfect those who draw near. Now that is quite a sweeping statement.Not, “it can only sometimes make perfect.” Nor, “It can only make partially perfect.” Nor, “It'll only ever be a supplement to making someone perfect.” But, definitively, “It can never make perfect those who draw near.” He's pointing out the futility of these shadow ceremonies. The insufficiency of imperfect priest and animal sacrifices. He's pulling out the details in such a way that as we read, we almost hear the entire temple system groaning in weariness and exhaustion. Still verse 1, “The same sacrifices that are continually offered every year.” After a thousand plus years of it's existence – from the time of Moses, to Joshua, to Judges, to the kings, to the deportation to Babylon, and the return from Babylon, the 400 years of silence – Hebrews pulls up the scorecard of this shadow-like Temple system and says that after all its sacrifices, after all its ceremonies, all its Days of Atonements – these same sacrifices continually offered every day have resulted in a grand total of zero people being made perfect. Zero. After all, “It is (v. 4) impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” And, 11, the priests who stand daily at their service offer repeatedly the same sacrifices, “which can never take away sins.”Temple's PurposeOn the whole, it could come across to you as a rather dismal passage. But take heart — while it is true that he is intending to deflate any remaining sense of our confidence in the Temple system, he is also, at the same time, attempting to bolster and grow our confidence in what the Temple was designed to point toward. See, look again at verse 1: “The Law has but a shadow…” A shadow of what? “Of the good things to come.” See, the shadow of the earthly temple, imperfect priest, animal sacrifice had a purpose, but not to be the means by which sins would be forgiven. If that had been its purpose, then it would have proved an epic failure. But, in fact, that was not it's purpose. Rather, it's purpose was more akin to that of a blueprint for a house. You don't expect the blueprint to be your house. You don't drive home from work and park your car next to a blueprint. You don't put down a welcome mat in front of a blueprint. You look at a blueprint, study it, and dream of the day when the thing signified by the blueprint becomes reality. God designed the temple as a blueprint, so to speak. As a hint at what was to come. As a teaching mechanism, saying, “watch the exchange of death for life that happens here, watch the movement from unclean to clean depicted here. Watch this progression of priest and blood in the outer court, on into the Holy Place, and on into the blazing center – the Holy of Holies. Trace these lines and get familiar with their contours so that when the true form comes, you recognize it in all its fulfillment splendor. See, the old has served as a shadow of the good things to come. And, dear brothers and sisters, hear the good news, these good things have, indeed, come.Jesus as the Willing SacrificeAnd now, take a look at this amazing statement, verse 5: “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said...” Can you see the quote marks there? It's not a quote from the gospels, but the Psalms. Psalm 40. A Psalm that had been written by David. A Psalm that had been written about a century before Jesus was born. And yet Hebrews says these are Jesus' words. Hebrews implies these words, though written by David, are actually more Jesus' than David's. They're more fitting on Jesus' lips, than David's. But how does that work if David was the one who wrote them first?Well, it works like a shadow. Like a blueprint. See just as the brick and mortar Temple that one could argue was in the world first, was a shadow, a pointer, to the truer Temple still to come, so the words of Psalm 40 on the lips of David were Psalm 40's meaning in shadow, While Psalm 40 on Jesus lips were this Psalm's meaning in full. David – king, man after God's own heart – lived a life as a blueprint, a shadow, of the better King, the man wholly after God's own heart, still to come.You might say, “Well, so what?” Why does this matter?Well it matters because it would mean two things for Jesus to say, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me, in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.” First, that Jesus, unlike every single animal ever offered upon the altar in Jerusalem, gave his life intentionally. Intentionally, Jesus answered the call, went forward with the mission, knowingly, intentionally, to go and die as a sacrifice for mankind. The goats in the temple never arrived there on purpose. It was never the intention of any lamb to go and die as a sacrifice. Not one of the animals ever aimed to cleanse sinners. The calves were led unknowingly to the temple. They were just being animals. And though God designed it to be that way, he didn't ultimately take pleasure in them for there was never any sense in any of the animals that, “I am going to do God's will in this moment.” Nor, “I aim to worship God through my obedience in this moment.” Nor, “I aim to give my ‘yes' to my Father though everything in my flesh may be tempted to say ‘no' in this moment.” Animals, by nature of being animals, lack the capacity to intentionally obey God by their actions. Jesus, on the other hand, can say, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.” He had capacity to fully and perfectly obey his Father on purpose, and even unto death. Second, note that he says, “I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.” “As it is written of me in the scroll of the book.” In other words, Jesus' coming to replace the Temple and its sacrifices was not him improvising. Not him as plan B at saving mankind. But him fulfilling the will of his father that had been written in the scroll all along. The will that had been inscribed there all along. Planned all along. The Hebrews, reading this letter inscribed to them, might at this point say, “Hold on a sec, there's a few words in the scroll I want to now go back to and read again in light of this.” Perhaps they'd go to this one: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed…He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;” (Isaiah 53) They'd look back on a text like that, written in the scroll, and say, “Oh, it was there, all along.” So, the earthly temple, imperfect priests, animal sacrifices – in a John the Baptist type way, prepared the way for the Great High Priest, the Pure and Spotless Lamb, the Heavenly Temple. These good things having now come, the temple that must now decrease, and Jesus who must increase. Or, in the words of verse 9, “He does away with the first in order to establish the second.” But I know what you might thinking: Hold up, did it actually work? Did the true form actually live up to its promised blueprint? Did his death on the cross actually accomplish what the death of animals at the Temple could not? Once and For AllImagine with me for a moment, and it will require some imagination here. Imagine that you speak that question out loud. As you do, an angel appears before you, and says, “I heard your question, let me bring you to the place where you will find your answer.” He grabs you by the hand, he pulls you out of the realm of this world, flying at a million miles an hour, feeling the wind whip by you for a time till you finally come to a stop. When you do stop, you look up, watch as the clouds part before you, and you catch a glimpse, right there, of the brightest light you've ever seen in your life, you make out the figures of millions of the most glorious people you've ever seen crowded as a sea before you. You notice in the center of them all – the King over all. And he's sitting. The angel whispers to you what you already know, “That's Jesus.” You wonder, “Why is he not up on his feet? Why is he not racing around? Why is he not at some helm of operations furiously clicking buttons and turning dials? Why is he not like the priests at the Temple who are working, moving, sacrificing animal after animal after animal for a covering for my sin? Does he not care? Does he not know how great of a sinner I am? Does he not know that he's my own hope in life and death?” And then the one upon the throne, the king of all, turns and says to you: Son, daughter, “I have sat down because all that you need to be saved from your sins, I have already done.” Everything that the Father demands for your pardon, Jesus has accomplished. All that the father willed regarding the cleansing of his church, Jesus has completed. In the words of Verse 10, “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” It's done. It's completed. It is finished. We have been sanctified. Jesus has done away with the Temple, done away with the priests of Aaron, done away with blood of goats and bulls, and having offered for all time this single sacrifice of himself, Jesus now sits, verse 12, “at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” “Perfected” means the pardon for your sins is complete. “Perfected” means the holiness required of man is yours in full. “Perfected” means that when God sees you, covered by the blood of his Son, he sees not a single wrinkle, or spot, or blemish. Jesus has made you, by faith in him, “perfect” in the eyes of God. Can you handle that kind of weight of glory? Can you handle a love, a mercy, of that magnitude? I mean, doesn't the gospel threaten to swallow you whole by its immensity? Do you not find yourself wholly engulfed by the depth of his grace?Hebrews puts you out on the top of that mountain, so to speak, and allows you to peer over the vastness of Jesus' perfect-making sacrifice for you. And then Hebrews draws you to the obvious conclusion, verse 18, “Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” None. None. Receiving ForgivenessAnd now, what about us? What about you? I mean, I think it's safe to say none of us have ever felt the temptation to offer a lamb on an altar at a Temple. We're not, in that way, similar to the Hebrews who first received this letter. We're not in danger of leaving Christ for the blood of animals. Not prone to turn from Christ and to a brick and mortar Temple. But might we take a look at the core idea of this warning, which is, “Now that you've received Jesus as the means of having your sins forgiven, don't turn back to those former means you used to look to for the forgiveness of sins.” For the Hebrews, those former things involved the Temple, and the performance of the priests therein. For us, it often involves our world, and our own performance therein.In other words, prior to receiving Jesus' grace to you, in full:Did you previously look to your attendance in church, your participation in a small group, your daily Bible reading, even in the slightest way, served as being a means of having your sins forgiven?Did you previously think that your being a good person, avoiding sexual immorality, honoring your father and mother, getting good grades, being a good citizen, or making an honest living, served or contributed, even in the slightest way, to your sins being forgiven?Were you prone to rely on what was tangible, what could be completed, what could be checked off a list, rather than what could be believed on by faith?Listen to this one because I think it is very prevalent in many Christians, myself included: Did you attempt to bear any of the weight for your sin on your own shoulders before putting the rest upon Jesus'? Do you do that even now? Like, say it's nine o'clock tonight and you've just committed some sin that you immediately regret, immediately feel guilty of, immediately know that was wrong. Do you take it right to God? Like right then and there? Right in that very moment? No preamble, no wait time, no pause in between, just right as soon as you feel guilt, do you take it to him? If not, why not?Are you under the impression that you have to let things cool for a bit, settle for a bit, before you take it to him? If so, then you are treating time as if its passing has the power to shrink the debt of your sin.Do you think, “I should go do some nice things for others, show some kindness to others, and then I'll go and take my sin to him? If so, then you are treating good works as if they contribute to your sins being forgiven. Do you think, “I need to first sit with my head bowed low for a bit, think poorly about myself for a bit, penalize myself for a bit before I go and take it to him? If so, then you are doing penance – swallowing a bit of the bitter cup on your own before handing the rest off to Jesus. Brothers and sisters, when Hebrews says Jesus is the Better sacrifice, he says it in an exclusive sense. In an “out with the old, in with the new” sense. In a “not this, but this instead” sense. In a “doing away with the first in order to establish the second” sense. Do you want to be cleansed of your sin? Do you want the removal of your consciousness of sins? Do you want your sins taken away?Then you need to give Jesus all of them. All of them. They must go upon his shoulders in full. He will not receive 99% of your sins while you try and pay off the 1% on your own. He will not accept 99% of your sins while you try and take the 1% elsewhere. Your self-made sacrifice cannot serve as supplemental payment for your sin. Before the cross of Jesus, Hebrews says, all other attempts at forgiveness for sins must end. Brothers and sisters, the gospel is for those who have nothing. Nothing. No bull to sacrifice, no lamb to offer, no capacity to earn any favor before God. The gospel is for those who have nothing, and who know they have nothing. The gospel if for those who have sin on their hands and possess no means of getting it off on their own. The gospel is for those who come empty-handed and asking, “Lord, would you take care of it all, for me?” Would you drink every simple drop of this bitter cup for me? So, are you ready to come empty-handed to him? Are you ready to spend the rest of your life, the rest of your eternity, empty-handed, and happy to receive your all from him?The TableAs we turn now to the table, one final thought to consider… Our text points out here that the annual sacrifice at the Day of atonement served as, verse 3, “a reminder of sins every year.” A reminder of sin still needing to be pardoned, still needing to be paid for, still needing to be dealt with. This table, which we partake of every week, also serves as a reminder of sins. But not a reminder of sins still hanging over us, still indicting us, still making us guilty before God, but, instead, a reminder that our sins, through our faith in Jesus, have been paid for in full through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. Because that is what this table represents, if you're here today and you've trusted in Jesus for the full forgiveness of your sins, then we invite you to take and eat. Likewise, if you've not put your trust in Jesus, we ask that you'd let the elements pass, but that you would, in this moment, ask, “Lord, I need you to make me perfect by grace through faith alone.”

Bible Study with Jairus – Revelation 11 The Maturity of the Church Opens up the Heavenly Temple and the Ark of the Covenant   Revelation 11 talks about John measuring the temple, the altar, and the worshipers. He does not measure the outer court, because it has been given to the Gentiles to trample for three-and-a-half years. The chapter also mentions two witnesses prophesying for three-and-a-half years. Are these two facts related? The three-and-a-half years in which the Gentiles trample the outer court are the last three-and-a-half years of the seven-year tribulation mentioned by Daniel in his vision. However, the three-and-a-half years when the two witnesses prophesy may be the first three-and-a-half years of the tribulation. What is the purpose of the first three-and-a-half years? To prepare for the disasters that will come during the last three-and-a-half years. The last three-and-a-half years of the tribulation are the ultimate judgment of mankind. They are the final labor pains of the universe before it gives birth to a new creation. The birth of the male child in Revelation 12 represents this new creation and initiates one of the greatest transitions in Revelation. When the bride of Christ gave birth to a baby boy (representing the overcomers mentioned throughout the book of Revelation), Satan and his evil angels recognize that these overcomers will judge the evil spirits. Satan and the evil spirits are so furious that they begin to destroy the world. Their anger lasts three-and-a-half years. They persecute the world and resist God's judgment on themselves, which will be carried out through the church. However, their fate cannot be changed. At the end of the book of Revelation, the evil spirits are judged, and Satan and his followers are thrown into the lake of fire.   As we studied last time, God's judgment falls onto the house of God first, then on the world, and finally on the evil spirits. The house of God was judged through the admonitions in the letters to the seven churches, and through the seven seal judgments. The world is judged during the seven trumpet judgments. After the seventh trumpet, the focus of God's judgment turns to evil spirits.     We can see the positive outcome of God's judgment on the world by looking at the encouraging vision inserted between the sixth and seventh trumpets: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever" (Revelation 11:15). The kingdom of God was born long ago in the hearts of his children; the Morning Star rose in the hearts of his followers (2 Peter 1:19). This internal experience mirrors the experience of worshipers in the Holy of Holies. But the kingdom of God has continued to manifest itself outwardly until the outward, earthly kingdom has also become the kingdom of our Lord and Christ. God's presence has moved outward to the Holy Place.   Finally, after the seventh trumpet sounds, God reclaims the outer court. Although the outer court is temporarily trampled by the Gentiles (the Gentiles are the tools used by evil spirits) for three-and-a-half years, God purges and purifies all of creation and brings in a new heaven and new earth. God's presence moves from an inward kingdom that regenerates people's souls (John 3:16) to an outward kingdom that transforms people's lives (Romans 12:1) to eventually a victorious kingdom that redeems all of creation (Romans 8:23). As the church matures and becomes victorious, God's victory spreads to all of creation, and the temple of God and the Ark of the Covenant are opened.   The Significance of John's Measurement   Why is John given a reed (NKJV) to measure the temple? Perhaps the reed is a living tool that is used to measure the living temple of God built out of living stones (believers). Measurement represents judgment and sanctification. Things that are measured by God have been judged and sanctified by Him. As we mentioned above, John measures the temple, altar, and worshipers, but not the outer court. This shows that God's judgment starts first with the house of God. The temple and the church (the worshipers) will be judged and sanctified first. Secondly, God judges the world, including people who have come to faith but are still deeply trapped in the world. God's judgment on the world will free these people from the domination of the world. Finally, God judges evil spirits. This judgment allows repentant people to be liberated from the domination of evil spirits so they can receive salvation. Those who refuse to repent are thrown into the lake of fire along with the evil spirits. These are God's three steps of judgment and sanctification.   The three courts of the temple also remind us of God's salvation of the soul. God first cleanses the Holy of Holies, which represents the inner sanctuary of our spirits which have been saved by God. He then cleanses the Holy Place, which reminds us of the renewal of our souls. Finally, he cleanses the outer court, which reminds us of the redemption of our bodies.   In this phase, John only measures the temple, the altar, and the worshipers because the time of final redemption of all creation has not yet arrived. At this point, the outer court has been given to the Gentiles to be trampled on for 42 months. These 42 months are the last three-and-a-half years of the seven-year tribulation that Daniel speaks about, also mentioned in Revelation. During this time, the Antichrist will break the covenant and ruin the worship of God (Daniel 9:27). But God will eventually judge all evil spirits and unrepentant sinners.   Perhaps the measurements are also intended to preserve and protect. Perhaps those who have already been judged and sanctified will be protected in the coming tribulation. Although there is much debate in the church about whether Christians will be raptured before or after the tribulation, the Lord Jesus tells overcoming believers in Philadelphia, "Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10). It is clear that some overcoming believers will be protected from suffering. Additionally, in the fifth trumpet judgment, the locust can only harm “those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads" (9:4). From these passages, it is evident that God protects those who have marks on their foreheads. At every step of God's judgment, some people will be shielded from suffering. Some Christians live their lives in the Spirit, while others are trapped in the world, and still others are deeply drowning in the flesh and sin. At each stage of the tribulation, some will repent and be saved. I believe that when God judges the outer court, some Christians who are deeply involved in the realm of evil spirits (the outer court) will be judged severely so they can repent and be saved. But other Christians may be protected by God from these calamities.   The Significance of the Two Witnesses Who Prophesy for Three-and-a-half Years   While there is debate about whether Christians go through the Great Tribulation, many agree on this fact: Even during the final judgment, God will graciously provide opportunities for people to repent. The appearance of these two prophets is the proof of this fact. Although there are different understandings of who these two prophets are, we know that they will prophesy and testify for God and for Jesus. "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10). The purpose of their testimony is to bring people to repentance.   These two witnesses, dressed in linen, prophesy for 1260 days. Linen represents righteous deeds. Revelation 19 says that the Lamb's Bride “clothe[s] herself with fine linen, bright and pure—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints" (19:8). The two prophets are dressed in righteous deeds. They are the first-fruits and manifestation of the Bride of Christ. They prophesy and testify for three-and-a-half years, encouraging people to repent before the last three-and-a-half years of the Great Tribulation. In symbolic terms, they are the olive trees, lampstands, and oil of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit.   These two men have the authority to stop rain from falling from the sky, turn water into blood, and strike the earth with plagues (11:6). But in the end, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will kill them (11:7). People who dwell on the earth will celebrate the death of the two prophets because they have been a torment (11:10). How hardened people's hearts have become! They refuse to repent. Later, God raises the prophets from the dead. There is an earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapses, killing 7,000 people (11:12-13). Only then do people repent. The Bible says, "The rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven” (11:13).   Sometimes, God allows people to die in order to bring others to Himself. God did not hesitate to put Jesus Christ on the cross in order to save his lost sheep. Throughout the ages, God has allowed countless martyrs to bear witness for the Lord, all in order to save sinners. The two prophets here are also martyrs, and the story of their death and resurrection will bring many people to repentance and salvation.   The Seventh Trumpet Brings the Transformation of the Era   The visions inserted between the sixth and seventh trumpets give us a glimpse of God's work in the spiritual world. There seems to have been some sort of delay in God's work before the seventh trumpet is sounded, because Revelation 10:6 specifically mentions that "there would be no more delay but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets" (10:7). Sure enough, "Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever'" (11:15). This was a major turning point.   At least four times, the Bible mentions the twenty-four elders who worshiped before God's throne. The first mention is when the church is being judged. John sees a vision of heaven being opened. He sees twenty-four elders bowing down before God's throne and saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (4:11). During this stage, the elders are saying that God deserves all the praise, even if many people on earth are not yet praising Him.   The second reference to the twenty-four elders is when the Lamb opens the book. The Bible says, "The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (5:8). Here, the twenty-four elders offer the prayers of the saints to God. These prayers advance the work of God. The third time occurs in chapter 11. When the seventh trumpet is sounded, "the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, ‘We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign'" (11:16-17). This vision of the twenty-four elders allows us to see that God's work has reached a new stage. At this stage, "The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth" (11:18). God was judging the Gentiles, the demons, and the wicked ones who destroyed the earth, also known as Babylon the Great. The fourth time occurs after the judgment of Babylon the Great (Revelation 18). "And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!'” (19:4) At this point, God's work is nearly complete, and the chant of the twenty-four elders is full of pure praise. These four accounts of twenty-four elders reflect the progress of God's work. This is the first time that I noticed this unique progression. God Opens the Heavenly Temple to Prompt the Final Judgment on Evil Spirits The last verse of this chapter states, "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail" (11:19). The Ark of the Covenant is often associated with battles. In the Old Testament, the Israelites sometimes took the Ark of the Covenant into battle. Numbers 10:35 says, "And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, ‘Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you'". The Ark of the Covenant represented  God's exaltation and victory over his enemies. We talked earlier about the three steps of God's judgment (the judgment of the church, of the world, and of the evil spirits). In order to judge evil spirits, the overcoming believers must arrive on the scene. This is represented by the birth of the male child in Revelation 12. God has promised that the church will judge angels, but in order to do so, it must mature. The overcoming believers (represented by the male child) will judge evil spirits on behalf of the church. I believe that the moment when the temple opens in heaven marks the beginning of the judgment on evil spirits. On the one hand, God is helping the church in its battle against the enemy by sending lightning, thunder, earthquakes, and hailstones. On the other hand, God is demonstrating that the church has matured sufficiently to approach the Holy of Holies, where it can begin to judge evil spirits on God's behalf. Hebrews 4 tells us that we can enter the Holy of Holies through Christ. Jesus, our great high priest, can sympathize with our weaknesses (4:14-15). Because of this, "let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (4:16). This is a spiritual reality, yet not all believers have accessed the reality of entering the Holy of Holies. Just like God's Tabernacle consisted of three parts (outer court, sanctuary, and Holy of Holies), we each possess a body, soul, and spirit. Even though God has given us access to the Holy of Holies, we often live at a distance from him in the outer court. It is as if we are living far from the Promised land, in Egypt. This represents the flesh. If we draw a little closer to him, we draw near to him in our soul, which represents the sanctuary. It is as if we are wandering in the wilderness, getting closer to the Promised Land. Finally, sometimes we are able to draw near to God in our spirits. We enter the Promised Land and the Holy of Holies. We need to leave the flesh and the world and enter the fullness of spiritual life. Believers must collectively be built into a unified, mature body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12) "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).   Just like Jesus Christ's victory could open the scroll in God's right hand, the maturity and victory of the church can open the temple of God. Then the Ark of the Covenant will appear, and God will send lightning, rumblings, thunder, earthquakes, and hailstones. We have said many times that the prayers of the saints advance the work of God from his throne. And the maturity of the church can prompt God's final judgment on evil spirits.   Some people spend their time guessing when the Lord Jesus will return. Others become lukewarm and apathetic as the Lord continues to delay. However, there is no need to speculate about when the Lord will return. We are not the ones who are waiting for Him to come. He is the one who is waiting for our lives to mature! Only when the church matures enough to open God's temple will God's final judgment on evil be unleashed. That's why Jesus said He would come soon, but not yet. He longs to return at any time, but the maturity of church is delaying His return.

1. The Prince and the Offerings -vs. 1-8--2. The Prince and the People -vs. 9-10--3. The Prince and the Inheritance -vs. 11-18-

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://saviour4ever.wordpress.com/2021/12/25/transported-to-the-heavenly-temple-in-the-second-heaven-moses-lushiku-4/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kabody/message

Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty. This Psalm was written by David and seems to be a sequel to the preceding one where David expressed his fear that he might perish with the ungodly in some sweeping national disaster. Now he expresses his faith that God will abundantly save His own. This is a very significant Psalm for it mentions the Lord eighteen times. If we add to that the use of pronouns and the mention of God and King we have God mentioned no less than twenty-five times in eleven short verses. David was an outdoorsman who appreciated nature and celebrated the power of Jehovah the Creator. Jewish worshipers today use this Psalm in the synagogue as a part of their celebration of Pentecost. In Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost when the church was born, we saw the manifestation and promise of the Holy Spirit being given. There was the sound of a rushing mighty wind, tongues of fire, and the "thunder" of God's voice through His Word. Like the Jews on Pentecost the church today can also use Psalm 29 to celebrate Pentecost. Israel's neighbors believed that Baal, the storm god, controlled rain and fertility, but this psalm says otherwise. It magnifies the sovereignty of God and the power of God in His creation, both of which bring glory to God. The word "glory" is used four times in the psalm (vv. 1-3, 9), for David saw in the storm God's glory revealed in three different places. First David saw God's Glory in the Heavenly Temple (vv. 1-2). Heaven is a place of worship (see Rev. 4-5), and here the command is given for the angels ("mighty ones, sons of the Mighty") to ascribe, to attribute to God glory and strength, because these divine attributes magnify His name. Psalm 96:7-9 speaks of how all the earth should do this: “Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.” The Psalm begins and ends mentioning God's "strength" (vv. 1&11). And verses 4-9 demonstrate that strength in the description of the storm. The “mighty ones” are angels are also called "sons of God" in Job 1:6, 2:1 and 38:7; and see Psalm 89:6. The Jewish priests and Levites had to dress properly as they served at the sanctuary (Ex. 28:lff), and even God's angels must come before Him in proper "attire," what is called "holy array" and "the splendor of his holiness". True holiness is a beautiful thing to behold. I can't even image the “beauty of God's holiness” that is displayed in heaven right now! But certainly, the greatest demonstration of holiness was in the life of Jesus Christ when He ministered on earth as He lived a pure and sinless life, without spot or blemish. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, caused the lame to walk and raised the dead to life again! Sin is ugly, no matter what we may call it, but true holiness is beautiful and brings glory to God. We are told to worship the LORD in the beauty of Holiness. This means we are to be a holy people, cleansed by the blood of Jesus and daily washed in His Word! I'm convinced when we worship the LORD in this beautiful holiness that we will clearly hear “the voice of the Lord” in all the storms of life that we will experience in this world! Are you hearing His Voice today? God bless!

The Christ-Child was consecrated at the Temple to open up the Heavenly Temple for Christ's children.

The Christ-Child was consecrated at the Temple to open up the Heavenly Temple for Christ's children.

DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR....THE 'END TIMES' ARE DISCUSSED.WE INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY: PayPal.Me/FriendsoftheWord TO Connect with FOTW: www.friendsoftheword.org FOTW:             https://www.facebook.com/www.Friendso... INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/friendsofth... YOUTUBE:       https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHuq... TIKTOK:            https://www.tiktok.com/@unclelouie45?SOUNDCLOUD:  https://soundcloud.com/louis-scurtiBEANPOD:        https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detai...RUMBLE:         https://rumble.com/account/content?ty... TYPE:   FRLOUSCURTI PODCASTS:PINTEREST:     https://www.pinterest.com/louisscurti/ LINKEDIN :      https://www.linkedin.com/in/drEVANGELIZING THE WORD, JESUS!

DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR....THE 'END TIMES' ARE DISCUSSED.WE INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY: PayPal.Me/FriendsoftheWord TO Connect with FOTW: www.friendsoftheword.org FOTW:             https://www.facebook.com/www.Friendso... INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/friendsofth... YOUTUBE:       https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHuq... TIKTOK:            https://www.tiktok.com/@unclelouie45?SOUNDCLOUD:  https://soundcloud.com/louis-scurtiBEANPOD:        https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detai...RUMBLE:         https://rumble.com/account/content?ty... TYPE:   FRLOUSCURTI PODCASTS:PINTEREST:     https://www.pinterest.com/louisscurti/ LINKEDIN :      https://www.linkedin.com/in/drEVANGELIZING THE WORD, JESUS!

DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR....THE 'END TIMES' ARE DISCUSSED.WE INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY: PayPal.Me/FriendsoftheWord TO Connect with FOTW: www.friendsoftheword.org FOTW:             https://www.facebook.com/www.Friendso... INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/friendsofth... YOUTUBE:       https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHuq... TIKTOK:            https://www.tiktok.com/@unclelouie45?SOUNDCLOUD:  https://soundcloud.com/louis-scurtiBEANPOD:        https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detai...RUMBLE:         https://rumble.com/account/content?ty... TYPE:   FRLOUSCURTI PODCASTS:PINTEREST:     https://www.pinterest.com/louisscurti/ LINKEDIN :      https://www.linkedin.com/in/drEVANGELIZING THE WORD, JESUS!

God has prepared a wonderful eternity for all those who receive His salvation in Christ. We see what the final chapters of the Bible reveal about our everlasting life in the heavenly City. A God Day programme.

God has prepared a wonderful eternity for all those who receive His salvation in Christ. We see what the final chapters of the Bible reveal about our everlasting life in the heavenly City. A God Day programme.

We are excited to have several baptisms scheduled for Nov. 28, the first week of Advent. As our community prepares for the joys of baptism, we will be reading from lectionary texts that emphasize who Jesus is and essentials about what it means to follow Christ. This week, we read from the Letter to the Hebrews about a special image of Jesus and the Father in the Heavenly Temple. Join us as we reflect eagerly about the life God offers. Worship is available in person and online at 10am Sunday. Sermon preached by Pastor Dallas Flippin, on Sunday, November 7, 2021 at the First Baptist Church of Jackson, MI. Learn more about FBCJXN at https://fbcjxn.org. Want to connect more with us, fill out our virtual connect card at https://www.fbcofjackson.org/connect/ How can we pray for you? Let us know at https://www.fbcofjackson.org/prayer/

Doctrine: The Lord's temple is where God dwells among His people Eph 2:21-22; Ex 25:8   Q: What are the manifestations of God's temple in Scripture? How should we respond to each?   1. Eden Temple    2. Jewish Temple      3. Jesus Temple   (Last week)   4. Believer Temple    5. Church Temple   6. Heavenly Temple    7. Eternal Temple

Ephesians 2:18-22 KJV For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. [19] Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; [20] And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone ; [21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/edengospelworkersministry/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/edengospelworkersministry/support

Please SUBSCRIBE & SHARE! The Temple Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, outlines 12 festivals rather than only the 7 from Leviticus. Does one of these, the Wood Offering, point to eternal torment and the sacrificial rescue of Jesus Christ? Find out here! No need to wait for the premiere! To see the full version of every available episode and for early access, visit http://DailyRenegade.com today and check out our membership plans, now including a 7 DAY FREE TRIAL! FINALLY! Be free from the satanic beast financial banking system with their corrupted FIAT currency and protect your assets with Christians just like you! Visit http://CornerstoneAssetMetals.com today or call 888-747-3309 to register for free information, and make sure you click “Josh Peck (Daily Renegade)” in the “How did you hear about us” dropdown menu and Cornerstone will pay your shipping or IRA account opening fees! LEARN SKILLS DIRECTLY FROM JOSH PECK! Find Josh Peck on Skillshare, a place to learn virtually any skill! Josh teaches you how to edit videos, make amazing thumbnails, and utilize YouTube in order to get more views and grow your audience. No risk or obligation, try a FREE 14-day Trial Right Now: https://www.skillshare.com/r/profile/Josh-Peck/245753938 To help with the increasing medical costs for Nathan Peck (Josh and Christina's 7 year old son) and his battle with cancer, please visit http://www.paypal.me/joshpeckdisclosure Check out our alternate video sites to get content an hour earlier than YouTube! Daily Renegade on Rumble - https://rumble.com/DailyRenegade Daily Renegade on Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/joshpeck

The vowels necessary to pronounce the sacred Name of God, revealed to Moses in the burning bush, are found again in the Hebrew name of Jesus, Emmanuel, with the addition of the consonants from the verb “to save.” "In this way, while the Name of God is so holy, mysterious, and pure that it cannot be pronounced by a human mouth, the addition of Christ’s divine will to save mankind “translates,” that is, transfers, the sanctity of God to our level as creatures and at last makes it possible for us, too, to pronounce God’s true Name, which cannot be any other than Jesus, and thus be saved. All else that we subsequently come to know about God rests on this primary revelation: He is the One who saves us in Jesus” (Vol. 1 of Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word).   Thank you to my Friends of the Show for loving and lifting me! Friends of the Show get all Premium Content! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary. L - Listen (Receive the Word via audio or video.)   O - Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) God is with us to save us in Jesus, and in the Church through: the altar (cross), laver (baptism), menorah (magisterium), table of presence bread (Eucharist), incense (prayer), veil (flesh), and the ark (Mary). You are a tabernacle of God too. Do you avail yourself of all the elements of the revealed Tabernacle in order to draw as close to Him as possible? Is there an area you could do more to make the tabernacle of your body a holy place for Him? V - Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E - Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) O Come, O Come, Emmanuel/ and ransom captive Israel,/ that mourns in lonely exile here,/ until the Son of God appear. Amen + O Emmanuel, by the Dominican student brothers at Blackfriars in Oxford singing the Latin plainchant:  These are the traditional “O Antiphons” associated with each night to which they are assigned.  Each one addresses Christ by a different title, based upon the Messianic prophesies in the Book of Isaiah.  Most people are familiar with these titles from the hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, which is based upon the O Antiphons: Dec 17: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), Dec 18:  O Adonai (O Lord), Dec 19:  O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), Dec 20:  O Clavis David (O Key of David), Dec 21:  O Oriens (O Rising Sun), Dec 22:  O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and Dec 23:  O Emmanuel (O God with Us). The first letter of each Messianic title, read from Dec. 23 backwards, spells “ero cras,” or “Tomorrow, I come,” which is fitting, since the next night is the Christmas Vigil. Resources The artwork for this series is available at The Homely Hours, here. Young Messiah (listen here) Show Notes Topics Discussed: Creation, the Old Testament tabernacle, the Messianic Temple prophecies, Jesus, the Church, and the individual soul as types of the Heavenly Temple seen in Revelation.  Overview: Minutes 00:12:00 – Creation as tabernacle, or "dwelling place", for God Minutes 12:01-24:00 – Emmanuel and Isaiah 7:13-14, "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."  Minutes 24:01-36:00 – "Emmanuel" as bridge between Old and New Covenants, Protestant split foreshadowed in Kingdom split and Messianic Temple (NT Church) in Ezekiel 44 Minutes 36:01-48:00 – The Old Testament tabernacle elements retained in the Catholic Church Bible Study Evangelista is on the Laudate app! Facebook Discussion Community We're talking over on the Bible Study Evangelista Facebook Discussion page.

On the Feast of the Ascension, we consider the mixed emotions of the Apostles as they rejoice in our Lord’s triumphal entry into Heaven, while feeling “orphaned” by his departure. Father Joe Keefe meditates on the fact that Jesus remains with us powerfully in the Sacraments, exercising his role as High Priest in the Heavenly Temple.

We often hear about how the Scapegoat points to the work of Messiah, but miss the more glorious imagery of the goat offered as a sin offering and how it points to the work of Messiah in the Heavenly Temple! The post A Tale of Two Goats appeared first on Emmaus Road Fellowship.

Rev. Steven Theiss, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 11. “I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” Before the seventh trumpet blast, chapter 11 describes two witnesses who sound a lot like other biblical figures: like Moses & Elijah, they turn rivers to blood and summon drought. Like Joshua and Zerubbabel, they fuel the lamps of God’s people to rebuild the Temple (Zechariah 4). Who are they? In the end, they are compared to the Lord Jesus, who died, rose, and ascended in Jerusalem. Historically, these two witnesses may correspond to Jesus ben Ananias and James the brother of the Lord Jesus, who died as martyrs (“witnesses”) in Jerusalem right before the city was destroyed. The seventh trumpet sounds, and the true temple of God in heaven is opened, where Jesus Christ rules the church in Sabbath rest all over the world.

Dr. Chris Jones

Dr. Chris Jones

We are live at Heavenly Temple in Jersey City, New Jersey, as Pastor John Bazemore welcomes in 2019 on this special edition of Restoration Place.

The heavenly Temple and all earthly Temples of God, starting with Eden, are pictures of God's ultimate Temple = Redeemed Man. God's ultimate Purpose for us is to be His Temple, so He would dwell IN us, and we would carry His Presence and Glory, and God's Spirit would flow through us as Rivers of Life.

The heavenly Temple and all earthly Temples of God, starting with Eden, are pictures of God's ultimate Temple = Redeemed Man. God's ultimate Purpose for us is to be His Temple, so He would dwell IN us, and we would carry His Presence and Glory, and God's Spirit would flow through us as Rivers of Life.

God's ultimate Purpose for MAN is revealed through His TEMPLES, for we are made to be indwelt and filled by God. Earthly temples (starting from Eden) are made from the blueprint of the heavenly temple, but all these temples are just pictures of God's ultimate eternal TEMPLE - redeemed MAN in Christ.

God's ultimate Purpose for MAN is revealed through His TEMPLES, for we are made to be indwelt and filled by God. Earthly temples (starting from Eden) are made from the blueprint of the heavenly temple, but all these temples are just pictures of God's ultimate eternal TEMPLE - redeemed MAN in Christ.

Tracy Eckert

Here we are at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing with a lesson at HSK 1.Hope you enjoy the show!

Here we are at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing with a lesson at HSK 1.Hope you enjoy the show!

Eden and Canaan are earthly projections that both reveal yet veil the glory of the heavenly dwelling place of God. Had Adam passed probation, he would have been translated into the highest heavens in the presence of God where he would enter Sabbath Rest (Genesis 2/Ez. 28:14 and the mountain of God). When Christ finished his wilderness sojourn, he ascended into that very reality of Sabbath Rest—rest the first Adam did not enter (Heb. 1:3; 8:2, 5; 9:23–24; 10:12; 12:24; 4:9–10). Christ, as ascended, has entered rest—a rest he in the process of conferring on the church in this age (4:3) and will bring to consummation in the age to come (4:9–11). The whole point of the land of Canaan in Hebrews—the way it relates to this big-picture creational concern—is that it was a place of rest (Psalm 95:7–11 is quoted in Hebrews 3:7–11). Israel was seeking to leave the wilderness and enter into the “rest” of God in Canaan. Canaan was a local, earthly expression of a corresponding heavenly Sabbath Rest (95:11/Genesis 2:2 as the two theme texts in Hebrews 3 and 4). Canaan was an earthly type of Sabbath Rest, and some in Israel failed to enter the earthly typical land of rest because they lacked faith in the promised Messiah (Heb. 3:19). In a parallel way, the author of Hebrews grounds his exhortation that the church in this age press on to Sabbath Rest by faith in the ascended Messiah, so that none of us fail to enter that Rest.

Bishop Creek Community Church 10-15-17 ‘The Heavenly Temple’ is #7 in the series Courting God’s Glorious Presence Isaiah 6:1-8; Revelation 21:1-22:5 99.99 % Pure The God We Serve. Isaiah 6:1-8 The Tabernacle of God. Revelation...

Because Christ's blood was offered in the Heavenly Temple, we, as His people, have confidence that it will sanctify us.

Because Christ's blood was offered in the Heavenly Temple, we, as His people, have confidence that it will sanctify us.