Friday, August 5, 2016

GODHEAD THEOLOGY OF THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES (INTRODUCTION)



Jesus said, “Moses wrote of me.” Apart from the prophetic proclamations of Moses concerning the Messiah, there is, also, the Tabernacle of Moses (Exodus chapters 25-40) which the New Testament spotlights as the quintessential type and shadow of person of Jesus Christ and His work of redemption.

Moses gave explicit instructions as to the construction of the Tabernacle. Its importance may be seen in the fact that the Holy Spirit took only 10 chapters of the Bible to cover 2,000 years of human history from Adam to Noah, yet Yahweh thought the Tabernacle so important, He took 15 chapters of the Bible just to detail its construction. This Tabernacle is called the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the Tabernacle of Moses and the Tabernacle of Witness. It was, basically, a tent designed to house the physical presence of Yahweh. In this chapter, we will investigate the Tabernacle for its Christological teachings.

Hebrews 9:1-12
“Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. 2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. 3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; 4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; 5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. 
6 “Now when these things were thus ordained, the priest went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. 7. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: 8. The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:  9. Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. 
11 “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” 

The student of the Bible is told in v9 of the above passage that the Tabernacle was a figure for the time then present. The word figure is the Greek word parabōlē, the English is “parable,” a metaphor: an example about which a doctrine is illustrated; a thing serving as a figure of something else. The purpose of the biblical parable is explained by Jesus in Matthew 13:10–11 “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” So it is understood, then, that the purpose of a parable, according to Jesus, was two-fold:  to reveal and, also, to conceal—to reveal to the initiated, but conceal from the uninitiated. The tabernacle and its services were a parable of Jesus Christ.

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Purpose for the Tabernacle: That God May Dwell Among His People.
Yahweh was clear enough concerning the purpose the Taber-nacle was to serve. It Exodus 25:8 Yahweh stated, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Sin had severed fellowship between God and His people. The Voice that walked with Adam in the cool of the day, missed that fellowship and longed for its restoration. In the Tabernacle, Yahweh devised a means by which He could be among His people once again, in a manner that foreshadowed a complete fellowship that would be consummated at a later time. The biblical sense of the word Tabernacle is used, most always, for the dwelling of God. Consider the following examples:
  • Exodus 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them”
  • Exodus 29:45-46 “And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.”
  • Leviticus 26:11 “And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.”
  • Ezekiel 37:27 “My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Compare the above passages to:
  • John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
  • Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
Note to the reader: It is important to follow the progression of the above Scriptures, from the Old Testament Tabernacle (dwelling of God), to the New Testament Tabernacle (dwelling of God).

This mystery was fulfilled in Jesus. Yahweh had the Tabernacle of Moses constructed to provide Himself a dwelling place among His people. This was a parable of Jesus Christ! A parable with services “which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
  
When Jesus was born, Matthew recognized that He was “Emmanuel, God with us.” John had the revelation that “... the Word (God, John 1:1) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” God was made flesh and dwelt  (literally: was tabernacled) among us (John 1:1, 14). Paul, would later write that “God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim 3:16). And the Apostle would write further concerning Jesus, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8 NLT). That for which the Tabernacle of Moses was a parable—Jesus Christ WAS! In concrete fact.

Physical Layout of the Tabernacle Demonstrates God’s Journey to Man and Man’s Journey to God
When constructing the Tabernacle, Moses was instructed, “See .. that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount” (Heb 8:5). (Cf Ex 25:40; Num 8:4; and Acts 7:44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.”)
The layout of the tabernacle was: an Outer Court, the Holy place (that consisted of the first compartment of the actual tent), then the Holy of Holies (which was the second chamber of the tent). The holiness of the sections was progressive, and speak of God’s journey from heaven to earth (moving from the Holy of Holies outward to the Outer Court), and of man’s journey from earth to heaven (moving from the Outer Court inward to the Holy of Holies); both are characterized in the very life of Christ. When the Tabernacle is described to Moses, God works from the inside toward the outside. Beginning with the Holy of Holies and its only piece of furniture, the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant is absolutely the most holiest item of the entire Tabernacle complex, because Yahweh dwelled upon the Mercyseat. The Mercyseat was the actual lid of the Ark. (The Ark, then, is set in contrast to the Altar of Burnt Offering, that is in the Outer Court.) This, most inward, compartment represents Yahweh God in Heaven on His throne (it is separated from all else by a veil, signifying that God dwells in Heaven apart from His people). Moving to the next compartment, we come to the Holy Place. It is here that the priest does most of his work (the Holy of Holies was only entered once each year). Here, God enters into fellowship with His worshippers. The holy place speaks of God coming into the world in the Incarnation: here, is the God/man. Moving from the Holy Place, we come to the Outer Court. This is where the sacrifice is killed; this place speaks of Calvary and the death of the Son of God. Here, the work of the humanity of Christ is accomplished.  Marvel of marvels—God so loved the world that he gave His only (uniquely) begotten Son. We must think on that. If God gave some other then Himself, it would have been a great gift, but He gave Himself, for John 1:18 informs us that Jesus was the begotten God. Now there is only one God (Deut 6:4), so the ONE begotten, must be Him! God loved so much, and desired the fellowship of His people so much, that He came down to us, so that we might go up to Him. It is said that God is love, and it is true. Love, we have been told, is the strong craving for the possession and presence of the object desired. Love (God) craved the possession and presence of the object of His affection, us. So he descended: God became a man; He descended further: the man descended into the animal kingdom and became the sacrificial Lamb; He descended further yet: the innocent sacrificial Lamb became the despicable sin for which It died. So, then, when we say that God came down, we recognize to what extent that is true.
We have seen Yahweh’s journey from Heaven, where He rules as Almighty God, to the world of sinful man, where He took upon Himself humanity, and took that humanity to the cross to die for the sins of the world. Here is the descent, prefigured in the tabernacle layout: Holy of Holies, Holy Place, and then the Outer Court. We see how all this is fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, Who is, first, the God (John 1:1), then the God-man (Isa 9:6), then the man (1 Tim 2:5).

When Yahweh’s journey to man is reversed, the way to God is demonstrated. This is a case of mankind not knowing how to ascend to God, until God came down to him. Coming from the outside world, one enters the Outer Court and comes first to the Altar of Burnt Offering. Here the sacrifice is made. Death, then, is the first thing one encounters. So it is: one must die out to the world he has left behind. It is here, also, in the Outer Court, that one encounters the Laver of Water. This is where the blood from the sacrifice meets the water, a type of water baptism. Moving from the Outer Court, one enters the first compartment of the tent, the Holy Place. Here, there is fellowship with God, and an indwelling of His Spirit in ones life. A certain deification (see on page 230, this work) begins to take place: the more one becomes like his Creator, the more of His likeness and image is taken on. There is a move from here, however, through the Veil into the Holy of Holies, where one finds himself before the throne, perfected and knowing as he is known. Know this, “Beloved, ... it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him;”  —1 John 3:2, Amen.

 Excerpted from the book entitled Godhead Theology, by Bishop Jerry Hayes. Order the book today from Amazon.
Apostolically Speaking

☩ David Ignatius
Read other essays by the Bishop on the Tabernacle of Moses:

 Metals of the Tabernacle of Moses are a Parable of Jesus Christ
http://bishopjerrylhayes.blogspot.com/2016/08/metals-of-tabernacle-of-moses-are.html

 The Color Scheme Of The Tabernacle of Moses Is A Parable of Jesus Christ:
http://bishopjerrylhayes.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-color-scheme-of-tabernacle-is.html

The Furniture Of The Tabernacle of Moses Is A Parable of Jesus Christ:
http://bishopjerrylhayes.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-furniture-of-tabernacle-was-parable.html

The Ark of the Covenant and its Contents are a Parable of Jesus Christ:
http://bishopjerrylhayes.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-ark-of-covenant-and-its-contents.html
Apostolically Speaking
☩☩ Jerry L Hayes
(Mar David Ignatius)

Read other essays from the Bishop on the subject of the Godhead:

"The Dual Nature Of Jesus Of Nazareth"

"The Worlds, Made By The Son"

"Hebrews 13:8 vs 1 Corinthians 15:28"

"Glory With The Father"

"Philippians 2:6-8, Answering Trinitarian Objections"

"How Is God One?"

"Hebrew Monotheism"


"The Apostolic Creed"

"Jesus Is Father God"

"Homoousia And The Creed Of Nicaea"

"The Triquetra And Modalism"

"Modalism, Simultaneous Or Sequential?"

"Micah 5:2-4, An Exegesis"


"Elohim, the Plural form For God"

"Can the Deity of Jesus Be called The Son Of God?"

"Mathematical Equation For The Godhead"

"Hebrew Monotheism, Second Edition"

"Jesus, On God's Right Hand"

"The Name of the Deity" (The Tetragrammaton)

"Christology of the Apostolic Church Fathers"

"Christian Modalism challenged by the Greeks"

"The Apologists and the Logos Christology"

"Logos Christology"

"The Seven Spirits of God"

"Historical Numerical Superiority of the Monarchians"

"How Is God One?" Second Edition

"Creed of Nicæa (Creed of the 318) Affirmed"

"Another Comforter (Answering Objections to Modalism)"

"Echad vs Yachid (Answering Objections to Modalism)"

"The Godhead Teaching of Ignatius of Antioch"

"Hebrews 1:8, (Answering Objections to Modalism)"

"Godhead Theology of the Tabernacle of Moses"

"Proper Biblical Understanding of the Word 'Person'"

"Defense of Isaiah 9:6, Answering Objections to Modalism"
https://bishopjerrylhayes.blogspot.com/2017/04/defense-of-isaiah-96.html

Defense of 1 Timothy 3:16 (Answering Objections to Modalism)


Godhead Theology is a study of Christian Godhead theology. ... Was He God or not? In Godhead Theology Bishop Jerry Hayes follows that debate through the first 300 years of the Church's history. Our book is in five sections: Section One ... demonstrates Modalistic Monarchianism as the original orthodoxy of the Chruch; Section Two introduces the Apostolic Creed ... ; Section Three is an affirmation of Modalistic Monarchianism; Section Four is Modalism's responses to objection from the pluralists Trinitarians, Binitarians, Arians and Semi-Arians. Included are two comprehensive indexes: Subject Index and Scripture Index. 613 pages.

Own this classic book today by ordering from the link provided here:https://www.amazon.com/Godhead-Theology-Modalism-Original-Orthodoxy/dp/1516983521/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Bishop+Jerry+hayes&qid=1554244653&s=books&sr=1-4





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Excerpted from the author's book entitled "Godhead Theology." Published by Seven Millennium Publications. Order your personal copy today: 
https://www.amazon.com/Godhead-Theology-Modalism-Original-Orthodoxy/dp/1516983521/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=Godhead+theology%2C+Hayes&qid=1554054212&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull



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