The whole Jewish economy was a compacted example of their faith [20] in salvation from sin. While we have many wall sculptures, temples and gods in Egypt, there is only one God and one Temple in Hebrew beliefs.[50] Every act of the priest in the shadowy (Hebr. `skia', Hebr. 8:5; 10:1) service, as he went in and out, was an example or prophecy of the Saviour's work when he would enter heaven as the repentant sinner's substituting High Priest.[100]

"It was the good news of redemption in examples and figures", the Lord's object lesson or kindergarten for the "children" of Israel. Being surrounded by the idolatry [150] and burdened down from years of slavery in Egypt the Israelites had only a dim understanding of the faith of their patriarchal fathers. They had become children in comprehension, and in order to reach them, God taught the gospel in a way that the senses could grasp.

The concept of sin and Saviour goes hand in hand in biblical themes. There once was a being whom God had placed over all of his created beings. This highly placed being, Lucifer [200], became haughty and self-centered in his own imagination which at last led him to want to take the place of God himself. A created being wanted to take the place of his creator. From that time on, in distant eons, Lucifer sowed thoughts of doubt and lies among other angelic beings. All the universe knew that sin would bring death but Lucifer told them in essence when he insinuated:

`No! You and I were created immortal. If you die, it is God who killed you.'

"And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God does know
that on that day you eat of this fruit, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be
like the gods, knowing good and evil."[Genesis 3]

With such untruths about God Lucifer succeeded in bringing 1/3 of the angelic host on his side, Rev. 12:4. But what is God's answer to the lie of Lucifer about death? Sin is the transgression of God's law and thereby separation from God, the source of life. It is like unplugging the battery charger. The radio will still play as long as there is sufficient energy coming from the battery, but once the battery charge is used up the radio will play no more, all sounds from it will die. Sin has occurred and we live, so to speak, on battery power today. But a day of restoration was promised, restoration for those who repent of their mistakes, change their life [300] and claim the Saviour's redemptive power [400]. Some day there will be no more sin and sinners, for God promised to restore the world to the way it was originally planned to be.

All God's beings have their own free will and so did Lucifer. Sin [500] was first born in his heart. Let us in imagination go back to the wilderness tabernacle, and see if we can discern the glorious gospel of the Saviour, the Christ, shining from the Jewish temple service economy.

God and Abraham

Already in the days of Abraham God told the patriarch that his descendents would be strangers in a land that is not theirs and serve them; and that they shall afflict them (a part of) 400 years. And the end of that time God will judge and they shall come out with great wealth and in the fourth generation after being freed they shall come again into the land Abraham was living in. (Genesis 15:13-16)

Following the great Flood in the time of Noah, the Lord God chose Abraham as the father of a people who would teach the plan of salvation by type and symbol.

And God entered into a covenant with His servant, employing such forms was customary in his days for the ratification of a solemn covenant agreement. By divine direction, Abraham sacrificed a heifer, a she-goat, and a ram, each three years old, dividing the bodies and laying the pieces a little distance apart. To these he added a little turtle dove and a young pigeon, which were not divided into portions. After this, Abraham reverently passed between the parts of the sacrifice, making a solemn vow to God of perpetual obedience. Watchful and steadfast, he remained beside the carcasses till evening time, to guard them from being defiled or devoured by birds of prey.

About sunset, he fell asleep; and, amazingly, "a horror of a great darkness fell upon him." And the voice of God was heard, telling Abraham that the Promised Land would not be immediately his.

With this covenant the plan of redemption was made comprehensible to Abraham. In the death of the sacrifice, the death of Christ on the cross was prefigured, the reign of sin by the preying birds and the darkness and God's coming in glory by the "smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces" of the offerings." Abraham learned here that the glory of God is a smoking, hot burning furnace to the sinner and a burning lamp to God's people to see their way. (Genesis 15:9-12; Deut. 18:16)

It was the experience of Sodom and Gomorrah who were destroyed by the glory of God for sin cannot exist in the presence of the Lord and the cities melted away to a gaping hole in the ground. It was the experience which the three friends of Daniel had in Babylon that only their righteous character saved them from certain, fiery death. The king's hotly burning furnace could not singe even a hair on them, but slew the stokers.

The days of Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt, was the time of the birth of the Hebrew nation. It was the occasion when the annual observance of the Passover was introduced to God's chosen people. Together with additional celebrations, Israel was to learn what it means to serve the living God Almighty. Their release from servitude was a picture of release from sin, it was an object lesson of redemption which Passover was a memorial of.

The paschal service was a release from worldly cares, and a reminder of release from incessant and cruel slavery, the wages of sin and a picture lesson of their granted freedom and escape from a hostile land.

While being trained how to bring sacrifices to the Lord, Israel was reminded that it was a grievous sin to eat the blood, Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:10,12-14. Not eating blood was a great blessing to the people. It not only saved them from many blood born pathogens and diseases which other nations suffered with greatly, it also set them apart as a special nation, one of whom the Saviour from sin-death would arise.

God's Design in the Sanctuary

One of the greatest event in the annals of history is the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai within the hearing of the Israelites. That is why we read, "For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there has been any such thing as this great thing is, or has been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?" Deut. 4:32,33.

How glorious an event the proclamation of God's law was is underscored by the record stating that tens of thousands of holy angels, attended this event [510]. We read,

"And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them." Deut. 33:1-2.

Soon the veil is lifted, and the priest returns. The offering has been accepted. The priest has made atonement for him, and he is forgiven. In the joy and freedom of forgiveness he prays: "O that the influence of all my sins might be forever wiped away!" when lo, he sees the priest go to the brazen altar in the court, and "pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar". As he sees that blood, symbol of the perfect sacrifice of the Saviour and precious to him, because it represents his own ransomed life as well as the sacrificed life of the Saviour, poured out upon the ground, his heart bounds with joy.

But the slaying of the victim was not accomplishing the atonement since it was the sinner who slew the victim (Lev. 4:1-4, 13-15), etc., and it was the Priest afterwards, who took the blood and made the atonement (Lev. 4:5-12,16-21). Calvary was prefigured by the activities in the forecourt where the altar of burnt offerings stood, not by those of the sanctuary. Therefore, the shed blood of Jesus Christ, while it released the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, could not cancel the sin; the sin would remain on record in the sanctuary until the day of the final atonement [805]. In the Israelite tabernacle the same occurred. The blood of the sin-offering removed the sin from the penitent believer, but it rested in the sanctuary until the day of atonement. On the day of Jom Kippur, the final atonement, the sins of the truly penitent were blotted from the records of heaven, no more to be remembered or come to mind. They were to be laid upon Azazel, the scapegoat and carried into the wilderness to complete the atonement, Lev. 16:10.

The Jewish father grasps the fact that the decree, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake", is met in Christ, and that the promised Saviour will finally cleanse the earth from all the effects of sin.

The body of the lamb still lies near the door of the sanctuary, where the life was taken. He next turns to it, and with a sharp knife separates from the flesh every particle of fat -- "all the fat that covereth the inwards", etc. "All the fat is taken away, and the priest burns it upon the altar of burnt offering for a sweet savor unto the Lord". The fat is burned as a type of the final destruction, when "the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs [810]; they will consume away."Psalm 37:20

The people of Israel have for centuries been taught that the Jewish people are expressed in the Bible as being God's son. There are many texts they use to prove this, but the most conspicuous one they refer to is the following:

"And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn." Exodus 4:22-23.

When Moses was inspired to write, "... Israel is my son, even my firstborn" was he thinking of the people of Israel as a whole or one Israelite in particular?

Actually Moses wrote, that Israel is the son of the Lord God. But does the Lord God have a human son or a nation of human sons?

We know the Lord God has always had faithful people on earth which He loved and cared for. They were the apple of His eye because they put Him first in their lives. They kept His Commandments and obeyed His sayings. They passed on this faith to their children and taught in public how to please God. If they did not do so, hardship would ensue and they would be reminded to return to God, humble themselves, ask for forgiveness, repent and obey.

So we read also these words,

"... I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn." Jeremiah 31:9.

What happened?

The history will tell. But we know that all of God's promises are based on the faithfulness of God's people. They are conditional.

Why?

God cannot countenance sin. We must deal with our sins. We must forsake sin and live godly lives.

But God is prepared for anything that could happen to His people. What if all of Israel would forsake Him, forfeit their son-ship with God? Can He help Israel then?

Yes! God can. And here is the truth on how He does it.

God is never short on solutions. Because Israel had a special place in the heart of God among all people on earth, what they did to reciprocate this special status was important. In the course of time all of Israel sinned greatly by reason of having neglected and forgotten their former faith. But God promised the Messiah, the annointed one. Who would the Messiah be?

Israel having severed its son-ship because of sin, God sent His own and only Son to take the place of the fallen people. But the people cry loud. --- GOD DOES NOT HAVE A SON! HE DOES NOT HAVE A SON!

Dear Israel. Why say, `God does not have a Son?' Can we limit God's power in any way? Can He not reveal something later more clearly because in the days of Moses this message was not yet as important to be revealed?

Here is how the question might be asked and answered.

Jewish Inquirer: — "Mr. Missionary, you say you believe the word of God, the T'nach; do you?"

Speaker. — "Yes, I do."

Jewish Inquirer: — "Well, I should like to ask you this question. - You say that God has a Son. This Jesus that you preach about is God's Son. How can God have a Son?"

Speaker. — "Do you believe, my Jewish brother, the word of God, the T'nach?"

Jewish Inquirer: — "Yes, the T'nach, and the T'nach only. You know we Jews do not believe in the New Testament."

Speaker. — "Yes, I mean the Old Testament. Did you ever read the second psalm, and the seventh verse?

"... The Lord has said unto me, Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee." Psalm 2:7.

Did you read or remember Proverbs 30:4?

"Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?"

What do you make out of these texts?

Here it plainly says that God has a Son. Do you believe the Bible? If you do, do you see now that God must have a Son?

This Son we present to you here and in many other places. Please take a little time to read.

A number of Bible verses on the Messiah as recorded by Jewish authors in Greek.

Matthew 10:5,6:
"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Matthew 15:10; 10:17; John 21:15-17;:
"And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: ..."
"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand."
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."
"So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs."
"He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep." "He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."

John 9:22. "These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue."
Acts 22:22. "And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live."

And finally again...

Exodus 4:22-23: "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn."

Every time we sin, we give support to Satan's claims. Every sinner that clings to sin will be destroyed with the sin. God has made provision for every one to separate from sin, that He may destroy the sin and not the sinner, Eze. 33:11. The burning fat upon the altar came up as a sweet savor before God, for it represented sin that had been separated from the sinner and destroyed, while the sinner lived a new life through Christ.

The sinner separated the fat from the sacrifice himself; the priest received it and burned it, illustrating the truth that we must cooperate with the Lord; and through Christ who strengthens us we can do all things.

As the man carefully searched for the fat, he realized more fully than before that his body was to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, and that when his past sin is forgiven and he is accepted, it is that he may become a dwelling place for the Spirit of God. When that spirit enters a man, it, like a sharp knife, reveals one sin after another which sometimes may take a life time the length of which none knows, and separates them from the sinner until the soul temple is cleansed. His faith grasps the promise of the "One" who dwells in the hearts of His people by faith. As he goes from the shadowy temple court, he realizes that he is a temple, not "empty, swept, and garnished", ready to be again entered by the power of evil, but a temple in which the Spirit of God rules and reigns.

Another man brings an offering; and as the priest takes the blood, instead of entering within the veil, he pours it at the base of the altar of burnt offering. Then a portion of the flesh, which represents sin, is prepared and eaten by the priest in the holy place. In this act the priest taught the children of Israel the wonderful truth that Christ bore our sins in his own body on the tree.

How could it be lost on so many that at the beginning (of the sanctuary) is the symbol of sacrifice and at the end in the Most Holy Place is God's law of Love -- the 10 commandments. But over and above the commandments is "the 'mercy' seat".

We notice also that the height of the mercy seat is given as 1.5 cubits and the height of the altar of sacrifices is given as 3 cubits. However, the altar's sides held a brass grate which was sunk down half the height of that altar to the 1.5 cubit mark. Therefore the height of the Mercy Seat and the altar's grate on which the fire was made, and on which the sacrifice was placed, were equal. [Exodus 27:1, 5.] Mercy and judgment combined. One was not greater than the other. There can be no mercy without justice. And no justice without mercy. And God's law is just and His mercy is equal to the task to cover those who stand humble and helpless before the throne in need of a Saviour.

Christ, His character, His sacrifice, His love and mercy are the foundations of the sanctuary. This is why we read,

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us." Titus 3:5.

When Satan tells us that we are a sinner, tell him that Jesus came to save sinners. We have nothing to recommend us to God; but it is our utter helplesness that is the reason why His redeeming power was set into effect. These words of Paul in his letter to Titus reflect the Christians experience in the beginning of his walk with Christ. Overall, Titus is reminded to be well versed in all doctrines and trends at his time in the church to be able to distinguish, counsel and teach. He reminds Titus that He, ... who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Tit. 2:14), expects of us to cooperate with God in removing our iniquities, so God has unto himself a peculiar people. The text teaches that God "might" redeem us from all iniquity, not `has' or `will' but `can' do that with our consent (faith), when we willingly cooperate [818]. The text also teaches that there are "good works" which such a willing person will show.

Therefore, the mercy of God is of course unearned no matter how willingly we cooperate, but without our small part in this salvation, God will not do His. So the underlying gospel, in context, is the same as in all other books of the Bible, we are not saved without our small part of cooperative effort.

Every piece of furniture and every service in it points to Jesus. We understand that the Holy Spirit moved Isaiah to pen these words

"He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter. ... and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:7,6

The people of Israel did not understand the meaning of these words. Many looked upon sacrificial offerings the way the heathen people looked upon their sacrifices - as gifts by which they themselves might influence the Deity favorable toward them. But the true God desired to teach them that from His own love comes the gift which reconciles people to Himself.

Jesus in the Sacrifices

Jesus grew up from birth as any other human being. He had no memory of his divine preexistence. As he lay there in the crib, he reacted just like any other neonate. As he grew up, the stories of his parents concerning the events of his birth and their gentle influence directing him toward the ancient books of the law, the poetry and the prophets were instrumental in patterning his life. These books he was raised on and learned to cherish. When Jesus reached his early Teens his mind expanded and he began to ask questions and grasp deeper thoughts. Having seen the Temple services at Jerusalem, he desired to know their meaning. No one could tell him why the blood of sacrificial animals had to be shed.[820] Knowing the ancient books and the special circumstances of his birth, he wondered if the blood of a lamb could take away sins. The Apostle Paul tells us the thoughts which led Jesus to realize that his life would culminate to that of a `lamb'. We read:

For this reason, when Christ was about to come into the world,

He said to God:

"You do not want the sacrifice and offering of animals, but You have prepared a body for Me.

You are not pleased with the offering of animals burned whole on the altar, or with sacrifices to take away sins.

Then I said,

`Here am I, O God, to do what You want Me to.'" Hebrews 10:5-7

We learn here the subtle message that Jesus realized at that young age that the millennia of sacrifices fulfilled no purpose in themselves unless they pointed forward to a real sacrifice, Hebr. 9:9; 10:1. From that time on Jesus realized that He must be the Lamb. He realized that He could give His body, that He must bring to an end all these services by offering Himself as the real sacrifice. We read:

"So God does away with all the old sacrifices and puts the sacrifice of Christ in their place.
Because Jesus did what God wanted Him to do, we are all made clean from sin by the offering that He made of His own blood, once and for all." Hebrews 10:9-10 TEV

As Jesus began to reason that someone as innocent as a young lamb, someone without sin, holy and unmarred by evil, must die the death of such a sacrifice in order to plant in human hearts a hope which He Himself had ascertained for Himself, He knew that His life must come to a dramatic ending. This insight the earthly priests had failed to comprehend. After such thoughts there surged through young Jesus a strong resolve to pattern His life to become the lamb which taketh away the sins of the world. The twelve year old boy now

"... saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment.
And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor;
therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him;
and His righteousness, it sustained Him." Isaiah 59:15-16

With the knowledge of His sonship of God unknown to Him, except of what He gathered by faith from the written Word, He grew in the realization of His calling. The mystery of His mission had to unfold to Him when He began to grow in years of accountability. He had to read the scriptures for Himself and find Himself there and take His nature, His mission and all as a matter of faith. From now on He makes the same decisions He made as the Commander of all the heavenly hosts. He chooses to lay down His life on the cross.[822]

Each separate offering presented some different phase of the work of Christ. The incense constantly ascending from the altar was an object lesson of the inexhaustible fund of perfect, Holy Spirit empowered obedience [825], accruing from the sinless life of our Saviour, which, added to the prayers of all the saints as they are offered upon the golden altar in heaven, makes them acceptable before God. The perfume of the incense filled the air far beyond the temple court. Likewise the sweet influence of Christians who live a life of faith in God, is felt by all who come in contact with them. For a true Christian is one who lives a life of continual Holy Spirit empowered obedience to God which comes from the faithful heart and has nothing to do with morality. [828] Morality is outward conformity to right principles of conduct and only strong people can produce it. Morality is good but it has nothing to do with the saving graces of God. Morality can be fake obedience and has nothing to do with the biblical concept of the gift of righteousness which comes from Jesus Christ [830]. Christian living has to do with surrendering our will, our `power of choice' to God learned only through daily communion with God in the study of His Word and never allow another medium (i.e. hypnosis, transcendental meditation) to take over our mind for at first such may appear innocent but in time, a once subtle beginning may turn one's mind toward self, away from the graces of God, for such activities do not originate from God. We are not to give over control of our mind to another entity. The gifts of God for his followers also include repentance (1. sorrow for sin and 2. turning away from sin; Acts 5:31; `gave'). The biblical concept of the nature of man [840] (Romans chapter 6) is that we are at all times either controlled by God or by Satan. There is no middle ground [841]. Putting it in such a way that it may sound to us more positively, however, would be to say, `There are just two kinds of people in the world: those who know that God loves them, and those who don't.' Therefore, saying `Sorry' for a wrong deed is not the way to control our allegiance to our two choices. Saying `Sorry' can easily produce fake obedience. What we need to know is that because of the substituting death of Jesus Christ on the cross we have the option of choosing by means of our `power of choice' who it is we want to control us. Depending on God hones our mind, our `gate keeper', our center of `power of choice' to make right choices because of such a person's faith in a loving God . Therefore instead of saying, `Sorry', we should perhaps say something like, `God willing I shall choose Him instead of doing a wrong deed'.
God's promised, perfect forgiveness has the effect that it doesn't produce a forgiven liar but renders a forgiven person as though he had never lied. This applies to a forgiven sinner's `standing before the judgment seat of God' [842], and not the earthly courts. `Well, how so', you may ask? Actually, forgiveness is the essential first step in the recovery process - it is not a cure. It is a half-way house, a temporary treatment of a temporal condition. Our character needs to be changed in cooperation with God's Spirit to settle the change in us. To be forgiven means to follow the Lamb (Jesus) in a life which He also lived - free from sin. He will lead a person, having sought forgiveness, not to be almost like Himself but like Himself (2.Peter 3:11-14). And so it is that when it is all said and done, the living in a world of sin and how it affects the life of a Christian, submitted to Jesus, will culminate with Christ in the heart of the last generation before Jesus comes again,

"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feat shortly." Romans 16:20

"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty [and] four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads." Revelation 14:1.

In summary: Forgiveness is having Jesus cover our sins so that we can begin to turn our life around and become like him. That way the initial step along the pathway of Christian faith leads to a more advanced step - being more like Jesus until we reach the final step - being with Jesus on the day he prayed for (John 17:24).

What about those who say, we could never reach such a point in life? Can we ever be without sin? None of the apostles and prophets ever claimed to be without sin, neither should we. Read on.

As followers of Jesus, therefore, we ought to contemplate the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, where he suffered and died for you and me. We then should follow him to the tomb and consider the risen saviour and how, a little later, he returns to heaven. By faith we follow him into the heavenly sanctuary, in the very presence of God. There, He will know my name and offer his blood for my repented and confessed sins [845]. By doing so I have transferred my sins to the divine sin-bearer, Jesus Christ, the Substitute. As Christ goes in before the Father's throne, bearing my sins in His blood (Lev. 17:11), they are symbolically transferred from me to the altar by Jesus sprinkling his own calvary blood offering for me. My sins have been transferred to the sanctuary. I am now without a known sin, John 1:9; Psalm 32:1. The same applies to you and anyone seeking to live such a life.

But what about those who are alive and shall see the Coming of the Lord in Glory?

The last generation, those who are alive on that great day of the Lord spoken of so many times in the Bible, how can they, who stand on this sinful world, see the Lord without perishing?

The last generation is a special group. Their experience is described by the prophet this way:

"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." Malachi 3:2-3.

While Jesus came after the time of the prophet Malachi as the Messiah, the book expands on aspects of this coming relating to end time events by speaking of the judgment (Mal. 3:5). The last generation, those who see His Coming, are spoken of as the `sons of Levi'. This is so, because the saints of God, those alive at that time, are also considered to be priests (Hebr. 7:5; 1.Peter 2:9). These `sons of Levi' are being purified and purged like through a fiery trial. They then are spoken of as being represented as an `offering in righteousness', which must mean that the blood of Jesus covered all their sins.

Heavenly agencies are watching a growing Christians life and keep reminding him, `Keep coming, don't give up' through His Word.

Representations of Family Worship

The fire was replenished morning and evening, representing the morning and evening worship in the family. "The whole multitude of people were praying without at the time of incense" [Luke 1:9.10] The lamps were a type of the seven lamps of fire before the throne of God in heaven, which are the seven spirits of God. These "are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth." Seven denotes the complete Spirit of God that enlightened every man that cometh into the world. Its life-giving rays lead the Christian to the celestial city.

The golden table held the "bread of His presence", which represented man's dependence upon God for both temporal and spiritual help and strength.

The ark was the center of all worship; it was the first article mentioned in describing the sanctuary. The law hidden in it was the great standard of judgment, and a perfect copy of that heavenly law before which the character of every child of Adam will be tried in the tribunal on high. If that law witnesses to a character cleansed from sin by the blood of the atoning sacrifice, then the name will be confessed before the Father and the holy angels.

The continual burning of that which typified sin pointed forward to the time when sin and sinners would be consumed in the fire of the last day. As the ashes accumulated upon the altar of burnt offering, they were carefully collected by the side of the altar; and at a certain time the priest laid aside his priestly robes[850], carried the ashes without the court, and deposited them in a "clean place". They were not thrown carelessly to one side, but put in a clean place. These ashes represented all that will be left of sin and sinners after the fires of the last day. "For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

But to you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in His wings, and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts." [Malachi 4:1-3] In that day the real ashes of the wicked will be left upon a "clean earth".

As the Jewish father walked to the sanctuary with his child, the mind of the child would be attracted by the ashes in the clean place. He would ask, "Why are those ashes put in a clean place, when you throw the ashes from our fire upon the dunghill?" The father's answer would explain the beauties of the new earth, when it shall be made like Eden, and sin and sorrow shall be forever removed. With it would come the gentle admonition to separate from sin, and keep the body temple pure, that in the great burning day the sin may be consumed without the sinner, and he be among the ransomed of the Lord.

Much of the service and many customs of ancient Israel were designed to call out questions from the children, that the spiritually minded parents might instruct them in the ways of God, for spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Parents today too have a great investment in the lives of their children. To safeguard this `investment' they need to set boundaries in analogy just like they would set boundaries in spending for a business. Much is at stake and children, as they grow up, rely on the safe guidance of their parents. The task is to reverse the evil trends in this world and save a generation. In order to do that parents must control all or many decisions especially in the younger years of a child. For as a child grows up so it will become. Parents should not let their `investment' have free reigns to choose their friends, for a wrong friend can undo all they labored for before. They must set strict boundaries of love. A child may not understand the reasons, but a parent knows.

After speaking of the peculiar manner in which the Passover should be eaten, God adds, "Your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?" showing that He intended that it should call forth questions from children of all ages, and thus the children become acquainted with the saving blood of the great Passover Lamb. [Exodus 12:26, 27; Deuteronomy 11:19]

The sight of the pile of stones by the Jordan was to arouse inquiries in the minds of the children of future generations, which, if answered properly, would acquaint them with the mighty power of God. The same was true of the whole Jewish service.

The leper that sought cleansing was to bring two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood and scarlet and hyssop. The priest commanded that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel, over running water. The live bird, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop were all dipped in the blood, and the leper was sprinkled with the blood; then the live bird was let loose in the open field. It flew through the air, bearing on its feathers the blood, which was a type of Christ's blood that will purify the air, and remove from it all the germs of sin and death. Now death comes in at our windows, but the blood of Christ will give us a new atmosphere.

Earth, air, and water are elements which compose our planet. All are tainted by sin. The earthen dish containing the blood held over the running water typified the time when earth, air, and water would be freed from the curse of sin by the blood of Christ. The cedar wood and hyssop represented the two extremes in vegetation, from the giant of the forest to the hyssop on the wall. They were dipped in the blood, thus teaching Israel that Christ's blood would free the entire vegetable world from the curse, and again clothe the earth in Eden beauty.

It might seem to man that the curse was so deeply marked upon the earth, air, and sea that it could never be removed; but the little piece of scarlet wool, dipped in the blood with the live bird, the cedar, and the hyssop, was a pledge that the blood of Christ would remove the deepest marks from the sin-cursed earth.

We have the real sacrifice to study as well as the shadow. Type met antitype. The blood of Christ has been shed; the price has been paid that will restore the purity of the earth, air, and sea. The sin-cursed earth received the blood of Christ as He prayed in the garden. "From His hands and feet the blood fell drop by drop upon the rock chiseled for the foot of the cross". Thus through the air passed the precious blood. From the wound in His side "there flowed two copious and distinct streams, one of blood and the other of water."[900] The blood of Christ was brought in contact with the earth, air, and water. The two extremes in vegetation also met at Calvary.

The cross was made of wood taken from the trees of the forest; "and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth."

Was there an antitype of the scarlet while His blood was trickling from those cruel wounds?

Yes. In Jesus as He hung upon the cross, bruised, mocked, and bleeding, the thief beheld the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. Hope kindled his soul, and he cast himself upon a dying Saviour. With full faith that Christ would possess the kingdom, he cried, "Lord, remember me, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." In a soft, melodious tone, full of love, the answer was quickly given: "Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with me in paradise." As these words were spoken, the darkness around the cross was pierced with living light.[910] The thief felt the peace and joy of sins forgiven. Christ was glorified. While all thought they beheld him conquered, He was the conqueror. They could not rob Him of His power to forgive sins.[911]

He has fully met antitype; the price has been paid; the blood of the worlds Redeemer has been poured upon the ground. It has dropped through the air from the cruel cross. It has flowed with water from the wound of the cruel spear. The extremes of vegetation also came in contact with it, and he whose sins were as scarlet; experienced the peace of having them made white as snow by the precious blood, even while it was flowing from the open wounds.

With the event of the cross heaven made a continuous, every day up-to-date method of salvation possible. [912] While to us colorful magazines and assurances of science and their achievements seem to have unseated God from His heavenly throne, such views may just completely misunderstand our true tenuous situation in this world which man's wisdom has made into a smoldering caldron of death and destruction unimagined in any other period of history. We are sawing off the branch we are sitting on and yet our pride clouds our eyes as to our true state of affair. Man often deludes himself thinking we know. But we see only externals. Only God can see it all. When we look at a drop of water, that is all we see. We do not see the molecules and atoms interacting. When we look at a person, that is all we see. We do not see the mind, heart, nerves, a person's intricate makeup and physical interactions at a glance. True, modern man has achieved a lot in sciences but we still see things only dimly and have much reason to be humble and accept God's more perfect vision. Without Christ we may be in a completely hopeless situation and have nothing to be proud off but much to fear. Therefore, our only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that wrought by His Spirit working in and through us. For we read:

"To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:" Colossians 1:27

It is God's grace which gives us the power to obey the laws of God. For salvation includes the work of Christ for us and in us. These two positions can hardly be separated.

The various feasts throughout the year typified different phases of the gospel. The gospel that convicts and inclines our heart to accept God's free gift for us. Now we look upon the Passover as a type of Christ in an especial sense, for Christ is our Passover. The first fruits offered the third day after the Passover lamb was slain, taught the resurrection of Christ. Type met antitype, and was fulfilled when Christ, the first fruits of them that slept, came forth on the third day, and presented himself before the Father.

Annual sacred feasts included the Feast of a) Passover, b) unleavened bread, c) first fruits, d) Pentecost, harvest or of weeks and e) tabernacles. These were happy occasions with singing, visiting, making friends and eating as the law proscribed. More than a month each year were devoted to feasting underscoring the importance of keeping the purpose and implications of these now instituted occasions before all the people to understand and comprehend their significance. They were not events dreaded but they were looked forward to until sin turned away minds and affections from God and His Word. In time idolatrous tendencies and neglect set in and the former joy disappeared. People looked at themselves, not seeing in each other fellow created beings of God, worthy to be supported with love and compassion, but noticing the thorns and not the roses.

Today we live in perilous times because man has learned to influence the public, you and me, by using sophisticated forms of mind control when it comes to decision making. Notice, I don't say `Our decision making', for we may not even realize that we are not following our own decisions but those, highly trained advertisers suggest to us. At various times these concepts of mind control were known by such terminology as phrenology, psychology, mesmerism - called hypnotism today, channeling, anchoring and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming).[Please read Ministry of Healing, Medical Ministry and other SoP books to fortify your mind on truth from God and not fall into such wicked plots.]

Changing minds was used extensively on POWs during and after the Korean War. While in the days of WWII GI's would attempt or accomplish escapes from prison camps, none of those took place in the 50's wars in Asia. Why? Because the Chinese, well trained in American Institutes in Psychology, learned how to change the soldiers minds about their situation and their country. Thousands of POW's were kept in check by psychological means and attempted no escapes even though only six armed guards were on duty.

Today job interviewers, employers, authorities, sales men and even church ministers are sometimes thought to use similar tactics. In the case of church ministers, if a preacher does not reproof and rebuke sin, watch out.

Here is how it may work out. To reproof and rebuke sin is commanded by God. [2.Tim. 3:16; Jeremiah 2:19; John 3:20] In fact Christians are even supposed to denounce sin. Well, on hearing these words `reprove' or `rebuke' the first time our eyes may narrow and we may get a negative feeling about it. However, we should not think of `reprove' and `rebuke' as something negative. Instead, we should think of it as warning signs - `Do Not Touch'. Signs we may see on electrical equipment. These signs are intended to save lives, not in order to give us negative feelings about electricity. To `rebuke' and `reproof' sin is also intended to save us from choosing a path in life which would lead away from the source of Life - God. But the days when Jesus and his disciples walked this earth are long gone [2900] and today some of these concepts have different connotations. Someone who speaks against sinning may be viewed as too critical - a buzz word which causes many people to react negatively.

This may be an example of mind altering words. We have here terminology, which is supposed to result in positive attitudes, turned into something negative. Call `reproof' by a different name, which gives it a different meaning, and you have changed a person's mind. Now that warning sign on the electric fence is viewed as a critical statement insinuating that we would touch everything we see. The intended meaning has undergone a subtle change many may not know how to describe.

Such tactics may also be used in churches where they may get known under such terminology as smooth talking, silver tongued ministers. The serious minded clergy men are now regarded as stuffy, no fun and too critical and narrow minded. But they may take their cues from the Word of God and try to warn people of consequences to bad choices. But since consequences often do not show up until much later, few, or even nobody, can understand them. When, eventually, consequences do show up people have already forgotten what led to them. They may attribute even wrong causes for ruined lives.

What we should learn today is to know something about the power of psychology as used today on the public and how it makes us into something like automatons, people who follow the crowd, Hollywood-star craziness, looks and wealth crazy and on it goes. Our educational system and the media has people turned into automatons who actually can believe now that 50 foot long dinosaurs could emerge from one celled amoebas without hundreds of thousands of intermediate creatures in the fossil record. Now that is exercising faith in something based solely on the words of men who made people believe they know how to explain everything. But in biology, an explanation does not mean it occurred that way, does it? We know that Spiritualism teaches that it makes no distinction between good and bad, that man is the creature of progression; that it is his destiny from his birth to progress, even to eternity, toward the Godhead. Evolution, therefore, has its roots in a form of Spiritualism.

In the larger religious realms people are following the wonder makers, healers, and miracle makers as if they were sent from God. People even let strangers at the county fair grounds use hypnotism to put them asleep, that is a most dangerous undertaking and no one should ever participate in it. They forget the council of Jesus and the apostles to proof everything by what the Word of God teaches and hold fast only that which is good and solid. Among the proof questions may be these:

1. Does it lead to faith in God?
2. Does it affirm the divinity of Jesus?[5000]
3. Is it according to the commandments and the prophets?
4. Does it glorify God?
5. Did the patriarchs and/or the apostles believe it?

Beware of the snares of the master psychologist who knows how to use many astounding mind tricks to snare people into believing that black is white and white is black. Our question ought to be, `Are these things so after a thorough research study of the Word of God?' Therefore, we are reminded to ".. put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:11-12.