Part 5

“I will give you treasures of darkness and hidden riches of the Secret Place, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel.”  Isaiah 45:3

 In Part 4, I told you that from God’s view when He looked down from Heaven onto the Old Testament Tabernacle, He was seeing His Son’s Cross.  Because of the intricate details in which He designed our bodies, His view is no different with the New Testament Tabernacle(s) – He looks down and sees us in the form of His Son’s Cross. 

In the Old Testament Tabernacle, once a person passed through the East Gate, they found themselves standing in the Outer Court.  There is no argument that once they passed through, they were “in”.  They could dwell in that Outer Court as long as they wanted, or they could enter into the Holy Place.  Once they went on into the Holy Place, they would find the Brazen Altar, the Brazen Laver, the Golden Candlestick, the Table of Shewbread, the Altar of Incense, and then they would see the curtain.  “Make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman.  Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases.  Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain.  The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.”  Exodus 26:31-33  The curtain made a distinct separation between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.  Only a designated priest could enter into the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies) to intercede for the people of Israel; he had to be dressed in accordance with the specific instructions from God, (Exodus 28), he had to be consecrated (Exodus 29), and the other priests had to tie a rope around him, anchoring him to outside the curtain, in case he happened to die while he was in there so that they could pull him out.  Why was he the ONLY one who could go into the Holy of Holies, even if he died in there, and what happened inside the curtain? Only the priests appointed by the mouth of God were “invited” to enter in, and once inside, they were in the manifested presence of God Himself.

Today:  once we make the decision to pass through the East Gate:  The Way, The Truth, The Life which is only found in Christ Jesus, we can also stay in the “Outer Court”.  No one minds us being there, we will find all kinds of folks playing around there, and God will not force us to do anything different (He gave us free will); and, after all, our eternity is secured once we acknowledge Him as our Savior.  But, like the Israelites, we can also choose to enter into the Holy Place.  Not only do we have the privilege to enter into the Holy Place, WE, unlike the Israelites in the Old Testament Tabernacle dwelling, actually get to enter into the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies.  Why?  Because “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”  Mark 15:38 , so “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place, (the Holy of Holies, the Secret Place), by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”  Hebrews 10:19-22

We have been invited in to the Holy of Holies by God.  He is a gentleman – He won’t force us to accept His invitations, but He desires, more than anything, to have intimate relationship with us so that we, too, can experience the manifested presence of God Himself.  “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.  He has become a High Priest forever…”  Hebrews 6:19-20a and “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”  Hebrews 7:25

“Father, I admit to you that I am a pauper, a person destitute of means except such as are derived from charity.  Because I confess to You that I am a pauper, Your Word says that “Blessed are the poor (the paupers) in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”  Matthew 5:3  In the words of Oswald Chambers, ‘A pauper does not ask (beg) out of any reason other than the completely hopeless and painful condition of his poverty.  He is not ashamed to beg.’  I beg of You to give me the kingdom of Heaven, take me behind Your curtain, anchor me to Your heart, firm and secure like the rope tied around the Old Testament priests, and show me Your manifested presence, Your glory!    Amen.”