Article 7

UNDERSTANDING REVELATION – 7

God’s Sanctuary – The Big Picture

In the previous article (6) I made the statement that the Jewish religious year with its feasts and ceremonies was a “compacted prophecy” of the entire Christian era.  This subject we now need to pay attention to, as it provides the foundation for a more complete understanding of the numerous Introductory Sanctuary Scenes we discovered in Revelation, dealt with in articles five and six.

Our quest begins in Genesis 3:15.  Here, God turns from addressing the literal serpent to the old serpent, the devil himself, promising to put enmity (hostility or hatred) “between your seed and her Seed.  The promise is— “I will put!”  This is a reference to agelong struggle between those who follow Satan and those who follow Christ.  “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”  This promise is put in the singular indicating that it will be one individual who will accomplish God’s promise, even Christ.  Many centuries later the apostle Paul in Galatians 3:16 clearly explains the true meaning of this verse declaring, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.  He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “and to your Seed,” who is Christ.”  The foundational truth for this sinful planet is that Christ is the Enmity that God promises to put into the lives of all who become true believers in Him!   In this one verse (Gen. 3:15), is compressed the conflict of the ages, a battle that began in heaven (Rev. 12:7-9), was continued on earth where Christ again defeated him (Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8) and will terminate finally with Satan’s destruction at the end of the millennium (Rev. 20:10).   However, Christ did not emerge from this battle unscathed.  The scars in His hands, feet, and side will be eternal reminders of the fierceness of the strife in which the serpent “bruised” the woman’s Seed.

How amazing was God!  Divine justice demanded that sin should meet its penalty, but divine mercy had already found a way to redeem the fallen human race—by the voluntary sacrifice of the Son of God (1 Peter 1:20; Rev. 13:8).  Immediately God begins to unfold how His promise is to be carried out.  Let’s watch.

Genesis 4:1-8 reveals that two sons, Cain and Abel, were born to Adam and Eve.  Cain was a farmer; Abel was a shepherd.  They each brought an offering to the Lord.  God “respected Abel and his offering”, not so with Cain.  Cain was angry and it showed (v. 5).  The Lord said to him, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?”  The implied answer seems obvious.  The fact that Abel brought not only the first born of his flock, but “their fat”, also shows that God had instructed them as to what offering to bring.  Here’s the point—God immediately began to instruct them regarding His promise of Genesis 3:15.  Had God given no instruction on what offering to bring He would have been showing partiality to Abel.  Hebrews 11:4 is instructive.

Leviticus 3:14-16 teaches us regarding “the fat.”  This “peace offering” chapter describes the offering of the fat as a “sweet aroma” to the Lord.  Again, centuries later, the apostle Paul speaks of the sacrifice of Christ “to God” as a “sweet-smelling aroma” because it would be an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the entire world.  Oh, it’s about the everlasting gospel (Rev. 14:6).  What an intimate connection we begin to see between the Old and New Testaments.

Time moves on and the world becomes thoroughly corrupt.  God instructs Noah to construct an ark to save those who would survive the flood.  Genesis 7-8 describe the flood.  Gen. 8:15-19 shows Noah, his family, and all the animals exiting the ark.  Notice the first activity of Noah in v. 20.  He built and altar, burned sacrifices, and the Lord smelled a soothing aroma, reminding Himself of His Genesis 3:15 promise to place enmity between the race and the devil.

We need to remember that Satan remembered God’s “enmity” promise.  He discerned that these sacrifices had to do precisely with that promise that God would intervene to rescue mankind from the unfortunate decision to believe Satan’s lie.  He would watch carefully.

With the passing of time in Genesis 22:1-13 God instructs Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a “burnt offering”.  The passage is rich with gospel instruction, especially in vs. 7-8 and 13.  Galatians 3:6-9 clearly states that “the Scripture…preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham.”  God is continuing to unveil His enmity promise.

Now several hundred years pass and we come to the time of Moses.  Abraham’s descendants have been enslaved in Egypt for centuries and now the time has come for God to deliver His people, and Moses is His chosen instrument.  Pharaoh’s stubbornness results in 10 plagues.  We focus on the last one.  Exodus 12:1-19 describes God’s protection of Israel from the tenth plague.  Each family was to take a without-blemish male lamb of the first year and offer it according to the time and manner prescribed in this passage.  God would pass through Egypt and slay all the first-born of the land.  He declared (v. 13), “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”  Verses 14-19 describe the Feast of Unleavened Bread and its observance.  We note a continuing progression and development of God’s promise of Genesis 3:15.

Finally, with the children of Israel camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai, Moses on the Mt. received God’s command to, “make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8).  The subsequent chapters in Exodus reveal the “blueprints” God gave to Moses along with the furniture and articles of worship to be therein and the persons skilled by God to complete the task.  Now that the Israelites were “officially” the people of God much more detailed instructions were given relating to their worship of Yahweh.  Leviticus 23:4-44 records the “feasts of the Lord” which they were to keep at their appointed times.  This record states that on the 14^th of the first month at twilight was the Lord’s Passover.  The next day, on the 15^th, was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  It was a “holy convocation”, what we would call a ceremonial Sabbath.  When finally installed in Canaan they were to bring a sheaf of the “firstfruits” of the ready barley harvest to the priest and he would wave it “on the day after the Sabbath” (v. 11).  That day would have been the 16^th day of the first month.  We see three consecutive days.  Fifty days later was the Feast of Weeks, what we commonly call Pentecost.  These were the spring feasts.

As stated earlier, one Jewish religious year with its various feast days was a compacted prophecy of the entire Christian era. This is one of the most important principles to understand concerning the Old Testament.  Each passing year with its round of ceremony, God was teaching His people the major points in the plan of salvation via the feast days. This was the gospel in the Old Testament.  Although under the new covenant we are not required to keep the feast days, we do find that the Old Testament sanctuary service is rich with instruction concerning God's marvelous plan of salvation accomplished through Jesus Christ.  The question arises; did the New Testament writers thus understand?

We turn to the NT book of Luke 23.  Verses 44-46 record that it was about the ninth hour (3:00 pm) that Jesus “breathed His last.”  The veil of the temple was torn in two.  Verse 54 states “that day was the Preparation (Friday, some term it ‘Good Friday), and the Sabbath drew near.”  That day was the 14^th day of the first month in the year of the crucifixion.  Paul, in 1 Corinthians 5:7 declares, “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”  The next day, the 15th, the seventh-day Sabbath Jesus lay in the tomb, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (FUB).  Leaven is a symbol of sin (1 Cor. 5:8) and Jesus “who knew no sin, became sin for us.”  Luke 24:1 records that early the first day of the week (that would have been the 16^th day of the month) that the women came to the tomb, but He was risen!  That day was the day of the waving of the sheaf of firstfruits—for centuries it had pointed forward to the resurrection of Christ.  In 1 Corinthians 15:19-23, Paul twice refers to Christ as the “firstfruits”.  AMAZING!  In three consecutive days as the people celebrated these spring feasts Christ died on Passover (the 14^th); He lay in the tomb on the 15^th, the first day of the FUB as our Sinbearer; then early on the 16^th He rose from the tomb – our Firstfruits from the dead!  Again, Paul clearly states that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection were “according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).  The Jewish religious year began on the day the Passover lamb was slain.  The Christian era began the day Jesus expired on Calvary’s cross!  Astounding!

That’s not all.  Fifty days later came the Feast of Weeks (7 weeks + the day after).  Acts 1:3 states that Jesus was with the believers for forty days after His resurrection.  In verse 5 Jesus told them they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit “not many days from now.”  Acts 2 records that Holy Spirit baptism.  Now don’t miss this—verses 32-33 state, “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.  Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.”  IT WAS INAUGURATION DAY IN HEAVEN – JESUS WAS EXALTED TO THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD!  His first official act was to send the Holy Spirit, in His fullness, upon the waiting believers.

Our Lord Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, resurrection, and exaltation filled the spring feasts full of meaning and purpose.  All three synoptic gospel writers (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, and Luke 23:45) record the tearing of the vail from top to bottom, signifying that it was the Father’s divine hand that did it and now the temporary nature of the ceremonial system had met its fulfillment in Christ and now became obsolete.

According to Leviticus 23, the Jewish religious year included seven feasts/rituals, four in the spring and three in the fall at the end of the religious year.  As we have seen these 4 spring feasts the Israelites had celebrated for centuries were fulfilled in the first eight weeks of the gospel era by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and His inauguration in heaven is our High Priest. This was evidenced by the descent of the Holy Spirit.  Surely the Bible would not fail to unveil the fulfillment of the fall feasts as well.  Logic might tell us that since the spring feasts were fulfilled at the beginning of the Christian era, the fall feasts might be fulfilled at the end of the Christian era.  Future articles will reveal if these things are so.  Although the OT sacrificial system was of a temporary nature and intended to be in force only until Messiah came (see Colossians 2:16-17), yet it still remains rich with instruction for us in revealing the way of salvation through Christ.  It was the gospel in the Old Testament!  Indeed, the Psalmist declared, “Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary”, Psalm 77:13.

Significantly, the NT writers’ emphasis has shifted from the earthly to the heavenly sanctuary where Christ ministers as our High Priest!  (Read the book of Hebrews).  Particularly in our discussion of the book of Revelation we see several heavenly Introductory Sanctuary Scenes that introduce much of the content of this remarkable book.  As a result of God’s heavenly activity His plan of salvation for planet earth finds its final glorious consummation and Genesis 3:15 finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~Rex Frost