Jesus said:
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
Yes, says Paul, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
As this was revealed to Paul, it was also revealed to John on Patmos and so it is to be revealed to us too!
In the book of Revelation John tells us what he sees in the spirit.
He says:
Revelation 20:11
I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
Revelation 21:1
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
When we compare the statements of Paul with those of John, we find that God has shown them both exactly the same!
PAUL
in 2 Corinthians 5:17
John
in Revelation 20:11 & 21:1
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for them.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
Paul talks about a new creation.
John also talks about a new creation; a new heaven and a new earth.
The old heaven and the old earth had to make way for the new.
The old has passed away, says Paul. Everything has become new.
John says exactly the same.
He saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
We have to keep in mind that everything in the natural is used to teach us about the spiritual.
Paul also explains this in his letter to the Colossians:
Colossians 2:16
Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
Now, what God had revealed to Paul and John, He had revealed to Moses 1500 years earlier.
the tabernacle of moses
In the natural, Moses had to build a tabernacle, a temple, to teach us the spiritual.
Every detail is of great importance!
Exodus 25:40
See to it that you make everyting according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain, God said to Moses.
This tabernacle, or temple, is a picture of who we are in Christ. It is our true identity, our identity in Christ.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
The tabernacle consisted of 3 parts: the outer court, the holy place and the most holy place.
In the outer court we find 2 important objects. The first is the altar of burnt offering. This refers to the sacrifice Christ made.
Hebrews 10:10
By the will of Christ we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
So the altar of burnt offering is no longer needed, because Jesus offered His body, so that no other sacrifice is needed anymore.
When we continue towards the entrance of the tent, we arrive at the brass laver. This is called the sea.
(2 Chronicles 4:2 & 1 Kings 7:23)
If you’d like to learn about the sea, please watch my video ‘Coming on the Clouds‘.
When we then enter the tent, we are in the holy place. The menorah, the 7-armed lampstand, stands against the left wall. The oil lamps had to be kept burning day and night. God said to Aron:
Numbers 8:2
When you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.
So the light shone on the table with bread and wine opposite from the lampstand. The bread and wine refer to the body of Jesus that was broken for us and His blood that was shed.
Jesus said: you are the light of the world! (Matthew 5:14)
The lampstand tells us everything about us.
In scripture light always refers to insight. When we develop a deep relationship with Christ in us, we will come to know Him better and better. In this way we can, as it were, put Jesus in the spotlight, so that other people on earth will see Jesus through us.
This part of the tabernacle is therefore a picture of the earth.
Just before the veil is the altar of incense. The incense offered refers to our prayers.
(Psalms 141:2 & Revelation 5:8)
The veil, the door to the rear part of the tent, refers to the body of Christ that was torn. So also the veil was rent.
Hebrews 10:19-20
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.
Jesus is the door to the Father!
The space behind the veil is called the most holy. Here was the ark of the testimony. God was enthroned on this ark.
Exodus 25:22
I will meet with you from above the mercy seat, and I will speak with you from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
It was the mercy seat of God from which He judged in mercy and reigned over His people. The throne of God is in your heart. Let Him reign in your life so you will be cleansed from the inside out. This way first your heart changes and then automatically your behaviour changes.
The throne of God is in heaven. The most holy place is therefore a reflection of heaven.
The tabernacle with its outercourt tells the story of how the old heaven and the old earth pass away and the new creation is formed. It is the path from east to west, following the light of the day. It is the path from the wilderness outside of the outer court of the tabernacle all the way to the most holy place where the throne of God is. It is the way from darkness to being fully enlightened.
Jesus is the Way to the throne of God. He says: pick up your cross and follow me!
Where do we when we follow Jesus with the cross?
Exacly, To Calvary! That is where Adam dies. That is where the old creation flees and is never to be seen again.
Revelation 20:11
I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for them.
Now if we have followed Jesus to the cross, we will also follow Him in resurrection!
Romans 6:4
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
This is the new creation, the new heaven and the new earth. It is you!
2 Corinthians 5:17
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
The picture of that new creation is found in the tabernacle of David.
the Tabernacle of david
Amos 9:11 & Acts 15:16
I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages. I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.
When David brought the ark of the testimony from the house of Obed Edom to Jerusalem, he did not put it back in the tabernacle of Moses, but he put it in a tent that he had specially set up for it.
It was a square tent that contained only the ark, the throne of God. It was one space where heaven and earth are one, where His kingdom has come, where His will be done as it is in heaven so also on earth.
O, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name in me, thy kingdom come in me, thy will be done in me and through me as it is in heaven.
The tabernacle of David is what John saw in the spirit on Patmos. This is what he tells us in Revelation 21:1.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea!
We may also see what Moses, Paul and John saw!
In Christ you are a new creation, a new heaven and a new earth!
You are the Tabernacle of David, where God reigns from His mercy seat.
Hebrews 4:16
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
