Sanctuary and Temple of God-4 quotes

This holy anointing oil represented the Holy Spirit being the divine Agency that provides sanctification. It was after this anointing with holy oil that the two stacks of 6 loaves of bread each were placed on the Table of Showbread, the candlestick was lit, incense was burned, water was placed in the laver and then sacrifices and spilt blood occurred at the Altar of Sacrifice before services could begin in the Sanctuary itself (see Exodus 40:22-29).

3) In order that all mankind might realize the enormity of sin, and its only remedy – the offering up and voluntary sacrificing of the life of the sinless Son of God, a system of sacrifices was made known to Adam and Eve that demanded the life of an innocent victim (see Genesis 4:3-5). In this they could see more clearly the fact that the death of God’s dear Son was absolutely necessary in order to atone for their sin and meet the claims of the broken law.

This system of sacrifices required the guilty sinner to bring an innocent lamb, then confess their sins over its head, and then with their own hand take its life and spill its blood, which was a symbol of Christ’s life. This sin-offering was then burned, symbolizing that all sin, as well as those who cling to it, would be destroyed in the fires of the last day (see Malachi 4:1-3; Revelation 20:9-10, 13-15). But it also revealed that everyone whose sins were atoned for through the precious blood of Jesus Christ would instead be spared from death.

Abraham “bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood” (Genesis 22:9). Abraham knows that since God is God then He “was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (Hebrews 11:19) if He chose to, but if not, Abraham is still willing to risk losing his future happiness and the joy of his entire encampment, if Isaac is not raised from the dead and they all have to endure life without him.

“Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife” (Genesis 22:10). Having the knife now in his hand, Abraham trembles with uncontrollable tears, but he still forces himself to place the knife in position in order “to slay his son” (Genesis 22:10). It was at this instant of Abraham’s determination to obey God’s command, even though every emotion seemed to be rebelling against obedience, that “the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven” which stopped Abraham from continuing on with the sacrifice (Genesis 22:11). The angel said:

Since Isaac was no longer to be the sacrifice, then God indeed would have to provide Himself a sacrifice. Abraham then looked around and saw a miraculous sight! There was “behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns” (Genesis 22:13). Out of pure relief and joy, Abraham quickly removed Isaac off from the altar, unbound him, and then took the ram “and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son” (Genesis 22:13).

5) Since God prevented Abraham from sacrificing his son, then God made it very apparent that He does not require human sacrifices in order to please Him. This is because He had already provided Himself a more perfect offering through His Son Michael/Jesus Christ. As the Lord God Michael willingly chose to “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” and thus “bear the sins of many” and of all who would accept Him as their Saviour so that they could obtain “salvation” (Hebrews 9:26, 28), then all other human sacrifices would be absolutely worthless.

By God providing that ram as a substitute sacrifice, the purpose of God in requiring animal sacrifices was made extremely plain as well. All these sacrifices pointed forward to Michael/Jesus Christ being that more perfect sacrifice in order to actually pay the penalty for sin with His spilled blood. Thus all the animal sacrifices required by God were a solemn symbol of Michael/Christ’s future sacrifice, since “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

6) After Abraham, Jacob continued these same sacrificial services (Genesis 31:54, 46:1), and then Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses (Exodus 18:12). And then during the final plague against Egypt we find God further exemplifying this truth that these sacrifices pointed forward to Michael being born Jesus Christ who would then provide salvation for all mankind!

The firstborn of the children of Israel were not exempt from dying in this final plague against the land of Egypt just because they were Israelites, but they were given a specific way of being protected from the general destruction. God provided them with a plan that called for a substitute dying in their place so that they could live instead. This substitute was to be a lamb chosen “without blemish, a male of the first year” (Exodus 12:5), and then kept in hold for several days until the set time came for this innocent victim to be killed and sacrificed (Exodus 12:3-4, 6). Once it had given its life, its spilled blood was then to be put “on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses” (Exodus 12:7), meaning that its blood was on three different entrance areas. After doing this, then its body, along with “unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs” was to be eaten – not “raw” or boiled “with water”, but roasted “with fire” (Exodus 12:8-9), and whatever remained uneaten was then to be burned with fire (Exodus 12:10). This was the only way provided for any of the Israelites to be saved from sharing the penalty of death along with the disobedient Egyptians, and they could not be spared from death unless they chose to follow this plan to the letter.

The sacrifice of this lamb alone was not enough to save any of them. They had to willingly take and place its blood on the door posts to their houses, separate themselves from the sinful and worldly Egyptians, remain within the shelter and set boundaries of their houses as God commanded, and then eat the flesh of this sacrificed lamb (Exodus 12:21-22). In following this plan to the letter, and by faith accepting this lamb’s blood and body as their full substitute, “when he seeth the blood...the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses and smite you” (Exodus 12:23). Thus by a combination of obedience to God and then exercising faith that God would accept this substitute victim in their behalf, the Israelites would instead be allowed to live within this shelter, while all others lacking obedience combined with faith were to be destroyed outside.

This was an obvious service symbolic of Michael/Jesus Christ’s willing participation in the great plan of God for our salvation and redemption. The innocent lamb symbolized Christ’s righteous life of complete obedience to God as a human. It’s sacrifice and spilled blood symbolized the willing sacrifice of the life of Jesus and the spilling of His blood in order to atone for our sins. Having its spilled blood placed on three different entrance areas corresponded to the three different colored curtains of the sanctuary which all symbolized Christ offering up His innocent royal life and blood as a substitute Victim in order to save mankind from death and destruction which then allows you and me to be freely justified, sanctified and then to be able to directly communicate and commune with God. And it’s burnt body symbolized Christ’s voluntary substitution of His righteousness in place of our past unrighteousness so that He could suffer the punishment for our sins and we instead gain eternal life. Thus all who would willingly take and place Christ’s blood on the door of their sinful hearts; all who would separate themselves from participating with the sinful practices of the world; all who would remain within the shelter and set boundaries of God’s commandments; all who would eat His flesh and thus receive nourishment and strength by allowing Him to be a part of their very lives; and all who would then exercise faith that God would accept Jesus as their full and complete Substitute, would be allowed to live and not be destroyed along with the disobedient and unbelievers living outside of Christ.

There was no other way provided in which any sinful human being could be saved. All who decided to comply with these conditions, the Lord Michael/Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, became their “God their saviour” (Psalms 106:21), not only because of the wonders and “great things” He had done in Egypt, but because of His great willing sacrifice and substitution of His innocent righteous life for their guilty sinful life.

Of all the different kinds of animals available, only bullocks or oxen, goats and lambs could be offered up as sacrifices (Leviticus 1:5, 10), and they were each to be perfect and “without blemish” or defect (Leviticus 1:3). Of all the various kinds of the birds, only “turtledoves, or of young pigeons” were allowed (Leviticus 1:14). And of the offering of the different kinds of grains available, only “wheaten flour” (Exodus 29:2) that was ground “fine” and mixed with olive oil was accepted (Leviticus 2:1).

This ground wheat offering could either be presented uncooked (Leviticus 2:1), or at times it could be baked “in the oven” (Leviticus 2:4) or “in a pan” (Leviticus 2:5) or even “in the fryingpan” (Leviticus 2:7) as “bread” (Exodus 29:2) formed into “cakes” or “wafers” (Leviticus 2:4). These wheat flour and bread offerings were further to be all “season[ed] with salt” (Leviticus 2:13), and could not have any other seasonings or condiments added to it, such as “honey” (Leviticus 2:11). They also had to be completely “unleavened” (Exodus 29:2; Leviticus 2:4-7) and without any kind of agents added to make the baked bread rise up.

A bullock or an ox is a male bull that has been castrated. Before castration, a bull is naturally proud, arrogant and rebellious; it is naturally antagonistic towards following orders and usually forcefully follows its own will. It does not allow itself to be led, but instead wants to be the leader. In this condition it is not fit to offer as a sacrifice to God.

Once castration occurs and the bull is fully separated from this part of itself, it becomes humble, submissive and obedient. The bull is no longer desiring to be the leader, but now is willing to patiently be led and to follow orders in bearing whatever burdens his master desires him to. It no longer is seeking to follow its own will, but now its focus is to follow only the commands of its owner. This great change means that the bull is now a totally new creature from what it once was, and thus its name is changed to signify this fact.

This bull symbolizes you and me when we are dead in trespasses and sins, when we are unconverted and ever seeking to forcefully follow our own selfish will. But once the love of God plainly manifested in this great plan of salvation is clearly seen and understood, it begins its miraculous work of transformation upon our hearts. Pride, arrogance, rebellion and all selfishness is cut away and separated from us, leaving us humble, submissive, obedient and willing to patiently follow the commands of our God. No longer are we self-willed because our hearts have been castrated from all self, and now we are willing to follow our Lord wherever He leads us. We then become a new creature in Christ Jesus, and all our offerings of praise and worship to God become pleasing in His sight. And to signify this great and miraculous change occurring in our lives we will indeed have our names changed (Revelation 2:17).

Goats are naturally impulsive and unpredictable, devious and contrary. Goats are never content with what they have, but are always stretching themselves to try and obtain those tender leaves just out of reach. They are experts in opening gates and squeezing through small gaps because they hate to be confined. This means that they are not very good followers, as they prefer instead to lead themselves and will go wandering off on their own. Since they desire to lead, this creates disunity when they come in contact with other members in the flock. And because of their independent nature, goats often find themselves in direct contention with the shepherd over who is going to lead the flock, and thus some other members of the flock will be led astray.

But before it can become a sacrifice and thus connected with the service of God, the goat must decide to put away its independent waywardness and self-will, because only animals that willingly allowed themselves to be sacrificed were sacrificed. As long as it continued to fight against being a follower of its master’s will, then it was unfit for becoming a sacrifice as a servant of God and of being allowed to enter into His service.

This goat symbolizes that as long as you and me refuses to give up self and remain unconverted, then we are unfit for becoming a servant of God and of entering into His service. This is because we are naturally impulsive, devious, and never content; we are naturally independent and refuse to be contained within the confines of God’s law and will. We desire to lead and not to be led, and are prone to go wandering off on some tangent depending on what we may believe or how we feel at the time. This natural independence places us at odds with the Great Shepherd, and thus we will be more apt to create disunity among our fellow brothers and sisters, and in danger of leading some astray.

But once we allow the love of God to melt our hearts, and then decide to give up all self and independence, and humbly be willing to be led by God instead of to be the leader, then we can become a true follower of God. We would then be willing to sacrifice anything in order to be with and to please our true Shepherd of the flock. But if we are determined to continue in our independent self-will, eventually we will be disowned by God, set aside and separated away from being connected with His true followers, and will be destined for destruction (Matthew 25:33, 41).

Sheep are also timid and easily panicked, but just hearing the voice of their shepherd can calm them back down. They also are prone to wander away from the flock, and if they are left alone for too long of a time, they lose their desire to be united again with the herd, or perhaps will become an easy prey for their enemies. This is why when the shepherd becomes aware of the absence of any member of His flock, he must immediately go in search of them in order to bring them back to the safety of the fold.

These natural characteristics of sheep symbolizes the type of character that God’s followers should possess; being submissive, good natured, willing to unite together and help one another, and content to follow the voice of the true Shepherd Jesus Christ and to go wherever He leads. But we also must avoid being timid and panicky in this life, so that we can then avoid the danger of losing our hold upon and faith in Jesus. We must also avoid wandering away from being united together with others of like faith, because if we keep ourselves separated for too long of a time then we may lose our desire to fellowship altogether, and will just go off doing our own thing, or may become an easy prey for “the devil” who is going about “as a roaring lion...seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). In any case, we would be in great danger of losing our souls.

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25.

Turtledoves are naturally gentle and good natured birds. They tend to flock together, and are easy to tame. If their nest should become disturbed, they do not immediately abandon it, but continue residing in it and work together to repair any damage. Also, once they bond with a mate they remain forever devoted and loyal to each other, and if their mate should die, then remain single for the rest of their life.

These characteristics symbolize the type of character that God’s followers should possess. They should be gentle, good natured, willing to unite and fellowship together, and allow self to be easily tamed by letting God have control over them. If their home or even their particular church group should become disturbed, then instead of immediately leaving and abandoning it, they lovingly remain within it and work together to repair any damage done. Also, once they are united with Jesus Christ as their yoke-mate, they should remain devoted and loyal only to Him for the rest of their lives, and not seek out another lover to unite with.

What does the offering of the wheat flour that was ground fine and mixed with olive oil and salt, and then either offered as flour or baked into bread represent? In order to get flour, grains of wheat were first crushed in a pedestal or mill until they were broken down to its very smallest part. This flour was then mixed or combined with olive oil and salt.

Jesus referred to Himself as a grain of wheat (John 12:24). So then this wheat flour symbolized that Christ would allow His body to be “broken for you” and me (1 Corinthians 11:24), and that He would “not fail nor become discouraged” (Isaiah 42:4) until He had fulfilled His part in this great plan of salvation, even though His sacrifice took Him to the cross, and was then buried in the earth, to rise again.

All throughout His life on this earth, Jesus had the Holy Spirit with Him, and all the actions He performed and all the truths He shared, were with just right seasoning or influence so that they could be easily accepted by others, and thus His life was well pleasing unto God. And Jesus Christ gave all that He had, without reservation and even down to the very smallest part, in order to make possible our salvation!

This offering of wheat flour mixed with oil and salt also symbolizes God’s followers. Since this grain of wheat has a very tough and hard exterior which had to be crushed and broken down to the point that its very smallest parts were exposed, and even at this point it was then able to become an offering acceptable unto the Lord, so God’s followers must also allow self to be crushed and broken down in the mill of God until nothing of its hard tough exterior remains to be seen. At this point the Holy Spirit will be given to us without measure, and we will then be able to perform actions and share the truths of God’s word that have just the right seasoning and influence that can be easily accepted by others, and then we will be well pleasing unto God, because none of self remains to ruin our life and our offering unto the Lord.

The reason why no leavening or rising agents were to be added to this flour, was because it would affect and permeate all of it causing it to puff and rise up from is low position. So then once self is fully removed from us, we are never to allow it to enter into us to puff and rise us up. If we do, then self will quickly permeate and contaminate our entire life, and thus make us an unfit offering unto God which will be rejected and will not be used in His service.