I
have a vision! Not a picture
but a seeing in my mind’s eye, yet that which is seen in the spirit
by the spiritual man who lives within me. As I read the scriptures there
is that one moment in the light when what is not seen becomes the reality
remaining clearly etched in my mind ’s eye. There is a
city not made
with hands, the New Jerusalem, whose builder and maker is God. There is
no temple there for the Temple is the Almighty God and the Lamb. Nor is
there any need for the light of the sun or the moon for the glory of the
living God illuminates the city and the Lamb of God is the light thereof.
First the pattern for the natural, afterward the reality or that which
is spiritual. It was in this frame of mind that I began to seek out the
building of Solomon’s Temple. On Mount Moriah, the place where God
answered David by fire, is known as Ornan’s threshing floor. It was
here that Solomon was instructed to build the house of the Lord. Moriah
is also the place where Abraham was willing to offer his only begotten
son Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord. And so it was on Moriah that
Solomon
whose name means peace built the temple. Moriah means: Jah sees, Jah,
the Lord most vehement
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple,
and
in three days I will raise it up.
John 2:21 But He spake of the temple of His body.
Reading the above scriptures, it became apparent that the body spoken
of here is not only the Body of the resurrection but also that Body which
we are.
“Know ye not you are the Temple of the Holy Spirit?”
In my mind there is an apothecary taking place, a correlation between
“Solomon’s Temple” and the Body of the Lord. In Hebrews
there is a verse that says: “Wherefore, when He cometh into the world,
He saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou
prepared Me. Hebrews 10:15
Acts 8:33 In His
humiliation
His judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? For
His life is taken from the earth.
Isa. 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who
shall declare
his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for
the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Are we not called to be His
Body, called to declare His generation? A nation of priests and kings
who shall not die, but Live in the light of the living.
Much carefulness was taken that all things were done according to the
pattern given to David (Father) as he spoke them to Solomon.(Son)
“I
do only those things I see My Father do.” David gathered all the
necessary materials with which to build the temple. David prayed,
“O
Lord our God, all this abundance we have prepared to build You a house
for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. I know also,
my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As
for
me I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have
seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.
”
So Solomon received all that his father David gave him, building all in
accordance and obedience to the word spoken to him by his father. And
so beginning with the foundation the work commenced. The foundation was
dug deep into the earth, filling the void space with heavy stone, enough
to hold the weight of the super structure that was to be the “permanent
house of God.” Jesus made reference to a house built on a rock.”
“And the rains came and beat upon that house but because it was founded
on “the Rock,” it fell not.” Christ is the foundation upon
which the House of God is built.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Cor.3:11
These are the measurements
given to Solomon by his father David with which to lay the foundation
of the house of God. The length was sixty cubits and the width was twenty
cubits, The height being one hundred and twenty cubits 2 Chron.3:3-4
Sixty times twenty times one hundred twenty equals one hundred forty
four thousand. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large
as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand
furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. Rev.
21:16 The area of this city is also one hundred and forty four thousand
furlongs.
Rev. 14:1 And I looked, and,
lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and
four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it
were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the
elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and
four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 4. These are they,
which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they
which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from
among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.
The temple was constructed
with timber (wood typifies humanity) and stone, Christ being the corner
stone. Before the temple was being built the stone was finished at the
quarry, so that no sound of hammer or ax was heard in the temple while
it was in construction.
While researching many writings for a broader view of the temple, I found
in the works of Josephus this passage which I quote: “Now the whole
temple was made with a great skill, of polished stones, and were laid
together so very harmoniously and smoothly, that there appeared to the
spectators no signs of any hammer, or other instrument of architecture,
but as if, without the use of any of them, the entire materials united
themselves together, that the agreement of one part with another, seemed
rather to have been natural, than to have arisen from the force of tools
upon them.”
1 Cor. 12:2 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”)
Eph. 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
The deeper I delved into the building of the temple; the building itself
became more and more obvious that the temple like the Tabernacle in the
Wilderness pointed to a deeper message of present truth. The number Ten
for instance was everywhere.
“The number Ten is a number associated with absolute completeness,
change of order, salvation and power. Christ is our Ten. In Him we are
also complete and full.” Fasting Book Part 2:by Peter Demetris
Solomon the tenth son of David began to build the house of God after the
third year of his reign as king and it took seven years to build. Thus
completion of the temple occurred in the tenth year of King Solomon’s
reign.
There were thirty chambers built around the walls both of the temple,
and of the oracle. Thirty chambers in which priests carried out their
assigned duties. The number thirty speaks clearly of maturity. Jesus was
about thirty years of age when He began His public ministry. A requirement
of becoming a priest in the Levitical service was that he be thirty years
of age. Each chamber a ministry or duty to bring about the purpose of
God in the building of His house which we are. In My Father’s house
are many mansions: If it were not so I would have told you.
Rev. 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal:
and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four
beasts full of eyes before and behind.
Rev. 15:2 And I saw as it were
a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory
over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number
of his name, stand on the sea of glass, (The Sea is mirrored not only
to see a reflection in it, but to give a firm foundation upon which to
stand having the harps of God.
The Sea, which was ten cubits from one brim to the other completely round,
no beginning of life and no ending of life.
Under it was the likeness of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit.
The oxen were cast in two rows. Creation was framed in two, Heaven and
earth, male and female and so forth. It stood on twelve oxen, three
facing north, three toward the west, three looking south and three looked
toward the east. Four being the number of creation.
It brings to my mind
the scripture;“And they shall come from the east, and from the west,
and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom
of God.” Luke 13:29
2 Chron. 4:6 He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and
five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the
burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to
wash in.
Suddenly I saw another picture, one I had not seen earlier. The ten lavers
were not multiplied; they were added. Questions entered into my thinking
and I thought how could I write this, it is far too big for me. I remembered
how Pastor Peter would say, “find yourself in the tabernacle.”
Well this isn’t the tabernacle this is the temple! Here I found not
just me but a many membered Body appear of which I am a member. Why were
the ten lavers provided to wash the sacrifice? Isn’t the sacrifice
on the brazen altar representing the death of our Lord and Savior? And
is He not pure and holy? Why the ten lavers to wash the sacrifice?
I
saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testimony which they held: Rev.6:9 Then my eyes were
opened as to who we are, and my questions were answered. “that He
might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, (temple) not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without
blemish.”
“Rom.12:1,2 I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies
a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.
I researched many articles by different authors and historians. I read
the scriptures concerning the lavers over and over again. I found that
only in Solomon’s temple were there ten lavers in the outer court.
Neither were there ten lavers in the rebuilding of this temple in the
times of Ezra and Nehemiah, nor in the temple built by Herod the Idumean
neither in the temple seen by Ezekiel the prophet. Only the Sea made for
use in the outer court of other temples.
Prior to the entrance into the temple proper in front of the building
we find the place called Solomon’s porch. Two pillars supported this
porch or portico where Solomon judged the people. The pillars themselves
were decorated with carvings of lilies. The one on the right was called
Jachin (Yahweh will establish) and the pillar on the left was named Boaz.
Yahweh is the king’s strength. Wisdom hath builded her house!
In the holy place instead of one lampstand there are ten. So now revelation
light is magnified ten times. In the kingdom of God there is the light
of understanding. On each lampstand there are seven lamps. Seven is the
number of perfection, fullness and completion.
Dan 1:20 “And in
all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them,
he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers
that were in all his realm.” Isaiah prophesied that the light of
the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall
be seven -fold, as the light of seven days.
“Life reveals the power of God and Light expresses the nature of
God. He is the Light and Life. In the beginning Jehovah, said, Let there
be Light. And there was Light. And God saw the Light, that it was good.
He divided the Light from the darkness. The same was in the beginning
with God. In him was life and the life was the Light of men…..The
true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”
(An excerpt from The Tabernacle of God is With Man by Peter Demetris.)
Give us this day our daily
bread! In the Holy Place there were ten tables on which were placed the
bread of presence. This bread was made from the finest flour. Leaven was
baked in it also. (leaven means humanity) At these tables the priests
partook of the bread which was freshly baked every day. A time of communion
with God and with each other. Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes
and fed the multitudes. In the holy place the bread has been multiplied
to feed the world. The parable of the prodigal son speaks of the “Father’s
House” having bread to feed all those of his household plus the servants.
Jesus said, “I am the Living the Bread which came down from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that
I shall give is My flesh, which I give for the life of the world.”
John 6:51
1 Cor. 10:17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are
all partakers of that one bread.
Rev 8:3And another angel came
and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto
him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints
upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4. And the smoke of
the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before
God out of the angel's hand.
5. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar,
and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and
lightnings, and an earthquake.
In the books of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles what is written concerning the
Altar of Incense is minimal. With the exception that Solomon also built
the Golden Altar, and that it was made of cedar wood (cedar has sweet
odor) and overlaid the entire altar with the finest gold. Therefore I
am borrowing these words inspired by the Holy Spirit. “In the holy
place, the altar is anointed with the blood and becomes the sweet incense
of our conversation, prayer, good works and worship that is born from
the fellowship we experience at the table of shewbread. In the light of
the candlestick, we burn up the offering to the Lord on the golden altar
of incense.
The holiest day of Israel’s year occurred on the tenth day of the
seventh month, the Day of Atonement. This was the only day the high priest
was allowed beyond the veil of the tabernacle into the Holy of Holies
but not without blood. The golden altar is the only piece of furniture
that has a part in the atoning process. On that day the priest took both
hands Full of incense to burn in the Holy of Holies. A cloud of smoke
filled the tent and the Lord communed with the High priest between the
cherubim, over the mercy seat from within the cloud.” (from The Tabernacle
of God is With Men by Peter Demetris)
“Out of Zion, the perfection
of beauty, God hath shined. Gather my saints together unto me; those that
have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
It was now the seventh day
called the day of rest. The time of the Great Feast of Tabernacles, the
Ingathering!! The building of the temple was complete, and the holy of
holies was made ready to receive the Ark of the Covenant. The cherubim
were placed in such a way as to over-shadow the ark. The golden altar
was standing before the place where the ark would be placed. All was in
readiness according to the pattern given to Moses on the Mount.
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion!
And they gathered from the east and the west, and from the north and the
south. All in Israel heard the sound of the trumpet. They gathered in
Zion, the City of David, with the priests to carry the Ark from the tent
that David had erected (to keep the Ark until the time when the temple
would be finished to the Most Holy Place in the temple. With much sacrificing
and thanksgiving Solomon the king and all those gathered, with the priests
bearing the Ark praising the Lord God as they went. The priests brought
in the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord into the sanctuary of the temple
called the most holy place and placed it under the wings of the cherubim.
There was nothing in the ark
except the two tables of the law put there by Moses. The manna had ceased
when the ark crossed the Jordan River. In the land which is Christ there
is life everlasting.
1 Chr 28:2 - Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear
me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build
an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the
footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:
2 Chr 5:9 And they drew out
the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the
ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is
unto this day.
And so the ark entered into rest even as David had seen it to be. In Revelation
11 we find the ark in the Temple where we read,”Then the temple of
God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His Covenant was seen in His
temple!” Glory to the Lord God Jehovah! Now indeed it came to pass
that when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to
be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and they lifted their voice
with the trumpets (When the message and the messenger become one) then
the house filled with the cloud until the priests could no longer minister,
for the glory of the Lord filled the house. (Josephus wrote, ”the
cloud so filled the house that one priest could not see another even the
one next to him”)
And God Himself shall descend
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (air: the breath of His word.)
Ten times ten times ten times ten times ten times ten times ten!!!
Behold! The Lord comes in Myriads of Himself!
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his
people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Even so come Lord Jesus!!
*To read more from Betty Woodkey order your copy of "WORDS" by E-mailing
pastorpeterd@comcast.net
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