Monday October 7 Copy of the Pattern Read Exodus 25:9, 40; Hebrews 8:5; 9:23, 24. What is the relationship between the earthly and heavenly sanctuaries? The Scriptures clearly teach that Moses did not invent the tabernacle but built it according to the divine instruction that he had received on the mountain (Exod. 26:30, 27:8, Num. 8:4). The earthly sanctuary was to be constructed after the “pattern” (Exod. 25:9, 40) . The Hebrew word for “pattern” (tabnit) expresses the idea of a model or copy; thus, we can conclude that Moses saw some kind of miniature model that represented the heavenly sanctuary and that this model served as the pattern for the earthly. Therefore, the heavenly temple is the original, the model for the Israelite sanctuaries. What is also obvious is that we cannot equate the sanctuary in heaven with heaven itself. The heavenly temple is “ in heaven” (Rev. 11:19, 14:17, 15:5); thus, heaven contains it. The two are not synonymous. The book of Hebrews explains in unmistakable terms that the heavenly sanctuary is real. The sanctuary in heaven is called the “true tabernacle” (Heb. 8:2, NKJV), as well as the “greater and more perfect tabernacle” (Heb. 9:11, NKJV), while the earthly is a “copy and shadow” of the heavenly one (Heb. 8:5, NKJV). As a shadow is always a mere representation of something real, and an imperfect and faint representation at that, the earthly sanctuary is a mere representation of the heavenly. Whatever its limitations, however, the earthly sanctuary does reflect the reality of the heavenly in important ways. The relationship between the two is called typology. Typology is a divinely designed, prophetic prefiguration that involves two corresponding historical realities, called type (original) and antitype (copy). Because the correspondence runs from the type (original) to the antitype (copy), we can see in Hebrews that the heavenly model that Moses had seen is referred to as “type” or “pattern” (Heb. 8:5) and the earthly sanctuary as “antitype” or “copy” (Heb. 9:24). This truth presents more evidence that the heavenly existed prior to the earthly. As Seventh-day Adventists, we are on solid biblical ground when we in emphasize the physical reality of the heavenly sanctuary. Tuesday October 8 Jesus as the Sanctuary Read John 2:19–21. Why is Jesus’ body compared to the temple? See also John 1:14. One of the themes in the Gospel of John is that with Jesus, the better “temple” has come. Tabernacle imagery is used as early as in John 1:14. Jesus is the Word who “dwelt” among men, and they saw His “glory.” The Greek word used for “to dwell” ( skenoo) is the verbal form of the Greek noun for “tabernacle” ( skene); so, one could translate verse 14 as the Word “tabernacled among us.” In this context, the word glory recalls the glory of God that filled both the wilderness tabernacle (Exod. 40:34-35) and Solomon’s temple at its inauguration (2 Chron. 7:1–3). So, when Christ came to earth as a human, He fulfilled God’s temple promise to dwell among His people. As the texts above show, Jesus declared Himself to be the temple, signifying already the end of the earthly temple’s significance after His death (John 2:19–21, Matt. 27:51). Also, when Jesus said that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and the Light of the World (John 8:12), He might have been pointing beyond the manna on the table to the Bread of the Presence and the lampstand, objects in the earthly sanctuary. A definite reference to the sanctuary is the designation of Jesus as the sacrificial “Lamb of God,” who will bear the sin of the world (John 1:29). “All who did service in connection with the sanctuary were being educated constantly in regard to the intervention of Christ in behalf of the human race. This service was designed to create in every heart a love for the law of God, which is the law of His kingdom. The sacrificial offering was to be an object lesson of
Posted on: Sun, 06 Oct 2013 23:31:54 +0000
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