HEAVEN AS A PICTURE OF THE TABERNACLE


THOUGHTS ABOUT HEAVEN: THE ULTIMATE TABERNACLE OF GOD

                MOST HOLY PLACE=        THE THRONE OF GOD=                  Glorification

                HOLY PLACE=                     THE CITY OF GOD =                          Sanctification

                OUTER COURT =               THE PARADISE OF GOD =              Justification

THE TEMPLE OF MOSES AND HEAVEN

                It is very possible that in heaven we will occupy positions corresponding to what part of the sanctuary we dwelt in here on earth. Those who have remained in the outer court with very little growth or relationship with the Lord or His Word, will occupy paradise and may or may not ever enter the city. This I don’t know. They will be eternally happy that they made it, but they will occupy a position in heaven corresponding to their level of relationship with Jesus here on earth.

                Those who have been sanctified in Spirit and truth relating to the Holy Place, will dwell in the City of God and will hold positions of honor corresponding to their relationship with Jesus and the level to which they reflect His character and person.

                Those who have during this life managed to dwell within the veil, in the secret place of the Most High, will share the throne with God. They will be the Bride of Christ, also identified by Jesus as Overcomers.” They will reign with Him on His throne and they will occupy the positions of authority over the nations with Jesus Christ along with the Apostles and Prophets.

                This has everything to do with the rewards handed out at the Bema judgment. After all it would be of no value to be awarded with things like gold, of which the streets will be paved, or MacDonald’s gift certificates… for we will lack for nothing and would probably prefer fruit from the tree of life anyway.

                It is our position with Christ that will be reflected in the rewards given and those rewards will be a reflection of our life, both in humble service and true love as well as our fellowship with Jesus through His Holy Spirit and His Word.

                This is why we need Jesus. Flesh and blood cannot produce the kind of love that God is looking for in His kingdom. But this love is not just dumped on us. Rather it is added to us through experience like gold tried in the fire as we walk hand in hand with the Lord, learning to love as He loves and to serve as He served. We are like pearls of great price to which must be added layer after layer of grace. And these layers are added in the gritty process of human experience and faith.

                If we are to attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, then we are talking about a process rather than an instantaneous gift. We become like Christ by living by His Spirit and His Word, having been crucified with Christ so that His life can be manifested in our mortal bodies.

                So Paul is here talking about much more than a one- time emotional trip to the altar. WE are in the process of becoming like Christ, by His power, His Word, by prayer and intimate fellowship, by overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony.

                I have often wondered why we can’t just keep growing in heaven. After all, it is Christ’s righteousness and not our own. And this is where two very different concepts exist within the Body of Christ. One concept is that there is no need for growth and obedience and as such, because Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. We are just sinners saved by grace. The other concept is that we live a crucified life, putting to death the deeds of the flesh as we learn to live by His indwelling Spirit in accordance with His world and according to His power that works within us.  In other words it is a process of becoming like Jesus as we live by faith in Him.

                There are no shortcuts to character. Becoming like Jesus is a process of faith and action over time. All of God’s Bible heroes lived by faith and God did not count their mistakes so much as their growth. Repenting cleared the deck for more growth. Forgiveness cleared the deck for more love.

                This is why when we die we will remain at whatever level we attained in this life. It can only come through experience. Our level of maturity will somehow be reflected in our lives forever. But neither can our rewards be attained by works that we do apart from Christ. Our works do not add up points. It is only faith working through love that counts. Only what the Holy Spirit produces in us will add up, simply because eternal things cannot be created by temporal beings.

                This is what I think Paul is talking about in Hebrews 12:27-29. When he talks of shaking everything in heaven and on earth, He is talking about the removal of those things which can be shaken, “as of created thing in order that those things which cannot be shaken will remain. Therefore since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

                Sadly, those who never grow in their relationship with Christ will forever remain outer court Christians and this will somehow be reflected in their rewards and their position in eternity. The closer we are to Jesus here, the closer we will be to Him in heaven.

                Living by the Spirit then is a matter of learning to live and build our lives according to the eternal Holy Spirit who indwells us, rather than trying to attain heaven by the works of the flesh. Only that which is built upon Him will last for eternity.             

ONE NEW MAN IN CHRIST

                Another aspect of heaven as the original pattern of the sanctuary is this matter of the one singular family made up of both Jews and Gentiles. In Abraham, God built a nation for Himself that would bring forth His Word, His Law and His Son. Israel would become a kingdom of kings and priests unto God and salvation would come to the entire world through them. This is why we were grafted in, rather than replacing Israel. (Romans 11) And this is reflected in the eternal purposes of God by the New Jerusalem that forms a picture of the one new man in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles in one city.

                Ephesians 2:15, 16 says that Christ intends to make the two groups, Jews and Gentiles into one new man in Christ and that he will reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross.

                This is pictured by the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, for its foundations will be named after the 12 Apostles and its 12 gates after the 12 tribes of Israel.       Those who hate the Jews will probably not like the New Jerusalem.

                Another point to make about the New Jerusalem is that modern translators think to do us a favor by translating 12,000 Stadia into fifteen hundred miles, but in doing so they pass over an important feature of the New Jerusalem. 12,000 X 12,000 =a number containing 144,000 which is the number of the Remnant. The square footage so to speak of the New Jerusalem is 144,000.

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