Episode Transcript
Are you ready to experience the amazing love of God and his plan for your life? Are you curious about the fast fulfilling Bible prophecies? Amidst the rapidly changing world, secrets of prophecy is your gateway to unlocking these exciting realities. Join Pastor David Price on a journey of discovery that will not only transform your life, but will equip you with inner peace and an unshakable hope to face the future. It's my pleasure to welcome you to session number nine in the Secrets of Prophecy series.
We are going to be studying the subject of rebuilding the temple. We are going to look at the ancient jewish temple in the Old Testament. Going to show you some video fly throughs and reconstructions and deconstructions, and also look at the modern day city of Jerusalem.
So what are we going to share and learn in session number nine, rebuilding the temple. We are going to look at the main two purposes of the Old Testament sanctuary. Secondly, was the Old Testament sanctuary a copy of, or was it an original? Question number three, what does all the Old Testament sanctuary furniture actually represent or what does it stand for? The fourth question we are going to answer in this series is what were the names of the two goats that were used in the sanctuary service? And finally, number five of our theme questions where is Jesus Christ right now and what is he doing? Majority of christians today would not know and could not answer that.
So that is a key and a crucial question as we look at rebuilding the temple. Gracious heavenly father, we just want to thank you for this amazing opportunity to open your word and go back to ancient times. And as we do so, may we see Jesus Christ lifted up.
We ask in your precious name, amen. It's my pleasure to again welcome you to session number nine of the secrets of Prophecy series. In this session, we are looking at the theme of rebuilding the temple.
Let's start with the Old Testament city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the so called city of peace, has a history of bloodshed and even destruction. For thousands of years, armies from all over the world have fought over this city.
And even today, Jerusalem is still one of the most volatile places in the world. The most prized possession in Jerusalem is the actual Temple Mount. This small area of the planet is a sacred site to three major world religions.
In fact, conflict over this location has the potential to divide the world or even start a global war. So the Temple Mount is currently under muslim control. This sacred site is recognised as the departure point for the prophet Muhammad bound for paradise.
And if you visit the Temple Mount today, you will notice two beautiful muslim shrines on the left you will see the dome of the Rock, and on the right you'll see the al Aska mosque. To the jew, this is the holiest site in the world. It is the home of their two most famous temples.
There's Solomon's temple, destroyed by the Babylonians, and Herod's temple, which was burnt to the ground by the Romans. This location is to the spiritual soul, the Jews, very spiritual. They're determined to reclaim the site and build a new jewish temple.
Many Christians who also see this as a sacred site are sympathetic to the Jews and support the building of the temple. Well, unfortunately, some years ago, an australian religious enthusiast, Michael Rowan, entered the Temple Mount and actually set fire to the al ask, a mosque. Having read in a religious paper he was attempting to help the Jews rebuild their temple.
The attempt failed and only stirred up even greater hostility. In recent times, the Jews have begun their planning in earnest. The temple institute, situated in the jewish quarter of the old city, has already made 60 sacred temple vessels, including the menorah, the seven branched candlestick, and the precious stones for the breastplate of the high priest.
They also have highly advanced architectural drawings for the new temple itself. There is no compromise. This temple must be built on the original site of the Temple Mount.
There are two talmudic schools located near the western wall, and they're now teaching hundreds of students the final details of the ancient sanctuary, symbols and services. There are also plans to reintroduce animal sacrifices once the temple has been restored with a new breed of red heifers currently being raised in southern Israel. What will eventuate from this sensitive situation remains to be seen.
But according to the Bible, should the temple be rebuilt? And what was the purpose of the ancient temple, also known as the tabernacle or sanctuary? Also, what did all the symbols and ceremonies represent? And we also need to ask the question, do we need a high priest or animal sacrifices today? So I'm very grateful and glad you can join us for session number nine of the secrets of Prophecy series. We're looking tonight at rebuilding the temple, the temple in Jerusalem today, but also deconstructing the ancient Old Testament sanctuary. And that's where we start this Bible study.
If you're watching online, this can be downloaded this study guide under the title bar. But it doesn't have to be. This lesson is self contained.
So please continue to join us. Question number one, what was the main purpose of the jewish sanctuary? And we go to Exodus 25 and verse eight. God said to Moses, and let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
So friends, the main impetus for building the sanctuary, amongst others, was that the God of heaven wanted to be with his people. In fact, we know that God created humans for love and companionship. He even made us in his own image so we could understand him better and to learn to love him more.
But when our original parents sinned, an intimate friendship with God was made more difficult. Instead of talking face to face, sin automatically raised a barrier between mankind and our pure and holy God. And Isaiah 59 two says, for our sins have separated between us and our God.
Well, the Old Testament sanctuary provided a means where God could live with his people. His presence, called the Shekinah glory, would permanently stay in the sanctuary. In this way, God went wherever his people went.
God guided, provided and protected his people. The sanctuary symbols and services taught the people to know and understand their loving God. Question two, what did God show his people through the sanctuary? And its services were in psalm 77 and verse 13.
David wrote, your way, O God, is in the sanctuary, meaning God's way. God's message is found in the sanctuary. What did he mean by that? Well, the Old Testament sanctuary was a three dimensional model given to the jews to show them God's way, in particular his way to salvation.
So we've just read thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary. What does that actually mean? Jesus tells us in John 14 six where he says, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father except through me.
So, friends, the way that we're going to discover in session number nine is that God's way is found in the sanctuary, and that way is actually the way to the Lord Jesus Christ. The subject of the sanctuary covers nearly half the Bible and involves a wide variety of symbols and ceremonies. The sanctuary is a prophecy outlining the complete gospel story in detail.
In fact, it introduces the God of judgement and demonstrates how God will ultimately and eternally solve the problem of sin. Many other prophetic books, including Daniel and revelation, base their prophecies on the subject of the sanctuary. In fact, the sanctuary and its services are mentioned over 90 times in revelation alone.
There are few, if any, more important, viable topics for us to understand and study than the Old Testament sanctuary, also known as the temple and the tabernacle. We're in question number three. What was the central teaching of the Old Testament sanctuary? And we're going to Hebrews nine and verse 22.
And this will be actually in the quiz. And so Paul wrote to the hebrew church that without shedding of blood there is no remission or forgiveness of sin. What did he mean by that, friends? The sanctuary service was based on the sacrifice of animals.
This heart wrenching ceremony taught that the shedding of blood was required to obtain forgiveness or remission and cleansing from sinse. Leviticus 1711 tells us that blood is a symbol of life. Only the blood from the life of the one who was sinned against meaning God and his law could provide forgiveness for the sinner.
And Jesus was the lamb of God, the one who gave his blood to take away the sins of the world. Through the sanctuary, God demonstrated the great cost of sin. And through the blood of animals, God pointed towards the promised saviour and substitute the Lord Jesus Christ.
Question four. We're asking now where did Moses get the plans to help him build the sanctuary? How did he know what to do? In Exodus 25 and looking at verse nine, God told Moses, according to all that I show you, that is the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings. Just so you shall make it so, friends, if there's a pattern that tells us this is a copy and there must be an original somewhere.
So let's discover a little bit more. When Moses built the sanctuary, also known as the temple and the tabernacle, he didn't need his best architects to help him. God gave him the blueprints from Mount Sinai.
In fact, the sanctuary was meticulously designed by Goddesse and every symbol and ceremony was significant. The original sanctuary was not a giant temple located on the Temple Mount. In fact, it was a tent in the desert.
You can cheque that out in the book of Exodus chapters 25 to 40 for more detail. This Old Testament sanctuary was portable and the Jews would transport the sanctuary as they travelled through the wilderness. A life sized replica of the jewish sanctuary was built a few years ago by a kibbutz in the judean desert.
Did you know that thousands of tourists visit this tabernacle each year? So the desert sanctuary was made of a variety of materials, including acacia wood, goats hair, even Ramskin dyed red badger skin, along with silver and gold. Did you know that the sanctuary consisted of three aspects? There was the courtyard, which set a boundary around the sanctuary. There was only really one entrance through the front curtain or veil.
It was through this veil that the sinner would come with his lamp. Within the courtyard, precinct or district was the actual altar of burnt offering. See Exodus 40, verse six.
And this is where the animals were sacrificed. The second piece of furniture in the courtyard shows us there was also a laver, Exodus 47, where the priests washed their hands and feet prior to entering the sanctuary. In the holy place was a seven branched candlestick, also called the menorah in Exodus 25 31 40, and continually kept alight with oil.
There was also the altar of incense, Exodus 37 and eight, where incense burned continually. And then there was also a table of showbread, Exodus 25 23 30, that held twelve loaves of flat bread. Now we move into the most holy place.
It was in the most holy place that the presence of God lived. This was the home of the Ark of the covenant, Exodus 43. And on the ark stood two angels made of pure gold, watching over the mercy seat of the ark.
See Exodus 20 517 22. Now, inside the ark was the most awesome part of the sanctuary, the law of God, that is, the ten Commandments, written personally by the the finger of God. See deuteronomy, ten four and five.
Please join me in question five. So we're asking, how did the sinner receive forgiveness of sins? We're going to Leviticus, chapter four and verse 33. Moses was told, then he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, that is the priest, and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering.
Friends, what does this mean? Well, when a person sinned, there were awful and bloody consequences. The sinner would take a lamb, possibly a much loved personal pet of the family, and move towards the sanctuary. You can imagine the gossip and rumours as that person passed his friends along the way.
The sinner took the lamb and as he walked through the veil, he approached the altar of burnt offering. He then placed his hand on the head of the lamb and confessed his specific sins onto that lamb. See Leviticus, chapter five and verse five.
So in that process, the sinner had transferred symbolically his sins onto that lambda. And so that lamb must now die. In what must have been a most difficult process, the sinner now had to kill the lamb himself, where in other instances, the priest would do the killing.
Depending on the sacrifice, the priest either ate part of the animal as regulated by God, or took its blood and sprinkled it inside the sanctuary. Thus the sin was transferred from the sinner to the lamb, to the priest, and into the sanctuary. The sinner could then walk away free from the penalty of sin.
Maybe this graphic will help you understand in greater detail what was happening. What are the steps in the banishment of sin. So there was the daily sanctuary service where the sinner was forgiven and cleansed.
Let's track through and see how sin got into the sanctuary. So on the diagram we see that sin goes in as the member of the tribe of Israel was there and he was confessing his sins over the animal. So the sinner was to confess his sins over the lambda, take the life of that lamb, and then the blood would be taken by the priest and placed inside the sanctuary on the horns of the altar in the most holy place.
Now remember that blood was defiled and that blood was going to pollute the sanctuary. Some of you will remember in Daniel chapter eight, verse 14, it says unto 2300 days. Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed in that prophecy.
So the sanctuary could be polluted by sins and defiled blood. And at the end of every year it had to be cleansed. Question number six, on which pattern was the jewish sanctuary actually modelled? We're in Hebrews eight and we need to have a look at verses one to five.
Let's start in verse one and two. Now, this is the main point of the things we are saying, says the apostle Paul. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tabernacle.
A minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected. And nothing man. So what are we learning here? Well, very simply, the earthly sanctuary was just a pattern or a copy of the sanctuary in heaven.
The sanctuary that Moses built was a shadow reflecting the true and majestic temple that God had built. In fact, the writer of Hebrews told the Jews that the main point was there is a high priest providing salvation in the sanctuary of heaven. To this day.
It is absolutely pointless building a new temple in Jerusalem. And I'll be asking you about this in the quiz. The true sanctuary has already been built, hasn't it? And where is it? Well, I'm sure you know.
It's in heaven. That should be our focus. It is no wonder that all end time prophecies describe the temple as being in heaven and not being on earth.
We're going to question number seven. Thank you so much for joining us. What did jesus do in the courtyard of this earth? We're in John, chapter one, and verse 29.
John the Baptist saw Jesus Christ coming down to be baptised and he said out loud, as a testimony and a witness, behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. That would be the King James Version. We're using the new King James version in this seminar series.
So behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Did you know that God also made a sacrifice to provide forgiveness much more precious than a pet animal? Jesus, the lamb of God, was God's son. And so, friends, it was actually in the courtyard of the earthly sanctuary that the animal was sacrificed.
And it was on this earth that Jesus Christ died. In fact, I don't know if you realise, but the death of Jesus Christ was a perfect sacrifice that, unlike the animal, sacrifice, was only required once. In fact, the veil in the earthly sanctuary ripped from the top down to the bottom.
See Matthew 27 51. And this happened as Jesus brought an end to sacrifice and offering in Daniel chapter nine, verse 27, as we studied in our last session. Well, that takes us into question number eight, and this is a very, very important question we're asking how does the furniture in the sanctuary actually represent Jesus Christ? Remember, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.
He's the way to God. And he was the way to God in the Old Testament sanctuary, pointing the Israelites forward to the time when he would die on the cross. Did you know that each article of furniture in the Old Testament sanctuary actually represented an aspect of Jesus in his work to save us from sin? Before we go into question eight too far, I just want to make sure that you are aware of the three areas.
So let's have a look now at the courtyard and the two holy places. So the courtyard is the area which contains the altar of burnt offering and the laver. We then move into the first apartment of the Old Testament sanctuary, and that was known as the holy place.
This housed the seven golden candlesticks, or candelabra, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense before the veil or the curtain. We then move into the most holy place, where the priest was only allowed to go once a year, the high priest and no one else. And that housed the area of the precious ark of the covenant.
So we're asking how each article of furniture in the sanctuary represents an aspect of Jesus in his work to save us from sin. The first one is the actual altar of burnt offering. This was the first piece of furniture in the courtyard.
The altar of Burnt offering is actually representing the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary, as in John, chapter one and verse 29. Did you notice that the death of Jesus on the Christ, Jesus Christ on the cross is actually the first thing that happens in the Old Testament sanctuary service. And there's a lot more going on after that.
So let's move now to the second item, which was the laver. What did the laver represent? The laver represented Jesus, the living water, as in John 410 and Titus three, five. This was also where the priests were washing the blood off themselves from doing the sacrifice.
All right, so let's use this video slide to just reacquaint ourselves with the holy place, which is the first apartment of the Old Testament sanctuary. We have the seven golden candlesticks. We have the altar of incense in the centre and the table of twelve loaves, or the show bread on the right.
So what do these ancient symbols actually mean? Well, firstly, the candlestick represents Jesus Christ as the light of the world. How can we actually prove that? Well, let's go to Jesus words himself, and we'll go to John chapter eight and verse twelve. Jesus said, there I am, the light of the world.
He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Then in psalm 119 105, we're told that God's word, the ancient biblical writings, the scriptures, are a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. So, friends, God's word will be a beacon or a lighthouse that will shine down into the future and help us to navigate the darkness of this old world.
Another passage referring to Jesus and light is revelation one, verse twelve and 20. And here we find Jesus standing amongst the seven golden candlesticks which represent the seven churches. John the disciple, also known as John the Revelator, wrote.
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the son of man.
The seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. We now have to ask not only about the symbol of light representing Jesus. What does oil actually represent? Oil is a symbol in the Old Testament and New Testament of the Holy Spirit.
So the oil in the lamps of the seven candelabra candlesticks there is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. See Zechariah, chapter four, verses one to six. The Holy Spirit is the one who guides us into all biblical truth.
See John 1613. The Holy Spirit convicts us of right and wrong. John 16 eight.
And Jesus himself promises to give the Holy Spirit to all those who ask for it. We're now moving on to the show. Bread.
Jesus Christ himself is the bread of life, according to John 648. Let's hear a little bit more Jesus own words. In John 648-5153 and 63, Jesus said, I am the bread of life.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven. Unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.
What a precious promise that is. We now move to the altar in front of the veil, the curtain, before we move into the most holy place. This is the altar of incense.
This stands for the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's also mixed with the prayers of the saints. And we get that understanding from revelation, chapter eight and verse three and four.
Let's have a look at it on the screen. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. John writes, he was given much incense, the angel, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the throne.
Now, what was interesting to me was that one piece of the Old Testament sanctuary furniture that was not mentioned is very, very important. It's actually the veil. And in this video slide, you can see the incense wafting up to the top of the curtain and over the top into the most holy place.
You can see the candelabra flickering. Jesus Christ himself is represented by the veil or the curtain. And we need to remember where we understand that from the veil is his flesh.
So let's go to Hebrews 10 19 20. Paul wrote, therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh. So Paul's saying to us today that we can go into the holy place symbolically where Jesus is ministering for us in heaven, and that his flesh is represented by the veil.
How does that actually work? When Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the cross, the roman soldier had pierced his side. And so when Jesus Christ's flesh was pierced also, we find that the curtain in Herod's temple was ripped from the top to the bottom and believed to be up to four inches thick, done by not human hands, but by, we believe, angelic hands. We are now about to move into the most holy place.
So we move on from the candelabra, the table of showbread and the altar of incense into the most holy place. And this is where we find the most sacred object of all of the objects there. And this is the ark of the covenant, which stands for the mercy of Jesus Christ for those who break his law.
Maybe you've wondered, actually, what is this mercy seat? The mercy seat is that area that takes prominence there between the two angels. What does that actually mean? Let's go to psalm 99 and verse one for the answer we're actually told in psalm 99 one. In the new international version, the Lord reigns.
Let the nations tremble. He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. So, friends, as we're summarising the mercy seat, which is part of the furniture of the ark of the covenant, we need to remember that the mercy seat on earth represented the throne of God in heaven, where God offers mercy to those who have broken his law.
I hope, as we've gone through those different articles of the Old Testament, sanctuary, services and furniture, that you've understood how Jesus is rightly represented by that furniture. Let's go to question nine. Who is your high priest today? We're in Hebrews 414 16.
It says, seeing then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. And that's verse 14.
Friends, what can we draw from this information? Did you know that you still need a priest for salvation today? Not a priest on earth. When Jesus was on earth, he actually became our sacrifice. But when Jesus returned back to heaven, he became our high priest.
Many people today pray to God through earthly priests or saints. But what does the Bible say in one Timothy two five? It says there's only one mediator between God and men. That is the man, Christ Jesus.
So we need to remember that Jesus is our only mediator today, and we need no other. So we do not need to pray through any human priest or priesthood today. Jesus Christ is our only high priest.
He is our mediator between us and the Father. He is our sacrifice for sin, and he is our most precious saviour. So, to summarise what we've learned from one Timothy two five, we've learned there's only one mediator that has power to save us from our sins, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Absolutely fantastic, isn't it? Then we have learned in Hebrews nine, Hebrews chapter nine, verses 26 and 28, there's only one sacrifice for sin that can bring forgiveness, and that is again, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then thirdly, what do we need to learn in this summary point? We need to learn there is only one priest. How many priests? One priest in the New Testament that can take away our guilt, as in Hebrews chapter eight, verses one to six.
And that is none other than the beautiful and precious Lord Jesus Christ. We're in question number ten. Our question says, what does Jesus do as high priest in the heavenly sanctuary, Hebrews chapter seven and verse 25.
Paul wrote, therefore, Jesus is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since Jesus always lives to make intercession for them. Friends, Jesus can save to the uttermost. And he can also reach down to the guttermost to reach anyone on planet earth who reaches up to the king of heaven and says, help me, Lord, help me.
So the major role of the high priest is to bring the benefit of the sacrifice, meaning salvation, into a reality, into our life. Did you realise that salvation was not finished at the cross? In fact, the Old Testament sanctuary model demonstrates that the sacrifice was just the start of the gospel story. Jesus, the lamb who died for us became the priest who now lives for us.
That's all good news, isn't it? Well, in the Old Testament, the priest stood before the holiness of God, albeit with a veil in between, and became the mediator between God and the sinner. In this way, the sinner had constant access to goddess and God had constant access to his people. So when Jesus returned to heaven, he personally took on the role of working with the father to bring salvation to us.
Did you know that Jesus is the link between human frailty and divine immortality? Isn't that fantastic? Jesus also provides forgiveness. Through offering his blood and righteousness in the place of our sins, Jesus restores our relationship with God. And Jesus gives us spiritual power to live a victorious christian life.
So let's take a moment to give you some extra information. Let's summarise the three parts of the Old Testament sanctuary. Firstly, there was the courtyard, the outer court, which represents what Jesus did for us.
That is, he died for our sins. And theologically that is called justification, where Jesus takes the death that was ours and we take the life that was his. What an amazing exchange that is.
So justification means very simply, when we're justified, God sees us just as if we'd never sinned. So in the outer court, we have there, inside the yellow line, the altar of burnt offering or sacrifice, symbolising the cross, and the laver, symbolising cleansing from sin, and also Christianity, baptism. Let's go to the second apartment of the Old Testament sanctuary, which is, of course, called the holy place.
This shows what Jesus does in us. Sanctification is making us more like Jesus through a dayless surrender to him. And in the holy place, we see the seven golden candlesticks that represents Jesus as the light of the world.
And we need the light of the world in a dark, dark world that we live in. We need Jesus to bring light to our life and hope. The table of showbread represents Jesus feeding on him every day through his word.
Jesus is the living word, the Bible is the written word. And then the altar of incense represents our prayers. So we see there Jesus, the light of life, bringing us light and hope and peace through studying his word and praying.
And so those are the main christian disciplines. What about the most holy place? What does this mean? Well, friends, the most holy place is where Jesus Christ will take us. And that process is called glorification.
When we receive new bodies and go back to heaven to be with him, this is living eternally in God's presence. And so the most holy place, where there is the ark of the covenant, not Noah's ark, but the ark of the covenant, the golden box with the two angels on top. This beautiful shekinah glory, the mercy seat.
The presence of God that was in there represents one day that with his grace and glory, we will be glorified and be just like him. It's an amazing hope, isn't it? Question number eleven. We're asking what was the actual day of atonement? What did it involve? We're in Leviticus 23 and verse 27.
Moses was told, also, the 10th day of this 7th month shall be the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you. You shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.
The word atonement can be broken up into three parts. It is when two hostile parties are brought together that is a holy God with sinful humankind. When they are brought together and reconciled through the death of Jesus Christ, they are at one ment.
At onement is another way of understanding the atonement. So, friends, the day of atonement, or Yom Kippur, occurred just once every year. This was the only day the high priest entered the most holy place.
Now I want you to remember the next sentence because it's very important. It'll be in the quiz. This was a day of judgement.
God's people during this time, what did they have to do? God's people had to, in ancient israeli times, afflict their souls. In other words, it was a solemn time of repentance. This was the day to ensure there was a complete harmony between goddess and his people.
Those who refused to participate were cut off from God's people. Leviticus 23 29th. Friends, I want to pause a moment and just remind you how important it is to confess our sins every day and clear out our sins and have our sins cleansed under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as he ministers in the heavenly sanctuary.
It's so important to be in that right relationship with God. In ancient times, all who refused to participate were cut off from God's people. See? Leviticus 23 29.
Continuing on every day, the high priest would offer sacrifices and transfer the record of sin, symbolised by eating the flesh or drinking the blood, into the holy place of the sanctuary. The day of atonement was a day to cleanse the sanctuary from sin. Did you know that the prophet Daniel predicts a time when the sanctuary in heaven will also be cleansed? As I already mentioned, according to Daniel 814, that's a future study.
There will be a judgement taking place prior to the second coming of Christ, when we will also need to make sure our life is in harmony with the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're going to cover this topic in great detail in the study guide and session called the judgement. Question number twelve.
What was done on the day of atonement that symbolised the final removal of sin? Leviticus 16 710. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. That's Leviticus 16, verse eight.
I want you to remember the names for the two goats because that might be in the quiz. What does all this actually mean? Well, friends, on the actual day of atonement, two goats were chosen. There was one for the Lord and the other was called the scapegoat, also known as Azazel, or the devil's goat.
The Lord's goat was killed as a sacrifice for God's people. The blood was actually taken by the high priest into the most holy place and sprinkled on the mercy seat of the ark. This actually represented the blood of Jesus Christ and the mercy of God to save us from our sins.
Following this event, the sins from the sanctuary were symbolically transferred to the scapegoat. The scapegoat was taken out into the wilderness, Leviticus, 1621 and 22, to die a lonely death eventually, but it was not killed. This event actually represents Satan.
This goat actually represents Satan, who, at the end of the judgement, will finally bear the consequences of all the sins of humanity. Let's take a moment to think a little bit more on some of these themes. So we have a scapegoat who is also called Azazel, and we need to ask the question, if this scapegoat represents Satan, does the goat ever here on planet Earth represent Satan? And the answer would be, sadly, yes, on many rock music album covers.
Also here you can see the goat and the fingers pointing up there is the saying as above. So below, two fingers up, two fingers down. Satan is replicating the government of God down here, a counterfeit government.
So let's summarise what is going on here. To totally understand the role of the scapegoat, lets recap and summarise for a moment. During the year, through the daily sacrificial ritual, the people were cleansed and forgiven their sins.
But once a year, on the day of atonement, the people received a final cleansing and the sanctuary itself was cleansed from the confessed sins of the people. Throughout the year, it typified the final removal of sin. So the high priest would go into the most holy place once a year on the day of atonement, as you can see there on the left, and he would face the way that he come in, he go round behind those angels and face the entrance to the Old Testament sanctuary.
And so the high priest then moves from the most holy place after he'd sprinkled blood on the mercy seat, back to the holy place where he sprinkled blood on the horns of the altar of incense to cleanse it from all the sins of Israel. So now, after twelve months, the sanctuary is symbolically full of the sins of Israel and the nation of Israel and the people there from the previous twelve months, it's totally polluted, symbolically and literally. And there's lots of blood that is there in the sanctuary.
So what would happen next? Well, we find out that the high priest then confessed all the sins of Israel over the head of the scapegoat, thus transferring the responsibility for the sins of Israel onto that scapegoat. Notice it's not salvific, it's not anything to do with salvation, but it's transferring the responsibility for the sins of Israel onto the scapegoat. Because Satan was the one who brought sin to planet Earth.
If we could just go to the jewish encyclopaedia, the Jews would understand better than we would, wouldn't they? What was actually going on on the day of atonement and the role of the scapegoat? Let us see what they say in the jewish encyclopaedia.com reading and quoting from the article Azazel. This was the name of a supernatural being mentioned in connection with the ritual of the day of atonement.
Far from involving the recognition of Azazel as a deity, the sending of the goat washing as stated by na manites. Who's na menides? Down the bottom, it's Moses ben Nachman, a leading mediaeval jewish scholar who lived 1194 to 1270 ad. I'll read that again.
Far from involving the recognition of Azazel as a deity, the sending of the goat was meaning out, as stated by Naamanides, a symbolic expression of the idea that the people's sins and their evil consequences were to be sent back to the spirit of desolation and ruin, the source of all impurity. This is. End of quote.
This is telling us that the responsibility for the sins must go out of the sanctuary. But who was it going to rest on? Lets continue to quote from the jewish encyclopaedia. They wrote, the jewish scholars wrote, the very fact that the two goats were presented before Yahweh or before God, before the one was sacrificed and the other sent into the wilderness was proof that Azazel was not ranked with Yahweh, but regarded simply as the personification of wickedness, in contrast with the righteous government of Yahweh.
The personification of impurity, the leader of the rebellious angels, friends, end of quote. That is a very, very important distinction that the jewish encyclopaedia draws, that it tells us the personification of impurity. This entity called Azazel, which comes to us from the scapegoat, is actually put at the feet of the leader of the rebellious angels, which of course is another name for Satan.
And we are talking about the devil's goat. Let's understand what's going on here. All the sins of Israel were confessed in the sanctuary during the year.
And they were cleansed out of the sanctuary on the day of atonement, once every year. And they were confessed over the head of the scapegoat, not the Lord's goat. Which goat? The head of the scapegoat which represented Satan, not Jesus, which represented Satan, the source of all evil.
Then what happened to the goat? Well, then the sin laden scapegoat was separated from Israel forever. It was led by the hand of a fit man out into the wilderness and it was abandoned to die in the desert. Let's take a moment to understand a little bit more.
So this scapegoat, we must be very, very clear, this scapegoat was never killed by anyone there and it was never made into a sacrifice. It merely represented the devil who will end his time in the wilderness here on planet Earth. And we'll cover that in a future study.
So, friends, the scapegoat or the escape goat represents Satan using the name Azazel. This goat was not killed. It never died as a sacrifice.
If you'd like to do more study, please read through Leviticus, chapter 16. It merely typifies that Satan started the sin problem and he's responsible for starting it. He is not a sin bearer in the terms of our salvation, but it just typifies that Satan will end his time in the wilderness.
Let's go back to our diagram to actually understand how the sin exit the sanctuary. The steps in the banishment of sin, where the daily service was the sinner forgiven and cleansed. Remember, we said that the sin went into the sanctuary via the sinner, and then he placed his hands on the lamb and confessed his sins over the lamb.
He then took its life and the blood was taken by the priest. Then into the old Testament sanctuary. The priest took the blood of the sacrificial lamb into the old Testament sanctuary and it was defiled blood and it was placed on the horns of the altar of incense.
So this is how symbolically God was dealing with the sin problem by illustrating in the old Testament sanctuary what he would be doing in heaven to overcome and make an end of sins in the yearly service. Which shows us how the sanctuary service, how it was cleansed, is the reverse. That is the sanctuary now full of defiled blood and the sins of all the people.
These sins were placed on the Lord's goat. And of course, the Lord's goat had the clean blood, and so the Lord's goat was, with its blood, actually sacrificed. That's a very, very important point.
The Lord's goat was sacrificed for the sins of the nation. And then the high priest would go and place his hands, just his hands, upon the scapegoat, the devil's goat, the goat that represented Azazel. And this is how sin was taken out of the sanctuary.
But be very, very clear that the scapegoat was not ever sacrificed. That's a very, very important point. So I hope that that has been a help for you to understand a little bit more about the scapegoat.
We're back in our study guide on page 13, just above question 13 in that last paragraph. So, friends, during the millennium, the devil, meaning the scapegoat, will be thrown into the wilderness of this earth for how long? 1000 years. He will finally perish in the lake of fire.
Revelation 20. This final act demonstrates that the devil is the one responsible for all the sin, pain and suffering throughout history. And it's good to know that soon the devil, sin and sinners will be no more.
Question 13. What makes Jesus our perfect high priest? For today we go to Hebrews chapter two and verse 17. The scripture says, therefore, in all things, Jesus had to be made like his brethren, which is the old english word for brothers, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
You will probably want to ask me what propitiation means. It is a conciliatory offering made to an appease an offended deity. It's an old fashioned concept.
And so Jesus, in his death on the cross, was satisfying the justice of God, that the law would be upheld. In Hebrews four and verse 15. We're asking what makes Jesus our perfect high priest for today.
Paul tells us this, for we do not have a high priest, meaning Jesus, who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses. But he was, in all points, tempted as we are. Yet Jesus Christ was without sin.
That's fantastic news, isn't it? So when we're praying to Jesus, he understands how hard it is down here and he understands how great temptations are and how great is our pain and suffering. So, to summarise, we understand that Jesus Christ is actually our brother. He was made human in flesh and was tempted to sin by the devil, just like we are.
Jesus actually understands what it's like to feel the pull of temptation. He understands we are human and how easy it is to spiritually fall. And as a result, our Lord Jesus Christ is full of sympathy and mercy.
When we confess our sins, he wants to help us and he wants to forgive us. Did you remember that Jesus actually resisted temptation, that he was totally perfect and without sin? Hebrews 726. Jesus actually gained a victory over temptation through personal experience.
And he's ready to give you help just when you need it the most. Because Jesus fulfilled the perfect requirements of the law, he can substitute his perfect life for our sinful life. As a result, we can go boldly to the throne of grace, that we might find mercy and grace to help in time of need, as according to Hebrews four and verse 16.
Well, there's three points to remember as we summarise this Bible study. Number one, the sanctuary demonstrates God's plan of salvation. It certainly does.
Secondly, the sanctuary outlines how God solves the problem of sin. You see, it was hard for Old Testament people to understand that in the future a messiah would come and it would die on a cross and be a sacrifice. They wanted the messiah who was coming to be a kingly person who would rule and reign and free them from the Romans.
But the sanctuary service showed us that the lambda would have to die and be cured. The third point we've learned is the heavenly sanctuary is now where Jesus ministers to bring to you eternal salvation. So we know where Jesus is right now and we know exactly what he is doing.
When he finishes that work, smoke will fill the temple in revelation 15 eight. And that means the judgement is over and Jesus is then able to come back and take his people home to heaven. And that is called the second coming of Christ.
I want to ask you now, what is your response? Would you like to accept the full plan of salvation and over time learn more about Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary? I hope you would, and that you can say yes. So, to summarise where we started in secrets of prophecy session number nine, rebuilding the temple. We asked what were the two main purposes of the Old Testament sanctuary.
The first one was that God wanted to dwell with his people. Isn't that right? Secondly, the Old Testament sanctuary was a model. It was a copy of the heavenly Sanctuary.
It was a model on how God was going to end and deal with the sin problem via the death of Jesus Christ. Let's go to question number two. Was the Old Testament sanctuary a copy or was it actually an original? Well, I'm sure you're very clear on this, that it was a pattern, so therefore it must have been a copy of the original that was up in heaven.
The heavenly sanctuary is the original and the earthly sanctuary is a copy made by human hands. Let's go to question number three. What does all the Old Testament sanctuary furniture actually represent? I think, I'm sure that you'll know the answer to this.
It represents Jesus Christ in both his life and his death. The different facets and symbols of his life and death. We asked you at the start of this study if you would be able to remember the names of the two goats who were actually used in this sanctuary service.
The first one was the Lord's goat. The second one was the scapegoat known as the devil's Goat, Satan's goat, or even by the name Azazel. Number five, where is the Lord Jesus Christ right now and exactly what is he doing? We need to be very, very clear on this.
The book of Hebrews tells us, if you're unsure, please read the book of Hebrews. Jesus is actually completing the judgement in heaven right now. And then comes the SCC, which is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that's our Bible study, rebuilding the temple. Now some of you are asking for more information and would like to go deeper. Can I refer you to prophecy seminar number 14, which is, let them make me a sanctuary.
Exodus 25 eight, that I may dwell among them. And that is on the true Blue SDA website where you are looking at this particular study also in the revelation seminar. Revelation seminar number 14, God sets a date for the judgement also covers this very important topic.
Let us pray. Gracious heavenly Father, we want to thank you so much for this amazing topic as we look at your old Testament sanctuary based on the pattern from heaven, we see all the detail in it, that it brings your way to us and your way is the way of salvation and that salvation comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. Bless, guide and direct us as we continue to study your word.
Give us power, give us wisdom, give us grace and give us comfort. We ask in Jesus powerful name. Amen.
Look, I just want to thank you so much for being with us for session number nine on are we going to rebuild the temple or are we going to accept the temple in heaven? I want to thank you so much for being with us and yeah, just going to look forward to the next time you join us for session number ten. Until then, I'll say God bless and goodbye.
Secrets of Prophecy with Pastor David Price has been brought to you by 3ABN Australia radio. For more resource in this series you can visit the YouTube page trueblue SDA all one word that's trueblue SDA.
