JESUS IN THE TABERNACLE - The Brazen Altar and The Golden Altar
JESUS IN THE TABERNACLE – The Brazen Altar and The Golden Altar
Tuesday Morning Bible Study
September 24, 2018, the Year of our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom \
Heb. 13:10: We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
Acts 2:3: On the day of Pentecost, there appeared to them divided tongues of fire which fell upon each one of them. Why the fire? It is the fire of God from Heaven’s Altar, lit by God, on the altar of His Temple of the New Covenant.
The continual fire of the Brazen Altar was the responsibility of the priest to keep the fire going. It is for the believer to keep on fire for God and to ever see that the Fire of Calvary’s message is kept alive. God lit this fire: Lev. 9:24: The fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. It is now the responsibility of humans to keep it lit. Fire fell from Heaven many times in the Bible.
2 Chr. 7: 1-3: After Solomon prayed and dedicated the temple.
2 Ki. 18: 38-39: Elijah’s altar
Acts 2:3: On the day of Pentecost…
Heb. 9:23-24: Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
The Brazen Altar or Altar of Burnt Offering is a type of The Cross – one way to God --- One altar for the entire nation, the only place of offering sacrifice.
Acts 4:12: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven give to mankind by which we must be saved.
The Cross is the only place where satisfaction was made in regard to the Holiness of God who justly demands that sin be judged and atoned for. The Brazen Altar is the first piece of furniture inside the gate of the Tabernacle. The beginning of our Christian walk is the Cross. We must keep growing and moving in Christ past the Brazen Altar into the Holy Place (Pentecost) and then the Holy of Holies (Glory/Tabernacles). We must never forget from whence the LORD has brought us or in that we miss the focal point of the Cross.
The sinning Israelites could go no further than this Altar. It is tragic that many Christians stop at this point in God, thus missing the eternal purposes of the Cross, which is to take us through the Holy Place and even beyond the Veil.
The basis of all approach unto God is by sacrifice. Jesus Christ, the last sacrifice was offered once (Heb. 7:27); (9:28).
Heb. 9:12-15: Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh; How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
The Brazen Altar is a type of divine healing as part of the Atonement (1 Pet. 2:24) and our salvation, satisfaction and justification by Faith (Ro. 5:1). The Truth of Divine healing for the physical body (and for the whole man) was restored to the Church through men such as A. J. Gordon, F. B. Meyer, Andrew Murray, R. A. Torrey, and A. B. Simpson, a Presbyterian minister who was called to preach in 1865 and ministered for 10 years. Having overworked himself, Simpson became bedfast. He began to study and God revealed to him truth concerning Divine Healing. He healed and preached for another 35 years.
Simpson on Divine Healing: “If disease is a result of the Fall, then provision for Divine healing should be embraced in the provision of redemption. Redemption find sits center in the Cross (Brazen Altar) of Jesus the Christ ---look there for fundamental principles of Divine healing. There is, however, something higher than the Cross--- The Resurrection. The death of Christ destroys sin (the root of sickness), but it is the LIFE of Jesus which supplies the source of health and life. The agent for bringing this new life is the Holy Ghost. Life and Healing comes by Grace and is received by faith without sight. The Gospel of Salvation is commanded; therefore, Divine Healing is also commanded.”
Gal. 2:16: Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
The Hebrew root for “Altar” means “to slay or slaughter” and the Latin world “alta” means “High”---thus, the word ALTAR means “the high place of sacrifice” (Jesus was lifted UP at Calvary).
Psa. 43:4: Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy; yea upon the harp will I praise you, O God my God.
There were altars before the Brazen Altar:
After the flood – Gen. 8:20: Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth, nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.
Gen. 12:7: The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land” and there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. He moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
Gen. 26:25: Isaac built an altar at the well in Beersheba.
Gen. 35:1: Jacob built an altar in Bethel.
God permitted Israel to build altars of earth (Ex. 20: 24-26) and stone as well as brass, but the altars were to have no steps (perhaps the brazen altar had a sloping ramp because of this principle of no steps; the reason was that no flesh could be seen during the administration at the altar).
There are several names in the Bible which refer to the Brazen Altar:
Shittim Wood (Ex. 27:1) – Christ’s humanity.
Altar of Burnt
Offering – Ex. 38:30; 39:39).
The Altar of God. (Ps. 43: 3-4). – Christ’s divinity.
The Altar of the Door (Lev. 1:5; 4:7) – priority entrance unto God.
The Table of the Lord – (Mal. 1:7, 12) ---- A type of the Lord’s Supper.
1 Co. 10:21: You cannot drink the cup of the LORD and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the LORD’s table and of the table of demons.
The Brazen Altar in Solomon’s Temple measured (2 Chron. 4:1) 20x20x10 cu. Which equaled 4000 cu. (4000 years from Fall of Adam to Christ during which time all sacrificial blood was shed).
There was a restored altar (Ez. 3: 1-3). Through the ministry of Lucifer, Justification by Faith was restored to the Church doctrines.
There were some false altars in the bible.
We have the altar of God within us, The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
The Brazen Altar was in a hollow box shape – Jesus emptied Himself.
It was foursquare, measuring 5 x 5 x 3 cu high ( 7-1/2’x7-1/2’x4-1/2’). – Christ’s sacrifice brought life to the world.
It was made of Shittim wood (or acacia wood) and then overlaid with brass (copper). Shittim wood is incorruptible wood. Jesus died on a wooden Cross. The Brass represents judgment and can also speak of enduring the Cross (Heb. 12:2). Jesus at the cross was made sin for us and became a curse for us. (2 Cr. 5:21). Jesus’ feet are brass (Rev. 1:15).
The feet of brass is the principal of Duet. 33:25: You shoes shall be iron and brass; and as your days, so shall your strength be.
Mic. 4:13: Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs brass; and you shall beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
Rev. 1:15: His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters.
Rev. 2:18: to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, “These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass.”
Jesus Christ became the Brazen fullness of the Brazen Altar.
It was the larges and highest piece of furniture. There were four horns on the four corners. Horns speak of power and strength. Jesus Christ is the horn of Salvation to the world. The horns were blood-stained – power in the Blood.
A grated network was inside the altar 1-1/2 cu. (half-way). The rings and staves were made of wood and brass. There was a compass or ledge around the outside. There were utensils-pans, shovels, basins, fleshooks, and firepans. The pans on the Brazen Alter were never to go out. It was to burn continually.
Each Utensil gives us a type and shadow of the work of the Cross. I will only mention today the shovels and the firepans. The shovels were used for collecting the ashes, or placing coals into the Censers for the Golden Altar (thus linking the two altars --- Crucifixion with the prayer and praise of Gethsemane). The firepans were the actual censers used to carry coals from the Brazen Altar to the Golden Altar (on the basis of these coals the incense was caused to ascend unto God).
Every member of the Godhead is seen in redemption, for the Father gave the sacrifice. Christ was the sacrifice, and the Holy Ghost reveals the sacrifice.
I have barely touched on all the symbolism of the Brazen Altar as a type of the Cross of Jesus Christ; but I want to address The Golden Altar as well.
Those of us who have passed the brazen altar (The Cross), who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be marked with the three sealing’s' of the Holy Ghost:
- Baptism of Water – The Brazen Laver - - The water provided the means for cleansing – the Word of God and the Spirit of God. The Word and the Spirit are in total agreement and cannot be separated but rather work together for the purpose of cleansing. The water for the laver was obtained from the smitten rock, Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 10:4; Ex. 17:6; Ps. 78:20; Jn. 19:34).
- Baptism of the Holy Ghost- The Holy Place
- The Mind of Christ – The Holy of Holies
I will do a separate teaching on the Holy Place next week. This second realm represents Pentecost and is the second level of Christian maturity. It is the Spirit-filled realm of great salvation (Heb. 2: 3-4), The Feast of Pentecost, the 60-fold, and the young men of 1 Jn. 2:13. From a Christ-centered perspective, we shall learn of Christ our light, our bread, and our High Priest. In the light of present truth for God’s people we shall study at the Candlestick of the Holy Ghost Baptism, the gifts and fruit of the Spirit, the apostle’s doctrine, and the Branch of the Lord. At the Table of showbread we shall study the Lord’s Supper, and the concept of Body Ministry, and more truths concerning the five-fold ministry of Eph. 4:11.
I have heard the Voice from the four Horns of the Golden Altar in 1991. The voice brought me to conviction for a “certain sin”. Unless I would repent, I would miss the Glory of God and not be able to pass the Golden Altar in to the Holy of Holies.
Rev. 8:3: Another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev. 9:13: Then the sixth angel sounded; and I heard a voice for the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.
Lev. 16:12: Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil.
Luke 1:11: There appeared unto him (Zechariah) an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
The Golden Altar occupied a central position at the end of the Holy Place directly in front of the Ark (separated by the Veil). The Altar was foursquare being 1 cu x 1 cu x 2 cu. High. It too was made of shittim wood, but was overlaid with gold. It had a crown of gold. The four horns were made of wood and overlaid with gold. The fire of the Golden Altar was taken from the Brazen Altar.
A diagram of the Tabernacle reveals the pieces of furniture in the shape of a CROSS; the Golden Altar was at the very center of this in the heart of the Tabernacle – the ministry of prayer, praise, and intercession of Christ the High Priest and the church are at the very heart of God. The Ark is the THRONE. Jesus Christ is the High Priest at the right hand of the Throne of God. Prayer and Praise are central to His ministry. Those overcomers who will sit with Him in His throne have lives centered in prayer and praise ---their ministry of incense will overcome the Veil of flesh. The ministry of this altar is closer and will bring us closer to the Throne and the realm of the Holy of Holies than anything else.
There was no crown of gold for Christ at the Brazen Altar of Calvary, but now at the Golden altar he is crowned with glory and honor as a King-Priest, after the order of Melchizedeck. The crown also functioned to keep the coals on the Altar.
Both the Brazen Altar and Golden Altar are foursquare (Christ died for the whole world.) Both rings and staves and were movable. Both had horns (power to save and power to answer).
God lit the fire on the Brazen Altar. The fire on the golden Altar was a divine fire and any other fire was “strange fire,” which is a type of all false worship; thus the Blood and the Fire came from the Cross ---the sacrifice of Christ is the basis of all prayer and praise. God only accepts incense that He has prescribed and all approach to God in prayer and praise must come through Jesus Christ. The fire of the Holy Ghost kindles our devotions,
The Golden Altar was used exclusively for burning incense ---there was no blood sacrifice in the Holy Place because of the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ’s Atonement. It was sprinkled annually on the day of Atonement with the Blood of the Sin offering seven times. The Seven times speaks of Jesus’ complete and perfect atonement which opened up His complete and perfect ministry of intercession.
The Golden altar was anointed with oil revealing the anointed High Priestly ministry of Jesus and the anointed incense of the saints.
Only Aaron (High Priest) and his Seed (the Priests) could minister at the Golden Altar. The offices of King and Priest are permanently united in Jesus Christ and believers become Kings and Priests after the same order of Melchizedeck of the tribe of Judah.
The incense was offered perpetually – Christ’s continual High priestly ministry and the continual sacrifice of prayer and praise of the saints. I have a teaching on the Incense and we will study the incense in the coming weeks in this study of Jesus In The Tabernacle.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church
TAKE ME IN
By: Dave Browning
Take me pas the outer courts
And through the holy place
Past the golden altar
Lord, I want to see your face
Pass me by the crowds of people
The priests who sing their praise
I hunger and thirst
For your righteousness
And it’s only found one place.
Take me in
To the Holy of Holies
Take me in
By the blood of the Lamb
Take me in
To the Holy of Holies
Take the coal, touch my lips
Here I am
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I entered into the labors of Principles of Present Truth by Kelly Varner. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of Rev. Varner.
Heb 7:26For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself
