Subject 11 : The Tabernacle
[11-22] The Four Mysteries Hidden in the Coverings of The Tabernacle (Exodus 26:1-14)
(Exodus 26:1-14)
"Moreover
you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and
blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you
shall weave them. The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight
cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the
curtains shall have the same measurements. Five curtains shall be
coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to
one another. And you shall make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the
curtain on the selvedge of one set, and likewise you shall do on the
outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. Fifty loops you shall
make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of
the curtain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be
clasped to one another. And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and
couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one
tabernacle. You shall also make curtains of goats?hair, to be a tent
over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains. The length of each
curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four
cubits; and the eleven curtains shall all have the same measurements.
And you shall couple five curtains by themselves and six curtains by
themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the forefront
of the tent. You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that
is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of
the second set. And you shall make fifty bronze clasps, put the clasps
into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. The
remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that
remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. And a cubit on one
side and a cubit on the other side, of what remains of the length of the
curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on
this side and on that side, to cover it. You shall also make a covering
of ram skins dyed red for the tent, and a covering of badger skins above
that."
The Coverings of the Tabernacle
We now turn our attention to the coverings of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacles coverings were made in four layers. When God told Moses to build the Tabernacle, He gave him detailed instructions. Uniquely, the first covering could be seen only from inside the Tabernacle, covering over the boards of the Tabernacle and all its utensils inside. This covering draped over the boards of the Tabernacle, the Holy Place and the Most Holy, all the way down to the ground. And it was made of blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven linen, and beautiful images of cherubim were also woven into it.
The
first covering was made of two main sets of curtains attached to one
another, each of which was made by coupling five smaller curtains to one
another. To couple these two main sets of curtains to each other, fifty
loops of blue yearn were made at each contacting edge of the curtains.
Gold clasps were coupled to these loops of blue yearn, attaching the two
sets of curtains to make a large, single covering.
The
first covering of the Tabernacle was made with ten curtains, which were
coupled into two sets of wider curtains. Its length was 28 cubits. A
cubit is about 45 cm (1.5 feet), and so the length was about 12.6 m
(41.6 feet) in today's measurement, while the width of each curtain was
four cubits, 1.8 m (5.9 feet). Five curtains were first coupled together
to make two sets of curtains, and then these sets were attached to one
another with fifty loops of blue yearn and fifty clasps of gold. This is
how the first covering of the Tabernacle was completed. But there were
three more coverings. The first covering of the Tabernacle was made by
weaving curtains with artistic designs of cherubim with blue, purple,
and scarlet thread and fine woven linen.
This
was to show us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. For example, the blue
thread used for the first covering of the Tabernacle refers to the
baptism that Jesus received from John to take upon the sins of the
world. By being baptized, Jesus took upon all the sins of the world
(Matthew 3:15). Because Jesus took upon the sins of the world on His own
body through His baptism, this baptism has now become the antitype of
salvation (1 Peter 3:21).
The
second covering of the Tabernacle was made of goats' hair (Exodus
26:7). Its length was longer than that of the first covering by 90 cm (3
feet). At 30 cubits, the length was 13.5 m (45 feet), and at 4 cubits,
the width was 1.8 m (5.9 feet). The covering was made of eleven
curtains, coupled to one another into two sets of curtains, one with
five and the other with six curtains. These two sets were then coupled
to each other with bronze clasps.
This
second covering of the Tabernacle, made of goats' hair, tells us that
Jesus has made us holy with the righteousness of God. Coming to this
earth, when our Lord turned 30, He was baptized by John out of His own
volition, and He accepted the sins of the world onto Himself. As a
result of this, the Lord carried the sins of the world to the Cross, was
crucified, blotted out our sins once for all, and has thereby become
our Savior. Therefore the second covering, the white covering of goats'
hair, tells us that Jesus Christ who became the scapegoat made us
sinless with His baptism and blood.
The
third covering of the Tabernacle was made of ram skins dyed red, which
tells us that Jesus shouldered our sins by being baptized, carried them
to the Cross, shed His blood and was condemned, and has thereby
delivered us from all our sins.
The
fourth covering of the Tabernacle was made of badger skins. The meaning
of the badger skins is that Jesus Christ, when looked at His outside
appearance, had nothing desirable in Him. But He was actually God
Himself. The badger skins shows us a portrait of Jesus Christ who
lowered Himself all the way down to the level of human beings in order
to save us from the sins of the world.
Let us now examine these four coverings of the Tabernacle in more detail.
The Spiritual Meaning of the First Covering of the Tabernacle
The
materials used for the first of the four coverings of the Tabernacle
were blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven linen. It was made
in such a way that the four colors would be clearly visible from inside
the Tabernacle. Also, artistic designs of angels were woven into it, so
that they would look down the Tabernacle from above. The spiritual
meaning held in each of these four threads are as the following.
The
mystery of the blue thread manifested in the materials of the first
covering of the Tabernacle is that the Messiah, once for all, accepted
all the sins of the whole world through His baptism. He came to this
earth and was baptized by John the Baptist, the representative of
mankind, to bear all the sins of the world, just as the sacrificial
offerings of the Old Testament had accepted the iniquities of sinners
passed onto them through the laying on of hands. And it also tells us of
the truth that Jesus washed away all the sins of the world by bearing
the condemnation of these sins all at once.
The
purple thread, on the other hand, tells us that Jesus Christ who came
to this earth is the King of kings and the absolute God Himself for us.
It tells us that Jesus is God Himself in His essence. The scarlet thread
manifested in the Tabernacle tell us that Jesus, having at once
accepted all our sins through the baptism that He received from John,
shed His blood on the Cross and thereby vicariously bore the sacrifice
and condemnation of our sins in our stead.
The
baptism of Jesus and His death on the Cross were the same as the
sacrificial system of the Old Testaments time where unblemished
offerings accepted the iniquities of sinners through the laying on of
hands and bled to death to bear the condemnation of these sins. Like
this, in the New Testament, Jesus was baptized, went to the Cross, and
shed His blood and died on it.
The
Bible refers to Jesus Christ as the sacrificial offering. The name
“Jesus” means “He who will save His people form their sins” (Matthew
1:21). And the name “Christ” means “the anointed One.” In the Old
Testament, three kinds of persons were to be anointed; kings, prophets,
and priests. Therefore, the name “Jesus Christ” signifies that He is the
Savior, God Himself, the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the
Lord of the everlasting truth. By coming to this earth, being baptized
by John, and shedding His blood, He has become our true Savior.
Like
this, the first covering of the Tabernacle reveals that the Messiah
would come through the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine
woven linen and thereby save all those who believe in Him from their
sins and condemnation. These ministries are none other than the baptism
of Jesus and His blood on the Cross. The mystery of salvation manifested
in this four-colored first covering is that the Messiah came to this
earth, took upon the sins of mankind by being baptized, was crucified to
death, rose from the dead again.
With
these ministries, Jesus Christ has saved those who believe in Him from
their sins, and has made them Gods people. Jesus Christ is the King of
kings and the sacrificial offering that has blotted out the iniquities
of sinners, and He has delivered those who believe from all their sins
and condemnation.
The Spiritual Meaning of the Second Covering of the Tabernacle
The
materials used for the second covering of the Tabernacle were goats'
hair. This tells us that the Messiah to come would justify mankind by
delivering them from their sins and the condemnation of these sins. It
shows us, in other words, that for human beings to receive the
righteousness of God, it is absolutely necessary for them to believe in
the gospel of the water, the blood and the Spirit. The righteousness of
God has washed away our hearts as white as snow, and it has thereby
enabled us to received the remission of our sins.
The Spiritual Meaning of the Third Covering of the Tabernacle
The
materials used for the third covering of the Tabernacle were ram skins
dyed red. This manifests that the Messiah would come to this earth, take
upon the sins of the world by being baptized, be crucified, and thereby
become the sacrificial offering for the sins of His people. The blood
that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross paid off the wages of death for the
sins of the world. In other words, it tells us that Jesus Christ Himself
became the sacrificial offering and has thereby saved His people from
their sins (Leviticus 16).
On
the Day of Atonement, two sacrificial goats were prepared to take upon
the entire sins of the people of Israel. One of them was a sacrificial
offering of atonement that was given to God for their sins. At that
time, the High Priest laid his hands on the head of this first
sacrificial goat, passing all the sins of His people onto it at once. He
then took its blood, sprinkling it on the eastside of the mercy seat,
and sprinkling it seven times before the mercy seat. This is how the
offering of the atonement of the people of Israel was given to God.
Then,
before the witnessing of the Israelites gathered around the Tabernacle,
the High Priest put his hands on the other scapegoat and passed a years
worth of the sins of the people of Israel. This was to give all the
people of Israel the conviction that all their sins of the past year
were thus taken away from them through the laying on of the High Priests
hands. This scapegoat was then sent out to the wilderness to its death,
carrying with it all their sins (Leviticus 16:21-22). This was the
promise of God that the Messiah would come to this earth, take upon the
sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist, the
representative of mankind (Matthew 11:11-13, 3:13-17), bear the
condemnation of these sins by being willingly crucified, and thereby
save His people from all their sins.
The Spiritual Meaning of the Fourth Covering of the Tabernacle
Badger
skins show our own image, as well as the image of the Lord when He came
to this earth. Our Lord came to this earth in the flesh of a man to
call on sinners and make them righteous. Badger skins also tell us that
Jesus Christ did not raise Himself high when He came to this earth, but
rather He lowered Himself as a man of humble birth.
In
the Old Testament time, God said through His prophets that the Messiah
would come and deliver the sinners of this earth from their iniquities.
We can see that God fulfilled the Word of prophecy spoken through His
servants with the baptism of Jesus Christ and His blood of the Cross.
This promise of prophecy is the Word of the covenant that the Messiah
would bear not only the sins of the people of Israel but also all the
sins and condemnation of everyone in this world, and that He would save
all His believers and make them His own people.
Exodus
25 speaks of the materials used to build the Tabernacle. These
materials of the Tabernacle included blue, purple, and scarlet thread,
fine woven linen, goats' hair, ram skins dyed red, badger skins, gold,
silver, bronze, spices, oil, and precious stones. All these materials
manifest that the Messiah would come to this earth and save His people
from their sins through His baptism and bloodshed. As such, hidden in
the coverings of the Tabernacle is the profound plan of salvation that
God made to save His people from their sins.
Why
did God command that blue, purple, and scarlet thread be used as the
materials of the coverings of the Tabernacle? And why did He command to
use goats' hair, ram skins, and badger skins? We must pay careful
attention to the plan that God made to deliver us from the sins of the
world. We must believe in the ministries manifested in the blue, purple,
and scarlet thread, through which Jesus has saved His people from their
sins, as they are, and we must thereby be saved from our sins and
become Gods people. We must, in other words, know and believe in the
plan of God manifested in the coverings of the Tabernacle.
By Four Methods
The four coverings of the Tabernacle tell us of the way in which God has delivered us from our sins in detail: The Messiah would come to this earth in the flesh, take upon all the sins of the world with His baptism received from John, be crucified for the punishment of these sins, and remit the sins of His people and save them from their sins with His own blood. However, this salvation is fulfilled only to those who believe in the Messiah as their Savior. We must all believe that Jesus Christ, as manifested in the materials of the coverings of the Tabernacle, indeed came by His baptism and the Cross, and has thereby saved us once for all from all our sins.
In
accordance to the prophecies of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread
manifested in the coverings of the Tabernacle, the Son of God came to us
as the sacrificial offering of the New Testaments time, was baptized,
and shed His blood crucified to the Cross. Moreover, by believing in the
Messiah revealed in the coverings of the Tabernacle, we can give to God
the offering of faith that saves us.
As
such, we must believe in the truth manifested in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread. If anyone does not come out before God and fails to give
the offering of faith by believing in the ministries of Jesus
manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, he/she will surely
be destroyed for his/her own sins. But if one believes in this truth,
then by his/her faith of salvation he/she can go before God at all times
as His child. The Tabernacle shows us that no one who does not believe
in Jesus Christ who became the sacrificial offering and was manifested
in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread can ever enter the Kingdom of
God.
The
Tabernacles coverings thus show us the way to Heaven. We must find the
way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven by believing in the truth revealed in
the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Anyone who wants to enter the
Kingdom of God must first have his/her problem of sin resolved by
believing in the truth of the remission of sin manifested in the blue,
purple, and scarlet thread. As such, whether people enter into Gods
Church by believing in this truth, or whether they are rejected by God
for not believing, is a choice that they must make.
Of
course, our consciences are at liberty to believe or not to believe in
the truth of salvation revealed in the coverings of the Tabernacle. But
you should also recognize that the result of not believing in this truth
will be too catastrophic for anyone to endure. However, for us to enter
the shining House of God according to His will, we must be forever
saved from our sins by believing in the baptism that the Messiah
received from John and the blood of the Cross. All must accept and
believe in their hearts that this baptism of the Messiah and His blood
on the Cross have remitted all their sins. Only when they believe so can
they receive the everlasting remission of sin and enter into the glory
of God.
The
first covering of the Tabernacle was woven of four different threads,
and it was laid under the second covering made of goats' hair. This
shows us that the fact that we were able to receive the remission of sin
is based on Jesus' ministries: His baptism and His own blood. As such,
the remission of sin that we have received by believing in the
righteousness of God is based on our faith in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread and the fine woven linen manifested in the first
covering. To see just how certain this fact is, let us turn to the Word
of the Bible below.
Isaiah
53:6 states, “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Hebrews
9:28 declares, “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.”
And 2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be
sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” All
these passages therefore tell us that our salvation has been fulfilled
based on Jesus’ ministries of salvation manifested in the fine linen and
the blue, purple, and scarlet thread used for the first covering of the
Tabernacle. That Christ Himself was hung on the tree and vicariously
bore the condemnation of our sins onto His own body was made possible by
the fact that He had first taken upon our sins by being baptized by
John, and it is not only on the Cross that He bore the sins of the
world.
When
Jesus took all the sins of the world by being baptized and thereby bore
deadly sufferings on the Cross to atone them, He had no fear. On the
contrary, He was rejoiced! Why? Because that was the very moment for Him
“to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). To deliver us from our
sins, Jesus was baptized and shed His blood on the Cross. He did so
because He loved us. This is why He came to this earth, was baptized by
John, and willingly drank from the cup of sacrifice. It is because the
Lord took upon our sins and blemishes through His baptism that He could
shed His blood on Calvary and vicariously bear the condemnation of our
own sins.
The Clasps That Coupled the First Covering of the Tabernacle together Were Made of Gold
The Tabernacles first covering was made of two sets of five curtains, which were coupled to each other with gold clasps. This actually shows us that we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven only when we believe in the truth of the remission of sin manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. That the two sets of five curtains were coupled to one another with fifty gold clasps shows us that we can be saved from all our sins only when we have thorough faith in His salvation. In the Bible, gold denotes the true faith that believes in the Word of God.
As
such, each and every one of us must surely believe in all the Word of
God. It is particularly important for us to have faith in the truth
manifested in the blue thread. Jesus' crucifixion alone has, in and of
itself, no effect whatsoever on our salvation. Why? Because prior to His
crucifixion, there first had to be a process of Jesus' baptism by which
sinners could pass their sins onto Jesus Christ through. The Cross is
effective for our salvation only when we believe that God the Father
made Jesus Christ accept the sins of the world by being baptized.
What Does the Fine Woven Linen Tell Us in the Tabernacle?
It tells us that God has worked among us all according to His elaborate Word of truth. The Messiah actually came to this earth and bore our sins and condemnation through the baptism that He received from John and the blood of the Cross. And it tells us that His salvation has already been fulfilled just as He promised in His Word.
In
the New Testaments time, our Lord did in fact come to this earth, took
upon our sins by being baptized by John, bled to death, bore all the
condemnation of our sins, and has thereby kept all the promises of
salvation. By being baptized by John and crucified, our Lord completed
and fulfilled the will of God the Father. The covenant that God had made
with His people of Israel was all fulfilled through His Son Jesus.
Who, then, should actually pay close attention to this truth? Is it the people of Israel only? Or is it you and I?
The
fact that the first covering of the Tabernacle was coupled together
with fifty gold clasps demands the real faith from us. It shows us that
we can enter the Kingdom of God only when we know and believe that Jesus
has washed away all our sins through His ministries manifested in the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen used for the
first covering of the Tabernacle.
In
other words, it shows us that the remission of sin is received only by
believing in the Word of the truth. Through the Word of the Old and New
Testaments, God is actually showing us in detail that we can attain our
true salvation only by believing that the baptism and the blood of the
Cross manifested in the coverings of the Tabernacle have saved us from
all our sins.
God
has indeed enabled us to be washed of all our sins and become as white
as snow by believing in the truth revealed in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread and the fine woven linen used for the Tabernacles first
covering. And God has allowed only those who have this faith to enter
into His Kingdom. We must know about the coverings of the Tabernacle and
believe in them. By believing in Jesus Christ who has come to us
through the ministries of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, we can
actually attain the qualification to become Gods children and receive
the glory of entering into His Kingdom.
When
the Messiah has saved us from all our sins through His works manifested
in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, how could we not believe in
Gods profound and vast love of salvation and reject it? How could we
reject the remission of our sins and the Kingdom of Heaven, which can be
attained only by faith? We must all believe in Jesus Christ as our own
Savior who has saved us from the sins of world by being baptized and
shedding His blood on the Cross. Only then can we become the people of
God.
Those
who do not believe in the truth of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread
manifested in the first covering of the Tabernacle cannot actually wash
away their sins by faith. Those who do not believe in this truth cannot
become Gods children. This is why we must believe in the truth of
salvation revealed in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread used for the
Tabernacles coverings, and we must thereby receive eternal life.
The Second Covering of the Tabernacle Was Made of Goats’ Hair, and Its Clasps Were Made of Bronze
The second covering made of goats' hair was bigger than the first covering of the Tabernacle. This means that those who stand against God cannot see even a part the truth revealed in the Tabernacles first covering. There was actually a need to hide the mystery of the remission of sin manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread of the first covering of the Tabernacle. This was because God has set that only those who revere and fear Him can enter His Kingdom by believing in the ministries of Jesus manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
This
also is why God placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a
flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of
life, after He drove out the man who had fallen into sin (Genesis 3:24).
The truth that enables one to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is not
allowed to be seen by just anyone without first believing in God. This
is why God made the second covering made with goats' hair slightly
bigger than the first covering of the Tabernacle.
The
second covering of the Tabernacle shows us that we can become righteous
only when we receive the remission of sin manifested in the first
covering. Put differently, God has allowed only those who believe in His
Word with fear and reverence, and who thereby hold the gospel of truth,
to become His people. Because this is how God has determined it to be,
He does not allow just anyone to become His child without first
believing in the blue, purple, and scarlet truth of the remission of sin
set by Him. The will of God is that those whose hearts are evil can
never realize even a bit of the mystery of the blue, purple, and scarlet
thread.
The Second Covering of the Tabernacle Was Made of Goats' Hair, and Its Clasps Were Made of Bronze
The spiritual meaning of the bronze clasps denotes the judgment of peoples sins. The bronze clasps tell us that all sins require the payment of their just wages. As such, the bronze claps contain the truth that the Messiah had to shed His blood on the Cross because He had come to this earth and taken upon the sins of the world all at once by being baptized. Because the Messiah had first taken upon our sins of the world through the baptism that He received from John, He could then bear the condemnation of these sins of the world with the blood that He shed on the Cross.
From
the bronze clasps, we can discover Gods law that tells us that the
wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Therefore, we must recognize that
God fulfilled the judgment of our sins through the Messiah. Since Jesus
Christ was baptized by John and bled to death on the Cross, the judgment
of all the sins of mankind was wholly completed.
When
we go before God, you and I must think in our consciences about what
the truth is. We live this world committing actual sins everyday with
our hearts, thoughts, and acts. Nevertheless, the Messiah accepted all
these actual sins that we commit everyday also, paid the wages of these
sins with the price of His own life, and has thereby completed our
salvation for us. Our consciences before God are bound to wither and die
away, if we have no faith in His truth. Therefore, all of us must now
believe in this truth, so that our dying souls can be saved and live
again.
Do
our hearts desire to believe in the truth manifested in these bronze
clasps? The truth that the bronze clasps are telling is that while we
could not avoid but be condemned for our sins, the Messiah took upon our
sins by being baptized and was vicariously condemned for all these sins
on our behalf. Jesus actually bore all the condemnation of sin once for
all with His baptism and the blood of the Cross. By doing so, Jesus
Christ has given us faith and enabled us to enter the Kingdom of God.
When
someone has sin in his/her heart before God, then he/she must be cast
out to hell. Because of our sins, all that we deserved to receive was
only eternal death. But the Messiah became the offering of vicarious
sacrifice for our sins and has thereby saved us from all their
condemnation. We were supposed to be punished to hell for our sins, yet
by believing that the Messiah was vicariously punished instead, we can
now enter the Kingdom of God.
By
believing in this truth in our hearts, we must be remitted of our sins
of the world and escape from the condemnation of our sins. It is to do
these works of salvation that the Messiah accepted the sins of the world
by being baptized by John, and was crucified for these sins of the
world. By knowing and believing in this truth, we must not only receive
the remission of sin, but we must also be saved from the condemnation of
sin.
We
have to believe that the Messiah could accept our sins onto Himself and
bear the condemnation of these sins only by coming to this earth and
first receiving His baptism in a form of the laying on of hands. If the
Messiah took upon all our sins of the world through the baptism that He
received from John, and if He was crucified to pay the wages of these
sins, then we must also believe so. To those who thus believe, God gives
new life.
Because
we were bound to hell for our sins, the Messiah accepted our sins and
died in our place, thereby bearing the condemnation of our own sins. For
us who were supposed to die from the condemnation of our sins, our Lord
instead bore this condemnation for our sake. If the Lord was crucified
to death to save us from the judgment of our sins, we must believe so.
We
must accept the Lords salvation into our souls, into the depth of our
hearts, not by our carnal volition but by our spiritual faith in His
Word. Each and every one of you, who have now heard this message, must
believe in this truth in your hearts. Because the Messiah has saved us
with His baptism and bloodshed, those who believe can indeed be saved.
If
people do not believe that they are bound to hell, then they would see
no need to be saved by believing in the Messiah who came by the blue,
purple, and scarlet thread. But if people do believe that they are
indeed bound to hell, then they would clearly see their need to be saved
by believing in this Messiah who came by the blue, purple, and scarlet
thread. This is why Jesus says, “Those who are well have no need of a
physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous,
but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17). When they thus believe in this
truth in their hearts, they will then receive the remission of sin into
their hearts.
If
we look at ourselves measured by the Law before God, then we would not
be able to deny that we are utterly sinful, and that they we are to be
cursed forever for our sins. Not only must we admit to ourselves that we
are bound to hell because of our sins, but we must also have an earnest
desire to avoid such condemnation, so that we may be washed of all our
sins by believing in this message. This is the only way of life to bear
the just condemnation of all our sins by faith.
Without
our faith in the ministries of Jesus manifested in the blue, purple,
and scarlet thread used for the first covering of the Tabernacle, we
would most certainly be facing hell now. The baptism that the Messiah
received and the blood that He shed on the Cross are intimately related
to the salvation of our souls.
Because
we were born as the descendants of Adam and therefore sinful, we were
bound to hell. We must therefore admit before God that we are all
sinners heading straight to hell, but do you admit this? When God looks
at us, He see that we had been bound to hell, and when we look at
ourselves before God as well, we, too, see that we had been bound to
hell. It is because you and I were destined to hell that our Savior came
to this earth to save us from our sins.
By
coming to this, being baptized, and shedding His blood and dying, our
Lord fulfilled His works of saving us. Had we not been fundamentally
bound to hell, there would have been no need for the Lord to do these
works of salvation. But clearly, even though we the born-again have no
sin in our hearts now, we, too, all were sinful before.
Whoever
is sinful must surely go to hell. The wages of sin is death. This means
that sinners are most certainly cast out to hell. But those who, by
faith, receive the gift of the remission of sin given by our Lord Jesus
Christ attain eternal life. When you and I believed in Jesus the Messiah
as our Savior, the Lord saved us from all our sins condemnation in His
love for us. Amen! Hallelujah!
We Must Examine Ourselves and See If We Have in Our Hearts the True Faith Given by the Lord
Let us take a look at ourselves. Have you and I believed accordingly to the law of Gods Word? If so, then what would have happened to us before God? Were we not to be condemned by God for our sins? Our God is not an unjust God who does not punish the sinful. Because God is holy and righteous, He does not tolerate the sinful. God has told us that He would surely cast into hell all those who are sinful before Him by not believing.
He
has told us that He would cast them into the fiery hell burning with
fire and brimstone where even the worms would not die. God will throw to
hell all those who try to wash away their sins on their own and comfort
their hearts by themselves. This is why the Lord said to such people,
“Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23)
As
such, we must believe in the Messiah, and we must believe in the
baptism that He received when He came to this earth, in the blood of the
Cross, and in His resurrection from the dead. Why? Because
fundamentally speaking, we were all sinful before God and were therefore
all bound to hell. This is why the Messiah came of the blue, purple,
and scarlet thread, gave the sacrificial offering of salvation with His
own body, and has thereby blotted out all our sins. We must therefore
believe that the Lord was baptized and sacrificed all for our sake. If
we cannot realize ourselves that we are all bound to hell, then we have
nothing to do with the Lord.
However,
so many people do not think themselves as to be doomed to hell for
their sins. They think they are too well to consult their doctors. Such
people are the ones who regard Jesus only as a gentle and well-behaving
man, a man of respect and a teacher, and they also are the ones who
believe in Jesus only to pretend themselves to be people of character.
Our Lord said to such people, “Those who are well have no need of a
physician, but those who are sick” (Matthew 9:12). They have to examine
their hearts thoroughly from the biblical standpoint right now, lest
they should end up in hell.
The
reason why we believe in the Messiah is to be remitted of our sins by
believing in Him as our Savior. It is not to build our own virtue that
we believe in the Messiah. Rather, it is because of our sins that it is
absolutely necessary for you and I to believe in the Messiah. This is
why we believe: That Jesus the Messiah was born unto this earth; that He
was baptized by John at the age of 30; that He carried the sins of the
world and shed His blood with His crucifixion; that He rose from the
dead again in three days; that He ascended to Heaven; and that He now
sits at the right hand of God the Fatherall these things bear witness to
our remission of sin. Because all these things were the works of the
Savior who has delivered us from our sins, we need to surely believe in
all of them, leaving out nothing.
In
our own thoughts, it may seem okay to make the coverings of the
Tabernacle just by weaving some thick thread, but in the Bible God
explicitly gave the detailed specifications as to how they were to be
made, how some clasps were to be made of gold and others of bronze. Why
do you think God commanded so? He commanded so because all these things
were meant to reveal their spiritual significance to us. This is why we
cannot overlook any of them.
We Must Surely Believe in the Baptism and Blood of Jesus Christ Who Has Become the Messiah
Because of our sins, we had to be cast out to hell, but Jesus Christ the Messiah came to this earth and has saved us from our sins. Jesus was actually baptized, crucified, and shed His blood. As such, it is lawless for us to just say that we are sinless without first believing in our hearts in the baptism of Jesus and the blood that He shed on the Cross. Jesus, who has become the Messiah, did indeed come to this earth to save us, did actually accept the sins of mankind onto His own body through His baptism, bore our punishment and died, rose from the dead again, and has thereby become our true and eternal Savior. Jesus has saved us in this way because only then can we be remitted of all our sins by believing in this Jesus.
To
compete the works of salvation, the Messiah had to be baptized by John
the Baptist and then die on the Cross. This means that from the
beginning, we were to be condemned for our sins. But in fact, now we no
longer need to bear this condemnation. Why? Because the Messiah who was
sinless and therefore did not have to be condemned actually accepted our
sins passed onto Him, and He was vicariously condemned for all our
sins. Therefore, it is by wholeheartedly believing in Jesus' baptism and
His blood of the Cross that we have been delivered from all the
condemnation of our sins.
We
can see “Jesus loves you!” stickers on the back windows of many cars.
Is that all Jesus wants you to know? Our Lord’s salvation was not
something that was made only by such words. He wants to let you know, “I
love you so much. Therefore, I have forgiven your sins. Just believe in
Me, and I will make you My children.” The Messiah was actually baptized
and crucified, and shed His blood and died, all in order to deliver us
from our sins. The Lord has indeed saved us and delivered us from the
judgment awaiting us.
The
Lord became our physician to heal the illness of our sins. Coming to
this earth, He actually accepted our sins onto His body by being
baptized, was crucified and bled to death, rose from the dead indeed,
and has thereby saved us. When we were surely bound to hell for our
sins, the Lord has already healed us from the illness of all our sins.
We must be healed of our sins through the right faith.
If
people were not to be cast into hell even as they are sinful, then
there would have been no need for the Messiah to come to this world and
shed His blood. But the reason why people absolutely must believe in
Jesus is because they actually have the fearful illness of sin that
leads them to hell. Indeed, people who have this fearful illness of sin
cannot avoid but be cast into hell, and this is why unquestionably they
must believe in the baptism and blood of Jesus who has become the
Messiah.
All
who have sin in their hearts are to receive the punishment of hell for
sure, for when it comes to the law of God, the wages of sin is death for
everyone. Simply put, if one has even the slightest bit of sin in
his/her heart, then he/she will be cast into hell. This is why Jesus had
to come to us. So when we truly believe in the Messiah who has
perfectly blotted out all our sins, we can then be saved from all our
sins. We must believe in Jesus as our Savior, and we must believe
exactly according to what He has done for us.
Jesus
is indeed God Himself. He is the actual Creator. But He set aside His
divine glory and actually incarnated into the flesh of man for a while,
all in order to deliver you and me, whom He loved, from the fearful
punishment of sin and hell, destruction, and curses. And He was actually
baptized, crucified, resurrected, and then ascended to Heaven. This is
the truth. We cannot not regard this actual truth lightly, as if it were
only a joke. To believe this factual truth is not something optional
for you. We must surely believe in this actual truth in our hearts, and
we must know it for sure.
Did
the lambs and goats used as sacrificial offerings have any sin? No
animal has even the remotest idea of what sin is. But because these
animals accepted the sins of the Old Testaments people of Israel through
the laying on of hands, they actually had to be put to death
vicariously instead of them. Why? Because the wages of sin is death, and
this was what God had determined. So the offering of sacrifice of the
Day of Atonement that had accepted all the sins of the people of Israel
also had to die for sure. So was it for the same reason that Jesus
Christ had to die, for He had already borne all the sins of the world
through His baptism.
For
whom were theses works actually done? They were actually for you and
me. Is this, then, something that we can either believe or not believe?
People do not believe because they are completely oblivious to the
seriousness of their illness of sin. But had they known the fact that
they are to be cast into hell even for the tiniest bit of sin, then they
would not be able to regard the salvation of Jesus Christ the Messiah
as something that is optional, something that they can either believe or
not believe without any consequences.
If
people have sin, even as tiny as a grain, then they will be cast into
hell. They will be destroyed. Everything they do on this earth will
eventually all end with their everlasting curse. Those who think that
its okay to have sin are deeply hallucinated. The consequence of sin is
unquestionably death. Of course, there are still many people who
apparently live their successful lives even though they have sin in
their hearts. Youngsters are apt to worship celebrities, dreaming of
meeting them someday. But will their seemingly splendid lives last
forever? Many of them turn into miserable ones when their fifteen
minutes of fame fades away.
There
are some people for whom everything that they do turns out badly.
Before you met the Lord, you, too, were probably like this also, when
nothing really went quite as well you had wanted. As if you were living a
cursed life, what you thought were a sure thing never quite turned out
to be, and what you thought were going well ultimately fell apart. You
might have dreamt big, but nothing actually materialized, and the dream
kept getting smaller and smaller, until it ultimately disappeared. When
you realized that even the smallest of all your dreams cannot be
actualized, then your dream was completely shattered in the end.
Why
was this the case? It was because of the sins that were in your hearts.
People who have sin in their hearts can never be happy. God never
blesses them, no matter how hard they try. If there are some people who
seem to be successful despite being sinful, you must realize that God
has abandoned them. You should know that although their present lives
may be successful, God has given up on them to cast them into hell. Had
this world been filled with only the sinless, there would have no need
the existence of hell. But God has actually made hell, and He has made
it for those who have sin in their hearts.
God
commanded to make the first covering of the Tabernacle with blue,
purple, and scarlet thread to actually give the remission of sin to our
hearts. And it also reveals that when the New Testaments time comes,
Jesus Christ would take upon the sins of the world by being baptized by
John, and that He would then be crucified to death to bear the
condemnation of these sins. Our Lord has indeed become the Savior of
sinners.
This
is why He has given the remission of sin to sinners through His works
of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Do you realize this now? Jesus
Christ was actually baptized in the Jordan River to take upon our sins,
and He was crucified and shed His blood to pay the wages of these sins.
That He was baptized was to bear our sins. Do you believe that Jesus
died on the Cross because He had first taken upon our sins through the
baptism that He received from John?
In Our Flesh, You and I Had Been Like Badger Skins
The fourth covering was made of badger skins. Badger is the translated name of a mammal called “Tachash” in Hebrew in the Old Testament. It has been translated into some different mammals—for example, “sea cow” (NIV), “seal” (ASV), “fine goat skin” (NLT), and “porpoise” (NASB). We cannot identify exactly what this mammal is. Biblical philologists assert that the origin of this word “Tachash” is probably of foreign derivation. At any case, the mammal “Tachash” was the animal whose skins were used to make the fourth covering of the Tabernacle. And it is probably safe to assume that this covering was not beautiful and offered no attractive qualities.
This
fourth covering of badger skins implies that Jesus Christ came to this
earth in the flesh of a man. Moreover, He had nothing attractive in His
countenance. The Bible describes His appearance by saying, “He shall
grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty
that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2).
That
the Son of God came down onto this earth in the flesh of a man of
humble birth was to save all of us who cannot but live shameful lives
until the day of our death. When God sees us, the descendant of Adam, He
sees that we also are unattractive like this skin covering. Moreover,
we only like to commit sin. Just like filthy badgers, human beings are
only interested feeding their own bellies, from their very birth to
their end. This is the actual reason why Jesus came in the flesh of a
man, and was inflicted with suffering.
Only
those who really know the seriousness of their sinful nature can
believe in the Messiah and be saved from their sins and condemnation. As
such, those who are ignorant of their own sins, and those who do not
know and believe in the condemnation of their sins, are not qualified to
receive the remission of sin. God tells us that such people are no
better than beasts (Psalm 49:20).
Although
we have been made in the likeness of God’s images, not everyone accepts
God’s love. Those who do not believe in God’s plan of salvation cannot
receive the remission of sin into their hearts, and therefore are to be
destroyed like the beasts that perish. It is because God had a plan for
human beings that He made them in the likeness of His images.
Take
a closer look at what everyone does or thinks. I am not referring to
you in particular, but I am referring to the whole mankind. Most people
do not even know their own Creator who made them. Furthermore, many of
them claim that they do not commit sin, and that they are better than
everyone else. How obtuse and foolish are human beings? Those who do not
know God are full of arrogance. When we compare ourselves to another
other, what actual difference can we really find? How much better or
worse are we really? And yet people still harm others just to pursue
their own selfish interests—how wrong is this?
We cannot even fathom just how many sins everyone commits against God in a lifetime. I am not saying this just to despise human character, but I am only pointing out the fact that although God has created human beings to be precious, most of them do not still realize that they are actually to be destroyed for their sins. People do not know how to take care of their souls; they cannot prepare their future for themselves; they do not recognize the Word of God; and they do not want to believe in Him even though they have no other option to avoid their eternal destruction. None other than these people are the ones who are no better than the beasts that perish.
We cannot even fathom just how many sins everyone commits against God in a lifetime. I am not saying this just to despise human character, but I am only pointing out the fact that although God has created human beings to be precious, most of them do not still realize that they are actually to be destroyed for their sins. People do not know how to take care of their souls; they cannot prepare their future for themselves; they do not recognize the Word of God; and they do not want to believe in Him even though they have no other option to avoid their eternal destruction. None other than these people are the ones who are no better than the beasts that perish.
But God Did Not Leave Us to Our Destruction
To save us from our sins, in fact, Jesus came to this earth, and to blot out all our sins, He was baptized, shed His blood on the Cross, and rose from the dead again. The Lord has thereby become our true Savior. We must believe in this truth. Do you believe? By any chance, are you not saying, out of your ignorance and lack of biblical knowledge, Whats the big deal? If we believe in Jesus somehow, then we will all go to Heaven? And there are those who also say, "If we believe just in the blood of the Cross, then Heaven is ours." But is this kind of faith really right?
God
is, in fact, the God of truth. He is the One who spoke to us about His
plan, who fulfilled the works of salvation exactly according to His
Word, who has given us the remission of sin, and who meets us through
this truth. God is alive. God is here even now, with each and every one
of us. People who have sin in their hearts should not try to deceive
God. If people have sin in their hearts and their consciences are eating
them away, then they must get this problem solved by believing in the
baptism that He received and the blood that He shed. The sinful must
believe in the truth that because they were bound to hell, the Lord has
saved them from all their sins through His baptism and His blood on the
Cross.
There
is absolutely no one who is unable to solve the problem of their sins
by believing in the water and the blood. But even as our Lord has saved
us through the water, the blood, and the Spirit (1 John 5:6-8), if on
our side we do not recognize and believe in this fact and are therefore
destroyed, then we are entirely responsible for this outcome. All of us
must confess before God, I am bound to hell for I am sinful. But I
believe in the gospel of the water, the blood, and the Spirit.?We must
have such faith. We must believe in our hearts that the Lord has saved
us from all our sins through the water, the blood, and the Spirit. With
our sincere hearts and faith, we must unite ourselves with the truth
manifested in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Only then can we
be saved from all our sins.
As
such, we must understand all these things, and we must believe in their
truth. Without even knowing the truth that is manifested in the
Tabernacle and the gospel of the water and the Spirit, some people
believe, “Because I believe, I’m going to Heaven even as I still have
sin.” But God said that all who have sin will be cast into hell; He did
not say that they will not be cast into hell even as they have sin just
because they believe in Jesus. This is akin to becoming the greatest
fool of all. Saying that they would go to Heaven just because they
believe in Jesus, when, in fact, they believe in whatever way they like,
is the reflection of a foolish, ignorant, and completely blind faith.
Some
others say, “I haven’t seen a single person who was cast into hell, nor
have I seen anyone who entered Heaven. We won’t find out until the Day
of Judgment.” But there actually are Heaven and hell. Are there in this
world only the things we can see with our eyes? Can you see air with
your eyes? There surely is also the realm of the unseen. All sinners who
do not believe in God because they cannot see Him are like the beasts
that perish.
As
such, people must realize that if they have sin in their hearts, they
will be destroyed, and they must therefore believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit and escape from the judgment of God. The wise are
those who, even if they have not done many wrongs toward people around
them, nevertheless recognize that they have done many wrongs against
God, and therefore admit that they will surely be judged when they soon
stand before Him.
We
should not perish on account of our ignorance and disregard of God and
His just judgment. He will surely condemn each and every sinner with the
everlasting fire of hell. If people are destroyed for not believing in
the truth manifested in the Tabernacle even as they have heard it, then
they must be Satan's children. What the Messiah wants from us is for all
of us have the faith that enables us to receive the remission of sin
and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
God Did Not Make Us As Toys
When God made us the human beings, His purpose was to enable us to live without being tormented by sin, but forever enjoying eternal life, splendor, and glory with God as His own children. To not to send us to hell, the Messiah was baptized, took upon the sins of the world, shed His blood on the Cross, and has thereby blotted out all our sins. When God has loved us this much, if we do not acknowledge this love but only half-heartedly believe in the salvation that He has given us, then we will surely not escape from Gods wrath.
God
has delivered us from our sins by sacrificing His own Son. It is
because the Messiah was baptized to bear all our sins onto His own body
and gave Himself up as the sacrifice of our sin offering that He has
actually saved us from all the sins of the world. It is because we were
bound to hell from our sins that our Lord had mercy on us, and it is
because of this that He was baptized, bled to death, rose from the dead,
and has thereby saved us from all our sins and made us Gods children.
God did not make us as His toys.
A
while ago, when a sister of my church was in college, I had a chance to
attend her graduation exhibition. There, in this art gallery, I came
across various paintings. One of the works painted by the graduating
class was a canvas portraying Adam and Eve eating from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, titled, "Did God make human beings as toys?"
Someone scribbled an answer to this question below the canvass, saying,
"God was bored, and so He made us as His toys."
Nothing
could be more wrong than this answer. Why, then, did God make the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil and then tell Adam and Eve not to eat
from it? After all, He knew already that they were going to eat the
fruits, and yet He still made the tree and told them not to eat from it.
When they did eat, then He drove them out of the Garden of Eden for
falling into sin. He then said that the sinful will be sent straight to
hell. Why did God do this? Did God really make us because He had no toy
and was bored? Did He make mankind because He was just too bored and
couldn't stand it anymore? Of course not!
Brothers
and sisters, what God actually wanted to do was to turn us into His own
people, to make us immortal, and to live with us happily forever. Gods
providence in permitting all these things to mankind was to make us
immortal beings who enjoy everlasting splendor and glory and who live
forever glorified. Thus, when you and I, deceived by Satan, had fallen
into sin and were destined to hell, God sent His only begotten Son to
this earth to save us. And by having the Son be baptized and take upon
the sins of the world, shed His blood, and rise from the dead again, God
has saved us from Satan.
However,
countless people have this grotesque misperception that God somehow
made us as toys to beat His boredom. Among both those who ceased to
believed in Jesus and those who never believed in Him from the
beginning, there are those who, in their bitterness to God, say, Why did
God create me and then make me suffer? Why does He insist that I have
to believe? Why does He say that He will give me salvation if I believe,
but not if I don't?" They say such things because they do not know the
profound providence of salvation that God has given to mankind.
This
profound providence of the Messiah was to accept us as Gods people and
thereby make us His own children, allowing us to enjoy all the glory and
splendor of Heaven as His family. This is the purpose of Gods creation
of mankind. I, myself, also could not understand this truth until I was
born again of water and the Spirit. But after I received the remission
of sin and was born again, I came to know, "Ah! So this is why the Lord
made me!"
What
is it that the Messiah actually did to take upon our sins when He came
to this earth over 2,000 years ago? What is it that He did to bear our
sins? He received baptism and shed His blood! And these were all
righteous acts and righteous sacrifices meant to blot out our sins.
Herein
lies the reason why we must actually believe in God, and why we must
believe in Jesus Christ as our God the Savior. It is because you and I
had been bound to hell that God Himself had to actually come to this
earth to save us. In other words, Jesus had to be baptized by John, had
to die on the Cross, and had to rise from the dead again. The reason why
we actually believe in the remission of sin revealed in the blue,
purple, and scarlet thread is so that we can be remitted of all our
sins. It is to fulfill the providence of God toward us that we must have
faith. And when we do believe in the Lords salvation, we do so not for
the benefit of someone else, but for our own benefit.
Now Is the Earliest Time to Believe in the Truth of Gods Salvation
If anyone wants to reach the following realization, then this person must cast aside his/her mistaken faith right now and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in the heart: "I didn't know that I was bound to hell. I just believed because I was told that Jesus blotted out my sins. But my faith was all based on faulty understanding! I should now learn what is correct and base my faith on sound knowledge. Up to now, I have believed wrongly, but its not too late yet. All that I have to do is realize, from now on, that I am destined to hell for my sins, believe in my heart that the Messiah has saved me through His baptism and bloodshed, and then receive the remission of my sins. So I was bound to hell!"
As
a matter of fact, only a handful of Christians had the proper and exact
understanding of the gospel of the water and the Spirit when they first
began believing. For myself, too, it actually took 10 years since I
first became a Christian to fully realize that Jesus took upon the sins
of the world with His baptism and was crucified to death on the Cross,
and only then was I really saved by believing again in Jesus as my own
Savior. And so 10 years after becoming a Christian, I threw out my
mistaken faith, and came to the proper understanding of the gospel of
the water and the Spirit and believe in it correctly. But for others,
perhaps, it might even take more than 20 years to know the truth and
believe again.
When
such people come to realize, even after 20 years, that God had planned
to save them through the water and the Spirit, they must then believe
that Jesus was baptized and crucified for their own sins. Nothing could
be more evil before God than knowing the truth and yet refusing to
believe. But if they were to believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit now, even after having lived 10, 20 years as Christians, is this
somehow bad? Of course not! There is absolutely nothing wrong or
shameful about this. When people actually know and believe in the
remission of sin manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread,
then they will actually be saved. Faith in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit is what pleases God. I hope that you would all believe in
this salvation that has actually been achieved, whose fulfillment came
through the blue and scarlet thread.
The
coverings of the Tabernacle were made in elaborate detail. Just by
looking at the fact that ram skins dyed red were placed on the covering
made of goats'hair, and that badger skins were then laid on top of this,
we can see the clear manifestation of the truth that we are all bound
to hell, but our Lord came to this earth, actually took upon our sins by
being baptized, and became the sacrificial offering for these sins of
ours by shedding His blood and dying on the Cross. We can all believe in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What the Lord has actually
saved us through is the works of Jesus manifested in the blue, purple,
and scarlet thread. The coverings of the Tabernacles hold none other
than this mystery of salvation.
What
is important is not just learning about the Bible. What pleases God is
to not only to learn, but to believe—that is, if the Bible tells us that
God determined to save us through the works of Jesus revealed in the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread, then you and I must actually accept
this into our hearts and believe so. This is how we can please God. If
in our hearts we actually hear the Word of God, recognize our own sins,
and believe in the baptism of the Lord and the blood of the Cross, then
we can also actually receive the remission of our sins. But if we do not
believe in this remission of sin given by the Lord, and instead believe
in Him only as a theoretical matter, then we will continue to be
tormented by a guilty conscience.
If
we do not solve the problem of our actual sins by believing in the
water and the Spirit, then this guilty conscience will continue to eat
away at our hearts. However, if we believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, then we will be freed this guilty conscience, for when
we become sinless by receiving the perfect remission of sin, how could
we ever be tormented by sin again? This is how we must actually believe.
We must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and have the
problem of all our sins solved. Those who fail to do so have no choice
but to continue in the bondage of sin.
Life
is very short, and full of suffering. God allows suffering to every
human being. What is the reason God allows suffering to us? It is
because through our suffering of sin, He wants us to realize the
preciousness of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, to believe in
this gospel, and to thereby be actually absolved of our sins. He brought
the suffering of sin to you so that you would come to believe in your
hearts that the Messiah has washed away all your sins through His
baptism and the blood of the Cross. Not believing in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit as the truth is the most foolish thing to do. The
sins of mankind can be wiped out clean only by the faith that actually
believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
God
is telling us to solve the problem of our sins by believing in the true
gospel. We must therefore believe in Jesus, the real Savior. You, too,
must actually believe in Jesus Christ as your own Savior in your hearts.
You must admit your sins before God, believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, and thereby be saved. When in your hearts you believe
in the baptism of Jesus the Savior and His blood of the Cross, then you
will actually be remitted of all your sins. Only when we believe in the
baptism of Jesus and the blood of the Cross as the truth can we be saved
from all our sins.
The Order of the Coverings Coincides Exactly with the Order of Our Salvation
When it comes to the order of our salvation, the priority is to first recognize truthfully that from the very moment we were born into this world, we have all been sinful like badgers, the beasts that perish. And we must believe that we surely are to be put to death and cast into hell for our sins. Furthermore, we must also believe that to be delivered from our sins, we actually need a sacrificial offering, and as such, the Messiah has to actually come and bear our sins by being baptized. We must believe that our Savior must be not a human being, but God Himself. And we must believe that Jesus the Savior has indeed saved us from all our sins through His baptism and the Cross.
If
this were not the case, then God would have made only two coverings
over the Tabernacle. If salvation could be reached by leaving out Jesus'
baptism, then there would have been no need to make four separate
coverings of the Tabernacle, and God would have covered it with only
badger skins and ram skins. But were only these two coverings actually
used? No! The Tabernacle had to be covered by four different coverings;
the curtains woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven
linen; another curtains made of goats'hair; yet another covering made of
ram skins; and the last one made of badger skins.
We
must believe in the truth as it is—that is, Jesus accepted all our sins
by being baptized, died on the Cross, and has thereby saved our filthy
and pitiful souls bound to hell for our sins, making us Gods own people.
This is the mystery hidden in the four coverings of the Tabernacle, and
the order in which these four coverings were laid on the Tabernacle is
none other than the very order of our salvation.
To
couple the first and second coverings of the Tabernacle together, gold
and bronze clasps were needed. And at the edge of the two sets of
curtains that together made up each covering, loops of blue yearn were
made. But for those who believe only in the blood of the Cross, it is
impossible to know what these gold and bronze clasps attached to the
loops of blue yearn actually mean. Only those who believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit can understand and believe in the truth
hidden in the four coverings.
The
loops of blue yearn refer to the baptism that Jesus received in the
Jordan River. Why, then, do people not believe in the baptism through
which Jesus accepted the sins of the world, but believe only in the
blood of the Cross? It is because they do not believe in Gods Word as it
is. When we profess to believe in Jesus, we cannot believe in Him
correctly by adding to or subtracting from the Word of God. We must
believe in God's Word exactly as it is, with a "yes."
Among
the many people who claim to believe in Jesus, most of them believe
only in the blood that He shed on the Cross, leaving out the baptism
that He received. This is why so many Christians cannot understand the
mystery of the truth manifested in the coverings of the Tabernacle. And
this is why today's Christians do not believe in the real remission of
sin that the Messiah has perfectly fulfilled. They believe in Jesus, all
in vain, just as one of the founders of the religions of the world. As
such, many Christians are in fact walking on the wrong path. They sin
everyday, and yet claim that they can go to Heaven just by repenting
everyday. This explains why the secular people of the world so often
denounce Christians.
When
we ask Christians, "How, and with what kind of faith, can we really
solve the problem of your sins?," then most of them say, "We can solve
it by offering prayers of repentance while believing in Jesus?bloodshed
on the Cross." When we then ask them, "Have your sins then actually been
solved away in your heart?," they reply, "Actually, I still have sin
left in my heart." People who have sin in their hearts are still not the
people of God. Such people are outside Jesus Christ. They must come
into Jesus Christ by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
soon.
We
must know in detail with what exact method our Lord has blotted out all
our sins, as it really is. It is by carrying the sins of the world to
the Cross through the baptism that He actually received from John and
shedding His blood that the Lord has indeed blotted out all our sins. If
we want to enter into Gods presence, then we must enter by believing in
our salvation woven of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. No matter
how devotedly one might actually have believed in God, it is still
possible for him/her to have misunderstood and misbelieved the whole
time. For us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, we must accept
salvation made of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, through which
the Messiah has actually blotted out our sins, as the truth, and believe
in it.
If
our faith before God is wrong, then we must fix it and believe again
correctly, no matter how often. We must believe in salvation, that the
Lord actually took upon our sins and washed them all away through His
baptism, as the truth. We must actually believe that the Lord took upon
all our sins once for all with His baptism, and that He bore all the
condemnation of our sins through the blood of the Cross.
With
the real faith in the ministries of Jesus manifested in the blue,
purple, and scarlet thread of Tabernacle, we can meet the Messiah.
Through the Tabernacle, we have now been able to grasp the gospel of the
water and the Spirit more definitely, and to realize that its faith is
founded on the truth manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread
and the fine woven linen. The faith of critical importance that we must
all now have is the one that actually believes in the heart in salvation
made of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
We
are now hearing and learning about the truth that is held in the
Tabernacle made of blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven
linen. The Messiah is waiting for us now, having actually remitted all
our sins already through His works manifested in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread.
God
is admonishing you to believe in this truth with all your hearts. Do
you still have sin in your hearts? Then, you must all clearly recognize
before God just how dark and filthy the sins in your hearts are, confess
your sins, believe in the truth revealed in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread, and thereby receive the remission of all your sins. When
you truly believe that Jesus has already remitted all your sins, you
can then pass all the sins found in your hearts onto Him and receive His
perfect remission of sin.
We
must all believe, in our hearts, in the remission of sin made of the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen that God
actually planned for us. God has given us the gospel made of these
marvelous ministries of Jesus, of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread,
and has thereby enabled us to receive the remission of sin and enjoy all
power and authority as His own children. The Lord has enabled us to be
saved from all our sins and condemnation, and to receive eternal life,
by believing in the works of salvation given to us and manifested in the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
I
thank the Lord for making it possible for us to be saved by believing
in the truth manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the
fine woven linen. By believing in this truth, we can be remitted of all
our sins and enter the Kingdom of Heaven by faith. Hallelujah!
No comments:
Post a Comment