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Subject 11 : The Tabernacle
[11-23] The Pillars of the Court of The Tabernacle (Exodus 27:9-19)
(Exodus 27:9-19)
“You shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long for one side. And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be silver. Likewise along the length of the north side there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, with its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of bronze, and the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver. And along the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits, with their ten pillars and their ten sockets. The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits. The hangings on one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. And on the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. It shall have four pillars and four sockets. All the pillars around the court shall have bands of silver; their hooks shall be of silver and their sockets of bronze. The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of bronze. All the utensils of the tabernacle for all its service, all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.”
This passage explains the pillars, the screen gate, hangings of fine white linen, bands, hooks, bronze sockets, and bronze pegs of the court of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was a place where God dwelt. The size of the rectangular court measured approximately 45 m (its north and south sides) by 22.5 m (its east and west sides). The Tabernacle itself was a small structure with its roof of a fourfold covering. The court of the Tabernacle in contrast, was broad like a large open courtyard.
The court’s pillars measured 2.25 m in height, and its perimeter fence was built by placing a total of 60 wooden pillars and hangings of white linen on all sides except for the gate. The fence was made of these wooden pillars, silver capitals that covered there tops, and bronze sockets. On the silver capitals two hooks of silver were placed, and long bands of silver were attached to these hooks to support the pillars to each other. On the ground these silver bands were then attached to the bronze pegs, thus fixing the pillars securely.
What Spiritual Meanings Are Manifested in the Pillars of the Tabernacle?
What do the pillars of the court of the Tabernacle tell us? They tell us clearly how Jesus Christ has saved each and every one of us from the sins of the world. The wooden pillars of the Tabernacle’s court refer to you and me—that is, every born-again saint. What then do the bronze sockets below these wooden pillars of the court tell us? They tell us that despite the fact we could not avoid but face our condemnation because of our sins, God has nevertheless saved us from all our sins.
On the other hand, that the wooden pillars were capped with silver capitals tells us that God has given us the gift of salvation by saving all sinners from their sins and trespasses through the gospel of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. That silver hooks were placed on these silver capitals, and that silver bands were attached to these hooks and the bronze pegs on the ground, also tell us that although we were facing our unavoidable death because of our sins, our Lord has given us the gift of the remission of sin through the Truth of the blue, purple, and scarlet threads and the fine woven linen—that is, through the gospel of salvation.
In this way, the pillars of the Tabernacle’s court shows us the truth that the Lord has saved us from all our sins by coming to this earth, being baptized by John the Baptist, and bearing all the judgment of sin, and sacrificing Himself with His precious blood on the Cross. They show us, in other words, the gift of the remission of sin, that the Lord has saved us wholly from all our sins and has made us God’s people. These wooden pillars constituting the fence around the court of the Tabernacle tells us that our Lord has saved all sinners from the sins of the world perfectly all at once by the ministry of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, that is, by being baptized and shedding His blood on the Cross. Because this truth is so certain, I cannot help but be thankful for it and spread it throughout the whole wide world.
The Bronze Sockets below the Pillars
The sockets of the pillars standing on this fence were made of bronze, while the capitals on top of the pillars, their hooks, and their bands were all made of silver.
Mark 7:21-22 say, “Out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.” Each and every one of us was born with all these evil sins in our hearts. This is why God tells us that we are bound to live the rest of our lives in these sins until our very own demise, and that we simply cannot help ourselves but live in this sinful way. And if we admit to this Word just as it is, then we cannot help but confess that our fundamental nature is so sinful that we in fact just cannot avoid the judgment for our sins.
Yet with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, our Lord has saved such depraved beings as us from all our sins. Because our Lord took all our sins away by accepting them onto His body through the baptism that He received from John the Baptist, He could carry the sins of the world to the Cross and bear the condemnation for all those sins. This is how Jesus has saved us from all our sins.
We cannot thank God enough for this! None other than this is salvation that God has delivered us from all our sins even as we were all bound to hell, is the most precious, the most blessed, and the most valuable gift in this entire world. There is nothing else that we can do but to simply bow our heads to the Lord, believe in this gospel that has saved us with the truth of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and thank our Lord for it. Through the materials used for the pillars of the court of the Tabernacle, God is showing us that our Lord’s salvation is the perfect truth that does not lack any bit of supplement or complement.
All the mysteries of the building materials of the Tabernacles are solved through the implications of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. The mystery of salvation is the truth that can never be solved without the gospel of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. All the implications of the Tabernacle System, along with the secret of its sacrificial system, are hidden in these blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen.
Fundamentally, as a matter of fact, you and I were such beings before God who could not help but be bound to hell because of our sins. To be frank, we continue to sin even now, but the Lord has nonetheless given us the perfect remission of sins with His blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and by believing in this gift of salvation, we received this remission of sins. It is because God has saved us perfectly from all our sins and has made us His children that we could become His heirs who will enjoy glory and splendor of His Kingdom. Apart from the salvation that God has given us, there is no other way to become His born-again children. It is because our Lord has saved us from all our sins that we give our thanks to Him.
We were ignorant all the time about who we really are in our basic selves, measuring only the gravity of our sins according to our own standards. But it isn’t important whether we have committed some kinds of sins or not, because we are originally such grave sinners all bound to hell from our births regardless of our deeds. Yet with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, our Lord has saved such people like us from all our sins. Just as the Lord had promised in the Old Testament, He actually came to us in the New Testament’s time, took all our sins upon Himself according to this Word of promise, carried these sins to the Cross, paid the wages of all our sins with His sacrifice by shedding His blood on the Cross, and has thereby saved us from all our sins and given us this gift of salvation. This is how you and I have received the gift of salvation from all our sins by believing in Jesus Christ.
Why Were the Hangings of White Linen Placed over the Pillar of the Court of the Tabernacle?
A total of 60 pillars were placed around the court of the Tabernacle, and they were all covered with the hangings of the fine woven linen. These hangings tell us that although we were all unclean beings stained with our sins, and despite the fact that we therefore deserved to be condemned of our sins and cast into hell, our Lord nevertheless has cleansed us with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. In other words, the hangings tell us the truth that Jesus Christ has washed us from all our sins at all once by being baptized by John the Baptist.
When Jesus came to this earth and was baptized by John the Baptist, the representative of all mankind, the sins of the world were all passed onto Jesus. Having thus accepted all the sins of the world, Jesus then was crucified and shed His blood to bear the condemnation of sins, and He then rose from the dead again. And having risen from the dead, He has now become our living Savior. This is the gift of salvation that our Lord has fulfilled through His ministry of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen; and this is the love of our Lord that has cleansed us from all our sins and made us unblemished and without any shortcomings to become the people of God. By giving us this gift of salvation, our Lord has turned those of us who believe in this truth into God’s very own people.
The white linen that hung on the pillars of the Tabernacle tells us of the holiness of God, but it also speaks about our holiness, the holiness of the true believers. Hence, if we want to become God’s children, we too must be cleansed from all our sins and become holy by believing in Jesus’ ministry of the blue, purple and scarlet thread. God tells us, “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45), but how could we ever be holy through our acts? Because we cannot avoid sinning no matter how hard we try, we can never be holy through our own efforts. But with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, our Lord has wholly cleansed even such beings like you and me. This is how you and I have wholly become God’s very own people. There is no other way but to believe in the gospel of God’s righteousness and to become holy by being cleansed from all our sins.
The Bronze Sockets and the Bronze Pegs
The silver capitals were overlaid on the top of the pillars. And the silver hooks and the silver bands were also made to connect and to fix the pillars to each other. Each pillar was fitted into a bronze socket. And a pair of bronze pegs tied up each pillar of the Tabernacle’s perimeter fence from the top of it to the ground.
This shows us that although we were bound to be condemned and cast into hell due to our sins, God has nonetheless made us His holy people by giving us the gift of salvation that has delivered us from all our sins. Because God has made us His holy people through this grace of salvation, we cannot help but praise and thank God for His grace. Having believed in God through this Word of the truth of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, not only do we praise God, but we also cannot help but spread this Word.
Is there really any day when we never commit sin? There is none! Even those of us who believe in the Word of God and have been born again through His grace also commit sin everyday. If anyone is even slightly hostile to us or not friendly enough, we lash out and curse this person in no time. Say if there was someone who suddenly cut in on you while you were driving peacefully along and almost caused a serious accident, did you not react angrily at that careless driver? Oh Yes! I might have cursed that reckless driver loudly with my noisy horn. But is this really the right thing to do? It is certainly not the right thing to do, but the problem is that we are such beings who cannot but commit sins at any moment.
We are such beings destined to hell because of our infirmities. However, God has given us “a new and living way which He consecrated for us” (Hebrews 10:20). This is wholly the gift of God which has been completed solely by Jesus Christ according to the will of God the Father.
What gift of salvation has God given to us? He has given us the gift of our salvation from sins, which was fulfilled through the four threads of the Tabernacle―the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. How could we then possibly not praise God? When we have really received this true salvation, how could true peace not be in our hearts? Our salvation can never be attained by paying gold or silver, nor is it like the mist or morning dew that disappears soon after appearing, but we have been saved eternally and perfectly. God loved sinners so much that He has given them His grace of salvation as a free gift, and in this gift He has clothed us believers with His righteousness.
Among the items of the fence of the Tabernacle’s court, all the sockets and the pegs that touched the ground were made of bronze. But the capitals on top of the pillars were made of silver. All these accounts shows us that despite the fact that we were all fundamentally bound to hell, we have become God’s children by receiving the gift of salvation given by our Lord. Each and every one of us has received this gift by believing in His Word. Given this, how certain is this salvation from our sins that we received? This is the gift that God has bestowed on us, and it is our certain salvation and blessing that can never be changed. It is because we know this that we cannot thank God enough with all our being.
That you and I have been saved from all our sins is most assuredly God’s gift. Our salvation is not an imperfect one that simply disappears whenever our infirmities are revealed. For such depraved sinners like you and me, our Lord came to this earth and gave us the gift of salvation with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. As such, all who believe in this truth are eternally saved from all their sins. Because our Lord’s salvation of sinners is so perfect, and because He even took care of all the insufficiencies, weaknesses, and blemishes of our flesh, He has made us whole so that we would have nothing to do with sin. Those who know clearly and believe in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen are all saved perfectly forever.
Given this, just how precious and valuable is this gift of salvation that God has given us? I am truly thankful for this gift of salvation, for it has brought so much rest to our hearts and has comforted and blessed us so much. Our Lord brings rest to our hearts. This is why He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). I am so grateful to God for giving me this gift of redemption from all my sins.
I believe that not only I but all of you also are very precious to God. God has saved you and me with the gospel of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven linen. God says that He has given this gift of salvation to all those who believe in this Word, and because I believe in what He says, I do think and believe that you also are all very precious to God.
Lately, as we have been laboring hard for God’s work even beyond our strength, there have been times when we felt quite exhausted. Therefore, I would like to comfort and encourage my co-workers through such means of the flesh as breaking bread together. But I know well that we cannot really be comforted by the consolation of the flesh. We are instead encouraged by remembering the gift of our certain salvation that the Lord gave to us, our true consolation, and its peace unknown to the world. We are comforted by and satisfied with the spiritual blessings that God has already given to our hearts. Because we are to receive such great rewards and blessings in this gift of salvation that God has given us, our hearts have peace and blessings, the likes of which are unknown in this world.
God has given the perfect gift of salvation to each and every one of you, the greatest gift of all that is unknown in this world. There are some people who claim to be sinless with only their religious devotions, even as they do not believe in the truth of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, but their fullness of devotional feelings will evaporate in no time. The peace that they reach with their own thoughts disappears like the morning mists whenever they sin even a little or at the slightest sight of hardship.
But for those who believe in the Lord-given salvation of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, the more hardship they face, the more brilliantly their peace of mind shines. Though we are trampled on, injured, and in grief, perfectness and thankfulness flows out of our minds from the Lord-given gift of salvation in our hearts. We are the ones who have been wholly saved, who can never return to Egypt, nor ever face our sins and condemnation again. God has blessed us who know and believe in this truth of salvation that He has bestowed on us so that we can always thank Him fully with our faith. This is why we thank God with our faith.
I cannot thank God enough, for I could receive from Him, this certain salvation of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and for God has loved me, blessed me greatly, and made me preach this precious gospel, for I know I do not deserve them. Even if I were to thank the Lord everyday, I cannot thank Him enough for making me live only for the gospel. I cannot help but thank Him forever. When I thank God for the great gift of salvation that He has given me, and when I try to express my grateful heart, I realize just how insufficient my vocabulary and expressions are.
We are the ones who believe in the salvation that was manifested as the gospel of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. For your sake, Jesus was born into this earth, took all your sins upon Himself by being baptized by John the Baptist at the age of 30, carried these sins to the Cross, shed His blood and died on it, rose from the dead, and is now sitting at the right hand of the throne of God the Father. This Jesus Christ has given the perfect gift of salvation to those who received it by faith. Unless we betray this faith, this salvation that we once received will never ever be nullified. No matter what shortcomings we may have, and no matter what mistakes we may make, we have all become His very own people clothed in the perfect gift of salvation.
The Fine White Linen Hung on the Pillars of the Tabernacle’s Court
Imagine looking at the hangings of fine white linen for a while. These hangings of fine white linen were not made of nylon, but they were woven together with white linen thread. If you put up such hangings of white linen in a desert situation, they will get soiled in no time. Would God then have put up these white hangings for no reason, without knowing that they would become dirty in no time? He told the Israelites to put up these hangings of white linen to show the gift of salvation that He has given to us, those who accept this gift through faith. It was to make us know clearly and mark in our hearts that He has thus saved us from all our filthy sins wholly and cleanly.
God made the Israelites put up these hangings of fine white linen. This implies that we should praise Him forever and thank Him truly by seeing and believing in His perfect salvation which is revealed in the white hangings. Through the hangings of this fine white linen, God has thus given us the gift of salvation wholly. Our salvation that was given by Him is like this fine white linen.
We really are filthy and depraved beings who cannot avoid but be bound to hell because of sin. We have to wash the clothes of our minds several times in just a day. Yet God has made such hearts of ours completely white. Our Lord has, in other words, made people like ourselves whole. God’s power is so great and awesome that He has wholly turned us, who are disgusting, filthy, and easily soiled, into His sacred people.
Today you and I who believe in this gospel of the water and the Spirit are the ones who have received this perfect gift of salvation from God. We are the ones whose sins of the heart have all been washed completely away, and we have become as white as snow.
Do you still have sin in your hearts? Of course not! None other than your own hearts have all become like the white, clean linen that was hung on the fence of the Tabernacle’s court. You and I have thus become completely clean. Despite the fact that we had been fundamentally bound to be condemned because of our sins, we have nevertheless been saved. This salvation came not from our own goodness or faithfulness, but from the grace of God that has clothed us in His power, like the bronze pegs of the Tabernacle’s pillars were attached to their silver capitals by hooking them together with the bands of silver. Although we were truly bound to hell and condemnation, by believing that God has clothed us in His gift of salvation, we have all become His saved people. This is the truth manifested in the fence of the Tabernacle’s court.
The 60 pillars of the Tabernacle’s court refer to us, the true believers. Each of these pillars, in other words, refers to each one of us. We were such beings that could neither become God’s people nor enter into His House, and yet God gave His gift of salvation to such worthless people like us. He came to this earth, completed the gift of salvation, gave us this gift of truth, and as we came to know and believe in this truth, He has made us His very own people who are saved wholly and will never be cursed ever again.
What an amazing blessing is this? Like the pillars of the Tabernacle’s court, by ourselves we cannot stand alone but fall. Yet the reason why we do not fall after being saved from all our sins is because we the believers in the perfect blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven line. All of us believe and unite together under His grace. We must first believe that although we were worthless beings who could not avoid but be bound to hell, through the Word of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, the Lord has cleansed us of all our sins and thereby saved all of us wholly by bearing all our condemnation of sin personally. And it is by this faith that we can stand before God anytime, praise Him, serve His works, and always thank Him for this gift of salvation.
There are times when we stumble because of the weakness of our flesh. Though we believe that we have been saved from all our sins and condemnation, there are times after our salvation when we get exhausted and bored, wondering why we have to live in such a way. Though we are haunted by such fleshly thoughts at times, the reason why we do not depart from God and live out our faith unwaveringly after our salvation is because, when we look back who we really were, we feel even more thankful for the gift of salvation and the grace of deliverance that God has given to us.
That’s why we can all stand more firmly on our faith. We can stand up again with faith from all our frustrations thanks to the genuine gospel. Though we are always full of shortcomings, we can only give thanks to God for His perfect salvation. We can never be boastful, not even a little, rather we thank Him for making us His children through this gift of salvation, standing firm before Him, and faithfully carrying out the tasks of priests. What makes us steadfast and stand firmly on our faith is none other than the fact that we have received the great gift of salvation and grace that God has given us. If we know our fundamental nature as it is, we cannot but accept the remission of sin that God has given us through the Word of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, and serve the Lord.
When we accept this into our hearts by knowing and realizing just how thankful it is, our faith cannot be shaken any more. It becomes steadfast. No matter what kind of deceptions people throw at us, no matter what kind of nonsense they espouse by saying that they are now perfect because they themselves had died by believing in only the precious blood of the Cross, our faith cannot be shaken. Although our basic nature was so evil, but by believing in the certain truth that the Lord has saved us through the blue, purple and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, we can all boldly fight off such lies and stand on our firm faith.
In this way, we can fight off these lies, saying, “What? Were we saved only by the precious blood of the Cross? If we leave out any one of the elements of salvation accomplished by the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, there is nothing that we can boast of. What kind of nonsense is this?”
But if we depart from the grace of salvation that God has bestowed upon us, we would not be able to see our own selves as we are, and as a result, we will become self-confident and boastful, and end up turning evil. It is by looking at ourselves as we are that we find God’s gift of salvation at an even greater degree. This is how we came to obey His recommendation that goes, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
The reason why we can really stand steadfastly before God is because we believe that the Lord bore all our curses for us, like each pillar was supported by the silver bands and tied to the bronze pegs. As such, even when we stumble, we can find our balance again by the silver band that holds us steadfast. As each silver band is attached to the hooks and the pegs hold the pillars steady, because our hearts recognize who we really are, and because there is the grace of God that has saved us through the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, we do not founder. Because of this, we stand upright, wavering neither to the right nor to the left.
Because of the perfect gift of salvation that God gave to us, and because of the righteousness of God, we will not fall on our face or backwards nor to our sides, but stand firmly on the bronze sockets. The bronze sockets imply that we were to be doomed to hell originally. By reminding us that we are saved from the place of inevitable condemnation, we can always give our thanks to God, and stand firmly and securely with faith.
The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the awesome truth of salvation. It can not be attained from any of the countless theological seminaries and graduate schools of this world. And because it is the foundation and fundamentals of faith; therefore any theology that does not know and learn the truth of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen is just like a house built on sand that will ultimately crumble down and flounder. The foundation of your true faith must be solid like a huge marble base rock.
What Is Theology?
Broadly speaking, there are two main currents that divide theology: theocentric theology and anthropocentric theology, either or both of which are taught at every seminary. Simply put, faith that is strictly based on the Word is theocentrism, while faith that admits man’s thoughts to the Word is anthropocentrism. Anthropocentric theologians are not particularly interested in what the Bible actually says, but their scholarly positions are strengthened or criticized depending on which authoritative scholars expound what views and who follows them. Therefore, anthropocentric theology can never be considered as proper theology.
In general, people who study theology argue that only their own theological viewpoints are correct. For instance, even now there are quite a lot of people who attend the Seventh Day Adventist Church which places central importance to the Sabbath day only. The Presbyterian Church, on the other hand, espouses only the “so-called” Five Points of Calvinism. Arminianism, in another example, argues that although God has saved us, mankind must also believe in this fact with its will. In some ways, Arminianism can be considered as a theological standpoint that approaches and interprets the Bible with human perspectives.
In contrast, when we look at the Five Points of Calvinism, we can find out that its faith is somewhat theocentric but too fatalistic. Why? Because Calvinists espouse their doctrines of predestination and election as the truth, arguing, “Before you were born, some of you were already been chosen by God as His people, while others were left out of His election. There is only God’s sovereign selection.” Such harmful claims cannot be approved by the Word of God.
So when we compare these so-called orthodox Christian doctrines to the Word of God, we can find out that they are actually very different from the truth. Of course, on some issues, they come close to the truth, but Christian theologies of most denominations today are far from the Biblical truths. Of course, there are some parts that coincide with Biblical truths in their doctrines, but their pivotal teachings are too erroneous to come close to the Word of God. And this is why we have to quit learning such erroneous doctrines.
Our Remission of Sin Is Entirely a Gift from God
To those who truly believe in God’s Word, God has granted salvation to them as His gift.
The fence of the Tabernacle’s court was built with 60 wooden pillars. On top of these pillars, silver capitals were placed, and on their bottoms bronze sockets were laid down. Each pillar was affixed with silver bands to each other and tied to bronze pegs which were driven into the ground. The wooden pillars were set up at every 5 cubits or 2.25 m intervals, and on these pillars hangings of fine white linens were placed.
As the pillars were tied down firmly by these bronze pegs, and connected to each other firmly with the silver bands, the hangings of fine white linen could not be removed from their place. As the hangings of white linen were placed on these firmly planted wooden pillars, the hangings remained fixed and immobile as it pulled itself tightly in each direction.
The hangings of white linen refer to the holiness and righteousness of God. In other words, the righteousness of God has made us the people of firm faith that cannot be shaken ever again, for our faith in His salvation is fixed by the infallible grace of God. God has given us this perfect salvation as His gift for us. How thankful we are! This is how you and I became the saved by faith.
On the contrary, when I look at today’s Christians around the world, I find them ridiculous, laughable, and regrettable all at once. I am both saddened and frustrated by them because I see that they do not even have the correct knowledge on the most elementary issues of true Christianity, even as they profess to believe in God and claim to spread His Word.
Recently, many have been worrying that most of our high school students have become rather weak regarding the fundamentals of their studies. In fact, students who were prone to neglect the fundamentals cannot be expected to produce their achievements of studies in advance. Therefore, to train college students in their respective professional studies and prepare them for the workplace, universities need to make sure that they first have a sound grasp of the fundamentals of the primary subjects before they are introduced to the more advanced knowledge. Apparently, these attempts don’t seem to be successful all the time.
The reason why I brought up this story is to explain that just as there can be no advancement in the knowledge of this world without a sound grasp of its fundamentals, faith in God is also bound to flounder without a sound foundation. The true faith is the one that believes in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. Without this fundamental faith, everything else means nothing at all. Although people may rejoice and become quite devoted to God at first, saying that they have become sinless by believing in Jesus, but when time passes by even a little, they soon run out of their own righteousness, their joy evaporates into thin air, they are sapped of all their strength, and they ultimately end up renouncing their faith in God because of their sins that still remain intact in their hearts. All this phenomena is brought about by the lack of fundamental knowledge of the Christian faith.
Is there anyone disabled among you? People who have trouble with their legs have the hardest time when they try to climb up stairs. When they are struggling to climb up stairs, would it not be a kind and thankful act if someone helps and assists them? Yet there are some disabled not all who instead get angry, saying, “Leave me alone. I can do it by myself.” In general, the disabled have great self-respect and can at times be quite stubborn. When parts of their bodies are disabled, their minds can also be disabled. As a result, their hearts can at times be hardened by their inferiority complexes, sense of defeat, and feelings of deprivation. This is why some of them have a tendency to not take others’ kindness as it is, but to distort its original intention.
There is actually no need for them to have any inferiority complex of their disabilities. They may be inconvenienced by them, but having them is certainly no sin at all. But if they let themselves dwell in all kinds of distorted thoughts rising out of their disabilities and allow these bad feelings to develop into countless inferiority complexes, then they will end up becoming truly disabled even in their hearts. If you are a disabled person, all that you have to do is just recognize yourself as you are, seek help when you need help, and stand firm on your own ground when you can.
Whenever there is something that I do not know or need some assistance, I ask others and request for their help. I cannot but ask and seek others’ help because of my lacking. And when someone else who knows about it explains it and helps me, I then thank this person. Though we may have shortcomings in our flesh, there is no reason for them to regard us disabled also in our hearts. Therefore, all that we have to do is to know our shortcomings, believe in our Lord’s gospel of the water and the Spirit, that is, the salvation of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen that has made these shortcomings of ours whole and serve this gospel diligently. And it is within this gospel of our Lord that we can take pride and give our thanks. Because we have received the gift of salvation given by God through our faith, all that we have to do is just thank Him. We can rest, love one another, and unite together, all in this gift of salvation.
It is because many of today’s Christians are weak in the fundamentals of their faith that their faith is wavering in all directions. Our Lord has saved you and me with His blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. Only by knowing and believing in this alone have we received the gift of salvation and become whole. We were all bound to hell in the first place, yet because God has saved us wholly by giving us the gift of perfect salvation, we have become His perfect children. Because we have now already received the gift of salvation through our faith, if we live our lives believing that we are the people of God, and within the bounds of this faith, we then can live out our faith within the Lord successfully.
After I was truly born again, two new changes came into my heart, neither of which was ever experienced before. Before, my love for others used to be hypocritical, pretending to love them unconditionally while I actually hated them in my heart. But now, I came to truly love others with all my heart. Because God has given us His gift of perfect salvation, and because this gospel is so precious, all who believe in it appear so noble and lovely before my eyes. I cannot help but love them, even if I tried not to.
The second change is that unlike in the past, I have become sensitive to others’ feelings. Before, whenever someone did something that I could not tolerate, regardless of who this person was, I used to be quite blunt in my rebuke. But now I have came to realize that I need to look at everyone’s weaknesses, and be more careful in my dealings with them, shielding them when they need to be shielded and rebuking them when they need to be rebuked, all appropriately. Those who have weaknesses or shortcomings can easily be hardened in their hearts also, and so I came to be more conscious of their weaknesses, as there are times when I need to help them secretly, and there are also times when I should not help them even as I know that they need my help desperately. I came to be conscious of these things because people are such weak beings, but all the while, I am still very strong and bold in my faith.
There are times when we should not rebuke others because they are too weak, but there are also times when we need to rebuke them firmly instead of just tolerating them. This is why we are more conscious of their needs, but when looked in faith; our love for them is certain, perfect, correct, and strong. If we look at our circumstances from a fleshly perspective, all that we can see is just things to worry about. Because we are so weak and insufficient in the first place, if we start to worry about our weak flesh, not a day will go by without worries or concerns. But when we stand in the perfect faith that God has given to us, all our worries and concerns disappear, and as Jesus has saved such insufficient and blemished ones like us with His blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen and has made us into the vessels of His good works, this encouragement of faith, more than anything else should make us strong.
Our hearts’ encouragement comes from the gift of perfect salvation given by the Lord into our hearts; all other encouragements that stem from our fleshly merits are only transient. This does not mean, of course, that the consolation of the flesh is not substantial even though we need to console our brothers and sister sometimes even in fleshly terms.
What is clear, however, is that as we ourselves are weak, Jesus Christ came to this world and has saved us wholly. The Bible tells us that when Lazarus died, seeing his sisters, Mary and Martha, and their neighbors weeping, Jesus also groaned. Jesus, in other words, had compassion on them because He saw just how wretched it was for people to die because of their sins. But because our Lord came according to the Father’s will, He said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), and saved those who were to die because of their sins. He has consoled us both in spirit and body.
You and I also have these two sides of the spirit and the flesh. So when we are going through a tough time in the flesh, we need to be comforted in the flesh, also spiritually, and we also need to have this faith of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. Like this, by knowing to rejoice in faith for the gift of salvation which God has given to us, keeping this gift of salvation, and reminding ourselves once again that we are the ones who have received this gift, our hearts can indeed rejoice in Christ. This is how we come to give glory to God.
God has firmly planted each of us in faith, like the pillars of the Tabernacle, and has also asked us to live by faith. So even as the shortcomings of our flesh abound everyday, we can feel deep in our hearts just how precious God’s salvation is, realizing that we had deserved to be condemned. You too can now come to understand this truth of salvation manifested in the fence of the court of the Tabernacle.
Now you can also open and enter into the gate of the court of the Tabernacle located at the eastern side. When you open and enter into this gate of the Tabernacle’s court, there is something that you will come across first. What will this be? It is none other than the altar of burnt offering.
When you pass by the altar of burnt offering by faith, there will be the bronze laver, and when you pass by this laver, you will then finally enter into the House of God, the Tabernacle itself. When looking at this by faith, all these things are easily accomplished. Though the Word of the Tabernacle may look very abstruse at first, it is actually very easy for you and I to understand because we, whose foundation of faith is strong, look at it within the correct principle of faith that we already possess. Because God’s salvation is so valuable, He made it easy for anyone to understand it through the Tabernacle system. But to prevent just anyone to interpret this Word of the Tabernacle mistakenly on his own thoughts, God has made it unseen to the eyes of those who are not born again yet. Therefore, even for theologians, if they do not have the correct fundamental faith, none of them can ever speak of the exact spiritual meaning of why the gate of the court of the Tabernacle was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven linen, because God has hidden this truth from such liars.
The blue thread refers to the baptism that Jesus received from John the Baptist. Through His baptism that was received in a form of the laying on of hands, He took all our sins upon Himself. The scarlet thread refers to His sacrifice of death that Jesus Christ bled to death on the Cross for all our sins. The purple thread manifests that Jesus is God Himself. The fine woven linen is the Word of salvation through which He, God Himself, promised to us the entire mankind. Those who have not been born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot speak of the truth that God revealed in the gate of the Tabernacle exactly like this.
God promised from the beginning of mankind, that is, from Adam and Eve and to all His servants, “To save you, I will come to you through the water, the blood, and the Spirit, and I will indeed save you.” According to this Word, Jesus Christ came to this earth, was baptized, shed His blood and died, rose from the dead, and has thereby saved us. The fine woven linen is the promise of God’s Word, and it is also the fulfillment of the Word. The blue, purple, and scarlet threads tells us of the baptism of Jesus Christ, that He is our God, and that He bore all our condemnation of sin by carrying the sins of the world and shedding His blood on the Cross. And they tell us that Jesus Christ has saved us by rising from the dead again. This truth of the blue, purple, and scarlet threads is the eternal truth of salvation that no dissenting opinion can ever be allowed.
To you and me, God has given us this gift of salvation. The tops of the pillars have been overlaid with silver capitals. We must always remember that we are the ones who have received the gift of salvation from God. Because it is by receiving this gift that we have become righteous, sinless, and the people of God, we have absolutely nothing that we can ever boast about apart from this gift of God. If there is one thing that we may boast of, it is only that we have become the children of God who have this faith of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen. This is possible only because Jesus Christ has saved us from all our sins through the only good and precious gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, we must live by this faith, believing that we have become whole only because God has given us the gift of salvation and that it is through this gift that we have become God’s very own people. Today and tomorrow, we must always live by this faith.
I believe that now is the most appropriate time to spread this Word about the Tabernacle. There were times before when many people were confused by the theory of pre-tribulation rapture that made no sense at all, but God made us appropriately for these times, preach the Word of the Book of Revelation and thereby enabled many to cast out their wrong faith and to possess the true faith. Likewise, in today’s era, it is very fitting that we should preach the faith of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen.
Because we have received the gift of salvation from God, I believe that spreading this certain gift of salvation is the happiest thing to do.
I give all my thanks to God.
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