በኮቪድ-19 እና በዓለም አቀፉ የመላላኪያ አገልግሎት መዛባት ምክንያት ‹ነጻ የታተመ መጽሐፍ አገልግሎታችንን› ለጊዜው አቋርጠናል፡፡
በዚህ ሁኔታ ምክንያት በዚህ ጊዜ መጽሐፎቻችንን ለእናንተ መላክ አንችልም፡፡
ይህ ወረርሽኝ በቅርቡ እንዲያበቃና የፖስታ አገልግሎት እንዲጀምር ጸልዩ፡፡
ይህ ወረርሽኝ በቅርቡ እንዲያበቃና የፖስታ አገልግሎት እንዲጀምር ጸልዩ፡፡
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!
This sermon is also available in ebook format. Click on the book cover below.
Copyright © 2021 by The New Life Mission