BOOK SUMMARY: KNOW THE HERETICS - CHAPTER 1 - JUDAIZERS

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND – Jesus said he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Did this mean He was coming to provide an updated version of Judaism in which Old Testament laws were now to be applied to converted non-Jews? In the life of the early church, certain Jewish believers wanted the Gentiles converts to be circumcised and to follow Jewish customs if they were to be saved and counted among God's people. These early Jewish Christians came to be known as the Judaizers. 

HERETICAL TEACHING - The Judaizers show up in three major scenes.

• Acts 11:1-19 - Judaizers criticize Peter for eating with non-Jews but he explains the vision he had from God in Acts 10. God revealed to him that Gentiles are to be included in God's kingdom through the abolishing of the Old Testament Jewish dietary laws. Immediately after this vision, Peter is led by the Holy Spirit to the house of a Gentile who believes in Christ as Savior along with other Gentiles.  The next step was for them to be baptized, not circumcised.

• Acts 15:1-35 -  The first church council discussed what the Judaizers were promoting--namely, that circumcision was required for Gentiles to be saved. Previously, Paul and Barnabas had strongly debated the Judaizers and now the matter was brought before the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. The Judaizers were believers from inside the church but were also Pharisees. The heresy of the Judaizers was shot down by the church council. 

• Galatians 2:11-21 - Paul rebuked Peter for not acting in agreement with the gospel. Peter was eating with the circumcision party and has separated himself form Gentiles. The Judaizers were not eating with Gentiles because they believed that made them unclean. This was contrary to the gospel and the vision that Peter had previously received. Paul rhetorically asked Peter how he could demand that the Gentiles live Jews when Peter, a Jew, had been living like a Gentile. The issue with Peter's association with the Judaizers was not that he was following native customs, but that his association with them, and not the Gentiles, was showing the Gentiles that they needed to keep Jews laws to be reconciled with God. The message he was sending was, "You are unclean and therefore unsaved because you don't follow Jewish laws. I don't want to be contaminated, so I'll keep my distance." That is how Paul saw Peter's behavior.

ORTHODOX RESPONSE - God himself discarded the old categories of Jew and non-Jew. This was evidenced by the indwelling Holy Spirit imparted to both Jew and Gentile (Acts 10).  Peter knew this to be true since he stated that God granted to Gentiles the same repentance that leads to life (Acts 11:17-18). Paul says the same thing regarding the Holy Spirit but adds that God purified the heart of the Gentiles by faith (Acts 15:8-9).  In Colossians 2:17, Paul explains how the things that the Jews loved about the Law were but mere shadows of the reality of Christ. 

• In Romans 2:29 Paul explains that the reality of circumcision was never about the cutting off of flesh in order to be considered a Jew (God's people). Rather it was about circumcision of the heart (cutting off of the spiritual flesh or sin nature). Thus, God's covenant people, redefined by Paul, are those who have been spiritually transformed by God whether they be ethnically Jewish or not. 

• In Hebrews 4:8-10 we find that the Sabbath laws of the Old Testament were shadows of Christ, our true Sabbath. 

• Christ is our guilt offering in which our sins are forgiven (Hebrews 9:13-14). 

The New Testament encourages us to cling to Christ, not shadows or pictures of Christ. That is why Paul says that if any requires circumcision for justification and salvation then Christ is of no value (Galatians 5:2-4) and that person has fallen away from grace and is alienated from Christ. Paul is so enraged by this heresy that he wished that the Judaizers would full commit to their cutting off of the flesh and emasculate themselves (Galatians 5:12). Thus, the Jerusalem council did not require circumcision for Gentiles, but only encouraged them to refrain from pagan practices.

 

Paul's response to the Judaizers was two-fold:

• God saves people freely by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 3:4-5).

• The gospel includes both Jewish and Gentile believers (Romans 3:29-30, Romans 4:16, Galatians 3:27-29, Ephesians 2:11-14). 

CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE - The heresy of the Judaizers forced Paul to explain the gospel more precisely. Obedience to God's Law does not save us, for the Law shows us our failures. Rather, obedience to the Law flows from the reality that God has saved us by grace and that he has made us new creatures. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. That is the central issue Martin Luther had with the Catholic Church of his day. His strongest attacks against their heresy of penance and indulgences took place between 1517-1521 after which he began to focus on building up the true church.  

While the Judaizers' heresy was a first century problem, the notion of adding obedience, works or law in order to be saved has never died. At the heart of all religions, exception Christianity, works are required. What God has done is more important that what we do. If we aim to be justified before God by law-keeping, then we nullify grace (Galatians 2:21).  By definition, grace is unearned. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.  How does any form of Judaizing render the work of Christ ineffective?

2.  In what ways can Christians act like Judaizers?

3.  Do you have a particular rule that you think earns God's favor on your life or others?  

4.  What group of people do you think should never be included in God's people? 

5.  Where in your life have you put on a yoke of slavery instead of finding freedom in God's loving and saving grace?

6.  If you're familiar with other religions, share how they are not grace-based but law-based.

7.  Does our church practice any kind of Judaizing anywhere? If so, what can we do to rectify that?

BOOK SUMMARY: KNOW THE HERETICS - INTRODUCTION

WHY HERESY?

Over the centuries many questions about God, Scripture, salvation have been tackled church leaders, philosophers, theologians and even the apostles. There have always been times when good questions were answered with bad conclusions.  This continues on today.

WHAT IS ORTHODOXY? 

Orthodoxy literally means right teaching or right belief. But neither orthodoxy or heresy is correct simply because a lot of people adhere to one or the other. Cynical people have said that orthodoxy is simply the teaching that won the debate or battle of that time. But orthodoxy is the teaching that best summarizes what the Bible teaches. It even accounts for mysteries, paradoxes and what seems to be contradictions. 

WHAT IS HERESY?

A heretic is someone who compromises essential doctrine. Heresy literally means choice. It is a choice to deviate from traditional teaching or the rule of faith in favor of one's own insights. As Christianity grew it came into contact with other belief systems like paganism, Greek philosophy, Gnosticism and much more. Early Christian teachers were engaging with important ideas and questions but would sometimes deviate from Christian teaching in order to make it more compatible with these other belief systems. Many heresies arose in response to who Jesus was as he related to the God of Israel. It was not the questions that were the problems, but the wrong answers to those questions. Here's a brief list of some early heresies that persist in some measure today.

• Marcion: The God of the OT and Jesus are different gods.
• Docetists: Jesus only appeared to be human.
• Arius: The Son was a created being of a lower order than the Father.
• Apollinarius: Jesus' divine nature/Logos replaced the human rational soul in the incarnation.
• Sabellius: Jesus and the Father are not distinct but just "modes" of a single being.
• Eutyches: The divinity of Christ overwhelms his humanity.
• Nestorius: Jesus is composed of two separate persons, one divine and one human.

DOES THE BIBLE MENTION HERESY?

The NT expresses serious concern for false doctrine. See 1 Timothy 1:3, 6:3, 2 Timothy 1:13. Here we see that there was already an established pattern of sound belief (the rule of faith) that was already established and being passed on. We are to beware of doctrinal deception (Matthew 24:4, 1 Corinthians 11:2, Galatians 1:8). Paul says that those that bring a different gospel are accursed (Galatians 1:9). The apostles called out heresy in the church when they saw it like in the case of the Judaizers. 

HERESY AND THE EARLY CHURCH

Heresy is denying the central beliefs of the church. Early church creeds were merely codifying what was already central. The early church had a sense of what was an essential truth that originated from the prophets and apostles. Before the Council of Nicaea met to denounce Arius or the Council of Chalcedon met to denounce the teachings of Eutyches and Nestorius, the church had the rule of faith. These meetings weren't establishing the faith or creating a God out of Jesus. They were affirming what the church already believed and had received. The rule of faith eventually gave way to formalized creedal statements like The Apostles Creed, The Nicene Creed, The Definition of Chalcedon and The Athanasius Creed. Heresy, for the early church, was simply any teaching that was in contrast to the right belief (orthodoxy) received from the prophets and apostles. But the early church didn't consider every wrong belief as heretical. Heresy was a belief that contradicted the essential elements of the faith. 

• Origin: All heretics are at first believers; then later they deviate from the rule of faith.
• Irenaeus: Christians are to "avoid every heretical, godless and impious doctrine."
• Tertullian: To know nothing in opposition to the rule of faith is to know all things.  Philosophers are the fathers of the heretics.
• Clement of Alexandria: Heresies are the result of self-deceit and a mishandling of the Scriptures.
• Cyprian: Satan invented heresies and schism with which to overthrow the faith to corrupt the truth and to divide unity.

NOT ALL THEOLOGICAL ERRORS ARE EQUALLY SERIOUS

The Reformed tradition does not believe that all theological errors are equally serious. There is a difference between orthodoxy, heterodoxy, and heresy.  Heterodoxy is Christian belief which differs from orthodoxy but does not compromise the essential truths. There are some who think that heresy is anything that is different than their own held beliefs and that a heretic is anyone who does not agree with them on any Christian doctrine. To differ with someone on the nature of the millennium does not qualify them as a heretic. The same is true in regard to infant baptism or the mode of baptism.  These doctrines are important but differ dramatically from the divinity of Christ. When everything is a central doctrine, then no doctrine is central.

IS IT EVEN APPROPRIATE TO SPEAK OF HERESY?

Some scholars argue that heresy doesn't exist. They argue that various early Christian groups all took Jesus' words to mean different things. Modern Christians, according to these scholars, are descendants of whatever early group happened to win out. This would mean that heretics are simply the people who lost, but had they won, then they would not be heretical. For scholars, heresy versus orthodoxy is just a matter of perspective. Thus, heresy is not a matter of right doctrine but something that opposes the interests of the church and needs to be stamped out for political, social or power-play reasons. 

But against this view Canon Turner states that early Christians held to three fixed, nonnegotiable elements of the faith:

• Religious facts such as God the creator and the divine historical redeemer Christ
• The centrality of biblical revelation
• The creed and rule of faith  

Ancient Christians, like Ignatius, took great pains to establish a connection of tradition that led back to Christ.  He preserved the story of Christ as it was passed down to him. Heretical groups were not concerned with this connection.

WHY DO WE NEED TO LEARN ABOUT HERESY?

Core doctrines like the Trinity and core beliefs about which books are Scripture were codified as a result of dealing with heresy. While there may be some difficulty on our part to understand all parts of Scripture, the Lord has revealed himself to us and is pleased to live with us. It is vital for us to be obedient to what we can know about God. If we have a flawed understanding of God we can no longer rightly relate to him. If we don't learn about heresy we might be duped and see a repeat of history. 

Now on to chapter 1 - The Judaizers 

BOOK SUMMARY: THE CHRIST KEY - CHAPTER 8A - THE PSALMS AS THE PRAYERBOOK OF JESUS AND THE CHURCH - PAGES 153-162

The Psalms are not just songs. They are the prayerbook of the Bible. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, David took his pains and turned them into prayers. These songs carry us and bear us up. They are perfect prayers for us to speak back to God. 

Martin Franzmann said, "Theology is doxology. Theology must sing." Our study of Scripture, church history, apologetics, philosophy and theology must never be an end to themselves. God is not a thing we study. He is our Father, object of praise and source of life (Acts 17:28). Therefore, we must sing, praise and confess Him. When we sing, praise and confess God with the Psalms, our worship is orthodox (ortho = right, dox = belief). This right doxology should transform our lives (Galatians 2:20). Ouur unity with Christ ensures the expression of His divine nature in our lives (2 Peter 1:4).

JESUS AS THE PRAY-ER OF THE PSALMS
One of Jesus' names is amen (Revelation 3:14). Amen means to believe, trust, have faith in. Jesus is the content of our faith, the one in whom we trust. Our prayers only reach the Father because of Jesus. We pray only through Jesus, in Jesus, by Jesus and because of Jesus.  

Therefore, all our prayers, including the Psalms only reach the Father because of Jesus. That means that if our prayers must pass through Jesus, by His saving work and that our prayers are carried by Jesus to the Father, then the voice that the Father hears is the voice of Jesus.

Jesus was true God and true man in one person. He lived a Jewish life, sung like a Jewish man and prayed like Jewish person. He used the hymnbook of Israel. As a child, Mary would've sung psalms to and with Jesus. Likely, the Israelites knew all 150 songs by heart. This is why 3 of the 7 words of Jesus on the cross come from the Psalms (Matthew 27:46, Psalm 22:1, John 19:28, Psalm 69:21, Luke 23:46, Psalm 31:5).  

Jesus is the one through whom we pray and the one who prays. If we have been crucified with Christ and it is Christ who now lives and acts in me, then it is Christ who now prays in me, even though I am praying. The psalms are the prayers of Jesus in this regard. Jesus is the blessed man in Psalm 1. He is the anointed Son of Psalm 2. He is the persecuted victim in Psalm 3. He is the godly man in Psalm 4. He is the worshiper in Psalm 5. He is the one confessing sin in Psalm 6. 

Augustine helps us to understand this with the categories of head and body as the whole of Christ. Our mouths cry out when we hurt other parts of our body. So, too, as head of the church, Christ cries out for us, as the body, when we are in pain, suffering, or need. These prayers of our Great Intercessor reach the Father. Our unity with Christ makes this so. Act 9:4 shows us that our unity with Christ means that persecution of the true church means persecution of Christ. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer asks, "How is it possible for a man and Jesus Christ to pray the Psalter together?" If we participate in Christ, have communion with Christ, are in fellowship with Christ, then our prayers are voiced by Him. And if we're going to pray the Psalms, we must first ask, "What do they have to do with Jesus?" before we ever ask, "What do they have to do with me?"  

Our unity in Christ ensures that God sees us as part of the Son and vice versa. When Jesus is praying as the head of the church, then mystically, the church is praying. When the church prays, the head of the church, gives voice to our prayers so that God hears them. Our voices are united. 

PSALMS AND THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Psalms should be the foundation of our prayers and songs. Why are they so vital?  Jesus quoted them at His crucifixion. On the night He was betrayed they sung a hymn. This was likely Psalm 113-118, which was traditionally sung at Passover. When Peter and John were released from prison (Acts 4:23-26), they sung Psalm 2 and Psalm 146. The Corinthians sang Psalms (1 Corinthians 14:26). Paul instructed the church to address one another in psalms (Ephesians 5:18-19, Colossians 3:16).

Of the 39 books of the OT, the Psalms are quoted in the NT more than any other OT book. Psalm is quoted up to 196 times in the NT. If you count quotations and allusions to the Psalms, then 128 out of 150 Psalms are quoted in the NT. Psalm 110 is the most quoted chapter in the OT. Psalms are used to speak of Jesus conception, the coming of the magi, his baptism, his entrance into Jerusalem and his death. Jesus even said that the Psalms were about Him (Luke 24:44). Jesus invites us to understand the OT, including the Psalms, in light of His person and saving work. Why? So that we may believe in Him and adore Him.

BOOK SUMMARY: DEACONS: HOW THEY SERVE AND STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH - CHAPTER 6 - THE BEAUTY - WHO DEACONS REFLECT

Diaconal work is glorious because of what it mirrors.

ISAIAH'S FORECAST

There were no deacons on earth when Jesus was here, but he exemplified what a deacon is. 

The OT prophet, Isaiah, describes Israel as a servant.

In Isaiah 41:8-9 the servant is described as the chosen of God, Abraham's offspring and a friend of God. Isaiah 44:21-22 says that this servant was formed, not forgotten of God, and cleansed from sin--redeemed. Isaiah 49:6 show us that Israel's redemption was meant to extend to the nations and ends of the earth. 

The OT prophet, Isaiah, also brings a special servant into view starting in chapter 42.

In Isaiah 42:1 we see a servant in whom God delights and in whom God will put His Spirit. This servant will bring forth justice to the nations. From Isaiah 52:13-53:12 we see that this exalted servant must also go through a sin-bearing humiliation. He will be crushed by God as an atonement offering as He bears sin. 

Isaiah 1-37 shows a king who is a servant (Isaiah 38-55) and conqueror (Isaiah 56-57).

KING OF KINGS, DEACON OF DEACONS

Upon beginning his ministry, Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2a which contains the words of the Messianic Servant. Then Jesus declares that He is that person (Luke 4:16-21). Jesus came to do what Israel failed to do. As the ultimate servant he taught others to live a servant life (Mark 10:42-45). 

People tend to think of greatness in terms of what we have, not what we give. Jesus frequently rearranged the way we think--the first shall be last, the greatest is a servant. Jesus assumed lowly posture and washed his disciples' feet. During this act of service they are jockeying for greatness. Jesus asks them about greatness and servanthood (Luke 22:27). This was all just prior to his crucifixion. With the weight of sin about to be laid upon him, he was focused on serving. We often wait until things are going well before we serve others. Jesus even served his betrayer in the midst of all this. The ancient world did not look favorably upon people that served like this. Plato once asked, "Can a man be happy who is the servant of anything?"

CHRIST'S ONGOING DIACONAL MINISTRY

Jesus was mighty in deed and in word (Luke 24:19). The church has two offices that exemplify the life of Jesus: elders and deacons. Ignasius of Antioch said that deacons were entrusted with the service of Jesus Christ.  Deacons meet the needs of others just as Jesus met our deepest need. Philippians 2:3-11 shows us the humiliation of Christ and the depths of his service to us. 

Deacons are the King's servants. Their model is Christ.  He washes feet. He washes away our sin through his sacrifice and resurrection. Live a Christlike life. Deacons, together with all of God's servants will one day see him and worship him face-to-face (Revelation 22:3, 6).

BOOK SUMMARY: DEACONS: HOW THEY SERVE AND STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH - CHAPTER 5 - THE BENEFITS: WHAT DEACONS PROVIDE

THE STORIES

No person will know everyone in the church equally, but we want every person in the church equally known. When needs rise to the surface, deacons make sure those needs are met. If a member needs some money, deacons will do more than submit a request from the benevolence fund. They will try to get to the root of the problem. Are there spending patterns that need to be addressed? Does the person need some budgeting counsel? Are they plugged into the body to get help from members organically?

Deacons help protect the unity of the church. Deacon work allows pastors to spend more time with people in the church. Deacons visit orphans and widows in afflictions (James 1:27). Deacons help oversee ministries that help the impoverished in our city in order to open up gospel opportunities. Deacons serve the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Deacon work helps the elders keep a pulse on the overall health of the church.  Deacons do deacon work even if no one is watching and even before they have a title. Deacons sometimes help mediate. Deacons help prepare for communion and baptisms.  Deacons help with all practical needs of the church. 

BOOK SUMMARY: DEACONS: HOW THEY SERVE AND STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH - CHAPTER 4 - THE BREAKDOWN: WHAT DEACONS MUST DO

JOB DESCRIPTION

Diaconal work encompasses three things:

1.    Spotting And Meeting Tangible Needs - a church without a biblical functioning diaconate will struggle to remain focused on the central mission of making disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). The apostles knew that neglecting the ministry of teaching and prayer would severely hurt the church. Thus, diaconal work should involve nothing less that works of benevolence and mercy in the church so that elders can serve the church spiritually. Deacons must be capable of spotting these needs and setting out to practically meet those needs. They must also anticipate problems so that they are proactive and not just reactive. Godly deacons are needed, not people who flake out or don't return calls. They should be reliable and not need to be babysat. 

2.    Protecting And Promoting Church Unity - A contentious person will make a horrible deacon. Deacons should be humble, gentle, flexible and stand on conviction. Are they peacemakers not just peace keepers (Matthew 5:9, Proverbs 12:20)? Are they slow to anger and do they overlook offenses (Proverbs 19:11)? Do they unite and refuse to quarrel over petty stuff (1 Corinthians 1:10-11)? Is their impulse to agree in the Lord (Philippians 4:2)? Are they a 1 Corinthians 13 Christian? Deacons must not be people who are unhappy with the church. They must be eager to guard the preaching ministry through their service. Find people with the gift of encouragement. 

3.    Serving And Supporting The Ministry Of The Elders - Jesus is ultimate, so deacons serve at the pleasure of the elders so that Jesus is proclaimed through preaching. A healthy church should have elders and deacons. Deacons are not pseudo-elders. The idea of deacon carries the idea that they are subordinate to the elders, carrying out tasks assigned to them. Thus, diaconal ministry is not limited to mercy ministry. But it's not less than that. Paul's gives the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and in the next breath (1 Timothy 3:8-12) he discusses qualifications for deacons. Don't miss the fact that they are paired together. Deacons operate under the leadership of the deacons. They assist the elder. The deacon is tethered to the elder (Philippians 1:1). 

TWO KEY DIFFERENCES

Elder and deacon qualifications are very similar but with two differences. Elders must be able to teach. That doesn't mean deacons can't teach, but it's not a qualification for them. Only elders are described as overseers. Again, that doesn't mean that deacons don't provide leadership in their areas of responsibilities, but they are not overseers over the whole church like elders are. 

HEALTHY MODELS TODAY

1.    Mercy Ministers - They care for the poor and needy. They ensure that the joy of redemption is experienced and shared by all. No one should live uncomforted in the church. Their ministry is primarily directed toward those in the church (Galatians 6:10).  Our primary task is to preach the gospel, but that doesn't mean that we don't engage in physical ministry. The church in Acts 6 would not have grown if the apostles did not fulfill their calling to preach and pray. Likewise, the church wouldn't have grown if the seven had not risen to the occasion of meeting the needs of the widows. Deed ministry has always served Word ministry.

2.    A Team Of Leading Servants - Some deacons deliberately and regularly meet in service to the elders.

3.    Role-Specific Ministry Mobilizers - Roles are assigned to specific deacons. Some roles might include making sure that the sick and aged are cared for physically and spiritually. Another role might be leading the hospitality ministry. Some deacons tend to the property. 

BOOK SUMMARY: THE CHRIST KEY - CHAPTER 7B - FURNISHED FOR ATONEMENT - PAGES 139-149

ALTAR OF INCENSE

The altar of incense was outside of the Holy of Holies just in front of the veil (Exodus 30:1-10). The veil separated humanity from God. God met the high priest in the Holy of Holies once a year, but daily the high priest served at the altar of incense. This was no small deal. The purpose of the altar was to be a visual and aromatic representation of prayers (Psalm 141:2, Revelation 5:8, Revelation 8:3-5). No animals were sacrificed on this altar but sometimes the blood of sacrifices was applied to horns on this altar (Leviticus 4:6-7). Offering incense was integral to being a priest (Deuteronomy 33:10, 1 Samuel 2:28, 1 Chronicles 23:13). To burn incense was to ritualistically embody the prayers of Israel. 

Hebrews describes Jesus as the Great High Priest who offered up prayers and supplications (Hebrews 5:7-10). Jesus, likewise, intercedes for us in His Great Priestly reality (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25). Jesus gave up Himself as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2).  This verse connects us to the altar of burnt offerings and the altar of incense. In the OT, both were cleansed by sacrificial blood. The altar of burnt offerings was the furthest from the Holy of Holies while the altar of incense was closest. Jesus is being portrayed as the reality, fulfillment or embodiment of prayer. He is Priest who offers up fragrant offerings and sacrificial offerings. He is both. In him, our prayers are heard, seen and smelled by the Father.

THE VEIL

In the Old Testament holiness depended on proximity or space. The closer to the Holy of Holies you were, the holier the space. The further away, the more unholy. To move away from the Holy of Holies would take you to the Holy Place, then the court and altar, then Jerusalem, then to the land borders. Inside Jerusalem you would be in the Holy City (Isaiah 52:1, Nehemiah 11:1). But if you were on the outside of Jerusalem and if you were to approach the Holy of Holies, you would encounter graded or gradual holiness. Entering Jerusalem, you'd encounter the court of the Gentiles (for Jews and Gentiles). A sign warning the Gentiles was posted in Latin and Greek saying that one would incur death if they proceeded any further. Then you'd approach the Court of Prayer for Jewish women. Then even closer was the Court of the Israelites for men. Then you'd actually enter the temple proper where there was a Court of the Priests where the altar of burnt offerings was the bronze basin. Even closer was the Holy Place and finally the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. 

Separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was the temple veil. In Jesus we see both the destruction of the physical temple veil (Matthew 27:50-51) which, secondly, shows us that He is the embodiment or fulfillment of the temple veil. In Christ, the sacrificial system is done away with because He provides access to God. The Day of Atonement is closed (Leviticus 16, Hebrews 9:12). He provides access to God. Yet the tearing of the temple veil signified that the Holy of Holies in the temple was done away with. While, through Christ, we have access to God, access to God is not confined to a room within the temple.  Zechariah prophesied of a time when holiness would extend beyond the Holy of Holies (Zechariah 14:20-21). While the early Jewish Christians would meet in the temple for a time, this transitional period would end with the destruction of the temple, signifying God's judgment upon the general Jewish population for their rejection of their covenant King. But the destruction of the temple also meant that God's presence had moved on. In the book of Ezekiel, the prophet foretells of the coming destruction of the temple by Babylon while showing God's glory departing in judgment. Yet there was a sense in which God went with the remnant into Babylon. God's intent has always been to dwell with humanity. So just as God's presence left the temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C. but went into Babylon, so too, God's presence was moving out of Jerusalem and moving into the world as indicated by the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D. God would begin to build a New Jerusalem and a New Temple within a New Covenant. United to Christ, we are the New Temple, and New Priesthood as a result of being brought into the first phase of the New Creation.

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT AND THE MERCY SEAT

The Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat are located in the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place. This was a gold-covered cube-shaped room. The Mercy Seat was the throne of God. The Ark of the Covenant was the Lord's footstool (Psalm 132:7).  But for those steeped in idolatry, it would have been noticeable that no god was there due to the absence of an idol--the man-made object that a god would supposedly reside in. Israel was to make no images of God (Exodus 20:4-5). The Ark is the box of the covenant. It contained the covenant tablets God gave to Israel (Exodus 25:16, 21-22).  The lid of this box was called a kapporet or Mercy Seat. Kapporet comes from the verb kapar where we get the word kippur (Yom Kippur = Day of Atonement). So this was the atonement lid. On top of this lid, two cherubim faced each other with outstretched wings. This is where God was enthroned (Psalm 80:1, 99:1). As noted earlier, this is where God would meet Israel through Moses and later mediatorial high priests (Exodus 25:22). While no images were there to represent God, this throne and footstool represented the presence of God. It's where heaven met earth. If the Ark was with them, God was with them (Numbers 10:33-26, Number 14:44, Joshua 3:11-17, Joshua 6:4-13, 1 Samuel 5:2-5). 

On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and use incense to create a cloud to cover the entire area (Leviticus 16:12-13). Even though the High Priest was past the veil, there still was some visual separation from him and God in the form of smoke. The High Priest would also sprinkle the blood of a bull on the Mercy Seat--for himself and the priesthood. Then he'd sprinkle the blood of a goat on the Mercy Seat--for the nation (Leviticus 16:14-15). He also applied blood to the tabernacle and it cleansed everything (Leviticus 16:16-18). This was the only day that blood reached the throne of God. But this blood was inadequate and only paved the way and painted the reality of Christ own bodily sacrifice (Hebrew 9:8-12). Jeremiah foretold of a day when the Ark would be no longer remembered as the throne of God because the throne of God will be expanded to a bigger and more glorious Jerusalem (Jeremiah 3:16-17). Jerusalem/Zion would be a new Ark or throne and footstool and it'll be surrounded by Jews and Gentiles. Revelation 21 shows us this reality in a cube-shaped Holy City with gold streets called the New Jerusalem where God is enthroned. The nations and Israel are assembled there forever to live with the Lord. Jeremiah's prophecy is realized only in the New Covenant. The nations gathering to Jerusalem is the same thing as God moving out of Jerusalem in 70A.D. and creating a global expanded Jerusalem. Like the Old Covenant, the New Covenant contains a law, but not on tablets of stone. The law is inscribed on hearts (Jeremiah 31:32-34) and God will be the God of this people. God will dwell, not in a room within a temple, but within a people (Ezekiel 36:24-28). 

Since the Ark and the lid represent the presence of God, while it portrays the saving work of Christ in the New Covenant, then Christ is the complete incarnation of the God who saves so that we may be with Him. He is ultimate enthroned one, ultimate veil, ultimate priest, ultimate sacrifice and ultimate altar of incense.

A RITUAL SERMON

The tabernacle rituals were meant to be continual visual sermons about what Christ would do to save sinners. Christ alone cleanses, forgives and sanctifies his people. He arrived to tabernacle with us (John 1:14) and in eternity we will forever dwell with Him on a new earth (Revelation 21:3). 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.  What new insights did you gain today?

2.  Knowing that we are kingdom of priests, what role should prayer play in our lives?

3.  Based on Jeremiah's prophecy, should we be on the lookout for a rebuilt Ark of the Covenant? Why or why not?

4.  Why is it important to see Jerusalem as the expanded throne of God and what does this have to do with the New Jerusalem in Revelation?

5.  Galatians 3:24 tells us that the Law was our guardian or schoolmaster until Christ came. In other words, it is meant to teach us all about Christ until Christ came to do what the Law was teaching us about.  Knowing the Law a little better, can you now use the OT to speak of Christ in other ways?

6.  Do you understand why all OT sermons about temple life and violations of the law should be related to Christ in some way?