02.05. THE PILLARS
THE PILLARS THERE were three sets of pillars.
Sixty pillars of the Court surrounding the Tabernacle, twenty on each side, ten at each end.
They had capitals of silver and sockets of brass. Five pillars were at the eastern end of the Holy Place.
Four pillars separated between the Holy and Most Holy Place. THE FOUR PILLARS OF THE EASTERN END OF THE COURT They had a hanging of fine linen with blue, purple and scarlet color wrought in needlework. This was called “The Gate of the Court.”
“And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.” (Exodus 27:16) THE FIVE PILLARS AT THE EASTERN END OF THE TABERNACLE They had capitals of Gold and sockets, or base, of brass. On these five pillars there was a hanging similar to the one on the pillars of the gate! This hanging was called” The Tabernacle door.”
“And he made an hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework; And the five pillars of it with their hooks; and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold; and their five sockets were brass.” (Exodus 36:37-38) THE FOUR PILLARS BETWEEN THE HOLY AND MOST HOLY PLACE They had no capitals.
They were cut clean off.
They were covered with gold.
They had sockets of silver. On them was hung a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet and fine––twined linen; this had worked upon it with needlework, the figures of the cherubim.
“And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine––twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work. And he made thereunto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver.” (Exodus 36:35-36) By these three sets of pillars alone could entrance be had into the Tabernacle.
These pillars represent our Lord in three characters. The Way. The Truth. The Life.
He said:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) THE GATE OF THE COORT This was the prominent door or way of entrance to the Tabernacle. All approach to it as the dwelling place of God must begin here.
It was a fitting symbol of our Lord as the door of the sheepfold, the door of the sheep and the door of the Church.
“Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep ... I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” (John 10:7; John 10:9) “This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter.” (Psalms 118:20) On the other side of the gate was the brazen altar, the altar of sacrifice.
All who would pass through that door and draw nigh to the Lord who reveals Himself in the Tabernacle must pass by the blood––stained altar or not at all.
Christ is, indeed, the door, but He is the door opened and swung wide on the cross, the door opened by His sacrificial death, by the shedding of His blood.
If you wish to draw nigh unto God you must come by way of the cross, by the way of His blood; as it is written:
“Ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13) Apart from His sacrificial death and outpoured blood Jesus Christ is not the way to God.
You cannot come to God by or through Him merely as a good man, a righteous exemplar. When John, the Apostle, declares we become sons of God by faith in His name, he hastens to put on record as the” way,” the testimony of John the Baptist, who pointed his disciples to the Lord and said:
“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh (beareth) away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Paul emphasizes it when he says to the Corinthians:
“I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2) Christ is the way to God and to God the Father only through the blood of His cross. THE FOUR PILLARS OF THE GATE OF THE COURT These four pillars illustrate the fourfold Sonship of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He was— The Son of David.
Son of Abraham.
Son of man.
Son of God. The book of Matthew opens with the record of His genealogy as the Son of David and the Son of Abraham.
“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1) As the Son of David, He is the heir of David’s throne and ordained to sit upon it; as it is written:
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.” (Luke 1:32) As the Son of Abraham, He is the Seed promised to Abraham.
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” (Galatians 3:16) To Abraham was promised and covenanted the land of Palestine, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. “The LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying:
Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.” (Genesis 15:18)
Since our Lord Jesus Christ is the seed of Abraham, and the land was given by solemn covenant to Abraham, then our Lord Jesus Christ as the official son of Abraham is the heir of Abraham and true owner of the land of Palestine.
Heir of David’s throne and heir of Abraham’s land. No matter what schemes and mandates nations may make among themselves concerning Jerusalem and Palestine, God has ordained that our Lord Jesus Christ shall sit on David’s throne, possess and rule over the land. The land concerning which it is written:
“Thy land O Immanuel.” (Isaiah 8:8)
He will rise up, He will take to Himself His great power, He will come forth in His glory and Jerusalem shall be established and made His throne; as it is written:
“At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 3:17) The place of His throne will be in the temple that is to be built after His return, a temple built according to the plan laid down in the book of the prophet Ezekiel; as it is there written:
“And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner Court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. And he said unto me, “Son of man, the place of my throne.” And that there may be no possible excuse for explaining away the truth by spiritualizing it, the Lord says:
“The place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever.” (Ezekiel 43:4-7) That the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem at that time is to be a literal, actual, bodily presence is demonstrated and proven by the name henceforth to be given to the city; as it is written:
“The name of the City from that day shall be, the Lord is there.” (Ezekiel 48:35) Literally it should read:
“The Lord is therein.” And He will be there, in that city, and III that temple with—
“The soles of His feet.”
If that language does not mean He will be in the temple, dwell in Jerusalem, be seen and known in His bodily presence, then language has no other: function (even when inspired [?] of God) than to juggle and fool the sons of men. But the language means just what it says.
It means that— When the people from the uttermost parts of the earth shall come up to worship the Lord in Jerusalem, at the very sight of the city there will break from their lips, involuntarily, the cry—
“Jehovah Shammah––the Lord is therein.”
Thus will it pass into name and title of the city. As Son of Man, He is final judge; as it is written:
“For as the Father hath life in himself (self–existence); so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself (self–existence); And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” (John 5:26)
“He (God the Father) hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from’ the dead.” (Acts 17:31) As the Son of God, He is the Father’s heir, heir of all things; as it is written:
“His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things.” (Hebrews 1:2) As the Son of God He partakes of the essential nature of the Father. As the Father is God, He is, and by necessity, not only Son of God, but God the Son. As such the Father addresses Him:
“Unto the Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” (Hebrews 1:8) The Four Gospels, like the four pillars of the Gate, proclaim His fourfold Sonship. In Matthew, we behold Him as the Son of Abraham coming into Palestine, into His own land, and as the Son of David, riding into Jerusalem at the appointed time and in foretold manner to offer Himself as King and to claim His throne. In Mark, we have vision of Him as Son of Man forgiving sin, and forgiving, because as Son of Mail He has the authority of final and eternal judge; as it is written: “The Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins.” (Mark 2:10) In Luke, as Son of Man we behold Him a man among men, receiving sinners and eating with them, talking to them in speech so that “the common people” heard Him “gladly,” illustrating His mission by such wondrous pictures as the shepherd seeking the lost sheep––the woman seeking the lost piece of money––and the father receiving the returning prodigal. As the Son of man He is seen executing judgment on the nations, putting an end to the “times of the Gentiles,” and delivering Jerusalem; as it is written:
“Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled… And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:24-27) In John, He is set before us as the Son of God, God the Son, God the Word, the God who created all things.
“God the Word was made flesh (and we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father.” (John 1:14) “All things were made by Him.” In the Gospel of John we have the confession that He is to be worshipped as God. The confession was made by Thomas:
“Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28) THE FIVE PILLARS OF THE DOOR OF THE TABERNACLE In the prophetic announcement of His birth five great names are given Him:
Wonderful.
Counsellor. The Mighty God. The Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace.
“His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) THE FOUR PILLARS OF THE VAIL These had no capitals. The tops were abruptly—cut off.
There is a very startling prophecy concerning our Lord before He was born in which may be found this expression “cut off.”
“He was (that is, He would be) cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he (that is, he would be) stricken.” (Isaiah 53:4)
Because He was “cut off,” slain, sacrificed, sacrificed not only on behalf of Israel but for all who offer Him by faith as sacrifice for sin and claim Him as personal substitute under the judgment due them. He is made unto them like the four golden pillars to uphold and sustain them in the sight of God.
These four pillars of the believers’ strength are,
Wisdom.
Righteousness.
Sanctification.
Redemption. By virtue of His amazing death on the cross He is made all that to those who believe in and confess Him. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30) He is our wisdom. In Him we are made “wise unto salvation.” We are able to see what the natural mind cannot comprehend––and find in Him the wisdom we need to walk as sons of God in the midst of a “crooked and perverse generation. “
He is our righteousness. On the cross He became obedient unto the death which the righteousness of God demanded of us. When we believed, His obedience was transferred to our account. In Him we met and paid all we owed to justice. We became at once legally righteous in God’s sight. Risen and ascended to Heaven, our Lord there represents us as having met all claims against us and thus becomes our righteousness before God; wherefore it is written:
“The Lord our righteousness.” (Jeremiah 23:6) Again it is written:
“The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” (Romans 3:22) And again:
“God hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) He is our sanctification.
We do not have to work and toil and fight the flesh and take specific note. of our spiritual progress and talk about” attaining” unto righteousness. The moment we believe we are sanctified.
We are immediately, holy before God.
He is our holiness, He is our righteousness, He is our completeness; wherefore it is written:
“Ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11) And mark who these were of whom this was written:
They were the lowest, the worst, the vilest sinners of the most sinful city of the earth.
“Fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind. Thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners.”
Writing to them after they had believed and were saved in .virtue of the blood of the cross, the Apostle says:
“And such were some of you.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) That is what they were, that is the life they lived until they heard the Gospel from the lips of Paul; then when they turned to the Lord; when they claimed His atoning blood; when they drew nigh to God in His name, they became in God’s sight as clean as that Son who had died for them, and clean—at once.
There is no personal, self-purification we must go through before we are fit’ for Heaven. We are, as believers, fit and meet to go there now, stumbling, faltering Christians as we may be, all our fitness is in Him, what He has done for us, and what He is for us. It is His fitness that makes us meet to go to Heaven, to go there any moment He may call us, even as it is written:
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Colossians 1:12) Let this Scripture be read literally:
“Who has qualified us (made us competent, fit) to have a share in the inheritance of the holy ones in the light.” It is written:
“Ye are complete in him.” (Colossians 2:10) Live righteously, live holily, live as a son of God should, seeking to glorify God in daily life, in deed, in word and thought, intent, impulse and purpose––do all that, seek to do it with all that is in you, it is your privilege and mine––we have been equipped for it but do not seek to follow the false lead of those who teach the old nature of sin in you can be destroyed here, that you can modify and finally make perfect and sinless that old nature. With the Apostle we may ask:
“Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” And with the Apostle we are, as regenerated sons of God, under bonds to answer:
“God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin (died to sin, to the penalty of sin in our substitute) live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2) He is our redemption. His presence in Heaven as the Risen One is witness He paid in full the debt against us, and is there as our living receipt, our guarantee against any charge that may be brought against us; so that with boldness we may fling out the believer’s challenge and ask:
“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?
It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died.
Yea, rather, that is risen again. Who is even at the right hand of God. Who also maketh intercession for us.” (Romans 8:33-34) This then is the teaching of the Framework with its boards, its bars, its pillars: The Person of Christ in all the glory of His being, in all the perfection of His perfect work.
(It is in place here to note that while the system of typology is not an invention of man, a matter of mere imagination, a scheme of more or less successful guessing, but an essential part of Scripture construction, the divinely given key of truth, the revelation and illumination of it; nevertheless, there is a direct law concerning it, a law that forbids us to found a doctrine on a type, never under any circumstance to build one thereon. We are to go into the New Testament, find the doctrine there, then go back to the Old Testament and seek to discover the type that shall match it. We are to do this with prayer and absolute reverence, rebuking any suggestion that would lead us to bend or accommodate the type to the doctrine in any degree whatever. The type and the doctrine must fit so plainly that the one will supplement the other, the type, so completely that it becomes the prophecy of the doctrine, the doctrine, the demonstration and proof of the inspiration of the type—thus justifying the literal statement of the Apostle:
“Now all these things happened unto them as types; and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the age have come.” [1 Corinthians 10:11.]
Also Paul’s particular reference to the Holy and Most Holy Places in the Tabernacle and thus to the Tabernacle itself:
“Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the types of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” [Hebrews 9:24.]