Standing in front of the Lampstand, you have been looking directly into the light for some time now. Light and life have entered you at levels you have not experienced before.

As you slowly turn from the Lampstand, it will take a few moments for your eyes to adjust to the dimness of the light there before you. There is a glow from the Altar of Incense and the five substances now burning on top of it. Remember, there is no light from the outside entering this room, so the glow from the Altar of Incense, the light from the Lampstand, along with the slight glow from the frankincense burning in the bowl on top of the Table of Showbread, furnish the only light in the room.  But, there is a lot of Amber-esc smoke.

THE FIRST FOUR THINGS
You are now approaching the fifth piece of furniture in the Tabernacle and the last piece of furniture in this first Room of Mystery. As you try to take it all in, you will notice four things. First, you will see the smoke rising from the top of this Golden Altar. I’ll write more on this later. Second, you will notice it is all gold. Third, you notice that around the top of it there is a Crown spanning between the horns at each corner. Forth, you will notice it is not very tall.

TAKE TIME TO ABSORB
Take a good look, because like all the prior furniture in the Tabernacle that you have stood before and absorbed, you will absorb and become this Altar that is now before you. As with all the furniture in the Tabernacle, you can only stand before this Altar because the blood of the lamb has been sprinkled upon it. This sprinkling of blood, on every piece of furniture, is done once a year by the High Priest (Jesus Christ).

THE GOLDEN CROWN
The gold crown on top of the Altar of Incense will eventually become your crown, which you will one day joyously “cast at the feet of Jesus.”

You might recall that up to the Lampstand you had things taken away from you. However, at the Lampstand you began to have something added to you, oil, light, and life. Here, at the Altar of incense, you will have somethings added to you as well. You will leave this Altar with a crown and God will breathe into you five things that you will breathe back to Him.

The mystery grows.

Blessings,
John Paul

“The lamp of the body is the eye.
If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Matthew 6:22-23

As we have seen, Jesus is the Lampstand or Light of the world. Standing here before Him, He is transferring that light to us so we might become the Light of the world. Absorbing the light is vitally important. That is why, as you might remember from one of my recent postings, the flame (light) of the Lampstand is level with the eyes of the Priest. It is through the eyes that light is most completely absorbed.

THE TREE AND THE LIGHT OF LIFE
One final thought on the Lampstand, the Rabbi’s also knew it as the “Tree of Life.” Yes, the same as in the Garden of Eden. Jesus alluded to this when He said, “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life”” John 8:12. The Light or Lampstand was also Life; that life came from the Tree of Life in the Garden. Jesus was saying, “I am the Tree of Life in the Garden.” This is why Jesus could chide the Priest and Scribes by saying, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39 Remember, There was no New Testament in the days of Jesus – He was referring to the Torah, which is the first five books of the Bible often called the books of Moses.

These are the type of things Jesus preached when He descended into Sheol and preached the ‘Good News’ of whom He was, is, and will be to all who were there. In essence, Jesus told them, ‘I have been from the beginning and all of Scripture speaks of me.’ Those who believed in Him, along with the thief on the cross, left there and followed Him to Paradise. Many of their tombs were opened and those people walked around Jerusalem telling of all Jesus has spoken.

LIGHT AND GLORY
Light is a portion of glory, not your glory, but the glory of God now growing and maturing within you. Therefore it is written, “Christ in you, the hope of Glory.” Without Him in all these pieces of furniture, we could not be transformed and there would be no transition to a stronger, abundant life.

SEEING THE ALTAR
As you turn to your right, you now make your way toward the Altar of Incense. It is about eleven feet from where you stand to the Altar of Incense. Remember, this fifteen-foot by thirty-foot long room is full of refracted light, and amber-esc smoke. You may wonder if the smoke in this Room of Mystery could get any thicker, and it will take you about two steps to find out the answer. Yes! The closer you are to the Holy of Holies the denser the smoke of the Incense.

The Altar of Incense is so close to the final “Veil” that the writer of Hebrews actually considered it as part of the Holy of Holies – even though it is still outside the last Room of Mystery. The Altar of Incense is also referred to as the Golden Censer (Hebrew 9:3-4).

As we come closer, we see the smoke from the incense that is burning on the coals resting between the “four horns” on top of the Altar. The smell is sweet, not bitter. Most smoke will burn our eyes and nose as it swirls around you and as you inhale it – not this smoke. Herein lies another mystery and a clue as to how you must lose sight of you.

Until the next posting.

Blessings,
John Paul

“Behold, God works all these things,
Twice, in fact, three times with a man,
To bring back his soul from the Pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.”
Job 33:29-30

THE LIGHT OF LIFE

Getting ready to proceed to the Altar of Incense from the Lampstand is no quick matter, as you might guess from the length of time we have been standing before this piece of Tabernacle furniture. Through the experience of the Lampstand, you have learned the importance of taking a Sabbath. During this Sabbath, you have ‘stilled’ yourself and in so doing presented yourself to God for the infilling of Oil from His Spirit. You have also asked God to ignite the oil so that you might be aflame with His Power. Here, before the seven branches, you have been equipped with the initial seed of the seven spiritual attributes of the Spirit of God.

Looking into the flame, your eyes have been prepared to see spiritual matters in such a way so that, as you mature, nothing will be hidden from you. The cracks from past pains, hurts, and deceptions, have all been discovered and are nearly rubbed out. Your vessel is sealed - the oil of the Spirit will not leak out.

THE COORDINATED WORK OF THE GODHEAD
All this has been added to you and more will come. This deep spiritual life is the work of the Godhead in you. You will leave the Lampstand with a new authority and that authority only comes from the Heavenly Father. You will walk in increasing power, and that power comes from the Holy Spirit of God and it is convicting, creative, as well as restorative in nature – all in perfect balance with God’s will, plan, and purpose. Just as Jesus did, you will have to take the light and the power to the person or the location where it is to be implemented.

TRAVEL GUIDES
As you go, the light within you will now reveal what you need to see. The oil, if kept lit, will empower you for anything you need to do. The Bread will heal you of anything that tries to stop God’s purposes in you. The water has washed you so there is no stain of condemnation by others, and the Blood has covered your sin and cleansed you from all unrighteousness. The glimmer of the model of Jesus - the Eternal, life light, sent from the Father – will continue to grow within you. Yes, He has transformed you, but still the light will and must continue to grow.

BECOMING INCENSE
You are almost ready to walk into an entirely different atmosphere where you will present yourself to the Father. This next step, the Altar of Incense, will require more self-awareness and discipline than all the other pieces of furniture you have encountered to date. It is not that God will make it hard on you – its that without knowing it, you will make it hard on you. Yet, that is part of the process of transitioning from darkness to light – you must lose sight of yourself.

Blessings,
John Paul

“He who is Joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him.”

I Corinthians 6:17

People came to the tabernacle because they knew this was the one place on Earth where they could experience God. Oh sure, God would speak or appear to the Prophets once in a while, but hardly ever to the masses - except at the Tabernacle. That is why the Sanctuary is called the “Tent of Meeting.” Though God met with the Priest in those mysterious covered rooms the people could feel His presence even in the Outercourt.

Here is a sobering thought … you are the Tabernacle and those who come near you will experience God through you. That Tabernacle is being formed as you stand here in front of the Lampstand. In fact it has been forming from the moment you walked through the first curtained entrance. As you have journeyed through this spiritually charged atmosphere, each piece of furniture you encounter is actually being formed in you. Formed so you can be a tabernacle to others - a place where they can see and meet God. This is precisely what the Apostle Paul wrote so often about. No you are not God, but they can see and feel Him through you.

The transformation you are going through is the progression from a container of Soul and Spirit, to a Tabernacle of God. Can those who know you attest to seeing the Tabernacle as a reality? Or do they still see the “container?” Do they know there is a God because they feel His presence when they come near you and they see God’s presence when they look at you? … This is possible you know.

Perhaps this is all you need to think about from this post.

Blessings,
John Paul