Apr 18
Toward the Altar of Incense
“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
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As I am reading this post I find my heart starting to beat faster and faster. I can feel the anticipation of getting closer and closer, and yet this is mixed with a feeling of apprehension, wondering if I am ready…
Oh yes, this is where I lose my heart: the utter stillness as time fades away, the fragrance, the vibrating Presence, the dancing Hand. Better to be a doorkeeper in Your House, than a thousand years elsewhere . . .
Yes, yes. What an absolutely beautiful illustration of what happens to the born again believer as he/she seeks Jesus with all their hearts and is sanctified- losing sight of self. Jesus wants to perform that right now in each of us and finish sealing the saints of the Most High God. In doing so he readies the laborers that help gather all the “harvest” in the time of ingathering/Latter Rain. It’s sealing time! Let’s get ready to advance into the secret place and abide there forevermore. Hallelujah to the Most High God! He’s worthy to be praised from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same…wonders to perform.
Thanks for offering a view of the types/antitypes of the gold and gold-overlaid sanctuary furnishings…Looking forward to seeing your next post John P.
Sincerely,
A.L.
http://www.myspace.com/kewljax
feel I’m ready, oh, so ready to die to myself - so He can live in me. I feel the intensity of the Holy Spirit moment by moment in my life. He So.o.o. wills and wants me to make it into the Holy of Holies. Oh, that I might die and Christ might live!
I really like this - outstanding.
There ia absolutly no other way, Jesus is the light, he is the way and the life. Let us forget self and put all our focus on him, the enemy wants to decieve us , trick us , he will do anything to get our mind focus on us, but hey lets keep our eyes on Him.Oh TO FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS and have that relationship with him , yea its costly but oh the rewards, we have to be out of this world to know the truths that he blessses us with.Thank you John Paul, i love these coffee times , the encouragement we gain from them , especially in the kind of world we are living in, but like you said , its all about Him its not about us, we have to die to us , in everyway , thats what is so painful , oh but to be free in him , there is nothing nothing that can fill us like him ,God bless you one of love from the twins in scotland
Wow……this is loaded. I shall print this off so I can chew on it some more. Blessings………
JP you may also be interested in knowing that during the feast of booths The Temple was lit up with lamps shining forth from all openings. Y’shua’s reference to the water of life and the light of life reinforce the theme of your blog note “Messiah in us the hope of glory”. Yes,a well spring of life flowing forth from us and a lamp of His enlightened Presence dwelling in our innermost being. So good to hear from you, old friend. I also have news of Larry. Email me and I will respond.
So brilliantly written you really feel as if your there wanting to smell the incense and loose yourself as you move closer to the Holy of Holies…Oh I really want to loose sight of myself in His presence
I haven’t been reading through this blog for quite some time.
I have always found that in such a few words written a LOT is said and it’s almost too much! It’s like information over load but I think that’s actually a good thing.
I do enjoy reading through this blog since I always find much to think about by the time I’m finished reading everything.
God Bless,
SJ<
Lord, let the smoke at your altar of incense rise within me and permeate my entire being, so that I would never be the same again…..Let the sweet aroma of your Holy Smoke arise within all of us continually as we offer up our praises to you! I love the smoke of your presence Lord, for its all we need to get by in this world. Come Lord Jesus, and do a new thing in the people of the earth! Pour it out Lord. Love, your bride!
Blessings
Shirley C.
This is a quote from Absorbing God’s Provision. Jan 23
“I hope you now can see that you do not leave anything behind in these rooms - you absorb them - they become part of you, and in so doing your lifestyle changes – this is called Transformation.”
“Have you ever wondered why God didn’t wait until the Hebrew Children had established themselves in the Promised Land before He gave them the Tabernacle? I have and in my search I found this truth, “The Tabernacle was given in the Wilderness in order to help the Hebrew Children of God - to transition from a mentality of bondage and slavery, to an attitude of gracious rule and dominion of the Earth.” Perhaps this is what God is doing in your life as well? - He is wanting to change the way you think, the way you view yourself, and perhaps the way you view everything that goes on around you, and He is using the Transition you are experiencing to do it.”
My thoughts – The transition is, when we truly believe that the eternal is greater than the temporal, the spirit is greater than soul and the invisible is more real than the visible? This I believe, is the key that directly influences the decisions we make when the ‘moment of choice’ arrives.
I don’t mean to belabor the point but what I have discovered is so important I must share my thoughts. The ‘moment of choice,’ I’m convinced, IS the nexus – into, a deeper life in the Spirit. It IS the demarcation point, by which we leave the realm of the soul, (our soul becomes subordinate to our spirit). And at the same time, we develop a greater awareness of our growing dependence upon our ‘Teacher’- the Holy Spirit – who helps us enter into this deeper Spiritual Life.
The reason WHY, it has become imperative for me to understand/grasp the spiritual dynamics surrounding, the moment of choice, is because the issue connected to this discovery is the reclamation of our God given authority in Christ! This is THE VERY THING, I have been searching for. The reason why I could not see it in the past, was because my standard M/O was to blame-shift. I never took ownership of issues in my life, because my mentality, was that of a victim. It’s why I quoted this particular post. This is what’s happened during the last 6-8 months. God has directly intervened in my life and “changed the way I think, the way I view myself and the way I view everything that goes on around me.”
In a nutshell - Experiencing God’s Love in this way, is much more of a catalyst that has produced true-change in my life, than say, being driven-by-fear. In the day-to-day choices we make, it’s much easier to make the needed changes when we are, being drawn-by-love. One is being demanded of us – religion - from an external source. The other is born out of desire for – relationship - from within.
I’m beginning to see it now. The sacrifice… The incense… The price that was paid for our salvation – The Cross – Jesus’ reclamation of the authority that had been lost in the garden! HE IS – “the One who Loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and became obedient, even unto death.” Rev.1:5; Phil 2:8
“Losing sight of ourselves.” - There is no strategy that can be devised against followers of Christ who choose whole-heartedly, to embrace the crucified life - the Cross “…here I give thee My love.” Connecting the dots: This is the beginning of our journey, into comprehending the deeper things of the Spirit and growing/maturing in our understanding of the “ways of God.” It is the re-claiming of this “lost” authority, via the ‘moment of choice,’ that enables us to walk in His authority and attest to the resurrection power of His Spirit – the Holy Spirit - at work in our lives!
I can now say, that I am FREE on the inside, in a way that I NEVER have been before. Yes, It’s a work of grace and I am so thankful for that. I knew, if I just stayed with it, that sooner-or-later I would find what I’ve been searching for. So again I say thank you, especially for your encouragement along the way.
When I need you, I just close my eyes and I’m with you, and all that I so want to give you, your only a heart beat away! When I need Love I hold out my hand and I touch Love, I never knew there was so much Love, keeping me warm night and day!
Hello JP,
As our journey with God continues, we are back in Connecticut dwelling where Jesus dwells, with the lowly. The Sovereign Lord is cleaning up our mess from the inside out. It has been a painful journey but we are confident that He is proving us to be the ministers of God, in MUCH patience. My soul is so worn down that I am ready to ask the Lord to help me make better choices too. And He is proving himself faithful. The mourning dove greets us each day with his soft coo. The sky is the ceiling as the trees clap their hands to the glory of God. The full Sturgeon moon shown brightly over our heads last night with a blue ring around it. Our bed is God’s soft green earth. His provision is more than we could have asked for or imagined. He knows what He is doing because He is pure Love and pure Light. Even when it does not feel good I can trust Him. Our brief affliction which is but for a moment is attaining an eternal weight of glory. We are part of all that our ancestors fought for in this great America. And we must all become salt and light to a lost world. Its time for Christians to take their stand, each one of us in finding the center of God’s will and becoming responsible. When He comes back just like He said he is going to separate the sheep from the goats. “For I was hungry and you gave me to eat, thirsty and you gave me a drink, naked, and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me, in prison and you came to me. In so much that you have done this to these, the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me.” There is pain everywhere you look right now. People who have no hope. So lets all reach out and touch somebody’s hand and make this a better world if we can! Like a brother said to me this morning, “I’ve got this lovin feeling!” Its good to talk to you all again and please remember to pray for us here in Waterbury, CT. We are so very grateful to you for this fellowship. Thank you JP. The mighty Lord Jesus bless you. Holly
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
To quote a great American who lived a long time ago, Jonathon Edwards,(New Jerusalem)”has begun to come down from heaven, and perhaps never were more of the prelibations of heaven’s glory given upon earth.” “It is not unlikely that this work of God’s Spirit, that is so extraordinary and wonderful, is the dawning, or at least, a prelude of that glorious work of God, so often foretold in Scripture, which in the progress and issue of it shall renew the world of mankind.” “This glorious work of God shall begin in any part of America, I think if we consider the circumstances of the settlement of New England, it must need appear the most likely of all American colonies, to be the place whence this work shall principally take its rise.”
In all honesty I, too, am filled with excitement and great expectation about these events. Anticipation is making me wait, keeping me waiting. I’ve seen too much, heard too much and am being tried too much. Something is going on. Everything that I have gotten has come from Him. And how is it that it is the same thing that everyone in the body seems to be saying the same things. The Holy Spirit! How long, Lord? Come and fill our hearts dear Lord Jesus with all the promises in your Word. You are the Word made flesh. Strengthen all of us who are expectantly waiting for your soon return. Show us what are the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in the saints. And the exceeding power to usward who believe by this mighty power which raised You from the dead and seated You at the right hand of God far above all principality, and power, and dominion and might… Jesus hear the cry of my heart and come, be with us. Love, Holly
when everything I do is wrong. You give me hope and consolation, you give me strength to carry on. and your always there to lend a hand, in everything I do, thats the wonder, the wonder of you. and i’ll never know the reason why you love me as you do, thats the wonder, the wonder of you!