“And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables.” … And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” Mark 4:11-13

In the above two verses there are three matters that must be understood and settled before one can leave the Tabernacle and traverse the terrain of the Kingdom - each of them have to do with the Tabernacle. Remember, every Jewish child was brought up knowing about the Tabernacle of Moses. They were well aware that the Tabernacle tied to the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Eden tied to the Kingdom, the Kingdom tied to Heaven (City), and Heaven tied to God. So if you understand one you could understand the basics of everything. For those of you who have friends in the New Age this is the Divine “Unified Theory of Everything” they have been looking for.

MYSTERIES

The first matter to understand is the Mystery of the Kingdom, the other two you might have glossed over in reading this passage. However, I have been hinting at them from the beginning of this blog - when I wrote of the “Rooms of Mystery.” So let’s take them one by one.

First, there are mysteries of the Kingdom and everyone will not see them. No, this is not some new form of Gnosticism, because all who are in the Tabernacle have the opportunity to know them - those who do not understand simply became stuck along the way and at some early point stopped progressing through the Tabernacle. What is sad is that whenever you get stuck, you will always fail to see and experience the glories of what awaited you.

OUTSIDE

Second, if you are on the outside of the Rooms of Mystery you will never understand what is within them. The question then contained in Mark 4:11 is this, “Outside of what? The answer is, found in the word, “Mystery.” Jesus was reminding His disciples that if you are outside the Sanctuary or “Rooms of Mystery” you would miss a lot! Think about it, in the outer court one can see everything in the Tabernacle - except what is within the walls of the covered Sanctuary. The Sanctuary was a mystery to all. The only way one can see what is in there is through the process of “priestly entering.” You as a priest before God, have the authority to enter into those mysteries. Thus, Jesus was inferring in these verses that the Understanding of the Mysteries is found in the Sanctuary. Remember, once again, the Sanctuary is composed of two rooms of Mystery - though it looks like there is only one from the outside. That too is part of the mystery and we will discuss it in the next posting.

KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING

Third, it now becomes clear that within the Sanctuary are keys. Those keys are there to give you understanding of all the parables. As Jesus said, “How then will you understand all the parables” if you do not understand the foundational matters. Verse 12 also indicates that God planned it to be that way. It is part of the Seeking and finding of God. It is also part of the seeking Him with all your heart with the promise of finding Him. If you are seeking Him with all your heart, you will never get stuck in the Outer Court!

Thus, you may see the Sanctuary and know that there are mysteries there, but you will not perceive the mysteries nor the value of the mysteries. You may even hear of what is going on in the sanctuary, but never understand why. You might even discard the mysteries as foolishness, which is what the Pharisee’s did. Yet, it was obvious that Jesus did not hold ignorance as an excuse. That is why I have been laboring to show you that which man has searched for, even though it was right before him all along.

We truly do live and move and have our being in Him, even when we feel like we are grasping.

Blessings,

John Paul Jackson

“Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

“And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables.” Mark 4:11

“He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” Matt. 13:11

There have been many mysteries of the Tabernacle revealed as you have walk through it with me. There is actually so much mystery one cannot learn it in one lifetime. But, the portion you can absorb is wonderful and it will impact in your life beyond words. There are so many mysteries yet to learn.

Mysteries occur only when there is partial knowledge. Yes, that knowledge may be infinitesimally small, however it is still knowledge. If something is not known, there is no mystery because you don’t even know there is something you do not know.

Conversely, if you have full knowledge of something, there is no mystery because you know all there is to know. That being said, the Mystery of the Kingdom is all about increasing your current knowledge base of that Kingdom. The foundation of that knowledge base is the Tabernacle. I do not portend to have the ability to teach you all the mysteries, but I have been given some slivers of insight from Heaven and I desire to give them to you.

THE TABERNACLE WAS TAUGHT EARLY IN LIFE

All Hebrew young men had learned about the Tabernacle as children. Most of you did not have that opportunity - until now. Jesus spoke a remarkable truth to His disciples, that was woven with the understanding that these young men who stood before Him had the foundation of the Tabernacle. You now know this truth and so this truth is applicable to you, and it starts here in the Tabernacle … as the veil lifts from your eyes.

“And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’” Luke 8:10

Jesus was actually quoting the Prophet Isaiah (6:9-10) in the above passage. Until the Veil lifts, you cannot see, nor can you understand. Jesus was telling His disciples that the veil that had been over them concerning the Kingdom was lifting.

THREE VERY IMPORTANT MATTERS

There are three more things that I must quickly cover before you take what has been deposited into you on this Journey and invade the world. You see, there is one more Veil that must be lifted and that veil is the veil over your eyes. If it is not, as written in the Scripture verses at the beginning of this post, you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven active in your life. Remember only those who were serving in the Holy Place within the Sanctuary saw the Veil tear. More so, it was those who were in the Holy of Holies that felt the Veil tear. Many in the Church today still have veils over their eyes and do not see the greater issues of the Kingdom … even though that ability has been given to them. As C. S. Lewis said, “we are content to eat mud pies, when a great banquet has been spread before us.”

To see the deeper matters of the Kingdom you will have to walk into it with “seeing eyes.” The cost? … the three Dark Nights of - the Wilderness, - the soul, - and the Spirit. You will discover that though the cost seems great, the price is actually quite small for something that is truly priceless.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

From the beginning of this journey, some two and on half years ago, I hinted at and described the Tabernacle as being a replica or model of Heaven. It is the “City” that the Fathers of the Faith looked for in Hebrews 11. That City, is what the Tabernacle is modeled after, it is the “New Jerusalem.” And the Patriarchs’ were wise enough to know  that the Garden of Eden and subsequently the Tabernacle foretold of it

“For he [Abraham] waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:10

“But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:16

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,” Hebrews 12:22

“For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.” Hebrews 13:14

Yes, this entire Tabernacle is representative of the Kingdom of Heaven, but I want you to ponder this: why does Scripture seem to distinguish between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God? Let’s take that one step deeper. Why does Jesus refer to the Mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Mystery of the Kingdom of God?

Many like George Eldon Ladd believed there was no difference - they were all interchangeable. But then the question must be asked why did Jesus choose to use the words He did, words that differentiated between the two?

SIGNIFICANCE OF WORDS

I am convinced that Jesus said nothing that was insignificant in meaning. I believe He chose His word carefully. If so, then the Tabernacle holds a great deal of insight into the facets of this Glorious Kingdom. A Kingdom whose message Jesus chose to begin His ministry. A Kingdom that He never stopped talking about, even to the point that just before He ascended to the Father, when He could have talked about thousands of things, Jesus chose to issue a mandate to His disciples to teach others all He had taught to them. What message was that - the message of the Kingdom. It is mentioned over 100 times in the New Testament, so it must be important.

THE JOURNEY

The Kingdom is all about matters of rule, reign, power and authority and soon we will make the transition to the subject of the glorious Kingdom. However, before we take that journey, the Tabernacle has a lot to teach us about the Kingdom. The Kingdom is a whole lot easier to understand if you can grasp the matters of the Tabernacle. That is why we started on that journey first.

Blessings,

John Paul Jackson

“Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.” Hebrews 8:1, 2

“Priests … who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:4-5

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” 1Corinthians 6:19

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” Hebrews 10:19-20

Pause to still yourself, … remember you are now standing in the Sanctuary looking at a torn Veil. The Priests are aimlessly milling about, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do; hardly anyone knows what to say. Some were surely thinking, “We just killed the Son of God.” How could they not be thinking that, the inexplicable darkness, the Earthquake, and now the Veil … and the deafening sound of silence after the Veil tore. The sound of the Veil Tearing shook the walls … but the silence afterward was even louder. Now they are even saying the dead are waking the streets!

With the Tearing of the Veil, a massive shift has taken place, yet the Veil over the eyes of the Hebrew children is as thick as ever … for now. That too will one-day change and the true branch will be grafted back into the true vine.

In the above verses you see Paul writing about matters you now understand. The Tabernacle of Moses was a near copy of that which Moses saw in a vision of Heaven (Exodus 25). He made it after Heaven’s design, exactly has he had seen. The design is layered in both physical and spiritual meanings, while the Tabernacle represents the construct of Heaven, it also represents the Garden of Eden, it further represents the tri-partite nature of God, and in a strangely unique way it represents you.

GOD’S CREATIVE PROWESS

In the Tabernacle, God in His deity has shown the supreme nature of His creative prowess. Layers of Glory, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom have been concealed in His grand design, levels of His Omniscience have been intricately coded into every detail, most of which we did not cover as the miniscule elements of which would be overwhelming to most. Yet, what we did cover, the tips of the “iceberg”, has still been like drinking from a fire hydrant.

It is vital that you know this - you are the Tabernacle, the temple. The Spirit once confined in the Holy of Holies now rules the entirety of the Tabernacle. Yet, only those who are pure in heart will be able to see it, recognize it and hence respond to it - in spite of the Spirit of God dwelling in all who believe. Sadly, some still keep Him confined to the innermost part of their lives and their life shows it. May this never be said of you. You must radiate all of His Light to all who will see you.

BUDDHA, MOHAMMAD, CONFUCIUS

Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, that all might enter into the presence of God through faith in Him. Jesus, as the Veil torn for our sins, has become the only door to the Father. Why? Because, he is the only one found sinless and therefore worthy. If Buddha, Mohammad, Confucius, or any other number of individuals who started religious philosophies, had been sinless, then there would be more than one door or way to the Father. However, they all submitted to the evil one which is called “SIN.” Therefore, no one can come to the Father except through Jesus.

THE PERFECT LIFE

If one could come to the Father in any other way, it would negate the need for the sacrifice Jesus made of Himself. In other words Jesus would have died for nothing. Being good is not good enough, right attitudes are not good enough, great self control is not good enough, empathetic giving is not good enough, for no matter what one does that might appear good, every person who has ever been born has sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God - that is except Jesus. No man in History lived a perfect life - except Jesus. Thus prior to Jesus all mankind had submitted to Satan and He had legal right to not only their life, but their future … that is until Jesus.

JESUS THE WORD

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”  John 1:1-2

As you read this, you might be tempted to think the “Word” penned by the Apostle John was the Bible. Some of you more Messianic types might even go as far as to believe, John was referring to the Torah. Neither is correct unless you know that Jesus was the Torah and the Torah was Him. However, and more specifically, what John was referring to here is that Jesus was the embodiment of the word fulfilled. Thus Jesus could state, “I did not come to end the Law, but to fulfill the Law.”

With that in mind then you can now grasp who the “Word” was in the following verse.

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12

Yes, the Word is Jesus and it was He who made the distinction between the soul and the spirit and is able to define the difference between the two. At the cross, Jesus tore the wall of separation that allowed soul to rule over the spirit by sheer volume of space - now the spirit can rule with authority and power - which is the basis of the Kingdom.

You might well be surprised at the matter of the Kingdom and it’s mysteries found in the Tabernacle.

Blessings,

John Paul Jackson