The Lord is processing us to the fullness of the stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
Please read Articles 1-15 sequentially
E. THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON ADDRESSES END-TIMES
An interesting difference between the tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon is that the instructions for the Tabernacle of Moses were given in the third month corresponding to Pentecost at Mt Sinai (or Mt Horeb, situated in Median, Arabia). The portable tabernacle took about 9 months to finish when the glory of the Lord came down, ‘And Moses finished the work. And the cloud covered the tabernacle of the congregation, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tabernacle of the congregation because the cloud stayed on it, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. And, when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel journeyed on in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up then they did not journey until the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of Jehovah was upon the tabernacle by day and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, in all their journeys’ (Exodus 40:34-38).
According to context the tabernacle was to be setup and assembled starting on the first day of the first month, all items having been prepared beforehand.
It would seem that it was ready to function by Passover. On this basis, the Tabernacle of Moses is linked to both Passover and Pentecost; Passover, because of all the shed blood and Pentecost because of the cloud, and fire that led them and was upon the tabernacle at night. We recall the tongues of fire upon the heads of the 120 when the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). The tabernacle of Moses was stamped with a visible presence of the Holy Spirit, the cloud of fire. The tabernacle of Moses has much to say about the period of the Law and the Feast of Pentecost.
In the Tabernacle of Moses the altar of burnt sacrifice and the shedding of animal blood were in the Outer Court. The area of curtain surrounding the Outer Court was 1500 square cubits, one cubit per year, signifying the approximate time interval of 1500 years between the beginning of the Law at Mt Sinai in Arabia by the shedding of blood (Passover in Egypt and Pentecost at Sinai) and the shedding of Christ's blood at Passover and infilling of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in (See books by Kevin J Conner).
In the Tabernacle of Moses priests had to first cross the Outer Court before entering the Holy Place which, according to our time-frame, was equivalent to entering the church age and leaving behind the period of Law under Moses. The Holy Place signified grace not only for this reason but because Jesus said that the 7-branched lampstand was symbolic of the church.
The period of the Law lasted about 1500 years from Moses to Jesus. The pillars holding up the curtain, signifying the coming time of redemption and end of the Law period, were 'stamped or sealed' with silver linking the Holy Place to the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas and to atonement money in general.
‘All the pillars around the court shall be banded with silver; their hooks silver and their sockets of bronze. The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits and the width fifty by fifty, and the height five cubits of fine twined bleached linen, and their sockets bronze’ (Exodus 27:17-18).
‘And thou shalt take the atonement money [Hebrew - keseph - silver] of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls’ (Exodus 30:16).
In contrast to the Tabernacle (Temple) of Moses
The Temple of Solomon was a huge upgrade to the Tabernacle of Moses. Solomon dedicated the Temple during the 7th month of the ecclesiastical year in the Feast of Tabernacles, the third and rather elaborate Feast of the Lord (1 Kings Chapter 8). As mentioned before, the Feast of Tabernacles had three components, Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and dwelling in booths.
After the Lord revealed the pattern of the Temple to King David, David passed the pattern onto his son Solomon for construction (1 Chronicles 28:11-19). God called David a man of blood and excused him from building the Temple. However, David gathered much of the material required for building the Temple. In like manner, Jesus, the man of blood, had prepared the way for the construction of the Temple of His Body, but it is the task of the Holy Spirit to build it (https://www.faithcommunitychurch.ca/sermons/the-holy-spirit-builds-the-church). Nevertheless, Jesus is readying mansions for us in Paradise, 'In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself so that where I am you may be also' (John 14:2-3).
There is also an obvious parallel between David and Solomon and between Jesus and the Holy Spirit because it is the Son who has given us the Holy Spirit for the task of preparing the Bride of Christ (The Temple of His Body). Therefore, as David provided all the materials so Jesus also provided all that is needed for the Holy Spirit to do His task. We are to be active participants along with the Holy Spirit. We must not remain passive!
In typology David is accepted as a type of Jesus whereas Solomon, the third king of United Israel, as a type of the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead (See KJ Conner 1992, Interpreting the Symbols and the Types). Thus we are currently living in an era where the Temple of Solomon has much to inform us prophetically about activities of the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ.
The Feast of Tabernacles signified the end of the religious year - the end of God dealing with man on an annual basis. This is particularly significant because the first two Feasts, Passover and Pentecost, have been fulfilled by the Christian church. The church is awaiting Tabernacles in a similar fashion for its fulfilment for the completion of the redemption of mankind on the Day of Atonement, 'And when these things begin to happen then look up, and lift up your heads for your redemption draws near' (Luke 21:28). Jesus was referring to the end of days.
Once we are resurrected and are totally delivered from sin God will no longer have to work - He will stop dealing with sin. There is no more sin to deal with in the Millennium during which the righteous will spend 1000 years with Christ - the Day of Rest. The fate of the wicked is sealed, eternally, when they all die during the Second Coming of Christ. They still have to experience the second death at the end of the Millennium.
We need to delve further into the three components to the Feast of Tabernacles - Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths, lasting from the 15th to the 21st of the 7th month (Leviticus 23:34-44). It was marked with the coming of rain and exceeding joy. There was much blowing of trumpets. The ten days preceding the Day of Atonement is devoted to a period of soul searching and repentance, even in modern Israel.
Israel was looking forward to the forgiveness of sins, liberty, the release of slaves and lands in the Year of Jubilee held once every 50 years, feasting on the ingathered harvest of wine, oil and fruits, resting for 7 days under a cubicle of leafy boughs outside the home (booth). For us, the Day of Atonement of the 120th Jubilee will be of special interest in relation to the age of the Earth that we shall examine later.
Despite all the sufferings we continue to endure the Old Testament celebrations mirror the joy of the Christian in end-times and the coming of our final redemption, the redemption of our bodies at the resurrection.
The symbolism hidden in the Temple of Solomon is a more sober affair. It relates to the duties and obligations of the priesthood towards the people and the Temple. The Temple is stamped with the numbers 7, 10, 12, 24, 70, and 120 signifying much about its relevance to end-times. It therefore has much to instruct us about end-times.
The Feast of Tabernacles and the Temple of Solomon complement each other, both relating to end-times.
For a proper study we refer you to the amazingly detailed books of KJ Conner, always available through Australian Christian bookstores. Under acknowledgements we refer to his two important books for this section: 'The Feasts of Israel' and 'The Temple of Solomon'.
The Temple of Solomon, referred to as the first Temple, was a prophetic and structural upgrade on the mobile tabernacle (Temple) of Moses in the Wilderness. The Tabernacle had only one candlestick, the Temple of Solomon had ten. The features of Solomon’s Temple are particularly prophetic of end-times and have at least one application to the end of the Millennium.
We know from Revelations Chapter 1 that a candlestick represents the church since Jesus said so Himself. The Temple of Solomon was a much more elaborate structure than the Tabernacle and was permanently located. There is much we can learn from it.
It had side chambers, upper rooms and store rooms. There were 10 brass lavers of water sitting on 4 cubit-square bases. The numbers and the metal (brass) represent the world wide-call to repentance and cleansing. Inside the Holy Place were 10 golden tables of Showbread and 10 golden Candlesticks to illuminate the totally enclosed Holy Place. In the preceding article we already discussed that the number 10, which is prevalent in the Temple of Solomon, is indicative of the testing, trials and tribulations that the church will suffer as the end approaches. The red, black and pale horses of the apocalypse will be coming against the church (which is the white horse) and the world in general (Revelation 6:3-9; 19:11-14).
In the Temple of Solomon the rituals involved more priests than in the Tabernacle of Moses, but their functions were essentially the same as in the Tabernacle of Moses. The dimensions of the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place were much larger than in the Temple of Moses. The dimensions for the Most Holy Place were doubled for it had to house two huge cherubim to overarch the two small cherubim on the Mercy Seat. I shall only speak of those prophetic elements that the Lord has clarified to me at the present time. However, the two huge cherubim overarching the two smaller ones, speak of the time when the Son hands over His kingdom to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:22-28). The wings of the cherubim in the Most Holy Place cross over at 90 degrees signifying that even in the kingdom of the Father the cross will be preeminent. This is not shown in the diagram underneath as most have not picked this up. The significance of the cross is stressed even more because of the cubic shape of the Most Holy Place. I refer you to my chapter on 'the secret of the cube' in my Kindle book "Supernatural Visions and Dreams: Personal Experiences" by Charles Pallaghy (Amazon.com).
The Temple of Solomon was distinguished from the rather simple Tabernacle of Moses by several features on which I wish to draw. The Temple of Solomon had a huge porch, 120 cubits high (180 feet or 55 metres, on a rather slender base of 20 x10 cubits) and was guarded by two massive hollow brass columns (cylinders) named Jachin and Boaz. ‘According to Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews, Boaz (Hebrew for "In him/it [is] strength") stood on the left when entering Solomon's Temple, while Jachin (Tiberian Hebrew "He/it will establish") stood on the right….. The pillars were 18 cubits high and 12 cubits around, and hollow - four fingers thick' (Jeremiah 52:21–22).
According to biblical measures the tower should have been shown about 65% taller in this illustration in relation to the brass columns. Even KJ Conner and other dedicated Bible scholars find that difficult to believe because it would have looked more like a tower than a porch and therefore difficult to build. I believe the 120 cubit measure given for the height of the tower, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 3:4. In addition, the 'Molten Sea' was on the SE side of the Temple.
The Temple, also known as the First Temple, was totally destroyed by the King of Babylon so no sketches remain. However, the building was spectacular enough to make a tremendous impression on the Queen of Sheba who visited Israel with much scepticism at first. In any case, we shall adhere to the word of God and believe the porch to have been 120 cubits high, and not as squat as depicted in the above illustration.
Any metallic furniture within the Outer Court was made of brass speaking of an attitude of repentance required by the Lord upon entering. Before the Temple was destroyed by the King of Babylon Jeremiah stood in the Outer Court proclaiming Israel to repent before it was too late. So here again we recognize a link between the Outer Court and repentance.
There were 10 brass lavers of water in the Outer Court five of which can be seen in the illustration. The massive ‘Sea’ of water was for priests to cleanse themselves in. It contained 2000 baths of water, but had a capacity of 3000 baths. Why should that have been mentioned? As I have already mentioned and will show again, it has significant prophetic meaning. The Sea was supported on 12 oxen, standing in groups of three pointing towards the four points of the compass.
F. PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OUTER COURT
I wish to focus on a few prominent features, because Solomon’s Temple has symbolic sign-posts for end-times.
1. The brass Sea.
The 2000 baths of water represent the church age of two 1000-year days or 2000 years during which God’s priests, which we all are, need continuous cleansing as we attempt to serve God both in the church and in our daily lives. Although the sea had a capacity for another 1000 baths it was never filled. This is symbolic that God's priests (us) no longer need washing during the last 1000 years on this Earth, the Millennium, the third day following the two days of the church age. This is what Jesus referred to when He sent His message to Herod, ‘And He said to them, You go and tell that fox, behold, today (1000 years) and tomorrow (1000 years), I cast out demons and I complete cures, and the third day (1000 years) I will be finished’ (Luke 13:32). Jesus was confirming what the apostle was to say later, in 2 Peter 3:8, that 1 day = 1000 years.
We are rapidly approaching the final day of rest, day 17 - the Millennium. The period of time from Jesus to our resurrection is the 2000 years of the church age while the remaining day of 1000 years is the Millenium - God's day of rest in the Redemptive Week.
The 12 oxen, the burden bearers, represent the apostles and apostolic doctrine on which the church age is founded. 12 is the number of authority and there will be 12 latter-day apostles to lead the church through critical times before the coming of the Lord. More on that later.
It is fitting that 12 oxen are carrying the burden of water as the illustration of the 'Molten Sea' shows. Water and doctrine are related in the Bible, ‘that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself as the glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish’ (Ephesians 5:26-27). The brass sea had a circumference of 30 cubits, the age when Levites were officially given to the priesthood, as was also true for Jesus our chief apostle,
‘Take a head count of the Kohathites, who are part of the Levites, by their clans and patriarchal houses, of those 30 years of age until 50 years of age, all who are eligible for performing assigned tasks in the work force pertaining to the Tent of Meeting’ (Numbers 4:3). ‘Take a head count of the Gershonite clans as well, by their clans and patriarchal houses. You shall tally all of them 30 years of age and older to 50 years of age, all who are eligible to perform the tasks of the work force relevant to the Tent of Meeting’ (Numbers 23). ‘Take a head count of the Merarites, 30 years of age and older’ (Numbers 4:30).
Later, in the book of Numbers, the minimum age for service was 25 years. However, the function of the Levites differed significantly amongst themselves as to what they could touch and see. Some could only do the manual work and were not considered priests. Only special Levites serving in the tabernacle of Moses would have been able to go into the Most Holy Place to cover the Ark before demolishing the tent and moving it under cover to the next camp site. And Yahweh spoke to Moses saying: ‘This is what applies to the Levites: everyone 25 years and older must serve in the work forces performing the tasks of the Tent of Meeting’ (Numbers 8:23-24).
It seems reasonable to suppose that when novices were taken into service they were first given lesser tasks for 5 years among the people to collect wood for the burnt sacrifice, etc. Thirty is the pattern. Jesus was baptized at the age of 30 complying with the pattern and was immediately given two apostles by the Father, one of whom was Andrew (Luke 3:23). They were immediately tested for the task. They joined him at the 10th hour. Jesus asked them to look and see, because their living conditions were not going to be good. Ten is the number of testing. Jesus showed them right at the start that they would not be in for a comfortable ride.
The rim of the 'Sea' was a handbreadth thick (1 Kings 7:26) signifying that the priests were the hands of the Lord to the flock, and dependent on the doctrine of the original 12 apostles of the Lamb, ‘… made us kings and priests to God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever’ (Revelation 1:6; also 5:10 ). ‘Who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit makes alive’ (2 Corinthians 3:6).
2. The brass columns, Jachin and Boaz.
The Lord gave me the following picture of Solomon's porch:
This is the vision and experience which led me to the prophetic revelation I shall soon be describing below. I was in the bathroom at night cleaning my teeth. The door was ajar. I turned to leave and swung the door open which revealed a black cockroach that had been hiding in the shade under the door. My left leg instinctively stepped forward to crush the insect. As I did so I no longer had legs but two pillars or columns with a flat pad on the bottom of each like that of an elephant. I thought that the pillars were briefly of brass, but then must have changed colour because my lasting impression was that the columns looked like pillars of concrete. Did they change colour in that brief moment? I can't exactly remember. When I crushed the insect I was looking down at my legs from higher than usual. I thought I was having a dizzy spell because it made me lightheaded.
I wondered what this meant untiI I had the urge to superimpose the legs of the figure Jesus over the two brass columns of Solomon's Temple, Jachin and Boaz, as illustrated below. The rest of His body was made up by the tall Porch. Remember that Jesus had once literally stood on the pinnacle of the equivalent structure of the Temple of Herod, transported there by the devil to tempt Him to jump off. The illustration is a symbolic gesture that Jesus is guarding the church and is scrutinizing with eyes of fire all who enter (Revelation Chapters 1-3). He is calling the church, all who consider themselves to be in the Holy Place so to speak, to repentance.
King Solomon had a porch in his own house which was called the 'Seat of Judgment' (1Kings 7:7). The porch in Solomon's Temple performed the same function both spiritually and symbolically, but on a higher level. Any priest who carried out his functions without humility and repentance in mind for his daily sins, and did not wash himself in the Laver would fall under God's judgement in his lifetime.
In the days when the Ark was in the tabernacle at Shiloh the two selfish sons of Eli, the high priest, eventually met their horrific fate by being reduced to ashes and also brought about the downfall of their father who had been too lenient with them for years (1 Samuel 4:11-22). The diagram below uses the Biblical measures for the height of Solomon's porch as proclaimed in 2 Chronicles 3:4. Before you read on note an interesting parallel between Solomon's Temple and Jesus. History has not retained a sketch or sculpture or image or an extra-biblical description of either Solomon's Temple or Jesus except to say that both were glorious. This is utterly remarkable considering how the Jews venerate the first temple and how Christians have been worshiping Jesus! The absence of these must be in the will of God. There is no other explanation.
The Lord gave me these scriptures to confirm what I saw and also its interpretation: 'And Jehovah appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud. And the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle' (Deuteronomy 31:15). 'Jehovah is my strength and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock; I will trust in Him. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower' (Psalms 18:2).
Unwittingly, Satan confirmed the close correlation between Jesus and the Porch of Solomon. During the second temptation of Jesus in the wilderness Satan physically transported Jesus and made him stand on top of Solomon's Porch looking down (Luke 4:9). JESUS literally stood on top of the tower of Herod's temple. Satan tempted Jesus to throw Himself down. [The composite image of Jesus and the temple was created from galaira/Shutterstock.com, Sweet Publishing/Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0, and ieronim777/Shutterstock.com].
In Revelation chapter 1 the apostle John saw essentially the same image in principle of Jesus guarding what is in the church, ‘And, I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands I saw One like the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and tied around the breast with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And His eyes were like a flame of fire. And His feet were like burnished brass having been fired in a furnace. And His voice was like the sound of many waters. And He had seven stars in His right hand, and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. And His face was like the sun shining in its strength’ (Revelation 1:12-16). A sharp sword cuts and divides yet it heals too. A heated blade cauterizes a wound. Not pleasant, but we will live! The word of God rebukes and hurts, but also heals!
That is how I understood that one leg represented the apostles at the beginning of the church age, and my other leg, the apostles at the end of the church age. They bring apostolic doctrine and discipline to the church - symbolized by the 120 loaves of sanctified bread (10 x 12 - tested by apostolic authority). Their function is to stamp out or bring to repentance unwanted elements in the church both at the beginning and at the very end of the church age. The porch was an exit as well as an entry into the church age.
To their everlasting destruction, Ananias and Sapphira experienced this crushing blow when they lied to the apostles who were filled with the Holy Spirit. The man and later the woman instantly dropped dead at their feet (Acts 5:1-12). No rewards for guessing where this happened – on so-called Solomon’s porch within the boundary of Herod's Temple! Not at the entrance to the Holy Place where Jachin and Boaz columns used to stand in Solomon’s day, but at a portico of the Outer Court of Herod's Temple called by the same name. Remember that the entire Outer Court was set aside for repentance and teaching, which Ananias and Sapphira wilfully opposed.
‘And they were continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and in fellowship and in the breaking of the loaves, and in prayers. And fear came on every soul. And many wonders and miracles took place through the apostles’ (Acts 2:42-43).
‘Then those fearing Jehovah spoke together, each man to his neighbour. And Jehovah listened and heard. And a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Jehovah, and for those esteeming His name. And they shall be Mine says Jehovah of Hosts for the day that I will make up My treasure. And I will pity them as a man has pity on his son who serves him. Then you shall again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who does not serve Him’ (Malachi 3:16-18).
Significance of the 120 cubit height of the Porch
These two imposing brass columns guarded the entrance to the Holy Place, the chamber containing the 10 golden lampstands. The Holy Place, a roofed compartment, represents the duration of the church age (20 x10 x10 cubits = 2000 years). Its furnishings and the functions the priests carried out in it mirror the work of the church throughout the church age. The first call of God in the process of salvation is always repentance and the necessity of the blood of Christ – Priests had to first pass by the huge altar of burnt sacrifice in the Outer Court and then walk past the two brass pillars under the 120 cubit-high porch to enter the Holy Place.
The number 120 is linked to the Day of Pentecost - the birth of the church age. On the day of Pentecost the Jews, who had gathered to the commotion and babble of foreign tongues when the 120 disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, heard the gospel from the Apostle Peter, ‘hearing this, they were stabbed in the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, Men, brothers, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit' (Acts 2:37-38). Pentecost marks the beginning of the Spirit and end of the flesh (carnality). The enormous change that happened to the apostles, from fearful cowardly followers to bold preachers, is a witness to that.
You will also no doubt remember how the Lord had given Himself 120 years to finish all life on Earth by 'Noah's' flood because of the wickedness He saw. 'And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, in his erring; he is flesh. Yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years' (Genesis 6:3). As you will see later on, the 120 is also prophetic of the time God has given man from when Adam sinned to mankind's final redemption at the resurrection - 120 of 50-year Jubilees = 6000 years.
End-time apostles of the Lamb
Have you ever noticed a strange thing about the first 12 apostles of the Lamb? When Thomas wasn't present at the first appearance of the resurrected Christ to the apostles in the upper room he told the other apostles that he would not believe, 'unless I shall see the print of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side I will not believe' (John 20:25).
How did Jesus respond to that when He appeared the second time? Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me you have believed. Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed' (John 20:29). In fact, all the twelve apostles were guilty of the same thing. When the women returned from the empty tomb and reported what they had seen, none of the apostles believed the women (Luke 24:11). They only believed when the Lord suddenly appeared in their midst. So it wasn't only an issue with Thomas. Paul said in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please Him.
Could it be that the Lord will expect greater things from the end-time apostles of the lamb?
So what major points have we learnt from this article?
1. The last days (2 Peter 3:3) at the end of time, consists of three 1000-year days, as confirmed by Jesus: Two days for the church age and one day for the Millennium.
2. The beginning and the end of the church age are characterized by 12 apostles of the lamb in the church at either end - symbolized by the two brass columns.
3. The Feast of Tabernacles highlights the mourning, joys and victories that Christians will experience in the end times.
4. The Temple of Solomon testifies that there will be sombre times and periods of stress during which the Lord expects us to adhere to apostolic doctrine.
5. The Lord is leading us to be processed to the fullness of the stature of Christ.
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