Although many find it difficult to accept the idea that there is an aspect of forgiveness which precedes repentance, these two distinct aspects of forgiveness were also illustrated in the typical sanctuary service. In order to perceive this reality, one must understand what was represented by the tabernacle, in distinction from what was represented by the outer court. The Spirit of Prophecy provides the following insight:
The church of God below is one with the church of God above. Believers on the earth and the beings in heaven who have never fallen constitute one church. Every heavenly intelligence is interested in the assemblies of the saints who on earth meet to worship God. In the inner court of heaven they listen to the testimony of the witnesses for Christ in the outer court on earth, and the praise and thanksgiving from the worshipers below is taken up in the heavenly anthem, and praise and rejoicing sound through the heavenly courts because Christ has not died in vain for the fallen sons of Adam.[1]
Here, we find that the "inner court" represented heaven. The "outer court" represented earth. This reference is clearly to the typical sanctuary. All activities which took place in the outer court of the sanctuary in ancient Israel represented activities of the antitype which would take place on earth. All activities which took place in the inner court or tabernacle of the earthly sanctuary represented activities that would take place in heaven. Thus, the ministry of the priests in the tabernacle represented the activities of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. The activities such as the slaughter of the lambs, which always took place outside the tabernacle, represented the fact that Christ, the Lamb of God, would die on earth for the sins of all humanity.
The morning and evening sacrifice, which took place daily in the ancient Israelite sanctuary, represents an often-overlooked aspect of atonement. The requirement for these sacrifices is described in the book of Exodus:
Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even (Exodus 29:38, 39).
The book of Numbers describes the same offerings.
And thou shalt say unto them, this is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even (Numbers 28:3, 4).
The morning sacrifice remained on the altar and burned all day. The evening sacrifice also remained upon the altar, and it burned all night. Thus, there was a continual sacrifice of atonement on the altar. One of the unique aspects of this sacrifice is the fact that it was not presented or sacrificed by the common people. Daily, members of the Israelite community brought their sacrifices to the temple to receive individual atonement, resulting in forgiveness of known sins. However, the priests selected the morning and evening sacrifices and presented them on behalf of the entire nation. It may also be argued that they were presented on behalf of the world, because the outer court represented the earth, and it was an area of the earthly sanctuary where even Gentiles could enter. Thus, when the morning and evening sacrifices were presented in the outer court, they were sacrificed on behalf of all mankind. This sacrifice most clearly represented the cross of Christ.
These sacrifices symbolically revealed the profound truth that the cross of Christ would be a corporate event and that it would be applicable to the whole world, Jews and Gentiles, believers and non-believers alike. The corporate dimensions of the atonement of Calvary are the basis of the charizomai which God has given to the whole world.
Light From the Most Holy Place
The sanctuary reveals the structure and principles of God's government. In its most holy apartment we find the throne of God, represented by the mercy seat. We are invited to "come boldly unto the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16). Under the throne (mercy seat) is the law, in the form of Ten Commandments. The foundation of God's government is His law. This arrangement (the mercy seat above the law) reveals the nature of God Himself. He is both just and merciful. Yet, we meet His mercy at the seat of His government before we encounter His justice in the tables of stone. The blending of these two attributes is the most beautiful artifact in the universe.
Calvary was the unveiling of a preexisting reality. God is just and merciful at the same time (see Exodus 34:6, 7). At the cross, "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Psalm 85:10). Although history has unveiled this truth, these two qualities of God's nature enjoyed their first public embrace in the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve first encountered God's forgiveness before encountering His justice.
The justice of God required that our first parents be banished from the Garden, while the blood of the Lamb, "slain from the foundation of the world," required that their forfeited lives be spared. Thus "mercy and truth" met in Eden. Their appearance was somewhat obscured, yet it was a real meeting. The ultimate "kiss" would wait another 4,000 years until the sacrifice on Calvary.
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