Pointing to Yeshua
Exodus 25:8-9: "And have them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them. In accordance with all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and of all its furniture, so you shall make it."
Exodus 29:45-46: "I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God. And they shall know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am Yahweh their God."
The Tabernacle is a predominant feature of the Older Covenant, pointing to Yeshua, and to his first coming. But that is not all. Once again, during the tribulation period, it will point to Yeshua, to his second coming, and also to his millennial reign.
The Tabernacle as Described in Exodus 25:10-30:21
| TEXT IN EXODUS | PIECE OF FURNITURE | PURPOSE | NEWER COVENANT FULFILLMENT |
| 25:10-16 | Ark of the Covenant | The Sign of God's Presence in the World | John 1:14 The Word became a human and lived among us. |
| 25:17-22 | Mercy Seat | The Atonement Seat where God meets His people in grace | Hebrews 4:16 We can come before Yahweh's throne where there is grace....to help us when we need it. |
| 25:23-30 | Table of Presence | Bread of Presence Represents Yeshua, The Bread of Life | John 6:35 Yeshua said, "I am the bread that gives life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. |
| 25:31-40 | Altar of Incense | The Sign of the People's Prayers | Ephesians 2:18, 3:12 In Yeshua we can come before Yahweh with freedom and without fear. |
| 26:31-33 | Lampstand | To Give Light Represents The Light of the World | John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life." |
| 27:1-8 | Inner Veil | Separation from God Represents Sin | Matthew 27:50‑51 Then the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom.
Hebrews 10:19‑20 We can enter the Most Holy Place through a new and living way that Yeshua opened for us. It leads through the curtain ‑‑ Yeshua's body. |
| 30:1-10 | Altar of Sacrifice | The Altar of Burnt Offering | 1 Corinthians 15:3 Yeshua died for our sins.
Ephesians 5:2 Yeshua gave himself for us as a sweet‑smelling offering and sacrifice to Yahweh.
Hebrews 9:26 Yeshua came to take away all sin by sacrificing himself. |
| 30:17-21 | Bronze Basin | Washing | Titus 3:5 He saved us through the washing that made us new people through the Holy Spirit. |
PURPOSE / PLAN / PATTERN / SUMMARY OF TABERNACLE
Purpose: So I can live amongst you. So I can meet with you. So I can speak with you.
Pattern: Earthly tabernacle is a copy of the heavenly one; it represents Yeshua and his servant hood.
Summary: The Tabernacle is a grand and glorious visual aid that Yahweh gives to His people to express in ways they can understand which represents a much greater reality that is beyond their time and comprehension.
SYMBOLISM OF THE TABERNACLE COVERINGS
Yeshua looks just like us but underneath is his divinity:
Linen = Divinity of Yeshua
Goats Hair = Humanity of Yeshua
Red Covering = The Blood of Yeshua Shed for others
Goat Skin = Looks like any tent: Yeshua looks like any other human man
PICTURE / TYPE / SHADOW OF YESHUA
Ark = Holds the Glory of Yahweh Within = Yahweh's Presence in the World = Yeshua.
Curtain / Veil = The Door = Yeshua is the Door, the Only Way to Yahweh.
Lampstand and Candles = Light of the Tent = Light of the World = Yeshua.
Oil = Oil on Tent = Oil / Nard / Perfume on Yeshua's Feet (Luke 7:38; John 11:2, 12:3).
12 Loaves of Bread = 12 Disciples.
Altar = Place of Sacrifice = Cross.
Bronze Bowl for Washing = Yeshua Washing the Disciples' Feet.
PURPOSE / PATTERN / COLOR / SUMMARY OF THE ENTRY CURTAIN
Purpose: To give entry to the Holy Place and to Yahweh. To be the one and only door: (John 10:9) "I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture".
Pattern: The Entry Curtain to the Tabernacle was a large curtain made of fine linen, colored in blue, purple, red and white. (Exodus 26:36) "You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen, embroidered with needlework."
Blue Color: Blue indicates heavenly and Godly. (John 20:28) "Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and My God'!"
Purple Color: Purple signifies royalty, majesty, or kingship. (Zechariah 9:9) "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (2 Peter 1:16) "For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty".
Red Color: Red, or Crimson, signifies blood. (Isaiah 53:5) "But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed." (Mark 10:45) "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
White Color: White signifies purity and innocence. (Jonah 1:14) "Then they cried out to the LORD, "Please, O LORD, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man's life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you." (1 Peter 2:22) "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." (Luke 23:14) "Pilate said to them, 'I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him'."
Summary: Just as the entry curtain was the only entry to the Tabernacle, Yeshua is the only way to the Father. (John 14:6) "Yeshua said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'."
PURPOSE and SUMMARY OF THE BRONZE LAVER
Purpose: To cleanse the priests in order that they could give service to Yahweh [Practical]. Yahweh required purity before service. Refusal to wash at the Laver would indicate contempt for purity and would result in immediate death. (Exodus 30:20-21) "When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to make an offering by fire to the LORD, they shall wash {their hands and their feet} with water, so that they may not die." The NT fulfillment is seen in the following passages: (John 13:8-9) "Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Yeshua answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me". And in: (John 17:17) "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth".
Summary: The hands and feet symbolize the active doings of our life (our going out and coming in). What we do with our hand and where our feet carry us is a reflection of our purity in thought (attitude) and character (actions) [Spiritual]. Like Peter, we are impulsive, self-willed, and lack understanding. Like Peter, we must submit our wills to the Lord's request. Our need is not for salvation (washing our whole body), but it is for daily washing because of our repeated acts of sin (thoughts, words, deeds), whether by commission or by omission. Today, as we wash in Baptism, we are given salvation and, then, as we wash in the Laver (the Word of God) we are confronted, we gain Yahweh's perspective, are we cleansed and prepared for service. (Psalms 119:9) "How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word". Today, we are the present day priests: (1 Peter 2:9) "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation."
PURPOSE and SUMMARY OF THE MENORAH
Purpose: The Menorah symbolizes the creation in seven days, with the center light representing the Sabbath. It is also said to symbolize the burning bush as seen by Moses on Mount Horeb. Most importantly, however, the Menorah represents Yeshua as the perfect servant being worshiped by his followers (the center candle is higher than the six surrounding candles, all of which are bowing towards the center candle!
Summary: The purpose of the Menorah was, of course, to provide light. And that light was never to be allowed to go out. Today Yeshua provides light to the world and his light will never be extinguished.
PURPOSE and SUMMARY OF THE ALTAR OF INCENSE
Purpose: The purpose of the golden Altar of Incense is to be a representation of Yeshua, who is our intercessor before God the Father. The incense was a symbol of the prayers and intercession of the people going up to God as a sweet fragrance. The horns of the golden altar were sprinkled with blood from the animal sacrifice to cleanse and purify it from the sins of the Israelites.
Summary: Yahweh wanted His dwelling to be a place where people could approach him and pray to him. "May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice." (Psalm 141:2) the horns on golden altar signify the power of Yehsua's blood in prayer as we confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness. "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:15-16)
PURPOSE and SUMMARY OF THE ALTAR OF SHOWBREAD
Purpose: The table and the bread were a picture of Yahweh's willingness to fellowship and communion (literally speaking, sharing something in common) with man. It was like an invitation to share a meal, an extension of friendship. Eating together often is an act of fellowship. Yahweh was willing for man to enter into His presence to fellowship with Him, and this invitation was always open.
Summary: Yahweh so desires our fellowship that He was willing to come to earth from heaven as our "bread of life" to give eternal life to all those who would partake in it. At Yeshua's last Passover meal with His disciples, Yeshua described Himself as the bread: "While they were eating, Yeshua took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.'" (Matthew 26:26). Yahweh still desires to have fellowship and sit down for a feast with His people. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelations 3:20)
PURPOSE and SUMMARY OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
Purpose: The purpose of the Ark of the Covenant is to portray Yahweh's holiness, his authority, his provision, and his mercy.
Summary: The Ark with the Cherubim above represents Yahweh's holiness. The staff of Aaron represents Yahweh's authority. The Jar of Manna represents Yahweh's provision. The Mercy Seat represents Yahweh's mercy as shown in Yeshua. These three articles were preserved in the ark throughout Israel's history as an unpleasant symbol of man's sins and shortcomings, a reminder of how they rejected Yahweh's provision, authority and right standard of living. It pointed to man as a helpless sinner and his need for repentance and salvation which only Yahweh / Yeshua can provide.
Pointing to Yeshua Again
Isaiah 16:5: "And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness."
Amos 9:11: "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old . . . "
Acts 15:16: "After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up . . . "
Revelation 21:3: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and Yahweh himself shall be with them, and be their God."
During the tribulation period, a new "temple" will be built and the sacrifices will once again be offered. But is it a temple, or the rebuilt tabernacle? The scriptures above indicate that it will, indeed, be a tabernacle, booth, or tent like that of David, not a temple like that of Solomon or Herod. Daniel 11:31 agrees, using the same Hebrew word, miqdash, for sanctuary as does Exodus [miqdash מִקְדָּשׁ H4720]! Both Revelation and Acts use the Greek word, skēnē, which also indicates a booth, tent, or tabernacle [skēnē σκηνή G4633], not a stone, granite, or marble temple!
Conclusion
The tabernacle can be seen throughout scriptures. It is the "temple" in which Moses and the Hebrew slaves worshipped Yahweh, and it appears once again as the "temple" in which the Jews will once again worship Yahweh during the tribulation period. It even appears to be the "temple" that exists during the Millennial reign of Yeshua.
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