A STUDY GUIDE FOR THE SEVEN FURNISHINGS OF THE TABERNACLE
From: The Tabernacle of the Congregation, by Robert B. Thompson
Copyright © 1992 Trumpet Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
QUESTIONS
Foreword
Introductory Scripture
Description of the Tabernacle of the Congregation
The Seven Holy Furnishings
The Altar of Burnt Offering
The Laver
The Table of Showbread
The Lampstand
The Altar of Incense
The Ark of the Covenant
The Mercy Seat (Lid of Reconciliation)
ANSWERS
Foreword
Introductory Scripture
Description of the Tabernacle of the Congregation
The Seven Holy Furnishings
The Altar of Burnt Offering
The Laver
The Table of Showbread
The Lampstand
The Altar of Incense
The Ark of the Covenant
The Mercy Seat (Lid of Reconciliation)
QUESTIONS
Foreword
1. Of what is the Tabernacle of the Congregation the greatest biblical type?
2. Where are the main passages located that describe the Tabernacle of the Congregation?
3. Name the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle.
4. What four eternal realities are portrayed by the Tabernacle of the Congregation?
5. Which of the four eternal realities is emphasized in The Seven Furnishings of the Tabernacle ?
Introductory Scripture Page
1. What concept do these four verses have in common?
Description of the Tabernacle of the Congregation
1. What were the dimensions of the Tabernacle of the Congregation?
2. From what was the building constructed?
3. Of what material was the outside covering of the Tabernacle?
4. On what was the Veil hung?
5. What were the dimensions of the linen fence?
6. On what side of the linen fence was the gate of the Courtyard, when the Mercy Seat was facing east?
7. What were the dimensions of the curtain that formed the gate?
8. Of what material were the gate to the Courtyard and the door of the Holy Place made?
9. On what did the gate hang?
10. On what did the door hang?
11. What two furnishings were outside of the building?
12. What was the purpose of the Altar of Burnt Offering?
13. What was on the right of the priest as he stepped into the Holy Place?
14. What was on the left of the priest?
15. What was directly in front of the priest?
16. What was located in the center of the Most Holy Place?
17. What served as a lid on the Ark of the Covenant?
18. Where was the Ark of the Covenant placed in the line of march?
19. What was the Covenant, for which the Ark was named?
20. Where did the pattern for the Tabernacle come from?
21. What purpose did the Tabernacle serve?
22. Of what was the Tabernacle of the Congregation a reflection?
23. By what was the Courtyard lighted?
24. What four layers of material covered the wooden building?
25. Who were the only persons allowed to see the inside of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place?
26. What does the ripping open of the Veil signify?
27. By what was the Holy Place lighted?
28. What three items were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant?
29. What was hammered into shape from each end of the Mercy Seat?
The Seven Holy Furnishings
1. What does the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering typify?
2. What does the Laver typify?
3. What does the Table of Showbread typify?
4. What does the golden Lampstand typify?
5. What does the Altar of Incense typify?
6. What does the Ark of the Covenant typify?
7. What does the Mercy Seat typify?
8. What is the basis of our redemption?
9. Where does God always meet a human being?
10. By what act do we commence our departure from the filthiness of the world?
11. How do we wash our robes and keep them white in the blood of Christ?
12. What does the Table of Showbread bring to us?
13. What do we receive by eating the flesh of Christ and drinking His blood?
14. When are we born of the water?
15. When are we born of the Spirit?
16. When are we born of the Word of God?
17. What enables the Christian to be the light of the world?
18. When was the “Lampstand” of the Christian Church lighted?
19. What does the Altar of Incense typify?
20. What elements are included in the Spirit-filled prayers of the saints?
21. When does God hear us?
22. What does the Ark of the Covenant typify?
23. What does wood typify in the Scriptures?
24. What does gold typify in the Scriptures?
25. Who are the victorious saints?
26. What will the victorious saints inherit?
27. What does the Mercy Seat portray?
28. For what purpose is the fullness of the Glory of God given to the saints?
29. At what point does our redemption commence?
30. At what point is our redemption brought to fullness?
The Altar of Burnt Offering
1. Of what material was the Altar of Burnt Offering constructed?
2. What do the four horns of the Altar of Burnt Offering signify?
3. For what purpose were the horns used in the days of the Tabernacle of the Congregation?
4. What were the dimensions of the Altar of Burnt Offering?
5. What is the meaning of the word altar ?
6. What is the meaning of the term burnt offering ?
7. To what must the Body of Christ always point?
8. What is our condition before we receive Christ?
9. Into what condition does the Divine plan of redemption (atonement) bring us?
10. Who is the Author and the Finisher (Perfecter) of our faith?
11. What was the first thing an Israelite came to when he entered through the gate that led into the Courtyard?
12. Where does God always meet people?
13. Why cannot a human being come to God in his own righteousness?
14. Where, in the Scriptures, are the five major types of offerings described?
15. How do we overcome the accuser?
16. What is true of us if we are walking in the light of God’s will?
17. Was Christ primarily a righteous teacher?
18. What paid the price for our sins?
19. Is the blood of Christ an adequate sacrifice for the sins of every person born on the earth?
20. Is there any human being who can come to the Father in his own righteousness, apart from the righteousness of Christ?
The Laver
1. What two aspects of the bronze Laver are not described in the Scripture?
2. Where was the Laver located?
3. On what occasions did the priests wash their hands and feet at the Laver?
4. What is emphasized in the description of the Laver?
5. What is one possible explanation why the Laver did not have rings and carrying poles?
6. How might the Laver have been carried?
7. What does the bronze Laver portray?
8. What does the whole Tabernacle emphasize to the Christian believer?
9. What must be true of every believer?
10. What must the saint do when it becomes clear to him that the Lord is directing him to make a change in his occupation?
11. What should the convert do after receiving Christ as his Lord and Savior?
12. What is the convert demonstrating by his or her water baptism?
13. What does water baptism signify?
14. Read Romans 6:4; Acts 22:16. 15. What does the position of the Laver reveal?
16. Read Exodus 30:19,20.
17. What does holy behavior require?
18. What does the Holy Spirit render powerless?
19. What does a new Christian receive, for the first time in his life?
20. What helps us keep our behavior clean?
21. Where else can we receive help to live a godly life?
22. What will happen to a dirty Christian if he does not wash himself in the Word?
23. What is every Christian called to be?
24. What does God require of His priests?
The Table of Showbread
1. Where was the Table of Showbread located?
2. From what material was the Table of Showbread constructed?
3. What were the dimensions of the Table of Showbread?
4. Read Leviticus 24:5,6. 5. How many hot loaves were placed on the Table each day?
6. When was the wine poured out in the Holy Place, next to the Table of Showbread?
7. What does the showbread and the poured-out wine portray?
8. With what was the Table of Showbread covered while Israel was on the march?
9. Read John 6:51. 10. What nourishes our new inner life?
11. What does it mean to eat Christ?
12. When does Christ come to us?
13. Who nourishes the life of Christ that is being formed in us?
14. What is our responsibility?
15. On what is mankind absolutely dependent?
16. What is the light of mankind?
17. What was the Word of God made?
18. Read John 1:1-4, 14. 19. On what does our life depend?
20. On what does our resurrection from the dead depend?
21. How can Christ feed so many saints with His one body and blood?
22. What were the fleshly body and blood of Christ?
23. How are we “born again”?
24. How do we grow?
25. Read I Peter 1:23; 2:2; Hebrews 5:14. 26. Toward what is the presentation of the living Word directed?
27. In what element does Christ move?
28. What must be true of a person who is ministering the living Bread?
29. When is the only time the Bread of God is available to us?
30. What does Christ use in order to perform His ministry?
31. When a saint ministers the Virtue of Christ, what is he bringing to mankind?
32. Why did many of His disciples go back and walk no more with Him?
33. Read Leviticus 17:10,14. 34. What is the source of the resurrection from the dead?
35. How are we Christians made one in Christ in God?
36. Read I John 1:1,2. 37. What keeps the “showbread” fresh?
38. How do we maintain contact with the Lord?
The Lampstand
1. Read Exodus 25:31. 2. What is the symbolic number of the Lampstand; of Pentecost?
3. What does the golden Lampstand of the Tabernacle typify?
4. Where was the Lampstand located?
5. How was the Lampstand different from the other holy furnishings?
6. What does the ornamentation of the Lampstand suggest to us?
7. What did the central shaft and each of the side-branches hold?
8. What was the only source of light for the Holy Place?
9. When were the seven lamps trimmed and filled, and lighted?
10. What is the significance of the fact that the Holy Place was lighted only by the Lampstand, not by sunlight?
11. What “brings us into the Holy Place of the Tabernacle”?
12. What must always be preeminent when a person approaches the Kingdom of God?
13. What is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit?
14. What term did the Lord use when referring to the Holy Spirit?
15. What is one of the first works that the Holy Spirit performs in the Church of Christ?
16. What is the second work?
17. Who is the “law of the Spirit of Life”?
18. What does the “law of the Spirit of Life” enable us to do?
19. Why has each member of the Body of Christ been given a gift of the Spirit?
20. What must the Church of Christ do in the present hour?
21. What is a principal concern of the Holy Spirit?
22. What is the significance of the fact that the Lampstand was solid gold, having no wood in it?
23. What does wood typify in the Scriptures?
24. What do the wicks of the Lampstand typify?
25. Who bears witness of Christ?
26. Read Acts 1:8. 27. What does the “Lampstand,” the “Pentecostal,” experience signify?
28. How may each aspect of our salvation be considered?
29. How is the Christian to live, twenty-four hours of each day?
30. If an individual desires to press forward to the fullness of his inheritance in the Lord, what must he or she be prepared to be?
31. What does the Spirit of God testify to our spirit?
32. What is the problem involved in pressing forward and possessing our land of promise?
33. What is true of the way of God?
34. What will follow as a result of our strict obedience to the Father?
35. What is the best way to serve and bless mankind?
36. What Man was the most effective servant of mankind?
37. What do we leave behind when we “enter the Holy Place”?
38. What else do we leave with the world?
39. What are the four Gospel accounts?
40. What were the three ornaments of the Lampstand and of its six side-branches?
41. Of what is the cup a symbol?
42. What did the knops resemble?
43. What does the knop, or fruit, represent?
44. What does the flower represent?
45. Of what does the Christian life consist?
46. To what furnishing of the Tabernacle is the cup related?
47. To what furnishing is the fruit related?
48. To what furnishing is the flower related?
49. Read Luke 22:42. 50. From what does Divine fruit always proceed?
51. Read John 12:24. 52. What is the first death the saint dies?
53. What is the second death the saint dies?
54. What is the third death the saint dies?
55. When the world, sin, and self are poured into the cup of the Christian, what does God pour back in return?
56. What is not possible apart from the three deaths?
57. What is the end result of the three deaths?
58. What do we receive through means of the first death?
59. What do we receive through means of the second death?
60. What do we receive through means of the third death?
61. What is our first death?
62. What legal freedom do we possess as a consequence of our first death?
63. What additional legal freedom do we now possess?
64. How is our first death accomplished?
65. How is our second death accomplished?
66. Is our second death accomplished instantly?
67. What should we do when the Holy Spirit makes us aware of a sin we are practicing?
68. Is it possible for us to maintain our joy, peace, and poise while the Holy Spirit is dealing with the sins of our behavior?
69. What does Christ always destroy?
70. What does the third death accomplish in us?
71. Read Romans 7:20.
72. With what is the question of the “I” concerned?
73. What was God’s purpose in bringing Abraham, Job, and Joseph into such difficulties?
74. What must be poured out in total consecration?
75. What must always be held before God as an offering?
76. How is our third death accomplished?
77. Should we allow Christ to make “unreasonable” demands on our life?
78. Is it possible to be one of Christ’s victorious saints and, at the same time, hold back some part of our life from the death that God requires?
79. Is God impressed with our twentieth-century notions of whether He is treating us fairly?
80. What must every saint do and keep on doing?
81. Are we to perform unpleasant tasks without complaining against people or against God?
82. Could it happen that we would be called on to suffer the loss of all things?
83. Does the Gospel of the Kingdom always appear to be “good news”?
84. Who presents our human body a living sacrifice?
85. What happens to God’s will and our will?
86. What takes place when God “smells” that perfume?
87. What happens to us when the Lord receives our offering?
88. What must take place before Christ can be created in us and in those around us?
89. What does the fruit signify?
90. What does the Divine Seed bring forth?
91. What takes place as we are willing to “abide in the Vine”?
92. What produces righteous behavior in us?
93. What takes place when Christ is dwelling in us?
94. Is it the will of God that each Christian bear much fruit?
95. Read Isaiah 27:6. 96. How can it be that the Seed, Christ, is both singular in number and plural in number?
97. What is the purpose of the grace that comes to us?
98. Read Isaiah 61:11. 99. Why do some devout saints bring forth fruit very slowly?
100. What came forth when Abraham and Sarah attempted to bring forth fruit by their own ingenuity?
101. What comes forth when we attempt to bring forth fruit by our own ingenuity?
102. To what extent has God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah?
103. What sometimes happens to saints who are waiting on the Lord?
104. Read Isaiah 54:1,11. 105. Why is the new Jerusalem associated with barrenness, in the fifty-fourth chapter of Isaiah?
106. What does God look for in the believer?
107. Who has been charged with the perfecting of the beauty of the Bride of the Lamb?
108. What does the Spirit give to the believers, in order to perfect the Bride of the Lamb?
109. What is the beauty of the Bride of the Lamb?
110. Read Song of Solomon 5:10; 2:2; 4:7,9.
111. With what is Christ greatly concerned?
112. Read Psalms 45:11. 113. What is being created in the Bride of the Lamb?
114. What must Christ never become to us?
115. What is the sole interest of the Bride?
116. What proceeds from the union of Christ and the saint?
The Altar of Incense
1. Read Exodus 30:1. 2. What separated the Altar of Incense from the Mercy Seat?
3. What were the four ingredients of the holy incense?
4. What were the dimensions of the Altar of Incense?
5. What do the four horns of the Altar of Incense portray?
6. Of what is the Altar of Incense a type?
7. What does the number five symbolize?
8. What was the fifth Levitical feast?
9. What does the Blowing of Trumpets signify?
10. What happens at the fifth stage of the plan of redemption?
11. What mental adjustment do we begin to make as we press forward past Pentecost?
12. Read Revelation 4:11. 13. As we move past the golden Lampstand, what transition do we make?
14. What is the eternal plan of God?
15. What is the desire of the overcomer?
16. Why did the Presence of God leave the earth?
17. Into what place does the saint arrive?
18. What is the formula for earthshaking revival?
19. What will move God to command the seven angels to commence blowing their trumpets?
20. What will take place at the sounding of the seventh angel?
21. What should be taking place in us as the Substance of Christ is being ground uniformly throughout our personality?
22. What is one of the major aspects of the working of God after Pentecost?
23. What will be the end result of such communication?
24. What is the fulfillment of the “two witnesses” of Revelation, Chapter Eleven?
25. What must take place in the Christian Church before Christ can return?
26. What behaviors characterize the churches of Christ in the present hour?
27. When will the Lord return?
28. Who will return with Christ?
27. What do horns typify?
28. As our prayer and praise become stronger, what happens to our testimony?
29. How do we overcome the devil?
30. What is the “incense” that pleases the Father?
31. What “death” does the Veil portray?
32. Read Exodus 26:33; Hebrews 10:19,20; Matthew 27:51.
33. What is impossible to us when we still are being led about by our own will and fleshly nature?
34. What is our task?
35. What do we learn during our “wilderness wanderings”?
36. What is the “sentence of death” that must be in us?
37. What is our necessary preparation for entrance into spiritual battle?
38. Does Satan possess any wisdom, authority, or power, other than that which God assigns to him on specific occasions in order to fulfill God’s own purposes in Christ?
39. When was every particle of Satan’s authority over the Christian stripped from him?
40. What is the Lord God of Heaven demonstrating vividly to the heavens and the earth?
41. For what is Christ waiting patiently?
42. What is true of spiritual warfare?
43. Of what does our actual transition from self-life to Christ-life consist?
44. What part of our personality is sorely tried?
45. What will take place if we are willing to remain under the hand of God during seasons of trial and suffering?
46. What will take place if we return to our own wisdom and desires?
47. What two things must take place in us if we are to enter our inheritance in the Lord?
48. Of what does our inheritance consist?
49. What will Christ receive from the Father?
50. What shall we, if we truly are Christ’s disciples, receive from the Father?
The Ark of the Covenant
1. Read Exodus 25:10.
2. Where was the Ark of the Covenant located?
3. What were the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant?
4. Of what material was the Ark constructed?
5. What items were contained inside the Ark?
6. What was placed by the side of the Ark?
7. What was true of the Ark of the Covenant that was not true of the other furnishings of the Tabernacle?
8. What is the significance of the fact that the poles were left in the rings of the Ark of the Covenant?
9. What is characteristic of the acacia tree?
10. What does wood symbolize in the Scripture?
11. Is God actually making the saint His eternal dwelling place?
12. Are we Christians actually made partakers of the Divine Nature?
13. Read Exodus 25:11. 14. What kind of material is acacia wood?
15. What is the meaning of the gold-covered wood?
16. What is the goal of our life?
17. What does the number six signify?
18. What transforms human character into the Substance and image of Christ?
19. What are human beings being created?
20. What is revealed by the fact that the Mercy Seat and the Ark were placed together as a unit?
21. What does the Ark portray?
22. What is typified by the three elements contained in the Ark of the Covenant?
23. What does Aaron’s rod signify?
24. What brought about the miracle of the rod?
25. What must each of God’s saints come to know?
26. What else must each saint come to know?
27. On what is Christ’ high priesthood based?
28. What always is the source of resurrection?
29. In what condition is God’s power perfected?
30. What are we brought to every day?
31. Where does God create eternal truth?
32. What are prepared in us while we are subject to the problems of this life?
33. Read II Corinthians 4:10,11. 34. Why does God bring us into the death of Christ?
35. What has resulted from the Apostle Paul’s willingness to follow Christ into the fullness of death to self?
36. When shall we be redeemed completely?
37. In view of our coming total redemption, what should we be doing in the present hour?
38. What happens to the Christian who spends his days in fleshly pursuits?
39. What is each saint to do?
40. What is the first responsibility of the Christian discipleship?
41. What does it mean to “wait on the Lord”?
42. What are we not to do?
43. What should we do when we are not sure of God’s will?
44. What will take place if we hold our decisions before the Lord?
45. What other power is equal to the power of the resurrection of Christ our Lord?
46. Read Ephesians 1:19-21. 47. Read Exodus 16:33. 48. What was an important characteristic of the manna?
49. Why did the Lord have Moses place a jar of manna inside the Ark of the Covenant?
50. When will the “manna cease” for the saint?
51. What will have become true of us because of our “wilderness wanderings”?
52. What does Christ associate with the manna of the Old Testament?
53. What is the life of the saint?
54. What is the Communion service?
55. What must the saint learn?
56. The Ten Commandments were placed in the Ark. What do they typify?
57. The Ten Commandments were known as the testimony. What testimony is God concerned about?
58. What testimony must the world see and hear?
59. What will people do when they see the light of Christ in the Christian?
60. What is the miracle of redemption?
The Mercy Seat (Lid of Reconciliation)
1. Read Exodus 25:17. 2. What purpose did the Mercy Seat serve?
3. How were the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim formed?
4. What happens to the Divine Substance that is in us?
5. Can human nature be “hammered into shape”?
6. Can the Divine Nature be “hammered into shape”?
7. What is perfection in the Christian experience?
8. What is the center of interest of each true saint?
9. What was the seventh holy furnishing of the Tabernacle?
10. Read Exodus 25:22; John 14:23. 11. What does John 14:23 teach us?
12. Who make Their abode in us?
13. What is the fullness of redemption?
14. Read John 14:19-21; 17:21-23. 15. Why is there no temple in the new Jerusalem?
16. Read I John 4:16; Revelation 3:12,21; 22:3-5. 17. What is brought into being when God in Christ in the Christian form one piece?
18. What do the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle portray?
19. What does the Altar of Burnt Offering typify?
20. What does the Laver typify?
21. What does the Table of Showbread typify?
22. What does the Lampstand typify?
23. What does the Altar of Incense typify?
24. What does the Ark of the Covenant typify?
25. What does the Mercy Seat typify?
A STUDY GUIDE FOR THE SEVEN FURNISHINGS OF THE TABERNACLE
ANSWERS
Foreword
1. Of what is the Tabernacle of the Congregation the greatest biblical type?
God’s plan of redemption in Christ.
2. Where are the main passages located that describe the Tabernacle of the Congregation?
Exodus, Chapters 25 through 40.
3. Name the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle.
The Altar of Burnt Offering; the Laver; the Table of Showbread; the Lampstand; the Altar of Incense; the Ark of the Covenant; the Mercy Seat.
4. What four eternal realities are portrayed by the Tabernacle of the Congregation?
The Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The growth of the believer from the time he receives the blood atonement by faith until he is in Christ’s image and is in perfect, restful union with God through Christ.
The growth of the Christian Church from unformed gatherings of believers to the perfected Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem.
The establishing of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
5. Which of the four eternal realities is emphasized in The Seven Furnishings of the Tabernacle ?
The second of the four realities—the growth of the believer from the time he receives the blood atonement by faith until he is in Christ’s image and is in perfect, restful union with God through Christ.
Introductory Scripture Page
1. What concept do these four verses have in common?
The dwelling place of God.
Description of the Tabernacle of the Congregation
1. What were the dimensions of the Tabernacle building?
About forty-five feet long by fifteen feet wide by fifteen feet tall.
2. From what was the building constructed?
Gold-covered boards.
3. Of what material was the outside covering of the Tabernacle?
“Badgers’ skins”—probably dolphins’ or porpoises’ skins.
4. On what was the Veil hung?
Four gold-covered wooden posts standing on bases of silver.
5. What were the dimensions of the linen fence?
About one hundred fifty feet long by seventy-five feet across by seven and one-half feet high.
6. On what side of the linen fence was the gate of the Courtyard, when the Mercy Seat was facing east?
The eastern side.
7. What were the dimensions of the curtain that formed the gate?
About thirty feet wide and seven and one-half feet tall—the same height as the rest of the fence.
8. Of what material were the gate to the Courtyard and the door of the Holy Place made?
Blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted (white) linen.
9. On what did the gate hang?
Four pillars.
10. On what did the door hang?
Five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and topped with gold capitals.
11. What two furnishings were outside of the building?
The Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver.
12. What was the purpose of the Altar of Burnt Offering?
Here the lambs, goats, bullocks, rams, and birds were sacrificed.
13. What was on the right of the priest as he stepped into the Holy Place?
The Table of Showbread.
14. What was on the left of the priest?
The Lampstand.
15. What was directly in front of the priest?
The Altar of Incense.
16. What was located in the center of the Most Holy Place?
The Ark of the Covenant.
17. What served as a lid on the Ark of the Covenant?
The solid-gold Mercy Seat.
18. Where was the Ark of the Covenant placed in the line of march?
In the center.
19. What was the Covenant, for which the Ark was named?
The Ten Commandments.
20. Where did the pattern for the Tabernacle come from?
The Lord showed it to Moses.
21. What purpose did the Tabernacle serve?
It was the dwelling place of God in a human neighborhood.
22. Of what was the Tabernacle of the Congregation a reflection?
The Temple of God in Heaven.
23. By what was the Courtyard lighted?
The sun.
24. What four layers of material covered the wooden building?
The linen curtain, the goats’ hair curtain, the rams’ skins dyed red, and the badgers’ skins.
25. Who were the only persons allowed to see the inside of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place?
Those persons set apart for the priestly work associated with the Tabernacle.
26. What does the ripping open of the Veil signify?
Christians, through the atoning blood of Jesus, now have access to the very Presence of the Father in Heaven.
27. By what was the Holy Place lighted at night?
The golden Lampstand.
28. What three items were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant?
The Table of Showbread, the memorial Jar of Manna, and the Altar of Incense.
29. What was hammered into shape from each end of the Mercy Seat?
A golden cherub.
The Seven Holy Furnishings
1. What does the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering typify?
The crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary, brought to our minds continually in the sacrament of Communion; the atonement that Christ has made for our sins; our Passover Lamb.
2. What does the Laver typify?
Our separation from sin and the world by our crucifixion with Christ, established by water baptism; purification from the filth of the world as we keep ourselves holy by confession, repentance, resistance to sin, obedience to God’s will, the atoning blood of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God; the washing away of our sins that comes about by receiving and obeying the Word of God.
3. What does the Table of Showbread typify?
The continual presentation of the living Word of God, Christ, the eating of whom builds up Christ in the believer; the receiving of the body and blood of the Lord in the Communion service; Christ, the Bread from Heaven; the born-again experience.
4. What does the golden Lampstand typify?
The baptism with the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ; the various ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit; anointing for Christian ministry and service; the law of the Spirit of Life; Pentecost; the Body of Christ—the Anointed Deliverer, the Servant of the Lord.
5. What does the Altar of Incense typify?
The life and Person of the Lord Jesus worked into the life and person of the believer by the Holy Spirit so that the believer’s prayers and worship bring the fragrance of His beloved Son before the face of the Father in Heaven; death to self-love and self-will.
6. What does the Ark of the Covenant typify?
The Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the saint of God in whom Christ is being formed, who is overcoming sin in his daily walk, and who is learning perfect obedience to the Father.
7. What does the Mercy Seat typify?
The fullness of the Glory of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit; the image of Christ formed in spirit, soul, and body; authority and power through Christ over all things; the abiding of the Persons of the Godhead in the Christian.
8. What is the basis of our redemption?
The atoning blood of Christ.
9. Where does God always meet a human being?
God meets man only at the cross.
10. By what act do we commence our departure from the filthiness of the world?
Water baptism.
11. How do we wash our robes and keep them white in the blood of Christ?
By continual repentance, confession, and resistance to sin.
12. What does the Table of Showbread bring to us?
The body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
13. What do we receive by eating the flesh of Christ and drinking His blood?
We are born again and live spiritually.
14. When are we born of the water?
We are born of the water when we are born of a woman, born physically.
15. When are we born of the Spirit?
When the Holy Spirit of God receives and renews our spirit, thereby making us alive and lifting our spirit to abide in Christ in heavenly places.
16. When are we born of the Word of God?
When we eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood so He Himself begins to be formed in us.
17. What enables the Christian to be the light of the world?
The Holy Spirit.
18. When was the “Lampstand” of the Christian Church lighted?
When the Holy Spirit fell on the first Christian Pentecost.
19. What does the Altar of Incense typify?
Holy Spirit-empowered prayer.
20. What elements are included in the Spirit-filled prayers of the saints?
Supplication, travail of spirit, intercession, battle against evil forces, petition, praise, adoration, giving of thanks, love, faith, and hope.
21. When does God hear us?
When we give ourselves to Him without reservation.
22. What does the Ark of the Covenant typify?
Our Lord Jesus Christ. It reveals also the character of the overcoming saint.
23. What does wood typify in the Scriptures?
Humanity.
24. What does gold typify in the Scriptures?
Divinity.
25. Who are the victorious saints?
Those persons in the churches who give themselves over wholly to serving the Lord Jesus.
26. What will the victorious saints inherit?
All things.
27. What does the Mercy Seat portray?
The Glory of God.
28. For what purpose is the fullness of the Glory of God given to the saints?
That they may be one in the Father and in the Son.
29. At what point does our redemption commence?
When we accept by faith the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus as the atonement for our sins.
30. At what point is our redemption brought to fullness?
When we have been received completely into the Life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Altar of Burnt Offering
1. Of what material was the Altar of Burnt Offering constructed?
Acacia wood covered with bronze.
2. What do the four horns of the Altar of Burnt Offering signify?
The good news of Christ’s atoning death is to be preached to the ends of the earth. His death and the resulting atonement, working through the power of His resurrection, will push with irresistible power and authority until the Kingdom of God fills the earth and Christ is Lord of all.
3. For what purpose were the horns used in the days of the Tabernacle of the Congregation?
Tying the animals to be sacrificed.
4. What were the dimensions of the Altar of Burnt Offering?
About four and one-half feet high and seven and one-half feet square.
5. What is the meaning of the word altar ?
Slaying for sacrifice.
6. What is the meaning of the term burnt offering ?
Ascending toward God what is acceptable and pleasing to Him.
7. To what must the Body of Christ always point?
Christ on the cross.
8. What is our condition before we receive Christ?
We are in total chaos of spirit, soul, and body, without Christ, without hope, in the bondage of sin and death, and under the authority and power of Satan.
9. Into what condition does the Divine plan of atonement bring us?
The atonement takes us from our personal chaos of spirit, soul, and body, all having been corrupted by sin, and by the grace of God in Christ brings us all the way to the image of Christ in spirit, soul, and body, to our being made the Temple of God, and to authority and power through Christ over all things.
10. Who is the Author and the Finisher (Perfecter) of our faith?
Christ.
11. What was the first thing an Israelite saw when he entered through the gate that led into the Courtyard?
The bronze Altar of Burnt Offering.
12. Where does God always meet people?
At the cross, at the place of the shedding of blood.
13. Why cannot a human being come to God in his own righteousness?
The scales of Divine equity must be balanced. There must be the offering of a substituted life or else God will not accept the person of the worshiper.
14. Where in the Scriptures are the five major types of offerings described?
Leviticus, Chapters One through Seven.
15. How do we overcome the accuser?
By the blood of the Lamb.
16. What is true of us if we are walking in the light of God’s will?
The blood of Christ is cleansing us from all sin.
17. Was Christ only a righteous teacher?
No. Christ was a sacrificial blood offering to God the Father.
18. What paid the price for our sins?
The blood of Jesus.
19. Is the blood of Christ an adequate sacrifice for the sins of every person born on the earth?
The sacrifice is perfect and absolutely adequate for every person.
20. Is there any human being who can come to the Father in his own righteousness, apart from the righteousness of Christ?
Any person who, knowing of the sacrifice of Calvary, attempts to come to God in his or her own righteousness is doomed already.
The Laver
1. What three aspects of the Laver are not described in the Scripture?
The size, the way in which it was to be prepared for carrying, and its base.
2. Where was the Laver located?
Directly in front of the door of the Tabernacle between the Altar of Burnt Offering and the door of the Tabernacle.
3. On what occasion did the priests wash their hands and feet at the Laver?
Whenever they went into the Tabernacle to minister before the Lord.
4. What is emphasized in the description of the Laver?
Its foot, or base.
5. What is one possible explanation why the Laver did not have rings and carrying poles?
It may have been too small to need receptacles and carrying poles.
6. How might the Laver have been carried?
It probably was placed on the purple cloth with the bronze utensils of the Altar of Burnt Offering and carried along with that altar.
7. What does the bronze Laver portray?
The cleansing of the believer from the filth of the world.
8. What does the whole Tabernacle emphasize to the Christian believer?
God expects us while we are in the world to live a life of holiness and dedication to Him.
9. What must be true of every believer?
He must remain as holy, as separated to God, as was the Tabernacle.
10. What must the saint do when it becomes clear to him that the Lord is directing him to make a change in his occupation?
He is to move quickly and diligently into the path that the Lord is pointing out to him or her.
11. What should the convert do after receiving Christ as his Lord and Savior?
He must be baptized in water.
12. What is the convert demonstrating by his or her water baptism?
He is willing for his old unclean nature to be crucified with Christ.
13. What does water baptism signify?
The believer does now, without reservation, finally forsake and renounce the world that he may cleave to Christ with his whole heart.
14. Read Romans 6:4 and Acts 22:16.
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
‘And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ (Acts 22:16)
15. What does the position of the Laver reveal?
Every person who would minister to God must be spiritually clean.
16. Read Exodus 30:19,20.
“for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it.
“When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die. (Exodus 30:19,20)
17. What does holy behavior require?
Constant prayer, constant vigilance, and continuing sensitivity to the rebuke and approval of the Holy Spirit. Every time the Holy Spirit reproves us of a sinful thought, word, or action we must be quick to confess our sin.
18. What does the Holy Spirit render powerless?
Our sinful nature.
19. What does a new Christian receive that he or she never possessed before?
The power to choose to be a servant of righteousness.
20. What helps us keep our behavior clean?
The reading of the Scriptures will help greatly.
21. Where else can we receive help to live a godly life?
Time must be spent in prayer each day, and in addition there must be a continuing attitude of prayer on our part. We need help from the prayers, counsel and ministry of other Christians.
22. What will happen to a dirty Christian if he does not wash himself in the Word?
A dirty Christian will be taken and washed by the Lord if he will not wash himself.
23. What is every Christian called to be?
A priest of the Lord.
24. What does God require of His priests?
That they be holy in deed, word, and thought, and that their hearts and minds be stayed on Him at all times, day and night.
The Table of Showbread
1. Where was the Table of Showbread located?
In the Holy Place—to the right as the priest entered the Tabernacle.
2. From what material was the Table of Showbread constructed?
Acacia wood covered with gold.
3. What were the dimensions of the Table of Showbread?
Three feet long; one and one-half feet broad; two feet three inches high.
4. Read Leviticus 24:5,6.
“And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake.
“You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the LORD. (Leviticus 24:6)
17. What does holy behavior require?
5. How many hot loaves were placed on the Table each day?
Twelve.
6. When was the wine poured out in the Holy Place, next to the Table of Showbread?
When a drink-offering was poured out by the priest on behalf of all Israel, such as on the convocations, new moons, and the morning and evening offering of the daily lamb.
7. What does the showbread and the poured-out wine portray?
The Communion service (the body and blood of the Lord Jesus).
8. With what was the Table of Showbread covered while Israel was on the march?
A scarlet cloth.
9. Read John 6:51.
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)
10. What nourishes our new inner life?
The living bread.
11. What does it mean to eat Christ?
To eat Christ is to partake spiritually of the living Word of God.
12. When does Christ come to us?
Christ comes to us through our Scripture reading; while we are in supplication or worship; in the sacrament of Communion. On other occasions, Christ comes to us as we read Christian literature or as we go about our tasks each day.
13. Who nourishes the life of Christ that is being formed in us?
Christ takes of Himself and feeds His own Life that is being formed in us.
14. What is our responsibility?
We must use our will and judgment to ensure that we keep ourselves in the place where our Beloved can come to us and feed us with the Living Bread from Heaven.
15. On what is mankind absolutely dependent?
The Word—Christ.
16. What is the light of mankind?
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
17. What was the Word of God made?
“The Word was made flesh.”
18. Read John 1:1-4,14.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
19. On what does our life depend?
We must eat the Word (eat the flesh of Jesus and drink His blood).
20. On what does our resurrection from the dead depend?
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
21. How can Christ feed so many saints with His one body and blood?
In the same manner in which he fed the multitude of followers with the loaves and fishes.
22. What were the fleshly body and blood of Christ?
The Word of God in human form.
23. How are we “born again”?
By receiving into ourselves the Word of God.
24. How do we grow?
By drinking the Word.
25. Read I Peter 1:23, 2:2, and Hebrews 5:14.
having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever (I Peter 1:23)
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, (I Peter 2:2)
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14)
26. Toward what is the presentation of the living Word directed?
Specific needs.
27. In what element does Christ move?
The resurrection Life from God.
28. What must be true of a person who is ministering the living Bread?
He or she must be in vital contact with the Lord.
29. When is the only time the Bread of God is available to us?
When the living Lord Jesus Christ comes in the Holy Spirit to meet some need in mankind.
30. What does Christ use in order to perform His ministry?
A member of the Body of Christ.
31. When a saint ministers the Virtue of Christ, what is he bringing to mankind?
The fruit and leaves of the tree of life.
32. Why did many of His disciples go back and walk no more with Him?
The drinking of blood was prohibited by Levitical law.
33. Read Leviticus 17:10,14.
‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. (Leviticus 17:10)
“for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ (Leviticus 17:14)
34. What is the source of the resurrection from the dead?
The body and blood of Christ.
35. How are we Christians made one in Christ in God?
By means of sharing the common body and blood.
36. Read I John 1:1,2.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— (I John 1:1)
the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— (I John 1:2)
37. What keeps the “showbread” fresh?
Constant, immediate contact with Christ.
38. How do we maintain contact with the Lord?
Contact is maintained by faith, obedience, and prayer.
The Lampstand
1. Read Exodus 25:31.
“You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece. (Exodus 25:31)
2. What is the symbolic number of the Lampstand; of Pentecost?
Four.
3. What does the golden Lampstand of the Tabernacle typify?
The ministry of the Holy Spirit in Christ and in the Body of Christ.
4. Where was the Lampstand located?
On the left of the priest as he entered the door of the Tabernacle.
5. How was the Lampstand different from the other holy furnishings?
It was very ornamental.
6. What does the ornamentation of the Lampstand suggest to us?
That the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is attractive, whereas the cross of Christ is a reproach.
7. What did the central shaft and each of the side-branches hold?
A lamp holding pure beaten olive oil and a wick.
8. What was the source of light for the Holy Place?
The golden Lampstand.
9. When were the seven lamps trimmed and filled, and lighted?
They were trimmed and filled at sunrise and lighted at sunset.
10. What is the significance of the fact that the Holy Place was lighted by the Lampstand, not by sunlight?
The understanding, knowledge, and wisdom of the Church are not to come from the natural “light” of the world but from the revelation and manifestation of the Holy Spirit of God. This is true during the “night” of the Church Age. During future ages the light will come from the Presence of God in Christ in the saints. It will be “that which is perfect.”
11. What “brings us into the Holy Place of the Tabernacle”?
Being born again of the Spirit of God.
12. What must always be preeminent when a person approaches the Kingdom of God?
The death and resurrection of Christ.
13. What is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit?
Creating and perfecting the Church, and presenting the Church to the Lord Jesus Christ as His Bride.
14. What term did the Lord use when referring to the Holy Spirit?
“Another Comforter.”
15. What is one of the first works that the Holy Spirit performs in the Church of Christ?
Assigning, directing, and empowering gifts and ministries.
16. What is the second work?
Forming Christ in the saints.
17. Who is the “law of the Spirit of Life”?
The Holy Spirit.
18. What does the “law of the Spirit of Life” enable us to do?
To put to death the deeds of our flesh.
19. Why has each member of the Body of Christ been given a gift of the Spirit?
So he or she may do the work of the Spirit in building the Body of Christ, the Body of the Anointed One.
20. What must the Church of Christ do in the present hour?
Give back to the Holy Spirit the responsibility that is His—that of perfecting and empowering the testimony of Christ in the earth.
21. What is a principal concern of the Holy Spirit?
The holiness of the members of the Body of Christ.
22. What is the significance of the fact that the Lampstand was solid gold, having no wood in it?
The testimony of Christ is Divine in Substance.
23. What does wood typify in the Scriptures?
Human wisdom and energy.
24. What do the wicks of the Lampstand typify?
People—the channels through which the oil of the Holy Spirit flows.
25. Who bears witness of Christ?
The Holy Spirit in us.
6. Read Acts 1:8.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
27. What does the “Lampstand” (“Pentecostal”) experience signify?
A midpoint experience, a turning point in our redemption.
28. How may each aspect of our salvation be considered?
As a level on an ascending spiral.
29. How is the Christian to live, twenty-four hours of each day?
In obedience to the Spirit of God.
30. If an individual desires to press forward to the fullness of his inheritance in the Lord, what must he or she be prepared to be?
Fully obedient to God.
31. What does the Spirit of God testify to our spirit?
There is a land of promise where the spiritual grapes are ripe and abundant.
32. What is the problem involved in pressing forward and possessing our land of promise?
It is inhabited already, and with fierce warriors.
33. What is true of the way of God?
It is supernatural.
34. What will follow as a result of our strict obedience to the Father?
Service to mankind.
35. What is the best way to serve and bless mankind?
To seek God with the whole heart as did Abraham.
36. What Man was the most effective servant of mankind?
Christ.
37. What do we leave behind when we “enter the Holy Place”?
The daylight (direction by the human mind) is left outside.
38. What else do we leave with the world?
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
39. What are the four Gospel accounts, with respect to the Lampstand?
Pictures of the Lampstand in action.
40. What were the three ornaments of the Lampstand and of its six side-branches?
The “bowls,” the “knops” and the “flowers.”
41. Of what is the cup a symbol?
Suffering and death.
42. What did the knops resemble?
An apple, pomegranate, or bulb.
43. What does the knop, or fruit, represent?
Divine Life, Christ—that which yields food to the hungry and seed to the sower.
44. What does the flower represent?
Beauty, the beauty of the image of Christ, the beauty of holiness to the Lord.
45. Of what does the Christian life consist?
A pouring out, fruit, and beauty.
46. To what furnishing of the Tabernacle is the cup related?
The Altar of Incense.
47. To what furnishing is the fruit related?
The Table of Showbread.
48. To what furnishing is the flower related?
The Lampstand itself.
49. Read Luke 22:42.
saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
50. From what does Divine fruit always proceed?
Death.
51. Read John 12:24.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. (John 12:24)
52. What is the first death the saint dies?
Death to the world.
53. What is the second death the saint dies?
Death to sin.
54. What is the third death the saint dies?
Death to self.
55. When the world, sin, and self are poured out of the cup of the Christian, what does God pour back in return?
Christ.
56. What is not possible apart from the three deaths?
The forming of Christ in the personality of the believer.
57. What is the end result of the three deaths?
The Christian comes into the image of Christ; he receives the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion promised to mankind; and he becomes a blessing to the nations of the earth, in that he is able to bring the glorious liberty of the children of God to all who will believe.
58. What do we receive through means of the first death?
Forgiveness of sins.
59. What do we receive through means of the second death?
Freedom from sinful practices.
60. What do we receive through means of the third death?
The fullness of fruitfulness and dominion.
61. What is our first death?
Complete separation from the world.
62. What legal freedom do we possess as a consequence of our first death?
The Law of Moses no longer has dominion over us.
63. What additional legal freedom do we now possess?
We are free from all guilt—absolutely without condemnation.
64. How is our first death accomplished?
The first death is accomplished by our association with Christ on the cross of Calvary.
65. How is our second death accomplished?
By our cooperation with the Holy Spirit as He brings to us the wisdom and strength necessary for total victory over the sins we keep on practicing.
66. Is our second death accomplished instantly?
No.
67. What should we do when the Holy Spirit makes us aware of a sin we are practicing?
We are to confess the sinful practice, receive the cleansing of the atoning blood of Christ. Then, by the Spirit of God, we are to resist such sin in the future.
68. Can we maintain our joy, peace, and poise while the Holy Spirit is dealing with the sins of our behavior?
Yes. As much as possible we are to maintain our joy, peace, and poise while the Spirit is dealing with the sins of our flesh.
69. What does Christ always destroy?
The works of the devil.
70. What does the third death accomplish in us?
The third death brings us to the place where the purposes of God can be established in the heavens and on the earth.
71. Read Romans 7:20.
Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. (Romans 7:20)
72. With what is the question of the “I” concerned?
Stern obedience to the Father.
73. What was God’s purpose in bringing Abraham, Job, and Joseph into such difficulties?
To test their obedience.
74. What must be poured out in total consecration?
The self of the believer.
75. What must always be held before God as an offering?
Our “Isaac”—that which God Himself has given to us.
76. How is our third death accomplished?
By self-denial, as we become willing to make Christ the absolute Lord of our life.
77. Should we allow Christ to make “unreasonable” demands on our life?
Yes. To present our body a living sacrifice is actually a “reasonable” service of worship (Romans 12:1,2).
78. Is it possible to be one of Christ’s victorious saints and at the same time hold back some part of our life from the death that God requires?
No.
79. Is God impressed with our twentieth-century notions of whether He is treating us fairly?
Derisive laughter from Heaven (Psalms 2:4).
80. What must every saint do and keep on doing?
He must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Christ wherever and whenever He may lead.
81. Are we to perform unpleasant tasks without complaining against people or against God?
Yes.
82. Could it happen that we would be called on to suffer the loss of all things?
Yes.
83. Does the Gospel of the Kingdom always appear to be “good news”?
No.
84. Who presents our human body a living sacrifice?
We do.
85. What happens to God’s will and our will?
The will of God is ground into our will, just as the holy incense of the Tabernacle was compounded, until the two wills are indistinguishable.
86. What takes place when God “smells” that perfume?
He is blessed.
87. What happens to us when the Lord receives our offering?
God’s love and blessing pour forth from the throne, and the result is the fullness of fruitfulness, of dominion, and of every other blessing.
88. What must take place before Christ can be created in us and in those around us?
We must be willing to lay down our life before the Lord.
89. What does the fruit signify?
Christ, who is the Fruit of God.
90. What does the Divine Seed bring forth?
The image and likeness of God.
91. What takes place as we are willing to “abide in the Vine”?
The Divine Fruit—Christ—is formed in us.
92. What produces righteous behavior in us?
As Christ is created in us, righteous behavior begins to follow.
93. What takes place when Christ is dwelling in us?
Other people experience a transformation. Christ is formed in them. They are healed and released.
94. Is it the will of God that each Christian bear much fruit?
Yes.
95. Read Isaiah 27:6.
Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit. (Isaiah 27:6)
96. How can it be that the Seed, Christ, is both singular in number and plural in number?
Christ is the only fruit that is acceptable to God, and God has determined that Christ shall be multiplied in and through the members of the Body of Christ.
This is an important understanding. God is not interested primarily in creating righteous people. God is desirous of multiplying His firstborn Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For us to be like Christ apart from being in Christ, of Christ, a part of Christ, results in the False Prophet (Revelation 13:11).
We are being created in the image of Christ for the Father’s purposes and for the Son’s purposes. Our interests and purposes are secondary in importance, and sometimes evil. The purposes of the Father and of the Son can be fulfilled only by the increase of Christ; never by the increase of religious people.
The Seed always is singular because the Seed is Christ and only Christ. The Seed is plural in the sense that Christ is multiplied in the saints. The Christian Church is the fullness of Him who fills all in all—Christ.
97. What is the purpose of the grace that comes to us?
To bring forth the righteous Seed.
98. Read Isaiah 61:11.
For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11)
99. Why do some devout saints bring forth fruit very slowly?
God has in mind to bring forth in them fruit of special quality and quantity.
100. What was produced when Abraham and Sarah attempted to bring forth fruit by their own ingenuity?
An abundance of confusion and conflict—a “wild man.”
101. What is produced when we attempt to bring forth fruit by our own ingenuity?
An abundance of confusion and conflict—a “wild man.”
102. To what extent has God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah?
The gift of God has far exceeded in glory and abundance anything Abraham and Sarah possibly could have imagined.
103. What sometimes happens to saints who are waiting on the Lord?
They are cut off from every opportunity for fruit-bearing.
104. Read Isaiah 54:1,11.
“Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,” says the LORD.
“O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires. (Isaiah 54:1,11)
105. Why is the new Jerusalem associated with barrenness, in the fifty-fourth chapter of Isaiah?
Because God’s most glorious and eternal works are brought forth when every ability and opportunity has been reduced to ashes.
106. What does God look for in the believer?
Perfect faithfulness and obedience.
107. Who has been charged with the perfecting of the beauty of the Bride of the Lamb?
The Holy Spirit.
108. What does the Spirit give to the believers, in order to perfect the Bride of the Lamb?
The gifts of anointing.
109. What is the beauty of the Bride of the Lamb?
The beauty of Christ Himself.
110. Read Song of Solomon 5:10; 2:2; 4:7,9.
THE SHULAMITE My beloved is white and ruddy, chief among ten thousand. (Song of Solomon 5:10)
THE BELOVED Like a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. (Song of Solomon 2:2)
You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you.
You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse; you have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes, with one link of your necklace. (Song of Solomon 4:7,9)
111. With what is Christ greatly concerned?
The beauty of His Bride.
112. Read Psalms 45:11.
So the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him. (Psalms 45:11)
113. What is being created in the Bride of the Lamb?
The image of Christ Himself—His Divine attributes: His holiness, His strength, His majesty, His compassion, His faithfulness.
114. What must Christ never become to us?
A means to an end.
115. What is the sole interest of the Bride?
Christ Himself.
116. What proceeds from the union of Christ and the saint?
The Divine Fruit—children in the image of Christ who will fill the universe with the Glory of God.
The Altar of Incense
1. Read Exodus 30:1.
“You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. (Exodus 30:1)
2. What separated the Altar of Incense from the Mercy Seat?
The Veil.
3. What were the four ingredients of the holy incense?
Stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense.
4. What were the dimensions of the Altar of Incense?
Eighteen inches square, and three feet high.
5. What do the four horns of the Altar of Incense portray?
That the power of the prayer and praise offered by those who have bowed in death before the Lord shall overcome the enemy throughout the whole earth.
6. Of what is the Altar of Incense a type?
The aspect of redemption that follows the Pentecostal expression of speaking in tongues and other manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
7. What does the number five symbolize?
Entrance into the program of God.
8. What was the fifth Levitical feast?
The Blowing of Trumpets.
9. What does the Blowing of Trumpets signify?
The establishing of the rule of God on the earth.
10. What happens at the fifth stage of the plan of redemption?
The Christian matures past the place of being a saved human being waiting to go to Heaven, and is formed into the Servant of the Lord.
11. What mental adjustment do we begin to make as we press forward past Pentecost?
Prior to this, the grace of God toward us is perceived by us as being primarily for our benefit. From the Lampstand forward we understand that we are being prepared for the war of God against the Kingdom of darkness, against the fallen lords of the heavenlies who have set their will against the will of the Father.
12. Read Revelation 4:11.
“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)
13. As we move past the golden Lampstand, what transition do we make?
We pass from self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
14. What is the eternal plan of God?
To rid the creation of evil.
15. What is the desire of the overcomer?
The fullness of victory, the redemption of our body, that we may be able to move ahead with Christ in the conquest of the earth.
16. Why did the Presence of God leave the earth?
Because of man’s disobedience.
17. Into what place does the saint arrive?
He comes into the place of effective communication with God.
18. What is the formula for earth-shaking revival?
A group of obedient, anointed, suffering people calling mightily on God, giving thanks for all things and letting their requests be made known to God.
19. What will move God to command the seven angels to commence blowing their trumpets?
The prayers of the saints mingled with the fragrance of Christ.
20. What will take place at the sounding of the seventh angel?
The kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
21. What should be taking place in us as the Substance of Christ is being ground uniformly throughout our personality?
Our communication with God should become stronger each day.
22. What is one of the major aspects of the working of God after Pentecost?
The Spirit-empowered, holy communication with God that will bring down from Heaven an earthwide revival of the preaching of the Word of God—the Gospel of the Kingdom—with unprecedented authority, power, and glory.
23. What will be the end result of such communication?
The return to earth of our Lord Jesus.
24. What may be the fulfillment of the “two witnesses” of Revelation, Chapter 11?
The end-time revival.
25. What must take place in the Christian Church before Christ can return?
Every valley (depressed person) shall be exalted (brought up to spiritual victory), and every high place (a person who has exalted himself) shall be brought down (to the place where God can commune with his spirit). The crooked places (realms of deception) shall be made straight. The rough places (areas of sin and rebellion in God’s people) shall be smoothed out, and the hearts of the parents reconciled with the children and the children with the parents (family relationships established firmly).
26. What behaviors characterize the churches of Christ in the present hour?
Self-exaltation, deception, sin, rebellion, self-seeking stubbornness, and every other evil work.
27. When will the Lord return?
When our lives have been brought into harmony with God’s Holy Spirit.
28. Who will return with Christ?
His saints.
29. What do horns typify?
The power to overcome resistance.
30. As our prayer and praise become stronger, what happens to our testimony?
Our testimony becomes more effective.
31. How do we overcome the devil?
By the blood of the Lamb (the Altar of Burnt Offering); by the word of our testimony (the Lampstand); and by loving not our lives to the death (the Altar of Incense).
32. What is the “incense” that pleases the Father?
The pouring out of our life in total consecration to His will.
33. What “death” does the Veil portray?
The third death—death to self.
34. Read Exodus 26:33; Hebrews 10:19,20; Matthew 27:51.
“And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. (Exodus 26:33)
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, (Hebrews 10:19,20)
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, (Matthew 27:51)
35. What is impossible to us when we still are being led about by our own will and fleshly nature?
It is impossible to enter successfully into the battles of the Lord.
36. What is our task?
To be patient with God until we find rest in Him.
37. What do we learn during our “wilderness wanderings”?
We learn how to bring ourselves under the discipline of the Holy Spirit.
38. What is the “sentence of death” that must be in us?
That we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.
39. What is our necessary preparation for entrance into spiritual battle?
We must commit our safety and well-being into the hands of God.
40. Does Satan possess any wisdom, authority, or power, other than that which God assigns to him on specific occasions in order to fulfill God’s own purposes in Christ?
No.
41. When was every particle of Satan’s authority over the Christian stripped from him?
When the Lord Jesus died on the cross of Calvary.
42. What is the Lord God of Heaven demonstrating vividly to the heavens and the earth?
The awful consequences of rebellion against the Most High, and also that the Seed, Christ, growing in a human being, will enable him or her to overcome sin and rebellion under the most difficult circumstances.
43. For what is Christ waiting patiently?
For every one of His enemies to become His footstool.
44. What is true of spiritual warfare?
When we enter spiritual combat, if there is any sin on our part, any weakness, any fear, any timidity, any lust, any saving of our life, then we falter and God has to stop and deal with our problems so we will not be destroyed. If we are to see the battle through to glorious victory we must do so by abiding in absolute trust, as the Holy Spirit assumes control and conquers self-love in us.
45. Of what does our actual transition from self-life to Christ-life consist?
A prolonged series of trials.
46. What part of our personality is severely tested?
Our patience and faith.
47. What will take place if we are willing to remain under the hand of God during seasons of trial and suffering?
God’s wisdom and power will be revealed in our life and the complete victory will come in precise timing.
48. What will take place if we return to our own wisdom and desires?
God may draw back for a season and teach us the same lessons in a different situation.
49. What two things must take place in us if we are to enter our inheritance in the Lord?
Self must wither and die, and Christ must be formed in us.
50. Of what does our inheritance consist?
All the promises of God to us.
51. What will Christ receive from the Father?
The nations for His inheritance and the farthest reaches of the earth for His possession.
52. What shall we, if we truly are Christ’s disciples, receive from the Father?
The nations for our inheritance and the farthest reaches of the earth for our possession.
The Ark of the Covenant
1. Read Exodus 25:10.
“And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. (Exodus 25:10)
2. Where was the Ark of the Covenant located?
In the Holy of Holies.
3. What were the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant?
Three feet nine inches wide, two feet three inches long, and two feet three inches high.
4. Of what material was the Ark constructed?
Acacia wood covered inside and outside with refined gold.
5. What items were contained inside the Ark?
The “testimony,” the two tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments, a memorial jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded.
6. What was placed by the side of the Ark?
A copy of the writings of Moses.
7. What was true of the Ark of the Covenant that was not true of the other furnishings of the Tabernacle?
The carrying poles always remained in the receptacles on the sides of the Ark, even when Israel camped and the Tabernacle of the Congregation was set up.
8. What is the significance of the fact that the poles were left in the rings of the Ark of the Covenant?
The saint is always to be pressing on toward the fullness of God’s Glory in Christ.
9. What is characteristic of the acacia tree?
It is thorny.
10. What does wood symbolize in the Scripture?
Humanity.
11. Is God actually making the heart of the saint His eternal throne?
Yes.
12. Are we Christians actually made partakers of the Divine Nature?
Yes.
13. Read Exodus 25:11.
“And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around. (Exodus 25:11)
14. What is characteristic of acacia wood?
It is thorny, hard, and durable.
15. What is the meaning of the gold-covered wood?
Humanity totally covered with Divinity.
16. What is the goal of our life?
To be re-created in the image of Christ, God’s Son, in spirit, soul, and body, in order that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.
17. What does the number six signify?
Mankind.
18. What transforms human character into the Substance and image of Christ?
Continued exposure to the Glory of God in the face of Christ.
19. What are human beings being created?
The resting place of the almighty God.
20. What is revealed by the fact that the Mercy Seat and the Ark were placed together as a unit?
The mutual, interdependent rest of God and the believer.
21. What does the Ark portray?
The completion of the process of redemption.
22. What is typified by the three elements contained in the Ark of the Covenant?
The fully-developed Christian character.
23. What does Aaron’s rod signify?
The Christian has learned to flow with the resurrection life that proceeds from the Father—the Life of the Holy Spirit of God.
24. What brought about the miracle of the rod?
The rebellion of Korah.
25. What must each of God’s saints come to know?
The power of Christ’s resurrection.
26. What else must each saint come to know?
The fellowship of His sufferings.
27. On what is Christ’ high priesthood based?
The power of an indestructible life.
28. What always is the source of resurrection?
Crucifixion.
29. In what condition is God’s power perfected?
Our confusion, our weakness, our helplessness.
30. What are we brought to every day?
The dying of the Lord Jesus.
31. Where does God create eternal truth?
In the deepest parts of the personality.
32. What are fashioned in us while we are subject to the problems of this life?
Death with Christ and resurrection with Christ.
33. Read II Corinthians 4:10,11.
always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (II Corinthians 4:10,11)
34. Why does God bring us into the death of Christ?
So His resurrection life may be revealed in us.
35. What has resulted from the Apostle Paul’s willingness to follow Christ into the fullness of death to self?
The fullness of the Life of Jesus being brought to the nations of the earth for two thousand years.
36. When shall we be redeemed completely?
When resurrection life clothes our mortal body.
37. In view of our coming total redemption, what should we be doing in the present hour?
Sowing to the Spirit of God and not to the lusts of our flesh.
38. What happens to the Christian who spends his days in fleshly pursuits?
He will die spiritually even though he is a Christian.
39. What must each of us do?
We must allow God to place us as He will “before the Ark of the Covenant,” before His Presence.
40. What is the first responsibility of the Christian discipleship?
To wait on God.
41. What does it mean to “wait on the Lord”?
To give time to seeking the Lord each day, seeking Him in single-mindedness of heart.
42. What are we not to do?
To run ahead of God, attempting to build the Kingdom of God by our own wisdom, strength, and desires.
43. What should we do when we are not sure of God’s will?
Place all our alternatives in the Presence of His holiness.
44. What will take place if we hold our decisions before the Lord?
The wisdom He has chosen for us will bloom with His Life.
45. What other power is equal to the power of the resurrection of Christ our Lord?
No other power in Heaven or on the earth—angelic or human.
46. Read Ephesians 1:19-21.
and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (Ephesians 1:21)
47. Read Exodus 16:33.
And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.” (Exodus 16:33)
48. What was an important characteristic of the manna?
It could not be kept from one day to the next.
49. Why did the Lord have Moses place a jar of manna inside the Ark of the Covenant?
To remind the Israelites of their prolonged lesson of dependence on Him.
50. When will the “manna cease” for the saint?
When we see the Lord face to face.
51. What will have become true of us because of our “wilderness wanderings”?
Engraved in our spirit will be the realization of the need for continual reliance on the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
52. What does Christ associate with the manna of the Old Testament?
His own body and blood.
53. What is the life of the saint?
The body and blood of Christ.
54. What is the Communion service?
A practice in the physical world representing the fact that in the spirit realm the Lord Jesus is continually nourishing us and imparting to us His body and blood so that we are becoming one with Him in every aspect of our personality and behavior.
55. What must the saint learn?
To live by Christ as He lives by the Father.
56. The Ten Commandments were placed in the Ark. What do they typify?
The transformed moral character of the saint.
57. The Ten Commandments were known as the testimony. What testimony is God concerned about?
The moral law.
58. What testimony must the world see and hear?
What we ourselves have become—the transformed moral nature.
59. What will people do when they see the light of Christ in the saints?
They will glorify the Father in Heaven.
60. What is the miracle of redemption?
The re-making of the sons of Adam into the image of God.
The Mercy Seat (Lid of Reconciliation)
1. Read Exodus 25:17.
“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. (Exodus 25:17)
2. What purpose did the Mercy Seat serve?
As the place of appeasement and reconciliation, of atonement, of mercy, of pardon, of covering.
3. How were the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim formed?
They were beaten out of one piece of gold.
4. What happens to the Divine Substance that is in us?
The Divine Substance in us must be beaten into shape.
5. Can human nature be “hammered into shape”?
No.
6. Can the Divine Nature be “hammered into shape”?
Yes. We note that the Lord Jesus was perfected in obedience to the Father by the things He suffered.
7. What is perfection in the Christian experience?
The possession of God Himself.
8. What is the center of interest of each true saint?
Christ Himself.
9. What was the seventh holy furnishing of the Tabernacle?
The Mercy Seat.
10. Read Exodus 25:22 and John 14:23.
“And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel. (Exodus 25:22)
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him. (John 14:23)
11. What does John 14:23 teach us?
How the fulfillment of the Mercy Seat is prepared in the life of an individual.
12. Who make Their abode in us?
The Father and the Son.
13. What is the fullness of redemption?
The coming of God and Christ to abide eternally with the completely reconciled saint.
14. Read John 14:19-21 and 17:21-23.
“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.
“At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:19-21)
“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent Me.
“And the glory which you gave Me I have given them [His body], that they may be one just as we are one:
“I in them, and you in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and have loved them as you have loved Me. (John 17:21-23)
15. Why is there no temple in the new Jerusalem?
Because the entire city is the Tabernacle of God. Each member of God’s true Israel will see the Lord face to face.
16. Read I John 4:16; Revelation 3:12,21; 22:3-5.
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (I John 4:16)
“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:12,21)
And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:3-5)
17. What is brought into being when God in Christ in the Christian form one piece?
The place of God’s Presence from which God can dwell and rule earth’s peoples. This is God’s eternal throne.
18. What do the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle portray?
The manner in which we move through the program of redemption.
19. What does the Altar of Burnt Offering typify?
The blood of the cross of Christ, called to remembrance in the sacrament of Communion. It speaks to us also of our own consecration to the Lord Jesus.
20. What does the Laver typify?
The Laver portrays the need for separation from the filth of the world on the part of those who would be priests of God. Our baptism in water represents this aspect of the plan of redemption.
21. What does the Table of Showbread typify?
The continual presentation of the living Word of God, the body and blood of Christ, the eating of which builds Christ in the believer.
22. What does the Lampstand typify?
The wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit who creates the testimony of Christ given through the Church. The Spirit assigns and empowers the gifts of I Corinthians, Chapter 12, and brings forth the moral fruit described in Galatians, Chapter Five. The Spirit enables the Christian to overcome the lusts of the fleshly nature.
23. What does the Altar of Incense typify?
The prayers and worship of the saints—in particular their bowing down in death to self-will and self-seeking. It is the beginning of the assault by the Church on the kingdom of darkness.
24. What does the Ark of the Covenant typify?
The coming of the Lord Jesus with ten thousand of His saints. It speaks to us of the time when we are in the image of Christ, possessing in ourselves the discipline of the Spirit (Aaron’s rod); the body and blood of Christ (memorial jar of manna); and a pure moral character (the Ten Commandments). The Ark of the Covenant is David’s Tabernacle—Zion, of the Book of Psalms.
25. What does the Mercy Seat typify?
The rest of God. Our experience of redemption is climaxed by the coming of the Persons of the Godhead to abide in us forever. We are being brought toward perfect oneness, perfect reconciliation to the Lord God of Heaven.
(“A Study Guide For the Seven Furnishings of the Tabernacle”, 3221-1)