FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
September 27
THE SANCTUARY DOCTRINE EXPLAINS THE WAY OF SALVATION OF THE GOSPEL (Part 12)
The Ark in the Second Apartment of the Earthly Sanctuary:
“And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ARK OF THE COVENANT [AKA ‘the ark of the testimony’ or ‘the ark of God’s testament] overlaid round about with gold, whereupon the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant [the 2 tables of stone where the Decalogue was written with God’s finger]; and over it the cherubims of glory (order of angels) shadowing [covering] the mercy seat, of which we cannot now speak particularly.” Heb. 9: 3-5, KJV. Compare this to the following:
God commanded Moses: “And they shall make an ARK of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.” Exo. 25: 10. Read up to verse 22.
“Beyond the inner veil was the holy of holies, where centered the SYMBOLIC service of atonement and intercession, and which formed the CONNECTING LINK between heaven and earth. In this apartment was the ARK, a chest of acacia [shittim] wood, overlaid within and without with gold, and having a crown of gold about the top.
It was made as a DEPOSITORY OF THE TABLES OF STONE, upon which God Himself had inscribed the Ten Commandments. Hence it was called the Ark of God’s Testament, or the Ark of the Covenant, since the Ten Commandments were the basis of the covenant made between God and Israel.
“The cover of the sacred chest was called the MERCY SEAT. This was wrought of one solid piece of gold and was surmounted by golden cherubim, one standing on each end. One wing of each angel was stretched forth on high, while the other was folded over the body in token of the reverence and humility.
The position of the cherubim, with their faces turned toward each other, and looking reverently downward toward the ark, represented the reverence with which the heavenly host regard the LAW of God, and their interest in the PLAN OF REDEMPTION.
“Above the mercy seat was the SHEKINAH, the manifestation of the divine presence; and from BETWEEN the cherubim, God made KNOWN His will.
Divine messages were sometimes communicated to the high priest by a VOICE from the cloud [in the Shekinah]. Sometimes a LIGHT fell upon the angel [cherubim] at the right, to signify approval or acceptance, or a SHADOW or CLOUD rested upon the one on the left to reveal disapproval or rejection.”- E. G. White, Patriarchs & Prophets, pp. 348, 349.
(To be continued). Bless all, NMF.