And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.
God commanded Moses on the mountain to make the tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly after the pattern shown to him there. That earthly sanctuary was a divinely given copy, shadow and miniature model of heavenly things, while the sanctuary in heaven is the true sanctuary and great original. It therefore gives sure proof of a sanctuary in heaven where Christ ministers as high priest for sinners, with its two apartments, golden candlestick, altar of incense and ark corresponding to realities seen in heaven. Not even the smallest detail was left to human planning or to be changed, because the work belonged to God and was to represent Him. As the tabernacle had to be perfect in every part after the heavenly, so character must be built exactly according to the divine Pattern, His law revealed in the life of Christ, and all of God's work carried out according to the pattern He reveals and not human invention.
Command on the Mount
Moses was commanded on the mountain to make the tabernacle and all its furnishings and instruments after the pattern shown to him there. That pattern was the true sanctuary in heaven where Christ ministers as high priest before the throne of God, so the sanctuary built by Moses was made as a divinely given copy, figure, example, shadow, and miniature model of heavenly things. God himself devised the plan and gave particular directions for its size and form, its dimensions and materials, and every article of furniture to be in it, leaving neither Moses nor the workmen to plan form and workmanship themselves. There was no freedom to change even the smallest detail — bell, pomegranate, tassel, fringe, curtain, or vessel — and the directions were to be worked out exactly, because the work belonged to God and was to represent Him.
God called Moses into the mount and covered him so he might see God and live, revealing to him the heavenly things as God's ideal. After forty days in direct communion Moses descended with his face shining with glory, ready to give directions for making the sanctuary exactly according to what had been shown him. Moses wrote all the directions in a book and read them to the people, even to the most influential among them. What was lacking in human skill God himself supplied by giving wisdom, ability, and more than natural abilities for the most ingenious work, raising up and signifying by name the persons to do it. He chose Bezaleel of the tribe of Judah as architect, though Moses was proficient in all the learning of the Egyptians and had been taught God's purposes by visions, and though Israel had been held in bondage making bricks and did not understand working in gold and silver and the curious arts required.
The specifications for building the tabernacle, with its rites and ceremonies, came from Christ himself, the invisible Leader and Teacher of more than a million delivered from bondage, who enshrouded in cloud by day and fire by night led the hosts of Israel. The skill, wisdom, and ability used to carry out the work were given by God and were to be used for His glory. When the work was finished Moses examined it against the pattern, found every part in agreement with it, and blessed the people. Israel made and set up the tabernacle exactly after the similitude shown on the mount, part fitting to part with beautiful precision and perfect order, with no confusion and with no word spoken and no order given except by the one in charge, each priest and appointed worker doing only his own assigned part. That exact, orderly erection was an exhibition of perfect order, and the pitching of the camp connected with it schooled the children in habits of precision, carefulness, and order, with children old enough required to learn to pitch tents and to observe perfect order in all they did.
Earthly Copy of Heavenly
Moses was to make the tabernacle and all its furnishings according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain, and that pattern was the true sanctuary in heaven where Christ ministers as high priest before the throne of God. The sanctuary built by Moses was therefore a divinely given copy, figure, example and shadow of heavenly things, while the heavenly sanctuary is the great original. God himself devised the plan and gave particular directions for its size and form, the materials to be used, its dimensions, and every article of furniture to be in it, leaving neither Moses nor the workmen to plan form and workmanship themselves. What was shown on the mount was a miniature model of the heavenly sanctuary, which Moses was commanded to follow exactly, writing all the directions in a book and reading them to the people, including the most influential. God raised up men and qualified them with more than natural abilities for the most ingenious work, so that their artistic skill manifested divine wisdom.
The splendor of the earthly tabernacle reflected to human vision the glories of the heavenly temple, with its gold, lamps, showbread, altar of incense, inwrought curtain and shekinah glory. The matchless splendor was built by men upon whom God placed His Spirit, yet even the most magnificent human structure gives only a faint reflection of the vastness and glory of the heavenly temple where Christ ministers before the throne of God. Its two apartments, the holy and the most holy, were patterns of the two holy places in the heavenly sanctuary, and the ark containing the law of God, the altar of incense, the candlestick and the other instruments of service below have their counterpart above. The earthly sanctuary with its structure, parts and services teaches important truths concerning the heavenly sanctuary and the great work carried forward there for man's redemption and Christ's ministry for humanity.
Solomon's temple with all its services followed that same mount pattern, for the earthly sanctuary was made like the heavenly one and the pattern later presented by the Lord to David governed the holy house and its most holy place. The sacred ark was set beneath the wings of the cherubim, with two larger standing angels added at each end representing the heavenly angels guarding the law of God. The temple was planned and erected for the honor of the name of the Lord God of Israel according to specifications divinely given, with the people enabled through the Lord's blessing to give and prepare the necessary material and with all its services divinely instituted. The design, provision and worship therefore came from God so that glory belonged to the One higher than the highest, yet that honor was diverted from God and given to Solomon, so that the house called by God's name came to be known throughout the nations and even to this day as Solomon's temple. John's visions of the seven lamps of fire, the golden altar of incense, and the ark of the testament confirm the heavenly reality, with the opening of the heavenly most holy place and Christ's closing atonement work there at the end of the twenty-three hundred days in 1844.
Furnishings and Their Meaning
The golden lampstand belonged to the furnishings commanded after the mount pattern, and it was made of pure gold with its seven lamps burning day and night continually. It lighted both apartments because the tabernacle had no windows, and its light reflected from the gold-plated boards, the sacred furniture, and the richly colored curtains. That reflected light made the apartments appear glorious, even rainbow-colored in their glory. The lampstand itself was fashioned from one solid piece of gold, with seven branches adorned with flowers like lilies.
The earthly ark followed the same heavenly pattern and contained the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. It was covered by the mercy seat with cherubim that represented heavenly angels reverently watching over God's law, while God's presence appeared above it in a cloud of glory. The holy place held the golden altar of incense, the candlestick with seven lamps, and the table of showbread, and behind the second veil the most holy place held the ark. These were copies of a real temple in heaven, for the temple in the Holy City has a Holy Place entered through a first veil with the same furnishings and a Holy of Holies entered through a second veil, which John saw in vision.
On the mount was also made known the pattern for the priestly robes, specifying every article the high priest was to wear and how it should be made. The garments were consecrated to a most solemn purpose and had to be whole and without blemish, covering the priest with glory and beauty to strike the people with awe, display the dignity of the office, and fit him for his holy official work. Clothed in them the high priest stood as a representative character for the nation of Israel, showing by his garments the glory that Israel as God's chosen people should reveal to the world. The beautiful official garments represented the character of Jesus Christ the great antitype.
Solomon's most splendid temple sanctuary was likewise made according to the mount pattern shown to Moses, which pattern was afterward presented by the Lord to David and governed the holy house and its most holy place. There the sacred ark was set beneath the wings of the cherubim, with two larger standing angels added at each end of the ark representing the heavenly angels guarding the law of God. The temple, like the tabernacle, was planned and erected for the honor of the name of the Lord God of Israel in accordance with specifications divinely given, with the people enabled through the Lord's blessing to give and prepare the necessary material and with all the temple services divinely instituted. The design, provision, and worship therefore came from God, so the glory belonged to the One higher than the highest, yet that honor was diverted from God and given to Solomon, so that the house which Solomon declared was called by God's name came to be known throughout the nations and even to this day as Solomon's temple.
Heavenly Sanctuary and Christ
Moses was to make the tabernacle and all its furnishings after the pattern shown to him on the mountain, and that pattern was the true sanctuary in heaven, the great original of which the earthly sanctuary was the divinely given copy, figure, example, shadow, and miniature model. This gives indisputable proof of a sanctuary in heaven where Christ ministers as high priest for sinners before the throne of God, confirmed because Paul teaches that the pattern was heavenly and John testifies that he saw it in heaven. The two apartments on earth, the holy and the most holy, represent the two holy places of the heavenly sanctuary, with the golden candlestick and altar of incense corresponding to the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne and the golden altar before the throne seen in the first apartment, and the sacred chest made to contain the law corresponding to the ark of His testament seen within the inner veil in the holy of holies. The heavenly sanctuary has corresponding furnishings — a candlestick with seven lamps, a table of showbread, an altar of incense, and an ark with cherubim — where Jesus ministers beside the ark presenting the saints' prayers to the Father with incense, and the splendor of the earthly tabernacle with its gold, lamps, showbread, incense altar, inwrought curtain, shekinah glory, and artistic skill manifesting divine wisdom reflected to human vision the glories of the heavenly temple, though even the most magnificent human structure gives only a faint reflection of its vastness and glory. The earthly sanctuary, its structure, parts, and services teach important truths concerning the heavenly sanctuary and the great work carried forward there for man's redemption.
The earthly priests' daily service and yearly entrance into the Most Holy Place represented the work of Jesus, who ministers in both apartments and entered by offering His own blood, who continues forever as priest, and whose merits as the coming Saviour Israel's sacrifices and offerings pointed to. The earthly holy places and their furnishings represented the heavenly sanctuary where Christ ministers for sinners as high priest after offering His life as a sacrifice. The law placed in the earthly ark was an exact transcript of the law in heaven, so the heavenly sanctuary confirms the continuing claims of God's law, including the obligation to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, and accepting the truth about Christ's ministry there involves acknowledging that obligation. The gospel sheds light upon the whole Jewish economy and gives significance to the ceremonial law, for all its ceremonies were prophetic and typical of mysteries in the plan of redemption, showing its place in redemption and its relation to Christ's work; the rites and ceremonies came from Christ Himself who led Israel in cloud by day and fire by night, and though no longer to be observed the ceremonial law keeps its true position, value, and glory worthy of its divine Originator, distinct from the law instituted for God's family in heaven and earth which endures as long as the heavens remain.
John's visions of the seven lamps of fire, the golden altar of incense, and the ark of the testament confirm the heavenly reality, with the opening of the heavenly most holy place and Christ's closing atonement work there at the end of the twenty-three hundred days in 1844, and Solomon's temple with all its services followed that same mount pattern, corresponding to the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, where Christ serves as great High Priest. God desires His people to become familiar with the earthly pattern and to keep the heavenly sanctuary and its ministry ever before their minds, where God is all and in all, a truth grasped by prayer and study of the Word, bringing blessed unity to those who are indeed God's children and keeping them from leading any to doubt the distinct personality of God or the sanctuary and its ministry.
Pattern for Character Building
The mount with God in secret communion is where His glorious ideal for humanity is contemplated, and character building is fashioned after that pattern so that His promise is fulfilled to dwell in them and walk in them and be their God and they His people. Moses beheld there the pattern of the wonderful building that was to be the abiding place of God's glory, and the same communion enables beholding what God intends men to become. That communion also teaches that God gradually unfolds truth to those who seek enlightenment, leading from partial understanding toward fuller light.
As the earthly tabernacle had to represent the heavenly and be perfect in all its parts and in every smallest detail, so the characters of those finally accepted in the sight of heaven must seek to do the Lord's will in every particular and bear the impress of heaven in work and character. Character must be built exactly according to the divine Pattern shown in the mount, as Moses had to erect the wilderness sanctuary according to what was shown, and after the foundation is firmly laid wisdom is needed to know how to build. The pattern God has given for building character is His law, the great standard of righteousness because it represents the character of God and tests loyalty to His government, revealed in all its beauty and excellence in the life of Christ. As that pattern the law detects sin and condemns it and sends the sinner to Christ for pardon and cleansing, and it is holy and just and good.
The pattern also represents God's ideal of character proclaimed when He passed before Moses, which Israel could not attain by their own power, while the tabernacle's sacrificial service taught pardon for sin and power through the Saviour to obey and receive life. Christ came to reveal the perfect character that God accepts, and through His grace every provision has been made for receiving His virtues and the merits of His life and for the perfecting of Christlike character, with God honored when His people reveal heaven's principles and with eternal life woven into daily work preparing men and women to be accepted at last as members of the heavenly court. The people of God in these last days have a divine Pattern after which they must be fashioned and cannot be safe in trusting in men and making flesh their arm, taken out of the world as rough stones to be hewed and squared and polished for the heavenly building. They must be hewed by the prophets with reproof, warning, admonition, advice and counsel so they are fashioned after the divine Pattern, and this is the specified work of the Comforter to transform heart and character so that men keep the way of the Lord.
Those who build human character according to that mount Pattern receive God's seal, for safety is found only in following Jesus and drinking from the fountain of wisdom which is pure and undefiled, in contrast to human glory which will certainly be stained and human wisdom which is foolishness. Churches and institutions are not to be conducted by human ideas and plans but by the directions and principles God has given in His Word, and the characters of God's people are to be formed after the divine similitude according to the example left in the life of Christ. This requires close study of the directions Christ gave through Moses and comparison of Christ's teachings in the New Testament with His instructions in the Old Testament on the two great principles of supreme love to God and unselfish love for neighbor, upon which hang all the law and the prophets.
Pattern for God's Work
All of God's work, including the building of His temple and church, is to be carried out according to the divine pattern He reveals and not according to human invention, local custom, preferred methods, or the counsel of those not guided by the Spirit. Neglect of that pattern leaves lack of faithfulness, dishonors God, betrays the gospel, and leads to error. Those responsible are to seek divine wisdom, presence, direction, and the ways and will of God in His Word, and to follow the pattern as Moses did.
The exactness, skill, tact, wisdom, and perfection required in building the tabernacle are required in everything done in God's service, including mechanical work and business transactions. Workers are to train their minds for the highest service and desire mental strength to do all according to the pattern, for God requires perfection in every line of work connected with His service. The pattern given in the mount was perfect, and whatever is done for Him is to be perfect, which does not mean buildings must be embellished. When His Word is studied and His ways and will are sought, the work moves after the Lord's order according to the pattern, and though it moves slowly and cannot be hurried, what is once done right will never have to be taken to pieces and made over.
Those managing God's institutions and work should follow the heavenly pattern and its dignity, bring the best ability and talent into it, and not impose defective human plans or cheapen the work. Work done in God's service is sacred because it belongs to God and is to represent Him, so those entrusted with it are to accept counsel and restrictions and serve faithfully as workers together with God. The church as a temple is to be built according to the heavenly pattern with God as Architect, and finite people are not given authority to replace His plan with their own. Missionaries are to follow the divine pattern and Christ's example, obeying God's direction and presenting truth simply rather than relying on English or local customs and practices, and the work requires the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.
All Christian work after the heavenly pattern — even agricultural or mechanical labor, school work, and all social and business dealings — is to reveal heaven's principles and the Spirit's leading. God demands uprightness in the smallest as well as the largest matters, carrying out His will in every particular and putting heaven's impress upon earthly labors. Through the grace of Christ every provision has been made for the perfecting of Christlike character, and God is honored when His people reveal heaven's principles; keeping eternal life woven into daily work prepares men and women to be accepted at last as members of the heavenly court. Essential lines of work should be arranged with order, system, and wise planning and carried out with exactitude, thoroughness, neatness, and tact. In building, following the mount pattern means using sound materials and careful, skilled workmanship so each part fits well and the whole can withstand testing.
Each church member must receive a message from God and do his own appointed work exactly as directed in living cooperation with God. His eternal welfare depends on faithfully discharging every duty large and small, using every advantage God provides, conscientiously striving for Christ's righteousness of character, and learning heavenly things continually from the great Teacher. He works not for a hard taskmaster who requires reaping where He has not strawed but for One who devises liberal things. God gave on the mount a complete education for building the tabernacle covering method, organization, discipline, and tact, making it a lesson book for schools and the higher education from Christ the invisible Leader and Teacher of more than a million delivered from bondage.
That education calls for practical service and pure, clean, holy obedience with a part for everyone including children and no idlers, order and unity in marching and following where educators lead, step-by-step teaching through responsible men, children taught while singing the commandments as they journeyed, and full confidence without criticism in methods preserved in writing by Moses through forty years demanding brain, bone, and muscle, to be added to and developed more perfectly afterward. God gave a definite pattern for true medical missionary work to benefit humanity requiring all things accordingly: physicians have their own sufficient appointed work to link closely with gospel missionaries, do it faithfully, and symbolize the gospel ministry, rather than taking so many varied responsibilities, interests, enterprises, and large plans that they cannot follow the pattern and bring weakness instead of strength. That medical pattern does not include going into the worst dens of iniquity in large cities, robbing the sanitarium of needed brains and heart, bearing the whole burden for a hardened class that will neither be benefited nor benefit others, or depending on means intended for the third angel's message, for God does not require impossibilities; those burdened for the most degraded must gather separate means from the world. Whatever institution is established and whatever work is done should be a fitting representation of the most elevated, ennobling principles ever given to man.
God commanded Moses on the mountain to make the tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly after the pattern shown to him there. That earthly sanctuary was a divinely given copy, shadow and miniature model of heavenly things, while the sanctuary in heaven is the true sanctuary and great original. It therefore gives sure proof of a sanctuary in heaven where Christ ministers as high priest for sinners, with its two apartments, golden candlestick, altar of incense and ark corresponding to realities seen in heaven. Not even the smallest detail was left to human planning or to be changed, because the work belonged to God and was to represent Him. As the tabernacle had to be perfect in every part after the heavenly, so character must be built exactly according to the divine Pattern, His law revealed in the life of Christ, and all of God's work carried out according to the pattern He reveals and not human invention.
Command on the Mount
Moses was commanded on the mountain to make the tabernacle and all its furnishings and instruments after the pattern shown to him there. That pattern was the true sanctuary in heaven where Christ ministers as high priest before the throne of God, so the sanctuary built by Moses was made as a divinely given copy, figure, example, shadow, and miniature model of heavenly things. God himself devised the plan and gave particular directions for its size and form, its dimensions and materials, and every article of furniture to be in it, leaving neither Moses nor the workmen to plan form and workmanship themselves. There was no freedom to change even the smallest detail — bell, pomegranate, tassel, fringe, curtain, or vessel — and the directions were to be worked out exactly, because the work belonged to God and was to represent Him.
God called Moses into the mount and covered him so he might see God and live, revealing to him the heavenly things as God's ideal. After forty days in direct communion Moses descended with his face shining with glory, ready to give directions for making the sanctuary exactly according to what had been shown him. Moses wrote all the directions in a book and read them to the people, even to the most influential among them. What was lacking in human skill God himself supplied by giving wisdom, ability, and more than natural abilities for the most ingenious work, raising up and signifying by name the persons to do it. He chose Bezaleel of the tribe of Judah as architect, though Moses was proficient in all the learning of the Egyptians and had been taught God's purposes by visions, and though Israel had been held in bondage making bricks and did not understand working in gold and silver and the curious arts required.
The specifications for building the tabernacle, with its rites and ceremonies, came from Christ himself, the invisible Leader and Teacher of more than a million delivered from bondage, who enshrouded in cloud by day and fire by night led the hosts of Israel. The skill, wisdom, and ability used to carry out the work were given by God and were to be used for His glory. When the work was finished Moses examined it against the pattern, found every part in agreement with it, and blessed the people. Israel made and set up the tabernacle exactly after the similitude shown on the mount, part fitting to part with beautiful precision and perfect order, with no confusion and with no word spoken and no order given except by the one in charge, each priest and appointed worker doing only his own assigned part. That exact, orderly erection was an exhibition of perfect order, and the pitching of the camp connected with it schooled the children in habits of precision, carefulness, and order, with children old enough required to learn to pitch tents and to observe perfect order in all they did.
Earthly Copy of Heavenly
Moses was to make the tabernacle and all its furnishings according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain, and that pattern was the true sanctuary in heaven where Christ ministers as high priest before the throne of God. The sanctuary built by Moses was therefore a divinely given copy, figure, example and shadow of heavenly things, while the heavenly sanctuary is the great original. God himself devised the plan and gave particular directions for its size and form, the materials to be used, its dimensions, and every article of furniture to be in it, leaving neither Moses nor the workmen to plan form and workmanship themselves. What was shown on the mount was a miniature model of the heavenly sanctuary, which Moses was commanded to follow exactly, writing all the directions in a book and reading them to the people, including the most influential. God raised up men and qualified them with more than natural abilities for the most ingenious work, so that their artistic skill manifested divine wisdom.
The splendor of the earthly tabernacle reflected to human vision the glories of the heavenly temple, with its gold, lamps, showbread, altar of incense, inwrought curtain and shekinah glory. The matchless splendor was built by men upon whom God placed His Spirit, yet even the most magnificent human structure gives only a faint reflection of the vastness and glory of the heavenly temple where Christ ministers before the throne of God. Its two apartments, the holy and the most holy, were patterns of the two holy places in the heavenly sanctuary, and the ark containing the law of God, the altar of incense, the candlestick and the other instruments of service below have their counterpart above. The earthly sanctuary with its structure, parts and services teaches important truths concerning the heavenly sanctuary and the great work carried forward there for man's redemption and Christ's ministry for humanity.
Solomon's temple with all its services followed that same mount pattern, for the earthly sanctuary was made like the heavenly one and the pattern later presented by the Lord to David governed the holy house and its most holy place. The sacred ark was set beneath the wings of the cherubim, with two larger standing angels added at each end representing the heavenly angels guarding the law of God. The temple was planned and erected for the honor of the name of the Lord God of Israel according to specifications divinely given, with the people enabled through the Lord's blessing to give and prepare the necessary material and with all its services divinely instituted. The design, provision and worship therefore came from God so that glory belonged to the One higher than the highest, yet that honor was diverted from God and given to Solomon, so that the house called by God's name came to be known throughout the nations and even to this day as Solomon's temple. John's visions of the seven lamps of fire, the golden altar of incense, and the ark of the testament confirm the heavenly reality, with the opening of the heavenly most holy place and Christ's closing atonement work there at the end of the twenty-three hundred days in 1844.
Furnishings and Their Meaning
The golden lampstand belonged to the furnishings commanded after the mount pattern, and it was made of pure gold with its seven lamps burning day and night continually. It lighted both apartments because the tabernacle had no windows, and its light reflected from the gold-plated boards, the sacred furniture, and the richly colored curtains. That reflected light made the apartments appear glorious, even rainbow-colored in their glory. The lampstand itself was fashioned from one solid piece of gold, with seven branches adorned with flowers like lilies.
The earthly ark followed the same heavenly pattern and contained the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. It was covered by the mercy seat with cherubim that represented heavenly angels reverently watching over God's law, while God's presence appeared above it in a cloud of glory. The holy place held the golden altar of incense, the candlestick with seven lamps, and the table of showbread, and behind the second veil the most holy place held the ark. These were copies of a real temple in heaven, for the temple in the Holy City has a Holy Place entered through a first veil with the same furnishings and a Holy of Holies entered through a second veil, which John saw in vision.
On the mount was also made known the pattern for the priestly robes, specifying every article the high priest was to wear and how it should be made. The garments were consecrated to a most solemn purpose and had to be whole and without blemish, covering the priest with glory and beauty to strike the people with awe, display the dignity of the office, and fit him for his holy official work. Clothed in them the high priest stood as a representative character for the nation of Israel, showing by his garments the glory that Israel as God's chosen people should reveal to the world. The beautiful official garments represented the character of Jesus Christ the great antitype.
Solomon's most splendid temple sanctuary was likewise made according to the mount pattern shown to Moses, which pattern was afterward presented by the Lord to David and governed the holy house and its most holy place. There the sacred ark was set beneath the wings of the cherubim, with two larger standing angels added at each end of the ark representing the heavenly angels guarding the law of God. The temple, like the tabernacle, was planned and erected for the honor of the name of the Lord God of Israel in accordance with specifications divinely given, with the people enabled through the Lord's blessing to give and prepare the necessary material and with all the temple services divinely instituted. The design, provision, and worship therefore came from God, so the glory belonged to the One higher than the highest, yet that honor was diverted from God and given to Solomon, so that the house which Solomon declared was called by God's name came to be known throughout the nations and even to this day as Solomon's temple.
Heavenly Sanctuary and Christ
Moses was to make the tabernacle and all its furnishings after the pattern shown to him on the mountain, and that pattern was the true sanctuary in heaven, the great original of which the earthly sanctuary was the divinely given copy, figure, example, shadow, and miniature model. This gives indisputable proof of a sanctuary in heaven where Christ ministers as high priest for sinners before the throne of God, confirmed because Paul teaches that the pattern was heavenly and John testifies that he saw it in heaven. The two apartments on earth, the holy and the most holy, represent the two holy places of the heavenly sanctuary, with the golden candlestick and altar of incense corresponding to the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne and the golden altar before the throne seen in the first apartment, and the sacred chest made to contain the law corresponding to the ark of His testament seen within the inner veil in the holy of holies. The heavenly sanctuary has corresponding furnishings — a candlestick with seven lamps, a table of showbread, an altar of incense, and an ark with cherubim — where Jesus ministers beside the ark presenting the saints' prayers to the Father with incense, and the splendor of the earthly tabernacle with its gold, lamps, showbread, incense altar, inwrought curtain, shekinah glory, and artistic skill manifesting divine wisdom reflected to human vision the glories of the heavenly temple, though even the most magnificent human structure gives only a faint reflection of its vastness and glory. The earthly sanctuary, its structure, parts, and services teach important truths concerning the heavenly sanctuary and the great work carried forward there for man's redemption.
The earthly priests' daily service and yearly entrance into the Most Holy Place represented the work of Jesus, who ministers in both apartments and entered by offering His own blood, who continues forever as priest, and whose merits as the coming Saviour Israel's sacrifices and offerings pointed to. The earthly holy places and their furnishings represented the heavenly sanctuary where Christ ministers for sinners as high priest after offering His life as a sacrifice. The law placed in the earthly ark was an exact transcript of the law in heaven, so the heavenly sanctuary confirms the continuing claims of God's law, including the obligation to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, and accepting the truth about Christ's ministry there involves acknowledging that obligation. The gospel sheds light upon the whole Jewish economy and gives significance to the ceremonial law, for all its ceremonies were prophetic and typical of mysteries in the plan of redemption, showing its place in redemption and its relation to Christ's work; the rites and ceremonies came from Christ Himself who led Israel in cloud by day and fire by night, and though no longer to be observed the ceremonial law keeps its true position, value, and glory worthy of its divine Originator, distinct from the law instituted for God's family in heaven and earth which endures as long as the heavens remain.
John's visions of the seven lamps of fire, the golden altar of incense, and the ark of the testament confirm the heavenly reality, with the opening of the heavenly most holy place and Christ's closing atonement work there at the end of the twenty-three hundred days in 1844, and Solomon's temple with all its services followed that same mount pattern, corresponding to the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, where Christ serves as great High Priest. God desires His people to become familiar with the earthly pattern and to keep the heavenly sanctuary and its ministry ever before their minds, where God is all and in all, a truth grasped by prayer and study of the Word, bringing blessed unity to those who are indeed God's children and keeping them from leading any to doubt the distinct personality of God or the sanctuary and its ministry.
Pattern for Character Building
The mount with God in secret communion is where His glorious ideal for humanity is contemplated, and character building is fashioned after that pattern so that His promise is fulfilled to dwell in them and walk in them and be their God and they His people. Moses beheld there the pattern of the wonderful building that was to be the abiding place of God's glory, and the same communion enables beholding what God intends men to become. That communion also teaches that God gradually unfolds truth to those who seek enlightenment, leading from partial understanding toward fuller light.
As the earthly tabernacle had to represent the heavenly and be perfect in all its parts and in every smallest detail, so the characters of those finally accepted in the sight of heaven must seek to do the Lord's will in every particular and bear the impress of heaven in work and character. Character must be built exactly according to the divine Pattern shown in the mount, as Moses had to erect the wilderness sanctuary according to what was shown, and after the foundation is firmly laid wisdom is needed to know how to build. The pattern God has given for building character is His law, the great standard of righteousness because it represents the character of God and tests loyalty to His government, revealed in all its beauty and excellence in the life of Christ. As that pattern the law detects sin and condemns it and sends the sinner to Christ for pardon and cleansing, and it is holy and just and good.
The pattern also represents God's ideal of character proclaimed when He passed before Moses, which Israel could not attain by their own power, while the tabernacle's sacrificial service taught pardon for sin and power through the Saviour to obey and receive life. Christ came to reveal the perfect character that God accepts, and through His grace every provision has been made for receiving His virtues and the merits of His life and for the perfecting of Christlike character, with God honored when His people reveal heaven's principles and with eternal life woven into daily work preparing men and women to be accepted at last as members of the heavenly court. The people of God in these last days have a divine Pattern after which they must be fashioned and cannot be safe in trusting in men and making flesh their arm, taken out of the world as rough stones to be hewed and squared and polished for the heavenly building. They must be hewed by the prophets with reproof, warning, admonition, advice and counsel so they are fashioned after the divine Pattern, and this is the specified work of the Comforter to transform heart and character so that men keep the way of the Lord.
Those who build human character according to that mount Pattern receive God's seal, for safety is found only in following Jesus and drinking from the fountain of wisdom which is pure and undefiled, in contrast to human glory which will certainly be stained and human wisdom which is foolishness. Churches and institutions are not to be conducted by human ideas and plans but by the directions and principles God has given in His Word, and the characters of God's people are to be formed after the divine similitude according to the example left in the life of Christ. This requires close study of the directions Christ gave through Moses and comparison of Christ's teachings in the New Testament with His instructions in the Old Testament on the two great principles of supreme love to God and unselfish love for neighbor, upon which hang all the law and the prophets.
Pattern for God's Work
All of God's work, including the building of His temple and church, is to be carried out according to the divine pattern He reveals and not according to human invention, local custom, preferred methods, or the counsel of those not guided by the Spirit. Neglect of that pattern leaves lack of faithfulness, dishonors God, betrays the gospel, and leads to error. Those responsible are to seek divine wisdom, presence, direction, and the ways and will of God in His Word, and to follow the pattern as Moses did.
The exactness, skill, tact, wisdom, and perfection required in building the tabernacle are required in everything done in God's service, including mechanical work and business transactions. Workers are to train their minds for the highest service and desire mental strength to do all according to the pattern, for God requires perfection in every line of work connected with His service. The pattern given in the mount was perfect, and whatever is done for Him is to be perfect, which does not mean buildings must be embellished. When His Word is studied and His ways and will are sought, the work moves after the Lord's order according to the pattern, and though it moves slowly and cannot be hurried, what is once done right will never have to be taken to pieces and made over.
Those managing God's institutions and work should follow the heavenly pattern and its dignity, bring the best ability and talent into it, and not impose defective human plans or cheapen the work. Work done in God's service is sacred because it belongs to God and is to represent Him, so those entrusted with it are to accept counsel and restrictions and serve faithfully as workers together with God. The church as a temple is to be built according to the heavenly pattern with God as Architect, and finite people are not given authority to replace His plan with their own. Missionaries are to follow the divine pattern and Christ's example, obeying God's direction and presenting truth simply rather than relying on English or local customs and practices, and the work requires the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.
All Christian work after the heavenly pattern — even agricultural or mechanical labor, school work, and all social and business dealings — is to reveal heaven's principles and the Spirit's leading. God demands uprightness in the smallest as well as the largest matters, carrying out His will in every particular and putting heaven's impress upon earthly labors. Through the grace of Christ every provision has been made for the perfecting of Christlike character, and God is honored when His people reveal heaven's principles; keeping eternal life woven into daily work prepares men and women to be accepted at last as members of the heavenly court. Essential lines of work should be arranged with order, system, and wise planning and carried out with exactitude, thoroughness, neatness, and tact. In building, following the mount pattern means using sound materials and careful, skilled workmanship so each part fits well and the whole can withstand testing.
Each church member must receive a message from God and do his own appointed work exactly as directed in living cooperation with God. His eternal welfare depends on faithfully discharging every duty large and small, using every advantage God provides, conscientiously striving for Christ's righteousness of character, and learning heavenly things continually from the great Teacher. He works not for a hard taskmaster who requires reaping where He has not strawed but for One who devises liberal things. God gave on the mount a complete education for building the tabernacle covering method, organization, discipline, and tact, making it a lesson book for schools and the higher education from Christ the invisible Leader and Teacher of more than a million delivered from bondage.
That education calls for practical service and pure, clean, holy obedience with a part for everyone including children and no idlers, order and unity in marching and following where educators lead, step-by-step teaching through responsible men, children taught while singing the commandments as they journeyed, and full confidence without criticism in methods preserved in writing by Moses through forty years demanding brain, bone, and muscle, to be added to and developed more perfectly afterward. God gave a definite pattern for true medical missionary work to benefit humanity requiring all things accordingly: physicians have their own sufficient appointed work to link closely with gospel missionaries, do it faithfully, and symbolize the gospel ministry, rather than taking so many varied responsibilities, interests, enterprises, and large plans that they cannot follow the pattern and bring weakness instead of strength. That medical pattern does not include going into the worst dens of iniquity in large cities, robbing the sanitarium of needed brains and heart, bearing the whole burden for a hardened class that will neither be benefited nor benefit others, or depending on means intended for the third angel's message, for God does not require impossibilities; those burdened for the most degraded must gather separate means from the world. Whatever institution is established and whatever work is done should be a fitting representation of the most elevated, ennobling principles ever given to man.