What the Four Threads of the Tabernacle Gate Reveal About Jesus’ Baptism and the Cross
What the Four Threads of the Tabernacle Gate Reveal About Jesus’ Baptism and the Cross
Blue, purple, scarlet, and fine woven linen: how the Old Testament sacrifices were fulfilled once and for all in Jesus Christ
The four threads of the Tabernacle gate point to one salvation — Jesus took on the sins of the world through His baptism by John the Baptist, bore their judgment on the Cross, and rose again.
From the gate of the Tabernacle to the Most Holy Place, in God’s plan of salvation that turns sinners into the righteous, where do you stand today?
The Tabernacle shows the way of salvation that God Himself prepared so that sinners could come to Him, and that way is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who took away all sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
“The TABERNACLE: A Detailed Portrait of Jesus Christ (I)–(III)” was written so that readers may understand the will of God contained in the Tabernacle, receive the remission of their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and enter the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle — that is, enter into God Himself.
From the gate of the Tabernacle to the Cross — the Old Testament sacrifice fulfilled in Jesus’ baptism and blood.
The Tabernacle was not simply a structure the Israelites set up in the wilderness to offer sacrifices to God.
The Tabernacle holds God’s will to save sinners and dwell among them, as well as the work of salvation that Jesus Christ would one day accomplish.
After delivering the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, God commanded them to make a sanctuary so that He could dwell among them. In this command, we find an important question.
How can a person who has sin be with the holy God?
For God to accept sinners and dwell with them, He had to take away their sins — so how did He do it?
God revealed the answer through the structure of the Tabernacle and its sacrificial system. And all of these promises of salvation were fulfilled when Jesus Christ came to this earth, was baptized by John the Baptist, shed His blood on the Cross, and rose again from the dead.
Rev. Paul C. Jong’s sermons and Bible studies on the Tabernacle unfold around this very fact. As the author explains the furnishings and materials of the Tabernacle, the duties of the priests, and the sacrifices, he testifies to the gospel of the water and the Spirit revealed in them.
The Four Threads Woven into the Tabernacle Gate
The court of the Tabernacle was surrounded by hangings of white fine linen, and its gate was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven linen. Inside stood the Tabernacle itself, made up of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.
These four threads were not mere decoration or materials for beauty. They are important symbols that reveal the saving work of Jesus Christ.
The blue thread represents the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist. By being baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, the representative of all mankind, Jesus took all the sins of the world upon His own body.
The purple thread shows that Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the true God. The God who created the whole world came to this earth in human flesh to save sinners.
The scarlet thread represents the fact that Jesus shed His blood on the Cross and bore the judgment for sin. Jesus died on the Cross to pay the price for all the sins of mankind that had been passed onto Him through His baptism.
The fine woven linen represents the righteousness and perfection of the salvation God accomplished. According to His justice and love, God carried out the work of salvation that actually took away all the sins of sinners.
So the four threads used for the gate of the Tabernacle are not speaking of four separate truths. They are woven together to testify to one complete salvation.
In particular, we need to understand the relationship between Jesus’ baptism and the Cross, as shown by the blue and scarlet threads.
Jesus was not crucified with no sin on Him. Though He was the sinless Son of God by nature, all our sins were passed onto Him through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, and so He was judged for those sins on the Cross.
In Matthew 3:15, Jesus said that being baptized by John the Baptist was fitting “to fulfill all righteousness.” And in John 1:29, John the Baptist testified that Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
These two passages are connected. Jesus took all the sins of the world upon Himself through His baptism, and carrying those sins, He was judged on the Cross.
This is the heart of the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the author testifies to through the gate of the Tabernacle.
Just as people had to pass through the gate God had appointed to enter the court of the Tabernacle, we too can come to God today by believing in the salvation Jesus Christ has accomplished.
Volume II expounds Exodus chapters 25–31 and the furnishings of the Tabernacle — free to read online or download.
The Laying On of Hands and the Shedding of Blood
Whoever has sinned must face judgment for that sin before God. But God did not leave sinners to perish. Instead, He provided a sacrificial offering to die in their place.
In Leviticus 1, we see the sacrificial law in which a sinner brought an offering without blemish, laid his hands on its head, and then killed it so that its blood was shed.
The most important part of this was the laying on of hands.
When sinners laid their hands on the head of the offering, it meant passing their sins onto it. The offering received the sinner’s sins and was put to death in his place.
That is why the laying on of hands and the shedding of blood cannot be separated. First the sin had to be passed onto the offering, and then the judgment for that sin was carried out through the offering’s death.
This Old Testament sacrificial system foreshadowed the salvation Jesus Christ would fulfill through His baptism and the Cross.
The baptism Jesus received from John corresponds to the laying on of hands in the Old Testament, and the blood He shed on the Cross shows that the judgment for our sins has been carried out.
Through the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, God taught how sinners could be cleansed of their sins. But sacrifices of animals had to be offered again and again.
Jesus Christ, who was to come, was the true sacrificial offering who would complete these sacrifices once and for all, forever.
By being baptized by John, Jesus accepted all the sins of mankind once and for all. Then He bore the judgment for all sins on the Cross and rose again from the dead.
As a result, the salvation that washes away our sins has been perfectly accomplished.
Here, there is an important truth we must know.
Our sins do not disappear through tears, the amount of our prayers of repentance, good deeds, or religious zeal. Nor can sins already committed be removed by resolving to live a better life from now on.
We are cleansed of our sins only by believing in the salvation Jesus Christ accomplished through His baptism, His blood on the Cross, and His resurrection.
The assurance that our sins have been washed away does not come from making ourselves perfect. It comes from believing that Jesus Christ has completely taken away our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The Mercy Seat and the Day of Atonement
In the Tabernacle, a veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Inside the Most Holy Place stood the Ark of the Testimony and the Mercy Seat.
Inside the Ark were the tablets of the Testimony, the covenant God had given, and on top of it was the Mercy Seat made of pure gold.
The Law exposes human sin. Standing before God’s Law, people discover their sins, but they cannot remove those sins merely by trying to keep the Law.
Romans 3:20 tells us that “by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
God not only gave the Law that makes us realize our sins, but also provided a sacrificial system to remove them.
The fact that the Mercy Seat rested on top of the Ark of the Testimony reminds us of this will of God.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place and offered the sacrifice of atonement for the people of Israel.
Leviticus 16 records the regulations for the sacrifice of the Day of Atonement, which used two goats.
One goat was offered before God as a sin offering, and its blood was shed. On the other, the scapegoat, the High Priest laid his hands to pass the people’s sins onto it, and then sent it away into the wilderness.
This sacrifice carries the meaning of the passing of sin, its judgment, and its removal.
The Bible tells us that the principle of this Day of Atonement sacrifice was completely fulfilled through the saving work of Jesus Christ.
Jesus accepted the sins of all mankind once and for all, bore the judgment for all those sins on the Cross, and rose again from the dead.
Hebrews chapters 9 and 10 testify that Jesus Christ offered His own body and obtained eternal redemption.
In particular, Hebrews 10:18 says, “Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.”
God has completely taken away our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Therefore, those who believe in this salvation do not need to offer new sacrifices for sin over and over again.
Jesus does not have to be crucified again every time we sin.
The salvation the Lord accomplished once and for all remains valid forever.
Those who believe in this truth of salvation are not afraid to come before God because of their sins. By faith, they come to God along the new way of eternal life that Jesus Christ has opened for them.
Volume III, the newest release, gathers sixty sermons on living by the salvation revealed in the Tabernacle.
Wisdom, Service, and Joyful Offerings
Another thing to notice in the Word about the Tabernacle is that God gave wisdom to those who built it.
God called Bezalel and Aholiab and gave them the wisdom, understanding, and skill they needed to build the Tabernacle.
Working with gold, silver, and bronze, cutting precious stones for setting, carving wood, and weaving cloth with colored threads — all of these were acts of service for building the Tabernacle God had designed.
Through this passage, the author explains the Church and the preaching of the gospel today.
In God’s Church, there are those who preach the Word, and there are also those who edit writings, make books, and prepare all kinds of necessary work so that the Word can be preached.
Some help with material offerings, some help through prayer, and others serve with their time and talents so that the gospel can be spread.
All of this work shares the same purpose: to spread to the world the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is God’s salvation.
Therefore, believers have no reason to boast about their own service or to look down on the work of other believers.
For all of us are people who have been cleansed of sin through the salvation Jesus Christ has accomplished for us.
God also led the people of Israel to bring offerings for the Tabernacle with joy.
The materials the people brought were used to build the Tabernacle as God had commanded. When there was enough, Moses commanded them to stop bringing offerings.
Here we can also think about the purpose of the offerings we give to God.
An offering is not a price paid to receive more of God’s love, nor is it a payment to remove our sins.
It is a way for saved believers to take part in God’s will with thankful hearts.
Even today, we can join in the work of producing and translating books that contain the gospel, and in preaching the Word to those who do not yet know the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
When a person hears the gospel and believes that all of his sins were passed onto Jesus Christ through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, and that the judgment for those sins was completely finished on the Cross, that is truly precious.
God’s Church is the place that builds up those who believe in this truth of salvation and helps them listen to the Word, pray, and spread the gospel together.
The Sabbath regulations of the Tabernacle also remind us of the true rest given to those who have been saved.
When people try to remove their sins by their own efforts, they cannot find true rest.
But when we believe that Jesus accepted all our sins through His baptism, was judged on the Cross, and completed our salvation by rising from the dead, we are freed from the fear of judgment for sin and find rest in our hearts.
About the Author, Rev. Paul C. Jong
The author who proclaims this truth of the Tabernacle is Rev. Paul C. Jong.
Rev. Paul C. Jong currently leads The New Life Mission and, together with his coworkers, is preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit throughout the world.
His sermons and Bible studies have one clear purpose.
It is to help people go beyond a vague faith in Jesus, so that they may know and believe from the Word of God how Jesus actually accepted and took away all their sins, and so receive complete salvation.
The author’s sermons and studies have been compiled into Christian books and Bible study series covering many books of the Bible.
In his writings on the Tabernacle, “The TABERNACLE: A Detailed Portrait of Jesus Christ (I)–(III)”, he likewise does not merely explain how it was built or its historical background. He reveals the meaning of salvation shown in the gate of the Tabernacle, the altar of burnt offering, the laver, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, the Ark of the Testimony and the Mercy Seat, the garments of the priests, and the sacrifice of the Day of Atonement, and he testifies to the gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus Christ has fulfilled.
In particular, he emphasizes the truth of salvation: the passing of sin, its judgment, and the complete washing away of sin.
The author’s writings are reaching readers in many countries, and The New Life Mission helps people encounter the gospel of the water and the Spirit through ebooks, audiobooks, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What do the four threads of the Tabernacle gate mean?
Why must Jesus’ baptism and the Cross be understood together?
Where can I read the full TABERNACLE series for free?
Read the Full Series — The TABERNACLE (I)–(III)
Volume I walks through the court of the Tabernacle — its gate, pillars, altar of burnt offering, and laver. Volume II expounds Exodus chapters 25–31, and Volume III, the newest release, offers sixty sermons on living by the salvation revealed in the Tabernacle. 453, 484, and 680 pages — all completely free.
Start with Volume I — Free PDF, EPUB & Audiobook →Discover the Truth of the Gospel — Completely Free
The New Life Mission shares the gospel of the water and the Spirit through free Christian books, eBooks, and audiobooks in many languages, so that anyone in the world can read the truth without cost.
Visit us today at: www.bjnewlife.org
※ However, sharing via links for personal use is allowed.
Comments
Post a Comment