Bob, in post #11, you stated,
the daily service that began at Christ's ascension...
I’m posting these insights because many christians including Adventist do not understand what the daily symbolized. Give special attention to the
Altar of Incense.
Two Altars
There were two altars in the earthly temple because there are two altars in Heaven’s temple. The Altar of Burnt Offering was located near the entrance of the courtyard that surrounded the Tent of Meeting and the Altar of Incense was located in the front room of the tent, or the Holy Place.
There are two altars for atonement because God is concerned with two levels of sin: individual sin and corporate sin. The Altar of Burnt Offering was covered with bronze and the Altar of Incense was covered with gold. This difference in medals indicates there is a difference in processing these two types of sin.
The bronze Altar of Burnt Offering served the needs of individuals, and the golden Altar of Incense served a higher purpose, the needs of the whole community. Both altars had four horns jutting from their four corners. Throughout the Bible, horns symbolize an entity of power. (
Psalm 75:10;
112:9;
Jeremiah 48:25;
Luke 1:69;
Revelation 17:12)
Within the context of these altars, the four horns represent the omnipresent work of the Holy Spirit throughout the four corners of Earth: North, East, South, and West. (
Zechariah 1:18-21;
4:6;
John 16:7-11)
He is everywhere at once!
Sinners are Forgiven
Many Bible writers speak about our sins being forgiven (
Leviticus 5:13;
Romans 4:7), but it is the
sinner who is forgiven, not the sin. This distinction is so important because we need to understand that God has a process to deal with the disposal of sin. The disposal of sin involves a legal concept called
vengeance.
God’s vengeance is a twofold process that will finally culminate at the end of the 1,000 years of Revelation 20. God’s vengeance involves the extraction of restitution from those people unwilling to provide appropriate restitution (judicial equilibrium), and His vengeance also involves destroying everyone who refused the indwelling authority of the Holy Spirit.
Judicial equilibrium is the balance between our behavior toward others and our accountability for the welfare of others. Judicial equilibrium is found in the golden rule:
“As you do unto others, the same shall be done unto you” and
“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged . . . .” (See
Matthew 7:2,
12)
God’s kingdom is not a republic nor a democracy. It is a monarchy.
Sin Is Not Forgiven
Sinners can be freed from the penalty of their sins even though their sins are not forgotten. At first, this statement may appear contradictory. Many Christians believe that Jesus died for us and that somehow all of our sins have been forgiven! But there is much more to the disposal of the toxic waste of sin than is commonly known.
All sinners are under the curse of eternal death unless our guilt is removed. The wages of sin is death. (
Romans 6:23) Sin is the transgression of God’s law. (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28;
1 John 3:4) However, if a person is ignorant of a specific sin, God does not hold the sinner
accountable for that sin until the sinner becomes properly informed. (Leviticus 4;
1 Timothy 1:13;
James 4:17)
When a person commits any sin, he or she violates the whole law. (
James 2:10) Sinful acts cannot be recalled or erased because they are a matter of record. The unrelenting claim o f God’s law is this: “Once a sinner, always a sinner.” This is why God evicted Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. (
Genesis 3:22-24)
The consequences for violating God’s moral law occur whether we are knowledgeable or ignorant of the offense. This is why the Bible says,
“. . . Be sure your sin will find you out.” (
Numbers 32:23) Do not let this discourage you because the Plan of Salvation offers a way out of condemnation.
The Father has provided a perfect substitute to receive the guilt of our sins and through the blood of Jesus, our guilt can be
transferred to the horns of Heaven’s Altar of Burnt Offering! The result is that repentant believers who put their faith in Jesus are no longer under condemnation. (See Romans 5 and 8:1-12.)
Reviewing the Sin Offering
The service at the Altar of Burnt Offering lays a conceptual foundation for other temple services, so keep the following seven points in mind as we progress through this study:
1. The bronze Altar of Burnt Offering served the needs of individuals.
2. The sinner was required to make restitution before presenting a sacrificial offering.
3. The guilt of the sinner was transferred to the lamb by confession and the death of the lamb transferred the guilt to the horns of the altar.
4. The blood on the horns of the altar was as a record of sin. Until the altar was cleansed on the Day of Atonement, the temple was in a state of desecration.
5. Excess blood from the sacrifice was poured into a small basin at the base of the altar. (
Leviticus 4:25)
6. Sin, whether unintentional or intentional, requires atonement.
7. Defiant sin cannot be forgiven (atoned for).
The Altar of Incense
The golden Altar of Incense was physically located in the first room of the earthly temple called the Holy Place. Like the Altar of Burnt Offering, this altar also had four horns, one on each corner of the altar. However, there are several significant differences between these two altars.
For example, it was the
priests’ responsibility to keep the fire on the Altar of Burnt Offering burning around the clock (
Leviticus 6:12,
13), but it is believed the Altar of Incense burned perpetually.
Miraculously,
God Himself ignited and sustained the fire on the golden Altar of Incense and it never went out. (Note: This conclusion is reached by harmonizing the following two points: Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, carried “foreign” or man-made fire into the Holy Place and God struck them dead for it. (
Leviticus 10:1-3) Further, the Bible does not indicate that the priests maintained the fire on this altar as it does for the other altar. These two points suggest the fire on the Altar of Incense was sustained by divine power.)
Evening and morning, the priests burned a special formula of incense on the Altar of Incense. God forbade anyone from duplicating this incense. (
Exodus 30:34-38) In the wilderness, the Israelites could smell the distinctive aroma of this incense, depending upon the wind, at the limits of the camp. (
Exodus 30:7,
8)
Like the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Altar of Incense was named according to its primary purpose which was the continual burning of incense.
Corporate Atonement
The services at the golden Altar of Incense represent a higher level of atonement than those at the bronze altar in the courtyard. These services are a little more difficult to understand at first because they are shadows of a larger process that takes place in Heaven. The Altar of Incense was reserved for
corporate atonement, that is, intercession on behalf of the whole community.
Priests conducted services at the Altar of Incense, evening and morning, every day of the year. God required
continual atonement, night and day. This was done so that Israel could dwell in His continual presence. In other words, atonement for sin was ongoing, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If an individual or a group of individuals sinned,
the continual sacrifice on the Altar of Incense provided atonement for everyone until they could present their necessary sacrifices at the Altar of Burnt Offering. The daily atonement made on the Altar of Incense allowed the Israelites to dwell in God’s continual presence without being destroyed. ( Exodus 25:8)
The object lesson found within this service is stunning. We know that sinners cannot approach God or live in His presence without mediation or atonement. (
Numbers 8:19) But through the sacrifice of Jesus, God extends much grace to us, hoping that we will eventually show up at the Altar of Burnt Offering for the purpose of reconciliation with Him and be saved.
The beauty of grace can be observed here since we are not consumed while wandering about in foolish rebellion!
“For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (
Romans 5:10)
Called the Daily or the Continual
The evening and morning services presented on the Altar of Incense were called “the daily” or “the continual” because they were administered evening and morning – every day of the year – continually. The services included the sacrifice of a perfect one-year-old lamb each evening at twilight and each morning just after sunrise. After the priest killed the “daily” lamb on the Altar of Burnt Offering (in the courtyard), he carried some of its blood to the Altar of Incense and applied it to the horns and sides of the altar.
Then the priest placed a scoop of the special incense (using God’s specifications) on the glowing coals of the altar. Then the fragrant incense flowed freely throughout the tabernacle. In addition to the blood and incense, priests also placed small servings of wheat or barley flour, oil and wine before the Lord as offerings. (
Exodus 29:40,
41;
30:9)
The reality in Heaven which is represented by the
daily services at the golden altar on Earth is very meaningful. Whereas the sin offering on the Altar of Burnt Offering pointed
forward to the death of Jesus as the Lamb of God at Calvary, the service on the Altar of Incense pointed
backwards to the day sin began.
On that day, the Father and Son established a mutual covenant to save the whole world! ( Psalms 2)
Psalm 2
When Adam and Eve sinned, Jesus entered into a covenant with the Father agreeing to die as man’s substitute. ( Psalm 2;
Genesis 3:15;
Romans 5:19;
Matthew 26:28;
John 17:4) When Jesus submitted to the terms and conditions required in the Plan of Salvation, He agreed to overcome the power of sin by living a perfect life and dying the death of a condemned sinner. (
Romans 5:10;
2 Corinthians 5:21)
In fact, from the very day that Adam and Eve sinned, Jesus was called the “Son” of God.
“I will proclaim the decree of the Lord [the Father]
: He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.’ ” (
Psalms 2:7-9, insertion mine.)
The word
son means “one subject to” or “one in submission to someone like himself.” Consequently, Adam is called the “son of God” and so are all believers because we are created in God’s image. (
Luke 3:38;
Matthew 5:9;
1 John 3:1 [KJV]) The covenant between the Father and Jesus to save man stopped the destroying angel who was about to execute Adam and Eve. On the basis of an agreement between the Father and Jesus,
Jesus became man’s intercessor the day sin began and He remains in this position even on this very day. (
Hebrews 7:25)
The law given to Adam in
Genesis 2:17 is clear – any violation would result in a swift penalty. However, Jesus stepped
in the way by offering His life, and every day since that moment, His covenant with the Father has stood between guilty man and the righteous demands of God’s law. This is why Jesus is called man’s Intercessor. (
Hebrews 7:25)
The
daily intercession of Jesus in Heaven’s temple is reflected in the daily ministry of the priests on Earth.
“The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.” (
Hebrews 8:1,
2)
The Father allowed Adam and Eve and their offspring to live because of the daily intercession of Jesus. The corporate benefits of Christ’s atonement for the whole world became effective immediately, the day sin began. The covenant to save man is called the Plan of Salvation and it remains intact to this very day.
The corporate intercession of Jesus on behalf of the whole world will continue until the
beginning of the Great Tribulation.
The Great Tribulation begins when Jesus declares the end of His corporate intercession. (
Revelation 10:6) When this happens, the censer at Heaven’s golden Altar of Incense (
Revelation 8:2-5) will be cast down indicating the services required at that altar are finished. A few days after the censer in Heaven is cast down, the long-delayed wrath of God for the whole world will begin.
God’s wrath will come in two phases, seven first plagues and seven last plagues. Although the corporate intercession of Jesus comes to an end at the
beginning of the Great Tribulation, the door of salvation remains open for individuals because Jesus continues to intercede on behalf of individuals for 1,260 days – until the time of the seventh trumpet.
Altar of Incense Summary
Here are six summary points about the Altar of Incense:
1. The Altar of Incense was dedicated to corporate services for the whole community.
2. The daily services on this altar provided continual or daily around-the-clock atonement.
3. The services conducted on the Altar of Incense point backwards to the covenant that was established between the Father and the Son the day man sinned.
4. The daily intercession of Jesus in Heaven will terminate at a point in the near future and the Great Tribulation will begin.
5. Twice a day, evening and morning, atonement was placed on this altar.
6. The Altar of Incense was cleansed of defilement or reconsecrated on the Day of Atonement.
