Well over a thousand years before Christ, Moses led the Israelites to freedom in what was known as the Exodus. This was after they had been enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years. Then they spent forty years wandering in the wilderness on their way back to the promised land of Canaan, where their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their families had lived. In the meantime Canaan had been re-claimed by other tribes.

 

As the Israelites traveled in the wilderness God provided food for them in the form of “bread from heaven” called Manna.

 

The curious thing about the Manna is that it had to be eaten the day it was collected or it would go rotten overnight. However on the day before the Sabbath the Israelites were told to collect enough for two days so that they could rest on the Sabbath. The extra collected for the Sabbath day would not go rotten. In other words the “bread from heaven” would be preserved on the Sabbath.

 

God required the Israelites to build a giant model of a crucified male lamb (known as a tabernacle) in the wilderness. The cross to which it was nailed with giant nails was kilometers long and made up of the tents (booths) of the population lined up with the North, South, East and West. On the outside the lamb looked fairly mundane dressed in badgers skins, but underneath its fleece, taken from male sheep, and in keeping with crucifixion, was red. The heart of this lamb was called the Holy of Holies and was the holiest place on earth. The precious item kept there was a glittering gold box (known as the ark of the covenant) with a pair of glittering gold angelic beings (known as cherubim) keeping watch over a sacred space above the lid of the ark (known as the mercy seat) from which the glory of God shone forth and the voice of God emanated. All of this signified that the spirit within this crucified lamb was that of almighty God. The lamb symbolized a man – a man who would ultimately be crucified.

 

There were three items associated with the ark of the covenant. The first was the testimony (known as the ten commandments inscribed on stones). The second was a bowl of manna preserved by the presence of God throughout all generations. The third was Aaron’s staff. The testimony was kept inside the ark. The other items were “in front of the testimony”, presumably meaning in front of the ark.

 

This is where the symbols come together.

 

This Holy of Holies went through three stages.

In Stage 1 we find the holy of holies with the ark of the covenant moving around in the wilderness among people who were trying to find their way to the promised land. The climax of this stage is crucifixion of the lamb. At the end of each wilderness journey the symbol of a crucified lamb was set up again. Showing over and over the sequence. This stage of moving around is paralleled by the six days in which manna could be collected.

 

In Stage 2 we find the holy of holies fixed in one location in Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem with the ark of the covenant lying on a clean rock bed and surrounded by solid rock walls, but in the presence of angelic beings. It was illuminated by the glory of God reflecting off glittering gold in every direction. In this stage the ark was at rest so this stage is paralleled by a Sabbath day. In this period the manna was also at rest and no more was collected further implying this Stage was representing a Sabbath day. Logically the bowl of manna (the bread from heaven) would have been put to rest in front of the ark on the rock bed as God had commanded. Logically Aaron’s staff was kept with it. These are identified as holy items recovered from the tabernacle and brought up to Solomon's temple on the day the ark of the covenant was brought into the temple in 1 Kings 8:4.

 

In Stage 3 we find the holy of holies a gloomy place in Herod’s temple in Jerusalem with six metres of solid rock in every direction except for the doorway. Inside there was nothing but the abandoned rock bed covered in the stale blood of a spotless sacrifice, but no ark, not bowl of manna, no staff and no angels. They had gone.

 

What are these symbols trying to tell us about three unique stages in the history of the world where the middle stage was a Sabbath day? Well just to give another clue. Each tribe of Israelites was required to deliver up their ancestral staff for placement in front of the ark in the holy of holies. Overnight Aaron’s staff came to life, sprouted buds, then leaves, then blossoms and finally grew almonds. That was the third sign (the sign of coming back to glorious life) to be kept with the ark of the covenant.

 

Exodus 31:13 says

'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD.’

 

For over a thousand years the Jews faithfully kept the Sabbaths so that they could recognize the one put to rest on the Sabbath exactly as they were shown with Solomon’s temple. Few would have realized the holy of holies cavity with rock walls and rock bed symbolised a tomb.

 

See “Easter 2017” message.

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In the first stage of God’s plan of salvation for humankind Jesus wandered throughout Galilee and Judea among a wilderness of souls, teaching and showing the way to the promised land of the kingdom of God and ended up being nailed to a cross.

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In the second stage of God’s plan of salvation Jesus’ body lay on a rock bed in a rock hewn tomb, his blood at least symbolically staining the rock, but he was not alone. He was in the company of two shining angels – one to preserve him from decay and one to bring him life.

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In the third stage of God’s plan of salvation, the only remnant of his presence in the tomb at least symbolically, was a stain of his blood on the rock bed in a gloomy empty tomb.

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