The Tabernacle, “Now and Then”

The Courtyard of the Tabernacle represents a condition which is not yet complete or perfected at the present time.

Presently it only represents the condition of those approaching God, that is to say,

“Whoever is coming near to God by believing in the work of Jesus, and who trusts in the precious sacrifice, these are in a tentatively justified position, but (reckoned as actually) justified only after they have made a full consecration to the Lord. They are justified to the privilege of approaching, but they are not privileged to be Priests, (they cannot enter the Tabernacle), nor can they come into God’s full favor without going on still further. Suppose anyone went as far as the Laver and then began to reason that he was advancing too rapidly, and then stands still arguing that he must stop this rapid progress by taking matters slowly and wishing to remain here for some time before going on to the Priesthood, that one never has his Justification completed. His Justification is never fully completed because he never takes the final step by which that Justification is vitalized. That is the step of FULL CONSECRATION. After wandering around in this way for a length of time without any sign of going on in the way, some grow cold and get out of the way, and perhaps out of the Court altogether. That represents the use of the Court at the present time.” (Q310)

These having realized the true purpose of this Gospel age, who reframed from taking this final step, fully committing themselves to the Lord have in essence “received the grace of God (tentative justification) in vain”. 2 Cor 6:1

“God’s grace as freely bestowed upon those who have come to a knowledge of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus our Lord is the grace of forgiveness of sins, of justification through faith; and the very object of this grace is to permit or qualify us to become living sacrifices acceptable to God’s altar through the great sacrifice of our Redeemer.” (Rom 12:1) If this offer is declined it implies that the individual is lacking in the “spirit of a sound mind” that they consider the present advantages, which are but fleeting of far greater worth than the “pearl of great prize”, glory, honor, immortality, joint heirship with their Lord in the kingdom of heaven.

Their lot in the next age will not fare as well as that of others who “knew not”, for as it is written, “That servant who knew his master’s will (His will concerning consecration and sanctification, 1 Thess 4:3), and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:47, 48)

THOSE WHO “KNEW NOT”

However not all who enter the courtyard reach this point for as you recall we mentioned some who, “Know not the way”, some who wander in and out not knowing the proper steps to approach God, most of whom who are heavily influenced by the false doctrines and teachings of Babylon. They took the first step of faith in Christ and were permitted to enter into the courtyard, but were quickly diverted by the “Blind Guides”, robbers who had entered in another way and subsequently were corralled into one or another of the various “pens” of the nominal church, which reside just outside the courtyard in the “camp”, with others left wandering in the wilderness “outside the camp” (not associated with any church body).

These unfortunately are not the only ones corralled or trapped within the confines of Babylon, so too are many of the Lord’s consecrated people, “Babes in Christ”, unripen wheat, spirit begotten, but starved for the truth which alone promotes growth and development into the full likeness of Christ Jesus their Lord. This true nourishment, the truth is no longer to be found within the confines of Babylon for the “light of the lamp” the enlightenment of the Bible, the Holy Scriptures no longer shines in her anymore, all that remains are a few scraps of (basic) truths in order to make Babylon’s teachings more palatable.  Nor is heard the voice of the bridegroom (the Lord) and his bride (the true Church), for the Lord has cast off the nominal church, and true Church (those of greater spiritual development) have all long since heeded the Lord’s injunction to, “Come out of her”, to depart from her (Rev 18:4, 23) thus leaving none but “babes”, and these lacking in proper spiritual understanding themselves are of no benefit to the church nominal even if they had chosen to listen to them.

Nevertheless one may ask,

How comes these spirit begotten ones in Babylon in the first place, if they were fully consecrated are they not represented as being in the “Holy”?

You have to remember that the various areas within the enclosure, viz., the courtyard, the Holy and the Most Holy represent conditions, NOT places. Those who were begotten of the spirit were begotten at the same location as all the spirit begotten, at the door of the Tabernacle proper, however just as some of the tentatively justified wander in and out of the courtyard so too some who entered the “holy” or spirit begotten condition have been drawn back towards the world due to worldly ties, friends, family, work and etc., these have not denied their Lord, but have been overcharged with the cares of this world. As the Lord so states one cannot serve two masters, both God and mammon, one will be sacrificed at the cost of the other.

These will eventually be freed, but not until Great Babylon comes crashing down around there knees, they will suffer great loss (loss of the “great prize” for which they were called, to honor and glory and joint heirship with their Lord), but nonetheless will be saved as through fire (that is through severe trials and testing’s), 1 Cor 3:15 many of these will come up out of the great tribulation at the end of this age having washed their robes (which they had allowed to be contaminated through contact with the world) in the blood of the Lamb. Rev 7:14

Having reached the End of the Age (the Gospel Age), and thus the harvest, the Lord has sent forth the reapers to gather the “wheat” (the fully consecrated) into his barn, those on this side of the vail into the “Holy”, the spiritual condition; the condition of security, of separateness from the worldly those on the other side, that is those who have passed beyond the vail having made their calling and election sure he is gathering into the glorified condition, as represented in the “Most Holy”, the heavenly granary. Meanwhile the “tares”, nominal Christians are being bound and bundled together into their various sects awaiting the fire of the Great Day, not to be burned as individuals however, but as a class (to kill, to put and in to) their professing that which they are not, i.e. Christians in the truest sense of the word.

“When it comes to the end of this Age and to the perfection of the saints at that time, those who were approaching unto God sincerely during this Age, and who have come all the way there (all the way to the “Most Holy”, having made their calling and election sure) will be accepted. The remainder (those in the courtyard condition, the tentatively justified) will no longer be justified in this way, but will exit the courtyard, and join the rest of the world waiting for the blessings of the next age, and to actual justification. The Court will be emptied, so to speak, and all those who have entered fully into the Most Holy will then remain as the Members of the Body of the Christ. Likewise at the end of that time a distinction will be made between those who have been found worthy and those who have not been found worthy. Those who are found worthy shall pass into the Most Holy to be there forever with the Lord, but the others who are not found worthy will be excluded from that select company and will belong to the second company (the “Great Company”, the antitypical Levites). They still have justification, they got it the moment they (took the “Second Step”, and) passed the First Vail of Consecration– the moment Jesus Christ became surety for them, however felling to make their calling and election sure they cannot be of the Elect, the Royal Priesthood. They are of the Levites. These positions represent the attitude of the two classes. All the Levite Class represents the Court condition; all the Priest Class, the Elect condition.” (Q310)

Remember only the Priests were allowed in the Tabernacle. All who are running for the prize of the heavenly calling are considered prospective priests, (thus their entry into the “Holy”), but those who fell to make their calling and election sure lose this “probationary status” as priest and are resigned back into the servant or Levite class, that or should they likewise choose to deny the Lord who bought them be consigned to “second death” from which there is no recovery. Likewise remember all who entered into covenant relationship with the Father; a covenant of sacrifice (Psa 50:5) agreed to sacrifice all their earthly interest, both the present and the future.

This implies not only the forfeiture of many rights and privileges (various desires, ambitions and etc.) lawful to any earthly creature at the present time, but nevertheless deemed as obstacles or obstructions in the development of the new creature, but likewise the sacrifice of their future human life rights secured to all through the ransom sacrifice of Christ. Once these life rights were placed upon the Lord’s altar in sacrifice they can never be returned. At the very moment of consecration and its acceptance the individual was begotten to a new nature, a spirit nature, the fleshly body in the eyes of God is reckoned dead, and when the individual physically dies it is gone forever, he will never get that life back, he will either be born a spirit or he will cease to exist going into second death.

Having been reckoned justified all the fully consecrated are on trial for life or death right now, “Judgment begins at the house of God”, the household of faith. The decision rendered is final there are no remakes. Thus, the Lord’s admonition that one sits down and thoroughly counts the cost of what one is truly surrendering before entering into this covenant arrangement with the Father. As for mankind their trial or judgment is reserved for the next age, they will receive justification, actual justification even as have the fully consecrated, but theirs will come to them gradually as they make progress in righteousness working their way up the highway of holiness and to that human perfection once held by father Adam.

We will continue with our next post.