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KINGDOM
BIBLE STUDIES
“Teaching the things
concerning the
THE OLIVET
DISCOURSE
An exposition of
Matthew chapter twenty-four and Luke chapter twenty-one
Part II
Originally
published in December, 1973
Many
sincere Christians are looking for an earthly temple to be built in Israel by
the Jews in this end-time, with a restoration of the Old Testament animal
sacrifices. But we must understand that God has not purposed to re-establish an
order which He has forever abolished and brought to its fulfillment. First, we
must note that God no longer dwells in tabernacles made with hands (Acts 7:48,
17:24). The tabernacle of old was made according to the pattern of the true
tabernacle which Moses saw in the mount, and that tabernacle and the temple
which followed were only the shadow of better things to come: merely the
natural type of the spiritual reality which Moses saw in the mount and after
which He patterned that shadow. Since all the shadows have now passed away, and
the great spiritual reality of which the temple and its ritual were only types
has now come, wherever we see a reference in scripture to a temple of either
the present or the future, it must refer to “the sanctuary, and the TRUE
TABERNACLE, which the Lord pitched, and not man” (Heb. 8:2). Furthermore, there
is now only one such tabernacle, or temple. The Word nowhere tells of two, one
away off somewhere in space and another one on the earth. There is but one
temple, one great High Priest, and one priesthood. So, when the priests of old
served “unto the example and shadow of heavenly things” (Heb. 8:5), those
heavenly things were the same that Moses saw in the mount, and they are the
same heavenly things TO WHICH WE ARE NOW COME. For we “ARE COME unto
Now
let us identify the heavenly temple to which we are come. Paul wrote of it
thus: “The
THE
“Now
of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High
Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the
heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the
Lord pitched, and not man.” Heb. 8:1-2. “But Christ being come an High Priest
of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with
hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us.” Heb. 9:11-12. “It was therefore necessary
what the patterns of things in the heavens should BE PURIFIED with these (blood
of goats and calves); but the HEAVENLY THINGS THEMSELVES (purified) with better
sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made
with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself…” Heb.
9:23-24.
It
is important that we note some facts from these verses: 1. Christ is now a
minister IN the sanctuary, the true tabernacle. 2. This tabernacle is greater
and more perfect than the former one which was only a type. 3. This tabernacle
is not made with hands; i.e. not something man has built. 4. Christ has entered
into this heavenly tabernacle TO PURIFY IT with the better sacrifice of HIS
BLOOD.
Knowing
that WE ARE the
The
book of Hebrews tells us that the blood of Christ has purified heavenly
things (Heb. 9:23-24). To accomplish this Christ has entered into the
Before
we can fully understand WHY Jesus has offered His blood in heaven itself, in
the Holy Place, and HOW IT IS that He there fulfills His Priestly ministry, we
must come to an understanding of some simple and basic scriptural facts about
HEAVEN ITSELF. We want no theories nor guesses. We want facts. We want nothing
but the highest authority. And what better authority can we find than the One
Who made the heavens and Who owns them? If anyone understands all the facts
about heaven, it is He! Let us see what He said. He had left His heavenly
glory. He had humbled Himself, had taken upon Himself the form of sinful man;
and becoming a man, was despised and rejected. And yet, while in humility and
reproach, a man among men, He made this statement: “No man hath ascended up to
heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man WHICH IS IN
HEAVEN.” John 3:13. The Son Of God left His glory, and descended to the depths
of this earth. Yet, while a man on earth, in humility, He Himself said, “The
Son of Man WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.”
When
Jesus said that He was even then, as a man, in heaven – He used the usual Greek
word for heaven, “Ouranos.” The meaning of the word is elevation, height,
exaltation. But this elevation, height and exaltation is something so vast, so
infinity, so inexhaustible that a person can be in it, can descend from it, and
yet still possess it or be in it! The Psalmist David, speaking of the vastness
of the universe says, “the heavens declare the glory of God.” Man has never
been able to find any end to the universe. The earth is simply a planet
revolving around the sun. The sun is simply a star in a galaxy known as the
Milky Way. And the Milky Way is only one galaxy among trillions that are
known to exist. Not only is every planet and star moving in their orbits in
relation to each other, but the whole vast universe is moving through space at
a speed of many millions of miles per day. This universe is truly unlimited and
inexhaustible! The earth is only a speck IN THE MIDST OF THE UNIVERSE. If I
were to ask you, “Which way is up?” you would naturally reply by pointing to
the sky up above your head. But the man in
But
heaven is not some little limited spot out there in the universe somewhere
where God dwells sitting upon some kind of literal throne. First of all, God is
SPIRIT and spirit does not need natural, material buildings to dwell in. God is
not only Spirit; He is OMNIPRESENT SPIRIT. He is everywhere. David said,
“Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold,
Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning… even there shall Thy hand
lead me…” Ps. 139:6-10. Solomon, at the dedication of the temple in
Let
us understand that the true heaven is not even the inexhaustible universe, the
space filled with the material creation which God has brought forth, of which
we have been speaking. The true heaven is the realm of God Himself.
The true heaven is that UNSEEN, INVISIBLE REAL OF SPIRIT in which God lives.
Since God is omnipresent, the unseen, invisible, spiritual realm in which He
lives is also omnipresent. Our natural minds and beings know nothing of that
realm for we in our natural composition are earthly, natural and material. Our
natural eyes cannot see into the invisible realm of spirit for they are limited
to the natural, visible realm of creation of which they are a part. Our natural
ears cannot hear that which is spoken in the unseen realm of spirit, for spirit
is on a higher frequency than are the sounds our ears are equipped to pick up
from natural vibrations. But let us know that that invisible realm of spirit is
even MORE REAL than this earthly and natural realm we know. And that dimension,
frequency, and realm of the Spirit in which God lives is omnipresent and FILLS
ALL THINGS. Heaven is all around us, but we must be raised up out of our
limited natural consciousness in order to see into that realm. An angel of
heaven could be present right in the room where you are but you could not see
or hear or sense him unless the eyes of your spirit were opened to see into
that higher realm of spirit in which He dwells. But even in that unseen realm
of spirit there are realms of life that differ. An angel is a spirit being,
therefore associated with heaven, but the angel’s individual realm of life is a
life which is lower than the divine life of God who created him. The highest
form of Spiritual Life is GOD HIMSELF. Therefore, God not only dwells in
heaven, the realm of Spirit, but He dwells in the HIGHEST HEAVEN, In the
highest REALM OF LIFE that there is! And so we read of Christ, “He that
descended is the same also that ascended up FAR ABOVE ALL HEAVENS.” Eph.
4:10.
So,
our Lord was in heaven. Then He came down from heaven, and dwelt in the natural
realm of man, as a man. But wonder of wonders – HE WAS STILL IN HEAVEN! Even
while He walked in mortality and humility, He was still a conscious part of the
invisible realm of the Spirit of God. As a conscious part of the realm of God,
He knew and walked with His Father and was one with God. He constantly saw and
heard and knew in the Spirit, while other men were limited to that which was
earthly and natural. So, Jesus had descended FROM HEAVEN by becoming a man, but
even then, He was STILL IN HEAVEN because His Spirit was not limited by mortal
flesh and He was truly ONE WITH GOD. He had descended from heaven, but still
possessed heaven. He had come from heaven, but was still in heaven. Hallelujah!
Our Lord was the Mighty God. But He descended from that state. He humbled
Himself, and took upon Himself the form of sinful flesh. But nevertheless, in
His humility He was STILL THE MIGHTY GOD. He was still elevated, was still in heaven.
And the divine life of God was in Him and revealed through Him.
We
are still considering the Greek word “Ouranos” which means elevation, height,
exaltation or eminence. It is translated into the English language as “heaven.”
But now we have something more to add to it. In the book of Ephesians, we have
a compound word which is of such great import to us that we must consider it
very, very carefully. We have the Greek word “epi,” which means
“superimposition,” or in plain speech, above. And when it is joined to
“Ouranos,” it becomes “epouranios.” The two words
joined together mean “above heaven,” or “higher than heaven,” or “the highest
heaven.”
Our
Lord and Saviour, when on earth, was still the
exalted One. He was still in heaven. But then He arose the conquering Christ.
And not only that, but He ascended victor over all the powers of darkness,
having brought in eternal redemption for a lost world and redeemed all things
unto Himself. “Wherefore God hath HIGHLY EXALTED Him, and given Him a name
which is ABOVE EVERY NAME.” Or as Paul tells us in Eph. 1:20 God has set Him
“at His own right hand, IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES.” And the word which is
mistranslated here as “heavenly places” is the Greek word “epouranios,”
or to be exact, “epouraniois,” which is the adjective
form of the same word, which change does not in any way alter its meaning. It
still retains the meaning of “higher than heavenly,” even though agreeing with
some noun, not stated but implied. This form of speech is found in Eph. 1:3,
1:20, 2:6, 3:10, and 6:12. It is “above heaven,” higher than heaven, “FAR ABOVE
ALL HEAVENS.” And so we read, “he raised Him from the dead, and set Him as His
Own right hand ‘IN EPOURANIOIS’ FAR ABOVE ALL PRINCIPALITY, AND POWER, AND
MIGHT, AND DOMINION, AND EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED, NOT ONLY IN THIS WORLD,
BUT ALSO IN THAT WHICH IS TO COME: AND HATH PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET.”
Eph. 1:20-22. And note carefully, it is not a future hope. It is not something
which He is expecting to receive. It is an accomplished fact; finished, completed.
He is at the right hand of the majesty, exalted NOW.
And
now we come to the most staggering revelation of all. Let demons rage. Let
fools and unbelievers hang their heads in shame. And let us, who are born of
God, believe what God Himself has declared to be true. In Ephesians chapter two
we read, “And YOU hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Even
when we were dead… hath quickened US TOGETHER WITH CHRIST, and hath raised
us up TOGETHER, AND MADE US SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST
JESUS.” Eph. 2:1-6. And this “heavenly places” where we now sit with our
Lord and Saviour is this same super-heaven, or epouraniois, the same position which He holds “far above
all heavens.” We, who have come the way of the cross, are enthroned with Him in
this super-eminence NOW. We are NOW Kings and Priests unto our God. Because of
our Spiritual Union with HIM, we are ONE WITH HIM in His enthronement in
the highest heaven. And yet Christians, well meaning
no doubt, nevertheless in ignorance sing, “When we all get to Heaven, what a
day of rejoicing that will be!” Heaven for true Spirit-filled Christians is not
only a future hope. It is a PRESENT REALITY. Heaven is not simply a place, or
spot in the universe. Heaven is the REALM OF GOD, the invisible, but real realm
of His omnipresent Spirit.
Jesus
explained to Nicodemus in John chapter three, that in order to ENTER the
KINGDOM (realm) OF GOD, human beings have to be BORN AGAIN. He very patiently
explained to him that it was not a physical re-birth that He was talking about,
but a new born SPIRIT being. Only babies are BORN. As many as receive Christ,
believing on His name, are given power to BE BORN of the will of God, thus
becoming “babes” or “children” of God. See John 1:12-13. What actually takes
place in the New Birth is the actual birth of a creature – a spiritual
being – an eternal, immortal SPIRIT BEING – of which God is the FATHER. This is
what the apostle is speaking of in Hebrews as he teaches about the discipline
that God applies to His Sons. He says, “Furthermore we have had fathers of
our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much
rather be in subjection unto the FATHER OF THE SPIRITS, and live?” God is the
Father of SPIRITS. This is not speaking of angels or demons, for the whole
subject of this chapter is SONS. God is not a Father to angels because they are
created, not begotten. “For unto which of the angels said He at
any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be
to him a Father…” Heb. 1:5. God is the Father of OUR SPIRITS. Now we can
understand what Jesus was telling Nicodemus when He said, “That which is born
of the flesh IS FLESH; and that which is born of the SPIRIT IS SPIRIT.” Natural
man IS FLESH. He is carnal, earthly and natural. He cannot be ONE WITH GOD. He
cannot KNOW GOD. He has no affinity with HEAVEN, which is the realm of Spirit
in which God lives. But we are BORN AGAIN, we are born FROM ABOVE, and we are
born OF SPIRIT and BECOME SPIRIT. And this is the only way we can ENTER the
Kingdom, or the REALM OF GOD. In the New Birth we are QUICKENED, made alive in
the Spirit, and as Paul says to the Ephesians, “And He raised us up TOGETHER
WITH HIM and made us sit down together – giving us JOINT SEATING WITH HIM – in
the HEAVELY SPHERE by virtue of OUR BEING IN JESUS CHRIST!” Eph. 2:6,
Amplified Bible. How do we enter heaven? By DEATH? NO! We enter heaven BY
BIRTH. And the very instant we are born into heaven by the New Birth, we are no
longer just earthly creatures, but become heavenly beings, as eternal as is the
Father Whose Offspring we are, and Whose Name and nature we take for our very
own. As we walk with God in the Spirit, we become more and more aware of the
realm of Spirit which we have been born into. Jesus was totally aware of that
realm and one with it. Only by spiritually growing up, and by having our SPIRITual senses sharpened, do we become fully aware of the
other realm which is above and beyond the realm of the flesh. But “we are
CITIZENS OF… HEAVEN.” Phil. 3:20, Amplified Bible. A citizen of a country is
one who is BORN there and LIVES there. Our citizenship is IN HEAVEN! Again,
Paul declares, “Now those who are made of the dust are like him who was first
made of the dust – earth minded; and as is the Man from heaven, so also ARE
THOSE WHO ARE OF HEAVEN – heaven minded.” Our physical body members are “on the
earth,” but our Spirits are “IN HEAVEN.” See Col. 3:1-5.
We
read in Hebrews 11:5, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see
death.” The Greek word for translation means “a transfer, a passing over.” So
Enoch was caught away, he was transferred, he passed over. He is no longer here
in this visible, earthly realm of existence. He is passed into a new and
entirely different sphere. It is interesting to note that the words
“translation” and “translated” are found only four times in the New Testament:
three times in the verse just quoted in reference to Enoch, and the one other
place is in Col. 1:13 where we read, “Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath
made us fit to BE PARTAKERS of the saints in light; Who hath delivered
us from the power of darkness, and HATH TRANSLATED US INTO THE KINGDOM OF HIS
DEAR SON.” THIS TRANSLATION is already accomplished, a finished transaction. We
have passed over! We are NOW members of the
THE MINISTRY OF
CHRIST IN THE HEAVENLY
Christ
is IN HEAVEN, ministering as Priest in the temple, the holy place in heaven. WE
are seated with Him IN HEAVEN. We are IN CHRIST. Christ is IN US. We ARE the
true
Now
we can understand how it is that the heavenly tabernacle had to be PURIFIED by
the offering of the blood of Christ. There is not some material holy place away
off in some far-off heaven somewhere which had to be cleansed and purified by
the blood of Jesus. It is WE who needed to be purified! The work of the
blood of Christ is not in behalf of something up in the sky, but the work of
the blood is ON OUR BEHALF. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of
the Holy Ghost who is in you, Whom ye have of God, and ye are NOT YOUR OWN? FOR
YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE; therefore glorify God in your body
and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Cor. 6:19-20. It is a simple statement
of fact to say that WE are the temple which was purified with His blood, and we
are also the temple in which Christ is fulfilling His High Priestly ministry.
“God has put all things under His feet, and has appointed Him universal and
supreme Head of the Church, which is His BODY (temple), the completeness of Him
who everywhere fills the universe with Himself. Eph. 1:22-23,
We
want to UNDERSTAND! We want to SEE exactly what the Holy Spirit is conveying to
us in the spiritual terminology of Scripture. For a clearer understanding of
this great truth of the ministry of Christ in His Heavenly Tabernacle, the true
tabernacle which IS HIS BODY, let us note separately the following facts:
1.
Christ is not a
High Priest in some far-off heaven somewhere.
He is in heaven alright, but we are also seated with Him, and in Him, and HE IN
US – in heaven. He is now the “minister of the sanctuary, and of the
true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man” (Heb. 8:2). Since WE ARE
that tabernacle, WHERE is Christ ministering? IN US and THROUGH US! It is in
His body that He now walks and manifests His Priestly ministry. The only
true contact that the lost world has with the gracious person of Jesus is the
contact they have with US who constitute the members of His body. Christ loves
the world, but He must love it through us. He reveals His mercy, but He must
show that mercy through you and me. He saves men, but we are the instrument
through whom He saves them. God is in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself,
but it is unto US that God has committed the ministry of reconciliation (II
Cor. 5:18-19). He forgives through us. (Jn. 20:23). He heals through us. He
speaks and teaches through us. As Christ thus ministers to a lost and dying
world through us, His body, we become “a chosen generation, a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD…
that ye should show forth the virtues of Him Who hath called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). That Christ has washed us and
purified us unto Himself a holy temple so that He can minister in and through
us in His eternal Priesthood is never more beautifully stated than it is in
Rev. 1:5-6 and 5:9-10: “Unto Him that loveth us, and washed us from our sins in
His own blood, and hath made us a kingdom of priests unto God and His Father…”
“And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the scroll, and to
open its seals; for Thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people,
and nation; and hast made us unto our God A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS, and we shall
reign on the earth.”
2.
The blood of Christ
was not physically carried to some far-off heaven somewhere to purify some
literal temple in heaven above. The
tabernacle that needed cleansing and purifying was THIS TEMPLE which WE ARE!
Christ was not offered up for some object in outer space, but He was offered up
FOR US. “Who needeth not daily, as those high
priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins and then FOR THE
PEOPLE’S; for this He did once, when He offered up HIMSELF” (Heb.
7:27). “But Christ being come an high priest of better things to come, by a
greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with (men’s) hands… Neither by
the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the
holy place, HAVING OBTAINED eternal redemption FOR US” (Heb. 9:11-12).
The blood in the Old Testament Tabernacle was SPRINKLED to PURIFY the
TABERNACLE. And so we read, “Moreover, he sprinkled with blood both the
tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by
the law PURGED WITH BLOOD, and without shedding of blood is no remission. It
was, therefore, necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens
should be purified with these, but the HEAVENLY THINGS THEMSELVES (purified)
WITH BETTER SACRIFICES THAN THESE” (Heb. 9:21-23). WHAT ARE these “heavenly
things” which are purified with the “better” sacrifice of Christ’s own blood?
WE ARE! WE are these “heavenly things!” Hear ye!
“By which will WE
ARE SANCTIFIED through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all. And every high priest standeth daily ministering
and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but
this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down…” (Heb.
10:10-12).
“For it became
Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons
unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
For both He that sanctifieth and THEY WHO ARE
SANCTIFIED are all of one, for which cause He is not ashamed to call
them brethren” (Heb. 2:10-11).
“As is the
earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are
they also THAT ARE HEAVENLY” (I Cor. 15:48).
WHERE does the
blood of Christ perform its work? “Neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes
of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth
to the purifying of the flesh, HOW MUCH MORE shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, PURGE YOUR
CONCIENCE from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb. 9:12-14)? The
blood of the Old Testament was sprinkled on flesh to sanctify flesh. But the
blood of the New Testament is SPRINKLED IN OUR SPIRITS and PURGES OUR CONCIENCE
by its application through the eternal Spirit of our MINDS and HEARTS! This
truth is spoken of again in Heb. 10:19-22, “Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest (the realm of God, heaven itself) by the
blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us,
through the veil, that is to say, His flesh, And having a high priest over the
house of God (Heb. 3:5-6), Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance
of faith, HAVING OUR HEARTS SPRINKLED from an evil conscience…”
Jesus did indeed
offer His precious blood before the Father, but that blood, through the eternal
Spirit is sprinkled IN THE TRUE TABERNACLE, THE GREATER HOUSE OF GOD, UPON
OUR HEARTS. It is only there that the efficacy of the blood is truly
fulfilled. This is what God has brought us unto in Christ. For in Christ “YE
ARE COME to
J.
PRESTON EBY
To
be continued… J. PRESTON EBY
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