20.3 The Near Outer
© 2017 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
A capital letter as the first letter of a word inside a sentence is a grammatical indicator that signifies – this is the personal name of some individual entity. You have made note of my continual capitalization of many words, especially here inside the outline of the Tabernacle. I do so for one reason – these words are personal names of one individual entity – the Lord Jesus Christ. The Ark is Jesus, the Veil is Jesus, the Door is Jesus, the Altar of Burnt Offering is Jesus.
Yet I do not capitalize the outer court. That does not mean that it is not Jesus Himself in Person carrying all these our brethren, who will not trust God enough to allow Him to fill them with His Spirit, He most certainly is. It’s that the outer court is in no way a place to remain.
Repent and Be Baptized. The injunction of salvation is “repent and be baptized.” Although water baptism is an important symbol of our union with Christ, in and of itself it has no meaning. God’s one baptism is full immersion into His Holy Spirit. Being born again and being filled with the Holy Ghost should be reasonably concurrent experiences inside God’s differing seasons for each individual person. It is not in the Father’s mind that anyone should remain not drinking fully of the Spirit of Life, yet He always gives us only what we desire.
No Cherubim. Now, this is an interesting observation. Gate, Door, Ceiling, and Veil are all the same except that on the Gate and the Door there are no cherubim. The cherubim are found only inside the secret relationship between God and His Church, including all that is Jerusalem.
After God has established fully His Jerusalem, making her a praise in all the earth – yet BEFORE the resurrection, then He will, through her, show His Face as the Door to all who have not entered in, to all who call upon His name in some way, yet who remain in unbelief, as well as, through the Gate, to all creation. Yet there is a union with Christ that all those will never fully know. All will come into a knowledge of God at whatever level they wish, most certainly, but the secret intimacy of His heart is withheld.
The Outer Court. For that reason, I am calling those dwelling in the outer court the “near outer.” Then, when we arrive at the Gate, the full resurrection of our physical bodies, we will be the witness of Christ to all creation.
Look at the diagram of the outer court in the Rose Guide to the Tabernacle, pages 16 & 28-29. You will see the position of the two pieces of furniture that are Jesus in that court, the Altar of Burnt Offering, placed first by Moses, and the Bronze Laver of Washing placed last of all the pieces of furniture. The activity of the outer court is all wrong, however, as we saw earlier. That court was filled with animals and people, dust and slaughter, blood and the cries of death.
Judea and Samaria. Jesus said that the second direction of the witness of Christ through us would be towards “Judea and Samaria.” Judea refers to real Jews who did not live in Jerusalem, and Samaria refers to almost-Jews who lived just a bit further out.
For the purpose of the Covenant, let’s apply those two terms, very simply, to all those who do call upon Jesus in some way, yet who do not enter into the fulness of His Spirit. Thus it is easy to see that “Judea” refers to those who are actually born again, whereas Samaria refers to those who are not born again, but who still call themselves, in some way, “Christians.”
Still Our Brethren. It is critical to note that Jesus, although He did not give Himself to Gentiles during His ministry, yet He did, in fact, treat with the Samaritans the same as the Jews. Thus we know that, with Jesus, we do not “exclude” anyone who calls upon Jesus’ name, even if they are not born again. If we want to suspect anyone of pretense, all we need do is look at our former selves not filled with Jesus.
Thus we could see “Judea” as our Baptist brethren and “Samaria” as our Church of Christ brethren. In the Catholic Church as well as among the Mennonites, you will find “Judea” and “Samaria” side by side in the same pews. A reader of these letters was once a Mormon; Jesus has taught him to see Christ living as him through every moment of those years.
The Real Dividing Line. Now, I have given as a “dividing line” the receiving of full immersion into the Spirit, yet we must realize that God knows us only by our completion, not by our present experiences. Of truth, the real dividing line is the heart.
(The flood came and took them all away). Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore… (Matthew 24:39-42).
God never tells us what He is doing in anyone’s heart. Nonetheless, when the press comes, one person will be taken away by their own false story and the other person, standing right next to them in the same walk with God, will remain utterly with Jesus regardless of any personal cost.
My Optimism. I am by nature an optimist, ready to believe the best in everyone I meet, though I am not readily fooled by trickery.
Consider the experiences I shared with you in the last lesson, regarding my attendance at a service in the fellowship of which I was once a part. Now, I know without question two things about every individual there. First, they are some of the best and most precious people you could ever hope to meet, and second, they belong utterly to Jesus. Yet it took me a few days of time and a few hundreds of miles of distance to begin to realize that there is one thing about each of those that I do not and cannot know.
Not All Are Willing. Had I gotten up to share and had the Lord anointed me to do so, I have no doubt that many would have rejoiced in the realization that Christ is the only life they have or need. Yet maybe not all.
What are the reasons some in any arena of Christianity will choose to be carried away by their own false story? Some hearts will harden around their own story of rightness. Others will be offended at how all these “others” who have not met the “requirements” are freely entering into Christ. Some, even, will turn their backs on a God who is meek and lowly of heart, having, deep down, wanted to be powerful in themselves all along.
Placing the Furniture. Now, I have said all these things, not because I want to position people, but so that we might know the Covenant as God moves through us for the sakes of all. At every point along the way, God through us is for their sakes.
The first piece of furniture Moses placed in the outer court, after the Door of the Holy Place had been hung, was the Altar of Sacrifice. And the final piece of furniture to be placed was the Bronze Laver of washing. The Altar of Sacrifice is the first part of Covenant and the last, that is, the source and the fulfillment of our bond with God. I learned the real first meaning of that Altar from Watchman Nee when I was 19; I have never lived anywhere else since.
One Atonement. In the first lesson of the upcoming session on the Altar of Sacrifice, I will attempt to give, as succinctly as I can, the beginning terms of God’s Covenant with us. However, on our way back out with Father in the fulfillment and consummation of all things, we see that Altar from an entirely different viewpoint.
At no point is there ever any consideration other than ONE SACRIFICE for sins forever (Hebrews 10); that is, at no point are we considering any further atonement. AND WE ALSO ought to lay down our lives is not a replication of Jesus’ sacrifice; it is, rather Jesus through us causing His atonement to be known by all.
By Man the Resurrection. I want to place one word in your mind; allow it to percolate. For since by man death, by man also the resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:21 – with the non-words removed).
Man is the master; man is the ruin of everything. Do not grieve/do not quench – the Holy Spirit. Even God Himself has been shattered by the ruination of man. Every infliction of cruelty is untold pain born by God Himself. Man brought the curse upon all; only man can remove it. If God could remove it apart from us, He would have done so long ago.
Who is willing to be symmorphosed with God? Who will write their name upon God?