Amazing Facts

Guest (Male): This presentation is brought to you by the Friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry. Coming to you from New York City, at the historic Manhattan Center, with your host, Doug Batchelor. Join this exciting journey of discovery as we learn the truth about Bible prophecy, explore the timeless wisdom of God's Word, and see how it relates to our lives today. Stay tuned, your Amazing Facts adventure begins now.

Doug Batchelor: We're going to be talking about a subject that is often neglected, but you're here because I believe you want to know the whole Word of God. We're going to be talking about the Holy of Holies. As you've heard already, there is a website if you're tuning in and you did not know this. You can download the lesson and follow along. We recommend it. There is more in the lesson, more verses and background information than you will get in just the presentation.

If you do the two together, not only will you remember the material better, but you'll be better prepared to share it. That's, of course, what Jesus wants us to do: to know the truth and share it with others. I always like to start with an amazing fact. You've maybe heard of clean rooms. Clean rooms are used today; it's a meticulously controlled environment that filters out pollutants like dust, airborne microbes, and aerosol particles to provide a space with some of the purest air on earth.

Many companies have clean rooms to protect the production of products like semiconductors and nanobots, medicine drugs, and medical equipment. In these virtually particle-free rooms, outside air passes through powerful systems that decontaminate the air while also controlling the pressure, temperature, humidity, and even ozone levels.

This is a big job because a human body in motion generates about five million particles per minute. This is why workers in clean rooms must wear special lint-free jumpsuits, booties, face masks, and goggles. They kind of go through a decontamination chamber on their way in to even get dressed.

The development of clean rooms started in 1860 when a Scottish surgeon by the name of Joseph Lister sought to limit the presence of bacteria in hospital operating rooms. Matter of fact, a lot of medicine has been measured from before Lister and after Lister because he understood the importance of sanitation. By the way, if you didn't know, he is the founder of Listerine mouthwash.

When God was preparing to save His people from slavery in Egypt and basically form them from a family to a nation that would influence the world, they needed to go through a purification process. He didn't bring them right from Egypt to the promised land. He actually took them out into the wilderness. You know, the wilderness is sometimes a place where things are sterilized by the sun.

After 200 years of living in Egypt, they'd learned a lot of bad habits. They had to unlearn those habits and learn how to be this holy nation, this people of God. So, one of the things He did besides giving them the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, He gave them plans for a portable building, sometimes known as a tabernacle or a sanctuary. We thought it'd be fun to go out on the streets and see what people think or know about the sanctuary. Let's find out what they have to say.

Guest (Female): I think sanctuary means like a safe space.

Guest (Female): Peaceful, a peaceful place.

Guest (Male): Like a safe space, a safe place.

Guest (Female): A place you can go and feel peace.

Guest (Male): Yeah, I would say like a safe space, a place of worship.

Guest (Male): The old sanctuary of the Bible, I think it was a tent and it was used for sacrifice.

Guest (Female): The tabernacle was used for God to dwell among His people.

Guest (Female): It was the tabernacle like when they were in the wilderness with Moses and the Israelites used it for sacrifices.

Guest (Male): Sanctuary of the Bible, I believe it was about the actual sanctuary where the two plates were with the commandments and between human and between God. I believe that the Sabbath was also part of it as a stamp that you are mine and I am yours.

Guest (Male): It can bring communities together, make people feel more in touch, connected, Holy Spirit. It can make people just reminded of what they're worshipping and keep it sacred, keep holy.

Doug Batchelor: All right, there you have it. A lot of interesting responses, maybe even a little bit of confusion about what is a sanctuary. Why are we studying the subject of the sanctuary in a prophecy seminar? Answer: because Bible prophecy is filled with it. When you look in the book of Revelation in Chapter 1, Jesus appears among seven candlesticks. A little later, it talks about souls under the altar.

What's the candlestick? What's the altar? They're in the sanctuary. Then it talks about the Ark of the Covenant; heaven was open, I saw the Ark of the Covenant. It talks about the altar of incense and coals were taken from the altar of incense. The prophecy of Isaiah talks about the sanctuary. The prophecy of Ezekiel—I'm just going to go real quick. If you have your Bibles, I just want you to understand you have to understand this subject at least a little bit.

If you go, for instance, to Ezekiel 43 and 44, the last chapters of Ezekiel are all about the sanctuary. Chapter 43, the temple, the Lord's dwelling place. Afterward, He brought me to the gate that faces toward the east and the glory of the Lord appeared. It talks about the dimensions of the temple. You know Revelation says measure My sanctuary. This is taking this from Ezekiel. It talks about a fountain flowing from the sanctuary. Does Revelation talk about a fountain flowing from the throne of God? It does.

Chapter 44, He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary. If you read in Zechariah, it's in Isaiah, it's in Daniel. You really need to understand something about the sanctuary to understand even the teachings of Jesus, and you'll see that as we proceed. Question number one: What did God ask Moses to build and why? God said, "Let them make Me a sanctuary that I might dwell among them." Now, you can't really hide from God's presence, but God wanted to provide a place where we could visually identify with His presence.

He said, "Build a sanctuary." Keep in mind, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, they went to Mount Sinai. Moses went up the mountain for how long? 40 days and 40 nights. Did it take God 40 days and 40 nights to chisel out the Ten Commandments, 300 words? Something else was going on up there. God was giving Moses other laws and statutes for the people and the plans for this building.

The Bible says in Psalm 77:13, if you're going to remember a verse, remember this: "Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary." The way of God. What way? The way that He saves us. He reveals Himself through the sanctuary. Now, isn't the sanctuary a building? Why would a building be a revelation of God? You'll see, stay with me. For one thing, we know that in the sanctuary, it was a place where sacrifice took place. There was one door.

Jesus said, "I am the door." Then they brought in a lamb, and Jesus said, "I am the lamb." You are not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He was sinless. They were supposed to bring a spotless lamb without blemish to the sanctuary. They would lay their hands on the head of that lamb. They would confess their sins and then it would be executed there at the sanctuary. It was a place of sacrifice, teaches us about the sacrifice of Jesus.

Question number two: Where did Moses obtain the blueprints for the sanctuary? Did he just sit down and start dreaming things up and say, "Well, in Egypt, I saw a lot of neat buildings. I wonder if we did this and that?" What does the Bible say? Exodus 25:40, God said to Moses, "See that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain."

Who gave Noah the plans for the ark? Was Noah a boat builder? Why would Noah be a boat builder? There was no rain before the flood. He built a boat on dry land. God gave him the dimensions and it floated. God gave the plans for the sanctuary, this divine design, to Moses because it all says something very important. You can also read in Hebrews 8:5, "These things which are the copy of the shadows of the heavenly things, the sanctuary on earth is a copy or a shadow of heavenly things."

Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. Keep in mind, the word sanctuary, tabernacle, temple, are often used interchangeably. It's talking about this dwelling place. Typically, when we talk about the tabernacle, it was the portable sanctuary they had in the wilderness. Temple was used more for the permanent ones they built in Israel. When he was about to make the tabernacle, God said, "See that you make all the things according to the pattern which I showed you on the mountain." Now, a pattern is patterned after something.

How many of you young men, maybe young ladies, had a Matchbox toy car growing up? Do you know Matchbox cars are designed with lasers to be precisely, I think it's 1/50th of the size of the original? The sanctuary that God built on earth, of course, is not the real dwelling place of God in heaven, but it's patterned after. There's things about the dwelling place of God in heaven and the plan of salvation that we learn from that.

For example, in the sanctuary on earth, there's golden angels on an ark. Does God have golden angels by Him or real angels? Real angels. In the sanctuary, there was a veil that had angels woven into the veil. Is God surrounded by a tapestry of angels or a living wall of angels? The sanctuary on earth may have been 20 feet across; it might be 20 miles across in heaven. So, you've got to think big, but He wanted us to understand something about the plan of salvation.

So, here you see the first tabernacle, the plans that the Israelites received at the base of Mount Sinai. They used to be able to assemble and disassemble this and carry it from place to place. They did that for 40 years and even for years after they were in the wilderness, up until the time of King David. They were still operating out of this portable tabernacle.

Now, very quickly, if you do an aerial view of what was there, it's very simple. There's three places in the sanctuary. You've got the courtyard, you've got the Holy Place, and you've got the Most Holy Place or the inner sanctum. There are three parts of salvation: justification, sanctification, and glorification. We are justified in the courtyard by the sacrifice of a lamb. We learn sanctification and holiness in the Holy Place. Someday you and I will be in the presence of God. We will dwell with Him and we will be in the Holy of Holies.

It's describing this journey. There is a straight line, one door in. How many ways to be saved? One way. No other name given among men whereby we must be saved. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus said, "I am the door. Anyone trying to come over the wall is a thief and a robber." There is one door. He is the door. So, they would enter this sanctuary. By the way, you know a cell of life has got three parts to it: you've got the nucleus, you've got the white, and you've got the shell. You can just go through all kinds of things in nature, in God's creation, and the sanctuary can be related to all of those things, even your body.

Little amazing fact, I'm dropping in another one for free. I read about a pastor in Brazil—we'll be there later this year in Brazil, maybe I'll see this outside of São Paulo—and he spent $300 million building a 10,000-seat sanctuary that was modeled after the temple of Solomon. He even had the stones imported from Israel and tried to follow the pattern in many ways, but it's not identical. There's some differences. All right, back to the real sanctuary.

Question number three: What was the furniture that was in the courtyard? When you first entered, what did you see? It said, "You shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering." So, there was a fire burning. Now, how did that fire get started? When Moses built the first sanctuary and it was dedicated, he prayed. Fire came from God out of heaven and ignited the very first fire on that altar. God told them, "From now on, any fire you use in the sanctuary, you must always keep this fire going. The lamps must be lit from this fire. The altar of incense must be lit from this fire. It is holy fire."

One day the sons of Aaron said, "Ah, it doesn't matter, holy fire, campfire." They used campfire. God's fire came out of heaven and destroyed them. By the way, they were drunk when they made that decision. It was to be holy fire. When Solomon built his temple, fire came from God out of heaven and ignited that to sanctify it and they kept that holy fire going. You know, we have at Arlington, they call it the eternal flame. They get these ideas from the holy fire that was in the ancient Hebrew temple. Fire ignited by God, you don't ever let it go out. You keep using that fire. The Olympic flame, they keep using the same fire, except now I think they do it electrically, too. But they're supposed to keep using the same fire to light the torches that they carry from place to place. This is where that idea, that concept, first came from.

The altar of burnt offering was where the animals were sacrificed, place of sacrifice. It represents the sacrifice of Jesus. It was located just inside the courtyard. This also represented the cross of Christ and the sufferings of Christ where He went through the fire for you and me, of sufferings.

What else was in the courtyard? Exodus 30:18, "You shall also make a laver." That's a big vessel, a big pot that held water. "A laver of bronze, its base will also be bronze and you will put water in it." So, you've got the fire and you've got the water. What does that water represent? The bronze laver, where the priests would wash their hands and feet, that washing represented baptism. The children of Israel, before they got into the wilderness, the children of Israel were justified by the blood of the lamb, justification. God saved them just the way they were.

You come to Jesus just the way you are. So many people say, "Lord, when I get my act cleaned up, then I'm going to come to church." That's like you telling your kid, "Can you get cleaned up so you can take a bath?" That just doesn't make any sense, does it? No, you don't get your act cleaned up so you can come to Jesus. You come to Jesus just like you are, and then He cleans you up. Amen? A lot of people stay away from the Lord and they say, "You know, when I get some things straightened out," and they keep saying, "I'll get it all straightened out," and pretty soon they're in the church, straightened out in a coffin. They wait too long to get straightened out. You come to Jesus just like you are, that's why it's called justification. You come to Jesus and He treats you just as if you've never sinned. He died for us while we were sinners.

When they were in Egypt, they were slaves to the Pharaoh. They sacrificed the lamb. The blood of the lamb triggered the difference that began the journey to the next stage. God did not come to them and say, "Here's My Ten Commandments. Keep those commandments and I will save you." He first said, "Accept the lamb and the blood of the lamb, and then I'll bring you to the law." What came first, the lamb or the law? Are we saved by the law or by the lamb? We're saved by the blood of the lamb. Then if we love Him, first commandment, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall not have other gods." He's saying, "I'm the one who saved you from slavery. If you love Me, keep My commandments." He shows His love for us first. We love Him because He first loved us. The lamb, Jesus, comes first.

Then they went through the Red Sea, baptism, and a pillar of fire appears to guide them. Actually, the pillar of fire appears before they go through the Red Sea and it blocks the Egyptians and it lights their camp. So, you've got the altar of fire and you've got the water. Jesus said, "Unless you are born of the water and the Spirit." What is the Spirit? It's the fire. John the Baptist said, "I baptize you with water, but the one who's coming after me, He's going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." We need that Spirit baptism, we need that water baptism. They were both there in the courtyard of the sanctuary. Amen?

Now, we're going into the Holy Place. We're going to find out what was in the Holy Place. Question number four: What three items of furniture were in the next department known as the Holy Place? First of all, it said, you had the Table of Showbread. You see it on the screen. You had the Table of Showbread. If you've got the King James version, it says shoe bread. That threw me for years. I kept calling it the shoe bread. That was just the old wording. Showbread, it means it's on display. This table had 12 loaves representing the 12 tribes, and it was replaced every Sabbath. They kept it fresh and it represents the Bread of Life. Jesus is the Bread of Life. Amen? Christ said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven to save the sins of the world."

But not only is Jesus the Bread of Life, when the people were hungry, Jesus said, "I will give you bread and you give it to the people." He said, "You give them something to eat." We are to share the Bread of Life with others as well. So, the sanctuary is not only showing us Jesus, it's showing us what we are to do in modeling Christ. You had the Table of Showbread and again, I already mentioned it, it symbolizes Jesus who is the Bread of Life. "Man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word," and Christ is the Word made flesh.

The next thing you see in the sanctuary, if you go to the opposite wall, you have a candle. This was sometimes called a menorah. It was the lampstand that had the seven lamps. Let's read it: "When you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand." It was to light the temple and they were supposed to use the holy fire from the altar to light the lamp. Who is the Light of the World? Jesus is the Light of the World.

How was this lampstand kept burning? They used oil, the oil in the lamps. What does that oil a symbol of? It's the Holy Spirit. If you want to have your light shine, you need the Holy Spirit. Amen? Christ was called the anointed. He was baptized with the Holy Spirit. You and I, Jesus not only said, "I'm the light of the world," you know what else He says in Matthew chapter 5? "You are the light of the world." We reflect His light. Amen? Just like the moon has no light of its own, but it reflects the light of the sun. That seven-branch candlestick, that was the light, it represents Christ also.

The next thing that you see, it said, "You will make an altar to burn incense." This was called the Altar of Incense. It's the next piece of furniture that you would see. This altar, they would take beautiful incense, they would put it there on the coals. Again, the fire all came from the holy fire. The vapors then would go over the veil into the presence of God, and it represented the merits of Christ, the blood of Christ that makes our prayers acceptable. In whose name do we pray? It's in Jesus' name. It's the Holy Spirit that intercedes in our behalf and makes our prayers beautiful, the Spirit of Christ. So, this was the Altar of Incense. It's all telling us about Jesus. Amen? You can read about this there in Revelation Chapter 5:8. You also find the Altar of Incense there.

Question number five: What special article was in the Most Holy Place, the inner sanctum, sometimes known as the Holy of Holies? There's one thing in there. He wrote on the tables according to the first commandment, the Ten Commandments. They were put in this beautiful golden box. So, now we've got this piece of furniture that was on the inside. It is the Ark of the Covenant. Amen?

What was on top of this beautiful ark? The cherubim. When Isaiah was in vision, he said in Isaiah chapter 6, "I saw the Lord on His throne." He's flanked by these seraphim. Seraphim, cherubim, they're angels of God. They cry out, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." The top of the ark was called, who knows? The mercy seat. Because the Shekinah glory of God would appear right between these two cherubim and that's where Moses would commune. There's this flaming glory that could not even be beheld, representing the presence of God.

People would like to find this golden box. Why was this considered the most important treasure in the world? Was it the golden box or was it the rocks in the box? How many of you would think it would be really cool if they would discover the Ark of the Covenant? Would that excite you? Amen. Why would it excite you? Because it's a great piece of architecture, it'd be evidence, but what was in the ark? Ten Commandments.

How many of you would like to discover the Ten Commandments? How many have a Bible? You can discover that right now. The treasure that was in the Ark of the Covenant is in your hands. That's what Moses said: "It is not very far from you that you should go to heaven and say who will bring it down, or who will go into the depths of the earth and bring it up." He says, "The word is very near unto you. Indeed, it's in your mouth."

You and I have the treasure of the Ark of the Covenant, but have you hid it in the Holy of Holies? If your body is a temple and the Bible says it is, where's the Holy of Holies? "Thy word I have hid in my heart." Heart doesn't mean this. Sometimes they've actually found you do have brain cells in your heart, did you know that? It's true and there's a lot of connections between the heart and the head.

I saw a man one time, he became so sad when they discussed his deceased wife, I watched him have a heart attack. He survived, don't worry, but the heart connected to the head. But the Bible says, "As a man thinketh in his heart." "Thy word I've hid in my mind." "Love the Lord with all your mind and your soul." The Jews knew you did not think with the pump because they knew if you got hit on the head, you didn't think right. They knew the brain was up here. So, it's an expression. The Ark of the Covenant had the Ten Commandments. It says, "I turned," Deuteronomy 10:4, "then I turned and I came down from the mountain and I put the tables in the ark which I had made, and there they are just as the Lord commanded me."

Friends, I hope you've been blessed by today's presentation. But the most important thing is not the information and the details, it's the relationship. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? You're watching because He's planned that and He wants to come into your heart and change your life. He wants to forgive you of all of your sins. He died for your sins, but you need to ask Him. He won't force His way in. You can ask Him now. He loves you, He'll accept you. Do it right now.

Hi, friends. I trust you're being blessed by what you're watching. If you want to be doubly blessed, then you're going to want to get the Prophecy Odyssey study guides that go along with these presentations. There's 15 study guides, they're beautifully illustrated, and they will greatly enhance your Bible comprehension. So, if you'd like to get them, simply follow the instructions that you see on the screen. You will be glad you did.

In this episode, you discovered how God's marvelous plan of salvation is revealed in the earthly sanctuary. But you might want to learn more about its many prophetic facets. If so, you're going to want a copy of "Blood Behind the Veil." This Amazing Facts pocketbook reveals more stunning truth about the purpose of God's sanctuary. To get your free copy, simply follow the instructions on the screen and we're going to send it to you quickly and, as I mentioned, free of charge.

What you've seen just now is only part one in this presentation. Make sure and join us for part two in our next broadcast for some of the most important points on this topic and to complete the corresponding study guides. Until then, God bless.

Guest (Male): This presentation was brought to you by the Friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry.