Please turn with me in the scriptures to Exodus chapter 26. I'll be reading from the ESV, Exodus chapter 26. I bring you greetings, first of all, from the churches of the Presbytery of the Midwest and of my home congregation, Covenant OPC in Waterloo, Iowa. As we read this text, please keep in mind that a cubit is the distance between a man's elbow and forefinger here. It's about a foot and a half. And that this tabernacle refers sometimes to the tent itself, sometimes to the whole complex as well. Here then the word of God from Exodus chapter 26. I would encourage you to pay attention, close attention to the different materials that are used in the tent. moving from linen to wool, et cetera. Please pay close attention to the metals that are used in the construction of the tent, the quality of the tent's construction, and then the nature of the curtains that are used in the construction of the tent as well. Here then God's word from Exodus 26. Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with 10 curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns. You shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them. The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains shall be the same size. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise, you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set. The loops shall be opposite one another. And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole. You shall also make curtains of goat's hair for a tent over the tabernacle, 11 curtains you shall make. The length of each curtain shall be 30 cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The 11 curtains shall be the same size. You shall couple five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent. You shall make 50 loops on the edge of the curtains that is outermost in the one set, and 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. you shall make 50 clasps of bronze and put the clasps into the loops and couple the whole tent together that it may be a single whole. And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side and the cubit on the other side, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side to cover it. And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned ram skins and a covering of goat skins on top. You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. Ten cubit shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. There shall be two tenons in each frame for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. You shall make the frames for the tabernacle, 20 frames for the south side, and 40 bases of silver you shall make under the 20 frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons. And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side, 20 frames, and there 40 bases of silver, two bases under the one frame and two bases under the next frame. And for the rear of the tabernacle westward, you shall make six frames, and you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. They shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them, they shall form the two corners. and there shall be eight frames with their bases of silver, 16 bases, two bases under the one frame and two bases under another frame. You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on the one side of the tabernacle and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle and five bars for the frames on the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end. You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for holders in the bars. And you shall overlay the bars with gold. Then you shall erect a tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain. And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twine linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold with hooks of gold on four bases of silver. and you shall hang the veil from the clasps and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy. You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. You shall set the table outside the veil and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side. And you shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twisted linen, embroidered with needlework. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them. Thus far the reading of God's holy word. To his name be praise and glory. Please be seated. Brothers and sisters, well beloved by our great rescuer, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are in this section, 25 through 31 of Exodus, there are six chapters of description of the tabernacle. And if you go on to chapters 35 through 40, there are another six chapters of loving detail about the construction of the tabernacle. And it is at this point that many a person who made a vow to read through the Bible in a year failed. They come up against these details and they get weary and may give up. I was surprised and pleased this morning to find out that you are doing a series in the Exodus and may God bless you as you continue in this wonderful book. One of the reasons that I've chosen this text to preach on this morning, is that I just finished a two-week workshop on the book of Exodus, chapters 21 through 40, in Oaxaca, Mexico, in southern Mexico. I work, I've been seconded to a Mexican organization that's devoted to Bible translation, and we're focusing on the book of Exodus. And we dealt with all kinds of questions, including, for example, the question of the colors in verse one, or what exactly are these loops, hooks, and clasps that we were reading about? How exactly are you going to translate those words? I was very blessed to have at my disposal hundreds of pictures taken from the ancient Near East and throughout the Middle East even now of things that illustrate the details of the tabernacle and of everything in Exodus that was very helpful. Because the cultural things that we find in Exodus are often difficult for country people in the small towns of Mexico. But apart from the details and things to discuss, throughout those two weeks, there was a growing sense of just how wonderful God's teaching is in this book. This is a wonderful book. And this tabernacle is pointing us to wonderful things. And if God will give me grace to speak and you grace to understand, there's encouragement here for you. There's a connection to heaven for you. in these texts. There's confidence for us in the struggles, the challenges that we face week by week, the sins that we wade through in our weekly struggles. So let me ask a few questions this morning. I'd like to ask three basic questions to guide us in our discussion. And the first is very simple. What is the tabernacle? What is the tabernacle? Looking then just at chapter 26, we can see that the tabernacle is simply put, A tent, the word tabernacle in English comes from Latin, tabernaculum, it means a tent, simply put. You can see that this tent, if you look at it carefully, has four layers. The inside is made of fine linen, then there's a woolen layer over that, and then there are two layers of skin, two layers of fine leather over the top. It's not different fundamentally from the tents that the Israelites would have been living in. It's not all that different from the tents that Bedouin live in today. Perhaps you've seen those tents. Perhaps you've spent time in the desert yourself and have been amongst the desert peoples. Of course, this is a more beautiful tent. But the word for tabernacle simply means dwelling, residence. It's the word that's used in Isaiah 54 verse 2 for the habitations of Israel. It's the word used in Song of Songs in chapter 1-8 for the tents of the shepherds. It's a simple tent. But what's distinct, of course, about this tent is that it is Yahweh's tent. It is the Lord's tent. This tent, like all tents, has stakes, has poles, But the poles, the frames for this tent are covered in gold, and the stakes that go into the ground, the bases are made of silver. And there are very fine veils and screens that segregate this tent into two sections. There's an inner veil that we read about in 31, and there's an outer veil that we read about in 36. And so, there are three sections to this tent. First, there's this outer court, which is separated from the tents of the Israelites by a veil of white linen. To use American measurements, it's about 150 feet by about 70 feet wide. As you enter into this courtyard, you first come up against the bronze altar, which is where the animals would be continually offered. And there would be sacrifices being made there continually. And you would also come up to this large basin for holding water. which is called the sea in the later version of that, of the tabernacle, which we see the same thing, of course, in the temple. It's water for washing and other ceremonial purposes. But as you come then to the tabernacle itself, to the structure, you go through the first veil, if it's open, and you come into another room. It's a room that is twice as large as the inner room. This room is about 30 feet long by about 15 feet wide. And as you come into the room, you'll look on the right and you'll see a golden, small golden table with 12 pita breads on it which represent the whole people of God. If you look to the left, you will see a menorah which is a fancy holder of lampstands, seven lampstands in the form of a tree. It's a symbolic tree. And if you look right in front of you, you'll see a small altar where incense is offered twice a day in front of a very ornate, veil which is covered in designs of cherubim. Now if you go through that fancy curtain, you come into a room which is a perfect cube. This is very significant. It's 15 feet wide, 15 feet long, and 15 feet high. It is perfectly cubical. That room is only entered one time. once a year by the most holy person on the most holy day of the year in the most holy garments for the most holy purposes and actions. It's a very segregated, sacred, holy room. And there are all, many of the peoples of the ancient Near East had tabernacles or temples in this structure, but what would they have in the middle of their tabernacle or temple? They would always have an idol, a picture of their God. But this God who is infinite spirit, as he says himself in the second commandment, he forbids any idol because he cannot be represented physically, visibly. He who is invisible. Although there is no idol in this holy of holies, there is a, there is furniture there and the furniture that is there reminds the Israelites of the relationship that they have with this God. They have a relationship with this God because of he has given them a covenant and it is a holy box. And in that box, there are two copies of the covenant that God has made with Israel. Now, as we talk about the significance of the tabernacle and as we expand on it, we enter into areas where not necessarily everyone is agreed. And if I say something that you find particularly strange or you may disagree with, feel free to talk with me afterwards. Of course, there are some areas of debate and discussion. But on top of this box, there are two cherubim. Now when you think of cherubs, please do not think of the cute little renaissance babies, the fat little babies, right, that like fly around with cute little wings. That's not, we're sure that that's not what a cherubim is. When you think of a cherubim, you may want to think of a sphinx. Or you may want to think of a flying tiger. You may want to think of a panther with wings, maybe with a human face. Something extraordinary. Cherubs are these multi, they're strange beasts that are composed of different body parts. They were, throughout the ancient Near East, they are the guardians of the holy. They stand next to the throne of God. This is a clear symbolism that where we are now is at the throne of God. Or at least this is the footstool of the invisible throne of God. The cherubim are the guardians of the holiness of God. And there's this large golden hammered statue of these cherubim spreading their wings as it were protectively over the symbolic presence of God. So what is the tabernacle then? The tabernacle in short is, it is a holy tent which is symbolically, which houses the residence of Yahweh himself. But let's press in and ask a second question. So what is the symbolism? What's the meaning of the tabernacle? What's the symbolism of the tabernacle? Of course, there's a lot more here than we can talk about in a single session together. Excuse me. Let me suggest first that the tabernacle is fundamentally a mobile Sinai. That what happened at Mount Sinai happens here at the temple and is structured so that it can continue to follow the people of God as they make their way through the desert on their way to the promised land. That the tabernacle is Sinai that's movable. Mount Sinai, you may remember, if you read it carefully, Mount Sinai has three stages to it. There's a lower stage where the people can come if they have washed their clothes, if they're ceremonially purified, the people can come. We read about that in chapter 19, verses nine through 13. If they don't come appropriately or if they go beyond that area, they will die. They cannot approach the holy presence of God. There's a second stage where Aaron comes and the elders, the 70 elders of the people of Israel come to approach God closer and we read about that in chapter 24 verses 1 and 2 and 9 through 11. Here the elders come, they have a vision of the glory of God, they eat a sacramental meal in the presence of God and yet they are not killed. They, as the priests, they come into the second area. But then, the very presence of God on the top of Sinai, who goes there? There's only one human that is invited to go there. Exactly. The great mediator, Moses himself, he alone can go there under strict conditions and be in the very presence of God. We read about that in Chapter 24, Verses 15 through 18. And there it is, that God descends, as it were, on his throne on Sinai. These three levels are symbolized, these same three levels of Sinai are symbolized in terms of the outer court for the people, the inner court for the priests, and the holy of holies, which one priest, the high priest, only goes with very, very strict limitations. Now, what is the climax of the book of Exodus? I hope I'm not taking away from Pastor Zacharias. The climax, there are various climaxes, but what is the great climax at the, it's at the end, it's, excuse me, it's at the end of Exodus, right? At the very end, because what? Because Yahweh comes down. God comes down to live amongst his people and to dwell, as it were, in this tent. And so Sinai and this temple as well. Sinai and the temple become this connecting point, this link between earth and heaven. We need a connection to heaven and the Israelites were offered a connection to heaven through Sinai and through this tabernacle. Now do remember what happened to the Israelites when they were connected with God on Sinai. Do you remember what happened? They were so afraid. They about died. And they said, don't let God speak to us because we will die. Because they felt their sin. We'll come back to this. How is it that broken, sinful people can come in the presence of God? We cannot come into the presence of God unless he does something special for us. But we already are starting to see that. That God is making a connecting point. The three sections of the tabernacle are not only emphasized by physical separations, they're emphasized by other things as well. Did you notice how, what is used in the outer court? What is, the materials of the outer court, the altar, the basin for the water, what material is that made out of? It's made out of copper or bronze. As you move towards the inner court, we have the introduction of another metal, which is silver. But in the Holy of Holies, what's the metal that's exclusively used there? It is gold. So increasing preciousness of metal becomes increasing holiness. The holiness is set apart. God is distinguished even by the metals. the metals that are used even in the clasps that we read about. In the linen, the clasps are gold. Over the top of that, the clasps are bronze, and over that is the leather to keep out the elements, et cetera. So you can see holiness, the closer you get to God, the more sacred, more precious is the material. But not even that. The quality of the weaving is different, linen on the inside, then wool on the outs and the middle, and then leather on the outside. But also, and I didn't notice this, I only learned this just myself, even though I've read this many times, is that the quality of workmanship is described in three different terms. Let's just look at the first two. If you look at chapter 26, verse 31, it says there that the intervail is made with, quote, skillful workmanship. That's one Hebrew expression. And if you look at verse 36, it uses another Hebrew term for a second quality of workmanship. It says embroidered with needlework, and then the outer work is described in another way. So there is even more, even the stitching is more quality as you move towards the Holy of Holies. All of this is emphasizing that God is separate from the people. God's not common. God is holy and he is the king of kings. Also, these three stages have a greater symbolic representation both for the Israelites and for the peoples of the ancient Near East who viewed their temples as microcosms of the macrocosm. In other words, the temple is a picture of the universe, and we see that here in this temple, this tabernacle, which is, again, it comes out similarly in the temple. The outer court is particularly identified with this earth. We call it the sea, the laver or the basin for the water is called the sea in the later Solomon's version. It has flower designs on it. It has bulls, statues of bulls, animals of this earth underneath it. And of course, animals are being offered continually on the bronze altar that's outside. But as you move into the holy place, what color strikes you? As you walk into it, you're surrounded with blue. And now you're reminded of the sky, and your mind is lifted up to the heavenly objects. There's gold that glints there, there's silver, maybe that reminds you of the sun, silver to remind you of the moon. This menorah, it has seven lights. It seems quite... reasonable and likely, that these refer to the seven planets that are visible to the naked human eye. So this reminds you of the celestial world as you enter into this tabernacle. And as you go through the inner court, into the very heart of this construction, what are you looking at then? You see these cherubim, right? And you see this, everything is gold on the inside. And this Holy of Holies is intended to make you think of the reality beyond the earth, beyond the sky, that is that there is a God who is the maker of all things, who is the invisible God. He's beyond the visible heavens. And so as you enter there, you're being taken into the very presence of this invisible God. And we'll come back to this fact that this cubical room by 10 by 10 by 10 cubits, it underlines how God is perfect. His dimensions are absolutely perfect and he manifests himself there. Now, if we had more time, it would be interesting to explore the connections of the tabernacle with the original tabernacle, I would argue, which is the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden is separated out from the world around it. It's a holy place, and it has a separate area within it for the two sacramental trees. The one is the testing tree. The other is the tree of everlasting life. If you pass the test, then you have the right to eat of that tree. But, and of course, even in the use of a menorah in the tabernacle, it points toward those trees, and particularly the tree of life. It would also be interesting to go forward and explore the connections of the tabernacle with the vision that Ezekiel has at the end of his book as he sees Jerusalem, the new, this renewed Jerusalem as it were a tabernacle city. The city itself has become holy. And the climax, of course, at the end of that book, just like Exodus, is chapter 48, verse 35, which says, the name of the city from that time on shall be the Lord is there. So what is the point, what is the glory of Eden? What is the glory of Ezekiel's city? What is the glory of the tabernacle? What is the glory of the temple that Solomon made, which was made after the same pattern as the tabernacle, basically? What is the glory? The glory is the presence of God with his people. That is the glory. He himself is the glory. You may have heard the word shekhinah or shekhinah or however you want to pronounce it. That word is a kind of a post-biblical word. It refers to, mishkan is the word for tabernacle and shekhan means to dwell. So it's the idea of this dwelling or the manifestation, the residence of God in his splendor and glory, which is, and this of course is impossible for me to express, but it is he himself. because he is himself beauty, he is himself glory, he is himself all magnificence and majesty and awesomeness. That's the definition of these things, he himself. And let me continue and let me go on to express one more mind-boggling connection of this tabernacle with the rest of the biblical story. When you think of something else in the Bible that's a perfect cube, not Solomon's Temple. Can you tell me something else? Can you think of something else in the Bible? Think Genesis to Revelation. That's a perfect cube that comes down from God. Does that ring any bells to you? Go to the end of the Bible. The end of the Bible. What do you find? Now John the evangelist, the writer of the Book of Revelation, he uses many metaphors to talk about this reality. He calls it a bride. He calls it a city. This is the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem, as we read in Revelation 21, 16, it descends out of heaven and it comes to earth and it is the form of a perfect cube. Now, if you're into geography and you like to measure out stadia, you say, what? This thing is about the size of maybe somewhere between India and Australia. It's massive. It's like a continent. It's huge. It's an enormous city garden as it were. And then it says it's as high as it is wide. What? That's like almost up to the space station, you know. But the point is not for you to put on your science cap and think how such a thing would kind of throw the world off its rotation. That's not the point. The point is that it's a cube. It's perfect. It represents God coming down to be with us human beings. And so the climax is in Revelation 22, verse three, it says there, the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it and his servants will worship him and they will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. Do you see? That's the climax. to have a relationship. The book of Exodus, you could say, is what? God redeems in order to have a relationship. He rescues in order to establish a connection with us, his people. And this is the climax of the story at the end of the Bible. That we will see his face and his name will be on our foreheads. It's like a marriage. It's described as a bride. The marriage supper of the lamb. But the point of the marriage is not just the joy of the day. It's the life together of the husband and the wife. The fruitful community that they have together and the delight that they take in one another and how that flows out productively from them to those about them. And we'll see that that's the point of our connection with God, that we might enjoy it and it might produce fruit in us in our experience in this life and in the life to come. But let me step back and ask the question, a third question. So what does the tabernacle mean for you? What does the tabernacle mean for me? How does this touch us? This is all nice, but how does it touch us? I've already mentioned to you that the Israelites almost passed out when God came down to them at Sinai and they heard his voice physically. They thought that they were going to die when he spoke the Ten Commandments to them. It is not a safe thing for morally tainted human beings like I am, like you are, morally imperfect human beings to come into the presence of the judge of the universe. We were singing from the Psalms, God as judge will do right. That's a terrifying thought if we think about what we have done wrong. and how we have failed to do our duties to one another and how we've been twisted and love the wrong things or the right things too much. But let me draw your attention back to Exodus for a moment itself. So we have six chapters about the tabernacle in chapters 25 through 31. We have another six chapters dealing with the details of the tabernacle in chapters 35 through 40. But what comes in between? Excuse me. Right in the midst of all this loving detail of the tabernacle, what's the story in the middle? We've been talking about rhetorical questions. That is a rhetorical question. Sometimes people answer rhetorical questions from the audience. And it's the story of the golden calf. One principle of interpretation in Exodus is everything interprets itself. There's narrative and then there's instruction. Instruction, narrative, they interpret each other. So what does that mean? How can we interpret the tabernacle then when the golden calf is right in the middle? The golden calf shows us who we are as sinful humans. We are morally weak. We are failures again and again. This is a horrible incident. This is like somebody committing adultery on their wedding night. It's that bad. They just are established in their relationship with God. Moses goes up the mountain and they say, let's make another God. It's breaking at least of the second commandment, maybe of the first commandment as well, right? A terrible sin. Brothers, sisters, this shows us that we are the daughters and the sons of Adam and Eve. that we are morally twisted. There's something wrong with each of us deep down that we cannot fix left to ourselves. Our first Adam was supposed to play the man and he was supposed to slay the dragon. But what did he do? He allows this demonic influence to come and to tempt his partner and she falls under the seduction of Satan himself at the beginning of human history. We are weak. We are the descendants of a weak man. Did Israel succeed? Kind of God's second son, a new Adam. Israel, as we see with the golden calf, Israel failed. We all fail. We are corrupt in every part of our being, as the children's catechism says, right? There's something sick in us and we cannot just march into the presence of God. We would die because he is holy and we are not holy. So the question then is, after Adam and Eve have been ejected from the very presence, they were thrown out of the tabernacle, Eden, The question is then how can we get back into the safe and secure presence of God? How can we be in the presence of God and enjoy it, not be destroyed by it? That's the question, right? What kind of stairway to heaven do we have? That's the question. Now, for the older crowd here, that's a Led Zeppelin song, right? And let's think about that for a second. First, let's think about our own culture. There Jimmy Page says, there's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold and she's buying a stairway to heaven. And it goes on later in the song and it says, if you listen very hard, the tune will come to you at last when all, listen carefully, when all are one and one is all to be a rock and not to roll. So Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, he's looking for a time when things are going to be right again. That's what he wants. That's what all of us humans want. We want somehow to get back to God. Different cultures express it differently. So I'm now spending a lot of time in southern Mexico. And in that part of the world, there are many stairways to heaven. Maybe you've seen Tenochtitlan or Teotihuacan or Chichen Itza, right? What are the stairways of heaven like in Mesoamerica, in southern Mexico or Guatemala? They're stairways to heaven, literally, right? You walk up the steps to make your way in heaven. That's the way they did it, including, as we were talking about in our Sunday school, with sacrificing of living human beings to pacify the gods and gain their favor. Does that remind you of another making of a stairway to heaven in the Bible? The very beginning is the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel is an attempt to make a stairway to heaven. But whether it's Jimmy Page or whether it's the Aztecs or the Mayas or whether it's Babel, we try to make our own stairways to heaven on our terms that make us comfortable that we think we can get ourselves there, right? And that is not the case. What does the word, what does Bab-el mean? Bab-el means the gate of God. Bab-el, the gate of God. Yes, we want a gate of God, but it does not come from earth to heaven. It's not something you can make. It's not something you can do. You cannot put yourself right with God. No, no, no. That can't do. That can't do. What did Jacob learn? What did Israel learn when he was asleep and he had a vision of a stairway of heaven? What did he see? Did he build a stairway to heaven? No. The stairway of heaven came down to him. The stairway from heaven must come down. It cannot come up. The angels were coming down and then rising. That was the grace of God to him. And the same is true with us. We need the stairway of heaven to come down to us. And how did that ultimately happen? Well, John, the same John who wrote Revelation, also wrote us a gospel. Would you turn with me to chapter one of his gospel, verse 14? We read there, it says, that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Son of God came down, the Word, the second person of the Trinity, came down for a rescue operation. We can translate, another translation of that verb is that it's this idea of tabernacling. that the word tabernacled, he set up his dwelling place, he lived among us, he resided among us, right? Jesus then is being presented by John as the true tabernacle. Jesus himself goes on to talk about himself as the tabernacle or as the temple. He says in chapter 2, verse 18, he says to his enemies, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. He's referring to his own body at that point. Brothers and sisters, Jesus is described with so much language from Exodus. He is the greater Moses. He is the mediator between human beings and God. He is described as the Lamb of God. He is not only the priest, but he is the sacrifice himself that takes away the sin of the world. He is described as a high priest, especially in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. But in short, Jesus is, he is the connecting point between earth and heaven. He is the place where heaven comes down to make contact with us and to raise us up to have communion with God that would otherwise be completely impossible. Everything that this tabernacle and all its priestly work, the whole thing points to him. And what happens as he dies on that terrible cross? To take your moral guilt on his own shoulders, to take the judgment that you deserved on his own person, on his own body, in his own soul, and to take it away. What happens as he dies and he says it is finished? What happens to the temple, the physical temple in Jerusalem? What happens to the veil, this very veil that's described so carefully in chapter 26? What happens to it? It's opened up. It tears not from bottom to top, that's how I would tear it, right? Fifteen feet high? No. It's torn from the top to the bottom. Jesus opens the way. That way is basically sealed. But Jesus opens the way so that we can enter into that, to have a relationship with the Holy God. So we can say that Jesus is the tabernacle. Jesus is the true Bab El, the true gateway to God. Jesus is truly the stairway to heaven that everybody is looking for in their own lost way. But we have offered to us. So friends, this invitation is for you, if you can understand my voice, if you understand English and can understand what I'm saying. This is an all English service today and an only English service. I'm sorry about that, but that's the limitation. The invitation is this. If you want a connection to heaven, you can have it today. It's for you. There are no preconditions. If you wanna be connected to God, If you want to have a relationship with God, it is offered to you. It is open to you. You simply have to receive it, to receive Christ as the connecting point. Have you received him? Will you receive him? He offers himself to you. He did it for you. He did it for you. It doesn't matter your background, it doesn't matter Anything about the past, it's an offer for you now. At the end of Revelation, we have this invitation again and again. Come, let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who desires take the water of life without price. So this is for you, for all of you, to have a connection with God. Now, Christian, let me talk to you. If you have received Christ, if you know what it means to have a connection with God because of Christ, this now defines you. This defines you. You may be an American, that's your citizenship. You may have citizenship in another country, but those citizenships are secondary. This connection now defines you. You now, Christian, are a person who has a connection to heaven. That defines you. You are connected to the great kingdom of the great king. That's your primary identification and allegiance. And that makes all the difference. We read from Peter, he tells us in his first letter, chapter two, verse nine, that you are a citizen of a holy nation. Is the United States a holy nation? No, of course it's not. Peter says that you are a part of a kingdom that is a priestly kingdom. Is that the United States? Is that Eritrea? Is that Ethiopia? Is that Afghanistan? No, of course it's not. These are not holy nations. These are secular nations. They have their faults of one type or another, right? But you are a citizen of a holy nation, a part of a kingdom that is a priestly kingdom. Wow. That's who you are. You have a royal calling. You have a priestly calling. Does that mean you don't have any golden calves in your life? No. We all have golden calves in our life. What do you love too much? A good thing, you love it in the wrong way too much. Or what do you love that's not a good thing? It's a bad thing. Can you face those golden calves? Now you can, you see? You have a fresh motivation to live that pure life that you're called to because you are pure, connected to Christ. Your identity is now, you have a priestly identity. Because you're so perfect in your life? No, not at all. But because Christ is so perfect and he gives you that perfection by identifying himself with you. You are now pure, you are forgiven, you are cleansed. And so now this gives you strength to live that clean, new, full life. Your life has a new purpose. We read in Revelation 22 verse 14, blessed are those who wash their robes, that is by faith in Christ, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. You have a calling now to live in a pure way because you've become pure. Brothers and sisters, we've been talking about a saga. This is an enormous story today. We've been talking about something we could call it a meta-narrative or a huge myth as it were. But it's a true myth. It's a true saga. It's a true history. Just some of it hasn't been fulfilled yet. We see the promises in Exodus, we see the fulfillment in our Lord Jesus Christ, and then we have his resurrection. What day is it today? Today is the second Sunday of Easter. It's the second Sunday of Easter. That is, that Christ has come, and now, through his death, he has defeated death itself, he has risen to a higher level of life. And that means that nothing is the same anymore. your life cannot be the same anymore. Jesus has entered into the experience of the new heavens and the new earth already, and you, connected to him by faith, you will surely and inevitably share that same experience. Your body will experience a higher level of life, bodily life. Your senses will be more aware Your desires will be deeper and they will be pure, completely pure. Your experience of this life will have no more weeping. Children, imagine that. No more weeping at all. No more crying. No more pain. No more disappointments. No more troubles. Right? And children, how is it that you can be part of this new heavens and the new earth? Do you have to do something great in order to qualify? No. Jesus offers you this as a gift. He offers it to you as a gift. Just to receive Jesus means to receive all these wonderful blessings. Brothers and sisters, if you're going to a physical world, a new earth, where you're going to be completely healthy, where you will only desire things that are right and those desires will be completely fulfilled, when you'll have no more struggles, well I want that but that ain't right and I want this but that ain't right, that'll be finished. If that's where you're destined to go, Can you handle the troubles of this week before you, do you think? Can you handle the temptations that are facing you? You may want to give up. You may want to say, I've had enough. I don't want to continue this Christian way. I want to compromise. But can you not be brave if this is around the corner? Can you not push on for a short amount of time until Christ returns and you receive this full blessing of this new heavenly life, this life that comes from God and comes down and transforms everything about this world? Can you not push on? Can you not be faithful? Can you not be brave? Yes, you can. By God's grace, yes, you can. Would you join me in prayer? Let's pray. Almighty God and Heavenly Father, how we thank you for sending us the stairway to heaven, putting down the ladder, Jacob's ladder, Jesus Christ himself, to come and rescue us who were lost and confusion and compromise, sinning, despairing. We thank you, Lord, that you fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts, which is to have a safe and peaceful relationship with you. We pray for each one here today, if they have not embraced Christ as the great Savior, please give them faith to call out, oh Jesus, have mercy and save me. Oh Jesus, take me to yourself. Be my contact point with heaven. Lord, we pray for all of us who are being tempted this week, which is almost, which is all of us. Some of us perhaps are being deeply tempted this week. Give us bravery, give us constancy, strength to slay the dragon as our first father failed and our savior Jesus Christ succeeded. O Lord God, please work in us what we need, grant us what we need, gift us what we need, we pray. Thank you for all your goodness. Please seal these things and the wonderful truth that Jesus is our connection point with heaven. Seal these things into our minds, we pray. Please bless us as we continue to study Exodus as a congregation. May it be very rich for us, we do ask. guide us and strengthen us this afternoon and bring us back this evening and as the weeks roll by build us up in the most holy faith we pray thank you lord for your grace on grace toward us in jesus christ in whose name we pray amen