Temple Prayer – Temple of Grace

I developed the Temple of Grace perspective after praying through Dr. Cho’s Tabernacle

Prayer for many years. A confusing view of legalism is a stumbling block for many in the U.S. with the Tabernacle prayer.  They don’t want to try it because they see it based on Moses tabernacle and feel a form of legalism in the prayer.  What they miss is the big picture of the Tabernacle throughout Scripture.  God lives in His Heavenly Temple.  That Temple is ground zero for the creation and sustaining of all life that has ever existed.  Therefore, the tabernacle is not an old testament concept.  It is a picture of the eternal reality of God’s Temple in heaven.  The garden of Eden is the first, and Moses’ Tabernacle is second picture of the Heavenly Temple given in Scripture.  Solomon’s Temple, is the forth. (David’s Tent is the third)

And so on it goes all the way to Revelation 22 and the Heavenly city coming down.  In that city John saw no temple because the Lord God and the Lamb are it’s Temple.  The point is that the Temple pattern is eternal, and it’s throughout the Bible.  I call it God’s flannelgraph, His illustrated sermon, a storyboard of how man is to worship God.

But how does Jesus fit into all this?  I’m glad you ask.  The Temple of Grace walks you through the Temple pattern from the perspective of Jesus and what he did to fulfill every aspect of Temple worship.  After all, Jesus has been serving as the High Priest in the Heavenly Temple for the last 2,000 years.  If Jesus is the High priest, then that Temple in Heaven must be pretty darn important wouldn’t you say?  Faithful believers will worship there one day.  Jesus forewarned us  that he was the temple in John 2:20-22.

Tabernacle Prayer is a form of worship versus a prayer you find in the Bible.

So understand that you are worshipping God as you use the Tabernacle pattern.  It teaches you how to worship in what some would say is God’s ordained pattern of worship.   What we do as priests in the invisible tabernacle, is actually a worship process in a real tabernacle (our bodies).  Prayer is a big part of the Tabernacle pattern of worship. You may find yourself singing, praising, dancing, prostrate, in intercession, doing repentance, crying out to God, calling on Him, and waiting on Him.  You never know what the Spirit will lead you to do inside the Holy Temple of the Living God!

Again, this is an invisible Temple, unseen by the natural eye, but accessed by faith as you pray through the Word of God.  The Lord paints a picture for us of the Temple in many books of the Bible.   Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Matthew, John, Acts, Ephesians, 2 Corinthians, Colossians, 2 Peter, Hebrews, Revelation and many others.  By praying through these passages, we get a picture of what the Heavenly Temple and the Throne room of God looks like.

This is a very big deal.  If you consider Abraham, Issac, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, many of the Prophets, Jesus, Peter, James, John, and Paul, all of these men were given a vision of the Heavenly Temple and Zion.  They saw it and it was a big factor in the strong faith they had in God and their heavenly home.  Now we have his Word. And His word tells us stories of what happened and some of what they saw.  God is inviting us to get these powerful images in our minds to expand our faith, and to motivate in our royal priesthood, our heavenly calling. Hebrews 11 & 12 sums up what we should be visualizing when we consider our high calling in Christ Jesus.  We come boldly before his (heavenly) throne of Grace!

Praying through the Tabernacle or Temple reinforces the reality that there has always been an eternal Temple in heaven.  The temples on earth, talked about throughout the Bible, are all patterns of the Temple in Heaven.  This applies to our bodies as well.  We are the portable Tabernacles of God today.  So many Christians don’t guard what they allow in their own minds and bodies because they don’t understand this fundamental aspect of being a temple.  Many get all clogged up with garbage and wonder why they don’t experience more of God’s presence.  They settle for an emotional experience through loud music, lights, and other external stimuli.  A clear conscience is very important for one to “see” God and “hear” His voice.  Acts 24:16  Heb 10:22  1Tim 3:9   1John 3:21-22

Jesus said, “it is finished” on the cross on earth.  Then he did an amazing thing in Heaven because of the Cross.  He carried his blood into the heavenly temple and put it on the mercy seat in heaven.  He became the High Priest of Heaven. His sacrifice was the permanent sacrifice of a lamb on passover day and His blood is on the eternal Mercy seat on the REAL Ark of the Covenant in HEAVEN.   This is a mind boggling reality that is at the heart of the Gospel and fulfills all that both the Old and New Covenants speak about.  Because of this, we now have access to the Holy Spirit.  God himself now dwells inside of our bodies (temples) and we become temples of the Holy Spirit.

This worship imagery that God gives us in the Temples of the Bible is consistent throughout the Scriptures.  It gives us imagery of what the heavenly Temple (eternal & permanent) is like.  We can then use our imaginations to visualize what we cannot see with our physical eyes.  The Tabernacle Pattern also prepares you for what  Millenium worship in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem may be like.  You can read about it in Isa 2 and Zec 14:16-21.  I hope you enjoy the Temple of Grace version of the Tabernacle Prayer.

Derek Packard, Colorado Springs, CO

1

We are to Be grateful

GATE

He’s the Gate for the Sheep

Psalm 100:4

4 Come into his ·city [gates] with songs of thanksgiving

   and into his courtyards with songs of praise.

   ·Thank [Praise] him and ·praise[bless] his name.

John 10:9

9 I am the ·door [gate], and the person who enters through me will be saved and will be able to come in and go out and find pasture [compare Ps. 118:20].

2a

BRAZEN ALTAR (CROSS)

He’s the Lamb of God

1Peter 1:18-21

18 [For] You know that in the past you were living in a ·worthless [meaningless; futile; vain;] way, a way passed down from ·the people who lived before you [your ancestors]. But you were saved[ransomed; redeemed] from that useless life. You were ·bought [ransomed; redeemed; C like a slave whose freedom was purchased by a payment], not with something that ·ruins [perishes; spoils] like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ , who was like ·a pure and perfect lamb [a lamb without defect or blemish;

2b

BRAZEN ALTAR (CROSS)

Faith in His Blood Saves.

Romans 3:25

25a God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith…

3a

3b

LAVER

He’s the Living Water

(wash, clean, purify)

Jeremiah 2:13

13 “My people have done two evils:

They have ·turned away from [abandoned; forsaken] me,  the ·spring [fountain] of living water[17:13].

And they have dug their own ·wells [cisterns],

   which are broken ·wells [cisterns] that cannot hold water [C the idols, like the wells, are useless].

1 John 1:8-10

8 If we say we ·have no sin [or have no sin nature; or are not guilty of sinning], we are ·fooling[deceiving] ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because ·we can trust God to do what is right [ he is faithful and righteous/just; Deut. 32:4]. He will ·cleanse [purify] us from all ·the wrongs we have done [unrighteousness]. 10 If we ·say [claim] we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and ·we do not accept God’s teaching [L his word is not in us].

4

LAMPSTAND

Jesus Is the Light of the World

John 8:12

12 Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world [ the Feast of Shelters included a lamp lighting ritual that Jesus may be alluding to; 7:37–39]. The person who follows me will never ·live [L walk] in darkness but will have the light ·that gives life [L of life].”

5

TABLE OF SHOWBREAD

Jesus the Bread of Life

John 6:47-51

47 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the ·bread that gives life [T bread of life]. 49 Your ·ancestors[forefathers; L fathers] ate the manna [see 6:31] in the ·desert [wilderness], but still they died. 50 Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give up so that the world may have life.”

6

ALTAR OF INCENSE

Jesus our High Priest who makes intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:24-26

24 But because Jesus ·lives [remains; abides]forever, he ·will never stop serving as priest [L has a permanent/eternal priesthood].

25 So he is able ·always to save [or to save completely/forever]those who come to God through him because he always lives, ·asking God to help [interceding for]them.

26 ·Jesus is the kind of high priest we need [L For such a high priest is indeed suited/fitting for us]. He is holy, ·sinless [innocent; blameless], ·pure[undefiled], ·not influenced by [set apart from]sinners, and he is ·raised above the heavens [or having the highest place in heaven].

7

VEIL

His Body is the Veil

His Body is the Veil…

Hebrews 10:19-22

19 So, brothers and sisters, ·we are completely free[L since we have confidence…; C this “since” clause continues through v. 22] to enter the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary; holy things; T Holy of Holies]without fear ·because of [or by means of] the blood of Jesus’ death. 20 We can enter through a new and living way that Jesus ·opened [or restored; renewed; or inaugurated] for us. It leads through the curtain—Christ’s ·body [T flesh; C like the curtain of the Most Holy Place, Christ’s body, sacrificed for us, provides access to the presence of God]. 21 And since we have a great priest over God’s house, 22 let us come near to God with a ·sincere [true] heart and a ·sure [confident] faith, because we have ·been made free [L had our hearts sprinkled; C sacrificial blood was sprinkled on people and things to purify them] from a ·guilty [evil] conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water [C water was used in Judaism for ritual purification].

8a

HOLY OF HOLIES

Jesus Blood on Mercy Seat.

Hebrews 9:11-12

11 But when Christ came as the high priest of the good things ·we now have [a] [that have come], he entered the greater and more perfect ·tent[T tabernacle]. It is not made ·by humans [ with hands] and does not belong to this ·world [creation; created order]. 12 Christ entered the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary; L holy things; Holy of Holies] ·only once—and for all time [once for all; 7:27; 10:10]. ·He did not take with him […not by means of] the blood of goats and calves. ·His sacrifice was […but by means of] his own blood, and by it he ·set us free from sin forever [obtained/secured eternal redemption/liberation].

8b

Jesus at Father’s Right Hand

Ephesians 1:19-21

19 And you will know that God’s power is ·very[exceedingly; overwhelmingly] great for us who believe. That power ·is the same as [or was demonstrated in] the great strength 20 God ·used[exerted] to raise Christ from the dead and ·put[L seat] him at his right ·side [ hand; Ps. 110:1; Acts 2:34] in the heavenly ·world [realm; places]. 21 God has put Christ ·over [far above] all rulers, authorities, powers, and ·kings [lords; dominion], and every other ·title given [L name that is named]not only in this ·world [age] but also in the ·next[coming one].

8c

We’re to think about the things in heaven.

Colossians 3:1-3

3 [ Therefore] Since you were ·raised from the dead [L raised] with Christ, ·aim at [aspire to; seek after; focus on] ·what is in heaven [the things above], where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 ·Think only about [Set your minds on; Fix your thoughts on] the things ·in heaven [above], not the things on earth. 3 [For] ·Your old sinful self has [You] died, and your new life is ·kept [hidden]with Christ in God.

 

Hope you enjoy the Temple of Grace perspective on the AMAZING Tabernacle Prayer