Spiritual Light

My Credentials for Writing Chapter Two:

The Sacrifice of Christ

When I began my walk with Christ Jesus, I had a deep hunger to know the Bible, even the most complicated and confusing parts. As part of my quest for biblical knowledge, I set out to study the details of the tabernacle which Moses and Israel built while they were camped at Mount Sinai. These details are given in the last sixteen chapters of Exodus, and I happily familiarized myself with the measurements of each piece of furniture, the materials used in the construction of the tabernacle, and it’s coverings and curtains, it’s boards and bars, the courtyard, the two altars, and everything else associated with the holy place where atonement would be made for Israel’s sins.

I took detailed notes of everything I read, but I did something much more important than that. Every day while I was doing my research, I watched the clock on my shelf by my desk, and at the top of every hour I would put down everything and fall to my knees and pray to God, that He would help me understand what I was reading.

I remember pleading with Him to show me why He gave these instructions to Moses. I remember confessing to Him my faith that he had a wise purpose for everything, that these tabernacle details were not random, that my professors were wrong in telling me Moses’ tabernacle was an assimilation of elements from various heathen temples. I confessed to God my faith that the Bible was true, that He really had revealed these things to Moses while he was with God forty days on the top of Mount Sinai, and that I believed with all my heart that the design and purpose for that tabernacle was relevant to the lives of believers today, if we only had the eyes to see it!

I did this at the top of every hour, every day as I studied the details of Moses’ tabernacle. When my study was completed, I reviewed the 3x5 cards on which I had taken notes and then, I put it all away. I had learned much, and was content with that, but I did not know that God had accepted my prayer to reveal to me what Moses’ tabernacle really represented.

Shortly afterwards, I was preaching one Saturday night to a small congregation far out in the country, and I found myself talking about the sacrifice of Christ. I was explaining things about that sacred event which I, myself, did not understand. I did not realize what was happening, since this had never happened to me before. The holy Spirit was revealing something to me as well as to the congregation, using my own mouth to speak hidden mysteries, right in the middle of my own sermon! It was wonderful!

All of a sudden, this glorious experience was interrupted by an angry man. He jumped up and started quarreling before us all about a doctrine he had been taught. Apparently, he felt threatened by this new thing that I was preaching, and was so offended that he became enraged. I was stunned. In just a few minutes, he stormed out of the meeting, with several other people following him. I didn’t finish my sermon; the flow of the Spirit had been interrupted and my attention diverted. Those of us who remained, knelt and prayed, and then went home.

The following Wednesday night, I had an appointment to return to the same little congregation and preach again. As I drove south on Highway 39, about halfway between my hometown of Henderson and Louisburg, the Lord, quite unexpectedly, interrupted my thoughts by asking me a question. It is difficult to describe exactly how it happened, but the answer to the Lord’s question was enfolded within the question itself.

The question was,“Where was Christ when he was sacrificed?” The Lord gave me enough time to ponder the question so that I knew I did not know the answer; however, somehow, at the same moment the question came, God created in my heart the knowledge of the answer. It is impossible to describe the event adequately. All I can say is that, suddenly, I understood that the sacrifice of Christ took place in heaven, in the presence of the Father, not on Earth, hanging on a cross before men. Furthermore, because I had prepared myself to receive that revelation by studying the Bible and humbly seeking God’s help, I was now equipped to use the Scriptures to explain to others what Jesus had shown me.

All those long hours of studying the tabernacle of Moses paid off, with enormous dividends. All the prayers, at the top of every hour, now seemed well worth the time. I felt rich, for at last I understood the Scriptures which spoke with such power of the sacrifice of Christ, especially those in Hebrews, chapters 8-10. The reasons for building the Old Testament tabernacle made perfect sense. God did have a holy purpose for it, and that Old Testament sanctuary was relevant to our life in Christ Jesus!

All the pieces of that puzzle began to fit together, and I marveled at the astonishing picture that I now saw. A hundred questions of my own had been answered in that one, precious, holy moment.

With the revelation of God now guiding my heart, I set about to gather biblical information concerning the sacrifice of Christ, that awful, pivotal event in human history, and that labor is now offered to you, in the chapter that follows.