Route 66

Paul writes in Col. 2:16, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.”

Jordan says, “The law is a shadow of what God’s going to do for and with the nation Israel in her kingdom (Hebrews 10:1). What you have in the law is a picture of the redemption God’s going to provide for the nation Israel in her kingdom when the Messiah comes; how He’s going to do it and what it’s going to mean for them. He’s teaching them doctrine back here in times past about what He’s going to do with them in the ages to come over here.

“So technically and scripturally, the typology in the tabernacle teaches Israel doctrine about what God’s going to do with them. The materials the tabernacle’s made of, the colors of the material, the fabrics, the woods involved, the oils and the spices, and the stones, and the measurements, and the pans and the shovels, and the basins and the flesh hooks, and the fire pans and the erection of the tabernacle and the furniture.

“Everything about this thing has significance and it points in some way to the redemption that is going to be provided to Israel and, of course, you and I understand now that you and I have redemption in Christ, too. So there are things for us to learn from it, but it talks about the program God has for the nation Israel.

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“Now the tabernacle is set up—there is an outer court to it. There’s a gate, a doorway into that little walled off area there. That doorway is important. There’s a way to get in. North is up here, west is over there, south is down and east is over there. When they set it up they had to set this thing up facing the east over here. So to approach to God, which way would you be going? East to west.

“When Horace Greeley said, ‘Go west, young man, go west,’ you thought nothing of it but the history of your Bible goes from the east to the west. It’s a fascinating thing.

“You go in through the gate and the first thing you come to is the brazen altar. The next thing is a water laver of washing. And then inside here is another little tent. And that tent is divided into two sections—one is called the ‘holy place’ and then there’s one called the ‘holy of holies.’ That’s the second.

“In the holy place there’s a candlestick on one side, and a table of shewbread on that side, and an altar of incense. No place to sit down, just these places. Then in the Most Holy separated off by the veil, is the Arc of the Covenant. This is where the glory of God’s presence, the Shekinah glory, appears over the mercy seat. Inside that Arc is where the Ten Commandments are kept and some other things are added in there.

“Then there’s the mercy seat, overlaid with gold, and God’s presence resides on that mercy seat. He sits between the cherubim on the mercy seat. The blood on the Day of Atonement is spread over that mercy seat and the cover is the broken law and thus provides atonement for Israel. So there’s doctrine being taught to Israel on how they approach to God and how they maintain fellowship with God.

“The gate, the way of introduction, the brazen altar where the means of reconciliation is provided, where the blood is shed and poured out. The laver of cleansing, the baptismal laver where they have the cleansing procedure and the separation from defilement.

“Then you go in here into the fellowship where the priests work and there’s the golden candlestick, a type of Christ as the light of the world and illumination. The oil is a type of the Holy Spirit; it sheds light on the table of shewbread. It has 12 loaves of bread on it, six on one side and six on the other. Does 66 remind you of something connected with bread? How many books are in your Bible? 66. It’s interesting, it’s not 7 and 5 and it’s not 4 and 8; it’s 6 and 6.”

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The peace of God is not simply about a cessation of hostility; it’s a complete settlement of the issue. The result is quietness, confidence and assurance.

As Paul says in Romans 5:2, “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Jordan explains, “We have a pathway, a road, an entrance way. We have free admission into this grace wherein we stand.

“Do you remember in the Temple? How many times did somebody get in there behind the veil and offer the blood on that mercy seat and then come right out again? Once a year. That’s where God’s Shekinah glory was manifested.

“The veil was there for the purpose of stopping their access and restricting their access into where God’s presence was because had they gone in there they would have died. The glory of God would have slew them; killed ’em, bumped ’em off, made a greasy spot out of ’em.

“They feared God and stood away because of who He was. They came to that Temple and brought sacrifices there and prayed. When the Jew wanted to pray, he was supposed to look toward that Temple and pray three times a day—morning, noon and afternoon.

“In Acts 3, they go up there at ‘the hour of prayer’ to pray. When that Old Testament saint went up there to that Temple he still didn’t have access; he just came up in relative proximity.

“Do you know what Daniel in Daniel 6 does? He opens up the windows of his house toward that temple in Jerusalem and that thing’s been destroyed and yet he knows to look that way and offer his prayers.

“Do you have to wait ’til the hour of prayer to pray? Paul says be instant; pray without ceasing. That’s a dispensational term and command. You have instant, continuous availability. Something they didn’t have back there.

“I know we got a song about, ‘Sweet hour of prayer, may I thy consolation share,’
and all that business, but songwriters write songs about things that sometimes don’t make a lot of sense and sure don’t make good doctrine.”