## Christ in the Tabernacle

### Typical Teaching of the Tabernacle

3 - The Gate
  The only opening through the hangings of the Court of the Tabernacle was the hanging made of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, which hung at the east end of the Court. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high, and was supported by four brass pillars with their brass sockets, and silver chapiters, hooks and fillets. Ex 27:16

  Under this Gate, any or all the people of Israel might approach into the Court of Jehovah, who dwelt in their midst.

  Though God is fundamentally, absolutely, and eternally holy and righteous in all His ways, He is also the God of infinite compassion, the God of love and mercy, the God of all Grace. It was His love that opened the Gate and said ''Come unto Me'', to Israel and to us. Mat 11:28

  For us, the Gate is a type of Christ as the Way, the only way that God has opened for man to come to the Father. Joh 14:6

  The Gate was made of four colors, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.

  The blue, the color of the atmospheric heavens encircling the earth, is typical of Christ as the heavenly One, the Son of God who is in the bosom of the Father, who came down from the Father's bosom that He might bring us into the place from which He came. Joh 1:18; 14:3; 17:23,24; 20:31

  The purple is the royal color, the color of kings' garments, and is typical of Christ as the royal One, the King of Israel, as revealed in Matthew's gospel. Mat 1:1; 2:2

  The scarlet, the color of blood, typifies the suffering, sorrowing, sympathizing Saviour seeking and saving the lost as revealed in Luke's gospel. Luke 19:10

  The fine linen, ever a type of righteousness (Rev 19:8), in the Gate is typical of Christ as the righteous, faithful Servant of God's grace, as revealed in Mark's gospel. Mark 10:45

  The Gate upheld by its four pillars of brass is thus a type of Christ as He is revealed through the four gospel writers.

  From this we learn that no man can come to the Father without a knowledge of the historical Christ, who came to earth and actually accomplished the work of redemption. Joh 17:3; Acts 4:12

  But how could a sinful people come acceptably under this Gate into the Court of the Holy One of Israel? Only as sinners, could they come, confessing that they were guilty before God, by bringing their trespass-offerings or sin-offerings. The sinner who sought acceptance before God because he had reformed, or ''turned over a new leaf,'' or because of his good works, found that his bloodless meal-offering, like Cain's, was not accepted. Gen 4:3-7; Lev 2

  The first step God-ward which the sinful Israelite might take was thus to acknowledge that he was a sinner by coming under the Gate with his sin-offering, then he might offer a thank offering, which was either a peace-offering, a meal-offering, or a burnt-offering. Lev ch. 1-3

  The first acceptable step, therefore, which a sinner can take toward God, is to repent, to acknowledge, or to confess that he is a sinner, dead in trespasses and in sins. Mat 21:28-32; Luke 7:29,30; Eph 2:1-4

  Repentance means a change of mind, with reference to sin, self, and God. It is an act of faith, the result of a conviction inwrought by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. (Joh 16:7-11; Rom 10:9-18) True repentance affects the mind, the heart or the emotions, and the will of man. The Holy Spirit, through the gospel, causes men to think of God, of themselves, and of their sins which separate them from God, and thus He causes them to feel their lost condition and also to be sorry for their sins. At the same time, the Spirit seeks to persuade men by the word that God loves them and longs to forgive them for Christ's sake, if they will only acknowledge their guilt and turn from their sins to God. (Psa 32:1-5; Isa 55:7; 1The 1:9) When a sinner yields to the convicting and constraining powers of the Holy Spirit, and falling before God as a sinner, cries like the publican, ''Oh God, be merciful to me, the sinner,'' he will quickly learn what it is to be saved by grace through faith. Luke 18:13,14 [RV]

Proceed to the next section of this study: 4 - The Brazen Altar
Return to the Table of Contents for this study on the Tabernacle.

This study can be accessed under Book Notes at Exodus chapter 25.
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