Plucking the Eagle's Wings

Hebrew Patterns in America and the Nation's Capital

Through prophetic symbolism the Bible interprets itself. One symbol that represents God dwelling among His people is the tabernacle of Moses. It was constructed in the wilderness, and hundreds of years later King Solomon placed it in a magnificent Temple in Jerusalem. Both the tabernacle and the Temple consisted of three chambers: the outer court, the inner court, and the Holy of Holies. Paul wrote that, "Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 3:16). Every human has a body, soul, and spirit because we are created in the image of our triune God (1 Thessalonians 5:23). When comparing the tabernacle and the Temple to our bodies, we discover that the outer court represents the body, the inner court represents the soul, and the Holy of Holies represents the human spirit. Each of the three areas of the tabernacle and .he Temple contained sacred furniture: • The outer court had two pieces: the brass altar and the laver of water. • The inner court had three pieces: the menorah, the table of shewbread and the golden altar. • The Holy of Holies had one piece: the Ark of the Covenant. The Old Testament is full of symbolism, along with the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation. Daniel and Revelation deal with the time of the end and contain many prophecies to be fulfilled in the time before Christ's return. The tabernacle in the wilderness was a portable tent in which God's presence dwelt while the Hebrews received the Law of God (Torah) and prepared to organize a nation (Israel). The actual position of the sacred furniture in the Temple is important in terms of understanding the prophetic significance of the United States. The Position of the Sacred Furniture Notice the drawing of the inside of Moses' tabernacle (See fig. C). The only entrance was situated on the east, where the tribe of Judah camped. Moving from east to west, let's look at the position of the sacred furniture. The first item of furniture was the brass altar, where the animal sacrifices were offered. Three fires continually burned upon this altar. Two were used as backup in case the main fire went out. The second piece of furniture was the brass laver. This was a large round bowl made of brass that, in Solomon's day, held over 30,000

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