Coverings, curtains, veils and gates serve two purposes: 1 -they hide what is underneath and behind, and 2 – they protect what is underneath and behind.
God is a consuming fire, a light that no mortal man can approach unto, and is holy and pure without any defilement. He has Seraphim and Cherubim covering His throne in heaven. He placed cherubim to guard the garden. Moses had to hide in the cleft of the rock to be able to see the backside of God. Moses still had to cover his face to keep the children of Israel from being afraid of his glowing face after spending 40 days with God in the mountain. God dwelt on the Mercy Seat of the Ark in the tabernacle between two cherubim. A curtain that was 4 inches thick, 30 feet wide and 60 feet high hid His Presence from the nation of Israel. Jesus was God in flesh. If you saw Jesus, you saw the Father. When Jesus died on the cross and cried, “It is finished!” the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. Paul says that this means the way into the Holy of Holies was now made perfect by the sacrifice of Christ as the Lamb of God.
Since Lucifer sinned with pride and rebellion against God, and since Adam and Eve obeyed his temptation, mankind lives in a fallen planet ruled by Satan and his demons of darkness. The spiritual nature of man, that longs to be in the Presence of God, became a carnal nature that desires the things of this fallen world. The natural mind hates the things of God. Because the things of God are spiritually discerned, the natural man cannot know or understand them.
Jesus says we must be Born Again of the water and of the Spirit to be able to communicate with God like Adam and Eve were able to in the garden before their fall. That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is spirit. God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. God’s Word is Truth and it is full of Spirit and Eternal Life. Jesus is the Living Word of our Father.
Jesus gave us the guidelines for entering into the Presence of God when He said, ask, seek, and knock. Moses gave us the guidelines for entering the Presence of God with the Tabernacle Plan: Outer Court, Holy Place and Holy of Holy of Holies. Man is body, soul and spirit. Your body has become a temple for God’s Spirit to dwell in. God likes the number three.
Jesus said we had to become as little children to be able to enter into the Kingdom of God. Jesus is more concerned about the attitude and intention of the heart than He is with the form. Peter said we have become a Royal Priesthood via the New Birth experience with Christ.
Entering the Presence of God:
Become as a child who forgives and does not hold a grudge, and who is without any evil in its words and behavior.
Enter into a closet, or a secret place, and shut the door to be alone with God.
Acknowledge God as your Heavenly Father and the source of all things, including your very breath.
Be aware of God’s Holiness and your sinfulness, and humble your heart with respect before Him.
Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving. Begin by thanking Him for all your blessings which he has given you.
Enter into His courts with Praise. Worship and Praise Him for all He has done for you.
Be mindful that you are now in the outer court of the tabernacle. You are here in the flesh. You have to approach God in the flesh, for that is where we live. As the priests had to do, check the cleanliness of your garments and your heart. Ask Him to forgive anything that brings guilt and shame to your conscience. Thank Him for forgiving you, and for His Mercy. This is the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving that we offer instead of the blood of animals. The outer court is the Brazen Altar of Repentance and the Laver of Water for washings. Repentance and Baptism are important first steps in walking with God. They are also an ongoing requirement as we come into His courts, day by day. His Word, the Bible, becomes our spiritual Laver of Water that washes us and cleanses us from all sin. You are asking now and Jesus says that you will receive.
Once you have repented of anything that displeases Him, and received His forgiveness and mercy through Jesus Christ as our Lamb and as our High Priest who freely forgives us of our sins, then realize that you stand before a curtain that hides and protects the secret things of God.
Behind this first curtain are the Table of Shewbread, the Golden Candlestick and the Altar of Incense. There are three pieces of furniture that had to be attended twice daily and again on a weekly basis. When you are behind this first curtain, you are alone with the things of God as the priest was alone when he ministered and maintained these three pieces of furniture in the Holy Place.
The ground you are on is Holy ground and respect and alertness is demanded to make sure you are fulfilling your duties as a priest before God. Shut out the things beyond the curtain. Leave the world outside of your closet door. Concentrate on feeding on the Word of God, and be aware that the Holy Spirit flowing in your inner most being is the same Holy Spirit that flows throughout His Bible. It is alive and will speak to you as you wait before the Lord in meditation. Continue to offer praise and thanksgiving to Him at the Altar of Incense, knowing that your prayers and worship are as incense and a sweet aroma before God and ascend to the very throne of God, as in the Book of Revelation. God dwells in the praises of His people. Pray the Word. By this I mean that you read it aloud to God, especially His Promises that apply to your specific requests. His Word is a Holy Covenant between God and you. Reading His Word before him brings it alive on our lips and in our voices. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The spirit world listens to your words and the words can bring blessings or curses depending on what spirit in the spirit world is being approached. Center your focus on God who sees and is there to supply your needs for a godly life. You are seeking now and Jesus says you will find.
Realize that with our human bodies of flesh, we cannot enter into the Holy of Holies and see with mortal eyes the immortal Glory of God. No man can see God and live. But know that your praises, thanksgivings, and petitions all flow from your heart beyond the veil that separates the natural from the spiritual realm. God dwells in those praises. As you allow your asking to turn into seeking and then into knocking, you will soon realize that you are lost to time and space in worship of His Peace and Love and Strength and Comfort that you feel flowing from the inner most parts of your being, as His Holy Spirit floods your mind and soul. You are knocking now and Jesus says it will be opened unto you.
When Moses set up the Tabernacle, God spoke from the Mercy Seat. His voice came forth through the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. (Numbers 7:89) You cannot physically enter into the Holy of Holies, or the Throne Room of Jehovah God, but you can set yourself apart on a daily basis so that when God chooses to speak, His voice will carry all the way from the third heaven straight into your spirit-man. ‘The Blood of Jesus covers us and enables us to come unto the Throne Room of Grace’ means that we, as Temples of the Holy Ghost, are able to enter into the Holy Place and dwell and rest there, knowing that there is no veil separating us from His Throne in the spirit realm. Even though we can’t see with our physical eyes, we can know in our spirit-man that we have entered into His Presence as He surrounds us in waves of peace and love and hope and comfort and strength. His Holy Spirit flows out of the inner most being of our spirit man as rivers of living water, just as Jesus said in John 7:38.
The Tabernacle Plan becomes our body, soul and spirit as we ask, seek and knock at His Door.
Outer Court contained Brazen Altar and Laver of Water = acts of repentance and baptism done by the body as new saints and continually as growing saints, as we ask a Holy God to hear us and help us daily.
Holy of Holies contained Table of Shewbread, Golden Candlestick, and Altar of Incense = acts of prayer and worship done from the soul of man, seeking to enter beyond the veil into the Throne Room of God.
Holy of Holies contained the Ark with the Mercy Seat and the cherubim covering it as God’s Shekinah Glory dwelt between their wings. Beyond the veil is what man is trying to achieve in this life and in eternity. We can only achieve it by knocking until the veil parts or the door opens and it involves our spirit-man. Here we move beyond the soul and the body and we begin to feel the flowing of the Living Waters of the Holy Ghost, as Jesus taught us in John 7:38. We forget time and space and enter into fellowship with God Himself at His Throne of Grace, knowing that we are unworthy to be there and it is only by the Blood of Jesus Christ that we are able to experience His Presence.
Body and soul has been lost in the spirit, as His Holy Spirit floods us with supernatural peace, love, strength, comfort, hope and faith. Here is where visions and dreams can begin to transpire as foretold by the Prophet Joel 2:28.
Your body has become the Temple of God and it has been sanctified by the Blood of Christ and by His Word and by His Holy Spirit and by your obedience to His teachings. All defilement is washed away, all sins are forgotten inside the veil as you bask in His Holy Presence at the Mercy Seat of His Throne.
Click here to read part three of Entering God’s Presence through Coverings, Curtains, Veils and Gates