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When was the plan for the Ark revealed?
The plan for the Ark of the Covenant was
revealed to Moses after Israel left the
plague-stricken land of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea,
and entered the wilderness. When Moses and Joshua
the Son of Nun, his minister, entered the
phenomenal fiery cloud (Exo. 24:1-2, 9-10, 25:40),
Moses was shown a panoramic vision atop Mt. Sinai.
They stayed forty days and nights in this cloud
(Exo. 24:16-18).
Does the tabernacle pattern explain Elohim's
spiritual body?
While Moses was in the fiery cloud (Exo.
24:13-15), Elohim presented His spiritual
embodiment in a vision to him (see bottom
illustration on p. 10). Then Elohim transformed His
super incorporeal form of a man with unlimited
power, seen only in divine visions, into a fully
furnished tabernacle with all its vessels,
including the Ark of the Covenant (see the cover
story, "The Revelation of the Divine Pattern of the
Universe," by Dr. Henry C. Kinley, in the
September/October 1993 issue of the "PLIM
REPORT").
Elohim did this to show Moses that the
tabernacle is the definition of Elohim's spiritual
embodiment. In other words, the tabernacle
explained the inner workings or the structure and
operation of this ghost-like figure of a man. By
transforming into the tabernacle pattern Elohim
also proved that He is the Archetypal (Original)
Pattern of the Universe (Heb. 8:5).
The divine pattern reveals His purpose and plan
to mankind. It is quite obvious that Elohim had to
give mankind a type or shadow to understand His
spiritual embodiment since His creatures cannot
possibly detect Him with their five senses.
What was the purpose of the tabernacle?
In order to understand the symbolic purpose of
the Ark of the Covenant we have to know the purpose
of the tabernacle. Its intent was revealed to Moses
and the Apostle John in their panoramic visions.
John wrote: "And I heard a great voice out of
heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of Elohim
(God) is with men, and he will dwell with them, and
they shall be his people, and Elohim (God) himself
shall be with them, and be their Elohim."
The Apostle Paul explained that the tabernacle
pointed to our physical bodies. "What? know ye not
that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of Elohim (God), and
ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a
price: therefore glorify Elohim (God) in your body,
and in your spirit, which are Elohim's (God's, I
Cor. 6:19-20; Jn 2:18-21)." So clearly the purpose
of the tabernacle was so that Elohim could dwell
among Israel, which pointed to His real dwelling
place being within the mind of man.
What was the purpose of the Ark?
The purpose for the Ark of the Covenant was to
symbolize Yahweh Elohim's visible throne on earth.
Yahweh stated that he would dwell in a cloud
between the wings of the cherubim above the Mercy
Seat (Lev. 16:2; see top illustrations on p. 15 and
16). This is also where He would commune with Moses
and the high priest who heard His voice from
between the wings of the cherubim (Num. 7:89; Ex.
25:22). The cloud that sat on the Ark typified the
presence of the Holy Spirit in our minds speaking
to us. From this correlation we can understand what
Job meant when he wrote that Elohim is in one's
mind (Job 23:13).
In the physical body the brain typifies Elohim's
throne or the Ark which controls and dictates to
the body. The patriarch Jacob, the prophets Daniel
(Dan. 7:9-10) and Ezekiel (Ezk. 1st & 10th
chp.), and the Apostle John (Rev. 4th chap)
describe His heavenly throne in their visions.
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