God's promise regarding the dispensation of the Holy Spirit (in which we are living now) is that He, the Holy Spirit, will reveal all things to us. It was God's plan to reveal to us His eternal intentions of peace regarding Earth. One of the elements of the covenant between the man and God is His revealing both of the expectations He has of men and of His plans regarding the man redeemed by Sacrifice. The Scripture says that, based on the covenant between the man and God, our relationship with Him turns into an indissoluble friendship.

“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

Joh 15:15

In His caring concern, this wonderful Friend, whose friendship we have not earned by our own merits, (“You did not choose Me, but I chose you” – John 15:16), guaranteed to us that: “I will not leave you orphans” (John 14:18), enforcing not only His promise to return (John 14:3; Revelation 22:20), but also that of guiding us through the Holy Spirit (the Comforter), “into all truth”.

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

Joh 16:13

When considering the Scripture and all its reports, there can be seen by the light coming from Heaven to us that the Earth's history may be represented under the form of concentric rings resulting when sectioning a tree, each of them relating to a stage of life – in our case, to the history of salvation. Each such ring (stage) represents in a different colour the manner in which God has influenced this Earth. We are talking about only One God, only one work, but manifested towards the Earth in several manners (dispensations).

“There is a day just about to burst upon us when God's mysteries will be seen, and all His ways vindicated; when justice, mercy, and love will be the attributes of His throne [...] Thus the song of God's providence is sung, connecting the varying dispensations; for all is now seen without a veil [...]”¹

Our attention should be focused on four of them, which should be regarded from the point of view of God's Plan of Salvation and by having an overall view upon them (which is vital for the last generation) we will be able to understand better God's expectations from us for the time we live in.

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

Rev 1:8

This verse speaks about His anointment, about His activity and His role in these four dispensations: “The Almighty” refers to His role of Creator and supporter of the creation that, by His word, He brought to existence; it refers to the period between the first day of creation (“Let there be light!” – Gen 1:3) and the moment of His birth in Bethlehem, when He became a Son of man, the One “who was” (the One through whom the Father manifested). Then the dispensation of the Holy Spirit followed, when He became the One “who is” (Mediator or High Priest). Next, there will follow the dispensation of the One “who is to come” (King of kings and Lord of lords). Therefore, Jesus Christ proves to be the Anointed of the Father, being in turn: a Prophet, a Priest and a King.

The order (see Revelation 1:8) in which these functions of the Anointed One are presented is also important. The setting up of His everlasting kingdom depends on the One who is, the One who cleanses the heavenly Sanctuary and the heart of man through the Holy Spirit. This cleansing has as foundation the work of the One who was, the One who died for me and for you, the One who paid the guilt of my sin and yours; and all these, without the One who is to come, are in vain. He, the Almighty, is the only One who will be able to complete what he started. He was the only One who was found worthy (Revelation 5:1-14) to open the book sealed with seven seals, where God recorded the Plan of Salvation which we have the privilege to look into and understand. In order to do this successfully, we will look into it step by step, for a start, through the ceremonial system (the Tabernacle and its services), starting with the dispensation of the Almighty.

      I. The Almighty

      (God – Christ, manifesting His presence in the Tabernacle; Israel – the chosen people, worshiping Him around the court of the Tabernacle)

“And the LORD [the Word, the Lord Almighty] spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. [...]  And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. [...] And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.” Exo 25:1-2,8-9,40

The Tabernacle was in a court placed in the middle of the twelve tribes of Israel; in the court, beside the door of the tabernacle (Exodus 40:6-7), there were a brazen laver and an altar, made according to God's commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

“And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle [...] The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.”

Exo 27:9,18-19

“Thou shalt also make a laver of brass [...] to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat [...] when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD. [...] and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.”

Exo 27:1-2,8

“Thou shalt also make a laver of brass [...] to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat [...] when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD. [...] and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.”

Exo 30:18-21

The Tabernacle was divided into two apartments: the holy place (also called the Holy) and the most holy place (the Most Holy). In the Holy there could be found several objects required in the performance of the ministerial service: the altar to burn incense upon, the table of showbread and the candlestick with seven lamps; the ark of the covenant could be found in the Most Holy; all objects were made of solid gold or plated with gold, according to the commandment:

“And they shall make an ark of shittim wood [...] And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it [...] And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold [...] And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony [the ten commandments - Exodus 20:1-17] that I shall give thee [Exodus 31:18]. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”

Exo 25:10-11,17-22

“And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made [...] And six branches shall come out of the sides of it [...] And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.” “Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood [...] And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold [...] And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.” “And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. [...] And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold [...] And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year [in the day of atonement] with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.”

Exo 25:31-32,37; 25:23-24,30; 30:1,3,6-10

“And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet [...] and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side [in the holy place]. And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework”

Exo 26:31,33-36

In the Tabernacle (and later in the Temple), two types of services were performed: the daily service (Hebrews 10:11) and the yearly service (Hebrews 9:7), also named the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1-34; 23:26-32; Numbers 29:7-11). The daily service included several types of sacrifices: burnt sacrifices (daily; in the morning and in the evening – Exodus 29:38-42; Numbers 29:9-10), sacrifices for sin, occasional and additional sacrifices.

The daily services were performed in two places: in the court of the Tabernacle, on the altar of brass where the burnt sacrifice was performed every morning and every evening and in the Holy where the incense was burned on the gold gilded altar, the bread was shown before the Almighty on the gold-plated table of showbread and the sacred oil would continuously burn into the candlestick made of beaten gold.

In this dispensation, the people of Israel had two main types of laws given by the Almighty, the Word: the Law of God (the testimony of the golden ark), an eternal law just like to the Throne of Grace represented by the mercy seat covering it and the law of Moses (law of priesthood, of the court “of brass”), written not on tables of stone, but in a book (Deuteronomy 31:24-26) and set beside the ark, thus making a definite distinction between the tables of stone contemplated by the cherubims and the book of the law in which the great sacrifice that was to take place over centuries was foreshadowed by symbols.

The Almighty arranged seven feasts in His dispensation: the Lord's Passover (Leviticus 23:5) in the fourteenth day of the first month, the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord (verse 6) in the fifteenth day of the same month, the Ceremony of the Wave Sheaf (verses 10-14), the Pentecost (verses 15-22), the New Year (verses 24-25) in the first day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement (verses 26-32) in the tenth day of the seventh month and the Feast of Tabernacles (verses 33-44) from the fifteenth day to the twenty second day of the seventh month. Each of these feasts tells by symbols about the Plan of Salvation, but we will analyse only one of them, the Day of Atonement, because this day points out the work which Christ does for us.

In the Day of Atonement (the Day of Judgment), the entire people was to be present around the Tabernacle; there was to be a sacred assembly (Leviticus 23:27). Total humility of the heart was required (Numbers 29:7). A young bull, a ram and seven lambs were presented as burnt offering to the Lord (Numbers 29:9-10) along with their tenths (Numbers 29:10) and drink offerings (verse 11). No work was to be done on that day (verse 7). Anyone who was not afflicted in soul was guilty of sin, the consequence of which was death (Leviticus 23:29). The action of animal sacrificing was done according to certain clear and unchangeable laws.

On the Day of Atonement two male goats were brought to the door of the Tabernacle. Lots were cast upon them, “one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat” (Leviticus 16:8). Then, the one for the Lord was to be sacrificed and its blood was to be sprinkled upon the mercy seat (verse 15). In his quality of mediator, the priest would take the sins upon himself, and, leaving the sanctuary, he bore with him the burden of Israel's guilt. After finishing this cleansing of the Holy Place, the living scapegoat was brought (verse 20). The priest would lay his hands on the head of the goat and thus transfer over it all the iniquities of Israel admitted by confession (verse 21) and then, a man was to take the goat into the wilderness and it was left there to die. Not until the goat had been thus sent away did the people regard themselves as freed from the burden of their sins.

The significance of this feast is vital for the man in general and especially for the last generation. On having a typological role, this feast (together with all the other ceremonial feasts of Israel) was necessary to be celebrated up to the Cross, when the Saviour ended this ceremonial system by His death. At the Cross, the lamb sacrificed on the altar met the Lamb of God. Then and there, Christ reconciled the world with Himself and from that moment on, these celebrations (a shadow of the things to come) have received another form, according to a new manner of perceiving salvation and the relationship with God. Therefore, what used to be the work of man, either priest (bound to perform the ceremonial service) or sinner (bound to bring the offering), would now change radically: Christ was the lamb to be sacrificed and He was also the One who would later become the Priest; the man was asked to manifest nothing but faith.

It is generally considered that Christ marked the ending of ceremonies. If we refer to the fact that He ended the sacrifice system by His death on the cross, the assertion is true, since He is the ultimate sacrifice for the benefit of the repenting sinner; but from another perspective, if His death marks the ending of the sacrifice system and of priesthood on earth, this does not necessarily mean the ending of the ceremonies, because we will see that not only did Christ celebrate and fulfil them, but he also conferred to them their true connotation, having Him as a central element (see below).

      II. The One Who was

      (God manifesting through Christ; Jesus – Prophet amongst men, preparing the great sacrifice)

“Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. [...] And they went [...] and they made ready the passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.” “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. [...] So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.” “And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” Luk 22:7-8,13-14; Joh 13:3-5,12-14; Luk 22:15-20

If until that moment people had been used to rely on their own actions (required by the Law) in creating a good relationship with God, from that moment on, by the lesson of service which Jesus taught to the disciples, He would focus the man's attention on Him so that the man should be able to continue in his turn His attitude of service. This thing can only be accomplished by a complete understanding, both on a mental and emotional level, of the fact that His entire life was a preparation for the great Sacrifice. He had learned the lesson of self-denial ever since His childhood. From small things, He started making greater and greater sacrifices which culminated in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice on Golgotha.

In the evening preceding the great act of sacrifice, Jesus was together with his closest friends. It was the evening of the Feast of Unleavened Bread when Someone would bow before the disciples, having a towel around the waist, would wash their feet and then wipe them. And even more, that was the very moment when He offered His blood, symbolised by the unfermented wine, and His body, symbolised by the unleavened bread, this being nothing but a symbolic representation of what He was to do later – namely, the supreme act of pouring out His life unto death.

This ceremony, initiated in a new covenant, replaced the ceremony of shedding the blood of an animal and eliminated the barrier between the chosen priesthood (the only one entitled to eat the sacred food) and the rest of the worshippers. Therefore, by accepting His blood and body given to death, they were all equally offered the chance to take an active part in the acts of this ceremony, which symbolised the same thing as the ancient Passover feast (the two feasts were one and the same in substance, but different in manifestation), both feasts pointing out the man's need for a Saviour, both implying sacrifice. Jesus initiated this new ceremony in the view of reminding us of Him and of His sacrifice. He shows that the validity of this new ceremony goes beyond time, beyond centuries, to “a new heaven and a new earth”, to the Kingdom of God.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed [...] He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.”

Luk 22:19; Joh 13:17

By giving a new form (that of the new covenant) to the ceremonial system (the old covenant), Christ highlighted again, as a reminder, the fact that He offered Himself to man from the very beginning, wherever this choice might lead Him (and He knew that it would be Golgotha – Genesis 3:21). Back then, in the Garden of Eden, He promised the man that He would do anything to place him again in the position which he had initially had and later lost by his fall. Before the man who committed sin bowed before the Creator, it was God who had bowed towards him, seeking him (“Where are you? – Genesis 3:9); before the man could feel the pain of being separated from God, it was He the One who had felt it first (“What is this you have done?” – Genesis 3:13). Then and there God made the promise of man's salvation, showed its fulfilment (Genesis 3:15,21; Revelation 13:8) and assured him that he would be His again, by the victory of the Seed of the woman, through Himself.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed [...] He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.”

Gen 3:15; Isa 53:10-11

Four thousand years had passed since Christ had sowed this hope into the man's heart, when God's angels recorded in their report the golden moments of mankind: Jesus was beginning His mission, for a start, that of being the Prophet promised by the words: “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him” (Deuteronomy 18:18), and later that of being the Lamb of God, taking away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone [...] Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine [...] the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” Joh 2:1-10

“And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. [...] Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. [...] But he spake of the temple of his body.” Joh 2:13-19,21

By this cleansing of the Temple performed in the view of celebrating the Passover, Jesus was trying to draw people's attention to the special significance of this feast; He was trying to show God's purpose and will to pour a flavor into their hearts again (Matthew 5:13), but not the old flavor (that of sacrificing animals which symbolised His own sacrifice), but the new flavor of redemption by the blood of God's only Son. He was trying to bring again to their attention the substance, namely, Himself (the Lamb), which they had lost among forms lacking life. After more than three years of His ministry, the condition of the people of Israel was – paradoxically – more deplorable than that of Tyre or that of Sodom and Gomorrah, although His mission, prophesied by Isaiah (42:1-8) had been fulfilled and the crowd had convincingly declared with reference to Him that:

“A great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.” “This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.”

Luk 7:16; Mat 21:11

During all these three and a half years of activity, Jesus Christ was more than the Prophet promised for that time, He was the Anointed of the Father, His most beloved Son. He was a Temple (John 2:19,21) among people and each object of the Sanctuary (the ancient Tabernacle) pointed to Him. Through Him, there were manifested both God’s love and justice, to the same extent. Through Him, Shekinah (the revealing of the divine presence from between the cherubims) was manifested:

“Many good works have I shewed you from my Father [...] whom the Father hath sanctified [...] believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me [...]”

Joh 10:32,36,38

Christ was the ark made of acacia wood (symbolising the human nature), gilded on the inside and on the outside in gold (symbolising the divine). Just as the Law was put in the ancient time in the ark, He would also fulfil the words:

“I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”

Psa 40:7-8; 119:11; Joh 10:37; 5:19

Moreover, He was also the altar for incense burning (the incense symbolising and accompanying at the same time the prayer; see Revelation 5:8; 8:4-5) made of the acacia wood and gilded in gold (humanly and divine), an altar from where the most sincere and ardent prayers for Himself and for others were being offered and raised to the Throne of grace.

He was the table of showbread also made of acacia wood and gilded in gold, being at the same time the showbread, the one which only the priests had been entitled to eat until His coming, and which was now offered to all to salvation:

“I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger [...]” “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. [...] For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. [...] For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

Joh 6:35,27,33,38

As presented above, Jesus Christ was the very embodiment of the ark, of the altar for incense burning, of the table of showbread, of the golden candlestick, because He was from Above, from the place where the model (the heavenly Sanctuary) according to which the Tabernacle had been made by Moses can be found.

“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. [...] I know whence I came, and whither I go [...] Ye neither know me, nor my Father [...] I am from above [...]”

Joh 8:12,14,19,23,26

As presented above, Jesus Christ was the very embodiment of the ark, of the altar for incense burning, of the table of showbread, of the golden candlestick, because He was from Above, from the place where the model (the heavenly Sanctuary) according to which the Tabernacle had been made by Moses can be found.

On the occasion of the Passover (at the Supper and later at the Cross), the old covenant of celebrating the exodus from Egypt ceased, because at the crossroads between ages (the Jewish age and the Christian age) was a cross and on it the Lamb of God sacrificed Himself both for the sin of the ones who had looked through the ceremonial system of sacrifices in the future, to the Cross (starting with Adam – the first generation – and ending with the disciples), and also of the ones looking in the past to the One hanging on it (starting with the disciples and ending with the last generation). At the Cross, when “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51), the Temple on Earth remained empty because God's presence was withdrawn forever from the temple built to His glory. By His atoning sacrifice, Christ placed the man in a new position: if until that moment, the man had been separated from God, from that moment, the path of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit had been prepared, the connection between the man and God having been restored. Therefore, what had been until then apart was now united forever.

If before the inauguration of the new covenant, the feasts had been celebrated yearly, along with the Christian age characterised by a new manner in which God expressed what was old (renewing, but not changing), the feasts were also given a new form. Therefore, we meet Jesus Christ fulfilling the Feast of Unleavened Bread, moment in which He gave it a new (and better) form for eternity – the ceremony of the Lord's Supper (Luk. 22:7-20). The same thing is also valid as far as the Passover is concerned, moment in which the ordinary lamb met the Lamb of God. That was the moment in which we also witness the fulfilment of the Ceremony of the Wave Sheaf, when “the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:52-54). They were the first fruits which Christ delighted in and which He took to Heaven with Him, as a guarantee according to which we will be taken to Heaven as well.

      III. The One Who is

      (Jesus Christ, the High Priest – at the right hand of the Father; the Holy Spirit – preparing the Church for Christ's second coming)

“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost [...]” Act 1:4-5; Luk 24:49; Act 2:1-4a

The Day of Pentecost marked the starting moment of the dispensation of “the One who is”. It is the moment when the Holy Spirit manifested in His fullness by the so-called “former rain”.

While the Gospel is being carried to the ends of the earth by the Holy Spirit, through the Church, in Heaven, Jesus Christ is pleading His blood before His Father in behalf of the ones led by the His Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, God makes out of each and every one of us an altar for incense burning, a table of showbread, a candlestick through which His should have the opportunity to light His Light, so that we should be the ones who fulfil the words:

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

Mat 5:14-16

For as long as the presence of the Holy Spirit is manifested in us, we are a temple in whose ark the Law can be found (Psalms 40:7-8; Hebrews 8:10) and by the fulfilment of which He manifests (Galatians 5:22; Romans 13:10).

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

1Co 6:19-20

Throughout this entire period (dispensation), Christ has been making intercession before the Father so that His followers should benefit from the presence of the Holy Spirit, without Whom they would not have been able to bear fruit (John 15:4). By Christ's intercession, the Holy Spirit would make them aware of their dependence on Him, leading them towards a closer relationship with Him by confession (1John 1:9), and consequently, towards sanctification (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Each sin and each imperfection which Jesus Christ has taken upon Him over the centuries defiled the Sanctuary, the heavenly Temple, incorporating the Most Holy “which had the golden altar of incense [Revelation 8:3-4] and the ark of the covenant [His Throne – Revelation 11:19] covered on all sides with gold” (Hebrews 9:4); all these, just like the ancient ones, were to be cleansed in the Day of Atonement:

“It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

Heb 9:23

Since the inauguration of the new covenant, Christ has given a different colour to the Jewish feasts. If until that moment, the feasts had used to be a projection of the things to come (“a shadow of the heavenly things”– Hebrews 8:5; 10:1), from that moment on, the feasts would get the original contour, meaning that they were to express the reality which God had intended from the very beginning. The Day of Atonement is no exception to this new approach of the Jewish feasts. Therefore, it was to be fulfilled in Christ at a certain moment planned by God, pointed out by the words:

“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people [Israel] and upon thy holy city [...] Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem [...] shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. [...] And he [Messiah] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

Dan 8:14; 9: 24-27

The connection between Daniel 8:14 and Daniel 9:24-27 is made by the assertions of the angel entitled by Heaven to explain to Daniel the vision he could not understand:

“And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.”

Dan 8:26

Thus, this angel was sent to the prophet (tormented about the vision pointing at the cleansing of the Holy Place in “the distant future” – Daniel 8:26) with the following words:

“O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding [...] therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.”

Dan 9:22-23

The assertion: “Seventy weeks are determined for your people [Israel] and for your holy city” (Daniel 9:24) comes as a response to Daniel's fear and query regarding those distant times. Out of this long period of time (two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings), seventy weeks were determined and set apart for Israel and the starting point for the calculations of both periods mentioned above was to be “the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:25). In the autumn of 457 BC the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus for the reconstruction of Israel was enforced. Since then, the Scripture unfolds before our eyes a long prophetic chain of two thousand three hundred years, pointing to the cleansing of the sanctuary, this period of time comprising the four hundred and ninety years (seven weeks – in prophecy, a day equals to one prophetic year – Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34). The end of this period of four hundred and ninety years is represented by the year 34 AD, when Stephen was stoned to death and Saul (the persecutor of the Church) converted and became Paul (the apostle to the gentiles). The end of the two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings brings us to the autumn of the year 1844 AD, a moment when the process of the Sanctuary cleansing was to begin.

The Day of Atonement was celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month, day corresponding to the 22^nd of October, according to our calendar; thus, the 22^nd of October 1844 marks the beginning of the Day of Atonement (the Day of Judgment), as a fulfilment of the words:

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”

Dan 7:13-14

If the sacrifices and oblations ceased at the Cross by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, there still are two more responsibilities for us with reference to this day: a holy assembly (Leviticus 23:27) and a humility of the heart (Leviticus 23:29; Numbers 29:7). Only by creating a personal relationship with Christ (the High Priest), through the Holy Spirit, can we benefit from His work in the heavenly Sanctuary and “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Christ's ascension to Heaven to make intercession for us had as purpose the finishing of transgression, the ending of sins, the bringing in of everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24). The work of our High Priest in Heaven must have a correspondent into the man's heart, through the Holy Spirit. Christ's mediation brings not only the blotting out of the confessed sins (1John 2:1) from the heavenly records, but also the sanctification of heart through the Holy Spirit. Christ's intercession and His atoning sacrifice have as purpose God's justification by demonstrating the fact that the man can be cleansed of all sin (1Peter 1:15-16). The characteristic of the dispensation we are living in is the fact that, due to Christ's intercession and its effects on our hearts, we can benefit from a glorious manifestation of the Holy Spirit in His fullness. But not all people allow the Holy Spirit to shape into their hearts the effects of Christ's work in the heavenly Sanctuary.

“There is to be in the churches a wonderful manifestation of the power of God, but it will not move upon those who have not humbled themselves before the Lord, and opened the door of the heart by confession and repentance. In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it. Because the Lord does not work according to their ideas and expectations they will oppose the work. ‘Why,’ they say, ‘should we not know the Spirit of God, when we have been in the work so many years?’ ” “The third angel's message will not be comprehended, the light which will lighten the earth with its glory will be called a false light, by those who refuse to walk in its advancing glory.”²

      IV. The One Who is to come

      (God, on the Throne in Heaven next to Jesus Christ; the Church – Bride at His right hand, making the judgment)

“Strange and eventful history is being recorded in the books of heaven - events which it was declared should shortly precede the great day of God.” “God has always given men warning of coming judgments. Those who had faith in His message for their time, and who acted out their faith, in obedience to His commandments, escaped the judgments that fell upon the disobedient and unbelieving. The word came to Noah, ‘Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me.’ Noah obeyed and was saved. The message came to Lot, ‘Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city.’ Genesis 7:1; 19:14. Lot placed himself under the guardianship of the heavenly messengers, and was saved. So Christ's disciples were given warning of the destruction of Jerusalem. Those who watched for the sign of the coming ruin, and fled from the city, escaped the destruction. So now we are given warning of Christ's second coming and of the destruction to fall upon the world. Those who heed the warning will be saved.”³

“Prophecy is fast fulfilling. More, much more, should be said about these tremendously important subjects. The day is at hand when the destiny of every soul will be fixed forever. [...] The solemn fact is [...] that the day of the Lord will come suddenly, unexpectedly. The fearful warning of the prophecy is addressed to every soul. Let no one feel that he is secure from the danger of being surprised. Let no one's interpretation of prophecy rob you of the conviction of the knowledge of events which show that this great event is near at hand.”⁴

On following Christ's return to take His Church Home, for one thousand years, the judgment will be taking place in Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:24-26; Revelation 20:4; 5:11; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 3:21), the judgment of the ones who would not accept the atonement made by the blood of the Lamb, and would not have Christ as a Lord and King into their hearts. On following the judgement, after each and every case has been analysed and the names of the wicked have been blotted from the book of life, God's justice will be inflicted.

“Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after His resurrection, He ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of His return. [...] As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor, comes down out of heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready to receive it, and Christ, with His people and the angels, enters the Holy City.

Now Christ again appears to the view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance. [...]

In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the final coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, invested with supreme majesty and power, the King of kings pronounces sentence upon the rebels against His government and executes justice upon those who have transgressed His law and oppressed His people. Says the prophet of God: ‘I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works’ (Revelation 20:11-12).

As soon as the books of record are opened, and the eye of Jesus looks upon the wicked, they are conscious of every sin which they have ever committed. They see just where their feet diverged from the path of purity and holiness, just how far pride and rebellion have carried them in the violation of the law of God. [...] The whole wicked world stand arraigned at the bar of God on the charge of high treason against the government of heaven. They have none to plead their cause; they are without excuse; and the sentence of eternal death is pronounced against them. [...]

Satan sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for heaven. He has trained his powers to war against God; the purity, peace, and harmony of heaven would be to him supreme torture. His accusations against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach which he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself. And now Satan bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence. [...]

The wicked receive their recompense in the earth (Proverbs 11:31). They ‘shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts’ (Malachi 4:1). Some are destroyed as in a moment, while others suffer many days. All are punished ‘according to their deeds.’ The sins of the righteous having been transferred to Satan, he is made to suffer not only for his own rebellion, but for all the sins which he has caused God's people to commit. His punishment is to be far greater than that of those whom he has deceived. [...]

While the earth was wrapped in the fire of destruction, the righteous abode safely in the Holy City. Upon those that had part in the first resurrection, the second death has no power. While God is to the wicked a consuming fire, He is to His people both a sun and a shield (Revelation 20:6; Psalm 84:11).

‘I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away’ (Revelation 21:1). The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. No eternally burning hell will keep before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin.”⁵

The things presented above will be fulfilled due to God's Plan of Salvation, an eternal plan we have the privilege to look into.

“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” “ Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Eph 1:9-11; 3:8-11

The holy place on Earth was a representation of the heavenly Sanctuary. The services of the holy place were a symbolic representation of the elements of the Plan according to which Christ would accomplish salvation, step by step.

Since the ones wishing for our Saviour's death failed before a baby, since no one could prevent Him from fulfilling His mission amongst people, since the hosts of darkness could not prevent the accomplishment of salvation on Calvary, since no man could prevent His resurrection from happening (although he tried by the Roman armies) and nor was he able to retain Him in His glorious ascension to Heaven, there is nothing which could possibly prevent the fulfilment of the last saving acts stipulated in His Plan of Salvation, namely, His return in glory on the clouds and the final judgment, followed by a new heaven and a new earth, where Righteousness shall reign forever.

The period we live in is unique in its solemnity. The choice we make every single moment has a major importance in our having or not “Holiness to the Lord” written as a seal on our foreheads when the time of probation closes. Until the sealing time comes, we still have the possibility to ask for forgiveness and thus overcome sin (1John 1:9). When probation closes, the case of all people will have been decided forever. That very moment Jesus Christ will leave the heavenly Sanctuary. His intercession will have ceased. Christ is now to come in the glory of His Father to take His loved ones to their eternal home.