A Throne in the Tabernacle Part 3: The Model for New Testament Christianity
There is a throne in the tabernacle. There was one in David’s day. There is one in our day. And will be one, forever in the age to come.
Part Three: The Model for New Testament Christianity
What does the Tabernacle of David have to do with us? It's a nice story but does any of it have bearing on our modern worship environments? I believe the Apostles said it has everything to do with us
The Old Testament ends with the promise of a day coming when that blueprint from heaven would touch every nation, the convergence point would open over every region, and every tribe and tongue would gaze upon the glory of the Lord with unveiled face. When the nations see the beauty of the Lord, they would minister to Him, sing a new song, and offer up incense in every place. Over the four hundred years of silence, the words of the prophets echo:
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. - Malachi 1:11
"In that day I will raise up the [tabernacle] of David that is fallen and repair its breaches and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name," declares the LORD who does this. - Amos 9:11-12
This blueprint of heaven was first instituted by David three thousand years ago in a tent in Jerusalem. King David had a revelation of a room in heaven where the throne of God is at the center, surrounded by living creatures and twenty-four elders who never stop singing, declaring His worth and crying out in intercession. David desired to build a room on earth as it is in heaven. David spent thirty-three years perfecting this ministry of 24/7 worship and prayer in the tabernacle where he placed the ark of God’s presence at the center, surrounded it with 4,288 singers and musicians, led by twenty-four elders of families, who never stopped singing, praying, and never stopped declaring the beauty of the Lord. All that David did was under the direction of the Spirit of the Lord, as the Spirit laid His hand upon David to make him understand. This was the Tabernacle of David. David then gave all the plans for the tabernacle to his son, Solomon. Those plans were for the courts of the house of the Lord, the divisions of the priests, singers, and the Levites, and all the work and service of the house of the Lord as it continued night and day. This plan was a blueprint from heaven and he commanded Solomon to build according to the blueprint. This became the instructions on how to build and administrate the temple. The ministry under the worship order of David was priestly and was described as “incense.” This is what God calls “My house of prayer” in Isaiah.
"And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants…these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples [nations]. - Isaiah 56:6-7
When Jesus enters the court of Gentiles in the gospels where the moneychangers were price gouging those that came to bring their offering and robbing the nations of encounter with the beauty of holiness, He takes action. He cleanses the temple, a temple that had become political, not worshipful. Remember, the tabernacle of David had fallen. Though the temple structure stood, the heart was lost, the glory was gone, the ark had been lost hundreds of years earlier and the convergence point was now walking among them (Jn 1:51).
And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers." - Mark 11:15-17
Jesus reminds us, as He heads to the cross the week of Passover, that He is going to fulfill this promise to fill the nations with the worship order of David. Through the finished work of the cross, He intended to join the foreigners to the Lord so that they could minister to Him, love His name and be His servants.
Watch what happens next.
Luke’s description of the day of Pentecost included a number of signs that indicated it was a priestly scene:
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. - Acts 2:1-4
The appearance of wind, fire, and voices is a common manifestation of the presence of God. Fire in particular is associated with God’s presence, so it was an immediate indicator that something unusual was happening. In the Scripture, God tends to appear in fire in three different contexts: God is surrounded by fire when seated on His throne. When a person encounters the direct presence of God, they often experience God surrounded by fire. Fire is a symbol of nearness, proximity, and priesthood. When God makes covenant, He often comes in fire. For example, when God confirmed His covenant with Abraham, He appeared to Abraham as a torch of fire (Gen 15:17-18). Luke’s description of Pentecost would have specifically brought to mind the events of Exodus 19 when Israel made covenant with God at Mount Sinai.
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. -Exodus 19:16–19
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off. -Exodus 20:18
Look at the language - Exodus 20:18 is typically translated in English as “people saw the thunder and flashes of lightning,” but in Hebrew, it literally says the people saw the “voices,” and “flashes of lightning” which can also be translated as “flaming torches.” The people were encountering the very throne room of God in the New Jerusalem. John saw this scene thousands of years later in Revelation 4.
From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings (voices) and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God… - Revelation 4:5
The scene at Mount Sinai was covenantal and priestly. At that moment, God made covenant with Israel and gave the law that established the Mosaic priesthood. There He called Israel a “kingdom of priests” (Ex 19:6). God spoke in fire to form a priestly nation: When Solomon built the blueprint from his father David and dedicated the temple, fire came down again in the sight of the people.
As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” - 2 Chronicles 7:1–3
Fire came down when the worship order of David was established. The blueprint for that very same room that descended on Sinai. When Solomon prayed, fire came down to confirm that the presence of God transitioned from the tabernacle to the temple. Curiously, we have no Biblical report of fire falling on the second temple, only that the structure was built. Another question lingering throughout the 400 years of silence…where was the fire?
In Acts 2, God appeared to a new tribe, in a public context, and once again the people saw fire and heard voices. Shockingly, this time the fire came closer and rested on every single individual, but this time the voice of God was heard through His people. This indicated every follower of Jesus was being commissioned as a priest because they were all given direct access to God’s presence in the form of fire and then made His representatives on earth.
Pentecost was a priestly event and a temple event. When fire fell on the followers of Jesus in Acts 2, it commissioned them as priests and established the church as the new temple of God. The temple was back, but this time, the fire dwelled among a people who became a living temple. As a result, the New Testament went on to describe the church as the temple (1 Cor 3:16) and the dwelling place of God (Eph 2:22).
Pentecost was a visible demonstration that something significant had shifted. Jesus’ ascension as high priest had established a new priesthood, and if there was a new priesthood, it meant there was a new covenant. A new covenant had also established a new temple. The God of Sinai had come again in fire, speaking in voices, just like the last time He came to establish a priestly people. It marked a transition in the priesthood. The gift of the Holy Spirit to every person indicated that the covenant had shifted from the Mosaic covenant, and God was now forming a priesthood of all the nations on the basis of relationship to Jesus. There was no more veil between the people and God, and no more need for a covered holy place. Those who were in Jesus had direct access to the presence of God. The fire had fallen again on a new temple and a new priesthood. Jesus prefaced this event with the command to take it to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). This all took place in Jerusalem, but what about the nations? What about the foreigners? What about the Tabernacle of David raised up again so that the rest of mankind could seek the Lord?
The global shift begins a decade later in Cornelius’ house.
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. - Acts 10:1-2
Here in Acts 10, we get the first glimpse of the promise of the convergence point being opened in every place where the worship order of David was established. Cornelius, a Roman centurion, had chosen with all of his household to pray continually to God and give alms generously to the poor. A centurion was in charge of eighty men. In many ways, centurions were the elite officers of the army. Most owed their position not to family connections but to their military prowess. Centurions enjoyed a certain status and double pay from that of an ordinary soldier. Besides a level of command on the battlefield, they engaged in a wide range of other activities: general policing (Acts 27:1-3, 27:43), customs work, and the supervision of capital penalties (Mk 15:39). Cornelius lived in Caesarea which was the political capital of Judea in the Roman empire. When we think of Cornelius’ household, we must imagine not only his wife and children but the servants and soldiers, relatives and friends that went in and out of his house daily (Acts 10:24). My point here is that there was a community element to this rhythm of prayer.
As they engaged in this rhythm of prayer, an angel appeared to Cornelius with an astounding message… Heaven had taken notice of what was transpiring in this Italian man’s house.
About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius." And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. - Acts 10:3-4
The angel told Cornelius something was coming out of his house that was ascending before God. I’m going to get a little technical here because I think the subject warrants it. The Greek word that the angel uses here in Acts 10:4 translated “memorial” is mnēmosynon. What was ascending out of Cornelius’ house was a mnēmosynon to God. That same word is used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament that the Apostles used) concerning a priestly offering of worship in Leviticus 2:9. It was called the “memorial portion” or the “memorial offering” to the Lord. It was a grain offering that was mixed with frankincense and burned on the altar by the sons of Aaron.
"When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it and bring it to Aaron's sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial [mnēmosynon] portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. - Leviticus 2:1-2
This is what the angel is directly referencing in Acts 10. In other words, from heaven’s perspective, there was an altar in Cornelius’ house. On that altar, generous hearts of giving mixed with continual prayer was being offered by the new priesthood. The angel is sent to tell Cornelius that what is ascending out of his house is a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
It was incense.
Malachi’s promise was beginning. Soon the worship order of David would be raised up in all the nations. The instructions following this message are specific: “Go get Peter. Here’s the address.” The next day, the Holy Spirit interrupts Peter’s afternoon siesta at the beach with a commanding and unusually specific message. Falling into a trance, Peter sees an open vision three times and hears the audible voice of Jesus explaining that He had purified something that formerly was unclean. Then, the Holy Spirit tells Peter to answer the knock at the door.
And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them." - Acts 10:19-20
Peter traveled to Cornelius’ house and found a community of people praying continually and living generously, centered around the presence of God.
And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends... Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord." - Acts 10:24, 33
Peter preached the gospel and look at what happened next: the convergence point opened. Italian people were doing priestly ministry and a convergence point opened in Cornelius's house.
While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, - Acts 10:44-46
Peter doesn’t immediately recognize what’s going on beyond the fact that God had granted the Gentiles repentance that leads to life (Acts 11:18). Our beloved historian Luke then immediately follows the account of Cornelius’ house with the testimony from another community, Antioch.
In Syria, a church had sprung up out of the dispersion and had stumbled into full-blown revival. Out of the many things that were unique about this church in Antioch, two stand out for the purposes of this article. First, a community of generosity.
And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. - Acts 11:28-29
Second, a rhythm of life that Luke describes as Leitourgeo. Leitourgeo is the Greek word Luke uses here for “worshipping” or “ministering.”
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping [leitourgeo] the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. - Acts 13:1-3
Again, we have a word used in the Septuagint to describe the rhythm of life of the priests in the tabernacle of David. It is best translated as ministering - as in “the priests were ministering to the Lord.” It is the word that the Old Testament writers use to describe the role of the singers and musicians that David placed in the tabernacle of David. In fact, this word is used almost every time the tabernacle of David is described in 1 Chronicles. Here are just a few examples:
These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. They ministered [leitourgeo] with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they performed their service according to their order. - 1 Chronicles 6:31-32
So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister [leitourgeo] regularly before the ark as each day required, - 1 Chronicles 16:37
It is only used two other times in the New Testament. In the book of Hebrews, it is directly connected to the priesthood.
Every priest stands daily ministering [leitourgeo] and offering time after time the same sacrifices… - Hebrews 10:11a
What are we seeing here in Antioch? Again, a tabernacle set up, an altar built upon lives of generosity mixed with continual worship and prayer, being offered up daily in a new priestly family. It was a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord.
It was incense.
What happens next? The convergence point opens and the activity of the Holy Spirit breaks in.
… the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. - Acts 13:2-3
Now, I will explain these two communities to help give context for what the Apostle James is explaining in Acts 15. The Jerusalem council was one of the most pivotal moments in church history. Teachers were coming down from Jerusalem to Antioch, telling this new community of believers that they must be followers of the Mosaic law before they could be followers of Christ.
But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. - Acts 15:1-2
This sparked a major controversy in the first-century church and exposed deep-seated feelings of ethnocentrism that were bubbling to the surface in the church in Jerusalem. The Apostles and church leaders gathered in Jerusalem to discuss the matter. In the meeting, Peter stood up and told the assembly about how God first visited the Gentiles. Peter related to them all about what he discovered at Cornelius's house.
Paul and Barnabas followed Peter relating to them all of what they had been seeing among the Gentiles. They told them all about this community of people in Antioch, Jew and Gentile together, who had been ministering to the Lord as a convergence point opened. They explained how kingdom authority started flowing out of that priestly ministry with power, signs, and wonders to different cities and nations. The council was stunned. At first, there was much debate, but now, all the assembly fell silent as Paul and Barnabas began to describe what was happening in and flowing out of Antioch. After they finished speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.”(Acts 15:13-14) At Cornelius’ house, a convergence point had opened. In Antioch, a convergence point had opened, and suddenly, it dawned on James.
And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, "'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.' - Acts 15:15-18
Now look very carefully at what James says: “with this (the testimony of Peter and the testimony of Paul and Barnabas) the words of the prophets agree.” The Apostle James looked out at the assembly and said, “guys something incredible is happening, and we’ve not been able to see it until now. There's not just going to be one convergence point in Jerusalem. There is going to be convergence points in every city on the earth. The Gentiles have been given the worship order of David and when the Gentiles begin to build these altars across the earth, incense is going to arise from every place as the rest of mankind begins to seek the Lord.
It is oversimplistic to say that James was only speaking generally about the spiritual access and the grafting of the Gentiles into the Messianic kingdom and promises. It was that and so much more. He was not only defining the theology of inclusion for the Gentiles but the methodology of what that inclusion would look like. He was telling the Jewish church that the Gentiles have now been given the Davidic order of worship. He listened to the reports from Antioch and Cornelius’, and he recognized it as the tabernacle of David that was beginning and would soon fill the earth. When the tabernacle of David filled the earth, convergence points between heaven and earth would begin to open over cities and regions which would result in the gospel breaking in with power (Acts 10) and laborers being launched into the nations (Acts 13). In other words, the kingly authority of the church would come out of the priestly ministry at its’ center. This is what the church was supposed to look like. The church cannot continue to try to exercise the kingly authority to rule without the priestly rhythm, the leitourgeo, in place. Otherwise, we will sow much and reap little. We will work for a wage and put it in a bag with holes. We will keep prophesying revival when there is no revival. It is time we step back as we consider our ways. The first Gentile churches provide the prototype; David provided the blueprint. If we want the kingdom to expand in our cities, our worship must expand. Remember what makes the church distinct from every other business or institution: It is not that we have better branding and marketing - it is that God is in our midst. That is what makes us distinct. We are being built together to be a dwelling place for God.
In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. - Ephesians 2:22
When the glory of God lifts, there is nothing that makes us distinct. We are just an empty temple structure with no convergence point. God wants a dwelling place in your city more than you do. God wants to raise up the incense in every place for the glory of His Son, Jesus Christ. God wants to release the blueprint of heaven into communities across the earth more than we do. It is not a supply problem - it is a demand problem. There are enough anointed musicians, prophetic intercessors, and lovers of God’s presence in my city alone that it should never stop singing. God has provided, in this generation, everything we need for the tabernacle of David. The problem is that we have lost sight of what it's about. Everyone is running after kingly influence while the convergence point is closed over our cities.
God will raise up presence centered families across the earth before Jesus returns. They will minister to the Lord with the fragrance of generous, obedient lives and the incense of worship and prayer. They will be multi-ethnic, multi-generational, multi-congregational families that have determined that what they need most is God in their midst. This will shift the way they spend their resources, spend their energy, and how they see themselves within their city and community. Together, they will start ministering to the Lord: leitourgeo. Out of these tabernacles, the kingdom will expand and the name of Jesus would be made great. The tabernacle of David is about to explode across the nations and these convergence points will pierce the 10-40 window, displacing the strongholds of the Islamic prayer movement, the Buddhist prayer movement, and the Hindu prayer movement, and millions will begin to see and sing of the worth of Jesus, night and day. The Holy Spirit is preparing the nations to receive the Son of David when He returns and places the tabernacle of David back in Jerusalem.
…When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land, then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness." - Isaiah 16:4-5
Jesus is governing right now in the tabernacle of David which is what He calls the church across the earth. When He returns, He will sit in the tabernacle of David and rule forever in the age to come. Jesus is going to put His throne inside David’s tent at the end of the age, and He is going to remove all injustice from the earth. He is going to bring together heaven and earth, and the worship order of heaven will be fully released on earth. David’s tent was just a shadow; the worship movement in the nations is just a taste of what is coming when David’s Son sits in Jerusalem. He will put His throne in the tabernacle of David, and justice will flow from it. From this throne, Satan will be destroyed and the earth will be restored. The Old Testament prophets spoke about this promise as the hope of Israel and the nations. When this King sits on David’s throne, in David’s tabernacle, He will judge on behalf of the poor. He will tear down every system of oppression. He will restore the environment (even causing the deserts to blossom). He will cause the nations to lay down their arms. He will rebuild the cities that have been devasted. He will crush injustice and exalt righteousness. He will heal the disparity between rich and poor, the enmity between races, and He will remove demonic influence from the human experience. The earth, with all its peoples, will rejoice and be glad under the rulership of David’s Son just like David prophesied on the day he put the tent up in Jerusalem.
Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods... Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. - 1 Chronicles 16:23-25, 28-30
The house of prayer movement has not even gotten started yet! Malachi 1:11 is shouting to us that the house of prayer has just been in the startup phase for the last 20 years. Heaven is cheering us on!
Jesus is saying to us, “I’m going to put my throne in the tabernacle David. Watch me! I will release justice in your city, but I want to be at the center. I want to gather the family and build a house in your community where I can put my throne in. I want to do it in Richmond. I want to do it in New York City. I want to do it in Seattle. I want to do it in Mexico City. I want to do it in Miami. I want do it in Singapore. I want to do it in London. I want to do it in Tokyo. I want to do it in Berlin. I will do it in Egypt and North Africa. I will do it in the Middle East. Where are the people that will agree with my blueprint?”
This call is going to go throughout the earth in the next ten to twenty years. I believe that the next twenty years of the house of prayer movement are going to be glorious and even more fiery than the last twenty years of the movement. Right now, Jesus is searching the earth for those who will still believe that night and day prayer and worship is the culture of heaven, the blueprint for revival, and the prototype for the new priesthood: His glorious church.
