Sevenfold Witness to John
Jesus built a new Tabernacle before He tore down the old one that was ready to pass away. This is the basis of His message to John in prison:
Ark (Word) – Creation
Jesus answered and said to them, ”Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard:
Veil (torn!) – Division
that the blind see,
Altar (new four-cornered mediatorial Land from the Sea) – Ascension
the lame walk,
Lampstand (new rulers) – Testing
the lepers are cleansed,
Incense (new eldership) – Maturity
the deaf hear,
Laver (Jordan) – Conquest
the dead are raised,
Shekinah (Rest) – Glorification
the poor have the gospel preached to them.
I thought the lepers being at the centre was a bit weird, but the centre of the pattern is very often the cross or the tomb, or some symbol of these. Perhaps because the centre of the matrix is the wilderness testing (Numbers) and lepers had to live outside the city, outside the camp (Hebrews 13:13). He makes a new priesthood out of those who were the living dead, those who were excluded under the old Law. The Law itself would be slain and resurrected, transfigured by Jesus. It would become a Law (structure) filled with the Spirit (glory) that could truly impart Aaron’s priestly “clean”. The singular “Light” of the Ark (Day 1) became the plural “lights” of the Lampstand (Day 4 – Pentecost).
On point 5, Kelby commented:
“Seems to make sense, though I’m not completely sure how ‘the deaf hearing’ fits into the pattern of summoning an army/maturity/incense clouds. Seems to me a central idea of testing would be cleansing (baptism/investiture), or possibly the revelation of such a cleansing.”
I think Maturity here is a new generation of Israel who will hear a new Moses and His transfigured Law. Step 5 is Israel summoned to Moses in Deuteronomy. The clouds/swarms in the greater NT pattern are the Gentiles who joined the new Israel and rescued her from barrenness. [1] The completion of the Jew-Gentile church was Revelation’s seven trumpets to Herod’s Jerusalem.[2]
“Since they could not agree among themselves, they started leaving. But Paul said, ‘The Holy Spirit said the right thing when he sent Isaiah the prophet to tell our ancestors, “Go to these people and tell them: You will listen and listen, but never understand. You will look and look, but never see. All of you have stubborn hearts. Your ears are stopped up, and your eyes are covered. You cannot see or hear or understand. If you could, you would turn to me, and I would heal you.”‘ Paul said, ‘You may be sure that God wants to save the Gentiles! And they will listen.’” Acts 28:25-28
[1] See Feasts in Matthew 13.
[2] If none of this makes sense, order Totus Christus. Currently, you will receive a copy of Jordan’s Revelation lectures free with your order. Then, as Slartibartfast famously said, “All will become clear to you, earthman.”
