- The tabernacle or temple?
John talks about the tabernacling of Yeshua (Jesus) with us:
John 1:14 says ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth’.
skēnoō (skay-no’-o) means to fix one’s tabernacle, have one’s tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle or just to dwell
This implies a temporary existence. Our flesh and blood is a temporary existence even though 1 Cor. 3:16 & 1 Cor. 6:19 speaks of us as the temple of the Holy Spirit which dwells in us.
naos (nah-os’) means the temple as in Jerusalem but really only the Holy Place & Holy of Holies or metaphorically the temple consisting of all of the saints of every age
— The book of Hebrews seems to consistently use the terminalogy of tabernacle (skēnoō)
a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man (Heb. 8:2)
Do you not see that the sanctuary the children of Israel made was after the pattern of the true tabernacle?
…priests who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. (Heb. 8:5) [Ex. 25:40]
Ex. 25:8-9 says ‘let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them according to all that I show you, after the pattern of the tabernacle (miškān)’
If you read Exodus 35 you would see everyone had a contribution to the building of the tabernacle.
Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation (Heb. 9:11).
he sprinkled with blood (of calves and goats) both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry (Heb. 9:21)
— The book of Revelation uses both the temple and tabernacle
Rev. 7 says there is a temple in heaven which is even more confusing so the secondary idea of dwelling or living in a places seems more appropriate for skēnoō.
(those come out of the great tribulation) are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple (Rev. 7:15) And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple (Rev. 11:19).
Then (the beast out of the sea) opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle (skēnē), and those who dwell (skēnoō) in heaven (Rev. 13:6).
After these things I looked, and behold, the temple (naos) of the tabernacle (skēnē) of the testimony in heaven was opened (Rev. 15:5)
Ark is the temple and that is in the tabernacle where God dwells???
At the consummation the dwelling aspect of God seems to also surface:
I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle (skēnē) of God is with men, and He will dwell (skēnoō) with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God (Rev. 21:3).
Rev. 21:22::
But I saw no temple in (the New Jerusalem), for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
— Where is the temple and the tabernacle today?
The second temple was destroyed in AD 70 after General Titus laid seige to the city. For almost 2,000 years there has been no temple in Jerusalem. The Jews re-invented Judiasm into what is now called Rabbinic Judiasm. The Christians departed from the temple now declaring we are the temple of the Holy Spirit through faith in Yeshua. Some would like to see a third temple built in Jerusalem but I see that as negating the finished work of Christ upon the cross. We accept Yeshua into our hearts who cleanses our temples from the inside out.
So the temple of God is actually us in which God resides within the human heart. Our life is temporary and goes with us when we move about, just like a tabernacle. When Philip was done with his enounter with the Ethiopian eunich he moved on to his next assignment in Azotus and preached in all of the towns unto Ceasaria (Acts 8:40). So the temple of the Holy Spirit is our bodies but we are now mobile. The great commission applies to our Jerusalem (local communities) to our Judea and Samaria (our countries) and unto the ends of the Earth.
Yeshua says to the church at Laodicea ‘behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20)’.
Laodicea was the lukewarm church which Yeshua wanted to spit out of his mouth. They were wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. They needed faith for he said they needed gold tried in the fires of affliction and white garments no longer soiled by the filth of sin and salve for their eyes so they might recognize their wretched and pitiable condition. For they considered themselves rich and in need of nothing.
If you remember from the Table of Shewbread lesson the table is where the utensils lie so that the bread and the wine might be eaten and drank by the priests each sabbath. We cannot dine with the Lord if ceremonially unclean and so David’s men had to have abstained for three days. The Loadiceans were not clean enough to partake of the shewbread unless they opened the doors to their hearts to let the Lord come in to cleanse.
Each cake of bread was itself pierced (ḥālal) as is challah bread these days. The hebrew word is also used in Is. 53:5 where it says he was wounded (ḥālal) for our iniquities. We are often wounded by others and life’s trials. Likewise Yeshua was wounded for he is the shewbread.
Perhaps the difference here between the outer courts, the holy place and the most holy place can be equated to our place of sacrifice vs. fellowship vs. dwelling in God’s presence.
The outer courts are where ceremony and ritual rule our lives. We think we draw close because of the ceremonies or services we attend. Yet we make no real sacrifices in our lives. Others like priests or pastors or friends offer up sacrifices in our place.
The holy place is where we dine with the Lord at the table with the bread of his presence. He breaks bread with us in the same way Christ was broken upon the cross. Yet they broke none of his bones, seeing he was alread dead (John 19:33). What was broken was his will for he said not my will by thine be done unto the Father. Brokenness actually took place in the Garden btw. We have to be broken before coming before the Lord.
The most holy place is where we actually dwell in his presence and opbtain mercy at the mercy seat which is sprinkled with the blood of bulls and goats. It is only the high priest who enters and then only once a year. We acquire that privilege by intimacy and the sprinkled blood of Christ who opened up the way for us while dying on the cross.
So the temple and tabernacle represent us. It is where God resides.
Sources:
https://assemblytestimony.org/books/book-13-the-glory-of-the-tabernacle/chapter-9-the-table-of-shewbread/#loaves
https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2017/12/the-table-of-showbread/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0lqDutbCVs