Summer 1995
The Seven Resting Places of God
Jerry Hyde

"Wherefore I was grieved with that generation,
and said, They do alway err in their heart:
and they have not known my ways. So I sware
in my wrath, They shall not enter into my
rest" Hebrews 3:10-12

"Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest,
lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief" Hebrews 4:11

The word "rest" means to move into, to abide in, or rest down upon. This gives an important concept of what happened on the seventh day of creation.

"And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified
it: because IN IT He had rested from all His work
which God created and made" Genesis 2:3.

When God finished His creation, He moved into, or inhabited it. The first place that God rested down upon was His first creation, the whole earth, that it might be the perfect expression of the Creator.

This first thing which God did will also be the last thing, but in a much greater way. For instance, the garden of Eden in Genesis becomes a city in Revelation, and the serpent becomes a dragon. He declares that the glory of the latter house shall be greater than that of the former.

"The earth shall be filled with the knowledge
of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover
the sea" Hab 2:14.

This refers to a time when God will again come into this earth to inhabit and fill it with Himself.

The second place where God dwelt was the Tabernacle of Moses in the wilderness.

"And it came to pass ... the tabernacle was reared
up .... so Moses finished the work. Then a cloud
covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory
of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not
able to enter into the tent of the congregation,
because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the
Lord filled the tabernacle" Exodus 40:17-35.

When the Tabernacle was finished and completely set up according to the divine pattern as shown to Moses, God rested His glory upon it. It was not until every room in the Tabernacle was entirely furnished and set up, that God moved in. Notice a word in the New Testament that is almost always pronounced incorrectly.

"That the man of God may be perfect, THROUGHLY
furnished unto all good works" 2 Tim 3:17

It is not "thoroughly" but "throughly." The word conveys a fuller meaning than just the idea of completeness. It expresses the idea of something, or someone that is permeated totally, through and through.

This word is saying that God desires to fully impart Himself into the very core and depths of all that we are, until we become indwelt by Him (every nook and cranny - inside and out), until there is no room within us that is not furnished to the utmost perfection by Him and for Him, through and through.

After buying a house, we go into it to paint and redecorate. Then, when EVERY room is just right, we move into it to inhabit it. This and more is suggested by the word "throughly." This and more is what God intends in our experience with Him.

The third place that God moved into was the temple of Solomon.

"It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were
as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising
and thanking the Lord: and when they lifted up their
voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments
of musik, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is
good: and His mercy endureth forever: that then the
house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the
Lord: so that the priests could not stand to minister
by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had
filled the house of God" 2 Chron 5:13-14.

"Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that He would
dwell in the thick darkness. But I have built a
house of habitation for Thee, and a place for Thy
dwelling forever" 2 Chron 6:1-2.

We will consider this realm of the Temple later.

The fourth resting place of God was in His Son.

"And the Word was made flesh and dwelt (tabernacled)
among us" John 1:14.

"And John bare record saying I saw the Spirit
descend from heaven like a dove and it ABODE
upon Him" John 1:32.

"For in Him DWELLETH all the fullness of the
Godhead bodily" Col 2:9.

Jesus came to be a man indwelt by God, to be the means by which the invisible God would be seen and known. Jesus was the first perfect, THROUGHLY furnished man.

"God ... hath in these last days spoken unto us by
His Son ... being the brightness of His glory, and
the express image of His person ..." Heb 1:1-3.

Thus, for the first time since creation, God dwelt in a perfect tabernacle on this earth. But this too was a temporary place, since Jesus died on the cross, was resurrected and ascended back to heaven. This did not mean that God would be without a house on this earth, for on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended to move into a temple not made with hands, a living corporate temple called "the Church." Never again would God live in a house made of stone and mortar.

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God DWELLETH in you?" 1 Cor 3:16.

Jesus Christ is the central point of the Scriptures. We can look backwards from Christ to the Temple of Solomon, to the Tabernacle of Moses, and then to the whole earth. Now let us look forward from Christ, and we will see the same, except in a more glorious way.

Christ, the center. Then the Temple Church. Next, we will see a Tabernacle Church, and from there, God's glory in the whole earth.

To see the difference between the Temple aspect of the Church and the Tabernacle realm, let us compare the differences between the Old Testament Temple and the Tabernacle. These may be found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. For simplicity, the account as given in Hebrews chapter nine will be used.

In the Tabernacle, the third realm was called the "Most Holy Place." In the Temple, it is called "The Oracle" I Kings 6:19. The word "oracle" means to talk, tell, or teach. The focus has changed from going in unto the God of Holiness, to talk.

In the Tabernacle, the "Holy of Holies" was separated from the other parts by a veil. In the Temple, there was not only a veil, but DOORS were set up between the veil and the rest of the Temple (I Kings 6:31). Not only were they content to merely talk about the holiness of God, but they had no intention of entering. It was too holy for them, they would stay safely behind these doors.

In the Holy Place within the Tabernacle, the only light was from the oil that burned continuously in the lamp stand. The Tabernacle realm represents revelation, the light of the anointing as a result of the oil lamps. But this area in the Temple also had narrow windows (I Kings 6:4). Windows are a source of natural light, which speaks of a limited view of truth. The Temple realm therefore represents both revelation and natural reasoning.
We are to be taught by the Holy Spirit and led into the truth of His Word by revelation, not by a natural or traditional mind set.

"And after the second veil, the tabernacle which
is called the Holiest of all; which had the golden
censor, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round
about with gold, wherein was the golden pot which
had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the
tables of the covenant" Heb 9:3-4.

It is important to see that the writer to the Hebrews used the Tabernacle as a type of Christ and His Church. In Hebrews 3:1-6, he declares the Church to be the house of Christ, and compares it to the house, or Tabernacle that Moses built.

God promised David that his son would build a house for God, and this was fulfilled when Solomon built the Temple. This was a looking forward to the greater Son, who declared in Matthew 16 that He would build His Church.

Thus, there are two types of the Church and these are not the same in detail, though both are precious and necessary. One is "THROUGHLY FURNISHED" and the other is not.

The ark in the Temple had two tables of stone, which represent the law. But there was no manna, nor Aaron's rod that budded, which typify God's voice and His resurrection power (I Kings 8:8). The basic number in the Temple realm is 10, the number of law. But the numbers in the brazen altar, the laver, and the molten sea that was for washing do not relate. The sea held about 16,000 gallons of water. There were 10 lavers, each holding about 320 gallons, or a total of 3200 gallons of water. A great amount of effort was made to become clean.

In the Tabernacle, there were seven candlesticks of gold; one central shaft with three on each side. In the Temple, there were eleven. Seven, is a number of perfection. Eleven is one short of twelve, or one short of divine government. In other words, the Temple, even though it is a picture of the Church of Christ, shows a coming short of God's full intention for His people.

In Revelation, our Lord stands in the midst of the 7 golden candlesticks, not the 11. He promises in Rev 2:17 that, "to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna." There was no manna in the Temple. The hidden manna referred to the manna that was hidden in the Ark in the Tabernacle. Thus, the Christ of Revelation is not in the Temple Church, but in the Tabernacle Church.

God will have a TABERNACLE people, who will not be in bondage to a mind-set of the law, but will experience the life and character changing power of the grace of Almighty God through Jesus Christ. They will not look at the things of the Spirit through the narrow windows of natural light, but will have anointed eyes to see the beauty of Christ and the reality of His Word.

They will not put doors between themselves and the glory of God in the Most Holy Place, but they will press through the rent veil to the greater glory. They will not come crawling to Him, continually trying to wash themselves clean with the legalistic standards of man made religion, but will know that Christ has made them clean by His blood, and by the washing of His Word.

There will emerge from within God's people a company who are not bound by the limitations of the Temple realm, but will go on to experience the principles shown in the Tabernacle. They will not have a proud, superior attitude, but will become humble servants. They will have the spirit of Joseph, who with great compassion brought deliverance to his own family, as well as to Egypt.

It was at the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus cried out,

"If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and
drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture
hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water" John 7:37-38

He was speaking of the Holy Spirit who was yet to be given.

In the Outer Court, Jesus is Saviour, which corresponds to the Feast of Passover. In the Holy Place, He is Christ, or the Anointed One, which corresponds to the Feast of Pentecost. In the Most Holy Place, Jesus is Lord, which corresponds to the Feast of Tabernacles.

It was not at Pentecost, but at Tabernacles that this promise of the Spirit was given. The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was wonderful and awesome. But Jesus is promising an experience that will go beyond Pentecost. This is what God desires to bring us into in these days.

These are the ones who will enter into God's rest in the closing days of this age, having His nature and power. They will be free from mixture and will have a passionate love for Christ and for His Body.

Out of this company will flow a ministry of reconciliation that will affect the Church and even the nations. The Temple Church, under the mind set of the law, tends toward condemnation, whereas Jesus came to cover and forgive.

Thus the prophet Habakkuk proclaimed,

"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the
glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" Hab 2:14

"Waters" represent those redeemed of God. "Sea" generally means the unsaved, or the nations. We may understand from this prophetic promise that there will be a time when "saved humanity" covers the sins of "unsaved humanity" (loves, intercedes for, reaches out to, rather than pronouncing wrath upon), that the knowledge of the glory (the goodness, nature, and presence) of the Lord might fill the earth.
As a result of the activity from the Tabernacle realm, God will once again inhabit the whole earth, and find expression there.

"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will
dwell with them and they shall be His people, and God
Himself shall be with them and be their God. And God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain; for the former
things are passed away" Rev 21:3-4.

Are you thirsting for Him to come and rest within you in a fresh way, to become the Tabernacle for God's glory to inhabit for His appointed time?