Thus the events which occurred to prepare God's people for the first appearing of Messiah, followed this pattern:
Christ completed His earthly life on His cross, where He made the divine Atonement by Blood; and when He cried out, "It is finished," the curtain of the Holy of Holies in the physical temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This signified the end of the temple vision of Moses, which Messiah had fulfilled and completed in His Own Person. His death had brought in a new dispensation, which was also destined to have a temple vision. After He was raised from the dead, He ascended and became invisible.
Immediately, the Son of God began His work of preparing a people for His return, by giving them a new temple vision. Christ now revealed to Paul the new temple into which Messiah would enter, when it was time for Him to appear in Person on the earth again. This new vision also contained a body and a temple, a visible part that would be seen with the physical eyes, and a spiritual part that would only be seen with the eyes of the understanding. Likewise, this vision also revealed the place into which Messiah would enter when He came the second time, preparing the hearts of His people for His actual, physical entrance again, into both the physical and the spiritual temple of His vision.
Christ showed Paul that the first coming of the Presence of Messiah into a human body had dedicated, or inaugurated the human body as the true temple of the living God, but that was only the starting point for the next vision. The people had been used to thinking of God as outside of themselves. They had seen the Presence of God in a temple structure, and then, in Messiah, they had seen the Presence of God in someone else's body. But, now in this new vision, the Presence of God was intended to come into their own body. Christ revealed to Paul that God in human flesh wasn't about God in one man, it was really pointing forward to God in every man. In actuality, the first coming of Messiah, in Jesus of Nazareth, had been a miniature type of the way He would return, in Person. The temple building of the first vision had been a physical type pointing forward to the living human body temple in which Messiah would dwell among His people; and now, the living human body temple in which Messiah had dwelt, had itself become the physical type, pointing forward to a new body temple of Christ, the ultimate and final body temple of the Son of God. Messiah had really been revealing that it was His Father's ultimate purpose for every human being to be a living, physical human body temple for His Son to come in and live in, just as He had lived in Jesus of Nazareth. God was greatly desirous to be more intimate with His people than living in a temple building within close proximity to them, OR EVEN IN SOMEONE else's BODY, within close proximity to them. Messiah had been actually revealing just how intimate God wanted to be with ALL of His people — He wanted to live IN THEM, every one of them! This was the physical part of Christ's vision to Paul. A human body is very visible to the physical eye. So, the spiritual part of Moses' vision had now come "down to earth," so to speak, and had become the physical part of Paul's vision; indeed, more "down to earth" than ever before conceived, even down in "their own earth." This new vision was very radical for the people who lived in the days when it was given, and much more intimate and invasive than the vision given to Moses.
Paul wrote a letter to those who believed that God had lived in Jesus of Nazareth, and told them what Christ had shown him. "The (human) body...is intended for the Lord, and the Lord is intended for the (human) body, to save, sanctify and raise it again...Your Body is the temple, the very sanctuary, of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received as a Gift from God...So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body...1 Cor. 6:13, 19,20 Amplified.
Now just as it was in the first vision to Moses, so it was again, that the spiritual part of the new vision was hidden within the details of the physical. Christ drew Paul's attention to the details of His physical body which had made it the type of His new spiritual body which He would be appearing in, on earth, the second time He came. In Christ's physical human body, there had been many parts, visible and invisible, which had made up His one physical body. Each part was unique, and different from the other parts of His body, yet each part performed the function that it was created to perform. His eyes saw, His hands held and touched, His ears heard, His legs carried His body wherever His mind instructed them; His heart invisibly pumped blood to every part of His body, His lungs invisibly sent oxygen to every cell in His body, and His stomach received nourishment which it shared invisibly with every other part of His body. Even the body parts that seemed to look alike, as His two eyes, or His two hands, were not identical, or an unnecessary duplication, because both of them were needed in order to work together for the accomplishment of the specific work they had been given to do. Each member of His body did a different work from the other members of His body; yet all of His members made up one body, all were within His one body, and all were interconnected and dependent on the other in order to live and move as one body.
The new vision revealed that at Christ's second appearing in human flesh, the body of the Son of God would still be a living body temple for the divine, but it would be a "many-membered body." At His first coming Messiah had appeared in a single human body. At His return, He would be appearing in many human bodies, who would compose the One, living, human body He had ultimately desired from the very conception of life on this earth. The Son desired to be in the bodies of all of His people, as He had been in Jesus of Nazareth, and collectively, He would fill this One living spiritual temple, His One multimembered body, with Himself. This was the spiritual part of the vision which was hidden in the physical part of His first coming. It was the spiritual part, in the fact that physical eyes just can't see how multiple, living, physical, human bodies are really only One body. You can't "see the connection" with physical eyes. The collective, spiritual body of the Son of God, with all of His living, physical body members, could only be seen with the eyes of the understanding.
The human body is defined as "an organized physical substance." When Messiah returned, He would appear with His new body, His "organized spiritual substance." One divine Son of God would live and move and have His Being in this new, living, human organism. An organism is "a complex structure of interdependent and subordinate elements, whose relations and properties are largely determined by their function in the whole; carrying on the activities of life by means of organs separate in function, but mutually dependent: a living being." Webster just defined the "body of Christ." The Son of God would live on earth again, physically, in Person, in every human body who yielded to His entrance and permanent dwelling within them; and, He would live spiritually, in Person, as well — the One Person formed by all of the physical body temples. Christ's One new body, His One new human temple on earth, would be connected by the Spirit of the Anointing, flowing like blood through each member, and connecting all under one divine intelligence, the "mind of Christ."
The invisible connection of a spiritual body was experienced in a decided way in the congregation in the wilderness. In secret, Achan committed a crime, and the result of the crime affected the entire congregation, as if all had committed it. There was an effect that everyone felt, and it had consequences that everyone received. In a physical body, the foot feels what occurs with the hand. The awesome spiritual connection, the real and invisible connection, that would now be seen in relation to the church of Christ, would be that the members of the body of Christ would not all be in the same location, nor necessarily even in close proximity, yet their spiritual union would cause them to feel one another, and respond to one another, to think the same thoughts together, and move in unison with one another, because of the Spirit Who was living in them.
So, in Paul's letter, He continued to unfold the vision he had received from Christ.
Just as the body is a unity and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form only one body, so it is with Christ the Messiah, the Anointed one. For by means of the personal agency of one Holy Spirit we were all...united together into one body, and made to drink of one Holy Spirit, for the body does not consist of one limb or organ but of many...Now "you are collectively Christ's (spiritual) body, and individually you are (physical) members of it, each part severally and distinct, each with his own place and function." 1 Cor. 12:12-27 Amplified.
Do you not see and know that your (human) bodies are (physical) members, bodily parts, of Christ the Messiah? 1 Cor. 6:15 Amplified.
For as in one physical body we have many parts, organs, members, and all of these parts do not have the same function or use, so we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ, the Messiah, and individually we are parts one of another, mutually dependent on one another. Rom. 12:4,5 Amplified.
In Moses' temple vision, many visible parts made up one structure, in the visible physical temple. Those individual parts could be seen physically — the gold covered boards in their brass sockets, the four separate coverings of skin and hair, and inner furnishings within the two apartments of experience. It was those individual, visible parts which composed the one physical temple building into which Christ came the first time, in Person. In Paul's temple vision, many visible parts now also make up the One structure of His new spiritual temple. The individual parts of its living construction, can also be seen physically — each of the many human beings in whom the Son of God Himself has begun to appear, compose Messiah's living temple. Each human being is visible and physical, and yet is invisibly and fitly joined together to form the One spiritual temple, into which Messiah came, in Person, at His return.
There were two specific aspects of the vision of Christ's body temple which Paul could only venture to intimate. Christ had shown him some things that he knew he didn't dare talk about very plainly during his time. He was shown that the living body temple to which the Anointed One would come, the second time, and enter into, would be the body of a woman, the bride of Christ. Paul wrote to the believers living in Ephesus, "Christ is the Head of the church, Himself the Savior of His body…The church is subject to Christ…Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things, that she might be holy and faultless...(Christ) nourishes and carefully protects and cherishes...the church, because we are members, parts of His body. This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Eph. 5:21-32 Amplified.
What could be "the very great mystery" about this symbolic relationship of Christ and His church, His new body temple? After all, it is a nice theological idea to think about, "spiritually speaking," that is. Well, Paul wasn't "spiritually speaking." Messiah was going to be a real, literal Husband, in Person, of the "bride of Christ." He was literally going to marry His bride unto Himself. In living reality, in the office of divine Husband, Messiah was going to enter into His bride intimately and physically. God, in human flesh, was going to consummate with His human bride. That was the very great mystery of the vision. "Making known to us the mystery, secret, of His will, of His plan, of His purpose. And it is this: In accordance with His good pleasure which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him (Messiah), He planned for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, both things in heaven and things on the earth." Eph. 1:9,10 Amplified.
Paul knew what a shock it would be to the senses of the religious folk of his day to find out that Christ's vision wasn't just symbolic, but was to be fulfilled literally and physically, just as Moses' temple vision was fulfilled literally and physically, in Person, by Messiah. Paul had seen what Christ really meant. Paul saw that Messiah was going to come in an intimate way, into the body of His bride. He was returning to draw the bride of God to the marriage of the Lamb, to the consummation of the human and the divine at the wedding of God; and he knew the people weren't ready to handle that information yet. Even after two thousand years, those who did have some spiritual vision in the eyes of their understanding, had a difficult time dealing with the shock of Messiah's clear commission from His Father to consummate the "marriage of the Lamb," by literally and physically coming into "the bride..."the Lamb's wife." Rev. 22:17. The actual living, temple on earth, the bride of Christ, belonged to God –– really! All of her parts had been formed and brought together by His Own hand. When the Son of God would go into that living temple, in the very office of divine Husband, He would only be going into that which already belonged to Him, and that which was really His. That was the sole purpose of the imagery of the bride of Christ all along –– to receive the Son of God into herself, at His coming. She was "prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband," "prepared...to give the Messiah a fit reception and secure his blessings." Rev. 21:1; Strong's Concordance. At His first coming, Messiah physically entered into the precincts of a sacred earthly building. At His return, He physically came into the Holy Place and Most Holy Place of His living bride.
Moses' temple vision had been given to prepare the hearts of God's people for Messiah's actual, physical entrance into the temple of that vision, to cleanse His temple and consummate the work that His Father had given Him to do within its precincts. Paul's new temple vision had likewise been given, to prepare the hearts of God's people for Messiah's actual, physical entrance into the body temple of that vision, to cleanse her by consummating the work that His Father had given Him to do. If the "Christians," who professed to know the Christ Who came the first time, had had eyes of understanding with which to really see His first coming, they would have been spiritually prepared when Michael Himself appeared, in Person, as the divine Husband of the Woman, the bride of Christ, to take full responsibility for her, individually and collectively. And when the Son of God assumed His authority as Guardian of His Father's living temple, they would have understood and acknowledged, Why of course, this is the way it should be! This is the way it was always meant to be!
Paul also referred to the spiritual part of the vision which Christ had shown him, in the imagery of the temple with which the people in his day were so familiar. "Welcome to the living stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life...The Scriptures provide precedent: 'Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion, a Cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this Stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it...The stone the workmen threw out is now the chief foundation stone.' For the untrusting it's '...a stone to trip over, a boulder blocking the way.'" 1 Pet. 2:4-8 The Message Bible. At His first appearing in human flesh, the Son of God had been made the chief Cornerstone of His living, spiritual temple. His reappearing would be His appearing in every "building stone" which composed His entire spiritual temple. In this invisible, but very real, spiritual temple of the Son of God, every "building stone" would have an invisible union with Him because of His life in them; and through His life in them, they would have invisible union with every other soul who had His life in them.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is all about the divine vision Paul received regarding the real work which would be conducted by the Son of God in His new heavenly sanctuary, His collective, living temple of those who are His Own. But Paul was also aware of the offense which would inevitably come from the office work which the "Chief Cornerstone" had been given by His Father to accomplish, as Personal Melchizedek of heaven's living temple. At His second appearing, He would again be a Stone to trip over, a Boulder blocking the way; for heaven's Melchizedek, the Son of God, was to literally and physically enter into His living temple. He would go clear in to the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, to perform His priestly work of atoning and cleansing her. In this imagery as well, Paul found himself not able to be free in describing the intimate nature of the divine mystery which he had been shown. He saw "Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building...For Christ didn't enter the earthly version of the Holy Place; he entered the Place Itself...being designated and recognized and saluted by God as High Priest after the order, with the rank of Melchizedek. Concerning this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull in your spritual hearing and sluggish, even slothful in achieving spiritual insight." Heb. 9:11 KJV; Heb. 9:24 The Message Bible; Heb. 5:10,11 Amplified. Heaven's Melchizedek was destined to enter into the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place of His living temple, His betrothed bride, and consummate her to Himself; for she had asked to be taken to His home to be One with Him forever, and this was the divine preparation given her from the Father. "Moses certainly was faithful in the administration of all God's house (temple), but it was only as a ministering servant. In his entire ministry he was but a testimony to the things which were to be spoken, the revelations to be given afterward in Christ. But Christ the Messiah was faithful over His own Father's house [at His first coming, cleansing His physical temple; and at His second coming, cleansing His spiritual temple] as a Son and Master [divine Guardian] of it. And it is we who are now members of this house, if we hold fast and firm to the end our joyful and exultant confidence...in Christ (Michael, the Son of God)." Heb. 3:5,6 Amplified.
Thus the events which occurred to prepare God's people for the second appearing of Messiah, followed the same pattern as at the first coming:
Chapter 11, page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
