The Tabernacle in the wilderness had a simple beauty. While it was carefully and elegantly made, it lacked the grandiosity and ostentation of typical religious constructs. But this simple tent possessed something no other building possessed: for within the innermost chamber, the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God himself manifested itself as the Shekinah Glory and sat upon the mercy seat. Only one person was permitted into the Presence, and only once a year; but the very fact of this reality gave meaning and significance to all the activities of the outer chambers, distinguishing this Tabernacle from all other human buildings. Throughout the tumultuous history of Israel, this Tabernacle was transformed into a Temple, with varying degrees of opulence. But it was always the reality within the Holy of Holies that gave these Temples their unique significance.
At the time of Christ, Herod’s Temple was the setting for this majestic reality. This building rivaled all others in opulence and grandeur; never before had the Shekinah dwelt in such complex extravagance. As before, the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies once per year, while the masses would soak in the wonder of the man-made outer courts. Then, something happened. Christ died, and the veil of the temple was rent, revealing the emptiness of the room where the presence of God had once rested. Suddenly, this massive structure became just another empty shell of vain ritual with no reality at its core. The center of Jewish worship was disemboweled…and nothing changed. The masses still gathered, basking in the outward splendor of their empty shell of a temple, doing the same things as they always had. Ichabod was written upon the place, but no one really cared; their entire religious experience had been confined to the outer courts anyway. Reality just didn’t matter, as long as the forms remained.
When the veil was rent, and the reality of God’s presence was divorced from earthly structures, God gave a mighty invitation to those who hungered and thirsted after reality. No more would they have to content themselves with the outward forms, for Christ, as the one-for-all sacrifice and great High Priest, provides free access into the very presence of God. Armed with this privilege, followers of Christ are enjoined to draw near unto the burning fire of the Shekinah and be refined by the blaze; take firm hold of our spoken expectations by basking in the presence of the promiser; and to thoughtfully and deliberately provoke each other unto love and good works at every available opportunity.
Many who call themselves Christians are those who dwell in the outer courts, settling for the richly adorned husks of a Godless Christianity, but never really bothering to enter in to the reality of the Presence. But true Christianity can only be practiced within the Holy of Holies, following Christ, our head, into the reality of the unveiled presence of Jehovah himself.
