The Bronze Laver of The Old Testament
Was a Shadow of the Baptism of The New Testament
| Why did the priests wash
their hands and feet before they entered the holy place? |
| Because they had to stand in front
of God without any sin. |
The laver was also made of bronze. Bronze represents the judgment Jesus suffered for us. The water basin symbolized the word of the gospel, which tells us that all our iniquities were washed away.
It shows us how the washing away of daily sins was carried out. The daily sins of all humankind can be washed away through faith in the words of the baptism of Jesus.
The altar of burnt offering represents the judgment. The water of Jesus, which is blue, is the gospel of the atonement for sins, in other words, the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:15, 1 John 5:5-10). It is the word of testimony for the gospel of salvation through atonement.
In 1 John 5, it is written, "And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, the blood; and these three agree as one." He also tells us that he who believes in the Son of God has the witness of the water, the blood, and the Spirit in him.
God allowed us to be sanctified through faith in the gospel of atonement and to enter the holy tabernacle. Therefore, we can now live in faith, be fed on the words of God, be blessed by Him, and live the life of the righteous. To become the people of God means to be saved through faith in the gospel of atonement and to live inside the holy tabernacle.
Many people today say that it is enough just to believe without thinking about the meaning of the blue, purple, and scarlet yarns of the gate of the holy tabernacle.
If one believed in Jesus without knowing about these things, his/her faith would not be true because there would still be sin in his/her heart. Such a person would still have sin in his/her heart because of the disbelief in the truth of being born again through the gospel of atonement, of the water, the blood, and the Spirit.
If one was asked to evaluate someone one hardly knew, and if, to please the listener, he/she said, "Yes, I believe this person. Of course, I have never met him, but I believe him nevertheless."
Do you think the listener would be pleased to hear that? Maybe some of you would behave like such in human affairs, but this is not the kind of trust God wants from us.
God wants us to believe in the gospel of the remission of sins, the salvation of Jesus through blue (Jesus' baptism), purple (Jesus' Deity), and scarlet (Jesus' blood) yarn. We should know, before having faith in Jesus, how He saved us from all sin.
When we believe in Jesus, we should know how He saved us from all our sins through the water (the baptism of Jesus), the blood (His death), and the Spirit (Jesus' being God).
When we truly understand, we can experience true and complete faiths. Our faiths would never be complete without knowing this truth. True faith comes only by understanding the testimony of the salvation of Jesus, the gospel of remission, and Jesus' being the true Saviour of humankind.
What, then, would the faith that makes a mockery of Jesus be like? Let us see.
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