Roadmap for the soul - Judaism, the bible and the tabernacle

So... now the way into the tabernacle is open.
And as we will see momentarily, it has been opened to all of mankind, not just the Jewish people.

The fact that it was always God's plan to include the entire world, was seen earlier, in Genesis 12:1-3...
There, God told Abraham that through his descendants,
"...all the families of the earth shall be blessed".

And at this stage in our story, the meaning of that 'blessing' should be apparent...
Through Abraham's descendants, Y'shua / Jesus has come.
And through him ---

...the means of freedom from sin (and death) has become available.
A restored relationship with God is now possible!

And again... this is available to the entire world.

The proof of this can be seen in the tabernacle's symbolism ---

But now... look at the following passage ---

Ephesians 2:14 "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us..."

In other words, as you might have guessed, the above passage is saying that ---

Or, to put it another way ---

This was predicted by God Himself, long ago ---

So then...
Where does this leave Israel?

As the 'barrier' around the outer court originally suggested, the people of Israel were the first to be 'separated' from 'the world' and offered a restored relationship with God... As a "kingdom of priests", they were to enter the tabernacle's 'promised land', where they were then to have the honor and responsibility of communicating God's grace to the rest of the world 'outside'.

And indeed, in a sense, they have functioned in that capacity ---
This can be seen in the fact that the tabernacle was first given to the Jewish people,
and it is thus through their 'priesthood' that God's 'rescue plan' for mankind is being communicated to the world 'outside'.
But this is hardly the fulfillment of their priestly calling.

It is only after gaining access (through Y'shua / Jesus) to the "Most Holy Place" and its 'spiritual reconciliation with God' ,
that the Jewish people can truly gain "everlasting possession" of their land and totally fulfill their 'priesthood'
(as represented by possession of the "holy place").

The vast majority of Jewish people are currently 'blind' to this though...83
The end result being that (on a spiritual level) they remain 'outside' the 'promised land', in the "outer court"
(which they've never really left, spiritually).

There in the "outer court", they now find themselves joined by the rest of the world ---

Please note that although Israel's blindness may cause them to languish out in the 'outer court' (spiritually) for a time,
they very much remain God's 'chosen people'.
And Israel's blindness won't last forever. 84

In any case, at this point we should probably pause and address an issue that might cause confusion to some readers...

This has to do with the fact that the "holy place" represents ---

And as some readers may have recognized,
Israel would appear to have 'taken possession' of that land (as of 1948).

So... what does this mean?
How does this fit with the tabernacle's symbolism?

Well... all it really means is that Israel is once again being allowed to try and take possession of the land,
even though they do not have the spiritual right to do so.

The fact that they are trying to possess the land without the spiritual right to do so, is easily proven ---
All you need to do is turn on the t.v. news or read a newspaper...
There, you will see ample evidence that Israel's possession of the land is in constant jeopardy.
Clearly, this would not be the case if Israel had attained "everlasting possession" of the land spiritually.

Nonetheless, one thing is certain... the bible has long predicted that Israel would be exactly where she is. 85
It also predicts that Israel's possession of the land will ultimately depend upon the direct intervention of God.
If you have doubts about this, well... you won't have to wait long to see how wrong you are.

The bottom line here, is that Israel's current occupation of the "holy place" (physically),
does not mean that they have been granted possession of it (spiritually).
Nor does it indicate a flaw in our story's symbolism.

In any case... as we now wrap up this chapter ---

We have seen that the "middle wall" (between Israel and the rest of the world) has now been removed.
This is because Y'shua / Jesus died on behalf of everyone.

As the true Passover 'substitute', he has given his life,
in order that everyone may be set free from sin and its 'curse', which is death.

And thus we close this chapter with yet another of our story's interesting parallels ---

As you may recall, when Israel was 'set free' from slavery in Egypt long ago, the Jewish people were initially 'set free' collectively (i.e. 'as a group'), as a result of the Passover lamb's sacrifice. But as we saw, later, an individual commitment was later required. 86

And now, we find that same principle again ---

Now, the entire world has been collectively 'set free' from sin and its 'curse' (death), through Jesus' Passover sacrifice. But once again, an individual commitment is also required...

Point being that ---
Everyone has to choose individually whether or not to put their faith in Y'shua / Jesus and what he has accomplished.

In the next chapter,
we will take a detailed look at what happens when one chooses to do so...

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