Revelation 1:4-6
"John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

1 Peter 2:9-10
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."

1 Peter 2:1-5
"Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

Although our Scripture references above are taken from the New Testament, our lesson comes from our Old Testament study of the Tabernacle. We have observed the structure and furniture placement of that dwelling that God told Moses to build for Him. "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them." (Exodus 25:8) Our study of this ancient place of worship has opened our eyes to behold great spiritual truths of our New Testament faith foreshadowed in this Old Testament worship center.
We have suggested that our spiritual journey of faith is beautifully pictured in this ancient structure where God took up His earthly residence among His people. The Tabernacle had only one entrance or door wherein the worshipper made his approach to God.
That door is a type of Jesus Christ for He is the only way to God!

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"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
"Jesus answered, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)
Jesus said, "I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved." (John 10:9)
Our journey begins with our receiving Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them." (Hebrews 7:25)
In coming to Christ, we must put our trust in His saving work at Calvary. It was on the old rugged cross He became the sacrifice for our sins. In the Old Testament Tabernacle, the first object that was viewed once entrance had been made into the sacred enclosure known as the Outer Court was the Brazen Altar of sacrifice. In our New Testament faith, when we come to Christ and receive Him as our Lord and Savior, we are cleansed by the precious blood that was shed for us by Christ on that cross of sacrifice. "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)
The next item of furniture we noted in the Outer Court was the Brazen Laver and we suggested that was a type of water baptism in the New Testament. Immediately following the receiving of Christ as Lord and Savior, the New Testament believers were baptized. It is a command and it is not optional. "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:36-39) "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy

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Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20)
Now we come to a very interesting aspect of our study of the Old Testament Tabernacle and how it foreshadows great truths of our New Testament faith.
In our lesson today we want to study the role of the Priesthood in Old Testament worship.
"Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priests, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazer and Ithamar.
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.
And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest.
They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artistically worked.
It shall have two shoulder straps joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together.
And the intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen." (Exodus 28:1-8)
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that "every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men, in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins...And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." (Hebrews 5:14) This appointment, or ordination, of Aaron involved two initial and important acts: His purification and his sanctification. "And Aaron--thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash him with water." (Exodus 29:4) Having been taken from among the children of Israel, it now had to be demonstrated publicly that he was morally suitable and acceptable to serve as God’s High Priest. In the act of his sanctification, Moses was to take the anointing oil and pour it upon his head, and anoint him." (Exodus 29:7)

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Following Aaron’s priestly appointment, we are told the details of his priestly apparel. "Thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron for glory and for beauty." (Exodus 28:2) The glory and beauty of these garments were designed not so much to draw attention to Aaron himself as to the sacredness and holiness of his office.
Aaron’s work, as high priest of Israel, was to sprinkle the blood upon and before the mercy seat on the great Day of Atonement, and thus make reconciliation for the sins of the people. In this great act of sacrifice is included all other gifts and sacrifices which he himself offered or supervised in the course of his daily ministry.
There was another group of men called Levites who were the priestly family and constituted part of the priesthood who carried out certain responsibilities in the charge of the Tabernacle. Before they were fit to serve under the supervision of Aaron and his family, they had to be purified. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them." (Numbers 8:5-6) They were to "minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and they were to do no service (or other service)." (Numbers 8:26) The Levites were divided into twenty-four courses and their chief functions were music and various forms of service that related to the tasks associated with the priestly functions of making the sacrifices.
Beside the office of the High Priest and the Levites, there was a vast majority of ordinary priests who were estimated to number about 18000 during the time of Christ. They were divided into twenty-four courses or divisions, each of which performed the daily Temple sacrifices for a week, twice a year. Besides these two weeks they also traveled to Jerusalem for the three annual pilgrimage festivals. For the rest of the year these priests lived at home with a few priestly functions to perform, such as declaring a leper clean after his healing. For their livelihood, each had another occupation from which they derived their income.
Now, let’s consider how the office and the function of the priesthood changed in the New Testament.
Jesus Christ became our Great High Priest!
"Now a high priest is a man chosen to represent other human beings in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers their sacrifices for sins. And because He is human, He is able to deal gently

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with the people, though they are ignorant and wayward. For he is subject to the same weaknesses they have. That is why he has to offer sacrifices, both for their sins and his own sins. And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He has to be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was.
That is why Christ did not exalt Himself to become High Priest. No, He was chosen by God, who said to Him, "You are My Son. Today I have become Your Father. "And in another passage God said to Him, "You are a priest forever in the line of Melchizedek." While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the One who could deliver Him out of death. And God heard His prayers because of His reverence for God. So even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered. In this way, God qualified Him as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him. And God designated Him to be a High Priest in the line of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 5:1-10)
"That is why we have a Great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to Him and never stop trusting Him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all the same temptations we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it." (Hebrews 4:14-16)
"Here is our main point. Our High Priest sat down in the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. There He ministers in the sacred tent, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.
And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering too. If He were here on earth, He would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the Law of Moses. They serve in a place of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. (Hebrews 8:1-5)
"So Christ has now become the High Priest over the good things that have come. He has entered that great, perfect sanctuary in heaven, not made by human hands and not part of this created world. Once for all time He took blood into that Most Holy Place, but not the blood of goats and calves. He took His own blood, and with it He secured our salvation forever." (Hebrews 9:11-12)

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in the Old Testament, the priests were appointed by God to offer sacrifices. They also offered prayers and praise to God on behalf of the people. In so doing they "sanctified" the people or made them acceptable to come into God’s presence, albeit in a limited way during the Old Testament period. In the New Testament Jesus becomes our Great High Priest. This theme is developed extensively in the letter to the Hebrews from which we have just quoted.
Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for sin. He offered Himself! "But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." (Hebrews 9:26) Jesus fulfilled all the expectations that were prefigured, not only in the Old Testament sacrifices, but also in the lives and actions of the priests who offered them: He was both the sacrifice and the priest who offered the sacrifice! Jesus is now the "Great High Priest who has passed through the heaven." (Hebrews 4:14)
Jesus continually brings us near to God. The Old Testament priests not only offered sacrifices, but also in a representative way they came into the presence of God from time to time on behalf of the people. But Jesus does much more than that. As our perfect High Priest, He continually leads us into God’s presence so that we no longer have need of a Jerusalem temple, or of a special priesthood to stand between us and God.
Therefore we have a hope that follows Him there: "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever." (Hebrews 6:19-20)
This means that we have a far greater privilege than those worshippers who lived at the time of the Old Testament tabernacle or temple! They could not even enter into the first room, the Holy Place, for only the priests could go there. Then into the inner room of the Temple or Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, only the High Priest could go, and he could only enter there once a year. But when Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice for sins, the curtain or veil of the temple that closed off the Holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom, thus indicating in a beautiful symbolic way on earth that the way of access to God in heaven was opened by Jesus’ death. "Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary [Literally ‘The Holy Places,’ meaning both ‘The Holy Place’ and the "Holy of Holies] by the blood of Jesus...and since we have a

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great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith." (Hebrews 10:19-20)
Jesus, as our High Priest, continually prays for us. One other priestly function in the Old Testament was to pray on behalf of the people. The author of Hebrews tells us that also Jesus fulfills this function. "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25) Paul affirms the same truth when he says Christ Jesus is the one "who indeed intercedes for us." (Romans 8:34)
Jesus continually lives in the presence of God to make specific requests and to bring specific petitions before God on our behalf! It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life, that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers; and that He prays for our protection against the dangers of which we are not even conscious, and against the enemies which threaten us, though we do not notice it. He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end. In His human nature alone Jesus could not of course be such a Great High Priest for all His people all over the world. He could not hear the prayers of persons far away, nor could He hear prayers that were only spoken in a person’s mind. He could not hear all requests simultaneously (for in the world at any one moment there are millions of people praying to Him). Therefore, in order to be the perfect High Priest who intercedes for us, He must be God as well as man! He must be one who in His divine nature can both know all things and bring them into the presence of the Father.
In Christ "the same One was to be both priest and sacrifice," wrote Calvin. "Christ plays the priestly role, not only to render the Father favorable and propitious toward us by an eternal law of reconciliation; but also to receive us as His companions."
Through His satisfaction, Christ made a once-for-all offering of Himself. It is on the basis of this self-offering that He intercedes for us and continues to advocate the cause of sinners in the Father’s presence. This intercession leads to that ultimate benediction which is to be consummated finally in the blessing of His return. By satisfaction He paid the price or ransom for the sins of the world. Christ’s intercession is for all sincere penitents.

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We have noted from our study of the Tabernacle that only the priests could proceed beyond the Brazen Altar. Once the worshipper offered his sacrifice for his sins, he turned and left the sacred enclosure through the entrance gate. The Brazen Laver, we noted, was for the washing of the priests.
Here is the thrilling announcement that takes place for us in our New Testament faith: "All praise to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us. He has made us His kingdom and His priests who serve before God His Father. Give to Him everlasting glory! He rules forever and ever! Amen!" (Revelation 1:5-6)
Every born again believer is a priest unto God! "And the Scriptures also say, ‘He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that will make them fall.’ They stumble because they do not listen to God’s word or obey it, and so they meet the fate that has been planed for them. But you are not like them, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, His very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:8-9)
"And now God is building you, as living stones, into His spiritual temple. What’s more, you are God’s holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please Him because of Christ Jesus." (1 Peter 2:5)
Think of it! The sacred and holy ministering of the Old Testament has now been transferred to us as believing Christians and our wonderful privilege is to enter into the Holy of Holies, there to meet personally with the God of the universe...our Heavenly Father! And what are the sacrifices we as priests make unto our God?
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind He will accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is it too much to ask?
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is." (Romans 12:1-2)
"With Jesus’ help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of His name. Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God." (Hebrews 13:15-16)
Isn’t it thrilling to see how Old Testament shadows burst into glorious eternal truths in the light of our New Testament faith!