Dear Doves,
I wanted to
share the following insight because it’s perfect for this
season of the Christian calendar. It has to do with
a connection between the Mercy Seat and the empty
tomb. I can’t take credit for this insight which is
based upon something I heard Chuck Missler say in an audio
teaching. However, I think it is quite wonderful …
Okay, let’s go
back to 3 days after the crucifixion of Christ: it is
early morning. Mary Magdalene is among the women who
have come to anoint the body Jesus with spices. She
sees that the stone is rolled away from the opening of His
tomb.
“But Mary stood without at the
sepulchre weeping: and as she
wept, she stooped down, and looked into the
sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the
one at the head, and the
other at the feet, where the
body of Jesus had lain.” John 20:11-12.
I want you to remember that Mary saw
two angels, one at the head and the other at the feet of
where the body of Jesus had been.
Okay, let’s
leave Mary for a moment and go farther back in time to
when Moses has received instructions for the furnishings
of the Tabernacle:
“And thou shalt make a
mercy seat of pure gold: two
cubits and a half shall be the
length thereof, and a cubit and a half the
breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten
work shalt thou make them, in the
two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on
the one end, and the other cherub on the
other end: even of the mercy
seat shall ye make the
cherubims on the two ends thereof.
And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on
high, covering the mercy seat with their
wings, and their faces shall look one to
another; toward the mercy seat shall the
faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt
put the mercy seat above upon the
ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the
testimony that I shall give thee. And
there I will meet with thee, and I will
commune with thee from above the mercy
seat, from between the
two cherubims which are upon the
ark of the testimony, of all things which
I will give thee in commandment unto the
children of Israel.” Exodus 25:17-22.
Do you see
it? Two angels at either end of the mercy
seat? Two angels at the head and feet of where the
body of Jesus lay? Did Mary see the actual
fulfillment, of a prophecy illustrated in the Mercy
Seat? If so, how wonderful is that?
Significantly,
Moses was not told to put the figure of a man on top of
the Mercy Seat. Why? He is not there, for He
is risen! The resurrection was a done deal thousands
of years before Jesus died. No mistakes. No
surprises for God. It is a prophecy written in gold.
Resurrection is a done deal for
us, too. Praise God! So, when you think of the
empty tomb this Easter, remember the prophecy enacted in
the Mercy Seat.
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the
place where the Lord lay.” Matthew
28:6.
“And certain of them which were
with us went to the
sepulchre, and found it even so as the
women had said: but him they
saw not.
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of
heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken:
Ought not Christ to have
suffered these things, and to
enter into his glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded unto
them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself.” Luke
24:24-27.
I don’t know
about you, but I can’t wait to learn about all of the ways
that Christ has been foreshadowed in Scripture and even in
Creation (“For the
invisible things of
him from the creation of the
world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that
they are without excuse. Romans 1:20.)
We are so close to the time when God will reveal His
mysteries to us. It is so exciting to think about.
“For now we
see through a
glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I
know in part; but then shall I
know even as also I am known.” 1
Corinthians 13:12.
God bless you
all as we wait, sometimes impatiently. Maranatha.
Soon and very soon we are going to see the King – our
risen King.
– Lisa Taylor