Measuring the Altar / December 1999

Contents

• Measuring the Altar
• The Prophet Side

Soon, and very soon, the world will be faced with a test from the God of heaven and earth. The world will treat it like a pop quiz, but it will actually be the first question of His final exam. It has to do with an altar to be built in Jerusalem. The book of Revelation describes this test and the altar.

“And there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, Arise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it.”

Revelation 11:1

Three things are to be measured: the inner court of the temple, the altar, and people who worship God. What is God trying to measure and what is to be determined by this measurement?

The average church going Christian has no idea what an altar means to God nor why the patriarchs set them up. Even more disturbing, the average church leader and pastor doesn't know either. Whenever the subject of altars and the altar service comes up in discussion two things tend to happen: everyone shrugs their shoulders in ignorance or they repeat the basic tenet of replacement theology. Altars are no more; Christ was the final sacrifice. When you mention the subject of the altar to believers, the thought of animal sacrifice and priests generally comes to mind. Most are repulsed. The idea of animals being slaughtered and burned on an elevated platform, as the worship of God, seems archaic and offensive. As a result, most people reshape their theology to make it all go away. They are ignorant of the Torah and unintentionally accomplish the work of Satan. Given this ignorance, the Christian world is not prepared for the test and measurement that God is about to perform. God will be using the same measurement method that He has used from the time of Cain and Abel. The Christian world is not prepared for the start of the Great Tribulation that will come upon all men dwelling on the earth. They do not understand that Satan will come against the altar in an attempt to steal the world and us from God.

This article will not be able to deal with all the theology opposed to altars in our day. Instead, we will try to explain that the prophecy says an altar will be the starting sign of the Great Tribulation, what altars have meant in the past, what God is measuring, and where we should be standing when this measurement takes place.

For those of us paying close attention to the end time prophecies and events happening in Jerusalem, we are specifically interested in one altar that will be set up on the temple mount. That altar will be center stage for the start of the Great Tribulation. Some will argue that the setting up of the altar is an abomination; but, the Bible says the shutting down of its daily sacrifice (a lamb in the morning and a lamb in the evening) and setting up of the image will be the abomination that makes desolate (Dan 9:27;12:11 and Matt 24:15,21).

Look back with me for a moment how God has used altars throughout the history of man. The first conflict between Cain and Abel concerned altars. Cain offered the product of plants that was not accepted and Abel offered a blood sacrifice that was. Cain slew Abel in a fit of rage.

So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

Genesis 4:3-5,8

What is it about the two sacrifices that caused one to be accepted and one not to be? Why did Cain rise up in anger to slay his own brother? The answer is simple. Cain shared from his abundance and that which was common. Abel sacrificed something of value and gave the best he had. God responded accordingly. Altars are for sacrifices, things that are valuable. The very gift put on the altar is a reflection of what is in the giver's heart. Cain wanted God's blessing but wasn't willing to give of his heart. God counseled Cain accordingly.

If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.

Genesis 4:7

God used the altar to measure Cain's heart and it was found lacking. Cain then chose sin and slew his brother.

Noah was saved by the ark in the great flood and established an altar to worship the Lord after the flood. In fact, Noah offered one clean male animal from all the animals saved.

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Genesis 8:20

God measured Noah and then made a covenant with him. As a sign of the covenant, God gave the rainbow. When we see the bow in the sky, we are assured that God's promise to Noah is also to us.

Ten generations after Noah, a man named Abram left his father's city of Ur and traveled to the land of Canaan. There, Abram built a series of three altars. God also made promises to him and his descendants. These promises, made at altars, included a great blessing, land to dwell in, an heir born of his own body and that of his wife, the changing of his name and his wife's to Abraham and Sarah, and finally a seal of circumcision.

Promise and Altar Number 1.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives And from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” And Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.

Genesis 12:1-3, 6-7

Altar Number 2

Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.

Genesis 12:8

Altar Number 3

Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Genesis 13:18

Promise Number 2

Abram had not fathered Isaac yet and was concerned as to whom would receive his inheritance of God=s blessing. Eliezer, Abram's servant was the only heir, but God said there would a son born of Abram.

Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

Genesis 15:4-5

Every time we walk out into a beautiful star filled night and look up, we see the sign that God gave Abraham about us. The number of us is pictured in the stars to our father Abraham. This is why God had the children of Israel take a census when they left Egypt (the book of Numbers). If you could count the stars that are seen by the eye at night, you would count between 500,000 and 600,000 stars. (Astronomers say this.) When Israel was counted as being 603,550 men of war, God proved that His promise to Abraham was true. Therefore, the stars seen by us today still reflect the truth of God's promise to us today (Abraham's descendants).

We do not know exactly where this promise was made in the land. The clues are few. But we do know this. Abram paid tithes to a certain King of Righteousness after rescuing his nephew Lot. This King was called Melchizedek and he lived in the region we believe to be present day Jerusalem. The area of the second altar is just to the north of Jerusalem. So it could be said that Abram was near the second altar. Is that significant? Well it could be because we definitely know that Abram offered a sacrifice at the giving of the second promise.

Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

Genesis 15:6-11

Promise Number 3

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:1-8

God's third promise to Abram included the changing of his name to Abraham. Thus his destiny was changed from the “father of many” to the “father of many nations.” But God was to change more than just his name.

God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.”

Genesis 17:9-12

The seal of circumcision is a very personal thing to a man. Abraham was instructed to circumcise himself and all his servants. This is about as personal as it can get when it comes to being a man. As a result, the promised son was fathered and born to Sarah just as God had promised her.

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Genesis 17:15-16

Now, where exactly was this promise given, the changing of names, and the seal of circumcision? Abraham was at Mamre, the place we call Hebron. The same place the third altar was built. In fact, the Lord had lunch with Abraham shortly thereafter and confronted Sarah's laugh.

Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.

Genesis 18:1

Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “Behold, in the tent.” And he said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

Genesis 18:9-12

Three times Abraham built altars and these became the locations of God's promises to Abraham. God was manifesting Himself and His plan for Abraham's life at these altars. Therefore, altars reveal God's plan to us. In particular, take note on the last altar that Abraham built, the altar where Isaac was taken to be sacrificed.

Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

Genesis 22:1-2

We understand the land of Moriah and the mountain in question to be Jerusalem and the temple mount. Not only was Abraham to be tested, but God was going to use that particular altar to reveal His great plan for His Son.

Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Genesis 22:9

You know the rest of the story and how Abraham was stopped, but take note of how Abraham describes the future of that altar and place.

And Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together

Genesis 22:8

And Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”

Genesis 22:14

From our vantage point in history, we see that God's plan for His Son was taking shape in the example of Abraham and his son Isaac. Therefore, the altar was a foreshadowing of God's plan for His Son.

Isaac, the son of Abraham, did the same things that his father did. He built altars as a witness to others of the One, True God, he lived in a tent, and he dug wells to serve other men.

Then he went up from there to Beersheba. And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham.” So he built an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Genesis 26:23-25

The sequence of Isaac's priorities is noteworthy. The average religious man would build his palace first, have others serve him, and then claim a special relationship with the Almighty. God's promise to Isaac was given at this altar in Beersheba, but something else begins to emerge about this particular altar. Isaac had much controversy with the surrounding people. King Abimelech and his servants seemed to welcome Isaac but had issue with him many times. Beersheba was the only place where he could really live in peace. The fact is that Abimelech didn't like the God of Abraham or His blessing on Isaac's life. The altars built by Isaac were a witness of God to the unbelievers. They stood in opposition to the pagan idols made by the king and other peoples. Every where they saw Isaac and the altars, they remembered his father, the story of his life, and his witness of God. That is why they pushed Isaac further and further away and filled Abraham's wells with dirt.

Jacob, the son of Isaac, also built altars and set a relationship example with God. Upon Jacob's return to the land of Canaan with his wives and children, he thanked God for safely protecting him from his brother Esau, prospering him with his family, and changing his name to Israel.

Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, then he erected there an altar, and called it El-Elohe-Israel [God, the God of Israel].

Genesis 33:18, 20

Why Shechem? It is part of God's future plan. It would be Shechem that would such an affect on the life of Joseph resulting in his capture and sale to Egypt. Shechem would become the place that Israel would take the oath of blessing and curse upon entering the land after the exodus. Shechem would become the burial place of Joseph's bones, having been carried out of Egypt by his descendants. Again, the altar spoke of God's plan for those who would recognize its meaning and value.

Jacob built another altar at the same place he had his famous “Jacob's ladder” dream.

So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel [God, the house of God], because there God had revealed Himself to him, when he fled from his brother.

Genesis 35:6-7

Here the altar was used for Jacob's expression of thanksgiving and praise. This is noteworthy, because thanksgiving and praise from this point on will be the dominant purpose of altars as taught by Moses. Moses will give us the bulk of the instruction on how altars are to be established and used.

Let's summarize what we know about altars from creation to Moses.

1. Altars are used to conduct business with God.
2. God uses altars to make promises and covenants with man.
3. Altars are pinpoints on God's great plan for His people.
4. Altars are the places where we can offer thanksgiving and praise to God.

Moses instructs us that an altar is where God's name is placed and remembered.

You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

Exodus 20:24

Moses instructs us that altars in the tabernacle are patterned after altars in heaven.

And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.

Exodus 25:40

Moses instructs us that temple altars are to be square with horns on the corners, bronze for sacrifice and gold for incense.

And he made all the utensils of the altar, the pails and the shovels and the basins, the flesh hooks and the firepans; he made all its utensils of bronze.

Exodus 38:3

Moreover, you shall set the gold altar of incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the veil for the doorway to the tabernacle.

Exodus 40:5

Moses instructs us that an altar made of earth must be built of virgin stones, not stones hewn by man, but made by God.

Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on them. You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones; and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God;

Deuteronomy 27:5-6

Moses instructs us that an altar may not have steps, so there is no immodesty.

And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.

Exodus 20:26

Moses instructs us that an altar is the table of God for His food in His House.

And the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire for a soothing aroma; all fat is the Lord's.

Leviticus 3:16

Moses instructs us that an altar is holy.

And you shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar; and the altar shall be most holy. Exodus 40:10 (To speak against His altar is to commit blasphemy.)

Moses instructs us that blood on the altar is a covering, an atonement, for our sin.

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.

Leviticus 17:11

Moses instructs us that God's altar must have a daily (continual) sacrifice of a morning lamb and evening lamb to be His altar.

And you shall say to them, “This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the Lord; two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day. You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight …”

Numbers 28:3-4

All of these instructions of Moses concerning the altar were to impress one particular thing upon the minds of Israel and us. The altar belongs to God. It represents Him. It is according to His rules and His requirements. Simply said, the altar is God's table where He does business with man. It is His place and is where He has placed His name. We do not set up altars where ever we want. Moses prophesied that God would one day place His name in the land of Israel and the altar would be permanently set there; this would be God's chosen place to dwell.

then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God shall choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord.

Deuteronomy 12:11

When Joshua entered the land with the children of Israel, God first instructed that the tabernacle be set at a place called Shiloh in the land of Ephraim. Jeremiah the prophet was instructed to visit this place to remember the first place that God's name was in the land.

But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

Jeremiah 7:12

To this day, you can go to the same place Jeremiah went and see the very ruins of where the tabernacle stood. It still stands as a testimony of God's name and His judgment upon Israel.

King David was later instructed to purchase a threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (the present temple mount) and build an altar to the Lord. This was the beginning of the city of Jerusalem and Solomon's temple. The city of Jerusalem was first established by David building an altar.

Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

II Chronicles 3:1

You will note that this threshing floor was on Mount Moriah where Abraham took Isaac. Solomon recounts to us and emphasizes his role as the son of David in the construction of the temple. Later, it will be God's Son who will come to make sacrifice of Himself to build a tabernacle in our hearts for God to place His name in us.

And behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.”

I Kings 5:5

Jerusalem was later destroyed by the Babylonians, but the temple was rebuilt, first with an altar just as David did. Finally, Yeshua came and spoke an ominous prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction by the Romans. The destruction happened in 70 A.D. Since then, the altar and temple have not been operational.

Did God decide that altars are no more? Did He decide that altars are not applicable for our new covenant faith? Did He decide to abandon His prior agreements made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Did He decide that the instruction of Moses was no longer valid? Did He decide that we don't need to do business with God anymore at an altar? No way!

The fact is that God built an even better altar and tabernacle into our hearts by the work of Yeshua's resurrection. Instead of stones for His altar and Commandments, He has chosen to use our own hearts and fill us with His Spirit just as He used to fill the Holy of Holies. We offer the sacrifice of praise from our lips and thanksgiving from our hearts. We are to be living sacrifices (Rom 12:1-2). However, the average believer struggles with the understanding of the altar and tabernacle in them. The church has supplanted the tabernacle made by Yeshua with the church system made by men. They have discarded the altars of Abraham to David on the heap of history. As a result, most Christians do not identify with the altars of the Patriarchs nor understand their value. But Yeshua is our Great High Priest and He came to fill up the teaching of Moses with more meaning. He did not come to do away with the altar service; He came to transform symbol into substance. In the days of the tabernacle and the temple, entering the courtyard meant you had to deal with the altar first. The great fire altar in the temple dominated the area leading to the sanctuary. The same is true of the tabernacle made by Yeshua. Yeshua's sacrifice dominates our worship of God. But this brings us to a most subtle point of understanding. Yeshua said that a religious man would consider the sacrifice to be more important that the altar (it is clear that Yeshua does not agree with the religious man on this point). Yeshua argues that the altar sanctifies the sacrifice and is just as important as the sacrifice. The altar determines the purpose of the sacrifice, whether it be for sin, guilt or thanksgiving.

And, whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, he is obligated. You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.

Matthew 23:18-20

In the absence of the Torah and Yeshua's teaching, many churchmen are simply befuddled about the entire altar service and its meaning to us today. Maybe some of this befuddlement is justified. Consider this. Do you think that Abraham really understood that in taking Isaac to Mount Moriah he was prophetically acting out what God would do with His Son Yeshua? Maybe we should be asking ourselves, “What part does the altar established in our hearts have to do with God's future plans?”

Let's shift our attention back to current events and God's plan for our generation. What about Jerusalem, the temple mount, and an altar being built there? The prophecy says that God will measure us with an altar in Jerusalem. The test is simple. Who will stand with the God who made those stones in that altar? Who will acknowledge that God is creator and the rightful owner of the earth and everything in it? The first words spoken over the dedication of any altar to God are Psalm 24:1.

(A Psalm of David.) The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.

Psalms 24:1

These words testify to God's ownership of the world and everything in the world. It is understood this way: The God that made the stones in this altar is the God who made everything touching those stones.

God intends to measure the whole world. He will measure a part of the temple mount, the inner court referenced to a cornerstone. He will measure Holiness, referenced to the altar, against the world. He will then measure us. Do we believe in the God that made the stones in that altar? Isaiah says that any one who clings to the cornerstone will not be disturbed. We know the cornerstone of our faith is Yeshua the Messiah.

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”

Isaiah 28:16

However, there will be an antimessiah and he will be opposed to the altar, God's ownership symbol. He will be attempting to steal the world and everything in it. This is why he will want the altar service stopped. If the daily sacrifice is stopped, God no longer considers that altar to be His altar. But this will not stop God's judgment; the altar on earth is only patterned after the real one in heaven. Listen to what the altar in heaven has to say.

And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments.”

Revelation 16:7

When the antimessiah discovers that he has failed, he will turn to destroy as much as he can. Many of our brethren will not understand this test and will take issue with the altar and mistakenly join with the antimessiah against it. They will suffer a great judgment from God.

And I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the level; then hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the secret place.

Isaiah 28:17

Justice will be the measuring line and righteousness will be the level. God will be comparing the altar in our hearts with the one that has His name in Jerusalem. Remember the question we asked earlier, “What part does the altar established in our hearts have to do with God's future plans?” A word of caution brethren, the altar in your heart better match the one in Jerusalem. The prophecy says that He will measure us to that altar in that court in Jerusalem.

How soon could the altar go up in Jerusalem? On our most recent trip to Israel in November, our Israeli guide took note of something different on the temple mount. She observed IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) being trained to escort Jews on the temple mount. It appears that Jews will soon be given permission to pray on some portion of the temple mount. So, I say to you all, look for the cornerstone, the altar, and God's measurements. They are coming soon and very soon.

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