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| PAST ISSUE # 149 Question: What is a tabernacle? Since the tabernacle was a place of God's presence, it was very holy place (Exodus 40:34). Within the tabernacle, there is a place separated by a curtain called the Holy of Holies which contained the ark of the covenant (Exodus 40:3, 21). This place was the holiest part of the tabernacle. It was so holy that only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for Israel (Leviticus 16:2-16, 34). God would speak to Moses and the people from behind the curtain which separates the Holy of Holies with the rest of the tabernacle (Exodus 29:42; Numbers 7:89). After the Jews had settled in their promised land, they built a temple in Jerusalem which had the same layout of the tabernacle but in a larger proportion. The temple also had the Holy of Holies. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain which separates the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn in two (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). This meant that Jesus had broken the sin barrier between God and man. We can now enter God's presence through the cleansing blood of Jesus (John 14:6; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 9:20). Related topic in Issue # 147 & 148.
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