THE VICTOR’S MENTALITY 19 (Knowing Jesus Is Knowing Truth 3)

We’ve been talking about seeing Jesus as seeing the truth, and the way we see Jesus is through the Scriptures. We’ve already explored three ways to do this:

• Photographically in the Gospels
• Doctrinally in the Epistles
• Prophetically in the Old Testament

I’d love to continue writing about the prophetic aspect in the Old Testament because I didn’t finish it in the previous article. I started sharing key examples of how Christ is revealed prophetically, focusing on direct Messianic prophecies.

Let’s continue with another example:

Through types and shadows: These are people, events, objects, and institutions that symbolically point to Christ. For instance:

1. Adam: A type of Christ as the head of a race, just as Christ is the head of the New Testament Church (Romans 5:14). This tells us we’ve been disconnected from the old Adam. We’re now in the lineage of the new Adam, which is Christ. If you still see yourself in the old Adam, you won’t be able to walk in the truth. You need to start seeing Christ as the reference point of your destiny.
2. Passover Lamb (Exodus 12): This points to Christ, who is our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), slain so that judgment could pass over us. This is the truth!
3. Tabernacle: Every element (altar, veil, priesthood) symbolizes Christ.

When we look at Hebrews 9, it shows how the tabernacle was a shadow of Christ’s redemptive work. Through each element, God was painting a portrait of salvation fulfilled in Christ.

I wish I had time to elaborate on each element of the tabernacle, but since that’s not our main focus, I’ll give a brief insight to encourage you to dig deeper, as that’s the essence of this study.

The Tabernacle was divided into three main sections:

1. Outer Court
2. Holy Place
3. Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies)

Each part reveals a different aspect of Christ’s person and work.

The Outer Court reveals Christ as the Way, as in John 10:9: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved…” The only entrance into the tabernacle was a single gate—symbolizing Jesus as the only way to the Father. Other elements in the Outer Court include:

• The Brazen Altar (Altar of Burnt Offering), where animals were sacrificed for sin, pointing to the cross—where Jesus offered Himself as the once-for-all sacrifice.
• The Brazen Laver (Wash Basin), where priests washed their hands and feet before service. This speaks to Ephesians 5:26, where we are cleansed daily through the Word.

The Holy Place, where only priests could enter, speaks of fellowship, service, and communion. There we find:

• The Golden Lampstand (Menorah), the only light in the Holy Place. Jesus is the true light that lights everyone who comes into the world (John 1:9).
• The Table of Showbread. Jesus said in John 6:35 that He is the bread of life.
• The Altar of Incense, representing prayer and intercession. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Jesus is our High Priest, always interceding for us.

The Most Holy Place, which only the high priest could enter once a year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), contains the veil, the Ark of the Covenant, and the mercy seat.

We could go on and on, but all these point to Christ, who is the reality of our being. In the Ark of the Covenant, we find the tablet of the law, showing Jesus fulfilling the requirements of the law on our behalf; Aaron’s rod that budded, representing Jesus as our living High Priest; and the manna, symbolizing Jesus as the bread of life.

Please find time to study these things. If you intentionally study these—not for intellectual purposes but to know Jesus—you’ll fall in love with Christ and count everything else as secondary.

Let me quickly run through other ways we see Jesus prophetically, as I don’t want to revisit this next week.

We also see Jesus through prophetic roles and offices:

1. Prophet: Fulfilled in Christ as the final and full prophet (Acts 3:22).
2. Priest: Fulfilled in Christ’s eternal priesthood (Hebrews 7).
3. King: Jesus is the eternal King (Luke 1:32-33).

And finally, through feasts and rituals:

• Passover: Christ’s death
• Unleavened Bread: His sinless life
• Firstfruits: His resurrection
• Pentecost: The birth of the Church
• Day of Atonement: His atoning blood

Time won’t allow me to show how each book points to Christ, but I pray that from today, the Old Testament Scriptures will open to you more deeply, enabling you to unravel the truth—Christ. Amen.

See you in the next article!

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