Message 151
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 30:6-10, 26-28; 40:5, 26-27; Psa. 84:3; 141:2; Rev. 8:3-6
The deepest type of the types in the Old Testament may be the incense altar in Exodus 30. If we consider this type even superficially, we shall see that it is related to prayer. Both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament incense offered to God signifies our prayer to Him. Therefore, in our reading of the Bible, we can realize that the golden altar of incense must in some way be related to prayer.
If we consider this matter in a deeper way, we shall see that actually the incense altar does not refer to our prayer. Rather, it refers to the prayer of Christ, for the altar itself is a type of the Person of Christ. It is not a type of Christ’s prayer. The incense altar typifies Christ the Person, not His prayer. It signifies Christ praying, Christ interceding.
The individual Christ after His resurrection, and especially after His ascension, has become corporate. Thus, today before God not only is the individual Christ interceding, but the corporate Christ, the Head with the Body, is interceding as well. Christ the Head is interceding in the heavens, and the church the Body is interceding on earth. The intercessor, therefore, is not merely Christ Himself, but is Christ with His Body. If we realize this, we shall see that what is signified by the incense altar is something very deep.
If you consult the diagram printed in message one hundred forty-seven, you will see that the incense altar was located inside the tabernacle. The first altar, the altar of burnt offering, however, was outside the tabernacle, in the outer court. The significance of the incense altar is deeper than that of the altar of burnt offering. As we have pointed out, the tabernacle signifies clearly and definitely God Himself into whom we may enter. Furthermore, since the incense altar is in the tabernacle, whoever would pray at the incense altar must be inside the tabernacle. The concept here is deep. This is the reason we say that the significance of the incense altar is profound. In this message we shall try to cover some of the details related to the depths of the significance of this altar.
With the tabernacle and the outer court there are two altars: the altar of burnt offering and the golden altar of incense. The incense altar in the tabernacle is for prayer, and the altar of burnt offering in the outer court is for offering sacrifices.
Suppose a sinner came to offer a sin offering or a trespass offering at the altar in the outer court. Would not such a person pray? Yes, he surely would pray. However, that kind of prayer, the prayer at the altar in the outer court, is shallow, for it is offered outside of God. It is not the prayer offered in God. Today many Christians know only to pray this kind of shallow prayer. They know only to pray on the basis of the blood of Christ shed on the cross. Not many believers know how to pray the kind of prayer that is offered at the incense altar.
The primary condition or requirement for praying at the first altar is that we offer Christ as our substitute, either as the sin offering for our sin or as the trespass offering for our trespasses. This means that we pray by Him as the crucified One who shed His blood for our redemption. If our prayer goes no farther than this, we can pray to God, but we do not pray in God. To pray to God is one thing, but to pray in God is something much deeper. This is a very important matter that we all need to see.
I hope that in this message we shall see something deeper, something experiential. I do not want to consider the incense altar merely in a doctrinal way. This message is not simply a Bible study on Exodus 30. Therefore, I hope that the Lord will show us something deeper related to the golden altar of incense.
When I was young, I attended the Southern Baptist Church, the Chinese Presbyterian Church, and the Brethren assembly. During the years I went to those places, I heard many prayers that concluded with the words, “through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus.” But I do not remember ever hearing a prayer ending with the words, “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Those prayers were offered at the altar in the outer court, not at the incense altar, because those who prayed in that way were rather shallow in their prayer life. They had not entered into the deeper life or the inner life. To pray through the blood of Christ at the cross is shallow, but to pray at the incense altar is deep.
The incense altar was connected to the altar of burnt offering mainly by the blood of the sin offering. First the blood of the sin offering was shed at the altar in the outer court. Then it was brought to the incense altar and sprinkled on it. The remainder of the blood was poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering. Hence, the redeeming blood joined the two altars. This indicates that the prayer offered to God at the incense altar should be based on the experience at the first altar. Once we have experienced the first altar, we shall have the base, the standard, the ground, to come to the second altar to pray.
The two altars were also connected by fire. The fire that burned on the altar in the outer court was used to burn the incense at the incense altar in the tabernacle. The two altars, therefore, were connected by both the blood and the fire.
The blood signifies that our sin and trespasses have all been dealt with. Sin has been taken away, and the trespasses have been borne away. The blood gives us the assurance of this. Concerning this, there is nothing left for us to do. The blood has solved the problem of sin and of trespasses.
But what does the fire indicate? The fire indicates that whatever we are needs to be reduced to ashes. We need to be burned so that we become ashes.
Certain Christians, especially those of us in the Lord’s recovery, often speak about being natural. There is only one way for us not to be natural, and that way is for us to be burned to ashes. If you have not been burned, you are still natural. Suppose you have a wooden table in front of you. That table exists in its natural state. But if the table is burned and becomes a heap of ashes, it is no longer natural. This illustrates the fact that when something is burned to ashes, it is no longer natural.
I do not presume to say of myself that all believers in Christ need to become ashes. This is the Lord’s desire, not mine. When some hear that the Lord Jesus wants us to be burned to ashes, they may say, “Christ is the One who is reduced to ashes by burning. The fire at the altar burns Him; it does not burn me.” We need to remember, however, that according to typology the offerer laid his hands upon the sacrifice and thus identified himself with that sacrifice. This means that the sacrifice includes the one offering it. When Christ died on the cross, we died in Him, for we were included in Him. To say the least, when we believed in Him, we laid our hands on Him. To believe in Christ is to lay our hands on Him. Therefore, since we are one with the Christ who has been burned to ashes, we also are burned to ashes.
Some may ask, “If we are burned to ashes, how shall we be able to live?” Paul gives the answer in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Christ’s death brings in resurrection. Now in Christ we are in resurrection, and it is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us. However, for most Christians, Galatians 2:20 is merely doctrine. They do not have much experience of it in a practical way.
In a foregoing message we pointed out that with the sin offerings we can see three things: the blood, the ashes, and the sweet savor ascending to God. The blood and the ashes are related to us, whereas the sweet savor is for God’s satisfaction. Thank the Lord that today we have the blood as the sign and assurance that our sin and our trespasses have all been dealt with. We also have the ashes as a sign that we have been crucified, terminated. When we become ashes, we are no longer a natural person. Instead, we are a person who has been crucified, terminated, burned. No longer are we a natural man — we have become a heap of ashes. Nevertheless, for most of us this is true only doctrinally; it is not yet true experientially. Therefore, we need to go on to have the experience of actually being reduced to ashes.
It is unfortunate that many Christians know only the blood that was shed at the cross. They do not realize that at the cross there is also fire. With these believers there is the blood, but no ashes. They remain natural, unburned. They surely have not become ashes. How, then, can such believers pray at the golden altar of incense in the tabernacle? The answer is that it is impossible for them to pray there.
When we believed in the Lord Jesus and confessed our sins to God, we prayed to Him. But we prayed at the first altar in a shallow way. Because we prayed only for ourselves, that prayer cannot be regarded as intercessory prayer. It was a personal prayer for our situation; it was not an intercession for others. Intercession cannot be made at the first altar; it must be made at the second altar. But who can pray at the second altar? Those who pray at the second altar must first be burned to ashes; that is, they must no longer be a natural person. Every one who would pray at the incense altar must become a heap of ashes.
If we come into the tabernacle, we cannot go directly to the incense altar. As we have already indicated, first we must go to the showbread table, then to the lampstand, and after that to the ark of testimony in the Holy of Holies. Only then shall we be ready to come to intercede at the incense altar.
Our conduct is versus Christ as life (the bread of the presence table, the showbread table). Our sight is versus Christ as our light (the lampstand). Our virtue is versus Christ as our incense to God (the incense altar). Our conduct, our sight, and our virtue together equal our natural being, which is versus Christ as God’s testimony (the ark). If we have become a heap of ashes, will we still have our natural conduct, our natural sight, and our natural virtue? Certainly not. A heap of ashes does not have any conduct, sight, or virtue. What does a heap of ashes have? It has nothing. To be reduced to ashes is to be reduced to nothing, to zero.
As long as we think that we are something and regard ourselves as something, we are not in the tabernacle. Rather, we are outside the tabernacle. Do you remember what the tabernacle signifies? The tabernacle signifies the incarnated God. Thus, to be in the tabernacle is to be in God. Now we must realize that the requirement for being in God is that we become nothing. We can be in God only if we first become zero. For this reason, I wish to emphasize the fact that if we continue to think that we are something, we are not in God. But when we have become nothing, we are then qualified to be in Him.
How do we know that we are still something and that we have not yet become nothing? We know it by the fact that we still have our natural conduct, our natural sight or view, and our natural virtues. For example, a brother may think of himself as being very pleasant and kind. A married brother, in particular, may regard himself as much more pleasant than his wife. But one who prays at the incense altar in the tabernacle does not think this way about himself. The one who prays in the tabernacle at the golden altar of incense is one who has become ashes. This means that he no longer has his natural virtue. Along with his natural virtue, his natural conduct and sight have become ashes.
If we still have our own conduct, our natural behavior, we do not enjoy Christ as our bread. We cannot enjoy Him as our life supply. Let me assure you that what I am saying here is not merely doctrine. It is something I have learned through experience. From experience I know that whenever I still hold on to my natural conduct, I do not have the enjoyment of Christ as my life supply.
From experience I have also learned that if I still feel that I have my own sight, my own view, my own knowledge of things, I am through with Christ as my light. I cannot experience Him as my lampstand. Christ can be experienced by me as my lampstand only when I no longer have any natural sight.
Often the questions we are asked by others test us with respect to our natural sight, view, and knowledge. Suppose you come to me and ask about a particular brother or a particular church. Your question will be a test to me, and my answer will indicate whether I still have my natural sight. If I hold to my own view, sight, and knowledge, Christ will not be my lampstand. But if I do not have my natural sight or view, Christ will become my lampstand in a very practical way in my experience. He will be my light. Then instead of natural sight, I shall have divine light. I shall have the spiritual light, and this light is Christ Himself.
Too many times we consider the brothers or the church according to our natural sight. But sometimes we may look at matters not by our natural sight, but by Christ as our light. A person who prays, intercedes, at the second altar is one who has spiritual light in place of his natural sight.
Furthermore, anyone who intercedes at the incense altar has Christ as his incense. He no longer has his natural virtue. With such a person, Christ is everything. Christ is his life supply for proper conduct, Christ is his light for genuine sight, and Christ is his virtue for him to have a sweet fragrance ascending to God. This is the kind of person who can pray at the incense altar.
Nothing that we pray at the first altar, the altar of burnt offering in the outer court, can be an intercession. But whatever we pray at the second altar, the golden altar of incense in the tabernacle, will be an intercession. At the second altar we do not pray much for ourselves. Instead, we pray for God’s economy, we pray for God’s dispensation, we pray for God’s move, we pray for God’s recovery, and we pray for the churches and the saints. We intercede in this way spontaneously.
When we pray at the first altar, it is very difficult to pray in such a way that we are not occupied with ourselves or our situation. However, when we pray at the second altar, it is very difficult to be occupied with ourselves. The reason self is not involved with the prayers offered at the incense altar is that in order to pray at this altar we must first become ashes. To intercede at the second altar requires that we first be reduced to nothing. By contrast, those who pray at the first altar often cry out to God concerning themselves. They may call out to the Lord for His mercy and ask Him to help them with various matters. It is very difficult to be outside of ourselves when we pray at the first altar. The prayer at this altar is full of ourselves. But by the time we come to the second altar, we have passed through the cross, the table, the lampstand, and the ark. Because we have experienced the table, we no longer have our natural conduct. Instead, we have Christ as our life supply. Because we have come to the lampstand, we no longer have our natural sight. Instead, we have Christ as our light.
Now we must see what we experience when we come to the ark. The ark signifies Christ as God’s testimony, which is versus our natural being, signified by the veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. We need to be impressed that the veil is our natural being and that this veil is versus the ark. Our natural being is a composition of our conduct, our sight, and our virtue. This natural being is the veil that is versus Christ as God’s testimony.
Have you ever before realized that the veil covering the ark is versus the ark and that it signifies your natural being? Here we have four matters: our natural conduct, our natural sight, our natural virtue, and, the composition of these three, our natural being.
Let us suppose that a certain brother behaves himself as a gentleman. He is a very good husband and father. Furthermore, he has natural sight and seems to have vast knowledge. He is also full of virtue. Many would regard such a brother as an outstanding Christian, for he is full of good behavior, sight, and virtue. However, this kind of Christian is altogether natural; he lives according to his natural being. As a result, he cannot be inside the tabernacle praying at the incense altar. As long as he regards himself as a good person, he is far away from the tabernacle. To be sure, he is not in God.
This is something I have come to know through years of experience. I could not have given this message thirty years ago, for at that time what I had learned from experience was not adequate. The teachings I had learned concerning the incense altar were merely doctrinal. As I have indicated, I do not care to speak concerning the incense altar merely in a doctrinal way. My burden is to see what the incense altar typifies in the way of experience.
What the incense altar typifies is very deep. It indicates that if we would pray intercessory prayers at the incense altar, we must become ashes; that is, we must become nothing. If we have become ashes, we shall not have our natural conduct, our natural sight, or our natural virtue. We shall not have natural conduct replacing Christ as our life supply, we shall not have natural sight replacing Christ as our light, and we shall not have natural virtues replacing Christ as our incense. This means that we shall no longer be natural. Therefore, with us there will be no veil. In place of the veil, we shall have the ark, Christ as God’s testimony. As a result, we shall be qualified to intercede at the incense altar. Having traveled through the various stations of the tabernacle, we may now come to pray, to intercede, at the golden altar of incense.
