The Two Temples
(A Christian Workbook)
Section 2: Chapter 3 – Shaping the Stone: Teraphim
e have
seen before that there was something unique about the Temple of Yahweh. The
Philistines had a deity named Dagon, and in the temple of Dagon was a statue of
the object of their worship. (1 Samuel 5:2, 3) The worshippers of Ba’al had an
image of Ba’al (2 Kings 10:27) and the Amorites and Canannites who served
Asherah had a wooden pole (mistranslated “groves”) that represented her.
(Exodus 34:13) The Temple of the Most High was not like this. The Commandment
given to Moses long before the structure was built reads, “Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I Yahweh
thy Almighty am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus
20:4-6)
Taken
by itself, verse 4 would prohibit any representation of living things, however
we see from even the instructions given to Moses himself regarding the Cherubim
(which are in Heaven), and the construction of animal representations to hold
up the bronze laver by Solomon, (1 Kings 7:25) that this was not quite the
case. The commandment is incomplete without verse 5, which explains that the
images were to be avoided as objects of worship. No statue could represent the
living God, and even Christ, who was sent as “the image of the invisible God”
(Colossians 1:15) and mankind that was created “in the image of God” (Genesis
9:6) are alive. Nothing stagnant, nothing lifeless, can represent what is Life
Itself, for if we attempt to make it do so, we limit Him to something our minds
can create. Even living creations cannot properly do this, and Paul warns
against the sure effects of such practices. Those who have done according to
this fashion have “changed the truth of Yah into a lie, and worshipped and
served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For
this cause Yah gave them up unto vile affections…” (Romans 1:25, 26a) and the
catalogue of resulting sins is recorded by the apostle in the verses that
follow.
The
Temple of the Most High contained nothing that represented Yahweh. It contained
a place to seat His presence and, between the Cherubim guardians, above the
Mercy Seat and illuminating the place in which rested the Law, Yah represented
Himself. His Shekinah, His living fire, would glow behind the veil of angels,
and the wise among the Israelites rejoiced that Yah Himself was with them, and
not merely a representation that had no vital force. While the Temple did
contain objects that represented certain characteristics of the Almighty (the
Altars, the Candlesticks, the Shewbread), nothing was provided that represented
Yah in His fullness. (Exodus 25-27)
The
Body Temple must be the same way. Yahshua said to the Father, speaking of His
disciples, “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may
be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast
loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:22, 23) And again, “Behold, I
stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
This is the beauty of the Atonement. No mere representation of the Godhead
dwells in the heart of the believer, but the very presence of Yah dwells within
us, and we become Tabernacles of His glory, as much as the pattern that was
shown to Moses on the mountain thousands of years ago. The Holy Spirit lives in
the Body Temple of the redeemed. Far from being a mere force, or simply the
activating influence of the Most High, It is a living principle, a divine
agency, and the personal presence of the Father and Son in the heart. (John
14:22, 23)
Now, it
may be that some have desired to experience this fully, and yet failed to
obtain it. They do not understand, perhaps, why their fervor is dimmed, and
their zeal lacking. They may want union with Yah, and union with His people,
but something is blocking them from doing so. Chapter 3 of Section 1 dealt with
this “great controversy” on a personal, individual level… but now we examine it
from the perspective of the whole. What is it that would prevent a person from
joining himself or herself with a full heart to the work appointed to Yah’s
people, uniting with them in fellowship, doctrine, baptism and beyond? (Acts
2:41-47)
The
reason is the Teraphim. This word is used fifteen times in the Scriptures
(left in Hebrew in six places), and if you look up the meaning you find this:
“Teraphim – idolatry, idols, image(s), teraphim, family idol; a kind of idol
used in household shrine or worship.” [Strong’s No. 08655]
Teraphim
are household idols. In the physical universe they are generally little images
that represented pagan gods. When Rachel stole Teraphim from her father,
(Genesis 31:19) these were most likely small fertility figurines, as
commentators have suggested; and archaeological research has lent credibility
to this idea. This may partly explain why her sister Leah was fertile while
Rachel was reaping the harvest of trusting in the influence of wooden goddesses
rather than in Yah for conception. This was not the only reason, however, for Exodus
29:31 suggests that it was also by way of rebuke for Jacob, as he loved one
wife more than the other.
Seeing
what Teraphim are in the physical, we can then apply it to the Spiritual.
Teraphim are “idols” that individuals may have, objects of worship aside from
Yahweh. The first commandment is not often fully understood. It reads in
English, “I am Yahweh thy Almighty One, which have brought thee out of the land
of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before
me.” (Exodus 20:2, 3) Generally, it is assumed that the word “before” means “in
place of,” or “above,” and this has led some to go so far as to suggest that
the ancient Hebrews embraced certain polytheistic beliefs (i.e., acknowledged
more than one god). It is thought that this commandment means that God should
have the first place in one’s affections and reverence, above anything else
that might require obedience and submission. Whereas this is certainly true,
the actual reading of that commandment is even stronger.
The
Tanakh renders Exodus 20:3 as, “You shall have no other gods besides me,” and
the Septuagint is almost identical: “Thou shalt have no other gods beside me.”
The word “beside” or “besides” is much clearer to modern readers in providing
the accurate meaning of that verse, and more true to the Hebrew original. The
word “before” in the manuscripts is from “al-pani,” which means “in my
presence,” or “in my sight.” What the first commandment literally reads is,
“Thou shalt have no other gods in my presence [or in my sight],” not merely above
Yahweh. This means we will have no other gods at all, for there is
nothing that exists outside of His view.
While
this may seem readily obvious to anyone who considers himself of the
Judeo-Christian tradition, the question we must each ask ourselves is, “How
much do I truly believe this?” If we wish to know how well we believe it, we
may simply look at our fruits. If we have any “household gods,” they will
eventually wreck the household. If there are known principles, beliefs, ideas
or tendencies that we maintain in the presence of Yah and that are not in line
with His will, we are not yet “shaped” to be fit into the structure of the
Spirit Temple.
Spiritually,
we are defined by our beliefs. What we believe (and practice) determines what
“shape we are in” before Yah. Are we “upright,” or are we “crooked?” Are we
“sharp,” or are we “smooth?” Individuals may be “twisted,” “well rounded” or
“pointed.” Human language reveals that spiritual and mental concepts may often
be described as shapes or physical orientation, and the Bible confirms this
analogy. “As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, Yahweh shall lead
them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.”
(Psalm 125:5) “I was also upright before Him, and have kept myself from mine
iniquity.” (2 Samuel 22:24) These bring to mind concepts and mental pictures
that might well apply to construction, and Paul of course takes the analogy
even further by likening the work of evangelism to building the Temple of Yah
on the foundation of Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:9-17)
It has
sometimes caused some question in the minds of cursory readers of the Bible
that Yah says, “thou shalt worship no other god: for Yahweh, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14) In human terms, jealousy would be
considered a work of the flesh (translated “emulations” in Galatians 5:20), but
the kind of jealousy that forms a part of the character of the Almighty and His
people is much different. Yah says, “I was jealous for Zion with great
jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.” (Zechariah 8:2)
Paul writes, “I am jealous over you [the Church in Corinth] with godly
jealousy: for I have espoused you to one Husband, that I may present you as a
chaste virgin to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2) The real danger of idolatry is
twofold. First, there is a principle that what we worship, what we behold, we
eventually come to emulate. We naturally begin to take on the characteristics
of whatsoever we worship. If we worship Yahweh, “we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Yah, are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of Yahweh.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) If
we worship mere creatures we become like those creatures, as Paul points out in
Romans 1.
Secondly,
and by a very closely related principle, knowledge of Yah and Yahshua is life
itself. (John 17:3) Knowing them does not merely lead to life – it is life, for
because of our knowledge of them their Spirit dwells in us, (John 14:6-23) and
if our affections are turned away from them they cannot live in us, and we will
be lost. Yah is jealous, but He is not jealous for His own sake – rather, He is
jealous for us. If He does things to preserve His own reputation, it is only so
that His name will be exalted that others may draw near to Him and receive
life. Yah has no need to receive praise, but He created the beings of His
universe to obtain benefit from the act of praising the Creator; thus idolatry,
worshipping something that cannot give life, is truly “sin,” since the wages of
sin is death.
Peter
writes that we are to be “lively,” or living, stones in the Spiritual House. (1
Peter 2:5) The righteous king Hezekiah said in inspired prayer, “For the grave
cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the
pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as
I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.” (Isaiah
38:18, 19) If we are to be part of the Temple, we must be alive; and if alive,
we must have no known Teraphim in our spiritual households.
From my
own conversion experience, and from evangelizing to others, I have drawn
knowledge of something that I call “The Last Idol.” This idol is not “last” in
terms of the final thing to be cleared away, for even converted persons may
have little figurines hidden in the shadows to be revealed by the Spirit’s
sweeping. Rather, the idol is often the “last” in a series of defenses that the
natural mind builds up against the power of the Gospel. It is the final sin,
principle, theory or object that prevents conversion. In a sense Yah’s glory is
irresistible – one either accepts it and becomes united with Him, (Colossians
1:27, Romans 15:7) or resists it and is destroyed. (Numbers 16:19-21) While
this does not occur immediately, Isaiah tells us of the Day of Judgment: “And
the glory Yahweh shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for
the mouth of Yahweh hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 40:5) For some, this is a
comforting thought, (verse 1) but for others this will be a “day of darkness.”
(Zephaniah 1:15)
The
difference is not in the glory, but in the individual beholding the glory. We
are told that “The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the
righteous shall stand.” (Proverbs 12:7) Those united with the Spirit Temple,
being filled already with that glory in an invisible sense, are merely seeing
the ultimate fulfillment of a promise they have accepted long ago. They accept
this by being converted, by becoming Body Temples of the Spirit, by joining the
Body of believers in a “sure covenant,” (Nehemiah 9:38) and this can only be
done in earnest by the destruction of the Last Idol.
This
Last Idol can be seen as the household idol that actually guards the house. It
is the thing to which people are referring when the say, “So much have I given
to Yah, but no more; not this thing.” The Messiah said, “No man, having put his
hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
The thing that causes a man to look back after considering (and maybe even
actually starting) the work of Yah, is the Last Idol. It is the first (in
importance) of the Teraphim.
For
Lot’s wife, her Last Idol was the life to which she had grown accustomed in the
evil cities under judgment. (Genesis 19:26) The Teraph in her spiritual house
jumped up in an unguarded moment, and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
For some, their Teraphim are their appetites, (Philippians 3:19) for some it is
a characteristic or a habit. For some their most important idols are their
husbands, wives, family in general. But Yahshua cautions us, “He that loveth
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37) If a family member
is doing something that keeps us from the fellowship of the spiritual family,
we must remember that our first loyalty is to Yah. For a certain class this
will take great personal sacrifice, indeed a death to self, but it is only by
overcoming the Teraph that life can be experienced.
Yah
does not require of us more than we can give, but He requires everything we
can. Nothing else, or no one else, has ever required this of us, thus those who
are faced with the crossroads of Faith-or-Flesh are tempted to believe, “This
is too much!” Everything they cherish more, or as much as, Yah comes to their
minds as they count the cost of discipleship. If they are willing to give up
the idol, if they move forward in faith and surrender it, they have given up
that “most precious thing,” and nothing is impossible to them! If they have
already surrendered what they once thought was most precious, they cannot long
resist the conviction of the Spirit when It begins to sweep the rest of their
house for remaining Teraphim.
When
the Last Idol is cut down Yah can dwell in the house, and at this point life,
fellowship and unity are possible. Paul writes to those in the Churches who had
disagreements and divisions, “Ye are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1
Corinthians 3:3) The carnality of the natural man reveals a household not free
of the idols, primarily the idol of “self,” and while carnal, the man can
experience no true fellowship. Genuine, full conversion is needed. He is not
yet shaped to fit into the wall of the Spiritual House at his appointed
location, and like Lucifer’s demons, “neither was their place found any more in
Heaven.” (Revelation 12:8) They were in no “shape” to survive the glory of Yah.
Now, it
must be understood that no man who comes to the Father through the Son has a
full measure of knowledge. Even Paul, after many years in fellowship with
Christ and service to Heaven, wrote, “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) Again he tells his readers that he moves
forward in faith, “Not as though I had already attained [the resurrection of
the dead], either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians
3:12) A couple verses down, however, he writes, “I press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of Yah in Christ Yahshua. Let us therefore, as
many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise
minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” (verses 14, 15)
A
contradiction? Absolutely not, and in fact this reveals the very principle that
we have been approaching. The first word Paul uses for “perfect,” when he says,
“Not as though I … were already perfect,” is the word teleioo, which
means “complete,” “brought to an end.” Paul is saying he still has much to
learn, as he explicitly states in 1 Corinthians 13:12. At the same time, he
says, “Let us… as many as be perfect, be thus minded.” The word there, while
coming from the same root, is a different form, teleios, “mature,”
“wanting nothing necessary to completeness.” So then, Paul is not yet complete,
but is lacking nothing necessary for that completeness, and is moving toward
the “prize of the high calling of Yah in Christ Yahshua.” If there is something
you need to know while advancing, “God shall reveal even this unto you.”
This is
progress. Progress in Christianity is not rising, falling, and rising again. It
is rising, and then rising still higher. We are changed into His image “from
glory to glory,” not through a series of peaks and valleys, and though our
feelings may not always correspond to our experience in the Spirit, it is our
faith that He is always leading us further on the path, “For if our heart
condemn us, Yah is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” (1 John
3:20) The one who is born of Yah “doth not commit sin,” (1 John 3:9) and as
long as he abides in Yah, and Yah in him, he will be subjected to a growing
process during which he is instructed, “Learn to do well; seek judgment,
relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah
1:17) We must “learn” to do well, for though we have already “all things that
pertain unto life and godliness,” (2 Peter 1:3) we do not yet know all things.
Here we
see a perfect harmony between Paul and Peter. We have all the things we need
for completeness, and we must now advance, putting away such Teraphim as we
find, cleaning out our houses, and shining more perfectly. There is more on
this process in the next chapter, but the focus now is the beginning of that
process. If one is away from the Spiritual House, a Teraph must be found. If
one hears this message, and loves it, but cannot seem to find his/her place in
the Temple, there is a Last Idol that must be cut down before the person can be
shaped for inclusion in the sacred walls.
When we
are in good spiritual shape we are brought to the House. The Scriptures tell us
of the construction of the earthly Temple: “And the House, when it was in
building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that
there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while
it was in building.” (1Kings 6:7) The stones were prepared, shaped, before they
could be included.
During
a recent New Moon meeting of the Church, I said this, “Only when we are wholly
surrendered to Christ do we have a place to fit in the Temple, a
Christian-shaped gap in the wall that only our talents and strengths can fill.
[It is] a Christian-shaped gap in the wall that is designed to show our strong
face while supporting our weaknesses, reinforcing us on the sides where we
require assistance. Each hole is perfectly prepared to bolster our blemishes
and reveal our smooth, polished surfaces, so that the house may be perfect and
beautiful, even though composed of members who have (none of them) always been
faithful and realized their full potential by a lifelong abiding in Christ.
“‘All
have sinned.’ Yah had a plan for the life of every human, but that plan can
only be perfectly realized with a life of commitment that begins at birth. No
members have not sinned from birth, so we all have blemishes. The
purpose of Church membership and sanctification is to polish those away... But
even so there are weaknesses in terms of temptations that may be harder for
some or not others. So the ‘you-shaped hole’ is designed to have you fit in
just where you need to be: revealing the strong; and the stones around you are
strongest where you are weak.”
Herein
lies the beauty of being united under the banner of Christ, and the next
chapter deals with the sweeping away of those household idols that remain after
one’s place in Christ has already been found.
Quotations:
Idolatry is not restricted to physical objects:
“The great reason why the church has not more efficiency and power is that its
members love the world. They reject the Spirit of God, and fill their hearts
with idols. They love the world, and the things of the world, and of all such
the words of inspiration declare, “If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him.” They are not, as was Christ, in the world but not of the
world. The Lord can not manifest Himself to professed Christians who love the
world; for spiritual things are spiritually discerned.” [The Signs of the
Times, January 20, 1898]
“With
many the work is too superficial. Outward forms take the place of the inner
work of grace. . . . The theory of the truth has converted the head, but the
soul temple has not been cleansed from its idols.” [Reflecting Christ,
page 208]
“No
magnificence of outward display can please God when the heart is serving idols
and the hands are polluted with iniquity. The Holy Spirit will unite with those
in the church who, with contrition of heart, will walk humbly with God. To all
who look to Him and walk in the footsteps of Christ, He gives sanctification,
comfort, and victory over the world.” [Manuscript Releases Volume Fourteen,
page 102]
We
must be free of idols to stand before the Most High:
When Moses came from the divine Presence in the mount, where he had received
the tables of the testimony, guilty Israel could not endure the light that
glorified his countenance. How much less can transgressors look upon the Son of
God when He shall appear in the glory of His Father, surrounded by all the
heavenly host, to execute judgment upon the transgressors of His law and the
rejecters of His atonement. […] ‘In that day a man shall cast his idols of
silver, and his idols of gold, . . . to the moles and to the bats; to go into
the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the
Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the
earth.’ Isaiah 2:20, 21.” [Patriarchs and Prophets, page 340]
“In the
Jewish age, all the revealings of God to his people, everything relating to his
worship, was closely connected with the sanctuary,--with the tabernacle in the
wilderness, and afterward with the temple. Here God was worshiped; here the
sacrificial offerings were presented before him. Here was the breastplate of
the high priest, set with precious stones, from which messages from Jehovah
were received. Here, in the holy of holies, overshadowed by the wings of
cherubim, dwelt the perpetual token of the presence of the Holy One, the
Creator of the heavens and the earth. Here was the ark of the covenant,
containing the tables of the law,--the ark which was to Israel the symbol of
the divine presence, and the pledge of victory in battle. Idols could not stand
before the sacred ark of God, and death was the penalty of a rash, irreverent
touch or the glance of curiosity.” [The Signs of the Times, June 3,
1886]
“The
word of God tells us how we may be perfect Christians, and escape the seven
last plagues; but they took no interest to find this out. Other things diverted
the mind, idols were cherished by them, and God’s holy word has been neglected
and slighted. God has been trifled with by professed Christians, and when that
holy word shall judge them in the last day, they will be found wanting. That
word that they have neglected for foolish story books, tries their lives. It is
the standard, and their motives, words, works, and the manner they use their
time, are all compared with the written word of God, and if they come short,
then their cases are decided for ever.” [Spiritual Gifts, Volume 4B,
page 12]
Confessing
known sins precedes baptism (finding one’s place in Christ):
“While God can be just, and yet justify the sinner through the merits of
Christ, no man can cover his soul with the garments of Christ’s righteousness
while practicing known sins, or neglecting known duties.” [The Faith I Live
By, page 115]
“Men
may talk of freedom, of gospel liberty. They may assert that they are not in
bondage to the law. But the influence of a gospel hope will not lead the sinner
to look upon the salvation of Christ as a matter of free grace, while he
continues to live in transgression of the law of God. When the light of truth
dawns upon his mind, and he fully understands the requirements of God, and
realizes the extent of his transgressions, he will reform his ways, become
loyal to God through the strength obtained from his Saviour, and lead a new and
purer life. ‘Whosoever abideth in Him,’ says John, ‘sinneth not; whosoever
sinneth, hath not seen Him, neither known Him.’” [Bible Echo and Signs of
the Times, February 8, 1897]
“Not
one should be buried with Christ by baptism unless they are critically examined
whether they have ceased to sin, whether they have fixed moral principles,
whether they know what sin is, whether they have moral defilement which God
abhors. Find out by close questioning if these persons are really ceasing to
sin, if with David they can say, I hate sin with a perfect hatred.” [Manuscript
Releases Volume Six, page 165]
Justification
(conversion) is not the end of the journey:
“When through repentance and faith we accept Christ as our Saviour, the Lord
pardons our sins, and remits the penalty prescribed for the transgression of
the law. The sinner then stands before God as a just person; he is taken into
favor with Heaven, and through the Spirit has fellowship with the Father and
the Son. Then there is yet another work to be accomplished, and this is of a
progressive nature. The soul is to be sanctified through the truth. And this
also is accomplished through faith. For it is only the grace of Christ, which
we receive through faith, that the character can be transformed.” [Selected
Messages Book 3, page 191]
“There
is no such thing as instantaneous sanctification. True sanctification is a
daily work, continuing as long as life shall last.” [The Faith I Live By,
page 116]
“Sanctification
is a progressive work. It is a continuous work, leading human beings higher and
still higher. It does not leave love behind, but brings it into the life as the
very essence of Christianity.” [In Heavenly Places, page 31]
“‘The
law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.’ Through obedience comes
sanctification of body, soul, and spirit. This sanctification is a progressive
work, and an advance from one stage of perfection to another.” [My Life
Today, page 250]
Questions:
1) Do I understand the nature of Yah’s jealousy, and the nature of the evil of
idolatry?
2) What
were some of the spiritual Teraphim of the people mentioned in the Bible?
3) How did
they overcome these idolatrous things?
4) Do I
give thanks to Yah for releasing me from the things that once held me in
bondage?
5) Am I
aware of what my gifts and talents are?
6) Do I
feel that my gifts and talents have a place in the Church?
7) Do I
feel that others in my fellowship are better than I am?
8) Do I
feel that I am better than anyone else in terms of Yah’s love?
9) Do I
see my progress in Christ as a continually upward walk?
10) Is
there anything I have that I am not sure I would surrender to Yah if He
requested it?
11) Do
I rejoice in the strengths of my brethren?
12) Do
I seek to alleviate the weaknesses in my brethren?
Exercise:
After contemplating and, if possible, discussing with others the above
questions, find a verse or passage of the Bible that gives a promise or an
answer for each.
