Episode 122 - Today is our last day in our Tabernacle series, as we get ready to celebrate Christmas in our upcoming season. What better way to prepare for the Incarnate Christ, than to behold one last time the symbolism of the Tabernacle for the incarnation?So we retrace our steps all the way back from Eden, shedding yet another perspective on the essential nature of our understanding of God’s tabernacle for us today as believers.We also take time to tie in loose ends, which point to our Lord gloriously: where is the Ark of the covenant today? What will happen in the future, according to Bible prophecy?Stephanie takes us on a highly experiential episode by highlighting key texts from the Book of Hebrews, and their significance for the Tabernacle today. In a nutshell? The essence of being “IN Christ” and Christ being “IN” us.More details about this final episode in our series:It began as a garden, that became a forbidden place. It was a dwelling place, not a tent. The tent began as just a tent, the dwelling-place of Abraham … It was our first lesson, 8 weeks ago.First came the Tabernacle, a tent whose architect was God, but whose builder was Moses; it was a copy of the future, heavenly tabernacle that would come down from heaven to be the true dwelling place of God with Man, and Man with God. His Name would be Jesus.That first tabernacle, it was a tent within a tent, separated by a veil, a veil which protected God’s people from the nuclear-blast strength of His glory.The Tabernacle traveled and traveled, leading Israel into the promised Land. It finally settled in Jerusalem, and became the Temple.Then, “the Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us”; God, in the person of Jesus, dwelt with his people, and died for them. The true Tabernacle had revealed His glory.God now dwells among his people through his Holy Spirit. We, individually and corporately as the universal church, are the Tabernacle and the Temple.Jesus was our forerunner, the “firstborn from the dead” (Col 1.18). We are the next ones after the FIRST born. The human body is a tent, the Tabernacle, or Temple, of the Holy Spirit during life, but soon to be taken down, and replaced, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” (2 Cor 5.1).That’s where we are today. So, what’s next? Revelation takes us up to heaven, God’s people dwelling with him in glory. There is no veil, no separation. Revelation does not end with man going up to heaven to live forever with God. It ends with God coming down from heaven to live with man – in a tent which is now a great city.From the garden to the city that contains a garden – that’s Revelation 21. That glorious heavenly Jerusalem, united with the New heaven and the New Earth, is glorious for many reasons; the most astounding is that God Himself dwells there—and therefore, this is the very definition of heaven.One thing is conspicuously absent from the new Jerusalem. There is no temple, no tabernacle. John did not see a temple in the city, “for the Lord God almighty is its temple, and the Lamb” (Rev 21.22). This city is not a building, and the church is not a building. The new Jerusalem is not, essentially, a city but the church, the people of God with whom he has always wanted to dwell.The Bible ends with the glorious promise that God will come again to dwell with His people forever—at a much more glorious level than anything we have ever experienced even in our most intense moments of intimacy through the Holy Spirit.Can you imagine what awaits you, because you are IN Christ and He is IN you?----About this study: Through the Tabernacle, taste and see that the Lord is good! This might be the most in-depth series yet to release on the Gospel Spice podcast. Yet, its mix of storytelling and insightful illustrations makes it easy-to-understand, approachable, and relatable. As with everything Gospel Spice, it is completely Christ-soaked.----If you want to dig deeper, we offer a FREE resource: a 50+ page guidebook available only for those who register for free at gospelspice.com/tabernacle. It will guide you through the podcast series by providing daily readings and activities around your personal time with God this season. Get yours today!----Every week, Stephanie shares truth from Scripture and invites you to dig deeper in your faith to delight in the glory of God.PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and familyPAY IT FORWARD by supporting us financiallyPRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with!------------ DISCOVER THE GOSPEL SPICE MINISTRIES ------------The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools given to you by Gospel Spice Ministries.In a nutshell, we exist to inspire Christ-followers to delight in God.In more details: we provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus.PAY IT FORWARD!! Would you consider supporting this show today to help others enjoy it for free? It comes to you completely free, but is labor-intensive to produce, and we want to keep putting it in the ears of people! For the price of a cup of coffee, PAY IT FORWARD with $5 or $10 to make a huge difference! Contact us to pay it forward by Credit Card, or donate via PayPal.Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status. Your donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170. We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. All donations above our operating costs go to Christian organizations fighting human trafficking. We do not take a salary, but only seek to cover our operating costs.PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and familyPAY IT FORWARD by supporting us financiallyPRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with!THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!