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The Beginning of the End
Just in front of the veil separating the holy place from the most
holy and the immediate presence of God stood the golden altar of
incense. Every morning and evening the priest was to burn incense
on this altar; on the great Day of Atonement its horns were touched
with the blood of the sin offering and sprinkled with blood. God
Himself kindled the fire on this altar. Day and night the holy incense
spread its fragrance throughout the sacred apartments and far around
the tabernacle.
Beyond the inner veil was the holy of holies, the center of the
symbolic service of atonement and intercession, the connecting link
between heaven and earth. In this apartment was the ark, overlaid
with gold inside and out, which contained the tablets of stone, the
Ten Commandments. It was called the ark of God’s testament, the
ark of the covenant, since the Ten Commandments were the basis of
the covenant made between God and Israel.
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The cover of the chest was called the mercy seat. This was
made of one solid piece of gold, with golden cherubim mounted
on each end. The position of the cherubim, with their faces turned
toward each other and looking reverently downward toward the ark,
represented the reverence that the heavenly host have for the law of
God and their interest in the plan of redemption.
Above the mercy seat was the Shekinah, the visible evidence of
the divine Presence. Divine messages were sometimes communi-
cated to the high priest by a voice from the cloud.
The law of God inside the ark was the great rule of righteousness
and judgment. That law pronounced death on the law-breaker, but
above the law was the mercy seat. On the basis of the atonement,
pardon was granted to the repentant sinner. “Mercy and truth have
met together; righteousness and peace have kissed” (
Psalm 85:10
).
A Dim Reflection of Heavenly Glory
No language can describe the glory inside the sanctuary. The
gold-plated walls reflecting light from the golden lampstand; the ta-
ble, and altar of incense, glittering with gold; beyond the second veil
the sacred ark, and above it the holy Shekinah, the visible evidence
of Jehovah’s presence—all were no more than a dim reflection of