Whole Stones

[The Eternal Temple \

Deuteronomy 27:1-8 And Moses with the elders of Israel
commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which
I command you this day.
2 And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto
the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set
thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:
3 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when
thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which
the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and
honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee.
4 Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall
set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal,
and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.
5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an
altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.
6 Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole
stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD
thy God:
7 And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and
rejoice before the LORD thy God.
8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law
very plainly.

Moses instructed the elders of Israel to build an altar unto the

LORD. They were to make the altar of whole stones, and write the
words of the commandments that the LORD delivered to Moses. It
was very important that they used no iron tool to form the stones.
Why? Because only the LORD can make whole stones. Stones
worked with an iron tool are the creation of man. Most altars and
temples were made of uniform stones, for aesthetic purposes.
In the eyes of the LORD an aesthetic altar is a polluted or profaned
altar, man made and inferior. The stones must be in their natural
state.

Exodus 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou

shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it,
thou hast polluted it.

The LORD makes nothing that is identical, which is a marvelous

thing. The LORD is not interested in the cookie cutter works of
humankind.

The Jewish Mishnah gives a plausible explanation of why no iron

tool was to be used. It states, ‘iron was created to shorten mans
days [through its use in weapons], while the altar was created to
lengthen mans days [by precepts of righteous living]; what
shortens is not to be used against what lengthens’.

Joshua 8:30-32 Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of
Israel in mount Ebal,
31 As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of
Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of
whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they
offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed
peace offerings.
32 And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses,
which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.

When king Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, this same

precept was observed. All the stone was prepared somewhere else.
The sound of iron tools was not heard on the holy mount during
the temple construction.
1 Kings 6:7 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.

Why is this important to us today? There is a spiritual concept in

this. Overtly organized political religion that is governed by men is
a symbolic picture of an altar of hewn stone. Because of man made
traditions and rules there is no liberty of GOD’S SPIRIT and by
extension no truth. There are many churches today that fit into this
metaphor. Man is not building the church, the LORD is.
The LORD through the people HE chooses is building the
foundations for a new creation. Chosen - redeemed people are in
the future going to constitute a living Temple/City unto the LORD.
They will be the governmental element on the new earth. These
people are called the New Jerusalem. The book of Revelation
reveals more about this subject.

Revelation 21:2-7 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and
be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things
new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and
faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the
fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his
God, and he shall be my son.

This holy city comes down from GOD out of heaven, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. Behold, the tabernacle of GOD is
with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his
people, and GOD himself shall be with them, and be their GOD’.

These are the redeemed of the LORD. Just as the church is not the
building but the people who belong to the church, so also is this
new city or Temple, it’s not a building – city, but a people.
These are the people who the LORD came to save. They are the
perfect overcomers - the true sons of GOD. Here is another scripture
on this subject.

Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the

temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write
upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my
God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven
from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

To be a pillar in the eternal Temple of GOD is a great honor. One

could not imagine what the LORD has in store for these people.

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him.

Here’s another scriptural description of new Jerusalem.

Revelation 21:10-11 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great

and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone
most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Revelation 21:22-27 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to
shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the
light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light
of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into
it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall
be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth,
neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they
which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

No temple therein, is showing that the LORD and HIS flock or

people will be the TEMPLE, it’s not a building. Some think the next
natural Temple has to be built again in Jerusalem. My thought,
maybe it will, maybe it won’t, but that’s not important.
When the CHRIST comes there will be no need for a natural temple.
The spiritual CHURCH & TEMPLE are synonymous (two descriptions
of the same thing). The apostle Paul gives us another description.

Hebrews 12:22-23 & 28-29 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and
unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which
are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits
of just men made perfect,
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let
us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
The church is the place where ‘the spirits of just men (are) made
perfect’. These people will be the whole stones of the altar of
GOD.

I’m sure everyone has heard this metaphor, The smooth stone that
has tumbled down the river long enough will have all the square
edges tumbled off.
The smooth/whole stones are a metaphor for people who constitute
the New Jerusalem.
These people have been tried in the fire and found to be true. They
are ‘the stones of fire’, a symbolic name for the sons of GOD.

Zechariah 9:16 And the LORD their God shall save them in that
day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a
crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.

These people are a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house,

an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to
God by Jesus Christ.

We are as lively stones, built up a spiritual house unto GOD.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an

holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvellous light:

A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar

people. You might ask, where will GOD find such people? GOD
doesn’t find them. HE calls them, they become born again of the
SPIRIT & WORD and thru circumstances the LORD allows.
HE forms , shapes and creates them into new creatures, into the
image of CHRIST.
Ephesians 2: 19-22 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household
of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God
through the Spirit.

Fellow citizens of the household of GOD, it couldn’t get much

better than that! Here is another description.

Isaiah 61:6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men
shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of
the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years.

These whole lively stones ‘shall be priests of God and of Christ’.

Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and
priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Revelation 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and
his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

I hope this was informative. May GOD richly bless you! Amen.
 Copyright © 2011 Wilder Family Trust Ltd.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any
means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written
permission of the author or the estate except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in scholarly or critical articles and reviews. Teaching others
encouraged. Email comments to benyhvh@yahoo.com.