Between the Porch and the Altar May 1, 1992 newsletter # 163 The location "between the porch

and the altar" is used several times in God's Word. Why is this particular place so important? It is the place in which a priest or servant of God stands. The priest standing on the porch faces those he is ministering to in the Holy Place. He is facing west and the people face east. The altar is behind him. Let's begin our study in Matthew Chapter 23, where Christ is giving the eight woes, which are opposite from the eight beatitudes of Chapter 5. The beatitudes tell you what you should be doing, the woes tell you what you had better not be doing. Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees who sat in power and control of the religious and legal community and He was not at all happy with how they were running things. MATTHEW 23:29 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous." The word hypocrite means a "play actor." They convict and execute, then they attend the funeral and put flowers on the grave. They "kill" the Word of God and then call it "church." MATTHEW 23:30 "And say, 'If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'" A prophet teaches the Word of God. The way these "play actors" were twisting the Word of God they were still "slaughtering the prophets." MATTHEW 23:31-33 "Wherefore ye be witnesses yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers, 33-Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell." The word "generation" is offspring. Who were their fathers, or more importantly who was their father? Who is it that was called the serpent in Genesis? MATTHEW 23:34 "Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:" There is nothing new under the sun. A prophet had better be prepared for persecution. If you please God, you are not going to please the people. If God's Word pleases them then they are friends, if not they are enemies. MATTHEW 23:35-36 "That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the Temple and the altar. 2Ven7y / say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." Zacharias was slain "on duty." Spiritually, a priest is always on duty, but he was slain between the porch and the altar and God keeps account. One standing in this place has a great responsibility to our heavenly Father and if something happens to him (or her) while he is on duty, in the service of the King, it makes God very unhappy. Just as Abel's blood was shed by the first murderer, recorded in Genesis, Chapter 4. GENESIS 4:3-4 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. -And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: It doesn't say that Cain brought his firstfruits, but Abel, being a righteous man brought his best and fattest to offer to the Lord. These boys came to age at the same time because they were twins, but not of the same father. Satan has children on this earth, and has had from the beginning of time. GENESIS 4:5-7 But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6.And the Lord said unto Cain,: Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? and lf thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." God did not smile upon Cain's offering and this upset Cain. Offerings were put on an altar, usually for sin and God told Cain if he would just be honest he would be accepted But, Cain wasn't honest and he didn't bring his firsfruits. Sin requires a sin offering, of which Jesus Christ became that Lamb once and for all time. GENESIS 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. Remember the words of Christ from Matthew. The enmity between the two offspring goes on today. Enmity between the porch and the altar where the sin offerings were given. Cain's sacrifice was most likely the "zewan" (tares) from Matthew 13, the tares that are symbolic of his own family. And Satan has tried to put them on the altar ever since. Do you remember when Ezra and Nehemiah journeyed back to Jerusalem? They stopped to hold muster and see how many priests were with them. There was not one Levitical priest among

them to work in the temple? Instead, they were Nethanim, (meaning "given to service") who were supposed to help the priest, but were standing in the office of priests! False priests! If you are ever going to plant seeds, Beloved, you had better be able to stand the heat. Be prepared for it! Jesus spoke directly about this in Matthew 13:24, the parable of the tares. I will pick it up with Christ's explanation of this parable to the disciples. They didn't understand it and very few people understand it today. MATTHEW 13:34-35 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake He not unto them: 35. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, "I will open my mouth in parables; / will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.' With this the groundwork is laid as to why it was spoken as a parable. The "foundation" is the "katabole", the overthrow. This parable spans from the beginning of time, to the end. MATTHEW 13:36-38 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house: and His disciples came unto Him, saying, "Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.' 37. He answered and said unto them, 'He That soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38.The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked The "seed" or "children" means progeny. I think Christ makes it pretty clear what He's speaking about. But, He simplifies it even more. MATTHEW 13:39-43 'The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40.As therefore the tares are gathered and burned In the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world 41.The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42.And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43.Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.' Do you have ears to hear? Is Christianity a reality in your life? Or is it a role to play on Sundays and when something bad happens to you. There is a time coming soon, Beloved, foretold by Joel, and repeated in Acts, Chapter 2 by Peter. When the locust army is assembled and begins to march, devouring everything in its path you must be prepared. It is time of Revelation, Chapter 9. Let's read about it in Joel. JOEL 2:12-13 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13.And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil. This is what God's people must do! Turn to Him with all their heart. We fight a spiritual warfare. You must rend your heart, your way of thinking, and wash it in the Word of God. JOEL 2:14-16 Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? 15.Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16.Gather the People, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Children and babies were not allowed in the former congregation, but this is the congregation of the Living God and in it all are sanctified to enter the Temple. The Temple, that is the body of Christ spans the entire world, wherever you are. JOEL 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, let them say, "Spare Thy People, 0 Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, 'Where is their God?" This "heritage" is the promises of God to His own people. As the locust army approaches those who do not belong to Christ shall rule over the people. They shall say, "our messiah is in Jerusalem, where is theirs?" Let's turn to Ezekiel for another look at the subject. EZEKIEL 8:3 And He put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which povoketh to jealousy. This is the image Satan will order. The image to the beast system that will require the world to take its mark. But, God goes on to show Ezekiel even worse abomination where His people have brought unclean things into the temple and then worshipped them. God was showing what their "religion" looks like to Him when they don't stick to His Word. However, there is yet another that is the worst abomination to Him. EfEKIEL 8:16 And He brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

Remember, the priest faces the temple with the altar behind. These twenty-five men stood with their backs to the people, and the temple. These are the twenty-four courses of the priesthood and the high priest. The priest's responsibility is to God's people! How dare they turn their backs to the people and rob them of the Word of God?! EZEKIEL 8:17-18 Then He said unto me, "Hast thou seen this, 0 son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke Me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. 18.Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." He'll say, "I don't know you, get out of My sight!" If you're planting seeds and teaching the Word of God, you must recognize the most important thing about this layout: the significance of "between the porch and the altar." The priest standing on the porch faces the congregation, beyond them is the Holy of Holies. The place in which the very mercy seat of God was. It is where God dwelt. Before Christ came, only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, and that was only once a year. So you may say, well you can't see God by standing on the porch. But, I say, when Christ paid the ultimate price, He rent that veil and opened the Holy of Holies. Through the Holy Spirit, He dwells with us and in us. A priest of God must have eyes on God, not his back to Him. God is there! God is real and He documents that in the gifts He gives to us. A little church in Northwest Arkansas could not accomplish what we have today. I couldn't! You couldn't! But, God can and has! Thank Him daily and seek Him diligently through His Word! In His Service Arnold Murray