You cannot understand Revelation unless you understand the Tabernacle and Priesthood.
And you will never understand your life unless you understand Revelation.
We read about the priestly garments in Exodus 28 and it appears to be incredibly unique. But is it?
Revelation 17 and 18 give us a picture of “Babel the Great” and we see that she is adorned in a similar way.
Let’s dig into these seemingly disconnected entities and see if there is more to the story.
What does the priest have?
Gold
Precious stones
Fine clothing
Ornate decorations
What does Babel offer?
Gold
Precious stones
Fine clothing
Ornate decorations
What do we want?
Gold
Precious stones
Fine clothing
Ornate decorations
The priest does not have these things so he will look good to the world. He has them:
For judgment
To make atonement
To offer up prayers
To be adorned in the presence of the King
These are used to glorify God.
It would be ridiculous for the priest to think these items are his. These belong to Abba and he’s only the steward of these things.
Provision
Power
Comfort
These are used to glorify herself.
These items are used by the Adversary to tempt us. And these are the exact same areas in which Yeshua (Jesus) was tempted (Matthew 4).
If we only had more gold, precious stones, and fine clothing, people would view us in a much better light.
We’d have power -- because the rich are powerful, right?
We’d have plenty of provision -- no more worrying about what we don’t have.
We’d be incredibly comfortable -- our identity would be secure.
If only we had these things…
Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?
All too often it’s because we want provision, power, and comfort. Even if we have some measure of these things, we still need even more. The temptation to obtain increase in any of these areas is incredibly difficult to resist.
But at the end of the day, it all comes down to either glorifying Abba or glorifying yourself.
And we really love ourselves -- even if we hate ourselves.
So…
How much has Babel convinced you that you are doing the work of the Kingdom while really working for her?
She’ll tempt you with these things and she does so because they work.
Let’s compare the two priests of each Kingdom to see if we can spot the difference between them.
Exodus 28:4 “The garments they are to make are these: a breastplate, a ritual vest, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aharon and his sons, so that he can serve me in the office of cohen. 5 They are to use gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and fine linen
…
9 Take two onyx stones
…
17 Put in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: the first row is to be a carnelian, a topaz and an emerald; 18 the second row a green feldspar, a sapphire and a diamond; 19 the third row an orange zircon, an agate and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx and a jasper.
Revelation 17:4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls.
Revelation 18:15 The sellers of these things, who got rich from her, will stand at a distance, for fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 and saying,
“Oh no! The great city used to wear fine linen, purple and scarlet!
She glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls!”
These Kingdom’s can look very similar but one has something missing.
What’s missing from Babel? Blue
Blue is seen as the color of divinity:
The sky is blue and stretches from east to west. It is vast and never ending.
The sea is blue and goes as far as the eye can see. It also is vast and never ending.
We see in Numbers 4, the cloth covering the holy items in the Tabernacle is blue.
And tzit-tzits have a blue thread.
This is the color seen in Abba’s presence.
Exodus 24:9 Moshe, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu and seventy of the leaders went up; 10 and they saw the God of Isra’el. Under his feet was something like a sapphire stone pavement as clear as the sky itself. 11 He did not reach out his hand against these notables of Isra’el; on the contrary, they saw God, even as they were eating and drinking.
Ezekiel 1:26 Above the dome that was over their heads was something like a throne that looked like a sapphire. On it, above it, was what appeared to be a person.
In Revelation 4 we have the Sea in front of the throne.
In Revelation 22 we have the River of Life flowing out from the throne.
It’s my opinion that this small detail carries incredible weight. Why else would Babel have everything else but be without this one thing?
Colors
Blue -- divinity -- Abba
Red -- blood -- Man
Purple -- royalty -- this is where man and Abba blend
It’s obvious Babel has eliminated Abba from her kingdom, but without Him(blue) there can be no true royalty(purple). It must be a counterfeit.
As a result of abandoning Abba, we see a change in labels on the forehead.
Aharon (Exodus 28:36):
“Set apart for YHVH”
Babel (Revelation 17:5):
BABEL THE GREAT
MOTHER OF WHORES AND OF
THE EARTH’S OBSCENITIES
YHVH has the ability to see what’s really on your mind despite the justification we put forth.
So what’s on your mind?
We all like to think we have the same label as Aharon, but without the blue in your life you may be considered more like Babel “the Great”.
Search yourself carefully to make sure the blue, purple and red yarn, gold, and precious stones God has given you are being used to bring glory to Abba and not being used to add to your own wealth, power, and comfort.
No one is going to do this for you so you must perform this inspection yourself. Be careful of justification, though.
It’s fascinating to see how things given to man for Abba’s glory were taken for Babel’s glory, which in turn man used for his own glory.
These items have stood the test of time and will even be building blocks in the New Jerusalem.
Gold and precious stones (no garments needed before the fall):
Genesis 2:12 The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there.
As we have seen already, the Priest had gold, precious stones, and fine garments.
Then there was a divergence off of the Path. The religious leaders decided to make a name for themselves and they perverted the priesthood.
They converted their role as mediators into that of task masters. They slowly absorbed the world system (Babel) into the priesthood. And the people needed a deliverer.
So Yeshua came.
He came the first time to bring His people out from under this system and bring them into the light.
And He set up a new priestly order -- the Order of Malki-Tzedek (Hebrews 6-8).
This is not a priesthood based on birth and nationality. It is based on faith and obedience.
And we are called into the role of priest (cohanim):
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, the King’s cohanim, a holy nation, a people for God to possess! Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Through this priestly order, we will reign with the Messiah.
We will end up in the Garden with Abba.
Revelation 19:7 “Let us rejoice and be glad!
Let us give him the glory!
For the time has come for the
wedding of the Lamb,
and his Bride has prepared herself —
8 fine linen, bright and clean
has been given her to wear.”
(“Fine linen” means the righteous deeds of God’s people.)
Revelation 21:18 The wall was made of diamond and the city of pure gold resembling pure glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were decorated with all kinds of precious stones — the first foundation stone was diamond, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh turquoise and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate made of a single pearl. The city’s main street was pure gold, transparent as glass.
We end up where we started. Clothed in righteousness with gold and precious stones used to build Abba’s Kingdom.
This has been the intent all along.
Do you honestly believe you are doing Abba’s priestly work?
If so, where is the “blue”?
Where is the EVIDENCE of Abba’s presence?
Does the pull of Babel have you in chains?
Don’t deceive yourself into believing you are immune:
Revelation 18:23 …“For your businessmen were the most powerful on earth,
all the nations were deceived by your magic spell.
24 “In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s people,
indeed, of all who have ever been slaughtered on earth!”
So one of two things are likely to happen:
This kingdom will destroy you if you are truly one of God’s people.
Which leads us to a natural question: Has this kingdom brought destruction upon you?
If not, maybe you should ask why.
If so, you may have a call upon you that takes you into the holiest place of all -- His presence.
For all of Eternity.
But this is not a passive role.
You are being called to a higher place.
The call upon you is to be a priest of the Order of Malki-Tzedek.
This is a false priesthood based on commerce and power.
This is a true priesthood based on relationships and obedience.
A word of warning: No matter which you choose, those in your home will follow your example.
So I leave you with a few parting questions:
Does your life look like Yeshua’s life?
Do you walk as a priest in your own life?
Does your home look like Abba’s home or Babel’s home?
What kind of priest are you in your home?
The honest answers to these questions could help you see which Kingdom you actually support.