The Temple of God
Today’s Focus: Local Church vs. City Church: The Treasures of the Temple
Scripture: Throughout the Message
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
2 Kings 24:13: And he (Nebuchadnezzar) carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house , and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon, king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.
The obvious question here is what are the treasures of the temple? They are:
1. The Candlestick (Exodus 25:31-40)
2. The Table of Shewbread (Exodus 25:23-30)
3. Golden Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10)
Now the reason the destruction of these treasures are so devastating then and even now is because these three treasures represent the elements of the culture of the Kingdom.
1. Candlestick = Apostles’ Doctrine
2. The Table of Shewbread = Fellowship and Breaking of Bread
3. Golden Altar of Incense = Prayers
These four elements are known as the four elements of Kingdom culture (Acts 2:42-47). So when there is a Babylonian invasion then there is a destruction of the Temple of God as well as the culture that comes with the rulership of God. God gave the children of Israel types and shadows to maintain them until Christ comes and now that He has come these objects now give way to eternal realities.
The next thing that Babylonian systems do is banish you from your location in the temple so you cannot come together and celebrate the feasts. These systems will provide everything for you except the temple. Once again the spirit of locality and convenience. And you worship God on their terms in and in their ways and customs.
The next thing that happens is the castration of believers. When Israel came in captivity in Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar had Ashpenaz the master of the eunuchs to take certain children of Israel and children of the king of Israel at the time who was Jehoiakim, and castrate them (Daniel 1:1-4) to serve the king of Babylon. When the believers are castrated the language, which is the Word of God is changed. Then they will control your diet. They will control what you know and how much you are supposed to know. Next, they will change the spoken Word of God into musical worship. They will use music to entice and draw worship (Daniel 3:1-15). The next thing that will happen is the rise of false doctrine and ultimately they will change your name.
So when the temple was destroyed and the treasures within the temple were destroyed then the very identity and culture of the people of the temple is now changed and subject to who ever puts themselves before the people. When there is no temple, there are consequences.
In the next message we will look at scriptures to show you the consequences of not building or the absence of the Temple.
Peace, Love and Grace from the Father,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
