“He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing …” (Ex. 40:30, NKJV)
In our exploration of what the lake of fire and brimstone in the book of Revelation represents, the previous teaching discussed Solomon’s temple, and specifically linked it to the “pool from cast metal” (GW). In this teaching we would like to establish the link between the Old Testament symbol and the New Testament symbol, as this will help us to better understand the meaning of the lake of fire and brimstone.
During the period in which the Israelites had travelled through the desert the tabernacle was raised as a tent, so that it could easily be assembled in transit. Despite the fact that according to Hebrew dictionaries the Hebrew word for tent (‘ôhel) obviously points to the “nomad’s tent, and is thus symbolic of wilderness life, transience”, the root word is ‘âhal, which means “to shine”! Despite this temporary and dusty vehicle, the symbolic nature of it still reflects God’s glory!
Within this light it makes sense that all the different parts of the tabernacle would have to be easily disassembled and transportable, therefore we find that when the temple of Solomon was built, there were various adjustments made to the design because it would now be erected as a permanent structure.
From the teaching of Day 61 onwards we have consistently been delving into the tabernacle as a prototype, and from this well of rich symbolism various themes have unfolded. We will at some later point discuss the changes and adjustments that were made to the temple which rendered it different from the tabernacle, as these also have symbolic value. But for now we are focussing only on the typology of the tabernacle as the seed of God’s consummating plan of salvation, although we are currently, for the sake of illustration, comparing the contents of the tabernacle to its equivalent in the temple.
In the teachings of Day 62-63 the bronze laver of the first dimension was only mentioned in passing, and it needs some more detailed discussion. (For the sake of an initial birds-eye view we had to briefly discuss everything until just before the altar of incense, and in the teaching of Day 146 we explained why we must return to the first dimension, and why a more in-depth look at the contents of the tabernacle is warranted. Since then we have still been busy with the different facets of the typological bronze altar, and what an enriching and far-reaching learning experience it has been!)
We have thus not discussed the bronze laver in detail at all, and it would not be fitting to discuss it at this point, thus we will merely point out the crux of the contents, and place it in relief to the subject we are currently discussing.
To just briefly recap the process of salvation: If you hear God’s voice, and respond, you choose to leave the kingdom of the world (1 John 5:19) for the domain where God reigns; you are granted access to the outer court. There you find the altar of burnt offering which points to the final sacrifice Jesus made on the cross: “… but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself …” (Heb. 9:26). Your realisation of sin and being lost without Jesus (“having no hope and without God in the world” – Eph. 2:12) reflects in the bronze altar (bronze always points to judgment), and this allows you to accept this sacrifice. We call this process conversion. John 1:12: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
The bronze laver points to the way in which we gain knowledge of this salvation, in other words, points to “the washing of water with the Word” (Eph. 5:26, Ampl). In the first dimension we thus become familiar with the blood of Jesus and the water of the Word of God. Therefore, as Rom 10:9 states, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved …”. the rest of the passage that follows, is used to explain how the cross (= the bronze altar) and the Word of God (= the bronze laver) function in a typologically interactive manner: “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved’. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? … So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:13-15a & 17).
The Word of God, the Bible, needs to be effectively sown (Luke 8:11); and is most successful in the case of those whose soil is receptive – that is, those “who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there’s a harvest” (Luke 8:15, Msg). Remember – in this dimension the spirit has not yet been awakened, as the rebirth has not yet taken place. Therefore it is essential that the cross and the Word function interactively, to make the truth of salvation known so that “the word of God … effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13). Through hearing, accepting and understanding “the word of the truth of the gospel” (Col 1:5) fruit can be seen (Col 1:6), as “the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). In the first dimension the believer is only saved, not born again, and thus not yet filled with the Spirit of God. The Word of God makes it possible for the first dimension believer (who is still functioning in the soul dimension) to gain access to the spiritual dimension, as the Word penetrates the separation between soul and spirit! How wondrous is God’s design! Therefore, as 1 Pet. 2:2 states, everyone in the first dimension should, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby”.
(Obviously – even for believers in the second and third dimension this truth about the Word of God still stands – that the Word of God “powerfully works within me” Col. 1:29, EMTV.)
The bronze laver is thus firstly a pointer to the powerful working of the Word of God, the Logos. As we are exposed to it, it works with the blood that “cleanse[s] your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb. 9:14) “to the end ye may be established” (Rom. 1:11, ASV). Selah!
A very interesting aspect of the bronze laver is presented in Ex. 38:8 – “He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting”.
The Treasure of Scriptural Knowledge provides the following information on this: “The word maroth, from raah, to see, denotes reflectors, or mirrors, of any kind. That these could not have been looking glasses, as in our translation, is sufficiently evident, not only from the glass not being in use then, but also from the impossibility of making the brazen laver of such materials. The first mirrors known among men, were the clear fountain and unruffled lake. The first artificial ones were made of polished brass, afterwards of steel, and when luxury increased, of silver; but at a very early period, they were made of a mixed metal, particularly of tin and copper, the best of which, as Pliny informs us, were formerly manufactured at Brundusium. When the Egyptians went to their temples, according to St. Cyril, they always carried their mirrors with them. The Israelitish women probably did the same …”
These mirrors were thus clearly a mere faded reflection, of which 1 Cor. 13:12 speaks. The Word does indeed offer a reflection, although this is quite a puzzling reflection of ourselves, but also of Him. We need to use this to get to know Him, to recognise ourselves, but if it is not elucidated by the Holy Spirit, it remains a puzzle, and a veil (2 Cor. 4:3-4). Therefore verse 6 states, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
The women whose little mirrors were used to produce the bronze laver, are those who (typologically) facilitated the transition from the first to the second dimension. Even they could not enter it (only priests could), but they had a particular functional calling to accompany others to see better! If these women do not typologically move through to the next dimension, they are often perverted by the spirit of religion, and prostituted by the church system, as in the case of the handmaidens in the time of Eli (1 Sam. 2:22). In this lies a great warning. (In later teachings this will be discussed in greater detail.)
This whole process of creating context was done in order for us to get to the equivalent of the bronze laver. In the Message it is described in simple terms: “He made a Sea–an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet high, and forty-five feet in circumference … It held about 18,000 gallons. He made ten Washbasins, five set on the right and five on the left, for rinsing the things used for the Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The priests washed themselves in the Sea.” (2 Chr. 4:2, 5b & 6).
We won’t discuss the particulars at this point, but would like to point out that the function of the bronze sea was the same as that of the bronze laver, but that it increased from little more than a puddle to a lake! In the light of what was explained in the teachings of Day 740-742 about the “sea of humanity”, it clearly becomes the symbolic equivalent of the bronze sea in the book of Revelation. This makes 2 Pet. 3:5-7 very clear when these similarities are noticed: “For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
The bronze sea represented being washed with the water of the Logos-Word (which, based on its bronze nature also clearly points to judgment) – therefore the previous dispensation was purified by water. The lake of fire represents the Rhema-word, the corporate Bride which will test everything in this dispensation by fire! 1 Cor. 6:2a – “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”
Of great importance – the lake of fire does not consist of bronze, but of brimstone. Charles Pridgeon, in his book Is Hell Eternal, makes the following important statement: “The Lake of Fire and Brimstone signifies a fire burning with brimstone; the brimstone’ or sulphur defines the character of the fire. The Greek word THEION translated ‘brimstone’ is exactly the same word THEION which means ‘divine.’ Sulphur was sacred to the deity among the ancient Greeks; and was used to fumigate, to purify, and to cleanse and consecrate to the deity; for this purpose they burned it in their incense. In Homer’s Iliad (16:228), one is spoken of as purifying a goblet with fire and brimstone. The verb derived from THEION is THEIOO, which means to hallow, to make divine, or to dedicate to a god. (See Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon, 1897 Edition). To any Greek, or any trained in the Greek language, a ‘lake of fire and brimstone’ would mean a ‘lake of divine purification.’” Selah.
- Selah: Explain the mystery of the lake of fire and brimstone to someone.
- Read: Acts 7-15
- Examine the OT-typology: Acts 7:2 (Tip: Gen. 12 – examine the implications)
