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The Law of the Anointing: Part 1

The holy anointing oil was made with the ingredients listed in Ex. 30:23-25. The vessels of the sanctuary (tabernacle) were to be anointed with it in order to consecrate them for divine service (vs. 26-28). Exodus 30:30 and 31 says also,

" (30) And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me. (31) And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations'."

The idea of priesthood is important to us today for many reasons. First, if we return to the well-known progression of the feasts--Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles--we can relate these to the three parts of the tabernacle: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place. These parts of the tabernacle (and later the temple) also represent our bodies, which are the temples of God (1 Cor. 3:16). Thus, we are spirit, soul, and body, as Paul mentions in 1 Thess. 5:23.

Insofar as our relationship with God is concerned, when we first believe in Christ, we are said to be justified by faith, and this is our Passover experience. Next, we are to be sanctified, which is Pentecost. Finally, we are glorified, which is the feast of Tabernacles.

There are two ways to apply this and link the feasts with the tabernacle (or temple) in our experience. The first is from our perspective and the second is from God's perspective.

OUR PERSPECTIVE: When we are justified by faith, we spiritually enter the outer court of God's temple. This outer court was open to all, and it contained the altar of (Christ's) sacrifice and the laver (water baptism). Those who have been justified and baptized are, in essence, living in the outer court in their experience with God.

To go further into the Holy Place, one must experience Pentecost. This is the consecration into priesthood, for only the priests were allowed to enter the Holy Place. There are a number of ways to experience Pentecost, not limited by certain evidences that some might insist upon. In other studies I have shown that Pentecost is a celebration of the descent of God upon the Mount in fire, and His voice being heard by all the people (presumably in their own language, as seen also in Acts 2). A priest is one who hears God's voice and is able then to speak it (prophesy) to the people. There are certain duties associated with priesthood as well, including that of intercession, but that is another study in itself.

To move further into the fullness of experience with God, one must find access to the Most Holy Place. But this is reserved for the High Priest alone, and so it is plain that the only way into this place is to become part of the body of the High Priest. Seeing the glory of God over the mercy seat speaks of a full revelation of the character of God and His ways--that is, knowing His plan, purpose, and the way He thinks. As part of His body, we are then able to rule and reign with Him, seated with Him on the throne (mercy seat), ruling with the perfect justice of the law but administering it from the position of mercy.

GOD'S PERSPECTIVE: From man's perspective, we go from the outer court inward to the Most Holy Place as we experience Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. But from God's perspective, the progression is reversed.

When we experience Passover and are justified by faith, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell our Most Holy Place--that is, our spirit.

When we experience Pentecost and are sanctified (set apart for divine service--priesthood), the Holy Spirit moves from the Most Holy Place into the Holy Place of our soul.

When we experience Tabernacles and receive the glorified body, the Holy Spirit manifests in our outer court, which represents our body.

And so, there are two ways of looking at this, an ebb and flow of the Spirit. Both views are correct, and we need to understand both perspectives in order not to be confused.

When God told Moses to anoint Aaron and his sons with the holy anointing oil, it was to sanctify them for divine service. Sanctification does not indicate perfection, as it is usually defined today. It has to do with having a calling to do certain tasks which require certain levels of knowledge and authority. The knowledge, of course, must be God-taught, and not merely a knowledge of the traditions of men. The problem among many of the priests in Jesus' day was that they were so well schooled in men's traditions that they could not hear God's Word when Jesus stood among them.

That priesthood (of Levi and Aaron) was disqualified, because as executors of God's "last will and testament," they usurped the things of God for their own use. So God replaced them with a new priesthood, the Melchizedek Order, of which Jesus is the High Priest. This new order has now received the true holy anointing oil of the Spirit, which has consecrated them to enter into the Holy Place in the temple in heaven to participate in the intercessory work of Christ.

Melchizedek means "King of Righteousness." To this title is added, "King of Peace" (that is, Salem). As long as this Melchizedek Order remains true to its name-titles, they qualify for access to the Most Holy Place with the High Priest, with whom they are one (that is, in one accord).

Zadok is from the Hebrew word tsedek, which, according to Young's Concordance, means "righteousness, justice." It has to do with establishing what is right, as opposed to what is wrong (sin) in a legal sense. So righteousness is normally associated with the law itself, whereas peace is the result of mercy. So it is not hard to see that the King of Righteousness is also the King of Peace, and that this perfectly describes Jesus Christ sitting upon the throne of grace on the mercy seat. Heb. 4:16 says,

"Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."

This combination of righteousness and peace can be thought of as a combination of justice and mercy, as well as law and grace. And so David prophesies in Psalm 85:10,

"Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."

Yes, righteousness and peace kiss each other at the point of contact between the tables of the law and the mercy seat. That is where mercy and truth meet. It is not enough to know the truth written on the tables of stone. If a king of violence and force sits upon the throne of the law, he would soon fill the land with blood in the attempt to root out all evil by force. But when the King of Peace sits upon the throne, He indeed rules by law, but he also has the mind of Christ and knows how to apply it with the goal of mercy and peace.

Melchizedek was the founder and builder of Jeru-salem, the "City of Peace." But when the ruling priesthood began to interpret the law and apply it without mercy, grace, and peace, it became "the bloody city" (Ezekiel 22:2). The city was filled with violence and no longer lived up to its name. But from the beginning God had another Jerusalem in mind that would fulfill the prophecies. It is the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22) and the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2).

Hence, the Hebrew word for Jerusalem is actually plural (Yerushalayim). Whenever the prophets spoke of Jerusalem, they inadvertently prophesied of another Jerusalem to come after the first one was disqualified through violence and blood.

The book of Hebrews tells us of these changes. These changes include a change of priesthood and of anointed ones.