Bible Lesson: Church Smybol: The Altar

Symbols of the Church of Jesus Christ:

The Altar:

Hebrew-Genesis 8:20 KJV “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”

Altar: Mizbeach, an altar, from Zabach, to slaughter an animal in sacrifice.

Greek-Matthew 5:23,24 KJV
[23] Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
[24] Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Altar: Thusiasterion, a place of sacrifice, an altar.

Altars were usually built of earth, or stone.
Exodus 20:24,25 KJV
[24] An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
[25] And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

A clear reference to the fact that, “No-Sacrifice Of Man,” can appease Almighty God!
Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV
[8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
[9] Not of works (religious or otherwise!), lest any man should boast.

Isaiah 64:6 KJV “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses (self-righteousness) are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Altar builders:
Noah: Genesis 8:20
Abraham: Genesis 12:7; 13:4; 22:9
Isaac: Genesis 26:25
Jacob: Genesis 33:20; 35:1,3
Moses: Exodus 17:5; 20:24-26

Altars were often erected where hallowed events had transpired, e.g.
Genesis 12:7; 13:18; 26:25; and 35:1. (The appearance of God.)
Altars, were also erected for sacrifice, and memorials.

The altar, became a place of refuge, or asylum.
I Kings 1:50 “And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.”

A symbol of the “Saving-Blood-Sacrifice, of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.”
Exodus 12:13,14 KJV
[13] And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
[14] And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

At the Tabernacle, and the Temple, there were two different altars, an altar for burnt offerings, and an altar for offering of incense.

The Altar of Burnt Offerings:
Altar of Burnt Offerings, Exodus 30:28 KJV “And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.”
The Brazen Altar, Exodus 39:39 KJV “ The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,”
This altar is also called “The Table of the Lord,” in Malachi 1:7, 12.

Construction of the Altar.
Exodus 27:1-8 NLB
1“Using acacia wood, construct a square altar 7½ feet wide, 7½ feet long, and 4½ feet high.
2 Make horns for each of its four corners so that the horns and altar are all one piece. Overlay the altar with bronze (Bronze a symbol of judgment).
3 Make ash buckets, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans, all of bronze.
4 Make a bronze grating for it, and attach four bronze rings at its four corners.
5 Install the grating halfway down the side of the altar, under the ledge.
6 For carrying the altar, make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze.
7 Insert the poles through the rings on the two sides of the altar.
8 The altar must be hollow, made from planks. Build it just as you were shown on the mountain.

Built four square
A symbol of the “New Jerusalem,” the city of God, home of Jesus Christ's blood bought children, His bride.
Revelation 21:10-27 KJV
[10] And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
[11] Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone (reddish brown-speaks of the precious blood of Christ), clear as crystal;
[12] And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
[13] On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
[14] And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
[15] And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
[16] And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal (Approximately 1400 miles).
[17] And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
[18] And the building of the wall of it was of jasper (reddish brown-speaks of the precious blood of Christ): and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
[19] And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
[20] The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
[21] And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
[22] And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
[23] And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
[24] And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
[25] And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
[26] And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
[27] And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

The altar had horn-like projections coming from its corners.
The animal offering was tied to the altar at the horns of the altar.

A perpetual fire was to be kept burning on the altar.
Leviticus 6:12,13 KJV
[12] And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.
[13] The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

The perpetual fire upon the altar, spoke of the perpetual worship that Israel was to have for their God.
Offerings for the forgiveness of sins were made at the Altar of Burnt Offerings.

Leviticus 6:1,2; 6,7 KJV
[1] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
[2] If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, ...
[6] And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:
[7] And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.

And then there was secondly ...

The Altar of Incense:

The Altar of Incense, was also called the “Golden Altar.”
Exodus 30:1-10 NASB
1."Moreover, you shall make an altar as a place for burning incense ; you shall make it of acacia wood.
2."Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit, it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits ; its horns shall be of one piece with it.
3."You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns ; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it.
4."You shall make two gold rings for it under its molding ; you shall make them on its two side walls -on opposite sides -and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.
5."You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
6."You shall put this altar in front of the veil that is near the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you.
7."Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps.
8."When Aaron trims the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
9."You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering ; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it.
10."Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year ; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD."

The Altar of Incense (which stood in the Holy Place, before the veil leading to the Holy of Holies, in the Tabernacle.), was a symbol of – the prayers of the people, rising up to God in heaven.
The Altar of Incense, appears in Heavens Temple...
Isaiah 6:6 KJV “Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: “
Revelation 8:3,4 KJV 3] And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
4] And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

Altars were important to God's people, because they were...:
A place for confession of sin.
A place to seek the presence and power of God, in prayer.
Sincere prayers are a fragrant aroma to God.
A place of worship of the Living God. The God who would never leave nor forsake His people.
A place of sacrifice. Not only of one's goods, but one's life.

Be sure your church has an altar!
Be sure you and your loved ones, meet the “living, Lamb of God,” at the altar.
The Altar, is a life changing place, because the Lord of glory, meets all those who call upon Him there!

Hebrews 13:10- NLT 10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp.
12 So also Jesus (the Lamb of God) suffered and died outside the city gates to make His people holy by means of His own blood.
13 So let us go out to Him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace He bore.
14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to His name.
16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.