Shalom Mishpachah and welcome to this sixth gathering in which we look at the final item of sacred furniture - the Bronze or Brazen Laver or Basin - and then, last of all, the setting up of the screen around the entire Tabernacle compound, even as it is written:

"You shall set the altar of burnt-offering before the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting (which is what we did yesterday) and place the basin (laver) between the tent of meeting (sanctuary) and the altar, and put water in it. You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court" (Ex.40:6-8, NRSV).

The camp is complete and separate, holy, or qadosh from everything outside and it remains for us tomorrow to perform the Dedication for this New Covenant Melchizedek House for the Remnant. I am sure that you, like me, see the special appropriateness of the symbolism given that at this time we are, most of us, separated from the plague that currently stalks our lands, covering it with a blanket of infirmity and death. The reason I am late today is that I had to make an emergency trip into plague area and have been through multiple decontaminations so it's a good thing you can't smell me as I reek of Dettol and other sterilising agents! We here in northern Europe are starting to get into the thick of it while it rages further south in Italy and Spain, and in parts of Asia, and now in North America. It'll be arriving in Africa, Australia and South America in due course. Like Aaron, we take incense and fire from the Altar of Yahweh and in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name, the Great High Priest and propitiation for our sins (Heb.2:7), we invoke His atoning blood for Messianic Israel and all those within the umbrella of our prayers and intercessions, standing between the living and the dead on behalf of our families and our brethren in Messiah (Num.16:46-50). And I have to say that a very big part of that involves personal repentance for last night Yahweh brought me to deep conviction in a whole swathe of sin areas. So may Yahweh have mercy on all us sinners.

The brass or brazen laver was placed by Yahweh between the Brazen Altar of Burnt Offering and the entrance to the Sanctuary specifically and only for the Aaronic cohenim (priests). From the very beginning it had been Yahweh's intention that Israel become a Kingdom of Cohenim (Priests) (Ex.19:6). What does that mean? A cohen (priest) is a man who has access to Elohim (God); therefore a kingdom of priests is a nation that has access as a whole to Elohim (God). Such a Kingdom came into existence through the perfect, sinless, atoning life of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) two millennia ago when He entered into the Holy of Holies on behalf of all Israel and all mankind as our eternal Cohen Gadol (High Priest). It is through this Great High Priest that we, as believers, now have direct access to the Father.

The Brazen Laver, known as the kiyyor in Hebrew, has an upper and a lower water container, one for the feet and the other for the hands of the cohenim (priests). Unlike all the other objects, which were for Yahweh, the Laver was for the cohenim (alone). The Brazen Altar was used for sacrifice to Yahweh, the Ark of the Covenant was His Throne, the Table of Shewbread was His table, and the Menorah was His light. Brass denotes strength, firmness, endurance and judgment against sin - we are commanded to have brows of bronze or flint in respect to sin (Ezek.3:8-9). Elohim's (God's) feet are compared to brass (Rev.1:15; 2:18), an alloy like bronze in appearance, because He is strong and determined in His comings and goings. Many of the small implements in the Tabernacle were made of bronze as were the various pillars at the entrances.

The water in this laver on one important levels points us to the Davar Elohim or Word of God, as Paul said:

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah loved the messianic community (church) and gave Himself up for her to make her qadosh (holy, set-apart), cleansing her by the washing with water through the Davar (Word), and to present her to himself as a radiant community (church), without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but qadosh (holy, set-apart) and blameless" (Eph.5:25-27, NIV).

If the item of sacred furniture we examined yesterday - the Brazen Altar - has, as its chief identifying element, fire, then the item of sacred furniture with which we must end our Tabernacle tour today - the Brazen Laver - has, as its chief identifying element, water.

Actually, water has been a lot on my mind these last 24 hours, mostly because up until now the overarching element has been fire, especially since that experience I had a couple of days ago when a large flame of fire appeared out of nowhere and landed not two feet from me where I was sitting in my office, whooshing up into the air when it made contact with the floor. And then last night I woke up a little after 2 am to find my entire body covered in small blue-ish flames about half an inch tall - everything was literally glowing around me, reminding me a bit of a gas fire. It was at that moment that I became overwhelmingly aware of the need for spiritual water. It is therefore no accident that the last item of furniture ordered set-up by Yahweh in the tabernacle concerns the administration of WATER.

The Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), who is the Spirit of Judgment and Burning, uses the Davar Elohim (Word of God) to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment (Is.4:4; Jn.16:6-12). Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), the Davar, Miltha, or Logos (Word) made flesh was given toqef (authority) to exercise judgment upon sin (Jn.5:27). The Laver speaks of this judgment upon sin operating through the Incarnate Word. It speaks of that cleansing that comes as the Davar (Word) exposes areas of our life that are not in conformity to Yahweh's Standard, the Torah. It speaks, as I have already mentioned, of the washing of water by the Word, both the Living and the Written. Therefore:

• 1. Sin is to be judged itself;
• 2. Sin is to be judged in self;
• 3. In the Brazen Altar, there is judgment against Sin, our sin; and
• 4. In the Brazen Laver, there is judgment against Self, our self.

We are commanded in Scripture to judge ourselves if we would forego judgment from Yahweh (1 Cor.11:31-32) so if the cohenim (priests) entered into the Holy Place without having cleansed themselves in the Laver they would have been judged by Yahweh upon entry. That is what the Scripture means when it says that Judgment must begin at the House of Elohim (God) (1 Pet.4:17). We too must do the same every time we approach the House of Worship and Prayer if we wish to forgo being judged by Elohim (God).

And as you know a mighty judgment is unfolding in the world right now which is why we must judge ourselves privately unless we wish to be swept away by that tide of judgment ourselves. Yah'shua (Jesus) wants a cleansed people. He is the Cohen Gadol (High Priest) who wears the Breastplate of Judgment (Ex.28:29) and He commands a qadosh (holy, set-apart) nation and people - Messianic Israel - to be set-apart to offer spiritual sacrifices:

"But you are a chosen people, a royal [New Covenant Melchizedek] priesthood, a qadosh (holy, set-apart) nation, a people belonging to Elohim (God), that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9, NIV)

According to the divine tavnith, pattern or arrangement of the Outer Court furnishings, by means of fire we gain access to water, and by means of water we gain access to the Sanctuary with its two rooms. Water and fire do not mix and yet they are both literally and symbolically indispensible to cleansing. Fire cannot clean everything that water cleans, and water cannot clean everything that fire cleans. Fire is also associated with blood in the Outer Court whereas in the Sanctuary fire is associated with incense. The fire used to kindle the Brazen Altar is used to kindle the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place and the blood procured at the Brazen Altar is taken once a year at Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonements) into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the Mercy Seat to make atonement for Kol Yis'rael - All Israel.

The inside and the outside are inter-connected just as we are inter-connected as physical and spiritual beings. The whole Tabernacle is One Tabernacle with inner and outer components, an internal partition (between the Holy of Holies and Holy Place) with items of sacred furniture strategically positioned. Everything has its place. There is an order to things and there are necessary hierarchies, just as there are in life, even if these days liberals, revolutionaries and anarchists wish to tear these all down and reduce the world to chaos. There is a reason the Priesthood is sometimes called a Qadosh, Holy, or Set-Apart Order. Little wonder moderns hate the Tanakh (Old Testament) and believe (or rather, hope) it has been done away with. Yet as we have seen on this occasion, and as we saw five years ago, the same underlying order exists in the spiritual too. The freedom brought by the New Covenant is not the freedom to do whatever you wish but the freedom that comes from liberation from sin.

This pairing of water/life with blood/life/fire which we see in the Brass Altar and the Brass Laver in the Courtyard is to be found in several places in scripture but the key one is made by the apostle John who wrote in this famously cryptic and controversial passage containing the Comma Johanneum:

"This is He who came by water and blood -- Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ); not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Ruach (Spirit) who bears witness, because the Ruach (Spirit) is emet (truth). For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Davar (Word, Logos), and the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit); and these three are echad (one). And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Ruach (Spirit), the water, and the blood; and these three agree as echad (one)" (1 John 5:6-8, NKJV).

I don't propose to unpack that today, assuming I even could or even needed to, because it has many layers and is complicated. The Creation is a complicated mechanism - it's not just a toy. Sometimes deep things cannot be adequately expressed using words which is why we have been given this visual, pictorial representation in the 3D form of a Tabernacle. The adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words" is certainly very true when it comes to the deep theology of the Tabernacle. And having yesterday complained at the 'coarseness' of the Courtyard as compared to the 'refinement' of the Sanctuary you may well be surprised to discover that there are great hidden deeps out in the 'open' here too. We can't ignore what's 'outside'. Indeed, without the 'outside', the 'inside' couldn't even function. The two are inter-dependent. That is why the final destiny is not a place of disembodied spirits but of physical resurrection, distinguishing Christianity/Messianism from all other religions. Some revelations are just not accessible through the use or analysis of words, which is an alarming prospect to Western mindset, but there it is. There are times when pictures, and pictures alone, alone work as the necessary medium of revelation for us human beings. And the Tabernacle is primarily supposed to be seen, even if only (now) with the mind's eye.

Because we don't have much time, and because the purpose of these assemblies is to enable you to make inner connections and spiritual choices once you have seen what lies before you, I want to keep this brief and as simple as possible, and to perhaps share a few prophetic insights. To be a Melchizedek Cohen (Priest) you have to offer yourself spiritually on the Brazen Altar in the fire of affliction and suffering, until you are no longer clinging to your own will but following Christ's alone. Then - and only then - are you ready to approach the Brazen Laver to be washed clean. At least, that is the intention. In truth, we falter again and again as we are tripped up first by one issue, and then another. And that is why, as we learned five years ago at the Great 2015 Dedication, Yahweh commanded the rigour of five sacrifices that are required of the Cohen (Priest):

• 1. The Courtyard Tresspass Offering for the cleansing of specific sins;
• 2. The Courtyard Sin Offerings for the cleansing of the sinful nature as a whole;
• 3. The Holy Place Peace Offerings for dedication;
• 4. The Holy Place Meal Offerings, also for dedication; and
• 5. The Holy of Holies Burnt Sacrificial Offerings for total dedication/consecration.

Tomorrow evening we shall assemble on the last and seventh day for the Dedication and Consecration of the Melchizedek Priesthood. This, along with Aviv 1, is the most important day of them all. You might like to prayerfully read the whole of the last chapter of the Book of Exodus (ch.40) between now and then. Come prepared as a cohen (priest) would, approaching the Brass Altar and Laver prior to going into the Sanctuary with a repentant heart, in emunah (faith). That means judging yourself of your own sins before Yahweh in private so that we can step together into the next stage of this Great and Final Exodus. Grace and peace be to all of you in our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). Amen.