Thus saith the Lord God; The gate of the inner court that looketh
toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the
sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall
be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of
that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the
priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings,
and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go
forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. Likewise
the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before
the Lord in the sabbaths and in the new moons. And the burnt
offering that the prince shall offer unto the Lord in the sabbath
day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.
And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat
offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of
oil to an ephah. And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young
bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be
without blemish. And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for
a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as
his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of oil to an ephah. And when
the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of
that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof (verses 1-8).
Here another worship scene of the Millennium is described. The prominent
eastern gate is to be closed during the six working days, but on the
Sabbath it shall be opened, as well as in the day of the new moon. The
Sabbath and the new moon are prominent in the worship of the Kingdom
Age. The Sabbath was a type of the coming rest for the people of
Israel.[55] This rest has now come. Their wanderings are ended, they are
gathered from the East and from the West, from the North and South, and
have found at last the promised rest (Ps. cvii:1-8). Therefore the
Sabbath is especially mentioned in connection with worship. On the
seventh day the gate through which the Lord and His glory passed is
opened and left open till the evening. The six working days (typical of
6,000 years) are forever gone, the seventh day, the seventh thousand,
the Day of the Lord, has come. And when the Millennium ends, the
complete, eternal rest comes for all the people of God. The new moon is
typical of Israel's re-establishment as a nation. The nation, like the
moon, had waned, and disappeared, but now she shines again like the new
moon.
[55] When it speaks of "my rest" in Hebrews iv it refers to the eternal
rest.
The Prince is to worship at the threshold of the gate, and the people
before the gate. But neither the Prince nor the people enter within. No
drawing near to God is known then as we now enjoy it who worship in the
Spirit through the rent veil. It is all an earthly worship, while the
true worship of the Church is heavenly. The Prince in this worship
enters by the outer door on the side of the east and he goes out by the
same door. The Prince occupies the prominent place as the representative
of the people. He presents his offerings to Jehovah, while the people
stand as worshippers at the outer gate of the same entrance. The
offerings the Prince is to bring on the Sabbath are larger than those
commanded in the law. Both the burnt-offering and the meal offering
brought by him on the Sabbath are more abundant than those offered under
the old dispensation, an evidence of the higher and more perfect worship
of restored Israel. Different, however, is it with the offering on the
new moon. In Numbers xxviii:11-15 we read:
And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering
unto the Lord; two young bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the
first year without spot; And three tenth deals of flour for a meal
offering, mingled with oil, for one bullock; and two tenth deals of
flour for a meal offering, mingled with oil for one ram; And a
several tenth deal of flour mingled with oil for a meal offering
unto one lamb; for a burnt offering of a sweet savour, a sacrifice
made by fire unto the Lord. And their drink offerings shall be half
an hin of wine unto a bullock, and the third part of an hin unto a
ram, and a fourth part of an hin unto a lamb: this is the burnt
offering of every month throughout the months of the year. And one
kid of the goats for a sin offering unto the Lord shall be offered,
beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.
Such are the offerings according to the law, to be brought on the new
moon. But in the millennial worship these offerings are diminished. All
this has a deeper meaning which will be fully known and enjoyed when
this worship is carried out.