The altar speaks—not only the souls ‘under the altar’2 or the ‘prayers of the saints’ on the altar3—but the altar itself. We already heard a voice from between the four horns of the golden altar4 that gave the sixth ‘trumpet’-angel the order to set the four angels at the River Euphrates loose. We also saw ‘another angel’ come from the altar, who had authority over the fire and who gave the order to harvest the earth with a sharp scythe, a sickle to pluck the clusters of grapes.5 Here the altar itself is speaking. Is it the ‘altar of burnt sacrifice’ or ‘the altar of incense’? And what do those ‘altars’ represent? What is their message? Or, put better: who do those altars represent? Of whom do they testify? In the Tabernacle, in the ‘Tent of the testimony of the Covenant of the Law’ the great ‘altar of burnt offering’ stood in the forecourt.6 Thousands of sacrifices were made on it over the centuries—sacrificial animals, with their innocent blood, that were able to take the place of sinful and thus guilty man. These sacrifices were prophetically pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrificial Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.7 The sacrifices testify of Him; yet the altar also testifies of Him. It was five cubits wide and five cubits long.8 A human being has two times five fingers and two times five toes, to do things and to walk with, wholly responsible for keeping God’s Ten Commandments: five on the first tablet of stone, which deal with serving God, and five on the second tablet of stone, which deal with how to serve and relate to our fellow men.9
This is also the purpose of the five senses, with which we are able to take in the world around us: eyes, ears, smell, taste, touch. We are guilty before God with all we have and are, and the earth is cursed because of us.10 This is why the altar was square: four being the number of the earth, four points of the compass, four corners of the earth, with its four seasons.11 The height was three cubits, as the Eternal God is One in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, wholly involved in the work of the redemption of mankind: the Father gave the Son,12 the Son gave Himself13 and He offered Himself by the strength that the Holy Spirit gave Him.14 The altar was made of shittim or acacia wood. This points to His weakness and perishability, come in mortal, human flesh, born of a woman.15 Just as wood grows from the earth. Isaiah calls Him ‘the fruit of the earth’.16 The wooden planks were covered with bronze however,17 as a symbol of strength—of strength able to withstand in God’s judgment of fire. The bronze censers of incense remained undamaged when the rebels were consumed by God’s judgment fire in Moses’ time.18 The altar testifies of Christ: true Man and true God: wood covered with bronze. That is what the altar itself gives as a testimony. It testifies of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is His voice we hear when the altar speaks: Yes, Lord God, Your judgments are true and just!
• The golden ‘altar of incense’19 testifies of Him as well. It is made of acacia wood, but this time it is covered with ‘gold’, the most precious metal. Everything in the New Jerusalem20 shines with the brilliance of ‘golden’ glory.
• Gold speaks of the Glory of God and Christ is glorified in Heaven following His humiliation, but remains true man (wood) and also true God (gold). Son of God and son of Man. And if we are clothed with Christ,21 we are like Him, alive and living forever! Sharing in the ‘gold’ of His Glory!
Bible References:
1.NIV 2.Revelation 6:10–11 3.Revelation 8:3–5 4.Revelation 9:13 5.Revelation 14:18 6.Cf. Revelation 11:1–2 7.John 1:29; Hebrews 9:13, 14, 22; Leviticus 4 8.Exodus 27:1 9.Exodus 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 5:1–22 10.Genesis 3:17 11.Exodus 27:1; Genesis 8:22; Isaiah 11:12 12.John 3:16 13.Galatians 2:20 14.Hebrews 9:14 15.Galatians 4:4 16.Isaiah 4:2 (King James Version) 17.Exodus 27:2 18.Numbers 16:39 19.Exodus 30:1–9 20.Revelation 21 21.2 Corinthians 5:21, 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:30
