By Rick Brunson
Would
you be surprised to find out that the first temple on earth was actually the
Garden of Eden itself? As a matter of
fact, every temple constructed since the Fall has been patterned after the
Garden of Eden. According to one LDS
scholar, “The Garden of Eden...served as the prototype, pattern, and originator
of subsequent Israelite temples.”[1] As we shall see, there is good reason why
this pattern was replicated.
When
you begin to study the Tabernacle in the days of Moses for example, you may
notice that the person going through the ceremony is symbolically acting out
Adam’s journey, only they are doing it in reverse. Adam went from God’s presence in the
celestial world during the pre-existence, to a terrestrial world in the Garden
of Eden, and finally, ended up in a telestial world here on earth. On the
other hand, the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, would journey from the outer
courtyard, which represented the telestial world, to the Holy Place which
represented the terrestrial, and finally to the Holy of Holies which
represented the celestial.
This
is the purpose of temples. They teach us
how we can reverse the fall and end up back in God’s presence. A closer look at the Tabernacle will reveal
even more details about how this is accomplished.
Direction
Traveled
“When Adam and Eve
partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge
Sacrifice
 |
| The Altar of Sacrifice |
Hugh Nibley stated that after Adam was cast out of the garden, “an angel came and began to teach him what he must do to reverse his condition at once and begin his return to the presence of the father.”[3] If the Israelites were to symbolically reverse the Fall of Adam, they would naturally begin their journey where Adam's journey ended. Just as Adam offered sacrifices on an altar upon arriving in the telestial world,[4] so too did the high priest offer sacrifices on an altar before he left the telestial world (the outer courtyard).[5] “And the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.”[6]
Clothed
 |
| The High Priest |
 |
| Adam and Eve's Coat of Skins |
Water
After the High Priest
has been clothed, and sacrifices preformed, he
 |
| The Laver of Water |
Menorah
As soon as the High
Priest entered into the Holy Place (terrestrial
 |
| The Menorah |
Cherubim
Before the High Priest
could fully reverse the fall, he needed to
 |
| The Veil of Solomon's Temple |
It is also interesting to point out that right in front of this veil in the Tabernacle there was a small altar that burned incense from hot coals that were taken directly from a fire in the outer courtyard.[13] This may have reference to the flaming sword that was also used to guard the way of the tree of life.[14]
Breastplate
As he entered into the Holy of Holies (celestial world) on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest wore a breastplate that contained twelve large jewels. What is interesting is that some of these stones are mentioned by name as being found in the Garden of Eden.[15] Furthermore, we learn from Ezekiel that these jewels represent the light which covered those persons who were in the Garden of Eden.[16] This light was stripped from Adam when he transgressed.[17] Therefore, by carrying these stones with him into the Holy of Holies, the High Priest is reversing the effects of the fall and regaining this light and glory which was once lost through transgression. Finally, when we enter the Holy of Holies, we find the Ark of the
In this way, the High Priest acts out Adam’s journey in reverse and symbolically reverses the fall. In fact, the High Priest is a type for Jesus, who is referred to in the scriptures as “the last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45). The first Adam brought us into this telestial world through the fall, and the last Adam will reverse the fall through His atonement.
Types
of Christ
As it turns out, the
High Priest is not the only type of Christ in the Tabernacle. As we shall
see, every detail was put there by design to teach of Christ. In fact,
Jesus, in his mortal ministry, claimed to represent most of the items that make
up the Tabernacle. Consider the following:
o
Altar
- The animal on the altar is the most obvious type of Christ. “The altar stood on an elevation to
foreshadow the atonement of the Lamb of God.”[19] After the animal was killed, his blood was
put on the four corners of this altar,[20]
which represented Christ’s blood extending to the four corners of the earth.
o
Water
– The laver of water represented the living water, which is Christ, and which he
offered to the woman at the well of Samaria.[21]
o
Menorah
- We have already discussed how the menorah
represented the Tree of Life which
was found in the Garden of Eden, but what does the Tree of Life represent?
In Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life, we learn that the tree represents Jesus,
and the fruit represents his atonement.[22]
Therefore, it is not surprising to find
Jesus during his mortal ministry claiming to represent this 
o
Bread
- Also in the Holy Place, we find a table of showbread. Yet again we find
Jesus claiming to be this very thing when he said, “I am the bread of life”
(John 6:35).
o
Altar
of Incense - Before he enters into the Holy of Holies, the
High Priest would burn incense upon a small golden altar in front of the
veil. The smoke from this incense would ascend upwards towards heaven,
representing the prayers of the righteous.
In the Book of Revelation we read,
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the
prayers of the saints, ascended up before God (Rev. 8:4).
And again in the Book
of Psalms, we find David saying,
Let
my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice (Psalms 141:2).
We are told to pray to
the Father in the name of Christ. Thus,
this altar also represented Christ, who is the “mediator between God and men”
(1 Tim. 2:5).[23]
o
Veil
- When the High Priest enters into the Holy of Holies, he would cross a
veil. Here again we find Christ claiming to represent this veil when he
said, “I am the door” (John 10:9). Paul also taught that the veil
represented Christ. He admonished us to “enter
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus...through the veil, that is to say, his
flesh” (Heb. 10:19-20). From these statements we learn that the only way to get
to the father is to literally go through Jesus.[24]
o
High
Priest - As mentioned earlier, the High Priest wore twelve
In addition to these
twelve stones, the High Priest also wore two black onyx stones on his shoulders
as he entered into the Holy of Holies (celestial kingdom).[26]
These two black onyx stones also had the names of the twelve tribes Israel
engraven on them (six on one stone, and six on the other).[27]
Black is a symbol for sin.[28]
Six is also a symbol for sin.[29]
The image here is that the High Priest (Christ) had to carry the sins of Israel
upon his shoulders upon entering into the Holy of Holies (celestial kingdom).
This Christ fulfilled literally when he carried the cross on his shoulders and
when he bore the sins of the world.[30]
o
Mercy
Seat
- Inside the Holy of Holies is the Ark of the Covenant, which was a gold box
that contained the Ten Commandments that Moses brought down from the Mount.[31]
However, before he received these tablets of stones, Moses received a higher
law from God, also written on stone, which included the temple endowment that
God desired to give Israel.[32] When Israel broke their
o
Anointed
– As we can see, each of the items in the Tabernacle represented Christ. In fact they were all anointed with oil
before they were put in use. The Lord
told Moses to, "Take the anointing oil, and anoint the Tabernacle, and all
that is therein...thou shalt anoint
the altar...And thou shalt anoint the laver...And shalt bring Aaron...and
anoint him" (Exo. 40:9-15,
emphasis added).
What is interesting is that
the word Christ literally means anointed.[37] (Another way of saying Jesus the Christ is
Jesus the anointed.) So when God tells
Israel to anoint each piece of furniture in the Tabernacle, he is literally
telling them to make it Christ. By
anointing the menorah for example, it would from then on represent Christ. This they did with every piece of furniture
in the Tabernacle, and it was done in order to teach us of Christ.
o
The
Tabernacle – The Tabernacle itself was also a symbol for
Christ, symbolizing the meeting place between God and man. Hence we find Jesus saying, “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The outside walls of the Tabernacle were made
of white linen, white being a symbol for righteousness. While the inside was very beautiful and
expensive, the outside was very plain.
Isaiah tells us that the physical appearance of Jesus was similar to the
outside of the Tabernacle:
He
[Christ during his mortal ministry] hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see him, there is no beauty that we
should desire him (Isa. 43:2).
Also, all throughout
the inside the Tabernacle we find the three colors—red,
blue, and scarlet —each of which represent
Christ:[38]
Red is the color of blood, and therefore represents both mortality and Christ’s
atonement.[39]
Blue the color of the sky and therefore represents heavenly things, typifying
God.[40]
And purple represented royalty because it was the most expensive color dye to
obtain in the old world and was therefore mostly worn by kings and royalty.[41] Not only do all these colors represent Christ
in their own way, they also represent something deeper. If you mix the colors blue (representing God
the Father) and red (representing the mortal Mary) you get the color purple,
which is the color of Christ, the “King of kings.” (Rev. 17:14).
The
Doctrine of Christ
In conclusion, notice
how the prophet Nephi compares the doctrine of Christ to the tabernacle. For commentary, I will add my own thoughts in
parenthesis:
Wherefore,
do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer
should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know
the gate
by which ye should enter [compare to entering the gate of the Tabernacle]….
Wherefore, ye must press forward [compare to entering into the Holy Place] with a steadfastness in Christ, having
a perfect brightness of hope [compare to the light of the menorah]….Wherefore,
if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ [compare
to the Table of Showbread found in the Holy Place]…Thus saith the Father: Ye
shall have eternal life [compare to entering into the Holy of Holies] (2
Ne. 31:17-20; emphasis added).
It by attending the
temple that we learn how the effects of the fall are reversed and how we can
return to God’s presence. Only through our
Savior and his atonement is this made possible.
Notes:
[1] Parry, “Garden of Eden:
Prototype Sanctuary,” Temples of the
Ancient World, p. 127. See also
McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, p. 116;
Campbell, Eve and the Choice Made in
Eden, p. 56-57.
[2] Gaskil, The Lost Language of
Symbolism, p. 151. See also, Parry, “Garden
of Eden: Prototype Sanctuary,” Temples of
the Ancient World, p. 132-33.
[3] Nibley, Approaching Zion, p. 401.
[4] Moses 5:6.
[5] Leviticus 16:6-11.
[6] 1 Nephi 13:42.
[7] Leviticus 16:4.
[8] Moses 3:10-14.
[9] Exodus 25:31-40.
[10] Also in the
Holy Place, across the room from the Menorah, we find a table of
showbread. Perhaps this bread was meant to represent the fruit that Adam
partook of before being cast out of the Garden.
[11] Exodus 26:31.
[12] Moses 4:31.
[13] Leviticus 16:12-13.
[14] Moses 4:31.
[15] Moses 3:12.
[16] Ezekiel 28:13-14.
[17] For more information, see Brunson,
Adam’s Coat of Skins.
[18] Exodus 25:21.
[19] McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, p. 103.
[20] Exodus 29:11-12.
[21] John 4:10.
[22] 1 Nephi 11:21-22 tells us that
the tree is the “love of God.” From John
3:16 we learn what that the Love of God is Jesus. Furthermore, Lehi tells us that the fruit
filled his soul with “exceedingly great joy” (1 Ne 8:12). This is very similar to how Alma the Younger
describes partaking of the Christ's atonement when he said, “there can be
nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy” (Alma 36:21). Furthermore,
Nephi tells us that this fruit is “the greatest of all the gifts of God” (1 Ne.
15:36) and what greater gift has the Father given us than his Son? Another insight to this theme comes from 1 Nephi
11:4-6. Here the Spirit asked Nephi if
he believed that his father saw a tree.
After Nephi responded that he did, the angel said, “blessed art thou,
Nephi, because thou believest in the Son.”
Finally, Elder Jeffery R. Holland said, “the Tree of Life and its
precious fruit are symbols of Christ's redemption…. The life, mission, and
atonement of Christ are the ultimate manifestations of the Tree of Life, the
fruit of the gospel, the love of God (Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, pp. 160-62). From these examples, we can conclude that
there is a strong connection between the Tree of Life and Jesus Christ.
[23] 1 Timothy 2:5. See also John 16:23.
[24] John 14:6.
[25] Exodus 28:15-21, 29.
[26] Exodus 28:9-12.
[27] Exodus 28:9-12.
[28] Gaskil, The Lost Language of Symbolism, p. 85.
[29] Gaskil, The Lost Language of Symbolism, p. 122-23.
[30] John 19:17.
[31] Hebrews 9:4; 1 Kings 8:9.
[32] See Inspired Version Exo
34.:1-2; JST Deut 10:2; D&C 124:37-41
[33] In Exodus
19:5-8, we read that God desired to make Israel kings and priests. Israel
accepted this covenant by responding, “all that the LORD hath spoken we will
do.” Because Israel accepted this
covenant, the Lord had Moses ascend into the mount to give him instructions for
initiating the temple endowment.
[34] Exodus 32:19.
[35] Brown, Driver, and Briggs, The
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, p. 497-98.
[36]
For more information, see
Brunson, Adam’s Coat of Skins.
[37] Messervy, “This Day Is ThisScripture Fulfilled,” Ensign, (April
1987).
[38] See for example Exodus 26:1.
[39] Gaskill, The Lost Language of Symbolism, p. 99.
[40] Gaskill, The Lost Language of Symbolism, p. 89.
[41] McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, p. 102.