INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS AN ALTAR?
The English ‘altar’ comes from the Latin ‘altārium,’ meaning ‘high,’ and also the Latin ‘adolere,’ which means ‘to ceremonially burn or sacrifice.’
The Hebrew ‘mizbeah’ for altar means ‘to slaughter,’ and the Greek ‘thusiasterion’ means ‘a place of sacrifice.’
An altar is a raised area, holy place and table in a house of worship or temple, where people honor God by offering sacrifices and gifts up to Him. There were two kinds of altars in the temple, the altar of incense and the altar of sacrifice.
The altar of incense was placed inside the sanctuary in front of the curtain screening the Holy of Holies (Exo 30:2, 27:2). It was made of gold-covered wood. It stood upright and measured 1 x 1 x 2 cubits.
Archaeological data indicates that all four corners of the upper surface were slightly peaked, believed to be horns protecting the altar. The altar of incense was placed before the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
On the other side of the veil was the Ark of the Testimony, where the presence of God was (Exo 25:22). Twice a day, incense was burned on the altar.
The altar of sacrifice stood in the courtyard of the temple. Like the other objects in the courtyard, the altar was made of bronze.
It measured 20 x 20 x 10 cubits (2Chr 4). Ahaz replaced this altar with one modeled on an altar he had seen in Damascus (2Kgs 16).
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
To understand the concept of altars in the New Testament, it is crucial to examine their origins in the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible, altars were central to Israelite worship. They were physical structures upon which sacrifices were offered to God as acts of atonement, dedication, or worship.
Altars were constructed using various materials, such as wood, stone, or bronze, and were primarily used for offering burnt offerings, peace offerings, and other sacrifices. The word altar appears first when Noah sacrificed to the Lord after leaving the ark. He built an altar to thank God for his family’s and creatures’ safe landing on dry ground.
Noah burned incense, and God found the aroma pleasing. God then made the covenant of the rainbow with Noah to promise that He would never again destroy life on earth with a flood (Gen 8:20-22). But the idea of the altar was present much earlier, even when Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices to the Lord (Gen 4:3–4). They most likely presented their offerings on altars, even though the word altar is not used.
An altar was a place of consecration. In Jewish tradition altars were used to sacrifice animals in obedience to God and burn incense on. The use of an altar came before the Law of Moses, yet it was later encoded into the Law. Before God gave His Law to Moses, men made altars anywhere out of whatever material was available. An altar was often built to mark and remember an encounter with God that had a deep impact upon someone.
An altar normally pictured a person’s desire to separate himself fully to the Lord. The story of God’s command for Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac shows the Hebrew and Greek meanings of sacrifice for ‘altar.’ When Isaac was young, Abraham followed God’s order and laid his son on an altar in the mountain of Moriah. Before Abraham killed Isaac for the sacrifice, an angel of the Lord stopped him.
Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the branches of a bush with its horns, and sacrificed it to God instead of his son (Gen 22:1-14). Abraham built fours altars to God in each of the four places he and his family lived, as they moved around to different pastures. Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob carried on this spiritual custom.
The altar continued to be a special place for an encounter with God, to give thanks, and to maintain a strong relationship with the God of Israel. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Gideon built altars and worshiped after having a special encounter with God (Gen 12:7, 26:24–25, 35:3, 1Chr 21:26 & Jdg 6:24).
Later in Old Testament history, God asked Moses to make an altar of incense so the Hebrew people would remember their God at regular intervals.
The priests offered an incense offering twice a day, at daybreak and twilight, and once a year for atonement (Exo 30:1-10). The altar in the tabernacle tent spiritually united the Hebrew people wandering in the desert for 40 years (and for centuries afterward). In 960 B.C., the altar of incense was moved from the tent tabernacle of Moses into the newly built temple in Jerusalem. When God gave instructions for the tabernacle, He gave detailed instructions for the kind of altar the courtyard was to contain (Exo 27:1–8).
On this altar, the people made sacrifices that God accepted as atonement for their sin. It was to have four horn-like projections, one at each corner. It had to be large enough to hold sacrifices of bulls, sheep, and goats. This altar was to be put before the veil before the ark of the covenant, which was in front of the mercy-seat, where God’s presence came down to meet with the high priest as he sacrificed the atonement on behalf of Israel.
The Greek ‘hilasterion’ for ‘mercy seat’ in the New Testament means ‘that which makes expiation’ or ‘propitiation’ (Heb 9:5). It carries the idea of the removal of sin by offering a sacrifice that satisfies the wrath of God and meets the demands of righteousness. The brazen altar of sacrifice is also called ‘hilasterion’ in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) due to its link with the shedding of blood for sin (Eze 43:13-15).
For the temple Solomon later built, he used pure gold to build the altar (1Kgs 7:48). Sometimes God Himself commanded that an altar be built after He had delivered someone in a miraculous way (Deu 27:4–7 & Exo 30:1). Such an altar would be a memorial to help future generations remember the mighty works of the Lord.
Since atonement is God’s work, the Law specified that an altar was to be made of natural, uncut stones; so that the children of Israel would not defile it by using a tool on it (Exo 20:25).
During Israel’s rebellion and idolatry, the Lord’s altars fell into disrepair. The altars in the temple did not last as long as God had promised. Due to Israel’s sin, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed Solomon’s temple some time around 586 or 587 B.C. , and the Israelites were taken captive in Babylon for 70 years (2Kgs 25).
When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem, rebuilding the temple became their top priority (Ezr 1:1-4). The prophet Elijah, confronting the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down (1Kgs 18:30). Elijah’s restoration of the altar symbolized the unity of God’s people in a divided kingdom (1Kgs 18:31–32). It was on this rebuilt altar that God rained down fire and consumed the Baal-worshipers (1Kgs 38–39).
THE CROSS AS THE MOST HOLY ALTAR OF SACRIFICE
In the New Testament, the concept of altars undergoes a transformation due to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The New Testament portrays Jesus as the ultimate altar, replacing the need for physical altars.
Christ's sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate act of atonement, rendering the sacrificial system obsolete. To make the New Testament effective, God sacrificed His only son Jesus on the cross as the altar of sacrifice in the courtyard, for our salvation.
In His death and resurrection, Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb of God.
Rom 3:25 (MSG) says, “God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public - to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured.”
Col 1:20-22 says, “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight…”
God instructed Moses to build an altar of sacrifice be made with acacia wood and overlaid brass. This altar was known as the brazen altar, the altar for burnt offering, and the altar of the Lord. It was here, on this altar, that all the five sacrifices foreshadowing the death of Christ, were to be offered.
These were to be offered on the altar as a sweet fragrance to the Lord, and were to be offered for atonement so that the people would be accepted by God. The first three (burnt, meat, and peace offerings) were voluntary offerings, and the last two (the sin and trespass offerings) were compulsory. Each had a prophetic foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Jesus.
For example, the burnt offerings were to be wholly offered. This foreshadowed Jesus being wholly given to the will of God when He died for our sins. Jesus held nothing back when God laid it upon him to give his life as the offering for our sins. Jesus gave himself fully to God for us.
On the other hand, the sin offering was to be killed at the altar. The inward parts (the fat, including all the fat around the internal organs, the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver) was to be severed from the carcass and offered on the altar as a sweet savor (a pleasing aroma) to the Lord.
Unlike the burnt offering which was wholly burnt on the altar, the carcass of the sin offering was to be taken outside the camp and burned in a clean place there. Only the inward parts were burned on the altar.
First the inward parts of the sin offering were offered on the altar as a sweet savor to the Lord (Lev 4:31). This was a foreshadowing Christ who had no sin. Jesus was totally pure from within. Secondly, the author of Hebrews appeals to burning of the carcass of the sin offering.
Heb 13:10-13 (TLB) says, “We have an altar—the cross where Christ was sacrificed—where those who continue to seek salvation by obeying Jewish laws can never be helped. Under the system of Jewish laws, the high priest brought the blood of the slain animals into the sanctuary as a sacrifice for sin, and then the bodies of the animals were burned outside the city. That is why Jesus suffered and died outside the city, where his blood washed our sins away. So let us go out to him beyond the city walls (that is, outside the interests of this world, being willing to be despised) to suffer with him there, bearing his shame.”
The word ‘without’ means outside, to show that the cross was the altar of sacrifice outside the gate of God’s sanctuary. Jesus died for the sins of everyone, even those outside of the camp of Israel in the whole world. All the sacrifices which were offered on the brazen altar were to be offered as gifts for a sweet savor to bring God pleasure. This typified Christ in whom God was pleased, and in whom God would accept for us, granting us forgiveness from our sins.
When God commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle, the brazen altar had to be consecrated by the blood of the sin offering before it could be placed into service. It had no power to sanctify without first being the sanctified by the blood of the sin offering. When the priests were initially consecrated for the service of the priesthood, the brazen altar was also consecrated for service.
Moses killed the sin offering and applied the blood to the horns of the altar to purify it (Exo 29:12, 36-37 & Lev 8:15). In scripture, horns are symbols of power (Hab 3:4). The blood of the sin offering applied to the horns was a type of the blood of Christ as the power of the cross. The cross has power from the blood Jesus shed.
After the blood was applied to the horns of the brazen altar, Moses poured the remainder of the blood at the bottom of the altar to sanctify it, so that reconciliation could be made upon it. The blood sanctified the altar making it a most holy altar.
Exo 29:37 says, “Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy."
Most holy is the same language used to describe the inner most part of the tabernacle where the glory of God rested on the mercy seat. When Jesus died on the cross, the cross was set apart as most holy to God for every man, for it was there that Jesus died as a sacrifice to redeem us with his precious blood, and because of his blood, the cross has the power to make us holy in the sight of God.
The curtain in the temple in Jerusalem, separating the Holy of Holies from the temple’s outer areas, was torn in two as Christ gave up His life.
Mat 27:50-51 says, "And crying again with a loud voice, Jesus released His spirit. And, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared."
This curtain separated the second room called the Holy of Holies from the first room, the Holy Place. Only 3 items were in the Holy Place: the Lamp Stand symbolizing the light (knowledge) of God’s Word, the Table of Showbread (12 fresh loaves of bread placed there each week) reminding Israel of God's continuous provision for their 12 tribes, and the ever-burning altar of incense symbolizing prayer.
This was in the center by the veil since prayer is the closest we come to God in this life. The separation of cloth showed that there was no longer any separation between God and man. Now, no earthly priest is needed to beg for our forgiveness. Anyone may enter God's presence by way of Jesus' blood, shed to pay the wages of our sins (Rom 6:23).
The tearing of the veil symbolized that Christ’s sacrifice, the shedding of His own blood, was a sufficient atonement for sins. It signified that now the way into the Holy of Holies was open for all people, for all time, both Jew and Gentile. Sacrifices made by people at the brazen altar to appease God are no longer necessary after Jesus’ great sacrifice for all of us.
Any other sacrifice man makes for sin today other than Christ is a mockery of the cross, and an insult to God. When the veil was torn, God moved out of that place never again to dwell in a temple made with human hands (Act 17:24). God was through with that temple and its legal system, and the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, just as Jesus prophesied (Luk 13:35).
As long as the temple stood, it signified the continuation of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was passing away as the new covenant was being established (Heb 8:13 & 9:8-9). The tearing of the veil was symbolic of Christ Himself as the only way to the Father (Joh 14:6).
The high priest had to enter the Holy of Holies through the veil. Now Christ is our superior High Priest, and as believers in His finished work, we partake of His better priesthood. We can now enter the Holy of Holies through Him.
Heb 10:19-20 says, “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.”
Here we see the image of Jesus’ flesh being torn for us just as He was tearing the veil for us. The profound significance of the tearing of the veil is explained in glorious detail in Hebrews.
The temple and its rituals were a copy and shadow of the heavenly things to come, and they all ultimately point us to Jesus Christ(Heb 8:5). He was the veil to the Holy of Holies, and through His death the faithful now have free access to God. Now Jesus has come and has fulfilled all this, the temple with its sacrifices are not necessary anymore.
Heb 10:18 says, “Where there is forgiveness of these [sins and lawless deeds], there is no longer any offering for sin.”
The veil in the temple was a constant reminder that sin made man unfit for the presence of God. The fact that the sin offering was offered annually and countless other sacrifices repeated daily showed graphically that sin could not truly be atoned for or erased by mere animal sacrifices.
Jesus Christ, through His death, has removed the barriers between God and man, and now we may approach Him at the heavenly mercy seat or throne of grace in prayer with confidence and boldness.
Heb 4:14-16 (CSB) says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”
THE HEAVENLY ALTAR OF INCENSE
The altar of incense in the wilderness tabernacle reminded the Israelites that prayer must play a central role in the life of God's people. Aaron was instructed to burn incense on the altar each morning and at twilight, every day, as a regular offering to the Lord (Exo 30:7–8).
God gave the recipe for making the incense and stipulated that no other incense ever be burned on the altar (Exo 34–38). Drink and meat offerings were not to be made on this altar. Priests brought the burning coals for this altar in from the brazen altar in the tabernacle courtyard, carrying them in censers.
The sacred incense for this altar was made from gum resin, a tree sap; onycha, made from a shellfish common in the Red Sea; galbanum, made from plants in the parsley family; and frankincense, all in equal amounts, along with salt. If anyone made this holy incense for their own use, they were to be cut off from the rest of the people.
The fire used to burn the incense was always taken from the altar of burnt offering outside the sanctuary (Lev 16:12). Never was the altar of incense to be used for a burnt offering, a grain offering, or a drink offering (Exo 30:9).
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest was to put blood on the horns of the altar of incense to cleanse it. The altar of incense was called “most holy to the Lord” (Exo 30:10). God was uncompromising in his orders. Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, offered strange fire before the Lord, disobeying His command; and fire came from the Lord, killing them both (Lev 10:1-3).
Priests would refill this special mixture of incense on the golden altar in the morning and evening, so a sweet-smelling smoke issued from it day and night. Although this altar was in the Holy Place, its fragrant odor would rise above the veil and fill the inner holy of holies, where the ark of the covenant sat.
Breezes might carry the smell outside into the tabernacle court, among the people offering sacrifices. When they smelled the smoke, it reminded them their prayers were constantly being carried to God.
The altar of incense was considered part of the holy of holies, but since it required tending so often, it was placed outside that chamber so regular priests could care for it daily. Sweet-smelling smoke from incense represented the people's prayers ascending to God. Burning the incense was a continuous act and the fire was not supposed to go out, just as believers who are all priests unto God, must pray without stop.
Lev 6:13 says, “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.”
1Th 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.”
Today, believers are assured their prayers are pleasing to God the Father because they are offered by our great High Priest, Jesus Christ. Just as the incense carried a perfumed odor, our prayers are scented with the righteousness of the Savior. John the apostle tells us the prayers of the saints ascend to the altar of incense in heaven before the throne of God.
Rev 8:3-5 (TLB) says, “Then another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; and a great quantity of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people, to offer upon the golden altar before the throne. And the perfume of the incense mixed with prayers ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. Then the angel filled the censer with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed and rumbled, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.”
As the incense in the tabernacle was unique, so is Christ's righteousness. We cannot bring prayers to God based on our own false claims of righteousness but must offer them sincerely in the name of Jesus, our sinless mediator.
Of course, God’s primary desire for His people is that they be holy. Simply going through the rituals required by the Law including the burning of incense on the altar of incense, was not enough to make the Israelites right with God.
The Lord wanted their hearts and lives to be right, not just their formalities. During Isaiah’s time, the people were disobedient to God, yet they still maintained the temple rites, and that’s why God said through the prophet Isaiah, “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me” (Isa 1:13).
More important than burning the proper incense at the proper time with the proper fire with the proper implements was having a proper heart before God. In scripture, incense is likened to prayer. David prayed, “May my prayer be set before you like incense” (Psa 141:2).
In his vision of heaven, John saw that the elders around the throne “were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people” (Rev 5:8; 8:3). As Zechariah the priest was offering incense in the temple, “all the assembled worshipers were praying outside” (Luk 1:10).
The heavenly altar of incense is the place where the prayers of God’s people go. Our prayers ascend to God as the smoke of the incense ascended in the sanctuary. As the incense was burned with fire from the altar of burnt offering, our prayers must be kindled with heaven’s grace.
That the incense was always burning explains why we should always pray (Luk 18:1). The altar of incense was holy to the Lord and was atoned for with the blood of the sacrifice; it is the blood of Christ applied to our hearts that makes our prayers acceptable.
Our prayers are made holy by Jesus’ sacrifice, and hence they are pleasing to God. It is beautiful to know that God considers the prayers of believers to be like a sweet smell of incense. Because of Christ, we can now enter God’s holy presence by faith, with full assurance (Mar 15:38 & Heb 4:16). We offer our prayers upon the altar, trusting in Jesus, our eternal, perfect, and faithful High Priest (Heb 10:19–23).
The altar of incense is also the place of the intercession of Christ. Just as the altar of sacrifice in the courtyard was a type of Christ’s death on our behalf, the altar of incense in the Holy Place was a type of Christ’s mediation on our behalf - Christ’s work on earth and in heaven.
The altar of incense was situated before the mercy-seat of the Ark, a picture of our Advocate’s standing in the presence of the Father (Heb 7:25; 9:24). The incense was to be burning continually on the altar of incense, which also shows the perpetual nature of Christ’s mediation. Christ’s intercession on our behalf is a sweet-smelling savor to God.
THE TEMPLE OF GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
In the Old Testament, the temple was the physical place to pursue God, to make sacrifices to God, and to connect with God. God was not pleased with a temple of human building, but He looks for people who are humble and broken in spirit to dwell in.
Isa 66:1-2 (ESV) says, “Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
Then in the New Testament, believers in Jesus Christ, who are joined together in one family as the church are a holy dwelling place for God’s presence as His temple.
1Cor 3:16–17 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
The Greek word translated as “you” in verses 16 and 17 is plural. So when Paul said, “You are the temple of God,” he was referring to the believers as a group. The temple in Jerusalem was a sacred building dedicated to the worship of God.
According to Paul, the church was the equivalent of the temple. God’s presence resided in the church, and the church was to maintain holiness. This passage is part of a more extensive teaching on maintaining unity and not letting the church become divided over loyalty to human leadership (1Cor 3:1–23).
The holiness of God’s house requires extreme care from church leaders. The Corinthian leaders needed to safeguard the unity of God’s temple, and the believers needed to avoid any moral corruption that would defile the temple of God.”
From the beginning, God has desired to live among and commune with His people. In the Garden of Eden, God walked and talked with Adam in Eve in the cool of the day (Gen 3:8). When He made His covenant with Israel, the Lord promised, “I will put my dwelling place among you… I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people” (Lev 26:11–12).
As the Israelites wandered in the desert, God wanted to inhabit a place with His people (Exo 25:8). At that time, the people lived in portable tents, so the presence of God dwelled in the tent of the wilderness tabernacle (Exo 27:21; 40:34–38).
His presence was the guiding force that told the people when to stay put and when to pull up stakes and continue on their journey (Exo 40:34–38). Later, after the Hebrew people entered the Promised Land and lived in fixed dwellings, God pasted His name to a place, sanctifying Solomon’s temple as the Lord’s holy dwelling place (1Kgs 8:10–11).
In the New Testament, God’s presence was shown in a new way: in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God (Joh 1:1–4, 14–18). The Word took on human flesh and made His home among us. Through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, God lived among His people in the temple of a human body.
His name is Immanuel, meaning “God with us” (Isa 7:14; Mat 1:21–23). Jesus Christ became the new earthly temple of God (Joh 2:21). The complete image of the invisible God is revealed in Jesus (Col 1:15, 19).
Col 2:9 (NLT) says, “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.”
Yet Christ is just the first installment of God’s indwelling presence. Today, the New Testament church constitutes the temple of God’s Holy Spirit.
Paul taught the Ephesians that, as members of God’s household, the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph 2:20–22).
The church of Jesus Christ is a spiritual temple made of “living stones …being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1Pe 2:5).
Not only is the church as a whole or as the local body the dwelling place of God’s presence, but individual believers are also to consider their bodies as the temple of God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (Joh 14:23).
1Co 6:19 says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you have of God? And you are not your own.”
THE ALTAR AND SACRIFICES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT TEMPLE
While physical altars lose their significance, the New Testament introduces the concept of spiritual altars. In this context, altars are symbolic representations of the believer's heart and relationship with God. They are not physical structures but spiritual spaces where individuals offer themselves as living sacrifices to God. In the Old Testament they had a physical temple which had a physical altar in the inner sanctuary.
The dimensions and composition of the Old Testament Jewish temple were precise and symbolic. Each carefully designed object there had clearly stated purposes and functions. The temple, specifically the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, was the dwelling place for the presence of God. The high priest of the Old Testament was the only one allowed through the veil into the Holy of Holies, also called the Most Holy Place, after ceremonially cleansing himself.
Once a year he entered, to sprinkle on the altar the blood of the sacrificial lamb, by that act making atonement for the people’s sins. Jesus’ death and resurrection established the New Covenant in His blood, and from that day forward the temple resided in each individual believer. Today during church services the pastors perform priestly functions; but, the New Testament calls us a “kingdom and priests,” and a “royal priesthood” (1Pe 2:9 & Rev 1:6).
The tabernacle or temple had three sections: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. The temple of God is now the body of every single Christian. The outer court of the believer’s temple is the human physical nature in all its aspects. In the outer court were the altar of sacrifice and the laver (washing basin).
The altar of sacrifice signifies the cross, and the laver signifies the washing of the Holy Spirit in the new birth by which the believer receives the Spirit as a guarantee (down payment, or deposit) of the body’s future salvation unto immortality.
Tit 3:5-7 (BSB) says, “He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.”
Eph 1:13-14 (ESV) says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
Rom 8:23-24 (ESV) says, “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved…”
In the Holy Place were the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense, signifying the bread of life, the light of life, and the fragrance of resurrection respectively. Inside the physical body and matching to the Holy Place is the mind, the place of choice and reasoning.
The mind’s thoughts are expressed in the language of ideas and logic. Within the mind, we make changes in our behavior, we analyze and gain the light of knowledge, and we reinforce biblical principles on ‘the table of the bread of God’s Presence.’ When ‘pray with our understanding’ we offer God sacrifices from the altar of incense in the mind.
1Co 14:15 (ESV) says, “What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”
Finally, deeper within the Holy Place of the tabernacle, there was an inner room called the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place, in which was only the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant is a gold-plated wooden chest that housed the two tablets bearing the Ten Commandments that were given to Moses by God. The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God going with the people of Israel and His covenant faithfulness to them (Exo 13:17–18, 21–22).
The Holy of Holies of our New Covenant temple is the inner sanctuary of the human body called the heart. It is the home for our spirit and identity, our deepest sense of who we are. The Ark of the Covenant signifies the presence of Christ or the Holy Spirit within the people of the spiritual Israel and God’s faithfulness to them. The Ark of the Covenant is in the Holy of Holies; this means that the Lord Jesus Christ now resides in the heart of a believer.
Joh 14:17, 20 says, “The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him nor know Him. But you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you… In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
Rom 5:5 says, “And hope does not make us ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us.”
Eph 3:16-17 says, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love.”
Col 1:27 says, “For to them God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
We are the temple of God, and our heart is the Holy of Holies. The Lord is not in our mind but in our heart, and has been joined to our spirit.
1Co 6:17 (ESV) says, “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”
To enter into the Holy of Holies is to turn to our heart. The mercy seat of the New Testament temple of the church, and of the individual believer is in the human heart, wherein the Spirit of God dwells. To come forward to the throne of grace (mercy seat) is to come before the Christ who is in our heart.
God dispenses grace to man, meets with man, and fellowships with man at the throne of grace in the heart. This is also where we find our emotions; feelings point the way to the heart. Speech is the overflow of our heart’s thoughts and emotions, coming from within our spirits.
Pro 4:23 (ESV) says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Luk 6:45 (CSB) says, “A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”
Joh 7:38-39 (ESV) says, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
God is interested in the offerings of worship that come from the human spirit within the heart, not the outer court sacrifices of lip service.
Isa 29:13 (NIV) says, “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”
Joh 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Rom 2:28-29 (HCSB) says, “For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart-by the Spirit, not the letter. That man’s praise is not from men but from God.”
The sacrifice that pleases God is of praise from the heart as the fruit of our lips.
Psa 51:17 (ESV) says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
Heb 13:15-16 says, "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
The New Testament emphasizes the individual believer's responsibility to cultivate a personal altar in their heart. This personal altar involves a deep, intimate relationship with God, characterized by prayer, worship, and devotion. It is a place where believers offer their lives as living sacrifices and seek communion with God.
Matthew 6:6 (NIV) says, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Here, the private room represents the personal altar of the heart, where believers engage in intimate communion with God through prayer. After getting born again through the ordinance of the spiritual baptism (new birth), the believers need to practice the ordinance of the spiritual communion or infilling of the Holy Spirit through prayer.
John 7:37-39 (ESV) says, "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."' Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
In the New Testament, the Holy Communion symbolizes an altar. When believers partake of the bread and wine, they remember Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and participate in the spiritual act of communion. The communion is a symbolic altar where believers encounter the presence of Christ.
The physical ordinance ordinance of the communion is a good reminder of the cross, but it is the spiritual ordinance of prayer that makes believers partakers of the bodily and blood Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the altar of the cross.
1 Corinthians 10:16-18 (NET) says, "Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread. Look at the people of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?"
Corporately, the communion represents a communal altar where believers unite in the remembrance of Christ's sacrifice; but personally it signifies the heart in which the Holy Spirit communes (comes together and mingles) with the recreated human spirit to become one.
1 Corinthians 6:17 (Noy) says, "But he that is connected with the Lord is one spirit with him."
1 Corinthians 10:2-4 (NET) says, "And all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ."
1 Corinthians 12:13 (NET) says, "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit."
2 Corinthians 13:14 says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen."
After giving our hearts to the Lord as the altar then we ought to present our bodies as the living sacrifice, by living a renewed life in our bodies continually.
Rom 12:1 (ESV) says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Here, the term "living sacrifice" refers to the believer's offering of their entire being to God, making their lives a spiritual altar. Although the focus on personal altars is emphasized, the New Testament also recognizes the importance of corporate worship.
When believers gather together as the body of Christ, their collective worship creates a spiritual altar. This corporate altar is a place where the community unites in praise, prayer, and the proclamation of the Word of God.
Matthew 18:20 (NIV) says, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
This highlights the presence of Christ in the midst of believers when they assemble together, transforming their gathering into a corporate altar.
CONCLUSION
In the New Testament, the concept of altars moves away from physical structures and shifts towards spiritual and personal dimensions. Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross is seen as the ultimate altar, rendering the need for physical altars obsolete.
Believers are called to cultivate personal altars in their hearts, offering themselves as living sacrifices to God. Also, the communing and corporate worship also represent altars where believers encounter the presence of God. Ultimately, the New Testament emphasizes the intimate and personal relationship with God that supersedes the external rituals associated with physical altars.
Whatever we give to God or do in His house (the corporate church service) should be an extension of our devotion to Him from the heart through our bodies, if it to be acceptable before. God is not interested in any physical altars, temples or sacrifices. The best way to build Him temples is to win souls, and the best way to erect altars and offer sacrifices for His worship is to disciple the saints.
Anything done by faith is holy unto the Lord. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the 'rhema' (living) word of God (Rom 10:17). So it is not in building a special place or in not building a special place for prayer, but what makes everything we do effective is simple obedience to the Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit does not lead us to do anything against the gospel and message of the cross. So whenever it is clear that the Lord is leading one to build an altar unto the Lord for prayer, nothing is wrong with that.
There are times when the Holy Spirit has led me to destroy physical demonic altars by prayer, and to establish altars unto the Lord by prayer; both in houses and in church buildings.
But in all cases it has never included the use of physical materials or a special daily or weekly program for prayer on the 'altar' outside of the normal routine of how the people involved have been worshipping God.
The moment you start building physical altars with physical material and special artefacts, and feel like your prayers are more powerful and anointed from that place; you have already fallen into the worship of idols.
