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The covering of the Ark, the expiation cover, signifies the throne of grace; the expiation cover is the throne of grace where God meets with us and speaks with us (Num. 7:89; Exo. 25:17-22):
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Here God meets with His people and communes with them (vv. 21-22; Num. 7:89).
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When we come to the throne of grace through the blood of Christ, we meet with God and commune with Him (Heb. 4:16; 10:19).
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God speaks from the throne of grace, and at the throne of grace, the oracle in the Holy of Holies, we hear God's voice, see His countenance, enjoy His presence, and are one with Him in His economy.
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At the throne of grace we look to the One on the throne, thanking Him and praising Him.
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The throne of grace, the reality of the expiation cover, is in our spirit; whenever we turn to our spirit and come to the throne of grace, we correspond to Christ's heavenly ministry (4:12, 16; 7:25-26; 8:1; 13:20-21).
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When we are at the throne of grace in the Holy of Holies, we behold the glory of the Lord and are transformed into the image of the resurrected and glorified Christ from glory to glory, for we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18; 4:4, 6).
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In the new heaven and new earth, the entire city of New Jerusalem will be the Holy of Holies filled with the glory of God, the light, shining in the Lamb as the lamp, and we will enjoy the throne of God and of the Lamb with the river of water of life, serve Him, see His face, live under His shining, and reign forever and ever (Rev. 21:2-3, 10-11, 16, 22-23; 22:1-5).
Morning Nourishment
Heb. 10:19 Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus.Rev. 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Within the temple there was the Holy of Holies, and within the Holy of Holies there was the Ark. The covering of the Ark, the expiation cover, signifies the throne of grace (Exo. 25:17, 21). The Ark is a type of Christ, and the Ark is in the Holy of Holies. Therefore, since Christ is in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22), our spirit today is the Holy of Holies. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, "A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, Part 3—Hebrews through Jude," pp. 394-395)
Today's Reading
According to the Bible, where do we hear God's voice? At the throne of grace, the oracle in the Holy of Holies. If you are still around the cross, it will be difficult for you to hear God's speaking. But whenever you come to the throne of grace, the propitiation cover, you will immediately hear the divine voice. You will hear God's voice because you are in the oracle, at the throne of grace. It is here that we hear God's speaking, see His countenance, and enjoy His presence. It is here that we are one with Him in His economy. So the book of Hebrews turns us from the altar in the outer court to the place of God's oracle in the Holy of Holies. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 345)What do we do at the throne of grace? We pray, worship, and look to the One on the throne. We praise and thank Him. From this throne flows the river of life. If we stay here a while, we shall have the sense that something from the throne of grace flows into us, through us, and out of us. We are experiencing the eternal life as the supplying grace. We receive mercy and "find grace for timely help" (Heb. 4:16). By coming to the throne of grace we are corresponding to Christ's heavenly priesthood. Whenever we turn to the spirit and come to the throne of grace, we correspond to His heavenly interceding. His interceding and our praying constitute a traffic between heaven and earth. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 2, "The Heavenly Ministry of Christ," p. 113)
By beholding and reflecting the glory of the Lord, we are gradually transformed. Beholding and reflecting like a mirror in 2 Corinthians 3:18 is only one word in the Greek. A mirror beholds and reflects what it beholds. These are the two functions of a mirror. Beholding is to see the Lord by ourselves; reflecting is for others to see Him through us.
Second Corinthians 3:18 indicates that the goal of transformation is to be "transformed into the same image" of the resurrected and glorified Christ. To be transformed to have the same image as Christ means that we are gradually being conformed to the resurrected and glorified Christ, to be made the same as He (Rom. 8:29).
When we behold and reflect the glory of the Lord, the Lord infuses and dispenses into us the elements of what He is and what He has done. Through His life power and by His life essence, we are gradually transformed metabolically to have His life shape, and through the renewing of our mind, we are gradually transfigured into His image. (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 3, pp. 32-33)
The light in the Holy of Holies was God Himself in His eternal glory. In the same way, the holy city in eternity future will have no need of the sun or of the moon because God Himself will be the light. This indicates that the entire city of the New Jerusalem will be the Holy of Holies.
The glory of God as the light and the Lamb as the lamp signify that God in Christ is the light of the New Jerusalem in eternity. In the new city there is no need of the sun, the natural light, or any man-made lamp because God Himself will be the light, and Christ will be the lamp, shining out God to enlighten the entire city. This means that God in Christ is everything in the New Jerusalem. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4404-4405)
Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 3, lsn. 46; Life-study of Revelation, msgs. 64, 66