God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.

Genesis 1:28

This is the first command of the Bible.  God told man to fill the Earth, and rule over it.  Man was created to be a servant, to serve the will of God under His authority, and to have sovereignty over all the Earth.

In the fall, this image got corrupted.  Man’s image became broken, corrupted, and he could only rule with what was in his heart.  What originally was designed to be a ruler ship out of a pure and upright heart has turned, over the centuries has time and again demonstrated man’s corruption.

It is no wonder that men have sought to rule over the entire Earth.  It wasn’t until the time of Nebuchadnezzar that any one nation succeeded in ruling over the entire Earth (scattered native tribes excepted, of course).  That nation, through it’s various ruling stages, from Babylon to Rome, ruled over the entire Earth for a span of about 1000 years.  With the breakdown and dispersion of Rome, the only notable force upon the Earth was the church, in various forms.

But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

Matthew 15:18-19

Jesus tells us where this evil lies.  In the heart of man, the place of the issues of life, in the very seat of his affections, lies the problem.

Man was created to rule over everything upon the face of the Earth, starting with the fish of the sea.  He was to have mastery and dominion over it all.  But, when he fell, he was removed from the Garden, and from the tree of life.

Jesus said that if the light that is in us is really darkness, how great that darkness would be.  It follows that if man, corrupt, could reach out and take from the tree of life, and eat it, and live forever, then the very corruption of His heart would live forever too, and continue to destroy, so long as it remained.

So, God deemed it necessary that man should die, because corruption was in him.  Like a garment with mold, or pot with a large crack, it was good for nothing and needed to be destroyed.  That which was corrupt needed to be removed entirely, and caused to cease, so that even more damage would be stopped.  Life poured out upon the wicked would perpetuate it.

So, a veil was erected in the sanctuary.  A separation between the holy place and the most holy place was made.  The Word makes a clear distinction between that which is holy and profane.  But, it is also worth it to note the difference between the holy and the most holy.  Not only was this place most holy, but numerous offerings were considered “kodesh kodesh” (“Holy Holy”, meaning most holy).  There is another place, Beyond that which is already holy, that is most holy.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Luke 6:45 KJV

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  In the center of it all, well beyond where the natural light and sound can take you, beyond the altars of sacrifice, and even the place of intercession, there is another place.  While the door into the outer court was called The Way, and the door into the holy place was called the Truth, indicating the Truth correct knowledge, thought life, and understanding of the Lord, is a door called the Life.  In this place, in this most holy place, dwells our God.  While He inhabited an Earthly copy for a time, His place in the heavens is the real.

Paul wrote that when He was coming to see the Corinthians again, he would did not want their possessions, he wanted them!  (2 Corinthians 12:14).  You see, it was the the place of the heart that he was after with them.  He didn’t want to preach a message to generate support to keep his ministry going, that would take care of itself (Matthew 6:33).  What He wanted was real love between him and between the brothers there (1 Corinthians 12:31).

All of the plans, purposes, and callings of man are still there, in some form or another, for God’s word does not return void, and his gifts and callings are irrevocable. That men have misused them does not mean that God has fully taken them away. Yet, today, He has a new Kingdom.  It does not work in any way in conjunction with the old, but stands completely separate, while yet interspersed with the world (John 17:16).  No part of the two ever meet (Matthew 11:11).  Nor does any part of old man have any place in the new as well, for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom.

But, in the place of the New Covenant, God has given us a new heart, a new Spirit, and a new mind, the mind of Christ.  He has destroyed the old, and the New has come. By faith we enter into His grace.  What could not receive eternal life in that it was corrupt has perished with Christ, and the new thing that we are may receive the abundance of His Spirit, His life within, so that we may live.

The old may not rule the new.  As Jesus said, speaking to those not born from above, you are from beneath, I am from above.  As different as the heavens from the Earth they were.

Yet, we have been born of God!

It is in that innermost chamber that God Himself dwelt.  Overshadowed by the cherubim, and above the mercy seat, the flame of God flickered and shone.  It was here, that none could enter, save once a year, and that only by blood.

But with a new, and a clean heart, uncontaminated by the outside world or by the work of the flesh, in the most holy place, the flame burns bright, a most vehement flame (Song of Songs 8:6).  No work of man may enter this place, yet in this place, He meets with us, and the same voice that spoke and created the world, speaks to us there face to face.

Ezekiel 47:1-6

The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.

As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. He asked me, Son of man, do you see this?