Observation: the time of the offering of incense on the golden altar, whilst the people of God are at prayer, coincides with the hour of sacrifice (9 am and 3 pm Ex 29:38-42) and is a time of revelation (Luke 1:8-13).
The Ultimate Intention
1. The purpose of God in all things is that he might dwell in the most intense fellowship with humanity e.g. “Behold, the dwelling place (tabernacle) of God is with man. (Rev 21:2).
2. This is clearly signified in the Bible in terms of the temple; “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” (Ex 25:8; cf. “house of God” e.g. 1 Chron 9:11,13,26,27).
3. The final temple is the naos = inner shrine = holy of holies “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” (Rev 22:21).
4. In the End, the temple, the bride and the city are one: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev 21:2, 9-10).
5. The dimensions of the city/temple/bride correspond to the perfect cube of the holy of holies: “16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.” (Rev 21:16; 1 Ki 6:20).
6. The intimate presence of God with humanity in perfect holiness signified to by this language is reached by a predetermined path, symbolized in the OT, actualized in Jesus and participated in by the church.
7. Since sin has defiled man’s approach to God the object of all prophetic, priestly and kingly ministries is to bring cleansing (Rev 5:8 – 10). This applies both at an earthly and heavenly level and is effected by the work of Christ, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” (Heb 9:22- 24)
The Altar of Incense and Atonement in the Old Testament
8. This cleansing, which always involves sacrifice, blood and prayer, finds its climactic OT expression in the rite of the Day of Atonement (Lev 16). There is a direct line of approach into the presence of the divine glory: brazen altar of sacrifice (blood) > golden altar of incense (incense) > mercy seat (sprinkles blood).
9. The blood was not the only propitiating element, clouds from the incense altar protect the High Priest on the Day of Atonement from the close presence of God. (vv.12 -13).
10. In various other places the incense acts to atone by turning away the divine wrath (Korah’s rebellion, Num 16:46 – 50; 1 Chron 6:49).
11. The incense was reserved for God alone, and so “most holy”, its misuse was punishable by death and its sanctity above that of the anointing oil for the priests ((Ex 30:34- 38; 22ff.) This is because it is in the closer proximity to the most holy place.
12. The OT recognizes incense is a type of intercession, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!” (Ps 141:2).
13. The pinnacle of intercession in the OT is the sacrifice of the Servant of the LORD: “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isa 53:12)
Incense, Intercession and Atonement in the New Testament
14. In the New Testament, this is identified with the death of Christ (Matthew 27:38; Luke 22:37;23:33- 34; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24)
15. The sacrificial death of Jesus brings pleasure to God: “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph 4:32– 5:2 cf. Gen 8:9)
16. God is pleased to remove wrath by an act of holy judgment.
17. This is a universal principle understood by all holy beings, human and angelic, who consequently long for such acts of justice on the earth: “In the path of your judgements,
O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 If favour is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord.” (Isa 26:8 – 10); “The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgements. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgements!”” (Rev 16:4-7).
18. The prayers of the saints in heaven unite with this chorus of desire for the judgements of God to be complete: “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”” (Rev 6:9- 10) This is a picture of intercession arising from suffering that is pleasing to God, as the altar is to be identified with the OT golden altar of incense upon which the blood of the Day of Atonement was poured and incense burned. These martyrs are enveloped in the sweet presence of God.
Heavenly and Earthly Intercession Unite
19. Revelation pictures a close association between the prayers of God’s people on earth and the heavenly sanctuary:
“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll” (Rev 5:8-9)
“And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.” (Rev 8:3-4)
20. These saints understand that they are involved in a line of approach to God whereby the whole universe moves from the sacrifice of the cross to the eternal city (heaven) through their participation in the offering of Christ, particularly through their intercession for the coming of the kingdom of God upon the earth.
21. In Christ, their costly prayers evoke something greater than the cleansing of the mercy seat or their own individual consciences (cf. Heb 9:14; 10:22), they are “hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Pet 3:12-13), that is, the cleansing of the entire universe.
22. United with the intercession of Christ, his angels and the redeemed in heaven, they advance and order the progress of the plan of God to its consummation through divine visitations upon the earth, whether natural or supernatural.
(In Revelation 8:7 – 9:21 the judgements are limited, God restrains his wrath in this period so that repentance may occur, at Rev 11:15 we arrive at the final judgment.)
23. Since it is true that both (all) the saints prayers are incense (Rev 5:8), and God graciously adds incense to their prayers (Rev 8:3), such prayers are of great value (golden bowls/censer/altar) that definitely reach the throne of God and evoke the release of his sovereign power.
24. Intercessors who are aware of the dimension and gravity of their prophetic, priestly and kingly ministry before the throne of God sense intensely the approaching Coming of Christ . In the Spirit (Rev 1:10; 4:2;21:10) they anticipate the impending consummation of all things in the marriage of their Bridegroom they are filled with joy (Rev 19:1-10).
25. In sacrificial service they consciously separate themselves to God in the cause of divine justice, and they abstain from self- interest (cf. Rev 14:1 – 5). For them, the aroma of incense that speaks of intimacy with God exceeds the oil of anointing, which can be appropriated for selfish purposes e.g. Samson, Saul, Annas, Caiaphas.
Conclusion
“The priests brought the incense into the Holy Place, so as to fill God’s house with fragrance. The prayers of God’s people are the delightful incense, with which He desires to be surrounded in His habitation. The value of prayer does not consist merely in its being the means of obtaining things we need. No ! it has a higher aim than that. It is a ministry of God, in which He delights.” (Andrew Murray)