A contrast of the two altars

1. Outside was the brass altar, brass always speaks of judgement. We have the picture of the cross - Jesus Christ being judged for us. Inside was the golden altar speaking of the strategic victory of our Lord Jesus Christ which comes out of the cross.

2. Brass speaks of judgement; gold speaks of victory and plunder.

3. There is no crown on the brass altar, speaking of the humility of the cross. There is a crown on the golden altar, speaking of the victory and the glory of the angelic conflict.

4. The brass altar outside emphasises salvation and how it was accomplished. The golden altar inside emphasises victory and how it was accomplished.

The fire for the golden altar was from the brass altar. They carried coals in from the brass altar and put them in the crown which started the fire in the golden altar.

5. Without the brass altar and its fire there would be no worship at the golden altar — meaning apart from the cross and salvation there is no effective worship or prayer in mankind. You cannot ignore the brass altar! Don’t ever bother to pray until you believe in Jesus Christ.

6. Therefore, a principle emerges. All prayer and worship must begin at the cross. Only the born again believer is qualified to pray and to worship. There is no prayer for the unbeliever and there is no worship for the unbeliever. The brass comes before the gold; judgement comes before worship, just as the cross comes before the crown.

7. Without the fire in the brass altar there is no incense in the golden altar. Without the death of Christ on the cross there is no intercession of Christ, there is no victory, and there is no plunder.

8. Therefore no plunder means no royal family, no Church Age, no pastor-teacher, apart from the cross.

9. The cross must come before the crown. The cross must come before the royal family can be born.

10. In their revolution and reversionism there were two believers, sons of Aaron — Nadab and Abihu — went and started a fire with a torch in their tent. They were talking revolution and were about to take over. One of the first things they did was to bring strange fire before the Lord — Leviticus 10:1,2. Strange fire means they put on their priestly garments, started a fire in a tent with a torch, walked out of the tent and into the tabernacle, walked right past the brazen altar and did not stop. There was a brass shovel to shovel coals out of the brass altar to be carried to the golden altar, and they didn’t do it. They walked in with a torch and put down the fire in the golden altar. This was a revolution, they did not use the fire of the brass altar. This was total disobedience to the Word of God, it broke the type, they got their fire from another source, according to Leviticus 16:12, and when they put this fire on the golden altar they died the sin unto death.