The covenant God made with Israel through Moses in type was fulfilled in reality by Messiah Y’shua.
The covenant that YHWH established at Sinai with Moses was designed to follow a deliberate pattern; a pattern that would demonstrate the truth of its later fulfillment by the Messiah of YHWH.
Exodus 25:9, 40 According to all that I shew thee, [after] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make [it]. … 40 And look that thou make [them] after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.
Numbers 8:4 And this work of the candlestick [was of] beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, [was] beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
Hebrews 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
These passages tell us that the system and methods of worship established at Sinai, while inaugurated in physical form at that time, were not unique to those events, and were in fact based on a spiritual pattern/plan/likeness that existed prior to that time.
The significance of this fact allows for the continuation of spiritual principles beyond the physical representation of these patterns. Hence, the continuation of principles that were exemplified by these realities in the ancient Hebrew culture can continue to be effective in the eternal kingdom of God, because they stem from spiritual realities older than the “old” covenant. They do not appear to be limited to any specific time or age.
How has Messiah fulfilled these patterns set down in the old covenant? While a list of every example could fill volumes, some basic indicators are listed below:
The BRAZEN ALTAR (Exodus 27:1-8) is a type of Christ our sacrifice (Jn. 1:29). The sacrifice stands at the entrance of man’s approach to God. Man has no access to God except as a sinner atoned for by blood. All who pass through the door must pass by the bloodstained altar or not at all. The Mizbeach – “slaughter place,” just within the gate was easily accessible, unavoidable and unmistakable.
LAVER OF BRONZE (Exodus 30:17-21) symbolizes Christ our cleanser which cleanses from defilement (Eph. 5:25-26; Jn. 17:17). It denotes spiritual renewal. We have daily cleansing from defilements of life, and it is accessible only through our Priest. We are continually cleansed by Christ through the Spirit and the Word (Jn. 15:3; 1 Jn. 1:6-9).
The MENORAH or LAMP STAND OF PURE GOLD symbolizes the presence of Jehovah as the source of life’s entertainment, and God’s leadership. Christ is our Light (Jn. 8:12), and denotes spiritual illumination (Exo. 30:7-8; 27:20; Phil. 2:15-16; Prov. 4:18; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:18; 5:13; Matt. 5:14-16). The Holy Spirit gives illumination to the believer.
BREAD OF THE PRESENCE lit. “face-bread,” symbolizes the presence of the LORD as food of life. Jesus is the “Bread of Life” for every believer (Jn. 6:35). He is our spiritual sustenance.
The VEIL in the Temple (Exodus 26:31-35) separated the Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place, and the Holy Place. It is a type of Christ’s body (Heb. 10:20; Matt. 27:51). The door into God’s presence was opened to man when Christ died and rent the veil (Jn. 10:9). The unrent veil shut man out from the typical presence of God. The rent veil changed at once from a barrier to an open way into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:20, 26; 10:10, 12, 14; Eph. 2:4-6; Heb. 4:15, 15).
The ARK OF THE COVENANT (Exodus 25:10-16) contained the Law, manna and Aaron’s budded rod. Christ had the Law in His heart and came to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17, 18). It is another symbol of God being with His people. Just as the Ark of the Covenant contained God’s testimony to Israel, Christ is God’s testimony of man.
The MERCY SEAT was the gold lid or cover on top of the ARK of COVENANT (Exodus 25:17-21; Lev. 16:13-16). The Mercy Seat is the cover, the covering or removal of sin by means of expiatory sacrifice. It is the Old Testament throne of grace. Justice and mercy met there, and the blood of the innocent sacrifice cleanses away all sin. Christ is that covering for sin (Heb. 9:5; Rom. 3:25; 1 Jn. 2:2). He is the Mercy Seat.
http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/tabernacletype.html
Beyond the tabernacle imagery, there are allusions in the Believers’ Writings (NT) to the Messiah as fulfillment of other types and shadows in the feast days, or moedim, of YHWH.
1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1 Corinthians 15:20, 23 But now is Christ risen from the dead, [and] become the firstfruits of them that slept. … 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
Acts 2:32-33 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. [Messiah shed forth the holy Spirit of God on the feast of Shavuot or Weeks, also known as Pentecost in Greek].
1 Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [Yom Teruah, the day of the blast of the shofar, fulfilled at the return of Messiah in judgment upon the nation of Israel in 70 AD].
Romans 5:11 And not only [so], but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [To abide or dwell is equivalent to tabernacle].
Based on some of these examples listed above, we can see how the patterns laid down at Sinai were types and shadows that pointed to a higher reality, one that would become evident at the appointed time, when Messiah was to be revealed to his people and to the world.
