by David E. Knauss
Ph.D. in Music Education
Doc. Humane Letters, Honoris Causa
A Time Like Never Before
We are living during an exciting time in history when God’s plan for the end of the age is unfolding. The restoration of the Tabernacle of David and the harp for worship are among the signs. God’s strategy is connected to the Tabernacle of David as mentioned in Amos 9:11-15 (KJV), “In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old.” Also mentioned in Acts 15:16-17 (KJV), “After this I will return, and will build again the Tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.” As the New Testament interprets Amos’ prophecy concerning Gentiles and when placed along side the original in Amos that includes the Jews, we see that both combined refer to a time where there will be an ingathering of the Jews and Gentiles alike.
Music and Tabernacle of David (Past)
Music and the Tabernacle of David (Instituted)
In the process of King David retrieving the Ark from the Philistines, with stops at the houses of Abinadab and Obededom, he eventually brought it back to Jerusalem. At Jerusalem, instead of returning it to the Tabernacle that Moses instituted, David went radical. He set up a tent, had sacrifices offered, and organized harpists and worshipers (singers) to praise the Lord and prophesy before the Ark, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 33 years. This was totally radical in that the Ark was not behind the Holy of Holies 500 pound curtain. Instead of limited approach to the Ark and God’s Presence once a year by the high priest with sprinkling blood, God was approachable by everyone through praise and worship, and no one was struck dead. This was a distinguished historical event of enormity. For the first time in Jewish history, David created a profound musical institution, a vast music academy, and entrusted it completely to the Levites (in charge of the priesthood since the days of Moses).
Two chapters in Chronicles outlines David’s organization and operations of the Tabernacle of David.
1 Chronicles 15:1-3: David prepares to bring the Ark to Jerusalem
1 Chronicles 15:4-15: David gathers together the priests and instructs them
1 Chronicles 15:16-24: David appoints music and guard positions (verse 21, “directing according to sheminith [harps of eight strings]”
1 Chronicles 15:25-29: David oversees the transport of the Ark
1 Chronicles 16:1-3: David sets up a tent and puts the Ark in it—not Moses’ Tabernacle
1 Chronicles 16:4-6: David appoints musicians, performers, and music scribes
1 Chronicles 16:7-36: David gives performers a “new song” to perform
1 Chronicles 16:37-43: David’s concluding orders
In the Tabernacle of David, the musicians were the highest skilled in all of Israel as indicated by the fact that David could deliver to them a new song, which they performed on the spot (1 Chronicles 16:7-36).
Musicians were on duty 24 hours a day.
1 Chronicles 9:33 (KJV), “And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night.”
Music and Prophesying
David ordered Asaph and his sons to sing, play, praise, and prophesy. Prophesy?
1 Chronicles 6:31 (KJV), “And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after that the ark had rest.”
1 Chronicles 15:16 (KJV), “And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.”
1 Chronicles 25:1-2 (KJV), “1. Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: 2. Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.”
Is Prophesying Connected to Performing Music Activities?
It may be that singing about Jesus (worshipping God) is prophesying directly related to Jesus. David did this with Psalms. The Psalms describe Jesus in all His divinity, attributes, characteristics, deeds, and beauty.
Revelation 19:10 (New International Version), “At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.’”
Tabernacle of David Represents a Special Communion and Position With God
David developed an intimate connection with God while playing his harp and praising and communing with Him while tending sheep. David learned that God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). In other words, God shows up and His Presence is intimate and life-changing. Later, when David became king, he naturally desired the same connection with God for all of his subjects, and he did so by setting up what is known as the Tabernacle of David. No wonder God described him as a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22), and David describes going after God’s heart as a deer panting for the water brook (Psalm 42:1).
Music and Prophet, Priest, and King (Old Testament)
How could David do all this? By what authority? David is the first one to fulfill three offices, Prophet, Priest, and King, which possibly exemplified Melchizedek before him, and definitely foreshadowed Jesus after him. Note that psalmist is equated to prophet. Obviously David is a special kind of priest. Melchizedek, David, and Jesus are all associated with the Priesthood of Melchizedek.
“raised up on high” = King
“anointed of God” = Priest
“sweet psalmist” = Prophet
2 Samuel 23:1-2 (KJV), “1. Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, 2. The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was in my tongue.”
What’s the Point?—The Past Tabernacle of David
The Tabernacle of David was a startling departure from tradition, the largest national music institution ever created to worship God, a special connection to God through a person holding three offices, and possibly connected to the Priesthood of Melchizedek, a superior priestly order above the Aaronic Priesthood.
Music and Tabernacle of David (Present)
Music, Tabernacle of David, and Salvation
The Amos 9:11-15 prophecy is used in Acts 15:16-17 to explain the Jews coming into salvation, and also Gentiles being saved and brought into the Kingdom of God.
Acts 15:16-17 (KJV), “ 16. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 17. That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, says the Lord, who does all these things.”
Tabernacle of David in Prophecy
Presently the Tabernacle of David is being restored that spiritual warfare and victory may happen. The “remnant of Edom” indicates the enemies of Israel (verses 11 & 12). The people are returned to their land in a speedy manner whereby events that are usually sequential instead happen on top of each other (verses 13-15). The Gentiles also join in coming into the Kingdom (verse 12).
Amos 9:11-15 (KJV), “11. In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12. That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, says the Lord who does this. 13. Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sows seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, says the Lord thy God.”
Tabernacle of David Activities in the New Testament
Singing psalms, spiritual songs, hymns, Scriptures, and making music to God were all activities in the Tabernacle of David, which is practiced right into the New Testament church.
Ephesians 5:19 (KJV), “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”
(Also Colossians 3:16)
Hebrews 13:15 (KJV), “Therefore by Him (Jesus) let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
God is rebuilding the Tabernacle of David in our present time. What started 1000s of years ago with King David, is now being put back into practice by God and encompassing the world. In the early 1990s, one church answered the call to initiate praises to God for 24 hours a day for 7 days a week. Since then, there are now well over 20,000 houses of worship around the world that have rotating teams of musicians, praisers and worshipers, and they have a form of singing Scriptures. What began in one solitary tent in Jerusalem now spans the globe.
Harpist and electronic technician Michael-David recently invented the Harpella, a computer-controlled, electronic, digital MIDI harp, for the restoration of worship with the harp (www.harptronics.com). Michael-David teaches harp and worship in his Schools of the Harp (www.propheticharp.com). The Harpella facilitates the introduction of the harp back into worship in today’s churches.
Among Orthodox Jews, the reemergence of the harp is viewed as a sign of the coming of the Messiah. Recent harp schools were met with profound enthusiasm from people on Jerusalem’s streets as harp schools played at various historical sites across the City of David. Perhaps Psalm 137, which mourns the captivity of Israel with hanging their harps on willow trees, will finally be resolved when the harp is taken down and heard again in worship.
For years now, I have gone to church an hour early every Sunday to play and pray at the grand piano. I have joked in the past that there’s only one letter difference between play and pray. Recently, God revealed in my thoughts that when I “play and pray,” it is the same as “harp and bowl,” as in play = harp and pray = bowl. Moreover, the piano is a harp-structured instrument.
Music and Prophet, Priest, and King (New Testament)
As David was the first person to occupy all three offices of prophet, priest, and king (without any negative consequences), through Jesus, we are now God’s New Testament prophets, priests, and kings in the order of Melchizedek.
1 Peter 2:9 (KJV), “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
Revelation 5:9-10 (KJV), “9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou was slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10. And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
Here in the New Testament church, we practice the Tabernacle of David in a fashion when we begin our church services with singing about Jesus, His Life, and His Word. If it was powerful enough to supersede the Old Covenant in David’s day, think of what it does now. Knowing that music is of supreme importance to God, it probably is high on satan’s list of priorities to corrupt. Therefore, we need to praise God daily and zealously stand guard for a worshipful heart.
What’s the Point?—The Present Tabernacle of David
God is indeed restoring the Tabernacle of David on a global basis, the harp as an instrument of worship, and Christians are the Worshipping and Ruling Royal Priesthood.
Music and Tabernacle of David (Future)
Revelation 5 is Heaven’s Holy Place into Which Jesus Ascended
Note the reference in Revelation 5:5 to one of the names of Jesus as the “Root of David.” Jesus tied Revelation’s Tabernacle of David back to David.
Hebrews 5:10 (KJV), “Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.”
Hebrews 7:15-17 (NIV), “15. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16. one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17. For it is declared: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’”
Hebrews 9:24 (God’s Word Translation), “Christ didn’t go into a Holy Place made by human hands. He didn’t go into a model of the real thing. Instead, He went into Heaven to appear in God’s Presence on our behalf.”
Revelation 5 gives a picture of the Tabernacle of David in Heaven.
In Revelation 5:5-10, Jesus, in Heaven’s Holy Place, is being worshipped as in the original Tabernacle of David, only now in the Heavenly Tabernacle of David. The word Hallelujah, meaning “Praise ye the Lord” can be loosely translated as “Sing and play on the harp to JAH.”
Music, Tabernacle of David, and Intercession
Harp and Bowl—Harp is playing and Bowl is praying—indicates a powerful connection between music and intercession, and with the harp in particular.
Note that one of the Names of Jesus references David, that harp playing and bowl praying goes back to the Tabernacle of David, and that possibly was done by Melchizedek as well.
Revelation 5:5-10 (KJV), “5. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. 8. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou was slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10. And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
What’s the Point?—The Future Tabernacle of David
Jesus is the center of Heaven’s Tabernacle of David, we are engaged in Tabernacle of David worshipping through music as God’s kings and priests (reigning on earth).
David E. Knauss
Ph.D. in Music Education.
www.classroom-music.info
Dr. Knauss mentors student teachers and regular teachers into teaching excellence. He taught for 3 decades in inner-city public schools, winning over street kids into being like family, became one of the principle curriculum writers for an award-winning, internationally-recognized music department. He retired from public schools, completed a Ph.D. in Music Education, and presently is an adjunct music education professor at Baptist Bible College.
Ph.D. in Music Education
Doc. Humane Letters, Honoris Causa
A Time Like Never Before
We are living during an exciting time in history when God’s plan for the end of the age is unfolding. The restoration of the Tabernacle of David and the harp for worship are among the signs. God’s strategy is connected to the Tabernacle of David as mentioned in Amos 9:11-15 (KJV), “In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old.” Also mentioned in Acts 15:16-17 (KJV), “After this I will return, and will build again the Tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.” As the New Testament interprets Amos’ prophecy concerning Gentiles and when placed along side the original in Amos that includes the Jews, we see that both combined refer to a time where there will be an ingathering of the Jews and Gentiles alike.
Music and Tabernacle of David (Past)
Music and the Tabernacle of David (Instituted)In the process of King David retrieving the Ark from the Philistines, with stops at the houses of Abinadab and Obededom, he eventually brought it back to Jerusalem. At Jerusalem, instead of returning it to the Tabernacle that Moses instituted, David went radical. He set up a tent, had sacrifices offered, and organized harpists and worshipers (singers) to praise the Lord and prophesy before the Ark, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 33 years. This was totally radical in that the Ark was not behind the Holy of Holies 500 pound curtain. Instead of limited approach to the Ark and God’s Presence once a year by the high priest with sprinkling blood, God was approachable by everyone through praise and worship, and no one was struck dead. This was a distinguished historical event of enormity. For the first time in Jewish history, David created a profound musical institution, a vast music academy, and entrusted it completely to the Levites (in charge of the priesthood since the days of Moses).
Two chapters in Chronicles outlines David’s organization and operations of the Tabernacle of David.
1 Chronicles 15:1-3: David prepares to bring the Ark to Jerusalem
1 Chronicles 15:4-15: David gathers together the priests and instructs them
1 Chronicles 15:16-24: David appoints music and guard positions (verse 21, “directing according to sheminith [harps of eight strings]”
1 Chronicles 15:25-29: David oversees the transport of the Ark
1 Chronicles 16:1-3: David sets up a tent and puts the Ark in it—not Moses’ Tabernacle
1 Chronicles 16:4-6: David appoints musicians, performers, and music scribes
1 Chronicles 16:7-36: David gives performers a “new song” to perform
1 Chronicles 16:37-43: David’s concluding orders
In the Tabernacle of David, the musicians were the highest skilled in all of Israel as indicated by the fact that David could deliver to them a new song, which they performed on the spot (1 Chronicles 16:7-36).
Musicians were on duty 24 hours a day.
1 Chronicles 9:33 (KJV), “And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night.”
Music and Prophesying
David ordered Asaph and his sons to sing, play, praise, and prophesy. Prophesy?
1 Chronicles 6:31 (KJV), “And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after that the ark had rest.”
1 Chronicles 15:16 (KJV), “And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.”
1 Chronicles 25:1-2 (KJV), “1. Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: 2. Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.”
Is Prophesying Connected to Performing Music Activities?
It may be that singing about Jesus (worshipping God) is prophesying directly related to Jesus. David did this with Psalms. The Psalms describe Jesus in all His divinity, attributes, characteristics, deeds, and beauty.
Revelation 19:10 (New International Version), “At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.’”
Tabernacle of David Represents a Special Communion and Position With God
David developed an intimate connection with God while playing his harp and praising and communing with Him while tending sheep. David learned that God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). In other words, God shows up and His Presence is intimate and life-changing. Later, when David became king, he naturally desired the same connection with God for all of his subjects, and he did so by setting up what is known as the Tabernacle of David. No wonder God described him as a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22), and David describes going after God’s heart as a deer panting for the water brook (Psalm 42:1).
Music and Prophet, Priest, and King (Old Testament)
How could David do all this? By what authority? David is the first one to fulfill three offices, Prophet, Priest, and King, which possibly exemplified Melchizedek before him, and definitely foreshadowed Jesus after him. Note that psalmist is equated to prophet. Obviously David is a special kind of priest. Melchizedek, David, and Jesus are all associated with the Priesthood of Melchizedek.
“raised up on high” = King
“anointed of God” = Priest
“sweet psalmist” = Prophet
2 Samuel 23:1-2 (KJV), “1. Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, 2. The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was in my tongue.”
What’s the Point?—The Past Tabernacle of David
The Tabernacle of David was a startling departure from tradition, the largest national music institution ever created to worship God, a special connection to God through a person holding three offices, and possibly connected to the Priesthood of Melchizedek, a superior priestly order above the Aaronic Priesthood.
Music and Tabernacle of David (Present)
Music, Tabernacle of David, and Salvation
The Amos 9:11-15 prophecy is used in Acts 15:16-17 to explain the Jews coming into salvation, and also Gentiles being saved and brought into the Kingdom of God.
Acts 15:16-17 (KJV), “ 16. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 17. That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, says the Lord, who does all these things.”
Tabernacle of David in Prophecy
Presently the Tabernacle of David is being restored that spiritual warfare and victory may happen. The “remnant of Edom” indicates the enemies of Israel (verses 11 & 12). The people are returned to their land in a speedy manner whereby events that are usually sequential instead happen on top of each other (verses 13-15). The Gentiles also join in coming into the Kingdom (verse 12).
Amos 9:11-15 (KJV), “11. In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12. That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, says the Lord who does this. 13. Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sows seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, says the Lord thy God.”
Tabernacle of David Activities in the New Testament
Singing psalms, spiritual songs, hymns, Scriptures, and making music to God were all activities in the Tabernacle of David, which is practiced right into the New Testament church.Ephesians 5:19 (KJV), “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”
(Also Colossians 3:16)
Hebrews 13:15 (KJV), “Therefore by Him (Jesus) let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
God is rebuilding the Tabernacle of David in our present time. What started 1000s of years ago with King David, is now being put back into practice by God and encompassing the world. In the early 1990s, one church answered the call to initiate praises to God for 24 hours a day for 7 days a week. Since then, there are now well over 20,000 houses of worship around the world that have rotating teams of musicians, praisers and worshipers, and they have a form of singing Scriptures. What began in one solitary tent in Jerusalem now spans the globe.
Harpist and electronic technician Michael-David recently invented the Harpella, a computer-controlled, electronic, digital MIDI harp, for the restoration of worship with the harp (www.harptronics.com). Michael-David teaches harp and worship in his Schools of the Harp (www.propheticharp.com). The Harpella facilitates the introduction of the harp back into worship in today’s churches.
Among Orthodox Jews, the reemergence of the harp is viewed as a sign of the coming of the Messiah. Recent harp schools were met with profound enthusiasm from people on Jerusalem’s streets as harp schools played at various historical sites across the City of David. Perhaps Psalm 137, which mourns the captivity of Israel with hanging their harps on willow trees, will finally be resolved when the harp is taken down and heard again in worship.
For years now, I have gone to church an hour early every Sunday to play and pray at the grand piano. I have joked in the past that there’s only one letter difference between play and pray. Recently, God revealed in my thoughts that when I “play and pray,” it is the same as “harp and bowl,” as in play = harp and pray = bowl. Moreover, the piano is a harp-structured instrument.
Music and Prophet, Priest, and King (New Testament)
As David was the first person to occupy all three offices of prophet, priest, and king (without any negative consequences), through Jesus, we are now God’s New Testament prophets, priests, and kings in the order of Melchizedek.
1 Peter 2:9 (KJV), “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
Revelation 5:9-10 (KJV), “9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou was slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10. And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
Here in the New Testament church, we practice the Tabernacle of David in a fashion when we begin our church services with singing about Jesus, His Life, and His Word. If it was powerful enough to supersede the Old Covenant in David’s day, think of what it does now. Knowing that music is of supreme importance to God, it probably is high on satan’s list of priorities to corrupt. Therefore, we need to praise God daily and zealously stand guard for a worshipful heart.
What’s the Point?—The Present Tabernacle of David
God is indeed restoring the Tabernacle of David on a global basis, the harp as an instrument of worship, and Christians are the Worshipping and Ruling Royal Priesthood.
Music and Tabernacle of David (Future)
Revelation 5 is Heaven’s Holy Place into Which Jesus AscendedNote the reference in Revelation 5:5 to one of the names of Jesus as the “Root of David.” Jesus tied Revelation’s Tabernacle of David back to David.
Hebrews 5:10 (KJV), “Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.”
Hebrews 7:15-17 (NIV), “15. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16. one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17. For it is declared: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’”
Hebrews 9:24 (God’s Word Translation), “Christ didn’t go into a Holy Place made by human hands. He didn’t go into a model of the real thing. Instead, He went into Heaven to appear in God’s Presence on our behalf.”
Revelation 5 gives a picture of the Tabernacle of David in Heaven.
In Revelation 5:5-10, Jesus, in Heaven’s Holy Place, is being worshipped as in the original Tabernacle of David, only now in the Heavenly Tabernacle of David. The word Hallelujah, meaning “Praise ye the Lord” can be loosely translated as “Sing and play on the harp to JAH.”
Music, Tabernacle of David, and Intercession
Harp and Bowl—Harp is playing and Bowl is praying—indicates a powerful connection between music and intercession, and with the harp in particular.
Note that one of the Names of Jesus references David, that harp playing and bowl praying goes back to the Tabernacle of David, and that possibly was done by Melchizedek as well.
Revelation 5:5-10 (KJV), “5. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. 8. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou was slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10. And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
What’s the Point?—The Future Tabernacle of David
Jesus is the center of Heaven’s Tabernacle of David, we are engaged in Tabernacle of David worshipping through music as God’s kings and priests (reigning on earth).
David E. Knauss
Ph.D. in Music Education.
www.classroom-music.info
Dr. Knauss mentors student teachers and regular teachers into teaching excellence. He taught for 3 decades in inner-city public schools, winning over street kids into being like family, became one of the principle curriculum writers for an award-winning, internationally-recognized music department. He retired from public schools, completed a Ph.D. in Music Education, and presently is an adjunct music education professor at Baptist Bible College.
