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Altar Building – A Scriptural Foundation

2 Timothy 3:16-17

「All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.」

Paul is referring to the OT here, so OT principles are still valid, and OT patterns can be allowed if the Holy Spirit specifically instructs to do so. So Paul was still instructing the early NT Christians that the OT Scripture is profitable for every good work of God. Jesus Himself read and shared from the OT with added new revelation. NT theology and practices are based and derived from the OT. NT revelation is only complete together with OT, and vice versa.

There are no musical instruments mentioned in the NT, but mainly from the OT worship. The OT covers a much, much longer period than the NT, including topics not covered in NT such as the birth of nations, civilizations, worship practices, house dedication, wisdom (Proverbs), daily practical things etc. We need the richness of the OT together with the NT revelation of Christ.

The first altar began when Man fell and an animal was sacrificed for them. From then onward, altar building began and foreshadowed to Christ. It symbolizes worship and the sacrifice of animals and offering symbolize the sacrifice of Christ.

Gen 3:21

「Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.」

The first altar points to Christ and ends with Christ.

God made a promise to Abram to give him not just Israel, but the whole planet (Gen 12:1-3; Rom 4:13; Gal 3:13-14). Abraham's blessings include both spiritual first and also natural. God is claiming back the planet earth through Christ, and Christ is claiming back the earth through the Church.

With this commission, apparently God also instructed Abraham the methodology to accomplish this mandate of claiming back the earth – building altars. Abraham built very big pyramid altars and laid animal sacrifice on them.

Gen 12:7

「Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, to your descendants I will give this land. And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.」

After Lot separated from Abraham, God told Abraham to walk through the length and breadth of the Promised Land.

Gen 13:14-18

「And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you. Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.」

Everywhere Abram went, he built altars to the Lord. It was the methodology instructed by God. It was the method of claiming the Promised Land of Israel, which symbolically and prophetically speaks of the whole planet earth. Abraham's modus operandi of possessing the land was building altars.

Altar building began before the Law. The Law only made it into an organized format. God forbade the Israelites to make idols, but allowed altars to be built for sacrifice and worship to Him. God instituted the methodology of building altars.

Ex 20:22

「Then the Lord said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.」

Animal sacrifices have been done away with because of Christ, but altar building still carries symbolic and prophetic meaning, that is why God said not to have any idols made from anything, but building altars to Him are acceptable. Altars are taken from the natural environment, put into certain shapes, which points to the work of God on molding His people, the Church. Altar building points to God building His Church.

1 Pet 2:4-6

「Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.」

When the New Jerusalem comes down, it is laid on the foundations of the apostles, which is like a square rectangular shape. Each stone represents a member of the Body of Christ. When God called men and women of God to a great task, many of them started by building altars (e.g. Abraham, Jacob, Joshua). Each member of the Body of Christ comes together into the shape that God wants to build.

In this final finale move of God, God is saying we are still Abraham's spiritual descendants. As Abram walked through the length and breadth of Israel, we walked through the whole planet. So every place we claim it for the Lord. Christ is interested in His Bride (John 17:9), He did not pray for the whole world in His last prayers. He is interested in gathering people from every generation to be His Bride. The Bride of Christ is the Father's gift to Christ (John 17:6).

Altars represent the Church, the Bride of Christ, where God can manifest His glory upon. God infuses His life into us, and we become His dwelling place – creation is complete.

God has given the dominion of the earth to mankind, that's why angels and the devil do not manifest as flesh under normal circumstances. That's why satan needs the antichrist to be his representative on earth. You are now the seed of Abraham, go forth, the earth is yours!

Christ took back the planet earth spiritually, but He is carrying it out physically on the earth through His Church, the Body of Christ.

When a new generation comes about, they start with an altar. In Gen 28, Jacob laid his head on the stone, it was the place where Abraham had built altars before. The anointing went right through the stone which Jacob slept on, and he had an encounter with the Lord with open heaven. This altar that Jacob built was only one stone, but it was good enough (Phase 4). Two decades later, God sent Jacob back to the same place where he first built an altar to the Lord, and God told him to build another altar (Gen 33; 35). The people go to the altar and not the altar go to the people. When God told him to move to a new place, God tells him to build altars as a means to claim the place for Him.

In panorama vision, when eight souls came out of the Ark, the God told Shem to build altars everywhere (the spirit being that followed Noah followed Shem after the flood). Where he built altars, cities and great civilizations were formed. Altar sites became gathering of great spiritual energies.

Joshua 4

God told the Israelites to take 12 stones, no more, no less, each representing one tribe. Stones were taken where the priests' feet were because the stones would have been anointed. The anointing was upon the stones. God gave specific instructions to Joshua about taking and putting the stones. Jesus is the Cornerstone of the Church. He changed Simon's name into a rock. Peter is the leader of all the disciples and the early Church, it carried a spiritual significance.

Joshua 8

Joshua built more altars to the Lord.

Joshua 22

Altars were highly important, of national concern at times.

When the children of Israelites possess the Promised Land, ie when they fulfill the Abrahamic covenant, they built altars all over again.

Other people built altars, such as Saul, David, Solomon.

James 2:21

In the NT, altars were interpreted as symbols of faith in God. When we build altars for God to claim the country, it is an expression of our faith in God. Altars are memorial to God.

Build altars for strategic claims (taking the territory)

- Prophetic meaning: places where the 10 mega-churches will be, and out of these 10 will be the rest 10,000 churches coming out from them (apostolic altar building to plant churches)

- To restrain the forces of darkness

Altar Building Principles:

- A place far from human habitation, so it's not disturbed.

- It doesn't have to be on a high place (Israelites built altars on riverbed).

- Use natural stones and not stones hewn by humans.

- How big the altar depends on the stones available and the time and manpower you have.

- The shape of the altar can be rectangular or square depending on the terrain.

- Natural altars will eventually erode by the process of nature, but what is released in the spirit is more important and the point of altar building.

- If it's the place where the Lord chooses, there will be stones available near to the place.

- Altars seal the place for God.