God created man in His image and after His likeness, and He intended that there should be a close connection with this new unique creature. Adam and Eve communed with their Creator face-to-face in an intimate relationship. When Adam came forth from the hands of the Creator, he was indeed a noble being in perfect symmetry and beauty, a fitting receptacle for the future redeemer. "A body hast thou prepared for me" (Heb. 10:5). And that body was Adam. Adam and Eve were more than twice the height of their modern counterparts with twenty times the vital force. They were endowed with strength, perception, and intellect that we would call super-human today. Talk about superman, Adam was he. His intellectual powers were but little lower than the angels. The intricate laws of nature were opened to their receptive minds by the master Teacher who knew all-the answers. With microscopic vision they were able to watch the photosynthetic process in the leaf and the mysterious unfolding of the flower, gathering from each the secrets of life. They were familiar with all living creatures from the giant land animals to the smallest insect. They knew their nature and habits and gave each a name. With telescopic vision they observed the planets in their orderly revolutions, the balancing of the clouds, the mysteries of light and sound, of day and night. All these things were opened to their understanding by a loving Creator-Teacher. It was God's purpose to maintain this personal relationship forever in an Edenic environment, and the longer man lived, the more fully he would reflect God's image and throughout eternal ages he would have continued to gain new knowledge and discover a clearer conception of the love of God.
But that Edenic dream was broken by man's rebellion, and God no longer could commune directly with a sinful Adam However, God still desired to have a part in men's lives and in their ultimate salvation and restoration. So He gave instructions to Moses for the construction of a special tent or tabernacle wherein He could dwell among men. This tabernacle was based on the pattern of "the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Heb. 8:2). The furnishings and services of the earthly tabernacle were mere "patterns of things in the heavens" (Heb. 9:23). These are the two tabernacles most commonly known.
But there is third tabernacle occupied by Christ. "The word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). In the Greek the word "dwelt" is actually "tabernacled." - Christ's human body became God's tabernacle, and He will occupy that tabernacle for eternity. What a boggling thought, that God desired so much to identify Himself with the human race that He laid aside his royal robes and became a man. He was willing to assume all the human frailties, suffering, pain, disappointments and grief and even death to be a friend and Savior of mankind.
Finally, we have the assurance that in the earth made new He will dwell or tabernacle with us forever. "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." (Rev. 21:3). This is God's "third tabernacle."
