A crucial gathering was taking place in Jerusalem. Teachers had arrived in Antioch saying that the Gentiles had to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas strongly opposed their teaching, resulting in what the Bible calls, "no small dissension." Now Paul, Barnabas, Titus and others had traveled to Jerusalem to clarify this essential doctrine.

Some have mistakenly thought this meeting, related in Acts 15, refers to the "first ecumenical counsel of the church." In fact, only representatives from Antioch and Jerusalem were present, and the controversy was taken to Jerusalem, not because that city was the "Holy See", the Headquarters of Christianity, but simply because the teachers of the false doctrine that had troubled the church in Antioch were from Jerusalem. Though there were churches throughout Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Syria and Galatia, this was a gathering of the leadership of the local church in Jerusalem with representatives of the local church in Antioch.

At the first, when Paul and Barnabas arrived, the controversy had come out in what was apparently a meeting of the whole church. Some Pharisees who had believed raised their voices in favor of the Law of Moses: saying, "that it was needful to circumcise [the Gentiles], and to command them to keep the law" (Acts 15:5). It was decided that this should be discussed in a meeting of the leadership of the church, that is, the elders and apostles (vs. 6).

Leadership of the congregation in Jerusalem had fallen to the apostles in the beginning (4:33, 6:6), as those who had been disciples of Christ for the longest time. However, more than 10 years have passed since the resurrection of Christ, and now from within the ranks of the believers new leadership has been recognized, so that Scripture speaks of "the apostles and the elders" at Jerusalem (15:2,4, 6, 22, 23; 16:4). This transition, a normal passing of responsibility from the "missionaries" to the local leaders, is shown completed in Acts 21:18, where the leadership of that local church comes to rest soley with the elders.

In Acts 15, however, the controversy requires the input of all those in leadership at that time, both the apostles and the elders.

They meet apart form the general gathering of the believers, yet the controversy is still hot. The Bible says that there was "much disputing," rising to the point that Peter finds it necessary to speak strongly. Reminding them that the Lord Jesus had chosen him as the one to open the door of Good News both to the Jews and to the Gentiles (Mat. 16:19), Peter then makes this outlandish statement:

"Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." (vss. 10-11).

Imagine the impact of these words! Everyone was discussing if and how the Gentiles could be saved, and Peter says, "On the contrary! God grant that we Jews might be saved even as the Gentiles!" One can almost imagine a red-faced Peter, hot with frustration, emphatically declaring this surprising statement to a room full of men with their mouths open in consternation.

The silence his statement produced gave opportunity for Paul and Barnabas to relate the miracles and wonders that God had done among the Gentiles as they, Paul and Barnabas, announced the Gospel. When they finished, James stood, read a Bible verse and gave his advice.

And suddenly, the controversy was over.

There was unity regarding God's will and clarity on what should be done.

Peter gave his testimony.
Paul and Barnabas told their experiences
But it was when James took the group to the Word that the controversy ended.

And what exactly was the Scripture to which James referred?

He cited Amos 9:11-12, stating: "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" (vss. 16-17).

This verse may seem a strange one to cite, especially since the question was whether the Gentiles need to keep the Law of Moses. How could a declaration that God would rebuild the tabernacle of Moses provide a Scriptural basis for teaching that the Gentiles are not required to keep the Law of Moses?

And therein lies the key.

For it is not the tabernacle of Moses that God proclaims he will rebuild, but the tabernacle of David.

When Israel took the Promised Land, the tabernacle, with the arc of God, was set up in Shiloh. In a battle against the Philistines, the Israelites were defeated in their first confrontation. They returned from defeat asking themselves, "Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies." Note that their solution was not a heart-searching repentance. They barely tarried in the "Why" of their defeat. Rather, they moved quickly to a method by which they could obligate God to do their will. The tragic result was a second and more devastating defeat, with the ark of God taken by the Philistines. God would not be blackmailed into blessing.

The Philistines soon learned they had not defeated the God of Israel nor taken Him captive. In a desperate move be free of the Lord's judgment, they returned the ark to Israel, where, instead of being taken to the tabernacle at Shiloh, it abode in the town of Kirjathjearim. For years, including the entire reign of Saul, the ark was left in that town. The tabernacle of Moses was in Shiloh and service continued there, with the daily sacrifices and offerings, but behind the veil, in the holy of holies, there was nothing. The rites and rituals continued, but the mercy seat and shekinah glory of God were not there.

When David was crowned King in Judah, he swore that he would not rest until the ark was in its proper place (Ps. 132:1-5). What a surprise, then, that when David began to reign over all Israel from Jerusalem, he moved the ark, not to the tabernacle of Moses in Shiloh but to a new tabernacle, one he had prepared in Jerusalem, the tabernacle of David!

It was for this tabernacle, built according to prophetic instruction from God (2 Ch. 29:25), that David established 4000 Levites to be singers with instruments of music, lifting up their voices in joy (1 Ch. 15:16). They were to stand before the Lord at David's tabernacle every morning and evening to remember and to thank and to praise the Lord (1 Ch. 16:4, 23:30). David's tabernacle was filled with songs of worship and praise.

So, for a brief period, perhaps 40 years, there were two tabernacles in Israel, the tabernacle of Moses and the tabernacle of David. A tabernacle where the day to day religious practices continued but where the manifest presence of God was no longer resident, and a tabernacle centered on the presence of God Himself, where there was continual praise, worship and rejoicing. The tabernacle of Moses, where the focus was principally on mans' frailty and failings, and the tabernacle of David, where the focus was on the greatness of God.

It is this tabernacle of David that Amos, some 200 years later, prophesied would be rebuilt. And it is to this tabernacle that James refers in Acts 15:16, saying that the fulfillment of Amos' prophecy is the church.

What a glorious picture of the fruit of the finished work of redemption! God in His greatness provided the Israelites with a picture, a brief snapshot, of something to come: a time when the people of God would be taken up, not with the morning and evening sacrifice but with praise morning and evening, where they would celebrate the remembrance of the sacrifice finished once for all and would praise and thank the Lord continually! James says the law, which is holy, just and good, nevertheless pertains to another tabernacle. The church, says James, is another tabernacle, the tabernacle of praise, the tabernacle where God dwells.

One day, all the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, the "residue of men and all the Gentiles", as James puts it, some will seek the Lord who dwells in the tabernacle of the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Jalisco Highlands, we are surrounded by religious practice. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. The rites and rituals go on, but God is not there.

Yet in small groups in cities and towns of the Highlands, people gather to remember the Lord Jesus, to praise and thank Him for the rent veil and open access to the presence of God. He is extending His tabernacle over men and women in the Highlands (Rev. 7:15). The tabernacle of David is present.