Altar of Incense/Vesicles
"In cell biology, a vesicle is a small structure within a cell, consisting of fluid enclosed by a lipid bilayer"
In Layman's Terms, a Vesicle is simply a little 'Sack' or Container to store and/or transport something in.
Vesicles are involved in all kinds of things like... metabolism, transport, buoyancy control, and temporary storage of food and enzymes. They can also act as chemical reaction chambers.
If we were to select one of the major roles of a Vesicle, it would be that of Communications, or more specifically, Cellular Communication.
"Cellular communication is an umbrella term used in biology and more in depth in biophysics and biochemistry to identify different types of communication methods between living cells"
Notable quotes from articles found on research websites include:
"Extracellular vesicles (EVs) such as exosomes and microvesicles are phospholipid bilayer–enclosed vesicles that are recognized as novel tools for intercellular communications and as biomarkers for several diseases"
"They contain various DNAs, proteins, mRNAs, and microRNAs (miRNAs) that have potential diagnostic and therapeutic purposes"
Journal of Extracellular Vesicles.com:
"In the past decade, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been recognized as potent vehicles of intercellular communication, both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes"
"This is due to their capacity to transfer proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, thereby influencing various physiological and pathological functions of both recipient and parent cells"
Thus, the Tabernacle Furniture Component that best fits one of Communication (especially Communication outside of the Tabernacle) would be the Altar of Incense.
To gain a better understanding of why this is, let's first study the Altar of Incense in more detail...
"And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it"
Incense was burned daily on this altar at the time of the morning and the evening sacrifices...
"And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it"
"And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations"
Now the Communications aspect of the Altar of Incense comes from the Smoke, which is equivalent to Prayers, i.e. Communications to God...
"Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice"
"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"
"And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne"
This 'Smoke' or Prayer Communication would be representative of Cell Signaling...
"Cell signaling is part of a complex system of communication that governs basic activities of cells and coordinates cell actions"
There are several types of Cell Signaling...
Exactly Which type of Cell Signaling the Altar of Incense represents is still an area that needs further research. Perhaps it's generic.
Regardless, for this study we will choose one that most folks would be interested in... Synaptic Signaling.
"Chemical synapses are biological junctions through which neurons' signals can be exchanged to each other and to non-
"Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous system"
"They are crucial to the biological computations that underlie perception and thought"
"They allow the nervous system to connect to and control other systems of the body"
Even our very thoughts and intents of the Heart are related to the Smoke of the Altar of Incense as our Synapse Vesicles carry something called Neurotransmitters.
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart"
Neurotransmitters, contained in the Vesicles, come in many types.
Many of these are household names we are all familiar with...
Chemicals such as Adrenaline, Dopamine, Serotonin and Endorphins are just some of the Neurotransmitters we find in Cell Signaling.
In fact, Neurotransmitters are called Messengers… as in Angels!
Messenger Gabriel anyone?...
"And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense"
"And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him"
"But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John"
This brings us to the Incense itself.
There was a very special recipe involved in making it...
"And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy"
It was so Holy that it was forbidden to use it outside of the Tabernacle...
"And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD"
"Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people"
Could this Incense be representative of the chemicals that control our thoughts and perceptions?
Is this why it was forbidden to use them in an unauthorized manner?
Take Dopamine for example.
The release of too much Dopamine leads to addiction...
The abomination of the 'Branch to the Nose' may be a reference to sniffing Cocaine or similar drug...
"Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose"
When we tie this to what the House of Judah was doing a few verses earlier, we find a connection to Incense...
"And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up"
These evil 'thoughts of the Heart' linked to Incense can be found in other verses as well...
2 Chronicles 26:16
"But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense”
Here we see people being punished for burning Incense in a way that was against the Law...
"And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not"
"And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD"
Uzziah ended up with a Mark on his forehead...
2 Chronicles 26:19
"Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar"
In fact, unlawfully burning Incense, to Idols for example, was a very big deal!
2 Kings 23:5
"And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven"
Could this be a warning against using mind altering chemicals to contact the Spirit World?
If we delve deeper into the construction of the Altar of Incense, we find Horns on each corner...
Using our handy-
They are also representative of the Cow, or more specifically, the Milk of the Cow.
Milk of course is a good source of Calcium.
Horns are made of Calcium as well, which gives us a Double Witness.
Thus the Horns represent Protons as well as Calcium which is exactly what Neurotransmitters need to operate...
Remember, the Proton is the 'Word' or Son of God portion of the Godhead...
Christ's Sacrifice was a form of Incense...
"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour"
Since the Nucleus of the Cell, or Most Holy Place, forms the Command Center of the Cell, it's only natural that some of this Smoke interact with the Ark of the Covenant...
"And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not"
"For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts"
In our Candlestick chapter, we learned how the Candlestick represents Mitochondrial DNA and that the Mitochondria is a creator of the ‘Currency’ of the Cell called ATP…
ATP, carried by Vesicles, is sometimes used as a Neurotransmitter...
What other forms of Cell Communication can you come up with to link the Altar of Incense to?
Let’s throw in one more…
"And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun”
The latest research in Vesicle Biology is revealing how Vesicles can play a role in healing and cures for disease…
Aaron used Incense to stop the plague from spreading.
Perhaps there is a cure waiting to be discovered, hidden in the pages of Scripture!