III. Locate and name the _Seven Churches_, as given in Revelation. _Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea._ THE TABERNACLE. [Illustration: THE TABERNACLE, ACCORDING TO FERGUSSON.] I. =Its Origin.= The Tabernacle was the tent in which the emblems for divine worship were kept from the time of Moses to that of Solomon, 400 years. It represented the idea of God dwelling among his people, in the centre of the camp of Israel. The earliest institution for worship was the Altar, built wherever the patriarchs pitched their tents. Next we find a place consecrated and kept for the house of God, as Jacob's pillar at Bethel, to which the patriarch returned as to a sanctuary in after years. The Tabernacle arose when Israel was no longer a family, but a nation, needing a centralizing power and a system of worship as the uniting element among the tribes. It was erected under the direction of Moses, by divine command, while the Israelites were encamped at Mount Sinai. II. =Its History.= During all the journeys of the Israelites through the wilderness, the Tabernacle stood in the centre of their camp, or, while on the march, was taken apart and carried by the Levites. At the time of the conquest, it remained at Gilgal, the fortified camp of Israel, near Jericho. After the war it was established at Shiloh, in the tribe of Ephraim, where it continued until the great defeat of Israel at Ebenezer (1 Sam. 4:1-11), when the ark was taken, and probably Shiloh was ravaged. The Tabernacle was removed to Nob, in the tribe of Benjamin, where it remained until Saul's slaughter of the priests. (1 Sam. 21:1-6; 22:18, 19.) It seems to have been at Gibeon, while the ark was in seclusion at Kirjath-jearim. (2 Chron. 1:4.) There is no mention of the Tabernacle after the building of the Temple; but a Jewish tradition is that its curtains were rolled up and laid away in one of the rooms connected with the Temple. III. =The Departments of the Tabernacle.= This will require us to notice: 1. The Court. 2. The Altar. 3. The Laver. 4. The Tent. 5. The Holy Place. 6. The Holy of Holies. The dimensions of these are given in cubits; and, as the authorities differ as to the length of the cubit, we will consider it here as being about a foot and a half, or 18 inches, the length generally given.