The sacrificial altar is one of the most important elements of
Old Testament doctrine. In the Old Testament, blood sacrifice
on the altar, blessed of God, benefited Man's soul. Noah was
the first altar builder "unto the Lord; and took of every clean
beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on
the altar." (Genesis 8:20) Altars were also built by Abraham
(Genesis 12:7; 13:4; 22:9), by Isaac (Genesis 26:25), by
Jacob (33:20, 35:1, 3) and by Moses (Exodus 17:15).
In the Tabernacle and later in the temple, two types of altars
were erected, the first "table of the Lord" (Exodus 30:28) for
burnt offerings and blood of lambs. It was a hollow wooden
square 5 cubits length, 5 cubits width and 3 cubits height. It
was made from the shittah tree, a member of the acacia
family, with beautiful orange-colored wood. These trees
grew in the wadis of the Sinai and the Dead Sea but not in
upper Palestine. The wood altar was covered with copper,
with horns at the corners, and rings on the side for use in
transportation. The second altar (the "golden altar") was for
twice-daily burning of incense and sweet spices, a type of
prayer used by priests for morning and evening services. It
was a small (1 cubit length, 1 cubit width, 2 cubits height)
movable acacia wood table overlaid with gold. [http://www.
In the New Testament, the altar becomes symbolic of
sacrifice, of Christ's atonement for our sins, and celebration of
the Last Supper. The earliest New Testament scriptural
reference to an altar is in St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians (I
Cor., x, 21) in which the "table of the Lord" (trapeza Kyriou) is
contrasted to the "table of devils" or pagan altars. All twenty-
four mentions of the word "altar" in the New Testament are in
reference to the Second Temple of Jerusalem. The Christian
altar is the table upon which the bread and wine are
prepared.
The new Wesley altar is essentially the same length as the
"table of the Lord" in the Tabernacle, but has a smaller depth
and height. Form following function, it is a Christian altar
used for offerings to the church, supplications to God, and
celebration of the Last Supper.