Tabernacle: Heaven on Earth, Reversing Eden

Moses is told to build according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain. The tabernacle is a copy, and the governing principle is as in heaven, so on earth.
It is a copy of Eden as much as of heaven. Cherubim appear in only two settings in the Pentateuch: at the gate of Eden, and in the tabernacle. Their position over the ark is not accidental - they form the throne of the invisible God. The entrance to Eden was from the east, and so is the entrance to the tent.
But notice what the copy keeps. The cherubim in Eden were placed there specifically to bar access to the tree of life, and in the tabernacle they still stand between the people and the presence. The tent is Eden echoed, not Eden reopened. That waits for someone else.
Scripture links:
- Exodus 25:9, 40 - build according to the pattern shown on the mountain.
- Genesis 3:24 - cherubim placed at the east of the garden, guarding the way.
The tabernacle was a memory and a promise at once. It was not yet the door.