In what way is the tabernacle the key to the Revelation? Is Christ not the key?

This text is from a letter written by David Gooding in 1991.

When I said that the tabernacle is the key to the Revelation, I was using the term 'key' in a different sense from which you use it. The key to my house is a very small and comparatively insignificant thing, and it is not to be confused with the major contents of my house. It is merely a thing that allows me access to those major contents.

As far as the Revelation is concerned, its major theme is, of course, Christ, and not the tabernacle imagery that is used to introduce five of the major sections of that book. When you use the term key, it seems to me you mean that Christ is the major theme of the Revelation, and in that sense of the word 'key' I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Very truly yours in Christ,