Introduction: The Hidden Language of Stones

[Study Aired December 9, 2025]

Throughout Scripture, God employs the natural realm to reveal spiritual realities, a principle the apostle Paul affirms when he writes, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:20). Among creation’s most striking teachers stand the precious stones—gems that capture light, endure through ages, and display beauty that transcends mere earthly value. These minerals, formed in earth’s depths through immense pressure and time, serve as sacred instructors pointing us toward eternal truths about Christ, His people, and the progression from our natural Adamic state to our spiritual transformation in the Last Adam.

The Scriptures present precious stones in three primary contexts, each revealing distinct yet interconnected spiritual truths. First, we encounter them adorning the High Priest’s breastplate, where twelve stones represented Israel’s twelve tribes before God (Exodus 28:15-21). Second, these gems appear covering the anointed cherub in the garden of Eden, as described in Ezekiel’s prophetic declaration concerning the king of Tyrus (Ezekiel 28:13). Finally, they form the foundations of the New Jerusalem, the eternal city descending from heaven where God dwells with His people forever (Revelation 21:18-21). These three appearances—priestly representation, original covering, and eternal foundation—trace God’s redemptive purpose from creation through the present age into the age to come.

Understanding this series requires recognizing a foundational principle that governs all of Scripture’s symbolism: humanity was created subject to vanity, not having fallen from an original state of perfection. As Paul writes, “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope” (Romans 8:20). God’s purpose from the beginning was to bring forth creation first in the natural realm—weak, earthly, subject to vanity—so that He might then raise it to the spiritual. The first man Adam was made a living soul; the Last Adam became a life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). Paul establishes this pattern explicitly: “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:46). This progression from natural to spiritual, from Adamic to Christic, from earthly to heavenly, governs how we must interpret every symbol in Scripture, including precious stones. The gems we examine were first formed in earth’s crust, extracted from mines, shaped by human hands, and placed in earthly settings—yet their true purpose lies in revealing spiritual realities that belong to “Jerusalem which is above” and “is free, which is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26).

Christ the Stone: The Foundation and Fulfillment

Before examining individual gems, we must establish the ultimate truth that all precious stones proclaim: Christ Jesus Himself is the precious, chosen stone upon which everything rests. The prophet Isaiah, looking forward to God’s work, declared, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28:16). This prophecy finds its fulfillment in Christ, as Peter clearly identifies: “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded” (1 Peter 2:6).

The Hebrew word translated “precious” in Isaiah (yiqrah, from yaqar, H3368) carries meanings of “rare,” “valuable,” “honored,” and “costly.” This same root describes the precious stones of the breastplate, the gems in Eden, and the foundations of New Jerusalem, creating an unmistakable connection: all precious stones point toward the One who is supremely precious. When Scripture describes material gems, it consistently uses this language of costliness and rarity to direct our understanding toward Christ, who is of infinite worth and without equal. Solomon, speaking of wisdom, declares, “She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her” (Proverbs 3:15), using this same vocabulary of preciousness to indicate surpassing value.

Yet this precious stone encounters rejection before exaltation. The Psalmist prophesied, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (Psalm 118:22), and Peter, addressing the religious leaders, boldly proclaimed, “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner” (Acts 4:11). The natural, carnal mind—represented by builders who examine only outward appearance—rejects the stone that God has chosen. Peter explains this dual aspect: “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence” (1 Peter 2:7-8). The same stone that provides foundation for some becomes a stumbling block for others, depending not on the stone’s nature but on the beholder’s spiritual state.

The imagery extends beyond foundation to include Christ’s function as the rock that provides living water. When Israel wandered in the wilderness, God commanded Moses to strike the rock at Horeb, and water flowed forth (Exodus 17:6). Paul reveals this rock’s identity: “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). The striking prefigured Christ’s crucifixion, from which flows the water of life to all who believe. Understanding Christ as the stone—cornerstone and stumbling block, foundation and rock of living water—prepares us to rightly interpret every precious stone mentioned in Scripture.

Living Stones: The Transformation of Believers

Having established Christ as the precious, chosen stone, we must now understand how believers relate to this stone imagery through a profound transformation. Peter writes, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). The Greek word translated “lively” (zao, G2198) means “living” or “alive,” distinguishing believers from dead, lifeless rocks. We are not inanimate minerals but living stones, animated by the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.

This transformation involves both removal and renewal. Scripture consistently presents the unregenerate heart as stony—hard, unresponsive, spiritually dead. God promises through Ezekiel, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). The Hebrew word for “stony” (eben, H68) emphasizes complete hardness and unresponsiveness. This stony heart represents the carnal mind, which “is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Stephen accused the religious leaders: “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost” (Acts 7:51).

Yet paradoxically, as our hearts of stone are removed and replaced with hearts of flesh, we simultaneously become living stones. This is not contradiction but progression. The stony heart must be removed, crushed, broken by the law’s demands that reveal our inability. As we are brought to spiritual life in Christ, we become living stones—no longer dead minerals but animated by His life, no longer hardened in rebellion but made alive in obedience, no longer individual fragments but built together as one spiritual house. Paul writes, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).

The imagery of stones being built together emphasizes both unity and diversity. Paul explains: “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:19-21). Each stone is unique—different colors, compositions, and characteristics—yet all are fitted together according to God’s design. Just as the High Priest’s breastplate contained twelve distinct stones, each representing a different tribe yet all united on the priest’s chest, so believers maintain their individual identities while being built into one corporate dwelling place for God.

This building process requires shaping and refining. Natural stones extracted from mines arrive rough, unpolished, and unsuitable for their intended purpose. Peter writes, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7). The testing of our faith, like the refining of gems, serves God’s purpose of preparing us for our eternal position. Paul expands this principle: “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:12-13). Here precious stones represent doctrine and works that endure testing, contrasting with perishable materials that burn away.

The Three Primary Contexts: Tracing God’s Redemptive Plan

The High Priest’s Breastplate: Representative Stones

The first comprehensive presentation of precious stones appears in God’s instructions for the High Priest’s garments. God commanded Moses: “And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work” (Exodus 28:15). Upon this breastplate, four rows of three stones each were to be set: “And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper” (Exodus 28:17-20).

These twelve stones correspond to Israel’s twelve tribes: “And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes” (Exodus 28:21). Each stone bore the engraved name of one tribe, and the entire breastplate rested over Aaron’s heart when he ministered before the Lord: “And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually” (Exodus 28:29). Aaron, as High Priest, typified Christ, our great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). Just as Aaron bore Israel’s names engraved on precious stones upon his heart, Christ bears His people constantly before the Father. The fact that each tribe had its own distinct stone emphasizes that God knows each of His children individually, values them as precious, and maintains them eternally in His presence.

The Covering of the Anointed Cherub: Original Adornment

The second major appearance of precious stones occurs in Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning the king of Tyrus. God declares: “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created” (Ezekiel 28:13). This passage reveals that precious stones originally served as covering for one who held exalted position, described as “the anointed cherub that covereth” (Ezekiel 28:14).

This context teaches several vital truths about God’s sovereign purpose in creation. First, God created all things according to His own will and purpose, including those who would serve as vessels of wrath. As Paul writes, “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” (Romans 9:21). The adversary was created for the purpose he serves, as Isaiah records God saying, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). Second, the natural must precede the spiritual in all realms of God’s creation. As created beings under the universal principle established in 1 Corinthians 15:46, angels too remain in the natural/carnal state. This truth is confirmed by Paul’s declaration that “the saints shall judge angels” (1 Corinthians 6:3), for only the carnal requires judgment. Third, precious stones that adorned the natural covering must ultimately adorn the spiritual reality in the New Jerusalem.

Ezekiel describes the judgment: “By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:16). The expulsion from the “stones of fire” signifies removal from the privileged position originally held, revealing God’s eternal principle: what adorned the first (the natural, carnal covering) will ultimately adorn the Last (Christ and His bride, the New Jerusalem).

New Jerusalem’s Foundations: Eternal Security

The third and final major presentation of precious stones appears in Revelation’s description of the New Jerusalem: “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones” (Revelation 21:18-19). John then lists twelve foundation stones: “The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst” (Revelation 21:19-20).

These twelve foundations correspond to the twelve apostles of the Lamb, as John explicitly states: “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:14). Just as the twelve breastplate stones bore the names of Israel’s twelve tribes, these foundation stones bear the apostles’ names. What was once carried upon the priest’s heart is now established as the permanent foundation of God’s dwelling place. The New Jerusalem represents the ultimate fulfillment of God’s purpose—the bride of Christ, the dwelling place of God with His people, the culmination of all redemptive history.

The progression from breastplate to Eden’s covering to New Jerusalem’s foundations reveals God’s redemptive timeline. The breastplate stones represented God’s Old Covenant people, carried into His presence through priestly mediation. The Eden covering stones adorned one who fell through pride, demonstrating that the natural (even in the angelic realm) cannot endure but must be superseded by the spiritual. The New Jerusalem foundations establish God’s eternal dwelling place, built upon apostolic testimony concerning Christ, incorporating living stones who have been transformed from their natural Adamic state into their spiritual Christic nature. This progression moves from representation through corruption to permanence, from the first Adam to the Last Adam, from the earthly to the heavenly.

The Formation of Precious Stones: A Natural Type

Understanding how natural precious stones form provides powerful spiritual insight into how God forms precious character in believers. Gemstones develop through three primary processes, each with spiritual significance.

First, igneous formation occurs when molten rock cools and crystallizes under extreme heat. This parallels the refining fire of trial that believers experience, as Peter writes: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory” (1 Peter 1:7). Second, metamorphic formation happens when existing rocks undergo transformation through immense pressure and heat over long periods. This mirrors the spiritual transformation Paul describes: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The Greek word for “changed” (metamorphoo, G3339) indicates complete transformation of nature. Third, sedimentary formation occurs when minerals dissolved in water crystallize gradually. This reflects spiritual growth through steady exposure to God’s word and His Spirit, as James instructs: “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:4).

All three formation processes share common elements: time, pressure, heat, and hidden development. Gems do not form on earth’s surface where all can observe but deep underground, concealed from sight. Similarly, our spiritual formation occurs internally, hidden from public view. Paul writes, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). The transformation happens within, in the secret place of the heart, where only God observes. When the gem finally emerges—when the believer’s character is tested and proven—the beauty that appears reflects the hidden work accomplished in darkness and pressure.

The extraction and preparation of gems also teaches spiritual lessons. Raw stones must be removed from their original matrix through violent breaking of surrounding rock, paralleling our separation from the world. After extraction, gems require cutting and polishing to reveal their beauty—a process that removes rough edges and brings forth hidden brilliance. This refining corresponds to sanctification, where God removes our unpleasant characteristics and develops the beauty of Christ’s character within us.

Colors, Composition and Characteristics: Reading the Symbolism

Each precious stone possesses unique color, chemical composition, and physical characteristics that serve as sacred vocabulary revealing specific spiritual truths. Throughout this series, we will examine how Scripture employs these natural properties as teaching tools, always comparing spiritual with spiritual and allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture.

Color carries consistent symbolic meaning across Scripture. Red, found in stones like ruby (sardius), represents blood—both the blood of sin and the blood of redemption. God declares, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18), while Paul writes of “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Blue, seen in sapphire, consistently symbolizes heaven and authority, as when Moses and the elders “saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness” (Exodus 24:10). Green, appearing in emerald, represents life, growth, and mercy. Purple, seen in amethyst, signifies royalty and kingship, as when the soldiers mocked him “clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns” (Mark 15:17), unwittingly declaring His true royal nature.

Composition reveals further truth. The hardness of gems instructs us—diamond, the hardest natural substance, speaks of truth that cannot be scratched or marred by any opposing force. Transparency versus opacity offers another layer of meaning. Clear stones like diamond allow light to pass through completely, symbolizing those who are becoming transparent before God, hiding nothing, reflecting His light purely. Translucent stones permit some light while maintaining color, picturing believers who reflect God’s light yet retain their individual characteristics and callings.

Conclusion: The Journey Ahead

We have laid the foundation for understanding precious stones in Scripture, establishing several critical principles that will guide us through the remainder of this series. Christ is the precious, chosen stone, the cornerstone, the foundation, the rock—and every other stone mentioned in Scripture ultimately points toward Him. Believers are living stones, transformed from their natural state with hardened hearts to spiritual stones fit for building God’s eternal house. The three primary biblical contexts—the High Priest’s breastplate, the covering in Eden, and New Jerusalem’s foundations—trace God’s redemptive purpose from past through present into eternity. The natural properties of gems serve as heavenly vocabulary revealing spiritual truths, all following the foundational pattern of progression from natural to spiritual, from Adamic to Christic, from earthly to heavenly.

As we proceed to examine individual gems in subsequent articles, we will discover how each stone reveals particular aspects of Christ’s nature, specific stages of our transformation, and unique facets of God’s eternal purpose. The sardius (ruby) will speak of blood, redemption, and the rights of the firstborn. The sapphire will declare heavenly truth and the throne of God. The diamond will testify of hardness—both the hardness of unbelieving hearts and the hardness of sacred truth that no opposition can mar. Each stone contributes its unique voice to the chorus of testimony about Christ and His people.

The prophet Malachi provides a fitting close to this foundational article, declaring what God says about His own: “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels” (Malachi 3:17). The Hebrew word translated “jewels” (segullah, H5459) means “treasured possession” or “peculiar treasure.” God values His people as precious gems, unique treasures that He has chosen, formed through pressure and heat, extracted from the earth, refined and polished, and will ultimately set in His eternal city’s foundations. We who were once hardened in sin, dead in trespasses, alienated from God, have been made living stones by His grace, fitted together with fellow believers, being built into a holy temple where God Himself dwells. The journey from earth’s darkness where gems form to heaven’s glory where they shine eternally reflects our spiritual journey from death to life, from darkness to light, from bondage to freedom.

“Journey Through the Kingdom to God’s Throne” – Part 5

Beyond the Veil: Entering the Most Holy Place

[Study Aired Dec 3, 2024]

In our progressive journey through God’s spiritual temple, we now approach its innermost sanctuary – the Most Holy Place. “In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). This truth transforms our understanding from mere physical description to spiritual reality, “For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). God reveals His truth directly: “With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold” (Numbers 12:8). This reference to speaking “mouth to mouth” and beholding the “similitude of the LORD” indicates that God reveals spiritual truth clearly and directly to those He chooses, not through parables or unclear visions, but through direct spiritual understanding and revelation of the parables and visions. “And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” (Mark 4:11).

The Most Holy Place lay behind a thick veil in the temple, representing the ultimate place of God’s presence. However, this physical arrangement served as a pattern revealing spiritual truth, which “serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:5), Understanding this spiritual reality requires divine illumination, as Paul explains “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). As we approach this most sacred space, we must first understand what separated man from God’s presence – the veil itself.

The Veil: Barrier and Access

The veil itself holds profound spiritual significance. God specified its construction precisely: “And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made” (Exodus 26:31). Each element carries spiritual meaning that Scripture reveals to us.

The blue represents heaven and God’s throne, as seen when Moses and the elders “saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness” (Exodus 24:10). This heavenly connection is reinforced in Ezekiel’s vision: “And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone” (Ezekiel 1:26), and further shown when “there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne” (Ezekiel 10:1). God Himself linked blue to heavenly mindedness when He commanded Israel: “bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart” (Numbers 15:38-39). These fringes with blue ribbands represented divine authority, as demonstrated when people sought healing by touching the fringe of Christ’s garment (Matthew 14:36), recognizing the heavenly power of Him who “is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1).

The purple speaks of royalty, as seen when Mordecai went out from the king’s presence “in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple” (Esther 8:15). This royal meaning is confirmed when the soldiers mocked Christ’s kingship by putting “on him a purple robe” (John 19:2), unknowingly declaring the truth that He is indeed the one “ordained to be a King” (2 Chronicles 11:22), who has now “on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

The scarlet carries dual spiritual meaning – representing both the flesh with its sins and the blood sacrifice that cleanses sin. The negative meaning is shown when God states “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Yet this same scarlet also points to blood and purifying sacrifice, as demonstrated in the cleansing of leprosy: “And the priest shall command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop” (Leviticus 14:4). This dual nature of scarlet – representing both sin and its cleansing – shows how Christ takes our sins upon Himself to purify us, for He “was made sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This truth is further revealed in the veil of the temple, which contained scarlet and represented Christ’s flesh: “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:20). Through His sacrifice, “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22), our scarlet sins are made white as snow. The rending of the temple veil at Christ’s death demonstrated that through Him, this meeting place with God is now accessible to all believers in their proper order: “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Matthew 27:51). The rending came from above, showing God’s action in providing access through Christ’s sacrifice, for “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23)

The fine twined linen represents righteousness, as directly stated in Revelation: “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Revelation 19:8). This righteousness must be pure and without mixture, as pictured in the priests’ garments: “And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen” (Exodus 28:39), for they must be holy as “he that is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26).

The cherubim woven into the veil remind us of those who first guarded the way to God’s presence in Eden: “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24). Their presence on the veil shows that access to God’s presence requires meeting His holy requirements, now fulfilled in Christ who is “made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Before Christ’s death, the veil restricted access to God’s presence. Only the high priest could enter, and that just once yearly, “the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing” (Hebrews 9:8). God commanded Moses: “Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not” (Leviticus 16:2). Even this limited access required extensive preparation, for “thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering” (Leviticus 16:3).

This limitation served a spiritual purpose, teaching the impossibility of approaching God through human effort or righteousness. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). The yearly repetition of sacrifices demonstrated their inadequacy, for “in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:3-4). The high priest’s need to offer sacrifices for himself before entering showed human imperfection, which contrasts with the true sacrifice, “ For such an high priest became us, … Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s” (Hebrews 7:26- 27).

The restrictions and repeated sacrifices pointed to humanity’s sinful condition, for “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). The very presence of the veil declared that “your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). This separation required a perfect mediator, for “there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). While the veil marked the boundary between holy and most holy, what lay beyond it would reveal the ultimate purpose of God’s dwelling place.

The Most Holy Place: God’s Dwelling

The Most Holy Place formed a perfect cube – twenty cubits in each dimension (1 Kings 6:20), matching the pattern of the heavenly city John saw: “And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth… the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal” (Revelation 21:16). This perfect symmetry speaks to the perfection of God’s presence and the complete provision in Christ. As Paul declares, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him” (Colossians 2:9-10). “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16). This indwelling fulfills God’s eternal purpose: “Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:20-22).

Within stood the ark of God’s covenant with the mercy seat of pure gold placed above it. The mercy seat with its cherubim was fashioned as one piece: “And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold… And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat… even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof” (Exodus 25:17-19). God also commanded “And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee” (Exodus 25:21).

The ark contained three items as Scripture records: “Wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant” (Hebrews 9:4). Each item testified of Christ: The tables of the covenant served as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). While “the law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17), showing that Christ brings us beyond the shadow to fulfill “the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). The golden pot of manna pointed to Christ as the true bread, for He declared “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger” (John 6:35). Aaron’s rod that budded, which God used to confirm His chosen priesthood (Numbers 17:5,8), pointed to Christ’s resurrection which confirmed His eternal priesthood, for He is “made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life” (Hebrews 7:16) and is “declared to be the Son of God with power… by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4).

Above the ark, God established His meeting place: “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims” (Exodus 25:22). This communion required blood atonement: “And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times” (Leviticus 16:14).

The cherubim on the mercy seat, with faces looking toward it (Exodus 25:20), present a striking contrast to Eden’s cherubim. In Eden, they guarded “the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24), blocking access to life after sin entered, for God said, “lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22). While those cherubim with flaming sword kept man from the tree of life, these cherubim on the mercy seat face toward the place of atonement where blood would provide access to life through Christ, who declares “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). This shows how God’s mercy meets His holiness through blood sacrifice, restoring access to life, for “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life” (Revelation 22:14). As the Word reveals, God “hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins” (Romans 3:25).

This mercy seat, where atonement was made through blood, foreshadowed Christ’s sacrifice. The very word ‘propitiation’ (hilasterion – Strong’s G2435) used in Romans 3:25 is the same word used for ‘mercy seat’ in Hebrews 9:5: “And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat [hilasterion].” This same Greek word was used in the Septuagint to translate God’s instructions about the mercy seat in Exodus 25:17: “And thou shalt make a mercy seat [hilasterion] of pure gold” and in Leviticus 16:2: “for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat [hilasterion].” “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself” (Colossians 1:19-20). “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:11). Thus Christ became our mercy seat, the place where God’s justice and mercy meet, for “He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

Just as the high priest entered with blood once yearly, Christ entered the true holy place: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12). Unlike the repeated sacrifices of animals, His one offering perfects forever: “For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). Yet all these patterns and shadows find their fulfillment in One who would provide permanent access to God’s presence.

Christ: Our Access to the Holiest

Christ’s death transformed our approach to God. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20). “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25). This access comes not through our worthiness but through His sacrifice.

The word “boldness” (parrhesia in Greek) means freedom of speech or confidence. This contrasts sharply with the Old Testament high priest’s fearful approach once yearly. Through Christ, we have continuous access with confidence: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Yet this boldness must be balanced with reverence. The high priest’s careful preparation – washing, special garments, blood sacrifice – teaches us to approach God’s presence with holy fear while trusting Christ’s provision. As Isaiah experienced: “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple… Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:1,5). As scripture warns, “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29). With such privileged access granted, we must understand how to walk worthy of this calling.

Spiritual Reality: Living in His Presence

Understanding these patterns transforms our spiritual experience. The Most Holy Place represents the deepest communion with God available to believers through Christ. Paul reveals this mystery as “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Peter adds to this, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). The physical holy of holies pictured what we now experience spiritually – God dwelling in us through His Spirit.

This indwelling makes us God’s temple: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). The progression from outer court to holy place to most holy place reveals stages of spiritual experience as we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

These Old Testament patterns find fulfillment through Christ. As Paul declares, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Corinthians 1:20). We press into deeper communion, as David expressed, “I will go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4), experiencing what John described: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).

Just as the high priest brought blood into the Most Holy Place, we must always approach through Christ’s blood: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19). This blood gives us standing before God, for Christ “by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12).

The mercy seat’s position above the law teaches us that just as “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9), His mercy through Christ transcends the law’s limitations. This indwelling transforms us as His spirit works within, for He declared “I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). Yet this present experience is but a foretaste of the glory to be revealed.

 Practical Application

Understanding these patterns should transform our daily walk. Like the high priest maintaining the incense altar before the veil, we must persist in prayer: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). As he needed proper garments, we must “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).

The high priest’s careful approach teaches us to examine ourselves: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4). Yet this examination rests on Christ’s work, not our perfection, for “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

The progression aligns perfectly with Christ’s requirement that we “must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). This preparation flows not from our own strength but through His enabling power, for “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

We maintain this communion first through regular prayer and meditation on God’s Word, for David declared “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). This meditation transforms our minds as we “receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).

Walking in obedience to revealed truth must follow, for Jesus taught “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). This obedience flows from love, not legalism, as “the love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). When we fail, quick confession restores fellowship, for “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Essential to this walk is maintaining the Spirit’s filling, as Paul commands “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). This filling produces fruit, for “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Above all, we must live in conscious dependence on Christ, acknowledging “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). This dependence manifests in moment-by-moment yielding to His lordship, for “ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Future Glory

While we now experience God’s presence spiritually, we anticipate even fuller communion. Paul describes our current state: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). This present partial knowledge gives way to complete understanding, for “when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Corinthians 13:10). “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).

John’s vision reveals this future reality where physical patterns give way to direct presence: “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it” (Revelation 21:22). In this new Jerusalem, “the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). The types and shadows dissolve in the perfect reality they foreshadowed.

This hope purifies us: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).

The promise of seeing Him face to face surpasses even the high priest’s annual entry into the Most Holy Place. For while he entered with fear and ritual preparation, we shall enter with joy, for “in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11). As David anticipated, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15).

This glory exceeds our current comprehension, for “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Yet through His Spirit, we receive glimpses that kindle our anticipation, “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).

Conclusion

The Most Holy Place reveals profound truths about accessing God’s presence through Christ. These patterns find fulfillment as we live in continuous communion with God, transformed by His presence. As Paul declares, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Let us therefore press into this spiritual reality, remembering that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). Through Christ, we have unlimited access to God’s presence, not just as duty but as delight. May we live daily in this most holy place, being transformed into His image as we behold His glory.

Next Study

Next week, we’ll explore the throne above the Mercy Seat, where God declared, “I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims” (Exodus 25:22). Join us as we discover how this divine presence manifested in the Old Testament patterns reveals our current privilege of communion with God. We’ll examine how Christ, “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3), now grants us access to the very throne of God.

Ezekiel 11:1-25  The Promise of a New Heart and Spirit

[Study Aired April 1, 2024]

Introduction

What we are going to learn today is about the Lord’s judgment of the Elect in this age and the resulting transformation of the elect as we are promised a new heart and spirit. In this chapter, the Lord showed Ezekiel why He was going to judge the people of Israel for what they had done. As we have learned, the Lord is always seeking an occasion to come and judge our old man so that we can learn righteousness. This is portrayed clearly in the story of Samson as follows:

Jdg 14:1  Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.”
Jdg 14:3  But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”
Jdg 14:4  His father and mother did not know that it was from the LORD, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

The chapter also makes it clear that without the Lord giving us a new heart and spirit, we cannot please the Lord. By comparing scripture with scripture, we shall see what the Lord means by giving us a new heart and spirit.

The Wicked Counsellors of the City

Eze 11:1  The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the LORD, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

The Spirit of the Lord lifting Ezekiel up to be shown what was happening signifies that what Ezekiel was going to see can only be understood when he is in the spirit. Being in the spirit means his eyes being opened and his ears given to hear the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17  For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

What happened to Ezekiel in terms of the spirit lifting him up is the same as what happened to the Apostle John when he was given to see the woman who is a harlot and represents Babylon in the Book of Revelation. What this means is that without being in the spirit, there is no way that one can understand the spiritual decadence of the church system of this world. 

Rev 17:3  And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns

In verse 1, the spirit which lifted Ezekiel up brought him to the east gate of the house of God. In a negative context, the east in this case refers to our lives when we are not given to pursue the Lord’s agenda in this life, as shown in the following verses: 

Gen 13:11  So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.

Gen 25:6  But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

Thus, the twenty-five men that Ezekiel found in the entrance of the eastern gate of the house of the Lord refers to those who have tasted the goodness of the Lord but are not pursuing the Lord’s agenda in this life. They refer to our lives as the Lord’s elect in Babylon. We started with the Lord but were sidetracked by what we heard and believed in Babylon. This is affirmed by the number 25 of those found at the east gate. The number twenty-five in a negative note, refers to those who started the Lord’s work but did not go the long haul. 

2Ki 14:2  He (Joash) was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 
2Ki 14:3  And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done. 
2Ki 14:4  But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.

2Ki 15:33  He (Jotham) was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 
2Ki 15:34  And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done.
2Ki 15:35  Nevertheless, the high places were not removed. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD.

Having Jaazaniah and Pelatiah, the princes of the people, among the twenty-five is also significant. Jaazaniah means ‘Jehovah hears’ and that of Pelatiah signifies ‘Jehovah has freed.’ These names show us that the people found in the east side of the house of God have a relationship with Christ in name, but they do their own thing.

Isa 4:1  And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.” 

The mention of these men and their status as leaders of the people of Israel suggests that it is an established fact that the whole of the leadership of our brethren in Babylon have gone astray and are not pursuing the Lord’s agenda.

Jud 1:10  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
Jud 1:11  Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Jud 1:12  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Jud 1:13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Eze 11:2  And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city;
Eze 11:3  who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’

As indicated in the previous studies, the city of Jerusalem here is Babylon.  In verses 2 and 3, we are given to know the sins of these twenty-five men. They devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in the city. Devising iniquity and giving wicked counsel means bringing in false doctrines which causes us to walk in iniquity. Verse 3 shows us the essence of the preaching in Babylon, which is that the time is not near to build houses. What this preaching means is that we should not focus on what is permanent but that which is temporal. In other words, the preaching in Babylon causes us to focus on things which are seen. 

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

A cauldron is a large metal pot used for cooking in an open fire. Saying that the city is the cauldron and the people are the meat is the same as saying that man is born to suffer. What this kind of preaching does is that it causes us to be hardened by our suffering such that no matter what we go through, we do not pay attention to what the Lord is trying to say.

Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Eze 11:4  Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
Eze 11:5  And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.
Eze 11:6  Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. 
Eze 11:7  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. 
Eze 11:8  Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD. 

These verses show us the result of the wicked counsel or the false doctrines that we imbibe in Babylon. As we can see in verses 6 and 7, the whole city is filled with the slain. In other words, the whole of Babylon or the church system of this world is filled with spiritually dead people. The sad part of this is that they do not recognize that they are spiritually dead!!  That was what happened to us in our time in Babylon. We were spiritually dead, but we thought that we were spiritually alive in Christ. In verse 7, the Lord is referring to the saying that the city is the caldron to mean that it is in the church (represented here by the city) that we (the flesh) are boiled and therefore killed. In other words, the church system has become a pot for boiling or killing the people.

Luk 13:33  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
Luk 13:34  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! 
Luk 13:35  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 

As the Lord’s elect, in spite of our spiritual depravity while we were in Babylon, the Lord had promised in verse 7 that He would bring us out of the midst of Babylon.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Verse 8 tells us that even though we fear the sword, the Lord will bring the sword upon us. The sword is a symbol of the Lord’s judgment, and when we were in Babylon, we were afraid of the Lord’s judgment and did not want to even hear that we shall be judged. However, as the Lord came to us, we were given to know that the Lord’s judgment of our old man in this life is the best thing that can happen to us. The Lord’s assurance that He will bring the sword upon us therefore brings to the fore our position as children of the Lord.

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Heb 12:12  Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

Eze 11:9  And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
Eze 11:10  Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 
Eze 11:11  This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel:

In verse 9, the process of the Lord delivering us out of the midst of Babylon involves the Lord’s judgment of our old man where He uses the sword in verse 10 as His instrument of our judgment. The negative aspect of the sword refers to words that are spoken which destroy us. The sword refers to the lying words and false doctrines of the adversary. One of the key factors which causes our exit from Babylon is our realization of the lying words or false doctrines prevalent in Babylon.

2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Psa 64:2  Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 
Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

These negative words spoken are one of the tools the Lord uses to cause people to speak bitter words to us, His elect. 

Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

Jdg 7:22 And the three hundred [men with Gideon] blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host [of the Midianites]: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

Being judged in the border of Israel signifies that our judgment begins as we start our journey to exit Babylon. In verse 11, we are told that the saying that the city of Jerusalem is a caldron and that we are the flesh in the midst thereof shall not be applicable to us as the Lord facilitates our exit from Babylon. As we have indicated earlier, saying that the city is the caldron and the people are the flesh is the same as saying that man is born to suffer, and therefore, we become accustomed to suffering such that no matter what we go through, we do not pay attention to what the Lord is trying to say.

Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

The Lord saying that we shall not be part of the saying that the city of Jerusalem is a caldron and that we are the flesh signifies that the Lord’s judgment of our old man will cause us to learn righteousness.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Eze 11:12  And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.
Eze 11:13  And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

Verse 12 shows us why the Lord is judging us. It is because we have done evil as we did not walk in the Lord’s statutes as we lived just like the heathen around us when we were in Babylon. The Lord therefore is justified as He comes with His judgment to put to death our old man or the man of sin in our lives. In verse 13, we are told that when Ezekiel prophesied concerning the judgment of our old man as a result of the sins of the people, Pelatiah, one of the leading members of the twenty-five men that Ezekiel saw, died. The dying of Pelatiah signifies the end result of the fire of the word of the Lord spoken by Ezekiel. This fire of the word of the Lord is the tribulation or persecution which comes as a result of the word of the Lord we have received. That is what destroys our old man.

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

In verse 13, Ezekiel complained to the Lord about the killing of the remnant of Israel. This is because the process of the death of our old man is not an enjoyable experience. When we are being judged, it is as if our lives are coming to an end as we come to our wits’ end. Ezekiel came to his wits’ end when he saw the death of Pelatiah and thought that the end had come for the Lord’s remnant.

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 

The Lord’s Promise of a New Heart and Spirit

Eze 11:14  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 11:15  Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession.
Eze 11:16  Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.
Eze 11:17  Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

The Israelites who remained in Jerusalem after the Babylonian invasion considered themselves as the chosen ones as they proclaimed that the Lord had given them the land for possession. These Israelites thought that those who were exiled were outcasts and that these exiles were far from the Lord. In verse 16 and 17, the Lord is saying that although He had scattered the exiles among the countries, He was with them, and that they were the ones to inherit the land of Israel. This is the mindset of our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world (Babylon). They think that they are the chosen ones and that they will inherit the earth. On the other hand, they see our leaving the city of Jerusalem or Babylon as being the Lord’s outcasts. However, the Lord is assuring us in verse 17 that He will gather and assemble us out of the countries where we are scattered and that we are the ones to inherit the earth.

Rom 4:13  For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law (which is practiced in Babylon) but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom 4:14  For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
Rom 4:15  For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 
Rom 4:16  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,  (ESV)

Eze 11:18  And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
Eze 11:19  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 
Eze 11:20  That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

The Lord is gathering us together as the church of the firstborn or the New Jerusalem as He takes away all the detestable things and abominations in our lives. The taking away of the detestable things and all the abominations in verse 18 symbolize the destroying of the old man with his fleshly deeds in our lives. This old man within us is the beast within us or our flesh. The Lord’s promise of giving us one heart means we shall all be of one mind, speaking the same thing and having the same judgment. 

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 

In verse 19, we are also told that the Lord will give us a new spirit within us as He takes away the stony heart out of our flesh and gives us a heart of flesh. This giving of a new spirit and a new heart represent the birth and growth of the new man within us which is created in righteousness and true holiness. The stony heart in verse 19 refers to our old man who must be put to death to give way to the new man within us. As the old man is dying within us, the new man is gaining ascendancy.

Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

It is when we are under the control of the new man that we are able to walk in the Lord’s statutes and keep His ordinances. That is when we shall indeed be the Lord’s people and He becomes our God.

Eze 11:21  But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD. 

Here we are being warned that if we continue to be under the control of the flesh, we shall surely face the second death. 

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 

Eze 11:22  Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
Eze 11:23  And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

As we have indicated in our previous studies, the cherubims represent the Lord’s elect as they sit in the heavenly places in Christ. The wheels signify our lives here on earth as we have this treasure in earthen vessels. The glory of the God of Israel refers to hearing the words of the Lord in the midst of our fiery trials. The glory of the God of Israel being over the cherubims means that it is only the elect (cherubims) who are given the privilege in this age to hear the words of the Lord in the midst of our fiery trials. This is confirmed in verse 23 where the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain on the east side of the city.

The city here is Jerusalem which is in bondage with her children. It represents Babylon where they are not given to see the glory of the Lord. That is why the glory of the Lord departed from the city. The mountain where the glory of the Lord stood symbolizes the house of the Lord or the gathering of the Lord’s elect. It is on the mountain of the house of the Lord that we are given to see the Lord’s glory.

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 
Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

Eze 11:24  Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
Eze 11:25  Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me.

As we have indicated, those in captivity represent the Lord’s elect. It is in our midst that we speak to each other of all the things that the Lord has shown us for the edification of the body.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

May His name be praised forever more. Amen!!

Eze 1:15–28 A Wheel upon the Earth

Introduction

[Study Aired January 29, 2024]

In Today’s study, we are going to look in details of a wheel that Ezekiel saw which was upon the earth and is controlled by the living creatures, and the likeness of a man on the throne above the firmament in a vision given to him. In the previous study, we came to know who the four living creatures were. That is, they represent the whole of the elect of every generation. 

The Lord revealed this heavenly vision to Ezekiel to show us the pattern of the heavenly things themselves. What we are therefore studying is to deepen our understanding of our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and how this relationship affects our walk here on earth. 

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

This pattern of the heavenly things was first revealed to Moses during Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness. Ezekiel’s vision therefore serves as a witness to this pattern of the heavenly things. Both Moses and Ezekiel who represent the elect, did not understand what the pattern revealed to them signifies. However, we are the generation that the Lord has opened our eyes to see and ears to hear the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven.

Heb 8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Today’s study will therefore deepen our understanding of how, as His elect, we are caused to live according to the purpose of His will in this tent of the flesh.

The Wheel on Earth

Eze 1:15  Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 
Eze 1:16  The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

In Ezekiel chapter 10, another vision was given to Ezekiel which gives us a witness to this description of the wheel. This means that what we deduce about the wheels by comparing scripture with scripture is an established fact. 

Eze 10:9  And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone. 
Eze 10:10  And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.

2Co 13:1  This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

To understand what the wheels represent, we need more information about the wheels. In verse 20, we are given to know that the spirit of the Lord is in the wheels which causes them to move according to the dictates of the spirit of the Lord.

Eze 1:20  Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

What is significant is that this wheel was upon the earth but filled with the spirit of the Lord. The earth signifies we, as earthen vessels and therefore the wheels on the earth with the spirit of the Lord in them represent the treasure in earthen vessels.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

This means that the four wheels represent the whole of the elect as earthen vessels that are led by the spirit of the Lord. The living creatures signify the elect in our heavenly status where we are raised up to sit with Christ in heavenly places. The wheels represent us as earthen vessels where we are moved by the spirit of the Lord to empower us to live a life pleasing to the Lord to become witnesses here on earth. This means that without the spirit of the Lord, we are just like the people of this world.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

Verse 15 confirms our assertion that the wheels symbolize the elect as the appearance of the wheels and their work resemble the color beryl. The mention of the color of beryl reminds us of the Lord Jesus Christ whose body appeared as beryl in a vision by Daniel.

Dan 10:5  Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 
Dan 10:6  His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

Beryl is also one of the twelve precious stones that serve as the foundation of the wall of New Jerusalem. These precious stones signify the precious words of the Lord which is also Christ. What this implies is that the appearance of the wheels and their works as the color of beryl is another way of saying that as He is, so are we here on this earth. In other words, we must be like Christ here on this earth and our works must serve as witness of Christ even as the Lord Jesus’ works here on earth serve as witness to our Father God.

Rev 21:19  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 
Rev 21:20  The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. 

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 

Verse 16 also mentions that the four wheels had one likeness, and their appearance and their work are like a wheel within a wheel. The one likeness means the elect of every generation all have the same spiritual experience, and therefore they all go through the same judgment of our old man to exhibit Christ. The wheel within a wheel is Christ within the elect.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

Eze 1:17  When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 
Eze 1:18  As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. 
Eze 1:19  And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

The wheels are such that they go in any of the four directions without turning as they went. This was because the living creature’s movement is mimicked by the wheels here on earth and the reason, they go according to the living creatures is that the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels. That is, when we walk in the spirit or live in heavenly places, our earthen vessels are carried along by the spirit to please the Lord. In other words, walking in the spirit means that we do not fulfill the desires of the flesh. If we live in the spirit, we will not turn or look back to the deeds of the flesh.

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 
Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 
Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 

In Ezekiel 1:18, we are told that the “rings” or the rims in the wheels were very high and dreadful and are full of eyes.  The adjective “high” is used in the positive sense in the word of the Lord to signify the heavens. The following verses make this clear:

Job 11:8  It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 

Psa 103:11  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

The word “dreadful” on a positive note is another accolade of the Lord especially to those who do not know Him.

Mal 1:14  But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

Dan 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

The rotating of the rings is what causes the wheel to move and what causes the rings to rotate is the spirit within the wheel. The rings being part of the wheel and being as high as the heavens refer to our walk here on earth which is in the spirit. To those who do not know the Lord, our walk in the spirit is a dreadful or horrible experience because of the fiery trials that accompany it. The rings being full of eyes all round suggest that we, His elect have been given the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven to guide our walk here on earth.

Eze 1:20  Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 
Eze 1:21  When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

As indicated, the living creatures represent the Lord’s elect who are raised to sit with the Lord in heavenly places. The wheels also represent the elect in having treasure in their earthen vessels here on earth. It is when we are sitting in the heavenly places with Christ empowered by the spirit, that is, walking in the spirit that we are able to influence our earthen vessels or bodies to follow wherever we go.

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 
Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Before the Throne

Eze 1:22  And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. 

The likeness of the firmament or expanse appearing as the color of the terrible or fearful crystal over the heads of the living creatures brings to mind the overcomers standing on the sea of glass. In Ezekiel chapter 1, the appearance of the firmament as fearful crystal is the same as the sea of glass the overcomers were standing on in the Book of Revelation. The difference between the two narrations is the position of the elect. In Ezekiel, the living creatures representing the elect were yet to experience the appearance of the fearful crystal since it was over their heads. In the case of the sea of glass, the elect had experienced it and overcome.

Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

Rev 4:6  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

The sea refers to the laver filled with water between the tent of meeting and the altar where only the priests were to wash and cleanse themselves before entering the temple. It is also called the molten sea which is consistent with the sea of glass mingled with fire. The sea of glass is therefore the fire of the word of the Lord which washes us of everything of the flesh to make us transparent before God and man. This is what Brother Mike said about the sea of glass in His review of the Revelation chapter 15:

“But the sea was for the priests to wash in” tells us why those who are on this “sea of glass mingled with fire”, are God’s “kings and priest”, His very elect, who have overcome the image, name, number and mark of the beast. The Levites, who served the temple but were not the sons of Aaron the high priest, were never permitted to wash in this “molten sea” which is the shadow and type of this “sea of glass, mingled with fire” in the heavens here in Rev 15.

But why is this sea called a sea of glass? The Greek word here is ‘hualinos’, and it means clear or transparent. So those who are on this sea of glass know who they are, from whence they have come and how they have been placed where they are by the sovereign hand of their Lord and Savior. They themselves, like the sea on which they stand at this time in their walk, are completely transparent and have nothing to hide. 

While it is argued that glass, as we know it today, did not exist when the book of Revelation was written, it is interesting to note that this sea of glass is “like crystal” which was transparent, and which did exist when the book of Revelation was written. It is also instructive to note that the glass of today is made of sand which has been melted, unified and purified and made transparent by means of the heat into which it is placed. That is the significance of the fire here as it is the significance of fire throughout God’s Word. God’s fiery Word is the fire mingled with this “sea of glass”. It is God’s Word which has purified and made transparent everyone who stands upon this sea of glass. It is through God’s Word, “Christ in us”, that any of us are given the victory over the beast, his image, his number, his name and his mark. Christ is the fire that is mingled with those who are standing on this clear and transparent “sea of glass”.

The fact that in Ezekiel chapter 1, the appearance of the firmament as terrible or fearful crystal is that when we hear of the Lord’s judgment and are yet to experience it, it becomes fearful.

Eze 1:23  And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: everyone had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.
Eze 1:24  And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

In verse 23, the wings of the living creatures stretching out straight and towards one another means that they are in motion. The next verse shows us that when they are in motion, the noise of their wings is the same as the voice of the Almighty God. What this implies is that the stretching of their wings towards one another is what every joint supplies. In other words, we minister the words to each other during our walk here on earth. Their wings being straight means that there are no false doctrines emanating from the words of these living creatures.

Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

In verse 23, we are told that each living creature has two wings which covered their bodies. Having two or more witnesses regarding His words is what protects us (our bodies) to know the mind of Christ and become established in Him. 

2Co 13:1  This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

Eze 1:25  And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.

As explained earlier, firmament which appears as terrible crystal is the same as the sea of glass mingled with fire. It is through our fiery trials that we clearly hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, who is Christ. When these living creatures stood still and let down their wings, that is when a voice from the firmament was heard. This means that the Lord coming to us to open our eyes to see and hear His words is not dependent on what we are doing for Him. It is through the mercies of the Lord that we are given the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven.

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Eze 1:26  And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

By comparing scripture with scripture, we are given to know that the appearance of a man in verse 26 is Christ our Lord, who has overcome and sits on the throne of our hearts and mind.

Exo 24:10  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. 

From the above verse, we can see that the man Ezekiel saw sitting on the throne is the God of Israel, who is Christ our Lord. It is He who comes with His judgment as He sits in the throne of our hearts and mind.

Eze 1:27  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 
Eze 1:28  As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. 

As indicated in the previous study, the color amber is translated in many versions to mean polished or glowing metal. 

Eze 1:27  From the waist up, it was glowing like metal in a hot furnace, and from the waist down it looked like the flames of a fire. The figure was surrounded by a bright light,

What the polished or glowing metal of the Lord’s appearance from His loins upward and downwards in the midst of the fire signifies is that when Christ comes to us, He comes to initiate our fiery trials to remove all that contaminates our walk with Him so that we can be presented blameless before God.

Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

The brightness of the Lord’s coming is the fire of His words, or His judgement as indicated in the following verse:

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

This brightness of the Lord’s coming is compared to the appearance of rainfall after rain. In Genesis, the appearance of a rainbow was to serve as surety of the Lord’s promise that He shall preserve humanity and not destroy them with the waters of a flood. What this signifies is that the Lord’s judgment now in the lives of His elect and later in the age of the lake of fire is not to destroy us, His elect, and humanity through false doctrines (waters of the flood) but is a way of preserving us His elect to be used as instruments to preserve humanity from destruction later. This means the Lord’s judgment is for the salvation of His elect first and then later for the salvation of all flesh from Adam to date. In this verse, we are given to know the instrument that the Lord will use to save humanity – the truth of the word of the Lord and not false doctrines or the waters of the flood. This means that the Lord, through His elect, will burn every false doctrine in our hearts and mind. What we are therefore learning of the word of the Lord is not only for our salvation, but the salvation of our children, family, friends, etc. at a later time set by the Lord.

Gen 9:11  I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 
Gen 9:12  And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 
Gen 9:13  I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 
Gen 9:14  When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 
Gen 9:15  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 

May the Lord help us to know Him more as we see the day approaching. Amen!!

This Psalm is an exposé of the reverence which we are to have toward God as expressed in the first verse “The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.”

One way in which fear or reverence of God is formed which can move the earth (Rom 8:14) is when He reveals the order that he has put in the body of Christ, and gives us to understand that “he sitteth between the cherubims” and ordained from the foundation of the world the “gifts” (Eph 4:8) which bless us and enable us to dwell in peace and harmony as we learn of His greatness within His house/temple which we are (Ezr 1:5, Psa 127:1, 1Co 3:16).

The physical creation in the micro and the macro declares that glory and order of God and leaves us in awe and wonder when we consider the physical work of His hands which reflects the greater spiritual work being formed within our heavens (Psa 19:1, Rom 1:20). The body of Christ is raised in heavenly places for the purpose of going unto perfection (Eph 2:6), and like the physical heavens, all is unfolding decently and in order and according to the counsel of His will Who has laid the foundations and declared the end from the beginning (1Co 14:40, Eph 1:11, Psa 102:25, Ezr 3:11-12, 1Pe 1:9, 1Pe 1:13).

I want to look at the word “gifts”, the word “conscience”, the verses in “Eph 5:19-33”, and the phrases “from the beginning” and “the beginning” to hopefully help bring to life this title verse in our study, as we consider how God is laying a foundation through the lives of His people, “the cherubims” (of verse 1), who are those lively stones that are being moved and assembled by our loving Father who is the author and finisher of our faith through Christ (1Pe 2:5, Heb 12:2, Eph 2:10, Php 1:6).

Starting with the word “gifts”:

Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures [type of the gifts bestowed upon Christ’s body], they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. [The three separate gifts show the process of growing in these gifts which God says we ought to covet to share with the body of Christ which is formed through judgment].

Christ’s life is formed in us through the death of the first man Adam, and the process of this death through judgment is symbolized in these three gifts which were brought to Jesus as a baby.

Mat 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? [1Co 12:31]

1Co 12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

1Co 14:1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. [1Co 14:3]
1Co 14:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

Rom 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

1Co 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
1Co 12:2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
1Co 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: [Christ is not against Christ; we are not a house divided (Mar 3:24, 1Co 1:13)] and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. [Luk 6:46, Luk 10:20]
1Co 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1Co 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
1Co 12:30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

Heb 2:4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? [Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5]
Heb 2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. [Rev 11:15, 2Co 1:24]
Heb 2:6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Heb 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

Heb 8:3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
Heb 8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: [1Jn 4:17, Heb 4:16]

Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh [Type and shadow for us today to remind us that our offering is acceptable to God through Christ because we are dead to sin and alive in Christ as His two witnesses-our gift of being a living sacrifice is accepted through Christ whereas the gifts exchanged by the flesh are rejected of God (Rev 11:10)].

Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

The gifts God has given us are for the perfecting of the saints’ “conscience”.

Heb 9:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

1Co 8:11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
1Co 8:12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
1Co 8:13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

Act 24:16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1Ti 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

1Ti 3:9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

These verses in Eph 5:19-33 that we’ll look at now help explain how the spiritual foundation is laid in the church that, when heard and followed (Rom 10:17), settles us in Christ by holding faith and a good conscience; as we move forward blessed to be “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience”:

Eph 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Eph 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Eph 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Eph 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Eph 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Eph 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. [Christ]

The next series of verses we will examine should reassure us that all the foundations which God has laid prior to Christ coming to earth [from the beginning] were type and shadow foundations of Christ the rock on which God’s love is founded:

1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery [1Ti 3:9], which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God [it’s not that it was not there, but it was hid], who created all things by Jesus Christ:

2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

1Jn 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

1Jn 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
1Jn 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
1Jn 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you [Joh 8:31], which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father [3Jn 1:4].

1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

2Jn 1:5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

The last section we’ll look at of the list I mentioned at the start of the study is the expression “the beginning” which makes clear to us that the Lord is that foundation that God purposed for all of humanity, the “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending”, who is building the church today, preparing the bride of Christ (Rev 19:7, Mat 16:18), so we can be that foundational government that will rule and reign under him during the millennium (Rev 7:4, Rev 20:6, 1Co 6:3). Let us be glad and rejoice!

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

The decency and order spoken of in 1Co 14:40 cannot be overstated, and Psalm 99 helps us see what is at the heart and core of every healthy relationship in Christ, just as we also saw in Ephesians chapter five, which lays the foundation for us in the church.

The entire decent and orderly process of God’s counsel is leading to perfection on the third day, a process that starts with the elect (Luk 13:32). There has to be patience developed to possess our souls within that order (Luk 21:19) as we witness the increase that comes in His time and through the means which God has ordained it to happen (2Ki 19:29, Lev 19:23, Luk 13:6-9, Luk 13:32, 1Co 3:6).

This Psalm points to the humbled and contrite heart that God forms in those who are blessed to worship him in spirit and truth in this age as they learn of that order which is formed through an obedience that He teaches us through judgment and by the things we endure through this life (1Pe 4:17, Rom 2:4, Psa 95:8, Pro 3:11, Heb 5:8).

Worshipping God in spirit and truth is formed through judgment, and although there can be order and peace and harmony and reverence in any physical relationship, it will ultimately lead to death if that relationship is not founded on obedience to Christ. There must be a cleansing of the temple before we can properly worship God in spirit and in truth (Pro 14:12, Mat 7:27, Joh 2:15, Joh 4:23).

Through Christ, however, we can receive peace that passes all understanding through judgment upon our vine [our life] that will ultimately bear much fruit in this age (Joh 15:8) if we are blessed to receive His mercy which will enable us to abide in Christ (Rom 11:17-20, Joh 8:32). He works with his people and enables us to endure unto the end (Joh 15:5, Php 2:13) as we are grafted into Christ and His body through that judgment which is shadowed in the digging about and dunging of which is spoken in Luk 13:8 that sets the stage for works/growth that God has predestined from the foundation of the world that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10, Joh 10:7-10).

God’s judgment, which comes upon all men in time, is filled with mercy and produces His righteousness, or as stated in verse four “thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob”. The fruit that is born through his judgment and righteousness working in our heavens is a new creation (2Co 5:17) that wants to exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool (vs 5).

We cannot have spiritual order in our life until we are judged by the Lord and brought to see our need for it. God answers us from the cloudy pillar in verse seven because we are being reminded that we see through a glass darkly and not the other way around. God’s vision is not clouded in regard to who we are and where we are spiritually. He knows our hearts perfectly and takes vengeance on our sins, and once we are brought through the storms which He raises in our lives, we are blessed to find our safe haven in Him where we greatly desire to exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy hill. It is only after that judgment that we are brought to recognize the holiness of God, the order and the mercy and truth that are always bound about His neck for our sakes whom He loves.

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jer 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Pro 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pro 3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

1Jn 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Psa 99:1 The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
Psa 99:2 The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.
Psa 99:3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.
Psa 99:4 The king’s strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob.
Psa 99:5 Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
Psa 99:6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
Psa 99:7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.
Psa 99:8 Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.
Psa 99:9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

Psa 99:1 The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.

When we are blessed to see that “The LORD reigneth” and is completely sovereign (Eph 1:11), we will tremble at His word, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Lord (Isa 66:2, Heb 10:31, Jas 2:19).

The words “sitteth the cherubims” is a witness to us of His great power working in the church today as that Godly fear working within us works to move our heaven and earth (Php 2:13, Rom 8:14) that He is establishing or making new (Rev 21:1, Jer 22:29) as He “sitteth^H3427 the cherubims” (Heb 12:27-29).

H3427 yâshab yaw-shab’
A primitive root; properly to sit down (specifically as judge, in ambush, in quiet); by implication to dwell, to remain; causatively to settle, to marry: – (make to) abide (-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell (-ing), ease self, endure, establish, X fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit (-ant), make to keep [house], lurking, X marry (-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set (-tle), (down-) sit (-down, still, -ting down, -ting [place] -uate), take, tarry.

Psa 99:2 The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.

This second verse saying “The LORD is great in Zion” witnesses to the first verse stating “he sitteth between the cherubims”, knowing that Zion represents the elect, just as the cherubims do (Oba 1:21, Eze 10:14, Rev 4:7-8).

Christ is above all the people or all the powers and principalities that work in people (Eph 6:12), and He has preeminence (Eph 1:21, Col 1:17-18). There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Act 4:12, Luk 10:20).

With Christ in us, we are high above all the Adamic world around us, raised in heavenly places; we, the least in the kingdom, are told we are greater than John (Mat 11:11).

Psa 99:3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.

We see the word “holy” being used to praise God in Isa 6:3 and Rev 4:8, as we praise Him for the wonderful works which He is doing within our heavens (Psa 107:31), that are being sanctified and made holy through the washing of the word (Joh 17:17, Eph 5:26).

The three words “holy, holy, holy” in Isa 6:3 and Rev 4:8 remind us that it is through the process of judgment that we can be made holy and accepted of our Father through Christ.

Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Rev 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Rom 15:7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Next week, Lord willing, we’ll look at part two of our study entitled “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience” and the growing appreciation expressed in the scriptures of how God is preparing His kings and priests through judgment to not only have a conscience that is undefiled, but also a believing heart that believes all things and does the works that God has predestined for us. We exalt the Lord and worship Him with humility, acknowledging that He is the one who is taking away our stoney heart and giving us a fleshly one as he does those works within us.

1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 29 Discussion

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Isa 6:11-13 Until The Cities Be Wasted Without Inhabitant... and There Be A Great Forsaking In The Midst of The Land

Isa 6:11  Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Isa 6:12  And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
Isa 6:13  But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

We have learned that the seraphims are just another symbol of God's elect who are "in the midst of and round about the throne of God in heaven":

Rev 4:6  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

The book of Revelation adds the "four and twenty elders" to the various Biblical types and figures of God's elect who will rule with Him through the millennium and then be used by God as the saviors of all mankind in and through the lake of fire, which is merely one more type and figure of our Lord's elect, whose words will devour the kingdom of our old man:

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Rev 4:4  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

"My Words in your mouth fire", for those who  can receive it, is the Biblical definition of "the lake of fire", which will be used by God to judge the whole world, which will be raised up into the realm of the spirit:

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The "four and twenty elders", the "four beasts", tell us plainly who they symbolize:

Rev 5:8  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.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

So the seraphims of Isaiah six are the "kings and priests "redeemed unto God out of all nations [who] shall reign [with Christ] on the earth... for a thousand years".

The "one hundred forty and four thousand" of Revelation 7 and Revelation 14 are also "redeemed from among men", and are just another symbol of Christ's firstfruits, who will reign with Him on this earth and will then become the 'fire' of "the lake of fire".

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Rev 14:4  These [144.000] are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

This brings us to the judgment of 'angels', of resurrected spiritual bodies (1Co 15:44), before the great white throne:

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

These seraphims and cherubims fly, wing touching wing, as a single-minded body "proclaiming the everlasting gospel, and crying one to another", affirming the wonderful works of God to the children of men. This is the message of the seraphims, and this is also our message "one to another":

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

These destructive judgments against the kingdom of our old man are "His wonderful works to the children of men". Our rebellious old man thinks God's ways are wicked ways, and that we, His marred creation, are much more righteous than our Creator. Being brought "to [our] wits' end", to our old man, is simply nothing less than sadistic torment from an unjust God, and like Job, we all come to our wits' end and reprove, contend with, and condemn God, to make ourselves appear righteous in our own minds (Job 40:1-8).

1Kg 6:27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.

Isa 6:3  And one [seraph] cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Isa 6:4  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

As these seraphim, cherubims, twenty four elders and 144,000, what is it we are to proclaim as "the everlasting gospel"?

We need not guess. It is no coincidence that immediately after seeing the seraphims around the throne of God, having "a live coal from the altar" placed upon his lips, Isaiah is sent as a witness to preach the gospel, and to proclaim the Lord's judgments upon the Lord's rebellious people. It is no coincidence that Ezekiel had the exact same experience, immediately after having a very similar vision. Immediately after being shown the Lord's throne and the cherubims around God's throne, Ezekiel is also sent to proclaim the gospel and to declare the Lord's judgments upon the Lord's people, the people of Israel:

Isa 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Notice that Ezekiel's experience is exactly the same as Isaiah's. Immediately after being shown the Lord's throne and the cherubims around His throne, Ezekiel was given this commission:

Eze 3:1  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest;eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
Eze 3:2  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
Eze 3:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

This commission to us actually appears three times in scripture. Here is where John was also shown the the throne of God in heaven and was given the exact same commission:

Rev 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
Rev 4:2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 
Rev 4:3  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
Rev 4:4  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. 
Rev 4:5  And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Rev 4:6  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 
Rev 4:7  And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
Rev 4:8  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

In Revelation 10 John gives us the exact same commission given to us in Isaiah and Ezekiel. It is worded slightly differently, but the variations in the description of the throne of God and of what takes place around the throne of God simply adds to our understanding of why we are shown His throne and the living creatures, which symbolize those saints who are seated round about God's throne, with Christ in the heavens.  We are given the same commission the third time here in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This is what we are commanded to proclaim as His gospel:

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Why does the devouring of this "little book" make our belly bitter? It is because this is the same book we are commanded to eat in the book of Ezekiel, and we are given the same commission:

Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

In all three prophets we are given the same commission to give His words to His people and to leave nothing out nor add anything to it.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

We are given to be seated with Christ in His Father's throne in the heavens (Eph 2:6), and this is how John describes part of our experience while being seated with Christ in the heavens:

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

There is only one thing concerning what is written of the things we are to keep, as verse 3 of chapter one tells us, which we are not given to know:

Jas 4:13  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

God has given us the revelation of His Christ and the things which must shortly come to pass within our own lives, but He has done so in signs and symbols, and in very definite, yet very general terms. We have been plainly told that as the disciples of Christ we will "be hated of all men", and that "it is through much tribulation that we must enter into the kingdom of God". We are plainly told that "if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him", and that we are not to "think it strange concerning the fiery trials which [are] to try [us]:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

We are also plainly told we are to "present our bodies as a living sacrifice [and to be] crucified with Christ":

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

So much for the damnable false doctrine of "the substitutionary death of Christ" which the Lord Himself has given to the adversary for so many long years to rob so many of their salvation in this age. God is honest with His creatures, and He wants us know up front that while the rewards for our obedience far outweigh the price we must pay, nevertheless we are bought with a price and that we, too, are expected to be crucified with Christ and to fill up in our lives what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ, "for His body's sake, which is the church":

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

But this is all presented to us in these general terms, and we only see them if we are "caused... to eat" the words of God by being given eyes to see the things of the spirit and ears to hear the things of the spirit:

Eze 3:2  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

This is how we will be received by those who are not given to receive our witness:

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are [being] perfect[ed]: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 
1Co 2:8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

We are granted to see all these spiritual things and to understand the spiritual significance of all the spiritual symbols only because we are "saved by grace", and through that saving grace we are given the spirit which gives us the eyes that see and the ears which hear "the things of the spirit":

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in [the] heavens[...] in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

We are granted to be shown in Christ and with Him as the finished product of His chastening grace. We are given spiritual eyes and ears only through God's saving grace. And this is what God's favor and His grace does to us. This, again is why the digesting and devouring of "the little book" which is "open[ed]" to us is sweet in our mouths, but is bitter in our bellies.

Here is what God's grace does to us and accomplishes within us:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

"By grace ye are saved" is not thrown in just to fill up space or to make God appear to be gracious. "By grace YOU are saved" has everything to do with what is involved in coming to see an open door in the heavens, and seeing and understanding what it means to have our lips touched with a live coal from the altar of God in the temple of God, to eat a scroll written within and without, and to "receive the things of the spirit".

Those who value the flesh and who have been given to hate their own Creator, "cannot receive the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him [and he] can[not] know them, because they are spiritually discerned".

"But God has revealed them unto us by His spirit: for the spirit searches out all things, yes, the deep things of God", and nothing is any "deeper than what we, as the seraphims around the throne of God are given to understand and are commissioned and to proclaim to the Lord's people.

It is not a popular message to our old man, and it is completely rejected by a world to which it also applies at the appointed time. Isaiah speaks for us all when he inquires of the Lord:

Isa 6:11  Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Isa 6:12  And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
Isa 6:13  But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

A tenth will return, and even that tenth will be eaten "as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves.

What specifically must we  proclaim and prophesy is not a popular message. It is revealed to be the same in the words given to Ezekiel, and to John in the book of Revelation:

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

This message is repeated in the next chapter:

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

And what does the holy spirit say of this message? The next verse tells us who it is who must "keep the sayings of the prophesy of this book" (Rev 1:3), who must "fulfill the seven plagues of the seven angels" before they can enter into the temple of God in heaven:

Rev 14:12  Here [verses 6-11] is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

"Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God... is the patience and faith of the saints.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Isaiah's lips being touch by a live coal from the altar, Ezekiel's eating of the book and John eating of the roll are one and all types and figures of Christ's commandment He has given us to "eat [His] flesh and drink [His] blood." We do so first to let those words do their fiery work within us and then so we can be used of Christ to give His words to others just as He used others to bring His words to us.

But just as we at first hated and ridiculed His words, Ezekiel informs us that our words will also not at first be received by God's own people:

Eze 3:4  And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
Eze 3:5  For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;
Eze 3:6  Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
Eze 3:7  But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted. 
Eze 3:8  Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
Eze 3:9  As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
Eze 3:10  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
Eze 3:11  And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

Christ required that His disciples "eat My flesh", which He equates with "the bread of life". He also equates His blood with the water of life:

Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 
Joh 6:57  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Christ is the bread of life, the tree of life, the water and river of life, and He is also the book of life, simply because He is the Truth and the life, and because having eternal life is a matter of knowing Him and His Father:

Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 90

“Watchmen”

October 28, 2015

Exodus 25 is the first chapter in scripture that gives commandments to the children of Israel to build a sanctuary for the Lord to dwell in. This is also the first chapter that goes into great detail about the design and creation of all the objects that will go into and be a part of the sanctuary.
All of these descriptive items are physical symbols of what we know to be spiritual items. If this is doubtful to you, then we can see that the sanctuary itself is spiritual as described in the New Testament.

Exo 25:8  And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

2Co 5:1  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2Co 5:2  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
2Co 5:3  If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Mar 14:58  We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

Heb 9:8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
Heb 9:9  Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

Act 7:48  Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Act 7:49  Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Act 7:50  Hath not my hand made all these things?

Act 17:23  For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Act 17:24  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25  Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

I mention all of these familiar verses because they lay the foundation for all of the scripture we are going to cover in Exodus moving forward while also allowing us to connect the Lord’s working of His awesome hands in our lives.

The last few studies we covered who it is that gives a willing offering and what that means, so now we are going to connect how the Lord Himself views those whom He is at present working with in His temple.

If Jesus Christ can and is described as the lamb of God and the lion of the tribe of Judah, then His body and church can also be referred to as the “pillars of the temple of God”, “the temple of God” and yes, they can and are referred to spiritually with the items that make up the temple.

Symbols

All throughout human history, we associate things with symbols. We have symbols for everything. This symbol means this or that and by identifying the symbol and what it means, we are able to communicate the idea of thought behind the symbol.

Even today, we use company logos to identify one company from another so that we know what brand is being represented. We have country flags, organizational flags, medical symbols, street signs, restroom signs, on and on and on. We as humans NEED symbols to be able to communicate and our creator knows this VERY WELL. However, just having a symbol isn’t enough. We must know what that symbol represents.

The entire book of the revelation of Jesus Christ, the most important person to ever walk this earth, is told to us in signs and symbols.

Therefore, when we are told by Jesus that Moses, the prophets and Psalms all speak of Him, then what is He really telling us?

Luk 24:44  And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Luk 24:45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

“All things must be fulfilled,” are written in the law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms are all concerning Christ. So, adding line upon line, precept upon precept we can also conclude that anything in the temple concerns Christ, and Christ Jesus is a head and body.

Someone human recorded all the writings we have today concerning all of scripture. Someone sinful, lustful, and full of pride was used by God to eventually be brought to the point of being a vessel of God’s message, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to pin down the scriptures we have today.

I say this to connect this thought with the idea of who we are to God and how our verses in Exodus today connect to that temple we are to God.

Exo 25:8  And let THEM make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Exo 25:9  According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Exo 25:10  And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
Exo 25:11  And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
Exo 25:12  And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.
Exo 25:13  And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
Exo 25:14  And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
Exo 25:15  The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.

The pattern that we are going to see all of these items made out of is the SAME pattern the Jesus Christ IS!

“After the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it,” is told to us to be:

Heb 8:3  For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
Heb 8:4  For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
Heb 8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
Heb 8:6  But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Heb 8:7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

So, we have just been told that the tabernacle that was about to be made by Moses, the patterns being shown to Moses in the mount, are an example and SHADOW of the heavenly things, and those shadows now lead us to a MORE EXCELLENT MINISTRY / SERVICE.

How do those things shadowed, of which we just read a few of in Exodus 25:8-15, and will continue to read as we move through Exodus, lead us to a more excellent ministry?

Well, sometimes words are used to hide the meaning of what they are saying. In this case, there is a particular word connected OVER and OVER with a very precious metal in scripture, gold.

Mike is fond of saying, and I’ve found it to be very applicable to scripture, that words in the bible “mean what they mean” J

Gold is used all through the sanctuary because it is by far the most precious metal physically speaking. It is very rare and very valuable. Spiritually speaking this is no different for our spiritual understanding of the symbols we are being shown in Exodus 25.

Mike has written a great series on “Metals in scripture” and I encourage you all to review that study if you have not listened to it before.

What I noticed for the first time ever while preparing for the sanctuary and its items as described in Exodus is that everything is covered with gold.

You might be thinking, “well duh”, but what I am referring to is that everything is COVERED with gold.

Immediately my mind thought of Christ being our covering but most of the time I think of His blood and being washed in it as well as being white as snow such as a garment would cover our naked body, among other things.

The connecting thought that came to me is that we are OVERLAYED with gold, but my mind always wants to know why the Lord repeats a word or phrase to us.

After all, He is speaking to us via His Holy Spirit when we sup with Him via the Word.

Being inspired to search, I honed in on the English word “overlay” and looked at it in its Hebrew origin.

H6823

צָפָה
tsâphâh
tsaw-faw’
A primitive root (probably rather identical with H6822 through the idea of expansion in outlook transformed to act); to sheet over (especially with metal): – cover, overlay.
Total KJV occurrences: 46

H6823
צפה
tsâphâh
BDB Definition:
1) to lay out, lay over, overlay, cover
1a) (Piel) to overlay, plate, stud
1b) (Pual) to be laid over
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root [probably identical with H6822 through the idea of expansion in outlook, transferring to action]
Same Word by TWOT Number: 1951

H6823
צפה
tsâphâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 46
overlaid, 28
Exo_26:32, Exo_36:34 (2), Exo_36:36, Exo_36:38, Exo_37:2, Exo_37:4, Exo_37:11, Exo_37:15, Exo_37:26, Exo_37:28, Exo_38:2, Exo_38:6, Exo_38:28, 1Ki_6:20-22 (5), 1Ki_6:28, 1Ki_6:30, 1Ki_6:32, 1Ki_10:18, 2Ki_18:16, 2Ch_3:4, 2Ch_3:10, 2Ch_4:9, 2Ch_9:17
overlay, 12
Exo_25:11 (2), Exo_25:13, Exo_25:24, Exo_26:28-29 (3), Exo_26:37, Exo_27:2, Exo_27:6, Exo_30:3, Exo_30:5
covered, 5
1Ki_6:15 (2), 1Ki_6:20, 1Ki_6:35, Pro_26:23
garnished, 1
2Ch_3:6

So, H6823 means essentially what it sounds like and that is to sheet over “especially with metal”. However, what does it mean to be sheeted over “especially with Spirit” since this gold is a symbol of something?

Well, it happens that H6822 is mentioned as “probably rather identical with” H6822 overlay or “tsaw-faw”.

H6822

צָפָה
tsâphâh
tsaw-faw’
A primitive root; properly to lean forward, that is, to peer into the distance; by implication to observe, await: – behold, espy, look up (well), wait for, (keep the) watch (-man).
Total KJV occurrences: 36

It’s hard to tell, but if you look at the Hebrew writing used in Strong’s, it is identical. The BDB writes it the same as well for both H6822 and H6823 though BDB and Strong’s write them different than one another between the versions. For example, Strong’s writes both words the same and BDB write them the same but the way that BDB and Strong’s writes them is slightly different, but they are consistent within their own individual standards.

H6822
צפה
tsâphâh
BDB Definition:
1) to look out or about, spy, keep watch, observe, watch
1a) (Qal) to keep watch, spy
1b) (Piel) to watch, watch closely
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root
Same Word by TWOT Number: 1950

H6822
צפה
tsâphâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 38
watchman, 14
2Sa_18:24-27 (5), 2Ki_9:17-18 (2), 2Ki_9:20, Isa_21:6, Eze_3:17, Eze_33:2, Hos_9:6-8 (3)
watch, 5
Gen_31:49, 2Sa_13:34, Isa_21:5, Hab_2:1 (2)
watchmen, 5
1Sa_14:16, Isa_52:8, Isa_56:10, Jer_6:17, Mic_7:4
look, 2
Psa_5:3, Mic_7:7
looketh, 2
Pro_31:27, Son_7:4
watching, 2
1Sa_4:13, Lam_4:17
behold, 1
Psa_66:7
beholding, 1
Pro_15:3
espy, 1
Jer_48:19
waited, 1
Job_15:22
watched, 1
Lam_4:17
watcheth, 1
Psa_37:32
watchman’s, 1
Eze_33:6
well, 1
Pro_31:27

What does “overlaying” with gold and “watchmen” have in common? Rather, what is identical about these words? Here is why the BDB concludes these words are the same, “probably identical with H6822 through the idea of expansion in outlook, transferring to action”.

That itself can be a little hard to understand, so thinking about what overlaying does, it COVERS whatever is being overlayed.

A watchmen COVERS the thing he is watching with the concept of “I am covering your back” or I am “looking out for the city”. The watchmen covers the city with his ability and the safety net of covering the city with a watchful attendance to said safety.

I could spend another hour giving examples of how gold and being a watchmen have very similar qualities, but we should be getting the idea that our Lord wants us to understand that we are COVERED with His gold and the COVERING itself is ….. wait for it ….. Jesus the Christ.

Jesus Christ is Head and body.

If this all seems like a bit of a stretch, no pun intended, then let us consider what overlaying represents in the context of the next verses in Exodus.

Exo 25:16  And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
Exo 25:17  And thou shalt make a mercy seat of PURE GOLD: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
Exo 25:18  And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Exo 25:19  And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
Exo 25:20  And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
Exo 25:21  And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
Exo 25:22  And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

Isn’t that something! We have items which are overlaid with gold, but then the items mentioned here are made out of pure gold and not just covered with it.

The mercy seat and cherubim are made of gold, but the cherubim are specifically mentioned in these verses as being BEATEN into shape.

When I see two cherubim being mentioned I immediately think of the two witnesses fallen in that great city. As I read these verses, focus your spiritual discernment on what it is these witness’ witness and prophecy about.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Rev 11:9  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
Rev 11:10  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
Rev 11:11  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Rev 11:12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Connecting these witnesses to their actions with the cherubim in Exodus, let us focus on the power they have been given.

The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev 19:10) and Jesus Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1).

The cherubim stare at each other and have their wings extended over the mercy seat. Where is the mercy seat at? Is it not the throne of God?

Num 7:89  And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.

We are spoken to from where God dwells. We are spoken to from within heaven and the kingdom of God is within us.

The cherubim cover the mercy seat and have God commune BETWEEN and ABOVE THEM.

Jesus told us, as Christians, that He has given us all things. We have the power of God residing in us.

Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Behold, we have the power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy.

What then does this power look like in our lives? After all, I am NOTHING. I have no strength of my own, no power of my own to resist the false prophet and the devil, I have no power to make myself an inch taller or to keep the hair on my head. I cannot change my spots nor can I change the color of my skin.  Lord knows I would love to be able to stay in the sun longer than a few hours without getting totally and utterly burned to the point of skin and sun poisoning.

So with all of this being true, what power DO I HAVE?

I have the Word of God. I have the power to “do greater things than these”. I have power to do WONDERFUL miracles in the lives of those who are the walking dead, always naked, always hungry, never full no matter how much they eat, ever wondering, never given peace.

But with this power comes the witness of it. Jesus Christ gave instant miracles when He walked this earth. He fed people instantly for their physical bellies.

He healed them of their physical health problems and diseases.

However, He left the spiritual healing up to His BODY whom He DWELLS in. We, as cherubim having the THRONE OF GOD in our CENTER, must WITNESS the work of God as he sits on His throne.

We often times wait very long periods of time to see the manifestation of God’s will in our lives. Sometimes, we see it instantly as well as miracles that happen instantly.

However, if we are really looking toward the cherubim in our midst than we would see none stop miracles. Lord gives us eyes that see and ears that hear.

In the next study, we are going to continue to build upon who we are as the cherubim, and how all the other items in the sanctuary represent an aspect of who we are to and for God’s will.

We have His mind SITTING upon us, ABOVE us and IN us, so we will continue to dig in the field to see what that beauty of our pearl of great price really is.

Audio Links

The Spiritual Significance of Biblical Locations – Part 7

Where is the Temple of God? Where and What are the Cherubim in the Temple?

2Sa 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

1Ki 6:17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.

Psa 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

Num 7:89 And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.

1Sa 4:4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

2Sa 6:2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.

Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Introduction

God hears our cries “out of His temple”. His “house…is the temple”. His temple and His throne are “in heaven”. God speaks to us “from off the mercy seat… from between the two cherubims”, and we are told that He “dwells between the cherubims” which are within “the temple of God… in heaven”. The ark of His covenant is in His temple.

With all of this in mind, the apostle Paul was shown that God’s true house, His true temple, is nothing other than His people in whom He dwells. Here is what we are told:

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

2Co 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

For many of us, it seems only yesterday that we, along with so many others, were anxiously awaiting the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem as a necessary event that must take place before Christ could come back to this earth. I remember well quoting:

Amo 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

This prophecy is repeated by James at the Jerusalem conference in Acts 15:

Act 15:16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:

How it is concluded that this prophecy proves that a physical temple has to be built before Christ can return is a mystery to me now, but I can remember well when it not even a question in my mind – the temple had to be rebuilt.

Will a physical temple be built in Jerusalem before Christ returns? Time will reveal whether that will happen, but even if it is built, that will not make it the dwelling place of God, any more that the re-establishing of the state of Israel has served to make the outward Jews who are there today the true Jews in whom Christ dwells. As hated as these words are by both Jews and Christians, they are still inspired of the holy spirit and are the Truth of God:

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Can an outward Jew be a Jew? Only if he acknowledges that being an outward Jew is in itself “but dung” in the mind of God:

Php 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

In Christ a physical pedigree is of no value whatsoever, and being of the physical nation of Israel is now of no advantage at all. The chapter break between Romans 2:29 and Romans 3:1 has served to keep the Truth of Romans 2:28-29 hidden from the masses of Christians. This is no doubt by God’s design simply because He has come to make blind those who think they see (Joh 9:39). Nevertheless, Romans 3:1 is not a contradiction of the previous two verses and must be understood in the context of the revelation of the previous two verses, or it will be taken to mean the exact opposite of Roman 2:28-29.

Let’s put these verses all together without the chapter break and see what the holy spirit reveals:

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Rom 3:1 What advantage then hath the [inward (Rom 2:29)] Jew? or what profit is there of [spiritual (Rev 2:29)] circumcision?
Rom 3:2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

Our lack of faith in what God says does not change His Truth. The words ‘were committed’ in Romans 3:2 are also in the aorist tense and are a simple statement of fact, that the oracles of God are committed to those who are Jews and who are circumcised. Our lack of faith in Romans 2:28-29 will not change the Truth revealed there, any more than a physical Gentile who was disgruntled with the fact that God had a special physical relationship with physical Israel before Christ would change that fact. The phrase “were committed” is in the aorist tense because of the preceding statement that outward Jews are not Jews at all, and outward circumcision is not circumcision at all. Nevertheless, the oracles of God are still committed to spiritual Jews, who are now spiritually circumcised. The phrase “did not believe” is also in the aorist tense and is again a simple statement of fact without any regard to time. “What if some do not believe what Paul has just revealed to us?” If we refuse to believe that an outward Jew is not a Jew or that physical circumcision is not counted as circumcision by God, will our denial of these Truths change the fact that they are yet True? The answer is:

Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Those who are “the [true] temple of God” are diligently attentive and zealous to be obedient to the Words of God.

Ecc 5:1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

We “keep [our] foot when [we] go to house of God”, when we fear and tremble before Christ’s words concerning how we are to conduct ourselves within “the house of God”. We cannot do this unless we first confess that we are His temple:

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

“The house of God [is] the temple of God” and the temple of God is “the church which is His body”.

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of [the] Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

So the body in which Christ dwells is also the temple in which He dwells. That explains why we are called “His flesh and His bones” which continue to “fill up that which is behind of His afflictions:

Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Christ loves us as His flesh and His bones because we are His bride whom He loves as He loves Himself.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

God speaks “from between the cherubims”

How does God speak to His people? Does he do so only through the written word on a one-on-one basis? Or does God witness to His people “by the church”? Here is the short answer to this question for all who have eyes that see and ears that hear:

Exo 25:17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
Exo 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Exo 25:19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
Exo 25:20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
Exo 25:21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
Exo 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

God speaks to His people “from between the cherubims”. We see this phrase repeated throughout the Old Testament:

1Sa 4:4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

2Sa 6:2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.

2Ki 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

1Ch 13:6 And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.

Psa 80:1 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.

Psa 99:1 The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.

Isa 37:16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

Eze 10:2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.

Eze 10:6 And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels.

That “fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims” is the word of God:

Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

So the fire that is “between the cherubims” and the “commun[ing] with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims” is one and the same: “my words in thy mouth fire“.

Here is our final verse containing this phrase:

Eze 10:7 And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim’s unto the fire that was between the cherubims,and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.

Compared with Exodus 25:22:

Exo 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

‘All [the] things which [God] will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel’ are all His Words which will devour all the wood, hay and stubble within His people. The apostle Paul reiterates this Truth in the New Testament:

1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is [the doctrine and words of] Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire [“from between the cherubims”] ; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Where does God dwell? He “dwells between the cherubims”. He dwells in His temple, and “ye are the temple of God… the spirit of God dwells in you”!

Since you and I are now His people, how does God now communicate Himself and His doctrine to His people? The fact is that He still speaks to His people “from between the cherubims”. Here is how the apostle Paul summarizes all of these verses which tell us that God speaks to us from between the cherubim, from out of His temple, which is the abode of His spirit which “dwells in you”:

Eph 3:8 Unto me [You and me (Mat 4:4, Eph 3:10)], who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Eph 3:9 And to make all men see [speak to “all men”] what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church [the cherubim (Rev 5:8-10)] the manifold wisdom of God,

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you [not just Paul].

Rev 5:8 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.
Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Notice the description of these four beasts in the book of Revelation:

Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
Rev 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

These are the very same four beasts of Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10:

Eze 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

When we put this verse together with what we read in Ezekiel 10 we discover that the definition of “a cherub”, when no other form is specified is to be understood as “an ox”. Notice what we are told of these very same creatures in Ezekiel 10:

Eze 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

Here in Ezekiel 10 “the face of an ox” is replaced with “the face of a cherub”, and yet the very next verse tells us this is the very same creature seen in Ezekiel 1:

Eze 10:15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.

Eze 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

“The heavens were opened” and Ezekiel saw this vision of the throne of God. Our heavens are being opened, and we are made to know that these four creatures are the whole body of one Christ. In Ezekiel each creature has all four faces, whereas in Revelation each creature is distinguished with just one of these four faces. What this tells us is that we are all within each other, just as we are all within Christ and His Father, and just as the seven churches are separate churches yet they are all within all of us, and the message to each church is also addressed to “He that hath an ear”.

Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Rev 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rev 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

In conclusion, here is how Christ Himself tells us that He is still speaking to His people “from between the cherubims”. Every time you see the words ‘thy’ or ‘thee’ or ‘church’, just substitute the word ‘cherubim’, those who “have [been] redeemed… to God by [Christ’s] blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev 5:9), and you will see how God is still speaking to His people “from between the cherubims”:

Mat 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Mat 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Now let’s reword these verses to make them accord with the truth revealed to us in Revelation 5:9 by the four living creatures, the four cherubims:

Mat 18:15 Moreover if [a cherubim’s] brother shall trespass against [a cherubim], go and tell him his fault between [the cherubim] and him alone: if he shall hear [the cherubim], [the cherubim] hast gained [the cherubim’s] brother.
Mat 18:16 But if he will not hear [the cherubim], then take with [the cherubim] one or two more [cherubims], that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear [those cherubims], tell it unto the church [the cherubims]: but if he neglect to hear the church [the cherubims], let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

It is of utmost significance to know that God’s true ‘cherubims’ never speak or even “think above that which is written”:

1Co 4:6 Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other. (ACV)

When we are careful to never “think above what is written”, it is not us, but Christ who continues to reiterate and strengthen the safety that is in these words “which [are] written” in Matthew 18:15-17 and which keep His cherubim from being defiled with the diseases of Egypt (Exo 15:26). To His cherubim, who have been redeemed to God out of every nation, Christ continues:

Mat 18:18 Verily, I am saying to you, Whatsoever you [cherubim] should be binding on the earth shall be those things having been bound in the heavens, and whatsoever you [cherubim] should be loosing on the earth shall be those loose in heaven.
Mat 18:19 Again, verily, I am saying to you that, if ever two of you [cherubim] should be agreeing on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it is they [the cherubim] should be requesting shall be coming to them [the cherubim] from My Father Who is in the heavens.
Mat 18:20 For where two or three [cherubim] are, gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them [the cherubim]. (CLV)

This is such an important doctrine of Christ, that He reaffirmed it to His ‘cherubims’, His disciples, immediately after His resurrection as it is recorded for us in:

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you [His cherubim].
Joh 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them [His cherubim], and saith unto them [His cherubim], Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Joh 20:23 Whose soever sins ye [cherubim] remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye [cherubim] retain, they are retained.

I pray that all these verses, “line upon line, and precept upon precept” have served to demonstrate that God is still speaking to His people “from between the cherubims”. He does not speak from a single cherubim, as some so emphatically affirm. Christ nowhere instructs His cherubim to operate independently of His other cherubim. Christ wants us to know that He has ordained that we are never, ever to so much as “think above that which is written” and that He has ordained for every word to be established only in the mouth of two or three witnesses, before we seek a multitude of counselors by telling it to the church. If after we “tell it to the church”, which is a hated doctrine of Christ if ever there has been one, then we are to let that brother or sister be to us as a heathen man and a publican if there is no repentance. To what end? Do we put a brother or sister out of our fellowship to humiliate them and to feel superior? No, of course not! Every true ‘cherubim’, every true disciple of Christ, knows that it is he himself who is ‘chief of sinners’, and he is humbled that Christ has seen fit to forgive him his unpayable debt. This is the reason why those who tremble at the Word of God refuse to allow a heathen man and a publican and a heretic into his spiritual house:

1Co 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

“When you are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “The power of our Lord Jesus Christ” is His Words in His cherubim, who are “Jesus of Nazareth” (Act 22:8) What a loving heavenly Father we have! If indeed He and His Son are living and dwelling within us, we, too, will be the first to “forgive from the heart” (Mat 18:35) a repentant brother or sister who has been brought by the dragging of the holy spirit “to the church” by whom they are made to see themselves, and to know they have sinned grievously and have been brought to repentance and to seek the forgiveness of Christ’s cherubim, His true disciples, by whom He had earlier spoken to them.

If ever we fail to follow Christ’s instructions here in Matthew 18, this is what we are solemnly warned:

Mat 18:32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Mat 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? [Mat 18:15-17]
Mat 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

We will close this study on the location of God’s temple and His cherubim with Christ’s demonstration of how His true disciples react when our forgiveness is indeed “from the heart”. This is the spirit that is in us when Christ and His Father abide within us. This is how God has welcomed us back when we have repented and sought His forgiveness, and this is how you and I will welcome back any repentant brother or sister:

Luk 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
Luk 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Luk 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Luk 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
Luk 15:23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
Luk 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

That is the spirit that is in the temple of God, which is within all in whom Christ dwells. That is the repentant and forgiving spirit which is within all in whom the fire of the Word of God has performed its purifying work.

The Spiritual Significance of Biblical Locations – Part 6

Where is the Garden of Eden, and Where is Paradise?

Gen 2:8  And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Gen 2:15  And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Luk 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

2Co 12:4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Introduction

The great red Dragon has this world believing that God created man in His glorified image, and while God had His back turned for just a few minutes, Satan sneaked into the garden of Eden and talked Adam and Eve into eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, contrary to God’s explicit commandment, just before God got there. Then because they made that mistake, all men ever since have had to live under the curse of Adam’s and Eve’s mistake. One very prominent American minister, who claims he knows Christ and that he has the mind of Christ, has famously said that at the resurrection, the first thing he is going to do is to walk right up to Adam and “punch him in the nose” for what he did to mankind. Is that any example of “the love of God” and how to implement Christ’s commandment to “love thine enemies”?

Here is how Christ Himself handled the sins of our original physical parents:

Gen 3:23  Therefore the LORD God sent him [Adam] forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 

It is of utmost significance to the answer to our question, “Where is the garden of Eden and where is paradise” that we notice when Adam and Eve were driven out of “Eden, the garden of God” (Eze 28:13), that God then “placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” It was “the way of the tree of life” of which Adam could not partake in the rebellious state in which he had been created. What this tells us is that the only way to partake of the fruit of the tree of life is to go through the flaming swords of the cherubims by “keep[ing] the way of the tree of life”. So before we reveal the scriptures which will show us exactly where the tree of life is, we will first discover the meaning of the name ‘Eden’, and we will find that this word, too, has both a positive and a negative application in the scripture. After we have learned what Eden means, we will reveal the location of the garden of Eden.

Here is the meaning of Eden:

H5731
עדן
‛êden
ay’-den
The same as H5730 (masculine); Eden, the region of Adam’s home: – Eden.

Here is the total number of times we find this word in the scriptures. ‘Eden’ is the only English word used  to translate this word H5731:

H5731
עדן
‛êden
Total KJV Occurrences: 20
eden, 20
Gen_2:8 (2), Gen_2:10, Gen_2:15, Gen_3:23-24 (2), Gen_4:16, 2Ch_29:12 (2), 2Ch_31:15, Isa_37:12, Isa_51:3, Eze_27:23, Eze_28:13, Eze_31:9, Eze_31:16, Eze_31:18 (2), Eze_36:35, Joe_2:3, Amo_1:5

When we look up the meaning of 5730, which we are told is “the same as” 5731, we find:

H5730
עדנה    עדן
‛êden  ‛ednâh
ay’-den, ed-naw’
From H5727; pleasure: – delicate, delight, pleasure. See also H1040.

Here is the total number of times we find this word in the scriptures, along with the various English words used to translate this word ‘eden’:

H5730
עדנה  /  עדן
‛êden  /  ‛ednâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 4
delicates, 1
Jer_51:34
delights, 1
2Sa_1:24
pleasure, 1
Gen_18:12
pleasures, 1
Psa_36:8

5730, which we are told is “the same as” 5731, is defined as ‘pleasure’, and it is translated with the English words ‘delicate, delight, and pleasure’.  We are then told that it comes from 5727, and when we look up 5727, this is what we find:

H5727
עדן
‛âdan
aw-dan’
A primitive root; to be soft or pleasant; figuratively and reflexively to live voluptuously: – delight self.

We are now all the way back to the “primitive root” for the word used as the name for “Eden… the garden of God”. Here is the one place this word is used in the Old Testament:

H5727
עדן
‛âdan
Total KJV Occurrences: 1
delighted, 1
Neh_9:25

This word as the primitive root of the name for the garden of God, which we are told means “to live voluptuously”, appears only one time in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, it should be clear, considering all the similar meanings assigned to all the words that come from this root word, that this word ‘eden’ carries with it in its positive application the concept of that which gives pleasure to God, and in its negative application that which gives pleasure to our old, carnal, first man Adam. It was in the garden of God that Adam and Eve disobeyed and rebelled against God and cast His law behind their backs and provoked Him. It was all done to “delight self” before delighting God.

Here is that verse in Nehemiah 9:25 with the verse before and after to demonstrate the negative application of  the root of the word for ‘Eden”:

Neh 9:24  So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
Neh 9:25  And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted [H5727: adan] themselves in thy great goodness.
Neh 9:26  Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. 

God Himself uses “Eden the garden of God” as the place where the man of sin within all of us puts himself when he exalts himself against God, and where we “rebel against God and cast His law behind [our] backs” and provoke Him just as Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden. Twice in the book of Ezekiel we are told of what we do as we are typified first by the king of Tyrus, and then by Pharaoh the king of Egypt:

Eze 28:2  Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: 

Eze 28:13  Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

This is not reality! This is all “your heart” that you think you are a god who “sits in the seat of God… though you set your heart as the heart of God.” Here is this same message concerning the man of sin within all of us in the book of 2Thessalonians 2:

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped: so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Here is our second example of how we do this within our hearts in the book of Ezekiel:

Eze 31:2  Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? 

Eze 31:8  The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
Eze 31:9  I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him. 
Eze 31:10  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; 
Eze 31:11  I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.

Physically, the garden of Eden was located somewhere near the Pison, Gihon, Tigris (Hiddekel) and Euphrates Rivers. No one thinks any of these rivers are in China, Russia, North or South America, or in central or South Africa. All Biblical scholars agree that mankind originated in what we now call the Middle East. There is no doubt that after the flood of Noah, mankind sprang out of the plains of Shinar where the tower of Babel was built.

Here is what we are told, and the fact is that the physical location of the garden of Eden is of no spiritual consequence.

Gen 2:8  And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 
Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Gen 2:10  And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
Gen 2:11  The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
Gen 2:12  And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
Gen 2:13  And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
Gen 2:14  And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 

The “garden of Eden” we are seeking to locate is the one from which the prince of Tyrus and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had to be “driven out”. That is right, God tells us He drove Pharaoh out of His garden just as He had driven Adam out of His garden. Let’s read it again:

Eze 31:2  Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?

Eze 31:9  I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him. 
Eze 31:10  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; 
Eze 31:11  I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness. 

For those with spiritual eyes and ears, we have now revealed the exact location of “Eden, the garden of God” in its negative application. Eden is that “place of pleasure and delights” which is first given to us by God, for which we have no gratitude and by which we become exalted in our own hearts and lift ourselves up against our God. This all takes place in our first ‘Garden of Eden’. Where is this place out of which Adam and the kings of Tyre and Egypt were driven? We just saw that Pharaoh was driven out of this garden because “His heart is lifted up…”, and that is the exact same condition which afflicted Adam and the prince of Tyrus:

Eze 28:2  Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: 

Eze 28:13  Thou [“because your heart is lifted up… you have said, I”] hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,.

Here is this first ‘garden of Eden’ as it is described for us in the New Testament:

1Co 1:1  Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
1Co 1:2  Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
1Co 1:3  Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 1:4  I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
1Co 1:5  That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 
1Co 1:6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

It all sounds just like the garden of Eden! “Sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints… in everything enriched by Him, in utterance and in all knowledge… the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye came behind in no gift” sounds something like:

Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest feely eat:

What does this first untried Christian experience produce? Here is what we are told:

1Co 2:2  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

Paul could not yet speak of being crucified with Christ, as he later did with the Romans, the Galatians and the Colossians as they were able to receive it:

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Since Paul could not yet speak to them in spiritual terms of being crucified with Christ and of presenting their own bodies to God as a living sacrifice, what then is first produced under such conditions? We need not guess, because we are plainly told:

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Is our first ‘garden of Eden’ a bad thing? This is what God thought of the first garden of Eden with its marred vessel of clay, its crooked serpent and its tree of the knowledge of good and evil:

Gen 1:25  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

That sounds a whole lot like the first seven verses of 1Corinthians 1, just before Paul tells those Corinthians that even though they “came behind in no gift… [they were] yet carnal… babes in Christ”. Yet it is all pronounced “very good” for what it was created to accomplish.

In His own ministry, Christ Himself fed the multitudes with loaves and fishes before He told them those gifts would no longer be given to them because those gifts were no longer serving any good purpose toward dragging those people to Himself:

Joh 6:26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 
Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

The first garden of pleasures is actually the worst place we can possibly be after a certain period of being spiritually coddled, because it keeps us from having our faith tried when we “come behind in no gift” and loaves and fishes are just given miraculously to us right before our very eyes:

Joh 6:14  Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Joh 6:15  When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

At this point we have become lifted up, and we actually think we can command God and “by force” make Him do our will. Of course that is not the case and will not be tolerated by Christ. So we must now pass from the negative application of the garden of Eden into “the paradise of God… the garden of God”, wherein we will find “the tree of life”, and we will be given “to eat of the tree of life”.

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 

However, not just anyone is allowed to enter into “the midst of the paradise of God” spoken of here in Revelation 2. The translators of the Septuagint, the Old Testament translated into the Greek language, used the Greek word for ‘paradise’ to translate the Hebrew word for ‘garden’.

Here is Genesis 2:8 in the Septuagint:

Gen 2:8  And God planted paradise^G3857 in Eden according to the east, and he put there the man whom he shaped. (ABP)

So when we read of “the paradise of God” in the New Testament, that phrase has its source, and it is taken right out of Ezekiel 28 and Ezekiel 31:

Eze 28:13  Thou [the prince of Tyre] hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Eze 31:8  The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him [the king of Egypt]: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
Eze 31:9  I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.

The Septuagint translates each of those entries as “the paradise… of God”.

Here is how Strong defines this Greek word for ‘paradise’:

G3857
παράδεισος
paradeisos
par-ad’-i-sos
Of Oriental origin (compare [H6508]); a park, that is, (specifically) an Eden (place of future happiness, “paradise”): – paradise.

Here is where this Greek word appears in the New Testament:

G3857
παράδεισος
paradeisos
Total KJV Occurrences: 3
paradise, 3
Luk_23:43, 2Co_12:4, Rev_2:7

This word appears only three times in the New Testament. Let’s look closely at those three verses and see if we can discern, from what God reveals to us within these three verses, exactly where this “paradise of God” is.

Luke 23 is our first entry:

Luk 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. 

It is not the purpose of this study to deal with the false doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Here is a link which deals with the proper translation of Luke 23:43:

http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/thethief.php

Nevertheless, I will include the CLV version, which puts the comma in the right place:

Luk 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Verily, to you am I saying today, with Me shall you be in paradise. (CLV)

What we can see clearly about ‘paradise’ from this verse of scripture is that everyone (“all in Adam” – 1Co 15:22) including all repentant thieves, will in time be with Christ in paradise. From this verse we can understandably deduce that whatever paradise is and wherever paradise is, it is a place which, in time, all men of all time will experience.

Our second entry is:

2Co 12:4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Paul goes on to make it clear he is speaking of himself, by telling us he will glory only in the Lord in whom he was “caught up into paradise”, just as we all are.

Let’s read this verse with the preceding three verses and the next verse:

2Co 12:1  It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2Co 12:2  I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 
2Co 12:3  And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
2Co 12:4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
2Co 12:5  Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 

“The third heaven” to which Paul was “caught up” and being “caught up into paradise” are one and the same experience. Babylon would have us all to believe that it was Paul and Paul alone, who was “caught up to paradise… the third heaven”. Such teaching and doctrine deprive us of understanding these verses of scripture:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man [Greek: ‘anthropos‘, mankind, all mankind] shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 

Is it true that you and I, too, are “caught up to… heaven”? Is it true that you and I are “caught up into paradise” just like the apostle Paul? Here is Paul’s own answer to that question:

 Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

The word ‘places’ is added in that verse, and it really simply tells us that in Christ we have all been, “caught up to the third heaven… caught up to paradise” and been made to sit with Christ in the heavens.

Our final verse with this word ‘paradise’ in it will make that message clear to us:

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 

This verse helps us to see that Paul was not just caught up to the third heaven, the most mature heaven of our experience. He was also caught up to “the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

So what is paradise, and where is paradise? What we have seen is that ‘paradise’ is “the garden of God”. More importantly, like every other part of that cloud which is Christ and His Word, ‘paradise’ has both a positive and a negative application. Just like the name “Adam”, there is a first ‘Adam’ who is carnal and immature, but serves an absolutely essential function in producing the “last Adam” who is “conformed to the image of His Son” for the express purpose of “be[ing] the firstborn among many brothers”.

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

So there are two heavens, two earths, two Jerusalems, and there are two “Eden[s]” and two “garden[s] of God”. If we think that the first ‘Eden’ does not give God pleasure, then we certainly will not be capable of understanding this verse of scripture:

Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

A loving heavenly Father gets no joy out of suffering just for the sake of suffering, but He does get great joy out of knowing what His perfect plan is producing, and knowing that the cruel death of His sinless loving Son did more to make sin appear for the evil it is than anything that has ever been done by man. Our heavens and our earth are first polluted by sin and in need of being purified to become a “new heavens and new earth, wherein dwells righteousness”:

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves [should be purified] with better sacrifices than these. 
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

These verses should cause us all to appreciate more than ever what Christ taught us all about where our concerns ought to be in this parable:

Mat 23:25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 
Mat 23:26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 

If we are clean on the inside (our heavens), then the outside (our earth) will be clean and will take care of itself.

This last purified “heaven itself” is “the [last] paradise of God”. There is no mention of a “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” in this last paradise. It is the place of His pleasure. It is where the tree of life is growing with its leaves which will heal the nations, and we are not left to wonder where either of these gardens is to be found. They are both within us all. The first ‘garden of Eden’, the first ‘paradise’, is within our ‘first heaven’ which must be “purified” (Heb 9:23). Our second ‘garden of Eden’, the second ‘paradise’, is in the third heaven where God sits on His throne in His kingdom, and that kingdom is not a physical location, but is the spiritual realm out of which all physical things are spoken into existence and in which all physical things consist:

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things and by him all things consist  [including Eden, the third heaven, and paradise].

“Eden, the garden of God”, called in the New Testament, “the paradise of God”, is in the kingdom of heaven, which consists only in Christ, and this is where He and His kingdom, along with His ‘Eden’, His ‘paradise’, both in its defiled and in its purified state, is to be found:

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 

Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

The fact that there is still a need for “the healing of the nations” in the garden of God, tells us that our part in giving God the pleasure and satisfaction He experiences comes to Him through us as His bride through whom He is “heading up all things in one”:

Eph 1:3  Blessed, be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing, in the heavenlies, in Christ,
Eph 1:4  According as he made choice of us, in him, before the founding of a world, that we might be holy and blameless in his presence; in love,
Eph 1:5  marking us out beforehand unto sonship, through Jesus Christ, for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 
Eph 1:6  Unto the praise of the glory of his favor wherewith he favoured us in the Beloved One,
Eph 1:7  In whom we have the redemption through his blood, the remission of our offences, according to the riches of his favour,
Eph 1:8  which he made to superabound towards us; in all wisdom and prudence,
Eph 1:9  making known to us the sacred secret of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him,
Eph 1:10  For an administration of the fulness of the seasons, to reunite for himself [under one head] the all things in the Christ, the things upon the heavens, and the things upon the earth, in him:

It is all in Christ that God’s “good pleasure”, His ‘Eden’, is accomplished. If we are “in Christ”, we are the instruments through which that “good pleasure” of God, that filling up of God, will be accomplished, and He will in the end come to be “all in all” as we read here in this same chapter:

Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 
Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Hi Mike,

Thanks again for your time. I hope I am following this. What I gather from these scriptures and our discussion so far is that these fowl of the air or evil spirits have become seraphim? How and when did these spirits learn? Is God already at work judging even the spiritual wickedness?

In Christ,
M____

Hi M____,
Thank you for your question.
You ask:

What I gather from these scriptures and our discussion so far is that these fowl of the air or evil spirits have become seraphim. How and when did these spirits learn? Is God already at work judging even the spiritual wickedness?

The answer is that these things are all types of “the things of the heavens themselves.” I gather from the way you form your question that you are not yet aware that “the heavens themselves are our own hearts and minds and that it is within us that the kingdom of God and all of the struggles to purify those “heavens themselves” within that kingdom are taking place. Here are the verses that inform of these spiritual Truths.

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Heb 9:21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

“The heavenly things themselves” are within “the kingdom of God… within you.” The Pharisees demanded of Christ to know when that kingdom would appear, and that is when He gave us this great key to that kingdom; “the kingdom of God is within you.”
That is why, after listing all the various things like earthquakes, famines, the abomination of desolation, the spreading of the gospel to all the earth, “then shall the end come,” that Christ then makes this statement:

Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

Let me break in here and pose the question. What does “it is near, even at the doors” mean? Does it mean 2000 years away? Here is what Christ said, and this is what will answer your question about when the heavens are purified:

Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

So the apocalyptic, dispensational approach to scripture is all wet and the is, was and will be character of God’s Word will never pass away, and is just as true today as it was then. “The kingdom of God is within you” if the king of that kingdom is within you.
When Christ answered those demanding Pharisees, He was not speaking for their benefit at that time, but for ours. The day will come when the kingdom of God will come with observation, and at that time “the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.” But only those who recognize that the kingdom of God has been here within them for the past two thousand years will be rulers in that outward, carnal kingdom.
I hope this all helps you to see that the serpent and the fowls of the air are what must be cleansed within first.

Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

This “blind Pharisee” is the same as “those Jews which believed on Him… but… wanted to kill Him,” of whom we read in Joh 8″

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

These are “those Jews which believed on Him.” This is you and me before we come to see that we are doing the will of our real spiritual father when we believed that we should fight for our God and country and kill our fellow man, or when we simply hated our brother who did not believe as we. Who children were we at that time? Christ leaves no doubt:

Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

You could read these words to the orthodox Christians (like you and I were only yesterday it seems) and this is what they say to this very day:

Joh 8:41(b) … Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

… and they will truly “kill you thinking they do God a service.”

Joh 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Is it their own fault? No, it is not. As Christ tells us in Mat 13:10-16, they simply “cannot hear My Word,” simply because “God has given them eyes that cannot see, and ears that cannot hear.”

Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

So we are all “of our father the devil,” before Christ casts him out of our heavens and “purifies… the things of the heavens themselves” meaning our hearts and minds.
That is when the heavens are purified and the wild beasts we were become domesticated “four beasts in the middle of and round about the throne of God.” That is when “the seraphims cry holy, holy, holy, just as do the cherubims.

Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [ is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Ezekiel tells us this:

Eze 1:4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness [ was] about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Eze 1:5 Also out of the midst thereof [ came] the likeness of four living creatures. And this [ was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
Eze 1:6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

These two visions are not contradictory, but are complementary, and in the book of Revelation we are told that the four beasts have six wings like the seraphims and are saying the same thing the seraphims were saying in Isaiah.

Rev 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and [ they were] full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

What it all tells those who are given eyes to see, is that even the things in the heavens will be purged and cleansed, including “that old serpent the devil.”

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The “casting out” of heaven of “that old serpent called the devil” is the casting out of the temple of that man of sin, who is destroy by the brightness of Christ’s coming and by the sword of His mouth.”

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Our bodies are that “temple of God.”

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [ that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

So we are “the things of the heavens themselves” of which “the patterns of the things of the heavens themselves” speak. And we “are by nature children of wrath… children of disobedience… doing the work of our father the devil.”

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

It is in this condition that Christ comes into our hearts and exposes the seed of the serpent, who is also the man of sin “sitting in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” This is the man who the Lord destroys with the brightness of His coming… in this generation… this is all fulfilled,” and the heavens are purged and purified and the wild beast becomes the four beasts in the middle of and round about the throne, and the seed of the serpent and his seed become the seraphims crying “holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty.“
I hope this helps your understanding. I would suggest that you log in to our live ustream Sunday morning Bible studies. They are at 11 A. M. every Sunday except the months with five Sundays. We always take off the fifth Sunday for time with our family and friends. This very subject is exactly what we are covering in great detail at this time.
Your brother in Christ,

Mike