From Between the Two Cherubim

 "There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel."

Exodus 25:22

The Lord commissioned Moses to build him a tent sanctuary (or Tabernacle) where he may dwell in Israel's midst starting in verse 8 of Exodus 25. Moses was to have the children of Israel make it to the exact specifications and dimensions the Lord instructed, including all the furniture and accouterments. The ark would be the first piece the Lord describes to Moses how it should be constructed and its purpose which we see above in verse 22. It is referred to as 'the ark of testimony' because inside it would be placed God's first divinely carved stone covenant with Israel, the laws he gave Moses, what we know as 'The Ten Commandments'.

He continues instructing Moses how the Tabernacle would be built, covered, and decorated even down to where each piece of furniture and sacrificial item would be placed. 

When the Lord had given Moses every instruction for building his Tabernacle, or Holy Place, In Exodus 26:31 he then instructs him to make a veil, this veil would be what separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place where Moses is told to place the ark of the covenant, which is where the Lord's mercy seat would be. Mercy seat in Hebrew is the word 'kap-po-reth' which means 'place of atonement' (the word is only used to describe this cover, or lid, of this ark), and above this place, the shekinah glory of the Lord would appear. 

Only the High Priest would be allowed to enter between the veil and the mercy seat, and he was required to be wholly and completely sanctified to do so, in cleanliness, how he dressed, and how he prepared himself for this time. The veil separated the rest of Israel from the presence of the Lord in his Tabernacle he would speak directly to the high priest, who would ask for forgiveness of his sins and those of the people after the sprinkling of 'the blood of the sacrifice' onto the mercy-seat. This was known as Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement sacrifice. I can only imagine the fear, awe, and reverence that man of Israel had when he entered into that place, at that time, and under that covenant.

For many years the Tabernacle was moved from place to place and it is thought to have been a tent Tabernacle for about 500 years until Solomon commissioned the first stone temple to be built and constructed in Jerusalem. This temple would contain the Lord's Tabernacle inside it just as was instructed by God to Moses, with the Holy of Holies veil and all. The temple stood for about 410 years but was destroyed when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and brought Israel into exile for 70 years. It was at this time that the ark of the covenant was either stolen, lost, or hidden by the Rabbi's in the caves under the temple mount before it could be taken, no one really knows, it is a mystery unto today, however, it is my hunch it was the latter of the three.

In about 516 bc after the Babylonian exile, the second temple was commissioned to be built by Ezra and Zerubbabel. They had fewer resources to build this temple than Solomon did, so it wasn't as grand, but nonetheless, the Tabernacle itself was made true to the instructions originally given to Moses, minus, of course, having the ark in the Holy of Holies. It is said that the shekinah glory of God never shone again behind the veil, but the Lord's presence still remained, and men feared to go in there as death would be the result, except the high priest. This temple stood the longest, a total of 585 years, and in the last 100 years of its existence, Herod the Great expanded the temple and made many upgrades to its grandeur, this is why the second temple is commonly referred to as 'Herod's Temple' though he did not commission its initial build. 

Now we have arrived at the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He came, of course, when Herod's Temple was operating as the place of worship and sacrifice for all of Israel. The Temple contained God's Holy Tabernacle, and of course, the Most Holy Place still separated from the rest of Israel by the same veil as prescribed to be made by Moses for the original tent Tabernacle.

There is so much to be said about every step Jesus took and the words he spoke during the time of his appearing on this Earth, there are hundreds of thousands of sermons and teachings about this that all come from the record we have of this visit that is contained in the New Testament portion of our Bibles, and also confirmed by all the prophecies of this coming contained in the Old Testament portion of the same. I'm going to fast forward to the day of the crucifixion so I can get to the purpose and point of why I feel the Lord is leading me to share this with you today. 

Most of us know of that tragic day when Jesus was unjustly tried by his own people, sentenced to death by crucifixion at the hands of the Roman state, tortured, beaten, and then hung on a cross to die a slow painful death. At approximately 3pm that day, we have this testimony as recorded by the Apostle Matthew:

"And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split."

Matthew 27:50-51

Notice here there is no indication that the temple itself was destroyed, however, we could infer that the earthquake could have caused some damage to it, but we are told only one specific thing regarding the temple damage, that the veil was torn in two. We know the temple itself was left standing and continued to be used by the Jews of Israel who rejected that Messiah had come. They continued in the old covenant way with sacrifices and offerings until it was later destroyed in 70 AD by the Roman army led by Titus, who later became Emporer.

As previously mentioned, the veil is what separated all of Israel from the presence of God save one High Priest deemed worthy enough to stand before him, as he hovered in Spirit over the top of the mercy seat between the two cherubim, to share with this one man what he would like to say to the whole nation. 

Now this veil was torn in two. Why? Well, the reason and message are simple; "Enter now into the new covenant!" The new way God is going to communicate with us, not speaking through an earthly high priest, but, by faith in his son Jesus Christ, the resurrected high priest who came just 3 short days later, God was going to speak to us personally, through his Holy Spirit at an appointed time, because of the one time sacrifice of the blood of the Lamb that was sprinkled on God's mercy seat. He told his followers about this before it ever happened, so I would like to point out a couple places in the New Testament scriptures where he did just that.

In the book of John, chapter 4, the earlier days of his earthly ministry, Jesus was avoiding the Pharisees who were starting to take notice and voicing their dissatisfaction that Jesus was gaining more followers, and his disciples were baptizing more people than even John the Baptist was. He decided they should leave Jerusalem and take a shortcut route back to Galilee to preach there, his hometown region, and this would take him through Samaria.

 When he stopped to rest at Jacob's well, near a town called Sychar in Samaria, he met a samaritan woman at the well, he asked her for a drink of water which started a conversation with her that eventually led her, and many from her home town to come to faith in him as the Messiah that has finally come! Though they were Samaritans, and no Jew would have any dealings with a Samaritan (Samaritans claim to be descendants of Ephraim and Benjamin, two of the 12 tribes of Israel, Jews of course come from the tribe of Judah, so this was a family squabble that went way awry!) The Samaritans did worship the God of Abraham knowing of the prophecies of the coming Messiah, they just did not worship with, or align themselves with the Jews, nor did they ever enter Jerusalem to worship God in his Holy temple. They worshipped him on a nearby mountaintop (which was not ordained by God). Here are Jesus' words to this woman about this separation, and his plan for not only their reconciliation but that of the entire world:

"Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But, the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him."

John 4:21-23

Here Jesus makes it clear to the Samaritan woman, that where we worship God will no longer be found in just one place, or with just one people. A new way was coming.

Again, in John chapter 14 speaking to his disciples about going to prepare a place for them yet would provide the way for them to get there, Thomas was questioning how can we know this way if you do not tell us where you are going? The answer comes in verses 16 & 17:

"And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, to be WITH you forever; Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."

John 14:16-17

At this point, these Jewish men only understood that the presence of the Spirit of the Lord was not a place they had any access to. The temple was still in works (operating) and at this time the veil was still up, with the Old Testament covenant the practice and faith of the Jewish people. Jesus was foretelling this new way, and the first sign of its manifestation would be the sign of the veil rending from top to bottom after Jesus' crucifixion, which was the ceremonial equivalent of the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifice onto the mercy seat of God. 

The next manifestation of this new promise, and the beginning of the new covenant and the new way, came when the day of Pentecost had arrived when the followers of Jesus were all filled by his Holy Spirit, making quite a spectacle and perplexing the devout worshippers coming from every nation and hearing words spoken in their own language from men they perceived to be Galileans. Some even accused these men of being drunk! In Acts chapter 2 Peter then stands up to proclaim;

"But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: 'Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the 3rd hour of the day (9am). But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.' 

Acts 2:14-18/Joel 2:28

( It is interesting to note that Peter quotes Joel from chapter 2:28 and here is the verse in Acts 2:28: "You have made known to me the paths of life: you will make me full of gladness with your presence." I'm not a numbers guy, but I love how the Holy Spirit put this Bible together even down to having man choose how to number the verses, it just can't be a coincidence!)

Now, getting to the point of this article.

The purpose of the temple and the holy place was for God to have a place for his Spirit to come and communicate to his chosen creation. Since man, in and of himself, is not a fit place for God's Spirit to dwell, there was a need for a covering over man, a veil of sorts, where the Holy Spirit could once again hover over the mercy seat of God from between the Cherubims. Jesus Christ would be that mercy seat and covering,  and when we accept him and clothe ourselves in that veil, the Holy Spirit comes and resides in us to communicate directly to our hearts.

Remember what I said of the original Holy of Holies place, only a ceremoniously clean High Priest could enter and be in the presence of God, and now because of the sinless, perfect, Holy Lamb of God and his merciful sacrifice for our sins, there has been a way made for us to be in that same place. meaning; to be in his presence. The difference now is, that instead of us entering into his presence, his presence enters into us. Because of what Jesus has done, we can carry the Lord's Spirit with us, wherever we go. 

If you are a believer, how many times have you heard in the gatherings of the Saints, whether at Church or in an evangelistic event the encouraging words from a Pastor or leader saying "Come Holy Spirit and fill this place!" Not that it is wrong to say this, but it can lend to the idea that the place itself has significance, or the right number of people present with just the right amount of spiritual faith or enthusiasm can cause his Holy Spirit to just show up. Perhaps a better way to say this would be; "Holy Spirit you are present here today, let the faith of each believer be united together in worship so that you could be multiplied and move amongst us in this place!" His Word even tells us it only takes 2 or 3 to be present with his Spirit for him to make his presence known. I think what gets lost in the minds of most Christians is that we get up in the morning with his Spirit in us, and in every place we go we also bring it there with us.  Unlike the high priest of the old covenant, who had to prepare himself and get all his ducks in a row, so to speak, before he dared enter into that holy place to meet with the presence of God, we carry that place with us!

I wonder how deeply we consider this? I can say, in my own walk, that I have failed to keep this in the forefront of my mind more than I would like to admit. Now I'm not saying we need to make sure every place we go must be a holy place, or every person we deal with daily must be a God-fearing righteous person, as Paul stated in 1Corinthians 5:10, we would have to leave this world to do that! But we, if a vessel for the dwelling of his Holy Spirit, should always keep in mind, concerning our actions or where we take ourselves, whether or not the Lord's Spirit will feel comfortable and not be grieved. Sometimes we cannot help where we may find ourselves, such as in a work environment or a public shopping area as we go about meeting our daily needs living in this broken society, but when we feel that uneasiness and our conscience is pricked, that is our indication that his Spirit within us is warning us, and we must do all we can to distance ourselves from those things that we know are grievous to God.

As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 3:

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"

1Corintians3:16

This to me is what living in holiness is all about. It's not that we are holy and perfect and do everything right, there is only one born of man that ever was or ever will be holy and perfect, and his name is Jesus Christ! But it's also not that we can just live any way we want and that sin has no bearing or effect on us because of Jesus. This is why the Spirit dwells in us, He is our 'litmus test' so to speak, without him in us, we would surely run a foul! (And do we not see this in the lost sinners of this world more and more each day?)

Peter, quoting Moses' words from the Lord in Leviticus said;

 "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

1Peter1:16

As mentioned earlier, Peter understood what happened clearly at Pentecost, the believer was entered by the Holy Spirit and filled to their very core with his presence, so much so, that some even spoke in languages not known to them. All of these believers, at some point before this, made a choice; they accepted Jesus Christ as Messiah, their Savior, their Lord, repented of their sinful past lives, and became born again. Having made a public confession of their newfound salvation, they would all have been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and then standing there on that day, in faith, they received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

Glory to God, approximately 1961 years later this is also my testimony!

Have you made that step of faith not only in believing in Jesus Christ but in following Jesus Christ? If not, are you ready to take that step in faith? Come before him in humility, be born again, get water baptized in his name, and be filled with his Holy Spirit? Are you ready to become that place 'From between the two Cherubim'?

Whether you are at the beginning of these steps, or somewhere in the middle, there is no better time than now to 'seal the deal' (so to speak) because if you are seeing what is going on out there these days, and the wickedness that seems to be being made into the law of the land, the time is short, salvation is at hand, and Jesus will soon return for his Church.

My hope and prayer is to go with you when he comes. 

God Bless