"IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ONE WHO DWELLS IN THE HOLIEST
OF HOLIES"
Rev. MF Blume
July 26, 1998 pm
Reve 21:2-22:22 And I saw no temple therein:
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city
had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory
of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof. And the nations
of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of
the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it
shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And
they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there
shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever]
worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the
Lamb's book of life. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear
as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 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.
Recently God revealed to us that the New Jerusalem is the true CHURCH.
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When I say CHURCH, I do not mean a holy building made by hands, because
we read that God and the Lamb dwell in this building, and God said He would
not dwell in temples made with hands.
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CHURCH in the Bible means the real and true christians in the world.
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Not all who call themselves christians are truly christians.
The first verse we read said that God and the Lamb are the TEMPLE of
this CITY.
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The word temple here is translated from a Greek word which brings more
into the open.
naos {nah-os'}
from a primary naio (to dwell); TDNT - 4:880,625; n m
AV - temple 45, a shrine 1; 46
1) used of the temple at Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice
(or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies
(in classical Greek it is used of the sanctuary or cell of the temple,
where the image of gold was placed which is distinguished from the whole
enclosure)
It was the Holiest of Holies in which the golden ark of the covenant
was placed and was distinguished from the rest of the whole enclosure as
the MOST HOLY PLACE.
So when we read that God and the Lamb are the NAHOS of the City, we
are reading that God and the lamb are the HOLIEST OF HOLIES.
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In the land of Egypt when the death angel was about to destroy all the
firstborn, God told the people through Moses to slay a lamb and strike
its blood upon the doorposts of their homes.
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They would be safe from death once they were behind the doorways struck
with the lamb's blood.
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In times past, God revealed to me that this is a picture of getting INTO
CHRIST.
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John the Baptist called Jesus Christ the lamb that takes away the sins
of the world.
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And the Lord showed me the various many times we read about being "in Christ"
throughout the New Testament.
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And what better way of showing us that we can be IN CHRIST, the lamb slain,
than by showing people walking through a doorway that was splattered with
lamb's blood.
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It was as though they walked INTO the lamb.
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ENTRANCE is stressed in thinking of a door.
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You have to be IN CHRIST if you want to be freed from the destruction of
death, as the people were saved from death that night in Egypt.
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You must be IN CHRIST as Noah was in the ark if you want to be saved from
the destruction of death flooding the world.
But lately God revealed to us that the entrance into those houses in Egypt,
where lamb's blood was seen, from a lamb that died so the people inside
would not die, represented entrance into the Garden where a flaming sword
would kill the sinful people who entered.
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The Lamb died so the people walking in would not have to die.
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So they could be inside and freed from death.
And the Lord revealed to us last service that The Garden and the Houses
in Egypt and the City New Jerusalem all represent the same thing.
The HOLIEST OF HOLIES.
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I was a bit confused at first.
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The houses represented the LAMB and also the HOLIEST of HOLIES.
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How could that be?
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Must it not be one or the other?
Then it came together this week.
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Rev. 21:22 says that GOD and the LAMB are the NAHOS of the city.
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They are the TEMPLE/NAHOS.
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That means THE LAMB IS THE HOLIEST OF HOLIES!
When we are in the CITY, we are in the LAMB and in the TRUE HOLIEST OF
HOLIES.
Jesus is the HOLIEST OF HOLIES.
In the Holiest of Holies was the ark of the covenant.
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This was the thing that was required for there to be God's presence.
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It was a chest that contained the tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments.
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It had a solid gold lid in the shape of a seat with cherubims n each end,
whose faces looked down on the seat and whose wings covered the seat touching
each others wings.
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On the seat was where blood was sprinkled from the lamb that was slain.
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And that Blood made atonement for their sins.
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It removed their sins from the people.
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Putting blood there was symbolic of going into Heaven and giving God payment
for the sins that were committed by the people so they could be free of
death.
The cherubim were made from gold that was beaten into shape with hammers.
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And there was the only place God's presence dwelt in those days.
I want to be in the presence of God.
If they had placed a beautiful bouquet of roses there, God would not
dwell there and those roses would not be in the presence of God.
If they walked into that empty room and began to do all the good deeds
and say all the good things to each other to see if God would move and
dwell there because of their good works, God would not have come.
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He only came where a piece of gold had been beaten by hammers into the
shape of cherubims whose faces looked down to a spot where sacrificial
blood was sprinkled.
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And the wings of these cherubims touched one another.
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In Isaiah we read of the throne of God and God sitting there, high and
lifted up.
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His train, His royal robe, filled the temple.
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And there were seraphims with six wings.
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Two covered their faces and two covered their feet and two were used to
fly with.
Covering the face and feet represented DEEP HUMILITY.
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Realizing how great God is so that we are covered in submission and the
greatest reverence to Him.
SERAPHIMS literally means BURNERS.
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People on the way to Emmaus heard God's word as Jesus spoke to them, and
they said their HEARTS BURNED AS THEY TALKED WITH HIM.
This shows us what we need if we want to those who can say that they are
in God's presence.
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We need deep humility before God.
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We live lives that are HONEST and sincere.
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We cover ourselves in our spirits and attitudes, with the spirit of meekness.
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We are in total worship to Him.
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As the wings covered the place where the GLORY sat, we worship HIM.
And the wings touched one another.
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This holiness and real christianity is people who join their worship with
others who likewise truly worship Him.
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We touch our wings when there is not animosity in our hearts against each
other, but only praise and worship in our hearts for Him.
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He dwells in the MIDST of two or three in His name.
IN HIS NAME means that we are there for Him.
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We are HIS.
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We are not gathered here tonight in a church building to put on a show
and let others think we are better than they are.
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We are the church IF we are the ones whose hearts are worshipping like
wings touching each others wings.
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Hearts touching hearts.
And as the eyes of the cherubims look down at the mercy seat where the
blood was sprinkled, we will not dare to look to anything else... not our
good works, nor our beautiful showmanship of how nice we can dress in church...
other than the precious blood of Jesus.
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The Blood is the only reason we are saved.
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It is the only reason we can be in Gods presence.
And that blood was sprinkled on a MERCY SEAT.
Nothing but God's mercy brought us through.
Ephe 2:1-5 And you [hath he quickened],
who were dead in trespasses and sins; 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: 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. But God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us]
sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:
We must know what it means to be saved by Grace.
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We were rescued from JUDGMENT.
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We walked in the filth of the world.
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And God looked down in love and wanted to deliver and rescue us.
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He loved us so much that it is said with the love He raised up Jesus from
the dead with, He raised us up too.
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The resurrection is given to us totally by a free gift.
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It was not done due to our striving to be so good.
The Bible says that while we were dead in trespasses and sins...
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God rescued us He considered us to to be in a state of damnation
and death caused by our abundance of sins.
How could we have made s many score points from good deeds if God saved
us while He considered us in a pit of damnation?
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We were so useless as far as rescuing ourselves by good deeds is concerned,
that God viewed us as laying dead on the ground, because of our sinfulness.
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Forget about doing something to save ourselves.
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We were so useless to do that, that we were considered dead.
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How much more useless can one be than by laying on the ground dead?
Being saved and in the presence of God is nothing resulting from what a
person can do.
Without God you are dead in trespasses and sins.
Ephe 2:8-14 For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of
God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember, that ye
[being] in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision
by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope, and without God in the world: But now in
Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood
of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath
broken down the middle wall of partition [between us];
WHEREFORE REMEMBER
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What powerful words!!!
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The eyes of the cherubims looking down on the mercy seat symbolize hearts
of believers washed by that blood who always REMEMBER WHAT SAVED THEM.
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THEY KNOW THE BLOOD ALONE SAVED THEM.
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So their eyes always gaze upon it.
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This represents the people who dwell in the Holiest.
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No one but those who are cleansed and ALSO ALWAYS REMEMBER WHAT SAVED THEM
dwell in the holiest with the One who dwells there..
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The vision so shook Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6, that he cried out...
Isai 6:5 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.
The wings of the cherubims were beaten into shape of the humility and
into the shape of worship from the gold.
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Every hammer strike made another surface that reflected the glory that
dwelt between them.
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The hard blows of real repentance in our lives makes another surface in
our lives for people to see a reflection of the glory of God.
THIS IS THE CHURCH.
THIS IS THE HOLIEST OF THE HOLIES.
THIS IS THE NEW JERUSALEM.
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Jesus went to prepare a place for us.
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He went to make a city.
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Abraham looked for a City whose builder and maker is God.
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Jesus said the same thing when He said "Upon this rock I will build my
church."
Notice the pattern...
Gene 2:21-24 And the LORD God caused a
deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God
had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And
Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall
be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man
leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they
shall be one flesh.
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God puts Adam in a sleep.
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God removes material from inside Adam.
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God uses the material and MAKES (Hebr. BANAH)
banah {baw-naw'}
a primitive root; TWOT - 255; v
AV - build 340, build up 14, builder 10, made 3, built again + 08735
2,
repair 2, set up 2, have children + 08735 1, obtain children + 08735
1,
surely 1 (inf. for emphasis); 376
1) to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to build, rebuild
1a2) to build a house (ie, establish a family)
BANAH means to BUILD
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So God literally BUILT the woman. HE BUILT UP the woman.
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As the woman was IN ADAM before she was made, we were CHOSEN IN CHRIST
BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN.
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EPHESIANS GIVES THE SAME PATTERN AS GENESIS DID IN SHOWING HOW WOMAN CAME
ABOUT FROM ADAM.
Ephe 1:4 According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and without blame before him in love:
We were in Him before the foundation of the world.
Then we read in chapter 2 of the same book a mention of the salvation
from a world of sin that we must never forget...
Ephe 2:17-19 And came and preached peace
to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him
we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are
no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and
of the household of God;
We are said the be the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD.
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No more are we strangers.
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We are the CITY and TEMPLE of God.
And then he says something wonderful...
Ephe 2:20-22 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: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation
of God through the Spirit.
The above tells us that we are actually God's HOUSE that is BUILT UP, as
the woman was BANAH (built) by God having taken the materials to BUILD
her from within Adam.
ASCENDING
Ephe 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended
up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Why did he ascend ?
To prepare a place for us. (John 14:2-3)
And now we read that He also ascended to give gifts to men.
Ephe 4:11-13 And he gave some, apostles;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ: 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:
He gave gifts to the church so that SO WE CAN BE BUILT UP .
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We minister to one another.
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The preacher preaches...
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The teacher teaches...
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The prophet prophesies....
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And so on...
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And we are given these gifts so we can get to work and EDIFY THE BODY.
The woman was going to HELP Adam dress and KEEP the Garden.
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She would BUILD IT UP WITH ADAM.
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The picture of the woman being BUILT from materials taken from Adam is
identical to the manner in which God chose to BUILD THE CHURCH.
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We were said to be IN CHRIST before the foundation of the world as the
woman was essentially in Adam before she walked the world.
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And gifts of the Spirit are given to continue to BUILD UP, or edify, the
Church.
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The Church is the CITY that is BUILT BY GOD.
THE BRIDE of Christ, as the woman was Adam's bride after having been
BUILT by God.
The New Jerusalem is not a literal City but is a symbol of the CHURCH,.
the BRIDE, built by God.
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Jesus referred to the people as HIS CHURCH.
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CHURCH means called out ones.
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And he said he would BUILD His CALLED OUT ONES on a rock.
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He referred to them as a structure built on a foundation.
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This is clearly what Revelation is referring to using the same symbolism
Jesus used to tell us the CHURCH is the CITY!
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IT IS THE HOLIEST OF HOLIES
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IT IS THE "NAHOS."
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And if you are in this church, now you know how to dwell with the One who
dwells in the Holiest of Holies!
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