CHERUBIMS PRODUCING GLORY

What does the Garden of Eden, the Temple of God and the Church all have in common?

Answer: They all repeat the same truth!

These three seemingly unrelated issues of study each involve Cherubims and speak about us - the redeemed people of God - and our responsibility to produce an atmosphere for God to be able to work in this world and touch mankind. This study incorporates other truths learned as displayed in studies regarding the Cherubims on this homepage, also. God so wonderfully leads us progressively to all truth. I pray this will bless you on your journey there, also.

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. 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.
Isa 6:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Similar beings as Seraphims are spoken of in the Book of Revelation, and are said to have cried a very similar statement to that which Isaiah heard these Seraphims cry. They are called "four beasts" in revelation chapter 4.

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.

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.

These "four beasts" are again mentioned in Revelation 5. God is seen holding a little book that is sealed with seven seals in Revelation 5:1 . And a voice cried aloud for a worthy "man" to approach the throne and take the book and open the seals. Nobody was found worthy. Such sadness and despondency hit John as he watched this revelation, for he realized that this lack of a worthy man was so tragic that nothing could compare to its misery. But alas! An angel told John to not weep, for the lion of Judah had prevailed to open the book!

John turned around and seen a lamb like it had been slain, but yet it stood. And the lamb approached the throne, took the book, and stood triumphant for having accomplished what no other man could accomplish.

Of course, this Lamb was representative of Jesus Christ, who became a man, since a "man" was required to take the book (Rev. 5:3 KJV), and died for our sins. This action the lamb made in taking the sealed book after having been slain speaks to us the truth that salvation was acquired for lost humanity. This is why John wept so deeply! Man was lost forever without hope unless one could take the Book! Taking the book was the salvation of mankind! It was representative of acquiring humanity from the pits of sin.

We know this represents the work accomplished by Christ to save us because the four beasts, of which we speak, cried to that effect!

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;

These Seraphims and four beasts, remember, were seen in "visions". Visions, as holds true throughout the book of Revelation, involve symbolic representations of actual physical realities. As Daniel's image of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay represented Kingdoms upon the Earth, these four beasts, dear reader, were representative emblems of humanity! The Seraphims seen by Isaiah were also, therefore, representative of humanity. (This is explained in the study entitled "Cherubims - An Introductory Study", also found on this website).

Only those in the "Church" have been redeemed by Jesus' blood.

God told Moses, "Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them" (Ezek. 25:8). Today, in order for God to dwell among us, we need to make Him a sanctuary. And we do that by praising Him. (More about this later).

The Church is a spiritual house built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles and Jesus Christ, Himself, is the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:19-20).

Paul told the Corinthians that they were temples of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor 6).

So, not only do we see Seraphims and four beasts indicative of the Church, but the temple in which these beings worshipped, is representative of the Church, also.

Psa 97:2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.

God was represented as dwelling among the people in the Tabernacle and Temple by the Mercy seat atop the Ark of the covenant where His presence dwelt. And the temple represents the Church. His throne is in the Church.

So, Isaiah did not see a vision of Heaven as people might imagine it. He seen a vision of the Church yet to come as of that time, and the redeemed believers within the Church praising God.

Glory implies something we must "give" to God according to the following verses. And you will notice that it is another term used to describe "praise."

Isa 42:12 Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.

Psa 108:1 O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

Rev 4:9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

The Seraphims and four beasts were giving God glory. We need to give God glory. The thing that causes God to dwell in the temple of His church is, in fact, the giving forth of glory to God.

1 Pet 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

Remember that giving God glory is actually praising Him. And He dwells in praises.

Psa 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Ezek 43:1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:

Ezek 43:2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the Earth shined with his glory.

Note how the sound of many waters described God's glory. This is also seen in Habakkuk's book.

Hab 2:14 For the Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Chapter Two of Genesis takes much time in describing a River which flowed out of Eden and into a Garden which was situated in the east of Eden. Once this River flowed into Eden, we are told that the River split into four "heads" and flowed through to various directions in the Earth. The Bible went so far as to name these four rivers. And then, after all that discussion about the rivers and their names, we are told that that was the very place which God chose to place Adam. Obviously, Adam's role was to caretake the world from this locale called the Garden, and manage the "junction" point in which the River of Eden broke into four Heads at the Garden.

This point of junction was a strategic place in the world. God specifically wanted Adam in the place where the River was changed into four rivers.

The number four throughout scripture is involved in ideas which concern the world. The four corners of the Earth is spoken of. There are four Gospels for all nations to hear and obey in order to be saved. All the world's populace is described in four terms at once, "Every people and kindred and tongue and nation" (Rev. 5:9; 14:6). Four elements of wrath from God through the world's creatures are mentioned (Ezek. 14:21). And God planned that the Gospel be first preached to Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria and finally to the uttermost parts of the Earth (Acts 1:8). (See my study entitled, "The Four Rivers of Eden," also on this website). So the idea of Four Rivers leaving the Garden from which Adam ruled the world clearly indicates a source of fresh water for the world at that time.

What the Lord seemed to have wanted to tell us through this illustration is that the world is dry and dead. It has been rendered void and without form. Satan fell and was cast to the Earth and voided the world's state. He dried it up. The term "void" means "empty". Notice that the term used with glory is "filled".

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.

Ezek 43:5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.

Exo 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Num 14:21 But as truly as I live, all the Earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

Psa 72:19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole Earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

The void Earth represents void humanity; humanity that is empty of glory to the extent that God cannot dwell within this humanity and repair and work in it. Oh, what a loss man is in!

So God made Adam from the dead, dry dust of the Earth. From dust. Dust implies dryness and moistureless elements. And God breathes the spirit of heaven into him, thus making a being from both heaven and Earth. And the Spirit is LIFE, since man became, at that point, a "living" soul. The breath of God was like rivers of living water entering a dusty dry humanity.

God desired the Earth to once again be filled with His glory so that He could not only be called the God of Heaven, where glory abides richly and His will is easily wrought. God wanted to become the God of Heaven "and Earth".

Satan knew, at this juncture, that Earth would soon be filled and no longer empty of glory if God had His way. So he set out to fell man, the means by which God would find glory in the Earth in which to dwell, into sin. If man could fall, the junction point of the glory of God from heaven (Eden implies Heaven - "paradise") would fail in its purpose of transforming the River of Spirit into glory within the Earth. And that would render God unable to work in the Earth. Satan could then roam to and fro throughout the Earth, for the whole Earth would be dry as a bone!

Ezekiel seen the temple again in chapter 44 and 47 of his book.

Ezek 44:4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.

Ezek 47:2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
Ezek 47:3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
Ezek 47:4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
Ezek 47:5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

The Garden in Eden had a single entrance in the east where God barred man with Cherubims, once man was cast from the garden. The tabernacle and temple likewise had a single entrance in the east. And the fact that Cherubims barred the entrance to the Garden reminds us of the veil in the tabernacle/temple which was embroidered with the figures of Cherubims, disallowing man into the holiest of holies.

The Cherubims had four faces of a lion, ox, eagle and man, according to Ezekiel, who also wrote about the temple Isaiah saw (Ezekiel 1:10; 10:1,14). "Glory" is also noted amongst the Cherubims Ezekiel saw.

Ezek 10:3 Now the Cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.

Ezek 10:4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory.

The Spirit of God directed the Cherubims.

Ezek 1:12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

John 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Ezek 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.

Ezek 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.

And Ezekiel saw God's glory amongst these Cherubims.

Ezek 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.

Ezek 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.

Ezek 3:12 Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.

Ezek 3:13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

Man was originally in the "Sanctuary", but was cast out due to sin. God foreshadowed the barrier of the cherubim's blockage being breached by mankind through blood when a High Priest was chosen to pass the Cherubim-embroidered "veil" and stand where God dwelt in the Holiest of Holies. This was fulfilled by the Church being redeemed by the blood of Jesus which He offered Himself into heaven itself.

Notice: If the entrance of the High Priest past the veil into the Holiest by blood foreshadowed in pattern form the entrance of Christ entered into heaven, then we see that EDEN is like Heaven on Earth. Let us explain.

Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

Heb 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

When the Bible used this imagery and said that Jesus past the veil, where the High Priest offered the blood, we can see that entering back into Eden is what is implied here. Jesus entered into Eden with the blood.

Man committed sin in the Garden, and in the Garden was where blood was brought to pay for that sin, in type and foreshadowing language.

Ezekiel seen waters leaving the east end of the temple.

Ezek 47:1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.

Notice the flow between these passages:

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

Psa 63:2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Psa 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.

Psa 150:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

God sent a crystal clear river into the Garden - the Holy Ghost - and He wanted it to flow from the Garden in purity and holiness in order to give life to the dry and dead world. Adam puts God's will second to his will. It could no longer be said that God's will was done in Earth as it is in heaven.

But we know God did not change His mind about how He would touch the Earth through glory. He erected a new sanctuary made available for man's entrance into it by Jesus' blood. And that temple consists of living stones of believers who are redeemed by that blood.

So long as we truly praise God by keeping His will above our wills, and thus avoiding sin, we shall remain in the sanctuary and the Earth shall be filled with His glory. The Earth is going to be filled with His glory, since the Bible foretells it. There will be a Church without spot and wrinkle. Holy. But I need to make sure I am part of the Church by making sure I always give Him glory and do His will and not my own will, for Adam's error was in doing his own will. And that cast Adam out of the garden.

Ezek 47:8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

It is the Church's responsibility to give God glory.

Jeremiah 4 used the same terms Genesis 1:2 used by saying the Earth was without form and void. And it says, also, that the fruitful place was made a wilderness.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Jer 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

Jer 4:26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,...

Lucifer is ascribed as the one who brought about this dead state in Isaiah 14:12, 17.

Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the Earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

Isa 14:17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

Psa 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

The Bible said the world was "void". Empty. And then, after God made man, He told him to "replenish the Earth." What would God want "replenished" throughout the Earth? Obviously the reference to the Earth being "void" has something to do with God's desire to "replenish" the Earth.

When a storehouse is emptied it is said to be "replenished" with that which formerly occupied its volume when it is filled again. Adam was to replenish the glory of God in the Earth. The Earth was filled with His glory, and made empty of it. And God desired to fill it again with His glory, but He required Adam to do that part for Him. Then God could dwell in the Earth and work and truly be called the God of Heaven and Earth.

When we read about the glory and the Spirit of God in the Bible, the terms "fill" and "filled" always crop up. Emptiness implies lack of glory, and filling implies plentiful glory.

Adam was responsible for filling the Earth with glory. It was not a literal river God was speaking about in sharing with us the fact that a River flowed from Eden into the Garden, but it was a reference to Spirit. God's Spirit came from Heaven (Eden) into that Sanctuary. Once Adam was placed in the Garden (the Sanctuary, the Church), he was to transform Spirit and power into glory, and fill the Earth and replenish it with that glory.

Adam failed. This is yet God's will for the Church, though. Adam's race became what is now called "old". We changed ancestors by death with Christ (since birth brought us into the race of Adam) and Jesus Christ became our "Adam". We were born again and made "new creatures". Now we are in the Sanctuary. Jesus Christ is the Lord of this Sanctuary. We are His temple. And we must flow forth the glory of God and not fail as did Adam.

The reference to glory sounding like many waters is repeated in the Bible. Notice the context of Revelation 14 and observe how it leads to the sound of waters.

Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

The New City is measured 12,000 furlongs cubic. That means, being a cube, it had twelve "edges" of equal length - 12,000 X 12 = 144,000. And not only is Mount Zion indicative of the Church in Hebrews 12:22, but the New City is referred to as the Church, too.

The New City is the Bride, the Church (Rev. 19).

Then we read the following.

Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:

Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the Earth.

Psa 29:3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.

Jer 10:13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the Earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

Ezek 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.

Psa 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

Psa 55:6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

Wings sounding like waters imply praise and worship. Our praise, therefore, must be understood as lifting us up as if we were given wings. God gave wings to the woman in Revelation 12 and she was delivered from the enemy. Praise gives us wings and lifts us up above trouble and sorrow. Praise has a way of getting us out of depression and up above all stormclouds of gloominess. People who praise are happy people, so long as it is heartfelt praise they give forth and not a counterfeit show.

The Cherubims have wings. They are praisers. Their wings sound like waters just as does the Glory which the temple gives forth.

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.

Ezek 1:23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.

Ezek 3:13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

The temple had Cherubims across the walls, signifying the praise in which He dwells.

1 Ki 6:29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of Cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.

Dan 7:4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the Earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

The Mountain on which the 144,000 stood indicates the Rock upon which the temple or Church is built. God's divinely inspired structures (ark of Noah, Tabernacle and Temple) always were associated with mountains. And the thought of a house built on a Rock is what Jesus described as that which one, who hears the truth and obeys it, builds his house upon.

God gave the law and the Tabernacle plans on Mount Sinai to Moses. And Mount Sinai was in the Horeb range of mountains. It was on Mount Horeb that Moses struck the Rock and water flowed forth to Israel in the midst of a wilderness and desert. This again shows the aspect of God's glory filling a dry "gloriless" world full of sin and death. Waters fill the desert as glory and praise is given to God.

Jesus said the "stones" would surely cry out should Israel not praise Him. These stones were not the literal stones of the Earth, but representative emblems of the gentile believers, whose hard hearts would be softened by God's Spirit. We are the living stones which join together and form the spiritual temple called the Church. And our praise which flows from the Church/Temple is like waters flowing outward to the world. Waters from a Rock. Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church." He said, "And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." This implies that the Church would emit a power that could not be withstood by the gates of hell. Hell would try to keep the Church back, but its gates would not be able to accomplish that end. That which Hell cannot resist, and causes hell's gates and walls to fall and crumble is praise!

God had His people march around Jericho and praise Him. That praise brought down the walls of Jericho. God's glory filled the area and God was able to work. Jericho came down. All opposition to our lives is torn down by our praise. We need to recognize the part that praise has in keeping victory!

Psa 105:40 The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

Psa 105:41 He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

John 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

And the Bible says the Spirit was not yet given since Jesus was not yet glorified! We become wells of glory when the Spirit enters our lives. We are Sources of strength for others. Not many are true wells, since they only are filled and are emptied. They have no spring within them that is a source of living waters. But when we receive the Spirit of God we are made wells.

John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Dear reader, we are Cherubims. We are in the presence of God in the Garden of Eden. We are what the Cherubims represented atop the ark of the covenant with in the veil - people back in the Garden again. The presence of Cherubims in the holiest on the ark signify the Church which is like a structure of praise for God's presence to dwell in. The Cherubims outstretched their wings over the Mercy Seat, and under their wings and over the Mercy Seat God's presence dwelt to speak with man. This signifies that He dwells in our praises. As the temple walls had carved Cherubims upon them, our praise serves as a temple in which the Lord can dwell.

Their wings covered the Mercy Seat where the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled (Lev. 16:14), and their faces looked to the Mercy Seat (Exod. 25:20). This means they praised the one Who dwelt within them - in the Church - the Lord God! The one who sits on the Mercy Seat!

Cherubims give forth glory! Church, let us ever praise His name!