Michael Blume
October, 1994
This study concerns the wonderful blessings that God has given those who have entered His covenant. It uses typology regarding the Ark of the Covenant and the Cherubim from the various accounts of the Bible.
Daniel's presence in Babylon, during the captivity of Judah, typifies the position a child of God may be involved with being in the midst of Confusion, for confusion is what Babylon means. The enemy wants one to remain bereft of the blessings a child of God can receive, and hence the demonic princes over the region of Persia fought God's angels, Michael and Gabriel, from coming to Daniel.
Daniel's' account shows us how we can ensure our blessings reach us by observing the truths Gabriel related to Daniel regarding the incident he encountered with the prince of Persia. To be sure, there is a lesson we are to learn from that encounter.
Understand that Israel's failure to abide by their Law caused them to be taken captive. We have a different Law today in Christ. It is of the Spirit (Ro. 8:2). But we, too, will be taken captive if we do not keep our Law.
Let us begin by relating to you the background of the reason Israel was in Babylon.
Daniel was in the captivity of Babylon that Israel suffered due to their idolatry. Babylon was in the district of Persia. While there, he was given visions concerning truths God desired to reveal to him. He prayed and fasted that he might "understand" the nature of his visions. Prayer was necessary since the carnal mind often cannot reason out the meaning of such experiences from God, and requires "revelation" and "understanding".
The angel Gabriel was sent to make Daniel understand. (Dan. 8:16; 9:22).
Babylon is interpreted in to English as meaning "confusion." When we are in the midst of confusion we are in effect in captivity. We require understanding. As opposed to Confusion, Jerusalem means "City of Peace." Lack of peace affords confusion. And Understanding combats confusion that we might once again have rest. The "Land" of Israel, where Jerusalem, City of Peace stood, represents the "rest" of Canaan for the Christian. We find in biblical accounts that Israel lost the benefits of the "land" due to lack fulfilling the law of the Land. Their Law as the Old Covenant, foreshadowing the New Testament Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
We need understanding while in confusion.
Daniel sees a vision. Similarly, we observe God's written Word. And unless we receive help from God, as Daniel required interpretation of the visions, we will not perceive the truths. What does the vision mean? What do these words actually say?
Gabriel came to provide the necessary understanding.
And he informed me, and
talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give
thee skill and understanding.
Daniel 9:22
Notice Gabriel's role in other passages, and how he always provided understanding.
And the angel answering
said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God;
and am sent to speak unto thee, and to **shew thee** these glad
tidings.
Luke 1:19
Gabriel was the messenger of revelation and understanding. And he was hindered in coming to Daniel with necessary revelation by the prince of Persia. Recall that Babylon was in Persia. Daniel was captive there and the spirit over Persia did not want him released. Likewise are many believers bound in the confusion of carnalised interpretation of God's Word. What does it mean? Could it mean this? And there is not revelation, but mere carnality. The prince of Persia represents the distorted truths of God that so comprise paganism. Paganism is a distortion of the truth. It hinders us from understanding truth.
Gabriel speaks of true revelation from God. He is the messenger of truth. Truth pits battle against false perception of the spiritual. And we are in confusion. Babylon. God tries to send the message through.
Michael came to help Gabriel, since Michael was prince over Israel, and the vision regarded Israel. Notice how the Scriptures portray Michael as being involved with issues regarding the enemy attacking those of Israel:
Michael speaks of warfare for God's people.
Knowing the common thread between the passages regarding Gabriel's and Michael's roles, could Gabriel and Michael be the Archangels responsible for revelation truth and warfare protection, respectively? Responsibility infers "covering" in the sense of "covering" cherubim.
We know that Lucifer was a "covering cherub", possibly RESPONSIBLE for the PRAISE AND WORSHIP in heaven with music and singing.
Ezek 28:14 Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
The word "COVER" also infers PROTECTION. If Archangels are Cherubim, then Michael and Gabriel are cherubim.
Recall that the Ark of the Covenant had the cherubim on the mercy seat. And the Ark is the Ark of the "Covenant". Therefore the cherubim are guardians and sentinels of the COVENANT and those people who are within that covenant. And since TWO CHERUBIM cover the mercy seat, could these be Gabriel and Michael? Could it be that at one time LUCIFER was the third, but fell only to be replaced by humanity represented by the HIGH PRIEST JESUS CHRIST, as foreshadowed by the High Priest standing before the Ark in the Old Testament?
The Cherubim are known to symbolize the EVERLASTING COVENANT of the RESTORATION OF CREATION. (See another study by myself regarding the Everlasting Covenant). All creation will be reconciled to God IN CHRIST. Restored creation is represented upon the cherubim in their FACES. They stand for creation that is fallen into sin and death. The OX, LION, EAGLE and MAN speak of the "kings" of each of the "Kingdoms" of animals. DOMESTIC CATTLE, BEASTS OF THE FIELD, FOWL and, of course, MAN, himself. We see this element in the account where the 24 elders hear the four beasts (cherubim) praise God and are themselves inspired to praise:
Revelation 4:8-11 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. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
The elders praise God for CREATION and how it is for GOD'S PLEASURE. And the days of this prophecy refer to those at the close of this age when the manifestation of the sons of God liberate fallen creation! The RESTORATION OF CREATION. Reconciliation of all in Christ! This is the great EVERLASTING COVENANT.
Michael's warfare and Gabriel's Revelation ministries are typical of the two elements that KEEP that which is involved in THAT COVENANT. GUARDIANS. We are PROTECTED in this covenant by the angelic COVERINGS of warfare in Jesus' name (Jude 9) and revelation truth. These protect COVENANTAL PURITY. They block out carnal intellectualism that opposes the truths of God and false doctrine. Thank God for the protection of Truth as revealed to us from God! It keeps us in the Covenant and in the Land of blessings in God!
After Gabriel brought understanding to Daniel, the angel said the prince of "Grecia" would then come.
Dani 10:20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
Before we receive truth from God we are battled by counterfeit carnal interpretation of the spiritual truths. The Spirit of Persia. False doctrine. What better symbol of false doctrine than the picture of Babylon?
Without prayer, as Daniel persisted in fasting and prayer, we might give in to the carnal and believe a false doctrine - a false interpretation of the vision/Word. Prayer empowers true revelation to reach us. After successfully defeating that spirit, and receiving true light, as Gabriel provided, we will battle INTELLECTUALISM - GRECIA. Grecia was the seat of modern intellect and human wisdom and philosophy. Intellectualism will come to lay doubt on our revelation experience. We must be able to differentiate between reason and truth. They do not always agree.
Notice that it was Michael who was also empowered by the saints who stood on the blood and the Word of their testimony in Revelation 12.
Reve 12:7-11 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 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. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
And the SAINTS were attributed with the casting down of Satan. To understand this, think of how the ark of the COVENANT, as covered by cherubim, had a MERCY SEAT upon which the BLOOD OF THE LAMB was sprinkled. This connects Michael's empowerment with the saints' TESTIMONY OF THE PERSONAL APPLICATION OF THE BLOOD. Upon the Mercy Seat were the two covering cherubim. Could Michael represent one of those cherubim which cover those who RELY UPON THE BLOOD, as the overcomers in Rev. 12:10-11 relied upon the blood, and received assistance from Michael?
Our willingness to abide by the COVENANTAL TRUTHS allows the PROTECTIVE MINISTRIES of Michael and Gabriel to work for us. They protect us. They Guard us from false doctrine and reason. The blood is a vital connecting link between us and the angels' ability to help us, as proven by Rev. 12:10-11. In effect, we include ourselves IN THE POSITION OF SITTING ON THE MERCY SEAT under the covering protection of the cherubim when we rely upon the blood of Jesus! The blood of the Lamb was upon the Mercy Seat where the Cherubim were figured.
Levi 16:14 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.
Our declaration of the personal testimony of what the Blood of Jesus has done for us strengthens the covering cherubim to protect and keep us.
The cherubim were first noted as guardians in Genesis 3, after man was expelled from the Garden. This first mention of cherubim and their role set the pace for our understanding of the role of cherubim throughout the remainder of the Bible. We know the truth of being SEATED with Jesus in heavenly places. The heavenly places are places in the Kingdom of Heaven! And He, Himself, is the Covenant.
Our faith in the price-paying blood for our redemption puts us IN CHRIST. IN the covenant. We place ourselves under MICHAEL'S covering of protection, where he will allow none to enter and remove us, when we are seated with Christ in the covenant on the Mercy Seat. Nothing shall separate me from the love of God while I am seated with Him. No one can take us out of God's hands. We are protected. We are, so to speak, under his wings.
In the New Testament we find that Jerusalem wouldn't submit to the Word made flesh and unite with Him, so He climbed atop the Mount of Olives and, weeping, said:
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!
Forty years later, Israel's covering angel, Michael, stood back and allowed Rome to come and destroy Jerusalem. Jerusalem was not under the wings of the covering of Michael. Michael was a messenger serving Jesus, and hence can be called Jesus' wings. Can you see the typology of the Mercy Seat made of one piece of solid gold with the covering Cherubim? Michael is not Jesus, but is an angel serving Jesus. Look at an interesting scripture:
Malachi 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
To be in Christ, under His wings, is to have HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! He is the Sun of righteousness. Being under His wings is to be in HIS KINGDOM. And there is HEALING in the wings of the covering as there is healing in the leaves of he Tree of Life, as the next verse shows us.
Revelation 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.
Leaves speak of covering and protection in the form of shelter in the Bible, also. (Jonah sat under the covering of the leaves of the gourd.)
God barred Adam from the Garden after his sin since the fruit of life was there, but no blood pure and holy enough to remit His sins and deem him worthy to eat of eternal life was present. The blood came at Calvary. So, the cherubim-covered veil in the temple was rent! The bar was removed. As though the Cherubim blocking the Garden entrance in Genesis were removed, after Calvary and the rending of the veil, man could then go to a tree of Life, the Cross, that had both the blood and the bread of life. Man could eat of eternal life and also experience remission of sins through the blood. And this tree has healing in it's leaves to repair the damage of sin.
Gabriel's revelation truth is given to those in the covenant. Believers alone can understand and comprehend the spiritually-inspired messages found in the holy writ. The natural man cannot understand the things of God for these truths are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14).
1Cor 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.
The Church is built upon the rock, Jesus Christ, and the apostles and prophets. That same Jesus is the WORD, and the apostles and prophets SPOKE of Him in their ministries. The prophets may not have understood what they said, but they were inspired by the Holy Ghost. Therefore the apostles and prophets comprise the foundation with Jesus Christ. Their WORDS of MINISTRY regarded JESUS. And revelation of the Spirit is required to perceive such a Word. Without it, one will not understand. The natural cannot receive the understanding of Jesus.
Notice that when Peter received revelation of who Jesus was (Matthew 16:16-19), he was also given the keys to the Kingdom. Flesh and blood did not reveal it to him. He had a revelation!
Matt 16:17-18 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 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.
Since Jesus is the Word, and the prophets' and apostles' Word concerned Him, then understanding these writings is understanding Jesus. Paul longed to know Jesus after the spirit. He knew he required revelation for this to occur. He preached revelation of Jesus. And understand that the Word's intention is to administer Jesus to our hearts (Jesus is that Spirit Paul ministered to the hearts of the hearers - 2 Cor. 3:8, 17-18). It administers Christlikeness - we are changed into that same image from glory to glory.
Again, in another scripture we find that Peter preached in the Spirit of revelation as the Spirit ministered to Cornelius' household and the listeners received the Holy Ghost. Spirit was ministered to them! And they spoke in tongues having been baptised in the Spirit (Acts 10:44-46). Spirit ministry is the KEYS to the Kingdom. The Kingdom opens up to us when we receive revelation from a Spirit- breathing minister. (Jesus spoke to the two on the road to Emmaus and expounded the Scriptures as the couple's hearts BURNED - Luke 24:27, 32.
Jesus once said that He dared not speak anything but what the Father moved upon Him to speak - John 14:10; 8:28. And a person who breathes forth those Spirit-inspired Words of truth the hearts of the hearers will also burn, for you have touched their spirit with God's Spirit). Note that keys require compatible locks that the keys might open the door. We form the opportunity for the keys to open our veils up as we turn our hearts towards Jesus Christ in faith. (2 Cor. 3:15).
The ark of the covenant speaks of Christ. The ark contained the Tables of Law, manna and the rod of Aaron that budded. In like manner, as the ark, does Jesus embody the fact that the Law is fulfilled in Him. The Law brings death due to the sin in man. And as the Law was in the ark, the Law is fulfilled din Christ. Jesus is the true manna come down from heaven. The fathers ate manna in the wilderness and are dead. Hence, He is the Ark that contains the manna. And as the Ark contained the budded rod of Aaron, indicating priesthood, He is the High {Priest after the order of Melchisedec - the priests of Levi are temporal since they are subject to die, but He is High Priest that lives forever. Jesus *is* the COVENANT:
Isaiah 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and *give thee for a covenant* of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Let us look at the contents of the Ark in another light. The word, "ARK" in the Hebrew speaks of a "COFFIN." Hence, the Law, manna, and rod of Aaron are dead, and speak of death, due to our sin. The lid on the ark, the mercy seat, is a lid on the coffin. When the ark came to Bethshemesh, the people removed the mercy seat and peered within the ark (1 Sam. 6:13-14, 19). Thousands died. We learn a great lesson from this account: Remove mercy and expect death!
The Mercy Seat was a lid to the ark of the covenant. Lifting it symbolizes those who remove the mercy of God, as foreshadowed by the blood upon the Mercy Seat for our forgiveness of sins, and attempt to cut it on our own goodness. We must never remove the blood-stained mercy seat of Christ's crucifixion, and lower ourselves to keep the law again! We will surely die. Upon the LID of the MERCY SEAT where the blood was sprinkled sat the cherubim. They PROTECT. And when we remove the lid of the Mercy of God through Christ's shed blood we can only expect death. We remove our covering protection of the cherubim!
God's angels are ministering spirits sent to minister to the heirs of salvation. We must keep our position in Christ, however, to continue receiving of their ministries. Let us keep the law of works dead in Christ by keeping our hearts in faith. The coffin is sealed closed only so long as you remember the blood of Jesus. The blood seals it. It indicates payment in full, meeting the demands of Law. We are dead to the Law by the body of Christ and His shed blood! We are above the law sitting on the mercy seat, the lid of Law's coffin. We must keep the law in its proper place in our hearts and thus remain in Christ, the New Covenant.
The law of sin and death which uses the Law of Moses against us (Ro. 7:11) cannot affect us for we are under a higher law that frees us from it. We are in the Law of the Spirit. As the law of aerodynamics frees you from the law of gravity by being IN an aerodynamically shaped vessel, so are we freed from the law of sin and death by being IN CHRIST - THE LAW of the Spirit of Life IN CHRIST JESUS.
We are in Christ. Arks were vessels people entered. Moses entered the ark as his mother lowered him into the Nile River. Noah entered the Ark. Such entrances breached barriers that differentiated between life and death. And WATER always was associated with them. The deluge waters of Noah meant death for the world, but life for Noah since he ENTERED the ark. The Ark of Moses meant life for him while the same water destroyed the other infants.
The priests bare the ark and walked through the rent waters of the Jordan River - the rent veil - that they might LIVE in CANAAN, which Land is indicative of the Law of the Spirit of LIFE in the KINGDOM. We are BAPTISED INTO CHRIST in water baptism, which waters destroy sin in us and give life to our spirits.
Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
(I don't propose baptismal regeneration - I stress the FAITH element in our baptism - He that BELIEVETH and is baptized shall be saved - Mark 16:16).
The Glory of God sat above the Ark. We are with Christ in that position of glory.
Psalm 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.
Numbers 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.
Clothed with the SUN (Rev. 12:1), the Bride of Christ sits with Him as ONE (1 Cor 6:16,17), as a man and wife are one flesh, on the mercy seat in the glory of His Righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
The Moon of the reflective glory of the Law is under our feet, beneath the mercy seat, as we stand on the Blood of Christ.
Daniel was in the captivity of Babylon. Babylon means CONFUSION. Revelation must be administered to the heart of the bound and confused soul. And revelation is the ministry of the Spirit. That is why Gabriel came.
The CHERUBS COVER or PROTECT those who adhere to the covenantal truths of righteousness through Christ alone. Spirits of hell are held back and away from the believer by the warfare protection of Michael. Revelational truth continues to minister to our hearts as symbolized by Gabriel. And this protects us from false doctrine and tradition that removes us from Christ.
Colossians 2:7-14 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man *spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world,* and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
A woman is covered by the man and man is covered by Christ. The head covering in 1 Corinthians 11 is a beautiful picture of Christ's authority upon the Church. A woman wore a head covering which signified her husband's protective power over her.
Christ's POWER upon the church only comes as we submit to Him and His ministry. The woman has POWER on her head "because of the angels."
1 Corinthians 11:7-10 For a man indeed ought not to cover [his] head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on [her] head because of the angels.
What might "because of the angels" refer to? I think we now know. The covenantal cherubim of covering-protection, standing for the warfare of Michael and the revelation of Gabriel, will KEEP us in safety. Otherwise the angels cannot protect us. There is no covering. Recognition of the authority or power of Christ through our adherence to the blood of Jesus Christ keeps us in the covenant under the protective wings of the cherubim.
CONTINUED - HIT RIGHT ARROW BUTTON FOR PART 2