Part III The Angel of the Lord; Christophanies
Part Three: The Glory of the Lord is revealed through The Angel of the Lord; Christophanies in the Old Testament!
Christians are the earthly ark or temples that Jesus now inhabits and Jesus is our indwelling Holy of Holies- our Tabernacle! Jesus is quite literally our “Dwelling Place” because He has graciously made us His dwelling place. He calls us to “abide in Him, for apart from Him, we can do nothing.” We are directly connected spiritually to our Heavenly Ark (Jesus) as we enter into Jesus, our Holy of Holies. We are all little temples, who through the indwelling Holy Spirit, are joined to Jesus our Heavenly Tabernacle. The place that He has gone to prepare for us, is Himself, He is our eternal dwelling place. (We cannot understand this in the natural) We are little temples that are part of a greater temple, the Heavenly Tabernacle that houses the Holy of Holies; Jesus Christ Himself. We are also His priests that may enter into His presence to minister and intercede before Him and He is our High Priest who dwells in our temples! We have access to His heavenly throne room because He lives in us. We are told to “come boldly before His throne to receive grace in time of need.” We need to do this everyday! As long as Jesus is enthroned in our hearts, we have direct access to Him. We must act upon that fact, in faith. “And having a Great High Priest over the House of God, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts having been sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body having been washed with pure water” (His Blood and the Word) (Heb.10:21-22).
One of the most powerful revelations that I have received from God is that our Alpha and Omega, our loving Lord Jesus is not some mere created Being. Jesus was extremely present and active in the world prior to His incarnation! Jesus IS the embodiment (IMAGE) of God and was the mighty Angel of the Lord who intervened on behalf of God's chosen people and particularly guarded His own blessed seed, which would result in His incarnation. Many diminish the thought of Christ being present in the Old Testament but I and many others know beyond any shadow of any doubt the precise identity of the the mighty Angel in whom God had put His own name: "YAHWEH." This was no ordinary angel. The Second Person of the Trinity (JESUS) has ALWAYS existed. Jesus IS Alpha and Omega- Jesus is our Creator God- He is also our Personal Savior! (The closest worldly analogy that I can think of is one day waking up to realize that your dad was superman, but we actually have an even more powerful Daddy...Jesus is SUPERGOD, who loves us with the intimacy of a Perfect Father and IN Whom also ALL the power of the universe resides!!!)
Exodus 3:2-6, is the first experience of man after the fall, being invited to enter into the Holy presence of God, to commune with God. “Qodesh,” (as in: the Most Holy Presence of God!) is the word that is first used here in Exodus, when Moses is told that He is standing on Holy Ground: “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, "I must turn aside now, and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Qodesh) He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Abraham and wrestled with Jacob but here in Exodus, God reveals the very heart of His glory to Moses. It is in Exodus 3, that the Angel of the Lord in the burning bush, is revealed as the Most Holy God! The most important attribute of God's Angel is revealed here: that He is God Almighty and that He desires that we come into His presence to worship Him, though in the Old Testament His identity and His Image is a veiled mystery! The Angel of the Lord in Exodus 3, is the very Image and embodiment of God- the Second Person of the Trinity! He reveals Himself as being the 'One' in the Consuming Fire. He hasn't chosen a mighty tree or a mountain range in which to manifest His presence, but rather has manifested His Presence in a humble, little bush, which was overwhelming enough for Moses. This humble, yet supernatural manifestation also has the earmarks of His lowly incarnation. God could have manifested as a 500 foot collosus if He had so desired. Perhaps His most audacious manifestation was when He was IN the Pillar of Fire that protected and led His people. Certainly, the tongues of flame on the heads of His disciples at Pentecost, is a major revelation that the God who was revealed to Moses in the burning bush, had come to dwell in men!
Many great teachers and preachers of the Word have come to the conclusion that the “Angel of the Lord” mentioned in several integral (Not all) places in the Old Testament, is none other than the Preincarnate Christ, who is the only Image of God, the Glory of the Father. Jesus has always been the Second Person of the Trinity, the only embodiment of God, who revealed His mighty attributes through various identities and other forms in the old testament. This preincarnate revelation of Jesus is called a theophany or Christophany. The early church fathers believed this interpretation as well as many other great men of God such as Calvin, Billy Graham, and John Wolvoord. In a recent book about angels, Dr. David Jeremiah devotes a chapter to this special Angel of the Lord and he also agrees with this interpretation.
Why is this revelation about the Angel of the Lord so important in this study about dwelling in God’s presence? The burning bush reveals the very nature of God and how He has made it possible for us to come before Him, and more importantly how it is that the One who appeared in the burning bush has chosen to dwell in us. The burning bush experience was the most intimate revelation of God to man, after the fall of man, to that point. It is the first time that God reveals that He desires for man to enter into His presence and worship Him. Make no mistake, Yaweh, the express image of God, is speaking to Moses from that bush and yet Moses is not struck dead when he looks upon Him. Although this may be a “controversial theology” to some, the Bible makes it quite clear that God Himself is speaking from the bush where the Angel of the Lord is appearing. This is the Angel in whom God has put His own name:
“In Exodus 23:20-23 the name of God is in this Angel. Reverence and worship are given to Him, He is called Jehovah, and acts in His name.” (The Names of Christ by Francis H. Derk) 4
The mission of this marvelous Angel was threefold:
1. The deliverance, protection and salvation of Israel
2. Revealing the nature and attributes of God to man:
a. God’s grace
b. God’s love
c. God’s provision
3. The appearance and work of the Angel of the Lord, reveals that God desires for us to worship and love Him and to enter into and dwell in His presence by an act of God’s grace.
Jesus, as the Pre-incarnate Christ, weaves Himself throughout the Old Testament like a golden thread in the finest garment, often appearing at critical junctures in the history of Israel, to bless and protect His chosen seed and people by His personal and loving intervention. His attributes are revealed to the children of Israel in the form of parables, types and patterns. He reveals Himself in the Old Testament, at the most critical junctures in Israel’s history. There were times when the lineage of His seed needed His direct intervention. “For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. THEREFORE IN ALL THINGS HE HAD TO BE MADE LIKE HIS BRETHREN, THAT HE MIGHT BE A MERCIFUL AND FAITHFUL HIGH PRIEST ....” (Heb. 2:16,17).
Melchizedek, the gentile, pre-Levitical Priest/King that ministered to Abraham and prophesied to him, may have also been the preincarnate Christ, and at the very least was a potent foreshadowing of Jesus. Abraham brought Melchizedek his tithe offering. Paul speaks of this mystery in Hebrews chapter 7: 2:
“(Melchizedek)....to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem (the original Jerusalem), which is, King of peace. 3. Without (earthly) father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually” (Heb. 7: 2,3).
Did Paul also have a deeper revelation of who this Priest/King was? Was Melchizedek also a theophany (def: “visible appearance of God to man”) of Jesus, a revelation of His title and office of High Priest and King of Jerusalem! Paul has more than inferred this interpretation. It is a rich and blessed revelation to realize that Jesus had been revealing Himself to Israel and to us, under the old covenant in very inconspicuous ways. He has revealed many singular attributes of Himself, each of which is powerful and extremely important, to the believer. The Lord’s heavenly and eternal office of High Priest couldn’t possibly be compared in stature to an earthly high priest unless of course, the Preincarnate Christ, actually was that High Priest to whom Abraham made offerings. This High Priest whom Paul said was “without descent,” or (earthly) “father or mother,” was Jesus! There is no blessing in speculation, but there is great blessing in revelation from God! The most important revelation in this teaching, is how the personal intervention and covenant making attributes of this Divine Angel who can be none other than the 2nd person of the Trinity- this One who personally guarded and kept His seed, made it possible for us to ENTER HIS PRESENCE! “HE (Jesus) is the IMAGE of the invisible God”.... for it pleased the Father that in HIM (Jesus) ALL the fullness (of the Trinity) should dwell.” (Col. 1:15, 19)
Paul says that Jesus is our “hope....which ENTERS THE PRESENCE BEHIND THE VEIL, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK” (Heb. 6: 19,20). Because of His sacrifice and because He has entered before us as both Priest, King and Sacrifice, we are now called by Him as priests, to “ENTER IN BEHIND THE VEIL” INTO HIS GLORIOUS PRESENCE! Melchizedek prefigured and was superior to the Levitical priesthood “for He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe (Judah?), from which no man has officiated at the altar.... and it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another Priest..... for He (God) testifies: “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER- ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK!!!” In making a comparison in Hebrews 7:8, Paul more than indicates that Melchizedek was immortal, when he speaks of the Levite priests as being “Here (during Paul’s time) mortal men” who “receive tithes..” but of Melchizedek, it is stated that He lives!” How could Melchizedek possibly still be living unless He were immortal? All of the high priests that ministered in the Temple were Levites but Melchizedek who prefigured that priesthood and who was a gentile, was more special than the entire Levitical priesthood! Why or how would God Almighty, fashion His heavenly and eternal Priesthood after the ancient priesthood of a mere mortal? Because Melchizedek wasn’t a mere mortal! Christ is a High Priest after the likeness of Melchizedek!
The Preincarnate Christ, was also the “Angel” that wrestled with Jacob and that stopped the hand of Abraham while attempting to sacrifice Isaac. Please meditate on the blessed possibility that the “Angel of the Lord” who Himself, may also have been the Lamb of God, personally stopped faithful Abraham from sacrificing his own son. Abraham’s faith and resolve pleased and blessed the Lord, in that a mere mortal was able through his faith and obedience to God, to offer his only son as a sacrifice. The Angel of the Lord provided Abraham with a substitute ram in prophetic promise of His own future crucifixion. Abraham was a “type” of “symbolic/ prophetic/ personification” of God the Father, in that He too was willing to sacrifice his only son! The greatest irony of all in the bible is that it was the Lamb of God Himself, who provided the substitute sacrifice based on Abraham’s faith. It was from then on that God was also called “Jehovah - Jireh;” “The Lord our Provider.” The only kind of blood sacrifice that could reconcile man to God, was that of His own blessed Son. It was trust in God’s promise and provision that saved Abraham! Jesus is our provider and our provision, He is our All in All!
It was the Second Person of the Trinity that looked down through the pillar of cloud and smote the Egyptians and who also appeared to Samson’s mother Manoah and told her that she would conceive a son. The Angel consumed the sacrifice with a touch of His staff, which they offered Him and then ascended up into the flame of that sacrifice, into heaven. This same appearance happened to Gideon when the Angel of the Lord accepted the sacrifice offered to Him and the Angel also ascended up into the flame of the sacrifice- the flame which is reminiscent of the same Angel of the Lord who appeared in the burning bush. I believe that this also reveals the divine nature of Christ, in that He accepted their worship and they addressed Him as “Lord,” He revealed His divine nature in accepting, igniting and consuming the sacrifice. He also reveals Himself as the One who dwells in the flame or pillar of glory. This “Angel” became One with the flame of the sacrifice, revealing His divine role of the Lamb of God, (our Sacrifice) slain from the foundation of the world. All of these important biblical characters realized that they were talking to GOD and when they knew that they were in God’s Presence, offered their worship and sacrifice to the “Angel.” Jesus is the personal revelation of God to man who was not bound to appear only as born of Mary, but the One who revealed Himself to His people Israel through out the Old Testament. Joshua was also one of the mighty men of God who fell at the Angel’s feet in worship:
The Captain of the Host, is also another title of this Divine Angel who appears to Joshua at a critical point in Hebrew history. Right after the manna had ceased manifesting, Joshua sees the ANGEL of the Lord standing like a warrior with sword in His hand, though Joshua doesn't immediately recognize Him in Joshua ch. five v. 12-15: “Then the manna ceased (and Christ appeared, the True Manna from heaven!) on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year. And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?" Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so. Does that last command from the “Captain of the Host,” sound familiar?
There is no doubt in my spirit, heart and mind as to who this “Angel” is, standing before Joshua! Even the body of translators of the NKJV capitalize the word “Man” to let us know that He is not just a man but that this “Angel” is God! I trust that Joshua knew his God well (at least when he got up close to Him and when He spoke to him!). Joshua would not have fallen to worship just an ordinary angel! The Angel here, is the bodily manifestation of the 2nd person of the Trinity: JESUS. A rank and file, holy angel, will not accept worship, let alone encourage it. This is the same Angel (GOD) that spoke from the burning bush and told Moses and Joshua both, to remove their sandals while in His Presence. The ground was holy where the Angel stood because Moses and Joshua were both in the presence of Jehovah, aka; “El Shadai” and “Jehovah Jireh,” to mention a few! In fact, the full attributes of God the Father are revealed to us through Jesus the Son. As the Second Person of the Trinity, the Preincarnate Christ revealed Himself to all of the major Old Testament characters. Another powerful revelation was made to Gideon:
Judges 6:11 - Judges 6:23 (NKJ)
Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the wine press, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!" Gideon said to Him, "O my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man." Then he said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. "Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You." And He said, "I will wait until you come back." So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them.
20 The Angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And he did so.
21 Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.
22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face."
23 Then the Lord said to him, "Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die."
This is where God Himself, revealed His personal attribute of “Jehovah Shalom,” “the Lord our Peace,” to Gideon. The Angel of the Lord, the Second Person of the Trinity, appeared to His highly chosen servants in the Old Testament and revealed God’s most powerful and personal attributes.
Some people are disturbed by the idea that the Preincarnate Jesus appeared in the Old Testament. Perhaps they think that Jesus was just a creation of the Father, a less than equal person than God the Father who didn’t exist before He was incarnated through Mary? Jesus says of Himself that “I and the Father are ONE... if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father!” The news for them is that: Jesus is God... all of God’s fullness dwells in Him. Jesus is the revealed GLORY of the Father! Jesus is the living embodiment of all of God’s glory and splendor! “For IN HIM dwells all of the Godhead BODILY....the Head of ALL principality and power.” (Col. 2:9,10) Jesus is our preeminent, preexisting God, “....Firstborn over ALL creation. For by HIM ALL things were created... visible and invisible... All things were created THROUGH HIM and FOR HIM.... that in ALL things He may have PREEMINENCE... IN whom are hidden ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col. 1:15-18 & 2: 3) Jesus is supremely above everything and everyone else! My NKJ study bible has many great notes and teachings, one of which is about the Trinity. The “Angel of the Lord” study, reveals the powerful Triune nature of God:
“Several times in the Hebrew scriptures, reference is made to “the Angel of the Lord” (YAHWEH). It is evident from the contexts that these references do not speak simply of a created messenger of God but of God Himself. In certain contexts the Angel of the Lord is identified as God Himself (Gen. 16:7-13; 18:1-22), but in others He is distinguished from God (Gen. 19:1-28, especially v. 24; Zech. 1:12,13; see also Mal. 3:1). Such appearances most likely are of the preincarnate Christ, WHO IS THE REVELATION OF THE FATHER (John 1:18; Heb. 1:1-3). After the incarnation, such appearances of the Angel of the Lord end, for now the revelation of God is present as a human in the person of Jesus Christ” 5
Jesus is the IMAGE OF GOD.” (2 COR. 4:4). HE IS THE “EXPRESS IMAGE OF THE FATHER” (Heb. 1:3)
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1)
Jesus also manifested Himself as the Rock that gushed water in the desert for the Jews in the wilderness (“...for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” 1Cor. 10: 4). This is also a prophetic picture of the Holy Spirit flowing from Jesus Himself to His children in future times! Certainly Christ’ divine attributes were also manifested in the manna, which fed His children! As the Angel of the Lord, Christ walked with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace and delivered them, (“one like as the Son of God”) and He was also the glorified Angel in Daniel chapter 10, that touched Daniel’s lips and told him not to fear and called Daniel; greatly beloved. (D.L. Moody also preached this in his sermon: “The prophet Daniel” and John F. Wolvoord of Dallas Theological Seminary, also holds this view) The Second Person of the Trinity was also present in the Cloud and in the Fire that led and protected Israel in the desert and that dwelt over the Mercy Seat. It was the Preincarnate Christ, who appeared in the burning bush-- the very first Holy of Holies- our “Qodesh” or “Holy Ground.” It was God’s Son Jesus, that spoke from the burning bush and revealed Himself to Moses! The burning bush in which Christ appeared, was not consumed. The burning bush was the revelation of what He intended for His children: to be filled with the awesome glory and the fire of His presence and yet not be consumed. (Christ in us, the HOPE of GLORY!)
His greatest fulfilled hope for us, is exactly what happened on Pentecost when 120 believers were baptized in His Holy Spirit. To prove this as a fulfillment of prophecy, tongues of FIRE appeared on and over the heads of all the believers! The fire of the “Qodesh” (Holy of Holies) came to inhabit His temples, they were on fire in the Holy Ghost of His Presence and yet not consumed! On that day of Pentecost 3000 Jews received the baptism in the Holy Ghost. This was the prophetic answer and closure of the slaughter of 3000 apostate Jews by Levite priests on the first day of Pentecost some 1500 years prior, when Moses had descended Mount Sinai and found them in perversion and idolatry. On the first Pentecost at Mount Sinai, 3000 souls were slain. On the New Testament day of Pentecost, 3000 souls were saved and filled! This is another revelation of the Lord’s divine attribute of ‘Alpha and Omega’ that was revealed to the Jewish people, commencing with the law and judgment in a baptism of death, and answered years later when 3000 Jews were saved and baptized in His Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Now that’s closure! It was a type of closure that was also a new beginning. A new chapter, a new work had begun! It was also at the time of the first Pentecost that Moses came down from Mount Sinai, only to find that the people whom God wanted to marry, were already unfaithful and in horrible sin. Moses brought them the law, a marriage contract between the Jews and God that the Jews couldn’t receive at that time. Baptism is an act of faith, which proclaims an inward death and new beginning.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit quickens the death of the old nature and begins a new life in the Spirit. The tongues of fire that appeared over the believers on Pentecost, is the greatest proof that the same God that dwelt over the Ark of the Covenant in a pillar of fire, and in the burning bush, had indeed come to dwell in, on and over His children! The tongues of flame are also reminiscent of the hand of God, personally inscribing the ten commandments, just prior to the first O.T. Pentecost. Remember that God had promised to “write His laws on the flesh of men’s hearts.” (Ezekiel 36:26). The immediate effect of the work of the Holy Spirit was to empower God’s servants for service and cement them together IN Christ, in a bond of oneness, wonder and love. Those that observed the outpouring on the 120 disciples and fell under the awesome power and conviction of the Holy Ghost, asked Peter:
“What shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. ....Then they that gladly received His word were baptized: and the same day were added unto them about 3000 souls. And they continued steadfastly in the Apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear (awe) came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common...And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2: 37-47) The correlation of the 3000 thousand souls and also the 120 worshipers is not a coincidence, there is no such thing as coincidence with God!
This should still be seen as the model for the modern church. It is God’s will that we continue steadfastly in the Apostle’s doctrine and fellowship. We should gather together as much as we possibly can. We are to be in one accord, praising God and always fixing our attention on Jesus in our worship and fellowship. Our fellowship must be grounded and in accordance with God’s word. It must never be based on our feelings, compromise of the word nor on worldly based leadership.
The Old Testament Qodesh or Holy of Holies, was a prophetic manifestation of the very heart and glory of God. Jesus is the very Heart and Glory of God, THE REVELATION OF THE FATHER! Jesus says of Himself: “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus is Yahweh! In the Holy of Holies, God was veiled in mystery and inaccessible to everyone except the high priest, who would enter into His presence once a year, on the ‘Day of Atonement.’ It was there, in what amounted to a glorified tent, that Jehovah would appear in the cloud (Shekinah Glory), above the Mercy Seat which was on top of the lid of the Ark of the Covenant and between the two gold covered cherubim which were over the Mercy Seat. Moses spoke to God “face to face”; “And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. and he turned again into the camp; but his servant Joshua, (Joshua also heard and knew the voice of God) the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” (Exodus 33:9-11 KJV) Moses spoke to the Lord face to face, whose presence was in the cloud. Moses spoke to Him as unto His friend, but did not see God’s face, which was veiled by the cloud. Who was this man Moses, that the Lord Almighty Himself would greet him at the door of the Tabernacle? Moses was most certainly a holy and obedient man but it was his humility, faith and trust in Jehovah that pleased the Lord and caused Him to reveal Himself in such a personal way that they spoke face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. God also intended that everyone saw the relationship that God had with Moses! God wanted to be with Moses so intensely that He even met Moses at the door!
“And there I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.” (Ex. 25:22)
“there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory” Exodus 29:43
The glory of the Lord beamed from Moses’ face after being in God’s presence in the first ‘Qodesh’ on Mt. Sinai. Moses had to wear a veil after being in the Lord’s presence, because the people couldn’t bear to look upon the bright glory, which shone from him. For although it was but a reflection of God’s glory, they could not bear to see the brightness of the Shekinah glory of the Lord which was imparted to him. This is the best example of the anointing of God’s presence. He will rub His anointing in and on us as we spend time in His presence. The more powerful the anointing, the greater the manifestation in the servant- the more that we linger in His Presence, the longer He lingers on us (holiness, fruits and gifts, though not necessarily in that order!). Many will be personally offended and even hide their faces in response to His anointing. Moses was mightily anointed from spending days and even months in the Lord’s presence or Qodesh. God gave Moses the mission to deliver His law to Israel. (ministration of death 2 Cor. 3:7). Moses was a kind or type of messiah, a foreshadowing of Jesus. The anointing upon Moses was so powerful that his face had to be veiled while in the presence of others. This bright anointing was meant to disturb and confound the flesh of others, to set Moses apart from everyone else and to confirm God’s anointing upon His servant Moses!
“But if the ministration of death...was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of His countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?” (2 Cor. 3:7,8) When Moses came down from being in God’s glorious presence, it was also prophetic foreshadowing of Jesus coming down to earth to save mankind. The difference is that Moses came down to deliver death and Jesus came to give abundant life, through the ministration of the Spirit, who is even more glorious.
“For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory... For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.” (2 Cor. 3: 9,11) Moses experienced the glory of the Lord, which was not usually revealed to men. We now know by revelation to the Apostle Paul that Moses, like Abraham, put His faith in the coming Messiah: “esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; FOR HE LOOKED TO THE REWARD.” (Hebrews 11:26) Abraham and Moses were both made righteous through faith in God alone: “....for we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.” (Rom. 4:9) “....Not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them....” (Heb. 11:13) They foresaw and embraced the coming Messiah and their hope and faith IN HIM, imparted righteousness to them. Thus, they could receive God’s grace and forgiveness on the basis of their hope for Messiah. We have the same privilege that Moses had through Jesus (the Angel of the Lord in the burning bush) to enter His glorious presence but we through Christ, have the privilege of having the veil (of death and condemnation) taken away from our eyes. (2 Cor. 3:16) We are privileged to receive the free gift of God’s overwhelming grace; to have Messiah within us!
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty. 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 Cor. 3:17,18)
Without the ministration of the Spirit in our temples, there can be no change in our human nature, nor the glorious presence of the Lord in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the Oil and we are but the wick- cause us to burn brightly dear Jesus! There is a distinct difference between having basic salvation (integral, foundational), and walking in the abundant and glorious presence of Jesus, through His Holy Spirit. Paul says that the Lord is that Spirit. No one needs to fear a deeper manifestation of the Spirit in themselves because the Lord is that Spirit. The Spirit is the One who Jesus imparts in us to take us up and over into the Holy of Holies (Jesus), to dwell in His presence. As long as our motivation is to know Him and to abide in Him according to His Word, He will not allow the counterfeit to fool us. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to Him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give to him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?...how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:10-13) Now, if our motivation is just to have gifts and power and new religious status, like Simon the magician, then we will fall into deception. Andrew Murray was a great and famous evangelist of the 19th century and had an amazing revelation of how we may enter into His presence:
“The Holiest of all within me too, is unseen and hidden, a thing for faith alone to know and deal with. Let me, as I approach to the Holy One, bow before Him in deep and lowly reverence. Let me there say that I believe what He says, that His Holy Spirit, God, one with the Father and the Son, even now has His abode in me. I will meditate, and be still, until something of the overwhelming glory of the truth fall upon me, and faith begin to realize it: I am His temple, and in the secret place He sits upon His throne. As I yield myself in silent meditation and worship day by day, surrendering and setting open my whole being to Him, He will in His divine, loving, living power, shine into my consciousness the light of His presence.
As this thought fills the heart, the faith of the indwelling though hidden presence will influence; the Holy Place will be ruled from the Most Holy.....If I give Him there the glory due His name, in the holy worship of the inner temple, He will send forth His light and His truth through my whole being, and through mind and will reveal His power to sanctify and to bless....O brother, do believe that you are the temple of the living God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you!....Deeper down, in the secret place of the Most High, there you will find Him. There faith will find Him. And as faith worships in holy reverence before the Father, and the heart trembles at the thought of what it has found, wait in holy stillness for the Spirit, and be assured He will, as God, arise and fill His temple with His glory!...In the power of Him, in whom the veil was rent that the Spirit might stream forth from His glorified Body, there will come to you, too, an experience in which the veil shall be taken away, and the Most Holy and the Holy be thrown into one. The hidden glory of the Secret Place will stream into your conscious daily life: the service of the Holy Place will all be in the power of the eternal Spirit.
Brother, let us fall down and worship! ‘Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for He is waked up out of His holy habitation.’ ” 6
(from Andrew Murray’s sermon; The Temple of the Holy Spirit)
Is that your deepest desire-- that the “hidden glory of the Secret Place will stream into your conscious daily life?” Do you believe that you are a Temple of the Living God? If you are a Christian, there is no doubt that He resides in you but have you sought Him out the way that you should? Does the glory of His Presence flood your inner being?
The Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple, was a prophetic foreshadowing of a much more perfect place to enter into for our redemption and dwelling; Jesus our Lord and Savior. Jesus nullified the facsimile found in the temple sacrifices, when His Tabernacle (Body/Veil) was torn and destroyed on Calvary. The awesome veil (a team of oxen could not have torn it apart!) which surrounded the Holy of Holies, was also torn from top to bottom. This could not have been done by human hands and was meant to show everyone, especially the Jews, that a new and better way had come. The veil, was the symbol for the body of Christ, that had to be torn so that man could enter into the very heart of God and receive a perfect and permanent remission for sins. The veil had been raised by God because of man’s sin. God could not reveal or share His heart nor His glory with man but as a soldier was piercing the heart of Jesus, God made it possible for us to enter in.
The ancient historian Flavius Josephus recorded that the servant lamp in the golden lamp stand (Menorah) in the temple, wouldn’t light for the forty years after the crucifixion. This is more supernatural evidence to the Jews, (a sign) that the Light of the World, was temporarily extinguished on Calvary and that the old covenant, was now fulfilled in Jesus. However, the prophetic symbolism and metaphor in the objects of worship in the Holy of Holies, are still of great value to us even today in understanding the Gospel. Paul makes this clear:
Hebrews 9:1 “Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. 2 For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lamp stand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. 3 And behind the second veil, there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, 4 having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tablets of the covenant 5 And above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail. 6 Now when these things have been thus prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship, 7 but into the second only the high priest enters, once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, 9 which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
10:16 " This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And upon their mind I will write them,"
Before the veil, stands the golden altar, on it a golden bowl filled with incense which is ignited with hot coals. The altar is in the position immediately before the throne of the Ark, though the veil intervened. The most sacred place within the veil, is the Mercy Seat which is on the Holy Ark of the Covenant, where God’s Shekinah glory would appear. “He dwells between the cherubim” (Ps. 99:1). Originally within the Ark, were the tablets of the law given to Moses and placed there by God’s order to Moses. There also resides the budding staff of Aaron and the golden pot of Manna. It is only appropriate that the throne of God on earth would contain His Word, (God’s gracious gift to man) which is the foundation of the earth and of our faith. The golden pot of manna, (another gift for man’s consumption) is also representative of the Word of God. It was God’s provision from heaven that appeared like the dew, which the children of Israel collected for their nourishment for forty years. It was sweet like honey and could be eaten in many different ways and even baked into bread. It is representative of the True Bread of heaven who came down and dwelt among us. God’s manna, was yet another manifestation of Jehovah Jireh which means; God, our Provision. The budding staff of Aaron was a symbol of God’s supernatural nature and His desire to use less than ordinary instruments for His glory. It had been used as an instrument and terminal for the release of God’s great and awesome power and judgment. It looked like an ordinary shepherd’s staff and although just a branch of a tree, it was alive-- a miraculous instrument of God’s power. Although I would say that the staff or ‘rod’ of Aaron was symbolic of the Holy Spirit, it is also an analogy for our powerful Lord. He also was the humble Branch that houses God’s miracle power as shown in Egypt. During the tribulation, the world will once again see this terrible and wrathful side of our Lord. He is our humble Branch, but He is also King of Kings and Lord of Lords coming to judge the world and pay recompense with a rod of iron.
“And you shall put this altar in front of the veil that is near the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you.” (Ex. 30:6)
While the Ark of the Covenant was on the earth, it was the terminal of His presence, God’s very footstool. In the cloud He would appear above the Mercy Seat between the Cherubim. This is the very definition of the Hebrew word; “ ‘al” (5920, 5921, Strong's). The word; ‘al, infers the very nature of God towards man: “Highest God; above, aloft, over, upon, among, between, on, through (all, everyone, everything).” This important word is found in a very revealing verse about His power and nature and how it is that we may enter into the very Holy of Holies. In Leviticus 16, we find God talking to Moses and commanding him to speak to His brother Aaron, the High Priest. Two of Aaron’s sons have just been struck dead after entering the Holy of Holies and coming into the Lord’s presence to offer strange fire before the Lord.
Right in the midst of powerful and anointed worship and the very appearance of Jehovah, is a strong lesson of God’s command-- the prerequisite necessity of being holy and obedient, in order to enter into God’s presence:
“And Nadab and Abihu, the son’s of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in them; and they put incense on it and brought strange fire before Jehovah, which He had not commanded them. 2. And fire went out from before Jehovah and consumed them; and they died before Jehovah. (Lev.10:1,2) Just prior to this, Aaron’s sons had just been sanctified and anointed as priests by Moses and had just experienced the mighty power and presence of God:
“And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood on the altar, and sprinkled on Aaron, his garments, and on his sons, and on his son’s garments with him. And he sanctified Aaron...and his sons....He shall consecrate you seven days...Jehovah has commanded you to do, to make atonement for you and you shall remain at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation....for seven days and you shall keep the charge of Jehovah and shall not die....and Aaron and his sons did all the things which Jehovah had commanded by the hand of Moses “(Lev. 8:30-36). Aaron and his sons were anointed with oil (the anointing of the Holy Ghost) and sanctified with blood as we must be, to be able to enter the Holy of Holies.
“Then brothers, having confidence for the entering of the Holy of Holies by the Blood of Jesus, which He consecrated for us, a new and living way through the veil; that is, His flesh; And having a Great High Priest over the House of God, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts having been sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body having been washed with pure water” (the Word) (Heb.10:19-22).
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” (1Peter 1:2). The sprinkling of the Mercy Seat by the high priest, made it possible for Jehovah to be enthroned there. Jesus, our High Priest, goes into the throne room our hearts and sprinkles them with His own precious Blood, through the work of the Holy Spirit! We are all called to be priests that enter in before the Lord but before we can enter the Holy of Holies, all of our sin must be under the blood of Jesus.
“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 marvelous light:” (1Pet.1:9)
In Leviticus 16, after Aaron and his sons, were anointed, sanctified and consecrated as priests, God told Moses that they should prepare a special sacrifice;
“for today Jehovah will appear to you...this is the thing that Jehovah has commanded; do it and the glory of Jehovah shall appear to you. And Moses said to Aaron, Draw near to the altar and make your sin offering, and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself, and for the people,....and atone for them, as Jehovah has commanded...and Aaron...killed the calf of the sin offering....and he killed the burnt offering....and he brought the food offering...and the wave offering...and lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them...and the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the people. And the fire came out from before Jehovah and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. And all the people saw, and cried aloud, and fell on their faces” (Lev. chap.9) Despite this awesome display and revelation of God’s glory and power, Aaron’s sons later; “each took his censer and put fire in them; and they put incense on it and brought strange fire before Jehovah, which He had not commanded them. And fire went out from before Jehovah and consumed them; and they died before Jehovah!” (Lev. 10:1,2).
Aaron’s sons tried to bring an idolatrous offering before the Lord and were struck dead! They felt as though they were invincible and could get creative as to how they were going to enter His presence. They got spiritually arrogant! Instead of being allowed to bring a profane offering in disobedience to God’s commands, God made them the offering. The message that we must learn from the death of Aaron’s sons is that even a chosen, anointed and sanctified priest (preacher, saint) can fall into grievous disobedience and idolatry. We must also remember that “to whom much is given, much is required.” We must remember that Jesus is going to tell some that have even cast out demons and healed people in His name, to “depart from Me for I never knew you.”
The strange fire that is being offered to the Lord today comes in many different forms. There are some preachers that have given themselves great license to offer up strange fire to the Lord. Some of these men have great calls on their lives and are gifted but feel that they can do anything they want before the Lord. They have decided to mix the profane with the holy. God will deal with braggarts that want everyone to be impressed with them or the empires that they have built. We must be very careful not to fall for the counterfeit manifestations that are happening today. Our motivation must be to know and adore Jesus and obey His Word! If our motives are selfish, if we use the gospel to gain riches, to obtain power, or feel superior, we can be easily deceived and fall prey to apostate beliefs. Focusing on the manifestations instead of the manifestor is profane. Seeking the supernatural manifestations instead of Jesus, will always lead to being deceived. However, we serve a supernatural God and His power will be manifested in obedient, anointed servants-- in powerful ways! We must first and foremost “seek ye first the kingdom of God (Jesus) and His righteousness.” We must always remember that we will all stand before Him one day, and if we have only used His name to build an empire or exalt ourselves, He will judge us accordingly.
“God doesn’t have prima donnas,” is a declaration that I have recently heard from a well known preacher, it was a message for today’s preachers. God abhors idols in His house and those that minister in His name that idolize other ministries or that substitute a style or form of religion that is only a figment of the real move of God. God’s true servants are broken, humble, holy, transparent and are motivated by the loving truth of Jesus. It doesn’t mean that they are necessarily perfect in every way, but are broken, open, kind, loving and are sensitive to the Spirit of God. Some parts of the Body of Christ are in gross idolatry, to the extent that it idolizes certain individuals- some that demand “their flock” to follow them blindly and with utter devotion. Some of these preach a distorted concept of spiritual headship and“covering,” that is intended to subjugate their followers. (We must follow only Jesus!) We also tend to put our great preachers on a pedestal and this is abhorrent to God. The world is impressed with “numbers” of attendees or followers, and so is most of the church, which has fallen into numerous deceptions.
“Success,” “popularity,” “numbers” and “cool Christianity” has become an awful idol in the church. Many “Christians,” allow the world to tell us if our preachers are “successful” in their calling: “How many people listen to his broadcast? Is he entertaining? Does he appeal to the masses? How many books has he written? How many has he SOLD? In most of the church, popularity equals “anointing.” Some of God’s “anointed” have mistaken a “style” of ministry, for the move of the Holy Ghost. I am not saying that God will not use an imperfect vessel, one that seems “eccentric” and yet is available to minister to God’s people. But in such a person, there will usually also be a certain amount of brokenness and openness that invites God’s presence. “A broken and contrite heart,” God will not ignore. There is sometimes a fine line between a preacher that is in the Spirit and manifesting a certain eccentricity because he is truly overflowing with God’s presence, and a man or woman that is simply ranting and raving and carrying on in the flesh. There is a major difference between a person caught up in a method or style of ministry (often just a copycat) and a truly anointed, humble, loving servant of the Most High God. God’s messengers may at times display just a single manifestation of the Spirit that will bring about repentance and a true move of God. I have heard of preachers, so broken by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, simply weep and pace the platform, not even able to speak. The result of true repentance, is a move of God’s Spirit causing even more repentance. (simply trying to recreate this, or imitating a spontaneous move of the Spirit is false religion) The counterfeit is so obvious as to be laughable. It is not that difficult to discern someone who is just an act or a copycat. This is idolatry and the act of bringing strange fire into God’s house. Our first reaction must be to pray that God will correct and restore this person. We are just as bad, if we react to them with disgust and heavy judgment. We must react in love!
In the Old Testament, God decided that He had to limit the access that the priests had to come before Him, for their own preservation. This was probably as merciful as it was intended to make His presence that much more special and mysterious. Many more priests undoubtedly would have died through the centuries if God had not mercifully shown them how and when to enter His most Holy Presence. Today, we have a certain amount of “priests” with a false calling and false anointing who claim to have a special dispensation from God but openly prove otherwise. God is shortly going to deal with many of these “ministries” because judgment ALWAYS comes first to the House of the Lord. They think that God is blessing their profane babblings and false signs and wonders and have gotten puffed up with their own importance. They may even be anointed with a demonic anointing that counterfeits the real thing but since they are “prospering” in what they are doing, continue to delude themselves in thinking that God is with them and that they have a “special dispensation”...”a special anointing” and deserve all of the goodies that come their way! I sense that in the time span of one week, many of these will fall and be exposed for what they are, doing great damage to the church. Please don’t misunderstand or rush to judgment on this message, for there is the real thing and there is the counterfeit! Unfortunately, the counterfeit often looks and sounds like the real, anointed ministries. We must be discerning in these last days because Satan has his false signs and wonders that will “deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Mark 13:22). A few characteristics that I have found to be identifiable earmarks of the counterfeit are:
1. a war-like spirit (fierceness, harshness) masquerading as “anointing” instead of the sweet, peaceful presence of God’s anointing
2. absence of God’s love
3. selfish ambition driving the leadership
4. charisms (gifts) are out of control
5. word of God being neglected or preached in a unbalanced way or used only to enforce their agendas
After the death of Aaron’s sons, the Lord then instructed Moses:
“he (Aaron) shall not come at all times to the Holy of Holies with the sacred veil to appear before the Mercy Seat on which the Highest God is: above, upon, between, and over. and (then) he shall not die, for in the cloud I appear, the Highest God, above, upon, between, and over the Mercy Seat. Aaron shall come with a bullock (a calf, the son of the herd) into the sanctuary for a sin offering. 16:34: and this shall be a never ending statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel because of all their sins ONCE A YEAR.” (JALT) The Lord had to simplify and clarify, exactly when He wanted a High Priest to enter into His presence. This was done to protect the priests and quicken it to them permanently, that even if they are anointed and sanctified, they had to enter only according to His word! The same is true today! His word-- His instruction manual, is the true foundation for entering His presence!
When we’ve layed the only true foundation, only then can we move on to the higher truths, the strong meat of the gospel. (Hebrews 5:14) I believe that one of these pivotal higher truths, is the fact that He inhabits our praises”(Psalm 22:3). He is built up in us and enthroned in us as we praise Him! Jesus truly does live in our hearts and longs to reign as Lord of them. As we look at the stories of the Old Testament battles and the specifics of the worship in the temple, we find powerful examples of how He does this. King Solomon was given the honor to build and consecrate the great temple. After the priests had consecrated (wearing their holy garments) and anointed themselves and all of the sacred instruments, they installed the Ark into the Holy of Holies:
“....And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:) (all of the priests were in the tabernacle) Also the Levites which were the singers, ...being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them ...An hundred and twenty priests sounding with (trumpets)... It came even to pass as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music and praised the Lord saying; For He is good, for His mercy endureth forever that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. (2 Chron. 5:11-14). This was a rare but most glorious revelation of God’s presence. It was when the priests and musicians were as one in their worship that God’s Shekinah glory filled the temple and they were not even able to stand in His presence. To experience this kind of glory, we too must be as one, this is exactly what Jesus has prayed for us: “that they may be one, as We are One” (Jn 17, Jesus and the Father). It is only when we are one with Him that He can reveal the glory of His presence in us.
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us.”
Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the wonderful prophetic symbols that resided in the tabernacle. The inner veil that secluded the Holy of Holies, represented His body that He willingly sacrificed so that we could enter within the Holy of Holies, which prior to His death and resurrection was a mystery. Within the veil, is where we find intimacy with God. Intimacy with God was a mystery under the old covenant. It is there that we now can freely enter, if we have been sanctified through His blood and filled with His Holy Spirit. It is there that we can offer up a continual “sacrifice of praise.” It is there that we have access to the very throne of God and His tender mercies. It is there that we enter into the Word and power of God having His laws etched into our hearts. It is there that we enter the inner sanctuary of the heart of Jesus who is our true dwelling place. For the Ark of the Covenant is the prophetic symbol of our dear Savior’s Spirit and Soul, His very heart. Jesus is the Heart of God! Jesus Himself prayed to the Father:
“that all may be one, as you are in Me, Father, and I in you, that they also may be one in us... And I have given them the glory which you have given me, that they may be one, as We are One: I in them and You in Me....Father I desire that [those] whom You have given Me, that where I am, they may be with Me also, that they may behold My glory which You gave Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world (Jn 17:21-24, GLT). Jesus is whom we must enter into, abide and IN whom we must be hidden. “He who dwells in the shelter (JESUS) of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty...because You, O Jehovah, are my refuge. You make the Most High, your Habitation” (Ps. 91:1,9 KJV & GLT) Jesus is the Habitation that God has prepared for us. “...I go to prepare a place for you...” (Jn 14:2) This is what He meant when He said that “it is advantageous for you that I go; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But if I go I will send Him to you” (GLT Jn 16:7). How could it have possibly been better for His disciples, for Jesus to have left them, unless He had a more perfect and wonderful plan? That plan included ascending to the Father in order to send us His powerful Holy Ghost and to intercede for us and become our heavenly Tabernacle (mansion). “There’s no place like home....” When I think of “going home,” I think only of Jesus, for wherever He is, that is my home! ‘Home,’ is wherever Jesus is! There’s a bit of home (the Kingdom) right within every Christian!
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