The Lord is In His Holy Temple

 

Habakkuk 2:19,20

Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet in it there is no breath at all in the midst of it. 

“But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”

Psalm 11:4

The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.

    There is no God but our God. Wooden idols cannot breathe, speak or move under their own power. Stone carvings cannot move under their own strength, for they have none. They are empty gods and have no power.

     Only God is Holy. Only God breathes. Only God speaks. Only God moves. For He is GOD. He is JEHOVAH. And His very presence demands a holy, sanctified people. 

    There will be a day when all peoples everywhere will take a knee in His presence. Every tongue, every nation, every language will praise God. Isaiah spoke of this event first - Isaiah 45:23 - and Paul repeated it when teaching the church, the believers, in Rome - Romans 14:11. 

    To God be the glory. To God be the praise. To God, and to God alone, our worship is directed. It's why we look to the skies, for He is above the heavens. It's why we lift our hands and raise our arms: we long for His embrace. It's why we fall to the ground, when we worship: for we awed when He extends Himself to be with us where we are. We revere our God for He IS GOD. 

Signs & Wonders of Christ's Arrival - - Sovereign Lord

 

Luke 2:27-32

27. Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what was customary under the Law,

28. Simeon took Him in his arms and blessed God, saying:

29. “Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.

30. For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

31. which You have prepared in the sight of all people,

32. a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel."

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 1203

Sovereign: lord, master, prince

From the Greek word 'despotés' (pronounced des-pot'-ace). Indicative of  'someone exercising "unrestricted power and absolute domination, confessing no limitations or restraints"'. One who exercises complete jurisdiction.

SOVEREIGN LORD

Matthew 28:18

Then Jesus came to them and said, "ALL AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth has been given to Me."

1 Corinthians 15:25

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

John 3:31

The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all.

Having been bought by Christ, we, the born again believer, are under His authority, His jurisdiction. Jesus Christ is our Lord, our Master and our Prince. 

2 Peter 2:1

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2 Timothy 2:21

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the Master of the house, ready for every good work.

Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

CHRIST THE LORD

Luke 2:11

Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! 

Matthew 16:16

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

John 4:25, 26

25. The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.”

26. Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.”

CHRIST THE MASTER

Teacher, Chief, Commander

Luke 5:5

"Master," Simon replied, "we have worked hard all night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets."

Luke 9:49. 50

49. “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

50. “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Luke 17:12-13

12. As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance

13. and raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

CHRIST THE PRINCE

In order for there to be a Prince, there must first be a King, under whose Authority the Prince reigns. 

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 1:18

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father's side, has made Him known.

John 6:40

"For it is My Father's will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

It is important to note that Simeon came into the temple courts, or courtyards of the temple to see The Lord's Christ. The Spirit of God said, "Go here." And at the appointed time, just as Simeon arrived, so did Joseph and Mary with their infant Jesus. 

They were all standing in the temple courtyards in front of the temple: they were standing by the East Gate in the East Courtyard: the designated place of worship, before reaching the altar of sacrifice. (Before we offer God a sacrifice, it is necessary to worship Him first, acknowledging that He is Who He says He Is, loving Him for Himself before we can know what it is we bring as an offering to Him.

It is here that Simeon blesses God, and gives a prophetic blessing over the young Jesus.

(Although, in the temple which Herod built, the courtyard was not as large as the one which was ordained of God, still they were able to meet at the place of worship together.) It is not the size of the place of worship which determines how one worships and who is being worshiped by whom, but where a worshiper's heart is. 

John 4:23, 24

23. But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.

24. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

First, we bless God for His faithfulness and keeping His promises to us. (v28)
Second, we recognize Him when we meet Him as Sovereign Lord. (v29)

Thirdly, we acknowledge that the Sovereign Lord is Savior. (v30)

Fourth, we see the revelation of God's prepared plan for us. (v 31)

Fifth, we see that this Savior is the Light of the Gentiles and the Glory of Israel. 

How beautiful the Word of God is to me! How faithful is God in His promises to us!

 HEAVEN HAS COME by Young Oceans

MY PORTION by Isla Vista

LIGHT HAS COME by Port City Worship

The Guards of The Garden of Eden-Cherubim

I have heard it said that the apple is the tree of knowledge, while some contend that the pomegranate is. Neither is true. We just don't know what that fruit actually was or looked like, or even tasted like. Why? Because it grows in the garden of Eden. And Eden is blocked from our view and reach.


While Scripture does not reveal how many are guarding it, we do know that Cherubims prevent us from accessing it. The garden must be very large, because a small garden would only require one Cherubim, as they are very huge, according to the descriptions given throughout Scripture.
Exodus 37:6-9 describes the making of the Mercy Seat with the two Cherubims over it. And while I have found a variety of images that could give us a visual description of it, this is the best I could find:

One cubit equals 18-inches. The Mercy Seat in the tabernacle was 45 inches long and 27-inches wide. The cherubims were made out of one piece of pure gold, including their wings, which covered the Mercy Seat they faced.





The description given in 1 Kings 6:23-30 is of the cherubims filling the oracle within the house of The LORD that King Solomon built for God. The cherubims carved of olive tree wood were ten cubits high. Verse 24 says their wings were 5 cubits each from tip to tip. Fifteen feet high and, wing-wise, seven and one-half feet wide; HUGE. Verse 27 "And he (King Solomon) set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house(of God).

The Book of Ezekiel has various descriptions of the actual cherubim who are always with God. Ezekiel 1:5-25; Ezekiel 41:18-19. Other references are made to cherubs in his visions, but these two sections are descriptive. Each cherub has two faces, one a man and one a lion; one face faces one direction, the other face faces the opposite direction.

But how big do you suppose the Cherubims actually are? Let's search the Scriptures and see what they do;

Isaiah 37:16---wherein God dwells
Psalm 99:1---The LORD sits between them
2 Kings 19:15; Psalms 80:1---where God dwells
Psalm 18:10--The LORD rides upon a cherub

They are The LORD's throne and chariot. They are many and do many things, as we see here. Throne; chariot; guard. I like that description in Ezekiel 1 of their movement. (I could actually visualize it this time.) These are they who stand guard over the garden of Eden.