THE CHERUBIM
&
THE SERAPHIM
(Part 2)
#01.145
The Cherubim Of Sacrifices: Thou Hast Had No Pleasure
The Cherubim Of Reconciliation
The Cherubim Of Uzziah
The Cherubim Of Sacrifices: Thou Hast Had No Pleasure
"...He said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law" (Heb 10:8).
As noted in our previous study, the word, cherubim, means imaginary figures. It is from these illusive creatures, the cherubim, imaginary figures, that many of our doctrinal views were derived. Imaginary figures, of course, are conceived when we attempt to enter the Kingdom of God, Paradise, if you please, any other way than Jesus Christ. When this happens, the cherubim, which reside in the carnal mind and flesh of man, keep the way. They prevent trespassers from entry by superimposing images over the real.
We may be hard pressed to believe it; but even the simple truth of the cross has been viewed through the tinted spectacles of the cherubim. The priceless treasure of the cross and its all encompassing work have become nothing more than mere doctrines to many. I must say, however, due to flesh, none of us have been immune to those cherubim in one way or another.
For instance, there was a short time, perhaps three minutes or less, when it seemed to me that the written word in Hebrews 10 was saying that God did not desire the sacrifice of Jesus. However, during that brief period, I was not looking at the full scope of things, merely taking things at carnal, face value. Due to the cherubim I had temporarily failed to see into the truth of the matter, even though it was laying clearly in the open. For instance -- "In burnt offerings and sacrifices (Grk. omits sacrifices) for sin thou hast had no pleasure" (Heb 10:6), and "...Sacrifice (thusias, plural) and offering (prosphoras, plural) and burnt offerings and offering (plural) for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law" (Heb 10:8).
You see, during a fleeting moment I had viewed the sacrifice of Jesus as being that which God had no pleasure; but this was not the case at all. Because of the cherubim, I had failed to see the context of the word, and especially the Spirit of the word. The sacrifices (plural) He found no pleasure in were the animal sacrifices, and there is little wonder, they were done by the law.
Thou wouldest not, or rather, You did not prefer them, as the final product. They were ineffectual. They could not sanctify nor cleanse people of sin. That is why they had to keep sacrificing again and again. Jesus, however, came in the volume of the book to do God's will, and died once for all. The blood of bulls was ineffectual; but His blood covered the whole world for all time.
Jesus removed the first sacrifices of animals and established the Second -- Himself (Heb 10:9 -- and GOD HAD PLEASURE IN THAT SACRIFICE: "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand" (Isa 53:10).
How, we might wonder, could God have had any pleasure in bruising His own Son? For the same reason Jesus found joy connected to it: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb 12:2). It was certainly not in the pain and shame God found pleasure, but in everything which prospered afterwards; namely, reconciliation, life, resurrection, and glorification of all. It is amazing how bright the simple truth shines when the cherubim of our minds are removed.
Almost every believer values the blood of Jesus; but not everyone can see just how valuable and far reaching is His blood and God's prospering hand in that crimson tide. Untold millions have seen and embraced it with life-changing joy; however, a few embraced it to their own hurt, and I am burdened when this happens. Some have taken "liberty" in the flesh without the slightest conviction of sin. We have heard it said, "I'm going to be saved anyway due to the world-covering blood of Jesus, so I have liberty to do anything I want. I will give to my body everything it lusts after. Whatever my soul desires, I will satisfy it." Brethren, such nonsense is not liberty! It is bondage! No fragment of lasciviousness is reconciliation or salvation, but damnation.
The Cherubim Of Reconciliation
The Cherubim have been so prominent in the teachings of the reconciliation of all that I am sometimes amazed. This may be one of the reasons one of our friends asked if this doctrine could be preached without naming it. Yes, it can be; however, if we have a truth more precious than gold, I cannot see why we would not want to name it. We should be as proud of our new-found revelation as we would a new-born baby, and in the same way we give our babies names, we should not draw back when it comes to those new things which are birthed in us. No doubt, there are things for the mature, and then there are things for the immature, and each needs to be ministered in due season. Reconciliation, however, is for every age, and even for the non-believer.
The love of God and the ultimate work of Jesus' sacrifice should not be held from anyone. Some fear to teach it to the young in Christ; for they say it might cause them to stumble. Really? Since when does truth cause people to stumble? I can see this happening when the word is either taught under the influence of the cherubim or it is received by the same; but the truth itself will not cause people to stumble. It will free them! Truth is preached so people can stand upright and walk the strait and narrowing path. If they stumble, it is due to them viewing the truth through the veil of the cherubim and imagining vain things. It is then that they will hold the truth in unrighteousness, as Paul wrote in the first chapter of Romans.
Please know, I received the truth of the salvation of all by revelation! I walk in the spirit of that word, and not in the imagination of it. I praise God that it was not received by the illusions of the Cherubim. It was not received by them in the beginning, and it is not now an imagination of my mind. It is one of the most real and pure things that ever struck into the depth of my being. The truth of that word lifted me in such love for all mankind that I know I will never stop the pursuit of saving souls in the name of Jesus Christ. I will never cease, I will never stop preaching nor linger in ministering the work of the cross, the word of reconciliation, and the resurrection from the dead till I see all men saved. If I go to the grave, it doesn't matter. Such will not hinder me. A pile of dirt heaped upon a pile of dirt (my body) will not stop me, and it won't stop you! For we are more than dirt!
Reconciliation is ministered and lived when we have had a true revelation of reconciliation. It is then that we will truly do everything we want to do. You heard me right! We will do everything we want to do! The fact is, I presently do every thing I want to do, and it is honorable. It just so happens that everything I want to do comes from who I am, and it is godly, it is holy, and it glorifies our Lord Jesus Christ.
Surely, there are words which come from my lips and actions which sometimes do not bring honor to Jesus; but those are things that I do not want to do. They are those things that Paul spoke of in the seventh chapter of Romans. They spring from the sin that dwells in me; but that sin is not me. The things I do from the real me, are holy and godly; for those born of God cannot sin, and this goes for you as well. We really need to understand this mystery, and when we have had a true revelation of who we are and know that all will be reconciled to God, we will not only speak reconciliation -- we will manifest reconciliation!
I am a reconciliation teacher; but regardless of how well I can teach this truth, it has little worth if I am not living reconciliation. If I cannot be reconciliation, I am nothing more than a sounding brass or tinkling cymbal. You see, without the cherubim, we will not just teach reconciliation to the world, we will be reconciliation. We will by nature be doers of that word, rather than mere hearers of it or actors of reconciliation. We will not just believe it -- we will be it! Everything we do will be reconciliation, and every word we minister will be the same, whether it is a word of Passover, Pentecost, or Tabernacles. That's the power of God in reconciliation. This is how we teach, or more actually, present reconciliation without naming it, as I had been asked if it could be done.
What a difference between hearing it by the cherubim and hearing it by the Spirit. When it is by the Spirit, it comes alive in us and we walk boldly as the substance of reconcilers. When this becomes our reality, we will know that a mighty king has died who once reigned in our lives -- king Uzziah, to be exact. Until the death of that king, it is unlikely that much reconciliation will be seen. Neither will His presence fill the temple.
"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple" (Isa 6:1).
The primary meaning of the name Uzziah is the Strength of God, and this strength can be seen and exercised by the cherubim of our flesh. You see, the sentinels of Paradise will cause us to view God's strength as the all important thing. When this is done, God's strength, Uzziah, will become our king, rather than God Himself.
As good as God's strength is in our lives, it cannot take the place of God, as it surely did with Uzziah, and it finally became his own undoing. It is common for men and women to lift God's gifts and wonder-working power upon the throne of their minds and heap glory to themselves. Once this is rooted we are likely to see presumption, pride, and arrogance in their lives. This was the spirit of Uzziah, and it is clear that it did not end with him. Such traits are seen throughout the natural world. A large number live blatantly contrary to God and anything good. They delight in sin and have no plans of changing.
The spirit of Uzziah is rampant in the church as well, and it is not that uncommon to see it among those claiming to be the Sons of God. Frankly, no one is immune to the deception of this self-serving king.
We may say that we will never bow to any king other than Jesus Christ; but what we say and believe have not kept us from bowing to them, specifically to the one named Uzziah. Let us notice a brief history of this particular king (2 Chr 26:8-21). We can perhaps see how closely he relates to present-day people, not to mention ourselves.
King Uzziah was an honored king, or at least he was feared, so much so that the Ammonites, Lot's inbred descendants, gave gifts to him (2 Chr 26:8). Our own names may spread abroad, as did his, even outside the corridors of the church and into the far reaches of the world; but this avails nothing. It is only when our mighty exploits are due to Jesus Christ raising us to the occasion that matters. Otherwise, everything we accomplish will be in our own name rather than His name. We may attach the word Jesus to what we are doing; but it takes more than dropping His name here and there to make it in His name. It must be in the spirit of His name, in His nature. If we are busy about our own religious activities, we are not being strengthened by Him. We are strengthening ourselves, and that is what Uzziah did. He strengthened himself exceedingly (2 Chr 26:8).
Paul said something along these lines to the Galatians. He upbraided them for finishing in the flesh what they had begun in the Spirit (Gal 3:1-3). At almost every turn we can see parallels of church leaders today and king Uzziah. To maintain power and fame, they are apt to build fortified towers of religious orders, creeds, and rituals around their cities (2 Chr 26:9). Of course, that would never happen to us. Ha! Of a truth, we have been known to do the same.
Towers are for the purpose of guarding a city, and they serve as a foundation, for the watchmen. There can be a number of things that would be our cities; but that which fits very well are ministries and congregations. Nothing will go unnoticed by those who walk upon the walls (rather than Christ) and stand guard over their cities.
Our Uzziahs will guard every side and corner of what we have accomplished. These powers will ensure against harm from any potential threat. Whether of the church system or those of the Kingdom, we generally will not contend with other ministers or their various teachings, that is, not until the people we are 'protecting' start to show an interest in them. At the slightest threat to our empires, an alarm will be sounded, and all the forces of Uzziah will come to the defense.
As it was with Uzziah, we are prone to muster a host of fighting men (2 Chr 26:11)and will not only fight on the home front for the safety of our city; but it is not beyond us to send out bands of warriors to conquer, strengthen, and build a greater empire, ministry, or any prized work of an individual or body of people. Sadly, though, it is not always in the name of Jesus, but is often as He admonished: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves" (Mat 23:15). Such is the king who sits upon the carnal throne of mens' minds, or upon the throne called the pulpit of many churches and television platforms around the world.
The saga of Uzziah's exploits continues with him having prepared shields for his warriors, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones (2 Chr 26:14). As with Uzziah, men will do the same. They make sure those who defend them are equipped with 'their' shield of presumptuous faith; 'their' spears and swords, of persuasive doctrines; 'their' helmets of intellectualized salvation; 'their' habergeons (Heb., breastplates) of self-righteousness; 'their' bows and arrows of human reasoning and convincing words of the letter that killeth; and slings to cast stones of cruel accusations. Uzziah's defense, or offense, is truly a religious counterfeit of Ephesians 6:14-17.
Uzziah made (1)engines invented by (2)cunning men (2 Chr 26:15). If the people knew the contriving that goes on behind the closed doors of many religious leaders, their faith and trust in anything that goes by the name of Christ would be terribly shaken. Even on the individual scale of a person who has no 'following,' he or she will often contrive and create mechanisms to make their scheme of things work. This is the way it is with the large and small alike until their Uzziahs die and the true King sits high and lifted up.
God imbued this king with power, and he became exceedingly strong; but the pride of fame worked heavily upon him, and to his own hurt. His heart was lifted up to his own destruction (2 Chr 26:16).
Pride is such a deceptive snare, and untold numbers come to know its evil grip all too well. The seed of pride is in most people, and it doesn't take much to quicken it. Prosperity, for instance, can cause it to spread like wildfire in one's soul. Prosperity itself is not bad. It is good to be prosperous; but the love of money is an unholy portent. When worldly wealth is watered by fame and power, pride can grow in people's lives until they are consumed by it. Their garden can overgrow by that noxious weed until no ray of sunshine can be seen.
Although God may have set them in high places, with pride at the helm, as it was with Uzziah, they will think more of themselves than they ought and eventually run aground upon the shoals of hell. Uzziah's final undoing came in this deceptive arena of death. That in which he trusted could not save him. Neither he, his fortune, his fame, his name, nor his vast armies could deliver him from HIS OWN treacherous destruction.
Uzziah was lifted in his own self-worth. Let us suppose for a moment, however, that he gave God credit for his great victories and unparalleled achievements. He, no doubt, felt it was due to him being such a wonderful and great fellow that God found such favor in him. Either way, it seems that pride would be a strong factor. Uzziah simply rushed in where angels fear to tread, and so do those with proud spirits today who usurp the place of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Uzziah went into the holy place to burn incense. Pride had worked its perfect work, and he (3)transgressed against the LORD his God. He went into the temple, not as a humbled lamb who had laid down his life; but he charged in as a proud bull. It seems that he had a problem with mistaken identity.
If you will lend your ear to the Spirit, you can hear him echoing what Isaiah revealed about the king of Babylon: "...I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High (by strengthening myself)." (Parenthesis for emphasis) (Isaiah 14:13-14).
If we bow to king Uzziah today, or elevate ourselves in pride, if we look to our own self-rule -- we openly testify that we do not have the mind of Jesus: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." With our English of today, it is sometimes difficult to see exactly what Paul was saying. The way it is written in the King James Version has caused quite a few to be lifted in pride about being "equal with God." If not lifted in pride, at least subjected to a mistaken identity.
Check most other translations and you will see that it should read: "Who, being in the form of God, had no plundering thoughts of grasping after equality with God" (Phil 2:6). Quite a difference from the KJV, to say the least, and Uzziah had such thoughts. Men in this present time also have them. Jesus was certainly in the form of God, and so are we; but He had no plundering thoughts of grasping after equality with God. With the cherubim's influence, however, some have plundered and grasped after it.
Unlike the seekers of fame and power, Jesus made Himself of no reputation, humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (verses 7 & 8). With these credentials (no reputation, humbled, and willing to unjustly die, and be dead to "I will"), God therefore, highly exalted Him, and gave Him a name which is above every name.
King Uzziah is a perfect example of one of the pitfalls of the human creature. Once wealth, power, and fame become factors, pride often follows close behind. This king took upon himself the exalted position of the priest and burned incense. "...When he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense" (2 Chr 26:16).
Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests withstood him; but he was not swayed. It only made him more determined: "Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar" (2 Chr 26:19). The king was then cast from the holy place, separated from the people, and he died a humiliating death in a leper colony. Please, dear friends, let not our kingship be a factor for pride to take root and leprosy to cloud our pure minds.
It is not difficult for a person to be lifted up by the spirit of pride; but there is an ultimate price to pay for that fleeting vapor of glory. Whether seen or unseen by the world, destruction is pride's fruit when it is ripe. The destruction of some may not be as severe as that of king Uzziah's; but those whose relentless insolence matches his, they will surely meet their grievous end.
We can almost understand men like Uzziah who are blinded by pride to assume they can go where they are forbidden. When they are withstood, however, by the Lord's emissaries, and rather than humbly repenting, they rise up in defiant anger, leprosy will, no doubt, sweep through their souls. The son of Zadok, (4)Azariah the high priest, along with (5)eighty other priests of the LORD, who were valiant men, withstood and admonished the king.
Who among us today are valiant men of God? Who will not compromise when their king of pride conflicts with God's way of doing things? That king, as we now understand, can be in our pastors, our teachers, and especially our own self-aggrandizement, our own desires, crafty ideas, and cunning works. Truthfully, it is as difficult to stand up against self-ruling kings inwardly as those outwardly. Regardless of which it is, we can count on things being made right when we do.
The son of Zadok , (Heb., to be or make right, also an Old Testament type of Jesus), Azariah, and the eighty valiant ones shall be the catalyst of bringing an end to the old and ushering in the new. The uncompromising integrity of Azariah -- He who is born of the One who is Right and is surrounded by Jah, and the stronghold of valiant men -- will withstand that powerful carnal machine and all its working parts called Uzziah. With one voice across the land, they shall declare, "It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a (6)several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and (7)Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land."
Brethren, let us know one thing -- regardless of how strong or far-reaching we have built our cities of power and pride, or how influential, ecumenical, and loved we may be, our king Uzziah will be stricken with leprosy to never rise and rule again. I must say, wherever there is a Uzziah, he will usurp authority which is not his. He will not repent, and his leprous mind will never change. It can't be cleaned up and made pretty or made to smell sweet. Brethren, that king of sin who resides in flesh must die! And when it does, God's glory will be seen. His fire in the hand of the seraphim will reach to the depths of hell and consume every carnal thing. Nothing shall remain, not even a twig of self-rule.
"For a fire is kindled in Mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains" (Deut 32:22). Glory! What a wonderful destroying, yet, transforming work of God's fire! It reaches down to the lowest hell and to the farthest reaches of the earth and to the mightiest of kingdoms -- consuming them all!
To be continued...
Elwin R. Roach
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1. Engines: from the Hebrew, "chishshabown; a contrivance, i.e. actual or mental, a warlike machine, a machination" (Strong's Exh. Conc.).
2. Cunning: "chashab, a prim. root; prop. to plait or interpenetrate, i.e. (lit.) to weave or (gen.) to fabricate; fig. to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense); hence (from the mental effort) to think, regard, value, compute" (Strong's). Oh, what tangled webs of deceit men will weave!
3. Transgress: "ma'al; to cover up; used; to act covertly, i.e. treacherously" (Strong's). Sins of 'transgression' do not come by accident, they are planned.
4. Azariah. from H5826 and H3050; Jah has helped; 5826. 'azar...to surround, i.e. protect or aid... 3050. Yahh, the same; the sacred name. (Strong's)
5. eighty: shemoniym...from H8083; eighty.
3083. shemoneh, apparently from H8082 through the idea of plumpness; a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the "perfect" seven).
8080. shamam...a prime root; to shine
6. Several, chophshuwth; prostration by sickness (Strong's).
7. Jotham: Jehovah is perfect (Strong's). After our Uzziahs are removed from the house of the Lord, the perfect King shall rule.