A) RIGHTEOUSNESS, JUDGMENT, TRUTH, SIN, AND THE MERCY SEAT.

B) TWO CHERUBIM’S.

C) THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS.

D) GOD’S LAW.

 

 

A) RIGHTEOUSNESS, JUDGMENT, TRUTH, SIN, AND THE MERCY SEAT

 

 

“[17] And thou shalt make a Mercy Seat of pure gold:  two cubits and a half [3-feet, 9-inches] shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half [2-feet, 3-inches] the breadth thereof. [18] And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the Mercy Seat. [19] And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end:  even of the Mercy Seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. [20] And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the Mercy Seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the Mercy Seat shall the faces of the cherubims be {Looking downward towards God’s Law with reverence}. [21] And thou shalt put the Mercy Seat above upon the Ark {of the Covenant}; and in the Ark thou shalt put the Testimony {Ten Commandments} that I shall give thee. [22] And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the Mercy Seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the Ark of the Testimony, of all things which I will give thee in Commandment unto the children of Israel.”  Exodus 25:17-22 (see also Exo. 37:7-9 & Num. 7:89).

 

Notice that it is always at the Mercy Seat that God chooses to meet with sinful, erring man.  And the Mercy Seat is above that which man has transgressed.  However, only the High Priest [Christ] can enter into the Most Holy Placeand plead our cases before our Father seated above the Ten Commandments which we have transgressed.

 

In a side note, the “Mercy Seat,” which typified the Divine Throne of God, stood as an emblem of God’s seat of judgment.  By contrast, It was transformed to a “Throne of Grace” when It was sprinkled with the atoning blood of Jesus’ Sacrifice.

 

Paul says of Christ, “God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood,” Romans 3:25.  And John says, “He is the propitiation for our sins,” First John 2:2.  The Hebrew word for “propitiation” is “hilasmos,” or “hilasterion.”  This is the same word that is translated “Mercy Seat” in Hebrews 9:5.

 

Thus, we can clearly see that Jesus Christ is our “Mercy Seat,” our “propitiation,” or atonement for sins.  As the Arkupheld the Mercy Seat, so the Law of God within the Ark is the foundation of God’s Government.  And as the Mercy Seat sits on top of the Ark of the Covenant, so mercy for the breaking of God’s Government is our only means of salvation.

 

“Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne.”  Psalm 97:2.  “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”  Psalm 85:10.  And according to Hebrews 10:11-12 (see also Heb. 1:3), “[11] And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: [12] But This Man, after He had offered One sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.”  The importance of Jesus being seated as our High Priest is clearly set forth here, where He is contrasted with the Aaronic priests, who remained standing, because their sacrificial service never came, nor could come to an end.  Christ is the only Priest Who has accomplished a perfect work of cleansing His people’s sins; and the only Priest Who sits enthroned in the place of chief honor alongside the Majesty on high.

 

Now let’s get real.  At this point in our Study of the Sanctuary, we have learned that there is a Sanctuary in Heaven.  Let’s discuss that one concept for a minute.  We are dealing with the “Mercy Seat,” so that is what we will focus upon here.

 

QUESTION:  Did God kick Satan out of Heaven because he sinned?

 

ANSWER:  No!

 

QUESTION:  How can that be, you ask?

 

ANSWER:  Satan was kicked out of Heaven because he did not ask for forgiveness, nor repent.  In other words, God foreknew that there would be (the possibility of) sin.  Therefore, He prepared beforehand the “Mercy Seat” for whomever would need it.  And Jesus paid the price for any being that would avail himself to the blood of Christ sprinkled upon the “Mercy Seat.”  In other words, the plan of Salvation was never an afterthought.

 

 

B) TWO CHERUBIM’S

 

 

“The LORD reigneth. . . He sitteth between the cherubims,” Psalm 99:1; 80:1; Second Kings 19:15.  The cherubims were also made of pure, “beaten” gold, one on the one end of the Ark and the other cherub on the other end (Exo. 25:18-19).  Did you notice that the cherubims were also made from “beaten” gold?  Is this not also a clear representation of the sorrow and suffering that the angels have gone through, and are going through, because of what has taken place in Heaven because of sin?  “Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator.  All Heaven suffered in Christ’s agony.”  ED:263.

 

“[348] The cover of the sacred chest was called the Mercy Seat.  This was wrought of one solid piece of gold, and was surmounted by golden cherubim, one standing on each end.  One wing of each angel was stretched forth on high, while the other was folded over the body [see Ezekiel 1:11] in token of reverence and humility.  The position of the cherubim, with their faces turned [349]

 

“toward each other, and looking reverently downward toward the Ark, represented the reverence with which the Heavenly host regard the Law of God and their interest in the plan of redemption.”  PP:348-349.

 

We know the name of one of the covering cherubim’s.  His name was Lucifer.  He was “the anointed cherub that covereth.”  Ezekiel 28:14.  However, “How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”  Isaiah 14:12.

 

“But the Lord gave me a view of the Heavenly Sanctuary.  The Temple of God was open in Heaven, and I was shown the Ark of God covered with the Mercy Seat.  Two angels stood one at either end of the Ark, with their wings spread over the Mercy Seat, and their faces turned toward it.  This my accompanying angel informed me represented all the Heavenly host looking with reverential awe toward the Law of God, which had been written by the finger of God.”  LS:80:237; LS:95; CET:85; 1T:75; TA:250.  Thus, we learn that these two angels represent the entire angelic host looking into the Commandments of God.

 

 

C) THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

 

 

Through the inquiring High Priest, the will of Jehovah was made known by three methods.  One was by the [first] Urim and Thummim, and the other two were just as dramatic.  Psalm 80:1 states:  “Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.”  “Divine messages were sometimes communicated to the high priest by a voice [second] from the cloud.  Sometimes a light [third] fell upon the angel at the right, to signify approval or acceptance, or a shadow or cloud rested upon the one at the left to reveal disapproval or rejection.”  PP:349.

 

The most sacred place in the city of Jerusalem was the Sanctuary Temple.  The most sacred place in the Temple was the Most Holy Place.  The most sacred object in the Sanctuary was the Ark of the Covenant.  The most sacred article enshrined in the Ark of the Covenant was the Tables of Stone upon which God had Written the Ten Commandments.  These Laws were the reason for the entire Temple services and everything revolved around them. Without God’s Law, the services were meaningless.

 

 

D) GOD’S LAW

 

 

Law, in and of itself, like a parent’s rules to a child, in order to have order in the household, is an expression of character; a revelation of mind; a transcript of what constitutes foundational principles.  And as God is eternal, so the Standards of the Ten Commandments are eternal.  To change or annul the Law of God is to change or invalidate God (Mal 3:6; Jam. 1:17; Heb. 13:8; etcetera).  However, to look into and study “the perfect Law of Liberty,” James 1:25, is to contemplate the deep things of God and to know Him better for Who He really is.  Psalm 119:127 & 129:  “(127) Therefore I love Thy Commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. (129) Thy Testimonies are wonderful:  therefore doth my soul keep Them.”  And hundreds more.  Try reading Psalm 19 and 119 and miss God’s Law.

 

In Leviticus 16:15 we find this statement:  “Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the Mercy Seat, and before the Mercy Seat.”

 

Notice that the High Priest was to “sprinkle” the “blood” “before the Mercy Seat.”  This is the only place that this is mentioned in the “Torah.”  However, in Ezekiel 43:7, we have this statement of our Lord about the Temple (that was never built however):  “And He said unto me, Son of man, the place of My throne [the Mercy Seat], and the place of the soles of My feet [“before the Mercy Seat”], where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and My Holy Name, shall the house of Israel no more defile.”  Thus, the picture that we get is God sitting upon the Mercy Seat, being sprinkled with the sacrificial blood of our Lord, specifically His feet (also).  It reminds me of Peter at the last supper where Jesus tells him that to wash his feet is enough to make him clean.  It is this “throne of grace,” the “Mercy Seat,” that makes God’s Kingdom for righteous man possible.

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