THE CHERUBIM
&
THE SERAPHIM
(Part 1)
#01.144
The Cherubim Of The Bible
The Cherubim Of Jesus
The Cherubim Of The Gods
What a wonderful privilege to be a part of the dawning of this new day. We may not see an over abundance of its light shining in the world; but it is certainly breaching the dark shores and horizons of our souls. Although unnoticed by those whose hearts are failing due to the dark cloud of current events sweeping over the world, anticipation of the last Day comes to us in anthems of awakening rays.
Much light is streaming into the rousing hearts of many and bringing the Day; yet darkness continues to overshadowed others. And there is a just cause -- cherubim at the east side of their garden of Eden. We delved into this thought before; but it warrants our attention once again.
On one hand the seraphim are igniting the heavens in blazing glory, while on the other, the cherubim are in the earth covering that glory: "Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen 3:23-24).
We do not have to belabor the thought that the Garden and the Tree of life are found in the midst of every person. This is understood by most of those who read The Pathfinder. Yet we are sure there are a number who picture the cherubim in some ethereal realm of heaven outside of themselves. However, let us consider that since the Garden of Eden (God's Kingdom) and the Tree of Life (Jesus) is in each person, it only stands to reason that the cherubim are likewise within where they were placed east of Eden in the veil of our minds. This is the guard-post from where they have successfully kept the way of the Tree of Life since the dark night of man's fall.
In the past, and under certain conditions, the cherubim kept us from entering the Kingdom of God and partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Life freely. That has been their primary job when it comes to the natural man, or those who reject the blood of Jesus, who are dead in trespasses and sin, and have not been regenerated. The cherubim come into play when anyone attempts to embrace the word of Life from the natural precepts of the mind and not from the heavens from where the word of Life is declared
God has placed Cherubim in the veil of our minds so no man, no Woman, no flesh of any kind can enter that garden and partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life, and this is good. It is not a bad thing. If men of the earth were able to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life, they would live forever in that state of being. What a horrid thought, yet there is no fear of that happening.
The sentries are vigilant and will make sure those without the revelation knowledge of Christ will always fall short of Eden's glory. Rather than beaming rays of sunshine, they will see imaginary figures streaking through their minds. For you see, according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance the word, cherubim, comes from the Hebrew word, keruwbim, which is a transliteration and means "imaginary figures." Keruwbim (cherubim) is the plural of keruwb (cherub). Simply put, THE CHERUBIM ARE IMAGINATIONS which find their roots in the imaginative mind of man.
Perhaps we can see why the cherubim were sewn into the (1)veil, that which represents man's mind, and is the obstacle which separates him from the Most Holy Place. The (2)curtains of the tabernacle also contained cherubim, as well as the two (3)doors of the temple, not to mention the (4)walls. Everywhere in the tabernacle and the temple cherubim were sewn and made. This was for the purpose of keeping carnality out of the Holy of the holies, which is the same as the midst of the Garden.
Flesh can neither inherit nor partake of the essence of God. It is enmity against Him, and will never be subject to anything of God. By nature, he is disqualified. He cannot help himself. Man in his natural mind can try to realize God, as some are attempting to do; but the only thing realized will be a figurine.
The Cherubim Of The Bible
The guardian cherubim have made their mark upon everything man has touched, and the Bible is not excluded from their cloaking touch. This should not, however, diminish it priceless value. Regardless of the imperfections, the Bible is the most precious book of my entire library, and I have hundreds of books. There is no doubt in my mind that every original word of the Bible was inspired by the flaming spirit of God. When received by the same spirit that spoke them, they set hearts ablaze and change lives forever. That is what happened to me one day long ago. I read an obscure verse and it was set ablaze in my being, and it changed my life forever.
Although the scriptures were alive when they were spoken, they became the letter that kills after they were written. And it matters not if the purest of manuscripts are read, men cannot live by the scriptures alone; for they are not the source of life. They testify of Jesus, the One who is life.
The cherubim of men's minds who read the scriptures are accomplished and serve their purpose very well in that place; yet there is another form the cherubim take to keep the way of Life. They are the parables. Remember? Jesus spoke in parables to those who were without so they could not understand the mystery of the Kingdom (Mark 4.11-12).
Another form the cherubim take is in the inaccuracies of the Bible translations. Each translation has its own cherubim. Each displays a certain character, or slant, depending on the religious persuasion and influence of their translators, including the King James Version. I mention this version in particular, for a vast number of Christians still assume that the King James Version of the Bible is accurate to the letter.
We will not go into great length in how the scriptures (5)evolved into the versions as they are today; but we will note briefly the King James Bible, or the Authorized Version.
The king of England commissioned forty-seven clergymen and lay-scholars in 1604 for the task of coming up with a version that would be the common Bible for the churches in England. The group divided into six companies, each taking a part of the text. Each man independently, then as a company. They considered their individual efforts until they were in agreement. As sections were completed, they were handed to the other companies for criticism. Finally, a committee of two members from each company harmonized the entire undertaking. Fifteen rules were to bind this large number of revisers who would render a translation for publication in the year of 1611.
"They were ordered to use the Bishops' Bible as the basis of the new version, and alter it as little as the original would allow; but if the prior translations of Tyndale, Coverdale, Matthew, Cranmer or Whitchurch, and the Geneva editors agreed better with the text, to adopt the same....it was not a translation from the Original, but merely a revision of the Versions then in use....None of these were made from the Original Greek, but only compare with it--being all translated from the Vulgate Latin" (The Emphatic Diaglott: History of English Versions & To The Reader).
The Old Testament rested upon the Same Masoretic Hebrew text as did all subsequent versions; but no ancient manuscripts of the Greek New Testament arrived in England until 1628. Those who were responsible for this "greatest of all versions," as it was known, did not have the advantage at the best Greek text, even if it would have been extensively used.
It is of no wonder that as early as the early 1760's thirty thousand new marginal references were added to these editions. Authorities conservatively estimate that there remains ten thousand errors in this most widely used of all Bible translations, some say twenty thousand.
Notwithstanding, the corruption of the written word could not have been by any accident. It was not outside the will of God. There was no way for these men to keep from sewing the Cherubim into the content of this book. And why would God allow such a thing? He didn't allow it, brethren -- He mandated it! He placed the cherubim of translated errors at the east side of Eden's Garden. This was to insure that man in his own might and intellect could never eat from the fruit of life without the One who is Life -- Jesus!
The Cherubim Of Jesus
Men under the influence of the cherubim have also created false images of the name of JESUS. It has been said that Jesus, although being the Son of God with the Spirit without measure was a man of limitations. Therefore, it is not upon this man, they say, we are to focus our attention. They maintain that it is "Christ Jesus," Jesus Christ, or perhaps, "Christ" wherein we find our life.
It seems so futile to split hairs when such a dark cloud looms over the earth. There are definitely much more important things at hand; yet here I am entertaining the thought and feeling the need to take up space and time to say something about it. Therefore, to ease my own mind, I will split a hair or two myself, and pray the world is not blown up in the meantime. Hopefully, my hair-splitting will help us to dispense with a sidetrack or two and get on with the Way of Life.
Indeed, we find life in each of those forms of the Son of God. He is "Christ Jesus," "Jesus Christ," and "Christ." I see that each one is powerful and full of light, that is, as long as it is truly the JESUS who died for me and with me. But I can tell you today, and I will tell you again tomorrow, it is my firm conviction that there is not one wit of difference in any of the forms of His name. There are no grounds to say that Jesus is no longer Jesus now that He is risen from the dead.
I will only cite one verse, and you can look up the (6)others at your leisure. "I JESUS have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star" (Rev 22:16). Please note, He did not say "Jesus Christ" or Christ Jesus," just Jesus, and this was very near the end of book of Revelation. He had already risen and ascended quite a few years prior to when He spoke those words to John.
I agree that we are to know no man after the flesh, not even Jesus; but we can certainly know Jesus after the Spirit. He is the same Jesus today who walked the shores of Galilee, but glorified. He did not lose His identity or name when He ascended; but they were certainly magnified. When we speak of the Jesus of today -- the name is synonymous to Jesus Christ. It is the same as when we say George W. Bush -- it is synonymous to President Bush. Moreover, George W. Bush, the President, is the same person he was before he became the President; but his name and authority has certainly increased whether we attach the title or not.
The cherubim have a way of keeping the truth from the earth. When we come into the saving grace of Jesus, however, we are lifted high on the wings of the wind. We soar into the heavens as eagles of the air. We are not riveted to the earth, we do not know Jesus after the flesh, and we peer no longer at the Bible as a tomb with man's stony mind rolled over it. We do not look dimly from the outer courts, hoping to see fragments of furniture in the Holy of holies through the veil wherein the cherubim are keeping the way.
We are not focusing on the many mistranslations with hopes of finding the truth. No, not at all! Although truths are found therein when illumined by the Spirit, we look to the One who is Truth. We see that we are one with Him -- the Christ, Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, our Savior -- Jesus! And it matters not whether the Scriptures were mistranslated or not. The Holy spirit rips asunder the veil of man's flesh wherein the cherubim are tightly woven -- and we see and we live!
If we had the Scriptures in their purest form, with no errors whatsoever, we would be no better off. We could still be kept from the Tree of Life. If we relied on our own cunning ability to comprehend the truth, the cherubim of our own minds would cause us to see an imaginary figure of the truth.
For instance, we have in times past taken Jesus and put Him in a box. We then placed Him with other imaginary figures on our religious mantels of our religious homes. But our mantels were the percepts of our minds, and we had placed Jesus as a mere imagination, an imaginary figure in our minds. And then we would bow down and worship that image of our own making -- and we expected to get life out of that? We know there is no life in a figurine! There is no life in an imagination! There is no life in anything we create in our own image! Of course, when the imaginations come from the regenerated minds, we can have life and minister it abroad. But that has to do with the seraphim, which I hope to cover later.
You see, we had in times past taken an imagination in our minds of what the Living God is. We had thought about Him, we had formed Him the way we imagined Him to be, that form became solidified in our creeds, it became a part of us, and it was easy; for that god came from us -- and we bowed down and worshiped the image we had created of Him. In our minds we unwittingly created God in our own image and after our likeness.
Oh, but praise God! Those days are drawing to a close. Our images of God are toppling. In the minds of the dawning Sons, reality broke forth and the false images are falling. The old images are fading.
The time has come to cease from erecting images of worship. We are to be as Gideon and cut down the groves of the (7)Midianites. Hopefully, we have freed ourselves of strife, merchandising, vexation, and deceit. It is high time to be free from those things which had exalted themselves against the knowledge of God. Every high thought that was against and contrary to the holy God of Israel must go. It is then that we can reign victoriously over every contention and bring them all into captivity.
The Cherubim Of The Gods
I will touch upon a couple of things which have been real icons in our midst. They have sparked up ever so often over the years. We have had the Cherubim formed in our minds of what seemed to be true; but there was no truth to it at all. One of them is the imagination of who we are, or who we are not. Some people call one of the varied teachings, "Ye Are Gods."
We also hear a lot about "Mistaken Identity." There have been more mistaken identities than we can number. I am reminded of a sign in a church of one our friends that says -- "I am who God says I am, Yes, I am." Praise God! Truly, I am who God says I am! If I claim otherwise, I call God a liar. And it does not matter whether I believe it or not, the fact remains, I am, and so are you, who God says we are! And the anomaly of it all is that whether we believe it or not, the cherubim can play a primary role in what we believe or do not believe in this matter. They cause us to disbelieve we are who we are, inducing thoughts that we are mere human beings who are always walking in sin before a disappointed and angry God. The cherubim never suggest that we are God-beings, except when playing on people's pride. This can give them a false image of being gods and will usually induce a puffed up spirit. When this sets in, "They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course" (Psa 82:5). Such gods do not see that it is due to their failure that the world is out of course. These are the same gods who will die like anyone else (verse 7). The very ones upon whose shoulders the world's fate rests are the ones that bring the disruption, as the psalmist wrote.
I will be direct -- I know who I am! I know who God says I am! But I don't have to go around naming it and claiming it to make it so. I just am! And so are you! It is as simple as that. We are who we are in Jesus, regardless of how mature or immature we are. If it is the hour of manifestation, or if it is not, we are still who we are in our Lord Jesus Christ! John said, "... as He is, so are we in the world" (1 John 4:17). That is plain, and it should be simple; but is not so with many. The simplicity of it is the context of the statement -- which is LOVE. Therefore, AS HE IS LOVE, SO ARE WE IN THE WORLD! We are also the other things He is, but not in this verse. Moreover, much too often that love is not manifested in the world. I have heard proud people making claims that as God is so are they in the world; but very little love is seen of them, especially toward those in the world. Therefore, except by birth, they are not as God is at all. Possessing the power to heal and prophesy does not make one a god or as God, but love does.
Without love there will never be the power and authority of the Kingdom manifested. Without love, the Kingdom will not be seen in their lives, regardless of how many scriptures are quoted and embraced.
I have mentioned this before; but let me say it again. Do you know the difference between a "God-being" and a "God-doing?" A human being is called a human being because he or she is human. A man doesn't have to act like a human. He does not have to do so many things which are characteristic of a human to qualify him as a human being. He just is, he is a human being by birth. He is not a human doing. He is not going around doing things that humans do for the purpose of proving his birthright. That would be ridiculous!
Likewise, every son of God just is, he is a God-being, not a God-doing. If we think we have to get all of our ducks in a row to qualify, such as the proper creeds, laws, legalisms, and countless rituals, we will never make it. If it was really necessary to make sure everything was in order and stacked up perfectly before we were God-beings, I can see why it would be easy to believe in reincarnation. We would need a few more lives to get the job done. I am relieved that it is "Not of works, lest any wan should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph 2:9-l0). And let me ask, how are we going to walk in the good works? Simply by being who we are in Him. That is what makes us God-beings rather than God-doings.
Cherubim reside in carnal minds to keep the carnal men and women from entering into the Garden, from eating of the Tree of Life, and from partaking of its fruit. They stop them from becoming God-beings in the image of the first Adam. Cherubim very wisely guard the way, keeping carnality from entering in. They keep man acting like God, rather than Being who they are in God. But those who have been lifted by Life, the veil has been rent, and they enter in boldly, bypassing the Cherubim, the imaginations, figures of reality, and no longer are they God-doings, but God-beings.
If we have truly caught the vision, if we have caught the Spirit that is streaming from the heavens of revelation -- without effort, we will simply be who we are. We will not act out anything. We will be what the cross of Jesus initiated in every soul, a work that will be completed only by His Life in us, and we won't have to tell anyone who we are. Must a rose announce to the world that it is a rose? Of course not! It simply IS, and everyone knows that it IS!
To be continued...
Elwin R. Roach
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1. And thou shaft make a veil of blue and purple, and scarlet and fine twined linen of cunning work: cherubim shall it be made (Exo 26:31)
2. Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of cunning work shalt thou make them. (Exo 26:1)
3. The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm trees (1 Kings 6:32).
4. And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim... (1 Kings 6:29)
5. For those with an interest, you can order the article, The Word, which I wrote several years ago. It sheds light on the Hebrew & Greek, the Latin Vulgate, and various English translations by Wycliffe, Tyndale, Cranmer, Coverdale, the Bishops' Bible, and the King James Authorized Version.
6. There are 611 times the name Jesus stands alone in the New Testament, which includes: Acts 7:55, Rom 3:26, 2 Cor 4:11, Eph 4:21, Phil 2:10, 1 Thes 4:14, Heb 2:9, Heb 4:4, Heb 12:2, 2 Pet 1:2, 1 John 4:15, Rev 17:6, Rev 19:10, Rev 22:16.
7. Midianites: Strife, they were merchandisers (Gen 37:28), they vexed Israel by their deceit (Num 25:18), the Lord delivered Israel into their hands (Judg 6:13), and Gideon delivered them (Judg 7:9).