Post by Lee on Jan 4, 2014 20:30:59 GMT
Genesis 3:24, we read—
"So He (God) drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden CHERUBIMS, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
The Cherubim seem to be mentioned especially throughout the Scriptures at times of human failure, as a symbol of the surety of God's promise and purpose; as here, and the rejection of Eli's house, the casting down of the kingdom in Ezekiel's day, and in the Revelation as a comfort and assurance during the long, dark period of Catholic oppression. The word here for "placed" means "caused to dwell, to rest, remain, inhabit, particularly (though not exclusively) to place in a tabernacle," as Deut. 16:2— "The Place which the Lord thy God has chosen to PLACE His Name there"
The word for 'placed' is shakan, from which is derived Shekinah—"The Dwelling," "the Abiding"—the word the Jews use to describe the Divine Presence manifested in glory in the Tabernacle between the Cherubim, over the Mercy-Seat.
It was brother Thomas' conclusion, a conclusion which seems very fitting and reasonable and harmonious, that (Elpis Israel, page 154)—
"The Cherubim (placed at the Garden of Eden) were the throne of the Lord in relation to the antediluvian world. There he communed with men. His presence was there, and the altar He had set up. When men went to sacrifice before Him, there they presented their offerings."
This beautifully fits in with the significances of the Cherubim in the Tabernacle, Temple and prophecies of Ezekiel and John, and
connects the theme throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
(Later editors of Elpis Israel have in a footnote unfortunately "corrected" brother Thomas, saying that the Cherubim of Eden were angels, obscuring, at this vital foundation point of the Divine Purpose, the true significance of the symbol brother Thomas recognized and explained so clearly).
GVG 81 Berean p 240
"So He (God) drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden CHERUBIMS, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
The Cherubim seem to be mentioned especially throughout the Scriptures at times of human failure, as a symbol of the surety of God's promise and purpose; as here, and the rejection of Eli's house, the casting down of the kingdom in Ezekiel's day, and in the Revelation as a comfort and assurance during the long, dark period of Catholic oppression. The word here for "placed" means "caused to dwell, to rest, remain, inhabit, particularly (though not exclusively) to place in a tabernacle," as Deut. 16:2— "The Place which the Lord thy God has chosen to PLACE His Name there"
The word for 'placed' is shakan, from which is derived Shekinah—"The Dwelling," "the Abiding"—the word the Jews use to describe the Divine Presence manifested in glory in the Tabernacle between the Cherubim, over the Mercy-Seat.
It was brother Thomas' conclusion, a conclusion which seems very fitting and reasonable and harmonious, that (Elpis Israel, page 154)—
"The Cherubim (placed at the Garden of Eden) were the throne of the Lord in relation to the antediluvian world. There he communed with men. His presence was there, and the altar He had set up. When men went to sacrifice before Him, there they presented their offerings."
This beautifully fits in with the significances of the Cherubim in the Tabernacle, Temple and prophecies of Ezekiel and John, and
connects the theme throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
(Later editors of Elpis Israel have in a footnote unfortunately "corrected" brother Thomas, saying that the Cherubim of Eden were angels, obscuring, at this vital foundation point of the Divine Purpose, the true significance of the symbol brother Thomas recognized and explained so clearly).
GVG 81 Berean p 240