Chapter 1. 13
Shekinah Glory
Is
the GLORY CLOUD real
or
just smoke and mirrors
to
get new church members?
First
Word
Shekinah Glory is an
extra-biblical expression or to say it another way; it’s not
in the Bible, however the references to “His Glory” is evident. WHAT IS THE SHEKINAH GLORY? The
Hebrew word transliteration means “inhabit”, “dwelling” or “settling”. It
literally means, “He caused to dwell” signifying His Devine
visitation; the
PRESENCE of God on earth with all His
cosmic glory.[1]
The Chaldee word means “resting-place”. It was
used by the Jews to designate the visible symbol of God's presence in the
Tabernacle, and later on His presence in Solomon's temple. Shekinah
is often described as His GLORY and His PRESENCE as being synonymous, but sometimes
observed in DIFFERENT
FORMS, particularly that as
seen in His creations.[2]
Note: All forms of the Shekinah Glory are a VEIL; we cannot actually see Him as
He really is.
OLD
TESTAMENT PRESENCE
Presence
face to face
Moses
is on the mountain talking with God and he asked God to show him His GLORY.[3] God said No, that no man could look directly
at His face and live, but he would allow him to see the back of HIS PRESENCE as
He passed by. The Bible does not tell
us what Moses actually saw, but it made his face glow.[4]
Since Moses spoke face to face with God, HE WAS A DEAD MAN, but not in the physical sense of death, but in the sense that
Moses had died to himself. Moses had allowed God to change him; scripture says
he was the humblest man on earth.[5]
(An
example for us)
Exodus 33:18-23 – Show me YOUR Shekinah Glory
18
And he said, "Please, SHOW ME YOUR GLORY." (NKJV)
19 The LORD replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will
call out my name, Yahweh, before you.
20
But you may not look directly at my face,
for
NO ONE MAY SEE
ME AND LIVE.”
22 As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the
rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my
hand
23 and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.” (NLT)
Presence
in Fire
The
first time we are aware of the Shekinah Glory of God
is when Moses is attracted to a bush on the mountain that is on fire and
is not consumed and he turned aside to go see it. God told him to not come near, that His “Shekinah”
presence made the ground Holy, so Moses hid his face from God. The Shekinah Glory of
the cloud as witnessed by Moses and Aaron most likely contained fire.
The Glory of God is
like a devouring FIRE; the observed cloud only veils His
presence.[6]
Exodus
24:15-17 – His Shekinah Glory is like a devouring Fire
15 Then Moses went up on the
mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16 The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud
covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst
of the cloud.
17 Now the appearance of the GLORY OF THE LORD was
like a devouring FIRE on the top of the
mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. (ESV)
Presence in a Cloud
Often
the scripture indicates the people saw the presence of God without
mentioning a cloud or fire, but the evidence of many other scriptures would
lead you to conclude that when they saw the Glory
of the Lord, they were talking about a Cloud, perhaps with fire. The Cloud was literally there to hide the Glory of God which
no man can see and live.[7]
Numbers
16:19 – All in the congregation saw the Glory Cloud
19 Then Korah assembled all the
congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the
GLORY OF THE LORD APPEARED to all the congregation. (ESV)
Presence in a Cloud Pillar
When
Israel was led out of Egypt, the Lord went before them "in a
pillar of a cloud." Which was the symbol of his presence among His people.
At night the cloud was lit up with fire from the inside; during the day the fire was
still there, but unseen because of the sun.
Exodus
14:19-20 – Pillar of Cloud lit up the night
19 Then the angel of God who was
going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the PILLAR OF CLOUD moved
from before them and stood behind them,
20 coming between the host of Egypt
and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness.
And
it LIT up the night without one coming near the other all
night. (ESV)
Numbers
16:42 The Glory of the Lord was in the Cloud
42 And when the congregation had
assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of
meeting. And behold,
THE CLOUD COVERED IT, and
THE GLORY OF THE LORD
APPEARED. (ESV)
NEW TESTAMENT PRESENCE
Presence as
Light
The Glory of the Lord shown forth as a LIGHT
to the Shepherds at the birth of Jesus.[8]
Luke 2:9 – The Glory of the Lord shown
forth
9 And an angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and
the GLORY OF THE
LORD shone around them,
and they were filled with great fear. (ESV)
Presence
through Prophecy
The
Presence of the Shekinah Glory
is associated with the transforming spirit of God with the evidence of prophecy
coming forth through His people; "For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake
from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit. Prophecy must be understood before we can go
any further. Prophecy to us means to “FORETELL” of things in the future; the Greek word
is “Propheteuo” which means “to magnify God;
to speak of Divine things”, it means the “FORTH TELLING” of the bold message of the Gospel.[9]
Prophecy has nothing to do with foretelling
of the future, but of witnessing to the grace of Jesus Christ and magnifying
His name. So when you read about being
filled with the Spirit and “prophesizing”
they are praising God’s name and His attributes.[10]
Paul wanted everyone to prophesy, to praise the virtues of God’s Son. To eagerly seek the gift of praising God; prophesizing.[11]
Tongues are a SIGN
to the pagan, the unbeliever; it is a
“convicting experience”.
Prophecy; the praising of God is a SIGN
to the Believer of the “in filling”
of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:22 – Prophecy is for the
believer.
22
Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; PROPHECY, however, IS FOR
BELIEVERS, not for unbelievers. NIV
TODAY’S PRESENCE
The
Glory Cloud
I feel I must also speak to
the “Glory Cloud” that has appeared in churches all over the world
which is believed to be the physical manifestation of the PRESENCE of God.
Because of the way I am wired, I want to believe when things of the
supernatural occur, especially that of God.
The Glory Cloud is described as a phenomenon of a glittering swarm of
gold-like particles floating down on the person and then vanishing. Some report an oil residue that returns on
the skin after it is wiped off; other report feathers falling. It has been “reported” that a cloud in one
church was so thick you could barely see the congregation.
There is a video on YouTube of a fleeting cloud as it appeared inside
Bethel Church. During this phenomenon
there is praise, worship, singing, shouting and dancing going on which is the OPPOSITE
of the OT
occurrence when the “Presence” of God” was
so overwhelming no one could even approach and they fell to their knees. When the Prophet Isaiah saw the Presence of God,
he said ‘WOE
is ME”.[12]
The
justification or explanation of this
phenomenon comes from four verses in the OT that are used to legitimize this
phenomenon; I list them here for you to peruse.
1 Ezekiel 10:4-5 – The Glory Cloud filled the
house
4 And the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the
threshold of the house, and the HOUSE WAS
FILLED WITH THE CLOUD,
and the court was filled with the
brightness of
THE GLORY OF THE LORD.
5 And the sound of the wings of the
cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty
when he speaks. (ESV)
2 2 Chronicles 5:14 –
Could not minister because of the Glory Cloud
14 so that the priests
COULD NOT STAND TO MINISTER BECAUSE OF THE CLOUD,
for THE
GLORY OF THE LORD filled the house of God. (ESV)
3 1 Kings 8:11 – Could
not stand because of the Glory Cloud
11 so that the priests COULD NOT STAND TO MINISTER
because of the cloud, for
THE GLORY OF THE LORD filled
the house of the LORD. (ESV)
4 Exodus 40:35 - Could not enter because of the
Glory Cloud
35 And Moses was NOT ABLE TO ENTER the
tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and THE GLORY OF THE LORD filled the
tabernacle. (ESV)
New
Covenant Glory Cloud
The supernatural is available
to the Believer, but it’s not automatic, nor is it a method or a
formula, nor is it a procedure and it cannot be commanded to appear on Friday at
10:30 pm. The Glory Cloud, nor its
concepts of God’s Presence on earth, appears anywhere in the NT
under which the Christian now abides. There are NO
EXAMPLES.
Scripture says the time is coming when people will NOT
endure sound teaching, but will have itching ears for pastors that teach to
suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and
wander off into myths.[13] God will test the Believer; not for Himself,
but for us to understand where we are in our own knowledge of the teachings of
God. We are to spend time in His Word,
digesting precepts, concepts, and commandments and embracing His warnings.[14]
Those that reject the truth
and refuse sound doctrine will receive a strong delusion from God giving them
what they want; perhaps a Glory Cloud.[15]
– It’s in the Book –
2 Timothy 4:3-4 – Itching ears for
teachings of myths
3 For the time is coming when
people will not endure sound teaching, but having ITCHING
EARS they will accumulate for themselves
teachers to suit
their own passions, and will turn away
4 from listening to the truth and wander off into
myths.
(ESV)
Walmart
Glory Cloud
I saw a cloud hovering
above the lights in the local Wal-Mart store and reported it to an employee
thinking it might be smoke. They thanked
me and continued to work and I wondered if I was the only one that saw it… I
witnessed this three times. Since the
Cloud was above the open meat cooler section I reasoned it was probable the
interaction of the cool air meeting the warm air just above the lights. Anyway I don’t get to see the cloud in my
home; maybe it’s because I am just more HOLY
when I am out shopping for groceries.
Presence
Spiritual
God’s presence can also be
spiritual; Jesus speaks of giving the "GLORY" that God gave to Him to the people. Jesus praying to the Father saying; the glory that you have given me I have given to them that
they may be one even as we are one.[16]
Presence
Veiled
The
teachings of the New Testament lead the Believer to understand that the
PRESENCE of God is the Holy Spirit as He abides in
the Believer, but He is VEILED; His Presence is observed only though our
actions. God is present when two or
three are gathered in His name, but still remains veiled. When we get to Heaven, the VEIL
will be lifted and we will see God; His Son Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit;
the Trinity; all three in their Shekinah Glory and
we will have a glorified
body just like them.[17]
Presence Intermediary
Today we want someone else
to tell us about God; we don’t have the desire to enter into God’s presence for
ourselves, we want an intermediary. So God
sent us an intermediary, His Son Jesus Christ.
Today we no longer need a Glory Cloud to be able to come into His Presence because of
the work of Jesus the Christ on the Cross.
We can NOW
boldly
come before God’s throne of Grace without the fear of death.[18]
The Take
Away
Because of the abuse of the gifts,
especially tongues and the so called healings we see on TV; the waves of the
Holy Spirit knocking people down; the jerking movements and outburst of
laughter and the barking like an dog, all seem somewhat contrived; therefore
there is a tendency to just ignore and dismiss everything that smacks of the
spiritual or supernatural as just foolishness that is accompanied with smoke
and mirrors.
The Bible doesn’t say to ignore the “wonder”, but to TEST EVERY
SPIRIT.[19] Spend time in His Word and see for yourself
what God has to say about these signs or wonders. If you are seeking a sign, Jesus has already
given you one.[20] He said to read what happened to Jonah and
you will have your sign.[21] The Cloud is
not the Shekinah Glory of God; but is a veil that hides God’s Glory.
The Glory of the Lord will remain
veiled until we are transformed into His image, then with unveiled faces we
will see Him as He is. If you are a
Believer, you WILL see God’s Shekinah Glory.[22]
The Choices you make today have
eternal consequences. Life is Choice
Driven.
- It’s in the Book -
[1] Ezekiel 1:28 – Shekinah Glory - Like a rainbow – Fell face down
[2] Exodus 34:9 – Let your
presence travel with us -- Psalm 19:1-4
God displays His Presence in a thousand ways --
[3] Exodus 33:18-23 – Show me
your Shekinah Glory -- Exodus 33:11 – Moses spoke face to face
with Jehovah --
[4] Exodus 34:34-35 – Face
glowed with the Shekinah Glory of God
[5] Numbers 12:3 – Moses most humble man on earth
[6] Exodus 24:15-17 – Like a devouring Fire -- Exodus 3:2-6 – The Shekinah
Glory appeared as fire -- Leviticus 9:23 – The Glory of the Lord with Fire
[7] Numbers 16:19 – All in the congregation saw the Glory Cloud -- Numbers
14:10 – The Glory of the Lord appeared -- Numbers 16:42 – The Glory of the Lord
- Cloud
[8] Luke 2:9 – The Glory of the Lord shown forth
[9] 2 Peter 1:21 - God’s Glory is linked to Prophecy
[10] 1 Samuel 10:5-6 – The Spirit of the Lord – Prophesy
[11] 1 Corinthians 14:1 –
Desire the gift of prophecy -- 1 Corinthians
[12] Ezekiel 44:4 – Fell on his face before the Glory of the Lord -- Isaiah
6:5 – Isaiah saw The Glory of God said – “Woe Is
Me”
[13] Matthew 24:24-25 – Preachers perform great signs and wonders -- 2 Timothy
4:3-4 – Itching ears for teachings of myths
[14] Deuteronomy 13:1-4 – Preacher gives you a wonder; do not listen -- 1 John
4:1 – Test the signs and phenomenon with scripture
[16] John 17:22 – God’s presence can be in spiritual form
[17] Matthew 18:20 – His presence is among two or three -- Colossians
2:9 – The Shekinah Glory dwells in Jesus --
1 John 3:2 – In Heaven we will see Him in His Shekinah Glory -- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – You Carry the
Presence of God within
[18] Exodus 20:18-19 – Let the Preacher do the talking to us -- 1 Timothy 2:5
– There is just one mediator; Jesus Christ -- Hebrews 4:15-16 – We can come
boldly to His Throne of Grace
[19] 1 John 4:1 – Test the signs and phenomenon with scripture -- Acts 5:12 –
Signs and Wonders were done regularly
[20] Matthew 16:4 – An evil generation seeks for
a sign
[21] Matthew 12:40 – Sign; Jesus raised from the dead after 3 days
[22] 2 Corinthians 3:18 – We will be transformed and see His Glory -- John
11:40 - If you believe you will see the glory of God
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