THE HOUSE (TEMPLE) THAT WILL NOT FALL

MF Blume

THE TEMPLE AND THE CHERUBIMS

Eden's Garden was a paradisical Temple. Mankind was anointed by God with authority over all creation. This authority over all creation was symbolized by the Cherubims of which we read in the Bible, beginning with the reference to the Garden of Eden and man's expulsion from that Garden. (See further notes about cherubims in pertinent studies as so named in this website).

Long after man fell in the Garden, Moses' Tabernacle was erected in much the same fashion as the Garden of Eden. Both the Garden and the Tabernacle had only one entrance which faced eastward. And both had a focal point within themselves. There was the tree of Life in the midst of the Garden and the holiest of holies which held the Ark of the covenant in the midst of the Tabernacle. Upon the curtains and the veil of the Tabernacle were the likeness of cherubims. As the cherubims blocked man from entering into the Garden after the fall into sin, the veil blocked man from entering the holiest of holies, the counterpart to the Garden.

Much later again, we read of Solomon's temple which also was laid out in fashion as the Garden. In that temple, Cherubims (of which we first read about in Genesis 3:24) were also pictured throughout the structure. The repeated reference to these creatures always seemed to point man to the original setting of humanity in the Garden of Eden, man's first home, where they were first mentioned. In the Garden, man was given dominion over cattle, fowl and beasts. The faces upon the cherubims, along with the face of the man, indicated the very creatures over which Adam was given authority.

It was in the Garden of Eden where God desired that man dwell. Returning to the Garden indicates a return to the will of God for humanity. The eternal plan of God had it that humanity be united to Him as a Bride, made in His image, bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. Since God is not flesh and bone we see that He foreordained to manifest Himself only once in flesh as a man, from which His Church would come. It was His human death on the cross which brought forth the church. As Adam laid down his life and allowed God to remove a rib to form a woman for Adam, Christ laid down His life and died, after which a soldier pierced the same location of His body as that from which God took Adam's rib - His side.

THE NEW JERUSALEM OF TODAY

The church, today, is the Temple. It is the Garden. The aspect of the Garden of Eden being the capital, per se, of the world, is seen in the later picture of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was where the Temple was located and where the king of Israel dwelt. With this in mind, consider that God has given His name to the Church much like He gave His name to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was referred to as a woman in the mind of God during Old Testament times. Notice the thought of a man searching among many women for the bride of His choice as you read the following description of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem later became known as the MOTHER of God's people.

The aspect of motherhood and enduring through all eternity is hinted at in the following reference to Jerusalem.

The name of Jerusalem was originally Jebusi, which interprets as "trodden". God took Himself a city and changed her name as a man marries a woman and gives her his name. God changed Jebusi to Jerusalem, "city of Peace."

All this is informative as to why the Church is referred to as Jerusalem in Hebrews 12:22-23. The church is the Bride of Christ. We have been espoused to one husband, Jesus.

We must remain in the Temple as Adam should have remained in the Garden, by standing upon nothing but the grace of God according to the Word which He gave to us. Adam failed God by not standing upon His Word in obedience. We can fail of the grace of God as Adam failed of God's Word to him, and be cast from the Garden of the Church and left to fall with all the rest of the world which shall one day pass away. We must stay in the Temple and truly learn how to live by grace in our everyday lives. We must learn about grace and grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18).

REMOVED FROM THE ROCK

The believer who does not completely rely upon the grace of God will soon be removed and will fall in troubles and trials. They are not fully founded upon the Rock of God's Word, which to us is the Word of Grace and faith.

Colossians teaches us about being grounded and settled firmly "in Christ."

All the benefits of being in Christ are listed above in Colossians. To remain in Christ alone, and not resort to human philosophy and tradition, is to stand upon His grace alone. Whenever they are confronted with the proposition by the religious world to add a certain element to their faith, the believers who cry forth, "Nothing can save my soul and spirit but my acceptance of the fact that Christ died in my place to redeem me from sin," are the ones who will never fall. They stand on Grace. They stand on the Rock. The Rock we stand upon is not our good works nor is it our efforts to please God. The Rock is the WORD OF GOD. Nothing else will stand. Nothing else! The work which the Lord Jesus told the people they should exert is to BELIEVE upon God.

Notice how Colossians bids us stand in grace:

This is grace! Grace is divine empowerment. To live in this manner is to have been grounded in grace. It is strengthened not by weak fleshly will power to do good, but by His glorious power.

Look how we are made fit to be heirs of His inheritance.

We read that GOD made us meet or fit. We do not make ourselves fit through works of righteousness which we have done. God alone can make fit. He delivered us into His kingdom. He did it! We who find that God is GRACIOUS are those who are built up a spiritual house (Temple), as described spiritually in the words speaking about the chief cornerstone laid in Zion!

We are the temple that is built up as a spiritual house in Zion!

As in Colossians 1, 1 Peter 2:10 says that God made us fit to be heirs by God making us a people.

IN CHRIST AND SETTLED UPON NOTHING ELSE

The ministry of Paul the Apostle is so wonderfully deep and blessed towards those who desire to be Christ's disciples. This man of God ministered for the ultimate purpose of having people one day presented to Christ as being "complete in Christ."

Perfect in Christ. This means that we must be presented COMPLETE in Christ. We must not look to anything other than Christ and that which is found in Him alone as our means to standing before God with a blessed reception from God. The reason we must completely rely upon Christ is due to the fact that nothing else will stand. All else will fall. Everything we need is found in Jesus Christ. Everything that is of God works by grace through faith. Therefore we must be established in faith.

Colossians teaches that we are buried with Christ and resurrected with Christ and forgiven of all sins, thus blotting out all ordinances which were against humanity. God removed the ordinances out of our way. Once forgiven, there is no law to judge us, for what law can judge one with no trespasses?

We have been forgive of all trespasses, leaving us without relation to a Law which came for the reason of trespasses. When we are abiding in grace, we are above law. Living by grace renders us strong and unremovable, for we have patience and longsuffering if we truly live by grace through faith. All of this is descriptive of the very thing which the parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock is trying to relay to us. We will never fall, but be grounded with Christ for eternity, while all else passes away, if we stand by God's grace and not fail of this grace.

LUCIFER

The comparison with the garden in Eden and the temple-like existence of that garden is even seen with Satan before his fall, and foreshadowed by the Babylonian King Lucifer. As a high priest, Lucifer stood in the temple with precious stones covering a breastplate. He was in Eden, in the Garden in Eden, upon the MOUNTAIN OF GOD. Here is the picture of the house on the Rock. This is similar to ZION. It is the temple. The outer court, holy place and holiest of holies is seen in (1) Eden, (2) the garden of God (since Eden was not THE Garden, but the Garden was eastward IN Eden) and (3) the mountain of God. He was cast DOWN since he was upon a MOUNTAIN. He fell. He defiled his sanctuaries as Adam defiled the sanctuary of the Garden.

FAITH TO LIVE BY

When the Bible speaks about failing today it refers to failing from Grace (Hebrews. 12:15)..

True faith is the persuasion that God will keep and protect us. Too many believers do not have this faith. They are not grounded upon God's grace. This is a faith which we LIVE by. We were saved by faith in God's grace for salvation, but now we must LIVE by faith in God's grace for our eternal stand. And whereas all believers have accepted the grace for salvation, too many do not exert faith for living. As a result of this, years will pass as life comes to a close for each individual, and many believers will have lost out with God because they never really learned to LIVE by faith, patiently enduring all opposition.

Such believers who fail are those who try to avoid the thought of the need to have faith in trials. they do not want to think of trials. But we must accept it that trials will come and we must live by faith. Let us get faith.

I can be in that temple, enduring the storms and winds. I can live by faith and endure all opposition! I can do it! Since we have come to Zion, let us be settled there by learning how to trust in grace and live enduringly by faith.

We must come to ZION and stay there. We came by faith in Christ's death for our salvation. We must be rooted there now, by using that same faith and directing it towards a life of victory through any storm life may throw at us.

Hebrews 11 speaks of the faith we need.

We must use that faith and apply it to daily living above sin in the midst of trials ever afterwards! Let us dedicate ourselves to ensure we remain in the Temple that never falls - the HOUSE of God on ZION.

Through Jesus Christ we have peace with God.

The particular avenue of "through Christ" is how the faith we exert puts us at peace with God. One cannot just exert any old faith in any deity or religious teaching. Peace with God only comes through Christ.

ZION

Zion represents people of God who have learned to live by faith and who can resist opposition and trial.

Zion is the joy of the whole earth since it consumes all other kingdoms of sin and fills the whole earth. It is ZION that is depicted in Christ's kingdom as follows: This kingdom will stand forever. God set this kingdom up. It is a mountain - Zion. It is the New Testament Gospel.

Indeed, the Gospel turned the world upside down in Acts.

The Kingdom of God, represented by the MOUNTAIN OF GOD, ZION, is the only thing that will last, hence we read: Seek it first. Even in the Lord's prayer, it is the first thing we must pray about:
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