PDA

View Full Version : The Chariot of the Cherubim



Rose
11-20-2009, 10:48 PM
As I was doing research on the pattern of the Menorah, I came across this interesting verse in 1 Chronicles where it mentions 'the pattern of the chariot of the cherubim'. What struck me as significant is that these are the Cherubim that overspread their wings to cover the Ark of the Covenant. That was the place in the midst of the Cherubim, in the midst of the Holy of Holies, where God dwelt on earth.



1Chron.28:18 And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubim, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

2Sam.6:2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.


Looking further into the 'Chariot of the Cherubim' I found another interesting verse in 2Samuel 22 where it states that God rode upon a Cherub. Now this really got my mind going click, click, click….:sCo_hmmthink:



2 Sam.22: 11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind (ruach). 12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.


The next place that came to mind was the book of Ezekiel where he saw the heavens open and beheld visions of the Throne room of God. Immediately the connection between the Cherubim and the Wheels that stood beside them and the 'Chariot (merkabah) of the Cherubim' jumped out at me. Ezekiel 10 has a perfect description of the Throne room of God where we see the Cherubim, the Wheels, the coals of fire, and the cloud of Gods Glory.



Ezek. 10:2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels (galgal), even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight…4) then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory….6) And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels (galgal), from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels…..13) As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel (galgal).


Then I also remembered in the book of Daniel where God’s Throne is described as a fiery flame with wheels like burning fire.



Dan. 7:9-10 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels (galgal) as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him:


Now all the connections in my mind are firing and I think of Ezekiel again with the whirlwind that comes as a great cloud with fire folding in on itself, and out of its midst comes forth the Cherubim.



Ezek. 1:4-5 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.


Both Isaiah and Jeremiah speak of the Chariots of God coming like a whirlwind in the midst of fire and clouds.



Isa. 66:15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

Jer.4:13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.


Tying all of the above verses together a very clear picture unfolds that paints an image of God’s Throne room that was shown to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel as being a place where the 'Chariot of the Cherubim' or 'Ezekiel’s Wheels' exist as one with the Cherubim whose wings overspread and cover the Ark of the Covenant, with coals of fire, and clouds of Glory being ever present in the midst.

This is the same vision that was shown to the Apostle John in Revelation 4, when the door of heaven was opened and he saw into the Throne room of God, giving a New Testament witness to what was a type on earth being a reality in heaven.



Rev. 4:1-2 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne…..5) And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Rose

Victor
11-21-2009, 08:10 AM
Thank you for the great collection of texts about this subject! God's Throne being depicted as a chariot guided by cherubim is a marked theme in Scripture but is so scattered that sometimes we don't notice how much connected it is.

Here are some random thoughts:

"The pattern of the chariot of the cherubim" is a very interesting phrase. "Pattern" is the same word that was used in the plan of the tabernacle given to Moses in Exodus, which involved the other cherubim, those on top of the Ark of the Covenant.

Moses is given an architetonical plan of the House of God (the tabernacle) in Exodus just like David is given an architetonical plan of the House of God (the temple) in 1 Chronicles. This is part of the set of links between Exodus and 1 Chronicles that reside diametrically opposed on the Wheel.

Pattern is Tavneeth in Hebrew, which is a Tav KeyWord. Tav is the 22nd and last letter of the Alphabet, and that links to the great Pattern that governs Scripture based upon the 22 Letters. Similarly, the word Chariot (Merkavah) appears 44 times in Scripture!

The first description of God riding a cherub is found in 2 Samuel 22!

And this book is Bible Book 10, which links to the vision of Ezekiel 10 that you quote.

2 Samuel 22 is repeated in Psalm 18, and this Psalm is linked to the vision of Ezekiel. Note the chapter and verse numbers:

Psa 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

Eze 10:18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.
I find it very beautiful that the visions of the Chariot of God are concentrated in the Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. The Major Prophets are aligned on the Bible Wheel with NT History, penned by the Four Evangelists. The symbols of the four Evangelists are the four Cherubim, and the Cherubim are the ones who guide God's Chariot! What a great correspondence!

This alignment between the four Major Prophets and the Four Evangelists is artistically reflected in the following portrait from the ninth century:

http://i45.tinypic.com/110brcp.jpg
Four Evangelists and Prophets surround Christ. C. 850 by Haregarius of Tours

In each corner we find an Evangelist writing a Gospel. In the vertices of the losangle we find the four Major Prophets with their names written close to them. Christ sits enthroned between the four Cherubim.

Rose
11-21-2009, 09:05 AM
Thank you for the great collection of texts about this subject! God's Throne being depicted as a chariot guided by cherubim is a marked theme in Scripture but is so scattered that sometimes we don't notice how much connected it is.

Here are some random thoughts:

"The pattern of the chariot of the cherubim" is a very interesting phrase. "Pattern" is the same word that was used in the plan of the tabernacle given to Moses in Exodus, which involved the other cherubim, those on top of the Ark of the Covenant.

Moses is given an architetonical plan of the House of God (the tabernacle) in Exodus just like David is given an architetonical plan of the House of God (the temple) in 1 Chronicles. This is part of the set of links between Exodus and 1 Chronicles that reside diametrically opposed on the Wheel.

Pattern is Tavneeth in Hebrew, which is a Tav KeyWord. Tav is the 22nd and last letter of the Alphabet, and that links to the great Pattern that governs Scripture based upon the 22 Letters. Similarly, the word Chariot (Merkavah) appears 44 times in Scripture!

The first description of God riding a cherub is found in 2 Samuel 22!

And this book is Bible Book 10, which links to the vision of Ezekiel 10 that you quote.

2 Samuel 22 is repeated in Psalm 18, and this Psalm is linked to the vision of Ezekiel. Note the chapter and verse numbers:
Psa 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

Eze 10:18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.
I find it very beautiful that the visions of the Chariot of God are concentrated in the Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. The Major Prophets are aligned on the Bible Wheel with NT History, penned by the Four Evangelists. The symbols of the four Evangelists are the four Cherubim, and the Cherubim are the ones who guide God's Chariot! What a great correspondence!

This alignment between the four Major Prophets and the Four Evangelists is artistically reflected in the following portrait from the ninth century:

http://i45.tinypic.com/110brcp.jpg
Four Evangelists and Prophets surround Christ. C. 850 by Haregarius of Tours

In each corner we find an Evangelist writing a Gospel. In the vertices of the losangle we find the four Major Prophets with their names written close to them. Christ sits enthroned between the four Cherubim.

Thank you for the great post, and added insights! :signthankspin:

This is a subject that I think will provide many fruitful insights into understanding why the earthly pattern of the Temple and its articles (like the Menorah) was laid out in such a particular way.

Rose

Victor
11-21-2009, 02:22 PM
Thank you Rose!

I should adjust what I said about the Major Prophets and the Evangelists. Being "aligned" on the Wheel is not the best expression to describe their positions. The Major Prophets and NT History are a reflection of each other over the axis of symmetry of the Wheel. It is an atbash relation. 'Alignment' is usually employed when we refer to books on the same Spoke or set of Spokes.

http://www.biblewheel.com/images/cw_230.jpg
Maj Prophets and NT History mirror each other

HaShaliach
12-14-2009, 02:35 PM
Rose, you write

"As I was doing research on the pattern of the Menorah...."

have you posted this research? I would be much interested in reading.

Rose
12-14-2009, 03:14 PM
Rose, you write

"As I was doing research on the pattern of the Menorah...."

have you posted this research? I would be much interested in reading.

Hi HaShaliach

Welcome to the Forum :welcome:so glad to have a new member...:D

Here is a link to a thread where I posted the Menorah in Scripture (http://biblewheel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1292).

Many Blessings

Rose

HaShaliach
12-14-2009, 04:26 PM
Thank you Rose, I will dissect your post. I scanned it once and already have some new thoughts; I have never thought of laying down the seals with the menorah, etc.

I started a new thread that you may be able to comment on. I put it under the hebrew letters topic.
I had a dream of a 7 branch menorah with a red rose bud in the center and the hebrew letters make up the 7 branches. I have struggled with the meaning of the dream. I have never seen a menorah like what I dreamed.
Any ideas or thoughts come to your mind? I thought of putting each of the 22 letters on the branches, but what to do with the extra 22 letter? And in my dream it seemed like there were more that just 3-4 letters per branch.