The Song of the Elders and the Living Creatures

The description of the living creatures is very similar to that of the cherubim which Ezekiel saw (see Ezek. 1:5, 18, 22; 10:14). As the Lamb comes forward to take the book that is sealed with seven seals, the twenty four elders and the living creatures fall down and worship Him, "And they sing a new song, saying: Worthy art Thou to take the booklet, and to open the seals thereof; because Thou wast slain, and didst purchase to God with Thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and madest them a kingdom and priests to our God; and they reign upon the earth" (Rev. 5:9, 10—Numeric English New Testament, by Ivan Panin, who used numerics to verify the original Greek. Several other versions support this rendering, using they or them or men, instead of us, or we—as in the A.V.). I believe the living creatures belong to the heavenly hosts of the Lord; but they are very much identified with the earthly redeemed people of God—and together they sing this song of Redemption.

Ezekiel heard "the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty" (vs. 24), for it is God speaking from Heaven, and His voice was as "the noise of a host". It is the allied forces of heavenly realms, as well as the sounds that come from the hosts of God’s chosen ones in the earth. When Jacob left his uncle Laban, and started on his way back to his father in Canaan—we are told: "the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim". The word means two camps, or two hosts. Jacob’s host was now identified with the heavenly host. Jacob was in great fear, and in great need of help—especially when he heard that his brother Esau was on the way to meet him, and God sent the hosts of heaven to be with him along the way (see Gen. 32:1).

As individuals we have heavenly beings with us, who are commissioned to "minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" (Heb. 1:14). As His people walk with Him, I believe He wants us to know that we are overshadowed with the hosts of Heaven. We must not exalt them or give them worship. Sometimes they become visible, for God may see fit to assure His people that God is looking after them. When David was in deep distress he cried unto God, and God rose up in anger against His enemies. David said: "He rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the wings of the wind" (Ps. 18:10). We are not to tempt God, by doing dangerous things, and expect the hosts of Heaven to run to our rescue (Lk. 4:12). But we are not to shun danger either, if God calls us to walk in dangerous places.

We have it all wrong in the world, as well as in the church. We want the majority on our side, if we expect to get anything done for Jesus. But God cares not about the majority, whether it be in the world of politics, or in the church. He generally chooses to work with the minority—then He gets all the glory. The hosts of Heaven provide us with the majority. I think of Elisha to whom the Lord had given information to pass on to the king of Israel, to warn him against a surprise attack by the Syrians, who were enemies at that time. The enemy would seek to take up positions in a strategic place—only to discover the forces of Israel were already there and waiting for them. This happened two or three times, and finally the king of Syria concluded that there was a spy in their midst, and he was determined to find out who it was. But one of his soldiers knew what was happening, and told the king: "We are loyal men, O king—but there’s a man in Israel who tells the king everything you’re planning in your bedroom". They inquired and found out where the man was, and the king of Syria sent a contingent of soldiers to capture him. Elisha was in the little town of Dothan at the time, so they surrounded the town with horses and chariots, ready to capture him the next morning. But when morning came Elisha’s servant went outside, and he was terrified when he saw dozens or perhaps hundreds of Syrian soldiers, along with horses and chariots, surrounding the little down of Dothan. He quickly ran to Elisha and told him what he saw: the whole town was surrounded by the Syrians. Elisha calmly told him not to fear. . ."We’ve got more warriors on our side, than they have!" he said. The young man looked around but couldn’t see anybody except the enemy. So Elisha prayed a short prayer, "LORD, open his eyes, that he may see". And suddenly he saw the mountain "full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha". The young fellow was excited! Suddenly he realized they had a far greater army than the Syrians. Then the prophet prayed, "Lord, smite the enemy with blindness". So Elisha walked up to the commander and asked him what they wanted. He said, "We are here looking for a man called Elisha. . .but suddenly we all went blind, and we can’t find our way". "Follow me," Elisha said, and "I’ll lead you to the man you’re looking for". Then he led them all the way to Samaria, every man holding the hand or the shirt sleeve of his neighbour, with Elijah leading the head man. And he brought them like prisoners of war to the king of Israel. Then Elisha prayed again: "Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see". So God opened their eyes. What a shock! The whole battalion was in enemy territory, and at the mercy of the king of Israel. "Will I kill them all, my father. . .?" he asked Elisha in excitement. "No", said the prophet, "you don’t slay soldiers that are captured in battle, do you?. Just give them something to eat and drink, and send them back home". So they made a great feast for them, for they were very hungry after that long journey—and sent them back home.

How easily God can handle nations, and armies, and national leaders, and perverse men who presume to fight against God!

"So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel" (see 2 Kgs. 6:8-23).

Of course that was Old Testament, and we do not expect things like that to happen today, do we?. . . So is the Old Testament better and more powerful than the New Testament?

The New Testament Mercy Seat

The cherubim are identified in the scriptures as protectors and guardians of God’s holiness and righteousness, and so must it be with the priests of the Lord. We must become very jealous for God’s holiness and truth. When Adam and Eve sinned, the cherubim were stationed at the gate of Eden, turning their swords around in all directions to keep them from the Tree of Life. But now all this has changed, because of the redemption we have in Christ Jesus. Now they are "in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne" to protect the redeemed from the accusations of Satan, who is called the accuser of the brethren. Let us understand this very important fact concerning our salvation: It is God’s righteousness, not only His mercy, that becomes our assurance and our boldness as we come to the mercy seat. And so the apostle Paul declares that we are "justified (declared righteous) freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith, in His blood" (Rom. 3:24, 25). The word propitiation is the same word that is translated mercy seat in Heb. 9:5: "And over it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat. . ." The cherubim who once were posted at the Gate of Eden to keep man away from the Tree of Life, with their flashing swords—are now in the Holiest of All to welcome us back to the Tree of Life. Christ is our Mercy Seat, because of His redemption on our behalf. And now we see the cherubim identified with the Mercy Seat, as were the golden cherubim sitting on each end of the mercy seat of the Old Testament. They are part of the mercy seat. . .facing each other, but looking down at the blood that was sprinkled there for our redemption. We are saved by God’s righteousness as well as by His mercy. And it is because the blood of Christ has made us righteous, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5). It is here at the cross that—

"Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Ps. 85:10)

The tomb is empty, for Christ is risen—God’s assurance to us that His redemption on our behalf is well pleasing to God. Christ rose from the dead in a spiritual body that was not hampered by material obstructions. He walked through closed and locked doors. It was a spiritual body, as compared to a natural body of flesh and blood. His resurrected body is still tangible, corporeal, visible. . .but now it is flesh and bones rather than flesh and blood (1 Cor. 15:44, 45). And so He came out of His grave clothes without any one unwinding the cloth like they did with Lazarus. The shroud was left all wound together as it was when they placed Him in the tomb—and John took special note of it: "The napkin, that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself". Bands of cloth were mingled with the embalming ointments and wrapped around the head, and likewise around the body. No man had meddled with it. He had come out of the shroud as from a cocoon, and left it as it was in its original form. No doubt it was still stained with the blood from His head, His hands, His side, and His feet. But this new mercy seat was sprinkled once for all, by the blood of Jesus. John noticed further that there were "two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain" (Jn. 20:12).

What a beautiful picture of the old mercy seat that was made of gold, with a cherub on either side—facing each other, but looking down at the blood sprinkled mercy seat (Ex. 37:7-9). The old one was sprinkled with blood once a year, on the Day of Atonement. But the true mercy seat has been sprinkled with the "blood of the everlasting covenant". . .enacted on earth outside the City of Jerusalem, but eternally imprinted in the heavenly sanctuary by the Spirit of the living God. For He was there that day bearing witness to all that transpired at the cross at the hands of wicked men. And because He was there by God’s appointment, what men did in hate and cruelty and in violence was transformed into an effectual Sacrifice for the sins of all the world. And because He is the eternal Spirit He has never forgotten what He saw, and He still bears witness to the efficacy of that Sacrifice, and to the water and the blood that flowed from His side. And that is why His blood still avails to make the vilest sinner clean.

Some Christian people cherish the thought of a new temple in Jerusalem, where the Levites will serve, and will once again slay bullocks and red heifers for the sins of the people. They tell us that those sacrifices will be memorial. Perish the thought! The Holy Spirit is dwelling within to bear witness to the blood and the water. . .for He is Truth. And as we receive the Lord Jesus and His redemption on our behalf, the Spirit of God comes into our hearts to apply the blood and the water of the Word to our hearts and lives. Read the book of Hebrews and see the folly and abomination of any sacrifice for sins, other than the one that Jesus offered when He became the Lamb that was slain. Those sacrifices back there in the Old Testament were the ones that were memorial—calling sins to remembrance every year on the Day of Atonement; but also reminding us in the New Covenant, that there was a better Sacrifice offered once for all, when the Lamb of God was slain for the sins of the world (see Heb. 10:3). Let us not think lightly of this idea of a new temple in Jerusalem, where animal sacrifices will once again be offered on Jewish altars. It is abomination of the worst sort. I believe it was the animal sacrifices in the old temple (which continued on for many years after the true Sacrifice had been offered outside Jerusalem) that brought about the desolation of the temple by the Romans in A.D. 70—as foretold by Daniel, and later by Jesus (see Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15).

"For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:14).

"But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared for Me" (Heb. 10:3-5).