June 22, The Battle of All Battles

“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” (Revelation 16:16)

Since the Middle Ages, Bible scholars have ranked angels into nine categories. We are aware of archangels, seraphim, and cherubim. Other categories are based on this verse in Colossians:

--For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him. (Colossians 1:16)

We need to realize two historical facts about this verse. There have been debates over the interpretation of the verse in Colossians and whether there are fewer types. (Some say that seraphim and cherubim are two names for the same.) Also, the Colossians were caught up in a heresy of placing too much emphasis on angels and saying that people had to communicate through them to reach Christ. What matters is that there are a vast number of angels, an amount that God only knows and that they are a potent source of varied servants, warriors, protectors, and messengers subject to no one but God.

In the world we seldom see, there is a violent war going on, and it will end in a visible battle at a place called Armageddon, a flat-top hill (Har means hill, and the place is known as Megiddo.) about 60 miles north of Jerusalem. This is not symbolism! More than 200 battles have been fought there throughout history. In World War I there was a battle between Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire there. Britain won. My favorite battle in history is the one in which the prophetess-judge Deborah (an Israelite wife and mother) and the general Barak led the Israelites to victory over their enemies. (Judges 4-5) Actually the Lord sent bad weather and angels to fight it for them!

Armageddon is a real place with a real battlefield where the outcome of the whole world will be determined in God’s own time. The wicked leaders of the world under the leadership of the anti-Christ will assemble there with their armies,and the angels of the Lord will defeat the evil forces for all times.

If we believe God and have trusted Him to be our Savior, we have no reason to be anxious;for we can look to the blessed hope of the last promise and the last prayer of the Bible:

--He Which testifieth these things saith, “Surely I come quickly Amen.” Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

--The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Revelation 22:20-21)

The Messiah has told us He will return soon. He’s on His way. When the time is right, His army of angels will defeat the demons in a real physical battle at Armageddon. Once we are on the Lord’s side, we don’t need to be afraid, even though we know the battle of all battles is coming. We can join with John and all the other people He has set apart to say,“Let it be, Lord. Come, blessed Jesus!” While we are waiting for Him, He is reminding us that He loves us. Let’s enjoy His love and share it with other people, as He has instructed us to do.

Visit Do You Know How God Loves You?

June 21, Passing Through the Door

“Then said Jesus unto them again, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.’” (John 10:7)

God’s cherubim are the watchers and the holy ones who guard the door. The cherubim are mighty warriors with both wings and arms. They are described as having wheels within wheels. It is not clear whether the wheels are part of their anatomy or part of vehicles.

They have eyes looking all different directions, and they carry fire around with them.These ferocious fighters surround God and constantly do His bidding. (Ezekiel 9 and 10)

God does not need the cherubim to do His bidding, any more than He needs any of us;yet He chooses to use the members of His creation in His special ways to help with His work. God never sleeps and does not need to eat. He does not need angels or people to take care of Him. He assigned cherubs to guard the gate to the garden of Eden, which is located in an unknown place; they surround God on His throne, where they shut out any who would attack His glory and holiness; and they guarded the entrance to the tabernacle and temple Holy of Holies, where only the high priest could enter at appointed times to mediate with a blood offering to cover the sins of the people. This was a single day of the year.

In the blessed time after the coming of the Messiah, now that we have accepted the salvation bought for us with the precious shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, no one stops us from entering God’s throne room, the Holy of Holies.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus told a parable recorded in the Gospel of John. He said,"I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." (John 10:9)

Those who understood the work of the cherubim should have easily understood the analogy of Jesus as the door of a sheepfold, but since many of them were blinded to the obvious, they simply didn’t get it.

Finally when He paid the price by dying on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Those who went looking for God would no longer find Him there behind that ripped curtain. That ripped curtain is an important reminder of the way God loves you! The Apostle Peter reassures us with these words:

--But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (I Peter 2:9)

Peter is talking to us, the believers in Christ! You and I are especially selected by God, Who loves us, to be His extraordinary people. He has appointed us to function as priests, with the right to enter His holy presence. He has instructed His cherubim to let us pass through the door, and He is sending us to tell others about His wonderful works demonstrating the way He loves all of us. He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, and He has changed us from nonentities into significant somebodies, not because He needs us, but because He loves us!

Visit Do You Know How God Loves You?

June 20, Cherubim

Cherub -- a cute little chubby angel like the ones in fine old oil paintings and scarf collars? Wrong! Are cherubim reincarnate human babies? No! What are they then? They are fiercely powerful beings that guard the glory of God and protect us from danger. When we study the Bible, we must redo our idea of what cherubs look like.

When God turned Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eve, he placed cherubim to guard the gate. (Genesis 3:24) These protectors were not the popular wide-eyed rosy-cheeked soft creatures of mythology.

In the scripture we encounter our Lord, who has infinite supernatural power surrounded by warrior cherubs guarding His glory.

See the devotional on June 20 in Do You Know How God Love You?



Visit Do You Know How God Loves You?