Doctrine of Shekinah Glory

July 23, 2010

Doctrine of the Shekinah Glory

Jesus Christ, the Shekinah Glory of Israel, lived in the Holy of Holies, Ex 25:2122; Lev 26:1112; Ps 91:1; Heb 9:5.
His presence was manifest by a cloud above the tabernacle by day and a pillar of fire by night, so that the Jews could always tell when Jesus Christ was present in the tabernacle.

1. The word “Shekinah” is not found in the Bible. It is found repeatedly in the Mishnah and Talmud referring to the visible manifestation of the glory of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.

2. “Shekinah” is derived from the Hebrew noun SHAKAN which means to dwell. It was used to express the presence of the invisible God in Israel.

3. Since Jesus Christ as the God of Israel was invisible to the Jews, He was understood through the various categories of doctrinal teaching presented in the O.T.
a. articles of sacred furniture
b. feast days and holy days
c. rituals of the priests
d. the priests uniforms

4. There are three categories of manifestations of Jesus Christ during the dispensation of Israel.
1. Theophanies appeared to Old Testament believers.
2. During the First Advent, Jesus Christ became flesh and “tabernacled among us,” according to Jn 1:14, for thirty-three years.
3. Christophanies were the manifestations of Jesus Christ in resurrection body before His ascension.

5. The Shekinah Glory, relates only to theophanies. There are two categories of theophanies as
appearances of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. The examples are not exhaustive.
(1) Animate.
(a) As the angel of the Lord, Jehovah.
(b) As a man in human form, He visited Abraham and wrestled with Jacob.
(2) Inanimate.
(a) The cloud and glory of the Lord, Ex 40:34-38.
(b) A pillar of cloud at the entrance to the Tabernacle, a different kind of cloud, Ex 33:9.
(c) A pillar of fire.
(d) The burning bush.

6. The title, Shekinah, refers to the invisible presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy of Holies, enthroned on the mercy seat between the cherubs, Ex 25:21-22, and the cloud over the tabernacle and sometimes in the tabernacle.
Psalm 99:1 The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.
Isaiah 37:16 “O LORD of hosts [armies], God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

7. “Glory” is the Hebrew Biblical word KABODH, used for the visible manifestations of Jesus Christ as a theophany Ex. 16:7,10; Lev 9:23; Num 14:10, 16:19, 42, 20:6 So Jesus Christ, the person, the Shekinah part, was invisible. Jesus Christ, the theophany, was visible at various times to various groups in Israel.
8. If the indwelling of Christ in the sacred buildings of Israel is unique and without precedent in human history, how much more is the indwelling of Christ in the body of every believer unique and without precedent!

B. Scripture.
1. Ex 40:35, “And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”
2. Ex 16:10, “And behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.”
3. Num 16:42, “And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.”
4. Heb 9:5, “And above the ark of the covenant, the cherubs of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.”
5. Isa 37:16, “O Lord of the Armies, O God of Israel, who sits between the cherubs, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth.”
6. Ps 99:1, “The Lord rules. He sits between the cherubs.”
7. Rom 9:4, “Who are the Israelites, to whom is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants.”
8. Only the high priest was permitted to enter the holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement to offer blood. He sprinkled the blood over the mercy seat, which contained sin, as the atonement for man’s sin.The holiness of God the Father was satisfied with the blood of ChristHis sacrifice on the Cross
The Shekinah Glory emphasized the true heritage of Israel in regeneration.
9. The Shekinah Glory emphasized the fact that God guaranteed temporal blessings while Israel was on earth and eternal blessings for believers afterwards. The Shekinah Glory dwelt between the Cherubs as a guarantee of Israel’s blessings as a client nation toGod.
For example, the Shekinah Glory guaranteed that Abraham would have an eternal city, the new Jerusalem, suspended above the earth.
C. The Shekinah Glory is the sign of great blessing to Israel.
1. In Isa 7:14, “Immanuel” means “God with us.”
2. John 1:14, “And the word became flesh and He tabernacled among us.”
3. In the flesh, Jesus Christ lives in the prototype divine domain and not in the tabernacle.
“We observed His glory, the glory [the Shekinah Glory] of the unique One from the
Father.”
God the Father sent the Shekinah Glory to men to guarantee that escrow blessings were on deposit for those who accepted Him as Savior.
D. The change of residence of the Shekinah Glory
The change of residence of the Shekinah Glory established a transition between the First
Advent and the dispensation of the Church.
1. In the Church Age, there is a new way of live because we are new creatures “in Christ”.
2. In the Old Testament, it was all ritual. That’s why the Shekinah Glory dwelt between the
cherubs as a part of the ritual.
3. This is why we are new creatures in Christ.
a. We have the indwelling of Christ as the guarantee that our escrow blessings for time
are available to us now.
b. 2 Cor 3:1718, “Now the Lord is the Spirit [deity of the Holy Spirit], and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Now we all with an unveiled face [filling of the Holy Spirit] looking into a mirror [Bible doctrine] to produce a reflection [the manifestation of the Shekinah Glory who indwells us], namely the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image [the plan of God transforms the believer into reflected glory of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Shekinah Glory, so that we fulfill the mandate of Eph 5:1 "keep on becoming imitators of Christ"] from glory to glory [from the humanity of Christ living in the prototype divine domain to the momentum of the believer in the operational type divine domain; this also means from the glory of the escrow blessing guaranteed by the indwelling of Christ to the glory of escrow blessing in eternity] as it were from the Spirit of the Lord.”