FBC Westminster
Sunday, April 25th, 2021 - AM - Into the Wilderness, Part Three

      • 1 Kings 4:5KJV

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  • Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
  • Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
  • All the Way My Savior Leads Me

      • Acts 4:5–12KJV

  • Introduction:

    Having considered that we hear God’s Words of promise in our wilderness experiences, and how God is with us in those times of desert wanderings, let us today conclude our pursuit of what makes the wilderness so special as it brings us to the presence of our God in a most profound way, look with me at how our wilderness helps prepare us for an eternity of worshipping God. From our Wilderness, God Wants our Worship.
    There He gives us His Word and we learn of His precious promises, there He guides us, protects, and provides for us, and friend, it is there that He desires our undivided worship of Him as we encounter His glory, His grace and His goodness. Notice,

    III. The Shechinah Glory in Prophecy

    A. The Great Tribulation

    The only passage that somehow relates the Shechinah Glory with the Great Tribulation is Revelation 15:8:
    Revelation 15:8 KJV 1900
    8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
    The Shechinah Glory is connected with the bowl-judgments, which will be the final and most severe series of judgments in the Tribulation. These judgments will bring to a completion the wrath of God. In the Book of Numbers, the Shechinah Glory rendered judgment for sin, and it will do so again in the Great Tribulation.

    B. The Second Coming of the Messiah

    With the Second Coming, there will again be the manifestation of the Shechinah Glory in His visible and physical presence. Matthew 16:27 reads:
    Matthew 16:27 KJV 1900
    27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
    The point of this passage is that the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father. Just as in John 1:14 when men were able to behold the Glory of the Father at the First Coming, it is with the same Glory of the Father that Jesus will return, and it will be seen by men again.
    Another passage relating the Shechinah Glory with the Second Coming is Matthew 24:30:
    Matthew 24:30 KJV 1900
    30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
    Just prior to the Second Coming, the sign of the Son of man will appear in the heavens, and that sign will certainly be the Shechinah Glory, “for the Son of Man will come in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory.” Parallel passages are Mark 13:26 and Luke 21:27.
    Mark 13:26 KJV 1900
    26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
    Luke 21:27 KJV 1900
    27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

    C. The Millennium

    The greatest manifestation of the Shechinah Glory in prophecy, especially to Israel, will be in the Messianic Kingdom. Altogether, there will be a total of five simultaneous manifestations of the Shechinah Glory.

    1. The Millennial Temple

    There will exist a visible manifestation in the Holy of Holies of the Millennial Kingdom. Just as Ezekiel carefully plotted the departure of the Shechinah Glory from Israel, he also prophesied and recorded the future return of the Shechinah Glory in Ezekiel 43:1–7a:
    Ezekiel 43:1–7a KJV 1900
    1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: 2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. 3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. 4 And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. 6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. 7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.
    In verses 1–3, the Shechinah Glory will come from the east, and the earth will shine from its light. To the east of the City of Jerusalem is the Mount of Olives. In other words, the Shechinah Glory will return from the very same direction it had departed in Ezekiel 11:23.
    Ezekiel 11:23 KJV 1900
    23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
    In verse 4, it will come through the Eastern Gate and enter the Holy of Holies of the Millennial Temple in verse 5. Just as the Shechinah Glory departed through the Eastern Gate, it will return through the Eastern Gate as well. Finally, in verses 6–7a, Ezekiel points out that, at this point, the Shechinah Glory will make its permanent residence with Israel. In Hebrew, the words I will dwell have the same root as Shechinah. At long last, the prayers of Moses and Solomon will be answered.
    According to Ezekiel 44:1–2, the Eastern Gate will be shut, never to be reopened again throughout the Millennium as a result of the return of the Shechinah Glory through the Eastern Gate:
    Ezekiel 44:1–2 KJV 1900
    1 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. 2 Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.
    It should be pointed out that the gate Ezekiel is speaking of has nothing to do with the present Golden Gate on the present eastern wall of Jerusalem. Many of the more sensational prophecy buffs have tried to relate this passage to the present Golden Gate. But from the context this cannot be; the present Golden Gate has nothing to do with the Ezekiel passage. The Ezekiel passage is speaking of the Millennial Temple Compound, which will have a totally different wall and gate altogether. Furthermore, this gate is shut because the Shechinah Glory will have reentered Israel through it; the shutting of the gate symbolizes that the Shechinah Glory will not depart from Israel again. Regarding the present Golden Gate, the Shechinah Glory did not enter through it, nor did Yeshua, since the present gate was built centuries after His time.

    2. Mount Zion

    Not only will the Shechinah Glory be in the Holy of Holies of the Millennial Temple, it will also cover the entire new Mount Zion according to Isaiah 4:5–6:
    Isaiah 4:5–6 KJV 1900
    5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, And upon her assemblies, A cloud and smoke by day, And the shining of a flaming fire by night: For upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, And for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
    Here the Shechinah Glory is described as a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Over all the glory, there is a covering giving protection from the heat, storm, and rain. The new Mount Zion, described in various parts of the prophetic Word, will be an exceedingly high mountain with a fifty mile square plateau on top. The new City of Jerusalem will be on the south side, and the Millennial Temple will be on the north side. But over this mountain will be the visible manifestation of the Shechinah Glory in a cloud and smoke and flaming fire, as it was over Mount Sinai and the Tabernacle during the Wilderness Wanderings.

    3. The City of Jerusalem

    The Shechinah Glory will stand and rest especially over Jerusalem, according to Zechariah 2:4–5:
    Zechariah 2:4–5 KJV 1900
    4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls For the multitude of men and cattle therein: 5 For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, And will be the glory in the midst of her.
    The prophet states that Jehovah will be a wall of fire round about Jerusalem and that He will be the glory in the midst of her. These are all manifestations of the Shechinah Glory in relationship to Jerusalem during the Millennial Kingdom.

    4. All Israel

    Fourthly, other passages show that the Shechinah Glory will be with all Israel, not merely in the Temple, or Mount Zion, or the City of Jerusalem.
    That the nations will see the glory of Jehovah in Israel is stated in Isaiah 35:1–2:
    Isaiah 35:1–2 KJV 1900
    1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; And the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice Even with joy and singing: The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, The excellency of Carmel and Sharon, They shall see the glory of the Lord, And the excellency of our God.
    This is brought out again in Isaiah 58:8–9a:
    Isaiah 58:8–9a KJV 1900
    8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, And thine health shall spring forth speedily: And thy righteousness shall go before thee; The glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. 9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, The putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
    Concerning Israel, Isaiah said the light shall break forth as the morning, and … the glory of Jehovah shall be your rereward.
    Also the prophet writes in Isaiah 60:1–3:
    Isaiah 60:1–3 KJV 1900
    1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And gross darkness the people: But the Lord shall arise upon thee, And his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, And kings to the brightness of thy rising.
    In verse 1, the Glory of Jehovah is risen over Israel; in verse 2, His Glory shall be seen in Israel; and in verse 3, the Gentiles shall come to Israel’s brightness.
    The point of all these passages is that the Shechinah Glory will dwell in a visible manifestation with all Israel. For the Gentile nations to experience this visible manifestation, they will have to come to the Jews (Zech. 8:20–23).
    Zechariah 8:20–23 KJV 1900
    20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, And the inhabitants of many cities: 21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, And to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also. 22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come To seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, And to pray before the Lord. 23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, Even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

    5. The Reign of the Messiah

    Fifth, the Shechinah Glory will also be seen in the visible reign of Yeshua the Messiah. This is brought out by Isaiah 11:10:
    Isaiah 11:10 KJV 1900
    10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, Which shall stand for an ensign of the people; To it shall the Gentiles seek: And his rest shall be glorious.
    Also in Isaiah 40:5:
    Isaiah 40:5 KJV 1900
    5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together: For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
    Jesus will again be a visible manifestation of the Shechinah Glory in the form of the God Man without the veiling, while other manifestations will be in the forms of cloud, fire, and smoke. All of this will be related to Israel, for it is with Israel that the Shechinah Glory will dwell in every one of its manifestations.

    D. The Eternal Order

    The Millennium will last only 1,000 years, and then history will enter the period of the Eternal Order. But here, too, the Shechinah Glory will be evident. John makes this emphasis in Revelation 21:1–3:
    Revelation 21:1–3 KJV 1900
    1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
    Verses 1 describe the New Jerusalem, but then verse 3 describes the new presence of God in Jerusalem: the tabernacle of God will be with men and He will dwell with men. The word dwell is the Greek word skeinei, which means “to tabernacle.” Just as it was with the Old Testament, so it will be in the Eternal Order, the Shechinah Glory will tabernacle with men, although there will be no Tabernacle or Temple per se.
    Jerusalem will have the Glory of God because of this “tabernacling” with men, according to Revelation 21:10–11:
    Revelation 21:10–11 KJV 1900
    10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
    Since Jerusalem will have the Glory of God because of God’s dwelling with men, there will be certain results, according to Revelation 21:23–24:
    Revelation 21:23–24 KJV 1900
    23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
    Because the Shechinah Glory will be there, there will be no need of natural light from the sun or the moon, nor artificial light of the lamp. The Shechinah Glory will provide all the light that will be necessary, and all the inhabitants will be able to walk in that light.
    So it will be for all eternity.
    [Study Outline adapted in large part from: Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Bible Study Collection, vol. 22 (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1983), 20–24.]

      • Revelation 15KJV

      • Revelation 15:8KJV

      • Matthew 16:27KJV

      • Matthew 24:30KJV

      • Mark 13:26KJV

      • Luke 21:27KJV

      • Ezekiel 43:1–7aKJV

      • Ezekiel 11:23KJV

      • Ezekiel 44:1–2KJV

      • Isaiah 4:5–6KJV

      • Zechariah 2:4–5KJV

      • Isaiah 35:1–2KJV

      • Isaiah 58:8–9aKJV

      • Isaiah 60:1–3KJV

      • Zechariah 8:20–23KJV

      • Isaiah 11:10KJV

      • Isaiah 40:5KJV

      • Revelation 21:1–3KJV

      • Revelation 21:10–11KJV

      • Revelation 21:23–24KJV

      • Genesis 18:2–3KJV

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