Saturday, April 2, 2016

Ezekiel's Chronicles - Departing of the Shechinah into Exile

The Glory of the Lord, often called the Shechinah / Shekinah appears in Ezekiel as a glowing visible manifestation of something like the Holy Spirit. It moves at will, emits a bright light, and its gender is female.

Ezekiel has the sad story of God's Glory leaving Jerusalem. The Shechinah is being forced into exile, because of and along with the people of Israel. The movement happened in three stages.

1) in Ezekiel 9:3 we read: "Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple and the temple was filled with the cloud and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.

2) The glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD's house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them." Ezekiel 10:18

3) The glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city. And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea. Ezekiel 11:23-24

While the Shechinah remained at the Mount of Olives, Ezekiel was taken back to Babylon.

Ezekiel also records the return of the Shechinah in chapters 40-43, but this is in the future Millennium period. There is another time before that when the Shekinah comes to a future temple:

Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts."

This is referring to John the Immerser and Yeshua the Messiah when he came to the Temple. Where the Messiah is, the Shekinah is not far behind. Acts 1:8: "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple.


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