such a prospect seem unreal and far away? Just as His first coming was real, and His second coming is soon, so His last coming is sure! “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Heb. 6:19).
That is the real world, the eternal world, for which we must prepare in this present world. As we look back to His first coming, we must also look forward to His final coming, for “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4).
The Creationist Testimony in Heaven
An amazing scene appears before our eyes in the fourth chapter of the Book of Revelation. The throne of God is unveiled in the heavens, and around the throne appear four wonderful and mysterious beings. Because the Greek term is zoon (a word from which we derive such words as “zoology”), the King James translators called them simply “beasts”; other versions call them “living ones.” Their respective appearances are said to be those of a lion, a calf, a man and an eagle (Rev. 4:7), and this fact identifies them with the four mighty cherubim of Ezekiel 1:10 and 10:14.
Whenever these remarkable creatures are mentioned in the Bible, they are closely associated with the personal presence of God in His glory. But first of all they are encountered at the gates of Eden, with flaming swords keeping the way of the tree of life after the expulsion of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:24) from the garden.
These are the highest creatures in all the angelic host of heaven. Once there were apparently five cherubim, and the highest of all, the “anointed cherub that covereth” (Ezek. 28:14), was none other than Satan himself. Until iniquity was found in him, this “covering cherub” had been perfect in all his ways. When he rebelled, however, he was “cast to the earth” (Ezek. 28:15–17). After his fall, though his ultimate doom was assured, his created eminence was still so exalted that even Michael the archangel dared not rebuke him directly (Jude 9). Therefore, the unfallen cherubim must be indescribably lofty and majestic!
It is these highest beings among all the heavenly “principalities and powers,” created originally by the eternal Son of God (Col. 1:16), whom the apostle John saw in his great revelation vision of the last days. There, around the throne in the heavens, John heard a great testimony of thanksgiving and praise, led by the cherubim themselves!
“And when those [cherubim] give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne . . . the four and twenty elders fall down before him . . . saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:9–11).
Whether or not the 24 elders represent all the redeemed men and women who will be in heaven, as most expositors believe, it is fitting for us even today to practice this great testimony of thanksgiving, anticipating the sure day to come when we will appear in His presence, where the cherubim dwell, and where they also give thanks to God! If the highest angels worship and rejoice as they thank God for His great creation, so should we.
Then, one day, when God’s great curse on the creation, first occasioned because of the rebellious cherub Satan, is finally removed forever, the four faithful cherubim will swing open the gates of Eden once more, and there will be free access eternally to the tree of life (Rev. 2:7; 22:1–4) and to the presence of our Savior. And so,
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations (Ps. 100:3–5).
1 Bertrand Russell, Religion and Science (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1961), p. 81.
2 Van Rensselaer Potter, “Society and Science,” Science (Volume 146, October 20, 1964), p. 1018.
3 Jeremy Rifkin, Entropy: A New World View (New York, NY: Viking Press, 1980), p. 6.
4 Ibid., p. 55.
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