God's Throne of Grace - His Mercy Seat

Many scholars have observed that almost all expressions employed in describing the significance of the tabernacle are also used in reference to heaven. That is because the earthly tabernacle was patterned after the one in heaven (Exodus 25:9, 40; 26:30; 27:8; Numbers 8:4; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:1-5; 9:11-12).

How is it possible for a thrice holy God to dwell in the midst of a sinful people? God's arrangement in both the Old and New Testaments is by means of the blood of the sin-offering sprinkled on the Mercy Seat--God's throne of mercy.

The throne of God is a blood sprinkled throne. There is no other approach to a holy God."Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Nothing was left to chance in something as serious as a holy and righteous God meeting with sinful man and woman"The sole purpose of the Bible is to point to God's purpose, which is to reconcile sinful man to God through Jesus Christ "...devils in beautiful buildings." This was serious business. The Tabernacle symbolized the only way in which a guilty sinner could approach God."His Mercy Seat God’s beneficent mercy, a mercy he can take away at a whim.Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it."

God revealed the way of approach for man in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. Man can come to God only through the shedding of blood. We have observed incipient teaching on this subject in Genesis 3:21; 4:4; 8:20-21; 15:12ff; 22:8ff, and Exodus 12:13, 23.

The clear teaching in the Tabernacle symbolism is the atonement for the guilty sinner on the Mercy Seat. God declared His holiness and revealed the purpose of redemption. He declared how He could be a just God and at the same time justify the guilty sinner (Romans 3:26-30).

The Tabernacle vividly pictured the place of sacrifice in the flowing and sprinkling of the blood and the coming of the perfect Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world. Inwardly it symbolized the place where God met with sinful man on the Mercy Seat.

The Tabernacle was composed of two rooms separated by a thick veil or woven curtain. The first room was entered from the outside and was called the Holy Place. The second room was entered through the Holy Place and was called the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies. There was only one piece of furniture in the Holy of Holies and it was the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat on top of it.
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

The Ark of the Covenant was a chest about 23 inches wide, 39 inches long, and 23 inches high, made of wood and covered inside and out on all sides with gold. Inside this chest was a golden jar containing manna, the two tablets of the Law and Aaron's budded rod. The chest was mounted on four legs and had four rings for two gold-covered poles by which the ark was carried. King David called the Ark "the footstool of our God" (1 Chronicles 28:2).

The Ark contained the testimony of God to Israel. The Ark of the Covenant was "covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant" (Hebrews 9:4, NASB 1995). The service of the Tabernacle was meaningless and valueless without the Ark of the Covenant. It symbolized the place where God upon His throne met with His people.

Jewish scholars have often noted the Ark was a symbol that God was present among His people and that His covenant blessing was resting upon them. The whole sanctuary was built for no other purpose, but to be as it were a house, a habitation for the Ark (cf. Ex. 26:33).

The Ark contained the tables of the covenant or Ten Commandments that expressed the obligations of the chosen people of God. Christ is the only person who has ever lived up to demands of the law.

The Ark also contained a pot of manna as a testimony of God's provision for His people during their forty year journey before they entered into the promised land. It foreshadowed Christ as the Bread of Life. The daily provision of manna was God's grace meeting the need of His people in the wilderness.

The third item was Aaron's budded rod that reminded the people of the revolt against the leadership of Moses and Aaron (Num. 17). Aaron's rod had brought forth buds, and blossomed, and yielded almonds. It was a testimony against the rebels. The dead rod of almond wood came to life and bore fruit, just as God's chosen Messiah came to life after His crucifixion and bears fruit even today.

The Ark is known by various names in the Old Testament. It is "the ark of the testimony" (Ex. 25:22), "ark of the covenant" (Num. 10:33), "ark of the covenant of the LORD" (Josh. 3:17), "the Ark of God" (1 Sam. 3:3), "the Ark of the LORD God" (Yahweh) (1 Kin. 2:26). It is "the holy ark" in 2 Chronicles 35:3, and "the ark of Thy strength" (Ps. 132:8).

It was carried about in the wilderness from one camping place to another with two golden covered poles born on the shoulders of the Levites (Ex. 25:12-15; cf. 2 Sam. 6:2-11).



The Ark of the Covenant typified the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Mercy Seat is where God received the representative of His blood-cleansed people. It was the place or mercy.

THE MERCY SEAT

A solid slab of pure gold formed the lid on top of the Ark, and it was called the Mercy Seat or kapporeth. It was the cover, or lid placed on the Ark and signified the covering or removal of sins by means of expiatory sacrifice. The Mercy Seat signifies the place of propitiation. It received its name from the blood of propitiation which was sprinkled on it on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16).  It is the place where justice and mercy meet. The blood of the innocent victim on the Mercy Seat met the holy demands of God's Law. The Old Testament throne of grace was the place where God exhibited His presence, and met man in His grace.

The chest lid of solid pure gold was 23 inches x 39 inches and the most valuable of all the holy vessels. It had two cherubim (pl. of "cherub") facing each other molded onto the lid. These golden cherubim probably resembled winged angels in God’s presence symbolizing His holiness.

Exodus 25:17-22 describes the Mercy Seat.

You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.

The Mercy Seat was God's throne here on earth in the midst of His chosen people. Within the Holy of Holies was the Shekinah glory, which symbolized in visible representation God's presence between the cherubim over the Mercy Seat. In the sprinkling of the blood on the Day of Atonement, a holy God met sinful man on the Mercy Seat.

The Tabernacle made it clear that the sinner could not approach God in his own merit. He stood condemned in the eyes of God. "The soul that sins will surely die" (Ezekiel 18:4). "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). That is not the figment of the imagination or the paranoia of a sick mind. It is the objective truth. Sin separates man from God. A holy God shut sinful man out of the Tabernacle by the walls and the veils. Our sins shut us out from the presence of a thrice holy God.

Only on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, once a year, did a sole person enter the veil of the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the Mercy Seat (Leviticus 16:13-16). "Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times" (Leviticus 16:14). It foretold in picture form the day when our Great High Priest would enter the veil and make atonement for our sins. The blood of the sin offering was sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat which constituted Yahweh's throne. There His infinite holiness and justice met with His mercy. God was satisfied with the substitutionary sacrifice for sin.

CHRIST IS OUR MERCY SEAT

Upon His throne of grace, the LORD God met sinful man at Calvary. Jesus Christ shed His pure holy blood for our sins once-for-all turning away the wrath of God and tearing down the wall that separates us. At the cross God judged and dealt with our sin. Cf. Hebrews 10:10-14, 19-31; Romans 5:8-10; 1 Peter 3:18; Ephesians 2:13.

Christ is our Mercy Seat (Romans 3:24-25). He is our "propitiatory sacrifice." The believing sinner is "justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed . . . "

The Greek word translated "propitiation" or "a propitiatory sacrifice" in Romans 3:25 is identical to the one translated "mercy seat" in Hebrews 9:5. Our sins were removed by means of the expiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Christ is our Mercy Seat by virtue of the propitiation which He offered to God. He is our "propitiation" (1 John 2:2; 4:10). He is the sacrifice that satisfied the offended justice of God. The righteous demands of God were met and satisfied by the death of Christ on the cross.

"He (Christ) had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17). "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).

Jesus Christ entered a Tabernacle not made with hands. "Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer" (Hebrews 8:1-3). "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:11-12).

What does God see when you go into His presence? He sees the blood of Jesus (10:19-22). When He sees the blood He knows all His claims against us have been met at every point and His righteousness has been exalted by the death of Jesus. He no longer has judgment against us. He invites us to draw near to Him.

Jesus Christ is our propitiatory sacrifice. He is the only means of turning away the righteous wrath of God toward the offending sinner. The pagan idea of propitiation is not found in the New Testament concept of propitiation. Man in his sinful nature cannot change the disposition of a holy and righteous God. Sinful man cannot bring a holy God into a favorable attitude. God is propitiated by His own provision made in the vicarious, substitutionary expiatory sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ at Calvary. Man sinned and brought upon himself the wrath of God. Jesus annuls the power of sin to separate God and man. Jesus Christ is our covering for sin. His one sacrifice embodies all of the symbolic sacrifices in the teachings of the Tabernacle.

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).

God's wrath is His settled, controlled, holy antagonism against all sin. The propitiation is the appeasement of the wrath of God by the love of God through the gift of God. Jesus Christ is the Great High Priest and at the same time the perfect sacrifice for our sins. God took the initiative in His sheer unmerited love and turned His own wrath away by His own blood. God's perfect justice has now been satisfied. Our sin debt has been dealt with in full payment. The holiness of God is now satisfied. Therefore God's wrath has been turned away. Thank God! If we choose to go to hell it is because of our own choice. God has made perfect covering of our sins on His Mercy Seat.

The apostle Paul summarized beautifully what God was doing. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:19-21). A righteous and holy God sees the blood of Jesus that has made atonement for our sin, and He sees the believer clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ.

God came to where man was to meet him in fellowship. When the sinner could not go to heaven because of his coming short of the glory of God, God in the person of His Son came from heaven to earth "that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). God issues an invitation for each of us to "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Let's "keep on drawing near" with confidence to the place where God meets us in Christ.

"Jesus Paid It All!
All to Him I owe."

God's Wrath: "Vengeance Is Mine, I Will Repay," Says the Lord
February 27, 2005 | by John Piper | Scripture: Romans 12:19–21 | Topic: The Wrath of God
Series: Romans: The Greatest Letter Ever Written
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Romans 12:19–21

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave itto the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Here we have in verse 19 the phrase “wrath of God.” “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” Last time we focused on the psychology of this verse and how it works to free us from the burden taking justice into our own hands. We focused on implications of the word “for” in verse 19: “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” Since God is going to take up your cause and see to it that justice is done, you can lay it down. You don’t have to carry anger and bitterness and resentment and revenge. Indeed you dare not. Jesus warned that an unforgiving heart will destroy you in the end (Matthew 6:15 ; 18:35 ).

The Reality of God’s Wrath

But today I want to focus not on the psychology of the verse but the divine reality that makes the psychology work, namely, the reality of God’s wrath. Paul says in verse 19, “Leave it to the wrath of God.” Then the wrath of God is defined further as God’s vengeance, “Vengeance is mine.” So wrath is connected with God’s response to something that deserves vengeance. And then it says, “I will repay.” So God’s wrath is treated as a repayment to man for something man has done.

So just taking this verse alone, with its pieces, we could venture a definition of the wrath of God like this: the wrath of God is God’s settled anger toward sin expressed in the repayment of suitable vengeance on the guilty sinner.

Four Characteristics of the Final Wrath of God

The reason I use the word anger to define part of what wrath is that the two words (orge and thumos) are used over a hundred times in the Bible side by side. Some of them are parallel so that you can hardly distinguish them. For example, Psalm 6:1 , “O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.” Psalm 90:7 , “We are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.” Hosea 13:11 , “I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath.” Romans 2:8 , “For those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury [anger].”

When you try to distinguish these words the closest you get is something like this from A. T. Robertson: God’s anger (thumos) is his vehement fury or boiling rage. His wrath (orge) is his settled indignation or his settled anger. In other words, in God’s anger the emphasis falls on the emotional, boiling intensity of it. And in God’s wrath the emphasis falls on the controlled, settled, considered direction and focus of its application. But we dare not draw a hard line between them. God’s anger is never out of the control of his wisdom and righteousness, and his wrath is never cool or indifferent, but is always a wisely directed fury. The wrath of God is never less than a perfect judicial decree, but is always more than a perfect judicial decree because it is always full of right and fitting fury.

And then we see from the word “repay” and “vengeance” that God’s wrath is his response to sin. God does not take vengeance on the innocent. When he repays with vengeance, we know there has been sin—there is something to repay. And since he is meticulously just, that repayment will be a suitable vengeance, a proper vengeance. It will not be more or less than his perfect justice demands. So here is the definition again: The wrath of God is God’s settled anger toward sin expressed in the repayment of suitable vengeance on the guilty sinner.

What shall we say then about this wrath? Perhaps in the limits of one message we can take note of four things. If we focus on the wrath of God that falls on human beings at the final judgment, we can say at least these four things about it: 1) It will be eternal—having no end. 2) It will be terrible—indescribable pain. 3) It will be deserved—totally just and right. 4) It will have been escapable—through the curse-bearing death of Christ, if we would have taken refuge in him.

1. The final wrath of God is eternal—having no end.

In Daniel 12:2  God promises that the day is coming when “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Jesus spoke of the eternity of God’s wrath in numerous ways. Consider three. In Mark 9:43-48 , he said,

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

So twice he calls the fires of hell “unquenchable” that is, they will never go out. The point of that is to say soberly and terribly, that if you go there, there will be no relief for ever and ever.

Second, in Mark 3:29  Jesus says, “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” This is a startling statement. It rules out all those thoughts of universalism that say, even if there is a hell, one day it will be emptied after people have suffered long enough. No. That is not what Jesus said. He said that there is sin for which there will never be forgiveness. There are people who will never be saved. They are eternally lost.

Third, in Matthew 25 he told the parable of the sheep and the goats to illustrate the way it will be when Jesus comes back to save his people and punish the unbelievers. In verse 41 he says, “Then [the king] will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” And to make crystal clear that eternal means everlasting he says again in verse 46, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” So the punishment is eternal in the same way that life is eternal. Both mean: never-ending. Everlasting. It is an almost incomprehensible thought. O, let it have its full effect on you. Jesus did not intend to speak this way in vain.

After the teaching of Jesus, the apostle Paul put the eternity of God’s wrath this way in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 :

The Lord Jesus [will be] revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.

Destruction does not mean obliteration or annihilation, any more than the destruction of the enemy army means the defeated soldiers do not exist any more. It means they are undone. They are defeated. They and stripped of all that makes life pleasant. They are made miserable forever.

Finally, the great apostle of love, the apostle John, who gives us the sweet words of John 3:16 , used the strongest language for the eternal duration of the wrath of God: “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:11 ). And Revelation 19:3 , “The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” These are the strongest phrases for eternity that Biblical writers could use.

So the first thing we must say about the wrath of God at the end of the age that comes upon those who do not embrace Christ as Savior and Lord, is that it is eternal—it will never end.

2. The final wrath of God will be terrible—indescribable pain.

Consider some of the word pictures of God’s wrath in the New Testament. And as you consider them remember the folly of saying, “But aren’t those just symbols? Isn’t fire and brimstone just a symbol?” I say beware of that, because it does not serve your purpose. Suppose fire is a symbol. Do people use symbols of horror because the reality is less horrible or more horrible than the symbols? I don’t know of anyone who uses symbolic language for horrible realities when literal language would make it sound more horrible.

People grasp for symbols of horror (or beauty) because the reality they are trying to describe is worse (or better) than they can put into words. If I say, “My wife is the diamond of my life,” I don’t want you to say, “Oh, he used a symbol of something valuable; it’s only a symbol. So his wife must not be as valuable as a diamond.” No. I used the symbol of the most valuable jewel I could think of because my wife is far more precious than jewels. Honest symbols are not used because they go beyond reality, but because reality goes beyond words.

So when the Bible speaks of hell-fire, woe to us if we say, “It’s only a symbol.” If it is a symbol at all, it means the reality is worse than fire, not better. The word “fire” is used not to make the easy sound terrible, but to make the exceedingly terrible sound something like what it really is.

So Jesus says in Matthew 13:41-42 , “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (see verse 49). Then he adds at least three more terrible images of God’s wrath besides fire.

He pictures it as a master returning and finding his servant disobeying his commands, and he “will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:51 ). The wrath of God is like cutting someone in pieces.
Then he pictures it as darkness: “The sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12 ). The wrath of God is like being totally blind forever.
Finally he quotes Isaiah 66:24  and says “Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48 ). In Isaiah 66:24  God says, “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
In Revelation 6:15-16 , the apostle John adds that the wrath of God—indeed the wrath of Jesus himself—will be so terrible that every class of human beings will cry out for rocks to crush them rather than face the wrath:

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb."

The last picture of horror that I will mention is the final one of the Bible, namely, the lake of fire. It is called the “second death” in Revelation 20:14 , “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” Revelation 2:11  says that those who conquer—that is, believers in Jesus—“will not be hurt by the second death,” implying that those who do not believe will be. Revelation 20:15  makes that explicit: “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Then verse 10 adds, “They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Therefore, I consider it a gentle understatement to say, “The final wrath of God will be terrible—indescribable pain.” And putting the first and second truths together: This terrible, indescribably painful wrath will last for ever. There will be no escape. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the day of God’s patience. After you die, there will be no offer of salvation and no way to obtain it.

3. The wrath of God will be deserved—totally just and right.

Paul labored to show this in the first part of this letter to the Romans. Let me remind you of how he said it: “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18 ). Wrath does not come without warrant. It is deserved. The truth of God is known (Romans 1:19-20 ). And the truth is suppressed. And the fruit is ungodliness and unrighteousness. And on that comes wrath (Ephesians 5:6 ; Colossians 3:6 ).

He says it even more explicitly in Romans 2:5 , “Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” We are responsible. We are storing up wrath with every act of indifference to Christ. With every preference for anything over God. With every quiver of our affection for sin and every second of our dull affections for God.

Then he says it once more in Romans 3:5-6 , “If our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world?” Nothing was clearer for the inspired apostle than that God is just and God will judge the world in terrible wrath.

And lest you think that your sins do not deserve this kind of wrath, ponder these four things:

It was one sin alone that brought the entire world under the judgment of God, and brought death upon all people (Genesis 2:17 ; Romans 5:12 ). And you have not committed one sin, but tens of thousands of sins.
Consider James 2:10 , “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” Not only have you sinned tens of thousands of times, but each one had in it the breaking of the entire law of God.
Consider Galatians 3:10 , “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’” The wrath of God’s curse falls on us for not obeying all that is commanded. One failure and the curse falls.
Consider that any offense and any dishonor to an infinitely honorable and infinitely worthy God, is an infinite offense and an infinite dishonor. Therefore, an infinite punishment is deserved.
Which leaves one last point to make. And Oh, how crucial it is! How precious it is. How infinitely beautiful it is.

4. At the end of the age, when the full and final wrath of God is poured out, it will have been escapable.

That means it is escapable now. You do not have to spend eternity under the wrath of God if you will receive God’s Son as your Savior and Lord and Treasure. Why is that? How can that be? Because God so loved the world that he sent his own infinitely valuable Son to absorb the infinite wrath of God against all who take refuge in him. Listen with trembling wonder and gratitude and faith to this precious statement from Galatians 3:13 , “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'"

Christ bore the curse of God’s wrath for all who come to him and believe in him and glory in the shelter of his blood and righteousness. Come. Come. He is infinitely worthy.

Last Supper for Christ
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat;[b] this is My body which is broken[c] for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

Last Supper for Satan
Lucifer:This is my blodd spilled by my enemies drink it and vanquish.This is my flesh made foul with sin, eat it and rejoice in my new kingdom.Woe to those who oppose me for they shall be cut down like winter wheat.My wrath shall sweep like a dark tide over the suffering land.Oh woe to those who stand in the path of my righteousness.Oh woe.




"All of these verses clearly show us that God is 100 percent against pre-marital sex and that He commands us to not take part in pre-marital sex. It doesn't matter what all of your friends are doing or what you see in movies or videos or even what unmarried people who live in your own house are doing. God's Word has not changed. God is today and has always been against His children participating in pre-marital sex! God wants us to have sexual relations with our husband or wife only. 1 Corinthians 7:2 reads "To avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband."

Only two of God's angels are directly named in the Bible, the Archangel Michael and Gabriel, God's special messenger. So these two angels must be special angels!

Another important rank of angels are Archangels.

Archangels
The term or prefix 'arch' is Greek for ruling or Chief. Archangels are only mentioned twice in the Bible and only one angel is specifically called an Archangel, Michael 1.

The only other time the word Archangel appears in the Bible is to do with the end of time 2.

Both of these cases, speak of a singular Archangel which could suggest that there is only one arch or ruler angel and that indeed is Michael.

There is a strong Jewish tradition that says there are seven Archangels and many think that the seven angels mentioned in the book of Revelation could be seven Archangels 3.

In the Old Testament book of Daniel, Michael is called 'one of the chief princes', which might suggest that there's more than one archangel 4!

During the the middle ages, an 'angelic' hierarchy was written by an author only known as ' Pseudo-Dionysius'. In this list of nine ranks, archangels are ranked second from bottom, which seems rather strange for a 'ruling angel'!

According to Jewish tradition (but not the Bible!) the seven archangels are:

Michael
Gabriel
Rapheal
Uriel
Raguel
Saraqael
Remiel
Out of the seven, only Michael and Gabriel are named in the Bible (Only Michael is called an archangel in the Bible.). An angel called Raphael has a major part in the book of Tobit 5.

The book of Tobit is part of a group of books known as the the Protestant Apocrypha [these books are a collection that are considered important, but are not in the Bible and not considered sacred by Protestants] and the Catholic and Orthodox Deuterocanon [most Catholics and Orthodox Christians consider these books to be sacred]. The other four 'archangels' are listed in the book of Enoch. This book is in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha [a group of books considered sacred by the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians] 6.

In the Occult/New Age there is a different list the seven angels, known as the 'Angels of Revelation', each of which is linked to their 'planet'. These are:

Michael - the Sun
Raphael - Mercury
Uriel - Venus
Melchizedek - Earth
Gabriel - the Earth's Moon
Samael - Mars
Zachariel - Jupiter
Orifiel - Saturn
Personally, I don't trust this list at all; it has no connection what so ever with the seven angels mentioned in the book of Revelation in the Bible! A person called Melchizedek is named in the Bible but not as an angel!

However, in his 'cosmic trilogy' (fiction), the Christian writer C S Lewis associates 'heavenly beings' and planets, which each planet in our solar system having its own heavenly being.

So we don't really know how many archangels there are, but there's one for certain and that's Michael.

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Michael
The Archangel Michael is one of only three angels that are named in the Bible (the others being Gabriel and Lucifer, the original name of Satan / The Devil). We are told that he is 'one of the chief princes', 'the great prince', 'a mighty warrior' and 'leader of other angels'. He is God's enforcer of law and judgement and is the only angel specifically called an archangel in the Bible 7.

The name Michael means 'Who is like God?' (notice the question mark). Michael appears to have a special role in guarding the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. In Jewish tradition, Michael is the author of Psalm 85, which is a sad poem about the suffering of the nation of Israel. He has also been associated with the 'man' who spoke to Joshua at the battle of Jericho 8.

In his role as chief warrior angel, it could well Michael's voice that announces the return of Jesus to earth 9.

It is thought that is was Michael who fought with, and threw out the Devil/Satan/Lucifer from Heaven (when the Satan revolted against God and tried to take God's place) and that Michael became the 'top angel' in the Satan's place.

He is often depicted wearing medieval armour, ready for battle - very appropriate for his warrior role!

In some Christian traditions, Michael is said to have appeared to Mary (Jesus' mother) to tell her that she would die soon and that he carried her deceased body into heaven. (Some Catholics believe that Mary didn't die but that she was taken straight to heaven, by Michael or by Jesus.)

In Islam, Michael is known as Mikail and the Koran says that he sheds tears over the sins of the faithful and these tears become the angels known as the Cherubim.

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Gabriel
The name Gabriel means 'God's Hero' and he is God's special messenger angel. On several occasions in the Bible he is given the job of coming to earth to give important announcements and tell of special events 10.

So it was Gabriel who had the amazing job of telling Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus, the king of the universe! It's also highly likely that it was Gabriel who spoke to Joesph and told him that Mary would have a special baby called Jesus 11.

Nowhere in the Bible is Gabriel called an archangel, although in Jewish folklore he is one of the seven archangels. In Daniel 9:21 it says that Gabriel arrives in 'swift flight', but it doesn't mention wings! Swift flight could just mean quickly!

ARCHANGELS

and

GUARDIAN ANGELS

compiled by Dee Finney

Angels were created as messengers of God.
The Scriptures reveal that God created nine orders of angels:
Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Archangels, and Angels.
Out of this order come the familiar seven Archangels which include
Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and the fallen Lucifer.

The Eighth Choir - The Archangels, The seven angels that stood before God in Revelations are considered
to be the Archangels. Although it is agreed that there were seven Archangels, there has been some debate on who
the seven were. Most accounts name, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, the remaining three are generally chosen
from Metatron, Remiel, Sariel, Anael, Raguel and Raziel. The Archangels were the divine messengers between
the humans and God. Of the nine choirs the Archangels are probably best known to us. They are the battlers
of the Sons of Darkness.

Lucifer, whose ambitions were a distortion of God's plan, is known to us through the various religious teachings
as the fallen angel, with the use of many names, among which are Satan, Belial, Beelzebub and the Devil.
Because of the variety of teachings, we have come to 'untruth' when it comes to this most beautiful of angels
whose name means ' Light' .

Raphael




FROM: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12640b.htm

The name of this archangel (Raphael = "God  has healed") does not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the Septuagint only in the Book of Tobias. Here he first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of the younger Tobias, calling himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". The story of the adventurous journey during which the protective influence of the angel is shown in many ways including the binding "in the desert of upper Egypt" of the demon who had previously slain seven husbands of Sara, daughter of Raguel, is picturesquely related in Tobit 5-11, to which the reader is referred. After the return and the healing of the blindness of the elder Tobias, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tob., xii, 15. Cf. Apoc., viii, 2). Of these seven "archangels" which appear in the angelology of post-Exilic Judaism, only three, Gabriel, Michael and Raphael, are mentioned in the canonical Scriptures. The others, according to the Book of Enoch (cf. xxi) are Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel, while from other apocryphal sources we get the variant names Izidkiel, Hanael, and Kepharel instead of the last three in the other list.

Regarding the functions attributed to Raphael we have little more than his declaration to Tobias (Tobit 12) that when the latter was occupied in his works of mercy and charity, he (Raphael) offered his prayer to the Lord, that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sara, his son's wife, from the devil. The Jewish category of the archangels is recognized in the New Testament (I Thess., iv, 15; Jude, 9), but only Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name. Many commentators, however, identify Raphael with the "angel of the Lord" mentioned in John 5. This conjecture is base both on the significance of the name and on the healing role attributed to Raphael in the Book of Tobias. The Church assigns the feast of St. Raphael to 24 October. The hymns of the Office recall the healing power of the archangel and his victory over the demon. The lessons of the first Nocturn and the Antiphons of the entire Office are taken from the Book of Tobias, and the lessons of the second and third Nocturns from the works of St. Augustine, viz. for the second Nocturn a sermon on Tobias (sermon I on the fifteenth Sunday), and for the third, a homily on the opening verse of John, v. The Epistle of the Mass is taken from the twelfth chapter of Tobias, and the Gospel from John 5:1-4, referring to the pool called Probatica, where the multitude of the infirm lay awaiting the moving of the water, for "an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved.And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". Thus the conjecture of the commentators referred to above is confirmed by the official Liturgy of the Church.

Vigouroux, Dict. de la Bible, s. v. Raphael.

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Raphael ("God has healed" or 'the shining one who heals"): Although a seraph, Raphael is also mentioned as being a member of the cherubim, dominations and powers. He has be attributed as the chief of virtues, although that ranking has also been given to Michael, and also can be considered head of the guardian angels. His most notable appearance in scripture is his guiding of young Tobias in the apocryphal book of Tobit where he teaches the lad about medicine and demon exorcising among other things. Also in his role as healer, it is Raphael who eases the pain of Abraham after his circumcision, and healing Jacob's thigh after Jacob wrestles with another angel. He is also considered to be a patron of the sciences as well as medicine, teaching Noah how to construct the ark before the flood, and teaching Solomon how to bind demons into slave labor when Solomon's Temple was being built.  Raphael is often depicted carrying a pilgrim's staff.

Raphael:  is the Watcher of the North - aka prime planet of health, long life and good fortune - aka The Great Doctor - Situate 5.10 Leo sidereally - aka REGULUS or Cor Leonis or Qalb Al Asad (Lion's Heart or King's Heart) in Leo

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Raphael = Associated with the Air element
Raphael rules over the day of Wednesday and the Planet Mercury
The Planet Mercury rules over the Tree of Life Sephirah 8 (Hod - Splendor), The Greek Deity Hermes, The Alchemical Metal Quicksilver, and Reflective Intelligence.
Colour: Sky Blue and Gold
This Archangel is 'over the spirits of men' Also called St. Raphael, this Archangel is 'the Shining One who Heals'. His symbol is the sun. Raphael protects travellers and heals the sick and injured, granted the gift of healing by God. While Raphael is also the angel of Science and Knowledge, he is equally known to be charming and funloving.

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Twin Flame / Divine Complement / Twin Ray: = Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Also known as: Lord Raphael, Archangel of Healing, Archangel of the Fifth Ray, Archangel of Consecration and Dedication.

Historical and Literary References: Raphael's Name means "God has healed" and "the Medicine of God"., Raphael's interaction with Tobias is described in the Book of Tobias in the Catholic Bible. The Book of Tobias is omitted from the Protestant Bible.

Vibration / Ray / Flame: Emerald, Green

Service to Life: Healing of body, mind, soul, and spirit. Inspiration for the study and practice of music, mathematics, science, and both traditional and alternative medicine. Meeting of physical needs such as food, clothing, shelter, tools of your trade. Repairing of rifts between nations. Inspiration for new cures for diseases.

Angels: Healing Angels. Angels of Healing, Legions of the Fifth Ray, Legions of Healing, Legions of Emerald-Green Fire, Legions of Emerald-Green Lightning
Gabriel