Binyam TA – COMING WITH CLOUDS J. Preston Eby, There is no other…

COMING WITH CLOUDS J. Preston Eby, There is no other writer that I can think of who opens up the spiritual
meaning of verses in the Bible more than J. Preston Eby. Below is a part of
a series of articles which he wrote regarding the coming of the Lord. Below
is a piece of that series dealing with the subject of “clouds.” I believe the
spiritually hungry reader will have no difficulty deciding which method of
reading the Bible produces the richest understanding of its content. –Gary
Amirault

KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES
studies in end-time revelation
LOOKING FOR HIS APPEARING
Part 22
COMING WITH CLOUDS
Jesus used graphic language when He spoke of His return. To the disciples
who asked what His coming would be like He said, “They shall see the Son
of man coming IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory”
(Mat. 24:30). The picture language of the Bible employs essentially all the
created things of God with which we here on earth are acquainted. There
are various reasons why God has used so much symbolic language in His
Word. We think that one of these is its unchangeableness. The meaning of
words change somewhat through use and misuse. Whatever man creates is
also subject to change, but this is not true of the created things of God.
The created things do change, but their change is so slow and gradual that
it is not perceived from generation to generation. In the sign language of
the Bible, God has employed the sun, the moon, the stars, and clouds; and
on the earth, oceans, rivers, mountains, valleys, sheep, goats, horses,
wheat, tares, fig trees, and so forth. The characteristics of these have not
changed throughout the centuries, and when used in the Bible to illustrate
the exalted thoughts of God they should have the same meaning to us as
they did to the ancients. As signs, they have a spiritual meaning and
application.
One of the rabbinical names for the Messiah, based on Daniel 7:13-14, was
“The Cloud Man.” Daniel writes: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one
like unto the Son of man CAME WITH THE CLOUDS of heaven…” Christ, of
course, is plainly identified as the “One who comes with the clouds” in the
Salutation of Rev. 1:7: “Behold, He COMETH WITH CLOUDS; and every eye
shall see Him…” Furthermore, when our Lord was adjured by the High Priest
to tell whether He was the Messiah or not, Jesus answered with the old
equivalent of “Yes!” Then He said, “Ye shall see the Son of man sitting on
the right hand of power, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN” (Mk.
14:62).
This identification was more than His enemies could bear. And so we read,
“Then the High Priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further
witness? Ye have heard the blasphemy: What think ye? And they all
condemned Him to be guilty of death” (Mk. 14:63-64). Why should the High
Priest and those assembled, think it such BIASPHEMY for Jesus to say not
only that they would see Him sitting on the right hand of Power, but also
that they would see Him COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN? The truth is,
they knew that our Lord was claiming to be the “Son of the Blessed (God),”
the one who would come in the CLOUD OF GLORY which had once filled the
temple at Jerusalem! Furthermore, they clearly understood that the “clouds”
upon which Messiah would come were not the fleecy white clouds which
scud across a summer sky, but in all reality they would be the blazing
Shekinah Cloud which from times of old had veiled the Divine Presence. How
well the learned rabbis of Israel understood the true implication of Jesus’
words!
THE GLORY OF GOD
Exactly what is the glory of God and how has God displayed His glory? What
relationship do you and I have to the glory of God? The primary word
translated “glory” in the Bible literally means “heavy,” “weight,” or
“substance.” The glory of a person is actually what is heavy or weighty
about that person. Now don’t misunderstand! That doesn’t mean that it’s
just the fat lady at the carnival who has any glory! No, that’s not the idea.
What is the interrelationship between the idea of heaviness with glory? How
many times have you said of an individual, “He carries a lot of weight.”
What do you mean by that? What you mean is that there is something very
impressive about that person which enables him to have great influence
with other people. There is the concept of heaviness with glory. Glory is
that which is impressive or influential about a person.
Let me illustrate. In the first book of the Bible Jacob’s wealth is called the
“glory” of Jacob (Gen. 31:1). What that means is that Jacob was such an
excessively wealthy man that that is what really impressed other people
with Jacob, that is what gave him influence with those about him, that is
what caused them to sit up and take note of who he was. And then again
in the book of Genesis Joseph’s very high position as the Prime Minister of
Egypt is called the “glory” of Joseph (Gen. 45:13). Again, that simply means
that it was the special position of Joseph in the government that impressed
other people and gave him influence in the lives of his contemporaries. It
was his powerful office that caused other people to have great respect for
Joseph. In Isa. 8:7 the Assyrian’s great military power is called their “glory.”
In light of this can we not see that the glory of God is anything concerning
God that impresses His creatures with who and what He is and that gives
God influence in the lives of those creatures. The glory of God is that which
is impressive or influential concerning God!
This brings us to the second significant thing that we learn from the
scriptures about the glory of God – the ways in which God has manifested
or displayed His glory. The Bible teaches that God has displayed His glory
throughout history through nature or through His creation. The sweet
psalmist of Israel intoned these awe-inspiring words concerning this form of
the display of God’s glory in Ps. 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of
God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” That is David’s way of
saying that the heavens display what is impressive about God. Have you
ever been deeply impressed with the greatness of God when you have
walked out of doors on a clear night and gazed up into those magnificent
star-studded heavens?
A second major way that God has displayed His glory through the course of
world history has been through His Israel people. In the prophecy of Isaiah
God calls Israel by this title: “Israel, MY GLORY” (Isa. 46:13). And again in
Isaiah God says, “I made Israel for MY GLORY” (Isa. 43:7). Yet again in
Isaiah God says, “In and through Israel I display MY GLORY” (Isa.
66:10-20). How has God displayed His glory, His impressiveness, His
influence through the Israel nations through the course of history? He has
done it by the ways in which He has dealt with that people historically.
THE GLORY CLOUD
A third major way in which God has displayed His glory has been in the form
of a CLOUD. This glory cloud of God has taken different shapes and
different sizes on various occasions. When it was time for the children of
Israel to begin their exodus out of Egypt, the glory of God took the form of
a pillar of fire enshrouded within a cloud. “And the Lord went before them
by day IN A PILLAR OF A CLOUD, to lead them in the way; and by night IN
A PILLAR OF FIRE, to give them light, to go by day and night: He took not
away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before
the people” (Ex. 13:21-22).
There are several things to observe about this passage. There was but one
pillar of both cloud and fire, for when shining in the darkness it is still called
the pillar of cloud (Ex. 14:19) or the cloud (Num. 9:21), so that it was A
CLOUD CONTAINING THE FIRE. By day it appeared as a cloud in contrast to
the scorching desert sun, hovering over the multitude as a blessed shadow,
protecting them from the suffocating heat of the wilderness. By night the
same cloud was a fiery splendor (Num. 9:15-16) giving the people light and
heat to break the desert chill. They would see the blazing fire at night and
they would see the bright cloud by day. It lighted Israel’s path by its
splendor and led them as a guide in their journeys. “In the daytime also He
led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire” (Ps. 78:14). It
also threatened destruction to those who murmured against God (Num.
17:10), sending out fire against the rebels and consuming them (Lev. 10:2;
Num. 16:35).
When Israel was encamped about the base of mount Sinai, and God came
down on top of that mount to meet with Moses to give Israel the law, the
glory cloud of God in a blazing flame rested on top of that mountain. “And
Moses went up into the mount, and a CLOUD covered the mount. And the
GLORY OF THE LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the CLOUD covered it six
days: and the seventh day He called unto Moses OUT OF THE MIDST OF
THE CLOUD. And the SIGHT OF THE GLORY OF THE LORD was like
DEVOURING FIRE on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of
Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the CLOUD, and gat him up into
the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights” (Ex.
24: 15-1 . It was there amid the radiant cloud and flaming fire of God’s
glory that Moses received specific instruction for the building of the
wilderness tabernacle, that wonderful typical HABITATION OF GOD from
which the kingdom of Israel was to be directed and governed by the glory
of God’s presence.
Moses came down from the mount of God and began the construction of
the tabernacle. At last, after many months of building and devoutly
following the intricate instructions given by Jehovah, when every furnishing
was finished and every feature complete in its minutest detail, we have
these significant and wonder filled words: “Then a CLOUD covered the tent
of the congregation, and the GLORY OF THE LORD filled the tabernacle. And
Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the
CLOUD abode thereon, and the GLORY OF THE LORD filled the tabernacle”
(Ex. 40:34-35). Thus, when the children of Israel dedicated the wilderness
tabernacle they saw the glory cloud of God come and go right down inside
the Most Holy Place of that tabernacle. Centuries later, when Solomon built
the glorious temple in Jerusalem, on the day of dedication once again the
glory cloud of God came and the people of Israel stood transfixed in awed
wonder as they watched the glory cloud go right down inside the Holy of
Holies of that temple.
What did the glory cloud of God signify every time it appeared? The glory
cloud of God signified the unique presence of God. It always told the people
of Israel, when it appeared, that Jehovah was uniquely present at this
place, at this time, for a special purpose. When the shekinah glory of God
as a cloud led the children of Israel out of Egypt it signified to the people
that God was with them in a very real and sovereign way. “And the LORD
went before them IN a pillar of a cloud” (Ex. 13:21). God was IN the cloud!
The Almighty God Himself dwelt in that cloud by day and in the fiery pillar
by night. That strange pillar of cloud and fire was the visible manifestation
of His glory and presence. While Israel walked in the light of His fiery
presence, no calamity could harm them, no enemy could attack them, no
evil could befall them nor plague come nigh their dwelling. God was with
them in sovereign power in all their marches. “And the Lord said unto
Moses, I come unto thee in a THICK CLOUD, that the people may hear when
I speak with thee, and believe for ever” (Ex. 19:9). And again, “And the
Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at
all times into the Holy Place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is
upon the ark; that he die not: FOR I WILL APPEAR IN THE CLOUD upon the
mercy seat” (Lev. 16:2).
When the cloud came down out of heaven and rested on top of mount
Sinai, it signified that God in a unique sense had come out of the realm of
spirit to meet with the nation of Israel in His manifestation on the earth
plane. When they saw the cloud enter into the Most Holy Place in the
tabernacle and later in the temple, it signified again that God in a special
sense was taking up residence within that worship structure within the
nation of Israel. The light that shone in the Holiest of All behind the temple
curtains of blue and purple and scarlet and fine twined linen, laced with
threads of gold and figures of cherubim, was not the light of a candle nor
the beams of the sevenfold candlestick, nor even the radiance of the sun.
It was the shekinah, the glory light of God’s majesty and presence. Every
time the glory cloud of God appeared it signified the presence of Deity.
Through time the Israelites called that glory cloud of God the SHEKINAH
glory of God. The word shekinah means “to dwell.” And since the glory cloud
always signified that God was present at the place where the cloud
appeared, to dwell in a unique sense, they called it the shekinah or
DWELLING GLORY of God.
JESUS AND THE CLOUD
The disciples of Jesus had become accustomed to seeing Jesus the man,
Jesus the healer, Jesus the man of sorrows. They had heard Him tell of the
majesty and glory of His Father in heaven, but had never grasped the
significance or the glory or the majesty and power of the Christ who walked
the road with them. On that momentous occasion when the Lord Jesus took
Peter, James and John up into the mount and was transfigured before them,
suddenly there appeared a BRIGHT CLOUD – a cloud with a light in it. And
out of that bright cloud the voice of the Father spake concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ, “This is My beloved Son: hear Him!” It is more than
coincidence that, as Peter spoke, a CLOUD overshadowed them and a Voice
came out of the cloud. One of the significant facts in connection with the
glory cloud of God’s presence is that God always SPOKE from the cloud.
This began first on mount Sinai. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come
unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may HEAR WHEN I SPEAK with
thee… and the Lord came down upon mount Sinai… and the Lord CALLED
MOSES…” (Ex. 19:9,20). At a later time God spoke from the same cloud
after that it had descended upon the tabernacle. “And it came to pass, as
Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood
at the door of the tabernacle, and THE LORD TALKED WITH MOSES” (Ex.
33:9).
What was that BRIGHT CLOUD with the light in it from which the voice of
God spake? It was none other than the pillar of cloud housing the glory fire,
the shekinah glory of God that had led the children of Israel in their exodus
out of Egypt and guided them for forty years! As Jesus prayed on the
mount, He was transfigured before His chosen disciples. At that moment of
transfiguration the glory cloud enveloped Him and God spoke from the midst
of the radiance of glory.
Please observe the marked similarity which exists between the
transfiguration experience and that of Moses going into the blazing cloud on
Sinai. “And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and
John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and
He was transfigured before them. And His raiment became SHINING,
exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And
there appeared unto them Elias with Moses (the law and the prophets): and
they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus,
Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles (like
the tabernacle in the wilderness!); one for Thee, and one for Moses, and
one for Elias. And there was a CLOUD THAT OVERSHADOWED THEM: and a
VOICE came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him!”
The matter of utmost importance for us at this time is to grasp the full
import of these words of the Father: HEAR YE HIM! It was always the
Mighty God who spoke out of the glory cloud. And now that Voice comes
out of the excellent glory and commands that from this time forth the ONLY
VOICE we are to hear is THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD. The great
revelation here is not that the Father now ceases to speak and from
henceforth leaves it unto the Son to speak. The simple truth here unfolded
is that THE VOICE OF THE SON I-S THE VOICE OF G-O-D! Ah, it was Jesus,
the Jehovah of the Old Testament, who was speaking from the cloud all the
time … away back on mount Sinai, in the tabernacle in the wilderness, and
from between the cherubim over the mercy seat in the Holiest of All! The
apostle John, by the spirit of wisdom and revelation, caught the reality of
this and declared, “In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was
with God, and the WORD W-A-S G-O-D” (Jn. 1:1). He then speaks of the
WORD as LIGHT: “In Him was life; and the life was the LIGHT of men. And
the LIGHT shineth in darkness. . . ” (in. 1: 4-5). This is strikingly reminiscent
of the wilderness experience. “And the Lord went before them by day in a
pillar of a cloud … and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them LIGHT: to go
by day and night” (Ex. 13:21). The scriptures also assure us that “God IS
LIGHT” (I Jn. 1:5), and that He is the “LIGHT of Israel” (Isa. 10:17), and
Jesus most assuredly identified Himself as that CLOUD OF LIGHT which led
God’s people of old, for He said, “I AM THE LIGHT of the world: He that
FOLLOWETH ME (a moving light, as the fiery cloud) shall not walk in
darkness” (Jn. 8:12). John, after referring to Jesus as the WORD which was
the LIGHT continues: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His GLORY, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father”
(Jn. 1:14).
In the wilderness this GLORY, this CLOUD, and the VOICE OUT OF THE
CLOUD are all brought together: “And Moses went up into the mount, and a
CLOUD covered the mount. And the GLORY of the Lord abode upon mount
Sinai, and the CLOUD covered it six days: and the seventh day He CALLED
UNTO MOSES OUT OF THE MIDST OF THE CLOUD. And the sight of the
GLORY of the Lord was like devouring FIRE” (Ex. 24:15-17). On the mount of
transfiguration the SON is enveloped in the CLOUD and we are commanded
to HEAR HIM. The writer to the Hebrews then identified this VOICE and this
GLORY in these remarkable words: “God… hath in these last days spoken
unto us BY HIS SON, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom
also He made the worlds; Who BEING THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIS GLORY, and
the express image of His person…” (Heb. 1:1-3). Jesus is the brightness of
God’s glory! He is indeed, the presence in the cloud and the very cloud and
fire of the presence!
In this connection it is interesting to note that in the wilderness the cloud
of his presence COVERED and OVERSHADOWED the tabernacle of God.
Fifteen centuries later, when Jesus was to come into the world as the
beginning of the greater and true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and
not man, we read: “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
OVERSHADOW thee: THEREFORE also that holy thing which shall be born of
thee shall be called the Son of God” (Lk. 1:34-35). us UNDERSTAND! I do
not hesitate to tell you that it was the same SHEKINAH GLORY CLOUD in
which the God of Israel dwelt, and which overshadowed the place of His
tabernacling among Israel; the same glory cloud which descended upon and
overshadowed the majestic heights of Sinai, birthing the law of the Lord to
Israel; yes, it was the very same cloud of His presence that
OVERSHADOWED MARY so that the Mighty God of Israel could indwell her,
and come forth as a flesh being, to be “God manifest in the flesh.” The
angel that announced these wonder filled tidings to the virgin girl of
Nazareth did not plant the seed of Christ in her womb; it was the
overshadowing of the POWER OF THE HIGHEST. Christ was CONCEIVED in
the glory cloud!
The One of old in the cloud of glory was just JESUS. The WORD. The VOICE
out of the CLOUD. The LIGHT that guided Israel. And that One was made
flesh and dwelt among us. And to aid us in our perception of who He is, He
stood in the glory cloud on the holy mount of God. From the midst of that
cloud issued the command to HEAR HIM. And when all other manifestations
were passed away the astonished disciples saw JESUS ONLY. “The Cloud
Man” long awaited by the earnest rabbis of Israel had made His appearance.
The One who is the brightness of God’s glory was here on planet earth in
the form of a man. The One who IS THE SHEKINAH, the glory cloud of God’s
presence, stood among men. “And they shall call His name Emmanuel, which
being interpreted is, GOD WITH US” (Mat. 1:23).”Someday we’ll all be friends, at the end of time when God is ALL in ALL.” Link: Kingdom Bible Studies Table of Contents