So Great a Cloud of Witnesses

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” Heb. 12:1.

So Great a Cloud of Witnesses reaches far beyond the context of this verse. I do not suggest that one should attempt to read this material in one sitting; perhaps not in two. Our finite minds tend to bunker down after a while - especially when attempting to discover and discern the infinite. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. . .He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” John 16:13a,14.

So Great a Cloud.

Nothing in the past, in the present, or shall be in the future, be it in the realm of time or eternity has ever gone unnoticed or been hidden from the eyes of our Sovereign: “For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. Job 34:21-22. But the Lord be praised, “He withdraweth not His eyes from the righteous” Job 36:7.

So Great a Cloud; The Eternal Witness.

“And Thou, Lord, in the beginning hath laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish, but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” Heb.1:10-12.

So Great a Cloud; The law of first mention.

This we find in the account of Noah and the ark. Were there not two clouds? The first was ‘so great a cloud,’ that its waters covered the earth! But the second was a far Greater Cloud, as we shall see.

“And God said, this is the token of the covenant which I will make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. . .And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth” Gen. 9:12-14,16. No less than seven times does God witness His Covenant unto Noah: in verses nine, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen. Cloud is to be seen in four verses; in verse thirteen, twice in verse fourteen, and in verse sixteen. It is the Lord’s cloud, it is His bow, it is His Covenant. In verse 15 it is witnessed, “I will remember my covenant.” In verse 16, it is, “I will remember the everlasting covenant.” The bow and the cloud bore witness to God’s Covenant: first to Himself, and then to his seed; to every living creature. And “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord!!!” ( Not that Noah merited any grace: Noah looked into the eyes of the Lord, and found them to be full of compassion, mercy, Grace! But what of the cloud? Was God or His throne the rainbow in the cloud? Or at least representative or a picture as such?

“and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above it. . .As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” Ezek. 1:26b,28. “and behold a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. . .and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald” Rev. 4:2,3. Further ‘witness’ will be given in that which follows.

So Great a cloud; The Wilderness Journey.

“But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea: 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 the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people” Exodus13:18,21-22. Was there a rainbow in the cloud? Nevertheless, God was in the cloud! And so Great a Cloud of Witness it must have been - A continuing witness unto His people of the continuing Covenant He had made with Noah!

A Cloud of Protection. “And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night” Exodus 14:19-20. The Lord, in a pillar of a cloud. . .the Angel of God. . . the pillar of the cloud. . .stood behind them? And how can a cloud be said to stand? The term Theophany comes to mind.

So Great a Cloud. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians” But were they fleeing from the face of Israel - or from the face of God; the Great Cloud of Witness before them?

So Great a Cloud: The glory of God, the Great I AM. “And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I AM the Lord your God” Exodus 16:10-12. Oh, the greatness of the Cloud of Witness! He is the Bread of Life; our portion; our sufficiency!

So Great a Cloud. “ 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 believe thee for ever. . .And the Lord said unto Moses, go unto the people. . .for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai” Exodus 19:9,10a,11b. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Rom. 10:17. So Great a Cloud of Witness! “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside. . .let us run. . .Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith!”

So Great, the Cloud of Witness. “And Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” Exodus 34:4-7.
So Great a Cloud of Witness. “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” Leviticus 16:2. “And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony” Lev, 16:12-13.

“For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys” Ex.40:38. “And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony” Numbers 9:15. “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen” Acts 7:44.

So Great a Cloud of Witness! “Remember these O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee” Isaiah 44:21-22.

So Great a Cloud of Witnesses in the New Testament.

The witness of Christ. “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. . .To this end was I born, and for this cause came I unto the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” John 18:36a,37.

“To him [Christ] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” Acts 10:43.

So Great a Witness: The Word proclaiming the Word about Himself! “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he [Christ] expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. . .And they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” Luke 24:27,32.

The Apostle Paul. “And he [Ananias] said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, [witness?] and shouldest hear the voice [witness?] of his mouth. For thou shalt BE his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard [witnesses?] Acts 22:14-15. (All in brackets mine.)

The Apostle John. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the Light that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light” John 1:6-8.

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld [were witnesses of] his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bear witness of him, and cried, This is he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me” John 1:14-15. (John and the other disciples were witnesses of Christ’s glory; Christ Himself was witness to the Father’s glory.)

“There is another that beareth witness of me; I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. . .And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath born witness of me” John 5:32,37.

“But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath born witness of me” John 5:36,37.

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have life; and they are they which testify [give witness] of me” John 5:39.

The witness of Christ is challenged. “The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go. . .for I AM not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I AM one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me” John 8:13,14,16-18.

The witness of the Spirit and Apostles. “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning” John 15:26-27. “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all” Acts 4:33.

The Witness - Gentiles made partakers of salvation through Christ.

“And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them. Men and brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made a choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth [witness?] should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith” Acts 15:7-9. (Italics mine)

The Witness Against Unbelieving Gentiles.

“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves; Which shew the work of the law, written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing them witness, and their thoughts, the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)” Rom. 2:14-15.

Three degrees of light are revealed to the children of men:- The light of nature; the light of the law; the light of the gospel.

1. The light of nature. This the Gentiles have, and by this they shall be judged: As many as have sinned without the law shall perish without law; that is the unbelieving Gentiles, who had no other guide but natural conscience. . .they shall be judged, as they sin against, the law of nature, not only as it is in their hearts, corrupted, defaced, and imprisoned in unrighteousness. . . though they had not the written law (Ps.cxlvii.20), they had that which was equivalent, not to the ceremonial, but to the moral law.

They did by nature the things contained in the law. The work of the law is to direct us what to do, and to examine us, what we have done. They had a sense of justice and equity, honour and purity, love and charity; the light of nature taught obedience to parents, pity to the miserable, conservation of public peace and order, forbade murder, stealing, lying, perjury, &c. Thus they were a law unto themselves.

(2.) The light of the law. This the Jew had, and by this they shall be judged (vs.12): As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. They sinned, not only having the law, but in the midst of so much law, in the face and light of so much pure and clear a law. . .their punishment shall be as their sin is, so much the greater for their having the law. It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon.

(3.) The light of the gospel: and according to this those that enjoyed the gospel shall be judged. Matthew Henry’s Commentary, vol. iv, page 376-377.

　

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. . .He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” Heb.10:26,28-29. Two or three witness? How about the light of nature (the moral law,) the light of the law, the light of the gospel?

The Witness of the Conscience.

Jesus Himself, being fashioned as a man and being subject to temptation unmistakably had a conscience. Our original parents had a conscience. To Eve, the serpent said, “For God knoweth that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” Gen, 3:5. Well, that much was true: “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil” Gen. 3:22. But the difference between our Lord Jesus and other men is that Jesus never sinned! His conscience did not, could not, ever, condemn Him! Neither the Lord God, His law, nor the conscience can ever condemn Righteousness! And we have been imputed and are clothed in the righteousness of Christ on the merits of His eternal love for us, His shed blood; His sinless life, His vicarious sacrifice, His death, His burial, His resurrection; He who sits at the right hand of Majesty: “that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in all things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” Heb.2;17.

An Ever-present Witness to the Ungodly.

“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of the sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just [Just?] and he doth not resist you.” James 5:1-6.

　

An Inward Witness.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. . .The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” Rom. 8:14,16.

“Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us” Heb. 10:15. A witness unto us concerning what? “By the which we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. . .For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” Heb. 10:10,14. Continuing, the Holy Ghost is a witness unto us of His eternal covenant: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” Heb. 10:16.

The Witness of Faith.

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts:” Heb.11:4. It is faith unto good works. Works without faith is dead; but Faith that sits dormant and idle, that gives no response - wherein is the witness? “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect [complete]? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the friend of God” James 2:21-23.

Faith itself is a mighty witness; it is a silver lining upon the cloud of witnesses. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” Heb. 11:13. Faith is substance; faith is evidence; faith gives us sight, faith persuades us of the authenticity, of the sureness of God’s promises; we reach out to embrace them; we confess them. Again, faith wields a mighty testimony, a faithful witness!

(I would encourage you to read carefully and intently chapter 11 of Hebrews; perhaps read [or re-read] Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. I would cause you no additional labor on my part at this time.)

So GREAT a Cloud of Witnesses.

“For their are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. . .And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” I John 5:7-11.

This may be the most comprehensive record of witness in all the Bible. It is overwhelming. I dare not touch it. Let the reader stand back in awe and take in all that he can of the wonder of it all: it is as vast as the universe. . .

　

The Blessed Witness of Him Who Will Come.

　

“And when he [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. . .this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” Acts 1:9,11b. “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” Rev. 1:5-8.

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” James 5:7-8

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” Matt. 24:14.

Actually, witnessing is more than something we do; it is what we are. The Holy Spirit empowers us with Himself, to be witnesses. Not only to the lost - we are witnesses, every day to every one we meet. In divers situations; when we feel down-trodden, at wits end: if we feel forsaken, betrayed - shall our countenance fall? Do we know how to be abased as well as to abound? If we become discouraged then everyone with whom we cross paths is going to be a witness of our witness, be it favorable or otherwise. May they be exhorted or touched by our witness! (Reach out and touch someone). A discouraged Christian is not apt to feel like sharing the gospel with someone else. How shall he offer a cup of cold water if his fountain is not springing up? Ye that are spiritual - help get the needy brother up on his feet. Your witness, both verbally and by the Spirit manifesting Himself in you in a way the downhearted brother can see - he needs to know that you really believe what you're trying to get him to believe.

A good rule of witness: Talk to God about others: talk to others about the Lord Jesus. May we have it burning within our hearts and minds: We are constant witnesses unto Christ. May we likewise be consistent, considerate, conscientious, caring.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses.

All of creation, the Lord God Himself, the Son, the Spirit; all the Old Testament sons of faith, are a great cloud of witnesses. They were followed by the Martin Luthers, the Charles Spurgeons, the Jonathan Edwards. . .such a great cloud of witnesses! We now, are a cloud of witnesses: how great, in quantity or quality only our Lord knows. We are to run the race - it is a relay race. Those before us have passed the baton, as it were, into our hands. WE are now a cloud of witnesses. Though the greatness be not in number, the witness is great, if we are witnesses unto Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Creator, the God of heaven. It is in His name and for His sake, and not for our name, nor for our glory that we should run diligently. Oh God, we are weak; be our strength. Give us the faith to clutch tightly the baton. God forbid that we should drop it. Help us, that we fail not! Are there not other runners before us, waiting for us to reach them, that we might pass the baton, that they too might run the race that is set before them? Dear one, run diligently - some one is watching you, and you are the best Christian they know.