Symbolism of the Cube

A few years ago, I was sitting in the back of the church, reading silently about the enormous golden Cube — the golden cube that comes down from heaven when Christ returns to reign. It’s “1,500 miles in each dimension, with walls of jasper and precious stones, buildings of gold and gates of pearl.” (Barker, p. 1) The golden cube symbolizes the Bride, the Holy of Holies — the Kingdom of God. When Christ, the bridegroom, returns to earth, the Bride will receive Him, and then He will establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

I followed the Book of Revelation’s reference to read more about this Golden Cube — John, the beloved (the translated, who did not taste of death) describes it in Revelation 21. John is in vision, and the seventh angel takes him to a high mountain and shows him the great city of Jerusalem descending out of Heaven. The angel explains to John that this city, this golden cube is the bride of Jesus Christ:

…her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Rev 21)

The angel has a special measuring device in his hand, and he measures the golden city — and it is a cube (3-dimensional)

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. (Rev 21: 16)

The street is pure gold, described as transparent glass. And jewels and pearls adorn the gates. John explains that there is no temple in this city of gold in the shape of a cube because “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” (Rev 21:22) In other words, “the whole world is one great temple of God.” (Barker, p2)

The angel further explains that this city does not need sun or moon because God and Christ’s glory lighten it. And only those whose names are written in the book of life will enter into this city. (Rev 21: 27) The tree of life and the river of life is in the City, the New Jerusalem, Zion. It is the Kingdom of God on earth.

Other Cubes

As I was reading, I remembered other religious cubes —

Ark of the Covenant

The ark of the covenant — actually a golden box  (not exactly a cube)– held the sacred ten commandments, a pot of manna, and the rod of Aaron. When the priests carried the Ark, they hid it under a large veil made of skins and blue cloth. It was always carefully concealed, even from the priests’ eyes and the Levites who carried it. Once they stopped traveling, they placed the Ark in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, behind the veil in the Holy of Holies.

The Kaaba

As I thought of the golden cube in John’s vision, another cube came to mind. The black cube in the Muslim Holy City of Mecca — that cube is called the Kaaba. It’s considered the “House of Allah (God)” and has a similar role to the Tabernacle and Holy of Holies in Judaism.

I followed my trail of thought and began researching the Kaaba, which led me to the Tefillin.

The Tefillin

I started reading a blog post at Kabbalahstudent.com, where he revealed some thinking on this — in fact, he said if you put those words together — Kaaba and Allah — you get Kabbalah (the mystical teachings of God). He also explains that the devout Jews bind the tefillin (phylacteries) around their arm and head for prayer.

Tefillin are a pair of black leather boxes containing Hebrew parchment scrolls. A set includes two tefillin—one for the head and one for the arm. Each consists of three main components: the scrolls, the box and the strap. The scrolls are inserted into boxes made of leather that have been painted black. (How to put on a tefillin)

The Kingdom of God

John’s vision of the New Jerusalem, the Bride, the Kingdom of God, is a golden cube.

 

I thought of the mystical teachings of Jesus, and the history of the ark of the covenant and the Holy of Holies. God veils his holy mysteries from the unholy and uninitiated beings on earth. Jesus taught in parables so that only those who have ears to hear will understand. From the beginning, Christians have claimed this secret knowledge, which they understood to be part of the Hebrews’ unwritten traditions (Barker, p2.)

I find it interesting that Abraham’s son Ishmael and his progeny have a black cube similar to the golden cube of John’s vision. And that the tefillin are cubes. And the gold box, the Ark of the Covenant, is where God appears to man. The symbolism of the cube is worthy of more research.