Genesis 3:8 KJV
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

Isaiah 6:1-10 KJV
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

What is your status in the presence of the Lord? Isaiah declares he is a man of unclean lips. Adam and Eve the first sinners hid from the Lord's presence. If you can not hid from the presence of the Lord, how is Adam and Eve hidden? Adam and Eve is hidden from a physical manifestation of God who sees all, but not to their understanding, so in their own mind they are hidding from God, only to discover they can hide nothing from God. Isaiah had learn no doubt it is better to confess sin then not too.

Parents have no trouble getting a confession from their children especially when they understand the consequences of their action. Isaiah had heard the cost of denying or dying in his sin, that has a prophet and a part of the priesthood, that he just confessed his sin to the Lord, especially knowing he was in the presence of Almighty God. He had entered into the throne room of God spiritually, prehaps physically before the altar of God. However God never left Isaiah, nor did his sin cause him being denied to be in the presence of God.

To be out of the physical presence of God in his home, is to be cast out of paradise. Trying to hide from God was Adam and Eve second sin, the first sin being the fruit, but the first sin had not stopped Adam and Eve sin, it caused them to try an physically hide from God. Caused them to think they could be out of God's presence, and when confronted they told God they were afraid because they were naked. Naked because of their sin, or because God showed them they could not hid from his presence. If we are in God presence always and forever unless God cast us out, then we are visible to God despite our unworthiness to be in his presence.

God being a holy God and yet he sees all of us, all the time. He sees the world as it truly is. Surely the heigth of sin has reach heaven by now, but God delays his Son's return for our benefit. A need for a priesthood, did not come tell the time of the law, tell the time of the need for intercessor between God and man. There was a time in God's presence man did not feel the need of intercessor, or if they did it was not talked about, for Israel was the ones wanting intercessor perhaps because of sin in Egypt of not following the law of circumcision. God's chosen people needing an intercessor. Why were they chosen, to be God's people. It was because of their Father/ancestor Abraham who grandson Jacob had twelve children. It was because of the promise God made Abraham long ago that he would be a Father of a great nation. No intercessor needed for Abraham, yet there was a priesthood that he even paid tithe too, one of the nation of the world at that time, his name Melchizedek.

A priest or officiator in the things of God, who dedicated his life to God and the things of God. An officiator of rites and rituals of that office. Christ being High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, meaning to be offiator of rites and rituals of faith. Dedication of life to the service of God.

The vocabulary lesson often breaking away the chains of what one thinks something means to what it actually means. All that follow in Christ footsteps are offiators of the Gospel of Jesus, the teaching of God's word from Old to New Testament as well. Yet not all teach from both Old and New Testament. Not all perform the duties of priesthood, including baptism of water. Often Christian look at water baptism is done only by a preacher. Salvation coming only at the altar in a church. Salvation can come whereever you decide to give your heart to Jesus. Baptism by immersion can be performed by another believer, preferably by minister or church elder. Yet the baptism of God's word must come by the Holy Spirit, often coming by minister and teachers but must come from God speaking to your own heart.

Did the roles change with the laws of Moses? No this was a time of recording information for future generation. Each generation wrestle with how faith is applied, and how the law of God by the Holy Spirit is truly written on the believers heart. Moses officiate the laws under God's instruction to the Hebrew people. Jesus is officiator at the right handside of God perform the duties of priesthood as being both the priest and the sacrifice for sin before the throne of God as a Son of God. His sanctuary more perfect then the one made with human hands.

God wanted to remove the priesthood design by him to make a more perfect priesthood through his Son Jesus. One without flaws or errors and without the corruption of man and man's sin. There will always be a need of a priesthood on earth as long as earth remains, but in the new heaven and new earth the only priesthood will be God and his Son. Of course the Holy Spirit is present in heaven and the believers' heart, but God is Spirit and manifest as Father and Son for you and I. If Christ blood covers our sin, then God see not our sin as believers. It does not mean we are not corrected by Christ or that we do not to turn away from our sin, it means we are forgiven for our humanity because he created us in his image with the ability of free will. Yet he did not create man with the knowledge of good and evil, that must be learned by our errors. Our free will caused our sin, because of our own curiousity as humans.

Now back to the original topic what does it mean to be in God's presence. Many faith claim to be in God's presence. In truth they are, but God is behind the veil, not able to look upon them because of the unrepentance of sin. Unrepentance and unwilling to receive God's redemption through his Son(word and Jesus in the flesh). Those without seeing the reality of who Christ is as being equal with God, as only seen has a priesthood to be equal too. That is the mistake being made by many. Our equality with God is not. We will never be equal to God. We are servants to the most High God and His Son. Though Christ does teach equality in his earthly position it is for man's benefit who are monkey see and monkey do people. Meaning they copy or emulate what they see. Christ is who we emulate as far as his earthly service to man.

Stop for a moment if we in God's presence all the time, do we want to be in God's presence in the way we act or live at times? The answer for many would be no. For this reason God and his Son sit on the throne in heaven. With a cloud in the heavenlies covering his presence. A veil made by God by God, no longer a veil made by man by God's commands. The blood veil and the cloud veil separates us, and it both are so God can covers us in our state of sinfulness upon confession of faith, and then redeems us throught he resurrections and repentance of sin and only the cloud vail divides us. Then God sends the HOly Spirit to write a new covenant on our hearts. And He lives within the believer only covered to the world by our human flesh, and the world can not handle God's light or his Son even being in the believer.

God's people in Christ are never absent from God's presence, never hidden from his presence. Upon repentance we are no longer separated from God, because of the cross. What the priesthood could not do was take away man separation from God, What Christ could do was taken away our separation from God. Many obey God but have never had the vail removed from their life, when it comes to the need of a high priest other then Christ himself. The need of go between. A need of intercessor between God and oneself when now only the Holy Spirit and his word is needed to keep the division from occuring over and over. Does that mean that cross has no effect, definitely not for without the cross we have no salvation, without the cross we have no payment for sin, without the cross we could not have peace with God through faith in Christ because of the resurrection. Christ being God's Son in the flesh, not equal to us, or the old priesthood would have been good enough.

The question comes to is our actions separating us from God or man. Separating us from the world or from God only. Is our faith not what brings our salvation. Is not our faith the only requirement for salvation. Then much of our works will be destroyed that is not of God. We already in God's presence by faith in Christ Jesus when we receive his Son's forgiveness for our sin against God.

Are you still trying to run and hide from God, why not admit God sees you and his presence alone judges our hearts. All God is asking is you to receive Christ has Lord and Savior. To believe his word through faith you are saved not anything you can do to save yourself. That his word is enough to save you through his Son.

There is alot in these passage I have posted to think on, concerning being in God's presence as Isaiah, Adam and Eve. One taking the purging of sin and the other running from sin, and deal with Isaiah cleansing of sin through the hot coal and the other searching for healing of salvation for their error upon the earth. There covering coming with the gift of fur coat. Yet they maybe did not understand God's protection in their life yet because of being cast out of the presence of God's home. God was sweeping his home clean, but the sin cause God to drive them out. His covering protecting them from the wrath of his Holiness and the elements of their new world in which they lived. The priesthood being given as a position to those who dedicated their life to God within the world who needed not an intercessor but Christ(the word of God/Christ in the flesh as purified example for man).

Dear Heavenly Father thank you for your intercession in our life, by providing example on how to live in your presence that for the believer who is always in your presence without a vail. Lord let us be example on how to live and not example of how not to live. Lord in our failings cover us with your saving grace through your son Jesus. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: Hebrews 8:1-13 KJV
1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.