And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and THE MOST HOLY. And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the Tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
Exodus 26:33-35

The ultimate presence of God was found in the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies had the mercy seat, the cherubims, the Ark of the Covenant and the tables of testimony:  The High Priest who entered into the Holy of Holies encountered these four major items; the mercy seat, the cherubims, the Ark of the Covenant and the tables of testimony.

1. The ark of God covered with gold speaks of the high price for God’s presence. 
And THEY SHALL MAKE AN ARK OF SHITTIM WOOD: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And THOU SHALT OVERLAY IT WITH PURE GOLD, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about . . . And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
Exodus 25:10-11, 16

The ark of God represents the ultimate presence of God.  The ultimate presence of God is not easy to define.  It is dangerous to walk in sin or play the fool in the presence of God.  The ark is completely covered with gold.  Only the highest quality and the most expensive can have access to the ultimate presence of God. Brass is not acceptable if you want to experience the ultimate presence of God.
Many people have a ministry that outwardly looks shiny and valuable.  However, they have substituted real value and have presented only an outward glitter.  God looks at the heart. God looks at the realities.  It is important for you to focus on real things because God is not impressed with outward-looking niceties.  Indeed, people may not be impressed with you but Almighty God may be impressed because you have used gold for the ministry and paid a high price to get it.

2. The tables of testimony speak of the higher purposes of God.
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and IN THE ARK THOU SHALT PUT THE TESTIMONY THAT I SHALL GIVE THEE. Exodus 25:21

“Within the ark you will find the tables of testimony. These tables contain the ultimate purposes of God. When you go near the presence of God, you understand His purposes.
The Ten Commandments are a set of instructions from God. Everybody knows these Ten Commandments. But what is God’s purpose in revealing these Ten Commandments?    When you are far from the presence of God, you may know His commandments but not understand His purposes.
God has purposed many things but few people know what God has purposed. It takes closeness to God to understand His purposes! When you are close to God, you will understand what He is trying to do.  You are confused because you do not understand the purposes of God.  Why did God let this person live?  Why did God let this person die?  Why does God allow certain things to happen?
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
Isaiah 14:26-27”

3. The cherubims represent the ever present angels in the presence of God. 
And make TWO CHERUBIM OUT OF HAMMERED GOLD AT THE ENDS OF THE COVER. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of “one piece with the cover, at the two ends. THE CHERUBIM ARE TO HAVE THEIR WINGS SPREAD UPWARDS, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking towards the cover.
Exodus 25:18-20 (NIV)

There are always angels in the presence of God. God is never without angels. Every revelation of God’s presence reveals multitudes of angels.  When you experience the presence of God, you will experience what it is like to be in the presence of many angels.  The presence of God is characterized by the presence of angels.  It is a bit like having ants around sugar.  They just come around because of the sugar.
Angels are always there when God is there. Anyone who sees a lot of angels is seeing the presence of God. Be grateful when anyone spots angels around you. It is a sign of God’s presence.  You may see the angels but you may not see God. But the presence of the angels is a sure sign that God is nearby.
“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and BEFORE HIS ANGELS. Revelation 3:5

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of MANY ANGELS ROUND ABOUT THE THRONE and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Revelation 5:11

4. The Mercy Seat speaks of God’s mercy and grace. 
And THOU SHALT MAKE A MERCY SEAT of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
Exodus 25:17
The mercy seat is the place where you receive the mercies of God.  The Bible teaches us to come boldly to the throne of grace so that we can receive mercy and grace to help in time of need.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

There is really nothing much you can expect from the presence of God, other than mercy.  By the time you arrive in His presence, you will be extremely conscious of your sin and shortcomings. Indeed, we are laden with sin and we are helplessly evil!  Jesus said to His disciples whom He was training to be apos-tles, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit …” (Luke 11:13).
In this amazing scripture, Jesus called His disciples “evil men”.  His disciples had asked Him to teach them how to pray.  He looked pitifully at them and said, “Even you evil people give good gifts; how much more My Father.”  Jesus knows how evil we are.  Even disciples who want to learn about prayer are evil men. How much more those who are not disciples? How much more those who do not want to learn about prayer?  Our condition is truly desperate!  We need mercy and grace!  We are basically evil!  “You will receive mercy when you seek to be close to God and when you seek to be in His presence.