Month: April 2015

I. The Anointing of Power

1. God Sees the Heart

In the Old Testament, we read how King Saul’s heart had grown callous and indifferent to the leading of the Spirit. (I Sam. 15:23) And so God instructed the Prophet Samuel to anoint one from the house of Jesse.  Having exhausted all of Jesse’s obvious sons as candidates, the prophet entreated the old man, “are here all thy children?” (I Sam. 16:11)

Jesse’s eyes dimmed with age then agreed that his youngest and smallest be fetched from the sheep pastures.  However, before anointing the unsuspecting shepherd boy with oil poured on his head, the Lord had advised the prophet, “Man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart.” (I Sam. 16:7)

Then one day the dynamic power of this anointing became evident to all of his fellow countrymen.  The Philistine army having laid assault to Israel, bid challenge to God’s finest as the giant, Goliath, strode from their ranks.

All Israel cowered in fear as their enslavement seemed imminent.  Who would accept the challenge?  None other than the anointed of the Lord. David, the shepherd boy, came forward and asked, “who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the Living God.” (I Sam. 17:26)  Refusing the armour of King Saul, David met Goliath alone on the field of battle with only a sling.  Reaching down to a nearby brook, he gathered 5 smooth stones.  But the Bible records that only one stone lay embedded in the giants head.  Following a thunderous collapse, David ran over to Goliath, drew the giant’s sword and decapitated the menace.  The Philistines retreated in fear and David was heralded hero of all Israel.

2. David’s Select Stone

This same anointing received by David to slay Goliath can be likened to the outpouring of the Spirit in the experience of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Jesus said, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” (Acts 1:8)  It is this infilling that enables the believer to figuratively “tread on serpents,” (Mk. 16:18) to acquire a worship in the Spirit that is mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. (2 Cor. 10:4)  This power is dynamite against the forces of evil.  No wonder our prayer language is expanded to an incomprehensible dialogue with God resulting in the mighty working of His hand to save, heal and deliver.  Just as David fought the giant of the enemy so too is the believer equipped to do battle with the forces of evil.

David’s five smooth stones speak of the mighty force of the 5 fold ministry. These 5 fold ministries are mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 for we read that, “God hath given apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers.”  But reading on (Eph. 4:13) we notice that these ministries are given for a limited period of time; “till we all come to a perfect man.”  The goal is to come to a perfect man.  Though David chose 5 stones, it only took one to do the job.

Even in this hour God is raising up an army of believers who collectively are called the Body of Christ, A PERFECT MAN.  This is not to say we are not grateful for the working of these 5 fold ministries in our lives to edify, exhort and instruct.  Like David’s stones from the brook they were chosen by the Shepherd after being washed by the water of the word. (Eph. 5:26)

But God has not chosen these ministries to topple the Goliaths of the Earth. Instead these ministry gifts or offices have been established temporarily to nurture, guide and strengthen the children of God that they might come forth upon the Earth as the manifested Sons of God.  These have been chosen to rule and reign with Him.  These shall bruise Satan under foot. These shall be the manifest expression of God’s fullness.  They are unified and made ONE by the Spirit of the Living God, fully empowered with the mind of Christ.  This Body will lay waste the powers of darkness on the Earth as David’s selected stone brought the Philistine beast to the ground.

If you have received Christ, you too have received the power, the right, the authority to become the Son of God.  Your reception of Christ as Saviour is the call of God on your life to one day usher in a millennia of righteousness, peace and joy on the Earth with our Blessed Saviour.

II. THE ANOINTING OF AUTHORITY

1. Wandering in the Wilderness

One would naturally think that following this mighty demonstration of power, David would be instantly recognized as the anointed of the Lord and established as God’s chosen vessel of authority.  Not so!  Instead, the remainder of the book gives a detailed account of how King Saul, like a driven mad-man, hunted David down like an animal.  He chased him in the wilderness, on mountain tops, in caves and in towns.  Despite the fact that the Philistines had regrouped and re-attacked Israel, Saul disregarded these, the true enemies of his people and sought with all his might to kill David.

Likewise, we should not be surprised today when ministries go on the war path against Spirit filled believers.  As long as they keep quiet, warm a pew and pass the plate, they’re okay.  But let them heal the sick, prophesy or speak in tongues and “out the door they go.”  While the sheep are taught to view these charismatics as heretics and fanatics the devil continues to destroy with depravity, disease, despair and death.

These Spirit filled believers, called charismatics are labeled Cruise-o-matics as they fellowship like David, “from pillar to post.”  Yet for some this wandering in the wilderness without a church home is too wearisome.  And so they return to programs, preachers and familiar forms of fundamentalism.  Rather than worship God in Spirit and in Truth, they abandon their new experience and seek the comfort of church games and politics.

Even Saul’s daughter, Michal, David’s beloved wife, thought cave life too treacherous.  In her heart she must have reasoned that the life of an outcast would never lead to an anointing of authority.  And so it was, she deserted her husband’s side and stayed in her father’s court.

Likewise, Jonathan, Saul’s son, though he loved David and counted him his blood brother, would not go with him in the wilderness for his loyalties lie with the madness of his father, the King.  Instead, David’s only companions were cut-throats, vagabonds, thieves and undesirables by most standards.

In the natural, David was labeled a rebel, a pirate, an adulterer; someone so brazen that when he and his men were hungry, he stormed into the Holy Place of the Tabernacle and dared eat and distribute the shew bread reserved as an offering for the Lord.  But God looked not on the outward.

2. David’s Methods

Occasions were even given to David by the Lord’s design where he could have easily taken Saul’s life.  But as the young shepherd boy had refused the King’s armour to fight Goliath, so too did he refuse to usurp the throne of Israel by assassination.  Saul’s methods of fighting were useless to David. Instead he was anointed and empowered by the Spirit of the Lord to slay Goliath.  And if he were to reign as king, again it would be because of an anointing, and not by the methods used by his predecessor.

Unfortunately, all too often charismatics are enticed into positions of leadership using carnal or even natural methods to achieve that end.  How sad it is to see these spirit filled believers fitted into the armour of advertising and politics to fight the spiritual forces of darkness.  They call this battle “evangelism”…then when all is said and done, wonder why their goals are not achieved.

Even sadder still are the methods used by many a Spirit filled believer to obtain a position of leadership or authority.  Like their King Saul prototypes they ignore the Spirit’s ability to teach them “all truth” and recklessly purse a Bible College degree.  Upon completion and with a sense of accomplishment they field resumes and obtain interviews.  This is so they can be chosen to lead through natural selection.  But it is God’s desire to empower through a SUPERNATURAL ELECTION.

If you intend to walk in your calling and become that Son of God that rules and reigns with Him, you will in all probability find yourself like David, wandering in the wilderness somewhere with no place to call home.  In addition, like David you will probably be despised and rejected most by those who you identify as your family, brothers and sisters or friends.  It will not be unusual for you to be persecuted by church leaders and your only earthly comforters will be those who you would not otherwise seek company with.  Not a pleasant life for anyone and yet this is exactly where David found himself.  So too were Joseph, Moses, Elijah, the Apostle Paul and yes – Jesus.  All of these had extensive, intense wilderness experiences because their own brethren rejected them and wanted them dead!  But they, like David were all called and anointed with authority to fulfill God’s purpose.

3. Saul’s Suicide

But when David received news of Saul’s suicide, he didn’t jump at the opportunity and declare himself “Big Cheese.”  Instead he lamented, rent his clothing, cried in anguish and mourned almost inexhaustibly though his tormentor’s life was ended.  Why?  Because David took no pleasure seeing King Saul, God’s first anointed King of Israel, wasted.  He not only had accepted the wilderness as his lot in life, but had learned to rejoice and glory in his suffering.  But there was no glory in the death and suffering of Saul.  By learning to rejoice in tribulation God had truly created the heart of a servant in David.  He accepted both good and bad as from the hand of the Lord and knew that despite the circumstances, God was faithful to His promises.  By rejoicing in adversity, David’s heart was transformed such that the Lord commented of him that he had a heart after His own heart. (I Sam. 13:14)

Over and over David wrote in the Psalms, “His mercy (or love) endureth forever.”  By glorying in suffering David not only received true humility of soul, but could write experientially of God’s love.  It was this love that dominated his prayers for Saul, his king, his father-in-law, the once mighty man of God.  The Apostle Paul describes this type of love.  It, “suffers long, is kind, is not boastful nor puffed up.”  This love does not behave selfishly, is not easily provoked an does not think evil of others. (I Cor. 13)  Most important, David the praiser knew that love did not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoiced in the truth.  No wonder David could not rejoice in Saul’s death since it seemed a triumph of iniquity.  Likewise, David’s example of brokenness, sorrow and loss should speak to us about how we should view the current crumbling, criticism and collapse of charismatic ministries once blessed by God.

4. King of Judah

It was in the midst of David’s wilderness experiences he wrote, “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”  Truly he had come to a place of “rest in the Lord” such that adverse circumstances no longer prevented him from praising God.  He even said, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” (Ps. 119:71) Likewise he had learned that “seizing a golden opportunity” was world’s apart from “God exalting in due season.” (I Pet. 5:16)

Later, after Saul’s death, David was called upon by his countrymen to help route the enemy armies of the Philistines out of Israel.  This accomplished, David received his second anointing.  It was an anointing of AUTHORITY where he was declared King of Judah. (2 Sam. 2:4)  And after all of David’s glorying in tribulations, does it really come to any surprise that the Lord would anoint and establish him King over Judah, also called the House of Praise.

III. THE ATTEMPTS OF THE FLESH

1. King of Israel

Finally in II Samuel, chapters 4 and 5 we read about a strange set of circumstances that ushered David to his third anointing.  Again it was seemingly thrust upon him.  He was with this anointing made King of all Israel.  His authority was well established and uncontested.  Why would God design a third anointing when this young king was already walking in authority?  Because the purpose of this anointing went beyond seeing David on a bigger and better throne.  A servant’s heart had already been well worked into David and he knew his people would never be secure, safe or fulfilled unless his Master, the Lord God Jehovah ruled and reigned as King.

That was God’s original design.

And so David purposed in his heart to recover the ark of the covenant and bring it to Jerusalem where the temple was to be built.  The significance of the ark cannot be minimized.  Though only a few cubic feet, it contained the 10 Commandments etched by God’s own finger, a jar once containing manna that sustained the children of Israel in the wilderness centuries before, and Aaron’s rod that budded. (Heb. 9:4)  But most important, it contained the very presence of God Himself.  The brilliant SHEKINAH GLORY of the Lord emanated within the ark and at times could be seen between the two cherubims on top of the ark as a sign of God’s presence.  It was not an idol, a relic or a fancy piece of furniture.  It was the one place on Earth that God would fully inhabit and make His abode.  Just think, the God of the universe inside a wooden box covered with gold.  In fact the ark is a type and shadow of Christ Himself.

As the ark contained the 10 Commandments, (God’s written word), so too Christ is the Word made flesh to dwell among us. (Jn. 1:14)  Like the ark that contained Aaron’s rod that budded, (the scepter by which God’s people were governed), so too has all authority and dominion been given to Christ.  And as the ark contained a jar once holding manna, the bread from heaven, so too in Christ’s words we find the Bread of Heaven that nourishes unto Eternal Life.  Unparalleled glory would be revealed upon Him at His baptism, transfiguration and resurrection.  He, like the ark, would radiate with the shekinah glory of God’s presence.

Now the ark at the time of David’s reign was kept as Gibeah at the house of Abinadab.  Prior to this, the Philistines had captured the ark during the last days of Eli the priest.  But they returned it to Israel after only seven months for not only had their idol god Dagon been decapitated, but untold sickness, plagues, and deaths had visited the Philistine people.  And so with a huge cart pulled by oxen, David loaded up the ark so that all Israel might see and know the glory of the Lord again.

2. Big Wheels and Boards

But these noble plans were soon shattered.  No sooner did David begin his trek with the ark back to Jerusalem when fatality struck.  It appears that while en route, the ark began to sway.  Thinking it was going to topple, Uzzah, from the house of Abinadab, laid his hands on the ark and then immediately died.

Shock, horror, disbelief and fear filled David and his men.  Why would God strike dead a man trying to prevent the ark from falling?  He was only trying to help the “glory of the Lord” along.  How often we his people have resorted to natural means to foster and help what we think is God’s glory. But the splendor and majesty of His power, His authority, His shekinah glory is not going to return on a cart made of big wheels and boards.  How many revivals have started because some BIG WHEELS in the church organized some church BOARDS to get things ROLLING.  Oh they might have had a meeting alright, but was it really a work of the Holy Ghost?  Where is the FULLNESS of His POWER, His AUTHORITY, His GLORY?

The great move of God recorded in the Book of Acts started because God’s people came together for one purpose – to wait on Him.  To wait on His power, His in-filling, His presence.  The result was much more than the salvation of souls.  Re-read the Book of Acts.  The lame walk.  The blind see.  A man’s shadow heals multitudes.  Another man stoned and thrown to ferocious beasts, yet walks away.  Neither kings nor prisons hold them.  They literally turn the world upside down.  The gospel they preach is rumored everywhere.  Indescribable authority in both the natural and supernatural realm.  Yet the closer they came to death, the more they worshipped and acclaimed His name.  Why?  Because the glory of the Lord had returned to the Temple.  A temple not made with hands, but a temple that consisted of men and women like you and me.

These people tarried in Jerusalem for the promise of His power, His authority, His glory!  “And when they were all gathered in one place in one accord, suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing wind, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire that sat upon each of them.” (Acts 2:1-3)  Not only did they speak in tongues (verse 4) and receive the power of the Holy Ghost, but the authority of God’s word was imparted in the sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind.  And if that wasn’t enough, His shekinah glory was seen upon them when cloven tongues like as fire sat upon them.

3. This Glory

• This glory was the Light God created on the first day.
• This was the glory that clothed Adam and Eve in the garden before the fall.
• This was the glory that translated Enoch that he should not see death.
• It was this glory that Moses watched from a burning bush in the wilderness when he was called to be his people’s deliverer.
• This glory caught Elijah up to heaven in a chariot like as fire.
• Elisha prayed his servant see the same glory as the chariots of fire that would release an imprisoned Israel from is Syrian enemies the next day.
• This glory filled Solomon’s temple so that no one could enter it and all Israel heard the voice of God on that day like thunder.Ezekiel had a vision of this same glory like a fire enveloping inward. (Ez. 1:4)
• The three Hebrew children were surrounded by this the glory of the fourth man such that they were not even scorched by a blazing furnace.
• This glory shone out of darkness to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night and a multitude of the heavenly host proclaimed the birth of the Messiah.
• The fire that John the Baptist spoke of is that glory when he said, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and FIRE.” Furthermore, John’s prophecy was fulfilled to 120 disciples gathered in an upper room on the day of
• Pentecost for they spoke in tongues and God’s glory, like a flame of fire, appeared above the head of each one.
• This is the same glory that Jesus revealed to Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration.
• This glory was seen on the face of Stephen by his earthly persecutors such that He had the appearance of an angel. While being stoned he also saw this glory, forgave his executioners, then fell fast asleep for he was unaffected by pain.
• The wicked Saul of Tarsus who had Stephen stoned, saw this glory on the Road to Damascus. Thereafter he was transformed into the Apostle Paul.
• The beloved Apostle John saw this glory on a woman (the church) ready to deliver a manchild (the Sons of God) for she was clothed with the Son.

No wonder David sought a return of the glory of the Lord.  The fulfillment of this third anointing went beyond his boyhood empowerment.  It went beyond an anointing of authority.  It signified the full presence of God in complete control, thus putting to rest his efforts, his labors, his tribulations. It made all the struggle worthwhile.

4. Futile First Attempt

But we are no different than David in his futile first attempt to usher in the glory.  How many times have we tried to harness God’s glory?  We like to point to all the healings, miracles, and the episodes of God’s divine intervention in our lives, then use this to substantiate our position as the anointed and chosen.  See how God used ME.  I must be THE ONE who God will use to show everyone.  God used ME to raise the dead, heal the sick and so on.  I must be right on.

But just as Uzzah was struck down, so too will every believer be stopped dead in his or her tracks when these attitudes are exposed to the GLORIOUS LIGHT of the presence of the Holy Ghost.  In fact the Lord will engineer whatever circumstances are necessary to prevent us from putting our hands, our selfish motives on His glory.  “My glory will I not give to another says the Lord.” (Isa. 42:8)  This glory was reserved for the temple alone.  Not for a man, a king, or a ministry, but the temple of the Lord.  This glory will be returned to His people, who are the temple of the Lord in His time and His way. (I Cor. 3:16)  You can jump up and down, scream and shout, wave banners and dance your merry little heart out, but that won’t make it happen.  David tried that trick for we read in I Chronicles 13:7-8 that David went with all Israel out to the “ark on the cart” singing and playing instruments with all their might.  It didn’t stop Uzzah from dying. (verses 9 and 10)

Apparently Uzzah thought he had the right and the authority to handle the ark.  He didn’t expect God to strike him dead.  He had grown up with the ark in his house; in the household of Abinadab.  It had resided there for years after the Philistines returned it.  The power of the ark had never interfered with his plans before.  So too, many spirit filled believers who boast of growing up in churches where God’s power for years has resided.  Perhaps they take for granted His power and have never actually witnessed His glory as Uzzah.  “No big deal for me, I grew up in Pentecost.”  Perhaps they expect the glory of the Lord to return because they have put in their time and sat under Pentecostal preaching for years.  God’s power has never interfered before with their plans to build ministries.

But God’s glory will only return with and to those who have the spiritual authority to receive it.  Their authority is based on two things: a divine WISDOM that understands why adversity is sent our way and a divine REVELATION that comprehends how God’s purposes unfold.  The glory will only return to those who have received the “Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation” and know full well the hope of their calling. (Eph. 1:17-19)  They know that the return of God’s glory is not to a man, movement or ministry but to God in His Temple, His People, His Body.

Although David’s heart was wise for he had learned in tribulation to “bless the Lord at all times,” he lacked the revelation as to how the ark was to return.  And so David returned to Jerusalem to gain this understanding.

IV. THE ANOINTING OF GLORY

1. The Ark Returned

It wasn’t until David prepared a new, separate, unveiled tabernacle for the ark (I Chron. 15:1); agreed to accompany the Levite priests who carried it on their shoulders (I Chron. 15:2); and made sacrifice of oxen after every sixth step of the priests (I Sam. 6:13); that the ark was actually returned to Jerusalem.  The house prepared speaks about God preparing a people fashioned into a “holy habitation” where God can be revealed.

Just as David, the king, accompanied the priests, these people now being prepared are called by the Apostle John: KINGS and PRIESTS, for their ministry is UNTO HIM.  They worship HIM in spirit and in truth.  They are called to witness unto HIM.  And just as God’s glory was unveiled for David and the priests on that day, so to shall God’s glory rest on the saints of God in this final hour.  Jesus even prayed, “the glory which thou gavest me I have given them,” (Jn. 17:22) for “He shall come to be glorified in His saints.” (I Thes. 1:10)  They are called to be glorified because the Spirit of Christ is in them: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27)

The Levites took only six steps then offered the blood sacrifice of a beast of burden.  They took no seventh step for this was reserved for the Lord Himself as He walked in them.  Even as the Lord rested on the seventh day, so too are we called to enter into His rest by the blood of the Lamb.  His rest is the glory of the Lord.  Entering into His rest means He now bears our burden.  All labor and struggle is ended so that Christ can fully possess us. No more steps forward.  Just an end to self.  Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live.  Yet not I, but Christ that liveth in me.” (Gal. 2:20) But how can we gain access to this rest, this glory?  By simple faith in the shed blood of Him who bears our burdens.

2. David and Michal

David accompanied the journey of the ark’s return to Jerusalem with praise, song and dance, wearing a robe and a linen vest usually worn by the High Priest.  A comparison of the same account in II Samuel and I Chronicles suggests that David apparently danced with all his might to the point that he disrobed himself and was covered only with this vest wrapped around his waist.  Although pleasing to the Lord, this act was not taken lightly by David’s wife, Michal.  In fact she despised him in her heart and accused him of uncovering himself shamelessly before the handmaidens.

The unfortunate result was that Michal was made barren from that point on.  By rights her offspring would have been heir to David’s throne as she was Saul’s daughter. But she had not submitted to the tribulation of a wilderness journey, and consequently did not have nor appreciate whole hearted praise and worship of the Lord.  In this therefore, was she judged and made barren.

In sharp contrast however, we see David of whom Nathan prophesied, “thy seed…..shall build a house for my name and I will establish his throne forever.  I will be his Father and he shall be my Son.” (I Sam. 7:12-14) David’s son and successor, Solomon did build the temple to house the ark and the glory of the Lord did fill that temple. (2 Chron. 7:1-5)  But the promise extended beyond David’s immediate progeny, for Christ Himself would be born of David’s lineage.

Matthew’s first verse calls Him the son of David.  He was born in Bethlehem, the city of David.  When he healed the sick and cast out devils, the crowd called Him the son of David. (Mat. 12:23)  Blind Bartimaeus was healed after he cried out to Jesus, the son of David. (Mat. 10:46-52)  In Revelation 22:16 he even declares himself to be the root and offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.

The barrenness of Michal and fruitfulness of David speaks to us of our choices today.  The apostle Paul wrote, “I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” (Gal. 4:19)  Just as Christ came from the root, an offspring of David in the natural, so too is the promise that Christ come forth in and through us spiritually.  Paul’s birthing of Christ is preceded by travail.  There will be no birth unless there is travail.  There must be a submission to God in adversity, in tribulation, in the wilderness experiences of life so that the fruit of the Spirit can be reproduced in us.  Jesus is the fruit of the Spirit.  The theology of escape-ism will always produce a barren soul that despises true praise and worship.  But a “contrite heart and a broken spirit” (Ps. 51:17) is the fertile ground upon which God will establish His throne forever.

3. Three Hills in Jerusalem

The ark’s re-entry into Jerusalem is marked with a strange perplexity.  It was not returned to the Levites’ tabernacle according to the commandment of Moses on Mount Moriah.

Now Jerusalem is geographically marked with three mountains.  The first is the lowest called Mount Ophel.  David built his palace on this broad based hill and the masses lived on its gentle slopes.  It speaks of a common order of dwelling.  We all share the same sinful nature.  Even the kings among us will some day die as a result of sin.

The second highest peak was called Mount Moriah where the tabernacle of Moses was set up.  It was here that Abraham was instructed to offer up his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice.  Though prevented by God himself, the like figure speaks to us of the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus.  All of Jerusalem came to Moriah’s tabernacle to receive the forgiveness of sins and peach with God by the sacrifice of animals.  So too, our acceptance of Christ’s shed blood on Calvary, the sacrificial Lamb of God, cleanses us from sin and brings us into fellowship with Him.  But as glorious as this tabernacle was, it only provided the promise that the curse of death would be broken.  It did not provide the reality of an endless life in the here and now.  Our acceptance of Christ as Savior, like Moriah, affords us the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life.  But the promise is by faith, as yet unseen.

And so it was that David took the ark to the highest mountain in Jerusalem, Mount Zion.  From this pinnacle the glory of the Lord could be seen for miles around.  The ministry of Mount Moriah was surpassed by a higher order, a greater covenant.  The promise of an endless life had been given in covenant with one who predated Moses and his ancestor Abraham.  David took the ark to Mount Zion to re-establish the order of Melchizedek, the royal priest who walked in the power of an endless life. (Ps. 110:14)

4. Melchizedek

Now consider this man Melchizedek.  Abraham met him returning from battle and gave tithe unto him. (Gen. 14:18)  He was without father, without mother, having neither beginning of day nor end of life. (Heb. 7:3)  His walk with God had ushered him into timelessness.  He was called the King of Salem. (Heb. 7:2)  Salem means peace, hence he was the “King of Peace.”  His successor would therefore be called the “Prince of Peace” over Jeru-Salem, the city of peace.  But Melchizedek was much more than a king.  He is also called “Priest of the Most High God.”  No one before him had been king and priest.  The Levitical order of Moses and Abraham established on Mount Moriah produced no one who was both king and priest.  Kings were kings and priests were priests.  How could anyone govern people and yet truly minister to the Lord.  Not only minister to Him but be a high priest.  That means God’s closest confidant and friend is also established as king over God’s people.  The most reknown men of all history have laid claim to this; the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Ceasars of Rome, Emperors of China and Japan. Even individuals like Nebuchadnezzar, Napoleon or Khomeni claimed to be God’s man of power for the hour.  But they have all faded away with time, thus proving their claim counterfeit.  No one could be both unless they were sinless and immortal.  By setting the ark to rest on Mount Zion, David has once and for all enthroned the Lord Himself as both King and Priest over His people, after the order of Melchizedek.

5. A Light in Zion

The indescribable glory of the Lord was evidenced by all the nations on Earth in Mount Zion.  David describes this blessed event in a multitude of Psalms.

A few are listed below.

• Great is the Lord….in the mountains of His holiness……The joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king.  God is known in her palaces as a refuge….The kings were assembled, they passed by together……They saw it and so they marveled…….They were troubled and hasted away. (Ps. 48: 1-5)
• Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shinned. (Ps. 50:2)
• In Salem also is his tabernacle and his dwelling place in Zion…….thou art more glorious than the mountains. (Ps. 76:2 & 4)
• The Lord shall send the rod of they strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies……..Thou art forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Ps. 110:2 & 4)
• The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. (Ps. 98:2)
• The Lord reigneth…….he sitteth between the cherubim……….the Lord is great in Zion. (Ps. 99:1 & 2)
• When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in glory. (Ps. 102:16)
• O Lord thou art great…….who coverest thyself with Light as with a garment. (Ps. 104:1 & 2)
• The Lord reigneth, a fire goeth before Him and burneth up His enemies round about.  His lightning enlighteneth the world, the earth saw and trembled…….all the people see His glory.  Zion heard and was glad.  Light is sown for righteousness. (Ps. 97)

These and ALL 150 Psalms were written for and sung to the Lord God Jehovah as He ruled out of Zion.  The glory the Lord shinned out of Zion all 33 years David was king of Israel.  Likewise, Jesus was the expressed glory of God on earth for 33 years.  As David re-established the king-priest ministry, so too is Christ the King of Kings and a High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Heb. 5:5 & 6)

V. The Glory Returns

1. The Tabernacle of David

After David’s death, his son Solomon reigned as king.  But Solomon built the Lord’s temple on Mount Moriah, removed the ark from Zion to his temple and strengthened the Levitical order.  Once again the glory of the Lord was veiled – out of sight.  The Lord no longer reigned supreme.  Succeeding generations began to stray from God’s purpose and plan.  Civil war left the nation divided into Judah and Israel again.  Worldly influences from other nations gradually and ultimately resulted in a corrupted people.  Untold kings and priests struggled to retain their power and it seemed each succeeding generation grew more wicked.  Finally a great king, Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon, took for himself captives of the best of these two nations.  The glory of the Lord had long since departed as this great king lay waste Jerusalem, burned the temple and destroyed the ark.

But throughout these times of judgment, God was not without a voice.  In every generation He raised up someone, a remnant whose loyalties lay exclusively to Him.  Their message was a cry to return to the God of David. Over and over they prophesied that God would return and rebuild the tabernacle of David and Mount Zion.  Elijah’s friend, Obadiah, prophesied during the wicked reign of Ahab and Jezebel:
“Saviors shall come upon Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau (Gentiles), and the kingdom shall be the Lords.” (Ob. 21 with I Kings 18:3)

Amos prophesied of the coming Babylonian captivity but ended:
“I will raise up again the fallen tabernacle of David……that they may possess the remnant of Edom (the descendants of Esau) and all the heathen which are called by my name saith the Lord that doeth this.” (Amos 9:11 & 12)

The tabernacle of David will be rebuilt.  Zion’s glory will possess, as Amos describes, those called by HIS NAME.  These are, of course, Christians for they bear the name of Christ Himself.  In fact these shall come forth as Saviors.

The prophet Zechariah returned from Babylon with a great company of Jews to rebuild the temple and believe for a return of glory of the tabernacle of David.  But Zechariah was given a vision and a strong word to share with his fellow laborers.  The Lord told him and showed him that He would rebuild the temple Himself.  “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Zech. 4:6)

Since that time there have been many captivities and many returns to rebuild the temple.  But no glory has or ever will return to a man made temple.  The glory shall posses the remnant and the heathen called by His name (as Amos said).  No wonder the Apostle James declared in Acts 15:16 that Amos’ prophesy was being fulfilled when the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Gentiles.  We are that temple of the Holy Ghost (I Cor. 3:16) in whom and upon whom the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. (Isa. 60:2)

God has called every blood-bought, born-again, Spirit filled believer to come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4:13)  That you go in and out no more but be a pillar in the temple of your God. (Rev. 3:12) He has called and chosen you and I to be Kings and Priests unto Him. (Rev. 1:6)  He has chosen us to be the revealing of the Lord in our life time. (I Thes. 1:10)  “The Lord shall arise upon thee and His glory shall be seen upon thee.” (Isa. 60:1, 2)  In this, beloved, “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” (Isa. 40:5)

2. Eternal Life Now

Like Melchizedek, we are called to walk in resurrection life power, in the here and now; to enter into eternal life now, to receive everlasting life now; not just the promise, by faith, some day in the great by and by – but HERE and NOW.

Jesus said, “I AM the resurrection and the life…..he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (Jn. 11:25)  He didn’t say only if you are dead, yet shall you live.  He said even though you might be one of the ones who die, you too can enter into resurrection life.  But it is clear that this promise of Resurrection Life, eternal life is for “he that believeth” and not just for “he that believeth yet is dead.”  In fact verse 26 states, “whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall NEVER die.”

Jesus walked in this Resurrection life.  Speaking of His life, He said, “I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again.” (Jn. 10:18) No one killed, murdered or assassinated Jesus.  He laid his life down willingly.  His blood wasn’t spilled, it was shed!  His resurrection from the dead was proof that He had entered into “the power of an endless life” after the order of Melchizedek.  Even Paul walked in resurrection life for he says he was in deaths oft or died many times. (2 Cor. 11:23)  To the Philippians he even confessed that he was caught in indecision.  He said he wanted to go home to be with the Lord, he wanted to die.  But because they had need of him, of his mighty working as an apostle, he decided to stay for their sakes. If he was executed, stoned (2 Cor. 11:25), or thrown to ferocious beasts (I Cor. 15:22), he just got up after it was all over and went about his business preaching and teaching the Good News of the “Resurrection Life” in Christ.

No wonder He taught us to pray “thine is the Kingdom (authority), the Power and the Glory!”  These three anointings, the power, authority and glory are described in picture and allegory in the life of David.  They are revealed in the life of Jesus and they are manifest in you and I, the believers, the saints.  These three anointings are the fullness of God.  This is the “Rest” spoken by the writer of Hebrews.  He goes on, “there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” (Heb. 4:9)  For “We are come unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…..and to God, the judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” (Heb. 12:22 & 23)  Thus we, “are built up (to) a spiritual house,…..in Zion, a chosen generation, a Royal Priesthood (kings and priests), a holy nation that we should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous Light!” (I Pet. 2:5-9)

3. Conclusion

God is calling forth a people in this hour to return to Zion.  The power, the authority and the glory of the Lord will be revealed in them, through them and upon them.  These shall walk in resurrection life, eternal life, in the here and now.  Like Jesus and Paul, they shall walk in timelessness for they shall inherit immortality in their life time.  The fire of God’s glory shall purge the dross of their sinful natures and they shall receive the divine nature.  This is the righteous remnant, the redeemed of the Lord, that shall return unto Zion.  These shall possess the fullness of God to be revealed at the end of this present age.  These are the Sons of God.  These are kings and priests to the Most High, a Royal Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek.

This is the Body of Christ, God’s expression on earth.  This Body is to come forth to be revealed in glory as the ark was when returned to Zion.  These shall rule the nations with a rod of iron.  These shall walk in oneness with God Himself.  He who “fills all in all” shall rule and reign supreme on the earth, for He shall rule in them and through them.

Beloved, you have been called to walk in this promise.  Press in to receive all that God has for you “that your joy may be full.”  The hour is short and this present day draws to a close.  “He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”  Seek Him for the abundance.  Seek Him for “Life Abundantly.” “He will do exceedingly above all that you ask or think.”  He is your portion, your inheritance, your life.  He is come to be glorified IN HIS SAINTS.

In Revelation 14, John records a multitude of 144,000.  These stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion.  They speak not their own words for their sound is the same as that of Jesus; “the voice of many waters.” (Rev. 1:15 & Rev. 14:2) Unlike the company of 144,000 recorded in Revelation 7 who were gathered from the twelve tribes of Israel, these are redeemed from the entire earth. (Rev. 14:3)

Many believe this to be a literal number.  But this is a spiritual book written for those with spiritual understanding.  The message throughout this book is, “To him that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

This 144,000 is a spiritual number for it describes those who have returned to Zion.  The number is understood as it is 12 x 12 x 1,000.  In the Bible, 12 has a dual meaning.  It speaks of authority for there were 12 tribes of Israel by which God’s people were governed.  Christ also chose 12 apostles.  The number 1,000 speaks of a dispensation when God’s divine power will be manifest throughout the earth.  Hence these 144,000 are the redeemed of the Lord who are crowned with the divine glory of Zion.  They walk in apostolic power and authority as they rule and reign with Him 1,000 years on the earth.  This is the manifestation of the Sons of God.  These are ONE with God!

God has called you to number among those in Zion on that day.  Open your heart and believe for ALL that He has prepared for you!

Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. (Isaiah 51:11)

Woman at the Well (The Five Husbands)

By Jackie Eddy

Click here to watch Brother Jerry recite Hebrews 11

Preston Eby

The book of Revelation contains deep and rich teachings for the elect saints of God concerning the coming of Christ.   The coming of the Lord as revealed in the book of Revelation is complex and progressive, extending through a variety of diverse scenes, stages, events, and manifestations, until He has come in such measure of fullness that we know Him finally in that dimension where HE is the glorious fulfillment of all that our heart has yearned for, and desired so earnestly with all the lacks swallowed up into completeness, all the voids filled with His fullness, and we know the bliss of HIMSELF as our all-in-all!

Almost two thousand years ago John on the isle of Patmos saw unfolding before Him the enthralling drama of the coming of His Lord. As the awesome sight began to unfold he cried out in astonished wonder and surprised joy, “Behold! He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him.”

This phrase, ‘He cometh’, is from the Greek word erchomai. It is the third person singular, present indicative. Anyone who knows the conjunction of verbs knows what that means.First, it means HE COMES as a present tense reality. The verb is present indicative. He comes. He is in the act of coming. Behold! He is now coming! In other words, He has been coming, He is still in the act of coming, and He continues to come. This is extremely important. More than once the coming of the Lord is spoken of in this tense throughout the book of Revelation. It’s not merely a future thing, not something that shall happen somewhere down the course of history, but it is something that is happening.

The church world is either looking back to an historical Christ, or forward to a futuristic coming of Christ. They miss this word erchomai altogether, and their spiritual understanding never becomes quickened to this grand truth that HE COMES -— He is coming, He continues to come, and He will continue to come, until He has come in the fullness of every dimension in which He can come. It is something that is happening right now! It is happening in your life right now! It means that He comes from one place to another. He comes out of the realm of spirit to be manifested in flesh, out of the realm of the invisible to be expressed and revealed in a visible, tangible way to the physical creation.

Erchomai means to come, to make one’s appearance before the public.It means that He comes and appears before the view of the people round about.And this coming has already happened, it is happening now, and shall continue to happen! This is the revelation that so captivated the apostle John that he could only exclaim with amazement, “Behold! He comes!” And we have been just as amazed as the Spirit has borne witness for a number of years now among the Lord’s people that soon Christ shall come in a manifestation of Himself on a plane and in a measure never before seen or experienced by men upon this planet. He shall come to be glorified in His saints and manifested in His sons to set creation free from the bondage of corruption. The power of sin and death, shall first be broken off Gods people and then from all humanity.  It is true that He has come in a partial measure but He shall yet come in fullness!

Let’s look at two more words in the statement that John made, “Behold! He cometh with clouds.” The word  ‘with’ is from the Greek preposition meta. It means with, but it also means together with, in the midst of, among, between, in common with,with the help of, and by means of.

Here are the ways He comes: Behold!He comes with clouds, denoting an association. Behold! He comes together with clouds, denoting a communion. Behold! He comes in the midst of clouds, denoting an indwelling. Behold! He comes among clouds, denoting a fellowship. Behold! He comes between clouds, denoting a union. Behold! He comes in common with clouds,denoting participation. Behold! He comes with the help of clouds, denoting interdependence. Behold! He comes by means of clouds, denoting an instrumentality.

From the dawn of history the 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.

In Ex. 13:21-22 it says, “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” 

What did the glory 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 Yahweh was uniquely present in this place, at this time, for a special purpose. When the 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.” 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 in Ex. 19:9,

“I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.”

Again in Lev. 16:22 God told Moses,“Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.”

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 children 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 in that worship structure within the nation of Israel. The light that shone in the holiest of all behind the temple curtain of blue and purple and scarlet and fine twined linen laced with threads of gold and figures of cherubim was not the beams of the sevenfold candlestick of the holy place or even the radiance of the sun in the outercourt. It was the glory light of God’s own divine majesty! Through time the Israelites called that glory cloud of God the shekinah. 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 special sense,they called it the shekinah or dwelling glory of God!

The disciples of Jesus had become accustomed to seeing Jesus the man, Jesus the healer, Jesus the teacher, and Jesus the miracle worker. They had heard Him tell of the majesty and glory of His Father in heaven but had never grasped the significance of the glory,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! Out of that bright cloud the voice of the Father spake concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.  “This is my beloved Son — listen 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. What was that bright cloud with the light in it from which the voice of God spoke on the mount of Jesus’ transfiguration?  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. In the wilderness this glory, this cloud, and the voice out of the cloud are all brought together:  The writer to the Hebrews identified this voice and this glory in these remarkable words, Heb. 1:1-3,

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 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, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;……”

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!  Be assured beyond any possible shadow of doubt that it was this same shekinah, this very same glory cloud which the eleven disciples beheld in spell-bound astonishment on the crest of the mount of Olives that blessed day when the Lord ascended into mid-air and suddenly a bright cloud, like a chariot of God, bore Him speedily away,concealing Him from mortal gaze.  It says in Acts 1:9, “When He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight,”

Was this an accident? An illusion? A marvelous coincidence? Not on your life! This is same cloud which hovered over Israel in the wilderness; the cloud which rested upon the glorious tabernacle of old; the cloud which dwelt between the gleaming cherubim in the most holy place; the cloud which filled Solomon’s temple until the ministers could not minister by reason of the blazing glory; the cloud which overshadowed the virgin girl Mary when she came to be with child; and the cloud which enveloped the Son of God and revealed His glory on the mount of transfiguration. That cloud is the very same cloud that received the Lord Jesus into it’s midst and out of the sight of mortal eyes!  The cloud that received Jesus out of the sight of those startled disciples certainly   was no ordinary rain cloud which happened to be blown across a torturous sky. It was the blazing shekinah cloud which had always veiled the divine majesty of God from time immemorial!

Here is something that has entirely been overlooked by most Bible students and nearly all preachers and teachers.All the way through the scriptures, from the crossing of the Red Sea by the children of Israel, to the ascension of Christ from the Mount of Olives, God consistently manifested Himself in ONE GLORY CLOUD.  There was always only ONE SINGLE CLOUD! One cloud before the camp of Israel. One cloud over mount Sinai. One cloud resting upon the tabernacle in the wilderness. One cloud shining in the most holy place. One cloud filling Solomon’s temple. One cloud overshadowing the virgin of Galilee, implanting the seed of the Christ. One cloud shimmering over the summit of the mount of transfiguration. One cloud in which Christ ascended from the Mount of Olives. Christ ascended in one single cloud of God’s glory — the very same cloud in which He had manifested His presence throughout the long ages of time!

Why is it then when we come to the return of the Lord that we notice a distinct difference? For suddenly the one single cloud disappears and we are introduced to a great plurality of clouds!  Christ departed this earth in one cloud. He comes again in many clouds!

Again, John said in Rev. 1:7,

“Behold, He cometh with clouds: and every eye shall see Him”

In Daniel 7:13-14 he says,

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like a Son of man came with the clouds of heaven… and there was given unto Him dominion”

Jesus Himself said Matt: 24:30,

“And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds

  of heaven with power and great glory”

And again in Mat. 26:64,

“Hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” 

 Finally, the apostle Paul relates this dramatic experience in 1 Thes. 4:17,“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds…and so shall we ever be with the Lord” .  Notice all these verses say, In the CLOUDS!  More than one cloud. Many clouds. A great company of clouds! Why are there many clouds attending Christ’s coming, and what are these clouds?Let’s not for one moment forget that we are dealing with the cloud of God’s glory, presence, and power — the shekinah!

When the firstborn Son of God was in the world John said of Him in Jn. 1:14,  “We beheld His glory” When did they behold His glory? You may reply that they beheld His glory when He went about doing good, healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, performing miracles and teaching and speaking as never man spoke. I am sure that in all those things they beheld His authority, but the apostle Peter reveals to us what is really meant by their beholding the glory of the Son. In 2 Peter 1:16-18 he says,

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables,when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory (the glory cloud), saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount”

It is very significant that at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry He said in John 17:20-24, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also shall be one in us…and the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them.. .I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.. .that they be with me where I am;that they may behold my glory which Thou hast given me”

And this is the crux of the whole matter! From the dawn of creation’s light until Jesus stepped upon this planet,God was manifested to His creation in a singular way His own glory. He, the one eternal God, exhibited His presence in the form of one glory cloud! But as Jesus approached the cross and the glorious events to unfold thereafter, He disclosed the grand truth that God purposed from eternity to SHARE HIS GLORY WITH A VAST FAMILY OF SONS….that glorious body which is the fullness of Him that fills all in all!

Let us see, then, what great encouragement God has given us concerning His glory. Paul said in 1 Thes. 2:14,

“For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”Peter adds to this in 1Peter 5:1when he says,“I.. also am.. a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed” .  Paul said in 2 Thes. 2:14,“He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And again in Rom. 8:18,“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us”

The writer to the Hebrews adds this significant testimony in Heb. 2:10,“For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” 

As the spirit of revelation and understanding floods our minds, we are left without question as to the meaning of all this. There is to be a mighty and universal revelation of the glory of God, that very same glory which was revealed in the cloud of old, but now an intensified many-splendored glory in the many clouds of God’s sons!

Another evidence that the”clouds” with which Christ comes are in fact the sons of God in their glory is couched in the terminology of the scriptures on this subject. In most places the passages in question speak of Christ coming “with clouds.”There is only one other group of plurality of objects of which it is stated that Christ comes “with” them, and that is — the SAINTS! Paul says in1 Thes. 3:13,

“To the end that He may establish your hearts.. .at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ WITH ALL HIS SAINTS”

Jude says in Jude 14,“See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones..”The Amplified is helpful, when it reads,

“Behold, the Lord comes WITH MYRJADS OF HOLY ONES — ten thousands of His saints.”But the Interlinear reading from the Diaglott translation gives the clearest of all renderings from the Greek text, so we note,”Lo, comes Lord IN HOLY MYRIADS OF HIMSELF.”

Myriads of Himself! And all of them partakers of His divine nature, conformed to His image, infused with His mind,filled with His life, radiating His glory! Myriads of Himself; of His own kind,born of His seed, reproducing His life, a many brethren company of sons — all His sons.

Though there are multiplied testimonies to this truth, I will add just one more: In Zech. 14:5 it says,“And the Lord my God shall come, and ALL THE SAINTS WITH THEE”. The beloved John sees this same scene in wonder-filled vision and cries out, “Behold, He cometh WITH CLOUDS; and every eye shall see Him!”

When Jesus ascended two thousand years ago, He ascended glorified in that singular glory cloud in which He had dwelt from eternity. He was the one God manifested in all fullness in one Man,the Son. But, blessed be God! As He comes again, “He shall come to be GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS, and to be admired IN THEM that believe” Centuries ago the apostle Paul wrote these words to the saints at Rome,

“And if we are children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also GLORIFIED TOGETHER”.

Christ coming “with clouds” certainly shows that each of these sons, to whom is given that same glory that Jesus had from eternity, shall stand ultimately in his own realm of the glory of the Lord. The glory is shared, so the cloud which represents that glory is shared. Each elect son becomes a manifestation of the glory — of the cloud—of the shekinah! In the light of such truth let us search our hearts and sanctify ourselves in the knowledge that we are the body of Christ. The cloud of old rested upon the tabernacle and filled the temple with the glory of the Lord! We are now His tabernacle and His temple! We are now His ark, His most holy place, and His holy mount!

The glory is now given to us, rests upon us, increasingly fills us, and shall radiate out from this holy habitation of God forevermore! In Old Testament times God dwelt in one single cloud. But now He says, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them… and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord” (II Cor. 6:16-18).

As the clouds pour out the rain upon our land, so the heavens pour down water upon the earth. When a cloud becomes so heavy with droplets that it can no longer hold them, it spills over, and we have rain. We have heard so much about the latter rain being poured out in our generation but I want to tell you that all we have seen are light showers.  The main storm is about to be released as the sons of God are revealed to the world. Psalms 104:3, 13 says: “0 Lord my God, Thou art very great…who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters: who maketh the cloud His chariot: He watereth the hills from His chambers”

The clouds are the chambers of God containing the water of life! A cloud is full of water and water speaks to us of life. Water typifies both the Spirit of God and the Word of God (Eph. 5:26; John. 7:37-39). A cloud speaks to us of a vessel which contains water, or contains life. God by His Spirit gives living water to refresh and impart life to His creation! It is the nature of a cloud to empty itself   Eccl.11:3 says,

“If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth”.  When the cloud gets filled up, it rains! That is the nature of the clouds — rain pours out! Now, all that God is is being formed in His sons, we are becoming a receptacle, a vehicle for all the fullness of God, filled up with the life-giving properties of our Father! HE IS FILLING THE CLOUDS!

The nature of each son will be to pour out that life just as God poured it into Jesus and Jesus is pouring it into us. If the sons, as the clouds of heaven, be full of God, they will pour Him out upon all who dwell in the earth-realm! A true ministry has life to give, and is willing to empty himself in order to give life to a dry and thirsty people. Pour out his life for others — that is what Jesus did! We shall empty out that same life on a groaning creation and quicken all who are held in the bondage of corruption! The apostles Peter and Jude both tell us that false ministries are “clouds without water… carried about of winds.”  A true ministry, then, is a cloud with water. A true ministry has life to give! A true ministry is willing to empty himself out in order to bring that life to a dry and parched land! Jesus was a bright cloud laden with water, for “the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and give His life…”

The one glory has become the multiple glories! The one cloud of His presence has become many clouds of His presence! The Lord is coming to be glorified in a many-membered body, in the clouds of His presence! These are the clouds of His glory into which the triumphant saints of God are being”caught up.” Our “catching up” is being brought to that high spiritual sphere where we become one with that whole great “cloud of witnesses,” the spirits of just men made perfect! They without us cannot be made perfect, but they with us are the very perfection of God expressed out of the high realm of the heavens of God’s Spirit. (Heb. 11:40).  What a glorious union of forces when those of our generation on earth, and all those overcoming saints of all former ages who have gone on before us, are joined together, becoming an indestructible force in the full, total and complete manifestation of God’s majesty, power,and glory at the manifestation of the sons of God! Gird up your loins, beloved,for I hear the sound of abundance of rain!

The Resident within the shimmering cloud of glory is just the Lord Himself The Lord is the source of the dazzling light, for it is He who causes the celestial host to shine forth, thus forming the “cloud” and manifesting His glory thereby. Be not discouraged, my beloved, for our Lord shall complete all of His work and purpose in us, lifting us up into higher realms of His Spirit and completing that union with the whole body of the firstborn. The life of God is taking form! The clouds are coming together! The clouds are gathering rain! The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together! Behold, He cometh with clouds,and every eye shall see Him! Paul said in II Cor. 4:7.“We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

There is a glory even now as we glorify God in these mortal bodies. Christ had and disclosed such a glory in that dim and distant past when He walked the shores of Galilee. But,blessed be His name, in His resurrection He came forth in new garments, clad in a sin-free and death-free body of incorruption and immortality! Now His wonderful life is swallowing up the sin and death in us bringing to His chosen ones also a change of raiment and in His due time we shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, for this corruptible is putting on incorruption and this mortal is putting on immortality. Only as we daily put on the Lord Jesus Christ are we changed!

“Putting on” is not a passive thing. We are putting on the Lord Jesus Christ; we are putting on incorruption and immortality and because we are putting on the life, mind, and nature of His resurrection we are being changed! When we are fully changed by the power of His resurrection we shall be bright clouds out of whom God shall shine and out of whom the voice of God shall speak. We shall be pillars of clouds by day, and pillars of fire by night, to lead and guide all humanity from the bondage of Egypt to the blessing and abundance of the Promised Land!

Though His glory has generally been hidden throughout the ages, at certain times and on special occasions that hidden glory has flashed forth into prominence before the eyes of the few whom by the predestined counsel of God were permitted to experience unspeakable things unlawful for a man to utter. We are coming ever nearer when God shall unveil His power and glory before the face of all nations and peoples in a manner far beyond any measure experienced by men of any age! The whole world shall soon see the glory of the Lord in an unprecedented way!

From earths teeming millions of all ages there is a people arising in the image of Christ.Those who watch the spiritual heavens shall soon see clouds as they have never seen before! We have seen the clouds of earth’s atmosphere, inky black clouds,and clouds of snowy whiteness, clouds brightly tinted and many silver lined,clouds made brilliantly gorgeous by the afterglow of the setting sun. But we never yet have seen clouds made magnificently glorious by the blazing splendor of the Son of God!  We have seen clouds charged by flashes of lightning. But we have yet to see clouds charged with the power of omnipotence and flashing with the incorruptible radiance of Christ’s life and immortality! Afar off we have seen the morning clouds as they have enwrapped the distant mountain peaks and splendidly capped the hilltops. We have yet to see the clouds which enfold the blazing form of the Mighty One!  We have seen clouds driven as chariots to carry rain to the dry and thirsty fields. But CLOUDS ARE FORMING IN THE HEAVENS OF GOD’S SPIRIT THAT WILL BE SEEN, THAT WILL BE THE CHARIOT OF  HEAVEN ‘S KING OF GLORY AS HE COMES TO REFRESH AND QUICKEN AND RESTORE ALL THINGS!

What a sight for eyes to behold! How it enraptures the faithful ones who “love His appearing” and have hoped to the end “for the grace that is to be brought unto them” at”the revelation of Jesus Christ.” All of a sudden the blazing light of day will take on a new brightness, above all the glory of the sun, and grow still more light, more bright, and more dazzling, until the eyes of men behold the advancing glory of God’s Christ! And with the glory clouds of myriads of like ones unto Himself the all-conquering Christ will appear in all the fullness of Himself in the earth! These brilliant bands will fill the glory-flashing skies from end to end and flood the world with life, light, and love!

No wonder John followed his exclamation concerning the Lord coming with clouds with this significant explanation: “. . . and every eye shall see Him.” This beautiful text has often been misused and abused in an attempt to prove the erroneous theory that Jesus will return as a flesh and blood man and be suspended in the sky until every individual throughout the whole earth has had an opportunity to see Him. But this crude interpretation of the prophecy is quite out of harmony with the Bible’s use of language and the symbolic scheme of the book of Revelation. Let us note, for example, how scripture uses the function of the eye to symbolize discernment. After Job’s long experience of calamity and trial, and the revelation of God’s heart to him, he cried out in communion with God, “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but NOW MINE EYE SEETH THEE!” (Job 42:5). All will concede, I believe, that Job did not see God literally, but he saw Him,nonetheless. Jesus said to His disciples, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see.” I doubt that any would contend that Jesus was reminding the disciples to reflect upon how fortunate they were not to be physically blind!

To “see” means to know.”Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall know God.” A pure heart is one to which all that is not of God is strange and jarring. A heart that has no desires but for the glory of God, whose affections all center in Him, whose delight is in His perfect will, such an one will truly see and know the Lord! It is better to know God than even to see Him by the eyes of sense.There were many who saw Jesus who did not know Him. They saw the Christ, but they knew not that He was the Christ.  They saw His miracles, but they did not know Him. Some of them even rejected Him and hated Him. You could see Jesus Himself in bodily form today, but unless your heart is quickened, cleansed, and transformed, you could not know Him to be the Christ. It is only purity of heart that gives purity of sight!

I don’t believe every eye is going to see Him because they are watching TBN, CNN, reading USA Today. Every eye is going to see Him because there is coming such great grace and mighty power at the revelation of Jesus Christ in His body that it shall produce a supernatural quickening in the lives of all who behold the appearing of the Lord. Their spiritual eyes shall be opened and they will understand and know what they have never known before! They will not see as they have seen before, but their minds and hearts will be changed and transfigured in the light of His glory. What a  hope!

A beautiful illustration is found in the gospel of Luke. The aged prophet, Simeon, who had received the promise from God that he should not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ, came by the Spirit into the temple, when Joseph and Mary brought in the child Jesus.”Then took he Him up in his arms and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: FOR MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THY SALVATION.”

What kind of eyesight is this? A little babe in the arms of his mother, and yet Simeon’ s eyes were opened to see — not just the form of the babe, but THY SALVATION! This certainly was not an uncommon sight; mothers were constantly coming into the temple with their children, to do for them after the custom of the law. And no doubt there was a vast multitude of other people in the temple on that day; they, too, saw the babe in the arms of his mother, but they did not see THY SALVATION, for having eyes, they saw not — “and the world knew Him not.”

When the scripture said, “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together,”God is saying the same to the world today. The unveiling of the Sons of God is the revelation of the glory of the Lord! When the glory of the Lord is revealed, which is the salvation of God, it is the fulfillment of the word of the Lord to His elect through Isaiah, “I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that THOU MAYEST BE MY SALVATION UNTO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.”

When the kingdom of God fills the earth, the earth will be filled with righteousness. WE ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD! When the glory of the Lord is revealed, the earth will be flooded with light. WE ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! The reason the world will know the sons of God to be the salvation of God is because God pours out His Spirit upon all flesh. All humanity, with that quickening of the Spirit, will have their eyes enlightened to see in the body of Christ the salvation of God, to see in the sons of God the glory of God and the righteousness of God. The world will see God’s elect as the righteousness of God because we are becoming righteous sons!The world will see God’s elect as the light of the world because we are becoming a glorious shining people! The world will see God’s elect as the salvation of God because we are becoming a fully-saved people!

Well, Praise God. He is rising up in His people. Open your heart and allow Him to shine through you.