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"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..."
FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part 103
MINISTRY FROM THE GOLDEN ALTAR
(continued)
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden
altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers
of the saints, ascended up before God out of
the angels hand (Rev. 8:3-4).
So many truths come pouring into the soul from this wonderful vision, and the
understanding of these mysteries is of eternal importance, for until they are fulfilled
experientially within us we will be ineffectual in our ministry as the priesthood of God. I would draw your attention to seven specific
items in this beautiful scene. There is an
angel, an altar, a golden censer, incense, fire, prayers, and smoke. We must be very certain about the identity of each
of these objects! The imagery is drawn from
the typical tabernacle of Moses in the wilderness. The
setting is the holy place, the location of the golden altar in the tabernacle. It was stationed just before the veil of entrance
into the most holy place of the throne of God upon the ark of the covenant. Here it is viewed as standing before the throne of
God in the heavens of Gods Spirit!
The scene opens with John announcing that another angel came and stood at the
altar. More literally the Greek
indicates that another angel came and took his place at the altar, indicating
that he had the right to be there, that it was his appointed place to exercise authority. This symbolic angel John saw standing by the altar, having the
golden censer in his hand, ministering in the holy things of the altar, is none other than
our great high priest of the heavens, the Lord Jesus Christ; for this angel
occupies the place of the high priest in the temple worship
(Heb. 8:1-2; 9:11). This is not a created
angel as some contend, for a created angel is never portrayed as a priest. But this angel stands before the altar and
officiates as a priest! A mere angel has
nothing to do with our prayers, but our blessed Lord has, for our prayers are offered in His name. Nothing
can be plainer than this!
The
fire upon the altar is the energizing,
quickening, transforming presence and power of God Himself who is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). The purpose of the fire was to consume and
transform every sacrifice placed upon the altar. The
fire was God Himself! The golden censer represents each member of Gods
elect, for the fire of God resides in the life of every man and woman who has been
baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
The
prayers offered upon the altar are the effectual
prayers of those saints who minister as priests
in the Spirit and by the Spirit. Now there
are multitudes of prayers that are daily offered up to God.
You can go to any church and hear many prayers. People pray under all kinds of circumstances. In times of distress, trouble, and crisis, everyone
prays! Not every prayer is prayed in the Spirit and by the Spirit. There
are all kinds of prayers, Roman Catholics chanting their Hail Marys, Moslems
on their faces on their prayer rugs five times daily, repeating their prayers to Allah,
prayers going around and around on a Tibetan Prayer Wheel, and written prayers pushed into
the cracks between the stones of Solomons temple at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Let us stand assured of this important
fact: If there is not some other ingredient
added to all those prayers, they have no value as priestly prayers, no spiritual power
whatsoever, they will never get off the altar they are offered upon, they will never
ascend any higher than the head of the person offering them, and they can not penetrate
through and beyond the veil into the throne-room of God!
Apart from the unction of the Holy Ghost they are merely words!
This
brings us to the incense. In a number of places in scripture incense is used
as the symbol of prayer. David cried,
Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense (Ps. 141:2). Here in Johns vision of the ministry at the
golden altar, however, there is a difference! The
incense is not the prayers of the saints, but is
offered up with the prayers of the saints. This concept is most interesting. It suggests that the prayers of the saints were
lying on the altar and the angel came with the incense to cense the holy things. Incense mingled with the prayers of the saints can
only be prayer
mingled with prayer! PRAYER OF A
HIGHER, PURER TYPE INTERMIXED WITH THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS! Can we not see by this that the incense is the
activity of the Holy Spirit in our prayers as we pray in the Spirit and
with the Spirit, for the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot
be uttered
He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God
(Rom. 8:26-27).
When
the Holy Spirit comes to our aid, moving mightily within our spirit, is when the incense
is added to our prayers! The anointing of the Spirit gives life and adds power and efficacy
to our prayers! Let us consider these
significant words, And there was given unto Him much incense, that He should offer it with the
prayers of all saints. Not just a
little incense, but a full and abundant anointing that is sufficient for every need
not only for our situation and calling, but for all creation. The incense-anointing offered upon the altar of
our hearts is the power of the Spirit which animates, motivates, enlivens, activates,
instigates, and energizes every prayer that is prayed in the Spirit and by the Spirit.
There
in the holy place the high priest burned the incense which ascended from the altar and
wafted its way through the veil, permeating the presence and throne of the Lord. Those who work in our office here in El Paso
understand how easily incense penetrates from realm to realm, because there is an incense
shop two doors down from our offices, and those people burn incense for hours at a time. They are two doors away with another business
between, but the incense so penetrates through the ceiling and the walls until some days
it is almost suffocating in our office. Incense
permeates! When the incense was burned in the
holy place nothing could keep it out from the most holy place. The incense, before it was crumbled over the live
coals was a cold, hard substance; but the fire transformed it into a spiritual essence that penetrated through the veil,
under the veil, and around the veil, entering right into the presence of God and the
majesty of His throne in the Holiest of all! The
deep spiritual meaning of this is that when our prayers are offered by the quickening of
the spirit and power of God, nothing can keep those prayers from their destination, and
nothing can prevent them from being answered!
Finally,
the smoke of the incense, which ascended up with
the prayers of the saints, bespeaks of the fragrance
of our prayers which ascends up before God as a sweet-smelling savor that which is
well pleasing and acceptable unto the Lord! The
message is clear prayer is not priestly
prayer unless it is in the Spirit and by the Spirit!
The power of God as holy fire is that which energizes the prayers of
Gods Royal Priesthood! Now anybody can
pray. Anyone can utter words and
make requests of God. But God pays no
attention to many prayers! Prayer is a spiritual activity!
There must be a spiritual operation in
prayer, an anointing, a quickening, an energizing that comes out of the very spirit of the
high priest within us, which also gives unction, force, validity, authority, and power to
the prayer! Without the fire and the incense
of the altar the prayer is essenceless, cold, hard, lifeless, barren, sterile, spiritless,
dead, meaningless, and unprofitable.
One
of the greatest truths ever revealed concerning sonship prayer was penned by the apostle
Paul in his letter to the Romans. LIKEWISE
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities (weaknesses, lack of understanding): for we know
not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. And
He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh
intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Rom. 8:26-27). It seems to me that for centuries our eyes have
been kept holden to many of the great truths of scripture.
Without a doubt, very few who have read these beautiful words of Paul have
truly understood what they read. Generally,
it is taught that the Holy Spirit will cause us to intercede in prayer, praying for our
own or others needs, when we lack the understanding of just what we should ask for. There is certainly a measure of truth in that,
however, the intent of this passage is to
show that the Holy Spirit will cause the saints to make intercession, not for their
own earthly needs, or the physical and natural needs of their brethren and friends, BUT
FOR THE DELIVERANCE OF BOTH THE SONS OF GOD AND THE WHOLE CREATION FROM THE BONDAGE OF
CORRUPTION!
The
word LIKEWISE in verse twenty-six is a conjunctive adverb which joins the
subject of true intercessory prayer with the subject preceding it. The subject of the entire eighth chapter of
Romans is the manifestation of the sons of God and the deliverance of the whole creation. Paul explains that the creation is in a sort of
universal travail for the manifestation of Gods sons, because that is
creations hope for deliverance from the
whole dreadful realm of corruption, sin, and death. Then
he shows that we ourselves, who have and enjoy the firstfruits of the Spirit, which is but
a foretaste of the blissful things to come, do groan inwardly as we wait for the
redemption of our bodies from the power of corruption and death, which will reveal our
adoption, our placement as sons, or our manifestation as the sons of God with power to
deliver creation. The underlying theme is the
groaning! Creation groans! We,
the future manifest sons of God, groan! Then
follows the little conjunctive adverb LIKEWISE!
Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities
the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (by
man)
because He maketh intercession for the
saints according to the will of God. Oh,
the wonder of it! Creation groans, we groan,
and likewise
the Spirit Himself groans for the same thing on a plane beyond our ability and understanding!
The
prayer which the Holy Spirit would pray through all the elect is that prayer which
corresponds to the groans and travail of every created thing! Most of us spend much of our prayer time praying
for our own temporal needs, rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through us with
groanings which cannot be uttered, the transcendental prayer for the manifestation of the
sons of God and the deliverance of the whole creation.
A very basic and fundamental truth is stated when Paul says,
for
we know not what we should pray for as we ought.
It would indeed be a gigantic step forward toward maturity and perfection in
Christ if all of us would allow the truth of this to permeate our beings. This truth would unquestionably revolutionize our
spiritual life, for the fact is that WE KNOW NOT WHAT WE SHOULD PRAY FOR AS WE OUGHT!
Oh,
we think we know! Even when we think we dont know, it is
often because we are in a quandary between two or more things. Should I keep my present job, or change to
another? Should I buy a new
house, or remain where I am? Is
it Gods will to heal me now, or does He have an unknown purpose in my
suffering? It is nearly always about natural things! It is evident that with so much pettiness and
self-centeredness in our praying, we do not know what we should pray for as we ought. I dare say not one believer in a million truly
knows what he should be praying for! The
truth is that in about ninety-five percent of our praying we are praying wrong, we are
missing the mark we dont really realize the high and holy things that are
important to the heart of God and His great purpose of the ages, and therefore
consequential for the whole creation that groans in bondage so we continue to pray
for things that are trivial in contrast to the transcendent purposes of our Father! Armed with this understanding of the truth that we
do not know what to pray for as we ought, we will yield our wills to the will of God and
allow the Spirit to pray for us, making intercession with groanings which cannot be
uttered. And the Spirit travailing
through us would intercede FOR THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD with the resultant
deliverance of the whole creation! There is
no other subject in Romans eight!
When
it is asserted that the Holy Spirit makes intercession FOR the saints and
FOR us, this is construed by many to mean that the Holy Spirit prays for us
to the end that God will bless us and meet our needs, or the needs of those about us. But there is another meaning more consistent with
the subject of the chapter. If you were to
say, I am going to the hospital to pray for Sister Jones, and I were to
respond with, I will go FOR you, what would I mean? Obviously, my intention would be to make the visit
to the hospital IN YOUR PLACE, and pray for Sister Jones IN YOUR STEAD. In like manner, if the whole creation is groaning
and travailing for the manifestation of the sons of God and the deliverance of creation
from corruption that will come through them, and if we ourselves are groaning within
ourselves for this very same manifestation and deliverance, surely it follows that if the
Holy Spirit, too, is making intercession FOR us with that kind of groanings which cannot
be uttered, such intercession is IN OUR PLACE, that is, the Spirit is interceding IN OUR
STEAD, lifting the whole cry and groan and travail of both creation and ourselves INTO
THAT HIGHER DIMENSION OF SPIRIT! Oh, how He helps our weakness! But
dispossess yourself, my beloved, of the notion that the ministry of the high priest before
the altar and the work of the Holy Spirit in our prayers is an outward scene in some
far-off heaven somewhere. Oh, no! The spirit of our heavenly high priest is right
here within each of us! These are inward
realities! This wonderful
ministry takes place right here within the holy place of our soul and the most holy place of our spirit, IN THE TEMPLE
OF GOD WHICH WE ARE!
On
the plane of spirit
the groanings are not able even to be uttered, for they are in some marvelous way the
groanings of spirit
rather than the cry expressed verbally out of our natural understanding. He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the
Spirit, that is, there is communication on the plane of mind, in
that wonderful realm where mind communes with mind and spirit communes with spirit, beyond
utterance. Thus the deepest desire and
longing of the physical universe, the saints on earth, and the spirit realm are ONE! Creation groans, and we groan, audibly, and the
blessed Holy Spirit groans on our behalf and in our stead with those unutterable groanings
of divine mind, for we know not how to pray for this glorious deliverance as we ought. Oh, the mystery of it!
People
write to me all the time and say, Bother Eby, pray for this, pray for that, pray for
the other thing. We used to call those
prayer requests. In our meetings
in former days we always took prayer requests.
Some folks didnt want to reveal what their prayer requests were, so
they gave in an unspoken request. We
had no idea what we were praying for, so we just asked the Lord to meet the
need. Ive come to the place in my
walk in the Spirit where I have had to turn from all that!
I have discovered a greater reality and a higher order in the Spirit, and I simply
cannot pray for everything people ask me to pray for.
Sometimes brethren dont understand that.
Youre a son of God, and you cant pray for me? they
question. Well, Mary and Martha sent for
Jesus when Lazarus was sick and He couldnt go.
While Lazarus lay dying Jesus stayed another three days in the place where He was,
restrained by the Spirit from going to minister to Lazarus or even to pray for him. You see, Jesus could only pray for those things the Father directed Him to pray for, and He could
only minister to those whom the Father showed Him! He
couldnt pray according to the desire and request of Mary and Martha, nor could He
pray according to His own will and desire. As
a manifest son of God He could only do those things He saw the Father doing, and He spoke
only those words He received from His Father. That
is so different from the old-order church way of doing things!
The
following words by George Hawtin bear eloquent testimony to the truth of which I now
speak. How often have you heard
Christians dreamily say, I wish the Lord would send us a revival. I wish the Lord would save my husband. I wish the Lord would heal my body. I wish the Lord would send us a good
rain, or some such thing. Then they
will make request in the congregation desiring people to pray that these wishes of theirs,
which they call prayer requests, will be
answered. Then when such requests go
unanswered for years we wonder why the Lord did not hear us. Why should He hear us when the request is born,
NOT OF HIS SPIRIT, but OF THE NATURAL MIND? There
is far too much rushing into Gods presence with our boots on, far too much lifting
up of unholy hands, far too much stepping where angels fear to tread, and far too little
preparation of the heart in waiting for the Spirit of God to put the YEARNINGS OF THE
ALMIGHTY in the spirit and on the lips of
man end quote.
There
must be an administration of the Spirit in
prayer. When we pray apart from the anointing we are as a sounding brass and a tinkling
cymbal. The anointing is the incense that is added to our prayers! Within ourselves we are weak and helpless. With our carnal understanding and desires we know
not what we should pray for. It is certain
that many times we have prayed for what seemed good
to us, but was actually contrary to the mind of the Lord and the will of God in the
matter. We will never understand the
ignorance of the carnal mind by which men ask God for all the worldly things their carnal
hearts desire. Well did the apostle James
write, Ye ask, and receive not, because ye
ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (carnal desires) (James 4:3). Thats why I rarely ask for things! I have said to the Lord, Father, if it would
please you, I would thank you for providing such and such. If it would please the Father to give me a million
dollars I would be very blessed! But I leave
all such carnal desires in the hands of my Father. Sometimes
He has been pleased to bless me with wonderful things, and often He withholds things that
He knows would be to my detriment. The simple
but powerful truth is just this we know not what we should pray for as we ought!
Every called and chosen son of God is learning in this significant hour that if we
pray a prayer, speak a word, or do anything that is not energized by the holy fire of God upon the altar, and
mixed with the incense of the Spirits supplications Himself, it is all vanity of
vanities. This is beyond any chance of
contradiction the central truth in intercession! Learn, O man of God, to fellowship with Christ,
rejoicing in the Holy Spirit, communing with the Father, becoming one with Him in all
wisdom and spiritual understanding, hearing His voice and beholding His works in and by
the Spirit, walking in His will and doing His bidding, and you will then be qualified to
enter upon that precious ministry of priestly intercession as a KING-PRIEST OF THE
MOST HIGH GOD! We can accommodate, placate,
and please the people by praying for all the things they request, but that does not mean
there will be any smoke ascending up before God, nor does it indicate that it will produce
any results! Spiritual prayer originates
with God in our spirit. It is His word in our
spirit that ascends from the altar of our souls He lights the incense by the energy
of His quickening life all this activity takes place within the temple of God which
we are!
The same truth applies to our praise and worship!
What ignites real praise and worship is the fire
upon the altar of God in our hearts! There
was an unspeakable glory manifest in the spirit of worship that came to the Lords
people at the time of the great Latter Rain outpouring of the Spirit in the late
1940s and the 1950s. There was
the living stream of the song of the Lord as
the people stood at the golden altar of incense and worshipped the Father in the Spirit
and by the Spirit for untold hours at a time. What
glory rested upon the people of the Lord! What
power flashed forth from the Holiest of all! There
was the fire of God that energized and empowered
the worship, it came from the altar of God out of the holy fire, and there was a divine
fragrance that ascended with it!
But you know, my beloved, the day came when we didnt need the fire any more. We learned
how to do it! It mattered not
whether the high priest was standing in the holy place by the altar; it made no difference
whether there was any fire in the censer, or any incense added to our worship. We knew how to worship and we could just turn it
on and turn it off any time we wanted. Soon
there was no fragrance ascending from our worship, it had become just another form that we
knew how to perform by rote. I must be
perfectly honest with you! I have heard much
so-called spiritual worship through the years that was not generated by the
fire of the Holy Ghost and there was no fragrance, no glory attending it whatsoever. At times, though the people felt blessed by the
performance of it, in my ears (and I believe also in Gods) it sounded more like the
braying of donkeys or the yelping of coyotes, than the celestial sound of the Spirit.
Jesus was the firstborn Son of God and He knew the Father in a measure and on a
realm no man had ever known Him. He has
taught us, His younger brothers, that they that worship the Father must
worship Him in
spirit. Then He added,
For the Father seeketh such to worship Him. John beheld this same Christ of God standing at
the heavenly golden altar in the realm of spirit and He held a golden censer, and there
was given unto Him much incense, that He should offer it with the
prayers of all saints upon the golden altar that was before the throne. Oh, what divine wonders are these! The incense was offered with the prayers of all
saints, not just those on this side of the veil, but those on the other side as
well! There is a deep and mighty cry arising
out of the hearts of all Gods chosen ones in both realms, the visible and the
invisible, for the fire of God that has quickened us in the depths of our being to be cast into the
earth-realm and reveal the glory of God to creation. The smoke that John saw ascending before God is
something which is energized by the fire of God upon the altar of our hearts. It is divine!
It is spontaneous! It cannot be
worked up! It cannot be instigated by man! Only the fire of God can release it! There is no need for us to do anything. It is that which is sovereignly ignited by the
blazing Holy Ghost fire of God from the inner sanctum of being!
FIRE CAST INTO THE EARTH
And the angel took the censer, and
filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and
thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake (Rev. 8:5).
It must have been a tremendous revelation to John to see the scene which
immediately followed the ascension of the
spiritual prayers of Gods elect! When
you read the book of Revelation, you will find that it is based on a pattern that first something happens in heaven, and then as a consequence, certain events take place on earth. Here
the angel (Christ Jesus) takes the censer (our lives) and fills it with fire (the Holy
Ghost fire of God) from the altar (the place of spiritual praise, worship, and prayer),
and casts it (the fire-filled censer) into the earth (the souls or human identity of both
believers and mankind). What a picture that
is! May the blessed spirit of wisdom and
revelation from God grant us eyes to see what is happening here!
As our prayers, praise, and worship ascend in the Spirit, the very coals
from the altar that released the fragrance of the holy incense of our spiritual ministry
is CAST INTO THE EARTH! The spiritual
and divine fire of God which takes the cold, hard substance (incense) and transforms it
into a spiritual fragrance that wafts its way to the throne and brings pleasure to the
very nostrils of God, is cast into the earth-realm and mighty powers are released in the earthlies! There are voices
as the word of the Lord is released, there are thunderings
as the power of God is manifested, there are lightnings
as the illumination of divine truth flashes within the consciousness of men, followed by a
great earthquake as the carnality of man, and
the kingdoms of man, are shaken to their very foundations.
Oh, yes! The earth-realm of our
own life, and that of the world of mankind about us, is powerfully changed and transformed
by the activity of the Spirit that is cast into their midst out of the heavens of our
spiritual ministry in the heavenly temple of God! Oh,
the wonder of it! As God moves us to minister
unto Him in the Spirit He is urging us to do what is necessary to enable things to happen
as they are supposed to happen in the earth-realm.
As we pray in the Spirit, the fire from the censer of our lives is
cast into the earth! That fire produces the
day of the Lord! As we learn the holy purpose
of our ministry in the high realm of the Spirit in these significant days, there comes
that deep inner consciousness that somehow we are participating in a tableau and drama of
history! We are bringing the day of the Lord
upon the earth!
The fire in the censer which the high priest carried was put there to reveal the
great truth that it is the fire of God that brings change in any realm. The fire of God brings the spirit of purification
and transformation into the lives of men. This
is not an action of judgment, as we think of it, but rather an action of purification! It recalls the action of the angel in
Isaiahs inaugural vision, taking burning coal from the altar and touching
Isaiahs lips (Isa. 6:6-7). Beholding
the manifest glory of the Lord Isaiah cried, 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. But the coal placed on Isaiahs lips does not
mean Isaiahs judgment or destruction; instead it is good news, for the angel says,
Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
Purification does not come easy! Hot
coal burns, as does the cauterization of an
infected wound. Surgery might take away a
part of us in order to make us well; we may not want to lose anything, but pain and loss
may be necessary in order for us to experience actual healing.
Most
commentators, when viewing the fire cast into the earth, interpret it as divine judgment or punishment. They
tell us that fire bespeaks wrath, torture, and destruction of the wicked. Those who tell us this say that fire is the common
and exclusive figure of divine terribleness toward the guilty, the chief torment of the
lost. If the action of the high priest at the altar
of prayer, praise, and worship casting fire into the earth is a prophecy
of the pouring out of the wrath and vindictiveness of God upon the world of mankind, then
the type is incomprehensible! If the fire is
vengeance, the one pouring it out upon the earth should be represented as a warrior or a judge
not the compassionate, merciful,
interceding HIGH PRIEST! The fire of the
altar is the very fire of God Himself! It is the fire of His glory and majesty!
It is the fire that purifies,
transforms, and glorifies God! What fire is in the natural
world, the Holy Ghost fire of God is in the spiritual world of men. Fire warms, beautifies, protects, glorifies,
refines, purifies, and consumes. Purification
is neither judgment nor punishment purification brings SALVATION! Arent you glad!
Before
ascending back to heaven, Jesus said, I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were
already kindled! (Lk. 12:49). To which
He added: I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it be
accomplished (Lk. 12:50). Just what
Jesus meant by this fire He did not explain. However,
He did say that as yet it was not kindled, even though He longed for it to be kindled, and
that before it could be kindled He would first have to undergo a baptism of suffering
leading to His death. Now by the Spirit we
know what Jesus meant! He was speaking of
the pouring out and release of the Holy Ghost fire, glory, and power of God in the world
following His death, resurrection, and ascension. It
began on the day of Pentecost! And when
the day of Pentecost was fully come
suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty
wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost
(Acts 2:1-4). This is where the Holy Ghost fire of God was first
cast into the earth by our great high priest at
the golden altar in the heavens of the Spirit! When
Jesus said that He came to cast fire into the earth He was alluding to the
very thing John saw in his wonderful vision on Patmos!
The firstborn Son of God initiated this fiery, purging, refining,
empowering, and transforming work of the Spirit in the earth, and the body of Christ, the
many brethren, the many sons brought to glory, shall consummate
this great ministry of reconciliation, redemption, transformation, and restoration!
I
dont know who penned the following words, but I found them recently among my papers
and found sweet confirmation in them. Jesus
is speaking (Lk. 12:49) of our own little inward earth and world. He longed for us to be filled with the Holy
Spirit. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit
within that burns up the chaff and tares of our own natural and carnal mind. Every wicked thought and injected imagination
shall be cast down and destroyed. Everyone
shall be salted and purified with fire! All
mankind goes through judgment, now or in the ages to come.
Fiery judgment is Gods method to bring to perfection that which was
saved by the blood and life of Christ. When
Gods judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness! Such judgment is for instruction, correction, and
revelation. By the work of Gods Holy
Spirit fire all things will be set right!
Throughout the book of Revelation we see our God as a consuming fire! Gods action in fire, like His action in
grace, is pure, harmonious, balanced, directed towards the purging that leads to
transformation and wholeness. The eternal
fire is the Truth, the Righteousness, the Love of God;
in a word, it is the nature of God. Any
careful reader of the Old Testament will be aware that fire is often used therein as a
symbol for the presence and manifestation of God! Moses
beheld Him as the fire in the burning bush, which burned but was not consumed! He
came down upon mount Sinai in the midst of the people of Israel as a blazing, burning fire
that scorched the mountain! He dwelt as
fiery majesty upon the mercy seat in the Holiest of all!
Our God is a consuming
fire, says the scripture, and the apostle adds, God is love.
God IS! God is fire and He is love. He is light and life. Fire represents the divine process of cleansing. Divine judgment by fire is not unto destruction,
but unto redemption! Fire appears terrible
only to the man who is unprepared to pass through it.
Yes, our God is a consuming fire, and there is comfort and hope and blessing
in the thought! When we yield to Gods
love, and open our hearts to Him, He enters into us, and becomes within us a consuming
fire; not to ourselves, but to the carnality within us.
So that, in a very deep and blessed sense, we may be said to dwell with the
devouring fire, and to walk amid the eternal burnings.
Nothing is more certain than the fact that the fire of God has already been
cast, and shall yet be cast, into the world of each of us!
Not to destroy us, but to purge our land.
Only the dross must be removed!
Now that fire the very power, the anointing, the divine energy in the heat
of our spiritual prayers, praise, and worship is cast into the earth-realm into the
soul life, into the carnality, natural consciousness, and human identity of mankind. The Christ within does this! It is truly the Christ! The censer is our life as a vessel, placed upon
the altar of the Lord. The fire is the power
of God transforming the sacrifice. The
incense is the ministration of the Holy Spirit in our spiritual ministry of prayer,
praise, and worship. The high priest is the
Christ within His temple performing all this wonderful work in our lives. And by the power of God we, the members of the
Christ body upon earth, are fulfilling this same ministration on behalf of all who
dwell in the earth-realm. We pray
in the heavens of the Spirit of the Lord and the power of God is cast into, and released
in the earth!
With these truths fresh upon our minds let us look at the work of fire throughout
the book of Revelation. In the very
first chapter we find the glorious Christ standing in the midst of the churches and
His eyes are as a flame of fire (Rev. 1:14).
The Christs eyes of fire, and the eyes of fire of every son of God who shares
His glory, are eyes of the very same fire that is revealed throughout the Revelation. There are not two or five or ten different fires! There are His eyes of fire, and there is gold that
is tried in the fire (Rev. 3:18), and it is the same
fire! The fire of the golden altar which is
cast into the earth is the same holy, refining fire of God and when it is cast into the
earth mighty commotions take place! By that
fire all carnality is consumed from the sons of men, that God may be glorified in the
earth-realm even as He is in the heavenlies! There
are seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God
(Rev. 4:5). These seven spirits of God are
sent forth into all the earth. Is it not clear that the work of the seven lamps
of fire sent into all the earth is but another picture of the fire from the
altar that is cast into the earth? It
is the same fire! Its activity is in
the same sphere! It accomplishes the same
thing! The Lamb has seven eyes and the seven
eyes are the seven-fold spirit of God, thus they are likewise the eyes of fire which are
also the seven lamps burning before the throne! (Rev. 5:6).
You see, it is all the same fire of God in different administrations! There is a sea of glass mingled with fire (Rev.
15:12), a people who have become within themselves an untroubled sea of tranquillity,
peace, and transparency, made so by the processing fire of God. All the restlessness and agitation of the carnal
mind and the flesh have been burned out of them! There
is fire that is cast upon the earth and burns up the trees that grow out of the earth
(Rev. 8:7), consuming the carnal manifestations and works that grow out of our earthly,
fleshly nature. There is a fire that destroys
the religious sham of Mystery Babylon (Rev. 18:8), not consuming the people, but
destroying the apostate system that enslaves them.
Then
we are shown a great lake of fire for all the adversaries of God death, hell, the
beastly fleshly nature, the soulical false prophets, and all who do iniquity (Rev.
20:10-15). What are we meant to understand by
this lake which burns with fire and brimstone? We
know only too well the use the church systems have made of this conception through the
ages! It has been given some horrific
connotations and given a distorted view of the character of God. The crude idea that an all-wise, all-knowing,
all-righteous, and all-loving Creator would decree endless torture in undying flames for
any of His creatures does dishonor to the name and glory of our precious Lord Jesus
Christ, and it is incredible that the compassionate Saviour of mankind could ever have
intended us to read into His words the notion that He will use that wonderful Holy Ghost
fire of His glory to torture billions of souls throughout eternity!
The
consuming fire of God is as eternal as God Himself; it is, because He is! It
is that which was from the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Our Father dwells in the light that no man can
approach unto. No man! That
is, no carnal, fleshly nature or being! Who shall stand when He appeareth, for He is like
a refiners fire! Oh, if there be one
thing for which we ought to rejoice and praise God without ceasing, it is that eternal
fire which will burn up all the foulness and rottenness, all the wickedness and cruelty,
all the deception, shame, and wrong from which our souls have ever suffered. It is not evil which will have the last word, but
righteousness; not sorrow, but joy; not hate, but love; not death, but life; not
damnation, but salvation. When the love of
God is shed abroad in the heart, heaven is there. When
any other spirit is dominant, hell is there. It
is not God who changes when we pass from one to the other, it is we who
are changed by the eternal fire! When all
that has held us captive in chains of darkness is consumed by the fire of His love, we see
Him as He is and reality breaks forth!
Do
you long to truly affect and impact the earth-realm, my friend? Do you want to hear voices and thunderings and
lightnings and see a mighty shaking and change in the earth? Does your heart yearn for God to move in mighty
spirit-power to bring forth the word of God in such authority and with such illumination
that it will shake all the kingdoms of the flesh and all the soulical powers of man,
bringing a glorious change and transformation? How
our heart cries for this!
Our
Lord Jesus has taught us to pray that great sonship
prayer in which are included these words,
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth
as it is in heaven. Is it possible
faintly, vaguely, possible for Gods will to be done in earth in the same
totality and completeness as it is done in the
heavens of Gods Spirit? In heaven
the will of God is done absolutely, totally, completely!
But on earth you know about Osama bin Laden, of course, you know
about Fidel Castro, the Islamic Fundamentalists, the Chinese Communists, the gangs,
pedophiles, drug lords, and godless humanists. If
you take the terrorists into account, and all the vulgar movies, the divorce rate, the crime rate, the sexual
immorality, the crooked politicians do you still think the will of God can be done
in earth as it is in heaven? Im
going to tell you something. Youre
dreaming; its wishful thinking; youre whistling in the dark; youve got
your fingers crossed hoping for the best unless you know which earth
the Fathers will has to be done in first, completely!
It is significant to note that neither Luke nor Matthew records Jesus as
asking for the Fathers will to be done ON the earth, but rather, IN earth. In earth does not mean the outer world
of mountains, hills, valleys, rivers and oceans, nor yet the outer world of governments,
organizations, institutions, cities, farms, and buildings.
Man himself is the earth! The
first man is of the earth, earthy
as is the earthy, such are they also that are
earthy
and as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of
the heavenly (I Cor. 15:47-49). But
we have this treasure in earthen vessels
(II Cor. 4:7). Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt
return.
My
interest is not Thy will be done in earth
and earth is that which is
outside of me, farthest away from me, over which I have no control. The cry of my heart is, Thy will be done in this earth that I am with the same totality
and completeness and absoluteness as it is done in heaven.
And when Gods will is done in this earth that I am, and that earth which you are, and the other earth that your family,
friends, and neighbors are, soon it will take care of the whole earth, within and without!
Weve
heard all our lives that prayer changes things.
But do you know thats not really true?
Do you see what the prayer did? And
the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angels
hand (Rev. 8:4). The prayers went up before the presence and the throne of God! They became a sweet-smelling savor in the nostrils
of the Lord! That means that the prayers
were pleasing and acceptable to God, both an expression of His very own heart, and a
proper participation in His great purpose of the ages.
Thats what the prayers did! Thats
all that the prayers did! But now notice.
These prayers are not only answered, but answered in full. The censer which held the incense and the prayers
is the same vessel which now is filled again with fire from the altar, and in equal
measure, to the brim. As the prayer has risen from the earth, so descends the fire!
Mount Carmel becomes the universe, and every member of Gods elect a
prophet Elijah. The fire is cast into the
earth, into the souls of men! It is not the
prayers that change things on earth it is the fire! As a result of the prayers being accepted by God,
the same fire that energized the prayers is the fire that is cast into the earth-realm of
mens souls! It is the power of God to change men! The
prayers do not change them, but the fire sent in response to the prayers!
I
have shown with great detail earlier in this series how it is that in the book of
Revelation the earth is the symbol of the world of mankinds soulical life.
Collectively it is in the soulical works of man, especially in the religious
realm, where the expression of the soul is
confused with the life of the spirit. Our vision of heavenly things has been so
distorted due to our looking through physical and soulish eyes! You have sometimes seen a window made of fluted
glass, and you know that if you look at the street through this window everything will be
distorted. The passers-by and the automobiles
will appear to be warped and distorted in absurd and ugly ways. Nevertheless, you know that these things are
really quite alright in themselves, and that the distortion arises from your seeing them
wrongly. In like manner, the pure eyes of
our regenerated spirits have had to filter through the fluted shell of our carnal minds,
and the marvelous things of the realm of Gods Spirit have been distorted into
myriads of carnal doctrines, traditions, rituals, concepts, interpretations, methods, and
religious systems and exercises.
This
distorted vision of heavenly things is really what we know as Christianity and
the Church. It is a seeing, but a
false seeing. It is a knowing, but a false
knowing. Over the hearts of all unquickened
and untransformed men and woman, as well as vast multitudes of the Lords own people
who have not truly been transformed by the renewing
of their minds, there hangs an impenetrable veil of carnal understanding and spiritual
darkness that keeps men blinded to the glory of Truth and Reality in the Spirit. Even in the reading of the scripture the veil is
over their eyes, and they sit in blindness and outer darkness until their minds are completely renewed by the quickening,
energizing, purifying fire of God! Then
and only then does the light shine upon them! Then
and only then do they begin to see all things as they really are and discern all spiritual
things! Then and only then do they understand
the incredible darkness and dreadful void of the carnal mind with all its delusions and
distortions!
No
greater tragedy can overtake a man than that, after he has been illuminated by the light
of Christ, and made a partaker of the life of the Spirit, he should then mingle his
affection with the emptiness of earthly things and not set them entirely on things which
are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God.
The children of God are so occupied and busy with soulish zeal and carnal
efforts! They are running here and there,
busily initiating religious activities of all kinds, as though the Lord could not get
along without their officious help. One would
think that the Lord is not as interested in His own Vineyard as they are! They are organizing, and bringing together all
kinds of machinery to run the Lords business; they are inventing intricate and
clever systems to get men saved, and to entertain them so that they will remain saved! Everybody feels that they should be doing
something for God. This sounds reasonable to the natural mind; so men
mingle the thoughts, schemes, ideas, plans, purposes, ambition, skill, and zeal of the carnal mind with the new inclinations and
affections of the spiritual mind; consequently
Christians rush about in every direction like ants on an ant hill, doing this and doing
that, going here and going there, organizing this and organizing that, promoting this and
promoting that, praying, preaching, scheming, planning, toiling, giving their money,
working themselves into nervous wrecks, even neglecting their families and homes,
cultivating the vineyards of others while letting their own experience remain shallow and
on the surface. They find no time to wait on
God in earnest, to sit at His feet in intimacy of fellowship and vital union, to learn of Him.
They spend little or no time in coming to know the Lord of the Vineyard! Without exception, this barrenness and void in our
lives is sure proof that we are in need of Gods dealing hand. Therefore, let us leave everything that we can
leave, and let us get still before the altar of God that He may speak to us and work in
us, and for us, and through us, to His glory. Then
shall we go forth with the presence and power of God upon us, and while we shall be used
of Him with those around us, we shall have learned to watch for His movings and dealings
upon our souls, and to always yield to Him to work in us first. Then shall our hearts become truly pure, unmixed
with soulish zeal and scheming of the carnal mind. Then
shall we be sons indeed, kings and priests of the Most High God!
To be continued
J. PRESTON EBY
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