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"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..."
FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part 72
THE
FOUR LIVING CREATURES AND THE TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS
(continued)
And round about the throne were
four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four
and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads
crowns of gold
and in the midst of the
throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind
(Rev. 4:4-6).
The word beasts is an unfortunate translation, being necessarily
associated in our minds with the brute creation and that which is typified thereby. Beasts in this passage is translated from the
Greek word zoon which signifies simply a
living creature. It comes from
the root zao from which also is derived the
word zoe which is used always in reference to divine life or the life of the ages.
All of these words denote that which is alive or is lively! How significant, then, that these four creatures of
life are found in the midst of the
throne and round about the
throne, occupying the central position in the throne while emanating in glory
and power out from the throne!
In the midst of the throne! The four
Living Creatures are, then, four manifestations of LIFE the LIFE OF THE
GOD OF THE THRONE! They are four
representations of NATURE the NATURE OF THE GOD OF THE THRONE! The four Living Creatures are four expressions of
THE POWER AND DOMINION OF THE THRONE! Not
only do they represent the life and nature of the God of the throne; not only do they
express within themselves the character of the dominion of the throne they likewise
reveal the very life, nature, character, and dominion of A-L-L WHO SHARE THE THRONE! The throne means kingship! The One on the throne REIGNS! This is the glory of the sons of God who reign with Christ!
The twenty-four Elders in the book of Revelation bear a special signification. These Elders occupy a unique position described as
round about the throne yet UPON THRONES!
In order to fully appreciate the scenery here drawn by the Spirit, we need to go
back and examine the order established among the people of Israel after they came up out
of the land of Egypt. The Camp of Israel as
it was established in Sinai formed a hollow square. In
the center of the hollow was the tabernacle of Moses.
Around the tabernacle Israel was divided into four camps: one camp of three tribes
on the east side, another camp of three tribes on the south side, another camp of three
tribes on the west side, and the last camp of three tribes on the north side. Then in the open area between the camp of the tribes of Israel and the
tabernacle was camped the tribe of Levi with its priesthood round about
the tabernacle. In order to go to the
tabernacle from any of the tribes of Israel it was necessary to pass through the camp of the priests! This great truth reveals that God placed the camp
of the priests directly between Himself and the people of Israel. It should be clear to any thinking mind that the
priesthood camped round about the tabernacle corresponds precisely to the
scene of the twenty-four Elders seated round about the throne of God! For you see, the Ark of the Covenant in the Most
Holy Place of the tabernacle constituted the throne
of Yahweh in the midst of His people! And
round about that throne was His priesthood!
Further
confirmation that the twenty-four Elders represent the ministry of priesthood lies in the
fact that in I Chronicles chapter twenty-four we read of how, under king David, in
preparation for their future ministry in the temple, the Levitical priesthood was divided
into TWENTY-FOUR COURSES under the headship of TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS! The priesthood had become so numerous that all of
those priests could not go into the house of the Lord at one time, so they were divided
into courses and assigned to work shifts, each course of priests and Levites
came on duty for a week at a time. It took all
twenty-four courses to MAKE UP THE ENTIRE PRIESTHOOD OF GOD! The twenty-four Elders represent the whole
priesthood of God, of which Jesus is the Head, our great High Priest!
Let us then stand assured of this marvelous truth: the four Living Creatures
represent the ministry of kingship, for they
dwell in the midst of the throne. The twenty-four Elders reveal within themselves
the ministry of priesthood, for they are round about the throne, standing between the God of the throne and the vast
multitude before the throne. These
are not two
separate companies; these are rather two aspects of ministry that have their source
and power in the throne. This is the
KING-PRIEST MINISTRY OF THE MANIFEST SONS OF GOD! These
are all sons of God in the power and outflow of life, glory, and power from the throne. God is raising up within each of His called and
chosen elect the spirit and nature of sonship,
the spirit and nature of kingship, and the spirit and nature of priesthood. These are the heavenly realities John beheld
in the throne room! Isnt it wonderful!
The four Living Creatures KINGS! The
twenty-four Elders PRIESTS! Together
they bow low before the great King of kings and the High Priest over the house of priests,
intoning this new song Thou hast made us
unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign over
the earth! (Rev. 5:9-10). Ah, beloved,
these are not mere words. Gods meaning
of a song is message; revelation; experience. All songs are meant to convey a message! Man calls anything
a song, any weird beat, any unnatural accents, any harmonic dissonance, any melodic
discord, the ba-ba-bu of the jungle, the raucous racket of rock music, the monotonous
drone of hip-hop is merchandised as a song. A
new song in spiritual language
means a NEW REVELATION, a NEW MESSAGE, a NEW EXPERIENCE in God! A new song is born when men experience the
inworking of a new message, the message and the messenger so becoming one until the
messenger becomes
the message. I am reminded of
Cartwright, the backwoods preacher of a past century, who used to sing a hymn as he went
through the woods:
No foot of land do I possess,
No cottage in the wilderness;
and one day a man presented
Cartwright with a cottage and a piece of ground, and he went on his way singing:
No foot of land do I possess,
No cottage in the wilderness;
and he stopped and said, Joseph Cartwright, that is a lie; you have
got a cottage and land; you cannot sing that hymn! Every time the Spirit of God unfolds new
dimensions of truth to our hearts, effecting further transformations into His image,
bringing us into a new place in God and a further appropriating of our inheritance in
Christ, a new
song is born. The old song was good
and true for its time, but we can sing the old song no more, for a new day has dawned, a
new glory has arisen, a new reality is birthed within, praise His name! While this is not all it means, yet it is true
that many songs we sang in church when I was a boy growing up I cannot sing today because
they no longer express what God is doing in my life, or the reality, word, and purpose He
is bringing forth. Some of them are so far
from the truth as I now know it, that I cannot bear even to listen to them, much less sing them!
God is even now preparing a people, a royal priesthood, a kingdom of
priests, sons of the Most High; and while the church world continues on with its
time-honored traditions and childish delusions, singing about flying away to cabins in the
corner of gloryland or to mansions over the hill-top, a people is arising in the earth
with a new and wonderful vision to become kings and priests unto God their
hearts vibrating with the melodious strains of a new song, the song of a people with a purpose,
a company gathered out of the generations, grown up into the fullness of Christ,
conquering every enemy within and without, which in due time shall be led forth to be the
manifest expression of His image, character, and nature, the revelation of His glory,
power, and dominion, with an outflow of life and light and love sufficient to change the
course of history, transform the nations, and restore all men and all things back into the
life of God. What a song!
For these manifest sons the whole creation groans, and they are in the
process of preparation, being made, in the
skillful hands of the Great Potter, a KINGDOM OF PRIESTS.
God knows every detail of His plan for His kings and priests, and precisely the
work to be wrought upon each one to conform them unto His own priestly heart. Ah, those who receive this call, those who behold this vision, those who cherish this hope, indeed sing a new song
which can be learned by none but those apprehended, the firstfruits of His redemption. This is the ineffable, preeminent Song; ineffable
because it strikes a chord, the vibration of which cannot be discerned by the carnal man;
preeminent because it is the Song of the Lamb who stands in the midst of the throne, the
King of kings and the High Priest of our
profession, who in all things has preeminence!
HE THAT HATH AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS! Across the land and around the world the Spirit is
saying today that He is preparing a people, He is preparing a body, He is preparing sons
who shall be conformed to the image of the Son,
partakers of the divine nature, who shall have the mind of Christ, who shall be brought to
glory and who then shall become the very express image of the Father, the very brightness
of the Fathers glory and the outraying of the Fathers person. Even as the first Son, who went into the ground
and died as a grain of wheat to produce other sons in His likeness He was the
brightness of the Fathers glory and the express image of the Fathers person
and God sent Him to be the Saviour of the world.
God is now preparing sons, God is now preparing a body for that first Son, we are
the body of the first Son, the body of the Christ, the body of the King of glory, the body
of the great High Priest in the heavens after the order of Melchizedek. We are the body of the Christ, and in and through
these sons, when all have been brought to His fullness, His salvation shall be manifested,
exhibited, and demonstrated unto the ends of the earth.
All peoples and all nations shall at last see
what God is like in the fullness of His love, glory, wisdom, and power! The Lord is saying to His people in this day,
For this cause I have raised thee up and sent thee to be a light unto the nations
and thou shalt BE MY SALVATION to the ends of the earth (Isa. 9:6; Acts 13:47).
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of
the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus (Heb. 3:1). The subject in the
book of Hebrews is Christs priesthood and the writer says that we, the holy brethren
of Christ Jesus, seeing how true it is that the Christ came into mans world and
fully shared his weaknesses and sorrow; seeing how true it is that the Christ is now
exalted as the High Priest to the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens as partakers with
Him in this heavenly calling of priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, let us consider
Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of this order of priesthood to which we are called. If you would know the meaning and the glory and
the power of that to which you are called CONSIDER HIM! Dont consider Him any longer merely as
Saviour, Healer, Blesser, and Baptizer consider Him as the Apostle and High Priest
of the order of priesthood to which you are called!
An apostle is the first advocate and initiator of a new order. A high
priest is the head and chief of an order of priesthood. Jesus is the apostle of that order to which we are called. He is the sign
Son, the first-begotten Son, the pattern Son for all who are called to be sons of
God. He is the apostle and the High Priest of the Melchizedekian Order of
Priesthood! All who are called to sonship and
priesthood through the age shall come into that same wonderful image and fullness of Jesus
Christ. It is time now, above all times, for
us to mightily stress these truths. I see no
possibility of any long delay until the hour of the manifestation
of the sons of God becomes a reality. One
does not attain the realities of sonship by thumb twiddling or presumption. Sonship appears as a great vision before our
understanding by the quickening of the spirit of revelation and we attain it through
surmounting faith, patience, endurance, testing, proving, obedience, and growth into His
fullness through eternal vigilance. Men in
the church order may have other men as their apostles, but when it comes to sonship,
kingship, and priesthood, the apostle of this realm is only Jesus! This realm has only one Apostle even as it has only one High Priest.
As our Apostle Jesus Christ
proclaims and opens up the way before us, and as our High Priest He reconciles us fully to God that we
may walk in the calling ordained for us.
The heavenly calling is the calling unto the priesthood of
Christ. Hebrews is very clear about this! Now the main point of what we have to say is
this: We have such a High Priest, One who is seated at the right
hand of the majestic God in heaven, an officiating priest,
a minister
in the holy places and in the true tabernacle which is erected not by man but by
the Lord (Heb. 8:1-2, Amplified). Hear
it, O ye sons of God Christ is the great High Priest of the heavens
and we are called to be partakers with Him in that heavenly calling!
The notion, held by the vast majority of evangelical Christians, that the
priesthood of the Christ is an individual, singular
priesthood exercised by Himself alone in some far-off heaven, is an absurdity. The term high priest is a relative
term, high being translated from the Greek word archiereus, meaning chief in order or
rank. It is the same word translated
chief priest or chief priests in numerous passages. It is a title denoting the CHIEF OR HEAD OF AN
ORDER such as the terms Chairman of the Board, Archangel,
Chief of Police, Speaker of the House, King of Kings,
etc. It should be clear to every thinking
mind that you cannot have a High Priest without a priesthood any more than you can have a
Chairman of the Board without a board for the Chairman of the Board to be chairman over. You cannot have a High Priest without a priesthood
any more than you can have an Arch-angel without an order of angels for the Arch-angel to
be leader of. You cannot have a High Priest
without a priesthood any more than you can have a Chief of Police without a police force
for the Chief of Police to be chief of. You
cannot have a High Priest without a priesthood any more than you can have a Speaker of the
House of Representatives without a House of Representatives for the Speaker of the House
to be speaker for. You cannot have a High
Priest without a priesthood any more than you can have Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of
Lords without any kings or any lords for Him to be King and Lord over.
High Priest! The High Priest in the
heavenlies! Ah, yes, we are holy brethren, partakers of
the heavenly calling, receiving the vision to become one in Him, to
share in this heavenly priesthood, and as we follow on to know Him in all His glorious
fullness we shall see a ministry unfold before us which leads to deliverance and
restoration for all Gods creation. Our
task will not be left undone, for we shall have the ages before us to carry it through to
victory, praise His name!
The priesthood of Aaron foreshadows that of Christ in a very striking way. The honor of being a High Priest is not open to
mans ambition. No man can claim it for
himself (Heb. 5:4). The High Priest ministers
in such high and holy matters that only God can appoint him! Thus it was that Aaron was called of God to this
task. He did not take it to himself; nor did
Moses make him High Priest. God called him to
do this work, and no one else could have done so. In
the same way, Christ glorified not Himself to be made an High Priest (Heb.
5:5). He is High Priest because God made Him
so! He was called of God (Heb.
5:10) to this office.
It is inspiring to meditate upon the thought given us in Exodus 28:1 wherein we
read, And take thou unto thee Aaron thy
brother, and his sons with him from among the children of Israel, that HE may minister unto me in the priests office,
even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aarons sons. God chose
five men, Aaron and his four sons, and then referred to them in the singular pronoun,
That HE may minister. The
ministries of these five men were inseparably wrapped up in each other, so that God saw
them as one. Aaron did not minister without
the priests (except on the day of Atonement), and the priests could not minister apart
from the High Priest. This is all very
wonderful, for Christ does not minister alone! God
has called us to be priests that we might share in the ministry of reconciliation. We, too, like the priests of old, cannot minister
apart from our great High Priest upon whom we depend at all times. We have understood what priesthood is only in a
very limited way and have fulfilled this ministry feebly in a measure. But these are days of restoration! God is about to bring forth the full power and
glory of Christs priesthood after the order of Melchizedek in this earth so that all
creation may be delivered from the bondage of corruption and set free to know and serve the Lord!
The Father has called us unto sonship that we might stand with Him and cry,
Our very own Father! He is apprehending a people for the authority of
kingship that He might be King of kings, a many-membered kingship. He is raising up a people to be priests after the
order of Melchizedek that He and they may stand in one ministry unto the Father satisfying
the heart of the Father for the fellowship of sons, the rulership of kings, and the
outflow of priests through whom He may reveal His person unto the whole creation. And even now, all creation is standing on tiptoe
to behold the glorious sight of Gods sons, Gods kings, and Gods priests coming into their own! Because of the wise and gracious council of God
from eternity, Christ now has no identity apart
from us, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.
The Father looks at His Son and His sons, His King and His kings, His High Priest
and His priests, and says, That HE may minister unto me!
In my meditations upon the order of Melchizedek, I find it impossible to separate
between the High Priest and the priests. Under
the Aaronic order the HIGH PRIEST was the one, and the only one, who went into the Holy of
holies. He passed through the veil and
entered into the place of Gods blazing fullness unseen by all others. The PRIESTHOOD did not do this. But, precious friend of mine, if you think that
Jesus is keeping all the glory of that realm to Himself, then you just havent read
these inspired words: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner
is for us entered,
even Jesus, made an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek (Heb.
6:19-20). Let me repeat the only
person permitted an entrance beyond the veil was the High Priest!
While manifested on this earth plane, Jesus Christ left us His personal example
that we might follow in His footsteps. It is
a way that leads beyond the veil into the glories of the
Father. It was necessary that He tread all
the course that we might be able to follow all the way into divine fullness. HE IS THE WAY unto the Father, and in our union
with Him we find it is first a way of humiliation before it becomes a way of exaltation. Thus we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of
God, assured that in due time HE will lift us up, and we shall live in His sight.
A forerunner
is one who goes ahead of others. He goes
ahead as a sample of those who are to follow. Jesus
is our forerunner,
which clearly indicates that others are expected to follow on into the same realms of
glory. Christ, a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek, is our forerunner, He went first, and where He went,
we are to go. The Forerunner blazed the trail
all the way, and we rejoice in this fact, but then He also came back, in and by the
Spirit, to escort us all the way into the glory beyond the veil, the glory of a PRIESTHOOD
FOREVER AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK. Full
well He knows the route, for He has traveled it all the way through to victory, and now is
able to guide us down the same path into the glorious victory which He obtained. It is HIS daily enabling that gives us strength to
carry on until the consummation is reached.
WE HAVE A HOPE! That hope is the
anchor of the soul. Our hope in the Christ is
the anchor of that life both sure and firm, and it has entered into the veil, taken there
by our forerunner,
even Jesus. He ran ahead of, or before us! Thus it is evident that WE ARE GOING TO RUN ALSO! What He entered into we also will come into. He simply has opened the way for us and He is the
anchor or the hope of that life which is behind the veil.
Let us remember in the Old Testament order it was only the High Priest who
could enter into the Most Holy Place. None
else could enter, and even the High Priest would enter in with fear and trembling and only
after much preparation and vested with special garments.
But how glorious the word that now comes to us!
And having an High Priest over the house of God, let us
draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb. 10:21-22). And then we read, Having therefore brethren boldness to
enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.
We, the Royal Priesthood, do have boldness to enter in! We do not wait, and we do not have to go to some
far-off heaven somewhere. This thing is
taking place within us right at this time, blessed be the
name of the Lord!
For those who understand with a spiritual mind it is a glorious privilege to enter
in because Jesus Christ, our High Priest and Forerunner, has opened the way and bids us
enter. Christians have generally entertained
the idea that entering in beyond the veil means simply that every believer now has access
to enter into the presence of God and offer up his prayers with no human mediator in
between. It is much more than that! Multitudes know Jesus as their Saviour, Baptizer,
Healer, Sanctifier, and Blesser, but do you know Jesus as your forerunner? Do you know Him as the forerunner of the
MELCHIZEDEKIAN PRIESTHOOD? Do you know what
it means to be
a priest after the order of Melchizedek? Now
we hear the word of the Lord to us and it is that we are to come in with boldness. Come
right in to the Holy of holies! Come right in
to the presence of God! Come right in to the
full glory of God! Come right into that high
and holy realm that only HIGH PRIESTS enter! We
need not be afraid that we can enter as a priest after the order of Melchizedek, for we
have a High Priest of that order who is now appearing in the blazing fullness of
Gods glory for us, not in our place, but on our behalf, for that is the true sense of the
words for us. This wonderful High
Priest abides
in the power of His priesthood and we are to come right in to reign as priests!
You may stand without. Many believers
today dwell in the Outer Court of salvation while others tarry in the Holy Place of the
baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit. How
obvious it should be that all believers, while children of God, are not part of the elect company of the Melchizedek
Priesthood. All the tribes of Israel, while
Gods people, we not priests! And not all priests had access to the Holy of
Holies! True, the veil has been rent, but
also true to the type, the vast majority of believers throughout the church age have dwelt
and do now dwell in the Outer Court of
spiritual experience. In spite of all their
noisy profession, and constant flurry of religious activities, they inhabit that realm
where the natural man understandeth not the things of the Spirit of God. They never plumb the depths of Jesus Christ! Deep spiritual things are foolishness unto them;
neither can they know them, for they are spiritually discerned. These are comfortably at home with the lifeless
forms, static creeds, empty ceremonies, entertaining programs, and repetitious works of
Outer Court religion, and have not the foggiest notion of what the Royal
Priesthood is about! The harlot
system has sapped and sucked away their spiritual life and left them in spiritual poverty,
void of understanding of the high and holy purposes of God, and like little children they
wait expectantly for the thrills that await them in that far-away Disney World in the sky
with its golden streets, mansions, harps, and wings!
God has a people today who are not ordinary people.
They are not people of this earth, earthly minded, but citizens of the Celestial
Kingdom. They are Gods dwelling place
and they dwell in God. The great High Priest
of that Heavenly Kingdom, the One after the order of Melchizedek, HAS ENTERED THE HOLY
PLACE NOT MADE WITH HANDS. He reigns there as
a priest! The great invitation to Gods
elect now is, COME ON IN. After
such an awesome revelation as this we find it impossible to return to the old way. The old-order church systems and methods, the old
preaching of man-made creeds and petty religious traditions has become a stifling boredom. We can have nothing to do with such things. The ways of Babylon are the ways of death to us. WE HAVE A HIGH PRIEST OVER THE HOUSE OF GOD! HE IS EXALTED IN THE HEAVENS! THERE IS STILL ROOM UPON THE TWENTY-FOUR THRONES
AROUND THE THRONE! THE VOICE SAYS, COME
UP HITHER! WE HASTEN TO ENTER IN, TO
BECOME ALL THAT GOD HAS APPREHENDED US TO BE!
And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I
saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in
white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns
of gold (Rev. 4:4)
It is instructive to notice the characteristics of the twenty-four Elders. Throughout the scriptures only men are elders. Only men
sit on thrones. Only men wear white raiment. And only
men wear crowns! This is fitting because
the Greek word means a victorious crown won in an athletic contest or on the
field of battle. It bespeaks of one who has
gone through the battle of life on earth, in obedience to the will of the heavenly Father,
with all the testings, trials, tribulations, provings, and triumphs in order to earn the
victors crown! In Bible days it was men who won and wore such crowns.
We are not, however, speaking naturally, but spiritually! Men represent spiritually those
persons who, irrespective of their gender in the flesh, have developed within themselves
the spiritually masculine qualities of divine
life strength, authority, discernment, wisdom, dominion, and power! These are mature
ones! There are many different spiritual
states of being, planes of development and levels of growth, revealed in the Word of God. Some are called babes in Christ,
others little children, others young men, others mature
men, others women, some are called sons of God, others
daughters of God, and there is a class identified as the bride of
Christ.
Children are children. Children are
not sons in the scriptural sense, for the word for a child is the Greek word teknon, whereas the word for a grown son is huios. When
the scripture speaks of the manifestation of the sons
of God it refers to those who spiritually have grown up into the nature, stature, and
authority of the Father! On the other hand, a
girl, as long as she is a child, is neither prepared for, nor capable of, fulfilling the
role of a wife.
In order to enter into marriage a young girl must pass through years of physical,
mental, and emotional development. Finally,
upon becoming mature in these areas, she is fitted for marriage and her role as a wife. And so is it in Gods Family! The term child describes the believer
in his walk of immaturity in God. But as one
begins to grow up into spiritual maturity, it
is then that the truly feminine and masculine aspects of divine life take form and become
manifest. Vive la difference!
someone once said. And starting from early
childhood we all begin to notice there is indeed a difference! We become increasingly aware of it as we grow up. It is only as fully developed adults that the real
power, potential, and purpose of the feminine and masculine attributes find their
fulfillment.
The following words by Ray Prinzing are freighted with spiritual wisdom and godly
instruction. There are many
relationships that are spoken of in the scriptures, and for years all we heard taught was
on the bride of Christ. Then came
the unfolding of the precious truths of sonship. And
soon the one was pitted against the other with emphasis on the position to be obtained,
this greater than that, etc. But we are
coming to see that all these relationships are allegorical we can draw from them
all some needed instruction, but we must not reduce them to physical, carnal realms, and
hold them there. All these allegories serve
to bring out the characteristics desired. ONENESS
WITH CHRIST in its full reality goes beyond being a bride, or a son, or male, or female.. So regardless of the symbol at which we are
looking, it is the deeper meaning and truth which we desire, and may the Lord quicken to
us this vital instruction for our up-building in Him.
To be perfect in Christ, complete, mature, one
in Him, this sums up all the facets used to illustrate our growth and development,
characteristics, attributes, etc. Dare we
settle for anything less? Can any parabolic
example reveal such glory? Each part reveals
something unique and wonderful, but they all fall far short of expressing the whole which is summed up in Christ. He is ALL IN ALL, the fullness that filleth
everything with Himself
end quote.
As God becomes so many things to us, even Mother, so must we become many things to
Him. When God created man male and female in
His image, He revealed that He is Himself male and female within the attributes of His
nature. In spiritual maturity we enter into
relationship with God in all the facets of His nature.
We may truly become the bride of Christ and the sons of the Father and many other
things as well! The bride relationship bears
the feminine nature whereas the sonship relationship bears the characteristics of the
masculine nature. Aggressiveness, boldness,
strength, valor, authority, power, and dominion are among the dominant traits of the
masculine sex. Hence, the Lord says to the
overcomer, He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and
he shall be my son. To him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne.
Modesty, gentleness, tenderness, love, sensitiveness, nurturing, and dependence are
attributes of the feminine sex. Can we not
see by this that brideship bespeaks of the
spiritually feminine relationship of intimate love and reverent submission to Christ,
whereas sonship embodies the spiritually
masculine characteristics of strength and dominion to rule over all things. Ah, beloved, let us not become so over-balanced in
our zeal to become sons of God that we
circumvent the marvelous reality of brideship! The simple yet sublime truth is that THE WAY TO
SONSHIP IS BRIDESHIP! This is why the Spirit
has given us in Revelation chapter twelve the beautiful example of a glorious sun-clad
woman giving birth to a remarkable man-child who is to rule all nations with a rod of
iron. It is the inworking of brideship that births the realm of sonship! Jesus said, I am the way
no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Our relationship to Christ as a bride foreruns our
relationship to the Father as a son! Brideship
is the harbinger of sonship! It is through
the intense love, intimacy of fellowship, and vital union with Christ, made one in Him in love, that we are initiated into
that illustrious glory of strength and dominion over all things as sons of God. The manchild comes out of the woman. These are both realities within each of us!
Until one falls madly in love with Christ, and submits to Him in all things as the
Head of the body, he will never go on to
become a son of the Father. That is the
mystery!
The twenty-four elders are mature
men, those who have grown up into Christ, putting on His wonderful mind, strengthened
with His might, filled with His wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, equipped and enabled
to minister the blessings and benefits and powers of the kingdom of God! These are the sons of God who are the kings and
priests of the Most High! The twenty-four
Elders are clothed in white raiment, which means they have glorified bodies made pure by
His indwelling Spirit and the righteousness of Christ, and on their heads are crowns of gold
which means they have divine authority to rule and reign with Christ as priests because
they have faithfully followed the leading of the Spirit and have overcome all things.
The crowns of gold are upon their heads. Though this appears a very natural statement, yet
it is freighted with deep significance! The
Greek word for head is kephale
which comes from the root kapto meaning
to seize. Is it not the head, the
mind, that the adversary most wants to captivate and take hold of? The mind is the gateway to the whole being! It is in the mind of man that he is alienated from the life
that is in God (Eph. 4:18), and it is by the renewing of the mind that we are transformed into the image of
Christ! It is the head or mind that the
Spirit of God is today seizing or laying hold upon in every one
who has received the call to sonship, that HE may be fully manifest therein. What a battle has been waged by the
serpent-inspired philosophies of men, political ideologies, educational agendas,
advertising, entertainment, and religion to keep the mind in subjection to the bondage and
darkness and ignorance of the world system. But contrariwise, there is also a battle whereby
liberty comes to the mind to bring it enlightenment and renewal. It is thus upon a renewed mind that the crown of gold rests!
It is also interesting to note that the Greek word kephale is in the feminine gender! Although the ones crowned are men (spiritually),
yet the head upon which the crown rests possesses the spiritually feminine qualities of
gentleness, kindness, mercy, love, goodness, grace, nurturing, sensitiveness, compassion,
etc. These are, one and all, necessary
characteristics in the nature of a PRIEST! Kings
rule, but from a priestly heart flows forth love, mercy, kindness, grace, gentleness,
forgiveness the very spirit and word of RECONCILIATION! What a beautiful blending of the
masculine-feminine nature of God!
These crowns are not the coronets worn by the sovereigns of this present world. The feeble kings and rulers of this dark world
system represent in their weakness the transient glory of earths passing kingdoms,
but the golden crowns on the heads of Gods Royal Priesthood are not like one of
these. The most common term rendered
crown in the New Testament is the Greek word stephanos. This
crown was usually a laurel wreath woven of fragrant branches, or the like. It was granted to winners in the Panhellenic games
and also as a token of public honor for distinguished service especially of
military leaders who had been victorious over their enemies on the battlefield. It was also given at marriage feasts, especially
in royal families, to celebrate the joy of the bridegroom in having won the
maiden for his bride. This crown always
denotes a VICTORS CROWN the crown of an OVERCOMER!
How appropriate that we should read of the Royal Priesthood: And round about
the throne were
four and twenty elders sitting
and they had on their heads crowns
(stephanos) of gold. Golden
Stephanos! Golden Victors Crowns! Gold is a symbol for the divine nature. And how true that we are only able to fully
overcome by being made partakers of His divine
nature! To be crowned means
to be given kingly authority. As the kingly
authority and dominion of Gods divine nature now ascends the throne of our lives to
rule within us we are CROWNED, RULED OVER by our Father, but more than this, made rulers, not after the carnal concepts of the
flesh, but in the love, justice, and glory of Gods own character!
Of course the crowns of fragrant branches won by the Greeks in their athletic
contests were short lived, for they soon wilted and became dead and brittle. In contrast to this, our stephanos are incorruptible crowns which will
never fade away for the Royal Priesthood is of the Melchizedekian Order
after the power of an endless life! In
the Theater of Ephesus there was found an inscription which read: He fought three
bouts, and was crowned two times. In
like manner the sons of God will soon be rewarded for their bouts with the flesh, the
world, and the principalities and powers which have their rule in the darkness of the
carnal mind. God is even now bringing forth
an incorruptible people, overcomers, who are
overcoming all things. And of them,
finally, it shall be said: They fought many, many bouts, and were crowned every
time! No more weakness and
failure. No more flunking two tests and
winning one. Overcoming all things! Oh, no, we have not always overcome all things,
but those who are called and chosen in this hour are being strengthened by experience and
by the power of the spirit of life within and are becoming
strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
God is teaching us to reign in our lives and in every situation! He is making us a Royal Priesthood! Priests reigning in the Fathers own
nature, love, and power! Reconciling
the world. Subduing all things. As kings these are seated in the throne;
as priests they sit around the throne.
Their rule is rooted in authority as kings, but as priests they become the
bond between the God of the throne and the creation so desperately needing His life. Isnt it wonderful!
And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices
(Rev. 4:5).
The scene is drawn from the time when God came down in the midst of Israel to speak to His called and chosen nation. The Hebrews had come up out of Egypt, and were
standing in front of mount Sinai. The
mountain was full of fire and smoke. Thunderings
and voices were bursting from its mysterious awfulness.
Great trumpet-blasts came piercing through the frightened air. Everything bore witness to the awesome presence of
God! The Hebrews were appalled and terrified. We can see them cowering and trembling. They turn to Moses and beg him to stand between
them and God. Speak thou with us, and
we will hear, said they, but let not God speak to us, lest we die.
At first it seems as if their feeling were a strange one. This is their God who is speaking to them, their
God who by a mighty hand brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage. Would it not seem as if they
would be glad to have Him come to them directly, to have Him almost look on them with eyes
that they could see, and make unnecessary the interposition of His servant Moses, bringing
them messages from Him? Will they not feel
their whole history of rescue coming to its consummation when at last they find themselves
actually in the presence of the God who has delivered them, and hear His voice?
Ah, they would not hear for themselves
the words of God, and they never did hear, for they rebelled in unbelief, they broke His
laws, they went after other gods, then they imprisoned, stoned, and killed the prophets
sent to them, and crucified the very Lord of glory. They
hid themselves from the glory of His presence and refused to hear His voice! But now, praise God, He is speaking again out of
His throne in the midst of His people, out of our innermost being, in and by the Spirit,
and there is a people who hear for themselves
the word of the Lord! Many believers are like
the Hebrews in the wilderness, they have neither desire nor capacity to hear from God
themselves, so they seek an apostle, a prophet, a pastor, a teacher, a church order,
someone to hear from God for them and
communicate His message to them. God certainly does use ministries and fellow
members of the body of Christ to confirm to us
the revelation of the Spirit. Thank God for
it! But we who do know our God now hear His
voice speaking out from His throne right within our spirit, and out of those who are one
in Him. Oh, yes! He speaks in the power of thunder, with flashes of light, sudden bursts of brilliant illumination as of
lightning, and with the clarity and manifoldness of the many voices of a corporate unfolding. The ones who
so hear His voice are those who have become related to His throne, for only in the
throne-room does one see the lightnings and hear the thunderings and voices. It is indeed wonderful!
And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God (Rev. 4:5).
For many years we did not know that God has seven spirits! Although we were raised in church, and had read
the Bible through, we had never understood the mystery of the seven spirits. We all knew that there is one body,
and one Spirit (Eph. 4:4). We all thought that when we were baptized in the
Holy Spirit, receiving the one Spirit, that was the beginning and the finish of it! We spoke in tongues and prophesied, did a few
miracles, danced in the Spirit and rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and
that was it! That is all we knew God
had for us this side of heaven.
The question follows are there seven spirits of God? If you say that God has seven spirits, to some
that makes you a heretic! If, on the other
hand, you say that the Spirit of God is not seven spirits, you are disagreeing with the
heavenly revelation given to John! Is the
Spirit of God, then, seven or one? If God
says there is one Spirit, then there is one Spirit; and if God says there are seven
spirits, then there are seven spirits. That
is the mystery of it!
One of the keys to this mystery is
found in the passage quoted above, And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. In the Old Testament, the structure of the
lampstand or candlestick was quite unique: below was one lampstand, above there were seven
branches, and in each branch there was a lamp (Ex. 25:31-37). It was one lampstand, yet it had seven lamps;
there were seven lamps, yet it was but one lampstand.
The same picture is presented in Zechariah 4:2.
Therefore, it is correct to say that there is one lampstand, yet it is not wrong to
say there are seven lamps! So also is the
Spirit of God. Without question, He is one
Spirit; but He is also called the seven spirits, that is, the sevenfold,
intensified spirit of God!
Seven, in the scriptures, is the most sacred number of the Hebrews. This number is used more often than all other
numbers, save the number one. It is the
number denoting spiritual perfection and
completeness. In this connection it is
instructive to note that in the title Holy Spirit the word holy,
according to Webster, comes from a root meaning whole. Hence, the Holy Spirit is the WHOLE SPIRIT! The seven spirits of God, seven denoting spiritual
perfection and completeness, are likewise a figure of the holy or the
whole or complete Spirit. When
we understand that the number seven conveys the idea of unity and completeness, rather
than diversity, then we can see with unclouded vision that the seven Spirits of God are
the sevenfold,
intensified Spirit of the Lord the absolute FULLNESS OF
THE SPIRIT OF GOD!
Great is the mystery and the wonder of it, for there is one Spirit and yet
there are seven spirits! This can easily be
understood from the natural creation. Have
you drunk a glass of water today? How
many things is water? To us water is one
thing, one item, one substance. But no
water is actually two things! Two parts of a
gas called hydrogen and one part of a gas called oxygen are fused, and they make water. But water is not gas! When
the two gases are mixed they produce an effect. You
have something new, something different, something of a another quality liquid. I
didnt get up this morning and tell myself that I needed a glass of H2O. It was unnecessary to bother with the chemical
formula. I just knew I needed a glass of
water. If I never knew anything about
hydrogen or oxygen it would make no difference. Water
is water! God knows how He made it. Scientists discovered Gods formula, but God
invented it!
The almighty Creator has used that same principle of compounding to make
everything that appears in the material creation. In
the whole universe, the heaven, the earth, all the stars and suns and planets and moons,
there are exactly ninety-six different things which are called elements. Everything
we see everywhere is composed of some combination of some of those ninety-six elements. We think of salt as one thing. Yet salt is not one thing; salt is two things. Somebody has taken a piece of metal called sodium
and a piece of a gas called chlorine, and mixed the two things together. The result is what chemists call sodium chloride and we common folk call it salt. How
about air? Isnt that one thing? Wrong again!
Air is always three things. Seventy-nine
parts of a gas called nitrogen mixed with twenty-one parts of a gas called oxygen, and a
tiny, tiny portion of carbonic acid gas, make up the simplest kind of air. Air is not one thing. It might be as many as twelve or fourteen things,
depending on how close you live to a glue factory or a garbage dump!
God has used that simple principle of compounding
to make everything that appears in the vast expanses of the universe! And the physical creation is simply the mirror of
the spiritual world! In just this way it is
no longer necessary to see the Spirit of God
as just one thing for God Himself is not just one thing. God is light. God is love. God is life. God is spirit. Those are four things and we havent even
begun! In like manner, contained in the
Spirit of God are all the attributes, characteristics, faculties, and powers of God that are spirit. It is the complete or whole Spirit, the sevenfold
intensified Spirit of the Lord!
The seven spirits are seen by John shining in the brightness and light of the seven
lamps of fire burning before the throne, its glory radiating the sevenfold splendor as of
a rainbow which is seen in beauty like unto an emerald.
These seven lamps of fire represent THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF SONSHIP. All that is connected to the throne reveals the
mystery and the glory of sonship to God, for it
is the Son who has been exalted to the throne. Gods
sons are His kings and priests who reign over the earth!
The Lord Jesus Himself is the firstborn
among many brethren, the proto-type of what sonship is.
Isaiah prophesied of this sevenfold anointing of the spirit of sonship, saying,
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow
out of his roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit
of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit
of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And shall make Him of quick understanding in the
fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove
after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove
with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His
mouth
and righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle
of His reins (Isa. 11:1-5).
This is the sevenfold sonship anointing that rested and does rest upon the
firstborn Son of God! And this mighty and glorious anointing shall come also upon all the
manifest sons of God to enable Gods kings and priests to inaugurate the wonderful
and blessed age of the kingdom of God upon all the nations of mankind, and shall endue
them with power and all the attributes of Him who is the Head of the body. They shall not judge after the sight of their
eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of their ears, but
with righteousness shall they judge the nations.
This anointed company of sons of God shall be girded with the righteousness of
Christ and the faithfulness of Him who loved them and lifted them from the pit of sin,
sorrow, and death, and exalted them to the glorious heights of the throne. Then the wolf nature in the carnal man will be tamed and will lie down with the nature of
the lamb in the throne, the fierce leopard
nature shall lie down with the innocence of the kid, the calf and the young lion together,
with a little child (for of such is the kingdom of heaven!) leading them. In that blessed day of glory, They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.
Oh, the wonder of it!
Think of it! A world governed by the
sevenfold intensified spirit of God! What a
different spirit that is! It is the spirit of
love, grace, mercy, peace, joy, righteousness, pardon, reconciliation and transformation! It is sometimes difficult for those
kings-and-priests-to-be who have come out of the church system with a heavy hangover of
condemnation and charging every man with guilt and shame.
It was a sin to do this, it was a sin to do that, and we were so sin-conscious that
we were not able to kindle any consciousness of the awesome power of HIS UNCONDITIONAL
LOVE.
How we have ranted and raved and stormed at men about their sins and judgment! But it has been well said that there is no
difficulty that enough love will not conquer; no disease that enough love will not heal;
no door that enough love will not open; no gulf that enough love will not bridge; no wall
that enough love will not throw down; no sin that enough love will not redeem. It makes no difference how deeply seated may be
the problem, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangles, how great the error or
mistake love never fails and God is about to bathe
the world in redemptive love through the government of the sons of God and by the power of
the sevenfold spirit of God radiating from His throne!
To be
continued
J. PRESTON EBY
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