Copyright © 2013 by Roger Dixon. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written consent. Excerpts may be used for quoting.

Published by:

Hiddenite Publishing

ISBN: 978-0-9899898-0-0

Heavenscolony@aol.com

Seekingthesonsofabraham.com

Special thanks to James Faucett for his editorial expertise.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Poem -- On Safari

1. Zion Is A Relationship

2. The Realm of Zion

3. Fathered Into Zion

4. Streams of the Great River

5. What Is a Living Word?

6. Doers of the Word

7. A Numbered People

8. A Handful of Corn

9. The Prize

10. El Shaddai

11. Out of a Parched Land

12. The Realm Where God Perfects His Sons

13. As Wineskins in the Smoke

14. Crushed in a Place of Jackals

15. Failures

16. The Lord's Delight

17. Rejoice O Barren One

18. All Generations Shall Call Her Blessed

19. Let Not The Eunuch Say I Am a Dry Tree

20. Thy Sons Shall Marry Thee

21. God's Word is Accumulative

22. Our Common Salvation

23. The Fellowship of Zion

24. A Zealous Priesthood

25. A Covenant of Peace and Perpetual Priesthood

26. The Sons of Zadok

27. The Days of Zion

28. Clothed in Linen

29. A Teaching Priesthood

30. A Warring Priesthood

31. Seeking the Sons of Abraham

32. The Songs of Zion

33. New Thinking For a New Day

34. Grafted Into His Name

35. New Wine

Introduction

Zion is a relationship, first with the Lord and then with one another. All relationships in Zion flow from the Lord Himself. In the Kingdom realm we have fellowship one with another because we first have fellowship with Him. Christ is the beginning and end of every spiritual relationship. Our oneness with Him opens the door for our oneness with all the saints of God.

Zion embraces the saints on both sides of the veil. Jesus states in Mat. 22:31-32: "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." We are all alive in Him. We are rapidly moving into the fulfillment of 1st Cor. 15:28: "When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all." Christ filling all things is the purpose of the Father. Col. 3:9-11 puts it this way:

9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,

10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—

11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

This book reveals the intimacy the Lord desires with His people. It's a relationship rooted in the spiritual realm of Zion. Only in Zion is sonship in Christ fulfilled. God's dealings in the lives of those endeavoring to walk as sons are unique to this Zion relationship. The passageway leading into Zion is fraught with God's dealings and with hardship, but as Jesus said, "Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world."

Paul put it this way in 2nd Cor. 4:

6 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

All Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise stated. Capitalized passages indicate quotes from the Old Testament.

On Safari

On safari into the back country

of His kingdom

No carnal feet have muddied the water here.

It’s all holy ground.

Walking barefoot through uncharted regions

His word is a light unto my path

And lamp unto my feet.

Up ahead! A lion lying down with the lamb.

There's nothing here to fear or make afraid.

The way in?

Follow the narrow path

winding down through the valley

of the shadow death.

Look for the signpost:

"Many are called, few are chosen."

Zion is a Relationship

The realm of Zion should be dear to our hearts. There will be times our hearts could burst because of the joy found in her. More than anything else Zion is a relationship. It is a unique relationship with the Lord and then with one another. All the promises of God are fulfilled in Zion. All the blessings are reserved for Zion. Sonship is Zion. The priesthood is Zion. Zion is both a realm and a relationship.

There is so much teaching in Christianity about Zion. Many books have been written on the subject, yet they are mostly just doctrines and theoretical teachings that miss the intimacy of the relationship. Zion is a realm to be walked in and experienced.

Psalm 87

1 <<A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.>> His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.

4 "I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me; Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.’"

5 But of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her"; And the Most High Himself will establish her.

6 The LORD will count when He registers the peoples, "This one was born there." Selah.

7 Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, "All my springs of joy are in you."

The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob. That means out of all the different levels or realms of spirit we could settle in and live, Zion is closest to God's heart. Zion is His foundation in the holy mountains. Mountains are always indicative of a high realm of spirit. His holy mountains indicate that place of His presence being manifested.

Verses 4-6 speak of being born on various levels of spirit. We are not preached or taught into Zion, we are born into her. Or, more accurately, we are fathered into her. The fathering ministry of Christ establishes us in this Zion relationship with God and one another. That's why all of Christianity can talk about Zion, write its many books about it, but never really touch or experience it. It takes the fathering ministry of Christ to open up the realm of Zion on a practical level of experience. That's because at its root, Zion is the family of God.

And finally verse seven: All our springs of joy are in Zion. We will find more and more our greatest delight will be in our relationships with one another in the realm of Zion. As the soul/flesh realm of relating passes away, our hearts will just ache with joy in knowing one another in Zion. All of our relationships in Zion are to be so filled with the presence of the Lord.

Jer. 50

4 "In those days and at that time," declares the LORD, "the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek.

5 "They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

The hour comes in which all God's people, and I emphasize God's people, not religion, have their eyes opened to recognize His lordship over them. Zion is the realm of Christ’s lordship made real. They will come weeping, having seen the futility of their lives apart from His lordship over them. They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction. They will come and join themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. These verses are so poignant. There is something about the weeping, the brokenness of spirit, that is so akin to Zion. It’s a great paradox how Zion produces such brokenness and weeping, yet great joy all at the same time.

Jer. 30:

17 ‘For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one cares for her."‘

18 "Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob And have compassion on his dwelling places; And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin, And the palace will stand on its rightful place.

19 ‘From them will proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who celebrate; And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished; I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.

20 ‘Their children also will be as formerly, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all their oppressors.

21 ‘Their leader shall be one of them, And their ruler shall come forth from their midst; And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me; For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the LORD.

22 ‘You shall be My people, And I will be your God.’"

For many seasons, Zion has seemed to be an outcast. Very few in Christianity have recognized or appreciated her. No one has wanted to endure the reproach of the cross that brings us into Zion. But as the previous verses in Jeremiah state, the hour comes when they will ask for the way to Zion. There are those who embrace the cross and are fathered into the realm of Zion.

The Lord says He will restore her health and heal her of her wounds. Those wounds were inflicted by the Lord Himself. God has dealt with Zion in such a way as to make her seem a reproach. While Christianity as a whole has preached its prosperity messages and enjoyed a measure of blessing, Zion has languished under the dealings of God. Always Zion has been under the Lord’s hand of discipline. Consequently, to the outer eye, she has seemed a reproach. But then God says He will restore her fortunes, and have compassion on her dwelling places. The restoration of her fortunes is indicative of the Garden of Eden relationship with the Lord before the Fall.

19 ‘From them will proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who celebrate; And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished; I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.

From Zion proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who celebrate. Here again is the great joy and wonder of Zion as it’s established in our hearts. The hour comes when God multiplies Zion; in other words, Zion’s fruitfulness finally comes to pass. All that God has wrought in her is revealed for every eye to see. This corresponds with Col. 3:3-4: “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

We must not look outward to find Zion; she is created inwardly, in our own hearts. “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion!”(Ps. 84:5). Zion isn’t going to be found in any theoretical teaching in Christianity; she will be found in the hearts of those with whom God is dealing. The purging, pruning and refining constantly bring us deeper into Zion. Zion must be lived to be understood.

One last passage of Scripture:

Isa. 42:16

"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone."

We are blind in as much as we cannot fully understand how the Lord leads us and brings us into completion. God leads us by a way we do not know, and He guides us in paths we do not know. We could ask, “How in the world is this mess I’m in getting me anywhere?” Yet God is leading us step by step into fulfillment. The darkness of not knowing gives way to the light of the Lord as we keep moving forward. The rugged, or hard places, become smooth plains. This is the way into Zion.

The Realm of Zion

Psalm 48:

1 <<A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.>> Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain.

2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King.

3 God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold.

4 For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They passed by together.

5 They saw it, then they were amazed; They were terrified, they fled in alarm.

6 Panic seized them there, Anguish, as of a woman in childbirth.

7 With the east wind You break the ships of Tarshish.

8 As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish her forever. Selah.

9 We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple.

10 As is Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.

11 Let Mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments.

12 Walk about Zion and go around her; Count her towers;

13 Consider her ramparts; Go through her palaces, That you may tell it to the next generation.

14 For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.

While the natural Zion referred to the area in and around Jerusalem, which was called the city of David, the true fulfillment of Zion is a spiritual realm where God is manifested to His people in a special way. “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion (Ps. 84)!”

Verse one refers to Zion as God's holy mountain. It’s a spiritual realm where all God’s promises are fulfilled. God in her palaces has made Himself known as a stronghold (vs. 3). Whose palaces? The palaces of Zion. Palaces speak of kingship, of rule and authority. Within the realm of Zion are many realms of authority. As we move into the palaces of rule and authority with the Lord, He becomes a stronghold to us and around us.

Verses 9-11 speak of the intimacy that exists between God and the inhabitants of Zion. It’s where His lovingkindness is fully revealed to us.

And now verse 12! “Walk about Zion, go around her...” The realm of Zion is to be thoroughly explored and experienced! Not as theoretical doctrine, but as a living relationship. If you read the Scriptures carefully, especially the last few chapters of Isaiah, you will find the references to fulfillment and double portions, latter rain, etc., all pertain to Zion. As we learn to breathe the free air of Zion, becoming her children, we begin to experience all that the Scriptures promise.

In our exploration of the realm of Zion we are told to count her towers, consider her ramparts, and go through her palaces. Zion’s towers speak not only of fortresses and strength, but of spiritual perception. Many times in the Scriptures towers represent standing in a high place, able to see in every direction. Towers are associated with the watchmen of Israel: “Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company (2nd Ki 9:17).” We are to count her towers. We are to learn the many ways of seeing and perceiving in God. We are to consider her ramparts. Ramparts speak of bulwarks, entrenchments, fortresses. In other words, we are to behold the immunities and coverings and protections that come from the Lord’s presence in Zion. The Lord becomes these things to us in that Zion relationship. We are to go through her palaces. We have already touched upon how the palaces of Zion represent the ruling and reigning with Christ in the city of the Great King (vs. 2).

Finally, we are to explore Zion thoroughly that we might tell it to the next generation. The realm of Zion is to be ministered to all who are open to enter her.

Fathered Into Zion

Psalm 87:

<<A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.>> His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.

4 "I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me; Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.’"

5 But of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her"; And the Most High Himself will establish her.

6 The LORD will count when He registers the peoples, "This one was born there." Selah.

7 Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, "All my springs of joy are in you."

Just as in Psalm 48 from the first chapter, Zion is likened to the holy mountains of God. Notice how it says the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob. Of all the spiritual levels on which a person can settle, the realm of Zion is closest to God’s heart. He loves Zion more than any other realm. Glorious things are spoken of Zion, the city of God.

But how do we enter that realm? How do we begin to experience the reality of Zion? Notice carefully verses five and six:“Of Zion it shall be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her.’” Zion is not a realm marked by discipline or self effort. How long we have been a Christian does not qualify us as citizens of Zion. We enter the realm of Zion by a new birth. This isn’t the old time religion of being “born again” as fundamental Christianity would teach it, however. We are born into Zion through a living word. We are fathered into Zion. Zion is a realm where all the trappings of religion are left behind. Within Zion all the Heavenly Father’s family dwell together. His family is those in whom Christ's nature is being formed. Within Zion dwell the children, the young men and women, and the fathers and mothers.

“The LORD will count when He registers the peoples, This one was born there.” The registering of the peoples points to the many passages of Scripture that record genealogies and bloodlines. For example, in the books of Nehemiah and Ezra, only those who could prove their lineage could serve in the priesthood that was being restored in the days of rebuilding the temple after the captivity in Babylon. There was to be no mixed blood in those who served. Spiritually, this speaks of purity. The Lord searches for the one born of a living word, with His nature being created within.

This psalm ends with the declaration, “Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, 'All my springs of joy are in you.'" As we learn to live in the realm of Zion, we find our greatest joy.

Streams of the Great River

Psalm 46:

1 <<For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song.>> God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.

7 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth.

9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.

10 "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

Verse four tells us there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. What is this city of God? It is the spiritual realm of Zion. Throughout the Scriptures the city of God is synonymous with Zion. As the verse indicates, it is the spiritual dwelling of God. Notice that it says dwelling places. “Places” is plural, revealing that there are many spiritual levels within the realm of Zion that we can live on. This corresponds with John 14:1-3: "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

Now, what about that river whose streams make glad the city of God? The river is the living Word of Christ. It is the same River of Life as described in Ezekiel 47 and Rev. 21. Notice that it is the river’s streams that make Zion glad. What are these streams? The streams are the inhabitants of Zion! As we are birthed into the realm of Zion we become channels of the Great River that feeds the City. It’s the word of Christ through us that brings gladness of heart to each of our neighbors in Zion. His word through us becomes the delight of our lives.

Verse five tells us God is in the midst of Zion. He will help her when morning dawns. The literal translation from the Greek reads: “He will help her at the turn of the morning.” How does this apply to us? Spiritually, we have come to the dawning of a new day. The realm of Zion is opening in an unprecedented way for those seeking a deeper walk with God. One way we can know we are beginning to experience the turning of the morning can be found in verses 6-9:

6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.

7 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth.

9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.

The nations roaring, kingdoms tottering, and the earth melting all speak to the upheavals within us as we enter a new day. The self life is devastated as we come under the dominion of Christ ruling in Zion. Verse eight says the Lord has wrought desolations in the earth. That’s exactly what He does to our earthen nature as he lifts us on high to Zion.

In verse nine we have a great promise: “He makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth.” The conflicts we have within our earthen nature will not always be. His nature will be firmly established within those contending for it, thus bringing the conflicts of the earthen nature to an end. And then verses 10-11 tell us to cease striving and know that He is God. We learn to cease our struggles against the old nature and let God establish Himself within us. The Lord of Hosts is with us (vs.11)!

What is a Living Word?

What is a living word? I suppose there are as many answers to that as there are Christians who think they are speaking one. A living word is not simply an utterance from God. It’s not what some would call an anointed word. It’s not just the Scriptures. It’s not speaking revelation given by the Holy Spirit. What then is a living word? A living word is the word made flesh. We speak a living word when we have first become that word. When we become the word, it's Christ life, His very nature, ministering through us.

John 1:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

Christ didn’t just speak the word, He was the word. All of the creativity of God is released when a living word is spoken. “All things came into being through Him.” Only a living word can impart the life of the Lord. There are many levels of utterance. The vehicle of prophecy can teach and reveal the mysteries of God to us. We can receive instruction and guidance through prophetic utterance. But it takes a living word to begin the creative processes of His nature being formed in us. It is a living word that fathers us into Zion.

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The word must become flesh in us if we are to move into this higher realm of utterance. In John 6:63, Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” The words Jesus spoke were spirit and life. In verse four from our above text, it says, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” The life was in Him; that’s why His words were spirit and life.

In the realm of spirit, we minister what we have become. Let’s look at this from the negative side. In speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said:

John 8:

44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

45 "But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.

Jesus said that the devil is a liar and the father of lies. He then said that when he speaks a lie he speaks from his own nature. This is very revealing. When the devil speaks, in this case through the Pharisees, he speaks from his own nature. He speaks from what he is. From this we see that whatever we are as to our nature, our words become an expression of it. "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart (Luke 6:45). Ultimately, who is the good man but Christ? Who is the evil man but satan? This verse is speaking of two natures. We are born with the evil nature but the good nature is created in us through a living word operating in our lives.

2nd Cor. 3:

1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?

2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Paul spoke a living word. It carried the very nature and life of Christ in it. The Corinthians were being created into Christ’s image by the word Paul spoke to them. Paul says, “You are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” This corresponds with Jer. 31:33-34, and is also referenced in Heb. 8:

33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

These passages show us that we cannot become all that God has provided for us without first partaking of a living word.

It was stated earlier that there are many levels of prophetic utterance. They are all in accordance with how much of God has been appropriated into the life of the speaker. In 1st Cor. 14 Paul teaches that prophecy is given by the Holy Spirit primarily for edification, exhortation and consolation. But there is a higher realm of prophecy in which Christ is speaking in us. Paul alludes to this in 2nd Cor. 13:

1 This is the third time I am coming to you. EVERY FACT IS TO BE CONFIRMED BY THE TESTIMONY OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES.

2 I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone,

3 since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you.

Christ was speaking in Paul on such a high level that his very presence among the Corinthians was going to produce judgment. By this we see that a living word is not only conveyed through speaking, but emanates from what we have become in Christ.

Moving into the ministry of a living word does not come overnight in our lives. It is the sum total of all God’s dealings in us. We move from level to level in prophetic utterance as we grow in maturity. As the cross has its way in our lives, crucifying the Adamic flesh nature, the expression of Christ in us takes progressively higher forms.

Rev. 19:

9 Then he *said to me, "Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’" And he *said to me, "These are true words of God."

10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

The nature of Christ so dwelt in this messenger sent to John that he was literally indistinguishable from Christ Himself. It was by the expression of Christ through the word the messenger was speaking that John mistook him for the Lord. The messenger confirms this by telling John, "I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. On its highest level, prophecy is synonymous with the nature of God Himself. It ceases to be just utterances, but an expression of His life in us.

Doers of the Word

There is a heritage of the living word God is creating in our spirits. The expression of the word we have received by its very nature is one of intensity. All the religious, soulish realm is passive. Even if it exists in much loudness, it's still passive. The intensity of the word is not necessarily even expressed verbally. It's an intensity in our spirits which is far different than any expression in the soul realm.

James 1:

22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;

24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

The intensity of the word in our spirits is defined by this phrase, "Doers of the word." But that too cannot be interpreted in a traditional, soulish realm because it's not about "doing" something. Doers of the word are not exerting a lot of soulish, religious energies over something God might have shown them. Doers of the word becomes an expression for a living word having its effect in our lives. "Hearers of the word" expresses all of the religious soul realm. Hearers of the word is a spiritual euphuism for passivity. Many groups within Christianity have revelation on various things. But they are sitting and waiting for God to bring fulfillment to the revelation they received. It will never happen for them because of the delusion which comes from the passive soul realm. The intensity of a living word creates doers, not hearers. However, we are not going out to make something happen in a soulish way. It's not about "doing" anything; it's something in the way our spirits demand from God that which He has spoken. We could best characterize this intensity as the stirrings of Christ in our spirits rather than any emotional outflow from the soul realm. This is expressed in the verses from Isa. 62:

6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves;

7 And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

These passages are not to be interpreted as shouting at God all day. It's the intensity of spirit, the life of the living word in us, that gives Him no rest. A living word is designed to work in a people, like fine wine aging, until those receiving it take on the intensity of that word.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating as the old saying goes. We can know we are part of Zion, the great heritage of God, because something is alive in our spirits. It's to the doers of the word, not the hearers, that fulfillment comes.

A Numbered People

When you come to Zion, you find it a very personal encounter with the Lord.

Heb. 12:

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."

The emphasis of these passages is that as we come into sonship, it becomes a very intimate experience with the Lord. It's very much a hands-on relationship.

Verse six ends with, "He scourges every son whom He receives." The Lord is picky about whom He receives. It's a paradox. On one hand, the Scriptures say, "Whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." But Mat. 22:14 states that many are called, but few are chosen. Chosen for what? Salvation? No! God only starts getting picky when it comes to inheriting the blessings that belong to sonship. The Lord only begins making a distinction when immaturity and maturity come into play (Gal. 3).

The Kingdom of God is constantly one of separation and exclusiveness. Whether it be the separation of the wheat and tares or the good and bad fish (Mat. 13), God is always sifting. He is always bringing His people closer to Himself.

One of the greatest blessings of Zion is having the simple awareness that if we are participating with Him as He sifts our lives, we are known intimately by the Lord.

Psalm 121:

1 A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?

2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand.

6 The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.

8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah give an account of the rebuilding of the temple after the captivity of Israel in Babylon. They are also prophetic of the spiritual work God is doing today.

The first thing that is established in the beginning of Ezra is that it is the Lord who is setting in motion the rebuilding of the temple. It's at His initiative, not man's, that the rebuilding of the temple begins.

Ezra 1:

1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.

3 Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem.

Now, notice verses 4-5:

4 And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

5 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

Out of all the people called by His name, God took only a remnant to rebuild the temple and perform His will. In addition to being stirred by God, it was necessary for the people and the priesthood to prove their lineage in order to serve.

Ezra 2:

59 And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not identify their father’s house or their genealogy, whether they were of Israel:

60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two;

61 and of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, and the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.

62 These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.

This principle is just as valid today as it was in the days of Ezra. The only difference is that God is applying it to the spiritual realm rather than the physical realm. We no longer have to prove some natural lineage to serve God. He is requiring, however, a spiritual lineage be proved in order to participate with Him in the summing up of all things (Eph. 1:10). There will be no half-bred manifestation such as Ishmael, partly born of God and partly born of man. Only those born of a living word shall participate.

1st Pet. 1:

22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,

23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

24 For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,

25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you.

Ezra gives us yet another example of the exclusiveness in operation when you come to Zion:

Ezra 4:

1 Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel,

2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here."

3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, "You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us."

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are full of seemingly endless genealogies listing painstakingly all those who participated in the restoration of that day. All who worked literally had their names recorded. This is a great truth. Those whom God used in that day were singled out and named personally. How much more so in this hour as God establishes Zion as the chief of mountains and all the nations stream to it! ‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the LORD; ‘For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, And I will bring you to Zion.’ "Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding (Jer. 3:14).

The revelation that those who are called in this era are literally recorded individually and approved by God is a cause of great rejoicing. This is why Jesus told His disciples in Luke 10, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."

To have our names recorded in heaven cannot be taken lightly. It is the seal of God's intimacy with us. The days we are in now are marked by one significant characteristic: We come to know the Lord even as we are known.

Isa. 4:

2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.

3 It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem.

4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning,

5 then the LORD will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.

6 There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.

A Handful of Corn

Psalm 72:16:

There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

The above passage is from the KJV. It just conveys the spiritual truth behind the verse better than the other translations.

The top of the mountains indicates a place of authority in the Lord. The mountains always symbolize a high spiritual realm. The handful of corn on top of the mountains is a remnant of God’s people. The fruitfulness that shall come from them shall shake like Lebanon. "And they of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth."

This is all saying it only takes a handful to bring forth God’s kingdom in such a way that it becomes a blessing to the whole earth. All through the Scriptures are examples of how God takes only a remnant, a few, and accomplishes His will through them. This is not to make us feel important, but to help us realize the reality of 1st Sam. 14:6: “The Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few.”

Obadiah 1:21:

The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion To judge the mountain of Esau, And the kingdom will be the LORD’S.

There is an ascending of Mount Zion God is accomplishing in a remnant. The mountain of Esau represents the Adamic nature and all that has been spawned from it. There are to be deliverers who come forth to loose all creation from its futility (Rom. 8:18-21). First, God must loose the deliverers. As a remnant becomes free, it becomes a channel of blessing to others. As grandiose as it may seem, this is God’s purpose. He desires a people who will be the instruments of release for others.

The Prize

Phil.3:

8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

There is something that gets down into the spirit of those who have been laid hold of by God. It's a hunger and drive to have that which He has set before them. It is difficult to express. It is a discontent that nothing of this world can satisfy. Even the things of God don't satisfy completely. The further we move into maturity the more we find that the blessings and movings of God that once caused us to rejoice so greatly become hollow or empty. They just are not enough to sustain us any longer. Paul had this drive in him as evidenced by the above passages. He said he pressed on toward the goal for the prize. There is something to be attained, something to be laid hold of that exceeds our experience in God until now. Paul felt this very deeply.

When God puts such a hunger and drive in us, all our obedience and faithfulness is measured in the way we pursue it. Shortcomings and failures don't seem to matter that much to God; what does matter is that at His prompting we continue the race.

2nd Tim.

3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

5 Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

This focus upon the prize will carry us through. All lesser purposes eventually fade from our lives as we pursue it. The energies of the soul life are strong in us for many things along the way. But God sees to it our eyes remain on that seemingly elusive prize in Christ Jesus.

Those who are called to this are locked into a life that hungers for that which is yet beyond the veil. We can get discouraged at times, but if the seed of Zion is planted in our spirits, we cannot easily turn away. We have been called as pilgrims to walk in a realm we don't yet fully understand. God has given us many foreshadowings of what is to come. We have received a measure of revelation. But he has not given us a complete roadmap. He has not said, "It will be this way." It remains that our faith, based upon a word to our hearts, sustains us, and our human understanding is not a prerequisite to moving forward.

El Shaddai

Gen. 17:

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.

2 "I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly."

3 Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,

4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.

5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.

6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.

7 "I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.

8 "I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

In these passages, God appears to Abraham and tells him He will establish a covenant with him. What precedes the announcement is God revealing Himself to Abraham as God Almighty, which, according to the Hebrew, is El Shaddai. This is very important. Before God institutes a covenant, He first reveals an aspect of His nature that will create and bring to pass the fulfillment of that covenant. Before God fulfilled His promise to Abraham, He first revealed Himself as El Shaddai, which translated means the All Sufficient One, or more accurately, the Great Breasted One. Notice how the promises to Abraham are but an extension of how God revealed Himself.

In verse two the Lord says He will multiply Abraham exceedingly. In verses four and five He changes Abraham’s name from Abram, which means Exalted Father, to Abraham, which means Father of a Multitude. Verse six has God telling Abraham that He will make him exceedingly fruitful and nations and kings will come forth from him. All these verses speak of fruitfulness and they are an expression of the Great Breasted One. By nature, Great Breasted One speaks of fruitfulness, and that is exactly what God conveys to Abraham. The revelation of the Lord to Abraham preceded the covenant and created the means by which it would be fulfilled.

Lets look at this in some other passages.

Gen. 28:

1 So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.

2 "Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.

3 "May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.

4 "May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham."

Isaac blesses Jacob in these passages and invokes the name El Shaddai, God Almighty. The blessing is then directly related to the revelation of the Lord that came to Abraham. "May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.” Again, we see the revelation of El Shaddai is related to fruitfulness.

Gen. 35:

9 Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him.

10 God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name." Thus He called him Israel.

11 God also said to him, "I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you.

12 "The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you."

13 Then God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him.

Notice verse 11 carefully. “I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply...” The Lord proclaims His name, and out of the revelation of His name comes the command, “Be fruitful and multiply.” God’s revelation to the patriarchs was more that just telling them His name; it was creating in them the fulfillment of a covenant. His revelation to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob identified what He was going to create in them and through them.

The Scriptures are filled with prophecies of the great fruitfulness that is to come to the realm of Zion, although for a season she seems barren.

Isa. 49:

13 Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted.

14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me."

15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

16 "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.

17 "Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and devastators Will depart from you.

18 "Lift up your eyes and look around; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live," declares the LORD, "You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride.

19 "For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land— Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away.

20 "The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’

21 "Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am barren, an exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Behold, I was left alone; From where did these come?’"

22 Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

23 "Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.

All God’s promises are fulfilled in Zion, the realm of sonship. When we enter Zion we become participators with all the saints in God’s covenant to Abraham. In Rom. 4, Paul says:

16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

17 (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.

It’s God’s intention to have a godly seed in the earth. The promise and covenant was made with Abraham but is ultimately fulfilled in Christ. It’s only in Zion that God finds a fertile womb. The religious world is sterile. It cannot reproduce.

We are not talking about making Christians. We are not talking about leading people to the Lord. We are talking about the nature of Christ reproduced in a people. This is what constitutes sonship.

Zion is the realm of sonship. The offspring of Christ, as mentioned in Isa. 53:10, comes through the revelation of El Shaddai to a people dwelling in the spiritual realm of Zion. This is the manifestation of the Lord in His sons.

Isa. 66:

7 "Before she travailed, she brought forth; Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.

8 "Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.

9 "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?" says the LORD. "Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?" says your God.

10 "Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,

11 That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom."

12 For thus says the LORD, "Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.

13 "As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem."

Out of a Parched Land

It is out of Zion that all God's promises are brought to fruition and fulfilled. It is when we come to the realm of Zion that we see all God's heart and purposes revealed to us. Zion is where we come to know Him intimately.

There are man passages of Scripture that speak of Zion's coming fruitfulness and blessing. Given this, one would think the word Zion itself would have some grand and glorious meaning. In fact, Zion means parched place. This is a great revelation. Zion's meaning reveals the method by which God brings many sons to glory (Heb.2:10).

We are looking to see the Lord Jesus Christ revealed in a people. First Thessalonians 1:10 says He is coming to be glorified in His saints. To understand how He is being revealed in His many membered body, we need only to see how He was revealed the first time as an individual.

Isa 53:2.

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

This is part of the prophecy about Jesus found in Isaiah 53. It says He came forth as a tender shoot. Tender shoot alludes to a green plant, one full of vitality and life. Yet it says this tender shoot came forth out of parched ground. This is the miracle and method of God. He always manifests Himself out of the realm of death and barrenness.

John 12:24.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

All of the original patriarchs' wives were barren (Jacob's wife Leah wasn't, but Rachel was). Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, was barren, as was Hannah, the mother of Samuel the prophet. All of these examples reveal that barrenness first precedes fruitfulness. Life springs from death. The greatest example of this was Jesus being raised from the dead.

At this time we are seeing the Lord being revealed in His many membered body. An interesting phrase to research is out of Zion. The Lord came forth out of natural Zion the first time but is being revealed out of spiritual Zion in the present. A tender shoot is again being manifested out of parched ground.

Psalm 68:

4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is the LORD, and exult before Him.

5 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

6 God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7 O God, when You went forth before Your people, When You marched through the wilderness, Selah.

8 The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

9 You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God; You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched.

10 Your creatures settled in it; You provided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.

Verse four says God rides through the desert. The Lord always makes His people a desert before He makes them fruitful. It was out of the desert that Moses came forth to deliver Israel. In the desert, God refines his chosen ones until there is nothing left within them but willing hearts to glorify His name.

Verse six says that God makes a home for the lonely. We all must pass through a lonely place to receive our inheritance. Eventually, the prisoners are led into prosperity. It's interesting that verse six also says only the rebellious dwell in a parched land. The Hebrew word for dwell is shakan. A more accurate definition of the word is to remain. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance defines it as, to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside. In other words, only the rebellious never leave the parched place. They are left there. When God deals with our lives it is so He might bring us into a fruitful state. This is also true of us as a collective people. The Lord is to be revealed out of a parched place. When we, as the body of Christ, stand as a prepared people, then our barrenness gives way to exceeding fruitfulness.

Verse nine says, "You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched." It is when we are in the parched place that we are confirmed or sealed unto God. God establishes Zion in the desert, proving her heart and setting His approval upon her. Back in verse six we saw that only the rebellious remained in a parched land. If we kick or rebel against God's dealings in our lives, we only prolong our stay in the wilderness. It is our obedience and submission to His Lordship that brings us into the fruitful place.

Verses 8-9 speak of the plentiful rain of the Lord that is shed abroad upon us as we emerge from the parched land. Hosea 6:1-3 speaks of the Lord coming to us "as the spring rain watering the earth." Verse eight also says, "The heavens dropped rain at the presence of the Lord." The word rain in this passage is only implied. It literally reads, "the heavens dropped." The realm of God, which is the realm of spirit, comes down upon us as we leave the parched land and enter into a fruitful state.

The realm Where God Perfects His Sons

There is a spiritual realm that has opened up in this hour that has not been fully available in days past. It is a realm in which God brings to completion His work in those who have contended for sonship. It is also the realm where God creates channels for His purposes to be wrought in the earth. It is the realm of Zion.

Eph. 1:

...which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,

23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Eph.2:

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

In the first chapter of Ephesians we see where God has seated Christ at His right hand far above all rule, authority, power and dominion. In chapter two we see that not only is the Lord Jesus Christ seated at the Father’s right hand, but we have been seated with Him. This is not a new truth but it is mostly preached in theory, not in actual experience. The practical side of sitting with Christ in the heavenlies is a provision of God that must be worked into our lives.

Much of Christianity today is preoccupied with the devil’s activity. It’s not hard to throw a rock and hit something that is satanically influenced. But this preoccupation indicates many believers have not yet discerned the higher realm of Christ’s authority and lordship. To move into the higher realm of His presence means the lower realms of the devil’s activity fade from the picture. Remember, verse 21 said Christ is seated far above all power and dominion.

At the present time this higher realm is where God is perfecting His sons. No doubt this realm will give way to yet greater glories, but right now it’s the proving ground of the saints. When the Lord brings a believer into this realm he or she stands alone before God. Spiritual warfare and all lesser activities take a back seat to a relationship with God in which there is a contending and wrestling with Him until He prevails over the believer’s life. It’s a pure and broken spirit that is created within the believer on this level. Heb. 12 speaks of coming to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect. The perfecting of our spirits is not something that somehow automatically happens when we “get to heaven," but is a process that is worked out in our lives right now on earth.

Gen. 32: 1-32:

Verses 1-23 of this chapter tell the story of how Jacob met the angels of God and later sent messengers to his brother Esau to obtain his favor. Earlier in Jacob’s life he had coaxed his brother to give up his birthright, and later his mother devised a scheme by which Jacob obtained Esau’s blessing as well. There must have been something in Jacob’s heart that regretted what he had done, especially after beholding the angels of the Lord. But when his messengers brought word that Esau, along with 400 of his men, were coming to meet him, he became afraid. He immediately went to work on another scheme to save himself from his brother. But a strange thing happened before he ever met Esau.

22 Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

23 He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.

24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

27 So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."

28 He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."

29 Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved."

31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.

32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.

These passages hold much spiritual truth, but we will focus on just one theme. Jacob had reached a pivotal point in his life. He was about to face his brother, with whom his destiny had been intertwined since birth (Gen. 25:21-23). It was a confrontation he had avoided for many years but was destined to face. Jacob had initially schemed to avoid his brother’s wrath. He was going to rely on his own cunning and wits to get himself out of the mess. Jacob had his brother’s birthright and the blessing that went with it, but God was not going to let His promises rest upon a man who had obtained the birthright by his own means. And so Jacob was left alone, and he wrestled with a man until daybreak. Later on, as the Scriptures indicate, Jacob proclaims, “I have seen God face to face...”

It was Christ, in the guise of the angel of the Lord, that wrestled with Jacob. Jacob had a great desire for the blessings of the Lord. He had striven in his life to obtain them. But only now was he facing the true means by which we receive from God. In his wrestling match with the angel he refused to let go until he was blessed. So the angel touched the socket of his thigh.

The touching of Jacob’s thigh, which crippled him, is symbolic of how God crushes our human energies to serve Him and obtain His promises. It’s not until God prevails over us that we prevail with God. The touching of Jacob’s thigh also symbolizes the end of Jacob’s conniving. His quest for the blessings of God by his own hand ended in that wrestling match. His limping away into the rising of the sun speaks of entering a new day in which God is indeed Lord over all. Verse 31 states, “Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.” The word Penuel means facing God. Jacob had finally faced God. Notice that the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel. Facing God always results in a new relationship with Him being born. Finally, the changing of his name from Jacob (supplanter) to Israel (God prevails) symbolizes passing from the human realm into the divine realm. Jacob obtained what he was after, but only when he had encountered God face to face and had been made worthy by God’s dealings. It’s interesting that at the end of Jacob’s life it says of him, “By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff (Heb. 11:21).” At the end of his life he was leaning on his staff, which is a type of the Lord Himself. While leaning on that staff, he worshipped. Jacob had obtained that broken and contrite spirit before the Lord.

After this transforming meeting with God, his meeting with Esau, which he had feared the most, was no longer a threat.

Gen. 33:

1 Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.

2 He put the maids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.

3 But he himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Jacob never anticipated his meeting with Esau ending the way it did. Initially he feared there would be violence, for he knew he had done his brother wrong. But because of that lonely night of wrestling, the past had been healed. Jacob was a different person in his spirit. Esau fell upon his neck weeping. The fraudulent obtaining of Esau’s birthright had been rectified in God’ sight. It was now rightfully Jacob’s, not because of human striving, but from contending with God and being subdued by Him.

When we desire the promises of God more than anything else, God will bring us also into that realm of wrestling with Him face to face. He will draw us up and contend with us until He prevails over every aspect of our lives. The wrestling match will continue until we too are limping and transformed into another person.

As a Wineskin in the Smoke

This message is based upon Psalm 119. The psalm is quite lengthy but should be read before reading the message.

How is it that the psalmist can express to God how much he loves His precepts, how much he delights in the law of the Lord, how he utterly hates falsehood and cleaves to His word, yet at the same time, in the same breath, cry out, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments?" Through the affliction God brings upon us, there is created the deep hunger and desire to walk in His way, in His righteousness. It's something of a paradox how the attributes and nature of God can be so alive in us yet seem so elusive. This is what the psalmist is expressing. Another translation of the Hebrew word anaw, which is usually translated afflicted, is weakened. God weakens us that we may keep His word. The psalmist cries out in verse 67, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Thy word." Now, one would think that just the opposite would be true, that the verse should read, "Before you strengthened me, I went astray but now I keep Thy word." But not so. God afflicts us, He weakens us to the point that the energies of the soul/flesh nature can no longer operate and dominate our lives. It's the same as when the angel of the Lord wrestled with Jacob and smote his thigh. Jacob limped the rest of his life, and at the end of it, according to Heb. 11, worshipped God leaning on his staff. When the energies of the Adamic nature are strong in us, we are self-willed and inclined to follow our own way and take for ourselves our heart's desire.

Psalm 83:

9 Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon,

10 Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who became as dung for the ground.

11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

12 Who said, "Let us possess for ourselves The pastures of God."

It's the strength of the fallen nature that says, "Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God." The inheritance of God in Christ will not come to a people who possess it in themselves. So God afflicts us. He weakens us to the point of despair such as the psalmist expresses at times. Yet, every step of the way the affliction, the weakness, creates in us such a yearning, such a hunger to be filled with His righteousness. A zeal for His word, a love for His ways, fills our hearts. This is all created in us through the affliction God Himself creates in our lives. And make no mistake about it, God is the author of the affliction that overtakes us as we walk on with God. Verse 75 nails it down: "I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."

In our spiritual youth we seem to be able to accomplish a lot of things. The strength of our human zeal carries us right up to the gates of Zion. But as we grow older, we find even the most rudimentary things become insurmountable. We become aware of how all creation, lying under the spirit of futility, opposes and resists us. Our natural strength fails us. This God allows. Before there is ever any overcoming futility, we must first be moved into position to do it, and that position is weakness. Verse 75, which we just read, says, "...in faithfulness you have afflicted me." God's faithfulness many times is not perceived because it takes a long time to begin to understand what He is creating in us and how He is doing it, and more importantly, to accept it and worship Him accordingly. Three different places in Psalm 119 mention His faithfulness. We cry to be made mature, to move into our inheritance as sons, and when God answers that cry, we are perplexed. One aspect of the affliction we go through is Him seemingly disappearing on us. "Isn't He listening, doesn't He care? Look at all the time being wasted. We are getting nowhere!" Well, that's pretty much what Job said also. But it was because Job couldn't perceive the outcome of the Lord's dealings. He had no clue what God was getting at. But in the end he exclaimed, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes." The psalmist put it this way:

82 My eyes fail with longing for Your word, While I say, "When will You comfort me?"

83 Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.

The phrase a wineskin in the smoke refers to how in ancient times wineskins were hung in tents. In the winter they would have a fire in the tent but no real chimney. The smoke from the fire would dry out and shrivel the wineskins, making them brittle, turning them black and causing them to be useless. This was how the psalmist thought of himself. Yet all the while he is experiencing the afflictions of God, God's very nature is being created in him. It is not in the human nature's capacity to seek after the Lord, to love His word the way the psalmist expresses it in this psalm. It must come from God's own life in us.

The Lord is faithful to fulfill His word in us. How blessed we are when His word has the desired effect in us such as it did in the writer of Psalm 119.

98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine.

99 I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.

No one comes to this dedication on his own initiative. God creates it in us. We experience the pain of lack that we might be filled with His provision. God's provision means nothing until we experience the hunger pangs of not having it. The afflictions of God have a way of creating the want inside of us. The psalmist said it like this: "My soul is crushed with longing After Your ordinances at all times." This is the fulfillment of Phil. 2:13: "For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." Rotherham's translation puts it like this: "For it is, God, who energiseth within you, both the desiring and the energising, in behalf of his good pleasure."

Two major themes are running through Psalm 119: Affliction and comfort/revival. It's akin to Hosea 6:

1 "Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

2 "He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.

3 "So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth."

In the New Testament, Paul puts it this way:

2nd Cor. 1:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

What is this comforting? It's the release of the word into our lives that we have been hungering after. Let's see how the psalmist expresses it: "This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me (vs. 59)."

God's word is like lubrication to dry bones. It breaths the life back into the smoky wineskins. It energizes us. We must not mistake God's word as just being the Scriptures, however. The reference to the word throughout the psalm is synonymous with the promises God makes alive to our hearts. It's very personal.

"O may Your lovingkindness comfort me, According to Your word to Your servant (vs. 76)."

"My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word (vs. 25)."

"Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways (vs. 37)."

"Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me through Your righteousness (vs. 40)."

"I am exceedingly afflicted; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word (vs. 140)."

Through the afflictions of God His word to our spirits is reaffirmed again and again.

As we have seen, the afflictions the psalmist cries for release from are not the troubles and woes of everyday life. They are created by God to bring us into Himself. This message is not pessimistic. Let's read a passage from the fifth chapter of James because it sums up all that this psalm is about: "We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."

And finally, the psalmist himself says, "How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way."

Crushed in a Place of Jackals

In the Scriptures the phrase A dwelling place of jackals is often used as a metaphor for the utter destruction and desolation that comes from the judgments of God. The jackal was regarded as a scavenger, an animal of reproach. We will read a few passages that bear this out.

Jer. 9:11:

"I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, A haunt of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant."

Jer. 49:33:

“Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, A desolation forever; No one will live there, Nor will a son of man reside in it."

Jer. 51:57:

"Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.”

This desolation, this utter destruction of life and fruitfulness as symbolized by the phrase A haunt of jackals is to be our experience as well. There is an utter destruction of the life and fruitfulness of the Adamic nature within us that must come. This is symbolized by the phrase, without inhabitants. This is not theoretical, and it is not to be just a point of doctrine, but a living experience wrought in us.

Psalm 44:

1 <<For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.>> O God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us The work that You did in their days, In the days of old.

2 You with Your own hand drove out the nations; Then You planted them; You afflicted the peoples, Then You spread them abroad.

3 For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them.

4 You are my King, O God; Command victories for Jacob.

5 Through You we will push back our adversaries; Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.

6 For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me.

7 But You have saved us from our adversaries, And You have put to shame those who hate us.

8 In God we have boasted all day long, And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.

9 Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor, And do not go out with our armies.

10 You cause us to turn back from the adversary; And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

11 You give us as sheep to be eaten And have scattered us among the nations.

12 You sell Your people cheaply, And have not profited by their sale.

13 You make us a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and a derision to those around us.

14 You make us a byword among the nations, A laughingstock among the peoples.

15 All day long my dishonor is before me And my humiliation has overwhelmed me,

16 Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You, And we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant.

18 Our heart has not turned back, And our steps have not deviated from Your way,

19 Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals And covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God Or extended our hands to a strange god,

21 Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.

22 But for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not reject us forever.

24 Why do You hide Your face And forget our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our soul has sunk down into the dust; Our body cleaves to the earth.

26 Rise up, be our help, And redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.

This is a Messianic psalm, prophetic of Christ and of those who come forth as sons in Him. Verses 1-8 speak of the great victories wrought in God as a result of trusting in Him. Verse six, along with verses 17-18, are indicative of an innocent heart before God, much the same as Job had in the beginning chapters of that book. Job was described as a blameless man, fearing God. But look now at verses 9-26. Look at the reproach and desolation from the hand of the Lord as voiced by the Psalmist. Each verse begins, You, meaning God was behind the adversity. Verses 17-18 are significant as they point toward Christ, blameless in all His ways yet smitten of God (Isa. 53:4). And now comes verse 19: “Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals And covered us with the shadow of death.” There is something endearing in the heart of God toward those whom He crushes. Verse 22 states, “But for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” Romans 8:32 speaks of how God did not spare His own son. Isa. 53:10 says: “But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” God did not spare His own son and neither does He spare those who come forth as sons in the Son. His judgments upon a corrupt nature are what qualify us for sonship.

Heb. 12:

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."

7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

Mal. 1:

1 The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.

2 "I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have You loved us?" "Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?" declares the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob;

3 but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness."

4 Though Edom says, "We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins"; thus says the LORD of hosts, "They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the LORD is indignant forever."

Esau, or Edom, is symbolic of our corrupt, Adamic nature. God says, “I have hated Esau and I have made his mountains desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” Edom responds in verse four: “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins.” This is exactly the expression of the Adamic nature. It endlessly endeavors to live and express itself. But God says, “I will tear down.” There is a finality of the Adamic nature within us. It will not endure forever. All of the lingering fruitfulness of the Adamic nature will disappear as God has His way in our lives.

We can take heart in the following passages from Isa. 50:

4 The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient Nor did I turn back.

6 I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

7 For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.

8 He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me.

9 Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them.

Failures

We must be able to recognize our own inadequacies and shortcomings. We must be able to acknowledge them to ourselves and to the Lord. Until we are failures, we cannot walk in the Kingdom realm. This is a painful revelation to our flesh natures. No one wants to be a failure. But our acknowledgement as a failure is the beginning of our function in the Kingdom of God.

When we realize that we are failures something of the Lord’s sovereignty and grace takes over in our lives. As long as we think we can produce something in God, we are limiting Him. It’s going to take a kingdom of failures for the Lord to be glorified through a people. There’s a humility that is basic to the Kingdom of God that is created in our spirits when we acknowledge we are failures.

The following Scriptures all bear witness to this truth. It’s as John the Baptist said, the more we decrease, the more He increases. We decrease, not by self abasement, but by simply realizing what we really are.

Micah 4:

6 "In that day," declares the LORD, "I will assemble the lame And gather the outcasts, Even those whom I have afflicted.

7 "I will make the lame a remnant And the outcasts a strong nation, And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever. 8 "As for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come--Even the former dominion will come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.

Zep 3:19:

"Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth.

Isa 33:23:

Your tackle hangs slack; It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly, Nor spread out the sail. Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided; The lame will take the plunder.

Jer 31:8:

"Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together; A great company, they will return here.

1st Cor. 1:

26* For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

27* but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

28* and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29* so that no man may boast before God.

30* But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

31* so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."

The realization that we are failures begins with a revelation of what we are in our Adamic natures. In the Scriptures the phrase “Gentile” speaks mystically of that realm within each of us that is corrupt and despised of the Lord. Yet it is to that realm that the Lord comes to redeem and possess as His own. The phrase “Jew," which also mystically resides in us, is the religious aspect of our natures, and God rejects that realm. He will not minister to the “Jew” within us, for that realm constantly seeks to justify itself and appear “spiritual” before God. It is also the realm described by the Scriptures as stiff necked, stubborn and rebellious.

The Lord raises up those who know their shortcomings. Notice that it was when Jesus came into the region of Galilee of the Gentiles that His ministry began.

Mat.4:

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;

13* and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

15* "THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES--

16* "THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED."

17* From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Jesus coming to Galilee of the Gentiles speaks mystically of Him coming to each of us to reveal what we are and to subsequently save us from ourselves. His love and compassion are manifested in a humble people who know the pit from which they were dug (Isa. 51:1).

The Lord's Delight

Have you ever wondered why God sets before you certain things and you cannot do them? Or, how about the everyday things you want to get done but just can't quite make happen? What about that gnawing feeling that you are falling short and you just can't make yourself do what you think you need to do? All these things wear on a believer's spirit, causing consternation. Why does God allow all this? Why doesn't He just give us the strength to do what is necessary? The answer may surprise you.

The following is an excerpt from a message by John Robert Stevens titled, The Delightful Bride.

"This is what the Lord is doing for us. We delight in Him. He is everything to us. We magnify Him. We love Him with all of our heart. We have no intention of being unfaithful to Him. We do not want to go out in the world and sin against Him. We would abhor anything that was disloyal to the Lord. We do not want to be a part of mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots, or any of her daughters. We do not want to play around with the world. We have only one desire: “I want to please You, Lord. I want to really belong to You.” I am looking forward to this that Revelation 19:7–9 tells about, “... the marriage supper of the Lamb,” and, “His Bride has made herself ready.”

The above desires are not part of our human nature. To live for the Lord, for the Kingdom of God as mentioned above, takes a work in us. Nothing serves the purposes of God in creating the pure desires of the Kingdom like failure. Something of the self life dies in failure. That holy desperation to please Him comes from the inadequate ability we have in ourselves to do so. Perpetual failure eventually creates tears of hunger to be righteous and pure before Him. This is God's design. This is what He wants to create in every son He calls to Himself.

Have you ever been half-hearted for a long, long time then decided you were going to seek the Lord and His kingdom with all your heart? Maybe you were just half-hearted in certain areas only. But then you decided you were going to go all out. If you have, you have also discovered that finally getting to the point to give it your all doesn't work very well. That's when the desperation begins to creep into your spirit. You may have felt all those weeks, months, or years that you were half-hearted and not accomplishing anything would give way to great success when you finally applied yourself. It was a shock when your maximum effort didn't work.

If we can understand that everything of sonship is about loving the Lord and hungering and thirsting after Him, of desiring with a whole heart to be pleasing to Him, then we have taken a great step. What did Jesus say? "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." This is the Father-Son relationship. Being pleasing to the Lord begins with earnestly desiring to be pleasing. It's a state of heart. This state of heart is born in us through the desperation of feeling like a failure. Maybe we are failures from a certain perspective, but it's God's doing, and His expectation of us in it is to have an open heart and cling to Him. When we find that hunger and drive to do His will, really wanting His will with no selfish, ulterior motives, then we can know that our failures have become great victories in God.

All Generations Shall Call Her Blessed

39 Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,

40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43 "And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?

44 "For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

45 "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."

46 And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord,

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.

49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.

50 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.

51 "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.

52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.

53 "HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed.

54 "He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever."

While all this literally took place, it also speaks mystically of Zion. Mary is a type of Zion, and the child she is pregnant with, and eventually bears, is indicative of sons in Christ sealed by resurrection, the redemption of their bodies. Paul himself wrote, "And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23). The redemption of our bodies, what has been called resurrection life, is the seal of sonship. Paul also wrote, "We shall not all sleep, but we all will be changed (1st. Cor. 15:51)." There is a birthing of complete sonship that must come. The order of transformation as laid out by Paul is, "Christ the first fruits then those who are Christ's at His coming (1st Cor. 15:23)." Paul also makes this clear again in Eph. 1:

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

We were given the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance, which is our full redemption. There must be a time in which Zion's travail gives birth to the completion of God's provision for us.

Let's look again at the passages about Mary. "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord (vs. 45)." Elizabeth calls her blessed because she believed there would be a fulfillment of the word spoken to her by the Lord. In verse 48 Mary says of herself: "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed." The blessing on Mary was because she was a chosen individual who believed God. It seems the Scriptures are singling her out as someone special. Indeed, the Catholic Church has turned Mary into a form of idolatry, assigning her a place equal to the Lord. But that is the wrong level altogether. All these passages about Mary are prophetic and must be interpreted as such. Mary was called and chosen of the Lord to bring forth the birth of Jesus. She became a channel to introduce something of God into the earth that had never been before. She is counted blessed for that. But Mary is also a type of the realm of Zion, which gives birth to the completion of Christ's provision for us. God has not laid the burden of believing for this fulfillment upon Christianity in general. But He has chosen a people, those who have been called out, to be as Mary in this hour. To them is the responsibility to believe the word just as Mary did. Is this selective or making certain ones special? No more so than Mary being special because God chose her. The blessing is pronounced because of her faith in believing the word, not because of any inherent goodness in the vessel(s). Mary regarded herself only as a humble bondslave of the Lord (vs. 48). It must also be noted that the realm of Zion embraces the seen and unseen realms. Many that have died in the faith, standing on His word, are also participators in this calling and will share in the blessing (Heb. 11).

Just as Mary is remembered and honored because of her faith in believing to bring forth Jesus into the earth, so too shall Zion be honored and called blessed because of its faith and travail to bring about the completion of God's plan, i.e. many sons coming to glory. Mary and Zion are synonymous. When these passages speak of all generations calling her blessed, they refer mystically to all that is generated through the birthing of sonship by Zion. Forever into eternity Zion will be called blessed because it became the channel of fulfillment of Christ's provision for us.

In a real sense, the redemption of our bodies and the seal of sonship is not a completion, but a beginning. Much will come forth in the earth through the ministry of sons made complete in the Lord. All that is generated through Zion will be a testimony to its faith forever.

Let Not the Eunuch Say I Am a Dry Tree

Isa. 56:

1 Thus says the LORD, "Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed.

2 "How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil."

3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree."

4 For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,

5 To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.

6 "Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant;

7 Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."

Verse three states', “Let not the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.”’ In the natural realm a eunuch is one who has been castrated. He is incapable of reproducing. But to the eunuch who chooses what pleases the Lord, there is a promise of great fruitfulness. When God says He will give in His house and within His walls a memorial, He is saying within the realm of His presence He will grant a miraculous progeny. “I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off (vs. 5).” How can a eunuch be granted an everlasting name that will not be cut off? There are mystical realities being spoken here.

Mat. 19:12:

"For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."

There are different ways by which a man becomes a eunuch. As Jesus said, some are born that way, others are made that way by men, yet others make themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God. Here is the mystical interpretation of Isa. 56. Verse six says, “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD...” There is a way we join ourselves to the Lord to minister to Him. Something is created in us, a drive, to minister to Him personally. It’s about loving the name of the Lord. God so works in us to create a determination to be wholly His. This means a dedication to becoming a eunuch. It’s refusing anything of our Adamic nature’s capacity to reproduce. We become dry trees in the sense that only His life in us gives us meaning or purpose. We cut off all the things that feed and gratify the soul/flesh realm in us. This is what it means to break bonds. We will only be joined to the Lord.

Coming to the place of being a eunuch for the kingdom of God is no easy task. It takes a work of grace in our lives. We must die to many things to live unto Him. But God is granting to His sons a capacity to really know Him. He is granting a capability to stand as overcomers. When a baby chick comes into the world, it must peck through the shell that protected it while it grew. The mother hen does not help the chick break through the shell. If she did, it would eventually kill the baby chick because it would not have the strength to survive in the world. Pecking its way through the shell strengthens it to live out in the world. So too, God allows us to struggle with many things that don’t seem to have any answers. He disappears on us, not giving any discernable help at all. We must peck through the energies of the soul/flesh realm in us. Then we will have the strength to live in God’s world. We must become those eunuchs separated unto Him if we want to live.

To these self-inflicted eunuchs of the kingdom comes the promise: “Even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer.” God’s holy mountain is Zion, the spiritual realm of His presence. When we become barren and incapable of producing apart from God, then we will know and experience the mystery of kingdom fruitfulness. We will become joyful in His house of prayer. We will obtain a name better than sons or daughters, and be grafted into an everlasting lineage that will not be cut off. We will find the miracle of progeny operating in us. We become the progenitors of a new age dawning in the earth.

Isa. 49:

8 "Lift up your eyes and look around; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live," declares the LORD, "You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride.

19 "For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land— Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away.

20 "The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’

21 "Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am barren, an exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Behold, I was left alone; From where did these come?’"

22 Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

23 "Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.

Thy Sons Shall Marry Thee

Beyond Christianity

As we enter into the realm of Zion a new relationship with the Lord begins to open.

Isa. 62:

1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning.

2 The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.

3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

4 It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her," And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.

5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you.

It is in the spiritual realm of Zion that sonship is manifested. It is also in this realm that we enter into the Bride relationship with the Lord. When we begin to walk in this realm, we find that God deals with us in a different way. Everything changes. We cannot compare the realm of Zion with anything we have known or experienced in Christianity. It’s leaving behind one realm to enter another.

In this new relationship with the Lord that opens, there is an intimacy beyond what we have known. This is because it is the relationship between the Lord and His bride. Contrary to most teaching within Christianity, the bride of Christ is not everyone who happens to be a Christian. Rev. 19:9 states that it is those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb that are blessed in this relationship. Mat. 22:1-14 tells the parable of the wedding feast and how those who were first invited were not worthy. These passages end with the statement, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

"Many are called, but few are chosen" implies an opportunity for everyone desiring a deeper walk with God. It is not speaking about an exclusive relationship with the Lord where others are shut out and those who have it stand and boast.

The book of Ruth opens up this relationship to us. The entire first chapter lays the foundation for the rest of this revelation of a bride relationship with the Lord.

1* Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.

2* The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.

3* Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.

4* They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

5* Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.

6* Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited His people in giving them food.

7 So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

9 "May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.

10 And they said to her, "No, but we will surely return with you to your people."

11* But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

12 "Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,

13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me."

14* And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15* Then she said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law."

16* But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

17* "Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me."

18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

19* So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, "Is this Naomi?"

20* She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

21* "I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?"

22* So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Naomi told both of her daughters-in-law to go back to their mother’s house (vs.8). This is significant. Mystically, their mother’s house represents the spiritual realm that gave them birth. In Gal. 1 Paul speaks of how God set him apart from his mother’s womb and called him through grace to reveal Jesus Christ through him. Paul was not referring as much to his natural mother’s womb as he was the womb of Judaism. God called him out of the Jewish religion into a spiritual realm, a realm altogether different from what he had known. In Gal. 4 Paul teaches how the then-present Jerusalem was likened to Hagar in Mt. Sinai as Jerusalem was still under the bondage of the Jewish law. He reminds the Galatians how that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one, through God's promise, by the free woman. Paul then states, “But the Jerusalem above is free, she is our mother.” We will return later to this concept of the Jerusalem above being our mother, but for now we just want to establish that, spiritually speaking, Naomi was sending her daughters-in-law back to their spiritual roots. This is confirmed in verse 15 where she tells Ruth, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law."

But Ruth is of a different spirit than her sister-in-law. She makes a different choice.

16* But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

17* "Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me."

In Ruth 2:10-11 we also find the following:

10* Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"

11 Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.

Something was stirred in Ruth’s heart. She was choosing a new lineage; her former spiritual roots were pulled up as she entered a new realm. So it is with us. When we come to the realm of Zion, we find that we have the prerogative to choose our lineage, to choose what realm in which to dwell. We have the capacity by God’s grace to choose what kind of relationship we are going to have with the Lord.

It’s also significant that they came to Bethlehem at the time of the harvest. This is prophetic of the present hour. It is in the season of the end-time harvest that the Lord establishes the means by which the fruitfulness of Zion comes forth. We will see this more clearly later. For now, we want to notice that all of Boaz’s maids are working in the harvest.

Ruth 2:

8* Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids.

9* "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw."

Boaz is a type of the Lord. His maids that are laboring in the harvest are a type of present day Christianity. Notice verse 5:

5* Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?"

Verses eight and nine establish that Boaz’s maids are the reapers in the harvest. In verse five the one identified as being in charge of the reapers is called his servant. This is the relationship of present day Christianity with the Lord. It is His servant. The various ministries given to the church are functioning in His harvest and His work is being accomplished. But Ruth is not among His maids. She is not one serving Him in the harvest. She represents a different relationship with the Lord altogether. Notice what Ruth says of herself in the following verses:

Ruth 2:

12* "May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."

13* Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants."

Ruth was different from Boaz’s maids. She seemed to be on the sidelines. She was not laboring in his harvest. While Ruth was not put into service by the master of the harvest, a far greater destiny awaited her. She was to become Boaz’s wife! Ruth is a type of the Bride of Christ and the Bride relationship with the Lord is far different than the one He has with his maidservants.

It’s interesting that while Ruth is never put into service to earn wages for herself and Naomi, Boaz sees to it that she is well provided for. Back in verse nine Boaz commands the servants not to touch her or mistreat her in any way. They are to draw water for her when she is thirsty. Boaz also commands his servants to make special provisions for her.

Ruth 2:

14* At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left.

15* When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. 16 "Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her."

All these passages speak of the ministry of grace that comes from the Lord to bring forth His bride. She is sustained by His ministry of grace to her. Notice in verse 14 how Boaz serves Ruth. This reminds us of how Jesus girded Himself and served His disciples by washing their feet. He was preparing them for a new relationship with Himself that would come by the Holy Spirit after He ascended to the Father.

The Song of Solomon gives a similar picture of the distinction between the maidens and the bride.

SO 6:9:

8 "There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And maidens without number;

9 But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her mother's only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed, The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,

10 'Who is this that grows like the dawn, As beautiful as the full moon, As pure as the sun, As awesome as an army with banners?'

Solomon’s bride is called her mother’s only daughter. Spiritually, she is born of Zion, the Jerusalem from above. She is from a different realm than the maidens. She is called unique, the pure child of the one who bore her. These passages in the Song of Solomon are very similar to the ones in Ruth. They are both conveying the same spiritual truth.

As Solomon’s bride is among the various maidens and concubines, so too Ruth gleaned and mingled among Boaz’s maidens. She was among them, but of a different realm. She didn’t fit in with the maidens because her relationship with Boaz was different. This is important to realize. Many times those who are entering into this Bride relationship with the Lord cannot understand why they seem different. They don’t seem to fit in with what is happening in Christianity. It’s because the relationship is different.

All through the Song of Solomon the bride is praised by the bridegroom. Similar praises come from Boaz concerning Ruth.

Ruth 3:

10* Then he said, "May you be blessed of the LORD, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.

11 "Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.

It was stated earlier that this Bride relationship with the Lord is not an exclusive circle but open to as many who hunger for it. How do we make the transition from one realm to another? The key is found in Ruth 3.

1* Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?

2* "Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he

winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight.

3* "Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

4* "It shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do."

5 She said to her, "All that you say I will do."

6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her.

7* When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down.

8* It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet.

9* He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative."

Ruth is told to go and uncover Boaz’s feet and lie down. This is a type of our submission to Christ’s Lordship. When we begin to submit to His Lordship over our lives, it opens the door for His dealings to bring us into another realm. It’s significant that it is at the threshing floor that Ruth lies down at Boaz’s feet. It’s only as we submit to the Lord at the threshing floor is His Lordship established over us (Heb.12:1-13). It’s also significant that Ruth comes to the threshing floor in secret. We are to bear the chastening and discipline of the Lord that purifies us outside the camp (Heb. 13:12-13). This means there is no glory to be had for our dying flesh nature.

It was stated earlier that the time of the harvest establishes the means by which the fruitfulness of Zion comes forth. Zion’s fruitfulness flows from the relationship between the Lord and His bride.

Ruth 4:

9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon.

10 "Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today."

11* All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem.

12* "Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman.

The elders prophesied that Ruth was to become like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel. The fruitfulness that was prophesied was to be the result of the union between Ruth and Boaz. Until Ruth married Boaz, she had no offspring. In the natural realm Ruth found herself grafted right into the lineage of Christ. King David, and all the kings after him, right down to Jesus, were the products of Ruth and Boaz’s marriage. So it is with spiritual Zion. It is the Bride relationship with the Lord that produces the great fruitfulness described throughout the Scriptures concerning Zion.

God’s Word is Accumulative

Hebrews 11 speaks of how the prophets and patriarchs of old gained approval through their faith. Yet the end of the chapter says, "And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised

,because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect."

All those men and women of faith did not receive what was promised. Is that to be interpreted as a letdown? Not at all! Why? Because all the words God speaks are accumulative. They will be shared in and experienced by all the sons who have ever believed God. The words and promises accumulate. What seems like a drought of fulfillment ultimately becomes a downpour because the blessings and promises build up as God completes His will. With great joy Zion will share in all the words God has ever spoken. The words you have received, the words I have received, the words that every man or woman of God has ever received, will be partaken of by those who have stood and believed God. We all will share in it together. We must get past seeking only individual fulfillment and see the bigger picture of Zion where we each partake of the words spoken to another because we all stand in one spirit together.

When we see Zion coming forth exceedingly blessed, it's because all the words and prophecies ever spoken are lavished on her. In this realm of the kingdom, death does not keep us from fulfillment. It means we still partake together because we are one body before the Lord, the visible and invisible. Notice how Heb.12 begins after talking about those who died in the faith in the previous chapter: "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us..." We are all alive in Him (Mat. 22:31-32). Heb. 12:22-23 elaborates further on this great cloud of witnesses:

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,

23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect...

We are all to live in the eternal now. In this realm comes the completion of all the prophecies and promises ever spoken. As we enter in, whatever words or promises we have had on an individual level, fulfilled or otherwise, will give way to the glory of a greater fulfillment.

Isa. 55:

10 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

12 "For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

The above passages pertain to Zion. This is nailed down in verse seven of the next chapter: “Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer.” Zion is God’s holy mountain and it’s in that realm that all God’s word bears fruit.

Our Common Salvation

Jude:

3* Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

Undoubtedly, there are many definitions of oneness. But here’s one from Jude that speaks to what the Lord is accomplishing in the Body of Christ right now. What does he mean, “Our common salvation?” He means partaking together in a revelation of the Lord. Oneness is never defined by our efforts to get along or be in agreement with one another. Oneness with one another comes out of our oneness with the Lord. Specifically, it’s sharing in a common revelation of the Lord. It’s partaking of a living Word together that makes us one. This is why Jude said he felt the necessity to write appealing for everyone to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. As we give ourselves diligently to the Word God is speaking, it produces a common experience in us.

Why is there is no oneness in the religious/denominational world? It’s because there is no contending earnestly for the faith. A common salvation is not being experienced. Religion takes much for granted. For example, most Christians would tell you that because a person has accepted Jesus as his/her Savior, he/she is part of the family of God. But Jesus, when told His mother and brothers were seeking to speak with Him, had a different perspective.

Mat. 12:

46* While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.

47 Someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You."

48* But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"

49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!

50* "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."

Jesus defines His family as disciples doing the will of the Father. Not all Christians are doing the will of the Father. Contending for the faith is the launching pad. It’s what thrusts us together into a common revelation of the Lord. If we are giving diligence to the living Word God is speaking today, then we are finding the cross operating in our lives, we are finding the devastation of the flesh nature occurring in us. Out of that comes a deeper revelation of the Lord, and thus, a greater oneness.

Rev. 1:

9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

John identifies himself as a brother and fellow partaker of the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus. If we’re partaking together of a common salvation, this is our experience as well.

The Fellowship of Zion

God is creating in His sons an ache for fellowship that only Zion can satisfy. In other messages we have talked about how God isolates us to establish the level of relationship with Him needed to see His provision completed in us.

Isa. 51:

1 "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug.

2 "Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him."

3 Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

Verse three says the Lord will comfort Zion. He will comfort her waste places. The waste places of our lives are those places God Himself creates as He brings forth the Father/Son relationship in us. The isolation makes waste on one level that He might fill us, but the comfort is not found in God alone. The comfort is in the experiencing of the great oneness of Zion. Her wilderness He will make like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Both Eden and the garden of the Lord are metaphors for Zion before the Fall. All the isolation and wilderness areas of our lives give way to a wonderful fellowship in Zion.

This fellowship is not in the sweet by-and-by. Its available now in the realm of Spirit as we grow in awareness of it.

Heb. 12:

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,

23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

The realm of Zion embraces every realm, seen and unseen. Inherent in Zion, i.e. the fellowship of the saints, is joy and gladness beyond what we have known. Remember how John the Baptist leaped with joy in the womb of Elizabeth when Mary approached carrying Jesus? So shall our joy be as our waste places and wildernesses give way to the sweet fellowship of Zion.

A Zealous Priesthood

Psalm 69:9

9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

John 2:14-17

14* And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.

15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;

16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."

17* His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME."

Driving the moneychangers from the temple was a priestly function of the Lord Jesus' ministry. He is our high priest after the order of Melchizedec. Through our inheritance in Christ we have an open door to participate with Him in His priesthood. "But you are a Chosen Race, A Royal Priesthood, A Holy Nation, A People For God's Own Possession (1st Pet. 2:9)." We may share in His priesthood. As participators we find the same zeal is to be upon us as was on Him. Zeal for the Father's house consumed Him!

God brings forth His priesthood that it might be the instrument for His glory. He creates a people who are jealous for His name. Their motivation is to see the Lord glorified in the earth. The cry "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done" becomes more than a religious litany; it becomes a driving force in their lives. As the self life dies it is replaced by the Lord’s motivations. The result is a pure zeal.

Mal. 1:6-11

6 "'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?' says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, 'How have we despised Your name?'

7 "You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, 'How have we defiled You?' In that you say, 'The table of the LORD is to be despised.'

8 "But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts. 9 "But now will you not entreat God's favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts

10 "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD of hosts, "nor will I accept an offering from you.

11 "For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations," says the LORD of hosts.

These passages speak of a polluted priesthood. The entire book of Malachi deals with the priesthood. The Lord's anger was against them, but there is foreshadowing in Malachi pointing to the day when a spiritual priesthood will come forth to honor and glorify His name. Verse 10 is one such reference. The Lord cries out, "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar!" There is to be a zealous priesthood that will rise up to "shut the gates." This priesthood moves in the Lord's authority to bring judgment on the things that have brought reproach upon His name. Back in John, when Jesus cleanses the temple, the scribes question Him: "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" The authority of the Kingdom rests upon His priesthood.

Through a zealous priesthood the Lord's name will be made great among the nations (vs.11). His name will be made great because of the fire in the spirits of the priesthood. Verse 11 also states that incense is going to be offered in every place in His name, and a grain offering that is pure. This indicates a pure worship that is established. It’s a worship that will honor Him and make His name great among the nations.

Numbers 25:1-13

1* While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.

2 For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

3* So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel.

4* The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel."

5* So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor."

6* Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand,

8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked.

9 Those who died by the plague were 24,000.

10 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

11 "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy.

12 "Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him My covenant of peace;

13 and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.'"

Phinehas is a type of the Lord's zeal in His priesthood. Israel had been seduced into playing the harlot with the daughters of Moab. Israel also bowed down to their gods. Right in the middle of God's judgment of this abomination, a man brings a Midianite woman into the camp, doing it right in the faces of Moses and the congregation. This is also a type of the abomination that goes on in the name of Christianity. In the name of Christ, abominations of every kind take place openly without shame. On "Christian" television the moneychangers shamelessly fleece the flock by selling messages promising instant prosperity. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. Through position and hierarchy God's sheep are manipulated in every way imaginable.

The book of Ezekiel deals with the exposure of the abominations of the priesthood. The Lord is continually showing Ezekiel through visions the corrupt things taking place in His name. It's interesting that Ezekiel was both prophet and priest. Through Ezekiel the vision of the true priesthood is given, as well as the temple to come, which points to the Body of Christ (Ezk. 44-48).

Through the spiritual ministry of Phinehas all the abominations committed in the name of the Lord cease. Phinehas took a spear and ran through the ones committing the abomination. The Scriptures say Phinehas was jealous with the Lord's jealousy. A spiritual priesthood comes forth jealous for the name of the Lord and His people. The Scriptures tell us God will raise up shepherds after His own heart who will feed His sheep on knowledge and understanding (Jer. 3:15). It's significant that Ezekiel also has much to say on this subject (Ezk. 34 and 37). The spiritual priesthood of the kingdom is zealous for the Lord and for the welfare of His sheep.

God promised Phinehas a covenant of peace. It was to be a covenant of a perpetual priesthood. This means it never ends and is valid and in operation right down to the present hour. In Christ this priesthood is manifested right now. And why was this covenant given? "Because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel."

As stated earlier, the entire book of Malachi deals with the priesthood. It's very interesting that it ends with:

5 "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.

6 "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse."

What has Elijah got to do with the priesthood? Actually, Elijah is mentioned twice in Malachi. The first time is in Mal. 3:1: "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts.

We know this also refers to Elijah because Jesus said so (Mat. 11:1-14). Jesus also said in Mat. 17:10-12 that Elijah would come and restore all things and that Elijah had come, indicating a two-fold manifestation. The first was in the person of John the Baptist. This is plainly indicated in the above passages. It's noteworthy that John the Baptist was of the priestly order. His father, Zacharias, was a priest (Luke 1:5). The second manifestation of Elijah is not in one person, but in the priesthood as a whole. The spirit of Elijah rests upon a spiritual priesthood. The spirit of Elijah is manifested through the priesthood as a zeal and jealousy for the Lord.

1st Kings 19

9* Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

10* He said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."

Elijah was driven in his ministry by a zeal for the Lord. When he destroyed the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, it was though his zeal and jealousy for God. The spirit of Elijah is already resting upon a spiritual priesthood. It remains for each of us to pick up our crosses and follow on to know the Lord that we might participate in Christ’s priesthood.

A Covenant of Peace and Perpetual Priesthood

Num. 25:

1 While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.

2 For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

3 So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel.

4 The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel."

5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor."

6 Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand,

8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked.

9 Those who died by the plague were 24,000.

10 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

11 "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy.

12 "Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace;

13 and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’"

Many messages have been preached about the zeal of Phinehas for the Lord. God said that he was jealous with His jealousy. He is an inspiration and example of how to serve the Lord. There is something deeper here, however, than just emulating Phinehas in our zeal for God. What is being revealed in these passages is a promise for our participation in not only Christ’s priesthood, but His very nature.

God tells Moses that Phinehas was jealous with His jealousy and that He will give him His covenant of peace. But to whom really belongs the covenant of peace? Who is the one really jealous for the name of the Lord? It is the Lord Jesus Christ. “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.” Mystically, Phinehas is a type of Christ in these passages. We have the clue in verse 13. We look past how Phinehas slew the violators of the Law. The key phrase is “and made atonement for the sons of Israel.” Phinehas’ act checked the plague that had broken out among the sons of Israel. Phinehas running the man and woman through with his spear was not so much an expression of God’s judgment as it was His mercy and grace for the rest of the camp. It is Jesus Christ who has made atonement for us all. God’s plague of judgment against us is checked through Christ’s sacrifice for us.

God’s promise to Phinehas was a covenant of peace and a perpetual priesthood. It is Jesus Christ who is the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). It is Christ who says, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful (Jn. 14:27). The true perpetual priesthood belongs to Christ (Heb. 6:20). He is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now, here’s the really good part: “And it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood (vs. 13).” The covenant of peace and perpetual priesthood is not only for Phinehas (Christ), but His descendants after Him. The literal word here for descendant is seed. If we are of the seed of Christ, meaning His nature and life being formed in us, then we are sharers also in His perpetual priesthood and covenant of peace. If we are in Christ, then the promise is ours just as much as it is His. We share in His promise from the Father. This is our heritage as sons.

The Sons of Zadok

Ezek. 44:

10 "But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, shall bear the punishment for their iniquity.

11 "Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house and ministering in the house; they shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.

12 "Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn against them," declares the Lord GOD, "that they shall bear the punishment for their iniquity.

13 "And they shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.

14 "Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.

15 "But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood," declares the Lord GOD.

16 "They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge.

Verses 10-13 speak of how the Levites went astray and God's judgment upon them for it. Then in verses 15-16 we see God speaking a blessing upon the sons of Zadok, a specific blood line within the Levitical priests. We have to go back to the days of David to see how this distinction came about.

When David was anointed king by Samuel, Saul was still king. The Lord had rejected Saul from being king because of his disobedience (1st Sam. 15:23-35. 16:1). Eventually Saul became aware that God had chosen David to replace him and so Saul sought to kill David. For a long time David, being pursued by Saul, lived in the wilderness, awaiting the time in which he would rule over Israel. Once David was separated from Saul's house and driven into the wilderness, many men joined David. Abiathar and Zakok, who were Levitical priests, also joined David. They stood faithful to David through all of David's battles with Saul and Israel's enemies.

Later, once David is established king over all Israel, we come to the story of his desire for Bathsheba and how David has her husband Uriah killed in order to have her. God sent Nathan the prophet to David to expose his sin. Nathan tells David a hypothetical story about a man who is rich with many sheep and other possessions. The rich man takes a poor man's only ewe lamb which is a pet to him and his children, and has it sacrificed for a meal for a traveler who comes to visit him. David is incensed by this story. Here is what God speaks through Nathan:

7 Nathan then said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.

8 ‘I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!

9 ‘Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

10 ‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’

11 "Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.

Verses 10-11 are the ones on which we want to focus. God tells David the sword will never depart from his house and that evil will be raised up against him from his own household. God forgave David his sin, and in the ensuing years continued to show him much love and compassion. But the judgment against David stood. Towards the end of David's reign Absalom, his oldest son and the one he loved most dearly, rises up against him and seeks to take the throne. David has to flee Jerusalem and live again in the wilderness much like at the beginning of his kingship when he fled from Saul. When David flees, many follow him as in the beginning, remaining loyal to him. Among them are Abiathar and Zadok. Absalom is eventually killed and David returns to Jerusalem as king.

At the end of David's reign, another of David's sons, Adonijah, rose up to take the throne from David.

1st Kings 1:

5 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men to run before him.

6 His father had never crossed him at any time by asking, "Why have you done so?" And he was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom.

7 He had conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and following Adonijah they helped him.

8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

These verses are significant and are the root of the exaltation of the sons of Zadok and God's judgment upon the rest of the Levitical priest bloodline. After all the many years of faithfully serving David the king, Abiathar finally betrays him by secretly supporting Adonijah. All those many years of faithfulness go down the drain. But notice verse eight: "But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah." Zadok remained faithful to the end. Eventually the plot is uncovered and Solomon, not Adonijah, is crowned king in place of David. Solomon was God's choice.

37 "As the LORD has been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!"

38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.

39 Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, "Long live King Solomon!"

40 All the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth shook at their noise.

Notice in verse 39 that it is Zadok the priest who anoints Solomon. This is important as it points mystically to the sons of Zadok that are spoken of in Ezekiel in our beginning text. On a spiritual plane it is the sons of Zadok who are the channels of God's anointing and commissioning in the Kingdom of God. It's the sons of Zakok who anoint, or lift up, the true king.

Although the priesthood polluted itself in many ways in the following years in Israel's history, the distinction between faithful and unfaithful began here. Mystically, a spiritual lineage was established that ultimately has its fulfillment in our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, after the order of Melchizedek. The true sons of Zadok are sons of the Lord Jesus Christ, moving in His priestly authority.

Once Solomon had become king, he allowed Adonijah to live. Later on, Adonijah made requests deceitfully of Solomon that resulted in him being put to death. This story can be read in 2nd Kings 2. Let's read now the following passages:

24 "Now therefore, as the LORD lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and who has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today."

25 So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.

26 Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted."

27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Abiathar was of the lineage of Eli, which came under judgment from the Lord. Eli's sons profaned their priestly heritage and judgment was pronounced against them for it.

1st Sam. 2:

27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?

28 ‘Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?

29 ‘Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’

30 "Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.

31 ‘Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.

32 ‘You will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever.

33 ‘Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life.

34 ‘This will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will die.

35 ‘But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

36 ‘Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, "Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread."’"

Mystically, what's being spoken here is the judgment on the human realm of ministering to the Lord. It's in the realm of human endeavor that the leaven of corruption always creeps in. So, the realm of soulish religion, represented by the House of Eli, and who Abiathar the priest was descended from, is displaced by a heavenly or spiritual priesthood that will act in accordance with the heart of the Lord. These verses about a faithful priest whom God will raise up point again to the Lord Jesus Christ. Mystically, Jesus Christ is Zadok, and His sons minister with Him.

Let's read one more passage of Scripture concerning Abiathar because it figures prominently into the passages from Ezekiel.

1st Kings 2:26:

Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go to Anathoth to your own field, for you deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and because you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted."

Abiathar carried the Ark of the Lord. Spiritually, this means the "Abiathar" realm is one where people have moved in the Holy Spirit's anointing, they have ministered in His presence. They are not evil. Abiathar was afflicted in everything that David was. He went through all the trials and battles with David right up to the end. For this reason he was not put to death. The energies of the soul life of religion many times serve God's purposes and are motivated by honest intentions. For this reason God assigns them a place of ministry in His kingdom such as we read in the beginning passages from Ezekiel 44:

13 "And they shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.

14 "Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it.

But there is a distinction made between that realm and the realm of Spirit, where Christ's energies are made manifest, not the energies of soulish religion's. The soulish realm of religious energy can never attain to the faithfulness required to draw near and minister to the Lord Himself. This is why Abiathar failed in the end.

15 "But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood," declares the Lord GOD.

16 "They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge.

Ezek. 40:

45 He said to me, "This is the chamber which faces toward the south, intended for the priests who keep charge of the temple;

46 but the chamber which faces toward the north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi come near to the LORD to minister to Him."

Here is the distinction between the two realms. Highly symbolic language is used in describing the temple in these chapters from Ezekiel. It is not a literal building, but a spiritual dwelling place in God. Notice the chamber which faces south is intended for the priests who keep charge of the temple. Spiritually this is interpreted as those who minister to the saints. But the chamber facing north is for the sons of Zadok, who come near to the Lord to minster to Him. These "chambers" are realms of function in the spirit. The priesthood, though it ministers to the people, is primarily concerned with ministering to the Lord Himself. This refers to what Jesus said in John 4:23-24: "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. '"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."' There is a ministry of loving the Lord, of ministering to His needs, that is fulfilled in a people. Those whom God brings near to minister to Himself have fulfilled in them all the requirements of sonship. Those requirements are laid out very clearly in Heb. 12. The discipline of the Lord upon a believer's spirit, the crushing of the outer man that must take place, is not a pleasant experience for the self life, and few endure it. But for those whom God brings near, He also enables by His grace to stand under the pressures He Himself brings. It's a mystery how the crushing of our lives can result in such a love created in our hearts for the Lord. Naturally speaking, we draw away from those who hurt us. But in the Spirit, we grow to love Him because of His chastening. It seals us as sons, fulfilling our deepest innate need, which is to be fully accepted by our heavenly Father. Even in the natural realm there is no greater drive than to be pleasing to one's parents, to gain their approval. Many a child has been damaged because they could not receive that from their parents. Parents may be rotten on a human plane at times, but that is never the case with our Heavenly Father.

If we are walking this path of sonship, becoming those true sons of Zadok, we will find every little thing in our lives turning into worship and humility before the Lord. Everything becomes an opportunity to submit to His Lordship, an opportunity to bow before Him crushed, yielding a pure spirit to Him. These things are what constitutes ministering to the Lord, of being drawn near to Him. The Psalmist said, "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness."

Ezek. 48:

9 "The allotment that you shall set apart to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width.

10 "The holy allotment shall be for these, namely for the priests, toward the north 25,000 cubits in length, toward the west 10,000 in width, toward the east 10,000 in width, and toward the south 25,000 in length; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in its midst.

11 "It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who did not go

astray when the sons of Israel went astray as the Levites went astray.

12 "It shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy place, by the border of the Levites.

Verse nine says there is an allotment set apart for the Lord. It was for the priests who were sanctified of the sons of Zadok, for those who had kept His charge. There are many, many dark valleys between the mountaintop on which we catch the vision of Zion, His Kingdom, and the mountaintop on which that vision is fulfilled. Only the Lord's faithfulness worked into His sons enables perseverance to completion. Verse 12 says, "It shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy place, by the border of the Levites." The true priesthood, the sons of Zadok, participate in the Lord's very holiness, and thus they are able to stand in His presence.

The Days of Zion

Isa. 1:

1 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.

3 And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4 And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.

Here is a prophetic vision that stretches from now right into eternity. The Hebrew word for last, as in the last days, is achariyth, which means just that, latter or end. Verse two states that there comes a time when the mountain of the house of the Lord, which is Zion, is raised above the hills and is established as the chief of the mountains with the nations streaming to it. This reveals a realm of ministry flowing from Zion that supersedes all other ministry. It is the ministry of the priesthood and all other ministry, which is symbolized by the lesser hills, gives way to the priesthood. The realm of ministry that the church realm has known of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are all part of the hill realm that yields to the chief of the mountains, the Zion priesthood. Already the Lord is de-emphasizing these ministries. This does not mean they are no longer in operation, but the anointing of the Lord is gradually shifting from them to the function of His priesthood. Nothing done by the Lord is instantaneous. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, changes occur in the spirit. It is just like the days after Pentecost. The church had been established, yet the temple worship continued until the temple's destruction in 70 AD. At a given point the new order in its entirety finally displaces the old.

The fact the nations stream to the mountain of the house of the Lord indicates a spiritual upward flow. Right now we don't see this. There is still the downward pull of futility upon creation. But we have a promise of a reversal of gravity. There is to be an upward flow, and as we know, things don't naturally flow uphill; they flow downhill. As the breakthroughs into the Kingdom of God continue, we will see this reversal of the spiritual gravity. People will be drawn upwards into the Kingdom of God. The Lord will no longer reach down as much as people will reach up.

"And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob..." As discussed in the chapter Zion Is A Relationship all the earth will eventually seek the Lord in Zion. And for what purpose will they come? "That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths. For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." It is through the Zion priesthood that the ways of the Lord will be revealed to the nations. The word of Christ is to be ministered on a level unlike what the church age has produced. Anointed teaching and preaching must give way to the life and nature of the Lord housed in the utterances of a priesthood.

Verse four clearly shows that the priesthood is to be the dominant expression of Christ in the coming Kingdom age, which is unfolding. We have yet to see the nations beating their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. We are in but the beginning of Christ's priesthood being established in a people. As already mentioned, none of the things prophesied concerning this next age of the Kingdom happen instantaneously. There is an unfolding revelation of Jesus Christ leading us into it. Yes, at some point the things that are must give way to the things to come, but everything functions as an unfolding. This is the big mistake of futuristic teaching in Christianity. Everyone sits waiting for God to do something. Everyone sits waiting for Christ to reveal Himself in the manner in which they have interpreted Scripture. But there is no waiting! There is just pioneering our way into that which God is opening up. John said in 1st John 2:2: "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." We don't know exactly what lies ahead nor how it will be manifested; we only know God is speaking and opening the door to the next age.

Clothed in Linen

Many, many books have been written on the priesthood. They all tend to speak of what is to come. They are future related. 1st Pet. 2:9 tells us, "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light..." Peter is quoting from Deuteronomy. What was true on a natural level Peter now applies to the spiritual level for those in Christ. But what is the practical function of this royal priesthood? We are not interested in what is to be, but what is available now. The Zion priesthood is more than Christian service. Christians, especially theologians, tend to presume way too much. Many would say that because Christ provided a given thing in His sacrifice, we automatically have it. In provision we do have everything, but in experience we are all woefully lacking. Everything Christ provided for us must be appropriated. That means we must make a conscious effort to receive and experience His provision. And as anyone who has set his heart to walk in Christ's provision knows, many tribulations and hardships are incurred along the way. We are refined by the fires of God in relation to how much we set our hearts to believe for. That's why Peter said that by His great and precious promises we become partakers of the divine nature (2nd Pet. 1:4). It's contending for those promises that turns loose the refining process in our lives. The end result is Christ's own nature formed in us.

The Zion priesthood is a participation in Christ's priesthood. For example, we have this passage from Heb. 7:

24 But Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.

25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Christ always lives to make intercession for us. Now let's take a look at Isa. 62:

1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning.

2 The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.

3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

4 It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her," And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.

5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you.

6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves;

7 And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Verses 1-5 speak of the wonderful relationship with God in Zion. They speak of how He will remove the reproach from Zion and establish her in righteousness as a beacon of light to the nations. But notice verses 6-7. It's the ministry of intercession that brings verses 1-5 to pass. It's the Zion priesthood that stands before God expressing the travail of Christ to see His kingdom established in the earth. What's significant about this ministry of intercession is that it is a hidden thing. There are no badges, no titles given saying "interceding priest." It's done in secret before the Lord, that He may be glorified. This is one of the significant differences between the ministry of the priesthood and the various ministries of the church age. Everything of ministry on the plane we have known has degenerated into having a position. Whether it be apostles and prophets, evangelists, pastors or teachers, people have taken titles and positions of control over God's people. The minute a so-called ministry claims a position, he begins to impede the free flow of Christ's life to those he has positioned himself over. Every ministry given to the church was meant as a commission to function in Christ's authority. And every ministry given has been corrupted by the religious nature of Adam by taking positions and titles. "But what about the need for elders and pastors?" All ministry is given for the spiritual uplifting of God's people. It's meant to impart the life of the Lord to those open to it. True ministry is based on a mutual revelation of the commission of the Lord to an individual and those receiving it. Anything else is a form control and usurps the Lordship of Jesus Christ over His people. This is the very nature of the antichrist spirit; it seeks control over individuals through a religious hierarchy in order to impede a revelation of the Lord from being received. This same spirit also works outside the religious realm. It seeks control through governments to limit people's freedom and condition them to be unable to perceive God.

In the priesthood of Christ there are no titles, no positions. There is just the function of Christ through this priesthood to accomplish the Father's will. The priesthood is a pure expression of Christ because He is the only one glorified. Rev. 4:10-11 is a symbolic picture of this Zion priesthood:

10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."

They fall down before Him and worship, casting their crowns before the throne. Anything given, such as the crowns, are cast at His feet, symbolizing a complete acknowledgment of His Lordship over them.

Ezk. 44:

15 "But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood," declares the Lord GOD.

16 "They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge.

17 "It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house.

18 "Linen turbans shall be on their heads and linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat.

Notice carefully verses 17-18. When the priests enter the gates of the inner court they are to be clothed in linen garments. No wool is to be worn. Verse 18 says they shall not gird themselves with anything that makes them sweat. Sweat is symbolic of the soulish energies of man. Sweat is the result of man producing apart from God. We see this clearly in Gen. 3:

17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.

18 "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field;

19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."

Because of Adam's sin he was banished from the realm of God's creativity and energizing. The earth became cursed and man had to produce by his own hand that which he needed to live. But nothing of the energies of man can abide in God's presence. That's the basic tenet of our salvation; we are saved by grace. In the Kingdom priesthood all ministry is performed by Christ operating through it; nothing comes forth by the sweat of man's brow.

We see this picture again in Rev. 19:

7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."

8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.

13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

We have two different manifestations of Zion here. One is the bride who has made herself ready. The other is a warring priesthood, a channel of God's judgments in the earth. Contrary to some teaching in Christianity, there are no select companies of people making up such groups as the bride, the sons, the priesthood, etc. They are all different manifestations of Zion and those inhabiting her. Zion is like a multi-faceted diamond, just as Christ has many manifestations. The one common denominator in them all is that they are a people in whom the soulish energies of man have ceased to operate and the divine energies of God operate instead.

The Teaching Priesthood

In the previous chapter we discussed the practical function of the Zion priesthood. We want to continue in that direction.

2nd Chron. 15:

1 Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,

2 and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

3 "For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law.

Verse three is significant. Israel was without a teaching priest. The Lord always moves through His people to reveal Himself. Paul makes this point in Rom. 10:

13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"

Paul is speaking here of those who bring the good news of salvation in Christ. But that is but a piece of a bigger picture. These verses Paul wrote are quoted from the books of Joel and Isaiah. That is why the New American Standard Bible capitalizes them; they are quotes from the Old Testament. Let's read what Isa. 52 says:

7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When the LORD restores Zion.

These verses are about Zion. How beautiful are the feet of those moving in Zion who can teach others the ways of the Lord. It's one thing to tell others how wonderful our salvation is in Christ, and that's not to be diminished, but its quite another thing to teach others the ways of the Lord. Psalm 103:7 states, "He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel." Most of Christianity lives in the realm of "knowing His acts." Very few have moved into the realm of learning His ways. Moses knew His ways because he spent forty years in the desert being dealt with by God.

Verse eight says, "Your watchmen lift up their voices, they shout joyfully together, For they will see with their own eyes When the LORD restores Zion." We read in the previous chapter how the watchmen are participators in the priesthood, travailing to see Zion established and become a praise in the earth. In this verse we see them functioning as seer priests, having spiritual eyes to see.

Ne. 8:

1 Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel.

2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.

3 Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

4 So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place.

8 So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep." For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

10 Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved."

12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.

13 Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law.

Verse seven says the Levites explained the law to the people. They were teaching priests. It wasn't enough that the congregation of Israel heard the law being spoken; God had to give them an understanding of His intent through the Levites. The Zion priesthood of this hour gives the people the understanding of the ways of the Lord. They are able to interpret the movings of God and teach the people accordingly. Many times the dealings of God upon a person gets attributed to the devil because they cannot understand what is happening to them. But the spiritual eyes of the priesthood will see the hand of God upon an individual and interpret rightly what they are going through. Isa. 55 states:

8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.

9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

The Zion priesthood imparts to the people an understanding of the ways of the Lord. Through impartation the mind of Christ is made known. Verse nine from Nehemiah it says that all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Why did they weep? Because their hearts had been opened to truly understand what God was saying. This was accomplished through the Levites giving them understanding. It is necessary that Israel understand their shortcomings and sin in light of the law, but then the Levites tell them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." The Levites then speak, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved." And then we have verse 12: And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.

Verse 13 is significant: "Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law." In the previous verses all the congregation heard the word and had it explained to them. But here we have the heads of the fathers' houses, along with the priests and Levites gathered to Ezra the scribe (and priest), to understand the words of the law. This is indicative of the anointing upon Ezra to impart understanding. We can understand things with our natural minds, but only by the impartation of those ministering the mind of Christ can we gain spiritual insight. It's important to note that it was the heads of households who came. This points to the priesthood giving insight to those who have the oversight of God's people.

Ne. 9:

1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.

2 Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.

4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God.

5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: "Stand up and bless the LORD your God Forever and ever! "Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!

6 You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.

Verses 4-6 are very important. They are showing us that it is through the priesthood that true worship is established and the Lord exalted to His proper place. The priesthood moves in His authority and establishes His name in the hearts of the people.

The rest of the ninth chapter is similar to Acts 7. Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gives by revelation an entire account of the history and shortcomings of the Jews. The word so pierces their hearts they cover their ears and stone him. In this ninth chapter the Levites speak a prophetic word that covers all of their history up to that hour. This gives us insight into the prophetic nature of the priesthood. Chapter nine should be read in its entirety.

A Warring Priesthood

2nd Chron. 22:

1 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men who came with the Arabs to the camp had slain all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.

3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly.

4 He did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

There is an unfolding story through 2nd Chron. 22-23. The chapter should be read in its entirety. In chapter 21 Jehoram becomes king of Judah, replacing his father Jehoshaphat. He does much evil in the sight of the Lord. Elijah the prophet sends a prophetic letter to the king outlining God's anger and his judgment. The letter states how Jehoram will die. Jehoram dies under the judgment of God just as Elijah prophesied.

The story now picks up in our above text. Ahaziah, his youngest son, becomes king in his place. His mother, Athaliah, was the granddaughter of Omri, an evil king that had reigned over Israel. It must be noted that there is a distinction between the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel. When Israel was divided after the reign of Solomon, ten tribes went one way and the other two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, remained under the kingship of the descendents of David. God brought about this division because of His anger against Solomon. Although Solomon was a faithful king through most of his reign, in the end he turned to the idolatry of the surrounding nations. The Scriptures explain that his foreign wives turned his heart. God kept two tribes intact because of His promise to David that he would never lack a descendant sitting on the throne. Over time, the true worship of Jehovah remained in Jerusalem, centered around the temple. The kings of the other ten tribes set up parallel places to worship and hold their feasts because they were afraid that the people would abandon them and return to Jerusalem, the true place of worship, as designated by God. Consequently, all the kings over Israel did evil in the sight of God, practicing idolatry of every kind. From Jeroboam onward, there were no good kings over the ten tribes. Later, the ten tribes were simply referred to as Israel.

Athaliah is widely considered to have been the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Omri, her grandfather, was Ahab's father. She came into the mix, marrying Jehoram, king of Judah, in an attempt to seal a treaty between Israel and Judah. It's significant that being the daughter of Jezebel she was a channel of the same corrupting influence that had dominated Israel during Ahab's reign. An interesting side note, worthy of further study, is that the kings of Judah, descendants of David, were the lineage from which Christ came forth, fulfilling the promise to David that his seed would sit on the throne forever. Although many of the kings in that lineage did evil, there were those who came forth to wholly serve the Lord. None of the kings of Israel did. What we have are two lines, one true and one false, both seemingly representing the same God. And so it is today. Much of what passes for Christianity and serving God is nothing more than a false manifestation, authored by satan himself.

Continuing in 2nd Chron. 22-23:

10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring of the house of Judah.

11 But Jehoshabeath the king’s daughter took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she would not put him to death.

12 He was hidden with them in the house of God six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.

After Ahaziah died, Athaliah destroyed all the royal offspring of the house of Judah. She did this that she might reign in his place as queen. This is a type of the perpetuation of the corrupting influence of the antichrist spirit as it seeks various channels of access across time. It seeks dominance over the people of God, leading them into a false revelation and false assumptions about God, and it seeks dominance in the secular realm, which also works to suppress the true revelation of the Lord. Both of these avenues of deception are rampant at the present time. It's at the conjunction of two ages that evil is at its zenith, for everything hidden must be made manifest and come to the full for God to judge it.

Jehoshabeath, the king's daughter, and wife of Jehoiada, the priest, hid Joash, one of Ahaziah's sons and saved him from death. This parallels both the story of Moses and Jesus in that they were saved from a satanic plot of destruction. This is very significant because it gives us insight into the ways of the antichrist spirit in every generation. It ever seeks to cut off the true lineage and access to God and establish a false one. It's also significant that Joash was hidden for six years in the house of God while Athaliah reigned as queen. Six is a satanic number related to man. It represents the works and energies of man apart from God. Much has been made of the number 666 in the book of Revelation. All kinds of theories abound concerning it. But basically it's depicting the fall and the reign of man apart from God. The man nature, or fallen Adamic nature is represented by that number. It's a nature that was infiltrated by satan in the Garden of Eden and it seeks to exalt itself above the throne of God and rule in His stead. That it's Athaliah, a woman, ruling as queen and not a man is no coincidence. In Rev. 18 we have a prophetic picture of Babylon, that mystical realm that exists under the rule of the 666 symbolism. Let's read a few verses because they tie in with the prophetic picture being given to us in 2nd Chronicles.

1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.

2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.

3 "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality."

4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;

5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

6 "Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.

7 "To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.’

Babylon is depicted as a queen. It's portrayed as feminine rather than masculine because it represents the harlot who has seduced the whole world by her sensuality and witchcrafts. Listen to what was spoken about Jezebel, Athaliah's mother: "When Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" And he answered, "What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?" In chapters 19-20 of Revelation we see the Bride of Christ in all her beauty and purity. She is the opposite of the satanic harlot of Babylon. Everything in the realm of spirit has a true and a false manifestation.

The six years of Athaliah' reign are symbolic of the entire reign of Babylon over God's creation. In this time the true king has been hidden in the house of God. Do you see the symbolism? Christ is the true King and His kingship has been hidden from the worldly realm. Yes, he has been preached and ministered for 2,000 years now, primarily as Savior, but His Kingship remains to be established in this earth . Rev. 11:15 says, "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Verses 1-3 of 2nd Chron. 23 are also very significant.

1 Now in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Johanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, and they entered into a covenant with him.

2 They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them, "Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD has spoken concerning the sons of David.

Verse one says Jehoiada strengthened himself for the task at hand. Jehoiada was a priest and represents the Zion priesthood. He plays a key role throughout this whole story. He first took captains of hundreds and entered into a covenant with them and came to Jerusalem. This symbolizes the authority of the priesthood and its responsibility to stand against the deception and lies of the enemy and make things right. He went to Jerusalem because it is the center of everything that is happening. It is the designated place of rule for the true kings of Judah. As has been mentioned in previous chapters, Jerusalem and Zion are synonymous with each other in the natural, and so too in the spiritual. It's in the realm of Zion that the battles are fought in establishing the true King in the earth.

Look at verse three: "Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them, "Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD has spoken concerning the sons of David." It was necessary that the true bloodline be established on the throne. Mystically, of course, this points toward the Lord Jesus Christ in His kingship on the throne of His Father. David's natural bloodline had to endure until it was fulfilled spiritually on a higher level.

4 "This is the thing which you shall do: one third of you, of the priests and Levites who come in on the sabbath, shall be gatekeepers,

5 and one third shall be at the king’s house, and a third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD.

6 "But let no one enter the house of the LORD except the priests and the ministering Levites; they may enter, for they are holy. And let all the people keep the charge of the LORD.

7 "The Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house, let him be killed. Thus be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out."

Look at Jehoiada's command in verse four. It is to the priesthood. They are responsible for the protection and establishment of Joash to the throne. No one was to enter the house of the Lord where Joash was hidden but the priests and ministering Levites. This scenario depicts an access to the Lord not found in nominal Christianity. The scenario goes back to our passage from the psalm about Moses knowing God's ways, but Israel His acts.

Verse seven is especially relevant for us today. The Levites were to surround the king with their weapons in their hand, and whoever entered the house was to be killed. Now, in this hour, our weapons aren't of the flesh, as Paul teaches in Eph. 6, but are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. The battles with the satanic hordes that seek to destroy the purposes of God fall to the Zion priesthood. It becomes their responsibility to deal with what hinders and impedes the revelation of Jesus Christ from being fully revealed. The phrase "Thus be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out" from verse seven depicts a relationship with the Lord that is close and in step with His every move. The Lord creates this relationship in His priesthood through His dealings and it enables them to stay in step. It is with the priesthood that the Lord surrounds Himself. Because of His refining fire they become extensions of Him. This again is the symbolism of Rev. 4:10, the twenty-four elders surrounding the throne and falling down before Him in worship.

8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss any of the divisions.

9 Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God.

10 He stationed all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king.

11 Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, "Long live the king!"

Verse nine says Jehoiada gave to the captains the weapons which had been David's, which were in the house of God. It's significant the weapons were in the house of God, not in a separate armory somewhere. Until swords are beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, both figuratively and literally, they are inseparable from the function of the priesthood. It's worth remembering how Samuel the prophet, who was also of priestly lineage, took his sword and hewed Agag to pieces. The bringing down of satanic strongholds belongs to the Zion priesthood.

Verse 10 describes how the Levites were stationed from one end of the house of God to the other, surrounding the king. They then brought the king's son out of the house of God and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony and made him king. This is exactly the spiritual pattern of this hour. God is creating a priesthood by which the King of kings, the Lord of lords, is presented to the world. He is brought out of the church realm. The last sentence of verse 11 states, " And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, "Long live the king!" So be it.

Seeking the Sons of Abraham

Luke 19:1-10 tells the story of Zaccheus and his desire to see Jesus. Verses 9 and 10 are Jesus’ response to Zaccheus:

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too, is a son of Abraham.

10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

The traditional interpretation of these passages is that Jesus came to save those who are lost, meaning those without salvation and on their way to hell. But there is something deeper here. Jesus referred to Zaccheus as a “son of Abraham." Now, Jesus knew exactly what He was talking about. According to Romans 4:16 and Galatians 3:7, the true sons of Abraham are the spiritual Zion, God’s sons in the earth.

Zaccheus was lost. Not in the traditional sense of being lost, but “lost” in the sense that he had no awareness of his true identity. Now, here’s the kicker: Even the sons of Abraham get lost occasionally. They lose their way, wander off, get spiritual amnesia, or whatever. And then the Lord Jesus comes and finds those who are lost. Whatever rock they’re under, whatever wilderness they’ve wandered into, the Lord finds them and meets them. He touches their hearts and reminds them, “You too are a son of Abraham.” They are restored to their true heritage.

The Lord is always faithful to seek out the sons of Abraham, to remind them of their heritage, of who they really are. And as He “finds” us, we behold Him, perceiving afresh His purposes.

The Songs of Zion

Psalm 137:

1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion.

2 Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps.

3 For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion."

4 How can we sing the LORD’S song In a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill.

6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.

7 Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, "Raze it, raze it To its very foundation."

8 O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you With the recompense with which you have repaid us.

9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock.

The songs of Zion will never be sung in a "foreign land" (vs. 4). Mystically, that means they will only be sung in the pure atmosphere of Zion. They cannot be sung under the bondage of Babylon. In the Scriptures Babylon represents all that exists apart from God. As it says in Rev. 18, it is the haunt of every foul and corrupt spirit. It is the spirit that rules over the earth at the present time. It's only as God's sons become free of that realm that the songs of Zion begin to fill their hearts. Verses 5-6 are especially poignant. Jerusalem is synonymous with Zion, both naturally and spiritually, as we have already seen. It is the cry of Zion within us that drives us to be free. The presence of the Lord is the atmosphere of Zion. Moving into it is a travail and work of grace in our lives. This is what God is accomplishing in His sons.

Verses 8-9 have been often misunderstood. "How could God be so bloodthirsty?" the question goes. But look again at verse nine. "How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock." The "little ones" are the spiritual offspring of Babylon the Harlot. Notice that it doesn't say "against the rocks" but "rock," singular. Jesus Christ is the true Rock. Blessed are those who take what has been sown by the antichrist spirit of Babylon and dashes it against a true revelation of Jesus Christ. This is the prevailing of Zion, the revelation of Jesus Christ breaking the deception of every lie.

The music of the kingdom will not be produced with instruments or vocal chords. The songs of Zion will spring from the spirits of those who have been dealt with by God and have learned to worship Him in spirit and truth (Jn. 4:23-24). God does not hear music as we do. We play and hear music in the soul realm. Its origin is the human soul. A beautiful voice or talented musician is pleasing to our ears. But God is not moved by human talents. He relates to the spirit in the song sung or instrument played. This is good news for us because it means we are not limited by how well we can sing or play an instrument. Too often a worship service is judged by how pleasing it sounds to the human ear. No one is going to think very highly of someone singing who can’t carry a tune in a bucket. Its human nature to present something that is pleasing to the natural ear and eye. That’s what sells. But God has a different standard.

Ex. 29:

15 "You shall also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram;

16 and you shall slaughter the ram and shall take its blood and sprinkle it around on the altar.

17 "Then you shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head.

18 "You shall offer up in smoke the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the LORD: it is a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD.

The phrase soothing aroma is used again and again throughout the Scriptures in describing the various burnt offerings to the Lord. Now, stop and think about it. Taking a ram or bull, butchering it, and offering it up on an open fire is hardly going to produce a sweet or soothing aroma. To the contrary, it’s going to stink. If you have ever been in a butcher shop you have at least an idea of what those sacrifices smelled like. Yet, God called it a soothing aroma. Why? Because the Lord related to the spirit behind the sacrifice. He related to the obedience of those making the sacrifices in accordance with His law, and He related to what that sacrificed ultimately pointed to: the Lord Jesus Christ. In the same way, what we offer to the Lord in our worship services is as sweet incense when it’s coming from a worshipful, broken spirit. It may not sound like much to the natural ear, but the Lord receives it with pleasure. This isn’t to say those with beautiful voices or musical talent can’t please the Lord; it just means our spirits are the root of all music pertaining to the kingdom of God.

Eph. 5:

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Let’s look at verse 19 carefully. It says speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. This would seem to indicate the singing in a worship service is to minister to one another. But then it says, “And making melody with your heart to the Lord.” All the music of the kingdom first originates in our spirits as worship to God. We may sing or prophesy to edify and build one another up, but if it’s pure it means there is that place in our hearts that first and foremost is honoring the Lord. This is why the world will never sing or understand the songs of Zion. They flow from a heart set on God, not natural talent.

Col. 3:

16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

We admonish one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in our hearts to God. Do you see how the music of the kingdom flows first from a worshipful heart? God hears our spirits when we sing in our worship. It’s what’s in our spirits that is going to minister to people, not how pretty we sound or how flawlessly we play.

Understanding this should be a great liberation for us. It should break self- consciousness once and for all. We won’t be ashamed of what is in our hearts for the Lord nor be bashful about expressing it, for that is what pleases Him. We will be as David, who danced before the Lord with all his might. Afterwards, we read in 2nd Sam. 6:

20 But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!"

But listen to David's response to Michal:

21 So David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the LORD.

22 "I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished."

23 Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

David said he would be humble in his own eyes. We are to have no self-consciousness in our worship of the Lord. It's significant that Michal had no children to the day of her death. Pride and self-consciousness create a sterile spiritual atmosphere.

New Thinking for a New Day

John 3:

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;

2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."

3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

4 Nicodemus *said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?"

5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 "Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

8 "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

One thing we as Christians have a tendency to do is revert back to old ways of thinking. The need for a new birth is because the old creation, consisting of the old, Adamic nature, is hopelessly corrupt and bent beyond repair. It can’t be fixed. Everything associated with it must be abandoned to experience the new life in Christ. Yet we tend to revert back to it, even though it is incompatible with the kingdom of God. We return to old thought patterns and motives even after God has frustrated them again and again. When will we finally learn? It’s not easy. The new creation in Christ must grow in us until it consumes every other reality. The wants and desires of the Adamic nature are not compatible with the new nature in Christ. Many preachers will tell you that you can have it all, that your wants and desires can co-exist with the kingdom of God. Our old natures like to hear that. But it isn’t so. The proof of a new birth is a new way of thinking and a new set of values.

Let’s read John 2 and get this same truth from a different perspective.

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;

2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.

3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, "They have no wine."

4 And Jesus *said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come."

5 His mother *said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."

6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.

7 Jesus *said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim.

8 And He *said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him.

9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom,

10 and *said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."

11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

These passages overflow with mystical truths. The third day points to the day of spirit, which is opening now for God’s people. The third day is the day of resurrection in which fulfillment comes. Galilee is both the beginning and completion of Christ’s ministry in us. It represents the cycle of three that operates in the life of every believer who is moving on in God. The cycle of three is death, burial, and resurrection.

Jesus and His disciples were invited to a wedding. It’s in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb realm (Rev. 19:9) that the miracle transformation takes place in our lives. Let’s see how it works. The wine had run out and Mary tells the servants to do as Jesus says. Jesus seems reluctant, telling her His hour had not yet come. "Woman, what does that have to do with us? The phrase “woman" points to the realm of Zion, depicted in Scripture as both a woman and our mother (Gal. 4:22-31). It’s the cry of hearts rooted in Zion that the Lord responds to. There were six water pots. We know that six is the number of man. Those six water pots are indicative of the nature of man, empty and devoid of any life. Jesus commands they be filled with water. Water in the Scriptures symbolizes His word (Eph.5:26). It’s Christ’s word in us that changes us into the new wine of the Kingdom. The new wine is Christ’s nature. It comes forth last, just as Paul describes the principle in 1st Cor. 15:

45 So also it is written, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.

49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Notice verse nine from our text in John 2. The headwaiter did not know where the wine came from. This corresponds with John 3:8: "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." We are born again through the living word of Christ imparted to us. “...for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God (1st Pet. 1:23). It is a miracle manifestation beyond the reasoning of the Adamic mind.

New goals, new expectations, are to fill our hearts as we enter the new day of His kingdom. We don’t want to be frustrated because we habitually revert back to the old ways of thinking that belong to the old creation. It’s new thinking for a new day!

Grafted Into His Name

Num. 1:

1* And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

2* Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;

3* From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

4 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

5 And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.

6 Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

7 Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

8 Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar.

9 Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon.

10 Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

11 Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni.

12 Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

13 Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran.

14* Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

15 Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan.

16* These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.

17 And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names:

18 And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.

On the surface these passages seem to indicate only that certain men were chosen by name as leaders of the congregation to stand with Moses. Indeed, most other translations of verse 17 simply state, “Men who were designated by name”, or something similar. But the King James Version words it differently, and this wording is very revealing. “These men which are expressed by their names.” The men were an expression of their names. Each one of these leaders' names was an expression of their relationship to God or their brother. For example, Elizur, of the tribe of Reuben, means "My God is a rock". Shelumiel, of the tribe of Simeon , means "friend of God," and so on.

Notice verse 18: And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.

What does, “They declared their pedigrees" mean? Again, most translations simply state, "They registered by ancestry." But “declaring their pedigree” is more accurate as far as the spiritual truth being conveyed here. This verse speaks of a lineage being proclaimed. Now, how does all this apply to us today?

Re 3:12* 'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

Re 14:1* Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

Those twelve princes of the tribes of Israel called out to stand with Moses are a type of the Body of Christ moving in the authority of the Lord. They are also pictured as the 24 elders in Revelation clothed in white garments and have golden crowns upon their heads. The fact that they are expressed through their names means they are partakers of the nature of God. To bear the Lord’s name, to have His name written upon our foreheads, is to have His nature incorporated into our very beings. The body of Christ is to be an expression of the divine nature.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Father’s nature was expressed through Him. Jesus said, “I have come in My Father’s name...” And again, "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word (John 17).” Jesus manifested the Father’s nature to His disciples. That’s why He could say to Phillip, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father (John 14)."

It’s interesting that in the book of Revelation when the false, antichrist manifestation is being described, it also makes reference to a name being written on the forehead. In this case it’s an expression of the old, Adamic nature. “And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH (Rev. 17)."

Re 14:11. "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

The body of Christ is to function as a great prince company (Nu. 1:16). “And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers (Nu. 1:4). There was to be with Moses, a type of the Lord, a man from every tribe. We see this symbolism again in Rev. 7:

4* And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

5* From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,

6* from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,

7* from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,

8* from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

This portrayal of the body of Christ functioning in Christ’s nature, princes of the congregation, moving with the Lord in His authority, is not a pie-in-the- sky doctrine, to be fulfilled some day down the road. It’s being created now. As we submit to the work of the cross, as we learn to appropriate His nature, we find ourselves being grafted in to participate.

Rom. 11:

16* And if the first piece of dough be holy, the lump is also; and if the root be holy, the branches are too.

17* But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

18* do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.

19* You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."

20* Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;

21* for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you.

22* Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

23* And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again.

24* For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

Paul is speaking here concerning natural Israel and the Gentiles. But there is something deeper being conveyed. Verse 16 says if the first piece be holy, the lump also; and if the root be holy, the branches too. Christ is the first, as He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning of the creation of God (Rev. 3), and He is also the true root (Rev.22). As we are grafted into Christ’s life, we begin to participate in His holiness, in His nature.

Verse 17 makes reference to the wild olive being grafted into the rich root of the olive tree. And verse 24 states, “For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?” Both these verses mystically point to a people born of the Adamic nature being grafted into the divine nature of Christ.

In the above context, receiving Christ as our Savior does not mean being grafted into His nature. Many Christians have received forgiveness for their sins, but they have not gone on to appropriate His nature. This grafting into His nature is a work of grace in our lives. Verse 20 states in part: “...but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear...” The grafting process comes through our faith to appropriate it, and because it’s a work of grace, it glorifies Christ, not our flesh nature.

Num. 6:

22 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

23* Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

24* The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

The priesthood was to put the name of the Lord upon the children of Israel and He would bless them. This application still applies. God does not bless our flesh natures, but He does bless His own nature, His own life, coming forth within us. Many within Christianity look for material blessings or covet the blessings that make the self life feel good, but the blessing that matters is the revelation of the Lord to our hearts that comes as He deals with us and creates His nature in us.

This putting the name of the Lord upon the congregation was a ministry of the priesthood. It’s also the ministry of the spiritual priesthood in Jesus Christ. As the body of Christ grows into maturity, its primary function is to minister the nature of God to its brethren. Thus, they put the name of the Lord upon those they minister to.

New Wine

Mat. 26:

26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."

27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you;

28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

29 "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."

Notice the following definition for the Greek word kainov, which is translated “new."

2537 kainov kainos kahee-nos’

of uncertain affinity; TDNT-3:447,388; adj

AV-new 44; 44

1) new

1a) as respects form

1a1) recently made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn

1b) as respects substance

1b1) of a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of

There is a partaking of the Lord on an unprecedented, uncommon, unheard of level. This prophecy pertains to the new day of the Kingdom. It is for us now. There is a relationship with Him that is “of a new kind." That means it’s like a new species, a new breed, something that has not been in the earth before. Our hearts should hunger and yearn to know the Lord in this new realm. It’s in our Father’s kingdom that we partake of the new wine with Him. This is how Weymouth translates this passage:

“I tell you that I will never again take the produce of the vine till that day when I shall drink the new wine with you in my Father’s Kingdom."

He shall drink new wine with us in the Father’s kingdom. The wine depicts a certain relationship with the Lord. Back in the 2nd chapter of John, at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus turned the water into wine. Let’s read how it turned out:

9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom,

10 and *said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."

Everyone knows wine gets better as it ages. New wine is volatile and unpredictable, but in Cana Jesus reversed that principle. The new wine He created was the best. God is telling us He has saved the best for last. In the higher realm of His kingdom we will experience it.

Table of Contents

Introduction

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1. Zion Is A Relationship

2. The Realm of Zion

3. Fathered Into Zion

4. Streams of the Great River

5. What Is a Living Word?

6. Doers of the Word

7. A Numbered People

8. A Handful of Corn

9. The Prize

10. El Shaddai

11. Out of a Parched Land

12. The Realm Where God Perfects His Sons

13. As Wineskins in the Smoke

14. Crushed in a Place of Jackals

15. Failures

16. The Lord's Delight

18. All Generations Shall Call Her Blessed

19. Let Not The Eunuch Say I Am a Dry Tree

20. Thy Sons Shall Marry Thee

21. God's Word is Accumulative

22. Our Common Salvation

23. The Fellowship of Zion

24. A Zealous Priesthood

25. A Covenant of Peace and Perpetual Priesthood

26. The Sons of Zadok

27. The Days of Zion

28. Clothed in Linen

29. A Teaching Priesthood

30. A Warring Priesthood

31. Seeking the Sons of Abraham

32. The Songs of Zion

33. New Thinking For a New Day

34. Grafted Into His Name

35. New Wine