Throughout the ages, God has birthed a sense of urgency within a
people so that they would not settle for anything less than
apprehending His full intention and purpose of their heavenly calling.
We certainly cannot afford to confuse this urgency with a sense of
fretful and fearful panic that manifests itself through those who are
led out by their worries and lack of patience. We are speaking of
something found in a remnant of people who give diligence to hearing
God's voice. It is an urgency inspired by the quickening of the Spirit.
We find it to be the very fuel that drove the Apostle Paul down many
rough roads and victoriously through extremely difficult situations in
the book of Acts. He could honestly say that he was not disobedient
unto the heavenly vision
(Acts 26:19).
We find the same inspiration in the decree of Cyrus for God's people to leave Babylon and restore Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-6). We would like to once more consider how this all relates to the body of Christ today. When we talk about God's people returning to Jerusalem we are talking about a return to glory. As we begin to see what has been hidden in the realm of the shadows and conveyed in the history of God's people, we shall see this return to Jerusalem pointing to a much greater glory. God does not repeat things without expounding on the original thought. George Warnock once said, "The book of Genesis is the seed and the book of Revelation is the harvest." I would go on to say that once we have seen the most wonderful and significant theme in all of the books that lead up to the book of Revelation, we will then see this same wonder open to our hearts in the book of Revelation. The reason for this is that theme of all scripture has always been Christ. He is the Revelation. As hidden as it may seem, the reality is right under our nose each time we take a glance at the letters on the surface. This spiritual reality is also found in the natural creation. Take a glance at the sky. Is not the beautiful blue sky the same sky that is dark at night and dreary on a cloudy day? What is the difference in their appearance? Illumination! Light! The sun! And so it is with us. It is the illumination of the light of Christ dwelling in us. Christ is our light. Unlike those who have yet to be illuminated, we have His life! His resurrection life! That is what we see in type working through the remnant that returned from Babylon and submitted to the will of God to restore Jerusalem.
We will find the connection between Ezra and Revelation as we ponder
our heavenly King's decree. The urgency to the body of Christ in so
many New Testament scriptures is to cultivate the resurrection life
that God has given us. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which
remain, that are ready to die . . . Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that
sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light
(Rev. 3:2 and Eph. 5:14). Those who move in resurrection life have a
tendency to cause the spiritual world to take note of their progress.
In the visible realm we see the same thing in Ezra. Be it known
unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of
the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid
in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands
(Ezra 5:8). The adversaries of Judah took note that those who returned
to Jerusalem meant business. They were alarmed by the progress of
restoration. Oh, how it would do our hearts good to see that these
diligent people foreshadow those who apprehend present truth and move
in it! You see, like any good dispensationalist, Martha told Jesus,
concerning Lazarus, I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day
(John 11:24). How often we take the
abundance of spiritual life and fling it out into the future with our
someday, somewhere out there theology? We are not refuting the
different dispensations in God's plan. We simply do not want to
compartmentalize the scriptures at the expense of present truth. A
future resurrection is true. It is there in the scriptures.
Nevertheless, those who move on in present truth, that is, truth that
is relative to this very hour, know that the resurrection is not just
an event in the future. They know that the resurrection is a Person. Jesus
said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life
(John 11:25).
Ezra not only knew the scriptures, but he had a relationship with
the God of the scriptures.
How sad it is that many of God's people do not live and apply present
truth, because they know more
about their last days theology than the heart of God. Ezra and those
who returned could have avoided
the adversity and the conflicts of their enemies if they stayed in
Babylon. Those who returned and
moved with the will of God stirred up the camp of the enemy. The enemy
wanted to know who
commanded them to rebuild and what were the names of the chief men
(Ezra 5:9 and 10). What was
happening here pointed to the attitude that the world of spiritual
darkness has toward those who are
moving onward in the will of God. You see, they had no concern for
those who stayed in Babylon.
The world of spiritual darkness was not too threatened by the Babylon
of Paul's day, but they
certainly took note of Paul and his heavenly King. And the evil
spirit answered and said, Jesus I
know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
(Acts 19:15).
In all of this we see clearly that the full grown offspring of God's
purpose shall not come
to fruition apart from conflict, confrontation, and pressure. And
there appeared a great wonder in
heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and
upon her head a crown of
twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and
pained to be delivered
(Rev.
12:1 and 2). Much could be said here, but we only want to point out a
couple of things. The most
important point is that the man-child will not be birthed without
travail! Those who are pregnant
with the purpose of God will experience birth pains. Our travail does
not begin with some sort of
satanic assault. Rather, it all starts when God has imparted a vision
to our hearts. The dissatisfaction
of anything less than the reality of the vision, from that point on,
will always remind us that there
is something more. We have had a taste but we want more. A large part
of our pressing onward in
God is a yearning for the fullness of what has been planted in the soil
of our soul!
The fact that this woman is clothed in the sun tells us that she is in union with the Lord. She has had spiritual intimacy. There could be no travail and birth pains without first having intimacy. She got in that condition by moving in present truth. She did not just hear something from someone else. She did not get in that condition by living on a second hand revelation. She was wooed into this relationship in a personal way. Through intimacy God made the revelation personal to her. That my dear friends makes all the difference in the world. When God quickens something to our hearts, we have more than just some piece of information. God deliver us from living off of someone else's revelation! Now we do know that God may use different vessels to make things personal to us. Nevertheless, it is Christ that brings the life because that vessel is speaking and ministering life and our hearts have been opened to receive. Yet, as puzzling as it may sound, people can tirelessly expound upon a revelation or a truth and not minister one ounce of life. A minister once spoke of a meeting he was in where he heard people get up and speak and it made him weep and others got up and shared the same thing and put him to sleep. The difference is that unmistakable quickening life of Christ that operates according to the purpose of God! It does not operate every time some one gets up and spouts off a truth or a revelation!
We know this woman clothed with the sun had a first hand
revelation because she had the
moon, the lesser light, under her feet. She was above that realm in
which you can only see a
reflection of the sun light but not experience its warmth. We thank God
that we can walk by a lesser
light, but let us seek His face to experience the source of that light.
Let us wholeheartedly seek the
Lord in our own personal intimacy rather than live off the experience
of another. The phrase in
Revelation 12:2 And she being with child...
takes us
back to Ezra. The Lord's people in Ezra
foreshadow those who are pregnant with God's purpose to restore. They
see past all the "dooms day"
preaching. They see past the "hopeless here and now" and escapism
theology. They are in travail
over something that is inconceivable to the religious minds that cannot
hear God for themselves.
The return to Jerusalem in essence pictures a return to the life we have in Christ, a return to glory. There you have the theme of restoration. Restoration is God's vehicle to manifest a greater glory than that which was first displayed in the opening chapters of creation. We find that the return in Ezra, as well as the tone of urgency in the decree, correspond to many of the admonitions given in the book of Revelation. We would like to consider seven of these parallels. In each parallel we will include the two scriptures - one from Ezra and one from Revelation. The underlined words in the verses from Ezra are the English rendering of a Hebrew word that only appears seven times in Ezra. The words underlined in the verses from Revelation are the English rendering of a Greek word that only appears seven times in Revelation. The connection is not so much the meaning of the words themselves but the tone that surrounds the context in each occurrence. The words are simply the thread that ties together the theme of what has been quickened to us. We in no way wish to imply that we have exhausted the subject. I dare say that we have only scratched the surface of this wonderful theme of restoration. Furthermore, to quote Ray Prinzing, "If there be any thoughts expressed that seem to be the result of only natural thinking, we trust that a little breath of kindness will blow the chaff away, that the kernel of truth might remain to bless."
Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of
Judea, to the house of the great
God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the
walls, and this work goeth fast on,
and prospereth in their hands... Remember therefore from whence thou
art fallen, and repent, and
do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and
will remove thy candlestick out of his
place, except thou repent
(Ezra 5:8 and Rev.
2:5).
We have made note of the adversity surrounding
the context of Ezra 5:8. We can read in Ezra
4 and see that the work came to a temporary stop along with the
accusation brought against God's
people. We get a good picture of what was going on in the natural,
visible realm in Ezra concerning
the return, the conflict, and the rebuilding. If we keep in mind that
Zechariah and Haggai were both
contemporaries of Ezra, then we will find out what was going on at that
time in the invisible realm
of the Spirit by considering their inspired books.
Both of their books stress a need for repentance.
At the onset of Zechariah we find a call for national repentance. Turn
ye now from your evil ways...
(Zech. 1:4). Haggai opens with a word
that confronts God's
people because they have their
priorities completely out of order. Thus saith the Lord of hosts;
Consider your ways
(Hag. 1:7).
Interestingly enough, we see a call in Revelation that leads to a
turning. This brings in a
much greater apprehension of the body of Christ. And I turned to
see the voice that spake with me.
And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of
the seven candlesticks one
like unto the Son of man...
(Rev. 1:12 and 13). The Greek
word for turned in verse 12 is also
translated as converted in Acts 3:19. The context in Acts is
Peter bringing a call of repentance in the
city of Jerusalem. Just as a prophetic word came to Peter, a prophetic
word comes to John in
Revelation. He sees Christ working in the midst of His called out ones.
We know of the dreadful condition Israel was in when Jesus came on the scene. He sharply contrasted the state of death that the religious leaders of His day perpetuated. It was very obvious that they stopped short of the glory. Nevertheless, God sent them a prophetic word. He sent them the voice of one crying in the wilderness (Matt. 3:3). The call was for repentance. In other words, the old way was being phased out. The Old Covenant would be done away with along with all the perversions men brought into it. The glory had departed (1 Sam.4:21). It was the tragedy of Shiloh all over again.
We find John bringing some sobering admonitions to the seven churches. The glorious called out body will never look the same to him after he has been turned. He will never see the Church as something separate from Christ. As a result, he brings a word to each church. This Revelation of Jesus Christ that he experienced is the instrument by which each church is measured (Rev. 1:12 and13).
The first church finds the call of repentance on their doorstep. In
the lifeless ritual of going
through religious motions, the call came to Ephesus. When we read Remember
therefore from
whence thou art fallen...
in Revelation 2:5, we are reading
about a change of position that has
been made for the worse. This takes us back to the seed bed of all
revelation, to the first time a
change of position was made for the worse. It takes us back to a
statement that was a preface to the
first time God brought judgment to the act of sin. And the Lord
God called unto Adam, and said
unto him, Where art thou?
(Gen. 3:9). The candlestick in Eden,
the paradise of God, was about to
be removed. Adam was the first to stop short of the glory. Humanity
from that point on would carry
out that tradition. However, that is not the characteristic of the
second Adam. Neither is it the
characteristic of the remnant He will use in His purpose of restoration.
When we cease from moving in the will of God, going from glory to
glory, it is out of love
and mercy that the Lord will stop us dead in our tracks and ask us "Where
are you?" Have you
settled down into a routine? Have you made a formula out of something
that was meant to be birthed
out of the spontaneity of love? Have you forgotten the thing that first
inspired your actions? Are you
living out of a motive other than the leading of the Spirit? Listen to
the Spirit in Revelation 2:4.
Listen to the sobering remark made to the church at Ephesus that comes
after a list of things that are
highly commendable and scriptural: Nevertheless I have somewhat
against thee, because thou hast
left thy first love.
Ephesus tried those who said they were apostles, and they spotted the liars. They labored and were patient (Rev 2:2 and 3). Yet, they also came short of the glory. They ceased in their moving forward to the glory of God. A word from the throne came to them with instructions to pick up where they left off. They left the most important element of their spiritual experience. The Greek word for first in Revelation 2:4 means the best. It means that which is above all. The way back to our first love is repentance. A turning from going through the motions was the most needful thing for those at Ephesus. This should tell us that once God has revealed His best we cannot use that which is good to excuse ourselves from coming short of the glory. Oswald Chambers once wrote, "The good is always the enemy of the best."
This takes us to the parable of the prodigal son. You see, as a
nation, Israel did the same thing
with their inheritance that the prodigal son did with his. Lift
up your eyes to the bare heights and
see; Where have you not been violated? By the roads you have sat for
them like an Arab in the
desert, And you have polluted a land with your harlotry and
with your wickedness
(Jer. 3:2 NASB).
They went into captivity as a result of their own ways. And not
many days later, the younger son
gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant
country, and there he squandered
his estate with loose living
(Luke 15:13 NASB). In Luke 15:16-19
we see a broken repentant heart.
This same broken hearted repentance was found in Ezra chapter 9.
Although Ezra himself was not
involved in the actual transgression of his people, he identified with
them in his broken spirit. ...O my God, I am ashamed and blush to
lift up my face to thee, my
God: for our iniquities are
increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens
(Ezra 9:6). This is not
unlike the heart that was revealed in of the prodigal son after he was
broken.
We find the Greek word used for first in Revelation 2:5
used in Luke 15:22 as best. After the
son returns in brokenness and humility, the father wastes no time in
receiving him as a son. After
embracing and kissing his son he calls to one of his slaves, Quickly
bring out the best robe and put
it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet
(NASB).
We cannot afford to just see
this word relating to first in the sense of something
strictly numerical. The context in Revelation
implies that without this 'first love' we will not be partakers of the
tree of life. It is not so much the
joy we felt when we first got saved, although that may very well be a
part of it. It is about life in
contrast to death, for this son of mine was dead and has come to
life again; he was lost and has
been found
(Luke 15:24 NASB). Those at Ephesus who have left
their first love, their best and most
important part of their experience, are promised the tree of life if
they overcome (Rev. 2:2). This is
where humility comes in. You see, pride is what got Adam away from the
paradise of God where
the tree of life was. ...your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall
be as gods... I will be like the most
High
(Gen. 3:5 and Isa.14:14). We can not work our way up to
the tree of life. If that were the case,
then those at Ephesus had no need to repent. No doubt the tree of life
speaks of resurrection life,
which is the life from which our motives, our actions, our ministry,
and our God ordained works are
to flow out. Resurrection life looks to dwell in the humble.
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy; I will
dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite
and humble spirit, to revive the
spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones
(Isa.
57:15). The way to life is
through humility. A proud heart is numb to its spiritual need. If we
really apprehend what is being
said in the above passage we will not waste another second giving our
attention to the swelling
words of those that have used their ministry as a back drop to focus on
how they are in the Most
Holy place and how they are in Tabernacles. We would do well
to consider the seemingly unsung
members of the body that willfully submit to the Lord and excel in the
light that He has given them,
no matter how little that light it may seem. This return to the glory
is impossible without realizing
the type of heart that God is after.
In relation to coming short of the glory we read, Then ceased
the work of the house of God
which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign
of Darius king of Persia
(Ezra
4:24). It is in the second year of Darius that both Haggai and
Zechariah began their books (Hag. 1:1
and Zech. 1:1). As we said, Haggai and Zechariah show us what was
going on in the realm of the
Spirit when the conflict was taking place in Ezra. Now Joshua was
clothed with filthy garments,
and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that
stood before him, saying,
Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I
have caused thine iniquity
to pass from thee, and I will cloth thee with change of raiment
(Zech.
3:3 and 4). This broken and
humble heart found a change of garments in the realm of the Spirit,
just as the father clothed the
prodigal son.
As we have mentioned in the previous article, Joshua standing up in Ezra 3:2 typified the resurrection of the Lord. The passing of the iniquity and the change of raiment both point to what we have in the resurrection of our Lord. The key to maintaining our first love is partaking of what has been given to us through His resurrection. Without His life we cannot restore. We must first be restored. The Lord has shown us in the bigger picture of the connection between humility and a change of raiment by humbling Himself and becoming our kinsmen redeemer.
The fact that the Lord warned Ephesus that he would remove their
candlestick tells us that
His presence is on the way out when we lose sight of His rightful place
in our hearts. Remember
therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first
works; or else I will come unto
thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except
thou repent
(Rev. 2:5). I dare
say that He is not interested in us trying to muster up something to
keep Him in focus. He is not
interested in coming behind us to beat us into submission. He is
looking for submission out of love.
The degree of intimacy we have with Him will determine the
degree of willful submission we
have. He is only after that which is birthed out of our relationship
with Him!
We find a tone of urgency in Revelation 2:5 along
with sobering instructions. As negative
as they may sound, it is correction coming from Love. It is a prophetic
word that speaks of returning
to glory. We also find a tone of urgency in Ezra 5:8 mentioned by those
who oppose the progress
that Judah is making in their journey back into glory. Let it be
known to the king that we have gone
to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is being
built with huge stones, and
beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is going on with great
care and is succeeding in
their hands
> (NASB). The work starts again in Jerusalem after
the
prophetic word comes. The word
of prophesy builds up, it edifies, and so we see this out working in
the natural (1 Cor. 14:3). In the
Spirit, it brings the candlestick back into view. We find Zechariah
being awakened out of his sleep
to see the golden candlestick (Zech. 4:1 and 2). In Revelation 2:5 we
find a people who have fallen
asleep to their most important need and their candlestick could be
removed. Zechariah speaks of
what Christ has brought into view by way of His life. We see the place
of His dwelling in the midst
of the candlestick, the called out. In Revelation 2:5 we have an
allusion to the spiritual slumber that
Adam thrust all humanity into when God blew His candle out, so to
speak. Yet, we are not left
without the exhortation to overcome in this first parallel. The way up
and out of partaking of the
negative implications of the Lord's admonition is through humility. The
result is edification unto
restoration.
The world has paid a lot of time and attention to the proud hearted
celebrities of this age. But
the celestial world of both light and darkness take note of what God is
doing through His humbled
handiwork. For who hath despised the day of small things?
(Zech.
4:10). We can be so clueless
as to what God is doing through our lives when He is not our focus.
Yet, if we take heed to that still
small voice and refuse to stiffen our necks to His will, then we may
find ourselves gripped with the
fact that The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of
the former, saith the Lord of hosts
(Hag. 2:9). Historically, this
verse simply contrasted two temples
built with the hands of man.
However, for those who can hear this by the Spirit, this verse is
contrasting two temples not made
with hands! It speaks of two Adams! It speaks of two men, two corporate
men! Through the working
of the Spirit, one of these corporate men is being invaded by the
other. We are convicted in our
hearts that this process shall not stop until all humanity comes into
the glory of the new humanity,
praise the Lord (1 Cor. 15:22 )! That is something worth shouting
about! That is far more edifying
than getting excited about a building made with hands! Let us look at
Zechariah 4:9, The hands of
Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also
finish it...
Can we not
see this speaking of Christ, the Author of our faith, finishing the
work? (Heb. 12:1-11).
Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of
these Jews for the building of
this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond
the river, forthwith expenses
be given unto these men, that they be not hindered . . . Repent; or
else I will come unto thee quickly,
and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth
(Ezra 6:8
and Rev. 2:16).
The context in Ezra chapter 6 brings the king's decree to rebuild, the purpose for the return, back into view. We now begin to see this theme expound upon itself and cover more ground than just merely returning to Jerusalem. We now see that the return to glory, which speaks of resurrection life, is not the end but the means to the end. You see, God's plan did not end when Christ was raised from the dead. His plan did not end when that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead came to dwell in those we read about in the New Testament. Resurrection life is simply a means of God taking His purpose into the next spiritual dimension. Everything built in Ezra was done on the grounds of something that typified resurrection life. However, in Acts 2, God moves out of those shadows. He moves into the realm of building within the heart of man rather than having man construct a building to manifest His presence.
Jesus made the statement of building His Church in Matthew 16:18.
Although He pulled
aside about 120 pieces of construction material before He ascended in
Acts 1:9, the actual building
of His Church began after the 120 were filled with the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:4). His original thought
to build His Church and to dwell in a temple not made with hands, from
that point on, is expounded
upon throughout the New Testament. We see it in Acts 7:48 before
Stephen's death. We see it
surface under the concept of the tabernacle of David in Acts 15:16. We
see it through the epistles,
and we find it in the book of Revelation. For the very essence of the
Revelation of Jesus Christ is
summed up in one statement: the tabernacle of God is with men
(Rev.
21:3).
The reinstatement to rebuild Jerusalem in Ezra comes after a search
was made. Then king
Darius issued a decree, and search was made in the archives, where the
treasures were stored in
Babylon
(Ezra 6:1 NASB). The search mentioned in Ezra should
bring to mind the search that was
made within living epistles in Revelation: all the churches shall
know that I am he which searcheth
the reins and hearts
(Rev. 2:23). This brings to mind the search
made in all seven churches, and
in relation to this parallel, as well as the historical setting of the
seven churches, it especially brings
Pergamos to mind.
In Pergamos there was a deposit for royal treasure and a library
with contained two hundred
thousand volumes, and was second in size only to the library of
Alexandria. That, of course, is in the
natural, but often the natural historical setting of these churches in
Asia was alluded to in order to
convey something spiritual that needed to be addressed within the local
fellowship. For example,
in Pergamos there was the celebrated and much frequented temple of
Esculapius. Esculapius was worshiped in the form of a living serpent
that was kept and fed in the temple. The city "flourished with
licentious rites of pagan antiquity" (See Marvin Vincent's Word Studies
Vol.2, p.446). I know
where you dwell, where Satan's throne is...
(Rev. 2:13 NASB). This
is in the context of the called
out in Pergamos being addressed. The Lord goes on to address a
stumbling block within their midst
after letting them know He recognizes the difficulty of the social
environment in Pergamos (Rev
2:13-16).
It is significant to note the way the Lord introduces Himself in
Revelation 2:12, The One who has the sharp two edged sword
(NASB).
Once more, in verse 16, He alludes to this sword, this mode of
correction, and where it comes from. I will make war against them
with the sword of my mouth
(NASB). We will also come to see that
the king's decree in Ezra 6 not only mentioned provision for the
rebuilding but also judgment to those who would hinder the rebuilding.
The reinstatement of the decree in Ezra 6:8 expounds upon the original
decree given by Cyrus that is recovered in Ezra 6:2. This speaks of
God's ultimate purpose in type. His purpose for creation has always
been to manifest His glory in such a way that could not be fulfilling
to Him without creation. You see God is not a selfish God. The very
fact that He creates should tell us that He wants to have fellowship.
This is something dear to the Lord, so dear that He would come and
fight "with the sword of (his) mouth."
The connection between the decree and
this mode of correction is illustrated in Acts chapter
9. A hateful young man rages down a road with the intent to persecute
what he would soon come to
see was the church of God. He heard of this seemingly heretical
movement. He heard the stinging
truth from Stephen (Acts 7:48-53). What was going on here? God was
building His temple. He was
reinstating His desire to take up His abode in the heart of humanity.
He left the man made edifice
desolate in Matthew 23:38. Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate.
The Lord is moving
forward in His plan. It is a new day. There is a new (corporate) man on
the scene. Saul was fighting
with all that he knew how to fight with in order to hold on to a glory
that had long since faded. He
was not moving with present truth. Saul had no intimacy with the Lord
in which he could move from
glory to glory. He felt like he was defending the truth (Gal. 1:13
and 14). However, he was about to
have a head on collision with Truth. Saul was about to be on the
receiving end of Isaiah 11:4. But
with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for
the meek of the earth: and
he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with
the breath of his lips shall he slay the
wicked . . . And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly
there shined round about
him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice
saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord
said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks
(Isa.
11:4 and Acts 9:3-5).
The Lord had to knock him to the ground, but he made His decree personal to Paul. This should tell us that if we are not moving in the present application of our heavenly King's decree, then we may very well be moving in the wrong direction and be due for a head on collision ourselves. What we are saying is not directed to unsaved people persecuting the called out of God. It is directed to all of the called out for serious consideration. Do we want the man-child without the birth pains? Do we want the glory without consummating our relationship in intimacy? Do we want to see and experience restoration without moving in the flow of present truth? Are we willing to let go of that which was meant to be swallowed up into a greater glory or have we built monuments to past moves of the Spirit and made our own laws out of past experiences in the Lord?
We must get a hold of how relative this is to the called out of every age and of every generation and of every dispensation. The search made in Ezra 6 was not just a type of something in the New Testament. We are not trying to just convey some interesting typology. We are gleaning from something that is always speaking but so rarely heard, a voice to which the religious multitudes do not harken. You see, this search and reinstatement which led to glory did not come without persecution. Every move of the Spirit within the called out has always been assailed by seemingly well meaning defenders of truth. Yet, that is not the real tragedy. The real tragedy are issues that come from within those who are moving in the flow of the Spirit. It is the things that creep in after a vision has been imparted or the power of the age to come has been tasted.
We are talking about the stumbling blocks. The idols. The small foxes that spoil the vine. For example, it is a tragedy when fruit has grown and the gifts have been given for edification, and then, after those things become familiar, the presence of God is taken for granted. How often has sheer human organization taken the place of intimate holy communion in which a word from the throne can be heard? Or, perhaps we have moved away from human organization with all the exalted flesh only to find that now we have learned so much that we have no use for others (who happen to be in the same household of faith) because they have not "come up higher" and adopted our buzz words and our pet doctrines. How often do people cut-off one another over non-essential issues and then cry for unity, only to then compromise on foundational truths that ought to never be compromised? You will find such tragedies being addressed in the New Testament, but today we are encouraged to look the other way. It seems as if many in the body of Christ have dreamed up some deep sounding ideas that are really denial of the lack of spiritual reality operating in our lives!
We are still persuaded by the fact that there will always be a remnant, that there are those that benefit from our heavenly King's decree. They are feeding on a word that leads to the fulfillment of God's purpose. They have counted the cost. They are laying hold of that which sustains the new man. The greater glory, the next phase of God's purpose, is something that lays right on the doorstep of our hearts. We are powerless to open the door until we realize that we have been apprehended by an "all or nothing" God. It's all or nothing. That is exactly the phrase that best sums up the exhortation coming to the seven churches. That is the phrase that describes the attitude of every mature son of God.
The original decree
of Cyrus which was recovered in Ezra 6:1-7 prefigures the provision
given to the overcomers in Revelation 2:17. The additional commandments
added to the original
decree by Darius in Ezra 6:8 conveys the same tone of urgency found in
Revelation 2:16. Repent;
or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with
the sword of my mouth. He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To
him that overcometh will I give
to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the
stone a new name written,
which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it
(Rev. 2:16
and17). We would like to consider how
the hidden manna and the white stone relate to the recovered decree and
the persistency God birthed
in those who returned from Babylon. The decree was found at Achmetha,
or Ecbatana. Ecbatana
means in a coffer (Ezra 6:2). This is
significant because a literal Hebrew translation of the word ark
(as in the ark of the covenant) would be translated coffer of
the covenant (See the glossary in the
Concordant Version of Exodus). In Ezra 6:1, the marginal notes in the
King James give the phrase
made to descend for the phrase laid up, which is
speaking of the search that was made in the archives
"where the treasures were laid up in Babylon." In 1
Samuel chapter 4 we can read about the
Philistines taking the ark of the covenant away from Israel. This
picture of defeat conveys the same
principle we find later on when God's people were taken off into
captivity. They descended. When
they went down into Egypt they descended. When Adam sinned he
descended. Spiritually speaking,
there were those at Pergamos who descended into idolatry ...because
thou hast there them that
hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block
before the children of
Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication
(Rev. 2:14).
The hidden manna is located in the ark. This represents the provision and the capacity we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, the wooden coffer is nothing but a shadow to the spiritual man. The provision in the decree of the urgent command to rebuild in Ezra 6 also foreshadows the provision and the capacity we have in the Spirit. It points to what we have in Christ. Unfortunately, today the hidden manna is just that to many of God's people-- it is hidden to them. The Hebrew-Aramaic meaning for manna is 'what is it.' For many, it is hidden somewhere in Mystery Babylon. The idols of the heart have taken the place of manna. As a result of this mistake, the spiritual man is starved in the church. The recovery of the decree in Ezra points to the recovery of truth and the recovery of the Lord's purpose in His corporate body. Anytime something pertaining to the heart of God descended into Mystery Babylon and was then recovered and brought back to the attention of the body of Christ, a turning and repentance is on the way. It will be like glory knocking on the door. The question is, will we be open to the changes it may demand?!
We can look down through the history
of the church and see different truths recovered. Each
recovery has its place within the purpose of God. However, only those
who apprehended the purpose
of the recovered truth got any spiritual benefit from it. The others
just heard something. Multitudes
have heard truth, but even when Jesus walked the earth, the manna was
hidden to the multitudes.
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and
without a parable spake he not
unto them: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,
saying, I will open my mouth
in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the
foundation of the world
(Matt.
13:34 and 35). Paul openly writes these hidden things in Ephesians. Unto
me, who am less than the
least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among
the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by
Jesus Christ
(Eph. 3:8 and
9). Paul also goes on to show the purpose for receiving the hidden
things, which is that God would
grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the
inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye,
being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and
length, and depth, and height;
and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might
be filled with all the fullness
of God
(Eph. 3:16-19).
The hidden manna is that which sustains the spiritual man, the inner man that we read of in the above passage (Eph. 3:16). That is the man which properly discerns and assimilates the hidden manna. The spiritual man will connect the hidden manna with his first love, rather than something merely pertaining to knowledge and truth, because he is rooted and grounded in love. You see, the spiritual man does not substitute intimacy with intellectualism. As we have just quoted, this is something that "passeth knowledge" (Eph. 3:19). The knowledge we are in desperate need of is in the realm of fellowship, not facts. Our first love involves the fellowship of which we are speaking, and the result of such fellowship is partaking of the hidden manna. It is freely given, but there must first come a freedom from the idols of our heart. There must be a turning in the heart. We must count the cost. Counting the cost brings us to the white stone.
Many things can be said about this
white stone. It has been said that this stone alludes to the
Urim and the Thummim which is mentioned in Ezra 2:63. However, we want
to look at something
that is interwoven with the theme of counting the cost and Pergamos.
The word Pergamos is from
another Greek word that is translated as tower in Luke 14:28.
For which of you, intending to build
a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have
sufficient to finish it?
The
Greek word in Luke 14:28 for counteth comes from another
Greek word which is translated as stone in Revelation 2:17.
This word literally means pebble. In Acts 26:10 it is
translated as voice.
This verse speaks of Paul giving his consent, as in casting his ballot
for the stoning of Stephen.
Those who are giving their consent, lifting up their voice in their
times of intimacy and in their
prayerful cry of the Spirit, are yearning for the fullness of the
reality of the Spirit at any cost! That
is the heart that overcomes-- that has counted the cost. Oh, the words "Father,
if thou be willing,
remove this cup from me" may roll across their lips, but their
heart has already been taken captive.
The man who said those words in Luke 22:42 counted the cost. His heart
was free from idols. He
had that free flow of the Spirit during the times of fellowship with
the Father. His voice, His ballot,
His consent was the ultimate turning point in history. All creation
hung on those precious words that
so utterly sum up sonship, "not my will, but thine, be done."
It is on the white stone
that we find a new name written (Rev. 2:17). When Jesus let His vote
be known, so to speak, He opened the way for humanity to experience a
new nature. Hear now, O
Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for
they are men wondered at: for,
behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone
that I have laid before
Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the
graving thereof, saith the
Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day .
. . And the Gentiles shall see
thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by
a new name, which the mouth
of the Lord shall name
( Zech. 3:8 and 9, and Isa. 62:2).
The hidden manna, the white stone and the new name are all a vital part of the reinstatement-- 'Let the house be built.' The spiritual man, the temple of God, both corporately and individually, cannot grow without that precious bread of life, Christ Himself. We will find His consent, the white stone, given to the overcomer time and time again. He waits to hear the same consent that was heard in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42). Who will rise from their sleep and come into alignment with the heart of God? Those who are in travail, those who are with child, those who are birthing a new nature. No building project of man can accomplish this. A cathedral on every corner will not change the heart of man or fulfill the purpose of God. This can only be built upon the revelation of Jesus Christ.
If we have not yet heard by the Spirit, "Let the house be built," then we pray that in our times of intimacy with Him that He will lead us into that place in which His decree is laid up. Lord, we pray that you would walk with us through the corridors of our thoughts, and may you reach deep into the archives of our heart and take us beyond shelves that are full of distraction. May we give diligence to your decree, your purpose, and your desire! Let your spiritual house be built! (Ezra 6:3).