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The Overcomers – Part III
The third level of the
overcomer enters into the Holy Place. The Holy Place is where there is no
natural light like there was in the outer court area, which was covered by the
light of the sun and the moon. From here on, the walk of the overcomer is a
spiritual walk of the highest order, even though there will be more siftings.
The tests on the outer man will not occur any more, for as Revelation 11:1-2
states the world is to judge the outer court but the actual Tabernacle, made up
of the Holy Place and Holiest of All, is to be judged by God Himself through the
Spirit. Thus, level three will begin the inward workings of the Lord, not shown
to the world. It is a hidden work.
It is important to note the makeup of the Tabernacle. It is created out
of shittim wood as the KJV calls it (acacia in today’s terms). The wood is a
symbol of humanity and the frailty of humanity. For all have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of the Lord (Romans 3:23). This tree has features to it that
others would not necessarily want, and there are features about you personally
that others do not want! For in all humanity there is a desire to be different
than what we are. None of us is satisfied with any of our features, whether it
be a nose too long, a blemish, height, weight, hair color etc. This deep-seated
desire to be changed from what we are can only be found in Christ! The only way
to overcome the corruption in and of the flesh is found in Christ’s nature,
which the overcomer presses towards.
Exodus 26:17 states that the Tabernacle, made of wood, has pieces which
hold the boards in place. These are called “tenons.” Most of the time in the
Old Testament this word is translated “hands.” The boards are held together
by hands! Ye are the body of Christ, the boards, and it is the laying on of
hands (Hebrews 6:2) that commissions, that sets apart, that distinguishes some
from others. For it is a special calling. The outer court, which is
representative of the first two levels of overcoming (Brazen Altar and Laver),
follows the idea that many are called.
But the Tabernacle causes a separation, a deeper call, few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). Not that one is better than any
other, all are of the house of God, but some are selected and others produce 30,
60, 100 fold. Another Scripture is that there is hay, wood, stubble, precious
stones, silver and gold (1 Corinthians 3:12). The calling and election is of
God, not we of ourselves lest we would boast. There
were five pillars holding the curtains that covered the entry way into the Holy
Place. They werecapped with a golden hooklet at the top which speaks of the
divine work of God in their life to be placed in such a capacity. These wood
pillars speak of the hand ministry. Nevertheless,
the hand ministry, of Ephesians 4:11-13 (Apostle – thumb, prophet –index,
evangelist –middle finger of outreach, pastor –ring finger, teacher – the
smallest finger) is to set the body and place the body (the boards) in their
right function according to the gift that God has given the vessel. And the true
hand ministry is to uphold, uplift, edify, build up, the body. The ministry is
after the order of Melchizedek and not after Levi which seeks to take unto
itself, elevate itself at the expense of the body. In fact the tenons were not
visible at all! How the ministry should also be! The body has pre-eminence not
the ministry! The ministry is to see that the body is revealed as a cohesive
unit, without division. Note the sockets were made of silver, which speaks of the
redemptive work of Christ needed for the tenons to function. The ministry must
know the Lord and the crucified life!
How can we not remember the words of Paul! For we are a building
‘fitly framed together growing unto an
holy temple in the Lord’ (Ephesians 2:21). And we
are not made with hands (2 Corinthians 5:1) but by the Spirit of God Himself.
For each part of the body supplies every need (Ephesians 4:16). Note that
the body supplies every need! Do you have a need? Then seek out the body of
Christ. They have the answer. I did not say the church on the local corner. Nor
did I say your particular denomination. But seek the person, the living body of
Christ, who has the answer. For our dependency is on the body which supplies
through their knowledge of Him! The Tabernacle does not include the outer court experiences, although
those experiences are necessary to partake of the Tabernacle. The Spirit does
the inner workings of God. As we stated in the previous chapter, the outer court
has the Baptism of the Spirit, but the Spirit led life of the believer takes a
deeper turn when one realizes that God is not outside himself but inside. For
the outer court believer prays to a god outside himself, looks to a literal
heaven for a god, cannot see god in others because god is in heaven, and is
waiting to go to heaven rather than fulfilling Matthew 6:10. But the boards of the Tabernacle are symbolical of the personal dealings
of God done to make us fitly framed to reveal a building, not the individual
boards. David (which means beloved and are we not beloved of God?) had five
stones (hand ministry of Ephesians 4) taken out of the river (spirit of life)
that when used by him (as he represents the corporate body of Christ in type and
shadow) slays Goliath who is the corporate example of the fallen nature, the
flesh etc. When we realize that our grafting into Christ is in reality a
grafting into one another because each is in Christ, we can slay every dragon,
devil, monster, of the fallen nature because we have been submissive to the hand
ministry of the Lord. We note that the boards are overlaid with gold. Wood overlaid with gold
speaks of a revelation in the body of the divine nature of God. It does not
reveal sanctified fallen flesh. No, it reveals a changed life that no longer
knows any man after the flesh but after the Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:16).
Humanity that has been crucified is what is overlaid with gold. But enough on
the making of the Tabernacle. The
Table of Showbread
Some would say the Table of Showbread is similar to the communion table in
churches. While that may be true, it is far from the spiritual significance.
Consider the table itself and the bread on it. The spiritual types and shadows
(Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:11) must be considered to receive the life that is found. The table of Showbread is
composed of twelve loaves of the ‘Presence’ on the table. Twelve speaks of
God’s divine government in Scripture numerics. There were 12 disciples, 12
tribes, 12 gates to the New Jerusalem, 12 wells, 12 cities of refuge, and many
more each of which when studied will show a form of subservience to leadership.
So, the first trial of the tabernacle in this spiritual quest of the overcomer
is to be a disciple, one who sits under authority, recognizes authority and
yields to authority. It is only when one is not rebellious, and willing to
submit that one can proceed in this walk. Many vessels are discarded here
because of their refusal to subjugate themselves in the dealings of the cross. Rotherham’s translation of Exodus 25:30 reads: “And thou shall place upon the
table Presence-Bread, before Me continually.”
Now, the bread is a type of the Word of God and we know
that the Word of God is Christ Himself because
John states in 1:1-3,14: “In the beginning was the
Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…all things came into being
by Him…and the Word became flesh.” Now this “word” is the Greek “Logos” and is
different from another Greek word “rhema” which is translated in English
also as “word.” The difference is very important (see our message: The
Logos, the Light, and the Life). There are many “rhema” churches in the USA,
and the Greek needs to be elucidated unto them. Rhema in the Greek is used for a
spiritual word that is given for the moment, like a word of prophecy or
understanding. But the Logos derives its truth from Jesus. Logos means the
divine expression. The pre-existent Lord (before He took on bodily form) was the
Logos. He was the divine expression and that expression became flesh. The Logos
always represents Christ, the fullness of God, and it can be seen in the flesh!
That is, He can be seen in you and the Word became flesh is a promise to us too
as can be seen in 2 Thessalonians 1:10. It is not the place to go into this
here, but suffice it to say that the Logos is to be revealed in us. Thus, the
bread, the symbol of Christ in the Tabernacle and the table of Showbread, is
also a symbol of us. For the priesthood ministry of the believer is to serve the
bread (serve yourself) to others, even as Christ served Himself for others’
salvation. Leviticus 24:5-7 states that there were two stacks of bread with six
pieces in each stack. The bread would be similar to a pancake in the Western
world as far as a visual look, but thicker. Somewhat like a Kenyan chipati.
These were baked, that is tested by fire before served. We as part of the
body of Christ, the bread that is broken to be served to others, must first be
baked in the furnace of affliction that Christ can come forth (as in the fire of
Daniel 3:25). The bread of course is a symbol of Christ, but as you remember,
not a bone of his body was broken (Ps.34:20). Yet in 1 Corinthians 11:24 we read
that His body was broken for us. Which body? You and I.
We are to be served to the world as the bread of Life so that they might
come to Christ. Now Numbers 4:7 reads:
“Over the table of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of blue and put
on it dishes and pans and the sacrificial bowls and the jars of libation, and
the continual bread shall be on it.” The
bread is ‘continual’ because it is changed every day – the daily bread of
Matthew 6 and the Lord’s prayer. He is our ‘manna’ every day for what we
need for every day and by the same token we in identification with Him are the
bread for the world, the very bread that they need every day. The bread is
placed on a plate made of gold, which speaks of the divinity of God. The saint
is covered by the blood of Christ and is presented to God as the bread, because
in Christ are we cleansed by the Word (Logos) (John 15:3). And the color blue of the cloth represents the heavenlies of the spiritual
person. For our citizenship is from above (Hebrews 12:22-23), the heavens. This
is a spiritual place in which we reside today, if we recognize our identity with
Christ. Now, some will say that I am saved and I am going to heaven. Then you
still see a separation from you and God with Him being in a distant place. John
14:23 states that He and the Father came and made their abode in each of us.
Believing that and knowing that are two different things. But what we are
writing about is the depth of knowing that. Your identification is so great with
Him as an overcomer that you are casting yourself forward as Him (Galatians
4:14) so that others might find Him. Ah, the blue room. The blue room within,
where if two or three are gathered He is there also (John 14:23 and you make
three). Each vessel is made of gold for the table. Full identification with the
Divine. The table is wood, shittim wood, that has been transformed by the
renewing of the mind (you are the wood) and fashioned fit for an over-layment of
gold. The crucified life permits the gold to be placed on the wood table. Thus,
the inner workings, dealings of God, bring about the change into His nature for
the overcomer. The overcomer is fit to be included as a table, one who serves
another with the bread of life worked into their own fiber. Now, that is real
identification and union with the Lord. Remember the vessel (table) is
you but He is the bread in the wrapper! Now, we might note that the bread could not be touched by anyone but the
priest, when it was under the Law. But Jesus, the bread of Life, said to Thomas
to touch and feel Him. Grace has replaced the Law and legalism. Many of the
Christian faith do not grasp the depth of grace. The Law, or those things done
by the saint to earn, control or reach a certain goal are done in self-effort
and are of the flesh. Any saint who holds another accountable without removing
the board from his eye first is carnal and under the Law. Jesus removed the Law.
He was approachable and touchable. The Law keeps you from things, but grace
opens up the avenue of relationship. As an example, I went into a bar to see a
friend who wanted me to meet him there. I led the man to the Lord. But some of
the brethren saw me go into the bar, a ‘preacher’ none the less! I was
confronted by the elders, members of that church and the senior pastor and
called into question about my integrity as a minister. I left that denomination
and never have belonged to another. Grace saved that man, the Law would still
have left him setting there. David in 1 Samuel went into the Tabernacle and ate the bread. He acted
under grace. And as we know, he is many times cited as an example of Christ in
the things he did. Grace gives freedom. Law brings death. Jesus came that they
all might have life – John 3:17. He did not come into the world to condemn the
world. Neither are we to condemn but to manifest Christ so that they might have
life. The bread of life on the Table is that which works in us His nature and
removes the Law, which controls the old fallen nature, but cannot change that
nature. Praise God for Grace which no longer sees the old nature and empowers
the new creation man within our breasts. David who lived under the Law must have
had an insight about Grace because he stepped past the current religion by faith
into grace. The Table is the same height as the ark of the covenant. This means to me
that the Logos is equal in importance with the Ark realm in the Holy of Holies.
The Logos, Christ, contains no greater revelation than what the Ark possesses.
If your revelation that God seems to have spoken to you is not in the Table, it
is not in the Ark realm either! Frankincense was poured on the bread before it was eaten. The anointing,
that is to say the Holy Spirit, must be partaken of before the true
understanding of the bread (word) can be masticated. Without the anointing which breaks the yoke, the letter of
the word kills (2 Corinthians 3:6). That means the natural literal
interpretation kills. Maybe that is why singers brought the bread to the table
– 1 Chronicles 9:27. They were praising God for the spirituality of the Word,
the Bread of Life. “To
him who overcomes to him I will give of the hidden manna and I will give him a
white stone and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who
receives it.” Revelation 2:17
As you read Revelation
2:12-17, you will note reference to the place of Satan and how one brother,
Antipas, was killed. Tradition states he was one of the earliest disciples of
Jesus, after the original 12 (remember there were 70). It is said that he was
killed by the priests of Aesculapius, the Roman god of medicine. Some say he was
burned under a brazen bull by the rule of Domitian, the Roman Emperor who
persecuted the Christians.
Either one would be horrendous enough. But the place of Satan is the key.
For the place of Satan is found not only with individuals but also within
systems. Many Christians worry about the ‘mark of the beast’ but what they
fail to realize is that the mark of the beast is the fallen nature that they
have had since their birth! You were born with the mark of the beast!
Secondarily, any Christian is sealed (Revelation 7:3) and cannot be harmed by
the beast nature because of the sealing of the Lord. Ephesians 1:11-14 discusses
the sealing of the saint through the Holy Spirit. The preaching by ministers
that the saint can be harmed by the mark of the beast is a lie. For we have the
mind of Christ! Yet there are systems, even church systems, that are of the
synagogue of Satan because they are at enmity with God for any number of
reasons. This is why Jesus crusaded against the moneychangers in the Jewish
system. Jesus never demonstrated against Rome, the political, economical or
social power. Jesus only came against Satan, the religiousness of mankind –
that which is an adversary against the Lord’s way,
But previously in 2:2, 6, 9, we find in the first two levels of
overcoming a concern by the Spirit of God for all false religion and again in
the third level we find the same concern. The concern in the first two levels
dealt with paganism in the church and without, and now we find the concern to be
paganism outside the church through persecution as well as people within! Now we
see the Balaam situation within the church. The leadership is telling the
men/women who can minister through prophecy to tell the saints it is all right
to eat of foods offered to sacrifices and to commit immorality. This is not
talking about physical, natural sacrifices nor natural, physical immorality
here. The whole context is concerning spiritual things.
Spiritual immorality could be defined as having a spiritual relationship
with false religion. As an example, a person in the faith using Tarot Cards,
Ouija Boards, divining the pregnant woman’s child through a thread and some
object over her stomach, are just some basic examples. Or what is really worse,
living by the Law of the Old Testament rather than by grace and faith (Ephesians
2:8). This living by the law can best be explained by our message, Why Jesus had to Repent. In the Old Testament there was the
sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23) which is rebellion against the way of the
Lord. Once when I was a Baptist, I said the Baptism of the Spirit and the gifts
of the Spirit that the Pentecostals experienced was of the devil. That was a sin
of witchcraft! I was rebelling against a move of the Lord, but I am sure you
have never done such a thing. Thank God, our God accepts repentance! Also there
is the sin of necromancy, which is talking to the dead. Some consider this
literally but it is more importantly spiritually! Talking to the old nature
which is dead in trespasses and sin (Romans 6, 2,7, Ephesians 2:1). Then there
is necrophilia, having sexual
relations with the dead. Some take that literally, but there is spirituality to
it also. Trying to produce spiritual life through your own efforts and using the
old fallen dead nature of Adam to produce the life in it is necrophilia. There
are still some trying to be overcomers at this level who are doing it out of
self-effort and self-glory. But they shall not pass through this unless they
fulfill verse 16 and repentance.
We note in verse 17 that
the hidden manna will be given to him that overcomes. The manna was the bread
that came from heaven while the Israelites were in the wilderness during the 40
years. It fed them. It came every day but the seventh, and that was because a
double portion was received on the sixth so that they could rest on the seventh
day. Now is the sixth day from Christ and the double portion of the Bread is
being poured out in preparation of the seventh day!
The manna is a strong statement of the Lord here. For it speaks that the
overcomer will begin to flow on a daily basis with the Life of God within
his/her vessel. The hidden manna was from the inside of the ark of the covenant
which is the sixth vessel. God was giving a foretaste of the Life to come from
the Holy of Holies to this level of overcomers. Unfortunately some might think
that they have possessed fully at this time but they have not. There are many
steps to the full revelation of Who He is. But the manna is similar in spiritual
context as the twelve loaves on the table of Showbread.
There is a difference between a mountain and a hill and knoll. So also is
there is difference between a rock, stone and pebble. The Rock is Christ. We are
the stone. The pebble was Adam. As Daniel 2:34 states we were the stone cut out
of the Rock (2:34, 44-45). We are well able to bring down the statue of the old
nature in this realm. For in this day we receive a white stone. White speaks of
purity because we are the righteousness of God in Christ and we walk in that as
overcomers giving no place to the flesh and seeking nothing but the holiness of
God that we might cry: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord.
The overcomer gets a new name. He still does not get the name of the Lord
yet for that comes in a later realm of overcoming. Perhaps, I could say it
something like this. My name came from the middle name of my father after the
flesh - Charles. I also received his surname, Weller.
But now as an overcomer, not fully identified with Christ, but well on
the path, my name would be: Charles Christ. Anointed (which is what Christ
means).
“…a new name written on
the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.” But
it is a name that
I know and not others. The reason is that it is a secret internal work and the
outer man has no appearance of change. Looking at me you would not know who I
really was. If I would be so foolish to proclaim myself as a son of God (Romans
8:19-20), you would laugh for I still look the same as I did yesterday.
Nevertheless, the change has occurred. The overcomer is a secret agent. Only the
overcomer and God know.
“And His eyes are a flame of
fire, and upon His head many diadems; and He has a name written which no one
knows except Himself.” (Revelation
19:12) This is the corporate body
of Christ. God makes His ministers a flame of fire it states in Psalms and
Hebrews. Note the “head” is singular. But the crown is “diadems” which
is plural. It is not a typographical error by the Spirit of God when the book of
Revelation was written. It is a mystery revealed to those with an eye to see.
The last half of the verse:
“which no one knows except Himself” sounds a lot like
“which no one knows but he who
receives it.” That
is because it is the same. Again let me state that this is the corporate body of
overcomers who unbeknownst to themselves are part of the 7,000 that have not
bowed their knees to Baal, yet they stand alone and isolated as God deals with
them personally and individually. The
Wave Offering
The
wave offering was a selection of the firstfruits of the harvest. These were the
first of the crops, that matured. Every farmer looks to see the firstfruits
because the farmer knows that the remainder is coming! When the firstfruits
come, the rest will automatically follow! So, the farmer looks carefully at the
firstfruits to make sure they are the best. If they are the best, then the crops
that follow when they come in will be the best. The exciting part of the firstfruits is that God has chosen
us - James 1:18 “Of
his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of
firstfruits of his creatures.” For in Christ our Lord we have been
chosen through Him who is the truth to be a firstfruit, unto the original
Farmer, God. It was His will, His
desire, His planting in hope that we would come forth in His image. He planted
Himself in death so that as a seed He could produce us from His stalk and root
and we would be the fruit of Him.
Revelation 14:4 states:
“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These
are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from
among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.” These
firstfruits were not defiled by women. This means that they had not partaken of
any spiritually corrupt desires, like Eve did (Genesis 3:6, 1 John 2:16). The
firstfruits are spiritual saints (male and female) who have kept themselves pure
in the unadulterated Word of God. They have settled themselves for nothing less.
These were redeemed from among men in that they were delivered from the fallen
Adamic nature and found placed in Him. They are the firstfruits unto God and the
Lamb because they have the same nature as the two.
Now a word of caution might be needed here. Jesus came upon the fig tree
and cursed it. The fig tree was a symbol of Israel. The fig tree produces its
firstfruits BEFORE the leaves come. Jesus came upon the tree and found no figs
even though there were leaves. He spoke of Israel not producing the fruit and
therefore being cut off. Paul also writes we too must be careful unless we be
cutoff. “…for if God did not spare the
natural branches, neither will He spare you….” (Romans 11:21).
“But
now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that
slept…But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they
that are Christ's at his coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). There
will be those, the overcomers, who are to be a kind of firstfruits of the coming
of the Lord in a people (Romans 8:19-20). The overcomer is the hope of creation
because if they can conquer the flesh, then all mankind can be freed from
corruption. The world groans for the manifestation of Him in a people because
then there is hope. Oh, Lord let the overcomers arrive!
So let us press on into the Tabernacle, which we are. Let us press deeper
into ourselves to find the ‘home,’ the ‘abode’ that Jesus states is
there:
“…we (Father and Son) will come to him and made our abode with him.”
Or as the Amplified states:
“…we will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with
him.” For the overcomer is leaving the outer man and the false
identification with him and looking for a new land, a Promised Land, not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5) where Christ Jesus our
ascended Lord resides.
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