Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: Writing the Vision (September Edition)
Date: Saturday, 24th September 2022
Speaker 6: Pastor Emeka Egwuchukwu
"And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." (Revelation 11:19). These are activities that occurred when the temple of God was opened. Everything that John saw, heard, and spoke of were all prophecies, including the things that are – things of the present. There are things "which are" and things "which shall be hereafter" (Rev. 1:19). The "things which are" are also prophecies that were demonstrated by the seven churches. They demonstrated things which are, and these were the descriptions that the angel brought to Apostle John.
"And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven." (Revelation 11:13). The one that had the likeness of the Son of Man was an angel that was sent to signify the Son of Man (Rev. 1:13). The things that are and that shall be hereafter do not talk about the apocalyptic events. Rather, the things that are is the revelation of the Son of Man as He walked in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. He walked in the midst of the candlesticks as one who had judgment and came to execute it (Rev. 2:1).
The revelation of the Son of Man in the midst of the seven candlesticks — the seven churches — makes up the things that are. This Son of Man is not the one in the gospel; it is the manifestation of the Lord of glory because His angel came to signify Him. There are no other things that are except Him and there shall be no other thing hereafter except Him. There are things in His charge as He walked in the midst of the candlesticks, which the angel also signified; however, there are things hereafter that nobody but Him can signify. There are things of Him that angels can signify, but they can not signify matters of the Lamb; He is called the Lamb of God. The angels possess the attributes of the Lamb in a shadow, but Jesus has the original copy of ‘The Lamb’; hence He is the Lamb of God.
"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads." (Revelation 14:1) The revelation of the Lamb are things that shall be hereafter. John described that He saw the Lamb as it was slain (Rev. 5:6). Verses about the Lamb always contain ‘Lo’ because the Lamb is low and that is why it is not easy to signify Him; there is nobody that is as low as the Lamb. Men are lofty. No matter our level of lowliness, when compared with the Lamb, we will see how high and lofty we are in vanity. Even the angels are also low and we know this because they have substances. We need to have substances to be low. Things that are lofty are light and weightless. They are neither dense nor grave. The 144,000 cannot stand with Him if they are not lambs.
"God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:40). Comparing this verse with Revelation 11:19, it is clear that the ark of His testimony is the better thing. The men in the book of Hebrews handled different testaments that brought them to God in a measure. Everything in the book of Hebrews and Revelation is about coming to God, but one cannot come to God without a testament. The better things that are provided for us are the New Testament. It is a better testament and that is what equips us better to come to God. Without this testament, we cannot come to God the way we ought to.
‘Lamb’ is a concept in God that can allow God. Nothing else will allow God to fully express Himself except the Lamb. The reality of the animal ‘lamb’ that we see physically is found in God who transferred it to our Lord. The Lord then signified and became the Lamb of God, that is, He was the only one that could allow God. This means that Eternal life is not for anyone who cannot allow God.
There are paths God could take us and we would think He is cheating us. We just need to look at the Lamb and the path He took. Jesus became the Lamb and still had to go through the process of being slain (Rev. 5:6). He was helpless and weak, unable to do anything; but He was carrying the substances of God. The Lamb did not cheat the 144,000 men on mount Zion; rather, He led them.
“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” (Revelation 14:4). These were they which were not defiled by this world. “This world” is women: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life. They are the daughters of Babylon and they can defile anybody. However, the 144,000 were not defiled. This does not mean they were undefiled from birth. They were normal believers that had to become born again. In following the Lamb, we will get to a point where we will be undefiled.
The Lamb knows the path to lead our souls and make us undefiled (Psa. 23:3). To be undefiled means that after we have been led by Him, the world will not be worthy of us (Heb. 11:38). However, that is not the only thing He would do, He will lead us further into the state of being virgins. The Lamb is the virgin of God. He is going to lead us in the way the Father, who is the Chief Shepherd, led Him.
The Father shined forth and led Him with light to give Him things that can turn souls into virgins. Souls that have been led in that manner will have no scar, wrinkle or blemish in them; this is what makes them virgins.
“For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” (Hebrews 7:26) He knows how to lead our souls. He has the key and that is why He is the Lamb. That is also why they followed the Lamb. No soul can escape this world (or women) without having followed the Lamb. The Lamb will also take us further to the point of being virgins, which can only be done when our souls are healed. There is an amount of damage that the world has done to every soul. The world has broken the highness of every soul and that has to be healed. This healing can only be achieved by the leading of the Lamb, and that is what will make us virgins (people who have never been pierced).
The ‘things’ that will hinder us from following the Lamb is the world. There is a place where the Lamb goes (Rev. 14:4). The Lamb is going to the midst because He belongs to God. In going to God and we follow Him whithersoever He goes, it is possible we do not like some place He will go. The path of the Lamb is not a path that normal men will be able to follow. The Lamb can take us down the hill in climbing Zion. The Lamb can lead us to the slaughter for victory. These will not make sense to man because they are the foolishness of God.
To be redeemed from among men is not an easy task. Man has his things and identities; he sees them as things he has to hold on to. To redeem him from them, they have to be collected from him. Jacob became Israel but it was not easy to change him. Every soul has Jacob's tendencies in it. Isaac means someone who allowed himself to be slaughtered quickly. He became a sacrifice without struggling, knowing the intentions of his father by revelation. He, in subjection, allowed God and agreed to be killed (Gen. 22: 2-18). He knew what God wanted and was willing to yield. Even in the area of marriage, he allowed God (Gen. 24: 3-67). Strife ceased. After that encounter, he did not fight any war. Such men do not choose wives for themselves, they allow God.
Isaac would have not been able to carry the seed if he did not allow God. He would have aborted it. Isaac agreed to be killed early. For marriage, a servant was sent to fetch a wife for him. Many of us are looking for someone to marry because we have not allowed God. After the incident of him being offered, he had no struggle. We are struggling in many areas of our lives because we have not allowed God.
“And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” (Genesis 28:20-21). Jacob was a smart, cunning person. We are all 'Jacobs'. 'Isaacs' in this generation are rare. Isaac was a child gotten in weakness, unlike Reuben who was the excellency of his father’s strength. God was not yet Jacob’s God because he was waiting for the fulfillment of the terms he placed before God (Gen. 28:21).
Every young man has a Rachel (Gen. 29:18). If God has mercy on us, He will give us Leah instead of Rachel. Rachel is the one that preserves our idols. God was planning to expire Jacob’s strength by setting him up under Laban. Jacob served Laban for seven years to get Rachel as his wife but it seemed like a few days to him because of the strength of his desires (Gen. 29:20). However, after seven years, Laban cunningly gave him Leah instead of Rachel. This was the first death he experienced. He was angry at Laban because of this deceit (Gen. 29:25). However, he served for an additional seven years because of what he liked – Rachel. This shows the strength of a soul; Jacob was willing to go fourteen years because of what he loved. Jacob did not die enough after his first seven years but God had a plan for him. God was waiting for Jacob because there is no way a man will carry the blessing and God would leave him.
Jacob was holding inheritance and that was why heaven was after him. His father already blessed him but he still wanted another blessing. He must have seen something; it was not ordinary. He already began to expire. He found himself in a situation where the only way he could be saved was by dying. The only way to transit from being Jacob to Israel is through death. Many of us are transiting out of our strength to become that which God has planned and purposed for us, not that which we have in our hearts as our plans and purposes.
After Jacob wrestled with an angel in Genesis 32:24-28, the sun of righteousness rose upon him. Jacob was no more; he was now Israel. Jacob became a blesser because he was carrying the blessing (Heb 11:21). When he got to Egypt, he blessed Pharaoh (Gen. 47:9-10). He had been dealt with via several experiences. Jacob could not covet anything from Pharaoh because of these dealings; Jacob had been broken. We cannot carry ‘blessing’ without being weak. Anyone who will carry the eternal blessing has to be weakened for the inheritance to become the blessing.
“By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” (Hebrews 11:21). We all need to be dying, it is a process. Jacob had to lean on a staff for support. That was a sign of one who had been broken and was seeking God’s strength for him to stand. We cannot bless while standing; we have to lean, which means we are not to rely on our strength.
The everlasting, which is our testament, is a season. We have been looking at the conversation of everlasting life but we are just entering into the season where we will experience everlasting strength wherein we are going to be leaning. We are going to be made weak. We cannot access excellent strength, or the blessing if we are not weak. We cannot carry the incorruptible seed to full term if we still have strength. The reason Jacob had to be broken is that sin thrives on human strength. When our strength is still full, sin will use us well. Sin likes human strength. ‘By strength shall no man prevail’ (1 Samuel 2:9).
Sin is a life of the flesh and the flesh program which the soul uses to live thrives when a man has strength. He that suffers in the flesh ceases from the lifestyle of sin (1 Peter 4:1). Sin is a life and is more than just what we do. It is a life program that thrives on our strength. We cannot be made pure without being made weak. Holy men have been made weak. Moses was a holy man, but he was weak. Moses was weakened. The Holiness of God cannot be seen in our strength. Paul was made weak for this reason (2 Cor. 12:9).
“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.” (Revelation 14:4). The secret to being amongst this company of redeemed men is weakness. The New Testament has come to trash us and to remove every strength of man from us, break us and bring us to the point where we are weak. It is in weakness that we access the strength that is everlasting life (Eph. 6:10). It is in weakness that we are made strong. It is in our weakness that the strength of God is manifested.
These words are coming in continuation to what the Lord has been saying. The Lord is taking us through a process; the Lord wants to make us weak. Marriages will work when both parties are weak. There are conflicts in marriage because both parties are strong. When at least one party is weak, God can come into the marriage. Satan can still come in when strength is present but he is shut out when both parties are weak.
When we are weakened, we will not see sin. The reason why we see faults in one another, blame one another and claim rights is because we are still strong. A conversation is being imported that will enable us not to feel cheated. No one will stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb who has not been led. He is going to lead us in our marriages and our relationships with our bosses, family, parents, etc. He is going to lead us to escape this world to be made virgins. We will follow Him whithersoever He goes (Rev. 14:4). The Lamb has a path and flesh cannot survive it, neither can man’s strength go through it. We will be redeemed from men and become the first fruit of God.
Blessings!
Summary
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The one who had the likeness of the Son of Man in Revelation 1:13 was an angel sent to signify the Son of Man. He was signifying the revelation of the Son of Man as He walked in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks – as one who had judgment and came to execute it (Rev. 2:1).
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There are things of Jesus that angels can signify, but they cannot signify Him when it comes to matters of the Lamb. The angels possess the attributes of the Lamb in a shadow, but Jesus has the original copy of ‘The Lamb’ (John 1:29,36). As such, He is the Lamb of God.
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The revelation of the Lamb are things that shall be hereafter (Rev. 1:19; 14:1). John described that He saw the Lamb as it was slain (Rev. 5:6). Most verses about the Lamb always contain the word ‘Lo’ because the Lamb is lowly and that is why it is not easy to signify Him.
-
There is nobody that is as lowly as the Lamb. Men are lofty. No matter our level of lowliness, when compared with the Lamb, we will see how high and lofty we are in vanity. Angels are also lowly because they have substances. We need to have the substances of the Lamb to be made into lowly beings. Things that are lofty are light and weightless in the spirit.
-
Lamb is a concept in God that can allow God's expression. No other nature will allow God to fully express Himself in a man except the nature of the Lamb. The reality of the physical animal called ‘lamb’ is found in God who transferred it to our Lord. The Lord then signified it and became the Lamb of God that fully allowed God. This means that Eternal life is not for anyone who cannot allow God.
-
There are paths God could take us and we would think He is cheating us. We just need to look at the Lamb and the path He took. Jesus became the Lamb and still had to go through the process of being slain (Rev. 5:6). He was helpless and weak, unable to do anything; but He was carrying substances of God.
-
The Lamb knows the path to lead our souls and make us undefiled (Psa. 23:3). To be undefiled means that after we have been led by Him; the world will not be worthy of us (Heb. 11:38). However, that is not the only thing He would do; He will lead us further into the state of being virgins. The Lamb is the virgin of God who will lead us in the way in which the Father, who is the Chief Shepherd, led Him.
-
What will hinder us from following the Lamb is the world. There is a place where the Lamb goes (Rev. 14:4). The Lamb is going to the 'midst' because He belongs to God. In going to God, we must follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes; and it is possible we will not like some paths He will take us through.
-
The path of the Lamb is not a path that normal men will be able to follow. The Lamb can take us down the hill in climbing Zion. The Lamb can lead us to the slaughter for victory. These ways will not make sense to man because they are the foolishness of God (1 Corin. 1:25).
-
Weakness is the secret to being amongst the company of redeemed men in Revelation 14:4. The New Testament has come to trash us and remove every strength of man from us, to break us and bring us to the point where we are weak. It is in weakness that we access the strength that is in everlasting life (Eph. 6:10). It is in weakness that we are made strong. This means it is in our weakness that the strength of God is manifested (2 Corin. 12:9).