Programme: Anamnesis Prayer Meeting (Week 3_Day 3)
Date: Wednesday, 22nd November 2023
Transcript Summary
1. (Revelation 1:1-3). “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev. 1:9). The word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ are two separate things; there is no way they can be one thing. The use of a comma in separating them tells us that they are separate.
2. The apostolic and prophetic ministry under Jesus is designed to be a medium for saying things that pertain to God or things that have to do with the covenant. This has to do with things concerning the works of God. John’s encounter was one with the word of God. John was in Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and Jesus sent an angel to signify these things. Firstly, John was made to see the word of God. The first three chapters of the book of Revelation are about the unveiling and dealing of the word of God.
3. (Revelation 1:16). The angel revealed Jesus to John. Many preachers have said that it was Jesus walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks (Rev. 1:13). A lot of new creation reality teachers will even say that they can judge angels or that John was ignorant of angels. Many people explain the book of Revelation away and overstretch the teachings about the human spirit that was born again. This is what the Lord wants to correct in the church. The regenerated human spirit is life, but it is not Eternal Life.
4. Our regenerated spirit is not the life that God is, rather, it is the life that Christ is (Eph. 2:5-6). Many people tread down ancient landmarks or scriptures of the apostles because they think that everything has been finished in their spirits. A perfect work was done in our human spirits truly, but that work is not yet finished. A thing can be perfect but not yet finished. Noah was perfect, yet still needed to later walk with God (Gen. 6:9). Enoch was also perfect, but he still had to walk with God (Gen. 5: 22-24).
5. Perfection is to walk with God. The Lord also appeared to Abraham and told him to walk before Him and be perfect (Gen. 17.1). This appearance was the season of initiating Abraham into His presence; the Lord must appear to us the same way. Appearance is enacted in the doctrine of knowing God. If there is no appearance, there is no way we can know God.
6. Our regenerated spirit man is perfect but the work of salvation in it is not yet finished; it can go farther. The human spirit is only saved by grace, raised with Christ and made to sit with Him in heavenly places – “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) [6] and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Eph. 2:5-6). To be quickened with Christ is for one to be saved by Christ. Our spirit is a perfect man, but this is not all that God wants to make us. Our spirit still needs to grow into God. Many believers have overrated the regenerated spirit; this is why some say that no Christian can die and go to hell. Our spirit was raised into a perfect man because it was raised with Christ; this is what makes our soul a babe in Christ. This should be properly said so that Christians will not play away into carnality but rather, have some sense of fear in them. All Christians must know the reality of the spiritual status of their regenerated spirits. Eternal Life is meant to be given to the spirit and the soul; this is the sealing for a man not to turn. Eternal Life is the life that God is.
7. There are other things that John saw, but the main thing is the revelation of two things – the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:9). From Revelation 10 and 11, the revelation was transiting to the testimony. This means John did not see the testimony at the time the revelation started, rather, he first saw the word of God. The fire burning, the wool, the head, hairs which were white as snow, His garments, were all describing the “word of God”.
8. The helmet of salvation, girdle of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith and other things spoken of in Ephesians 6:13-17 constitute the word of God. The last is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This means that the rest of the armour were not called the word of God, but they were made with or of the Spirit which is the sword of the Spirit. So it is the sword that designs the message that we wear as a shoe (Eph. 6:15). The sword also made the breastplate and the girdle. It is the sword that is worn as the helmet. It is the sword that is turned into a shield. Everything in the armour is the word of God.
9. The final revelation of the word is the sword. If we are not hungry, They would not show us the “why” of revelation. We cannot carry the sword when we refuse feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, gospel of peace, girdle of truth etc. (Eph. 6:13-17). All these things need to be put together for us to be qualified to handle the sword; they give us the skill to handle the sword of the Spirit.
10. The sword is used as a defensive weapon and also an offensive weapon. Sometimes a tough soldier might just have the sword alone as a weapon; all other weapons have been galvanized into the sword. A time will come when the armour disappears into our genes; this is when we gain the spirit of the armour. When all the armour has fused into one, it becomes an armour of light (Rom. 13:12). To say God is light means God is an armour. Our armour is the word of God. The first protocol of revelation is the unveiling of the word. The end of the believer’s maturity in life is when such is given authority to use the sword. The sword cannot be given to anyone who is unlearned, just like parents cannot give a sword to a baby. The word of His power is what God uses in upholding all things. God has to watch our stature or truth level until we are able to handle the sword.
11. Wielding the sword goes beyond quoting Scriptures; that could work for some things but it is not the sword. Knowledge is not the sword. The fact that someone is open to knowledge does not mean such a one would be given the sword immediately. Commitment to faithfulness in truth over time and being true is what qualifies one to be given the sword by the Lord. There is a state of heart that is required of one who should be given the sword. This means we must have the prescribed inner character before the sword can be given to us.
12. John later discovered that the angel did not only have the sword of the Spirit (the word of God); it also had another spirit called the spirit of prophecy. “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10). This angel specifically said that he was of the brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. It means that the testimony of Jesus is not obvious. John saw the other things, but the angel had to tell him that he also had the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
13. What was shown in a vision to John was the word of God, but the testament was hidden. The word is revealed first, then the next revelation is the revelation of the testimony; the revelation is both the word and the testimony. The testimony is the spirit of prophecy. The word shields the testament. To find the testimony, the word should be opened. The word is the casing where we get the testimony. God cannot put the testament anywhere but in His word.
14. The ark keeps testimony. Noah used the word of God to build the ark. The building of the ark was done by instruction. Each measure of the ark that Noah was cutting and putting together was truth. When God instructed Noah, “Make thee an ark of gopher wood…” (Gen. 6:14), that process was a carpentry of the word. This also shows us the reason Logos (Jesus) was a carpenter. Jesus was building truth; He is the one who builds all things God (Heb. 3:4). Our Lord Jesus is the real “Noah”. The woods Noah built with were not ordinary. If Noah had used the wood without God’s instruction to him, water would have sunk it. The length of the ark was 100 cubits, the breadth was 50 cubits, and the height was 30 cubits (Gen. 6:15). 30 cubits is the exact height of the temple.
15. 30 is not the measure of Christ; it is the exact height of everlasting life. Jesus at 33 was the full measure of the statute of the Son of God. There is a “30” in the spirit. At age 20, one can be perfect (Christ stature) but not yet full (everlasting life stature). It is one who is full that is protected enough. We should not just be perfect; we should also be full. Our adversary was also full of wisdom (Ezek. 28:12).
16. The testimony is not exactly the same as the word; they are different spirits. The word is a spirit, and the testimony is also another spirit. The name of the first spirit is called “the word”, while the other is called “the testimony”. The angel told John that testimony is a spirit (Rev. 19:10). God gives the testimony to the body of God’s word. The word of God can marry our physique (the body of our soul). One who does not have the body of the word of God cannot carry the testimony. It means that our soul-body must be spiritual. Presenting our body as a living sacrifice is talking about the living word (Rom. 12:1). It means that we should let the word work in our bodies.
17. The world is Satan’s word. We can either choose to be conformed to this world or to be transformed by the word of God (Rom. 12:2). We must first break off from being conformed to the world before we can present our bodies. Our former lusts would not allow God to put the testimony in us. The word "fashion" means 'dress' or what we look like (within). Lusts can dress us. For example, a man can dress himself with education. Anything that is lustful is for fashioning.
18. We serve God by the word of God. It is servants that are given the word of God to serve, whereas the brethren carry the testimony. So, churches ought to constitute servants and brethren. Servants serve the vision, while brethren fulfil prophecy. The word of God is not prophecy, it is a vision. Vision is different from prophecy; it is the intent of God for servants on how they should serve Him. God gives vision (Dan. 9:24). Seeing vision (Joel 2:28) goes beyond discerning spirits; it is a project that the Holy Ghost will perform. It takes all the pouring of the Holy Ghost for the purpose of vision and testimony to come through.
19. There is the season of fulfilling prophecy. Prophecy is the prophetic work in the book being fully done in a vessel. The book is not paper; paper is a container where the book is put. The book constitutes many words put together to give one insight into the mind of the writer. There are things written in prophecy; prophecy constitutes words of the same family or flock having a common specific destination. The book is a flock of words (spirits) that God put together. Each word carries a meaning; therefore, one needs all the words to get the complete prophecy. One word alone among many words does not constitute the prophecy; they must all be arranged into one.
20. Book is a body of words put together. That is how our flesh is made – cells put together to make one body. It means that our body is meant for a particular function. If the cells are torn apart, the remaining cannot carry out their function. The many cells that make one man is called prophecy. Each of the words of the prophecy is prophetically oiled. This means each word is a spirit of prophecy. All of them are spirits; they do not do anything outside prophecy. The spirit of prophecy will empty himself into us to become the prophecy. Inside the prophecy is a writing on how to overcome the devil. There are spiritual laws that would guide a saint to bring Satan under his feet. The move of the book is a prophetic wavelength, with a prophetic intelligence.
21. The testimony of Jesus is real; it is the core of a prophet. This testimony is what God gave to Jesus. Jesus took the shape of what the prophecy wanted Him to become, which is to animate in Himself the nature of a Lamb. When prophecy is instructing a man even in the home, it can just instruct the man to be meek. The prophetic move is beyond seeing things in the spirit. What makes a prophet is submission to worship. Prophecy tells us to worship God. Vision will make one serve God, but prophecy will make one worship God.
22. We ought to desire to see the end of this service we are presently engaged with. No one follows God and loses. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). To diligently seek Him is to be committed and unwavering, attending to the details of His instructions (Exo. 25:40). Not deviating one bit from whatever instruction God has given is counted as the dimensions for the building God is raising in us. To do contrary to God’s instruction is to do service wrongly; such a fellow would not build God an ark that the testimony can hide.
23. Therefore, we should not harden our hearts (Heb. 3:15) when we see vision and receive instructions from God. Jesus would be speaking to us concerning our individual houses/buildings. When He wants to build us up, He would be giving us materials for the building through His speaking. This is so that we can be thoroughly furnished. But we must do all the instructions of furnishing for the building to be raised. Teaching God’s word demands faithfulness; this is why as ministers of the gospel who are not yet perfect, we need to always check ourselves before the Lord and ask for His mercy, peradventure we might have said something wrong unknowingly.
Blessings!
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