Programme: Believers’ Convention Prayer Meeting (Week 4_Day 1)
Date: Monday, 24th July 2023
Transcript Summary
1. The architecture of the temple cannot be understood with a carnal mind (Rev. 21:14-15). In Revelation 11, there is the measurement of an earthly fallen temple which has been partly taken; this is the temple God desires to redeem. The people who form this temple are not under the allocation (order) of the redemption design that the New Testament weighs on the saints; they are of another order which we saw at the opening of the fifth seal. These are the saints that were killed for the word of God and the testimony that they held (Rev. 6:9). In Revelation 20:4, we see the souls of the saints sitting on thrones because they had victories. The soul is what comes into victory because it is where the record of a man is kept. This is why it is the soul that resolves the conflict between the outward man (body) and the inner man (spirit). The saints who fall in the category of "witness of Jesus" are souls in the era of Jesus, while those who fall in the category of "the word of God" are souls in other covenants (Rev. 20:4). The last company of these saints are those who did not worship the beast, and this is because Revelation 11 prepared them as worshippers who would not worship the beast.
2. “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. [3] And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Revelation 11:2-3). The two witnesses protect the worshippers and the temple. These worshippers will become the same as the temple; this means they will grow into its height. The temple has a height in the spirit. The height of the court falls short compared to the temple. All the courts are worship dimensions. One who is in the Outer Court is a high believer because he has traversed the city to come to the temple. The temple has a higher height than the city, but the city protects the temple. This means the power of the city is the temple, and the power of the nation is the city. It is not every city that is called the "holy city", and this shows that there are other cities that make up the nation. The nation has places of abode around the city. If a man takes the first heaven, he has taken some cities. And if a man takes Zion (Sanctuary/Holy Place) which is the second heaven, he has taken the garrison of the city. The third heaven (Most Holy Place) – where spirits are – is the temple of the Lord.
3. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). When Satan takes a man, he has taken a nation from God. The least of the nations of God is a man. This is why the journey to God starts from a holy nation before a royal priesthood. A priest is higher than a nation. The term "a royal priesthood" talks about priests who have a kingdom, while "a holy nation" talks about priests who are not in the kingdom. Although the company of "a holy nation" have a kingdom because of their holy priesthood, they do not have a dominion around it. It is this dominion (when they have it) that will eventually make them become a royal priesthood. Moving further, we have "a peculiar people''. This means the graduation of a man transcends from the nation to the city, and then to the temple. The book of Ezekiel first showed us the temple, then the city, before showing the nation of Israel. This means the lots and inheritance of the nation of Israel were divided by the temple – their destiny flowed from the temple.
4. “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.” (Rev. 11:1). The temple of God is the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The altar is the Court; it is the entrance to the temple. The altar needs to alter men in order for them to enter the temple. The souls of men were found under the altar because they did not have the height of the altar. This means they were not qualified to offer bread because their measure to the altar was less. They ought to be above the altar before they can enter the temple. That was why they were given "white raiment" rather than a "linen garment" (Rev. 6:11). Linen garment is a Most Holy Place garment. This shows that our movement in the altar is depicted by the type of white material we are given. So, the garment of a soul can be white but it is not linen (Rev. 19:8).
5. “In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. [9] Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. [10] Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.” (Eze. 43:8-10). The purpose of the house is to deal with our iniquities. Flesh rests on carcasses, which is the skeleton or supporting structure for flesh. The carcasses of a building can be made of rods (or other materials) which have measures. A form was presented to the nation of Israel by their kings; this is what created a wall between the children of Israel and God. King Uzziah was like a veil to the children of Israel (Isa. 6:1). "Whoredom" speaks of iniquity and its laws/carcasses. It is possible that iniquity is dealt with in a man but the things responsible for its formation are still present. This is why the showing of the house to Israel is not enough to save them; there is a need for the preaching of its forms and ordinances that would make them arrive at becoming the house.
6. "And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. (Ezek. 43:11)." The house here speaks about everlasting life. To make a house with everlasting life, one has to become a house. To anoint the Most Holy, one has to open the gate of the East for the purpose of Eternal Life. Anointing the Most Holy is to empower the house to do more. The house ought to cause shame in the Israelites, and as such, the response of repentance from them would cause the house to be open to them. It is possible to see the house but not become the house. To become the house is only attainable by breaking it down for it to be done. The house is to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. To show them the house is to be detailed about the building of the house. Fashioning a design speaks of how the house was actually made; it talks about going deeper into the model of the house.
7. (Deut. 28:1-14). The things written in these scriptures are 'forms' in the house. The promises in the book of Deuteronomy are everlasting in nature. Those temples have storehouses. The wealth of Israel is in formation. The promises are descriptions of the temple. Those promises in the book of Deuteronomy speak of a formation. A man can be a nation, a city or a temple. This means the smaller a man is, the more powerful he becomes. It means that one’s flock should be increasing. The flock is within a man’s soul. This is where the Lord will begin to avenge all disobedience. Then the word of the Lord will be fulfilled: "...Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm." (Psa. 105:15). The realm of the anointed is the Outer Court and the Sanctuary (Holy Place), while that of the prophets is the Most Holy Place. The prophets are the ones who can inherit the Lord God of the holy prophets (Rev. 22:6).
8. “And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.” (Ezek. 43:11). Forms here speak of conformation or the formation of the temple. When we have been shown a form, we would also be shown the order of the formation called ordinances. The ordinances are the things to be obeyed to capture forms.
9. Measure differs from precept. A man cannot add a cubit to his stature (Luke 12:25-26). This means it is only God that can give measure. If God is not giving measure, a man cannot have it. Paul had an abundance of revelation but did not have a corresponding measure (2 Cor. 12:7); this means he did not have the measure of knowledge. A man can have the knowledge of the Son but not the measure of the stature of the Son. "Stature" speaks of form or fashion. A perfect man is a measure, while the unity of the faith is a precept – knowledge (Eph. 4:13). Knowledge is not enough to arrive at the stature of the Son of God; we also need to have the measure of the Son.
10. Truth is a line. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will guide us into "all truth" and also show us "things to come" (John 16:13-15). The "all truth" here is Christ, while the "things to come" is everlasting life. All truth are measures; they are not knowledge. It takes the visitation of knowledge for the eyes of one's understanding to be enlightened. This means a man of knowledge is a man of understanding. To come into lines is to come into the solidity of the knowledge acquired – where it is deposited in lines as reality. To be given a reed is to be given God. Truths are solid forms of God; they are the fullness of God. Truths are not knowledge; they are the tangibility of Persons. They are also spirits because Jesus said, “...the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). This means truth is the settled spirit.
11. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3). To “know thee” is not knowledge; it talks about knowing the essence of the persons of the Godhead. God dwells in a man by truth. A man can see God by knowledge. However, it is only those who see Him under the auspices of lines that would meet with Him. Whosoever does not love his brother has not seen God (1 John 4:20); this means such a one has not had a collision with the person of God. The giving of the knowledge of God is the preparatory realm to handle truth.
12. All portions of the temple are in measures. Measure means reality, person or essence. Paul had understanding but not practical experience at some point (2 Corin. 12:7). Truth is experience. Knowledge had abounded to Paul, but grace had not yet abounded at that point. Paul was not yet reigning because he did not have the measure to do so. Grace is the ingredient for reign. Grace is not knowledge (precept); it is the first line (measure). Then after grace, truth comes to make lines perfect. The apostles were masters of lines; that was how they defeated spirits.
Blessings!