Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: Anamnesis Prayer Meeting - Week 4 Day 4 (Grand Finale)
Date: Thursday, 1st December 2022
God often employed symbolism in the Scriptures. Water symbolizes way or spirit. Water is the flow of the way. God is a way. When God is flowing, He flows as a way. There was the way of the Lord upon the earth in Genesis which flesh corrupted (Gen. 6:12). This is what got God angry, He was no longer seeing His way on earth. God can take away any creation that robs Him of the way.
Cain was almost getting that done after he slew Abel. Thus, God’s way was under contention until Adam gave birth to Seth. The Bible said, “Then, men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” (Gen. 4:26). This response of men to the call of God was what kept or preserved the way of God on earth. Calling upon the name of the Lord is preserving the way of the Lord.
After a long time, John the Baptist also came to prepare the way of the Lord. “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:” (Isaiah 40:3-5). John the Baptist did something that was not too obvious. The preparation of the way of the Lord was the miracle of generations. It must have taken a lot also to get the John to come prepare the way. John was a knowledge and a light giver (Luke 1:76-78).
The way of the Lord is spirit. When the Lord said men would worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24), He meant that they would worship Him in the way. It is in the way that men would find truth. We get truth in the way. Getting truth is of necessity because truth leads to life. Jesus did not call Himself the knowledge, though He had knowledge. There is what is called the knowledge of the Son, but the Son Himself is not knowledge. The Son is a Spirit. He called Himself the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). To be the Way means He is the river. No man can get to the ultimate Way (i.e., God) without the Son. Only a river can discover the big river, who is God. We cannot discover the river except we trace it through waters.
“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. [2] And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” (Rev. 15:1-2).
“And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. [6] And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.” (Rev. 4:5-6).
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. [2] In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:1-2).
From the Scriptures above, we see that the river has twain ability: glass and crystal. If the river is a glass, then there are operations of the river. The glass mingled with fire upon which the men in Revelation 15 stood is a ministry. This ministry saved them in a measure. This glass was mingled with fire. This tells us that this glass is not clear. This means that to a degree, there was a limitation in the process of salvation and glory it could give to souls. Revelations 15 speaks of a company of the martyrs.
However, the height of these men were not ordinary. The martyr world has different grades. This calibre of martyrs arrived at the sea of glass, mingled with fire. Therefore, this glass which is referred to as “sea of glass” is not really a glass but water. They were able to stand in the glass and this means that the water solidified. Although the water solidified as glass (solid), it flows. The water changes state according to response of ministration. Therefore, God is seated on ministry and ministry is before Him.
The ministry of knowledge or the ministry of change is called “glass”. There is a glass that we see through darkly. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinth. 13:12). This is not the ministry of everlasting life or the ministry of glory because it still has darkness. It tells us of the glory of Christ which is still a dark dimension of glory. We see “through” this glass but there is another glass that we “behold”
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinth. 3:18). This glass is the sea that we are now engaging. We have something to do with the sea. The sea is sometimes referred to as a mirror. This mirror is a way, a spirit. Therefore, looking through the face of Jesus is not referring to His literal person. We cannot see Him in the natural but in the spirit. The mirror constitutes installations that can enable us to see and behold Jesus in the spirit.
Seeing Jesus in the natural with some splendour of glory around Him is still a physical sighting. Beholding is an activity of the soul. There is the language of the heart; there is a way the heart communicates. The communication of the inward man is a gift God gave to the soul. The inward man becomes anything he sees. If all one beholds is death, such a person would be dead. If the inward man is only being taught the letters of the word, he would die. But if he is raised to a place where he can behold the activity of the Spirit, the man would live.
Jesus is that Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. This means that we ought to be beholding the Spirit so that we can change. It is only a spirit that can cause a change. We cannot behold the letter of the word only and change.
The people standing on the sea of glass were standing on what saved them. This was what made them overcome the mark of the beast. This is a lesser level overcoming because it was an overcoming done on earth. To overcome the beast in the air is the goal. There were some that overcame the dragon in his heavenly state, while these martyrs overcame the manifestation of the dragon, which was earthly.
The ministry of the sea of glass is a lower pedigree compared with the ministry of the man child. It is not only the man child that overcame the dragon. Many like Paul and John had overcome but that was not enough to pull him down. Heavens need to be well shaken by men who would be so heavenly and aligned in unison for the dragon to fall. One of the instruments of overcoming that would pull the dragon down is the law of unison. The company became one child. This was Jesus’ prayer at the end of His earthly sojourn. Else, we may not be able to pull down the dragon. Hence, Satan’s plot or what he is trying to do is to divide us.
God is Trinity but They are one. The Godhead are three persons in one, not three offices. This tells us there is something about the eternal that we cannot comprehend now. One lesson we will learn is endlessness, a dimension of no beginning. To be part of that overcomer company, we must know endlessness; the Spirit would make us know it.
"And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind." (Rev. 4:6). That river is not only a sea of glass but also a sea of crystal. God was not sitting on a sea. The river proceeded from Him, that tells us that river is very strong. This sea of glass which is like a crystal was not crystal-like in Revelation 15.
We must adapt two states (glass and crystal) if at all we will be caught up. Glass acts like a mirror. Glasses obey the law of reflection. Crystal is thicker, it obeys the law of refraction. To refract is to be bent, it creates an angle. Mirror is a glass that has something done at the back to prevent light from passing through it. This way we can see ourselves through it. This water is a ministry of glass and a ministry of crystal.
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Rev. 22:1). Those on the seas of glass mingled with fire are not yet qualified to reach the crystal water. There is still a lot to be done in them to reach the crystal water. The crystal water is Eternal Life. One can go on from drinking everlasting water to drinking Eternal water. Eternal water is what raised the Eternal Tree. "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Rev. 22:2).
"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." (Rev. 21:21). The streets of the City were pure gold. For the City to carry the water, the City must be everlasting life. The streets of the City must be everlasting life. It is a transparent glass for a crystal water. God wants the water which is clear as crystal and a gold which is as a transparent glass to carry a water. God cannot sit on something that He cannot see through.
"And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal…" (Rev. 21:10-11). The Father is vested with eternal ministry; His water is Eternal Life, clear as crystal. Everlasting life and Eternal life are close. There are two ministries there, glass and crystal. Without mercy we cannot access the understanding of these scriptures.
"And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass." (Rev. 21:18). Transparent glass is not the same as a clear glass. The City is clearer than the street. The street is not as clear as the City. If the City are people, then the streets are men as well, they are way men. They are paths. If we do not have men of the way, we cannot touch the path of the City. The City ministers light and water majorly; this light is the glory of the City while the water is the life of the City.
The gold glass is not ordinary; it is an eternal gold. This is what the bride wore that made the Lamb able to marry her. "Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: For he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; Even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. The king's daughter is all glorious within: Her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: The virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee." (Psalm 45:9-14). The King's daughters were among the honorable women. The wearing of the queen is of (pure) gold. Within her streets is preparation for water to flow. Upon her is a preparation for light to flow. She is designed to wear the jasper light of Her Husband, that the Father of her Husband will give. The intention of God is to give His glory; the pact was for the Son to marry the wife and by the law of marriage (becoming one flesh) so she can share in the glory. The wife will also have a right to everything the Lamb has a right to. This is glory.
The gold garment is more than the clothing of righteousness, it is more than the robe which is the righteousness of the saints. The linen garment is the righteousness of the saints, meaning it is what the saints did to be made righteous (Rev. 19:7-8). These are the works of the saints. They were arrayed in the garment of their work. The background garment is the linen garment, white and clean. We are co-workers for the garment, though it is a provision of grace. If we do not cooperate, we would not have the white and clean garment. The man child also has this garment, but he has much more.
The gold garment is called the gift of righteousness. "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)" (Romans 5:17). The gift of righteousness is not Eternal Life. With everlasting life, there is a dimension of reign we should come into because we have overcome.
The apostles got here – they partook of the sufferings of glory, and they would also reign. If we are not reigning, we cannot catch the trumpet of the thorough crystal reign. God wants to cloth the woman with gold. When she came to earth, she only had the garment of righteousness, but she was given golden garment at the marriage supper. That is the adorning. The adorning is gold. The queen stood in gold, not just the white linen.
The gold tells us that the woman is a massive ministry of the future kingdom. If she is wearing water that is as clear as glass, that means she can give water (or spirit). She is a ministry that God wants to bless mankind through. The nations of the earth that are saved walked in her light (Rev. 21:24). Our adorning is spirit. Adorning us is making us spirits that can minister. When we are being garmented, we are being given ministry.
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61:10). God the Father is a minister of two things; Eternal Life and everlasting life. The water coming out of the throne is both a glass and a crystal. This means the bride should be able to do both.
The Creator’s light is crystal and this means wisdom. Crystal elements and its lights are peculiar and usually shed light in a refractive way. The water is similar to the light and the only thing that can carry it is the City. The Lamb gave the woman the gold, he taught her to wear the gold. She has done her work and then her husband arrayed her in gold.
Aaron's garment, which is the white linen, is good but it is not enough. There are other things that he wears on top of it. The white alone is for response to other heavy garments; the ephod is the garment. The girdle, the breastplate are parts of the garment. This means that if someone is only wearing the white linen and is not wearing anything else, he has not fulfilled the course of adornment.
Jesus did not marry the woman just with fine linen. It is not enough, she has to be arrayed in something more or better. She has to be arrayed with the gold of Ophir which is pure. Linen garment is clean; gold is pure. There is a difference between clean and pure. Purity means clearness. Clean garment is white and clean, but gold garment is pure and clear. The latter is a higher level of holiness and nearness to God. God is more than clean. He is pure, without debris and clear as a crystal. The glory of God is as pure as jasper but as clear as a crystal. God is ultimately pure.
To make one pure is to take such beyond being clean. To be clean is to be healed but purity is a higher height. Purity is a higher height, it is our arrival into Eternal Life. When a person is pure, such a one can wear the last garment, which is the garment of God. A glass is a person that can conduct a higher life. Without that purity, there is no way such a person can drive the purity of God. We need to be pure.
Purity here is to be purified from creation. Creation is not pure. Purity is not about abstinence from the works of the flesh. Purity is not to have the infirmity and blemish of creation. There was an infirmity in Lucifer. That was why the other angels had to gird themselves so that they would be faithful. The whole girdle is for their hearts not to shift. Lucifer loosened his own girdle. The essence of the girdle was to protect their hearts. The golden girdle was for the purpose of keeping their hearts pure.
Lucifer lost his girdle. God showed the angels that did not sin that they can still sin. They were saved but were still not saved. If they were saved, they would not have been given commandments. When we look at the angels, we would not be able to see any impurity physically. It is only eternal eyes that can see their impurities. This means that angels are not as clear as crystal and are not pure as glass. However, they have some purity. They did not have gold within from head to toe like the woman but were girded with gold. Purity in lower realms can be impurities in a higher realm.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." (1 John 3:2-3). We have a limited sight of Him when we look through a dark glass. We only begin to really see Him when we look through a clear glass. However, this will require the elevation of the operation of everlasting life. This is when we will be able to see Him as He is. It is an extreme weight of glory to see Him as He is. When we see Him, the glory of that ministry will purify us.
All we need to pray for is that a sense of purity will be born in us. We will suddenly find ourselves being pure till we become purer than creation. It is not by strength but by appearance. The Godhead will bring things They have that are not from this present realm. They will bring that Eternal nature that is higher than creation to us.
Blessings!
Summary
1. Water symbolizes way or spirit. Water is the flow of God’s way. God is a way; He flows as a way. The way of the Lord was upon the earth in Genesis, and that was what flesh corrupted (Gen. 6:12). This is what made God to wipe away that world.
2. The river out of the throne of God has twain ability. There is the sea of glass and glass clear as crystal (Rev. 15:1-2/4:5-6/22:1-2). In Revelation 15, some men stood on a sea of glass mingled with fire. This tells us that this glass is not clear and that there was a limitation on the process of salvation and glory it could minister to souls.
3. The ministry of knowledge or the ministry of change is called “glass”. There is a glass that we see through darkly (1 Corinth. 13:12). This glass is not the ministry of everlasting life, or the ministry of glory because it still has some darkness. It is the ministry of Christ-life that we see “through” darkly.
4. However, there is another glass that we “behold” and are changed into the image of the Son of God, by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinth. 3:18). This glass is the sea of everlasting life. The sea is sometimes referred to as a mirror. This mirror is a way, a spirit.
5. Looking through the face of Jesus is not referring to His literal person; we cannot truly see Him in the natural but in the spirit. The mirror constitutes installations that can enable us to see and behold Jesus in the spirit.
6. Clean garment is white and clean, but gold garment is pure and clear. The latter is a higher level of holiness and nearness to God. God is more than clean. He is pure, without debris and clear as a crystal. The glory of God is as pure as jasper but as clear as a crystal. God is ultimately pure.