Light out of Shadows ~ Bill Britton ~ Chapter 5
"The Greater Glory"
Paul preached a gospel of glory, a glorious message. The words "glory", "glorious", etc, appear in Paul’s epistles one hundred and twenty eight times, far more than all the rest of the New Testament combined. He saw a glory coming to the Church, the body of Christ, far greater than anything the world had ever seen.
Where did Paul get this revelation of the glory of God in the Church? According to his own words, he saw these glorious truths in the Old Testament law and prophetic books. In Acts 24:14 he tells Felix the governor: "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets." And testifying to King Agrippa in Acts 26:22, he is even more emphatic and specific as to where his teachings come from: "Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come."
Now listen to me, all that Paul preached on the Church, the Body of Christ, the gifts of the Spirit, the Sons of God and full deliverance for all creation… is all found hidden in the law and the prophets. And if it was there for Paul to see, it is still there for us to see if we will let the Holy Spirit illuminate our vision. So open your heart for divine revelation as we look into the Old Testament types and shadows for a picture of the glory of the end-time Church.
The Glory of the Tabernacle
The glory of the New Testament reality is pictured in the Old Testament types and shadows. Paul states in 2 Corinthians chapter three that there was a glory in that first covenant, but that glory had to be done away with because of the glory of Christ which so far excels. So in our studies of the Old Testament law, we are concerned only with finding the pictures there of the greater glory of the reality in Christ for our day.
I want you to follow Israel through the wilderness into the promised land. From the time they crossed the Red Sea, they made 41 encampments in the wilderness before they finally crossed Jordan and made that 42nd encampment on the other side of Jordan in the land of promise. Praise God!
When Israel fled from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, they had much gold in their possession. Each one had gotten gold from their Egyptian neighbors, and each individual Israelite was endowed with a little gold, a type of the divine nature of God. But as long as it remained with the individuals, it was doing very little good for the Kingdom. In fact, in Exodus 32 a wrong spirit got into some of the people and caused them to take their individual gold earrings and make an idol, a golden calf. It would have been better for them if they had not had the gold in the first place, than to use it to make an idol. This is the case with many people who have fled from sin, and who possess a little portion of the nature of God. In their individualism, they become rebellious, entertain wrong spirits, and end up in chaos instead of glory.
The gold dedicated to the golden calf was destroyed, and was not used in the Tabernacle. It was when the people of God, under divinely appointed leadership, came into a unity of faith and purpose that they gave up their individual pieces of gold for the building of God’s house or Tabernacle. It was this House of God, the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and not the loose pieces of gold and earrings, that pictured the glory of God in His Church. What a picture of the One Body of Christ, made up of many members who have been willing to lay down their own spiritual riches and give their strength to God’s House, His Body.
At last the Tabernacle is finished! Every piece of furniture is in it’s place, and the cloud of glory hovers over it. The God of glory Himself appears in the door of the Tabernacle, and all Israel trembles at the sight. Yes, there is a divine glory in this wilderness journey, continually present with them day and night. But there are degrees of glory in the Tabernacle, just as there are in the Church today, and this is what I want to talk about today.
The Glory of the Outer Court
As the rising sun appeared in the eastern horizon, it cast long shadows across the camp of Israel. As soon as it had risen high enough to reach over the linen fence surrounding the tent and courtyard, there was a brilliant reflection from the shining brass of the laver and the brazen altar. As the sun rose high in the sky, the glory of that outer court increased. The priests of the outer court were busy with much activity. This activity in the outer court began with the dawning of the day, and ended with the sunset. For when the dark shades of night fell around them, they could no longer see to work in that area.
So it is in the outer courts of religious activity. There is a glory in the outward works of salvation, never doubt it. Pioneers in the realm of salvation by faith, and the washing of the filth of the world by the water of the Word, have become martyrs for what they saw in the glory of the outer court. Praise God! God blesses those whose calling and ministry is in this realm of the Spirit. There is much activity here, and it is necessary. There is sweat, and tears, and labor, and faith manifested. Thank God for even those who see nothing more than the outer court. They get souls saved, they preach Calvary, and they teach holiness of life. They introduce the believer to the outward forms of religion.
It is here that we find the Fundamentalist today with their evangelism, their baptisms, their teachings on personal holiness, and the laws of the New Testament. We praise God for such, for they are doing a good work… as long as they do not attempt to prevent God’s people from pressing on past the next veil into the place of greater glory. For though there is a glory in this outer court, it is a fading glory. For the night comes when no man can work in that realm. And there is a greater glory in the sanctuary that is not affected by the setting of the sun. And the blood or life of that which is accomplished in the outer court is taken on into the sanctuary and sprinkled upon the golden furniture there.
Inside the Sanctuary
As you pass through the door of the tent, the outer veil, and come into the inner court, you come into a glory that is not even seen by those in the outer court. The light from the seven branch lampstand shines upon the golden furniture, reflecting the glory of God’s divine nature in a measure. The lampstand (or candlestick), the table of shewbread, and the golden altar of incense all shown forth with a divine glory to those of the priesthood who ministered in this realm daily.
Now, beloved, let me remind you that there is no natural light in this place. There are four coverings of linen, ram skins, goat skins, and badger skins. And there were no windows. For this is the realm of the Spirit-filled Church, the oil filled lampstand. And the Bible clearly states that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit. The ministry in this place is Spirit given, Spirit revealed, and Spirit operated.
No matter how much education a man has, or how many degrees he possesses, he cannot operate the Word of Knowledge by means of his education. It is a spiritual gift and a spiritual operation. No medical doctor or surgeon, no matter how long he has practiced or how skilled he is in his profession, can operate the gift of Healing by his medical knowledge. It is a supernatural gift, and the natural man cannot comprehend it. The best detective in the FBI cannot discern evil spirits by means of his natural abilities of detection, for his ability is natural and will not operate in this realm of the Spirit.
Without the light of the candlestick, this place is in total darkness. And there is no darkness as great as a Pentecostal person, church, or movement that has lost the oil and light of the Holy Spirit. For they cannot depend on natural understanding and light to guide them in this supernatural realm. If they do not keep filled with the Spirit (oil), they will come into a darkness and confusion greater than any found in Fundamentalist circles. In our day we have seen the sad spectacle of a backslidden pentecostal movement trying to follow in the footsteps of non-pentecostal denominations, but it will not work. Their darkness is too great, if they let the light of the Holy Spirit go out in their Churches. Only by divine revelation was the pentecostal movement raised up and this realm entered into, and only by divine revelation can it continue to live in His sight.
When the Oil Runs Low
In spite of the glory of this realm of the Spirit, it is still an imperfect place. The Church has not yet come to it’s full glory, to it’s perfection. This is common knowledge that cannot be refuted. But thank God, we are almost to the end of this imperfect state. Notice that the dimensions of the holy place was 20 cubits long, 10 cubits wide, and 10 cubits high. 20 x 10 x 10 or a total of 2,000 cubits. So for 2,000 years we have been working in the candlestick realm of His Church, eating the children’s bread (healing), and offering up prayers at the golden altar. It is now time to move to a greater glory.
Look at the tools and implements God ordered for this candlestick. For one thing, there are the tongs to trim the wicks. Because an imperfect and fallible priesthood will sometimes allow the oil to run low and the wicks to burn dry. Now as long as the wicks, symbolic of our humanity, are saturated with oil we have light. But if dead flesh tries to minister in this place without the anointing of the Holy Ghost, you have troubles. The wick begins to sizzle and smoke, and the smoke causes tears to fill the eyes of all in the sanctuary. So it is with ministries that try to continue in this supernatural realm after the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit is gone. The Burning flesh begins to stink, the tears begin to roll in the House of God, and the light goes out. Men who were once anointed of God become "money merchants", or "kingdom builders", or "truth fighters". Men’s fleshly organizations usurp authority over God’s dear people. Saints of God who once were filled with love and compassion for one another, begin to bicker and quarrel and strive over non-essential details.
Then God brings out the ministry of the tongs. Through His ministries, with the sharp knife of the Word, He begins to cut away the dead flesh. He cuts so close that He sometimes cuts into the quick, cutting away even things we considered good and necessary. Some of the wicks rebel against the tong ministry, and some have to be discarded, to be replaced by other oil saturated wicks that can burn brightly and give forth true light. It is not the place of the tongs to do the discarding of wicks, they simply cut away the burned over places. God does the discarding when necessary.
Then the lamps are again filled with the precious oil, and the lights shine again. Praise God for His Church, even in it’s present imperfect state. Look at the candlestick with it’s knops and flowers engraved on the branches. These are symbolic of the beautiful gifts of the Spirit with which God has endowed His Church. So much beauty, so much glory in this realm of the Spirit, this place of the supernatural ministries, yet it is greatly superceded by the glory beyond the third veil in the Holy of Holies.
Think not lightly of the light of God as it has been given through His supernatural Body, the Church. Jesus Christ has been glorified, and He has been magnified in the eyes of those who have entered into this realm of the Spirit, in spite of the darkness and failures of outer court religion. For no matter how dark the outside world is, there is light in the sanctuary that is not dependent upon natural light or understanding. When darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people, those who are saturated with the oil of the Spirit will rise and shine with the glory of God! Praise Jesus! And yet there is still a greater place in the Spirit beyond the light of this present imperfect Church.
The Holy of Holies
Let us now pass through the final veil into the most holy place. Here we find a glory that is beyond anything that mortal man has ever conceived of. We found that the light of the candlestick in the inner court was greater than the light in the outer court in that it burned continually and never went out to leave the inner court in darkness, so we find that in the Holy of Holies there is a light far greater than either of these others. It was not the natural light of the sun, for there were no windows. Neither was there any candlestick in this place. Nor did they need flashlights or torches to help them as they ministered before the mercy seat. Perhaps you might think that the High Priest went beyond the veil into pitch darkness, trying to feel his way around to find where to put the blood on the mercy seat. But this is not so. Beloved, there is a light in that most holy place! But it is not the natural light of man’s understanding. Neither is it the flickering light of an imperfect Church that needs to be daily supplied with a fresh supply of the Spirit to keep the flesh from taking over.
The blinding glorious light in the Holy of Holies is the Shekinah glory of His Presence! For here is a place that has no need of the light of the sun, nor of the moon… for the Lord God and the Lamb are the light thereof! Praise the Lord! Here is a light that never goes out, never grows dim, and never needs a lamp refilled or a wick trimmed. This is an eternal light, a perfect light that brings the fulness of His knowledge and understanding. It is not a temporary glory that shall pass away, but it is the fulness of His glory and power and presence that comes upon His Church to abide forever! In this realm there are no limitations, no failures, no death, no defeat. Hallelujah to our God! The five-fold ministries of Ephesians 4:11 are temporary tools of God, used to perfect the Church or candlestick, UNTIL we come to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. With the coming of that perfect and eternally abiding light, there will be no tongs needed any further.
A Ministry of Glory
In Ezekiel, chapter 44, we find a priesthood ministry that enters into that within the veil, and ministers to the Lord God in the Holy of Holies. Not all the priesthood, not all the ministries come to this High Calling. There are those who minister to the needs of the people in the outer court. They are never allowed in the holiest place. This is reserved for some who are called "sons".
Those who enter beyond the veil are to minister unto the Lord Himself. And they wear garments of glory that bear none of the curse (which is symbolized by sweat). They have a glory in that holiest place that none of those on the outside can ever know. In fact, they are instructed to take off those glorious garments when they come out of the holiest place, lest they sanctify the people with their garments. For when they come out of His Presence, from that glory back into the visible presence of the people, they will appear just like the other priests. They will not wear their garments of glory in this visible earth realm. But they will be known to one another, and will know as they are known beyond the veil.
This glorious ministry unto the Lord far supercedes anything ever spoken or written by mankind. It is the Melchisedec ministry, the ministry springing from the power of an endless life! It is the Sons of God, manifesting all the glory of the risen Christ, making known to principalities and powers in heavenly places the manifold wisdom, the glory, and the power of our God! Human words can only faintly express the glory of this place. And the greatest of His prophets only see a small portion of His fulness as He draws aside the veil for a brief glimpse. So how can anyone fully describe what is contained in this glorious realm of the fulness of the Spirit without measure? It is our inheritance, bought for us and paid for by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Someone might feel that we are reaching too high, expecting too much. But it is only right that we be filled with all the fulness of God and inherit all things, and be filled with a glory that exceeds all past glories. For you see, WE are HIS inheritance. And you would not want to see God receive an imperfect, run-down, seedy, faulty, half-backslidden Church for His inheritance, now would you? He deserves better than that. Since we are His inheritance, He is going to see to it that we are a "glorious church, without a spot or wrinkle, or any such thing".
He Appears in His Glory
"When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory" (Psalms 102:16). So we see there is a time element involved. "When". Certain things must be accomplished before He appears in His glory. Zion must be built up. "To declare the name of the Lord in Zion" (verse 21). Hebrews 2:12 and Psalms 22:22 says that this is His brethren. "For whom He foreknew, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Romans 8:29). "For which cause He is not ashamed to call us brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren…" (Hebrews 2:12) "For they (thy watchmen) shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion." (Isa 52:8)
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:4). Yes, you are going to appear in glory… in His glory… with Christ. This will make all the trials of life seem very small indeed. "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that, when His Glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."(1 Peter 4:13) "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17). "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed IN US" (Romans 8:18). Where is this glory to be revealed? In heaven" In the sky? In angels? NO! It is to be revealed in US! The very next verse tells us that all creation earnestly waits and expects something to take place, and it is the Manifestation of the Sons of God! It is the unveiling of His Glory in His Sons! You will no longer wonder why God allowed this and that to happen to you. No more will there be a question as to why God let you suffer such circumstances, such conditions, such sorrow. For you see, in His great wisdom He knows of the glory that is being worked for us by our light afflictions, and He knows how happy we will be in that hour that He permitted us to suffer with Christ. So He patiently puts up with our complaints now, and over-rules our present pleas for an easier journey, because He wants the best for us, and the greatest glory possible. Praise His sweet Name!
To Become His Glory
"He appears in His glory". "He comes to be glorified in His saints" (2 Thessalonians 1:10). Where or who is His glory? Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus, the Pattern Son, was the "brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person". As Jesus was to the Father, so are we to Him. We are to be His express image. And we are to the brightness of His glory. 1 Corinthians 11:7 "For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as HE IS THE IMAGE AND GLORY OF GOD." Man is the glory of God. Well, read it for yourself. It’s there. I’m not talking about the man who staggers down the street in a drunken stupor. I’m talking about the man who follows Christ into that place behind the veil. The glory of God!
Through His Church that has gone beyond the veil, God will make the knowledge of His glory to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). "And blessed be His glorious Name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with His Glory. Amen" (Psalms 72:19) Proverbs 3:35 tells us that "The wise shall inherit glory". Yes, it is our inheritance. And since we are His inheritance, we are to become His glory.
Taking His Glory to the Nations
When the High Priest came out of His presence, from behind the veil, things began to happen. Not only to the priesthood, but to all the nation. For it was on the 10th day of the 7th month, the day of atonement, that the High Priest went to the Holy of Holies. That was also the day, in the year of Jubile, that the trumpet of Jubile began to blow. (Leviticus 25:9) They were to make this trumpet to blow throughout all the land, signifying that all men were free, all prison doors were open, all slaves were released, and every man was to return to his inheritance. If any man’s inheritance was sold, lost, or stolen, it had to be returned to him at the sounding of the trumpet of Jubile.
Now it is easy to see what this means. It simply means that out from behind that veil will come a company of sons who will have the message of the everlasting Gospel, the same message of the fulness of God that Jesus preached, and will do the works of Jesus and even greater works because of the glory of His presence in that Holy of Holies into which they have entered., There will be no failures. Jesus had none. They will manifest the glory of the Father, as Jesus did. They will have the Spirit without measure, as was given to Jesus. There will be no limit to the power of this Sonship.
This little stone, cut out of the mountain, will strike the kingdoms of this world at their very base. All powers in this world will be rendered weak and helpless before the mighty demonstration of these Sons of God. Where ever they are heard, their message or trumpet will sound the finish of Satan’s power and kingdom. All the prisoners will be loosed from all bondages. Sin, sickness, and finally death, will all be destroyed.
What a revival! What a time of rejoicing! Surely the Feast of Tabernacles in the 7th month is a feast of joy. I wouldn’t miss it for anything. Especially after having preached it to others (1 Corinthians 9:27) I would not want to be a castaway. Seeing the doors fly open, prison house after prison house, seeing the prisoners loosed one by one, village by village, and nation by nation, and seeing the princes of the powers darkness bound by chains and fetters of iron (Psalms 149:8-9) will be much better than eating pie in the sky somewhere in a feast while the world suffers in torment.
Certainly there will be judgment on the earth. For during this glorious Day of the Lord, Satan and all his hordes will be raging, having been cast out of the heavens and knowing that his time is short. All who are not sealed by God in their foreheads (Revelation 7:3, 14:1) will suffer the wrath of that awful day. But we are not appointed unto wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9), but to obtain full deliverance and salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And though Satan rages for awhile, he is defeated. And though the nations drink of the cup of the wrath of God, as they certainly deserve, yet in His mercy He shall send them deliverance in the person of His Son, His many-membered Son! Glory to God! The world of men has never dreamed of the glory that shall be manifested in these last days. Right here on this earth. Well, wait and see, if you cannot believe. Or be part of it, if you can believe for it.
There are several false doctrines which keep men from believing the Truth of what God is doing. One of these, and one of the most widely accepted though doctrinally weak and scripturally unfounded, is the traditional doctrine of the so-called "rapture". It teaches that God is going to spend 2,000 years building an army and girding them with a spiritual armor (helmet, breastplate, shield, sword, etc.), and then jerk them suddenly from the field of battle just as the real war of the ages begins. It implies that God’s poor little weak Church is just not able to overcome the Anti-christ, so they must be taken off to get a glorified body and escape the battle. It tells us that God actually did let some of His children be thrown into a fiery furnace, let some be sawn asunder, be fed to the lions, be tortured on the Roman rack, burnt at the stake, and only God knows what all else… but that He is too good to let us easy-living Americans of the last days be on this earth during a time of great trouble and tribulation (though we are promised the seal of God to protect us). Another false teaching (made necessary to bolster up the first one) is that God is going to train His Church to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ for 20 centuries, opening up New Testament revelation to them and giving them a burden for lost souls and for the evangelization of the billions of the earth… and then at the last minute take the end time church out and give the job of evangelization over to the Jews, who are supposed to all become transformed into great evangelists in 24 hours. And the natural Jews who never knew the truths of the New Testament, who never had the ministry of Apostles and prophets and pastors to perfect them, are supposed to go forth and do what the Church has failed to do in 2,000 years. Does this make sense to you? Of course not! People only believe it is tradition, and because they have heard it preached all their lives. The Holy Ghost never gave any such revelation.
The glory of God will be taken to the nations! But it will be by His Church, I mean His real living Spirit-filled Church. As those who are not defiled with harlot church systems go beyond the veil into the glory of His presence, receiving the fulness of His Spirit, and then turning to the nations of the world as fountains of living water, pouring forth rivers of His Spirit. This is what His Word declares, and this is the way it’s going to be! You who have been called and chosen for this great Day of the Lord can rejoice in the perfect plan of God! And know that He is able to perform that which He has promised. Praise be to His glorious Name! Rejoice in the Lord thy God, for He is mighty toward thee! Yield thyself unto His will, and His glory shalt thou see. He is imparting special abilities unto those who are His own, and to ye who will believe it, He gives the fulness of His throne. A new name has He written in thy forehead, and hidden manna for thee to eat; have no fear of the adversary, for God’s army suffers no defeat. Side by side shall they march forward, not thrusting one another; for Satan is mine enemy, and ye, dear one, my brother. The earth shall reel and rock and tremble like a leaf, as that day explodes upon them as the coming of a thief. For when they least expect it, the cup of wrath shall pour. The time is very soon now, it is even at the door! So wake, and rise, beloved; put on thy garments fair. The wedding feast is ready, thou shalt His glory share. Thy Lord doth manifest thee, doth bring thee forth in power; not in another age, saints, this is the very hour! Rejoice, rejoice, for thy God reigneth!!
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