By Ryan Wyatt – Abiding Glory Ministries

ZADOK PRIESTHOOD

I believe there is a clear “distinction” that God is bringing to what I call, the “institutional church.” My definition of the institutional church would include every denominational and non-denominational church anywhere in the world that claims to worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God. I believe that within the institutional church there is a remnant of people that are truly born-again and serving the Lord. Many others have either never heard the gospel because it’s never actually preached in their church services or they are just nominal people that believe they are going to heaven simply because they go to church on Sundays, or even just on Christmas and Easter, or maybe just because their Grandma went to church!

There is a challenge being issued from the Throne of God in this hour much like Elijah’s challenge on Mount Carmel. The challenge is: “Choose this day whom you will serve!” The darkness and evil in the world is getting darker so therefore the glory of the Lord and the light of Heaven on the earth is going to get brighter! God is pouring out His glory and power on that remnant of faithful overcomers who press through the spirit of the world and truly touch God in supernatural ways.

We see this illustrated in Ezekiel 44:10, 13: “But the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, shall bear the punishment for their iniquity. “And they shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.

In the scripture above we see a group of Levites, which were the priests, who had left the Lord’s side. Actually, the truth is, these priests probably never truly served the Lord with their whole heart because as soon as tribulation came they went astray. And God says of these priests that they will not come near Him or near His holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place. Why? Because their hearts were far from Him. Those who are not truly serving and living for the Lord in their hearts, but rather just living a life of lip service will never actually touch the holy things of heaven. What are the holy things of heaven? Face-to-face encounters with the Lord, heavenly experiences, the presence of God, wisdom, secrets and mysteries of heaven made clear, the peace of God, and the power and glory of God resting on our lives and much more…

However, during this time in Ezekiel’s life there was a remnant of priests, or Christians, that did not stray from the Lord but continued to press in and tend the lamp of God in their lives. These priests were called the priests of Zadok:

Ezekiel 44:15; “But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood,” declares the Lord GOD.

God says that these priests will be the ones who come near to Him, minister to Him and partake of the divine nature and the holy things of heaven. This is the distinction that God is bringing to His “Body” on the earth. In these times, it will become more and more evident who the true followers of Jesus are because their hearts will be awakened and a renewed passion will come upon them to seek God’s face and touch Him afresh.

Look at what’s available to these faithful priests:

Ezekiel 44:16,24; “They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge. “And in a dispute they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts, and sanctify My sabbaths.

Zechariah 3:7  “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways, and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.

These priests are granted free access into the courts of the Lord. Where are the Courts of the Lord? God’s courts are in heavenly places before His throne. For those who will overcome the spirit of the world everyday and press into God, He will grant that they come into the courts of the Lord. Revelation 4:1 is a now word for these times as God is telling us to “Come up here” and meet with Him.

When we spend time standing in the council of God, in heavenly realms, we can then bring that atmosphere of heaven back with us and impact the people of the world with God’s glory.

PRIESTS MINISTER PRECIOUS THINGS OF HEAVEN

Why does God grant free access to His throne to the priests who truly serve Him with all their hearts? For no other reason than to experience intimacy with Him! However, out of this heavenly lifestyle of intimacy with God we get to carry the atmosphere of heaven to others that they might experience Him.

Ezekiel 44:23 

“Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

The presence of God that He wants to pour out on His people will convict others of their sin and draw them to Him. Only those who truly encounter God can teach others how to encounter Him.

THE FLOW OF HEAVEN MUST NOT BE HINDERED

God says that we, as His priests, are to teach others the difference between the holy and the profane but he gives a condition with those instructions.

Ezekiel 44:21  “Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court.

Leviticus 10:8-11;  The LORD then spoke to Aaron, saying, “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you may not die — it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations — and so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, and so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them through Moses.”

Prophetically speaking, I believe the wine symbolizes the numbing effect of the world. I am not talking about the natural drinking of wine or whether I believe that’s acceptable for Christians or not. I’m not even sharing my opinion on it but rather pulling out what I believe is the prophetic meaning. I believe “wine” here speaks of anything of the world that would numb us to the presence and voice of God.

God says not to drink wine, or in other words, have no mixture of the world in your relationship with Me because it will numb you to My presence and My voice and therefore hinder heaven’s flow in your life.

THE FIRE OF GOD

I am prophesying that in this next year and in these end-times God is going to send a mass baptism of fire upon His people. We will come to understand God’s fire in a whole new way. We need the fire of God! In Hebrews 12:29 our God is called a God of consuming fire. God in His very nature is a consuming fire. When we touch God or are touched by God we are also touched by His fire.

Tweet this: God’s fire comes in two forms: the fire of purging and the fire of love.

God’s fire comes in two forms: the fire of purging and the fire of love. You cannot have one aspect of His fire without also getting the other. Believers have a really hard time understanding the God of the Old Covenant as opposed to the God of the New. In the Old Covenant we see this God of judgment and anger but then we are supposed to see this God of love and grace in the New Covenant. We have to understand that, in the Old Testament, God never intended to bring anger and judgment upon his people but rather upon every “lesser lover” that hindered our love with Him. God sees us as His wife and when we choose the lesser lovers of the world His judgment will come. If my wife were sleeping around with all the other men of our town then I would want to bring judgment upon all those other men that distracted my wife from my love. This was always God’s heart in the Old Testament.

We need God to touch us with His fire so that all our lesser lovers, secret sins, and idols would be consumed and all that would remain is a burning passion for Him!

FIRE OF PURGING

When God’s fire comes it comes to purge out everything that hinders love.

Malachi 3:1-3;  “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. “And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness.

We say we want God to touch us but “who can endure the day of His coming?” Our God is truly a refiner’s fire and He’s coming to purify the sons of Levi. Who are the sons of Levi? You and Me!

But, OH, how awesome it is when God’s purging fire touches our lives. Look at the benefits:

Isaiah 4:2-6;  In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. And it will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy — everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then the LORD will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. And there will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.

When we allow God’s purging fire to touch us He will place a covering of glory over our lives to protect us from the spirit of the world. There is a protection when we “live” in God’s purging fire!

FIRE OF LOVE

The best part about God’s fire is His fire of love. When we are touched by His fire He not only purges the dross out of our lives but He also consumes us with the fire of holy passion!

Tweet this: When we are touched by His fire He consumes us with the fire of holy passion!

Song of Solomon 8:6;  “Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD.

This verse tells us that the fire of love is actually the very flame of YAH! Oh, how I cry out from the very depths of my heart to be enflamed with the very flame of YAH! I tell you, there is NO LIMIT to how much of God we can have and experience if we will just let Him consume our lives with His fire. God is looking to pour out His glory on the people that are consumed with one desire:

Psalm 27:4,  One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to meditate in His temple.

Song of Solomon 1:15,  “How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves.”

Do you know why the King in the verse above praises the shulamite? She is praised because she has Dove’s eyes. Do you know what is so special about dove’s eyes? A dove has no peripheral vision. A dove cannot see anything but what is right in front of them. Jesus was praising the shulamite because she had nothing in her vision or heart but Him and Him alone!

The people that let God touch them with His fire will be a people of ONE THING. This army of overcomers will press through the blockades of the enemy and take hold of their inheritance and manifest the power and glory of God on the earth!

EYES OF FIRE

In Revelation 1:14 Jesus is described as having eyes like flames of fire. I believe the Lord’s eyes of fire are scanning the body of Christ right now. He is looking for those whose hearts are open and turned toward Him. We are in a time of 2 Chronicles 16:9; “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

It’s the little foxes that spoil the vine (Song 2:15) and God is looking upon those who will offer their lives afresh on the altar as a pleasing sacrifice to Him. He wants to come and burn up all the things in His people that hinder love. You might not be involved in what people like to call “major” sins but you might have some idols in your life that steal your time and fellowship with God. It might just be an issue of your time, schedule, or priorities. Maybe you could just start giving God a tithe of your morning or a tithe of your evening. Maybe there’s some stubborn secret sin in your life that you have not been able to defeat for years.

I believe we’re in a fresh season of God’s fire and there is a grace of God that is available if we will embrace His fire and begin to live on the Highway of Holiness. Place your heart before God now and let His eyes of fire begin to search your heart and your life. Offer up to Him everything that He reveals to you. Offer up to Him everything in your life that hinders love.

You don’t become holy by obeying a set of rules. You become holy, or set apart, by drawing close to our God who is a holy, consuming fire! By His grace, He will burn up all the junk and all the filth of the world and set you on the Highway of Holiness. He will put you in a place where you can lift up your head without shame so that the King of Glory can come in. The King of Glory comes in on the Highway of Holiness!

Tweet this: You become holy, or set apart, by drawing close to our God who is a holy, consuming fire!

Do you want to receive and minister the precious things of heaven? Do you want to rule and reign as a king, carrying the power and anointing of the Kingdom of God? Then you must first become a faithful and consecrated priest! Don’t allow the move of God within you to be miscarried. Set yourself on God’s altar today and allow yourself to be consumed by His fire of Purging and His fire of Love!

“Father, we place our lives before you now. Search our hearts with your eyes of fire and reveal to us everything that hinders total consecration and love in our lives. Reveal the areas where the mixture of the world has crept in. Come by your fire and burn out all the little foxes that spoil our vine. Burn out all the secret sins and burn out all the lesser lovers. Ignite us afresh with the very flame of YAH! May we burn for You. Set us on fire that we might run with the glory!”