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Rev. 2 Promises to Overcomer
Transcript of Message by Deoram Bholan
1983
[26:00] [Jacob and the Meaning of “An Overcomer”]
[33:00] [Romans 8:28-29 and the Parable of the Sower and Give No Thought for the Morrow. Abide in the Vine.]
[36:30] Queen Vashti Losing, and Ester Gaining, the Crown
Etc.
In past messages, we were centering on the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And we saw the description that John gave us of the glorified Lord in chapter one of the book of Revelation. We spent much time on the meaning of the word “revelation”. And, for those of you who were not here, we will briefly mention that the word, “revelation” means “unveiling; a pulling aside of the veil so that that which is hidden may be revealed, or made manifest.” This book of Revelation is to unveil the Lord to us in His roles, in His offices, in His relationship to the Church and to the nations of the world. Primarily, the book is to unveil Him. And, then, it is a further unveiling of truth to complete the Scriptures. For, the book of Revelation is the book that completes the Scriptures. Without Revelation, the Bible is incomplete. And so, we should all read the book of Revelation, whether we understand it or not, because there is a special blessing given to those who read it, hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the sayings therein. (Rev. 1:3)
So, we spent much time in chapter One. And, last night we looked into the description of Lord in chapters 2 and 3. How, to each of the seven churches He appears in a certain way! And, the reason being: Each local church has a specific need. And the Lord is the answer to that need. And, the way the Lord appears to each of those churches corresponds to the state or condition of those churches.
Now, there is an angel over each church. “To the angel of the church at Ephesus. The angel of the church at Smyrna. To the angel of the church at Pergamos. And so on. What does that mean? I did not say too much on that. But, I am sure you might have asked yourselves the question, “Why not to the entire church? Why to the angel of the church?” Maybe, in reading those letters quickly, you might not have seen that expression. You might think that it says, “And to the church at Ephesus, write, …” No. May you look again and see if I am telling you the truth. Let us go to Revelation chapter 2. Keep your Bibles open if you have them with you. And, if you do not, you listen on. That is fine.
Let us see how the letters are addressed. “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus.” (Revelation 2:1)
Let us go to Revelation 2:8, “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna.”
Then we on to Revelation 2:12, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos.”
Now, that used to bother me. Why “to the angel”? Because, the seven stars in the right hand of the Lord are the seven angels of the seven churches. And the stars are the ministries God has put over the body. Primarily they will constitute apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. You have five fingers in your right hand. Well, those “stars” are the messengers – the word “angel” means a messenger. Most likely there are seven archangels who are given jurisdiction over this church age. But, these messages are not so much for them as these messages are for the ministries. In other words, what the Lord is saying is, “Each ministry must know the state of the local church.” The pastor must know the state of the flock. When we go to minister, we must have the mind of the Lord as to what the people need. Amen? [5:39]
And, so, the angels or the ministers are the ones who are addressed so they can know exactly what to do and how to help the flock. Now, I said earlier, in one of the messages, that these seven messengers could be seven men that God raised up in this Church Age, beginning from the early church down to this end-time. Who they are, I will not be able to answer that. But, it is possible God raised up seven men for this dispensation of grace… to be special messengers to the Church. And, it is possible, Martin Luther was one of those seven. I liken him to one of the messengers.
John was a messenger in his day. Because, we are told that the Lord Jesus touched him with a right hand. The same right hand that held the seven stars touched John. But, who the others are, we can leave that with the Lord. Yet, in another sense, there are other ministries besides those seven that God has raised up to give light and truth to the Church. So, whenever the Lord speaks to each of the churches, He addresses the messenger. And, that would correspond to those ministries in the local body. The elders who will include the pastor should be sensitive to what God would have them to do with reference to feeding the flock. That is one way of looking at that expression. I am not going to belabor the point. Simply to bring it to your attention.
We saw that these seven churches were local churches in Asia Minor – which is known today as Turkey – and they typify the complete church. And, we saw last night that each of these cities in which the local church was found has a meaningful name. We went into the meanings of the seven cities, typifying seven phases of the history of the Church, starting with the early Church down to our day. And, I do not want to repeat all that; you can get all that on tape.
[8:25]
I should have mentioned to you last night that, in each of these letters to the churches, the Lord refers to His second coming in the last four. Now, the last four are in this order: Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea. Thyatira speaks of Catholicism. Sardis – Protestantism. Philadelphia – the holiness movements and other groups who are moving on with God in holiness and truth. And Laodicea speaks of the lakewarmness abounding in many of the churches. So, these last four continue down to the end. And, the Lord speaks to each of these four and tells them that He will return. Protestantism is with us today. The holiness movements are with us today. And, groups that are reaching out for truth and for more holiness. And, we have the stagnant churches that have a name and they are wealthy materially, but poor spiritually.
So, even in the way the Lord speaks to these churches, there is prophecy because, the Bible says, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. Everything about Jesus has prophetic meaning. He is the essence of prophecy. And, His words and movements distill into prophecy. Now, as you read these letters you will see [that] seven times it is stated, as I will point out to you, in Rev. 2:7, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit sayeth unto the churches.” That statement occurs seven times. In other words, God is really trying to tell us we need ears to hear. We need to have a single ear that is alert to hear His voice! Seven times that expression is found!
[11:00]
Now here is something else. To the first three churches, we hear, “Let him that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” and the promise is given “to him that overcometh,” “I will give so and so, I will do this and that.” But when we come to the remaining four churches, the order is reversed. It is to him that overcometh and then the words, “he that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.” Now, in case you have not seen that, let us go [again to Revelation 2:11], “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches,” and then the promise to the overcomer. Go on to [Revelation 2:17}, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches,” and then the promise to the overcomer.
But when you come to the fourth church, verse 26, “and he that overcometh…” the Lord says He will do certain things, and then after the promise to the overcomer, verse 29, “Let he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”
Then you go on to chapter 3, and then it says, “He that overcometh” [Rev. 3:4], the Lord will do certain things. Then, verse 6, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
Then we go to the 12th verse, “Him that overcometh…”, the rewards are given, then, verse 13, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Then we go down to verse 21, “To him that overcometh…” the rewards are given, then, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit sayeth unto the churches”!
[12:53]
Now, did the Lord just feel like changing the order, or did He have a deliberate meaning in the way the order was reversed? Noting the Lord says or does is without meaning. Right? Well, how is it [that] it says, “he that hath an ear”, then the promise to the overcomer for the first three churches, and, then the promise to the overcomer, then, “he that hath an ear, let him hear”? That is a difficult question to answer. And I do not profess to have all the light upon it. But here is the thought I am going to leave with you. I believe that, for the first three periods of church history – for the first three phases of the history of the church, that is, the church in its early stage, the church is the days of the apostles, the church when persecuted, and the church even joining with the State when Constantine embraced Christianity. Even until that time, all in the local church could hear, because they were moving in the ways of God. You see, beloved, Samson did not lose his anointing after he joined with the harlot Delilah. But, it was after he continued this illicit relationship and the harlot found out his secret, then he lost the anointing. Is that true? So, when the church joined the state, she did not lose all her anointing right away. But then, as the relationship became more deep, then the church was shorn of her spiritual locks. And, so I say to you, in the history of the church, in the first three phases, the church could hear as a group of saints. They were in a healthy spiritual condition. But, when the church was married to the state – “Pergamos” means “marriage” or “union” – then came the rise of Catholicism.
And, then we saw Sardis as the start of the Protestant Reformation. And, Philadelphia, Laodicea. Now, in the last four stages, all do not hear, only the overcomer can hear. And that is why today we see so much division among God’s people. We have some truth and we have some mixture among all of us. No one man knows it all. No one group has it all. The sooner we realize that, the quicker we realize it, the better. But we should be praying for God to restore what the church has lost. We should be praying for God to break down the barriers among his people. We should pray that God will give us an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying. You know why all do not hear? You know why all cannot hear? Because not all are willing to become bond slaves! It is the bond slave who said, “I love my master I will not go free.” And, when he said that to his master, his master pierced his ear! On that day he became a love slave to his master! You see, we were all given freedom by Jesus Christ! But most of us have taken the freedom and abused it! And, now we have to say, “Lord, I am sorry, I do not want to go do my thing, I want to be Your love slave.” When you tell the Lord that, He is going to pierce your ear. He is going to cause you to have the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, so you will learn to discern His voice from the multiplicity of voices in the earth today! So, “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” [17:17]
So, it is not everybody who is hearing from the Lord. It is those who are willing to be in that category the Lord calls “to him that overcometh.” Now that does not exclude the sisters. “To him that overcometh” can also be translated “to the one or the individual, male or female, that overcometh.”
Now, the Lord addresses the church through the messenger, but, then, in every one of these churches, it is not to him that. What is it, beloved? “To him that overcometh.” And notice, not, “To them that overcome” – plural – [but] “to him” or “to the individual” that overcomes. That is personal. We cannot overcome for somebody else, we can only overcome on an individual basis.
The mere fact that it says “overcome” means that there will be obstacles in the pathway! The word “overcome” means “to come up over.” “Come up over your circumstances.” Now, in ourselves we are weak, but the Lord wants to give us the strength to become overcomers. The overcomers are the ones who satisfy the heart of God. Now, we see, in all these churches, we have the good and the bad mixed up together. There is not one perfect assembly, as such, though the Lord could not find fault with Smyrna and Philadelphia, that did not mean that they could say, “Oh, well! We have arrived!” No, the Lord had a warning for both of them. He says to Smyrna, “You be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life”. If they were not faithful unto death, they would not receive the crown of life. To Philadelphia, He says, “Hold fast that which you have that no man take your crown.” If they did not hold fast that which they had, they could lose that crown! So, you see, none of them could say, “Well! We have fully arrived.” None of us can claim to have fully satisfied the heart of God. Beloved, as I said to you earlier, when those saints of old had a vision of the Lord, they saw themselves! Isaiah cried out. [19:45] John cried out for help. How much more, when God shows us light and truth, we cannot claim to be better. We cannot claim to know it all. All we can say is, “Lord, I thank you for showing me a measure of your grace. And I want to live in the truth and in the light that you give to me.
[20:06] So, there is a promise given to each of the seven churches. And, that promise is not addressed to the church as a whole, but “to him that overcometh.” And, overcoming is on an individual basis. Just as there is a history or a progression of prophecy in the names of the churches, I believe there is a progression in the promises given to the overcomer. We will not be able to exhaust this. And, I am sure there is more to these promises than I can give to you. But, the overcomers are those who are overcome of the Lord.
[21:00]
When I think of the overcomer, do you know which Bible character I think of? I think of Jacob. Jacob is a type of the born-again believer who loves the things of God. But, Jacob still had that sly nature in him. And, God had to break Jacob. There was a wrestling that took place between Jacob and the Angel of the Lord until the day dawned. And he wanted a blessing! And, before he got the blessing, he got a blow in his thigh that caused him to limp. He became a broken man. Jacob the swindler, after that encounter with the Angel of the Lord, received a change in his name. And, what was the name given to him? Israel. And do you know what “Israel” means? “Prince with God.” “For, as a prince hast thou power with God and men and hast prevailed!”
So, the word “prevail” is the same word from which we get means “overcome.” To prevail means “to overcome.”
In the New Testament, Jesus looked at one of His future disciples. And his name was Nathaniel. And as Nathaniel was coming towards Him – Philip brought Nathaniel – the Lord says, “Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile!” The word “Israel” or “Israelite” means an overcomer – a prince with God. God wants us to be overcomers, but, before we can be overcomers, God has to break us. You see, there are areas in us that have to be broken, particularly our stubborn will. But, let me tell you something, it is the broken man that is the victorious man. The man whom God conquers is the man who can conquer any demon and any human adversary! But, if the Lord does not conquer us, even a little cigarette would.
[23:32]
You see, Jacob was running away from Esau for twenty long years! Sometimes, you and I are running away from our problems. But, you know what, you will have to face up to them, sooner or later. And, finally, he could not run anymore. God say’s, “You have to go back to the promised land.” And, he decided to set his house in order and he got alone with God.
I believe many times we need to get alone with God. Leave husband [or wife] and children -and get alone with God. Certainly, we have our obligations to them, but there comes a time when you and God alone have to get into a session. And we need more love-sessions with the Lord, by the way. We need to get alone – no distractions there. And, the enemy will seek, in many ways, to hinder our getting alone with God. But if we will learn to trust Him for grace and spend time with Him alone, in the morning, in the evening, then He can give us the strength we need to face the rest of the day. Neglect that and we become miserable and defeated. Oh, we can all get busy doing a lot of things, but we need to be alone with the Lord.
[ca. 26:00] [Jacob and the Meaning of “An Overcomer”]
Jacob had to get alone. He had to leave the flocks and everything. There comes a time God puts us in a corner and nobody can help us. It is good to have people pray with you and for you, but there will come a time when nobody can help you. It will be just you and the Lord. And, God is not going to bail us out of our situation. We are going to have to face up to it and cry to the Lord! And then the Lord will have to show us where we are failing and break us. And, when Jacob had an encounter with God, Esau came with vengeance in his heart. “I am going to kill him! He stole the birthright from me!” But, instead of killing his brother, when he saw Jacob, it was a different Jacob. And Esau could not kill his brother. You know why? Because Jacob met with God. And, he had that private session. And he overcame! God conquered him. And he conquered Esau. Hallelujah! The overcomer is one who is overcome by God and then God overcomes through us. That is the meaning of an overcomer. [26:28] “Not by might! Not by power! But by My Spirit, saith the Lord.” Not of us can claim yet to be full overcomers. But God sees if you want to live the humdrum existence and just float with the tide and be “at ease in Zion” or, we want to press on in spite of the obstacles. Any dead fish can go with the tide. It takes a live fish to go against it. Right? And, an overcomer is one that does not flow with the tide of popularity. The overcomer seeks to please God.
Let me tell you something, [when] you get a vision of what it means to be an overcomer, [then] you are going to get in trouble. [Laughing.] People are going to try to accuse you of trying to be super-holy. Whereas, to be an overcomer is the normal thing in God’s plan. But, we have been living so subnormal and abnormal that what is normal seems awkward to us. The “overcomer” is Jesus Christ! Hallelujah! And, we can only overcome as He takes the reins of government in our lives. Amen?
[27:57]
Alright, would you like to see some of the promises to the overcomer? We tend to put the overcomers in a special class, but, really, the overcomers are those who satisfy the heart of God! Like Enoch who “walked with God.” And, you know what? He had his testimony that he pleased God. Am I a man pleaser or a God pleaser. Am I seeking to please myself, or am I seeking to please the Lord? We have to answer these questions on an individual basis.
So, the promises are to the individual who overcomes. First, the vision of the overcomer, Jesus, in chapter one. Then, in chapters two and three, the call of the Lord to overcome so we can inherit some special blessings. Do you know [that] not all believers will get the same rewards? That is a truth taught in the epistles. Some are to be barely saved and they have nothing else to look forward to. Like Lot. Lot got out of Sodom, but he could not take anything out. He barely escaped … through fire. The Bible says, “Some will be saved as by fire.” [1 Cor. 3:15] And Lot is a picture of those Christians that barely get out of the city of destruction, but they do not have any rewards because they have never been fully committed to God. You can not be a friend with the world and a friend with God. “Friendship with the world is enmity with god.”
On the other hand, look at Abraham. Abraham is a different kind of believer, isn’t he? Abraham is a picture of the overcomer. But look how many tests he had to go through. And he did not pass all of them. But, you know, in a test you see yourself in a way you have never seen yourself before. Isn’t that so? And, then you can either decide to repent or, ignore what God shows you and say, “Well, I can not help this.” I got it in my blood. Or, we can choose to say, like David, “I am the man. I am the culprit, Lord. I accept my failure and I flee to you to forgive me. I do not even know my own heart.” In a test you see whether you really love the Lord or not. Isn’t that so? And, by the way, when He gives us tests, He does not tell us in advance. Just like you got a surprise here Sunday night.
We can say much on the overcomer. But, I want to add a statement here. As we look at Jesus Christ, He was man as God intended man to be. He is called “Son of Man” eighty-four times in the Gospels. And, Jesus Christ overcame Satan several times in His life. He overcame him at the cross. He overcame him in Hades. He overcame him in resurrection. And so, Jesus is the absolute overcomer and victor! And, he set a pattern for us. So many people say, “Well, I can not be like Jesus.” What a poor excuse. If we have His life, then we have the potential to become like Him! Every seed brings forth after its own kind. But it takes time and growth and experiences before that seed can grow and reach its full development. Right? “Be ye perfect even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect!”
[ca. 33:00] [Romans 8:28-29 and the Parable of the Sower and Give No Thought for the Morrow. Abide in the Vine.]
And, what is the purpose of the Lord saving us? “That He might conform us to the image of His Son!” [Rom. 8:28-29] […?] He tells us that. God’s purpose in saving us is to conform us to the image of His Son. That word “conform” means to bear the same form or likewise with. And first, that applies within. We must be made like Him inside. Love with His love. Think with His thoughts. Feel with His feelings. And, then outwardly, we are to be made like He is in His glorified body. But – oh! – we have not come there yet. But, we should be moving on. We should be growing. Peter says, “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” How do you grow? By worrying? By measuring yourself every day? Have I grown today? No, we have to constantly abide in the vine. Yes. And we will bring forth fruit and more fruit and much fruit.
“Take no thought what you should eat.” Take no thought how you are going to grow. Just abide in Him. Fellowship with Him. Love Him with all your hearts. And, I believe Jesus had to overcome here on this earth [in order] to take up His future ministry in the heavens!
And, He set us a pattern. The Bible says, “He was made perfect – or complete – through the things which He suffered.” [Heb. 5:8-9] And, He had to undergo all these tests – do you know why? – so He could become a High Priest for you and me. You see, the High Priest is taken from among men, and He knows what man has to face. He can relate to His fellow man. Jesus, by becoming man, knows – not by foreknowledge – but knows in experience what it is to be a human being. And, you know [what], the Bible says, “He is touched with our feelings and infirmities.” And so, He can sympathize with us and give us help. Hallelujah! But, for Him to take up His future ministry, He had to overcome all the obstacles in His way! Well, the Lord is preparing us now for our future ministry! How about that! And, if we do not prepare for our spiritual future, it will be a great loss. Not that we would lose eternal life, but we would not share in the ruling kingdom of the Lord!
The Lord is not going to take a young Christian that has not had any experiences in Him and say, “Come and sit on the throne.” That person is going to bring more havoc in the Kingdom than is permissible. God’s kingdom is not a kingdom run by babes. It is a kingdom that will be administered by mature overcoming saints! If, in the natural it takes qualified people to govern a country, and woe be to that country that does not have a qualified leader, how much more the kingdom of God! Beloved, if you and I get a vision of that, we are going to have to wake up from our slumber and begin to seek the Lord more desperately.
So, “to him that overcometh,” not to him that believeth …. There is a difference. Do I want to be just a believer, or an overcomer? An “overcomer” is a believer but more than a believer. Through the grace of the Lord working in him he rises above the circumstances and he gains the victory. And he is entitled to the reward. There is a reward awaiting us! And, in one of the epistles, Paul says, “Let no man beguile you of your reward.” I believe it was John, rather, who wrote that. “Let no man rob you of your reward.” Now, you will not lose eternal life, but you can lose the crown. The crown is the reward.
[36:30] Queen Vashti Losing, and Ester Gaining, the Crown
Queen Vashti lost the crown and Ester replaced her. If we are not diligent, we can lose our place in the kingdom. And that is a big loss. But that is not God’s highest intention for us. Okay? I think I have said enough on that point. And, all I can do is trust the Lord, by His Spirit that there is more to that expression, “To him that overcometh.”
Alright, what is the first promise to the overcomer? Are you ready to stay until midnight? You see, this is the last night. And so, sister Zona says I must make up for Sunday night. But, I am not going to load you down too much, because, I do not have too much to say on these matters. I myself am learning like you. I may see a little more, but – oh, beloved – the more you see, the more you see how little you see. But God is so good. Sometimes we do not know what we are going to say. Sometimes we read the same Scriptures and we say, “Oh my. What else can I say than I have said before?” And, when we come at our wits end, [then] He is at the other end waiting to help us.
[37:48]
First promise! To the overcomer at Ephesus. What is the promise? Let us read it. Revelation 2:7. “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Now God puts first things first. Right? And, in this letter to the Ephesians, the Lord says, “You have left your first love.” So, He is calling them back to first-love and first works. That means to love Him with all the heart. We love Him more than we love just going to do things for Him. There is a place for service. But, service must only come out of our love-relationship and union with the Lord. “First-works” are works done out of love not out of duty. Out of love for the Lord. Out of obedience to the Lord. And so, the first promise brings us back to the garden of Eden. And we read, in the garden of Eden, about the tree of life. And, as we read about the tree of life, we see where man sinned. And, he was banished from the garden. And he lost access to the tree of life! So, what was lost is now regained! What Adam lost, Jesus recovered! Now, you will remember there was only one way back into the garden of Eden after man was driven out by God. And, that way was for man to turn his back on the east and go west and face the cherubim with a flaming sword. And, nobody dared go in that direction because no man would survive if he were to face the sword of the cherubim. But Jesus was born into the human family. And, it was he who faced the sword of judgment on Calvary’s cross. That is why, when He died, the veil of the Temple was rent in twain. And, in the Mosaic Tabernacle, the cherubim were engraved in the veil! And, the cherubim separated man from God. The veil separated man from God! The veil divides! It screens! It hides! But, exactly when Jesus died before the earthquake, the veil of the Temple was rent in two! Hallelujah! From the top to the bottom, Jesus faced the sword of the cherubim, if you please, and He dismissed them. And He opened the way back into the garden of Eden for mankind to partake of the tree of life! Hallelujah! Praise His wonderful name! All of that is involved in the rending of the veil. Now, the way would be open for man to come back into fellowship with God. The way was not open for man to go back to a literal garden of Eden. We do not know where that was. And, it does not matter. But, we know that there was a time when there was a literal garden of Eden. And when the literal cherubim and the flaming sword appeared. But, when taking the curse, Jesus Christ faced the sword! Hallelujah! The cherubim were dismissed. And now, man can partake of the tree of life.
[41:40]
What does it mean to partake of the tree of life? It does not mean to go to some tree on the earth and say, “Well, this is the tree of life.” No, you would not find it. The Tree is symbolic of the Lord who is the Life. Amen? Jesus is like a tree, planted by the rivers of water. He is not just “a tree,” He is the Tree of Life. Hallelujah! He came that we might have life – the life from God and have it more abundantly. And, when we receive Him into our heart, that means we have received of the Tree of Life. Christ is not planted in our garden. We are the garden of the Lord and the Tree of Life is Jesus Christ inside of me! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Oh! Do you know what the Bible says? “We are God’s garden.” The physical body is like a garden. And, when Christ comes to dwell our garden. That is the Tree of Life being planted in my garden. Amen? And, Paul puts it this way, “Christ in you, the hope of glory!”
Number “one” is the number of “life” and “light.” And, the first promise to the overcomer has reference to the L-i-f-e. My! But, you see, it is one thing to have the Tree of Life inside of your garden. It is another thing to eat of the Tree of Life. It is one thing to plant seed in the ground. It is another thing to eat the fruit of that tree. It takes time for that seed to germinate and grow, for leaves and stems and buds and blossoms and fruit to merge. As in the natural, so in the spiritual. It does not say, “To him that overcometh –
[End of audio CD recording of cassette side 1 of this message.]
DB Rev. 2 Promises to Overcomer – Side 2
[It does not say] the overcomer is going to just have the tree of life planted in him. No, it says he will eat of the tree of life. Now, the words of the Lord have many depths of meaning. And, I am just giving you a little here. By no means am I exhausting these promises. And I am sure there is more than I can give you. But this is what I want to say. We are like unto God’s garden. The tree of life is Christ. But to eat of the tree of life is to eat of the fruit of the tree. And, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, patience, kindness, temperance, faithfulness. How many of us after we were born again began to manifest the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit? Oh! We had new life, but it took time before we could manifest fruit. Fruit does not come right away. Sometimes, after we were born again, we thought, “Well, was I really saved or not?” Sometimes we doubt our salvation and then God has to show us that there is more ahead. We are not perfect yet, but we must follow on to know Him. It takes time for fruit to be born.
So, the overcomer is the one who yields to the Lord so that the fruit of the tree of life – the nature of Christ – will be manifested in him.
Now, the Bible says this tree of life bears “twelve manner of fruit”. Later on, in Revelation, chapter 22, it says this tree of life “bears twelve manner of fruit”! Well, those twelve manner of fruits speak of the full nature of Christ manifested in us. We have the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit. And, there are other virtues that must be added to those nine to make them twelve-fold. One scripture calls it “fruits of righteousness”. “Righteousness” means “right standing with God”! And, to eat of the tree of life means that we have grown sufficiently, and we can begin to experience “love, joy, peace, longsuffering” and all the other cluster of the fruit. But I also believe it means exactly what it says. I believe there is a literal tree of life in the heavens. And I also believe that the overcomers will eat the literal fruit of the tree when the time comes!
[3:04]
But who will eat of the tree of life. I want to show you. Not those who believe. Just see who will eat of it. Would you like to see who will eat of the tree of life? It says, “to him that overcometh”, here. Now, let us see if the Scriptures are harmonious. Certainly, they are. It is our understanding that is clogged [clouded?] up that needs to be set free. Let us go to Revelation 22. And I would like you to read verse 14. Please tell me if I am reading right. “Blessed are all they who believe in the Lord, for they will have right to the tree of life.” Is that what it says? “Blessed are they that do His commandments.” “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” “Not those who say ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom. Those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven.” “Not hearers of the word only, but doers also.”
“Blessed are they that do His commandments.” By the way, this is one of the seven beatitudes in the book of Revelation. There are seven. This is a book of sevens. This is the last beatitude. The first one is, “Blessed is he that readeth and heareth and keepeth the sayings of this book.” But this is the last one.
“Blessed are that that do His commandments that they may have right to the tree of life.” That does not mean just to come to the tree of life, but to eat of it. And, I believe that the overcomer will eat of that fruit of the tree. While we are in this mortal body we cannot eat of that tree of life. And, I believe that the overcomer will eat of the tree. While we are in this mortal body, we cannot eat of that tree of life in its fulness. When we come into the glory, we will eat of it. I do not know what it tastes like, but I know it is going to be refreshing. It is going to be good. Better than any fruit of the earth! The word of God has a literal meaning. It also has spiritual meaning.
Now, there is one difference between Paradise before the fall, and here it says, “the Paradise of God – the garden of God”. In the Paradise before the fall, man had to be on guard against the serpent. Right? And, there was the tree of knowing good and evil. There is no tree of knowing good and evil in the heavenly realm. And there is no serpent that will have access into that realm. So, this is something higher than what was on the earth-plane. Amen? Praise the Lord! This is something higher than what Adam and Eve were exposed to. Because Satan will be bound, there will be no room for rebellion anymore – for those who will dwell in that realm. They have overcome the Devil and the earth! And, nothing can destroy or defile that realm.
So, that is a blessed promise, to eat of the tree of life. And, that is the promise to the overcomer. And, you may say, “Will all believers eat of the tree of life?” If I understand my Bible correctly, it is not to them that believe, it is to him that overcometh. I am going to stick with what God says [rather] than what theologian this or preacher so-and-so says. And, I hope you will have the sense to discern what God says and what man says. And, I hope you will take what I say and not swallow it but weigh it for what it is worth. “Prove all things. Hold fast to that which is good.” The more you prove the truth, the brighter it will shine. Hallelujah? Okay, I am sure there is more to that promise. I am not going to go further there. And I do not want to keep you too late.
[7:25]
I am going to run to the second promise to the overcomer. Chapter 2 of Revelation. Rev. 2:11. “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” That brings us back to the fact that when man sinned and lost access to the tree of life, “The day that you eat” – what will happen? “You will surely die.” So, we see that these promises are moving in a historical order. Man was barred from the tree of life, and death stepped in. But here, by virtue of the overcomer choosing to go all out for God, - “two” is the number of “choosing, dividing, screening” – he will not be hurt of the second death. The process is reversed. Yes, even for those who believe, “he that hath the Son hath life”. And, once you have that life, physical death cannot rob you of the blessings of that life. But “the second death” is not the same as “the first death”. You see, there is a death for the body. The second death is called “the Lake of Fire”. For those who will be resurrected and judged at the Great White Throne, and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire which is called “the second death.” Now, here is a thought on second death I want to give you. The second death is called “the Lake of Fire”. After you and I are born again, God begins to deal with us and show us the necessity of being filled with the Holy Spirit and with – what? – and with fire. And so, God begins to put us through the fire. Why? So [that] the fire will consume our rebellion. You see, “God is a consuming fire”. And so, the believer is going through second death in the sense that he is going to die to self-will. You see? And, that is why you are filled with the Spirit. You are filled with the Spirit not only to be a witness – that is true. Not only to do exploits – that is true. But, you are also filled with the Spirit [so] that you will die to your “self”. Now, are all Christians dying to self? See, when we die to self we are submitting to the fire to purge us. Fire cannot hurt us anymore after it has done its work. [That is] in a sense that the Bible says, “Who will dwell with the devouring fire?” There is a scripture in Isaiah 33. “Who will dwell with the devouring fire? He that has clean hands and a pure heart.” Yes, this scripture means exactly what it says. There is a literal second death called “the Lake of Fire.” But, I am making a spiritual application here. We pass from death into life when we accept the Lord and He comes to dwell in our hearts. And, now God puts us through the Lake of Fire process to consume our rebellion. And, if we submit to that fire, then, never mind where God puts us, when that fire has done its work, then we cannot be hurt by it anymore. You see, God’s fire is going to work in us until it consumes all the dross until we become one with that fire! [Do] you know what the Bible says about His servants? “He maketh His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.” God wants us to become one with His fire. But we have to choose. The second promise is for those who choose to go God’s way.
[11:30]
I believe this scripture can refer to those who will have to wait for the second resurrection. One can be a believer and not be among those who are raised in the first resurrection. The Bible teaches us that. In the book of Revelation, another beatitude is, “Blessed is he that hath part in the first resurrection. Upon such the second death has no power!” See? May I show you that scripture as the Lord brings it to my mind? Would you like to see that? Let us go on to Revelation 20 [for] a moment. (We are coming into some deep waters here. I can hear the silence! I do not think we might touch number seven. I do not know. This is a lot to put all together in one message. We will have to say, “Will be continued.”) Rev. 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.” Two words there, please. You can read that and miss it. The word is “blessed”. The second word is “holy”. To meet the Lord, we need more than imputed righteousness. The Bible begins with imputed righteousness. That is the sheepskin garment that God made for Adam and Eve. That is put on us all at once. But, the Bible does not end with that garment. The Bride does not go to meet the Groom with goatskin or sheepskin. The Bride goes to meet the Bridegroom with fine linen garment. And fine linen garment is called “the righteous of the saints”. That is, imputed righteousness must be worked out into us in righteous deeds, righteous words, righteous thoughts. That is the righteousness of Christ fulfilled in us by the inworking of the Holy Spirit. That is the linen garment. You see, the linen garment is not the righteousness of Christ imputed, it is the righteousness of Christ fulfilled in me. That takes time! That takes testings. That takes impartations. It takes growth. That is the truth that is not taught today – if you please. And some Christians hear that [and] it does not register with them because they have not been exposed to that truth. But, beloved, it needs to be sounded on the housetops. Far too long we have been playing around. Like children in the market place we need to grow up. We need to see that this is a high calling, a holy calling, a heavenly calling, a humble calling. And, back to verse 6. Rev. 20:6, “On such the second death has no power. But, they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him,” – how long? [One thousand years.] Therefore, the plain inference is there are some Christians who will not be in the first resurrection. They will not be in the first resurrection. They will come at a later time. Maybe after the “thousand years”, some will. Some will come at a later time than that. You see, these are truths in the ways of God – the plan of God – [that] we do not fully comprehend yet. But the “overcomer not being hurt of the second death” will mean he will share in the first resurrection! And, remember, the church at Smyrna were a persecuted church and the Lord promised them deliverance. He said, [paraphrased] “You are going to be cast into prison and are going to die, but do not be afraid, I will give you the crown of life. They cannot rob you of it.” And, that is the promise to the martyrs.
[15:44]
And, look at the same scripture. I will show you how it is the martyrs. But, I do not believe it applies only to the martyrs but to others who died in the Lord who had been classified by the Lord as overcomers. But this will apply to martyrs in particular. Look at verse 4. [Rev. 20:4], “And I saw thrones and they that sat upon them. And judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God.” That could refer to those down through this age, but it applies to those who were killed at the end of this age, for it says here, “who had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” By the way, those who did not take the mark of beast – some of them prefer to die. Well, there were those throughout this church age who refuse to take any other manmade mark and label. So, it not only infers these who will be in the end time, but other martyrs who died down through this age. And others who died like Paul. Paul had a great ambition – “that I might attain the resurrection from the dead.” But, in the Greek, “that I might attain” – if you have to “attain” it means you have to qualify. He did not say, “that I might be in the general resurrection.” Phil. 3:10-11, “That I might attain the out-resurrection out from among the dead.” That is the first resurrection he was talking about. He wanted to be in that number. What kind of a life did Paul live? He did not know if he had attained, but, as he came to the end God showed him that he had fought the good fight and finished the course “and a crown of righteousness is laid up for me.” He will get it in the day of the first resurrection. And, not only he but them that love His appearing. And if we love His appearing, the Bible says that “he that has this hope purifieth himself even as God is pure.” In other words, we will see God wants a holy people. He wants an overcoming people and He will give us the grace to be all that He expects us to be.
Verse 5. “But, the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” That is the believing dead [the general resurrection]. This [in Rev. 20:4 and Phil 3:10-11] is the first resurrection.
[18:15]
Now, I do not want to get into too many deep waters tonight. This matter of resurrection is a subject all in itself. And I will just have to let the matter rest here. And, the Holy Spirit will direct your thoughts as you search the Scriptures for yourselves.
The overcomer chooses. The second promise [has to do with the symbolism of “two”.] Two is connected with choosing, dividing. Those who choose God’s way will not be hurt of the second death. Joshua said, “Choose you, this day whom you will serve.” He was already telling those who were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, “Choose you.” You know [that] after we are saved we still have to choose to move on with God. Right? Ah! We can choose to settle down or we can choose to press forward. The choice is mine – as the song writer says. Oh! May the Lord give us grace to choose to go all out for Him. Then, we too can share in the blessings of the first resurrection. And, for some, it would not involve first resurrection. It would not even be having to die. We do not know, but God knows those things. If we are close to the end, then some of us here may not have to go the way of the grave. But, again, we can leave that with the Lord. Okay? Praise the Lord?
[19:56]
I think we will have to round this up together. We are getting into some matters here that are very deep. And, I may stop at the third promise because there is much in these promises that we should read and reread and rethink. But, the third promise given to the overcomer is in the same chapter 2, and verse 17.[ Rev. 2:17]. Again, “to him that overcometh” – all the way through – “will I give to eat of the hidden manna and will give him a white stone. And, in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” This is one of the hardest promises to fully comprehend. You see, as we go on in the various grades of overcoming, [and] there are various rewards that will be given, these promises become more difficult to comprehend! But, nevertheless, the Lord knows what He is doing. Number “three” is connected with the priesthood. And, I believe the promise here is for those who will enter into priestly privileges. You see, God speaks to us through numbers. And God speaks to us through geography … locations. He speaks to us through circumstances. He speaks to us in colors. He speaks to us in a variety of ways. I will not take the time to enumerate the various ways.
But here in these promises, in the order they are given, there is a beautiful arrangement of truth. “One” is life – and we read of the tree of life. “Two” is choosing – those who choose to go God’s way will come into the full blessings of the first resurrection. The third promise is connected with the third son of Jacob who was Levi. And from the Levitical tribe came the priesthood through the family of Aaron. And so, number “three” is connected with the teacher. And, the mouth of the priest should keep knowledge. In the book of Malachi, it says the priest should have knowledge to teach the people [Mal. 2:7]. And so, this third promise is for those who Christians who will function as priests in the heavenly realm. Remember, those in the first resurrection, they will function as priests and kings. Right? Well, here in the third promise we see the reward of priestly privileges. The hidden manna was not the same as the daily manna. Daily manna came for all the Israelites. But the Israelites had to gather manna every day. Yesterday’s manna could not last for today. It spoiled. It bred worms. Gave forth a putrid smell. Then there was manna on the sixth day that lasted on the seventh day. Right? And then it came again afresh on the eighth day. There is manna in three departments. There is manna in the outer court where the people who met in the outer court had their daily manna. But there was manna in the inner court. You say, “I don’t read of any manna in the inner court – in the holy place.” But, let me ask you this question: Where did the priests get their bread to put on the table of shewbread? When in the wilderness they did not have any wheat farms – you know. They did not have any food in the wilderness. The only food they had was the manna! And, according to the Bible, they had to grind the manna, and it became flour and they made cakes out of the manna. Well, the manna was ground to become loaves. They baked the loaves and the loaves on the table of shewbread lasted for seven days and did not spoil. And, at the end of seven days, the priests would eat of it! So, the priests could get more benefit out of the manna than the common people did! And, that table was called “the table of shewbread”. It was exposed to the light of the lampstand. The word “shewbread” means “bread of faces”. And the priests could eat of that bread!
[25:20]
And then there was manna in the holy of holies, because God told Aaron through Moses to get a pot and put an omer of manna – about six pints. And, it was placed in that golden pot. The book of Hebrews is the only book that tells us it was a pot of gold. And, that manna in the Holy of Holies did not spoil. It lasted indefinitely.
Now, there is only one man who could enter the holy of holies, once a year, out of the entire nation of Israel, and he was the High Priest. He could enter the Holy of Holies, but he dared not eat of any manna inside there. He could sprinkle the blood, and he could only minister there for a very short period of time, but he could not take the golden pot of manna out of the Ark! But he had access to that realm. Well, the Lord is telling us that the overcomer will not just have access to the Ark-realm, he is going to eat of something that is hidden in the Ark! Hallelujah! He is going to eat of hidden manna! Well, what is hidden manna? That is the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question. I told you we are getting into deep waters! We are going to have to close in a while lest our heads hurt!
[26:54]
Okay! We are back into the “hidden manna”. Will you let me go backwards a little? And look at the manna that came on the sixth day. God gave them twice as much. Why? Because, on the seventh day, no manna would come. What that means to me is: we are in the sixth day [and] God wants to give us more truth, more of His word. The manna typifies the living word and the written word. It means “bread”. Jesus is “the bread of heaven” and the Scriptures are called our food. “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Now, the “manna” can also mean our experiences that we must gather into our hearts. You know, we cannot live off of somebody else’s experience. Right? We have to get our own! Well, God is putting us through “the mill”. He is giving us our experiences on this “sixth day” which is six-thousand years since the fall of man. We are in the Sixth Day, by the way. And the seventh day typifies the millennium – the thousand-year reign of peace. And God is saying, you must get your manna on the sixth day. Why? Because no manna will come on the seventh day. The shocking truth of that is: if we fail to get the needed experiences that make us an overcomer then we will miss out on the millennial rule with Christ. And, there were some who went out on the seventh day. Did they find any manna? No! And there will be many Christians that will miss out in that millennial age. Why? Because they did not allow the Lord to process them and give them the grace. They did not yield to the grace of the Lord to make them overcomers! So, they will have to wait out until the end of the millennium. Then, they will have to get new experiences after the millennial age. You see, [in] the millennial age, Satan is bond. So, you do not get any trials and testings! Have you stopped to realize this? How can you grow except through trials and tests? And the people who are living in the millennium, they do not have the Devil to contend with – though some of them will still be rebellious. But not as in this age. So, the real testing comes after the millennium. Now, I can see that this may lose you for a while, but I am telling you something: there is more to this matter of overcoming than meets the eye. Let us not be like those people who failed to gather the manna and they did not get any on the seventh day. You see, “the seventh day” is a day of rest. “There remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God”! “He that enters into His rest has ceased from his labors even as God did His,” the writer to the Hebrews tells us. And he says, “Take heed brethren lest we miss out on that rest.” Just as, not all of Israel entered the promised land (many died in the wilderness), that is the same thing. We can choose to be stragglers, or we can choose to be overcomers and submit to God.
[30:14]
So, to eat of the hidden manna means – the hidden manna represents the Lord who is hidden in the heavens. But he will not be hidden. He will come out of hiding! The same Christ who walked the shores of Galilee and has been hidden in heaven – the overcomer will see Him, and He will no more been hidden from view! And we will eat and feast on Him in a way we have not known!
I believe it also means we will have access to hidden truths. There are truths that we cannot fully comprehend now, but when we get into the glory, the Lord will give us understanding of things that we cannot contain here. Hidden manna will be given. There is a scripture that says, “There is nothing hidden that shall not be made manifest.” And the hidden things are going to be opened up to the overcomer, so the overcomer will eat of that which is not available to others! And, the Bible says the Ark represents Christ: “In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Hallelujah? Hallelujah? Ah, beloved! There are things He must hide from us, but there is coming a time when He will be no longer hidden. And, those who have access to that realm of function as priests. And they will be able to come back to the earth and teach. From the vantage point of the heavens they will have access to mysteries and they will come and teach a generation in the millennium and in other ages. Hallelujah!! God is preparing us for future ministry. Paul says, “In the ages to come, He will show us the exceeding riches of His grace toward us who have believed.” “Eye hath not seen. Ear hath not heard. Neither hath it entered to the hearts of man the things that God has prepared for them that love Him. But He has revealed them, and is revealing, and will continue to reveal them to us by His Sprit. Hallelujah.
Oh, there is so much here. Eating the hidden manna.
[32:39]
[The recording process appears to stop and restart.]
Yes, there are some sufferings you have gone through, some experiences hidden from view that nobody has seen but God! And, when we come into the glory, we will know the meaning – Hallelujah – we will know as to why we had to go through those things. Do you know [that] God does not owe us an explanation? Amen? But there will come a time when we will know the whys and the wherefores because we only see in part! And we prophecy in part! But, when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away! “Oh, why is God so hard towards me? Why this. Why that? And, nobody can give you the answer, but there is coming a day when, if you will praise Him and thank Him and not get bitter towards Him, you are going to understand! As, the Lord told Peter, “What I do now you do not know, Peter. But you will know hereafter.” Amen?
Oh, beloved, these promises are so tremendous, each one can take a whole message … if I had all the understanding of it.
[33:58]
Let me go on and finish this third one and we will be through. What is the second part? Oh. This one is, uh, very tough: “I will give him a white stone.” Jesus, you see, is the stone that the builders rejected. Right? “White” in the Scriptures speaks of purity. And, you and I who are born of the Lord are – you and I who are born of the Lord are called “living stones”. Amen? You see, we are still stones, but we are rough yet. God has got to work on us to polish us, so we can become a white stone. Hallelujah! Potentially we are white stones because we [are] birthed from the bedrock Jesus Christ! A white stone speaks of purity of heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart, they shall see God.” You know something? Purity is not a gift. Purity of heart can only come through submitting to the fires of God. When it says “purity of heart” some of you heard me mention that “the heart” speaks of the conscience, the thoughts, the emotions, the will. To be pure in heart means your thoughts are pure, your will is pure, your emotions are pure. That takes the dealings of God! Right? So that everything within us is manifesting the purity. Not “to him that believeth” [but] “to him that overcometh I will give a white stone.” That is the purity of heart that will characterize those who dwell in that realm. But, I also believe this white stone can refer to the prize that was given when the race was run. In days of old, when someone won a race, he was awarded a white stone and his name was engraved on that stone. [36:01]
Paul says, “Know you not that they who run in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize?” “So run that ye (plural) may obtain.” You see, in a natural race only one gets the prize in those days. Today we have three prizes. But, in those days, only one prize was given. We are all in a race and the Lord wants all of us to get a prize. But we can decide we do not want to get a prize and not finish the race.
Paul says, “I have finished my course… and so the crown awaits me.” Run so that you may obtain. Do not run that you may obtain eternal life – run to obtain the prize! And the prize is the crown – rulership with the Lord. The prize is the high calling to rule with him on high, to dwell in the heavens, to share in the heavenly kingdom. A white stone, then, is the reward given to those who have walked in purity. Do you know what is said of Jesus? “Thou lovest righteousness and thou has hated iniquity, therefore God, even thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” God wants us to hate sin and love righteousness. God wants our thoughts, our emotions, our will, our desires, imaginations to be pure. And, he can make this a possibility as we submit to him on a daily basis.
[37:45]
A white stone and a new name written that no man knows saving he that receives it. Now, this hidden manna brings us to Israel’s journey in the wilderness. So, we see a progression in history start with Adam and Eve in the garden. Right? Then we see death. Right? Then we see God’s dealings with Israel as a nation. And we read of the manna and the hidden manna. But then we read of a white stone. And there was a stone, or maybe two stones called a Urim and a Thummim that the High Priest received to ascertain the will of God. Some believe the name of God was written on that stone. Whether that is so or not I can not say. And, there are some who believe that this reference to the stone and the new name written corresponds to that Urim and Thummim. “Urim” means “lights” and “Thummim” means “perfection”. And, so, one possible thought is that those who will eat of the hidden manna will have priestly functions and they will ascertain the will of God. There will be no guesses. They will be in direct communication with the Throne and they will have answers to every problem. Glory to God? My! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? No question stumps you! My, my. I tell you, there are so many great things ahead. And, our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are not seen.” Hallelujah! Okay?
I have to hurry on lest our sister run out of tape! Praise the Lord. Now, let us get on to this thought. There is the stone – white stone and the new name written. Could it be that the Lord will give us as He makes us overcomers a new name? That means He might change our name from what it is and give us another name that will correspond to the degree of our overcoming on this earth? And, nobody else will know that name but us? I will be a secret between the Lord and us? You know [that] the Lord keeps some secrets? And, when he calls our name we will know, “that is us.” It is possible. I cannot say I know it 100%. I tend to believe that. He says, that no man knows this name. You will have a new name written, that no mans knows but he that receives it. It means this is a secret between the Lord and His close follower, the overcomer.
[40:50]
I believe it also means a new assignment. You see, each one of us will be given our assignments from God. You remember the parable of the pounds and the talents? Some will rule over ten cities, some over five cities. Well, it means exactly that. Some saints will be given some cities to rule over the earth. When you think about one hundred and three nations on the earth and so many cities in all these nations. Some saints will be given cities to rule over. That will be part of their reward. To have a new name written will mean they will have new authority. A “name” speaks of “nature” [and] it speaks of authority. When we say, “In Jesus name”, we are not just repeating Jesus’ name. “In the name of Jesus means in the authority of Jesus Christ – who He is!” You see, some sons of Sciva decided to use that name on some demons. And the demons said, “Paul I know, and Jesus I know but who are you?” You see, you do not just use the name of Jesus as a password. You have to know the Lord. And then you have to walk in fellowship with Him. And, when you say, “in the name of Jesus”, the devil knows who you are in Christ when you take your stand for the Lord. But people who just want to use the name of Jesus as a kind of charm have a far way yet to go.
“A new name written.” I was thinking on this thought – a new name written. And, here is a scripture I want to give you and then we will be through. Exodus 23:20-21, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions” watch this, “for my name is in him.” Now, if we read that literally, people say, “Well, what is the name of God. You know, God has many names.” But, no one name can adequately describe who He is. The names are just handles to describe God and His attributes. But, when the Lord says, “My name is in this angel,” He means, “I have given him the power to perform
[End of recording.]
Peter Anthony van Breemen.
Email: PAVB2008@gmail.com
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