Fire of Revival

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Throne of God

Let us meditate on the 10th chapter of the prophetic book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel looked at the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, and saw something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. He thus sees a vision of the Lord. He did not see the Person of the Lord but something like a sapphire stone which has the appearance of the likeness of a throne. In other words, he saw nothing but the throne of the Lord. Let us also, through our prophetic eyes, see the high and bright throne of our Lord looking like a sapphire stone, in these last days, when the Devil and the world are casting their rays on the children of the kingdom. Ezekiel saw only the throne of the Lord and not the Lord on the throne. It is not the image of the Lord but His throne that matters here. Let us not make any image of the Lord in any manner. His throne is very important to us because it is highly lifted up above all the kingdoms of this world and even the unseen kingdom of the Devil. Let us behold the throne of the Lord today. Then, Ezekiel heard the voice of the Lord telling the man clothed with linen, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city”. The man now goes in. Are you that man clothed with linen and not wearing any royal apparel or any costly clothes? Here is a simple and humble man of God who is also holy. If you are simple and humble, devoid of pride, and are holy, the Lord will speak to you.

Coals of fire

"Go in among the wheels" means fellowship with the saints of God by intercessory prayer for them and by sharing the revelations from the Word with them. "Fire from among the cherubim" means fellowship with God by worship and praise and by obeying His Word. Dear child of God, you should not be a loner but should be in fellowship with the saints of God, irrespective of the denominational affiliations of their churches. You will get the fire of God from such fellowship. You should be a member of the universal body of Christ. Let there be a gathering of the children of God with oneness of mind under the banner of His Cross. You should have fellowship with those saints of God who manifest His glory as the cherub. The cherub manifests the glory of God. The glory of the Lord went up from the cherub (Vs.4). For the coals of fire, you have to go in among the wheels, and fill your hands with it.

The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings (Vs.8). The cherub and the wheel have become inseparable as one body so as to cause the “the coals of fire”. A minister ought to be filled with the Holy Spirit and His fire always so that his hands can bring down the stronghold of the enemy. Dear child of God, you would get the coals of fire only from the wheel under the cherub.

Glory of God

The glory of the Lord which went up from the cherub paused over the threshold of the temple, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s glory. The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks (Vs.4-5) The Church has to be filled with the glory of the Lord. The glory of man has to be replaced with the glory of God in our churches, which is a pre-requisite to revivals in our churches. If God has to fill our churches, the man has to go. Unless our pastors, evangelists and leaders humble themselves before God, and exalt only the Lord in their ministries, the churches cannot be revived. The Church has an outer court which is seen by a large number of the people of this world who are not saved by the blood of the sacrificial Lamb. When our churches are revived, the people in the outer court will hear the voice of the Almighty God.

The man immediately obeys the Lord’s commandment by going in and standing beside the wheels. Are you now willing to obey His commandment as you read this message?

Four wheels

This passage of Ezekiel speaks about the wheels which are four in number. Wheels spiritually mean the ministers of God, now under the New Testament. There are five types of ministers under the New Testament, viz, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. (I Cor.12:27-28). We are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Eph.19-22). If you have fellowship only with the pastor of your church or a limited group of people of your church, its does not mean fellowship with the New Testament ministers. A cart or a chariot moves smoothly on its four wheels. Similarly, the Holy Spirit moves smoothly on these four wheels. In other words, the words “four wheels” mean complete and full fellowship with the five types of the New Testament ministers.

A wheel

All four looked alike, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel (Vs.10). The four wheels are called the “wheel” (Vs.13). This shows the unity of these New Testament ministers representing the wheels.

A Beryl Stone

The wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone. A beryl stone is a highly valued precious stone. “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation…..”(Is.28:16). This stone refers to our Lord. The ministers of God should have the qualities of our Lord, the Precious Stone.

Four faces

Each wheel had four faces – the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle (Vs.14). A minister should have four faces – worshipping God in holiness like a cherub, suffering like a man, manifesting the power of God like a lion, and flying as high like an eagle, being renewed with new strength.

Wheels following the cherub

The wheels follow the cherub. They do not function independently, and are completely dependent on the cherub. They went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction, the head was facing. When the cherubim lifted their wings, mounted up from the earth and went out, the wheels were beside them, and they stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. If the ministers of God follow the Holy Spirit, the glory of God would fill their churches or ministries, paving the way for revivals. (Vs.11, 17 & 19).

Eyes

The cherub and the wheel have become as one body, and they were full of eyes all around (Vs.12). This means that these ministers of God filled with the power and fire of the Holy Spirit have the spiritual eyes to scan the entire life of any human being. They are full of eyes only. Their back, hands, wings and the wheels were full of eyes all around. They have the prophetic eyes to foresee the future of every human being and of the whole world. Their eyes are sharper and more powerful than those of the Devil or his anti-christ.

Four wings

They had four faces, and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings (Vs.21). A minister has not only four faces, but also four wings. He has two wings of his own and the other two wings are of God. They can spiritually fly to any height in the kingdom of the Devil and fight his forces face to face. “They each went straightforward” (Vs.22). They go straightforward like a bulldozer, demolishing the structures built by the Devil or his anti-christ in every nation. These ministers with their hands full of the coals of fire would go straightforward towards the goal of world evangelism and world revival. No power on this earth can hinder them from going towards this goal.

Unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God

Let us now turn to the 4th chapter of the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, and meditate on verses 11-16 regarding the five fold ministry. In order to become a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, all of us have to come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. These days, we hardly find the unity of the faith amongst the children of God who are “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting”. The children of God, though saved by His grace, lack in the knowledge of the Son of God. To attain these twin objectives, we need fellowship with these five types of ministers appointed by God to the body of Christ. These ministers equip us for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. We need “four wheels”, to bring us to the unity of the faith and to reveal Christ Jesus in His entirety to us.

Scattering the coals of fire over the city

After filling your hands with the coals of fire from amongst the wheels, you have to scatter them over the city. We have to take the coals of fire to every church in the world and to spread the fire of revival throughout the world. A child of God with his hands filled with the coals of fire that he received by way of fellowship through the five fold ministry is thus equipped to spread the revival fire.

(Job Anbalagan)