Revelation Four—The Lamb On Mount Zion

Revelation  Four

The  Lamb  On  Mount  Zion

Martin Cecil   December 9, 1956

There are multitudes of human beings in the world who are stirring out of that which has hitherto been a state of sleep. There are many who are in the process of beginning to open their eyes to that which is evident in the world to those who are already awake. As they stir and awaken they come into position to share in a new vision, to share in an understanding of those things which have for so long been hidden from the children of men. That vision and understanding can come to those who are ready to receive it, as it is correctly offered. Human beings have, at various points along the way, stirred in their slumbers and glimpsed, as in a dream, some of those things which the LORD offers freely, but because there was no adequate instrument of control on earth, no means of maintaining proper centering for those who were beginning to stir, that which was seen became distorted and changed, and those involved deviated into tangent patterns of various kinds. No matter what was felt or touched of the things of God, very shortly thereafter the initial impulse became distorted and was, insofar as any really constructive results were concerned, lost. It is only as there is on earth some means of holding that centering true, and of bringing human beings back when they start to deviate and to go off on tangents, that there can be offered to the awakening ones that which will prove to be a true blessing, that which will make possible the emergence out of tragedy into the blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Insofar as the world as a whole is concerned, tragedy can hardly be avoided. We see it coming. We see it at the door. But out of tragedy it is always possible to bring forth a true blessing, provided that there is on earth that which offers the opportunity. Man has been stumbling along the way for a long time multiplying tragedy, and the LORD, over and over again, has made possible the emergence of the true blessings of the Kingdom out of the tragedies which human beings have brought upon their own heads. As we look back along the way we have been able to see something of the careful manner in which the LORD works out these opportunities by which blessing might come into a world that has so long been cursed—cursed not by God but by human beings. Because we see the great care that has been taken to offer these opportunities to the children of men it may bring a sense of greater assurance to us today. How carefully the pattern was worked out for the Children of Israel, and even though that failed and did not accomplish what was intended, the starting point was provided for another opportunity. The mills of the gods grind slowly but they grind exceeding fine. The way of the LORD is certain. It is certainly true that human beings cannot frustrate it indefinitely. We may be thankful, together with all human beings on earth, that the LORD is full of mercy, longsuffering, and unwilling that any should perish.

As we come to the realization that the ways of the LORD are sure, let us not be deluded into imagining that that gives us license to remain passive, or to indulge in spirits of lethargy. It is really very hard for any alert human being today to be lethargic. The very circumstances in the world are compelling human beings into some sort of action. Unfortunately they do not always know what the action is going to be; they do not know what the control is going to be. If we are going to be forced into action, let us be very sure that we have accepted the proper control in relationship to that action, so that the action that appears is not destructive. As we see that the ways of the LORD are sure, we recognize the truth of this because we accept the responsibility of letting them be made sure on earth. The ways of the LORD are very sure in Heaven. There is no doubt there. But the manifestation on earth has always been an uncertain thing, not because the ways of the LORD were not sure, but because the reactions of human beings were unsure.

The purposes of God will find fulfilment one way or another, but our concern is that the ways of the LORD should be proven sure to the children of men. If the children of men are obliterated from the face of the earth, then they certainly will not know that the ways of the LORD are sure, even though they are proven so thereafter. We are anxious that all those things which have been done by the LORD might be proven worthwhile, so that the fulfilment may come in relationship to living human beings on the earth, but as we accept responsibility in this matter we know that the ways of the LORD shall be proven sure on earth. We cannot tell as to how many shall share in that recognition of proof, but the proof will be there.

It is essential that those who are going to let the proof appear should no longer be governed in any way, in relationship to any aspect of being, by the controls that have been extended into the world, over all the children of men, by that which is symbolized by the great red dragon. We have seen how the patterns of control operate through that which is indicated by the beast which came up out of the sea and the beast which came up out of the earth. There must be those who are in position to meet the issue because there are no control points operating in them from the adversary. Theoretically we have known this for a long time, but we reach a point when it must be the actual manifest fact. If it is not now, and in the days to come, then hitherto we have been wasting our time, and for myself I am not interested in proving that we have wasted our time. I am sure that you are not interested in that either. We are here to prove that we have made good use of our time and that we are ready to acknowledge the control of our KING in the absolute sense. We cannot longer hold out areas of reservation if our lives are not to go for nothing. It has tended to be, in times past, that we have looked toward a point somewhere along the way where finally we would accept and acknowledge the absolute supremacy of the LORD our God in relationship to our lives, completely and wholly. When should that point appear? From my standpoint it has appeared—it is here. We are not looking for something in the future; we are looking for that which must appear now.

Moving forward from the passages in the Book of Revelation which we have been considering, we come to the next chapter, in which we find an outline of that about which I have just been speaking: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion.” What is the Mount Zion? We have many passages in the Bible in which the symbol of a mount is used. This is the same place to which Abraham came with his son, Isaac, on the occasion when he willingly offered his only son to the LORD. That mountain was the same as this mountain, and that which Abraham did is the same as is required in relationship to the Lamb on Mount Zion. There was the mount into which Moses ascended to receive the commandments at the hand of the LORD, and coming into the New Testament, there was the mount to which our Master came frequently apart and upon which He was transfigured.

Mount Zion, the high point in relationship to the earth, which makes contact with Heaven, the point at which union between Heaven and earth are established—the point at which man should be, for man makes possible the union of Heaven and earth with respect to this creation. If man does not stand on Mount Zion, then the connecting link which would allow Heavenly things to manifest on earth is missing. And while the Lamb stands on Mount Zion, unless there is some means by which the Lamb can work on earth it means nothing insofar as this world is concerned. The Lamb does stand on Mount Zion, in any case, the point at which the blending of Heaven and earth may take place. God has provided that which is essential insofar as the Heavenly realms are concerned. It is there, standing on Mount Zion—but Mount Zion, insofar as the manifest levels of being are concerned here in the world, has been an empty place. There has been nobody there, or it has merely been that, on rare occasions, certain ones have come to stand on Mount Zion.

There is mention made of a hundred forty and four thousand who were standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb. What is the Lamb? Specific terms give particular emphasis to certain aspects of that thing, but basically they all mean the same thing: the Only Begotten Son of God, the Christ, the Shekinah, the Lamb, the fulness of the Spirit of God. When we utilize the term Christ we may recognize that there is specific emphasis placed upon the Spirit of Love but it includes the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Life also. None of these terms refer to an individual, although an individual may give specific focalization in relationship to them. The Lamb gives emphasis to the Spirit of Truth, although the Spirit of Love and the Spirit of Life are included. The Shekinah is characterized more particularly by the Cloud of Glory. That is what is most apparent from the standpoint of mankind and therefore the emphasis is placed upon the Spirit of Life, but included are the Spirit of Love and the Spirit of Truth. Whatever term is used, it actually refers to the same thing—the Only Begotten Son of God, the positive expression of God Being proceeding from God, the means by which God's Will is done, the positive action of the Divine Will appears. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2016/10/from-functional-uranda-june-9-1953-i.html]

The Lamb stands on Mount Zion. This places particular emphasis upon the Spirit of Truth. The essential ministry that is required in the world is the Ministry of the Spirit of Truth. That does not eliminate the Spirit of Love and the Spirit of Life. They are all present. But here is that which is coming from God in positive expression, ready and waiting at the point of contact between the Positive Triune World and the Negative Triune World, and unless something comes up out of the Negative Triune World to that point it has precious little meaning to mankind. That which needs to come up is here symbolized by the hundred and forty-four thousand. This has reference to a specific number of human beings. That many are required to allow the manifestation of an instrument that is adequately complete for the accomplishment of the Divine purposes on earth. Therefore the number itself symbolizes that which is complete, that which is sufficient to allow the manifestation of God's Power in the fulfilment of His Will at any particular point. That completeness must appear all the way through if the actual number of a hundred and forty-four thousand is to be available to God for the fulfilment of His purposes somewhere along the way. It is not as though there could be a sudden manifestation, just like that, of a hundred and forty-four thousand people prepared and ready to go to work. The completeness must have appeared in relationship to fewer numbers if that larger number in completeness is ever to appear. You can recognize, then, in relationship to your own field of responsibility that the hundred and forty-four thousand relates to you because there is a proper pattern of completeness with respect to that for which you are responsible now. Of course, the particular field of completeness which is yours is a part of a greater field of completeness with respect to our Ministry as a Whole.

The Lamb stands upon Mount Zion. The Divine provision is there. All that is essential to the Ministry of the Spirit of Truth on earth is provided by the LORD and is waiting for that adequate form of completeness to appear now. The Lamb is not just waiting for a hundred and forty-four thousand people, although that is part of the outworking at the proper time, but there must be that in an adequate expression of completeness at this point if that greater point of fulfilment is ever to be reached. So the hundred and forty-four thousand are you and all those who share in this Ministry at this present time, not the hundred and forty-four thousand people yet, but that which is symbolized thereby, a pattern of completeness at this point. What is complete at this point will not be complete in relationship to that which should appear next week, or next month, or anywhere along the way when that time becomes the present.

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand”—with Him. Are you with the Lamb? You may recall our Master's words, “He that is not with me is against me.” Are we with the Lamb on Mount Zion at this blending point? That is where we must be if we are to play our part in relationship to the unfolding cycle by which the manifestation of the instrument of a hundred and forty-four thousand people may ever appear. “With him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.” Who is your Father? What name is written in your forehead? This relates to the control point with respect to the individual. We remember that the beast had a number written in the foreheads of those who were controlled by him—and here we have the Father's Name, the control of the Father, through the Lamb. “Having his Father's name written in their foreheads.”

“And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps”—a voice, a sound, a vibration, as of many waters. The voice of many waters is used as a symbol in many places in the Bible. They were all talking about the same thing and they were all utilizing similar symbols, but it is not a repetition. On each occasion it was something fresh and new, the Word of the LORD through the particular individual concerned. The sound of many waters—the Water of Truth. In this particular passage we have an indication of the characteristics of the Lamb. And what is put first? The sound of many waters, the expression of the Spirit of Truth. The Ministry of the Spirit of Truth is that which is required, that which is dominant—so it is put first.

“And as the voice of a great thunder.” That gives the impression of power, does it not? Thunder is the result of lightning. “The lightning shineth out of the east even unto the west”—the Fire which falls from Heaven, the Spirit of God's Love, the Power of God. “The voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps”—the Song of Life. How many patterns there are in the physical body of man through which the currents of life manifest! What tremendous variety there is!—very, very intricate, very, very, wonderful—and all of them are required, blended together and balanced, if the manifestation of life and true health is to appear through the human form. What a wonderful symbol of the currents of life is pictured through the harpers harping upon their harps, something blended in unison, something which brings sweet music. That is the way life should be, not only in the individual body but in the body of mankind, a blended and wonderful thing, a true Song of Life. Here are the characteristics of the Lamb.

“And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the eiders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.” Why could no one else learn the song? Because it can only be sung by those who are on Mount Zion, those who are at the point of union between Heaven and earth, those in whom the Spirit of the Lamb is finding expression, those who have been redeemed from the earth, lifted up, restored, brought back, re-created, to be true Men and Women in Christ.

“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.” Here we have that which has caused a very great deal of misunderstanding, for, in fact, those who are symbolized by the hundred and forty-four thousand, are both male and female. This is talking about being defiled. How do human beings defile themselves? We were considering something in this regard in relationship to the Seven Spirits Before the Throne of God, and their opposites. The Spirit of Purification is one of the Seven Spirits Before the Throne of God, and the spirit defilement was the opposite. We saw how that related to the impure heart—uncontrolled emotions. Human beings committing adultery with that which is properly below them, in the sense of becoming subject to it and blending with it on that basis, defile themselves. They become negative to that which should be negative to them, and consequently there is defilement. And how do they do it? Through the wrong use of their emotions. We are to be virgin in that sense, so that we are centered in the LORD and in the Lamb, and refuse to blend, or to have union, with anything that is properly below us.

“These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.” Of course, where human beings imagine that this refers to some individual—Jesus, for instance—the picture is ridiculous, but when we recognize what the Lamb is, naturally we follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. For when the Spirit of God is allowed to control, then our lives are governed thereby.

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