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The Restoration of
the Glory of the Lord

“I counsel you to buy of Me gold tried in the fire.” Revelation 3:18a

This “counsel” is given by Jesus to the Laodicean Church, who said that they were “rich and increased in goods” (Revelation 3:17). Their emphasis was on the external blessing and provision of the Lord, rather than upon their being changed “within.”

This “gold” that is to be refined in fire, is the “divine nature” of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is our lives purified - with all the dross and sediments removed in the “refiners fire” so that His life might be revealed through our lives – our being transparent in His presence, as a “sea of glass.”

“And before the throne there was a sea of glass like to crystal.” Revelation 4:6

Another purpose in our being “tried in the fire” is to prepare us to be a container of “His glory.”

“Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3

This “manifested glory” is the result of all of the dealings and struggles of life, along with the chastenings and scourgings that we experience, in order to be prepared for this revelation of “the glory of the Lord” through our lives.

Paul said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). The “goal” that Paul is pressing toward is his “placement” (level of attainment) in the kingdom. He understood that he had to be “made ready” for this - “That I may apprehend that for which I also am apprehended.”

“I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12b

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7

Jesus ascended in glory, and He is increasingly releasing and imparting that glory, in these last days.

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” II Corinthians 3:18

This “open face” is the result of the “veil” having been “rent” when Jesus died on the cross, so we can again enter into the manifest presence of the Lord. The reason why we behold “as in a glass” the glory of the Lord is that this “glass” acts as a “shield” which allows us to experience as much glory as we can handle. As our capacity increases, the level of glory that we experience will also increase.

The Apostle Paul was on his way to persecute the Church when the Lord suddenly appeared in such glory that he fell from his horse and was blinded. The manifestation of glory was so great, that he had to be prayed for to restore his sight. Much of what Paul said of his “pressing toward the mark” was that he never forgot the manifestation of glory that he experienced, and he contended to again experience this level of glory.

One of the many “facets” of the glory of the Lord is that it has an effect which is like our looking into a “mirror.” When the glory appears, we see the reflection of ourselves as we presently are, in contrast to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see how far we are from what we should be. We need to experience the glory, not because we have prayed enough or that we have done all the right things, but rather so we can truly repent.

There is an example of this “effect” of the manifest glory, and the repentance that resulted, in Isaiah chapter six.

“In the year that King Uzziah died, (when I came to the end of my dependence on the earthly) I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train (His glory) filled the temple.” Isaiah 6:1 (comments added)

Those of royalty wear robes that trail behind them. The Lord’s robe, the train of His garment, fills the temple. We are the temple, so this tells us that He is much closer to us than we realize. Heaven in not a distance, rather, it is a dimension into which we can enter.

“Above it stood the seraphim’s; each one had six wings.” Isaiah 6:2a

These “six wings” are three sets of wings, which reveal an overcoming life. With two, they cover their “face,” as Jesus is the head. With two, they cover their “feet,” as we are to walk in submission to His will. Now, we are ready to “fly” in a cooperative relationship with our Lord.

These “seraphim” are the overcomers in Revelation 3:20 who are with the Lord in His throne. “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne.”

“And one cried to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door, moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.” Isaiah 6:3-4

These “posts” of the door that moved, is the barrier (closed door) between the earthly and the heavenly. As worship flowed up to the Lord, these posts (hinges on the door) moved, and the house was filled with smoke - the glory of the Lord. In the functioning of the heavenly, and in the reflection of glory, Isaiah saw how short he was of the relationship with the Lord that was available to him, and he said,

“Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 6:5

True repentance will result in deliverance. An angel came with a “coal of fire,” and all that was unlike the Lord was purged, and his life purified. “Gold tried in the fire” comes through a repentance in the presence of the glory of the Lord.

Ezekiel 1:4 reveals the functioning of the glory in the last days.
“And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.”

“Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.” Ezekiel 1:9

This relates to the “seraphim” in Isaiah 6:2, and is a type of the functioning of the corporate Body of Christ in the end-time.

“Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with its four faces.” Ezekiel 1:15

The “four faces” speak of our coming into spiritual maturity. The “lion” speaks of authority, the “ox” or “calf” speaks of sacrifice and commitment, the “man” speaks of relationship and fellowship, and the “eagle,” spirituality.

The “wheel” is my life fully “submitted” to the Lord, and “moving” in harmony with Him.

“Come, My beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give you My loves.” Song 7:11-12

The wheel, and the will of God, are interchangeable, and speaks of the functioning, or moving in the purposes of God.

“The appearance of the wheels and their work was like to the color of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.” Ezekiel 1:16

We are living in the last days and the Lord is preparing a people – “Come My beloved, let us go forth.” This is the “wheel within the wheel” - my life merged into His life in order to become the expression of His life, which will greatly affect all mankind, and the nations. There are forerunners whom the Lord is preparing, who will greatly affect the world systems of our day.

The greatest visitation this world has ever seen is about to begin. There is a two-fold purpose – the out-calling of a people into an end-time cooperative relationship with the Lord, and the judgments on the nations, which will begin through the functioning of this “wheel within the wheel.”

This glory is a moving glory. Not only are we cleansed and purified in glory, (Isaiah 6:5), but we are being changed - “from glory to glory” (II Corinthians 3:18). This is the wheel within the wheel that will lead to the establishing of the government of God in the earth.