SONS OF ZADOK
  
  By Doug Fortune
  info@DougFortune.org

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither... And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven... and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald... And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne... And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal...” (Revelation 4:1-2, 5-6) The Throne of God... Light and sound...

I can remember it like it was yesterday. A good friend had battled terminal cancer. Days before he stepped over to join that great cloud of witnesses, Rick was caught up to the Throne of God and then allowed to return to tell of his experience. This is some of what he shared: “His Throne is so vast. The Throne of God is not like a king’s throne as we may think. It is ALIVE, churning, rolling as a great thunder storm moves across the prairie. Above the Throne were wheels of lights, turning, turning, thousands of them... The Lord showed me a trumpet. When you play this instrument, not only music comes out, but colors and words! It is the Word of God and it is ALIVE!”

Within days after Rick’s ascending into the realm of glory, I experienced something that I know has had a deep and profound effect on my life. It happened during a meeting one night and I don’t remember if anyone had laid hands on me or not, all I remember is falling out under the power of the Holy Spirit. As I lay there on the floor, I was transported to the heavenly Throne of God... there was Rick, arrayed in a fine robe, a turban wrapped about his head, playing the trumpet over me. As he played, there were words flowing out of the trumpet and into my being. Somehow I sensed that the words flowing into me were words of my destiny, an impartation enabling me to release revelation OF and revelation FROM the Throne. Releasing revelation from the Throne... as a ministry, that seems to be what Christ has called us to. There is nothing I enjoy more than helping people to understand and live in the reality of who they are in Christ. Deep within me there is an echo of the cry of Paul, “I travail in birth again until Christ be formed IN YOU.” (Galatians 4:19) Hold those thoughts, as we’ll come back to them.

For now, let us consider some subjects often associated with the Throne of God: the temple or spiritual house of God, the priesthood, and the sacrifices. “YE also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5) Now then, we know that “...the priesthood being CHANGED, there is made of necessity a CHANGE also OF THE LAW.” (Hebrews 7:12) Yes, the priesthood has changed, the temple has changed, the law has changed, therefore the sacrifices have changed. The priesthood has changed, in that WE are called to be priests after the order of Melchizedek. The temple has changed, in that WE are called His temple. The law has changed, therefore the sacrifices have changed- they are now spiritual sacrifices!

Let’s look at this subject of sacrifice for a moment. “Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a BODY hast Thou prepared me... Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said He, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second. (Hebrews 10:5,8-9) Most assume that this is speaking of the physical body of Jesus, and I believe that too, but I believe it is speaking of more than just His physical body while he was on earth. Also, some questions come to mind: in this verse exactly what is the ‘first’ that He taketh away?... sacrifice and offering. And exactly what is the ‘second’ that He is establishing?... the BODY! And WHERE exactly is He establishing this body? Well Hebrews 10:5 started out by saying, “Wherefore when He cometh into the world”- yes, it is the WORLD where He is establishing His BODY, and that is US!

According to these verses, obviously sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin are not acceptable to the Father. So exactly WHAT offering IS acceptable, since according to 1 Peter 2:5 we are called to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God? “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all... For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:10,14) You see, the ONLY sacrifice acceptable to the Father is Christ! So when 1 Peter 2:5 says we are called to offer up spiritual sacrifices, the ONLY thing we can offer is CHRIST! Remember, “He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second.” (Hebrews 10:9) And the place He is establishing this acceptable sacrifice of Christ is in His BODY, and that is US! In saying ‘The ONLY thing we can offer is Christ’, am I promoting the Catholic doctrine of perpetual sacrifice?... certainly NOT! The Scripture is clear when it says, “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE for all...” The spiritual sacrifices of the Melchizedek priesthood do not pertain to sin.

You see, the acceptable spiritual sacrifices that we are to offer is the REVEALation of the deposit of Christ within us. My friend Clarice Fluitt says that the only thing that really pleases God is Himself. So our spiritual sacrifice is to give back to Him the Life of Christ that is being revealed IN us. I will say that again to make sure we are getting it- our spiritual sacrifice is to give back to Him the Life of Christ that is being revealed IN us.

Now then, let us remember for a moment the phenomenon of resonance we spoke of earlier, which is what allows an opera singer to break a wine glass with their voice. The singer must first tap the glass to find its natural frequency of vibration, and then sing the same note (frequency) back. This joining of the natural frequency of the glass and the frequency of the voice causes an increase in the amplitude of the vibrations, that can result in a vibrational impact that shatters the glass. It is obvious that resonance can have a major impact in the natural sense, but I also believe this is true in the spiritual sense. This is really what the Melchizedek priesthood is called to do, to RESONATE the REVEALation of Christ within us. Just like the glass, first we must find that our “natural frequency” is the nature of Christ within us. Then, via our lifestyle and our spoken declaration, we resonate the nature of Christ back to the Father. We can see this principle symbolized in the sons of Zadok. Remember, we are priests after the order of Melchi- Zadok; Melchi is ‘king’ in Hebrew, Zadok is ‘righteous’ in Hebrew.

“But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok... shall come near to Me to minister unto Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God: They shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table, to minister unto Me, and they shall keep My charge.” (Ezekiel 44:15-16) In the Melchizedek priesthood, it’s ALL about HIM! Being near Him, ministering unto Him, being at His table, keeping His charge. There is NO preoccupation with dealing with sin, as in the old priesthood, the old mentality... it’s not about US anymore, it’s about resonating the nature of Christ. This sounds a lot like Mark 3:14 to me, “And He ordained twelve, that they should BE WITH HIM...” The powerful ministry of the twelve was not a result of training and credentials, it was the result of BEING WITH HIM! We enter into His SANCTUARY, His secret place, His inner chamber, to recline at His table... “if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)

The verses in Ezekiel go on to say, “...they shall be clothed with linen garments; and NO WOOL shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth SWEAT.” (Ezekiel 44:17-18) Wool was the garment of the common man, and caused one to sweat as he worked. As we said, Zadok means ‘righteous’ in Hebrew and in the Scripture, linen is symbolic of righteousness. How fascinating that the sons of Zadok were to have their ‘heads’, symbolic of mentality and authority, based in righteousness. It is equally fascinating that they were to have linen breeches upon their loins. The loins speak of our reproducing sons and daughters who are ‘righteousness-conscious’, rather than the ‘sin-conscious’ mentality of the old order. Sons of Zadok are those who have entered into the Seventh Day of RESTing in the finished work of Christ, no more ‘sweating’ under fear-based, works-oriented religious bondage.

“And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.” (Ezekiel 44:19) Yes, we are called to minister unto Him in linen, but we are also called to ‘put on other garments’ as we go to the outer court to the people. I believe that this is where so many of our attempts at outreach ministry have failed. We become so enthralled with our religious-looking garments (Christianized lingo, Christianized sin-conscious attitudes, Christianized dress-code, etc.) that the world doesn’t think we’re ‘real’. Yes, we ARE kings and priests in the earth, but we are to live an approachable life of servanthood, kindness and mercy before those in the world.

“Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.” (Ezekiel 44:20) The head speaks of our mentality, and shaving the head speaks of a self-debasing false humility for all to see. This is the most dangerous form of pride, as we pat ourselves on the back because we are sooooo humble! Allowing the locks to grow long speaks of a high-minded mentality that is so ‘deep’ with ‘heavy revys’ that no one can relate to you. This also is a dangerous form of pride. We are to keep a level head!

“And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.” (Ezekiel 44:23) The Literal Bible translates it as “between the holy and the COMMON...” I believe this has to do with dividing between the common life that originates from the soul (mind, will, emotions), and the Life that originates from the Spirit. We must bring people out of that soulish existence that’s all about ME, my needs, my problems, my feelings, my will, my mansion in the sky, etc.

“And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves.” (Ezekiel 44:25) Adam is dead, the Adamic nature HAS been dealt with on the cross. (Romans 6:6) We do not involve ourselves in spiritual necromancy by trying to heal the wounded soul of man, that which the Father says to reckon as dead. Rather, we are to be helping people to renew their minds to the mind, will, and emotions of Christ... so that we think HIS thoughts, desire HIS will, feel HIS feelings.

“And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I AM their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I AM their possession.” (Ezekiel 44:28) To the natural mind this would seem unfair- no inheritance or possession in Israel. It almost sounds like a vow of poverty or something. Quite the contrary though... “They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and EVERY dedicated THING in Israel shall be THEIRS. And the first of ALL the firstfruits of ALL things, and every oblation of ALL, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.” (Ezekiel 44:29- 30) This is indeed a paradox to the carnal understanding. Yet this is the true prosperity that the Father desires for us. You see, sometimes possessions can ‘possess’ us. We can become entangled in ‘our stuff’ when it is OURS. However, true prosperity is when HE is our possession, because He is “possessor of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19) And if the Possessor of heaven and earth is our possession, then all that He possesses is available for us as He desires. This is because our focus is upon Him, being near Him, ministering unto Him, being at His table, keeping His charge... it’s ALL about HIM!

By now you probably think that I’ve forgotten about our subject- resonating the Throne of God. I haven’t. That’s really what all this is about- resonating His Throne, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. Offering back to Him the Life of Christ that is being revealed IN us... Offering back to Him the Light and Voice (sound) of Christ that is being revealed IN and through us.

You see, His Throne is expressed in Light and Sound...
“Now it came to pass... that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God... 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 colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures... As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning... And when they went, I heard the noise (voice) of their wings, like the noise (voice) of great waters, as the voice of the almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise (voice) of an host... And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads... And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne... And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow (rainbow) that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” (Ezekiel 1:1, 4-5, 13-14, 24-26, 27-28)

Light and Sound...
Hebrews 1:3 in the Amplified Bible says of Christ, “He is the sole expression of the glory of God- the LIGHT-BEING, the out-raying of the divine- and He is the perfect imprint and very image of God’s nature...” Hebrews 2:10 goes on to tell us that He is “bringing many sons unto glory”. Yes, He is bringing many sons to manifest the glory of God, which is the nature, the character of God. And 2 Peter 1:4 assures us, “Whereby are given unto US exceeding great and precious promises: that by these YE might be partakers of the DIVINE NATURE...”

As sons of Zadok, priests after the order of Melchizedek, WE are to resonate the Light of the Throne of God. WE are to be Light-Beings, the out-raying of the divine nature of Christ IN us. “For God who said, Let Light shine out of darkness has shone in OUR hearts so as to BEAM FORTH the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. However, WE possess this precious treasure, the divine Light of the Gospel in frail human vessels of earth...” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 Amplified Bible). Because Ezekiel 44:28 tells us “I AM their possession.”, we can know that we possess the treasure of the very Light of the Throne of God, the glory of Christ within us, and THAT is what must beam forth and resonate into this world.

Light and Sound...
The word translated as ‘noise’ in those verses in Ezekiel chapter one we just read is qowl in Hebrew, it means to call aloud, a VOICE, a sound. As we discussed earlier, everything is ‘speaking’... with molecular activity, everything in the world is ‘vibrating’ or sending out frequencies of some sort. Revelation 1:10 and 15 speaks of a Sound, a Voice; “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great VOICE, as of a TRUMPET... and His VOICE as the sound of many waters.” All of creation is making a Sound, “For we know that the whole creation GROANETH and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves GROAN within ourselves...” (Romans 8:22-23) Do you hear the Sound?... If so, join your voice with that Sound, allow the groan within you to come forth and resonate the groan from the Throne. It is the VOICE, the Sound, that brings forth LIGHT, for it was the VOICE that called forth light in Genesis, that the purposes of God for the earth be made manifest. That same VOICE resonates through all creation as “the whole creation GROANETH”. And what exactly is that VOICE crying out for?... the revealing of the sons of God, the sons of Zadok! Deep is CALLING to deep, resonating the Voice as the sound of many waters.

It is the VOICE of many waters, resonating the Sound of heaven, that brings forth LIGHT. It was the VOICE that brought forth Light in Genesis, and it is the VOICE of many waters that brings forth Light to resonate the Throne of God in the earth. “And the seventh angel SOUNDED; and there were great VOICES in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)