Summer 1976
The Glory of God

Bob Barkley
Visiting Ministry to Pinecrest

A recurring vision has been coming to my mind for a number of months. It is taken from Isaiah 44:3, “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.” It is a vision of a flood of the glory of the Lord.

The promise of the Lord is “as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the son of man be.” Many great things happened during the time of Noah, but the most important thing is that in that day there was a flood. There is coming another flood; this time it is a flood of the glory of God. The prophet Habakkuk said: “the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.”

The scripture teaches that there is more than one realm to live in before the Lord. It talks about growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, of beholding His face and being changed from glory to glory. That is the reason we have worship, because in worship we behold Him and in beholding Him we are changed.

The mount of transfiguration is meant to say something to us. Each time before it is recorded in the Gospels, He says: “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” He took Peter, James and John into an high mountain and was transfigured before them, and the glory of God shone round about them. They fell on their faces as they saw Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah about His death that was to take place at Jerusalem very shortly. Peter, being afraid, said: “let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Then suddenly they saw the Lord standing there alone. If it says anything to me it says this, you don’t have to die or go to heaven to see the glory of God. You can see it before you die. He said, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God come.

Under the Old Testament promises the Lord had said: “I the Lord thy God am a jealous God and I will not give my glory to another.” But He gave that glory to His only begotten Son because He is a part of Himself. But the Son didn’t keep it; He made some bequeathals. In John 17:22 Jesus said, “The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them.” This is part of your inheritance, “That they may be one, even as we are one.” This inheritance is meant to make you one with God’s people. You will never be one with God’s people because you belong to the “right” organization or denomination. The thing that makes you one is the glory of God. The brethren that succeeded in keeping and ministering the unity of the Spirit of God in the New Testament Church were those brethren to whom the glory of God appeared. It is written of those brethren that they seemed to be pillars of the church.

In 2 Peter chapter one, Peter is recounting what happened on the mount of transfiguration: “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” When did He receive glory? When there came a voice to Him from the excellent glory. God can speak to you from the glory. If you haven’t been hearing His voice, move on into the glory where you can hear from the Lord Himself.

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 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” (2 Corinthians 3: 17, 18). Do you feel the necessity for change; it there something in your heart you just cannot get along with any longer unless God changes it? You know how it gets changed?—by beholding Him. If you start to look at the thing that needs to be changed and dwell on it all the time, it won’t get any better. David didn’t say “come magnify your problems or your sins or your discouragements with me,” but “magnify the Lord.” That is the reason you study the Word because the Word changes you. The scripture says we are partakers of His divine nature through these great and precious promises.

Though you have accepted the Lord, been justified by faith, and baptized in the Holy Spirit, you may have seen the glory of God or you may not have. If you have not, prepare your hearts because you are going to see it. There is going to come a flood of it. This is the promise of the Lord. This is one flood you don’t have to fear, just ready your hearts for it and let it do its work as it comes.