Fall 1996
Our High Calling
Wade E Taylor

"And hath made us kings and priests unto God
and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen" Rev 1:6.

"And they sung a new song saying, Thou ... hast
redeemed us ... and hast made us unto our God
kings and priests, and we shall reign on the
earth" Rev 5:9.

We are called to become kings and priests. There is a time indicated in Scripture when those who have rightly responded to this calling will be lifted into their intended purpose.

"And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that
fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do
cures to day and to morrow, and the third
day I shall be perfected" Luke 13:32.

There is a parallelism to this in the Lord's dealings with Israel. After they had been led out of Egypt, the Lord revealed His intent to them, as they camped at Mount Sinai.

"And now if you will obey My voice indeed,
and keep My covenant, then you shall be
a peculiar treasure to Me above all the
nations; for all the earth is Mine. And
you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation" Exodus 19:5-6a NKJ.

Israel at first favorably responded,

"All that the LORD hath spoken, we will
do. And Moses returned the words of the
people unto the LORD" Exodus 19:8b.

They also obeyed the word of the Lord in preparation for His visitation.

"And the LORD said to Moses, Go to the
people and sanctify them to day and
tomorrow, and let them wash their
clothes. And be ready for the third
day. For the third day the LORD will
come down in the sight of all the
people upon Mount Sinai ... and they
washed their clothes" Exodus 19:10-11,14b NKJ.

However, when they saw the presence of the Almighty upon the mountain and realized what it meant to come into His presence, they backed away from His presence in visitation.

"And it happened on the third day in the
morning, that there were thunders and
lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the
mountain. And the voice of the trumpet
was exceedingly loud, so that all the
people in the camp trembled."

"And Moses brought the people out of the
camp to meet with God; and they stood
at the lower part of the mountain. And
Mount Sinai was smoking, all of it,
because the LORD came down upon it in
fire. And the smoke of it went up like
the smoke of a furnace, and the whole
mountain quaked greatly" Exodus 19:16-19a NKJ.

"And all the people saw the thunderings,
and the lightnings, and the noise of the
trumpet, and the mountain smoking. And
when the people saw, they trembled, and
stood afar off."

"And they said to Moses, you speak with
us, and we will hear. But let not God
speak with us, lest we die" Exodus 20:18-19 NKJ.

From the time of their rejection of His manifest presence, until the time when Jesus will again appear, there has not been a corporate, operational kingdom of priests. But there will be, as this is a part of the Parousia, which will take place when Jesus comes to presence Himself with those who are His own, before He returns to appear to the world.

At this present time, the Lord is making available to us "manifestations" of His presence, in preparation for that greater visitation of His presence in which He will move in a demonstration of power and glory. But some are rejecting His present moving.

Therefore, it is very important that we consider the manifestation of His power and glory to Israel, and the fact that they quaked and shook in the presence of this visitation. If we draw back as Israel did, then the Lord will also withdraw, and wait for another generation.

"To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
Amen. Behold, He cometh with clouds" Rev 1:6b-7a.

The Lord is preparing a body of overcomers who will appear with Him in that day. It is important that we respond to the present level of His manifest presence, so we will be ready for that day in which we will appear with Him.