And He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
And He answered and spake unto those that stood before Him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him He said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel.
And I said, Let them set a clean mitre upon his head. So they set a clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of the Lord stood by.
And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee a place of access among these that stand by.
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee; for they are men that are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth My Servant the Branch.
For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye invite every man his neighbour under his vine and under his fig tree.
We do thank the Lord for giving us this opportunity to be together. As I waited before the Lord, I felt that it may be of the Lord that we should fellowship this time on the matter of the recovery of priesthood and the recovery of kingship.
As you read the Bible, you find in Revelation 1:5-6:
Unto Him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by His blood;
and He made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto His God and Father;
to Him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Again, in Revelation 5:9-10, there is a new song:
Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof:
for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with Thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,
and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests;
and they reign upon the earth.
So, brothers and sisters, you find there that the redemption of our Lord Jesus is not only that He has washed us from our sins. Now, thank God for that. Our sins are all washed away and forgiven. It is great, and we thank God for that.
But this is only the negative side of redemption. Redemption has its positive side. After He has washed us from our sins and redeemed us, He has made us kings and priests unto God.
Oftentimes, we remember the negative side of the redemption of our Lord, but we tend to forget the positive side of His redemption. We thank God for our sins being forgiven, but somehow we neglect or do not understand that we who are redeemed by the precious blood have, at the same time, been made kings and priests unto God.
Of course, He has not made us kings of this earth, nor has He made us priests of a religious system. He has made us kings and priests unto God Himself.
If we understand what He has led us to—kings and priests unto God—I believe we will be amazed at His grace. Yes, He has made us priests unto God: to serve God, to worship God, and to bring pleasure to God. He has made us kings unto God: to rule for God, to bring His will, and to exercise His will upon this earth for His own glory and purpose. Now, is that not tremendous?
We have only a little glimpse of what it is to be priests unto God. In the Old Testament, you find the Levites and the Levitical priesthood, but we know that the Levitical priestly order is only a shadow. There is a reality to come, and here it has already come to His redeemed people today.
We know a little bit of kingship through the Old Testament, in those good kings in the nation of Israel, such as David and so forth. But again, these are only types. The antitype, the reality, is far exceedingly above all that we find in Old Testament kingship. So you find it is a tremendous thing that God has made us kings and priests unto Him.
In the Levitical priesthood, only one tribe of all the twelve tribes, and only one family in that tribe, was chosen to be priests to serve God. But today, we thank the Lord that every redeemed one of the Lord has been made a priest unto God. In other words, if you are the Lord’s, if you are redeemed by the precious blood, you are a priest unto God. You can serve God. You can satisfy God’s heart.
In the Old Testament, there were only a few kings. But today, we who are redeemed of the Lord—every one of us—have been made kings unto God, that we may do God’s will and serve His purpose.
So I do feel that it is of tremendous importance that we, as the redeemed, should understand what God has made us. We are priests and kings unto God. But are we functioning as kings and priests unto God? This becomes a very practical matter to us.
This morning, we would like to hear together on this matter of the recovery of the priesthood, and we will use Zechariah 3.
Zechariah lived at the time when God brought back a remnant of His people from Babylonian captivity. Because of their sins and their disregard for God, the nation of Judah was taken into Babylonian captivity.
But in God’s mercy, after seventy years of captivity, God promised to bring them back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, the house of God, that God might have a testimony on earth.
Unfortunately, only a remnant of those in captivity returned. Their spirits were stirred by God, and they were willing to travel back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, the house of God.
After they came back, they laid the foundation of the temple. But then they were oppressed on all sides by their enemies. Because of this, their hands were weakened, and the work of rebuilding the temple was stopped for about fourteen years.
After fourteen years, God raised up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai was an old man, and Zechariah was a young man. Through the prophesying of these two prophets, the people’s hearts were stirred again, and they resumed the rebuilding of the house of God.
In the rebuilding of God’s house, two things are very important: the recovery of the priesthood and the recovery of kingship. Even if the temple, the house of God, were rebuilt, if the priesthood was not recovered and kingship was not recovered, then the recovery would not be complete.
In Zechariah 3, we find the recovery of the priesthood. In the recovery of the house of God, God used two men in leadership: Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zerubbabel represents kingship, and Joshua, being the high priest, represents the priesthood.
Zechariah saw a vision in the night. God gave him a vision in which he saw Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord.
In the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord is actually the second Person of the Godhead. In other words, the angel of the Lord is the Lord Himself in the second Person. We know that the second Person of the Godhead is our Lord Jesus.
So the high priest Joshua was standing before the angel of the Lord. That is where priests have to be. To be a priest is to stand before the Lord.
This is the position of a priest. Oftentimes, we forget. We think that the position of the priest is to stand before man. But we must remember that to stand before man is secondary. Primarily, a priest is to stand before the Lord.
To stand before the Lord simply means to wait upon the Lord. You stand there. Why do you stand there? You stand there to wait before the Master, to wait for His order. You do not try to run here and there and do things on your own. You stand before the Lord, waiting upon the Lord patiently until the order is given; then you begin to do the service.
Now that is priesthood. As priests, we are to serve our God. But before you can serve Him, you have to know what His order is. Before you can serve Him, you have to know what His will is. In order to know His will, you have to wait upon Him; and to wait upon Him, you have to stand before Him.
Brothers and sisters, today we are so busy—not only busy in worldly ways, but even in so-called Christian work and so-called spiritual work. We are so busy. We are usually occupied with doing this thing for the Lord and that thing for the Lord.
So far as our heart intention goes, these things may be good. But if we merely occupy ourselves with activities, even so-called Christian activities, without waiting upon the Lord, we cannot stand before Him. We have to run; we cannot stay. We cannot wait until we know His mind and His will.
Then, brothers and sisters, all our service is in vain. We are serving ourselves; we are not serving Him. In order to be a priest, you find that a priest has a position, and his position is to stand—not idly, but actively; passively active before the Lord, waiting upon Him to know His mind. Then we are able to serve Him.
Here you find Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord. But unfortunately, there was another one standing by him. In the vision, Zechariah saw Satan, the adversary of God and man, standing at the right hand of Joshua the high priest.
Satan was not standing there idly. He was there for a purpose. We know that Satan is the accuser. As you find in Revelation 12, he is the accuser of the brethren. Satan, the adversary of God and man, was standing by Joshua, accusing Joshua before the angel of the Lord.
God is holy. God is righteous. Because He is holy and righteous, He cannot accept any service from people who are unholy and unrighteous.
Satan knows this. On the basis of God’s holiness and righteousness, he tried to accuse Joshua before the Lord. In other words, he was saying, “Look at Joshua. He is so unclean. He is so defiled. He is so unrighteous. He is not fit to be a priest, fit to serve God.”
Oftentimes, we know that Satan, as the accuser, will falsely accuse us before God. That is true. Often, he exaggerates. There may be some ground there, but he exaggerates. Yet unfortunately, he often does have some ground to accuse us before God.
Here Satan found a ground. Joshua was clothed with filthy garments. He was not fit to exercise or function as a priest before God.
Filthy garments in Scripture speak of our own righteousness. In Isaiah 64:6, it says:
For we are all become as one that is unclean,
and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment;
and we all do fade as a leaf;
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
In other words, filthy garments represent the righteousness of the flesh—our own righteousness. Sometimes we think that we are pretty good. We think that we have some righteousness before God.
Here Joshua was clothed with his own righteousness. He thought he was good enough to serve God. In the beginning of human history, Cain presented the best of his own produce on the altar. He thought that he had enough righteousness to be accepted by God, but he was completely denied.
Humanly speaking, we have this tendency. Even when we come before God, when we come to serve God, somehow we tend to rely upon our own righteousness. We feel, “Well, today I am pretty good; therefore, I can approach God. Today I have done something good; therefore, God will accept me.”
But, brothers and sisters, let us remember that our own righteousnesses are as filthy rags. They are filthy in the sight of God because God is holy. No matter how righteous we are, in His eyes they are evil and unrighteous. Not only are they filthy, but they are inadequate; they cannot cover our nakedness before God.
Unfortunately, that was the case with Joshua. Before man, Joshua was the high priest at that time, and probably men looked up to him, depending on him to bring them to God and bring God to them. But in spiritual reality, when you come into the spiritual realm, you find that this was not the case.
Joshua, who stood before the angel of the Lord, was clothed with filthy garments. He was unfit to serve. Satan was there accusing him before God, saying, “How dare you serve? How could You receive service from such a person?” He was there to destroy, frustrate, and hinder the work of the priesthood.
Did Joshua have anything to say? We find that Joshua was silent. When he was under accusation, he had nothing to say. Fortunately, he did not try, because no matter how he tried, Satan had a ground. What could he say?
But, dear brothers and sisters, we thank God that God Himself will speak for us. Here you find that the Lord said, “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan.”
In the spiritual realm, there is a divine order. So far as that order is concerned, the angels are of a higher order than men. You remember in Hebrews 2 that it says God made man a little lower than the angels.
God is a God of order. When He created, He created everything with order. Man is higher than the animals, and the angels are higher than men. Even among the angels, there is order.
Before Satan turned himself into the adversary of God, he was actually an archangel. If you read Ezekiel and Isaiah, you will find hints that probably Satan, before he fell, before he sinned, before he became the originator of sin, was the first angel created. He was an archangel.
When he was created, he was perfect. God endowed him with many talents and virtues and gave him great authority and power. But then pride came into his heart, and he rebelled against God’s authority and turned himself into Satan, the adversary of God.
Even Michael, another archangel, recognized this divine order. In Jude, when Michael contended with Satan over the body of Moses, even Michael did not say, “I rebuke you.” Instead, he said, “The Lord rebuke thee.”
Why? Because the Lord is the Creator. He is the Highest. He has the rank and authority to rebuke Satan. Brothers and sisters, we as human beings are lower than angels. The angels are more intelligent than we are, and Satan is far more powerful than we are. It would be foolish for us to try to rebuke him on our own.
Unfortunately, today there are Christians who have become so bold and presumptuous as to rebuke Satan themselves. They think that is good. But, brothers and sisters, that is a very dangerous thing, because God is a God of order. God is the only One who has authority to rebuke Satan. He is Satan’s Maker.
Joshua was silent. Fortunately, he was silent. He knew he could not do anything, but he looked up to the Lord. The Lord Himself rebuked Satan: “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan.”
“The Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee.” Here you find that God Himself rebuked Satan because Jerusalem was chosen by God.
In Scripture, there is the truth of divine election. This is one of the greatest truths in the Bible. Divine election is entirely according to God Himself and not according to man.
God does not choose because you are such and such. When God chooses, He chooses out of Himself. It is because of His will. It is His good pleasure. It pleases Him. God, being God, is pleased to choose us.
The Bible says that even before the foundation of the world, He has chosen us in Christ Jesus, that we may be holy and without blemish before Him in love. Think of that. Even before the foundation of the world, before the world was created, before there was time, and before you and I ever came into existence, God had already seen us and chosen us.
He chose us not because of what we are, nor because of what we have done, but because of His good pleasure. He chose each one of us even before the foundation of the world, and He chose us in Christ Jesus.
This divine election, this divine choice, is something that Satan cannot refute. If God has chosen us, what can Satan do?
In Romans 8, you find that whom God foreknew, He also called; whom He called, He also justified; and whom He justified, He also glorified. For this reason, the apostle Paul says at the end of Romans 8, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
If this is the will of God—that He has chosen us in Christ Jesus—then who can be against us? Not even ourselves, not even the world, and not even Satan. God has chosen us. Brothers and sisters, this is our foundation. We have a solid ground to stand upon, and that solid ground is God’s divine election. He has chosen us in Christ Jesus.
Thank God for that. Because He has chosen us, nothing can be against us. God’s will must be fulfilled.
Then God says to Satan, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Our God is a righteous God and a holy God. He cannot deny Himself. Because of the sins, iniquities, uncleanness, transgressions, and rebellion of the children of Israel, God judged them. The nation was destroyed, and the people were taken into captivity.
But mercy glorieth against judgment. God is a God of judgment, but He is also a God of mercy. Out of the fire, through His mercy, He plucked out a brand.
The children of Israel were in Babylonian captivity, but out of that fiery furnace of captivity, God plucked out a brand—the remnant—and brought them back to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of God.
So far as God’s righteousness and judgment are concerned, brothers and sisters, we deserve nothing but God’s judgment. But thank God, He has made us vessels of mercy. His mercy comes upon us, and He has plucked us out of the fire. We have been scorched, but we are not consumed.
Brothers and sisters, do you feel that way? We have been scorched. Every one of us bears scars. But thank God, we are not consumed. Why? Because of His mercy. Mercy has taken us out of judgment, and because we have become vessels of mercy, we are taken out of the accusation of the enemy.
Being plucked out of the fire is not merely that we may be preserved. We are taken out of the fire that we may fulfill God’s purpose—that we may be priests and kings unto God.
There was a man by the name of John Wesley, and I think probably most people know John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He often described himself by saying, “I am a brand plucked out of the fire.”
When he was a child, there was a fire in the house. Everyone got out, but he was sleeping in the back of the attic. When his father tried to count the children, John was missing. His father tried to go back, but the fire was so great that he could not. He could only pray.
Suddenly, he saw little John at the attic window. Finally, he was rescued. So Wesley often said that he was a brand plucked out of the fire. How greatly God used that brand, because he became a vessel of mercy.
Brothers and sisters, we are all vessels of mercy. As vessels of God’s mercy, what will mercy bring us to? He will make us kings and priests unto God in reality. It is not merely that we are saved out of the fire for a bare existence, but that we may fulfill God’s purpose in our lives.
Because of the rebuke of the Lord, Satan disappeared. He fled. Joshua alone was standing before the angel of the Lord. Then grace began to work, and the Lord said, “Take off from him the filthy garments, and put on the rich apparel.”
God has commanded that all filthy garments be taken away. It is like the prodigal son. When the prodigal son came back, he must have been clothed with filthy rags because he had been among the swine. With filthy garments, how could he sit at the table?
The father, out of his love, said, “Take off those filthy garments and put on the best robe.” Would it not have been foolish if the prodigal had said, “Well, I like these rags. I like these garments”?
Brothers and sisters, sometimes we are so foolish. We still try to keep on our filthy garments, thinking that our own righteousness is good enough. Unless we come to the point of seeing that there is nothing good in us—that is, in our flesh—there can be no recovery.
If there is anything good, anything acceptable to God, it has to be Christ. Anything that comes from our natural self, even natural goodness, is filthy rags in the sight of God.
When the Lord says, “Take off the filthy garments,” please respond and say, “Let them be taken away.” Do not try to hold onto your filthy rags. Confess before the Lord, “In me, that is, in my flesh, there is no good. I cannot serve You in this way.”
After the filthy garments are taken away, then put on the rich apparel. The rich apparel is actually the priestly garments.
If you read Exodus 28, you will find that before the priests served in the tabernacle, first they had to be washed. After they were washed, they were clothed with priestly garments. The high priest was clothed with such priestly garments—garments of beauty and of glory.
The priestly garments were made of the same material as the tabernacle. They were made basically of linen, white linen. White linen in Scripture represents righteousness, but divine righteousness.
The linen was interwoven with purple, scarlet, blue, and gold. These represent different virtues. Gold represents the nature of God. Blue represents the heavenly colour, the heavenliness. Purple represents royalty, and scarlet represents redemption. All these represent the various aspects of our Lord Jesus.
We are clothed with Christ. He is our righteousness. He is our holiness. God has made Him unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Brothers and sisters, we are clothed with Christ. It is a garment of beauty and glory.
Glory in Scripture always speaks of the life of God, resurrection life. That is glory. Death is shameful, but life is glory. Here you find the life of God, the life of our Lord Jesus in us.
Beauty represents virtues and character. The character and virtues of our Lord Jesus become our character and virtue through the gift of the Holy Spirit—love and so forth.
Unless we are clothed with that rich apparel, clothed with Christ, with His beauty, His character, and His life, we are not able to serve. A priest cannot serve without priestly garments. You cannot simply go to the temple in your ordinary garment. You have to put on the priestly garment. It sanctifies you.
After they were clothed, they were anointed. After they were anointed with oil, then they began to function in the tabernacle.
The Lord commanded the angels to do the work, because angels are ministering spirits. They minister to those who are redeemed of the Lord. But there is a very interesting point concerning the high priest’s garments.
The last thing ordinarily placed upon the high priest was a turban, or mitre. Upon that turban was a golden plate, called the holy crown, and on the plate was engraved, “Holiness unto the Lord.” It was placed on the head of the high priest. After that, he was able to bear the iniquity of the holy things.
But the prophet Zechariah cried out, “Let them set a clean mitre upon his head.” They put on the turban first and then put on the rich apparel. The order was reversed.
Ordinarily, the garment came first and then the turban—“Holiness unto the Lord,” completely separated. But here the turban was put on first. This came from the cry of the prophet.
It seems that the prophet was anxious to see the whole thing sanctified, that the priesthood might be fully recovered. The prophet there stood for the whole remnant. This was the heart of the remnant responding to the Lord: “Lord, we want to be covered.”
The turban is the head covering. “We want to be covered under the authority of the Lord, and we want to be set apart for God: holiness unto the Lord. We want to be that.” This was their response to the Lord.
After Joshua was clothed with the turban, “Holiness unto the Lord,” another thing happened. Before, Joshua stood before the angel of the Lord—that was his position—and Satan stood at his right hand to resist him.
But now Satan had disappeared. He was defeated and dismissed. Who was standing by Joshua now? The angel of the Lord stood by Joshua.
There is another change in the picture. When Joshua stood before the angel of the Lord, that was the position of the priesthood. But with the angel of the Lord standing by him, we find that the Lord was supporting him in his functioning as a priest.
Not only must the position be right; the functioning must be by the power and wisdom of the Lord, not by yourself. He stands by to support us, to give us the wisdom and power to function as priests unto God. Everything was prepared for Joshua. Now he was ready for service.
Then you find that the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua. It seems as if the Holy Spirit purposely used that word, protested. Why should that word be used?
Evidently, it was to remind Joshua of the past. He was a high priest, but he had not functioned as a high priest in spiritual reality. It was also to encourage him concerning the future. From now on, he should do it right. He should function as a high priest in spiritual reality.
So the angel of the Lord told him, “If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee a place to walk among these that stand by.”
Even after Joshua was clothed and ready to serve, he was reminded that in order to serve God as priesthood, he had to walk in all the ways of God.
Brothers and sisters, God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. If we want to serve God, we cannot serve Him by our thoughts. Oftentimes, we think, “This is the way it should be done, because this is best in our eyes.” But, brothers and sisters, not your way and not your thoughts. God’s thoughts are higher, and God’s ways are higher.
That is why we have to deny ourselves. We have to learn to deny our own thoughts. We have to forsake our own ways in order that we may have the mind of Christ and walk in His ways.
Not only must we walk in His ways, but we must keep His charge. The charge is His commandment; in sum, it is the trust. God has entrusted His testimony to us.
The children of Israel failed God’s trust. God put His name among them, but they disgraced that name. So now God says, “You have to keep My charge. I have committed Myself to you. I have committed My name to you. I have committed My testimony to you. Now keep it.”
Through the prosperity of your soul, be faithful to Me. Then you can judge the people; you can keep the courts. You are able to teach God’s people between the holy and the profane, to distinguish between the clean and the unclean, and to judge according to God’s judgment.
Only in such a way can we fulfill our function as priesthood. The functioning of the priesthood is twofold: Godward and manward.
First, Godward: we stand before Him to worship Him, to bring offerings and gifts to Him. In other words, we bring Christ back to Him to satisfy His heart. That is the Godward function.
Then there is the manward function: we bring God to man. We bring His judgment to man. We help men understand what is holy and what is profane, to distinguish between the clean and the unclean, so that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. That is the work of the priest.
Finally, the angel of the Lord says, “Joshua, you and your fellows who sit before you”—that is, your fellow priests—“are men that are a sign.” In other words, they are signs. They are signposts. They point to something.
One day God will bring forth the Branch. In the Old Testament, the Branch is another name for the Messiah, for Christ. One day God will bring Christ in.
When the Branch comes, that Branch is also the Stone: the cornerstone, the foundation stone. On that Stone are seven eyes, which speak of the sevenfold Spirit of God. There is engraving upon the Stone.
In other words, Christ was set up by God as King and Priest, as the Ruler of the whole earth. When that Branch comes, He will remove the iniquity of the land in one day. He will make every man sit under his vine and under his fig tree. In other words, He will bring true peace into this world.
Joshua and his fellow priests were only signs of that. Brothers and sisters, remember this: today we are a holy priesthood, and our function is to bring in the Branch. Our function is to bring in that Stone. Our function is to bring in Christ.
When Christ is brought in, there will be cleansing, and there will be peace upon this world. This is the recovery of the priesthood.
Brothers and sisters, are we functioning today as priests? In order to function as priests, remember: we have first been washed. Thank God, we are washed.
We have to take off our filthy garments. Are we still clothed with filthy rags? We have to put on the rich apparel, the priestly garments. Put on Christ. Do we have the turban upon our heads? Are we separated, holy unto the Lord? Do we walk in all the ways of God? Do we keep His charge?
If we are doing that, you will find that, on the one hand, we will bring praise, worship, glory, and satisfaction to God. On the other hand, we will present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
We are able to help our brothers and sisters and bring them into maturity, that they may be presented holy and without blemish before God. Then Christ will come back to take His bride, and there will be peace upon this earth.
So this is the recovery of priesthood. May the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do want to praise and thank Thee that, even though in ourselves there is no good and we are unfit for anything, especially in the things of God, we do praise and thank Thee that even before the foundation of the world Thou hast chosen us in Christ Jesus.
Thou hast made us vessels of mercy, and Thy grace is upon us. It is grace upon grace that we have received. Thou wilt make us what Thou dost want us to be.
Lord, we offer ourselves to Thee as a living sacrifice. We want to be what Thou dost want us to be. We want to be priests unto Thee. We want to bring pleasure to Thyself.
We want to help brothers and sisters, that they may be presented perfect unto Thee. We want to bring in Christ upon this earth. We want to see peace reign upon this world.
Lord, we pray that we may be faithful in functioning as priests unto God. It is all of Thy mercy and grace. We ask in the precious name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.