The Glory of God
by Roy Roden
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It
is said that the earliest rays of sunlight in |
The Revelation
of His Glory
It was glorious, profound and yet indescribable. It dawned on me
that through this prophetic experience, I was watching the glory of God not
only rise upon this nation, but the church in all nations! There is a sunrise of God’s glory coming to
all nations. The prophetic significance
of this sunrise is that the coming move of God is not just an event or a
visitation of God with the Holy Spirit being poured out in an unprecedented
measure, but the rising of God’s glory upon His people!
“For the Lord God is a Sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and
glory: no good thing will be withheld from them who walk uprightly” (Ps.
84:11).
For more than a decade,
much has been prophetically declared about the coming move of God. Some call it
a revival, others a renewal and some refer to it as an outpouring of His Holy
Spirit and still others the “Great Awakening.” The coming outpouring will be
all of these and much, much more. What is coming is not an advent, but a person,
the Lord Jesus Christ. It will be the result of the brightness of God’s glory
rising upon the church that will bring healing, revival, renewal and
restoration that will ultimately usher in a great harvest. Jesus is the power
of God and the revelation of His glory. All the movements and outpourings
prophesied will be the result of God’s glory, the revelation of the Son of God
- Jesus Christ, to the church.
Jesus – the Pathway to God’s
glory
Along with the
The knowledge of the
glory of God is revealed as we look into the face of Jesus. Jesus said that He
and the Father are one. (John 10:30) Would you like to personally experience
the glory of God? Look into the face of Jesus, in doing so the true knowledge
of the glory of God will be revealed to you.
The testimony of every Christian should be an ever increasing light for
the world to see. The church is about to experience the glory of God in Christ
that will purify her as well as to enable her to see more clearly to walk in
the light that will increasingly define her purpose and destiny. The reality of
Christians walking in the light of God will enable the church to move forward
with power, courage and boldness to fulfill her last day mandate –which is to
reveal the glory of God. The ultimate purpose and destiny of the church is to
abide in the presence of God that reveals His glory. Christ is coming to reveal
His glory in the midst of His people “For
I, the Lord will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory
in the midst of her” (Zech. 2:5).
The Spirit of Wisdom and
Revelation
To facilitate the knowledge of the Son of God, the Father of
glory is going to increase in great measure the ministry of the Spirit of
Wisdom and Revelation to the church.
This was the prayer of the apostle Paul, that is for the Father of glory
to give unto the church the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation. Why? So their
hearts would have the understanding of the true knowledge of Him. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the
breath and wind of God that is going to blow upon believer’s lives that will
bring new life to them by revelation, not only to reveal Christ to them but to
experience His love, power and glory.
That the Father of God our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in
the knowledge of Him. That the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened;
that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and to know the riches of
the glory of His inheritance in the saints. And to know the exceeding greatness
of His power to us who believe… (Eph. 1:17-19).
When we speak of
revelation, we are not referring to information or knowledge about God, as
knowledge appeals to the intellect of the mind and puffs up. Giving knowledge
about God and the wisdom of men does not have the power to transform lives, but
anointed prophetic revelation opens the portals of heaven with life given
messages. The revelation of the Spirit
is given by the Holy Spirit and they have His life. Jesus said His Words are
Spirit and they are life. The Spirit of God is about to bring life to the
church by anointed revelation that will enlighten the hearts of believers in
the true knowledge of Him. They will not only see Him but experience Him and be
changed by Him.
Anointed revelation has
the power to transforms lives as the truth is revealed to believer by the
Spirit of truth concerning who Christ is and who He is in His people “as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph 4:21). It is His truth which sets men free. When Christ is revealed to the church with
the revelation of the hope of His calling and the riches of His glory that is
to be revealed in them and His power through them, they will be transformed
into the same image and likeness. True
revelation not only has the power for cleansing, but the power of impartation
of the divine nature of God. As we behold we are changed into the same image by
the Spirit of the living God “But we all
with open face behold 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” (1 Cor.
3:18).
Increasing Waves
Once the Sun became
visible on the horizon, it began to rise quickly. I could feel His presence
radiating from the Sun which came in waves. Like ocean waves that roll to
shore, waves of God’s glory washed over me in a steady flow. As the Sun rose
higher in the sky, the brightness of His glory increased and the waves of His
presence radiating from His glory became stronger. This spoke to me that the
glory of God will not only be released in increasing waves but with increasing
strength. I believe these waves
represent different movements that are coming.
The coming move of God
has been portrayed as an outpouring of His Spirit that suddenly comes to all of
His people. It is expected that this will come like a mighty rushing wind as on
the day of Pentecost, or like the Pentecostal Movement that began in 1903 on
As the glory of God
rises upon His people, His people will rise and shine with increasing glory.
Like the rising tide of the ocean, the outpouring of each new wave will cause
the spiritual climate of the church to increase until the fullness of the tide
of His presence is ushered in! With each
new wave, His Spirit will release to the church His wisdom and understanding,
council and might, kingdom truth and authority, supernatural faith and miracles
with signs and wonders.
It will be the
revelation of the glory of God in Christ that will become a movement that will
sweep across the earth until it affects every believer in every nation. This
will increase in waves until the knowledge of the glory of God completely fills
the earth “For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Ha.
A Tabernacle for the Sun
The coming waves of
outpourings will prepare the church to become a holy habitation for the Spirit
of the living God. Revival is Christ. Renewal is Christ. Restoration is Christ.
The heart of God is not just for the church to look for a particular event or
move that is coming, but to seek the rising of His Son Jesus for it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” As we rise in Him, He will rise in us. As He
rise in us, we will rise and shine with His glory for “In them has He set a tabernacle for the Sun” (Ps. 19:4).
This is going to be the
glorious reality for the church. As she experiences increasing light from God,
the walk of daily believers will be filled with the revelation of His glory
that will manifest the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place “But thanks be to God who always leads us to
triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of
Him in every place (2 Cor. 2:14).
The sweet aroma of the
knowledge of His glory will be revealed through His people in every place. The knowledge of His glory will not be confined to
a church service or a church building, but will be revealed through His people,
the true church. This will take place in the marketplace, business sector,
workplace, parks and malls. The church of the future, like the church recorded
in the book of Acts, will manifest the sweet aroma of the knowledge of His
glory everywhere, especially in the home of believers. Home fellowships are
going to arise that will become a major source of life and light for many.
The Main Thing
The purpose for each
outpouring and work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the glory of God in the
midst of His people for God lives in His people. This is the New Testament
Covenant, “For you are the temple of the
living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will
be their God, and they shall be my people” (2
We must keep in
perspective while embracing the work of God that the main reason for each
outpouring is to reveal the glory of God in the midst of His people, especially
through a restored Church, for all things were created by Him and for Him. As I
once heard a minister say, “We must keep the main thing the main thing.” The
main thing is Jesus and our close walk with Him. Through it all we must keep
our eyes on Jesus and remain in His grace. Humility is the key for God gives
grace the humble.
Days of Preparation
As the Sun rose higher
in the sky, the waves of God’s glory didn’t just come upon me, they went into
me. I not only physically felt His glory but I absorbed His glory that filled
me with His living presence. Each wave had a cleansing effect in my soul that
not only left me feeling refreshed, but every area that God cleansed was
replaced with His glory. I was being transformed from the inside out by the
very glory I was beholding! The coming movements of God will not only reveal
His glory to the church, but there will be a corresponding cleansing work of
the Spirit that will take place in His church.
Obviously, we would not
be able to handle the fullness of His outpouring all at once, which is why it
is coming to the church in waves. Being changed into God’s image and likeness
is a process that takes place by the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives
over time. The glory of God is not only His majestic beauty and eternal
splendor, but His divine nature. His divine nature includes His righteousness
and holiness. If we wish to have the glory of God manifested in our lives, then
we must also have His divine nature for “Out
of
This is the main reason for the tremendous purging and pruning
that in now taking place in believer’s lives, which is to prepare them to shine
as bearers of His glory. The glory of God is not only seen by His visible
countenance, but through His divine nature that is to be revealed through His
people. It will be those who have His divine nature that will be trusted by the
Lord to carry His glory forward with integrity because of their maturity. The more of God’s divine nature we have in
our lives, the more of His glory will be revealed through our lives. It is
those who have His divine nature that will have the testimony of His glorious
light that grows brighter every day.
Now is the Time
We have entered the
dawning of a new area and the Son of God is rising. The glory of God is the unfolding of the
revelation of Jesus Christ. To
facilitate this, there is an increase in the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
coming to the church that will reveal Christ to the Church. The wind of the
Spirit is coming and
Arise and Shine, for your light has 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 (Is 60: 2).
We are entering the times when darkness is
covering the earth and gross darkness the people of the earth. As darkness
increases so will the glory of the Lord rise upon those who are prepared, even
appearing upon them “…But the Lord shall
arise upon you and His glory seen upon you
In
our Father's love
Roy Roden
This article was written for the prophetic
bulletin called “The Maine Watch.” To subscribe to the