The Seven Covenants

Before we begin this study I would ask you to read Revelation chapter 4, and mark in your Bibles, verse 3. “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald”. I want you to note particularly the word rainbow.

This book of Revelation has a very helpful and important message for the end days and there is a special blessing promised for reading this book: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Rev, 1:3). “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of this book”’ (Rev. 22:7). These verses show us that the message of this book is intended to prepare us for the second appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is why there is an extra blessing promised to those who read and keep the sayings of this book.

By the signs which we can see everywhere we are in the end days. In 2 Timothy 3:1-13 are given signs of the end days. Count them yourself, and you will find thirty signs of the last days recorded in this chapter: ““THIS know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers. disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, Incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. traitors,» heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience. Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” Here you have thirty signs recorded so clearly. You go to any country you will find these signs being fulfilled. For this reason you will find much help by reading slowly and prayerfully the book of Revelation. There is no need to be troubled about certain of the details. Only go through the book slowly and prayerfully verse by verse, and you will find much help and illumination. In due course the Lord will show the deeper meaning of the details.

I have found it very helpful to divide the book into seven parts, for thereby we have seven glimpses of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The more we see His glory, and the more we remember His greatness, the more power we have in our lives. In fact, the power of God coming into our hives depends upon this revelation of Christ but even so, we do not fully know Him. He is so great and so mighty, so wonderful, so precious, and so beautiful that it would take us eternity really to know Him.

Many years ago I went to see the Niagara Falls in Canada. There were five of us in the party, and we had travelled many miles to see the Falls. After we had watched for two hours, my friends said to me: “ We are returning now”, but I said: “I have been hearing so much about these Falls, and they are supposed to be one of the Seven Wonders of the world. I would like to see something more of them.” They answered: “It is after afl only a sheet of water, and now we have seen it; let us go back.” I replied, “No; I am sure there is something more to it.” So they all went back, but I stayed on for a few more days. I visited the fills before sunrise, after sunset, and then on a moon light night I walked up and down. Every time I saw something new; some new fascination, some new charm, some new wonder. Having looked at it for only a short time my friends could not see anything special. In the same way it requires time to meditate upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Word before we even begin to see how great He is. It is one thing to sing, ‘* How Great Thou Art”; and even to sing it with great joy, but do you really know from the heart how great He is? If I realize how great He is, I would spend time in His presence, looking only at tis face, to see His glory and beauty. People who like flowers go miles and miles to pluck them and enjoy their beauty. Those who want to enjoy the mountains will climb the highest mountain peak and go through much suffering only to see the beauty of the mountain. The Lord Jesus Christ is far more glorious than the Himalaya mountains and He is worthy of all the time you can give to Him.

As we saw above, in the book of the Revelation we are given seven glimpses of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first chapter we see Him as our everlasting, eternal, unchanging High Priest. We could spend one month on this chapter alone, and go through every detail, His hair, His eyes, His mouth, His hands, His feet, His garments, and His girdle. Then we shall only begin to know and understand His greatness.

In the second and third chapters of Revelation we have the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ as He is revealed by working in His Church, who are His people upon the earth. How quietly and in His own way He continues to defeat the devil, not by worldly weapons, wisdom, or cleverness, but by His love and grace and power. As He said: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” That point is so clearly evident in the second and third chapters of Revelation. We have the whole of Church history recorded in these two chapters, in seven messages which can each be divided into seven parts. In other words we have forty-nine messages in the second and third chapters alone, where the glory and majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ are revealed to His people.

Even though we may be foolish and illiterate, by coming to Christ we become mighty. We have seen the Lord Jesus working thus in India. People who are illiterate, who cannot read, when they are born again become men of God. They can teach you the Word of God, they can pray for hours together, they have shining faces, they rejoice in every situation; they thank God for everything and they know how to worship Him. Thus the Lord defeats the devil through vessels that men count unworthy. When men become His partners and co-workers and obey Him, He can defeat the devil,

Now in chapters four and five we have a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ in His heavenly Church, of which we shall be a part when we go to heaven, because we have seen Him and been with Him, and have been His active partners here and now.

Then from chapter six to chapter nineteen we have the glory of the judgments of the Lord Jesus Christ. Upon the earth we may be very foolish, but the day is coming when we shall be His partners in judgment, as the Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 6:3, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?’

Then in chapter twenty, in the first part we have the glory of the Millennial reign over the earth, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back upon the earth to reign after judging His enemies, and we become His true kings and priests upon the earth.

Then in the last part of the same chapter, we have the glory of the great white throne judgment after the Millennium when He will cast death and hell into the Lake of Fire. Then the devil also finally is cast into the Lake of Fire,

In chapters 21 and 22 we have the glory of the new creation, when we see God’s true glory as the Lord says in 21:5, “Behold, I make all things new.” Similarly in verse 23: “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it.... the Lamb is the light thereof.”

If you thus divide this book of Revelation into seven parts, you will find it a simple study. You take the first chapter, then the second and the third, then the fourth and the fifth chapters, then from six to chapter nineteen, then chapter 20, first part and second part, and finally chapters 21 and 22. Thus, going on step by step, you will find the study very helpful.

But here I am concerned with a tiny fragment of chapter 4. verse 1: “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 I hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.” The Lord Jesus gave a glimpse of heaven to John the Apostle, saying: “Come up.” It is not an earthly scene. “Now John’, He says in effect, “don’t look at the earth.” At that time John was very discouraged, We read in God’s Word how there had risen a great persecution against the believers, and many believers like Demas had forsaken the Lord and gone back.

Many were in prison, many were scattered and many were killed. That is why John the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos, was feeling very sad, downcast and discouraged. All of us have had similar experiences. Things happen in our lives which we cannot explain, and hence we feel discouraged. “I wonder, Lord, what next?” we think. When we see the Devil so active we forget that God’s Word tells us clearly that the Devil will come against us as a roaring lion. It is a warning. He will also come against us like a ravening wolf. What a warning! Also, he may come like an angel. Another warning! Or he may come like a flood. He always comes like a roaring lion, or a wolf, or like an angel, or a flood. We must be careful, but we must not worry about it. As long as we know the Lord is working, we are safe. But John got downcast and discouraged, so the Lord said: “John, come up now, and let Me show you what kind of Church I am building. I am not after buildings on this earth.”

God is never after crowds. We men are very happy when we see a big crowd. That is our nature, But the Lord Jesus Christ never went after multitudes - they came after Him! They came, and they went away!

They were not happy with Him for too long. John 6:2 says “And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.” Further, John 6:56, “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh, my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” Now from verse 60, “Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it 7?’ A hard saying! When men are given a real message it is a hard saying. Our Lord told His hearers eight times from verses 51 to 58 how they could live forever. You would think they would have been so happy. The Lord said to them, “Now you come to Me. You eat Me, you drink Me and you will live forever. You will never die.” But what happened? They got angry. It was such a hard saying they got offended and went away. In verse 66 we read, “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” Do you think our Lord would go and apologize? “Please come back”. They went away, and He let them go.

Our Lord was never after multitudes. He wants only those who want to Hive forever, whether they be few or many. So here our Lord was saying: “John, don’t look at the persecution; don’t look at the downfall of the believers, I have my own way of helping them. Iam building My Church: come up and see in heaven how the work goes on and what kind of “Church I want.” Rev. 4:2. “And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne!” The Lord was saying: “John, do you want to know Me more? Learn to be in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit.” (Gal:5:25) “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Many people only talk about the Spirit, but they do not live in the Spirit. It is one thing to keep on boasting about the Spirit. The question is, do you walk in the Spirit? God’s Word says so clearly in Rom 8:14: “For as many as ure Jed by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

If anyone claims to have the fulness of the Holy Ghost they have got to prove that they are able to find God’s will at every step, and in every detail great or small. In God's Word we find that the whole life of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was full of the Holy Spirit, was lived in doing God’s will. John 4:34: “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish His work”. John 5:30; “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which hath sent me”. Again John 6:38: ‘For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me”. John 7:17; “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.” That is my test of the fulness of the Spirit of God. His will! His will! You find the same in the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ in Gethsemane. Matthew 26:39: “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” It is only by knowing and doing God’s perfect will even in the smallest thing which proves that we live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. We are given the filling of the Holy Spirit to be led by Him and to walk in God’s perfect path. In Rev. 4:2 John said: “I was in the Spirit”. Through the Spirit he saw clearly things that were in heaven. Our whole life has to be controlled by the Holy Spirit! Through the Spirit he saw clearly things that were in heaven. Our whole life has to be controlled by the Holy Spirit in all things, not only in tongue, bet also in practice, and also in the smallest thing, if we wish to prove how, when, and where we have found God’s will,

What happened when John arrived in heaven? The answer is in Rev. 4:2, “And, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” That is the first thing he saw. Our Lord was saying: “John, I am not after people merely to forgive their sins, I want them to be my kings,” as we saw in Rev. 1:6, “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen,”

But why both kings and priests? And who are the priests? In the Old Testament the priests had a double privilege. Only the priest could go behind the veil, hear the voice of God, and bring God’s message to the people. What they received from God they had to share with the people. That was their ministry as priests. Now every believer is a priest, and thank God we have the privilege of going to God at any Ume, any where, with any need, and call upon Him, hear His voice, and receive His message. You can say by faith, “ Lord, give me a message for my mother who is not well. Give me a message for my friend who is discouraged. Lord, give a message for so and so who is in darkness, in wrong teaching.” Day by Day we can go to Him and receive His message for people in different situations. There are so many who do not understand this privilege. God tells us we are kings also and that was why John the Apostle was seeing a throne. He was wonderstruck! God was saying: “John, My people have to suffer upon the earth”. John was wondering why persecution, affliction, and suffering, why hardship, why this and that. The Lord’s answer was to reveal His throne! You cannot be a king without proper preparation. All our suffering upon the earth, whatever it may be, of persecution, affliction, sickness and sorrow are the means of preparing us for the kings.

I remember a story of Queen Victoria, When she was a small girl. she did not know that one day she would be the Queen of England. They told all the nurses, “Now don’t tell this child: don’t spoil her childhood days; don’t tell her that she is going to be the queen.” She was very fond of playing with dolls. One day looking at a family album she found out that she was the next heir to the throne of England. She questioned the nurse: “Is it true? Am I going to be the queen?” They kept quiet for i while, but in the end they had to tell her. “Yes. it is quite true, one day you will be the queen.” From that day there was no more playing with dolls. “ I will be the queen,” she said, “ Lam not going to waste my time any more with these silly things”. And she became a good queen.

You have got to be prepared for kingship. I believe my Lord has called me to be a heavenly king. I will not be careless any more. I will let Him train me as He knows best, for His ways are not our ways, and He has a great purpose for my life.

Now see how David became a king. Read Psalm 18:5 and you will find the secret of becoming a king after God’s own heart. David went through every hardship in eight years. In Psalm 18:5 he says: “ The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.” And in verse 6: “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.” Again in verse 16: “ He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters”, And verse 17: “ He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me”. Verse 18: “They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.” Verse 19: “He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me”, Before David actually became a king, God had chosen him- 1 Samuel 16, but it was only after eight years of suffering, afflictions, and hardship of the worst kind, that he became a good king; yes, after eight years of trial!

You cannot be # heavenly king without suffering, so when Join saw the throne, he could say: “Now Lord, I know why these people at Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamos are suffering: it is because, we are heavenly kings.” The ford Jesus Christ did not come down just to forgive our sins, and allow us to occupy some corner in heaven somewhere. The Lord has a very high purpose in saving us. Otherwise why should He pay such a high price! Just think of what a high price He paid! In Hebrews 1 verses 2 and 3 we read: “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Wha being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The stars and planets were created by the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ - by only His Word. He just spoke and it was so. He said: “Come on, sun,” and the sun came. “Come along moon,” and the moon came into being. All the worlds were made by His word, and they are also being upheld by His word alone, He is the One Who says, “You stay here, you stay there! And you stay there!” They cannot go beyond that command. And here is the mystery. To create the whole universe of worlds only His word was needed. but to save you and me, what a price! He had to leave the heavenly throne and come down and become a babe. and bring upon Himself all limitations: He became hungry and weary and thirsty. He was limited tor thirty years. Then He gave His whole body to be broken. His hands and feet were pierced; every limb was loosened: His face was spat upon: His hair was plucked; His back was scourged and His blood was shed, What a price! To my mind the price He paid to redeem us was far greater than all the power Tic had manifested in the creation of the whole universe. Scripture bears this out.

Now if He paid such a high price to save us, do you think Hig had no purpose in saving us? When any person spends much time on a certain object, it is because he has a purpose in doing so, The Lord Jesus Christ wants us to be the kings, His partners, co-workers, and His bride. and for this He paid a very high price. Please turn again to Rev. 4:3. "And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” I can imagine how wonderstruck John must have been, and how he must have said: “Lord, it is so wonderful that one day we shall be enthroned as kings; but Lord, tell me how it is possible; tell me now how we men who are so foolish and so weak can ever dream of rising to such greatness.” Then he saw the rainbow. imagine a throne, in the middle, a lovely, heavenly throne and a great rainbow round about the throne. What a rainbow! Turn to Gen. 9211-16. “And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall ali flesh be cut Off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God sold, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you. and every diving creature that is with you. for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall came to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh: and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh, And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” That is the meaning of the rainbow. It is the sign of the covenant that God made in the days of Noah,

Now you all know there are seven colours in a rainbow. First, violet, second indigo, third blue, then green, yellow, orange and red, You will find the same order everytime: it begins with violet and ends with red. When you go to Scotland or any North country you will see the whole circle of the rainbow. A full rainbow, not only a half circle of the rainbow. in heaven was the throne surrounded by a beautiful rainbow of these seven colours, and that was the first thing that John saw. John was saying, “Lord, how shall we ever rise so high? Yes, Lord, I do understand. You are so loving and merciful. You can forgive sins. I believe that. I don’t find any difficulty in believing it, for You are so gracious and merciful. But how can You lift me so high? Iam so foolish and weak. How can I ever believe I shall be a king?” You tell a beggar in the street: “One day you will be a king.” how can he believe you? John was saying, “Lord, how can I be a king?” but the Lord's answer was, “John, look at my rainbow. It is not because of you, it is because of My covenant”, “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God. which keepeth covenant..... to a thousand generations” (Deut. 7:9).

He is the covenant-keeping God. What He has said He will do, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thess, 5:24). Now we say in theory, “Yes, God can do it. God can do everything,” but in practice we do not act as though we believe it.

There was once a min walking upon a light rope between bamboo poles. This is a very common sight in India especially in the north. One day there was a very big crowd gathered to see this man walking on the rope. He even took a man upon his shoulder and walked upon the rope. A small bay was looking at the man. “This is wonderful!” the boy said. “How can he walk upon a rope carrying a man on his shoulders?” The man came down and called the boy. “Do you believe that can do it?” “Yes, I believe you can do it.” “Very well, come along, I will carry you.” “I am afraid,” the boy said, “I won’t come.” The boy had said the man could do it, but he himself would not go; he was afraid.

In the same way I may say while preaching, that God is a mighty God, but in practice I do not show that I believe what I preach. God was saying: “John, look at My rainbow. It is not because of you, it is because of My covenant, that I will lift you so high; - up to My throne,” and that is why God says, “I will do My job provided My people will believe My Word.” The Lord said again and again: “Go, thy faith hath made thee whole.” “Be it unto thee according to your faith.” We must believe what God says, for what He says is only true.

Even as there are seven colours, there are seven covenants which God has made with mankind. What are those seven covenants, by whose help we are being raised higher and higher till we reach God’s throne itself? The day will come when we shall reign as heavenly kings with the King of kings, because of His covenants,

The first covenant made by God is found in Gen. 3:15 > “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise hts heel.” God promised that He would bring forth a Saviour through the woman, and that is why the Lord Jesus Christ came as the woman's seed and yet also the Son of God, because that which was conceived in her was of the Holy Ghost. The Devil sought to bruise the heel of the Lord Jesus by making people shout: “Crucify Him.” As they were shouting at the cross, they were mocking and making fun of Him, and in this way the Devil was bruising the heel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the very same heel has crushed the Devil as we find in Romans 16:20. “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly,” We do not defeat the Devil by miracles. We do not defeat him by signs, or by dreams. We do not defeat him by fasting and long prayers. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself never defeated the Devil by miracles or by signs or by sermons. It is only when He said: “It is finished” and died. that He defeated the Devil. Mohammedans, for example, believe in all the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in even more miracles than we do. They also believe in the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His second coming. They believe that He suffered, but they say that He never died. They leave out one portion— His death. But the Lord Jesus Christ had to die, and He died according to the Scriptures. He was buried according to the Scriptures, He rose again according to the Scriptures. He defeated the Devil by death. As He died, He took away our sin and condemnation, for only thus could He defeat death. Only in the same way can we also defeat the Devil, and never by mere Bible knowledge. We may keep on saying: “Devil, don’t trouble me, I know my Bible,” and the Devil will answer: “7 know more than you do.” We cannot defeat the Devil by Bible knowledge or by long prayers, but by the cross I am able to defeat him. I say, “Now, Devil, do not come near me for my Lord has defeated you at the cross, He died in my stead. He was buried to bury my sins. He rose again to live in me. By that faith we defeat the Devil and not by our good works nor by our own efforts or struggles. Many Christians live a life of defeat because they are trying to conquer Satan either by Bible knowledge or by some experience. God's victory I in the Cross (I Cor. 1:18). “For the preaching of the cross is, to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is he power of God.” The Lord Jesus Christ by His bruised heel has crushed Satan, and I take that victory for myself, by faith. That is His covenant. The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world for my sake, He died for my sake, and now I appropriate His victory every day to conquer all my sins and temptations, for it is by that we defeat the Devil and are ourselves prepared for His throne—life. The power of resurrection coming in, fills me for this purpose.

The second covenant is mentioned in Gen. 9:15: “And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” God said that there would be more sin than ever before in the world, so none can say that we are in any way better than men in the days of Noah. Sin has indeed increased throughout the world today, but because of God's covenant, He will not destroy the world with a flood. He will show grace to sinners and to that end He is waiting patiently. We grieve Him, wound Him, rebel against Him, and reject Him, yet He is so patient. He comes to us again and again saying: “My son, give me thine heart! My son. give me thine heart!” He goes on striving with us, and when we humble ourselves and confess our sins He forgives us because of His second covenant. Even though we deserve the flood. because we are so ungodly, so rebellious, and so filthy, because of His grace we can call upon Him at any Ume saying: “Lord, I have sinned against Thee, i have grieved Thee, kindly forgive me.” As we read in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Efe is always willing to forgive us even though on sins deserve great punishment, for He bore the flood upon Himself: He took upon Himself our judgment and condemnation.

The third covenant was made with Abraham in Genesis 12:2.3. “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great: and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in dee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” The same covenant is confirmed in Genesis 17:5—7: “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham: for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.”

That is God's covenant with Abraham, and if we really believe God as Abraham did, we will also be given the same power. God kept Abraham waiting for 25 years. He became old and his wife became old. They both lost every hope of having a child. Then God put a new power in their bodies and they received the promised child. Rom. 4:19-22 tells us, “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old. neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God: And being fully persuaded, that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” That is how Abraham became righteous. At the age of 99 Abraham still believed, “Yes, God is able; even though I am old and my wife also is old, and humanly speaking there is no hope of having a child, yet God is able.” By that faith Abraham became righteous, because he knew God must put new life into his body and also into the body of his wife.

It is the same with you and me. We can claim by faith the power of resurrection. We do not become righteous by our efforts. The Lord Himself is my righteousness. By that same faith every day I can claim the power of resurrection for all my trials and temptations. Whatever the temptation, trial, tribulation, or hardship I can say by faith: “Lord Jesus Christ, You have conquered death for me. Now will You please pour into me resurrection power, for alf my trials and troubles?” and He surely gives it. Paul said in Phil. 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.” He did not say: “Lord, let me go once more to the third heaven.” He did not say, “I want to see more miracles and signs”, He said: “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection,” and that is the third covenant. By faith we must claim the power of His resurrection for all our trials, temptations and tribulations, and thus become more than conquerors,

The fourth covenant which was made with Moses, is found in Deuteronomy 18:15. It reads thus: “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.”” God spoke with Moses face to face, and Moses began to give God's message to other people. The Lord Jesus Christ is my heavenly Moses, He comes into me and through Him I hear God’s voice daily. I can go to Him and say, “Lord Jesus Christ, will You please reveal to me the will of Your Father, and show me Your heavenly plan?” Thus we can receive through Him all that we require for our daily instruction, guidance and help, because He is the living Prophet Who can give me all that is necessary for our need, vocation, and calling.

God's fifth covenant was with David in 2 Samuel 7:12—13, “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.” God promised to build a heavenly house through David's seed, and not by David himself. God gave David the pattern for the temple in 1 Chron,28:19: “Alt this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.” Just as God gave David the pattern of the temple to be built by Solomon, so from the Lord Jesus Christ we have received the heavenly pattern of the heavenly Church. We are not called by God to build a society or fellowship or a congregation or a sect, but to build the heavenly Church under the Headship of the Lord Jesus Christ, a Church which can contain God’s fulness for ever. By receiving God's heavenly plan day by day under His Headship and Kingship we become part of His heavenly house.

The sixth covenant was with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in Psalm 2:7-9: “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” God made a covenant with His Son that He would give Him all the nations for His inheritance. When you go to preach the Gospel, claim this promise, The devil has usurped the Lord’s portion, but go out by faith, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ, this is Your inheritance, These people belong to You. You died for them,” and by faith claim the inheritance on the ground that the Lord paid the price and died for them. He is the One Who ought to have them, and not the devil. With that faith we go out, giving the Gospel to all nations.

When you know a building belongs to you, you will not let it go, but will go on fighting for possession, saying: “This is my land, my building, my property, and I must have it.” In the same way we as co-workers claim our Lord’s inheritance among all nations, and to this end the Gospel is being preached among all nations. We are claiming by faith as the Lord’s co-workers, the inheritance of the Lord Jesus Christ which He purchased by His own blood, till we eventually become partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

The seventh and last covenant is found in the Epistle to Hebrews 10:16, 17: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” The seventh covenant is made with the believer. God is saying: “I will put my laws into your heart, and even though you cannot read very well, and you cannot understand anything, the Holy Spirit will teach you day by day all things.” Such is the promise in John 16:13-14. “Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come, He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” Day by day the Holy Spirit will teach us, and even though we do not know Hebrew, Greek or other languages, we can learn all the things of God by simple faith. As we obey God and follow His leading we are taught automatically day by day all the deep heavenly mysteries. Matthew 13: 16-17 says: “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” God, by His Spirit, teaches us day by day deep, hidden, eternal, spiritual mysteries as we listen to His voice, even though we may be handicapped both intellectually and in other ways.

Now when you look at the rainbow in heaven you can say: “Lord, I believe in Your covenant; I am foolish but You are wise; I am weak but You are mighty. I have failed You but You are so gracious. Now Lord, I want to be with You upon the throne: keep Your covenant, Lord!” Whenever you feel discouraged look at the rainbow. You will find all your sad thoughts will co away by looking at the rainbow, for God is a covenant — keeping God. In the same way when you fall sick, pray: “Keep Your word, Lord, touch me and heal me.” When you are discouraged ask Him, “Lord, give me Your strength, and new hope.” By the same faith claim His promises for every need.

God is saying, “By My covenant I will bring you with Me upon My throne, and then you will reign with Me as My kings and My priests for ever and ever.” This is the message of Revelation 4. He tells us exactly how to reign. You have in the same chapter v.5 “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” This phrase “seven Spirits” appears four times in the Book of Revelation. Rev. 1: 4: “and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.” Rev. 3:1: “These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God”. Rev. 4:5: we have already seen, and now Rev. 5:6: “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” Thus four times we read of the seven Spirits. That means you can divide the work of the Holy Spirit into four groups of seven each. In other words we have the twenty-eightfold meaning of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Firstly, seven names given to the Holy Ghost in the Bible. Secondly, the sevenfold working of the Holy Ghost inside a believer which goes on very quietly and silently like the roots of a tree in the ground, which you cannot see from outside. Then the sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit which can be seen by other people outwardly, and fourthly the work of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of the Lord Himself. It is by these that we are prepared to share His throne.

May the Lord create in us a longing to be with Him upon His throne.