Polishing the Topaz

More on Burden Bearing
– Polishing The Topaz

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 53:3-6

The Topaz Stone was polished by two extremes in the High Priests Ephod. Both related to the bearing of burdens. Both are displayed by he who bore the burden on behalf of mankind, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ bore for us our burdens in two ways.

In one way, He was burdened with our sorrow, with the fact that we are born in sin and death and in iniquity our mothers did conceive us. Psalm 51:5. He bore for us the tribulation of our lives in this world, and the grief we carried for trying to live our lives in truth and in equity. He bore that grief as though we lived in a SEPARATION from God. Separated from God BECAUSE OF SIN AND INIQUITY. And as a result, we were a grieving people.

The other way Christ bore for us our burdens was with Joy, and Rejoicing, with much anticipation for the Glory that was set before Him once His sufferings would be accomplished.

The burden Christ bore on our behalf was also the accomplishment of our eternal salvation and healing in our bodies. With much Joy He did bear for us the burden of our lives

We read: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:2

Now we have been traditionally taught that Jesus’ chief joy in this suffering was the knowledge that he would soon have joy in resurrection and in ruling with God. But that was not His only joy. He was exceedingly joyful also that He was now delivering mankind from sin and death by this one act of obedience.

“And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion : for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

Isaiah 12: 1-6

The Topaz Stone must be polished to fit into the Ephod, and it can only be polished by the bearing of burdens. One stroke of the lapidaries’ grinding stone one way - and another stroke the opposite way – back and forth until the polishing is complete. In this instance we see The Christ, with Joy and Sorrow, both intermingled in His temptations and in His sufferings.

For us who are called “Overcomers” we too will bear the grinding and polishing of our Topaz Stone upon The Royal Ephod which we bear and by which we witness to the Life of Christ within us. It is one thing to “think” we overcome; it is quite another thing to display it by “bearing burdens”. What then is the burden we bear?

Do we bear a burden because of the sin and iniquity we were shapen and born in?

No, Christ atoned for that.

Do we bear a burden knowing that Christ will in time redeem all mankind back unto Himself, but in the interim we endure wicked men until that work be fulfilled?

No, for God was in Christ reconciling the World back unto Himself. Those that oppose others will also be humbled.

What then is our burden? What burden do we sorrow in and what burden do we rejoice in?

We sorrow in the fact that we have MUCH tribulation before we see THE FULLFILLMENT OF GOD’S PROMISE TO US. That promise is that we have an inheritance - now our hope and calling - BECAUSE CHRIST BORE FOR US. That promise when fulfilled will be GLORIFIED BODIES THAT CANNOT DIE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. New Creations complete and entire, nothing lacking, the mysteries of God in us fulfilled and the former things of this fallen earth and nature will be no more. That is the burden we bear, waiting for this to be worked out in us. {In a later study I will be sharing on “The Fellowship Of The Mystery which will express the fellowship of sufferings}

What is the burden we bear in rejoicing then? What burden is it that the Overcomer must bear so that there can be great joy?

The burden the Overcomer now bears in much joy and in gladness is THE SAME TRIBULATION. We GLORY in this tribulation, knowing that this tribulation – our lives in this world of waiting for the full promise of Father is also OUR HOPE. That we are being brought forth as redeemers ON BEHALF OF ALL MANKIND.

This is now where we begin to see the restoration of all things begin. Where fallen man, {bearing the false Ephod of Lucifer} in his condition, or religion, begins to see a new light and revelation that has up to that point been unknown to them.

Those who bear the false Ephod of Lucifer {the carnal nature in mankind} will now have two responses when they observe the Overcomer bearing burdens.

The first response is typified in Revelation 11:7 “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. “ The beast here is a the expanded example of the Adamic nature in mankind in his “religiosity”. This killing is in two forms. The first is one of rejection by separation. The second can be actual martyrdom. Either way, the response is to be rid of those who would overcome.

This is speaking of those in religious guise, who persecute the true body of Christ in the earth. Remember, it was Jesus who endured persecution from the religious Jews of His day. So it is for us today, the religious denominations will persecute the Overcomer who has come out from all other things to obey God in truth.

The second response from those who bear the false Ephod of Lucifer will be one of conviction by the Spirit of Truth. This will only happen to those of the denominational or religious order when God so chooses to bring them to Christ. John 6:65. When this conviction comes to these ungodly, it will be with a force of God’s spirit that cannot be denied by them. It will come to them as “individuals” which will in turn, as this conviction is obeyed, cause them to become separate from the systems of man which once held them captive. The grinding and polishing of the Topaz on the Overcomer’s breastplate will cause those who have missed the mark to see once again their need of a Savior who can deliver them from religious works. This then sets them free of the false Ephod they once bore.

So then, the burden bearing that an Overcomer endures is two fold in its fruit. It will cause separation in a greater measure from those who are false brethren, and it will convict of sin and religiosity those who are indeed “false”. The Overcomer is a person in the world who is real, down to earth, paying bills, learning and educating themselves for employment, enduring the ills of daily life and society. They are not some sort of super spiritual giants that are out of touch with the reality of life in this world. Overcomers know what it means to be humbled by the systems of the world. But they rise higher in their faith and overcome all obstacles because of their willingness to “bear burdens”. The Overcomer does not fear death or the trials of daily life, but sees them instead as an opportunity to trust God even more. They live a life of abandonment to God while at the same time enduring the longness of their trials and bearing the hope of their release which is promised to come.

The Overcomer wearing the Polished Topaz Stone will indeed be a light – shining in a dark place. They bear in their burdened state the testimony of Jesus Christ, and by that others become convicted, and delivered.

“And I looked, and behold upon the Breast Plate of this High Priest from Heaven’s Love, the Carbuncle. And understanding came to me and my mind and my heart were opened, and Behold, I came to A CONTINUOUS REVELATION!”

To Be Continued….. Kenneth B Visscher