                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                             The Zadok Remnant

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By David Wilkerson
undated
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          "Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus
          says the Lord... Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at
          My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and
          honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with
          the choicest of every offering of My people Israel...?

          "Behold, the days are coming when I will break your
          strength and the strength of your fathers house so
          that there will not be an old man in your house. And
          you will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of
          all that I do good for Israel; and an old man will not
          be in your house forever. Yet I will not cut off every
          man of yours from My altar that your eyes may fail from
          weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of
          your house will die in the prime of life... But I will
          raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do
          according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I
          will build him an enduring house, and he will walk
          before My anointed always" (1 Samuel 2:27, 29, 31-33,
          35).

          We find here a curse upon one priesthood - and the
          prophetic raising up of "an enduring" holy-remnant
          priesthood. Eli represents a cursed priesthood, a
          priesthood of at, self-centered servants of God. They
          are called priests, but lightly esteem the work of God.
          They do not like the ministry of correction. Their
          spiritual children become wicked because of their lazy
          life-styles and their refusal to cry out against sin.
          They "make themselves fat with the choicest of every
          offering of My (Gods) people" (verse 29).

          Eli saw iniquity in his sons who brought a curse on
          themselves, "and he did not rebuke them" (1 Samuel
          3:13). For this God said, " I am about to judge his
          house forever." And his house was judged! The glory of
          the Lord departed from Shiloh, the ark was captured and
          he and his sons died.

          What was this everlasting judgment on the Eli
          priesthood?

             * First, it was to be a weak priesthood. "I will
               break your strength and the strength of your
               fathers house" (verse 31).

             * Secondly, it would continually fall short of Gods
               fullness. Even in times of spiritual outpourings,
               this priesthood was doomed to come short of Gods
               glory. "And you will see the distress of My
               dwelling, in spite of all that I do good for
               Israel" (verse 32).

             * Thirdly, all in this kind of priesthood will fall
               in the prime of life - in the prime of spiritual
               life and blessing - because of a flawed walk with
               God. "And all the increase of your house will die
               in the prime of life" (verse 33).

             * And fourthly, this weak, flawed, self-centered
               priesthood would continue on. It is still with us
               today! "Yet I will not cut off every man of yours
               from My altar" (verse 33).

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                   A Holy Remnant Priesthood Prophesied

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          The unknown prophet who came to Eli prophesied of a new
          kind of priesthood God would raise up.

          "But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who
          will do according to what is in My heart and in My
          soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he
          will walk before My anointed always" (1 Samuel 2:35).

          This is amazing prophecy! Here is the first prophecy of
          a holy-remnant priesthood, enduring to the end,
          enduring until Christ returns. It is a remnant, which
          God says, "I will build!"

          During the reign of David, there was a dual priesthood.
          Zadok and Abiathar fulfill this prophecy to the letter.

          "Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you
          there?" (11 Samuel 15:35).

          Zadok in Hebrew is 'tsadog', meaning "one proved
          righteous." Abiathar is 'ebyathar', meaning "at peace
          with the Lord who is God!" These two priests represent
          the two priesthoods mentioned by the unknown prophet -
          one of the spirit of Eli, the other, a ministry unto
          the Lord.

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                        Let Us Look First at Zadok

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          He was one of those who came to David in Ziklag.

          "Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag,
          while he was still restricted because of Saul the son
          of Kish... For day by day men came to David to help
          him, until there was a great army like the army of
          God... also Zadok a young man mighty of valor, and of
          his fathers house twenty two captains" (1 Chronicles
          12:1,22,28).

          Zadok and his entire house rejected Saul and gave their
          hearts and allegiance to David. Not once did he ever
          look back. He proved to be righteous because he proved
          to be faithful! He was there when David needed him! And
          when so many others were being carried away with the
          rebellion of Absalom, Zadok remained faithful through
          it all.

          "The king also passed over the brook Kidron, and all
          the people passed over toward the way of the
          wilderness. Now behold, Zadok also came, and all the
          Levites with him carrying the ark of the covenant of
          God... And the king said to Zadok, Return the ark of
          God to the city... The king said also to Zadok the
          priest, Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace
          and your two sons with you, your son Abimaaz and
          Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See, I am going to wait
          at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from
          you to inform me" (2 Samuel 15:23-25,27-28).

          Read it again: "Are you not a seer?" This meant,
          "Zadok, you have the gift of discernment! You know what
          is evil and what is holy. You are strong enough,
          faithful and committed enough to Me to go into that
          realm of rebellion and idolatry and save the kingdom!"
          The king said to Zadok, "Return to the city." God now
          had a holy priest to guard the house of God from ruin!

          A whole nation was in rebellion, but in Gods house
          there was a holy remnant.

          At the very seat of evil and disobedience, where
          Absalom committed lewd acts with concubines on the
          palace housetop before the nation, there was faithful
          remnant priesthood untouched! Zadok stayed true, holy,
          committed, blameless, and faithful! He knew Gods Word,
          he trusted his life and future to it - David was the
          only king! (Note, David is a type of Christ.)

          All the while, God was building Zadok an enduring
          house, a priesthood that fulfilled the prophecy of the
          man of God who prophesied to Eli. This is that
          "faithful priest who will do according to what is in My
          heart and in My soul."

          The holy remnant, the faithful priesthood of today,
          these servants of the Lord whose hearts are blameless
          and faithful - these are the offspring of Zadok! The
          spiritual sons of Zadok!

          Ezekiel had a vision of a spiritual temple. In it he
          saw remnant priesthood offering sacrifices to the Lord.

          "And you shall give to the Levitical priests who are
          from the offspring of Zadok, who draw near to Me to
          minister to Me, declares the Lord God, a young bull for
          a sin offering" (Ezekiel 43:19).

          These are "near to the Lord" who minister to Him.
          Ministry to the Lord is the mark of the Zadok remnant.

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                        Now Let Us Look at Abiathar

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          He was pious, dedicated, at peace with God, and his
          very name suggests great reverence for His lordship. He
          is also with David and Zadok on the other side of
          Kidron.

          "And Abiathar came up... Therefore Zadok and Abiathar
          returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained
          there... And are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests
          with you there? So it shall be that whatever you hear
          from the kings house, you shall report to Zadok and
          Abiathar the priests" (2 Samuel 15:24,29,35).

          Abiathar wanted nothing to do with Absaloms rebellion.
          He and his son appeared to be just as faithful as
          Zadok. He appeared outwardly holy, blameless, and
          faithful. So why did the prophets ignore him, speaking
          of Zadok as the example of the holy-remnant priesthood?

          Abiathar had in him the seed of Eli! The lazy,
          indulgent, weak spirit of Eli laid dormant in his soul.
          It happened just as the man of God prophesied to Eli -
          that at the very peak of his usefulness, at the peak of
          Gods blessing, he would fall. His inner weakness would
          be exposed: he would go so far and then stop short of
          Gods glory. Abiathars heart was not right with God.

          "Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself,
          saying, I will be king... .And he had conferred with
          Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest;
          and following Adonijah they helped him. But Zadok the
          priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the
          prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men, who belonged
          to David, were not with Adonijah. And Adonijah
          sacrificed sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of
          Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel" (1 Kings 1:5, 7-9).

          Here we observe that Zadok stayed faithful and Abiathar
          fell into a trap! All that the unknown prophet said to
          Eli was being fulfilled in his descendant Abiathar.

          Abiathars sin was self-exaltation!

          Listen to these tragic words: Abiathar the priest...
          following Adonijah... helped him." He followed the
          rebellious, compromising multitude all the way to the
          stone of Zoheleth, which in Hebrew means "the stone of
          the serpent"! Not Zadok, not Nathan, not Rei, and not
          any of Davids faithful men. This was a boastful bunch.
          They mocked the "old and worn out" ways of David. They
          were crying for a new kind of kingdom, a new kind of
          priesthood! There was rebellion, the spirit of
          adultery, a demonic realm of pride and self-esteem. A
          new wave of self-exaltation was sweeping through the
          land deceiving the masses, and Abiathar was one with
          them.

          Abiathar became caught up in this demonic realm. How
          sad! A pious, once faithful man whom, at the peak of
          his ministry, made a wrong move! He compromised! He
          turned against the true way and unwittingly thought he
          was doing Gods will. Now we see him so spiritually
          blind - with no discernment! He is doing the ministry
          of a priest at the stone of the serpent!

          Look at the difference between these two priesthoods.
          Abiathar was coming under the curse of the house of Eli
          because of the pride, sin, and rebellion that had
          suddenly sprung up in him like a wildfire. The
          self-exalting preaching of Adonijah appealed to
          something in him - and he cast aside his suffering past
          to be successful and accepted with the new wave gospel.

          Compare this with the Zadok priesthood - the holy
          remnant!

          "Then King David said, Call to me Zadok the priest,
          Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.
          And they came into the Kings presence. And the king
          said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord,
          and have my son. Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring
          him down to Gihon. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan
          the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel, and
          blow the trumpet and say, Long live king Solomon! Then
          you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit
          on my throne and be king in my place; for I have
          appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah...

          "So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the
          son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethities
          went down and had Solomon ride on King Davids mule,
          and brought him to Gihon. Zadok the priest then took
          the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon.
          Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said,
          Long live King Solomon!" (1 Kings 1:32-35, 38-39).

          King Solomon knew all about the curse upon the house of
          Eli. And he recognized Abiathar as being of that kind
          of priesthood.

          "So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the
          Lord, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which
          He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh" (1
          Kings 2:27).

          What an amazing fulfillment of prophecy! A man, who
          once shared the suffering of his lord - now dismissed,
          rejected, put on a shelf. He was told to go his own
          way, for he was of no more use to Gods kingdom!

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              Both Ministries Were Operating In Ezekiel's Day
            - And He Prophesied That the Priesthood Of Zadok and
                                    Levi
             Would Become More Pronounced in the Latter Days.

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          Ezekiel saw the ministry of Zadok as a ministry unto
          the Lord, not unto man. He saw the Zadok remnant as a
          priesthood called out of a priesthood!

          "These are the sons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi
          come near to the Lord to minister to Him" (Ezekiel
          40:46).

          The Zadok ministry is separated from the world and has
          one mission in life; to be at the Lords table to
          minister to Him!

          This priesthood is clothed in the pure, unmixed
          garments of holiness! They walk in absolute obedience
          to the Lord. They teach Gods people the difference
          between right and wrong. They are not afraid to
          denounce sin.

          "Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference
          between the holy and the profane, and cause them to
          discern between the unclean and the clean" (Ezekiel
          44:23).

          Their only true possession in life is the Lord Himself.

          "And you shall give them no possession in Israel - I am
          their possession" (Ezekiel 44:28).

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                               Ezekiel Warns:
               The Curse of the House of Eli Has Fallen Upon
          A Corrupt Harlot Church and it's Idolatrous Shepherds!

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          "And you shall say to the rebellious ones, to the house
          of Israel, Thus says the Lord God, Enough of all your
          abominations, O house of Israel, when you brought in
          foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in
          flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My
          house, when you offered My food, the fat and the blood;
          for they made My covenant void - this in addition to
          all your abominations" (Ezekiel 44:6-7).

          Here is a house of God full of abominations - so bad
          that God cant take any more of it! "Enough!" He
          declares. They had polluted His sanctuary with ungodly
          worshipers. They had a form of godliness with no power
          of holiness. God says, "No more!" These half-converted,
          worldly, corrupt, so-called believers have no place in
          My house!"

          Jimmy Swaggart once asked me, "Why does God allow these
          corrupt ministries to go on? They seem to go on,
          flourishing, seducing the masses."

          At first I thought God would wipe them out - bring them
          down. Now I see it differently. Now I know what Ezekiel
          prophesied and it makes me weep. God is cursing a
          corrupt people with corrupt shepherds. He is appointing
          them shepherds after their own hearts. Idolatrous
          shepherds are being appointed to shepherd idol-loving
          sheep! Read what the Word says:

          "But the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went
          astray, who went astray from Me after their idols,
          shall bear the punishment for their iniquity.... And
          they shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to
          Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the
          things that are most holy... Yet I will appoint them to
          keep charge of the house, of all its service, and of
          all that shall be done in it" (Ezekiel 44:10,13-14).

          These backslidden, sin-loving shepherds have gone
          astray from the Lord in their hearts. They cling to
          secret idols; they look and sound like men of God, with
          all the outward ministry in the house. They themselves
          have become stumbling blocks, indulging in secret sins
          that Gods Holy Spirit has convicted them of. They know
          it is wrong. God says, "Enough!" Still they go on
          ministering with idolatry in them, stumbling over and
          over again because of an evil thing blocking their walk
          with God. What a curse.

          "They shall bear the punishment for their iniquity. And
          they shall not come near to Me... nor come near any of
          My holy things... .they shall bear their shame"
          (Ezekiel 44:12-13).

          They will not be removed from Gods house; they will
          "keep the charge of the house and of all that shall be
          done in it." What is their shame, their punishment?

          "I will do to the house which is called by My name, in
          which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and
          your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you
          out of My sight, as I have cast out all your bothers,
          all the offspring of Ephraim" (Jeremiah 7:14-15).

          The worst punishment, the most horrible shame upon a
          man or woman of God, is to minister in the flesh with
          no anointing. Their houses are like Shiloh - "The glory
          has departed!" Their message is chaff and Gods holy
          presence has gone from them. Yet - they are still
          appointed to minister to the house but are also
          abandoned by the Lord. Think of it - appointed as
          ministers to a house of rebellious children even though
          they are idolaters. Horrifying truth!

          This is the offspring of Eli - the Abiathar priesthood!
          Isaiah called them dumb dogs who are greedy, dreamers
          who love to slumber, shepherds with no understanding
          (Isaiah 56:10-11).

          God wanted to raise up shepherds for the people after
          His own heart. If Gods people had been repentant, if
          they had cast down their idols, if they had sought Him
          with all their hearts - He would have given them
          faithful, holy shepherds.

          "Return, O faithful sons, declares the Lord; For I am a
          master to you, and I will take you one from a city and
          two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. Then I
          will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will
          feed you on knowledge and understanding" (Jeremiah
          3:14-15).

          But a majority of Gods people seem to prefer the Eli
          priesthood!

          "An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the
          land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests
          rule on their own authority; and My people love it so!
          But what will you do at the end of it?" (Jeremiah
          5:30-31).

          Compromising, idol-loving, indulgent, sensuous
          Christians have been appointed shepherds just like
          themselves. There is a whole priesthood; the offspring
          of Eli, appointed to feed the idols enthroned in the
          hearts of Christians with divided hearts.

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           In These Last Days, We are all Priests unto the Lord.
          Which Priesthood Do You Belong To - Zadok or Abiathar?

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          God is even now raising up the royal priesthood - sons
          of Zadok!

          "You also, as living stones, are being built up as a
          spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up
          spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
          Christ... But you are a chosen race, a royal
          priesthood, a holy nation, a people for Gods own
          possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of
          Him who has called you out of darkness into His
          marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:5,9).

          We are called to a ministry to the Lord. All direction
          comes to this priesthood while we minister to the Lord.

          "And while they were ministering to the Lord and
          fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me
          Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called
          them" (Acts 13:2).

          There is a sure word that will come forth to all those
          who love the table of the Lord and who know their one
          ministry is to the Lord. All other ministry springs out
          of that ministry to Him.

          Is the Spirit purging you? Are you being refined by
          fire? Do you sigh and weep over the abominations in the
          land? Do you hunger for Christs holiness? Do you sit
          often now at the Lords table? Are you casting down
          idols? Are you sick and weary of all the self-exalting
          ministries in the land?

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            God Is Seeking To Get You Out of One Priesthood into
                                  Another
              - Out of Abiathar's and into Zadok's Offspring!

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          In the midst of all the ruin, the apostasy, and the
          great falling away, the Zadok remnant is coming forth -
          visible and anointed. Those of the Zadok remnant all
          speak the same language: faithfulness to King Jesus,
          repentance as a way of life, separation from all that
          is touched or represented by the world, an intense
          hunger and thirst for righteousness, purging, and
          refining, and a pure heart wholly given to Him.

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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