PROPHETIC FEASTS

Jesus’ brothers were preparing to go up to Jerusalem to the Feast of Tabernacles. They challenged Jesus to go up and “Show Yourself to the world.” Jesus replied:-

“My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast, I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.” John 7: 6-8

After His brothers had left, Jesus went up to the feast secretly and about the middle of the feast He went into the temple and taught. The Pharisee’s wanted to arrest Him but could not “for His time had not yet come.” On the last day, that great day of the feast, as water was poured out from a golden pitcher onto the altar to the rejoicing of the crowds, Jesus revealed Himself openly as the One who provides the living water of the Spirit.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus moved with a sense of purpose. He was obviously conscious that He was fulfilling prophecy as encrypted into the feasts of Israel. That’s why He rode into Jerusalem on the exact day of the choosing of the Passover Lamb and was acclaimed by the crowds. When told by the Pharisees to silence them He replied that if the people were silent the stones would cry out. This was the time for the Lamb of God to be chosen and to give His life for the world and nothing would stop it.

Jesus died at the time of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb up at the temple; His body went into the tomb as the Feast of Unleavened Bread began; and He rose on the Feast of Firstfruits to be ‘the firstfruits of them that slept.’ The Holy Spirit was poured out exactly on the Day of Pentecost – the anniversary of the giving of the Law and the plans for the tabernacle. This Feast was about equipping the people of God to fulfil their commission.

The one Feast that has never been fulfilled in the Church is the Feast of Tabernacles. This is the Feast of fullness, the final harvest when God will bring into manifestation all that the Cross has purchased. All the seeds that have been sown will come to harvest. The Church will rise to its full potential in Christ and there will be a mighty harvest of souls. ‘Elijah’ will come and restore all things [Matthew 17:11] i.e. the Spirit which anointed Elijah will come upon the Church to prepare the way of the Lord as He came upon John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus’ 1^st coming. It will be a glorious time and it’s about to begin in a few short years.

Jesus moved in sync with the Feasts of Israel. Those Feasts were set into the history of Israel as a road map for the Church. Therefore if we look at what Jesus did at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, we will have some clues about what Jesus will be doing during the season of the fulfilment of this Feast. Jesus made the point that He could not go up to the Feast any time as others could. He wasn’t just another worshipper; He was the central figure of what the Feast was all about. Jesus went up secretly. What is that saying? Jesus will be coming to the Feast but it will not be the time for Him to be openly revealed. Of course Jesus is always with His Church but at the End time fulfilment of the Feast, there will be a greatly increased sense of the Presence of the Lord.

About the middle of the Feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. The temple stands for the people of God. They are the Living temple that Jesus is building even now. At this time the Church will come greatly alive with the Word of God; we will be of one mind with Jesus the Head. This is the glorious Church spoken of in Ephesians 5:25,26

“that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

The Church will move with power and authority and be filled with the love and the Presence of God.  There will be great healings and creative miracles, like limbs being restored, and the world will flow into it.

On the last great day of the Feast Jesus revealed Himself openly and proclaimed Himself as the fount of Living Water and gave the invitation,

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scriptures has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  John 7:37, 38

Foreshadowing the invitation at the end of the Age as in Revelation,

“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the waters of life freely.” Revelation 22:17

Jesus will come physically and openly at the end of the season of the fulfilment of the Feast of Tabernacles in the Church. It will undoubtedly be “On the last day, that great day of the Feast.” John 7:17.

Jesus, the king once despised and rejected, will be welcomed with great rejoicing and celebration and will reign on the Earth. AMEN

"YOU HAVE NOT PASSED THIS WAY BEFORE"

                                                                           

New territory up ahead.

After many years of wilderness wanderings, the nation of Israel was on the move into new territory. Their instructions were to watch the Ark carried by priests as it approached the Jordan River; “Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” Joshua 3:3,4. This is a word from the Lord, intended, not just for Israel centuries ago, but also, and more especially, for the people of God today. Just why, I hope to make clear in these few pages.

The basis of my books is Typology, i.e. understanding the purposes of God by studying the redemptive types [maps, patterns] of the Old Testament. Israel is the pattern nation. Every redemptive act, event or object in the Old Testament finds its spiritual counterpart in the New Testament and in the ongoing journey of the Church. Jesus said that the Spirit would lead and guide us into all truth. Revelation by the Spirit is ongoing. By the Word and the Spirit God unlocks the truths which will bring us into maturity. “The Lord has yet more light and truth to break forth from His Word.”  AHB 335

The principle of Typology is: ‘First the natural, then the spiritual.’ Before the coming of the Spirit, people couldn’t understand spiritual truth. Such truth can only be ‘spiritually discerned’ [1 Corinthians 2:14].  God gave them physical things which represented the spiritual truths which would then be revealed in the New Testament after the coming of the Spirit. The spiritual descendants of Abraham are the nation of Israel; the spiritual descendants are all true believers, i.e. the Church. [Galatians 3:16,29]The redemptive events in Israel are paralleled in the Church. They are physical in Israel and spiritual in the Church. God’s purposes are: Demonstrated in Israel; Activated by the Cross; Manifested through the Church. 

 Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” The Scriptures He was referring to were the Old Testament Scriptures.  Since the Cross is God’s only answer, everything God did in Israel pointed to it and everything since the Cross issues out of it. Most Christians know that Jesus is the fulfilment of the Passover Lamb; however not many follow the Type through to its conclusion; therefore we have not yet come into the ultimate outcome of the sacrifice of the Lamb. We have understood the truths of Passover; but not yet entered into the truths of the Feast of Tabernacles. Likewise with the Type of the Tabernacle we have been to the Altar in the Outer Court but have yet to enter into the Glory in the Holy of Holies beyond the Vail.

 At a Lay Preacher’s Retreat, I commented on the many Old Testament Scriptures which don’t make it into the Lectionary. Someone asked me “Well would you want to preach on the furniture of the Tabernacle?” She was obviously unaware that the Tabernacle with its furniture is a pattern of spiritual truth of great significance. When God gave the pattern of the Tabernacle to Moses He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” [Hebrews 8:5] It was “the copy and shadow of the heavenly [or spiritual] things.”

The Tabernacle with its furniture is a map showing the spiritual progression of the people of God into the completion of God’s purpose. If we study it alongside the Journey to the Promised Land and the Feasts of Israel we will understand the way God is taking us and the spiritual truths whereby we arrive at our destination. God chartered this map by the Cloud of the Spirit as He led His people into the Promised Land. Jesus did all things ‘according to the pattern,’ and in bringing the Church into its destiny in the Earth, God is doing all things ‘according to this same pattern. ’

Jesus often said “My time is not yet” E.g. John 7:6.  Because He was working according to the pattern of Redemption laid down in the Old Testament Scriptures.  We will not come into the fullness of truth unless we study the whole Bible. This is the pattern or the map of the journey the Church is on:-

ESCAPE FROM BONDAGE -PASSOVER: Egypt with its tyrant ruler is a Type of the Kingdom of Darkness ruled by Satan where Man is in bondage to sin and death. We escape through faith in the shed blood of the Passover Lamb. The truths of Passover are; Justification by faith,[Passover] Sanctification [Feast of Unleavened Bread], and Baptism into Christ [Feast of Firstfruits]. God had his infant Son brought out of Egypt to fulfil the Type. [Check out Hosea 11:1]

COMMISSIONED: Israel, Jesus, and the Church have all been commissioned. The Church has an assignment to complete in the Earth before the Coming of the Lord. Our deliverance was accomplished at Passover ; the rest of the Journey is about coming into the fullness of our deliverance [the ‘manifestation of the sons of God’] and completing our assignment.

 EMPOWERED TO FULFILL THE COMMISSION – PENTECOST: Pentecost is about equipping the people of God to fulfil their commission.

Israel’s Commission. God called Israel to possess their inheritance, [Canaan] and be a ‘kingdom of priests, a holy nation.’ They were to dispossess the inhabitants of the Land and establish the rule of the Kingdom. They were equipped for their assignment at Mt Sinai with the Law and the Tabernacle.                                                  

 Jesus’ Commission was to ‘destroy the works of the devil.’ [I John 3:8] By the Cross, He stripped the devil of his authority and gave it to His Church. He stated ‘I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not stand against It.’ Which brings us to our commission.

The Commission of the Church.  Our commission is to make all the nations Jesus’ disciples. In essence it is the same as Israel’s commission – dispossess the enemy and establish the

 . Kingdom. The Earth is our inheritance. [Romans 4:13]At this present time ‘the whole world lies under the sway of the evil one.’ [1 John 5:19] Looking at our world it can be clearly seen that this is so.  It is gross error to pass off all the terrible things that happen in our world as the will of God.  That's why the priority prayer is that God’s name be honoured; His will be done; His Kingdom come ‘on Earth as it is in Heaven.’ Our Promised Land is the Kingdom of God on Earth. The Holy Spirit is given to us to bring down the ‘gates of hell,’ free the nations to receive the gospel, and thus establish the rule of the Kingdom, before the return of the King. The Types show us how this is to be accomplished. For Israel it was a physical journey; for the Church it is a spiritual journey.

WILDERNESS WANDERINGS.  Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years because they had an identity problem. God said “Israel is My son, My firstborn.” [Exodus 4:22] Israel’s faith confession when they saw the giants in the Land was, “We are as grasshoppers.” [Numbers 13:33].  They didn’t know who they really were or believe that they could do what God had commissioned them to do. They still operated in the slave mentality they acquired in Egypt.  It was right here that God made the vow that one day His glory would fill the earth. [Numbers 14:21]Taken in context; this is dependent on the people of God possessing their inheritance.

 Jesus was also tested in the wilderness and the temptation He faced was also an attack on His identity. He came from His powerful encounter at the River Jordan with the Father’s affirmation, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” to face the insinuations of the Tempter “IF You are the Son of God…..” He came out of the wilderness after 40 days, ‘in the power of the Spirit,’ ready to begin the attack on the strongholds of the enemy.

This is where the Church is at right now. Like Israel, we don’t know who we really are or what it is we are to do. Some are preparing to get away from it all in a space flight called the ‘Rapture.’ Some are opting to go with the flow and be ‘progressive.’ For others it’s just business as usual.  What we need to do is to get back to the Word of God and wait on the Spirit for revelation. There is a cache of revelation that is reserved for the end time, as Daniel was told. [Daniel 12:4-13]At a time when ‘many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase’ God will bring the revelation that is needed. He sees the way ahead and will show us if we earnestly ‘ask, seek and knock.’

We have come to a way which we ‘have not passed before’. The Early Church set out on this Journey and became a powerful Church of whom it was said ‘they turned the world upside down;’ but like the first generation of Israel from Egypt, they didn’t complete the Commission. Error entered the Church and it went through the ‘Dark Ages,’ sometimes called ‘the devil’s millennium.’ For many years the Church wandered in the wilderness of spiritual blindness. God again began the process of restoration with the foundational

 4. truth of Justification by Faith and brought us to this place where we now stand. The final generation of the Church Age will come into the ‘all truth’ that Jesus promised and complete the Commission.

COMPLETING THE COMMISSION – THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES  The final Feast is the Feast of fullness and completion. It is the Feast of the final harvest.  Israel came out of the wilderness under the leadership of Joshua. They crossed Jordan and began the attack on the strongholds of the enemy by bringing down the walls of Jericho. Eventually they conquered the Land and Solomon, son of David, came to the throne. For a short time the nation became a faint earthly Type of the Kingdom of God. The Land was at the height of prosperity, the rule of the Kingdom was established and its king [a Type of Jesus, the greater Son of David] was famed throughout the world for his wisdom and understanding.  On the Feast of Tabernacles, Solomon dedicated the great golden Temple which was filled with the Glory of God, a picture of the ‘Glorious Church without spot or wrinkle.’ [Ephesians 5:27].  This glorious Church will draw the nations in. As Isaiah said,(Isaiah 61:1-3) -

‘Arise, shine, for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people;

But the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

And Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising…..”

The truth which is encoded in the Day of Atonement will be revealed. It is a deeper understanding of all that the Cross accomplished; the truth of the finished work of Christ.    Jesus is now seated at God’s right hand waiting till his enemies are made his footstool. [Hebrews10:12-14]. That’s our job! And it will involve spiritual warfare. The truths of the completed work of the Cross will cause the Church to rise up in power and glory and bring the nations in. A short paragraph like this cannot do justice to this. I have written about it in my books and it needs the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

In the Scripture at the beginning of this paper, Israel was coming out of the wilderness. They were told to ‘Watch the Ark’ so that they would "Watch the Ark" now which way to go, because they were about to traverse new territory. The Ark is the highest Type of Christ in the Tabernacle. It was to precede Israel by ‘about 2,000 cubits.’ Every detail that God gives is important when interpreting the Types. Nothing is whimsical. This mostly overlooked detail shows that about 2,000 years after Jesus came out of the wilderness ‘in the power of the Spirit’ to begin bringing down the strongholds of the enemy; the rest of the Army of the Church will follow. That is soon! Much more could be said and is said in my books. The truths that God is unlocking are the truths we need in these difficult days.

The times are difficult but they are also very exciting. It is my firm belief that in spite of all the trouble and persecution we encounter; this generation will see the rise of the Church in power and glory.  “CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY! “ [Colossians 1:27]