Table of Contents

Overview

This Series

• New Insight and Revelation

 

Preface

The Coming of the Lord to Father Sons and Daughters into Sonship

• Coming of the Lord in Scripture
• Paradigm Shift
• The Cross of Grace Through Faith – The Journey of Being Made a Dwelling for The Lord, Tabernacles, The Age of Philadelphia
• Tabernacles
• Davidic Covenant

 

Age Old Barriers to New Revelation and Teaching

Time of Abundance

Hiding Jesus’ Journey Behind Calvary

A New Work

Seeking Jesus

“Spirit – taught words” (NIV, 1 Cor. 2:13, italicized mine)

The New Language of the New Testament

• Physical Crucifixion versus Crucifixion of the Lower Nature
• Welts, Sores, Bruises, Wounds (Isaiah 1:5-7)
• Cross of Grace Through Faith
• Blood of Christ (Overview)

 

I plan to include the following sections and Resource Guides in the posts to come. The Resource Guides have new and expanded information.

The New Language of the New Testament (Continued)

• Baptism
• Sacrifice
• Death
• Suffering
• Resurrection, Raised from the Dead
• Law of In-Kind
• Sun, Moon, Stars

 

Revelation, a Fruit of Intimacy

Philadelphia, the Unveiling of the “Mystery of Christ” in Christ Jesus, and the “Mystery of Christ” in His Bride

The Blood of Christ

Communion

Christ’s Journey, Separating Prophetic Streams, Two Deaths, and Two Glorifications

• Separating What Creeds and Traditions Combine into One
• Scriptures Speaking of Both Deaths, Resurrections, Directly or Indirectly in the Same Passage
• Question to Ask
• Acts 2:23
• Acts 2:23 versus Colossians 2:14
• Isaiah 53:4-6
• Galatians 3:13 & Colossians 2:14
• 1 Peter 2:24
• Philippians 2:6-8
• 2 Peter 3:10
• The Faith “of” Christ Versus Faith “in” Christ

 

God’s Plan of Salvation: A New and Better Covenant

• Punishment and Forgiveness
• Our Journey in Christ, Justification versus Glorification

 

Resource Guides

Resource 1 New Language of the New Testament

Resource 2 Christ Made in The Likeness of Sinful Men and Women

Resource 3 The “Living” Atoning (Propitiation) Work of Christ, Dying to Sin, Raised to Walk in New Life, His Pioneering Journey

Resource 4 New Testament Sacrificial System Epitomized in The Blood of Christ

Resource 5 Fathering, The Cross of Grace Through Faith

Resource 6 Christ Lived by Grace and Faith

Resource 7 Jesus the Manifest Presence of God in Flesh and Blood

Resource 8 Jesus’ Two Glorifications, His Perfection Before Ministry and Resurrection after Calvary

Resource 9 Promised Coming of the Lord to Sons and Daughters

Resource 10 Conflicts Between Scripture and Common Teaching

Resource 11 Tabernacles, The Age of Philadelphia

Resource 12 On the Horizon

Note: This post was updated for grammatical corrections on June 22, 2024.

******

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NIV, 2 Thessalonians 2: 13-14)

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (NIV, 2 Corinthians 3: 18)

** Overview **

I hope this series not only inspires you to study Scripture but stirs your heart even more for a deeper love of God’s Word and intimacy with him. (John 17:21; 2 Timothy 2:15)

I hope this series inspires you to want to dive deep into the Spirit of God.

Christians have resources available to them today unlike any time in history.

If you are eager for more of Jesus and his Word, willing to step out of the boat and pursue him, desiring to sacrifice your life for a deep and rich relationship with Christ, you can be confident he will keep you on the straight and narrow coming toward him.

Tragically (we are in the span of history the Scripture speaks of the Great Falling Away), teaching today by prominent ministers and scholars comes from decades upon decades of layered “book” learning (from commentaries for example), rooted in creeds and traditions.

Skilled and scholarly men and women piece together Scripture, stories of Christ, Calvary, last days, end-times, and Revelation using Scripture like a textbook, instead of like the diamond it is, having new revelations for new generations.

Creeds and traditions influence much of Christendom today as they have done for centuries and centuries.

Where is the cry among God’s leaders we must have Christ, that unless we have Jesus – the living-breathing Christ in our life – we will die like Israel of old in the desert of this world.

Where is the cry from America’s pulpits to go on our knees to seek the Lord in prayer and fasting – not in endless babbling and hunger strikes – but, by the Spirit, to clear the debris in our lives keeping us from sincerely turning the eyes and ears of our hearts toward Heaven?

What is keeping Christians from understanding unless we have Jesus richly and deeply in our lives we will eventually come to the end of “saving ourselves” and die on the vine, missing the opportunity like never before to receive the promises of God in the 21^st century?

These are indeed critical days for the body of Christ – days prophesied by Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and John.

The Scripture has much on the last centuries of the age of the Gospel, with a great amount of it unfolding, and forming, before our eyes today.

Though it is not imminent, it will not be long before the Lord washes away the sandcastle humanity has built on the shifting sands of this world.

***

Creeds and traditions hang over the body of Christ like a dark cloud, keeping the revelation of Christ (1 Peter 1:13) from “transforming” the body of Christ.

Transformation from glory to glory (Romans 8:28-30; 2 Cor. 3:18; Philippians 3:20-21), does not come by osmosis or like evolution teaches, but by the tangible and dynamic power of Christ to cleanse and heal our wounds and brokenness and the sins that feed upon them through the resources he brings our way.

For example, Spirit anointed counseling, prayer ministry, and personal one on one ministry by the Lord.

It is a journey, but there is “tangibility” to the journey.

When Jesus finds those who desire him, and respond to his leading in preparing for encounter with him, when the season of encounter begins – the deep work of the Spirit in being made intimate and one with Christ through cleansing and healing – you will know without a doubt the Lord has brought you into a new place with him, a deep and intimate place where there is no going back.

And cleansing, healing, and revelation from the Lord will begin like never before, a place of spiritual intensity far beyond the new birth and Pentecost, Tabernacles, the deep work of the Spirit in the age of Philadelphia.

***

How often do you hear ministers of the Gospel (God’s sons, and daughters), teach, and preach on the necessity of eagerly pursuing the deep treasures of Christ, intimacy with him, to earnestly seek healing and restoration, body, soul, and spirit, as is taught throughout the New Testament?

How often do you hear we are to pray for the coming of the Lord to us, personally, and individually, so we can be healed and restored, body, soul, and spirit, 1 Cor. 4:5, 15:23; 2 Cor. 5:10; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:13; 1 John 3:2?

Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission is for fulfillment in this life, not in Heaven.

The coming of the Lord to make us one with him is for this side of the Millennium and Heaven, not on the other.

Better yet how often do you hear we are to pray to the Lord to prepare us for his coming, which will usher you and me into the journey of healing and restoration in the adventure of Christ making us one with him?

That is the call of the Spirit in this season of time the Scripture calls Philadelphia, or Tabernacles – Christ making us a dwelling for he and the Father.

For decades and centuries, “teachers” have taught the same theology (Daniel, Revelation, Christology) in bible colleges, Sunday sermons, Sunday school, in one form or another year after year by scholars and theologians alike.

Peter warned about “the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors” (NIV, 1 Peter 1:18).

It is not a coincidence Peter’s comment is in the context of the promised grace to come in Christ (1 Peter 1:10-12) in the revelation of Christ in our lives (1 Peter 1:13), i.e., the journey of Christ making us intimate and one with him.

Peter opens his first letter by referring to God’s promise to heal and restore God’s wounded sheep in the revelation of Christ – Christ making us intimate and one with him in fulfillment of his prayer (John 17:21).

The journey of healing and restoration Christ pioneered, fathered by God, (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10; the firstborn, first fruit, pioneer, forerunner, and author of the new creation) is Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission to you and me.

Peter began his own journey of healing and restoration shortly after Jesus told him “‘someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’” (NIV, John 21:18)

Jesus was telling Peter there is a death you need die, to put sin to death, i.e., to die to the enmity in your flesh just like I had to die to the enmity in my flesh. (Ephesians 2:14-16, see an interlinear)

If one does not understand the pioneering story of Christ before ministry – his epic journey made one with the Father, destroying generational sins from his human ancestry, fulfilling the law in his flesh, becoming our Savior (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10):

• then “most everything else” being taught about the last days this side of the Tribulation, e.g., end-times, God’s labor, healing and restoration, rapture, living creatures, bride of Christ, falling away, end-time revival, Philadelphia/Laodicea, first revealing and wounding of the Antichrist system, and critical parts of Revelation –
• have errors and misinformation, leading people to hope for fulfillment of certain promises that will not happen, if they remain unprepared, unequipped, and unmatured – having neglected the deep work of the Spirit in the last of the last days.

 

Important

The heart of the New Testament is not Calvary, as tragic as that is, it is not Christ’s ministry as wonderful as it was, or his teaching, as deep and inspiring as it is, but his pioneering journey before ministry, made perfect, fathered by God. (Romans chapters 3 to 6; Hebrews)

If you gut Christ’s pioneering journey from Scripture you are left with a shell, the outside structure, having removed the heart of the New Testament – Christ’s journey in putting sin to death by the cross of grace through faith, his atonement, becoming our Savior, raised to walk in resurrection life.

This is the life he freely offered to Israel in signs, wonders, and miracles for over 3 years. (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10)

Understanding Christ’s pioneering journey is critical to understanding the labor of God in the last of the last days in Philadelphia, the deep work of the Spirit in completing the Christian pilgrimage, “making” his children into the likeness of his Son.

***

When revival comes, and there may be more than one before we enter the “heart” of the end-times, it will come in a way most do not expect, including those championing the coming of the next revival.

My interpretation of the end-times for my posts is the period of “Scriptural events” leading up to the Tribulation, like the last great revival and the wounding it brings to the Antichrist system, excluding the Tribulation.

Because most are not being prepared for the coming deep work of the Spirit but are looking at past revivals in expectation of what is to come.

The next revival will be about intimate healing and restoration, drawing closer to Christ and the body, requiring vulnerability, repentance, and forgiveness.

People will need a “desire and willingness” to let Jesus cleanse and heal hidden and deeply rooted sins.

Without preparation, the same fear that keeps God’s children from seeking more of Christ now will rise to the surface at that time as well.

However, those who earnestly turn toward the Lord will find him fighting for them on their behalf so they can receive his promises for them.

Jesus will approach those who have not answered the knock on their door in the past in a new way, to see if he can get them to open it for him.

We only have so much time in Philadelphia/Laodicea.

The Lord will be doing everything possible within the constraint of time to bring his children from Laodicea into Philadelphia before irreversible events are set in motion closing the open door to Philadelphia and the ending of the Gospel age.

I hope no one who reads my posts finds themselves unprepared for the depth and intensity of what is coming and loses heart.

If we begin to turn our hearts toward Christ now in sincerely seeking him, we will find we have the “spiritual capacity and wherewithal” to enter the deep currents of the coming stream of God.

Let us continue to invest our desires, passions, and treasures in Christ’s bank account while the day is still light as God prepares his children for one or two last “moves” in closing one age and opening another.

Let us not be among those who were foolish who did not make provision for the Lord tarrying long nor provision for preparation – having neglected to acquire enough preliminary oil (healing) for their lamps.

Important

Sadly, it will play out again in the “history” to come, unless Christendom at large begins to teach God’s sons and daughters it is time to awaken from sleep, to eagerly seek the Lord to be prepared for his coming to the body of Christ.

Peter speaks of the Lord judging the house of God first; his judgment is not to condemn, on the contrary, it is to heal and restore. (NIV, 1 Peter 4:17)

But if he comes like he has in the past, and sons and daughters are unprepared, not recognizing the moving of his Spirit, having neglected to wade into the first wave of God’s Spirit when they had the chance, they will find it challenging at best to enter in wholeheartedly to what God is doing.

Not so surprisingly, when God does something new, it is usually those outside or on the fringes of the body of Christ that jump in first (like the Jesus movement), with seasoned Christians coming in later, if at all.

The Bible is real, Christ is real, our warfare is real, and the final journey to completion in Philadelphia is real, and one day, the Lord will close the open door to Philadelphia.

There are no other church ages beyond Philadelphia “this side” of the Tribulation for Jesus to fulfill his Isaiah 61 Commission.

Thankfully, it is not too late to seek Christ for the deep waters of safety in him.

Note:

Christians martyred in the Tribulation missed their chance to come to completeness in Philadelphia. Those who enter the Millennium either from the Tribulation or birth will have their chance for completeness in Christ under his thousand-year reign.

***

There are nuggets everywhere in the Bible discovered, polished, and revealed.

Others are waiting for the right person to come along and discover by the revelation of the Spirit in their search for more of Christ.

But like everything of value, it takes desire, time, effort, and passion.

When the Lord ushered me into the Kingdom of God in my twenties it was like coming out of a deep dark cave into an expanse of unending light.

It was unbelievably marvelous.

I had profound experiences at that time, I needed them.

I was a mess inside; the Lord met me in so many wonderful ways.

I remember one time opening my Bible to the book of Matthew and it was like Jesus was standing in front of me, the presence of light, beckoning me forward toward him.

As a young adult, I consumed Scripture like it was food for two decades.

Then later, after spending decades in dry and empty places of drought and captivity, the Lord saw my plight and desire to start afresh.

He drew me back to him by his grace and mercy; I was desperate for him and the promises I knew he was going to fulfill “in this season of history.”

And I wanted to be a part of them with all my heart.

I cried out to the Lord for one last adventure in him, to “see” the promise of a deeper walk I knew he was going to bring in the last days.

The Lord saw my plight and heard my cry.

The new work the Lord began to do in me started to accelerate in 2009.

The Lord began to give me new experiences in him; ones that pointed me in a new direction and season.

I will share with you.

In the summer of 2011, I was in Spokane attending an Elijah House two-week training course.

One Sunday morning the Lord awakened me a little after 4:00 am to come outside with him.

We were at a retreat center out in the country, it was beautiful.

I stood in a small clearing and watched the sun rise from behind distant hills.

After about two hours of standing, I turned to leave and the Lord said in such a gentle whisper, “Are you leaving so soon.”

I was learning how much the Lord desires to be with us, and how much I need to be with him.

I stayed for another hour, it was so quiet and peaceful, something I was learning I needed very much in my life.

The Lord reminded me of a verse, “He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” (NIV, Psalm 18:19, italicized mine)

Only Jesus can crush the strongholds that have imprisoned you and me.

No matter what we or others think about us, Jesus’ “delights” in you and me.

He does not focus on our sins but sees them as barriers to you and me receiving his care and love in fulfillment of his Isaiah 61 Commission to make us into his likeness. (John 17:21)

***

Over the last decade he has revealed Scripture to me more deeply and intimately than I could have ever imagined.

He has revealed himself to me in words and ways so personal, precious, and intimate, it is impossible to convey the impact they have had on my life.

I am not the only one – there are others experiencing the deep things of the Spirit in Christ because this is the season of Christ’s personal visitation and ministry to those who are hungering and thirsting for more of him.

Just one word, expression, picture, or experience with the Lord can set your life on another path!

Contrary to what is commonly preached and taught, you do not want to wait till Heaven for intimacy with Jesus, because God designed the plan of salvation for intimacy with Jesus for the here and now.

This is where Christ makes you and me into his likeness, not Heaven.

There is nothing in the Scripture about refining you and me in Heaven, this is where the Spirit of Christ refines us – to present a glorious church to his Father.

Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission is for here, not Heaven.

The bridegroom comes for his bride here, not Heaven.

And most do not know this, because of creeds and traditions (which have placed the work of Christ for the most part in Heaven and not earth), but the marriage supper of the lamb – made intimate and one with Christ, receiving our new names, is designed to happen here, not Heaven (maybe I will have time to write more on this later).

The promises of Philadelphia – the bride – those who seek Christ through the open door is for this side of Heaven, the Kingdom of God on earth, especially the final outpouring of the Spirit before the Tribulation.

There are likely brides from all church ages, but Philadelphia is the “age of the bride” in the last of the last days; those outside Philadelphia, i.e., Laodicea, will miss the bride but reign with Christ as “queens” in the Millennium provided they refuse the “mark” in the Tribulation. (Song of Songs 6:8-9; Revelation 20:4)

The “coming” of the Lord to prepare his children for “Sonship,” “bridehood,” is in this life, not Heaven. (Romans 8:18-30; Revelation 19:7)

It is impossible to convey the beauty and depth of Scripture, how precious it becomes, when the Lord begins to reveal its treasures and deep mysteries.

When a person becomes hungry enough for more of him, where they eagerly seek the revelation of Christ in their life, and where Christ’s work will be reverenced, honored, and cherished, then, and only then, will he reveal the “deep truths of the faith” in the mystery of being made intimate and one with him. (NIV, 1 Timothy 3:9, italicized mine)

Important

There is a certain spiritual craving necessary for the Lord and his Word only he can initiate and cultivate, turning our desires and passions toward him, as we respond to his call to eagerly seek a deeper walk with him. (Lamentations 5:21)

Spiritual craving for more of Jesus is difficult to say the least if we are double minded, secretly having our hopes and dreams wrapped in the desires of this life.

If our heart has no room for Jesus (service and activities can be a mask over a heart empty of Christ), it is difficult for him to call you into deeper relationship if there is no desire and craving for him.

It is not theology or activities he is looking for, but open hearts, hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

When his Spirit is allowed to bring us to the place our hearts are desperate for him (John 6:44), i.e., where “relationship” with him becomes “the” priority, he will initiate us in preparation for the final leg of our Christian journey, the one he pioneered for healing and restoring God’s sons and daughters.

If we cooperate with him, allowing him access to the deep things of our heart, he knows how to stir our deep cravings for more of him and the things of God.

And in the same vein, he is more than capable of helping us establish a new set of spiritual priorities, ones leading us away from the false security of the sandy beach, into the safety of journeying with him into the waters of the deep.

You do not want to be on the beach went the storm hits, but in the deep waters of the Spirit with Christ.

He, and only he, can walk you and me through the open door of Philadelphia into the safety of the journey he pioneered for intimacy with him, i.e., the baptism of dying to sin to walk in new by the “cross of grace through faith,”

(Isaiah 53:4-6; John 21:18-19; Romans 6:10; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12 (Paul); Ephesians 2:14-15 see an interlinear; Hebrews 5:7-10)

The journey leads his children into an easy yoke and a light burden – abundant life in him “resurrection life” beyond the new birth and Pentecost.

A journey humanity is not capable of outside of Christ, blinded by sin and its deception. (Matthew 11:28-30; John 21:18-19; Galatians 5:17)

It is the journey of healing and restoration the body of Christ so desperately needs – Christ making you and me intimate and one in him – the cry of his heart for Israel two millenniums ago and for his body over the Gospel age.

And yet comparatively few are seeking Christ for the deep work of the Spirit he has made available today like never before.

Important

Our Savior pioneered the cross of grace through faith for his generations and for you and me, dying to generational sin, fulfilling the law in his flesh, becoming the New Testament in flesh and blood before he entered ministry. (Matthew 5:17, 26:28; Romans 6; Ephesians 2:14-15, see an interlinear; Hebrews 2:10, 5:7-10, 7:16)

He fulfilled his Isaiah 61 Commission for his generations first, before his ministry.

He suffered the long journey of putting sin to death passed to him from his human ancestry, made complete, fathered by God, entering eternal life (immortality), in flesh and blood (redeeming what Adam and Eve lost at the fall and more) before ministry. (Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10)

He offered the fruit of his Commission, healing, and restoration – resurrection life, for over three years to Israel, who horribly rejected and killed him along with the help of Roman Gentiles.

Jesus continued to offer the fruit of his Commission for almost two millenniums.

Yet, from what we know from church history, few have responded to receive the depth of God’s promise of healing and restoration in the mystery of Christ – the journey Christ pioneered to make us one with him.

The Lord specifically reserved the age of Philadelphia (Tabernacles) as the last church age to offer intimacy and union with him (Laodicea is concurrent) knowing our slowness to respond needed “awakening” from what is on the horizon.

Philadelphia brings to a climax the Christian pilgrimage through six church ages in a progression, theme, and succession overseen by the Lord, like the same pattern in the parables of Matthew 13 and Paul’s nine letters to the Churches.

I have covered this subject in earlier posts – it is quite fascinating these three accounts mirror each other, how they mirror Christian life, and how the Lord has saved the best for last, the deepest work of his Spirit on a scale never seen before (speaking of our present season, Philadelphia/Tabernacles).

Note:

The Christian pilgrimage, like Israel’s feasts, its’ agricultural year, are made up of three main seasons, i.e., the new birth (Passover), the baptism of the Holy Spirit, gifts, and teaching (Pentecost), being made intimate and one with Christ and the Father, their dwelling place (Tabernacles, John Chapters 14-16, 17:21).

The same progression/pattern exists with the Tabernacle/Temple – Outer Court, Most Holy Place, and Holy of Holies.

The age of Sardis was the return of the new birth and Pentecost.

The age of Philadelphia is the season of Tabernacles – God’s present labor in the body of Christ.

***

Philadelphia is a billboard in the Scriptures boldly advertising to the body of Christ their last opportunity in the Church age to receive the richness and fullness of Christ through healing and restoration this side of the Millennium.

To become a pearl of great price in the eyes of Christ, just as he became “the pearl” of great price in the eyes of his Father.

We are in a special season of time: “the day of Christ,” “the day of redemption,” the coming of the Lord, “this mystery,” the coming of the bridegroom; fullness of time in the age of Philadelphia/Laodicea. (NIV, Philippians 1: 6, 1: 10, 2: 16; Ephesians 4: 30, see also 1: 14; Colossians 1: 27)

We are on the cusp of the day of the Lord – the long “day” of expanse stretching from the end-time revival, Tribulation, Millennium, to the New Heaven and New Earth.

Important

Unbeknownst to Christendom at large, Christ our bridegroom, has been actively laboring over the last five decades to transition and advance (from the new birth to Tabernacles) those who want more of him.

He is transforming children into fathers and mothers in the faith who will one day in their own special and unique way be a part of Christ’s greater announcement to the larger body of his offer of healing and restoration (the cry to the virgins of Matthew 25).

I foresee two coming revivals.

One, to bring more children into the journey of Philadelphia. (Made intimate and one in growing union with Christ, the heart of John 17:21 and the Gospel.)

The second, later, and foretold in the Scripture (Revelation 12 & 13) an end-time revival birthed from those God has deeply and intimately prepared, to reach out to the body of Christ one last time and the lost before irreversible events are set in motion toward the Tribulation.

The age of Philadelphia fulfills on a scale never seen before (in the body of Christ) the feast of Tabernacles pictured in the Old Testament.

The “age” of the new birth has come and gone (1500s to 20^th century, beginning with the Reformation).

The “age” Pentecost returned has come and gone (early 1900s to 20^th century, beginning with Azusa Street).

It is now the season of Tabernacles, beginning in the last half of 20^th century with the healing, restoration, and fathering movements.

It is the culmination of the Christian journey, the heart of Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission: the bridegroom preparing his bride, a deeper, intensively intimate, profound journey of “becoming” like Christ, far surpassing the new birth and Pentecost.

** This Series **

I hope through this series you see the Bible is more than “historical Christianity,” more than instruction and teaching, more than prophecy, but a living breathing organism bringing light and life to the lost and believers.

The Bible is inseparable from God and Christ, forever amazing those who search its pages for inspiration, insight, and revelation.

It is a progressive, unending, and unfolding revelation of Christ and the plan of God to creation (1 Peter 1:13).

The story of God in the revelation of Christ calls sons and daughters into adventure, battle, and rescue.

The adventure (journey) of pursuing intimacy and union with Christ in being made into his likeness – being known and knowing him (the greatest gift one could ask in this lifetime!), the battle for our lives and the lives of others in overcoming and defeating darkness, and the rescue of those who are new in Christ, inviting them into the larger story of God in Christ through adventure and battle.

Like never before in church history, the richness and treasures of Christ, intimacy with him, are available today to those who seek him.

Christ is doing everything he can short of violating people’s wills to warn and stir hearts, and to equip and prepare those who love him for what is on the horizon.

We are in the age of Philadelphia, the greatest opportunity to gain Christ – completing the journey he pioneered for his body, and the age of the greatest opportunity, Laodicea, to fall away, having the promises of God stolen.

Great gain and peril lie side by side today as the body of Christ and the world enter another fullness of time, like in the days of Noah, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Josiah (the last righteous king of Judah), John the Baptist, Christ, Luther, Seymour/Parham.

I will have more on the Vision of the larger story God is calling his children into in the introduction of the next post.

Suffice to say, we are in the time of the fulfillment of the third feast in the Christian’s pilgrimage, beyond the first feast of the new birth and the second feast of Pentecost, the age of the summer fruit harvest of nuts, olives, and fruits, the last and most precious and flavorful harvest within the Gospel age before the Millennium.

Of course, I’m taking the symbolism associated with the feasts of Leviticus 23 to point to the Christian born again experience (fulfilled in Passover in the NT) and what it brings, the infilling of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) and what it brings, and the journey of being made intimate and one in journey with Christ (Tabernacles), and what it brings to the people of God.

God used Luther to bring back the new birth in the 1500’s.

He used Seymour/Parham, to bring back Pentecost in the early 1900’s.

And he is using people of “no reputation” to bring back the third and final OT feast fulfilled in the New – Tabernacles (Trumpets, Atonement, Booths) – the journey of being made one with Christ, in preparation for the great harvest of souls in the last of the last days.

Christ fulfilled Tabernacles perfectly, made intimate and one with his Father, fathered by God (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10)

And just like he brought fulfillment of Passover and Pentecost to the body of Christ, today he is bringing fulfillment of Tabernacles to those who hunger and thirst after him.

If any season was a time to shake sleep and seek Christ, it is today.

Important

If you are new to this series, you may want to read the section on “The New Language of the New Testament” first.

Then it would be best to read “The Blood of Christ” and “Christ’s Journey, Separating Prophetic Streams, Two Deaths, and Two Glorifications” next, though they are in the next post (I had to move them forward because of the length of the material).

I have covered this material throughout this series, but this post and the ones to come have new and expanded understanding.

This series separates Christ’s journey to perfection from Calvary, both epic events (his ministry was epic too!) to properly understand when his atoning work took place (in his perfection before his ministry), and to identify errors taught about Calvary through creeds and traditions in conflict with Scripture.

Creeds, traditions, and wording (adjustments) in translations to conform with the creeds makes God the planner and designer behind Christ’s physical crucifixion, which Scripture clearly does not support.

Christians have grown up believing the only way God could vent his anger at sin was to kill the only perfect person to ever live, what a way to introduce a new Christian to their loving Heavenly Father!

What does that say about what we think about God?

I wonder how this plays on the minds of Christians when “Christian doctrine” teaches Christ’s father planned the killing of his own Son? (The Scripture does not teach this.)

I wonder if somehow this plays a part in the fatalism and lack of grit and spirit in Christians, contributing to the Great Falling Away in the last days.

I do not think we have to look long and far where the initial thought about God designing and planning the tortuous killing of Christ came from, and how it made its way into Christian doctrine.

Remember how Satan tempted Eve with his less than stellar report about God?

The straightforward answer about Calvary is Jesus “chose” not to take-up arms and legitimately defend himself and take the Kingdom by force.

God did not command Christ to go to Calvary, he had a choice, and he decided to go with his Father’s preference, to not start killing people, to give them more time.

Jesus chose to die to give his offer of forgiveness more time to take root once they see what their unrepentant sins did to him on the cross and realize who they killed.

Decades of persecution had destroyed the knowledge of Christ’s pioneering journey (the deep work of the Spirit of grace in healing and restoration, Tabernacles) when the creeds came to power through council and compromise.

Also being thrown in the ashes was the new language of the New Testament, settling for the safe way of interpretation, by the mind, instead of by the revelation of the Spirit, not wanting the masses to interpret Scripture for themselves by the revelation of the Spirit in relationship with Christ and the Father.

The beginning institutionalization of Christianity in fourth and fifth centuries also buried the new birth and Pentecost with Tabernacles, at least in terms of what we know from church history today before the Reformation.

It does mean there were not people born again, just that it took a Reformation to bring back the new birth front and center over Church practices of works.

Resource 4 in the next post has an expanded section on the blood of Christ showing why Jesus (and New Testament writers) used terms like, sacrifice, blood, in describing Christ’s journey in being made perfect – dying to sin to walk in new life – becoming the Savior. (NIV, Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10)

Finally, the new language of the New Testament is new because we have grown up under the mantle of creeds and traditions, which point Scriptures about sacrifice, blood, cross, death, raised, etc., of Christ to Calvary – Calvary being ground zero – the bedrock of Christianity since the fourth and fifth centuries (the beginning of the Thyatira church age – which should tell us all something).

Whereas the Scripture makes Jesus ground zero, the center of everything this creation is about, the center of our love, devotion, desire, and passion.

He defeated every enmity in his flesh passed to him from his human ancestry (Ephesians 2:14-16, see an interlinear) overcoming every sin coming his way, destroying generational strongholds passed to him, redeeming, restoring, and finishing the race Adam and Eve failed early on.

He put sin to death, was raised to walk in new life, from mortality to immortality, presenting Israel with a clear choice for life over three years, resurrection life, the life he was living and would always live if he had not been killed because they refused to come to repentance and FORGIVENESS offered in his ministry.

Jesus did not die at Calvary to bring forgiveness, he died to give the Jews more time to come to forgiveness, knowing in advance Rome in a generation would bring a final death wound to Israel proper.

Every new move of God reveals old truths hidden under the teaching of men, and just life the new birth and Pentecost eventually came front and center again, so to Tabernacles, Christ’s pioneering journey for himself and those in him.

***

Just as creeds and traditions emasculate Christ, they emasculate Scripture nearly destroying the wonder and beauty of the Bible’s content, stories, and intimate connection pointing God’s children to the mystery of Christ – the journey of intimacy and union with him.

Just as “story” helps the understanding of the Old Testament, so too the language of the New Testament in journey, Christ’s, and ours.

Ministry is not a journey but should be a display of equipping and preparation from journey with Christ.

Christian service and activities, though they can be honorable and noble, do not inherently develop a deeper intimacy with the Lord, in fact, they can be a greater hinderance.

Christ’s Father made him intimate and one with him before his ministry, a pattern, if understood, for his children.

Ministries falter and even fail because those at the front of the ministry did not apprehend intimacy with Christ before they undertook service.

If we allow Jesus to train and prepare you and me for whatever he desires, including the deep work of the Spirit in fathering, our journeys will be successful and come to completion.

And he, in his timing, when another fullness of time peaks, will be able to use us to advance the Kingdom of God in others.

New Insight and Revelation

For those who have been walking in the new birth new insight and revelation comes at the expense of old teachings and beliefs; beliefs wrong to begin with, or whose emphasis has passed because God is doing a new thing.

Invariably, new insight and revelation leads to comparing translations to an interlinear and teaching at large to creeds and traditions.

This series is not something I discovered through study or my efforts, but by the revelation of the Lord beginning in 2014 continuing to the present.

It was not until the Lord began to do a deep work in me the pieces began to fall into place regarding the material in this series.

There are also others who know this material as well.

For over forty years I have wondered about what the Lord was going to do in the last of the last days, what it would be like.

I knew from the Scriptures something big was coming, deeply personal, bringing his children to completion, I just did not know what it would be or look like.

I have a good glimpse of it now, and its’ worth far surpasses our sacrifice to him.

The Lord ever faithful, even to me when I was unfaithful, began answering the cry of my heart to know his Word better when, as I have noted in this series, he began to deal with me deeply and intimately in cleansing and healing.

Because of fear and other reasons, history has shown it is hard for people to be open, search out, and enter new moves of God; it appears particularly so for those who are the most studied – at least that is my speculation.

Fear, ostracism, and persecution by traditions have faced every move of God since the beginning of time.

But thankfully, there are those like the Bereans in Acts Chapter 17, that make suffering through the hardship of bringing something new worthwhile.

The Resource Guide has new and additional insights and revelations about certain passages and words not commonly understood.

Every section in the Resource Guide shines another perspective on Christ’s pioneering journey.

***

Briefly mentioned here are examples of errors, inconsistencies, or conflicts the Lord has brought to my attention:

As noted in this series, when it comes to the doctrine of Christ and Calvary, translators translate unclear passages in a way to “point” and “conform” to the teaching of the Church where Calvary is central, and Christ’s pioneering journey in putting sin to death does not exist.

Translators have added words, like shed, or shedding, or small phrases (Matthew 26:54), or even major rephrasing (Acts 2:23), see an interlinear.

Regarding Matthew 26:54 the Greek rendering does mean the Scripture required the killing of Christ to atone for sin – far from it.

What Matthew 26:54 means is Christ, the Prince of Peace, came to bring “favor” on Israel (his Isaiah 61 Commission), he was not going to be deterred in his mission of offering life to Israel, even if it cost him his physical life – he knew vengeance would come through other means and not by him.

He was going to fulfill Scripture (his Commission) in the way of peace regardless of what happened to him.

In other words, Calvary was not the means of fulfilling Scripture, but the “way of peace” is what must continue to happen to fulfill Scripture.

Christ’s rejection was fulfilled as the Prophets prophesied, not because it was designed and planned by God, but  because people did not come to repentance as God hoped; Calvary was not God’s command to Christ; on the contrary it was God’s hope for Christ to be received (Matthew 21:37).

The same God who made Christ available to Israel over three years hoping he would be received but knew they would reject his Son, is the same God who tells us there is a Great Falling Away coming, and yet does not withhold one iota of his grace and love knowing people will reject him and his offer of life.

Compare Matthew 26:54 to an interlinear and you will see what I mean.

Or, for example, translators choose not to use the “preferred” wording because it would mean something the Church does not teach, translating certain passages as faith “in” Christ, instead of the preferred, the faith “of” Christ.

The former means we are to have faith “in” Christ; the latter means Jesus lived and operated “by” faith just like you and me; Christ brings you and me into “his faith.”

After all, the Scripture says Christ makes you and me into his likeness!

It is not speaking of his outward appearance, but his relationship with his father, which includes obedience by faith.

Jesus is the source of “grace and faith” to live in obedience to him.

Note:

Translators do not make additions, changes, rephrasing, to mislead people, but with an eye toward making Scripture easier to understand based upon Christendom’s understanding of foundational teachings – “better” aligning passages with Church creeds and traditions to enhance church beliefs.

Thank the Lord for scholars and translators, people who know how to read and translate Hebrew and Greek, spending their lives in service to Christ, pouring over manuscripts and the like for hours on end we do not have the time or talent for.

None of us would be where we are today without the unfathomable blessings’ translators, commentators, publishers, editors, and all the rest have spent, past and present, in giving us what they believe are the best translations from available material.

Nonetheless, creeds and traditions make their tremendous weight felt in translations.

***

There are Scripture’s commentators admit do not make sense, like Ephesians 2:14-15 and 1 Peter 3:18 because they do not fit within the narrowly defined grid of creeds and traditions (because God never intended them to!).

Creeds and traditions are man’s creation, not God’s, muddying up the waters God intended to be clear when mixed with his wisdom and understanding.

Both speak of Christ’s journey to completion before his ministry, putting generational sin passed to him from his human ancestry to death, raised to walk in new life – resurrection life, becoming our Savior. (Isaiah 53:4-6, 53:7-9 is Calvary; Romans 3:25, shed is not in the Greek, Romans 4:24-25, 5:8-10, 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10)

When you see Christ’s pioneering journey in the light of our journey (Romans 8:10-11), our flesh subject to “mortality” because of sin, but, the purifying work of the Spirit leads to resurrection life – body, soul, spirit – the journey Christ pioneered for him and us, then these verses make perfect sense.

Ephesians 2:14-15, 1 Peter 3:18, and a host of other Scriptures speak of Christ’s first glorification, made perfect and one with the Father, not his resurrection after Calvary, his second glorification.

Tragically, creeds and traditions have been around so long they have become the standard for interpreting Scripture.

Being set free from them is part of the growing pains that come when God opens new doors into the revelation of the mystery of Christ.

When the Lord unveils new truths, a mystery from past generations becomes food and drink for a new generation.

There has been a progressive unveiling of God’s Word over the last five hundred years, and it is continuing today, accelerating because of the lateness of the hour.

With the unveiling of the Lord’s pioneering journey words formerly believed to apply to Calvary suddenly take on new and expanded meanings, like death, sacrifice, blood, crucify.

As we obtain a more whole and complete understanding of Scripture by the light of God on old truths re-revealed new lands of discovery open in the Kingdom of God, lands we did not know even existed before – speaking of deeper relational intimacy with the Lord this side of the great divide.

And for translations, there is no longer a need to force, adjust, add, or rephrase passages.

Important

Mystery Scriptures suddenly come into focus, from Calvary to Christ, where they belong, at the feet of his triumph in overcoming and destroying generational sin perfectly, defeating mortality (death), entering eternal life before his ministry.

Scriptures like the mystery of Christ, what Jesus said about his blood and flesh (John 6:53-63; Matthew 26:28), what Paul teaches about spiritual language (1 Cor. 2:13), and what John said about bearing witness (1 John 5:7-9).

The re-revealing of old truths by the Spirit about death, sacrifice, blood, releases God’s people from the confines of creeds and traditions into the knowledge of Christ’s pioneering journey and the greater destiny and vision awaiting them far beyond the shores of the new birth and Pentecost.

This series separate the two streams of prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah – his “coming and entrance into eternal life” (first glorification), from his “rejection, killing, and physical resurrection,” (second glorification).

The former planned meticulously by God for Israel to receive their Messiah (Matthew 21:37).

The latter, foreknowledge made known by the Spirit to the prophets fulfilled by lawless men because they refused “life,” preferring the works of the flesh.

The foretelling of Christ’s rejection by the Prophets was not a mandate, any more than the Great Falling Away is for us, but a window through time of what awaits the Messiah if Israel remains steadfast in their unrepentance.

The Lord uses the new language of the New Testament to cultivate inspiration, desire, and discovery in seeking his Word and a deeper relationship with him.

Important

This series is not about criticizing commentators, translators, Scripture translations, or anyone or anything about creeds and traditions.

This series is not trying to undo what Christendom taught for centuries.

It is not about having the right theology.

It is about pursuing intimacy with Christ in the season he reserved specifically for that purpose, the season the Scripture calls Philadelphia.

Good theology always helps, it is always good to understand what the Word means, especially in times when its meaning can make a “major” difference.

But good theology is not a requirement to pursue a deep and intimate relationship with Christ – that is everybody’s God given right regardless of their knowledge of the Bible.

If we learn anything in this series it is not creeds and traditions or good theology that saves you or me but being covered by the blood of Christ, being found in him, whether you believe you are covered by his literal blood, or whether you believe he meant the entirety of his life was sacrificed for you.

Though an understanding of his pioneering journey will better prepare your heart and mind for the journey you will undertake once entering Philadelphia (Tabernacles) giving perspective you might not otherwise have.

***

Christ, the Apostles, and reformers past and present had to deal with traditions.

Creeds and traditions are an inescapable part of the landscape Christians face regardless of what they believe about them.

No one on this side of the Millennium is going to be able to wipe the slate clean and start the New Testament with a fresh blackboard, because the spiritual warfare required to cleanse the body of Christ from creeds and traditions would be overwhelming.

Christendom has made creeds and traditions inseparable from Scripture, in fact, superior to Scripture, just like in the parable Christ warned about – the yeast kneaded in flour. (Matthew 13, the fourth parable)

The tearing down of creeds and traditions would be tantamount to destroying belief in Jesus, and the Lord does not want that to happen.

The Lord begins change by bringing new wine to children who are thirsty.

The Lord turns the pages of history slowly giving time for his children to absorb new moves of God giving opportunity as much as possible to those who cling to tradition.

Even in the Millennium it will take decades of healing and restoration to undo all the damage the world has done on those who make it through the Tribulation to the second coming of Christ.

This series is not about creating a new set of beliefs for people to cleave to, but an understanding of Christ’s pioneering journey so we will seek to cleave to him!

Though it is about making Christians more aware of the impact creeds and traditions have had on discouraging intimacy with Christ, making salvation an event instead of a journey, and more about Calvary, than Christ.

Another purpose of this series is to demonstrate the Bible is more than sufficient to give us everything we need to seek intimacy with Christ, it is our food and drink in Christ.

We do not need an extra-biblical set of beliefs imposed on Scripture and its translation.

At the end of the day, Jesus made it clear how people will know whether we are disciples of Christ – not by creeds and traditions, but,

“‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’” (NIV, John 13:35)

Having a loving relationship with Christ, learning how to receive and give care and love in healing and restoration, will go a long way of helping you and me not only care and love ourselves, but love others as we love ourselves.

You know a tree by its fruit; if creeds and traditions produced good fruit, i.e., pointing God’s sons and daughters toward seeking intimacy and union with Christ, then this series and others like it would have never been necessary.

So, how do we get where our branch is producing good fruit pleasing to God?

By pursuing the journey Christ pioneered for himself and you and me for healing and restoration, permitting him to fulfill his Commission:

“‘to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’” (NIV, Luke 4: 18-19)

***

In summary, Scripture is the living breath of God, giving you and me everything we need to pursue intimacy and union with Christ.

Creeds and traditions do not “add” to God’s Word, but instead create obstacles to pursuing intimacy with Christ.

The Scripture says, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” (NIV, 1 Thessalonians 5: 19-22)

We have in our possession the prophetic Word of God for this hour of history, and it behooves you and me to search it diligently with intentionality to the extent we can and are enabled and gifted in Christ for ourselves, and others.

Acts 17: 11 says, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (NIV)

Faith is for trusting in God’s Word, not for trusting extra-biblical writings.

There is only one mediator between God and man, and it is not creeds and traditions or other beliefs but the Lord Jesus Christ.

If teaching is not pointing you to seek a deeper relationship with Christ, then ask the Lord to help you find a body of Christ where teaching does.

Lastly this series is about revealing deeper truths to a more intimate relationship with Christ in the age of Philadelphia, the deep work of the Spirit of grace in the last of the last days.

Jesus is calling his children into the deep with him because the hour is late, and healing and restoration is needed to bring this age to a close.

New church ages birth new revelation, and Philadelphia is no exception.

God is not interested in repeating the past but moving his body of children into deeper relationship with him.

His heart is to fulfill his prayer to have his children become one with him in intimacy and union before this age ends. (John 17:21)

And he has made everything available in the age of Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) to bring those who desire him into a deep relationship with him.

** Preface **

This post continues our journey through the Scriptures revealing Christ’s journey to completion before his ministry.

It is critical we understand his journey, for his journey is a pattern for our journey.

The new birth gives you and me our passport to journey into the interior of the Kingdom of God.

If we allow Jesus to do the necessary preparation in our lives, he will personally and individually escort us into the interior to explore and “homestead” the territory the enemy has stolen from us and our generations.

By homesteading I mean the right to pursue intimacy and union with Christ through the Spirit’s transformative labor in our lives.

The Old Testament foretold the coming of Christ and symbolized the New Covenant pilgrimage through the OT harvests (barley, wheat, summer fruit), feasts (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles), and the Tabernacle/Temple.

If we miss the knowledge of Christ’s journey, his first glorification, by focusing on Calvary, we may miss what God has reserved for his body today – the deep work of the Spirit of grace in cleansing and healing in the age of Philadelphia.

The age of Philadelphia offers the promise of Christ making you and me into his likeness on a scale and depth not offered to any other church age.

Philadelphia is Christ’s last labor in the body during relative peace before the Tribulation.

After Philadelphia, this offer will not come again until the Millennium.

It is not a coincidence that in the last number of decades a host of para-church ministries have sprouted up offering healing and restoration ministries.

Christ has labored through five church ages to bring his body to the place where those who thirst and hunger for him can receive the fullness of his promises in Philadelphia.

Jesus has provisioned resources in Philadelphia to effect lasting change; where his children (being fathered by Christ) can put sin to death by the cross of grace through faith like never before, raised to walk experientially in new life.

It has taken almost two millenniums to bring the Church to where it is today – where the fullness of Christ is available unlike any previous time.

It comes at the cost of pursuing intimacy with him, the cost of wanting Jesus more than the pleasures and riches of this temporal life.

Important

It may appear in the natural there are minor differences between those who pursue Christ for intimacy and union and those who decide to settle for the coastal areas of Christ, and not embark on the journey into the interior of the Kingdom.

In Bible terms, I am talking about those who seek intimacy with Christ, the journey of transformation from glory to glory (glorification, i.e., healing), versus those content in staying justified, not wanting to journey beyond the new birth and Pentecost into Tabernacles. (Romans 8:30)

There is a difference in life and outcomes between those who settle for “justification” versus those who seek Christ for intimacy and union in Tabernacles, i.e., “glorification.” (Romans Chapter 8; 2 Cor. 3:18; Philippians 3:20-21; 2 Thessalonians 2:14)

For 21^st century Christians, the Spirit is calling everyone to seek completion, i.e., Tabernacles (Philadelphia): not to “camp” at the new birth – but to journey onward beyond justification toward glorification.

The Lord knows his body needs greater fullness to weather the coming storms.

The “age of Philadelphia” is not likely to exceed a century; there are people alive today who will live to see it come to fullness as well as Laodicea.

The former made into last day brides, the latter left outside the safety of intimacy and union with Christ.

It is not too late to set your sights on a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Will he give us a stone if we ask for a fish – no.

If you want more of Jesus, he will not disappoint you.

I hope revival is not too far ahead; that another opportunity comes to usher more through the open door of Philadelphia into the deep work of the Spirit of grace.

Unlike the age of Thyatira, which lasted over a millennium, and the Reformation (including Pentecostalism), which lasted for almost five hundred years (the age of Sardis), the age of Philadelphia is unlikely to go beyond the “lifetime” of a generation.

Philadelphia started in the early part of the last half of the 20^th century.

Thus, the increase in healing ministries over the last number of decades, and the increase in darkness over the same period.

When the Lord takes those who seek him as far as he can in healing in Philadelphia, then he will set in motion irreversible events for the great last day harvest of souls before the Tribulation begins.

It is not world events, i.e., the Antichrist system coming to fullness triggering end-time events, but the Philadelphia bride coming to maturity.

Contrary to popular beliefs, it is not world events that set in motion the end-times, but the bride coming to maturity.

When people are ready then God moves, the pattern of revival throughout history.

** The Coming of the Lord to Father Sons and Daughters into Sonship **

Though Christendom at large seeks commonality within its circles, pursuing intimacy and union with the Lord is anything but that.

Because of creeds and traditions Christendom at large does not recognize there is a uniquely personal season for God’s children to prepare – if they desire intimacy and union with Christ – for the “coming of the Lord” in their life.

Jesus meant what he promised, and his promise is beyond the new birth and Pentecost, a deeper experience, Tabernacles, the journey of cleansing and healing in growing intimacy and union with him.

I am planning to cover the coming of the Lord in greater depth in Resource 9 in the next post.

I have covered this topic throughout this series because it begins the journey Christ pioneered for himself and for us, Tabernacles, the final season of coming to maturity in healing and restoration through growing intimacy and union with Christ.

God designed a plan in Christ to “father” his children out of rejection and abandonment “orphans” into intimacy and union with him.

The new birth and Pentecost only take us so far into the Kingdom of God in relationship with Christ.

They teach us “about” Jesus, and to discern his “presence” (his Spirit), but they were never designed by God to bring us into intimacy with Christ (to know and be known by Jesus), which can only come about through individual journey with him – i.e., the deep work of the Spirit of grace in being made intimate and one with Christ through cleansing and healing. (Romans 6, 8:10-11; 1 Peter 1:13)

Being fathered from orphans into Sonship requires more than teaching and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it requires deep fathering, where sin resides, where we live deeply in thoughts, words, and deeds, the motives driving our desires and passions – the core of who we are, how we think, believe, and live.

It takes the “coming of the Lord” i.e., “fathering” (ongoing personal encounter with Christ in care, cleansing, healing, preparation, and equipping), to take us to maturity and completion, intimacy and union with Jesus and the Father. (John 17:21; Ephesians 4:12-13, 5:26-27)

Every Christian is not fully complete – from the newborn to the scholar and theologian – until the Lord fathers you and me from “orphans” to Sonship.

Scholars, professors, ministers, theologians, apostles, prophets, evangelists, lay people, and doctors of this or that, are in the eyes of Scripture and God, “orphans” until they have entered the journey Christ pioneered for personal fathering.

You could memorize the Bible, be able to recite any verse in Scripture, know church doctrines backward and forward, and yet be an “orphan” in the eyes of the Lord because he has not fathered you into intimacy and union with him.

Only Jesus can father you and me – though he uses counselors, prayer ministers, pastors and others, his “coming” beyond the new birth and Pentecost includes personal one on one fathering by him that is not part of the new birth and Pentecost – because Tabernacles is cleansing and healing in growing intimacy with him.

The Lord could not take the foolish virgins into the journey of cleansing and healing in growing intimacy with him “fathering” because they had not prepared.

And then we read the warning in Matthew Chapter 7:21-23 to those who labored in the gifts of the Spirit, yet they did not have intimacy with Christ.

A person will know they have entered “fathering” because of the new intensity of the Spirit in their lives – far beyond the new birth and Pentecost in the revelation and activity of the Spirit and the Word, and the clear leading of the Lord they are in a new place with him, where there is no going back.

Once the Lord begins fathering, you cannot go back, just like the Hebrews could not go back once they left Egypt, and Joshua and Israel once they crossed the Jordan.

The journey and experience of Tabernacles is as distinct as Pentecost is from the new birth, and the new birth is from being unsaved, and even more so.

When Jesus brings you across your Jordan into the land of milk and honey, he will give you the entirety of the land as you walk with him.

***

Paul in his own way describes the journey of transforming “orphans” into the fullness of “Sonship” or Christ likeness throughout Romans 8.

Creeds and traditions buried the truths of God’s “fathering” for well over a millennium and a half.

Reformers beginning in the 1500s (by the revelation of the Spirit) brought back the revelation of the new birth – salvation by grace through faith in Christ, restoring the truths of the born-again experience over the following centuries.

The Reformation was the beginning of the Sardis church age and the dying out of the fires of Pentecost in the latter part of the twentieth century its end.

Christian pioneers restored the revelation of Pentecost through the likes of Azusa Street in the early 1900s.

And it was not until the last half of the 1900s the knowledge of agreements, lies, vows, etc., along with cleansing and healing began to be restored to the body of Christ, beginning the transition from Sardis to Philadelphia, which, in my estimation at this time, is still more in the beginning half than the last half.

Another revival is coming to bring more children into “fathering” before the great end-time revival before the Tribulation.

When humanity fell in the Garden of Eden, we fell deeply, so much, it took four millenniums of preparation by God before Christ could come, and another two millenniums of preparation by Christ before he could begin the last phase of the Christian journey (again) – fathering into wholeness and holiness.

It will not only be the bride coming to maturity and fullness in the days ahead, but the Antichrist system as well.

Depending upon which Old Testament manuscript you refer to, it’s taken a minimum of four millenniums (or more) for Christ to rollback what started with Adam and Eve in the Garden, not only restoring what they lost, but fathered by God, finishing the race they failed to complete because of sin.

 Highly Important

The purpose of Christ’s coming was to fulfill the heart of God for intimacy and union with man: someone who would fulfill his will from the heart without sin (Hebrews 10:5-10), and out of that relationship of fulfilling the law in his flesh without sin, he would become our Savior, our substitute, propitiation for the sins of mankind. (Hebrews 5:7-10)

Fulfilling God’s heart to the full, doing his will, was not to be killed – he was not to be killed like an animal sacrifice – but to give the entirety of his life to the Father in being made perfect, God’s original design and plan for man and woman, intimacy, and union with God, to be his habitation. (Hebrews 10:5-10)

To come into union with God, his habitation in flesh and blood, to redeem what Adam and Eve lost and finish the race they failed to complete, would require the sacrifice of Christ’s life to the uttermost, putting to death generational sin passed to him from his human ancestry.

Christ’s sacrifice under God’s “fathering” made complete, perfect – putting sin to death, raised to walk in “resurrection – eternal life” before his ministry, started a new generation of spiritual sons and daughters.

Christ’s sacrifice was complete and total, the entirety of his life, a “blood sacrifice” in every sense and meaning of the word.

A literal blood sacrifice could not replace or add to what Christ sacrificed in God making him perfect, becoming our Savior in his perfection before ministry, his first glorification. (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10)

Because he was already the New Testament in flesh and blood, the living breathing NT presented to Israel, he was able to bear the cross of Calvary through all of its evil in giving the people of Israel more time to come to forgiveness he had already purchased in his perfection (see my 1 Peter 2:24 discussion on the second half of the sentence).

And in Christ’s victory of putting sin to death, God raised him from mortality (death) to immortality (resurrection/eternal life).

Out of the new intimacy and union Christ established with the Father, the firstborn, first fruit, pioneer, forerunner of the new creation relationship, he would be presented to Israel as their Messiah “atoning sacrifice,” having atoned for sins in his perfection, offering Israel an early Millennium, and the people eternal life.

This is the message of the Gospel for Jew and Gentile, intimacy and union with Christ and the Father by the saving power of the Holy Spirit, Christ the pioneer of the new creation relationship.

Out of intimacy and union with the Father, having no sin between them, Jesus became our Savior – the natural consequence of his union with the Father is our salvation – our atoning sin substitute, mediator, Messiah, High Priest.

Christ came to fulfill God’s heart for intimacy with his creation without the interference of sin in communion, fellowship, and union.

It is a popular message we hear constantly, the Gospel is all about “us,” everything Jesus did for “us,” what creeds and traditions and the songs we sing teach – BUT, the truth of the Scriptures it is not all about us, Christ was the firstborn, first fruit, pioneer, forerunner made perfect “first,” then we come into the story.

Before Jesus could save others, God had to make him perfect by “fathering” Christ in putting generational sin to death inherited from his human ancestry; then, having perfected Christ before his ministry, Jesus could go forth and save others under his Isaiah 61 Commission.

Jesus was God with us, Savior, at his birth, but God had to make him our Savior experientially in his personal journey with the Father before his ministry.

Please remember, except for his virgin birth, conceived by the Holy Spirit, receiving the nature of Godliness from his Father’s side, he still inherited the sins of his generations from his mother side, no different from us, except we get sins from both parents, not just one.

It is all about Jesus and the Father, made one by the power of the Holy Spirit in putting sin to death (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10), formed and fashioned into the likeness of his Father, desired by God from the beginning of creation, fulfilling the need in his heart for union with mankind, beginning with Christ.

Christ fulfilled the heart of the Father, destroying the enmity in his flesh, made intimate and one with his heavenly Father, unlike any human who existed before him, or any human who exists after him.

Out of the untold billions of people that have been born and died on planet earth, Christ is the only sinless one who can say with every sense of the meaning of the word father, God is his father, having fulfilled the will of God perfectly in every area of his life.

In being made perfect, having enmity in his flesh but never yielding to it, putting it to death by the plan God devised by the cross of grace through faith, brought into unfettered union with God, he became the means through which men and women could receive the grace of “atonement” through his perfection.

Though there were “types” of “the Christ” in the Old Testament, there is only one Jesus, now and forever more.

Christ was personally and uniquely “fathered” by his heavenly Father in destroying generational sin passed to him, God using the suffering in putting sin to death to raise his Son as a seasoned warrior, not only having a kind and gentle spirit (lamb), but the fierceness of a lion-king, to partner perfectly with his Father in bringing salvation to mankind.

We in the 21^st century have the greatest opportunity of any church age, to enter the age of Philadelphia – the promise of God to make us intimate and one with him – in fulfillment of Tabernacles, Christ having already fulfilled it for his generations.

Christ is waiting to find more who want more than loaves and fishes, but intimacy with him, so the sound of the “trumpet,” the work of “atonement” in cleansing and healing, can make a habitation of the Lord in our “tents/booths.”

(Leviticus Chapter 23 the feast of Tabernacles is comprised of three feasts, trumpets, atonement, and booths.)

In case you are new to this series, here are some of the more obvious Scriptures of the “coming of the Lord” to take sons and daughters into personal journey with him (these Scriptures have nothing to do with the rapture or second physical coming, but personal care and love from the Lord in making one whole and holy).

Coming of the Lord in Scripture

Matthew 24:40-41; Matthew 25, story of the virgins; John 14:18, 14:23, 14:26, 15:26, 16:13-15, 21:18-19; 1 Corinthians 4:5, 15:23; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians (NIV) 4:19 forming of Christ in his sons and daughters; Ephesians 1:14 and 4:30 (NIV) coming to restore beyond the new birth; Philippians (NIV) 1:6, 1:10, and 2:16 “day of Christ”; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thess. 1:10, 5:23 (see an interlinear, he comes to cleanse and heal the entirety of who we are; 2 Thess. 1:10; 1 Timothy 6:14; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:13; 1 John 3:2.

These Scriptures are not about the rapture or second coming, but the “coming” to purify and refine his children, transforming “orphans” into “fathers (mothers)” in fulfillment of the third OT feast, Tabernacles (trumpets, atonement, booths).

This is the journey of “becoming” a dwelling for the Lord through cleansing and healing, beyond the new birth and Pentecost, fulfilling his Isaiah 61 Commission.

Taking those who eagerly seek him through the open door into Philadelphia, made intimate and one with him as he prayed so long ago. (John 17:21)

Philadelphia is the specific church age the Lord has reserved in the last of the last days to make those who hunger and thirst after him intimate and one with him.

The “coming” of the Lord ushers us into a distinct season of time, just like the new birth and Pentecost, but longer and more fulfilling because it is our final journey – healing and restoration in growing intimacy and union with Christ.

It is the development of a uniquely personal and individual relationship with Christ, being known, and knowing him (1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Peter 1:13; for not knowing Christ see Matthew 7:23, 25:12).

It is the journey of Christ making us one with him as he is with the Father, an inseparable bond. (John 17:21)

Now, intellectually, we look at what Jesus prayed (he would not have needed to pray John 17:21 if it happened automatically with the new birth or Pentecost) and think how is this possible, but we must remember, all things are possible “in him.”

Philadelphia is his provision for fulfilling his prayer and promise to make those who hunger and thirst after righteousness his very own, forming and fashioning as much of his likeness he can in the age he reserved specifically for that purpose.

When Jesus prayed to make us one with him and the Father, he was not referring to Heaven.

And he would not be praying this prayer if it were automatic.

It was not a hypothetical prayer, a “maybe” prayer, but a prayer for those who want intimacy with him.

Important

Jesus leads those who want more of him into the deep work of the Spirit, cleansing and healing you and me from our wounds and brokenness, guiding us into repentance and forgiveness in putting sin to death, our journey in the here and now, not Heaven.

Intimacy in growing union with Christ (Tabernacles) is for every church age, but the Lord reserved Philadelphia for this present purpose because of the lateness of the hour, approaching another “fullness of time.”

Christ selected Peter as the first beyond the new birth, which Peter already had, and Pentecost, which he would experience shortly, into the deep work of the Spirit of grace in cleansing and healing, intimacy, and growing union with Christ (John 21:18-19).

(As I have shown in this series, John 21:19, is not about Peter being physically crucified at some future time like tradition teaches, far from it, but led by the Lord into Christ’s baptism, the one he pioneered, to put sin to death, raised to walk in new life.

See Paul’s description of Christ’s baptism for Paul – 2 Cor. 4:10-12; and Peter’s lead in comment on his journey, 1 Peter 1:13.)

This is where we have growing intimacy and union with Christ in being known, and in knowing, deeply and personally, entering the fullness of Sonship (Romans 8:23), becoming a true spiritual father in Christ.

In Philadelphia, God is doing a deep work unlike any time in history on a scale never completed before in his sons and daughters.

The body of Christ has never had the abundance of resources (prepared by the Lord) it has today for personal and individual ministry, especially through technology.

Other than what will happen in the Millennium, there is nothing in Scripture, or history, which compares to the deep labor of the Spirit of grace in healing and restoration in process now in the age of Philadelphia.

It is not until the Lord shows up “comes, appears, reveals, judges” personally and deeply do we realize how far our life has been from the will of God, how powerful the enemy has been in areas, why we have struggled so much in areas (Romans 7:14-23), and how gracious God has been as we’ve lived life apart from him in sin.

All it takes is for the Lord to begin to work in an area, usually first in simple obedience, for one to realize how difficult it is to follow simple instructions, having to resist not only the power of sin, but also our flesh – what we want to do (Galatians 5: 17, John 21: 18).

The flesh opposes the Spirit, and the Spirit the flesh (NIV, Galatians 5:17).

There is only one answer to the power of the flesh, for it to be put to death by the cross of grace through faith in repentance and forgiveness, the journey Christ pioneered for himself and us – God destroying the barrier of sin in agreements, lies, vows, etc., so we can be cleansed and healed to walk in new life.

Christ was no different from you and me; he was born into “flesh” of his human ancestry, having to put it to death just like he asks you and me to do, and with the same cross of grace through faith in utter dependence upon God.

If we want Eden restored, the promises of intimacy with Christ, resurrection life, we must go back to ground zero, where sin began, disobedience, and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us to unlearn disobedience and learn obedience, just like Christ, the last Adam (Romans 5: 14, 5:19, 6:10; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Hebrews 5:7-10).

There is no other way, it takes death to the enmity in our flesh, the lower nature, disobedience, so we can have life from God in the Spirit through obedience.

Only the Spirit of Christ can bring this about in our lives once we are hungry and thirsty enough to allow him in when he knocks on the door of our heart.

The power of sin is too strong for mere mortal man or woman to defeat without Christ, you might be able to resist it for a season, but it will eventually come to fruition in thoughts, words, or deeds.

Only Christ by the power of the Spirit by grace knows how to accomplish this in our lives, so he can give us new garments, new names, and a royal crown. (Revelation 3:7-13, 19:7-8)

The journey begins with learning obedience over our thoughts, words, and deeds; bridled and transformed as Christ’s own, from “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” cleansed and healed to do the will of God from a new heart and mind. (NIV, 1 John 2:16)

We find out quickly we cannot find cleansing and healing for our deep wounds and pain by others or other things, but only by the Spirit of God as he conforms our life into the likeness of his precious Son.

As we journey with Christ, the Lord allows deep unmet needs in our inner members we have sought to fulfill through every kind of sin and works imaginable, emerge by “raising its voice” “sprouting its head” so we will see the deep need for Christ to come and make that area his own.

Finally, just like we humble our hearts to be born again, and again for many to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, so too Tabernacles – the coming of the Lord to father us into the likeness of Christ – must be sought through humbleness of heart and spirit in seeking the Lord for his coming. (Jeremiah 29:13; Romans 8:19, 8:23, 8:25; 1 Cor. 1:7, 4:5; Galatians 5:5; Ephesians 1:18; Philippians 3:20; 1 Peter 1:13)

Paradigm Shift

The age of Philadelphia brings about a change in basic assumptions, thinking, and clarity within the body of believers about God’s plan in Christ for them and the great depth and breath of his promises and what they provide.

Philadelphia is the making of the Pearl of great price, transforming sheep into war horses (NIV, Zechariah 10:3), made intimate and one with Christ and the Father, receiving the names Jesus promises in his letter to Philadelphia.

It divides those who want a deeper relationship from those who do not.

It comes at a time of one of the greatest transitional shifts in history, from the Gospel Age to Christ’s millennial rule by way of the coming end-times and Tribulation.

To make it through the coming darkness, and it will come in waves, the waves getting deeper in time, God’s children will need greater healing and restoration than is present today.

There will come a time in the days ahead where one’s only safety will be in journey with Christ, in encounter “in his training circle having our loins girded with truth” the journey of Philadelphia, made one with Christ.

The greater healed and restored, like the wise virgins, the more likely we will make it through in one piece.

The Cross of Grace Through Faith

The Journey of Being Made a Dwelling for The Lord, Tabernacles, The Age of Philadelphia

The cross of grace through faith may sound “weak” compared to an actual wooden cross used for crucifixion, but it is powerful, destroying spiritual strongholds, and miraculous, bringing “life and truth” by the power of God where sin once prevailed. (Romans Chapter 6; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 2:8, 2:14-16 see an interlinear; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 5:7-10)

It is symbolic of the double-edged razor-sharp “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” (NIV, Ephesians 6:17, italicized mine), cutting away sin and the power of sin through agreements, lies, etc., circumcising the flesh, birthing, and creating by the power of God the divine nature – resurrection life. (Romans Chapter 6, 8:10-11; Galatians 4:19; Hebrews 4:12-13; 2 Peter 1:4)

It is the only means to “resurrection life” this side of the great divide. (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:10-11, 3:21)

This is what Jesus pioneered for God’s children.

The cross of grace through faith is first and foremost about “fathering” – being fathered by Christ and our Heavenly Father into intimacy, transforming our nature from the fall “fatherlessness,” (the nature of an orphan, living life by the works of the flesh), to living life by the Spirit of Christ.

Putting sin to death without proper fathering will result in a worse state.

Jesus warned about cleansing the house without filling it with him.

That’s why to be brought into the deep work of the Spirit of grace, Tabernacles – the long journey of cleansing, healing, and restoration (beyond preparatory inner healing) can only come about through Christ’s choosing – those who have prepared for the journey, like the five wise virgins, for example.

The Lord must accomplish a measure of preparation in our hearts and minds before he can take his children into the intense work of the Spirit (Tabernacles, Philadelphia), made intimate and one with Christ.

Only the labor of Christ can produce Christ in you and me, and only the labor of his Spirit can elevate you and me to “Sonship” “Fathers,” imparting Christ’s identity to “Fathers of the Faith,” whether male or female.

I will have more on “fathering” in the next post in Resource 5, Lord willing.

***

Christ became the testator of the New Testament by putting sin to death (the sin of his generations passed to him from his human ancestry), raised by the Spirit to walk in new life, becoming the New Testament in flesh and blood, his first glorification, before his ministry.

Christ became our mediator, Savior, Bridegroom – God’s gift to Israel for over three years. (NIV, Hebrews 5:7-10; 1 Peter 3:18)

Putting generational transgressions and iniquities to death by the cross of grace through faith through repentance and forgiveness, not Calvary, made Christ our Savior.

The cross of grace through faith is synonymous with the deep work of the Spirit of grace (1 Peter 1: 13), the final leg of the Christian pilgrimage in healing and restoration, i.e., Tabernacles, Christ making us intimate and one with him through encounter – a dwelling for he and the Father. (John 14:18, 14:23)

The age of Philadelphia, Tabernacles, brings everything together in the last of the last days, bringing those who hunger and thirst after Christ into fullness and maturity. (Ephesians 4:12-13, 5:26-27; Revelation 3:7-13)

Of all the church ages, Philadelphia offers the greatest opportunity and promise: (and Laodicea, which is concurrent, the greatest peril), to be made intimate and one with Christ by the cross of grace through faith in encounter with him; receiving the care and love of our heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus in healing and restoration.

Anything less than the deep work of the Spirit of grace, Tabernacles, the heart of the age of Philadelphia, is living a life falling short of the promise of God. (Hebrews 4:1, 6:1)

I plan to cover “wounding and piercing” by the cross of grace through faith in the next post, Resource 5; see the discussion below in the section on Isaiah 53:4-6.

Important

Every person God has used through history, Old and New Testaments, goes through a period of wounding, piercing, and crushing to the lower nature before they are worthy of carrying the Spirit of the Lord in ministry.

Jesus was no exception, except his was total and complete, destroying every component and layer of sin passed to him, starting a new “blood line” in the Spirit of children who would have the opportunity of Christ making them into his likeness.

Tabernacles

The deep work of the Spirit of grace in the revelation of Christ (NIV, 1 Peter 1:13), “Tabernacles” is as unique, distinct, and different, as the new birth and Pentecost are to each other, and more so.

Tabernacles is a distinct season of time beyond the new birth and Pentecost where the labor of the Lord (in journey with him) makes children into young men and women, and on into Fathers and Mothers of the faith, a habitation for he and the Father. (John 14:18, 14:23, 17:21)

Like everything in the Old Testament pointing to Christ, Jesus fulfilled Tabernacles – becoming a dwelling for the Father (John 14:9; Hebrews 1:3) – perfectly and completely (the pioneer, first fruit, firstborn), establishing the pattern for God’s children.

Tabernacles requires conditions (of the heart), resources, and revelations to be available and unfold at the right time to bring children into the journey Christ pioneered for himself and those grafted into him.

Just as it took the revelation of the Lord to birth the return of salvation by grace in the Reformation (the new birth fulfilling what the feast Passover pointed to), and,

the revelation of the Lord to birth the return of Pentecost in the early 1900s (what the feast of Pentecost in the Old Testament pointed to),

so, too it takes the revelation of the Lord to birth the return of intimacy and union (Sonship) with Christ (what the feast of Tabernacles – trumpets, atonement, booths – pointed to in the Old Testament, Leviticus 23).

And before Christ can accomplish union with him, measures of cleansing, healing, and restoration from wounds and brokenness and the sins feeding upon them must occur.

Only Jesus knows the cleansing and healing he desires for you and me to apprehend in journey with him.

Because of the damage of creeds and traditions through the centuries and presently (extra-biblical teaching making “Calvary” and the “literal blood of Christ” the epicenter of salvation, and not “Jesus”) the Lord reserved a special season of time through Sardis and Philadelphia to restore what his children have lost.

The age of Sardis restored the new birth and Pentecost.

Philadelphia is restoring cleansing and healing, intimacy with the Lord, through the cross of grace through faith in dying to sin to walk in new life, the baptism Christ pioneered for himself and God’s children.

Philadelphia, the deep work of the Spirit of grace, is the fulfillment of the feasts of trumpets, atonement, and booths of the OT; I and others refer to it simply as “Tabernacles” for NT vernacular.

Whereas the creeds have the killing of Christ as the source of the New Covenant, the Scriptures have the “perfection” of Jesus as the source, dying to generational sin passed to him, raised to walk in new life, before his ministry.

(Romans 3:25, 4:24-25, 5:8-10, 6:10; Ephesians 2:14-16, see an interlinear; Hebrews 5:7-10, and more Scriptures)

Because Christendom adopted (through councils and compromise) beliefs contrary to Scripture in the fourth and fifth centuries, the Lord reserved a season of time (Philadelphia), to bring sons and daughters back to the truth about who he is, his mission, what he did, his promises, and critically, the journey he pioneered “for them” to be made intimate and one with him.

Important

Specifically, Christ reserved the age of Philadelphia as our season of time to fulfill the feast of Tabernacles in our life (in Christ), made intimate and one with Jesus through the adventure he pioneered, made one with his Father.

That is why those who enter Philadelphia (the journey of Tabernacles) receive new names, because it is a journey of transformation – deep transformation of the body, soul, and spirit, unlike the new birth and Pentecost.

Philadelphia (Tabernacles) is the journey of “glorification” (Romans 8; 2 Cor. 3:18; Ephesians 4:20-24, 5:26-27; Philippians 3:20-21) beyond the new birth and Pentecostal experience of “justification.”

God pours out a measure of his Spirit in Pentecost (the baptism of the Holy Spirit), but this is not “glorification” from the Scripture.

Glorification goes beyond knowing “about” Jesus, or knowing his “presence” to knowing him, and he us, through the journey of dying to sin, cleansing, healing, and restoration.

Christ reserved Philadelphia (Tabernacles) as the last opportunity before the Tribulation because it is the last season Jesus can make his children into his likeness through the journey he pioneered – glorification.

Again, Philadelphia and Laodicea occur concurrently, except Laodicea ends in the Tribulation, whereas Philadelphia ends just before in the out translation.

In typological terms, in reference to the Old and New Testaments, it is the summer fruit harvest of fruits, nuts, and olives, the Holy of Holies, sheep made into warhorses (Zechariah 10:3), grain Christians transformed into tree bearing fruits, virgins made into brides, treasures made into pearls, mortality made into immortality, etc.  

Note:

Romans Chapters 3 through 8 are about Christ’s journey to perfection, as is Hebrews Chapters 1 through 10 (his testimony), as well as passages in the Epistles.

Important

Very briefly, here is a glimpse how the feasts of Trumpets, Atonement, and Booths of Leviticus 23 foretell and point to intimacy and growing union with Christ.

The feast of Trumpets points to the call of the Spirit, the gentle wooing of the Holy Spirit, the wind is changing, God is about to do something new, a gentle alarm clock, something new is about to take place, awake and listen up, become fully alert, get your wits about you, and turn your gaze intently on Christ.

Begin seeking the Lord for what he is about to release in the Spirit and how you can please him and prepare for what he is about to do.

In the NT, the feast of the Trumpets requires quiet before the Lord, time with him away from the hustle and bustle of life and the sounds of a thousand distractions.

It requires waiting before the Lord, sacrifice, to hear the voice of the Spirit of what God is about to do and how to prepare.

It announces anticipation and expectation of something new and “good” coming.

It is the gentle call of the Spirit “things” are not as usual, to awaken from spiritual slumber and sleep and eagerly seek him, alert, ready, and awake on the day of his visitation.

The feast of Atonement points to the journey Christ pioneered for himself and for us, made intimate and one with God.

It is dying to sin to walk in new life – for Christ, dying to sins passed to him from his human ancestry, for us – dying to our sins, and those of our generations.

Christ, made one with the Father in the journey of putting sin to death by the cross of grace through faith, became not just our Savior in name but in substance, our atoning sacrifice, giving the entirety of his life to God, made perfect. (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10)

He destroyed the enmity in his flesh inherited from his human ancestry, raised to walk in resurrection life, eternal life, from mortality to immortality before his ministry.

His atoning blood sacrifice, never yielding to sin, giving the entirety of his life to the Father, is “credited” to us, making those who believe in him “justified” before God, and those who go on to completion “glorified.” (Romans Chapter 8)

More specifically, those who enter the deep work of the Spirit in being made one with Jesus through the cross of grace through faith in breaking agreements, renouncing lies, breaking vows, etc., are applying Christ’s atoning work to their sins, becoming “at-one” with him and the Father through him.

Simply, those who seek inner healing experience a measure of fulfillment of the feast of atonement, while those brought into the deep work of the Spirit – the intensive journey of Christ making us one with him, greater fulfillment.

The more cleansing and healing we receive (Romans 6, 2 Cor. 3:18, 4:10-12, 7:1, 13:9-11, etc.), the more at-one we become with the Father and the Son and the more we fulfill what the feast of Atonement pointed to from the OT.

The feast of Booths points to intimacy and union with Christ and the Father, something few Christians, from what we know, have apprehended in Christ.

From Paul, Peter, and John’s accounts, it appears they finished the race in their respective journeys – they leave clues Christ apprehended in them what he desired for their lives, and were likely directly translated to Heaven like Enoch, Moses, and Elijah, and possibly others we do not know about in Church history.

Booths is the prize of the pearl of great price, the bride in fullness, the choice one in the Song of Songs, the fullness of the mystery of Christ, intimacy and union with Christ – what Christ apprehended by the Spirit with his Father, what David apprehended in the Ark, and what many will apprehend in Philadelphia.

It is the fruit coming to fullness, reaping the rewards of pursuing intimacy with Christ – allowing Jesus to be Jesus in our lives, bringing to completion his Isaiah 61 Commission to you and me: the fruit of Christ making us whole and holy through relationship with him.

It is receiving in this life Christ’s new name, the name of his Father, and the name of New Jerusalem – joined to the Lord and one another in union.

To Give Perspective:

The OT feast of Passover is akin to being born again, the new birth, in the NT, entering a new Kingdom, learning “about” a new King, introduced to a new way of living, believing, and thinking, a new community in a new geography, having passed from death to life, becoming a citizen of another country, having to learn a new language and culture.

The OT feast of Pentecost is akin to the baptism of the Holy Spirit and much more, it provides the fuel for in depth teaching beyond knowing “about” Christ to “experiencing” his presence, learning how to minister in the Spirit, maybe even operating gifts of the Spirit, learning and experiencing deliverance and the moving of the Spirit in body ministry and worship.

The OT feast of Tabernacles (Trumpets, Atonement, Booths) is akin to the deep work of the Spirit in being made intimate and one with Christ, the promise of Christ in John and throughout the NT to come to his sons and daughters and make a habitation in them, to go beyond experiencing the presence of Christ to knowing and being known by him, a dwelling for the Lord.  

Finally, within Tabernacles is the call to a new work (trumpets), the journey of the new work in being made intimate and one with Christ, putting sin to death (atonement), and growing intimacy and union, the pearl and fruit of the Spirit: the dwelling of Christ and the Father richly in the temple of our body, soul, and spirit (booths).

***

Here are Scriptures directly or indirectly pointing to the perfection of Christ, his journey (fulfilling the feast of Tabernacles perfectly), before ministry, “becoming” the source of salvation:

Please note my comments are extremely brief as each passage could easily take a page or more to explain in detail; this gives the reader a glimpse of Christ’s journey.

Please remember the same passages pointing to Christ, his journey, point to his children as well, what he pioneered for them to take in him.

2 Samuel 7:14, Christ “made” perfect, the discipline of his Father in learning obedience, the “rod” of correction not brutality, “wounding” the spiritual wounds in agreements, lies, vows, etc. passed to him from his generations so he can be cleansed and healed from the enmity in his flesh: Psalm 23, Isaiah 53:4-6, Romans 5:18-19, 6:10, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 2:14-16 see an interlinear, Colossians 2:14, Hebrews 5:7-10,

Psalm 16, resurrection psalm, entering eternal life this side of Heaven, redeeming, and restoring what Adam and Eve lost in the Garden, this Psalm depicts the journey of entering immortality through a specific plan designed by God, Christ fulfilling the Psalm perfectly, Peter quoting this Psalm on the day of Pentecost about the “Christ” they knew “before” he was killed, having fulfilled it,

Psalm 23, depicting Christ’s journey to perfection from a different approach than Psalm 16, focusing on redemption and rescue from generational sin, learning obedience, putting sin to death, coming into intimacy with God, made whole and holy,

Isaiah 9:6, who Christ became at his perfection, this is who God presented to Israel for over three years, and this is who they rejected,

Isaiah 16:5, Christ’s rule and reign began at his perfection before ministry, John recognized Christ’s supremacy, rulership, at Christ’s baptism, seated in authority with his Father, having the name above all names (Ephesians 1:20-21; Philippians 2:9-11, Colossians 1:15-20, shed is not in the Greek),

In other words, Christ’s first glorification (John 12:28) before his ministry – dying to generational sin, raised to walk in resurrection life – the subject of Romans Chapters 3 through 6, Hebrews, and passages throughout the Epistles, is Christ’s atoning “blood” sacrifice – giving the entirety of his life to the Father, made perfect (NIV, Hebrews 5:7-10),

His living blood sacrifice – the giving of the totality of his life to the Father – is the best sacrifice one can make, a “living” sacrifice, Christ fulfilling the will of his Father in putting sin to death in the flesh – the Word made flesh.

Jesus was “seated” (spiritually, positionally, it is not referring to the geography of earth versus the heavens) in all authority with his Father when he began his ministry, the same with having the highest of names – he was the living breathing Messiah in flesh and blood, forgiving sins, healing, having already atoned for sins in his perfection. (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 5:7-10; 1 Peter 2:24, see last half of passage in the Greek)

Christ fulfilled the heart of the Old Testament by putting sin to death while alive – a living sacrifice – the one God waited millenniums to finally have.

Killing someone does not accomplish sacrifice, but putting sin to death does!

Isaiah 53:4-6, a vivid description of Christ putting generational sin to death in his journey, made intimate and one with his Father before ministry, see discussion of Isaiah 53:4-6 in future post,

Please remember, every person used by God in a mighty way goes through wounding, piercing, and crushing, just as David describes in the Psalms for himself, Christ being no exception, except he came out the other side perfect, never sinning, our propitiation. (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10)

Amos 9:11-12, Christ’s perfection restored what the Tabernacle of David pointed to – intimacy and union with God, Christ having perfect union with his Father,

John 5:19-23, shows Christ in intimacy and union with his Father, a relationship from his perfection, unchanged by Calvary – Calvary did nothing to change the nature of Christ’s authority, power, or relationship with the Father,

John 14:9-10, 14:31, same as John 5 just noted, Christ was seated with his Father – positionally, authoritatively, not geographically, having all authority during his ministry, he being the first fruit, firstborn of the dead has nothing to do with Calvary, but being raised to walk in new life after his perfection journey, the subject of Romans 3 through 8, entering immortality before ministry,

Acts 2:23, see separate discussion in this post,

Acts 2:31-32, God raised the resurrected Christ to life again – he raised the Christ who had been walking in resurrected life, made perfect, NIV; discussed at length throughout this series, and will be in next few posts to come,

Acts 5:30-31, best to read this in an interlinear, they killed the raised Jesus, the perfect one, the Messiah, the one who ministered in all authority and power, they were witnesses of Christ, the one who would live forever had he been received and not killed, bringing an early Millennium to Israel,

Christ preached repentance and forgiveness during his ministry, forgiving sins, you cannot preach repentance unless forgiveness is part of the package!

Acts 13:28-39, this passage has truths about the two deaths/resurrections of Christ, the reason God raised Christ after Calvary was “because he was the perfect one,” the one who was walking in resurrection life, the NT in flesh and blood, fully restored, not because Calvary made him the perfect one, best to read these passages in an interlinear,

Note: when Christ fulfilled Psalm 16 in his perfection, he entered immortality – a place where the body does not decay, even though it was still subject to being killed by outside sources, it was not allowed to decay when he died at Calvary because he had already conquered death – he was the “resurrection” before Calvary!

Acts 15:16-17, see Amos 9:11-12,

Romans 3:25, 4:24-25, 5:8-10, 5:18-19, 6:10, and Romans Chapters 3-8 describe Christ’s journey to perfection, putting sin to death, raised to walk in resurrection life, his first glorification, made intimate and one with God, the baptism he pioneered for himself and us,

Christ fulfilling the law perfectly in his flesh, a death to the enmity in his flesh God likened to a real death, just like Paul describes his journey of putting sin to death as a “death,” 2 Cor. 4:10-12, hoping to be resurrected to walk in eternal life this side of Heaven, Philippians 3:20-21, Paul was not hoping for resurrection life after physical death, that is a given to all who die in Christ,

1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 45-49, same as discussion as Romans; Christ is not the first fruit, firstborn, pioneer, forerunner, perfecter of faith after Calvary, many have been raised from the dead before Calvary, Old and New Testament, but he is the first to put sin fully and completely to death, to be raised to walk in resurrection life this side of Heaven,

Galatians 3:13, see separate section below,

Ephesians 1:20-23, this occurred at Christ’s perfection, before his ministry, after Calvary he was restored to what he had previously, not something new, Christ had all authority and power throughout his ministry, Calvary did nothing to add or subtract from that, seated with his Father means in authority with his Father, position of his relationship, not geography,

Ephesians 2:14-16, best to read this in an interlinear; Christ was born with enmity in his flesh passed to him from his human ancestry despite what commentaries, creeds, and traditions teach, Romans 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Hebrews 2:17; discussed in detail throughout this series,

he was born with the sins of his generations and he, fathered by God, by the cross of grace through faith, put them to death before they could manifest in his life; he made one man out of his flesh and the law (Matthew 5:17), not one man out of the Jews and Gentiles – though one in Christ, this is not about Christ dying to make Jew and Gentile one,

Ephesians 4:20-24, describes the journey of Christ from another perspective in putting sin to death to walk in eternal life before his ministry, made intimate and one with his Father, this is interesting to read in an interlinear and I suggest looking at some of the definitions to get the gist of what Paul is reminding the Ephesians of Christ’s journey to put sin to death,

I have covered throughout this series and in this post other passages pointing to Christ’s journey to perfection, like:

Philippians Chapter 2, Chapter 2 is notable because it not only points to the cross of grace through faith – not Calvary – but also to Christ’s surrender of rights and privileges – anything that would interfere in his Isaiah 61 Commission to Israel and the world,

Colossians 1:15-20, Colossians speaks of Christ as the firstborn among the dead, i.e., the first to be perfected, to enter immortality, resurrection life this side of Heaven, which he lavishly shared with Israel for over three years; “shed or spilled” in verse 20 is not in the Greek,

because the death-raising here is about his perfection, not Calvary! And the reference to his blood is about giving the entirety of his life “in life,” a true blood sacrifice, doing the will of God perfectly, what God always wanted and only Christ was able to give (Hebrews 10),

Colossians 2:14, Hebrews 1:3, 4:14, 5:7-10, 7:16, 1 Peter 2:24, (the second half of the sentence in the Greek, see an interlinear), and 1 Peter 3:18,

And there are other passages that point and describe Christ’s journey to perfection, his fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles in the New Testament, becoming the New Testament in flesh and blood, for example:

John 1:14, 1:18, 1:34, 5:21 (5:21, Jesus is not talking about physical death, but raised from spiritual death – mortality – to resurrection life like him!),

John 6:38, again Christ is not speaking geographically, but positionally in authority, the source of his life, just like when he says to his accusers they are from below, he is referring to the source of their life – the enemy and the world,

John 10:35-36, Christ is referring to his perfection, the writing of the Word of God on his heart and mind, see Chapters 8 and 10 in Hebrews,

1 Corinthians 15:3, this passage refers to Christ putting sin to death, tying into everything Paul has taught about Christ in all his letters, and then in verse 4 without getting into any details about Calvary, he mentions he was also raised on the third day, the focus is Christ’s two glorifications (John 12:28), first by putting sin to death, then glorified a second time after Calvary,

the main subject of 1 Corinthians 15 is “raising to walk in new life,” for us and Christ, once we enter resurrection life, like Christ, even if we are killed, we are resolutely raised to life again proving we had fulfilled Psalm 16, – Christ’s resolute resurrection after Calvary confirmed he had fulfilled Psalm 16.

In 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4 we naturally think this is speaking about the same event because this is what creeds and traditions teach.

But in the century following Christ there was a clear distinction of understanding by the writers of the New Testament, that Christ was fully human, killing him had nothing to do with him becoming the Messiah – dying for our sins, the atonement.

The Apostles freely used the term “death” to speak of putting away sin, primarily in reference to Christ and the cross of grace through faith (Romans 3:25 (shed not in Greek), 4:24-25, 5:8-10, 6:10, etc., these and similar verses have nothing to do with Calvary), and then in reference to their own individual journeys of dying to sin (2 Cor. 4:10-12, etc.).

The Scriptures speak for themselves – death and dying to sin referred to Christ’s journey to perfection, resurrection life, before his ministry, becoming the NT in flesh and blood (Hebrews 5:7-10).

The writers of the New Testament did not see Calvary as the source of salvation, but, on the contrary, as the rejection by the nation of Israel of the New Covenant in Christ.

The enemy loves to twist things, and he made a twist through creeds and traditions from “Christ being the source of salvation” to “Calvary being the source.”

In Acts the Apostles clearly point to Calvary as the death and the loss of Israel’s Messiah, giving no space to other than Calvary being a place of “unnecessary” tragedy, rejection (not a place of gratitude and thanksgiving taught today).

The writers of the NT do not teach Calvary as a place of punishing Christ for our sins, but as a place of rejection, exposing unrepentant sin, giving more time to come to forgiveness.

Jesus suffered because of our sins, but not punished by God for our sins as the means of forgiving us.

The punishment of sins occurred in their destruction by Christ, in putting sin to death, before his perfection, not at Calvary.

His death for generational sins was in his perfection, not Calvary.

Calvary was a choice by Christ, not a command, God’s preferred will not to start killing those he just spent three years trying to save.

Before creeds and traditions came along the early writers knew Jesus was the Messiah, “fully,” at the beginning of his ministry, not after Calvary; Calvary was a tragedy, not a gift from God for humanity as taught.

Christ came to bring grace and peace, and he held to his Commission no matter the cost, even forsaking his legitimate righteous right to take the Kingdom by force, instead choosing to give the people of Israel more time to come to forgiveness which had freely been given to others before he was killed.

To wrap up this section, the death of the testator noted in Hebrews is Christ’s death to sin before ministry, his perfection, not the physical death of Christ at Calvary.

And importantly, the many references to “his blood sacrifice” in the book of Hebrews is speaking of Christ’s testimony in being made perfect, offering what no one else could offer, the entirety of his sinless life in putting sin to death, becoming our Savior in his perfection before Calvary (Hebrew 5:7-10), see also the section of blood below.

Finally, Matthew 26:28, and Revelation 5:9, speak directly and indirectly of Christ’s perfection and Calvary, his two “glorifications” in one passage, as well as other Scriptures I will discuss in the next post.

***

The journey pioneered by Christ to make you and me intimate and one with him, is as distinct, different, and unique as the Holy of Holies is from the Outer Court and Holy Place, and as the summer fruit harvest is from the barley and wheat harvests.

Isaiah 16:5 applies more directly to the “ruling aspect of Christ” (Davidic Covenant) than the “making” aspect of Christ into the likeness of his Father.

Tabernacles is more about the “making” process – putting sin to death to walk in new life, beginning with Christ first, and then those in Christ.

Whereas the Davidic Covenant is more about the “rule” of Christ from the lineage of David, but by necessity speaks of the “making” of Christ as noted in the next section below.

Note:

The Old Testament feasts of Passover (unleavened bread and firstfruits), Pentecost (festival of weeks) and Tabernacles (trumpets, atonement, booths), see Leviticus Chapter 23, were fulfilled perfectly in Christ; and Tabernacles, the heart of the age of Philadelphia, is our last opportunity  to be made “complete” before the Millennium. 

Please remember when we talk about Christ, we are speaking of the pioneer, firstborn, first fruit, forerunner, and finisher of the faith – the first of the new creation, the Tabernacle of God among men and women.

The Tabernacle James refers to in Acts 15:16-17 is not about a structure, but about the relationship David had with God, but now, even greater, and more intimate through Christ in the New Covenant for all people.

David not only authored Psalms 16 and 23, prophecies of the Messiah putting sin to death, entering eternal life, made perfect, “the beloved Son” God spoke at his water baptism, but he was also a “prophetic picture” of the Messiah, and those who would be made a part of his body.

David’s sojourn in the wilderness for over a decade fleeing Saul is a picture of him putting sin to death, just as his possession of the Ark is a picture of intimate relationship with God, entering eternal life as priest-king after his journey – formed and fashioned by God in the wilderness for ruling and reigning.

David’s life is the greatest type of Christ’s journey and perfection in the Old Testament foretelling the coming Messiah. (Luke 1:32; Revelation 22:16)

David apprehended the Ark, a picture of intimacy with God, after his journey, showing God does not restrict intimacy with him to the “priesthood” but to the heart of those who hunger and thirst after him.

David became a “dwelling” for the Holy Spirit, foretelling the greater David to come and those to come in Christ.

What connects the restoration of David’s tabernacle with Christ first and foremost, and then with Jews and Gentiles, is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; David a “type” of Christ pointing to Jesus who was given the Spirit without measure, the fullness of God (NIV, John 3:34, Colossians 2:9), and we who partake of his Spirit.

David pleaded with God not to “take your Holy Spirit from me” after his sin with Bathsheba. (NIV, Psalm 51:11, italicized mine)

What James is saying in all this (Acts 15) regarding the rebuilding of David’s Tabernacle, is God will be intimate and give his Holy Spirit to those who hunger and thirst for him, whether Jew or Gentile, having nothing to do with a formal “priesthood” but everything to do with those who seek the love of God.

The uniqueness, intensity, and profound personal ministry of Christ to those who enter the deep work of the Spirit of grace Peter describes in 1 Peter 1:13 (i.e., Tabernacles/Philadelphia, etc.) is because it involves the deep and secret areas of the heart, requiring a journey’s time for healing and restoration.

The deep work of the Spirit of grace begins transformation from a life centered in agreements toward resurrection life: a journey once entered, like the Hebrews in the wilderness, once it begins, there is not turning back.

It is important to note from Scripture, a life outside “resurrection life” is a life anchored in mortality. (Romans 8:10-11)

Important

The purpose of the New Testament is not only to receive Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission in healing and restoration but to seek it fully “resurrection life,” immortality, this side of Heaven. (Romans Chapter 6, 8:10-11, 8:19, 8:23, 8:28-30; 2 Corinthians 13:9-11; 1 Peter 5:10)

You may be thinking, I think you have gone over the deep end on this one.

First, this is not my teaching, but what Scripture teaches, see references above.

Second, there are Christians like the Apostles Paul and John, through the ages as well, and living today, caught up into Heavenlies, experiencing the Heavenly realm.

Third, there are those translated directly to Heaven like Enoch, Moses, Elijah, Christ at his perfection (before his ministry, Hebrews 4:14) and then after Calvary (only Jesus knows the times he went back and forth between Heaven before or during his ministry).

Christ likely translated Paul and Peter at the end of their lives as they knew the time of their departure.

Fourth, is it harder for God to bring sons and daughters into resurrection life through healing and restoration in pursuit of intimacy with him, like the Scripture teaches, or is it harder to rapture all Christians in their present state like some preach, whether they pursue intimacy or not (which is not scriptural)?

If Jesus can swoop down and take all Christians to Heaven (which is unscriptural, 1 Thessalonians 4 is not the rapture, but ministering in the Spirit in union with Christ in the end-times), certainly he can heal and restore those who seek him in the “here and now” for greater fullness he promised in Philadelphia.

Jesus is interested in intimacy, bonding, being made one with him like a husband and wife, not the blanket whisking away of people to Heaven who have received his new birth but have shown little or no interest in seeking and pursuing him (foolish virgins, servants who fell asleep, the one who buried his talent, etc.).

Not that only those pursuing Christ will be saved (which is not the subject here), but those who pursue Christ in the last of the last days, entering the journey of Philadelphia, being made intimate and one with him, will be spared the “heartache” of what is to come of those who stay camped in Laodicea.

***

The emphasis of the New Testament is clear: to bring God’s sons and daughters from mortality into immortality, resurrection life, this side of the great divide.

Resurrection life is the heart of Romans Chapters 3 through 8, 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, 2 Corinthians Chapter 4, Galatians Chapters 3 through 5, Ephesians Chapters 1 through 6, Philippians Chapters 2 and 3, Colossians 1 through 3, and other passages.

Anything less than resurrection life is settling for less than what God has promised for believers, leaving promises unfulfilled in one’s life (Hebrews 4:1, 6:1).

Resource 5 in post 16 (my present plan) includes a more thorough description of the cross of grace through faith.

A couple of final comments in wrapping up this brief section.

I noticed a comment someone had made about the Davidic Covenant that I thought was worth noting here.

Davidic Covenant

In 2 Samuel Chapter 7 the prophet Nathan declares the famous passage about God establishing an eternal Kingship through the line of David.

A commentator had noted this could not refer to Christ because of verse 14:

“I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.” (NIV)

This prophecy does refer to Christ in its entirety, including the difficult phrase of verse fourteen, which Christendom at large professes could never apply to Jesus because Jesus was perfect at birth.

The point of this passage is not Jesus doing something wrong, or something wrong that is sinful, but God’s “discipline” in raising and perfecting his one and only beloved son.

Once there is an understanding of Christ’s epic pioneering journey separate from his ministry and Calvary, it becomes clear, “he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” has nothing to do with Calvary, rather, his epic journey: putting sin to death, raised to walk in new life before ministry, the subject of Romans Chapters 3 to 8, much of the NT, and, the heart of the Gospel. (NIV, Hebrews 5:8-9, bold and italicized mine) (Romans 6:10)

That 2 Samuel 7:14, Isaiah 53:4-6, Romans 3:25, 4:25, 5:8-10, 6:10, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 45-49, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 2:14-16 (see an interlinear), 4:20-24, Philippians Chapter 2, Colossians 2:14, Hebrews 5:7-10, 7:16, 1 Peter 2:24 (the second half of the sentence in the Greek, see an interlinear), and 1 Peter 3:18 have nothing to do with Calvary, but Christ’s journey being made complete, becoming our Savior, before his ministry.

Note: If, for example, one compares 2 Samuel 7:14 with Isaiah 53:4-6, Romans 6:10, Galatians 3:13, and Hebrews 5:7-10, i.e., the journey of being made perfect, becoming our Savior, putting generational sins to death passed to him from his human ancestry perfectly, destroying the enmity in his flesh he inherited by the cross of grace through faith for the sins of his human ancestors, it is clear, Christ faced spiritual warfare in putting sin to death we could never face.

They show from different perspectives by different authors the understanding (though it was not clear to them, 1 Peter 1:10-12) of putting sin to death, the process of wounding and piercing generational sin for cleansing and healing.

That it was Christ’s commission to do just that, making the way for salvation.

Someone had to overcome sin, destroying it by grace through faith, creating a new “blood line” (spiritually speaking, which is one reason why Jesus referred to his “blood,” John 6:53-63, Matthew 26:28) sacrificing the entirety of their life so completely it could only be described as a “blood sacrifice,” which Christ did perfectly, fathered by God.

God was not interested in killing animals or people but desired his beloved Son to fulfill the law perfectly in his flesh (Matthew 5:17) – to demonstrate the power of grace through faith in obedience and sacrifice was greater than the power of darkness in sin.

Note: regarding shed and shedding in some NT passages, be sure to check an interlinear to see if it was added in translation to point it to Calvary, not recognizing the spiritual use of the word blood used by Christ and the authors of the NT referred to the “wholeness, entirety, completeness” of his sacrifice in putting sin to death before his ministry, becoming the atonement. (Heb. 5:7-10)

In regard to Matthew 26:28 shedding (in substance) is in the Greek; he established the New Covenant was in “him” (not the liquid flowing in him, but his “life”) that he was pouring out his life not so people “could be forgiven” – God forgave sins in the Old Testament and Jesus forgave people in his ministry – but so people “would come to forgiveness,” he told his disciples there is no longer any excuse for Israel’s sin, having witnessed his ministry.

Jesus would not be asking on the cross for God to forgive their sins if that was the purpose of his coming and the Roman cross.

As I point out other places the same words for wounded, pierced, crushed David uses in the Psalms, learning obedience in his wilderness journey, the greatest “type” in the Old Testament of Christ’s pioneering journey.

The cross of grace through faith pictured in the verses above are God’s weapons in destroying sinful strongholds, bringing our mind and heart and will into obedience of God’s will through the pro-creative power of his Word and Spirit. (See 1 Peter 1:13 in the Greek and definitions, I use Biblehub.com)

Grace and faith are the fuel for the “sword of the Spirit” and the “shield of faith” trained in the training circle of Christ, having “the belt of truth” around our loins. (NIV, Ephesians 6:14-17, italicized mine)

Elijah and the Baptist were “known” as God’s men because they wore “belts” around their waist.

Jesus was a seasoned warrior before he entered ministry, otherwise he would not have prevailed over the enemy after his water baptism.

He did not model Christianity – Jesus was Christianity in every cell of this body!

** Age Old Barriers to New Revelation and Teaching **

It is challenging to convey so much “new” revelation through just the medium of writing, i.e., the knowledge of a deeper walk with Christ, because it is so pervasive, touching the whole of New Testament Scripture and shedding greater light on the Old Testament.

Of course, with any new revelation and teaching comes the obstacles of centuries old beliefs, traditions, and creeds, and their immense hold over Christendom, even today in the 21^st century.

Christ is supreme – above Christendom, creeds, and traditions.

Creeds and traditions are man’s attempt to define the unimaginable Christ, an impossible task.

He is above everything people hold dear in this life.

He is above everything we think we know about him; he decides the amount of revelation we receive.

However, the power of agreements in creeds and traditions may make new revelations more challenging to receive.

Please remember, the Bible is a spiritual book, agreements with doctrines contrary to Scripture are barriers to the truths of Scripture.

The law of sowing and reaping ushered in at the time of the fall effects all areas of humanity, from personal agreements to local, regional, national, international, and all the beliefs and practices humanity has embraced, economically, socially, spiritually.

Every new move of God since the beginning of time has faced opposition from “traditions” in doctrines, creeds, ordinances, and all they bring to the table.

Not surprisingly, those not “steeped” in religion are generally the first to dive headfirst into revivals.

The move of God within Philadelphia presently is largely a “hidden revival” of healing and restoration, outside of mainstream Christendom, protected by God for revealing in the future.

The coming revivals I mentioned will be more pronounced, as the Lord reaches out to call more into a deeper walk with him.

** Time of Abundance **

There is no end to the depth of revelation the Lord has ready at his fingertips.

It is his delight to take his children deeper in him.

What Father does not delight in showing his children the things he has done, his victories, his journey, and the beauty and wealth of his Kingdom?

Nothing pleases the heart of God more than to invite his children into more of his Word and Spirit, to know him more intimately and deeply.

He has deeper measures of his nature he wants to share with us – the journey of glorification beyond the new birth and Pentecost. (Romans 8:30; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:21; 1 Peter 1:13; 2 Peter 1:4)

God created his children for glorification with Christ: we live in the time of the greatest opportunity to apprehend the fullness of the promises of God like never before.

There is no other season of time in Scripture that compares to the promises of the age of Philadelphia: Christians in the 21^st century have the opportunity in depth and scale only a handful have apprehended since the beginning of time.

No wonder the Great Tribulation follows Philadelphia/Laodicea – the greatest opportunity followed by the greatest trial to come upon humanity.

I have an inkling of what John must have felt when he wrote of Christ,

“I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (NIV, John 21:25)

When the Lord begins to do a deep work in your life, desire and passion for Christ come alive like never before.

One can never get enough of the wonder of Scripture in Christ.

Nothing in this life compares to the banquet the Lord can prepare (Psalm 23).

This is a time of abundance: a time of great provision in the body of Christ for those who hunger and thirst after him.

When you leave Egypt and begin your journey with Jesus, you will not want to return, or even look back. (Luke 17:32; Philippians 3:12)

He will open the Kingdom of God to you like never before, beyond your imagination! (1 Corinthians 2:9)

As the Lord walked me deeper into his Word, revelation about questions I wondered about for decades (including about him), dropped like ripe fruit.

I did not realize how little I understood about the man Christ Jesus and the Christian pilgrimage; the great amount of undiscovered revelation, until the Lord served me a banquet of his Word. (Luke 12:37; Psalm 23:5)

Oh, the travesty of creeds and traditions in institutionalizing Christianity and Christ.

Important

The Lord uses the pursuit of him to create spiritual capacity, space, and craving for him (good soil), so he can unveil through discovery and revelation the preciousness of his Word and Kingdom in our hearts and minds, where they will take root, grow, and prosper.

We as a body need healing and restoration to gain access to deeper truths and intimacy with Christ.

Deeper truths come with a deeper measure of God’s Spirit, they go hand in hand; you do not give the car keys of your sports car to a young child or teenager, a poor comparison, but I hope you understand what I mean.

We need to have the spiritual capacity and space to receive the deeper things of God and a measure of good soil so they can take root and grow.

To get there, it requires weeding, uprooting (Matthew 15:13) and fresh soil to provide space and place for the deeper things of God to become part of the new foundation necessary for more of the Lord.

Sacrifice, healing, and deliverance may be necessary.

You can be certain of this, when we show “eagerness” for more of him, he will bring healing our way in preparation for the deep work of the Spirit of grace he is offering in Philadelphia/Tabernacles. (1 Cor. 1:7, 4:5; Galatians 5:5; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thess. 1:10)

Important

If we know Christ restored the new birth and Pentecost in the Sardis church age, and the Philadelphia church age is a deeper work, where we receive new names because of the Lord’s work in us, where the story of David tells something about Philadelphia,

and the Lord’s labor leads to intimacy and union with him and the body in a unique way, then we can safely conclude Philadelphia is the last of the major feasts – the indwelling of God in us – Tabernacles (fulfilling trumpets, atonement, and booths in the OT).

You can really be sure of this when the Lord reveals to you Philadelphia is the final labor of the Lord into intimacy and union through healing and restoration.

** Hiding Jesus’ Journey Behind Calvary **

Making Calvary the “event of salvation” pulled the rug from underneath Christ’s pioneering journey, pointing everything in the New Testament about Christ and death, resurrection, sacrifice, suffering, blood, dying to sin, cross, to Calvary.

The centuries of fruit from creeds and traditions are self-evident, undermining Christ’s journey, ministry, Isaiah 61 Commission, and worst of all, sabotaging God’s sons, and daughters from the knowledge of seeking a deeper and more intimate relationship with Christ.

That the Scriptures exhorts you and me to go beyond the new birth and Pentecost toward Tabernacles – the journey Christ pioneered.

In the past this understanding was not critical.

But now, on the cusp of colossal change in the 21^st century, when Christ has specifically reserved a season of time for the deep work of healing and restoration, it becomes critical.

The days are coming when healing and restoration will be critical to surviving the onslaught of darkness, just as it is becoming more necessary today.

Healing and restoration and the underlying knowledge of the working of agreements, lies, vows, reaping and sowing, will be necessary to stay free from spiritual warfare, especially as this world becomes darker.

Besides keeping people from healing and restoration, creeds and traditions give a false picture of God, attributing Calvary to God’s design, darkness infiltrating the beauty and wonder of God and his plan to make Christ into his perfect likeness.

Contrary to creeds and traditions, God presented Christ as a sacrifice to put sin to death, made perfect, raised from mortality to immortality (resurrection life).

God’s plan is not dark, the purposeful killing of his Son, but light and life (Romans 5:8-10; John 6:53-63) – a wonderous plan to redeem what Adam and Eve lost by fathering his one and only Son born of woman into perfection, after his likeness, presenting him as a gift to Israel and humanity. (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10)

Important

Creeds and traditions have built an overarching edifice of writings designed through council and compromise to summarize certain parts of Scripture for people to believe about Christ, salvation.

But through process and time, because of the “police” power of the Church, creeds and traditions became an authority unto themselves, going beyond what councils thought Scripture said, to prescribing what people were to believe, or not believe, down the slippery slope of becoming superior to Scripture.

In time, the creeds became the lens for interpreting Scripture.

And in becoming the lens, they did not help but blocked one from finding the nuggets of precious truths through discovery and revelation in Scripture.

Creeds and traditions developed to further Christianity hinder people from coming to Christ, and worse, once someone does come to Christ, they hinder them from going deeper into the “mystery of Christ” – i.e., the journey Jesus pioneered for him to make us one with him.

They hide the pioneering journey of Christ so well it is not until recently Christ has re-revealed the deep work of the Spirit of grace in Tabernacles through his personal intervention.

Important

When Jesus said he and the Father would come and make their dwelling in us, they were in effect saying they would tabernacle in you and me.

Just like the feast of Passover is a type of our new birth, and the feast of Pentecost is a type of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, so too the feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Booths is a type of Christ making his dwelling in us, i.e., Tabernacles.

If the Jews at the time of Christ had thought about the feasts, Tabernacles, and how David possessed the Ark, and how Christ manifested the works of God, they could have by the Spirit put two and two together and realized Jesus was the fullness of God in flesh (Colossians 1:19) the fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles (God dwelling) in Christ.

What Jesus brought to Peter (John 21:18-19; 1 Peter 1:13) and Paul in his teaching and personal experience (2 Cor. 4:10-12), he is now re-revealing today.

If you do not subscribe to the creeds, in the eyes of the creeds, you are at odds with Scripture.

When truth is it is the creeds at odds with Scripture.

Twenty first century Christianity does not need an overarching set of beliefs on top of the Bible; God’s sons and daughters can read the Bible to receive revelation and insight from the Lord.

And of course, anointed teaching is necessary, but it should be from the Scripture and not attempted from extra-biblical writings for obvious reasons.

Important

Simply, the creeds lack the anointing of God upon them – the revelation of God – the mystical sense from the Holy Spirit they are from the Lord.

They lack the “awareness, quickening” a Christian has when they read the Bible, sensing Scripture’s connection with the Holy Spirit, knowing in their heart and by the witness of their Spirit they are reading the inspired Word of God.

In contrast, the creeds not only emasculate Christ, but “gut” the heart of the Gospel: the baptism of dying to sin to walk in newness of life, the pioneering journey of Christ for himself, and those grafted into him. (Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 6:10; Ephesians 2:14-15, see an interlinear; Hebrews 2:10, 5:7-10, 7:16)

This is the purpose for which Christ came, made in the likeness of sinful flesh, having the same temptations as we (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 2:17, 4:15) paving the way for the new creation beginning in him.

Simply, there is no revelation in the creeds, they lack the anointing and witness of the Spirit.

They are methodical, uninspiring, an attempt by council and compromise to summarize in a boilerplate fashion the story of Christ into something it is not.

Only God’s Word (the Bible) is “alive and active.” (NIV, Hebrews 4:12, bold and italicized mine)

Contrary to the creeds, the “passion of Christ” was being made perfect, fathered by God, the heart of the Gospel (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5: 7-10), not the passion of Christ at Calvary, as tragic and unnecessary as that was.

Unnecessary in that Christ was the New Testament in flesh and blood, bringing the fruit of the New Testament to Israel for over three years, had they accepted their messiah, they would have had an early Millennium.

But Calvary was necessary in the eyes of Christ and his Commission to save to the uttermost; the heart of a man of peace, giving the Jewish people another 40 years to come to forgiveness, before the destruction of Jerusalem.

You cannot read the Bible like a textbook – the way the creeds approach it – but by the revelation of Christ. (John 6:44, 6:53-63; 1 Corinthians 2: 13; Galatians 1:11-12; Ephesians 1:17-18).

Highly Important

If God inspired Scripture, which he did, by the revelation of his Spirit, then it takes a measure of revelation to receive and understand it.

The creeds attempted to condense the “meat and potatoes” of the NT into bite size biscuits, the problem is the ingredients used for the biscuits included “yeast,” and yeast mixes with revelation like water and oil.

Remember the fourth parable of Matthew 13 of yeast, what Jesus said about yeast and doctrine, and what Paul said about yeast in Galatians 5:9?

You cannot add yeast to revelation and expect to get revelation, it did not work at the time of Christ, it did not work with the creeds, and it did not work in the church ages.

The creeds have become an extra-biblical living organism, outside the revelation and inspiration of Scripture, in a Garden God did not plant.

You cannot receive revelation from Christ by council and compromise, like the creeds, and you cannot promulgate what you council and compromise as inspired.

Something from the divine always stays “divine,” it takes revelation of the Spirit to understand it, from person to person, and generation to generation.

It is necessary for children and young men to eat at the table of their mother, i.e., the body of Christ at large, particularly the local church.

But there comes a time when “fathering” must begin, to seek Christ at his banqueting table, and to do that we must journey with him in the wilderness he pioneered for making us one with him.

David witnessed in “type” Christ’s pioneering work in his own wilderness sojourn – foretelling in “type” the journey of the Messiah to come – fleeing Saul (sin) for some 15 years, as he was fathered by God into deeper truth and relationship (Psalms 16, 18, and 23, among others, capture the heart of fathering).

For fathering we must seek the Lord in the revelation of his person and nature, through transformation in the training circle of Christ, girded with his truths, by the cross of grace through faith. (1 Peter 1:13)

This is the wilderness journey Jesus makes us one with him; the one he told Peter was coming to him (John 21: 18-19) where he would die to the old man, and Paul describes in Galatians 1:11-24.

The revelation of Christ is for every son and daughter, not just for leaders! (1 Peter 1:13)

There is only one journey in truly learning how to receive the anointing of God (1 John 2:27) – through Christ making us one with him in the journey he pioneered.

Every son and daughter need a measure of anointing and revelation to walk with Christ, especially in this age when the enemy is coming from every direction to distract and sabotage God’s people from pursuing intimacy with Christ.

Creeds and traditions are not a source of life, pointing you and me to seek intimacy and union with Christ, but a barrier to it.

The Scripture cannot be any clearer.

And yet today, in 21^st century America, where we have access to every conceivable Bible resource and ministry, the creeds still hold a powerful grip over God’s people keeping them camped, when they should be flocking through the open door of Philadelphia.

Why are the creeds (lacking any sense of inspiration) still so prominent, along with the extra-biblical terms they employ, when we have access to Bible resources and Christ like never before?

Why do we need extra-biblical documents 1500 plus years old to interpret Scripture inspired by God?

Is not the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth in the revelation of Christ (John 14-16; 1 Peter 1:13; 1 John 2:27)?

Are we not to seek Christ personally and individually for discovery and revelation of Scripture in our desire for intimacy and union with him?

We most certainly need one another, the Church, fellowship, communion of the saints, but more importantly, at the top of the order, is our personal seeking of intimacy with Christ, once that begins everything else flows more naturally and purely.

What is there lacking in the Holy Scriptures – the Bible – that we need extra biblical writings instructing us what the Bible means?

Is not Jesus capable of doing that?

Why does man believe he needs to clarify what God inspired; what is it about God’s inspired word men feel a need to clarify, correct, summarize, and place over Scripture as its interpreter?

If God reasoned it was good to have a preface to the Bible in the form of creeds, he would have inspired one.

Jesus was not “advertising” a quick fix in his ministry, but a journey of picking up our cross, the cross of grace through faith, to follow him on the path he pioneered, just like he told Peter (John 21:18-19), and Paul tells us, Romans 6.

The hardest thing about creeds and traditions is their stripping away of “vision” from God’s children.

Consequently, through the ages, Christians have had their callings and futures shortchanged from the fullness Christ purchased for them in his perfection (first glorification).

And today?

Well, we know by prophecy there is a great falling away in the last of the last days, which speaks for itself.

But let us not be among those who fall away, but those who persevere and receive the fullness of the promises of God for our lives in the age of Philadelphia.

***

In summary, creeds and traditions deny the creative power of God for Christ first, (the transforming power of God in Christ), made perfect, becoming our Savior, and for Christ to make us into his likeness.

The heart of the New Testament is the dynamic creative power of God to transform our lowly natures into the glorious likeness of Christ.

The Gospel is not just “a decision for Christ theology,” but continuous acts of Christ’s creative power to change our nature into his likeness in putting away the lusts and desires of the flesh.

God began his new creative work in Christ first, enabling Christ to destroy the power and authority of generational sin passed to him from his human ancestry.

At Christ’s perfection, God raised Jesus from mortality to immortality, i.e., dead to sin, alive to God – resurrection life – becoming our Savior before his ministry.

This was his life “blood sacrifice” made perfect and one with his father, offering himself as “life” to Israel over 3 years (John 6: 53-63; Matthew 26: 28), continuing his ministry of offering life through and after Calvary.

His offer of life was (and is today) the fruit of his “death/raising,” i.e., dying to the enmity in his flesh, to walk in new life, described by the Apostles throughout their writings.

Paul describes Christ in substance “dying and raised to new life” in passages throughout his letters; Christ did not walk in new life after Calvary – he presented himself as a testimony and gave instructions, but that was it.

But he did walk in resurrection life for over three years in ministry, healing the sick, raising the dead, calming the storm, multiplying food, teaching the Word of God.

***

Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Hebrews speaks of Christ’s “blood sacrifice” (the giving of the entirety of his life to put sin to death, made perfect, fathered by God) to apprehend eternal life – resurrection life (Hebrews 5:7-10, 7:16, 1 Cor. 15:45-49) for himself, and for Christ to make us one with him as he was made one with the Father (John 17:21).

In fact, the book of Hebrews is Christ’s personal testimony in being made perfect, the offering of the entirety of his life, his blood sacrifice, giving up everything that needed to be given up, living what he preached, sacrificing the loss of all things to put generational sin to death including certain rights and privileges.

He destroyed the barrier of sin between his flesh and the law, fulfilling the law perfectly in his flesh before ministry.

Please keep in mind when you are reading the Scriptures translators have added words in places, like shed, and shedding (to blood), pointing Scriptures to Calvary when in fact they describe Christ’s death to sin to walk in newness of life.

Finally, the creeds are extremely confusing because they use words not in the Bible, concepts not in Scripture, and definitions and a storyline not in God’s holy writ.

Whereas once one receives revelation from the Lord regarding his pioneering journey, the Scripture makes sense and are clear and straightforward regarding the two deaths and glorifications of Christ.

Jesus uses symbolism to stretch the heart into the spiritual and once this becomes understood the story of Christ’s pioneering journey becomes clearer.

As explained in this post and series, the vast majority of Scriptures (outside the Gospels and Acts account of Calvary), that speak of the “death and raising of Christ” describe God making Christ one with him in the journey of putting sin to death, and not the events surrounding Calvary.

When Calvary is the subject, the context is clear, the killing of Christ – having nothing to do with putting sin to death but putting Christ to death, the rejection of the NT in Christ.

When his journey is the subject, the context is about grace and faith, dying to sin in his journey to perfection, resurrected to walk in new life, becoming our Savior.

Christ offered a “blood sacrifice to the Father” (the giving of the entirety of his life including rights and privileges to do the will of God from his heart and mind, Philippians 2 and Hebrews 10), through learning submission to his Father (NIV, Hebrews 5:7-10), fulfilling the law in his flesh (NIV, Matthew 5:17), the first of God’s new creation harvest (“firstborn”, “pioneer”, “forerunner”, NIV, Colossians 1:15 and Hebrews 2:10 and 6:20, italicized mine, see also 1 Cor. 15:23).

And there are passages in the Scripture where both Christ’s pioneering journey and Calvary are together, which I will discuss in future posts.

Finally, people at the time of Paul and the other Apostles knew “blood” of Christ was symbolic of the entirety of his life, not the liquid flowing in his body, but the most intimate term possible to describe Christ’s “all” in God’s perfection of him.

In the few references in Scripture where blood is used in reference to Calvary (e.g., Matthew 26:28), it is not just about the liquid flowing in his body but the totality of who he was, what he was giving up – resurrection life, eternal life in the flesh, never to die – except for one thing – to give people more time to come to forgiveness before Jerusalem is destroyed for rejecting him.

Highly Important

In conclusion of this brief section, Jesus said something extremely insightful to the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead.

He pointed out to them people do not die in the resurrection. (Luke 20:36)

You would think we would not need Jesus to tell us people do not die in the resurrection, because, as I assume, teachers have taught us the “resurrection” occurs in our exit from physical death to Heaven.

But Jesus was not speaking of those who have physically died, but those, like him, who put sin to death and walk in resurrection life – the life Adam and Eve had before they fell, eternal life restored in our earthly temples.

He gave them a pearl of truth about himself, what he was offering in his ministry in the New Testament, and it went over everybody’s head.

It has been over all our heads for two millenniums, until revealed by Christ.

When Jesus said he was the resurrection, he was not speaking figuratively, but literally, he was walking in eternal life (Hebrews 5:7-10, 7:16) having put sin passed to him to death by the cross of grace through faith – the heart of the Gospel he pioneered in birthing the New Testament covenant.

This was his “blood sacrifice” described throughout the NT, pioneering the way for God’s children by the power of the Holy Spirit to destroy sin in their members and so fulfill the law of God in their flesh.

This is what the NT is all about, Christ made perfect, establishing the blueprint and pattern for him to make us intimate and one with him, as God made him intimate and one with the Father (John 17:21).

God does not wave a magic wand and have intimacy with him happen in Heaven, no, it must begin here on earth – this is where Christ cleanses, heals, and restores you and me by the cross of grace through faith, not Heaven, it is too late then.

Finally, throughout history and even in the OT, people and God have used “blood” to speak of someone’s life or great sacrifice, whether it involves an actual life or symbolic of the sacrifice.

** A New Work **

Just as the world is achieving new breakthroughs in science, technology, medicine, the Lord is taking children deeper into the Kingdom of God in relationship with him opening “breakthroughs” in intimacy, healing, gifting, and revelation.

Of all the times to be alive in history, this is one of the greatest for those in Christ.

But we must take advantage of what Christ is making available to us for it to be of benefit.

Never in the history of God’s people has God made available the intimacies and mystery of his Word and Spirit in the depth and richness he is doing now, opening the door to journey with Christ like never before. (Rev. 3:7-13)

There is not another season of time as promising and intimate as Philadelphia on this side of the Millennium.

(Philadelphia and Laodicea are concurrent ages, Philadelphia ending at the start of the Tribulation, Laodicea ending three plus years into the Tribulation.)

Jesus has labored for two millenniums to bring the Church where it is today, creating a host of ministries for healing his children.

When it becomes evident Christ is moving in the body of Christ, “personally” fathering children in the journey he pioneered in cleansing and healing, you know the hour is late, a change in relating is happening, that God is doing a new thing, moving beyond the old in Christendom into something new. (Isaiah 43:18-19)

***

When Jesus begins personal one on one training everything else takes a back seat to what he desires and wants.

When the King knocks on your door, you want to answer quickly and with a “yes” to whatever he asks and wants.

Jesus knows our struggle with “yes,” but all he needs is the slightest yes and he will begin the journey of rescue, starting from the inside out.

He will finish his Isaiah 61 Commission in the remaining time he has available to work in our lives.

Those who believe life is just going to go on just like it always has (and it never always has!) will find precious time for greater intimacy with Christ has come and gone.

This is not about “saved or lost” but a closer and deeper relationship with Christ in the here and now, and eternity. (Song of Songs 6:8-9; Ezekiel 44; Revelation 3, Philadelphia versus Laodicea; Revelation 21 and 22, bride versus kings versus nations)

Coming into the fullness of Christ happens in this life, not the next.

Salvation is not an event but a journey and when deeper intimacy becomes available, like Philadelphia, it is important we enter in:

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (NIV, Ephesians 5: 15- 17,)

“continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (NIV, Philippians 2: 12-13)

“to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (NIV, Ephesians 4: 12-13)

God created us for intimacy, let us make sure we do not miss what God designed and what Christ made possible.

The New Heavens and Earth have levels of intimacies with Christ (Revelation 21-22), just like there are levels of intimacy in the earthly realm, and levels of intimacy in the Old Testament, and those symbolizing Heaven (Ezekiel 44).

Throughout the Scripture there are those who pursue God and Christ more than others, not by works, but by whole heartedness.

God sees through works, but whole heartedness moves his heart.

There is nothing self-righteous about seeking intimacy with Christ, desiring a deeper relationship with him.

On the contrary, this is what he came for, to heal us of our wounds and brokenness and the sins that feed on them, perpetuating the lust of the flesh from generation to generation.

The mystery of Christ in you and me is the gift of God to those who want greater freedom from sin and abundance of life in Christ, pioneered by Christ in his perfection. (Hebrews 5: 7- 10).

Today is the greatest opportunity God’s sons and daughters have ever had to draw closer to Christ, or, for the people of the world to draw closer to darkness in the vastness of activities, passions, and lust of this world.

Today, there is a higher call in Scripture beyond the new birth, justification, to a deeper walk with Christ, the journey of glorification, pictured in Philadelphia. (Romans 8:10-11, 8:30, 2 Cor. 3:18, Philippians 3:21, 2 Thess. 2:13-14)

Philadelphia and Laodicea are growing alongside each other now, like “Isaac and Ishmael,” “Jacob and Esau,” “David and Saul,” and only one receives the “greater” promise of the New Testament, the mystery of Christ.

It is not too late to seek Jesus for greater fullness.

** Seeking Jesus **

Every Christian has an invitation from the Lord to seek him for discovery, insight, and revelation, and to learn how to receive the witness of the Spirit in distinguishing between “something the Lord has for them” versus “something he does not have for them.”

BTW, just because one hears anointed teaching and preaching does not mean it is Scriptural, or, that it is relevant to where you are now.

There is an internal witness of the Spirit with our spirit (in the absence of the Lord speaking directly or the Word) we must allow the Lord to develop in us to navigate all the different spiritual things coming our way.

How can one be familiar with the thousands of books written about Christianity and feel confident you have a good understanding about a particular subject.

It can be intimating to be a pew warmer decade after decade, listening to others teach and preach, seeing week after week of new Christian publications in the Church foyer, and, to top it off, the shelves of books spanning decades in a Bible College library.

It is an impossible barrier no one can ever bridge in one or a hundred lifetimes.

But there is only one Bible, and one God who inspired it.

There are books and more books on theology, past and present, that is informative, but is not coming from the heart of God for the needs of this hour.

All it takes is time with the Lord, in growing intimacy with him, for the Lord to pour forth the heart of Scripture that in ages past others would have given their right arm to have (what we can apprehend so freely today in pursuing Christ).

Time with the Lord can give you an understanding of Christ, the plan of God, God’s labor, his present emphasis in the body, and what lies ahead, far surpassing the understanding of scholars who are not walking in intimacy with Christ.

He is calling everyone today to seek him with all their heart, so he can prepare them to come alongside him.

The Lord is saying at this present time by his Spirit and Word:

I will teach you my Word, I will reveal truths to you needful for this present time, and I will reveal the nature of my love and desire for you to be close by my side, healed and restored, my intimate friend and companion.

I will reveal to you secrets hidden for centuries, but unveiled today for those who seek me with their whole heart, willing to place in my hands their schedules and priorities, because there is much to share and few to share it with.

***

Seeking him is one of his ways of reaching out to us, making greater capacity in our hearts and minds for him by cultivating desire.

He wants us to reach out to him like a child, asking our Heavenly Father to “read” his Word to us, and to teach us the “movement” of his Spirit.

In time he will share the movements of his heart and his deep care and compassion for you and others.

Here are thoughts for those new at seeking the Lord: 

“Lord, what is it you want me to be pursuing now?”

“How much time do you want me to set aside for you, what does that look like, what do you want me to focus on?”

“What activities do you want set aside for time with you?”

“I want to know more about you, how do I do that, where do I go, how do I pray?”

“What do you want me to read in your Word to bring me closer to you?”

“Lord, I do not where to begin. I am confused about so many teachings I hear about you and Christianity. So please show me how to seek you, teach me how to invite you into my life.”

“Lord, please direct me to those who will help guide me into a deeper relationship with you.”

“Jesus, I do not want to leave this world without one last grand adventure in you. I want the journey you pioneered as far as you can take me.

I ask you to prepare me so I may receive all the blessings and opportunities you have promised for those you take through the open door of Philadelphia.”

** “Spirit – taught words” **

(NIV, 1 Corinthians 2:13, italicized mine)

I share in this post examples of spiritual meanings of notable words creeds and traditions narrowly interpret or misinterpret.

The institutionalization of Christianity made “Christianity” a religion, instead of the “vibrant, active, and dynamic” relationship God designed it to be with Christ.

The Church used creeds and traditions through the centuries as a means of keeping its sheep in one-line, stepping to the same tune, as much as possible.

But today God is doing a new thing (like he has all through history) to take those who yearn for him into deeper and richer life-giving pastures. (Isaiah 43: 18-19)

He is peeling back the curtains unto him like never before.

There are Christians today having deep and intimate experiences in Christ.

He has reserved this season in history for intimacy because the hour is late, his desires for his children are unfilled, and we will need intimacy with him to make it through what is coming.

It was not God’s heart there be church ages; but because of the slowness of people to embrace the things of God, he has had to work through centuries to bring the body where he can do a deep work before things end.

A growing and deepening relationship with him comes with a growing and deepening understanding of his Word; the two go hand in hand, along with a deeper understanding of the movement of his Spirit.

In the last half of the 20^th and start of the 21^st centuries the Lord has birthed a number of church and para-church ministries bringing inner healing, prayer ministry, fathering, deeper and richer levels of worship, and teaching with greater insights of his Word and Spirit.

These movements and others are playing a critical role in transitioning sons and daughters from 20^th century Pentecostalism to the final leg of the Christian pilgrimage, Tabernacles (the age of Philadelphia), the deep work of the Spirit of grace in the revelation of Christ (NIV, 1 Peter 1:13).

Which means with the closing of the Sardis church age and the opening of Philadelphia in the last half of the 20^th century, words we thought meant this or that as defined by the creeds are being “released” by the “light of a new day in Christ” – what the Lord meant them to be to begin with.

Important

I know people struggle with certain words in the NT, especially the “blood verses,” (I certainly did) because of what the creeds (and traditions) have taught us about the blood of Christ and Calvary.

In the natural, it is impossible to reconcile what Jesus said about his “blood” – meaning his “life, God as his source of life” with what we naturally think about the word blood.

Disciples left him because of what he said about his blood (John 6:53-66).

And then there is all those verses about Christ dying, raised from the dead, even sometimes speaking of blood, where the context speaks of sacrifice, made new, a new life, perfection, the second Adam, putting sin to death, learning obedience, fulfilling the law.

And then verses about being a blood sacrifice, offering his life as a sacrifice, especially in Hebrews, in respect to the author’s discussion of the Tabernacles in the wilderness – what is all that about?

Creeds and traditions automatically point these passages to Christ and Calvary, even though the context is about something else, because what else could they refer to (not having the revelation of Christ’s pioneering journey separate from his ministry and Calvary)?

There are Scriptures about Christ commentators wrestle with, defaulting to the “creeds,” not knowing what else to do, puzzled by Scriptures they cannot explain because of creeds and traditions.

It is now more apparent a new language came with the New Covenant, expanding meanings of words into the realm of the Spirit (John 6:53-63; 1 Cor. 2:13).

Where death, life, yeast, weeds, seeds, blood, flesh, cross, crucify, carcass, mustard seed, treasure, pearl, net, wine, wineskins, virgins, sleep, gate, door, suffer, light, dark, have more than a literal meaning in the Kingdom of God.

I cover more thoroughly the more troublesome of those words (blood, death) in this post, giving even more light on whether the context is or is not about Christ’s perfection or Calvary.

One example: words like “shed and shedding or something similar” translators have added to verses believing they are rendering a service, when, in fact, they are not in the Greek, helping to bury the revelation of Christ’s personal journey under Calvary.

Because the context is about Christ’s first glorification, putting sin to death to walk in new life, not Calvary, his second glorification.

See The New Language of the New Testament below for more on different Scriptural meanings certain everyday words may have.

Finally, these passages give a glimpse into the unveiling of the new language of the NT, 1 Corinthians 2:13; Matthew 26:28; John 6:53-63; 1 John 5:7-9.

The New Language of the New Testament

I realize it would have been beneficial to have included a resource guide earlier in this series to better understand Christ’s pioneering journey, the New Language of the New Testament.

Covenants expand the meaning of certain words.

The Old Testament introduced new meanings and the New Covenant more.

God designed the New Covenant not only to open the eyes and ears of our hearts, but to see what the Lord sees, and to hear what the Lord hears.

The Lord calls us up, to experience his Spirit, be part of what he is doing, to expand the capacity of our heart and spirit to hold greater and greater weights of his glory.

To increasingly know him more as he knows us more.

And these things can only come about in journey with him, having the deep and intimate secrets hidden within us exposed to the light of God’s cleansing and healing, transformed from glory to glory.

Important

And all of this requires an expansion of our vocabulary “an expansion of meanings,” the Spirit communicating spiritual concepts to spiritual beings who have lived most of their life in the natural realm, blind and deaf to the moving of the Spirit, having little if any “spirit-to-Spirit” connection with God.

And this does not stop with the new birth, the new birth is just the beginning!

Every experience or journey in God takes us deeper into his Kingdom.

Within this backdrop the coming of Christ introduced so many new thoughts, comparisons, ideas, and “word meaning expansion,” it left the “religious” befuddled, struggling to understand Christ.

Those who have the new birth today, two millenniums after the launching of the New Covenant in Jesus, do not have the luxury of excuses the early church had in trying to understand the plan of God in Christ and the expressions and meanings he used to convey life in his Kingdom.

We have the full writings of the New Covenant, and its exhortation we are to seek Jesus.

If we do what he asks, he will (layer by layer) in journey with him, pull back the things of this life that keep us from intimacy and union with him.

He will cleanse and heal the eyes and ears of our heart so we can know him deeply and richly, as he us.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (NIV, Hebrews 11: 6, italicized mine)

If we diligently seek Jesus, he will fulfill his promise to cleanse and heal our temples for a habitation for him and the Father in the revelation of his nature.

Important

Cleansing and healing include pulling back the curtains over his Word, imparting the “joy” of reading, discovery, and revelation of his Word again.

God designed his Word to bring life, not death!

And to get to life we must allow Jesus to defeat the work of death in our life – the sins that want to destroy you and me.

Contrary to what you read in the news, today is the greatest time to be alive (other than before the fall).

We live in the age of Philadelphia where God is doing yet the deepest and richest work in men and women.

And part of this new season and work is the revealing of God’s Word like never before, releasing it from the shackles of creeds and traditions.

The wind of God is blowing again on his Word with such fresh, new, and enhanced insight and revelation, no one person will be able to contain all of what God is wanting to reveal in these the last of the last days.

The Scripture is clear, it is going to take a body of believers in intimate love with Christ to carry the weight of glory God will release in the end-times in one last call to those hanging back and the lost, to come into the Ark before evil is unleashed on this earth like never before.

There is another “never before” coming to fruition in the twenty first century.

And the timing of Scripture shows there are people living today who will live to see another “never before” happen in their lifetimes.

***

As Paul wrote regarding spiritual meanings to everyday words,

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” (NIV, 1 Corinthians 2: 13-14, italicized mine)

See also John 6:53-63 and 1 John 5:7-8 for Christ’s and John’s notification in the New Covenant there is a new way of looking at things, you cannot go by appearances, that certain everyday words may have an expanded meaning when it comes to conveying spiritual truths.

History shows it is harder for the “religious” to receive and move forward when God does something new than it is for the lost.

Tragically, we like to camp, settling for what God did in the past, forgetting God’s Word is “alive and active” (NIV, Hebrews 4:12, italicized mine).

That the body of Christ is on a journey; God moving the tent pegs out farther as he labors to complete the Gospel in the time allotted for the Church “age.”

Isaiah, seeing by the eyes of the Spirit what we look like on the inside, whether “justified” (saved) or not (Isaiah 1:5-7), knew by the Spirit it would take a new work of God through the Messiah to cleanse and heal his children.

Isaiah wrote,

“‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.’” (NIV, Isaiah 43: 18-19, italicized mine)

Jesus spoke of the great difficulty in bringing the new work of God to people held in the chains and darkness of sin:

‘“‘Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’”’

“‘In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:’”

‘“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’”’ (NIV, Matthew 13: 13-15, italicized mine)

On the heels of parables Matthew continues by quoting Psalm 78 verse 2:

“So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

‘I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.’” (NIV, Matthew 13: 35, italicized mine)

Fast forward two millenniums and the Lord is doing another “new thing” in our day, the age of Philadelphia, the deep work of the Spirit of grace, the final opportunity in the age of the Gospel to receive the fullness of God’s promise of healing and restoration.

Jesus has provided resources for cleansing and healing through many healing and prophetic ministries today.

And as ministries come to maturity the Lord is shifting to an even more intimate and intense work of fathering and healing.

And there is the personal one on one ministry of the Lord, which speaks for itself.

Important

It is not a coincidence Matthew Chapter 13 has uniquely revelatory parables of the Gospels, where Jesus refers to Isaiah 6: 9-10, and Matthew refers to Psalm 78: 2.

The seven parables of Matthew 13, uniquely insightful and revelatory, picture a “pattern/theme/progression” consistent with Paul’s nine letters to the Churches and Christ’s seven letters to the Churches.

They create a threefold cord of patterns in the age of the Gospel.

The pattern/theme/progression of the days of creation and rest, have similarities with the pattern/theme/progression of the six major segments of time from Adam to today, the Millennium looming as the seventh.

The seven segments of time: 1) Adam/Eve to Noah, 2) Noah to Abraham, 3) Abraham to King David, 4) King David to Christ, 5) Christ to the end of the age of Thyatira, 6) Reformation to Tribulation, and 7) Christ’s millennial reign.

Based on what God is doing today, and what he has done over the last five hundred years, we are in the last quadrant of the Reformation to Tribulation.

Depending on the Septuagint or Masoretic text, the time from Adam and Eve to Noah could be anywhere from 2500 to 1000 years.

And, from Noah to Abraham roughly another millennium.

And, from Abraham to King David roughly another millennium.

And not as rough, from King David to Christ another millennium; completing the first four major segments of time from Adam and Eve to Christ.

And of course, we are “about” two millenniums from Christ; interesting, if Jesus were born 4 BC, 2000 years ago from 2024 he would be 28, 2 years before his ministry (roughly).

It is not a coincidence Israel has returned as a nation in the century centered around the 2000-year anniversary of Christ.

Bible prophecy points to Israel as a nation before the return of Christ.

***

Here are examples of the New Language of the New Testament.

Please remember as you read different sections, church teachings have taught us to understand certain words one way, narrowly, for example, like resurrection, blood, atonement.

We think it only applies to Christ rising from the dead after Calvary, but that is Old Testament” thinking in the New Testament era.

In the New Testament, the emphasis of resurrection is on putting sin to death so we can walk in new life (Romans Chapter 6, 8:10-11, etc.), the life Adam and Eve lost, and the life Christ won back in being made perfect, defeating our greatest fear – death (the sins that cause death), opening the door to eternal life this side of Heaven.

If we miss this understanding then we miss the heart of the New Testament, living a life far below what God intended for NT saints, more like OT saints than new, except for the new birth.

The purpose of the age of Philadelphia is restore us to God’s original plan and design through Christ – to walk us through the journey of putting sin to death (Romans Chapter 6) so we can be made intimate and one with Christ, to transform “orphan hearts” to Sonship (Romans Chapter 8).

More on this in the next post.

Please remember Christ introduced many new concepts (John 6:53-63; 1 Cor. 2:13; Hebrews 4:12-13), some building on the Old Testament, and some completely new, not only upsetting the religious cart but creating entirely new perspectives about the Kingdom of God and his plan to bring men and women through journey into intimacy and union with him.

One last thought to consider as you read this.

Because of the impact of creeds and traditions have had in altering Scripture and the story of Christ, and his Commission, if a believer from the first century were here today, they would be utterly shocked to see what centuries of man’s theology has done to the Gospel.

Particularly the exaltation of Calvary and the hiding of Christ’s pioneering journey, the journey that purchased our salvation by the living blood sacrifice of Christ in his perfection.

They would look at us and say, how in the “world” did you produce these doctrines?

A living blood sacrifice (what the Old Testament foretold and what God always wanted) where sin would be put to death and God’s law fulfilled in the flesh, where men and women are restored to intimacy with God, is always better than an animal sacrifice, which does not kill sin, to say nothing of what happened at Calvary.

It is grieving to see how creeds, Hollywood, and traditions have the killing of Christ as the greatest Christian event, the turning point in history, the beginning of the making of all things new, the “glamour” of the Gospel, when Scripture and his disciples describe those who killed Christ in terms none of us like to use.

How Christendom has missed the journey Christ pioneered, becoming our Savior before his ministry, the pattern he wanted Israel (and now us) to follow, made one with him and the Father.

My hope is as you read this series you will see creeds and traditions as man’s attempt to understand Scripture apart from the revelation of Christ, natural thinking driving Scripture interpretation instead of spiritual wisdom and words as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 2.

Salvation begins in the new birth, but it does not end there, at least from the Lord’s perspective – he has so much more he wants to do in you and me, to cleanse and heal our wounds and brokenness – he is knocking at the door, will we answer his knock while it is still light?

Here is a brief list of words which have expanded meanings in the New Testament.

• Physical Crucifixion versus Crucifixion of the Lower Nature

 

Crucify can refer to a literal crucifixion of a person, or the crucifixion of the enmity in our flesh, the lower nature. The former is “dark;” the latter is “good” – the pursuit of righteousness in the journey Christ pioneered.

So, depending on the context, crucifixion can have an actual “physical” meaning, or, a “spiritual” meaning, both bringing about death to whatever is nailed to their cross – a body if physical, or, if nailed to the cross of the Spirit (i.e., not being allowed to do whatever you want to do, the training circle of Christ, e.g., John 21:18, Galatians 5:17) the lusts and cravings of the lower nature so wounds can be opened, i.e., “wounded” and “pierced” for cleansing and healing by the Lord.

Paul talked about crucifying his flesh, the lower nature, by putting the lusts and cravings of the flesh to death. (2 Cor. 4:10-12)

Jesus told us to pick up our cross and follow him; obviously, he was speaking of the journey of “spiritual crucifixion;” putting sin to death by the cross of grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

Yes, grace through faith in the training circle of Christ, having one’s loins girded with truth, not being able to do whatever you want so the Spirit can bring cleansing and healing is just as much a cross as physical crucifixion.

The latter brings “death,” the former brings death to sin so we can walk in “life,” eternal life, growing in intimacy and union with Christ in the same process and journey the Father pioneered in him (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 5:7-10).

Christ put the enmity in his flesh to death (Ephesians 2:14-16, see an interlinear; Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10) destroying the barrier of generational wounds and sins passed to him from his human ancestry, fulfilling the law in his flesh perfectly (Matthew 5:17).

Please remember, as James teaches, we can have lusts of the flesh without yielding to them and sinning, and Christ, being born of a woman, just like you and me, had enmity in his flesh (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:14-16, see an interlinear; Hebrews 2:17).

However, having the Spirit from his Father kept him in a place of grace, fleeing to his Father when temptation rose from within, receiving by grace through faith healing and restoration over the long journey of completion, becoming our Savior. (Hebrews 5:7-10)

The creeds propose a nice and quick salvation cure by the killing of the Messiah at Calvary.

But that is not what the Bible teaches.

Whereas the new birth brings us into grace and faith quickly, the Bible does not teach salvation is an event, but a long journey of dying to sin to walk in new life. (Matthew 25, foolish virgins; Romans Chapter 6, 8:10-11; Ephesians 5:15-17; Philippians 2:12)

Important

Thus, crucify/crucifixion can describe the means of an actual physical crucifixion, resulting in physical death.

Or it may describe the means of crucifying something else, like the enmity in our flesh, a spiritual crucifixion, putting the lower nature to death, breaking its lifeline with darkness, i.e., agreements with sin through judgments, lies, vows, etc., we have made, or our generations made passed to us through our ancestry.

A physical crucifixion kills the body releasing the soul and spirit into eternity, either into eternal life or darkness.

So too a spiritual crucifixion, God designs it to kill the enmity in our flesh, the lower nature, releasing the body, soul, and spirit to “resurrection life” this side of Heaven.

In a physical crucifixion, killing the body comes by way of torture.

In contrast, in a spiritual crucifixion, the baptism Christ pioneered in putting sin to death (Romans 3:25, 4:24-25, 5:8-10, Chapter 6, etc.) passed to him from his human ancestry, and the baptism we are to enter for ourselves, kills the lower nature by grace through faith in repentance and forgiveness.

Enoch, Moses, and Elijah are “types” of resurrection life pointing to Christ, the perfect one, who would live forever if Israel had received their Messiah.

They are a “type of Christ,” along with David and others in the Old Testament, pointing to the journey Christ would pioneer perfectly, receiving the Holy Spirit without limitation, made perfect, becoming our Savior (John 3:34; Hebrews 5:7-10).

From Paul (2 Timothy 4:6-8), Peter (2 Peter 1:14), and John’s (1 John 1:1-3), comments, it is likely they entered eternal life this side of the great divide.

They entered the journey Christ pioneered, finishing what Christ called them to do, “his atoning perfection” substituting for what they could not finish.

And thus, Christ likely translated them to Heaven at the completion of their calling.

This is why Christ did all he did, to restore what Adam and Eve lost plus finish what they failed to finish so God’s sons and daughters could also enter resurrection life this side of Heaven.

Conclusion

Creeds and traditions focus Christendom’s attention on Christ’s “physical crucifixion,” deeming it the atoning sacrifice of the New Covenant.

That through death of his body he brought life to men and women.

Where, in stark contrast, Scripture focuses on Christ’s “spiritual crucifixion” of sin (the enmity in his flesh) passed to him from his human ancestry as his atoning sacrifice of the New Covenant, i.e., his perfection, raised from mortality to immortality, resurrection life before his ministry.

(Romans 3:25, 4:24-25, 5:8-10, 5:18-19, 6:10; 1 Cor. 15:3, 15:20-23, 15:45-49; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 2:14-16 see an interlinear, 4:20-24; Philippians 2; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 5:7-10, 7:16)

That through death to sin, raised to resurrection life before his ministry (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10, etc.) – a living sin free “blood” sacrifice, giving the entirety of his life to the Father (John 6:53-63), made perfect, he brought life – life producing life – the law of creation; many coming to belief, receiving the new birth as well as healing and other miracles during his ministry.

From the Lord’s perspective, Calvary was the continuation of grace giving more time to come to forgiveness, now that there is no more excuse for sin (Matthew 26:28; John 15:22), instead of taking the Kingdom by force (Matthew 26:53).

Important

Matthew 26:54 in my translation has been altered from the Greek; this verse does not mean Jesus must be killed, but that he came as the Prince of Peace and was not going to change the direction of his ministry even if they kill him, he would stay the course within the preferred will of God, even though he could justly and rightly take the Kingdom by force and not sin.

From man’s and the enemy’s perspective, Calvary was an attempt to stop the New Covenant dead in its tracks, because it has been quite successful!

• Welts, Sores, Bruises, Wounds (Isaiah 1:5-7)

 

Welts, sores, bruises, wounds, etc., are a result of injury and afflictions, sins against us or by us, from abuse, neglect, isolation, abandonment, fear, anger, blame, etc., uncleansed and unhealed areas prone to infection by sin, whether we can see or hear the visible sign of them or not.

Any number of sins can afflict our body, soul, and spirit at the same time.

Satan tempted Eve body, soul, and spirit, afflicting her entire person with sin all at the same time. Likewise, Satan tempted Jesus body, soul, and spirit in the wilderness, Christ passing the test in all three areas because God had fathered him to perfection – redeeming what Adam and Eve lost and completing what they failed to finish.

In Isaiah 1:5-7 the prophet describes what he sees by the Spirit in God’s people.

It is not a coincidence he also describes the wounding and piercing of the Messiah (53:4-6) which foretells what Christ will go through in putting sin to death by the cross of grace through faith (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10).

(The sins Christ put to death were not ones he committed, but the structures of sin passed to him by his human ancestry. The Scripture is clear, though darkness tempted Christ like all born of woman, he never came into agreement with temptation. You can have lust/cravings and not sin as James 1 teaches.)

He is pointing out what the Spirit sees on the inside of you and me no matter how well we think we can hide things, or how well things are going for us right now. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

We carry damage from millenniums of sin passed down through the generations of men and women.

This may be news, but the Lord did not design the seasons of the “new birth” and “Pentecost” for deep cleansing and healing – that is what Tabernacles (the age of Philadelphia) is designed for, Christ walking us through the journey of the cross of grace through faith.

The inner healing movement is a transitional period between the heart of Pentecost and the heart of Tabernacles.

It is the bridge between the Sardis church age and the Philadelphia (Tabernacles) church age.

Tabernacles includes inner healing, but Tabernacles is much more than inner healing – far beyond transitional inner healing in depth, extent, and intensity.

Transitional inner healing, what many of us have experienced over the last number of decades, is preparatory for the deep work of the Spirit of grace in Tabernacles.

It takes the deep work of the Spirit of grace (Tabernacles) in ongoing encounter with Christ to cleanse and heal the deeply hidden and secret wounds and brokenness in us.

The new birth and Pentecost is open to all whereas Tabernacles is by invitation – because it requires a level of preparation the others do not – the Lord will help prepare and choose anyone who wants a deeper relationship with him.

Of course, with the Lord, it is not about a method or process, for their have been many in-depth healings of body, soul, and spirit by the Lord in seasons and decades past (and present), but just like the new birth and Pentecost are distinct and separate “moves” of God, so to Tabernacles – only it is deeper still, the journey of being made intimate and one with Christ not possible in the new birth and Pentecost.

Just like there were three distinct Courts in the Tabernacle/Temple, and three distinct growing seasons and feasts – Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, so to the Christian pilgrimage.

Only Jesus knows the healing pecking order of wounds so we can stay healed and not fall back into greater sinful practices, inner turmoil, and strife.

It takes the Spirit’s surgeon’s hands to create a journey and timeline to bring cleansing and healing into our lives.

He must line up resources and situations to “wound our wounds,” to “pierce the sinful infections” in our life so he can cleanse and heal you and me.

Important

The unhealed and uncleansed afflictions we carry in our inner man or woman in the form of welts, sores, bruises, wounds, etc., are feeding grounds for agreements, lies, vows, etc., we or our generations have embraced in trying to find life apart from the grace of God and his cleansing and healing power through forgiveness and repentance.

Agreements and lies and the like conceal our wounds, sores, and bruises requiring prayer to access them in a way promoting long term healing and deliverance.

You just cannot barge in and bind the strongman as Jesus described without first laying the groundwork of repentance and forgiveness; to begin a heart attitude of binding, so the Lord can bind his feet and hands and return the plunder he has stolen.

And once weakened, we can throw him out of our house as the Lord continues to wash us with the water of his Spirit and Word (NIV, Ephesians 5:26-27).

Spiritual afflictions of the body, soul, and spirit, whether starting from the natural or spiritual realm are just as deadly and contagious as physical afflictions, in need of cleansing, healing, and restoration – the expressed purpose of Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission.

Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission continues until the New Heaven and New Earth, even in the Millennium people will need healing and restoration.

Jesus came to clean and heal the total person – body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonian 5:23, see an interlinear), not just the body.

Often afflictions can result in strongholds of the enemy, requiring journey in prayer uncovering the source (events, access points, open doors), and the agreements, lies, and vows made giving the enemy legal claim against us.

Sometimes we must work through these barriers to bind the enemy in healing and restoration, other times, the Lord, for his own reasons, does not share details and heals.

When we talk about plunder we are speaking about healing things like abuse, violation, curses, projections from others over us, soul ties, accusations, blame, restoring things like dignity, confidence, trust, acceptance, esteem, self-worth, self-care, self-love, forgiveness, identity, destiny.

Healing and restoration do not come automatically or by osmosis because we have walked years with the Lord.

Deep cleansing and healing – the deep work of the Spirit – can only come about in a journey with the Lord, where we seek intimacy and union.

The coming of the Lord to make a habitation for he and the Father in us, to heal and restore our heart, from orphan, to Sonship, through journey in growing intimacy and union with Christ.

Every Christian, from every walk of life and position of authority within the Church has deep “wounds” needing Christ’s personal and intimate love and care.

It is not automatic nor generally available with the new birth, Pentecost, or time.

Only the coming of Jesus to us personally and individually – the heart of Tabernacles (growing intimacy and union with Christ) can usher you and me into the deep work of the Spirit of grace in Philadelphia, the last opportunity in this age for the likeness of Christ.

Many talk about union with Christ today, as if it is automatic, but until Christ takes you on the journey he pioneered to be made one with him and the Father, intimacy and union with Christ – what he is looking for and promised – is not possible outside of journey with him.

It begins once he takes us through the open door of Philadelphia – he mentioned the open door for a reason, which I explain in the next post.

Heart preparation and seeking is critical to receiving deep healing and cleansing – every Christian needs deep healing and cleansing.

I close with these last few comments.

In the 80s I was at a large church.

One evening just before service I was walking through the Sanctuary looking out over the considerable number in attendance and suddenly, I could see by the Spirit (something like this had never happened to me before) sick people everywhere.

It was like I was walking through a large hospital ward, where there were sick folk all around me, that what was visible on the outside did not align with what was going on the inside.

The experience lasted for about 30 seconds, imprinted on my spirit forever.

The Lord gave me a glimpse of what he sees when he looks at us, not that he focuses on our wounds, but to be aware of their presence and our need for his healing and restoration.

Agreements, lies, vows, expectancies, are addictions where we and our generations have gone to find life apart from God, “food and drink” when wounds come our way, or for managing them.

They deceive us into believing we are safe in their arms – the arms of accusation, blame, unforgiveness, bitterness, fault finding, gossiping, sexual sins, working to destroy us from within to without (John 10:10).

Just like certain physical characteristics, weaknesses, and predispositions pass through the generations, visible to the naked eye, so to the predisposition to sin with lusts and cravings of appetites and desires our generations found as food and drink for soul and spirit.

Please remember the first wounds and sores where not physical, but spiritual, effecting body, soul, and spirit, and Christ, just like you and me, received the aftermath of Adam and Eve’s fall.

Conclusion

Creeds and traditions teach the wounding unto death of Christ’s physical body at Calvary brought the atoning sacrifice, God taking his anger at sin out on Christ, the perfect lamb, like one of the lambs in the Old Testament, but this time it’s a man, the only perfect man to every live.

That the only way to appease God’s wrath was to kill Christ, his only begotten Son, the one he raised and had intimacy with like no one else, past, present, or future.

A man who did his will perfectly from the heart; Christ even endured physical crucifixion, not because it was a command, because it was not, but because his Father’s “preferred will” was to not take the Kingdom by force at this time.

That if he took up the sword (which if he did, his Father would assist him) others would be killed who would later come to forgiveness (Matthew 26:28), giving grace to the uttermost, to finish the race as the Prince of Peace, saving vengeance for another day.

Where, again, in sharp contrast, the Scripture has the atonement occurring in the journey of suffering the cleansing and healing of sins passed to him from his human ancestry, fulfilling the many “types of Christ” in the Old Testament, like David and his 15-year wilderness journey, who suffered the wounding and piercing of sins in preparation to receiving the Ark, intimate presence with God.

The Scripture makes it clear Christ was not perfect at birth, the “sins” of his mother’s generations passed to him like all men (Ephesians 2:14-16, see an interlinear; Romans 1:3, 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21 – he was not made sin at Calvary, but made sin in his conception, his human ancestry; Hebrews 2:17,4:15, 5:7-10; Galatians 4:4).

It took a long journey of the promised grace to come, fathered by God, to cleanse and heal him from generational sins, making him perfect, complete, the atoning sacrifice for every man and woman who would believe on him.

Jesus was the tree of life restored in the Garden before he began his ministry – it is Jesus who saves us, not Calvary, not lawless men, not Roman soldiers, but Jesus and Jesus alone – he did not need help from sinful men!

He entered ministry fully Jesus, free of generational sins, walking in resurrection life, immortality offering the opportunity of life for over three years to Israel.

It was not the wounding of his body, the spilling of his blood, at Calvary that brought salvation to mankind (it did extend grace giving more time for some to come to forgiveness, Matthew 26:28), but the wounding and death to sin passed to him from his human ancestry, made perfect by his “blood sacrifice,” i.e., giving the entirety of his life to the Father, becoming our Savior.

Christ fulfilled what the OT pointed to, a living, breathing, blood sacrifice!

What the Old Testament pointed to in offering a perfect lamb as a sacrifice – contrition of the heart, repentance, and forgiveness – Christ fulfilled completely, offering his entire life to the Father in putting sin to death, the contrition of his heart for the sins of his generations, doing the will of God from the heart, fulfilling the law in his flesh, becoming our Savior.

To repeat, because this is so important, it is not the wounding and piercing of Christ’s body at Calvary bringing the atonement, but the wounding and piercing of the structures of sin that give life to generational wounds.

What brings “life in Christ” is death to sin by cleansing and healing our wounds and brokenness through repentance and forgiveness for making agreements with darkness in judgments, lies, vows, expectancies.

Killing sin and cleansing wounds brings “life,” not killing the body.

Wounding the “wound” – opening it up for cleansing and healing through repentance and forgiveness – spiritual surgery in warfare, defeats darkness making good soil for the planting of the Word of God and the presence of his Holy Spirit.

• Cross of Grace Through Faith

 

The cross can be an instrument of human death, or an instrument of putting sin to death by grace through faith.

The lower nature fears the cross of grace through faith because it wounds its source of life, destroying agreements, lies, vows, made with the enemy.

Instead of living life by the works of the flesh “works righteous,” we begin to live life by grace through faith in the saving power of Christ to heal our wounds and brokenness, freeing us from the sins feeding upon them.

Sin needs something to feed upon, nurtured, cultivated, to grow.

There is no better way for sin to enter than through wounding, where grace through faith is lacking, falling prey to the enemy’s temptations to enter into agreements in judgments, lies, and vows apart from seeking the way of escape in Christ.

God’s answer to the sinful way of life we and our generations have chosen is the cross of grace through faith.

The cross of grace through faith is, in Christ, the heart of Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission: to “wound and pierce the wounds within us” – to put sin to death, cleansing, healing, and restoring our inner man or woman.

God’s answer for sin is to put “it” to death, to afflict “it” by opening and cleansing the lusts and cravings of the flesh, teaching men and women the ways of righteousness by grace through faith, transformation from darkness to light, becoming obedient through the suffering of doing away with sin.

This is the journey Christ pioneered for his generations (Isaiah 53:4-6) and for us – to bring the sword of the Spirit – not peace – to our wounds for cleansing and healing like him.

Highly Important

Simply, many times, to destroy the sinful nature “rooted” in our wounds, our wounds need to be made manifest “clearly apparent, visible, revealed, made known” by wounding, so we know who and what we are fighting – sin in us, not us, but spiritual warfare against darkness working in us. (Romans 7, Ephesians 6)

Knowing our wounds “opens the door” (Revelation 3:7-13) to truth about what is happening inside, and the reasons why, shedding light on the structures of darkness working within.

“The Holy Spirit bringing us to repentance and forgiveness through the truth of God’s Word, cleansing and healing our wound, destroying sin, and the lower nature it formed in our members.”

This is the heart of the cross of grace through faith, a season of learning obedience, limitations, and boundaries (Psalm 16:5-6) in the training circle of Christ, having truth planted and formed within our inmost parts, the journey he pioneered in utter dependence upon him for life.

Christ did not come to bring peace but a sword – a sword of his Word to destroy the barrier between our flesh and the law of God, so we can through cleansing and healing fulfill the law of God increasingly.

***

Thus, what a physical cross is to physical crucifixion – an instrument of putting the body to death, the cross of grace through faith is to the enmity in our flesh – putting to death the barrier of sin keeping you and me from fulfilling the law of God in our flesh.

The cross of grace through faith is an instrument of restraint (Psalm 16:5-6; John 21: 18) where “you are not to do whatever you want” (NIV, Galatians 5: 17, italicized mine) allowing the great surgeon of Heaven to cleanse and heal our wounds in the hospital of God’s care and love.

It is central to the journey Christ pioneered, fathered by God, becoming our Savior – the firstborn, first fruit, pioneer, forerunner, and finisher of faith.

Peter calls the journey Christ pioneered to make us intimate and one with him by the cross of grace through faith – the revelation of Christ by grace (NIV, 1 Peter 1: 13).

This is also the training circle of Christ: learning obedience to Christ, how to hear his voice, to know his promptings by the Spirit, while Christ cleanses and heals our wounds from the welts and sores of the lower nature.

This is where Christ transforms you and me from glory to glory, learning to trust and have confidence in him as he puts sin to death in our lives. (Ro. 8:10-11, 8:28-30; 2 Cor. 3:18; Philippians 3:20-21; 2 Thess. 2:14)

The deep work of the Spirit is where we learn to die to the works of the flesh in agreements, lies, in repentance and forgiveness.

Along with deep healing, greater grace, and intimacy, comes the rich revelation of his Word.

Just like grace and faith, repentance and forgiveness, confidence and trust, and truth, faith, and obedience are “packaged together,” so too the:

“Revelation of the Spirit,”

“Revelation of Christ’s blood sacrifice (giving the entirety of his life, beginning a new spiritual blood line in and through him), and

“washing with water through the word.” (NIV, Ephesians 5:26, italicized and underline mine; see also 1 John 5:7-8)

Important

In conclusion, creeds and traditions teach the Roman cross plus the help of lawless men brought salvation to humanity by killing Christ.

That central to God’s design and plan of salvation from the beginning was the killing of his Son.

That only the killing of a perfect person – one who fulfilled God’s heart to the full – would satisfy God’s anger at sinful Israel and humanity at large.

That killing the perfect one was the only way to put sin to death and extend grace and forgiveness to fallen humanity.

But, in glaring contrast to creeds and traditions, Scripture teaches Christ was a man who lived in grace by faith – the pioneer of the cross of grace through faith – demonstrating sin could be overcome and put to death by God’s “cross” (1 Peter 1:10-12) ending the sacrifice leading to death under the Old Covenant to the sacrifice leading to life in the New Covenant. (Romans 5:8-10)

Where instead of giving something of value we give God the most valuable thing we have to offer – our hearts, Christ being the first to pioneer the way that pleases the heart of God, putting sin to death to walk in new life. (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 5:7-10)

Where the giving of one’s life is so complete and full it is tantamount to a literal blood sacrifice – losing one life, the old man, and gaining a new life, Christ in us – the old man dying at the cross of grace through faith, the new man rising from the ashes to walk in resurrection life – this side of the great divide, in fulfillment of Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission.

God conceived Christ for the purpose of intimacy, and to have that, Christ was commissioned to kill sin in his generations, God devising a plan from the beginning where grace mixed with faith would destroy the barrier of sin keeping people imprisoned, wounded, and broken, unable to fulfill the law in their flesh, starting with Christ first, who did it perfectly.

Calvary did not destroy the barrier of sin – nailing Christ to the cross – but Christ nailing sin to the cross of grace through faith did. (Acts 2:23 versus Colossians 2:14, see my next post; I recommend reading these verses in an interlinear.)

The nailing of Christ to the cross by Israel exposed Israel’s sin on the marks of his body – drawing unrepentant sin out of their hearts in the harshest way possible – paving the way for the repentant to come to forgiveness (Matthew 26:28) on the day of Pentecost, and thereafter.

Christ is a warrior unlike any before him, fathered by God; he learned how to defeat sin at its source, in the cravings and lusts of his flesh, passed to him from his human ancestry as the Scripture clearly attests, defeating Satan on his own turf, the human heart and mind. (Romans 8:3; Ephesians 2:14-16 see an interlinear; Hebrews 2:17)

He is not only our atonement, mediator, Savior, but he pioneered the means and way for us to put sin to death in our lives, in him.

And in defeating sin, Christ became our Savior before he ever took one step in ministry (Hebrews 5:7-10).

• Blood of Christ (Overview)

 

If you are new to this series, you may want to skim through earlier writings in this series on the “New Testament meaning” of the blood of Christ.

This brief section is a preview of the greater coverage I will provide in the Resource Guide to come in future posts – see Table of Contents above.

The upcoming sections will be comprehensive, covering the blood of Christ as completely as I know how with what I have come to understand by the revelation of the Lord.

The New Language of the New Testament is not something I dreamed up, but what the Lord has been showing me (and instructed me to write about) over the last decade, bit by bit.

I am not the scholarly type, knowing Latin, Greek, Hebrew, but someone who cried out to God for one last adventure before I leave this earth.

I knew from my Bible college days from my twenties and thirties the Lord was going to do a special work in the last days, and I did not want to miss what he was going to do.

God has been superabundantly FAITHFUL to answer the cry of my heart – more than I could ask or think – not only bringing me into cleansing and healing, but with the bonus of unveiling sections of his Word to me like never before concerning his labor in the last of the last days.

Scripture and people use the word “blood” narrowly or broadly in either the natural or spiritual realms, depending on the context and help by the revelation of the Spirit.

The development of the creeds in the early church councils resulted in defining the “blood of Christ” very narrowly to the event of Calvary.

Once the definition became locked in creeds and traditions, making it only about the literal blood of Christ spilled at Calvary, the New Testament took on a tone, direction, and garment the Lord never intended it to have.

Through councils and compromise fifteen hundred years ago the “blood of Christ” came to mean his literal blood spilled at Calvary wherever the word blood appeared in the NT.

So much so, translators added the words shed, shedding, or spilled, etc., to passages (Romans 3:25, Colossians 1:20, Hebrews 12:4) where blood was mentioned to make it clear it refers to Calvary, because what else, they reasoned, could it possibly be about, since Church creeds decided thus?

The understanding of Christ’s pioneering journey before his ministry, made perfect, fathered by God, separate from his ministry and Calvary was unknown, replaced with Calvary by the creeds of the early councils, which began the institutionalization of Christianity lasting for centuries.

Note:

These are not the only “changes” translators have made to conform to creeds and traditions, other passages in the New Testament have been adjusted with additions or rephrasing to make it clear the context applies to Calvary, like Acts 2:23, Matthew 26:54, done, I believe, with good intentions to help us understand what the creeds teach.

Thankfully, God intervenes to correct our mistakes, working around our mistakes when clarity and truth is critical for his purposes.

Thus, we have revivals (like the Reformation (1500s to 1800s), Azusa Street and Pentecostal Movement (1900s), the Jesus Movement (60s-70s), Inner Healing (70s and ongoing), etc.), because revivals are just as much about the re-revealing of lost truths as they are about waking people up from sleep to a renewed and hopefully deeper walk with the Lord.

Today we stand on the cusp of another breakthrough moment for the body of Christ, for those who take the opportunity to seek to enter what is coming – which is yet a deeper and more intimate walk with the Lord.

And with every deeper work, is the re-revealing of long-lost truths, the ones that help us pursue a deeper relationship with Christ, the heart of this series – Tabernacles, the age of Philadelphia, made intimate and one with Christ.

Removing centuries old barriers greatly helps in our pursuit of intimacy with Christ by: reviving the life of the Word and its power to change our lives; enabling the Holy Spirit to freely give you and me fresh insight and discovery of the truths of God’s Word, our Savior, and his story; and, renewing a spirit of adventure and journey in the pursuit of Christ, and his specific calling in this critical hour of transition and history.

We live in the greatest age in the history of the Church, the age of Philadelphia, the opportunity and privilege of intimacy and union with the Lord like never before, and on a scale the Church has never witnessed.

***

Understanding the New Language of the New Testament brings a new dimension to the Scriptures, bringing life where creeds and traditions taught death.

The New Language of the New Testament brings life by bringing the experiential knowledge of God’s promise to cleanse and heal us of our sins and wounds – now – before we get to Heaven.

The New Language of the New Testament brings alive the Word of God to cleanse and heal his children – resurrecting Christ’s Isaiah 61 Commission from the grip of death in creeds and traditions.

Jesus never stopped wanting to deliver, heal, and restore his children through the centuries; it was people who turned from him, not he from them nor us.

Philadelphia is a season specially reserved by the Lord to make up for what has been lost by bringing to completion those who seek intimacy with him in the last days, to take them into a place of intimacy and union with him the ancients foretold, and the prophets could only dream about.

There are amazing things ahead for those who seek the Lord for the open door of Philadelphia – amazingly deep, rich, and precious things.

Knowing what I know about the last days, the unique place Jesus is going to bring those who seek him, and the loss those who do not seek Christ will suffer, I certainly do not want to be standing on the outside.

The creeds leave us walking in death, mortality, stuck in our wounds and sins, waiting for Heaven, hoping God will take care of everything when we get to the other side, little knowing the heart of the Scripture is the fulfillment of Isaiah 61 in the here and now, not Heaven.

Simply, the creeds leave Christians living in a state of death, mortality (though born again, still in a state of death, Romans 8:10-11), whereas the Scripture leads us into everlasting life this side of the great divide, what Christ pioneered for himself and those in him.

He came to bring us life now, cleansing and healing, made whole and holy – the specific promise of Philadelphia, Tabernacles – bringing his children to completion “Sonship,” fulfilling the mystery of Christ in the last of the last days.

Why would anybody want to argue against greater intimacy with Christ and his Father, when he plainly makes it available unlike any time in history in the age of Philadelphia, the final fulfillment of his prayer to his Father (John 17:21) before the Tribulation?

A snapshot:

If you are new to this series, I have already written much on the blood of Christ but I am covering the topic again in this and the next posts in greater detail with new insight, especially in the Resource Guide.

There is far more to the meaning of the “blood of Christ” than the liquid that flowed through his body (John 6:53-63).

You may be wondering why there are different sections on the blood of Christ in this and the following posts. It is because there are different threads of thought, the Resource Guide being the most complete and comprehensive.

Christendom and creeds made the blood of Christ narrowly and literally defined, in stark contrast to what Jesus and the authors of the New Testament conveyed – his blood representing the entirety of his life: his journey and sacrifice of all things, made one with his Father.

When Jesus referred to his blood, he was making declarations, having to do with the source of his life compared to the source of our lives, and others, like:

starting a new bloodline, a spiritual blood line as children of God in the new birth and beyond, offering his listeners a new source of life and what it would bring,

made intimate and one with him and his father, declaring the most intimate expression possible of the cost of putting sin to death, sacrificing his life to the uttermost including rights and privileges – a living, breathing blood sacrifice, the greatest sacrifice one can make, and

others having to do with his actual physical life, be willing to offer his life again, not only his physical life but now also what he apprehended – eternal life in the flesh, not as an atonement for sin – which he had already accomplished in his perfection (Hebrews 5:7-10; 1 Peter 2:24, read second half of verse in an interlinear) but to continue his ministry of grace hoping people would come to forgiveness after his second glorification (raising).

There are more reasons I share in the next post why Jesus referred to his blood when speaking of his journey to perfection.

There is more to the story of Christ than the story of Calvary: our salvation and Christ’s ministry would not have been possible without the “backstory” of Christ creeds and traditions have hidden for centuries.

In the shedding of his blood (Matthew 26:28) he’s speaking far beyond the liquid in his body, but the giving up of everything he apprehended being made perfect “resurrection life, walking in eternal life” (Hebrews 5:7-10, 7:16) never to die, if Israel had received him as his Father hoped. (Matthew 21:37)

It is far more than the literal blood of Christ that saves you and me, it is the “person of Christ,” the one who completed the race Adam and Eve failed to complete, who was made one with the Father, who gave everything in his long journey in being made perfect, before his ministry.

By using the word blood, he opened the spiritual window of Heaven communicating new truths, like a new “spiritual blood line” started in him (replacing a cherished possession of the Jews, their blood line from Abraham), Christ becoming the New Testament in flesh and blood.

He was also making a comparison of natural blood to “life in the Spirit,” (John 6:53-63) saying the source of life in the New Covenant is beyond our flesh and blood, it is the Spirit of God for those in Christ, our new spiritual ancestor to the Father by the Holy Spirit.

He was also connecting the sacrifice of his life – the totality of his life in putting sin to death, raised to resurrection life, becoming our substitute having put sin to death completely, something we could never do.

Christ was our sacrificial lamb in being made perfect, not the killing of an animal or a human, but the killing of the works of the flesh passed to him from his human ancestry (Romans 3:25, 4:24-25, 5:8-10, 6:10, Ephesians 2:14-16 see an interlinear, Hebrews 5:7-10, etc.).

God presented his only begotten Son as a sacrifice – not to kill him – but to kill sin, sacrificing him completely to put sin to death for his generations by the cross of grace through faith, suffering the wounding of wounds and cleansing of sins we could never undergo or fulfill.

In the Old Testament it took the “obedience” of sacrificing animals to remit sin, repentance of heart demonstrated in the killing of cherished possessions – possessions necessary for life.

In the New Testament it is not the sacrifice of animals but the sacrifice of our lives to Christ in putting sin to death (Christ being the first, the firstborn).

Christ stood in for his generations, putting sin to death they could never do. (1 Peter 1:10-12)

And he pioneered the way for us to do the same in our lives – in and through him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And he did it by the cross of grace through faith in repentance and forgiveness for his generations, taking the suffering of wounding and piercing the structures of sins passed to him – putting to death judgments, lies, vows, passed to him, made perfect.

This was his blood sacrifice, something no one born entirely of the flesh could ever do, becoming our Savior, atoning blood sacrifice – the best and hardest sacrifice one can make is a living sacrifice, not a death sacrifice!

This is what the Scripture teaches about Christ’s blood sacrifice – a living sacrifice that put sin to death, not him.

Christ calls us into Philadelphia to sacrifice our lives to him so he can cleanse and heal our wounds and brokenness and free you and me from the chains of sins we have chosen, and those of our generations – the promise of Isaiah 61.

Sin is the cause of our troubles; it is sin living in you and me the Spirit brings to death through the journey Christ pioneered.

Christ pioneered the cross of grace through faith through repentance and forgiveness for his generations – creating a new generation going forward in him (physically and spiritually), and for us, for our sins. (Romans Chapter 6)

Christ was the “firstborn” of a new generation commissioned to put sin to death in him.

Again, God raised Christ to resurrection life before his ministry, his first glorification, going through the wounding and piercing of sins for his generations (his human ancestors) made perfect, the author of grace through faith in dying to sin to walk in new life. (Isaiah 53:4-6; John 12:28; Romans 6:10; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 5:7-10)

***

In John Chapter 6 (verses 53-63) when Jesus spoke of his blood he was speaking about a larger picture – “a larger story” – a story he was inviting his listeners into – New Covenant life in the Spirit; being made intimate and one with him and his Father (Luke 4:18-19; John 17:21).

There is no other word like “blood” which captures the essence of “life” and “identity” (to the Jews it was the Abrahamic blood line which meant everything to them).

Also, there is no other word like “blood” which captures the cost of giving one’s life for another, whether the cost is “literal” or “spiritual” or “figurative.”

Jesus did the “spiritual” first in being made perfect, becoming our Savior before his ministry (Hebrews 5:7-10), and the “literal” second, giving his literal physical life at Calvary, extending grace, giving men and women of Israel more time to come to forgiveness (Matthew 26:28).

Primarily when Jesus uses the word blood, he speaks of the giving of the entirety of his life in being intimate and one with his Father, putting sin to death, raised to resurrection life – the sustaining and life-giving nature of the Spirit of God (John 3:34; Romans 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10; 1 Peter 3:18).

His use of the word blood connects deeply with the Jews, connecting his personal sacrifice to the Father to their sacrifice for sin in the OT, but this time showing them his sacrifice was better and new, a living sacrifice (Romans 5:8-10), yielding intimacy with God he hoped they would desire.

When Christ spoke of his blood in John Chapter 6, he was speaking of what he had already done – putting away sin – not something he was going to do.

Whereas, when Jesus spoke of his blood in Matthew 26, he was speaking about what he was going to do, giving up everything he had apprehended in being made perfect, never to die, so people would have more time to come to forgiveness once they realized what they passed up and lost in him.

It is more (far more) than the literal blood of Christ that saves you and me – it is Jesus and Jesus alone who saves us – the entirety of his life given to God, Christ fulfilling the law in his flesh, putting sin to death in his generations forever, without sinning.

The word “blood” tells us Christ gave “everything” to God in destroying generational sin, nothing left on the table, every part of his body, soul, and spirit, including rights and privileges belonged to God.

Christ’s sacrifice is far more than about his literal blood, because his “story” is far more than his literal blood – it is about the only perfect person who ever lived, having been made perfect, made one with God, ready to usher Israel into the Millennium, and all he offered, being rejected, still giving grace in the final moments of his life.

God created a new and better blood line through Christ, a blood line not of the flesh but of the Spirit through belief in Christ, giving our lives to him, the mediator of the New Covenant.

Jesus used the word “blood” to get their attention to the new spiritual blood line open to those who receive salvation in him.

The new spiritual blood line in Christ is one reason writers use the phrase “blood sacrifice” repeatedly outside the Gospels, especially in Hebrews, a testimony of Christ’s journey before ministry.

Jesus’ story is far more than literal blood; his story is the making of the Messiah, the New Testament in Flesh and Blood, God with us in Christ, the person of Christ “becoming” experientially the Savior of humanity, not because of his literal blood, but because of his life sacrifice, made perfect.

I do not think the Scripture could be any clearer about this than it already is.

When you get beyond centuries old teaching, the Lord opens the windows of Heaven and lets fresh air into the Scriptures, it is apparent there is more to the story of Christ than commonly taught.

And our story in him is the cost to us in sacrificing our lives to him in permitting him to make us intimate and one with him in fulfillment of his prayer. (Romans Chapter 6; 2 Cor. 3:18, 4:10-12, 7:1; Ephesians 5:26-27; Philippians Chapter 3)

Important

One could say when Jesus spoke about his blood he was saying,

“Look, you leaders of Israel, you associate your identity, worth, and right-ness before God, and your distinctiveness and separateness as God’s chosen people, because of your Abrahamic bloodline.

I am offering you a new bloodline, as my works attest, based on grace and faith in personal relationship with God, a Heavenly ancestry from God himself by his Spirit, if you receive me.

I’m offering you a new bloodline based on the thoughts and intents of the heart, where righteousness dwells not in the works of the flesh but by the leading of the Spirit, where cleansing and healing rain from Heaven will wash your sins away, lifting you into a new relationship with God on the path to intimacy with him.

I am offering you intimacy with God like Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Samuel, David, and others, where every man and woman who receives God’s spiritual bloodline from me will have intimacy with the Father like the prophets of old, and even greater.

I am the first of a new bloodline from God, a new creation, as my works attest, coming from the Spirit of God in me, a deeper relationship with God than any of the Fathers have known, including Abraham.

Where forgiveness and repentance bring healing of wounds and death to sin, an experiential righteousness imparted by God through grace and faith, righteousness from the heart, not possible under the law without me.

The blood flowing through your body is earthly, leading to death, the curse of sin.

The blood – my source of life – flowing through the temple of my body is the life of the Spirit in the Word of God, resurrection life, eternal, the restoration you and your ancestors prayed to God to bring promised by the prophets.”

***

The word “blood” is the only word that comes near to describing the depth and extent of Christ’s sacrifice in putting generational sins to death to walk in newness of life (Romans 3:25 (blood not in Greek), 4:24-25, 5:8-10, 6:10; Hebrews 5:7-10, etc.).

That the “sacrifice of his life to God” – in living relationship with his father – pioneering a journey for us to follow – made perfect before his ministry, brought the atoning sacrifice, salvation, to you and me, his first death and glorification.

No other word even comes close to blood to describing the cost to Christ in in the journey he pioneered, fathered by God.

Jesus used the word blood for other reasons as well.

For another example, in John Chapter 6 (verses 53-63) to purposely draw thoughts Heavenward – stretching hearts to the realm of the Spirit as the source of life, with the truths of God’s Word.

That the Word of God is living.

To help his listeners look beyond the flesh to the Spirit as the source of life in overcoming sin and temptation, living life from the heart and mind in newness, wholeness, and holiness.

That God can truly provide the needs of life and more, even to the depths of caring and sustaining “hearts and minds” in gentleness, and grace.

Jesus showed them if God could provide for their well-being and flocks in the Old Covenant, surely, he can provide for the necessities of their heart and all the demands it places on them and others, bringing grace where strife and turmoil reigns inside them.

Jesus desired a new diet for them, one that would bring life, a spiritual diet from the Words and Spirit of God in a new way, not in the old way of the letter, but in a new way that brought life in the Spirit through the new birth and beyond.

In John Jesus attempted to connect the “heart” of the law in sacrifices and ordinances to the “heart” of the new way of living he was offering – a life rooted in repentance and forgiveness from the heart, where truth and the Spirit of God dwell (Psalms 51:17).

Where people recognize their deep need for intimacy with God apart from the works of the law.

Where intimacy with God can lead to a life like his, full of the love of God, in not only healing others, but in helping the people of Israel to connect with God the likes no one has ever seen.

Jesus showed them what a true blood sacrifice is, where one is so connected to God, the Father delights to work through them to touch the lives of others, where men and women find connection with their creator in a real, personal, and tangible way, touched by the hand of God.

Where God transforms lives by his Word and Spirit – where personal intimacy with God is now possible through Christ’s new creation blood line, making the Spirit of God accessible to humanity, the Jews being the first to receive God’s personal invitation in none other than his only perfected Son.

Jesus showed them the new way of life offered by him would birth experiential righteousness from the heart, freeing them from the confines of man’s traditions and practices.

But it costs to be a part of the new blood line God established in Christ, the cost of humility of heart, to part ways with outward righteous and seek the righteous which can only come from God in search of him.

Where confession of one’s most inward thoughts and intents to Christ, no matter how painful, or unclean they may be, brings grace and mercy in gentleness and care and not shame and condemnation. 

In John Chapter 6 Jesus was teaching them a new way of eating and drinking, to eat and drink from their heart and spirit by receiving the grace and mercy of God for wounds and brokenness.

That repentance and forgiveness would bring new food and drink to their heart and mind, a new source of life from creator God, not only to cleanse and heal them but to set their feet on a new path.

To eat and drink Christ’s flesh and blood, we must eat and drink what Christ did – to eat and drink from his Father’s table, the table of cleansing and healing, putting away the source of life we sought apart from God, to make room for our new Heavenly food, the Spirit of God and his Word by grace through faith.

This is the baptism of Christ, putting sin to death to walk in new life – a new blood line established by Christ, not of the flesh, but of the Spirit, by grace through faith.

Jesus was not offering the liquid flowing through his body – but the source of life flowing through his body, soul, and spirit – the deep waters of the Spirit in God’s Word, our source of life!

***

Another example is Matthew 26: 28.

When Jesus talked about his blood and spilling his blood, he was speaking more, much more, than about his literal blood, though that was included, but everything he came to do being shortened, cut off, after only three years of ministry, including eternal life he apprehended in the flesh. (Hebrews 5:7-10, 7:16; 1 Cor. 15:45-49)

Not being able currently to fulfill the promises of God to him and Israel – i.e., being the head of nations under Christ in an early Millennium.

Because he was not going to exercise his right, given to him by his Father, to take the Kingdom by force, and have people killed he just spent three years trying to save or who would later come to repentance.

The Scripture is clear, Christ chose to die rather than start killing, his Father’s preferred will- not a command- if they reject him.

(See Matthew 26: 54 and Acts 2: 23 in an interlinear; Acts 2: 23 is discussed at length in the next post and Matthew 26: 54 is clear in an interlinear Calvary was not a must but chosen by Christ to remain steadfast as the Prince of Peace, to continue to the end to offer grace no matter what happened to him.)

Christendom and creeds and traditions have compromised the Gospel – making the Gospel ineffective and unproductive (not entirely) interpreting blood, and other words, so literal and narrow, altering the design, purpose, and heart of the Gospel, i.e., resurrection life through cleansing and healing, Christ’s Isaiah 61 commission.

Christ’s death to sin and resurrection to walk in newness of life before his ministry was his first death and glorification; becoming our atoning sacrifice, Savior before he entered ministry.

He paid a costly price in birthing transforming grace to humanity in his perfection.

And again, another costly sacrifice in exposing Israel’s sin on the marks on his body at Calvary, leading to his second death and second glorification (John 12: 28).

Please remember, even in the Old Testament, blood was used to represent life, and not the literal liquid in one’s body.

In the NT, the predominant use of “blood” refers to Christ’s sacrifice, made perfect – the giving of the entirety of his life to his father, not to Calvary; two deaths, two resurrections.

***

In conclusion, the phrase the “blood of Christ” points to Jesus as our Savior, not his literal blood, it is “Christ” who saves you and me.

Blood connects us to the person of Christ like no other word can – to show the depth, extent, and entirety of his sacrifice including rights and privileges: putting generational transgressions and iniquities to death by the cross of grace through faith.

(Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 3:25 (shed is not in the Greek), 4:24-25, 5:8-10, 6:10; Ephesians 2:14-15, see an interlinear; Hebrews 5:7-10)

Because of the creeds and Calvary, and church teaching and practices, we have become fixated on the literal blood of Christ, making it greater than the person of Christ, but Jesus is more, much more than the liquid that flowed through his body (John 6:53-63).

Blood points his sons and daughters to him like no other word can; it is the arrow to the target, the sign to the destination, which is why Jesus used the word blood (and flesh in John Chapter 6, etc.) – to capture theirs and our attention, showing the completeness of him and his sacrifice in being made perfect, becoming our Messiah, Savior, King, High Pries, etc. (Hebrews 5:7-10)

Blood shows Christ left nothing ungiven in putting sin to death passed to him from his human ancestry, made perfect and one with the Father, fulfilling God’s desire since the fall. (Hebrews Chapter 10; Matthew 5:17)

Important

A blood sacrifice does not require killing.

Christ redeemed and restored what Adam and Eve lost by fulfilling the law of God in his flesh through putting sin to death without sinning, entering resurrection life, made one with the Father (what God desired from Adam and Eve from the beginning), and, in preparation for his ministry to offer “life” to humanity, beginning first with Israel.

A true sacrifice is giving yourself unto God, the desire of God from the beginning of time, Christ being the only person in this creation to fulfill God’s heart perfectly – even putting to death sins he never committed!

Christ demonstrated and declared his “blood sacrifice” becoming our Savior, through his life, words, signs, wonders, and miracles.

He gave Israel a complete picture of their Savior, Israel rejected him.

So, he gave them one last sign, a second resurrection, hoping people would repent and come to forgiveness once the Spirit falls and Christ rises again.

Finally, Revelation 7:14 shows clearly a figurative use of the word blood, how all of us are washed by the blood of the Lamb, the cleansing, healing, and restoring power of Jesus Christ, King, Lord, High Priest, Savior, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, Wonderful Counselor, our advocate and friend.

There is much more on the blood of Christ to come.

More examples of the New Language of the New Testament continue.

Blessings, Drake

(NIV) Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblical, Inc.™

(TYNDALE) The New Greek – English Interlinear New Testament by Translators Robert K. Brown and Philip W. Comfort, Editor: J. D. Douglas. Copyright © 1990. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

(HEI) Taken from The Hebrew-English Interlinear ESV Old Testament: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and English Standard Version by Thom Blair, General Editor, Copyright © 2014, pages (not used in this post). Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org. (Interlinear used by permission from Lexham Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible copyright © 2004 by Logos Research Systems, Inc.)