“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” (NIV, Ephesians 4:14 – 15, italics are mine)

“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, italics are mine)

****

Greetings and hello again.

I have fresh insight on the Philadelphia church age I hope to share soon.

I haven’t forgotten about the “types” represented in the story of Elijah, I promised a couple of posts ago.

Elijah is a fascinating story to us in the 21^st century just like it was at the time of Christ.

It has all the makings of an epic story.

It’s filled with adventure, intense preparation, life threatening danger, and if that wasn’t enough, the public display of the power of God to turn things around dramatically in a moment of time.

Elijah foretells the Messiah’s ministry of raising the dead and turning the hearts of men and women back to God, offering life to what the Scripture calls the “dead ones or dead.” (Romans 4:17, 4:24, see an interlinear)

And Elijah, importantly for us in the age of Philadelphia – the culmination of the gospel era – is a prophetic picture of the bride’s ministry (Tabernacles), like King David was, and many others as well.

More on Elijah in future posts.

I’m continuing where I left off in the last post on “unprecedented” and “fullness of times,” the age we live in.

I know these posts are long. But you are receiving information not readily or easily available elsewhere. The post is in two sections to make it easier.

*** SECTION I ***

My Prayer and Hope

I pray my posts stir hearts to the moving of God’s Spirit, to the wonder of Scripture, it’s beauty and depth, motivating all of us to discover more of the Lord – ready to receive more of him.

We are instructed in the Scriptures to, “…walk in the light, as he is in the light…”, (NIV, 1 John 1:7), and be “… children of the light and children of the day.” (NIV, 1 Thessalonians 5:5)

That we would not be found consumed by the cares of this world, or drunken with those whose only hope is in this world, but, instead, found “awake,” anticipating and expecting the Lord to move in our lives.

Today, the treasures of Christ are being released in the lives of men and women in depths and richness unsurpassed by past generations.

(Jesus said we shall do greater works. It is happening today. For example, the work of the Spirit in inner healing can only occur, excepting direct intervention by the Lord, through personal one-on-one ministry over a period of time. Something Christ did not have the luxury when he lived in our realm.)

The Church is approaching another critical stage in its growth and transit point.

Jesus is inviting as many who will come, to partake of the feast – the feast of Tabernacles – he has labored to prepare for two millenniums.

Hoping you and I and untold millions would seize the opportunity, recognize the hour of his visitation, and fill our lamps with oil.

The spiritual darkness of this age is striving to smother our hearts – our desires and passions – with the cares of this life, and the sins, pains, and chaos of this world.

Ultimately, its’ goal is to quench the fire of life God has placed within every man and woman, deadening our thirsty souls to the cry of our own spirit for life.

But Jesus is not standing idly by while the enemy promotes his agenda.

He’s ushered us into a season with unprecedented opportunities to grow and mature in him.

We’re in a time of increasing fullness, where the Church, like Israel of old in the wilderness, will finally finish its journey over two millenniums and enter Canaan’s land*, a land of milk and honey, intimacy and union with Christ, the finished work of God’s plan for the gospel age.

*The Jordan River is a type of our flesh, hindering our ability to walk in the promises of God, but by the grace of God, through healing and restoration, God is writing his word on the tables of our heart and mind removing the barrier of our fleshly nature from crossing into the land of promise.

Jesus has placed an open door of healing and restoration for those who desire him above all others. A door no man can shut, and, no man can open. (Revelation 3:7)

We are extremely privileged to live in the Philadelphia church age.

The promises to the Philadelphians are unprecedented, designed to attract our hearts to the lover of our soul and receive from our bridegroom everything we need to be cleansed and made holy by his gentle and loving kindness.

Philadelphia, the love of the brethren, is the last great hope for the Church.

Tremendous promises await those who seek Christ and his entrance into their lives.

(There are promises to the “Philadelphians” of intimacy and union with Christ unlike any other church age.)

An unimaginable fullness is coming in Christ and he wants you and I to be a part of that richness.

But first, we must understand the story of Christ to understand and appreciate the story he’s calling us into.

Why It’s Important

Because, if we don’t understand Christ’s personal journey, then we’ll be confused about ours.

Seemingly, an understanding of his personal journey was not necessary in prior generations because the Lord was not calling his sons and daughters into the deep things of the Spirit, Tabernacles, like he is today and since the latter part of the 20^th century.

Christianity of yesteryear will not be sufficient to rise above the weather of the coming storms of darkness nor enter the fullness of the outpouring of his Holy Spirit up ahead.

Some Christian leaders are proclaiming the rapture, the out – translation of the saints, could happen any moment, that the church has essentially fulfilled its mission.

I’m not pleased to say this is far from the truth, extremely far.

It contradicts the tenor and clear teachings of Scripture, unfilled prophecies in the Church, bride, and world.

There’s an unprecedented fullness yet to come of both good and evil.

Here are some reasons why the rapture cannot “just happen” anytime:

• The work of God – his plan and process – has set times, what the Scripture calls the fullness of time. The fullness of time for the end of the gospel age is not here yet. The bride has not come to the fullness and stature of Christ.

 

• Transition to a new era – like the flood, entrance into Canaan’s land, start of the kings, start of the New Covenant, and, change from one church age to another (e.g., Sardis to Philadelphia), occur only when the work of God is complete, birthing some from one era to the next.

 

• All the great moves of God, beginning with the creation of Adam and Eve, were preceded by intense preparation for maximum effect of God’s expression and manifestation. Simply, God does everything possible in advance to prepare his people to transition with him when he finally brings one era to a close and opens a new.

 

• After the end – time revival, it may be years or a few decades before the rapture occurs, because, it is the culmination of a LONG journey in Christ, the end of the Philadelphia church age/feast of Tabernacles.

         

The rapture is not the “beginning” of a journey that can happen any time. But the “end” of a long journey initiated and led by Christ – the baptism into Christ he promised his disciples and those to come (Romans Chapters 6 – 8, etc.).

****

(Important Note:

Please do not be deterred because the Scripture says we will be made in the likeness of Christ, thinking that’s impossible for me.

We are a body, members of one another.

The living creatures of Revelation, a picture of the bride after the rapture, show the likeness of Christ on four different creatures, showing the reflection of Christ in the body of believers.

Only Christ has all four attributes fully and completely.

I’ve written about the attributes of Christ in earlier posts, the lion representing his kingship, the ox representing his service, the man representing his priestly ministry, and the eagle representing his prophetic nature.

The Lord knows how to mature us into his bride in the talents and gifting’s he’s cultivating and maturing in you and me.

If he’s saved us (a miracle that ushers us into the kingdom of God with a newly begotten spirit), given us his Holy Spirit, surely, he can finish the work of Tabernacles in you and me to show forth his glory through our weakness.

All the work of Christ in us is a work of grace! So, why not accept the deep things he has to offer.)

****

The idea of the rapture suddenly occurring, followed by the onset of the Great Tribulation, is at odds with every precedent I know in the Old and New Covenants.

And it “just happening” “anytime soon” conflicts with Scripture yet to be fulfilled:

• • apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:3, Revelation 12:4),
  • worldwide persecution of Christians before the rapture (NIV, Revelation 3:8, “… yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”; 3:10 “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently…”)
  • birth and maturation of the bride (Isaiah 66:2, 7 – 13, Matthew 25:10, John 16:21, Romans 8:19, Ephesians 4:13, Philippians 1:6, 1:10 and 2:16 “day of Christ”, Revelation 3:7 – 13, and Revelation 12:5).

                     Isaiah refers to another key event, but also applies to the bride. The union of the bride with Christ, this side of heaven, is particularly noted in Revelation 3:12 by having her name changed to his, when he completes his work in her.

• End – time revival “reveal and wound” of the seventh world Antichrist kingdom (Daniel 2:34, Romans 8:19, 2 Thessalonians 2:3 – 9, Revelation 3:9 NIV, “… and acknowledge that I have loved you.”, and Revelation 12:5, 13:3, and 17:9 – 11).

 

• The rapture occurring “anytime” conflicts with the grace and long-suffering of God, who provides opportunity “after an outpouring of his Spirit” for yet others to come. About 40 years was provided after Christ’s ministry.

 

• And sadly, the little I’ve heard from television programs regarding the end – times and the Tribulation is the emphasis on “God’s judgment” on the lost, and not the measured nature of his judgments in hope of still redeeming some.

 

• During the first half of the Tribulation, the time of greatest persecution against Christians, the offer of repentance and salvation is still available. Notice in the fifth seal those who have been martyred calling out to the Lord, “‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’” (NIV, Revelation 6:10)

 

• God goes to extraordinary measures to win people and love those who refuse him. Look at how many times we and others have said no to the Lord and yet he reaches out in love!

 

• And look at what the Scripture says about the sixth trumpet/plague, close to the end of the Tribulation: “… still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons… Nor did they repent of their murders…” (NIV, Revelation 9:20 – 21) Even in that late, late hour, God is hoping some will repent.

 

• After all, when Christ physically returns to the earth there will be millions of unsaved people on the earth in desperate need of his grace and love.

 

• Finally, and briefly, the bride will know her relative time of departure just like Noah knew when the flood would come, Moses, when he would die, Elijah, when he would be caught away, Hezekiah, how many years he had left (though he was not raptured), Christ, when he would be killed, and, Peter (2 Peter 1:14) and Paul (2 Timothy 4:6), and likely many others.

 

Announcing the rapture could happen anytime, and additionally all Christians will go in the rapture, fuels contentment and comfort – a false sense of safety and security.

Desires and passions for more of Christ are not stirred and aroused, but lulled asleep, the very state all the virgins, foolish and wise, find themselves when they are awakened by the criers (Matthew Chapter 25).

Thank God there are criers out there calling and stirring the eaglets out of their nests to learn the ways of the Lord and rise above the storm, in the winds of God, protected by the shadow of his wings.

All these announcements that the rapture could happen anytime and that all Christians are going may also play directly into the hands of the great apostasy in the last days the Bible warns us about.

It also may be one reason why some Christians limit their pursuit of Christ and don’t seek his pursuit of them, or the deeper things of God, and end up being foolish virgins having words said to them none of us want to hear.

Isn’t that what the Church of Laodicea is all about?

The Church who is not prepared for the end – times, fleeing into the wilderness from the pursuit of the Antichrist world system during the Tribulation (Revelation Chapters 12 and 13).

But let’s be mindful of the good things of God, the many who are heeding the call of the Lord today and entering into the adventure and journey of Christ, the open door (Revelation 3:7 – 8), Jesus has opened for those who want to know him more intimately and deeply and be found in him no matter what’s going on in the Church and in the world.

Jesus desires to build our Arks, our temple of the Holy Spirit, “rightly” so we can rise with the floodwaters of his Spirit when it comes, and above the floodwaters of evil, when they come.

Together, let’s respond to the call of God to go deeper.  

*** SECTION II ***

My Testimony, A Brief Glimpse

In the next few posts, I’ll be sharing some of what the Lord gave me regarding his personal journey. There are others who have this understanding as well.

In the 90s and early 2000’s work, family, and, at times, church activities, took center stage in my life as I continued to drift from the closeness I had once with the Lord.

But things began to change for me in 2009. I began to be re-oriented back towards the Lord, and away from the temporal offers of this life.

Inwardly, I knew I had deep wounds, sins, and brokenness. I knew I needed Jesus back in my life fully, without reservation, like I had in my early Christian experience.

Having tasted the goodness of the Lord earlier in two revivals, I knew I could no longer go on in life without him back at the helm of my ship.

You can only wander around in the desert for so long before you either die of thirst and hunger, or like Hagar and Ishmael, are found by the Lord, and rescued.

(Ishmael is a “type” of, possibly you, and me, Gentiles, without hope, orphaned in the desert of this world, having a wildness destined for destruction, who, by the grace of God, are sought out by Christ – offering life, hope, and fathering – and, a new identity, vision, and name.)

Simply, I longed for intimacy with Jesus once again.

I told him I wanted another adventure before I leave this earth. And he’s been answering my prayer ever since!

I knew from my schooling – from the Scriptures, and what the Lord had placed in my heart – there were profound promises yet to be fulfilled in the Church, some, possibly in our lifetimes.

And I wanted to be a part of whatever the Lord had for my generation.

In 2014 the Lord answered my request, ushering me into the wilderness with him – the early stages of what the Old Covenant calls the feast of Tabernacles – cleansing and intimacy with Christ, the Philadelphia church age.

Beginning in 2009 and continuing today, I have continued to receive one-on-one prayer ministry and counseling from a number of seasoned ministers and counselors.

I know what it’s like to have deep wounds and pains opened up by the Lord for cleansing and healing.

Nothing in this life compares to having Christ personally involved and committed to your healing and restoration.

The gentleness and compassion of Christ for our deep wounds, brokenness, and sinful nature, after all he’s endured for us, is beyond human comprehension.

Based on what I’ve experienced, and what the Scripture say, you really cannot know Christ deeply and intimately until he has a chance to get to know you, deeply and intimately.

And that requires our saying yes to his gentle knock on our door. And he can help you say yes!

(His deep work of healing and restoration is special and unique for each individual. My testimony is my journey, and yours may look different. Though the heart of the journey will be the same – restoration to Christ’s likeness.)

****

In the early 80s the Lord gave me a vision during a camp meeting altar call.

At that time, I had suffered some personal setbacks and my heart was desperate for the Lord.

For a few moments I saw an indescribable bright white light emanating around me.

As I reached out to others, the light went from me to them.

In hindsight, I think it had to do with the things of God, sharing them with others.

The light was beyond description, a brilliance and richness not seen in this realm.

I thought, wow, this is awesome, and then forgot about it for more than 30 years plus. It’s only been recently that I’ve thought about it.

In the early 2000’s a young lady from Asia who had attended MorningStar Ministries prayed for me at a home meeting.

She prophesied a number of things, one of which was about writing.

In 2010 and 2012, while attending prayer education and training, a number of different ministers spoke over me regarding counseling and ministry.

And in 2013 an international minister I had never met before spoke over me about the journey the Lord was going to usher me into.

It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime “words” one receives.

(I’m sharing these personal things with you in hope, if you haven’t done so, you would consider seeking the Lord about your own personal life, allowing him to intersect your journey with those who can teach and guide you, and even hear from the Lord for you something special he may have for you.)

And sure enough, specific things the minister spoke about regarding what the Lord was going to usher me into began to happen in 2014 closely following radiation treatment I received for prostate cancer.

(The Lord spoke to me in 2014, when I was undergoing radiation treatment, saying, “I will walk you through cancer.” What a wonderful blessing it is to receive from the Lord a second chance at life. Thank you, Jesus!

It was quite a journey. The Lord did exactly what he said – walking me through cancer – connecting me with the right organizations and people, pointing me to material to read and pray.

The Lord directed me to an individual who shared a book with me they were reading, “Kisses from a Good God,” a wonderful journey of God’s healing and protection.)

In 2014 I also began counseling (stretching over three years) with a prayer minister having a father’s heart for spiritually orphaned men like me.

He spoke a number of things over me regarding writing and the deep things God was calling me into.

And those, as well, have been unfolding over the last number of years.

And in particular to this post, and the ones to come, in 2014 the Lord began showing me things in his Word regarding his personal journey – things I’ve read 100 times over the years but failed to understand.

Since my early Christian years, I’ve had a deep interest in the subject of the last days, and, an interest in understanding the person of Christ.

They are interwoven, connected.

One cannot fully understand the last days if there’s confusion about the person of Christ, who he is, what did he personally apprehend, what was his journey like, and, what did he fulfill and set in motion for others God has promised to fulfill before the gospel age comes to end.

In my early years, I was extensively instructed on the different teachings and creeds about Christ in Bible college.

No matter what beliefs were presented, there were always unexplainable gaps, huge gaps and assumptions, forced to somehow fit differing Scriptures together in an effort to come up with something that “includes all the Scriptures but excludes their differences.” An impossibility.

In the natural, an impossibility, and that’s what the Church has had for about 1500 years.

Simply, every major teaching and belief about Christ commonly held in the Church today has serious conflicts with key Scriptures.

What the Lord has showed me, and others as well, I will share with you.

Hopefully, it will fill some of the gaps and eliminate assumptions, demystifying much of the mystery regarding the person of Christ – creating greater understanding of the Christian journey, our calling, and his part in making our calling possible.

At least for me, Jesus is the most important person in human history, and I want to know and understand everything I can about who he is and what he’s about.

And if he’s truly gracious and loving, like the Scriptures teach – and I have come to find out he is – then he is delighted we ask tough questions, are inclined to search things out, and are desirous to discover everything we can about him.

After all, our focus is to be on him, and him alone, and that includes everything about him.

Only Christ himself can truly and fairly represent who he is. Just like only you in person can truly represent who you are to others.

Jesus is not a creed written on a piece of paper, a statement of faith, or an historical account. They are not sufficient to know someone.

Only by meeting someone can you hope to begin to know them, and to know them deeply they must get to know you deeply as well.

It wasn’t sufficient for Christ to just read about Elijah and Moses.

No, in the latter part of Christ’s ministry, as Calvary loomed on the horizon, he needed to talk to them.

As rejection and death loomed ever closer, he needed connection with those who faced them as well. Even though he walked in resurrection life this side of heaven, in my opinion, he needed to see and experience the glory of the resurrected ones once again.

He needed that intrinsic strength only comrades in arms can find in their bonding with one another’s journey.

(The matter of Moses having to go up to the mountain and die is a subject for another post. Simply, they cannot find where he was buried, and Satan argued about his body, and, we see him resurrected with Elijah talking to Christ, leads to only one conclusion, he was raptured like Enoch and Elijah.)

Just like he needed the companionship of friends in ministry, he needed the companionship of those who faced death and were resurrected.

****

There’s a need in all of us, at some level, to feel secure in one another, like beliefs, that seemingly bind us together.

Sadly, that need, if not met in Christ first and foremost, can keep us from new things God wants to share and give.

Because fears and insecurities, especially those bound in generational beliefs and practices in and out of the Church, will work overtime to keep us “camped” when God’s glory has moved on to another tabernacle – like the situation with Moses’ and David’s tabernacles I’ve written about earlier.

The traditions of men in beliefs and practices can be captivating and imprisoning at the same time.

Reform comes at great cost. But, oh, the joy and blessing that comes from God for those who venture forward with him!

What father does not delight in the curious questions of his children?

Will Jesus give a serpent if we ask for a fish?

Is he not able to take us into the promised land in all matters, including his person?

Is he not able to walk us through the Scriptures, bringing clarity to the mystery of the gospel we are instructed to embrace?

How can you give your whole – heart to someone you don’t know, that you’ve been told he’s a mystery, he’s not like you, and you cannot be like him – how can two different species or natures be joined together as one, bride and bridegroom?

The answer is, they cannot. Even nature teaches us that. And nature, teaches us the types that mirror husband and wife with Christ and the Church, his bride.

Thankfully, the grace of God is being released today in greater measures than times past so that we, living in the age of Philadelphia, might grow up in all things Christ.

You don’t give a 12-year-old or 16-year-old the keys to a brand-new Corvette.

And you don’t give the Church of Thyatira and the Church of Sardis the deep truths of the Word of God reserved and set aside for the Church of Philadelphia in the last days.

It’s been a long journey over the last two millenniums and a step-by-step process.

You don’t give more to the Church then they’re able to receive and enter into.

The Reformation birthed from Luther came at just the right time, and, was limited to the resources and grace available in that era.

The return of Pentecost in the early 1900s came at just the right time, and also, was limited to the resources and grace available in that era.

And a return of Tabernacles in the latter part of the 20^th century, the church age of Philadelphia, came at just the right time with the resources and grace sufficient to grow and mature the hungry and thirsty into the fullness of the gospel.

(Websites like biblehub.com make researching the Scriptures available to anybody who has a computer. Commentaries, translations, concordance, dictionary, and an interlinear, is just a click away.)

The next post will get into the meat of things.

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.™