Speaking of Israel:

“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did…”

“…These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” (NIV, 1 Corinthians 10:6 – 11)

Speaking of the ancients and Israel:

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (NIV, Hebrews 11:39 – 40)

And speaking of Christ:

“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.” (NIV, Hebrews 2:10)

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” (NIV, Hebrews 5:7 – 10)

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (NIV, Hebrews 6:19 – 20)

“If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood…why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? (NIV, Hebrews 7:11)

‘“‘one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared: “‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’”’ (NIV, Hebrews 7:16 – 17)

“…one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priest men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.” (NIV, Hebrews 7:26 – 28)

“…he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation…but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” (NIV, Hebrews 9:11 – 12)

“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant…” (NIV, Hebrews 9:15)

“For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (NIV, Hebrews 10:14)

“…you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (NIV, Ephesians 2:19 – 20)

“when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (NIV, Ephesians 4:21 – 24)

Why This Series Is Important

Just as God revealed to Luther salvation by grace through faith ushering in the Reformation, opening the Sardis Church age, and just as God revealed to Parham and Seymour the revelation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, ushering in the return of Pentecost in the early 1900’s, the last leg of Sardis, there are many today entering into the New Testament fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles, the deep work of grace – the Philadelphia church age.

The deep work of grace “making ready a bride,” is a long journey – the giving of one’s life to the Lord.

And what we give pales in comparison to what Christ gave and continues to give in the long journey of healing and restoring our wounds and brokenness.

Because of the lateness of the hour – the deep work remaining to be done in the lives of many in a time of deepening and advancing darkness – the Lord is doing an intensive and quick work to accomplish much in a short period of time, relatively speaking, compared to ages past.

He is moving in unprecedented ways to heal and restore those desiring and chosen to be “made ready” for deep intimacy and connection with him.

Some may question the use of “deepening and advancing darkness” and “unprecedented ways” of the Lord, citing past evils and Christ’s ministry.

I remind my readers Daniel saw a great and terrible beast in the last days, one surpassing the others.

Not only bearing its’ own unique image, but as we see in Revelation, the image and power of evil from previous Antichrist kingdoms as well.

Jesus said we will do greater works.

There’s a lot to what that means, but be assured, the Tribulation is not just going to happen, and the rapture as well.

There’s a profound move of God coming setting in motion both of those events, the release of the Spirit of God unlike any time before in depth and scope.

Christ is at the helm, and whatever is accomplished through the body of Christ in the last days, notably the bride, is apprehended because of him.

God has chosen to use men and women to further his purposes, advancing his kingdom by making himself known and manifest in their lives.

God’s love is jealous for the “all” of us.

It pains him to see his sons and daughters beholden to the cares and treasures of this life, while the one who authored life is neglected and relegated as one among many choices, when he is “the choice.”

Because of his great grace and love for us individually and uniquely, he has chosen to work in and through individual men and women to reveal his holiness, goodness, and kindness, in the light of day, and, in the darkest of times.

You may be one he is working through individually and uniquely, or one he’s preparing, to advance his kingdom in the lives of others when he moves from “a primarily individual and hidden work,” to “a more public demonstration,” of his grace and love.

The minor prophet Amos is quoted as saying, “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.” (NIV, Amos 3:7)

Today, in the 21^st century, the Lord is doing an intensive and deep work in the lives of many sons and daughters, preparing them to receive his holiness and power in measures only given to a select few in the past.

And as part of the preparation, the Lord is revealing his journey, the one he pioneered for us to follow; inspiring you and me to face the hardships and discomfort he faced in putting sin to death – cleansed, healed, made alive in spirit (Romans 6:1-14, 8:10-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

He’s raising up a body of believers who share his sufferings – what’s it’s like to be deeply healed and restored, putting the old man to death, to walk in newness of life.

The journey he pioneered two millenniums ago launched the New Testament in his blood – the firstborn and first fruit of the new creation.

It’s that journey he’s revealing in earnest to those who have a heart for the deep things of God, not only in their lives, but in the lives of others.

It’s impossible to have a deep relationship with Christ, and not want what you have advanced in the lives of others.

There’s a growing separation in the body of Christ.

It’s been going on for decades, between those who want intimacy and connection with Christ, and those who do not.

It is separating those who want to be in the bride, though they may not call it that, or are even aware of the “bride,” because it’s all about Jesus anyways, from the lukewarm.

The separation in the last days is symbolized in Scripture: the foolish and wise, Philadelphia and Laodicea, Philippians and Colossian, the drunken and sleepy, one taken, one left, the woman and the baby (Revelation 12), those who are caught away versus those who remain, fleeing from the Beast, etc.

With every new move of the Spirit, the birthing of Passover (again) in the Reformation, the return of Pentecost in the early 1900s, and the birthing of Tabernacles today, comes new and greater revelation of the Word.

And with that comes the moving of God’s Holy Spirit to new lands, new territories, new enemies, and new victories, advancing the kingdom of God deep into enemy territory and deeper into the heavens.

Christianity of yesteryear will be insufficient in the years ahead as the need for healing and restoration intensifies in the face of ever – increasing advancing darkness, outwardly, and inwardly.

As evident in the current pandemic, it is not possible to hide inner wounds and brokenness completely from corporate wounds and brokenness – they excite and pull on each other, and will only intensify as darkness gains a stronger foothold in mankind, no matter the form darkness comes in next.

****

As I continue this series in the posts to come, I will be sharing a lot of specific passages and Scriptures from both the Old and New, describing how they relate to Christ’s journey, and not Calvary.

This series is not about taking anything away from Calvary, but exalting Christ above Calvary; that he, the man we would come to know as the Messiah, is where our hope and salvation lie, not in an event he spent himself trying to avoid.

Christ did everything possible to give Israel the opportunity to prove the prophets wrong; they would turn from evil and do good by accepting their Messiah, and not fulfill the prophecies “about them,” they would reject their New Covenant king.

Unlike Israel of old, let’s make sure we do our part in receiving Christ’s grace.

And not be partakers with those who fall away in the last days, as prophesied in the foolish virgins, the left behind, 2 Thessalonians, Laodicea, and the woman of Revelation 12, fleeing from the face of the enemy.

Let’s give Jesus’ permission to do the unimaginable in our lives, to partake of him, his richness and treasures, prepared to receive the promises of God, and not be counted among those who miss the glory cloud when it passes by.

The Love of Christ

My posts contain a lot of theology and “process” of the Christian pilgrimage toward the fullness of Christ in this, the age of Philadelphia, Tabernacles.

The spiritual flight plan filed on our behalf some 1700 years ago in creeds and traditions still needs a lot of “work,” to get the “bride to be” on the right course and speed, plus, greater understanding, learning, and training, before she gets to her destination.

The original spiritual flight plan is really useless today, and has been since the time of the dark ages.

Once the plane lands, the Lord will use what he has.

Because there won’t be time to do all the preparation that should have been accomplished on the journey.

It will be too late.

Thankfully, the plane is still flying; it’s not too late to get on at the next stop and begin the journey.

Also, for those on the journey, you’ll need to get ready to discard a lot of extra cargo you’ve brought along, because Jesus will provide whatever you need.

And the little cargo you do need, the essentials, needs to be fastened down and secured in the grace and love of Christ, so you and it can make it through the coming storms to the promised fullness of Christ.

It takes a lot of effort to change course, speed, and discard extra cargo to get on the course heading and speed Christ desires for those seeking him.

And it takes unimaginable labor and effort to gather people from all walks of life, from around the world, from different stages of life, and at different times, to bring everything together at one point in time for the birthing of a move of God.

The end – time move of God will not be birthed by just a few people, but appear suddenly from many places at once, starting out slowly, then growing like all past moves.   

The Lord knows how much time is left, and how much distance has to be covered, and what needs to happen in between.

So, it’s incumbent upon you and me to be sensitive to the Lord so he can do everything possible to get us in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, heading in the right direction.

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Good theology and teaching are but a means to bring us closer toward the love of Christ and intimacy with our Savior.

Good theology and teaching mean nothing in the absence of a heart for God, and a desire for connection and intimacy with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

My posts are designed to undo some of the damage of institutionalized creeds and traditions, to help “right” the course, along with many others, in our common journey to “know and be known” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And in that, it is incumbent upon us to know the story of Christ – the fullness of his story – from beginning to end, and how his story invites us into the path he pioneered for you and me.

When you experience the love of Christ for you in your healing journey, his deep care, gentleness, and kindness in personal ministry to you, a connection is established beyond what you can describe, ask or think.

I will tell you one story that happened to me 10 years ago.

I was sitting by myself late one Friday night in the back of the sanctuary with the lights dimmed listening to the music being played in the sanctuary.

All of a sudden, I felt movement, like wind, on my left side.

It felt like someone slid across the pew to sit next to me.

And then “he” said, “I’m sorry about your dad.”

I was stunned, momentarily shocked, and felt like running away.

If you knew my journey you would understand why I felt the way I did.

That’s all he said, he didn’t need to say anything else.

He let me know he cares deeply about me, my story, the deep pain within.

No one had ever told me they were sorry, except Christ.

And in experiencing Christ – beginning to know who he is and what he’s about – he comforted me in ways only the Lord could.

He helped me open my heart to him more.

When Jesus speaks to you personally about something in your life, the reality of who he is and what he’s about strikes home like nothing else.

You can have all the theology in the world, but nothing compares to deep intimacy and connection with him.

Now that being said, we need the living, breathing, moving Word and Spirit of God in our lives to keep us in him by grace through faith.

Jesus didn’t do everything he did over the course of his life to leave you and me in our individual broken and fallen stories.

He has a better plan and story for all of us if we will but allow him access to the deeply rooted and hidden things of our life.

He comes not to shame or condemn, but to heal and restore.

To bring to death those things in us, the enmity in our flesh, set on course to bring death to you and me.

When Jesus touches deep areas in one’s life, he becomes more real; one who is intimately familiar with you, and one you want to be intimately familiar with.

Healing and restoration opens the door to connection and intimacy with our Savior unlike any earthly relationship.

And yet, earthly relationships are enhanced and made more beautiful because of intimacy and connection with Christ.

Healing and restoration births within you and me an actual knitting of hearts with Christ and one another in like journey.

Healing and restoration are the beginning of the gathering together of all things in Christ, that he might be glorified in those who desire the all of him.

As our hearts are knit together with his, we become more sensitive, less sensual, and more centered in him.

And increasing sensitivity leads to less striving in seeking the approval only Christ can give.

We move away from programs and efforts to relationship with Christ that becomes more intuitive, natural, instinctive.

Healing and restoration are not unto “healing” for the sake of healing, but unto intimacy with Christ, a bride being made ready for union with her Savior.

It’s the bearing of fruit from the seed Christ planted in the ground in his pioneering journey for you and me.

It’s a small measure of giving back to Christ what he graciously and magnanimously gave to us.

It’s not about healing and restoration per se, but about the journey of being known and knowing the eternal one, our bridegroom and Savior.

Healing and restoration are not the prize, Jesus is!

But healing and restoration move us closer to Christ and intimacy with him.

Healing and restoration are one means of being brought closer to the heart of God, to the life God planned at the beginning for men and women.

It’s pictured with John leaning on Christ’s breast at the Last Supper, Paul caught up to the third heaven, the sinful woman washing Christ’s feet with her tears.

Jesus reserved the best for last: deep healing and restoration in the last days, his sons and daughters journeying deeper in him than those who’ve gone before; showcasing the glory and power of the living Christ.

This journey is about one person, Jesus.

That we might know him, personally, intimately, and as fully as possible this side of heaven.

To settle for less, in the time of “more,” is to stay camped, and watch the glory cloud move on without you.

Christ is our journey, our destination, let’s stay with him and finish the journey strong.

Preface

God allows increasing currents of generational darkness until he’s prepared a people group, whether few or many, to redeem what the enemy has stolen (John 10:10).

When he’s completed the work in those, he’s “making ready,” he’ll move mightily on their behalf to put the enemy to flight in their lives and in the lives of others.

(It is interesting to note, as one minister pointed out, the demoniac Jesus healed (Luke 8) was from the eastern lands, where half the tribe of Manasseh, and the tribes of Gad and Reuben settled, when the Lord led Joshua and the other tribes over the Jordan into the land flowing with milk and honey.

Moral of the story, stay close to Jesus!)

Those who hold on to past, knowing “about” Jesus, or, his “presence,” but forsake the deep moving of God’s Spirit of “being known and knowing,” will tragically find their lamps “flickering” as the journey accelerates and deepens.

We don’t want to be caught unprepared like the foolish virgins, who know “about” Jesus, but are unknown to him (Matthew 25:12).

Nor, like those who have the gifts of God, who know his “presence,” but lack intimacy with the giver of the gifts (Matthew 7:21-23).

If you don’t know the journey Christ undertook in being made complete, you’ll struggle in understanding the Scriptures and the call of Christ in this hour to be healed and restored while the door is still open (Revelation 3:7-8).

Types and Shadows in the Natural Pointing to the Spiritual

Some may feel what I’m about to share is not important.

Far from it, it is important.

You cannot know the present hour, and what the future holds prophetically for the body of Christ, without knowing the past, how things began, progressed, and come, to where they are today.

This is true in the natural and spiritual.

Seafaring explorers eventually figured out how to measure longitude, the distance they traveled from Europe east to west, by knowing the time in England from wherever they were geographically.

It wasn’t precise like GPS today, but it did give a reasonable approximation of longitude.

Of course, the stars played a part, including the sun and the moon, in establishing the distance traveled.

And so it is in the Spirit, with the spiritual kingdom of God, and the timeline he’s orchestrated to accomplish his plan and purposes.

If we don’t know God’s present location, what he’s doing today, how he’s advancing the kingdom in the lives of his children, then, absent his intervention, we’ll miss his present work and what is to come.

If we trust the instruments God has given in his Word, i.e., the types and progressions in the creation account, history, Old Covenant, parables, church ages, and Paul’s letters, then we’ll do well in knowing God’s location, and, prophetically what’s on the horizon.

God has given much in his Word, confirmation upon confirmation, testimony upon testimony, that none need err where God is, where he’s been, where he’s going, and how we, individually, fit into the story of God in this hour.

Those who allow him to accomplish his purposes in them in this critical hour of church history will be anointed to inspire and motivate others to pursue God, as God pursues them.

We’ve been graced to partake of the plan of God set in motion from creation.

We have six millenniums of God’s fulfilled plan behind us, on the threshold of the seventh.

It is important to understand what is occurring today is not happenstance, or coincidence, but the fruit of two opposing systems working to make men and women into their likeness.

One through every form of evil, subtle and otherwise, and one by grace through faith.

We will either be made into the likeness of Christ, or into the likeness of the enemy.

There are no third choices.

Since the time of Adam God has been working to redeem men and women.

Outside the saving work of Christ, our Savior, the greatest work of redemption lies before us, the fulfillment of the Philadelphia church age, a bride made ready for the Son.

God revealed in types and shadows, in the natural, and in manifestations of his Spirit, over four millenniums what he would accomplish in Christ in the Spirit.

And that work continues to this present hour.

And the depth and speed of his work is accelerating because of the lateness of the hour and his desire to rescue and redeem as many as possible while the day is still light.

Many today are experiencing wonderful things in the Spirit but lack a basic understanding of the foundational history revealed in the Word pointing to and supporting what they have in Christ today, and vice versa.

God desires his sons and daughters to be complete in all things, including an understanding of the season of our visitation.

That we would see ourselves in Scriptures’ timeline and promises, knowing how the Church got to the place it is today, and where Scripture says it’s headed.

If we don’t know where we’re at “geographically” in Scripture – the feasts and the promises of God – then sources outside of the revealed plan of God will be sought.

Let’s be wise and not foolish, and not be counted among those who fall away in the last days (Matthew 22:1 – 14; 25:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; Revelation 3:14 – 22; 7:13 – 17; 12:4; 12:6 – 13:18, etc.).

Agricultural Growing Season

God used Israel’s agricultural growing season to establish feasts under the Old Covenant, connecting, in the natural, the source of the provisions for life to him.

And he used the same feasts to depict in the Spirit, under the New Covenant, the source for the provisions of spiritual life to him through Christ.

The feasts under the Old were fulfilled first in Christ as the pioneer and pattern for the Church.

Just as their growing season began with the planting of the grains in the fall (fall is a symbol of coming change), to be harvested in the spring (barley and wheat, i.e., Passover and Pentecost), ending with the harvest of fruits, nuts, and olives in the summer and fall (Tabernacles), so too our Christian journey.

Our journey begins with being born again (fulfilling Passover, the barley harvest), and the baptism of the Spirit (fulfilling Pentecost, the wheat harvest), then the long hot summer journey to intimacy and connection with Christ, putting to death the deeds of the body, to walk in newness of life “the fruit of the Spirit” (fulfilling Tabernacles, the fruit, nut, and olive harvest, the most anticipated and flavorful harvest).

Passover gets us “into” the kingdom; Pentecost makes us “aware” of the kingdom, its basic operations, functions, spiritual laws, truths, etc., and Tabernacles “ushers us into the deep truths” of the faith (1 Timothy 3:9), the mystery of godliness, being changed from glory to glory.

Tabernacles transforms our lowly nature into his glorious nature through the long journey of putting the old man to death, being made alive in spirit, to walk in newness of life.

This is where the long wilderness journey with Christ, the baptism of fire Jesus talked about, produces the most precious and tastiest fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22 – 26 and 1 Corinthians 13).

Tabernacles, the Third and Final Feast

It’s described and called many things in Scripture.

Peter describes it aptly when he said, “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” (NIV, 1 Peter 1:13, italicized and bold mine)

Christ’s coming to us individually and uniquely ushers us into the deep things of God, to complete the new nature in those desiring the “all” of Jesus.

(His coming refers to the personal and individual work Christ performs in one’s life when he comes to make them ready for intimacy and connection with him.

It speaks of Tabernacles and the deep journey of cleansing and healing.

This Scripture has nothing to do with the second physical coming of Christ, but the “coming” to individual believers ushering them into the deep work of grace to be washed by the water of the Word, cleansed, healed, made whole and holy.

See Matthew 24:40; 25:6; John 21:18; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10; birthed into Christ in Galatians, day of redemption in Ephesians, day of Christ in Philippians, Colossians 3:4; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Timothy 6:14.)

Paul describes it as dying to sin to walk in newness of life, the birthing of Christ, the day of Christ, learning obedience through suffering, etc.

From the perspective of one in the Old Covenant looking forward to the future coming of the Messiah, Isaiah described it as being wounded and pierced for the transgressions and iniquities of one’s generations.

Isaiah was not talking about wounding and piercing the flesh, but putting to death those things inside you and me passed to us from our generations, left unhealed and unrestored, will bring certain death in our life.

These terms do not describe Passover and Pentecost, the early feasts, but point to the deep work of the Spirit to make men and women into the likeness of Christ, Tabernacles, the Philadelphia church age.

Tabernacles is the heart of the New Covenant many have tried to achieve through Passover and Pentecost.

But those feasts cannot produce the precious fruit of the Spirit; which requires the long hot summer of healing and restoration in intimacy and connection with Christ.

There’s a world of difference between the growing of winter and spring grains and the producing of fruit in the heat of the summer.

Passover and Pentecost make us aware of the coming fruit season, but that’s all.

Only Christ’s personal coming to you and me can usher us into the fulfillment of Tabernacles.

Noah spent a century building the Ark, Moses and Joshua 40 years in the wilderness, David, 15 years, and so on.

The long hot wilderness journey, pioneered and patterned by Christ, is the only way of growing the fruit to produce the flavor and taste the Lord desires. 

At the heart of Tabernacles is the atoning work of Christ, the second feast in Tabernacles, bringing death to deeply rooted sins and iniquities in our lives in grace under his personal and individual care.

Without his love and care, the uprooting (Matthew 15:13) of deep wounds and brokenness, would be too much to endure, resulting in condemnation and worldly sorrow.

When Christ reveals his nature to our wounds and brokenness, he comes in grace to cleanse, heal, and restore us into greater wholeness and holiness.

Tabernacles moves us from the Outer Court and Inner Court, i.e., Passover and Pentecost, into the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies).

The Most Holy Place is the most intimate place with God.

This is where God gets to partake of the deep work of grace he’s done in our lives, by tasting the sweet and precious flavor and aroma of the fruits he’s produced in you and me.

He tastes the fruit of his labor, and our labor with him, in the sweetness and fragrance of our lives to “ourselves,” showing kindness and love to ourselves, and, kindness and love to “one another.”

We cannot properly love another without loving ourselves first, free from condemnation, shame, self – hatred, and all the rest of the assaults the enemy has made against us many have embraced in one form or another.   

Tabernacles produces the strongest heart transformation in loving oneself and one another.

Tabernacles is the long journey in the cleansing sunlight of Christ’s righteousness transforming by grace through faith our lowly natures into his glorious nature.

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The three harvests symbolize our journey in Christ; fulfilling the law in our flesh, a sweet and delicious offering to the Lord.

The three feasts foretold a progressive revelation of the Lord in the lives of those who would partake of the New Covenant; bearing witness “spiritually” to what those who’ve gone before partook “naturally.”

We understand in part what is happening today in the body of Christ, and over the course of the last two millenniums, because of the plan God established at creation – showing his handiwork first through the natural, then through the spiritual.

The outworking of God’s love and care in the ancients and Israel of old, foretold a future time when the promised grace would come; coming individually and uniquely to each of God’s sons and daughters, for the sole purpose of being united with him in intimacy and union.

And to get to that place of intimacy and union with Christ and our heavenly Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, requires cleansing and healing by grace so lavishly provided in Christ.

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians, “The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.” (NIV, 15:46)

God designed the growing season so we could see “in the natural” the picture of the work of the Spirit “in the spiritual,” making God’s children into the likeness of Christ.

Both the natural and spiritual represent a progression toward greater and greater intimacy and connection, the finest and most precious “yields” coming in the last days of the growing season, naturally and spiritually.

It’s not a coincidence the Philadelphia church age, Tabernacles, the age with the most promises and deepest work, is reserved for the last days, to showcase the work of Christ to a lost and dying world on the precipice of destruction.

And just as the three harvests are represented in the three feasts, and the feasts our Christian pilgrimage, they are also represented in the design and function of the Tabernacle in the wilderness (and the Temple), by the Outer Court, Inner Court (Holy Place), and Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies).

The three courts represented the progressive revelation of the Lord, growing and maturing into greater and greater intimacy with God.

Briefly, the Outer Court, where the sacrifice was held, symbolized salvation by grace through faith, knowing “about” God.

The Inner Court, where the priests ministered (the showbread, lampstand, and table of incense), symbolized second hand knowledge of God; limited exposure to his presence and Word – knowing some of the working of his Spirit, but not him, Pentecost.

And finally, where few go, not because of restrictions, but because few know the journey or respond to Christ’s call for a bride, the Most Holy Place.

This is where deep transformation and sanctification occur, “knowing and being known,” the place where the old man is put to death, and the new creation springs forth alive in spirit, Tabernacles.

And just as the Courts, growing seasons, feasts, symbolize and foretold the progressive revelation of the Christian pilgrimage, so to the seven church ages of Revelation, the seven parables of Christ in Matthew 13, and Paul’s letters to the Churches, Thessalonians (symbolically) on the cusp of the Tribulation, and even in it (2 Thessalonians).

Sardis and Philadelphia give a unique and specific picture of the three feasts in the last days, renewing the planting, growing, and harvest season one last time – over half a millennium – before God ushers in the Millennium.

The dark ages can be likened to the winter in God’s growing season; the Reformation birthing the spring harvests of grains (the return of Passover and Pentecost again, the Sardis church age) with the summer harvest of fruits, nuts, and even some olives occurring today (Tabernacles).

Just like the Outer Court imparted legal righteousness, and the Inner Court teaching, training, and understanding, and the Most Holy Place, experiential righteousness (transformation and sanctification), so to Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles in their New Testament fulfillment.

Finally, in the natural, Passover is like getting your passport and passing through the border into another land.

Pentecost would be likened to initiation, learning the language and customs of your new homeland.

And Tabernacles would be likened to becoming a full – fledged citizen; assimilated and made one with the new home county and its’ king; advancing his interests in the lives of others, welcoming them into his court where you reside with him!

Introduction

If we lose sight of our individual need to receive revelation from the Scriptures (and discernment of God’s Spirit), then the Bible becomes just another secular writing subject to the intellect of men and women.

And if the Scripture ceases to be the expression of the heart of God for men and women “presently,” and “individually,” then we’re left as orphans to fend for ourselves, cut off from intimacy and connection with God.

Then the Bible becomes nothing more than one among many self-help and humanistic approaches to becoming a better person, more empowered, all one can become in the flesh, missing the heart of God for men and women to be healed and restored in intimacy.

Healing and restoration of our deep wounds and brokenness can only occur in intimacy; Jesus will have it no other way, and neither should we.

He ministers to us on a one – on – one basis, in trust, security, and intimacy.

If the Bible becomes simply something one can pick up and read, without the need for the Lord’s revelation, his intimate and personal care for you and me, then there’s no need for the deep things of the Lord.

And if there’s no need for that, then there’s no need to hear his voice, discern his Spirit, or, be open to discovering and receiving the “…deep truths of the faith…” (NIV, 1 Timothy 3:9, bold is mine).

Many intuitively know they need the Holy Spirit to bring life, relevance and meaning to the Word, having been trained to see the Word as something measuring right from wrong.

In many ways, in Christendom, the Word and the Spirit have become a substitute for deep intimacy and connection with Christ, fearing what will happen if Jesus actually does come and knock on the door of their heart.

Tragically, there’s a fear in Christendom of the living Savior coming and making himself at home in their life.

It’s better to keep him away by practicing the Word and operating the gifts, than have the giver of life show up with unpredictability and be a part of his life.

Some gifted in the Word and spiritual things keep Jesus at arms – length without even knowing it.

Jesus does not want anything, even his gifts, between us and him. 

He desires intimacy and connection with you and me – the life he shares with the Father in wholeness and holiness.

That includes deep healing and restoration of our wounds and brokenness in intimate care.

There’s not a better offer available to mankind today.

It’s the offer of a lifetime, an eternity, have you accepted it?

****

Jesus is not a commodity; he’s not “a quick fix,” but the source of life itself, who desires the all of who we are and can be in him.

The emphasis of Calvary, and all the events surrounding Calvary, in creeds and traditions, quietly and discreetly shift the glory of Christ, who he came to be in the long journey of being made one with the Father “the warrior King,” to an event that did not need to happen.

His perfection was absolutely necessary for our salvation.

The “fruit” of Christ’s completion, walking in newness of life, fathered by God, was the ministry we read about in the Gospels, including the last sign he gave Israel, the sign of Jonah, Calvary. 

Everything in this creation is centered around Christ, everything else is subordinate, including Calvary.

And in that we need to know his story, and know it well, if we are to please the heart of the Father in fullness in these last days. 

I’m not talking about being an expert in theology, but a heart given to Jesus, experiencing the journey he pioneered.

Jesus told Peter it was the revelation of his Father that gave him the light he was the Messiah.

We cannot venture long in our Christian pilgrimage without becoming sleepy, embracing the cares and temptations of this life (which are unparalleled in the 21^st century) without the revelation of the richness that is ours in Christ.

If it’s all about duty, obligation, service, commitment, sacrifice, endurance, perseverance, denial, and the like, we will die on the vine.

If it’s all about ministry, preaching, worship, evangelism, gifts, inner healing, deliverance, teaching, conferences, prayer ministry, retreats, men and women’s movements, revivals, social justice and programs, etc., we will die on the vine.

We were designed to love and be loved, to know and be known, in intimacy and union with our creator and his Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our journey will require sacrifice, endurance, perseverance and denial but, through the power of his strength and care.

It is Christ in us, now, today, that keeps you and me alive and in the care of the Father.

His mighty power holds all things together and will accomplish his plans and purposes in the time he’s allotted mankind to choose him or not.

Tabernacles is the deepest journey we will have this side of heaven in the revelation of Christ and the moving of God’s Spirit.

It’s not about Tabernacles, but Christ.

Christ has chosen the vehicle of Tabernacles, the third feast, to apprehend in us what he apprehended us for.

Tabernacles, the Philadelphia church age, has the greatest promises and intimacy “the making of the bride.”

It’s the culmination of the Gospel age.

If you hunger and thirst for adventure, the journey Christ pioneered for you and me, then you don’t want to miss the fullness offered in Philadelphia.

You won’t find it in your pew, at a retreat, or Christian conference, it’s in Jesus, and him alone, by his invitation.

He knows when you’re ready.

Only he can usher you into the deep things of God, the journey of the deep work of grace.

If you want everything Jesus has to offer this side of heaven, then ask him.

Cry out to him you want it all; everything he can accomplish in you.

Heaven is not the place for the deep work of the Spirit of grace – it is now!

It is here we’re made into the likeness of Christ, body, soul, and spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:23).

If your heart feels indifferent to the offer of Philadelphia, content in what you have now, ask him to reveal the next steps he would like you to take to move closer toward him.

The Last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45) Perfected, New Journey & Language

Paul says in Corinthians:

“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.” (NIV, 1 Corinthians 2:13)

“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 2:14)

Jesus labored in his teachings to build a bridge for you and me to understand the language of the kingdom of God.

He used natural terms and events to describe spiritual truths.

He labored through parables and other teachings to lift men and women out of the natural into the spiritual, time, and time again.

You cannot understand the New Covenant by pointing to the Old Covenant and simply saying Christ fulfilled this or that.

The New Covenant cannot be understood in the language of the Old Covenant, nor, understood without the revelation of the Spirit to understand the writings in the New.

It takes the Spirit to reveal spiritual truths.

And to have spiritual truths have deep meaning and attachment – becoming part of who we are – they must be written on the tables of our heart and mind.

The promised grace to come foretold a time when God would write his nature in the heart and mind of men and women (Hebrews 8-10), starting with Christ first; the firstborn (Colossians 1:15), first fruit (1 Corinthians 15:20-23), pioneer and finisher of the faith (Hebrews 2:10, 12:2).

It is not what Christ did that ushered in our salvation, but who he became before he ministered.

Important

He ministered out of who he was!

It was by grace through faith Christ became who we would come to know as the Messiah.

(Romans 3:22 and Galatians 3:22, the Greek is the faith “of” Christ. Yes, Christ was made perfect by grace through faith, fathered by God.)

Ministry did not perfect him nor did Calvary, nor give him his name, nor his authority.

Ministry flowed out of who he was, not who he would become, as creeds and traditions would have us believe.

There will be more on this in the next post (because some translations have added to the Greek), but, when Christ talked about fulfilling all things in the Garden before his death, he was not saying he had to be killed for us to be saved.

That would place salvation in the hands of killers, and salvation about killing instead of saving!

Why would Jesus in parables and woes upbraid those who were intent on killing him?

The Scripture clearly teaches his perfection ushered in salvation, not 40 days in the wilderness, his ministry, or Calvary.

Important – In the Garden

When Jesus talked about fulfilling all things in the Garden, he was in effect saying, “I came to save and not condemn, nor to kill others to save myself.

I will not take up arms against Israel and destroy my testimony and three years of ministry.

I will not start the Church by killing those who want to kill me.

That is exactly what the devil wants me to do, to pin me in a corner, and fight those I came to save and destroy my testimony and all God has accomplished.

If they won’t believe my words, who I say I am in teachings, signs, wonders, and miracles, then maybe they’ll repent for their part in killing me, when they see or hear about my resurrection through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The prophets said they would kill me and I did everything possible to give them the opportunity to do otherwise just as God gave Hezekiah additional time and even changed his mind regarding Ahab.

I’ve poured out everything, fulfilling all the prophets said about the Messiah, who he would become, and what he would do.

I have fulfilled all spoken of me, and if they kill me, they will fulfill all things spoken of them, and their sin will remain, unless they repent and find forgiveness.

The prophecies concerning my death at their hands speak of their doing, the sin in their hearts, and not of my Father’s doing, nor mine.”

Somehow in Christendom, the prophecies concerning the killing of Christ have been seen as the hand of God, his desire, contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture.

God desired Christ’s testimony to remain intact and not be destroyed by defending himself and having to kill others.

The killing of Christ fulfilled the unrepentant sin of Israel toward God and the Messiah.

It was their doing, not God’s.

There’s a huge difference between prophecy fulfilled because of unrepentant sin, the killing of the Messiah, versus, saying those prophecies were God’s plan for salvation.

Connecting verses like “wounding and piercing” to “killing” instead of putting sin to death in his perfection.

Wounding and piercing (Isaiah 53) refers to putting to death those things that cause death, transgressions and iniquities, the enmity in the flesh Christ inherited from his human ancestry (Ephesians 2:14-15 – see an interlinear, Romans 6:10, Hebrews 5:7-10), and not putting Christ to death.

The prophecies of Christ’s killing are prophecies of sin coming to fullness in the life of Israel’s leaders, and the fulfillment of those prophecies are the result of their actions in hostility to Christ and the Father.

Creeds and traditions, like “yeast being mixed into dough,” which Jesus warned and prophesied about, shift the emphasis of Scripture and God’s plan from Christ to other things “about” Christ.

The enemy does anything and everything to shift the focus off of Christ, and his journey, the one we’re to follow, on to other things. 

God’s plan of salvation was the perfection of his Son, not the killing of him.

God does not do evil that good may come. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

Calvary provided one last opportunity for forgiveness, salvation having already been secured in the perfection of Christ – his own “blood” (life) sacrifice to God, as Jesus explained in John 6.

Finally, the fulfilling of the prophecies of Christ being killed, confirmed and testified of generations of unrepentant sin in the hearts of some in Israel, unwilling to come to Christ in repentance John the Baptist warned them about.

Christ, not willing to take up arms against them, confirmed and testified openly and publicly again, his righteousness, who he was, fulfilling to the fullest – over and above, exceedingly abundant (1 Corinthians 15:3, the Greek for “for”) – he came to save and not destroy, giving them one last sign, the sign of Jonah.

Calvary publicly displayed both sin and righteousness, only to intersect at the shores of repentance and forgiveness.

The shores of forgiveness had been offered over three years, had they only, (and we, for all the areas we need healing) only come to him.

Calvary revealed the New Covenant in Christ to the fullest extent possible – what was already there and been offered.

Jesus is the author of Christianity, his journey, his life, what God the Father accomplished in Christ, not Calvary.

****

He’s the open door to the kingdom of God, and all it offers, by grace through faith in him, through everything he’s done, fathered by God, to fulfill the Old in him.

Everything in this creation, including Christ’s ministry and Calvary, is subordinate to the Lord Jesus Christ, who he became in being made perfect, the source of our salvation (Hebrews 5:7 – 10).

The Father’s perfection of Christ, yes, by grace through faith, in the journey Christ pioneered for himself, and for you and me, elevated the man Christ Jesus to King, Lord, High Priest, and Prophet.

Everything occurring after his perfection is subordinate to who he became, the “atoning sacrifice,” between God and man.

Christ’s perfection cannot be more clearly described than it is in Hebrews, and through his perfection journey (the testimony of the book of Hebrews), he became the eternal source of salvation, the atoning sacrifice for you and me.

Calvary was the public display of what Christ had already accomplished, having the New Testament in his blood.

Jesus did not die at Calvary to save mankind, to become their atoning sacrifice.

He died because he was “already” their atoning sacrifice!

They hated him because of who he had become, not because of who he would become.

That’s what the prophecies foretold, the parables described, and the agony of Christ and the Father over him being put to physical death, when he had already atoned for their sins in being made perfect, glorified.

That’s why Jesus could’ve called angels to his rescue, had he chosen.

****

Israel refused the New Covenant pioneered by Christ.

The apostles and early Christians embraced the New Covenant; their testimonies bearing witness to the truth of Christ’s pioneering journey.

Paul and the other writers of the New Testament wrote about the “new territory,” after the manner of the one who pioneered “the promised grace to come.”

They did not write the New Testament in the language and understanding of the Old, but in the language and the understanding of the New they were born and raised.

They adopted the language of their new homeland; writing letters to us about the “promised land,” inviting you and me to emigrate to the kingdom of God.

But the Creeds in the fourth century pushed backed against the early Church, adopting much of the same thinking that had been done away.

They refused to adopt the language of the New pioneered by Christ and the early apostles.

This may seem strange to some of my readers but the evidence speaks for itself; over a millennium of spiritual darkness until the agonizing birth of the Reformation.

The Creeds revived many of the “old homeland’s” language and traditions, just like Israel of Old, turning aside from the grace so freely given.

The “Creeds” prohibited new emigrants from entering the promised land and exiled the ones already in it.

Aspiring emigrants had to settle for the Old Covenant way of thinking, remain in their “generational homeland,” erasing what the early Christians pioneered in the wilderness with Christ.

Creeds ultimately, with help from fallen men and women, shut out the kingdom of God, ushering mankind into what is known as the spiritual dark ages, the age of Thyatira, the darkest time of the Church to that time.

It wasn’t until Luther the bridge to Passover was reestablished.

And it wasn’t until Parham and Seymour and others, the bridge to Pentecost was reestablished and crossed over in the early 1900s, birthing the Pentecostal experience once again over much of the 20^th century.

Presently the Lord is laboring globally to reestablish the third bridge, the bridge to the feast of Tabernacles, making ready a bride.

Tabernacles, like Passover and Pentecost, has its own special brand of understanding, language, and revelation – a deeper, richer, and more complete experience than the previous feasts.

It’s the final leg of the long Christian pilgrimage you do not want to miss.

This is the feast depicted in the parable of the pearl of great price, Paul’s letter to the Philippians, Christ’s letter to the Church of Philadelphia, the living creatures of Revelation, and, among others, the child in the womb of Revelation Chapter 12.

It is the heart of the Gospel, to be made into the likeness of Christ.

Passover and Pentecost are given to get us to Tabernacles; Tabernacles the final destination, union with Christ.

It is the only feast designed to change our lowly natures into his glorious nature in the depth and breath he desires for intimacy and union.

Tabernacles requires the revelation of the Lord to understand the story of Christ, because the story of Christ is the pattern for the bride, the emphasis of the New Testament.

Much of the struggles in understanding Romans, Hebrews, and the other writings of the New Testament concerning Christ are revealed by the Lord in Tabernacles.

Tabernacles will remove the blindfold the enemy has put through creeds and traditions over the story of Christ.

That is the last thing he wants to be known.

It is necessary to separate the story of Christ, his long journey of being made perfect, fathered by God, before his ministry, from the events surrounding Calvary.

Creeds and traditions combine them; the Scripture clearly separates them.

More on the Revelation of the Lord

The revelation of the Lord does not mean people accept what someone says they received from the Lord without prayer, understanding, study, searching the Scriptures (Acts 17:11), and the Word being made alive to them.

We can learn from each other and get a head start, but, as John says in 1 John, Chapter 2, in so many words, paraphrasing:

“The anointing of God will not lead you astray, but speak to you intimately; walking you through the Scriptures as you spend time seeking him for the deep things of God, he has just for you, personally, separately, and uniquely, in moving you forward in greater grace, healing, in the revelation of him.”

When the Lord opens a new door, Tabernacles, (Revelation 3:7 – 8) it takes time to reveal his will in those he’s calling forward into the deep things of God.

He builds things slowly so hearts can “receive and maintain” the New without being overwhelmed with the unhealed wounds and brokenness of the past and present.

It’s a long and complicated process by the Lord to put new wine into new wineskins in your life and mine.

Over the years I’ve watched good teachers struggle with the Scriptures, as all of us have, about Christ in Romans, Hebrews, and throughout the New Testament letters trying to fit “round pegs” in “square holes” called Calvary and the creeds.

Sadly, tragically, I’ve heard those with advanced degrees from Christian colleges say things like, “God is like an egg, having a shell, yoke, and a white.”

Comments like this are an attempt to express in the natural what the natural mind constructs about God.

It’s not what Jesus thought or said about God.

If anyone knows what God is like, it would be Jesus.

He said, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (NIV, John 4:24)

That the design of God is somehow patterned, or, fingerprinted in the design of an egg shows how far we’ve traveled down the road of creeds and traditions, off the path pioneered by Christ in the revelation of God.

If we have to go to an egg to figure out what God is like then we’re all in a lot of trouble.

The Lord has given us everything we need in his Word, that, with the revelation of his Spirit, will tell us all we need to know about God in our present state of growth, journey, and maturity.

The Lord does not give us more than we’re able to bear, and that includes above all the revelation of him to you and me.

We can only handle so much revelation and understanding, because it impacts so many areas of our life and the life of others.

The Lord does not overwhelm, but gives us a little here and there to arouse desire and passion, hunger and thirst, motivating our hearts toward greater and greater hope, inspiration, and discovery for more of him.

You don’t give your child more than they can handle.

There’s a time and place for all of us for deeper revelation.

Maybe it’s time for some of you to go deeper in God by seeking more of his Word and the richness and treasures he has hidden just for you.

You won’t find them watching the news, or hours and hours of tv, and all the other pleasures of this world that compete for every moment we have.

But you’ll find him more and more in the secret place, those times set aside just for him and you.

We all need that, none of us are exempt.

Finally, the Scripture says God makes us in his image, not vice versa.

We cannot look at created things and draw an image for God.

Christ is the most perfect thing we will see this side of heaven of the image and likeness of God.

And image and likeness have to do with authority, presence, rulership, and all the qualities associated with goodness, righteousness, and holiness, like forgiveness, love, long-suffering, grace, mercy, patience, etc.

Jesus wants his bride to know him fully, to know his Word, to walk in resurrection life, and not be confused about who he is, and his most personal of stories, his journey.

A brief illustration

Here’s a short example of two parties talking about the same subject from the standpoint of two different kingdoms, one centered in the natural, the other, the revealed kingdom of God.

Luke records a discussion Jesus had with the Sadducees on the subject of the resurrection.

Some of the Sadducees were trying to debate “bait” Jesus about the resurrection, contending there’s no resurrection after death.

They were focused on the natural.

In Jesus’ response about the resurrection, he said something very interesting, “and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels…” (NIV, Luke 20:36)

It’s pretty obvious there’s no death in heaven; so why would Jesus bring up the concept of death if he was talking about resurrection after physical death?

Because Jesus was not talking about the resurrection after physical death, but the resurrection after putting sin to death in this life; the resurrection Paul hoped to apprehend in what Christ apprehended him for.

The heart, hope, and prayer of the New Testament is resurrection life this side of heaven – putting sin to death to walk in newness of life, new wine in new wineskins, the baptism of Christ.

This is what Christ apprehended, pioneering the way for the New Testament church.

This is one reason why it’s so important to understand Christ’s personal journey separate from his ministry and Calvary.

Because his personal journey resulted in his perfection, resurrection life, King and Savior, and out of that flowed ministry and his willingness to be put to death in the natural, displaying what he had already done by the Spirit.

When Jesus talked about the resurrection with the Sadducees, he was referring to the present, life in God, free from sin, like Adam before the fall, what he was walking in, and what he was offering to those who would come to him.

He was telling them the kingdom of God has come, I’m resurrection life, right now, right here, in your presence, never to die, mortality swallowed up in immortality, perfected and made whole by my heavenly Father.

He was saying in effect, I have fulfilled Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, everything foretold and prefigured in the Old has been fulfilled in me, and will be fulfilled in you, if you will but come to me.

Just as in the days of:

• Noah (from the ancients through the Flood to the patriarchs and Abrahamic Covenant),
• Moses (from slavery through Exodus to greater covenant, the giving of the law and Tabernacle),
• Joshua (from the wilderness over Jordan into the promised land),
• Samuel (from the time of the Judges to the Kings, changes in relationship with God, accelerating preparation for the coming of the Messiah),
• the northern kingdom in the time of Assyria (loss of covenant protection, relationship, and inheritance),
• the southern kingdom in the time of Babylon (loss of covenant protection, and into slavery and bondage),
• the Persians (beginning preparation; countdown for the coming Messiah),
• Israel at the time of Christ and the apostles (ushering in of the New Covenant, and eventual destruction of Jerusalem),
• Luther (ushering in salvation by grace (fulfilling Passover, again)),
• Seymour and others (ushering in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the second feast, Pentecost fulfilled again beginning at Azusa Street), and
• we find ourselves in the season of another crossroads “a change in eras is upon us,” the third and final feast, Tabernacles, ushering those who desire Christ’s fullness into the final sojourn of their journey.

 

And once Tabernacles is complete, the bride will be complete, and the Lord like David of old with Goliath, will use his bride to bring a death wound to the seven headed beast of Revelation, through revival, setting in motion the end – times.

What God is doing today is beyond what he was doing in the days of your grandparents.

Those days were preparation for today.

And the preparation of today is for what is to come – deep intimacy and union with Christ.

It’s a deeper work of the Spirit, preparing those who hunger and thirst for the fullness of Christ to cross from life in the natural to spiritual life, resurrection life, this side of heaven.

That’s what the Gospel is all about, what Christ pioneered and died for, putting sin to death, and then, after all that, comes ministry.

The Gospel is not to get us to heaven, but to bring heaven to us, now, presently, where we most desperately need it.

The life Peter, Paul, John and others lived and wrote about.

The promised grace to come in fullness one last time before this dispensation is completed and Christ’s millennial rule begins.

The transition from one era to the next requires a lot of preparation, a lot of time, the bringing together of a lot of things, and then, even with all that, it will be a battle to finish the race, and to finish it well.

Revival (Tabernacles), brings life where death reigns in the believer, for those who enter in, and opportunities for life in the unbeliever, for those who enter.

Revival is a two – edged sword; life for those who receive the goodness of God, and hardening of hearts for those who reject the goodness of God.

Many are experiencing the deep waves of revival today in their lives as the Lord makes ready a bride for himself.

Are you one of them?

And one day the Lord will reveal his bride to the larger body of Christ, and to the world, in one last gallant effort to save as many as possible before he begins the trial of transitioning mankind to his millennial rule.

The final wave of the end – time revival will be uniquely targeted to halt the deepening stronghold of the Antichrist system for a short season.

This is what the Scripture calls a death wound, rescuing many who will come before the door is closed to this age.

But, even in that, there are strongholds to powerful to be fully broken in this age that will fall during the Tribulation, at the Second Coming, and, in the decades following Christ’s return, when the Gospel is universally preached in every corner of the earth.

The final wave of the end – time revival will be ushered in by Christ through his bride completing the remaining last half week of the 70^th week of Daniel – the Tribulation following sometime after its completion.

The ministry of the bride will initiate the beginning of the final phase of completing “the rock striking the legs and feet of iron and clay in Daniel 2” Christ began two millenniums ago.

The question for all of us – which side of revival will we be a part of?

Christ’s Journey, Refresher

It’s tragic after three years of ministry, ushering in the New Covenant with signs, wonders, and miracles – a new way of living, a new language, passports ready to be issued to everyone and anyone willing to leave the old for the new – within a few generations Christianity converted back to the old.

Eventually developing and institutionalizing creeds and traditions contrary to the clear teachings of Scripture, the revelation Christ labored so hard to impart to those who would be called by his name.

What he fought so hard to plant, the knowledge of the kingdom of God in teachings and parables, conveying spiritual truths, was so quickly given way to the old way of thinking – looking and seeing in the natural – unhealed hearts given way to untransformed thinking.

If a group of people come together in council to establish uniformity in beliefs, usurping Christ’s authority to connect personally with each member of his body in the revelation of himself in grace (1 Peter 1:13), then you end up with what we have today.

An archaic system of beliefs keeping God’s sons and daughters from the fullness of Christ, who he is, and what he has for them.

It’s like emigrating to a new and better homeland, never learning the language, skills, and culture of the New Kingdom and its’ King, unable to gain intimate access to him.

Keeping you and your generations from the favor, blessings, and promises of God.

Residing in the New Kingdom, but not fully living in it, the old ways of the Old Kingdom still deeply embedded in the heart and mind.

Today, many Christians have little or no understanding of the journey of Christ, his perfection before ministry, what Calvary is really about, imprisoned in strongholds of creeds and traditions stretching over 1700 years.

And with that, is the intense fear fencing Christians in creeds and traditions; keeping many from seeking the Lord for revelation and searching the Scriptures like the Bereans of old.

To see whether the empty way of life handed down from the “fathers” is indeed fresh manna and fresh drink.

God designed the heart to be dependent in intimacy in the revelation of Christ; anything that creates obstacles to that is an idol, keeping the heart from the springs of living water.

It took over a millennium to get through the spiritual dark ages before the Reformation could be birthed.

And it took almost another 400 years to birth Pentecost again.

Thankfully, it’s taken only about a century to usher in the final feast, Tabernacles.

This series shows clearly, in accord with Scripture, Christ was fully human, just like you and me (Hebrews 2:17, and Scriptures too numerous to mention).

He inherited enmity in his flesh from his human ancestral line, transgressions and iniquities, just like you and me (Ephesians 2:14 – 15, see an interlinear, Hebrews 4:15, and again, Scriptures too numerous to mention).

He was tempted just like you and me from the outside, and, “inside,” just like you and me, sharing in our sufferings as High Priest and Savior; someone who related to temptations from within, yet, he, unlike us, never yielded (Hebrews 4:15).

And because he had enmity in his flesh, needing healing and restoration, just like you and me, he needed to put sin to death, just like you and me (Romans 6:10).

Creeds and traditions (weeds sowed among the wheat & kneading of yeast in the dough, Matthew 13), do not want us to know the truth about Christ (Ephesians 4:20 – 24), making him something he is not, so we’ll become something he is not.

This was not done purposely by men seeking uniformity in Christ, but, nonetheless, done in blindness to the Scriptures and the journey of Christ.

And commentators, translators, and teachers for centuries have carried forward the baton of creeds and traditions, rallying around one another, supporting one another, in the worship of a system outside the Scriptures and opposed to personal intimacy and union with Christ.

The Reformation and Pentecost cleared some of the confusion, but much still remains to be demolished.

If Christ does not share in our sufferings at the core level of our battle against sin, then how can he suffer with us, and we suffer with him?

He was made like us in every way, and yet, he was sinless in his battle against sin, freeing his generations from the curse of sin, and all those who would call on his name.

And in his victory over sin, he was made perfect, becoming the pioneer of the New Covenant.

The “blood sacrifice” God wanted all along – a life given totally and completely to him, one he could mold and make into his own image and likeness, perfectly, by grace through faith.

Remember, Jesus said his blood was life and Spirit, ushering in the new language of the New Covenant with the “spirit” of the New.

How else is it possible to be known of him, and to know him, if he did not face the same things we face (Matthew 25:12)?

And the journey of putting sin to death, what Isaiah called wounding and piercing (see my earlier posts on his death to sin captured in Isaiah 53), and similar phrases in the New Testament, such as, his sacrifice, death by the cross, learning obedience, etc., point to Christ’s journey to perfection.

Important Reminder – Creeds and Traditions

Creeds and traditions make the story of the Bible first about us, and how Jesus came to save us, and tell us none of his personal journey before ministry.

Creeds and traditions have Calvary as their headwaters, they flow out from Calvary as if Calvary is the heart of the Gospel.

They center the Scripture first about you and me, making us the center of God’s plan and purposes.

In contrast, the headwaters of the Scripture, creation, is Christ, the plan and purposes of God in him, and what he accomplished in Christ.

Everything in this creation flows from Christ.

And it is Christ’s journey who made him, fathered by God, into the man we know as the Messiah.

If you make the emphasis of the Bible about Calvary, then you miss the emphasis of the Bible centered in Christ first and foremost.

Calvary is the story about what Jesus did as a last resort to “confirm who he said he was.”

His perfection is the story about him “becoming who he said he was.”

Creeds and traditions elevate you and me at the expense of Christ.

The Scripture elevates Christ first, and then we who hope in Christ.

He’s the last Adam, firstborn, first fruit, forerunner, pioneer, foundation, cornerstone, and finisher of the faith.

We need to know his story, if we’re to properly understand ours.

Important – The Cross

When Jesus said pick up your cross and follow me, he wasn’t instructing you and me to seek martyrdom.

He was instructing us to allow God to bind us to him, the source of life, to be fathered by God, healed and restored to walk in newness of life.

The cross speaks of being bound to the Lord, taken into a place of deep grace, where the Lord, our heavenly doctor, heals and restores us from our wounds and brokenness – bringing death to sin, life to us.

The cross speaks of being “loosed” from the prison of roaming endlessly in a life of sin, full of agreements, lies, a practiced way of living opposed to Christ, into the freedom of being “bound” to the Lord in grace with boundaries (Psalm 16).

The sinful life espoused as “freedom,” is really a prison.

To those outside of Christ, the “cross” looks in the natural like a prison; when “in Christ” it is freedom – freedom from sin and all its destruction, hidden under the shadow of his wing!

The cross is intense intimacy and connection with Christ, the mystery of Christ, transforming our lowly natures into his glorious nature as we journey with him.

The cross of Christ cleanses and heals our sins through the revelation of Christ by grace in the inner man (1 Peter 1:13).

The cross of Christ puts sin to death, not us.

Christ’s cross put sin to death in his life (the enmity of his flesh, Ephesians 2:14 – 15, see an interlinear), raised to walk in resurrection power (Romans 6:10, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, Hebrews 5:7-10); freely displayed to Israel over three years.

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(Note: Christ put generational sin to death passed to him from his human ancestral line.

Conceived in grace, he was like Adam before the fall, the ability to choose righteousness without the marring from choosing sin, yet, he still had to contend with wounds and brokenness passed to him, given the right opportunity and time, would lead him into sin.

And in overcoming what was passed to him, from the generations back to Adam, receiving healing and restoration from his Father, by grace through faith in learning obedience, he became the pioneer and finisher of the faith, our Savior.

It’s a marvelous story of redemption, grace, and faith, Christendom has lost.)

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However, the cross of fallen men and women, bound to a life of sin, puts mankind to death.

Those who reject the cross of Christ will not be cleansed and healed by Christ.

No one enjoys speaking about this, or even mentioning it, but Calvary is a picture of those who reject Christ – the secret and hidden things manifested and exposed outwardly on the body, never to be cleansed or healed.

Jesus allowed others to see a picture of themselves at Calvary, hoping many would find forgiveness and repentance when they realize what was inside them that would “agree” to put an innocent man to death.

The cross of Christ, to be bound to him, is the heart of the feast of Tabernacles, cleansed, healed, and restored, the plan of God established at creation.

What onlookers saw at Calvary, the sins of men and women marked on the holiness of Christ’s body, Christ had already nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14), spiritually, on behalf of mankind, in his perfection (Hebrews 5:7-10).

(Christ nailed sin to the cross in his perfection, dying to sin, raised to walk in newness of life, before his ministry, Romans 6:10, Hebrews 5:7-10, etc.

Calvary was the nailing of Christ to the cross by sinful men and women, displaying their sins he had already atoned for, the NT in his blood, Matthew 26:28.)

That’s why he could say, the New Testament was in his blood, using the most intimate of terms to convey the spiritual sacrifice he had already made for mankind by putting sin to death in his life.

In Scripture “trees” (which wood comes from (obviously), and from which the stake or pole is made, as well as the crossbar), symbolically represent mankind.

We know this from the parables of: the good and bad tree bearing good and bad fruit; the axe laid at the root of the tree; the tree that has not borne fruit for many years; the blind man seeing trees walking as men; the Gentiles grafted into the tree of life, and, trees planted by the water bearing fruit in old age (Psalm 92:12 – 14), etc.

The cross of Christ, the one we’ve been instructed to pick up and follow, represents the wild nature inside you and me being cut down as we’re grafted into Christ, changed from glory to glory, even into his own likeness.

It is telling shortly after Christ spoke about picking up one’s cross and following him, he was Transfigured before the three on the Mount.

Among other things, Jesus was giving them an object lesson – if you pick up your cross and allow me to help you put sin to death, this will be the result in your life – glory!

The upright pole represents our independent sinful life from God, and the crossbar represents our being bound to Christ, to put to death our independent sinful life, to walk in newness of life in Christ.

If we don’t allow our lowly nature to be cut down so we can be grafted into the tree of life – dying to sin, made alive in spirit – then we will carry our cross “publicly,” the picture Jesus gave at Calvary.

Calvary is a picture of the unsaved and unhealed, those who’s sins have come to the surface, defacing their outward body.

Because Israel rejected Christ, Christ allowed them to expose their sins on the holiness of his body, praying some would come to forgiveness and repentance at the sight of their own sins, as Peter preached on the day of Pentecost.

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:3, Christ died exceedingly above, over, and beyond “for” our sins at Calvary in one last effort to convince Israel he was the Messiah, and they, wounded, broken, dead in sin.

He gave them a picture of their story hoping they would want his story and have a different ending than the one he was showing them.

And hopefully, it’s a picture we do not want for ourselves and others.

He showed them resurrection life over three years, and yet, they chose to reject him and his offer, missing the season of their visitation.

They left him no choice, other than killing them, which was out of the question for him, but to allow them to display their sin on the holiness of his body.

No, Calvary was not the beginning of the New Testament and our salvation, far from it.

Christ was the beginning of the New Testament.

His ministry displayed the New Testament for over three years.

Calvary displayed the end state of those who reject Christ – hanging on the sinful pole constructed in their life, bound to the crossbar of sin forever, eternal separation from the Father, in the absence of repentance and forgiveness.

Calvary displays vividly the need to allow Jesus to cut down the pole of sin we’ve constructed in our lives, allowing him to bind us to him, in the crossbar of intimacy, as he heals and restores our wounds and brokenness.

Calvary was Christ’s last opportunity to publicly display his holiness, in the backdrop of their sinful lives symbolized by the wooden structure they crucified him on, whether an actual pole or tree.

Since Israel refused spiritual life and spiritual truths, he allowed them to see who he was, naturally, with natural eyes and natural truths, by visibly rising from the dead “again,” – glorified “again,” publicly to those who knew him or who knew of him.

Talk about grace!

To be willing to be put to death after three years of ministry, giving them the sign they demanded, Jonah, so they could see in the natural what he had said spiritually, is unimaginable grace and love.

In allowing his physical death to confirm who he said he was, he fulfilled the foreknowledge of God of his rejection in Isaiah 53:7 – 9, having already fulfilled the sacrificial atonement through his perfection in Isaiah 53:4 – 6.

And it’s not a coincidence some contend the word for “death” in verse nine in Isaiah in the Hebrew is plural.

I’m not a Hebrew scholar or knowledgeable of the Hebrew language, but, Christ’s physical death was a second death, in that he had already atoned for sins in his perfection, his second death confirming he was the Savior.

Calvary confirmed and testified who Christ said he was.

It was not the beginning of salvation, but his last offer of salvation to Israel.

That’s why the New Testament has a number of references about him rising again, and being glorified again.

Christ’s perfection launched him into ministry and many into the New Covenant during his ministry.

While Calvary ended his ministry to the nation of Israel, launching him and the world into the age of the Gentiles, the church ages.

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Christ is truly the Savior; not just dying over and above, exceedingly abundant, “for” sin (1 Corinthians 15:3) at Calvary, confirming and testifying who he said he was, and the unrepentant sin in their life.

But, more importantly, dying to “sin” (Romans 6:10, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, Ephesians 2:14-15, Philippians 2, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 5:7-10, etc.,) ushering in the New Covenant.

What I’ve been sharing the last few years are interconnected; the feasts, the moves of God, the end – times, the sacrificial pioneering journey of Christ, the bride, church ages, and the types and shadows from the Old Covenant pointing to the coming of the Messiah.

God is laboring today to bring love and grace to people in preparation for coming revival, and eventual transition to millennial rule.

Calvary publicly exposed Israel’s sins they were unwilling to have cleansed and healed by Christ.

Calvary, like the law, points us to Christ; the one who “fulfilled” the law perfectly in the flesh, something God desired before the fall, destroying the barriers of sinful practices passed through the generations.

Calvary did not destroy the barrier of sin between the law and the flesh, nor did it provide the means.

No, it revealed the barrier between the law and the flesh had already been destroyed by Christ, because, the death Israel inflicted upon him was not upheld in the courts of heaven.

Calvary is not a destination, but a sign pointing to Jesus, who he is, who he became, and what he pioneered for us to follow.

It takes the deep work of the Spirit by grace through faith in the revelation of Christ to destroy the barrier between the law and the flesh.

The agreements with sin, lies, vows, and curses, and all the like, need to be cleansed by the atoning, pioneering work of Christ; bringing the cross of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit to the structures in our lives not built by God.

And in that atoning work of grace, in intimacy with Christ, the revelation of his nature brings peace and healing to those areas of wounds and brokenness formerly under the control of the kingdom of darkness.

And in all of that, the wounding and piercing of transgressions and iniquities, not only peace and healing comes, but restoration begins to sprout new life where darkness once loomed.

Christ does not want our emotions connected to Calvary because it was a sign pointing to him, the sign of Jonah.

Our destination is not signs, but Jesus (Colossians 3:17).

He wants our passions and desires toward him for the work of grace he desires; cleansing and healing our wounds and brokenness for intimacy and connection with him.

His mission has not changed: to heal the brokenhearted, set the captives free, bring good news to the poor, and release of prisoners.

Calvary points us to the blood of Christ – “the life” he sacrificed in being made perfect, becoming our Savior, Messiah.

Calvary is not the focus of the Scriptures, but Christ, the Fathers work in him, pioneering salvation by grace through faith.

Christ’s righteousness and creeds and traditions point us to two different stories.

The former, his journey in being made perfect, the latter, to Calvary.

If we want our story transformed into his glorious story, we need to seek and ask him to invite us into the wilderness journey of Tabernacles.

That means to prepare and be prepared like the wise virgins.

The book of Hebrews is the testimony of Christ’s journey to perfection, being made perfect by the things which he suffered, before his ministry.

It describes in emotional and vivid terms and phrases the long journey of being made High Priest.

It’s the story of journey, sacrifice, doing the will of God from the heart, having the law of God – the heart and mind of the Father – written on the tables of Christ’s heart and mind, the Word made flesh!

It’s the making of the man Christ Jesus in who we would come to know as King, Lord, Savior, Prophet and High Priest.

Just like a “child king,” born, raised, and trained to be King, and just like Samuel (and others) were dedicated to God before birth or after (“types of Christ”), Christ was born a king, God with us, but had to be made King, the long journey told in Paul’s letters, Hebrews, and elsewhere.

Before Jesus could save you and me, he had to redeem transgressions and iniquities passed to him from his own human ancestral line.

And in doing so, he became our Savior, our substitute, doing what we could not do – he, being born into grace, conceived by the Holy Spirit, us, being born into sin, conceived by fallen fathers and mothers. 

In Christ’s case, though born from a fallen mother, having generational transgressions and iniquities, the grace of his Father placed him in the position of Adam before the fall, the ability to say no to sin, unlike us, who automatically begin sinning in the absence of the Spirit of grace, i.e., the new birth.

Some may struggle with this understanding of Christ because of the overwhelming influence and impact of 1700 years of creeds and traditions.

But, just like some of the doctrines of the dark ages were discarded in the Reformation, and in the return of Pentecost, those distorting the revelation of Christ will be found wanting as well in the time of Tabernacles.

The revelation of Christ will most assuredly return to those hoping and looking for his appearing, offering one last opportunity for deep connection with Christ before he says it’s time to transition to the final birth pang of this age and on into the Millennium.

Wounding and Piercing (Briefly)

One final circle back in explanation.

The “wounding and piercing” Christ endured in being cleansed, healed, and restored by the Father (Isaiah 53:5, Romans 6:10, Ephesians 4:20 – 23, Hebrews 5:7 – 10, 1 Peter 3:18 (b) etc.), being made perfect, is no different than the wounding and piercing we go through in bringing sin to death in our lives.

The wounding and piercing he endured put to death generational transgressions and iniquities he inherited from his human ancestral line, redeeming mankind, becoming our substitute, the blood sacrifice for us – the living breathing sacrifice of the heart and mind God always desired.

A better covenant, as it says in Hebrews, not the killing of animals or people, but the killing of sin!

As I’ve already written and shown in a number of posts, Christ’s journey to perfection was a living blood sacrifice, what the Father always wanted and planned for in Christ – for him to fulfill the law perfectly, without sin, by grace through faith, the pioneer of the New Testament.

Jesus explained this clearly when he spoke of his blood as life and Spirit, even going so far as to say the New Testament was in his blood.

It can’t get much clearer than that.

The Old Covenant required the shedding of blood, there was no forgiveness without that.

But in the New Covenant, a better covenant, Christ fulfilled the law in the sacrifice of his life, “a living blood sacrifice,” God was pleased to present to Israel at the river Jordan.

The wounding and piercing we endure in putting sin to death is generally sin we’ve yielded and embraced.

Scripture is clear Christ never yielded to the generational transgressions and iniquities he inherited in his human ancestral line.

And yet, he was initiated and led by the Father to atone for their sins through the same process we go through in putting sin to death, by grace through faith in forgiveness and repentance.

He for mankind, us for us.

He’s the only one to face generational sin and not yield to it.

Putting it to death by grace through faith in breaking agreements, renouncing lies and practiced ways of living, and all the like, i.e., the empty way of life handed down to him from his human ancestry.

And in that he became a warrior.

He knew from experience, growing in intimacy and union with his Father, how to defeat the principalities of darkness in mankind, and how to depend upon his Father in 40 days of testing by the devil.

The grace he was born into by his Father thrust him into the battlefield of generational transgressions and iniquities and the cleansing and healing power of God to cleanse the man Christ Jesus perfectly.

Remember the Scripture says in Hebrews Christ did not ascend to the priesthood based on his ancestry, but based on “…the power of an indestructible life.” (NIV, Hebrews 7:16, italicized is mine)

In other words, it was the power of God that raised him from the dead, from mortality to immortality, from wounds and brokenness to wholeness and holiness, perfecting him in the sight of God, the Word made flesh, destroying the barrier of generational sins, fulfilling the law in his flesh.

To think Christ did not have to battle with sin in his inner man, things he inherited from his human ancestral line, is contrary to Scripture and contrary to the glory God bestowed upon his one and only Son.

It robs Christ of the glory of his journey, and the glory of the journey he calls all of us into.

It emasculates Christ and us, in the battle we must fight to be made whole and holy.

There’s a wildness in us, like wild horses, that’s not suitable, usable, or workable for the Masters use in advancing the kingdom in us, and in others.

It comes with the fallen nature, wounds and brokenness, not subdued at Passover (born again), or even at Pentecost (baptized in the Spirit).

But God’s provisioned a special feast, Tabernacles, to subdue and finally put to death those things in us that will bring death left unhealed and unrestored.

Some of the wildness we inherit in generational transgressions and iniquities are deeply rooted and hidden, secreted away, in the inner man and woman.

Christ’s successful journey to completion, fulfilling the law in his flesh, putting sin to death, is the heart of the Gospel.

It is why Christ is called the firstborn, first fruit, forerunner, last Adam, and pioneer and perfecter of the faith.

The wildness in us needs to be wounded and pierced to make us useful instruments of God’s goodness and kindness for ourselves, and for others.

It’s the same wounding and piercing Christ endured in learning obedience through suffering, being made fully complete in all things by the Father, ushering in the New Testament in his blood – his life.

Once one understands the revelation of Scripture, Christ was fully human, “made” perfect (offering himself as a living, unblemished sacrifice to God), the symbolism surrounding blood and other terms bear witness to the intensity, depth, and completeness of Christ’s sacrifice in becoming who we know as the Messiah.

In my next post, I’ll have a list of Scripture’s where translators have added words like shed and shedding (re: blood), to key Scriptures to point them to Calvary when the context is clearly about Christ’s perfection.

The many phrases used by differing authors in the New Testament regarding Christ’s perfection journey describe the relationship between he and his Father, having nothing to do with Calvary, and everything to do with being made perfect.

The sacrifice of Christ’s own blood “a living sacrifice of obedience, intimacy and union,” conveys the most intimate, emotional, and complete giving of oneself to another that can be expressed in human terms.

Simply, the most intimate term for expressing the completeness of offering of one’s life is the word blood; and Christ used “blood” in reference to the entirety of his life he had sacrificed.

Christ’s perfection cost him dearly, everything.

And it was not just generational sins he put to death, but he would never have the blessing of being married, children, grandchildren, wealth, prosperity, vocation, and all the good and holy things God created to be received with thanksgiving.

He gave up his personal rights and privileges, those that would interfere with his mission, to heal and save Israel and usher her into the Millennium.

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Israel tried to destroy the temple of God by nailing him to the cross; but unbeknownst to them, Christ had already nailed sin to the cross, releasing him from their judgments, resurrected “again” before his ascension.

“Wounding and piercing” are Isaiah’s revelation of what it means to bring to death generational transgressions and iniquities through the cleansing and healing of wounds and brokenness.

Wounding and piercing are the “cure” for healing and restoring Israel from the sickness and disease so rampant in their hearts and minds.

He knew wounds need to be “wounded” (opened up, exposed, made vulnerable), and sores “pierced” (drained, to attack sin at its source) to cleanse, heal, and restore the heart and mind from sin and its effects.

If we want wholeness and holiness from those things in us “driving” sin, or, hiding, waiting for an opportune time, then agreements, lies, and whatnot need to be put to death by “wounding and piercing” their structures through Christ.

Wounding and piercing are the atoning work of Christ, the cross of Christ, applied to our wounds and brokenness, and the power of sin that holds captive one to generational transgressions and iniquities.

This is what Christ pioneered for New Covenant Christians.

Christ partook of what we are called to partake, otherwise, how could he be the High Priest of the faith, if he was exempt from the frailties and the temptation of the flesh, from within and from without?

It is inescapable, Christ was fully human, born with enmity in his flesh, and in that, he was wounded and pierced, bringing to death the enmity in his flesh, made perfect, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith.

His pattern is our pattern, his story ours.

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The notion Jesus was born perfect, suddenly appearing at the age of 30, led into the wilderness to resist the devil, without never having to wage spiritual warfare in the fight against sin, is not only foolish thought, but contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture.

The belief held as a doctrine in Christianity, Christ was born perfect, unscathed by wounds and brokenness in his human ancestry, is contrary to the “types,” of Christ in the Old Covenant prefiguring the journey the Messiah would take in becoming our Lord and Savior.

It is contrary to the hundreds of Scriptures in the Old Covenant prophesying the journey Christ would take over the course of his life, which far outnumber the prophecies of his rejection and death at Calvary.

It is contrary to the hundreds of Scriptures in the New Testament that go into great detail describing the journey of Christ in being made perfect.

Jesus’ own words should be sufficient when he said at the Last Supper, he was offering the New Testament in his blood, for the forgiveness of sins.

He was in effect saying:

“I’ve been with you for over three years, and in your hearts, and in the hearts of Israel, unless you see with your natural eyes the risen Christ, the life I’ve been demonstrating, there will be lingering doubt, and many lost, without this last confirmation of who I am.”

“I will allow my natural blood to be spilled for you to see with your own eyes the life within me.”

“To demonstrate to you spiritually what I have conveyed to you using natural terms.”

“I am resurrection life, my flesh and blood, are indeed food and drink, they are Spirit and they are life.”

“Come, partake of me and enter eternal life!”

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One last point.

In Hebrews 7 it says Christ did not become a priest based on his ancestry “…but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.” (NIV, 7:16)

And how did that power come to pass?

It came to pass through the process of being made perfect, the theme of Hebrews, raised from mortality to immortality, resurrection life, and as Paul describes in his many letters.

The power of an indestructible life did not come from being conceived by the Holy Spirit, because it did not come from ancestry, but from being made perfect by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There’s a night and day difference between:

• someone dying in your stead, offering you eternal life, yet, who has not tasted the suffering of wounds and brokenness from within, the result of generational sin, not knowing how and what it’s like to be cleansed and healed in the inner man, versus,
• someone who pioneers the path, knowing how and what it’s like to put sin to death; the long hard journey of cleansing and healing from generational sins, who not only offers you eternal life, but walks you through your healing and restoration, knowing what it’s like.

Now I think we would all agree the latter is better – a better covenant.

Let’s not be like Israel of old, but enter in to the fullness Christ is offering today in Tabernacles.

A lot more to come, 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.™