Its Not American It's Kingdom

 

Unqualified Fulfilment in Christ by John R Gavazzoni

Several years ago, as of the date of this writing, brother J. Preston Eby, during a conference in which he delivered a message on the Word of God, spoke of his awareness that God was "fine-tuning" His Word in our day. I found that to be-- typical of our brother's ministry-- wonderfully expressive of a central feature of the Spirit's intense obsession with the purity and clarity of the Word of God. For years I have experienced the mighty, yet delicately skillful hand of God adjusting the knob on my own receiver.

Of course, though we are now becoming highly sensitized to this activity of God, it has been going on from the immediate moment after Eve heard the serpent say, "Hath God said...." For four thousand years God wrote, through the lives of men and women, an introduction to the Book of Life, the Book which is the multiplication and unfolding the Word of God, both being Christ Himself, and in that introduction, among other things, He highlighted the three feasts that Israel had been commanded to observe as types or shadows of the substantive work of God in Christ on our behalf.

As many who read this message know, it became standard teaching in most of the evangelical world that the feasts of Passover and Pentecost had been historically fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Christ, with the immediate confirmation of that fulfillment in the transformed lives of the Lord's disciples as they passed from death to life, from cowardly inconsistency to faithfully testifying to the Truth, their Lord Jesus.

But after centuries of the corrupting of the Word of God, it came to be held that the Feast of Tabernacles awaited fulfillment some day up in heaven. That was, of course, part and parcel, of the perversion of the gospel, a perversion that claimed that missing hell and gaining heaven were central to the intention of God's saving grace in Christ. The "hell" of that scenario was a religious invention, and the "heaven," a fanciful product of the imagination of men.

God set about to correct such nonsense and brought about, among other things, the beginning of seeing Tabernacles in a different and better light. Ministers of the Word began to proclaim that Tabernacles was to be fulfilled on earth relative to the manifestation of the sons of God through whom God would deliver creation from its bondage to decay. This was now more clearly seen, as a matter of heaven coming to earth, rather than escaping earth to get to heaven. But this was the beginning of a correction that would reach the point of fine-tuning that brother Eby spoke of.

It was conceded that there was a sense in which the Reality of what Tabernacles pictured was already in process, but, by and large, the fulfillment was considered to be something in the future. My understanding of the writings of dear men of God who were used in that phase of correction, is that they considered there to be a perfect provision by Christ for the fulfillment whose consummation was yet to come, but they would not say, unequivocally, that Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles had all been fulfilled in Christ. This somewhat skewed perspective of the relationship of provision and fulfillment really affected the understanding of all three feasts.

The thought seemed to be that Christ had made provision for fulfillment, but not effected fulfillment itself. Provision for fulfillment and fulfillment itself took on a certain separateness. Please note this principle: Provision proceeds out from fulfillment, not visa versa. I must repeat: Fulfillment does not proceed out from provision, rather our provision in Christ grows out of God's already accomplished and continuing fulfillment in Him.

The feasts of Israel are included in the law; in fact the content of the first five books of the old testament is what is meant by "the law" by the writers of the new testament, and any properly instructed person, especially any Israelite understood that to be so. The law consisted of the record of actual historical incidents.

It's very nature belongs to the dimension of that which is "about" God and His people, while all the time pointing back into the heart of God and forward to the mission of Christ, which are the Substance, Reality and Actuality of that about which the law speaks. I could, for instance, write a book "about" our marriage of forty six years, but the marriage itself is the thing, not the book.

Consider this, if you will, that the fulfillment of the types in the Old Testament, including all three of Israel's feasts, were completely fulfilled in the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection and glorification of our Lord Jesus, with us in Him. Oh, Lord, fine-tune this to our hearts for there is still much essential confusion. Either He fulfilled the law, all of it, or He didn't, and of course, by fulfilled, I mean that His Person and accomplishments were the Reality of all that had previously simply been shadow and type. In short, and to rephrase, His human experience was the substance of all that had been foreshadowed.

What I'm getting to is that we are not looking forward personally or corporately to the promises of God inherent in the types and shadows of the law becoming fulfilled. We are proceeding from a complete fulfillment of the entirety of the law in the Christ event from incarnation to glorification. That's what the three feasts pointed forward to. But, I'll grant you, this creates what I've called an almost intolerable intellectual tension, for just where does our experience as the historic people of God, or lack of the same, individually and corporately. with all the accompanying apparent contradictions fit in?

While participating in an Internet forum along these lines, I underwent a flashback to wrestling with this years ago. I'd been disciplined by the Lord to always keep foremost in my thinking the perfecting of our Lord by the things which He experienced and the things that our Father accomplished through Him as my ultimate reference point regarding truth, so I've had to take the high ground, so to speak, of an already, fully accomplished eternal purpose in Him, and from there to extrapolate to the true meaning of our earthly experiences.

I had seen God's perfect Son from eternity, confirm His completeness in space-time, and had seen that we all have been, and continue to be included in that perfected Personhood. I saw that what Paul meant by His beloved expression, "in Christ," was that all that Christ is, all that the Father accomplished through Him, and His relationship to the Father all accrued to us in union with Him. We are indeed heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

During the course of the aforementioned Internet discussion greater clarity came to me from the Spirit as I realized that Christ had eternalize every moment of His aeonian experience so that the Christ event, belongs to eternity now. Let me explain: Eternity invaded time in the Person of our Lord, and time was raised up into the eternal by Him. He totally sanctified and eternalize the human experience in Himself, so that when we experience any or all of the elements of His human experience which are now in the Spirt, though it seems to be on a linear time-line, it is not really a matter of some elements having been fulfilled and others requiring further experience on our part before we can say that they're fulfilled (whether we're talking about events or growth), but that all of our experiences of Christ through the filling of the Spirit belong to the eternal moment, that moment in which all things have been made new.

We are having our eyes opened, not to what still awaits fulfillment, but to the presence of the already completed New Man in the eternal Day of the Lord, which is Christ, Himself, and us in Him. Does that mean that we must deal with the contradictions that plague us forever? Does that mean that there is no experiential consummation? Absolutely not. What is happening is not the substance of the feasts still coming into being linearly, but a demonstration linearly of what already is in the eternal moment, that moment of the fullness of the times when eternity and time were made one in our Lord, when God sent forth His Son, born of a woman. And when I say, "eternity," I mean God, Himself, for He is Eternity.

That's why Paul could say that God causes us always to triumph in Christ. Wow, no hedging there, no qualifying compromise. No chipping away at the edges of Reality in order to make room for present appearances. Always caused to triumph. The swallowing up of death, an accomplished fact in the death and resurrection of Christ is always being demonstrated in us and death's lie will be accorded a place as long as the Lord wants to extend the linear demonstration.

With whatever is involved, the manifold wisdom of God is being played out before an audience of principalities and powers, a symphony, as it were, building to an awesome crescendo. The Reality is appearing over and over again in history, but what is appearing is not something that has not yet been, but what IS in I AM. The lie of un-fulfillment is daily being exposed by the fire of God in us. I hope I don't sound like I'm floating around in esoteric space, but it really has resonated with me when I've heard brethren say that there's a sense in which our someday expectations are a kingdom/sonship equivalent of rapture in the bye and bye.

Recently after ministering this truth at a conference, a dear mother in the faith came to me with an enthusiasm that belied her eighty plus years and she said to me that here is where she had taken her stand, here is the only place where she had found the rest that belongs to the people of God. There was a awesome fierceness about her demeanor, behind that face lit with the glory of God. The devil and his demons wanted nothing to do with the fire in her eyes as she made her magnificent confession of faith. So be it.

Much Love

John R Gavazzoni

Here is the index of his writings
http://greater-emmanuel.org/jg/jgindex.html

God is Beneath Your Feet - Daniel Yordy

. Christ Our Life From: Daniel Yordy                                                                 October 16, 2011 Dear Friends, To read this article on the Internet:  God Is Beneath Your Feet  PDF Version  for printing and distribution.  May the Lord bless you and keep you through the time of your transformation, Daniel Yordy God Is Beneath Your Feet ". . . the way of the wicked He turns upside down." Psalm 146:9 God is alive in me and new every morning. Thus, as I write a response such as this, what He teaches me goes in a direction I did not know and things that seemed important at the beginning, though truth, fade away in the present bubbling spring. More and more of God's people are becoming excited about the meaning and reality of the manifestation of the sons of God. This fills me with such joy, for it is further confirmation that God fulfills all He speaks in us. But we must understand that Christianity as it has been cannot ever produce such a break, such a shift in reality as the birthing of liberty and the elimination of darkness upon this planet really must be. I have never once thought that I would become an "expert" on Genesis 3. Yet I find myself back there over and over again. Genesis 3 is the entirety of what must be broken and cast off. Our return to full union with God and the revelation of God through us to all creation parallels in every way the original break with Him. I have looked only briefly at the casting off of the curse found in Revelation Chapter 12 that corresponds point by point with every part of the curse spoken by God in Genesis 3. Understanding the psychology of Adam and Eve helps us so much to identify the difference between Christ and the pretender of Christ forced by human imagination and ruling in the church. But it is that path of Jesus from Gethsemane to the resurrection that shows us the incredible meaning of our full union with Him. Here's the difference. Adam ran from that path as fast as he could. Look at the length of time between Adam's confrontation with the real task God had given him and his flight. "She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." See that comma after "her." That's it. And so the path of Jesus from Gethsemane to the Resurrection is a path Adam did not take; this path does not run parallel, it runs beyond. The only reason we look back to the garden is to understand the path Adam continues to refuse, the path upon which we walk. Now, this glorious exercise through which the Lord has taken me over the last couple of weeks, has given me a picture of the three parts of Jesus' defeat of sin and death that we must know. Remember, I taught in the series on Our Union with Christ, that we do not "follow" Jesus in this portion of His reality; rather, He takes us into Himself and carries us in Himself through it. Yet, I am seeing now that our union with Him inside this portion of the path is more than profound and utterly unexpected. First, no matter how willing we may be, we cannot carry our cross. The Father alone carries it for us. Second, Jesus accepted the "shame" of His nakedness. The outer frame God had crafted for Him was fully acceptable to Him, He was content. When Jesus said, "Father, forgive them," when He said, "Hey, mom, there's your son, John," he was stark naked, stripped of every human dignity and respect. Third, Jesus cast Himself utterly upon the Father, refusing to reach for His own power, even when the overwhelming darkness flooded His soul in the agony of defeat and separation. But through all three of these steps into weakness, there runs a mighty cord, a simple cord, filling the heart and mind of the very human Jesus, a two-fold cord. One mighty strand of that cord was giving thanks, giving thanks, giving thanks for all things. The other mighty cord was the expectation, the certainty, the overwhelming confidence that the Father Himself would resurrect Jesus from the dead. God would raise Him on high. It was not a "god" who died upon that cross, but a man. That's why the rulers of the Jews killed Him. They expected Superman to come out of the sky, blasting thunderbolts at his enemies. The main reason they hated Him was that He was powerless and human; how could the Messiah, the revelation of God, be so weak! If Jesus had been strong, they would have bowed to Him, they would have obeyed Him, that is, until they could figure out how to finagle behind the POWER and thus, in the end, gain control over Him. They persuaded the Romans to kill Him because He was beneath their contempt. The entire church has done exactly the same thing with Him, deifying Him, expecting that when He comes this time, this time we know He will come as Superman out of the sky, blasting thunderbolts at his enemies. Sure the rulers of the Jews had it wrong then, but we don't, we have it right! A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. The human mind despises weakness. Look at how the church has deified every element of Jesus' weakness. From the halo on the baby to the crucifix on the wall to the Nicene Creed, every attempt of the Father to prove to us that He reveals Himself through weakness has been turned into Superman. And those believers in Jesus who discover the incredible reality that they, IN their weakness, are just like Jesus are called "blasphemers." I cannot express how important it is for us to comprehend the fulfillment of the three feasts of Israel in the life of the church and in the life of each individual believer. We are not talking about being born again. We are not talking about being baptized in the Holy Spirit, we are talking about the final entrance into the city of God, the fullness of Christ revealed through us in the earth. The third feast is what everything else is for. The entrance into the third feast gives purpose to all that comes before. Drawing back from the third feast makes all the rest of redemption of limited value for the present time. This three-step passage of Jesus IS the pearly gates of the city. Pearls: our response to pain and humiliation. We give thanks with joy AND we expect with all confidence that the Father is about to raise us on high. But we never cover our weakness with pretending and we never reach for our own power separate from Christ living as us. The weapons of our warfare have nothing to do with our outer frame, but they are mighty. I am going in a direction I have never seen before; I hope to unveil things I have never considered. Yes, my title is provocative, but when you see what I mean, you may well be in tears as I am. In my last letter, I talked about the outer frame of disability. Now I want to look at the outer frame of ability. We humans possess both a physical body and a spirit body in equal proportions. Our soul exists at the point of union all through these two bodies. Our persona, our individual human ways and characteristics, are determined by the metabolism of these two bodies in equal proportions. Every human's spirit is as much a contributor to their person as their brain and heart. Just because we are blind to the spirit realms does not mean that our spirit does not function fully. A so-called psychic is just someone who is a bit more in tune with his or her spirit than most. Yet everyone is a "psychic" whether they know it or not. That is, everyone derives half of their persona from their spirit. Paul instructs us to walk in our spirit merged with the Holy Spirit. The church calls such a practice "new age." It is "new age" when a person enlarges their unregenerate spirit, but every "Christian" manifests spirit all the time, even if they know nothing about any union with the Holy Spirit. Our spirits are as complex and as ordered as our physical bodies. They contribute entirely to our outward persona or form as much as our physical bodies. People move out from the nature of their individual spirits equally as much as they move out from the nature of their individual bodies. The reason we don't know that mentally is we are blind. What blind person do you know that goes around pretending and arguing, convinced they are NOT blind at all, but that everyone is lying to them about this so-called "ability to see"? Real blind people ask questions, all the time. When Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," he was referring to the quality of knowing that we, in our present state, are unable to see whole realms of normal human existence and expression. He was referring to the quality of a child to ask questions. Someone who says, "I don't need the gifts of the Spirit," is saying that they are happy to be half a human, crippled and blind, with no interest in what they really are. Back to human ability. God crafted, by His sovereign choice, the outward form or persona for each individual one of us to walk in all the days of our life. That outward persona comes from the characteristics of both our physical metabolism and our spirit metabolism joined fully in equal measure. Here is a person that is never sick; there is a person who is always sick. Here is a person that sees success with everything he or she touches. There is a person who sees things fall apart every time he or she makes an attempt to rise up from failure. Here is a person who is continually bubbly and optimistic; there is a person who is continually grumpy and pessimistic. Here is a sanguine; there is a melancholic. Here is one who is powerful and dominating; there is one who is timid and withdrawing. Here is a person who is disciplined and put together; there is a person who is scattered and undisciplined. These are all qualities that come out of the construction of both spirit and body merged together. These are the extremes, but God fashioned every form of in-between as well, including the outward form that is the ability to move along a scale from say, undisciplined to disciplined versus the inability to move along that scale at all. There are 15 billion different human personas, every one different and unique. You and I did not choose the form we live in; neither can we change that form. Absolutely NO human form is in any way "better" before God than another. God does not play favorites to any outward form, capable or incapable. When I lived in a certain place, a brother who was a dear friend of mine ran a small construction crew in the nearby town. I ran the construction work in the community. We both heard from God all the time. He heard God speak to buy this tool and that tool, to engage in this increase and that increase, all with great joy. I heard God speak, "No," every time I sought to purchase for myself even a screwdriver. I was disturbed by that for awhile until I realized that God has an entirely different path and persona for each individual person, though we walk side by side in Christ. Since that time I have refused to place my nature and persona onto anyone else as the "expectation" of what they ought to be doing in God. I accept completely that God can speak to my brother in a very different way than He speaks to me. I am unusual in the realms of Christianity. When I raised the question that God had placed in my heart the desire to write, the only response I received back was from one who said that twenty years before God had told her to lay down the desire to write. And that was the end of that. As if that had anything to do with God in me! One of the greatest sins we commit against one another is to lay upon our brother the obligation and expectation that whatever God speaks and does with me is what that brother ought to be hearing and doing. It is sin, and the practice of it does not take place inside of Christ. "You ought to change; you ought to practice a different persona than the one God fashioned for you," is a charge we burden one another with - weights NO ONE can bear. The charge that I should not "talk about Asperger's" is a personal offense. It is contempt thrown against me; no different than lepers have always been treated. I have lived with that condescending, "If you were really in Christ, you would be like ME!" all my life and it still - well, I do give thanks in my frustration. I was "reviewed" in my teaching ability again this week. And again this week, I was told that I ought to do the things I cannot do. I could write a book on the things they say, but I cannot do them. Yet I am a well-loved teacher with a track-record of students who learned from me what they did not learn from others. Yet I do not have the group "people-person" abilities found in the "teacher's manual." I compensate for what I do not have by showing deep compassion and the utmost respect to them as persons whenever we are one-on-one. No evaluator has ever seen that, nor is there a place for it on their forms, but my students see it and there is a place for it in their hearts. Yet, going through this review, I was fully aware that I have never been treated in the educational world with the contempt by which I have been treated (by some) in the church. I say "some" because not all are like that, but those who are seem to stand out and often to lead. The world does not expect you to "be like Christ," Christians do. And they torment one another with that expectancy, turning Christ into a whip. Now we have arrived at what I have been driving towards for some time in these letters. First, in a previous letter I explored the Greek words for Philippians 3:21. Here is the paraphrase I gave with the two critical Greek words: (Jesus) metaschematizo our lowly body that it be synmorphizo His glorious body . . .out from His dynamite energy bringing us into His full sway. "Metaschematizo" refers to the alteration of our outward form or persona. "Synmorphizo" refers to an element of internal union with Him far beyond our present ability to know. God will change our outward form or persona in the resurrection, that is, the fullness of the Third Feast, but NOT in the way humans would expect in their present ignorance. May I suggest that you obtain and read Hind's Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. I have read and taught this book over and over because it gives me such great hope. Much-Afraid is very much afraid; she is hit with attacks by craven-fear over and over. She is crippled and twisted. She stumbles and falls every step along the way. When she reaches out for "help," all she gets in one hand is suffering and in the other, sorrow. NO ONE believes that she could possibly "know" the Shepherd. Her change does come. But NOT in the way she or anyone else expected. Rather she discovers that all along, sorrow has really been Joy and suffering has really been Peace. She discovers that her "blemishes" are now beauty, and that her bruises and her tears and her failings ARE now the jewels of her crown. But "metaschematizo," or the alteration of the outward form, is used elsewhere by Paul in an entirely different application. Here it is found three times, all underlined. ". . . those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness . . ." 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 We are not talking about Dracula's here, but Christians. Paul is referring to those who, finding that they do not care for their outward persona crafted for them by God - primarily because it does not give them an advantage in the eyes of others - then work on and alter their outward form until it gives them a place of advantage and preeminence in the church, in the eyes of other Christians. However, here's the deal. It is impossible for a human being ever to alter his or her outer form or persona. Certainly, God fills our hearts with joy and peace where once we did not know His love. But those are qualities that shine from the inside out, always coming through an honest and real expression of our outer form. Of course, we believe God for healing - and He heals, and we rejoice to see Him transform us. But it is God who transforms us, we do NOT transform ourselves. Therefore, when someone alters their outward form for advantage or approval in the eyes of others, they are not actually changing anything. All they are doing is draping their own version of fig-leaves upon themselves. They are pretending. I know such people (a few), very, very well, having walked with them side by side every day for years. They are fake. Yet they fill most churches, and every one of us have practiced this fakery to greater and lesser extent much of our lives. Notice, in 2 Corinthians 11, that Satan and his ministers "transform themselves." Don't do it; be real. Christ is in YOU. Next, let's look at the upside-down unreality we call "church." "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh (no human outer form or persona) should glory in His presence." 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 God does not call very many of the people to whom He gave the outward form or persona of success and achievement and human capability. Quite the contrary, most of the people God calls are people to whom He gave the outward forms of inability, of failure, of stumbling, of ineptitude. The majority of people whom God calls into His church are the kind of people that humanity despises. But He does call some of the others as well. Let's say, for discussion purposes, that 10% of the people God calls into His church are outwardly capable. Since no one chooses his or her outer form, it is no one's fault if they are capable and successful in this world. One who is capable and successful is well able to know Christ revealed as them, and to enter into the fullness of Christ in the firstfruits. But NOT MANY will. Look at that word, "wise according to the flesh." We have always read that wrong. We read it as being "wise according to evil." But that's not what it says, it says, "Wise according to outward human ability." That is, the people we naturally look up to as wise and capable leaders, those whom we call "examples." Here is one of the biggest problems with Christianity. Even though only, say, ten percent of those whom God calls into the church are outwardly capable and successful leaders, still, it is those people almost entirely that become the ministry and leaders in the church. Now, even though this reality is upside-down, it has been God's order for the present in-part age of the church. I will explain why. But first, I want to give an illustration to help us understand all reality. When Adam rejected the way of Christ, God turned the world and all humanity upside down. Technically, as believers in Christ, we have been turned right side up, but we hardly know that. For the most part, we Christians have lived in the same understanding as the world, that of being upside down. But humans do not hang upside down all on the same plane. The nature of being upside down takes the form of a pyramid. Consider a pyramid. If you are an American, you can pull out a one dollar bill and look at the pyramid on the backside. The eye at the "top" is the eye of Lucifer. The levels of the pyramid from "top" to "bottom" are the levels of the hierarchy of human authority. Those near the top are most like Lucifer in their definition of "God." They sit upon the ones who are beneath, ruling over others with their wisdom and their human abilities. Those at the bottom, according to the upside-down version of reality, are the ones sat-upon, the crushed, the despised. Now, turn the dollar bill "upside-down." You are looking at reality as it is. Lucifer is FALLEN. He is far lower than man. Yet man, hanging upside down, arms flopped down towards Satan at the bottom, defines God the Father and Jesus the Christ by the definition Satan gave himself. What is it that keeps man from falling as low as Satan? God caught man and is holding him by his feet. If you want to see God, do not look "up," look down. God is beneath your feet. But look again at the pyramid turned right-side up, that is, with the point at the bottom. In this illustration, God does not hold onto the entire pyramid. No, He has His grip entirely upon the top of the pyramid, that is, upon that thin wide layer of the despised. It is the despised of humanity who are "closest" to God. All the rest of humanity owe their entire survival to those same despised. Think about this: modern protest rails against the "top 1 percent." They imagine that "people power" can bring that "top 1 percent" down. They are delusional. The "top 1 percent," who or whatever they might be, and however they might be defined, got there only because they are more ruthless than all of the 99% put together. They can bring down, not the other 99%, but the in-between 98% in a moment by such stunning evil and cruelty that no man can take a breath. We will likely see them do it. (And the majority of "rich" people probably are not in that ruthless 1%.) But no one on this planet is looking at the 1 percent at the opposite end of the spectrum. No one is looking at the blind, the maimed, the crippled, the homeless derelicts standing at the street corners. No one is looking at the autistic, the Down syndrome, the lepers, the unhealed. No one, except God. It was impossible for Sauron ever to imagine that hobbits could be some sort of threat to him, especially two weak, hungry, worn-out, defenseless hobbits stumbling without outward hope through the darkness and horror of his realm. Sauron never considered weakness, neither did the Pharisees, neither does the world, neither does the church. In the third Pirates movie with Johnny Depp, there is a particular scene. The pirates had passed into the unseen realms of death in order to rescue a "dead" Captain Jack Sparrow. Now they are faced with the puzzle of how to return to the world of the living. They hit on the "solution." Now - everything about the scene and the movie is absurd and ridiculous. If you have not seen it, I am not suggesting you do so, even though, to silly boys such as myself, it is a fun movie. What is important is the concept. In order to pass from death into life, the pirates had to turn the ship "upside down." They succeeded in doing so, only to be frozen in the probability that all was lost. Then, surging into the light, they found themselves right side up and back in the world of the living. Two fools who had thought to "transform themselves" by their own abilities before the ship went under, were now seen, still hanging upside down. "Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." Luke 14:21-23 (I suggest you read the whole chapter.) Jesus was not talking here about being born again. He was not talking about receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. He was not talking about fellowships of deeper-truth Christians or years of ministry and service, and He especially was NOT talking about "going to heaven." Jesus was speaking of the revelation of Jesus Christ, of the fullness of the Feast of Tabernacles manifest in the church upon this earth. If we want to know the way into the fullness of Christ, we had better go looking for people who never get it right, for people who are crippled and maimed in body and in soul; we need to follow the blind. If we want to know God, we better find a Down syndrome boy and ask him to tell us the secret; we better find an autistic girl and learn what makes her sing. God is found among the lepers; He is there on death row among the "criminals." Ask a drunk, homeless, Vietnam vet standing on the street corner holding a soiled cardboard sign to show you Christ. We KNOW this is the gospel. The first shall be last and the last first. The valleys shall be exalted and the mountains brought low. Except you become as a little child you won't even see the kingdom of God. To be the greatest in the kingdom become the lowest of servants. And a little child shall lead them. If you want to see God, look down. The revelation of Jesus Christ will shatter the sensibilities of every human being upon this planet. Ninety percent of all Christians will be deeply, deeply offended by Him (in more ways than one). How dare He! To come in weakness, to walk as the despised. A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. When God turns the world right side up, 99% of all humanity and 90% of all Christians will find themselves hanging upside down. They will not be impressed. The very last thing most Christians want is for Jesus to come again. When Jesus said, "Whatever you do unto the least of these My brethren you do it unto Me," He was not speaking figuratively; He did not mean "it is the same thing as doing it unto Me." The lowest and most despised people in the church, the ones who simply cannot appear "Christ-like" no matter how hard they try and no matter how many tears they shed, are He. He bears their sorrows and He carries their grief. But what about that 10% in the church, the "not many" who are called as capable, as leaders, as wise, as successful? What about that 10% whom the church always places as pastors, as elders, as apostles, as bishops, as the leaders of the church? Is there any hope for them?   There is always hope in Jesus. My pastor, Joel Osteen, is a prime example of one given a wonderfully successful outward form and persona by God. Everything he touches prospers. He is a sincere and humble man. There is not an ounce of "I control you" that comes through him; if there were even a shadow of such a thing, we would never return there. Yet he does get it wrong. There are times when he suggests that God blesses him outwardly (and it is God blessing him outwardly) because of some element of his "getting it right." I am not impressed when people who, not knowing Joel Osteen, criticize his outward persona. I am not "exalting" Joel Osteen; I am using him to make a point. Every single Christian and every single assembly does the same thing. We pick people to be the "leaders" because they are wise and sensible and capable. We imagine that, because they are wise and sensible and capable, because they are outgoing and socially astute and gifted, that they are closer to Christ than the rest of us, and that their outward persona is more like Christ's than ours. And this is not wrong for the capable ten percent to become ministry in the church. God has established this order for His church during this in-part time. The problem is this. Most of those who are capable imagine that their outward persona of success and leadership makes them "more like Christ," and that is why God "anoints" them. They are completely wrong. God anoints them because of the Blood so that He might move through them to touch those who ARE "closer" to Him, the ones who are incapable of "leading" anyone. Now, some of the brethren whom I have spoken of, who were such a blessing and strength to me through life, were both outwardly gifted and anointed of the Lord. One in particular, everything he touches prospers. He is not "rich," but at every turn God leads him with favor, doors open for him, things fall into place. He is a continual optimist. Yet, never once, not in all the years we walked together, did there come from him any shadow of thought that his outward persona made him any different than me in my outward persona, but at all times he walked together with me as an equal in the Lord, heart to heart, side by side. Even the mistaken idea that "I experience continual favor and health and success because I must be doing something right," is not a problem for our Savior. The horror that is created in most Christian circles is when that belief about "what Christ looks like" becomes a club to beat the precious ones God has entrusted temporarily to those with "successful and capable" personas or outward forms. Jesus said it this way: "But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 24:48-51 Now, I can accept that the anti-human prejudice of the translators could have made this sound worse than Jesus actually said it, but even so, it still must be pretty awful. Yes, there will be pastors, there will be elders and apostles, there will be bishops and priests, who do enter into the fullness of the Kingdom. They will be those who follow right behind the lepers. They will be those who keep their hands upon the Down syndrome, to know which way to go. They will be those who sit at the feet of the blind and who listen carefully to the crippled and the maimed. The time is at hand. Are we ready for a world, are we ready for a church, turned right-side-up? The princess must kiss the frog. I do suggest that you rent the movie, Penelope, with Christina Ricci. It is the classic fairy tale in a modern setting. It is the absolute truth of God. Pay close attention as you watch, after Penelope has escaped the horrific manipulation of her pretending mother, after she has embraced her deformity with joy, after she has been transformed, listen to the little boy speaking to Penelope, his teacher. Write down his words, ponder them in the setting in which they are spoken. "It is not the curse. It is what you do with the curse." "Fix it" yourself and lose. Give thanks with all joy and be transformed. www.dyordy.com

FOT5 - The Study Basis for the Three Major Feasts

Chris writes

I studied languages at university. Having been exposed to Latin languages :Latin,French,and Spanish, and German too, I was very conscious that although the languages may be very different, all of them had similar "coathangers". For example all had verbs and nouns, it's just that Germans sometimes plonk their verbs at the very end of sentences. Once you understand that Germans do this kind of thing (behind your back,without your permission!) but that they are still verbs...you can then "get" how German works, and that "welche Tur ist offen" has absolutely nothing to do with Chris Welch's Tourist Office. (My first ever German lesson).

In the Spirit, the quicker you learn that Pentecost is a state, and not just the one big manifestation in Acts 2, the quicker you "get" the paths of unfolding of God's plans that are all happening simultaneously as we speak, all in different arcs of fulfilment.

Jesus understood this and would refer to instances of prophetic fulfilment eg. The Elijah that had to come before the main Kingdom message was on one level fulfilled by St John. But Jesus said "should you choose to accept it"....in other words these sort of things are spiritually discerned and He wasn't going to bother enforcing that "THIS ONLY MEANS THAT".

So with that broader understanding of Pentecost as a "through stage", you can understand that the disciples were Jews being moved along from a basic understanding of an "out there" forgiving God, moving through co-working with God experientially in the preaching and the "crusades" that Jesus was carrying out, and sending them on, through to the final point when He would kind of leave them in the lurch, as far as His personal training course went...... and return in the Person of the Holy Spirit as One tabernacling amongst them, as God, this time IN FLESH, IN THEM.

The Feast of Tabernacles by George H Warnock 1951
from the Introduction

THE ORDER OF THE FEASTS

As we begin this study, we would exhort the reader to carefully read all that we have to say in this first section of the book, for it is written to form a foundation, as it were, for some of the glorious truths which are to follow. We realize that much of the information that is given concerning dates and seasons may appear insignificant and unimportant, but they are necessary, nevertheless, in order that the reader may more readily appreciate the glorious truths concerning the third and last Feast, the Feast of Tabernacles.

The three great annual Feast of the Lord in Israel's worship are set forth in considerable detail in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In a very real sense these Feasts prefigure and typify the whole Church age beginning with the Cross and consummating in the manifestation of the Sons of God and the glorious display of God's power and glory. It is, of course, this great unveiling that we are chiefly concerned about--for the eternal purposes of God begin to be accomplished in that glorious event. But we cannot have a proper understanding of the end, unless we know somewhat of the beginning. We cannot appreciate the Glory, unless we learn about the Cross. We cannot enter the Kingdom, unless we first learn obedience by the things which we suffer. The Feasts therefore begin with the Passover, and end with the Feast of Tabernacles; and in between we have the various steps and degrees by which the Church is brought out of death and into life, out of rejection and into exaltation, out of suffering and into the Kingdom. The three Feasts in Israel's annual cycle of religious ceremonies were:

1. The Feast of the Passover.

2. The Feast of Pentecost.

3. The Feast of Tabernacles.

These three Feasts, moreover, consisted of seven major events, three of which comprised the Feast of the Passover, then one stood alone--Pentecost, and then the remaining three events comprise the Feast of Tabernacles. A brief summary of the Feasts with their various festival events may be helpful:

I The Feast of the Passover, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

This Feast consisted of:
1. The Passover. (See Ex. 12:1-23; Lev. 23:4, 5; Deut. 16:1-3).
2. The Unleavened Bread. (See Ex. 12:18; 23:15; Lev. 23:6-8; Deut. 16:3-4).
3. The Sheaf of Firstfruits. (See Lev. 23:10-14).

II The Feast of Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, of Harvest, of Firstfruits.

(See Ex. 23:16; Lev. 23:15-21; Deut. 16:9-12; Acts 2:1).

III The Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths, or of Ingathering.

This Feast consisted of:
1. The Blowing of Trumpets. (See Lev. 23:24-25).
2. The Day of Atonement. (See Lev. 16; 23:27-32).
3. The Feast of Tabernacles. (See Ex. 23:16; Lev. 23:34-44; Deut. 16:13-15).

All Israel's worship seemed to center around these three great annual Feasts. They were the occasions of great convocations, the keeping of sabbaths, the eating of certain foods, the performance of certain ordinances and rituals, and a time of great consecration and sanctification: "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty." (Deut. 16:16).

It is our intention to deal at some length with each of the seven festival events comprising the three Feasts, and to show in what manner they have been fulfilled, or shall yet be fulfilled, in the Church of Jesus Christ. Our primary purpose, of course, is to present the last great Feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, in the light of the New Testament--and especially in the light of what God is now doing in the formation of His Body, the Church. For truly the Lord is moving by His Spirit, moving o'er all the earth--brooding dovelike over the distressing state of affairs existing in the Church today, that He might bring order and harmony and peace out of chaos and darkness. And as surely as the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep in the beginning, and commanded light to shine out of darkness, and life to spring up out of the place of death--so surely will the voice of God once again in the ends of the ages restore the glory of Zion, and give unto her "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."

FOT4 - The Old is the Pattern,(the DNA,)of the New

Feast of Tabernacles - George H. Warnock 1951

from CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

(DNA (my addition)was not discovered by Crick until after the title below had been written)ACW.

THE CHURCH IN OLD TESTAMENT TYPE AND PROPHECY

Before we begin to deal with the typical significance of the various Feasts of the Lord, it will be necessary for us to establish the fact that the Old Testament, in type and prophecy, is applicable to the Church of Jesus Christ on a spiritual plane. It is quite common among all evangelical circles to hear sermons which are based upon the Old Testament and expounded in the light of the New; but there are so many who would insist on a literal and natural interpretation if and when a spiritual interpretation would conflict with their theological views.

For example, there is no question as to the meaning of the Passover. It is established beyond all question that Jesus Christ is our Passover, who has been sacrificed for us. Then we have the type of the Unleavened Bread--and Paul exhorts the saints to keep this Feast, "not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Cor. 5:8). All Christians are agreed on this interpretation. Next in order is the waving of the Sheaf of Firstfruits before the Lord. That too, is generally recognized as having been fulfilled in Christ on resurrection morning: "Christ, the firstfruits..." Then comes Pentecost, occurring fifty days after the Passover sabbath--and the typical significance of this Feast is definitely established in the New Testament, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the waiting disciples to bestow upon them the promise of the Father. (Acts 2).

But for some strange reason this pattern of Biblical exposition is forsaken, and men seek to postpone the last three events comprising the Feast of Tabernacles to some future age, and to a people other than the Church.

And whereas the first four events are generally taught as being applicable to the Church in a spiritual way, the last three are given a most literal and natural and earthly interpretation, and consequently the real spiritual meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles is completely obscured and lost. It is essential therefore that the saints know for a certainty that the Old Testament was written for us, and that the truths which once applied to an earthly and natural Israel, are now gloriously applicable to a heavenly and spiritual Israel, only on a much higher and much more glorious spiritual plane. Much could be said concerning this, but we believe a few Scriptures will suffice for the purpose of this study:

Rom. 4:13-16. Here it is clearly and emphatically declared that the Abrahamic promises were not only to the circumcision, but also to the uncircumcision; and in either case to men of faith. Neither the circumcision nor the uncircumcision had any share in the promises of the Old Testament, except they were men of faith: "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law; but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all."

Rom. 9:6-8. Again the apostle stresses the fact that it is the children of promise, not the children of the flesh, who constitute the promised seed to whom the covenants apply. "For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed."

Gal. 3:22. "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."

Eph. 2:12-14. "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us."

Eph. 3:3, 6. "How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery: (as I wrote afore in few words...) that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel."

1 Pet. 1:9-12. This is a most conclusive passage as to verifying what we have said concerning the fulfillment of the Old Testament in the Church. Here Peter plainly declares that the prophets wrote primarily of the grace that was to come unto us, and the glory that was to follow Christ's sufferings. He goes so far as to say that the prophets were not ministering to their day and age, but "unto us..," and that the things they prophesied are now proclaimed unto the saints under the anointing of the Holy Ghost. This is what he says, "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it (he) testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven: which things the angels desire to look into."

HOW THE APOSTLES ESTABLISHED CHURCH TRUTH

Many, many more scriptures could be quoted to confirm what we have been saying. But perhaps the most conclusive evidence of all is the fact that the apostles, in their writings, refer constantly to the Old Testament to prove the truths they are declaring to the Church, and make innumerable quotations from all portions of the Law and the Prophets to confirm their doctrines of Christ and the Church. Nor do they make any apologies whatsoever, or even intimate that they are taking an Old Testament Scripture out of its context. Therefore if it should seem strange to some that we should quote from the Law and the Prophets to confirm some spiritual truth concerning the Body of Christ--let the reader take careful note when reading the New Testament, as to how the apostles applied the Old Testament to the Church which Christ built, and applied to spiritual Israel what the prophets originally prophesied concerning natural Israel.

THE TRUE ISRAEL

The whole New Testament is literally filled with direct quotations from the Old, by way of establishing Church truth, and the saints of God as the true Israel. Notice this remarkable passage in Romans: "Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God." (Rom. 9:24-26). Paul has just referred to Jews and Gentiles alike as being the "vessels of glory," and then he quoted this passage from Hosea to prove what he said. Bear in mind that Paul referred to them as the "vessels of glory" taken from Jew and Gentile alike. Then let us refer to the passage he quoted from in Hosea. Here we discover that the people Hosea wrote about constituted the true Israel. Without the further revelation given to the apostle Paul, one would never have discerned that Hosea was actually including the Gentiles in his prophecy concerning Israel's blessedness. First of all he declares God's displeasure with Israel, and affirms that God will not be their God: "Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God." That seems to be conclusive: natural Israel is rejected, and they are no longer God's people. However, in the very next verse the prophet declares: "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered: and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God." (See Hos. 1:9, 10). How could Hosea declare Israel had been rejected in vs. 9, then in vs. 10 affirm that the children of Israel should become as the sand of the sea? The apostle Paul quotes this passage from Hosea, and explains why the apparent contradiction. The answer is clear: God had now received the Gentiles into the Olive Tree of Israel. "Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles... As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people..." This clearly explains why Israel could be rejected on the one hand, and at the same time become as measureless as the sands of the sea. The natural branches were broken off, but spiritual branches were grafted in from the Gentile wild-olive--and the tree of Israel retained its glory. In fact, it became even more glorious as a result of Israel's rejection--it brought to pass even "the reconciling of the world." (Rom. 11:15).

Let us bear these truths in mend, therefore, as we study the various types and prophecies of the Old Testament--for unless we understand that the Bible, the whole Bible, was written for us, we are bound to deny ourselves the glory which God intended we should derive from the Word. "Unto us," the prophets ministered (1 Pet. 1:12). The history of Israel constituted them as "ensamples (or types)" for us, and the records "are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1 Cor. 10:11). The Law, we are told, expressed "a shadow of (the) good things to come, and not the very image of the things." (Heb. 10:1). And the saints of the New Testament are "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people... which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God..." (1 Pet. 2:9, 10). Here again a simple reference to the Old Testament shows us clearly that the apostle was referring to the true Israel. (See Ex. 19:6; Hos. 2:23).

That God will yet restore the natural Israel that was cast off, and graft back into the Olive Tree the branches which were cut off in unbelief--that is true, and the glory which shall accompany such a transformation is beyond words to express. The apostle simply describes this revival in four brief words: "Life from the dead..." (Rom. 11:15). When and in what manner this shall be fulfilled, God shall manifest in His own good time, and it does not concern us so far as this study is concerned. But the fact remains, Israel never was completely cast off, for "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew." (Rom. 11:2). Only this disobedient were cast off; the believing Gentiles in turn were grafted into the same Olive Tree, and became "with them" partakers "of the root and fatness of the olive tree." (Rom. 11:17).

Let us glory in our heritage, therefore, and in the fact that we who once had no share in the covenants of promise, and were without God and without hope in the world, are now "fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." (Eph. 2:12, 19, 20).

In the following pages, therefore we have no hesitancy what-so-ever in quoting profusely from the Old Testament and New, by way of establishing these glorious Church truths. If the apostle Paul was "rightly dividing the Word of truth" when he made some eighty-five references to the Old Testament in the one letter he wrote to the Romans, by way of establishing the Gospel of the Grace of God and the doctrines of the Church; and at least eighteen such references in the short letter he wrote to the Galatians; and well over one hundred such references in the epistle to the Hebrews; and if Peter would dare make some thirty references or quotations from the Old Testament in his first epistle; and if the beloved John should make direct quotations from, or references to, practically four hundred Old Testament Scriptures in the Book of Revelation: then we care not in the least if orthodox theology forbids us to take Old Testament type and prophecy and apply them to the Church. The apostles have already done so under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and that is sufficient for men who believe in the verbal inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.

THE OLD, THE PATTERN OF THE NEW

There is a simple order that God has established relative to the progression of Truth and to the creation itself, and it is this: "Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual." (1 Cor. 15:46). This principle is evident everywhere in the Scriptures. First the old creation, then the New. First darkness, then light. First a garden in Eden and the tree of life, then the Garden of God and the real Tree of Life. First Adam, then the Last Adam. First the Passover, then the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. First Law, and then Grace. First the typical Feast of Tabernacles, then the unveiled glory of God in the spiritual Feast of Tabernacles. And the wonder of it all is this, that the end of the Old is the beginning of the New; and out of that which is destined to pass away there cometh forth that which is destined to remain.

And so it was that God called light out of darkness. It came to pass also that from the first Adam there came Christ, destined not only to become the Last Adam (the last of Adam, the last of the old race), but the Second Man (the beginning of the second creation). Likewise, the Last Passover was the occasion of the true Passover that was sacrificed for us. And when Christ died on the Cross, and the veil of the temple was rent in twain--that was the end of the Law, but it was also the beginning of Grace. God always "taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." (Heb. 10:9).

It is important, therefore, that we should always observe that which is first, and natural, and from the natural learn to discern in what way it typifies the spiritual. If we read of the natural Passover, God intends that from the various circumstances and rituals connected with the natural we should hear what He would say to us concerning the spiritual Passover, even Christ. If it is the Feast of Weeks, then in this God would teach us concerning the true Feast of Weeks, even Pentecost. If it is the Day of Atonement, then let us learn to discern the pattern of the true Atonement. And so likewise, if the Feast of Tabernacles is being observed, it is for the purpose that we might learn great and mighty spiritual truths from the natural circumstances and events transpiring at the Feast. If we bear this in mind we will receive a mine of wealth from the various occasions in the Old Testament and New when the Feast of Tabernacles was observed. There are three occasions in particular that we shall refer to, as having a most remarkable application to the spiritual Feast of Tabernacles which lies just ahead of us. These three occasions are: the dedication of Solomon's Temple, the restoration of the temple following the captivity, and the presence of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles in the time of His earthly ministry. These three observances of the Feast will be dealt with in detail in the last three chapters of the book. The particular characteristics of all three events must find their glorious fulfillment, only on a much higher and vaster spiritual plane than when they were first observed--in this great hour in which we live.