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The feast of
Tabernacles is a broad feast because of its length of time and what is included
in its feast. The feast starts in the seventh month and runs eight days. Seven
is considered in numerics to be a sign of completeness. Tabernacles is the last
of three feasts signifying the end or the ingathering (which tabernacles means)
of all things.
Tabernacles is the sum of all the feasts and also the progenitor of all
the other feasts, as we shared earlier. The
three main parts of the feast of Tabernacles are: Trumpets, Day of Atonement and
Tabernacles itself. Each facet has great importance for the corporate Body of
Christ and the individual as well.
There is a necessity for the individual to possess by experience each
part of the feast of Tabernacles. While the Old Testament is a historical record
of feasts that were kept by the Hebrew people, we know that these things were
written down as types and shadows for us to learn from (Romans 15:4, 1
Corinthians 10:6). Leviticus
23:24-25 “In the seventh month on the first day of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire.”
The
blowing of the trumpet on the first day of the month is highly significant. The
trumpet is used to distinguish a separation from a previous time, event,
situation, etc. The trumpet is used to declare a new thing, a new way or a new
event. It denotes a cessation of old ways (do no laborious work) and
simultaneously proclaims a rest, a holy convocation and an offering as by fire.
Just as a dove symbolized a new dispensation, so to speak, the trumpet
also declares a new order.
The trumpets Israel used for this special occasion were made out of one
beaten work of silver (Numbers 10). Obviously, in the time of Israel these were
literal trumpets. But in the types and shadows as Paul mentions, the trumpets
have a deeper importance in our walk with Christ.
God finds a vessel (you) that can be used to proclaim a new day, a new
way. His selection of the individual for the work of the Lord is based upon His
criteria, not the individual’s concept of “unworthiness.” He is the Potter
who knows the clay and what it can be used for.
Having selected the metal for the trumpet (silver), which represents a
redeemed piece or someone purchased by the price of His dear Son, God begins a
“finished” work. It is finished in the sense that God is no longer dealing
with sin in the person’s life, since silver represents redemption. God is
hammering with a small finishing hammer, not a sledge hammer. He is fashioning a
vessel that has no trespasses working in it any longer because the vessel is no
longer in the part realm of Passover or Pentecost, where there was still some
leaven. Sin was “finished” at the cross and God sees this person as a new
creation in Christ. He shapes the person for the work that must be declared. The
beauty of the work is that the person who is being developed knows that he is a
saint and not a sinner and also knows that he no longer sins (1 John 3:9 in the
Greek means “practices sin”).
Who can be a trumpet? There are many trumpets for different occasions,
realms of the Spirit, and the requirements are not as hallowed. But who can be a
trumpet for the feast of Tabernacles? It takes a qualified person - a person who
walks a holy life and knows that he is not in the adamic nature. If there were
any adamic nature in the individual, he could not access the Holy of Holies,
which corresponds to the feast of Tabernacles. A holy life means that there
cannot be found any of the sins of Galatians 5:18-21, which are under the Law,
under the adamic lifestyle.
It is this person who will be used as a trumpet. Watchman Nee brings out
in his book, The Ministry of God’s Word, that any uncrucified flesh
hinders the revelation of the Life of God. This vessel, this person, has
previously allowed God a free hand to teach him that he already walks in Christ.
A trumpet cannot sound a message unless the message is understood. The trumpet
has to sound a clear, distinct sound, so that it can be distinguished from all
other sounds. Such a person, who will be used as a trumpet to declare that there
are some who sin not and have been ingathered
to Christ, must also be able to walk in that realm. The
message of Tabernacles is a new word, which the adamic person cannot receive –
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50, 2
Corinthians 12:4).
Even some saints who are beginning to see themselves in Christ struggle
with the new identity. This word of victorious living in Christ is not a word of
personal worth or boasting but rather is a word showing the grace of God having
its work, so that He might be glorified in His saints (2 Thessalonians 1:10).
It is about God getting the glory! But the trumpet, that person
proclaiming the new day in Christ, declares a sound that causes a reaction in
the heavens. Some
like Paul will hear the voice of the Lord in this sound from the heavens, but
others will hear thunder (Acts 9:7). Still others will not receive it at all and
will proclaim that it cannot be true as they look to the natural body and see no
physical change. But God does things inwardly first and then outwardly. He does
things with individuals first and then corporately. The trumpets are sounding.
The seventh trumpet is sounding in the book of Revelation. It is a word that
“it is finished” (Revelation 10:7) and it is the beginning of the finishing. The
message of the trumpet is one word – Christ Jesus. It is a word calling people
to ascend in Him, and as He is lifted up, He draws all men unto Himself. These
vessels have been so worked on by God’s gracious hand that they are declaring
a word of life that envelops others, swallows them up out of the death realm and
lifts them up into Christ. This is the trumpet of the feast of Tabernacles. It
is a sound that is declared, trumpeted, in the heavens, and it redeems men from
the earth, that adamic realm. It
is a trumpet proclaiming that Adam’s first day was in the seventh day. It is a
sound saying, “Walk ye in it,” meaning the seventh day. We are to bring the
restoration to the creation by progressing or traveling backward through the
sixth, the fifth, the fourth, the third, the second and unto the first day of
creation. Blow the trumpet as you go releasing creation from the bondage of
corruption so that all can be assimilated back into the Father, that He may be
all in all (1 Corinthians 15;28) and that all might know Him from the least unto
the greatest (Hebrews 8:11). As
Leviticus 23 continues, these redeemed vessels of silver trumpet a word which
causes events to happen. Hear that! These trumpets CAUSE EVENTS TO HAPPEN. Peter
writes that we can hasten the day of the Lord (2 Peter 3:12), and it is the only
time in Scripture that such is used. What events are caused to come forth by the
distinct sound of the trumpet for the feast of Tabernacles?
(1) a holy convocation (2) a cessation of laborious work (3) an offering
by fire. (1)
a holy convocation
(2) a cessation of laborious work (3) an offering by fire The sound causes a holy convocation. First it causes holiness. The word will not allow any corruption of the adamic man to enter into this realm nor will any of the adamic be recognized. The ministry will be pure; the people will be pure. All things will be done in holiness. Some have said that God is love and Scripture so declares, but we must also know that Holiness precedes God’s love or it would not be pure and undefiled.
What is pure ministry? It is accomplished by people who seek to edify,
build up and esteem one another in Christ. People who extend and openly seek to
express God’s righteous love regardless of differences. People who do not
divide themselves from others of the same faith for any number of reasons. Pure
ministry is inclusive but exclusive of unrighteousness or that which seeks to
establish man in the flesh in the realm of Tabernacles. After a holiness qualification comes a convocation. While in college we would have a convocation every quarter. It was a time to call us away from our normal activity and focus on God. Thiel College, a Lutheran college, hoped to encourage the students at this time to prioritize and rebalance their lives rather than be overcome by the cares of daily living and schooling. It was to be a time of refreshing, refocusing, restoring, etc. Being a typical student in an unsaved condition, I was bored by this “God stuff.” But God! A
convocation is a coming together of a people who share the same purpose, desire,
goal and reason. In fact, they are to have the same mind. The feast of
Tabernacles is a holy convocation of a people who have joined together to
establish Christ, and they can only do that by having the mind of Christ. There
is no carnal mind in this place of Tabernacles. Some will say that we still do
not have the mind of Christ. I would declare that if Paul said the mind of
Christ (Philippians 2:5) could be in you, then he must have had it in order to
declare that it could be. Have
you read 1Corinthians 1:6 lately? It states: “But if we are afflicted,
it is for your comfort and salvation.” Do you have afflictions in your
life? Do you identify those afflictions with something “wrong” in your life
or with the concept that you “have not yet arrived in God?” Note Paul’s
statement carefully. He was afflicted for the comfort of the people. Who was
Paul identifying with? It was with Jesus, wasn’t he? Is our life hid with God
in Christ (Colossians 3:3)? Are we dead? YES. So, your afflictions are because
you are Christ to people. The
people coming to the convocation know that they are in Christ. They like Paul
are walking in Christ, identified with Him. He is being lifted up and seen of
all, because these people are in His nature and reveal it. A carnal religious
person tries to be holy and pure. A truly holy person lives it effortlessly,
because he has entered into a relationship with the Lord that automatically
reveals it. What a difference that is, and it is seen in these of the “holy
convocation.” Is
it a literal convocation? Yes, it was for the people of Israel, but it is a type
and shadow for us of a spiritual reality. I declare to you there is a trumpet
sound in the spiritual heavens that is establishing a holy convocation of saints
gathered together around the throne and altar of God. These people on both sides
of the river are bearing fruit of this coming together as never before.
This day that we live in, which is a person, Christ Jesus the ascended
Lord, is swallowing up every identity that is not His! Death (false identity
with Adam) is being swallowed up by a holy convocation, a coming together of the
Body of Christ in the Spirit of His nature. There were two men in the world –
Adam and Christ. But there is only one now and it is Christ Jesus, who is being
seen and is drawing (dragging) all men unto Himself. With
the sound of the trumpet an end is caused – the end of all laborious work.
This word of Tabernacles removes the self-effort of the adamic man as he tries
to be holy. This sound of Tabernacles reveals that self-effort is no longer
required. The work of the soul (Leviticus 23:30,31) is no longer required. The
man Adam was made a living soul. This effort will not be sufficient, for we are
to be made a life-quickening spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). The
feast of Tabernacles declares to you that the soul is dead and the Spirit reigns
in your life! What a rest occurs! What relaxation is enjoyed! For the grace of
God removes every mountain (Zechariah 4:6-7).
Trained as a salesman, I learned the techniques for sales. My first
efforts were laborious and results were weak. But experience and time added to
maturity created an effortless flow, and the result was that there was no longer
a struggle but a resting in what would occur. There
is a struggle to know that you are in Christ, for the old adamic religious
monster wishes to remain in control. But residing in your new nature, your new
creation man, gradually becomes normal and then the struggle is over, the
laborious work is done. For the struggle is not in becoming like Christ – for
you have been like Him since salvation – the struggle is accepting the truth
of it over the deception of misidentification. The
last of the three results caused by the declaration of the sound of the trumpet
is an offering as by fire. Romans 12:1 states: “I
urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a
living sacrifice.”
I bless the Lord for my friend, Tommy Caldwell, a pastor from Ft. Worth, Texas,
in the deeper things of God. For it was he who preached a sermon in the late
‘70’s that impacted me greatly. I will share a few thoughts with you
concerning it, because it still reverberates within me today. Tradition taught me that what was presented on the altar was the old nature, that adamic man. But God does not want something that is dead in trespasses and sin. God wants a pure and living sacrifice presented. God wants His Son, who is your identity, presented as a living sacrifice. All that you are in Christ is what He wants to be offered. Again it goes back to 2 Corinthians 1:6, doesn’t it? A
living sacrifice is one that is vibrant, full of life, quivering with zest and
desirous of activity. When we are identified with Christ, we are consumed (is
that not what happens with a sacrifice?) with the desire to present Him in all
that we do. Adam would try to win souls, with a soulish effort – perhaps a
door-to-door campaign. Adam is like
a hunter – he “bags one” for the Lord and moves to the next house. But we
are talking about a living sacrifice, not a soulish one. A living sacrifice finds the opportunity to die for the sake of another. Ponder that! A living sacrifice graciously walks the path of life taking every opportunity to become a bridge for someone to walk on into the life of God. A living sacrifice is like a farmer rather than a hunter. A farmer seeks to cultivate an area, takes time to develop a relationship, plants, sows, waters and watches. Living in eternity there is no hurry to see the fruit of his labor, and in like manner does a living sacrifice live in rest, knowing that the fruits will come. A soulish sacrifice is one that is in a hurry, for there is only this life, and effort must be expended. Witnessing in Christ as Christ is much easier. Now
this sacrifice is presented by fire (Leviticus 23:25). The trumpet message
proclaims that there is a sacrifice presented by fire. Read the words carefully.
It does not say that the fire consumes the sacrifice. It says the
offering is presented by fire. Daniel’s friends were an offering
presented by fire! A saint who claims he/she is in the fire is still identifying
with the adamic nature. The Tabernacles identification is “with” the fire.
The three were presented to the King as by fire. The King saw that they
were not consumed. The King of Babylon (type of Adam) realized there were people
in this natural life with a corruptible body who could live as a living
sacrifice. The natural plane could not touch them. What a living sacrifice we
are writing about here! Spiritually
this is saying to us that we are a testimony as we reveal the nature of God in
our situation. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran minister imprisoned for standing
up against the Nazis in World War II and executed by them, proclaimed that we
are to be a testimony to the world of Christ as we immerse ourselves in daily
living, but yet not be of the world. Jesus is not looking for Christians who
separate themselves from the world but for Christians who live abundantly in Him
while passing though this world. Thus, the fire of this world presents them as
living sacrifices, letters read of all men, hand engraved by the daily working
of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Exodus
24:17 reads as follows: “And
to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was
like a consuming fire on the mountain top.”
When Moses was on the mountain of Horeb (meaning desert) also known as
Sinai (meaning thorny), the glory of the Lord was seen. When there is nothing
living, which the desert or wilderness speaks of, then the consuming fire of God
is seen around the throne (Revelation 14:10). It is only on the mountaintop, the
land forsaken by Lot but graciously accepted by Abraham, that the mystery of the
snow is revealed (Job 38:22). Living in the glory of God appears as a consuming
fire to others. That is why the people turned away from Moses, for they could
not look on the glory that is found on the mountaintop with God. Adam wants no
part of the fire, but the true sacrifice, Isaac, worries not about the fire,
embraces the idea of the fire and the offering, and proceeds to the
consummation. For
just as the Cherubim have a flaming sword, with which they remove the flesh
(Genesis 3:24), the fire around the throne (Revelation 14:10) has brimstone for
cleansing so only that which is of God can be seen. What the sons of Israel saw
on the top of the mountain was the capstone, Christ Jesus, the glory of the
Father, who is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24).
For His words are heard from the fire (Deuteronomy 4:36), which means
that life comes forth out of the fire. His people, his messengers are a rhema, a
word read of all men, made manifest by the fire. In
2 Corinthians 1:6 Paul writes that: “If
we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation.”
From this verse we can see that Paul is identifying himself with Christ. His
afflictions are not because of some personal sin, but because the cross effect
is working in his life. He was a
hand written letter of the Father to the saints, or we might say Paul was the
rhema, a word of the moment coming from the Logos, the divine expression (John
1:1-3). He was a rhema in that Paul was a word in season found in a person, a
word but for a moment of seventy years, the life of a man. He was afflicted by
the cross but the life of God was seen in the fire. The fire did not consume
Paul, but made him manifest the life of God, thereby he became a living
sacrifice. Our
God is a consuming fire, Hebrews 12:29 states and He makes His ministers a flame
of fire (Hebrews 1:7, Psalms 104:4). As 1 Kings 18:24 says the real God is “the
God who answers by fire.”
Our God answers by fire, and He makes us who seek Him become ministers, or
flames of fire (Hebrews 1:7). The ministers, His angels, are the eyes of the
Lord. Formed in His likeness, made in His image, they reveal to others His
glorious nature. Three times in the Book of Revelation it states that His eyes
are a flame of fire (1:14, 2:18, 19:12). Daniel’s friends walked, that is,
lived in, moved about in and were at home in the fire. They were thrown in as a
sacrifice, but they revealed that they were part of something bigger than life
itself. They were identified with the fire, God. They were identified with the
fire BEFORE they were thrown into it – otherwise they could not have survived.
They lived in the fire, had their being in the fire, moved in the realm of the
fire before they were thrown into the fire. Hear and understand! They were not
feeling the effects of the fire – only the person who resides in the flesh
feels that. No, they were walking in the One Who is the fire. It is only as we mature in Him and grasp that our life is hid with Christ in God, that we are dead to all things (Colossians 3:3), even though we live in the midst of the death that surrounds us. Many are the saints looking for and desiring a new body. These saints persevere in their efforts to pamper, restore, enhance and deliver this body of death (Romans 7:24). Sow it - don’t save it! Have no respect for it, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). It
was this knowledge that gave Isaac peace while being a sacrifice. The same
knowledge let Daniel’s friends walk victoriously in God. It was the same power
of life that enabled Jesus to withstand the agony of the cross and endure the
trial of the cross. This same God, the one who you are identified with, provides
life on a higher plane that enables this natural life to be a victorious
testimony. The Man, DanielWho is able to be like Daniel? Everyone of us. He was born with the same mortal flesh that you and I have. His birth was not historically recorded neither was it seen as an auspicious occasion, nor was he born in a royal household. He was a youth as Daniel 1:3 states (estimated to be born in 623 BC) of one of the nobles, but not of royalty. We know that Daniel served in the kingdom of Medo-Persia (Daniel 11:1), which is after the fall of Babylon in 539 BC. His had a long life of at least 84 years. His name means to be a judge. This is important, for many times people were brought before the judges (Exodus 21:4,22:8,9, Ezra 7:25), who in the Hebrew were gods or elohim. The leadership was to be looked upon as men giving divine guidance. These Hebrew judges sat in a high place at the gate of the city and dispensed justice. Everyone was to look up to them literally, figuratively and spiritually. They sat in a place of honor, because to arrive at such a place meant that God had dealt with you and your life was a testimony that led you to that position. Daniel was called from birth to be a judge, an elohim, to his people but even more so he was called to be a judge to the house of Babylon. He was to stand in stark contrast to the ways of that kingdom and be a testimony to his own people of the way they could live. They were taken to Babylon in the first place because they didn’t believe they could live a holy life before God. Daniel and his friends were “youths with no defect, good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding, and discerning knowledge and who had the ability to serve in the king’s court”(Daniel 1:4). It almost sounds like a selection the King of Babylon would make as Hitler did too for the idea of select race of people. Or perhaps it sounds like genetic engineering in the same way that we are experiencing today in 2001. Yes, Daniel was chosen by the king of Babylon, but before that he was chosen of God, and that is what made him and his friends attractive to the king of Babylon. Spirituality always attracts those who have none or those who seek to use it for the fallen adamic nature. Even religious purposes can be corrupt – history is filled with corrupt Christian activities as well as pagan ones. The king ordered them to learn the ways of the Babylonians for three years. They were given the best food from the king’s table to eat and drink. But Daniel and the other three determined not to defile themselves with the food of the Babylonians and they ate only that which the Hebrew law allowed. They found favor with the captain of the guard and were able to do so. It states that God gave them grace. Why? Because their heart was after God. It was during this time that God gave them superior wisdom (1:17). Faithfulness to God is rewarded spiritually. Babylon changed the young men’s names because their Hebrew names reflected their God. But it did not change them in the least. A rose by any other name is still as sweet. God cannot be contaminated by anything that Adam does. God remains untouched, unsoiled, unspoiled. Teflon is a chemical substance that permits nothing to cling or stick to it. It is used in many pots and pans. God, like Teflon, cannot be attached to anything of the lower nature. Jesus stated that Satan came and could not find anything in Him (John14:30). Daniel 2:46-48 reveals that Nebuchadnezzar recognizes God as God. The revelation of God in Daniel and the others caused judgment – Nebuchadnezzar had to live like an animal for seven years. The revelation of God in Daniel and the others caused the salvation of Nebuchadnezzar also, for he finally recognized God as God. The
Day of Atonement “On
the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy
convocation for you and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by
fire to the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:27)
Here again we note that the feast of Tabernacles’ second part, the Day
of Atonement, is very similar to the first part of Tabernacles, the Blowing of
Trumpets. There is convocation and there is an offering as by fire.
I might add that on Passover and Pentecost there are grain offerings and
animal sacrifices. But there is no offering as by fire like there is here. Fire
is the nature of God. Those that enter this realm are to partake of His nature. Ten is the number of personal testing in the Scriptures. It is a time to test your ability. Ten virgins were tested, but five were found prepared. Many are the Scriptures that show it is a time to see what a person is truly made of. It is a test to see if you walk in the seventh month. Seven is the number of rest. Does your walk rest in the Lord or do you fret over whether you are walking in the Lord? Those in Tabernacles know that they are completely born from above (1 John 3:9, 5:18) and walk in the knowledge of who they are, even as Isaac did.
Many quote the need to be born again (John 3:3) but fail to see that the
verse says being born again only enables you to see
the kingdom of God. The following verses state that you must be born of
the water (the Holy Spirit, Pentecost) and the Spirit (Tabernacles) to enter
the kingdom of God. Three experiences are revealed here. The words
“see” and “enter” are not exclusive but are ascending words in one’s
walk with God bringing the ultimate fulfillment of Tabernacles of being one with
God.
Now
the word “atonement” does not mean “at – one – ment” as some would
preach. Those who preach such do not know the Greek nor the true understanding
of the atonement, and I speak truly here regardless of what others may say. It
does not mean that God and man become one. Let me explain.
The first time that the word “atonement” is used is in Genesis 6:14.
This is where the ark is covered inside and out with pitch. The word “pitch”
is the same word that means atonement in Leviticus. The word is kaphar in
Hebrew and it means “to expiate, to make reconciliation, to cancel. It carries
the sense of cleansing, disannulling, forgiving, pacifying, purging, and putting
off. It denotes a material transaction or ‘ransoming’ procedure.” (Hebrew
Greek Key Study Bible, page 1736). Nowhere does it imply the making of two
things one. It clearly shows that what is offered removes that hindrance (sin)
so that another can enter into or return to the place desired. The offense must
be removed and the atonement does that. The atonement cleanses that which is
offensive so that the offering is acceptable. Creation groans for the
manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:19) to bring about the restoration of
all things (Acts 3:21). In
Leviticus 16 the word “atonement” is used 22 times (the number of the
fullness of light) whether translated as “atonement” or “mercy seat.”
Forgiveness of sin occurs at the Brazen Altar, outside in the courtyard of the
Tabernacle. But atonement permits the individual to come into the Holy of Holies
where the Mercy Seat is.
It is the one day of the year that the blood of the outer court sacrifice
is brought into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the Mercy Seat. Jesus
offered His blood once and for all (doing away with the yearly sacrifice) before
the Lord. Because
of His work, His propitiation, we can go into the Holy of Holies. This
transpires within us, and we sit down on His throne even as He sat down with the
Father on His throne, which is within us. When the offense is removed, then we
can begin identification with Him. Adam consciousness is removed and we now
identify with our Lord. Only three times is “atonement” used in the New
Testament (Romans 5:11, 2 Corinthians 5:18,19) and there it means to make an
exchange. It is similar to the idea of buying a suit for $100. The exchange is
that I pay $100 to get the suit. Something of equal value is exchanged. Jesus
was used and was considered equal in value for the whole world. His death
removed the cost of sin, which allows the reconciliation of all things. If
one does not humble his soul in this second step of the feast of Tabernacles,
then the soul shall be cut off as Leviticus 23:29 states. This means the
individual should bow down, be weakened (have a thorn in the flesh, even as Paul
did). It is required that if we are following the Lord at this time, meaning
having advanced into the deeper relationship with God, we must press through our
Gethsemane experience. Some will stop short of that experience. Matthew
8:12 mentions that the children of the kingdom shall be cast out where there is
gnashing of teeth. Matthew 22:13 speaks of the marriage feast and how the one
who found his way in unworthily is thrown out where there is gnashing of teeth.
This marriage feast occurs for those who have pressed through the Gethsemane
experience. Those who try to by pass it are cast further out than those who do
not know the Lord at all, because they had tasted of the heavenly realm and
thereafter fell, fulfilling the verses of Hebrews 6:4-5. While this is a
temporary setback in the long-term plan of the ages for these people, they shall
in due time according to other Scriptures be restored. Therefore it is no light thing to enter into Tabernacles. The cost must be counted and the reality of the experience must be weighed and desired. The Day of Atonement opens the door for us to enter into the heavenly relationship, oneness with the Father. Caution must be exercised. A wise builder counts the cost before building the house. Such a philosophy must also be used here. “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To
wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation.”
2Corinthians 5:18-19 The Day of Atonement, because of Jesus, gives us the ministry of reconciliation. It is not a time to sit back and relax, basking in the glow of the relationship we have with Christ, as if we were on a vacation. No, it is a time where we rest in Christ Jesus’ nature, since we are no longer alive in self and allow Him to proceed through us producing the desired effect of the ministry of reconciliation. We become Who He is and are the visible expression of one reconciled, so that we might present the opportunity to all to be reconciled.
You
might notice that I used the words “visible expression.” If you do some
research you will see in John 1:1 the word “word.” In the Greek it is the
word logos. (see our message on the Logos). Jesus was the Logos of God,
or as the Greek means: “the divine expression made visible.” This same word
“logos” is used here in 2 Corinthians 5:19 “…committed unto us the
word of reconciliation.” We are to be the divine expression in
the earth of the Day of Atonement. Jesus was the divine expression of that Day
to all who could see, and we are to follow in His footsteps.
Leviticus 23:30 tells us on this day there is to be no servile work. How
often the church has tried to do something for God. This feast removes
self-effort in the Christian walk. Some of you are already experiencing
that…it is the first part of this feast. Now progress to the next part…know
that you are Who He is in this world. No longer a servant who does the
Master’s bidding but knows nothing of the purpose or outcome, you now are one
with Him and thereby move as the Master in all that you do. There is to be a
cessation from all work.
The
priest wore linen garments rather than wool. The type and shadow is that wool
represents effort and work with corresponding sweat. But linen is a finished
fabric that keeps the body cool and free from sweat – yet the body still
accomplishes the task at hand. We shall do exploits for Him but in linen
garments, free of the uncrucified life, free of the life of the flesh and
self-effort. We abound in the strength of Who He is, because Adam is dead and
the King reigns.
Leviticus 23:31 states that the Day of Atonement is to be in all our “dwelling
places.” With a fist pounding on the table I say “YES!!” My body,
your body, everyone’s body which is the temple of God, the habitation of the
Most High (John 14:23), will reveal the Day of Atonement in His dwelling places,
His purchased possessions, which we are.
Leviticus 23:32 states that it is to be a Sabbath, a seventh day, a
COMPLETE rest for us! It is the very day that Adam was to have, but iniquity was
found in him. It shall not be found in us! For our life is hid with God in
Christ (Colossians 3:3). We are to take the seventh day back through the sixth,
fifth, fourth, third, second and into the first day. Restoring it all back to
the Father, because we walk in the victory of a complete rest of the Day of
Atonement. |
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