'Revival, spiritual warfare, and the feast of Tabernacles'

There are at least five comings of the Lord taught in the Scriptures:

The life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.
The coming of Christ in the revival power of the former and latter rain (Hosea 6:3).
His coming to purify His Church, the royal priesthood (Malachi 3:1-3).
The coming of the Lord to the obedient saint in fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles (John 14:23).
The worldwide revelation of Christ, His coming, His Presence, as presented in Matthew, 24; I Corinthians, 15; First and Second Thessalonians; Revelation 1:7; and similar passages.

The Old Testament speaks several times of the Lord coming with His army to destroy sin from the earth (Joel 2:11; Habakkuk, Chapter Three; and so forth). According to our understanding, the coming of the Lord with His army will take place at the worldwide revelation of Christ and His saints.

To our knowledge, no other coming or Presence of Christ is presented in the Old Testament Scriptures. There is no prophecy, type, or express statement that clearly supports a "rapture" of believers prior to the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven.

Perhaps the two most important comings are the coming of the Lord to the obedient saint in fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles, and the worldwide revelation of Christ. If it is true that these two major comings of Christ will take place in the last days, the first to establish the inner kingdom and the second to establish the outer kingdom (the Lord Himself being revealed to the world at the second coming), what is the relationship between these two comings? When will they take place with respect to each other?

According to our understanding, the spiritual fulfillment of Tabernacles, which is celebrated after Pentecost (Deuteronomy 16:16), has commenced already.

First must come salvation, then the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and after that the "blowing of the trumpet" of spiritual warfare. The trumpet of God is sounding in the spirit realm today warning us not to camp at Pentecost but to resume our march toward the land of promise.

There is a deep stirring of the Spirit today. Are you hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches? Are you hungry for more of God?

After Trumpets comes the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. This also is upon us in the present hour.

The Day of Atonement is the period when we Christians are reconciled to God, when we are married to the Lamb. This is why there now is such a emphasis onunion with God through Christ, as distinguished from the customary attempt to "get things from God," to persuade God to do what we desire.

During the Day of Atonement, the Day of Reconciliation, the Day of union, God deals with us concerning the sin in our life and our self-seeking.

We overcome sinful practices when we confess our sins and repent of them, allowing the Holy Spirit to put to death the deeds of our body.

It is God Himself who enables us to conquer our self-seeking and self-love by requiring of us that we abide patiently throughout numerous testings and frustrations. We are required to do what is disagreeable to us. We are denied what we fervently desire.

Some Christians quit at this point and will not walk any further with God.

Every member of Christ’s army, His "mighty men," must be called, chosen, and then proven to be faithful beyond question.

If we would become a part of the eternal Temple of God, a room in God’s house, we must respond to the trumpet that is summoning us to spiritual battle. Also, we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit in putting to death the lusts of our flesh.

After that, we are to take up our cross and follow Christ wherever He leads us.
If we will obey Christ patiently in the path of discipleship in which he leads us, there is glory beyond measure awaiting us.

The Prophets of the Old Testament appear to indicate that just before Christ appears in the Day of the Lord, and building up to and climaxing in that day, the Lord God will enter His Temple.

In the days of Noah, the fountains of the deep were broken up before the windows of the heavens were opened. The water came from beneath before it came from above.

The Old Testament Prophets speak of a great light coming upon the Church, upon the Israel of God, at the time that the greatest darkness of all has covered the earth (Isaiah 60:1,2).

It is our understanding that this light will come upon the Church just before Christ appears in the heavens and that the Antichrist will be helpless before it. The nations of the earth will come streaming to God’s light in the saints, and then Christ will descend from above, destroying Antichrist and his armies.

The Day of the Lord will result in salvation and blessing for the obedient of the earth, and destruction for the sinful and rebellious. The Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings for those who fear the Lord, but the wicked will be crushed under foot. Glory for the upright, but fearfulness will surprise the hypocrites.

Then will God’s creation break forth into singing and the righteous nations will enter the Kingdom prepared for them from the creation of the world. Antichrist and the spirit of religious delusion will be hurled alive into the Lake of Fire, while Satan is chained by a single angel and dropped into the bottomless pit.

Joel, the Prophet of Pentecost, depicted the circumstances attending the return of Christ to the earth.

The Lord also shall roar out of Zion [the Body of Christ; the Temple of God], and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:16)

Notice the statement of the Lord Jesus concerning "that day." When the prophets spoke of "that day," "in that day," they meant the Day of the Lord.

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)

The greatest revival set forth in the Scriptures, the revival that we believe will result from God and Christ entering the unified and mature Body of Christ in fulfillment of the Levitical feast of Tabernacles, is described in the sixtieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah:

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. (Isaiah 60:1)

Notice how Isaiah, Chapter 60 corresponds to John 17:22:

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

"The glory of the Lord is risen on thee." "The glory that Thou gavest Me I have given them."

Without doubt, Isaiah 60:1 and John 17:22 are referring to the same event.

When will this marvelous outpouring of the Spirit of God take place?

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. (Isaiah 60:2)

At the time of worldwide darkness, the period when the man of sin rules the world and all hope seems gone, Christ suddenly will enter His Temple, His Body, His Church.

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