The completion of God’s purpose
The feast of Tabernacles signifies the completion of God’s purpose. . . . and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. (Exodus 23:16)
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)
And he said unto me, It is done.... (Revelation 21:6) By the time of the feast of Tabernacles, all that had been sown by the Israelites had been reaped and processed. Their crops included nuts, citrus fruits, barley, wheat, olives, grapes, cucumbers, melons, and other vegetables.
The concept that there is a mark, an omega, a perfection and completion of the work of God, is of the greatest practical importance to us. If we do not hold this concept the Christian redemption is viewed as a never-ending struggle in which we try to improve but, more often than not, fall short of our expectations.
The Christian redemption is not like that. It is a masterpiece envisioned by a peerless Artist, performed by a master Craftsman.
The Bride, the Body of Christ, the Church, the new Jerusalem, is a "prepared" city. God has done the preparing. God possesses the knowledge, the wisdom, and the power to prepare perfectly the Wife of the Lamb, the counterpart of His Son, Christ.
The holy city is not the imperfect work of religious man. The holy city is the workmanship of the Almighty God of Heaven. There is not one flaw, one blemish, one spot, one wrinkle, in the new Jerusalem. The Tabernacle of God is perfect. It is prepared. It is completed to God’s satisfaction.
So great is the foreknowledge and power of God that every aspect of the Bride of the Lamb was finished before the foundation of the world. When God spoke the universe into existence in six days He merely was bringing into visible form the marvellous glory He had conceived in His own will and purpose.
The new heaven and earth already has been completed, in this sense. Now it is being worked out in the dimension of time. God is resting. Christ is resting as God is bringing His enemies under His feet. We who believe in the wisdom and power of God are resting in Christ in God. We are not endeavouring to do something in our own wisdom and strength. We are resting in the completed work of God.
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. (Hebrews 4:3)
When God speaks a fact into existence in the spirit realm it already has been accomplished, even though we do not see it in existence in the physical realm.
John could witness the new Jerusalem descending from God out of heaven because that glorious event already has been established as reality in the spirit realm. It is finished as far as the work of redemption is concerned. God has planted good seed, the Seed of His Son, Christ, in the world. The enemy, Satan, has planted the seed of wickedness.
Both of these seeds have been growing during the past several thousand years. They have been growing side by side and they will come to maturity side by side.
At the end of the present age the messengers of God will come into the field where the mature plants are waiting to be harvested. They will cut down the wicked plants and gather them in bundles to be burned. Then the Lord’s planting will be revealed, the true Seed that God has blessed.
The nations of the earth are in confusion today. There are two different "day stars" professing to be bearing witness of the true Kingdom of God. One of these day stars is Satan. The other is the Lord Jesus Christ.
The two seeds are growing in the hearts of men. Each seed is claiming the world for its possession. Only one of the seeds is of God and will lead to glory. The other is enticing men and women into the Lake of Fire.
God possesses more patience than any man. He is permitting the insane howling and posturing of the wicked to continue in the earth while the planting of the Lord is coming to maturity.
All is proceeding under the control of the God of Heaven. God is waiting until the seed rain and the harvest rain have fallen and the sun of persecution and tribulation has brought the heads of wheat to maturity.
One day soon the heart of the wicked will be revealed. The righteous will abide in joy and glory while the wicked are separated from among the righteous and dealt with according to their wickedness. The day of harvest will bring every deed, every word, and every imagination to the fullness of maturity so each element can be seen and understood clearly.
What has been whispered in the ear will be announced on the housetops. What has been determined in secret councils will be proclaimed before the heavens and the earth. The Day will declare it.
Then the righteous will be glorified in the glory of their Father.
The wicked will gnash their teeth as they are driven into outer darkness. They have preferred to walk in darkness without God, and an abundance of darkness will be given them.
Harvest time is coming.
One day we will hear our God proclaim: "It is done."
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 54:1)
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61:3)
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. (James 5:7)
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11)
The coming down from God of the new Jerusalem is the springing forth of righteousness and praise before all the nations.