The dwelling of God in His elect among the nations
The feast of Tabernacles portrays the dwelling of God in His elect among the nations. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: (Leviticus 23:42) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2)
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16) . . . Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, . . . . (Revelation 21:3)
The concept of the Levitical feast of Tabernacles is that of the Lord and His chosen people, His priests and servants, dwelling together in booths.
Here is the central idea and purpose of God’s eternal plan. God has called out to Himself a chosen nation, a royal priesthood, from among the peoples of the earth. As soon as they are called out, all natural distinctions cease. There is neither Jew nor Greek, master nor slave. From henceforth they are the Temple of God, the Body of Christ.
They are a firstfruits to God from among mankind. They are God’s inheritance and belong to Him in a unique way.
As soon as the members of the Body of Christ have been prepared, God and Christ will enter Their Tabernacle. A firstfruits of the Church (a firstfruits of the firstfruits) will be ready at the coming of the Lord. The labours and events of the thousand-year Kingdom Age must transpire before the entire Church has been reaped to the Lord, as we understand the program of redemption.
When the work has been completed, the omega has been attained, God and Christ will find rest in Their eternal Tabernacle. As soon as that is true, the Tabernacle of God, which is the perfected Church, the new Jerusalem, will come down from the new heaven and dwell among the nations of saved peoples of the earth.
The Church has not been prepared in order to live in self-contained bliss. The members of the Church have been created in such a manner that they cannot find rest or fulfilment until they lose their life in God, and then in other people as God flows through them. This is their eternal destiny—to be the extension of God’s Glory and Presence among His creatures, to be the Tabernacle of God dwelling among people.
The voice speaks from the new heaven: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
This is the mystery of the Gospel—Christ in us. It is the central, the most significant revelation and truth of the Scriptures. The greatest word in the Scripture is, "Abide in me, and I in you." Here is the supreme goal of Divine love, and it is proclaimed with a "great voice."
The construction of the house of God is the central topic of the Word of God.
The reason for the chaos that exists in the world today is that the peoples of the earth, including the Christians, are attempting to solve the problems of mankind apart from union with God through Christ.
God made man in His image, male and female, and gave man both dominion and fruitfulness. In addition, God has given us several thousand years in order to demonstrate to us, and also to the creatures of the spirit realms, that image, fruitfulness, and dominion apart from union with Himself through Christ is folly. Every effort will produce desolation, pain, confusion, and other evil conditions.
God must be All in all. The Kingdom of God is the rule of God, the performing of His will in the earth. And when all things shall be subdued unto him [Christ], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him[the Father] that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (I Corinthians 15:28)
To our way of thinking, one of the most destructive of the doctrines of Christianity prevalent in our time is the concept that the Divine redemption primarily is a Barabbas-type release in which we are released to pursue our own ways while Christ staggers forward to Calvary under the timbers of the cross, blinded by His blood and tears.
Those who are so careful to point out that grace is God’s riches given us at Christ’s expense are not always equally careful to remind us that if we would be a disciple of the Lord we must take up our cross and follow Christ. Any type of response on our part to the gift of God, they teach, is "law," and "legalism," and "works," and must be rejected immediately.
Some Christian believers are fanatical in their insistence that the Christian must not lift a finger in order to participate in the plan of salvation. We are to believe the facts presented in the New Testament and confess them to be true, and that absolutely is all we are to do. Having done this we can never be lost to God’s purposes. Indeed, they are the blind of the blind!
According to these interpreters of the Apostle Paul, Jesus must bear the cross alone while all the world goes free. This teaching is cruel and self-cantered. If such lawless grace actually is true doctrine from the Lord, then the present author should not attempt to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom because he is greatly deluded.
We do not believe we are deluded. We believe the central purpose of God is the construction of an eternal Temple, a tabernacle in which God and the Lamb can settle down to rest. God and Christ will rule and bless the whole universe of creatures through Their eternal house.
Rather than setting us free to do as we will, the Divine purpose and program is bringing us each day, moment by moment, into the likeness of the image of the Lord Jesus and into the likeness of His will. We are coming to know the power of His resurrection and are sharing His sufferings.
Little by little our ability to serve God in our own wisdom and strength is diminished and in its place are being created the wisdom and strength of the Lord Jesus Christ. No longer are we merely good men and women seeking God. We are becoming the expression of the Lord God of Heaven.
God through Christ through us is communicating successfully, in some instances, with the peoples of the earth. This is the new covenant of God with mankind. Christ—Head and Body—is the covenant of God with man. The priesthood is the covenant. The holy city is the law of God brought to its highest form. This is the Kingdom of God.
Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; (Isaiah 49:8)
"I will preserve you and give you for a covenant of the people"!
One day the Lord spoke to us, we believe. He said: "I did not come to set men free on their own terms. I came to make them My possession."
Was this the Lord Jesus speaking? Is it a fact that God set the heroes of faith free to become successful in the world? Or did He bind them to Himself so they became His bond slaves?
Does Christ set us free to be our own master or does He make us His slave to do His bidding without question? Is God primarily interested in setting us free from our bondages and problems or is He primarily interested in using us for His own desires? What is your opinion?
Our decision makes a practical difference in our Christian walk.
Haggai, a prophet of the restoration, proclaims the choice that the present writer has made concerning the issue of "freedom" or "bondage":
Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. (Haggai 1:8,9)
"Build the house"! "I will take pleasure in it." "I will be glorified."
The only acceptable road to righteousness, peace, and joy, and to material prosperity as well, is to lose ourselves in Christ’s purposes and, as He leads, in devoted service to others. Whoever attempts to preserve his life—even by using the promises of God—will eventually lose his life. He who loses his life in Christ truly will find it, and his life will be multiplied like the Seed of Abraham.