PROGRESSION

From Passover, To Pentecost,

To Tabernacles

 "We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts."  2 Peter 1:19

But now, on to the third major feast, called Ingathering, or TABERNACLES.  As stated earlier, if the feasts are prophetic, we do well to take heed to their message and to open our hearts to that progression of experience referred to as "the day dawning and the day star arising in our hearts."    (2 Peter 1:19)  We have seen that the truths of Passover correspond to "the day dawning" or to the birthing of life.  We shall now see that the truths of the Feast of Tabernacles correspond to "the day star arising in your hearts," or to a FULNESS OF LIFE.  I trust we shall have an ear to hear and an awakened understanding that there is something for us beyond salvation and the infilling of the Spirit.

 At this juncture, many of you will have a choice to make.  Will you stop with the experience of salvation and settle in the camp of the Fundamentalists?  Will you build your final tabernacle around the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit and settle in the realm of the Pentecostals?  Or, will you open your heart to the full harvest of His life in your being and embrace by faith and obedience the challenges of the FEAST OF TABERNACLES?  God will most certainly have a company of people in the earth who will go on to appropriate the fulness of His life and purpose.  Will you be a part of that company?

 We proceed with a deep conviction that if the first two major Old Testament feasts were the prophetic of New Testament experience, the third one is also.  We proceed also with fear and trembling, for we feel we have only a small measure of insight and revelation, and what we have reflects the imperfections of our in-part knowledge and understanding.  Yet, we offer what we have to the hands of the Master that it may feed, challenge and inspire.  Much, much more will follow as we hold these matters before Him and allow Him to speak further.

OF HARVEST

 First, let us understand that I shall use the term "Feast of Tabernacles" to include all three of the events held in the seventh month of the Hebrew religious calendar, i.e.  (1) the Blowing of Trumpets on the first day of the month (Numbers 29:1-6; Leviticus 23:24);  (2) the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of the month (Leviticus 16 and Leviticus 23: 26-32), and (3) the Feast of Booths, held for seven days from the 15th day to the 21st day of the month (Leviticus 23: 33-44;  Nehemiah 8:16-18).

 This third major feast was to be held at the END of the (agricultural) year, at the completion of harvest.  (Exodus 23:16; 34:22) O, thank God, there is an objective to His workings.  There is a goal that we can reach.  There is a "mark" that we can press toward.  In God's purpose, there is the "perfect day" or the "day of Christ."  Man so often rejoices in glorious beginnings and then builds tabernacles, and either stands still or moves about in circles.  Passover and Pentecost are wonderful and not to be despised, but even spectacular "Passover testimonies" get stale with the passing time, and "Pentecostal experiences" lose that touch of life and glory.  Even as Israel encompassed the mount in the wilderness, the church through much of her history has moved in a circular path from Passover to Pentecost to wilderness wanderings.  Yet, the unfolding purpose of God has always been linear in nature, even as a straight path leading to an eventual consumation.  Jesus said, "...Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected."  (Luke 13:32)  That third day represented the completion of all that the Father sent Him to do.  As the time approached, and as He became increasingly gripped by a knowledge of the Father's will, Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.  In obedience, He carried His cross outside the city gates and from Calvary's cross cried, "It is finished!"  Thank God that we, too, have something glorious to hope for, the completion of His work in us, and a grand climax to the ages!

 At the celebration of Tabernacles, not only had the barley and wheat been harvested, but also all other grains, the fruit of trees, the olives, the grapes, all that could possibly serve as food and drink.  The harvest was complete.  "...the Lord thy God shall bless thee in ALL THINE INCREASE, and in ALL THE WORKS OF THINE HANDS, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice."  (Deuteronomy 16:15b)  Thus, this feast speaks to us of the FULNESS OF GOD, and therein lies the challenge to move on "unto the measure of the stature of the FULNESS OF CHRIST."  (Ephesians 4:13)  Can we believe God for a full and complete appropriation of the Christ-life and the Christ-character?  Can we believe that we can be conformed to the image of Christ?  (Romans 8:29)  O, beloved, whereas the Passover realities represent out initial experiences as babes in Christ and the Pentecostal experience adds a further measure of His Spirit, the Feast of Tabernacles speaks to us of a completed harvest, a fulness in Christ, full-growth or maturity in Him!

  In Hebrews 6:1 we are exhorted to leave the principles of the doctrines of Christ and to go on unto PERFECTION (maturity and the fulfillment of the divine purpose).  Thank God for good foundations, and let us not be deceived into thinking we can build anything eternal on improper foundations, but surely there must come a time when foundations have been laid and completed.  (1 Corinthians 3:10)  Foundations, though extremely vital, do not represent the ultimate goal.  Their purpose is to make possible the erection of a spiritual superstructure.  God wants to complete His building in this hour.  He wishes to add the gold, silver, and precious stones so that His church will take on a new and greater dimension of glory.  By His Spirit, God is working to knit together the individual members of the body of Christ so that it can become the corporate habitation for the fulness of His Son.  Ephesians 2:21,22 is not a reference to the indwelling of the Spirit in the individual believer, but rather, speaks of a corporate indwelling of the fulness of God in the church which is the body of Christ.  (Ephesians 1:23)

  It is not by chance that Solomon's magnificent temple was completed and ready to receive the ark of the covenant in the SEVENTH MONTH of the year.  (2 Chronicles 5:3)  This was the month for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, and what great rejoicing and meaning would be attached to this feast!  At last, a permanent habitation had been secured for the Lord of Hosts to dwell in.  God was delighted with it, and caused it to be filled with a cloud of glory.  It was a place where His name could dwell and from whence His power and glory could be manifest to the ends of the earth.  At its dedication, Solomon offered up 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep as sacrifices unto the Lord, and in approval, the fire of the Lord consumed them!  Those who in this hour are being stirred beyond the experiences of Pentecost are catching a vision of the "perfect (corporate) man" of Ephesians 4:13.  They are moving beyond the realm of individualistic experience and are allowing the Lord to work in a corporate sense.  Deep commitments are being made to local expressions of the body of Christ, and individual "stones" are allowing the binding power of love and peace to join them  together with other parts.

  Do you notice in Hebrews 6:1,2 that the foundation truths and experiences here mentioned represent the basic, individualistic experiences of Passover and Pentecost?  Are not repentance, faith toward God, resurrection of the dead, eternal judgment, and water baptism truths of the Passover feast?  Are not the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the laying on of hands (Holy Spirit impartation of various sorts) experiences symbolized by the feast of Pentecost?  Indeed they are.  Thus the challenge to "go on unto perfection" becomes a challenge to go on beyond the basic individualistic experiences of Passover and Pentecost unto the deeper and more corporate dealings represented by the Feast of Tabernacles.

 Let us consider briefly the three compartments of the Old Testament tabernacle, also called the tabernacle of Moses.  Its three divisions were the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.  The Outer Court was the place of sacrifice, where the animals were killed and the blood was shed.  It was there that the problems of sin were dealt with.  Thus, there appears to be a correspondence between the realm of the Outer Court and the realm of the Passover Feast.  Both speak to us of having our sins forgiven and experiencing initial salvation.

 Also, there appears to be a parallel between the Holy Place and the Feast of Pentecost.  The Holy Place contained the table of shewbread, speaking of the ministry of the Word, or bread of life; the golden candlestick, speaking of illumination and revelation; and the altar of incense, speaking of worship and prayer.  All of these are ministries performed by the Holy Spirit, thus suggesting that the Holy Place corresponds to ministry and experience that fulfills the Feast of Pentecost.

Now, we should certainly advocate a progression in the Christian life from the realm of the Outer Court to the realm of the Holy Place.  We cannot envision the believer remaining in a dimension where needs are met and blessing given.  There awaits for him a place of service, where he becomes an able minister through the anointing and empowering of the Holy Spirit.  The blessings of God are to flow, not just TO HIM, but THROUGH HIM unto others.

 We are again faced with a challenge, for if the above progression is true, then there must also be a progression from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies.  Hebrews 6:19 indicates that the hope of the believer not only serves as an anchor to the soul, but enters into "that within the veil".  The next verse reveals that Christ entered in as a FORERUNNER, indicating that others would follow.  Indeed, we are to follow, not just in the sense of appropriating eternal redemption, but in the sense of experientially coming to know God, our Father, in vital and intimate relationship.  We say this because the Holy of Holies is the place of His unrestricted immediate presence.  It is the place in which God communed with Moses from off the Mercy Seat.  For us, it is a dimension of life in the Spirit where an intimate Father-son relationship becomes a genuine reality.  Thus we may conclude that the Outer Court is the place of the Son, the Holy Place is the realm of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy of Holies is the dimension of the Father.

 Let us pursue this a step further.  Shallow Christianity speaks much about our getting to Heaven, but  Jesus spoke much more about getting us to the Father than about getting us to Heaven.  He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh UNTO THE FATHER, but by Me." (John 14:6)  We miss the fullness of His thought when we quote only half of this verse, and we certainly err when we imply that He was talking about Heaven.

 We see, therefore, that another aspect of moving beyond Pentecost unto the fulfillment of Tabernacles is to press into a KNOWLEDGE OF THE FATHER.  It is to find a place of intimacy in the presence of God.  Entering in beyond the veil means the glorious reality of fully restored fellowship.  In John 1:3, the invitation is earnestly given:  "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is WITH THE FATHER and WITH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST".

We have seen that both the Feast of Pentecost and the Holy Place in the tabernacle speak to us of the "realm of the Spirit".  This realm, though glorious to a degree, and used of God to meet a need in His church at certain levels of maturity, is, nonetheless, not without its limitations.  It is the realm of the ministry gifts (Ephesians 4:8, 11) and the spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:8-10).  We have seen apostles and prophets ministering in their "office", and we have seen the members of the church ministering in the gifts of the Spirit via a special impartation of grace.  But in each of these dimensions of ministry there is to be a development unto a HIGHER ORDER.  The ministry gifts were given, "TILL, we all (including apostles, prophets, etc.) come unto a PERFECT (fullgrown) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ".  (Ephesians 4:13)  The higher order of which I speak is an order of MATURE SONSHIP, an order of perfected relationship with the Father.  Jesus Christ, the Pattern Son, unto whose stature we are to come, did not minister from an apostolic or prophetic "office", nor did He function by gifts of the Spirit.  His ministry, full, complete, and glorious, issued out from a RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER.

Certainly the gifts, or special graces and endowments, are needed by both the individual believer and by the church in their immature stages.  God, in His mercy, will not leave us without a revelation of His will or without imparting His life unto us.  But, this may be called an "in part" realm (I Corinthians 13:9), usually lacking in maturity and in the vital element of intimate Father-son relationship.  I Corinthians 13:10-12 speaks to us of a HIGHER ORDER, an order which we must believe God for IN THIS LIFE, and not in the hereafter.  In this, the "in-part" is eclipsed by "that which is perfect"; "children" grow up to become "[young]men"; [men grow up to become "fathers"];and our "seeing through a glass darkly" is replaced by an intimate, "face-to-face" relationship.  O, no, brethren, let us not rob the believer of the hope of growing up or of the possibility of coming to know God in a more intimate way!

This higher order of which I speak may be termed a realm of "inwrought fulness".  In progressing to this higher stage of development, a member who has the gift of the word of wisdom evolves spiritually into a "wise man".  Although the early Corinthian church was endowed with gifts, and probably had someone with the gift of the word of wisdom, they were found quarreling among themselves and unable to resolve differences by proper spiritual judgment.  Paul, in rebuking them, asked this question:  "Is it so that there is not a WISE MAN among you? "(I Corinthians 6:5)  Likewise, a member with the gift of the Word of Knowledge gradually acquires a vast reservoir of spiritual knowledge until he is described as being "filled with all knowledge". (Romans 15:14)  The person with a gift of prophecy can gradually acquire a "prophetic nature", whereby the "Spirit of prophecy" attends practically everything he says. (Revelation 19:10)  The person with the gift of faith is limited to the exercise of faith on certain special occasions when he can "turn his gift loose" but a higher order is that of "living by the faith of the Son of God" (Galatians 2:20) whereby nothing can be done or is done without the exercise of a living faith.  This same line of thought can be applied to all the gifts, and gives us some insight into how we can grow from the "in part" realm of children unto the dimension of "fulness" awaiting full-grown men.

The Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles had its climax in the seven-day Feast of Booths, held from the 15th to the 21st day of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:39-44).  A consideration of this feast will serve to reinforce the truth of intimate Father-son relationship.  At that time, the Israelites were to leave their land and their homes and their normal every-day life style and "go up" to Jerusalem to appear before the Lord (Exodus 34:24).  For years, the Lord has been saying to His people, "Come up" or "Go up".  So very often, it is not the gross sins of the flesh that prevent a "100-fold" harvest, but it is the natural, earthly, LEGITIMATE things of life to which we are in bondage.  Jesus said that the seed which fell on thorny ground represents those who have heard the Word, but who are choked with CARES and RICHES and PLEASURES of this life, and therefore BRING NO FRUIT UNTO PERFECTION (Luke 8:14).  He predicted that as it was in the days of Lot, so it would be in the end of this age.  They ate and drank, they bought and sold, they planted and builded, they married and gave in marriage - all seemingly needful and sinless activity.  But they were so overly-involved in this mere earthly, natural living, that their spiritual senses were deadened.

Those who will go on in this day unto reaping a fulness of life in God will clearly hear the call to "rise up and come away" and they shall not be over-charged with cares and with worries.  It is significant that God promised His people that if they, in obedience, would ascend to Jerusalem and keep the feast, no man would bother their houses and lands.  He would take care of them (Exodus 34:24).  It is the same principle that Jesus gave unto those who would attain [in reality and experientially] the kingdom, "Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you".  Indeed, we are to take no thought for our natural lives, but when it comes to SPIRITUAL  things, we are to press in WITH VIOLENCE!

Upon their arrival in the vicinity of Jerusalem, the Israelites were to build small [SEPARATE AND INDIVIDUAL] dwellings for themselves from the leafy boughs of various trees.  They were to dwell in these "booths" for seven days.  INDIVIDUALLY, they were to present themselves unto the Lord, seeking His Face and waiting on Him with rejoicing.  It was a time when the INDIVIDUAL heart could be exercised before God IN A VERY INTIMATE [PRIVATE]WAY.  This again speaks to us of the many maturing [sons and daughters] in this day who are seeking the Father's face, deeply moved by the Spirit of the Son which cries, "Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6).  Yes, we which have believed, we which have the earnest ["down-payment"] of the Spirit, find within a groan for the adoption (Gr. "huiothesia") or "son placement", that is, AN INTIMATE ASSOCIATION with the Father in the establishment of His eternal purpose.  O, beloved, let us lay aside every weight, every sin, every improper tie to the earthlies, and let us ascend to Jerusalem.  May the one prevailing cry of our hearts in this hour be, "That I may KNOW Him"!

by Sergio Valori