|
|
| |
IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE
 |
The Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, speaks to believers, both Jews and Gentiles, of our eternal dwelling with God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, promised to all who are redeemed by the Blood of Yeshua, Jesus. Tabernacles says to us, “ I AM God with you now, and I AM God with you forever and ever throughout all of eternity. I AM your God and you are My people, I will be with you and I will be your God.”
After the harvest from your threshing floor and your vineyards, you shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for seven days. (Deuteronomy 16:13)
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 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.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:3-5
This passage in Revelation describes the concluding fulfillment of Tabernacles. In order for the Feast of Tabernacles to be fully celebrated, Messiah Yeshua, Jesus initiated the feast by His coming to earth to dwell or tabernacle with us, so that He could go to the Cross to redeem fallen mankind, so that those who receive Him “become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name.” John 1:12 What indescribable love our Father has for us that He gave His only begotten Son’s life, that we might become his sons and daughters whose hearts are His eternal home. Love divine!
Emmanuel, one of Jesus' names, means, "God with Us." “And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 He pitched His tent and tabernacled with us, to save us from our sins, so that we can walk daily with Him on this earth and live forever with Him in the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21
Another partial fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles occurred in the sending of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers, beginning with the salvation experience. “Jesus, in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” Ephesians 1:13 “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” 2 Cor. 1:22
Tabernacles brings to us an even fuller and more all-consuming indwelling of God in His own. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” John 7:37-39
Jesus, as a Son of Israel, kept the feasts of Israel faithfully. Can you imagine the joy that filled His heart each year as He celebrated each of the seven feasts, knowing that multitudes of believers would share with Him in the revealed plan of the Father for His sons and daughters who would be born through His finished work on the Cross?
Our Lord, in anticipation of the “tabernacle-ing” of the Holy Spirit within us, to the extent that, from our hearts, living waters would flow, spoke of the fuller measure of the experience of the Holy Spirit’s abode within our hearts, which would come after Jesus was glorified, following His resurrection. As He poured the water from the pitcher in John 7, He did so with much gladness, knowing that this great feast would bring untold joy to His and the Father’s heart and to the beneficiaries of the indwelling God of heaven and earth.
God wants to abide in us and with us. Just the mere thought of the Eternal God and Father desiring to tabernacle and dwell in us is much reason for great joy. To the human, unrenewed mind, this concept seems incomprehensible. Nevertheless, the human heart is enabled to understand and receive this unspeakable gift from Heaven by the light of the Holy Spirit. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” John 14:17-19
In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit came upon people for a certain God-ordained task. After the Cross, believers' hearts have been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus, and the Father can pour the Holy Spirit into the hearts of people, in whatever measure desired. The blood of bulls and goats had no cleansing power. It could only cover the people's sins for a year, and it had to be shed over and over, annually. Jesus died once for all, and His Blood cleanses completely both the conscience and the heart. Hebrews 9 A vessel which has been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus is a proper dwelling place for the Holy Spirit of God, and He will fill to the full all who will receive.
We can have as much of the Lord as we will. He will not push the door of the heart open any wider than we open it. How foolish we would be to refuse to allow the Lord to tabernacle within us as much as He desires. Just say, “Lord, I want you to tabernacle in my heart in Your fullness.” He will hear your prayer, and He will come and fill you with Himself!
The complete completion of the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths will occur throughout eternity, and we can be totally assured that Jesus will see it through to its eternal state of being. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb, in its seven year celebration begins the complete completion, of our eternal home, or booth, with God, our loving Father, with Jesus, our Bridegroom, and with the Precious Holy Spirit. When Jesus takes His Bride up into heaven with Him, the Word of God says, “and so shall we forever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17
The seven years of the tribulation period are equal to the number of days Jewish weddings are celebrated. The Bride will be in heaven with Jesus, in His Tabernacle, while the events of the tribulation play out on earth for those seven days of years. “ I will keep thee from the hour of tribulation which is about to come upon them that dwell on the earth.” Rev. 3:10
Then, on the eighth day, Sukkot, prophetically, the day of new beginnings, our eternal dwelling with Him continues in Jesus’ Millennial Reign from King David’s throne in Jerusalem. We shall live and reign with Him for a thousand years. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6
Uninterrupted, the great joy of the eighth day of Tabernacles proceeds as we dwell in God’s bejeweled and golden booths in heaven, which Jesus has been preparing for us for two thousand years. As beautiful as heaven is, Jesus will be the main attraction. We shall never tire of beholding Him, of experiencing the joy of His heart because we are His own, nor of worshipping Him in all of His glory. The untold joy and peace of God, neverending, will be celebrated in the New Jerusalem, the city where there is no need for the sun, for the Lamb is the light thereof. We shall live forever in God’s glorious tabernacle in His Eternal Day.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Revelation 21:1-7
After the harvest from your threshing floor and your vineyards, you shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for seven days. (Deuteronomy 16:13)
The Feast of Tabernacles follows the harvest from the threshing floor of the repentance of Israel for the rejection of Messiah, Jesus, on the Day of Atonement, when the veil will be removed from the eyes of the Lord’s brethren, His people, Israel, to whom He came the first time, extending His salvation to the gentiles. Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, in its fulfillment, bears the Bride of Christ, both Jewish and Gentile believers, who have kept themselves ready for His return, up into the Bridal Chamber of Heaven with the Bridegroom, the Son of God, Who loved her and gave Himself for her.
Those who go to the threshing floor now in repentance will escape the judgments on unbelievers during the tribulation, and they will begin that great day with all sins already judged in Jesus during His Passion on the Cross, forever to be His Bride and to dwell in His home in eternal adoration of His Majesty!
Come and go with me to my Father’s House!
With great anticipation and joy of His return and eternity with Jesus,
Betty Seiley
www.revivalwaters.net
|
|
|
|
|
