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Tents, and Tables of Ascent

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We are told that when John Huss was arrested and informed that he would be burned to death for his faith, he purposely practiced holding his hand over fire to prepare for his final test. He burned himself in preparation. He wanted to be faithful to the end. 

The question I would like to explore today is, What preparations can we make to meet Jesus outside the camp? What visionary steps has the Lord given us to catch fire with His Glory and Presence? Faith, hope and trust are the obvious places to begin our search for the Lord. But what’s the next step to encounter His manifested Presence? Sunday many took the first step in drawing near to the Lord in facing their fear, removing their shoes, and humbling themselves at the church altar. Like Moses removed his shoes – you removed what you were resting, and trusting in, exchanging your filthy rags of self – righteousness for His righteousness. The next step involves fundamental disciplines, Jews, Christians, and other faiths have used for years to connect with God. The only difference being that our disciplines have been transformed by the manifestation of the Spirit of God Who causes them to come to life. For example, in Scripture, when it refers to someone seeking God there were two fundamental disciplines implied: Worship and prayer. Faith, humility, truth, and obedience were the fuel for their practice. But our main focus presently is, What can you prepare in order to meet Jesus outside the camp, and catch fire in His manifested Presence?

Moses provides us with a clue: Exodus 33:7 Now Moses used to take [his own] tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting [of God with His own people].…Exodus 34:1-3 The Lord said to Moses, Cut two tables of stone like the first, and I will write upon these tables the words that were on the first tables, which you broke. Be ready and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. And no man shall come up with you, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mountain; neither let flocks or herds feed before that mountain.

The steps, and disciplines, Moses practiced were: (1) Establishing a place to meet with God; (2) Removing all distractions; (3) Utilizing faith to call it a place to meet with God; (4) Cutting, or carving out time to meet with God; (5) Offering your heart of stone for cutting and carving by the Spirit of Truth; (6) Readying yourself to meet with God; (7) Rising up in the morning; (8) Presenting yourself to the Lord; (9) and Coming alone.

Hebrews 13:10 states: We have an altar from which those who serve and worship in the tabernacle have no right to eat. Another way of saying this is by saying that, We have a table from which they have no right to eat. Now the question begging to be asked is, How can we pitch a tent for His Presence, and cut a table from our spiritual disciplines, that will cause us to come into His Presence, and catch fire with His Glory? How can we find this outside of the ordinary, common, distracting life we experience inside the camp? How can our seeking God, through the disciplines, extend beyond the average, ordinary, common pursuits inside the camp?

3 Times A Year

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Three times a year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed (Dt. 16:16 AMPC)

Tomorrow night we are going to celebrate Pentecost which is a holiday, or holy day celebrated by Jews and Christians every year. The Church holiday bases their date of Sunday, May 31 on the Gregorian calendar, whereas the Jewish date of Friday-Saturday, May 29-30 is based on God’s calendar. I say God’s calendar because if we believe the Word of the Lord to be true – from “Kiver to Kiver” (Cover to Cover) – then we also believe that God gave these feasts and festivals to His people for a purpose. Now when I say, His people, I am referring both to Jew, and those who have been ingrafted into the Fig Tree that Israel is through the righteousness of Abraham. We have become the circumcised of the heart and God’s Law has been written upon our hearts. The question is, How does all of this apply to the modern day saint in the 21st century?

Recently I was convicted by the revelation that in two out of the three feasts something significant happened. (I could make an argument for all three but I will spare you the details. Suffice it to say that an argument could be made that Jesus was actually born during the Feast of Tabernacles based on several prophecies regarding Jesus being Immanuel – “the God Who Tabernacles or Dwells with His people“) We know that Jesus was crucified during Passover, and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost. It is my opinion that Jesus will return during the Feast of Tabernacles. Again this would take a great deal of time to explain but I’ll leave you with a little tidbit of information to consider: Why did the Jews lay down palm branches when Jesus was entering Jerusalem? (Palm branches were specifically used during the Feast of Tabernacles). My answer would be, that the Jews associated the Palm Branches with Tabernacles, or Sukkot, and with the coming of the Messiah. My conviction expanded into the realization that if God told His people that they had to gather on these three significant holidays, and on two of the three holidays Jesus appeared, then it would behoove us believers to also gather on the three holidays for Inspection (Passover, and Ridding ourselves of the yeast, or leaven of sin); for Dedication and Consecration (Pentecost was an offering of the very best of their first fruits from harvest); and lastly, for Preparation (Tabernacles was preceded by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement in which the people sought to draw near to God, repent of sin, and prepare for God drawing near to them). Thus, by the Grace of God, and His Spirit our church will celebrate these three readying ourselves for Christ’s Return.

If we are practicing all three then we too will be prepared when the Trumpet Blasts sound from the Heavens and the saints are gathered to meet Him in the air. May the Spirit of Revelation set us free from the powerful delusion that has come upon the mainstream church that does not love the Truth, or know (ginosko) Him. Lord willing I will see you tomorrow night for our Pentecost meal.