Posted by AU on 8/10/2001, 5:27 pm

Posted by Author Unknown on 6/1/2001, 2:42 pm , in reply to "Feast Days" ¡°I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind¡± (Revelation 6:12-13, NIV). The End-Time Harvest Will Be With Torrential Showers Still reading from Joel concerning the harvest, it reads, ¡°The open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil¡± (Joel 2:22-24, NIV). In the last days, the Church will receive both the spring and autumn rains at the very beginning of the growing season. Rain is a symbol of God¡¯s Spirit: this can only mean that as God¡¯s spiritual harvest is in its beginning stages, there will be a substantial out pouring of God¡¯s Spirit, to nourish the crop to maturity. The Feast of Tabernacles The Feast of Tabernacles is made up of:  The Feast of Trumpets  The Day of Atonement  The Feast of Booths The Feast of Trumpets There can be little doubt that the ceremonial Feast of Trumpets from the Old Testament is an illustration of warning, battle, and victory for the Church at the end of time. As the trumpets in heaven begin to sound, the war in the spirit will escalate. Ten days pass between the Feast of Trumpets and The Day of Atonement. Maybe this is why in Revelation it reads, ¡°Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life¡± (Revelation 2:10, NIV). The number ten is symbolic of a time of testing in Scripture, and the Jewish Nation was aware of this. During this time between Holy Days, they thought hard and long about their transgressions and were of a repentant spirit. Yet this literal number of ten days is only a shadow of the real model. We shall not literally have trouble for a mere ten days during the persecution to come. This persecution will last years, and at this time the Christians will go to war. Then Comes the Day of Atonement The Day of Atonement was the most consequential day of Israel¡¯s entire year. On this day, reconciliation was made for the sins of the nation—sins that could separate Israel from divine favor. God would either accept the blood sacrifice from the hands of the high priest or reject the offerings. Israel was commanded to fast. On the Day of Atonement, Israel¡¯s high priest walked into the Temple past the holy place beyond a heavy curtain and stepped into the Holy of Holies, sprinkling the blood of a calf upon the altar. The Holy of Holies is an inner room where God¡¯s Spirit was manifest; it was in this room and with this blood that the high priest made atonement for the sins of the people. ¡°Only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing¡± (Hebrews 9:7-9, NIV). The way into the Most Holy Place came with much struggle, suffering, and blood. Through his sacrifice Jesus opened the door for us. Now we are legally without sin, being able to follow in Christ¡¯s footsteps through the heavy curtain into the Holy of Holies. The Hebrew word for atonement, Athalyah, means ¡°to compress¡± the idea is of many becoming one. We could look at the English word at-one-ment to understand the principle. The whole purpose for mankind is to come into the image of God—to become one with our Father and his Christ. In the past what held us back was sin. When the true Day of Atonement comes, we will be cleansed experientially. On that day something wonderful will happen—we will step into the true Tabernacle. The Feast of Tabernacles was an Old Covenant observance that lasted seven days. At the end of the summer, when all the fruit from the harvest of the land was brought into the barns, the Hebrew tribes of Israel would offer various sacrifices unto God from the harvest. This feast started on the 15th of October and was a time of thanksgiving to celebrate and praise God for the abundance of the summer harvest. God also had the people gather tree boughs and erect booths to dwell in during this celebration. These booths represented the booths in which Israelites dwelled in the wilderness when God delivered them from Egypt. Surely the Old Testament booths constructed of palm tree boughs were used for protection from the blazing sun. This Old Covenant observance surely represents divine protection and enclosure for Christians in this dispensation. This ritual depicting protection from harm's way for the Church during and preceding the time of the Lamb's wrath shows another Old Testament ordinance with a New Covenant design, the overcoming church pictured as the tribes of Israel being sheltered from Revelation's plagues¡± (Revelation 7:2-4, NIV). The hand of the prophet Moses worked the mighty plagues of blood, darkness, and death in Egypt to free Israel from Pharaoh's grip. Prophets near the close of this age will revisit these plagues in spiritual Egypt. Christians will rejoice in God at the end of the spiritual harvest in the hot summer season that lies ahead. Our joy will be made full as we see the day of deliverance from this world grow near. Christians will be protected from plagues. Christians will be rejoicing as we are nourished in the wilderness through supernatural means even as Israel of old. Then comes the Rapture, along with The Great Marriage Feast—The Feast of Tabernacles. The harvest of the wheat will be in the barns. The time of rejoicing will come. At this time, we will be enclosed by divine sanctuary into the ark of safety. As the wrath of God rains down, we shall be eating and rejoicing on the heavenly shore. Even as the children of Israel headed from their booths to Canaan's land, we¡¯ll be preparing to inhabit The Land of Canaan, ¡°spiritually speaking.¡± The Year of Jubilee followed these feasts in Old Testament symbolism. This was a time when all the land that had been forfeited throughout the years was redeemed to the original owners. The Year of Jubilee represents the coming millennial kingdom with The Redeemer Jesus Christ taking possession of earth¡¯s domain. ---------- Posted by Author Unknown on 6/1/2001, 2:45 pm , in reply to "Re: Feast Days more" It is essential that we understand what our fate is. Our fate is to be protected from wrath. Our fate is to be sustained through supernatural means, like the children of Israel in the wilderness, then received up into glory to the Marriage Feast at the end of this age. Christians need not fear the role God has for them. The yoke Christ has us wear will never chaff. Understanding God's calling for us brings about a desire in our hearts to fulfill that calling. We need to seek God¡¯s will, focusing on the knowledge the Scriptures contain, and stand as God's anointed. The LORD cried through his prophet, ¡°my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. ¡°Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you¡± Hosea 4:6 God has hidden his most precious pearls of knowledge in the dark illustrations of prophecy. He is calling us to come into that knowledge that we might be fruitful. The harvest of the earth is near, ¡°The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.¡± (Song of Solomon 2:11-13, NIV). These are the days of God's harvest. These are the days when Jesus brings in the first-fruit from the land. After the wheat has been gathered into the barns, the tares will be harvested. ¡°Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow—so great is their wickedness!¡± (Joel 3:13, NIV). The harvest of the wicked closely follows the harvest of the good in bible prophecy. For the wicked will be gathered and burned after the good grain has been brought into the storage house as it is recorded in Matthew 13:40. In these last days, Israel¡¯s feasts will have their spiritual counterparts fulfilled with God's Spirit moving in the church. Passover will be revisited as multitudes apply the blood of the Lamb, finding salvation in Jesus Christ and receiving divine protection from judgment. These are the days when Pentecost will arrive again. The Spirit of God will fall upon Zion [the church] as a torrential shower. It¡¯s at this time, God's Spirit will flow like a river from the temple: ¡°He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed¡± (Proverbs 11:25, NIV). ---------- Posted by Author Unknown on 6/1/2001, 3:26 pm , in reply to "Re: Feast Days more" David and Matt. That is my worst chapter. I am so sorry. I Know so much about that subject, but because of the posts; I almost dropped it from the book. Who am I to talk about The Feast Days? This is a subject that is owned by Don Barnett!!!!!!!!!!!!!!