Table of Contents

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113. Tabernacles: One New Man

114. Tabernacles: One New Man (2)

115. Tabernacles: No Longer Individuals

116. Tabernacles: His Kind

117. Tabernacles: His Kind (2)

118. Tabernacles: His Kind (3)

119. Tabernacles: His Kind (4)

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Chapter One Hundred Thirteen

The Feasts of God

Tabernacles

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One New Man

 

Ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.

Colossians 3:9-10

 

For he is our peace, who hath made both one [Jew and Gentile], and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.

Ephesians 2:14-15 (emphasis added)

 

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

Genesis 1:26

 

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

1 Corinthians 15:45-49

 

God said.  When He said it, it had to come to pass.  Once He said it, it was a done deal.  Nothing could change it.

 

When God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” it had to happen.  But in Genesis 1:27 we are told that God created man in His image, without any more mention of likeness.  So, what happened to likeness?

 

The Hebrew word for image is tselem.  It means, among other things, resemblance or a representative.  The Hebrew word of likeness is demuwth, which means like manner, like nature or like character.

 

Adam was made in God’s image, to be His representative on Earth.  Image can be created.  Advertising agencies do it all the time.  However, likeness or character cannot be created.  Character has to be developed.  Hence, in verse 27 there is no mention of likeness. 

 

So, if Adam was created in God’s image but not in His likeness, how did he become the likeness of God, having the character of God, which is pure, genuine and unadulterated love? 

 

In order for mankind to experience the character of God, man had to first fall and acquire a knowledge of good and evil.  Adam, in his original state, knew neither.  He wasn’t good or evil, he just was.  He resembled God and represented God but was not like God in character.  In Genesis 3:22 God said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.” 

 

In order for mankind to be in a position to become the character of God, he had to first come to a knowledge of good and evil.  However, initially, in that state he lacked the ability to overcome evil with good, so evil reigned not only in his life but throughout the earth.

 

There is a sense in which, when God said, “Let us make man in our image after our likeness,” the man He was speaking into existence was not Adam but Jesus.  Adam was created in His image but not in His likeness.  It was Jesus that came not only with the image of God but with the likeness or character of God as well. 

 

So, in essence, the real man God created was Jesus.  Today we sometimes speak of real men, or a man’s man.  In the scope of mankind on Earth, Jesus is that man.

 

Ephesians 2:14-15 speaks of Jesus being our peace and unifying both Jew and Gentile as one new man in Him.  In a very real sense, Jesus is the only man God created and when Jews or Gentiles are born again (born from above) they become that same one new man, Jesus.

 

As he is, so are we in this world.

1 John 4:17

 

When we speak of the Body of Christ, we are speaking of the only real man there is.  All others are only fallen mankind, perishing in sin.  The real man, Jesus the Head and Body, is eternal.  So ultimately, He will be the only man; the one God created when he said in Genesis, “Let us make man in our image after our likeness.”

 

This is in essence what 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 says.  The first Adam was physical and died.  The last Adam (Jesus) is spiritual and lives forever.  It is only as all things are reconciled into Him that all mankind will become that one new man and live forever as an eternal being.

 

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Colossians 1:19-20

 

The Greek word for image in 1 Corinthians 15:49 is eikon and unlike the Hebrew word for image, means likeness or character.  This verse says that fallen man, before we were born again, had the character (or lack of character) that Adam possessed.  But now, as new creatures in Christ (see 1 Corinthians 5:17) we are becoming like Him in character.

 

We are becoming, not just that one new man but the only man.  The man God created in Genesis was not the first Adam but the last Adam, Jesus.  God spoke Him into existence, which is why after creating man He said, “Behold, it was very good (see Genesis 1:31).”

 

There is only one man, Jesus the Head and us, the Body.  There are no divisions in that Body.  Each part supplies what is needed in order for the other parts to function properly.  While that does not appear to be the case at the present time, that is who we are becoming.  It is who we are growing into as we become the likeness of God and it will happen in this new day we are entering, which will be the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

In the scope of eternity, we are already there.  But on the timeline of history, we are getting there.

 

Surely we were born for such a time as this!

 

All glory to God!

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Chapter One Hundred Fourteen

The Feasts of God

Tabernacles

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One New Man (2)

 

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 

 

The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 

And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 

 

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 

 

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:45-57

 

In our last teaching we established that ultimately there is and will be only one man, Jesus the Head and Body.

 

At the present time, this is a mystery not only to the world but to most of the Church.  But this is a new day (millennium) and we are transitioning from the Church Age into the Kingdom Age; and from the fulfillment of Pentecost into Tabernacles.

 

As we have studied, Tabernacles is a three part feast, just as we are a three day (millennia) Church.  I believe we are now in the ultimate prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets, the first part of the Feast of Tabernacles.  The fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets is the last trump referred to in 1 Corinthians 15:52.  We (those of us prophetically declaring the coming full blown Feast of Tabernacles) are that last trump, sounding a clear call to all that the Day of the Lord is upon us.

 

While the world and most of the Church is sleeping, we are being changed into the likeness of God.  And while it has been six thousand years in preparation, it appears to be happening in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. 

 

For the last two days (millennia) of the Church we have been struggling (laboring) to overcome death and corruption and now, finally, we are beginning to experience being raised incorruptible.

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As a result, we are experiencing eternity like never before.  We have passed from death to life, not just positionally but experientially, resulting in death being swallowed up in victory!

 

We are a Firstfruits Company, blazing a trail that many will follow.  We are building a highway that ultimately leads to the restitution of all things (see Acts 3:21) and the salvation of all people (see 1 Timothy 2:4).

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We are the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets and are becoming the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

We are one new man, the only man, Jesus Christ the Head and Body.

 

Surely we were born for such a time as this!

 

All glory to God!!!

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Chapter One Hundred Fifteen

The Feasts of God

Tabernacles

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No Longer Individuals

 

For he is our peace, who hath made both one [Jew and Gentile], and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.

Ephesians 2:14-15 (emphasis added)

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And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

1 Corinthians 15:45-49

 

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Colossians 1:19-20

 

As he is, so are we in this world.

1 John 4:17

 

In our last couple of teachings we established that while we are given a picture of two men in the Genesis account of creation, there is really only one man who is eternal.  So ultimately, there is only one man.

 

When God said, “Let us make man in our image after our likeness,” he wasn’t referring to the first Adam.  He was speaking prophetically of the last Adam, Jesus, who came not only in God’s image but in His likeness, having His character.

 

Colossians 1:20 informs us that when Jesus went to the cross He made peace with all of creation, and that He will reconcile all things unto or into Himself. 

 

Everything and everyone that has been created was in God before He spoke creation into existence.  All of creation already existed in Him.

 

Ultimately, Jesus will bring everything and everyone back into Himself and once again we will literally be in Him, as we were before the Genesis account of creation.  When God spoke creation into existence, it wasn’t something new; it just took on physical characteristics.  And guess what?  Those physical characteristics are not going to cease to exist.  Rather, the mortal is going to put on immortality (see 1 Corinthians 15:53) by being brought back into Him.  In other words, the physical creation will continue to exist eternally because it will have been perfected.

 

The cross of Christ is about so much more than enabling individuals to be saved.  It is about the reconciliation of all things and all people.

 

1 Corinthians 5:14 says that one (Jesus) died for all.  We’ve been taught that our salvation depends on our choosing to believe that reality, and by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But verses 15 and 16 go on to say:

 

And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

 

Did you get that?  We are no longer to look at others as flesh or as being in the flesh.  In other words, as fallen man.  Rather, we are to see them as in Christ.  We are to see them as we are to see all things as being of God because He has reconciled us to Himself and given us the ministry of reconciliation.

 

We aren’t an elite group that is Heaven bound.  We are but a Firstfruits Company having been given the ministry of reconciliation, paving the way for all men to be saved.

 

1 Timothy 2:4 in the KJV says that God will have all men (mankind) to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth.  Other translations say He desires, wants or wishes for all men (people) to be saved.  Most commentaries I have read say that while it is God’s sovereign will for all to be saved, the will of the individual can and often does overrule the will of God.  Really?  Is our will so strong that we can overrule the sovereign will of the Almighty God? 

 

A quick study of the Greek in this verse of scripture doesn’t offer much help in determining the actual meaning of the verse.  But I think the KJV translators had this one right.  The KJV says He will have all men to be saved.  All means all.  What part of all don’t we understand? 

 

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world [the entire world] unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19

 

We have not been given the ministry of personal salvation.  We have not been given a word that says, “You must be born again to go to Heaven when you die.”

 

No, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, which is all inclusive.

 

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21

 

We are not only one with all believers, we are becoming one with all mankind; not in any way reducing ourselves to their level of being in the flesh but rather, bringing them up to our level of being in the Spirit.

 

The ministry of reconciliation is about forgiveness.  It is about the remission of sin.  We have been given the power to remit sins (see John 20:21) because we have been given the ministry of reconciliation.

 

How many sermons have you heard that brought judgment and condemnation?  Saints of God, this ought not to be.  We have been like James and John, when they wanted to call down fire from Heaven to consume some folks that didn’t receive Jesus.

 

But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.

Luke 9:55-56

 

If all things and all people were in God before the foundation of the world, then all things and all people will once again be in God.  We, who have been born again and are seeing the Kingdom (see John 3:3) are but the firstfruits of this reality; of this truth.  We are the proclaimers of it.  This is what we are to preach. 

 

We have been redeemed to proclaim that the blessing of Abraham will and is coming on the nations (see Galatians 3:13-14).  The seventh angel of Revelation 11:15 has spoken and we are prophesying with him, “The kingdoms [nations] of this world are becoming the kingdoms [Kingdom] of our Lord and his Christ.”

 

When Jesus walked the Earth as the Son of Man, He prayed that we would be one in and with Him as He is one in and with the Father (see John, the seventeenth chapter).  Why?  So the entire world will know that He was sent of God and that God loves them (the world) just like He loves Jesus (see John 17:23).

 

He will have a corporate man, perfected in order that all others can be perfected (see Hebrews 11:39-40).  We who are becoming that corporate man are no longer individuals.  We are becoming one with each other and one with and in Him.  And because we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, we will bring all others and all of creation with us into Him.

 

Surely we were born for such a time as this!

 

So be it (amen).

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Chapter One Hundred Sixteen

The Feasts of God

Tabernacles

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His Kind

 

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:12-13 (emphasis added)

 

Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.

2 Corinthians 9:10 (see also Isaiah 55:10)

 

God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Romans 12:3

 

Faith is seed.  When faith is planted, it brings forth after its kind. 

 

In the Genesis account of creation God created plants and trees that produced seed, which then reproduced more plants and trees after their kind.  But the scripture doesn’t say, “After their kind.”  The scripture says, “After His kind.”  Interesting.

 

I believe the seed mentioned in Genesis 1:12 is representative of (a type and shadow of) faith.  Faith produces a harvest just as seed produces a harvest.  So let’s just say that the seed spoken of in Genesis 1:12 is faith.  What kind of faith is it?  It is after His kind, or God’s kind?  So, it is the God kind of faith.

 

What did the God kind of faith produce?  Everything we see in the physical realm.  The world and the entire universe!  He spoke it and it manifested in the natural realm.

 

Now, if God has given to every man the measure of faith (see Romans 12:3), what measure of faith is that?  Can it be any less than the same faith that He has?

 

Galatians 2:16 speaks of the faith of Jesus Christ.  It is not our faith that saves us or produces anything good in our lives.  It is His faith.  Does that take the pressure off us to perform or what!?  Realizing that it is His faith that produces results, we are released to rest in Him, with the confidence that He will perform all He has promised and purposed.

 

As I often say, “It is not in any way about us.  It is all about Him.  We’re just along for the ride.”  Hallelujah!

 

During the fulfillment of Pentecost, or the Church Age, we were taught by great men and women of faith how to operate in faith.  As early as the nineteenth century and especially around the mid-twentieth century God raised up men and women who taught us how to operate in faith to get our needs met.  And I thank God for what they taught us.  It came at a time when not many were operating in very much faith.  But saints of God, what they taught us was in part. 

 

They put great emphasis on teaching us how to develop our faith and use it effectively, which meant we had to perform.  We had to accomplish.  It put the responsibility on us for the outcome of that which we were exercising faith for.

 

But that was then; and this is now.  And saints, this is a new day.  As we enter this new millennium, we are crossing the threshold of transition from the fulfillment of Pentecost into Tabernacles; from the sixth day (millennium) to the seventh day (millennium), and the seventh day is the Sabbath, the day of rest.  It is the day when the rest that remains for the people of God (see Hebrews 4:9) is manifesting in a remnant of God’s people who are becoming the firstfruits of many more to come.

 

This seventh day (millennium) is also the third day (millennium) of the Church.  I find it interesting that God created seed bearing plants and trees on the third day of creation.  That’s no coincidence.  It is a type and shadow of where we are right now on the timeline of history.

 

As we enter this third day of the Church, transitioning from Pentecost into Tabernacles and from the Church Age into the Kingdom Age, we are beginning to operate like never before, not just in the God kind of faith but in the very faith of God.

 

What has enabled us to do this?

 

Those of us who are of this Firstfruits Company, this remnant of the Body of Christ, have been put through an intense and severe process of dying to self; causing us to realize and experience more fully than ever before that it is no longer us that lives but Christ that lives in us.

 

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 (emphasis added)

 

There it is again.  The faith of the Son of God.  Having died to self, we live by His faith.  It is the same faith that created everything that exists in the physical realm.  So, if it is His faith, the same faith that created the physical realm, don’t you think that faith can fix anything that is wrong with the physical realm.  Don’t you think sickness, disease, poverty or anything else that hinders us from walking and operating in abundance has to bow to the name of Jesus?  Don’t you think that anything negative that the fall of man produced is now under the feet of Jesus?

 

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

1 Corinthians 15:25-26, 28

 

In this third day of the Church, which is the seventh day of/since creation, every enemy of God, everything that sin has produced in the physical realm since the fall of man, is going to be put under the feet of Jesus, the Head and the Body.  Saints of God, that means us!  Everything is under our feet.  We have authority over all of God’s creation, to bring it back in line with Him and with His Word; a world and universe no longer subject to any curse but operating in the blessing of Abraham, which is the blessing of God, ultimately bringing us, Jesus the Head and the Body, back into God the Father, who spoke it all into existence out of Himself after His kind.

 

We have been given the ministry of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19), reconciling all things back to God and glory to God, we will even see death done away with.  Death will be the last enemy completely defeated and I believe we will see it in this millennium.

 

The so called Millennial Reign of Christ is not future as we have been taught.  It is now!  It is here!  We are crossing the threshold of it and it is my hope that at least some of us alive in physical bodies now will overcome death and live the entire thousand years and on into the ages to come.

 

That’s my hope; Christ in us the hope of glory (see Colossians 1:27).

 

Surely we were born for such a time as this!

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Chapter One Hundred Seventeen

The Feasts of God

Tabernacles

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His Kind (2)

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And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:12-13 (emphasis added)

 

In our last teaching we determined that the seed spoken of in Genesis 1:12 is faith.  And not just any faith; the God kind of faith or literally God’s faith.

 

Grass and herbs were created for food.  In Genesis 1:29 God called them meat.  Man did not eat the meat of animals until after Noah’s flood (see Genesis 9:3).  I believe this speaks of God’s faith producing everything we need to sustain us physically.

 

Philippians 4:19 says:

 

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

How many times have you heard this quoted as, “My God shall supply all your needs?”  But need is not plural in this scripture.  It is singular.  We only have one need.  Our one need is God and in Him is everything else we need.  His faith produced physical supply for a physical world and all we have to do is tap into that by living and moving and having our being in Him (see Acts 17:28).

 

So we don’t have to ask God for every physical need we have.  We can simply speak it into existence because He has already spoken it into existence.  In speaking our supply into existence, we are simply agreeing with what God has already said. 

 

Jesus said that if two believers agree on anything they ask, God will do it (see Matthew 18:19).  Imagine how much more powerful it is to be in agreement with God.  How can the thing agreed upon not come to pass!?

 

So how do we access that place of living and moving and having our being in Him?  I believe the answer is in the tree bearing fruit of Genesis 1:12.

 

Fruit is representative of character.  In Paul’s epistles he spoke much of the fruit of the Spirit.  One such place is Galatians 5:22 where he identified the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

 

All these have to do with or are the product of character.  It is as we die to self and God’s character is developed in us that we are better able to access His provision.  When we are out of the way, having died to self, then we live, move and have our being in Him because He lives, moves and has His being in us.  So it is no longer about us.  It is about Him.  It no longer depends on us.  It depends entirely on Him. 

 

Saints of God, that’s the place of rest that the writer of Hebrews spoke so much about.  It’s the rest that remains for the people of God (see Hebrews 4:9).  It’s the rest that not only provides all we need in the physical realm, it provides the character we need to love with the same love that God is (see 1 John 4:8, 16).

 

As we enter this third day (millennium) of the Church, which the third day of creation is such a perfect picture of, we are beginning to access the unlimited provision and character of God that will literally change the world, bringing the Kingdom in/on Earth as in Heaven, causing the kingdoms (nations) of this world to become the kingdoms (Kingdom) of our Lord Jesus and His Christ (the Body of Christ/the Ekklesia) (see Revelation 11:15).

 

Ekklesia is the Greek word that was translated as Church.  It is not a religious or spiritual word.  It is a political word, and in its most basic definition means a governing body.

 

We, who are coming into an understanding and experiential knowledge of our authority as the Ekklesia, are beginning to reign with Him as never before, taking our rightful place as kings and priests unto our God (see Revelation 1:6), having been caught up to His throne of authority (see Ephesians 2:6) where we will reign with Him not only for this new millennium but forever (see Revelation 20:6, 22:5).

 

Glory to God!

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Chapter One Hundred Eighteen

The Feasts of God

Tabernacles

​

His Kind (3)

 

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:12-13 (emphasis added)

 

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

 

In our last two teachings we determined that the seed spoken of in Genesis 1:12 is faith.  And not just any faith; the God kind of faith or literally God’s faith.

 

We also realized that we only have one need (need in Philippians 4:19 is singular).  Our one need is God and in Him is everything else we need.  His faith produced physical supply for a physical world and all we have to do is tap into that by living and moving and having our being in Him (see Acts 17:28).

 

But do we really need God?

 

If we are to live life fully and eternally, obviously we do.  However, it seems to me that God actually needs us more than we need Him.  Is that not why He created us in the first place?

 

God is love (see 1 John 4:8).

 

Love needs someone to love.  All of creation is here to provide a home for those God loves.  But that provision is more than a place to dwell.  It entails everything needed to not only survive, but to thrive.

 

Mankind has been striving to survive for six thousand years, but God wants His man (the Genesis definition of man being male and female) whom He loves, to not just survive but to thrive.

 

Are we not the same way?  We want our offspring to do better than we did in life; have more than we have; enjoying life more than we have been able to enjoy life.

 

God wants the very best for those He loves, not only because He loves them but because He needs them to perfect His creation.

 

Perfection is not something that can be created.  Perfection has to do with character, and character cannot be created, it has to be developed.

 

Hence, Adam and Eve were created sinless but not perfect.  The process of being perfected required the fall of man and the coming of Jesus as a man.  Jesus was born into the world as a man sinless, because He was literally God in the flesh, but in order to be perfected He had to learn obedience by and through the things He suffered (see Hebrews 5:8).

 

You may be thinking, “God is perfect and has always been perfect.”  But in order for mankind to be perfected, God had to become a man and be perfected as a man, the firstfruit of many more that would be perfected, ultimately paving the way for all to be perfected and for all of creation to be perfected.

 

In essence, He had to prove it could be done.  But even more than that, He had to do it for us, who are unable to do it for ourselves, which is why we must live, move and have our being in Him (see  Acts 17:28).

 

It is only as we are living, moving and having our being (note: being, not doing) in Him that we are literally becoming one with Him, partaking of the perfection that He has achieved; that perfection becoming our perfection and manifesting as such in our lives.

 

Just as He is the firstfruit (remember fruit has to do with character) of others being perfected, we of the remnant who are being perfected are the firstfruits of all being perfected.

 

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (see John 3:16), and in doing so God actually became a man; the man that He created way back in Genesis when He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness (see Genesis 1:26).”

 

As we have already determined, Adam was created in God’s image but not in His likeness (likeness having to do with character), but Jesus (the last Adam/see 1 Corinthians 15:45) came not only in the image of God, but with the ability to also possess God’s character, which He accomplished through the things He suffered, paving the way for us to also develop and possess the character of God, which is love.

 

This, in a nutshell, is the Gospel of the Kingdom.  It is not about Heaven and Hell.  It is about the perfecting of all God created.

 

But like everything God does, it begins with a remnant.  Through the past six thousand years of history on planet Earth, at times that remnant was one person or one family.  Today it is a portion of the Body of Christ, chosen by God to be the firstfruits of many more to come, paving the way as trailblazers into the most glorious time in all of history so far.

 

Surely we were born for such a time as this!

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Chapter One Hundred Nineteen

The Feasts of God

Tabernacles

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His Kind (4)

 

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:12-13 (emphasis added)

 

And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

Genesis 6:3

 

As we have established in previous teachings, we were created to not only be God’s image, but have His character as well.  However, developing character is a process that takes time. 

 

At the time of this writing, I have just turned seventy years old, and God is still developing His character in me.  In fact, I seem to have made little progress toward having the character of God until just a few years ago, even though I was first born again and baptized with the Holy Spirit in 1970.  This process, which seems to have taken a long time in my life, has also taken a long time for mankind, since God first placed Adam in the Garden of Eden over six thousand years ago.

 

During the last six thousand years of history on planet Earth, mankind seems to have made little progress toward perfection.  Down through history there have been a few who have strived to be better people, but it appears their striving was to little if any avail.  We see this in the history of the Israelites in the Old Testament.  Theirs is a history of following God and His commandments for a period of time, and then falling back into sin over and over.  Perhaps it was not even so much about their striving, but about God striving to get them to follow Him and obey His commandments.

 

After Israel was established as a nation, under the laws of Moses, every fifty years there was a year of Jubilee, when all property went back to its original owners, all debts were cancelled, and all slaves were set free.

 

So during the last six thousand years, if counted from the beginning of time and not just from the founding of the nation of Israel, there have been 120 Jubilee years.  50x120 = 6000.

 

When God said in Genesis 6:3 that man’s days would be 120 years, I believe He was speaking of 120 Jubilee years, including all the years in between.

 

The past six thousand years have been man’s years; years full of strife as mankind strived to survive and some strived to become more like God, to little or no avail, as we have already established.  However, man’s striving was actually God striving with man; mankind being ruled by their flesh rather than by the Spirit.

 

Even after Jesus came as a man, went to the cross and was then resurrected, enabling man to stop striving and enter into rest, mankind has for the most part continued in strife.  Even Christians have labored under the law, not realizing that the grace of God is what enables them to be perfected, rather than trying to obey the laws of God.

 

What God is saying in Genesis 6:3 is that after six thousand years of history on planet Earth, there will come an end to that strife, when He will no longer need to strive with mankind because mankind will cease to strive and will have entered into His rest, which the writer of Hebrews prophesied in Hebrews 4:8-9.

 

For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

 

Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, plus the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (see the second chapter of Acts), made it possible for mankind to enter into rest, no longer striving to become like God, being enabled to become like Him because of the crucifixion, resurrection and coming of the Holy Spirit.  But the enablement was but the door of possibility.

 

In order for people to begin to possess the character of God, more time had to pass until the Day of Rest, which is the Day of the Lord, appeared on the timeline of history.  That day would be the seventh millennium since creation (the ultimate Sabbath), which we have now crossed the threshold of.

 

The seven millennia the Bible focuses on are a parallel to the seven days of creation.  That is why Peter said a day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day (see 2 Peter 3:8).  And before he made that statement, he said, “Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing.”

 

Peter put great emphasis on this statement.  I believe an understanding of this statement is required in order to understand the entire Bible and God’s plan for mankind and planet Earth.

 

The Sabbath is a day of rest.  God rested on the seventh day of creation, and the seventh millennium since creation is the ultimate day of rest, when God will cease striving with mankind and the strife of the past six thousand years will no longer rule the affairs of mankind on Earth.

 

(Note: The timeline I have made reference to in this teaching is according to the Gregorian calendar, which I believe God has made provision for along with the Hebrew calendars.)

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To continue reading, go to "More" at the top of the page and scroll down to "The Feasts of God (15)."

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