Feast: From Both Sides Now and the Feast of Tabernacles

#FT24-03
Mark Schindler
Given 19-Oct-24; 76 minutes 2024-10-19

listen:

playlist:
Go to the Feast of Tabernacles 2024 playlist

download:

A day or two before Richard began his series of sermons on Ecclesiastes, Nancy and I were sitting at breakfast on a mostly sunny autumn morning, admiring the beautiful cloud formations we saw off in the distance. As we looked through the window we could see several clouds on the background canvas of a beautiful blue sky. I said to Nancy that several of the clouds as they touched each other in the sky seemed to form a beautiful castle.

Suddenly disjointed notes of a song from our youth began to pop into my head and it really frustrated me because I could not put them together, as Nancy and I tried to recall what lyrical imagery those clouds evoked in our memory.

Finally, the name Joni Mitchell popped into my head and the words, “Ice cream castles in the air.” A few minutes later the melody and lyrics of that late 1960s song began to play in my memory as I watched those clouds waft into other images.

Those clouds and the melody of the lyrical imagery (that we will get to in a minute), suggested some of the same ideas that Solomon wrote of in Ecclesiastes. I found it fascinating that this song would pop into mind shortly before Richard started to continue his father’s series on that incredible book, because they seem closely tied together within the perspective that men view life.

Please let me make it clear from the outset of this sermon, that as I prepared this sermon for the Feast, I had been considering several topics and every time they kept coming back to building on the foundation of the book of Ecclesiastes.

I am not saying that Ecclesiastes had clearly been on my mind for months or even weeks. But when that song came to mind, it very clearly reminded me of Ecclesiastes and what John had stressed about how frustrating life is for those who merely see things from “under the sun.” Then when Richard mentioned his intention to focus on Ecclesiastes going into and through the Feast, it made me sit up and take notice.

I know that God gives what He wants to His people, and we are only the messengers. If He seems to be pointing in a certain direction, then this is the way we must go. Hopefully, if we stay out of His way, He will give us what He wants to be delivered, perhaps redundantly, or perhaps from a slightly different perspective.

As Richard noted when he picked up this series with his sermon, “Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part 31)”, his father had given 45 sermons on the book of Ecclesiastes. Brethren, this should give us a hint of just how important this book is to God and what He expects from His people that are set apart from this world.

The overall message of this inspired book is the key for us making its final declaration as stated in Ecclesiastes 12 a reality right now. Therefore, we will begin there on this wonderful Sabbath, the third day of the Feast of Tabernacles 2024.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Is this not ultimately why God has gathered His set-apart-people together here in Myrtle Beach and other various sites where He has placed His name around the world? Have we not made the pilgrimage to the various Feast sites in reverential fear of God, to learn to more faithfully do the works of the law as He reveals them to us, just like it says in Deuteronomy 29:29?

Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

This is the whole duty of men. And God is bringing our every work into judgment now.

From the point of view of all who have not been set apart by God to see things from His perspective, please allow me to cite the opening and closing stanzas of Joni Mitchell’s folk song that was titled, “From Both Sides Now.” There in the title is a clue to the double-minded frustration of life for most all who live in the world, while it is something that we should be looking at in a positive manner seeing God’s point of view of what is under the sun.

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feathered canyons everywhere
Looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and they snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

And then towards the last two stanzas:

Oh, but now old friends they are acting strange
And they shake their heads and they tell me I've changed
Well, something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

It's life's illusions that I recall
I really don't know life
I really don't know life at all

As I said, this is the truth of the way people look at life under the sun. Without seeing things from God’s perspective, as He has graciously given to us to see with our focus on Him, life’s journey seems to be a disappointing illusion without substance. But it should not be to us, no matter what the trial or situations we go through.

There is an interesting lament that is common to man that is clearly stated, as declared in the second stanza.

But now they only block the sun
They rain and they snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

Human nature ends up blaming God and the things He has created from keeping us from real accomplishment that gives any meaning to life. Whether it is the illusions or the harsh realities of life the carnal-minded will draw the conclusion that these things were the reason for the futility of life and the lack accomplishment.

In the referenced lyrics the same conclusion is drawn that most people draw from Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes:

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

It's life's illusions that I recall
I really don't know life

I really don't know life at all

Brethren, we have begun this sermon here because to me it became obvious that God wants us to keep Ecclesiastes and our privileged look at life with our focus “above the sun” firmly in our minds throughout this Feast. No matter what the topic of the sermonettes and sermons during our time here this week, this must never be far from our minds as we consider what God gives to us this week in our focus above the sun, so we can and will produce, without excuse, what God expects from each of us.

With this as our foundation, we are going to spend the rest of this sermon and the next sermon on the seventh day trying to consider more of what God expects us to accomplish in preparation for all whom we will be serving as kings and priests with Jesus Christ.

Please turn with me to Luke 4.

Luke 4:16-21 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

This was shortly after Christ began His ministry and 3½ years before He would be halfway through His prophesied work as the Messiah. This Sabbath possibly was the Day of Atonement, but it most certainly was during this fall holy day season that is so consequential to resolving that problem all of mankind is having in finding themselves in the literal slavery of hopelessness.

John Ritenbaugh said the following in one of his sermons on the fourth commandment:

The Sabbath is so significant that Jesus' ministry formally began on a Sabbath and ended on a preparation day just before another Sabbath (John 19:31)! We see Him open His ministry in Luke 4:16-19, where He gives His mission statement. By quoting Isaiah 61:1-2 in His inaugural sermon, Jesus identifies His mission as setting people free from bondage. He specifically mentions freeing the poor (weak, without power), brokenhearted, captive, blind, and oppressed.

"The acceptable year of the LORD" is not when God is acceptable to us, but when God, in His sovereign mercy, moves to make us acceptable to Him. It is a time when He chooses to deliver people. More specifically, it refers to two Old Testament institutions, either the seventh year land Sabbath or the Jubilee year. Israelites considered these years liberators of the oppressed. During them, the land lay fallow and what food it produced on its own went to the poor, dispossessed, and animals. Slaves were freed and debts remitted. During Jubilee years, debtors received back their land lost due to mismanagement.

Jesus says in verse 21, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." It was a Sabbath, and through the typology, Christ is clearly showing that His redemptive mission included the liberating intent of the Sabbaths, weekly and annual.

In Mark 2:27, Jesus says, "The Sabbath was made for man." God made it to equip us to come out of spiritual slavery—and even more so, to help us in staying out.

Here we are on this very wonderful Sabbath day during God’s annual commemoration of freedom, while looking forward to the reality of liberty for all men, under the perfect government of Jesus Christ.

Brethren, that last phrase is key, “Under the perfect government of Jesus Christ.” He will be fully ruling according to the letter of the law and in the spirit of the law of outgoing concern that will bring peace to the whole world as men learn to submit to the perfect government of God.

The last two verses of Ecclesiastes 12 will be absolutely built into the character of men, and be the source of productivity and satisfaction in everything we do for eternity. However, it is not going to happen overnight, or in a week, a year, or even generations, as we are going to see in a minute.

But God’s perfect government will be accomplished—with no division, and everyone on the same page with the Father and the Son—when God finishes His awesome project.

This is one of the reasons God has gathered us all together this week, here and in all the places around the world where He has placed His name, so that we are well trained to carry out our responsibilities as members of His world ruling Family of servant-leaders; training and learning to live exactly like Jesus Christ for the glory of the Father. We are going to have to make righteous judgments to help, as a gift from God, serving with Jesus Christ as He restores peace and unity to all mankind. As we live our short three score years and ten, this is our training ground to learn, and to start making some of those righteous judgments.

We will examine a type of this process later, along with what in fact will be our God-given pedigree to do our jobs with the mind and character of our Great God.

I would like us to consider the next piece of the project, as God has designed it. We saw back in Luke 4 Christ proclaiming this prophecy about Himself at the beginning of His first coming in the process of redemption. Please turn with me back to the cited prophecy Isaiah 61 where we will read those verses, plus a couple of the following verses.

Isaiah 61:1-7 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me [now], because the LORD has anointed Me [Christ] to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me [Christ] to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD [and then He stops because the following verses are still in progress], and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs.

Jesus Christ opened His work as Immanuel, as He read only as far as, “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,” because the rest of those verses are yet to come.

Now back a couple of pages to Isaiah 59, as we look at just one example of the reason for God’s judgment on men who focus on what they feel is only futility of life and His cloud that seems to get in their way.

Isaiah 59:1-10 Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

Their webs will not become garments, nor will they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace. Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness overtake us; we look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as at twilight; we are as dead men in desolate places.

Does this not seem quite similar to man today, and in line with those verses—groping in the darkness, while examining life from both sides as either illusions or unbearable circumstances?

Isaiah 59:13-16 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. [Keep this in mind because it is exactly the circumstances we are living in our own life if we do not keep our eyes focused in the law.] Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for him; and His own righteousness, it sustained him.

Isaiah 59:20-21 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," says the LORD. "As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."

Here is that judgment to come! But following judgment and correction in the glory of His coming He brings God’s words and His Spirit that will be the focus of our attention forever! This also addresses Isaiah 61:1-4 when God proclaims His judgment and a rebuilding. No longer will men be struggling with vain reasonings of the futility of life. God will make sure that there will be a place for all men to look, to understand with satisfaction the way of life that is no illusion.

Isaiah 60:1-6 Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. "Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.”

This is addressing Zion when Jesus Christ is restoring a faithful remnant as He rules from Jerusalem, the place where the whole world will be looking to understand what will make life really worthwhile.

These holy days are no mere illusion for us, because we look forward to the reality of the Word of God once again on His throne in Jerusalem, clearly ruling in the sight of all men during the Millennium.

What has not been reality for men since God removed Himself from directly ruling (because we fool-heartedly refused to submit to His perfect law of liberty) will be a reality for the whole world to clearly see God’s government in action. This is what we are training for now, as God’s way of life is already the reality of our lives today in this difficult world! Everything that God has been doing is perfect pieces of an intricate puzzle.

At this point of taking a short look at what is ahead with Jerusalem as the seat of God’s government on earth, I would like to go back to Luke to consider again God’s plan. However before we go to Luke, let us take a quick look at what Peter has to say about this work:

II Peter 3:1-14 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."

For this they willfully forget: That by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. [I remember that Herbert W. Armstrong once said that he did not think that many people would go into the Lake of Fire because by the time God finishes with His plan they will have all seen and known that plan.]

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.

Brethren, in the lyrics “From Both Sides Now” the ringing conclusion is that things continue as they always had, whether winning or losing things seem to the scoffers to remain the same. To them life is either an illusion, or an incredible hardship. But either way, they look at it as unfulfilling and destroying to relationships.

However, Peter is telling in his instructions from Jesus Christ to His church that this is a huge long-term project being worked out patiently to bring all to repentance. This is why we are here; so we can examine this project through the holy days God has given, so we can go out from here to continue with diligence the work God has given us to do under Jesus Christ. This is what I hope we will be taking away from my next sermon.

But for now I would like to continue to consider God’s patience and the surety of His plan through Jesus Christ. We need to try to grasp our place within this bigger picture. So turn with me to Luke 1.

Luke 1:5-15 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.”

I wanted to read these scriptures because this is going to become clearer in the next sermon. Zacharias was serving in the course of priestly service and the people were there following the ritual of sacrifice, when the angel Gabriel appeared to announce the next part of God’s plan in the birth of John as the herald to the coming of the Messiah. But there was something missing that we are going to get to in a few minutes.

And we see Gabriel again:

Luke 1:26-33 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

The Son of God is coming as King to sit on His throne and reign forever.

Please turn with me now back to Matthew’s account, where he begins by establishing Christ’s legal lineage back to Abraham and God’s promises of His descendant’s reign over all. We will pick it up in verse 17.

Matthew 1:17-23 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

Jesus was born in fulfilling the promise of redemption that could only be done by God Himself in the line of King David.

Now we are going to drop down to Matthew 2 following some time since Jesus’ birth.

Matthew 2:1-12 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also." When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Here, these wise men from the East traveled to give homage to a king, bringing gifts suitable for a king. They arrived at Joseph and Mary’s home after following His star, as they called it, in verse 2, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him," which ultimately came and stood over where the Child was. When they saw His star over the home, they rejoiced and fell down to worship.

Brethren, we are going through these verses establish the Word of God’s determined right as King of kings.

Turn ahead to John 18.

John 18:29-38 Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?" They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you." Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law." Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die. Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"

Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all.

John 19:1-11 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands. Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him." Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!" Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him."

The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God." Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?" Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."

John 19:17-22 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews."'" Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

Brethren, I have been hoping in this sermon to establish several things.

1. Jesus Christ clearly came as the Messiah to save all men.

2. He also made it clear that He came to be King over all. But not in the first part of His work.

3. We have seen that Jerusalem is going to be His throne city because God is faithful to His promises.

4. We have seen that all of this is being done in stages that go beyond the futile thinking of men—a plan that extends over thousands of years but is absolutely certain to be accomplished.

We see parts of that plan within the holy days, and must recognize that every part is only being done through Jesus Christ but spread over thousands of years. Because this is the only way God has determined that it will work to accomplish His purpose to bring all men into His image in full accord with the essence of what He is.

The city is being prepared and the King has not only qualified to rule but He is actually ruling from heaven, as sure reality to the remnant who have been called to Him by His Father.

Please turn with me back to Matthew:

Matthew 16:13-20 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter [the chip of rock], and on this rock [Jesus Christ Himself] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Here He makes clear what He expects of His church, as the training ground to learn to judge properly—binding and loosing—in accord with the way God would have it done. Not to focus to make decisions based on what we think, but based on judgments now on what we look to God to show us through prayer, fasting, study, and meditation, because God’s Holy Spirit is dwelling in us.

He is the Rock and everything else is built on Him.

John 16:21-28 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

He went on to show how this project needs to move forward. But immediately, Satan inspires dissention that Christ crushes, quickly identifying the source. We are here to learn to make righteous judgments in accord with Him.

Please turn with me back to John 14.

John 14:14-18 “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

John 14:25-26 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

John 16:23-27 "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”

Anything we ask in His name must be in line with Him. He is sitting on His Father’s throne administering the government now, not as a mere illusion, but as the King of kings.

This is the next piece of God’s incredible work that is ever-expanding, as the little flock of subjects, separated from this world in which we live, learn to make righteous judgments. He is right now teaching us to bind and loose on this earth within the confines of our short and difficult lives in the flesh with the indwelling light of the Father and the Son.

Let us consider our work within the context of Psalm 102.

Psalm 102:1-13 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day that I call, answer me speedily, for my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned like a hearth. My heart is stricken and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread. Because of the sound of my groaning My bones cling to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop. My enemies reproach me all day long; those who deride me swear an oath against me. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, because of Your indignation and Your wrath; for You have lifted me up and cast me away. My days are like a shadow that lengthens, and I wither away like grass. But You, O LORD, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, has come.

We are living as all men needing to struggle with the difficulties of this life, with the light of God dwelling in us. We must have vision beyond men’s illusions, or the hardships that hold us back. We must see above those clouds, as well as we see below them. Because our work is below them our vision needs to be above them. That vision is what keeps us moving forward through our trials and troubles.

Please turn with me now to Jeremiah 31.

Jeremiah 31:23-34 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: 'The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!' And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me. "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD. In those days they shall say no more: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.'

But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

Jeremiah 31:38-40 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the city shall be built for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The surveyor's line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever."

Brethren, I hope we can appreciate the expanse of God’s work through Jesus Christ and the reality that we have read is already certain, as we live with our King ruling and teaching us to learn to make the righteous judgements that are going to be necessary when we rise to meet Him at His return.

He is now reigning as King over those who have been called now into His tiny Body of believers, who, through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, are learning to think and judge as He thinks and judges in all the trials necessary to become just like Him.

We are going to take a turn now that I hope will give us something to take with us into the next sermon on the last day of the Feast, hopefully a very large piece of encouragement regarding how we are being prepared right now. I hope also we will find within the next sermon a few lessons that we can take home with us from this Feast.

What we saw in the spring holy days was God’s faithfulness in leading Israel out of Egypt on the journey to the Promised Land. In the fall holy days, we become focused on God’s ever-expanding plan of Christ’s return, the remnant brought into the land, and eventually God’s plan of redemption and salvation extended to all mankind.

The Word made His presence known as He led those He delivered from Egypt on their journey in the pillar of cloud and fire. When they finally reached the land according to the first part of the covenant with Abraham, the cloud remained over the Tabernacle’s Holy of Holies (and later filled the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple), signifying His presence among them.

But as I alluded to earlier, by the time of Zacharias’ course in the priestly service something was missing.

I would like to cite to you a short section from Richard Ritenbaugh’s sermon, “The Glory of God, (Part 1): The Shekinah:

Shekinah is a word not found in the Bible. It literally means in Hebrew, "residence," or "dwelling." It is from a Hebrew root that is in the Bible, often translated as "to dwell." For example, "God dwells among His people." If you were to look that Hebrew term up, you would see the similarity to the word Shekinah.

It came to mean, over time, instead of literally "residence," or "dwelling,"—"God's visible presence." That word "visible" is very important—God's visible presence. Or, as I saw in one place, "The visible Majesty of the Divine Presence."

All descriptions of the Shekinah say that it was a most brilliant and glorious light enveloped in a cloud. So, when the Bible describes it as a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire it is splitting into two what was actually one. It was always a pillar of fire and it was always a pillar of cloud.

But, in the night, God emphasized for the Israelites the light and fire. And during the day, God emphasized the mass of cloud. So that, during the day, with the brilliant sunshine that was probably pretty common over the wilderness of Sinai, you saw the cloud. But, in the night when it was dark (and when you do not have city lights and other types of lights out there it gets pretty dark) what came through was this fiery pillar.

And so during the night it was light, and during the day, it was solid and substantial; you will find if you go through this that they often call it a dark cloud. The Lord rides on a dark cloud. "Dark clouds surround Him, and fire burns His foes." is the image that we have here. When God is around, there is usually a cloud. And there is usually a brightness coming out of the cloud.

Now, I have mentioned before, that it is especially the visible presence of God, and it came to be over time that visible presence that hovered over the Tabernacle. Or that filled Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.

Nothing is said of this presence of God—the Shekinah—in regard to the Second Temple. If you go to Ezra 6:13 and on to the end of the chapter, you will find that when they dedicated the second Temple there is no mention of God's presence. There might be a couple of reasons for this. They probably did not have the ark. They may not have. I do not know. The location of the ark is one of those questions and mysteries of history.

Did Jeremiah carry it to Egypt? We do not know. Did Nebuchadnezzar carry it back to Babylon? We do not know. Was it destroyed? We do not know. Did God take it up to heaven for safe keeping?

There is a scripture in Revelation that says at a certain point, that you look up and there is the ark of the testimony coming down out of heaven.

So, what happened to the ark? I do not know. But because the ark was not there it is very probable that the Shekinah was not present either in the second Temple; at least nobody has written about it at all in terms of the second Temple.

Brethren, we are going to get into this more in the next sermon, but remember, as we spent so much time in this sermon going over Jesus Christ’s ultimate work as King of kings and the restoration of His physical throne in Jerusalem, as the center of perfect government, I asked you to keep Matthew 1 and the generations to Jesus Christ in mind, and especially verse 17. There we saw those generations broken down into three sections of 14 generations each: Abraham to David, David to the Babylonian captivity, and then the Babylonian captivity to Jesus Christ.

God was visibly out in front and present in ruling directly up until God sent Judah into captivity. From that point forward, even when He inspired them to be brought back into the land, Judah has never been under His perfect government again. Judah has always been under the rule of others, Babylon, Persia, and Rome. Even the rulership that is going on in Israel is not really rulership under God. Even though God clearly sets up and removes those governments as He sees fit, God removed His presence, as shown in the Shekinah over the Mercy Seat, at the Babylonian captivity.

However, I would like you to consider this, please turn with me back to Matthew 2:

Matthew 2:1-2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

Please consider what one of the commentators said regarding His star:

This could not have been a supernova or a conjunction of the planets, as some modern theories suggest, because of the way the star moved and settled over various places. It is more likely a supernatural reality similar to the Shekinah that guided the Israelites in the days of Moses.

Brethren, I propose to you this was the Shekinah that was removed from Judah from the Babylonian captivity through the generations until it once again revealed God’s presence in the Word of God, who became the Man Jesus Christ.

It is this very light of Jesus Christ that dwells within each one of us today, as we prepare to learn to rule with Him at His return, as the perfect government of God begins to expand to the whole world from the Zion.

Richard mentioned in His sermon a scripture in Revelation that refers to the Ark of the Covenant. We are going to end this sermon with that verse, while keeping in mind that what suddenly becomes again visible to all men, is no illusion to us but the reality of the very throne of Jesus Christ, as we learn to prepare to rule with Him.

Revelation 11:15-19 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth." Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.

Brethren, we are here this week because what seems to be merely illusion and hardship that prevent progress in this world, are actually the reality of the Kingdom of God ruling this tiny group in the Body of Christ. It is the reality of the Kingdom of God at work, His perfect government today, and the work He continues to do as we learn to live as He lives, according to His perfect government that stands right now as He sits on His throne, in the heavens, in the middle of His work as Messiah.

MS/rwu/drm