JESUS APPEARED TO HIS OWN AFTER HE WAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD
John 21:12-14, 25 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. … And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER IS THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST
Acts 1:1-5 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
THEY CONTINUE WITH ONE ACCORD
Acts 1:12-14 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
THE FEAST OF PENTECOST BEGINS
Acts 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
THERE ARE THREE FEASTS OF THE LORD
Exodus 23:14-17 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
HERE ARE SOME EXCERPTS FROM THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES BY GEORGE WARNOCK.
[THE ORDER OF THE FEASTS- CHAPTER ONE
As we begin this study, we would exhort the reader to carefully read all that we have to say in this first section of the book, for it is written to form a foundation, as it were, for some of the glorious truths which are to follow. We realize that much of the information that is given concerning dates and seasons may appear insignificant and unimportant, but they are necessary, nevertheless, in order that the reader may more readily appreciate the glorious truths concerning the third and last Feast, the Feast of Tabernacles.
The three great annual Feasts of the LORD in Israel’s worship are set forth in considerable detail in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In a very real sense these Feasts prefigure and typify the whole Church age, beginning with the Cross and consummating in the manifestation of the sons of God and the glorious display of God’s power and glory. It is, of course, this great unveiling that we are chiefly concerned about–for the eternal purposes of God begin to be accomplished in that glorious event. But we cannot have a proper understanding of the end, unless we know somewhat of the beginning. We cannot appreciate the Glory, unless we learn about the Cross. We cannot enter the Kingdom unless we first learn obedience by the things which we suffer. The Feasts, therefore, begin with the Passover and end with the Feast of Tabernacles; and in between we have the various steps and degrees by which the Church is brought out of death and into life, out of rejection and into exaltation, out of suffering and into the Kingdom. The three Feasts in Israel’s annual cycle of religious ceremonies were:
1. The Feast of the Passover.
2. The Feast of Pentecost.
3. The Feast of Tabernacles.
These three Feasts, moreover, consisted of seven major events, three of which comprised the Feast of the Passover, then one stood alone–Pentecost, and then the remaining three events comprise the Feast of Tabernacles. A brief summary of the Feasts with their various festival events may be helpful:
I The Feast of the Passover, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
This Feast consisted of:
1. The Passover. (See Ex. 12:1-23; Lev. 23:4,5; Deut. 16:1-3).
2. The Unleavened Bread. (See Ex. 12:18; 23:15; Lev. 23:6-8; Deut. 16:3-4).
3. The Sheaf of Firstfruits. (See Lev. 23:10-14).
II The Feast of Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, of Harvest, of Firstfruits.
(See Ex. 23:16; Lev. 23:15-21; Deut. 16:9-12; Acts 2:1).
III The Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths, or of Ingathering.
This Feast consisted of:
1. The Blowing of Trumpets. (See Lev. 23:24-25).
2. The Day of Atonement. (See Lev. 16:1-34; 23:27-32).
3. The Feast of Tabernacles. (See Ex. 23:16; Lev. 23:34-44; Deut. 16:13-17).
All Israel’s worship seemed to center around these three great annual Feasts. They were the occasions of great convocations, the keeping of sabbaths, the eating of certain foods, the performance of certain ordinances and rituals, and a time of great consecration and sanctification: “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty.” (Deut. 16:16).
It is our intention to deal at some length with each of the seven festival events comprising the three Feasts, and to show in what manner they have been fulfilled, or shall yet be fulfilled, in the Church of Jesus Christ. Our primary purpose, of course, is to present the last great Feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, in the light of the New Testament–and especially in the light of what God is now doing in the formation of His Body, the Church. For truly the Lord is moving by His Spirit, moving o’er all the earth–brooding dovelike over the distressing state of affairs existing in the Church today, that He might bring order and harmony and peace out of chaos and darkness. And as surely as the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep in the beginning, and commanded light to shine out of darkness, and life to spring up out of the place of death–so surely will the voice of God once again in the ends of the ages restore the glory of Zion, and give unto her “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”
OURS IS A LEAPING FOUNTAIN- CHAPTER 14
“A well of water springing up (leaping up) into everlasting life (Jn. 4:14). This is Christ’s promise to His people. We do not write for the purpose of settling any doctrinal disputes, but simply for those whose souls are thirsting for this living stream. If men are content with their Passover experience, this is not for them. If they are satisfied with their Pentecost experience, this is not for them. Such contentment only proves that the Rivers of Living Water have ceased to flow from their souls; for this Fountain that Christ places within, if not cluttered up with the mire of the Philistines, is a Fountain that is constantly leaping up into everlasting life. Thank God for every measure of truth and power and glory that God has restored to the Church from the Reformation until now. But let it flow, child of God–let it surge forward until it becomes a mighty Amazon in this desert-world of sin, sickness, and sorrow.
Said Jesus, “Out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” We are not looking forward, then, to some strange, foreign power . . . some glory or some experience that does not really belong to us. But we are awaiting the release of the Divine flow, which is now locked up in the hearts of God’s people. We are “A spring shut up, a fountain sealed . . .” The Church has passed through a long, cold, arduous, and barren winter. But the All-wise God has been the author of the winter; for He is working out a great and mighty plan:
“He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?” (Ps. 147:16,17).
Yes, winter has been upon the Church for centuries. We could not understand it; but God has intended it for the glory and the triumph of those who shall be living in the day of Spring! Already we can see the firstfruits of Spring and the banishment of winter: “He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow . . . He hath not dealt so with any nation” (Ps. 147: 18,20).
The breezes of the Spirit are gently sweeping through the Church, and with the winds of the Spirit, and the illumination of the Sun of Righteousness, there is a melting. The ice and the snow and the frost are melting, and dissolving, and flowing together–to form this living stream from Lebanon. Therefore, let us even now begin to rejoice in the New Day of Spring, as the first rays of hope arise on the Eastern horizon.]
THE WELL OF LIFE. THE RIVER OF LIFE. THE TREE OF LIFE.
John 4:13-14, 23-24 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. … But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Revelation 22:1-6 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
God bless you all!
See: Index- Acts
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