I believe the restoration of the gospel of Jesus
Christ as revealed to Joseph Smith is a fulfillment of the three main Old
Testament feasts, particularly the third, the Feast of Tabernacles.
I believe there are three types of Christians: 1) Passover Christians, 2)
Pentecost Christians, and 3) Tabernacle Christians. Of course, depending upon
the light one walks in determines which of the three camps we hang out in.
THE PASSOVER CHRISTIAN, for example, believes in Jesus as the Lamb of God,
slain for the sins of the world. He believes in the death, burial, and
resurrection of our Lord. This group of believers have strong convictions
concerning the fundamental doctrines of the faith: the virgin birth, inerrancy
of scripture, a literal second coming, and the "born again"
experience. Some would call them "Fundamentalists" or
"Evangelicals." As a rule, they do not embrace the other two feasts.
THE PENTECOST CHRISTIAN embraces, naturally, the pentecostal experience.
This group of believers accepts two of the feasts: Passover and Pentecost.
They have difficulty believing in the third experience. I like what Kevin
Conner says:
"The challenge comes to all believers as to which Feast they will
stop at: Passover?...Pentecost?…Tabernacles?… Church history shows
how God's people have stopped at either the first Feast or the second Feast.
God's people have built their denominations around the various truths of
these two Feasts. And the sad history of the church shows that those who
experienced Passover truths opposed those who experienced Pentecost truths.
And, history repeating itself, shows that there are those who have
experienced Pentecost truths who oppose those who seek to follow on to know
God in tabernacle truths." --The Feasts of Israel, p.47
Well said.
In this hour, the dawning of a new millennium, we need saints like the men
of Issachar who had "…understanding of the times…" to know what
God's calendar looks like (I Chron.10:1,2).
THE TABERNACLE CHRISTIAN is what God is looking for these days. Why not
accept all the feasts? Accept all that God has for us? The Tabernacle
Christian embraces all three feasts and believes each feast is a spiritual
pilgrimage every Christian must make during his lifetime.
What is the Feast of Tabernacles?
It's the full harvest, the Ingathering (Ex.34:22) that fell at the
end of the general autumn harvest on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.
In a spirit of rejoicing, celebrating the blessings of the previous year, and
in memory of wilderness wanderings, the Israelites dwelt for seven days in
booths they constructed (Ex.23:16; Lev.23:33). Trumpets sounded to
announce each of the feasts (Num.10:10), but special significance is
attached to the sounding of the trumpets for this feast.
Spiritually the trumpets signify the sounding of the "last
trump," announcing the Day of the Lord when Christ shall be glorified in
his saints. Spiritual realities relating to the Feast of Tabernacles are many.
I list more than a few and I suggest we ponder and pray over them.
…Redemption of the purchased possession
....Full salvation
....Triple sealing
...The glorious inheritance
...High calling
...Year of Jubilee
...A new day dawning
...Glory of the latter house
...Triple anointing
...Unlimited glory
...Heirs of salvation
...Melchizedek priests
...Many sons
...Resurrection life
...Spirit without measure
...The day approaches
...Firstborn among brethren
...Joint heirs with Christ
...One New Man
...Zion
...Overcomers
...Adoption
...Pattern Son
...The endowment
...Kingdom of God
...Day of the Lord
...The New Order
...Three Appearances of Christ
An entire essay could be written about each listing. We merely point out
the richness of the Spirit concerning the Feast of Tabernacles. Christians
during the endtime are to walk in this realm.
One last generalization…
Present Day Prophetic Movement & Joseph Smith
I'm going to make a bold statement. Men like Rick Joyner and Joseph Smith
have a lot in common! I dare say, if Joseph Smith were alive today, I believe
he and Rick Joyner would be ministering side by side, sharing revelations and
edifying the Saints. I'm aware, such bold statements demand clarification. For
starters, both men are Feast of Tabernacle Christians. Many of the above
listings are and were revelations taught and believed by both Rick Joyner and
Joseph Smith. As I said, the two men have a lot in common.
Let's backtrack.
For the past thirty-five years the Body of Christ worldwide has witnessed
two moves of the Spirit: 1) charismatic renewal, and 2) prophetic movement.
Out of the charismatic renewal--which primarily renewed the Feast of
Pentecost--came bursting forth the prophetic movement--which is presently
renewing the Feast of Tabernacles within the saints. The charismatic renewal
began sweeping across America in the mid-sixties, and picked up steam in the
seventies. The prophetic movement began its surge in the mid-eighties, and
began maturing in the nineties.
There were those within the charismatic renewal who "went on to know
the Lord" even in a more profound way--men like Rick Joyner and Rick
Godwin. There are many more godly men and women I could list. I simply pick
these two at random. However, most within the charismatic renewal stopped at
the Feast of Pentecost years ago and have been camped out at a first fruits
anointing ever since.
It would do us well to list some features within the movement. Common to
the charismatic renewal are the following characteristics:
