From “Feast of Tabernacles,” Chapter 6- The Blowing of Trumpets: An Introduction to Tabernacles, continued
The Day of God’s Power.
The Church and the world are both going to be greatly surprised when they discover that the Great Tribulation, unleashed in all its fury, is nothing more nor less than the greatest display of Divine power and glory that this world has ever witnessed. (We should, perhaps, call this day the Day of the Lord, instead of the Great Tribulation; for it is only Great Tribulation to those who have not discovered “the secret place of the Most High.”) We have heard it said that Heaven would be Hell for the sinner, if he were allowed to enter its pearly gates. And that is exactly right. The unveiling of the might and power and glory of God in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation is going to produce on the one hand the Great Tribulation, and on the other hand the power and glory of the saints.
“Yet once more,” saith God, “I shake not the earth only, but also the heaven.” (Heb. 12:26). And this shaking is going to cast Satan and his principalities from their heavenly throne, while the Sons of God ascend into “the heavenlies”–first of all in the Spirit–to take upon themselves the authority which belongeth to those who are overcomers. And entering into this place of power and authority, the Sons of God shall be able to administer protection, and comfort, and help, and deliverance, and blessing to such as are in need. All this is confirmed by the prophecy of Joel the Trumpeter, concerning the Day of the Lord.
“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope (shelter) of his people, and the strength (refuge) of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim” (Joel 3:14-18).
What can be more clear than this: darkness, the shaking of heaven and earth, judgment,–but in God there is shelter and refuge and new wine and milk, and refreshing waters from the house of the Lord! And why is this? Because the shaking of the heavens is in reality, not merely the shaking of the natural sun and moon and stars, but the shaking from their celestial thrones of the powers of darkness and the hosts of wickedness, and the rising up of the Sons of God in the power of the Spirit, to take the Kingdom which Satan has usurped and occupied for so long.
That Satan’s kingdom is situated in “the heavenlies” is Paul’s teaching to the Ephesians (Eph. 6:12). From there he rules and reigns over the world and its many religions, as “prince of the power of the air” and “god of this world.” But “the heavenlies” is also the heritage of the children of God; for God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places (in the heavenlies) in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). The child of God is therefore called upon to war against these evil hosts of wickedness who have usurped the authority of Christ and His Church. Says Paul, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (the heavenlies)” (Eph. 6:12). GHW
The church is called to be a triumphant bride in the earth, wrestling against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Just as Jesus is both the lion and the lamb, the body of Christ is meant to be a bride and a warrior, dressed both in a gown of white and the full armor of God. The problem is the body has largely chosen the gown and rejected the weapons of warfare.
In the days in which we live, it is imperative that we both be alert, anticipating the coming of the Bridegroom, and be ready to follow orders from the Lord of hosts. Nothing less will bring us the victory.
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