From “Feast of Tabernacles,” Chapter 13- Tabernacles – The Feast of Restoration, continued
And how shall this exceeding glory be manifested? By the very shaking of the heavens and the earth. Paul quotes this passage in Heb. 12:26 and assures us that this shall be fulfilled in the Kingdom of the saints. We dealt somewhat with the shaking of the heavens in a previous chapter. The very unseen powers of the heavenlies must be toppled from their thrones; yea, even now are they beginning to feel the impact of heaven-tremors as the Sons of God begin to mount up with wings of an eagle to take unto themselves their God-given authority in the Spirit. “Be strong… Be strong… Be strong” is the threefold prophecy of comfort and encouragement to the builders of the Temple, to the priesthood, and to the remnant. For it is in the spoken word of prophecy that power and strength shall be imparted to the builders, enabling them to use the tools of their ministry in the one hand, and to fight with the Sword of the Spirit in the other. With similar words of encouragement, and with a similar purpose in mind, the apostle Paul exhorts the saints: “Finally, my brethren be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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.” (Eph. 6:10-12). It is this wrestling with the spiritual hosts of wickedness in “the heavenlies” that shall cause the very heavens to shake and Satan and his hosts to relinquish their kingdom into the hands of the Sons of God. Everything that can be shaken is going to quake and fall before the Sons of God. And then into the very heavenlies shall they ascend, first of all in the Spirit, to take possession of the kingdom left vacant by the casting out of Satan. and his evil hosts. Then shall they be in a position to administer peace and life and blessing to a Church and a world that are in bondage and under oppression.
ZECHARIAH’S PROPHECY (See Zech. 4)
Zechariah likewise prophesied words of encouragement to Zerubbabel and the remnant who laboured on the temple. In what way would the Lord encourage the builders in the colossal task that lay before them? Well, the Lord would give the prophet a vision that would explain the means of their success. How helpless they were! How would the Lord encourage them? And so Zechariah looked, and what did he see? Mountains of stone and timber and mortar? Huge labour battalions marching down from Babylon to help them? Great machines to aid in their seemingly impossible task? Ah no! But he looked, “And behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon and two olive trees by it.” A very simple illustration, and meaningless perhaps to many: two olive trees pouring their oil into a candlestick.
Zechariah himself did not know what it meant; and so God gave him the interpretation. GHW
We must take possesion in order to be in a position to administer the Kingdom of God in the earth. In a description of “Yearning for the Heavenly Country,”[1] Seedbed Publishing speaks of John Wesley’s views of spiritual warfare:
John Wesley described the Christian life as consisting of “continual warfare.” The spiritual struggle involved in faithful living is real, in Wesley’s view. It means that we need “every moment” to be watchful and to pray so that we don’t fall into the temptations that surround us at every turn. Because the Christian life is a spiritual life, it intersects the spiritual realm. For Wesley, our own spirits are under the influence of spirits we can’t see with our eyes—the Holy Spirit, of course, but also angels and demons that seek to do us either good or ill.
Well known for his “practical divinity,” or writings on the practical life, Wesley was also wont to venture into more speculative territory when it came to his writing on spiritual warfare. He was fascinated by the role that angels play in our faith. He believed strongly that we need to be aware of the danger that Satan and his demons represented to us. Wesley could also become captivated by thoughts on what the “heavenly country” from the book of Hebrews might be like—a restored creation for a redeemed humanity in the kingdom to come.
[1] https://my.seedbed.com/product/yearning-for-the-heavenly-country/
My question to you is, “Are we ready to put on the full armor and fight for that which is eternal?”
Late Harvest Wesleyan Ministries 