TRIBULATION
Note the contrast in Joel 2:2 “A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains . .” Here, as in Revelation 12, we see glory and darkness at the same time. The Bible talks about things waxing worse and worse, yet also talks about things getting brighter and better unto the Perfect Day! Prov 4:18. In Revelation 12, there are three groups of people: 1) the 'Woman', 2) the 'Manchild', and 3) “the rest of her children”. All the way through the book of Revelation, there are certain individuals who actually represent people groups. For example, the Mother of Harlots, Mystery Babylon, represents the whole worldly religious, economic, military and governmental/political system, that is not of God. It is an individual that actually represents many people. We believe that the Woman spoken of in Revelation 12 is the Church believers at large, or at least, the intercessors, those who have a mother’s heart to give birth, etc. We believe that the “Man child” is the overcomers, the saints, the disciples, etc., Rev.2:26,27, and that the “rest of her children” represents the vast majority of believers, who are luke warm and who have only a percentage level of discipleship commitment. Rev.3:16.
GLORY? or, GLOOM AND DOOM?
Once, on a ministry trip to Nigeria, I spoke to an American banker who had been in the banking industry for years. I said, “Be honest with me. If I brought $100 to the bank to put it in checking or savings, how many times would the bank be legally able to lend out to lenders.” His reply was terrifying: “If something happened, anything that would shake the people’s faith in the economy, the money would not be available, and the banks would have to close their doors, IF EVEN LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF THE POPULATION went to the bank at the same time to ask for their money!!!”
During the “Great Depression” of the 1920’ and 30’s, America was on “the gold standard”, the country was largely rural, which meant that folks had food stored in their root cellars and pantries, and many were not dependent on electricity or modern utilities, nor did most Americans have the horrible debt load of today’s citizens.
The American economy is set to collapse any time from now, and in such a way as to make the “Great Depression” look like a picnic, by comparison. When the economy collapses, there will not even be money to pay firemen, the police, soldiers, postal people, or the utility companies. There will be wide-spread looting, burning, rioting and violence. It will be truly a day of “doom and gloom”, but, as Joel 2 also says, it will also be a day “as the dawn is spread upon the mountains”, so there will be “a great and mighty people.” As the Dragon goes off to persecute “the rest of her children”, the woman will be subsisting in the wilderness, and the Manchild overcomers will be “ruling over the Nations with a rod of iron”!
How and when is this going to happen? The answer is: “any time from now”.
Remember Matthew 24:14 “This Gospel of the Kingdom must (first) be preached in all the World for a witness to ALL the Nations, and THEN the End will come!!!” Will the end come, if this Gospel of the Kingdom is not first preached to ALL the World for a witness to ALL the nations? As we said before, there are over 1.4 billion Moslems, 1 billion Chinese, nearly one billion Indians, and nearly a gazillion white people who could care less about God.
What has all of this got to do with the Feast of Tabernacles?? Much in every way! Passover was fulfilled on the calendar, when Christ, our Passover Lamb was slain, so that the Blood of the Lamb can be applied to the door-post of our lives so that the Death Angel will pass over us. Pentecost was fulfilled on the calendar Day of Pentecost when the First Fruits of the Holy Spirit was bestowed bombastically and cataclysmically upon the Church. But Tabernacles has never been fulfilled! It is the Feast of Harvest, In-Gathering, and Glory! When it is fulfilled, we believe that it will be the Glory of the Latter House, the Latter Rain, the Full Harvest of the Earth, with mighty signs and wonders, creative miracles, judgement miracles. This will be the literal calendar time when we see the fulfillment of the promises of God, such as:
1) “These signs shall follow those who believe, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they SHALL recover!” Mk.16:19
2) “If two of you agree as touching ANYTHING, it SHALL be done!” Mt.18
3) “The works that I do, shall you do, and GREATER WORKS!” Jn.14:12
4) “What ever you lose, or bind, shall be loosed, or bound.” Mt.18:18
5) “This honour have all His godly ones, to bind the kings with chains, the nobles with fetters of iron, to execute upon them the judgement written, vengeance upon the nations, and punishments upon the people.” Ps.149
6) “The overcomers will rule over the nations with a rod of iron.” Rev.2
7) "And whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in My Name, I will do it." John 14:1
Be honest with me. Have these promises ever been fulfilled in a very large way by the overcomers??? The time is now, when these promises are to be received, believed and fulfilled in practical experiential ways, as a way of life, as standard procedure, as a regular happening. Amen.