We have been through the experiences portrayed by the first three feasts. We now are at Pentecost, so to speak. It is evident that if God has followed the pattern so closely up to this point (the Holy Spirit falling from Heaven on the very day of the Jewish feast of Pentecost), we have reason to believe the final three feasts may reveal to us what is next on the program leading to the headship of Christ over the creation.

The fifth feast is the Blowing of Trumpets.

The sixth feast is the Day of Atonement.

The seventh and final feast is that of Tabernacles.

These three feasts reveal that following Pentecost will come the spiritual fulfillment of the Blowing of Trumpets, the announcement of war in the spirit realm. At this time God will declare His intention to utterly remove sin from His creation.

The waging of the war, the casting out of sin and rebellion from His Church and finally from those of the nations who are saved (the "sheep nations"), will result in an atonement, a reconciliation to God of those thus purified.

To the present hour the members of the Church have been reconciled to God through the blood of Christ. God has accepted us. But we have not as yet been reconciled to God in personality. We still have much sin and rebellion in us, all of which is contrary to God's Person and will. Isn't it a fact? All of this spiritual death must be removed from us before we can fully serve God in His Kingdom.

The removing of all sin and rebellion from us will make it possible for God and Christ to settle down to rest in us, thus fulfilling the idea of everything becoming part of Christ and being governed by Christ. The Church is the firstfruits of that which one day shall be true of the entire saved creation.

God is dealing with sin today; not so much sin in the world but sin in the Lord's people. We have always been taught that as long as we are in the world we will sin and there is nothing Jesus can do about it. He cannot save us from sin.

This is not what the Bible teaches. It is the opposite of what the Bible teaches.

But you know he appeared so he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. (I John 3:5—NIV)

Think carefully about the above verse. The context prevents our interpreting the verse to mean Christ appeared to take away only the guilt of our sins. The meaning is that Jesus Christ appeared to remove the power of sin from us.

Jesus Christ did not appear just to forgive our sins. The Lord appeared for the purpose of removing the sins from us; for the purpose of destroying the work of the devil in us. The context of the verse teaches this clearly.

We Christians have not understood or believed this could be true.

Perhaps the seals are being removed from the Scriptures in our day. I don't know. But one thing I do know: it is time now for God to remove sin from His churches.

To be continued.