Each reviving downpour of the Holy Spirit brings the Church closer to the Day of the Lord, to the glorious Day when Christ is exalted in the eyes of the nations of the earth.

Just prior to His return, Jesus will send down from Heaven the fullness of the harvest rain—the greatest issuing of God's Spirit in the history of mankind. The "latter rain" will bring the Lord's "wheat" to maturity in preparation for the harvesting of the earth.

The believer who overcomes, who conquers the world through Christ, is the one who lives every day in expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus. When the Christian watches and prays, hastening the coming of the Lord by his godly behavior, every part of his life and personality is brought into Divine perspective and harmony.

But the believer who does not watch and pray, who does not live every day in the joyful expectation of the Lord's return, soon will drift from his moorings. His life will move away from the Divine order and plan for him and confusion will result.

Ezekiel was a priest and prophet of Israel during the years that Israel was in Babylon in captivity, before the beginning of the work of restoration. The Spirit of God gave Ezekiel a detailed description of a temple which would be "the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever" (Ezekiel 43:7).

Although many physical details are mentioned that have to do with animal sacrifice, which never will be resumed now that Christ has given His own body as the final offering to the Father, yet glimpses of truth for the Body of Christ can be found throughout the description of Ezekiel's temple.

We understand Ezekiel's temple to be the restored temple—the result of the work of restoration. Several times in the description we find mention of the east. This expression indicates that the restored temple has to do with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ from Heaven with His saints.

No doubt the temple that Ezekiel saw in vision is a representation of the Body of Christ; for there is no temple of God other than Christ and His Body.

The vision of the Lord in the first chapter of Ezekiel speaks of the image of Christ—the image to which each son of God has been called. The many details of the temple refer no doubt to the creation of Christ in the inner man of the saint.

Notice in particular, with reference to the coming of the Lord Jesus:

Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. (Ezekiel 43:1,2)

We know from the second chapter of Ephesians that the saints are being made "an habitation of God through the Spirit." We understand from the fourth chapter of Ephesians that the ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit will labor until all the members of the Body of Christ come "unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

Therefore, the work of restoration, which includes building to maturity and unity the Body of Christ, is being performed with a view toward the revealing of Christ—a view toward the "east."

The moment the Body of Christ has attained God's standard for maturity and unity the Spirit "shall bring forth the headstone thereof [Christ] with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it" (Zechariah 4:7). (Zechariah was one of the principal prophets during the work of restoration.)

To be continued.