11. The Latter Glory

“…they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts… ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place, I will give peace’ (Haggai 2:2-9).

The glory of this latter temple shall be greater.

What is a Church coming out from Paul’s gospel, a Church whose fruit will remain?

Great question. I wrote a book that provides an answer, titled Symmorphy V: Life. Click on the link and get yourself a copy of that book. You need the physical copy in hand much more than the pages on a website.

But let’s come back into our present topic.

We are looking, first, at the course of the next ten years, not as “prediction,” but as definition and focus. We are seeing a Glorious Church living fully in union with Christ as He is, and the revelation of Jesus Christ through her, Father made known to all. We are seeing this greater glory at the end of our window of time.

Then, we are approaching the question of the path from where we are right now to that greater glory through a whirlwind experience known best as the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles in the life and experience of the Church. – We are approaching this question through two ways of thinking. First, we want to know the meaning and power of a river of life flowing out of our bellies with all the nourishment and protection needed by millions of Spirit-filled believers in Jesus fleeing from certain destruction. And second, we want to know how the mind of our Captain, now our mind as well (we have the mind of Christ), in His strategies of victory as He through us casts all darkness and evil from off the Church first, and through her, from off the human experience.

You can see that I am positioning what I have called the third and fourth most important verses in the Bible, how, knowing our full symmorphy with Christ Jesus as the revelation together of Father, knowing the love of Christ beyond all, that we are filled with all the fulness of God inside of our weak humanity, we turn and, on the one hand send forth rivers of Spirit, of life and healing and joy, and on the other hand, send forth full and final victory over all accusation and darkness, over every mind where God has not been known.

Consider these words. The accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, the one accusing them before our God day and night. And they have overcome him…

It is evident that there is one place only where this war is fought and this victory won – and that is inside the minds of these same brothers and sisters in Christ, for there is no falling short of God; therefore, there can be no accusation.

Then consider these words. The one believing into me, as the Scripture has said, Rivers of living water will overflow out of his belly [his womb, his innermost being].

It is evident that the outcome of this river is fruit that never fails.

And thus both Revelation 12:10-11 and John 7:37-39 REQUIRE a glorious Church, a greater glory, in fullness upon this earth BEFORE the resurrection of our bodies, before death is swallowed up in victory.

It is also evident that we cannot know the path, the two-lane road of victory and life, from here to there unless we know exactly what “there” is.

What is this Glorious Church, this greater glory than Jesus in His ministry, this greater glory than anything found anywhere in the Bible, as she IS, just before the ages turn?

Before we can even approach such a thing, we must remind ourselves of the brass tacks of present reality. Right now, you and I are without strength, without ability, without reach or influence. We possess no meaning as far as Christianity in this world is concerned. And right now, look across Christianity as it is all throughout the world. What a travesty!

You see, it’s not that what I am proposing is utterly impossible; it’s that it is utterly inconceivable.

Now, God has given us the clear path from the nothingness of here to the all-ness of there. That path is the step-by-step fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles. And we will use that model through this study.

But unless we know where and what There is, we cannot know the full meaning of the path.

What is the Church of Jesus Christ one literal hour before the resurrection, one hour before God transforms her action of putting immortality and incorruptibility, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, upon herself through faith into the outward appearance of many?

This is a very good question. When you ask the right question, you get the right answers. I think we have for ourselves a very good question.

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:51-4).

We are positioning millions of Spirit-filled believers in Jesus all across this earth one hour before this full outward appearance of Victory inside the absolute assumption that God does NOT zap. God never does anything except through our faith, through our willing and stated permission, and utterly together with us.

Wow! I’ve never gotten this specific before. This is indeed an incredible mystery.

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew… But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:7-10 – reduced).

God has revealed this glorious Church to us by His Spirit. And in doing so, He has also given us the Way from here to There!

Christ also loved the church and traded Himself for her, for her sake, the He might make her holy, having already cleansed her by the washing of water in word {in the words of His good speaking}, that He might present her to Himself a glorious [fulfilled] church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:25-27).

The word “glorious” Church, means, as you can see, a “fulfilled” Church, a Church that is everything God means His Church to be, that is the full and permanent revelation of God seen and known, the dwelling place, the Body of God.

Yet we are speaking of one hour BEFORE any outward resurrection.

Then, let’s look at the early church one hour before Pentecost.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4).

For the sake of understanding, let’s translate these lines into Tabernacles.

When the Final Great Day of Tabernacles had fully come, they were all with one accord gathered together into Christ, in many local places across the earth. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as a mighty trumpet call, as of rushing rivers of water flowing out, and it filled every place where they had gathered. Then there appeared to them LIFE, Father made known, arising within each of them. And as the Holy Spirit flowed out from them in rivers, their bodies were swallowed up by life as they, by the Spirit, put immortality and incorruptibility upon themselves together.

Now, in writing this, I’m not trying to write “Scripture” or anything like that. I’m simply trying to make this hour prior to the resurrection as real for us as I can.

EXCEPT – this is worded partly in terms of Pentecost, in terms of an in-part church that did not bring forth the full revelation of God. As a translation from Pentecost, it is useful to us, but it cannot give the full picture of Tabernacles.

Here is one Scripture that words this same experience in terms of Tabernacles.

And a great sign was perceived in heaven, a woman enclothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a garland [of victory] of twelve stars. And having [a child] in her womb, she screams, being in travail and being tortured to bring forth [to bring to birth] … And the dragon stands in the face of the woman about to bring forth, so that when she should bring forth, he might devour her child. And she brought forth a male, a son, who is about to shepherd all the nations with a rod of iron, and her child was seized into God and into His throne (Revelation 12:1-5 – reduced).

Here we are seeing this same Church as one screaming in travail to bring forth. We are looking at the same experience, the same glorious Church, one hour before the resurrection. Now, I am not saying that this birthing of the “manchild” happens as the resurrection, for this child seized into God is already in full reality before this moment. Rather, we are placing the full faith and reality of the “manchild” in the Church coming into this hour before the resurrection.

Let me define the “manchild.” We know exactly what this “manchild” is in terms of the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles. The “manchild” is LOVE ONE ANOTHER in full expression among Communities of Christ all across this earth.

“They were all with one accord in one place.”

God’s metaphor of the reproduction of life, culminating in Revelation 12:1-5, is the foundational metaphor of God and the entire Bible. All other metaphors, including the Tabernacle of Moses, find their meaning only inside of this largest of metaphors.

For that reason, it is the organic qualities of LIFE that we use to understand what this gathering together is, not the mechanical qualities of assembly.

Here is the same phrase depicting the “upper room” quality of the victorious Church. – Until we all come down to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4:13).

In Pentecost, the “one place” was the upper room. In Tabernacles, the one place is “the faith and knowledge of the Son of God.”

Notice how the meaning has changed. I picked up on the fact that there is no article, “the,” in front of “knowledge.” It’s really easy for years of familiarity with the words to cause you to miss the tiniest little things that are not the same in the Greek.

“The faith” and “the knowledge of the Son of God” are not two separate things, rather, “faith” and “knowledge” are two things together inside of and coming out from the Son of God.

We know that the knowledge of the Son of God is the full measure of age-unfolding life, and that we receive all that such life means entirely through faith, and that not our “own” faith, but the faith of the Son of God, which is our faith.

But here is, I think, the key words for us in describing this Church, gathered locally, all across the earth, one hour before the resurrection – Until we all come down to the unity…

The meaning is the very opposite as has been held by all deeper truth movements throughout church history. The primary problem is the King James use of the word “attain.” Until we all attain to – an anti-word that has moved many spit-flinging preachers to send thousands of devoted believers in Jesus towards the contrary and fruitless pursuit of the super-Christ.

I recently did the JSV translation of Romans 14-16. The primary reason I do this is that I love to see just what God actually says in His word. Having the actual words God speaks flow through me from eyes to mind to fingers to eyes again is just the best thing I love to do. When you see what God actually says, everything changes; the words become life and meaning in ways that they never could otherwise.

The key passage for us is Romans 13:11 to 15:33. In this passage, Paul explains quite clearly what “the unity of the faith” really is, and it is NOT everyone believing in and agreeing on the same things. In fact, it’s something, not the opposite, but entirely different.

Here are the key verses of this passage. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, enclothe yourself with, sink into the Lord Jesus Christ as into a garment, and do not give thought {one way or the other} regarding the desires of the flesh (Romans 13:14). – Now everything that is not coming out of faith is falling short {of the knowledge of God} (Romans 14:23). – Therefore receive one another [interactively and aggressively seize hold of one another with strong personal interest] in exactly the same way that Christ received you [aggressively seized you] into the glory of God (Romans 15:7).

Paul’s argument throughout this passage is concerning the surface debate of eating or not eating food offered to idols. That is not an issue today, nonetheless, it stands in for every single split in Church history, yet not in the way that most would think.

Let’s bring in one of the thousands of such issues today. – To tithe or not to tithe.

Here is Paul’s argument. Those who tithe do so through faith and thus their tithing is Jesus and them walking together. Those who do not tithe do so through faith and thus their not-tithing is Jesus and them walking together.

So, who are the one’s preaching contrary to Christ? Those who teach AGAINST the tithers and those who teach AGAINST the not-tithers. And why are they acting contrary to Christ? Because they are doing two very wicked things.

On the one hand, with their false words, they are breaking Jesus away from those who belong to Him in the underlying and profound assumption that Jesus is NOT Lord, that He is NOT the head of every member of His body, that He is irrelevant and meaningless, and that He does NOT walk as one with every little believer who loves Him. And on the other hand, they are causing their hearers, whether in agreement with them, or those they are targeting, to step away from faith and to live in human performance as their life. Teaching such things is wicked indeed.

So – Joel Osteen teaches tithing. Many who love to denounce Joel publicly speak against Lakewood Church’s practice of tithing as something “not of Christ.” Yet Joel Osteen and all of Lakewood Church genuinely connect together with the Lord Jesus Christ as they tithe. And Jesus IS utterly with them; in fact, it is Jesus who is tithing as them.

I sat in Lakewood services for seven years. Never once was I tempted to tithe. I looked inside my heart on a number of occasions and knew that to me, to tithe would be to depart from the profound faith in Christ in which I have walked for many years. If I had tithed, it could not have been “of faith” and it would have been sin. Yet I recognized fully that all those around me who were joyfully tithing were doing so entirely in faith, as Jesus Himself living as them. Not once was my faith in Jesus in me regarding not-tithing or my receiving of my brothers and sisters as Jesus Himself ever bothered or diminished by the difference in outward practice.

Paul is very clear in rebuking those who denounce the practice of tithing in others – Why do you despise and show contempt for your brother? The denouncing itself is the one thing that is NOT of faith and thus, utterly SIN. And this sin does separate that one showing contempt in their imagination from the knowledge of the Son of God.

In the history of the Mennonite church there were as many splits as is typical of Christian groups in this world. One church split right down the middle and formed two separate congregations over one issue. That issue was the question of which practice was godly or ungodly, having buttons on your shirt versus the traditional hook and eye.

The problem was not the split. The problem was not believers in Jesus following their faith and connection with the Lord Jesus. The problem was not two groups of people, one with buttons on their shirts and one with hooks on their shirts. If you wear buttons on your shirt, do so in faith, connecting fully with Jesus in all that you do. And if you wear hooks and eyes on your shirt, do so in faith, connecting fully with Jesus in all that you do.

Nonetheless, anti-Christ ruled in that split because both sides denounced the other as being not of Christ.

Receive one another in exactly the same way that Christ received you.

By March of 1997, I had read the New Testament many, many times, heard it preached on thousands of hours, and written out its verses over and over. Yet, until that month, I had never once seen this line in my Bible. – Receive one another in exactly the same way that Christ received you. That line, coming into me in that moment, changed my life. Let me explain what happened.

Several months earlier, while living at the Blueberry Community in British Columbia, I was minding my own business one day, working under my cabin, digging a tunnel in the cool sand in order to put water lines underneath the floor. I had paused to rest when words came unbidden, but very strong, into my awareness. – “You have a sectarian heart.”

I looked at my heart, as the Lord was directing, and I saw that God was, indeed, telling me the truth. You cannot be a “movite” without being sectarian. I was not condemned, but I did ponder what the Lord would do in me to change my heart. Then, in March of 1997, I noticed this line for the first time. Receive one another in exactly the same way that Christ received you.

From then until now, these words have ruled how I see all who believe in Jesus, even all who call upon His name in some way.

Let me ask you a question? Do you have a “Christ-o-meter,” an electronic instrument of some sort that allows you to scan someone who imagines themselves to be “Christian” in order to detect if the Lord Jesus is alive inside of them or not?

And don’t say, “I have discernment.” There are few gifts more abused than the gift of discernment. More than that, it is a discernment of the actions of false spirits, not an ability to define what God is doing inside the heart and life of any other person on this planet.

Let me make this assertion. God does NOT and has NEVER told any individual in all of history what He is doing inside the life and heart of any other human being.

God has one answer only, the only answer He will ever give to anyone’s question concerning any other person on this earth. Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus says to him, “If I desire him to [whatever], what is that to you? You follow Me” (John 21:23).

In other words, our attempts to analyze other people who call themselves Christians is very much inside of the line – Shut your mouth before a holy God, lest your own falseness be your reward.

But the opposing line that is Christ alive inside of us is this. – Receive one another in exactly the same way that Christ received you – into the glory of God.

Now, you might think, “Daniel, you were approaching such a revelation of glory in the first part of this letter, why this diversion?”

I have not diverted from glory at all, but rather placed before us exactly what that glorious Church is.

The one action that will cause the Church to be inside the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God is for every one of us to come down off our high horse, one might say, and to receive one another as Jesus Himself, regardless of any and all outward differences.

Here is absolute reality. – The Church, all the gathering together, which is His body, the fullness of Christ [the full meaning that is Christ] filling all in all, Jesus filling with Himself everything in everyone (Ephesians 1:23). And again – [There IS] one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called inside of one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and INSIDE of all (Ephesians 4:4).

The Church is already and only one; any attempt to make her “one” is anti-Christ and sin because it is not of faith.

Let’s now look at the whole context that gives us this description of the gathering together in every local place one hour before the resurrection.

And He Himself gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some shepherds and teachers, towards the preparation of the saints for the work of ministry, into the building up, the construction of the body of Christ, until we all come down to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, into being a complete or perfect man, into the measurement of the maturity of the fullness or completion of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13).

There is no greater faith, no more meaningful expression of confidence in Christ, than when I receive you as the Lord Jesus and you receive me as the Lord Jesus in full reciprocity, and as we together extend that receiving, that continuous aggressive action of taking others into our embrace as a very part of our souls, out over every individual person on this earth who calls upon Jesus in some way, regardless.

Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith in the earth?” This is the faith that is He coming.

“You shall not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Let’s translate this line to the positive. “You will see Me when you receive one another as Myself.”

I can think of all kinds of Christian practices that I abhor. Almost the worst to me is the waving of the flag, the pledging of allegiance, and the “praying” for the troops, because I know the profound hurt being inflicted on so many millions of people out from such wickedness. Few practices in Christianity are more contrary to the knowledge of Father, than this.

What then do I do? Do I denounce those who practice these things? If I were to do so, I would have to denounce most of those inside the box of “millions of Spirit-filled believers all across this earth.”

By this we have known love, because He set forth his soul, His story of self, for us, for our sakes {the word hyper includes the concept of a trade, story for story, life for life}; and we also are committed to setting forth our souls for the sake of our brothers and sisters (1 John 3:16).

There is no greater turning from a “self” separate from Christ and no greater faith in Jesus than when I receive a rabidly flag-waving brother or sister as the Lord Jesus Himself.

What is the Church of Jesus Christ one literal hour before the resurrection, one hour before God transforms her action, of putting immortality and incorruptibility, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, upon herself through faith, into the outward appearance of many?

It is this quality of setting forth our souls for one another as the very essence of age-unfolding LIFE, expressed among many local gatherings all across this earth that is the proof of Christ, the glory of God, a glorious Church moments before being swallowed up by life.

Specifically, the primary quality of this Church is that we see Jesus as He IS, that is, as one another. And that seeing is so powerful and so overwhelming. It’s called faith.

It’s called the great mystery of the ages.

It’s called the revelation of Jesus Christ.