Lesson 3

The Feasts in Revelation

It is obvious that we are not going to teach this verse by verse through this book. We are just looking for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ as we look at the Feasts in the book of Revelation. It is our objective to cause you to look at the Word of God from a different angle than most people do.

We don’t always take the main line approach to things. We are very conservative in our proclaiming and explaining the Word of God. We do not need to just hear what we have already heard. The church world is stagnant in many circles because they bring people to teach them what they already know.

Denominations are built around finding a man who believes just what they believe and hiring him to preach everything they already know. Then they wonder why they’re in the same boat their in. There is something in the church that causes growth, and for the most part God's people shy away from that. God is rising up some people today who will press the envelope, push you a little bit, but yet stay in some guide lines that are godly. If you listen to what we teach it’s nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified and what that means to you.

We preach the book of Revelation redemptively. We are teaching this way from the standpoint that the beginning of the book says, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." We believe that the disclosing or the revealing of Christ in you or through you is the most important revelation that we need to be considering today. I want Jesus to be seen in this part of the body of Christ. I want Him to be revealed in me.

When the Holy Spirit is allowed to do so, you can go from Revelation chapter one verse one all the way through the end of the book and teach it redemptively in term of spiritual maturity until we grow up to become a dwelling place of God.

Do you realize that every Old Testament Most Holy Place was in the form of a cube? Moses’ Tabernacle in the Most Holy Place where the glory of God dwelt was 10X10X10 it was a cube.

Solomon’s’ temple was 20x20x20 it was a cube, but a larger cube. Ezekiel’s temple was a cube but it was a larger cube. The progression of the Most Holy Place is always a cube but it gets bigger and bigger until you get to Revelation 21 & 22 and you have a cube 1,500 miles by 1,500 miles. It is still the Most Holy Place. We can’t just jump into the book of Revelation and begin to study that without taking into consideration everything that’s been said prior to that.

It is impossible to get any real biblical understanding of the book of Revelation without some pre-understanding.

You need to know the Old Testament in order to understand the book of Revelation. Every single book of the Bible has a key to the book in the front of it and it opens a present truth reality to it for us today. The book of Revelation is no exception and it tells you at the beginning the meaning of the book.

The word servant there is bondservant and the bondservant in the Old Testament is a person who paid their debt and had been released but chose to stay with their master. That person was taken to the door and had his ear nailed to the door.

John chapter 10, Jesus said, "I am the door." The bondservant of the New Testament is somebody who has his or her ears constantly nailed to Jesus. Who was this revelation given to, it was given to John?

At the Last Supper Jesus was feeding his disciples bread and wine. John reaches over at that time and puts his ear on the door. He laid his head on the breast of Jesus. That’s a picture of a bondservant. It is that man who put his ear on the heart of Christ that was given this most awesome revelation of Jesus Christ.

In order for you to be able to see Jesus on every page of this book you see with the eyes of the spirit-man. You must have your ear toward Him. You must be listening for His heart beat.

It says there that "God gave it unto Him to show His servants," and it’s amazing how many of Father's people can’t understand the book when it’s called the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

It is difficult if you are looking for something other than Jesus in this book. If you are looking for something other than Him then you may not see much of Him in there. The Apostle Paul’s revelation and the revelation John received, are both a revelation of the same person. Paul’s was very practical and John’s was very visionary. How do you interpret the book of Revelation?

It says, "He signified it;" he sign-i-fied it. Most people will tell you to take the book of revelation literally as much as you can. But, if God tells you that it is signified right at the beginning then you are to take it symbolically as much as you can. That is the law that we use in understanding this book. If you take it literally you are going to miss out on a whole lot.

We know that the Lamb in the book talks about Jesus. When the Bible talks about the Lion of the tribe of Judah it’s speaking of Jesus. That white horse that Jesus rides through the clouds, in Revelation 19, is not a literal horse. Do you understand then that there is some symbolism involved in all of this? If you can understand that then you are way ahead of most of the writers of books in the church today.

Horses in Scripture are symbols. If you study the symbolic implications of horses in Scripture you will see that through out Scripture, in the Old Testament; for instance in Song of Solomon chapter one it’s about the bride that’s represented by the Shulamite, and the King which is Solomon. In the beginning of the book he calls her a horse. He says, "You remind me of a horse in Pharaohs chariot." What are the characteristics of horses? They are swift and they are strong and powerful and they are beautiful; he called her swift, strong and powerful.

The problem was not calling her a horse it was "you remind me of a horse in Pharaohs chariot." "You are a beautiful, strong, powerful person but you’re carrying the wrong king."

Joel saw a whole army and he said, "They looked like horses and horsemen." In other words he said, "I couldn’t tell where the riders stopped and the horse started."

What we are showing you is the symbolism of the book of Revelation. In Revelation nineteen when this white horse is spoken of, here comes the Word of God riding into the earth to make war against the enemies of the Lamb.

White, in biblical understanding always speaks of righteousness. It says, "Riding upon this horse was the Word of God"; not talking about a book. That white horse in Revelation nineteen represents a vehicle upon which God's Holy powerful Word comes into this earth to make war against everything that’s not Him.

Zechariah called the people of God "horses." How many millions of Christians are waiting for Jesus to mount up on a white horse and come down through a cloud? This makes people mad to teach this; would you see Him ride a horse or would you rather become a vehicle upon which He comes? "He was the Word made flesh and dwelt among us." That horse represents a vehicle upon which God's Word comes into this earth; out of the realm of the unseen; into the realm of the seen.

The book of Revelation is from start of finish signified, yet people are looking for a code to break the understanding of the book. How do you understand this book, how do you figure it out? Well, the codebook is in the previous sixty-five books. The book of Revelation is structured.

Most of my understanding of this book, in the past only, came from what someone told me. I began to study where they got their understanding and studied it myself; the historical view and the futuristic views. When you find out it is signified, then you can see where the signs point to. If Father tells you that it’s written in signs, then you need to go to the codebook and see the signs. What you are seeing in this book is Jesus Christ and Him crucified and what that means to you.

Is he talking about making the natural sun dark, no? He is talking about taking Egypt’s rulers, those who had power, He said, I’m going to put your lights out.

Amos chapter eight says the same thing of Samara Israel’s archenemy.

Did that happen in the natural, no? What He is saying is, I’m going to bring rulers down. Joel chapter two it says, "And the sun and the moon shall be dark." Do you know what happened? On the day of Pentecost when Jesus arose from the dead the sun and the moon and the stars fell out of the heavens. There is a new ruler in the heavens today. That has already happened.

Jesus said, "When you see these things come to pass," the sign of the Son of man will be seen in heaven. That means who was ruling before Jesus Christ, is no longer ruling anymore.

So when you read the book of Revelation and you read how judgments come on the sun and the moon and stars. You don’t look at that literally and get scared about what might happen up in the sky. God is dealing with sun and moon and stars in you. You’ve got rulers inside of you that Father God wants to deal with.

I hope we are challenging you, because Father God is not obligated to act upon what you thought He said. We have a lot of people, going around concerned about natural things on the outside of them and God is dealing with the man of sin on the inside of us. Not in your heart, but in your head.

Revelation six is the opening of the seals. The seals are what are closing the book in Revelation 5:1.

This book is the book of life, and if you’re born again you have your name written in the Lambs book of life. Is there any room in your thinking process to believe that the Lambs book of life is not one of those great big ledger books at the county court house? I grew up believing there was such a book and according to the church dramas I’ve been to and traditional teachings, the Angel in charge had a great big eraser to take my name off every time I did something wrong.

First Corinthians chapter three Paul tells us, "We are epistles known and read of all men." Where do people in the world get their views of God today? They get them from the church. You are the only Bible that some people ever read.

Who is setting on the right hand of the Father, Jesus? In His right hand there is a book. It’s a message to the world, it’s written on the front side and the backside. It’s got seven seals to it, and John said, "Who is worthy to open this book?" There is no man worthy in heaven or on earth.

Have you ever tried to get the life of God showing up on you, by beating yourself up? Maybe you didn’t do that, but I did. If I can just get to so and so and he can do it. No man in heaven or earth can open the book no preacher, nobody under the earth. Then there was a great message saying, "The only person who can open the book is the Lamb." The death of the Lamb opens the book.

It’s the Lambs book of life. By the time you get to Revelation 21, there is a river of life that flows out of the Most Holy Place that brings healing. There is a river of life that flows out of the Most Holy place that brings healing to the nations. Before you get to Revelation 21 the seals have to come off, one at a time.

The first horse in Revelation six, is a white horse; it’s the first seal. That speaks of a message that unlooses a seal.

If it’s a scroll it’s got seven seals, if you get six seals off, the scroll is not opened until the seventh one comes off. The white horse speaks of Jesus’ righteous earth walk. You need to see the righteous earth walk of Jesus. He comes on a white horse; in other words He walks righteously upright before men. By time you get to Revelation nineteen, you find those people He died for has become a white horse upon whom He rides.

The red horse is next, Jesus became sin. The black horse, He identified with the darkness of all humanity. The pale horse is next, it says death and hell followed. Jesus was made to be sin, He died spiritually, He went to hell, and He bore the curse.

The next seal says, "The souls of them were under the altar." That’s the Brazen Altar on the outside. The Cherubim's are opening all of these seals. The fifth seal you find the "souls of them under the altar."

If you were back in Moses Tabernacle in Leviticus chapter nine, a laser beam of light came from between the Cherubim's and went from the Most Holy place, through the Holy Place and it exploded that sacrifice in the Outer Court before all the people. That bullock in an instant of time became ashes under the altar.

That bullock represents what happened to humanity on the cross. By the time these four horsemen ride through your mind, you will see yourself as ashes under the altar; the Word says, God gives us beauty for those ashes.

The next seal is a great earthquake. What happened when Jesus rose from the dead, an earthquake took place? That’s the resurrection.

Notice the "sun became black;" that’s the sun that was previously in control, previous rulers. When Jesus was raised from the dead, did that literally happen, no? In the realm of the spirit every previous ruler was downed.

Jesus became Lord of lords and King of kings and everything else before Him was knocked out of the heavens.

Then you have in chapter seven the sixth seal.

Notice the progression here; you have the earth walk of Jesus.

• Jesus made sin.
• Jesus died spiritually.
• Jesus went to hell, made a curse.
• The souls under the altar.
• The resurrection of Jesus.
• Sun, moon and stars fall.

Then you find this sixth seal includes the sealing of the saints. What happened when Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, what did He do? He sent forth the Holy Spirit into the earth.

What you have in Revelation chapter seven is the sending forth of the Holy Spirit, and you have symbolically what took place in the upper room.

That carries on through in Revelation chapter eight when ministry is brought forth, the five-fold ministry.

Now, can you think of any place in the Old Testament when God's people were told to be quite? The battle of Jericho, they were told to not say a word. What happened after that? Seven trumpets were given to seven Priests.

Can you see where this imagery is coming from; if you can, then you can see that this is the Feast of Trumpets at the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles. We have already seen prior in the book of Revelation; Passover, and UN-Leavened bread, Sheaf of First fruits, Pentecost and beginning in chapter eight you have the first feast of the Feast of Tabernacles; the Feast of Trumpets.

Seven trumpets were given and trumpets represent a clear sounding word. If we went back to Joshua chapter six where this imagery is brought from you will see that Joshua, who is a type of Jesus, was told by God at the beginning that after they were silent for a while, to shout and the walls would come down. He had already given them the city. It was a done deal from the beginning; but the people didn’t know it.

You look back, they didn’t find out until the morning of the seventh day when Joshua said I want you guys to shout, for God has given you the city. Isn’t it interesting that in the book of Joshua as it relates to this, there is a harlot that gets saved? You get right over here during the seventh trumpet and you find a harlot.

By the time you get to the book of Joshua, you find when the children of Israel inherited their promise land, they gave Joshua something. Let’s see what they gave him. This is after Joshua, who is a type of Christ, calls the children of Israel to inherit their promise land.

What happens when you get to the end of the book of Revelation, what do you see? You see a city that comes out of heaven to God.

Timnathserah means, ‘Multiplied portion’. Mount Ephraim means ‘double fruitful’. It says, "He built the city, and dwelt therein."

When you get to the end of the book of Revelation, you have a city set on a hill, that Jesus built and dwelled therein. That city at the end of the book is on a great and High Mountain, this one was on a mountain. Every one of God's houses is always on a mountain.

• Moses Tabernacle ended up on Mt. Gibeon.
• David’s Tabernacle on Mt. Zion.
• Solomon’s Temple on Mt. Moriah.
• Jesus the Temple of God went up on the Mt. of Transfiguration.

God is calling the church into the highest parts of Zion. When you get to the end of the book you find a city upon a great and high mountain. What happened when the Tabernacles were finished? The glory of God came in everyone of them.

What happened when Moses Tabernacle and David’s Tabernacle was finished; the Glory of God came into it.

What happened when Solomon’s Temple was finished; the Glory of God came into it.

Zerubbabel’s restoration temple, Jesus the Glory of God came into that temple.

Jesus the temple of God on the Mt. of Transfiguration was transfigured before them and He shinned with the Glory of God.

Who is the stone most precious? Jesus is the precious stone and the light of that city is exactly like His light. It’s even a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

There is a wall around that city. Isaiah sixty says, "Our wall is salvation." The book of Nehemiah is a type of the Holy Spirit coming to Jerusalem; the temple is already set up. Do you have your spirit already born again? The problem is that the walls of our personality have been broken down. Nehemiah gets word from Hananiah his brother, whose name means "grace’.

Nehemiah says in chapters 1 & 2, "how is it back in the church" and Hananiah says, "My people are in great reproach, it’s not like it’s supposed to be."

"The walls of the city are broke down; every thing that wants to come in just comes on in." "We can’t keep anything in that needs to be kept in because the gates of the city are broke."

So, Nehemiah a type of the Holy Spirit makes a midnight journey after three days. He gets on a horse and he rides around and the first place he goes to is the valley of Gehenna, which Jesus said spoke of hell.

This gate that overlooked hell was broken down he said, "This is one problem." These people have no idea that Jesus conquered hell. See, this is a midnight journey. While everybody is asleep, the Holy Spirit is taking inventory. What’s wrong in the church? First of all, they don’t know where Jesus went and what Jesus conquered.

Then he went over to the dragon well. The dragon well is where a snake had his head cut off. That well was destroyed. Nehemiah went over and said, "My, my, these people have no idea what happened to Adam.

Then he went over to the fountain gate, which speaks of the new birth, water in you. This gate is broke down and they have no idea of who they are.

Nehemiah begins to organize a great rebuilding of the twelve walls; exactly the same number of gates as we find in the city at the end. The fish gate was the first one. Jesus got in a big fish (Adam). Jesus said, "As Jonah was in the belly of the whale, three days and three nights so must the Son of man be." Isaiah says the wicked are like the troubled sea." All the fish in that sea represent lost people; New Testament evangelism is called being fishers of men.

The big fish in that old sea is Adam, he is the whale. Jesus said even as Jonah was in the belly of the whale so must I be." So when Jesus died He identified with Adam and He went to the depths of death. Next that imagery changes to an oyster, a pearl. A pearl is made by intense suffering, a little piece of dust gets inside this oyster and the oyster begins to suffer and excretes a white substance (righteousness) and covers that piece of dust.

Humanity was that piece of dust and as Jesus is suffering for and as all, He was covered by humanity, and then a resurrection happens; they bring that oyster up and open it up and there is something very valuable in it. In the end of the book of Revelation you find that the entrance into the city is pearl’s. What Jesus did in His sufferings and subsequent revelation is the entrance into the city of God.

The city of God is not some physical place coming from some physical location; it is a people. Jesus looked at His disciples in Matthew five and He said, "You guys are a city sit on a hill that can’t be hid.

We are the Jerusalem, which is from above, Jerusalem means "habitation of peace." Who is the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ? That Man dwells in you and you’re the habitation of peace.

We are not trying to stir anything up and take away anything from people; we just want to preach the truth. See the answer to the world Christ in and upon His body, and we need to come out of the realm of the unseen and show up in the realm of the seen and make a difference; Jesus Christ wants to appear upon His body. We need to come out of the realm of fairy tells and Disney Land ideas and wake up to realize there are people dying around us all the time, having never known the life Jesus came to bring, nor their union with Him.

We are the Jerusalem, which is from above. The Old Testament Saints and New Testament Saints make up that one glorious body. We need to make a difference in the realm of the seen by not looking into the future and realize what is available for us now. The river of life that flowed out of that city is water for people now.

John said over 2,000 years ago; "if you’re thirsty you can drink of it now." John was writing to people who had just seen Jerusalem destroyed in 70 AD. There wasn’t a brick left standing in the temple. These people were devastated and Johns writing to people who have seen every religious thing that they had counted on destroyed. He is writing an encouraging word, for those people, and to us.

He said, "I saw a New Jerusalem coming out of heaven to earth." Out of Jerusalem comes a river of life. We present to you family that in the right hand of Him individually you are held. You’re in the right hand of Him today. But I also present to you that even though there is a finished work we have been a people sealed. A Most Holy Place (Born again people) awaits us, but we’ve got to get past what ever that veil speaks of. It’s not something we do. The veil was rent in Matthew twenty-seven when Jesus died on the Cross. The revelation that was hid in the death of Christ opens up every seal.

The Feast of Trumpets is blowing today. The angels blow trumpet after trumpet. Every time those trumpets blow something in the realm of the old creation is affected. When the seventh trumpet blows there is a message that goes forth. The seventh trumpet message is, "it is finished." It isn’t something that will be finished when the seventh blows, it is something that is finished and the seventh trumpet showed it you. When the seventh seal is opened in Revelation seventeen the message is "it is done."

It’s time the Churches soul is afflicted by seeing something. It’s time we think the way God thinks. We have to learn what has been done. The world is waiting on the church. The seals are being removed from us so the river can flow out into a sick and dying world. They won’t see any one man, they will see Him, in you the body of Christ!