It is the abundance of sin and lawlessness of the hour of temptation that will cause the love of the majority to become cold. The great tribulation will serve rather to refine the saints.

Because people have become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, escaping the tribulation is often the focal point of concern. However, it is not tribulation we are to be concerned about, it is sin and lawlessness!

Only the most devout Christians will be able to distinguish the voice of the Spirit of God. The Christian churches of our day already are moving in the direction of Antichrist, of Laodicea, as they become part of the worldly, monetary success pattern that is of Antichrist. Those who do not escape this trend but who proceed to "serve Christ" according to the worldly success pattern of big buildings, large budgets, multitudes of people, will be judged along with the nations when the Lord Jesus appears.

The Lord Jesus is not being glorified in such worldly efforts now and will not be glorified in them at His appearing.

The purified remnant will continue to serve Christ throughout the Antichrist-tribulation period. The remnant will be perfected by suffering, by Divine Glory, and by every other means. Their judgment will be accomplished while they yet are on the earth. When Jesus appears He will be glorified in them. Their judgment will already have been completed. They will be ready to be revealed with the Lord.

The pattern is that of judgment followed by rest in the Lord. This is the pattern of the feasts of the Lord, which are described in the twenty-third chapter of the Book of Leviticus.

The seven feasts are as follows:

Passover

Unleavened Bread

Firstfruits

Pentecost

Trumpets

Day of Atonement

Tabernacles

The first three feasts typify the salvation experience. The fourth feast, Pentecost (the feast of Weeks), speaks of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church.

The last three feasts are celebrated in one month, the seventh month of the Jewish religious year, which is the first month of the Jewish civil year. The civil year symbolizes the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth.

It is time now for the saints to enter the spiritual fulfillment of the last three feasts. Many Christian believers have come as far as Pentecost, so to speak. Now we are ready for the spiritual fulfillments of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles.

The spiritual fulfillments of the last three feasts work together as one, with the completion and fullness being the entering of the Father and the Son into us in fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles (John 14:23).

The personal fulfillment of the Blowing of Trumpets is the coming of Christ to us in the Spirit (not to the world), according to Malachi 3:1-3 and John 14:18-23. We can tell when the Blowing of Trumpets is taking place by the entering into us of an inner faith for spiritual warfare, a willingness and readiness to be free from the bondages of Satan. The Lord Jesus, the Lord of Hosts, of Armies, is ready to do battle against His enemies that are keeping us in slavery to sin.

To be continued.