First will come the latter rain revival. Then, the burning sun of persecution. After that, the Lord's wheat will be harvested. The perfected Bride of the Lamb, having in herself the leaven of Christ, will be received by Him.

Then the greatest of all Pentecosts will take place as the Spirit of God glorifies the saints and all the saved nations come to them to receive healing and blessing.

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. (Isaiah 60:1)

The extraordinary fact to which we referred previously is that precise regulations for harvest rituals were given to former slaves who did not own a square foot of land (except by faith in God's promise).

At the time the seven feasts of the Lord were enjoined on the Israelites they were wandering in the Sinai Desert. They were following a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night through as barren and desolate a furnace of a countryside as can be imagined. Yet the Lord insisted on furnishing them with a list of detailed instruction for the observance of ceremonies celebrating the ingathering of barley, wheat, olives, nuts, and so forth.

This way of doing things is characteristic of God who "calleth those things which be not as though they were" (Romans 4:17). Does the Holy Spirit do that to us—speak to us about spiritual realities (and sometimes physical realities) before they become a fact in our physical and spiritual environment?

Indeed He does. We live by hope and faith in the promise of God. It is the grasping of the promises of God by resolute, unswerving faith that brings victory in the Christian discipleship.

Notice the following:

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: (Leviticus 23:10)

"When ye be come into the land which I give unto you."

Many of the ordinances given to the Israelites in the wilderness were for the day when they entered their inheritance:

And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; (Deuteronomy 26:1)

The concept is, "I am preparing you in advance so you will know what to do when I fulfill My Word to you."

We Christians need to understand we are in a "present distress." The world is not our home. The earth is our home, but the spirit of the present age is the enemy of God and His Christ.

The Lord has promised many things to us and has commanded us how to live. When we keep His commandments we reap the rewards to the overcomer. Those who overcome will be priests, kings, teachers, and judges in the age to come.

Those who believe in Jesus but who do not keep His commandments will be judged. Some will be saved but they will be rewarded according to their behavior. Others are in danger of the Lake of Fire.

To be continued.