What is the best way to introduce the Lord's people to the concept that Pentecost is not the last gift of God before Jesus returns; that there are not only two major works of Divine grace (salvation, and the baptism with the Holy Spirit), but three; that there is a definite "more" of Christ for us before He comes from Heaven with the saints and holy angels?

Perhaps the introduction could include the fact that the principal types of the Scripture, such as the Tabernacle of the Congregation, the feasts of the Lord, the days of creation, and the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, do not portray two stages of redemption, but three. It could be added also that an objective view of the present state of the Christian Church, the Body of Christ, will reveal that it has not as yet attained the state of maturity and unity that the Scriptures set forth as God's will for the Body, the unblemished Wife of the Lamb.

We understand, therefore, that the types predict accurately what we see to be true. They stipulate that a third major work of grace is required in order to bring the Divine redemption to the perfection declared and prophesied in the holy Scriptures.

Our texts present some of the issues included in the spiritual fulfillment of Tabernacles. Hopefully our presentation will serve the saints as an interpretation of the experiences that are coming now to the Lord's people—particularly the Spirit-filled people.

Before we begin the text, it may be helpful to state what we mean when we speak of a third platform of redemption, as typified by the Levitical feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-43). We shall endeavor to sum up the "Pacific Ocean" in a few words.

Deuteronomy 16:16 speaks of the three annual gatherings of the Israelite men: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.

Passover, including the first three feasts, typifies the salvation experience of the blood atonement, repentance and water baptism, and the new spiritual birth.

Pentecost portrays the life lived in the Holy Spirit rather than in the wisdom and energies of the physical body and soul.

Tabernacles, including the blowing of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, symbolizes the spiritual warfare and judgment we experience as the Father and the Son make Their abode with us in perfect, complete union.

Doesn't Christ come to live in us when we first are saved?

Yes, He does.

However, each of the three areas of redemption has an immediate fulfillment and a prolonged program.

Salvation takes place the moment we receive Christ by faith. Salvation also is a prolonged process, as evidenced by the statement: "he that endureth to the end shall be saved."

Pentecost should be experienced immediately. We should be baptized in water and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as soon as we repent and place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, learning to walk in the Holy Spirit is a lifelong program.

The Tabernacles experience, the abiding in us of the Father and Christ, takes place when we are reborn. Being reborn is just that—the beginning of a re-creating of all that we are. As we are being re-created, the Father and the Son increasingly are able to abide in us, as Paul outlined in the last part of the third chapter of Ephesians.

To be continued.