The blowing of Trumpets announces the coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the dead—not only in the worldwide physical sense but also in a personal sense as part of our individual redemption. The blowing of Trumpets proclaims the nearness of judgment, of the Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement is the reconciliation of man with God that must take place when the Lord comes to live with man.

The Feast of Tabernacles is the eternal union that God in Christ is seeking with man, a union that can be based only on complete reconciliation.

It can be seen from the above that the three final feasts of the Lord must be considered together. It is impossible to have a "Tabernacles" experience until the King has come and cleansed His Temple in the "Day of Atonement." For this reason we include Trumpets and the Day of Atonement as inseparable elements of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Today many of the saints are seeking power. They desire power with God.

The goal of the true Christian is not power with God; the goal is union with God through Christ. Union with God is possible only as we allow the Lord to purge us, in fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, from all sin and self-seeking.

Why don't you, dear reader, come with us as we take our journey up from Sinai (Pentecost) and march toward the land of promise. A deeper judgment and reconciliation to God will prepare us for the fullness of God's Glory promised in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Notice that the goal of our Christian pilgrimage is not Heaven, although Heaven most assuredly is a real place. Rather, the goal of our journey is the fullness of Christ. The Presence and knowledge of Christ are created in us as the Holy Spirit leads us into areas with which He is familiar but we are unfamiliar.

We are moving toward eternal participation and residence in the holy city, the new Jerusalem, the Temple of God among men. We are pressing toward the experience of the fullness of the Presence of the Godhead. We must fasten our eyes on the true goal of the Christian discipleship, which is the possession of Christ. "O that I may know Him!" Paul cried.

It is as though Christ at first were with the believer and then, after a season of travail, appears in him (John 16:12-22). The natural strength of the believer has begun to be broken and the Life of Christ in him is playing a role of ever-increasing importance in determining his deeds, words, and thoughts (Galatians 2:20).

Although Christ at this hour is preparing His triumphant appearance and entry into the earth followed by His army, as described in the second chapter of Joel, the third chapter of Habakkuk, and the nineteenth chapter of Revelation, He also, in the days in which we are living, is being formed in His saints. The Day star, the forerunner of the great Day of the Lord, now is rising in the heart of each disciple who, by his godly life and hope of salvation, is hastening the coming of the Day of Christ.

To be continued.