Righteousness by faith and not by doing penances was one of the first glimmers of original truth. Then followed the priesthood of the laity. Water baptism by immersion. The reality of the born-again experience. Belief in the literal return of Jesus Christ. The need for personal holiness. Speaking in tongues and the ministries and gifts of the Spirit including miraculous healing. The concept of the Body of Christ.

In keeping with the restoration of apostolic truth, the unveiling of the major types, such as the Tabernacle of the Congregation and the seven feasts of the Lord, has given us pegs on which to hang the many facets of the Divine revelation.

The understanding of the new covenant given to the Apostle Paul, apparently as he spent years in Arabia, was given by him so freely to the churches. Yet Christian Jewish teachers of the Law of Moses apparently had little trouble enticing the Gentile believers away from the purity of Paul's doctrine. They did not realize in the Apostle Paul they possessed the very oracle of Divine revelation.

We seldom realize the value of what we have been freely given until we lose it.

To this very day the transition from Moses to Christ is not preached clearly, only in mumbling about how we are not under the Law but under grace, with no real understanding of what is involved in the transition, in numerous instances.

The massive centerpiece of Paul's teaching, the Divine mystery of Christ in us, is not preached or understood to the present hour. We still are occupied with our carnal reasoning about being with Christ in Heaven while reclining at ease in our mansion. The original Gospel of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth has been replaced with the traditional going of the Church to Heaven to be with Jesus. The mystery of the Gospel, that Christ is in us, is not ordinarily emphasized.

What bloodshed, hatred, and division mark each tiny step forward in regaining the original revelation! How the established churches resent any alteration of their treasured traditions! Only men and women, boys and girls, of unquestioned obedience and loyalty to Christ Himself, dare challenge the status quo at any point of Church history.

As soon as any new doctrine, such as speaking in tongues, has been restored, the reproach moves forward to a new restoration of Divine truth. The scouts and pioneers move out ahead of the wagon train. There is dangerous territory out here, lots of poisonous water holes, enemies, diseases. It is always so when people pioneer new territory. But the pioneers gain ownership of great holdings of real estate, like the middle of downtown Dallas, as they say.

Of the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, only the Ark of the Covenant retained its carrying poles when the tribes rested. The Ark of God is always on the move!

Well, where is the reproach today? Speaking in tongues has been regained worldwide, even among many of the historic churches. The cry that "tongues are of the devil" grows increasingly faint with each passing year.

To be continued.