Why Do We Have to Qualify to Experience the Feast of Tabernacles?

Three Transforming Experiences - Part 10

There are always qualifications for entering into any transforming experience with God. We have to meet the conditions that He has established.

To enter into the Feast of Passover experience of Salvation, we must believe. We are saved by God’s grace through faith.

“I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.”—Ephesians 2:8 (ERV)

To enter into the Feast of Pentecost and receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the qualifications are basically the same. You receive the Holy Spirit baptism as a gift from God when you ask in faith.

“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”—Luke 11:13 (NLT)

But the Feast of Tabernacles is different. To experience that feast and enter into Transfiguration, there are at least three qualifications.

Why Special Requirements?

There are special requirements to qualify for the Feast of Tabernacles experience for at least two reasons. First, there is great responsibility in carrying the abiding, manifested presence of Almighty God. There must be a certain level of maturity and character in our lives to ensure that we carry His presence in a responsible manner.

Neville Johnson had an experience in which God gave him an increased level of authority for a short season in response to Neville’s prayers to be used by God in greater ways. The main way that this increased authority manifested itself was that seemingly every word that came out of Neville’s mouth came true immediately. The “fruit of his lips” manifested instantly.

Neville Johnson was a mature believer whose life demonstrated godly character, but even *he *realized that he was not ready to carry such authority. After this brief experience, God removed the increased authority from Neville at his request. This was an important lesson, not only for Neville, but for all of us. Increased authority carries increased responsibility with it. We must be ready to handle such authority responsibly.

The second main reason that there are special requirements for entering into the Feast of Tabernacles experience is that if we have not prepared ourselves, the experience could destroy us. God protects us by not allowing us to experience the Feast of Tabernacles before we are ready.

Three Manifestations of God

As we enter into each of the three transforming experiences, we encounter a different manifestation of Who God is. There is only one true God, of course, but He manifests Himself in different ways.

The Bible tells us that God is three things:

God is Love (1 John 4:8)
God is Light (1 John 1:5)
God is a Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12:29)

We see all three manifestations of God in the Tabernacle of Moses.

God is Love

At the brazen altar in the Outer Court of the Tabernacle, we encounter Jesus, The Lamb of God who was sacrificed for us. In this experience, we meet the God Who is Love.

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”—John 15:13 (NLT)

That is what Jesus did for us. He demonstrated the greatest love possible by laying down His life and dying for us.

Our Heavenly Father also demonstrated love by sending His Son to die for us.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”—John 3:16 (NKJV)

This is the Salvation experience of the Feast of Passover.

God is Light

At the seven-pronged lampstand in the Holy Place, we encounter the Holy Spirit—the Seven Spirits of God spoken of in Isaiah 11:2 and Revelation 4:5. In this experience, we meet the God Who is Light.

This is the experience of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit which is the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost.

God is a Consuming Fire

At the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, we encounter Him Who Sits on the Throne. This is the Father. In this experience, we meet the God Who is a Consuming Fire.

In his book, 7 Days Behind the Veil, John Paul Jackson explains to us that God had a very important reason for insisting that Moses build the Tabernacle exactly according to the pattern that God had shown him on the mountain. The Tabernacle is a model of Heaven. It illustrates God’s throne room. The Tabernacle helps us understand Who God is and where He lives and reigns. (Jackson, p.28)

When John was taken into Heaven in his experience recorded in the book of Revelation, He saw all three manifestations of God. John saw the Lamb approach the throne (Revelation 5:6-7). He saw the Seven Spirits of God before the throne (Revelation 4:5). And He also saw “Him Who *sits on *the throne.” This third manifestation is the God Who is a Consuming Fire. This is the manifestation of God with Whom we are least familiar, and that is partly for our own protection.

John Paul Jackson had an experience in which he was caught up to the throne room, like John the apostle. John Paul estimated that he was there for about 45 minutes, standing before the throne of God. In all of that time, all he could do was to hold his hands in front of face, in a feeble attempt to shield himself, and to scream at the top of his lungs. He was convinced that, at any moment, he was going to die. He had come face to face—not with the Lamb of God, and not the God Who is Light—but with the God Who is a Consuming Fire. This is He Who Sits on the Throne.

Moses, Aaron, and his sons also had an encounter with the God Who is a Consuming Fire.

“Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up [the mountainside], and they saw [a manifestation of] the God of Israel … In the sight of the Israelites the appearance of the glory and brilliance of the Lord was like consuming fire on the top of the mountain.”—Exodus 24:9-17 (AMP)

“In fact, so terrifying was the sight, that Moses said, ‘I am filled with fear and trembling.’”—Hebrews 12:21 (AMP)

But somehow, after this profound encounter, Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, didn’t seem to appreciate the seriousness of Who and what they had seen. They got careless in their ministry.

As priests, Nadab and Abihu were responsible for burning incense at the golden altar in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. God had been very specific in His instructions. The fire to burn the incense always had to come from the brazen altar in the Outer Court. Fire could not be brought in from any other source.

For some reason, Nadab and Abihu got careless in their ministry and brought in fire from outside of the Tabernacle, maybe from someone’s campfire.

It did not go well for them as they encountered the God Who is a Consuming Fire.

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective [ceremonial] censers, put fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange (unauthorized, unacceptable) fire before the Lord, [an act] which He had not commanded them to do. And **fire came out from the presence of the Lord and devoured them, **and they died before the Lord.”—Leviticus 10:1-2 (AMP)

Nadab and Abihu were not even in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle when this happened. They were in the Holy Place when the fire came out from the presence of the Lord in the Holy of Holies and consumed them where they stood “ministering” in the Holy Place.

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.’”—Leviticus 16:2 (NLT)

Daniel also encountered Him Who Sits on the Throne and saw Him as the God Who is a Consuming Fire. Daniel called Him the Ancient of Days.

“I kept looking until thrones were placed [for the assessors with the Judge], and the Ancient of Days [God, the eternal Father] took His seat, Whose garment was white as snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame; its wheels were burning fire.”

“A stream of fire came forth from before Him; a thousand thousands ministered to Him and ten thousand times ten thousand rose up and stood before Him; the Judge was seated [the court was in session] and the books were opened.”—Daniel 7:9-10 (AMPC)

It is no wonder that the writer of Hebrews tells us that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”—Hebrews 10:31

Reference:

Jackson, J. P. (2006). 7 Days Behind the Veil: Throne Room Meditations. (L. Stinton, Ed.). Streams Publishing House.