No one knows exactly when the end-time Pentecost will occur, but we do know that there will be another Pentecost. There has to be a total fulfillment of the Pentecost described in the second chapter of Acts, for that was only a token or an indication of that which was to come. In his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted the prophecy of Joel 2:28–32, but he prefaced that quotation by saying, “This is that of which Joel spoke” (Acts 2:16). He did not say, “This is the whole fulfillment of that which Joel spoke.” Joel’s prophecy included a prediction of amazing signs and wonders that would happen in the last days, such as the sun turning into darkness and the moon into blood. These events were not fulfilled in Peter’s time at all; yet we know that he quoted the prophecy of Joel correctly because he was driven to do it by the Spirit.
Although the writings of Peter and Paul are completely unrelated and each one’s approach is entirely different, they both predicted some amazing things. Paul wrote about the Spirit of the Lord coming forth like a flame of fire when the Lord comes to be admired in His saints and to be glorified in all them that believe (II Thessalonians 1:7, 10). He wrote a great deal about the coming of the Lord, and those writings provide solid teaching about the first resurrection (often called the rapture), the Parousia, and the outpouring of the Spirit that is yet to take place. Even though we do not understand all of it, we do want to pursue it with all of our hearts.
Most of us have quoted Romans 8:14 many times: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Yet we probably have not noticed the simple three-letter Greek word for “led”: ago. A Greek New Testament or an Interlinear Bible will show that this verb ago has many forms; there are many different prepositions that precede it, forming various basic meanings. Several lexicons describe the word ago as a motivating, driving force within the believer, so that he is no longer just led by hunches. His whole life and activity come out of that Spirit, but it does not just lead him; it drives him!
The book of Luke tells us that when Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, He was led (ago) into the wilderness (Luke 4:1). Mark’s Gospel uses a compound Greek word which comes from the same root as ago. Mark 4:1 says that after Jesus was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, He was driven into the wilderness; He was impelled and thrust forth. The Spirit that came upon Him and completely possessed Him drove Him into the wilderness for the temptations and the victory that He was to win over the enemy. This should be our experience too. We are to be so filled with the Spirit of the Lord that we are literally driven. The leading of the Holy Spirit does not come just to give us a few hunches and signs; it comes to lead or to drive the believer into sonship.
I think that the fulness of the Holy Spirit that came upon Christ when He was baptized with the Holy Spirit was the same as the experience we will face in the end time. Christ was called the Anointed One because God gave Him the Spirit without measure. We, too, will know the Spirit without measure. There will be no limitation to our experiences, no limitation to the way we are filled and possessed with the Spirit of the Lord. We, too, will be driven. We will not just be led; we will be impelled.
The same Greek word for “being led” is used again in II Corinthians 5:14, but it appears in another form, with the preposition sun before it. This time it says, For the love of Christ constraineth us (drives us); because we thus judge…
Being led by the Spirit of the Lord is the experience that we are witnessing in this hour. The violence and intensity in prayer is the driving force of the Spirit. Should it not be that way? Should the dealings of the Lord upon His dedicated believers be so weak that the old flesh can remain stubborn, withdrawn, and rebellious? Should the flesh and the Spirit continue to war one against the other until we find ourselves disabled because the Spirit in us is not strong enough and we are defeated? Let us come to the place where the Spirit drives us; then the flesh will be put to death—mortified.
In the days of Noah, God said, “The end of all flesh has come” (Genesis 6:13), but that Scripture will have its fulfillment in God’s remnant in this day. We will see the end of the flesh. Do you want it that way in your heart? Are you crying out, “If this is the way the Holy Spirit is to move upon us in the end time, let it increase”? The Word of God’s Kingdom must come forth now. Nothing is more important than that.
Romans 8:14 tells us: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. In order to receive the right interpretation of this verse, the preceding verse should be included: For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. This indicates that a violent faith must possess the sons, a faith that causes them to deal with the flesh and put to death the deeds of the flesh. A violent, compelling, driving force must be turned loose within the saints; and that is exactly what God is bringing to pass today in the believers who are walking in divine order. An intensity bordering on violence is being turned loose; but this is not a humanly generated emotion, nor is its purpose that of making intercession and prayer more effective. This is the day when a compelling, driving force of the Holy Spirit within us is leading us to mortify the deeds of the flesh, to put an end to the old flesh, to put it to death! We must be led by the Spirit of the Lord!
But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Galatians 5:18. This appears to be a weak, insipid statement unless verse 17 is included. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. But if ye are led (not just led, but thrust forth, impelled, driven, moved) by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. If the Spirit that is within you drives you, then you will be an overcomer in the war between the flesh and the Spirit. You will not be under the Law; you will move by that compelling force within you—the Holy Spirit Himself.
Many Christians have hunches and leadings and premonitions, but this does not necessarily mean that they are not under the Law; they still have many problems. Only by violent faith will we break through to the realm above Law. When we are impelled by God, we live in a realm where there is no jurisdiction over us as far as the Law is concerned. Then we break into another realm.
Law officers generally have jurisdiction over a certain area. They can pursue a criminal only to the border because that is where their jurisdiction ends. The same is true of the Law and the things that war against us in the flesh. When we reach a place of being completely driven by the Spirit of the Lord, we pass over the boundary line into a realm that is no longer under Law—a realm where the wicked one cannot touch us. When the Spirit of the Lord so lives and moves within us in this way, it brings us out of any jeopardy, any exposure, or any contact with the enemy; and he has no jurisdiction over us. We should strive for that place.
I and II Thessalonians, more than any other epistles, are dedicated to the end-time events and the end-time experiences. I Thessalonians ends with the prayer that our whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the presence of the Lord. That provision would not have been revealed by the Holy Spirit if there were not to be a people who will reach that total sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
The fourth chapter of I Thessalonians deals with the Parousia. It is important that there be a distinction in our thinking between the Parousia and the rapture, even though the very Scripture upon which the rapture teaching is based refers to His coming or the Parousia. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. I Thessalonians 4:14. The same Greek word, ago, is used for “bring.” He will lead them back. They will be led by the Spirit of the Lord. God is going to lead them.
At this point you will have difficulty unless you understand basic truths. Paul wrote in verse 13a: But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep. Is this speaking about Christians? Jesus said, “He that believeth in Me shall never die” (John 11:26). The human spirit that has been born again of God will never die. It lives in God’s presence. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and before Him all are alive. But what about this body of mortality? Even Peter talked about laying aside this tabernacle (II Peter 1:14). He recognized the fact that the body has to die. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust—that is as dead as you can get physically; and it automatically places the soul into a state which the Scripture calls sleep. The soul sleeps because it cannot function without a body; therefore if we do not have a body, our soul has to be asleep and ineffective.
When the body dies, and the soul enters into a state of sleep, the spirit is still alive. It is a part of what Hebrews 12:1 speaks of, … seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses… They are all around us. The cloud of witnesses are not a million miles away. They are not on the other side of the moon. They are right here with us. They are on a different plane, in a different realm. We are not to sorrow as others … who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus (the margin reads “through Jesus”) will God bring with Him. I Thessalonians 4:13–14.
In a sense they are asleep, inasmuch as they are nonfunctional in their soul, without a body. While we are alive, waiting for the Parousia, God will bring all these spirits back. Why does God have to bring them down to the plane where we are? He is getting ready to bring forth the resurrection body.
Paul continued, verse 15: For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming (the presence) of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. We are not going to precede them. God will bring them into resurrection bodies at the set time that all of God’s people are to move into resurrection bodies.
When the Word says that we are not going to precede those who are asleep, it seems to eliminate the possibility of any of us breaking through into resurrection life ahead of the cloud of witnesses. However, note what Paul said in Philippians 3:11, that he was straining and striving for the resurrection that is out from among the dead (Concordant Literal New Testament). Do not overlook that little word “out.” If Paul did not believe that it could happen, why was he striving for it? Have other men broken into resurrection life? What about Enoch? What about Elijah? What about all of the dead who came out of the tombs at the death of Christ?
The Word indicates that resurrection life is not necessarily scheduled for a set time, but that it is a state of redemption which God’s people can press into. Nevertheless, Paul said that we shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. In other words, when the heavens are opened and the resurrection takes place, we will not get in the door first. No matter how far we advance spiritually, God still has an order: “Stand back; these who have gone on before will be the first to be caught up.”
When Paul spoke about God catching them up, he was referring to a resurrection experience: … and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air (they will rise first; then we will be caught up, taken out of this realm into another realm completely): and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. I Thessalonians 4:16–18.
That is a beautiful passage, but it cannot truly be understood without reading further: But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief: for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober. (These verses are not speaking of those who are sleeping in Christ; these people are alive. This is speaking of the world in its unawareness.) For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that (now Paul comes back to what he was talking about in the fourth chapter), whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. I Thessalonians 5:1–10.
Paul said that we are not going to precede or take precedence over those who sleep; yet he also eliminated totally the idea that there is any limitation upon us. He tried to tell us that we can break through to many great things in God. Instead of limiting us, he just reminded us that there is an order that will be followed in the final resurrection.
At the end of the fourth chapter Paul wrote: And the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. In my opinion, one of the events that will take place during the Parousia is that the Lord will bring with Him, in His presence, the dead that are asleep in Christ. And during the time of that presence, many will break through to different manifestations of resurrection life. When this resurrection takes place, those who sleep in Christ will be the first ones in the door; and we will follow them. Actually, we are already in the initial experience of this.
Is there a possibility that we will come right to the verge of resurrection life, and that the Lord will reserve something of a final manifestation? And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming (the Parousia) of our Lord Jesus Christ. That eliminates death. A body that is preserved entire is not full of formaldehyde! Paul was not talking about a corpse. Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it. I Thessalonians 5:23–24.
The door is open! This means that those who are alive and remain can press on into the whole sanctification of the entire spirit, soul, and body. We can be preserved blameless and entire in the presence of the Lord! That does not seem to put any limitation on it, does it?
This concept may disturb people who believe that they will be caught away in the rapture and will miss the tribulation. God has a certain planned schedule for the Parousia (the presence of the Lord). During that time, the so-called rapture, or the first resurrection, will take place. Those who focus upon the rapture as being the first event, before the tribulation, overlook the fact that most of the nations of the world have already been thrust into tribulation. The Christians in China and Russia and in many other parts of the world are already experiencing vicious persecution and tribulation. Too many people are waiting for the “great falling away,” and after that they expect a rapture. The world has already lived through a thousand years of Dark Ages. How many years of falling away do they expect? Aren’t a thousand years of falling away and tribulation enough?
We have progressed about five or six hundred years into the restoration. Savonarola and other reformers began to bring the Church back from the falling away. There has been more restoration in our lifetime than in all the preceding centuries combined. We have seen the fulness of the Spirit. The Lord is lifting the seals off the Book! It is coming alive! The Word is once again a living Word. It is all coming alive. It is to this generation of believers that God is saying, And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly.
You are not sleeping in God. You are not haunting the earth. You are very much alive! You have a body, you have a soul, and you have a spirit—all of which the Lord is going to sanctify wholly! Your whole spirit, soul, and body will be preserved entire, without blame at the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ!
We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth; so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer. II Thessalonians 1:3–5.
It is true that we are saved by the grace of God; all we have to do is believe. However, there is another set of standards for entering into the Kingdom. You are a part of the Church because Jesus saved you; but the discipleship of the Kingdom has much higher demands. If you put your hand to the plow and look back, you are not fit for the Kingdom (Luke 9:62).
We go through afflictions and persecutions because God is working a worthiness in us. Even that is the grace of God, for we are not worthy in the flesh. We cannot do anything to be worthy; but we can submit to the dealings of God and allow Him to work the worthiness in us.
Even Christ learned obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). Obedience to God was a quality that the Father worked in His perfect, sinless Son by what He caused Him to suffer. Jesus learned obedience. Wasn’t He perfect? Yes, but there was an attribute of perfection that He attained on a human level; and that is what the Father is doing with His sons. He brings many sons to glory and He makes the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). Those who have suffered in the flesh have ceased from sin, that they should not henceforth spend their days subject to the lust of the flesh (I Peter 4:1–2).
If so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you, and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus; who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day. II Thessalonians 1:6–10.
In many of Paul’s writings, it is difficult to know where a sentence begins and ends. Clauses and phrases are all tied together. The revelation had to come in that manner because there were overlapping truths that had to be tied together. Therefore, Paul’s Epistles are like a freight train, with many thoughts, ideas, and sentences all hooked together.
What was Paul saying to the Thessalonian church? “You have reached a place where the spiritual life within you is changing. Your spirits are growing stronger. Your love is growing exceedingly. Your faith is growing. Divine attributes are coming forth, such as patience and faith. You are going through the persecution. All of this will make you worthy of the Kingdom of God.”
The revelation of the Lord in the Parousia is a revelation through His people. When He comes, He is coming to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired and marveled at in all them that believed. The principal thing that the Lord is doing will never be separated from His people. It is true that every eye shall see the Lord and that all the events of His coming will be seen; but that is only a lesser factor.
The Word states that when the Son of Man shall come, His individuality will be for a sign (Matthew 24:30). Christ Himself is forever divorced from individuality. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet we know Him so no longer (II Corinthians 5:16). The Lord Jesus Christ is no longer an individual. Never again will He be known as one Man. When He comes, He will be revealed in His people. He is coming to be glorified in us, to be admired in us! Will we see Him? Yes, but that will only be a sign. Matthew 24:30 tells us, “Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man.” The reality of His presence will be in His many-membered Body.
Some people say that they will know Him by the nail prints in His hands and feet and by the wound in His side. We should know Christ better than that. Anyone who does not know Him except by the prints of the nails in His hands does not know Him at all. How will we know Him? Look around! He is coming to be glorified in His saints (the margin reads, “in the persons of His saints”) on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed. He is coming in the persons of His saints. In the day of His coming He will say, “You fed Me when I was hungry. You visited Me in prison. You clothed Me when I was naked.”
“We did? When did we do all of that?”
“Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:36–40). He was there!
That brings us right back to Paul’s words to the Thessalonians, “Your faith is growing. You are blessing and loving one another. Your love is growing. The Christ is coming forth in you.”
Some insist on believing the old interpretation, that when Christ comes He is going to stand on Mount Zion, and the mountain will be split in half. They say that He will subdue the Communists and deliver all the Jews. Hebrews 12:22–23 tells us that we have come to Mount Zion, to the new Jerusalem, to the spirits of just men made perfect. No doubt God is going to bring a token fulfillment in that little patch of land, for there are prophecies involved with this in the Scriptures. But if all God had were the Israelis, He would be in a desperate situation because most of them do not even want to know Christ. His name is used in a blasphemous manner by many of them.
Although the Jews are often looked upon as being God’s chosen people, we must recognize the fact that there is an Israel of God coming forth. The Word cannot be made null and void. It says that God is able of stones to raise up the seed of Abraham (Matthew 3:9). If you are in Christ, you are the seed of Abraham and an heir according to promise (Galatians 3:29). The true Israel of God is wrought by a circumcision of heart.
Pray for the Israelis. Bless them and love them. Remember that through their forebears the Scriptures were transmitted to us. How glorious it is to read the Word of God that has been committed to us by the faithfulness of the fathers! Remember, however, that the most important fulfillment is taking place on the spiritual side, among the true Israel of God. It is true that Christ is going to come in the clouds just as He was seen going away (Acts 1:11); however, that will be just the sign. The principal coming is His coming forth in the persons of His saints, a corporate manifestation of God in a many-membered Body.
These statements have created a number of questions that we would like to have answered. Nevertheless, one truth burns in our minds: we can be preserved—spirit, soul, and body—through everything adverse that comes. We can be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord, sanctified wholly. To what extent we will move into resurrection life we do not know. We do not know where to place the definition on it, but we do know we can move far enough into it to become agents in the hand of God to release creation from futility. We can go that far. We can go much farther than we even dream.
What is going to happen now? When you read the second chapter of Acts and the second chapter of Joel, you realize that although it appears to be history, the prophecies that are quoted there never came to pass completely. The sun did not turn into darkness nor the moon into blood. We have only seen two aspects of that prophecy fulfilled: the sons and daughters prophesying and the fire.
We are living in the day when the principal fulfillment of Pentecost will take place. This means that every experience we have known thus far has been limited. As we approach the Kingdom, the limitations on the believers’ experiences will be loosed. No longer will they be only half-saved, half-healed, half-baptized by the Holy Spirit. They will walk in the fulness of these experiences. They will be released from the limitations, so that they can break through to higher levels again and again. Believe for it. Give yourself to the driving, impelling leading of the Spirit of the Lord. Turn it loose with all of your heart!
The cloud of witnesses, without us, are not made perfect; therefore, we have to break through to become the instrument for the completion of the experience they had. When we reach the place of being preserved wholly—spirit, soul, and body—we will be the tool in the hand of the Lord to complete the work of those who are waiting. They will not be made perfect without us. This means that not one thing will be done sovereignly, apart from the instrumentality of the corporate Body of Christ. He is coming to be glorified in His saints.
From now on, the important thing is what He does in the persons of His saints. The physical sign of His return will come, but everything else will be wrought through His people: Christ in His people, in a many-membered Body. Get busy and make it happen. You can find the way—the Spirit of Christ within you will bear witness. Let Him lead you. As many as are led—impelled and driven—by the Spirit, they are the sons of God. They are the liberators!