Many of the Old Testament prophets spoke of the judgment that was to come to God’s people because of their apostasy. God finally placed them in Babylonian captivity for a long time. Then under the prophets Haggai and Zechariah came a restoration to Zion for the people of God, which involved the restoration of the Temple in which they were to worship and the rebuilding of the walls of Zion.
The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ presents a similar picture today. When the early Church left its purity and went into corruption, it was thrown into a thousand years of Dark Ages; and God’s people again became captive of the spirit of Babylon. Then about six hundred years ago, voices calling for a restoration began to be heard again. They called the people of God to come back and again lay the foundations of truth to the Church, to the spiritual Zion of the Lord. Since then, to each successive generation God has been restoring one great truth and experience after another, beginning with the truths of salvation and the holy sanctified life. The various truths began to come forth that had been neglected for over a millennium, and they spoke of the Lord returning again and filling His people with His Spirit just as He did in the days of the early Church. There is no reason today why we cannot have experiences that in every way conform to those which happened in the book of Acts. We can believe that God will dwell with us again, that He will lead us and restore the gifts of the Spirit and divine order to the Church.
The books of Haggai and Zechariah hold a great deal of interest because they speak of the present-day restoration. Haggai’s message, which came about the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, declared that the glory of God’s latter house would be greater than the glory of the former (Haggai 2:9). He prophesied that in the end time God would once again tabernacle with men, just as He did in the wilderness and later in Solomon’s Temple when His glory was still there. That is the meaning today for Christians who keep a spiritual observance of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Zechariah had a similar vision. He prophesied that Zion would not be like any other city. He was speaking prophetically, not of a literal city, but of the people of God, of the restoration of Zion in the end days in which we are living. If we look at the second chapter of Zechariah carefully, we will see what God promised to do in this hour. It is so timely that it can become both a personal experience and a collective experience to the people of God. Those who are hungering and thirsting for God can experience the restoration now.
Both Haggai and Zechariah gave an account concerning rebuilding the Temple of Jerusalem. For fifteen years, through an edict of the king, nothing had been done to complete the Temple. The delay was due to a conspiracy of the neighboring Samaritans. At the particular time that Zechariah prophesied, the finishing of the walls was seventy-five years away and the rebuilding of the Temple was only five months along. Even though many factors tried to prevent the rebuilding of the walls, when the hindrances were removed the work was completed in fifty-two days. The Temple was rebuilt first; then about seventy years later, the walls were completed. We need to understand that this is a picture of the present time: the people of God have freedom in worship, but they have not had the walls of immunity. Those who become dedicated to walk with God experience spiritual warfare because the enemy rages against everything that God brings forth. God’s people still do not have the immunity or the spiritual defenses they need.
Notice the visions and the revelations that the Lord gave Zechariah to stir up the people of the Lord. Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.” And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, and said to him, “Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls, because of the multitude of men and cattle within it. For I,’ declares the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire about her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ” Zechariah 2:1–5.
The measuring line was in the young man’s hand. There is always a temptation to measure what God is doing. The minute you do, faith goes out the window. Believe God and do His will. Believe His Word. Do not try to measure what God is doing, because He is building a city without walls. It will never be walled in. The tragedy in the past has been the fact that the minute God gave a revelation of a spiritual truth, someone built a wall of doctrine around it, trying to protect that revelation from false doctrine; but the wall also kept out every new revelation that the Lord wanted to bring. This is what happened at Babel. They built a tower to prevent their being scattered on the earth, but God still scattered them. Those who build walls are thinking like denominations. They are thinking like Babel.
What God is doing now will be like a city without walls because of the multitude of people within it. If people limit God and set a boundary line, someone will step over that line and move in God in a greater measure. Those who try to walk with Him without a revelation of Him will drift away. When He gives a common revelation, it will be the rock on which the Church is built, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). There are no manmade walls to protect God’s people. They are a city without walls, but the Lord is a wall of fire around them and the glory in their midst. Isaiah said, “But you will call your walls salvation and your gates praise” (Isaiah 60:18). You will know the walls of salvation when you trust the Lord. You will not need any other gates. If you want to close the gates on the enemy, just stand and praise the Lord.
“Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the Lord. “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” For thus says the Lord of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye. For behold, I will wave My hand over them, so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.” Zechariah 2:6–9.
The Lord wants you to relate to Him. Too many people look for experiences apart from Him. Do not disassociate the Lord from the experiences you have with Him. Instead of asking people if they have been saved, ask them if they have met the Lord. The Lord is your Savior; do not separate Him from the experience.
The Lord promises us that He will be a wall of fire. As we praise and worship Him, there must be a way that we experience Him as a wall of fire. The immunity and protection we seek from the assaults of the enemy will not come because the Lord gives us a wall; He is our wall. In everything of restoration that we enter into, we must experience Christ and come under His Lordship. We must bow down as bond servants to Him and appropriate something of His nature.
Problems exist where Christ is separated from doctrines and teaching. For example, someone can study eschatology (the doctrine of final things), and study in detail the first resurrection and the second resurrection, but if he disassociates that truth from Christ, it becomes lost in a maze of dead doctrine. But when you experience Christ in it, and He becomes a living reality to you, then He is resurrection life; He is your life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” John 11:25). This truth is so simple that a child can open his heart to it. Let Jesus come into your heart. Let Jesus be your protection. Remember the story of the little girl who described her experience so simply: “Before I opened my heart to Jesus, when the devil knocked on the door I answered the door; but he was too big for me and he always overcame me. Then I invited Jesus to live in my heart. Now when the devil knocks at the door, I ask Jesus to answer for me. And when Jesus answers the door, the devil runs away.” Perhaps a child can understand better than the adults just what God is trying to do for them.
Regardless of the problems you face, the Lord promises to be a wall of fire around you so that you experience Him. Your heart should be in such anticipation that instead of looking for certain events to take place, you should expect to break through into a new level in Jesus Christ. It is not enough to look for answers to problems, for there will always be new problems next month. Each day you will be confronted with situations requiring unbelievable sacrifice and dedication to do the will of the Lord. You do not need experiences or solutions to problems; you need a greater revelation, a greater submission to the Lord Jesus Christ, and a greater exploration into what He promises to be to you. He will be your high tower and your wall of defense. David said, “Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear” (Psalm 27:3). It becomes rather frightening after you dedicate your life to the Lord. You begin by wading, but soon you find yourself swimming in the ocean. If you could know what a walk with God would lead to, you might not choose that course.
God is not required to tell us anything. He wants us to say an unconditional yes. The Lord expects us to sign the contract before the figures are all filled in. We may wonder what the cost will be, but we sign anyway and we let the Lord fill in the blanks. If we believe that He is going to make such a total demand upon us, making us His inheritance forever, then we must also believe that He will be all things to us. He will be all that He promises to be in His Word. He will be our healer and deliverer, our shield and buckler, our wall of fire, and the glory in our midst. If we are submitting totally to His commands and to His Lordship, then we have the right to claim, absolutely and without reservation, all that He purports Himself to be to His remnant in this day.
Zechariah 2:10–11 contains the promise of Tabernacles—God tabernacling with man. “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord. “And many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst …”
At the origin of the Feast of Tabernacles, the people cut down branches of trees and built little booths or shelters. The openings faced the pillar of fire in the center of the camp. By day they saw the glory cloud which provided protection from the sun, and by night they saw the pillar of fire which provided illumination. Whenever the glory of the Lord began to move, the people moved. They knew it was time to break camp. The Feast of Tabernacles brought both provisions: protection from the exposure to the wilderness and maximum exposure to God. He was dwelling in their midst.
What is the difference between God’s provision when He tabernacled with the Israelites in the wilderness and His provision for the end time in which we live? This is the day of the double portion. Not only will we have the glory in our midst, but we will also have a wall of fire around us. We must open our hearts to meet the Lord. We cannot let any experience be divorced from a real meeting with God. Some people receive blessings, but they do not meet God. Some people worship the Lord, but they still do not meet Him. Too many Christians rejoice in their salvation experience and talk about it all their lives. They measure their lives by the milestones of experiences, but they do not meet God. Our walk with God should build from experience to experience, but only because we meet the Lord each time. When truths are revealed to us in the Scriptures, do we meet the Lord? It is important that we meet the Lord in everything we do. When autumn comes, many trees lose their leaves. Occasionally there are a few perverse little leaves that refuse to fall. They hang on through wind and snow. In the spring, they are still hanging on the branch. But when the spring sunshine breaks through and the sap begins to surge through the tree, the little buds force those few old leaves to drop off. In a similar manner, many of your problems will leave when you have a real meeting with the Lord. The surge of His life through you will eliminate everything that is negative. When you meet the Lord, the last vestiges of yesterday will leave, and you will be ready for a whole new life.
The Lord said that He will dwell in our midst. The days of His Parousia will not be unseen or unwitnessed. Determine to break through the veil to stand in His presence. Be less concerned about the solution to problems and more concerned about your position before the Lord. Put aside the things you have been asking the Lord to do for you and seek for a real meeting with the Lord. Let God tabernacle with you. Let Him dwell with you. Let Him be a wall of fire around you and the glory in your midst. When you give your personal requests precedence over a meeting with God, you stand in your own light and God will not answer. First He must become everything to you.
Let your greatest desire be to break through to the Lord. Refuse to follow afar off; rather, stand close to Him. Do not be too concerned about your desire to prophesy or to sing psalms or to move in gifts of miracles or healings. Remember that they should be just the overflow. It is not enough just to be a member of a church; you must walk with God. You do not need a revelation of deeper doctrines and teachings; you need to walk in the truths you have already received. With all your heart seek a revelation of the Lord. Desire to know Him. He has promised that the day you seek Him with your whole heart you will find Him.
If you think that you know the Lord, read again I John 2:3: And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. If you know Him, you will walk with Him. Realize that your circumstances, harassments, and problems only exist to incite you to seek God. Do not pray for the Lord to take them away. Your problems are there to help you find a walk with the Lord that you have not had before. If He simply delivers you, you will be left with a vacuum in your heart. The answer is to ask the Lord to fill your heart. Then your fears and vulnerabilities will be displaced because the Lord fills you.
It is a time of God tabernacling with us. We cry as the disciples of old, “Master, where dwellest Thou? We want to dwell where You dwell. We want Your presence to be more real to us than any circumstance of our lives. We do not seek to be delivered; we seek Thee.”