The quoting of Amos 9:11 by James in the passage from Acts right below speaks of the return of Christ and the rebuilding of the fallen tabernacle of David which was just a simple tent with the ark of God’s presence within it. The Lord says “I will” 4 times in verse 16. We can be sure, then, that He will do it. There appears to be an order here; His return is first, followed by a period of rebuilding and restoration.
God says through James the rebuilding of the tabernacle of David will be accomplished in order that the Gentiles may seek Him. There was a partial fulfillment of this prophecy in Jesus’ life on earth. He was the sign, and the way, that allowed all of mankind to now enter in.
His Body of believers, filled with His Spirit, will be raised up at the end of this age bringing fullness to the promise. Like Jesus, they will contain within their simple, earthly tent, the glory of God’s presence (i.e. the ark of His presence). Because of this, many will turn to Him as their Messiah in the final harvest of souls. Right afterwards, as it was in the days of Noah, most of mankind will be destroyed (Jeremiah 25:32-33; Isaiah 10:15-23, 13:6-12, 24:1-6, 66:15-16; Zephaniah 1:17-2:3, 3:8-12; see The Return Of Jesus Christ And His Judgment in the Bible study called The Return Of Jesus Christ). Those of the nations (Gentiles) who are left will seek the Lord, desiring to know His ways (see Isaiah 2:1-4 below).
Acts 15:15-18
15 "And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 'After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle [4633- “a tent or cloth hut”] of David which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,
17 In order that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,'
18 Says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.
(NAS)
The Temple of the Lord, which is His Body, must be rebuilt (“according to the ordinance”, “the prescribed way” – see 1 Chronicles 15:13 below) in order for Him to come and fill the “holy of holies” with His presence (see the Bible study The Fullness Of Him). It represents a place prepared within His people for Him to come and inhabit (see the Bible study Preparing His Way).
1 Kings 6:19 – Solomon preparing the inner sanctuary of the temple. The Lord is now preparing a place within the inner sanctuary of His people for Himself to permanently inhabit at His return.
19 Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
(NAS)
1 Chronicles 15:1-15 – David prepared a place for the ark of the Lord, which contained His presence. At first, he did not carry the ark per the prescribed way of the Lord causing the death of a man by the name of Uzzah, whose name means “strength.” He represents the dangers of trying to uphold the presence of God through the strength of man. The priests and the Levites were to consecrate themselves first, qualifying them to bring up the ark. God’s people today must also consecrate themselves in order to carry His presence within them. We are called to prepare a place for the Lord within us by faith. (See the Bible studies Consecration, Glorified, and The Prescribed Way.)
1 Now David built houses for himself in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it.
2 Then David said, "No one is to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of God, and to minister to Him forever."
3 And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it…
(Verses 4-11 list those whom David gathered/called together.)
11 Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab,
12 and said to them, "You are the heads of the fathers' households of the Levites; consecrate [6942- “to sanctify, to prepare, to dedicate, to be separate”] yourselves both you and your relatives, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.
13 "Because you did not carry it at the first, the LORD our God made an outburst on us, for we did not seek Him according to the ordinance."
14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.
15 And the sons of the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders, with the poles thereon as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD.
(NAS)
Events Leading To The Tent Of David Being Established On Mount Zion
2 Samuel 5:4-10 – Before David took the throne (in verses 1-3), there was a long battle between the house of Saul and the house of David within Israel. Until this internal war was over, David would not be declared king and be in a position to fight Israel’s external enemies. This applies to every Christian as well. We are not going to rule the nations until we rule over our own spirit. Proverbs 16:32 says better is the person who “rules his spirit than he who rules a city.” The Lord is bringing us to this place of overcoming in preparation of His soon coming, thousand-year reign on earth. According to 2 Corinthians 10:6, we will be qualified to revenge all disobedience when our obedience is fulfilled. The internal war of His people must be won first before we can begin ruling and reigning externally over the nations. Like the Jebusites, the devil taunts God’s people, telling us we’re not strong enough to capture his stronghold. He’s right, we’re not, but God is. Through Jesus Christ, victory has been guaranteed! (2 Corinthians 2:14)
4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.
5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
6 Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to David, "You shall not come in here, but the blind and lame shall turn you away"; thinking, "David cannot enter here."
7 Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David.
8 And David said on that day, "Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul, through the water tunnel." Therefore they say, "The blind or the lame shall not come into the house."
9 So David lived in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward.
10 And David became greater and greater, for the LORD God of hosts was with him.
(NAS)
“At this time David took the stronghold of Zion, and threw the Jebusites out. They had held that stronghold right in the highest mountain in Jerusalem ever since Israel had been in the land, and no one could overcome them [I can’t help but think of the Dome of the Rock of the Muslims in Jerusalem today at this point]… Zion is the place of the throne. David built his palace here, and ruled from this place. But it had been held by the enemy until David had won the war within Israel…. There is a higher realm than this awaiting for those who take Zion.”
(“Tent To Temple” by Bill Britton, p.10)
“The fortress of Zion which was once occupied by the Jebusites became the fortress of David, the place of his kingdom, and the place where he set up the Tent of David. But first David and his men had to scale the craggy heights of Zion and drive out the enemy. So it was that our Lord Jesus Christ wrestled with principalities and powers, and “made a show of them openly, triumphing over them” in His cross (Col. 2:15). Notice this beautiful characteristic of Zion: the place of weakness, the place of our battle, the place of our struggle… God intends that this shall become the place of our strength. Let us take courage in this, for as we come into the victory of the cross, those very areas of our weakness and humiliation become a place where we can rejoice… God would teach us that Zion, that formidable obstacle that once scoffed us and put us to shame, can become our fortress and our strong tower as we walk in the victory of the cross. We are enabled to rob satan of “all his armour”, as we put on “the whole armour of God” (Eph. 6:11). We must discover that these weapons are not “carnal,” but totally a spiritual battle-dress, and effectual to the casting down of the strongholds of the enemy.”
(“From Tent To Temple” by George H. Warnock, p.77-78)
The Journey Of The Ark Of God To David’s Tent (1 Chronicles 13-15)
“Truly the Lord longs to return to His people, but their must be that very needful preparation wrought within their hearts and lives, or He cannot rest in their midst [this defines the ark of God resting in David’s tent]… He longs to return to us far more than we long to return to Him. But He does not come unwanted, undesired, unsought, unappreciated… How then shall we bring the ark of God into our midst? ... All kinds of movements and schemes have been devised. Or men will search out the records of Church history, and try to duplicate a method that seemed to work back then, only to discover that nothing will work except as we move with God, and seek to know His way and His intention for His people in this present hour. We are not able to initiate anything. Once we discover God’s intention then we must seek Him earnestly that He might show us His way.”
(“From Tent To Temple” by George H. Warnock, p.54)
In 1 Samuel 4, Eli’s wicked sons took the ark of God out of the Tabernacle into battle with them against the Philistines who defeated them and captured it. They placed the ark in the temple of their god, Dagon the fish god, who was destroyed in the presence of the true God. After causing major problems for the people in the cities where the ark was placed (1 Samuel 5-6), they decided to return it to Israel. Placing the Ark on a new cart, they watched the cows pulling it head toward Israel in the direction of Beth-shemesh (“house of the sun” or “sun-temple”).
50,070 men of Beth-shemesh were struck down for looking into the Ark. They then sent out messengers to the men of Kiriath-jearim who came and took the ark of the Lord to the house of Abinadab. Eleazar his son was consecrated to keep the ark where it remained for twenty years.
Fast forward to David now ruling from Zion where he desires to bring the ark. In 1 Chronicles, chapter 13 we read that they were attempting to transport the ark on a new cart, just like the Philistines. They had a good desire, but were not doing it God’s ways as He had prescribed in His word. Instead, they handled the ark of the Lord as the enemies of His people had. This represents the church today handling its affairs as the world would instead of God’s way. The church in America has replaced the Holy Spirit’s leading with the business models of this age. We now pathetically look to the worldly mindset for wisdom in how to handle our internal affairs, rejecting the Lordship of Christ through obedience to His ways over us. We have placed “driven” men in the driver’s seat to lead us where they think best (per what they learned in leavened seminaries), making it easier for us to be complacent and uninvolved.
When the oxen that were pulling the ark nearly upset it, a man by the name of Uzza (ooz-zaw')
irreverently reached out his hand to hold it up and was struck down. The Bible says this took place at the threshing floor of a man named Chidon (kee-dohn'). The threshing floor represents a place of judgment, a place where the sifting of the Lord occurs.
Uzzah’s name means “strength.” The other man driving this cart with Uzzah was Ahio (akh-yo'). His name means “brotherly.” On the outside, this appears to be something very good, working together in brotherly strength. Actually though, the Lord was about to expose something among them. They represent the present leadership in America who drive the church by their own strength. The “new-cart” structure mindset that dominates the church in the United States is now being upset and exposed by the Lord. All those driving this institutional, worldly cart that reach out their hands to keep upright what the Lord is bringing down will, like Uzzah, perish.
1 Chronicles 13:12-14 says;
“And David was afraid of God that day, saying, ‘How can I bring the ark of God home to me?’ So David did not take the ark with him to the city of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. Thus the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the LORD blessed the family of Obed-edom with all that he had.”
The downfall of many ministry leaders at this very moment is to produce the fear of the Lord among the rest of the Body of Christ. It should cause us to take a good, hard look at why this is happening.
In chapter 15 we find David now ready to bring the ark of God to the tent he has prepared. By this time, he had searched the word of God and found the right way to handle the ark of God’s presence, so as to not cause anyone else to be struck down. He says in verse 2,
“No one is to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of God, and to minister to Him forever.”
He goes on to say in verses 12-13 to the heads of the father’s households of the Levites,
“Consecrate yourselves both you and your relatives, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. Because you did not carry it at the first, the LORD our God made an outburst on us, for we did not seek Him according to the ordinance.”
Consecration was required first for those who drew near to the presence of God. It is a necessary requirement of heart for those at the end of this age who also desire and have been chosen to carry the ark of God’s presence to Zion, the place of His ruling authority over all the earth. We must seek Him “according to the ordinance” (the “prescribed way” in the NIV) lest He break out on us as well. This way has been revealed in the Bible for us. Too most it will be a new thing. Those who would draw near to the Lord must do so His way with the proper reverence and awe or lose their life.
The Principle Of Plurality Of Ministry And Leadership
“Now we go to chapter 15, and we find David searching the Word of God and discovering the principle of plurality of ministry and leadership. So he called for the leaders of the Levites to sanctify themselves to carry the ark on their shoulders with the staves. Now they come joyfully and triumphantly into Zion with the ark. This time it is not a one man leadership driving the man-made cart with machine like precision down the road to death. But it is a joining of brothers into a plurality of responsibility as each one bears his share of the burden and the glory.”
(“Tent To Temple” by Bill Britton, p.11)
This is where the church must find the “prescribed way” of the Lord as we near the end of this age. We, God’s people, are in grave danger of attempting to bring the presence of God to His ruling place by our own strength. Some present leadership will lose their lives in doing so when Christ returns.
The Lord also told Moses in Exodus 19;
“Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. And also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.’ And Moses said to the LORD, ‘The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for Thou didst warn us, saying, 'Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.’ Then the LORD said to him, ‘Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break forth upon them.’”
We must listen and do the same today as well.
“The ‘new cart’ is man’s device to keep the move of the Spirit steady, free from error, free from false doctrines, and to keep the ark of His presence and glory from going on the rocks… God hasten the day when God’s people will come to the solemn realization that the Spirit of God is in the earth today as the Representative and Vicar of Christ in the Church and that He must have His due Lordship in the midst of His people… Uzzah means “strength.” It is invariably the strength of human leadership, not their weakness, that extinguishes the spiritual flame that had been kindled by the presence of the Lord. God’s power is made perfect in man’s weakness, not in his strength. God does not require the strong, dynamic, charismatic personality. He requires one who like Jacob of old has been robbed of his natural strength by the touch of the hand of God, and who then arises from his confrontation with the Lord a different man, bearing a different name.”
(“Tent To Temple” by Bill Britton, p.55-56)
A Resting Place For The Ark; A New Tent On Mount Zion
1 Chronicles 16:1 – When everything was made ready per the instructions of the Lord, the ark of His presence was finally brought to rest in the place David had prepared for Him on Mount Zion.
1 And they brought in the ark of God and placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
(NAS)
It’s interesting to note that about 6 miles away at Mount Gibeon the tabernacle of Moses was still in operation (1 Chronicles 21:29), void of the presence of God in His ark. We read in1 Chronicles 16:39-40 says;
“And he [David] left Zadok the priest and his relatives the priests before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place which was at Gibeon, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which He commanded Israel.”
It would continue functioning for a while longer, but the ark would never be restored within the holy of holies in the old structure;
“If we are going to be spared the frustration of trying to restore something that has served its purpose and belongs to a dying order, we must recognize that God has new things in mind. And that He moves onward and forward and upward, enlightening the path of the just with the Light of a new day… He is not in the least interested in renewing some old religious structure that He may have seen fit to use in days gone by. God has an entirely new order for His people.”
(“From Tent To Temple” by George H. Warnock, p.58)
God’s plan is always moving forward, never again to return to the temporary tabernacle of Moses in Mount Gibeon. It had served its purpose, being a temporary means unto the end, but not the end itself. This is where some within the church have a difficult time today. They have become complacent and comfortable within their denominations and are not willing to set out at the Holy Spirit’s call to “come out” from a corrupt religious system ruled by the flesh in order to be cleansed and made ready to meet the Lord at the end of this age (Matthew 25:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Many in the church in America have become spiritually hard of hearing, preferring to stop and dwell with a false sense of security on the wrong side of the Jordan River. They have no desire to cross over and fight the “good fight” in order to possess the “Promised Land,” or should I say the “Promised Place” in Christ. We will have no excuse one day when we stand before Him and are required to give an account as to why we would not answer His call to enter into the place of His presence, separated from that which He has written “Ichabod” (“no glory”) over.
He is moving toward His final resting place in Zion, the divinely designated place of His throne within us. It is nearing the time of His coming again to His people to rebuild and restore the desired place of His habitation. The place within His people, the temple of His Body that fell in the garden, will once and forever be restored to an even greater glory at the fast approaching end of this age (Haggai 2:9).
The Holy Spirit is presently stirring His people from our spiritual lethargy to prepare His way within us through repentance and consecration so that together we will carry His presence per the prescribed order revealed to us within the Scriptures. The seat of His government will be established within the hearts of His people who respond by consecrating themselves in preparation of His appearing. They are the wise virgins who took oil with them to keep their lamps lit. The oil was “poured” into them because they turned to the Lord’s reproof (Proverbs 1:23). (See the Bible study The Final Infilling Of Empty Vessels.) They will enter into the wedding feast with the Bridegroom and the door will be shut (Matthew 25:10). Those on the outside will find themselves in a place of darkness, outside of the light of His presence, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (see the Bible study Outer Darkness).
We, His children, must humble ourselves and take heed lest we fall through arrogance and presumption. We are not above Israel, the natural branches. If they were broken off for unbelief, we must not become conceited, but fear. If God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare those of us in the church, the spiritual Israel consisting of both Jews and Gentiles in Christ, who are “grafted-in.” Believing Gentiles that turn away in unbelief AFTER believing will be cut off from Christ (Romans 11).
Some would say that these people Paul is speaking of are not true Christians. You cannot be grafted into the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ, unless you have become a believer, a disciple, a follower of Him. This brings us to the great apostasy, or falling away from the faith, that will have happened first before the return of Christ that Paul refers to in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2.
(continued in part 2...)
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