greetings in the precious name of Jesus...

Paul's letter to the churches in Galatia begins in verse 3 with these thoughts...

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be  glory forever and ever. Amen.

The words 'present evil age' are very descriptive for the days we live in as well.  As we examine two distinct times known as the time of the 'former rain' and then the time of the 'latter rain' represented below; we must ask ourselves these questions:  Do we walk in the same simple, yet powerful faith that our brothers and sisters did in the first century?  And, are we willing to consider that the modern church in many ways is like the institution of the temple in Jesus' day; operating only in a shadow of what God intends? 

These three pictures represent in part the revelation that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob gave to the children of Israel... From the giving of the Law of Moses on Mt. Sinai, to the construction of the tabernacle in the desert, to the building of the first temple by Solomon; this time in history is what came to be known as the former rain.

While the power of God was clearly seen when Solomon dedicated the temple; over time the glory of the Lord departed from the temple... and was replaced by a system of ritual worship, where the ways of man overruled the purposes of God...

Then almost 2000 years ago came the latter rain...

Where the Cross of Christ made it possible

for the consuming fire of God to dwell in the hearts of His sons and daughters.

When Jesus came to the earth, He found a system of religion that fostered an environment where the children of Israel honored God with their lips, but their heart was far from Him.  For over a millennia before Jesus came the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob brought at various times; famine, disease, and conquering armies that resulted in the children of Israel being exiled for seventy years... all for the purpose of correcting a people that were embracing an increasingly pagan  lifestyle, and were forsaking the ways of God. 

In Ezekiel 44:10 the Lord speaks of "...the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity."  As Israel continued to stray from God; the Levites instead of holding forth a righteous standard, went astray from the ways of God as well.  They  presided over a temple system that progressively was "teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

Even though the Lord sent many prophets to warn the kings (government), the priests (religious system), and the people (society) of His wrath; the people continued to stray.

What developed then was a temple system conceived in the heart of man that like the society around them; forsook the very ways of the God they claimed to serve. This temple system became too entrenched in the religious methods and false doctrines of men to ever allow genuine change. 

This is why when Jesus came;  He did not attempt to reform the religious system, instead He shed His precious blood to redeem all those who had fallen and would return to Him with hearts full of repentance and faith.  

His strategy then; for birthing the community of believers in Jerusalem was not to lead another attempt at reform, instead He took a number of believers out of the decaying religious system and taught them how to love one another, and to pray for, serve, and bless one another.  He also taught them to listen to the voice of God, and to pray in the Spirit; walking in the world as doers of His word. 

The Lord knew that as long as His disciples remained a part of the religious system of their day; the decisions that they made would be affected by it.  This fact must not be ignored as we face an increasingly apostate world today.

The former and latter rain together

In the midst of the increasing darkness around us;  the good news for us today is that God's Holy Word is still "living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,  piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is (still) a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  Because He ever lives, the body of Christ is alive in the earth today and is being prepared for the return of Christ to the earth.

Now as we approach the end of the ages we are entering a season where the Lord is pouring out His rain once again: "And He will cause the rain to come down for you— the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month." (at the same time)... see Joel 2:23. 

As we enter into this time, we would be wise to remember that both the former and the latter rains held this in common... The very power and presence of God drew near to sanctify the people of God.  

It is also important to realize that when the first temple was under construction "...that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built."  This represents the absence of man's ways, and points to the purity of the spiritual temple that was built by the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts.  This spiritual temple was the community of believers living in covenant relationship with God, and with one another. 

The purpose of Shilohouse then is to raise the standard of Christ and His Kingdom... to build once again a habitation for His presence... bringing together a community of believers in a biblical framework... outside of the religious system so common today.

While there is a framework or "New Wineskin" that is put forth on this website, this vision will only be birthed (and remain pure) if we keep these three things in mind; 1) To love God with a holy passion that causes us to desire His will above all else, 2) To love one another as Jesus loves each of us, and  3) to follow in an uncompromising way; the leading of the Holy Spirit in our day to day lives.

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