GOD’S FORGOTTEN PROMISE

Acts 15:16,17 – After this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up;
So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD,

The book of Acts has two critical promises that we see being fulfilled in the last days. The first was preached by Peter on the Day of Pentecost, you know the one, “In the last days the Lord will pour out His Spirit on all mankind…”. The second one is the one forgotten and overlooked, it is today’s verse found in Acts 15. The leaders of the church were struggling with the gentile churches being planted in Paul’s ministry, this was not what they had in mind. James spoke out and said that this work was the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophesy in Amos. David’s tabernacle being restored was describing churches being planted all over the earth for all man to seek the Lord. The key to this is understanding what the church is. David’s tabernacle was a temporary tent on Mount Zion where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and God’s glory dwelt. This is what the church is to be, a place for God’s glory to be put on display. Here is how Matthew Henry describes this word of prophesy.

“By Jesus Christ these tents were raised and rebuilt. In him, God’s covenant with David had its fulfillment, and the glory of that house, which was not only sullied but also completely sunk, revived; its broken places were repaired, and its ruins raised up, as in the days of old. In fact, the spiritual glory of the family of Christ far exceeded the temporal glory of the family of David when it was at its height. In Christ also God’s covenant with Israel was fulfilled, and in the Gospel church the tabernacle of God was set up among human beings again, raised up on of the ruins of the Jewish state. This is quoted in the first council at Jerusalem as referring to the calling in of the Gentiles and God’s taking out of them a people for his name. As long as the world stands, God will keep a church in it, and if it is fallen down in one place and among one people, it will be raised up elsewhere.”

The Tabernacle of David marked a time of spiritual renewal in Israel. This was the place of unveiled worship that was conducted around the clock for years. It is there in the Bible clearly describing God’s church at the end of the age. Churches characterized by worship and the manifest presence of the Lord will be the fulfillment of God’s forgotten promise.