By Chris McDonald
One of the greatest revelations for this generation is the revelation of the Tabernacle of David. The Holy Spirit through James foretold of a time when the tabernacle of David.
Acts 15:16-17
After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: [17] That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
The apostle James delivered this portion of Scripture to us when he was settling the great Jerusalem council crisis about the Gentiles. The debate was over whether or not the Gentiles should be circumcised according to the custom of Moses before they could be saved. The Spirit had led Peter to the home of Cornelius the centurion. As Cornelius’s friends and relatives listened, the Lord gave him the answer to a debate. Peter opened his mouth and God broke in with power:
Acts 10:43-48
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
[44] While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. [45] And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. [46] For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, [47] Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? [48] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
This had already occurred when this big Jerusalem council was in progress in Acts 15. James answered the dilemma by quoting on unusual prophecy from Amos 9:11:
Amos 9:11
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
Although James used this scripture to prove that Gentiles are saved by grace, a number of other points are powerfully made in this powerful passage. Off all of the verses that could have been used, the Holy Spirit selected this obscure passage in Amos 9:11 to refer to the time when God would fully restore the tabernacle of David. The initial down payment of this prophecy began in the first century. However the fullness of it does not occur until the End Times, the generation of the Lord’s return.
Acts 15:16-17 describes the way in which God will bring all of the nations of the earth to the gospel. James made a very significant point for our generation right now. The tabernacle of David will be restored fully so that the Great Commission can be accomplished. The Bible refers to all the nations on earth today.
Rev. 7:9-11
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindred’s, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; [10] And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. [11] And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Of course, what is described here has not yet occurred, so we know that this will not complete until the final generation of natural history.
What Is The Tabernacle Of David?
What is the tabernacle of David? Simply, it is the church of Jesus Christ in mature unity and in full victory reaping the great harvest under a citywide apostolic anointing and authority.
In the Old Covenant, Melchezidek was a priest AND a king. Although it was strictly forbidden to bring these offices together into one office under the Old Covenant, the office of Melchizedek was both a PRIESTLY and a KINGLY ministry. David, Moses and Messiah are also examples of the combination of these two type of ministries.
When Uzzah attempted to walk in both offices, leprosy broke out in his body. These offices, which under the Old Covenant were forbidden to be joined, are actually commanded to be joined together in the New Covenant. The priestly and the kingly offices were joined together in the New Covenant because Jesus walked in both. He came in the flesh as the full embodiment of combining the kingly and priestly offices. Nevertheless, in a foreshadowing of Christ’s mighty ministry, David brought the two offices together in the tabernacle of David.
In its most abbreviated form, the priestly portion ministers to the Lord as a worshipper crying, “I love you, I love you. I love you.” The kingly portion, on the other hand, fulfills the mandates to subdue and defeat the enemies of God. The Great Commission is a form of the kingly task in the same way that worship and intercession are priestly functions. Priestly ministry is God-ward. Kingly ministry performs the mandates of the kingdom by defeating the enemies of God on the earth.
Worship and intercession are priestly components. The kingly component is pictured in King David as he defeated the enemies of God around Israel. In the New Covenant, we do not use the terms priestly and kingly often. We see them used in the Books of Revelation and 1 and 2 Peter, but usually these words are replaced by the words prophetic and apostolic.
The prophetic ministry an incense ministry of worship, prayer and hearing God. It combines the warring intercession with the “I love You” of worship. It is like the incense of our hearts ascending upward to God’s presence with His prophetic word returning it back to us. The kingly ministry is the apostolic mandate to fulfill the Great Commission and to defeat the enemies of God.
In today’s church our primary focus has been on kingly duties such as winning our neighborhoods to the Lord bringing the nations into the harvest. This is fantastic and worth giving our best to. Nevertheless, we cannot overlook the priestly dimension as emphasized in the tabernacle of David. This is extremely important because I believe that God will restore the priestly function of the tabernacle of David before the fullness of kingly power comes into manifestation.
The Tabernacle of David includes reaching the nations for Christ in power and evangelism as well as night-and-day prayer. There is more than just the prayer-side of David’s tabernacle.
When David took the throne in Israel, the temple had not yet been built. The tabernacle of God, the tent that housed God’s presence and represented His supernatural anointing and divine favor upon the nation, had fallen into disuse. Although the city of Jerusalem had already been established as Israel’s holy center, the Ark of the Covenant was being stored in an individual’s home after previous battles had nearly lost the ark to the people of Israel altogether.
The Ark of the Covenant actually represented the divine presence of God with His people. As the priests traveled through the wilderness with Moses, they carried the ark before the company of people upon poles according to carefully laid out instructions. When the Israelites made camp, the priests would set up the ark in the tabernacle, close the curtain between the ark and the people, and then the glorious presence of God would fill the temple as the priests ministered.
After David became king he determined to bring the ark into Jerusalem:
In transporting the ark, David, according to God’s divine instructions, surrounded it with 288 singers and 4,000 musicians to usher it into Jerusalem. When the priests took their God-ordained positions, the ark was transported into Jerusalem with great joy.
Moses placed a thick veil or curtain to protect the people from being killed by gazing at the Shekinah glory of God that rested upon the ark in the holy of holies. However, David did something so different that it is amazing. He placed singers and musicians full time before the ark. There was no veil to keep them from seeing God’s glory. They saw the glory of God resting on the ark as they worshipped 24 hours a day.
A great restoration of God’s power and presence will cover the earth in the End Times. The people of God will enjoy the divine presence, beauty and power of God in a way never before imagined. The glory of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. And when the glory is manifested, the nations will look up to Jesus Christ, and multitudes upon multitudes will be saved in the greatest ingathering souls in the history of mankind.
But Scripture holds some exciting keys as to how this incredible event will take place. It will not be according to a person’s wonderful idea or program. But as lively stones, the members of the body of Christ will take their places within the church and perform their many functions. God will help them, and the glory will be released in an awesome, final End-Time display.
What is most exciting is the role of worship and intercession. The priests got together not preach or teach. They carried the ark of God’s wonderful presence through divinely orchestrated and motivated worship.
David surrounded the ark with 288 singers and 4,000 musicians to minister to God. This resulted in the enemies of God being defeated. I believe this is a picture of the body of Christ functioning as living stones of the temple, surrounding the mighty presence of God and being vessels that release the anointing from heaven to earth in an incredible display of glory.
Rev. 5:8
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.
The harp speaks of worship that includes God’s music, and the bowl represents intercession. These two elements of worship rise up before the Lord in an interactive relationship of music and intercession performed by the king/priests as they are used to release God’s presence on earth.
David sought to express on the earth the worship that was/is in heaven. Jesus said to pray to see God’s will on earth as it is in heaven:
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
We want to see worship on earth as it is in heaven. Worship comes first, THEN apostolic power comes second. The church cries for power, power, power but does not want to worship and intercede to receive it. Extravagant worshippers become anointed servants! The object of our worship is CHRIST JESUS, not a man or a movement, a doctrine or any thing else. To fulfill the Great Commission we must receive apostolic power.
There are many reasons why God has sovereignty established a harp and bowls around His throne. The harp, for example, is for music because at the core of God’s being, He is a musician. The Holy Spirit is a musical Spirit, and the human spirit was created as a musical spirit, as well.
Truth is powerful and often moves our hearts deeply. God’s truth combined with God’s music opens the deepest places of our emotions, even at a level that truth without anointed music does not. God’s truth blended with anointed music does several things. It touches us more deeply and brings us unto greater unity in that it provides opportunity for many people in a room to experience the same depth of truth all the same time. In Psalm 133, it is evident that the commanded blessing will come when the saints enter into a supernatural unity:
Psalm 133:1-3
A Song of degrees of David.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! [2] It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; [3] As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
God’s truth with God’s music unifies us in a profound way. Together we feel the same thing in the same moment, which is one component that God uses to unify us in the Spirit of God. Hebrews 2:11-12 says that the Lord will release His songs and will sing them in the congregation:
Hebrews 2:11-12
For both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, [12] Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
The Lord will give His songs to the people by the Spirit. In the midst of the assembly of the people of God, He will give His brethren the songs of the Lamb before the Father, and the sons of the Father before the Lamb! Not only does the Son sing, but the Father also sings.
Zeph. 3:17
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
The Father and the Son are both singers, and the Holy Spirit is also a phenomenal musician. Together, they impart their music on the earth through the church. This music and these songs change the spiritual atmosphere of the cities in which they are released. As we pray and intercede together, we touch that beauty realm a little bit in our spirits when we function in the spirit and principles seen in the tabernacle of David.
The key to David’s model of intercession was that he mixed three things together. David had 288 singers and 4,000 musicians taking shifts to minister to God before the ark for 24 hours each day. But the key factor was the prophetic spirit that came on the singers and musicians. This element of prophecy can be seen in 1 Chronicles 25:1:
1 Chron. 25:1
Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals:
This spirit of prophecy is not the same as foretelling what is to come, although we can see in the Psalms that such prophetic foretelling was occasionally released in the midst of the people who were ministering in the tabernacle of David. By prophetic spirit, I am referring to a spirit of inspiration from God. The atmosphere of heaven was imparted on them and through them.
When the atmosphere of heaven is imparted on the singers and the musicians, the intercessors simply explode in the revelation of God’s heart. We know that David joined the intercessors with the musicians and singers because a number of the Psalms were intercessory psalms written on site.
Ezra was a leader who reestablished the Davidic order of worship in his generation. Nehemiah 11-12 presents a graphic and detailed description of the responsive, or the antiphonal, singing and speaking that occurred before the Lord.
Ezra 3:11 describe the activities of the responsive singer. One singer would sing, and the other would answer. One person would intercede for a moment, and then the singers would sing the prayer. The patter would then be repeated:
Ezra 3:11
And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endures for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.
There are several types of scripture prayers that are sung in a normal tabernacle of David pattern:
The working together of the singers, the musicians and the intercessors in the apostolic prayers, the hymn of Revelation, the Davidic psalms and the prophetic spirit results in the promise given by Isaiah:
Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Jesus also quoted this verse when He entered Jerusalem and declared His Kingdom.
Matthew 21:13 - And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
In addition to the prayers we pray and sing in this pattern, it is simply to duplicate the pattern in heaven. Antiphonal singing is also found in heaven. The hymns of Revelation are antiphonal in style. For example, the church will sing, and then the angels response, and then the 24 elders respond again.
Rev. 5:8-14
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. [9] And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; [10] And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. [11] And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; [12] Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. [13] And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. [14] And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that lives for ever and ever.
The Atmosphere Of A House Of Prayer
King David said in Psalms 27:4 that he most wants to gaze at the beauty of the Lord.
Psalm 27:4
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
Once we’ve encountered such fascinating beauty, who would not want to gaze upon it continually? David inquires of the Lord as a prophet, and then he goes out to conquer the enemies of God as a KING. After battle, David then returns as a priest and is cleansed, healed and washed.
So David first inquired of the Lord to receive divine strategy for God’s purpose in any given season. In other words, he then becomes an apostolic emissary to defeat the enemies of God.
The tabernacle of David is vital in the process of gazing at the Lord, being empowered and being healed. These battles are won outside of the prayer room in the natural when they are first won in the house of joyful prayer in our hearts and prayer closets! The prayers of the saints are both a launching pad to go forth after having received divine strategy, and it is a place where battles are actually won in the realm of the spirit.
David’s life shows us that the experience in prayer in his tabernacle was both a launching pad to action and a place of spiritual warfare to secure victory before the action.
When we touch the realm of gazing on the beauty of Jesus, believe me Holy Spirit power is released. The beauty of Jesus speaks to us of His finished work of redemption on the cross 2,000 years ago when He broke the power and penalty of sin. The Holy Spirit is going to get the attention of the body of Christ and focus it on this realm of God’s beauty.
Worship sweeps us before God, allowing us to experience God’s throne while we are still here on the earth. At the resurrection we will experience glory and participate in a far greater degree, but we need not wait for the resurrection. We must enter into it now. For the more we focus on it and the more we mediate on it, the more real it becomes.
As we seek the Lord to give us the pattern to reestablish the prayer ministry in the spirit of the tabernacle of David as a place for gazing upon His beauty and a place of refreshing and protection, we pray for a release of His anointing to do so.
The keys of David will unlock the tabernacle of David in this generation. We ask Him to cause lovers of Jesus Christ like you to come forth with hearts like David’s yearning to gaze upon His beautiful face.
This message is the first lesson of our brand new study course, “The Tabernacle Of David.” More lessons are to come online. We will have a paper form study course with study questions.
A great deal of material for this initial lesson from Mike Bickle’s wonderful book on the powerful mandate of prayer and intercession on this generation, “The Pleasures of Loving God,” copyright 2001, International House of Prayer, Kansas City, MO. Creation House Publishing, All Rights Reserved.