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Opening Message for The Feast of Tabernacles
September 20, 2021

This feast is a highlight for many who observe as we collectively look forward to the establishment of the Kingdom of God. During this Feast we will examine how faith, hope, and love will get us to this destination when peace will be all that is known. Everything that has been done on earth culminates in the events foreshadowed by the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. It is during this time we bring to the forefront of our mind several verses that look forward to this future time. In Isaiah, we look forward to a future time when even animals will be at peace with each other, and children will have nothing to fear.

Isaiah 11:6-9
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

While few in the realm of Christianity keep the Feast of Tabernacles today, we know in the future all of mankind will keep the feast.

Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

We are excited about the Feast of Tabernacles because we know not only will one day all people keep the feast, but because we look forward to a time of incredible peace based on the laws of God which today are minimalized or ridiculed. Because of the time of peace that will come, weapons will become tools of production, and it will be a time of plenty.

Micah 4:2-4
And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

We are observing the Feast of Tabernacles because we know it is one of God’s festivals given originally to the children of Israel thousands of years ago and kept by the Church of God in the first century after the death of Jesus Christ. This festival starts and ends with a Holy Day, when no work is to be done.

Leviticus 23:34-36
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.

As we move through the Feast of Tabernacles, we see the result of God’s plan of salvation, and how during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, on the last great day of the Feast, Jesus stood in the temple and boldly proclaimed that all who thirst could come to him and drink. We know the people who heard him could not understand that Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit, and how through Jesus this would be made available to all who would be called.

John 7:37-39
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.

We also know all who ever lived on earth will one day have their opportunity for salvation, and that the Last Great Day symbolizes this future opportunity for people who are not called at this time. We have faith and hope in the promise of a new heaven and a new earth which will be created, knowing that the pain and suffering of today will not be remembered or ever come back again. We celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles knowing that in the Kingdom of God, there will be no pain and suffering. There will be no more tragedy in death. All will live an abundant life through the peace and bounty that will be established in the Kingdom of God.

Isaiah 65:17-20
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

We keep the Feast of Tabernacles knowing in the Kingdom of God instead of being a time of death, it will be a time of plenty where the harvests always greatly exceeds what is expected. The lost tribes of Israel will be returned to their rightful place where all will have sufficient for their needs, and no more will there be the threat of captivity.

Amos 9:13-15
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

We keep the Feast of Tabernacles looking forward to New Jerusalem where God the Father and Jesus Christ will be; a city of incredible beauty, dimensions, and perpetual light. No more will darkness ensnare the people of God as all evil will be banished with death, sorrow, and pain being no more.

Revelation 21:1-4
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

As we keep this Feast of Tabernacles, we will explore the meaning of the feast and look at it from a perspective of faith, hope, and love, because if we lack in these, there will be no Kingdom of God for us. Let us keep this feast with joy and happiness not focusing on the evils of the world we live in today. We do have to be mindful of the evils of the world we live in today, but during this feast, let us focus on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteous so that we can have a respite from the evil we see around us. We keep the feast as a means to celebrate what God has given to us and we can take to heart the words written in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 14:26
And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

The Feast of Tabernacles is a time representing the Kingdom of God, a time of bountiful harvests where there is never a lack of anything. We should use this feast to celebrate that future reality, so that we can rejoice before God in this feast. In Galatians we are reminded of this future bountiful harvest which is celebrated by the Feast of Tabernacles. In Galatians, we are reminded to continue in doing well and never to faint, knowing that in due season we will reap the harvest that we are all collectively working hard to bring about.

Galatians 6:7-10
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

As helpers in the harvest that will benefit us, we must have patience to wait for the harvest when all is ripe. If the harvest comes to soon, the harvest will not be fully mature and may not be fully ripe. God the Father and Jesus Christ have patience with the spiritual harvest, and so must we, as we endure to the end.

James 5:7-11
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

As we celebrate the feast today, we know we must wait for the Kingdom of God to come. Jesus explained to His disciples that even though the methods of farming are well known, the why and how of seed giving life is a mystery to many. What’s important to the farmer is not the why and how, but the knowledge that with proper planting and caretaking, when it is time to harvest, there will be a crop to harvest.

Mark 4:26-29
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Each Feast of Tabernacles is a celebration of that harvest, when a time of bounty and plenty will be experienced by all. The Feast of Tabernacles is kept for seven days with the eighth day observed as the Last Great Day. During the feast we are to rejoice and not ignore others who have been given a lesser blessing in life, as we celebrate the blessings that we have been given by God.

Deuteronomy 16:13-15
Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

We celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles as a time of plenty, a time of peace, a time for the Kingdom of God. We celebrate a shared experience knowing that all who are called also have this hope of the Kingdom of God. There is nothing that man can offer to compare to the glory that will be the Kingdom of God, New Jerusalem, and eternal life. Let us celebrate this Feast of Tabernacles and let us celebrate the Kingdom of God.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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