Return to Index.

The Feast of Tabernacles-Our Pilgrimage
September 28, 2026

During this feast, we celebrate the Kingdom of God. We seek a country that is not of this world that exists in eternity in the spiritual realm, and the act of seeking a country puts us on a pilgrimage. Throughout history there have been pilgrims also seeking a better country, including the Pilgrims who came to New England in sixteen twenty. Many think they were seeking religious freedom, but when they left Europe, they were living in Holland where they had religious freedom. When it came to reasons of religious freedom, the Pilgrims had little reason to leave the city of Leiden where they found a temporary home. They were free to worship as they saw fit and they were not persecuted, and yet they sought a country that would be a better country for them.

While they were free to worship as they pleased and didn’t suffer persecution for it, there wasn’t much of an opportunity to provide for their families as they thought they should. They knew of the New World and sought something better for them economically. Helping them to decide to sail to the New World were economic downturns caused by lower prices for wool, the Thirty Year’s War, and potential hostilities with Spain. They worried about their children, because while they didn’t suffer persecution, they thought the local people were causing many children to turn from their faith. They knew they couldn’t go back to England because they would be persecuted there, so they saw America as a land of opportunity. They could make money to support their families living in a community that incorporated their values, while also giving an opportunity to share their faith with the natives.

Being poor, they worked with the Virginia Company to establish the colony, and the Virginia Company saw them as a great fit to establish the colony. The pilgrims were close-knit, hard-working, and they worked through hardships. The Virginia Company took on a group of investors known as the Merchant Adventurers, and their investment in the Virginia Company is what financed the journey. It paid for the Mayflower and its crew, and supplies for a year. As part of the deal, the Pilgrims agreed to be indebted to the Merchant Adventurers during the first seven years of the colony. Everybody age sixteen and older was expected to work, and they also could later benefit from profit sharing and by being a landowner. They also had to agree to take along others seeking economic opportunities who did not share their faith. These people were known as the strangers. The Mayflower didn’t get them to Virginia but got them much further north in what is today Massachusetts in November of 1620, and they set up rules for self-governance, the Mayflower Compact.

New England was not the best place for a colony compared to Virginia. The soil was rocky making farming hard. That first winter was extreme and nothing of value was returned to England the following year. Ships that returned to England came back empty when investors were hoping to see furs, timber, and fish, and many ships were captured by pirates. Investors saw very little money back. Beaver pelts helped the colony establish itself and soon beavers and the Bible were huge in the colony.

Unlike the Pilgrims who established their colony in a different part of this world, we have been called to journey to the Kingdom of God, a spiritual kingdom that is not of this world, much like Abraham, when he was known as Abram was called to leave his country to journey to a land he hadn’t yet seen. His journey would take him far because there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt. He was concerned that Pharaoh would want Sarai as part of his harem because Sarai was good looking. He asked her to lie and say she was his sister because he feared if they knew they were married, Pharaoh would kill him to gain easier access to Sarai. What Abram feared is exactly what happened, but as soon as Sarai became part of the harem, it was one disaster stacked upon other disasters for Pharaoh’s household. It didn’t take long for Pharaoh to determine that Abram had lied to him, and that Sarai’s presence in the household was the cause of the problems. Pharoah returned Sarai to Abram and had his men escort them and their possessions away from Egypt.

Genesis 12:10-20
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Generations later, when Joseph was in Egypt second only to Pharaoh, his father Jacob and his brothers came to Egypt because of another famine. Pharaoh wanted Joseph’s family to be accommodated through the drought in the land of Goshen and even wanted Joseph to select ranchers from his family to take care of Pharoah’s herds. Pharoah met Jacob who described his life as a pilgrimage of one hundred thirty years. With the face to face meeting completed, Pharaoh had the very best of the land given to Joseph’s family.

Genesis 47:1-12
Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.

Our spiritual pilgrimage of faith is not much different than the pilgrimage of Abram or Jacob. They believed God and lived their life by faith, and so must we. There were things they hoped for, but there was no evidence to support the hope they had. All who lived by faith believed God without evidence, and did what was expected of them. We cannot please God unless we live our life with faith. In his pilgrimage, Abraham traveled to a country he did not know, and he looked for a city whose builder and maker is God. Abraham and Sarah as all the faithful died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off. They in faith sought a better country, a heavenly country that today we would know as the Kingdom of God to come, and they were all pilgrims. During the Feast of Tabernacles, it is especially fitting to think about our pilgrimage, and the journey of faith that is before us. When we seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, we seek a kingdom we have not yet seen. When we seek God’s righteousness, that is a standard that is light years beyond being a better person. Our pilgrimage must be a pilgrimage of faith, and we can look to the people of the Bible as examples. Through faith, we understand the things which we can see were made by God. In Biblical history it wouldn’t take long for the sons of Adam and Eve to be surrounded by animals and plants with Cain a farmer and Abel a rancher. We know Abel brought a more excellent sacrifice to God and that Cain’s offering was not respected by God. Both Abel and Cain were raised by parents created by God and had been kicked out of the Garden of Eden. From Hebrews we can tell the difference was in character. Abel was righteous and with Cain there is no mention of character. Even though Abel may not have understood it at the time, Abel was seeking the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness by living a life of righteousness. Enoch also lived a life of righteousness and was translated so that he would not see death. Being righteous in the eyes of God is not something we as people just stumble across as if it something that can be found in this world. God’s righteousness along with the Kingdom of God is something we seek first and becomes our pilgrimage of faith. Without faith we cannot please God, and faith will lead us to diligently seek God. Noah was warned by God of things to come; not much different than how we are warned of things to come. Noah was warned of a flood and then came destruction, and we are told that in the end time the people then will be living as the people did during the times of Noah, not understanding how soon their destruction would come. Noah built an ark and through his family and the animals aboard, the earth was repopulated. This happened because in a world where the heart of mankind was focused on evil continually, Noah was righteous. He lived in a world where everyone lived a life opposed to God, and when it might be easy to be evil like everyone else, Noah sought that which was righteous. We might think we live in a world filled with evil, but what was happening during Noah’s time seemed much more intense than today. By living a life of righteousness Noah showed he sought a better country. If everything was perfectly fine where and when he lived, Noah would have had no reason to be righteous, but he lived his life being righteous.

Hebrews 11:1-16
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

The faithful were all pilgrims and we are pilgrims today. We may not be in the process of physically moving from one place to another place, but we all seek that spiritual kingdom to come, the kingdom not of this world, the Kingdom of God. God has chosen us to be part of this spiritual journey, and we have been called together with others we may not know who are also on this same spiritual journey. We are a people who obey the laws of the country we are in and have obtained mercy from God. As pilgrims on a spiritual journey who seek a heavenly country, we need to abstain from fleshly lusts. When those who are not yet called think about us, we want them to see us doing good things and not bad things, even if they say bad things about us. One day they will be called, and when they are called and understand that at the time they were speaking evil about us that we were already called then, they will understand that there was a positive difference in who we were because of the calling from God, and they will use that positive difference and give glory to God. In our pilgrimage we know through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have been given freedom from the penalty of sin. We are to use that freedom as servants of God honoring all people, loving those who are of the faith, living in reverential awe of God, and honoring the leaders of the nation we are in. It makes no difference which nation we are in for the Feast of Tabernacles or at any other time of year. As Christians we seek a spiritual country that is not of this world, and we honor the leaders of the nation we are in.

1 Peter 2:9-17
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

When Peter wrote his first letter, he addressed the brethren as strangers, and the Greek word used by Peter in the passage we will read is translated as pilgrims in other New Testament locations. The brethren living in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia probably weren’t moving about any more than other people who lived there, but spiritually, they were still pilgrims. Likewise for us today we may not be moving much from city to city, but we are all spiritual pilgrims, pilgrims who have a hope of the resurrection through Jesus Christ and a hope of the spiritual Kingdom of God that will be revealed at the end of time.

1 Peter 1:1-5
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Being spiritual pilgrims seeking a heavenly country that is not of this world reminds us that we have been called from this world to seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and during the Feast of Tabernacles, we are especially focused on the Kingdom of God. Being called out from this world means we are not to be like this world. We are especially not to be partakers of the sins of this world, because where there is sin there are consequences for sin. In Revelation we see how an angel of God comes down from heaven proclaiming the demise of Babylon the great which had become a stronghold of sin. At that time another voice from heaven is heard telling the people of God to come out of Babylon the great to avoid the consequences for sin, and to avoid the sin itself.

Revelation 18:1-8
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

In the story of Lot and his family when the angels came to Sodom to rescue Lot, it was Lot’s wife who looked back and was turned to a pillar of salt. As spiritual pilgrims seeking a heavenly country to come, we do not look back on this world as if we regret the spiritual choice we have made. It does not mean we won’t have memories and even pleasant memories of our life, but as spiritual pilgrims there can be no regret in seeking first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness. We either love God and the Kingdom of God seeking that first, or we love the world and seek that first, and we are told to not love the world or the things in the world.

1 John 2:15-17
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

Paul’s letter to the Romans makes it easy to understand that we are not to be defined by this world or become like this world. As spiritual pilgrims we live our life as a living sacrifice doing what is expected of us and being transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Jesus explained to the disciples that because the world hated Him, the world would likely hate the disciples because they were chosen out of the world and were no longer of the world. As spiritual pilgrims our focus is not on the world in which we live or the life we had, but the Kingdom of God to come and eternal life we will be given.

John 15:18-23
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

David saw himself as a pilgrim even though he was a king. He understood the need while on his spiritual journey to bridle his tongue even in the face of evil. Bridling his tongue in the face of evil came with the cost of sorrow and anger. He understood that the very best a person could hope to do was much less than God could do. He saw a benefit in contemplating his own mortality as confirmation of being much less than God. His hope was with God, and he asked for God’s mercy in his life knowing that all we attain in life eventually goes away.

Psalm 39:1-13
I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue, Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it. Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

As spiritual pilgrims, we need to make sure our focus is on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and not become like people who toss God aside for what is convenient. Israel was warned about having idols in their heart, showing it is possible to have idols before God and not have a physical representation of them. As spiritual pilgrims, anything or any person that is more important than God is like an idol. When things and people are allowed to be more important than God eventually even sinful practices become more important than God, and people begin to accept sin in their life as if what the Bible calls sin is no longer sin. With God it makes no difference if the person is a spiritual pilgrim or somebody just passing through the land. People who have idols in their heart separate themselves from God, and as spiritual pilgrims who seek a heavenly country, we cannot separate ourself from God.

Ezekiel 14:1-11
Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself: And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God.

David understood the temporary nature of human life, especially as he got older. He understood that the people of his day would eventually be a memory as no human lives forever. This temporary nature of human life led David to see our human existence as being like a pilgrim. David was a man after God’s own heart, and he blessed God shortly before his death as he was proclaiming Solomon to be the next king.

1 Chronicles 29:10-15
Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

David knew our time on Earth was limited and that we are nothing compared to the majesty of God. Whatever journey our life might bring us, he understood there was an end to that journey. The spiritual pilgrimage that we have has no end. The walk that is before us takes us into eternity as children of God in the Kingdom of God that we celebrate during the Feast of Tabernacles. Looking back on our life of faith, I think we all know people who have left the faith doing things in opposition to Jesus Christ. While we seek the coming Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, many seek to simply satisfy their human needs and desires. Because God hasn’t taken us out of this world but just kept us from evil, from time to time we might even come across people who have left the faith. Aside from recognizing these people who are no longer of the faith it is not our place to judge them as we continue on our spiritual pilgrimage, because we know our spiritual citizenship is in heaven through the Kingdom of God. We can also take comfort knowing that whatever there is about our life today that we do not like, will change when we are given eternal life. The limitations we physically face during our spiritual pilgrimage will be no more when our bodies are changed to spirit.

Philippians 3:17-21
Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Our spiritual pilgrimage is a journey of faith; a journey of faith that takes us from the life we had at the time of our calling with all of the limitations and challenges of life to eternity and beyond. While we are on our spiritual pilgrimage, we celebrate the Sabbath and Holy Days including the Feast of Tabernacles, which looks forward to the Kingdom of God to come. As we celebrate this feast looking forward to the Kingdom to come, we are still looking at this world in which we live. It would be incredible if for a moment we could be taken in a vision like John was to see the new heaven and new Earth along with New Jerusalem. As incredible as that would be as we look around, we see skies, land, and cities that have a familiar look and feel. Knowing there is something much better awaiting us in eternity than what we have now, we seek that which is better, and sometimes it seems like we have this very long wait, to the point where the wait can seem to be long. It would be a mistake to give up on our spiritual journey, but we know eventually our mortal life will give way to eternal life, and that we will one day be with God our Father and Jesus Christ. Keeping us on our spiritual journey are not the things we see here on Earth, but are those things we do not see, because our spiritual pilgrimage is a pilgrimage of faith and not of sight. Each step we take in our pilgrimage is a step of faith, and the only steps we can take are towards the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:1-7
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: For we walk by faith, not by sight:

The pilgrims sought opportunity in the New World, and similarly we seek a country, the Kingdom of God, which is a kingdom that is not of this world. The pilgrims made the decision to leave Holland because the local people were influencing their children to leave their faith, and they leveraged the human desire to make money to get to the New World. Once there, they suffered with poor farming conditions, an extreme first winter, and poor returns on the investment. The stuck together, were hard working, and did not give up. Eventually the pilgrims began to make money in their colony. Our pilgrimage is a spiritual pilgrimage as we walk by faith towards the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness. We can look to the faithful of the Bible who also sought a better country. We are focused on spiritual and not physical riches. As we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles looking forward to the Kingdom of God, we celebrate in a physical world we know. The journey we have before us is unknown but regardless of whatever journey we may have, we have an incredible hope of something much better than whatever is the best this world can offer. Let us continue to walk in our pilgrimage, our spiritual pilgrimage of faith during this Feast of Tabernacles and beyond.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
Copyright and Legal Information
Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information