Welcome to the Feast of Tabernacles with the Great Lakes Church of God. During the Feast and Last Great Day we have eight days to get away from home and think about the plan of God. The plan of God is the most important thing taking place on the earth today. It is restoring God’s government to the world!
Every day during the Feast we will have instructions about God’s plan, and how He wants the people to live during the Millennium, and how we must be living right now. We hope you enjoy the fellowship and the activities during the Feast. We want to try to live like the people will live in the Millennium. Physically we will try to enjoy some nicer things that will remind us of the prosperity that people will have in the Millennium. But also in the spiritual sense, we will practice the way of love and out-going concern toward each other that everyone in the Millennium will be practicing.
CHRIST’S EXAMPLE
Turn to John chapter 7 in your Bible. Some may believe the Feast of Tabernacles is only an Old Testament festival. That is not true. Read John 7:1-2. It is called the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles because the apostle John was writing mainly to Gentiles. In other words, these were the people who were not Jews and who never would have heard of the Feast of Tabernacles. At that time, only the Jews were keeping the Feast.
Read John 7:3-11. The Jews knew that Jesus Christ would be at the Feast.
Continue reading John 7:12-14. Jesus Christ went to the Feast. There were people who would have liked to have killed Him at that time, but Jesus Christ knew it was important that He should go to the Feast. If anyone had a reason not to go to the Feast, Christ did, yet He went anyway!
THE COMMAND TO KEEP THE FEAST
In the Old Testament of the Bible we are commanded to keep the Feast. Turn to Leviticus chapter 23. In Leviticus 23 we have a listing of all the holy days of God (all of the festivals). Read Leviticus 23:34. It is talking about the seventh month of God’s sacred calendar. It is not the calendar we use in the world today.
Read Leviticus 23:35-37. Here in these verses we see that on the first day of the Feast and the eighth day we are to have a holy convocation (in other words a Church service). Here it talks about physical sacrifices. The New Testament tells us that Jesus Christ fulfilled the physical sacrifices, and we do not have to do them anymore. Therefore, we do not. We are to keep the Feast, and we are to have a holy convocation the first and last days and also to meet on the other days as well.
Let’s continue now in verse 38 of Leviticus 23. “‘…besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your free-will offerings which you give to the Lord. Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land…’” Remember that word “gathered.” We are going to talk about that in a few minutes. “‘…when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the Feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a Sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a Sabbath-rest.’” The first day of the Feast and the eighth day (The Last Great Day) are to be days of rest. We are not to be working on those days.
As we study the Bible, we find that the festivals are based on the harvest year in Palestine. That is where the Israelites first settled. In that area, as well as many parts of the world, there are two harvest seasons. There is a small spring harvest and a later larger autumn harvest. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Feast comes at the autumn harvest. The spring harvest in Palestine would start during the Days of Unleavened Bread and be finished up by Pentecost. In the northern United States where I lived, we used to see the spring harvest start around July 1st. It would be wheat being harvested. The larger autumn harvest can be seen taking place at the Feast time in the United States. In Palestine, which is a warmer climate, that harvest would be complete by now.
Let’s continue in Leviticus chapter 23. Read verses 40-42. We are told to dwell in booths. Booth just means a temporary dwelling place. It is a temporary place to live for a short time. In our modern society our temporary dwelling might be a hotel room or a tent.
Let’s keep reading in Leviticus 23:43-44. In verse 43 we have the reason that Old Testament Israel kept the Feast. They kept it so that they would know that God had made their ancestors dwell in booths when they came out of Egypt. For them it was a harvest festival, and it was commanded. It was to remind them that their ancestors had come out of Egypt. Again it reminded them that they dwelled in booths (temporary dwellings) when they came out of Egypt.
THE FEAST PICTURES THE MILLENNIUM
Turn in your Bibles to Colossians chapter 2. Let’s talk about the spiritual meaning of the Feast. As we study, we are going to find that the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the Millennium (the one-thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth). Read Colossians 2:16-17. I am reading from the New King James Version, but there are some errors in this translation. First of all, in verse 17 it says, “but the substance is of Christ.” That word “substance” is better translated as body. It should be, “but the body is of Christ.” Also the word “is” is not really supposed to be there. In some Bibles it is shown in italics, indicating that it was added by the translators because they really did not know what else to do with this verse. So properly translated the last half of verse 17 is, “but the body of Christ.” Now we can understand this better.
We know what the body of Christ is. We can read Colossians 1:18 to know for sure. Here it is telling us that the body is the Church. Colossians 2:16 is saying let no one judge you in festivals but the body of Christ. In other words, the body of Christ (the Church) determines how we keep the festivals. We have learned through the Church what the festivals are and how to keep them. Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong restored this knowledge to the Church.
There is more to this verse than that. Because in verse 17 of Colossians 2 it talks about festivals, Sabbaths, etc. “which are a shadow of things to come.” Think of it this way, if a person is walking toward you with the sun at his back, his shadow is going to get to you first. His shadow has come ahead of him. These festivals are coming ahead of events in God’s plan. We have the festivals, and they are showing us in advance something that is to happen. The Feast foreshadows a future event in God’s plan.
When we were reading Leviticus 23 I told you to remember that the word “gathered” was in the verse. It said, “when you have gathered in the fruit of the land.” That is important, because we are going to look at a future gathering harvest that this Feast pictures. Turn to Exodus 23.
This is another chapter where most of the holy days are listed. Read Exodus 23:14-16. It is talking about Feast of Pentecost (the firstfruits). There is that word “gathering.” That is referring to the Feast of Tabernacles. It is the end of the harvest year. That is what we are observing today (the Feast of Tabernacles). Again, remember there are two harvests: the firstfruits harvest and the great autumn harvest.
Let’s look for a future time of ingathering that is pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 3. Here it is talking about a future time of ingathering. Jeremiah 3, verse 17: “‘At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it [there is that word ‘gathered’], to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.’”
This is a future time when all nations are gathered to Jerusalem (the throne of the Lord). It has to be future, because it has not happened yet. Here it also says they will walk no more after their stubbornness of their evil heart. People have not given up their evil hearts yet. Even in the Church, our hearts are not perfect.
Turn to Isaiah chapter 66. It is talking about a time after the return of Jesus Christ. Read Isaiah 66:18. Again it is talking about a time of gathering. This has not happened yet. All nations have not yet seen Christ’s glory. That is in a future time.
Turn in your Bibles to Revelation. That is the last book of the Bible. Revelation chapter 20 describes a time after Jesus Christ has returned, and it is after Satan the devil has been put away and bound for a thousand years. We now come to Revelation chapter 20. Read verse 4. It is talking about people living and reigning with Christ for a thousand years. It talks about being kings with Christ and having thrones. It talks about who they are. They are people who were beheaded for their witness to Jesus. This includes people who physically had to die (were martyred).
Think of it this way, all of us who have repented, have been baptized and have received God’s Holy Spirit have given our lives to God. In a sense we have died to God. We have given our lives to God, saying, whatever You want to do with my life, You may have it. We made a covenant with God so that we agreed to live as He wants us to live. We repented, and we will live a life of growing and overcoming. We agreed, and we have been given God’s Holy Spirit. We will be given eternal life if we keep our part of the covenant! These are the people who will be living in the Millennium and ruling as kings.
Continue reading Revelation 20:5-6. We will not only be reigning as kings, we will also be priests of Christ. For those of us who are priests at that time, remember that the priest’s main job was to teach. We will be teaching people in the Millennium God’s way of life.
During this one thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth, Satan will have been put away already. God’s Holy Spirit will be made available to everyone! It will be a wonderful time. In the Millennium is the ingathering period that is pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. All of the people who are alive will be gathered in and learning God’s way of life. They eventually will become part of God’s family.
SECOND TITHE
Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 14. We will learn a few more aspects of the Feast. One of them we are going to learn is if we are going away from home for eight days (seven days for the Feast plus The Last Great Day), how do we pay for this? God included that as well. We all left home to come to this Feast site, how do we pay for it? We are told here in Deuteronomy chapter 14. Read verses 22-23.
One of the reasons to keep the Feast is to learn to fear the Lord your God. This does not mean to be afraid and in terror of God. This means to have a proper respect for God and a proper reverence for God. The Feast pictures a time when everyone will have that proper reverence for God (proper respect toward God). God will be first in their lives. Remember the way God’s law is summarized is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. People will have that, as well as loving their neighbor as themselves.
Continue reading in Deuteronomy 14:24-25. The tithe is not just referring to farm commodities, but it also refers to money. Those of us who make our income other than farming, we still save a second tithe. We take it to the Feast and use it for our expenses there.
Read Deuteronomy 14:26. It is talking about a time of rejoicing. The Feast of Tabernacles is a time of rejoicing, and it is looking forward to a time of rejoicing as well. Think how people will be rejoicing after Jesus Christ has taken His position has King of kings over the earth and everyone living God’s way of life. Satan will have been put away. Think how happy people will be and how they will be rejoicing.
As we read these verses in Deuteronomy 14, we can see that this is not the same as the first tithe that we pay. The first tithe was to be given to the Levites for the ministry, for the maintenance of the temple. In our time now it is for the work of God to help the Church to prepare the bride and also to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the world as we are able.
There is another tithe (the second tithe) that people were actually able to take with them and spend on whatever their heart desires, as it says. Of course, this is within God’s law. They could spend it on various types of food. It mentions oxen and sheep. It is talking about meat (beef and lamb for example). You can spend it on wine or similar drink. This is not to the point of getting drunk, because God’s law does not allow that. This is to have a drink if one wanted to. It says, “whatever your heart desires.”
Years ago I was talking a man who was a farmer. Depending on when his crops came in, he knew that he would have more or less second tithe to spend at the Feast. If he had his harvest completed before the Feast, then he had a lot of second tithe. If the harvest could not be done until after the Feast because of the weather, that year he would not have as much second tithe. That second tithe from that harvest would be used the following year. In our society right now, most of us are not farmers. We use our other incomes for our tithes.
This is a very special time of the year. During the Feast we have a tenth of our income to spend in seven days plus The Last Great Day (the eighth day), and also for travel expenses besides. During this time we can afford some things that we might not otherwise be able to afford to buy. It is very nice that God has presented us a way of physically keeping His Feasts and makes it possible to do it and to enjoy it.
UNITY AT THE FEAST
Read Psalm 133:1. Each of our congregations can certainly be in unity. We are in unity of having God’s Holy Spirit. Those of us who are baptized have the same Holy Spirit. We have the same purpose preparing the bride and helping to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the world. We have the same beliefs, the same doctrines, and we have the same love. That love is out-going concern toward each other. So it is good and pleasant for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity.
Continue reading in Psalm 133:2. Remember oil in the Bible represents God’s Holy Spirit. It also represents the character that we build by the Holy Spirit. Remember holy righteous character is knowing right from wrong, choosing the right, and doing it no matter what. Remember there is a warning in the Bible that half of the ten virgins do not have enough oil at the end. They have not built enough character. When Christ comes they will want to go out and get some more of that character, but there may not be time.
At the end of verse 2 of Psalm 133 it says, “…running down on the edge of his garments.” Our garments, or our clothing, in the Bible symbolize our righteous acts. Righteousness is keeping God’s commandments. So our clothing represents keeping God’s commandments. Remember we are living in a dangerous time now. It is the Laodicean era of the Church. The Church is wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. In other words, it does not have garments. It is a time when people do not have righteous acts. Many are not keeping God’s commandments. We want to be sure that we are.
Continue reading Psalm 133:3. “It is like the dew of Hermon…” Dew represents God’s doctrine (His teaching). “Descending upon the mountains of Zion…” Mountains are governments. Zion is the Church. God’s teachings come down on the Church. One of the times it comes down on the Church is during the Feast. We have God’s teaching that we share. Soon that mountain of Zion will cover the whole earth. That is the time we are looking at now. It is the Millennium when the government of God will be over the whole earth, and the whole earth will be learning God’s way of life. Continuing in verse 3: “…for there the Lord commanded the blessing - life forevermore.” God’s plan is for eternal life.
I ask you during this Feast, be unified, be together. Please be at services every day so that you can learn about God’s way of life and about His plan. Be at activities together during the Feast, too. While you are together, talk about the sermons. Ask questions if you do not understand something. Let’s use it as a time to learn more about God’s way of life. Be sure to get along with each other. After all, I mentioned God’s way of love includes loving our neighbor as ourselves. The Church is to be known by its love for each other. People should see us treating each other very well. Remember that when we are told to bear our cross, that really means to put away all of our selfishness. We are not to be selfish. When we are together for eight days, sooner or later someone is going to hurt someone’s feelings. If someone hurts your feelings, please forgive them. Forgive them quickly!
In Deuteronomy we read that the Feast was partly for rejoicing. So I say to you rejoice at your Feast! Have a good time as you learn more about God’s plan!