Should Christians keep it? What are some of the reasons why?
By COGwriter
The ''Feast of Tabernacles'' is a 7-day Biblical pilgrimage festival, also known as the Feast of Booths or simply ''Tabernacles" (it is immediately followed by an eighth day, so normally it is considered to be a pilgrimage of at least 8 days).
Can Christians keep it? Must it be kept in palm-branch booths in Jerusalem? How would Christians keep it now?
Jesus, His apostles, and their faithful immediate followers kept it. It is documented that it was kept for centuries by Christians after Jesus' death and resurrection.
For the 7th day Church of God groups who had some type of tie with the old Worldwide Church of God, the Feast of Tabernacles is one of the most important holy days as it lasts the longest and normally requires a great deal of preparation and travel to be able to attend (see also Christians are to Be Strangers and Pilgrims?). But it is normally the physical and spiritual highlight of the year for those that do observe it.
The Feast of Tabernacles also helps give us a glimpse into the coming millennial Kingdom of God which motivates us to live as Jesus wants us to and to teach what Jesus wanted proclaimed.
This article covers this subject from a Christian perspective. It includes quotes from both the Old and New Testament, plus many historical citations. Two related sermon videos include Feast of Tabernacles from Israel and the newer one titled Should Christians keep the Feast of Tabernacles?
In 2024, Feast of Tabernacles' services are to begin the evening of October 16th and continue until the Last Great Day which is October 24th. In 2025, Feast of Tabernacles' services are to begin the evening of October 6th and continue until the Last Great Day which is October 14th.
The Hebrew Scriptures
The Hebrew scriptures discuss this Festival in many places.
Leviticus 23:33-43 states:
33 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. 37 'These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day -- 38 besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord. 39 'Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, 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. 40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.'" (NKJV throughout, unless otherwise noted, or including in quotes from other sources)
Christians have interpreted the statement about dwelling in booths to include temporary dwellings (see also Christians are to Be Strangers and Pilgrims?), hence most stay in hotels, motels, or tents to observe it today (the idea that palm branch dwellings are not the only option which is consistent with Leviticus 23:43 for Christians per Hebrews 9:11-15; cf. 13:10).
Why are tents and motel rooms acceptable 'tabernacles' as opposed to only dwelling in palm-branch huts? Here are some items to consider:
This festival has also been referred to as 'a pilgrim feast':
4... I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast. (Psalm 42:4)
And Christians observe it on the same days that the Jews celebrate Sukkot (which is based on the same verses in the Hebrew Bible). Attending services, or at least watching the sermons (which you can do online), each day is a way for you to offer yourself as a living sacrifice which is your reasonable service.
[Some may wonder why attending services is done for all the days at the Feast of Tabernacles and not required for the Days of Unleavened Bread. Well, the scriptural reason is that the command for the Feast of Tabernacles says it will be a "Feast" "for seven days to the Lord" (Leviticus 23:33; Deuteronomy 16:13) and "Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses" (Deuteronomy 16:15). That is not so stated related to the Days of Unleavened Bread (the commands for it says to eat unleavened bread for seven days in Leviticus 23:6 and Deuteronomy 16:3, as opposed to observe the feast of seven days--w make a 'sacrifice' the seven days of unleavened bread by eating unleavened bread on each of the days).]
As shown in Leviticus 23, the Bible teaches that the children of Israel were to have offerings for every day of the Feast. While we in the Continuing Church of God do take up offerings on the First Day of the Feast and the Last Great Day, we do not take up financial offerings on the other days. But one way for Christians to fulfil what God expects is to attend church services each day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Notice something that the Apostle Paul wrote:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)
Attending services each day during the Feast of Tabernacles is a way for you to offer yourself as a living sacrifice which is your reasonable service.
More information on this Feast is in the Hebrew scriptures. Notice some others:
2 You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. 4 You shall not worship the Lord your God with such things.
5 "But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. 6 There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
8 "You shall not at all do as we are doing here today -- every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes -- 9 for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you...
11 then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the Lord. 12 And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you. 13 Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.
15 "However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike. 16 Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 17 You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand. 18 But you must eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all to which you put your hands. 19 Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land. (Deuteronomy 12:2-9, 11-19)
The late Dr. Herman Hoeh wrote:
What the Jews did — and didn't — know
Out of all the tribes of ancient Israel only the Jews preserved the Hebrew Scriptures. The Jews knew the will of God because they preserved the Book of God.
"Then what advantage has the Jew?... Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews are entrusted with the oracles of God" (Rom. 3:1-2, RSV).
In those oracles are the annual festivals of God. Among them, the Festival of Tabernacles. The Jewish nation knew God commanded His people to observe this Festival at the time of the giving of the law at Sinai.
God's first instruction about the Festival is found in Exodus 23:16, RSV, "You shall keep the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor."
The Festival is here first revealed under the name "feast of ingathering." It is a harvest festival celebrated at the close of the agricultural year in the northern hemisphere. The ancient Israelites focused in on the literal harvest of crops. They did not see its significance as a type of a final spiritual harvest of human beings.
Only the few, whom God was calling to salvation, understood. Later that summer at Sinai God commanded through Moses, "And you shall observe the feast of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end" (Ex. 34:22, RSV).
Or, as the Jewish Publication Society translation more specifically renders it, "the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year." The original Hebrew for "turn of the year" is tekufah, meaning the (autumnal) equinox. This was not to be a midsummer festival, celebrated before the grapes and fruits were fully ripe. It is to be celebrated at its proper season, at the beginning of autumn.
In contrast, the Feast of Weeks (Firstfruits or Pentecost), is to be celebrated at the end of spring at the completion of the barley, wheat and spelt harvest. Through the centuries the Jews have known of these two harvest festivals.
Yet they have not grasped the spiritual significance of the two harvests — that this is not the only time of salvation. It was at the beginning of the following spring (compare Ex. 40:17 with Lev. 1:1) that the Lord revealed to Moses the name by which we commonly know the festival. In the King James translation of Leviticus 23:34 we read of "the feast of tabernacles" and in the Revised Standard Version "the feast of booths" — "tabernacles" in the footnote. And — you guessed it! — the Jew's by New Testament times had focused on the literal booths, rather than on their purpose and meaning. ...
The Millennium revealed
We take for granted today, in the Church of God, the knowledge of the Millennium — the 1,000 years of God's rule over the earth through His Son Jesus Christ. But there was a time when this great truth was not fully revealed.
Not one of the prophets of old defined the length of the Messiah's rule over the nations, bringing them salvation. They knew there would be a coming spiritual harvest of human beings. They prophesied the gentiles would seek the Messiah. They knew the Feast of Tabernacles pictured that coming day. But all they could say was that it would be fulfilled "in that day." (Hoeh H. The Feast of Tabernacles - Its MEANING for New Testament Christians. Good News, August 1980)
Christians have cited the following passages from Deuteronomy 14:22-27 (which has similarities to chapter 12) to explain how this festival attendance should be financed and to show that others are to be assisted with this financing:
22 "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
Most Christians who observe the Feast of Tabernacles save 10% of their income (normally referred to as second tithe or simply festival tithe) to finance this. They also point to those verses in Deuteronomy to show that they are to feast and rejoice during this time, which they feel points to the time when Jesus will reign on the Earth for a thousand years. A time they say will be filled with great prosperity--a glimpse of which they get when they spend approximately 10% of their annual income for an eight-day (plus travel time) festival (sometimes, portions of that 10% are used for the other biblical holy days; see also Is Second Tithe and Third Tithe Still Valid Today?).
This saving of funds is something many who claim Christ do not do for many reasons. They lack faith. Many do not take the words of Jesus or James seriously enough:
31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. (James 2:14-24).
Faith without action is not real faith. Want more faith? Here is a link to something that can help: Faith for Those God has Called and Chosen. Of course, people will normally claim that they do have faith, so they make up excuses for not keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. Consider the following:
11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:11-13)
People do NOT 'get away' with disobedience, although most people like to think that they do.
Christians who observe this festival believe that part of the reason that there will be peace during the millennium is that people will all be taught the law of God. Notice that teaching the law of God was an important part of this feast during the days of the children of Israel:
10 And Moses commanded them, saying: "At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess." (Deuteronomy 31:10-13).
Related to the reading of the law, an article of related interest may be The Feast of Tabernacles: A Time to Learn the Law.
Christians who observe this festival sometimes point to the following in Zechariah, which they believe provides evidence that it has not been done away with:
16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16-19)
Since it is clear that the Feast of Tabernacles is to be kept in the future, this is another reason to consider that Christians should be keeping it now (f0r more about Egypt, please check out the article Egypt in Prophecy).
The Feast of Tabernacles is to be kept every year (Zechariah 14:16; Deuteronomy 16:16).
Where Is it to be Kept?
Where is the Feast of Tabernacles to be kept?
The Bible teaches "in the place which He chooses" (Deuteronomy 16:16; 31:10-11).
Since God does not physically speak the physical locations for every year, the responsibility for this falls on His ministry (cf. Leviticus 23:1,4,37; Hebrews 7:11-17). In modern times, generally this will be near the area where enough Christians live or can travel too. Here is a link to Feast of Tabernacles' Sites for 2024.
While some falsely claim that the Feast of Tabernacles from the past through current times must only be kept in Jerusalem, this is in error as the children of Israel were not even in Jerusalem for centuries after the commands for its observance in Leviticus 23 were recorded--hence Jerusalem was not possibly an initial option for them.
Interestingly, the Bible shows that Jesus ‘tabernacled’ with humans when He was here:
14 And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, Young's Literal Translation)
The Greek word ἐσκἠνωσεν in John 1:14 above can be translated also as "tabernacled" (Green JP. Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. Baker Books, 1996, 5th printing 2002, p. 282). And Jesus did that without always being in a palm booth.
Furthermore, the Bible shows that the Feast of Tabernacles can be kept in cities other than Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 14:23-24) and also seems to indicate that it was (Psalm 74:8; cf. Nehemiah 8:15). It should also be understood that since Jesus commanded the Passover to be kept (Luke 22:29; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25), taught that there were Christians in places like Asia Minor (Revelation 2 & 3), and told His disciples to teach all nations what He commanded (Matthew 28:19-20), this shows that He did not restrict the observation of the Holy Days to Jerusalem (consider also His words in John 4:19-24).
The 1st century Jewish historian Josephus wrote:
4. Upon the fifteenth day of the same month, when the season of the year is changing for winter, the law enjoins us to pitch tabernacles in every one of our houses, so that we preserve ourselves from the cold of that time of the year; as also that when we should arrive at our own country, and come to that city which we should have then for our metropolis, because of the temple therein to be built, and keep a festival for eight days. (Josephus. "Antiquities Of The Jews" Book 3 Chap 10 vs 4. The Genuine Works of Josephus. Whiston, 1825, p. 217)
The above shows that the Feast of Tabernacles was conducted both inside and outside of Jerusalem.
Notice also something from a 20th century Jewish scholar:
In the time of the second Temple, Sukkos was a great festival even outside of Jerusalem. (Schausse H.The Jewish Festivals: A Guide to Their History and Observance, 1938. Schocken (September 9, 1996), p. 184)
Sukkos or Sukkot are Hebrew names for the Feast of Tabernacles (essentially a word meaning booths). The Second Temple period in Jewish history is estimated to have lasted between 530 BC and 70 AD.
The Feast of Tabernacles, consistent with biblical instructions (cf. Nehemiah 8:15; Deuteronomy 16:15), was being observed outside of Jerusalem centuries after Christ’s resurrection (other holy days, also were sometimes by Jews outside of Jerusalem, including apparently Pentecost in Luke 4:16 and the Days of Unleavened Bread in Luke 6:1, by Jesus). In the late fourth century, John Chrysostom (of Constantinople) commented that people who professed Christ in his area were observing it (John Chrysostom. Homily I Against the Jews I:5;VI:5;VII:2. Preached at Antioch, Syria in the Fall of 387 AD. Medieval Sourcebook: Saint John Chrysostom (c.347-407) : Eight Homilies Against the Jews. Fordham University. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/chrysostom-jews6.html; for more on John Chrysostum himself, please check out the article John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople and Antisemite).
It may also be of interest to note Polycarp of Smyrna in the 2nd century and certain others in Asia Minor in the late 4th century kept the Feast of Tabernacles in Asia Minor, not Jerusalem. This is confirmed by sources such as the Catholic saint Jerome (Migne JP Argumentum Patrologia Latina Volumen MPL025 Ab Columna ad Culumnam 1415 - 1542A, pp. 922, 930) and research done by the 20th century Roman Cardinal Danielou (Danielou, Cardinal Jean-Guenole-Marie. The Theology of Jewish Christianity. Translated by John A. Baker. The Westminister Press, 1964, pp. 345-346).
The Roman Catholic saint Jerome reported that the 'Nazarene'/Judeo Christians of Asia Minor kept it in the fourth/fifth centuries (Migne JP Argumentum Patrologia Latina Volumen MPL025 Ab Columna ad Culumnam 1415 - 1542A, pp. 922, 930).
Comments by Epiphanius and others in the late fourth century concerning the Nazarene Christians would also seem to support that those who kept the Fall Holy Days were located in several areas at that time (see Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes?).
In the 20th and 21st centuries, Christians have kept the Feast of Tabernacles on all inhabited continents as well as various islands.
The New Testament Examples
Christians point out that Jesus kept the Feast of Tabernacles. This is discussed in detail in John chapter 7:
10 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?" 12 And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people." 13 However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" 16 Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?" 20 The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?" 21 Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. 22 Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." 25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? (John 7:10-26)
Jesus kept the Feast and taught on what we tend to refer to as “the Last Great Day” (see also The Last Great Day: 'Shemini Azeret).
The Apostle Paul, after the Christ's death and resurrection indicated that it was important to keep the Feast--and this seems to have been the Feast of Tabernacles. As it is noted in Acts 18:21:
21 I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.
So, the Apostle Paul traveled to keep the Feast. Jesus kept God's Feasts (Luke 22:8,14-16) and traveled to do so (John 7:11-39).
Now, some have questioned which Feast was being discussed in Acts 18:21, but the late Dr. Hoeh felt that this was a reference to the Feast of Tabernacles:
Paul Kept the Feast of Tabernacles
Paul followed Jesus' example and not only kept the Feast of Tabernacles, but kept it after the New Testament manner long after what was "nailed to the cross" was nailed there. And notice Paul's command that we follow his example as he followed Christ's: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Cor. 11:1).
That is very plain.
We follow Paul in keeping the New Testament Feast of Tabernacles as he followed Christ.
Notice now the sequence of events in the book of Acts which clearly indicate that Paul kept the Feast of Tabernacles. God used Paul to reach the Gentiles with the gospel. In A.D. 50, Paul crossed over from Asia into Europe and began to preach the gospel at Philippi (Acts 16:11-13). After a few weeks at Philippi, Thessalonica (Acts 17:1), Berea (verse 10) and Athens (verse 16), Paul came to Corinth in the late summer of A.D. 50 (Acts 18:1). After spending several Sabbaths teaching in the synagogue (verse 4), Paul continued to hold meetings in the house of Justus (verse 7) for "a year and six months" (verse 11).
This brings us to the spring of A.D. 52. After a riot stirred up against the apostle was quelled, we read the following about Paul: "And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria" (Acts 18:18). It was now well into the summer of A.D. 52. The Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost -- the two festivals near the beginning and end of spring -- were now past.
To continue with Paul's journey, on his way from Corinth to the port of Syria, "he came to Ephesus" and "entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus" (Acts 18:19-21). Was Paul planning to keep the feast with the Headquarters Church at Jerusalem? Indeed! Which feast? The spring festivals were already past.
The two late summer or early autumn holy days, the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, were held at any of the local congregations. Yet here was a major festival being held at Jerusalem in the autumn. The one big major festival that occurs in the autumn is the Feast of Tabernacles! Paul told the Ephesians that he "must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem" -- with the Headquarters Church. (This was long before A.D. 70, at which time Jerusalem fell to the Roman General Titus and the Temple was destroyed.)
Paul had just completed his first journey into Europe with the gospel and undoubtedly felt he had to report the progress of the work to the Headquarters Church and the brethren (verse 22). What better time to do so than while keeping the Feast of Tabernacles! Here is the example of Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. After years in the New Testament ministry he is still keeping the Feast of Tabernacles!
Why Verse Left Out in Corrupted Manuscripts
Acts 18:21 appears correctly in the King James Version of the Bible. But numerous modern translations leave out that portion of the verse which tells of Paul's intention to keep the Feast. This verse, in its entirety, belongs in the Bible. It has always been 100 percent a part of the inspired Greek text handed down to the Greek-speaking world by the original true Church of God. The only manuscripts which leave it out are those copied in Egypt and in the Latin-speaking portions of the Roman Empire.
There would have been no reason to add this verse to the Bible if it were not there originally. But there is every reason why men would like to remove it from the inspired text! The Catholic version of the Bible leaves it out as do almost all modern Protestant translations of the Bible. These churches do not want to keep this feast. (Hoeh H. The New Testament FEAST OF TABERNACLES. Good News, July-September 1973)
The Protestant Thomas Lewin somewhat extensively studied the chronology of the New Testament, also concluded that Acts 18:21 was a reference to the Feast of Tabernacles (Lewin T. Fasti Sacri, Or A Key to the Chronology of the New Testament. Longmans, 1865, p. 300; Lewin T. The Life and Epistles of St.Paul, Volume 2. G. Bell and sons, 1878, p. 343).
Notice some statements from the Apostle Paul:
17 ... Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers (Acts 28:17)
4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. (Philippians 3:4-6)
Since Paul kept the customs of his people, he, too, kept all the Fall Holy Days including the Feast of Tabernacles. If not, he could not have made that statement which is in Acts 28:17 nor the one being blameless in the law in Philippians 3:4-6.
Paul taught Gentiles to follow him as he followed Jesus:
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Jesus and Paul kept the feasts. Are you following their example?
Notice that Paul does commend those in Thessalonica for imitating the church in Judea:
13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 2:13-14).
The church in Judea kept the Feast of Tabernacles, etc.
And those in Thessalonica were commended for receiving the word of God and imitating the practices of the church in Judea.
Thus, the Gentile Church of God in Thessalonica kept the Feast of Tabernacles.
Regarding Paul, also notice the following from Marianne J. Dacy:
Pauline Epistles
Another less obvious Sukkot theme has been detected in Paul's use of the Greek σκηνη to describe the earthly body. In 1 Cor. 15 and 2 Cor. 5 is the juxtaposition of two different views: namely that the Christian waits for a new body at the Parousia {Jesus's return}, and that immediately at death acquires a heavenly body. In 2 Cor. 3 f Paul describes the Christian dispensation as a new Exodus, and in Ch.4 deals with the frailty and transitory nature of his life in the flesh. In this line of thought, he compares himself to an earthern vessel in 2 Cor. 4, and in 2 Cor. 5:1 calls the earthly body an οίκια τού σκήνους {*}. Davies believes that Paul's thought here is influenced by the Feast of Sukkot. In thinking of the frailty of the nature of life in the body, he would be naturally led to think of the latter in the Jewish imagery of the sukkah, which was essentially a temporary dwelling, recalling the time" which our forefathers spent in the wilderness and the life they led in tents and sukkoth. (Dacy MJ. Sukkot. p. 155, https://www.academia.edu/4503958/Sukkot._chapter_7?auto=download&email_work_card=download-paper accessed 05/24/20)
* 2 Corinthians 5:1
house {the} tabernacle
3614 3588 4636
oikía toú sk¢¡nous
(Interlinear Transliterated Bible (TR Edition). Copyright © 2011-2015 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. [For more detail see the full copyright page.])
Yes, the Feast of Tabernacles and its imagery are part of the New Testament.
Others Have Kept the Feast of Tabernacles and Taught of its Meaning
Related to the first/second century, the 20th century Roman Catholic Cardinal Jean Danielou wrote:
Did the Jewish Christians retain the Jewish feasts while giving them new meaning...?
the Feast of Tabernacles was certainly kept in the month of September by Jewish Christianity as by the Jews. (Danielou, Cardinal Jean-Guenole-Marie. The Theology of Jewish Christianity. Translated by John A. Baker. The Westminister Press, 1964, pp. 343,345)
This temporal Messianism had a strong influence on Christians in the form of millenarianism, which had its centre in the Asiatic environment to which both Papias and Cerinthus belonged. This Messianic agitation was connected with the mystique of festivity, which belonged essentially to the Feast of Tabernacles. (Ibid, pp. 345-346)
Cardinal Danielou seemed to see references to the Feast of Tabernacles in the Shepherd of Hermas (ibid, pp. 341-345), which would indicate that around then some in Rome also observed it--though he believed that they later transferred it to become something else.
Others have also reported that early Christians kept the Feasts. Note anything in {} added by me for clarity to Dacy's report:
Jewish/Christianity
The members of the first generation of the followers of Jesus were largely indistinguishable from the Jewish community. Although they professed a belief in the messiahship of Jesus, the new Christians at first observed most of the Jewish laws, the Jewish calendar and the festivals ...
A large range of groups who could be described as Jewish/Christian shared two characteristics: a belief in Jesus as Messiah (Christ) and the observance of select precepts of torah such as circumcision, dietary laws and the feasts of the Jewish calendar. The Feast of Sukkot appears to have held an important place for those groups which continued to follow the Jewish calendar, or the feasts they celebrated, if at varying times. ...
Strecker maintains that it is probable that in the world from which the kerygmata {proclamation, in this case of the millennial kingdom} derives, Jewish/Christianity was the sole representative of Christianity, and the problem of its relationship to the"great church" had not yet arisen. ...
It would thus be presumed that they celebrated Sukkot. in much the same way as the Jews of the time.
In the fourth century, a representative of the eastern Church, Ephipanius, the Bishop of Salamis, describes in his Panarion ... Book 1 he classifies as Samaritan groups the Gorothenes and Dositheans, whom he says follow the Jewish calendar, whereas the Sebuaeans celebrate the Jewish feasts, but according to a calendar of their own devising. Sukkoth would therefore have been practised. ... A third group whom he describes in Book 2 include Jewish/Christians such as the Nazoraeans (Nazarenes) (27.29) ... the Nazoraeans with whom the sect of the Sampsaeans and Elcesaeans were associated to some extent. These last groups, which could be designated as Jewish/Christian proclaimed Jesus as the Prophet Messiah, while possessing a millenium eschatology, a belief that there will be an earthly reign of the Messiah before the end of time. These Jewish Christians also celebrated Easter at Passover, the Sabbath and Sukkot ....
It is also clear, that in Antioch, the city where the disciples were first called Christians, the autumn feasts which included Sukkot continued to hold a great attraction for certain Christian/Jewish groups. ...
Jerome was also to say that as long as the "Nazoreans wanted to be both Jews and Christians, they were neither Jews nor Christians. There was apparently no room for compromise. The Jewish/Christians, who had started out as a legitimate group within the Church, apparently began to be ostracized when the Church spread to the Hellenistic Gentile world. ...
Some authors have found evidence for believing there are discernible traces of Sukkot in Christian ritual. Jean Danielou claims for example, that Sukkot after having occupied an important place in primitive Judaeo-Christianity only disappeared when Christianity expanded into the Graeco-Romanworld, and adopted the Julian Calendar and Greek and Latin modes of expression. ...
Methodius of Olympus, deals in detail with the Feast of Sukkot in The Symposium or The Banquet ... Methodius proposes that the feast symbolises the resurrection ... Methodius introduces a different element of eschatology by adding a millenarian interpretation, saying that the true Skenopegia {the construction of a tabernacle} will be celebrated in the Seventh Milleniumin that new creation where there will be no pain. (Dacy MJ. Sukkot. pp. 155-168)
In the early second century, Papias of Hierapolis said:
there will be a period of some thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, and that the kingdom of Christ will be set up in material form on this very earth. (Eusebius. The History of the Church, Book 3, Chapter XXXIX; Digireads, p. 69)
Polycarp of Smyrna apparently taught this about the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day:
What must one say, when even He that was gentler than all men so appeals and cries out at the feast of Tabernacles? For it is written; And on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirsteth, let him come to Me and drink (Pionius. Life of Polycarp, Chapter 19. Translated by J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 3.2, 1889, pp.488-506).
A nineteenth century anti-millennial scholar named Giovanni Battista Pagani wrote the following about the Egyptian Bishop Nepos of the third century and those who supported the millennium:
... all those who teach a millennium framed according to Jewish ideas, saying that during the millennium, Mosaic law will be restored ... These are called Judaical Millenarians, not as being Jews, but as having invented and upheld a millennium according to Jewish taste. The principal authors of this error were Nepos, an African Bishop, against whom St. Dionysius wrote his two books on Promises; and Apollinaris, whom St. Epiphanius confound in his work against heresies (Pagani, Giovanni Battista. Published by Charles Dolman, 1855. Original from Oxford University. Digitized Aug 15, 2006, pp. 252-253).
It should be of interest to note that neither Nepos nor Apollinaris (this is a reference to Apollinaris of Laodicea, not Apollinaris of Hierapolis) were Jews, but were condemned for having a religion that had “Jewish” beliefs. It should be clear that the respected and non-Jewish Christian leader Nepos in the early third century and others clearly did hold to ideas that were condemned by the allegorists. The fact that some held to 'Mosaic law' is evidence then as both understood the meaning of and kept the Feast of Tabernacles, but with a Christian emphasis.
The Greco-Roman bishop & saint Methodius of Olympus in the late 3rd or early 4th century taught that the Feast of Tabernacles was commanded and that it had lessons for Christians. And he tied it in with the teaching of the millennial reign of Christ (he also twice quotes Proverbs 1:5 about understanding):
1) ... these things, being like air and phantom shadows, foretell the resurrection and the putting up of our tabernacle that had fallen upon the earth, which at length, in the seventh thousand of years, resuming again immortal, we shall celebrate the great feast of true tabernacles in the new and indissoluble creation, the fruits of the earth having been gathered in, and men no longer begetting and begotten, but God resting from the works of creation ...
For since in six days God made the heaven and the earth, and finished the whole world, and rested on the seventh day from all His works which He had made, and blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, so by a figure in the seventh month, when the fruits of the earth have been gathered in, we are commanded to keep the feast to the Lord, which signifies that, when this world shall be terminated at the seventh thousand years, when God shall have completed the world, He shall rejoice in us. For now to this time all things are created by His all-sufficient will and inconceivable power; the earth still yielding its fruits, and the waters being gathered together in their receptacles; and the light still severed from darkness, and the allotted number of men not yet being complete; and the sun arising to rule the day, and the moon the night; and four-footed creatures, and beasts, and creeping things arising from the earth, and winged creatures, and creatures that swim, from the water. Then, when the appointed times shall have been accomplished, and God shall have ceased to form this creation , in the seventh month, the great resurrection-day, it is commanded that the Feast of our Tabernacles shall be celebrated to the Lord , of which the things said in Leviticus are symbols and figures, which things, carefully investigating, we should consider the naked truth itself, for He says, A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: to understand a proverb , and the interpretation; the words Of the wise, and their dark sayings.
4) ... Whoso, therefore, desires to come to that Feast of Tabernacles, to be numbered with the saints, let him first procure the goodly fruit of faith, then palm branches, that is, attentive meditation upon and study of the Scriptures, afterwards the far-spreading and thickly-leaved branches of charity, which He commands us to take after the palm branches; ...
5) ... whoever shall not be found decorated with the boughs of chastity, shall neither obtain rest, because he has not fulfilled the command of God according to the law, nor shall he enter into the land of promise, because he has not previously celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. For they only who have celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles come to the Holy Land, setting out from those dwellings which are called tabernacles, until they come to enter into the temple and city of God, advancing to a greater and more glorious joy, as the Jewish types indicate. For like as the Israelites, having left the borders of Egypt, first came to the Tabernacles, and from hence, having again set forth, came into the land of promise, so also do we. For I also, taking my journey, and going forth from the Egypt of this life, came first to the resurrection, which is the true Feast of the Tabernacles, and there having set up my tabernacle, adorned with the fruits of virtue, on the first day of the resurrection, which is the day of judgment, celebrate with Christ the millennium of rest, which is called the seventh day, even the true Sabbath. (Methodius. Banquet of the Ten Virgins, Discourse 9. Translated by William R. Clark. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 6. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/062309.htm>)
Notice also:
Didymus the Blind
Didymus wrote in the fourth century ... In his commentary on Zechariah, he begins by recalling the literal meaning of the text (Zech 14:16ff) ... The skene is the shelter of those who are travelling, and symbolises progress in virtue and wisdom. (Bk.5,162-163). The skene contrasts with the idea of a house (OtKOS), which for Didymus is afixed dwelling and symbolises the final state (Bk.5,162). ...
Didymus adds a messianic and eschatological explanation of Sukkot. In citing 2 Pet 1:14 and 2 Cor 5:4 he identifies the skene with the human body (172), saying that only those who preseverve the purity of their bodies and spirits will celebrate Sukkot. ... Sukkot will be celebrated in the next world at the resurrection, when the corruptible body will rise up into an incorruptible body. The body, sown in weakness and ignominy will rise up in power and glory to become a sacred dwelling. (Dacy MJ. Sukkot. pp. 170-171)
Yet, shortly thereafter, the Greco-Roman Catholics turned aside from the Feast of Tabernacles and its meaning. They pushed a false gospel.
False Gospels
Satan has been pushing a false gospel since he rebelled against God as Lucifer (cf. Isaiah 14:12-14).
In the Garden of Eden, he began to push a false gospel to humans when he enticed Eve to doubt God for a way she was led to believe better:
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:1-6)
Satan influenced the chuldren of Israel to repeatedly rebel against God and His government. Notice one incident:
1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; 2 and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. 3 They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" (Numbers 16:1-3)
Satan wanted people to believe the false gospel that the leadership God installed exalted itself too much, and they were God's people so they did not need to heed God's government. That ended in disaster for Korah and his followers:
28 And Moses said: "By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. 29 If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord."
31 Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. 33 So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. 34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up also!"
35 And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense. (Numbers 16:28-35)
Yes, Korah pushed a false gospel. Various ones who claim to be Christian do so today.
The Apostle Paul warned:
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)
4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted — you may well put up with it! (2 Corinthians 11:4)
What was the false gospel? In general, the false gospel is to believe that you do not have to fully obey God and try to live true His way while claiming to know God. The serpent beguiled Eve to fall for a version of it nearly 6000 years ago (Genesis 3)--humans have believed that they know better than God and should decide good and evil for themselves. Of yes, after Jesus came, His name was often attached to various false gospels--and this will continue into the time of the final Antichrist.
Now back in the Apostle Paul's time, the false gospel was essentially a Gnostic/Mystic version. Gnostics basically believed that special knowledge was what was needed to spiritual insight, including salvation. Gnostics tended to believe that what the flesh did was of no particular consequence and they were opposed to obeying God in matters like the seventh-day Sabbath. One such was Simon Magus, who was warned by the Apostle Peter (Acts 8:18-21). See also Comments on Galatians.
Some of those who were of the mystic side influenced the Greco-Romans to change as did the sun god worshiping Emperor Constantine.
In spite of their biblical origin, the Greco-Roman Catholic saint John Chrysostom preached against the Fall Holy Days in 387 A.D.:
The festivals of the pitiful and miserable Jews are soon to march upon us one after the other and in quick succession: the feast of Trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the fasts. There are many in our ranks who say they think as we do .., If the Jewish ceremonies are venerable and great, our are lies ... Does God hate their festivals and do you share in them? He did not say this or that festival, but all of them together (John Chrysostom. Homily I Against the Jews I:5;VI:5;VII:2. Preached at Antioch, Syria in the Fall of 387 AD. Medieval Sourcebook: Saint John Chrysostom (c.347-407) : Eight Homilies Against the Jews. Fordham University. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/chrysostom-jews6.html 12/10/05).
So, John Chrysostom is attempting claim that God's Holy Days are lies, but the changes that the Greco-Roman Catholics accepted are better.
Now this actually causes a problem for the Greco-Roman Catholic churches. First, it shows that until at least the late fourth century, that some who professed Christ still kept all the Holy Days. But secondly, and more importantly, since the Greco-Roman Catholic churches claim that they still keep a version of Passover (though under the name Easter in English) and Pentecost, then their saint, John Chrysostom, should never have condemned all of the festivals that God gave the Jews. Yet he did.
Furthermore, it needs to be understood John Chrysostom made many non-Christian statements towards Jews, and hence appears to have not been motivated by the word of God or love (more information can be found in the article Did Early Christians Observe the Fall Holy Days?).
Let's consider that John Chrysostom, in this case, somewhat correctly stated,
"If the Jewish ceremonies are venerable and great, ours are lies."
Does the Bible refer to any day as great?
Yes.
Notice that the New Testament calls one of the so-called “Jewish” holy days “great.” Notice the following from both a Protestant and a Catholic translation:
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out (John 7:37, NKJV, which is also the same as the Orthodox Study Bible)
And in the last, the great day of the festivity JESUS stood, and cried (John 7:37, Rheims New Testament).
Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and spoke loudly (John 7:37, Eastern Orthodox Bible)
So who is right?
Those who follow Jesus' and the Apostle Paul's practices or those who condemn them?
So which days should be observed? Which have a "great day" according to the Bible? Which days are lies?
John Chrysostom supported days with pagan ties such as Christmas and Easter. His logic for Christmas on December 25th was clearly wrong and based upon lies and misinformation that he spread. So, it should be obvious that God's days are not lies, but his (and those of churches who adopted those days that he promoted) were clearly lies.
So, one false gospel was the substitution of the biblical holy days with non-biblical days.
The millennial teachings became less popular among the Greco-Romans after Emperor Constantine.
Then, we began to see that the Greco-Roman Catholics turned against the teaching of a millennial reign of Jesus on the earth with the saints, but instead taught the false gospel that the Greco-Roman Catholic church represented the Kingdom of God on the earth and the millennial reign.
Furthermore, in the late fourth century, the Bishop of Salamis Cyprus, the historian Epiphanius, considered those Nazarenes who kept the Holy Days heretical (Ephiphanius. The Panarion of Ephiphanius of Salamis: Book II (sects 1-46) Section 1, Chapter 19, 7-9. Frank Williams, editor. Publisher BRILL, 1987, p. 117-119).
This view held throughout the later centuries with the Greco-Roman Catholics and then the Protestants. Many Protestants took it a step further and claimed that you did not need to try to obey God to be saved, but that was another false gospel.
Peter and the other apostles stated:
32. And we are His witnesses of these things, as is also the Holy Spirit, which God has given to those who obey Him. (Acts 5:32, A Faithful Version)
The Apostle Paul wrote of salvation and Jesus:
9 ... He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, (Hebrews 5:9)
Teaching salvation comes without striving to obey is a false gospel.
In the 21st century, those who go against the ecumenical and interfaith movement as a way towards utopia are condemned as extremists who follow the agenda of the devil, despite the Bible warning in many places against it (e.g. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
Yet, if people who professed Christ kept the biblical Holy Days, including the Feast of Tabernacles, they would not be looking at ecumenical and interfaith compromise with scripture to improve the world. They would realize that they should strive to obey God now, and the Jesus would return to bring in the millennial utopia, the kingdom of God. Unlike true Christians, those who opposed the true church have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13), and often do not want to hear our message of hope.
Furthermore various faiths, including the Roman Catholic Church, teach that good news of the millennial kingdom of God is a doctrine of Antichrist:
676 The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism. (Catechism of the Catholic Church. Imprimatur Potest +Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Doubleday, NY 1995, p. 194).
Yet it is the teaching against the millennium, teaching against the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is a false gospel as well as doctrine of Antichrist.
In the 21st century, there is a secular movement associated with the the United Nations, World Economic Forum, and the European Union that basically says that we do not need Jesus, but the elites of humanity will usher in a prosperous utopia on the earth if governments and people will simply support their agenda.
That is another false gospel. But it is one that will be pushed by the final Antichrist, the Beast, and their supporters.
Here is some of what the United Nations posted in September of 2024 related to its 'Pact for the Future' meeting':
The General Assembly
Adopts the following Pact for the Future and its annexes:The Pact for the Future
1. We, the Heads of State and Government, representing the peoples of the world, have gathered at United Nations Headquarters to protect the needs and interests of present and future generations through the actions in this Pact for the Future.
2. We are at a time of profound global transformation. …
10. We recognize that sustainable development in all its three dimensions is a central goal in itself and that its achievement, leaving no one behind, is and always will be a central objective of multilateralism. We reaffirm our enduring commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals. We will urgently accelerate progress towards achieving the Goals, including through concrete political steps and mobilizing significant additional financing from all sources for sustainable development, with special attention to the needs of those in special situations and creating opportunities for young people. Poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, remains the greatest global challenge and its eradication is an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. …
We reaffirm that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is our overarching road map …
We will end hunger and eliminate food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition.
22. We remain deeply concerned that one third of the world’s population remains food-insecure, and we will respond to and tackle the drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition. …
We will ensure that the multilateral trading system continues to be an engine for sustainable development.
https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n24/252/89/pdf/n2425289.pdf
It will take the return of Jesus to eliminate hunger, etc.
As far as a “multilateral trading system” goes the Bible teaches that one will arise–one where the European Babylonian Beast power will help establish (cf. Revelation chapters 17 & 18).
That said, I have long called the UN’s 2030 “17 Sustainable Development Goals” a “false gospel.” But that is specifically a major part of what the UN Summit has been promoting.
Here is some information about it in our free booklet The Gospel of the Kingdom of God:
Although humans like to think we are so smart, there are limits to our understanding, yet God’s “understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5).
That is why it will take God’s intervention to fix this planet.
While many believe in God, the vast majority of humans are unwilling to live as He truly directs. Notice the following:
8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
To walk humbly with God is not something humankind has truly been willing to do. From the time of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-6), humans have chosen to rely on themselves and their priorities, above God’s, despite His commandments (Exodus 20:3-17).
The Book of Proverbs teaches:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)
Yet, most people will not truly trust in God with all their hearts or wait for Him to direct their steps. Many say they will do what God wants, but do not do it. Humanity has been deceived by Satan (Revelation 12:9) and has fallen for the lusts of the world and the ‘pride of life’ (1 John 2:16).
Therefore, many have come up with their own religious traditions and secular governments, because they think they know best. However, they do not (cf. Jeremiah 10:23) nor will most truly repent.
That is why humanity needs the Kingdom of God (cf. Matthew 24:21-22).
Consider the Beatitudes
One of the most well know series of statements Jesus gave were the beatitudes, which He gave in His Sermon on the Mount of Olives.
Notice some of what He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10)
It is in the Kingdom of God (cf. Mark 4:30-31), often referred to as the Kingdom of heaven by Matthew (cf. Matthew 13:31), where these blessed promises will be fulfilled. It is in the Kingdom of God that the promise will be fulfilled for the meek to inherit the earth and the pure to see God. Look forward to the good news of the blessings in the Kingdom of God!
God’s Ways Are Right
The truth is that God is love (1 John 4:8,16) and God is NOT selfish. God’s laws show love towards God and our neighbor (Mark 12:29-31; James 2:8-11). The ways of the world are selfish and end in death (Romans 8:6).
Notice that the Bible shows real Christians observe the commandments:
1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:1-3)
All of God’s “commandments are righteousness” (Psalm 119:172). His ways are pure (1 Titus 1:15). Sadly, many have accepted various forms of “lawlessness” and do not realize that Jesus did NOT come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17), by explaining their real meaning and expanding them beyond what many thought (e.g. Matthew 5:21-28). Jesus taught that “whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19) (the terms ‘Kingdom of God’ and ‘kingdom of heaven’ are interchangeable).
The Bible teaches that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Many claim to follow Jesus, but will not truly believe His teachings (Matthew 7:21-23) and will not imitate Him as they should (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:1). “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4, KJV) and all have sinned (Romans 3:23). However, the Bible shows that mercy will triumph over judgment (James 2:13) as God truly has a plan for all (cf. Luke 3:6).
Human solutions, apart from God’s ways, will not work. In the millennial kingdom, Jesus will rule with “a rod of iron” (Revelation 19:15), and good will prevail as people will live God’s way. ALL the world’s problems exist because societies of this world refuse to obey God and His law.
History shows humanity is not capable of solving the problems of society:
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:6-8)
Christians are to focus on the spiritual, and are granted God’s Spirit to do so in this age (Romans 8:9), despite our personal weaknesses:
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)
Christians are to glory in God’s plan! We walk by faith now (2 Corinthians 5:7), looking above (Colossians 3:2) in faith (Hebrews 11:6). We will be blessed for keeping God’s commandments (Revelation 22:14).
Why the Gospel of the Kingdom of God?
Protestants tend to feel that once they have accepted Jesus as savior, that they have sought the Kingdom of God. Catholics believe those baptized, even as infants, have entered their church as the kingdom. Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox tend to think that through sacraments, etc., they are seeking the kingdom of God. While Christians are to be baptized, Greco-Roman-Protestants tend to look to the world to solve humanity’s problems. They tend to have an earthly-focus (cf. Romans 8:6-8).
Seeking first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33) is to be a lifelong goal for Christians. A goal, not to look to the world for solutions, but to God and His ways. The good news of the Kingdom of God changes our lives.
The Bible says that Christians will rule with Jesus, but do you realize that means that real Christians will actually rule over cities? Jesus taught:
12 “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'
15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the
kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' 17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.' 18 And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' 19 Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.' (Luke 19:12-19)
Be faithful over the little you have now. Christians will have the opportunity to rule over real cities, in a real kingdom. Jesus also said, “My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12). God has a plan (Job 14:15) and a place (John 14:2) for those who will truly respond to Him (John 6:44; Revelation 17:14). The Kingdom of God is for real and you can be a part of it!
At the start of 2016, the journal Science had an article titled “The power of crowds” that indicated that artificial intelligence and crowdsourcing could solve the “wicked problems’ facing humanity. Yet, the article failed to understand what wickedness was, let alone how to solve it.
Cooperation, apart from following the true ways of God, is as doomed to fail in the 21st century as it was back after the Great Flood when humanity cooperated to build the failed Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).
Problems in the world, in places like the Middle East (despite expected temporal gains, e.g. Daniel 9:27a; 1 Thessalonians 5:3), will not be solved by humans—we need the peace of the Kingdom of God (Romans 14:17).
The problems of international terrorism, despite expected gains, will not be solved (cf. Ezekiel 21:12) by the deceived in the United Nations (cf. Revelation 12:9)—we need the joy and comfort of the Kingdom of God.
The problems of the environment will NOT be solved by international cooperation, as the world’s nations will help destroy the earth (Revelation 11:18), but they will be solved by the Kingdom of God.
Issues of sexual immorality, abortion, and selling human body parts will not be solved by the USA (cf. Revelation 18:13), but by the Kingdom of God.
The massive debt that the USA, UK, and many other nations have will not be solved through international brokering, but ultimately (after destruction per Habakkuk 2:6-8) by the Kingdom of God.
Ignorance and miseducation will not be solved by the United Nations—we need the Kingdom of God. Religious strife will not truly be solved by any ecumenical-interfaith movement agreeing to salvation apart from the true Jesus of the Bible. Sin is THE PROBLEM in the world and for that, we need Jesus’ sacrifice and His return in the Kingdom of God. Modern medical science does not have all the answers for human health—we need the Kingdom of God.
Hunger issues will not be solved by genetically-modified organisms which are putting parts of the world at risk of famine due to potential crop failures—we need the Kingdom of God.
The massive poverty in parts of Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, while benefiting for a time from end time ‘Babylon’ (cf. Revelation 18:1-19), will not solve the problem of poverty—we need the Kingdom of God. The idea that, apart from Jesus, humanity can bring utopia in this ‘present evil age’ is a false gospel (Galatians 1:3-10).
The millennial phase of the Kingdom of God is a literal kingdom that will be established on the earth. It will be based on the loving laws of God and a loving God as leader. The saints will reign with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation 5:10; 20:4-6). This kingdom will include those truly in the Church of God, but no scripture states that the Kingdom of God is actually the Church (Catholic or otherwise). The Church of Rome has opposed the millennial teaching, and later it will more powerfully oppose the Bible’s gospel message as we get closer to the end. This will likely get significant media coverage which may help fulfill Matthew 24:14.
In its final phase, the Kingdom of God will include the “New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:2) and of its increase there will be no end. There will be no more unrighteousness, no more sorrow, and no more death.
Preaching and understanding the gospel of the Kingdom of God is an important theme of the Bible. Old Testament writers taught about it. Jesus, Paul, and John taught about it. The oldest ‘Christian’ sermon to survive outside the New Testament taught about it. Early second century Christian leaders, like Polycarp and Melito, taught about it. We in the Continuing Church of God teach it today. Recall that the Kingdom of God is the first subject that the Bible shows Jesus preached about (Mark 1:13. It was also what He preached about after the resurrection (Acts 1:3)—and it is something Christians should seek first (Matthew 6:33).
The gospel is not only about the life and death of Jesus. The emphasis of the gospel that Jesus and His followers taught was the coming Kingdom of God.
The gospel of the kingdom includes salvation through Christ, but also includes teaching the end of human governments (Revelation 11:15).
Remember, Jesus taught that the end would not come until after the gospel of the kingdom was preached to the world as a witness to all the nations (Matthew 24:14). And that preaching is happening now.
The good news is that the Kingdom of God is the solution to the problems facing humanity. Yet, most do NOT want to support it, nor hear it, nor want to believe the truth of it. God’s Kingdom is eternal (Matthew 6:13), while “this world is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31).
Proclaiming the true gospel of the Kingdom of God is something that we in the Continuing Church of God are serious about. We strive to teach all things that the Bible teaches (Matthew 28:19-20), including the Kingdom of God (Matthew 24:14). While we await that kingdom, we need to learn and follow God’s ways and comfort others who want to believe the truth.
The Feast of Tabernacles gives us a foretaste of the coming Kingdom of God. We, thus, should not be deceived like others will be, who will accept the false gospel of humanism.
Feast of Tabernacles Kept Throughout History
Greco-Roman Catholic scholars do realize that early Christians (sometimes called Nazarenes, see Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes?) did observe the Feast of Tabernacles:
St. Jerome (PL 25, 1529 & 1536-7) speaking of how the Judaeo-Christians celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles…tells us that they gave the feast a millenarian significance (Bagatti, Bellarmino. Translated by Eugene Hoade. The Church from the Circumcision. Nihil obstat: Marcus Adinolfi. Imprimi potest: Herminius Roncari. Imprimatur: +Albertus Gori, die 26 Junii 1970. Franciscan Printing Press, Jerusalem, p.202).
Here is some of the actual Latin, from PL 1529 & 1535-1536 that Jerome wrote:
1529 ... Judæi et Christiani judaizantes ... Judæi Christiani …
1535-1536 ... Omnes, inquit, qui relicti fuerint de gentibus quae venerint contra Jerusalem, ascendent per singulos annos, ut adorent regem Dominum exercituum, et celebrent festivitatem Tabernaculorum. Hæc quoque Judei cassa spe in mille annorum regno futura promittunt, cujus solemnitatis istud exordium est:(It is typed by hand from that shown in Catholica Omnia Tabulinum De Ecclesiae Patribus Doctoribusque Materia Migne JP Argumentum Patrologia Latina Volumen MPL025 Ab Columna ad Culumnam 1415 - 1542A, pp. 922, 930 http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/02m/0347-0420,_Hieronymus,_Commentariorum_In_Zachariam_Prophetam_Libri_Duo,_MLT.pdf and is part of http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/1815-1875,_Migne,_Patrologia_Latina_01._Rerum_Conspectus_Pro_Tomis_Ordinatus,_MLT.html which is related to http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/25_20_25-_Rerum_Conspectus_Pro_Auctoribus_Ordinatus.html)
Here is a basically Google-machine translation of the above with minor adjustments for English that Jerome wrote:
Jews and Christian judaizers … Christian Jews … All, he says, those who remain survivors of the nations that come against Jerusalem, shall go up every year, to worship the King the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles. These also shall hope in, through the hollow devotion of Jews, a thousand years old promise of the future kingdom, whose festival this is the beginning of.
So, just like those Jerome observed in the 4th/5th centuries who had the revealed vision of God's plan, we in the Continuing Church of God also believe that the Feast of Tabernacles foreshadows the coming millennium. Living in temporary dwellings, while spending second tithe to rejoice (Deuteronomy 14:22-26), helps picture the abundance of the millennium.
Notice a report about the fifth century Greco-Bishop Cyril of Alexandria:
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria also follows Didymus in his representation of the feast of Skenopegia, which symbolises Paradise, and the restoration of glorified bodies to a state of incorrpuptibility The first and eighth days are days of rest (άναπαυσις), the first representing life in Paradise, and the eighth which follows the sabbath of the Law represents liberation from all evil by Christ. (Matt 11:28). ...
Besides his commentary on John, Cyril also comments on Sukkot in Zech 14:17-18, stating that those who have believed in Christ are admitted to the eschatological Feast of Sukkotin Paradise, the heavenlyJerusalem. (Dacy MJ. Sukkot. pp. 173-174)
Notice the following report related to the Middle Ages:
The Waldenses recognized that they were the true successors of the apostolic church. They kept the SABBATH, also the yearly PASSOVER. And each September or October (in God's seventh month -- see Lev. 23), they held at the headquarters church a great "conference." As many as 700 persons attended from afar. New students were chosen, ministerial assignments were made, AND CROWDS GATHERED DAILY TO LISTEN TO SERMONS. What could this gathering have been but the Feast of Tabernacles! Under the name of Passagini, we have the clearest sort of statement that these people, about 1200, observed the whole Old Testament law, including the Sabbath and FESTIVALS! People called Cathars at Cologne, Germany, kept a fall festival, called "Malilosa", even before Waldo began to preach. Compare this unexplained name with Hebrew "melilah" (a harvested ear of grain -- Strong's Exhaustive Concordance) and the Biblical title "Feast of Ingathering" (Ex. 23:16). How much more we might have known about these Middle Ages' Feasts of Tabernacles had not the Inquisitors so zealously burned the records! The three-part division of tithes paid the Waldensian Church is significant. Even in the 1500's the same division continued. "The money given us by the people is carried to the aforesaid general council, and is delivered in the presence of all, and there it is received by the most ancients (the elders), and part thereof is given to those that are wayfaring men, according to their necessities, and part unto the poor" (George Morel, Waldensian elder, quoted by Lennard, "History of the Waldenses"). 1. Compare this practice with Num. 18:21 and Deut. 14:22-25, 28-29. Isn't it exactly what the Bible commands?... Most authors have ASSUMED the "wayfaring men" were the traveling "barbel." But THEIR expenses would have been paid from the money given the elders, at EVERY time of year, for the direct conduct of the Work -- "first" tithe and offerings. Notice that in Numbers 18:21. What Morel then mentions is a "second" tithe, for those traveling to and from the festivals -- wayfaring men; and following it, the "third" to the poor. See the explanation in Deut. 14. Feast goers who had more "second tithe" than they needed shared their excess with those who had need, even as they do today! (LESSON 51 (1968) AMBASSADOR COLLEGE BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place ..." Rev. 12:6).
Furthermore, Sabbath-keepers in Transylvania in the 1500s kept the Fall Holy Days such as the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Trumpets (also called Day of Remembrance feast on the first day of Tishri below), and Tabernacles:
The Sabbatarians viewed themselves as converted Gentiles ... They held to the biblical holidays. (Liechty D. Sabbatarianism in the Sixteenth Century. Andrews University Press, Berrien Springs (MI), 1993, pp. 61-62)
Of the 110 poetical compositions which are to be found in three manuscripts of this old Sabbatarian hymn-book, no less than 44 relate to the Sabbath, which, on account of the special regard in which its celebration was held, gave the sect the name they bear. FIVE songs belong to the NEW MOON, 11 to the FESTIVAL OF PASSOVER, 6 to the FEAST OF WEEKS, 6 to TABERNACLES, 3 to the NEW YEAR, and 1 to the DAY OF ATONEMENT. Besides these, there are 3 funeral hymns, 26 hymns of varied contents, and 5 didactic poems. The foregoing summary shows what position the Jewish festivals occupied in the ritual of the Sabbatarians. They kept, of course, only the festivals enjoined in the Pentateuch ... Although the feast of the first of Tishri is not designated the New Year festival in the Pentateuch, yet they celebrated it as the 'New Year' with special emphasis, as a contrast to the papal invention of the Christian new year.' In attempting to understand this celebration of the Jewish festivals by the older Sabbatarians, it must be remarked as particularly characteristic, that they maintained that, in adhering to these observances, they were following THE EXAMPLE AND TEACHING of Jesus. (Bacher W. The Sabbatarians of Hungary. The Jewish Quarterly Review, Volume 2. Macmillan, 1890, Original from the University of Michigan, Digitized Nov 10, 2008, pp. 473-474)
The old Ambassador College reported that some of the American Sabbath-keepers may have kept the Feast of Tabernacles back then:
The Church in Rhode Island became the MOTHER CHURCH in the United States. It grew slowly for about 30 years. Then in 1708, the enlarged and geographically widespread Newport congregation was officially constituted into two congregations.
The "Westerly" or "Hopkinton" congregation retained the original records -- being recognized as the leading or HEADQUARTERS location.
The reason for this transfer is most interesting. Previous to this time, the "Westerly" or "Hopkinton" site had become the regular meeting place for "a YEARLY MEETING" of members from all over! It was at such a meeting -- on September 28 (Gregorian calendar) -- that the decision was made to establish the new congregation. Details are lacking, but it is highly significant that this date falls during the Feast of Tabernacles of that year!
The earliest of these annual meetings of which we now have record had been held in late May, 1684. Other annual meeting dates consistently fell either during the fall Holy Day season or near Pentecost ("The Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America", pages 127, 150-152, 174, 602, 614). None of these meetings came at Christmas, Easter, or even in midsummer! This was not mere chance. God's people were, at least in part, attempting to follow the pattern of the Holy Days He had ordained.
In the meantime, a number of other congregations of Sabbath keepers had been formed -- mostly of new converts and immigrants from England. And though they recognized their relationship to the mother church in Rhode Island, distance made it necessary for the brethren in New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania to gather in annual meetings in their own areas. These assemblies often sent greetings to each other by letters and delegates. At these times, "the Sabbath, with its general communion, was indeed an HIGH DAY" ("The Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America", p. 151, emphasis ours).
It was not until much later that the MAJORITY accepted the Protestant idea that God's Holy Days had been done away. (Lesson 53 - I Will Build My Church, Part 5. Ambassador College Correspondence Course, 1969)
And the Fall Holidays are still observed into the 21st century by many Sabbath-keeping Church of God groups, like the Continuing Church of God.
Basic Interpretation
The basic Old Testament understanding of the Feast of Tabernacles is that it was a seven-day celebration of the annual fall harvest and was observed by living in temporary dwellings for the duration of the Feast. (Leviticus 23:33-43) .
The basic New Testament understanding is that this festival pictures the Millennium, the 1000 year period when the earth will be ruled by Jesus Christ and His saints (see also the information in the free online book: Should You Observe God's Holy Days or Demonic Holidays?).
Millenarianism (a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth, often called the millennium) was taught by the early Christians. The Bible teaches that the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).
During the millennium, Christ will rule as King of kings, and His saints will rule with and under Him for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6). God will restore Israel and will bless all nations that learn to worship Him. The Bible shows that there will be peace and prosperity throughout the earth (Amos 9:11-15, Isaiah 19:24-25). It will be an abundant time for all people and all nations (Micah 4:3-4, Ezekiel 36:33-37) who obey (there will problems for those who stubbornly will at first refuse to obey ). Sickness and disease will be cured (Jeremiah 30:17; Malachi 4:2). Various problems will be removed from the earth (Isaiah 51:11-13; 35:4). The true worship of God and His truths will be taught throughout the world (Isaiah 30:21; Ezekiel 11:19-20, Hebrews 8:11-12; Revelation 20:1-6). The Feast of Tabernacles essentially helps picture God’s kingdom on this earth. The Bible teaches that Christians are to pray, “Thy Kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). That kingdom will usher in the time when the promise described in Revelation:
More on the Kingdom can be found in the articles The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church and Just What Do You Mean the Kingdom of God?6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in this first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be the priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)
The Feast of Tabernacles: Additional Information
Consider the following related to the Feast of Tabernacles:
This is the time of year to grasp this incredible picture more clearly. God does His part. He makes a sweeping gesture to epitomize the grandeur of life in His Family: He uproots multiple thousands of people from their normal lives and immerses them with thousands of other individuals and families all required to spend 10 percent of their incomes in eight days (Deut. 14:25)!
How bold -- how dramatic! A time of compulsory rejoicing (Deut. 16:14). Seven days of vision (Lev. 23:34). A week of spiritual uplift and exaltation (Neh. 8:17-18).
The Feast of Tabernacles pictures nothing less than the glorious, utopian reign of Jesus Christ and His handpicked staff, a royal Family, to rule with Him (Dan. 7:27). Is this our feeling as we approach the Feast of Tabernacles?
Or are we perhaps deficient in the very second fruit of God's Holy Spirit -- joy (Gal. 5:22)? Do we really see ourselves as the light of the world (Matt. 5:14), or do our worldly cares dominate our lives to the point that we are, like everyone else in this society, shortsightedly absorbed with our own problems?
Are we convinced that God's Spirit is at work within us, or has it been a long time since we felt truly exuberant about our matchless opportunity to live forever (I John 3:1)? If you feel overburdened with physical, mundane cares, then this Feast of Tabernacles is for you! "If you only had my problems," some people tell Christ's ministry, "then you 'd be miserable, too." Not necessarily. The simple truth is that we all have our crosses to bear (Luke 9:23). And if we'd only rouse ourselves to see it, we'd discern that many of our brethren have it much worse (I Cor. 12:26). ...
We must put ourselves more into God's great Feast of Tabernacles, a feast of rejoicing. (Earle N. Make This a Feast of Joy. Good News magazine, September 1982)
The late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote the following:
NOW WE come to the festival of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths the sixth festival. Let us notice the instruction concerning this occasion:
"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. . . . 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 . . . and they shall not appear before the Lord empty: every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Eternal thy God which he hath given thee" (Deuteronomy 16:13-17).
Here is the Festival of Tabernacles, to be kept for seven days, beginning the 15th day of the seventh month of God's sacred calendar. Notice Leviticus 23:33-35: "And the Eternal spake unto Moses, saying, 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 Eternal. On the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work therein."
On the first of these days is a holy convocations commanded assembly. No work is to be done. ". . . And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. . . . It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month" (Leviticus 23:40- 41).
Notice that it is commanded forever.
Here are pictured those final culminating events in God's great plan: after Christ has died for our sins to redeem mankind after He has sent us the Holy Spirit and picked out a people for His Name to become kings and priests through the thousand years after His glorious Second Coming after He has finally restored the redeemed by placing all the sins upon the head of Satan, their real author, and separating both him and the sins from the presence of God and His people, thus finally perfecting the at-one-ment, making us finally joined in one then we are ready for that final series of events, the commencement of the "Marriage of the Lamb," the actual making of the New Covenant, the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth and the reaping of the great harvest of souls for a thousand years.
This festival is the picture of the Millennium!
Pictures the Millennium
To portray His plan, God took the yearly material harvest seasons in ancient Israel as the picture of the spiritual harvest of souls. In the Holy Land there are two annual harvests. The first is the spring grain harvest. Second comes the main harvest.
Now notice when the Festival of Tabernacles is to be held "at the year's end" (Exodus 34:22). In this verse the Festival of Tabernacles or Booths is specifically called the "feast of ingathering." The harvest year ended at the beginning of autumn. Just as Pentecost pictures the early harvest this church age, so the Festival of Ingatherings or Tabernacles pictures the fall harvest the great harvest of souls in the Millennium!
Today is not the only day of salvation. Today is a day of salvation. Isaiah said so: chapter 49, verse 8. In fact, the original Greek words of Paul in II Corinthians 6:2 should be translated "a day of salvation," not "the day of salvation."
Turn to the book of Zechariah to understand this more thoroughly. In the 12th and 13th chapters we have a picture of Christ returning and the reconciliation of the world commencing. Here the meaning of the Festivals of Trumpets and Atonement is made plain.
Next, notice the 14th chapter. The time is the Millennium. "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one . . . there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited" (verses 9, 11). It is the time when "living waters" salvation, the Holy Spirit "shall go out from Jerusalem" (verse 8). The "waters" are literal as well as figurative. God often pictures His spiritual plan by material events.
In that day, when the earth is safely inhabited, when the Holy Spirit is granted to all mortal flesh, what happens? "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" (verse 16).
Gentiles Forced to Keep the Feast of Tabernacles
Notice this 16th verse of Zechariah 14. After Christ returns, the nations mortal Gentiles who have not yet received salvation will come to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles! How could they keep a festival that was abolished at the cross? They could keep it only if it were commanded forever.
And what will happen if they refuse to obey God? "And it shall be, that who so will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain." Strong words these!
The nations will be forced to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, from year to year, when Christ is ruling with a rod of iron!
And if the nations still won't obey? ". . . there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen" there are still heathen nations just beginning to learn the way of salvation "that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment . . . of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles" (verses 18-19).
To receive salvation even the Gentiles will have to keep this festival. Of course, it is commanded forever!
Now we customarily quote Isaiah 66:23, showing that the Sabbath will be kept in the Millennium, as proof we must keep it now. Will we, then, when we read Zechariah 14:16, showing that the Feast of Tabernacles will be kept in the Millennium, be consistent by keeping it today?
Can we qualify as a son of God a king and priest ruling with Christ on His throne, assisting Christ at that time, if we now refuse to keep these festivals? Notice that Christ kept the Feast of Tabernacles. The Apostle John devoted an entire chapter of his gospel the seventh chapter to describe what Jesus said and did during the Feast of Tabernacles in the last year of His ministry.
Why Called the Feast of Tabernacles
During the Millennium, the Kingdom of God into which we may be born will rule the nations which are composed of mortal men begotten by the Spirit of God. The billions of mortal men alive during the Millennium will still be heirs to the Kingdom of God. They will not yet have inherited it as long as they remain mortal flesh, for "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 15:50). "Ye must be born again" "of the Spirit" to inherit the Kingdom, said Jesus.
Remember that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were merely heirs when they dwelled on earth (Hebrews 11:9). While heirs they dwelled in tabernacles or booths, sojourning in the land of promise. Booths or temporary dwellings pictured that they were not yet inheritors. Thus we read of the Feast of Tabernacles that "ye shall dwell in booths seven days . . . that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt" (Leviticus 23:42-43). Israel dwelled in booths in the wilderness before they entered the promised land. Those booths pictured that they were only heirs. Even during the Millennium, when the Kingdom of God is ruling over mortal nations, the people will be only heirs to the Kingdom. They must overcome and grow in knowledge and wisdom to inherit the promises.
What a marvelous picture. God says of Ephraim (a type of all Israel) that they will "dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast" (Hosea 12:9). Israel, in the wilderness, was a type of all people who must go through trials and tribulations to inherit the promises. They were wanderers, waiting to inherit the promises of salvation.
The contention, held by some sects, that mortal human beings in the Millennium will remain flesh and blood forever is plainly denied by the Feast of Tabernacles, for the festival itself points toward an eternal inheritance.
Besides, after Jesus gathers the Church to Himself, and after He is seated on His throne where we will be ruling with Him, He will gather the nations before Him and say: "Inherit the Kingdom" (Matthew 25:34). (Armstrong HW. Pagan Holidays or God's Holy Days Which? booklet)
The term 'Feast of Tabernacles' signifies that this is a festival with a connection to tabernacling with God.
14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. (2 Peter 1:14-15, KJV)
1 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.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 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. (2 Corinthians 5:1-4, KJV)
The NKJV translates the word for 'tabernacle' in the KJV as 'tent.' But tabernacling better conveys the concept.
Those who profess Christ and keep the Feast of Tabernacles can better understand what the New Testament (as well as Old) is teaching about tabernacling.
Notice the following from the Old Testament:
4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. (Psalm 61:4)
While there will a thousand year period of tabernacling in the millennial Kingdom of God, ultimately--in a time after the millennium--there will be a permanent tabernacling. This is confirmed in the New Testament:
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:1-4)
There will not be the distance between God and His creation like we presently see. Keeping the Feast of Tabernacles points not only to the millennium, but also to the time of permanent tabernacling with God.
This present world is passing away, but the final phase of the Kingdom of God will abide forever.
The Eighth Day (also Known as "The Last Great Day")
The seven day Feast of Tabernacles is immediately followed by the eighth day. Christians normally call this the ''Last Great Day'' based on these statement from Jesus in John 7:37-38:
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
According to an old, but probably modified in the 4th century document, it seems that Polycarp observed the Feast of Tabernacles in the second century including the Last Great Day:
I will give the narration in order, thus coming down to the history of the blessed Polycarp...
So also he pursued the reading of the Scriptures from childhood to old age, himself reading in church; and he recommended it to others, saying that the reading of the law and the prophets was the forerunner of grace, preparing and making straight the ways of the Lord, that is the hearts, which are like tablets whereon certain harsh beliefs and conceptions that were written before perfect knowledge came, are through the inculcation of the Old Testament, and the correct interpretation following thereupon, first smoothed and levelled, that, when the Holy Spirit comes as a pen, the grace and joy of the voice of the Gospel and of the doctrine of the immortal and heavenly Christ may be inscribed on them. And he said that they could not otherwise receive the impression of the seal which is given by baptism and engrave and exhibit the form conveyed in it, unless the wax were first softened and filled the deep parts. So also he thought that the hearts of the hearers ought to be softened and yield to the impress of the Word. For he said that it unfolded and opened, like closed doors, the minds of recent comers; and accordingly the prophet was bidden by God, Cry out mightily and spare not, Raise thy voice as a trumpet. What must one say, when even He that was gentler than all men so appeals and cries out at the feast of Tabernacles? For it is written; And on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirsteth, let him come to Me and drink. (Pionius, Life of Polycarp (1889) from J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 3.2, pp.488-506.)
Although it is adjacent to the Feast of Tabernacles, this eighth day is considered a separate Feast (Leviticus 23:36, 39. This eighth day helps picture the coming "Great White Throne Judgment" at which all of humanity that had not previously been truly called will have the chance to hear the real Gospel and accept God's offer salvation (see also Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation and Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differs from Protestantism).
While pagans have had holidays for the dead, the Last Great Day (John 7:37) is really the "Day of the Dead." That is those that were spiritually and physically dead will be resurrected to have their opportunity for salvation (see the free online book: Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation).
Here is some of what the late Herbert W. Armstrong taught about the Last Great Day:
This eighth day, technically a separate feast, is called "the last day, that great day of the feast" (John 7:37).
What does this final holy day represent?
Notice what Jesus preached about on that day: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink . . . out of his belly [innermost being] shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive . . .)" (John 7:37-39).
This was Jesus' sermon giving the meaning of the last great day!
Now turn to Revelation 20. After the Millennium, what happens? A resurrection! The dead stand before God. This couldn't include true Christians today, as they will appear before the judgment seat when Christ returns. It couldn't refer to those converted during the Millennium. They have already inherited the Kingdom during the Millennium, after living out a normal life-span. Those in this resurrection must be those who died in ignorance in past ages! They are not brought to life until after the Millennium (Revelation 20:5).
This is that judgment day mentioned in Matthew 10: 15. It is a time when Gentiles who died in ignorance will be given an opportunity to receive salvation. Ezekiel 16:53-55 makes this very plain. Even those in Israel who died in their sins will be given their first opportunity to understand the truth of God and His way (Ezekiel 37). The prophet wrote that God would pour out His Spirit on those resurrected (verse 14). This is precisely the salvation that Jesus mentioned in His sermon on that great day of the feast in the autumn of AD 30.
This eighth day, which immediately follows the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, pictures the completion of the plan of redemption. It is just prior to the new heaven and the new earth. All parents and children, young and old will be resurrected. Notice that the "book of life" typifying salvation is opened (Revelation 20:12). Revelation presents the final view of the "judgment day" as the present material heaven and earth are perishing and the faithful are receiving their eternal reward at the throne of Christ. The wicked those who disobey are seen perishing in the lake of fire! What a marvelous plan! All will have an equal opportunity (Armstrong HW. Pagan Holidays--or God’s Holy Days—Which?, booklet).
Isaiah prophesied how long the White Throne Judgment period would last. During this time Christ and the resurrected saints will rule. It is the time of the second resurrection. The earth will be as peaceful and productive as the Millennium itself. Children who died will live again for one hundred years, building character through the power of God's Holy Spirit. Older people who had died without knowing God's plan for them will also be resurrected to live for one hundred years. The close of the one-hundred-year White Throne Judgment is pictured by John in Revelation 20:11-12…100 years of testing…Isa. 65:20. (Bible Correspondence Course, Lesson 39. 1954, 1965 Edition).
A major reason that I became part of the old Worldwide Church of God (the group that took over WCG stopped observing biblical holy days) and remain part of the genuine Church of God is that in addition to proving all things from the Bible, I truly believe that since "God is love" (1 John 4:16) that He has a plan of salvation that will ultimately result in everyone being called and nearly every one who ever lived being saved.
More on the eighth day is found in the article: The Last Great Day: 'Shemini Azeret.
There also is must-read, free online book, that helps explain this: Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation).
How do Christians observe these Holy Days today?
Well, part of it is based upon the teachings of the Old Testament and part of it on the New Testament.
Recall that Deuteronomy 14:22-26 teaches:
22 "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
Because of this, Christians in the tend to go somewhere for the Fall festivals. The primary (if not only) location for the old Radio Church of God (which became the old Worldwide Church of God) was in Belknap Springs, Oregon. Herbert W. Armstrong attended the feast of Tabernacles there from at least 1946-1951 (he may have also attended there in later years). When our family went to the Feast in Oregon one year, we visited Belnap Springs and took the following photographs:
River at Belknap Springs and the building that services for the Feast of Tabernacles for 1946-1951 were held.
In the 21st century, the Continuing Church of God has some sites in scatted locations around the world such as Africa, North America, India, and the South Pacific (see Feast of Tabernacles' Sites for 2024).
Our family has been to Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Fiji, Greece/Turkey, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and various states in the USA for the Feast of Tabernacles (all in different years, except Greece and Turkey which was combined via a cruise).
Jesus Himself attended the Feast (John 7:10-26).
Normally, attendees at the Feast go to church services for two hours most days, and sometimes have two services on one or more of the Holy Days (first day of the Feast, the Sabbath, and the Last Great Day). Sermons often focus on the Kingdom of God, the law of God, and the Millennial reign of Christ, though pretty much any topic of Christian interest can be covered.
The Church normally has some type of family day activity for one day, often also a dance or social event at least one evening, and sometimes organizes group activities.
The time not at services or church activities is essentially free time, and people tend to go to restaurants, go sight-seeing, view the creation, meditate, participate in local activities, fellowship with Christians not normally possible, and/or otherwise attempt to enjoy being away from most of the cares of their normal lives.
Those who can will travel (Deuteronomy 14:23-26) go to a Feast site. Those who cannot may wish to consider the possibility to not sleep in their houses during the time of the Feast. If they are physically and financially able, they may wish to try to sleep in some type of temporary dwelling like a hotel, motel, camper, or a tent (including perhaps one in one's own home). In ancient Israel, those who did not travel (as well as native Israelites that did) made 'booths' of branches on top of their roofs (Leviticus 23:40) and slept in them for the seven days of the Feast (Leviticus 23:42), and some slept for the entire eight days (though th e Bible only mentions seven days). Staying in 'temporary dwellings,' of whatever sort, helps convey that this age is temporal and a new millennial age is coming.
The first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is kept like a Sabbath, as it is also a day of rest and a holy convocation as is the eighth day, also known as the Last Great Day (John 7:37). Christians should pray and attend services and/or watch messages on each of the eight days. An offering is normally also taken up on the first and eighth day (cf. Deuteronomy 16:16). But the other days are NOT kept like the Sabbath, meaning that one can engage in regular physical work on those days.
Also, if you attend, remember to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ and God's Kingdom:
Ambassadors for the Kingdom
... Infused with godly hope and vision, we should resolve to act as ambassadors for the Kingdom of God (II Cor. 5:20). A key part in this we have already covered -- following instructions. Another important part we all have to play is to prepare, mentally and spiritually, to endure some inconveniences at the Feast. There are no perfect Feast sites, for the Church itself is still imperfect.
Resolve now, well ahead of time, to accept trials and setbacks as challenges, hurdles to overcome, prods to our resourcefulness, stimulants (Isa. 1:4). Be thankful for sticky problems (Rom. 5:3). ...
"Peculiar people" (I Pet. 2:9)? Yes! Peculiar and unconquerable (Rom. 8:37). Some get frustrated at the mammoth crowds at some Feast sites. They abandon as hopeless one of the special benefits of the Feast of Tabernacles -- the mutual support and strength derived from active fellowship with other members of the Body of Christ (I Cor. 12:14). Try this. Rather than selfishly resenting the big crowds, take the brethren one at a time. Radiate warmth and affection for those around you (Prov. 15:15). A little leaven does leaven the whole lump, after all (I Cor. 5:6).
These people at the Festival are our brethren, everyone of them purchased with the shed blood of Christ (Acts 20:28). Some have their own successful businesses. Some are Ph.D.s. Some have fought wars in far-flung parts of the world. Some are pressured ladies with hostile mates waiting at home. Some are single parents walking the financial and emotional tightrope.
Many are strangers, lonely, widows and new members who don't know a soul. And you can help. Maybe your family has a little time on its hands. Perhaps as a single adult you have a little extra second tithe. Why not set aside some time for some of the loners you notice? This is a foretaste of your role in the Kingdom of God. It's living like Jesus Christ: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matt. 25:40).
More blessed to give
Hundreds of brethren each year find that the Feast of Tabernacles was the pivotal experience to bring them out of themselves a little more -- the time they learned more deeply how much more blessed it is to give than receive (Acts 20:35). ...
Of course, when hundreds and hundreds of God's people gather we should all understand that there are scores of new members with children trying to "learn the ropes," or teens not yet convinced that this is for them. The Feast is an excellent time for us all to learn the big picture: "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth" (Rom. 14:4).
Give people the benefit of the doubt. Nothing short-circuits our own joy like petty criticism and self-righteous nit-picking (Gal. 5:15). Learning to understand and tolerate other people is a requirement for successful community relationships, an essential character trait required in those called to government posts in the Kingdom of God. Perhaps now we grasp more clearly the dynamic lessons and principles permeating each Feast of Tabernacles!
The fact is that humanity has lost the art of successful human relationships. Yet each Feast site is a miniature community, after all, a minute foretaste of an organizational pattern based on God's law of give. The lesson? Enjoying other people, learning to tolerate their idiosyncrasies, submitting to order and directions -- all this is pioneering a way out for a hopeless humanity (Isa. 59:9, Matt. 5:14).
God's kind of Christianity works! It transforms people. It leavens community relations (Matt. 13:33). It will change the world, ultimately.
As one dedicated, highly motivated, submissive implement in God's hands, God's people will write another lesson of order and unity at the...Feast of Tabernacles. The stakes are high: Can God take multiple thousands of human beings, give them His Spirit and produce not just unity and order, but rejoicing? If so, we have discovered the practical keys to peace on earth.
What a challenge -- what a calling! Will we grasp it more clearly this year at God's great Feast of Tabernacles, a feast of joy? (Earle N. Make This a Feast of Joy. Good News, September 1982)
The following link has a calendar of when the Feast of Tabernacles is: Holy Day Calendar.
The Feast of Tabernacles is significant for Christians. It pictures the reality of Christ's reign on the earth and that this current world is simply temporal
In its Statement of Beliefs, the Continuing Church of God states:
The Feast of Tabernacles, which shows a time of abundance, helps picture the millennial kingdom reign (Revelation 20:4-6) of Jesus Christ and His saints on the earth (Zechariah 14; Matthew 9:37-38; 13:1-30; Luke 12:32; John 7:6-14; Acts 17:31; Revelation 5:10, 11:15; 12:9). This future paradise, following the near total destruction that humanity will have brought upon itself through its activities and the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord (Matthew 24:21-31), will help show humanity the advantages of God’s way of life. Every seven years, the law is to be read during this festival (Deuteronomy 31:10-13).
The Last Great Day helps picture that all who ever lived will have a real opportunity for salvation (John 7:37-38; Isaiah 52:10,13-15; 65:20; Luke 3:6)--an opportunity most will accept (John 7:37-39; Romans 11:25-26; Ezekiel 37:11-14; Hebrews 9:27-28). The New Testament name comes from the Apostle John who wrote, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38).
Because of its New Testament references and connections, the Feast of Tabernacles is something that should be highly relevant for Christians. In spite of this, a least one fourth century leader, who had antisemetic tendencies, condemned this day and other Fall Holy Days (see article Did Early Christians Observe the Fall Holy Days?)--however, the Bible itself shows that the Feast of Tabernacles is important for Christians.
The Bible teaches:
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18, KJV)
18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law. (Proverbs 29:18, NKJV)
God reveals His plan of salvation through His Holy Days. Most who profess Christianity do NOT keep the Feast of Tabernacles or understand God's plan of salvation.
Observing the Feast of Tabernacles helps us have the vision of the coming millennial Kingdom of God. By observing it, we get a better understanding of what the millennium will be like. People who keep the Feast of Tabernacles are also happy to do so.
And the eighth day festival pictures that salvation will be offered to all humankind (see also The Last Great Day: Shemini 'Azeret).
Jesus, Paul, and true Christians kept these Holy Days. Though they were condemned by one who called Jews "miserable," this does not change the fact that they are taught in the Bible and were observed by true Christians.
John Chrysostom and others have promoted a false gospel instead of the millennial kingdom of God.
Sadly, since most professing Christianity do not keep these days and the other Christian Holy Days, they often do not have a proper view of God's plan of salvation. They tend to focus more on the world and the things of the world--they do not understand much of what God is doing.
These days picture not only what has happened but what will happen.
This is information that Christians living in these latter days should value.
We who observe the Feast of Tabernacles realize that it pictures that God’s millennial kingdom truly will come.
Christians should also consider that the Bible also shows that God will later “tabernacle” with His people for all eternity (Revelation 21:3). Do not fall for the false gospels that ignore what God wants His people to understand.
Keeping the Feast of Tabernacles now is a foretaste of things to come.
Those of us who do so have real and guaranteed hope.
Satan does not want you to have that hope.
Do not accept false gospels which oppose keeping the Feast of Tabernacles.
Where is the Feast of Tabernacles held? Check out Feast of Tabernacles' Sites for 2024. These are the publicly announced sites thus far; other groups also have sites. Two related sermon videos include Feast of Tabernacles from Israel and Should Christians keep the Feast of Tabernacles?
More information on the Holy Days can be found in the free booklet: Should You Observe God's Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? as well as the following:
Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived–the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (Universal Offer of Salvation part 3), Is God Fair, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?, Can God Save Your Relatives?, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God’s Plan, and ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.
Is There "An Annual Worship Calendar" In the Bible?
The Feast of Tabernacles: A Time to Learn the Law
Did Early Christian Teach Millenarianism? (a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth, often called the millennium)
Should Christians Keep the Days of Unleavened Bread?
Melito's Homily on the Passover
The Book of Life and the Feast of Trumpets?
The Day of Atonement--Its Christian Significance
Holy Day Calendar
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