Feast of Tabernacles in the 1990s and today
The Feast of Tabernacles has began in the Eastern Hemisphere and will soon begin in all of the Western Hemisphere.
Feast of Tabernacles’ services are to begin the evening of September 20th and continue until the Last Great Day which is September 28th in 2021.
The Continuing Church of God put out this message from its ContinuingCOG channel for 2021:
The Bible commands keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. Is that the only reason to keep it? What about learning? What about rejoicing? Can you rejoice about matters in your past and present? What about the future millennial Kingdom of God? Can you rejoice and be happy despite tests and trials? What if things go wrong at the Feast of Tabernacles? Does God’s word promise no problems? Does it promise a fantastic eternity? Will there be problems to deal with by the resurrection saints? Can you be thankful as a man in the Philippines who was pleased with something resembling prisoner or war circumstances. Dr. Thiel gives a message intended to be watched on the evening of September 20, 2021.
Furthermore, here is a link to the Continuing Church of God Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2021.
That being said, I thought a look at the past might be of interest to some.
In the 1990s in the old Worldwide Church of God, over 100,000 people used to attend around the world.
In 1990, our family went on the Mediterranean cruise for the Feast of Tabernacles. Over one thousand attended that. This cruise began in Venice, Italy, went to Greece, and to several of the churches of Revelation 2 & 3. This was the first time we had visited any of those Churches, since then my wife and I have visited them all.
Here are photos of Venice, the cruise ship, many there, and the isthmus of Corinth:
Additional photos of or related to that 1990 Feast are included in Joyce’s Photos of Corinth, Joyce’s Photos of Ephesus, Joyce’s Photos of Pergamos, and Joyce’s Photos of Smyrna.
In 1991, we went to Victoria, British Columbia (Canada). Over 1,000 (perhaps 2,000 or more) attended there. Below is a picture of Victoria Harbor and the children’s choir at the Feast:
In 1992 we took our first trip to the Caribbean and we went to the Bahamas. Over 500 attended there. Below is the children’s choir, as well as the view from our hotel room of the tip of Paradise Island:
In 1993, we went to Eastbourne, England for the Feast of Tabernacles. Around 1500 attended there that year. Below is a picture of Eastbourne, as well as a castle not too far from the city:
In 1994, we went to Eugene, Oregon for the Feast of Tabernacles. Over 1000 seemed to be in attendance there. While there we visited 3-4 places of historical interest to the old Worldwide Church of God (some photos of two of those are included in the articles 6. The Philadelphia Church Era and The Feast of Tabernacles: A Time for Christians?)–what struck me was that no one other than us was ever at any of those places. This was our last year at a Worldwide Church of God feast site. The first picture is a welcome to Oregon, while the second is near Florence Oregon:
In 1995, we attended our first Feast of Tabernacles site outside the Worldwide Church of God. The Global Church of God site we attended was in Del Mar, California. Around 700 were in attendance there. It is near San Diego. The first picture is in Del Mar, while the second is of San Diego:
In 1996, we attended the Feast of Tabernacles in Penang, Malaysia. About 70 attended there. We were one of only 2 American families there. This was the first feast site I spoke at (I gave two sermonettes).
In 1997, we attended the feast in Hengelhoef, Belgium. Several hundred were in attendance there.
In 1998, we attended the feast in Branson, Missouri. At this site, the late Dr. Meredith and I became better acquainted, which helped when the Global Church of God crisis erupted the next month. The second picture is from a place called “the Holy Land” and is a short drive away in Arkansas:
In 1999, we attended the feast in Anchorage, Alaska. This was the first time my wife or I ever attended the same feast site more than once. However, it was different than the previous time (1982) and there was a significant reduction in the sizes of the glaciers I remembered from the prior visit.
Up until the late 1990s, the old WCG had over 100 feast sites pretty much every year, and thus we tended to have a lot of choices about where to attend.
It might be of interest to remind people that leaders that Christians consider to be saints such as the Apostle Paul and Polycarp of Smyrna kept the Feast of Tabernacles.
In the CCOG, we have sites around the world (see Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2021).
If you did not get to an actual site this year, perhaps you can view Feast of Tabernacles’ related sermons which are at the following link: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2021.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
How to Keep God’s Festivals Many have heard of God’s Holy Days and wonder how they are kept in the 21st century. This is an overview article. A related sermon is also available titled: How to Keep God’s Feasts.
Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2021 This is information on the Feast of Tabernacles’ sites for the Continuing Church of God in 2021. Feast of Tabernacles’ services are to begin the evening of September 20th and continue until the Last Great Day which is September 28th in 2021.
Should You Keep God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays. Two related sermon would be Which Spring Days should Christians observe? and Fall Holy Days for Christians.
Did Early Christians Observe the Fall Holy Days? The ‘Fall’ Holy Days come every year in September and/or October on the Roman calendar. Some call them Jewish holidays, but they were kept by Jesus, the apostles, and their early faithful followers. Should you keep them? What does the Bible teach? What do records of church history teach? What does the Bible teach about the Feasts of Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day? Here is a link to a related sermon: Should you keep the Fall Holy Days?
The Book of Life and the Feast of Trumpets? Are they related? Is so how? If not, where not? What does the Feast of Trumpets, which the Jews call Rosh Hashanah, help teach? A related sermon video would be The Trumpet Release.
The Day of Atonement–Its Christian Significance The Jews call it Yom Kippur, Christians “The Day of Atonement.” Does it have any relevance for Christians today? What is the Jubilee? A sermon of related interest may be Day of Atonement: How Jesus fulfilled His part for the Atonement.
The Feast of Tabernacles: A Time for Christians? Is this pilgrimage holy day still valid? Does it teach anything relevant for today’s Christians? What is the Last Great Day? What do these days teach?
The Feast of Tabernacles: A Time to Learn the Law The Bible teaches that every seven years that the law should be read at the Feast of Tabernacles. This is what I did at the first Feast site where I gave an actual sermon (as opposed to a sermonette) in 2006.
Holy Day Calendar This is a listing of the biblical holy days through 2033, with their Roman calendar dates. They are really hard to observe if you do not know when they occur 🙂 In the Spanish/Español/Castellano language: Calendario de los Días Santos. In Mandarin Chinese: 何日是神的圣日? 这里是一份神的圣日日历从2013年至2024年。.
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