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As we observe the
Festival of Tabernacles this year, our thoughts should
be directed into history and prophecy. We should
remember that in the first century, Jesus Christ
tabernacled among human beings. We also should look
forward to His return to tabernacle with humankind as
King of Kings and Lord of lords. God’s plan of salvation
is based on love -- unselfish, out-going concern, God’s
essential characteristic (I John 4:8). Our relationship
with God is based on our response to His love for us.
"We love Him because He first loved us" (I John 4:19).
Apparently it is God’s will that most people first live
in a physical paradise before entering the spirit realm
to share eternity with God.
Adam and Eve were
placed in a luxuriant garden with work to do, but not
the kind of struggle for survival that has characterized
human history since the sin of the forbidden fruit.
Evidently, in the beginning, humans were at peace with
nature, not fearing bad weather or wild animals. This
was a proper setting to prepare humans for their
ultimate destiny, eternal joy as spirit beings. This
delightful environment will be the norm around the world
after the return of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21).
The Festival of
Tabernacles, or Booths, lasts seven days. Humankind
should have experienced seven thousand years of peace
and prosperity as the introductory phase of salvation
history. We are apparently experiencing the contingency
plan. One of its benefits is that in the millennium,
people will be able to compare and contrast life under
Christ and the resurrected saints with life under Satan
and his demons. It is likely that the vast majority will
choose God’s most gracious offer of eternal life as a
son or daughter in God’s family.
When harvesting crops,
Israelites might leave their more substantial dwellings
to live in booths out in the fields (Isaiah 1:8). After
the autumn harvest, the booths in which Israelites dwelt
during the Festival symbolically pointed to the great
spiritual harvest yet to come. God’s Church will grow
exponentially at the culmination of the phase of human
history through which we continue to live at present.
During the Festival of
Booths, the Israelites looked forward to the "former
rain," the heavy rainfall that would be needed after the
Festival to begin the next agricultural cycle. These
heavy autumnal rains picture the outpouring of God’s
spirit during the millennium (Isaiah 55:10-11). God has
promised his people that, ". . . with joy you will draw
water from the wells of salvation." (Isaiah 12:3)
There is a fascinating
play on words in Joel 2:23. It contains a promise that
can be translated, "For He has given you the former rain
faithfully," or "For he has given you a teacher of
righteousness." The word play shows the duality of the
prophecy. During the reign of Jesus Christ, "…the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of the Eternal as the
waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9).
Speaking on the seventh
day of the Festival of Booths which Judaism calls
Hoshanah Rabbah, "Great Hosanna Day," Jesus Christ
compared God’s Spirit to "living water." According to
John 7:39, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a
necessary step in God’s plan of salvation before the
dramatic coming of the Holy Spirit reported in the
second chapter of the Book of Acts.
In the Gospel of John
we see that Christ observed the Festival of Tabernacles,
but no specific details are given concerning the sort of
dwelling in which He lived during those seven days. It
would seem that the key element for Christians is going
to a festival site and meeting with other believers for
instruction. Jesus Christ taught during the middle of
the Festival (John 7:14). Our focus during this season
should be on God’s plan of salvation, not on condemning
defensible options for housing during the Festival of
Booths (Colossians 2:16-17).
Looking forward to the
millennium, Zechariah spoke of a time when all nations
would observe the Festival of Booths (Zechariah
14:16-19). Revelation 7:9-10 is a parallel passage. In
his youth, the Apostle John saw men in prayer shawls
conducting processions holding palm fronds during the
Festival of Booths. They would cry, "Hosanna!," which
means, "Please save!" They would recite Psalm 118:25,
"Save now, I pray, O Eternal; O Eternal, I pray, send
now prosperity." The scene in the seventh chapter of
Revelation is also associated with the time of the
Second Coming of Christ.
When Peter, James, and
John were shown a vision of the wonderful world of
Messiah’s reign, Peter wanted to build booths. (Matthew
17:1-4) The Festival of Booths pictures the future era
when the resurrected saints of later years will interact
with resurrected saints of the Bible. What a thrilling
time! Our children may even be able to ask Noah why he
didn’t swat those two mosquitos when he had the chance!
(Just kidding)
In Orthodox Jewish
neighborhoods, people travel from booth to booth (sukkah
in Hebrew) visiting, feasting, singing, and discussing
spiritual matters. The Church of God tradition is to
leave one’s normal location and spend time at a Festival
site in close proximity of other church members.
Festival savings ensure that one can share many
wonderful experiences with his or her brothers and
sisters in Christ. What a refreshing change, and what a
foretaste of the millennium.
Members of God’s Church
over the past six thousand years have been exercising
faith, looking forward to being changed to spirit when
Christ returns. The rest of humanity will have the
opportunity to live in a physical paradise before being
changed to spirit. The initial stage of the plan will
involve those alive at Christ’s return and their
offspring in later years. That stage will last a
thousand years. It is the period mentioned six times in
Revelation 20, possibly because it follows six thousand
years of civilization pervaded with sin. Righteousness
will dominate the seventh millenium! At that time, "…the
Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in His
wings.…" (Malachi 4:2). Chag Sameach! (Happy Festival!)
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