Letter to our Friends - October 8, 2019

Michael C. Garrett

Pastor and Overseer

Dear Friends:

Greetings from Owensboro, Kentucky.

We trust that you HUMBLED yourself before God and our Lord Jesus Christ on the Day of Atonement.

I videoed another sermonette for this coming Sabbath, entitled Salvation OFFERED To All – in which I go through many Scriptures showing that there is coming a time when nearly everyone who has ever lived or will live will have an opportunity for immortality and eternal life through our great God Almighty and our Savior Jesus Christ's Master Plan of redemption for Their people!

Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day

The next feast of the LORD’s this fall is the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day, which begins sunset on the 13th of October until sunset of the 21st of October.

The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the returning of Jesus Christ and God the Father, New Jerusalem, and the kingdom of God! The establishment of the kingdom of God! After our Lord and Savior died for our sins to redeem all mankind, and after He sent us the Holy Spirit, and God the Father chose people for His glorious and holy name to become kings and priests to reign with our Elder Brother on earth (Revelation 5:10), and after the resurrection of the saints, and after He has finally brought about the Day of the LORD and finally thrown Satan the devil and his imp’s to the earth (a great prophetic meaning of the Day of Atonement), then we are ready for the commencement of the Millennial reign of our soon coming King of kings and Lord of lords upon the E A R T H.

The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the spiritual and material abundance that will occur during the glorious Millennial reign of Jesus Christ when physical human beings will be keeping God’s commandments and His feasts without the influence of Satan and his imp’s – his minions (Revelation 20:1-6).

Indeed, Jesus Christ kept the Feast of Tabernacles and what we call the Last Great Day or rather ‘that great day,’ which is taught per John 7:10-37.

Here are some instructions pertaining to it in the Old Testament:

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34) ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month [which is the month of Tishri] 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. … 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 [tabernacles] for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths” – Leviticus 23:33-35, 41-42; NKJV throughout.

“’ You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14) And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. 15) Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD will bless you in all you produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice. 16) Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks [Pentecost], and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17) Every man [and woman] shall give as he [or she] is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you’” – Deuteronomy 16:13-17.

God commanded the physical children of Israel to dwell in booths/tabernacles in the wilderness for decades before they ever entered into the promised land – picturing that they were only heirs to the promised land. Even during the Millennium reign of Jesus Christ ruling over mortal nations, the mortal people will be only heirs to the glorious Kingdom of God. They too must overcome and grow in wisdom and knowledge and the grace of God to inherit the promises.

We – the spiritual children of Israel, the seed of Abraham – cf. Romans 4:11-17; Galatians 3:29 – are to realize that we have no permanent city in this age and look to the one to come (Hebrews 13:14). So, staying in temporary dwellings during the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day helps remind us of that. Christians should indeed attend church services, if possible, each day of the Feast to learn (Deuteronomy 31:10-13, and Nehemiah 8:17-18), as living sacrifices, which is our ‘reasonable service’ (Romans 12:1).

Friends, the Feast of Tabernacles is a time of rejoicing (Deuteronomy 14:26; 16:15). And, the use of the “second tithe” shows that this is to be a time of abundance (Deuteronomy 14:22-26), but also that the ministry should be taken care of in this age (Deuteronomy 14:27). This glorious Feast helps picture the time of Millennial abundance – to the time of Jesus’ return.

We in the Owensboro Church of Jesus Christ continue to keep the Feast of Tabernacles – which points to the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God!

And, since Satan the devil and his demons will be bound for the Millennial reign (Revelation 20:1-2), there will be less deception then. Keeping the Feast of Tabernacles and meeting daily helps picture a time when the world will be very different than it is now.

“’ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in Heaven.’” – Matthew 6:10.

Your Bible shows – in biblical prophecy – that the Feast of Tabernacles will be kept in the Millennium:

“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 all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles” – Zechariah 14:16-19.

The kingdom of God will replace all the kingdoms of this world (Revelation 11:15), and this great feast helps picture this by separating (cf. Revelation 18:4; 1 John 2:18-19) Christians from their usual routine.

So, the keeping of the Feast of Tabernacles gives us a glimpse in this age of what will happen in the age to come – the millennial kingdom. For indeed, soon coming, will be ‘the tabernacle of God’ on the earth in which God the Father [Theos] and Jesus Christ will dwell with us (cf. Revelation 6:16; 7:10; 21:3).

Here is a link to Notes Concerning the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.

Online Booklets

We have two online booklets. It is hoped that those outside of the OCOJC will realize that there are dozens of Scriptures that support the view that we should, on a personal level, be clothed with humility before God on the Day of Atonement. And, prophetically, the Day of Atonement pictures a time of deep and disturbing trouble. A time of trauma. The seven last plagues. And, that includes the death of millions and hundreds of millions of people. And, that includes the utter destruction of false churches, false teachers, false doctrine. And, that includes the binding – a spiritual prison – of Satan and his demons. That means – clearing the deck of evil and evil sources.

Feast of Tabernacles and Optional Activities

The Owensboro Church of Jesus Christ will be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles on the 14th through to the 21st of October 2019 at the Logsdon Community Center 2400 Friendship Dr. Owensboro, Kentucky 42303. We graciously invite all who have a good spirit to attend. You can contact Minister Michael C. Garrett at garrett158@roadrunner.com for additional information.

There are optional activities in Owensboro, Kentucky to enjoy! There is the International Bluegrass Music Museum – website http://www.bluegrasshall.org/. There is also the Yellow Creek Park, which features hiking trails, and multi-purpose sports areas, as well as a Pioneer Village – website https://www.visitowensboro.com/listing/yellow-creekpark/. Also, there’s the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art – website http://www.omfa.us/.

You can click here to view an online Owensboro Tourism and Events Guide.

World News Items

In the United States of America, the left and the right-leaning media has been greatly focused on Ukraine and the possible impeachment of the POTUS Donald Trump (See: ‘Trump's 'Civil War' Quote Tweet Is Actually Grounds for Impeachment, Says Harvard Law Professor’).

In Hong Kong, there have been even more protests and violence (See: ‘More Violence Grips Hong Kong Ahead of China's National Day’). Also, China just celebrated its 70th anniversary of becoming communist with a military display (See: ‘China parades its latest missiles in challenge to US, others’).

In the United Kingdom, Brexit is still a major issue (See: ‘Boris Johnson: No-deal only alternative to Brexit plan’). Presuming that it happens very soon, Brexit and trade policies from the US could weaken the EU economy for a time (See: ‘Stopping Brexit Is About Saving the European Union’).

Suggested Sabbath Service

Here is a suggested Sabbath service for this week:

● 2-3 hymns. (a free printable “Old Time Gospel” hymn site is The Old Time Gospel).
● Opening prayer.
● Sermonette (if you choose). The one suggested is Salvation OFFERED To All by Minister Leonard V. Johnson.
● Announcements (if any) and one hymn.
● Sermon. The one suggested is Let Not The Sun Go Down Upon Your Wrath by Minister Michael C. Garrett. (Many more sermons are available at http://www.owensborochurchofjesuschrist.com/).
● Final hymn.
● Closing prayer.

IN CASE YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED A ‘LETTER TO OUR FRIENDS’ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER WE HAVE MANY SERMON MESSAGES ON THE Owensboro Church of Jesus Christ website. Also, friends, be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our podcast sermons so that you won't miss our latest podcast distributed via RSS (Rich Site Summary) format!

Concluding Comments

Minister Michael C. Garrett wrote:

“Ezekiel 33:1 – “Again the Word of the LORD came to me, …” – this is not Ezekiel just dreaming up some ideas, ‘Hey I think I’ll start a church and create my own ideas!’ No. This is Ezekiel hearing directly from Jesus Christ. Verse 2 – “’Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory [their borders] and make him their watchman, …’” – so at a time of impending war He’s saying you need to have some people watching out for you. Verse 3 – “’when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet …’” – again, you think about the blowing of the TRUMPET on the SEVEN TRUMPETS in the Book of Revelation, and those seven trumpets are followed by the SEVEN LAST PLAGUES which are the DAY OF THE LORD (different name but the same event). “…and warns the people, …’” – let’s quickly turn to Isaiah 58.

Isaiah 58 – remember, He just said there in Ezekiel, “’ Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them’” – speak to them, deliver this Message. It’s not like that particular servant has a choice. He’s commanded by God, ‘This is what I want you to do!’ Well, notice what Isaiah 58 says.

Isaiah 58:1 – speaking again to a prophet of God; and whether it was way back when or in the very near future, God doesn’t change, same mentality, same approach – “’ Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, …’” – and again, are these the physical people of Israel!? In part, probably. But I think even more dramatically, these are the so-called spiritual people of Israel. The churches which are supposed to represent the Way of God. ‘Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet.’ Well, in some small manner, to some small degree, that’s what I am trying to do. And we’re trying to blow the TRUMPET! And you might think, ‘Well, he’s sort-of cruel on some of those guys, he’s sort of rough on them.’ Let me say this: There’s a very good possibility that if they do not wake up and hear that Message and hear that WARNING, that they may very well end up dying. I do not want them dead. I do not want them to suffer. And I also do not want their blood upon my head. And so we speak, we speak the truth, whether people like it or not. We speak what God says, from the Book – the Word of God! The Will of God! The Truth of God, the Plan of God! And to the best of our ability, we’re trying to feed the sheep of Jesus Christ!”

Friends, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day is nearly here, keep it as God wants you to.

In deep gratitude and love, in Jesus' name,