A Morning Bible Study - What the Feast of Tabernacles Pictures

 

Leonard V Johnson    About

The LORD our God’s seven annual festivals picture the steps in which He is bringing about His Master Plan for the redemption of all mankind.

The first three annual festivals occur during the spring.

● Passover - We Christians understand and recognize that Jesus Christ paid the ultimate penalty for our sins on the LORD’S Passover and was sacrificed smack dab in the middle of the Feast of Unleavened Bread! And brethren, all of the LORD’s Holy Days are what we call Christocentric. Meaning that they are all centered around JESUS CHRIST! In other words, we shouldn’t be so steeped and so misguided by Judeo-Christianity that we lose focus of who we are to look to! JESUS CHRIST! Recall, that Jesus built His Church! The New Covenant Church!

● Days of Unleavened Bread – Jesus Christ is the meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread! Minister Michael C. Garrett gave a series of sermons entitled “Christ In You.”

●Pentecost - “Christ In You! … we must have God’s Spirit which is represented by the Day of Pentecost. And so, individual salvation – that Plan is given to us in the Spring Holy Days. … The Spring Holy Days are a continuum. What happens in Passover and Unleavened Bread, and down as you get into the Day of Pentecost – a continuous series of events that are all interrelated and intertwined.

The last four annual festivals occur during the fall.

●Trumpets - ‘A memorial of blowing seven trumpets.’ And, at the LAST TRUMP the saints of Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ are resurrected – and as Jesus says, ‘the angels are going to gather us from one end of heaven [the atmosphere] to the other end of heaven [the atmosphere].’

● Atonement - Our Lord Jesus Christ was the atonement for our sins. “You shall HUMBLE yourself before the LORD your God.”

Here brings us the glorious sixth festival and the subject of this Bible study. Let us learn this next exciting step in the LORD our God’s Master Plan for the redemption of all mankind through our Lord Jesus Christ!

1) What LORD God-ordained feast occurs only FIVE DAYS after the Day of Atonement!? 

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34) ‘Speak to the children of Israel, …’” – and recall what the Apostle Paul teaches us, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” – Galatians 3:29. Meaning - There is the Seed of Abraham (Seed being singular); there is the seed of Abraham physically (descendants of Abraham according to the flesh); and there is the seed of Abraham spiritually (those who, like Abraham, have faith in God). “ … 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 [a gathering]. You shall do no customary work on it.’” – Leviticus 23:33-35. And this is reiterated by the LORD God in Deuteronomy 16:13-15. 

Does this Feast begin with a high day – a holy Sabbath – on which ‘you shall do no customary work,’ a ‘holy convocation’!? Again, vs. 35. Did the LORD our God command that this annual Festival be kept FOREVER!? 

“’ 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.’” – vs. 41. 

The Feast of Tabernacles is also called in God’s living word the Feast of Ingathering because the Feast begins just after the autumn harvest was reaped and stored. 

This God-ordained fall harvest Festival is to be a time of great rejoicing and thanksgiving for the LORD God’s abundant blessings! It pictures in the New Covenant the future ingathering of a great harvest of Spirit-begotten children of God into His glorious family during the Millennial reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s learn and grow – 

2) Does this annual holy Feast of Tabernacles last for more than just one day?

Again, verse 34 – “ … ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month [month of Tishri] shall be the Feast of Tabernacles FOR SEVEN DAYS to the LORD.’”

Now, in the Western world, during the winter months, they speak of the ‘holidays’ – meaning from Thanksgiving through to New Year’s Day. It’s the same thing here – the eighth day of the Feast is a separate holy day, ‘a holy convocation.’ It’s a commanded assembly – if you’re able to do it. 

“’ 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 [to place His name]: 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. 

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.

Truly, the SEVEN-DAY holy Feast of Tabernacles pictures the glorious Millennial “fall harvest” of physical human beings and the Millennial Rule of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords over the whole earth!

3) Who is it that decides WHERE the Feast of Tabernacles is to be observed?

This is a question that my sister had not long ago asked and I would like to answer – the truth is so much different than what many might believe – 

Again, verse 16 – “ … ‘before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses.’” 

Notice verse 11 – “ … ‘at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide.’”

We must check the meaning of the word used to get a better understanding of what God is saying through the Prophet Moses. Now, it is true the Hebrew word for place is māqôm which means a physical location where something ought to be. 1 So, where does the LORD place His name today in the New Covenant!? Notice –  

“ … chosen by God and precious, 5) you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” – 1 Peter 2: 4, 5. 

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” – 1 Corinthians 3:16. 

“And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.’” – 2 Corinthians 6:16.

“in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” – Ephesians 2:22. 

The LORD our God’s habitation is where He lives. And the habitation (the dwelling place) that He chooses is not a town, a city, a state, a location, but within each and every one of His chosen begotten children. Our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ abide within us – Their habitation is within Their holy temple. This is the place They wish to place Their name – within us. 

“’ I AM the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing’” – John 15:5. 

4) What is the God-ordained theme for the observance of the annual Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day?

“’ You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles SEVEN DAYS, … 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 chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice’” – Deuteronomy 16:13, 14-15.

5) Does the LORD our God say that we should spend our saved money on excellent foods or ‘whatever our heart desires’ to increase our joy and happiness during this holy ordained Feast?

“’ 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’” – Deuteronomy 14:26. 

Truly, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day is a time of rejoicing and thanking Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ for Their great blessings! For the children of Israel, it was a time of rejoicing because an abundant storehouse was taken in just before the coming of the annual Feast. During the Millennial reign of our Savior Jesus Christ and of His appointed king over the reunited physical children of Israel, the happiness and joy, and prosperity pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles will begin to spread around the world. 

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 imps – 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.

6) Since, this holy annual Feast is ‘a sacred Feast’ that is to be kept annually ‘FOREVER, ’ are the begotten children of God to live in “booths” – or rather, in temporary dwellings – during the Feast?

“’ And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees [known as palm fronds], 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 [or rather, tabernacles] for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths’” – Leviticus 23:40-41.

For over three generations a great many have been saying, “Well, this means ‘temporary dwellings.’” And yes, it’s true that booth means a temporary dwelling. And then they go on to say, “Well, when you go to a motel room, and you stay somewhere, that is a ‘temporary dwelling.’” And, yes, alright, the analogy does fit. But I don’t believe a motel room – where you have an indoor bathroom, a freezer, a sink, a large colored television set, and air conditioning along with a nice soft bed to sleep on – I personally don’t think that is anything like living for seven days in ‘a sacred’ booth!

Minister Michael C. Garrett – 

“I’ve heard so many people say, “Well, in order to keep the Feast of Tabernacles the way you’re supposed to, you’re supposed to build a little brush arbor in your front yard and sleep.” Is that REALLY what GOD is saying here!?

Now, I think the FIRST GENERATION after the children of Israel were rescued from Egypt. I think that generation should have done it. So, they remembered what their parents went through. And I think the children of those children should have kept the celebration in booths to remember what their parents and grandparents went through. But after a while, those events lose their meaning. Are you required to live in booths anymore!? No! But there is something to gain.”

(Garrett, M.C., Notes Concerning the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day, 2019, pg. 2). 

And what is there to gain? Living in ‘temporary dwellings’ for an entire week – away from our everyday surroundings and influences, our job and our most negative influences – the begotten children of God enjoy a tiny foretaste of the Millennial reign of our King of kings and Lord of lords, when Satan the Devil and his minions are bound for the thousand years – notice –  

“’ And it shall come to pass AFTERWARD … 32) And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion [New Jerusalem which came down from heaven] and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls’” – Joel 2:28, 32.

7) After our Lord Jesus Christ subdues all kingdoms at His glorious and powerful return, and establishes His kingdom upon this earth, will all the nation's representatives come up to New Jerusalem to be instructed into God’s Way!?

“Now it shall come to pass IN THE LATTER DAYS That the mountain of the LORD’s house [speaking of God’s government] Shall be established on the top of the mountains [speaking of this world’s governments], And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. 2) Many nations shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we will walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion [again, New Jerusalem which came down from heaven] the Law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem’” – Micah 4:1-2.

No, even then, not all nations will comply. Notice –

“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 [annually] 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 [the nations] of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them [on that nation] there will be no rain” – Zechariah 14:16-17.

Again, Minister Michael C. Garrett –

“I do not know what my Protestant and Catholic friends do with these verses! I can only imagine that they never read them, or if they do read them they take out a black magic marker and just mark them out. Because it’s the exact opposite of what their religious leaders are teaching them. And I don’t know why they just can’t look into the Word of God and say, “You know, they’ve been lying to me! My religious leaders have not told me the truth! And I’m just gonna reevaluate everything I ever thought I knew about God and the Bible, and the Plan of God.” Well, the reason they don’t do it is because at this present time, they’re not being called. But, someday they will be. And then they will finally understand. Zephaniah chapter 3, verse 14 – “Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15) The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more.” Verse 17 – “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, …” God, living on the Earth! Isaiah chapter 2 – which is almost identical to what Micah wrote in Micah 4.”  □

1) Harris L. R., Archer, L. Gleason, Jr., and Waltke K. Bruce. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1980, # 135, pg.794.

Scriptural Index:

Old Testament - Leviticus 23:33-35, 40-41; Deuteronomy 16:11, 13-15, 16, 17; 14:26; 31:10-13; Nehemiah 8:17-18; Joel 2:28, 32; Micah 4:1-2; Zephaniah 3:14-15, 17; Zechariah 14:16-17.

New Testament - Mark 13:27; John 7:10-37; 15:5; Romans 4:11-17; 12:1; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Galatians 3:29; Ephesians 2:22; Hebrews 13:14; 1 Peter 5:5b-7; Revelation 20:1-6.