FEAST OF TABERNACLES

The Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23: 27,34) is a seven day festival commanded in Scriptures to be celebrated for which no servile work is to be carried out. This festival is celebrated by looking forward to 'when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ' - Acts 3:19. God's plan for mankind involves restoration, and this Feast symbolises the restoration process when Jesus Christ will return to earth - represented by the Feast of Trumpets - and the banishment of Satan - represented by the Day of Atonement. Once all these have taken place, the foundation is set for the 'restitution of all things' (Acts 3:21), including the restoration of peace and harmony with God for the whole earth - with Jesus Christ reigning as the King of kings and Lord of lords!

The Feast celebrates the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God which Christ came to preach as the Gospel at His first advent. It also reflects the weekly Sabbath 'rest' (Hebrews 4: 1-11) when all of humanity will be resurrected to be given the opportunity to learn of God's truth and perfect laws and be reconciled back to God. It was meant to be so at the beginning of creation, but Satan's deception and man's disobedience led to sin and depravation of mankind.

Christ's return will begin the one-thousand year rule - the millennium reign (Rev 20:4) - with God's law as the foundation of His Messianic rule. 'For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem' - Isaiah 2:3. King David echoed this in Psalm 119:165, 'Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them'. By then, even the nature of wild animals will be changed, 'The wolf  also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them' - Isaiah 11:6.

Deserts will bloom and great physical healing will take place during the Millennial reign of Christ. 
'The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.' - Isiaah 35:1. 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.' - verses 5-6. Of even greater miracles will be spiritual healings, with six thousand years of human sufferings and injustices reversed. The Lord Christ and His saints (those resurrected from the First Resurrection) will become rulers and priests to help minister to all in need. Christ promised all true disciples 'that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations' - Rev 2:26. In the church age, they are being trained by the true church for times such as these!

The Feast of Tabernacles is also known as the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16). This Feast is a time of celebration of abundance which God has given. In type of the spiritual harvest, the former rain spring harvest is moderate (before Christ's return), while the latter rain fall harvest will be an abundant spiritual harvest during the Millennium - Joel 2:23-24. It will be the time when 'every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' - Philippians 2:11 and 'The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea' - Isaiah 11:9.

In the New Testament, Christ kept the Feast (John 7:8-14), despite threats to His life as the Jewish religious leaders sought to kill Him. It was only in the middle of the Feast that His presence became known. Similarly, the Apostle Paul kept the Feast of Tabernacles as it was celebrated in the fall (Acts 18:21). The Millennial rule of Christ will be the time of peace, happiness and prosperity that mankind has been waiting for after six thousand years of wars, conflicts and misrule that plagued mankind with no lasting solutions to all the problems of humanity. Indeed, it is the Good News of the 'world to come' - Hebrews 2:5 - that Christ came to proclaim for all mankind. Christ said to His hearers -'know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32) - free from the bondage and deception of Satan. Let all who have ears hear the Gospel truth!







 

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

The Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27) is the fifth of the seven holy days of God's Master Plan for the salvation of mankind. In the feast of trumpets, Christ will return to earth to stop total destruction of mankind by establishing rulership over the whole world. Following from that, the next step of God's Plan is to put away Satan and his demons who are the primary instigators of all the sins of this world. Although the Passover is the forgiveness of sin for mankind, only those who are called before His return have appropriated the Blood of Christ and are saved. The rest of mankind will have to wait till the time of the Millennial Age for salvation.

Satan is so powerful that he blinds the world of God's truth, for he 'deceives the whole world' - Rev 12:9. The Apostle Paul reminded us that those who are called once ' walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience' - Eph 2:2. For Satan can transform himself as an angel of light, and his ministers can be transformed as ministers of righteousness to deceive the naive and gullible - 2 Cor 11: 14-15. Christ plainly taught this to those who are antagonistic to his teaching, ' Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it - John 8:44.

True Christians are called to be in spiritual battle to resist the devil and his demons. We all have to do our part to resist the devil and temptation of the flesh to sin against the righteous laws of God. The Day of Atonement looks forward to the time when Satan and his demons will be put away and mankind will be free from their deception and influence (Rev 20:1-3). It will be the time when all of humanity will be given the chance to know the truth and be reconciled to God the Father. Babylon will become the habitation of Satan and the demons (Rev 18:2).

In Leviticus chapter 16, the Scriptures describes the Old Testament typology of Christ as the sacrificial Lamb that was slain and Satan as the 'scapegoat' that escaped into the wilderness. Although since the death of Christ, animal sacrifice was no longer necessary, nonetheless it reveals God's Plan for the salvation of mankind. Two goats were chosen and Aaron the high priest would cast lot to select 'one for the Lord' to be offered as a sacrifice (Lev 16:8-9). This goat represented Jesus Christ who would pay the penalty for the sin of all mankind. The high priest would confess all sins of the Israelites upon the head of the other goat ( the 'scapegoat' ) to be set free into the wilderness. The Hebrew word for 'scapegoat' is Azazel, which is a name for a demon - namely Satan. The term is a misnomer as the word 'scapegoat' is one who wrongly takes the blame of others and not one who was set free! The sending off of the sin-laden goat into the wilderness signifies the removal of all sin from the people and handling them over to the evil spirit where it belongs.

The term 'ye shall afflict your soul' in Lev 23:27 is to humble oneself through fasting on the Day of Atonement in a repentant state of mind. Fasting helps to remind us of our dependence upon God who alone is our source and sustainer of life. The early church kept the Day of Atonement and so did the Apostle Paul who observed this day of fast as recorded in Acts 27:9. The Day of Atonement is to be observed by all true believers as it is a prepatory step toward the Feast of Tabernacles when Christ and His saints will reign over all the earth.