Welcome to The Feast of Tabernacles 2009

Welcome to the 2009 Feast of Tabernacles observance; at the Festivals of God, web site. A warm and hearty welcome to all of our visitors and all of those who are visiting for the first time, or who are returning after a long absence.

The Festivals of God Web site is part of the shining light family of Web sites. TheShiningLight Web site at the URL ashininglight.info, features daily updates on the news as well as some 150 articles on doctrine, prophecy and the various trends in the news with analysis: that have been leading up to the present situation in the world.

Our third site The Kingdom Messenger at URL godourhope.info covers the events throughout the history of the Roman Catholic Church including the changes during the era of Constantine and the Great Falling Away that occurred at that time and the Great Falling Away that has occurred in this latter day.

This is a vital series of 12 or 15 articles which will be very important to read during the feast this year because it is entirely on point for our theme this year, which is to turn people back to God.

This year we are having a family feast. But it is not the traditional Church of God family feast. We are not going to focus on our children or our families. We are going to focus on the family of God and on our relationship with God. We are going to focus on trying to establish or re-establish a sound and proper relationship with our God. We are going to study what He expects of us and what we need to do to please Him and to enter into a proper relationship with Him.

Our focus this year is on the family of God and on the need to turn back to Him, on the need for a revival in the Church of God, on the need to turn to God and start relying on Him instead of relying on this preacher or that teacher or this other fellow. We need to test everything that everyone says against the Word of God and put God first in all things-- always, at all times.

Each day during the feast, right through the last great day, we will be having several audio messages as well there will be a number of written articles put up. We encourage everyone to come and visit every day. On each day of the feast, there will be a new page added to the site. And on each page, a new song will be played when the page is opened. Please let the song play through. Turn the volume up. Sit back, relax. Listen to the music. Then go to the audio programs or read the written material which will be put up. There will be new articles regularly put up on each day of the feast including the Great Day of the end of feast.

The Kingdom Shall Shine. We shall put an end to war and we shall learn the ways of peace forever more. Those are wonderful sentiments, beautifully sung by our featured artist this year, Sonia King. Yes the kingdom shall shine; and yes an end will be put to war. The kingdom will begin on the Feast of Pentecost. As the Theocracy of Israel began on the Feast of Pentecost at Sinai; so this new Theocracy of Jesus Christ, this new Kingdom of God; will be established on the Feast of Pentecost also.

After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He ascended to the Father to be accepted for us as the wave sheaf offering or the offering of the first fruits.

He being perfect was the first resurrected from the dead and changed to spirit, His sacrifice was accepted for us. Yet weeks and weeks had to be awaited until the Feast of Pentecost so that a public display of the giving of the Holy Spirit could be made.
This was because that giving of a small amount, a small first fruit of the spirit to God's called-out first fruits was a demonstration and a prophetic statement that the Holy Spirit will be poured out on all flesh on the Day of Pentecost, as it is written in Joel 2:28.

On the same Feast of Pentecost; that the Theocracy of Israel was established,  the Kingdom of God, the Theocracy of Jesus Christ will be established. And as a bit of the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, even so the Holy Spirit will be poured out in full measure on all flesh at the Feast of Pentecost (after the Day of the Lord) to establish the Kingdom of God. 

It will be necessary to pour out God’s Spirit on all flesh to begin the Kingdom of God because God is ruling. It is God's kingdom and things are going to be done God's way. And in order to understand the things of God, the people will have to have God's Spirit. That spirit leads them into the truth and empowers them to keep God's commandments. If that spirit were not poured down on all flesh, even though God was ruling; the people would still be rebelling and would not be keeping His commandment.

Therefore it would be a very divided kingdom and there would be a lot of bloodshed because God would have to go around; or Christ and his saints go around executing judgments on all of these rebels.

No, they are going to be humbled by the Great Tribulation to the point where they are willing to accept God's rule and then on the Feast of Pentecost His spirit maybe poured out on all flesh and there will be coming a Kingdom of God, a united Kingdom of God with all people flowing to the mountain year by year and understanding the things of God.

Does that mean everyone on earth will go to Jerusalem every year? Probably not. I can't imagine three or four, or six billion people in that one city. But certainly every nation and maybe every major city will be sending representatives. And that maybe everyone will be expected to go there at least once, during a certain period of time or during their lifetime. And all peoples shall flow to the mountain of the Kingdom of God to worship the Eternal in His capital of Jerusalem.

Yes this is going to happen on the Feast of Pentecost but this is only the beginning. Satan will be bound for a thousand years and will not be allowed to influence anyone or anything in the Kingdom of God. After that time, he will be released. He will deceive certain nations and some fighting will take place. And after that, he will be put away; this time for good. When that happens, all the rest of mankind will be resurrected, which is what the Feast of Trumpets pictures.

They will repent before God, which is what the Day of Atonement pictures and being repentant, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will be applied to them and their sins will be paid for and atonement for and reconciliation will be made between this people and God, perhaps not reconciliation because they were never close to God in the first place.

These were people who never knew God. Therefore, they will be coming into a relationship with God, the Father for the very first time. This is what the Day of Atonement is all about. Repentance and atonement for sin and then entering into a proper relationship with the Father, with God.

This is for all humanity. All of those who lived and died, never having known anything about God or His ways will be resurrected on the Feast of Trumpets. Perhaps in their courses, year by year in relationship to the years that they were born so that there are  not 30 billion people all at once. But in their courses, resurrected over a period of time.

Fasting and repenting on the Day of Atonement, we then come to the Feast of Tabernacles. And the Feast of Tabernacles is a harvest festival, when the harvest is brought in. The Feast of Tabernacles is in the autumn or the fall and it is part of the celebration of the main harvest, the bringing in of the main, the largest, the primary harvest in Palestine.

The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the bringing in of a harvest of humanity, bringing all human beings into the family of God. It pictures bringing them into the Temple of God to worship God. Bringing them into the family of God, grafting them into spiritual Israel. It pictures the harvest, the reaping of the fall harvest. And the spring harvest and the resurrection of the spring harvest (the first fruits) is to provide laborers to help bring in the fall or the main harvest.

Jesus Christ illustrated this point and we can quote him here in John 15:1. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that bears not fruit He takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, He purges it, He prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now, you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abides in the tree, in the vine, in the trunk of the tree; no more can you bear fruit except you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth like a branch, and becomes withered and dried up; and men gather them up, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. But if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples.

The branches picture the people and the vine or the tree is Jesus Christ. This lesson is clear. The branches represent people and the vine or tree represents Jesus Christ.

Now, turn to Leviticus 23:39. “Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, which is the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you brought in your harvest, the main, primary harvest in the autumn, you shall keep a feast unto the Eternal seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath.” So, there is an eight day added here.

Verse 40, “And you shall take on the first day the boughs of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. You shall keep the feast seven days and you shall take branches of fruitful (beautiful) trees and you shall rejoice before God with them.”

And in the days of Jesus Christ, in the days of the temple, people brought branches into the temple with them and they shook them at various times during the service and they rejoiced with these branches. Perhaps they didn't know it at that time what the branches represented, It was revealed by Jesus Christ that they represent people and bringing them into the temple at the festival represented bringing the people, the nations into the family of God, the temple of God, the household of God.

Bringing these branches into the temple pictured bringing the nations and the peoples of this world, now resurrected and given a chance, it pictures bringing them into the family of God. That's what these branches are all about. And it doesn't necessarily mean cutting down half a tree. What the people did in those days was to take a small piece of what they called a citron, which is a citrus fruit. Just a small sprig of that and a bit of willow and perhaps a bit of an olive tree with a palm branch; and bind this together for a kind of small little bouquet and they brought them into the Temple. You don't have to cut down the whole tree, just trim a little bit off the branch.

And verse 41, “You shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations: you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.” Why have people in the Church of God not understood what the Feast of Tabernacles was all about? Because they did not keep the commandment. They didn't do what God said.

Today after this message, we shall be going out and cutting a few sprigs of some beautiful trees and rejoicing with them as God commanded us to do. Now, notice in verse 42, a totally different thought here. “You shall dwell in booths, that is temporary structures, tents, shacks, sheds, anything built on a temporary basis. You shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born (BOTH physical AND spiritual Israel) shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths or temporary shelters, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

Israel when they were in Egypt had their houses, they were residents there and their houses spoke of the permanency of their residence there. When they come out of Egypt, they were demonstrating that their residence was no longer in Egypt. And dwelling in temporary structures or tents, they were demonstrating that their journey in the wilderness was not a permanent condition that they were temporarily strangers in a strange land seeking a new home. And so, we are to dwell in temporary structures to demonstrate that we are strangers in this world, looking forward to a new home in the Kingdom of God.

We are not residents of this world. We are not a part of this world. We are travelers, traveling through this world on a journey to the Kingdom of God, to a promised land. And that Promised Land is where our permanent dwelling shall be, our permanent future shall be.

So, after the resurrection of the first fruits, they will dwell permanently in the Kingdom of God, in the Promised Land. And after the resurrection of the main harvest, and their repentance and their being brought into a proper relationship with God, they also will be brought into the promised land of the Kingdom of God, establishing a permanent residency there.

Some people have thought you build the booths out of the branches and that is because of what Ezra and Nehemiah did. They encouraged the people to do that. But that is not specifically what the command says. It says you are to come and rejoice before the Lord ;which means in the temple, or at the tabernacle: with the branches. And you are to dwell in temporary structures.

It is not wrong and it is not a sin, or anything wrong, or negative to build your temporary structure, out of  branches if you want to do that. However, you should not do that; and then forget about taking a few branches and rejoicing before the Lord with those branches. Rejoicing before God with the branches, which represent the people; is a totally different thing from dwelling in the booths. And by the way, the term dwelling means your everyday living. You don't just go to a booth to have a meeting and then go home and sleep and live in your home. No, you sleep in your temporary dwelling. You sleep in your booth and you do most of your living there.

Now, some people who can't afford to go off for an expensive motel or something can easily pitch a tent in their backyard and on their farm. And others can perhaps trade homes with each other for the feast. And others who are maybe alone or in apartments, could maybe set up a tent in their own living room. Anything to give the lesson and to make the lesson clear that we are temporary travelers and strangers in this world.

That is what it is all about. And that all humanity is in a certain sense temporary travelers in this world because this human life is temporary. And we must achieve a relationship with God in order to enter into a permanent existence and our bodies right now are temporary. And we are looking for permanent bodies made of spirit which is the hope of all mankind.

Now, Moses relays further instructions from God in Numbers 29, beginning in verse 12. And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no servile work, and you shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days. A holy convocation means that you are to meet together with like-minded believers whenever possible.

I had desired with an intense desire to set up these sites this year and it was not to be because most of our visitors are either standing independently or a part of larger groups and are widely scattered around the world and they are intent on spending the feast with their own particular group. That's fine for them but it doesn't help what I had planned. And so, it was not to be, which is why this Internet festival[s] has been set up to minister to those who are independent, those who are scattered. To minister to the scattered sheep and also to those who are part of these many organizations that they may come and visit if they so choose. And they may learn something a little different, something new.

Now, in verse 13. “You shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year, without blemish.”

Now, a burnt offering is consumed wholly, completely on the altar by fire. This pictures Jesus Christ wholeheartedly giving Himself to God and it pictures us following that example. The offering itself pictures Christ giving Himself wholeheartedly to God in service and we are to follow His example and give ourselves wholeheartedly to God in service to our Father.

Now, notice here, thirteen young bullocks. Now, we go down to verse 17. And on the second day you shall offer twelve young bullocks. And on the 20th verse, the third day, you shall offer eleven bullocks. Verse 23, on the fourth day ten bullocks. Verse 26, on the fifth day nine bulls. Verse 29, on the sixth day eight bulls. Verse 32, on the seventh day seven bullocks.

And if you count up these bullocks or bulls, you'll get a total of 70. And if you go to the table of nations in Genesis, you will see that at Babel, God divided the families of mankind into 70 nations. So, one bullock here is to be scarified for each of the families or nations of humanity. Now, we can look around today and see there's more than 70 nations and that's true. But there are 70 basic families of mankind. And some of them are divided into more than one nation today. But one bullock was sacrificed, representing Jesus Christ wholeheartedly serving God, which as part of that service is to serve humanity and bring humanity into the family of God.

And 70 bullocks were offered as a burnt offering and there are 70 families of man. And this pictures throughout the feast, the bringing in of all the families of man into the family of God. It pictures the harvest of humanity, the main harvest of souls for God.

Now, going back on to verse 12 of Numbers 29. “And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no servile work, and you shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days.”

The term “servile” means work of any kind. You are not to do any work whatsoever. That means your regular job. That means going out and mowing the lawn. That means cooking a big dinner. You shall do your cooking on the preparation day, which is the day before the first day of Feast of Tabernacles.

Now: What if there is a Sabbath and then the first day of the Feast? So that there are back to back Holy Days. Then you do extra on the preparation day and you make enough to last for two days. That is not nearly as difficult as it seems. There are plenty of things from fruit and salads to refrigerated soups, bread, meat, leftovers. There are all kinds of things that can be prepared that will last easily two days with modern conveniences like refrigeration. That is not as hard as it seems and in most years, that very event does not take place anyway. There is usually, a period or a few days between the Holy Day and the Sabbath. So, it's an unusual occurrence and when it does occur, it is not that difficult.

It falls in the line with the commandment regarding the Jubilee. That you are not to do any work in your fields or harvest any crops on each seventh year, or the year after the forty-ninth year, which will be the fiftieth year, your Sabbath of two years, where nothing is to be harvested. That is the principle and there is nothing wrong there and no problem that God cannot help you to overcome.

Servile work means work of any kind. The only work allowed on any Holy Day is the keeping of the commandments of God. By offering the specific offerings that He requires and doing whatever He wants done, such as assembling together. No other work may be done. Now, this is for the Holy Day only. It's not for the whole week. On the Holy Day, which is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles and also the Great Day or the Eight Day, which is also Holy Day. And on those two days and of course on the regular Sabbath, no work of any kind may be done.

Now, the Feast of Tabernacles lasts seven days. And according to Peter, one day is with God as a thousand years. And a thousand years is as a day. And yet it has been taught for a very long period of time that the 7-day Feast of Tabernacles represents a millennium or thousand years of ruling with Christ on the earth. Why? This is a direct contradiction of the Holy Scripture. Seven days must represent 7,000 years or only seven years, or it must not represent any period of time at all. One thousand years cannot be represented by seven days in the Scripture because it contradicts Scripture. It is contrary to the Scripture. The Scripture says, one day is as a thousand years.

Where do they get this from? They get it from commentaries written by unconverted men, men who do not keep God's commandments. Men who do not keep his festival. Men who tried their very best to convince you that you do not have to keep these festivals and that you shouldn't keep the commandments of God. These are commandment-breaking men who know nothing about the things of God and yet for some reason, people in the Church of God trust these heathens to tell them their religion.

It is time to turn away from such nonsense and turn back to the Holy Scripture. Turn to the Word of God and begin to put God first and to establish and enter into a proper relationship with God. Depending upon unconverted heathen to explain to us the things of our God is foolishness. We will be following blind men and we will end up in the ditch together with them.

It is time for a revival in the Church of God. It is time to start putting God first. It is time to start standing on God's Word and it is time to reject all of these nonsense and gibberish falling from the pens of this ignorant men.

Why are our prayers not being answered? Why are our sick not being healed? Why are we not being blessed? Why is our faith, our church full of division and [schisms] and splinters as people call it? Why? Because we are not putting God first and everyone is leaning to his own understanding; instead on standing on the Word of God.

And people go around saying, “I've got a degree from this school and a degree from that school.” And what they're really saying is, listen brethren I am ignorant because I studied with all these ignorant blind people! Studying what they have said and I am an expert in their ignorance and meanwhile I haven't really studied the Word of God, as God's Spirit leads and with an open mind. And I haven't proved all things by God's Word. So, really I'm ignorant of God's Word and ignorant of what God wants and expects and what God says.

Brethren, you don't learn about the Bible by going to Bible College. You learn about the Bible by going to the Bible and by going to God and praying and asking for understanding and then listening to men. And then checking up on everything they say and checking up on them by using the standard of the Word of God.

How many people say, "Well, I'm more loyal to Herbert Armstrong than you are. You are not loyal and I am more loyal to Herbert Armstrong." What a load of garbage. Who is going to save you? Who is going to resurrect you from the dead? Who should you be looking at? Who should you be embracing? Who should you be following and obeying; Almighty God and Jesus Christ or Herbert Armstrong?

We have  got to stop saying we're loyal to men and start being loyal to God. That's the bottom line. That's where we have to turn away from our idolatry, spiritually speaking and we have to turn back to our God. And that means, me also. You check up on my words by the Holy Scriptures. And if you cannot prove it to your own satisfaction then don't believe it. Set it up on a shelf somewhere, say well, maybe yes, maybe no, whatever. We'll see as time goes by. And keep checking the Scriptures to prove the matter.

Prove things from the Holy Scripture no matter who is speaking. No matter who is writing. No matter who is communicating with you. Put them against the standard of God's Word. Judge them, test them by the standard of God's word, no matter who they are. As Herbert used to say, “Blow the dust off your Bible, open it up and start checking up on me. I agree with that sentiment absolutely.”

Brethren, one day is as one thousand years with God. Not seven days is one thousand years. That's wrong. That contradicts Holy Scripture. And for those who go to Ezekiel and say, one day is as a year, well then seven days must be seven years and it can't possibly mean one year and it certainly can't mean a thousand years. There is nowhere in all of the Bible, from cover to cover, beginning to end, anywhere where seven days represents one year or seven years represent 1,000 years. It's just not there. That is a direct contradiction of the Word of God. It absolutely is. What you have been taught is error and it's time to turn away from error and embrace the Word of God.

Throughout The Festivals of God, web site, there is a listing of all the Holy Days plus the special times of Passover and the Wave Offering and an explanation of each one; and also an explanation of such things as, will man ever go to heaven and no man can know the day or the hour.

I suggest a thorough study through the site and then you check up on God's Word and you accept it or you reject it based on God's Word and your own relationship with God.

Please look at it with an open mind. Seek understanding from God, search the scriptures and if you reject it, well at least you've done it in good conscience knowing that you've taken a good hard solid look. And if you accept it, then you'll know that you've done it in good conscience having proven it to yourself through the Holy Scriptures to your satisfaction.

By all means, check everything out. Prove everything. Go through one by one, beginning at Passover, the various articles on the festivals because the spring harvest, the spring Holy Days, the spring Festivals are step one in the plan of God for the first fruits. And the fall Holy Days, the fall Festivals are step two, the harvest of the main harvest.

And it's much easier to understand the fall harvest if you understand the spring harvest. So, please study through all these things very carefully and then go to the Kingdom Messenger site and study through all the information there which is about the methods used to deceive people and lead them away from God and the methods used during the days of Constantine, including the Primacy of Peter teaching.

These things are all thoroughly explained on that site. Much of this will be new to most of you and it will be a very profound, eye-opening experience. My purpose is to turn people toward God, to turn our hearts toward our Father so that our Father's heart may be melted and softened toward us. Right now, God is angry with us because we have been wicked. We have gone astray. We have engaged in idolatry and spiritual adultery. We have accepted the doctrines of Jezebel (Catholic Primacy of Peter and Church Government heresies). And it's time to take a look at what those doctrines are and to see where we have gone astray and to repent of that. That is what this festival is all about this year. To turn people back to God. To root out some of these basic evils which have taken root within us, as an organization and as organizations. We need to root these things out. We need to start putting God first. We need to humble ourselves before our Father because the time is urgent.

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh. He is at the door. He is knocking on the door. It is time to wake up. It really is. It is long past time to wake up and to embrace our Father and His Christ.

Copyright 2009

The Millennium and The Feast of Tabernacles

Our visitors who are familiar with the teachings of the old Radio Church of God or the Armstrong Worldwide Church of God or the various groups tracing their beginnings from those two organizations will be aware that they have taught that the Feast of Tabernacles represents a millennium of peace, a millennium or a thousand year Kingdom of God on the earth, a period of peace. They got this from various bible helps including bible dictionaries and various commentaries which were written years before Herbert Armstrong began his ministry, in some cases, years before he was even born.

Now, we know that the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles cannot represent a one thousand-year millennium on the earth. We know this because God tells us so in 2 Peter 3:8, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Therefore the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles could not possibly  represent one thousand years. One thousand years is as one day. One day is as a thousand years so says the Word of God. Seven days cannot represent one thousand years. It is not in God's plan. God does not do things that way.

A day represents a thousand years. Seven days must then either represent seven thousand years or the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles represent nothing at all in the grand scheme and timeframe of world events. There is a second reason why we know that the Feast of Tabernacles cannot possibly represent a one thousand-year millennium on the earth. And that is because the carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God. It cannot be.

Further, spiritual things are spiritually discerned. And the Holy Spirit is given only to those who keep God's commandments. You know the Scriptures. If you don't get a good concordance and blow the dust off your Bible and look them up. Do some independent study and research. God's spirit is given to those who keep His commandments. And these things, these commentaries and these statements were written decades ago. In some cases, a hundred and fifty years ago by people who did not keep the commandments of God, who did not observe God's Sabbath, who rejected God's law on a variety of levels and who did not observe the very festivals they are trying to explain. Because of that, because they were not subject to God, they did not have God's spirit; they could not discern spiritual things.

Therefore what they explained was not accurate. Their explanations were not true or correct. They were wrong. And there is even a third reason why the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles cannot possibly represent a one thousand-year period or millennium on the earth. We find this in Daniel 12 where Daniel is told that the words he is writing are sealed until the end. And the words given to Daniel, the prophecies given to Daniel and those things written in Revelation are keys to the understanding of all else.

Later on in the chapter 12 of Daniel, this statement is repeated. These words are sealed until the end. Therefore an explanation written hundred and fifty years ago, a hundred years ago, even fifty years ago cannot possibly be accurate or correct. It is the mere speculation of human beings.

Herbert Armstrong wrote these things in the ‘30s and ‘40s, the 1930s and 1940s. That was a long time ago. That was not the very end. Therefore, as well intentioned as he might have been, he was mistaken. And he took these things directly; in many, many cases from these commentaries and bible dictionaries and bible helps written by unconverted people because that was the best information he had and because he was not studying the Bible and he couldn't get his information from the Bible because these things were concealed by Almighty God at that time.

He could not possibly have understood what God had concealed. That is a fact. So, there are three reasons why the Feast of Tabernacles, the seven-day festival cannot represent a one thousand-year millennium. First, because God says through Peter that one day represents a thousand years, not seven days. Second, because these things were written by carnal, God commandments-defying men, men who did not keep God's commandments and therefore did not have God's spirit; and third, because these things were sealed until the very end.

So, before we go any further into the Feast of Tabernacles, let's look at this subject of the millennium. The word millennium is not found in the Bible. It is a modern word or fairly modern word which refers to a period of one thousand years, the word mill, meaning a thousand. One thousand years; a millennium. And we find a basis for this in Revelation 20, beginning in verse 4, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads,” which is in their minds, or the mark in their hands, which is about their physical activity.  This has to do with what you think and how you act, what your activities are. And the last sentence, “And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

This is talking about a thousand-year reign of the saints who are resurrected in the resurrection of first fruits. And after the resurrection of first fruits, they will return to the earth with Christ to reign for a thousand years as it says here in Revelation 20:4.

And for more on the resurrection of the first fruits and the Marriage of the Lamb, please study our paper on that subject of the Marriage of the Lamb or The Wedding Feast.

Verse 5, “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath a part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

So, when Jesus Christ comes to gather up His saints in the resurrection, His first fruits, He will then return with them to rule over humanity for a thousand years.

Now, going up to verse 2, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.”

So, we see that the Kingdom of God is a period of one thousand years during which Satan is bound and detained so that he is no longer able to influence humanity. And during this time, Christ will rule with His saints in an age of peace, prosperity, and harmony. As Isaiah writes, “The lamb shall lie with the lion or the lion shall lie down with the lamb. The child shall play on the hole of the serpent or the asp.”

This will be a period of peace in which the spirit of peace will be poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28). God's spirit will be poured out on all flesh. There will be a period, a thousand years of peace, prosperity in which all men will learn the ways of God.

The Scripture are full of these things and that is one of the things that we look forward to. But these thousand years of joy and rest for humanity and peace has nothing to do with the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles. There is a Holy Day. Actually there are two Holy Days which picture the millennium or the thousand years. Remember now that a thousand years is as one day, and one day is as a thousand years with God.

So, we go to the beginning, to Genesis and we find that in six days, God made all physical things. In the seventh day, He rested. And this pictures six days or six thousand years of creative activity. And the seventh day or seventh one thousand years is a period of rest. That seventh day, the weekly seventh day Sabbath, pictures a thousand years or a millennium of rest for humanity.

And we find the apostle Paul picking up on this in Hebrews 4:4, “For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remains that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached,” that is Israel. Israel, the theocratic nation of Israel unto whom these things were “first preached entered not in.” They didn't enter into the land because of unbelief until later the next generation came up and believed.

“Again, he limited a certain day, saying in David, today after so long a time, as it is said, today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would He not afterward, have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, his labors as God cease from his labor. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Paul is talking here about the resurrection and a millennium of rest from Satan, from the labors and cares of this world, of Satan's world. The seven-day Sabbath is a picture of a millennium or a thousand-year period of rest from the labors and cares of this world, this Satanic world. It is a day of rest, a day of deliverance, a day of peace and joy, and a day or a thousand years of man together with his Creator in a relationship with his Creator, even as Adam spent the day, the seventh day after the six days of creation with this Creator. So, mankind will have a thousand years as represented by that day; with their Creator in peace and in harmony with their Creator, learning directly from Him and from the first fruits who were brought up in the first resurrection to help serve them, to help Christ in bringing all of this mass of people into the Kingdom of God.

And there is a second picture or type of the millennium or of a thousand-year rest and this has to do with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Israel came out of Egypt on the beginning of the first day of Unleavened Bread and they travel through the wilderness for six days; and on the sixth day, they went through a type of baptism, a type of death and resurrection, crossing dry shod through the Red Sea. And on the seventh day; that is the day after they had crossed through the sea, there was a day of rest and great rejoicing over their victory, a victory that was given by God.

And so, we see that for six thousand years God has been calling some to be His first fruits out of the spiritual Egypt of this world and at the end of six thousand years, the sixth day of Unleavened Bread, there will be a resurrection out of the sea of humanity, out of this world. And this first fruits will be changed into spirit and raised up to meet their Creator in the air and to be with Him and they will later come down to the earth for the seventh day, that thousand-year period that the seventh-day represents.

It will be a period of rejoicing over the victory over Satan given to them by God and a period of rejoicing in which they will have a close personal relationship, directly face to face with their Creator. And it will be a thousand years of peace and harmony during which Satan will be removed from this world and there will be a millennium or thousand years of peace.

Now, we go back to Revelation and it says, “After the thousand years are over, Satan shall be released. And he shall go forth to deceive the nations.” This is not the end of the Kingdom of God. Therefore the millennium or thousand years does not picture the Kingdom of God specifically. What it pictures is that binding of Satan for a thousand years and a thousand years or a Sabbath of rest and peace for humanity. When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released. There will be some deception going on. There will be another battle and then will come the fall or the main harvest. That is when, after this battle, Satan will be removed forever and atonement will be made for the main body of humanity; as the Day of Atonement pictures.

Atonement will be made for the rest of humanity, the main harvest of humanity, the main harvest, the fall harvest which will be brought up as the Feast of Trumpets pictures and will be reconciled or brought into a relationship with God as the Day of Atonement pictures. And then they can be brought into the Kingdom of God, brought into the family of God, brought into the temple of God, which is God’s family and His kingdom.

Now, we go back to Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were cast, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened, which is the books of the Bible, the Holy Scripture; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books.”

You shall be judged by what is written in the Word of God, not by what is spoken about the Word of God by Herbert Armstrong or the pope or myself or for any other man. You shall be judged by what is written in the Word of God, not by all those billions of words which are written about the Bible. Do not believe the Bible as interpreted or explained by any man. Go to it. Study it. Look at it with an open mind and clear vision, asking God to lead you by His spirit and study His Word. Get your religion out of His Word because He wrote it and it is this Word, the books by which you shall be judged. And they were judged according to their works, their deeds, their behavior.

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell were delivered up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works, according to their deeds or behavior.” Was your behavior consistent with the God's Word? Did you keep his commandments or not?

“And death and hell were then cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

And who shall be thrown in the lake of fire? Let's see chapter 21, verse 7, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, the unbeliever, the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

This will be a time when all humanity, every person who has ever lived who is not already resurrected as part of the first fruits will be raised up. Those who are in the sea, those who are in the earth, even those who are burned in fire or destroyed or eaten by beast, their spirit still survives and it will be given a new body of flesh and they will be given the opportunity to be judged by God, and  to turn toward God. And if they choose to do so, if they start keeping His commandments, if they obey Him and put Him first during a period of testing, then they will be brought into God's kingdom and if during a period of physical life, of testing, they rebel continually and will not repent, they shall end up in the lake of fire.

For we find in Isaiah 65:20, “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled out his days: for the child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.”

It appears from this scripture, that those who are brought up in this final judgment will have one hundred years in order to learn to observe God's commandments or to be judged by God as being incorrigibly wicked, unrepentant and unsaveable and thrown into the fire.

So, let us give an overview here. The plan of God starts with creation. And for six thousand years, God is calling out certain individuals to be a part of His first fruits. And those who have been called out of this world, who actually overcome and endure to the very end of their lives and are faithful and loyal to God and keep His commandments and put Him first, they shall be brought up in a resurrection of the first fruits. This is pictured by the sixth day of Unleavened Bread and Israel going through a typical, symbolic death in the Red Sea and a symbolic resurrection coming up out of that sea. And on the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a Sabbath of rest and a period of rejoicing over victory; as well as the seventh day Sabbath itself picturing the same thing.

So, this resurrection of the first fruits will take place and then a millennium, a Sabbath of rest, a thousand-year period of peace with Satan removed and Christ directly ruling and pouring out His spirit on all flesh and ruling with the help of His resurrected saints, His first fruits shall rule for a thousand years and all those who are living through into that age physically will be brought into His family, into His kingdom because God's spirit will be poured out on them and they will be repentant and embracing God. After that Satan will be released for a short time during which there will be some deceiving and some fighting going on and immediately after that, Satan will be removed forever.

The rest of the dead, all those who have ever lived, not knowing anything of God, not caring about God perhaps; will be brought up then at that time in the resurrection to judgment. All of these masses of humanity, this great fall harvest, the main harvest of lives will be brought up and be given a period of time in which to learn to keep God's commandments and to be tested and judged as to whether they will do so or not and then they will be judged; either being brought into God's family or being thrown into the lake of fire.

They will have their opportunity, probably for one hundred years of their lives.

This period of time is the period of time is called the Feast of the Ingathering of Nations, the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Great White Throne Judgment. It is seven days long, the Feast of Tabernacles because it pictures a seven thousand-year period, seven days, seven one thousand-year periods. A total of seven thousand years during which all humanity who have ever lived will be brought up to life and given an opportunity to enter the Kingdom of God. That is why it is called the Feast of the Ingathering of Nations.

And if you listen to this morning's program, you will understand about the branches and about the bullocks and about the various symbols involving bringing in the nations into the family of God. So, we have the fall festivals which are a mirror image of the spring festivals. As Passover is on the fourteenth day of the first month, and Unleavened Bread begins on the fifteen day of the first month, even so the Feast of Tabernacles begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, exactly six months apart.

One is a mirror image of the other. The spring holy days pictures the spring harvest. The fall holy days picture the main harvest of humanity, the harvest of all living human beings and the dead, who will be raised up and given their opportunity to enter the Kingdom of God and when the Feast of Tabernacles is over and the end of this period of judging is over, then the earth will be destroyed and the last great day symbolizes eternity, going forward forever in peace and joy and harmony with God and with our fellowmen, without the evils brought upon us by Satan.

There are many articles on all the various Holy Days and special occasions commanded by God at this particular Festivals of God site. And going through all of them step by step in their proper order, that is, first Passover and then Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Wave Sheaf, and so on, one can get a thorough step by step perspective and overview of all of these festivals and what they all mean.

To understand the fall festivals, it is much easier if one understands the spring festivals. So, be a good idea if you're new to this site to study through the spring festivals, get some background, and then you'll have a foundation upon which to consider the fall festivals.

The Feast of Tabernacles is the so-called Great White Throne Judgment during which human beings will be resurrected; probably in their courses. That is; in the order in which they were born, so that you don't get 20 or 30 billion people all at once on the planet. And they'll be brought up in the order in which they were born over a period of seven thousand years and they will be tested and judged by God as to whether they are willing to learn to keep His commandments and to repent of their wickedness and to turn to Him.

These seven thousand years is a direct mirror image of the spring harvest, the seven days of Unleavened Bread. So, we see that the Feast of Tabernacles pictures all those who have ever lived being brought into the temple of God, brought into the family of God. And the first fruits are being taught now so that they can be readied as laborers to bring in the harvest.

And they shall get some practice with that during the millennium, bringing in those humans who live at that time and then during the Feast of Tabernacles, the main harvest, they will be in a situation and have the knowledge and experience to help bring in the main harvest of humanity for God.

Everyone will have his chance. Everyone will have his or her opportunity. Everyone will be able to say, “I was shown the way.” And whether the person accepted it or rejected it, that's going to be up to them but they will all have their opportunity. And this Feast of Tabernacles is about turning all mankind toward God.

And we can start doing that right now in a certain sense by turning our own selves toward God, by turning our hearts toward God, by repenting of allowing men to come between us and God, and by understanding that there is only one intermediary, only one intercessor between us and God and that is our High Priest, Jesus Christ, who intercedes between us and God daily, atoning for our sins as we repent of them.

Let us therefore turn to God with a whole heart now so that we can have a part as His first fruits and therefore have a part in helping to bring in this main harvest of humanity.

The millennium or the thousand years represents a one thousand year  Kingdom of God. It is representing a thousand years of peace, a Sabbath of rest and a thousand years of Satan being bound and unable to influence humanity. The Kingdom of God, the theocracy of God the Father in Jesus Christ will begin the millennium. But it will not end when the thousand years are over. The Kingdom of God will begin and when it does it will last forever. Forever and ever and ever and of the increase of that kingdom, there will be no end, and if the increase in peace and harmony and love and happiness, there will be no end.

The Feast of Tabernacles does NOT represent a millennium, or a one thousand year period.  The Feast of Tabernacles is SEVEN DAYS: NOT ONE DAY!!!

The Feast of Tabernacles represents the SEVEN THOUSAND YEARS of the Great White Throne Judgment.  The Feast of tabernacles is about BRINGING THE SHEAVES OF HUMANITY INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD!!!

Copyright 2009