Feast of Tabernacles, Christian

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The Feast of Tabernacles is a 7-day Biblical pilgrimage festival, also known as the Feast of Booths, the Festival of Tabernacles, or Tabernacles. Among followers of Armstrongism, it is one of the most important holy days as it lasts the longest and normally requires a great deal of preparation and travel to be able to attend. This festival is not observed by most mainstream Christian churches. Jews observe the same festival, but refer to it as Sukkot.

1 The Hebrew Scriptures
2 The New Testament
3 Interpretation
4 Current Observances
5 Further reading
6 External links

[edit] The Hebrew Scriptures

The Hebrew scriptures discuss this Festival in many places.

Leviticus 23:33-43 states:

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day-- besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD. 'Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 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. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God' " (NKJV).

Some Christians have interpreted the statement about dwelling in booths to include any kind of temporary dwellings, and have therefore celebrated the feast by staying in hotels, motels, or tents. The festival is observed on the same days that the Jews celebrate Sukkot (which is based on the same verses in the Hebrew Bible).

Some Christian observers have cited the following passages from Deuteronomy 14:22-26 to explain how this festival attendance should be financed:

You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 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 ( NKJV).

Some Christians who observe the Feast of Tabernacles save 10% of their income (normally referred to as second tithe or simply festival tithe) to finance this. They also point to those verses in Deuteronomy to show that they are to feast and rejoice during this time, which some feel points to the time when Jesus will reign on the Earth for a thousand years. A time they say will be filled with great prosperity--a glimpse of which they get when they spend approximately 10% of their annual income for an eight-day (plus travel time) festival.

Some Christians who observe this festival point to the following passage in Zechariah 14:16-19 to show that this festival will be observed in the future (hence, they feel this is evidence that it has not been done away with):

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. 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. 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. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

[edit] The New Testament

Christians observers point out that Jesus kept the Feast of Tabernacles. This is discussed in detail in John chapter 7:10-26:

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?" And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people." However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" 16 Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?" The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?" Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?

The issue of how non Jewish Christians related to Jewish Christians was a very serious issue in the early church. Jesus and all his first followers were Jewish. However, from the Biblical and extra-biblical evidence, only a short time elapsed before non-Jewish people became convinced that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. For Gentiles coming to a Jewish messiah, the issue of what was essential for them to adopt and what was [legitimate but] optional Jewish custom amongst the Jewish followers of Jesus Christ came to the fore. It is significant that the [Jewish] Apostle Paul himself kept the Feast of Tabernacles. As it is noted in Acts 18:21:

"I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing."

[edit] Interpretation

One group that observes the Feast of Tabernacles, the Living Church of God, states:

Old Testament meaning

A seven-day celebration of the great fall harvest, observed by living in temporary dwellings for the duration of the Feast. (Leviticus 23:33-43)

New Testament meaning

Pictures the Millennium, when the earth will be ruled by Jesus Christ and His saints. The Holy Days

The seven day Feast of Tabernacles is immediately followed by the eighth day. Christians normally call this the Last Great Day based on these statement from Jesus in John 7:37-38:

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

The Living Church of God states this about the eighth day of the feast:

Old Testament meaning

Adjacent to the Feast of Tabernacles, this eighth day is considered a separate Feast. (Leviticus 23:36, 39)

New Testament meaning

Pictures the coming "Great White Throne Judgment" at which all of humanity not previously called will have the chance to hear the True Gospel and accept salvation. The Holy Days

Most of the small groups that observe the Feast of Tabernacles and the eight day that follows it are in basic agreement with the statements quoted from the Living Church of God. Most who do not observe it (the vast majority of the Christian world) have varying opinions on the possible meanings, but do not consider that this festival is highly relevant for Christians.

[edit] Current Observances

It is estimated that only about 50,000 Christians keep the Feast of Tabernacles today (the Messianic Jews also keep a festival at that time, but normally refer to it with its Jewish name Sukkot. The United Church of God is one of the largest groups that observes this festival, as well as the other appointed times of God. Most of those that do observe it were at one time affiliated with the Worldwide Church of God, though some associated with the Church of God (Seventh Day) and even the Seventh-day Adventist Church (a very small minority) do observe it, though it is not an official practice of those latter two churches.

Those that do observe it, do not limit the observance to Jerusalem, but observe it in several hundred places around the world.

The vast majority of the Christian world does not observe the Feast of Tabernacles and does not believe that its observance is binding on Christians.

[edit] Further reading

Edward Chumney. The Seven Festivals of the Messiah. Treasure House, 1994. ISBN 1560437677
Howard, Kevin. The Feasts Of The Lord God's Prophetic Calendar From Calvary To The Kingdom. Nelson Books, 1997. ISBN 0785275185