This article is very
ambitious. It will debunk a major Christian myth, and reveal Satan’s plot to
obscure the plan of God. This article will also describe God’s plan and
Kingdom, and our roles in it. God’s plan is very ambitious, and has a happy
ending.
Christmas & Satan’s plot
to distort God’s plan
Satan is the “god of this
world” (II Corinthians 4:4) who has transformed himself into “an angel of light”
(II Corinthians 11:14), and his demons into “ministers of righteousness” (verse
15). In other words, Satan has deceived “the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
His lies distort God’s truth and plan. For example, Jesus was not born on
December 25th, and this lie obscures God’s plan for mankind.
Jesus was
supposedly born on December 25th; hence the Christmas celebration.
However, if you remove Christ from Christmas, you’re left with the pagan Roman
celebration of Saturnalia. “Historians are unsure exactly when Christians
first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. However, most scholars believe
that Christmas originated in the 4th century as a Christian substitute for
pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Before the introduction of
Christmas, each year beginning on December 17 Romans honored Saturn, the ancient
god of agriculture, in a festival called Saturnalia. This festival lasted for
seven days and included the winter solstice, which usually occurred around
December 25 on the ancient Julian calendar” (MSN Encarta Encyclopedia,
web edition, emphasis mine). Aside from the pagan roots of Christmas, Jesus was
not born in winter. He was born in the fall.
Mary and Joseph
were forced, by a decree from Caesar Augustus, to travel to Joseph’s hometown of
Bethlehem to register for an empire-wide census (Luke 2:1-7). It’s apparent
that God inspired this decree because it forced people to register in their
hometowns. Joseph’s hometown was Bethlehem, the prophesied birthplace of the
Messiah (Micah 5:2). And Mary was in her ninth month of pregnancy. The pieces
of this divine puzzle were beginning to fall into place.
Caesar would not
jeopardize this census by calling for arduous travel during the harsh winter
months. Even in Judea, winter travel wasn’t easy. In His Olivet prophecy,
Jesus warned, “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing
babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or
on the Sabbath” (Matthew 24:19-20). Jesus recognized that the Judean winter was
not the ideal time for travel, especially for pregnant women.
During Jesus’
birth, shepherds were tending their flocks in the field, at night (Luke 2:8).
This is an important clue because it rules out Jesus’ birth in the winter: “The
only indication of the season of our Savior’s birth is the fact that the
Shepherds were watching their flocks in the field at that time, Luke 2:8. This fact points to any other season rather than winter, and is
therefore not favorable to the traditional date, though not conclusive against
it. The time of pasturing in Palestine (which has but two seasons, the dry and
the wet, or summer and winter) begins, according to the Talmudists, in March,
and lasts till November, when the herds are brought in from the fields, and kept
under shelter till the close of February” (Phillip Schaff, History of the
Christian Church, emphasis mine). The flocks are indoors during December
because it was too cold. Therefore, Jesus could not have been born on December
25th.
Jesus was probably born on
the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, in the early fall. The
Apostle John provided a significant clue. “And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
John’s book was written in
Greek, and the Greek word for “dwelt” is tabernacle. The symbolism is
unmistakable: Jesus was born and “tabernacled” among us on the first day
of the Feast of Tabernacles, which occurs in either September or October.
Jesus was born
in the reign of Herod the Great. Herod died in 4 BC. Thus Jesus could not have
been born after 4 BC, and many scholars place His birth in that year. If so, and
if He was born during the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus’ birthday falls on
September 29th (the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles in 4 BC).
Jesus died thirty-three years and six months later, on Passover day in 31 AD.
Jesus’ birthday
in the fall can be logically deduced by subtracting seven months from the date
of His death on Passover (usually March or April) of 31 AD. His ministry lasted
three years and six months, and began around His thirtieth birthday (Luke 3:23 –
Jesus was “about” 30 years old). Jesus’ ministry therefore began not on His
birthday but shortly thereafter, probably no more than a month later.
Subtracting six months from Passover in 31 AD (April 25th of that
year), we are brought to late October. However, because His ministry began not
on His birthday but shortly thereafter, we must deduct another few weeks to a
month. This brings us to late September. As stated in the foregoing paragraph,
if Jesus was born in September of 4 BC, and realizing that the Feast of
Tabernacles began on September 29th in that year, then it’s difficult
to escape from the conclusion that Jesus was born during the Feast of
Tabernacles, in the early fall.
Considering that (i) the
shepherds did not tend their flocks by night in the cold winter; (ii) the census
probably did not occur in the winter; (iii) John’s allusion to Jesus’ birth
during the Feast of Tabernacles; and by (iv) subtracting seven months from the
expiry of Jesus’ ministry at Passover (in the early Spring) - we can only
conclude that Jesus was born not on December 25th but in the early
fall, probably in late September, during the Feast of Tabernacles. (Even if the
foregoing timetables are off by some weeks, there is anecdotal evidence – in the
first chapter of John, shepherds not tending their flocks at night in the
winter, etc. – to suggest that Jesus was born in the early fall, probably during
the Feast of Tabernacles.)
Some Christians may ask,
“So what?” Well, God’s truth is important and relevant, and we should realize
that Satan has subverted it by inspiring nominal Christians to adopt December 25th
as Jesus’ birthday. “The Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the day for
the Feast of the Nativity in order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan
rituals. For example, the Church replaced festivities honoring the birth of
Mithra, the god of light, with festivities to commemorate the birth of Jesus,
whom the Bible calls the light of the world. The Catholic Church hoped to draw
pagans into its religion by allowing them to continue their revelry while
simultaneously honoring the birthday of Jesus” (MSN Encarta Encyclopedia,
web edition). The early Roman Catholic Church might have had good intentions in
trying to convert the gentiles by Christianizing pagan rituals. But in doing
so, they undermined the truth of God.
Why is it important to
realize that Jesus was born not on December 25th but during the Feast
of Tabernacles? Because Satan does not want us to learn about the Feast
of Tabernacles! Once we realize that Jesus was born during this Feast,
our next logical question is, “What is the Feast of Tabernacles?” Before we can
answer that question, we must first recognize the Christian relevance of God’s
Holy Days and Festivals
Jesus our Passover
“Your boasting is not
good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact
unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with
the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity
and truth” (I Corinthians 5:6-8). In this amazing scripture, Paul labels Jesus
Christ as “our Passover.” He thus uses an ancient Holy Day to describe the
redeeming sacrifice of Jesus on the stake. And he urges a gentile church in
Corinth, Greece to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately
follows Passover. In other words, he’s urging gentiles to keep a so-called
Jewish or Hebraic Festival.
In urging gentiles to
observe an Hebraic Festival, Paul is thus turning on its head the modern
Christian belief that Jesus nailed the Law of God (including the Holy Days and
Festivals) to His stake. He did no such thing: “Do not think that I came to
destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or
one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men
so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches
them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-19).
Heaven and earth haven’t passed away; according to Jesus, neither have God’s
laws, Holy Days and Festivals.
By calling
Jesus “our Passover,” Paul demonstrated the Christian relevance of God’s Holy
Days and Festivals, as found throughout the Old Testament. Elsewhere, Paul
writes, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival
or a new moon or Sabbaths,which are a shadow of things to come,
but the substance is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). Here Paul described
the Festivals as “shadow(s) of things to come…” In other words, the Festivals
and Holy Days foreshadow, or predict, certain significant events. The Passover
foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus “our Passover.” What, then, do the other
Holy Days and Festivals foreshadow?
God’s Holy Days &
Festivals
Over a thousand years
before Christ, God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Afterward
God revealed His Festivals and Holy Days, which occur during the spring, summer,
and fall harvests. “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,‘Speak to
the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD,
which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts’”
(Leviticus 23:1). Notice that they’re not Jewish or Hebraic feasts; rather,
they are God’s feasts.
These Holy Days and
Festivals reminded the Israelites that God:
1rescued them
from slavery in Egypt (Passover & the Feast of Unleavened Bread);
2blessed them
(the Feast of Firstfruits, or Weeks);
3will protect
them when they’re in battle, and has provided them with special events
throughout the year, announced by the blowing of shofars or trumpets
(hence the Feast of the Memorial of the Blowing of Trumpets);
4will forgive
them when they repent of their sins (Day of Atonement); and
5provided for
them during their forty-year trek in the wilderness, and will continue to do so
(Feast of Tabernacles and the day immediately following this Feast,
hereinafter referred to as the Last Great Day).
God chose the Israelites
for three reasons. God loved them and wanted to keep His promise to Abraham
(Deuteronomy 7:6-8); the prophesied Messiah (Jesus) would come through the
Israelite tribe of Judah; and He wanted to preserve His laws among mankind:
“What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the
profit of circumcision?
Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God”
(Romans 3:1-2).
Preservation
of the Law (which includes the Holy Days and Festivals) through the Israelites
had two purposes: (i) God’s law would be kept alive among pagan mankind, and
(ii) an obedient Israel would serve as an example to neighboring nations:
“Surely I have taught you
statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should
act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful
to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of
the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation
is a wise and understanding people’” (Deuteronomy 4:5-6).
The Law of God
and the Holy Days and Festivals would shine through an obedient Israel.
(Unfortunately, rarely was Israel obedient to God.) Therefore, the significance
of God’s Holy Days and Festivals transcended boundaries. They are also
timeless: they reveal the plan of God, which has unfolded over several thousands
of years.
The ancient Feast of
Tabernacles
“Speak to the children of
Israel, saying, ‘The fifteenth of this seventh month shall be the Feast of
Tabernacles….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” (Leviticus 23:33-36, 39-43).
The ancient
Feast of Tabernacles commemorated the Israelites’ forty-year trek in the
wilderness. It also reminded them that God is caring: “For the LORD your God
has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through
this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you;
you have not lacked a thing” (Deuteronomy 2:7).
The Feast of Tabernacles,
its prophetic significance
People could not have
understood the prophetic significance of the Holy Days and Festivals before
Jesus’ sacrifice in 31 AD. Only then did the apostles realize that, for
example, the ancient Passover foreshadowed Jesus’ death: hence Paul’s
designation, “Christ our Passover.” They also realized the prophetic
significance of the other Holy Days and Festivals. In fact, they reveal God’s
sequential seven-step plan for man:
1.Passover:
Acceptance of Jesus as our atoning sacrificial Lamb that was foreshadowed by the
ancient Passover sacrifice. “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for
us” (I Corinthians 5:7);
2.Feast of
Unleavened Bread:
In accepting the sacrifice of the unleavened “bread from heaven,” that is, Jesus
(John 6:41), and understanding that, biblically, leaven represents sin (I
Corinthians 5:7), Paul thus urges us to “keep the feast (of
Unleavened Bread), not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (I Corinthians
5:7-8).
3.Pentecost,
anciently the Feast of Firstfruits: Those who have God’s Spirit are
called firstfruits (I Corinthians 15:23, James 1:18, Revelation 14:4), and Jesus
was the First of the firstfruits. Pentecost is also the birthday of
Christianity and God’s Church, which is the collection of God’s saints or
firstfruits.
4.Feast of
the Memorial of the Blowing of Trumpets:
The plan of God unfolds in these Festivals. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened
Bread point back to Christ, as does Pentecost in pointing us back to the
birthday of the Church. Sequentially, the Feast of the Memorial of Blowing of
Trumpets anticipates the return of Jesus and the first resurrection: “For the
Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will
rise first” (I Thessalonians 4:16).
5.Day of
Atonement: What
happens after Jesus returns? The banishment of Satan, itself symbolized in an
ancient Israelite ceremony conducted on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16).
The ceremony foreshadowed Jesus’ sacrifice in the first century and foretells
Satan’s banishment during the Millennium. Only at that time will man be “at
one” with God.
6.Feast of
Tabercles:
After Satan has been banished, Jesus will establish His Kingdom. We shall be
kings and priests in that Kingdom (Revelation 5:10). Since this Feast follows
the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles foreshadows the establishment of
God’s Kingdom on earth.
7.The Last
Great Day
immediately follows the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. This Day
represents the second resurrection of everyone not resurrected one thousand
years earlier, and the ensuing 100-year judgment period in which they will have
an opportunity for salvation.
The Holy Days and
Festivals reveal God’s plan for us. The Bible doesn’t provide us with a
complete description of God’s plan. His plan did not begin in the Garden of
Eden nor does it end in the twenty-second chapter of Revelation. However, the
Bible does describe a certain phase of that plan. This phase began with Jesus’
sacrifice in 31 AD and ends in the transfer of God’s throne to a transformed
earth, described in Revelation 22. This phase of God’s plan is revealed in His
Holy Days and Festivals, and it includes the establishment of God’s Kingdom on
this earth, shortly after Jesus returns. This event is foreshadowed by the
ancient Feast of Tabernacles.
Jesus in the first century
AD
Jesus’ mission was
multipurpose. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John
3:16). Jesus died so that we may “not perish.” He became our sin offering:
“God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin
offering” (Romans 8:3). Jesus’ sacrifice removed the penalty, or curse, of the
Law from us: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a
curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Because sin is defined as the transgression of
God’s Law (I John 3:4), and because everyone has sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God (Romans 3:23), and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), we’re
thus doomed without the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.
Jesus also
became the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18, Revelation 1:5), and the
firstborn into God’s family. This implies that there will be others, who are
collectively known as the Church. Jesus built His Church, and sent them (and
those who succeeded them) to “make disciples” of all the nations (Matthew
28:19-20). (For understanding on the Church, and the meaning of life, please
read our article entitled Pentecost & the Meaning of Life.)
Jesus also attempted to
reclaim Israel. “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive
Him” (John 1:11). When confronted by a Canaanite woman, Jesus responded, “I was
not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).
However, “those who were His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11).
Jesus did not
destroy God’s law by nailing it to His stake. Just the opposite: “The LORD is
well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will exalt the law and make it
honorable” (Isaiah 42:21). In fact, Jesus spiritualized the Law of God.
Keeping the letter of the Law was no longer enough; we must keep both the letter
and spirit of the Law. For example, Jesus said, “You have heard that it
was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in
danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5:21-22).
In other words, in God’s eyes, unjustifiable and extreme anger is a sin. Lust
is also a sin: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not
commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for
her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).
By overcoming
Satan’s temptations, and by achieving victory on the stake, Jesus qualified to
become our High Priest. “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize
with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet
without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). As High Priest in heaven, an empathetic Jesus acts
as our Counselor who pleads for mercy when we repent of sin. Conversely, Satan
is like the vengeful, unfair and malevolent prosecutor who “accuses” us “before
our God day and night” (Revelation 12: 10).
Despite these
manifold reasons, Jesus always returned to one dominant theme: the Kingdom of
God. “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I
was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:42-43). And, “Jesus was going
throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind
of sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23; other examples are found in Matthew
9:35, Mark 1:15, etc.). In addition to such explicit messages, Jesus delivered
several parables concerning the Kingdom of God (Mark 4:30-32, Mark 4:11,
etc.).
The Befuddled Disciples
Jesus’ disciples were
young and zealous. They believed that Jesus would overthrow Roman rule and thus
restore the Davidic kingdom of Israel. During Jesus’ last supper, they argued
about whom would be greatest in the new kingdom of Israel: “And there arose also
a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest” (Luke
22:24). Some wanted to be the equivalent of our secretaries of State, Defense,
and Treasury.
In many ways the disciples
were clueless. They did not understand that Jesus had to die: “For He was
teaching His disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into
the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will
rise three days later.’ But they did not understand this statement, and they
were afraid to ask Him” (Mark 9:31-32). Nor did they understand that Jesus
would rise three days after His crucifixion: “For as yet they did not understand
the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead’” (Mark 9:31-32).
Indeed, Jesus began to
open their eyes after His resurrection: “Now He said to them, ‘These are My
words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are
written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be
fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and
He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise
again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins
would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem’”
(Luke 24:45-47).
After His resurrection,
Jesus opened the minds of His apostles. Only then did they begin to realize that
Jesus was not sent to overthrow the Romans, or to reestablish the Davidic
Kingdom of Israel then and there. Rather, they began to understand that
Jesus will return to establish the worldwide Kingdom of God.
Jesus and His Kingdom
“And behold, you will
conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He
will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will
give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the House of
Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31-33). “For to
us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his
shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will
be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on
and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah
9:6-7).
Jesus did not establish
His kingdom in the first century. But He will do so in the near future: “And I
saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a
name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a
robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies
which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him
on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may
strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads
the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on
His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS’” (Revelation
19:11-16).
Where’s the location of
Jesus’ Kingdom? On the earth, of course: “Behold, a day is coming for the LORD
when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all
the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the
houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest
of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth
and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that
day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem
on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to
west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the
north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My
mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will
flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of
Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with
Him! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For
it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but
it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And in that day
living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea
and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in
winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day
the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one” (Zechariah 14:1-9).
Jesus returns; then what?
At the moment Jesus
returns, God will resurrect the “dead in Christ.”
Paul stated that “For
as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made
alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes,
those who belong to him” (I Corinthians 15:22-23). When Jesus returns, His dead
saints will rise, and the living saints will be changed: “For the Lord Himself
will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with
the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who
are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians
4:16-17). (For understanding on the biblical resurrections, and for a
description on the state of the dead, please read our article entitled
Destination Heaven or Destination Earth? Also, request our free audio
cassette, "The Three Resurrections.")
Jesus, His resurrected or
changed saints (including people in the Old Testament), and His angels will
fight the nations gathered at Megiddo (the famous battle at Armageddon), in
northern Israel. (For understanding on Armageddon and end-time events, please
read our article entitled Biblical Prophecy Explained.)
Jesus will then banish Satan (foretold in the Day of
Atonement; please read our article entitled The Day of Atonement & Satan’s
Fate). Afterward, Jesus will establish His Kingdom.
The Kingdom will be based
from Jerusalem, and the “law” and “word of the Lord” shall go forth from there
(Isaiah 2:2-4). The Kingdom’s extent will be worldwide (Isaiah 11:9).
What will we do in this
Kingdom?
Eye “has not seen and ear
has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has
prepared for those who love him’” (I Corinthians 2:6-9). What has God prepared
for us?
1“To him who
overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of
God” (Revelation 2:7). This implies immortality.
2“He who
overcomes will not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11). This, too,
implies immortality.
3“He who
overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give
authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as
the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received
authority from My Father” (Revelation 2:26-27).
4“And have
made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth”
(Revelation 5:10).
God has prepared a Kingdom
for His children: “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not to the flesh, to
live according to the flesh.For if you live according to the flesh
you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you
will live.For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these
are sons of God.For you did not receive the spirit of
bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry
out, ‘Abba, Father.’The Spirit Himself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God,and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that
we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:12-17).
God is creating children.
His Spirit interacts with our spirit (the “spirit in man” – Job 32:8, I
Corinthians 2:11) to create a new creature in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). We
are thus begotten, or conceived, by God. This is analogous to human creation.
When our fathers’ sperm united with our mothers’ egg, we were conceived and born
nine months later. Likewise, God’s Spirit unites with our spirit to create a
new spiritual creature in Christ. We are spiritually conceived but not yet
born. The nine months we spend in our mothers’ womb is analogous to the
lifetime we spend nurturing this new creature in Christ. We feed it through
Bible study, prayer, fasting, and obedience to God.
Although our temporal
bodies decay daily, this new creature in Christ is renewed: “Therefore we do not
lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being
renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an
eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II
Corinthians 4:16-18).
Paul contrasts our fleshy
bodies, which he calls “tabernacles” or “tents,” with the
spiritual new creature in Christ.
“For we
know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which
is from heaven; if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we
that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be
unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life” (II
Corinthians 5:1-4). We “groan” in our temporal tabernacles (bodies), forever
yearning for the day when our spiritual bodies will emerge. The difference
between our physical and spiritual bodies is almost indescribable. “There are
also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one,
and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and
another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from
star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable
body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in
glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body,
it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a
spiritual body” (I Corinthians 15:40-44).
Paul referred to
our temporal, fleshy bodies as tabernacles, as did Peter: “Yea, I think
it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by
putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this, my
tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me” (II Peter
1:13-14). (A modern rendering of this scripture: “I think it is right to
refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know
that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.”)
Paul and Peter were older
men when they wrote these words. They reflected on their own mortality.
Apparently Peter was in the last years of his life (“shortly I must put off
this, my tabernacle….”). Paul was comparing the frustrations of life (“for we
that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened…) to the glory we’ll assume
when Jesus returns. They referred to their decaying, fleshy bodies as
temporary tabernacles. Thus the Feast of Tabernacles also symbolizes our
sojourn in these temporary, fleshy bodies. But the word “temporary” implies
that something eternal is awaiting us.
We cannot
inherit the Kingdom of God in our temporal tabernacles (bodies). But the new
creature in Christ will: “I
declare to you, brothers,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable
inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep,
but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and
we will be changed” (I Corinthians 15:50-52).
At the
resurrection, this new creature in Christ is born. If we’re living when Jesus
returns, we’ll be changed. If not, God will resurrect us, or rather, the new
creature in Christ. We’ll shed our temporal tabernacles (bodies) and be clothed
with immortality. This will occur in the “twinkling of an eye.” At one moment,
we’re flesh; at another, spirit beings. Jesus described the spirit body to
Nicodemus: “You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell
where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the
Spirit” (John 3:7-8).
God created a family when
He resurrected Jesus, the “firstborn from the dead” and the firstborn into God’s
family. On the first day of Pentecost He added to His family. When someone
repents and is baptized, he or she receives the Holy Spirit, which unites with
the “spirit in man” to create a new creature in Christ. This new son or
daughter in Christ is conceived at baptism, and born when Jesus returns.
Until then, we live in fleshly tabernacles, that is, temporary bodies that decay
daily. The Feast of Tabernacles thus pictures our sojourn in our fleshy,
temporary tabernacles (bodies) until we are either resurrected or changed when
Jesus returns.
What about the rest of the
people?
“Blessed and holy are
those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power
over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him
for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6). The
first resurrection (described by Paul in I Corinthians 15) is of the just,
the dead in Christ.
If we’ve accepted Jesus and if God’s Spirit has
united with our spirit to create a new creature in Christ, then God will
resurrect or change us when Jesus returns.
The converted
Christians and saints of the Old Testament (Abraham, Moses, Ruth, etc.) will
rise first: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud
command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and
the dead in Christ will rise first” (I Thessalonians 4:16). The rest of the
dead (the majority of mankind) will rise a thousand years later, after the
millennial rule of Jesus and His saints. “I saw thrones on which were seated
those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who
had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word
of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his
mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with
Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the
thousand years were ended.” (Revelation 20:4-5).
The rest of the
dead – who are they? Obviously, they include people who weren’t resurrected one
thousand years earlier, in the first resurrection. They did not receive a
chance for salvation in their lifetimes, and died before receiving Christ.
God isn’t
calling everyone today. “And the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You
speak to them in parables?’ Jesus answered them, ‘To you it has been granted to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been
granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an
abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from
him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not
see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case
the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on
hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not
perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they
scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with
their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return,
and I would heal them’” (Matthew 13:10-15). Moreover, “No one can come to Me
unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last
day” (John 6:44).
God will
resurrect or change the converted saints upon Jesus’ return. They’ll reign with
Christ for a thousand years. Then God will resurrect people who were not part
of the first resurrection. They weren’t converted in their lifetimes. God will
offer salvation to them. They’ll learn the truth. They’ll get to know the real
Jesus. Over a 100-year period (Isaiah 65:20), they will be given the same
chance for salvation that we enjoy today.
“
For
it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins
with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of
God?” (I Peter 4:17). God is judging people who have His Spirit. He judges us
according to our works and the words written “in the books” (Revelation 20).
Which books? The Greek word for ‘books’ is biblios, from which we derive
the word “Bible.” God, then, is judging us according to the words and laws
written in the Bible. Because God is consistent and fair, He will judge people
resurrected in the second resurrection by the same measurement, that is, the
Bible. Judgment is a process, not a sentence. Over our lifetime, God judges us
according to our works and the words written in the Bible. Over a 100-year
period, people resurrected in the second resurrection will be judged
similarly. This 100-year period is known as the Great White Throne Judgment.
The Last Great Day
“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’” (Leviticus 23:33-36)
The Feast of
Tabernacles lasts “seven days.” However, the day immediately following the last
day of the Feast is considered holy by God. The “eighth day” is one of God’s
Holy Days. It was on that Day that 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’”
(John 7:37-38).
The seven-day
Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes:
1The
establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth; and
2Our sojourn
in temporary tabernacles (bodies) until we’re either resurrected or changed when
Jesus returns (I Corinthians 15, I Thessalonians 4, etc.)
The eighth day, or the day
immediately following the Feast of Tabernacles, is known as the Last Great
Day (John 7:37). This Day symbolizes the second resurrection following the
Millennium, in which everyone not resurrected one thousand years earlier will
rise and be given a chance for salvation.
God will give
them a period of time in which they’ll have the same chance for salvation that
we enjoy today. This period of time is known as the famous Great White Throne
Judgment. Judgment in this sense is not a sentence. Rather, it’s a period
of time in which they’ll be given God’s truth, and a chance for salvation. The
prophet Isaiah alluded to this period of time: “For behold, I create a new
heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to
mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold I create
Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor
the voice of crying. Nor more shall an infant from there live but a few
days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the child shall die one
hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat
their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit. They shall not plant
and another eat; for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in
vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of
the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. It shall come to pass
that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking I will
hear. The wolf and lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the
ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in
all My holy mountain, says the Lord” (Isaiah 656:17-25).
A happy ending
God’s Holy Days and
Festivals reveal a phase of His plan for mankind. The Feast of Tabernacles
represents our sojourn in temporary tabernacles (bodies) until we are either
resurrected or changed when Jesus returns. As the sixth step in this phase of
God’s Plan, the Feast of Tabernacles also symbolizes the establishment of God’s
Kingdom on Earth.
The seventh and final step
of this phase is the Last Great Day, which anticipates the second
resurrection, the ensuing 100-year Great White Throne Judgment period, and
eventually the transfer of God’s throne to a transformed earth. Thereafter, a
new phase of God’s plan will begin. And we’ll be an integral part of that
Plan. What does it involve? What will we do? No one knows. Indeed, it’s
beyond our imagination (I Corinthians 2:6-9).
At the beginning
of this article I said that God’s plan has a happy ending. Let me rephrase that:
the phase of God’s plan pictured in His Holy Days and Festivals (beginning with
Jesus’ sacrifice on Passover and ending with the transfer of God’s throne to a
transformed earth) has a happy ending. But this is only a phase of God’s Plan.
His plan has no happy ending because it never ends. God is eternal. His plan
is therefore eternal. And if we have God’s Spirit and are thus His children,
then we, too, will become immortal (in the first resurrection, when Jesus
returns; not a moment earlier). How do I know this? Simple: I know the
spiritual and prophetic significance of God’s Holy Days and Festivals. And now,
so do you!
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