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Unit 18 - THE
FAST OF ATONEMENT
Copyright July 2000 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Also on the tenth day of
this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement. It shall be a holy
convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls, and offer an
offering made by fire unto the Lord. And you shall do no work in that same
day, for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the
Lord your God. For whatever soul [person] it be that shall not be
afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And
whatever soul it be that does any work in that same day, the same soul
will I destroy from among his people. You shall do no manner of work. It
shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your
dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict
your souls. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening unto
evening, shall you celebrate your sabbath (Leviticus
23:26-32)." You have likely recognized through these studies, each feast is
accompanied by a day, or days of rest. These annual sabbath days (as the
word sabbath connotes a rest) are doubly important. Resting from your daily labour, the sabbaths -- both annual and
weekly -- allow you to put quality time toward family, friends, and God,
something that generally is not available during the week. But God's
sabbaths are important another way, and it gives lie to the idea that
God's laws and holy days are a burden. The Israelites had been in slavery for four hundred years. They worked
from sunrise to sunset seven days a week. They had no rest. Once they were gone from Egypt God had to teach them to stop
working. Once a week they were freed from having to work, else they would
have kept right on doing what they were forced to do under their
taskmasters. The idea of a day of rest was foreign to them. The Israelites, during their journey, complained to Moses about
many things, but nowhere are we told they complained that having a day off
was a burden. God's sabbaths, whether weekly or annual, are days of
freedom. AN UNUSUAL CEREMONY Unless you've read through the bible, you're likely not familiar with
the atonement ceremony of Leviticus 16. Even if you have heard it you've
likely dismissed it as one of those old testament things that has no
relevance today. Leviticus
16:2 tells us the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to Aaron your
brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil
before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark (Exodus
25:10); that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy
seat (Exodus
25:17)." God had commanded Israel to construct a portable tabernacle, a
sanctuary (Exodus
25:8-9), where certain rites were performed, generally daily. However,
the holy place, or the holy of holies, was behind a heavy veil. Only the
high priest could enter the holy place, and only once a year. To enter the
holy place any other time would have resulted in immediate death. On that particular day the high priest would bathe, dress in
special clothing, and offer a sin offering and a burnt offering. "And
Aaron [the high priest] shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which
is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house (Leviticus
16:6)." The noun "atonement" gives us a clue what day
he was to do this. Once he had made his personal atonement -- his reconciliation with God
-- he then performed an unusual ceremony. "And he shall take from the congregation of the children of
Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt
offering. And he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast
lots upon the two goats: one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the
scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell,
and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to
be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an
atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness
(Leviticus
16:5,7-10)." The rest of chapter 16 details more of the events of the day,
but our main concern here is the two goats. "Then shall [Aaron] kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for
the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as
he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat,
and before the mercy seat. And he shall make an atonement for the holy
place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because
of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the
tabernacle of the congregation, that remains among them in the midst of
their uncleanness (Leviticus
16:15-16)." Here we see the first goat killed as an atonement for the
people's sins, and for the tabernacle of the congregation. THE OTHER GOAT "And when [Aaron] has made an end of reconciling the holy place,
and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the
live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live
goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and
all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of
the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the
wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a
land not inhabited. And the fit man shall let go the goat in the
wilderness (Leviticus
16:20-22)." There's an unfortunate mistranslation in Leviticus 16:10, where the
goat is referred to a scapegoat. This goat represents satan, our partner
in sin. Aaron, as the high priest, was Christ's representative in
ancient Israel, so just as Jesus Christ will lay our sins where they
justly belong, on satan's head, so Aaron ceremonially placed the sins of
Israel on the goat which was representative of satan. This goat was not killed, but was sent away "by the hand of a fit
man into the wilderness." The goat was not simply let go else it
would have returned to the camp. Goats can be ornery critters, as I've
discovered from having had some, so this goat likely had a noose around
its neck, and may have been pushed and dragged far away from the camp into
"a land not inhabited." Only then would the goat be let go. In Revelation
20:1-3 we read, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having
the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid
hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and satan, and
bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut
him up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no
more..." You can be certain satan will not go peacefully into his wilderness, the bottomless pit. Note, the angel bound him, and threw him into his prison, far away from the people he had evilly influenced for thousands of years. The fit man, then, represents the angel who will have the strength and power to bind and imprison satan. The wilderness represents the prison of darkness where satan and his angels will be cast, the same darkness mentioned by Peter and Jude: "God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment...( 2 Peter 2:4)." "These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever (2 Peter 2:17)." "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day (Jude 1:6)." Once the fit man has let the goat go free in the wilderness what will the goat do? It will wander through the wilderness seeking food and shelter. Read what Jude says of satan and his demons. They are "wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever (Jude 1:13)." Leviticus 16:23-24 shows Aaron, once having placed the sins of the people on the goat, was to remove his garments and wash his flesh to be clean from touching the goat. He then was to get dressed again, and return to the congregation. This compares favourably with Hebrews 9:28, "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." When Jesus Christ returns to earth he will have been cleansed of our sins he took upon himself at Calvary. HOW OFTEN -- AND HOW LONG? We don't live in a camp like the Israelites did. We'd be hard pressed to find a wilderness area close enough that a man could take a goat there in two or three hours, yet far enough away that the goat wouldn't find its way back. Also, Jesus Christ became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, so goats and bullocks no longer are slaughtered on our behalf. "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour (Ephesians 5:2)." Yet God commands that we set aside twenty-four hours a year to make an atonement for our sins (Leviticus 23:32). But that cannot be just any day, as we're told in Leviticus 16:29-30 "And this shall be a statute for ever to you, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourns among you. For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord." One might wonder, on this special day in the autumn, if our high priest Jesus Christ makes an atonement for us before our eternal heavenly father. It does seem likely, as the ordinance was to be observed for ever, even after Christ's sacrifice on the cross. "It shall be a sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever (Leviticus 16:31)." I return to why this bible study started with the feast of trumpets, then backtracked to passover and its accompanying days. I saw this route as necessary as without the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ there could be no atonement. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Who is to fast? You'll get some guidelines in your next study unit. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org. Copyright July 2000 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org Fasting is good for you. Many health-conscious people fast once a week to give their digestive system a rest. But fasting does more than that. Fasting helps clear the mind, and allows for concentrating on those things which are most important. And what is more important than our relationship with God? God knows how important this relationship is. Romans 8:29 says, "Whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." We are destined to become brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. We are to become members of God's eternal family. Every good father wants his children to be obedient, and God is our heavenly father. He tests our obedience by giving us his weekly sabbaths and annual holy days. He expects us to observe them. If we refuse he has this warning, "Whatever soul it be that shall not be afflicted, in that same day he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatever soul it be that does any work, in that same day the same soul will I destroy from among his people (Leviticus 23:29-30)." For the Israelites to eat or drink anything on the day of atonement, or to do any work, would mean expulsion from the camp. The camp of the Israelites was designed to be a prototype of God's family, even as God's church is today. Consider then, if anyone eats or drinks or does any work on the day of atonement, he is to be expelled from the church. Such expulsion from the church should not, however, be considered permanent. God allows for repentance, and upon evidence of having sincerely repented the expelled person should be gladly welcomed back to the congregation. And, although not germane to this series of bible studies, no one who has been expelled from the church should be shunned by the rest of the congregation. Shunning is unscriptural and unloving, and does not help the expelled member want to repent and return. WHO IS TO FAST? There is no biblical background for this, but it is generally considered that all adults and teens should fast for the entire twenty-four hours. Younger children may be able to fast for part of that time. And babies -- they're always hungry -- should be properly nourished. Of course, exceptions should be made for medical reasons. A diabetic, for instance, may not be able to fast. Let the doctor advise on that. If a person is on daily medications, again the doctor should be consulted. If the medication is in tablet form, sufficient water to properly swallow and dissolve the tablets is permissible. People sometimes ask about working: is washing the dishes and making the beds permitted? If you follow the advice in Study Unit 17, there should be few dishes to be washed following the meal, so they should be cleaned and stored before sundown. And making the beds is certainly permitted, but don't choose the day of atonement to change all the sheets. When work is forbidden because of sabbaths and holy days, it means the work of earning a living. Several references in Leviticus and Numbers specify servile work. However, God's sabbaths and holy days aren't to be used for heavy work at home. For the women this would mean no general cleaning. For the men it's not the day to weed the garden or rotate the tires. On the other hand, God expects us to be balanced. If you wake up on a sabbath morning, to find one of the tires has picked up a nail and gone flat, change it. Don't let it keep you from worshipping with the brethren. The intent is that no one is to haughtily or presumptuously disobey God's commands. I hasten to fend off any argument that if God's law is going to be kept, it must be pharisaically observed to the very letter. There is a biblical precedent spoken of by Jesus himself. "At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, 'Behold, your disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.' But he said to them, 'Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him, how he entered into the house of God and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? "'Or have you not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, in this place is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day (Matthew 12:1-8).'" The day of atonement looks forward to the day when all mankind will be at one with God as members of his eternal family. However, it is also a reminder that, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ we can be at one with God today. But, can we truly be at one with God if we refuse to keep his laws and his holy days? If you choose to obey God, and to fast on his day of atonement this year, begin at sunset September 26, and continue until sunset September 27. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org. Unit 20 - THE GREAT FEAST OF TABERNACLES Copyright July 2000 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org Every one of God's holy days is vital to his children, and those who observe them look forward to each one with enthusiasm. But the feast of tabernacles elicits the most excitement. It's God's great getaway from the cares of this world. Christians plan for it months in advance. "Where are you going for the feast?" is possibly the most-asked question in the autumn. People from the south often travel north, passing their northern brethren on their way south. East often goes west, and vice versa. Some stay close to home, while others travel great distances, depending on their circumstances. Feast sites vary in size and location. For our first feast of tabernacles, in 1972, our family met with more than fifteen-thousand of our brethren at Wisconsin Dells (Wisconsin). We've been to Niagara Falls (New York), Panama City Beach (Florida), and Hilton Head (South Carolina). We've met with groups of less than a hundred at Ottawa (Ontario), and medium-size groups at Collingwood (Ontario), French Lick Springs (Indiana), Lake Ozarks (Missouri), and Hampton (Virginia). Now you may be thinking the feast of tabernacles is a vacation. That it is, but it's more. It's an opportunity to share seven great days with people of like mind, to escape the cares of the world back home, and to make new friends and renew old friendships. But it's even more than that. The feast of tabernacles (generally referred to as "the feast") is an annual opportunity to drink in the fine wine of God's word as served by his finest ministers and teachers in some of the most beautiful areas of the world. It is a glimpse of God's soon-coming kingdom. WHAT IS A TABERNACLE? The first biblical reference to a tabernacle is in the book of Exodus. God commanded the people to bring offerings of gold, silver, and brass, of fine cloths and multi-coloured skins, and oil and spices and precious stones. God said, "And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall you make it (Exodus 25:8-9)." So the first tabernacle mentioned in the bible was a place for God to live among the Israelites. But as you study the movements of Israel you find the tabernacle was not permanent: it was dismantled when they moved, and reassembled when they settled. So the tabernacle in the wilderness was a temporary dwelling place for God. Throughout most of the old testament two words are translated tabernacle: <mishkan> 4908 and <obel> 168. One English noun is common to them both: tent. And although the tabernacle for God in the wilderness was rather lavish it was, nonetheless, a tent. The Jews call the feast of tabernacles Succoth. The first use of the name is in Genesis 33:17, "And Jacob journeyed to Succoth and built him a house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth." Succoth 5523 means booths, as temporary dwellings. There was a difference, however, between Jacob's booths and the tabernacle. Jacob built two structures, a house for himself and booths for his cattle. The Hebrew <bayith>, 1004 meaning a house, refers to a permanent structure. Whereas <mishkan> and <obel> both mean a tabernacle, one of the meanings of <bayith> is a temple. But the booths Jacob built to shield his cattle from the elements were temporary in nature, and were likely moved here and there as his cattle moved from pasture to pasture. You can understand that a tabernacle is a temporary dwelling, whether for God, for humans, or for animals. Let's read Leviticus 23:41-43: "And you shall keep it a feast to the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths [temporary dwellings] seven days. All that are Israelite born shall dwell in booths that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." During their forty years in the wilderness the Israelites lived in succoths, temporary dwellings. So the feast of tabernacles, Succoth as the Jews call it, looks back to the days of the Exodus. There's more about these booths in Nehemiah's account. The Jews had been in captivity in Babylon for seventy years before they were allowed to return to Jerusalem. When they returned Nehemiah relates, "And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month, and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, 'Go forth to the mount and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.' "So the people went forth and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths and sat under the booths (Nehemiah 8 14-17)." During these days, Ezra read to the people from the book of the law of God. BOOTHS TODAY Many Jews today still build booths from branches, and live in them during the days of Succoth. But Christians observing the feast normally do not. Are they disobedient to the laws of God? Times change, and situations change. A good example is a comparison of sewage disposal then and now. In Deuteronomy 23:12-13 we read, "You shall have a place also outside the camp, where you shall go forth abroad, and you shall have a paddle on your weapon. And it shall be, when you will ease yourself abroad, you shall dig with it, and shall turn back and cover that which comes from you." If Christians who do not build booths are disobedient to the laws of God, so is every Christian who uses a flush toilet in his home. The ancient Israelites were told to use the technology they possessed -- a shovel-like device -- to dispose of their sewage. If God was giving his law today, he would tell us to use the technology we possess for the same purpose. The ancient Israelites were also told to use the building materials available, "olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees," to make booths for their temporary dwellings. But what do people use for temporary dwellings today? Hotels and motels, right? Those who prefer to rough it may set up temporary housekeeping in a trailer camp. The hardier ones may choose to live in tents. So when Christians attend the feast of tabernacles -- the feast of temporary dwellings -- they go where God has placed his name (Deuteronomy 14:23), and live in hotels, motels, house trailers, or tents as they desire. And if some decide to build booths, the churches have no objection. The form of the dwelling is not the point. Attendance at the feast of tabernacles is the important thing, and this generally requires living in some sort of temporary dwelling away from home. Regardless of where the people stay, the main point of the feast of tabernacles, and of each of God's holy days, is worship. So for the seven days of the feast God's people gather in a suitable auditorium to worship God in prayer, in song, and in hearing his word expounded. And as in the days of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8:17), there is very great gladness. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org. Unit 21 - HOW DO CHRISTIANS OBSERVE THE FEAST TODAY? Copyright 2000 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org Twice in the previous study unit the feast of tabernacles is described as a time of worship. But it's more than that. Deuteronomy 14:22-25 speaks of a tithe to finance the expenses of keeping God's feast of tabernacles. In the time of ancient Israel travel was inexpensive. It was either by foot, by ox cart, possibly by boat. So the tithe of the corn, wine, oil, and flocks was for food along the way, and at the feast. Verses 24 and 25, however, give an alternative for the feast-going traveller, rather than taking it all with him. "If the way be too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from you which the Lord your God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord your God has blessed you, then shall you turn it into money [sell it] and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go to the place which the Lord your God shall choose." Then comes the bible's answer to the question many people ask, "Don't you do anything but worship?" "And you shall bestow that money for whatever your soul lusts after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul desires, and you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you, and your household (Deuteronomy 14:26)." (The verb "lusts" in the King James Version is unfortunate. Most other versions use the verb "desire" or something similar. It's important to note, however, whatever the money is spent for must be within God's will.) In Israel's time there was not likely much to do except to eat and drink, worship and fellowship. But today there's lots to see and do, and verse 26 allows for that providing it's within the will of God. A TIME TO REJOICE A key phrase in verse 26 is, "and you shall rejoice...." Everyone in your family is to rejoice in the feast of tabernacles. This is God's commandment that we have a good time. All of God's festive times include holy days and sabbaths. One might choose to take a walk along a river, or let the kids run in the park on these days. But Christians observing them set an example for the world by refraining from going to an amusement park, or playing a game of baseball on God's sabbaths. The feast of tabernacles begins with a holy day, and unless that day also happens to be a weekly sabbath, there will be a sabbath day during the feast. On these days there is generally a worship service in the morning, and another in the afternoon. It's important to realize this is simply custom, and not commanded. God leaves much to his people to decide, and it seems the frequency of worship services at the feast is one of the things he has allowed us to determine. "And the Lord spoke unto 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 shall be an holy convocation. You shall do no servile work in that day (Leviticus 23:33-35).'" But note, the feast is seven days long. That allows five days for carousels and roller coasters and ball games and such. Worship services are generally held in the morning on those days, thus giving families the opportunity in the afternoon to do whatever they want, as long as it is right in God's eyes. In Study Unit 20 you read, "It [the feast of tabernacles] is a glimpse of God's soon-coming kingdom." What a wonderful kingdom that will be when we'll worship God every day, and enjoy the finest of food and drink and entertainment with no worries or tears. It will be so wonderful that Paul, referring to a statement by Isaiah wrote, "Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart [mind] of man the things which God has prepared for them who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9)." Although the feast of tabernacles gives us a glimpse of what God's kingdom will be like, we really can't begin to imagine its wonders and glories. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The feast of tabernacles reveals the first ingathering. That will be described in the next study unit. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org. Unit 22 -- THE FIRST INGATHERING Copyright August 2000 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org Christians who believe in going to heaven when they die see God's holy days as having only a historical meaning. But those who choose to believe the bible understand the holy days as part of God's plan for all mankind, not just for Christians. Job was tormented by loathsome sores all over his body. They were so painful he wanted to die and said to God, "Oh, that you would hide me in the grave...that you would appoint me a set time and remember me (Job 14:13)." Job wanted to hide in the grave. He said nothing about wanting to go to heaven. In verse 14 Job asks, "If a man dies, shall he live again?" He then continues with a cryptic statement, "All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change comes." In his first letter to the Christian congregation in Corinth Paul wrote, "Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (I Corinthians 15:51-53)." FROM WHAT TO WHAT? Job knew he would die, be buried, and eventually be changed. But he didn't say changed to what. Paul, however, describes the change as being from mortal corruptible flesh, to immortal incorruptible something. Jesus Christ told Nicodemus what that something is. He said Nicodemus would have to be born again to see the kingdom of God. He continued in John 3:6,8 "That which is born of the flesh is [composed of] flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is [composed of] spirit...The wind blows where it will and you hear the sound of it, but you cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the spirit." The wind is invisible, and those who are to be born of the spirit will also be invisible to human eyes. In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul wrote, "For our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body..." The Living Bible translates verse 21 as, "When he comes back he will take these dying bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own." So Job knew, thousands of years before there ever was a Christian, he would be one day changed from what was left of his flesh, to a spirit-composed body exactly like Jesus Christ's. Wow! As you learned in the previous two study units, the feast of tabernacles portrays, in a minute way, the kingdom of God. But Jesus said no human being can see the kingdom of God. Only through rebirth as a spirit being will we be able to see, or as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:50, inherit the kingdom of God. There's something very exciting about that verse. To inherit something is to become its owner. Those in the first resurrection will inherit God's kingdom. They will become co-owners of his kingdom. Yes, you Can believe it. So when will those who are to be born of the spirit receive their new spirit-composed body? Paul wrote, "But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept....But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23)." Then he continues to tell us not all Christians will die, but all will be changed at the sound of the last trumpet of Revelation when Jesus Christ will return to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 11:15-17; 19:11-16)." Jesus described this to his disciples when he said, "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:30)." This, the gathering of the elect, is the first ingathering to the kingdom of God pictured by the feast of tabernacles. BUT THERE'S MORE Of more than seven billion people on earth today, only one billion call themselves Christian, the elect. So only one billion -- perhaps even fewer -- will become co-owners of the kingdom of God. Where does that leave the other six billion, and all the billions of people who died before Jesus Christ ever walked the earth? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - There's an even greater ingathering to come. You'll read about it in the next study unit. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org. Unit 23 - THE FEAST WITHOUT A NAME Copyright August 2000 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org In Leviticus 23:33-35 we read, "And the Lord spoke unto 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 shall be a holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein.'" But compare those verses with verse 39, "Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath." Both references speak of seven days. Yet verse 39 tells of an eighth day, and calls it a sabbath. This can't be part of the feast of tabernacles: we're told twice it's only seven days long. What is it? The eighth day is the feast without a name. It's the same day spoken of in John 7:37, "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, 'If any man thirst let him come unto me, and drink.'" This verse has led holy day-observing Christians to call it the last great day. Observance of the last great day is the same as for the first day of the feast of tabernacles, and for the sabbath between: worship services morning and afternoon. Recall what the feast of tabernacles portrays. It gives a glimpse of the coming kingdom of God, and foreshows the ingathering of God's people. But where does that leave the billions of people outside the Christian community? For insight we go to Revelation 20:1-3, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. After that he must be loosed a little season." Satan's imprisonment comes after the return of Jesus Christ (see Revelation 19:11-16), so the elect will have already been gathered and changed to spirit beings. But the verses above show there will still be nations after Christ's return, and they will exist for a thousand years. WHO ARE THESE NATIONS? A research of the noun nations discloses, however, these will not be nations as we know them with their own human kings, laws, territories, and subjects. The Greek used here for nations is <ethnos>1484 from which we derive our English word ethnic. So each nation of Revelation 20:3 will be people of the same ethnic background, with their own cultures of idol and animal worship and other ungodly practices. What will take place during those thousand years? Will God allow the ethnic groups to continue in their cultures as they do today? Or will he call upon the spirit-born Christians to teach them, with authority, the way that leads to peace and everlasting life? The second option has to be the case, else why would satan be released to deceive the nations for a short while? This will be a time of testing, to see whether they will continue to live God's way, or turn back to their old, satan-guided ways. THE REST OF THE DEAD Now note Revelation 20:5, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Who are the rest of the dead? They obviously aren't the Christians: they've already been converted to spirit composition and have eternal life. They aren't the ethnic nations who have been taught, and hopefully accepted God's way of peace and happiness, as they are still physically alive. There are, however, billions of people who have died through the centuries all the way back to Adam. There's only one way they can be given the opportunity for eternal life, and that is to be resurrected, and taught, just as the ethnic nations will have been taught during the previous thousand years. They will be in the second resurrection implied in Revelation 20. It's important not to be mislead by the wording of Revelation 20:5. "This is the first resurrection" should be at the end of verse 4. Otherwise the billions of people who died before and after the great flood, those who worshipped Moloch and Baal and a host of other gods, would automatically be given eternal life when they are resurrected (verse 6). That's never been part of God's plan. Several versions put "The rest of the dead..." in parentheses. The Living Bible also puts "This is the first resurrection" at the beginning of verse 5. John 5:28-29 tells the story: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his [Jesus'] voice and shall come forth, they that have done good, unto the resurrection of [eternal] life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." It's unfortunate the King James translators used the noun damnation. The Greek word <krisis> is properly translated decision, and includes the concept of judgement, as used by many of the modern translations. The concept of judgement is upheld in Daniel's vision of God's kingdom. "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before [the ancient of days]. Thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment was set, and the books were opened (Daniel 7:10)." The time of judgement is when Jesus Christ makes a decision <krisis> regarding each person's life: judgement of guilty, or not guilty. THE SECOND INGATHERING Recall from the previous study unit you read, "And [Jesus] shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:30)." We noted this first ingathering to the kingdom of God is pictured by the feast of tabernacles. (Before we proceed it's important to know where the elect are gathered from. Matthew's account says "from one end of heaven to the other." But which heaven? Paul speaks of a third heaven, apparently the throne room of God (2 Corinthians 12:2). Since there's a third heaven it's evident there must be a first and second heaven. David speaks of the second heaven as being space (Psalm 8:3). The first heaven is where the birds fly (Jeremiah 9:10). We live in the first heaven, the one from which the angels will gather the elect.) As you have read there are billions of people from many millennia who must be given their first opportunity for salvation. This is pictured by what is commonly called the last great day, the great ingathering of the rest of the dead. What a wonderful God we have, who is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9) This is not to say everyone will be given eternal life. There will be some incorrigibles who will refuse to be governed by God. They are the ones who will be cast into the lake of fire. But if you have loved ones who have died without accepting Jesus during their lifetime, perhaps because they really never understood God's word, take heart: they will have their first opportunity in their resurrection to understand what you are learning today. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You'll learn about the feast of tabernacles of the future in your next study unit. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org. |
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