Pentecost

Was observing Pentecost important to the apostle Paul?

"For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost" (Acts 20:16).

"But I [Paul] will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost" (1 Corinthians 16:8).

The Scriptures record that, on at least these two occasions, Paul carefully arranged his schedule according to where he wanted to be on the Festival of Pentecost. The only logical reason for Paul to "tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost" would be to observe this feast day with the gentile Christians there. As with Paul's instruction to gentile Christians in Corinth to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, here we again find an obvious indication that early Christians, Jew and gentile alike, observed God's annual festivals.

What biblical events are associated with the Feast of Pentecost?

"The LORD our God made a covenant with us [ancient Israel] in Horeb ... The LORD talked with you [ancient Israel] face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire" (Deuteronomy 5:2, 4).

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit ..." (Acts 2:1-4, NIV).

On Pentecost, according to a respected Jewish tradition, God established Israel as His holy people—through His covenant with them—after He spoke the Ten Commandments from the top of Mount Sinai. A special relationship between Him and the Israelites was sealed at that time. They then became known as the "congregation of the LORD" (Numbers 27:17).

Equally important, Pentecost is also the anniversary of the beginning of Christianity under the New Covenant. It was on Pentecost that God first made His Spirit available to all who would repent—thus beginning the Church, which He commissioned Christ to build (Matthew 16:18). Pentecost is especially significant to Christians because on that day God established the New Testament Church.

Pentecost represents God using His Church—those who are converted, revitalized and transformed by His Spirit—to do His work in this current age of Satan's spiritual dominance over humankind.

After Jesus' resurrection, what did He tell His disciples?

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

The first part of this prophecy was fulfilled when, on the Feast of Pentecost, Christ's disciples received the Holy Spirit and began their work of proclaiming His gospel to the world (Acts 2:1, 4-18). Their lives began to miraculously change. This spiritual transformation, made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, is the third major step in God's master plan of salvation.

God's gift of His Spirit began the fulfillment of the prophecies in Jeremiah 31:31-33 and Ezekiel 36:26-27. He promised to make a new covenant with the community of faithful believers. Through the Holy Spirit He promised to write His laws on their hearts and minds and no longer only on tablets of stone, as in the time of Moses. It was on the Feast of Pentecost of Acts 2 that the Church of God—the faithful believers in Christ imbued with God's Spirit—was founded and began preaching Christ's gospel to the world.

Anciently the Festival of Pentecost only anticipated a converted body of believers, but now it annually acknowledges and celebrates the importance of the Church and its work in God's plan.

Does the Bible refer to the Feast of Pentecost by other names?

"And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest ..." (Exodus 34:22).

"On the day of firstfruits, when you present to the LORD an offering of new grain during the Feast of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work" (Numbers 28:26, NIV).

The Greek word pentekoste, which means "50th," became the New Testament name for the Old Testament "Feast of Weeks" because it occurs 50 days (seven weeks plus one day) after the first weekly Sabbath that falls during the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:10-16).

Pentecost was also known as "the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors" (Exodus 23:16). This name foreshadowed the establishment of the New Testament Church. Christians are those "who have the firstfruits of the Spirit" and those who are "redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb" (Romans 8:23; Revelation 14:4). James writes, "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:18).

The festivals that follow Pentecost point to God's plan for bringing the rest of humanity to repentance. The aspects of God's plan represented by the three spring festivals—Passover, Unleavened Bread and Pentecost—have already occurred. But the prophetic implications of the last four festivals, observed in the autumn of each year, are yet to be fulfilled. Those look forward to prophetic events yet to occur.

Let's see how the later festivals represent aspects of God's great plan to offer salvation to many more people.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread: The Lesson of Leaving Sin

Immediately after the Passover comes a festival that depicts the next step in the fulfillment of God's master plan. After God, through Christ's sacrifice, has forgiven us of our sins, how do we continue to avoid sin, since we must go on living in newness of life? How do we live as God's redeemed people? We find the answer in the remarkable symbolism of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

When God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, He told His people that for "seven days you shall eat unleavened bread" (Exodus 12:15). Verse 39 further explains: "And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves."

The leavening process, which makes bread rise, takes time. The Israelites had no time to spare when they left Egypt, so they baked and ate flat bread. What started out as a necessity continued for a week. God appropriately named this time the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6), or Days of Unleavened Bread (Acts 12:3).

When Jesus came to earth as a human, He observed this seven-day festival—sometimes called the Feast of Passover by the Jews because of the proximity of the Passover to the Days of Unleavened Bread. Jesus kept it as a child and later as an adult (Luke 2:41; Matthew 26:17). The early Church, imitating Christ in His actions, kept it as well.

Earliest instructions and Christ's teachings

God gave His earliest instructions concerning this festival to the Israelites as they prepared to leave Egypt. "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat-that is all you may do" (Exodus 12:14-16, New International Version).

Each year as the Israelites observed this feast, it reminded them of God's deliverance of their forefathers from Egypt. The Creator instructed, "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt" (verse 17, NIV). The exodus from Egypt remains as a foundational reason for observing this feast today. Just as God delivered ancient Israel, He delivers us from our sins and difficulties.

Now notice Jesus Christ's teaching about leaven, which expands the meaning of this feast.

During Christ's ministry He performed two miracles in which a few fish and loaves of bread fed thousands of people. After one of these incidents, when His disciples had gone around the Sea of Galilee, they forgot to bring bread with them. So Jesus told them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

The disciples thought Jesus was referring to their lack of bread. However, He was using the occasion to teach them by calling on the symbolism of leaven. Christ asked them, "How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then the disciples "understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:5-12, NASB).

Some of the members of the religious establishment of Christ's day appeared to be righteous, yet they secretly practiced sinful behavior. Jesus let them know He knew their hearts. They may have appeared righteous to other people, "but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Matthew 23:28).

The Days of Unleavened Bread remind us that with God's help we must remove and avoid all types of sin—symbolized by leaven—in all areas of our life.

Continued importance of these days

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the apostle Paul taught the same spiritual lessons as had Jesus Christ, invoking the comparison of sin to leaven. In the context of reprimanding the Corinthian congregation for its divisions, jealousies and tolerance of sexual misconduct, Paul wrote: "Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

The church at Corinth was obviously and unmistakably keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread, to which Paul repeatedly alluded. However, Paul used the Corinthians' faithful obedience in keeping the feast physically (removing leaven from their homes) as a basis to encourage them to celebrate this feast with proper understanding of its spiritual intent.

Today removing leaven from our homes for seven days reminds us that we, too, through prayer and God's help and understanding, must recognize, expel and avoid sin. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is thus a time of personal reflection. We should meditate on our attitudes and conduct and ask God to help us recognize and overcome our shortcomings.

Paul spoke of this much-needed self-reflection in 2 Corinthians 13:5 when he told the Corinthian church: "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified."

Paul explained the significance of the phrase "Jesus Christ is in you" in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

These seven days of self-examination prove invaluable in helping us to devote our lives to God and Jesus Christ. This week-long period also pictures our eventual triumph over sin. As God delivered the ancient Israelites from enslavement to Egypt, so He delivers us from our enslavement to sin (Romans 6:12-18).

Applying the spiritual lessons

We learn by doing. We learn spiritual lessons by doing physical things. Performing the task of deleavening our homes reminds us to vigilantly watch for sinful thoughts and actions so we can avoid them. God knows that, in spite of our good intentions, we all sin.

Many years after his conversion, Paul described the powerful human tendency to sin. "I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin" (Romans 7:21-25).

Paul knew life itself is a battle with sin. The Bible speaks of "the sin which so easily ensnares us" (Hebrews 12:1). We have our own part to play in struggling to overcome sin. Yet, paradoxically, we must rely on God to help us. Paul explained this to the Philippians by telling them to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12-13, King James Version).

Our observance of the Days of Unleavened Bread helps us realize our need for Jesus Christ's help in overcoming our weaknesses. Yet this feast is certainly a time for rejoicing because Christ freely gives us the help we need. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins, thus unleavening, or cleansing, our lives. He continues to help us live obediently through God's Spirit dwelling in us—which brings us to the subject of the next chapter.

The Passover: Why Did Jesus Christ Have to Die?

Most of us have heard that Jesus Christ died for our sins, but what does that really mean? Why was His death necessary? What part does Christ's sacrifice play in God's plan for mankind? How is Jesus Christ's death reflected in God's holy festivals? This chapter on the New Testament Passover will address these important questions.

Jesus' sacrifice is the pivotal event in God's plan to save humanity. Speaking of His certain death, Christ said He, referring to Himself as the Son of Man, must be "lifted up" (crucified) even as "Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," so that "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:14-16).

We see here that Jesus' sacrifice, the central message of the Passover, was a supreme act of love for humanity. This important event laid the foundation for the remaining annual Holy Days and festivals. It is the most momentous step in God's plan.

Just before the Passover feast that would see His execution, Jesus said that "for this purpose I came to this hour ... And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:27, 32).

The day on which this profound event, the crucifixion, transpired was the 14th day of the first month of God's calendar, the same day on which the Passover lambs were to be killed (Leviticus 23:5). Paul later wrote the congregation at Corinth that "Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Now let's look back through the Bible for the instructions and meaning God gave concerning this day. Doing this will help us understand why God expects us to continue observing the Passover.

God's Passover instruction

God, through Moses, told Pharaoh to "let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness" (Exodus 5:1). Through a series of plagues, God displayed His great power and delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. After nine plagues He gave Israel specific instructions about the imminent 10th in the series of terrifying calamities and the steps each Israelite family should take to escape it.

God said that, on the 10th day of the first month, each Israelite was to select a lamb or goat large enough to feed each household (Exodus 12:3). It was to be a yearling male, without any sort of defect. On the 14th day of that month at evening, the Israelites were to kill the animals and place some of their blood on the doorposts of their homes. The animals were then to be roasted and eaten along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The Israelites hurriedly ate this meal.

The Creator further instructed the Israelites that on this evening He would kill all the firstborn of Egypt to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. The firstborn of each Israelite family would be protected if the sign of the blood were on the entrance of their homes. God would "pass over" their homes—thus the meaning of the name of this observance (verse 13).

God said this day would be to the Israelites a memorial, "and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance" (verse 14). Bible writers later explained that the annual Passover observance symbolized Christ. Paul referred to Christ as "our Passover" (1 Corinthians 5:7), and John recorded that John the Baptist recognized Christ as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).

The unblemished male animal represented Jesus Christ as the perfect, sinless sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:11-12 tells us that "Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come ... not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." Jesus Christ bought us with His blood, pouring out His life as our Passover lamb so God could forgive our sins.

Why did Jesus Christ have to die? Our Savior had to die because that was the only way God could forgive our sins. The Bible tells us that sin is the violation of God's law of love (1 John 3:4). We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have each earned the death penalty for our disobedience (Romans 5:12; 6:23).

Paul illustrated the profound love of Jesus Christ in giving up His life on our behalf (Romans 5:6-8). All would be doomed eternally had not somehow the penalty for our sins been paid. Christ, who lived a perfect life as the unblemished Lamb of God, substituted His death for ours. In fact, His death was the only possible substitution for ours. His sacrifice became the payment for our sins. He died in our place so we could share life with Him forever. We can no longer live according to our own desires. We become God's redeemed, or bought and paid-for, possession (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Both Jesus and the apostle Paul made it clear that the Passover is to continue as a Christian observance. Jesus Himself instituted new Passover symbols and practices to teach Christians important truths about Himself and God's continuing plan of salvation.

The Passover in the Old Testament foreshadowed Christ's crucifixion. The New Testament Passover is a memorial of that crucifixion. By observing it, we "proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). Now let's examine Christ's specific instructions concerning the Passover ceremony and the lessons we should learn from it.

A lesson in humility and service

The apostle John described the events of Jesus Christ's last evening with His disciples: "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." During the meal Jesus "rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded" (John 13:1-5).

Washing guests' feet was normally the job of the lowliest household servant. In the first century it was an act of hospitality. Rather than ask a servant to perform this function for His guests, Jesus humbly chose to carry it out Himself to teach an important spiritual lesson. The account continues: "So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet'" (verses 12-14).

Jesus left His disciples with a lasting reminder of the importance of humble service to others. This reinforced an earlier lesson He had given them that is recorded in Matthew 20:25-28, where He warned His disciples about presuming to rule over their brethren: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

The simple act of washing the feet of others teaches us a vital lesson intimately associated with the Passover. He concluded: "I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (John 13:15). How many Christians today obey this simple instruction to wash each other's feet, and exemplify that attitude in their lives? As the redeemed possession of God through Christ's sacrifice, our lives should be devoted to the service of God and our fellowman.

The bread: symbol of Christ's body

Later, while the disciples were eating, Jesus explained that one of them would soon betray Him (Matthew 26:21-25). But notice verse 26: "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.'"

Christ's body was to become a sacrificial offering for sin, for indeed "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this man ... offered one sacrifice for sins forever ... For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:10-14). God forgives us through Jesus Christ's sacrifice, and He "sanctifies" us—sets us apart—for the holy purpose of obedience to Him.

Our decision to eat the Passover bread means we understand that Jesus Christ has "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). He willingly consented to suffer an excruciating death for us. Christ bore in His body mental and physical suffering brought on by sin.

Jesus' sacrifice is also intricately associated with our healing. Peter wrote of Christ's suffering that He "bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness-by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24 ). Isaiah prophesied of Jesus' suffering on our behalf: "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5).

Matthew 8:16-17 depicts incidents of healing in Jesus' ministry. Jesus helped "many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.'"

Jesus Christ showed that He was the promised Messiah by miraculous healings. But, besides demonstrating His compassion, such healings showed that Christ possessed the power to forgive sin (Matthew 9:2-6). Sin brings suffering! The ultimate healing made possible by Christ's complete sacrifice includes the whole person, alleviating and eliminating the mental, emotional and physical sufferings that result from our sins.

Through the forgiveness of our sins, Christ also made possible our receiving eternal life. "I am the bread of life," He said. "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:48-51).

A relationship leading to a new way of life

The Passover bread reminds us of the close relationship Christians have with Jesus Christ. In Romans 6:1-6 Paul shows that, once we are symbolically united with Christ in death through baptism, "we should no longer be slaves of sin" but "should walk in newness of life." Eating the bread demonstrates our commitment to allow Christ to live in us.

The apostle Paul describes this uniting with Christ in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Paul understood that pursuing his own ways was no longer his life's focus. His relationship with Jesus Christ became supremely important to him.

The apostle John tells us what Christ expects of us in our relationship with Him: "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments ... He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:3-6).

The Passover bread reinforces our understanding that Jesus Christ, the true "bread of life," must live within us, enabling us to live an entirely new life. God forgives our sins to sanctify us—to continue to set us apart for a holy purpose, to redeem us (that is, purchase us for a price). We now belong to God so He can fulfill His purpose in us.

The meaning of the Passover wine

Why did Jesus command His disciples to drink wine as a symbol of His blood during the Passover service? What does this symbolize?

Notice Matthew's account: "Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom'" (Matthew 26:27-29).

What are we to learn from this symbol? First, Christ knew that drinking wine as a symbol of His shed blood would impress deeply on our minds that His death was for the forgiveness of our sins. "This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:25). Jesus "loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Revelation 1:5). God forgives our sins through Jesus' shed blood (1 John 1:7).

Many people normally understand this tenet—that God forgives our sins through Jesus Christ's blood—but not everyone realizes how it occurs. Paul explained that "according to the Law ... all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [of sin]" (Hebrews 9:22, New American Standard Bible).

The Old Testament records God instructing the priesthood to perform certain duties that included a system of cleansing and purification using the blood of sacrificed animals, thus foreshadowing the shedding of Christ's blood, the ultimate sacrifice for sin. He commanded the nation of Israel to follow this temporary system of the ritualistic cleansing of sin (Hebrews 9:9-10). Animal sacrifices served as a type of the one and only real and future sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who would pay the penalty for everyone's sins once and for all.

The Bible teaches that one's life is in his blood (Genesis 9:4). When a person loses sufficient blood, he or she dies. Therefore blood, when poured out, makes the atonement for sin, which produces death (Leviticus 17:11). Jesus lost His blood when He was crucified (Luke 22:20; Isaiah 53:12). He poured out His blood, dying for the sins of humanity.

In partaking of the wine at the Passover service, we should carefully consider its meaning. That small portion of wine represents the very life blood that flowed from Jesus Christ's dying body for the remission of our sins (Ephesians 1:7). With this forgiveness comes freedom from eternal death.

Not only does Jesus Christ's blood completely cover our sins, but it makes possible the removal of our guilt. Hebrews 9:13-14 compares the physical sacrifice of an animal with the blood of Christ: "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

The word conscience comes from the Latin word conscire, meaning "to be conscious of guilt." Our conscience is our awareness of right and wrong.

Our taking wine in the New Testament Passover ceremony is an expression of faith that God really has forgiven us. We are free from sin and guilt (John 3:17-18), and our hearts are "made free from the sense of sin" (Hebrews 10:22, Bible in Basic English). We live in newness of life with a clear conscience (Romans 6:14).

Some people, however, feel guilty even after they have repented. Although our consciences should readily convict us when we sin again, we should not continue to condemn ourselves because of sins God has already forgiven. Instead, we should be fully confident in our God-given freedom from guilt (1 John 1:9; 3:19-20).

Access to the Father

Christ's shed blood also makes possible our access to the very throne of God the Father. Under the Old Covenant only the high priest could enter the area of the tabernacle known as the Holiest of All (Hebrews 9:6-10). The "mercy seat" positioned there represented God's throne. Leviticus 16 describes the ceremony that took place each year on another Holy Day, the Day of Atonement. At that time the high priest took the blood of a goat, representing the future sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and sprinkled it on the mercy seat so the Israelites could be symbolically cleansed of all their sins (verses 15-16).

Because the blood of Jesus Christ removes sin, making us pure before God, we can enjoy direct access to the Father (Hebrews 9:24). Jesus, as our High Priest, entered into the Most Holy Place through His own blood (Hebrews 9:11-12). We can now approach God the Father without hesitation or fear of rejection, but with confidence and assurance (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Hebrews 4:16 speaks of the confidence we can have when we approach God: "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to experience this intimate relationship with our Father.

Our covenant with God

The blood of Christ also signifies that He has entered into a covenant, or agreement. When Jesus instituted wine for the New Testament Passover, He said drink it because "this is My blood of the new covenant" (Matthew 26:27-28).

Why is this wine called the "blood of the new covenant"? The writer of the book of Hebrews explains that, after God enjoined the Old Covenant on ancient Israel, and after the Israelites' response of obedient commitment, the covenant was ratified by the ceremony of the sprinkling of blood. The Bible writers called this the "blood of the covenant" (Hebrews 9:18-20; 13:20; Exodus 24:3-8).

We must understand that repentance, baptism and the acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ-along with belief in His promise to forgive our sin-constitutes a covenant with God. Through this covenant, which we gratefully accept and can completely rely on (Hebrews 6:17-20), God grants us eternal life. By accepting the sacrifice of Christ for the remission of sin, we enter into a covenant relationship with the God of the universe. The terms of this covenant are absolute, because it was sealed with the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:11-12, 15). This covenant is renewed every year when we partake of the Passover.

What are the terms of this covenant relationship? "'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,' then He adds, 'Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more'" (Hebrews 10:16-17).

Ancient Israel did not have the heart to faithfully keep God's commandments (Deuteronomy 5:29). Under the New Covenant, however, God writes His law in our hearts and minds. His laws are not those of physical purification contained in the system of sacrifices, washings and service in the tabernacle. Instead, they are the holy and righteous laws that define right behavior toward God and neighbor (Romans 7:12) and lead to eternal life (Matthew 19:17). The Passover wine is symbolic of this covenant relationship that is ratified by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Annual observance in the early Church

The New Testament pictures Christians continuing to observe the annual festivals at the times commanded by God. As a youth, Christ kept the Passover annually on the specified day (Luke 2:41), and He continued the practice with His disciples. The early Church as well continued to observe the other Holy Days at their specified times. For example, Acts records that Jesus' followers met to observe the Feast of Pentecost: "Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place" (Acts 2:1).

Scripture gives no hint of the early Church adding to or changing the dates God ordained for His festivals. The phrase in 1 Corinthians 11:26—"for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup"—simply points out that, by observing the Passover each year on the appropriate day, members of the Church were proclaiming "the Lord's death till He comes."

The Bible specifies the yearly observance of the Passover, and history records its annual celebration as the practice of the early Church. Passover, as a memorial of Jesus' death, is to be observed annually rather than whenever or however often one chooses, just as all of the other annual festivals are to be kept once a year. Neither Jesus Christ nor the apostles indicated that we should change when or how often we observe any of God's festivals.

Following their example, today we should observe the Passover at the beginning of the evening of the 14th day of the first month (Abib, or Nisan) of the Hebrew calendar. (See dates on pp. 32-33.)

During His last Passover with His disciples, Jesus explained that this celebration has significant implications for the future as well. In Matthew 26:29 He told them, "I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."

Keeping the Passover each year reminds us that God is the forgiver of sin who grants us eternal life in His Kingdom through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Passover. This observance is a memorial of our Creator's continuing role in humanity's salvation.

The Annual Festivals of God

2009
Passover: April 8 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 9-15
Pentecost: May 31
Feast of Trumpets: September 19
Day of Atonement: September 28
Feast of Tabernacles: October 3-9
Last Great Day: October 10

2010
Passover: March 29 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: March 30 - April 5
Pentecost: May 23
Feast of Trumpets: September 9
Day of Atonement: September 18
Feast of Tabernacles: September 23-29
Last Great Day: September 30

2011
Passover: April 18 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 19-25
Pentecost: June 12
Feast of Trumpets: September 29
Day of Atonement: October 8
Feast of Tabernacles: October 13-19
Last Great Day: October 20

2012
Passover: April 6 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 7-13
Pentecost: May 27
Feast of Trumpets: September 17
Day of Atonement: September 26
Feast of Tabernacles: October 1-7
Last Great Day: October 8

2013
Passover: March 25 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: March 26 - April 1
Pentecost: May 19
Feast of Trumpets: September 5
Day of Atonement: September 14
Feast of Tabernacles: September 19-25
Last Great Day: September 26

2014
Passover: April 14 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 15-21
Pentecost: June 8
Feast of Trumpets: September 25
Day of Atonement: October 4
Feast of Tabernacles: October 9-15
Last Great Day: October 16

2015
Passover: April 3 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 4-10
Pentecost: May 24
Feast of Trumpets: September 14
Day of Atonement: September 23
Feast of Tabernacles: September 28 - October 4
Last Great Day: October 5

2016
Passover: April 22 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 23-29
Pentecost: June 12
Feast of Trumpets: October 3
Day of Atonement: October 12
Feast of Tabernacles: October 17-23
Last Great Day: October 24

2017
Passover: April 10 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 11-17
Pentecost: June 4
Feast of Trumpets: September 21
Day of Atonement: September 30
Feast of Tabernacles: October 5-11
Last Great Day: October 12

2018
Passover: March 30 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: March 31 - April 6
Pentecost: May 20
Feast of Trumpets: September 10
Day of Atonement: September 19
Feast of Tabernacles: September 24-30
Last Great Day: October 1

2019
Passover: April 19 (Observed evening before)
Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 20-26
Pentecost: June 9
Feast of Trumpets: September 30
Day of Atonement: October 9
Feast of Tabernacles: October 14-20
Last Great Day: October 21

In biblical reckoning, days begin in the evening (Genesis 1:5), when the sun goes down (Joshua 8:29; 2 Chronicles 18:34; Mark 1:32), and are counted "from evening to evening" (Leviticus 23:32). Thus, all God's festivals begin the evening just before the dates listed in this table. For example, in 2008 Passover is observed Friday evening, April 18, after sundown, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins Saturday evening, April 19. The festivals end in the evening on the dates given.

The Last Great Day: Eternal Life Offered to All

What does God have in mind for those who have never believed in Christ or understood any of God's truth? How does the Creator provide for them in His plan?

The Bible makes abundantly clear in Acts 4:12 that "there is no other name under heaven" than that of Jesus Christ by which human beings can be saved.

This particular passage raises troubling questions for anyone who believes that God is desperately trying to save the whole world in this age. If this is the only time for salvation, we must conclude that Christ's mission to save humanity has largely failed. After all, billions of people have lived and died without once hearing the name of Jesus Christ. Thousands die every day never having heard of Christ.

In spite of the missionary zeal of so many over the centuries, far more human souls have been "lost" than "saved." If God is truly all powerful, why have so many not even heard the gospel of salvation? The traditional portrayal of conflict between God and Satan over mankind leaves God on the losing side of the struggle.

What is the fate of these people? What does God have in mind for those who have never believed in Christ or understood any of God's truth? How does the Creator provide for them in His plan? Are they lost forever without any hope of salvation?

We should not doubt God's saving power! Let's examine some common assumptions and come to an understanding of our Creator's marvelous solution.

Resolving the dilemma

Paul tells us that God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). Peter adds that God is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). This is God's overriding goal in dealing with mankind: He desires as many as possible to repent, come to the knowledge of the truth and receive His gift of salvation!

Jesus explained how this will come to pass. John 7:1-14 describes how Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. He appeared publicly and stood in the midst of the people. "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).

Christ's message recorded here most likely was given on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Scholars vary on whether this was the seventh day or the day following, but the weight of evidence and the series of events indicate that John 7 describes incidents on the seventh day while the setting moves to the eighth day in John 8 and 9.

It is also possible that Christ's teaching recorded in John 7:37-38 came at the end of the seventh day or the very beginning of the eighth day (God's Holy Days begin with sunset and end at the following sunset), as the chapter concludes with people returning to their homes after sundown for the night. The theme of Christ's teaching then continues in chapter 8 (which is clearly the next morning, verse 2) and includes the offer of salvation to all mankind.

In Leviticus 23:39, we see that this day immediately follows the Feast of Tabernacles but is a separate festival with its own distinct meaning. Based on Christ's words and the theme of offering salvation to all mankind, we refer to this festival as "the Last Great Day," although the Bible simply calls it "the eighth day."

Symbolism of Christ's teaching

What was the significance of Christ's teaching about "living water"? In Christ's time, according to tradition, during the Feast of Tabernacles the priests would bring golden vessels of water from the stream of Siloam that had flowed from the temple hill and pour it over the altar. Joyous celebration along with the sounding of trumpets marked this ceremony as the people sang the words of Isaiah: "... With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3).

Jesus stood where all could hear Him and drew a lesson from the water, revealing that all who were thirsty could come to Him and be refreshed-forever. In Christ's analogy, the water represented God's Holy Spirit, which those who believed in Jesus would receive (John 7:39). He showed that the basic wants of spiritual thirst and hunger could be satisfied only by Him as "the bread of life" (John 6:48) and the source of living water.

But when would this happen? Within six months Christ's own countrymen pressured the Roman authorities to execute Him. Less than 40 years later the temple and all its ceremonies, including those described above, were brought to an end at the hands of the Roman legions.

Humanity still hungers and thirsts for the message Christ brought. God's promise to "pour out My Spirit on all flesh" (Joel 2:28) has not yet fully taken place. Thousands of millions have died with their deepest spiritual needs unrealized. When will they be refreshed by the life-giving power of God's Spirit?

A physical resurrection to an opportunity for salvation

To find the answer, we must consider a question the disciples put to Christ just before He ascended to heaven: "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). When the disciples spoke of this restoration, they understood it in the context of the many prophecies of a reunited nation of Israel.

One such prophecy is in Ezekiel 37:3-6. This passage describes Ezekiel's vision of a valley full of bones. God asks, "Son of man, can these bones live?" To which the prophet replies: "O Lord GOD, You know." God then says to the bones, "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."

In this vision a physical resurrection took place. The account acknowledges the hopeless situation in which these people had found themselves: "Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!" (verse 11).

Their Creator, however, offers them the hope of a resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit in the setting of a reunited nation. In this dramatic vision, ancient Israel serves as the model for other peoples that God will resurrect to physical life. God said: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves ... I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live" (verses 12, 14). At this future time God will make freely available the life-giving spiritual water of His Holy Spirit.

God will "make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them ... My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (verses 26-27).

The apostle Paul also referred to this yet-future event: "I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew" (Romans 11:1-2). As Paul wrote, "all Israel will be saved" (verse 26).

Not only Israel, but all who have never had a chance to drink from the living waters of God's Word and His Holy Spirit will at last be able to do so (Romans 9:22-26). God will freely offer them the opportunity for eternal life.

The Great White Throne Judgment

In Revelation 20:5 John writes that "the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished." Here John makes a clear distinction between the first resurrection, which occurs at Christ's second coming (verses 4, 6), and the second resurrection, which takes place at the end of Christ's millennial reign. Remember that the first resurrection is to eternal life. By contrast, God raises those in the second resurrection to a physical, flesh-and-blood existence.

John discusses this same second resurrection to physical life that Ezekiel wrote about: "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works" (verses 11-13).

The dead who stand before their Creator are all those who died never knowing the true God. Like Ezekiel's vision of dry bones coming back to life, these people emerge from their graves and begin to know their God. The books (biblia in Greek, from which we get the word Bible) are the Scriptures, the only source of the knowledge of eternal life. Finally all will have an opportunity to fully understand God's plan of salvation.

This physical resurrection is not a second chance for salvation. For these people it is a first opportunity to really know the Creator. The resurrected are "judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books" (verse 12). This judgment will involve a period during which they will enjoy the opportunity to hear, understand and grow in God's way of life, having their names inscribed in the book of life (verse 15). During this time thousands of millions of people will gain access to eternal life.

This final festival of the year shows how deep and far reaching are the merciful judgments of God. Jesus Christ spoke of the wonderful truth depicted by this day when He compared three cities that failed to respond to His miraculous works with three cities of the ancient world: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you" (Matthew 11:21-24).

The inhabitants of ancient Tyre, Sidon and Sodom—cities that had incurred the wrath of God for their depravities—will receive mercy in the day of judgment. Unlike Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, these cities of old had little opportunity to know God. God will resurrect these people and include them in the time of judgment that is beyond the 1,000-year reign of Christ, when even those who lived in bygone ages will be reconciled to God.

It will be a time of universal knowledge of God. From the least to the greatest, all will know Him (Hebrews 8:11). The citizens of these cities, and countless more like them, will experience their opportunity for salvation.

This final period of judgment completes God's plan of salvation for the world. It will be a time of love, deep mercy and the unsearchable judgment of God. The chance to drink of the life-giving waters of the Holy Spirit will indeed quench the deepest thirsts of men and women. This time of righteous judgment will bring back to life those long forgotten by humanity, but never forgotten by God.

What is the fate of those who die with no real knowledge of the Son of God? What hope is there for the millions who have lived and died without knowledge of God's purpose? The Scriptures show that these are not cut off without hope. God will bring them back to life and give them their opportunity for eternal salvation. This is the astounding truth depicted by the Last Great Day, the last of God's festivals.

God will see His plan through and bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). God's promise to "pour out My Spirit on all flesh" (Joel 2:28) will find its fullest manifestation. The thirst-quenching waters of the Holy Spirit will be available to all in the time depicted by "that great day of the feast."

What a marvelous plan these biblical festivals portray. How great would be our lack of understanding without them!

The Feast of Tabernacles: Jesus Christ Reigns Over All the Earth

God's plan for mankind involves restoration. The Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes the restoration process.

In his first inspired sermon after receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the apostle Peter summed up God's instruction for mankind: "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:19-21).

What are these "times of refreshing" and "times of restoration" of which Peter spoke?

God's plan for mankind involves restoration. The Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes the restoration process, which will start with the return of Jesus Christ, pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, and the banishment of Satan, depicted by the Day of Atonement. Once these events have taken place, as represented by the previous Holy Days, the foundation is in place for the restoration of the creation to peace and harmony with God.

The seven-day Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:27, 34) pictures the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ over the earth after His second coming (Revelation 20:4). This period is often called the Millennium, which simply means "1,000 years."

This Feast also reflects the "rest" symbolized by the weekly Sabbath (Hebrews 4:1-11) that celebrates the great harvest of humanity when all living people will learn God's ways. Humanity will at last be restored to a right relationship with God (Isaiah 11:9-10).

In the beginning, God created mankind to cooperate with Him in a beautiful relationship characterized by love, peace and obedience to His laws. At the completion of His creation, "God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good" (Genesis 1:31).

This time of peace and harmony abruptly ended because of Satan's deception and man's disobedience (Genesis 3:1-6). Disobedience cut mankind off from God's way (Genesis 3:21-24). Genesis 6:5 describes the tragic result: "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

This broken relationship between God and man has continued through history to our time. Paul reflected upon this state: "... Through one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned ..." (Romans 5:12).

Paul knew that Jesus Christ would heal the breach created by man's disobedience: "For since by man [Adam] came death, by Man [Christ] also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Isaiah prophesied the restoration of the world

God used the prophet Isaiah to reveal parts of His magnificent plan for restoring the world. Written at a time during which Israel faced punishment for continued disobedience, the book of Isaiah was inspired by God to give the nation encouragement through the promise of a better world ahead.

Jesus Christ, after reading in the synagogue one of Isaiah's prophecies, acknowledged the special understanding given Isaiah: "These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him" (John 12:41). Isaiah not only prophesied of Christ's earthly ministry; he wrote of Christ's return in power and glory (Isaiah 66:15-16).

The basis for the messianic rule of Jesus will be God's law. Again, as Isaiah foretold, "it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:2-3).

A world of peace and abundance

After Christ's return, He will bring the creation in its entirety into harmony with God, and peace will no longer be the exception. King David said, "Great peace have those who love Your law" (Psalm 119:165). Imagine what the world will be like when everyone knows God's law and lives by it!

More than just knowledge is needed to bring about this amazing transformation. A spiritual change will take place among people. God, speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, describes how it will happen: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

The Spirit of God will influence people to willingly and enthusiastically obey God from their hearts. People will begin to place the interests of others before their own. They will start thinking of others as "better than themselves" (Philippians 2:3, KJV). Instead of exclusive self-concern, their goal will be to help their fellow human beings. Theft will cease. Disregard for others' property and feelings will be eliminated. Because the world will finally be at peace, countries will "beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3).

During this 1,000-year period, God will change even the nature of wild animals, reflecting the peace that will descend upon society. Describing this idyllic time, Isaiah 11:7-9 says: "The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain ..."

Reversing the effects of sin

God will heal physical infirmities. Isaiah 35:5-6 prophesies of this time during which "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing ..."

Of even greater importance will be the spiritual healing that will take place. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus Christ will complete the healing He began during His ministry on earth: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion ..." (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-19). The accumulated results of generations of humans following Satan's sinful ways will begin to be reversed.

The Feast of Tabernacles is also called the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16). This name signified the completion of Israel's annual harvest. In this setting, God said, "you shall rejoice before the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 12:12, 18; 14:26). The Feast is a time of celebration for the abundance God has given.

This same bountiful harvest theme continues in the future fulfillment of this festival. Through Isaiah, God spoke of the desert becoming productive land, "for waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water" (Isaiah 35:6-7).

At that time the earth will produce bountiful harvests. "Behold, the days are coming," God says, "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow" (Amos 9:13).

The significance of tabernacles

The name of the Feast of Tabernacles derives from God's command to ancient Israel to build temporary "tabernacles," sometimes called "booths," to live in during the festival. The Israelites left their houses and built temporary dwelling places (Hebrew succah, meaning "hut of woven boughs") to live in while rejoicing before God. These reminded them of their release from slavery and their dwelling in booths when God brought them out of Egypt (Leviticus 23:34, 41-43). In stark contrast to the hardship of slavery, this festival emphasizes rest, peace and prosperity as it meets the needs of all people, including strangers, widows and the poor.

The Bible emphasizes that, as with booths or temporary dwellings, our physical life is transitory. The apostle Paul's writings reflect this theme: "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an 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" (2 Corinthians 5:1-2, KJV).

Hebrews 11 recounts the examples of many of God's faithful servants down through the centuries. It then concludes that "these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (verse 13).

The Feast of Tabernacles is an annual reminder of our temporary state and that we also "seek a homeland" (verse 14). This lesson is reinforced when we travel to a site of the Feast of Tabernacles and stay in temporary dwellings such as hotels and campgrounds.

This festival reminds us that, in spite of our material possessions, we are still mortals in need of a literal transformation so we may possess eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:50-54).

In the accounts of the vision that has come to be called the "transfiguration," Jesus gave a glimpse of the Kingdom of God to Peter, James and John. Christ appeared to be talking with Moses and Elijah. Peter's immediate response was to suggest that they quickly construct three tabernacles. He seemed to understand the important connection between tabernacles and our quest for eternal life in God's Kingdom (see Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:27-36).

The role of the resurrected saints in the Millennium

The judgment of the inhabitants of the earth who live during the 1,000 years as pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles (Isaiah 2:4; 51:4-5) begins in earnest as Christ brings "many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10). These scriptures show that this judgment is a time of universal opportunity for salvation. For this purpose God has allocated 1,000 years during which the resurrected saints, the firstfruits of God's harvest, will reign with Christ on earth as kings and priests so many others can enter God's Kingdom (Revelation 5:10; 20:6).

Jesus promised that "he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations" (Revelation 2:26). People whomGod resurrects at Christ's return will experience the unparalleled opportunity to work with Him to help all nations build a relationship with God. (For more details, be sure to request our free booklet, What Is Your Destiny?)

The foundation for this relationship begins with instruction on God's law and these very Holy Days. Notice Zechariah's words: "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" (Zechariah 14:16). Other prophets described the time as an era of God's law covering the earth "as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14).

Many will assist Jesus Christ in this universal educational program of helping others understand God's way. Speaking of this time, Isaiah says teachers "will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left" (Isaiah 30:20-21).

The chance to help others understand and be reconciled to God is a wonderful calling. Each who serves in this way will be called "the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In" (Isaiah 58:12).

God calls people out of the world at this time to become His chosen people, sanctified and redeemed by Him (2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1). They are to live exemplary lives as God prepares them for service during Christ's millennial reign and beyond.

"Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul," the apostle Peter wrote, "having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:11-12).

One final conflict

All through God's plan for saving humanity, He never forces anyone to obey Him. Every person is free to choose what he or she will do and whether to accept or reject God's way of life.

After the 1,000 years, God will allow Satan to test the spiritual convictions of the earth's inhabitants. Revelation 20:7-10 describes this time. God will loose the devil from his place of restraint and allow him to deceive those who are not convicted of the perfect righteousness of God's way. God will destroy by fire those who follow Satan in this rebellion. Satan's futile efforts will be thwarted. This final, tragic rebellion against God will come to nothing, and Satan's destructive, deceitful influence over humanity will finally draw to a close.

The stage is now set for the events depicted by yet one more Holy Day. The Feast of Tabernacles offers a marvelous opportunity for salvation to those left alive at Christ's return, as well as their physical descendants during the Millennium. But what about the thousands of millions of people of past generations who have lived and died without ever understanding—or even hearing—God's truth? And what about those who will die in the cataclysmic upheaval preceding Christ's return? How will God offer them salvation? The next chapter provides the answer.