Those that stay home during the Feast are now being told to put tents up IN their homes or their back yards and stay in them for 8 days. The apostate leader of the falsely called Continuing Church of God is not the only one to preach this nonsense. Other COGlet ministers have also said the same in the past. All of the continual jumping though hoops in order to please the gods of these men has to be exhausting to their members.
The Feast of Tabernacles has begun around the world. Here is a link to a sermon for today: Christianity and the Feast of Tabernacles.
What should you do if you wish to obey God?
Those who can will travel (Deuteronomy 14:23-26) go to a Feast site. If you are at, near, or can get to one of the Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2016 you should attend church services there every day.
But if you are not able to physically attend those locations, what should you do?
Those who cannot may wish to consider the possibility to not sleep in their houses during the time of the Feast. If they are physically and financially able, they may wish to try to sleep in some type of temporary dwelling like a hotel, motel, camper, or a tent (including perhaps one in one’s own home). In ancient Israel, those who did not travel (as well as native Israelites that did) made ‘booths’ of branches on top of their roofs (Leviticus 23:40) and slept in them for the seven days of the Feast (Leviticus 23:42), and some slept in them for the entire eight days (though the Bible only mentions seven days). Staying in ‘temporary dwellings,’ of whatever sort, helps convey that this age is temporal and a new millennial age is coming.
Since the feast is not required of the new covenant, why waste the money on a hotel or a tent for the living room? You can put the money to better use in the year and take your family on a real vacation which does not include hours and hours of mind numbingly BAD sermons from the likes of Thiel, Mario Hernandez, Rod Meredith, Vic Kubik, Stevie Flurry and others.
13 comments:
The very last Feast of Tabernacles I attended, the opening message by the Feast Coordinator was British Israelism and how it is the truth.
Worst Feast ever.
Apparently those who gave messages at the Feast knew about the info on BI and decided they were going to be defiant.
Along with doomsday sermons, it is clear that there is absolutely nothing worthwhile in Armstrongism.
Now, on the other hand, if those throwing the Feast would have presentations and seminars on Alcoholism and overcoming it (using rational.org), it could be useful.
So... would a table fort be acceptable?
Ah yes the"Feast".I must admit I really enjoyed that time.I certainly miss the friends I had,new ones that I made.And of course actually having money to spend,even if just for a short period.I certainly have no regrets in attending,it was a "special" time.But as we have come to see,nothing was as it should of been.Behind the scenes darkness lurked.All I have are pleasant memories,but absolutely no desire to go back.And I know not everyone can share a happy story from their "Feast".Many were suffering silently.
"So... would a table fort be acceptable?"
Yes, as long as the blanket draped over the table is not made of forbidden mixed fibers.
Another acceptable option is staying at a Motel 6 and laying a palm branch on top of any counter, table, dresser or toilet tank lid. Also, if the maid comes looking for a tip, just blow your shofar (or kazoo) at her, to keep her worldly greediness at bay.
You can also switch out their evil Gideon Bible for a Godly KJV, and leave the maid a bill for doing so.
Gideon Bibles, for the most part are the Old King James Bible.
Of course, in this day and age, fewer and fewer hotels and motels have that book in their drawers. Not all management agrees to allow Bibles.
Note that the Marriott hotel chain, founded by a Mormon, places the The Book of Mormon in many of its rooms, and many hotels also offer Buddhist, Hindu, Christian Scientist or Scientologist books along with the standard Gideon Bible.
Not sure about the Koran.
About 40 miles north of where I live in Southern Indiana is a feat sight for the Intercontinental Church of God (GTA's). It is in Amish country. I decided to drop in to see how many people are attending and what age group dominated the group. This would be the first Feast of Tabernacles since I left the WCG in 1974. There were only about 40 people. Most were middle aged and older. Only one young pre teen and a few very small children. That was it. No roar of a Gulfstream II overhead as experienced at Squaw Valley and no huge crown as at Jekyll Island. Perhaps in the not too distant future they could meet at a Denny's or a phone booth.
I recall going to 3 services a day...morning, afternoon and evening. I believe they changed the name of the Feast to the "Feast of Unleavened Buns"
why waste the money
Not living in Eretz Israel, no Temple, with no Levites, etc, Orthodox Jews try to keep the FOT the best they can. And they only go to their local synagogues, and while they may have to pay to get a seat, there is no collection of tithes and offerings. And they will spend a little time sitting in a Sukkot, not a hotel room.
I don’t know what HWA was thinking when he decided how his RCG would keep the FOT. He may have been just following what G.G. Rupert said to do, with perhaps a few touches of his own. Certainly the way the modern Jews keep the FOT is the cheaper option. And a lot of the Jewish service would be liturgy, not sermons; the emphasis is studying Ecclesiastes, not listening to sermons of supposition about what the Kingdom will be like.
Once an elder giving a feast sermonette read an FOT schedule from years back. He emphasized that there were 2 to 3 sermons every day then, and how lucky we were that we had fewer hours of sermons and more free time for our feast activities.
not required of the new covenant
While that isn’t the issue here, a problem is that the actual terms of the New Covenant are not spelled out in the New Testament. So for “what laws to keep” there are a few antinomial groups (no laws at all), with many mainstream churches going for 9 or less of the 10 commandments, tithing, and a few others reserved for special occasions. As for “pick and choose”, it was an article by Bob Thiel with his selection criteria that for me provided the death-blow to Armstrongism.
Steve D,
I'm intrigued!
I attended many Feasts on the east coast, including Jekyll Island.
Hurricane with light bulbs popping at Jekyll? Yup.
But, what's the "huge crown" at Jekyll Island? I do remember GTA regarded like a rock star the times I attended there. (In fact, iirc, that's where he sang lead on a spirited version of the Kansas tune, "Carry on My Wayward Son" during a Feast's young peoples' social event.)
Huge "crowd" maybe...just guessing.
Thanks, anon. That was vary[sic, with credit to ms. froud] astute of you.
Perhaps "huge crowd" is what Steve D meant, typing, "huge crown" when he mentioned Jekyll Island.
When I consider typos I look to see how close letters are on the keyboard. Only Steve D knows for sure! :)
I got to visit Jekyll Island a few years ago for the first time. Must have been a sight to see back then.
In his latest CCOG letter, Bob Thiel included:
Also, in the Philippines, Anthony Flavell reported that because of a typhoon, the once per week boat most people were going to take to go to the Feast site in Silay City could not make it there. So, most of our brethren in the Philippines, instead, would have to meet at his home. While we are glad for the back-up site, we had really wanted a combined site for our members in the Philippines.
For some reason, something seems a tad askew here. Isn’t Bob’s strongest claim that he’s a prophet? Aren’t prophets supposed to be aware of stuff like this? Should there have been 228 feast sites? What am I missing here?
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