The glory days that will never be duplicated again.
For Your Consideration: Some Questions About Your Observance of the Feast of Tabernacles
What does the Feast of Tabernacles mean to you?
Has your understanding of the festival changed since the first time you observed it? How?
Do you think that your observance of the festival is consistent with Torah's instructions to construct a temporary dwelling and live in it for seven days? Explain.
Do you think your observance of the festival satisfies the commandment to appear before the Lord three times each year at the place which He chooses? Explain.
If Jesus Christ really fulfilled God's Law, how does this festival point to him? If it doesn't point to him, please explain.
What new insights into the Kingdom of God has this year's observance of the FOT imparted to you?
What part do meals and the consumption of alcoholic beverages play in your observance of this festival?
What kind of entertainment activities do you engage in during your festival observance? How do they fit into the overall symbolism of the festival?
How much money have you contributed to the Church and or charities during the festival?
Were the sermons, music, and Bible studies good and relevant? If so, what did you learn from them?
Did you skip any sermons or Church sponsored activities during the festival? If so, why?
If you have a family, did your spouse and/or children enjoy the feast? Did they learn anything new? Would they celebrate the festival if you weren't around?
When will the symbolism of this festival find its fulfillment? If/When that happens, will the festival become a memorial of that/those event(s)?
Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix
Hello there Millar/Lonnie.
ReplyDeleteDown under here in NZ we have many celebrating ‘observing’ the Feast not associated with Armstrongism in any way. Including a Catholic Church holding an observation on the first and last days of Tabernacles. Very surprising to see the level of interest across many denominations here. And of course the local Jewish community building ‘dwellings’ in their Shuls. I welcome this. It’s a far cry from our wwcog days when we thought we were the only ones doing so. And it is a phenomenon globally also to see the multitude of Christian groups in ‘observance’. And some of these groups, like in South America number in the tens of thousands. I can’t help but wonder if this is a movement of the Spirit of God by the interest shown, to use the phrase ‘worldwide’. Cheers.
These would be interesting questions if respondents' programming allowed them to go beyond the boilerplate anwers they were taught. If we were to actually be able to read the responses, I suspect members would give 99% uniform answers.
ReplyDeleteWant the answers, read the church lit. That's what they will be reciting!
On the other hand, you may have stimulated secret thoughts which they will not express, but which will create disturbance in their minds!
For now a subdued celebration; Satan not put in pit yet...Oh yes, much of Levitical Priesthood (LP) FOT instruction after Ex 24 removed-Heb 7...Never could find construct instructs...(LP) command removed, not in Ex 23; how did Paul observe the feast in Rome?..."Think not"...None...No consumption changes now...No entertainment change for now...None of your business...None of your business...Maybe, none of your business...None of your business...It's the Feast of Ingathering: land harvest, gathering of the House of Israel after Christ returns, a joyous time of pointing to and afterward remembering the fulfillment of Daniel 2:44 and a "restoration of all things" and a return to sanity and resurrections of the dead and who knows what else......the festival will continue.......
ReplyDeleteNone of your responses to these questions is any of my business. The questions and your responses were meant for you to ponder privately, but thanks for sharing some of your responses with the rest of us. This was intended to be an exercise in why do I believe and do the things that I do?
DeleteArmstrongists believe that they have cornered the market on the Holy Days.
ReplyDeleteThat Christian's don't have a clue. I asked Google AI what Sukkot means to Christians and the following was the answer:
To many Christians, Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, signifies Jesus's revelation of himself as the source of "living water" and "light of the world". It serves as a reminder of God's past provision, present provision through Jesus, and future fulfillment, as well as a call to hospitality and rejoicing. Some Christians also see it as a prophetic "rehearsal" for the future, according to this article from Christians United for Israel.
Spiritual meanings for Christians
Remembrance of God's provision: Christians view Sukkot as a time to remember God's past deliverance and protection of the Israelites in the desert and to give thanks for present blessings.
Jesus as the source of life: It is seen as a time Jesus used to declare himself as the source of "living water" and "light of the world" during the original festival in Jerusalem.
Future hope: Some Christians believe the fall feasts, including Sukkot, point to the second coming of Jesus Christ, with the festival symbolizing the future fulfillment of God's promises.
A call to hospitality: The tradition of building a sukkah and welcoming guests points to the gospel's call to show hospitality, especially to the marginalized.
A reminder of dependence and gratitude: Building a temporary dwelling in a sukkah reminds Christians of their dependence on God and the importance of rejoicing in His presence rather than material things.
I think the machine gave us a great summary of the Christian view. What's not to like.
Scout
Scout, Your remarks about Christian views regarding FOT reminded me of the process which produced the views of the Armstrong Churches of God. Don't get me wrong - those views are just as good as any produced by the ACOGs. Nevertheless, the further we get away from Scripture, the wilder the speculation about meaning(s) tends to be! I believe, as Jesus preached and Paul proclaimed, that ALL of the Law and Prophets pointed to Christ (including the festivals).
ReplyDeletehttps://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-feast-of-temporary-dwellings-or.html
Good questions, Lonnie.
ReplyDeleteI've been using this FOT time to ponder its Christian foreshadows. Which is beautiful in retrospect, though only a shadow of the present Reality.
Which is not what Armstrong churches are peddling.
ReplyDelete1. It’s a holy week like Passover/FOUB.
2. I now believe it looks back to the Israelites being guided by God and provided by God in the desert to the Promised Land; and back to when Jesus was born and circumcised.
3. If I owned my own home I’d love to have an arbor and decorate it with greenery and sit in/under it to eat and study particularly during the FOT or else build a tent in the back to do such. But I believe the tabernacles represent our mortal bodies so it’s not actually necessary to construct physical tabernacles since we are the tabernacles.
4. I believe that was for OT Israel. As Paul and the other apostles demonstrated we have liberty to observe God’s festivals wherever we are now. We don’t need to go to Jerusalem (there’s no temple there) or some COG sponsored site as if God is commanding such. We can keep these days like we do PO/FOUB and Pentecost etc for we are God’s temple wherever we are.
5. See 2b for answer.
6. ATM I can’t say I have been given new insights. But then I’ve been keeping it as I do PO/FOUB ie at home and just the holy Sabbaths have I listened to a streaming church service.
7. None.
8. None.
9. None. I’m not associated with any ACOG or other group. I believe in giving alms personally to the poor and homeless when I encounter them not to man-made organizations.
10. Those I listened to I found to be very general and like they didn’t want to offend anyone and so unfortunately easily forgettable—which is one primary reason I tend to prefer not to risk wasting money and time going to some group’s site only to find the sermons so abstract or generic to be only memorable for all the wrong reasons.
11. See 6
12. NA I’m single.
13. At the Millennium and GWTJ I believe.
Miller Jones:
ReplyDeleteYou wrote, "Your remarks about Christian views regarding FOT reminded me of the process which produced the views of the Armstrong Churches of God"
I am not sure what you meant. The process I used was simply to let Google AI collect together the information held by Christians
Miller Jones:
ReplyDeleteYou wrote :Your remarks about Christian views regarding FOT reminded me of the process which produced the views of the Armstrong Churches of God"
My rebellious laptop sent the comment before I was ready. I could write an essay on the dangers of this brand of laptop.
I don't understand how the process I used resembles Armstrongism. I used Google AI to assemble some information about what the FoT means to Christians. The response was from Google AI was Christocentric. It did include a Jewish interpretation that connects the FoT with the provision of God during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. While the Jews, of course, do not connect the wandering with Christ, Christians do recognize Yahweh, hence Christ, as the provider during the wandering.
A machine is not a substitute for personal research. AI is sometimes inaccurate and sometimes connects facts that really don't have a strong connection. You have to verify its results. AI is just what we used to called in information technology a "report writer" application. Its programming is just cleverer than the typical report writer. It operates with faux intelligence, but it actually works pretty well. I think it is as theologically astute as the average Christian minister. Just don't ask it to pray for you.
Scout