It's that time of year again - time for COG Members and families to go forth and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, in obedience to the prophetic writings of Zechariah in chapter 14. For the COG Community, because the Bible Says It, you then must do it, as a commanded convocation, and this is enough reason for them. Let's look at Zechariah 14:16 and it's commentaries:
16 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. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
20 In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lordof hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. (NKJV)
Zechariah 14:16-21 Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary (Concise) (Bolding mine)
"As it is impossible for all nations literally to come to Jerusalem once a year, to keep a feast, it is evident that a figurative meaning must here be applied. Gospel worship is represented by the keeping of the feast of tabernacles. Every day of a Christian's life is a day of the feast of tabernacles; every Lord's day especially is the great day of the feast; therefore every day let us worship the Lord of hosts, and keep every Lord's day with peculiar solemnity. It is just for God to withhold the blessings of grace from those who do not attend the means of grace. It is a sin that is its own punishment; those who forsake the duty, forfeit the privilege of communion with God. A time of complete peace and purity of the church will arrive. Men will carry on their common affairs, and their sacred services, upon the same holy principles of faith, love and obedience. Real holiness shall be more diffused, because there shall be a more plentiful pouring forth of the Spirit of holiness than ever before. There shall be holiness even in common things. Every action and every enjoyment of the believer, should be so regulated according to the will of God, that it may be directed to his glory. Our whole lives should be as one constant sacrifice, or act of devotion; no selfish motive should prevail in any of our actions. But how far is the Christian church from this state of purity! Other times, however, are at hand, and the Lord will reform and enlarge his church, as he has promised. Yet in heaven alone will perfect holiness and happiness be found."
Such an interpretation was never considered in the Worldwide Church of God Days. Zechariah 14 - as most of the prophetic writings were in the Old Testament - was taken absolutely literally. Did we ever consider the fact that our literal interpretations of scripture were wildly out of the realm of realism?
Coffman Commentary:
Any literal acceptance of this verse as a pledge that God will destroy the whole world except a remnant of Jews in every nation, and that the entire physical earth shall journey three times a year to physical Jerusalem to live in tents for a week must be accounted as a preposterous misunderstanding.There is nothing in the last 2,000 years that resembles a fulfillment of this prophecy, except the repeated triumph of Christ and his gospel in those very lands which once were pagan enemies of the Lord. This verse is a pledge that it will continue to be so.
Yet it is exactly that "preposterous misunderstanding" that the Churches of God hold to - and dearly - when it comes to what they view as biblical support of their steadfast adherence of their unique version of the Feast of Tabernacles. What logistics would be required to literally bring "all nations" to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem? "You, your son, your daughter, your maidservants, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widows"? Has it ever truly been considered that the city of Jerusalem itself cannot possibly contain all nations within it's gates?
Have the logistics of food, water, sewage, lodging, sound, meeting (how, when, where) ever been considered? It was our belief way back in the day that a literal (there's that word again) Super-Highway would be built to handle the traffic of all nations. Again. Has anyone considered the logistics?
Perhaps we were certain a supernatural miracle would have had to happen. In exactly the same way we took other literal prophetic statements - such as the taming of wild animals in the World Tomorrow - to be supernaturally conducted.
So here's the question. For those who hold on to the "literal interpretation" of the Zechariah 14:16 prophecy concerning the Feast of Tabernacles, I ask you - have you ever considered the logistics - and why is it a figurative allegory to these verses cannot, and does not, to you, apply? If Herbert Armstrong was wrong about over 200 "prophecies" in scripture - then what makes him so right about understanding Old Testament prophecies such as the Zechariah prophecies?
I will tell you on my end as one born and raised in the Church - it was taken absolutely literally, not figuratively. I was not told how these things would happen, just that they would happen. This led to more of a sci-fi like understanding of how these events would transpire in my young mind. Certainly, it would have to be somewhat different for those who came into belief of these prophecies through Armstrong who may not have seriously read these scriptures before.
Let's have a conversation on Zechariah 14, how you interpreted it then, how you interpret it now, and what it was that made or makes you believe a particular way about this particular prophecy. Please comment below if you are so inclined.
submitted by SHT
