God's Holy Days Tabernacles

Early in the fall when the air begins to cool from the summer’s heat, people begin to prepare for the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Ingathering.  They know it is near because they just celebrated the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement.  The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the most joyous times in Jerusalem.  Everyone knows the feast has arrived on the fifteenth day of the month when the moon is full.

^{Leviticus 23:33} The LORD said to Moses, ³⁴ "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵ The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. ³⁶ For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.

^{Exodus 34:22} "Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. [b] ²³ Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel.

 

During this fall time, the greatest harvest of the year occurs.  As local farmers know, the harvest time is limited and crops must be removed from the fields as soon as possible praying that the weather is good and it does not rain.  During this time, they work long, hard hours gathering their crops.  Strangely, enough they can harvest the crops at night because the full moon provides sufficient light for their efforts.  This is known as the “harvest moon”.

 

The celebration, the joy of the people, and the brightness of the moon all symbolize the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. What will life be like when Jesus rules the earth for one thousand years? When Jesus was on earth, continually He mentioned His Father’s kingdom.  Let’s examine God’s word and see what Jesus meant.

^{Matthew 6:9}"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹Give us today our daily bread. ¹²Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.[a]'

^{Revelation 11:15}The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."

^{Revelation 19:13}He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter."[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

^{Isaiah 65:17} "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. ¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. ¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. ²⁰ "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach [a] a hundred will be considered accursed.

^{Hebrews 13:14}For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

6.1 A Tabernacle

What is a tabernacle?  The Hebrew word for tabernacle is Sukkot (  ) and it means “temporary booth or shelter.

 

Image from http://www.biblicalholidays.com

^{Leviticus 23:33} The LORD said to Moses, ³⁴ "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days.

^{Leviticus 23:40} On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. ⁴¹ Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths

A tabernacle is symbolic of many different things.  We will now review and see some of this symbolism.

This is from the Biblical Holidays website:

“Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving. The American pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, were deeply religious people. As they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their survival and for the harvest, it is quite possible that they looked to the Bible (Leviticus 23:39) for an appropriate way of celebrating and based their holiday in part on the Feast of Tabernacles.”

6.1.1 Our Temporary Flesh

Our fleshly bodies are symbolic of the temporary booth, the Sukkot. This life is short and we live in our fleshly bodies temporarily.

^{James 1:10}But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

^{James 4:13}Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." ¹⁴Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

^{Ecclesiastes 9:5} For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.

^{Ecclesiastes 12:6} Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, ⁷ and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

6.1.2 Holy Spirit Tabernacles with Men

^{John 14:23} Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

^{Romans 8:9}You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

^{1 Corinthians 3:16}Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

^{1 Corinthians 6:19}Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

^{Galatians 2:20}I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

6.1.3 Christ Tabernacles with Men

^{Zechariah 8:3} This is what the LORD says: "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain."

^{Zechariah 8:23} This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.' "

^{John 14:2}In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

^{1 Thessalonians 5:10}He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

^{Revelation 21:1}Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

There are also indications that Christ’s first coming, His first dwelling with men, or His birth occurred during the Feast of Tabernacles.

John 1:14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The word dwelling is skenoo ( ) and means “to fix one's tabernacle, have one's tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle”.

 

In Matthew Henry’s commentary on Leviticus 23:33-44 he indicates that the birth of Christ could have occurred during the Feast of Tabernacles:

 

“(3.) It was a typical feast. It is supposed by many that our blessed Saviour was born much about the time of this feast; then he left his mansions of light above to tabernacle among us (Jn. 1:14), and he dwelt in booths. And the worship of God under the New Testament is prophesied of under the notion of keeping the feast of tabernacles, Zec. 14:16. For, [1.] The gospel of Christ teaches us to dwell in tabernacles, to sit loose to this world, as those that have here no continuing city, but by faith, and hope and holy contempt of present things, to go out to Christ without the camp, Heb. 13:13, 14. [2.] It teaches us to rejoice before the Lord our God. Those are the circumcision, Israelites indeed, that always rejoice in Christ Jesus, Phil. 3:3. And the more we are taken off from this world the less liable we are to the interruption of our joys.”

 

When considering the verse in Luke, the shepherds are in the fields at night.  This would normally only occur during the warmer times of the year.  This most likely did not happen in the middle of winter.

^{Luke 2:8}And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord.

Since all were commanded to be in Jerusalem for the Feast, all available “inns” in and around Jerusalem would have been full.

^{Luke 2:6}While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Additionally, Christ was circumcised at the proper time, which might have coincided with the Last Great Day, the eighth day of the Feast.

^{Luke 2:21}On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

6.2 The Millennium

The millennium is derived from Latin “mille annum” and means one thousand years. This word is not in the bible. It represents a time of physical rest compared to the previous 6,000 years of Satan’s rule.  When we consider the verse from Peter:

^{Psalm 90:1} Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. ² Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. ³ You turn men back to dust, saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men." ⁴ For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

^{2 Peter 3:8}But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Parallels have been made and the following table reflects the concept of a day for a thousand years.

Day	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Year	4000-3000 BC	3000-2000 BC	2000-1000 BC	1000 BC -0 AD	0 – 1000 AD	1000 – 2000 AD	2000 – 3000 AD
Genesis 1	Light	Land	Vegetation	Heavens	Sea Creatures and Birds	Land Creatures and Man	Sabbath Rest
	Satan’s Rule						Christ’s Rule

^{Revelation 20:3}He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. ⁴ I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

^{Revelation 20:7}When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.

Like the Sabbath, the millennium will culminate the creation week and represent 1,000 years of rest!  Here is a quote from Charles Spurgeon on this subject on 18 October 1857:

 

“Before Adam’s fall the world kept high and perpetual holiday; but now the world has come to its work-days, now it hath to toil. When Adam was in the garden the world had its Sabbath: and it shall never have another Sabbath till the Millennium shall dawn, and then when all things have ceased to work, and the kingdoms shall be given up to God, even the Father, then shall the world have her Sabbath, and shall rest; but at present all things do work.

 

Dear brethren, let us not wonder if we have to work too. If we have to toil, let us remember, this is the world’s week of toil. The 6,000 years of continual labor, and toil, and travail, have happened not to us alone, but to the whole of God’s great universe; the whole world is groaning, and travailing.”

6.3 The Kingdom

The Kingdom of God will be peaceful, wonderful, joyful, awesome, fantastic, and incredible.  When Christ establishes His Kingdom, people will experience true peace.  It will be a wonderful peace that man has never been seen before. 

 

Zechariah 8, 9, and 14, Isaiah 2 and 11, Ezekiel 38 and 39, Amos and Micah all describe God’s coming Kingdom in great detail; however, here are a few verses which illustrate the beauty of God’s Kingdom.

^{Zechariah 8:4}This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age. ⁵ The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there."

^{Zechariah 9:10} I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River [a] to the ends of the earth. [b]

^{Isaiah 11:6} the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling [a] together; and a little child will lead them. ⁷ The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. ⁸ The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. ⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

^{Ezekiel 38:11} You will say, "I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. ¹² I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land."

^{Amos 9:13} "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.

 

Image from United Nations "Turn Swords into Plowshares" a gift from the Soviet Union 1959

^{Micah 4:1} In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. ² Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. ³ He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

^{Isaiah 2:4} He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Today, most people do not know about the Feast of Tabernacles, but in God’s Kingdom, all people, all nations will know.  If they do not attend and celebrate, they will not get rain for their crops!

^{Zechariah 14:16} Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹⁷ If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. ¹⁸ If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD [d] will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹⁹ This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

6.3.1 No Human or Fleshly Government

^{Daniel 2:44} And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

^{Daniel 7:27} And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

^{Revelation 11:15}The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." ¹⁶And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. ¹⁸The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great— and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

^{1 Corinthians 6:9}Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

6.3.2 Restoring Israel

^{Jeremiah 3:14} "Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. ¹⁵ Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶ In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. ¹⁷ At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. ¹⁸ In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance.

^{Ezekiel 36:22} "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. ²³ I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. ²⁴ " 'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. ²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. ³⁰ I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. ³¹ Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. ³² I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel! ³³ " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. ³⁵ They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited." ³⁶ Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the LORD have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.'

^{Isaiah 11:10} In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. ¹¹ In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, [b] from Cush, [c] from Elam, from Babylonia, [d] from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.

^{Isaiah 54:5} For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. ⁶ The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit— a wife who married young, only to be rejected," says your God. ⁷ "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. ⁸ In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer. ⁹ "To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again.

^{Jeremiah 16:14} "However, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when men will no longer say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' ¹⁵ but they will say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers. ¹⁶ "But now I will send for many fishermen," declares the LORD, "and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.

6.4 The Saints

When we look into God’s word, we find that those in Christ, today’s Christians are known as the “saints”.  Once Christ returns, those in Christ are converted from flesh into spirit.  We will be converted from corruptible to incorruptible.  Once we are spirit we will be able to bless others and creation with our new abilities!

^{1 Corinthians 9:25}Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

^{1 Corinthians 15:52}in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

^{Romans 8:18}I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that[i] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. ²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

6.4.1 Kings

King David will be the king over all of Israel after he is resurrected and established in the Kingdom.

^{Jeremiah 30:9} Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

The twelve apostles will be the kings over each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

^{Luke 22:29}And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Christians in the Kingdom will be kings as well and will reign with Christ, David, and the twelve apostles!

^{Isaiah 32:1} See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice.

^{Daniel 7:21} As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

^{1 Peter 5:6}"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

^{Matthew 25:21}"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

^{Luke 19:17}" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' ¹⁸"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' ¹⁹"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'

^{Revelation 3:21}To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

^{Revelation 20:26}To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ²⁷'He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery'[b]— just as I have received authority from my Father.

6.4.2 Priests as Teachers

Christians will be the priests in God’s Kingdom will help to lead, teach, and convert the nations to God’s holy ways during the millennium:

^{Malachi 2:7} "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction—because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty.

^{Jeremiah 3:14} "Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. ¹⁵Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

^{Ezekiel 44:23}They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.

^{Revelation 1:5}and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

^{Revelation 5:9}And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. ¹⁰You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

^{Micah 4:2} Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

^{Isaiah 30:19} O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. ²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." ²² Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!"

^{Isaiah 2:2} In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. ³ Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

^{Revelation 20:6}Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. 

The priests will warn of the future release of Satan and teach how to prepare for his return.  Since these priests of the future kingdom are today’s Christians, they have experienced Satan’s deception and can share how the pain of Satan’s lies will affect their minds and their lives.

^{Revelation 20:3}He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

^{Revelation 20:7}When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

6.4.3 Priests as Judges

Christians will also judge the people and situations in the Kingdom.

 

^{Isaiah 1:26} I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City."

^{Ezekiel 44:24} " 'In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed feasts, and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.

^{1 Corinthians 6:2}Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? ³Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

^{Revelation 20:4} I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

6.5 Questions

1. What does the word tabernacle mean to you?
2. Before this study, did you make the connection between the Feast of Tabernacles and the millennium?  Why or why not?
3. What is appealing about the Kingdom of God here on earth?
4. How will God restore Israel to the Kingdom?
5. Why should the saints rule in the kingdom and why not let flesh and blood rule in Christ’s kingdom?
6. Have you ever considered yourself a saint before?  Why or why not?
7. How would you feel ruling a city?  What would make it different from today’s influences?
8. How would you feel ruling with Christ?