I wonder if I could enlist the help of the preterists on this board. I have had this idea rolling around in my head for awhile. I need some help discerning if I am seeing something here or if the altitude is just getting to me. Any insights or comments would be much appreciated. I apologize in advance for the length of this post.
For some reason, we dont hear very much about the feast of Tabernacles and how it is fulfilled in Christ. We certainly hear about Passover and how it is a magnificent type of Christs atonement. We also hear about Pentecost. However, there is virtual silence on this final and perhaps grandest of feasts. I have come to believe the reason is for this is the churchs misunderstanding of the time of the end. I have heard little teaching on any possible correlation between the Feast of Tabernacles and the events that occurred at the Parousia. Yet, I believe there may be a connection.
As we know the feast of Tabernacles was the last and most joyous of the three major feasts of Israel. (There were actually seven feasts, but three were major.) For years I had sought the Lord about the Feast of Tabernacles. I thought it had to have some sort of set and final fulfillment. Moreover, I thought it would have to have fulfillment after Passover and Pentecost. Passover, of course was fulfilled at the cross. Pentecost in Acts 2. Tabernacles was last chronologically, but when and how?
However, lately with some help from Alfred Edersheims book The Temple Its Ministry and Services I have begun to notice some possible correlations between the rituals of this feast and the events that happened at the Parousia.
The Feast of Tabernacles was about the Presence of God.
This feast was also called the Feast of Booths. In the Old Testament God commanded the people to build booths made of leafy branches to dwell in during the feast. While this looked back to the time when the Hebrew people lived in booths in the wilderness, it was also a type or foreshadow that was to be fulfilled in Christ.
According to David Chilton in his book Days of Vengeance, the word that is translated to booths in Leviticus 26 is the same word used to describe the covering of the presence of God in other places in the scriptures. Therefore I think we can deduce that these booths represented dwelling in the presence of God.
We see this type fulfilled in Revelation 21:
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, £John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:1 through Revelation 21:3 (NKJV)
The Feast of Tabernacles was a feast of great joy. We can see why. It meant that the presence of the Lord has become our dwelling place through the finished works of Christ.
The feast of Tabernacles was about Gods presence in us.
During the Feast of Tabernacles a priest would take water from the Pool of Siloam and some wine and pour them over the altar in the Tabernacle. Jesus while attending the great feast showed the meaning of this act and that He was the fulfillment of this ritual in John chapter seven. It could have been at the completion of this ritual that Jesus said the following:
Now on the last day, the great day of the feast [of Tabernacles], Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37-38).
And do we not see this great truth consummated in Revelation:
Revelation 21:6 (NKJV)
And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
And
Revelation 22:1-2
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
(Note: No one thinks Jesus was talking about a literal building or fountain or city from which the living waters would flow in John 7. Why is it all of a sudden a literal city or fountain in the book of Revelation?)
Furthermore, when the priest poured out the wine and the water, the worshippers would wave their Lulavs towards the altar. (Lulavs were a sort of fan made from palm, myrtle, and willow branches.) This was looking forward to the day when the reign of the Messiah would come forth from the lineage of David. They did not wave the branches towards the sky (Sorry, futurists!) but towards the heart of the Tabernacle. In this we see the place from which the reign of the King comes forth. His reign comes as living waters pour forth from the lives of His beloved who are His living Tabernacle.
The feast of Tabernacles was about the reign of the Messiah
We have a Messianic Rabbi who attends a community prayer meeting I attend. He told me that the feast of Tabernacles has a lot to do with the Messianic kingdom and the rule of the Messiah. He, however, thinks this feast is yet to be fulfilled through the literal nation of Israel.
We see a glimmer of such understanding in the manner the Lord Jesus was greeted as He came to Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The people cut down palm branches and waved them before Him just as the people waved their Lulavs at the feast of Tabernacles. In this they were signifying that He was the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles. He was Messiah, the One who was not only their Savior but King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He was the One from the lineage of David Who would rule over all. They were expecting the rule of the King then in their lifetime not 2000+ years later. Indeed, Jesus did come and smite His enemies and He brought the rule of His kingdom less than a generation later.
And from whence to we see His reign coming forth on the earth today? Is it a literal tabernacle in the literal city of Jerusalem with Jesus literally in bodily form sitting on a literal throne. Some people think these things are coming!
No, we see where His reign pours forth from:
Revelation 22:3-5
And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
His reign pours forth not from Jesus in a literal body like He once walked the earth, but through His current bodythe body of Christ (His living Tabernacle) concerning which John wrote: As He is so are we in the world (I John 4:17).
The Old Testament Holiest of Holies had no natural lighting. It was lit by the glory of God. Revelation 22:5 is a little temple talk. However, in the New Covenant this is spiritual. When Jesus said in John 8:12 I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life, He did not plan on replacing street lamps. He also said the same thing concerning us in Matthew 5:14. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
It is interesting that the feast of Tabernacles was the only feast that focused not only on Israel but all the nations of the world. During this festival the priests offered 70 bullocks. The view presented in the Talmud is that these represented the nations of the earth. It is interesting that Revelation 22 speaks also of the healing of the nations.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1 through Revelation 22:2 (NKJV)
The Feast of Tabernacles was about Rest and completion
Moreover, the feast of Tabernacles symbolized rest and completion. The number seven which shows Gods perfection permeated the feast. It took place in the seventh month, lasted seven days, and its sacrifices were given in multiplies of seven. Everyday was like a Sabbath day during this feast. No work was allowed. However, This was not a solemn rest but a joyous time of rejoicing. If indeed Tabernacles has not been fulfilled, we are still without Gods promised rest. It is left for another dispensation.
In fact, I think it is quite possible that much of the church is stuck in a Pentecost mind set. As we know the time of Pentecost was a transitional period. The kingdom of God was there but not yet. I have heard cries from some preachers of Pentecost at any cost! What we need to realize is that Pentecost was not the final destination of the church. It was the rest and consummation of Tabernacles. In the time of Pentecost they were gaining victory. In Tabernacles we have it.
Furthermore, if the Parousia has not yet occurred, we are left with the fact that Jesus is Savior, but we are left without the fact that Jesus is Lord. (The reality that Jesus is Lord over all the nations of the earth is gloriously illustrated at the Feast of Tabernacles.) Preterist thought seeks to change the mindset of the church to include the fact that Jesus is Lord here, now, and forever (A Tabernacles mindset? As our brother Davo likes to say, Salvation is not a battle but a banquet. Tabernacles definitely had such a feel to it.). Moreover, the church is not left in the position of waiting to gain the kingdom of God. Rather we are a people in full possession of Gods very present kingdom and the glory of His abiding presence.
Ozark