Rumble
The Purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles in the Millennial Kingdom
The Feast of Tabernacles is also nicknamed “Sukkah” or “God has us Covered”.
The name Feast of Tabernacles comes from the tabernacles, or temporary dwellings, that God commands His people to stay in during the fall, seven-day festival.
These temporary living quarters (“Sukkah”) reminded Israel of their exodus from Egypt and serve as a reminder of the temporary nature of life and that God was always present as He “tabernacled” through the wilderness with His people (Leviticus 23:43; 2 Peter 1:13-15).
The Centrality of Christ in Kingdom Culture and our Daily Lives
As part of the yearly festival, worshippers were to construct makeshift, 3-sided “booths” like the one above to temporarily dwell in during the week-long celebration.
These flimsy sukkahs testify that, just like in the wilderness, God has them covered and their safety comes from the Lord. Like David says in Psalm 140:7, God is the One who is our sukkah (covering) in the day of battle:
O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.
In his end-time prophecy, Zechariah reveals that the Feast of Tabernacles will be re-instituted in the Millennial Kingdom. All nations will be required to annually gather and pay their respects to the Lord in Jerusalem as the source of all blessing.
“Then it will be that all the nations who have come against Jerusalem and survived will go up each year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles” (Zech. 14:16).
This prophecy reveals that the nations will gather to fight against Jerusalem (Zech. 12:1-14; Joel 3:1-2; Ezek. 38:4).
Following the battle, the survivors from these attacking nations will once again go up to Jerusalem—not to make war, but to worship the LORD of Hosts, demonstrating their submission to the King of kings.
All nations will have a new, millennial orientation around God’s Will and His Word to worship Him annually in Jerusalem at the Feast ofTabernacles.
In the kingdom, mankind’s schedule will be aligned with the LORD’s calendar, and their priorities will be seen in their obedience to worship Him (Zech. 14:16). The nations who survive will no longer be God’s foes but followers of the King.
In Kingdom culture, man recognizes the centrality of Jesus in God’s biblical calendar. Central to that calendar is orienting life around Christ and His authority and finding sufficiency and security in His Jerusalem-centered reign over the nations.
Is Christ the central theme of your life today? Does your calendar show that Jesus is first in your life,
“Seek first the Kingdom of God…” (Mt. 6:33)
