The Feast of Tabernacles and You!

by Jim Franks

Whenever I think about the Feast of Tabernacles, a smile comes across my face. In the Church it is without doubt the most anticipated time of the year, and within days of completing one Feast, we begin planning for the next one!

This year the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, will host approximately 10,400 people at the Feast of Tabernacles in more than 40 locations around the world. As an organization, we don’t have a separate “Festival office.” We rely on the ministry, the Feast coordinators, volunteer Church members and a Festival team working in conjunction with Ministerial Services to locate new sites, monitor existing sites, and update contracts and agreements on an annual basis. It is a difficult and time-consuming job for all those involved, especially for two of our pastors, Mark Winner and Mike Blackwell. In addition to their other duties (pastoring multiple congregations and organizing national church activities, such as the Winter Family Weekend in Louisville and the Presidents’ Day Weekend in Branson), they head a small Festival team entrusted with locating new sites and updating our established sites.

Each year we strive to provide new and interesting locations where members can observe the Feast. But in so doing, we must not lose sight of the real meaning of these days. It isn’t about some exotic location—it’s about brethren gathering to observe one of God’s festivals.

Internationally, we normally have two sites in the beautiful Caribbean; at least one site in Europe; one or two sites in South Africa; several sites in Latin America; sites in New Zealand, Australia, and the Philippines; and, this year, a first-time site in Canada. In the U.S. we’ll be meeting at seven locations stretching across the country, along with two smaller satellite sites in Florida and Minnesota. These two satellite sites will help members in Florida who cannot travel the long distance to Orange Beach or Pigeon Forge and members in Minnesota who find it difficult to travel all the way to Branson.

In the midst of all our preparations, though, we must stop and ask ourselves, “What does the Feast mean to me?” Is it a vacation? Is it a religious conference? Actually, it is neither of these. But if you had to give an answer today—“To me, the Feast of Tabernacles is …”—what would you say? How would you define it in a few words?

I will give you my definition. The Feast of Tabernacles is a celebration (Leviticus 23:34-43). It is an annual reminder that God has not forgotten His people (John 14:3). Jesus Christ promised that He will return to this earth to prevent man from destroying himself and then set up His government, reigning on earth with the saints for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-5). Then will come the period of final judgment (verses 11-14) pictured by the Eighth Day, or Last Great Day. Our challenge is to capture and renew our vision of what that will be like and to not become easily distracted. While we are blessed to be able to go to fabulous resorts in beautiful locations, we can never allow that to take our focus off the real reason we attend the Feast.

I hope everyone enjoys the greatest Feast ever this year. A lot of hard work will go into the preparation. I hope we avoid the distractions and are able to see the real Feast of Tabernacles—the one that pictures a very happy future time when Jesus Christ will be reigning on this earth. Can you imagine what that will be like? I hope you are like me, with a smile crossing your face when you think about the Feast of Tabernacles and everything it pictures!