King Solomon was one of the richest and wisest men in history. He became prosperous because he promoted peace through his wisdom. In fact, his kingdom had so much gold that silver “was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon” (1 Kings 10:21). The queen of Sheba paid a visit to Solomon to verify all she had heard about him and his wisdom and wealth. These were her parting words:

“It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw it with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard ... Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness” (1 Kings 10:6-9).

Wisdom, wealth and peace abounded in Solomon’s early reign. But his time is only a foretaste of a coming era of unprecedented peace and prosperity that God promises will envelop the earth!

A feast of abundance

Today wealth abounds in the advanced Western nations. Yet at the same time, millions suffer in grinding poverty. Thousands die every day from starvation and malnutrition-related illnesses. But it need not always be this way. At a time ahead, all human beings will enjoy prosperity. Let’s take a closer look at why and how this transformation will occur.

God outlined the major steps in His plan for humanity through a series of festivals He first revealed to the ancient Israelites, recorded in Leviticus 23. (To understand the significance and symbolism of all of these feasts, be sure to request your free copy of the booklet God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.)

In this article we’ll focus on the meaning of one of those commanded observances, the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival is kept in the autumn of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) based on the agricultural seasons of the Promised Land. The Feast of Tabernacles coincides with the final harvest, marking an end to gathering all the bounty God has given mankind. Also called the “Feast of Ingathering,” it was to be celebrated “at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field” (Exodus 23:16) and “when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress” (Deuteronomy 16:13). This festival was a time of great abundance.

God commanded the Israelites to save up a tithe, a tenth, of their increase during the year and, at His festivals, to “eat [it] before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses ... that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always” (Deuteronomy 14:23). God’s feasts were a time of great celebration and abundance. He further instructs them: “And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household” (verse 26).

We see from His instructions that it was to be a celebration involving the entire family, that they might “learn to fear the LORD [their]God always.” He further commanded that they were to generously share in their abundance with those less fortunate and to give offerings to God in recognition of His blessings (Deuteronomy 16:13-17).

An era of peace and prosperity

The kind of prosperity Israel experienced during the Feast of Tabernacles helps us understand what God has in store for all mankind—to bless humanity with peace and prosperity for 1,000 years. God is immensely generous and wealthy, and He has promised that mankind will share in His wealth. Revelation 20:4 reveals that Jesus Christ, at His return, will establish a 1,000-year reign on earth, an era commonly known as the Millennium (from the Latin words for “thousand years”). For 1,000 years, humanity will live in unprecedented peace. This is not the kind of peace that human beings commonly know. Our kind of peace generally means an absence of war. But God’s peace far eclipses man’s peace. Peace means safety, a well-being characterized by happiness, friendliness and cooperation.

Through the prophet Micah, God described the kind of peace Christ’s reign will bring to earth: “... Everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid ...” (Micah 4:4). There is no fear in God’s peace. It promotes good health, physically, mentally and emotionally. Through the prophet Amos, God fills in the picture even more. “‘Behold the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them’” (Amos 9:13-14).

Ezekiel shows the earth will become like the garden of Eden: “So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited’”(Ezekiel 36:35). Isaiah adds that “the wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing ... They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God” (Isaiah 35:1-2).

A dramatic change

Ironically, for Christ to institute this time of peace, He must put down by force human armies that will resist Him (Zechariah 14:1-4, 12; Revelation 17:14; 19:11-21). The prophet Isaiah tells us that when Jesus returns to earth, He will forcefully subdue all opposition to Him, His government and His kingdom (Isaiah 11:4). Satan and the demons will be incarcerated for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:7). Even the wild animals will possess a tame spirit (Isaiah 11:6-9). When Christ initiates this 1,000-year period with His second coming, the earth will be in a bad way (Isaiah 24). The prophets’ words make this clear in this and other predictions of divine intervention.

From Christ’s arrival onward, there will be restoration and renewal, led by Jesus and supported by His faithful and obedient followers who will have been changed to immortality (Revelation 20:4; Acts 3:19-21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). Those who have survived the period of “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21) will begin a rebuilding process (Isaiah 58:12). With no devil and his demons around to spread satanic attitudes of hatred, war and greed, this will become a time of unprecedented prosperity.

God’s peace and prosperity will break out all over the earth. In Isaiah 11:9 God promises us, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Humans at last learning God’s ways—and putting them into practice—will be the key. In this peaceful and prosperous setting, children will play in the streets without fear of being run over, injured or kidnapped (Zechariah 8:3-5). Parents can sit and visit without fear of unwanted intrusion or being mugged. Families can grow old together, and grandparents can enjoy their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The prophet Micah tells us: “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Micah 4:2-4). This is the kind of world God has in store for us!

The Feast of Tabernacles today

The members of the United Church of God, publisher of Virtual Christian Magazine and the Good News, magazine will gather in dozens of locations around the world in October in obedience to God’s command to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. There they will observe this Feast, worshiping God and learning more about this coming age when Christ will rule and all nations “shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles” (Zechariah 14:16).