God's ultimate goal for human beings is to enjoy peace and prosperity (Luke 2:14; Amos 9:13). Today, you and I enjoy peace and at least spiritual prosperity as members of God's Church. Still the shock of 9/11 motivates us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come." While we patiently wait for Christ's return, we are encouraged to enjoy peace and prosperity at the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast is a foretaste of better days ahead.

Today's World: Confusion, Violence and Sorrow

You and I live in Babylon (that is, confusion) the Great (Revelation 17:5). Check out the Middle East and see how confusion, violence and sorrow are characterized as Palestinian children strapped in vest bombs. As if this weren't crazy enough, Muslim extremists vow to utterly destroy the infidels of America. But Christ will dispatch Babylon the Great and transform those who remain alive (Revelation 18; 19; Hebrews 8:10-12). One day peace will pervade international societies: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken" (Micah 4:3-4).

Today's world, stumbling around in spiritual darkness (John 12:35; 2 Corinthians 4:4), cannot be compared to the spiritual light of the world tomorrow. Yet right now, you and I possess the light of Christ (John 1:9). As spiritual lights to and in a darkened world, we have the privilege to illuminate God's way of peace and prosperity during the Feast of Tabernacles. Our examples count!

Feast of Booths Speaks of Peace and Prosperity

Once a year God commands us to come under His tabernacle (Deuteronomy 14:26; Leviticus 23:34-42) during the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16) and rejoice in His freedom, peace and prosperity. That means we pull up stakes and head where God has placed His name. There we dwell in a booth or temporary dwelling for eight inspiring days.

Dwelling in a booth (a temporary habitation) at the Feast of Tabernacles is a very positive act. At once we get away from our everyday surroundings, our jobs, repetitive thoughts and familiar personal contacts; and we show by our thoughts, words and actions, God's promise of world peace.

Please don't assume that God intended dwelling in a booth as a test, although things of God can test the human condition. "The booth in Scripture is not an image of privation and misery, but of protection, preservation, and shelter from heat, storm, and tempest; refer to Psalm 27:5; 31:20; Isaiah 4:6" (Unger's Bible Dictionary, 1966, page 359). In fact, the word booth can substitute for the word tabernacle. The Feast of Tabernacles can also be expressed as the Feast of Booths.

How did ancient Israel view the Feast of Tabernacles? "The dwelling in booths was a matter of joy to Israel. The dwelling in booths was to be a reminder to them of the fatherly care and protection of Jehovah while Israel was journeying from Egypt to Canaan (the Promised Land). In comparison with the 'house of bondage' the dwelling in booths on the march through the wilderness was in itself an image of freedom and happiness" (ibid.).

Feast Promises Better Days Ahead

God has prepared better days ahead for all mankind. Until the ultimate fulfillment of God's coming Kingdom, you and I can enjoy eight days of Utopia while in this life. What we enjoy during the Feast of Tabernacles today portrays the prophesied promise of a coming universal Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:35-38).

King David asked, "Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?" (Psalm 15:1). The implication is that some can abide within God's tabernacle, and today, that group is the New Testament Church. This protective environment is made possible through Christ's shed blood to cover our sins (Romans 5:8-9) and His resurrected life, now reckoned as our life (Romans 5:9-10; Colossians 3:4). God's tabernacle today is not a convention center, though it certainly can serve as a type of Christ's ultimate tabernacle/temple, the Body of Christ, His Church (Ephesians 2:19-22). Christ is building His tabernacle or temple and we feast with God within that spiritual temple. Though we see and feel the shadow of 9/11, we can still enjoy the peace and prosperity under and within God's tabernacle. This Feast of Tabernacles forecasts better days ahead in the wonderful world tomorrow. Prepare now to enjoy every single day of this Feast.