Course Content
The next biblical Feast that we will examine in the Know Your Sword series is the Feast of Tabernacles. In the Old Testament, it was kept to remind the Israelites of all of God’s miraculous interventions during the 40-year period in the wilderness.
As Leviticus 23:42-43 tells us:
“All, who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths [tabernacles], that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
What does the Feast of Tabernacles have to do with Jesus Christ? What does it teach us about His role in the future? Let’s notice Daniel 7:13-14:
“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him” (verse 13).
This is a vision of God the Father and the one who would become Jesus Christ. But they weren’t yet in the Father-Son relationship yet because Jesus hadn’t yet been born as a physical human being. So, Daniel describes them as “the Ancient of Days” and “One like the Son of Man.” So, the One like the Son of Man is brought to the Ancient of Days, and then—
“Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed” (verse 14).
This is describing God the Father giving to the one who would become Jesus Christ a Kingdom, one in which all peoples, nations and languages will serve Him. And it is an everlasting Kingdom which will never pass away and never be destroyed. He is giving Him the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom which He will establish on earth at His return.
What will that Kingdom be like? Let’s notice a few passages:
“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 all nations shall flow to it. Many people 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 shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; 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 anymore.”
Zechariah 14:8-9 (New Living Translation):
“On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously both in summer and in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one LORD—His name alone will be worshiped.”
And what did Jesus Christ Himself say about His role at that time? Let’s notice Luke 4:18-19:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Although Jesus started that work during His physical ministry on earth 2,000 years ago, it is during the time of His coming Kingdom that this will truly come to fruition.
And as Revelation 20:6 tells us:
“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”
So, Christ is at the center of this Feast too—as the ruler over the entire earth who will reign and with His saints teach all mankind for a thousand years.
If you’d like to learn more about this biblical Feast and its meaning, search ucg.org for “Feast of Tabernacles.” There you can find dozens of articles and sermons explaining its meaning in depth. And to better understand how the world will be transformed at this time, download or request our free study aid, Christ’s Reign on Earth: What It Will Be Like.
© Scott Ashley, 2025. All rights reserved.
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
