Places of Glory Refuge And Tabernacles
by Rev Stephen MK, TCAWW Newsletter Pub. 2011
EVERY YEAR THE LORD has commanded us to go to a land where God will place His name (His way of life), to call others there to join us for worship. We are to rejoice there for seven days, and to dwell in temporary booths or tents.
(Some may be saying right now as they read this statement “that’s old testament”. Be assured, God reiterated it being a “statute for ever” Leviticus 23:41, Exodus 31:13, and in Zachariah 14 says even after the resurrection, after there’s no longer a moon or sun visible because of the brightness of the Glory, the whole world will still be required to do this act of the feast of tabernacles and that even if Egypt refuses they’ll be punished with drought. The book of Isaiah ends with the proclamation that even in the new heavens and new earth ALL FLESH will worship Him from one New Moon to another, and one Sabbath to another. **note: the New moon is used for calculating the days of the yearly feasts. It still wont be called old testament even after God recreates us an entire new heavens & earth!**
In Matt 5:19 our Sovereign Yahshua (Jesus Christ) said “They who keep the least of the commandments and teach men so shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven, but they that break and teach men to break the least of the commandments and teach men break the least of the commandments will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” We know the only things that have changed in the law is Jesus is now the sin sacrifice rather than the animals, and is now our high priest, as was prophetically foretold when the law was first created, so it doesn’t contradict. There has always been a remnant keeping the feasts and Sabbaths by the thousands in every generation. Read more on it in our new book “Kingdom Glory of Christ’s Church” where Rev. Knott outlines the feasts, sabbaths and most of God’s laws kept on a large scale for the last two millennia by the Western Christian Nations of Israel.)
Continually this tabernacles command reiterates we’re to do it in a place THE LORD will choose to use for His name and Glory. Perhaps the main criteria is that we are with other believers who the Holy Spirit uses to place His name somewhere. It is best in new places that must be developed. This especially includes rejoicing in that God will bless the future works of their hands in the new places God will choose, because it will bring about our success as always in such pioneering work. Deuteronomy 16:15, also vs 6, 11 and Chapter 26 verse 2). This includes bringing a tithe of our goods or money to spend in that land during your celebration as well as to give to the priests every year at Tabernacles. Deuteronomy 14:22-26 says to also spend that money (your second tithe) on whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, food or drink that you eat & drink there and rejoice there before THE LORD your God with your household. So in total including tabernacles and the rest of the year’s tithes 20% of your increase goes to God.
We aren’t only to do such major gatherings only once a year, but three times a year to at least man an appearance or Assembling, see Deuteronomy 16:16. Tabernacles is the only one that requires it be in temporary dwellings or booths / hotel rooms. When these appointed times are mentioned in Exodus 23:14-33 it speaks of the Angel of THE LORD which has His Name, will go before us, and we must listen to His voice and not provoke Him (verse 21) because He will drive our enemies out of the lands God has chosen for us. Today we would know this as the Holy Spirit we’re commanded not to grieve, and He now “leads us into all truth” (John 16:13) who is with us to help us succeed in the establishments of God’s Kingdom in the earth among His Church of Jesus Christ. Yes during King David’s & Solomon’s time of the Kingdom law being truly enforced they all Assembled at Jerusalem 3 times a year as the First Century Apostles did; But now “the cities of God are spread abroad” (Zachariah 1:17) so there are many little cities of Jerusalem all over the world where ever His people have prospered by putting Jesus and the word first, building sanctuaries in divine order. Many wonder why the many once predominately Christian cities were so blessed. These are the ruins of the old cities of new-Jerusalem the world cries they want to be restored. (Revelation 18:9-10) Yet not one man of His people can be found in in those desolated post-Jerusalem cities, (Isaiah 13:12), as the Jerusalem people they have moved outside what has now become Babyon, to places God is building and placing His name on fresh and new from scratch. They’ll be busy restoring the old breach (Isaiah 58:12) returning to the rural farming culture that made our people great. Possessing and cultivating the land, building houses and multiplying children as God had directed our people even during the Babylonian captivity to perform in Jeremiah 29:5. In this chapter is outlined how to prosper and be good citizens even in an alien Government, that we’re to be somewhat self sufficient, build our own houses, and multiply children. In practical application today your church or bible study group should be seeking out new land to buy it, create new jobs there, attracting others with trade skills such as plumbing, carpentry, & medical. Our people have always gone to the worst wastelands and made it blossom like a rose, just look at California, which was a desert. One area of South Africa is doing just this with their vocational training program at the Orange Free State Institute, training students in farming trades. They’re forced to do this, to move out of their their older cities which are now overran with worse third world crime and corruption, more than Los Angeles, Detroit, or Washington DC. As futures for our people look more grim for survival in the major cities we too should return back to our rural farming heritage as De Boers (Dutch/Afrikaans for Farmer). It has worked for thousands of years as our people thrive in less populated areas, “living by the sweat of our brow”. In real world practical application this does work as these laws were given for our bare survival in the earth (Deuteronomy 8:1). As we begin to see shortages and skyrocketing prices it only makes sense we all should have some self sufficiency rather than putting complete faith in Babylon. God has been right all along for our people. It is only in those major metropolitan areas that create the worst environment for immorality, where crime and corruption can thrive, parasites fester, disease, destruction and foreign takeover occurs. Especially with the lack of Godly principals these cities are wide open for such satanic attack, and they become a part of Babylon (The political, economic and religious system of the Beast). The scripture says in Revelation 18:4, “come out of her (Babylon) my people that ye partake not of her sins nor of her plagues”. This is a common theme throughout the scripture, not only starting with Abraham, but even as Paul admonished us in 2 Corinthians 6:17 “come ye out from among them and be ye separate”. Our people in countless times of history have had to move out of such hostile areas as Los Angeles. It just becomes too dangerous for the normal working Christian Citizen to walk out on the streets during the day or night. Yet these are patterns occur in every once predominately Christian prosperous area that’s exploited and overran, proven around the world areas are taken over and conquered as has been happening for thousands of years now. People think they have blessings when it’s not a fraction to how good things were when God’s law was enforced. In these now desolate areas such as Los Angeles where they think there is prosperity, it is a far cry from the left over scraps of what was just one new-Jerusalem. Much of Eastern and Southern Europe for example underwent much of this change which moved much of the blessings & chosen people only further North West and finally to America. Now the prosperity that came from Ethnic Christian culture is being exploited in America as foreign cultures & paganism is exalted, morals and family values are gone. Really no one is making families anymore in big cities, due to the takeover and great hatred of satan preached via Hollywood to their destruction. Propaganda against the idea of making a family is most abundant in this evil day. The three LARGE GATHERINGS for ALL ISRAEL-CHRISTIANS TO COME TOGETHER NATIONALLY, the other four high holy days, and the weekly Sabbath are Divine Providential keys to our people’s survival and prosperity.
Be encouraged and rejoice that we’re promised first many more days of victory for remnant Christians, victory like we haven’t heard, so much that the whole world will see how blessed we are that they knish with their teeth and melt away. Visible numbers is not what we’ll see on TV, but a deception of what is really going on. We’re a spiritual heavenly kingdom, the Kingdom of Light and Truth which has all the power. Though we could be considered in some ways in the majority, we’re not men pleasers or pleasing of the eye of man but to God. There will be a remnant that are a witness of the KINGDOM and THEN the end shall come, Jesus said in Matthew 24:14. We know great things were always accomplished by the smallest minority. Only 1% of Americans fought in the war for independence against the British, most didn’t even care about it.
Nothing is new under the sun.; God’s people remain a remnant in the earth even today, even though today there are millions of us worldwide who discern and are led by God. The Spiritual body of the church even reaches beyond denominational borders, all through the unity of the faith of Jesus Christ and the word of God.
We see what moral corruption did to ancient Greece, Rome and Spanish Empires. One Empire after another comes and goes but the living church of God escapes the destructions, flourishes in our own rural areas and farms to out live them all. Migrating Mexicans understand the basic principal of finding additional lands and going with a group to see about moving there. The church of God knows has always known this even better. Normally they buy houses in such areas and leave them open to all migrants to come stay and work and then move on to their next house in a completely different area of America. They take in any Hispanic, as they understand the idea of providing, racially possessing the land, building and giving the houses to their families and friends to have the best future. Something our people have forgotten. Most of us have Grandparents who practiced much of these ideas growing up on farms, canning the harvest for rough times that could come if a crop failed and being self sufficient. A brother, cousin, nephew , son, or father would go together exploring to make land purchases and then cultivate it. Back in rural farming culture most Americans did enjoy and many still do, this type of biblical tabernacles tradition.
A big part of loving God is loving His word (John 1:1 the word is God). Jesus said “if you love Me, keep my commandments” Remember Jesus was here before the beginning of time (John 1;14 & Colossians 1), He created the universes and He wrote the ten commandments with His finger on tablets of stone which He gave to Moses. Many Christians quote the verse that we must love God. I know you can’t really truly love even yourself if you don’t obey God, the creator who knows how you’ve been designed to operate. With disobedience you can never fulfill the command to love your neighbor as yourself. It starts by confessing sin and growing by the renewing of our minds in His word. Psalms says “a good understanding have all they that keep His commandments”. As we continue to follow His commandments, such as keeping tabernacles every year, spending that money to see it grow into something makes us grow in more understanding year by year. We will enjoy doing it because we love god and only by keeping His commandments are we able to have anything extra to give our brother. Do you enjoy expressing love to others? Well imagine God’s given you the ability to express love to the creator of the universes and have direct communication with Him into His throne by the Blood of Jesus Christ. Keeping His commandments are the peak of pleasure, more than anything this world can ever give. “At His right hand there are pleasures ever more”.
1Thesselonians 4:10-12 speaks on true brotherly love: “..we beseech ye bretheren, that ye increase more and more; and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.” Working and earning a living so we have extra is a big part of love.
Now of course our spiritual salvation has nothing to do with our performance of the law, that is secured permanently once we have accepted Jesus’ death penalty taken in our place for sins, to repent of those sins and seek to live by His word. Once we are saved we automatically want to stop sinning and start obeying the more we learn of His word and be set free in more of those areas of our lives where sin held us captive. Though it is a process of losing bad habits, it will eventually be automatic that we want to start loving and pleasing God, unless you are those of His people which are “destroyed for a lack of knowledge”. Since Jesus is the word and sum of all knowledge it would be important to get more and more knowledge of His word/law as David & Solomon said we must dig for it like buried treasure. Sin is a greek word Hamartee which means to “fall short, or miss the mark.” Basically it means to be missing out and lacking the best God would have for you. The bible defines what sin is again in 1John 3:4, “sin is the transgression of the law”. So if we’re to be more set free we will be obeying more of that law. David continually said all of God’s commandments and laws are LIBERTY AND FREEDOM. Let’s make sure we have biblical definitions of liberty. The laws of God are liberty, disobedience of the laws are a bondage from potential, bondage from obtaining all God wants to give you. Good works can never save us but once we are saved we will be automatically doing more and more of these good works on God’s schedule such as Tabernacles. We are not legalists because legalists say you must do all the good works first before you are eligible for salvation. In Acts 15:1 they said just this that no one is eligible for salvation until after they have kept the law perfectly, and had to go get circumcised first, etc. Paul was writing to those types of heretical viewpoints, especially those that believed only the blood of bulls and goats could give them salvation, and that they didn’t need the blood of Jesus Christ. That belief was the one major belief Paul sought to refute. Acts 15:21 says they had Moses being preached in every city for everyone to learn all the law in detail, which was Paul’s excuse for not outlining the entire old testament again, just gave some basics to START with, and for them to study all the law / word of God. (Acts 15:21 starts with the word FOR, or *BEACAUSE*, explaining why he didn’t re-outline the entire old testament for everyone, only the basics such as clean meat, *strangled meat*, blood, etc, a general outline of the more important LEVITICAL safety laws for new comers, “***for Moses is preached in every city” for them to learn the rest. He outlined important health laws pointing them to the Mosaic law in verse 20, and then to continue in it.) The heretics in those days had it backwards, works cannot save us, but once we are saved we will want to do those good works by the power of the Holy Spirit which can only do those good works in us and through us. The Holy Spirit enables us by divine power to lose those old bad habits of law breaking (sin according to Romans 7:7 & 1John 3:4). Romans 1:15 says Grace is for obedience, or power from God to obey. Romans 10:17 says we get faith by responding to God’s word / Commandments. If we dont hear and respond to His word we can never obtain any faith. 1John 5:4 tells us that FAITH is the victory that overcomes the world. It is all good news! It is all only Extra the more new grow in Christ upon that eternal foundation.
As we continue worshipping Him on His set times and daily renewing our minds we will learn more how to share biblical love: 1John 5:2-3 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous.” Though we are saved by faith through grace, faith in the word doesn’t mean we will want to disobey the word but to believe & obey it. We will not earn our eternal salvation, however we will be rewarded by how much we have followed in God’s laws. As we showed in Matthew 5:19 “we’ll be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”, and Rev. 22:12: “And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22:14: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” I John 3:22 “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” Isa 58:13-14 “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of Yahweh, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in Yahweh; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Yahweh hath spoken it.”
In obeying these basic commands and rules of tabernacles as our forefathers have all done automatically we will “raise up foundations for many future generations” and that Christian families and small churches continue to thrive in the earth. (Deuteronomy 4:1)
A main goal in tabernacles should be in planting new churches or helping the churches in those areas grow with your “second tithe” of scripture. Yet every year as a part of the feast of Tabernacles we’re to also “bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,” (Deuteronomy 14:26)
The word Church or Miqra in hebrew, Ecclesia in Greek is the word “calling out” also translated “the called out”. It goes back to the eternal feasts Leviticus 23 told us to attend in every generation for ever. The word miqra or “Convocation” is also called “Holy convocation”, hence the first time we find the word SAINT in our bibles! Saints and Ecclesia have always been directly related to gathering on God’s set feast days. (Notice in Leviticus 23 and elsewhere they’re always called God’s Feasts, not Israel’s feasts, not Adam’s feasts, but God’s). The most important part of the feast is that there is a “calling out” on those set times of the year and weekly Sabbath, that a congregation at least is calling everyone they can to come attend. Yes the Sabbath is called a feast in that chapter, a time to rejoice with food and fellowship especially. A 24 hour period that is dedicated to God , and a time we have scheduled to take off from working for man, our employers and this world. We have two Sabbaths during the feast of Tabernacles which are a bare minimum that we do not work. Contact the Christ’s Assembly if you’re looking for a congregation to gather with on the feasts. We can give you locations nearly anywhere in the world where anywhere from several dozen to several thousands gathering on these, God’s set times.