| by Bill Glover (Eugene, Oregon) |
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| How great was your Feast of Tabernacles? What great spiritual lessons did you take from the feast that enabled you toward spiritual maturity? (Hebrews 6:1)? Or, did you skip the feast altogether, as many have done in recent years? We had a tremendous feast in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Before I relate our feast experiences, let us first review some very important factors about the Feast of Tabernacles as well as the other festivals of God. The title of this article shows the subject matter is that of reconciliation. THE FESTIVALS OF GOD Do you not realize that all the festivals of God – – including the weekly Sabbath – – deal specifically with RECONCILIATION? There is ONLY ONE-WAY humans can be saved – – RECONCILED TO GOD- – and that is through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). And do you also know that the entire human race from Adam until now is anxiously waiting in great expectation for the reconciliation of humans to God? (Romans 8:19 – 23) Let us briefly review the annual holy days and their true significance so as to see what they should mean to each of us. THE PASSOVER: The Passover, and its true significance, is the very first step in God reconciling humans to Himself. The Passover represents the death of Jesus the Christ. He allowed His blood to be spilled to pay the penalty of our sins (Ephesians 1:7, Romans 5:6 – 11 and 1 Peter 1:18). We were redeemed from our former way of life BY THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST – – the Lamb of God. The Passover made this REDEMPTION possible. We, who are called today, are among the first to hope (the first fruits or the first reconciled – -see Ephesians 1:12). Do we not realize that we have been called to become reconciled so as to be the literal SONS OF GOD, HEIRS OF GOD AND JOINT HEIRS WITH JESUS CHRIST (Romans 8:17)? If we respond to God, we will SHARE CHRIST’S GLORY! Study also James 1:18. Thus, the Passover must be the most important point in our lives since it is the beginning step of our reconciliation. Do we each examine ourselves during the Passover as God commands (1 Corinthians 11:27 – 32)? UNLEAVENED BREAD: The seven days of unleavened bread picture the struggle those of us whom God has reconciled through the blood of Christ face as we practice putting sin out of our lives as we put leavening out of our homes for seven days. PENTECOST: Pentecost is the festival that depicts those whom God is reconciling through a special anointing of the Holy Spirit which empowers them to put sin out of their lives so as to please God. Please study Acts 1:5 and 8, 2 Corinthians 1:21 – 22, Ephesians 1:13 – 14, 2 Corinthians 5:5 and 1 John 2:20 and 27. There are many more scriptures that confirm these truths. TRUMPETS: Trumpets depicts the time when Christ returns and glorifies those reconciled to God and redeemed through the blood of Christ. They become the literal spirit composed sons of God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ and become kings and priests in the world to come (1 Corinthians 15:49 – 54, 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 18 and Revelation 20:5 – 6). ATONEMENT: Atonement goes hand in hand with the feast of trumpets in that both festivals depict the time when those reconciled to God and redeemed will be glorified with Christ and be ready to rule the earth with Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. FEAST OF TABERNACLES: This festival depicts the one-thousand-year period during which God will use those who have been reconciled throughout history (the dead saints and those still alive when Christ returns) to bring reconciliation to all humans living on earth during that time period. The weekly Sabbath is another holy day that God gave to depict the reconciling of humans to God through Jesus Christ. LAST GREAT DAY: This is the period of time God has allocated for all humans who have lived and died since Adam be given the opportunity to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Please note that reconciliation is the prime theme through all of God’s holy days. The feast of tabernacles is truly important in light of reconciliation in that it is the period of time that God is preparing the earth for the billions of people who will come out of their graves in what the Bible calls “the second resurrection.” With this brief review of the Holy Days of God, do you now see more clearly why God has commissioned His true servants with the MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION and the MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION? Carefully study 2 Corinthians 5:17 – 21 and drink in of its meaning. I have an important question to ask all of you. Did you hear this “MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION” preached during your feast? And did you study this “GOSPEL OF RECONCILIATION” during the feast? After your feast, do you now have a greater knowledge and appreciation of God’s festivals and the fact that all of God’s holy days point to and explain RECONCILIATION and the “GOSPEL” that teaches us about this reconciliation? There are about two thousand groups that have come out of the Worldwide Church of God. This publication is specifically directed toward and about the different “Churches of God!” The Bible is very clear in that there is only one TRUE CHURCH OF GOD. Yet many groups make the claim to be that “one and only true church!” What about the other 1999 “Churches of God?” THE PROBLEM The problem is that all these groups view “the church” as an organization of people with a specific geographic location and with a specific leadership made up of men. But is this the Bible definition of “THE TRUE CHURCH?” The problem that exists in the different “Churches of God” today reminds me of what Paul encountered in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:11-17). Please study this scripture carefully and you will see this controversy repeated today. I state with the Apostle Paul. “For there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says ‘I follow Paul,’ and another says, ‘I follow Apollos.’ Are you not mere men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3 – 4). Verse 5 then shows that the minister is only a servant. Then verses 6 – 9 states clearly: “I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, BUT GOD MADE IT GROW. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters IS ANYTHING, BUT ONLY GOD, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have (or are supposed to have) ONE PURPOSE.” And that purpose is RECONCILIATION TO GOD and TOWARD EACH OTHER. Is God not inspiring Paul to embarrass the Corinthians for following men rather than God? What about Galatians 5:15? Does this not describe the different “Churches of God” today? Isn’t anyone concerned with what God thinks about the present situation among those who “claim” to represent Him? Where does 1 Corinthians 13 fit into the current situation with the church? Do the words of God mean anything to the different groups? How will we answer Christ when He calls us to an accounting – – and we will be held accountable! OUR FEAST OF RECONCILIATION We held a very unusual feast at Pine Mountain, Georgia. We believe in reconciliation. We realize that most of the 2000 “Churches of God” actually believe in and teach most, if not all, the basic truths of the Bible. The main controversies involve the human leadership – – not doctrinal differences. We have striven to bridge these personality differences. In planning our specific feast this year, we reached out to others asking that they join us. Represented at our feast site were five different ministries. We experienced eight days of complete harmony. There were no disagreements since our theme was twofold. The first emphasis was to glorify our Savior Jesus the Christ letting God’s Spirit rule and the second theme was to emphasize that the feast is to emphasize RECONCILIATION – – reconciliation to God and toward each other. Part of our fellowship at our feast this year were representatives from a messianic group. These members choose to use the Hebrew names for God. The rest of us found no controversy in this. In fact, those of us speaking often substituted Hebrew words for God during our sermons. It certainly is NOT a sin to use Hebrew wording when calling on God or praying to Him. OUR KENYA FEAST SITE We also had different feast sites in both western and eastern Kenya. Again, the theme was that of reconciliation to God and with each other. We have also been experiencing members of the Church of God-Seventh Day and the Seventh-day Adventists coming to us for fellowship. Several attended the feast with us. I have been very thankful that ministers from those two groups have already been in Kenya preaching the word. These ministers from other “churches” planted and we are now watering the seed planted. How can true Christians criticize and condemn other sons of God who are striving to follow God’s instructions – – not the instructions of church administrators? OUR PRACTICE We never attempt to draw members from other groups. If others seek to fellowship with us, we do not turn them away. We teach them that their primary fellowship is to be with God the Father and Jesus Christ. We follow God’s instructions as found in Romans 14. We find verse 4 very informative. We are not to judge another’s servant. In this case the one we tend to judge is ACTUALLY God’s begotten child (see also verse 13). What about the seven churches addressed in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3? All seven had problems but GOD DID NOT CONDEMN THEM – – He admonished them to repent and overcome these defects. In recent months, a minister I have known since he was a youth spoke to a group other than his affiliation. His church rebuked him publicly for doing this. Clearly this church organization would have condemned all seven of the churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3. That group, and many others, would have condemned the apostle Paul for he spoke to any and all who would listen to him. A true minister of God speaks where God inspires him to speak and he speaks the word of God from the Bible and is NOT controlled by a church board. A true minister is A MINISTER OF GOD – – and not a minister of an organized church body. Should we not all begin to follow the admonition from God found in 2 Corinthians 5:17 – 20? |
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