Some might think the Bible does not teach that Jesus Christ will return bodily and to reign on this physical earth.
But scripture is clear.
Luke’s account in Acts 1, beginning in verse 9:
“Now when He had spoken things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 ….. two men stood by them in white apparel,
11 who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’”
These men in white (angels) reassured the Apostles that Jesus will return and establish His kingdom right here on earth.
Peter spoke of a future time in Acts 3, starting verse 19:
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord..
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before..
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things…
Lets focus on what scripture tells us will happen after human governments and armies have been destroyed, and Satan has been bound for 1,000 years.
From Zechariah 14:9,
“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.”
and
Jeremiah 23:5 echoes this promise:
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth”.
Notice the shift in world governance in Revelation 11:15:
“The kingdoms of this world [that is, human kingdoms] have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, And He shall reign forever and ever!”
The early Christians explicitly taught that the millennial Kingdom of God would be established on the earth, replacing the flawed governments of this world.
This is exactly what the Bible teaches in Revelation 5:10:
“And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
The prophet Isaiah wrote about this first phase of the Kingdom of God—the thousand-year reign known as the Millennium.
from Isaiah 11:1-10:
“1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.
9 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.
10 And in that Day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:1-10)
This first phase of the Kingdom of God is a time that will be physical.
It will last for a thousand years.
And Isa 11 makes a comparison of a 2nd Exodus of people from all around the world,.. continue from vs 11
“It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.
13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them.
15 The Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dryshod.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.” (Isaiah 11:11-16)
The remanent of Jews and the lost tribes of Israel scattered will be regathered after the Tribulation and brought back together into this millennial kingdom.
You can compare this in Ezekial chapter 11: 17 to 21
And, Jesus remains in heaven until the designated “times of restitution of all things” (Acts 3:19-21).
This restitution means restoring of God's government on earth, world peace and utopian conditions.
One incredible future aspect of becoming kings and priests will be our responsibility to teach the mortal human beings alive at that time how to walk in God's ways. In Isaiah 30, starting in verse 19:
“19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you.
20 …. your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.”
After the Kingdom of God is established, the people of God will be actively help heal and restore a damaged planet.
As Isaiah 58:12 tells us:
“12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.”
Yes we will help teach and guide people to dwell in cities and communities during the millennium restoration.
And how are we must act as ambassadors for Christ right now?
From John 8:31-32: Jesus said;
“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Knowing the truth about the gospel of the Kingdom of God frees us from being trapped in the false hopes of this world.
This stands directly against the false narratives found in mainstream Protestant, Greco-Roman, and Orthodox traditions, including their practices of pagan holidays.
Like the Apostles and true Christians—we, too, are commanded to practice that same faith, Not what has been swapped out for Roman or pagan traditions.
From Jude 3:
“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
This includes walking exactly as Jesus walked.
Jesus Himself kept the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.
John 7 gives us a powerful, detailed look at how important this Feast was to Him.
We see that even when Jesus life was in danger from the religious authorities, He still went to the Feast:
10 “But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.
14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.”
Jesus travelled to the Feast, and was seen standing publicly in the temple teaching God's truth and used the very symbols of the festival to point toward the future fulfilment of God's plan.
Here what He said on the final day in John 7:37
“37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
Nowhere in scripture does Jesus ever proclaim NOT to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, or any of God's feasts and Holy Days for that matter.
Instead, He taught that the ultimate fulfillment of the FOT will be the establishment of His physical Kingdom on earth.
Paul demonstrates his commitment to the FOT in Acts 18:21 (KJV & NKJV)
And gives a clear sense of urgency in this verse:
"I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem”
This specific part of v 21 has been deliberately omitted in many modern translations, including various Protestant and Catholic versions.
These same churches that do not want YOU to keep the feasts, or teach the original faith spoken of in Jude 3.
Priscilla and Aquila stayed at Ephesus Vs 19 while Paul continued his trip to Jerusalem in verse 21.
Jerusalem was not the only feast site, there were many feast sites located beyond Palestine and into minor Asia and beyond.
The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the immense spiritual and material abundance that will cover the earth during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
It marks a time when humanity will finally keep God’s laws without Satan’s pervasive deceptions, cf. Revelation 20:1-6.
This stands in stark contrast to what is happening in the world today, completely deceived by Satan, as noted in Revelation 12:9.
That this, satanic deception will be totally removed during the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-3).
This current deception is exactly why most who profess Christianity today have been misled by false ministers — many of those ministers have been misled themselves, as Paul warned in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15:
“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
The Feast of Tabernacles is essentially a ‘pilgrimage’ period, (Psalm 84:1-5) meaning it usually involves travel outside of one’s normal community.
We in the Continuing Church of God continue to keep it in places around the world, we can use tents, caravans,motels & hotels. (cf. Hebrews 8:2; 9:11-15)
Let’s conclude by looking at the prophetic reality found in Zechariah 14:16-17:
16 “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
Those who do will be abundantly blessed, while those who refuse will experience no rain. Vs 17
We are incredibly blessed with our calling and our understanding to enjoy and participate in this Feast right now.
God will bless you with understanding and participating in the feast of tabernacles and to look forward to a time, not so far away, when we will step into our roles as kings and priests—helping those very nations who "shall go up" to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the soon-coming Kingdom of God.
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