Feast Of Booths Weekly Sabbath Service

As we heard in the Service on the first day of this feast, the symbolism of the week-long Feast of Booths reminds us of the time that Israel spent living in booths between the time they were freed from slavery in Egypt until they settled in their Promised Land of Israel.

But even more, it reminds us that we will live for a period of time between when we are freed from slavery to Satan and when we fully inherit the everlasting kingdom of God. Today, we will look at what life will be like during that period, which will be a thousand years of Peace.

One of the first things that will be done in the Millennium is the burial of the soldiers killed in the war at Megiddo, which will be part of the cleansing the land: (Ezekiel 39:8-16)

“Surely it is coming, and it will be done,” says Lord Jehovah. “This is the day of which I have spoken.1 Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says Lord Jehovah.

“It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by the east of the sea; and it will obstruct travellers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. For seven new moons the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. Indeed all the people of the land will be burying them, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says Lord Jehovah. They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven new moons they will make a search. The search party will pass through the land; and whenever anyone sees a man’s bone, he will set up a marker by it, until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog.2

“The name of the city will also be Hamonah.3 Thus they will cleanse the land.”’

And so the land will be restored. The huge amount of fuel contained in these weapons of war is again consistent with modern weaponry, although the names of the weapons has changed.

Jeshua will lead us in a program of renewal that will see most of the earth turned into a paradise that today only seems to be an unachievable dream: (Joel 3:17-18)

“Then you will know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in My holy mountain Zion. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no aliens will ever pass through her again.” And it will come to pass in that day that the mountains will drip with new wine, the hills will flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah will be flooded with water; a fountain will flow from the House of Jehovah and water the Valley of Acacias.

So Judah will become a tremendously fruitful country. But there will still be judgement on some nations: (Joel 3:19-21)

“Egypt will be a desolation, and Edom a desolate wilderness, because of violence against the people of Judah, for they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah will abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will acquit them of blood-guilt, whom I had not acquitted; for Jehovah dwells in Zion.”

Lord Jehovah promises us that it will be a time when there is plenty for everyone. No longer will we have wars and famines, nor oppression and anger: (Isaiah 2:2-5)

Now it will come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of Jehovah’s House will be established on the top of the mountains, and will be exalted above the hills; and all nations will flow to it. Many people will come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the House of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths.” For the Instructions will go forth out of Zion, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

He will judge between the nations, and will rebuke many people. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore.

God will heal the earth from the ravages brought on it by man’s disobedience and Satan’s deceptions. There will be miraculous healing waters flowing out of the Sanctuary and trees that will provide food and healing for everyone: (Ezekiel 47:1-23)

Then he brought me back to the door of the House; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the House toward the east, for the front of the House faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the House, south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.

Then, when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed.

He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.

When I returned, there along the bank of the river were very many trees on one side and the other. Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the desert plain, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And it will be that every living soul that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. It will be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.

“Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every new moon, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”4

Thus says Lord Jehovah: “These are the borders by which you will divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve branches of Israel. Joseph will have two portions. You will inherit it equally with one another; for I lifted My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land will fall to you as your inheritance. This will be the border of the land on the north: from the Great Sea, by the road to Hethlon, as one goes to Zedad, Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim (which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), to Hazar Hatticon (which is on the border of Hauran).

“Thus the boundary will be from the Sea to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus; and as for the north, northward, it is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. On the east side you will mark out the border from between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, along the Jordan, and along the eastern side of the sea. This is the east side.

“The south side, toward the South, will be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the south side, toward the South. The west side will be the Great Sea, from the southern boundary until one comes to a point opposite Hamath. This is the west side.

“Thus you will divide this land among yourselves according to the branches of Israel. It will be that you will divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who sojourn among you and who bear children among you. They will be to you as native-born among the children of Israel; they will have an inheritance with you among the branches of Israel. And it will be that in whatever tribe the stranger sojourns, there you will give him his inheritance,” says Lord Jehovah. Ezekiel 47:1-23

Ezekiel is told what the borders of Israel will be during the Millennium. He is also told that this land will not only be for the physical descendants of Israel, but also for the foreigners who want to live with them.

The last chapters of Ezekiel describe how God will divide up the land of Israel, both its Holy Areas and areas for the various branches of Israel. And what God does for Israel, he will also do throughout the world. Israel will finally become the nation that will help spread knowledge of God around the world, as they were always supposed to do: (Micah 5:2-7)

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being little among the thousands of Judah, out of you will come forth to Me the one to Rule in Israel. His origins have been from of old, from the ancient days.”5 Therefore He will give them up, until the time that she who is in labour has given birth; then the remnant of His brethren will return to the children of Israel. And He will stand and feed His flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah His God; and they will abide, for now He will be great to the ends of the earth; and this One will be peace.

When the Assyrian comes into our land, and when he treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princely men. They will waste with the sword the land of Assyria, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; thus He will deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land and when he treads within our borders.

Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from Jehovah, like showers on the grass, that wait for no man nor await the sons of mankind.

Everyone will have a part in His plan, and everyone will benefit from their own labour: (Micah 4:1-7)

Now it will come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of Jehovah’s House will be established on the top of the mountains, and will be exalted above the hills; and peoples will flow to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the House of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the Instructions will go forth, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

He will judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more.6

Instead, everyone will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one will make them afraid; for the mouth of Jehovah of Hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his god, but we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God forever and ever.

“In that day,” says Jehovah, “I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast and those whom I have afflicted; I will make the lame a remnant, and the outcast a strong nation; so Jehovah will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever.

No one, including the disabled, will be left out of God’s plans. And see the glorious way that Jeshua will include them: (Isaiah 35:3-10)

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.7 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.8 For waters will split out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert plain. The parched ground will become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, there will be grass with reeds and rushes.

A highway will be there, and a road, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not pass over it, but it will be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, will not go astray. No lion will be there, nor will any ravenous beast go up on it; it will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of Jehovah will return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They will obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.9

Earth will be full of small, productive family farms. People will live in peace without fear, and enjoy long and full lives: (Isaiah 65:17-25)

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping will no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.10 No more will an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the child will die one hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old will be accursed.

They will build houses and inhabit them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build and another inhabit; they will not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labour worthlessly, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they will be the descendants of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them.

“It will come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” says Jehovah.

Even some of the harmony that existed between humans and animals before the Fall will be restored: (Ezekiel 34:23-31)

“I will establish one shepherd over them, and he will feed them; My servant David. He will feed them and be their shepherd. And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, Jehovah, have spoken.

“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause heavy rains to come down in their season; there will be heavy rains of blessing. Then the trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the earth will yield her increase. They will be safe in their land; and they will know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

“And they will no longer be a prey for the nations, nor will beasts of the land devour them; but they will dwell safely, and no one will make them afraid. I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the gentiles anymore. Thus they will know that I, Jehovah their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says Lord Jehovah.

“You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says Lord Jehovah.

The Millennium will start with about one-third to one-tenth of the world’s population before the Tribulation began. But there is every reason to believe that during one thousand years of peace, with no premature deaths and plenty for everyone, that far more people will live during the Millennium than in all the previous history of the Earth. And all of these people will know who Jeshua and Jehovah are and what life under their government is like.

Education will be valued and all will have access to it. God will ensure that all development will benefit His entire Creation, and we will be trained in all the skills and knowledge required to implement His plans. Every week, everyone will have the Sabbath off work, so they can learn about Jeshua and rest. Every year, everyone will be given about three weeks off work to attend God’s annual Holy Days, which include the week-long Feasts of Unleavened Bread and Booths. God’s Sabbath years and Jubilees will provide another layer to this, as every seventh year, and on the Jubilee every fifty years, everyone will be freed from their normal work on the land for the entire year, giving them lots of time to study and try new things.

Sadly, a few will reject Jeshua and try to walk in unrighteousness, even though Satan will be bound and there will be plenty for everyone. This is why Jeshua and His chosen will, when necessary, rule with a branch of iron to prevent the few unrepentant malcontents from disrupting life for everyone else: (Revelation 2:25-27 and Isaiah 29:17 to 30:1)

“Therefore, hold fast to that which you have until I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works, I will give him authority over the nations; to shepherd them with a branch of iron; and you will shatter them as a potter’s vessels; as I also have received from My Father;

Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest? In that day the deaf will hear the words of the Book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also will increase their joy in Jehovah, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Sacred One of Israel.

For the terrible one is brought to nothing, the scornful one is consumed, and all who watch for iniquity are cut off; who make a man an offender by a word, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.

Therefore thus says Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: “Jacob will not now be ashamed, nor will his face now grow pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will hallow My Name, and hallow the Sacred One of Jacob, and fear the God of Israel.

These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmured will learn the teachings. Woe to the rebellious children,” says Jehovah, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

It may be that these children Jacob sees are all the children who have died, including those who died while still fetuses, who are resurrected and will be raised and live out their lives during the Millennium (Isaiah 54:1-6).

Jehovah will bless all those who turn to Him, gently guiding and providing for them: (Isaiah 30:18-24)

Therefore Jehovah will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. For the people will dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you will weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. And though Jehovah gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes will see your teachers. Your ears will 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.

You will also defile the covering of your graven images of silver, and the ornament of your moulded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; you will say to them, “Get away!” Then He will give the rain for your seed with which you sow the ground, and bread of the increase of the earth; it will be fat and plenteous. In that day your cattle will feed in large pastures. Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground will eat cured fodder, which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.

Let us all learn from our teachers, and grow as Children of God. And one day, we will be living in the Millennium of Peace, rejoicing daily in our Lord Jeshua and His Father.

The next and final Annual Holy Day looks forward to the resurrection of the rest of the dead, the final release of Satan, the destruction of him and all his followers, the White Throne Judgement, the renewing of the heavens and the earth, and then the New Jerusalem from Heaven coming down to begin the Everlasting Kingdom of God in its full glory.

Permission is given to copy and distribute this service provided it is copied entirely and distributed without charge.

Scripture quotes are from the CHCoG translation, based on the Aramaic Peshitta New Covenant.

4 This miraculous river flows during the Millennium. It is similar to the river that will be in New Jerusalem (Rev 22:2-14), but differs in that its trees will not provide everlasting life.

9 Eze 37:21-28, Jer 30:3-10. This return at the start of the Millennium is foreshadowed in the Jubilee (Lev 25:8-13).

FEAST OF BOOTHS