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The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the sacred calendar and it is the last of the seven feasts in three times. The Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the Israelites’ construction of the tabernacle during their journey in the desert. It is a feast during the autumn harvest. In the Old Testament, this feast is also called the Feast of Booths and the Feast of Ingathering.
God established various regulations in the Old Testament as a shadow of the New Testament; He let the feasts contain profound secrets of what would happen in the New Testament times. Let us understand God’s will contained in the Feast of Tabernacles and find out who grants the promised blessing of the water of life through the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Origin and Regulations of the Feast of Tabernacles
On the journey to Canaan, Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai on the tenth day of the seventh month of the sacred calendar in the first year after being freed from Egypt. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he explained to the people about the work of building the tabernacle as a place to store the Ten Commandments and also about the materials needed for the work. Whoever was willing joyfully brought materials for building the tabernacle.
Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the LORD has commanded: . . . take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; . . .” Ex 35:4–19
All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD freewill offerings for all the work the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do. . . . the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. . . . Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work. Ex 35:29–36:7
Over the course of about one week, the Israelites made great efforts to bring materials to God for building the tabernacle. God established the Feast of Tabernacles as an ordinance to commemorate the Israelites’ gathering materials and building the tabernacle.
“Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD’s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. . . . On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, . . . Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’ ” So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD. Lev 23:34–44
Every year, during the Feast of Tabernacles, the Israelites gathered many types of branches, including palm branches, for building booths, where they dwelt for seven days with great joy. In this way, they commemorated both the work of building the tabernacle in the desert and their ancestors’ living in booths for 40 years.
The Feast of Tabernacles Prophetically Foreshadows the Gathering of the Saints, the Materials for the Spiritual Temple
A characteristic of the regulations for the Feast of Tabernacles was using branches to build booths on rooftops and in courtyards. In the Bible, trees often represent people (Jer 5:14). Therefore, the spiritual materials used to build the spiritual temple are God’s people.
“Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.” Rev 3:12
Those who overcome will become pillars in the temple of God. Thus, the people of God are represented as the materials for the spiritual temple. The Bible says that God’s people will be joined together in God to become God’s temple.
[B]uilt on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Eph 2:20–22
All God’s people are the spiritual materials that make up the temple of God; some are pillars and some are support beams. The Israelites’ gathering the materials for the tabernacle in the Old Testament was a prophetic shadow of what would be fulfilled in this age; when we gather all of God’s people and complete the beautiful spiritual temple, the Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled. The Feast of Tabernacles contains a powerful message: “Let us complete the temple of God by preaching eagerly and finding all our lost heavenly family members.”
The Water of Life Promised Through the Feast of Tabernacles
Many churches today do not keep the Feast of Tabernacles though it is such an important feast. Some churches use the name of the feast, but they neither know its meaning nor its appointed time. Will God pour down the rain of the Holy Spirit on those churches? No, because they do not celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. . . . The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Zec 14:16–19
God says that He will pour out plagues and punishment on those who do not celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Can anyone who is punished by God and stricken by plagues be saved? Since the Feast of Tabernacles is directly related to the salvation of mankind, Jesus, who is our God and lawgiver, kept the Feast as an example for us.
. . . But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, . . . On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. . . . Jn 7:1–2, 37–39
Two thousand years ago, in the Age of the Son, Jesus preached at the Feast of Tabernacles and promised the blessing of the water of life—the Holy Spirit—to those who believed in Him. In this Age of the Holy Spirit, however, the Spirit and the Bride are the source of the water of life.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. Rev 22:17
The Apostle John recorded a vision of the Spirit and the Bride coming to earth to give the water of life. In the Age of the Son, whoever believed in Jesus received the water of life. Likewise in the Age of the Holy Spirit, those who fully believe in and receive the Spirit and the Bride can receive the Holy Spirit promised through the Feast of Tabernacles.
According to the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is God the Father. Then, who is the Bride? The Apostle John described the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, as the Bride—the Wife of the Lamb (Rev 21:9–10).
Jerusalem Mother, the Source of the Water of Life
The prophet Zechariah prophesied about the source of the water of life in this age as follows:
It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. Zec 14:7–8
In this verse, “that day” refers to the Age of the Holy Spirit, which is the last of the three ages—the Age of the Father, the Age of the Son, and the Age of the Holy Spirit. Since the Bible says that living water will flow out from Jerusalem, we can see that Jerusalem is the source of living water in the Age of the Holy Spirit. This Jerusalem is not a physical, earthly city but has a special, spiritual meaning.
But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. Gal 4:26
The Bible tells us that the Jerusalem that is above is our Mother. This means that Jerusalem, the source of the water of life in the last days, is God the Mother. So the book of Revelation, which contains the prophecies about the Age of the Holy Spirit, shows the scene of the Spirit and the Bride—God the Father and God the Mother—giving the water of life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. . . . Rev 22:1–2
In Zechariah it is written that the water of life will flow out from Jerusalem. In Revelation it is stated that the water of life flows from the throne of God. Therefore, the throne of God clearly represents Jerusalem, our Heavenly Mother.
“At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. . . .” Jer 3:17–18
Considering that Jerusalem is the throne of God and that Zechariah prophesied about the river of the water of life flowing out from Jerusalem, it is clear that in the last age the river of the water of life flows from Jerusalem—our Heavenly Mother. Throughout the Bible, there is no doubt that God the Mother is the source of living water. If we deny the existence of God the Mother by adding to or taking away from the word of God, we will fail to receive the water of life, the blessing of salvation (Rev 22:18–19).
The Lamb Leads Us to the Fountain of Living Water
In the time of Moses, the building of the tabernacle was completed when the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Most Holy Place. The sanctuary stands for God. Within the sanctuary was the Most Holy Place, which had the same measurements of length, width, and height (Jer 17:12–13; 1 Ki 6:14–21). The Heavenly Jerusalem, whose length, width, and height are also the same, is the reality of the Most Holy Place; She is our Mother (Rev 21:9–6).
Actually, the sanctuary had two rooms; the outer room was the Holy Place, and the inner room was the Most Holy Place. The priest could enter the Most Holy Place only after going through the Holy Place. This prophecy shows that in the Age of the Holy Spirit, we can come to God the Mother only after receiving God the Father. The Feast of Tabernacles is an important feast which allows us to recognize Heavenly Mother, the reality of the Most Holy Place.
“. . . Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Rev 7:14–17
The above verses say that that the Lamb will lead us to the springs of living water. The Lamb in the Bible refers to Christ (Jn 1:29). The spring of living water is Jerusalem Mother. This means that God the Father will lead us to God the Mother.
God hid clues about the Savior in various parts of the Bible. He wrote the secrets of salvation, hidden since the creation of the world, in parables to reveal them only to His chosen people. Therefore, although people see and hear the words of the Bible, they cannot understand the secrets with their own wisdom (Mt 13:10–17, 34–35).
In the Age of the Holy Spirit, Father Ahnsahnghong—Christ who came again in the flesh—revealed all the secrets of salvation to His children. Father wrote the book entitled The Mystery of God and the Spring of the Water of Life to reveal the mystery of the Spirit and the Bride, who are testified in the Bible. It is prophesied that the Lamb will be our shepherd and lead us to the spring of living water. To fulfill this prophecy, God the Father Himself led us to God the Mother, who is the mystery of God and the spring of the water of life.
Let Us Proclaim Jerusalem Mother to the Whole World
God the Father has led us to God the Mother, who gives us the water of life. Nowadays, even though the word “Elohim” (the Hebrew word for Gods) is recorded in the Bible around 2,500 times, people still do not realize the existence of God the Mother. We, who have been led by the Lamb to the spring of the water of life, should proclaim this good news about God the Mother to all people of the world.
King David prepared all the materials for Solomon to build the Jerusalem Temple. Likewise, our Father, who came according to the prophecy of King David, explained to us in detail about the truth of Jerusalem Mother. Furthermore, just as Solomon completed the Jerusalem Temple, we need to find our brothers and sisters, who are the materials for the spiritual Jerusalem Temple, and proclaim Jerusalem Mother’s glory to all mankind. Our Father is eagerly waiting for this work to be completed.
The book of Psalms says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain” (Ps 127:1). The construction of the heavenly temple is the same. Without God’s help, it is impossible to preach the gospel and gather our lost brothers and sisters, who are the materials for the heavenly temple. Until the construction of the heavenly temple is complete, we should offer many prayers to God for the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Feast of Tabernacles is full of joy and happiness; it is not a feast of affliction or contrition. Why is that? It is because we have met Heavenly Mother, the source of the water of life, through this feast. Even though we committed grievous sins in Heaven and were thrown down to the earth, we have met Heavenly Mother after a long period of 6,000 years. So, how could we not be filled with joy and happiness?
Realizing God’s profound will contained in this feast, let us—the people of Zion—keep the Feast of Tabernacles and joyfully preach God the Mother. Let us lift up abundant spiritual offerings by powerfully proclaiming the message, “Come to God the Mother to receive the water the life,” to the whole world. May all our heavenly family members in Zion fulfill the prophecy of the Feast of Tabernacles!