The Feast if Ingathering, Tabernacles.

 

The Feast Of Ingathering (Feast Of Tabernacles)

Thursday, September 24, 2026

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A beautiful sunrise highlighting the magnificence of God's millennial Kingdom on earth.

At the same time God gave ancient Israel the Ten Commandments at Mt Sinai, after He freed them from the Egyptians, He also gave them seven annual festivals to celebrate throughout the year. The world, at large, is unaware of these festivals.

Jesus and the Apostles in the decades following the crucifixion observed these festivals, the annual Holy Days, which God gave to ancient Israel. Paul, in writing to the Gentiles at Corinth, encouraged them to keep the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (1 Corinthians 5:7-8) as they picture Christ’s sacrifice and the need for us to respond to that sacrifice by putting sin out of our lives, which is pictured by putting leaven (yeast) out of our homes for a week. (See Bible Insights Issue 373 What Does The Feast Of Unleavened Bread Mean For Christians for more information.)

The Apostle Paul told the gentiles at Colosse the feasts (outlined in Leviticus 23) were a shadow of things to come (Colossians 2:16-17). When properly understood, some of the festivals picture events that have already occurred this year in God’s plan such as the Passover (Christ’s sacrifice) and Pentecost (the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church), while the latter festivals picture future events starting with the second coming of Jesus Christ.

God used the harvest seasons of Israel to teach us the proper sequence of events and key elements of His plan of salvation for humanity. The first of the two great harvest festivals is Pentecost. The New Testament refers to God’s church, the first small harvest of souls, as His firstfruits in James 1:18. In Exodus 34:22 we read: “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering [also called the Feast of Tabernacles] at the year’s end.” The Feast of Ingathering represented the great ingathering at the end of the agricultural year – the second and greater of the two harvests. The spiritual meaning of the second harvest is the great harvest of souls that begins with the millennium following the return of Jesus Christ. 

In contrast to the festival of Christmas, observed by mainstream Christianity, which lasts only one day, the Feast of Ingathering or Tabernacles lasts for a week and symbolizes the 1,000 Millennium to take place at Christ’s return. (See the following article What Is The Millennium? In this issue for more information.) I eagerly look forward to it, along with thousands of other members of the United Church of God each year. It is a time to learn how to better fear and respect God (Deuteronomy 14:23). To this end there are church services each morning with informative messages followed by afternoons and evenings to spend with friends who have come together for the festival. Some festival sites where we meet for these seven days are small while others have hundreds of members, many of whom have travelled from interstate and even overseas. In 2026 the Feast of Tabernacles will be observed from September 26 to October 2, with September 26 being the Holy Day, observed from sunset to sunset.

From: https://www.ucg.org.au/learning/bible-insights/the-feast-of-ingathering-feast-of-tabernacles?

The Day Of Atonement. 9/21/2026

 

The meaning of the Two Goats

 

Where have we seen this number “TWO” before? Oh, yes, the FEAST of Shavuot (Pentecost) and the TWO wave loaves..Jew and Gentile, one in Messiah. In the Fall Feast, the High priest OFFERS up TWO goats on Yom Kippur the Day of AtONEment.

FIRST GOAT: Jesus’ FIRST COMING

One of the goats would be killed, and its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat of YHWH in the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the sin of the people of ISRAEL. This goat that was killed is a SYMBOL of the PASSOVER LAMB of GOD who takes AWAY the sin of the world – YESHUA (JESUS)! This Passover Lamb (YESHUA/JESUS), symbolized by the Sacrificial GOAT on Yom Kippur, is the blood of the NEW COVENANT that has been poured out for ALL PEOPLE (including the lost 10 tribes of ISRAEL AND the GENTILE PEOPLE)..and later the Jewish people, for the FORGIVENESS OF SIN!

Jesus sacrifice on the Cross is the ONLY Propitiation for sin. God is both merciful and Just. He cannot simply “overlook” sin.  He won’t just “brush it off”. God HIMSELF in the form of HIS SON JESUS, took our sins and nailed them to the cross so that we could be FORGIVEN. It is the ONLY WAY for ALL MANKIND to be “at ONE” (ment) with our GOD!

SECOND GOAT: Jesus’ SECOND COMING

But why the other goat, the “scapegoat”, the Azazel?  Well, some people may get thrown off because the name Azazel was also the name of a demon, but I do NOT believe the 2nd goat represents the enemy in any way since it was he who carried away the sins of the people! In a grand ceremony, the High Priest would press the sins of the people onto this LIVE GOAT and then send it into the wilderness (desert) supposedly not to return. Jewish legend states that a red sash was tied around the Live goat’s neck (scapegoat), as a symbol for the sin of the people.

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The paradox of true freedom

Thursday, June 11, 2026

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In a society that is becoming increasingly self-centred, intent on self-gratification and intolerant of others’ opinions, freedom is defined as being able to do whatever one pleases, often with no consideration for the consequences.

In recent years we’ve seen how declining moral standards have become increasingly acceptable in societies around the world. Most have embraced the idea that freedom should enable us to live however we please, which is more often than not contrary to God’s commandments.

The Bible is clear we cannot simply follow the desires of our heart. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah wrote: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The Apostle Paul also warned: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:6-8).

Paul also wrote about the life-styles and behaviours that would prevail before the return of Jesus Christ: “… in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).

Mankind has rejected God’s commandments and has sown the ills we now suffer as a society. According to a 2015 poll, Barna Group found that around two-thirds of American adults either believe that moral truth is relative to circumstances, or haven’t given it much thought. Only one-third believe moral truth is absolute (https://www.barna.com/research/the-end-of-absolutes-americas-new-moral-code/).

Without absolute truth, people are left free to gratify their desires according to their own interpretation of moral truth.

Christ declared absolute truth regarding principles and morality is found only in God’s instruction book. He spoke about truth and freedom, promising, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32), and also prayed to His Father concerning His followers: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Once we realise that Jesus died on our behalf to pay the spiritual death penalty for us, we then ought to understand our reasonable service is to dedicate ourselves to Him as a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). Scripture instructs us to: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Jesus, quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3, said: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Serving God means that we consciously seek to do His will in our lives and allow Jesus to live within us through the literal power of God’s Holy Spirit to inspire our thoughts and guide our actions (Galatians 2:19-20). A bondservant of God strives to live according to His perfect law and partake of the many blessings that He desires to give us (Matthew 11:28-30).

Freedom is a paradox. If we are free to do whatever we please, we become a slave of our desires. However, if we choose to serve God as a bondservant, then we are no longer a slave of sin and can know true freedom, which requires accepting Jesus as our Lord and Master, and the perfect law of God as a boundary for our self-destructive desires.

September 11 could be seen from space

 

September 11 could be seen from space (Image: NASA)

The NASA astronaut photographed the scene from 250 miles above Earth, capturing a haunting image of a smoke plume rising from the Manhattan area.

Never Forget

 

Twenty-five years ago tomorrow, our nation witnessed the unimaginable. Nearly 3,000 lives were taken when four hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.
 
For many Americans, the day started out as any ordinary day would. Thousands of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors, first responders, and coworkers left their homes, not knowing they would never return. But it wasn’t just their lives that were affected – our nation as we knew it changed forever.
 
As coverage of smoke and rubble took over the airwaves and television screens, the most destructive and deadly terrorist attack to occur on American soil unfolded. Countless first responders, military personnel, law enforcement officers, health care professionals, and good Samaritans answered the call to help, some making the ultimate sacrifice.