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Marc 15:2 And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so." As long as they lived in the Land, at the end of each seven years, at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles also called the Feast of Ingathering, the Children of Israel were required to assemble in Jerusalem, men, women and child, citizen or resident alien, to hear the reading of the Book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). While nothing forbids congregations from reading Deuteronomy together during the Feast of Tabernacles, the very demands of this commandment decree that it can only be fulfilled while the people of Israel live in the land, with Jerusalem as their capital. New generations were bound to be born and time which would erase the days of espousals in the desert (Jeremiah 2:2), so this practice served as a regular reminder of the origins, culture and understanding of the history of this people redeemed from Egypt. The commandment says to ‘gather’, to ‘assemble’ the country together in Jerusalem its God-chosen capital. So it was later decided that this commandment was incumbent on the only person who had the authority to require such a gathering of the people: the king. The religious leaders also declared that it was the king’s duty to read the Torah to the people. Religion was not meant to be separate from state affairs; in fact, the ostracizing of religious obligation from state affairs is what later brought the downfall of Israel.Prophets tell us that at the fulfillment of the Messianic Age, not only Israel, but the whole world is to be represented in Jerusalem to hear the Torah at the feast of Tabernacles. The prophet Zachariah informs us that in those days, whoever does not come to celebrate Tabernacles in Jerusalem will not receive rain (Zechariah 14:16-21). In that day, at the time of the great jubilee, the true legitimate King of Jerusalem; He who is called ‘the King of the Jews’ and who has been called to lead the people of God; Yeshua the Nazarene who has been manifested unto us as the Messiah-King, priest and prophet of Israel, will command the world to stop their feverish activities, come to Jerusalem and stand to attention while He instructs them reading the very words that He dictated to Moses before his death. While this time may be in a distant future, there is a very distinct possibility that it may not be so far away. As the children of Israel stood waiting to enter the Land, we here also stand close to the time of the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom in the world. For them and for us, the stories of Egypt are a distant memory belonging to a past generation. Just like them, we believe having not seen, just because of a word of promise. As we acknowledge these things, may we today start acknowledging the Feast of Tabernacle as a time to review the historical foundation of our trust in Yeshua the Messiah in the Book of Deuteronomy.
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Deuteronomy, Tabernacles, Sukkhot, Millenium, Messianic Age,
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