| T H E I N T E R C O N T I N E N T A L C H U R C H O F G O D |
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P.O. Box 1117 Tyler, TX 75710 * (903) 561-7070 * FAX (903) 561-4141 |
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PRESIDENT |
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MARK ARMSTRONG |
Those of you who have been blessed with the knowledge and the means to observe
God’s annual Holy Days and attend the Feast of Tabernacles are truly blessed beyond anything
else this world has to offer! There is a sense of fulfillment and of satisfaction knowing
that you’re exactly where you are supposed to be, doing exactly what God has commanded;
doing it as a result of your own free will; being fully persuaded by the clear instruction of
God’s word and of your own logical mind; not because you were browbeaten or threatened
by some autocrat.
Ours is a Feast like no other. There is room for the kind of fun and enjoyment our
Creator intended when He commands that we rejoice in the Feast. It is both a commemoration
of Israel’s exodus from the slavery endured in Egypt, and a projection forward to the
time when the Kingdom of God will be established on earth, when peace and justice will
reign. It is an annual reminder that we, as mortal human beings are temporal; that our bodies
are a type of “tabernacle” which will, in time, perish. I just cannot improve upon the words
written by my Dad, Garner Ted Armstrong. They’ve been quoted before, but are so concise
that I must include them here.
“YOU are a ‘tabernacle.’ The Bible says so! ‘For we know that if our earthly house
of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our
house which is from [not in—but FROM] heaven’ (II Cor. 5:1-2).
“What a beautiful analogy, and what a precious truth! The Feast of Tabernacles celebrates
the fact that we, as ‘new creatures in Christ’ are developing spirit beings; children of
God the Father; temporarily housed in a physical body, or tabernacle, which will be cast
aside when we inherit our PERMANENT place of abode, our position of responsibility in
the Kingdom of God.”
This year’s Feast will have daily services with messages on the meaning of the Feast,
the Sabbath, doctrine and prophecy. There will be activities for all ages, and plenty of opportunity
for fellowship. Let’s enjoy this time God has set aside for our fulfillment, and
enjoy the blessings he has afforded us all!
Have a meaningful, safe and joyous Feast of Tabernacles!
