Relationship Between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Thanksgiving Day

Let us study if there is any relationship between the Feast of Tabernacles and Thanksgiving Day.The Feast of Tabernacles was appointed when Moses and the Israelites were in the desert. The Feast was to commemorate the Israelites' gathering the materials to build the tabernacle. It was kept in the seventh month, from the 15th to the 22nd, according to the sacred calendar. Using the solar calendar, the feast falls in September or October. God commanded Moses and his people to build a sanctuary according to the pattern of the heavenly sanctuary, shown to Moses on Mount Sinai. The people were moved by the Holy Spirit and willingly offered materials—gold, silver, linen, and cotton—to help build the tabernacle. Eventually, Moses ordered that they didn't have to bring any more offerings (Ex. 35:4-36:7). To commemorate the Israelites' building the tabernacle, God appointed the Feast of Tabernacles, also referred to as the feast of booths. The Israelites built booths in the inner and outer courts of the temple and rejoiced for a week (Lev. 23:34-36). This feast fell during the season in which all of the grains were harvested. Thus, the Feast of Tabernacles was also called the Feast of Ingathering (Ex. 34:22). The book of Hebrews reveals that the earthly sanctuary, built by Moses, was a copy and a shadow of the heavenly sanctuary to be built by Jesus Christ. Heb. 8:5 『They serve at a sanctuary (on the earth) that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."』 In the time of Moses, materials were gathered for the building of the sanctuary. These materials symbolized God's people, who are described as the "materials" for the heavenly sanctuary to be gathered in the New Testament times. Eph. 2:20-22 『...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.』 Rev. 3:12 『"Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God..."』 In the time of Moses, the Israelites gathered materials for seven days and built the tabernacle. In the Old Testament times, the Israelites ceremonially constructed booths of grass or trees and joyfully stayed within them for seven days. These are both prophecies disclosing that the 144,000 saints—who are described as "wood" (Jer. 5:14) and as the materials of the temple (Eph. 2:20-21)—will be gathered. As they are gathered, the earthly gospel work will be completed. Jesus also showed us an example of preaching during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:14, 37).

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