By Ejikeme Omenazu Production Editor, Lagos
To those who are familiar with the Jewish calendar, October falls into the seventh month, which is when the Jews and those who follow the Jewish mode of worship in their churches celebrate the Feast of Tabernacle.
For those who may not have known, the Jewish calendar begins in March, hence October in the Roman calendar, which is generally adopted by mankind, is the seventh month, when the Feast of Tabernacle falls in.
This year, the Feast or celebration falls between the evening of October 9 to the evening of October 15. Thus, those churches, which follow the Jewish calendar, like the Sabbath churches celebrated the feast during this period this year.
It is worthy to note that God ordered His people to observe certain feasts. The first is the Passover Feast. This was followed with the Feast of Pentecost. After this, they are to observe the Fest of Trumpet. The next one is the Day of Atonement. Unlike the other feasts which are moment of joyful celebrations, the Day of Atonement is when God’s people inflict themselves with 24-hour fast. In Jewish nations, they put on sackcloth (mourning cloth) on the Day of Atonement. Five days after the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacle begins. All these feasts are listed in Leviticus 23.
It is also important to note that the Feast of Tabernacle is the celebration, which most churches mark as Harvests or Annual Thanksgiving. Some call it Harvest Thanksgiving.
The Feast of Tabernacle, which is celebrated by the Sabbath Churches (garments), or the Harvests by other Orthodox churches like the Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Methodist Church, Christ Apostolic Church, Pentecostal Churches and Cherubim and Seraphim Churches and the Celestial Church, among others, is a joyous celebration like the New Yam (Iri Ji) festival of people from South East geo-political zone in Nigeria. It is also called Feast of First Fruits.
During the celebration, worshippers are expected to come to God with their first fruits and present them to God in appreciation of an anticipated good harvest. In return, they ask God to bless them and their land so that they will have more bountiful harvests in years to come.
It is worthy to note that people in the Biblical period celebrated it. That is why the Feast is mentioned in several places in both the Old and New Testaments. And it takes place when people observe their pilgrimages to the Holy Lands. Jesus Christ also attended it.
As those who follow the Jewish tradition like the Sabbath churches celebrate the Feast of Tabernacle, the Catholic Church and the others get ready to observe their Harvest celebrations. It is indeed a global event that holds before the end of the year.
One of the churches, which celebrated the Feast of Tabernacle, which ended last Wednesday evening in Lagos, is the Christ Foundation Sabbath Ministry, with its headquarters at 10 Omotayo Banwo Street, Ogudu, Lagos. It was joy and celebration when Sunday Independent called at the church complex, with men, women and children, dressed in white robes, singing and dancing in appreciation of divine blessings since the beginning of the year. Many of them came to the church with tubers of yam and other farm products like plantain and vegetables, which they presented at the altar as their first fruits.
Speaking with Sunday Independent, Founder and General Overseer of the church, Rev. Prophet Felix Nwosu (JP), explained that the aim of the Feast of Tabernacle is to thank God so that He can unlock people’s progress. He stated that during the period of the celebration, people also ask for God’s favour upon them and the nation.
According to him, “This is the period to visit the Holy of Holies. Holy of Holies includes our heart. We need to purify our heart for God to bless us. We should also keep our houses holy, like the temple. The Holy of Holies is also in the temple or church, which must be sanctified at all times.
“This is the time to thank God. It is Abraham’s thanksgiving that touched God and made Him to give him Isaac. Through thanksgiving, doors of any type of barrenness can be unlocked, just like that of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. By so doing, God destroys unfruitfulness in people’s lives and unfruitfulness in the land and nation.”
He stressed that Nigerians should not refrain from thanking God for His goodness, adding that Nigerians should grateful to God for healing the land from diverse diseases, the last of which he identified as Ebola.
According to him, “there are many things the Lord is doing for the nation. Individuals, churches and governments need to thank God for what He has done for the nation. God has also been helping Nigeria to overcome terrorism and other criminalities”.
He maintained that the Feast of Tabernacle is popular among the Jews, while in Nigeria, the differences in doctrines make church denominations to observe it in different ways, but with the sole aim of thanking God for his blessings.
Nwosu added: “It is good to be grateful. Ingratitude makes things to be grounded. We should be grateful to God and to people”. He cited Cain and Abel in Genesis 4, noting that while Abel gave God good offering and was blessed, Cain did the opposite and suffered for it.
“Nigerians must learn to thank God for Him to release more blessings to us. Harvest attracts favour, breakthrough and open doors. Pentecostals and Catholics are prospering because they know how to thank God. That is why God is blessing them abundantly.
“The Feast of Tabernacle provides opportunity to visit Orphanages, Old Peoples’ Homes and the less privileged. People should not be stingy. They should learn to offer good offerings and pay their tithes for God to give them all-round blessings. When one gives to the poor, God blesses such one abundantly”.
He maintained that the story of the rich man and Lazarus in the Bible should be an opener to people that they should be kind to the poor. He called on leaders at all levels of governance and business moguls to learn to do good and help the masses.
He also called on Nigerians to obey all the laws of God as found in the Holy Books, lamenting that people have been ignoring the necessary things in the word of God. He said that the nation will witness total turn-around when the citizens and the leaders obey God.
“If we obey God, there will be happiness in the nation and the world. I pray that Nigerians will learn to obey the word of God so that we can become part of the 20 world powers. I see Nigerians being what we want to be. According to Psalms 37:4, if we delight in the Lord, He will giver us the blessings of our land”, he concluded.
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