The Tabernacles Celebration After The Fall Of Babylon

The LORD permitted the Kingdom of Judah (see The Southern Kingdom; also Who Were The First Jews?) to be conquered and taken away into exile in Babylon after they stubbornly refused to repent of their corruption.

"^36:15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers [see The Prophets: North and South], rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: ^36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. ^36:17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. ^36:18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. ^36:19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.

^36:20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: ^36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years." (2 Chronicles 36:15-21 KJV)

For the sake of the coming Messiah, the people of Judah were permitted to return to Jerusalem after 70 years - during which time the corrupt generation passed away, as did the Babylonian Empire itself when it was conquered by the Persian Empire. A Persian king, Cyrus (see Iran's Greatest Leader Was Pro-Zionist), in obedience to the command from the LORD, permitted the people of Judah to return home.

"^36:22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah [see The Prophets: Jeremiah and Jeremiah's Field] might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

^36:23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia,

All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up." (2 Chronicles 36:22-23 KJV)

"All the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths ... And there was very great gladness"

The people of Judah returned during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, as recorded in the Biblical books known by their names. They then began the work of rebuilding their Babylon-destroyed world.

"^2:11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. ^2:12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.

^2:13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. ^2:14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. ^2:15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. ^2:16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

^2:17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

^2:18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work." (Nehemiah 2:11-18 KJV)

Despite their being liberated from Babylon, they still were not free. Lawlessness is not freedom (see The Yoke Of Freedom). True freedom did not come until they re-discovered and obeyed God's Law, that Jesus Christ had given to them - not the "Law of Moses," but the Law of Christ that was given to Moses (see The First Christian Church).

"^8:1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.

^8:2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. ^8:3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law." (Nehemiah 8:1-3 KJV)

The people then began to observe the Messiah's true Holy Days again. At that time of year, that meant the Feast of Tabernacles (see the Fact Finder question below).

"^8:13 And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. ^8:14 And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: ^8:15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.

^8:16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. ^8:17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

^8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days [see The Messiah Of Tabernacles]; and on the eighth day [see The Eighth Day: The Later Time Of Salvation] was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner." (Nehemiah 8:13-18 KJV)

Fact Finder: (a) Is all of the world in "Babylon" today? (b) When Jesus Christ returns to deliver humanity out of "Babylon," will all the world celebrate Christ's Feast of Tabernacles?
(a) See What And Where Is Babylon Today?
(b) See Feast Of Tabernacles: Heaven Comes To Earth and What Will Heaven Be Like?

This Day In History, October 11

1138: Aleppo, Syria was devastated by a massive earthquake.

1521: Britain's King Henry VIII was given the title "Defender of The Faith" by Pope Leo X. Just over 12 years later, physically-adulterous Henry broke away from the spiritually-adulterous Church of Rome that refused to condone the king's successive marriages. Henry then established the Church of England with the reigning monarch (himself) designated as head of the church; Henry thereafter declared his adultery "legal" in his "church."

1531: During Switzerland's second civil war, Roman Catholic forces defeated Protestant forces at Kappel. Huldrych Zwingli was killed in battle.

1649: The Sack of Wexford. English forces under Oliver Cromwell attacked Wexford, killing over 2,000 Irish Confederates.

1727: King George II of England was crowned.

1737: An earthquake killed 300,000 in Calcutta India.

1811: The first steam-powered ferry went into service.

1862: The Confederate Congress passed a law that permitted anyone who owned 20 or more slaves to be exempt from military service in the Civil War. The law was widely seen as producing "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight" (as most wars have been regarded ever since by those who are not duped by self-glorifying propaganda i.e. the wealthy manufacturers of war equipment, through the politicians that they get elected, are in the "business" of war, while those who are actually sent to fight are the expendable "workers"; U.S. President Eisenhower, a former General, warned of the unnecessary wars started by what he called the "military-industrial complex").

1869: The Red River Rebellion was sparked when Louis Riel and 16 Metis stopped a survey party from entering land at The Red River Colony. The rebellion followed Canada's annexation of Rupert's Land, the immense area drained by the rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay i.e. parts of what is today known as Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and South Dakota.

1911: A Chinese revolution overthrew the Chinese monarchy.

1915: During the First World War, a British hospital nurse, Edith Cavell, was executed in Belgium by German troops for her allegedly assisting the escape of allied prisoners. Her killing resulted in widespread international outrage.

1962: Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council in Rome with a theme of "Christian unity" i.e. everyone returning to the Church of Rome. It was the largest Roman Catholic council ever held, and was attended by delegates from a number of Protestant denominations.

1972: A race riot broke out on the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk off the coast of Vietnam. Over 200 sailors were involved, 60 were injured. The incident was not made public until the New York Times newspaper reported it.

1976: The so-called "Gang of Four," Chairman Mao Tse-tung's widow and three associates are arrested in Peking, setting in motion an extended period of turmoil in the Chinese Communist Party.

1986: During the "Cold War," U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavík, Iceland to discuss nuclear arms reductions in Europe. Both "superpowers" have today become practically irrelevant to the rise of the European Union.