Cees and Anneke Noordzij — Ecclesiology
b7 — The Feast of Tabernacles
True unity — Tabernacles feast as type (Eph. 4:13)
“The Feast of Tabernacles began on the fifteenth of the seventh month. This ‘seventh’ feast of the Lord is a magnificent picture of the communion of the saints, of true unity. Every Israelite had but one goal in mind: to direct himself not to his ‘house’, but to ‘a tabernacle’ at ‘the place which the Lord would choose’ (Deut. 16:15), in ‘Jerusalem’, ‘seven’ days long (Lev. 23:43).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN WARE EENHEID’.
“If we could but realize what all that means, then we too would obediently leave behind our ‘houses’, to direct ourselves with one accord ‘toward the heavenly Jerusalem’ and to ‘gather’ there, in spirit and truth. There is no other solution to arrive at true unity.”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN WARE EENHEID’.
Interpretation: The Feast of Tabernacles is a typological picture of the church as the communion of the saints in true unity. Leaving one’s own “house” (one’s own church/assembly/tradition) is a condition for unity. Unity takes place in “the heavenly Jerusalem”, not in earthly structures.
Heavenly Jerusalem as gathering place (Heb. 12:22)
“Many consider this unity impossible. They prefer to remain behind in their human-religious well-furnished ‘houses’. Now to go up to the ‘heavenly city’ of the living God? That cannot be done! But with God all things are possible! He has long since given the equipment to arrive at true unity: true apostles, prophets and evangelists, ‘good shepherds and teachers, who help God’s children step by step and bring them together, until they all reach the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God’ (Eph. 4:13).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN WARE EENHEID’.
Interpretation: The unity of the faith (Eph. 4:13) is the goal of the ministries Christ gave to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. These ministries bring together, not human organization.
One flock and one Shepherd (John 10:16)
“Those are shepherds who gather. Through them it shall become one flock with one Shepherd (John 10:16). All one! One in ‘Jerusalem’, one in ‘the house of the Father’ (John 14:2, 17:21). That is the unity to which the Feast of Tabernacles points.”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN WARE EENHEID’.
Interpretation: The unity of the church is the unity of “one flock with one Shepherd” (John 10:16). This is not institutional but pneumatological: union in the house of the Father through the shepherds Christ Himself gives.
Babylon versus Zion — church as God’s house (Heb. 3:6)
“By ‘Babylon’ we mean the same as what it meant for Israel: bondage in a strange land. When Israel was disobedient, it lost everything, the temple included. The church also went that way. She also lost her glory. From her exalted position as ‘holy nation and royal priesthood’ she also declined into a nation of slaves to sin. She was carried away to the ‘land’ of her captivity: to ‘the flesh’ and ‘the world’, without true joy.”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLLE VREUGDE’.
“Babylon is not the city of God. It is the earthly imitation of His heavenly city. Everything there is just like the real thing. But her fate is sealed: she is essentially already collapsing (Rev. 18:2). Hence God’s call: ‘Go out of her, My people. You too have drunk of her wine’ (Rev. 18:3).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLLE VREUGDE’.
Interpretation: The church can end up in “Babylonian captivity”: bondage to the flesh and the world, loss of her position as holy nation and royal priesthood. Babylon is earthly imitation of the heavenly city. God’s call is to come out. [TENSION with ecclesiastical models that emphasize institutional binding]
Temple as God’s house — not made with hands (Acts 7:48)
“He was not speaking of an earthly house. He was speaking of a heavenly temple, of which we can be living stones. God is concerned with thát house. His purpose is an eternal, invisible temple, in which He can reveal His glory, at the true Feast of Tabernacles (Hag. 2:10).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLLEDIG HERSTEL’.
“When Solomon had completed the temple building, the ark was brought inside and ‘when the priests came out, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue to stand to minister because of the cloud: the glory of the Lord had filled the temple’ (1Kings 8:10-11). All this took place at the feast in the month Ethanim (=the seventh, the month of the Feast of Tabernacles, verse 2). Thus God will fill His ‘house’, not made with hands, with His glory at the real Feast of Tabernacles.”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLLE HEERLIJKHEID’.
Interpretation: The temple to which the Feast of Tabernacles points is not the earthly building but God’s house “not made with hands” — the church as living stones (1Pet. 2:5). The glory of the Lord fills this house at the true Feast of Tabernacles (heavenly reality).
Royal priesthood — order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6:20)
“The glory which the Father gave to Jesus must, as it were, be inherited by the ‘twelve’, the ‘144,000’, those called to royal priesthood as ‘sons of God’. That shall be to the salvation of the entire creation (cf. John 17:22, Rom. 8:19, Rev. 12:1,5).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLLE HEERLIJKHEID’.
“That ‘new’ priesthood is imperishable, ‘by the power of an indestructible life’ (Heb. 7:16). Everything of the temporal has no use here. Natural advantages, human abilities and attainments, earthly differences in race, upbringing or ecclesiastical success, all this has no value here. It has no knowledge of father, mother, genealogy, beginning or end (Heb. 7:3). It is in spirit and truth, of Melchizedek, of the ‘King of righteousness, King of Salem’ (=King of Peace, Heb. 7:2). That royal priesthood ‘consists in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Rom. 14:17).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLLE HEERLIJKHEID’.
Interpretation: The royal priesthood of the church (1Pet. 2:9) is after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6:20), not the Levitical priesthood. This priesthood is imperishable, distinct from earthly privileges (race, upbringing, ecclesiastical success). It consists in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
Good shepherds vs. hirelings (Eph. 4:11)
“Good shepherds do [gather], without any ulterior motive, unselfishly, with pure motives. They do not seek their own interest and honor (John 7:18). Like John the Baptist they point away from themselves, to Jesus (John 1:35-37). Their message is: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to Zion, to the house of God, that He may teach us and that we may walk in His paths’ (after Isa. 2:3). Those are shepherds who gather. Through them it shall become one flock with one Shepherd (John 10:16).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN WARE EENHEID’.
Interpretation: The ministries Christ gives (Eph. 4:11) are “good shepherds” who gather, in contrast to hirelings and deceivers (2John 7) who seek their own interest. They point away from themselves to Jesus.
Church as God’s field — fruitfulness through the Spirit (1Cor. 3:9)
“‘The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel’, His people (Isa. 5:1-7). The ground in which the seed is sown are those who believe in Jesus (Mark 4:1-20). And Paul says: ‘You are God’s field’ (1Cor. 3:9). We know that ‘the Father is the vinedresser’ (John 15:1). If we are His field, then He will do everything to bring us to great fruitfulness.”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN DE VOLLE OOGST’.
“It has always been God’s purpose that His Church would bear fruit through a continuing growth in the Spirit. Until today the Farmer came to His field to sow, to prune and to water, without expecting anything in return. Now as the harvest time approaches, He comes with but one goal: to harvest the fruits of the Spirit in His people.”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN DE VOLLE OOGST’.
Interpretation: The church is God’s field (1Cor. 3:9), believers are the ground in which the seed (the Word) is sown. The Father is the vinedresser (John 15:1). The goal is fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), not works in one’s own strength.
Repentance (metanoia) as condition for fruitfulness (Matt. 3:8)
“People like to see fruits of work, of the message, visible results of effort (Luke 16:15). God wants good fruits, fruits of the Spirit. But all too often products of human work are mistaken for good fruits. They are, like Cain’s ‘fruits of the earth’, not accepted by God (Gen. 4:3). Good fruits can only be produced after a biblical repentance. The Greek word, translated as repentance, is metanoia. It means a change of mind.”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN DE VOLLE OOGST’.
“‘Already the axe lies at the root of the trees: every tree that does not produce good fruit in keeping with repentance, is cut down’ (Matt. 3:8-10). Hence Jesus says to all the churches: ‘I know your works’ and that He must say to five of the seven churches: ‘Repent’ (Rev. 2 and 3).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN DE VOLLE OOGST’.
Interpretation: Fruitfulness of the church requires metanoia (change of mind, Rom. 12:2). Churches that do not produce fruits corresponding to the Spirit are addressed with repentance (Rev. 2-3). Cain’s fruits (Gen. 4:3) are works out of the flesh, not fruits of the Spirit.
Perfect rest — Tabernacles as fulfillment (Heb. 4:9)
“God’s people will know that perfect rest at the seventh feast in the seventh month. And just as the Israelites rested at the end of the week, on the seventh day, so the Feast of Tabernacles is the ultimate full rest after the ‘working’ of God’s people. The first day of the feast was on the fifteenth of the seventh month. It was celebrated seven days (Lev. 23:39). The last day was the twenty-first. Because 21 is the triple of seven, this certainly means that the ‘Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God’ has then arrived (cf. Heb. 4:9).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLMAAKTE RUST’.
“We too may ‘enter into God’s rest’ and find a resting place there (Heb. 4:1,6-7,10-11). If this is our desire, God asks of us an exact walk in the spirit, full of faith, perseverance and patience. Without listening carefully to His voice we absolutely fall into the same mistakes as the natural people of Israel.”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLMAAKTE RUST’.
Interpretation: The Feast of Tabernacles is the type of the “Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). This rest is not attained through works but through faith and obedience. The church enters this rest through a walk in the Spirit.
Mission — salvation of the entire creation (Rom. 8:19-21)
“That glory will ultimately fill the entire Church (Rev. 19:10-11). That glory will even be a light to the salvation of the nations and will shine to the farthest corners of the earth, yes, even to the entire creation (Isa. 49:6, Acts 13:47, Rom. 8:19-21).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLLE HEERLIJKHEID’.
Interpretation: The mission of the church extends to “the salvation of the nations” (Isa. 49:6, Acts 13:47) and ultimately to the entire creation (Rom. 8:19-21). The glory of the Church (Rev. 19:10-11) is the light that reaches the nations.
Restoration of the temple service — unity in worship (Neh. 8:14-18)
“Then the seventh month arrived, the month of the Feast of Tabernacles. We read that when everyone who ‘could understand the law, gathered as one man before the Water Gate’ (Neh. 8:1-3). Ezra read the law (Neh. 8:4). Others ‘gave explanation, so that the people understood what was read’ (Neh. 8:9).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLLEDIG HERSTEL’.
“‘And all the people made booths and lived in them’ (Neh. 8:18). What a spectacle! Everywhere thousands and thousands more of huts of branches: on the roofs of the houses, on the streets of Jerusalem, on the temple square, seven days long. Those leafy branches all have their symbolic meaning. They speak of prosperity, joy, abundance and happiness. There comes a ‘day of very great joy’ for everyone who goes out of their ‘house’ to celebrate that feast of the Lord (Neh. 8:18).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN VOLLEDIG HERSTEL’.
Interpretation: The restoration of the temple service (Neh. 8) is a type for the unity of the church in true worship. The people gathered as “one man”, listened to the law (God’s Word) and lived in booths — a picture of the church that leaves its earthly “house” for the gathering in God.
Living water at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:37-38)
“During the ceremony everyone looked in great silence at what the earthly high priest did. Then Jesus knew that the time had come to make known its meaning. ‘He stood up and cried out: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! Then, as he believes in Me, rivers of living water will flow from his innermost’ (John 7:37-38).”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN ZIJN VERSCHIJNING’.
“Whoever believes ‘into Him’ and thus comes ‘into Christ’, will not only drink living water, but in the course of time rivers of living water will also flow out of him. He then becomes a fountain. That is a Feast of Tabernacles experience!”
Noordzij, ‘Het Loofhuttenfeest’, section ‘HET FEEST VAN ZIJN VERSCHIJNING’.
Interpretation: On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:37) Jesus promises that whoever believes in Him will become a fountain of living water. This points to the church that not only drinks but also flows out — mission from the Spirit-filled congregation.