Neighborhood Ministries

Christ The King Sunday-B Though Christ the King Sunday sometimes falls on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, it is proper that it be celebrated before Thanksgiving, since God has ordained that one day He will come to earth again to take his followers home and then He will hold a marriage supper to celebrate His marriage to His bride (the Church). Though many argue whether Christ will return before the tribulation, during the tribulation, or after the tribulation, God has spelled out the sequence of the last days. (The coming of Christ (Rosh Hosanna)followed by the time of tribulation, and finally the final judgment (Yom Kippur) and the end of the age, followed by the marriage Supper of the Lamb (Succoth) which we shall celebrate in heaven. Succoth, (the Feast of Booths), celebrates the completion of the final harvest, just as Thanksgiving celebrates the completion of the final harvest. One day we will sit with Jesus in the marriage feast of the Lamb (symbolized by Succoth) celebrating the completion of the harvest of believers and the marriage of the Church with Christ. That will be one great Thanksgiving feast with all the saints gathered before Christ. Succoth (the Feast of Booths) remembers the days they wandered in the wilderness and how God provided for them, just as we celebrate Thanksgiving to remind us how God preserved the early colonists through great tribulation, but one day we will celebrate in heaven how God preserved the saints through their tribulation and the fact that His harvest of souls is complete. Since God fulfilled the Passover and Pentecost exactly as He ordained them, I have no doubt that He will do the same with Rosh Hosanna. Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday of the Christian calendar and celebrates what will one day begin the last days of the human race, before Christ ushers in the new heaven and the new earth which He and His followers shall rule and from which Satan and all who follow him will be forever banished.

In the 1500’s, Europe had become a closed society where many were tied to the land and opportunities for bettering yourself were almost non-existent. Many came to America because it was a land of plenty and a land of opportunity where even the poorest person could become rich through hard work and determination, yet it wasn’t easy in the beginning. America was an untamed wilderness, far different from what they knew in Europe, and there were few resources to fall back on. Many of the early colonists faced starvation and without food and training in growing the strange American crops by the Indians, many more would have perished. The colonists that survived and saw the first harvest gave thanks to God for preserving them by throwing a big feast. Our harvest is later than in Israel so we celebrate Thanksgiving later but it is still a time of remembering when our ancestors had to depend on God to preserve them in the wilderness. In the prosperity today, it is hard for many to understand what it means to be completely dependent on God so Thanksgiving is a time when we remember how they had to rely on God.

While Thanksgiving is not a universal Christian holiday, it is a good opportunity to remind ourselves and teach our kids about the Second Coming. Christ the King Sunday follows the final Sunday of Kingdomtide. While the third and final holiday, which God commanded the Jews to observe occurs in late September or early October on our calendar, our harvest season is later and occurs in November. As a result, we celebrate it in connection with our harvest as Christ the King Day, the celebration of the Second coming of Christ. It is celebrated the last Sunday before Advent and so usually occurs the Sunday before Thanksgiving, though it occasionally occurs the Sunday after due to a distortion in the Roman calendar.  Most Christians no longer celebrate it and take little thought of Christ’s return. The Bible states that the trumpet will sound, and true believers will be caught up in the air with Christ. Since we don’t know when Christ will come again, it is important for us to be ready, or we will be left behind. Non-believers however, will remain on earth and go through the days of tribulation where they will have a final chance to repent. At the end of the days of tribulation, the final harvest will be complete, and God will close the books forever. (See “Before Your Eyes” in “Understanding the Path We Walk” or “Celebrations” on Udemy for more on the holidays) It would normally occur next week this year, but I am including it here because it should properly be celebrated before Thanksgiving.