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could all meet together at the Texas grounds.
I have said that I could find no direct instruction in
the Bible for holding the Feast of Tabernacles in more than one
place; and also that there is no specific definite historic account
of where the early Church ever did hold this Festival in more than
one place--Jerusalem.
On the other hand, we know God has removed His name from
Jerusalem, UNTIL THE COMING OF CHRIST--and we know that the
Passover and Pentecost Festivals were held simultaneously at
different places--and also we know that the Apostle Paul kept the
Feast or Tabernacles every year, except when imprisoned--and we
know that on many such occasions, Paul was NOT at Jerusalem. Also
we know the churches at Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, Galatia, etc.,
observed this Festival, and they did not go to Jerusalem, and yet
the Festival was held at Jerusalem also during those years!
So, after all, we are faced with indirect absolute PROOF
that the Feast of Tabernacles WAS HELD IN several different
locations each year!
It certainly was not MY DOING--or my desire, to hold this
coming Festivals in two different locations inside the United
States. Nevertheless, already it has been made necessary to hold
the Feast in Australia, in England, in the Philippines, and in
Africa, in addition to Big Sandy, Texas. So at least I had to
agree to stop by at Squaw Valley on my return to America in late
May, and look at it, even though I was hoping we would not have to
go there.
This I did. I found it far different than I had expected.
It really is an amazing, inspiring, exciting place. I was forced
to admit that it is just PERFECT--as if MADE TO ORDER--for our
purpose! There is the great pavilion built for the ice skating
contests for the winter OLYMPICS, now turned into an auditorium
that will seat around 9,000 or 10,000--even more than we can seat
at Big Sandy, Texas! There are dormitory buildings, lodges,
camping grounds, motels near by. There is a big cafeteria dining
hall, built to handle big crowds. And it takes NO MONEY from our
business office!
It was still utterly IMPOSSIBLE to finance the expanded
building program in Texas. God allowed YOU BRETHREN, (most of you,
but surely not all) by becoming lax and neglecting to send in
special offerings for the building fund, to SLAM SHUT the door for
this year's expansion at Gladewater. GOD HIMSELF, as if by a
dramatic, exciting, breath-taking MIRACLE, had OPENED THE DOOR
without any cost to THE WORK, at Squaw Valley!
It became strikingly plain and clear to me, by then, that
GOD HAD SELECTED THIS PLACE, AND PLACED HIS NAME THERE FOR THIS
FESTIVAL AS WELL AS AT BIG SANDY, TEXAS.
We would have been utterly UNABLE to get all of you
brethren inside of the Tabernacle for services this autumn at Big
Sandy. There would not have been any housing available for at