After God finishes calling out a people for His name, He will return and rebuild the fallen tabernacle of David and resume His work with Israel.
After God finishes taking out the body of Christ from among the Gentiles, that body will be lifted off the earth. Then God says, "I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David" (Acts 15:16). Les Feldick explains that this means God will return to Israel and complete what He began with the nation.
Acts 15:14-18 — In this passage, James connects God's calling out a people from the Gentiles with the promise that 'after this' God will return and rebuild the tabernacle of David.
Amos 9:11 — This Old Testament prophecy is the source James quotes, promising the raising up of David's fallen tabernacle 'in that day.'
At the Jerusalem Council, James quotes the prophet Amos: "After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up" (Acts 15:16). This promise comes immediately after Simeon's declaration that God first visited the Gentiles "to take out of them a people for his name" (Acts 15:14). Scripture itself sets the order: first God takes out that Gentile people; after this, He returns and rebuilds David's tabernacle. The same prophecy in Amos says, "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen" (Amos 9:11). The prophets also connect this future restoration with Israel being called God's people again: "I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God" (Zechariah 13:9).
Les Feldick explains that the "people for His name" in Acts 15:14 is the body of Christ, the church, composed chiefly of Gentile believers. God is taking them out one by one, "here and there," from among the Gentiles. When that calling out is completed and the body has been called away from the earth, God will return and build again the tabernacle of David—meaning the temple and the whole sphere of Israel's kingdom. Les connects this to Israel's ongoing regathering, saying Jews in Palestine today are only the beginning, as God prepares the nation for the Antichrist and then the true Christ. He also ties the restoration to the Palestinian covenant and the New Covenant: Israel will finally be called "My people" again after national belief, and a believing remnant will know the Lord in the New Covenant.
Les says the "people" are the body of Christ, the Gentile believers. He notes that God is taking them out "here and there" from among the Gentiles—not great multitudes all at once—for His name.
Les explains that the tabernacle of David was the temple and the whole sphere of Israel's kingdom. When God says He will return and build it again, it means He is going to finish what He started with Israel after the church has been taken away.
Les says today's Jewish return to Palestine from every nation is "the beginning of all this." God is preparing the nation for the appearance of the Antichrist and then the true Christ. According to the Palestinian covenant, after Israel has been scattered, God will turn their captivity and gather them from all nations.
In the future, after Israel returns to the Lord in complete belief and recognizes Jesus as Messiah, God will again say, "It is My people," and they will say, "The LORD is my God." Les notes that this comes through the New Covenant when Israel's remnant will all know the Lord and receive forgiveness of iniquity.
The 'People for His Name' Is the Body of Christ
Les identifies the group God is taking out of the Gentiles as the body of Christ, the Gentile believers—taken out individually, not as great multitudes.
God Returns to Israel After the Calling Out Is Done
Once the calling out of a people for His name has been accomplished and the body is lifted off the earth, God resumes His work with the nation of Israel and rebuilds David's fallen tabernacle.
Rebuilding the Tabernacle of David Completes God's Work with Israel
Les uses James's quotation of Amos 9 to show that after the church is called out, God returns to finish what He started with Israel, setting up the tabernacle of David again.
Israel's Dispersion and Regathering
Les explains that Israel was removed from the land and scattered in 70 A.D., but God is now bringing them back from the four quarters of the world according to His promises.
Israel Will One Day Call on His Name
Les contrasts Israel's present unbelief with the future day when they will call on God's name and He will say, "It is My people," and they will say, "The LORD is my God."
Gentiles Are 'a People for His Name'; Israel's 'My People' Title Is Future
Les clarifies that except for Acts 15:14, Gentiles are not called "My people"; Israel will only be called God's people again after they come back in complete belief at Christ's return.
The Palestinian Covenant Promises Israel's Final Restoration
Les points to Deuteronomy 30 to show that after Israel has exhausted blessings and curses and has been scattered, God will remember them, turn their captivity, and gather them from all nations.
The New Covenant Belongs to Israel's Future Remnant
Les shows that in the New Covenant, Israel will know the Lord without human instruction and He will forgive their iniquity; this applies to a remnant, a third, while the rest are cut off.
Acts 15:14: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
This verse states the first step in the sequence: God visits the Gentiles to take out a people for His name.
Acts 15:16: After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
God promises to return and rebuild the fallen tabernacle of David after the calling out has taken place.
Acts 15:17: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
This shows the purpose of the rebuilding: the remnant of men and Gentiles called by God's name will seek the Lord.
Amos 9:11: In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
This is the Old Testament prophecy James quotes, promising the raising up of David's fallen tabernacle in that day.
Zechariah 13:9: And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
This verse shows the future day when a remnant of Israel will be called God's people and will call Him their God.
Jeremiah 31:33-34: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
This New Covenant passage describes God's future work with Israel when all of the remnant will know Him and receive forgiveness.
Yes. In Acts 15:16 God says, "After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David." The "after this" refers to the calling out of a people for His name.
Les explains that the "people" are the body of Christ, the Gentile believers. God is taking them out from among the Gentiles for His name.
God will start working with Israel again and rebuild David's fallen tabernacle, meaning the temple and the whole sphere of Israel's kingdom. He will finish what He started with the nation.
Not until they come to complete belief after the return of Christ. Then God will say, "It is My people," and they will say, "The LORD is my God." This is part of the New Covenant.
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