The Feasts of Jehovah (Part IV)
By Liaf
We are at the last feast and the Great Day associated with it. This feast is the culmination of all the feasts. It is God’s final goal for his Kingdom so-to-speak.
Feast of Tabernacles
The final verses of Leviticus 23 say:
Leviticus 23:33-44: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.
This feast commenced on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. That’s at the full moon in the September-October timeframe in the early autumn. They were to keep the feast for seven days dwelling in booths and they gathered the fruit of their harvest while celebrating with branches of palms and willows. Th significance of the booths (temporary shelters) depicted the commemoration of their "wilderness days" coming from the land of Egypt. During that time they depended (or were supposed to depend) solely on the Lord. This "camp out" put the conveniences of life aside to focus on God. After this seven-day feast, there was a solemn eighth day designated as a Sabbath. Obviously this foreshadowed an event that would be quite serious.
As usual, we turn to the New Testament to decipher the meaning of this feast. The first New Testament Scripture I want to bring to light was about an event that people do not think much about. They may wonder the significance of it. Do you remember the story of the transfiguration of Jesus? Let’s look closely at that event.
Matthew 17:1-5: And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
The Greek for "transfigured" is the same root that we get our word "metamorphosis" from. Jesus "morphed" before them as today’s generation would say. His bright countenance obviously was to demonstrate his appearance in the world to come. Once he rose from the dead, he (and all believers) would get glorious new bodies. I believe that is quite obvious. In addition, he talked with two heavenly beings, namely Moses and Elijah. If we remember our Bible stories, God buried Moses. The burial place is a mystery, although we know that Satan wrestled with the angel Michael over the body of Moses. There was great spiritual warfare concerning his body---- maybe Satan was trying to thwart God’s purpose for him. As for Elijah, he was translated as he was "caught away" in a fiery chariot. These two important characters were prototypes of the glorious saints in the world to come. They were there with Jesus "on the same heavenly level" so-to-speak. Peter, James and John were yet in their human form, totally amazed and awed by this wonderful sight. They were "above all other people" as indicated by their presence on a mountain. Down below were the rest of the people perhaps oblivious as to what was going on. They were on the mundane level.
In the millennium, we already know from our end-time study that we will rule and reign with Christ in our new glorified bodies. Jesus’ transfiguration and the presence of Moses and Elijah demonstrated this. The people of Israel will still be in their human form as demonstrated by Peter, James and John. Israel, of course, will be gathered again and placed in her land. As Zechariah says, "And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited." In Isaiah it also says, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." Some may say that a mountain is figurative of a nation or power above the rest----- agreed. However, I believe that the Lord will physically elevate his house and people for all people to see around the world to emphasize this concept. I cannot imagine God putting his house, nation and Kingdom on a plain or in a valley somewhere. That would violate Jesus’ sermon on the mount where he said, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." Keep in mind that the topography of the Earth will change in the end-times. I’ve discussed this in my end-time messages already. Therefore, we can conclude that Israel will be "lifted up" but in power and elevation as shown by the disciples on the mountain with Jesus. The rest of the people were below them. Obviously, the transfiguration event showed the disciples a model of the coming millennial reign of Christ and his Kingdom. What was their first reaction? Let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
The Old Testament clearly teaches the significance of this feast in the millennium.
Zechariah 14:16: And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The keeping of this feast is synonymous with the actual millennium. When one reads this passage of Zechariah, we see this feast as a representation of the worship of the King in the millennium. Likewise, if we continue reading that passage, we see that those who do not keep the feast are those who are effectively rebelling against the rule of the King (which is the purpose of the millennium). Consequently, those who do not keep the feast will be punished because they are not worshipping the King.
The conclusion is undeniable. The feast of the Tabernacles therefore represents the millennial reign of Christ.
What about the last eighth day? We saw this was to be a solemn assembly. What comes after the millennium? If we remember our end-time study, there will be a final rebellion after the millennium. After that, God will set up his White Throne Judgement. A week has seven days. The first day and the eighth day are the same day of the week. The eighth day is still the first day in a sense, but of a new week. Thus, the eighth day is the start of a new week and represents new beginnings. The number eight in the Bible has newness associated with it. After the White Throne Judgement God will create a new heaven and new Earth. As Revelation says,
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
After the millennium, the solemn eighth day points to the time of the serious White Throne Judgement. This judgement will be the border of a new age. It will be the judgement where the old will be done away with and the new universe will be created. This new creation will be the launching of eternity and all that God intended things to be.
In these last four messages, I have attempted to summarize the meanings of each feast of Jehovah. I hope they will persuade you to study these feasts in more detail. One last thought. What if Christ will come soon? Let’s take seven years for the Tribulation and add them to the thousand years of the millennium. That works out to be 1007 years. We have no idea how long the final rebellion and Great White Throne Judgement will take, but I would wager it would not take another 1007 years. If this is the case, we may be on the verge of a new eternity in less time than the time that transpired since Christ’s first coming!
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