Revelation 21:3-7, "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new . . . . I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son." Leviticus 23:36, 39, . . . 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 [margin: "day of restraint"]; and ye shall do no servile work therein . . . on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. John 7:37, In the last day, that great day of the feast . . . .
Simhath Torah The Eighth Day is the joyous Climax of the Feast, a time when according to a custom originating in the Babylonian Captivity, the Torah (Book of the Law) is completed after having been read publicly for a year. Thus Jews refer to the Last Great Day as "the Day of the Book" [see Revelation 20:12] or "the day of completion" [of God's plan]. It is a day of completion and recommencement. The reader of the last verses of Deuteronomy is referred to as the "bridegroom of the Law (which is likened to the bride)," and the Last Great Day is likened to a marriage feast. Special Sacrifices in the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day Numbers 29:12-40, And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days . . . . On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein. | Burnt Offerings | Young Bullocks | Rams | Yearling Lambs | | | | 1st Day | 13 | 2 | 14 | | | 2nd Day | 12 | 2 | 14 | | | 3rd Day | 11 | 2 | 14 | | | 4th Day | 10 | 2 | 14 | | | 5th Day | 9 | 2 | 14 | | | 6th Day | 8 | 2 | 14 | | | 7th Day | 7 | 2 | 14 | | | | Total | 70 + | 14 + | 98 = 182 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8th Day | 1 | 1 | 7 | Also on each of the eight days, the meal offering was given, of flour mixed with oil, three tenths ephah flour with one half hin of oil with each bullock, two tenths ephah was one third hin per ram, and one tenth ephah with 1/4 hin per lamb. (See Numbers 15:1-10.) The total of ephahs of flour for all sacrifices is 336 (48 x 7). Also a kid of the goats was offered each day for a sin offering. Jesus kept the Last Great Day John 7:37-39, In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit . . .) [compare with the millennial purifying stream, Ezekiel 47:1-12]. Verses 40-53 show that many believed on Christ for this saying, but the Pharisees tried to take him, and "every man went unto his own house," verse 53. Early the next morning Christ came again to the Temple and taught "all the people" that came to Him. A woman caught in the act of adultery was brought to Him, and Jesus shamed the accusers. He continued teaching, John 8:12, "I am the light of the world." Verse 44, "Ye are of your father the devil," and verse 58, "Before Abraham was, I am." Then they took up stones to kill Jesus, but He went out of the Temple, verse 59. As He was passing through the crowds, Jesus healed a man born blind, by putting clay and spittle on his eyes and having him wash in the pool of Siloam (9:1-14). It was the sabbath day when He healed the man, verse 14. The Cycle of the Jewish Year The "Ceremony of Water Drawing" on the close of the first day of the Feast, the Levites, amidst a brilliantly lit court and the sound of harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets, and other musical instruments and singing, walked up the 15 steps that lead from the Court of the men to that of the Women, corresponding to the 15 "songs of degrees," Psalms 120-134. At each step they paused while one of these songs of Degrees was chanted with great enthusiasm. At the Upper Gate, stood two priests, who sounded the Shofar as the singers ascended each step. The vast congregation was tremendously enthralled as these Psalms were chanted. When the procession reached the eastern gate of the city, they turned to the West, facing the Temple, and proclaimed: "In the days of the First Temple, our fathers who were in this place turned their faces towards the east and worshipped the sun [Ezekiel 8] but as for us, our eyes are turned to the Lord." At daybreak, the procession left the Temple and proceeded to the Pool of Siloam in a triumphal march. From it, they brought back water to the Temple, which they poured upon the altar along with a libation of wine. This custom, which lasted for six nights, has an obvious connection with the season (which was the beginning of the "latter rains" of the fall). On the eighth day was a special prayer for rain. [In John 7:37-39, Christ on the Last Day referred directly to the ceremony of water drawing.] According to Alfred Edersheim's book on The Temple, the most joyous of all festival seasons, the Feast of Tabernacles came at the time of the year when all crops had been stored, all fruits gathered, wine made, and the land only awaited the "latter rain" to prepare it for a new crop. The fall harvest reminded Israel (1) of their dwelling in booths in the wilderness and (2) the final harvest when Israel's mission should be completed, and all nations gathered unto God. Three things especially marked the Feast of Tabernacles: (1) Joyous festivities, with sharing meals with the poor strangers, Levites and homeless; (2) dwelling in booths to remind Israel they were "strangers and pilgrims in the earth." The Sadducees understood the "four plants" of Leviticus 23:40, 43 to refer to the materials in which the booths were to be constructed, whereas Pharisees applied it to what the worshipers were to carry in their hands. The latter was the universal practice at the time of Christ; (3) special sacrificial offerings. Three things are worthy of note about the special burnt offerings: -
They are the characteristic sacrifice of the Feast. Twice the number of rams and lambs are sacrificed at Tabernacles than Unleavened Bread, and five times the number of bullocks. -
The number of burnt sacrifices, whether taking each kind by itself or all together, is always divisible by the sacred number seven. The number seven is more prominent during this Feast, including the fact that the Feast begins when the seventh moon is full. -
The daily reduction of the number of bullocks offered. This may show the decreasing sanctity of each successive day of the Feast (common explanation) or that the reason for this is that the bullocks add up to 70, representing the nations of the world (70 Gentile nations), while the one bullock offered on the 8th day represents Israel (Talmud explanation). The Feast of Tabernacles in the Talmud Jewish Rabbis believe that Sukkot designates the end of the passage of time. That is why they sometimes refer to it as "The Festival of the Future." The mood of the Feast of Tabernacles is totally different than the time of solemn introspection on Trumpets and Atonement. It is a time to be joyful. Some people call the Tabernacles "the Jewish Thanksgiving." A sukkoth emphasizes God's divine protection, that God provides for us supernaturally. The Hebrew word "Atzeret" may be translated "solemn assembly," "keeping back," "Shutting off" and is the same as "Atzirah." On Shemini Atzeret God says "Ye shall have a shutting off," Numbers 29:35, but Pesach God says, "Shall be a shutting off to the Lord," Deuteronomy 16:8. Why these different expressions? God says to Israel, "On Pesach shut Me off from giving rain unto Israel, but on Shemini Atzeret I shall shut you off, by My rains, from walking in My outdoors." [Rain is injurious after Pesach in Palestine, see 1Samuel 12:17]. --Yalkut Hadash, 188b Said Rabbi Levi: "He who observes the precept of the Sukkah in this world will be rescued by God from all loss and damage." --Otzar Midrashim, page 493 Just as one cannot fulfill his duty on Sukkot unless all four Minim [elements] are held together, by the same token Israel cannot be redeemed unless all Israelites hold together. -- Yalkut, 188a Leviticus 23:40, "And ye shall take unto yourselves on the first day, the fruit of the tree Hadar, branches of palm-trees, and the boughs of the myrtle tree, and willows of the brook." The palm branch is like the spine, myrtle like the eye, willow like the mouth, Etrog like the heart. With all your limbs praise God. --Yalkut, 188b It is a custom to draw water at Feast of Tabernacles, representing drawing of Holy Spirit, Isaiah 12:3. Offering of Bullocks on Sukkot: 13 offered the first day, then 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, for a total of 70. But on Shemini Atzeret, only one bullock sacrificed. Seventy were said to atone for the seventy Gentile nations, and the one for Israel. Thus Shemini Atzeret is an intimate feast for Israel only. -- Pesikta Buber, page 193, Zohar, iv., 476 Sukkot is a type: you reap and gather produce, so will you enjoy reward in the World-to-come when you reap what you have sown in this life. -- Mikrae Kodesh, page 109 Sukkot is especially a time of rejoicing. Scripture enjoins us to rejoice three times; on Shabuot only once, on Pesach not once. On Pesach, neither wheat nor fruit ripe, we know not how harvest will transpire. On Shabuot, wheat has been harvested, but not fruit nor increase in flocks. But on Sukkot, everything has been gathered. -- Yalkut Shirmeoni to Emos, 23 Israel was freed on Pesach, "the season of our freedom," but was not united with their father; that was at Sukkot, "the season of our rejoicing." To demonstrate his feeling of freedom, he lives in flimsy hut, not in a stockade or a fortified camp. -- Mikrae Kodesh, 151-2 God says to Israel: "My sons, reside in the Sukkah for seven days so that ye may remember the miracles, which I did for you in the desert." --Yalkut Emor, Pesikta Buher, page 189a Feast of Tabernacles and the Millennium After Christ's triumphant return to this earth, and after the release of the captives on the beginning of the Jubilee year, one of the most wonderful events in the history of the earth will occur: the Kingdom of God will be set up on this earth and a thousand-year time of true peace and prosperity will begin. This is the Millennium, the word taken from the Greek language meaning "1,000." No More War How wonderful the reign of Christ will be during the Millennium. There will be peace because all nations will "beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks [scythes]: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation neither shall they learn war any more," Micah 4:3. There will be no more wasted lives due to war, and the corollaries of war: death, mutilation, deadly chemicals, mental problems, venereal disease, drugs, broken homes, heartache. And even more, there will be no wasting of finances and resources used to kill and maim and cause destruction; rather, there will be positive spending of money to help and heal and promote construction. Wild Animals Tamed Not only will people not kill each other in the Millennium, but the nature of animals will be changed so that a lamb and a lion can be together, and a small child can play with all animals without being hurt, Isaiah 11:6-8. This world will be restored to the condition it existed at the time of the Garden of Eden. There shall no longer be hurt in the Kingdom of God, "for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," verse 9. Peaceful Lives Rather than today's rat race, pollution, crime, violence, and drugs, people will live God's way: "They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree [God approves of private ownership]; and none shall make them afraid . . . all people will walk everyone in the name of . . . the Lord our God for ever and ever," Micah 4:4-5. Right Government Who will rule us in the Millennium? "I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them . . . and they lived and REIGNED WITH CHRIST A THOUSAND YEARS," Revelation 20:4. "And THE KINGDOM and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom . . . shall be given to the people of the SAINTS of the Most High," Daniel 7:27. "He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron," Revelation 2:26-27. And the twelve apostles "shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel," Matthew 19:28. These tribes are the descendants of ancient Israel: United States, Canada, Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Christ will be the King of the Kingdom of God. He is "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS . . . He shall rule them [the nations] with a rod of iron," Revelation 19:16, 15. Those in the first resurrection are very blessed for "they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall REIGN WITH HIM A THOUSAND YEARS," Revelation 20:6. The Eighth Day Festival A popular belief is that you can only be saved if you hear the name of Jesus Christ. A number of religions have sent missionaries to the Orient, Africa, and various remote places in order to make sure that the "name of Christ" is heard so that the hearer can be saved. Flat Tire But, what about the proverbial flat tire on the missionary's car? He fails to reach a certain person who then dies not having heard the name of Christ. Is this poor unfortunate person doomed to hell for all eternity because of a flat tire? Is this how God works? Or, is God's power beyond the technical limitations that constrain religionists in their quest to save those God probably hasn't even called as yet? What is God's approach to reaching people in order to offer them their chance for salvation? What about all your friends and relatives who never really knew the truth of God, some of whom may have been bad persons, drug users, criminals, atheists, etc. Ancient Israel Early in God's Plan we find Him choosing a special group of people -- the twelve tribes of Israel. These and only these were His Chosen People in the Old Testament. Israel was to be a model nation and people, an example to the rest of the world. Any "strangers" who came into contact with Israel could become Israelites if they would follow the God of Israel, then becoming a part of God's People. Ancient Israel disobeyed God and failed to keep the Old Covenant, Exodus 19:5-6. But, God said He would make a NEW Covenant with New Testament Israel, Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:8-11. Israel in Christ's Time In early New Testament times, Jesus Christ told the twelve apostles to go first to Israel, Matthew 10:6, and that they would not have gone over the lands of Israel till He was to come again -- sometime in the near future, verse 23. Later, the apostles also went to the Gentiles, but the emphasis was still on Israel. And now Israel was under the New Covenant since God's Holy Spirit was generally available. God's Chosen People in New Testament times, as well as today, are those whom He calls regardless of whether they are descendants of physical Israel or not, John 6:44. And in fact those who are Christ's become spiritual Israelites, Galatians 3:29. Modern Israel Those people God calls today can accept the call, and eventually become a part of God's True Church by receiving God's Holy Spirit, Romans 8:9. Most of the modern physical descendants of Israel (the Caucasian peoples of the United States, Great Britain, etc.) have turned their backs on God and have ceased to be Model Nations. They will be punished severely, but will eventually be regathered during the Jubilee year after Christ's return to become a righteous people as an example for the rest of the nations of the world. The Future But, what about non-Israelites of the past, or Israelites who never even heard the name of Christ? What about the "lost"? This is the point of the final festival in God's seven-part Plan. This festival represents the time when God will make salvation available to all those who never had a previous chance to choose it. Great White Throne Judgment The seventh festival is often called the White Throne Judgment. "And I saw a GREAT WHITE THRONE . . . and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the DEAD WERE JUDGED out of those things which were written in the books, ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS," Revelation 20:11-12. This judgment occurs at the end of the thousand-year Millennium period: " . . . they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished," Revelation 20:4-5. First Resurrection When Christ returns there will occur what may be called the First Resurrection. Those who will live and reign with Jesus Christ for one thousand years must first be resurrected: "This is the FIRST RESURRECTION. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power . . . ," Revelation 20:5-6. Second Resurrection The resurrection back to physical human life of all the dead who never had an opportunity for salvation will occur after the Millennium. This is the SECOND RESURRECTION which will be followed by the Great White Throne Judgment. The Eighth Day Festival shows a time of New Beginning for those who accept salvation (God's way of life) when they are given their chance for understanding. Eight is the number of new beginnings. What a wonderful time of opportunity that will be! | 