FEAST OF TABERNACLES 2014 & ITS SIGNIFICANCE TO CHRISTIANS

The Glorious (and mandatory) Jewish and future Messianic Celebration of Tabernacles starts at sundown on Wednesday October 8, 2014! Glory to HaShem the Great and His Son, Yeshua! Blessings to our Jewish brothers as we celebrate the next week of the great Feast of the Tabernacles (Sukkot). Amein! (Tabernacles ends on October 15 at sundown, in the year 5775 from Creation, and the Jewish month of Tishrei).

Sukkot is the last of the big Fall Feasts, right after the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) - the Holiest Day in the Jewish Calendar. But what does this Harvest Feast have to do with the LORD Jesus Christ and the 1000 year reign, which is getting closer by the day? Well, glad you asked!

Instituted by the LORD in the Desert Exodus, Sukkot is based on the rememberance of the "Sukkah" or huts, tents etc..." which the Israelites lived in during their 40 Year Journey in the Wilderness. Later on, it became the Fall Harvest it is today. This celebration has eternal implications for every child of the Kingdom of the Soon Coming King!

It is a time to reflect on God's blessings, God's provision and God's care for His people.

It is a time for the people of God to be charitable and share this goodness with others.

It is a time for renewed fellowship with the Father Abba, through the Son Adonai.

It is a time of rejoicing at the Master, coming to live among us, first in Spirit and then in Person.

This last one is the Great Hope of the Millenial Kingdom! 

First of all, this 1000 Kingdom Reign by Jesus from literally Jerusalem, will occur after the Rapture.  Read here: Revelation 20:1-10 about this. Then read here: Daniel 12, about the first resurrection of the Old Testament saints, who will reign with Jesus and us Christians, for these 1000 years.

Jerusalem will be a Kingdom of Priests who minister to all the Gentile nations, led by the High Priest of the Universe - Jesus! It is here we see the Feast of the Tabernacles re-introduced by Jesus Himself! Two major prophets have spoken of this coming Event! Whereas Tabernacles was once only for the Jews, ALL NATIONS will be expect to not just rejoice and celebrate with Jesus, but to come up to Jerusalem ANNUALLY, to worship the King - JESUS CHRIST, the LORD!

Here is the confirmation of Tabernacles in the 1000 year reign from Zechariah 14. Again, this will occur after all the Wrath of God is reigned down on antichrist, the United Nations and all the pagan kings of the world. We pick up at verse 16: And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain;they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 

Note the section of Bible prophesy in Blue! Even with Jesus on the Throne, many will still rebel against Him! This means that while Abraham, Isaac, Jeremiah, Paul, Stephen, Martin Luther, Wilberforce, Spurgeon, Moody and AW Tozer will return resurrected, people will still be born in your local hospital - full of their sinful nature! The 1000 year reign of Jesus will be occurring LIVE in actual time, during real daily life! But this is another topic.

For us today, let us resolve to observe the next 6 days with our Jewish brothers because one day in Paradise, we who are Christians, will all be grafted into the Tree of Israel as sons and daughters of the Holy One of Israel! 

Let us wave our flags, blow our shofars and praise the Great God of Heaven, Who prophesied this in Ezekiel 43:7-9: And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. ⁸ When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever. 

***YOM KIPPUR 2017: SEPTEMBER 29-30, 2017***

 YOM KIPPUR ...THE DAY OF ATONEMENT!

and the Scarlet Thread of Forgiveness

On Yom Kippur (or the Day of Atonement) the Talmud says that for hundreds of years, there hung a scarlet thread outside the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Back then, the Bible prescribed a scapegoat to cover the sins of the man. 

The High Priest would put his hand on the chosen goat, and transfer the sins of Israel unto the goat. If this scapegoat was acceptable to the LORD, the Scarlet Thread in the Temple would turn WHITE!  Sometimes the thread would stay scarlet, depending on the spiritual state of the nation at the time! Isaiah 1:18 says to God's people "come let us reason together...though your sins be scarlet, they shall be as white as snow"!

This Scarlet Thread procedure, if you will, remained in force in the Temple year after year. However according to a tractate in the Talmud, for FORTY (40) years before the Romans completely destroyed the Temples (just as Jesus predicted); the thread remained scarlet and never GOT WHITE again.

The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70. For 40 years from 30 AD to 70 AD and the Temple's destruction, God did not accept the bulls and goats sacrifice from the temple's priests anymore. Why? Because the Perfect Lamb of God - the Son of God - the LORD Jesus, had already paid the Once-and-for-all Sacrifice with His Life on the Cross on 14 Nisen, 30 AD!  (For instance Good Friday 2012 fell on the same day as Passover, when He was executed 1972 years ago!).

Still, the Feast Day of Yom Kippur is important and is the Holiest Day on the Jewish calendar/religion. None of us can make atonement, or pay for our own sins. This was done by the Holy Son of God. Therefore, Christians should identify with our Jewish brothers here because of the Holiness of God.

Next, we should approach this day in Humility and thankfulness for that same sacrifice on the Cross. 

In terms of the Messianic Millennial Kingdom to come,  this is how Christians and Messianic Jews should approach Yom Kippur. This Day of Atonement already happened, but by its placement between Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year 5774 since Creation) and Sukkot next week, the Lord is preparing us for His Coming when He will "tabernacle" with us. He wants us to remember His atoning death on the Cross.

There will be more on Tabernacles or Sukkot next week. Sukkot is the last of the Fall festivals which will not only return and be reinstituted when Christ reigns from Jerusalem but it will carry a huge significance. It is representative of the Creator living with His Creation! If anyone has any better news out there, let us know and then prove it!

This Feast of Tabernacles will be a requirement for all the nations to celebrate in Jerusalem with the Eternal King. Everyone will be expected to and should be grateful for the Substitutionary Atonement on the Cross, for which we are cognizant on this Holy Day - Yom Kippur.

Shalom, amein.

(Images by Google Images)

THINK ON THESE THINGS - WEDNESDAY

MOSES - THE FIRST CHRISTIAN!

As our Jewish brothers get ready to observe the DAY OF ATONEMENT (YOM KIPPUR) on Friday, I wish to continue into our five week long Hike through Hebrews 11, with purpose! We are now up to Verse 23, but need to look at Verses 23-29 in two consecutive parts before Friday. The reason - MOSES!


I have divided them into two sections dealing with the Faith of Moses and how it relates to this feast day. To wit, verses Hebrews 11:23-26 (NKJV) says:
²³ By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. 
²⁴ By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

Please re-read Verses 25 and 26 in BOLD RED above and note these two things:

- While he was rescued and raised by Pharoah's daughter, once he knew better, he embraced his identity as NOT an Egyptian, but a man of destiny.

- While he could have had anything he wanted as the Prince of Egypt, Moses then threw in his lot with God's people at the time - the Hebrews (meaning "those who have crossed over).

BUT, more importantly, we see something unique here about Moses! HE KNEW CHRIST! WHAT? Whatchutalkingbout, Willis? Jesus was not born until around 3 BC and Moses lived about 1500 years before! 

I will say this loud and clear - MOSES WAS THE FIRST CHRISTIAN!

Who do you think gave Moses the LAW on Mount Sinai - Jesus!

Who do you think was in the Pillar of Fire by Night - Jesus!

Who do you think was in the Cloud by Day - Jesus!
Who do you think was in the ROCK that Moses hit, when God said to speak to it - Jesus!

Who do you think was with Moses and Elijah on Transfiguration Mountain - Jesus!
Who is this all about - JESUS!

What's the Name? - JESUS!

WHAT'S THE NAME? - JESUS!!!!!!!!!!

Something happened to Moses when he spent all that time with God on the Mountain of God and throughout his 120 years on this earth. He was not called into this amazing Walk with God until he was 80 years old and spent the next 40 serving God, listening to God and writing the First Five Books of the Bible, under power of the Holy Spirit.

He died at 120 years of age, not because of ill-health. He was as strong as an ox. Here is where the Reproach of Christ comes in and where WE must be careful in our disobedient mortal spirit! 

When God calls us to a task. He equips us. But never lose sight of this - IT IS HIS WORK, NOT OURS. MOSES WAS SO FILLED WITH PRIDE AND RAGE AT THE GRUMBLING ISRAELITES that he disobeyed God! Read Numbers 20 from verse 8 where the Account of Moses striking the Rock to let the water out, instead of SPEAKING to it as God told him to!

This earned an immediate rebuke from God Who told Moses "because you disobeyed me and STRUCK the ROCK instead of SPEAKING TO IT, as I asked you, YOU WILL DIE"!

You know WHY this is important and why this Reproach had to come from Christ, through God? Here is Scripture explaining Scripture in 1 Corinthians 10:3 "and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ!!!"

The Rock that gave the Water for 3 millions Israelites, living water, WAS CHRIST!! Remember we said above, Jesus was everywhere with the people of God and Moses! MOSES HIT THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE WITH HIS STICK! 

Disobedience by a man of God, who has more accountability than most, leads to big problems! Moses. This is one big lesson! We must never lose our cool Our love for God and Christ and His people should ALWAYS our personal hangups; peeves; pride and quick tempers...because the latter will get us in trouble!

But Moses is still getting his reward right now as we live and breathe! That reward was visible when he and Elijah were last seen on the Mount of Transfiguration, talking to the Lord Jesus in stunning and shining White Light! Moses did land on the Promised Land, after all!

(image of BING images)