The 7th
Feast/Appointment
SUKKOT (7 days) (Updated a little bit -2017)
In
Hebrew, the name of this Feast of Booths is Sukkot. It lasts for seven days and from historical
writings we know that it was simply called The
Feast/The Festival. We can
even see in Yoch/John 7:37 where in the English translations it is called “the Feast” or “the Festival”. It is
the Feast of all Feasts that will be celebrated every year by the whole world in Yerushalayim
during the Millennium.
Zec
14:16 And it
shall be that all who are left from all the gentiles which came up against
Yerushalayim, shall go up from year to year to bow themselves to the Sovereign, יהוה of hosts, and to observe the Festival of
Booths. Zec 14:17
And it shall be, that if anyone of the clans of the earth does not come up to
Yerushalayim to bow himself to the Sovereign, יהוה of hosts, on them there is to be no rain.
Zec 14:18 And if the clan of
Mitsrayim does not come up and enter in, then there is no rain. On them is the
plague with which יהוה plagues the gentiles who do not come up to
observe the Festival of Booths. Zec
14:19 This is the punishment of Mitsrayim and the punishment of all the
gentiles that do not come up to observe the Festival of Booths.
This
is referring to "the survivors from all the nations
that have attacked Jerusalem" It
is not speaking about those from the nations who today are the true Torah
obedient followers of Yahshua the Messiah, because they will already be in
Yerushalayim as the Bride of the King. The people who were “the bride that made
herself ready” will be the ones who would have received their immortal bodies
at the coming of Yahshua when the last Trumpet shall sound (See Matt 24:30, I
Cor 15:51-54, I Thes 4:16,17) – perhaps even those who are the “guests” and not
part of the Bride. But all in the
nations who have survived YHVH's judgments to enter the Millennium will be
coming to Yerushalayim to celebrate this
Feast. These people or not all of them will not have esteemed/immortal
bodies but they will become very old because of the renewed earth.
"Behold,
I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be
remembered, nor will they come to mind. …Never again will there be in it an
infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years;
he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a
hundred will be considered accursed." (Isa 65:17,20). Many believe that in this
case of this prophecy, it is speaking of people in the Millennium and not the
final ‘renewed heavens’ and ‘renewed earth’ that Rev 21 speaks of, but a “first
fruit” of that, because after the “Day of YHVH” where His vengeance and wrath
will be poured out on the earth and on the people who don’t make it into the
Millennium, there is going to be a renewal necessary in order to live on this
earth in the Millennium. The Rev 21 FINAL “renewal” will take place at the end
of the Millennium when the Eighth Day starts.
"Those
who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead
many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." (Dan 12:3-4)
It
is this ultimate, esteemed salvation and the coming of the Messianic Kingdom on
earth that we celebrate by faith with fullness of joy for seven days during
Sukkot! It is a time of great happiness.
Mat
19:28 And יהושע said to them, “Truly I say to you, when the
Son of Aḏam sits on the throne of His esteem, you who have followed Me in the
rebirth, shall also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Yisra’ĕl.Mat 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or
sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My Name’s sake,
shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Mat 19:30 “But many who are first shall
be last, and the last first
Like we said: The mood of Sukkot is joyous, and it is a time for celebration. Remember the progression: repentance on Yom Teruah, forgiveness and atonement on Yom Kippur, and now it is time to rejoice and be glad during Sukkot. Everyone, including Gentiles (stranger), were commanded to rejoice during Sukkot:
Deu 16:14 and you shall rejoice in your
festival, you and your son and your daughter, and your male servant and your
female servant, and the Lĕwite, and the stranger and the fatherless and the
widow who are within your gates.
Deu 16:15 “For seven days you shall observe a festival to יהוה your Elohim in the
place which יהוה chooses, because יהוה your Elohim does bless you in all your
increase and in all the work of your hands, and you shall be only
rejoicing!
In a Sabbatical year, the Torah was to be publicly read during Sukkot/Tabernacles (Dev/Deut. 31:10-11).
The
FIRST day of Sukkot is a set Apart Convocation and major feast but the rest of
the six days were like ''minor feasts'' and yet very joyous with the water
drawing ceremony everyday, the Festival offerings and the illumination of the
Temple at night.
The Four Species
Lev 23:40
‘And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of good trees, branches of palm trees, twigs of leafy trees, and willows of the stream, and shall rejoice
before יהוה your Elohim for seven
days.
The
four species, the etrog (this is the fruit that the Jews halachlicly decided on
but strictly speaking it is not 100% clear in the original Hebrew what fruit is
is), the palm, the myrtle and the poplar, that are waved before YHVH, is a
symbol of rejoicing over Elohim's ultimate restoration of creation. (The
picture above shows the Lulav (the four-species bound together) as it is
according to Rabbinical halacha. We prefer to wave the palm branch as an open
branch together with the other species. Their halacha is to close the palm
branch).
Seven days
It is clear that this 7-day period, is
to be the SEASON OF OUR JOY [z’man simchateinu].
Sukkot is a commemoration of both the placement
of man in the Garden of Eden, and the overshadowing Presence of YHVH as the
Redeemed Community left Mitsrayim/Egypt. Its focus on harvesting various
species recalls the purpose of man in the Garden. YHVH placed His special
creation, in the Gan Eden [garden of Eden], and blessed him with
the ability and potential to multiply pru
u'rvu – be fruitful and
multiply, take dominion over the rest of YHVH’s creation, and eat of it.
This was a “new beginning”, setting man above the animals and other living
creatures of earth. It reflected an exalted status for man – with vastly
expanded potential for fulfilling YHVH’s purposes.
In Judaism this is the specification for the instruction:
· Etrog – a type of citron, a citrus
fruit that looks like a large lemon.
· Lulav – date palm branches.
· Hadassah – myrtle- leafy tree
· Aravot
– willow.
The Sukkah
VaVayiqra/Lev 23:41
‘And you shall observe it as a festival to יהוה for seven days in the year – a law forever in your
generations. Observe it in
the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 ‘Dwell in booths for seven days; all who are native Yisra’ĕlites dwell in booths, (see the command in Devarim 16:14. WE are the wild olive grafted-in-branches (Rom 11)
Lev 23:42 ‘Dwell in booths for seven days; all who are native Yisra’ĕlites dwell in booths, (see the command in Devarim 16:14. WE are the wild olive grafted-in-branches (Rom 11)
Lev 23:43 ''so that your generations know that I made the children of Yisra’ĕl dwell
in booths when I brought them out of the land of Mitsrayim. I am יהוה your Elohim''.
The
Sukkah (booth or tabernacle) is a very temporary dwelling. It symbolizes the
frailty of our present bodies and the present world system. Living in booths
for seven days is a reminder of Elohim's faithfulness to care for us through
the journey of this life towards our destination in the kingdom of Elohim,
just like Elohim took care of the children of Yisrael during their journey
through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
He
gave them food, water and clothing. He guided them in the right way through
unknown territory. He protected them from danger, sickness and disease. It is also on physical level a reminder of
the journey in the wilderness
Deu
8:2 “And you shall remember that יהוה your Elohim led you
all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, prove you, to
know what is in your heart, whether you guard His commands or not.
Deu
8:3 “And He humbled you, and let you suffer hunger, and fed you with
manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, to make you know that
man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth
of יהוה [1]. Footnote: 1Messiah quotes this in Mt. 4:4 and in Lk. 4:4.
Deu
8:4 “Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these
forty years.
Deu
8:5 “Thus you shall know in your heart that as a man disciplines his son,
so יהוה your Elohim
disciplines you,
We
need to rejoice over YHVH's faithfulness to care for us during the short
journey through this life.
We
also rejoice in advance by faith over the coming
Messianic reign (the Millennium reign) of Yahshua from Yerushalayim/Jerusalem, the
ultimate victory over all evil, the final regeneration of all creation.
This
is certainly a very important Feast to strengthen our faith.
A MESSIANIC
FULFILLMENT when Yahshua came the first time as Moschiach ben Yosef
The functions of the physical Tabernacle
find fulfillment in Yahshua
the Messiah the only brought
forth Son of the Most High, who tabernacled among us in order to redeem and enable
mankind to not be under the curse of the Torah but to obey His Father’s eternal
law, the Torah, and made it possible for believers to now have it written on
their hearts through the empowerment of the Ruach HaKodesh (the ''written on
the hearts'' is an ongoing process until its final fulfilment in the Millennium
reign of Yahshua).
The
Scriptures translation: Rom 8:3 For the
Torah being powerless, in that it was weak through the flesh, Elohim, having
His own Son in the likeness of flesh of sin, and concerning sin, condemned sin
in the flesh, Rom 8:4 so that the
righteousness of the Torah should be completed in us who do not walk according
to the flesh but according to the
Spirit.
PROPHETIC
MESSIANIC FULFILMENT
The
7-day celebration of ingathering called Sukkot prophetically rehearses the
restoration of the Sh’kinah Presence of YHVH to mankind which will
occur in Olam HaBa – the World to Come. The
prophets say that when Messiah reigns in Yerushalayim, all nations who made it
into the Millennium will come to worship YHVH during this 7th day period (they can be literally
people from the nations who make it into the Thousand Year reign because they
had a heart for Yisrael or they can be made up of the saved people who are not
part of the “Bride of Messiah” but just “wedding guests” or just people who
made into the nations that made it into the Millennium. These are all still
things that all of us are trying to understand and we might have some of our
interpretations and understandings correct and some of it incorrect. Perhaps
nearer to the time there will be more insight or else we will only know for
sure when Yahshua comes back.
The fullness of this feast in the seventh month
will be experienced at the coming of the Messiah, Yahshua, when He will rule
and reign on the earth during the Messianic age, the Millennium, called the Athid Lavo in Hebrew eschatology on behalf of his
Father YHVH. This time will be a time of joy for all believers in the Messiah Yahshua and will be the age of
Yisrael's/Israel’s esteem. So, Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles/booths
points to the time when Yahshua has returned as Moschiach ben David, to take up
the throne of David as “the Son of David” and has restored the kingdom to Yisrael/Israel ruling as King
of kings and Master of masters from Yerushalayim/Jerusalem
in the 7th thousand-year
reign. The wedding of the Lamb will be celebrated for a thousand years on the
earth so to speak.
During
this time, the Torah will go out from Yerushalayim, not only to all of Yisrael,
but to all the nations (the people who make it into the nations during the
Millennium), as it is written in Yeshayahu/Isaiah
2:2-4,
Isa 2:2 And it shall be in the latter days that the mountain of the House of יהוה is established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills. And all nations shall flow to it.
Isa 2:3
And many peoples shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of יהוה, to the House of the
Elohim of Yaʽaqoḇ, and let Him
teach1 us His ways1,
and let us walk in His paths1, for out of Tsiyon comes forth the
Torah1, and the Word1 of יהוה from Yerushalayim.” Footnote: 1His ways, His paths, the
teaching and the Word of יהוה are used
synonymously.
I Isa 2:4
And He shall judge between the nations, and shall reprove many peoples. And
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither teach battle any
more.
Mic 4:1-4 Mal 4:1
“For look, the day shall come, burning like a furnace, and all the proud, and
every wrongdoer shall be stubble. And the day that shall come shall burn them
up,” said יהוה of hosts, “which
leaves to them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2
“But to you who fear My Name
the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings. And you shall go out and leap for joy
like calves from the stall.
Mal 4:3
“And you shall trample the wrongdoers, for they shall be ashes under the soles
of your feet on the day that I do this,” said יהוה of hosts.
Mal 4:4
“Remember the Torah of Mosheh, My servant, which I commanded him in Ḥorĕḇ for
all Yisra’ĕl – laws and right-rulings.
In Yeshayahu/Isaiah 42:4, it is
written,
“He
will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth; and
the islands shall wait for his Torah.”(HNV revised)
This
teaching from the Torah will be given to all the leaders of the nations during
the annual feast of Sukkot, when they will have to be present in Yerushalayim,
as it is written in:
Zechariah
14:16-17, Zec 14:16 And it shall be that all who are
left from all the gentiles which came up against Yerushalayim, shall go up from
year to year to bow themselves to the Sovereign, יהוה of hosts, and to
observe the Festival of Booths.
Zec 14:17 And it shall be, that if anyone
of the clans of the earth does not come up to Yerushalayim to bow himself to
the Sovereign, יהוה of hosts, on them
there is to be no rain.
This
is talking about physical
rain, but it is also speaking allegorically. Rain symbolizes the
Torah, see Devarim/Deuteronomy
32:2. A possible
interpretation: During the feast of Sukkot in the millennium, the Messiah
Yahshua will give all of Yisrael and the rulers of the Gentiles an annual Torah
seminar. It will be completely different than it is today; The Political
leaders try to make order in the world and to solve its problems without
submitting to the Elohim of
Yisrael, his Messiah Yahshua,
and his Instruction Book.
Only once the Messiah restores the Torah among all the nations of the earth,
will there be shalom/peace in the world.
Devarim/Deuteronomy
32:2. “Let my
instruction fall as rain, My speech drop down as dew, As fine rain on the
tender plants, And as showers on the grass.”
Yeshayahu/Isa 4:2 – 6 In that day the
Branch of יהוה shall be splendid and
esteemed. And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for the
escaped ones1 of
Yisra’ĕl. And it shall be that he who is left in Tsiyon and he who remains in
Yerushalayim is called set-apart, everyone who is written among the living in
Yerushalayim. When יהוה has washed away the
filth of the daughters of Tsiyon, and rinsed away the blood of Yerushalayim
from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then יהוה shall create above
every dwelling place of Mount Tsiyon, and above her
assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by
night, for over all the esteem shall be a covering, and a booth for shade in
the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm
and rain.
The Harvest
Vayiqra/Lev 23:39a ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the fruit of
the land, observe the
festival of יהוה for seven days.”
Sukkot
is a Feast celebrating that the harvest has come in. This is a prophecy about
the harvest of both X- Gentiles who are grafted-in and Jews. Paul wrote
in Rom 11:25 For I do not wish you to be ignorant of
this secret, brothers, lest you should be wise in your own estimation, that
hardening in part has come over Yisra’ĕl, until the completeness of the
gentiles[1] has come in. Footnote: 1Gen. 48:19. Rom 11:26 And so all
Yisra’ĕl shall be saved, as it has been written, “The Deliverer shall come out
of Tsiyon, and He shall turn away wickedness from Yaʽaqoḇ, Rom 11:27 and
this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”1 Footnote: 1Isa. 59:20-21.
Let
us pray and rejoice over the harvest of beings that will be reaped both among
the nations as well as Yisrael! Elohim's house will be full! As the fullness of
the Gentiles comes in, all of Yisrael will be saved! The Seventh day of Sukkot,
called The Great day of the
Feast speaks of a final harvest (more about this then in next section).
Rev 7:9 After this I looked and saw
a great crowd which no one was able to count, out of all nations and tribes and
peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in
white robes, and palm branches in their hands, Rev 7:10 and crying out
with a loud voice, saying, “Deliverance belongs to our Elohim who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb!”
Let us not forget to also pray Zec 12:9 “And it shall
be in that day that I seek to destroy all the gentiles that come against
Yerushalayim. Zec 12:10 “And I shall pour on the house of Dawiḏ and on
the inhabitants of Yerushalayim a spirit of favour and prayers. And they shall
look on Me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for
his only son. And they shall be in bitterness over Him as a bitterness over the
first-born.
The Last Day of the Feast (the Seventh day), called
the Great day of the FEAST or Hoshianna rabbah - no set apart convocation or
Shabbaton is ascribed to this seventh day. It was though a special high on
which Sukkot ends
On the seventh and final day of Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles), the Temple services reached a climax. The anticipation of rain was at its annual high. Jewish tradition held that it was on this day that Elohim declared whether there would be rain for the coming year's crops.
Everyday during Sukkot, there was a water-drawing ceremony called the Water
libation ceremony. Consequently, on this
final day of the Feast, the seventh day, the Temple water-pouring ritual
took on great importance. Water was the foremost thought on every one's mind.
The custom of carrying branches and singing Psalms during the Feast of Tabernacles is of ancient origin. It dates back at least to the time of the Maccabees, some 165 years before Messiah (cf. Mac. 10:6-7). The water-drawing ceremony is also from antiquity and not explicitly mentioned in the Torah. Although debate exists as to whether Isaiah alluded to the water-drawing ceremony (Isaiah 12:3), or the ceremony was derived from the words of Isaiah, it is known that the ceremony was in use at least 100 years before the time of Yahshua. From different Historical sources, we can read that it happened like this: Each morning of Tabernacles (15th Ethanim – 21st Ethanim (later after Babylon the Sevengh month was also called Tishrei) a water offering was offered as a visual prayer for rain. Shortly after dawn, the high priest was accompanied by a procession of worshippers to the Pool of Siloam. He carried a golden pitcher capable of holding a little more than a quart (says Alfred Edersheim) which he filled with water and brought back to the Temple Mount. At the same time people gathered willows and brought them through the South Gate of the city and laid them as a canopy of drooping branches over the altar in the Temple courtyard. When the High Priest reached the Southern Gate (known as the Water Gate because of this ceremony), three silver trumpets sounded outside the temple and the priests shouted: “Therefore with joy will you draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3). On the first six days of this Feast, the silver trumpets gave three blasts.
(On the painting on the left, the trumpets are
incorrectly portrayed as golden trumpets instead of silver trumpets. According to the history sources, the trumpets were blown when the priest
reached the Southern Gate called the Water Gate.)
When the High Priest reached the altar, he ascended the ramp and raised the golden pitcher. He poured out the water and simultaneously a drink offering of wine was poured out. The silver trumpets blasted again three times and the Levitical choir sang the Hallel (Psalm 113-118) as the congregation joined in waving palm branches, singing, “Save now, I pray, Oh YHVH, send now thy prosperity” (118:25).
On
the seventh day of Sukkot, the Hoshanna
Rabbah, also called the Great day of the Feast,
the silver trumpets gave three sets of
seven blasts.
On
the other six days, the priests made but one
circuit around the altar. On this seventh
day, the priests made seven. As
they marched around the altar in a joyful procession from the Pool of Siloam
the people waved palm branches as they sang Tehillim/Psalm 118: "This
is the day YHVH has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O YHVH, save us; O
YHVH, grant us success. [Hosanna,Hosanna!] Blessed is he who comes in the name
of YHVH. From the house of YHVH we bless you. YHVH is Elohim, and he has made
his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up
to the horns of the altar. You are my El, and I will give you thanks; you are
my El, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to YHVH, for he is good; his love
endures forever." (Psalm
118:24-29). It is clear that this Tehilla (Psalm) speaks of this ceremony on
the 7th day of Sukkot.
For
these reasons, the day was known as Hoshiannah
Rabbah, or "Great
Hosanna." Thoughts of rain for the coming year and messianic fervour
were at their highest pitch.
We
can read about this day called Hoshanah
Rabbah and the ceremony in
different ancient history books like Avraham Finkel‘s “in Essence of the Holy Days”. He also says: Quote: "On the seventh day of
Sukkot -- Hoshana Rabbah seven circuits are made (around
the bimah/altar), hence the name Hoshianna
Rabbah, which means ‘many hoshanas.’) during this last day of the Feast of
Tabernacles (the Seventh day, the Great day of the Feast), when the priests
carried water from the Pool of Siloam in a procession with much joy and shouts
of "hosanna" up to foot of the altar in the Temple they were reciting
Yeshayahu/Isaiah 12:2-3 “See, Ěl is my deliverance, I trust and am
not afraid. For Yah, יהוה, is my strength and my song; and He has become my deliverance. And you shall draw
water with joy from the fountains of deliverance".
“In the hoshana prayers we ask for rain, ‘to give
life to the forsaken wastes, to sustain with trees, to enhance with sweet
fruits, to rain on the sproutings, to elevate the thirsty earth.’ After the
seven processions around the bimah
(Altar), additional prayers
are said, after which the lulav and etrog are laid aside and the hoshana bundle, consisting of five willow
branches, is picked up. The hoshana bundle is beaten on the ground
five times in accordance with an
ancient custom that was instituted by the prophets
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (c.
350 B.C.E.)” (The Essence of the Holy Days, p.94)". End Quote.
In the Good News of Yochanan/John we read that Yahshua Messiah
went up to the Feast of Booths (Sukkot) in Yerushalayim (Yoch/John 7:1-9). This in Yoch 7:1-9 must have been about the
middle of the Feast, He went up to the Temple, and taught the people
(v.14-30). at the end of chapter seven
from verse 37 we read what Yahshua said on this last
and Seventh day of Sukkot: Yahshua proclaimed that he was the fulfillment of Sukkot (the
Feast of Booths): Yochanan/Joh 7:37
And on the last day, the great day of the
festival (or “the Feast”
like other English translations translated it), יהושע stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to
Me, and let him who believes in Me drink. Joh 7:38 “As the Scripture said,
out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water.” This "last day, the great day of the festival" is
talking about the seventh day
of Sukkot, called in Hebrew the "Hoshianna
rabbah". In English it
can be translated as "The
Day of the Great Hosanna or salvation." It
is amazing that on this Great and last day of the Feast when the water ceremony
took on greater importance, that Yahshua said ''if anyone thirsts, let him come
to Me and let him who believes in Me drink...." (Dankenberg and others
reckon that this statement of Yahshua can also refer to the outpouring of the
Set Apart Spirit that was to come)
Dankenberg says:
“What
is the “last day” of the Feast? Why is it called, “the Great Day”?
Many
have assumed, and taught, that this refers to the concluding festival which
follows right after the Feast of Tabernacles, called “The Eighth Day”(in Hebrew
the Eigth Day assembly is called Shemini Atzeret, which simply means, “Eighth
Day.”)
However,
a strict interpretation of this verse about ''the Last day or Great day of The
Feast'' would suggest that it is discussing
a festival itself which has more than one day, and the day in question is
the LAST day of that particular Feast! Now the Feast of Tabernacles
(Sukkot) is just such a Feast. It has “seven days” (Lev.23:39-42).
On these seven days the people of YHVH are to take palm branches, and other
branches, and rejoice before the Eternal One.(v.40). During these seven
days they are to dwell in booths, or temporary dwellings, called sukkah in
Hebrew (verse 42).
After
this seven-day festival called Sukkot, on the eighth
day, comes an entirely NEW festival, called Shemini Atzeret! (Will discuss
this last one-day Feast called Shemeni Atzereth, separately). It also is an
annual Shabbaton day (a day of rest – no servile work) – a day of solemn
assembly (Lev.23:39; Numbers
29:35).”
As the waters were poured out (during the water drawing
ceremony) the people began to pray for rain for the coming season in order to
secure another harvest. They sang Tehillim/Psalm 118:25, I pray, O יהוה,
please save; I pray, O יהוה,
please send prosperity. In Hebrew they sang, "Hoshianah, hatshlichana!"
It must have been then
on the Seventh Day, right at this
moment of the last water drawing ceremony that Yahshua shouted “if anyone
thirsts……..” Yahshua therefore made this statement,
about the out-pouring of the Set apart Spirit, on the last day (seventh day) of the Feast
of Sukkot – very possibly picturing the Day of Final Salvation, the Day of
Great Salvation/Deliverance (Hoshianna rabbah), and the Great White Throne
Judgment!
What does this final day (Hoshianna Rabbah, the Seventh day of Sukkot)
of celebrating the Harvest, and Ingathering, therefore, picture?
As most of us know, Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) as a whole, pictures the Millennial Reign of the Messiah,
Yahshua, over the nations of
the world for one thousand years (Rev 20); But what about this “last day”
(seventh day) of the Feast?; the “Seventh Day of Sukkot”; the “Last Great Day”;
the “Hoshianna Rabbah” – the “Great Salvation” – Is it possible that this
portrays the “second resurrection” at the end of the Millennium; this final
stage of Elohim’s plan of salvation?–because that is the time when BILLLIONS
will be judged and enter the Kingdom of Elohim! It is the time period
called the “Great White Throne Judgment” in Revelation, chapter 20! (Remember
that when Yahshua comes back on the clouds for the Millennium reign, there is
going to be a judgment seat where the Messiah is going to judge our works before we enter into the Millennium/Thousand
year reign - 2Co 5:10 For we all have to appear before the
judgment seat of Messiah, in order for each one to receive according to what he
has done in the body, whether good or evil.)
The “Great White Throne of
Judgment” on the other hand, is at the
end of the Millennium/Thousand years [Rev 20]) Could it be (asks
Dankenberg) that it literally pictures the final day of “judgment” and sealing
those who will receive eternal life (compare Rev.20:11-15), as opposed to those
who will suffer the second and final death penalty (v.14-15) just before the Eighth Day (Shemeni Atzereth), the new beginning that starts when
YHVH Himself will come to abode with His people forever with the Lamb on the
renewed earth where the renewed Yerushalayim has come down from heaven? (Rev
21:1-4 and I Cor 15). Dankenberg seems to belief so and we also feel that this
is a very good possibility.
We are not “going to heaven”
like we were taught for so many years. (Ask for article on this issue if you
are interested.) See Rev 21. You can also ask for article studies on what
happens after death. We have learnt unscriptural things about it as Christians
from Christianity who learnt it from Plato.
So this final day of harvest-celebration could very well picture the vast second resurrection – the resurrection
of all people who ever lived, who did not qualify to be in the first resurrection (Rev.20:1-4), at the
coming of Yahshua, the Messiah at the start of the Millennium. All these
others will rise up, to human life, after the 1,000 year period
(Rev.20:5-6). They will be judged at that time – the time of the “Great
Salvation,” or “Many Hoshanas/Hoshianas” either to eternal life in the Kingdom
of Elohim on the renewed earth, or they will suffer the second and final death
penalty: Rev 20:14 ‘And the death and the grave were thrown into the
lake of fire. This is the second death.[1] Footnote: 1See 2:11, 20:6, 21:8.
Rev 20:15 And if anyone was not found written in the Book of Life, he was
thrown into the lake of fire.’
Quote from Avraham Finkel's book:
"During the week of
Sukkot, altogether seventy bulls were brought as Mussaf offerings on the altar
in the Bet Hamikdash. However, on Shemini Atzeret, only one bull was sacrificed.
Why? The seventy bulls represent the seventy nations of the world; the one bull
of Shemini Atzeret represents the unique nation of Yisrael.
You may compare it to a king who had held a festival for seven days and invited
all of the country's inhabitants (the nations of the world) to the seven days
of feasting. When the seven days of feasting were over, he said to his friend
(Yisrael), 'Let us now have a small meal together, just you and I' (Bamidbar
Rabbah 21, Sukkah 55b)" (p.98)