John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast (Tabernacles), Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Nehemiah 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

We should also look at these to make certain that we are checking everything that relates to the phrase "last day."
Both of these references are related to the Feast of Tabernacles. The fact is, both speak of the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

What does the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles have to do with the rapture or Judgment Day? We shall see that it is intimately involved with these subjects.

Let us look at the nature of the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a feast commemorating two events. First, it looked back upon the sojourning of Israel in the wilderness, and second, it was the time of the completion of harvest.

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.

These verses teach that it was a feast that looked back on the wilderness sojourn of

Israel

, and how they entered
the promised land, the land of rest. So, too, believers today are living in the wilderness of this world.

When Christ comes, our rest in Him will be complete. We are strangers and pilgrims now, but when we receive our resurrected bodies we will be forever with Christ (II Thessalonians 4:17). Therefore, we can see how this feast identifies with Christ’s return: It is then that we receive our resurrected bodies. It is then that our salvation is complete; it is then that our wilderness sojourn is ended.

The second reason for the Feast of Tabernacles was the celebration of the end of the harvest. In Exodus 23:16 we read of, "The feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field." This is a surprising verse because it speaks of the Feast of Ingathering, which is the same as the Feast of Tabernacles, as the end of the year.

The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated during the seventh month (Leviticus 23:34). The seventh month is many months from the end of the year and yet God speaks of it as the "end" or "going out" of the year (Exodus 23:16).

Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Since the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated the harvest and related it to the end of the year, and since Christ speaks of the end of the world as a harvest time, we can see that a beautiful relationship exists between the Feast of Tabernacles and the end of the world.

It is no wonder, then, that the phrase "last day" is found in connection with the resurrection of believers and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Feast of Tabernacles	End of world
End of year	End of time
Harvest time for crops	Harvest time for mankind
End of wilderness sojourn for Israel	End of wilderness sojourn for believers
Last day (Exodus 23:16)	Last day (John 12:48, John 6:39-40)

Thus we can see why in Nehemiah 8:18 and John 7:37 God used the phrase "last day" in connection with the Feast of Tabernacles. Before we leave the Feast of Tabernacles, one other important fact should be noted, which links the Feast of Tabernacles to the last day or the end of time. In the Old Testament, all the men of Israel were required to appear before the Lord three times during the year, as is recorded in Exodus 23:14-17:

Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty: And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

The first feast was the Feast of Unleavened Bread that began with and was identified with the Passover. This feast began in the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month (Leviticus 23:5) and continued for seven days after the fifteenth day (Leviticus 23:6, Deuteronomy 16:1-3). It was the day that anticipated the shedding of Christ’s blood as the Passover Lamb to take away the sins of the world.

The second feast was the Feast of Harvest or the "Firstfruits" or "Feast of Weeks." This feast was observed seven full weeks from the morrow after the Sabbath, that is, the Sabbath that occurred during the Passover week (Leviticus 23:15-16 and Deuteronomy 16:9). Because this feast was fifty days after the Passover, it was also called Pentecost (penta is groups of five). It was a day that anticipated the spiritual harvest and would begin as a result of Christ going to the cross.

The third feast at which the males had to appear before the Lord was the Feast of Tabernacles, which was preceded by the Day of Atonement (the tenth day of the seventh month). The Feast of Tabernacles continued for eight days from the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:27, 34, 39). It was a feast day, as we shall see, that anticipated the completion of the spiritual harvest that would result from the salvation God provided through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The awe-inspiring fact that now faces us is that while these feast days anticipated and pointed to the historical accomplishments of the atonement, on the very same days that the nation of Israel was celebrating these feasts, God brought to pass the spiritual reality to which these days pointed. On the Passover in 33 A.D., while the Jews were keeping the Passover, Jesus hung on the cross as the Passover Lamb. On the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, the Old Testament Feast of Weeks, the Holy Spirit was poured out and the harvest of souls began. It was at that time that the firstfruits of the harvest were seen: 3000 from eighteen nations were saved (Acts 2:41).

So we see that two of the three most important feasts, those specifically emphasized as times when Jewish men journeyed to Jerusalem, were the literal times when God’s program of redemption was carried out. The Jewish Passover was celebrated the very day that Christ, the Passover Lamb, was slain. The Jewish Feast of the Firstfruits, Pentecost, was observed the very day that God poured out His Holy Spirit, and the first fruits of the spiritual harvest were seen.

The one remaining feast day is the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Ingathering. Surely the Bible is suggesting that Christ will return in literal fulfillment of this feast, even as there was literal identification with the other two important feasts!

It is no wonder, then, that God uses the phrase "last day" in connection with the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is identified with Christ’s return, just as the resurrection of our bodies and Judgment Day are identified with Christ’s return.

Revelation is progressive so God expects us to keep studying & looking. With all of the evidence that 2007 is the year, the Feast of Tabernacles may prove indeed to be the week. As long as we stay in the Word we’re safe (signs are secondary), and Feast of Tabernacles does appear to be pointed to in the Word.

Tabernacles is celebrated beginning on the 27^th of September. I’m reminded of the dream that a lady friend of ours had where she saw a BIG 27 in the dream; and instantly it started flowing with electricity and power. The dream was in August and nothing happened on August 27 but September 27^th begins Tabernacles…