Greetings to all:
You must all know that we are now in
the middle of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles period for the year 2010. This feast began last Thursday, Sept.
23rd, and according to Lev. 23:34-35 it will end seven days later on
next Wednesday, Sept. 29th.
However, according to Lev. 23:36 the celebration must be extended for one
more special day for a “holy
convocation,” making it an eight-day celebration period. This verse, taken from Leviticus reads as
follows:
Lev. 23:36 – “For seven days you shall offer an offering made
by fire to the Lord. On the
eighth day you shall have a holy
convocation, and you shall
offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work
on it.” (NKJV)
This verse speaks of a
“holy convocation,” and the word
“convocation” has a special meaning.
The Latin word for convocation means “calling together,” and
the Greek word means “a group of people formally assembled for a special
purpose.” Both of these
defini-tions seem to point to the partial rapture of the “chosen” Christians –
this could be the time!
You may also remember that in my last
paper entitled “God’s Three Special Levitical Feasts”
I indicated that the partial rapture of the “chosen” Christians is
likely to occur at some time during this feast period. I recently found a very interesting
article on the Internet relating to the Feast of Tabernacles, and I am attaching
a copy to this letter for your consideration. I have no way of determining the
authenticity of the facts presented in this article, but the writer does seem to
know a great deal about Hebrew religious practices and customs.
The fifth paragraph of this article
initiates a description of the events prescribed for the eighth day of the
feast. It is significant to note
that all of the prescribed procedures are to be initiated and controlled by the
Jewish high priest, but according to Heb. 5:9-10 Christ Jesus is the “high
priest” for all Christians.
Therefore this could be the proper time for Him to visit the earth and
conduct the peartial rapture, calling together
His “chosen” Christians.
My previous paper entitled “Recognizing the
Presence of Our Father God” showd that
the supernatural signs listed in Rev. 8:5 indicate the Presence of either God
the Father or Jesus on earth at that time, a time prior to the tribulation. The verse does not indicate whether
these supernatural events will be local in nature as they were when God visited
Moses on Mt. Sinai, or worldwide as they will be at the
time of Christ’s Second Coming. But
in either case I believe that we can expect to witness these events on or around
next Thursday, Sept. 30th.
In case you think
that I am too bold in predicting a date for this event, remember that Elijah was
told the day of his rapture prior to its occurrence. I believe that as we approach the time
of the rapture its date will become more and more obvious to us all.
Blessings to
all.
Berk Hammond
The Feast of Tabernacles
(See <http://www.christcenteredmall.com/
teachings/feasts/tabernacles.htm>)
The seventh and final Feast of the Lord is the Feast of Tabernacles. It
occurs five days after the Day of Atonement on the fifteenth of Tishri
(October). This feast is also called the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16;
34:22), the Feast to the Lord (Leviticus 23:39; Judges 21:9), the Feast of
Booths, or simply "the feast" (Leviticus 23:36; Deuteronomy 16:13; I
Kings 8:2; II Chronicles 5:3, 7:8; Nehemiah 8:14; Isaiah 30:29; Ezekiel
45:23,25) because it was so well-known.
After the return from Exile, Ezra
read the law and led the Israelites in acts of penitence during the Feast of
Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:13-18). The dedication of Solomon's' Temple also took place (I Kings 8:2) during
this feast. Later, Josephus referred to the Feast of Tabernacles as the holiest
and greatest of the Hebrew feasts.
On the first day of the feast, each
participant had to collect twigs of myrtle, willow, and palm in the area of Jerusalem for
construction of their booth (Nehemiah 8:13-18). These "huts" or
"booths" were constructed from bulrushes as joyful reminders of the
temporary housing erected by their forefathers during the Exodus wanderings
(Leviticus 23:40-41; Deuteronomy 16:14). The "booth" in Scripture is
a symbol of protection, preservation, and shelter from heat and storm (Psalm
27:5; 31:20; Isaiah 4:6). The rejoicing community included family, servants,
orphans, widows, Levites, and sojourners (Deuteronomy 16:13-15).
Besides the construction of the
booths, other festivities included the ingathering of the labor of the field
(Exodus 23:16), the ingathering of the threshing floor and winepress
(Deuteronomy 16:13), and the ingathering of the fruit of the earth (Leviticus
23:39), Samples of the fall crop were hung in each family's booth to acknowledge
God's faithfulness in providing for His people.
The
Eighth Day
On the eighth and final day of the feast,
the high priest of Israel,
in a great processional made up of priests and tens of thousands of worshipers,
descended from the Temple
Mount to pause briefly at
the Pool of Siloam. A pitcher was filled with water, and the procession
continued via a different route back to the Temple Mount.
Here, in the midst of great ceremony, the high priest poured the water out of
the pitcher onto the altar.
Since in Israel the rains normally stop in
March, there is no rain for almost seven months! If God does not provide the
"early" rains in October and November, there will be no spring crop,
and famine is at the doorstep. This ceremony, then, was intended to invoke
God's blessing on the nation by providing life-giving water.
It is in connection with the Feast
of Tabernacles and this eighth day that the gospel of John records a fascinating
event. John wrote: "In the last day (eighth day),
that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, 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 heart shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38). The Son of God was saying in the
clearest possible way that He alone was the source of life and blessing; that
He could meet every need of the human heart.
Another ritual included the
lighting of huge Menorahs at the Court of the Women. This is the probable
background for Jesus' statement: "I am the light of the
world." John 8:12).
The water and the "pillar of light" provided during the wilderness
wandering (when people dwelt in tabernacles) was temporary and in contrast to
the continuing water and light claimed by Jesus during this feast which commemorated
that wandering period.
The eschatological visions which
speak of the coming of all nations to worship at Jerusalem refer to the Feast of Tabernacles
on the occasion of their pilgrimage (Zechariah 14:16-21). This feast speaks
eloquently of Christ's millennial Kingdom - of a new beginning without the
ravages of the curse of sin. In that day, the earth will give her full bounty,
all animals will be docile (Isaiah 65:25), armies will no longer march, every
man will sit under his own fig tree (Micah 4:4), and righteousness will become
a reality in the earth.