Hello John and Doves,
Since we have started
the Fall High Holy Days, I decided to take another look at
one particular time involving Jesus on one particular day
- a day given by the Lord as an "appointed time" - a
moedim.
This day is the day
following the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths,
which is a seven day feast. It is
"the 8th day" that I'm looking for. (Today, the Jews
add this 8th day to Sukkot and celebrate Sukkot for eight
days in their sukkahs.)
In John 7:8 Jesus tells
His disciples to go ahead and go on up to this festival at
the Temple - the Feast of Tabernacles. He tells them
He isn't going "because My time has not yet fully
come." Yet, He ends up going secretly to the temple
courts after they leave.
"On the last and
greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out
in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me
and drink." John 7:37 On this day, Jesus
offers us 'living waters.'
This is the Eighth day,
that is not part of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Nowhere in describing the Feast of Tabernacles is there
mentioned it having a last/greatest day. So this
"last and greatest day must be the "eighth day" as the
Lord has appointed it.
In Leviticus 23 The Lord
tells Moses to tell the Israelites that on the fifteenth
day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles
beings. There is a sacred assembly on the first day
where they are to do no regular work. For the seven
days they are to present a fire offering to the
Lord. They are to prepare booths and dwell in them
for seven days. Feast of Tabernacles is only seven
days long with no last/greatest day given.
In Deuteronomy 16:15 we
see that this is a seven day feast "For seven days you
shall keep the feast to the Lord your God..." Feast
of Tabernacles is only seven days long with no
last/greatest day given.
Neither in Leviticus nor
Deuteronomy is there a last/great day of the Feast of
Tabernacles given by the Lord.
There is, however, an
appointed eighth feast - the day following the end of the
Feast of Tabernacles. The Jews named this day "Shemini
Atzeret".
Shemini Atzeret is
celebrated on the 22nd day of Tishrei.
"On the eighth day you are
to hold a solemn assembly and present an offering made by
fire to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you must
not do any regular work." Leviticus 23:36 This
is a day of rest, a fire offering is made to the Lord (no
man eats from this offering), the trumpets are
blown. This is the final and last assembly/feast of
the Lord for the year. This is literally the last
trump of the appointed days.
The Israelites understood
this: In Nehemiah 8:18 "The Israelites kept the
feast for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an
assembly, according to the ordinance."
The Prophet Zechariah
tells us that on the Feast of Tabernacles that all nations
of the world are to go to Jerusalem to worship the King,
the Lord of Hosts to celebrate the Feast of
Tabernacles. This if during the 1,000 Years of
Peace. Yet, we find no mention of this "eighth
day".....
We can see and pretty much
figure out the fulfillment prophetically of all of the
Lord's Feast Days - Passover (Jesus is the last Passover
lamb), Unleavened Bread (His body lay without sin in the
tomb), the Firstfruits (He was the firstfruits of those
who have died), Pentecost (the giving of the Holy
Spirit/Comforter), Feast of Trumpets (Rapture?, call to
the battle of Armageddon?), Yom Kippur (Judgment Day),
Feast of Tabernacles (worship God in Jerusalem during the
1,000 Years.)
"The Lord says that "There
are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations
which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for
them." Leviticus 23:4
So where is the
fulfillment of Shemini Atzeret - that eighth day? As it
too is a holy convocation, a religious festival in it's
own right - it is an appointed time...for something.
A "solemn assembly" was
called by a king or a prophet or religious leader when
"destruction was at the door."..there would be a remnant
or a leader who would recognize both their imminent danger
and the source of their deliverance. The would turn
to God. And they would call for a solemn assembly...The
Solemn Assembly is a time for the people to fast and pray;
and see the face of God and to
repent."http://www.voiceofthewatchman.org/biblestudies/studies/solemnassembly/solemn-assembly-1.htm
A
Call to Solemn Assembly
Is this Eighth Day, simply
just the eighth '1,000' years since Creation?
Finishing up the 7,000 years? Going on into
eternity. All of the other appointed days are for
something specific - Jesus death, giving of the Holy
Spirit, opening the books on Judgment Day, worshiping the
Lord in Jerusalem...
The Jews don't even know
what this day is about. They just add it to Sukkot.
I don't believe in
coincidences. Pastor Dana's September calendar dream
was about "a solemn assembly" with Jesus appearing in the
clouds with His angels on September 30 - telling us we
will soon see His face and his October calendar dream had
a finger drawing through the 2nd and 3rd (we're assuming,
full) weeks of October - that would be the week of October
11 and the week of October 18.
Shemini Atzeret is on
October 10 - it ends when this 2nd full week starts.
Does this mean anything? Can we take these calendar
months/days literally?
Is the "solemn assembly"
the assembly in the clouds to meet the Lord? There
have been numerous calls of assembly in the Bible - for
trouble, for war, etc. In Acts, Jesus' followers had
been called to a solemn assembly before the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit.
This Eighth Day is,
indeed, a mystery.
This year, the Eighth Day
is celebrated on October 10, 2020.
God's people are to humble
themselves and pray - seek His face and turn from their
evil ways.
All of this most Holy
time period we are in now is tied to teshuvah - repentance
- and ends with a coming together in a solemn assembly on
the last appointment, a Holy convocation.
Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem!
Maranatha!
Chance