THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES AND THE REIGN OF CHRIST

The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD'S Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.(" 'These are the LORD'S appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to the LORD by fire-the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. These offerings are in addition to those for the LORD'S Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the LORD.)

" 'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the LORD for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.'" Leviticus 23:33-43

THE PILGRIMAGE FESTIVALS

Sukkoth is a pilgrimage festival; it is one of three festivals that were celebrated until 70 A.D. by mass pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Sukkoth is also a harvest festival. It is sometimes referred to as Chag Ha'Asif, the Festival of the Ingathering (harvesting). Thirdly, we remember the Exodus from Egypt on Sukkoth. The holiday commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. It is the final festival of the fall cycle of biblical festivals. The day following the seven day celebration of The Feast of Tabernacles, is a special Sabbath - a closing assembly.

THE WAVING OF THE FOUR SPECIES

Arbat Haminim is Hebrew for the “four species.” They are comprised of the etrog (a citrus fruit native to Israel), lulav (palm branch), hadas (myrtle branch), and arava (willow branch). God commanded the Israelites to take these four plants and use them to "rejoice before the LORD" during the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles. The etrog is held separately. The three branches are bound together and referred to collectively as the lulav. With these four species in hand, Jews today recite a blessing and wave the species in six directions (east, south, west, and north, up and down) to symbolize that God is everywhere. The four species are also held during the Hallel prayer.

Each day during Sukkoth, there are special processions in synagogue around the bimah where the Torah is read. Congregants hold the etrog and lulav during these processions. These processions commemorate similar processions around the altar of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. The processions are called hoshanas because during the procession Jews recite a prayer with the refrain "hoshana" (please save us).

Jews recognize that waving the four species in six directions symbolize the omnipresence of God. Yet, because of spiritual blindness, they don't recognize these species as symbolic of the triune nature of God. Three of the four species are of the same nature - green, leafy, tree branches. The palm, myrtle and willow branches are interwoven to form the lulav. Every adult male Jew in the world celebrates this festival recognizing the omnipresence of God by waving the etrog (the one) and the lulav (the three), yet fails to recognize that the one true God is comprised of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

THE FESTIVALS AND THE BRIDE

The three pilgrimage festivals, when all adult males were commanded to offer up sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem, were the Passover, The Feast of Weeks and The Feast of Tabernacles. The Passover is a picture of the bride price - Jesus purchased men for God with his atoning blood. Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) is a type of the bride gift - the promised gift of the Holy Spirit to the bride (the church). The Feast of Tabernacles is a picture of the wedding feast - the booth (sukkah) is decorated like the wedding canopy (the chuppah).

GOD WILL TABERNACLE WITH MEN

Twenty centuries ago, Jews laid palm fronds at the feet of Jesus crying out “hosanna” - save us! Yet, that generation rejected God's Son during the first of the seven Festivals of the LORD. At the First Advent, Jesus came as a suffering servant. The Jews were anticipating a conquering king and instead were offered a slaughtered Lamb. At the Second Coming, Jesus will indeed come as a conquering king - The King of kings and the Lord of lords. God will tabernacle with men. Jesus will establish his kingdom on earth and rule from Zion. The last of the Festivals of the LORD - Sukkoth - is a type of the Millennial Kingdom.

As a Jewish believer in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Son of God and Messiah (Christ), I am sharing my understanding of the natural and spiritual fulfillments that are foreshadowed in the Festivals of Yehovah in a series of posts. If you missed any of my first nine posts, please use the links below:

WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS STUDY THE FESTIVALS OF THE LORD?
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/why-should-christians-study-the-festivals-of-the-lord

JESUS IS THE PASSOVER LAMB WITHOUT BLEMISH
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/jesus-is-the-passover-lamb-without-blemish

SYMBOLS OF CHRIST IN THE PASSOVER
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/symbols-of-christ-in-the-passover

SANCTIFICATION OF THE BELIEVER IN CHRIST
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/sanctification-of-the-believer-in-christ

HOW WAS JESUS ABLE TO CELEBRATE PASSOVER AND YET BE CRUCIFIED ON PASSOVER?
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/how-was-jesus-able-to-celebrate-passover-and-yet-be-crucified-on-passover

CHRIST WAS CRUCIFIED, ENTOMBED, AND ROSE FROM THE GRAVE ON THE FESTIVALS OF YEHOVAH
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/christ-was-crucified-entombed-and-rose-from-the-grave-on-the-festivals-of-yehovah

THE FEAST OF WEEKS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/the-feast-of-weeks-and-the-holy-spirit

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT PART I – JEWISH TRADITIONS CAN NOT ATONE FOR SIN
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/the-day-of-atonement-part-i-jewish-traditions-can-not-atone-for-sin

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT PART II – JESUS OUR HIGH PRIEST
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/the-day-of-atonement-part-ii-jesus-our-high-priest

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