Three feasts are scheduled for the seventh month (Tishri) in Israel’s religious calendar, i.e. the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles: “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation” (Lev. 23:24). The seventh month marks the end of the harvest.
This feast has been integrated into the Jewish New Year celebrations (Rosh Hashanah) since Tishri (usually September on the Gregorian calendar) is the first month in their civil calendar. Rosh Hashanah denotes the beginning of a new year (Rosh means “Head” and shanah “year”). The Jews believe that God created the earth in the month of Tishri; therefore, they regard it as the beginning of everything and consequently the first month of the year.
How do we, as Gentile believers, feature in the fulfilment of the Feast of Trumpets? Despite the fact that the content of the seven feasts form an important part of Israel’s religious practices in the Old Testament, and are presented within the religious version of Israel’s lunar calendar, they are prophetically of universal significance and were fulfilled with reference to the spiritual needs of all the descendants of the first Adam. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). Christ is the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45) who came to offer new life to all of us – Jews and Gentiles alike.
This was the reason for Christ sending out His disciples to all the corners of the earth to proclaim the gospel of salvation. The Holy Spirit was also poured out on Pentecost to empower the entire church of the Messiah to gather a bride for Him among all nations. Consequently, the gathering of the final harvest of God’s kingdom on earth, which is preshadowed by the Feast of Trumpets, is also applicable to believers everywhere.
Rosh Hashanah’s biblical name is Yom Teruah, which means “the Day of Sounding the Shofar”, or “the Day of the Awakening Blast”. The great significance of Rosh Hashanah as New Year’s Day requires that this feast is celebrated on exactly the correct day on the lunar calendar – that is after the appearing of the first sliver of the new moon as seen from Jerusalem. However, in practice it is not always possible to inform all people in Israel, as well as those outside the country, of the promulgation of the new moon and the official beginning of the New Year. To solve this problem, a two-day Rosh Hashanah is observed by the Jews, which serves to strengthen the significance of this day. In the rabbinical view, the two days are regarded as one long day (yoma arikhta).
The Trumpet of Awakening is part of a longer season of repentance, referred to as Teshuvah (to return or repent). This season starts on the first day of Elul (the month preceding Tishri) and continues for 40 days, ending with Yom Kippur on the 10th of Tishri. Thirty days into Teshuvah, on Tishri 1, comes Rosh Hashanah, followed by 10 days of intensified repentance, ending on Yom Kippur. These ten days are known as the days of awe (yamin nora’im). Each morning during the month of Elul, after the morning service, the trumpet (ram’s horn or shofar) is blown to admonish people to repent and return to God. Special prayers are also offered at midnight for forgiveness. These prayers are known as slihoth.
Buksbazen (1954:28-29) says the following on the final period of increased efforts towards repentance: “New Year’s Day on the first Tishri opens the solemn period of repentance preparatory for Yom Kippur. In the afternoon of New Year’s Day, Jews throughout the world assemble near rivers, brooks, and oceans to cast away their sins. This ceremony is called Tashlikh and is based on Micah 7:19, ‘He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.’ Wherever Jews honour the traditions of Israel, Tashlikh is observed. In the afternoon of New Year’s Day you may see crowds of Jews near larger bodies of water performing the symbolic ritual of casting away their sins.”
According to Edward Chumney (1994:103), “Teshuvah [the time of repentance] speaks to all people. Those who believe in the Messiah are called to examine their lives and see where they have departed from God. It is a call to examine the Scriptures and the evidence that the Messiah was who He said He was. God has always a heart to warn people before He proclaims judgement. God warned the people before the flood, and He warned Nineveh before it was ruined. He does not want anyone to receive the wrath of His judgement (Ezek. 18:21-23, 30-32; Zeph. 2:1-3; 2 Pet. 3:9).”
Those who heed the warnings of the Lord and repent will be saved. People who disregard the warnings in the Bible by failing to get in the right relationship with the Messiah will be responsible for their own spiritual ruin – regardless of whether they were hardened sinners or backsliders who strayed from the ways of righteousness. The following call to repentance in association with the blowing of trumpets speaks for itself, as well as the warning to backsliders:
“Whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand. So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me ... Say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel? ... When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. Again, when I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die” (Ezek. 33:4-15).
All people on earth should be confronted with the necessity of believing in the Messiah as Saviour and repenting (turning away) from their sins. After rising from the dead, and shortly before His ascension, Jesus said to His disciples: “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:44-47).
In this Scripture it is clearly stated that the Messiah’s atoning death is also to be appreciated as the fulfilment of various Old Testament pronouncements (everything written about Him), since that would lead to a better understanding of God’s plan of salvation for humanity, and further emphasise the need for repentance in order for sins to be remitted. He is the Lamb of God who was slain and rose again on the third day. He is also the unleavened bread of life who expects of His followers to feed on His Word and repent from the leaven of sin in their lives. Unrighteousness should be abandoned and believers should pray for cleansing by the blood of the Lamb.
Now, in the end-time, we have different wake-up calls to repent and live holy before God in anticipation of the soon coming of His Son as the heavenly Bridegroom. One of the major signs of the end of the church dispensation is the gathering of Israel back to the land of their fathers. When we see the fig tree budding and growing in springtime, we know that the summer of God’s kingdom is at hand. When summer has come, the fig tree will bear fruit and that will be a sure indication that the spiritually revived Israel will be a blessing to the entire world (Rom. 11:12; Isa. 27:6).
It is quite obvious that the trumpet of Rosh Hashanah will be fulfilled during the final ingathering of God’s harvest on earth, and that will take place when Christ comes for His saints. However, there are those who take issue with this interpretation by maintaining that this trumpet alludes to the restoration of Israel from the Diaspora. Hugh Downie (1994:98-99) is of the opinion that the trumpet of Rosh Hashanah heralds the message of the end-time gathering of Israel in their land, and to him this is strictly a Jewish event. He firmly believes in the rapture, but says that it will not necessarily occur on Rosh Hashanah. However, there was no occasion of the sounding of trumpets during or subsequent to modern Israel’s establishment in their land in May 1948.
The close succession of the last three feasts suggests that there will be an intervention by God to gather His saints, which will be followed by a dark time of judgement (the tribulation period) before Christ’s public coming on the Mount of Olives. Many of the scholars who produced books and articles on this subject are strongly convinced of the fact that the Feast of Trumpets will be fulfilled when God’s harvest among all nations is gathered. The following are views that are commonly expressed:
· Edward Chumney (1994:92-93) says: “The biblical name for Rosh Hashanah is Yom Teruah, which in Hebrew means “the day of the awakening blast”. This trump (shofar) is mentioned by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Because the last trump is only blown on Rosh Hashanah and because the apostle Paul specifically mentions that the rapture (natzal) of the believers in Yeshua the Messiah will take place at the last trump, the apostle Paul was giving a clear understanding that the rapture of the believers in Messiah will happen on a Rosh Hashanah.”
· John Ritchie (2000:61-62), who lived from 1875 to 1930, said that the Feast of Trumpets will have its grand fulfilment in the coming of the Lord Jesus for His saints (1 Thess. 4:16-17), but also in the awakening and gathering of God’s earthly people, Israel. He does not choose between the two diverging interpretations and tries to accommodate both.
· David Reagan (2012) says: “Trumpets (called Rosh Hashanah today) points to the rapture when the Messiah will appear in the heavens as a Bridegroom coming for His bride, the church. The rapture is always associated in Scripture with the blowing of a loud trumpet (I Thess. 4:13-18 and I Cor. 15:52).”
· Arnold Fruchtenbaum (1993) says: “The fulfilment of the Feast of Trumpets is the rapture of the church regardless of what view one takes of the timing of this event. There are two main passages which give the details of the rapture of the church, both of which mention the issue of a trumpet. This is no accident in light of the fact that the rapture will fulfil the Feast of Trumpets. The first of these passages is I Thessalonians 4:13-18 ... and the other 1 Corinthians 15:15-58).”
· Luzius Schneider (2000) says: “The trumpets will announce the second coming of Jesus.”
· Cheryl McGrath (2000) says: “That the Feast of Trumpets is prophetically tied into the second coming of Jesus is usually undisputed.”
Paul mentions the blowing of the trumpet when Christ will come to take his earthly bride to her heavenly mansion which He has prepared for her: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:16-18).
The mystery of the first resurrection has been revealed to the Corinthians: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51-53).
Many people have problems with the fact that the trumpet that will be blown at the resurrection of the saints is described as the “last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:52), and because of that they reject the concept of a pretribulation rapture. It is true that several trumpets of God’s judgements will be blown during the tribulation period, and that a trumpet will also be blown at the second coming of Christ when the feast of the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled. However, the last trumpet which is mentioned in connection with the resurrection of the saints refers to the last of a long series of trumpets that are blown every year from the first of Elul to the second day of Tishri. These trumpets announce the coming end of the harvest season and are, particularly, also a call to repentance. The last trumpet in this series blows on the second day of Tishri just before dusk when the day is about to end.
Shortly after the last trumpet is sounded the seven-day period which is known as the “seven days of awe”, starts on Tishri 3 and continues until the end of Tishri 9. The seven days of awe prophetically refer to the year-week of the tribulation under the false messiah. On Tishri 10, the Day of Atonement is celebrated.
In the light of this sequence of events, two phases should be distinguished in the coming of Christ – His coming for His saints when the trumpet is sounded before the seven days of awe, and His coming with His saints on the Day of Atonement. These two phases in the coming of Christ differ from each other in the following respects:
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Coming before the tribulation |
Coming after the tribulation |
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Comes as heavenly Bridegroom |
Comes as King of kings |
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Comes secretly during the rapture |
Comes publicly so all can see Him |
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Comes for His saints |
Comes with His saints |
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Meets His saints in the air |
Sets foot on the Mount of Olives |
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Rewards His saints |
Judges and rules the world |
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Only seen by saints |
Every eye will see Him |
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Returns to heaven after calling together His bride |
Remains on earth to rule as King |
When one considers the three main trumpets that are sounded during the seven festivals it is obvious that they are highly significant in announcing new dispensations in God’s plan for humanity:
· On Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out, the sound of a mighty wind was heard (Acts 2:2). That was the birthday of the church of Christ, and therefore the beginning of the dispensation of the church on earth. On that day the Spirit empowered the disciples to go out into the world and preach the gospel of salvation to all nations. Pentecost was a countdown of 50 days from Passover Sunday, and provided the spiritual strengthening and ability to proclaim the message of the crucified and risen Christ’s grace to the world.
· During the fulfilment of the Feast of Trumpets all saints of all time will be assembled as a token of the conclusion of the church age and the beginning of the permanent phase of the glorified church of Christ. Deceased saints will be resurrected with glorified bodies, while the living ones will instantly be changed from mortality to immortality.
· The feast on Yom Kippur will be fulfilled when the Messiah-King comes with the sounding of a trumpet, thereby introducing the dispensation of God’s revealed kingdom on earth. All those who survived the great tribulation, Jews and Gentiles alike, will be saved when Christ comes. They will then also share in the blessing of the promised Messianic kingdom.
In view of the profound significance of the Feast of Trumpets in resurrecting and glorifying the church of Christ of all ages (including Old Testament saints who waited for the Messiah) we should clearly understand and accept the promise of the first resurrection. At this event, the Lord Jesus will come to raise only born-again believers; this is why Paul says that “the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16). Nothing whatsoever is said here about the resurrection of the unbelieving, unjust dead. Since a first resurrection also implies a second, and since we know that the just as well as the unjust will be raised (Acts 24:15), it follows that the unjust dead will be raised at a later resurrection.
Revelation 20 says that at least a thousand years will separate the two resurrections. John refers to all the saints who will be raised in the first resurrection to reign as kings with Christ during the millennium: “And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:4-6).
Those who share in the first resurrection are declared blessed; therefore, to be declared part of this resurrection signifies a very privileged status. Various other Scripture references offer irrefutable evidence that born-again believers will be resurrected first. Paul refers to a chronological order of resurrections (1 Cor. 15:20-24).
Between the resurrection of Christ as firstfruits and the resurrection of the born-again just at His coming (the first resurrection), the entire dispensation of the church, presently approaching two millennia, will elapse. It is clear from Revelation 20 that the subsequent one thousand years of Christ’s reign will elapse between the resurrection of the just and the end of this present earth, when the unjust dead will be raised (the second resurrection) to face the final judgement at the great white throne.
The following are expressions which refer to the first resurrection only:
· The first resurrection (Rev. 20:6).
· The resurrection of the children of God (Luke 20:36).
· The resurrection of those who died in Christ (1 Thess. 4:16).
· The resurrection of the just (Luke 14:13-14).
· A better resurrection (Heb. 11:35).
· The resurrection to life (John 5:29).
· The resurrection from the dead through Jesus (Acts 4:2).
When the resurrection from the dead of either Christ or of Christians is referred to in Scripture, the Greek expression ek nekroon is used. It means from among the dead and is only used when other dead are not raised at the same time, but are left behind in their graves. This expression, which is used 49 times in the New Testament – 34 of which refer to the resurrection of Christ Himself – is not used even once when the second resurrection is referred to. When the latter, i.e. the raising of the unjust dead, is referred to, toon nekroon, meaning of the dead, is used instead.
At the rapture, the just will be raised from among the unjust dead and, together with the living just, who will be instantly changed, both will rise in glorified bodies to meet Christ in the air. The unjust (unsaved) dead will remain in their graves, since they did not “die in the Lord” (Rev. 14:13).
According to rabbinical tradition as described in the Talmud, God opens three books during Rosh Hashanah. The Messianic Jew, Victor Buksbazen (1954:24) says: “In one book the righteous are registered; in the second are those who are neither wholly righteous nor utterly wicked; and in the third the wicked are recorded.”
In the first book not only the names of all the righteous are written but also the rewards and blessings they will receive from the Lord. This includes material and spiritual blessings, such as a spiritually productive life, health, sufficient harvests and victory over the enemy. The sounding of the trumpet of Rosh Hashanah every year assures them of sustained blessings from the Lord while serving Him here on earth. When this feast is finally fulfilled (nobody knows in which year) the saints will be resurrected and receive eternal blessings and awards of grace in heaven. True believers will give account of their lives before the judgement seat of Christ and receive rewards from Him (Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10). Paul says, “... each one will receive his own reward according to his own labour” (1 Cor. 3:8 ff.). Followers of the Messiah who persevere to the end on the Lord’s way of righteousness are a minority group.
The second book contains the names of all those who are not completely righteous, but neither are they utterly wicked. According to popular opinion among the Jews, most people in Israel are in the second category as there are many things in their lives that are not pleasing to the Lord. This group is not seen to be permanent and its members are granted a limited period in which they can repent and restore their broken relationship with God. If they do this, they will be promoted to the first group and included in the ranks of the righteous who enjoy all God’s blessings. If they do not repent and follow the Messiah, they will be relegated to the third group of lost sinners. During the coming tribulation period of seven years, which will be the fulfilment of the seven fearful and awful days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, people who try to be good but are not truly born again, will have a final opportunity to decide where they wish to stand – with the true Messiah who demands holiness, or with the false messiah who will be the man of sin.
The third book contains the names of the godless as well as the just punishment they will receive. The vast majority of people on earth do not serve the God of the Bible and are therefore unbelieving agnostics or pagans who serve foreign gods. They will be judged and condemned by God after the second resurrection.
Reverting now to the first group: Through the feasts of God (the Lord’s Supper and Pentecost in the New Testament), believers are called to higher levels of dedication. They should often reaffirm and strengthen their trust in the Lamb who shed His blood for them on Golgotha. They should also regularly search their own lives to see if they are harbouring any leaven of sin which grieves the Spirit of God. When they are thoroughly cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1) they should commit themselves anew to the service of the Lord and do works that are worthy of repentance. Paul says that we should work resolutely with a view to receiving awards of grace before Christ’s judgement seat:
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
As for the second group: Many people regard themselves as believers who lead decent lives, but they are not really born again and therefore not guided by the Spirit of God. In Israel such nominal believers regard themselves as justified covenant people, but because of rejecting the Messiah they are not. The Lord Jesus said to them: “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:7-9). They practice a manmade religion which is void of any true spirituality. Isaiah said the following about this pervasive problem: “We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isa. 64:6).
In the church of Christ there are also vast numbers of nominal believers who outwardly seem to be righteous but inwardly they are still in spiritual darkness. Paul warned Timothy against church people who live sinful lives, and at the same time they have “a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Tim. 3:5). They lack the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and yet, through own effort, they maintain an outer form of godliness. True Christians should withdraw from the circles of hypocrites, lest they become like them and start leading double lives based upon false pretensions.
The Lord Jesus said to the church in Sardis: “... you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Rev. 3:1). They were admonished to repent from their dead form of godliness and to go out and preach to lost sinners.
If such people do not repent they will remain behind when the trumpet sounds for the resurrection of the saints at the rapture. During the subsequent tribulation the category of nominal believers who are neither righteous nor completely wicked, will soon cease to exist. Some of them will become followers of the Antichrist and completely deny the true Christ, while the others will reject the Antichrist and turn to the true Christ with undivided and repentant hearts. John says about them:
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! ... Then one of the elders [asked] me, Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from? And I said to him, Sir, you know. So he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9-14).
The third group of unrepentant sinners will share the Antichrist’s doom with him: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:9-11).
The sounding of the trumpet at the rapture will be a wake-up call to Israel during the fulfilling of the Feast of Trumpets. At that moment, Messianic believers in Israel and elsewhere will be snatched away together with members of the body of Christ from all over the world. It is uncertain whether orthodox Jews and other unsaved people will also hear the sound of the trumpet when the Bridegroom comes (1 Thess. 4:16), but the sudden disappearance of Messianic believers will convey a vivid message to Jews in Israel that the Messiah has come for His bride like a thief in the night.
In traditional Jewish marriage ceremonies, a shofar was sounded when the time arrived for the bride to be taken away secretly. The bridegroom came for his bride in the evening or at night – usually between six o’clock and midnight. When he and his friends got close to the bride’s house they would give a loud shout and blow on the shofar to let the bride and her maids know to come out immediately to meet the groom outside along the road. Those who did not have enough oil at that critical moment were late for their appointment and remained behind after the Bridegroom had returned to his father’s house with his bride.
Directly after the dramatic fulfilment of this event in the end-time, many Jews will realise that Jesus is undoubtedly the true Messiah. In the light of Biblical prophecies they will know that the false messiah will soon afterwards be revealed to usher in the time of Jacob’s trouble. Despite the fact that the majority of Jews will mistake the false messiah for the true Messiah (John 5:43; Dan. 9:27), a substantial number of Jews will not be deceived by him and instead surrender their lives to the Lord Jesus. The 144 000 special witnesses of Christ will emerge from this awakening. They will lead many of their own people to the Lord, as well as many Gentiles, and encourage them to stand firm during the dark days of the tribulation period.
The ten aweful days from 1 to 10 Tishri include the seven days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and represent the time of Jacob’s trouble. The end of the harvest season will mark the beginning of Daniel’s 70th year-week, a time when Israel will be tried and persecuted and Jerusalem surrounded by the armies of hostile nations (Ezek. 22:18‑22; Zech. 14:2, 12). During this time many people from different nations will have to make a final choice with regard to their eternal destiny. Unprecedented events will occur when the terrible judgements of which we read in Revelation 6 to 19, are announced in rapid succession.
Jeremiah explicitly mentions the coming day of the Lord’s judgements: “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it” (Jer. 30:7). The “trouble” not only refers to the wrath of God which will be poured out upon rebellious humanity, but also to the deception and fury of the false messiah which will be unleashed upon all the subjects of his global empire. During this year-week, the spiritual deception of Israel will take on unprecedented extremes because of the actions of the false messiah, but there will also be those who oppose the deception (Dan. 11:32-33).
In reaction to the severe deception and persecution, a minority of Israel and the nations will turn to the true Messiah and be saved (Rev. 12:11), while the majority will follow and worship the false messiah. Many people will die during the judgements of God while they are in “the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14).
The conversion of 144 000 Jews and their dedication to the service of the Lord (Rev. 7:4) will be a very important event at the beginning of the tribulation period, just after the revelation of the Antichrist. The 144 000 will be the first group which will represent the spiritual revival of Israel as a people. This process will only be concluded at the second coming of the Messiah. Revelation 7:1-8 ties up with an extensive series of prophecies in the Bible in which the guarantee is given that the Lord will not only restore Israel physically in their land, but that they will in the latter days also experience a spiritual revival (Jer. 32:36-40; Ezek. 37:1-28).
From a dispensational point of view it is quite obvious why the 144 000 Jews will be saved and dedicated to the service of the Lord. After the Lord Jesus removes His church, which He commissioned to be the light of the world during the present dispensation, He will utilise the spiritual potential of Israel to make His light shine in the dark night of the tribulation period.
“Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord” (Lev. 23:27). Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown at the end of the ninth day of Tishri. It is the most solemn of all the Jewish holy occasions. This sixth feast foreshadows the salvation of the entire Israel when, during the second coming of the Messiah, they will truly become God’s people.
This important religious feast was the only day of the year on which the high priest (Cohen Ha Gadol) was permitted to enter into the Holy of Holies to bring atonement sacrifices for the sins of the nation. According to Leviticus 16, a bull and a goat were sacrificed on this day, while another goat (the scapegoat) was sent away to wander in the wilderness. Before the goat was sent out, the high priest laid both his hands upon the head of the goat and confessed all the sins of the Israelites, thereby putting them on the head of the goat to be carried away to an uninhabitable place (Lev. 16:20-22).
To ensure that the sins of the nation, carried away by the scapegoat, could never return to them, the scapegoat was led up to a steep cliff and thrown down. According to tradition, the red thread, which was attached to the scapegoat’s head, would turn white, thus signifying that God had accepted the sacrifices and that the nation’s sins were covered for another year. Hartman (2012) makes the following very interesting remark: “Jewish tradition tells us that for a full forty years prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, the red thread on the scapegoat’s head did not turn white. Thus from the time of Jesus’ work of atonement on the cross until the sacrifices ended when the Romans sacked the Temple, God, according to the Talmud, did not accept the sacrifices of bulls and goats! Although we cannot prove that this actually happened, it is very interesting to note that the Jewish writings contain this statement.”
All the typological sacrifices were fulfilled by Christ: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:4-6).
Our iniquity was laid upon the Lamb of God. He was led to a place outside Jerusalem where He died for our sins: “Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Heb. 13:12-13).
In this Scripture Paul encouraged his Hebrew readers not to hesitate in sharing the disgrace which Jesus bore, but instead to abandon the camp of Judaism and identify with the Messiah outside the camp where He brought the once for all sacrifice for the sins of the world. The believer’s true spiritual destiny is not a religious system intertwined with vested human interests and self-centred leadership roles, but the forgiveness and liberty which only Christ can offer us.
The bull is sacrificed to purge the shrine from defilements caused by the sins of the high priest and his household (Lev. 16:6). One of the two goats is then sacrificed to cleanse the shrine from defilements because of the nation’s sin. The blood of the sacrificial animals was also sprinkled on the altar.
Before entering the Holy of Holies the high priest had to bathe his entire body and also wash his clothes as part of a purification ritual before he was worthy to enter the Most Holy Place. His garments became blood-stained because of slaying the animals and sprinkling the blood on the altar, and had to be washed (Lev. 6:27).
These practices were all fulfilled in the Messiah: “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:19-22; cf. 1 Pet. 1:2).
On the Day of Atonement the high priest appeared before the people on three separate occasions to firstly confess his own sins and those of his household, secondly the sins of the tribe of Levi, and thirdly the sins of all twelve the tribes of Israel. This was the only occasion in the entire year when the high priest said aloud the name of God, Yahweh, embodied in the Hebrew letters JHWH (referred to as the Tetragrammaton), and also entered the Holy of Holies three times. He only came out to confess sins on behalf of all the people and to put their sins upon the head of the scapegoat.
While the high priest was in the Holy of Holies the people were in tense anticipation of his reappearance. If he stayed away too long they dreadfully feared that God had not forgiven His people and had slain their unworthy high priest. When he came out at last, the people sighed with relief and broke out in jubilant singing. On this day a trumpet was also blown, known as the Trumpet of the High Priest (Shofar Ha Gadol).
Craig Hartman (2012) describes the extremes of fear and jubilation on this final day of the 40-day period of repentance and the confession of sins as follows: “These acts by the High Priest were full of high drama and much suspense. The people who were gathered to observe the ritual knew well that if God did not accept the sacrifices, He would strike the High Priest dead in the Holy of Holies, and the nation’s sins would not be covered. Interestingly, a rope was tied to the High Priest in case he died in the most Holy Place. This way, his body could be pulled out without someone having to go in to get him, which would result in that person’s death. In other words, the people completely relied on the work of the High Priest. Thus, when the High Priest emerged from the tabernacle, his appearance was a cause of much celebration and joy among the people.”
This symbolic way of atonement was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus when He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself” (Heb. 7:25-27).
Since the destruction of the temple in AD 70, orthodox Jews have been faced with real problems in celebrating their feasts, particularly the Day of Atonement, since after that time no sacrifices could be brought for the atonement of sins. In an effort to solve this problem, various substitutes have been introduced, e.g. prayers, fasting, a study of the law, charity, as well as man-made efforts of repentance, including personal suffering.
One’s own sufferings are considered to be a substitute, especially the sufferings of the righteous. Orthodox Jews of Eastern Europe used to practise a custom called malkoth, in which they inflicted upon themselves 39 lashes. The apostle Paul was on five occasions subjected to “forty stripes minus one” (2 Cor. 11:24), an ancient Jewish method of corporal punishment for transgressors. Furthermore along this theme, one’s own death is also regarded as a substitute for sacrifice, and this mistaken idea is derived from Psalm 116:15: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Abraham’s sacrifice of his son, Isaac, is also relied upon as a substitutionary sacrifice for atonement, but this act only foreshowed the sacrifice of the Father’s son, Jesus. There was no redemptive substance in Abraham’s act.
There is still a small segment in the Orthodox community who believe that a substitutionary death is still needed, and they give expression to this belief through the practice of kapparoth. The day before Yom Kippur, a live chicken is obtained and the person confesses his sins over the chicken while circling it over his head. The chicken is eventually killed and thus provide blood atonement for sins (Hartman, 2012).
The dilemma of Judaism in trying to find a legitimate basis for atonement is clearly articulated by Victor Buksbazen (1954:35): “In spite of Yom Kippur, the day dedicated to atonement, there is no assurance of sins forgiven in Judaism. There is longing, there is hope for forgiveness, but of assurance there is none. This only the Son of God can give to those who come to Him in faith. The Day of Atonement is only a substitute for atonement. Judaism could be best summed up as man’s attempt to justify himself by his own effort, without the atonement made by a Saviour. That cannot be done. There can be no substitute for Christ, our Atonement and Propitiator. Judaism has tried hard to find a substitute for Him.”
This view is corroborated by Hartman (2012): “The entire Yom Kippur observance changed drastically after 70 A.D. With no temple, no priesthood, and no sacrifices, the Jewish people had to develop ways of complying with the Biblical prescription to atone for their sins every year. The rabbis thus developed a tradition that prayer, repentance, and charity (good works) would atone for the sins of the nation. While it is understandable that they would seek a new course without the temple, such a course is unfortunately not Biblical. God never changed His requirement for a blood atonement, and though they have developed interesting arguments to support their claims, careful scrutiny reveals that they are wrong. ... Synagogue services are accompanied by a day of fasting in order to ‘afflict one’s soul’. The atoning sacrifice is missing.”
Beyond the immense suffering which will be caused by the coming tribulation period of seven years (Daniel’s 70th year-week) there is also a divine objective which will be achieved. God said: “In their affliction they will diligently seek Me” (Hos. 5:15). Long ago, Moses also warned Israel against the end-time distress that will befall them, and admonished them to use that opportunity to get in the right relationship with God: “When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them” (Deut. 4:30-31).
During all the coming troubles, increasing numbers of Jews will be saved by accepting Jesus as Messiah and Saviour. However, the entire remnant of the nation will only be saved on the day when the Messiah comes, and that will be to Israel the final fulfilment of the Day of Atonement. It will be the most wonderful day in the entire history of the nation when they are all reconciled with their Messiah – a day of which God says: “I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day” (Zech. 3:9).
The time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:7) which will precede the spiritual revival of Israel, will be a particularly ominous time. In the middle of the tribulation period, Jews will flee from Jerusalem and surrounding territories and take refuge at a hide-out in the wilderness – probably south of the Dead Sea at Petra. The occasion of the flight will be the desecration of the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, in which the false messiah will declare himself to be God (Matt. 24:15-22; 2 Thess. 2:4; Dan. 9:27). He will also set up an image of himself in the temple and demand universal worship of the image. When God-fearing Jews refuse to bow the knee before the modern Baal, genocide will be perpetrated against them.
Towards the end of the great tribulation, multinational forces will occupy the land of Israel and also besiege Jerusalem. Jewish fugitives will return to their beleaguered capital close to the end of that year-week, being strongly convinced that the Messiah will come on the Day of Atonement and set foot on the Mount of Olives. The seven days of awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will draw to a close, and that will coincide with the end of a year-week, the time of Jacob’s trouble.
Daniel prophesied about the critical second half of the tribulation when he said: “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time ... And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up [the image of the Antichrist in the temple], there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days” (Dan. 12:1, 11).
This number of days equals 43 months, which is one month more than the second half of this particular year-week. This extra month will most likely be taken up by the mourning of Israel after meeting the Messiah and coming under strong conviction of their sin of rejecting Him. It was customary in Israel to mourn for beloved leaders thirty days, as in the case of Aaron and Moses (Num. 20:29; Deut. 34:8).
From the dark day in die middle of the week when the Antichrist will declare himself to be God, 42 months will elapse to the end of that year-week, when Rosh Hashanah will herald the coming of a new year and also a new year-week. Great anxiety will befall the fugitives as they approach Jerusalem, anticipating the coming of the Messiah to rescue them. They will be targeted by the forces of the Antichrist, and great chaos will prevail in Jerusalem.
Zechariah says: “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming” (Zech. 14:1). The day of the Lord refers to the end-time outpouring of God’s wrath during the great tribulation, which will culminate in the battle of Armageddon. This divine intervention is described in Zechariah 14. God says: “I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half the city shall go out into captivity” (Zech. 14:2).
The ensuing days of awe leading up to Yom Kippur on the tenth of Tishri will be particularly fearsome. Some of the Jews will fight against the forces of the Antichrist while others will try to escape from the battlefield. Many of them will become panic-stricken and cry out: “Our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” (Ezek. 37:11). But then, on the Day of Atonement, their salvation will come from the Mount of Olives:
“Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two ... Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You. ... And the Lord shall be King over all the earth ... And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. It shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbour, and raise his hand against his neighbour’s hand” (Zech. 14:3-13).
When the dark clouds of judgement envelope Jerusalem and its surroundings, the remaining Jews will flee into the place of refuge created by the sudden rupture of the Mount of Olives. There, literally at the feet of Jesus, they will be safe. Great confusion will reign among their enemies as they are overcome by divine judgement, and they will start killing one another.
The false messiah and the false prophet, the two leaders of the worldwide rebellion against the Messiah and His people, will be captured and cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (Rev. 19:19-20). Jesus will reach out to His people in order to bless them. They will be terrified when they see the marks in His hands, and their first words to Him will be: “What are these wounds in your hands?” and He will answer them: “Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zech. 13:6). How will the Jews account for the fact that the Messiah will have wounds in His hands when He descends onto the Mount of Olives? How will they be able to explain where these wounds were inflicted on Him? It could certainly not have been in heaven! They will indeed look on Him whom they had pierced during His first coming. Zechariah says:
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself. ... In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness” (Zech. 12:10-12; 13:1).
Hartman (2012) says that the ultimate Yom Kippur for the nation will come at a heavy price – two-thirds of the Jewish people in the land will be destroyed (Zech. 13:8). The remaining one-third will come out of the fire of cleansing and be saved. God will give to the remaining Jewish souls a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. 36:26), forgiving their sins forever (Jer. 31:34). Paul spoke of this time of the outpouring of God’s spirit upon the nation of Israel when he wrote, “... all Israel shall be saved” (Rom. 11:26). This future time of national cleansing and restoration will culminate with the Jewish people accepting Christ as their Messiah and finally saying, “The Lord is my God” (Zech. 13:9).
The entire remnant of Israel will be saved and their enemies judged. But this will not only be a Day of Atonement and reconciliation with the Messiah for Israel, since the remnant of the Gentile nations will likewise be saved and become great supporters of Israel in the kingdom dispensation. In Zechariah’s chapter on the second coming of Christ and the judgement of the nations, good news is included for survivors among the Gentiles who turn to Christ for salvation: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles” (Zech. 14:16).
When the Antichrist, the false prophet and their multinational force encounter Christ and His heavenly army at His second coming (Rev. 19:19-21), it will be “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). But those who survive this judgement will, like the remnant in Israel, turn to Jesus Christ in deep mourning and sincere repentance. That will also happen on the Day of Atonement when Christ will come down from heaven to judge His enemies and save those who realise their folly and then accept Him as Saviour:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt. 24:29-31).
This will be the transition into a new dispensation in God’s plan of salvation for humanity. The kingdom of God which was previously not of this world will now be manifested on earth in all its power and glory. Christ will rule from Jerusalem and His saints will rule with Him.
The last of the seven feasts, to be celebrated for seven days, is also of great significance and reflects on the culmination of the redemptive work of the Messiah. This feast vividly expresses the joy which the Messiah brings to individuals, to the people of Israel, and ultimately also to the nations of the world:
“The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. ... And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord” (Lev. 23:34; 40‑44).
This is a joyous feast that is celebrated annually after the harvest to thank the Lord for all His goodness during the preceding year. But the feast also reflects on the time, long ago, when the Israelites were delivered from their Egyptian bondage and found spiritual protection under the blood of the paschal lamb. After leaving Egypt, they dwelled in booths in the wilderness and were divinely protected against many dangers. Furthermore, the feast has a definite future perspective as it clearly reflects on the coming of the Messiah. When He comes, the final harvest of the kingdom of heaven will be gathered and the enemies of His kingdom destroyed.
On the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), the rabbis read Zechariah 14 in the synagogues. This chapter deals with the following themes:
· the coming of the Messiah and all His saints (verses 4, 5);
· the kingship of the Messiah (verse 9);
· the exaltation of Jerusalem (verses 8‑11);
· the destruction of Israel’s enemies (verses 12‑15); and
· the participation of the other nations in the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem during the Messiah’s reign of peace (verses 16‑18).
Sukkot was one of the three major occasions on which God commanded the Israelites to assemble at the temple in Jerusalem and present their sacrifices and offerings. They were warned not to appear before the Lord empty-handed: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed” (Deut. 16:16).
We should also be reminded that after the harvest of God has been gathered, we will appear before the judgement seat of Christ, and we should not go empty-handed to that appointment. The Holy Spirit enables us to do works that have value for eternity, and we have to dedicate ourselves to doing the work that has been entrusted to us. Those who fail to heed the commands of the Lord towards fruitfulness will be saved as through fire, with no works that are acceptable and thus able to withstand the fiery test (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11-15).
Since their exodus from Egypt, Jews have been observing Sukkot, many of them keeping the command: “You shall dwell in booths for seven days.” For the duration of the feast they dwell in small tabernacles or booths which are crudely constructed with plaited branches. The roofs are thatched to provide shade during the day, but in such a way that they can still see the stars at night.
People who attend the celebrations carry a lulav, which is made of branches of palms, myrtles and willows. Peter Colón (2001:13) says: “A local Jerusalem custom was to tie them using a golden thread.” These branches were waved in the temple during certain parts of the service. Besides the lulav they also carried a citrus fruit (ethrog) which is symbolic of the fruit of the Promised Land. Is the joy of the Lord also our strength and do our lives reveal something of the heavenly kingdom’s glory which we are expecting?
Christians should be reminded that after our salvation from the bondage of sin we should live like sojourners and pilgrims who are on their way to a better land. In that sense we are also living in booths or tents. We should not make this world our permanent home and invest all our time and money in gathering earthly riches which will be of no value when the Messiah’s kingdom is revealed.
During the feast many sacrifices were offered in the temple as sin-offerings – bullocks, rams and goats. A total of 70 bullocks were sacrificed during the feast which, according to the rabbis in ancient times, were sacrifices for the 70 nations of the world. The aim with this sacrifice was that the Gentile nations would convert to the God of Israel, finding safety under the wings of the Shekinah glory of the Lord which resides in the Most Holy of the temple.
The liturgy of the feast includes a prayer asking that the Gentiles would also come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast. This is why Christians from various countries have decided to confirm their solidarity with Israel by going to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. In 1980, the year in which Jerusalem was reinstated as capital of Israel, 1 000 Christians from 20 countries decided that they would participate in the feast. They were greatly surprised by the warm welcome which they received from religious leaders in Israel. These leaders declared that to them it was further proof that the coming of the Messiah (i.e. His first coming which they are still expecting) is drawing near. The publicity which this event enjoyed was overwhelmingly positive, and the Christians were asked to take part in the Jerusalem March through the streets of the city. They were also given the place of honour ahead of the Israeli army.
On the last day of the feast, the International Christian Embassy was established in Jerusalem. This embassy represents Christians who acknowledge Israel’s biblical mandate to the land, and also liaises with the Israeli Government. They are involved with the relocation of Jews from other countries to Israel, particularly the immigration of thousands of poor Russian-speaking Jews. Activities at the embassy are initiated daily with prayers for the safety of Jerusalem, as commanded in Isaiah 62:6-7 and Psalm 122:6 – “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”.
The following year (1981) saw a tremendous increase in the number of participants as 3 500 Christians from 35 countries attended the Feast of Tabernacles; 400 of them were from South Africa. Interest in the feast continued to increase, and at the turn of the century about 6 000 pilgrims from more than 80 countries were in attendance.
Please note that the attendance of this feast, although not prescribed for Christians, is a voluntary act of showing solidarity with Israel, but specifically in a Messianic way. The Christians hold their own feast in which Jesus is honoured as Messiah, and they also choose a specific theme for every year, related to an aspect of Israel’s restoration. Orthodox Jews allow them this liberty in terms of Zechariah 14:16. The two feasts, the orthodox and the Christian, are celebrated concurrently but in different ways.
The pouring of water in the temple was one of the highly significant rituals of the feast. A priest was specially appointed to bring water from the Pool of Siloam in a golden pitcher (cf. John 9:7). The water was poured by the high priest into a basin at the foot of the altar. From another pitcher wine was poured into the same basin. The water and the wine mingled together and flowed through special pipes to the Brook of Kidron.
The significance of the pouring of water was twofold. First, it was a symbolic and ritual prayer for abundant rain. Summer was at an end. Winter and the rainy season was about to begin. Israel then, as now, depended on abundant rain to produce enough food – hence the prayers for rain. Prayers are still offered in synagogues for abundant annual rains. The pouring of water was a visual act to demonstrate God’s grace in sending rain. Secondly, the ritual of water libation went beyond the merely physical: it was prophetic and Messianic in its hope, looking forward towards the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Israel as well as believers from all nations under the reign of the Messiah-King (Buksbazen, 1954:40-41).
But what is the symbolic significance of the mixing of water and wine in the basin at the foot of the altar? The wine refers to the blood of Christ which was shed for our salvation – representing the new covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20). The water is indicative of the Messiah as the source of our new life (John 4:14). The mixing of the water and wine, after which it flowed away, alludes to the fact that His life was laid down and His blood shed for our redemption. In the tabernacle was a laver where the priests washed their hands after offering the sacrifices, resulting in the water being mixed with blood. That was the proof of a completed sacrifice. After Jesus had died on the cross, water and blood flowed from His side as a sign that He had died and laid down His life for us (John 19:33-34).
John 7 describes the celebration of a Feast of Tabernacles in which the Lord Jesus participated and offered Himself as the true source of the water of life. Many Jews expected the Messiah to be revealed during a celebration of this feast, and for that reason the brothers of Jesus urged Him to attend: “Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to Him, Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing ... Then Jesus said to them, My time has not yet come” (John 7:2-3, 6). There was still a big harvest that had to be gathered in Israel and among all nations before it would be time for the final harvest feast.
The Jews were expecting Jesus at the feast, knowing that He claimed to be the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God. So He went up to Jerusalem secretly to address the disputed question of His Messiahship: “But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, Where is He? And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, He is good; others said, No, on the contrary, He deceives the people. However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught” (John 7:10-14).
Quite a number of people believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but their spiritual leaders did not share their views: “And many of the people believed in Him, and said, When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?” (John 7:31). Towards the end of the feast, referring to the spiritual significance and Messianic fulfilment of the libation sacrifice, Jesus plainly revealed who He was:
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, Truly this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ [the Messiah]. But some said, Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of Him” (John 7:37-43).
The misapprehensions of people about Jesus could easily have been corrected by investigating the real facts about His place of birth, His person and His works. But Jesus did not refute the wrong allegations about Him – it is the obligation of every person to search the Scriptures. It is also up to us to probe the subject of the Messiahship of Jesus. It we don’t, we stand to lose eternal life and all the blessings of the Lord which were promised to those who believe in the Messiah. That is an incredibly high price to pay for ignorance.
The last day of the Feast of Tabernacles was a very joyous occasion. The ritual of water pouring was conducted daily and climaxed on the seventh day, which was the great and final day of Sukkot. This day was referred to as Hoshana Rabba, the Day of the Great Hosanna, and has a special Messianic significance. The pouring of water from the golden pitcher took place amidst the blasting of the trumpets by the priests and the singing of sacred music by the Levites while the people waved their palm branches and chanted the Hallel – Psalms 113 to 118. The following are the closing words of Psalm 118:
“Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, and He has given us light; bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Ps. 118:25-29).
Messianic Jews, as well as others who have a good knowledge of Hebrew, derive more meaning from the terminology of this feast. Buksbazen (1954:41-42) explains: “From the words ‘Save now’ (Heb. Hoshana) this day was known as the ‘Great Hosanna’. It was peculiarly Messianic in nature, a prayer for the speedy salvation through the Messiah. This is why our Saviour was greeted on another occasion with the waving of palm branches and the words, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, meaning, ‘Save us, Son of David’. This is important for the understanding of what happened when the Lord attended the temple service on the day of the ‘Great Hosanna’. It was while all this was going on, the pouring of the water from the pool of Siloam into the altar basin, the blasting of the trumpets by the priests, the singing of Psalms by the Levites, and the prayers of the people, ‘Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord’, when the Messianic fervour was at the highest pitch, that the Lord Jesus stood in the temple, crying: ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink’. ... The Messianic claim of our Saviour was clearly understood by all. It must have come like a bolt from the blue. Here was the One claiming to be the answer to the fervent hope and prayer of long centuries and many generations. Could He, the carpenter of Nazareth, be the long expected Messiah? ‘So there was division among the people because of Him’ (John 7:43).”
Jesus Christ is indeed the Lamb of God who did not only come to save His Jewish people from their sins (Matt. 1:21), but He also took away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Throughout the entire church dispensation, countless numbers of people from all nations found salvation through the atoning death of the Son of David. During the coming tribulation period it will be no different. In his end-time vision, John saw “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Rev. 7:9).
The spiritual status and origin of these believers is stated beyond any question: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). They will also be present when the fulfilment of the Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated in the kingdom of the Messiah, Son of David and also Son of His heavenly Father. Throughout the millennial reign of the Messiah from the restored throne of David, members of all nations will annually come to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot (Zech. 14:16).
In connection with the liturgy of Sukkot there was another definite indication which Jesus gave to the Jews that He was the Messiah. During the reciting of Psalm 118 on the feast they said, among others: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Psalm 118:26). When Jesus prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem and His ascension, He said to the Jewish leaders: “... for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt. 23:39).
In modern celebrations of Sukkot, Jews have introduced new rituals to replace some of those that were part of the temple service. One such custom is the striking of branches from a willow tree in an effort to shed all its leaves, which represent sin. A prayer for salvation is first prayed, after which the willow branches are struck three times on the benches of the synagogue. With each falling leaf a sin is believed to fall away from the one who prays.
In the absence of a fountain of living waters where they can be cleansed of all sin, and faith in the One who was nailed to a wooden cross for the sins of the world, orthodox Jews resort to other practices and rituals to symbolise deliverance from sin. The shadows of Messianic prophecies are still preferred by many Jews above the substance of their fulfilment in the Lord Jesus.
Another important feature of Sukkot was the illumination of the temple in Jerusalem. Four giant candlesticks, 50 cubits high (about 75 feet) were set up in the court. Golden bowls were placed upon the candlesticks, each one containing a large amount of pure oil. Warn-out clothing of the priests and Levites were used for wicks. Because of these brilliant lights emanating from the candlesticks, the Temple Mount and surrounding parts of Jerusalem (the Old City) were brightly illuminated. The pilgrims to the feast also brought torches and lights.
What a fitting symbol of the Messiah, who said: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life ... As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 8:12, 9:5). With a view to His ascension He said to His disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:14-16).
After the return of the Messiah, the light of His righteous kingdom will shine forth brightly from Jerusalem: “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isa. 60:1-3).
The return of Jesus and the revelation of His kingdom will be the fulfilment of the Feast of Tabernacles. Believers will all praise God for having saved them from the bondage of sin, and for having protected them in this dangerous and evil world. They will thank and praise Him for the great harvest of believers that has been gathered into the kingdom of heaven. Great joy will prevail when God’s plan of salvation, which started with the sacrificing of the Passover Lamb, will be consummated with the institution of the Messiah’s millennial reign in Jerusalem.
John Parsons (2012:2) says: “If the High Holidays focus on the Lord as our Creator, our Judge, and the one who atones for our sins, the festival of Sukkot is the time when we celebrate all that the Lord has done for us. Prophetically understood, the seven days picture olam haba, the world to come, and the 1,000 Millennial Kingdom age. If Yeshua was born during Sukkot (i.e. conceived during Chanukah), then another (and prophetic) meaning of ‘the Word became flesh and tabernacled with us’ (John 1:14) foretells the coming Millennial kingdom, when the King Messiah will again ‘tabernacle with us’ during His reign from Zion.”
Many people question the belief in a literal Millennium on earth after the coming of Christ. However, a study of the feasts of Israel, particularly the Feast of Tabernacles, makes it abundantly clear that the dispensation of the kingdom is still future. Remembering the words of the prayer the Lord Jesus taught us, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10), the following are the most important characteristics of the Messiah’s future reign of peace on earth:
· God will rule on earth through the King of kings, Jesus Christ. A theocratic world government will be established (Luke 1:31-33; Rev. 19:15; Dan. 7:13-14).
· Christ will reign on David’s restored throne in Jerusalem and Israel will be the hub of the world (Ps. 2:6-12; Zech. 8:22; Isa. 2:2-3; 24:23; 33:17, 20-22; Dan. 7:27). His government will be characterised by righteousness and equity (Isa. 1:26-27; 32:1-2; 16-17; Jer. 23:5-6).
· Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, “the city of our God”, “the city of the great King”, will be the centre of worship for the whole world and all nations will converge there to worship God through Christ the King of kings (Ps. 48; Jer. 3:17; Zech. 14:16-20; Isa. 66:18-23; Rev. 19:16).
· The saved remnant of Israel will rejoice in the Lord and evangelise the entire world (Isa. 12:3-6; 40:9; 51:11). They will make the world fruitful (Isa. 27:6) and God will be honoured (Isa. 28:5; Zech. 8:20-23).
· Satan will be securely bound so that he cannot deceive the nations (Rev. 20:1-4).
· Peace will prevail everywhere. There will be no more war or military training and weapons will be recycled for peaceful uses (Isa. 2:4; 9:7; Mic. 5:4-5; Hos. 2:18).
· The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9-10; Hab. 2:14).
· There will be no disease (Mal. 4:2; Isa. 33:24).
· People will live healthily and actively to a great age – like the antediluvians. A 100 year-old person will be regarded as a child (Isa. 65:20-23).
· Nature will greatly benefit since the curse of Genesis 3:17-19 will be lifted and the whole of creation, which since then has been groaning, will be set free from the bondage of corruption into glorious liberty (Rom. 8:19-22; Isa. 55:12-13; Joel 3:18).
· The earth will produce food so prolifically that planting the next crop will take place before the previous one has been fully harvested! (Mic. 4:3-4; Amos 9:13-15; Isa. 65: 21-23; Ps. 65:9-13).
· Harmony will prevail in the animal kingdom. The wolf will lie down with the lamb and the lion will eat straw like an ox – they will “not hurt nor destroy” each other – because the Lord will make a new covenant with the animals that will change the physiology and aggressive nature of the carnivorous predators into the physiology and gentle nature of herbivores (Isa. 11:6-9; 65:25; Hos. 2:18).
Israel as a nation called by God renders indisputable proof that the Millennium has not yet dawned. Biblical prophecies of Israel being conclusively re-gathered to their land, spiritually revived, elevated above all nations and abundantly blessed, have never been fulfilled (Deut. 28:1-14; 30:1-4; Ezek. 36:24-28; Isa. 60:1-22; Hos. 14:5-8; Rom. 11:26-27). On the contrary, no nation has suffered and survived anything like the prolonged worldwide dispersion, disdain, persecution, hatred and efforts towards genocide which the people of Israel have during the past two millennia. God’s promises never fail – they will be honoured in the Millennium.
It is fitting that the biblical connection between the birth of the Messiah and the Feast of Tabernacles should also be discussed here. So much confusion is surrounding Christmas celebrations in the world today, that the biblical roots of the celebration of Christ’s coming to the world have virtually been obliterated.
The annual Christmas festival on the 25th of December has been wrongly scheduled. It is also a perverted and highly commercialised feast which is celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike. As the world increasingly lays claim to this feast, the tendency is to continue distorting its implied Christian character by mixing it with heathen practices. In some cases Christ is even removed from the name of Christmas by cancelling His name with an X and renaming the feast Xmas.
The decision to move the celebration of the Messiah’s birthday from a previous date in April to the present date of 25th December, was taken way back in the fourth century during the reign of Constantine. Official recognition had been given to Christianity, and to make it more acceptable to heathen communities, some of its traditions were adapted and synthesised with heathen religious traditions.
In the pre-Christian heathen world, 25 December was the day on which The Feast of the Invincible Sun (Invicti Solis) was celebrated. The winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurs on 22 December. Sun-worshippers then started conducting various rituals to the sun-god to invoke him to turn back. People believed that if the sun continued on its southerly course, darkness, cold and death would befall humanity. On 25 December, when the sun starts its journey back, great jubilation erupted. People danced around green trees, became drunk and presented gifts to one another.
Christmas was moved to 25 December on the premise that the Messiah is the Sun of Righteousness. Although the intention may have been to Christianise the Babylonian Feast for the Invincible Sun, the two feasts really became intermingled. One of the results of this syncretism is that two idols, Bacchus (the god of liquor) and Mammon (the god of money), are receiving great prominence in modern Christmas celebrations.
As indicated earlier in this chapter, the feasts of Israel are really the feasts of the Messiah. Biblical evidence indeed suggests that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles. The following clues in events leading to the birth of the Messiah, are relevant:
An important indication is the time when Zacharias, a member of the priestly family of Abijah, conducted his duties in the temple. 1 Chronicles 24 contains an account of the allotment of two weeks of temple service to each of 24 families in a fixed schedule: “This was the schedule of their service for coming into the house of the Lord” (1 Chr. 24:19). The eighth family in the group of 24 was that of the priest Abijah (1 Chron. 24:10).
The first month in the cycle was Nisan, which is the first month in the religious calendar (Ex. 12:2, Lev. 23:5). According to this schedule the family of Abijah was the eighth group, and was therefore due for service in the second half of the fourth month in the Jewish calendar. It was to this family that the priest Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, belonged:
“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah ... So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord” (Luke 1:5, 8-9).
While he was busy with his task, an angel appeared to him and said: “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John” (Luke 1:13).
The rest of the events are closely associated with this announcement:
“Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months ... Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary ... The angel said to her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever ... Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible. Then Mary said: Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:24, 26-27, 30-33, 36-38).
Zacharias’ encounter with the angel, and his wife’s conception shortly afterwards, occurred in the second half of the fourth month in the religious calendar (June in the Gregorian calendar). Six months later, in the second half of the tenth month (about the time of the present Christmas celebrations), Mary conceived. Nine months later, in the second half of September, Jesus was born.
Since Zacharias’ turn of service in the temple, 15 months (6+9) elapsed until the birth of Jesus – that is one year and three months. Within the framework of the religious calendar of the Jews, this period expired between the second half of the fourth month and the second half of the seventh month in the following year. The birth of Jesus therefore coincided with the Feast of Tabernacles: “The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord” (Lev. 23:34).
There is also circumstantial evidence supporting this information on the time of Jesus’ birth. The shepherds were still sleeping outside in the field – something they did not do in mid-winter, because of the cold: “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:8-12).
As indicated earlier, Jesus showed Himself as Messiah at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. To those who accepted Him, a new life is given which results in streams of living waters flowing from their hearts. At His second coming when this feast is fulfilled, the joy of His people will be like an overflowing fountain.
We should experience some of the joy of Sukkot right now, despite the fact that the greatest blessings of Christ’s kingdom are yet to be bestowed upon us when He comes again. David thanked the Lord for the blessings that he received while still in a mortal body: “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (Ps. 16:11; NIV).