The Fall Festivals of Israel – Prophecy As Yet Unfulfilled
Succoth, The Feast of Tabernacles
The seventh and final feast given to Israel by the Lord is known as Sukkot or “The Feast of Tabernacles”. It is the most joyful and festive of all Israel’s feasts. It is also the most prominent feast, mentioned more often in Scripture than any of the other feasts. This feast also served as the historical backdrop for the important teaching of the Messiah in John, chapters 7-9.
Exodus 23:14-19: Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God. You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning. The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
In contrast to the solemn observation of Yom Kippur, Sukkot (September 30th – October 6th, 2004) radiates with hope for a future with God, not separated from Him. "Sukkah" is Hebrew for booth or tabernacle. It reminds us of the LORD's faithfulness to Israel during the wilderness years, and how God dwelt among His people. During this time, people build simple booths to celebrate God's provision and faithfulness.
Lev 23:1-3, 33-44: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. 'Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. . . . Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.
'These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day-- besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord.
'Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 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.
In biblical times, two ceremonies were related to this feast: a water ceremony and a torchlight parade. We can see the Messianic symbolism in these.
The Water Ceremony
In the water ceremony, water was drawn from the wells of Siloam. The high priest poured the water at the altar while reciting from Isaiah 12;3 "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation". Then the people of Israel responded, "Send the Messiah".
Water was, and remains, of critical importance for the people in Israel. Harvests depended on rainfall in due season. It also remains critical for the people of Israel, as we read about God's reassurance of the spiritual rain in Joel 2:28-32: "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young me shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.
The Temple ceremony for the Feast of Sukkot during Yeshua’s time included the outpouring of the water and wine. The High Priest would take a golden pitcher to the Pool of Siloam and fill it with water in the midst of a joyous procession. At the same time, another procession of joyous worshippers went to Motza, south of Jerusalem, where willows grew, and gathered willow branches, bringing them back to the Temple. They placed them on either side of the altar so that their tops formed a canopy of drooping branches over the alter. [The Feasts of the Lord, Howard and Rosenthal, p 138]. The High Priest would return to the altar in the Temple, and there in the Inner Courtyard, would pour out offerings of the water he had just brought along with wine offerings into two silver basins. At the proper time, the congregation would wave palm branches and would sing “Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.” At the same time, priests with palm branches in hand would march around the altar. On the first six days, they would march around once, on the seventh, they marched around seven times. [Remember Jericho?] This is a direct quote from Psalm 118:25, and represented a prophecy of the coming of Messiah. This gave the feast a Messianic emphasis. This is why Yeshua was greeted by the crowds shouting ‘Hosanna!’ [Hebrew for ‘Save now’] and waving palm branches on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. They viewed him as the Messiah King, come to deliver Israel in fulfillment of Psalm 118. They hailed him with the Messianic imagery of palm branches from the Feast of Tabernacles. This same imagery is in view in Revelation 7:9-10 where redeemed saints worship, with palm branches in hand, around the throne of God and the Lamb.
The prophecy in Joel also foreshadows the promise made by Yeshua to his followers: John 7:37-39: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scriptures said, streams of living water will flow within him." It was on the seventh day of Sukkot right after the pouring of the water and wine that Yeshua stood in the Temple and proclaimed Himself as the Messiah with these words. There was no mistaking His claims to those who celebrated Sukkot. The priests were outraged, and some wanted to take Him right then.
The Torchlight Parade
The celebration of the Water Ceremony was observed during the evenings of the feast by an impressive light ceremony in the Temple. It was known as the Simchat Bet Hasho’ayva, or the Rejoicing of the House of Water Drawing, beginning on the second night. Remember that the Temple was divided into courtyards, with access limited more each time that the people moved inward toward the Holy of Holies. All the people would gather in the outer court, known as the Court of the Women. On this occasion, a barrier was erected to separate the men from the women. In the center of the court stood four towering menorahs [lampstands], each with four branches of oil lamps. Their wicks were manufactured from the worn-out linen garments of the priests. Each menorah had four long ladders leading up to the lamps which were periodically refilled by young priests carrying large pitchers of olive oil.
The Feast of Tabernacles began in the middle of the lunar month when the harvest moon was full and the autumn sky clear of rain. The outline of the surrounding Judean hills was clearly visible in the moonlight. Against this backdrop the light of the Temple celebration was breathtaking. All night long, elders of the Sanhedrin performed impressive torch dances, while the steady yellow flames of the menorah oil lamps flooded the Temple and the streets of Jerusalem with brilliant light.
The Levites then gathered in the Inner Courtyard, the Court of the Israelites. They formed a group and moved to the top of the steps leading to the Court of the Women to the sound of Temple flutes, trumpets, harps, and other stringed instruments. As they sang the fifteen Psalms of Degrees [Ps 120-134], they moved down one step toward the people, one step for each Psalm. This celebration was repeated every night from the second night to the final night as a prelude to the Water Drawing Ceremony in the morning. Nothing in Israel compared to the light and celebration of The Feast of Tabernacles. It was so spectacular, that anyone who had not seen it was deemed not to have experienced the best of life. This celebration was reminiscent of the Shekinah glory that covered the Temple of Solomon from the day he consecrated it until just before Babylon conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the First Temple.
God is LORD of all creation, and faithfully extends His salvation to all who take hold of His covenant. There were torchlights positioned to light up the Temple building at night. It was timely for Yeshua to proclaim His destiny in this light: "I am the Light of the world, whoever follows Me…will have the true light of life." (John 8:12) (Saltshakers Messianic Community, www.saltshakers.com)
Based on our study of the Book of Revelation, this should remind us of something else: the coming of Meschiach to redeem His people Israel. We will look first at the prophecies in the Old Testament that this celebration portends, then at the prophecies in the New Testament and in the Book of Revelation.
Isaiah speaks of the phenomena that we will experience in Jerusalem during the Millennium when he speaks of the covering of fire over Jerusalem in Isa 4:5: And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory [shall be] a defense. So during the Millennium, when Yeshua lives in the Temple in Yerushalayim [Jerusalem], there will be a cloud cover during the day so that it is never too hot, and a covering of fire at night, the Glory of the Lord, so that Jerusalem will shine like a jewel for all to see. The Torchlight Ceremony is a foreshadowing of this beautiful phenomena. The source of the light during the Millennium will be Yeshua himself, so that when He spoke of being the Light of the World, He was again drawing a picture for us of what is to literally come about in our future.
Again, the Hebrew word for tabernacle is sukkah. It means "a booth, a hut, a covering a pavilion or tent." The Greek word for tabernacle is sk'en'e, which also mean "a tent, hut, or habitation." With this in mind, let's look at the context by which the word tabernacle is used in the New Covenant (Brit Hadashah).
1. Yeshua tabernacled (sukkot) among us (John [Yochanan] 1:14).
2. Peter (Kefa) spoke about his body being a tabernacle (2 Peter [Kefa]1:13-14).
3. The apostle Paul (Rav Sha'ul) told us that our earthly bodies were earthly houses or tabernacles (2 Corinthians 5:1-5).
4. The tabernacle of Moses (Moshe) was a tent of habitation (Acts 7:44; Hebrews 9:2-8).
5. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in tabernacles (tents) (Hebrews 11:8-9).
6. The tabernacle of David was a tent or dwelling place (Acts 15:16; Amos 9:11). This tabernacle was the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 5:2-5; 8:1-21).
7. Yeshua entered the temple on the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) (John 7:2,27-29).
8. The Bible speaks of a heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 8:1-2; Revelation 13:6;15:5). This heavenly tabernacle will come to earth (Revelation 21:1-3).
9. Yeshua was the true tabernacle of God (Hebrews 9:11).
So, the booth or sukkah was a temporary dwelling place. Historically, it was to remind the people of their exodus from Egypt as described in Leviticus 23:42-43. Currently, it reminds us that we are strangers in this place, here temporarily as we pass through doing the Lord’s work, and that we are Tabernacles for the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Prophetically, the sukkah points toward the future to the Messianic age, the Millennium. Spiritually, a sukkah is supposed to remind us that we are but strangers and pilgrims on the earth, this being a temporary dwelling place. So the believer in Messiah is but a stranger and pilgrim on this earth (Hebrews 11:8-10,13-16). To the believer in Yeshua, our earthly physical body is only a temporary tabernacle. At the coming of Messiah, we will receive a new and heavenly house, a glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:39-44,51-57; 2 Corinthians 5:6;1 Thess 4:15-18). (Excerpted from Shofar International - www.shofar.org)
More than just a picture of the Millennium, the Feast of Succoth is a picture of the celebration of the anniversary of the Lion of Judah’s wedding to the Bride – the wedding supper of the Lamb. Many of us have been taught that this will occur before the Tribulation, but those teachers are deceived. This event occurs after the Rapture and Resurrection at the Second Coming of Yeshua, after the Battle of Armageddon, after Judgment day [Yom Kippur], and after the Lord rebuilds the Temple in three days in which he will live for the Millennium.
This will be the greatest Wedding ceremony the world has ever seen. And it will be so important a celebration, that each year, every nation will be required to come up to Jerusalem to celebrate it, as seen in Zechariah 14:16-17: And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up of [all] the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
This annual event will be celebrated as all the people of the world come dwell in tents, or booths, near Jerusalem, just as the Israelites did in Yeshua’s time. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus! And the Spirit and the Bride say ‘Come!
The Traditions of the Jewish Wedding Feast
I. THE ARRANGEMENT
The first step in the Jewish wedding system was the arrangement, in which the father of the groom arranged the match with the father of the bride and paid him the bride price. This is the perfect picture of God’s gracious arrangement for us, and His willingness to give the greatest gift, the life of His Son, to redeem the bride.
II. THE PREPARATION
The second step in the Jewish wedding system was known as the preparation. This was the period of the betrothal. It lasted for at least one year but could last much longer if, for example, the arrangement was made when the bride and groom were children. During the period of the preparation, the bride was prepared to be a fitting wife for her mate. It was also the period of time in which she was observed for her purity, which is why the betrothal always lasted for a minimum of one year – to allow at least a full nine months to pass to make certain that the bride was a virgin at the time of the betrothal. This is our current age, where we are preparing ourselves for the Groom with our acts of righteousness, which show that His Spirit lives within us.
III. THE FETCHING OF THE BRIDE
On the wedding day, according to the Jewish wedding system, the groom would leave his home and go to the bride’s home to fetch her, and she did not know when to expect him. Each day as she woke up, she knew this could be the day, because she recognized the times and seasons [after a year had passed]. As the groom returned to his own home with the bride, he would lead a bridal procession such as the one found in Matthew 25:1-13. (As described in this passage, the virgins – who go out to meet the groom as he is returning home with his bride – do not represent the Church.)
We will see this fulfilled on the day of His return, in the Rapture and Resurrection of the Dead, and He will bring us back to Jerusalem, which He will prepare for the Feast and Marriage Supper in a matter of days between the Day of Judgment and the Feast of Tabernacles. When the Bride is first fetched, she is not spotless – she must first stand at the Judgment seat of Christ, and there she is judged by fire. The return has been captured in the Feast of Trumpets, beginning on 1 Tishri, the seventh month of each Holy year, occurring in September or October of the Roman year. The Days of Awe then precede Yom Kippur, where tradition has us mourn and examine ourselves to see if we are truly prepared. Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgment, then arrives. The bride is judged, followed by all those living at the end of the Great Tribulation. Those found unfitting among the living are thrown in to hell, and the rest are invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. There are five days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, and during these five days, the Lord will remake Israel, lifting the curse, and then will rebuild the Temple in three days, as the new home for His bride.
IV. THE CEREMONY
The Jewish ceremony was conducted in the home of the groom. Only a few – usually the immediate family and two witnesses – were invited to come in and observe the wedding ceremony. There followed a seven day celebration, where the bride and groom would remain with each other within the bridal chamber for seven days. The Feast of Tabernacles is a seven day feast, followed by an eighth day of celebration. The first day is the Wedding Day, attended by the Bride and by all of Israel. Then follow the days of feasting, our wedding supper.
V. THE MARRIAGE FEAST
Whereas only a few were invited to the Jewish wedding ceremony, many more were invited to the marriage feast – to celebrate the marriage of the son. The Kingdom, then, will begin with the marriage feast. And just as the typical Jewish wedding feast could last for as many as seven days, even so this grand wedding feast will last for seven days.
VI. THE HOME OF THE BRIDE
In the Jewish context, the groom was responsible to provide a suitable home for the bride. He did so during the preparation stage, the second stage as described earlier. The principal Scripture revealing this is Revelation 21:9-22:5, where John is able to see the home of the Bride. Verses 9-10 state: And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,…
Succoth then, is a beautiful picture of the Wedding of the Lamb and his Bride, and will be feast that is kept throughout the Millennial reign of Yeshua as King of the Earth.
