A MIRACLE in TIME

IT ALL BEGAN

with

A MIRACLE IN TIME and WINE.

Here are some extremely interesting aspects of a well known incident in John 2:6.

Some we may not have fully understood or appreciated.It is without doubt a fact that God’s ways are not our ways, or His thoughts ours. So it would follow that His actions may also hold mysteries that we do not see clearly at first glance.

For a description of the levels of revealing in His Word click link

https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-rules-of-pardes/

What was Jesus really trying to show us and tell us at the wedding at Cana? Cana today. Surely it was not the freedom to drink alcohol to a point of intoxication and giving His consent and agreement for drunken behavior.

Those who live in the modern western world do not catch the full significance of Jesus’ promise. This is due to the fact that in His promise Jesus was drawing an analogy from Jewish marriage customs in biblical times and those marriage customs help us to grasp the full significance of the promise.

Payment of the purchase price. –

Set apart (sanctified)

Bridegroom departs to Father’s House. –

Prepares room addition. –

Bride prepares for imminent return.

They were companions of the bridegroom, who went with him to bring the bride from her home to his home.

Marriage feasts lasted 7 days, but the woman was considered a bride for 30 days.

Unlike Western weddings, which are paid for by the bride’s family, in Eastern weddings, the groom was responsible for the expenses of the celebration.

In western weddings, the bridegroom comes in first, then the bride, the prominent one, enters. However in Eastern weddings it is the bridegroom who is the prominent one. We see no mention of the bride in John’s account of the wedding at Cana because the body of believers, the Ekklesia, the called out ones, also called the bride of Messiah, was not yet in the picture. In Jewish life, the wedding marked the culmination of the betrothal period. During that period, which often lasted for several months, up to one year. Again the western tradition of a 1- year engagement.

The bride never knew when the groom would come because after the marriage covenant had been established, called the ketubah (becoming betrothed, the equivalent of western engagement).

The groom would leave the home of the bride and return to his father’s house.

There he would remain separate for the whole year.

The young man goes to prepare a chador (chamber) in his father’s house, sometimes called a “chuppah” (place for the honeymoon).

Just as Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us in His Fathers House and then He will come and take His bride to Himself. (Eph. 5:22-23).

Some translations have talked about the many mansions in God’s house and our western culture has us all pictured on our own grassy hill in a Mansion. That would have been foreign to that society. The word actually just refers to a dwelling. Based on culture, if Jesus is giving us a literal picture of what eternity is like then we’re all living together in one attached house. It’s a picture of being brought into the family.

The couple was considered legally man and wife and only a divorce could terminate the betrothal. (This may shed some light on Mary and Josephs situation). They did not, however, live together or consummate the marriage during that period.

The father of the groom had to approve the prepared room and when he was satisfied then he would tell his son to go and get his bride. She had to be ready for he could come anytime even in the middle of the night and take her away to her new home. 1Thess.5:2Just as we are always to be ready for Jesus to come for us. Matthew 24:36 and only the Father knows that time.

As a result the groom’s arrival would be preceded by a shout. In the same way that the Jewish groom’s arrival was preceded by a shout and the blowing of a shofar, so Christ’s arrival to take the Church will be preceded by a shout (1 Thess. 4:16).

This shout and shofar sounding would forewarn the bride to be prepared for the coming of the groom. After the groom received his bride together with her female attendants, (parable of the 10 virgins).

The enlarged wedding party would return from the bride’s home to the groom’s father’s house. Which is the grooms hometown, (heaven).

Just as the taking of the Jewish bride was accomplished by a procession of the groom and male escorts from the groom’s father’s house to the home of the bride, so the taking of the Church will be accomplished by a procession of Christ and an angelic escort from Messiah’s Father’s house in heaven to the home of the Church (1 Thess. 4:16).

Upon arrival there the wedding party would find that the wedding guests had assembled already.  In the same manner as the Jewish wedding party found wedding guests assembled in the groom’s father’s house when they arrived, so Christ and the Church will find the souls of Old Testament saints assembled in heaven when they arrive. These souls will serve as the wedding guests.On the night of the ceremony, (usually the 4th day, Yom R’vi’i, a Wednesday);

the groom and his friends would go to the bride’s house. They would then escort the bride and her attendants to the groom’s house, where the ceremony and banquet would be held.The whole celebration, which could last up to a week followed the short marriage ceremony, and then the Bride and Groom retired to the place he had prepared (Huppa/Wedding Chamber), and the friend of the groom, the best man, stood by the door. Prior to entering the chamber the bride remained veiled so that no one could see her face. Reading the Ketuba.

When the marriage had been consummated, the Groom would shout in his joy and the friend of the groom would relay the good news to the guests.This was the beginning of a week-long celebration and the first week of the couple being alone together in the bridal chamber. This is where we get the western week long honeymoon. This also sheds light on another reference in John 3:29-30.“The one who has the bride is the bridegroom: and the friend of the bridegroom is the one who stands by, then when he hears his joy he rejoices because of the voice of the bridegroom. Therefore this joy has been fulfilled in me. It is necessary for that One to increase, and for me to decrease.”The wedding ceremony takes place under the chuppah (canopy), a symbol of the home that the new couple will build together. It is open on all sides, just as Abraham and Sarah had their tent open all sides to welcome people in unconditional hospitality.

The bride traditionally gifts the groom a new prayer shawl (tallit). In some communities he wears it under the chuppah, and sometimes it is draped over both him and the bride.

Western weddings exchange vows and the couple sign the registry.

It is easy to see where many of our western traditions have their origins!

And how everything is connected.

So Yeshua and the Church will experience spiritual union after their arrival at His Father’s house in heaven, thereby consummating their relationship that had been covenanted earlier.During the seven days of the wedding festivities, which were sometimes called “the seven days of the chuppah,” the bride remained hidden in the bridal chamber. Many scholars believe that this period of seven days corresponds to the Church remaining hidden for a period of seven years after arrival at the Father’s house in heaven. While the seven year Tribulation Period is taking place on the earth, the Church will be in heaven totally hidden from the sight of those living on the earth. At the conclusion of these seven days the groom would bring his bride out of the bridal chamber, now with her veil removed, so that all could see who his bride was. So Christ will bring His ‘church’, the ecclesia, the congregation of called out ones, out of heaven in His Second Coming at the conclusion of the seven year Tribulation Period in full view of all who are alive, so that all can see who the true church is (Col. 3:4). John 2:2-3 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. 3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.The mother of Jesus was at this particular wedding. That both she and Jesus attended suggests the wedding involved relatives or friends of the family (Jesus’ brother?). That would explain why Mary seems to have been more than just a guest, but apparently had some responsibility for helping with the celebration. For example, she was aware of the situation regarding the lack of wine, and took the initiative to solve the serious problem.

A major crisis loomed at the wedding celebration when the wine ran out because the supply was insufficient for whatever reason. Such an embarrassing faux pas could have stigmatized the couple and their families for the rest of their lives for failing to meet their responsibilities. Thus Jesus’ turning the water into wine was not just a sensational miracle.All of His miracles met specific needs, such as opening blind eyes or deaf ears, delivering those oppressed by demons, feeding hungry people, or calming a storm. This miracle also met the genuine need of the family and their guests, who otherwise faced a social catastrophe. This first miracle Jehovah-Jireh – the LORD will provide. The LORD sees what we need ahead of time and has the provision ready.

Mary informed Jesus of the situation and had high expectations for Him to help. Maybe she was remembering what Gabriel had told her before she conceived.

Jesus’ reply, ‘what have I to do with thee?’ (lit., What to Me and to you?) is an idiomatic expression which asks rhetorically what the two parties in question have in common, and has the effect of distancing them. It was the Hebrew way of saying, ‘You don’t understand’.The statement, coupled with Jesus’ addressing Mary as ‘Woman’ instead of ‘Mother,’ politely but firmly informed her that what they had in common in their relationship was no longer to be what it had been while He was growing up in Nazareth. His public ministry had begun, and earthly relationships would not determine His actions.

Mary was to relate to Him no longer as her son, but as her Messiah, the Son of God, and her Savior (Matt 12:47-50; Mark 3:31- 35; Luke 11:27-28).Jesus did not say,‘No’ to her. He was telling her that what she was asking would not accomplish what she was hoping for.

Mary was asking for literal wine for the people of the marriage supper, but Jesus was talking about the wine, which was His shed blood, for the marriage of the Lamb.Jesus made it clear that He would act according to God’s timetable, decreed before the foundation of the world, not hers or any mans. (John 7:2-8). It was not the appointed time for Jesus’ full messianic glory to be revealed; yet the miracle He would perform would make His divine power unmistakable, and preview His glory to come.

The dark hour of the cross would precede the full revelation in His glorious messianic kingdom where wine, emblematic of joy and gladness, will never run out. Undeterred by the mild rebuke (Matt 15:22-28), and aware that He was not saying no to the request, Mary said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’The most significant point of this miracle is TIME and any vineyard owner will tell you that for grapes to be made into wine is a process that often takes years to produce a great vintage.

There are specific stages from planting the seed to bottling.The list sounds familiar to the scriptural descriptions of disciples and the kingdom of Heaven.

Wine cannot age without TIME.

So for the wine Jesus produced at Cana to be the best that was served, how could it age in an instant?TIME maybe an important point He was trying to make, as a precursor to what He was here to accomplish; what His life was meant to show; and what He was about to do in revealing who He really was.

Wine is only wine if it’s aged, but this wine had no time in which to age. It did not have any time in which to complete the long process.

THIS WINE HAD NO PAST

it only had a future.

 So in this sense it had to be given a new past. Can this be possible?

For us on earth, time moves forward, not backwards and neither does it stand still. However the Lord who created the heavens and the earth brought time into existence for the purpose of our earthly experience. And probably also as a means to keep constraints around the devil and a boundary for his cohorts; as they are now contained within Earth time and subject to its limitations.

Rev.12:12 the devil knows he has but a little time. How so, if he is an eternal spirit?

God is Spirit and exists outside of our dimensions and is not bound by the time He created. He is the same yesterday today and forever. So for Him to change a past, or remove it and replace it, is indeed possible. Every miracle of Jesus is a short circuit of a natural process. When God’s power enters the picture, it is not just simply any king; it’s the Creator of the Universe entering, the King of nature and all its processes.

Jesus transformed a non- living, inorganic compound (water) into a living, organic compound (wine) and it is a picture of His resurrection and of ours to come.

This first miracle teaches us that salvation is through the Word of God.

It is the key to understanding all miracles. Matter is pliable and subject to change within His presence. For the power of His glory has the ability to alter change and transform matter at the molecular level, of which everything is constructed. If we could really grasp this reality, seeing people get healed would be more commonplace.

He is the Lord of creation, the king of the universe and the author of Time. He is the Alef and Tav; the Alpha and Omega; the Beginning and End; the Start and the Finish.

He is YHVH, God, Adonai of TIME.We cannot change the past nor give something a past that does not have one… but He can and the water to wine was a demonstration of such a plan.

He gave the wine a past, where there was no past.

This is the promise of a future for all mankind, for the one who can give a past where there was none, can also remove a past that is no longer wanted or relevant. This is His salvation. It is not simply that everything is the same and we’re forgiven in spite of our sin but it’s as if we never sinned in the first place.The scripture promises that one day God will wipe away sin and wash away guilt.

This cannot be achieved without changing the past and without undoing what was done. However it is not simply justified, (just as if we never sinned) because in His redemptive sacrificial death the impossible becomes the possible; and the reality is the guilty become innocent.

The rejected become accepted and the scarlet sin becomes white as snow. A person’s wedding day is comparable to his or her personal Yom Kippur, on which all sins are forgiven. For the chatan, (Hebrew for groom), and kallah, (bride), on this day all their past mistakes are forgiven, as their lives merge together, becoming one….under His wings.We cannot make scarlet sins turn white. Sin is already committed and they are part of the past and the past is gone. The only way to change that sin would be to change the past in which it occurred.

This is the true miracle of salvation, He has removed all past as far as the east is from the west. If God can give a past where there was no past, if He can do that for wine in Cana, then He can certainly remove a past where there was one.

Isaiah 1:18; Luke 7:37, 47; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 1:8–9.

He has taken the scarlet cord of your life’s sinful past and has made it white.Your life is like the stone jar of water, now changed, transformed. We are the new wine within and cannot be contained in the old wine skins of our past lives. We need to be changed from glory to glory to become a stable container (so we don’t burst or explode). Then out of us, His power can flow forth.The old is gone, the new is come. We are new creations, the old has passed away and we are to walk in newness of life.

The Cana miracle of transformation was a most prophetic picture, indicative of what was to come for those who would believe; both in this life and in the ultimate future of eternity in His presence.

With a new incorruptible body.

This is the first miracle that Jesus performed. Moses’ first miracle was turning water into blood. Moses was a type and shadow of Yeshua. Delivering Israel out of bondage.Compared with the ministry of Moses who turned water into blood as a sign of God’s judgment (Ex.7:14–24), Jesus is a bringer of joy and celebration by the Spirit because He delivers us from the moment.

He is the God of time by turning water into wine immediately, bypassing agricultural and fermentation processes.

Moreover, this was no ordinary wine, for as the host remarked, “You have saved the best till now” (v 10).But neither was it ordinary water.

Since its purpose was “for ceremonial washing” (v 6), the miraculous transmutation suggests the old order passing away, law metamorphosing to gospel. He is the new wine of the kingdom.The jars were for purification and He turned all 6 of them red like the blood that would purify all believers removing all our sins and sorrows foreverThe ceremony was held in a synagogue and they were there for a week.In Israel, the streets are stone,

the walls are stone, the houses are stone, In the first century even the furniture, the baths, and many cooking pots, jugs, bowls, and disheswere all made of stone. (obviously the modern drill image is for reference) Stoneware cores, cup bored plugs showing iron spinning hole saw rings lines drilled raw and unfinished. Ritual Purity First Century.

Equivalent of a large metal plastic or wooden barrels today compared to Stoneware Vessels used for Ritual-Purity in 1st-Century.  This was no small container they would each hold twenty to thirty gallons,such jars would need to be about three feet tall and be cut from a single block of stone weighing at least half a ton. Quite aside from the miracle itself, the sheer quantity of new wine created is astounding—equivalent to about a 1,000 bottles! We know this because so many ancient stone vessels have been found in Israel, many of them roughly fashioned, but the best ones turned on a lathe and smoothed, polished, and decorated.

The practical reason for all this stoneware stems from the Jewish laws of ritual purity. Stone vessels could easily be cleaned with water, whereas if an earthenware pot became ritually unclean it had to be broken. Hence the high incidence of stone vessels is peculiar to ancient Israelite culture, as non-Jews normally didn’t bother with this costly and cumbersome material when ceramics were much more convenient. The Jews used stone waterpots to hold the water used for ritual purification because they believed that, unlike earthenware pots (Lev 11:33), they did not become unclean.This seemingly insignificant detail, that the water was up to the very top, shows that nothing was added to the water, and that what followed was indeed a transformation miracle.

By ordering the jars to be completely filled before He transformed the water in them into wine, Jesus also displayed His generous grace. Six signifies work and wine signifies blood. The stone waterpots represent Christ’ body. Without the shedding of blood, there is no cleansing (purifying).Exodus 17:6 “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the Rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the Rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink…”

In The Old Testament was is Concealed, is Revealed in the New Testament !

Proverbs 25:2 “It is the Glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of Kings is to search out a matter.” He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

1st Corinthians 10:4 “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”Jesus the Messiah is the true Rock that the water of salvation comes from, and the Rock in Horeb merely was a shadow, casting a spiritual picture of it.

And that is why these waterpots in John chapter 2 from where wine would come, are purposely pointed out as being of stone.True purification is from Jesus/Yeshua the Messiah. Six Stone water pots signifying that it is by the work of Christ’s blood that the people will have this purification. The blood is the true wine of which Christ spoke, which was not yet ready for the Woman (the Church). It was not yet Christ’s hour to go to the cross. If the number six represents the days of creation, then Jesus’ miracle constituted a wonderful blessing of fertility on this marriage— not only on the couple but on their family for generations to come, a tribe of perhaps hundreds, thousands, even millions of people. More than a show of power, this was a blessing conferred upon a relationship—indeed upon the central relationship of all, the one that best represents the covenant between the Lord and His people.  Following the ceremonial proceedings of the Huppa, is the marriage banquet, also sometimes called the wedding feast or marriage festival.This was the joyful celebration of the union of the couple with all their family and friends. For us as believers, after the Catching away,the blessed hope,

we have one very important banquet to look forward to with our Lord and King. All the called out ones, the bride of Messiah, will join the Lord at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.The Lord will take the long awaited cup of wine and we will all share it together with Him and enjoy the heavenly festivities He has planned. Rev. 19:7-9

The mundane and the ordinary can become infused by the power and the glory of God –

if we are prepared to respond in faith to the same challenge of Mary to the servants and to

“DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU”.

Messiah Yeshua began His ministry on this earth at a wedding.

The wedding was the first act and as He came to marry the believers to Himself in a covenant by His own body to fulfill the marriage covenant that was first entered into by Moses and Israel at Sinai. He ratified this renewed covenant in His own blood.

He will conclude it, as far as the body of believers are concerned, with a wedding also the consummation of a covenant between the Lamb and His bride, the elkklesia.

 The last chapters of John convey some of the final words of Jesus to His disciples. He is leaving them, but only for a season. He is reassuring them of His return – as a groom eagerly returns for his bride.

This first miracle was so prophetic and was indeed right on and in TIME.

We have that same reassurance. In giving a reNEWed covenant, Jesus used the most intimate language available. God loves us and is creating a place in the family for us to live forever.

Shalom!

Please don’t leave this site without knowing you are saved and assured that you belong to Him; with a deep conviction that you know where you will go, when your body can no longer sustain you in this realm. 

Make certain Jesus is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him. 

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

Its all about Life and Relationship not Religion.

NOT SURE?

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen. You are now assured of heaven..rejoice and give Him glory for this is THE most important miracle.

more at https://www.minimannamoments.com/welcome-come-taste-some-bread-of-life-bread-from-heaven/life-changing-information-guaranteed/

The Sheltering Presence of God

Feast of the Tabernacles

in Hebrew Chag haSukot,

also Succouth, Sukkot or Sykkot.

Part 1

Special Note:  This Feast has already begun and takes place over 8 days. As there are so many important, pertinent and fascinating facts that point our focus to Jesus our Messiah; the post has been divided into 3 parts, which will be posted consecutively during the next few days.

 These Appointed Times of The Lord follow the Calendar Cycle of the life giving harvests and Sukkot completes the 7th of the Holy festivals in the 7th month of Tishrei. (Deut. 16:13; Lev. 23:34)Fall is the end of the harvest seasons, its themes include:

The Return of Messiah,The sounding of the trumpets announcing His comingThe Ingathering (agriculture and souls.) (Chag haAsif) and

Re-gathering and return of His people to Israel.

The repentance,

God and man face to face,

The Judgment of the Nations\separation of the sheep and goats,

The redemption,

The Kingdom of God and everything returning back to Him.

It’s the closing. The finish line.

As the Spring Appointed Times speak prophetically of Jesus 1st coming, so the fall speaks of Jesus 2nd coming; in which the end will reveal God’s final chapter. The completion of the harvest of souls and culmination of His plan of the Ages.

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Jam. 5:7

 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2Pet. 3:9 

In the Spring cycle, we are reminded that Messiah is the Lamb of God, who came to seek, serve and save.

The Autumn cycle of Appointed Times (Mo’adiym) reveals that Messiah is also from the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the King, the Great High Priest and The Lord of all. 

We are in fact, living now in the time between the Lamb, His first coming and the Lion, His second coming. Let’s live with joy and excited anticipation for the return of the One we love, serve and worship. The One who has a plan to completely reveal the mystery of the Autumn/Fall Calendar Feasts. 

The month of Tishrei is the most intense of the Hebrew calendar as it is during this month the closing end of the sacred spiritual year is celebrated.

As this month holds the secret mystery to the Autumn cycle, could it also hold the mystery to the closing of the age?The observance of Sukkot is the 15th-21st of Tishri (September/October). Most people consider it an 8 day holiday. The first 6 days are known as Sukkot. The 7th day takes upon itself a new name known as Hoshanna Rabba, (the huge water libation ceremony). The 8th day is known as Shemini Atzaret, Yom haSh’miyniy’Atzaret, The eighth day assembly. In Israel, the 8th day is also Simchat Torah (rejoicing in the Torah scriptures). Sukkot frequently called the Feast of Tabernacles. A better English translation would be the Feast of Booths, which is the meaning of Hebrew word Sukkot, celebrating the fall harvest with the third first fruits of the growing season. Leviticus 23:39  

The Hebrew word chag comes from the Hebrew root word chagag, which means ‘to move in a circle, to march in a sacred procession, to celebrate or dance.’ The joy of Sukkot was so great that it became known as ‘THE Feast.’  The word tabernacle refers to a temporary dwelling place, which is the purpose of the sukkah.

Other names for this season are:

The Season of Our JoyThe Festival of Ingathering Hag HaAsif,

The Feast of the NationsThe Festival of DedicationThe Festival of Lights

(Ex. 23:16, 34:22; Num. 29:12-39; Neh. 8:14; Zec. 14:16-19; Heb. 2:2; 2:5; Jn 7:2-52)         In contrast to the serious tone of Rosh HaShanah and the Day of Atonement, the 3rd feast in Tishrei was a time of joy because Israel had passed through the season of repentance and redemption.
ISRAELITES Past FULFILLMENT: Celebrate the Harvest and Entering the Promised Land with Great Rejoicing to be Celebrated Yearly Forever.MESSIANIC Future FULFILLMENT: (Prophetic) The Messianic Era or Millennium. The Kingdom of God on Earth. (Athid Lavo.) The Two become One.  SPIRITUAL APPLICATION: (Halacha) A daily rest (Shabbat) in the Messiah and having the rest, (menuchah) of His Kingdom in our hearts.Not coincidentally, the same time period marks the beginning of the construction of God’s sukkah, the mishkan, the sanctuary or tabernacle in the desert (Ex. 25:8-9). Tabernacle, is the word mishkan in Hebrew. According to tradition, Moses again ascended Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights to receive the second set of tablets and descended on Yom Kippur, carrying them as a sign of God’s forgiveness of Israel for the sin of the golden calf, and as a symbol of the lasting covenant between God and Israel (Ex.24:12-18; 34:1-2; 27-28).

The following day Moses relayed God’s instructions for building the mishkan, a dwelling place. Material for this portable structure was collected during the days before Sukkot, and work then began on it. (Ex. 35; 36:1-7).        Sukkot is also called the ‘Season of Our Joy.’

It is also known as the Feast of our Rejoicing, the Season of our Rejoicing, and He-Hag (the Holiday).

One reason Sukkot was a time of joy was that after the season of repentance, (Teshuvah) and the redemption of Yom Kippur, came the joy of knowing your sins were forgiven, of walking, knowing, and being obedient to Him.

Historically, Sukkot also commemorates the days in the wilderness of Sinai, after coming out of Egypt (Mitzayim). According to all natural laws, the Israelites should have perished, but were instead divinely protected by God. Prophetically, Sukkot is the festival that teaches on the Messianic Kingdom and the joy of that Kingdom. Spiritual application in Messiah: a daily rest and having the rest, ‘menuchah’, of His Kingdom in our heartsSukkah is the Hebrew term for the temporary building that is constructed for this holiday. Sukkot(h) is the Hebrew name of the holiday, the moed and usually translated as booth or small hut and to tabernacle with someone, is to dwell with them.

God tabernacled with the children of Israel as they wandered in the desert for 40 years, manifesting Himself as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

 In order to make following God easier, the Israelites lived in simple booths.

It is also symbolic of the protection that the Israelites received from God in the desert after they were freed from bondage in Egypt (Lev. 23:43). It reminds us that our survival is dependent upon God.

The symbolism is intended to remind us of being homeless, the feeling of living somewhere on a temporary basis. It is to serve as a reminder to us not to become over confident with our wealth or influence and that we need to look to God for our provisions, not man and that this earth is not our permanent home.

The sukkah or booth, symbolizes man’s need to depend upon God for his provision of food, water, and shelter. This is true in the spiritual realm as well.

The booth is the physical body, which is a temporary dwelling place for our souls and spirits. (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

We need the food that the Word of God provides (Matt. 6:11; 4:4; John 6:33-35); the cleansing, rinsing, and washing that the Word of God brings to our lives (Eph. 5:26); and the shelter of God’s protection over our lives from the evil one (Matt. 6:13; Ps. 91). Our physical needs will be provided for by God if we seek Him spiritually (Matt. 6:31-33)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 means ‘a tent, hut, or habitation.’ and the context by which the word tabernacle is used in the New Covenant (Brit Hadashah).

This Greek word, sk’enos, means ‘tabernacle, booth, shelter, or covering’ and also appears in Rev. 21:3. This same word, sk’enos, is used to speak of Yeshua during His first coming, (John 1:14). here we can see the protection provided in Rev. 7:16, corresponding to Isa. 4:5-6, and the fountain of living waters in Rev. 7:17 and 21:4.

In Isa. 4:3, it is written ‘And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy…” (also see Zech. 14:4,6-9,16-17,20-21). Those who are called ‘holiness unto the Lord’ in Zech. 14:20 are the same people in Is. 4:3 who are called Holy.
The clouds in the wilderness are called ‘the clouds of glory’ and the wilderness experience is a picture of the future Messianic age, the Millennium.

The sukkah was built to teach and understand the thousand-year millennial reign of the Messiah, the Messianic age, the Millennium, or the Athid Lavo in Hebrew eschatology. 

 

 Jesus/Yeshua tabernacled (sukkot) among us (John 1:14).

Peter spoke about his body being a tabernacle (2 Peter 1:13-14).

The apostle Paul told us that our earthly bodies were earthly houses or tabernacles (2 Corinthians 5:1-5).

The tabernacle of Moses (Moshe) was a tent of habitation (Acts 7:44; Hebrews 9:2-8).

Abraham Isaac and Jacob lived in tabernacles (tents) (Hebrews 11:8-9).

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).

Jesus/Yeshua entered the temple on the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) (John 7:2,27-29).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).

Jesus/Yeshua was the true tabernacle of God (Hebrews 9:11).
The sukkah remain standing for the entire 8 days of the holiday.

On a clear night, a person can sit inside the Sukkah and look through the sparsely placed branches

to the stars and be reminded of the promise God told Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens (Gen. 26:4).Sukkot is the plural of Sukkah (more than one hut or booth) and sometimes the holiday is referred to as Sukkot

This name reflects the final harvest of the year attributed of the holiday. Sometimes it is also referred to by the Hebrew name Shemhateinu. The Feast of Tabernacles has an agricultural meaning, because it reminds us of how the farm laborers in ancient days lived as they worked to bring in the harvest.

  Sukkot is the time when the produce of the field, orchard, and vineyard is gathered in. The granaries, threshing floors, and wine and olive presses are full to capacity. Weeks and months of toil and sweat put into the soil have finally been amply rewarded. The farmer feels happy and elated. No wonder Sukkot is ‘The Season of Rejoicing.’ While all of the three pilgrimages are times of rejoicing, Sukkot (Tabernacles) is specifically designated as Zeman simchatenu, the season of our rejoicing.

Sukkot is also considered a harvest festival. One reason is because at harvest time something resembling a Sukkah would be built near the field that the crop pickers were working. This became a temporary place of refuge for them from the sun and even a place to sleep when necessary. The Sukkah is, therefore, symbolic of protection and peace. It also became the one time of the year when most farmers could relax since the crops were just harvested, and it was still too early to plant the next crop.
Olive harvest.

There is also a Messianic meaning in which we find fulfillment in our Messiah.

Passover And Sukkot Connected: In some ways, the Feast of Tabernacles is considered an Exodus holiday.

This passage in Leviticus shows us that these two holidays are connected. Lev. 23:43; so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. 

Both holidays are related to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and are observed on the 15th of the month.

Passover marks the attainment of the end of bondage and the right of religious freedom.

Sukkot marks the attainment of national and territorial independence (except from God), the essential ingredients of the nations Sovereignty.

The Great Salvation

Hoshana Rabbah (literally, the great hosanna or the numerous hosannas) is the 7th day of Sukkot (Tabernacles). Hoshana Rabbah should have been a full festival day, but is not because of Shemini Atzeret, which follows it. However, it has some special customs that make the day more like a full festival day than any of the intermediate days.

The most important of these (ceremonies) are:

The circling of the altar seven times instead of once while carrying the four species and reciting the Hoshana prayers; and The beating of the willows. Messianic Understanding. In John 7:37-38, Jesus/Yeshua said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

 At this season of Sukkot, Isa.12:3 was often quoted, as it is written, ‘Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.’ Jesus/Yeshua in Hebrew means ‘salvation.’
The drama of the water drawing ceremony took on a new dimension of meaning when Jesus/Yeshua attended the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles). On the seventh day of the feast, Hoshana Rabbah, which literally means ‘the great hosanna, the great salvation’, the festival activities were different from those of each of the six previous days when the priests circled the altar in a procession, singing Ps. 118:25.

On the seventh day of the feast, the people circled the altar seven times. That is why the day is called Hoshanah Rabbah, as the cry, “Save now!” was repeated seven times. Jesus/Yeshua’s statement in John 7:37-39 was said on Hoshana Rabbah. Spiritually speaking, in the Bible, there is a link between water and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh). Yeshua told the woman at the well to drink of living water (John 4:7-14; 6:35; Matt. 5:6).  
This relationship between water and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is contained in the symbolism of pouring out water. Is. 44:3 links the pouring out of water with the pouring out of God’s Spirit and parallels the thirsty land again links water with the Holy Spirit.The link can also be seen in Joel 2:23,28; Acts 2:1-4,14-17; and Ezek. 39:22,27-29. Zech. 14:8 speaks of living waters. Is.12:2-3 speaks of drawing water out of the wells of salvation. Water and the Spirit are connected in Psalm 42:1-4; Zech. 13:1; and Rev. 7:17. It can also be seen in Ezek. 36:24-27.Jesus/Yeshua was trying to communicate this to Nicodemus in John 3:1-6.

He also was teaching this during the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) in John 4:14, which concluded with His statements in John 7:37-39.At the ceremony of the water drawing, the people’s attention was focused on the pool of Siloam.(Pool full)

It was here that Jesus/Yeshua healed a man who had been blind from birth (John 9:1-7).

Notice again the statement in John 9:5. This is the last day of the feast (Hoshana Rabbah) (John 9:14; Lev. 23:34-36).



To be continued in Part 2