Feast of Tabernacles / Sukkot

Feast of Tabernacles: When Yahweh Commands Us to Rejoice (Deuteronomy 16:14) 

• "And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man servant, and thy maid servant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates," Deuteronomy 16:14

 

Special Guests Rabbi Jonathan Cahn and Singer Elihana Elia for October 12 7pm Feast of Tabernacles Event

 

October 16, 2022 10 am Service

October 15, 2022, 10 am and 7 pm Services

 

 

October 14, 2022, 10 am and 7 pm Services

October 13, 2022, 10 am and 7 pm Services

October 12, 2022, 10 am and 7 pm Services

October 11, 2022, 10 am and 7 pm Services

October 10, 2022, 10 am and 7 pm Services

 

October 9, 2022, 10 am and 7 pm Services 

10/12/22 While there are Feasts going on all week-long, we wanted to share that special guests Israeli singer Elihana Elia and Rabbi Jonathan Cahn will be at the Feast of Tabernacles 2022 in Bradenton, FL tonight at 7:00 pm. The video above is LIVE and airing now with special guests, dancers, and speakers so please check it out. 

The event is Stand in His Promises under Pastors Phil Derstine, and Anne and Henry Higgins, extends from 10/9-10/16/22. We've included the video above, which is the live stream. They're setting up so you might have to refresh the link. However, Father God said when I clicked on the YouTube broadcast "Leave that up." 

It's going to be a beautiful time in the Lord, so let's get together and worship Yeshuah God for great is His faithfulness - and He WILL NOT FAIL! 

And now for our Feast of Tabernacles message... 

 

The Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths and Sukkot is the seventh and last feast. The Lord commanded Israel to observe this feast (one of three feast) every year. The Israelites "appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose" (Deuteronomy 16:16). Mentioned several times in Scripture, the time of the Feast of Tabernacles even occurred once when Solomon’s Temple was dedicated to the Lord (1 Kings 8:2).

At another Feast of Tabernacles, the Israelites, who returned to rebuild the temple, would celebrate under Joshua and Zerubbabel's leadership (Ezra 3). At one point, the Jews heard Ezra read God's Word to them during the Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8). This significance here is Nehemiah 7 is when the wall was rebuilt and the workers built with one hand and defended with another to repair the breaches in Jerusalem's walls. What a mighty time in the Lord.  Ezra’s preaching led to a massive revival where the Israelites confessed and repented of their sins (like Azusa, but in Biblical times!).

At a separate Feast years later, Jesus said, “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” (John 7:37–39).

 

The Feast of Tabernacles occurs on the 15th of the Hebrew month Tishri, which is the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar, so in late September to mid-October.

The feast starts five days after the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and around the time when the fall harvest is finished. It's a joyous time of celebrations as the Israelites reflect and celebrate God’s provisions for them that were continuously given during their 40 years in the wilderness.

 

The Feast of Tabernacles is also called the Feast of the Ingathering, the Feast to the Lord, or the Feast of Booths (Exodus 23:16; Deuteronomy 16:13). As a pilgrim feast, the people brought tithes and offerings to the Temple (Deuteronomy 16:16). Imagine thousands of people coming to Jerusalem to remember and celebrate God’s deliverance. What a holy time as they honored God!

The attendees all lived and stayed in temporary shelters or booths, which was part of the requirements for the feast. For eight-days, several sacrifices were made by all twenty-four divisions of God's priests.

The feast began with a “holy convocation” or Sabbath day where the Israelites didn't work but worshiped God. Each feast day, they had an “offering made by fire to the Lord” and then after seven days, they had another “holy convocation” on the eighth day and didn't work to give God another sacrifice (Leviticus 23). Hence, the eight-day feast began and ended with a Sabbath day of rest.

The booths that the Israelites dwelled in were made out of tree branches, (Leviticus 23:40–42). And some modern-day booths are made of wood and glass or plastic to keep the cold out (depending on the location and weather).

The Feast of Tabernacles was a memorial of sorts to remind the Israelites of how God delivered them from Egypt. Other feasts that we honor include the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, which marks the start of the Feast of Weeks or Jesus’ ascension into Heaven.

A lot of scholars agree that the Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes Jesus' Second Coming when He will establish His kingdom here on earth.

One Rabbi wrote that God's desire has always been to tabernacle among His people, i.e., us. From the Children of Israel's journey through Egypt to the end of the age when we will dwell with Father God face-to-face.

We also know that from the beginning with Adam and Eve, the enemy has come to lie, steal, and destroy. He's tried and continues to try to make us doubt the voice of God, to separate us from Father God, even when God’s desire is to come closer to us.

Hence, let's remember that this is the feast of “intimacy,” so-to-speak. It's like a wedding rehearsal where the Bridegroom is calling on the Bride to gather her oil. Because this great feast culminates everything from Genesis to Revelation, and from our inception in the Garden with God until we're reunited with Him in the very End, let's have an amazing Feast of Tabernacles celebrating with our Father!

As we wrote about this feast, I heard "Don't walk away from God." Because God NEVER changes and He cannot lie, we know that His Word SHALL come to pass but many are afraid. Perhaps some feel like it's a Red Sea moment and they think the waters won't part. Or, they're afraid that they might never make it safely out of Egypt because they're seeing "men like giants" in the land. But God said "Tell them don't to be afraid or panic." God also said this through Prophet Julie Green.

Our nation is waiting for God to deliver us out of the hands of our enemies and there are indeed giants in the land. With this current administration, we're seeing laws in place that support the LGBTQ communities and leave God's people in the dark. Children are allowed to take medicine without parental consent to alter their gender.

Parents are forced to choose between jab and job and if they stand up for God, some are even losing their unemployment benefits. Witchcraft attacks are causing financial ruin, strange medical symptoms that can't be explained, and confusion that's leaving people feeling paralyzed in fear. Or they're exposed to so much sexual sin and demonic on TV and the movies that even when they look away, they're plagued by nightmares, and some have turned to substance abuse because they can't cope or see a way out.

The witches and demons we're seeing are highly orchestrated and organized. They're biased and on the radical left. They slander our Christian President Trump and throw so many false accusations and character assassination attempts against him that people don't even know why they don't like President Trump as they can't see that its witchcraft coming from the fake news media.

THEY practice witchcraft attacks against God's people and get into yoga poses that honor idols when God clearly said have no other gods before Him. They wear evil eyes and cast spells on coworkers and neighbors and teach kids how to attack their parents in cartoons. Streaming sites now have more witchcraft and demonic tutorials you almost want to throw holy water and a rosary on your TV whenever you turn it on.

They attack God's prophets on social media and censor what God is saying while letting watered down doctrines go unscathed. THEY pretend to serve God and love Him and then openly attack Christians and call them the enemies of the state as if God doesn't see or smell the stench on them. They brutalize God's Children making good look evil and evil look good. These are Ephesians 6:12 demons we're seeing in our nation and globally. However, faint not.

God promised to deliver His people from the bondage of sin before and He delivered them from their Egyptian strongholds. He also sent His son Jesus to redeem them from the hands of their enemies. Part of God’s deliverance for Israel was protecting them and providing for them in the Wilderness as they were cut off from the Promised Land. While none of the original Israelites made it into the Promised Land, we can learn from their mistakes. They complained and murmured before God. Hence, the sin of complaining set in their camp. But let us make a joyful noise unto God and celebrate the victory as God delivers us out of the hands of our enemies.

We praise God for President Trump as God uses him to restore our great nation. And as we reflect back and look ahead, we see that God is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. He protects us from our enemies. He provides shelter, food, and covering for us. While our hearts might long for His deliverance now, we know that God is working behind the scenes, and He will restore us. We trust His timing.

We hear the trumpets sounding and know God's sudden wrath and judgment are coming soon against our enemies. Hence, let's hold onto God, stay in His presence with singing, and keep coming out from among THEM. Come away from the crowds, him, her, and Joe Biden, and as God said "Rebuke Biden's wrath" as the dragon is unleashed and the antichrist comes. God's exact timing is so precise that when God comes against THEM with his wrath and sudden judgment, God's help and glory will help restore us.

From marriages restored and moves to better areas to reunions for some and promotions or new jobs, let's eagerly wait on our Father God to move and part the Red Seas. Listen in the spirit realm as the trumpets ring out. Listen as the enemies declare "Not fair, not fair" when THEY see what God's done for His people. Oh, wait. It doesn't matter and won't matter what THEY are saying. We'll be too busy singing, dancing, and celebrating in the streets when we see how God has delivered His people - yet again, because HE IS faithful and a God of His promises. To God be all the glory and the highest praise! 

 

On another note, if you're making donations as this is one of the three biggest feasts of the year (and Larry Huch says don't go to God empty-handed), there's a synagogue in New York that was vandalized and in need of support.

 

Rabbi Uriel Vigler of Chabad Israel Center set up a Feast of Booths to honor God for the Feast of Tabernacles / Sukkot and a man kicked in the walls and windows (image shown above). He was SO upset in the interview and asked "Why on earth would you bring hatred to a beautiful holiday? Why would you do this?" As this is a time of unity, celebrations, and joy, they'd just set up the booth (sukkah) a few hours earlier.

"It's not even the holiday, didn't even start yet, and we see on the cameras that at 1:23 a.m. Saturday morning, somebody comes by walking by here and he sees this sukkah and he starts urinating in it and he goes back, and he starts kicking it, breaking down the glass."

"When the Jewish people came out of the deserts -- they were in the deserts for 40 years -- we have clouds of glory protecting us, and to commemorate that we have this sukkah." Set up under the open sky, it's an outdoor structure where Jews can celebrate the Feast each night. Hence, it's importance. 

"We put up the sukkah for thousands of Jews to observe the holiday. We have to eat and drink in the sukkah for eight days. I want to that New Yorker. We don't know who he is, but that's the way we should be doing. We should stand up to this nonsense. The holiday is all about being joyous and happy and celebrations. That's what we want," Vigler said.

He wants to invite the vandal to share a meal, a hug, and spread love. While the police are investigating, the man is now wanted for criminal mischief, and we pray he's brought to justice.

Incidentally, 123 is Biblical for the Holy Trinity so we pray for a mighty move of God as the devil CANNOT touch God's people. We pray that the sukkah is restored, and the man is held accountable. It's a reminder that like in Nehemiah 7, we must build AND defend. The devil's trying to tear down our efforts to draw closer to God and obey God, but the Lord is on our side.

The Feast of Tabernacles extends all week and is a way to honor God for delivering the Children of Israel from 40 years in the wilderness. Let's take time to reflect on God's love and faithfulness. He ALWAYS provides and has a hedge of protection and covering over us!  

Chabad Israel Center's website is: https://www.chabadic.com/.