Shalom Min. Loretta Light Chag Sameach (Happy Holidays) from Discovering The Jewish Jesus

Shalom Beloved,

We are excited to be entering into the fall season of the LORD'S Appointed Days, also known as the High Holy Days. The fall Feasts of the LORD, which are prophetic shadows of the LORD'S return include:

Yom T'rooah

(Rosh Hashanah) - The Feast of Trumpets (September 29th and 30th)

Yom Kippur

The Day of Atonement (October 8th)

Sukkot

The Feast of Tabernacles (October 13th-20th)

You can read and learn about these Feasts by studying the book of Leviticus Chapter 23.

The first of the Fall Feasts is called Yom T’rooah (Day of Trumpets). In modern day Judaism it is known as Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year) and is celebrated as the Jewish New Year. A common custom is to say “L’shanah tovah”, which means “May it be a good year.” Another custom is to eat apples dipped in honey. The apples represent God’s provision and the honey represents the sweetness of the coming year.

We read about this feast (Yom T’rooah) in Leviticus 23:24, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month on the first of the month(Tishri) you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of (shofars) trumpets, a holy convocation.” But what are we to remember? In the Holy Scriptures, there are two passages that speak of the LORD, Himself, blowing the shofar. The first passage is found in Exodus 19:13, 16–19, when the children of Israel prepared themselves to go up to Mount Sinai to meet Yahweh: 13 “When the shofar sounds, they may go up on the mountain.” 16 on the morning of the third day, there was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain. Then a shofar blast sounded so loudly that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; they stood near the base of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was enveloped in smoke, because the LORD descended onto it in fire - its smoke went up like the smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moshe spoke; God answered him with a voice.

The second place in Scripture, where the LORD, Himself, blows the shofar, is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord.

In both of these instances, the blowing of the shofar announces that God is about to manifest Himself. In Exodus 19, the sound of a shofar from heaven grows louder and louder so that the people who stood at the base of Mt. Sinai start trembling. Then God speaks, and more than a million Israelites heard the audible voice of God at the same time. In I Thessalonians 4:16, God again blows His shofar from heaven, as Jesus, Yeshua, returns to the world He created – Hallelujah! The blowing of the shofar announces God’s manifest presence.

At the sounding of the Shofar each year on Yom T'rooah - The Feast of Trumpets, we remember that Messiah Jesus - Yeshua HaMashiach is returning soon!!! "Yes, I am Coming soon"(Revelation 22:20). The glorious day when His followers will ascend up to meet God in the air is coming quickly and the blowing of the shofar each year during Yom T'rooah-The Feast of Trumpets reminds us of this. Ahmaine!

The second of the Fall Feasts is called Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement or Covering). We read about this feast in Leviticus 16 & 17 and in Leviticus 23: 27, "On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD. 28"You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God. This is the day that the High Priest would carry the blood of the bull and goat through the veil and into the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle, to the Ark of the Covenant. The High Priest of the Israelites would then pour the blood on the altar over the Arc of the Covenant, and, in doing so, make atonement for the children of Israel. "The life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls"(Leviticus 17:11). The book of Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, tells us that the blood of the bulls and the goats offered up to Yahweh in the ancient Temple, was a shadow of the blood of Jesus. Through the death and shed blood of Jesus, we are forgiven once and for all! Praise God! Yom Kippur is a Holy day of fasting and prayer; a time of thanking and worshiping Yeshua for his sacrifice and for the forgiveness of our sin. There is also a prophetic aspect of this feast that has yet to be fulfilled … the turning of the Jewish people to Messiah, Yeshua: Zechariah 12:10,"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me, whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.” When He returns He will lift the veil from their eyes. The book of Revelation foretells this same glorious event: "BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen” (Revelation1:7). Paul, as well, speaks of this when he says, in Romans 11:26, that at Messiah's return "all Israel will be saved.”

The last of the Fall Feasts is called (in Hebrew) Sukkot, the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. This feast is a joyous and happy feast of thanksgiving to God for His provision, forgiveness and the hope that He gives. We read about this feast in Leviticus 23:34,"Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD . 35 'On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. 36 'For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.

During this feast, at many Jewish homes and synagogues, a sukkah will be constructed. A sukkah (tabernacle or booth), is a temporary structure made out of lumber, grass or any other natural substance, decorated with natural materials including tree branches, leaves, flowers, vegetables and fruit. While standing or lying inside the sukkah, because the ceiling is not solid or permanent, one can look up to the clouds in the day, and the stars at night, remembering that the only thing in life that is permanent is God. Many people celebrating Sukkot, eat their meals and sleep in the sukkah for the entire 7 days of the feast. While in the sukkah, Jewish people remember how they had nothing in the wilderness but Yahweh, yet for 40 years the LORD supplied their every need. God fed them supernaturally with manna, gave them water out of a rock, and caused their clothes not to wear out. They had nothing but God, yet Hallelujah, He is enough! This, of course, is another beautiful foreshadow of how we should live our lives today, totally dependent on Him. Sukkot also involves the tradition of “the waving of the lulav.” The lulav is a gathering of branches made from four species in Israel: the Palm branch, Myrtle, Willow and the Etrog (based on Leviticus 23:40). We wave the lulav up and down and in all four directions, in the doorway of the sukkah. By doing this, we are testifying of the LORD's beauty and bounty, that God is everywhere, and that all good gifts come from Yahweh!

Another tradition of Sukkot involves the pouring out of life giving water. The Priest would march from the pool of Siloam to the altar at the Temple in Jerusalem, carrying a pitcher of water. He would pour the pitcher of water on the altar. Through this act, the Priest was thanking God in advance for the winter rains to come, producing another bountiful harvest in the spring. This tradition also represented to the Jewish people of Yeshua's day, that God’s Spirit would be poured out when Messiah came. It is for this reason, that on this day, when the Priest was pouring out the water on the altar, that Yeshua cried out ,"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water'(John 7:37, 38). In doing this, Yeshua was revealing, that He was the Messiah that they were waiting for!

Lastly, the Scriptures tell us that Sukkot will be celebrated in the millennial Kingdom of God. Zechariah 14:16 says that "any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem (during Armageddon), will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.” Why will we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in the Millennium? Because, beloved ones of Yahweh, we will be thanking God for all His goodness and blessings, just like the ancient Israelites did!

In closing Chavareem (Friends), may Father God bring us into intimate fellowship with Himself through Yeshua The Messiah, during this sacred season.

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Beloved, this is the time of year that ancient Israel brought Yahweh a special offering for The Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:25), The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:15-17).

1st Corinthians 9:11 instructs us to financially support ministries that are feeding us spiritually. We are partners; God has ordained it this way. The LORD uses the finances of His people to build His Kingdom. In Exodus 25:2 Yahweh says, "Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution."

Beloved, we need your help. Please ask God what He is asking you to do, then be obedient to immediately do it.