Recap: Too often we try to understand the Bible from our Western-mindset. We have a poor understanding of Jewish customs and feasts. Yet, they are significantly linked to Jesus and His return.
What does The Feast of Trumpets, The Ten Days of Awe, The Day of Atonement, and The Feast of Tabernacle have to do with me as a Christian?
Matthew 5:17-18 Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
The Day of Atonement or Kippur in Hebrew means ‘to cover over, to reconcile, to conceal sin.’
Romans 3:21-31 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation (atonement) by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
This Greek word ‘ek’ is one of the most under-translated (and therefore mis-translated) Greek prepositions – often being confined to the meaning “by.” It has a two-layered meaning (“out from and to”), from the inside out, which makes it out-come oriented – out of the depths of the source (Jesus) and extending to its impact on the object (you and I).
The Greek word for ‘through’ is the preposition diá – across (to the other side), on account of, by reason of, for the sake of, because of, to go all the way through, “successfully across.” Diá is a root of the English term diameter (“across to the other side).
We are justified because of our faith in what Jesus did for us by becoming the sacrificial atonement. Successfully bringing us across the rules of the Law to the end result of fulfillment of the Law concluded for us who believe in Him.
The Feast of Tabernacle (Booths) Sukkot
At the Feast of Trumpets, the shofar sounds to awaken our souls to a time of self-examination and repentance (The Days of Awe) as we stand before the Lord on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). After receiving Atonement, we celebrate our justification at the Wedding Feast (Sukkot).
Leviticus 23:39-43 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, … 40 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. 41 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… 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 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.’ ”
This is a perpetual feast to be celebrated by us all.
Zechariah 14:16 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.
The Wedding Feast
Matthew 22:2-13 Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious… 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Are you ready?
God never alters the robe of righteousness to fit the man. Rather He alters the man to fit the robe.
“No man can put on the robes of Christ’s righteousness till he has taken off his own.” — Charles H. Spurgeon
