Wednesday, September 28, 2011

WHY THE JEWISH FEASTS ARE IMPORTANT TO CHRISTIANS


WHY JESUS REINSTATES THE UPCOMING FEAST OF TABERNACLES FOR 1000 YEARS!

As the current Jewish people celebrate the New Year (Rosh Hashanah),  it is important to examine why this and other feast days are important to us gentile Christians who have been grafted into the Family of our Great God!

Modern Christianity tends to look, with disdain...or completely ignore, these Feast Days, which, as I mentioned this morning, were instituted by the Lord Jesus Himself.

So briefly, here is what they mean:
THE FIRST COMING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
In the Spring, we have Three Major Feast Days....and NOTE their connections:

1. PESACH (or PASSOVER) - Christ was crucified on that Day!
2. OMER (or FirstFruits) - The Resurrection of Christ!
3. SHAVUOT( or WEEKS) - The Baptism of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost

Any questions?!

THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST:
In the Fall (now), we have these three (3) Major Feast Days...and note not only their direction relationships but the flow from one to the next:

1. Yom Teruah (or TRUMPETS) -  Announcing the Coming Tribulation!
2. YOM KIPPUR (or DAY OF ATONEMENT) - The Second Coming!
3. SUCCOTH (or FEAST OF THE TABERNACLES) - The Millennial Kingdom!

Let's take a brief look at a couple things. Trumpets are mentioned in the Tribulation as Judgment on the evil of this present world begins. It is predicted in Revelation 11:15 (NLT) Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,       and he will reign forever and ever.”

The main Feast we, as Christians, should be excited about is the Feast of the Tabernacles! This is specifically mentioned in the Bible as being re-instituted by King Jesus in His 1000 year reign from His Throne in Jerusalem! Now get this - some people are going to rebel against Him, while He is there and refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship at this time!  It will not go well for them.

This Feast will celebrate the Restoration and the Fulfillment of the Covenants from Abraham to the New Covenant of Christ in the New Testament.

BIBLICAL PROPHESIES CONFIRM THIS:


Zechariah 8:3 says “And now the Lord says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain....

Zechariah 8: 19 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter[a] are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace. 20 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. 21 The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’22 Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing.
(All Scriptures are from the New Living Translation courtesy BibleGateway.com)
Here is the passage which prophesies Rebellion among those nations who are still being born while Christ reigns for 1000 years. This is absolutely sobering and is from Zechariah 14:16-19 - "
In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 17 Any nation in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will have no rain. 18 If the people of Egypt refuse to attend the festival, the Lord will punish them with the same plague that he sends on the other nations who refuse to go. 19 Egypt and the other nations will all be punished if they don’t go to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.


TABERNACLES...FOR HIS GLORY!


But the main reason for Celebrating this amazing Feast (also called "Booths"; "Shelters" or "Succoth") is to rejoice in the Glory of God! Anyone who has seen videotape of a current Tabernacles celebration knows it is just plain old fun and rejoicing in Jesus!

Haggai 2: 6 “For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land.7 I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

Zephaniah 3: 14 Sing, O daughter of Zion;
      shout aloud, O Israel!
   Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
      O daughter of Jerusalem!
 15 For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment
      and will disperse the armies of your enemy.
   And the Lord himself, the King of Israel,
      will live among you!
   At last your troubles will be over,
      and you will never again fear disaster.
 16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,
      “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
 17 For the Lord your God is living among you.
      He is a mighty savior.
   He will take delight in you with gladness.
      With his love, he will calm all your fears.
      He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

....IN THIS BRIEF PIECE, I GIVE YOU THIS WONDROUS FALL SEASON - AS WE CELEBRATE WITH THE PEOPLE OF GOD - HIS FEASTS!!

....and the Word be came Flesh, and dwelt (Tabernacled) among us....John 1:14a.

(Bernie Lutchman)
Images courtesy Bing Images)



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