God’s Fall Feasts: Hope for a New Beginning

Well, I really appreciate the songs that Mr. Cook had to start the service today. Thinking about the Feast of Trumpets coming up here, you know, very shortly. I think it's September 21st. And so, of course, the Feast of Tabernacles, the fall feasts are really very close now, just around the corner a few weeks away. And that's what my sermon is going to be about today as well. I'm going to focus on those fall feasts. And my sermon today, thinking about those and preparing for observing those, coming up very quickly now. As I say, trumpets will be on September 21st, then 10 days later. It will be followed by the observance of the Day of Atonement on Saturday. It's on the Sabbath this year, September 30th. I think a Feast of Trumpets is on a Thursday. Of course, we know the Day of Atonement being the only feast day, which is a fast day, which makes it go slow. It's a slow day as well. And, of course, the Feast of Tabernacles, seven-day Feast of Tabernacles, will be observed in various locations around the world. As they always are. And now it will be from Thursday, October 5th. And I'm going to say through Wednesday, October 11th. I'm focusing on the Feast of Tabernacles, seven days. And that will be turned and followed by the 8th day, which will be observed on Thursday, October 12th, immediately after the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles. Again, I differentiate the Feast of Tabernacles from the 8th day for a reason, because they are two distinct feasts with two separate and distinct meanings, as we know.

So today, then, as we once again think about the Fall Feasts, prepare to observe those, Fall Feasts and Holy Days, let's review what they mean. And I want to kind of review what they mean in a little bit broader and deeper way today, since we think about them prepared to observe them, because they are extremely, extremely meaningful. And that's why I so much appreciate the songs that we had at the start of the service, kind of focusing on that, because that's what I'm going to focus on today in the sermon. The title for my sermon here this morning is God's Fall Feasts Hope for a New Beginning.

God's Fall Feasts Hope for a New Beginning.

I want to briefly begin by looking at one of the kings of Judah.

He was one of the great good kings of Judah. All the kings of Israel were bad. I don't think there was a good one in the bunch. They all led the nation the wrong way into idolatry. But there were a couple of good kings in the line of Judah, and one of those was Hezekiah.

And he reigned over the southern kingdom of Judah for 29 years, as you can read in 2 Kings 18, verse 2.

And what he did, even then, Judah was beginning to go downhill, go away from God. There had been some bad kings before him. But he did everything he could to try to restore Judah to his former greatness.

We could say that he tried to make Judah great again, in some theme of President Trump.

But his soul reign as the king of Judah was probably from around 916 to 687 B.C.

So Hezekiah began reigning as the king of Judah.

He had begun reigning as the king of Judah about five or six years after the northern ten tribes of Israel fell to Assyria.

Because they fell to Assyria. Again, he started reign about 716 B.C. and just about five, six years prior to that, the northern ten tribes of Israel were overrun by Assyria, about 722 or 721 B.C.

But here's the interesting point, which can tie into where we are today in the United States of America.

Hezekiah began a number of building and reconstruction projects.

And the population grew considerably during his reign.

Of course, we have a promise for that. We'll see if it comes about.

That's what President Trump wants to do. He wants to have a lot of reconstruction projects, improve our highways and bridges, and so on.

Of course, we see some of that going on right here now. It takes a little longer to get around.

But probably as a result of Hezekiah's building projects and so on, reconstruction, many of the Israelites, again, maybe five or six years before Israel had gone into captivity.

So where those people go was ten tribes of Israel. A lot of them undoubtedly came down to Judah.

This is why Judah then began increasing in population.

As a result, they had some great prosperity because all these people from Israel were coming down to Judah.

A lot of them wanted to continue to follow God.

As a result of them going into captivity to Assyria.

As one historian said, Judah became the strongest nation on the Assyrian-Egyptian frontier.

But it wasn't prophesied to last.

Let's go to Isaiah 39.

Isaiah 39. I'll begin in verse 5 of Isaiah.

This is Isaiah prophesied to King Hezekiah, as we just mentioned.

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts.

He thinks it may be looking good now, but behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day is going to be carried away to Babylon.

Nothing should be left, says the Lord.

And they shall take away some of your sons, who will descend from you, whom you will beget, and they shall be eunuchs and the palace of the king of Babylon.

Now, notice Hezekiah's response in verse 8. It's kind of a strange response, not one you'd expect.

So, as the guy said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.

Whoa, wait a minute. How could what he said be good?

I mean, what does Hezekiah mean by that? This is good. That sounds pretty bad to me.

Let's read the whole verse.

So, as the guy said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good, for...

He said, At least there will be peace and truth in my days.

At least it's not going to happen until after I'm gone.

At least it won't happen until after my reign has ended.

After Hezekiah died, Judah went downhill for the most part, even though there were one or two good kings who tried to revive it.

And it'd be about another hundred years before she fell to Babylon, which happened around 586 B.C.

Now, the next few verses, the beginning of chapter 40 here in Isaiah, sum up the meaning of God's fall, feasts, and holy days.

They're not necessarily focused on God's feasts and holy days, but they sum up the meaning of God's fall, feasts, and holy days when it comes to hope for a new beginning.

Isaiah 40, verse 1, Comfort my people, says your God. Speak comfort to Jerusalem and cry out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquities pardoned.

For she has received from the Lord's hand devil for all her sins, but that as the voice of one cry in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

So verse 3 here is actually quoting from Matthew 3, verse 3, or I should say it's quoted in Matthew 3, verse 3, as being a prophecy of John the Baptist who prepared the way for Christ.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

And I want to look at verses 4 here, especially spiritually.

Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low.

Of course, mountains and so on can be prophetic in some ways of God's people, people, individuals.

But every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low.

The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth.

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

You know, God's fall feasts portray God's pen and salvation for the people of the world.

Spring feasts, there's a spring feast in the fall feasts.

Of course, Pentecost is linked to the spring feasts by the countdown to Pentecost, but the spring feasts focus on God's salvation for the people he's calling now.

They apply to the people of the world eventually, too. They'll have to learn lessons from those feasts as well, of course.

But the fall feasts often look focused on God's fall harvest.

These are what I'm talking about, the spring harvest, the smaller spring harvest and the large fall harvest.

The fall feasts focus on God's large spiritual fall harvest when he's going to open this up to people's minds and people of the world and call them to have the opportunity to understand God's truth and the meaning of these days.

But it's interesting what it says here in these verses here.

Warfare has ended. That will include warfare within, I would say, personal relationships as well, as people learn how to apply God's laws and their relationships. Iniquity has pardoned.

And then it says the mountains will be exalted, the valleys will be made low. And find that spiritually to people. The humble people are going to be exalted in God's kingdom.

And the proud are going to be brought low.

And people twisted, confused, and crooked lies will be made straight.

If you apply that to people, as it applies to the people God is going to work with in the millennium.

In all the rough places, we all have rough places, all the rough places are going to be made smooth.

I learned how to apply God's laws and principles in their life.

Again, verse 5, The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all the flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

But these scriptures, if you apply them to the fall, feasts, and holy days, they give comfort and hope for a new beginning for all mankind, as portrayed by God's fall, feasts, and holy days.

So that's a brief look then at King Hezekiah and his quest to make Judah great again.

And how that greatness will be eventually restored by God.

Now let's look more deeply at God's four-fall feasts, and what they each portray, and how each offer hope for a new beginning.

First again, we'll look at the first one, do them in order.

So let's first look at the Feast of Trumpets.

Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah, as it can, is called in Hebrew, can be portrayed as a, I say it can be portrayed in at least two major ways, which in turn can then offer hope for a new beginning for all of mankind.

So I just want to look first at two overall ways it can be portrayed that offer that hope.

Number one, and several other ways, but I'm just going to point out two.

But one, it can be portrayed as the birthday of the world, which is how it is portrayed by orthodox Jews or by Judaism.

They traditionally reckon as being the day that God created man in his image, and likeness.

In other words, they portray it as kind of being the sixth day of creation.

Let's go to Genesis 1. Just look at that, and I want to point a couple things out that can tie into the Feast of Trumpets.

Genesis 1, verse 26, Then God said, Let us make man in our image according to our alightness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the cattle, and all the earth, etc.

Verse 27, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.

And then verse 31, Then God saw everything that he made, and indeed it was very good, so the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

So that, traditionally, by the Jews, that's when the world began when God created man in his own image on the sixth day.

If that tradition has any merit, it's against the tradition, it indeed would have been a hope for a new beginning.

It would have been the beginning step in God's plan of salvation, of creating mankind into his image of the likeness, and God beginning to build his family, the beginning of God's family.

What lessons or what hope can we derive from the Day of Trumpets as being the birthday of the world, or as being the sixth day of creation?

Now, there's a couple things.

A, we have the hope that God can create order out of chaos.

Let's go back to Genesis 1, verses 1 and into verse 2.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and then verse 2 says, The earth was without form and void.

In Hebrew, as we know, we've been around the church a long time, the earth was tohu and bohu.

Tohu meaning to lie waste, a desolation, a worthless thing, or without form.

And bohu meaning to be emptied, to be empty, to be an undistinguishable ruin.

Now, did God create it that way, make it that way, or did it become that way somehow?

I'm quoting Isaiah 45.18, which says this, I'll just quote there, I'm going to turn there.

For this is the Lord who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited.

Isaiah 45, verse 18.

The Hebrew word translated vain there in Isaiah 45.18 is tohu, the same word used in Genesis 1, verse 2.

Now, since the world was not created without form, it must have become that way. And, of course, the theory of the churches that always became that way, competing that way, is to be by the result of Satan's rebellion. Now, I know there are some people interpret that differently. There's a different way you can interpret that, you know, so on. But that has been basically the understanding of the position of the church for many, many years.

But the main point I want to make for this, regardless of all that, is this. God can and God will create order out of chaos.

You know, you look at the world today, you look at lives of the people of the world. We don't see too deeply into a lot of people's lives, but if you look deeply into people's lives, many lives are in chaos. So when this is fulfilled, trumpets are fulfilled, which would give all these individuals hope for a new beginning. Now, B, what else does this verse right here tell us? Again, Genesis 1, verse 2, The earth was without form and void, and darkness, as it says, is on the face of the deep. So the world was in darkness, and the world today is filled with spiritual darkness. You want to look at it that way? The world is a dark place spiritually. There's not too much of God's light and truth in the world today.

But there is hope here for a new beginning. Also, let's continue reading. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. But the Spirit of God was there, hovering over the face of the waters. Waters can be solid and symbolic of people as well. You want to look at this spiritually. And God said, let there be light, and there was light. So as portraying the birthday of the world, the face of trumpets can also portray how God will create order out of chaos, and also how he will restore light from darkness, spiritually speaking. He's going to store God's truth, so people can understand it and see it.

Of course, that could also be a lesson learned just from the very fact of when the day of trumpets is observed. It's the only one that's observed on the first day of the month. It's observed on the first day of the seventh month, which is what? A new moon. It's the only feast that occurs on a new moon. And a new moon is when the moon begins to emerge from its period of darkness to its period of increasing light. And that's what's going to happen when Christ returns. He's going to return to a world in darkness, and he's going to start to restore light.

Third way is portraying the birthday of the world. Trumpets also portrays and gives hope for something else, as we read in verse 31.

Thank God for everything that he had made. Indeed, it was very good. God can take what is now very bad, and he can create in it something that is very good. And Christ is going to do that when he returns. He's going to start restoring things that are very bad and make them good.

Now, in addition to being portrayed as the birthday of the world, there's a second major way. Trumpets can be portrayed, which is as a day of judgment.

When Christ returns and is portrayed by the piece of trumpets, he's going to bring judgment.

Now, when you think of judgment, what do you think of?

We think of it in a negative way, don't we?

We tend to think of it negatively, as a condemnation.

We tend to think of the negative side of judgment.

But there's a positive side as well that offers hope for a new beginning.

When Christ returns, his throne will be prepared so that he can then reign on the earth as king of kings and lord of lords, as we know, in Revelation 19.

But his throne is going to be prepared for judgment.

But how is he going to judge the world when he returns? He's going to come there and condemn them.

Will he condemn the world, or will he judge the world in a way that will offer them hope for a new beginning?

Let's go to Psalm verse 9.

Psalm verse 9.

Let's look at verse 6. Psalm 9 verse 6.

O enemy, destructions are finished forever.

You have destroyed cities, even their memory has perished.

That's going to happen probably in time leading up to Christ's return.

But the Lord shall endure forever.

And then it says in the latter part of verse 7, He has prepared his throne for judgment.

So when Christ returns to be king of kings and lord of lords, His throne is going to be prepared for judgment. He's going to bring judgment on the world.

But how will Christ judge the world when he returns? Verse 8. He shall judge the world in righteousness.

He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.

He will judge according to God's laws, but he will also judge using proper righteous judgment and mercy and faith, as we know from Matthew 23, 23.

He's going to judge in a way that will offer hope for a new beginning, in a way in which people can learn how to become upright.

He will administer judgment for the people in uprightness, so they can learn how to live upright lives and learn how to live lives in uprightness.

But how is he going to do that? How can he do that? How can he take people who have solved their lives in chaos and mixed up, and how can he do that in a way that's going to have a positive result and give them hope?

I think he'll be looking deep down inside for something that he can see that's good in every area.

Every individual.

They can help them become what they ought to be.

Because with Satan now put away for a thousand years, Revelation 20, verses 1-3, Christ can now look for the good in everyone.

He can finally look for something there that is good, so he can judge the world in righteousness, and so he can bring them to righteousness and offer them hope for a new beginning.

Let's go on from the Day of Trumpets.

Let's look at the Day of Atonement.

Day of Atonement is a spiritual feast day, as we know. It's the one day each year we are commanded by God to afflict our souls by fasting, by doing without food and water.

And God, through the prophet Isaiah, gives lessons we should learn through fasting that offer hope for a new beginning. Let's go to Isaiah, chapter 58.

Isaiah 58, we begin in verse 6.

Isaiah 58, verse 6, this chapter is talking about fasting.

Verse 6, God speaks to Isaiah and says this, He says, Is this not the fast that I have chosen?

To lose the bonds of wickedness.

To lose the bonds of wickedness.

There's a lot of wickedness in the world today, isn't there?

A lot of people are slaves to wickedness in different areas of the world, under wicked dictators and so on.

So how will that wickedness be loosened?

How's that going to be accomplished to lose the bonds of wickedness? It would be accomplished by removing Satan, which in turn will give all of mankind hope for a new beginning.

Then it goes on, it says to undo heavy burdens.

You think about even our own lives today.

Many of you have heavy burdens. Sometimes you have to bear.

They're difficult.

At home, on the job, or maybe just trying to deal with life.

If we could be released from those burdens, would that make a difference in our lives?

Would it give us hope for a new beginning?

See, with Satan removed, many of those heavy burdens are going to be undone and loosened. Then it goes on, it says to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke.

What does a yoke do?

A yoke binds an animal to a cart so they can't flee. They can't break away from that yoke. They have to bleed that cart. They're kind of linked to that cart. They can then be oppressed by the wrong kind of a taskmaster. If they've got a good taskmaster, that's great. But they can be a really burden if they're yoked to a cart with a bad taskmaster. Master. But so it is with much of mankind today.

The removal of Satan and the reign of Christ will offer mankind hope for a new beginning once those burdens are removed, and once mankind can no longer be oppressed by the wrong kind of taskmasters. Verse 7. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry? And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out. And that when you see the naked, that you cover him. To bring hope for a new beginning, fasting should not only involve a relationship to God, it should also involve a relationship with one another, with people of mankind. To help mankind. To reach out to them. As Satan's world is... If you want to sum up Satan's world and Satan's way in one word, what would it be? Satan's way is the way of GET. Get for yourself. Do as best for you. God's world is going to be a world of give. And God, of course, and Christ are the greatest givers of all. They gave their very lives. But God's way is the way of GET. The world's way is the way of... God's way is the way of give. The world's way is the way of GET. You know, if everybody strove to give instead of GET, what a different world it would be. They always thought about what's doing best for someone else, rather than what's doing most best for themselves. That would entire give the... Indeed, I should say, give the entire world a hope for a new beginning. But notice the latter part now, verse 7, which I haven't read yet. What does that mean? When you see the naked, you should cover him, but then the latter part of verse 7 says, And not hide yourself from your own flesh. What does that mean? And what does this have to do with the day of atonement and with fasting? Well, don't give to others in a way that will take away of providing for yourself and for your own household, your own family, your own loved ones. As Paul wrote to Timothy, If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than nymphadel, or worse than nonbelievers, is the new King James. That's 1 Timothy 5, verse 8. You know, what we think about, by fasting and doing without ourselves, it can help us understand what our other family members may be going through if we're not providing for them in the right way, what they might be experiencing when they are forced to sacrifice or do without. So that can then offer hope for a new beginning for ourselves and for our relationship with our family as well, making sure we're taking care of them and giving to them and not taking anything away. Verse 8. Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteous shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer. You shall cry, and he will say, Here I am, as you take away the yoke from your midst, and take away the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness. See, fasting should humble us to take a deeper look at ourselves.

It should teach us to take personal responsibility rather than pointing the finger at others and maybe accusing others by speaking wickedness. Verse 10. If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noon day. The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your soul and drought and strengthen your bones, and you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. So when we fasten a day of atonement, we are humming ourselves before God to show him how much we all need his continual guidance.

And if the Lord will guide us continually, he will then be satisfied, as it says here, and strengthened, and spiritually be like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Of course, that's going to give all of us hope for a new beginning.

In Hebrew, the day of atonement is yom kippur, which only means day of covering or day of a moment. Kippur or kaphar means to cover, to disannell, to forgive, to pardon, to pass over, or to completely remove.

That meaning is summed up in the book of Micah. Micah is not talking about the day of atonement here, but that meaning is summed up at the very last verses of the book of Micah. Let's turn to Micah 7.

Let's look at the last two verses of Micah. Hosea, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, minor prophets. The last two verses of Micah 7. Micah 7, verses 18, 19, and 20.

Yeah, these sum up the meaning of atonement. Hosea, God like you, pardoning iniquity, and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage, passing over our sins, covering them. He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea. They are going to be completely removed and completely covered and annulled.

And you will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old. All this, of course, will give hope to all mankind for a new beginning.

Now let's look at the Feast of Tabernacles, which we'll be observing here not too much longer from now.

As we know, the Feast of Tabernacles commemorates God's deliverance of Israel out of Egypt and out of slavery, when they had to dwell in tents or tabernacles for 40 years as they wandered in the wilderness. Let's go to Deuteronomy 16. Or not Deuteronomy 6, excuse me, Deuteronomy 8. Let's go to Deuteronomy 8, and we'll begin in verse 1. Deuteronomy 8, verse 1.

Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe. You may live and multiply and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. And you should remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years, because Deuteronomy was written at the end of the 40 years of wandering. It was written just there about Caddis Barnay, about to enter into the land of Cain or the Promised Land. That's what Deuteronomy was written. It was at the end of that 40 years of wandering. So it's just kind of going back over it here. You should remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness to humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you and He allowed you to hunger, and He fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you to know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. As quoted by Christ in Matthew 4.4. After Christ had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, Satan came to Him and said, If you are the Son of God, command these stones that they become bread. But you know what happened back here to this generation we're talking about here and reading about in Deuteronomy. All that generation of Israel died. They died in the wilderness with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. What happened? Why did they have to wander in the wilderness living in tabernacles or booths for 40 years? You know, you go to first, I think it's the first version of Numbers, and I bring this up again next sermon, but it tells you this, from Mount Sinai to Caiusz, Barnea to get to the Promised Land was an 11-day journey. 11 days on foot with all their things, and it took them 40 years. Why? Why did they have to wander in the wilderness living in booths for 40 years? Because even though God had delivered them out of slavery, God had not delivered the slavery out of them. They were still enslaved. Slaved to their own wrong thinking, to the wrong lusts and desires. They were not able to move beyond their slavery to themselves. The desires thus became their new masters, and they remained enslaved to their former condition.

That's why they had to wander there until he died out. They couldn't believe God. They couldn't bring that trust. They had been born as slaves in Egypt, and that is all they knew. They were thus never able to rise above the condition of their birth. That's the point I want to make. They were never able to rise above the condition of their birth. They were born as slaves and remained slaves, even though God had freed them. Think about that. How many people are in that condition today? They had some terrible experiences in their birth, but they've never been able to move past it. They never learned from after a key lesson of the Exodus story that would have given them hope for a new beginning. What lesson is that?

We don't need to be bound by the condition of our birth, or by the circumstances of our past, regardless of what they were or how bad they were. See, slavery is a condition. It's not an identity that you have to hold on to.

Don't let what happened to you in the past become who you are in the present. So you ask God to help you to let go of the past so you can have hope for a new beginning. Here's a second lesson we can learn from the piece of tabernacle that can give us hope for a new beginning. The Hebrew word sukkah, or sukkah, for booth or booth implies it as being a shelter, which it was.

Those little booths were shelters. They were out there in that desert in that wilderness, and it was hot. It gave them a little bit of shade. Sometimes it was rain. It gave them shelter from the rain. The wind blew and the sand was blowing. It gave them a little bit of shelter from the sand and the wind. It was a shelter. So the piece of tabernacle, the piece de booth, can then pose this question.

If you look at it spiritually, I want to think about it spiritually, as it could apply to all of us today. Where is it to shelter for our eyes? Is our shelter and our security being within the walls of our homes, for example? Within the walls of our dwellings, which are also temporary. Some of us have very, very nice dwellings.

We live a nice booth today, don't we? But they are still temporary, aren't they? They're not going to last forever. They're temporary. And what if our world suddenly brings extraordinary circumstances, which now we look at the way the world is right now and the threats to the world? Wow! Overnight, everything could change.

And we might not feel so secure, even in our homes. What if the walls of our homes and the boundaries of our property are no longer safe havens? What then will our shelter be? What about when we are removed from our homes because of a severe illness? Sometimes people later in life, they're moved from their homes and have to go into a hospital or a nursing home or whatever. And they face death in a hospital. What's your shelter then? When that happens. See, where is our security then?

See, God used Moses to deliver Israel out of Egypt. And there's one psalm of all the psalms. There's one psalm that's attributed to Moses. And he gives us the answer right there at the beginning of that psalm. What psalm is that? What did Moses learn from going into temporary shelters for 40 years? Psalm 90. Psalm 91 kind of picks up on it too and says the same thing.

I'm not sure if he attributed it to Moses or not, but it follows the same thing that Psalm 90 does. Psalm 90 says, beginning of book 4 of Psalms, and it says at the very heading of Psalm 90, it says, A prayer of Moses, the man of God. Prayer of Moses. And then it says in verse 1, Lord, you had been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

See, our temporary dwellings are not our shelter. God is our shelter. God should be our dwelling place. Our real shelter and our real security is having God as our dwelling place. So the Feast of Suckoth or Feast of Booths reminds us that our ultimate security is not found within the walls of our homes, but it's found from the presence of God in our lives. If God is present in our lives, then that can be our security and our shelter, regardless of what happens in the world around us.

I could add that it could also be found in the presence of we should all have with one another as members of the spiritual body of Christ. That's the shelters, too. We're all going with one another as well. So that is another major lesson from the Feast of Tabernals and Packles that can give us hope for a new beginning.

And finally, what about the eighth day? I find the eighth day fascinating for this reason. I really want to be honest. Look at the Scriptures only. In the Bible, it's all you see. The Bible is simply called the eighth day. That's why I'm calling it that, because that's the only name that's really given clearly in the Bible. It's simply called the eighth day. It's called the eighth day sacred assembly in the New King James, or the eighth day solemn assembly in the Old King James.

It can be translated either way, but I prefer sacred as the New King James has it, so I can tell you why momentarily. But the eighth day is the only name actually given to that particular Holy Day in the entirety of the Bible. It's mentioned just five times in the Old Testament. Before we look at those five Scriptures, let me ask this. Why is it just called the eighth day? Why isn't it given a more descriptive name? Passover has a descriptive name, Passover.

Unleavened bread. When you're talking about bread, it's unleavened. There's a product there that you can kind of associate a meaning with. Pentecost, count 50. You've got something in trumpet, you blow a trumpet. I told you fast. A piece of tabernacle, you dwell in booze. There's something there that you do that you can bring meaning into what that means, but not the eighth day.

Also note, as we look at these five Scriptures that mention the eighth day in the Old Testament, very briefly, by the way, that the eighth day is always mentioned in conjunction with the seven-day piece of tabernacles. And every time it mentions observing the piece of tabernacles, every time it says to observe it for seven days. We were never told to observe the piece of tabernacles for eight days, only for seven days. Why is that? And what does that signify? Now we'll look at the five Scriptures in the Old Testament that mention the eighth day. First reference is back in Leviticus 23.

Leviticus 23, again in verse 36, but let's begin in verse 34. Leviticus 23, verse 34, this is the first of five mentions of the eighth day in the Old Testament. See what it says. First verse 34, Leviticus 23, speak to the children of Israel, saying, the fifteenth day of this Sabbath month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days to the Lord.

On the first day there should be a holy convocation. You should do no customary work. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And then, latter part of verse 36, on the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly. You shall do no customary work on it. That's all it says. Second place that the eighth day is mentioned is also right here in Leviticus 23, in verse 39.

See what verse 39 says. Also, on the fifteenth day of the Sabbath month, when you have gathered in the food of the land, you shall keep the feast, referring to the Feast of Tabernacles, peace of the Lord for seven days. On the first day there shall be a Sabbath rest, and on the eighth day a Sabbath rest.

That's all it says. Second reference to the eighth day is all it says there is, on the eighth day you shall have a Sabbath rest. Third reference to the eighth day is in Numbers 29, verse 35. Let's first read Numbers 29, verse 12. Numbers 29, verse 12, we'll talk about the Feast of Tabernacles. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation.

You shall do no customary work, and you shall keep a feast, referring to the Feast of Tabernacles. You shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days. Then dropping down to verse 35. On the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly.

You should do no customary work. Again, that's all it says. That's it. On the eighth day you shall do your Shabbos Echocedra and do no customary work. The fourth reference to the eighth day is in 2 Chronicles 7. Go to 2 Chronicles 7. 2 Chronicles 7, verse 8. We'll start there. At that time Solomon kept the Feast seven days, referring to the Feast of Tabernacles. He kept the Feast seven days, and all it is are with him a very great assembly from the entrance of Hamah through the book of Egypt.

Verse 9, then brings in the eighth day. On the eighth day they had a sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication of the altar for seven days, and then the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days. But again, all it says here about the eighth day is it was a sacred assembly, according to the...

They observed the sacred assembly... or excuse me, that's the wrong one. All it says is, in verse 9, if I can find it here. On the eighth day they held a sacred assembly. That's all it says. Going on, they observed the dedication of the altar for seven days, the Feast of Tabernacles, and on the 23rd day of the seventh month, He sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart, for the good that the Lord had done to David for Solomon and his people Israel.

The eighth day occurs on the 22nd day of the seventh month. So the 23rd day here would be the day after the eighth day sacred assembly was when we go home. It was like we do that. The next day after that, we all go home. Now, the fifth and final reference to the eighth day in the Old Testament is found in the book of Nehemiah. So let's go to Nehemiah chapter 8. Just look at one verse here.

Nehemiah 8 verse 18. Nehemiah 8 verse 18 says, He read distinctly from the book on the law of God. Oh, verse 8. I'm on verse 18. Nehemiah 8 verse 18. Also, day by day, from the first day until the last day, He read from the book of the law of God, and they kept the fee seven days, referring to the Feast of Tabernacles. And on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly according to the prescribed manner. Good and that's all it says.

On the eighth day there was a sacred assembly according to the prescribed manner. It doesn't say much, does it? It doesn't tell you a whole lot about the eighth day. That's all it says, those five scriptures. It's all it says about the eighth day in the Old Testament. First question, why is it called the eighth day? My thought would be to distinguish it from the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles. To indicate that it's a separate and distinct holy day that has a separate and distinctive meaning, apart from, in addition to, the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles. I believe that's why it's called the eighth day, one reason.

Second question. This is a really interesting question. Since this meaning is not given in any of these five passages, not clearly anyway, because all it tells is on the eighth day you'll have a sacred assembly. Since this meaning is not given in any of these five passages, how then can its meaning be understood? How can you know what it means? You know, God's Word answers that question for us. I'm just going to quote the Scripture. I won't turn there.

Psalm 111, verse 10. What does it say? A good understanding of all those who do His commandments. Bear in your eyes to go back and read the Audubon of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. He started observing God's feasts in holy days. He didn't know what any of them meant.

He just read they're supposed to observe them. He said, God says to observe them, so I'm going to start observing them, even against opposition from others. As you begin to observe them, guess what happened? He began to gain understanding, a good understanding of all those who do His commandments. The interesting thing about the eighth day is that the understanding of any of the eighth day is gained by observing it. And by God then giving us understanding as to what it means when He sees us observing it. That's what happened with Mr.

Armstrong. But of all God's annual feasts in holy days, none is more significant than the eighth day when it comes to hope for a new beginning. Let's go back here to conclude.

Let's go back to Ezekiel 37. There's no way of tying this into the eighth day, but it does, as we know, when God gives you understanding. Ezekiel 37, verse 1, The hands of the Lord came upon me and brought me out from the Spirit of the Lord and sent me down in the midst of a valley full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and they were very dry.

These people have been dead a long time. There's a vision God gives to Ezekiel. A vision of what's going to happen in the future. And He said to me, said to me, Can these bones live? Is there any hope for a new beginning for all these people who have been dead for a long, long time? He said to me, Can these bones live? So I answered, I said, Well, Lord God, do you know? I don't know. But you know. So then He said to me, Well, prop...

Here's... You want to know what's going to happen? So God said, Prophesy to these bones. He said to me, Prophesy to these bones, And say to them, All dry bones, all you people who have been dead for so many years are all turned to dust. Hear the word of the Lord of God. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, And you shall live.

I will put sinews on you, And flesh will come upon you, And cover you with skin, And put breath in you, And you shall live. Then you shall come to know that I am the Lord. This is not talking about a spiritual resurrection. It's talking about a physical resurrection. Flesh and bones, Skin, Sinew, Muscles. So I prophesied as I was commanded, And as I prophesied there was a noise, And suddenly a rattling of the bones, And they came together, bone to bone. And indeed, as I looked, The sinews and flesh came upon them, Skin covered them.

But there was no breath. So also they said to me, Prophesy to the breath, And prophesy, Son of Man, And say to the breath, Thus is the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, And breathe on these slain, That they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me. And breath came into them, And they lived, And they stood on their feet, An exceedingly great army, And they were millions of people.

The eighth day tells us there will be A new beginning for all who have died And who are now in their graves. And it's not just a hope for a new beginning, It's a sure promise of God. Surely, He says, I will cause breath to enter you, And you shall live.

It's a promise of God, And you shall make that promise. One final question. Why do I prefer that the eighth day Be called a sacred assembly? For two reasons. Number one, because it shows that Every life is sacred to God. And that every life has meaning and purpose to God. And number two, because a sacred assembly Is the meaning of the eighth day.

You can overlook that, But that is what the meaning of the eighth day is. When the rest of the dead are brought back to life again After the millennial reign of Christ, A sacred assembly of millions and billions of people Will be resurrected to stand before God. It's going to be a sacred assembly of all peoples, All those lives are sacred to God. A great sacred assembly. But they're going to be resurrected to stand before God for what purpose? To learn the truth, And to have the opportunity to learn the purpose for which They were given the gift of life by God.

Ezekiel 37 10 says, It will be an exceedingly great army, All of whom will then be given the hope for a new beginning. In conclusion quickly, that then is what The fall, feast, and holy days will mean For all of us and for the entire world. And how they will offer hope for a new beginning To all of mankind.