Chag sameach Sukkot and Shabbat Shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah! Welcome everybody, at home and abroad, to this international assembly on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths or Shelters) which in Hebrew is known as Sukkot (2 Chr.8:13), the final and greatest feast of the ancient Israelite agricultural year and the last of the three pilgrim festivals [1]. Thousands of years ago this festival would have drawn Israelites from all over the land to Jerusalem. Today it draws throngs of Messianic Israelites to thousands of centres all over the world.

So what are we doing here today? Let's go back in time. Anciently Sukkot celebrated the harvest of the grapes and olives and the end of the harvest season which had begun six months previously in the spring with the celebration of the barley harvest at Yom haBikkurim (Day of Firstfruits). That was followed by the summer wheat harvest at Shavu'ot (Weeks, 'Pentecost'). Sukkot was the festival with the most names for it is also known as the Festival of Ingathering (Ex.23:16; 34:22) and the Feast of Yahweh (Lev.23:39,41). You'll also find it abbrevaited in the Scriptures as the "appointed feast" (Lam.2:6-7; Hos.12:9) or simply "the feast" (1 Ki.8:2,65; 12:32) to give you some idea of the esteem in which it was held. Were I to give it a name, I think I would probably call it the 'feast of feasts' because it's very much the climax and culmination of all the others. All the others flow into it and its seven days are, in a sense, represented by the ones that came before it. It is a symbolic recapitulation of sorts leading to a grand finale.

The goals, aspirations and hopes of all believers in the Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Lord Jesus Christ) are represented by this harvest festival (Dt.16:13; Lve.23:39). It is the 'great harvest of souls' at the end of 6,000 years of tortuous history, the festival of the saved, the grand marriage feast of the Bridegroom, Yah'shua (Jesus) for His Bride, the children of the first resurrection.

We celebrate Sukkot between the 15th and 21st days of the 7th month (remember 7 is the number of completion and spiritual perfection), the beginning of the month being Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets or Shouting, and the 10th day of the month being Yom haKippurim, the Day of Atonements, which we observed 5 days ago. And for the 8th day, Yahweh has given us a concluding moed, Shemini Atseret or the Last Great Day, representing the first day of the 1,000 Year Millennium or rule of our Messiah which, like the first day - today - is a special sabbath.

This eight-day period is a time of celebration - a celebration of the harvest safely gathered in, assuring us that all will be well during the long winter months when we cannot grow anything - and unlike the austere and somber Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonements), it is supposed to be characterised by rest, rejoicing (Lev.23:39-40) and feasting (Dt.14:22-26). This is, in every way, a happy time. Indeed, Yahweh demands that we are happy by rejoicing in Him! For if we reflect back on all He has done for us this path six months, we will discover that He has provided for us, body and soul. He has not neglected us.

So important are the festivals that we are commanded to save up for all of them and for that reason Yahweh commanded that around a third of the annual tithe was to be set aside and saved up to finance travel, food and accommodation. That is a statute in Messianic Israel which comes as a surprise to so many Christians when they learn just what the true Law of Tithing in the Scriptures is.

The tenth was never intended to be exclusively for the ministry, as it is today in those churches that tithe their members. A third of the tenth was for festivals such as these (the Passover Season and Tabernacles being the most expensive since they required saving for 15 days in all), a third of the tenth was for taking care of the poor, and a third of the tenth was for the ministry - in those days the Levitical cohenim (priests). Therefore those churches today that demand a whole tenth from their members for the ministry are actually robbing Yahweh, depriving the poor, and preventing believers from fulfilling the mitzvah (commandment) to attend and finance these festivals. The fact that a third of the annual tithe is to be dedicated to them shows how important they are to Yahweh.

Sukkot (Tabernacles) is further distinguished from the other festivals of Messianic Israel because at this time we are commanded to construct temporary shelters called 'tabernacles', 'booths', or sukkot in which to eat and sleep during the feast (Neh.8:14.17). This is to remind us of Yahweh's protection during the wilderness wanderings of our ancestors in Sinai (Lev.23:42-44). Various traditions have arisen within Judaism over the centuries and you will find Jews living in constructed shelters in their gardens made with special types of branches. They're often attached to an outer wall of their house or (in countries where houses are flat-topped) on the roof of their house. Up here in the north countries, where it is too cold to be outdoors in such flimsy and uninsulated shelters, we build ours indoors. In this assembly room we have a large decorated tent over the worshippers. Our children, when they were younger, would put up small tents in their rooms and sleep in those, and used to enjoy themselves camping indoors!

Obviously the form of the moed (appointment) has changed in the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, the cohenim (priests) offered special sacrifices, including a unique one of a descending number of bulls each day, beginning with 13 the first day and concluding with 7 the final day, a total of 71 (Num.29:13-39). We talked about the mystery of this sacrifice back in 2010 which may interest those of you who are new to this observance [2]. In Hebrew Gematria 71 is 7+1=8, 8 being the number of resurrection, Tah'shua (Jesus) being raised on the symbolic '8th' day.

Every 7th year during Sukkot the entire Torah (Law) was to be read out aloud to the people (Dt.31:10-11) because people didn't own their own Bibles back in those days and it was necessary that people have a complete overview of the Davar Elohim (Word of God). Using today's divisions, that's 179 chapters or about 22 chapters a day! And many people had memorised all five books. Traditions vary but you'll find most messianic congregations studying the Torah in portions over one or more years since these Five Books of Moses are the foundation of the whole Bible. As everyone these days owns there own Bible, I don't think there are many who today read the entire Penetateuch at Sukkot on the seventh or sabbatical year.

What else do we do today and for the next week? Obviously there are no animal sacrifices anymore and never will be again, so aside from the ritual of blowing the shofar and building sukkot or shelters, our assemblies at this time of the year consist mostly of worship, instruction and preaching on the two sabbaths and having a good time of fellowship, relaxation and feasting! There is no fixed pattern so you'll find lots of variation between families and congregations. I believe some may even go camping together in warmer climates.

As you know over the years we have taken the opportunity to combine Sukkot with our Annual General Conferences and at one time this was the main time of gathering for Messianic Evangelicals here in Sweden and around the world. Owing to illness, getting older, economic difficulties, and a lack of helpers because everyone is so spread out and it's prohibitively expensive for most to travel, we have not been able to host one here for a while now, though Yahweh willing, this will change. In the meantime we thank Him that we can fellowship together viâ Internet.

It comes as no surprise to discover that a lot of additions have been made to this festival over the centuries, starting with the Judahites when arrived back from Exile in Babylon. None of these are mandated in the Scriptures. It's an unfortunate tendency of fallen man that he thinks he can improve on what Yahweh has commanded. These include the lighting of giant menorahs in the temple courtyard, and all-night dancing to flutes as certain of the elders carried flaming torches. There were dawn processions ending with libations of water drawn from the Pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher, and libations of wine at the bronze altar in the temple complex, prayers for rain and resurrection of the dead. The cohenim (priests) marched around the altar reciting Psalm 118:25, "O Yahweh, save us; O Yahweh, grant us success" while the people carried fruit and waved palm branches. It was, by all accounts, very dramatic and spectacular. It was a great show and usually made a deep impression on locals and visitors alike, because ritual has that effect.

There are some less happy incidents historically that could be mentioned. When the Cohen Gadol (High Priest) Alexander Jannaeus [3] refused to offer these libations properly, according to these new customs of the rabbis who had been impressed by the pomp and circumstance of their pagan captors in Babylon, troops were called in to quell the ensuing riot that left 6,000 people dead [4]. And sadly, this kind of fleshy protectionism can release wild and violent passions. That is why the ordinances of the Most High are few and simple. We are interested in the substance behind ordinances, what they represent, so that we can make spiritual connections. The purpose of the ordinances of Yahweh is not to please the flesh ir entertain the senses.

Unfortunately the arousal fiery tempers is not untypical when people feel their man-made traditions are threatened. Zeal for false tradition is what made Paul such a murderous fanatic before his own conversion (Gal.1:14). Having witnessed the ire of fellow Christians when we abandoned Christmas and other paganised traditions back in the 1980's, and a similar backlash from fellow Messianics in the late 1990's and 2000's when we abandoned all the non-biblical Jewish traditions like the rabbinical calendar and sabbath, I can testify of just what false tradition can do to otherwise rational and sober-minded people. Christians are very protective of their man-made traditions like Christimas and Easter, as are Jews of Hanukkah and Purim, and they will find all sorts of fleshy excuses to continue in them. In recent times we have experienced the fury of those against our refusal to endorse the fanatical doctrines of Calvinism or the cruel pagan doctrines of eternal torment or annihilationism. Yet when genuine truths are rejected by born-again believers, we should sorrow rather than rail and rage, sentencing people to destruction, or giving them the cold shoulder because they don't understand or agree. Patience, long-suffering and healthy relationships are the usual casualties when false doctrines and practices are zealously defended. There are right and wrong ways to handle differences of opinion while we learn to come to a unity of the emunah (faith).

In the course of time Sukkot came to be tied to Judean hopes for a Davidic messiah and national independence. Sadly, the qodesh (holy, set-apart) festivals of Yahweh also came to be politicised and fatally blended with nationalism and revolutionary fervour. You will remember how in New Testament times Jerusalem became a hotbed of unrest during Pesach (Passover) which was a national liberation festival from Egyptian servitude, so the Romans could always count on revolutionary activity at that time.

The two big revolutionary festivals of Judaism today, which are used to legitimise revenge and killing, are the man-made festivals of Hanukkah and Purim. That's one of the reasons Messianic Evangelicals don't celebrate them. Tragically, one of the most political festivals of all in Judaism was originally a modified Sukkot that turned into the rabbinical feast of Hanukkah, an 8-day observance like Sukkot and Shimini Atsereth, and together with that came a mutilated symbol in the form of a 9-armed menorah. Together with Purim, Hanukkah is one of the unauthorised feasts followed by Jews and most Messianic Jews. Initially a late Sukkot, it became modified into a festival in remembrance of the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple following its reconsecration after the defeat of the Greeks who had defiled it, to which were added a legend or two about miraculous oil. The false festival, birthed in blood-letting, became the means of propping up a corrupt priesthood.

The post-exilic Judahites were not the first to change this Feast of Yahweh, mind you. The Enemy always seeks to change Yahweh's "times and seasons" (Dan.2:21) and to abolish them altogether, if he can. That's why there are calendar controversies in the messianic movement as there used to be in orthodoxy at one time between two man-made calendars, the Julian and the Gregorian. Man just can't help himself when it comes to tinkering with times and seasons. Sometimes people forget that in recent times the European Union modified the Gregorian Calendar making Monday the first day of the week. I guarantee they will change it again and the churches and synagogues will adjust to 'keep up' with the world just as they have always done in the past.

When Jeroboam broke away from Judah and established an independent Kingdom of Israel consisting of the 10 tribes in the northern part of the country, he decided to make changes for political reasons too, to discourage his people from going down to Judah during the moedim (appointments) and so weaken his spiritual hold over his new subjects. So he changed the moed (appointment) of Sukkot from the 7th to the 8th month and, even worse, he ordered his people to make sacrifices to golden calves, as their forefathers had done in the wilderness in Moses' day (1 Ki.12:31-33). We all know what happened to the Northertn Kingdom of Israel just as we know what is going to happen to the once Christian nations of the West. Judgment is round the corner.

The Feast of Tabernacles - or at least its rabbi-modfied form - is only mentioned once in the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament). It's in the Gospel of John (Jn.7:2), at the conclusion of the season at Shemini Atseret. In brief, and in spite of the corruptions, Yah'shua (Jesus) still used all the spectacular goings-on, and especially the dawn libation of water, as an illustration of the fact that He is the mayim chayim or living waters to which we are called:

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of mayim chayim (living water) will flow from within him" (John 7:37-39, NIV).

Paul did the same when he preached to the Greek pagans in Athens. He used what was round him for illustrative purposes, in that case, a statue to an "unknown god" (Ac.17:23). He also cited one of their pagan poets (Ac.17:28). In Yah'shua's (Jesus') day multiple calendars were in operation, those of the Sadducees, Pharisees and Essenes, three of the main sects of Judaism at that time. They used multiple calendars just as Messianics and Christians do today. (In this matter the Sadducees were right and had national charge of date-setting in Judea, Samaria and Galillee). Indeed a sister tried to bait me the other day by asking me which Sabbath Yah'shua (Jesus) followed! The answer is He followed the correct one but this would not have stopped Him going to other sabbath assemblies based on different calendars in order to witness. It's what He did at Shemini Atseret, in spite of the man-made additions. He did the same at Hanukkah or the Feast of Dedication as it was known (Jn.10:22), in spite of it being semi-pagan and unauthorised in the Torah. Were He here today He would go to Christmas and Easter gatherings, not to worship and participate, but to witness, using their trappings as illustrations.

So here we are, we have been given a week to celebrate, even in the midst of trials and and various difficulties, for if we have the Ruach (Spirit) then we have His shalom (peace) and simcha (joy). And we do have trials and difficulties, every one of us. Without denying them, we are commanded to celebrate. So may the Ruach haShibi'i, the Seventh Ruach (Spirit) belonging to Sukkot, be with us abundantly over the next eight days. I pray this will be a blessed time of rejoicing, fellowship and communion, in Yah'shua's (Jesus') our Messiah. Amen.

Endnotes