How many of you are interested in knowing how to observe the Fall Feast Days? I certainly am. It is an awesome thing. It is an awesome time of year, and we praise Yahweh for this time of year.

This is what we call the “Holy Day Season.” Most of the world has a “holiday season.” Actually, the word “holiday” comes from the two words “holy” and “day.”

But actually in that “holiday season” there are no Holy Days on Yahweh’s calendar except the regular Sabbath, and the real Holy Day Season in the Scriptures is the month of September/October. That time of year. The seventh month of His calendar.

So if you are interested in keeping His Days, that is the point of this video. We are going to show you exactly how to observe the Fall Feast Days, and we are delighted to be able to do that. They are an incredible blessing, an indescribable blessing. It’s amazing the depth that these festivals have for us.

And we are going to go into a little bit about the spiritual implications and the things that are written in the scriptures about these days, but mainly we are going to focus on: “Ok, how do we do this?” A lot of people think, “Maybe this is complicated. Maybe it’s difficult.”

No, it is extremely easy. It is not spooky or weird or bizarre. It is not you walk ten steps backwards, you look in the sky, you wave, you do so many things. No, it is very real, very relevant. It has to do with worship. It has to do with remembering the things that Yahweh has done and will do in the future.

And I get excited this time of year because of the spiritual applications. It is a yearly reminder of so many things. And so, we are going to go in detail about how these festivals are actually to be observed.

Now if you have not learned how to keep Yahweh’s calendar, I do have some videos on that on the archives page, at the very top of EliYah.com. You click that link. I do have some information on how and where to observe Yahweh’s calendar.

This video is not going to give you exact dates. For that, you need to go to: eliyah.com/calendar.html. And also: eliyah.com/printedcalendar.html. Both are linked from the front page and you can get the dates for this particular year that you are watching this video.

But these festivals are a great time, especially if you are with other believers. Our children look forward to it every year. They are always asking, “When is the Feast going to start?” It is exciting. It is an awesome thing for children.

Actually, one of the reasons why Yahweh commanded it is because of the children, to pass these things on to our children, the wonderful works of Yahweh. And they are amazing. They are absolutely amazing. So I am excited to share.

We have in traditional Christianity a lot of focus on the birth of Messiah and that is their decision if they want to do that. But the Scriptures themselves don’t really place much emphasis on His birth. They put emphasis on other things like the time He died for our sins.

The day He rose, of course, is the Day of Firstfruits in Scripture. The time when the Holy Spirit was given, that is Pentecost. And then we have the one coming up– the Feast of Trumpets. It is the first festival of the seventh month on His calendar and it is pretty awesome.

Numbers 29:1 – `And in the seventh month, on the first [day] of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets.

It is just simply a day of blowing the trumpets. It is that simple. And He also says to do no “customary work.” This is what this day is all about: Blowing trumpets and rest on that day. Blow your shofars!

As you can see behind me, I have a shofar that we actually have used here on the broadcast and we will use on our Feast of Trumpets broadcast. But these are the things He tells us to do and we are going to go into exactly what this all means.

The other scripture here is Leviticus 23:24:

Leviticus 23:24 – Speak to the children of Israel, saying: `In the seventh month, on the first [day] of the month, you shall have a sabbath-[rest], a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.

So the “holy convocation,” meaning a “holy reading.” A time to gather and go over what these things are all about. And so, we love these Feasts!

So what does this mean, this “sabbath-rest” and “a memorial blowing of trumpets”? What is this all about?

The word for rest [Editor correction “work”] is the Hebrew word “abodah,” which means “labor” and “service.” This is the kind of labor of servants or slaves or service.

Hebrew Lexicon: 05656 ‘abodah {ab-o-daw’} or ‘abowdah {ab-o-daw’} Meaning 1) labour, service 1a) labour, work 1b) labour (of servant or slave) 1c) labour, service (of captives or subjects) 1d) service (of Elohim).

Origin: from 05647; TWOT – 1553c; n f Usage: AV – service 96, servile 12, work 10, bondage 8, act 2, serve 2, servitude 2, tillage 2, effect 1, labour 1, misc 5; 141.

It is translated service 96 times, servile 12 times. This is referring to servile work. And this is a little bit different than the kind of work we are told to rest from on the regular Sabbath. It is just a little bit different, but nonetheless, it is a day of rest, and it is a day in which we are called to relax and blow the trumpets.

And, of course, we believe this is a Feast that is commemorating the Messiah’s return at the last trump. And so, that is a day in which we are going to rest.

And so, the Hebrew word for sabbath-rest [EDITOR CORRECTION “Servile work”] We have “customary work” (“abodah melakah”). “Melakah” means to describe work of any kind, where “abodah” narrows down the type of work that is actually forbidden.

And the same kind of Hebrew verbiage is used here to describe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It says:

Leviticus 23:6 – `And on the fifteenth day of the same month [is] the Feast of Unleavened Bread to YAHWEH; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

7 – `On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.

Again, “customary work” (“abodah melakah”). And on this particular festival, this kind of work is forbidden, and yet we see, actually, in Exodus 12:16, it says:

Exodus 12:16 – `On the first day [there shall be] a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but [that] which everyone must eat — that only may be prepared by you.

It is describing the same Feast of Unleavened Bread. He says, “No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat– that only may be prepared by you.”

And so, this particular Feast, I do believe what we are seeing here is permission to do the kind of work necessary for us to prepare and cook food, and so on, and there is an exception made here.

We see again it is “melakah” in Hebrew, and He gave specifics on what He is talking about when He said no “melakah” work. This is the first time He introduced the festivals in which “melakah” work was forbidden.

This is particularly where He makes a distinction. He says, “No work shall be done on them except that which everyone must eat.” On the Sabbath you wouldn’t normally be able to cook your meals and so on, but on the Feasts Days–because they are Feast Days– we are permitted to go ahead and cook our meals. And so, we do that.

On the festival days we are allowed to be in the kitchen and we are allowed to make a feast and cook food and have a good time and enjoy the festival and gather and cook up the things that Yahweh has made for us this year.

Do you ever think about that? We are actually giving thanks to Yahweh for the things He has made for us. There is a harvest. And the Feast of Trumpets represents the spiritual harvest, also, the gathering together of Yahweh’s people for the purposes of going forth to war and ruling over the earth with Yahushua for a thousand years.

Numbers 29:1 – `And in the seventh month, on the first [day] of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets.

This (“holy convocation”) is in Hebrew “mikra kodesh.” “Holy” is “kodesh.” And then “convocation” is “mikra.” So He mentions not to do any “melakah” or customary work. But what is this “holy convocation”? What does that actually mean?

Well, the word “mikra” is also found in Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 8, where it says:

Nehemiah 8:8 – So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of Elohim; and they gave the sense, and helped [them] to understand the reading.

The “reading.” The “mikra.” “Mikra” is actually a form of the word “qara,” which means “to call out.” And so, it is a “reading out,” in this case, of the Scriptures. And we want to “read out” the Scriptures on this day. That is part of the thing we need to be doing. A holy “reading out” of Scripture or a holy “calling.”

You might suggest also “calling” in the sense of “calling people together.” And I think that is why they call it a convocation or, at least, they translated it convocation. I think that is probably why they did so.

And so, they helped them to understand the reading…

Nehemiah 8:9 – And Nehemiah, who [was] the governor, Ezra the priest [and] scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, This day [is] holy to YAHWEH your Elohim; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

And so, it is also, since it is a Holy Day, not a day for mourning and weeping. It is a day for rejoicing. And he made that point to the people there in the book of Nehemiah.

This is actually during a Feast, and he is reading from the Scriptures on the Day of Trumpets here and gave them the sense, helped them to understand the “mikra,” the reading. And so, they helped them to understand that this is what the Word of Elohim says.

And so, we do that. We have a Feast of Trumpets meeting. We will be having that, and we will be gathering together here on the broadcast. I encourage you to gather locally if you can, but if you can’t, you can join us here for the broadcast on the night where the Feast of Trumpets begins.

We are going to get some scripture read. And all the scriptures of the seventh month, we are going to get them read. And then we are going to also take your New Moon reports and see if anybody spotted the New Moon in your particular location or close to it.

So this is all a purpose. And so, you might say words of praise would be expected on the Feast of Trumpets. That is a part of what Yahweh expects for that Feast. And so, we would do that– to gather, hear the Word of Yahweh, to give praise and to blow the shofars.

Now, of course, not everybody had King James Bibles in those days, right? So they had to gather to hear the Word. So, by implication, I think, perhaps, a gathering would be expected. And so, that is why we are looking here, where it says “holy convocation.”

Leviticus 23:2 – Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: `The feasts of YAHWEH, which you shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, these [are] My feasts.

They are His Feasts.

Leviticus 23:3 – `Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day [is] a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work [on it]; it [is] the Sabbath of YAHWEH in all your dwellings.

Interestingly, the Sabbath is called an Appointed Time as well.

Then the next Feast, verse 27…

Leviticus 23:27 – Also the tenth [day] of this seventh month [shall be] the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to YAHWEH.

Now some people think, “Well, what is this offering made by fire? We don’t do animal sacrifices anymore. We don’t do those things. So why is that there and why do we have to do that and all this stuff?”

Well, in everything, of course, that Yahweh says to do, there are going to be some things, in this case, we wouldn’t be able to do.

Now Paul and the apostles would have been able to do these things fairly easily, but we know, ultimately, Yahushua is the One who is our final offering and these other things are all just pictures of what He has done for us.

And so, they are only parables. And since, obviously, there is no temple, there is no priesthood, there is none of these things– no. It is like Yahweh is in heaven and He is really going to come down hard on you for not doing something because you can’t. Of course, not. Yahweh in heaven is going, “Do your best. Just do your best.”

In the same way, if I told my son, “Go feed the chickens and the ducks,” and there were no ducks because the ducks flew out of the barn, and he went up there and he saw there were chickens but there were no ducks, and he comes back, and says, “Sorry, Dad, I couldn’t fulfill your commandment.”

“Why not?”

“There were no ducks.”

“Well, did you feed the chickens?”

“No, because I couldn’t fulfill your complete command, which was feed chickens and ducks.”

“But, Son, couldn’t you have done what you were able to do?”

And that is how I see Yahweh in heaven looking at us, and saying, “Yeah, I said do this, and I also said do that. Well, just because you can’t do the other doesn’t mean you can’t do what you are able to do.”

We should all do what we are able to do in every respect. For instance, Yahweh wants us to be baptized in Yahushua’s name. If someone is on their deathbed, and they can’t exactly get up out of their deathbed and go get baptized, is Yahweh in heaven saying, “Well, sorry. You have not been baptized. I am going to hold that against you”?

No, because you are unable to get baptized there on your deathbed. I mean, you are about ready to draw your last breath. You know, the thief that was hanging on the tree, he couldn’t exactly get down off of there and go get baptized.

And so, we just do what we are able to do. If we are unable to do it, then we are unable to do it. But if we are able to do it, we should do it.

And so, Yom Teruah (the Feast of Trumpets), some people say, “Well, I don’t have a shofar. I don’t have anything to blow.” Well, come to our Festival of Tabernacles and we will give you one. We will help you make one. Sand it down. Drill the mouthpiece. Take home a shofar!

If you can’t do that, that’s okay. The word “teruah” in the Hebrew not only means a trumpet blast, but it also has to do with shouting. For instance, when the children of Israel surrounded the walls of Jericho seven times, the seventh time they went around it, He said: “Shout!”

Well, that word in Hebrew is “teruah,” the same word that is translated “trumpet.” So the “teruah” is a shouting or a shofar blast. So make sure you shout “HalleluYah!” at least once. Or maybe you should do it more than once on the Feast of Trumpets because this is all a picture of the Messiah’s return and what He is going to do for us.

And it is awesome! It is an awesome festival. And so, we meditate on that day the things that Yahushua is going to do, His promises.

And so, this is a festival that has yet to meet its full fulfillment. We have not yet seen the Messiah come back. You better not say He has… “As the lightening shines from the east to the west,” right?

So He has not yet come back, but He will. And so, this is a festival that is awaiting its fulfillment.

The Spring Feasts, yes– Yahushua is pictured in the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Day of Firstfruits, Pentecost. Those are all things pointing to what Messiah has done for us. But these Fall festivals are all future, primarily, of what He is going to do.

First, He is going to come back at the last trump, right? The shout of an archangel. You see, it is all interconnected. And so, this is a time we are going to meditate on these things and glorify Him and look upward, for our redemption draws nigh, right?

Look at the signs. Be watchful. That is what this Yom Teruah is all about. And Yom Teruah is an important time when we have to give thanks to Yahweh for when His Messiah is going to come and rule and reign on the earth for a thousand years (in Revelation chapter 20).

So we shout! That is what we are going to do when we see Him. We are going to be shouting “HalleluYah!” I can guarantee you that. And we are going to give praise. So if you can just envision in your heart the joy. It says, in Zephaniah 3:17, He is actually going to sing over us. He is going to quiet us with His love.

And He is going to rejoice over us in the same way we are going to rejoice. And so, you get your children together. You rejoice before Him. You praise Him. Get your family into it.

Just focus on the return of Yahushua Ha Mashiach and what that is– a remembrance, a memorial of something that took place in the past when the trumpets sounded, when the walls of Jericho fell, when the kingdoms of that particular age became the kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Yahweh.

And, likewise, when that last trumpet sounds the walls are going to come down. All the walls of this world are going to come down and the kingdoms of this world are going to become the Kingdoms of Yahweh and His Messiah. It is going to happen. It is just a matter of time. Praise Yahweh for that!

So moving forward, again, here. The Day of Atonement. The tenth day of the seventh month…

Leviticus 23:27 – Also the tenth [day] of this seventh month [shall be] the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to YAHWEH.

So ten days after Yom Teruah we have the Day of Atonement. And this Day of Atonement, you might look, and you say, “Well, wait a minute. Hasn’t Messiah fulfilled all that? He entered the Holy of Holies with His own blood and everything.”

Before we jump to conclusions on that, let’s go ahead and study it. It is a day of atonement. On this tenth day after the time of the Feast commemorating the Messiah’s return is this Day of Atonement.

And, actually, in the Hebrew it is “Day of Atonements,” in a technical sense. It is “Yom Kippurim.” And so, there really should be an “s” on the end of this because there are multiple atonements that are done on this particular day.

And so, anther holy convocation. A time to gather and a time to afflict our souls. And also, verse 28:

Leviticus 23:28 – And you shall do no work on that same day, for it [is] the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before YAHWEH your Elohim.

29 – For any person who is not afflicted [in soul] on that same day shall be cut off from his people.

30 – And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.

That is a personal thing He said He is going to do: “That person I will destroy from among his people.”

Now they, obviously, having been given the Law directly, were doubly accountable, because they are all right there, all these signs, all these wonders, all these amazing things happening. And so, He says He will personally destroy the one who did any work on that same day. And that is how important this is to Him.

Maybe it is not so important to most people of this world, but it is very important to Him. And so, since it is important to Him, it ought to be important to us.

What does this mean though? He never says anything about “melakah” or anything. He just says “no work.” No work whatsoever. And so, it is different. And so, you do not cook on this day. You can’t cook on this day because you can’t eat.

The word “affliction of soul” means “to fast.” It is serious. He says anyone who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from among his people.

And so, it is a day He has made holy. It is a serious day. It is a somber day. It is a time we are going to afflict our souls. A day of repentance. A day of confession of the corporate sins of the body of Messiah.

Leviticus 23:31 – You shall do no manner of work; [it shall be] a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

“Throughout your generations.” When is it going to end? When do the generations end? It doesn’t.

Leviticus 23:32 – It [shall be] to you a sabbath of [solemn] rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth [day] of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.

So it is the ninth day of the month and you are sitting in your house. When the sun goes down, that begins the tenth day, the Day of Atonement.

I think He is being specific here because the people come in from the fields in the evening, sit down to eat. This time He says you are not going to do that. The ninth day of the month, the sun goes down. You are not going to eat that night because that begins the tenth day of the month, the Day of Atonement.

So it is a statute forever. And that is what He says. And so, He specifies here for us and clarifies for us when a day actually begins, and He says to afflict our souls.

Now where in Scripture does it say afflicting your soul means fasting? Take a look here:

Isaiah 58:5 – Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? [Is it] to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to YAHWEH?

Here Yahweh is criticizing Israel for fasting and yet not taking care of the poor. So we have a connection here between fasting and a day for a man to afflict his soul. There is a connection between the two. And so, for this reason, we understand the affliction of soul to be in reference to fasting.

Isaiah 58:6 – [Is] this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?

So what He is saying here is, apparently the people in Isaiah 58 were not loosing the bonds of wickedness or undoing heavy burdens, and they were not taking care of the ones who were oppressed.

And so, for us to make a personal sacrifice, like fasting– or other scriptures we see, you raising up your hands and you making prayers (those are considered spiritual offerings)– anything that involves self-sacrifice like this…

He says, “What good is it if you are not taking care of the poor and the ones who are oppressed and are not holding yourselves accountable for the wickedness of the land you live in and doing things to put an end to it?” That is His criticism.

So we see fasting is clearly connected to affliction of the soul. And so, it is something we definitely need to be doing on the Day of Atonement.

Isaiah 58:7 – [Is it] not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 – Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of YAHWEH shall be your rear guard.

So if we take care of the poor. And the children of Israel, as they exited the land of Egypt, there were the stragglers in the very back who were the weak and the feeble, and so on, and Yahweh says, “Take care of them.” And then He will be their rear guard. He will watch out for the afflicted.

So this is part of how you keep the Day of Atonement believe it or not. It has to do with taking care of those who are afflicted, because if you sit here and you fast, and yet you don’t walk in righteousness while you fast, then it is no good. It doesn’t mean anything to Him.

And the same is true for those who, you know, maybe they are taking some time to give praise to Yahweh in song or in prayer and yet they are walking in wickedness. None of those things are going to mean much to Yahweh. What He wants is righteousness and then we offer our prayers. And then we fast and we do all these self-sacrificing things.

And when we do that, when we do both– we fast and we also take care of those who are at a disadvantage– when we do both, then we are blessed. And then He will accept our offerings of prayer and praise and self-sacrificed things like fasting. And so, we have to do both.

Isaiah 58:9 – Then you shall call, and YAHWEH will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, `Here I [am].’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

A lot of finger pointing, putting people down.

Isaiah 58:10 – [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 noonday.

So, once again, hungry and afflicted soul are synonymous with fasting, and so on.

Now there are some people that say, “Well, you know, I have diabetes and I have to have my insulin.” Other people have medical conditions that make it difficult for them to do a full fast. The only thing I can tell you is do the best you can. If your soul has been afflicted, that is what He is really after.

But you need to do the best you can. He doesn’t want you to go to the hospital and make everybody work trying to save your life.

But if you don’t have a medical condition… I know we are used to living in the lap of luxury here in the United States especially. There is every taste and texture of food you could possibly imagine, and Yahweh is saying, “Hey, just take one day and fast.”

Didn’t Yahushua say when the Bridegroom is taken from them they will fast often? Well, here is your opportunity to make sure you do that at least once a year. That is part of what we need to be doing as part of our walk with Yahweh, engaging in fasting.

Now we see affliction of soul has to do with repentance. He is saying repent when you fast. If you have not been walking uprightly, then you need to repent. And that is important.

Now the Day of Atonement is a time when the priest would enter the Holy of Holies. He would also confess the Nation of Israel’s sins over the goat and then release the goat into the wilderness.

And so, in the same way, because I identify myself, and we all should identify ourselves, as the seed of Abraham (according to Gal. 3:29 and Eph. 2), we have now been grafted in, we are part of Israel now, we are joined to Israel– that it is a good idea on this Day of Atonement to take some time and confess the sins of the body of Messiah corporately.

And there are things and areas where I see the body of Messiah needing some serious repentance. And because of that, it is a time we can gather together. And every year we have a conference call where we gather together (and you can be looking for that on the website) and we go before Yahweh together on the conference call.

And we go over the different things that were the sins that we see in the body of the Messiah. And we actually will pray together. We will do a broadcast that night and we will pray together as Yahweh’s people. It will be basically a prayer meeting. And we will confess our sins as the body of Messiah. I find it to be quite a beautiful time.

And we confess our sins corporately, seeking Yahweh’s mercy. It is not like we are unforgiven sinners and we are going to go to hell and all this stuff. But it is a time where we pay extra close attention to the areas of the body of Messiah that need attention.

And we confess them before Yahweh, and we ask Yahweh to help so that we might be a greater light to this world and a better example of Yahushua the Messiah.

Now for us to confess the sins of our people, the body of Messiah, corporately is not some idea foreign to Scripture. In Daniel chapter 9, verse 20, it says:

Daniel 9:20 – Now while I [was] speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before YAHWEH my Elohim for the holy mountain of my Elohim,

Both his sin and the sin of Israel. So he has this vision. He is merely confessing not only his own sin, but also the sin of Israel as a whole. In a sense, we are our brother’s keeper. We are all connected as a body of Messiah. So we have scriptural precedence that we ought to be practicing as Yahweh’s people.

And we are going to approach Yahweh that night. We have a High Priest firmly seated in the heavenly places. He doesn’t have to enter with the blood of a bull or the blood of a goat. As we know, He entered that heavenly Holy Place with His own blood, and He is currently, right now, in that Throne Room making intercession for us as Yahweh’s people.

It says in Psalm 110, verse 1:

David’s Master is Yahushua.

Psalms 110:2 – YAHWEH shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!

3 – Your people [shall be] volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth.

Psalms 110:4 – YAHWEH has sworn And will not relent, You [are] a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.

5 – YAHWEH [is] at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.

6 – He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill [the places] with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries.

So this is, obviously, a future event when He judges among the nations and executes the leaders of various nations who are walking in wickedness. That is all part of it.

But also, He is in this throne room. He is a ruling Priest, because it says: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies!” And, of course, He is a Priest, also. This is none other than Yahushua Ha Mashiach. That is who that is. We know that.

And so, He is in that throne room today waiting to come and execute the kings in this day of wrath. That is what He is waiting for right now. But, meanwhile, He is this Priest, and He is ruling and reigning from heaven. And we are called to function under His priesthood, under His rule, as the people of Yahweh.

Now He entered this throne room. We see in Hebrews chapter 9, verse 24:

Hebrews 9:24 – For Messiah has not entered the holy places made with hands, [which are] copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of Elohim for us;

25 – not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another —

26 – He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

And so, He has now entered this Holy Place in the heavenlies, and He entered with His own blood– not the blood of a goat, but with His own blood. And it is for that reason that we will be able to enter that Holy Place with Him and not defile the place.

The high priest would sprinkle blood on the different areas around the tabernacle, around the temple, including the ark itself.

And so, he would enter that Holy of Holies once a year. He would sprinkle that ark. He would sprinkle the area in front of the ark– all these different things to cleanse the Holy Place, to cleanse these things.

And so, if we were to enter the Holy Place right now in the heavenlies, we would defile it. But Yahushua the Messiah will dwell in us giving us access to the Holy Place, and that way we don’t defile it because He shed His blood for us.

Now, interestingly, Yahushua the Messiah is going to enter the physical temple on the earth. Yes, He is going to enter a physical temple on the earth in the future when He comes back. We see it in the book of Ezekiel.

He is going to reign from Jerusalem and the place where He is going to reign from is inside Yahweh’s temple. That is right– inside the temple of Yahweh.

In Ezekiel chapter 1, verse 3, look at these prophecies. It says:

Ezekiel 1:3 – the word of YAHWEH came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of YAHWEH was upon him there.

Pay close attention. He is by this River Chebar. And on down, in Ezekiel 1:26, it says…

Ezekiel 1:26 – And above the firmament over their heads [was] the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne [was] a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it.

He sees this vision. We don’t have time to read the whole thing, yet, but I have a full study on this in the book of Hebrews study. But he sees a man.

Ezekiel 1:27 – Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.

28 – Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so [was] the appearance of the brightness all around it. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of YAHWEH. So when I saw [it], I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. But yet, this is a man. This reminds me of what John experienced in Revelation chapter 1, when he saw Yahushua Himself.

And so, I want you to pay close attention that he is by the River Chebar. And he sees a man and this man is in the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh.

Now later on in Ezekiel chapter 43, verses 1 through 4, it says:

Ezekiel 43:1 – Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east.

Now the context of this scripture is he is seeing a future temple that has been built, and he is seeing different things going on. He measures the temple. He measures the area around the temple. And this is something he saw in the vision.

He says, “He brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east.” This is the gate that faces the Mount of Olives. We know that Yahushua is going to come down and He is going to split the Mount of Olives in two, right? And then what is going to happen? Well, watch:

Ezekiel 43:2 – And behold, the glory of the Elohim of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice [was] like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.

3 – [It was] like the appearance of the vision which I saw — like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions [were] like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.

What did he do? Again, he fell on his face. And notice what it says:

Ezekiel 43:4 – And the glory of YAHWEH came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east.

It entered the temple. This was the Messiah Himself entering this temple. We know that because He is the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. And so, He Himself will enter the physical Holy of Holies on the earth. And that is where He will reign from for a thousand years. We see this in Ezekiel.

And so, this part of the Day of Atonement, where He actually, physically enters a physical temple, has not yet met its fulfillment. Yes, He has entered the heavenly place, but the Day of Atonement is also commemorating a time when He will enter the earthly temple according to what I saw here in Ezekiel. And He will reign there for a thousand years.

And so, we have this Day of Trumpets heralding the Messiah’s return and the gathering of His people. And then we have the Day of Atonement which is commemorating, yes, He entered the heavenly Holy of Holies, but He is also going to enter (this has not yet happened) the earthly Holy of Holies.

Prophecy predicts it will happen. I believe it will happen. And that is why it says we reign with Him for a thousand years. And so, that is all part of it.

And we saw this rainbow-type of appearance. Look here in Revelation 4:2:

Revelation 4:2 – Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and [One] sat on the throne.

3 – And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and [there was] a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

This is all similar imagery here that we saw earlier. And so, we can praise Yahweh for the fullness of the Day of Atonement? Yes!

Hebrews 4:14 – Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Yahushua the Son of Elohim, let us hold fast [our] confession.

15 – For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all [points] tempted as [we are, yet] without sin.

And so, we rejoice in that, but there is an earthly temple that He is going to reign from. And we can rejoice in that for our Day of Atonement as well.

So it is a time where Yahushua the Messiah will enter a physical temple. We will be spiritual bodies at that point. We will probably have access to the heavenly, because Yahushua can be everywhere at once. “Wherever two or three are gathered,” He says, “I am there in their midst.”

So He has this ability to be omnipresent. And so, because of that, He can dwell in the temple on the earth and also dwell in the temple in heaven as well. He can be in both places at once, right?

But the culmination here, the Day of Atonement, He is going to be in the heavenly and the earthly. And I think in all likelihood, spiritually speaking, we will have access to both heaven and earth.

But this is a beautiful thing. It is an amazing thing. And it is a fantastic thing.

And, actually, it says in Revelation 5, verse 8:

Revelation 5:8 – Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Right now our prayers are going up and there are things going on in heaven. The prayers are like incense. I think Psalm 141 mentions that. And here is an example with things that John the Revelator saw, where actually golden bowls full of incense being our prayers.

And so, our prayers are going up, and we know Yahushua is in that throne room. We know He is seated at the right hand of Yahweh. He is the Lamb. We know the twenty-four elders were actually bowing down there at that place. And our prayers are right there. It is amazing. And so, a beautiful thing. A beautiful, beautiful thing.

We see the same thing in Revelation 8 and verse 3:

Revelation 8:3 – Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer [it] with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

So there are things going on in the heavenly places that are just amazing. When we pray, there are amazing things happening. There are wonderful things here that are happening when we pray. And so, our prayers really mean something. It is very important.

And so, we confess our sins before Yahweh. We lift our hands as an offering to Him. We do these things on the Day of Atonement. That is our offering to Him as our prayers. It is a day of rest.

By the way, here is the one in Psalm 141:

Psalms 141:2 – Let my prayer be set before You [as] incense, The lifting up of my hands [as] the evening sacrifice.

And we don’t just confess our own sins. We, also, according to Scripture, just like Yahweh said in Leviticus 26:40, He says:

Leviticus 26:40 – `[But] if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me,

41 – and [that] I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt —

42 – then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.

And it is this covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that caused and opened the door of a promise that the Messiah would come and die for our sins.

If you study the book of Galatians it is very clear this covenant with Jacob, with Isaac, with Abraham is a covenant that involves, you know, where Yahweh says, “Through your seed [He is talking about the Messiah] I will cause all nations of the earth to be blessed.”

So we confess our sins– this is a time of repentance– and the sins of our fathers, as it says here… “and the iniquity of our fathers.” Then, He says, “I will remember the land. I will forgive them. I will bring Yahushua to cover their sins.” And that is the beautiful part of confession.

Now some have suggested, “Well, the Day of Atonement is not really a day of fasting.” I mean, I see a clear connection– Isaiah 58: afflicting the soul, being hungry, fasting, the command to afflict our soul.

But there is another scripture here in the book of Acts chapter 27, verse 9. It says:

Acts 27:9 – Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them,

10 – saying, Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.

Now this Fast that it is talking about here is none other than the Day of Atonement. It is actually the Day of Atonement. And, in fact, they knew in ancient times that around the Mediterranean Sea sailing was very dangerous at that time because that is when the rains would come through and the storms would come through after the fall.

And the Day of Atonement was there. And so, Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, just kind of casually mentions, “Oh, the Fast is already over.” And so, sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over.

What Fast? The Day of Atonement. It would begin to be very dangerous to sail the waters around that time of year when the rains were going to be coming and the stormy season would be on the way, the winds would be shifting.

Of course, the earth is cooling down, the change in the weather patterns in Israel and the Mediterranean, and it is more dangerous to sail for that reason.

And so, Luke is writing this. He expected whoever is reading this to understand what the Fast was and when it was and the importance of it.

Now most people when they read this have no idea– “The Fast is already over? What is he talking about?”– because they don’t keep the Day of Atonement. But I want to keep the Day of Atonement. And so, when I look at this scripture and it says the Fast is already over, I understand it.

And so, on this Day of Atonement we fast. We don’t eat bread; we don’t drink water– 24 hours. It is a time for considering our ways. It is a time for recognizing the atonement we receive in Yahushua the Messiah who is seated at the right hand of Yahweh.

We don’t complain about the fasting. We don’t seek modern ways of trying to make it easier on us. It is a day to afflict our souls and we want to do just that.

Now Yahweh anointed Yahushua as both King and Priest. Before that the kings were of one line, but now they are coming together in the order of Melchizedek.

Now Melchizedek means “King of Righteousness.” Yahushua is the King of Righteousness because it is through Him Yahweh gave us righteousness so that we could be righteous. And so, that is important for us to remember these things and of course the future time still pointing ahead.

There are still things the Day of Atonement has not yet met its fulfillment– this future time when Yahushua Himself will come down, at the Feast of Trumpets, and He will enter the Holy of Holies on the earth and He will reign for one thousand years. Revelation chapter 20 speaks of these things in great detail.

And so, very easy to keep the Day of Atonement. It is not called a Feast… because we don’t eat.

Now the next observance we are going to talk about is the Feast of Tabernacles.

Leviticus 23:34 – Speak to the children of Israel, saying: `The fifteenth day of this seventh month [shall be] the Feast of Tabernacles [for] seven days to YAHWEH.

35 – `On the first day [there shall be] a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work [on it].

36 – `[For] seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to YAHWEH. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to YAHWEH. It [is] a sacred assembly, [and] you shall do no customary work [on it].

This offering made by fire to Yahweh was actually a commandment for the priests to do. It was not a commandment for the common people to do. The same thing for the other Feasts.

There is that word “melakah abodah” (customary work). So we are permitted to cook on this day. No problem. And the first day of the Feast will be a Holy Day with the exception of work being permitted on that day. And then the eighth day we have a Holy Day also.

So it is going to fall on the same day of the week, but it is just a week later. Because we have the first day, and then we have the eighth day.

And, actually, the Feast of Trumpets is going to fall on the same day of the week that we have the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles and the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles. They all fall on the same day of the week every year.

For instance, this year the third day of the week, commonly called Tuesday, will begin the Feast of Trumpets. The two days of Tabernacles will also fall on the day commonly called Tuesday as well. That is how it happens every year, because we have the first day, the fifteenth day, and then the twenty-second day.

And so, those are all falling on the same day of the week. Again, they start the night before, so what the world calls Monday night is when it is going to start. What the world calls Tuesday evening, that is when those days will end.

So continuing here in Leviticus 23…

Leviticus 23:37 – `These [are] the feasts of YAHWEH which you shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to YAHWEH, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day —

38 – `besides the Sabbaths of YAHWEH, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to YAHWEH.

Leviticus 23:39 – `Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of YAHWEH [for] seven days; on the first day [there shall be] a sabbath-[rest], and on the eighth day a sabbath-[rest].

This is a time of harvest.

Leviticus 23:40 – `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 YAHWEH your Elohim for seven days.

Now the Jews called these the four species. You take four species and you make your sukkah or your temporary shelter with these four species of plants. And I’m not against that. We don’t have those species here in the United States, but we do the best we can.

But a temporary shelter is what Yahweh is wanting. That is why it is called the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, or the Hebrew word for this is “Sukkot,” which means “booths” or “tabernacles.”

And the children of Israel would all go and gather together in the area of Jerusalem and set up these temporary structures. And they could go out in the wilderness and get some branches and things and make a rudimentary shelter for them to stay in during this Feast of Tabernacles.

Now do we need to do that? Do we need to go and find branches and things like that? Let’s take a look and continue to read here. It says:

Leviticus 23:41 – `You shall keep it as a feast to YAHWEH for seven days in the year. [It shall be] a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

42 – `You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths,

Sukkot.

Leviticus 23:43 – `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] YAHWEH your Elohim.’

And so, what about us? Do we have to make it out of these four species or can we sleep in tents?

My thinking on this is: The children of Israel, it says, dwelled in booths when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. So the point is to imitate what they did at that time. That is the whole point of everything, to replicate what they were doing in those days.

Now you have to think about the time they were living in. Not everybody could afford a tent. A tent was made out of goat hair, which is very interesting material because goat hair, when it is hot, the fibers in the tent would actually expand and let the heat out of the tent.

But when the rain would come, it would contract, and then the goat hair tents would be waterproof. And so, pretty neat technology Yahweh provided here.

But they are made out of goat hair, and they still do that, actually. The Bedouin shepherds still do that to this day. They make their tents out of goat hair.

But, anyway, they made these tents, and they are very expensive to make. I mean, not everybody in Israel could afford to lug this tent along with them down to Jerusalem. And so, I think this is the reason why He said just go out in the woods and get some raw materials and put a shelter together. But that is the point, to replicate what they were doing.

Now the children of Israel, not all of them were dwelling in shelters made out of tree branches. They actually did have tents that they were dwelling in.

But here is the Hebrew word for booths: 05521 cukkah {sook-kaw’} Meaning: 1) thicket, covert, booth 1a) thicket 1b) booth (rude or temporary shelter) Origin: from 05520; TWOT – 1492d; n f Usage: AV – tabernacle 12, booth 11, pavilion 5, cottage 1, covert 1, tents 1; 31.

SUKKOT = Booths.

The point is, basically, a temporary dwelling place, a temporary shelter. I think that is really the point of it, some kind of a booth or something to stay in. And so, we do it. Sukkot means “booths” or “tabernacles.”

And, actually, the children of Israel, when they were in the wilderness (since we are trying to replicate what they did), we find that they actually did– it says, in Numbers 11, we see– they went to their tents.

Numbers 11:10 – Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of YAHWEH was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased.

So since our point is to replicate what they were doing when they were in the wilderness, the point is, “Okay, yes, we can stay in a tent.”

Now I am not sure that campers and cabins, I don’t know if that would be, technically, a replica of what they were living in in the wilderness, especially with the conveniences and stuff. But I understand some people are new to this. You are taking a step. I understand it. Sometimes circumstances dictate our ability whether we can do this.

But, of course, if you are staying somewhere temporarily, some might say that is a temporary structure. But if you want to really complete the picture, I’m thinking probably a tent would be really what they were living in.

And there are some neat spiritual applications to this, which we are going to get into. But we see, though, that they did dwell in tents in those days. And the whole point of the festival, He is saying here: “You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths.”

And so, since we are doing this so that our generations may know that Yahweh made the children of Israel dwell in booths when He brought them out of the land of Egypt– that is the whole point of it– it seems to me that a tent would be the ideal thing.

If you come to our festival in Missouri, we have cabins, we have RVs, for rent. I myself, I stay in a tent at night. Although, last year circumstances were kind of strange and I did not get a chance to do that. I was extremely busy, among other things.

Personally, I use a camper for our kitchen, our bathroom, and stuff like that. But we stay in, typically every year, a tent outside at night. Anyway, that is the purpose.

Now some would say, “Well, I’m not a native Israelite, so I don’t need to dwell in a booth. That’s just for them to remember what their forefathers did when they were in a temporary structure and try to remember what their forefathers did. What does that have to do with me?”

Well, do you know the work of Messiah– His finished work at the cross, or stauros, or however you translate it– part of that finished work was to enable you to be joined with Israel” That is the point to the extent that it is no longer you who live. It is Messiah who lives in you.

And that is what the Messiah came to do for us, to cleanse us of our sins, and in the process– since it is no longer we who live, it is Yahushua who lives in us– when Yahweh sees us, He sees Yahushua the Israelite dwelling in us. That is what He sees.

And so, this word translated “native Israelite,” let’s take a look at that in the Strong’s Lexicon. It says: “in the sense of springing up,” “a spontaneous growth.” And so, this is the raw meaning of this word.

Strong’s Lexicon for “Native”: 249 ‘ezrach ez-rawkh’ from 2224 (in the sense of springing up); a spontaneous growth, i.e. native (tree or persons):–bay tree, (home-)born (in the land), of the (one’s own) country (nation).

And when I think of what Yahushua did for us, when I think of what He did, I mean, what did He do? If anyone is in Messiah, he is what? A new creation.

2Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone [is] in Messiah, [he is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

So when we went down into the baptismal waters, the old man, the old Gentile man, he perished in there. And so…

Colossians 2:11 – In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Messiah,

12 – buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with [Him] through faith in the working of Elohim, who raised Him from the dead.

So when we raised up, we became a new creation. That new creation is Yahushua in us. We died to self. “Self” is gone. It is dead. We reckon ourselves as dead, but indeed alive unto Elohim through Yahushua our Master.

We are a new creation now and we have sprung up a new creation. As we come up out of the waters, we came up and became a new creation.

So that is how I see it. I sprung up as something that was a miraculous rebirth in the Messiah Yahushua, being born again. And now I am a new growth. I am growing in the spiritual now. As opposed to growing in unrighteousness, now I am growing in righteousness.

And so, that is how we need to be looking at it, that we are a new creation. And now we are grafted in. We once were strangers from the covenants of promise, foreigners and strangers. We were once Gentiles, but now through Messiah Yahushua we are brought near and we are joined as the remnant of Yisrael. And so…

Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Messiah; it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of Elohim, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 3:29 – And if you [are] Messiah’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

You are, today, Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. That is part of what Messiah came to do for us, to cause us to become the seed of Abraham. And it is beautiful.

And so, the mentality that I embrace here, when I see this command about native Israelites, the mentality I embrace is I am an Israelite. Technically the Hebrew has “one who has sprung up” as an Israelite.

I look at that and say, “Guess what? I sprung up as an Israelite when I sprung up out of the water and became a baptized believer in Yahushua Messiah.”

In fact, I cannot even be a part of this New Covenant unless I am the house of Israel. That is who the covenant is with.

Jeremiah 31:33 – But this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says YAHWEH: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.

He puts His Law in their minds and writes it on their hearts. Well, who is the covenant with? The house of Israel. That is who the covenant is with. And so, I become an Israelite through Yahushua the Messiah and therefore I enter into the covenants. I am no longer a stranger from the covenants of promise. In Messiah Yahushua I am brought near.

And so, to me, I see myself as that and therefore identify my heritage as the heritage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am their seed. And so, that is my daddy in the spirit. And therefore I am the seed of Abraham. And therefore I am also a native Israelite.

I am an Israelite “sprung up” out of the land, “sprung up” out of the earth. So that is how I look at it in Messiah Yahushua. Because there is no difference.

I have two children whom I have adopted. I see them no differently than I see my own children that were born from my wife. I don’t see them any differently. They are exactly the same in my eyes and I don’t make a distinction. And likewise, Yahweh does not make a distinction between us as adoptive sons.

And in fact, the truth is, even those who are physical descendants of Israel also need a Savior (because the branches were broken off) to graft them back in again. So we are all adopted.

So moving on…

Deuteronomy 16:13 – You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress.

This is a time of the harvest. The children of Israel would have this harvest, and then they would go and enjoy this festival. And so– this Harvest Feast, they would gather from the winepress and their threshing floor and the wine and vegetables. And they would rejoice!

Deuteronomy 16:15 – Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to YAHWEH your Elohim in the place which YAHWEH chooses, because YAHWEH your Elohim will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

And He wants all of us to do so, because He says:

Deuteronomy 16:14 – And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who [are] within your gates.

Everybody! Ah, wait a minute. Stranger? Yes, even the foreigners. “Come and enjoy the Feast! Everybody, come and keep the Feast of Tabernacles and rejoice in it.” Awesome, awesome, awesome! And so, we do this.

Actually, for the festival that we host here, which you can see on the front page of our website, during the summer months and the fall months we actually have a Feast Going Fund.

And for those who otherwise would not be able to afford to come and join us for the Feast of Tabernacles here in Missouri, we do have this fund set up for people to contribute if they want to help and contribute to this fund. As the scripture says, let the widow, let the fatherless, let the poor come.

And that will open the doorway for those who are poor among us for one reason or another and can’t afford to come to the Feast. And so, we have this Feast Going Fund for that purpose, and we encourage people to contribute to the fund and, also, if you have financial need to ask for help.

And, so far, we have not had to turn anybody away. So it seems to be working. I think Yahweh is blessing it.

One year, maybe more than one year, actually, the exact amount that came in was the exact amount needed down to the very penny, if my memory serves me right. So Yahweh blesses it.

So if you are one of those who is blessed financially, I encourage you to contribute to that. And if you are in need financially, that is what it is for. So we want the fatherless, the widow, everybody to enjoy the Feast. And that is the blessing of it.

So seven days we keep this festival. Rejoicing is a big theme. You shall “surely rejoice.” Actually, maybe this is a prophecy more than anything. You are going to rejoice because you are going to come together. You are going to have this harvest and you are going to rejoice before Yahweh!

You know, the world at large, a lot of people celebrate this holiday called Thanksgiving. Well, this is Yahweh’s Thanksgiving Feast. You had the harvest, and now you are going to give thanks for it. You are going to come together and give thanks.

And so, the day when Thanksgiving comes along, I often will say, “Ah, I had my day of thanksgiving already. Actually, I had seven days of thanksgiving.” It’s amazing.

You know, a lot of those people don’t think about the harvest. Only farmers think about it. But, you know, in ancient times it was pretty important. I mean, they didn’t have the mechanized machinery harvesting thousands and thousands of acres at once. Pretty much the manpower limited the ability of how big of a harvest you could bring in.

But men built these cities now with thousands of buildings and sidewalks and asphalt, and light pollution blocking the stars, noise pollution blocking the sounds of the birds and of creation and different things. It just has a way of causing men to forget at the wonderful works of Yahweh and the harvest which He provided.

But if you step into the countryside or you go out and join us for the Feast of Tabernacles– we are out in the middle of nowhere– you will behold the character of Yahweh through the things He has made and realize that without Yahweh continually supplying the rain upon our land, without His abundant provision, there would be no harvest.

If there would be no harvest, there would be no food at your table and no food at the grocery store. And so, He wants us to come together and thank Him for that.

And so, we have a lot of reasons to rejoice, not just for the physical harvest, but also for a spiritual harvest– the people who have been called into faith and belief in the Messiah Yahushua.

You know, there is a physical harvest at work as well of which we are called to be laborers and to pray for additional laborers, because the harvest is great but the laborers are indeed few.

I mean, look at the food that we eat. We ought to be the most thankful people in the world. We eat like kings. There is an endless choice of fine dishes. You name it, it is probably out there. And it is probably affordable.

But we just need to be careful we don’t take it for granted and we come before Him with thanksgiving. And that is one of the reasons for the Feast. It is not just a bunch of sacrifices, or whatever, like you may have thought. There are a lot of other things attached to it.

It is a day we are supposed to rest, dwell in booths and rejoice before Him for seven days. HalleluYah!

So for seven days He told the priests to make these offerings made by fire. But then on the eighth day, you shall have a holy convocation as well.

Leviticus 23:36 – `[For] seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to YAHWEH. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to YAHWEH. It [is] a sacred assembly, [and] you shall do no customary work [on it].

And so, we do rest on this eighth day, and we gather again on this eighth day. And we do the things that we are able to do. And the truth is, yes, we actually can make offerings during the Feast.

Psalms 69:30 – I will praise the name of Elohim with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

31 – [This] also shall please YAHWEH better than an ox [or] bull, Which has horns and hooves.

And we know Hebrews 13:15:

Hebrews 13:15 – Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to Elohim, that is, the fruit of [our] lips, giving thanks to His name.

That is considered to be a sacrifice.

1Peter 2:4 – Coming to Him [as to] a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by Elohim [and] precious,

5 – you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Elohim through Yahushua Messiah.

So we can do sacrifices during the Feasts. We can.

Deuteronomy 16:15 – Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to YAHWEH your Elohim in the place which YAHWEH chooses, because YAHWEH your Elohim will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

You shall surely rejoice.

Deuteronomy 16:16 – Three times a year all your males shall appear before YAHWEH your Elohim in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before YAHWEH empty-handed.

17 – Every man [shall give] as he is able, according to the blessing of YAHWEH your Elohim which He has given you.

So how do we do this? Well, I think we are supposed to bring something. You are not just supposed to come to the Feast and take. You also want to bring something. If you can’t bring something financially, then bring something of yourself. Give of yourself. Volunteer. Do something to bless people on the Feast of Tabernacles to serve Yahweh’s people.

And even the widow who had very little left, remember the two little mites she dropped into the offering thing at the temple? And Yahushua praised her for that. She has given more than anybody else.

So it is not necessarily a dollar amount. It is in relation to what is in your heart, “according to the blessing of Yahweh your Elohim which He has given you.”

So we give to the poor.

Proverbs 19:17 – He who has pity on the poor lends to YAHWEH, And He will pay back what he has given.

You can take your offering and give it to the poor.

Matthew 25:40 – And the King will answer and say to them, `Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did [it] to one of the least of these My brethren, you did [it] to Me.’

So if we are giving to the poor, we are giving to Yahweh. So you can give to the poor. That is why we have the Feast Going Fund for that purpose.

And also, you can give to ministry as well. Paul did say:

1Corinthians 9:11 – If we have sown spiritual things for you, [is it] a great thing if we reap your material things?

12 – If others are partakers of [this] right over you, [are] we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Messiah.

So he chose not to take financial means. He did not want to hinder the gospel. He did not want someone to think, “Well, he only turned to Messiah so he could make some money preaching the good news.” That is not his purpose.

He says it is not a great thing if he reaps the material things. He is permitted to do so, but he chose not to do that. Others had taken that right and had done it. He chose not to, I think, for that reason.

1Corinthians 9:13 – Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat [of the things] of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of [the offerings of] the altar?

14 – Even so YAHWEH has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

So it is permissible and even commanded that it be done. He says…

1Corinthians 9:15 – But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it [would be] better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void.

So it is perfectly permissible for a ministry to receive funding and for individual ministers to receive funding for the purposes of proclaiming the good news to all the nations. And, in fact, it says Yahweh has commanded it.

And we know, of course, that Abraham himself paid tithes to Melchizedek, and we are, according to Scripture, of the Melchizedek priesthood.

Hebrews 11:8 – By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

9 – By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as [in] a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;

10 – for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker [is] Elohim.

So our point and our goal, really what we are building, is not an earthly empire, but even as Abraham, his focus was on the city with foundations, whose builder and maker is Elohim. Even though he got blessed financially, his focus was on the spiritual things.

And likewise, anyone who is in ministry, they are permitted to be blessed financially. I don’t think they need to be rich, just have their needs met, but it is permissible for them to do so as long as their focus is on the spiritual things. That is the main thing. We have to focus on the spiritual.

Now the end goal is that the offerings would free up someone’s time so that they can go forth and further the work of the Kingdom. And that is pretty much what I do.

People have asked, “Well, do you have a regular job?” I did for twenty some years. But the last couple years I have allowed people to give to us personally. And that is how we make our living. But I don’t sell any teachings. I don’t do anything of that nature.

And so, I don’t have any problem with someone, even if somebody was giving to the poor or they were serving the poor or they spent all their time helping the homeless– I don’t see any problem giving to a person who is functioning under that role as well.

We are all priests. We are all called to serve. We are all called to give. We are all called to bless others. We are all after the order of Melchizedek.

So, yes, I think that is acceptable use of tithes or offerings or whatever, but also the poor and so on.

Now there are a lot of things I enjoy about the Feast of Tabernacles. I enjoy the gathering of Yahweh’s people. For us, of course, that is the one Feast we do host every year. We are thinking about hosting a Passover. But it is certainly one Feast we host every year, and I really rejoice, you know.

But we need to rejoice. That is what it is all about. That is what we are looking for. Our mentality when we are keeping this Feast as a yearly reminder: “Look, the world you live in is temporary.”

And so, you are in this temporary structure and you are in the tent and you are being reminded not to be so attached to the houses and the things that you have, and just come out here and meet Yahweh in the wilderness and focus on the spiritual things. We are pilgrims on the earth.

All these men that were in this “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11, it says they “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

Hebrews 11:13 – These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them , embraced [them] and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

This is a temporary place that we are living in. When we come together at Tabernacles, we are reminded it is a time to regroup, refocus, and say. “Okay, this is what life is. Everything we have is temporary. It is just a vapor that appears for a time.”

I don’t care how beautiful, how strong, how big your house might be, one day it will perish. And we are going to live in this temporary structure as that yearly reminder, “Don’t get too attached to the cares of this life and the temporary things that are going to perish, lest you perish with them.”

But we are in these tents, you know. We don’t have the conveniences and comforts and everything of a nice, warm, cozy home. Sometimes it can get kind of cold, but we are told not to complain. Don’t complain about what Yahweh commanded you to do. Rejoice in it!

So to be able to rejoice in this temporary inconvenience, it kind of helps us in our walk. I really think it does.

And while the world focuses on the material things, “Oh, let’s give the gifts and the candies,” and everything for their holidays, we are going to appeal to the spiritual things, not the carnal things.

And so, Yahweh is calling us out of Babylon, or wherever we are at, “Come together, and rejoice for seven days in a tent.” That is basically what He is saying.

Hebrews 11:14 – For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.

15 – And truly if they had called to mind that [country] from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

16 – But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly [country]. Therefore Elohim is not ashamed to be called their Elohim, for He has prepared a city for them.

And so, we seek this homeland, but we are seeking this heavenly country. That is the homeland that we are after, because Yahweh is preparing a city for us. But this is a temporary thing that we are in. We have to realize how temporary our lives are and everything is that we have.

And the day is going to come when the tabernacle of Elohim is going to be with us. And He will dwell with us, and we will be His people. He will be with us, and He will be our Elohim.

Revelation 21:3 – And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of Elohim [is] with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. Elohim Himself will be with them [and be] their Elohim.

We long for that day to come, and that is what we are looking to. And that is the beauty of the Feast of Tabernacles.

And so, we have this time where we can come together and we can rejoice and we can give praise. And this whole thing is a very, very beautiful picture of a very amazing object lesson.

Think about this: The days of the week, the 7th day is the Sabbath, right? 6000 years of mankind on the earth, the last 1000 years would reflect the time when we will have rest from our enemies because Satan will be bound for 1000 years during that time. So we will reign with Him this last 7th day of mankind on the earth.

We are close to about 6000 years biblically since the time of Adam. And here we are approaching this last 1000 years.

Well, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles each have 7 days, and I am thinking that this represents the 7000 years of mankind on the earth in need of unleavening through the blood of the Messiah Yahushua and 7000 years on the earth that we will dwell in temporary structures known as this body that we live in.

This body is also a sukkah, a tabernacle. And since we are in this tabernacle, we need to realize the temporary structure that we are in already every single day and not get caught up in the temporary things.

And so, that is the Feast of Tabernacles and that is the blessing of the Feast of Tabernacles. Are we going to embrace these festivals and all the wonderful things that they are demonstrating for us? That is the question. So here is how we keep the Feasts…

OBSERVING THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS:

• On the night of the Feast of Trumpets, look into the western sky for up to 45 minutes after sunset and watch for the new moon (weather permitting).

• If you see the new moon, or get a report of one, blow the shofar or give a shout of praise! (you can read Rev. 11:15 and other verses related to Messiah’s return).

• We rest and gather with other believers if possible for a “holy convocation” and focus on Feast of Trumpets scriptures, and other scriptures related to the Messiah’s return. Praise and worship often!

• Give shouts of praise or blow the shofar often! Treat it as a Sabbath except you may cook your meals and feast.

OBSERVING THE DAY OF ATONEMENT:

• Prior to this day, prepare your heart for a time of corporate repentance and confession of sin.

• Remember the One who entered the heavenly Holy of Holies, and focus on the scriptures that speak of His work of intercession for us.

• Fast (no food or drink) for 24 hours, from sundown to sundown.

• We gather with others if possible for a holy convocation. Corporate repentance as the body of Messiah is appropriate.

And I should mention, also, look forward to the time when Yahushua Himself will come at the last trump and enter that Holy Place for us. Praise Yahweh!

OBSERVING THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES:

• Prepare by obtaining a tent or other temporary shelter. Make sure it is rain and wind-worthy.

• On the first evening of the Feast of Tabernacles, this will be your first of 7 nights in the temporary shelter. It will be just like a normal Sabbath except you may cook meals and prepare food as needed.

• Have a holy convocation with other believers if possible. Focus on the scriptures speaking of the festival, the Messiah’s Kingdom, the need to be thankful, and the temporary nature of this age.

• Do not appear before Yahweh empty-handed. Give some kind of monetary offering as you are able to for the poor or for Yahweh’s work.

• During the time you are in the temporary shelter, you can work on the non-Sabbath days. So it is only the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles that you are told to rest. And then, there is the Last Great Day at the end, after the week is over.

• After the first day of the festival, you can go to work and do other activities, but continue to dwell in the temporary shelter.

• During the week and during the holy days, focus on rejoicing, giving thanks and praise (spiritual sacrifices) for the harvest, remembering Israel was in temporary booths and so are we. Our bodies and our homes are temporal dwelling places.

• After 7 nights, rest on the Last Great Day. It is not required to stay in a temporary shelter on that particular night.

• Have a holy convocation, focusing on the scriptures speaking of Yahweh’s promises regarding the new heavens and new earth.

• Treat this day as a Sabbath, except you may cook meals and prepare food. Rest until the next evening.

And that is the blessing of the Last Great Day, which is attached to the very end of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Again, the Feast of Tabernacles, 7 nights in a tent, and then the last night– which is the 8th night– you don’t have to be in a tent, but you do have to rest that night.

That is the Last Great Day picturing the time AFTER the 7000 years of mankind on the earth, this Last Great Day picturing the time when the new heavens and new earth will be created.

The Great Day of Judgment will take place. That is a great day, right? Then we will receive His new heavens and new earth. Death will be no more. Disease will be no more. Sadness will be no more. And we will forever rejoice before Yahweh in the age to come.

So these festivals have tremendous, powerful meaning and instruction for us. I want to tell you right now, I haven’t even told you everything. There is so much depth. It is like an onion, you know. You keep peeling it back and when is the center of the onion ever going to come? And these Feast Days are just like that.

So, I encourage you, if you are able to, join us for the Feast of Tabernacles. Hundreds of other believers are planning on attending. We currently have about 300 signed up here in 2015.

You can join us: http://www.EliYah.com/fot. That is the Feast of Tabernacles: FOT– “F” as in “Feast,” “O” as in “of,” and “T” as in “Tabernacles.” Would love to have you join us.

So, brothers and sister, that is how we observe Yahweh’s amazing, awesome festivals. And I had to give you a quick rundown so that you had a good idea of what it is all about.

And it is all about rejoicing for the harvest in the Feast of Tabernacles, coming before Him humbly prior to that time for the Day of Atonement, and also rejoicing that Yahushua is going to come back and establish His reign on the earth at the last trump.

And so, there are lots of things that the Messiah will do that we can commemorate and remember. And we will tabernacle with Yahweh forever and ever. What an awesome, awesome thing that will be.

And so, my brothers and sisters, if you have any further questions, feel free to contact me at disciple@eliyah.com or join us for our broadcasts, and there are questions and comments that are taken during the broadcasts.

And, in the meantime, we are going to love Yahweh. HalleluYah!