We are ready to begin our study topic today, and we are going to discuss, as I often will get questions this time of year, we are going to discuss: How to Observe the Fall Feast Days.

We have the Feast of Trumpets coming up in about three weeks. And then we have the Day of Atonement. And we have the Feast of Tabernacles.

There actually are going to be four Holy Days. Two of them are going to be around the Feast of Tabernacles time. One will be around Feast of Trumpets time. And of course, Day of Atonement (or Yom Kippurim, or Yom Kippur). And so, that is what we are going to talk about today.

How do we observe these things? Some people have never kept them before and might have this impression that, “Okay, there is a bunch of rituals you have to follow, you know. Walk so many steps that way and liturgy or…” No! No, no. Not like that.

It is all Spirit led. I mean, if you feel led by the Spirit to participate in liturgy, that is up to you, but nowhere does it command such things.

What Yahweh wants out of the Festivals, ultimately, is that they would instruct us, that they would build us up spiritually, that we would be able to draw closer to Him, that we would draw closer to one another as the body of Messiah and as individual families.

Of course, we are hosting a Feast of Tabernacles this year, once again, in Leasburg, Missouri, the same place as last year, but we are going to also share with you on this broadcast in this study today, if for some reason you can’t go and gather with other believers, there are ways, things that you can do, even by yourself or with just your family.

For the most part, keep the Festivals as much as you can.

But the Feast Days, every single year… and I have been observing them a number of years (I think this is my 24th year)… every year I always come away having felt very blessed, very enriched, empowered. I feel like my spiritual batteries have been recharged. They have a lot to do with building us up.

Now, the holy days of this world are not really holy days. They call them holidays (holi-days), but they are not. But these days, actually, the ones in the Scriptures, are actually holy. Yahweh made them holy. And when He makes them holy, they are holy, right?

Now, traditional Christianity puts emphasis on the birth of Messiah and the resurrection of Messiah, and those are the things that they are focused on, but nowhere does it say in Scripture, “Hey, go celebrate this. Go take pagan festivals and try to Christianize them for Me, will you?”

No, He says, “I have already given you things that speak of Messiah.” He has already given us things that would be guaranteed to enrich us and bless us. And that is His Holidays.

And so, why do we have to create holidays? Well, the reason why most of traditional Christianity has created these holidays is it is born out of a… you know… “Something is missing. We just want to celebrate. We want to get together and be happy.”

But they can’t think, “Wait a minute… the Bible talks about Holidays,” because, “Oh, those are Jewish. We can’t do those. They are Jewish.” Not true. We can do those.

But my point is, we don’t need Easter when we have the Day of Firstfruits written about in Scriptures. Yahushua is our firstfruits that was resurrected. He was the firstfruits of those who fell asleep.

But we have the Spring Feast Days. We have Passover. We have the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And then we have Pentecost. And now, coming up here in about three weeks, will be the beginning of the Fall Festivals.

And so, we are very excited and looking forward to these. They really are just a tremendous blessing. And so, if you are wanting to know how we observe them and things that we can do to be blessed on these Holy Days, continue here to tune in to the broadcast.

Now, the very first Fall Festival we are going to start with here is in Numbers chapter 29 and verse 1. And here it says:

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.

A day of blowing the trumpets. So, here we are– first day of the seventh month. How do we know when the seventh month is, let alone the first day of it?

Now, if you haven’t watched the video or listened to the study on “Yahweh’s Calendar,” if you go to Eliyah.com, at the very top of the page, click “Archives.”

And you click “Archives,” and you scroll down to earlier this year, to early spring (actually before spring). I did a study on Yahweh’s calendar, which will go into great detail of why and how and when we observe the calendar.

Now, some do it a little differently than I do. Some might be a day earlier or two days earlier. Some might be a month later this year perhaps. That study will clear up some of the reasons why you see that.

But anyway, coming up here very quickly will be the Feast of Trumpets. Here is another Scripture:

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, this is the memorial of the blowing of trumpets– Yom Teruah. It is called Yom Teruah in the Scriptures.

And so, how do we figure this out? Well, we are already right now, as we speak, we are already in the sixth month, but the seventh month is coming up.

Now, if you are trying to figure out when the new months are, you have to pay attention to what actually the word “month” in Hebrew has to do with renewal, and it is connected to the moon, as the study on “Yahweh’s Calendar” will demonstrate.

So, the moon goes through an orbit. It goes through different phases. Have you ever looked up during the day, and you look and you see– “Hey, there is the moon”? And you wonder, “How could that be? I thought the moon was only out at night.”

You know, we are so disconnected from the creation of Yahweh that a lot of these things we do not understand. But when you start paying attention to His timetable, His calendar, which is in the sky, things start to come together and we start to understand them a little bit better here.

We have here the sun. Its rays are here on the right side of the screen. And if the moon in its orbit around the earth takes 29 1/2 days to go around the earth once, as it orbits around the earth, there are going to be different portions of the moon that will be lit up due to the location of the moon in relation to the location of the earth.

If the moon is, for instance, (we will start with the full moon over here on the left), if the moon is on the other side of the earth so that the earth is in between the moon and the sun, then the sun’s rays are going to illuminate the entire disk of the moon.

Now, on the left hand side of the screen, this is what the moon will look like from our perspective on the earth, okay? If we are looking up in the sky, what we are going to see is, right here, a full moon.

As it progresses in its orbit to this section right here (waning gibbous), because the sun’s rays are at an angle in comparison to our location and the moon, less of the moon will be lit up.

And then here, the last quarter, we will only see half of the moon lit up. And eventually, it decreases in light until the moon is, right here, in between the sun and the earth. When that happens, you cannot see the moon at all. The moon and the sun are actually rising and setting together at the same time, approximately.

So, you can’t see, because it is the back side of the moon that is lit up. And this point right here is called the conjunction. There are some believers who think the New Moon begins with the conjunction, but we happen to believe the New Moon starts when we actually see it, when we see the light reappearing, right here.

The light just starts to trickle around the back side of the moon into the front side a little bit. That is where we begin a new month. That is when, from my perspective, that would be a New Moon.

You are looking up in the sky. You are a shepherd tending the flocks out there, and you look up in the sky, and the moon is getting brighter and brighter until it is a full moon. And then it decreases in light and decreases in light until it disappears.

Well, in the middle of its disappearance, I do not think that is a New Moon. I think the New Moon would be when we see it new again, when it appears to be new. And so, this is the crescent shape of the New Moon, what we are looking for.

And so, when we are looking up in the sky (you see the Feast of Trumpets, right here), the moon will have this crescent-type shape, a little bit like a shofar shape, like a ram’s horn shape, and that is when we will mark the first day of the seventh month, as the Scripture talks about (Numbers 29:1).

There have been seven moon orbits since the beginning of Yahweh’s new year, which began in what was called March of this past year. So, coming up will be the seventh moon orbit.

So, there we go. There is the crescent moon. That is what we are looking for. And it will be just to the left of sunset. On which night? Well, here is a calendar. We have here the month of September for this year. September first happens to fall on the first day of the week this year.

So, if we are following, and trying to follow, the moon phases, there are two possible evenings in which we might see the New Moon, and that is the night of the 6th or the night of the 7th. And depending on where you are, you might see it or you might not.

So, Yahweh’s new month, the seventh month, will begin either the night of the 6th (which technically will be into the 7th) or the night of the 7th (which technically will be into the 8th) because Yahweh’s days begin at evening.

So, I have here on this particular screen a moon visibility chart, and on this visibility chart we have the United States map shown here. And on this map it shows the likelihood of being able to see the moon, depending on your location, on this night, right here, September the 6th, 2013, because some of you will see it and some of you will not.

Now, where we are hosting the Feast this year, in Leasburg, Missouri, we have this little “x” marked right here. This is where we are hosting it. And in order to be able to see the moon at Leasburg, Missouri (as you see here), we are going to need an optical aid to find it. Most likely, you will need an optical aid to find the moon.

You will not be able to see it with the naked eye. You will be looking and looking and looking and won’t see it. You will need binoculars or a camera zoom or a telescope, or something, to be able to find it. Then when you zoom out, you might say, “Okay, that little white speck is the moon.”

And that is only if you have perfect conditions. That means the atmosphere is clear. There are no clouds. Humidity is low. All that good stuff.

And if you happen to live here in the southern section of America, you may see the moon (let’s say if you are in New Mexico or Arizona or Florida), assuming the sky is clear and you have perfect conditions. If you live in Mexico, and anywhere southward of that, you should be able to easily see the moon.

So, these lines here basically are representing the placement of where Yahweh’s month begins for different areas of the world. It has to start somewhere. Someone suggested it start in Jerusalem. We addressed that question, also, last spring on the study we did on Yahweh’s calendar.

But this chart here, you can find it on the website. It is at: http://www.eliyah.com/moonchart.jpg.

And so, this is where you can get an idea. If you live up in Canada, on the night of September 6th, you can forget it. Or if you live in the Northeast or the far North section of the United States, you are not going to see it.

And this yellow band, right here, you would need a telescope to be able to see it. And this is pretty much impossible to see at all (in the red band). So, this is the moon chart. Hopefully, that helps you in deciding whether or not you are going to go out September 6th and look for the moon.

I do plan on going out to look for it. I don’t believe in using binoculars or anything of that nature to try to find the moon. They did not have those things in ancient times. They just had their eyes, so that is what I go with.

And so, I am anticipating that in Leasburg, Missouri, and actually here where I live as well, it is far more likely that the night of September 6th will not begin the new month. It will not. It will be far more likely the following night. And the following night everyone should see it, even way up in Canada.

Only if you are in the arctic, or something, you maybe can’t see it.

So, here in Leasburg, Missouri, where we are hosting the Festival this year, the sunset time on the night of September the 6th, 2013, will be at 7:27 p.m. Now, if the moon were in conjunction, that means the back side of the moon was lit up, the moon would be setting at approximately the same time, 7:27 p.m., but it is not.

The moon has progressed in its orbit, so the sun goes down first, and then we may see the moon. There is a 27-minute difference between the time the sun will go down and the time the moon will go down. The following night there will be a 62-minute difference, so plenty of darkness there for us to be able to spot the moon.

Here (9/6/2013), at 7:54 p.m., it is going to be difficult. Just because of the fact that there is still so much light in the sky at that time, it might be difficult to see, and its being very, very low on the horizon. And very, very little of the light of the moon is actually lit up there.

So, on what day am I expecting there to be a Feast of Trumpets? I am expecting the night of the 7th here in Missouri to begin the Feast of Trumpets. That is the evening of the 7th, and then ending on the evening (here) of the 8th. So, that would be the Feast of Trumpets, at least here. And if you live in the south, it might be a day earlier there.

My personal conviction is, I keep the calendar in accordance with the location of where I happen to live or where I happen to be observing the Feast. So, if I lived on the southern tip of Florida and I saw the New Moon and I was keeping it in Florida, and I saw it this night of the 6th, then I would observe it here, the 6th to the 7th– Yom Teruah!

If I lived in Canada, then I would do it the following day. That is sort of like the International Dateline, isn’t it? Only it is dealing with the months, not the days. This is apparently the line that Yahweh has created for us. So, there we go.

So, what do we do on this Festival of Trumpets? And what do we not do?

It says in Numbers 29, verse 1:

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 doesn’t tell us why. He just says “blow the trumpets.”

Now, what is this “customary work”? What is this referring to? In the Hebrew, the word for “customary work” is “abodah melakah.” And “melakah” is used to describe work of any kind. It is this word right here. But “abodah,” the word translated “customary,” narrows it down a little bit– the kind of work specifically that is forbidden.

And “abodah” in the Hebrew is from (if you look in a Strong’s Lexicon) 05656. This is the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon. It is translated “labor” and “service.” The meaning of it is “labor” and “service.” And actually, “abodah” comes from the Hebrew word “abad.” And “abad” refers to “servanthood” or even “slavery” or “service.”

And this word “abodah” is used to describe the priests in the temple service and things along those lines. So, it has to do with occupational type of labor. Okay? And it is translated “service” 96 times, and it can refer to Yahweh’s service toward us.

It can refer to all kinds of service, but He has narrowed it down, and He never says this “abodah melakah” for the regular Sabbath. He only says “abodah melakah” for the Festival Sabbaths. And so, why does He use this word “abodah” in addition to the “melakah”?

We see it also here in Leviticus 23, verses 6 and 7.

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.

This is earlier in the spring.

Leviticus 23:7 – `On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.

Abodah melakah. Customary work.

And on this particular Festival, where abodah melakah is forbidden, we see in Exodus chapter 12, verse 16:

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.

No manner of “melakah” (work) shall be done on them. It doesn’t have “abodah melakah,” but He explains to us what kind of work He is permitting on this day. He says: “No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat– that only may be prepared by you.”

So, on a day in which abodah melakah is forbidden, we are permitted to prepare and cook food, and so on. So, it has to do with our eating, our feasting. Then in that case, that does not fall under the category of abodah melakah apparently.

And so, this is why I do not have a problem with cooking on the Feast Days. I think the point is, He wants us to get together, and He wants us to feast! And so, we can do that. And we can cook together and we can make meals together. Anything to do with preparing our food may be done on a day in which “abodah melakah” is forbidden.

So, it appears to be, “abodah” is having to do with your regular job, you know, your regular work that you would do.

We have, also, another injunction here on this Festival.

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.

“And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation (Heb. Kodesh, Mikra).” This word translated “holy convocation” is from “mikra kodesh” in the Hebrew. We know “kodesh” has to do with holiness. That is pretty well established, but what about “mikra”?

Well, “mikra” in Hebrew has to do with “calling out.” And so, we see an example of “mikra” used in Nehemiah chapter 8 and verse 8. 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 mikra. What they had “called out,” what they had spoken aloud, was the reading of the Law. It is talking about Ezra here in the Day of Trumpets, here in Nehemiah chapter 8. He helped them to understand the “mikra,” the reading, what he had read aloud.

And so, it has to do with gathering Yahweh’s people together with the purpose and express intent of hearing Yahweh’s words– calling out and speaking the words of Elohim. Perhaps words of praise could be included in that vocal calling out of His Word.

And that is why it is appropriate to sing praises on the Sabbath Day and on the Feast Days in which we are expected to do a mikra kodesh. Now, the implication is that we would gather together for the purposes of doing so, and of course, that is what they would have had to have done in ancient times because not everybody had a copy of the KJV back then.

They had the scrolls and they were very expensive. You had to copy them by hand. It took a lot of work to produce one. So, they would gather together and they would hear the Word.

And in the next verse here, Nehemiah 8, verse 9:

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.

So, they were repentant. Yet in spite of their repentance, Yahweh said to them, “Don’t mourn; it is a holy day,” indicating the holiness of the day might require us to rejoice. Not to be sad, but to rejoice. It is not a day of mourning. It is a day of thankfulness.

In Leviticus chapter 23, verse 2, it talks about the Sabbath.

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.

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.

A “mikra kodesh” and no “melakah” (work) at all on that day. No mention of “abodah melakah.” So this, obviously, would not be a day in which we would cook our meals, being the regular Sabbath day.

So, he gave the exception for the Feast, in which abodah melakah was forbidden, because that apparently did not fall into that category. But this is a normal Sabbath. And this is one of the reasons why I firmly believe we should not be cooking and preparing our meals on the Sabbath day.

Now, a holy convocation, a mikra kodesh, could consist of two people. That would be a gathering, if two people, but (especially for the Festivals) I think His intent would be that we would gather. He would send everybody to Jerusalem, or to the place He put His name, on His Festivals.

So, the spirit behind it, the principle behind the Festivals, is that we would gather, that we would get together with others and hear the Word.

Maybe some of you listening to the broadcast don’t have a place to gather together on the Sabbaths, and that is why I’m doing what I’m doing in enabling some form of ability to hear the Word, even if you are by yourself and unable to gather with others.

Now, it mentions in the book of Hebrews that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, and I think the principle behind that was that we would have this “mikra kodesh.” Where did he get that idea of not forsaking ourselves together? It would have been from the Torah, from the Scriptures.

You know, Yahweh doesn’t want us to be loners and out on an island by ourselves somewhere. We want to try to get as much fellowship as we can and be connected to the body of Messiah in some way. And if the Internet is the best you have, it is the best you have. If a phone conference or a DVD, or whatever, is the best you have, you do the best you can.

But speaking of this Day of Trumpets, Yom Teruah, Day of Sounding, (we are going to get more into that)… but the word “teruah” can be “shouting.” It can also have to do with blowing a loud instrument, in this case a shofar. But Day of Teruah, Yom Teruah. So, a day of blowing the shofars, a day of shouting, a day of jubilance, a time of rejoicing.

But what does it mean? What is it all for? Well, isn’t that what the Messiah is going to do at the last trump? It says He will come to us and with a shout of an archangel and the last trumpet sound the Messiah will return.

We know the Messiah is seen in the Festival of Passover (He is our Passover Lamb), and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (He cleanses us and makes us unleavened), and Pentecost (the giving of the Torah, the giving of the Holy Spirit), and then Trumpets (He comes with the sound of a trump and the shout of an archangel).

So, we have the trumpet sounding and the shouting going on, and so that would logically be the next symbolic nature of the Festivals. That is what is next in line– the Messiah is going to return. So, we have this Day of Trumpets.

It is also seen when Joshua led the children of Israel over the Jordan, and he had them surrounding this town of Jericho. What did they do? They would sound the shofar on the 7th day. They would blast the trumpets and they would shout. And that would cause the walls of the city to crumble down.

And what happened in Joshua’s day was they had no defense, and so they were easily attacked by the army of Yahweh.

Well, when Messiah returns– His name also happens to be “Yoshua” (Yahushua), the same name as the son of Nun– and He is going to, with a shout and with a blast of the shofar, all the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of the Messiah.

And we will join with Him as we meet Him in the air and we destroy the heathen who are seeking to come against Elohim.

Imagine that. Imagine the joy we are going to have at that time. All the sin and all the “yuck” and all the abominations and all the filth and the impure sin and things of the world will finally be dealt with.

And there will be one King– Messiah Yahushua. And He will reign for one thousand years, as Scripture says.

So, if you can put that in your heart on this Day of Trumpets, on this Yom Teruah, envision what we are going to receive when the corruptible has put on incorruptible. And Zechariah 3:14 says He will sing over us. Imagine that. He will sing to us. It would have to be the most beautiful song there ever was in our minds.

So, it is going to be a tremendous day. And so, on this Day of Trumpets, on this Yom Teruah, if we can meditate on these things, if we can think about the coming of the Messiah and all the promises that will be associated with that. Children love it. I mean, get your children together and just start blowing the ram’s horn if you have one.

Some people make them out of pvc tubing. Get one larger piece, one smaller piece of pvc tube, and you can even put them together, and you have a little miniature trumpet there. But if you just have a silver trumpet, maybe from your high school days, or whatever, if you have a trumpet, you can use it… or you have your voice, too, right?

It is a day of shouting, so a time of rejoicing– say, “HalleluYah!” And so, it is a memorial, this Feast of Trumpets. A memorial of what? Of what Yahweh already said He is going to do. We are going to remember something that is so sure that is going to happen, you do not have to wonder whether it will or whether it won’t.

He actually has a memorial for something that will occur in the future. That is how exciting and how solid His promises are.

So, it is a day of rejoicing, a day of shouting. It always makes it best when you do that with others. But you can do it by yourself. Yahweh hears you.

It is a day of resting. It is a day of rejoicing. A day of shouting. A day of blowing the ram’s horn. Make a noise because that is what is going to happen when Messiah returns.

So, we want to move forward now into the Day of Atonement. And if you look in Leviticus chapter 23, 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, the offering was not done by the common people. This was done by the priest. So, even in the days when there was a temple standing, the offering made by fire was done by the priest. The common people, that wasn’t for them to do.

But it is a day of holy convocation. It is a Holy Day. And it is a day for afflicting our souls. That is the intent.

So, it is on the tenth day of Yahweh’s month. And so, we want to try to figure it out. Okay, we had the first day of Yahweh’s month on the 8th here. You count forward ten days. This is the first day, the 8th. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… here we go– the 17th.

Now, if you lived down south, you might be on the 16th, but for us, we are going on the 17th. That would be Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonements (technically, Yom Kippurim). And so, that is a day for afflicting our souls.

Now, most of us realize that on the day of Yom Kippur, that is when the high priest would put on special garments, and after having slain one goat and then confess the sins of Israel over the head of another goat and that goat would go into the wilderness, he would take the blood from the one goat and he would walk into the Most Holy Place.

And he would sprinkle the blood on different areas– on the ark, and on the area before the ark. Different places he would sprinkle the blood of that goat. And it was for the atonement of the tabernacle. It was done once a year on this day.

And so, this is the time when that would have been done. But there are other things that we can do– afflicting our souls, a holy convocation. And He also says:

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.

Of course, you are not going to be able to do any cooking on that day, right? And so, He does not say “abodah melakah.” He just says no “melakah.” So, on that day it is a day of atonement. That is another evidence that “abodah melakah” would be primarily saying, “Okay, you can cook,” because on this particular day He doesn’t say “abodah melakah.”

He just says no “melakah” at all, no work at all, on that same day. And He says:

Leviticus 23:29 – 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.

Serious words. Now, if we were ignorant and did not know, or whatever… but if we are convicted and we know we shouldn’t and we go out and we decide, “We are going to work on that day anyway,” you know, I wouldn’t want to be under judgment. Hopefully, you wouldn’t either.

So, it is a day He made holy. It is a serious day. It is a somber day. A time when we are to afflict our souls. Now, we do not have a high priest on the earth who is at this time entering the holy of holies, but we want to do what we are able to do. We do our part.

We do know we have a High Priest who is currently in the Holy of Holies and making intercession for us for the sins that we have committed.

He is there and He has entered that place with His own blood and made atonement, so that after Messiah returns, when we go to enter the Holy of Holies to see our beloved Father in heaven, we won’t defile the place because the blood of Messiah will prevent the heavenly Holy of Holies from being defiled by us.

And so, we do no manner of work, we “mikra kodesh,” and we afflict our souls. It says:

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

No matter where you live.

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.

And so, this is on the tenth day of the month. But let’s say on the ninth day of the month you are sitting outside and looking around and the evening comes. That would begin the tenth day of the month. And so, from evening to evening you would celebrate your Sabbath.

And so, what about afflicting our souls? What does this mean? What does it mean to afflict your souls? Can we find other Scriptures that would tell us what this means to afflict our souls?

Yes, Isaiah chapter 58, verse 5. Yahweh is talking to the people though Isaiah. He says:

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?

So, we have this parallel. A fasting is a manner, a type of, affliction of the soul. And so, we can safely define afflicting our soul to be defined as fasting. At least one form of afflicting our soul would be to fast. And that is the only one named that I know of in Scripture.

And the rest, it is a pretty interesting context here, in Isaiah 58, in that He says:

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?

In other words, He would rather us do righteousness than He would for us to afflict our souls and spread out our hands to Him.

And so, He is not saying don’t do this, but if you are going to be wicked and then do it as a ritual, as just something you do because you are supposed to and you are not really repentant, then you are missing the point of this day.

Now, some people I know out there say, “Well, you know, I have diabetes. I mean, do I take my insulin on that day?” What I usually say is do the best you can. Do the best you can to afflict your souls. Some people have the faith. They just will go a day without it and not end up in the hospital.

I know other people who have done it and have ended up in the hospital. So, my advice is do the best you can, and if you don’t have medical conditions, then you have no reason to not fast on that day.

You know, here in the United States, we think fasting is the most awful thing because we just sit in the lap of luxury most of the time here when it comes to food, and we want every taste and texture that there is.

And so, can we let go of that? Can we let the “food god” (if you have one) go and just let Yahweh be the Mighty One and set the food aside and do what He says and get the blessing that comes from it? We want to do the will of our Father in heaven.

We have been reading this, the last several weeks, about sin is the transgression of the Law, and since the Law says to afflict our souls on this Day of Atonement, if we choose to not do it, what are we doing? We are transgressing the Law.

Well, if the New Testament tells me sin is the transgression of the Law and I choose not to blow the shofar or shout or whatever I want to do to make noise on the Day of Trumpets, if I choose not to rest on the Day of Trumpets, if I choose not to have a mikra kodesh, if I choose not to fast on the Day of Atonement.

If I choose not to rest on the Day of Atonement, what am I doing? I am transgressing the Law and I am committing a sin, not by the Old Testament and what it says, but because the New Testament, 1 John 3:4, and many other places says– Sin is the transgression of the Law. By the Law is the knowledge of sin. I would not have known sin except by the Law.

And so, the last several weeks, hopefully, has set us up for understanding, “Okay, maybe the Feast Days are not important in our culture today, maybe they are not important in our Christian circles today, but I don’t want to be found in transgression. I don’t want to be numbered with the transgressors.”

Once I realize, “Wow, sin is the transgression of the Law,” once I see something in the Law, “Wow, it is something I can really be blessed by and can benefit from,” why not do it? I mean, it is commanded. And if I don’t do it, then I am in transgression.

It is hard for us to see that because we are not used to that being a serious thing. We are used to it almost being a transgression of the Law to not observe Christmas, you know, if you look at the way the culture would treat you if you don’t do what they do.

But we need to be doing what Yahweh does. We need to be observing the Festivals that manifest the works of the Messiah, the coming of the Messiah, the ascension of the Messiah into the Holy of Holies and the cleansing of Messiah’s blood. All these things are pictured in the Day of Atonement and Yom Teruah (the Day of Trumpets).

And so, what about us? I mean, can we do this? Can we set aside our desires for a day? I mean, didn’t it say in one place that when the Bridegroom is taken away we would fast often? And so, if you have never fasted before, here is your opportunity to be, at least once a year, where we would fast often.

And often can refer to a once per year event because in the book of Hebrews, it says, “Not that he would offer Himself often as the high priest does every year.” So, often can refer to a once per year event. Not that I would recommend only one time a year that you would fast, but at least once. And this is a day in which it can be done.

Now, what is the purpose of this? We know that the function of the earthly high priest was to confess the sins of Israel over the head of a goat. And so, we have this pictured. The animals are sinless beings– so the animal is innocent and without blemish– and our sins are being placed on the animal.

And this animal is a picture of what Messiah has done. Our sins are over Him. And so, this is a day of confession corporately, a day of corporate repentance. I mean as a group, as a body of Messiah. We are the nation of Israel through the Messiah Yahushua.

And so, Israel, along with their prayers and their fastings, it is a time of repentance. Otherwise, you are not fasting for anything. We want to pray and fast together as a body of Messiah and petition heaven.

And we see trouble spots. We see areas where the body of Messiah is not adequately manifesting the life of the Messiah.

Some people are not bearing the fruits of the Spirit. Some people are not keeping the Sabbath as Messiah keeps the Sabbath. Some people are not treating family members the way they should. There are all kinds of things where, because we are all connected as one body, as one nation, we might be guilty of various sins.

And so, what we are going to do on this day of fasting, this Yom Kippur, we are going to have a conference call.

As a unit, as a body of Messiah, we are all going to call into this conference call on this day and we are going to pray. And we are going to ask Yahweh to not just forgive us and cleanse us, but to refine us and make us more like Messiah in these areas where the body of Messiah seems to be falling short.

So, this is something we do every year. I think this is the third or fourth year we have done this now, in the evening. And we will just repent and confess the sins of Israel. And it is a Biblical thing to do this.

Look at Daniel. I have been reading a lot from Daniel this week.

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,

He is talking about what happened, in context, but what I want to zero in on here is the fact that he did not just confess his own sin. He was an intercessor. He confessed the sin of Israel as a nation, and as a result, he got this vision.

See, we are our brother’s keeper. We are all connected. And there is precedence right here of how we ought to see ourselves as one nation together, united, to the extent that when we fail Yahweh, we would confess, not only our own personal sin, but also the sins of Israel.

And so, we will begin our fast on that night of what is called the 16th into the 17th, and I am going to have everybody call into the conference call. Maybe we should do two nights just in case there are others keeping it a day early. I don’t know. We will pray about that.

You know, we don’t enter the Holy of Holies, yet. I mean, we do spiritually, maybe in our prayers. But at the time when we are resurrected and when the corruptible puts on incorruptible, that is when we physically will go there.

We will be seated next to Messiah it says, and the only reason why we do not defile the place is because the blood of Messiah has already sprinkled it, so that it is His life that is seen and not our own sin.

We see Messiah being in the throne room in Psalm chapter 110.

“My Master” is the Messiah.

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

So, here is a Ruler, a King, in the throne room at the right hand of Elohim.

Psalms 110:3 – 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.

That is us. When He is in power, look out!

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

He was a Ruler. He is also a Priest.

Psalms 110:5 – 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 serious, this Scripture here predicting the Melchizedek priesthood of Messiah Yahushua, the Master of David. He is a High Priest, not of the earthly tabernacle, not of the order of Aaron, but the heavenly tabernacle. Therefore, He is able to approach the throne of Yahweh and sit at the right hand of Yahweh.

As it says in Hebrews 9:

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 —

(There is the fasting– often.)

Hebrews 9:26 – 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, just as the high priest would enter the earthly tabernacle, this is a copy, or representation, of Messiah entering the heavenly one.

In the same way the Aaronic high priest, the sons of Aaron, would make atonement for the tabernacle, Messiah made atonement for the heavenly tabernacle that would otherwise be defiled as a result of our sin when we enter it. But He makes us cleansed and makes us incorruptible. And so, we will have access then to the Holy of Holies.

So, the Day of Atonement and its timing is positioned after the coming of Messiah because that is when the corruptible does put on incorruptible. That is when our sins are fully cleansed and we are worthy of entering the Holy Place.

So, Hebrew 4 says:

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.

So, that is the Day of Atonement.

Some people would say, “Well, didn’t Messiah fulfill all that? I mean, didn’t He enter the Holy of Holies? Didn’t He do all that already? And so, why are we fasting and keeping this Day of Atonement when Messiah already did what was necessary for us on that day? He entered that once for all.

“He is not reentering it this day, and so why do we keep the Day of Atonement?”

Well, my question to that is, “Why wouldn’t we?” I mean, doesn’t it stand as a memorial to what Messiah has done for us? And so, my question is, “Since it honors the Messiah, since it exalts the Messiah, why wouldn’t we want to keep it?” I mean, we should be rejoicing in that He did enter that Holy of Holies.

But there are things that we are expected to be doing on this day, and it is in the Law. It says to do it. It never says anywhere, “Don’t do it anymore.”

And so, just because Yahushua fulfilled something in the spirit, this act, this physical thing, that doesn’t mean the physical part is done away with. I mean, the fact that these Festivals point to Him.

We have baptism. Baptism is represented in the death of the old man, the resurrection of the new man.

Well, Messiah died a long time ago. What are we memorializing that for? Didn’t He already die? Didn’t He already get resurrected? Yet, we still participate in baptism even though it is referring to an event that happened two thousand years ago. And so, why would we set aside Yom Kippur and say, “Well, that already happened”?

We memorialize it through our continuing observation. He says, “This is an ordinance forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.”

And so, we are memorializing the great and awesome events that Yahweh wants us to remember, that He wants us to memorialize when He saved us by the blood of the Lamb, just as He saved Israel by the blood of the lamb at Passover. We memorialize what Messiah has done.

People have no problem memorializing Messiah’s birth. Oh, He was already born. So why do you do that for? Or people have no problem memorializing his resurrection. Why would we have a problem memorializing the time when He entered the Holy of Holies for us? All of a sudden, “Oh, that’s done. He already did that.”

Wait a minute! Who says you stop doing it? Who says you stop observing something when He has done it, when He has fulfilled it? Nowhere in Scripture is that seen. It never says anywhere, “Messiah fulfilled it. You don’t do it.” It never says that. In fact, it says, “Fulfill the law.” In the New Testament, it tells us, “Fulfill the Law.”

So, we fulfill the Law. We fulfill what the Law tells us to do. And that is how we walk in love.

And so, in my mind, the fact that these things point to Messiah so clearly is all the more reason why we would want to memorialize and observe these Festival Days. And there are still things that it is memorializing that have not been fulfilled, and that is our own access to the Holy of Holies. And that is why it is cleansed for us.

So, I am not minimalizing the Messiah’s work by observing the Day of Atonement. I am glorifying it. I am lifting it up as something we need to pay attention to. Instead of focusing on things He never told us to memorialize, such as His birthday– when did He tell us to do that? We have things that already proclaim Him, that already glorify Him.

And if the Jewish people who do not believe would see us keeping these Festivals and we can share how much they point to Messiah, if the Church had done this fifteen hundred years ago, they might be believers already. But now we have… you know.

If they ask us, “Well, what are you keeping the Festivals for?”

“Oh, they point to the Messiah.”

“Say what? What are you talking about?” And that starts the dialog.

And so, these things are tremendous witnessing tools, besides the fact they are commanded. But, you know, it is not like these Festivals are foreign to the New Testament Church, so to speak.

If you look in the book of Acts, chapter 27 and 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.

“The Fast.” What is this? Well, this is the Fast of the Day of Atonement. About that time it became very dangerous to sail the waters because the stormy season would be on its way. The winds would be shifting. The earth is cooling down. It changes the weather patterns in Israel and the Mediterranean.

And so, it was more dangerous to sail in the fall and throughout the winter. And so, they would winter their ships. Well, this is mentioned here– the Day pf Atonement.

And so, the writer of this book of Acts, Luke, knew that the recipients of the letter (Theophilus, and anyone else who would read it) would know what was being talked about here (the Fast is over). Well, they knew when the Fast was because they were keeping the Day of Atonement.

Now, it is a time for fasting. Some people would say, “Well, what do I fast from? Fast from food? Fast from just food and water? Everything?” Well, in my mind, a fast is a fast. You know, it is a complete fast. Food and water. And so, that is what I do for Yom Kippur, or Yom Kippurim.

It is a somber time of considering our ways as a body of Messiah, recognizing the areas in which we need cleansing, we need to change, and also believing in and relying on the atonement we receive through Messiah Yahushua, who is seated at the right hand of Yahweh.

We don’t complain about the fast. We don’t do that. Don’t look for modern ways of making it easier. Just afflict your soul. Yahweh anointed Yahushua as King and Priest and this is evidence of that– the Day of Atonement.

The next observance we are going to look at here 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.

Seven days. All right. So, we are looking at the Feast of Tabernacles. Here is the first day of the month, on the 8th, unless you happen to see the moon before. First day, second day, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth (that is Yom Kippurim), eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth day of the seventh month.

So, that is what we read: “The fifteenth day if the seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to Yahweh.” On this first day here (the 22nd) is a holy convocation. He says:

Leviticus 23:35 – `On the first day [there shall be] a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work [on it].

You shall do no customary work (abodah melakah) on it.

“For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.” That is a command for the priests.

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].

You are supposed to gather together. You shall do no customary work.

So, looking at our calendar, here is the first day of the Festival (the 22nd). We have the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh (that is a Sabbath day, a regular Sabbath day), and then it says the eighth day is also a Holy Day. So, here are the two Holy Days on this Festival (the 22nd and the 29th).

We have four Holy Days (the 8th, the 17th, the 22nd, and the 29th), and you will notice that three of the Holy Days fall on the same day of the week. It is that way every year. This year it looks like, for us, it will be on the first day of the week each time.

Now, if you are going a day earlier, then it will be different, which we will get into that in just a minute.

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].

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.

Seven days of rejoicing. Now, the Jewish people, they call these (the trees) the four species (beautiful trees, palm trees, leafy trees, willows of the brook), but what these were for was to make temporary shelters out of them. You know, they couldn’t go down to Wal-Mart and buy a tent. I mean, tents were very expensive in those days.

They were made out of goat hair, most likely. And goat hair is actually very good material for tents because when you make a tent out of goat hair, the goat hair, when it becomes wet, it will shrink and become waterproof. And then when it dries, it spreads out and expands. And so, the heat comes out of the tent.

The Bedouin shepherds in Israel today make their tents out of that. So, they made their tents out of goat hair, but not everybody could afford that. It is a process. Tents were not cheap.

So, they could go out and find trees, palm trees, leafy trees, willows of the brook, and make a rudimentary shelter and no expense involved. And so, He 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,

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.’

So, we see this. There is a reason– so “that your generations may know.” Notice this. Yahweh wants this because He wants the children to know.

You may wonder, “How does that apply to you and me?” Are we not Israel? Absolutely we are Israel! We have talked about that the last few weeks. We are Israel, so it does apply to us, which we will get to that in a minute.

The Hebrew word for “booth” is “cukkah” – 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.

Then “sukkot” is the plural version of “cukkah.” And “Sukkot” means “Booths.” So, some people will say, “Well, I am going to go observe “Sue’-cot.” It is not “Sue’-cot.” It is “Sue-coat’.” Sukkot is the Feast of Tabernacles or Festival of Booths.

If I want to go build a sukkah, then that is a temporary shelter. And the intent of this temporary shelter is that we would remember the children of Israel also dwelt in temporary shelters. Now, can we relate to that? Can we relate to that at all?

Can we recognize that just as the children of Israel were saved by the blood of the lamb, that just as the children of Israel were cleansed from their sin and He brought them out and baptized them in the Red Sea and in the cloud and He delivered them from the enemies who otherwise would destroy them and they entered into this wilderness time period.

Can we relate to all this? He taught them His Torah. He was writing the Law on the tablets of their heart as He was sharing with them His Word. Can we relate to this? We were saved by the blood of the Lamb. We were cleansed. We were delivered from the devil, the enemy. We are being taught the Torah.

We need to remember that our shelters we live in, even now, are temporary shelters. Even our bodies are sukkahs, aren’t they? I mean they are sukkot. Our bodies are a temporary dwelling place. In some places it is even called… I mean, Peter said, “Soon I must put off this tent,” referring to his body as a tent, knowing it was temporary.

This is what Tabernacles is all about. Hey look, our time here is temporary. Our lives here are temporary. Everything… you look around you. The trees. I mean, everything. Your house. It is all temporary. And we are now in our tent. Yahweh is testing us. He is proving us. He is refining us. He is teaching us His Law.

And we are looking forward to the time when Yahushua, our Joshua, our Yahushua, will take us across the Jordan and will lead us to the promised land. That is what we are looking to.

And so, when we are in these temporary tabernacles, are we going to complain? That is one question. You know, we are not used to this. We are used to all the conveniences of living in our home. That is what we are used to.

And so, He wants to know, as Moshe.

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.

He heard weeping, everybody groaning and complaining. Are we going to be like them?

Are we going to stay in tents since that is what they stayed in? And will we, in our wilderness experience, do the things that they did? or will we triumph and rejoice?

I want to point out here, some people think, “Well, you have to build a sukkah,” but the thing that they were dwelling in in the wilderness were tents, right? They were tents.

And so, if that is what they were living in, and we are supposed to be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles to mimic what they were doing so that our generations may know that we would dwell in tents and sukkahs, and their tent is a suitable tabernacle, then that is why I think having a tent is just fine.

Meaning of “Tent” – 0168 ‘ohel {o’-hel}. Meaning: 1) tent 1a) nomad’s tent, and thus symbolic of wilderness life, transience 1b) dwelling, home, habitation 1 c) the sacred tent of Yahweh (the tabernacle). Origin: from 0166; TWOT – 32a; n m. Usage: AV – tabernacles(s) 198, tent(s) 141, dwelling 2, place(s) 2, covering 1, home 1; 345.

Some people would expand that to a camper. For me, I don’t feel right about sleeping in my camper. A little too much like home. It is a matter of your personal conviction, though.

What about this “native Israelites” dwelling in booths (Lev. 23:42)? Some might say, “Well, I am not a native Israelite. I don’t have to sleep or stay in booths seven days because it is talking about, well, you know. How can we relate to them? We are not Jewish.”

How do you know you are not Jewish? How do you know, even in the flesh, whether you might actually be an Israelite? Can you trace your genealogy back and confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are not a native Israelite?

And even if you think you can prove that you are not a native Israelite, the word translated “native” is from 2224 and it has to do with a “springing up.” That is the root meaning of the word.

Meaning of “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).

So, those who were “springing up.” Those were the ones of Israel who were to dwell in booths. Well, what happened to us?

We “sprung up” out of the water. The old man died and we are a new creation. It is no longer we who live. Old things have passed away. All things have become new.

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.

We were buried with Him in baptism. And so we have sprung up. We are a new creation. And so, we do observe this Festival.

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.

It is no longer you who live. No longer. Now, Messiah lives in you. If that is the case, was He a native Israelite? Absolutely! So, should you keep this Festival? Absolutely! In fact, if you are Messiah’s:

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

You are Abraham’s seed. You are a native Israelite. You are Israel. And so, our mentality is, “Okay, we are Israel.” We are the nation of Israel through Messiah who begot us.

And we are partakers in this New Covenant.

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.

The New Covenant is with Israel, right? And we don’t say, “Well, I am not part of the New Covenant because I am not an Israelite.”

Oh, we take the New Covenant, but then we reject the Feasts? How do you do that? I mean, by the same reasoning you reject the Festivals because that is for Israel, you must also reject the New Covenant. It is with Israel as well.

So, you can’t have one without the other. You can’t be double minded. You either say, “I am Israel. It is no longer I who live; it is Messiah living in me,” or you don’t.

Now, I want to pay attention here.

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

What is he talking about here?

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.

Everyone! Come and keep the Feast of Tabernacles! The poor people, the fatherless people, the widows. How are they able to come? How could they afford to make the trip? Even the slaves, female servants, male servants. Everybody.

Well, the Fall Festival was after they had gathered from the threshing floor, after the grape harvest, and so on. And we see here that rejoicing was the theme– “You shall rejoice.” And let everybody come, no matter how much money you have, no matter what your social position happens to be. Come and rejoice and give thanks.

See, this is the real Thanksgiving, this Festival. This is the one… you know, the modern Thanksgiving Day is nothing more than turkey and football anymore. The modern Thanksgiving Day is piddly compared to what Yahweh really wants from us.

He wants us to take seven days out of our life and gather and rejoice and be glad and everybody come. Poor people. Rich people. Everyone. And so, it is for that reason.

You know, when Thanksgiving comes around in November and people ask me, “Well, do keep Thanksgiving? Do you do that?”

“Well, I already had my Thanksgiving. I had seven days, actually. We kept Thanksgiving already. It is called Feast of Tabernacles.”

And today in our modern grocery store and concrete and man-made society we live in, we don’t think about harvest, most of us. We just see the little packages at Wal-Mart or health food store. There it is. We don’t think about the work and the time and the blessing and the rain and everything that Yahweh did to enable us to have that food.

This is a time where we can go out in the wilderness and camp. You know, the New Covenant we just read earlier is that the Law is written on the hearts, right? I mean, do you even realize how many Christian camps there are in the United States? There are thousands of Christian camps– vacation Bible schools, youth camps. I mean, they are everywhere.

It is like the Spirit of Yahweh is trying to write on the hearts, “Keep My Feasts,” but they can’t translate it that way because they are not seeing. So they just… “Oh, we have this camp. Let’s go camp. We have to go camp. We just feel like this need to go camp. We feel like we have this need for a holiday. Let’s celebrate something.”

But they are not willing to see. It is already in the Bible. It is already there. You don’t need a day of Thanksgiving in November when you have had seven days of it already with the brothers and sisters rejoicing, you know. Not just the physical harvest, also the spiritual harvest– the new people who have come in. The need to go out and evangelize.

And of any nation in the world, here in the United States, we have every taste and texture of food and everything. We are the breadbasket of the world. We should be the biggest Feast Keeping nation in the world, which we probably are. I mean, we should.

And it is not just about the priests happen to be offering offerings on that day. It is about thanksgiving for the harvest; it is about rejoicing; it is about dwelling in temporary shelters that we might be reminded every year this is a temporary life we live in; don’t get caught up in the worldly things; a time for resting; a time for gathering.

And if people say to us, “Well, you can’t keep the Feast. You can’t offer the sacrifice.” That was for the priests, not for the common people, even then. Now, they might bring a freewill offering. But that is it. I mean, they would bring a freewill offering, and we can do offerings. Did you know that? We can offer sacrifices the whole week.

Take a look. We can do sacrifices all week. Psalm 69, verse 30 says:

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 see 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 our sacrifices. We can still make offerings. We can.

So, we can offer sacrifices during the Festivals. You see, there is so much that we can do. So much we can do. Let’s do it!

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.

We should be so blessed that we just have to rejoice somewhere. We have to go somewhere and just give praise to Yahweh.

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.

The Feast of Tabernacles is the one coming up.

Deuteronomy 16:17 – 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 that? No Levitical priesthood, no Aaronite priesthood functioning to bring our produce, or whatever, to the storehouse. How do we do this?

How can we give to Yahweh and not appear before Yahweh empty handed at the Festival? Well, Proverbs 19:17 says:

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

So, if you are taking what you have made this year, according to what blessing Yahweh has given you, and you give to the poor (which was what the tithe money was for anyway– for the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the Levite and the stranger) and you lend to Yahweh through your giving to the poor, that is something you can do.

That is something you can do to not appear before Yahweh empty handed. In fact, Matthew 25:40:

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.’

And so, that is one way to not come before Yahweh empty handed. You can give to the poor. And so, that is why I have an Alms Fund. That is why I have a Feast Going Fund.

So, let’s say you feel lead to give to the poor. I mean, what better way to give to the poor than to help them come to the Festival and rejoice seven days, where normally they would not be able to afford that?

And so, we have the Feast Going Fund and you can contribute to it. And there are lots of people who are coming to the Feast this year who need financial help, who otherwise would not be able to make it. And so, if you want to contribute to the fund, so far there have only been one or two contributors.

But every year we do this, and so far, we have had enough for everyone. We hope this year will not be an exception. But you can, according to the blessing with which Yahweh has given you. That is one way of doing it.

It doesn’t have to be through Eliyah.com. It can be to someone personally you know who is poor or through some other method. But I am not going to charge an administrative fee, you know. I hope you give to the poor in some way.

So, we can do this, and we can keep this part of the Festival. And so, I encourage that in any way Yahweh may lead you to do. It doesn’t have to be through this ministry. It’s okay and you can give to ministries, also. I am not saying you have to give to my ministry.

But we see here, 1 Corinthians 9:11, says:

And that is why I do not take a salary. I do not want to be paid in this age. I want to be paid in the resurrection.

He is not living off it, but certainly the expectation is there that we would have that right if we chose to take it. Paul did not want to take any salary, and neither do I. I don’t plan to ever do that. Everything I want to do is without charge, without price.

Because I freely receive from Yahweh, I want to freely give. And I don’t want money to be a motivator for anything I do for Him. I don’t want to be corrupted by that.

So, if someone chooses to give to anything I do ministry wise, it stays with the ministry, and I believe I will give account to Yahweh for all that. I normally post, been trying to post, all the expenses and contributions up on the website, but I find myself falling behind just from lack of time. If I had an accountant, that may help.

Anyway, the end goal, the purpose of the Feast Day, is that we would rejoice, that we would rest (not have to worry about work on these Holy Days), that we would give, that we would remember and that we would focus on spiritual things. And so, that is the purpose of the Festival as we come together.

So, while the world has their holidays that focus on the earthly things, on the carnal things, on the things that don’t… you know. I am talking about gifts. I am talking about candies. I am talking about all that kind of thing, you know.

They focus on those things, and that is when they draw the children in. They try to make it happy for them by feeding the carnal nature of them. Our goal for the Festival this year in Missouri is we are going to focus on the spiritual, and that seems to be Yahweh’s intent, His desire, His intention. And so, that is what we want to do.

We want to focus on building up families, and we are going to be talking about this here just after my study today. I will share more about what we are doing here this year with the Feast of Tabernacles.

We are going to go into a second part here next week of this study, and the meanings, and go deeper into Tabernacles and the other Festivals, but until then, I do want to share the calendar one more time here and also Yahweh’s expectation for each Feast Day.

Observing the Feast of Trumpets: On the night of September 6th and 7th, we are going to look into the western sky for up to 45 minutes, or so, 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!

Rest and gather with other believers if possible for a “holy convocation” and focus on Feast of Trumpets scriptures and other scriptures related to Messiah’s return. Praise and worship often! Give shouts of praise or blow the shofar often! Treat it as a Sabbath day except you may cook your meals and feast.

Observing the Day of Atonement: Prior to this day, you want to prepare your heart for a time of corporate repentance and confession of sin. You want to remember the One who has 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. Gather with others if possible for a holy convocation. Corporate repentance as the body of Messiah is expected and appropriate.

Observing the Feast of Tabernacles: Prepare by obtaining a tent or other temporary shelter. Make sure it is rain and wind-worthy. On the evening of September 20th/21st, the Feast of Tabernacles will begin.

This will be your first night in the temporary shelter and 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 that speak of the Festival, the Messiah’s Kingdom, the need to be thankful and temporary nature of this age.

Spend at least 7 nights in the tent or temporary shelter. Do not appear before Yahweh empty-handed. Give some kind of monetary offering, as you are able, to the poor or to Yahweh’s work. During the time you are in the temporary shelter, you can work (except on the regular Sabbath.)

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. On the evening of September 27th/28th (roman reckoning) the Last Great Day begins.

It is not required to stay in a temporary shelter on the Last Great Day. Have a holy convocation, focusing on the scriptures that speak of Yahweh’s promises regarding the new heavens and new earth, which we will get into next week.

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

So, here we go! Feast of Trumpets– September 8th. Day of Atonement– September 17th. First day of the Feast of Tabernacles is the 22nd. We are actually going to arrive in Leasburg here on the 20th because this (the 21st) is a Sabbath day and I don’t want to be setting my tent and stuff up on the Sabbath.

So, we are going to actually start our Feast a little early, and then leave here (the 30th). The Last Great Day is here on the 29th, and these are the nights we will dwell in temporary shelters (the 21st – the 28th). This (the 21st) is one of them… 2nd night… 3rd night… 4th night… 5th night… 6th night… and so on.

If you live down south, you might see the new moon (evening of the 6th). If that is the case, everything shifts backwards. In that case, it would be the 16th for Atonements, 7th for Yom Teruah.

You notice that this also falls on a regular Sabbath day and these days (the 21st and the 28th). You actually have a double Sabbath– a Sabbath on top of a Sabbath. So, there we go.

So those are the dates of the Festivals, and hopefully, that clears up any confusion. We are going to continue to talk about this topic next week as we are now at the hour and fifty-minute mark. I didn’t think it would take me this long, but I guess it has.

And so, we want to observe these Festivals. We are going to share more about the Last Great Day. We are going to share more about Tabernacles and a few other things in the next broadcast. But you know, it is nice to keep these Festivals. It is like a rehearsal for what Yahweh is going to do in the future.

You don’t have to come to the Feast I am hosting, but if you feel lead to come, we would love to have you. But we do need to gather. We need to take our advantages, and one of the advantages we have is the mobility of society. We live very far apart from eachother, but we can gather because our society is very mobile. We have that blessing.

When we come together, we can seek Yahweh together. We can praise Yahweh together. We can make an exodus from society for a week, and you don’t have to wonder whether you are going to be persecuted for having tassels on or any other convictions that you may have.

And we can share Yahweh’s love to our children together. You know, when our children see that there are other people that are doing the things we do, it encourages them, that really, we are one body.

Get connected to the body of Messiah. It is so important. You know, so many of us are out on an island and we struggle and we are just straggling and we are crawling and scratching and clawing and just kind of making our way through.

But you know, when you get connected to the body of Messiah, you exchange phone numbers, you exchange email addresses. You might even find people that live near you.

You come together and it is important. It is an important part of our walk as believers that we would get connected to the body. So, I encourage you to do so.

If you are looking for a Festival to gather, we have one in Missouri. But wherever you go, Yahweh be with you.

Our goal is that we would share meals together; we would pray together; we would grow together; we would grow stronger in our love for eachother and our love for Yahweh and that we would know our brother and our sister; we would know their needs and we would pray for them and build them up; that we would encourage them; that we would empower them.

And if we do that for our brother and sister and our brothers and sisters do that for us– Wow! How much more effective would the body of Messiah really and truly be? And that is what excites me more than anything. It is an opportunity to enhance our love for eachother and for Yahweh our strength. And believe me, every year it is a blessing.

It’s a blessing. Believe me. In fact, don’t just believe me. Believe Him because Yahweh knows best. His ways are always the best ways. I encourage you strongly, don’t miss out.

So, as you keep these Feasts, brothers and sisters, as you draw near to Yahweh, as you join together, wherever you may join together, may Yahweh strengthen you, may Yahweh strengthen the body of the Messiah, may Yahweh fill our hearts with His Word. And may Yahweh bless you, and may Yahweh have mercy on us all.