THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

The Feast of Sukkot, or Tabernacles, is known by and encompasses many different attributes.  One of the most powerful and often overlooked attributes is the Feast’s connection to light.  Light is one of those staple items that finds itself vital in both the natural and spiritual world.  From day one of Creation to the lights of the city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven at the end of Revelation, light is a major subject of the Bible.  Light and its counterpart, darkness, seem to be the subject of many a story in biblical text.  In the Feast of Sukkot, light is one of the primary components of the entire holiday.

The Water Libation Ceremony

This ceremony is quite possibly one of the most powerful and incredibly prophetic ceremonies in all of biblical times: the water libation ceremony.  It happened during the Feast of Sukkot and was unquestionably the most popular part of the week-long celebration.  As a matter of fact, the ancient Jewish sages emphatically stated, "Whoever has never seen the celebrations of the Festival of the water libation has never experienced true joy in his life” (ibid.5,1).  It was said that the lights from the celebration at the Temple were so bright that they caused shadows in villages six miles away!  What was it about this celebration within a celebration that made it so surreal, so fantastic, that someone could actually say that if you hadn't participated in it you had never experienced true joy?  What on earth is a water libation anyway, and why is it so significant for us today?  Well, that is exactly what we are about to find out.

Part 2: When Was  Jesus Born?

When Was Jesus Born? First of all, why is this even an important question? Well, how well would it go for you to celebrate your spouse’s birthday, or one of your kids’ birthdays, on the wrong day? Worse yet, what if you chose to celebrate your wife’s birthday on the same day as one of your old girlfriend’s birthdays? How well would that go over? This question is relevant because the scriptures command us to follow the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, so help us God. We would call it disrespectful to change your wife’s birthday to a different day. Yet when it comes to the Son of God, we have taken the position that it doesn't matter? I am of the position that most of us would teach our children that even the smallest lie is not acceptable. So in order for us to discover when Yeshua was actually born, I think it’s important to know when He was not born.

Part One

The Feast of Sukkot, better known as the Feast of Tabernacles. What is it? Where did it come from? And how does it apply to us today as believers in Jesus/Yeshua? This eight-day holiday is many people’s favorite. It’s a time of celebration, remembrance, feasting, and extended fellowship. Where traditional, modern-day Christians get excited about celebrating a single holiday or two during the year, early believers were accustomed to celebrating seven holidays consisting of almost twenty days of unparalleled joy, feasting, remembrance, and reflection toward the King of kings and Lord of lords. In this quick article, I would like to break a few things down for you about this most celebrated feast day, things I hope will not only bring the holiday to life for you, but will also give you a tangible sense of its prophetic power and how it points to the Second Coming of the Messiah.