2023.10.01.Sermon Notes_Feast of Tabernacles – Sukkot, the Ingathering
William Akehurst, HSWC
Scriptures: Luke 21:25-28, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Acts 3:19-21, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, Zechariah 14:1-21
SUKKOT - THE INGATHERING - LOOK UP AS OUR REDEMPTION IS NEAR
Sukkot – The Feast of Tabernacles
BIG IDEA: The FEASTS of the LORD all celebrate the seasons of JESUS. From Passover to First Fruits, to Pentecost, and then The Day of Repentance - Rosh Hashanah, the Days of Awe - Return and the Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur, to “the ingathering” of Sukkot. Each one represents our spiritual need and destiny to those in which they are fulfilled.
Sukkot, The Feast of Tabernacles, the Season of our Joy, and the Ingathering is a time of celebration of things past, and things to come. These temporary gathering places, called Sukkahs are constructed outdoors and open to the sky, give symbolic meaning to the words, “Look up, for your redemption draws near,” and “caught up together…to meet the LORD in the air.”
Luke 21:25-28 (NKJV)
25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NKJV)
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Note: Friday night 9/29 is the Harvest Moon. A Full moon that will brighten the evening as if daylight.
(See Zechariah 14:7)
Friday morning, I received a call from a Jewish friend in Florida, who asked me if I had built my Sukkah yet. He built his at Shul (synagogue) where those with Condos can complete this Jewish Ritual.
During the Feast of Tabernacles, families create an outdoor living space where they will eat their meals and rest, spending as much time as possible in this “booth” or open sky tent. As I look to the open sky, I am reminded to “Look up, for your redemption draws near.”
SUKKOT: The Feast of Tabernacles is also called ‘the season of our joy’ (a time of harvest) the ‘Feast of Ingathering’ (Exodus 23:16), the ‘Feast of THE LORD’ (Leviticus 23:39) or simply ‘the Feast’ (1 Kings 8:2). All these names add to its significance.
This feast is known as the season of our joy or the feast of ingathering. The “Joy” was from the abundance of the ingathering at the end of the harvest season: Sukkot or Tabernacles is the time when the produce or “Fruits” of the fields, orchards and vineyards are gathered in. The storehouse, the granaries, the threshing floors and presses are full to capacity. The time of labor has finally brought its reward. The farmer feels full of happiness, thus ‘the season of joy’.
This Feast really anticipates the time of GOD’s harvest. The time when the “remnant” of Israel is reconciled and gathered to Him – the harvest of souls – therefore, ‘the Feast of THE LORD’.
After having come through these Fall Feasts, I can understand why so many who are still seeking the first coming of the Messiah are expecting the MESSIAH to come during or shortly after these Fall Feasts.
Rosh Hashanah begins the Day of Repentance with 2 high priests looking up into the sky for the first instance of the sliver of the new moon to shine. Once the two witness that instance, the Trumpet Sounds to usher in the evening of Rosh Hashanah. The days that follow are called the Days of Awe and are a week-long time of repentance, or as stated by the Hebrew word Teshuva, to Return back to the LORD GOD. This all culminates on the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, when the sacrifices were made in the Temple. Following Yom Kippur, at the Full Moon, the final celebration begins, Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of the Ingathering, and with it, the “season of our joy” brings it all together.
As Believers in JESUS, we can understand, that we come to GOD realizing the Awesomeness of who HE is, and that we lack and fall short of HIS Glory and need salvation, or atonement for our sins.
JESUS is that atonement, and the Savior to all who will receive this Free Gift of the GOD who so loved the world, that HE gave JESUS, HIS only begotten Son, that whosoever believes, will not perish for their sins, but rather, be granted everlasting life.
And this same JESUS commanded us to share the GOOD NEWS of Salvation to all people. And one day, in the twinkling of an eye, there will be a “massive Ingathering”, a Harvest of Souls, a Feast of THE LORD, a season of rejoicing, in which we who remain will “meet the LORD in the air.”
Each year, many Jews are expecting the coming of Messiah to happen in the FALL FEASTS.
This Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Ingathering, or season of joy makes sense as it would be a time of Harvest of the souls gathered together in an instance, and a twinkling of an eye.
When I was touring in Israel in 2018, we walked from the Mount of Olives, down the Hosanna Road, with the Jewish graves to our left, and another garden on the right side of the road. (Note: We stopped there and saw trees with massive thorns, of which were used to make a crown which was beaten on the head of our Savior.) As we stopped there, our guide told of a time coming, the Day of the LORD, as he quoted from Zechariah 14.
Point: While many Jewish people are waiting on the coming Messiah, they hold to this chapter 14 of Zechariah, and fail to see that the earlier chapters are prophecy which was fulfilled in JESUS. Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
Final Thoughts. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if JESUS came back in the clouds and we who remained meet HIM in the air, at this time, and at this season?!!!
And if it were to happen during this Feast of Tabernacles and Feast of the Ingathering, wouldn’t that be amazing?
I’m not saying this is WHEN it WOULD happen, but rather when it COULD happen,
So, the questions that linger are these…
Are YOU READY? There is no better time than now.
AND, Are you, believer, leaving anyone behind?
Get the WORD out, JESUS is coming Soon!
Even so LORD JESUS, come quickly. Amen
MY SCRIPTURE NOTES
RETURN TO GOD – Repent and be converted. Receive the refreshing of HOLY SPIRIT.
Acts 3:19-21
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
CONCERNING THE TIMES AND SEASONS.
THE LORD set up times and seasons, feasts and special times throughout the Torah, and stated that they are to be kept “forever”. We know that JESUS also kept those Feasts, and we learned from PASSOVER that HE is the Passover Lamb when HE said to take and eat the matzah as this is my body, and with the cup, take this cup, my cup, of the New Testament, the new covenant representing my blood shed for you.
We understand the seasons of the year, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. However, the LORD’s times and seasons are all about the “Feasts of the LORD” throughout the year, which are governed by the cycles of the moon.
One prophecy heard through scripture came to fruition in December 2021, when we saw the Statue of the “guardian for international peace and security” put on display at the UN Headquarters in New York.
The statue, which depicts a jaguar with an eagle's wings, was installed outside of U.N. headquarters in New York. It was created by artists Jacobo and Maria Angeles as a "guardian for international peace and security" and was donated to the U.N. by the government of Oaxaca, Mexico in December 2021.
We are truly living in the last days, waiting for the LORD’s Return.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 The Day of the Lord
1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.
2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
While the world around us, is in fear of what is coming, we can rejoice, knowing these things must come and more importantly that JESUS IS COMING SOON.
MY SCRIPTURE NOTES:
Zechariah 14 – Prophesies and Speaks of:
• The Day of the LORD vs. 1
• The war of nations against Jerusalem vs. 2
• The conquering of those nations by the LORD vs. 3
• The LORD’s return: vs 4
• HIS feet to stand upon the Mount of Olives.
• The land splitting in two (along Hosanna Road) As is believed by many Jews.
• “The Ingathering” – The LORD coming and all the saints with HIM vs 5
• The Time, not day or night, but at evening there will be light (a full moon) 6-7
• Living Waters vs 8 and 10 (my Jewish guide said to buy desert land around the dead sea because of this verse)
• The LORD is KING over all. 9
• A terrible apocalypse. 12
• Restoration of wealth 14
• GOD has stated regarding the Feasts of the LORD, that they are to be kept, forever. See verses 16-20
• All who remain worshipping the LORD and keeping the Feast of Tabernacles.
Zechariah 14 (NKJV)
The Day of the LORD is coming.
(cf. Ezek. 38; 39; Mark 13; Rev. 20—22)
1 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.
5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You (HIM).
6 It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; The lights will diminish.
7 It shall be one day Which is known to the LORD— Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light.
(Interesting that the FEAST of TABERNACLES begins on the Full Moon, the HARVEST MOON!)
8 And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be— “The LORD is one,” And His name one.
10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.
11 The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.
13 It shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor,
And raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand;
14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.
15 Such also shall be the plague on the horse and the mule,
On the camel and the donkey, and on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be.
16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
20 In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the LORD of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
It amazes me of these Fall Feast Celebrations, and why many Messiah seeking Jews believe that HE will come during these feasts, or shortly thereafter. With our eyes opened, these feasts all show us that JESUS is the answer, and the remarkable plan that GOD designed, that begins with a Trumpet call to repentance.
Repentance, In Hebrew, the word is “teshuvah”, which in our bibles translates it to repentance, but the true meaning is found in this Hebrew teshuvah word, which means “to return”. “To Return to GOD”. GOD’s Call to Repentance is more that turning from sin, more than change, it’s “to return to GOD”. HE is calling us, the prodigals…HOME.
Then with the Days of Awe, we examine ourselves in light of the LORD, and see how far we fall short. Last week, I taught on the Al Chets, or the 44 statements used in JEWISH Tradition to bring our sin before the LORD and ask for HIS forgiveness, it’s quite a lesson on self-examination, and it’s an eye opener of my own faults before the LORD and how short I am to living up to HIS command over us to “Be Holy, for I AM HOLY”.
We realize we can’t do it on our own, and are in dire need for Atonement, which was all accomplished on the Cross by the Final Passover Sacrifice, the LAMB of GOD, YESHUA-JESUS, the Messiah that many Jews are still searching for…
And finally, the Day or Week of the Ingathering, when all the fruits of our labors is gathered together. The Harvest is ready, but the workers are few. We produce the Fruits of Righteousness, when we share the GOOD NEWS of OUR SAVIOR. And to think that the angels told the disciples when JESUS ascended, that HE would return in the same way. It gives a whole new meaning to the “ingathering” and HIM coming in the clouds and HIS followers joining HIM in the air.
I believe Zechariah 14, is the millennial return, vs. 5 “when the LORD my GOD will come and all the saints with YOU.”
We know that time is short, and we are here for HIS Purpose in this season of our lives.
Get the word out!
FATHER, we come and celebrate YOUR Feast, as we await CHRIST’s Return with anticipation and expectation. We rejoice in these Feasts as we are reminded that they all declare the glory of JESUS to those who believe. We look forward to the day of the Heavenly Ingathering occurs, and when we can all sit at the table and fellowship in YOUR Presence. Until that time, use us LORD GOD to declare YOUR glory and YOUR Salvation unto all those around us. We give Praise, Honor and Glory to YOUR Name, and ask in JESUS Name, even so LORD, come quickly. Amen.
Be blessed and Be a Blessing,
Bill
