You shall observe . . . the feast of Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. Exodus 23:16b NASB
Today, October 23, 2024, we are nearing the end of the Feast of Tabernacles which is described in the verse above. This feast day is also called The Ingathering, and the Feast of Booths for the temporary shelters constructed to celebrate. The Hebrew word is Sukkot which literally means tent or tabernacle. During this season, I like to review the feasts that God established in the book of Leviticus.
The fall feast season begins with the 1) Feast of Trumpets, calling individuals and nations to repentance. Ten days later is the 2) Day of Atonement, when the repentant are forgiven or atoned for. and 3) Feast of Tabernacles which is a joyous celebration of the ingathering of the harvest.
All Christians celebrated “God’s feasts,” the feasts that God established, until about 300AD. At that time the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion and stripped it of its Jewish roots. He gave us Christmas and Easter instead.
Until I became an avid Bible reader, I thought the feasts were only relevant to the Jews. But, the opposite is true! Each of the feasts are a prophetic foreshadowing of the Messiah who is Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled every prophecy of the spring feasts, in the minutest detail. That is a fascinating study for another time.
The Fall Feasts have yet to be fulfilled. So attentive Bible readers, like me, are looking for those feasts to be fulfilled at Jesus’ second coming.
1) We are waiting for the trumpet blast (1 Thess.4:16) which will call us home and present us before God for His favor. See Feast of Trumpets in Leviticus 23:23-25.
2) We are looking for Jesus to right all wrongs and to purify His holy place. Compare Ephesians 1:9-10 to Leviticus 16:29-34 where God establishes the Day of Atonement.
3) We are anxious to finally celebrate the harvest with Jesus, the Lord of the harvest! That’s what the Feast of Tabernacles is. It is a celebration of the harvest (see Exodus 23:16b). Jesus Himself explains that harvest in Matthew 13:36-43. He says, “The righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Also see Revelation 14:15 where angelic reapers come out of heaven “because the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
Yes, Jesus is coming soon to fulfill ALL the feasts that God has established. I’m ready and waiting. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!