Holy Days

The sequence of annual holy days described in Leviticus 23 is understood by Seventh-day Adventists to be a prophetic pre-enactment of the whole sweep of salvation history from the death of the Messiah to the time of the Age to Come.¹Both the spring feasts of the Hebrew festival calendar and the fall high holy days of the seventh month, culminating in Yom Kippur, are seen to have been fulfilled right on time.²

Only one festival from Leviticus 23 yet remains to be fulfilled: Sukkot, the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34–36, 39–43), which came "at the end of the year" (Exodus 23:16),³ in the seventh month (Tishri 15–21, September–October in our modern calendar). Both the Hebrew Bible and the Second Testament point to the ultimate end-time celebration of this festival in the New Earth of the Messianic Age to Come (Zechariah 14:16 and Revelation 21–22), which, as we will see below, is saturated with Sukkot imagery.

Although churches do not consider it mandatory to observe the Hebrew festivals (since we see these festivals inextricably linked with the sacrificial system [Leviticus 23:37], which was fulfilled in the death of the Messiah [Daniel 9:27], at the same time we regard the festivals as full of spiritual significance for us today. Many of us derive great satisfaction and spiritual meaning as we savor the richness of our Hebrew roots by marking these festivals of joy. Of all the festivals that offer opportunities for celebration and rejoicing, I have found none to be as appealing and relevant as the Feast of Tabernacles, especially since it is the one festival still awaiting its primary fulfillment in the future.

It was over thirty years ago when, as a young pastor in Flagstaff, Arizona, I discovered during my devotional reading a recommendation written by one of the co-founders of the Seventh-day Adventist movement: "Well would it be for the people of God at the present time to have a Feast of Tabernacles—a joyous commemoration of the blessings of God to them."⁴ I took this quotation to my local community, and they enthusiastically voted to celebrate such a feast! When the time of Sukkot came, we closed the church, went out into the woods surrounding Flagstaff, and savored the joy of Tabernacles. Marking the Feast of Tabernacles became a tradition in that little mountain-town church. It has remained a tradition in my own spiritual experience for the past thirty years. I regularly invite my students over to my house at the time of Tabernacles, and we explore the beauty and joy of this wonderful festival. With thousands of Seventh-day Adventists, I have shared a taste of Sukkot's spectacular splendor in scores of different venues over the last three decades. The marking of this festival has become quite popular in many Seventh-day Adventist congregations.

In this article, instead of a theoretical reflection on the theology of Sukkot, let us consider some of what I share with (largely non-Jewish) Adventist audiences about the rich spiritual meaning and experience of this most joyous Hebrew Festival when we savor Sukkot together.

My fellow celebrants are first reminded that the biblical and Talmudic writers often speak of Sukkot simply as "the feast," because it was considered the crowning festival of the whole year⁵ (see, e.g., 1 Kings 12:32). It was the most popular and most anticipated of all the feasts. Sukkot was a time of spiritual well-being, since it occurred right after Yom Kippur, when assurance had been given that the people's sins were pardoned and they were at peace with God. It was a time of material well-being, coming when the last of the year's harvest had been gathered in (hence its alternate name, Feast of Ingathering"; Exodus 23:16; 34:22). The other annual festivals involved times of joy, but especially regarding Tabernacles, does the Bible enjoin the celebrants to rejoice? Leviticus 23:40 gives the jubilant command: "You shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days!" Deuteronomy 16:14–16 twice more calls for rejoicing at the time of Sukkot.

In our celebrations, the participants are urged to strip away their Western reserve and enter into the true Hebrew spirit of vigor and enthusiasm. I usually invite the congregation to come with me in their imagination back in time to the first century of the Common Era and through space to Jerusalem, to the very time and place in which Yeshua Himself celebrated this feast.

We imagine that we are bands of happy pilgrims, going up to Jerusalem from various parts of the land of Israel, chanting the pilgrimage songs of ascents (Psalms 120–134). We often sing one of these Hebrew songs: Psalm 133:1: Hineh mah tov umah nayim, shevet achim gam yachad ("How good and how pleasant it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in festival oneness"⁶). As we all surmount one of the seven hills surrounding Jerusalem, we see a white-robed priest standing on the southwest corner of the Temple Mount with shofar in hand and hear the piercing blasts of his horn calling us to the feast. To heighten the imagination, I blow a shofar (usually the large brilliant-toned ibex horn) and have the congregation respond with the words from Psalm 48:2 (KJV): "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king:'

The first thing the pilgrims did as they arrived for the feast on Yeshua's day was to cut "the product of hadar (goodly) trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook" (Leviticus 23:40 NJPS). The celebrants waved branches joyfully before the Lord. In our celebrations, all are provided branches, or if we are in a rural setting, we cut our own branches and wave them energetically while exuberantly singing the songs of Zion.

Branches from various kinds of trees were also used to build a sukkah (tabernacle or booth; Leviticus 23:23; Nehemiah 8:15) for each family. In these booths, the family members would eat, sleep, study Torah, and rejoice for seven days. In our Adventist "savoring" of Tabernacles, we sometimes construct a large sukkah, and as many as possible sit inside the booth. Often our celebration in an Adventist setting takes place at a "campmeeting," and the main auditorium is a tent, which we regard as our (collective) booth, while the campers' sleeping tents become individual family booths. In our congregational sukkah, we read the Torah (remembering that every seven years the entire Torah was read at Tabernacles time, Deuteronomy 31:10–13), sing the Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120–134), and eat special delicacies (inspired by the counsel in Deuteronomy 14:26 and 16:13–16). We thank God for His many bounties during the past year (Deuteronomy 16:15) and meditate upon the significance of the sacrifices offered during the feast—more sacrifices than for all other festivals combined.⁷

We especially consider the meaning of the booths in which God's people were asked to dwell for a week each year. First of all, they pointed backward, commemorating the pilgrimage of Israel in the wilderness when they lived in tents or booths: "You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus  23:42–43).Throughout the long years of wandering, God's protection had continually been manifest. The Feast was a kind of national Thanksgiving day, resembling the modern American and Canadian Thanksgiving holidays, and today Sukkot provides an appropriate time to say "Happy Thanksgiving!" as well as chag sameach ("Happy Feast!").

The booths in Old Testament times also pointed forward to the Messianic Booth, which would give every other booth meaning. In Amos 9:11, God promised to send the Messiah, the Son of David, as the true "Booth." The Lord says, "In that day I will raise up the booth [sukkah, the same word as for the booth of Sukkot] of David that is fallen" (NRSV). I point out to the congregation that, according to Christian understanding, the true Booth is Yeshua HaMashiach. He is the living tabernacle of the feast of tabernacles. John 1:14 says,And the Word became flesh and dwelt [Greek, skenoo, lit. 'tabernacled/boothed'] among us. In Yeshua, our booth, we may dwell secure.

The booths also reflect our present experience. This earth is a pilgrimage. We are dwelling in the "tents/tabernacles" of our earthly bodies (2 Corinthians 5:1), awaiting the transformation and glorification that is to come. We are like Abraham, who by faith "sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles... for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:9–10, KJV).

Finally, the Feast of Booths points us forward to the ultimate tabernacle. The shout will go forth when the New Jerusalem descends from heaven after the millennium: "The tabernacle [Greek, skene] of God is with men, and He will dwell [lit. "tabernacle;' skenoo] with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God" (Revelation 21:3, NKJV).

In the conclusion of this article, we will return to this climactic fulfillment of Sukkot in the Age to Come. But first, let us grasp in our imagination some of the dramatic ceremonies of the Feast of Tabernacles in Second Temple times. The most impressive Sukkot Temple ritual was called the "water of outpouring" (Beth ha-Sho'ebah), in commemoration of God's supply of water from the rock in the wilderness.⁸ At dawn every day of the feast, there was a long blast of trumpets, followed by shouts from the pilgrims in their booths on the surrounding hills of Jerusalem. Then the designated priest led a procession down the steep slope of Mt. Zion to the pool of Siloam and filled a golden flagon holding three logs (about one and a half pints). Next, he made his way slowly up again toward the Temple Mount, and as he reached the Water Gate, the shofar was blown with a sustained, quavering, and another sustained blast. The priest lifted the golden flagon on high, and while the trumpets continued sounding, he slowly ascended the fifteen white marble steps of the temple, keeping time with the music and chanting, "Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem" (Psalms 122:2).

Then the priest ascended the altar ramp and turned to the right, where there were two silver bowls—a bowl to the west for the water and a bowl to the east for the libation of wine. Each bowl had a spout at the bottom. The spout for the wine was wider than the one for the water, so that the wine, which flowed more slowly, would empty out at the same time as the water. The flagons of blood-red wine and water were poured into the bowls and flowed together into a pipe, down under the temple court through a subterranean passageway to the Brook Kidron, down the Brook Kidron through the Wilderness of Judea, and finally out into the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth. The worshipers witnessed this display of consecrated liquid representing the fountain, which at God's command had gushed from the rock in the wilderness, and spontaneously the jubilant strains rang forth:The Lord is my strength and my song; therefore, with joy, shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:2, 3).

What joy animated the worshipers who witnessed this scene! In fact, the rabbis exclaimed, "He who has never seen the joy of the water of outpouring has never in his life seen joy."⁹ As we re-enact the heart of this ritual (pouring from pitchers of glass, not gold!), I often exclaim, "O the joy that comes from grasping the Messianic meaning of this service." and describe to the congregation how I believe Yeshua brought such joy.

It was the Feast of Tabernacles, 30 C.E., the last Sukkot that Yeshua would attend before His death.¹⁰ According to John 7:37, it was "the last day, the great day of the feast.' Yeshua had been teaching day by day throughout the festival, but now this final morning the priest had ascended from the pool of Siloam for the last time that year, and the ceremony reached a grand climax at the pouring out of the water and the wine from golden pitchers into the silver bowls. As the people were dazzled by the splendor of the ritual and the music, but searching for the ultimate meaning of the service, Yeshua lifted up his voice, and in tones that rang throughout the temple courts, he proclaimed, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water"' (John 7:37–38).

Adventist Christians believe that Yeshua is the real fountain of living waters. A few short weeks after celebrating his last Sukkot, he hung himself on a cross and died. A Roman soldier thrust a spear in His side, and from it water and blood mingled together, down to the spiritual "Dead Sea''—to the lowest spot on earth, to the lowest sinner, the most hopeless case—to give life, living waters of salvation, and to make each of us veritable pools of Siloam to share living water with other sinners. For Christians, Yeshua is the embodiment and the spiritual meaning of the water service.

Another spectacular Temple ritual took place every evening during the Feast of Tabernacles in Second Temple times—the ceremony of lights.¹¹ In the Court of the Women arose two lofty standards supporting massive golden candelabras fifty cubits (some 75 feet) high. After the evening sacrifice, four young boys of the priestly line climbed ladders while carrying jars containing 120 logs (about ten gallons) of oil, and they poured the oil into the four golden bowls at the top of each lampstand. Then they took huge wicks made from the worn-out clothes of the priests, thrust them down into the oil, and with torches set the lamps alight. According to the Mishnah, "there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that did not reflect the light of the lamps."¹² Far into the night, joyful Jews continued their celebration in the glow of the lighted standards. They danced before the Lord with burning torches in their hands, shouting "Hosanna" (Aramaic for "save now!"), waving palm branches, and singing songs of praise. And "countless Levites [played] on harps, lyres, cymbals, and trumpets, and [other] instruments of music, on the fifteen steps leading down from the Court of the Israelites to the Court of the Women, corresponding to the Fifteen Songs of Ascents in the Psalms."¹³

The light that brought such joy commemorated the pillar of fire that had guided Israel in the desert.¹⁴ It was also widely believed among the Jews of Yeshua's day that the light pointed to the Messiah, who would come to shed His light upon Israel. Such was the expectation in 30 C.E., when night after night Yeshua witnessed the lighting of the great lamps. But he made no announcement then. The light of the lamps was impressive, but it was an inadequate symbol of His universal mission. So Yeshua waited till the sunrise service¹⁵ that took place every morning; perhaps it was the last morning of the feast. Two priests stood at the upper (Nicanor) gate that leads down the fifteen steps from the Court of the Israelites to the Court of Women, with two trumpets in their hands. As the rooster crowed, they blew a sustained, quavering, and another sustained blast and began descending the steps. There were more trumpet blasts on the tenth step and again when they reached the Court of the Women. They continued across the court to the gate that leads out to the east (the Golden Gate). Then they turned their faces toward the west, toward the Temple building, and intoned, "Our fathers when they were in this place turned with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they worshiped the sun toward the east; but as for us, our eyes are turned to the Lord."

By this climactic point in the morning service, the sun had just risen above the Mount of Olives, and its rays shimmered with dazzling brightness off the snow-white marble of the temple walls and sparkled on the temple's gold-capped pillars. Here, in the magnificence of the sunrise, was the more perfect symbol of the glory of the Messiah's global mission! At this dramatic hour, with the sunlit splendor before them and the words on their lips, "We are the Lord's, and our eyes are turned to the Lord."¹⁶ Yeshua, pointing to the scene, called out in clarion tones, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'' (John 8:12). Yeshua announced that He is the Messianic Light, the Glory of Israel, and yes, as the sun shines over the whole earth, Yeshua is also the Light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6),the true Light, which gives light to every man" (John 1:9).

The First Advent of the Messiah gave partial meaning to the symbols of Sukkot. But as we noted earlier, the Feast of Tabernacles ultimately points beyond the Messiah's first coming. His life, death, and resurrection are the provisions, making possible that ultimate feast of tabernacles that still lies in the future. After the great Cosmic Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)¹⁷ comes to an end, the New Jerusalem descends to earth, and God's people finally are gathered into their Harvest Ho me (Revelation 20–22). The meek finally inherit the earth (Psalms 37:11; Matthew 5:5). The seed of Abraham finally finds rest in the Promised Land. And the glorious ultimate Feast of Tabernacles can begin!

As one studies the descriptions of the historical Feast of Tabernacles and then compares these with the book of Revelation, it becomes clear that the depictions of the New Earth are largely portrayed in the imagery of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Revelation 21 describes the descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven, and a voice exclaims, "The Tabernacle of God is with men" (v. 3)! The New Jerusalem, in the shape of a cube (v. 16), constitutes the Holy of Holies of the eternal

Tabernacle. At that climactic Sukkot, the water festival is there. Not just a goblet from the pool of Siloam, nor even water gushing from a rock, but a river of water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1). The light ceremony is there. Not just lampstands in the Court of Women, nor even a pillar of fire, nor even the dazzling sun; but the Lord God and the Lamb are the light (Revelation 21:23). The waving of the palm branches is there: "A great multitude, which no one could count, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands" (Revelation 7:9). And singing. Oh, such singing! The multitude praised God with a loud voice, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb... Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" (Revelation 7:10, 12). And what a festive meal is prepared! Not just the manna provided by God for Israel in the wilderness, nor even the harvest bounty that was carried by worshipers coming up to Jerusalem. God Himself has set the feast (Revelation 19:9). Besides the "angels' food" of "hidden manna" (Psalms 78:25 NKJV; Revelation 2:17), there will be the exquisite drink from the fruit of the vine, which Yeshua will at last partake of again (Matthew 26:29), and the luscious varieties of fruit from the tree of life (Revelation 22:2).

I usually ask those with whom I am sharing a taste of Tabernacles,Is there anyone among us who can resist an invitation to such a a festivalCan a stronger motivation be given than picturing the glories of that great feast? Is it any wonder that Yeshua gives the final invitation of Christian Scripture in the setting of the Feast of Tabernacles? After the glories of the New Jerusalem are described in Revelation 21–22, we read: "The Spirit and bride say, 'Come, and let the one who hears say, 'Come, and let the one who is thirsty come; let one who wishes take the water of life [the water of that ultimate Tabernacle ceremony] without cost" (Revelation 22:17).

As we conclude our savoring of Sukkot, I share with the congregation that after the Jewish temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. and the Jewish people were forced out of Jerusalem into exile in the Diaspora, the feasts were still celebrated at the synagogues, often in secret amid much suffering and persecution. But at the conclusion of those feasts, the parting greeting of the worshipers was invariably the same:Next year in Jerusalem!" Still today, with the return of the Jewish people to their homeland, the greeting continues, slightly modified:Next year in Jerusalem, rebuilt!" I invite my Christian brothers and sisters to join with our Jewish brothers and sisters and exclaim, "Next year, very soon, by God's grace, may we celebrate the ultimate Feast of Tabernacles in the New Jerusalem!"

May this common greeting bind Jewish and Gentile hearts together in a common hope for the soon-coming Messianic kingdom and the eternal Feast of Tabernacles in the Father's house!

 

 

Richard M. Davidson, Ph.D.

 

1. For evidence that the festival calendar of Lev 23 is not only commemorative and liturgical, but also prophetic, see, e.g., Richard M. Davidson, "Sanctuary Typology;' in Symposium on Revelation, Book I (Daniel and Revelation Committee Series, 6; ed. Frank B. Holbrook; Silver Spring, Md.: Biblical Research Institute, 1992), 119-121.
2. For the fulfillment of these festivals and Holy Days, see Richard M. Davidson, "Festivals of the Bible;' Shabbat Shalom (April 1996): 25-26; idem, "Ponder the Passover!" Shabbat Shalom 53, no. l (2006): 4-9; and idem,"The Good News of Yorn Kippur in Seventh-day Adventist Theology;' Shabbat Shalom 54, no. 2 (2007): 4-8. These articles, along with others cited below that I have written, may be accessed on my website: www.andrews.edu/ ~davidson. For a Messianic interpretation of the seventy-week prophecy of Daniel 9, see Jacques Doukhan, Daniel: The Vision of the End (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 1987), 31-44.
3. Exodus 34:22 speaks of this festival coming "at the turn of the year" (Updated NASB; all citations in this article are from this version unless otherwise noted).
4. Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (1890; reprint, Boise, ID: Pacific Press, 1958), 540-1. Tabernacles is the only Old Testament festival thus recommended; I believe this is because Ellen White recognized that although all the annual festivals of Leviticus 23 in principle met their fulfillment when the ceremonial law met its Antitype at the death of Yeshua, this is the only one that has not yet reached its primary fulfillment, and thus, this festival of Tabernacles is still of special importance. Note, however, that Ellen White says, "well would it be" -not that we are required to, in contrast with the weekly Sabbath, which has been mandatory for all humanity since creation (Gen 2:1-3; Exod 20:8-11; Mark 2:27).
5. See, e.g., 1 Kings 8:2; 12:31; 2 Chronicles 5:3. Cf. Josephus, Antiquities 8.4.1, who referred to Sukkot as a"most holy and most eminent feast:'
6. Translation mine.

See Num 29:12-38. The large number of sacrifices (199 animals total) offered at the Feast ofTabernacles (including its final eighth day) in the Christian tradition teaches us that for all we receive from God, even for the bounties of the earth at harvest time, we are indebted to the sacrifice of the Messiah (see Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, Nov. 10, 1896). The fact that the first kind of sacrifice mentioned for each day-the bulls for the burnt offering­descends from thirteen in number on the first day, twelve on the second, and so on, to seven on the seventh day, and then to only one bull on the eighth day, may prefigure the coalescing of all sacrifices of the ceremonial system into the one sacrifice of the Messiah, predicted in Psalm 40:6-8, and expounded upon in Hebrews 10:5-14. The eighth day of the feast, given the name ofSimchat Torah-"rejoicing in the Law"-in post-biblical times, is now considered a separate festival. For its significance from a Christian perspective, see Richard M. Davidson, "Simhat Torah: The Joy of the Bible;' Shabbat Shalom (December 1995): 20-23.

8. Biblical passages referring to the water from the rock include Exodus 17:5-6; c£ Numbers 20:10-11; Deuteronomy 8:15; Nehemiah 9:15; Psalms 78:15; 105:41; 114:8; 1 Corinthians 10:4. For the description of the Second Temple water ceremony which follows, I am dependent primarily on the account in the Mishnah, Sukkah 4.9-10. C£ Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages (1898; reprint, Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1964), 447-454.
9. Mishnah, Sukkah 5.1.
10. See the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary, rev. ed. (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1979), 432-433.
11. For this ceremony, see Mishnah, Sukkah 5.2-4; and Bab.Talmud, Sukkah 5.2; c£ White, Desire of Ages, 448, 463-464.
12. Mishnah, Sukkah 5.3.
13. Mishnah, Sukkah 5:4.
14. Biblical passages describing the pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day include Exodus 13:21-22; 14:19, 24; 33:9, 10; Numbers 9:15; 10:34; 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:33; Nehemiah 9:12; Psalms 78:14; 99:7; 105:39; Isaiah 4:5; and 1 Corinthians 10:1.
15. For the following description, I am dependent upon the account in the Mishnah, Sukkah 5.4.
16. According to Rabbi Judah, they used to repeat these words during the sunrise service described above. Mishnah, Sukkah 5.4.
17. For discussion of the cosmic Kippur, see my article and the whole issue of Shabbat Shalom 54, no. 2 (2007), devoted to the Day of Atonement.