Sunday, October 15, 2017

Why Should Christians Celebrate the Biblical Festival Called the Eighth Day or the Last Great Day? Jesus Risks His Life to Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:  We celebrated The Last Great Day on Friday.

“Many are also surprised to learn that these feasts of the Bible are prophesied to be celebrated by all nations after Jesus Christ’s second coming to establish the Kingdom of God.”

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Bible stories and pictures for the kids to color:

Jesus and the Feast of Tabernacles

“Jesus once celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles even though people were trying to kill Him. Why was it so important to Him to attend that He went secretly?

Jesus and the Feast of Tabernacles

PDF to print for family reading

As Jesus was growing up, He went to the festivals in Jerusalem with His family (Luke 2:41-42). He continued to obey the command to keep God’s seven festivals every year as an adult.

But as He became more well-known, His enemies got angrier at Him. Some people were confused by Jesus. Some thought He was deceiving people. Some were upset because He pointed out the things they were doing wrong. And others were angry because He broke some of the rules that people had added to God’s law.

The Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus. The Bible says they hated and feared Him so much they wanted to kill Him!

“My time has not yet come”

In the fall when it was time to go to the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus’ brothers seemed surprised that He wasn’t getting ready to go. Even His brothers didn’t believe that He was a teacher sent by God. So they told Him that He should go and impress people by doing miracles—if He was really able to.

Jesus told them to go without Him. “My time has not yet come,” He said (John 7:6). He knew that the leaders in Judea hated Him and wanted to kill Him. So He said, “I am not yet going up to this feast” (verse 8).

But after His brothers had gone, Jesus did go to Jerusalem for the Feast. But He went secretly, without drawing attention to Himself.”      Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/bible-study/bible-stories/jesus-and-the-feast-of-tabernacles/ 

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On the Eighth Day

Leviticus 23:36

“For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.

Sunset began the Eighth Day (also called the Last Great Day), which is observed every year on the 22nd day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. This is the last holy day of the year and represents the culmination of the plan of God.  Members of the Church of God WWA, and many other churches, are gathered all around the world to observe this last of God’s festivals.

This day pictures the final stage of God’s plan for all of mankind—the future event when God will resurrect the billions of human beings who never had the opportunity to learn and live God’s true way of life. Revelation 20:11-12 pictures this momentous time when billions will be raised to physical life and have an understanding of the Bible opened to them.

This is the realization of one of God’s greatest purposes: God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

To read more about the incredible meaning of this Last Great Day, read our article “The Last Great Day: The Final Harvest.”  below.”

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The Last Great Day: The Final Harvest

After the Millennium, pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles, comes another time of spiritual harvest pictured by the Eighth Day or Last Great Day.

The Last Great Day

The seven-day-long Feast of Tabernacles is associated with the 1,000 years of Jesus Christ’s rule on the earth. So continuing in Revelation 20, we come to the Great White Throne Judgment, which corresponds with the Eighth Day or Last Great Day. Verse 5 points out that “the rest of the dead” wouldn’t be resurrected until after the thousand years, which would make this the second resurrection.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:11-12).

Another view of the second resurrection

This same resurrection is described in other passages that help us to understand it more fully.

Ezekiel 37 describes a valley full of bones that God resurrects to physical life. In this passage God addresses the children of Israel being resurrected: “Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land” (verses 13-14).

During this time, pictured by the Last Great Day, God raises these Israelites as living, breathing human beings, and He offers them His Holy Spirit, which is the same as offering them the chance for salvation and eternal life. God is completely fair and merciful, so these are people who did not have a chance for salvation in their previous lives in this world.

That is why He opens the Book of Life to them—to give them the chance to be written in it! The other books mentioned in Revelation 20:12 would be the books of the Bible, opened to their understanding for the first time.

But will only descendants of Israel have this chance? No, Jesus Christ makes plain that gentiles from all ages will have their opportunity during this Day of Judgment as well (Matthew 10:15; 11:21-24; 12:41-42). And so God’s stated desire will be fulfilled: “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4; see also 2 Peter 3:9).

What an amazing, merciful plan of salvation is pictured by this Last Great Day and all seven of God’s festivals! What a wonderful future God has in store for us and everyone who will respond to Him!”    From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/last-great-day/

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Jesus Risks His Life to Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles

John 7:2, 10

“Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. … But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.”

In spite of the threat to His life, Jesus Christ secretly made His way to Jerusalem for the annual Feast of Tabernacles. But in the middle of the Feast, He openly went to the temple and taught the people (John 7:14). The Feast of Tabernacles and His mission were so important, He was willing to face those plotting against Him.

This event is covered in our Bible Story article “Jesus and the Feast of Tabernacles.”

The Feast of Tabernacles remains a meaningful festival today. Learn more about it in the article “The Feast of Tabernacles: A Bountiful Harvest”,  featured in my last week’s post.

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/jesus-risks-his-life-to-celebrate-the-feast-of-tabernacles/

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Why Should Christians Celebrate the Biblical Festival Called the Eighth Day or the Last Great Day?

“The seventh and last Holy Day in God's cycle of harvest festivals has great meaning for Christians today.

A tree with sunlight behind it on top of a hill.Raphael Schaller/Unsplash

Through God's wonderful plan everyone will have an opportunity to know His truth, repent and receive salvation.

The final step in God’s plan of salvation for all mankind is portrayed in a feast day that immediately follows the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:39).

Called the eighth day or the Last Great Day, this festival pictures the Great White Throne Judgment of humankind described in Revelation 20:11-13. During this time all people who have died not knowing God’s plan for them will be resurrected to life to be given an opportunity to have their minds opened and respond to God’s call.

All the dead who have ever lived—including the queen of Sheba, inhabitants of ancient Nineveh and the people of Christ’s own time—will all be resurrected together (Matthew 12:41-42). That resurrection of multiple billions of people back to physical life is detailed in Ezekiel 37:1-14. These are the “rest of the dead” spoken of in Revelation 20:5. Billions of human beings will have the opportunity to repent of their past sins and receive the gift of everlasting life.

For those who choose not to surrender to God and His way of life (and would hence live a miserable existence), a merciful and permanent end to their lives will be met in the Lake of Fire, which will occur at the conclusion of this final judgment period (Revelation 20:11-15). Even though not everyone will choose God’s way of life for eternity, our Creator wants “all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4) and is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Through God’s wonderful plan everyone will have an opportunity to know His truth, repent and receive salvation.”      From: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/why-should-christians-celebrate-the-biblical-festival

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Update.

“Flower”, the cat that I was taking care of for the folks whose house was damaged in the hurricane is now gone, and even though she was a really sweet kitty to people, she hated other cats and would chase and terrify my foster cat, timid little Puddin’.  I had to keep Flower in my bathroom, but anytime she got out of there she would torment Puddin’.   Puddin’ is just getting over that, but she still won’t venture into my bathroom. 

My granddaughter Michele, brought her two dogs over for me to groom.  A Schnauzer and a Sheltie.  The Sheltie is in a “lion cut”.  It was a shame that she couldn’t stay long enough for me to completely finish them. They are pictured on my FB page.  I haven’t groomed a dog for a couple of years but I still have my grooming room and equipment.  Nowadays, the grooming room is used as a mail center, where I pack up packages for selling items on eBay.

Roy came and worked three mornings, and we were finishing the wall between the living room and bedroom in the mini-house.  The attic floor was still raised up where he had started to run the wire down into the wall for an outlet six weeks ago, so we finished that, and screwed the attic floor down again.  We started to put the paneling up on the wall, but I had to take my neighbor to the doctor’s Tuesday, and Roy lost the use of a car.  Then Friday was going to be The Last Great Day, a holy day at the church. So he took a few days off until today, Sunday.   The wall itself was completed today, and just needs to be Kilzed and painted.  Roy does such a good job that the walls look like sheetrock, not paneling.  The doors aren’t hung yet either.  But we are getting there.

Several people came to buy things that were for sale, and then on Wednesday I started cooking, ready for the two Holy Days church potlucks, Friday and Saturday.  I was given some tomatoes and okra, so that meant….GUMBO!  I was very careful when I cut up the okra.  Any that I felt any bit of resistance at my knife’s touch were tossed in with the chicken food.  There is nothing as nasty as woody okra!  I had some cooked Italian Turkey Sausage and some cooked chicken breast for the meat in the gumbo.

For a Brit, my Gumbo came out quite OK, because I used a Cajun recipe. I divided the Gumbo into two, so that we could have the turkey sausage in it on Friday, and then chicken on Saturday, but on Saturday the left overs all got mixed together.   I also made seasoned brown rice, and a Zucchini Pie with starfruit on the top.  The starfruit were cooked in freshly squeezed orange juice to make them softer.  We had plenty of food for the two days.   There were also beef dishes, stew, chicken, lasagne, several veggies, and salad.   There was a big cake celebrating The Last Day. 

The Pastor’s wife often brings the Stouffer’s lasagne, but people just aren’t eating it like they used to.  They seem to prefer the home-cooked dishes that she and others bring.  Just like someone used to bring dougnuts, until they discovered that we just aren’t into that junk food anymore.  They would be left, and then given to the chickens.  I hope the chickens didn’t get high blood pressure from all that junk food!

The Bible readings for The Last Great Day were Deut.14:-16:7, 1 Kings 8:54-66 and Num. 29:1. and the Teaching was about the Eighth Day or Last Great Day of The Feast of The tabernacles being a separate Holy Day.  (Would you look at that word,  EIGHTH, if you were learning English would you know how to spell or pronounce it?)  This is the last of the Holy Days this year, the next ones are in the Spring.

On the Sabbath, the Bible readings were Deut. 29:9–34-12.  We wanted to finish Deuteronomy this week so that we could start Genesis next week.  The Teaching was about ‘Submit to Divine Will.’  

For October, it is very warm, maybe folks are on vacation or something because we didn’t have a big crowd for either of the days.

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