3rdCompass.org: Sukkot/Tabernacles 2023 Day 8 - Shemini Atzeret is all about renewal

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Sukkot/Tabernacles 2023 Day 8 - Shemini Atzeret is all about renewal

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Minister Ty Alexander
(Ty)

10/7/2023

Join and worship in the last Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret service

or read the transcript below...

Why should you attend as a Christian or Jew?
Instead of asking that, you should wonder,

Why do ALL the major Jewish holidays link to the life and ministry of Christ?

What is the last day of Sukkot/Tabernacles about?

Should Shemini Atzeret be separate from Sukkot?

Watch the recorded livestream on YouTube...

Transcript

10/7/2023

Good day, wherever you are, in the name of the Lord. I’m Ty Alexander Huynh, Elder Minister and Teacher of Mashiach Yeshua (Christ Jesus) and Elder Priest of Yahovah ( יהוה ) El Elyon, God Most High. Welcome to the service for the last day of Sukkot [“soo-koth”]/Tabernacles. You are free to ask questions with the YouTube chat features, but please wait until after the service. I will wait to respond at that time.

If you attended the last services, you know why I do Christian services for what seem to be holidays only for Jews, but for those just joining today, I will repeat that the church has largely forgotten the Hebrew heritage she was adopted into with Christ. This was a product of The Beast that I talked about at the beginning of the High Holidays.

The disciples of Christ observed Jewish holidays and sabbaths in the New Testament. So as a People of God, now there is no longer Jew or Gentile; we are meant to be baptized into one body, made to drink of one Spirit as One People of God (1 Corinthians 12:13); “There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free man, nor male or female; for we are all one in Mashiach Yeshua. And if you belong to Him, then you are Abraham’s/Avraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise,” (Galatians 3:28-29) just as the Jews remain heirs of promise.

Another good reason to acknowledge and come back to our ancient Hebrew roots with Old Testament holidays is that God linked ALL the major Jewish holidays to the life and ministry of Christ.

God did that for good reasons, so consider why that is, especially the Jewish brethren among you who are afraid to leave Judaism, and you traditional Christians who have shunned all things Jewish.

Furthermore, Sukkot is one of three holidays that are more important to God. He mandated national attendance for them.

“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Pesach/Passover]; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Aviv, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. Also, you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the land, [which is Shavuot/Pentecost]; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field, [which is Sukkot/Tabernacles]. Three times a year, all of you shall appear before the Lord Yahovah, the God of Israel” (Exodus/Shemot 23:14-17, 34:23-24; Deuteronomy/Devarim 16:16-17; 2 Chronicles/Divrei Hayamim II 8:13).

And after Mashiach Yeshua returns, God makes it clear that His ancient holidays will be celebrated, especially Sukkot, because it will be enforced for all peoples. God said, “It will come about that any who are left of the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahovah of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Sukkot. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahovah of hosts, there will be no rain on them… it will be the punishment of all the peoples that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Sukkot” (Zechariah/Zecharya 14:16-19).

So as a People of God, we need to acknowledge what God wants of us. Celebrating ancient Hebrew holidays may seem strange to many Christians, but God has guided me to observe them and scripture backs up what I teach. This isn’t some kind of strange or corrupt teaching, so may you put things in proper perspective and remember that it is the ancient, natural olive roots that support the ingrafted branches of the Christian brethren and not the other way around (Romans 11:17-24). Remember and honor our Hebrew roots, which is also why I put God’s original Hebrew names back in quotes of scripture (see The Actual Names of God and Christ for more; http://3rdCompass.org/g?GODS-NAMES). Your knowledge of God and His kingdom will not be complete if you do not know the names God gave and used for Himself in the original words of scripture.

However, do not get trapped again in the slavery of strict observance of law. Apostle Paul said holidays, sabbaths, etc. are only shadows of what is to come. The church thinks he meant we should shun Old Testament holidays, but he was not condemning them. If you see his complete statement, he only stated we cannot be judged for observing or not observing them – “No one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day - things which are a mere shadow of what is to come” (Colossians 2:16).

Some of you may bring up how the apostle Paul rebuked believers, saying, “How is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing specials days and months and seasons and years!” (Galatians 4:9-10). Paul is shaming people for observing holidays, so obviously, the church took that to mean Old Testament holidays. However, if you want to understand in correct context, you must include Paul’s previous words, which say, “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods” (Galatians 4:8).

I emphasize lowercase “gods” here, because Paul is talking about these people’s pagan, idol worshipping past and observing those pagan holidays, NOT God’s Old Testament holidays.

So there actually is nothing in the New Testament stating we should forget or reject the Jewish holidays we inherited as a People of God. We are only not obligated to observe them under a strict yoke of slavery. And again, I remind that Christ and His disciples observed Old Testament holidays and the weekly Sabbath. Yeshua’s Last Supper was for the first feast of Pesach/Passover (Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7-8), His disciples rested for the weekly Sabbath after they buried Him (Luke 23:56), and after Christ ascended to heaven, they gathered on Shavuot, which is known in the church as Pentecost (Acts 2:1). This was after more than three years of being taught personally by Yeshua, so His disciples were living as He taught them. Therefore, acknowledge that God’s Old Testament holidays and sabbaths are still important.

But keep that in perspective with the ways of haMashiach (The Messiah/Christ). Paul said these things are a shadow of what is to come, however, “what is to come” refers to a new age or time when observing traditions would be replaced with something else.

For now, and in the next age after the Messiah returns, observing holidays are still important. God wants His people everywhere to see that, especially the Jews, who He is now giving a final call towards renewal in Christ. This is why God has ALL the major Jewish holidays linked to Christ as follows:

Pesach/Passover – goes with the sacrifice and death of Christ
First Fruits and Shavuot/Pentecost or Feast of Weeks or First Fruits – go with the resurrection and ascension of Christ after His resurrection, and the completion of promises to the church
Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashana – goes with the coming of Christ
Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement – goes with Christ’s atonement for all sins
Sukkot/Tabernacles and Shemini Atzeret – go with God’s continual love for His people despite their sins and final renewal and even resurrection into eternal life with Christ
Hanukkah – goes with God’s real re-dedication of the temples of our bodies when we are saved in Christ

For more details about these links, you may go to the Holidays page at 3rdCompass.org (http://3rdcompass.org/g?HOLIDAYS).

Today we celebrate the second service for Sukkot. Jews often consider this day, what is called Shemini Atzeret [“shee-mee-nee æt-sah-reth”], a separate holiday from Sukkot. However, God does not separate it from Sukkot, which should be obvious when it is called the Eighth Assembly Day in scripture, referring to the 8th day of Sukkot (Numbers/Bamidbar 29:35; Leviticus/Vayikra 23:36; Nehemiah/Nechemya 8:18). Shemini Atzeret is also known as the “The Last Great Day.”

Last week, we started Sukkot and I hope your feasts and celebrations during the week were blessed. In scripture, God called for seven feast days during the week, but I told you last week that I plan for eight feast days, because it is an eight-day remembrance (Leviticus/Vayikra 23:33-43; Numbers 29:12-38; Deuteronomy 16:13-15; Exodus 23:16, 34:22) where the last, or eighth day, has the final holy gathering or day of assembly, which gives today the name, Shemini Atzeret, meaning “Eighth Assembly [Day of Sukkot].”

It’s only that feasts and living under temporary shelters were mandated for the first seven days. However, the two assembly days at the beginning and end of the holiday week are no different than the two days of assembly for Pesach/Passover at the beginning and end of that holiday week.

So, Shemini Atzeret, today, is the capping off of Sukkot and not a separate holiday. The separation into two different holidays may have come from the tradition of Simchat Torah, which is celebrated at the same time as Shemini Atzeret. Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing [in the] Torah [the Law or Teaching]” and celebrates the reading of the Law of Moses/Moshe, but it is not a Biblical holiday, at least not a yearly one. The first record of it appears in Jewish written tradition only since the 1st century A.D. and in Jewish law many centuries later.

However, Simchat Torah’s link to Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret may also have come from scripture for Sukkot stating the Law of Moses is to be read in assembly during Sukkot, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, [the Year of the Shemitah], at the Feast of Sukkot, when all Israel comes to appear before Yahovah, your God, at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, the men and women and children and the foreigner who is in your town, so that they may hear and learn and fear the Lord Yahovah, your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law. Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear Yahovah, your God” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 31:10-13).

Simchat Torah may have also come from the time when the exiles from Babylon and Persia returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, and Ezra, the priest, read the Book of the Law to the people, “He read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they celebrated the feast [of Sukkot] seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance” (Nehemiah/Nechemya 8:1-3, 8:18).

Wherever the tradition of Simchat Torah came from, it is not a holiday I observe because it is not in scripture, and furthermore, the details of the Law of Moses are not the center point for God’s people anymore. Shemini Atzeret or the Eighth Day is in scripture, though, but because God did not give much details for the second day of assembly at the end of Sukkot, it ended up being much like Yom Teruah in having an unknown purpose and picked up traditions that God did not mean for it.

Something else that appears to have misconstrued Shemini Atzeret is church teaching that links it to Mashiach, the Christ, and the second or last resurrection of the dead at the end of Christ’s Millennial Reign (the next age), when all who were not resurrected in the first resurrection for God’s people will be judged (Revelation 20:12-15). People call it the “Last Great Day” because of links to John 7, where Yeshua (Jesus) speaks in Jerusalem at the end of Sukkot, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast [of Sukkot], Yeshua stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’’” (John 7:37-38; Jeremiah/Yirmiyahu 17:13).

We see in Yeshua’s statement that He is actually equating Himself to Yahovah El Elyon, God Most High, because the scripture He was referring to is Jeremiah/Yirmiyahu 17:13, “O hope of Israel, Yahovah. All who abandon You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, because they have forsaken Yahovah, the Fountain of Living Water.” This is just another instance in the New Testament where Yeshua actually states He is Yahovah God, though it is hidden to most people. I noted other very important examples when I talked about The Actual Names of God and Christ (http://3rdCompass.org/g?GODS-NAMES).

This time, Yeshua stated, “He who believes in Me will flow rivers of living water,” which goes with God calling Himself the Fountain of Living Water in Jeremiah/Yirmiyahu 17:13 (Christ also refers to this title in John 4:10-14), and stating there that whoever turns away from Him (God Himself) will be written down. So put all together, God and Christ were saying, all who forsake Him as Yahovah God or Mashiach Yeshua, the Christ, will be written down in those books that the apostle John saw in Revelation 20:12 – the books from which Christ will judge all people in the second resurrection of the dead by their deeds during life to determine whether or not they get into heaven.

There are links to Shemini Atzeret and the second resurrection of the dead, but the holiday itself doesn’t necessarily celebrate that resurrection. If we continue in John 7, we see that on Shemini Atzeret, Yeshua is speaking of the Holy Spirit coming to indwell within His believers saved by the New Covenant, because, “[In this, Yeshua] spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Yeshua was not yet glorified” (John 7:39); He was not yet crucified and resurrected. So Christ was speaking of spiritual renewal for His believers, and not speaking of their resurrection, either of the saints in the first resurrection of the dead (Revelation 20:4) or of everyone else in the second resurrection (Revelation 20:4, 20:12), which was the promise prophesied by Ezekiel/Yechezkel for the Jews and is where they get resurrection of the dead from the scriptures (Ezekiel/Yechezkel 37:1-14).

Instead of the second resurrection of the dead, I was guided to understand Shemini Atzeret as it pertains to the promise of reconciliation and eternal life in Mashiach Yeshua.

Last week, I noted how the first seven days of Sukkot reflect living in judgment because of sin, since the call to make and live under sukkahs (sukkot) or tents is meant to remember those decades the Jews were made to live in temporary shelters in the wilderness because they had rebelled against God.

But Sukkot is a celebration also, and so we remember how God kept His people safe and nurtured in the desert. God gave them crops of manna and blessings to celebrate, though they did not have all the abundance of the Promised Land, like bread and wine, God still cared for them so that their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell, nor did their sandals break in those extra forty years of wandering the desert (Deuteronomy/Devarim 8:4, 29:5).

And like that, today, God cares for us as sons and daughters through Mashiach Yeshua, keeping us through difficulties despite our sins, so we too can celebrate harvests and blessings in our wildernesses, but like the end of Sukkot, and the end of wandering the desert and living in tents, the Promised Land opens to us in a renewal and resurrection, a new beginning, which is what should be celebrated today, on Shemini Atzeret or the Eighth Day, because in spiritual guidance, the Lord also taught me the number eight means renewal, resurrection, and a new beginning (see 8 in the Meaning of Numbers for more; http://3rdCompass.org/g?NBRS#nbr8).

Yeshua was resurrected on the eighth day of the week, if you don’t reset back to one. He rose after the Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1), which also marks His resurrection on that eighth day as the first in a week and therefore also a new beginning.

God also shows the number eight’s link to renewal with Old Testament rites. For example, He wanted all firstborn sons and livestock in the Law of Moses presented to Him on the eighth day, “The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me” (Exodus 22:29-30/Shemot 22:28-29). The first seven days were called the “days or time for purification” (Luke 2:22) and then on the eighth day, the firstborn were named and dedicated to the Lord, which the New Testament records John the Baptist and Yeshua fulfilling in Luke chapters 1 and 2 (Luke 1:59-60; 2:21-23).

Another example is when Aaron/Aharon and his sons were also consecrated and ordained as priests after seven days, and they emerged from the tent of meeting on the eighth day when the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people for the ordination (Leviticus/Vayikra 8:33, 9:1-9:23).

Later, we will see this seven days of purification and dedication after the eighth day again, in a holiday that is not considered one of the High Holy Days. But to continue speaking of how eight and renewal goes with Shemini Atzeret, perhaps most important, is how it links to Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks/First Fruits or what the church knows best as Pentecost. I spoke of Shavuot in the last service as being related to Sukkot by its celebration of the very first fruits of the harvest at the beginning of the growing season, while Sukkot celebrates the very end of the harvest.

But what does that have to do with eight and renewal? Shavuot comes in two parts. The first is an offering of those first fruits of the year on the day after a Sabbath of Pesach/Passover (Leviticus/Vayikra 23:5-9). God linked this first fruits holiday to Christ by resurrecting Him on the Sunday after His Passover’s sabbath – the Passover He was crucified on. That was an eighth day of the week, Sunday, and a new beginning, which symbolizes the very first fruits of the first resurrection of the dead – the resurrection of God’s holy servants. So haMashiach, the Christ, was the very first resurrected of the resurrection of the saints promised by the New Covenant.

This is confirmed by the apostle Paul who said, “Now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits…” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

And then the second part of Shavuot is when the holiday is actually celebrated, seven weeks or 50 days after the offering of first fruits (Deuteronomy/Devarim 16:9-10; Leviticus/Vayikra 23:15-16), which is known as Pentecost in the church, and when Christ’s work in the New Covenant was fulfilled through the giving of the Holy Spirit in completeness to believers. That was what Yeshua referred to by saying on Shemini Atzeret, “He who believes in Me, as the scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38). He was speaking of the Holy Spirit within those saved by the New Covenant and belief in Him as the divine Messiah Savior.

The first Shavuot or Pentecost for the church was a first fruits in that, it showed the beginning of the Holy Spirit’s working of power in believers of Mashiach Yeshua. However, do not confuse the coming of God’s Spirit on Pentecost with the rebirth of God’s Spirit in believers of Christ. They are linked, but not the same thing.

Our rebirth with Christ happens when we first fulfil the New Covenant’s condition of public acknowledgement for Mashiach Yeshua (Romans 10:9; see The True Gospel for more; http://3rdCompass.org/g?TRUE-GOSPEL). But God’s Spirit coming in power, like on Shavuot/Pentecost, happens by God’s will and anointment, which is different for every believer and often requires prayer. So, the first Pentecost for the church was when God fulfilled both aspects of the promises of the New Covenant – He showed how His Spirit’s coming in power works and enacted the literal rebirth with His Spirit in believers of Christ, that new heart of flesh, God’s Spirit within us, on which He writes His instruction prophesied by Ezekiel/Yechezkel and Jeremiah/Yirmiyahu (Ezekiel/Yechezkel 36:26-27; Jeremiah 31:33/Yirmiyahu 31:32).

So if Shavuot/Pentecost goes with the first fruits of resurrection and rebirth and power of the Spirit through Christ, then Shemini Atzeret at the end of Sukkot celebrating the final harvest of the year, must go with the final harvest of Christ when the rest of us are resurrected at the Lord’s return. This is what most in the church recognize as the Rapture.

But why doesn’t Shemini Atzeret or the Last Great Day go with the second resurrection of the dead, like some in the church teach? It’s because of the work of Christ and the New Covenant being symbolized and aligning with all the major Jewish holidays, since we can see how they also connect and coincide in time with the life and work of Mashiach Yeshua and the New Covenant. These are works of reconciliation, renewal, and eternal life.

The second resurrection of the dead, on the other hand, is not related to that work, but is for everyone who did NOT make it into the Book of Life through the New Covenant or other acts of righteousness, such as Abraham/Avraham, Moses/Moshe, Elijah/Eliyahu, and many others in the Old Testament are known to be already saved in heaven. Moses and Elijah appeared to Yeshua and the disciples in the New Testament (Matthew 17:1-4; Mark 9:2-5; Luke 9:28-33), and they will come with the Lord when He returns with His angels and holy ones in the Rapture at the end of this age (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10), not the end of the next age when the second resurrection of the dead happens (Revelation 20:7, 20:13).

The New Testament also often uses the phrase the “last day” to mean the day of the Rapture or first resurrection of the dead (John 6:39-40, 6:44, 6:54, 11:24, 12:48) and not the second resurrection of the dead. The second resurrection is also not of guaranteed renewal and prosperity, which the first resurrection promises and what Shemini Atzeret is meant to celebrate, because the second resurrection is when the Judgment occurs, and all who were not already guaranteed into the Book of Life will be judged by what they did in life (Revelation 20:12-15). The New Covenant cannot save them at this time, and even angels will be judged (2 Peter 2:4-9; Jude 1:6-7).

The work of Mashiach Yeshua and the New Covenant is all about guaranteed promises – our eternal salvation and resurrection with a place in heaven assured, so long as we keep faith and public loyalty to Christ. What do we hold so dear in faith and secure in hope even through death, if this is not true?

And so to line up with all this, it is natural to see that Shemini Atzeret is about holding our faith in God to give His promised renewal, resurrection, and prosperity in the spiritual Promised Land of New Jerusalem. This sequence is confirmed by Paul if we continue in 1 Corinthians 15, which I began to quote earlier, “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to God and the Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death” (1 Corinthians 15:23-26).

Paul is speaking of haMashiach’s, the Messiah’s, return and the end of this age, when He takes control of the kingdom for God during the Millennial Reign – the next age - until all His enemies are under His feet and death is abolished, which will only happen at the end of that one thousand year reign after Satan is defeated for the very last time, and death, also, is swallowed up to make way for the New Heaven and Earth which comes after the end of the next age (Revelation 20:7-21:4).

Now I hope you see all the connections the major Old Testament holidays have with the life and promises of Mashiach Yeshua. God hid these connections in scripture for thousands of years until it was time for them to be revealed and be understood. And so, may you embrace this and rejoice today, on Shemini Atzeret - the eighth and last day of Sukkot, to remember the Lord’s promises are sure, and keep hope in His lovingkindness and renewal, which is real and everlasting prosperity, as well as renewal in this life that often comes after much trial and tears.

This happened for the Jews after the 40 years of roaming the desert wilderness, when the Lord finally let them come into and take over the Promised Land. For all of us today, I pray the Lord brings His renewal and blessings in our lives today, as He remembers us and shows His lovingkindness to those who remain faithful and loyal.

But remember, not everyone gets to see this renewal. How can that be? God’s promises are sure and true, aren’t they? Yes, His unconditional promises are, like His promise to Abraham that his descendants would possess the lands around ancient Canaan forever, and His promise to never again destroy the earth by flood.

But not all get to see God’s assured promises. Recall, not even Moses and Aaron got to enter and live in the prosperity of the Promised Land. God punished them for disobeying His command to speak to the rock at Meribah, so that water would come forth for the people. And so God killed Moses and Aaron before He led the people into the Promised Land by Joshua/Yehoshua (Numbers/Bamidbar 20:23-29; Deuteronomy/Devarim 3:26-27, 34:1-8).

And if you remember the last service, I talked about the scouts sent to survey the Promised Land, but most of them made a bad report and got the people to rebel against the Lord’s plan to take Canaan. They, too, and all who rebelled at God’s plan did not get to live in the assured promise of the Promised Land. They died in the wilderness where God sent all the people for 40 more years (Numbers/Bamidbar 14:28-30). I told you during the last service to remember that during your week of Sukkot.

Throughout the years after Egypt and before entering the Promised Land, the people time and again grumbled against God and His anointed, and so they fell by the tens of thousands, at times, such as during Korah’s rebellion to usurp God’s authority in Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:1-17:13/Bamidbar 16:1-17:28), and when they grew sick of eating manna (Numbers/Bamidbar 21:4-9).

During the last service, I also connected Sukkot’s week of remembering living in tents and through hardships to go with our times living in great trials and tribulation now. These times are testing all peoples and many are falling because their sins do not grant them enough blessings of protection. In the fallen are believers of God and Christ, so even though God’s promise of eternal salvation in Christ is sure, remember it is for the next life.

That was a distinction I brought up during the service for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Temporal atonement (salvation, deliverance, and healing) in this life is a different matter and is handled separately from the New Covenant. Those concerns are why God has emphasized His teruah alarm call these past years[> God’s Alarm]to urge His people to continue leaving behind sin that is common among all believing communities - Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and all who believe in our one true God - to leave that Harlot Babylon, the mystery that God had me reveal in His Alarm (http://3rdCompass.org/g?GODS-CORAL-ALARM).

Since then, the Lord gave much proof of the truth of that Harlot Babylon and how believers are a part of her, and are falling in today’s tribulations. But to remind you of God’s lovingkindness, which I told you to also remember during Sukkot, I will say that the Lord will bless and protect those who acknowledge the truth and come out of the Harlot Babylon I described. She is no country on a map, but is defined spiritually, like New Jerusalem is also defined spiritually as those who were saved in Christ or those who lived righteous enough to attain heaven.

The part of the church who will be blessed and protected in our times today is described in Revelation 12. There it says, the Woman, the Bride of Mashiach Yeshua, was given the wings of a great eagle and fled into the wilderness, to a place prepared by God for her, so she would be kept safe for 1260 days (three and a half years) or a time, times, and half a time (Revelation 12:6, 12:14).

This time, times, and half a time goes with a period of double the length, a seven or week prophesied by Daniel (Daniel 9:27), the last of 70 Sevens. On Yom Teruah, I reviewed the first 69 of Daniel’s Sevens and confirmed their timing to point at the birth of Yeshua Mashiah. But the last Seven has yet to begin and is placed at the very end of our age.

It is called a time, times, and half a time and widely acknowledged to be the worst of the Great Tribulation, of which Mashiach Yeshua said, “When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place… There will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again” (Matthew 24:15-21).

This may not be new or even alarming news to most of you who are long believers, but I speak of missing out on God’s assured promises for reason today. Not only are believers of all sects and religions falling in tribulations already, when that last seven at the end of this age has not started, yet many tribulations related to that time have already begun. During the first Sukkot service, I spoke of Old Testament prophecy, like from Isaiah/Yeshayahu, starting to fulfill in our days. These are prophecies of God’s judgment at the end of this age.

Seeing God’s words fulfil not only brings awe but should also have you give great reverence to God and what He wants His people to do. Believers who remain in the sins of the Harlot Babylon will continue to fall along with the rest of the world, just as those who rebelled against God in the people’s time living in temporary shelters did fall. They would not see the Promised Land, and today, many believers will not have the wings of a great eagle and be able to fly to the place of protection prepared by God for the worst that is coming.

So may you walk with me and not be as the rest of the Bride’s children (Revelation 12:17), those who are in unprotected communities of believers, and miss out on an assured promise of God for our time.

This is relevant for our holiday today, The Eighth Assembly Day or what could be called the Last Great Day of Renewal and Resurrection, because those who listen to our one true God and remain loyal to Him and not to what is false - those deceptive foundations of the Harlot Babylon - they will be hidden and safe until the Lord returns, when they, too, will transform and be resurrected as Yeshua Mashiach was, in the twinkling of an eye and rise up into the clouds to meet Him on His return (1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17).

During the last time, times, and half a time, the protected Bride with wings, will have the walls of New Jerusalem manifested as her name actually means – the spiritual City of Peace will be peace and keep safe those who honored God’s calling and left the sins of the Mystery Harlot.

Have all of God’s great promises in mind as we read some psalms and worship.

When the Lord Yahovah brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting.
Then they said among the nations, “Yahovah has done great things for them.”
Yahovah has done great things for us. We are glad.

Restore the captives, O Yahovah, as the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
(Psalm 126)

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Yahovah.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
If You, Yah, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness in You, that You may be feared.

I wait for Yahovah, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning.
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in Yahovah, for with Yahovah there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
(Psalm 130)

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head.
Coming down upon the beard; Even Aaron’s beard.
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon.
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion, for there Yahovah commanded the blessing - life forever.
(Psalm 133)

Please stand now and worship.

[Shemini Atzeret]

[Hashem]

[Praises of Psalms 8 and 9]

The Lord is truly faithful and will keep us in peace. Praise our God, Yahovah El Elyon, God Most High for all His wonders, nurturing, and renewal through our great and wonderful Savior, Mashiach Yeshua. Amen.

Today, the Last Great Day is when we can celebrate the hope and coming of God’s best promises of renewal and eternal life. So remember God’s great promises in Mashiach Yeshua and live so that you do not miss out on any of them. This is why I told you before the service, to reserve your best menu for today. So with that in mind, may you have a feast with more luxurious foods after service.

At the end of the Israelites’ life in the desert tents, God said, “I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes did not wear out on you, and your sandal did not wear out on your foot. You did not eat bread, nor did you drink wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am Yahovah, your God... You stand today, all of you, before Yahovah, your God… that you may enter into the covenant with Yahovah, your God, and into His oath which Yahovah, your God, is making with you today, in order that He may establish you today as His people and that He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 27:26, 29:5-6, 29:12-13/Devarim 27:26, 29:4-5, 29:11-12).

They renewed covenant with God that day, but that was the Old Covenant – a blessing and a curse (Deuteronomy/Devarim 30:1, 30:19; Nehemiah 10:28-29/Nechemya 10:29-30; Galatians 3:10), made for society thousands of years ago. It is not meant for today.

Over two thousand years ago, Mashiach Yeshua came to change the laws of God’s kingdom and all people, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also” (Hebrews 7:12), and Christ was established forever to uphold the change of law, as “the Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever,’ so much the more also, Yeshua has become the guarantee of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:21-22; Psalm/Tehillim 110:4) with better promises, as we have seen in our discussions during the High Holidays.

But outside the High Holy Days, the next Jewish holiday in the season is also important for our Jewish brethren to consider in the Light of haMashiach. Hanukkah commemorates the re-dedication of the second temple in Jerusalem after it was freed from Greek-Syrian occupation in the 2nd century B.C., but something most Jews don’t know is, Hanukkah also has ties to Christ and the New Covenant.

How is that possible? Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of renewing lamp oil that was needed to re-dedicate the temple. The dedication ritual required the menorah lampstand to be lit for eight days (there’s the number eight again used to symbolize renewal), but after taking back the temple, they found they only had one day of oil on hand. They decided to light the menorah anyways and found the lamps kept burning for the whole eight days.

God gave the miracle of renewing oil to re-dedicate the temple, but most people don’t realize that when Christ tore down the temple at His death (John 2:19-22; Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58) and replaced it with the temples of our bodies, He was fulfilling another miracle in the New Covenant – that of giving the Holy Spirit to indwell in every saved believer, which is God’s everlasting miracle-oil dedicating all of us as new temples to God, for “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Acts 2:38).

It was God in His love and grace, who gave the miracle of oil for the temple of stone and wood, and it is God through His love and grace in Mashiach Yeshua, who gives the miracle of rebirth and re-dedication with the Holy Spirit in the temples of our bodies.

None of us can have a part in these graces of God with our own power, and I hope our Jewish brethren realize, you too, cannot abide in God’s eternal grace and lovingkindness so easily as coming to Christ, for remember, the law you try to live by is a curse “if you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, Yahovah, your God, then Yahovah will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses… even [every curse] that is not written in the book of this law, [the Torah]” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 28:58-61).

So instead of continuing in the curse of the Torah, made for standards of life long gone with ancient times, not for today, and which must be fulfilled by priests giving daily offerings and blood sacrifices in God’s anointed temple, which also can no longer be fulfilled, for the temple of stone and wood is gone and God did not anoint priests since the destruction of the temple to fulfil the Old Law.

Can you now see the mass of evidence the Adonai Yahovah, your God and ours, is giving you through so many alignments with the purpose of Mashiach Yeshua in the Old Law and traditions you uphold?

Come out of those ways, for they have been corrupted by millennia of false teaching, and as I said, the Law cannot be fulfilled without the regular sacrifices, the temple of stone and wood, or the anointed priests.

Trying to live in the Law corrupted by man has you in the Harlot Babylon, just as your Christian brethren are in the Harlot for their iniquity and loyalty to their false teachings.

Come out, all of you, and acknowledge your God and Savior through Mashiach Yeshua and His straight and true ways.

That brings our service to an end. If you haven’t already registered, please do so at the homepage at 3rdCompass.org or join the Facebook or WordPress page(s). Links are at the bottom of 3rd Compass site pages. You may subscribe to the YouTube channel as well, but I only post new videos there, so if you don’t join the email list, Facebook page, or WordPress blog, then you won’t get notice of new updates, which happens much more often than video postings.

Thank you all for taking part today. The Lord bless and keep you with joy and renewal today and through the rest of the year, through Mashiach Yeshua. Amen. We bless and praise Your holy name, AviAd Yahovah El Elyon - Father God Most High. The kingdom, power, glory, and honor belong to You! Amen.

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Thank you again and the Lord bless you and your loved ones. His Spirit and grace be on you all in the name of Mashiach Yeshua. Amen.

3rd Compass -> Group News and Articles -> Sukkot/Tabernacles 2023 Day 8 - Shemini Atzeret is all about renewal