The Cross to the Crown - Elohim's Letter - Shin

Happy Feast of Tabernacles, everyone — or Sukkot, or the Feast of Ingathering, or the Feast of the Nations, as we will find out through tonight's scriptures. Thank you for joining us on this wonderful first night of the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles, bookended by the Eighth Day. We are going to go through beautiful scriptures about the second coming events, the historical significance of this feast, and how we are commanded to celebrate it, since it will culminate Messiah's second coming events and usher in the millennial reign. If you have been with us on the previous videos, thank you for continuing this journey. If you are new to this, welcome — we are on a spiritual purification journey through God's Divine Appointments, and we hope you will join us for the full year.

For those who are new, God has placed Divine Appointments in his Bible not only as ways to worship, but as prophetic markers for Yeshua's first and second coming events. He was crucified on Passover, laid in the tomb on Unleavened Bread, resurrected on the Feast of First Fruits, and poured out his Holy Spirit on Shavuot — fulfilling the first four feast days to the exact day, hour, and detail of ceremony written in Leviticus 23 and Exodus 12. That leaves three fall feast days yet to be fulfilled at his second coming: the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles. He will return at the Feast of Trumpets, redeem the nation of Israel on Yom Kippur, and then we will tabernacle with him for a thousand years during the Feast of Tabernacles. We are entering the Jubilee year on Yom Kippur as well, and this makes the season we are in even more extraordinary.

The symbolism of the three fall feasts lines up beautifully. The Feast of Trumpets calls us to repentance. Yom Kippur is Redemption — we are weighed in the balance and our verdicts are sealed. Then five days later, the Feast of Tabernacles is rejoicing. So before you can rejoice, you have to repent; before you are redeemed, you have to repent; and after redemption comes rejoicing. He commands us to rejoice before the Lord for eight days — such a terrible commandment, right? But in all sincerity, no bad moods, no pity parties, no crybabies. This is a season of rejoicing in the Lord for all that he has done.

The free ebook, The Cross to the Crown: A Spiritual Purification Journey on God's Divine Appointments, is available at faithfulperformance.com, or you can email me at [email protected] and I will send it to you directly. The music that played before we came on tonight is also available on YouTube — two of the five songs my friend Joseph Taylor Strickland and I put together. We will be doing a live video on the music this coming weekend as well. Now let us open with the foundational scriptures of the Feast of Tabernacles.

God's calendar is established in Genesis 1:14, where he tells us the sun and moon are for "signs and seasons." The Hebrew word for seasons there is moed, which means a Divine Appointment. When you go to Leviticus 23 where the feast days are listed, the word for feast is also moed — the exact same word. His calendar and his feast days are therefore for Divine Appointments, where he intersects with human history at his first and second coming events. The Gregorian calendar is solar only; the Islamic calendar is lunar only. God's calendar uses both the sun and the moon, and that is the Hebrew calendar we must use to understand when his appointed times occur.

In Leviticus 23:1-2, the Lord speaks to Moses and says: "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations — these are My feasts.'" He says it twice: these are the feasts of the Lord and these are My feasts. The word for "holy convocations" is mikra in Hebrew, which means a dress rehearsal. So these are not just appointments — they are rehearsals of what he is going to do. He wanted Israel to rehearse killing the lamb for 1,500 years so they would understand when the Lamb of God arrived. Reading Leviticus 23:1-2 with its original Hebrew terms, it would say: "Concerning the Divine Appointments of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be dress rehearsals — these are My Divine Appointments." That is extraordinary language, and it tells us he wants us to rehearse these every year until he returns.

Regarding the specific commandment for the Feast of Tabernacles, Leviticus 23:33 and verses 41-44 say: "The fifteenth day of the seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." Notice it says "forever" — and forever means forever. We will see in the scriptures tonight that we will indeed be dwelling with him in a Tabernacle into eternity. Also note: it specifically says "all who are native Israelites" shall dwell in booths. He tells us when something is exclusively for native Israel; if you cannot build a sukkah, you are not out of commandment. But if you want to build one, go right ahead — it is a beautiful practice.

We are now in Tishri 15, the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Just as on the Feast of Yom Kippur, today is an annual Shabbat — no work. The Eighth Day, Shmini Atzeret, will also be a Shabbat. The rest of the seven-day feast is for rejoicing, celebrating, and feasting with the Lord. In Second Corinthians 5:1 Paul says, "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." He is telling you there is a great sukkah waiting for us — the glory of God tabernacling with us forever.

From the very foundation of the world, God has always desired to tabernacle with us. That consistent theme runs from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. He set up the Garden of Eden to dwell with Adam and Eve. Moving forward to Jacob, in Genesis 33:17 it is written that Jacob journeyed to Sukkot and built booths for his livestock, and therefore that place was called Sukkot. "Sukkot" means Tabernacle, tent, booth — a temporary dwelling place, Strong's 5521. It is a foreshadow of what was to come. Since Jacob is the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, it is remarkable that he was the one to name a place Sukkot.

At Mount Sinai, God commanded Moses to build a sanctuary so he could dwell among them. In Exodus 25:8-9 it says: "Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them, according to all that I show you, that is the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it." The glory of the Lord came down and filled the Tabernacle when they set it up on Nissan 1 of the second year after the Exodus, as recorded in Exodus 40. And when did they begin building the Tabernacle? Five days after Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the new tablets on Yom Kippur — that is, on the Feast of Tabernacles. God is consistent with both his symbolism and his appointed times.

In Deuteronomy 16:16, the Lord commanded the people of Israel to appear before him three times a year: at the Feast of Passover, which encompasses Unleavened Bread and First Fruits; at Shavuot; and at the Feast of Tabernacles. You may wonder: why not Trumpets or Yom Kippur? Because at the second coming, the people will flee to the mountains and be at Sinai on the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur — they could not be commanded to be in Jerusalem at a time when he would be calling them elsewhere. But for the Feast of Tabernacles they will come to Jerusalem for the millennial celebration, just as we see confirmed in Zechariah 14. This also gives us an important clue about the time of Yeshua's birth: the Father would have sent his son when the whole nation was commanded to be in Jerusalem.

Let us look at the Feast of Tabernacles through the lens of Messiah's first coming events. In John 1:14 it says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The word "dwelt" there is the Greek word skenoo — to tabernacle, to pitch a tent. John is telling you directly: the Word tabernacled among us. Yeshua came to dwell with us at his first coming, and he is coming to dwell with us again at his second coming for a thousand years.

In Matthew 16:28 through 17:4, Messiah told his disciples that some of them would not die until they saw the Kingdom of God. Six days later, he took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain and was transfigured before them — his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light, and Moses and Elijah appeared with him. Peter then said to him, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, let us make here three tabernacles — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Why did Peter say tabernacles? Because Peter recognized they were on the Feast of Tabernacles, and he was trying to obey the commandment to dwell in booths. This event occurred during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is confirmed by Peter's own response. Note also the beautiful reversal: Yeshua came down at Sinai and gave Moses the Torah, and now Moses comes up to the mountain to fellowship with Yeshua at the Transfiguration during the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Talmud records that during the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, there were four gigantic lampstands about seventy-five feet high in the women's court of the Temple, each with four golden bowls at the top filled with oil. When they were lit, the oil lasted throughout all seven days of the festival. The Talmud records that once these four gigantic lampstands were lit, there was not a courtyard in all of Jerusalem that did not shine with their light. Jerusalem — the city on a hill — was known during the Feast of Tabernacles as the light of the world. It is in that context that we read John 8:12, where Yeshua said during the Feast of Tabernacles: "I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." He stood up during that ceremony and declared himself to be the true light that Jerusalem's lampstands were pointing to.

There is also the water libation ceremony. During the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests would go through the Water Gate down to the pool of Siloam, which held what was known as the living water. The high priest would draw the living water from the pool with a golden vessel and carry it back to the Temple. When they reached the Water Gate, they would blow the shofar and then pour out both the water and the wine — which represents blood from the grape harvest — into silver bowls on the corner of the altar. The people would sing and rejoice, singing the Hallel — Psalms 113 through 118, which King David wrote for Messiah's first and second coming events. On the seventh and last great day of the feast, the people would march around the altar seven times during this pouring out of water and wine.

It was at precisely this moment, during the water libation ceremony, that Yeshua stood up and said in John 7:37-38: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." He was standing right there while the high priest poured out the living water and the wine, and he declared himself to be the source of living water that the entire ceremony was pointing to. This is a fulfillment of Isaiah 12:2-6, which says: "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; he also has become my salvation. Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." And Revelation 22:17 confirms it again for the second coming: "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." The water libation ceremony, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the second coming are all woven together in those passages.

Now let us look at what the Prophet Isaiah says will happen in the millennial Kingdom. In Isaiah 2 he writes: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; he will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." This has not happened yet. Nations are still lifting up swords. The Torah is going forth from Zion to the nations in the millennial Kingdom — meaning the Torah is not done away with. He is going to send it out for a thousand years. How could it be invalid when he is going to teach it to all the nations? Micah 4 confirms the same passage word for word, giving us two witnesses.

Let us look at the Eighth Day — Shmini Atzeret. In Leviticus 23:36, after the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, he says: "On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation" — a dress rehearsal, a moed — "and it is a sacred assembly; you shall do no customary work." So Shmini Atzeret is another annual Shabbat bookending the feast, just as the first day of Tabernacles is a Shabbat on the front end. The prophetic picture is staggering. Just as the Lord created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, and just as he worked the earth six thousand years and the seventh thousandth year is the Day of the Lord, so the Feast of Tabernacles is the seventh feast in the cycle — the millennial Kingdom rest. Second Peter 3:8 and Psalm 90 tell us a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day. So the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles prophetically pictures the thousand-year millennial reign, and Shmini Atzeret — the Eighth Day — pictures what comes after: eternity, the new heavens and the new earth, eternal life forever.

Think about this timeline: Messiah returns at the Feast of Trumpets; he wars for ten days by himself, as described in Isaiah 63 with his garments stained like one who has trodden the winepress alone; on Yom Kippur we come down with him from heaven as described in Revelation 19, our garments white, his garments bloody; five days later is the Feast of Tabernacles and the millennial Kingdom for a thousand years. Then at the end of the millennial reign, which itself falls on the Feast of Tabernacles, we step into the Eighth Day — Shmini Atzeret — which is the New Jerusalem, the eternal Kingdom. It is all there in the appointed times.

We also know from Genesis 17 that all males were to be circumcised on the eighth day, confirming the covenant with Abraham. And Luke 2:21 tells us that when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Yeshua. He was born on the Feast of Tabernacles and circumcised on Shmini Atzeret — the Eighth Day — symbolizing that he is eternal life. In Hebrews 5:9-10 we read: "Having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him." John 17:3 says: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." He is Shmini Atzeret. He is the Eighth Day. He is eternal life, and that truth is encoded in the very day of his circumcision.

After the millennial Kingdom, we inherit the eternal Kingdom. Isaiah 65:17-19 says: "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying." That has not happened yet. Revelation 21:1-7 confirms it: "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.'" He uses the word "tabernacle" to describe eternity. He will tabernacle with us forever. The Feast of Tabernacles is not just for the millennium — it is the feast we will live in forever, because he will dwell with us for eternity. Isaiah 66:22-24 seals it: "For as the new heavens and the new earth which I shall make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before me." New Moon and Sabbath in eternity — confirmed by two passages, Ezekiel 46:1 for the millennium and Isaiah 66 for eternity.

Now let us look at the mystery of Yeshua's birth. It is not commanded in the Holy Bible to celebrate his birthday, but he was certainly not born on December 25th. The Gregorian calendar was not even created then, and December 25th is not in the Bible. Furthermore, the shepherds would not have been in the field in the middle of winter, and the inns would not have been full on December 25th since it was not a commanded feast day when all Israel was required to be in Jerusalem. We know from Deuteronomy 16:16 that Israel was commanded to appear before the Lord three times a year — at Passover, at Shavuot, and at the Feast of Tabernacles. Those are our three options for Yeshua's birth: he would have been born when the whole nation was commanded to be in Jerusalem.

To understand the timing, we go to Luke 1, which Luke himself tells us is a chronological account. In Luke 1:5 we read that Zacharias, John the Baptist's father, was of the division of Abijah. From First Chronicles 24, King David divided the priesthood into twenty-four courses, and the division of Abijah was the eighth course. The biblical calendar begins on Nissan 1, which is approximately April 1st. The first priest ministers in week one, the second in week two, then all priests serve during week three because of Passover, then courses three through seven serve in subsequent weeks. So Zacharias' eighth division would have served in the ninth week, around the end of May or early June — and the very next week, the tenth week, is the Feast of Shavuot, when all the priests again served together. This confirms our math precisely: Luke 1:8-11 says that while Zacharias was serving "at the hour of incense," the angel appeared to him. The hour of incense during Shavuot is the exact confirmation of the calendar timing.

After his duties were completed — approximately the third week of June — Zacharias went home to Elizabeth. Luke 1:23-24 says: "So it was that as soon as the days of his service were completed, he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she hid herself five months." Five months from the third week of June brings us to the end of November. Then Luke 1:26 says: "Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David." The sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy — the end of December — that is Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Gabriel appeared to Mary on Hanukkah. So Yeshua was not born on the Festival of Lights — he was conceived on it. He is the light of the world, and the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary on the Festival of Lights. It is incredible. Nine months from Hanukkah brings you to the September-October timeframe — the Feast of Tabernacles. That is when Yeshua was born. He tabernacled among us, born in a manger — a sukkah, a temporary dwelling — because there was no room at the inn. Josephus records 2.5 million people in Jerusalem at festival times; of course there was no room. He was born on the Feast of Tabernacles, and eight days later he was circumcised on Shmini Atzeret, the Eighth Day, declaring to all that he is eternal life. Isaiah 9:6-7 confirms: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom." Happy birthday, Yeshua.

Now let us look at the Feast of Tabernacles from the prophetic angle of the second coming. We already read Zechariah 14 at the opening, but let us return to it now that we have seen how important this feast is. Zechariah 14:16-19 says: "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. 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. 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. 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." He says it three times — divine perfection. In the millennial Kingdom, if the nations do not come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, they receive no rain and they receive the plague. That is how serious the Lord is about this feast. If he is that serious about it in the millennial Kingdom, and he does not change — he is the same yesterday, today, and forever — then we had better be observing it now.

The Feast of Tabernacles is called by many names in scripture. It is called Sukkot, from the booths or tents. It is called the Feast of Ingathering, because it concludes the agricultural harvest season in Israel, after which the rains come. It is called the Feast of the Nations, because they sacrificed seventy bulls corresponding to the seventy nations of the world. It is the feast where Messiah will reign from David's everlasting throne. When he sits on that throne, Israel and all the nations will be united in worshiping him on his feast days, and there will be one Torah for the citizen and the stranger, just as Exodus 12:49 declares. Why not start worshiping that way now?

Shmini Atzeret also has a beautiful connection to the Abrahamic Covenant. On the eighth day all males were to be circumcised, entering into the covenant of Abraham. Yeshua was circumcised on the eighth day, entering into that covenant as a son of Abraham, son of David — fulfilling all three covenants that Gabriel announced to Mary: the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant. He is eternal life. He is Shmini Atzeret. Every layer of meaning encoded in the Eighth Day points to him.

So that wraps up the teaching for tonight. The Feast of Tabernacles is the culmination of all seven feast days, and it will literally be the culmination when he returns at his second coming. From the Feast of Tabernacles we step into the millennial Kingdom for a thousand years, and then from the millennial Kingdom we step into Shmini Atzeret — eternity — the New Jerusalem. He has always desired to dwell with us, from the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve, to Jacob building booths at Sukkot, to Moses and the Tabernacle in the wilderness, to Solomon's Temple, to Yeshua himself tabernacling among us in the flesh, to his second coming and the millennial reign, to the eternal Eighth Day when the Tabernacle of God will be with men forever. He wants to sukkah with you — he wants to dwell with you. And one day he will, in a way that surpasses all understanding.

Now let us open up the fellowship for some of the comments and questions.

Someone asked about the schedule for the fall feast services. The first and eighth days of the Feast of Tabernacles are annual Sabbaths — no work. The remaining days are feast days of rejoicing, and the weekly Sabbath also falls within the eight days, so there are typically three Sabbaths during the Feast of Tabernacles: two annual and one weekly. The commandment during these days is to rejoice. There is no fasting during the Feast of Tabernacles — that would go against the commandment. Fasting belongs to Yom Kippur and the ten days between Trumpets and Yom Kippur as the Lord leads you. Once Tabernacles begins, it is time to feast and rejoice.

There was a question about how the two Hebrew calendars relate to each other. God actually uses two calendars that work together. The civil calendar begins on Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets, which is when Adam was created on the sixth day of creation. The prophetic seven-thousand-year timeline — six thousand years of human history plus the Day of the Lord — runs from that civil calendar. The religious calendar begins on Nissan 1, as established in Exodus, and is used to count the feast days in their proper order. Both are valid and necessary. The civil calendar tracks the Shemitah cycles, the Jubilee, and the timeline from Adam to the second coming events. The religious calendar tracks the feast day sequence. They work together like two witnesses.

On the question of whether the feast days are only for the Jewish people: Leviticus 23:1-2 says twice, "These are the feasts of the Lord" and "these are My feasts." He did not say these are the feasts of the Jewish people. He gave them to the Jewish people to give to the nations, as Isaiah 42 and 49 describe Israel's role as a light to the nations. Paul confirms in Ephesians 2 that we Gentiles were once strangers from the Commonwealth of Israel, but by the blood of the Lamb we are now grafted in. Romans 11 and Galatians 3 confirm the same. If we are in the Commonwealth of Israel, we need to understand how Israel worships. One Torah for the citizen and the stranger, as Exodus 12:49 says. In the millennial Kingdom there will not be a Jewish way to worship and a Gentile way to worship — there will be one way, and he will send out the Torah to establish it. So why not start now?

On the question of Torah and the law: Torah is not done away with. Romans 3:31 is as clear as it gets — Paul asks, "Do we then make void the Torah through faith?" and answers, "Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the Torah." Galatians 3:13 says we are saved from the curse of the Torah, not from the Torah itself. And Isaiah 2 and Micah 4 show him sending out the Torah to the nations in the millennial Kingdom. If the Torah were invalid, why would he send it out for a thousand years? Was it good, then bad, then good again? That would be inconsistent with a God who does not change. The Torah is his righteous, sovereign ways — boundary lines that make us good people, that help us love God and love our neighbor. Messiah himself said the two greatest commandments — love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself — fulfill the Torah. Matthew 7 warns against those who "practice lawlessness," and in context, if law means Torah, then lawlessness means torahlessness. Revelation 22:14 says, "Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city." That is not a difficult statement to understand.

On the question of Paul's writings and whether they conflict with Torah observance: Paul was a Pharisee — a Torah scholar. When he wrote to the Gentiles, he had a deep foundation that most readers lack. When you go to Paul, start with Romans 3:31 and Galatians 3:13 and read everything else in light of those clear, simple statements. Paul never abolished the Torah; he said our faith establishes it. He also told the Colossian believers not to let people judge them for keeping feast days, new moons, the Sabbath, and dietary laws — meaning the set-apart believers were keeping those things, and he was defending them. To witness to a Jewish person, you must know the Torah. They will not identify with Christmas and Easter; those are the god of Rome to them. But if you bring them the covenants, the feast days, and Yeshua's fulfillment of Passover, unleavened bread, First Fruits, and Shavuot — and then show how he will fulfill Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and Tabernacles — it will pierce them. The word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword.

On the question of how people were saved before Yeshua died on the cross: Yeshua went down for three days and three nights and preached to those who were in Abraham's bosom — the holding place for the righteous before the cross. David prophesied this in the Psalms: "You will not leave my soul in Sheol." He went down and preached to those who believed in YHWH, and they were redeemed. The Story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke gives further insight into the structure of that holding place.

There was a question about the Courts of Heaven timing. While the courts are always open throughout the year, my personal understanding based on the feasts is this: the books are opened on the Feast of Trumpets, we are weighed in the balance for ten days, the verdict is sealed on Yom Kippur, and then the verdicts go out during the Feast of Tabernacles. You can bring petitions before the Lord all year long, but the annual sealed verdict for your life is established during this ten-day period. Think of it like chapters in a book — if you live a hundred years, you have a hundred annual chapters, each one shaped during this season of repentance, sealing, and release.

A viewer noted that Thanksgiving was patterned after the Feast of Tabernacles. That is absolutely correct. The Pilgrim Fathers patterned their Thanksgiving after the harvest festival of Tabernacles — it is the Feast of Ingathering, the last harvest before the rains come. The second coming scriptures also connect the grape harvest to this season: the winepress of the Lord, the garments stained with blood like one who has trodden the grapes, the fall harvest — all of it pointing to the fall feast days. Barley for Passover, wheat for Shavuot, grapes for Tabernacles — his first and second coming events are bound to the agricultural seasons of Israel.

A viewer asked about the Rapture and Revelation 3:10 — "Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world." On this I want to be honest and balanced. That verse does not say he will rapture us out; it says he will keep us from the hour of trial. The question is: what is the hour of trial — the full seven years, or the ten days of awe when the Lamb himself is personally warring on the earth? My personal conviction is that it refers to the ten days, because Isaiah 63 shows Messiah coming down alone during those days with blood-stained garments, and Revelation 19 shows us coming down with him on Yom Kippur with white garments. He has been warring for ten days and we were kept from that hour. But I could be wrong.

What I want to say clearly to anyone who is pre-tribulation in their view: please do not be dogmatic about it. If you are right, wonderful — you will be raptured on the Feast of Trumpets and I will rejoice with you. But if you are wrong, you will have a very steep and very fast hill to climb spiritually, emotionally, and practically to prepare for the seven worst years in human history. Whereas if you prepare as though you may go through it, and he takes you out beforehand, you have lost nothing and gained everything in spiritual maturity. I would rather be prepared and proven wrong than unprepared and caught off guard. And regardless, the Rapture will be on the Feast of Trumpets at the last trump — that is clear from First Corinthians 15, First Thessalonians 4, and Revelation. It will not be mid-tribulation because the midpoint of a Shemitah cycle is Passover, not the Feast of Trumpets. The Rapture will be on the Feast of Trumpets. Whether it is at the beginning or end of the tribulation, prepare for it every Feast of Trumpets and focus the rest of your energy on the Great Commission.

That is the main thing I want to emphasize: let us not make the Rapture the centerpiece of every conversation at the expense of doing the work of the kingdom. Yeshua said he was about his Father's business. Pick up your cross and follow him. Let us witness to the Jewish people, witness to the Muslims, witness to the Hindus, feed the poor, clothe the hungry, be the salt and the light. Our blessed hope is real and it is coming — on the Feast of Trumpets, whenever that year will be. But until then, every Feast of Trumpets be ready for the king, and the rest of the year be about his Father's business. Dana said it well: our prayer is not just "take us to heaven" but "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

On the question about Paul's theological alignment and whether he was "doing away with the law": he was not. Paul's position is summarized perfectly in two sentences. Romans 3:31 — "Do we make void the Torah through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the Torah." Galatians 3:13 — "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law." We are saved from the curse of the Torah, not from the Torah itself. The curse of the Torah is the death penalty — the consequences of violating it. Yeshua bore that curse for us. But the Torah itself — the righteous ways of God — stands forever. He will send it out in the millennial Kingdom as Isaiah 2 and Micah 4 confirm. Anyone who believes it is done away with has to reconcile those two short, clear Pauline statements, plus the millennial passages in the prophets that show the Torah going out to all nations.

Someone brought up that Deuteronomy 33 is a second-coming passage. That is exactly right. Deuteronomy 33 records the millennial blessings of the tribes, and it says that the Mashiach — Yeshua — is coming from Sinai with a fiery Torah in his right hand. He has not come with a fiery Torah yet. He is coming with ten thousand saints, as Jude 14 and Revelation 19 confirm. That has not happened yet. Deuteronomy 33, Revelation 19, and Isaiah 63 all align to describe that moment — the second coming events on Yom Kippur — and they confirm that Torah is the word he carries when he comes. One more reason it is not done away with.

On the question about asteroid Apophis and the year 2029: if that asteroid does impact earth in 2029, that would be the first year of the new Shemitah cycle, which could align as the first year of the tribulation period. The tribulation — Daniel's seventieth week — is itself a Shemitah cycle of seven years. It will begin and end on the Feast of Trumpets. If the tribulation did not begin on this past Feast of Trumpets, the next opportunity is 2029, then 2036, and so on. The Antichrist must sign a covenant with Israel to begin the seventy-week clock, and that did not happen this year.

On the millennial sacrifices: Zechariah 14:16-21 and Ezekiel 40-48 confirm that there will be animal sacrifices, grain offerings, and peace offerings in the millennial Kingdom, overseen by Prince David. This is not contradicting what Messiah did at Passover — it is more like communion, a memorial in his honor. The Torah must be fulfilled to every jot and tittle, as Messiah himself said. In the millennium, with him as the High Priest and David as the prince, the full Torah ordinances will be completed in his presence. Anyone who has difficulty with that should read Ezekiel 40-48 carefully, because the entire millennial Temple and its service are described in detail.

I want to give a word about Martin Luther before we close. Several of you have brought up Luther in connection with the history of the church and anti-Semitism. Luther wrote a book titled "The Jews and Their Lies," and his theology and rhetoric are documented as having influenced Hitler's ideology directly. His quotes, read without attribution, would be indistinguishable from Nazi-era propaganda. This is relevant because the Protestant Reformation, while restoring the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith, did not restore the biblical feast days. The reformers kept the Roman Catholic replacement theology festivals — Easter, Christmas, Sunday worship — because the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD under Constantine had already embedded them deeply into the church, and the anti-Jewish sentiment made no one eager to return to the biblical calendar. That lineage runs straight through to every Western denomination today. This is not a condemnation of the people in the pews — it is a call to the hierarchy of the church to examine the scriptures and restore true worship. The people should be Bereans and search the scriptures for themselves, as we all have the ability to do now through the internet and access to original language tools.

For those who are just joining us and want to get on God's calendar: the book The Cross to the Crown is a free ebook at faithfulperformance.com. Email me at [email protected] if you have any trouble downloading it. The Hebrew calendar is available through Mark Biltz at El Shaddai Ministries at esm.us — he does excellent work on the calendar, the feast days, and the biblical astronomy as well, and he has been a great inspiration to me since I was born again in 2014. Get on God's calendar, observe his feast days, and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you deeper into these things. The revelation and blessing that come from being on his appointed times are beyond what I can fully express. My whole theology and my whole life changed when I got on his calendar after being born again. That is what this journey — from the cross to the crown — is all about.

We also have book-branded shirts and hats available at cost, no profit — just email [email protected] if you are interested. The fifth song from the music project, "The Desire of My Heart," is still being mixed and mastered and should be out soon. We will also be doing a live video on all five songs with my friend Joseph Taylor Strickland this coming weekend.

To summarize the upcoming calendar: we are in the Feast of Tabernacles through the 17th of October on the Gregorian calendar this year. Shmini Atzeret, the Eighth Day, is on the 17th. Then in two weeks we will celebrate the new moon of Heshvan — the second month of the civil calendar, the eighth month of the religious calendar. I hope you will join us for that. The new moon will always be with us through the millennium and into eternity, just as Isaiah 66 and Ezekiel 46:1 promise.

Thank you, everyone, for joining us tonight. We have been going for about five hours and it has been a beautiful fellowship. Thank you for keeping it respectful and for encouraging one another in love. We may not all agree on every point — the Rapture timing, the millennial sacrifices, various prophetic details — and that is fine. As long as we approach one another in love and search the scriptures together as Bereans, we are doing the work of the kingdom. God knows best. None of us has the full picture; we all see dimly as First Corinthians says. But the feast days, the calendar, the covenants, and the Torah — these are not up for debate. They are the bedrock. Everything else we can hold with open hands.

Happy Feast of Tabernacles, everyone. Happy Sukkot. Happy Feast of the Nations. Rejoice before the Lord for eight days — it is a commandment, and he means it. May God bless you, may he keep you, may his face shine upon you and give you his grace, may he lift up his countenance upon you and your family, and give you all his everlasting Shalom. We will see you soon.