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In Leviticus 23:33-44 the commandments of God concerning the 7th and final Feast of the LORD is described, the Feast of Tabernacles. It is a prophetic foreshadow of spiritual reality God is leading the Jewish people to from the beginning: the indwelling of Holy Spirit of God within us: temple of the LORD
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Are we celebrating the
prophetic foreshadow or the spiritual reality?
by Donna Diorio
The 7 Feasts of the LORD were appointed to the Israelites as sacred assemblies that they were to gather before Him. These He called them to observe “wherever you live” for all their generations. These were given a prophetic pictures to be enacted among them no matter where they were scattered throughout the nations – pictures that the Holy Spirit could ignite in their understanding of the spiritual reality they represented which would be fulfilled in God’s due season. Even today this reenactments are standing awaiting the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of individual Jews so they may see, all of these Feasts are the drama of God’s redemption of the nations and of Israel by His only Son, Yeshua.
This is why there is always the prayer request from the Israeli ministries during the 7 Feasts of the LORD for God to open the eyes of their people through the Feasts. The Feasts are HIStory – it is all about Yeshua and how God intended to go about redeeming His people.
I will not go in deeply to this, but oftentimes as Christians who have been drawn by God to the Jewish people, we become overly wrapped up in the foreshadows, the ‘dress rehearsals’ of the spiritual realities God is bringing to the Jewish people – in Israel and wherever they are living outside of the Promised Land. It is good to know what the Feasts of the LORD are about, to know what they represent, to respect the Jewish regard for following all these generations after the things God commanded them to observe. But as for those who know and follow Yeshua, we must have ever before us that the spiritual reality is what we must lean into, rather than the details of the foreshadowing dress rehearsals.
God want us to recognize that He bringing Israel and the Jewish people into faith in Yeshua so they like us become indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, a Living Temple, the redeemed of the LORD by the Blood sacrifice of His Son and Israel’s Messiah. Once we have entered into Yeshua by faith, the spiritual realities are so much greater than the many details of the foreshadows of these Feasts of the LORD for us. I say this not to dissuade any against participation in the Feasts, but rather to point out that we should not make our focus the prophetic foreshadowing so that it surpass our understanding of what the ultimate manifestation of the spiritual reality will be. Indwelling of the Holy Spirit for ourselves and for “all Israel” that is the spiritual reality of the Holy Spirit indwelling us. We and the current incoming Jews coming to faith in Yeshua are a living temple of the LORD. Our focus is for eyes of Jews to be opened so we may celebrate the redemption of “all Israel” by faith in Yeshua.
TWO final examples of the foreshadowing of spiritual realities: In the Spring Feasts, at the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) or Pentecost, in Levitcus 23:17 God requires a wave offering of two loaves of bread before the Lord. The two loaves are widely thought to be symbolic of the Ephesians 2:15 portion of God’s plan to unite two – Jew and Gentile – by the redemption in His Son, Yeshua. This we see begin to manifest in the Book of Acts (and it will reach its pinnacle of manifestation in these last days).
But, this year for the first time, my attention was drawn to the wave offering that is made at the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles (Sukkot)where Israel is told by God to gather “branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.” Lev 23:40. This has been translated by rabbinic tradition to raise and bless the 4 species. This is called “the ascension of lulav” (bouquet) made up specifically to the etrog–citron, lulav–palm frond, hadass–leafy myrtle branches, and aravot–leafy willow branches. Rabbinic Vaykira Fabba 30 says that the four species represents 4 different types of Jews – some with good deeds, some without; some with Torah learning, some without.
Yet to elevate the basic understanding that the 4 species to the prophetic symbolism of a spiritual reality, consider this: The different species come from each of the four sides of land God gave the nation of Israel: the myrtle is only found in the North/mountainous areas, the Etrog only grew in the East, the lulav / Palm grew in the West and the willow only grew in the south (accepted horticultural fact about the region during the time).
In this is I see indication that the symbolism of the gathering of these 4 species means the gathering of the Jews from the north, south, east and West. This is Luke 13:29 fulfilled: "And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God." (Also Isaiah 43:5-6).
I believe it is also what the apostle Paul meant when he said in Romans 11:26-27 "and so ALL ISRAEL will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
by Donna Diorio
The 7 Feasts of the LORD were appointed to the Israelites as sacred assemblies that they were to gather before Him. These He called them to observe “wherever you live” for all their generations. These were given a prophetic pictures to be enacted among them no matter where they were scattered throughout the nations – pictures that the Holy Spirit could ignite in their understanding of the spiritual reality they represented which would be fulfilled in God’s due season. Even today this reenactments are standing awaiting the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of individual Jews so they may see, all of these Feasts are the drama of God’s redemption of the nations and of Israel by His only Son, Yeshua.
This is why there is always the prayer request from the Israeli ministries during the 7 Feasts of the LORD for God to open the eyes of their people through the Feasts. The Feasts are HIStory – it is all about Yeshua and how God intended to go about redeeming His people.
I will not go in deeply to this, but oftentimes as Christians who have been drawn by God to the Jewish people, we become overly wrapped up in the foreshadows, the ‘dress rehearsals’ of the spiritual realities God is bringing to the Jewish people – in Israel and wherever they are living outside of the Promised Land. It is good to know what the Feasts of the LORD are about, to know what they represent, to respect the Jewish regard for following all these generations after the things God commanded them to observe. But as for those who know and follow Yeshua, we must have ever before us that the spiritual reality is what we must lean into, rather than the details of the foreshadowing dress rehearsals.
God want us to recognize that He bringing Israel and the Jewish people into faith in Yeshua so they like us become indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, a Living Temple, the redeemed of the LORD by the Blood sacrifice of His Son and Israel’s Messiah. Once we have entered into Yeshua by faith, the spiritual realities are so much greater than the many details of the foreshadows of these Feasts of the LORD for us. I say this not to dissuade any against participation in the Feasts, but rather to point out that we should not make our focus the prophetic foreshadowing so that it surpass our understanding of what the ultimate manifestation of the spiritual reality will be. Indwelling of the Holy Spirit for ourselves and for “all Israel” that is the spiritual reality of the Holy Spirit indwelling us. We and the current incoming Jews coming to faith in Yeshua are a living temple of the LORD. Our focus is for eyes of Jews to be opened so we may celebrate the redemption of “all Israel” by faith in Yeshua.
TWO final examples of the foreshadowing of spiritual realities: In the Spring Feasts, at the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) or Pentecost, in Levitcus 23:17 God requires a wave offering of two loaves of bread before the Lord. The two loaves are widely thought to be symbolic of the Ephesians 2:15 portion of God’s plan to unite two – Jew and Gentile – by the redemption in His Son, Yeshua. This we see begin to manifest in the Book of Acts (and it will reach its pinnacle of manifestation in these last days).
But, this year for the first time, my attention was drawn to the wave offering that is made at the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles (Sukkot)where Israel is told by God to gather “branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.” Lev 23:40. This has been translated by rabbinic tradition to raise and bless the 4 species. This is called “the ascension of lulav” (bouquet) made up specifically to the etrog–citron, lulav–palm frond, hadass–leafy myrtle branches, and aravot–leafy willow branches. Rabbinic Vaykira Fabba 30 says that the four species represents 4 different types of Jews – some with good deeds, some without; some with Torah learning, some without.
Yet to elevate the basic understanding that the 4 species to the prophetic symbolism of a spiritual reality, consider this: The different species come from each of the four sides of land God gave the nation of Israel: the myrtle is only found in the North/mountainous areas, the Etrog only grew in the East, the lulav / Palm grew in the West and the willow only grew in the south (accepted horticultural fact about the region during the time).
In this is I see indication that the symbolism of the gathering of these 4 species means the gathering of the Jews from the north, south, east and West. This is Luke 13:29 fulfilled: "And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God." (Also Isaiah 43:5-6).
I believe it is also what the apostle Paul meant when he said in Romans 11:26-27 "and so ALL ISRAEL will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
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