FEAST OF TABERNACLES
SEPTEMBER 18, 2013
At sunset tonight 9/18/13, we enter into "our season of rejoicing," also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. This is the last festival of the 7th month on the sacred Calendar, it is also the last of the Torah Feasts that Yahweh instituted in Leviticus 23. This festival is celebrated for 7 days and then the "great day", a total of 8 days.
When Israel came out of Egypt they had no houses to live in while traveling through the Wilderness, so they built booths (sukkahs) from tree branches. They were commanded to observe this feast each year starting the 15th day of the 7th month (Tishrei), this was to commemorate their experience. However, there were many more deeper spiritual significances to the observation of this feast. Their rehearsal in the natural of building booths (sukkahs) was foreshadowing a time when humanity would realize that God lives within mankind. We are the tabernacle, booths (sukkahs).
YAHWEH'S HOLIDAYS-FEASTS
Does God have holidays (festivals)? Yes! The Creator is a party being and loves to enjoy Himself. He does this through humans/creation. Spirit expresses and experiences all of the wonderful emotions of love, joy, excitement and peace through us. He gives us joy and peace that surpasses that which material or fleshly pleasures can offer.
"And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: "The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, These Are My Feasts." Leviticus 23:1-2
We know that God has set times for celebrations and they must be important if He set asides these specific times. If we desire to walk in step with Spirit, would it not be wise to at least know and acknowledge these times? Our intent is not to revive legalism; but to show the validity and blessings of observing God's holidays. Most spiritual people are confused and are observing pagan and demonic holidays (Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc). They are not aware that the Creator has already given us the holidays we should be aware of.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews saw how in the 1st century some were forgetting the importance of God's holidays. Some had come to realize the law was only a shadow of things to come and that the holidays/feast days were rehearsal for something greater. However, they had thrown out the proverbial baby with the bath water, by not understanding the importance of the sacred Calendar. "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:24-25
Sadly, this very powerful verse has been twisted and reduced to mean, "don't forget to go to Church every Sunday." There is nothing wrong with "going to church" and it is very much needed, especially, in these challenging times. However, this verse inspired by the Holy Spirit was specifically encouraging us not to forget to come together for the set times, the 7 Feasts of Yahweh mentioned in Leviticus 23. They were summed up into (3) major events or gatherings throughout the year PASSOVER, PENTECOST & TABERNACLES (Sukkot). Deuteronomy 16:16
DOES GOD REALLY HAVE SPECIFIC TIMES THAT WE CAN BENEFIT FROM?
Yes! But keep in mind that Spirit transcends what we call time. As we have often shared, the "set times" are based in the secrets of agriculture and the secrets of the Zodiac. The feast days, God's holidays are precisely timed to coincide with events in earth and especially in the heavens. Sukkot can only come when the Moon is full and the Sun is in Libra (or on the cusp of Libra), the 7th Zodiac sign. "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." During these times, the influence of the heavens (constellations) are much stronger to bring about desired results. These are also times of shifts in consciousness on the planet. The ancient sages, prophets and mystics called it "God's times for favor" or "season of favor." The wise King Solomon said, "There is a time and season for EVERYTHING under the Sun." Ecclesiastes 3:1
"You shall arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, is come." Psalms 102:13 Let's take this verse apart.
You shall arise (Hebrew word, quwm, pronounced kum) means, to stand up on one's behalf, to defend and become powerful; to come on the scene. Mercy (hebrew word ra-cham) means, to be full of compassion, love deeply; to have tender affections. Zion represents those that have been enlightened by him. Time (Hebrew word eth) means season, event; experience. Favor (Hebrew word kha'nan) to show grace, favor, pity, mercy; consideration. Set time (Hebrew word mow'ad) the set aside time, appointment, fixed time, feast day; sacred season. It is tied to the word for marriage. Come (Hebrew word Bo) means, to enter in, come to pass. (Using the definitions of these words from the original Hebrew language, let amplify what this verse says).
"God, the Creator stands up (in us and around us) in power and comes on the scene to defend us; filled with compassion, tender affections and deep love for those that have been enlightened by him. During this season, He will show you grace, favor and consideration. This time has been fixed by the heavens for the feast days, a sacred season, set apart by God to bless you. It is like the joy and consummation of a marriage that has finally come to pass."
What an awesome prophetic blessing that hidden in those words. Say with passion, "It's my season - It's my season - It's my season".
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD. Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD." Leviticus 23:33-44
THE ASTRO-PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND TABERNACLES/SUKKOT
What was the Feast day that we just observed 5 days ago? Was it not Atonement, Yom Kippur, also called Judgment Day? It was the only day of the sacred Calendar, we are instructed to be depressed (take deep personal assessment). After the stress of the "10 days of awe" and realization that the verdict is NOT GUILTY, there was a need for something much more to heal the soul.
The psychology of all of this is heavily tied to the influences of the stars, it is astro-psychology. Astro-psychology is the science of human behavior, mental attitude and emotions when influenced by the stars. (At least that's what it means to me). There are (3) sub-constellations or decans of Libra. Each sub-constellation rises for 10 days and there are (3) assigned to each Zodiac sign. Without going into in depth explanations, here are the (3) sub-constellations of Libra. CRUX the Cross, LEPUS the Victim (image of a wild hare) and CORONA the Crown.
As we can see, Crux and Lepus are decans that on some level exert the influence of pain, struggle, suffering and even death. Lepus the Victim sometimes rising during the Feast of Atonement, based on the Biblical Calendar year. Jesus was the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation comes from the Greek word which literally means, Atoning Victim, atonement. 1 John 4:10
My point is, the heavens influence the earth. We are talking about astro-psychology. If there has been anger, rage, impatience or negativity stirring in you over the past 10 days, it is not by coincidence. Everything within must come to the surface to be dealt with and taken to the Crux/Cross. This period of time was set aside for you to get to know thyself, see things for what they really are, overcome and move on.
The last decan of the 7th month is CORONA (CROWN). "You shall arise, and have mercy on Zion..." The Crown represents VICTORY, authority, life and divinity. When someone receives a crown, it is a time for celebration and validation. The Feast of Tabernacles is your coronation ceremonial, it is not a time to be sad. We are rehearsing how it shall be when we are fully awakened to who we are. It is a time of validating the eternal I AM that I AM. You have experienced ATONEMENT, Crux has crossed out the super-Ego, the carnal nature. You have presented your body as the living sacrifice (Lepus - victim). Now there is the Crown of life waiting for you. Sukkot/Tabernacles is the reward for your time of suffering.
Let me go a bit metaphysical for a moment before we get to the definition of some words in Leviticus 23. Corona the Crown, 3rd sub-constellation of Libra, represents the Crown Chakra- it is the 7th spinning wheel of energy-color violet. The 7th energetic wheel or vortex within is parallel to the 7th Feast, Sukkot/Tabernacles. The physical counterpart is the pituitary gland inside the brain. When we read the scriptures about receiving a Crown of life or receiving any kind of crown; this is not a literal crown. This is speaking of the full activation of the Pituitary Gland or Crown Chakra in humans, working in harmony with the Pineal Gland (3rd Eye).
The astro-psychology behind Sukkot was to mentally and emotionally build up humanity after being humbled. This was also demonstrated in the building of the Booths (sukkahs). It was to change the attitude and raise the frequency of humanity through celebration and rejoicing. It was about realizing we have a chance to start over again, no matter how far, we appear to have fallen. And even in what appears as weakness, we are not disqualified. Rather, we are given a Crown, the authority to rule over the affairs of our life; empowerment.
EXTREME WORSHIP
When reading the Leviticus 23 verses from the English translation, we miss a lot of what is being said. I just want to highlight some words in this passage of scripture to actually show you how we are commanded to worship. One would have to be able to discern both the internal and external experience to reap the full benefits. Each of these holidays have multi-dimensional meanings, we will only sample some of the meanings and experiences in these blogs. Our intent in explaining and defining the words below is to help you get out of your box (head-mind). We want to challenge you to totally lose yourself.
"...You shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month." Leviticus 23:40-41 We will examine the words, "rejoice" and "celebrate".
Rejoice (Hebrew word sa'mach) means to be glad, joyful, filled with joy and excitement. Celebrate (Hebrew word kh'gag') means to Dance, stagger, reel to and fro; to become giddy (as a drunkard), lightheaded, GaGa.
This is what we were commanded to do for 7 days, PARTY!! (Of course not in the sense that the world does with alcohol and drugs). He was speaking of getting so filled with Spirit, high off of life, that you would appear drunk. "Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit." This is not the season (set time) for sitting in meditation, it is the season for increasing the body and brain frequency through excitement, music, laughter, dancing, holy rolling and joyfully giving to help others. (It's ok to meditate also, we are only explaining times and season).
Here is a challenge for some of you. For the next 7 days, start your day off with lively music, excitement. Jump out of the bed excited to be alive. If you can not start your day off with lively music, at least find some time before you sleep to get your body moving. It is important that you match your body frequency with the frequency of the heavens. Get rid of the tear jerking whining music. "The joy of the LORD is your strength." Your positive, joyful attitude is seed for a harvest of greater joy. Jump around, do aerobics, or Hallelujah power walks. There is a such thing as "sacrifice of praise". That means, when you don't feel like it, when there seems to be no reason to be happy and you are having a bad day at work or home. Here are some provocative questions to help you realize some reasons to be extremely joyful and thankful.
Are you yet breathing?!! Can you at least move about? Are you yet somewhat sane? Did you walk out of that store, beauty salon, theater, or mall; without encountering a mad man shooting or trying to kill you? That's enough reason to praise God.
For the next 7-8 days act like Ed McMahon has showed up at your door announcing that you have won a $10 million dollar Sweepstake. Don't wait until your personal battles are over to rejoice, celebrate NOW. That is the seed for your Victory=Crown. Your attitude will determine your aptitude.
"Party Rock (Jesus) is in the house tonight. Everybody gonna have good time - And we gonna make you lose your mind, Everybody gonna have a good time."
In the coming days we hope to share various aspects about Sukkot. Just to help you get started off on a good foot partying, we want to give you some good Party House Music.
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