Leviticus 23:36

36 Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD: on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and you shall do no servile work therein.

Rabbinic literature explains the holiday this way: our Creator is like a host, who invites us as visitors for a limited time, but when the time comes for us to leave, He has enjoyed Himself so much that He asks us to stay another day. Another related explanation: Sukkot is a holiday intended for all of mankind, but when Sukkot is over, the Creator invites the Jewish people to stay for an extra day, for a more intimate celebration.

It is a modest holiday just to celebrate the LORD’s special relationship with His beloved nation, Israel.

Leviticus 23:27-28

27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you; and you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28 And you shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.

The importance of atonement and repentance at this time is regarded as critical since on this day the books which will determine the fate of all individuals for the next year will be sealed. It is also believed that Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of Adam’s sin and repentance and atonement for it was completed on Yom Kippur.

Matthew 5:23-24

23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and remember that your brother has anything against you; 24 Leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it is common to seek reconciliation with persons you may have wronged during the course of the previous year. To atone for sins against another person, you must first seek reconciliation with that person, righting the wrongs you committed against them if possible. With this done, the pathway is then cleared for atonement to be made before the LORD.

3 To whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, says He, you have heard of Me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days from now.

Later, on the day of Pentecost or Shavuot, the promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled; hence the pre-ordained divine timing of God’s plans can be observed. Firstly at Passover the Lamb of God was slain and then at Pentecost the promise of the Comforter or the Holy Spirit was then given:

Acts 2:1-4

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This festival is normally observed around May to June.

The most significant aspect about Passover today is that it was the time when the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, became the sacrificial Lamb for all of humanity for all time.

The affliction and bondage the Israelites would suffer at the hands of the Egyptians was first revealed to Abraham. It would be an incubator of sorts for the nation and they would emerge from captivity with great substance:

Genesis 15:13-14

13 And He said to Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

In the course of things, Abraham had a son named Isaac; he in turn had twins, Esau and Jacob. Although Esau was the first born, Jacob was able to acquire the birthright from Esau:

Genesis 25:30-33

30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray you, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day your birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he swore to him: and he sold his birthright to Jacob.

Further to this, Isaac was blind in his later years, and being deceived blessed Jacob instead of Esau:

Genesis 27:28-30

28 Therefore God give you of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 29 Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you: be lord over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you: cursed be every one that curses you, and blessed be he that blesses you. 30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachael. However initially Rachel did not bear Jacob any children, but God hearkened unto her prayers and opened her womb:

Genesis 30:22-25

22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. 23 And she conceived, and bore him a son, and said, God has taken away my reproach: 24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add me another son. 25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country.

Joseph was loved by Jacob (who was renamed Israel in Genesis 35:10) more than all of his other children. He therefore gave him a coat of many colors. This caused a rift between Joseph and his brethren. To further exacerbate matters, he began having dreams in which he was exalted above his parents as well as his brethren.

Genesis 37:9-10

9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to you to the earth?

These dreams caused Joseph’s brothers to hate him even more, to the point that they considered slaying him. But instead they took him and sold him as a slave for twenty pieces of silver to merchants who were heading for Egypt. His brethren went home and told Israel that Joseph was slain by a wild beast.

In Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. The LORD was with Joseph and everything began to prosper at his hand. Eventually Joseph was made the overseer of his house. Then Potiphar’s wife continually tried to seduce Joseph, to the point where one day she grabbed hold of his garment, but he left his garment in her hand and fled from her. She then accused him of trying to rape her.

As a result, Joseph was then cast into prison; there he met other prisoners who served Pharaoh. Two of these prisoners had worked directly with Pharaoh, the chief butler and the chief baker. Both of them had dreams, which Joseph was able to accurately interpret.

Pharaoh some time later had a dream, for which he needed the interpretation, the chief butler who was reinstated into his position then told Pharaoh about Joseph, since his wise men were not able to interpret the dream. Joseph then interpreted the dreams warning of a famine to come, and advised Pharaoh of the action that he should take. Joseph was then promoted to manage the affairs of Egypt.

Genesis 41:38-40

38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? 39 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Forasmuch as God has showed you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are: 40 You shall be over my house, and according to your word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than you.

In the years to come, the seven year famine came, but due to the management skills of Joseph, Egypt had sufficient food supplies warehoused. Eventually Jacob instructed his sons with the exception of Benjamin to go down to Egypt to purchase corn.

Joseph eventually made himself known to his brethren, and Israel and his entire house, being seventy persons journeyed down to dwell in Egypt when two years of the famine were past.

Genesis 46:3-4

3 And He said, I am God, the God of your father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation: 4 I will go down with you into Egypt; and I will surely bring you up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes.

As generations past on, the children of Israel grew and multiplied, and a new king of Egypt who did not know about Joseph reigned. This king feared that the Israelites would join with their enemies and cause them to be overthrown. Therefore the Egyptians made them to serve with hard rigor and made their lives bitter with hard bondage.

To prevent the Israelites’ population from expanding, the king of the Egyptians further instructed the midwives to kill the male babies that were born of the Hebrews. But when Moses was born, he was hidden, when he was three months old and could no longer be hid; he was placed into a small ark and sent down the river. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and raised him as her own.

When Moses was an adult he saw an Egyptian smiting one of the Hebrews and he slew the Egyptian. When this matter became known abroad, he fled from the face of Pharaoh who then sought to slay him. He then dwelt in the land of Midian, until the LORD called and commissioned him.

Exodus 3:9-10

9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come to Me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

There were 10 signs and wonders that were done in the land of Egypt before the Israelites were allowed to leave. While the first nine plagues required no action on the part of the Israelites to be made exempt from them, the tenth one was different. In this case a male lamb in the first year that was without blemish had to be selected in the tenth day of the first month. On the fourteenth day of that month the lamb was to be slain and its blood was to be smeared on the two side door posts and the upper door post of the house where they would roast the flesh of the lamb and then consume it with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The remains were to be burnt with fire by the next morning.

Exodus 12:11-13

11 And thus shall you eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s Passover.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

It should be noted that the time the sacrifice was killed was 3:00 PM in the afternoon of the fourteenth day of Nisan. Then at midnight of Nisan 15 (remember Jewish days change in the evening) was when all the firstborns in the land of Egypt were slain.

Exodus 12:29

29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

Hence the feast of Passover was established and celebrated on Nisan 15 as a memorial for all generations. This was a type of foreshadow of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 16:33

33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

Purim is also known as the month of the Hidden Hand of God, and demonstrates the mysterious way that God acts in the world. It should be noted that the Book of Esther is the only book within the Holy Bible where the name of GOD is not mentioned. This is deliberate because of the strong allegorical parallel that is contained in these scriptures.

Through this feast, it is understood that there are two basic categories of miracles: firstly those that defy the laws of nature, but secondly there are hidden miracles in which God’s redemptive actions seem to take place during the course of normal human events. It is for this reason, that when there are Eclipses occurring in succession in these last days on Jewish Feast days, that they should not be just cast off, because we can now accurately predict when they will take place, and where they would be visible.

The Book of Esther opens with king Ahasuerus having a 180 day feast in the third year of his reign over 127 provinces that constituted the Medo-Persian Empire. He inherited the empire after the death of king Cyrus, who along with king Darius jointly attacked Babylon and killed king Belshazzar, the grandson of king Nebuchadnezzar.

After this feast, he held another seven day feast for all that were in Shushan the palace. On the seventh day while in a drunken stupor he called for queen Vashi to be paraded before every one, so that they could admire her beauty. However, she refused to present herself, which caused Ahasuerus to be embarrassed. Fearing that reports of her behavior would cause other women to disrespect their husbands in a similar fashion throughout the land, he was advised to replace Vashti with a fair virgin.

Esther, a fair and beautiful young woman eventually became the queen that replaced Vashti. She was an orphan Jew and prior to becoming queen, she was provided for by Mordecai (she was his uncle’s daughter).

Esther 2:17

17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.   

Some time afterwards, king Ahasureus appoints Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite as his chief minister. However, Mordecai, who sits in the palace gates, refuses to bow or to show any reverence to Haman. As a result he then conceives of a plot not only to destroy Mordecai, but all Jews.

Esther 3:7-9

7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is the month Adar. 8 And Haman said to king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to allow them. 9 If it please the king, let it written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.

Lot in the Persian language is Pur. Haman was casting lots to see when would have been the best time to approach the king with his diabolical plan to exterminate the Jews. While not fully knowing the extent of the plot, the king gave his ring to Haman thereby allowing the events to put into motion.

Esther 3:13

13 And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

Mordecai learns of the horrific plot and rents his clothes and cries. He also dresses in sackcloth with ashes. There is great mourning amongst the Jews. Esther is also advised of the foreboding events and requests that all Jews of Shushan fast and pray for three days together with her so that she would find the favor of the king when she appears before him without being summoned.

Esther 5:2

2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the scepter.

Ahasuerus and Haman are then invited to a banquet, during this event the king offers to meet Esther’s petition, and she invites him and Haman to a second banquet. It is at this banquet that Esther reveals Haman’s plot to exterminate her and all the Jews:

Esther 7:3-6

3 Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: 4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not counter-veil the king’s damage.

5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said to Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that dare presume in his heart to do so? 6 And Esther said, the adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.

The net result is that Haman was hung on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Haman’s ten sons were also hung on these gallows. Mordecai was then given the king’s ring that Haman had been using, and was promoted. The previous decree against the Jewish people could not be annulled, so the king allows Mordecai and Esther to write another decree as they saw appropriate.

They then decreed that the Jewish people may preemptively kill those thought to pose a lethal risk. The Jews were then able to obtain a magnificent victory over all their enemies, and an annual celebration was instituted:

Esther 9:19

19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelled in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

The significant value of Purim is its allegorical content where it is somewhat of a foreshadow of the Book of Revelation:

Purim will be celebrated from the evening of February 28, 2018 and wll end at nightfall of March 1, 2018.

Sukkot is also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, this is not to be confused with the Tabernacle of the Covenant. Its timing in the month of Tishrei allows for a Lunar Eclipse to occur during or very close to this feast. It is a seven day feast where the Israelites remember the forty years that their ancestors spent living in fragile dwellings after their deliverance from Egypt, as they wandered before entering into the Promised Land. This festival is also associated with harvest time and it is also called the Festival of Ingathering. Hence it has dual significance: historical and agricultural.

For 2017, this feast will run from Wednesday Evening, October 4, thru Thursday Evening, October 12.

Leviticus 23:33-36

33 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. 35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein. 36 Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD: on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and you shall do no servile work therein.

Although Sukkot occurs just five days after Yom Kippur which is a very somber time, this feast changes the atmosphere to one of great joy and rejoicing. To honor the historical significance, temporary booths are erected to dwell in during the seven day period. All meals should be eaten within them, and on a daily basis members of the household recite blessings while holding the following four plants that are joined together : etrog (a citrus fruit native to Israel); lulav (a palm branch); hadas (a branch from a myrtle tree); and, arava (a willow branch).

In general, when celebrating this feast, as much time as possible is spent within these booths, including sleeping within them. The booth would have at least two and a half sides and its roof should be made of something that grew from the ground and then was cut off, such as palm branches. Holes should be left in the covering to allow rain to come in as well as to see the stars.

Deuteronomy 16:16-17

16 Three times a year shall all your males appear before the LORD your God in the place which He shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.

Sukkot ranks in importance along with Passover and Shavuot, for these three feasts, all the males were required to appear before the LORD.

Zechariah 14:16-19

16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

The Feast of Tabernacles will be commemorated by all the inhabitants of the earth during the Millennium Reign of Christ. It is important to note here that drought is considered to be a plague that will affect those that refuse to go up to worship the King during this one thousand year period.

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated on the 1st and 2nd days of the Hebrew month "Tishrei".

Rosh Hashanah is the only Jewish holiday which lasts for two entire days, considered as one very long day. Note that in the Jewish calander, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Jews will celebrate Rosh Hashanah on the sunset of Wednesday, the 20th of September. This celebration will come to an end on the sunset of Friday, the 22nd of September.

This feast is also known as the Feast of Trumpets. During this festival there is the sounding of the Shofar (a hollowed out ram's horn). A total of 100 notes are sounded on each day of the feast. There is also the eating of symbolic foods such as apples dipped in honey to represent a sweet new year.

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish civil year, and it literally means Head of the Year. It is believed to be the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman.

The most significant aspect of Rosh Hashanah is the expression of dependence upon the LORD as our creator and sustainer. It is during this time that the books are opened and all the inhabitants of the world are made to pass before Him. Whereby it is decreed who shall live, who shall die, who shall be impoverished and who shall be enriched, who shall fall and who shall rise.