Feast of Tabernacles -- Happy Birthday, Jesus 9/21 Tuesday Truth

FEAST OF TABERNACLES -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS! The final and most joyous festival of the year began at sundown Monday, September 20, 2021, and continues for seven days. It is called Feast of Tabernacles (or Shelters or Booths), Feast of Ingathering, Season of Our Rejoicing, or Sukkot. It celebrates God's care and protection during forty years of wandering in the wilderness and His continuing sustenance. It is a time of thanksgiving for the harvest, insuring their survival for another year. All Jews made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They made and lived in temporary shelters (sukkah booths) recalling their years of wandering. In modern times families or congregations build outdoor shelters filled with harvest decorations and they often eat their meals and invite guests to visit their sukkahs. It was during the Feast of Tabernacles' illumination ceremony that Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." It was during the water pouring ceremony that Jesus said, "I am the living water." There is evidence by comparing time frames in the Scriptures to show that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles. Many Messianic Jews celebrate the birth of Jesus at this time and not at Christmas. "Jesus is God tabernacling among men. The word _dwelt_ in Greek implies a temporary dwelling, a sukkah booth. Jesus is God's ultimate sukkah booth. For God, in Jesus Christ, tabernacles among men. As the Temple was a temporary dwelling for the Shekinah (visible Glory of God), so Jesus tabernacling among us manifested the glory of God. He is the source of light and life to all who believe." (The Fall Feasts of Israel, by Mitch and Zhava Glaser) In God's timetable of the Fall Festivals, Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) foreshadows the Rapture, Yom Kippur foreshadows the Final Judgment, and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) represents the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven.