Fall Feasts, Special Edition BEST Shabbat - David Mitts
The Fall is the season the return of the Lord. There are three Feasts of the seven that represent the second coming of our King. These Feasts are eternal in nature and are of the government of God. They are eternal and predate the priesthood and point to an eternal kingdom:
“where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:20)
In the seventh month, the month of the kingdom manifestation, we align ourselves with His kingdom which is described by Isaiah as the government of peace which is on the throne of David. In a very real way, the seventh month automatically becomes the second first month. This is the mystery of the new birth for those who have already been born in their mother’s womb.
Yeshua had such a conversation with a Jewish leader named Nicodemus:
“Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. “That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony. “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? “No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him.” (John 3:3-15)
The seventh month, the month of the fall feasts, becomes the first month or the beginning of time when Yeshua is lifted up in our lives. Yeshua calls this being born-again. Previously, this was the term given to a person when they became grafted into Israel. They left, or died to their allegiance to another authority, their old identity, and became one with the household of God. Yeshua telling Nicodemus, that he had to be born again to see and enter the kingdom of God, must have been so confusing. Nicodemus was already of the household of Israel. Therefore he asked, how?
Yeshua told him that being born again was by the Spirit. He is revealing the deeper internal kingdom prophesied by Jeremiah. This is a direct claim of the Father’s parentage into the new covenant. Up to this point Israel was of a natural lineage or by being grafted in. In either case the mark was the covenant of circumcision. The new covenant would be marked by a circumcised heart.
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. (Rom 2:28-29)
The fall feasts are likewise transformed by the new covenant. They go from an outward celebration, fasting, and building external sukkahs to an inward, redemption, consecration and indwelling Presence of God in houses of human hearts.
This is a three-part redemption. The first is the shout, the Hallal, represented in Yom Teruah, The Day of the Shout. The external picture is revealed in the victory over Jericho. Jericho represents the kingdom of darkness. The victory over darkness was with the Hallal, the shout and the blast of the shofar by the priests after the 7th march around the walls.
At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city.(Jos 6:16)
This is the power of the Hallal, the shout. It destroys the walls of the enemy and gives us entrance to posses our inheritance. This is also a very vulnerable time, victory.
Abraham Lincoln said: “To test a man’s character, give him power.”
"The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. "But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it. (Jos 6:17-18)
When God gives us a breakthrough, we need to be careful to honor the Lord in our victory. There is nothing that will bring us under a curse faster than deciding that our victory was of our own doing!
“Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:17)
This is why the tithe is so important, because it settles the issue of covenant. In covenant, I declare through the tithe who is my Lord.
Yom Teruah is the external expression of the inner heart condition that is sold out to the Lord. This is the beginning of the possession of our inheritance. It contains the boldness of declaring Yeshua as Lord and releases kingdom power.
““If you openly and publicly acknowledge me, I will freely and openly acknowledge you before my heavenly Father. But if you publicly deny that you know me, I will also deny you before my heavenly Father.” (Matthew 10:32-33)
This is a picture of the wedding vows. We are being proposed to, to publicly and freely without compulsion as an act of love to declare Yeshua as our groom. He then turns to the Father and openly declares us as His. This is the power of Yom Teruah, the declaration of a true love covenant.
The second fall feast is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Atonement means covering. It is the atonement that covers us in His blood. This is the place of true love. God loves us so much he gave His Son for us. Love atones or covers us for our sin, our mistakes. Love is the safety net.
“Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.” (Proverbs 10:12)
Love is the safety net to make mistakes. In an environment of love, mistakes are part of learning. In an environment where there is no love, mistakes are a source of condemnation. Love is the key:
“Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)
The atonement is that place of oneness, that not only allows for mistakes but makes them open to confess.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
This brings us to the third Fall Feast, Succoth or tabernacles. This is the place of dwelling with God.
“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.” (John 14:23)
Once we openly declared Him, received His love and feel safe to make mistakes, knowing He not only forgives us but helps us become right in Him, then we are ready for dwelling together, the Feast of Succoth. The Sukkah, the temporary shelters built in Succoth, speak of the impermanence of our mortal bodies.
“But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
Yet we know that we will ultimately exchange our earthen vessels, jars of clay for resurrected ternal bodies. God dwells in us now and will dwell in even greater measure then.
“knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, so that grace, having spread to more and more people, will cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:14-18)
The fall feasts really reveal to us our place as the bride, openly declared, loved, cherished and redeemed for eternal life in oneness with our Lord!
Activation: An open declaration. Have you declared Him openly. Are you as proud of Him as He is of you? He chose you as His eternal bride. See yourself as chosen, His favorite and the one worth dying for.
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