The Last Great Day, 2019
By
Gary Primo
The Hebrew name for this last of the fall set apart days is Shmini Atzeret. It literally means, “the eighth day”. I searched the internet for a site that explained the meaning of this day but could find nothing other than it being the eighth day of the Feast of Sukkoth. So what is it that makes this day a “high” day? It seems that no one amongst either Jewish or Christians seem to know.
Lev. 23:39 - Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast unto Yahuwah seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
Num. 29:35 - On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly: you shall do no servile work therein:
These are the only two mentions of this special day but neither offer an explanation for it. While in the WCG we were taught that the feast of Sukkoth represented the millennial rule of Yahushua. So, it naturally followed that the “last Great Day” represented the eventual coming of the Father to dwell with His creation. I still believe this is the only obvious explanation. Why it has seemingly escaped the imaginations of both Jewish and Christian scholars, I have no idea. And, I cannot understand how such can observe the day without a clue regarding its meaning. What, do they walk away thinking, “Oh. that was nice! Let’s do it again next year”? Unbelievable!
The number seven, biblically speaking, is the number of completion. The seven day festival of Sukkoth represents the manifestation and completion of Yahuwah’s one thousand year rule. The eighth day of the feast represents the final victory of Yahushua over HaSatan and his handing the Kingdom over t the Father.
Rev. 21:1 - And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 - And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from Elohim out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 - And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of Elohim is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and Elohim himself shall be with them, and be their Elohim.
4 - And Elohim shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
This is what the eighth day is all about. This is what the creation itself has always been about – the Son preparing the Kingdom for His Father. This is the complete opposite of the human trait of the father preparing an inheritance for the Son. Since the day of His creation, Yahushua has worked endlessly to accomplish this monumental feat.
Before Yahushua could do anything, He had to restore the Kingdom that Adam rejected. This Kingdom was to have no physical temple but instead the individual Believer became the temple of Yahuwah and housed His righteous spirit in his heart. Therefore, Yahuwah’s Kingdom is with us 24/7. We do not need to go to a physical temple to find Yahuwah. All we need is a peaceful, quiet place to open our hearts to Yahuwah and presto, we are in the Kingdom. Many are looking forward to the coming of the literal Kingdom as some far off event; and, as is human nature, some will attempt to wait for that day before they make any changes to their spiritual condition. I pray that it is not so amongst us.
If we can keep in mind that we are in the Kingdom NOW and that the Kingdom is with us EVERY CONSCIOUS MOMENT, I am convinced we will take our calling that much more seriously.
The “new” heaven and the “new” earth will be one. Heaven is commonly considered the dwelling place of Elohim. Therefore, if He is dwelling on Earth, He has obviously “moved” heaven and earth will become the new heaven.
As it is presently in Yahuwah’s current dwelling place, there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain in the Father’s future dwelling place. Peace and harmony will be all that survives the Lake of Fire. Everything that corrupts will be gone for all of eternity.
Rev. 21:22 - And I saw no temple therein: for Yahuwah Elohim Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 - And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of Elohim did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Just as there will be no more need of lamps to light our way, neither will there be a need for a temple. Yahuwah and Yahushua will be the temple and if we are in them, what need have we of a physical temple? What greater temple is there?
Rev. 21:27 - And there shall in no way enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
No one fitting into any of the above categories will enter the Kingdom. We are to prepare for the Kingdom by making sure we no longer fit these categories. I am sure we would all like a peek at the Book of Life right now, to see if our names are in it. However, that is something we will have to wait till the end to find out. Perhaps the writing of our names in this book is not something that happens until the end of our earthly trial, when Yahuwah knows for sure if we are indeed faithful and true.
Rev. 22:3 - And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of Elohim and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Of course, the curse talked about here is the curse of death that Adam brought upon us all. Because of his sin, we must all die once. All who hosted Yahuwah’s spirit need not fear this first death. It is the second death we are to be worried about. And, if we are faithful and true in our service to Yahuwah, we need not fear that death either. The curse will be removed forever once the Kingdom is established on earth.
Rev. 22:12 - And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
This is the verse we should all be worried about. Has our service towards Yahuwah been found pleasing in His sight? He never tells us outright if it is or not, so all we can do is presume. We look for blessings as proof of our favour with Yahuwah. However, I do not believe that blessings are a very accurate indicator. Blessings can come from anywhere, not only from Yahuwah. And it is easy to wrongly interpret events as blessings when they are not, if a blessing is all we are seeking.
Conclusion
As this festivals draws to an end, I hope it has been the most wonderful and meaningful one ever. Hopefully we all have some new understandings to take home and explore further. Perhaps we should not think of it as the end of the feast, but the beginning of a renewed walk with Yahuwah that will reveal all things pertaining to the Kingdom.
Wake up every morning envisioning the Kingdom, and you being right in the middle of it. Pray for it to come quickly and ask for Yahuwah’s help in assuring your future habitation there.
The road to the Kingdom is anything but easy. Those who think it is are in the wrong church (which basically includes all churches). Just because a certain majority believe the same thing does not qualify it as truth. In Noah’s day, he was the only one on the entire earth who was found to be righteous. Moses may not have been quite as righteous as Noah but he too would be considered righteous. Of course, I am referring to his stubbornness in obeying Yahuwah.
Wouldn’t we love to go down in history as one of the great righteous individuals who gained the favour of Yahuwah? That can only happen if we are as righteous as they were. Righteousness means that one is obedient to the laws of Yahuwah. We must be found to be obedient at all times.
So, let us think on these things while celebrating this special day. It may only occur one day out of the year but it pictures an eternity with our Creator Elohim. We, indeed, have a most glorious and magnificent future before us. The only one who can take it away is us. We definitely do not wish to fall into that situation. We have only one chance at this, folks. In the immortal words of Larry the Cable Guy, “Let’s git er done!”
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.