Judaism regards the idea of a salvation as something mainly “in the physical realm”, something that needs to be touched and lived while Christianity spiritualizes and idealizes the concept.  Resurrection in Christianity takes on the meaning of ethereal, living in heaven, almost having wings while Judaism sees this concept as Jews returning to the Promised Land now the renewed Gan Eden, in a very physical yet healed world.  Both concepts are brought together by Mashiach. Sukkoth is the one festival which is truly a promise for the Gentiles and yet due to the lack of understanding in the Christian world, they have completely missed it. The church does not celebrate any of the fall festivals and by doing so have lost their compass for Messiah’s return.

In Yochanan 7 Yeshua’s brothers are pushing him to go to Yerushalayim for the Sukkoth celebration at the Temple. He doesn’t go in public not allowing them to push him but he went in secret. He was totally submitted to G-d‘s program, not man’s.  He knew that it was not his time yet. How often do we try to push G-d’s Hand when it is not time for something to happen?  Please note that in this chapter it was the Judeans and not the Jews who kept trying to build a case against him.  They were the Pharisees and Sadducees from the area of Judea (very much like the ultra Orthodox Jews of Mea Shearim in Israel today). Their religious fervor against him would have to be built up enough that his time to die would come at Passover according to G-d’s time table.  Sukkoth however was a very different matter.

The Mishna says that Sukkoth is the only time of the year when the Jews are praying for the foreign nations. Seventy bulls are sacrificed; seventy meaning the number of the nations.  Sukkoth is a time of rejoicing and when Messiah will appear there will no longer be Jew or Gentile. In Zechariah 14 it is written that all nations will send ambassadors to Jerusalem to worship the one true G-d at the time of Sukkoth.  There is so much prophecy and excitement around this time and yet both Christians and Jews are both missing the true meaning of this special Holiday.

For Christians, Sukkoth is the missing link to understand truly who their Messiah is.  In Yochanan 1:14 we read that the Word (Torah) became flesh and dwelled among us. The word for dwelled in the Greek is skeno and is the direct translation for the word “sukkah”. This literally means that G-d created a temporary body (dwelling), a sukkah and lived among us.  He was giving us a “secret”, a hint that Mashiach, the representation of the Living G-d would be among us temporarily, not eternally in that form. He did not want that body to become an idol like the bronze serpent on the pole had become to the Jews at the time of Moses. There is enough proof in the Scriptures for anyone who studies it to see that Yeshua was born on Sukkoth and not at Christmas. Yet when you ask why they continue celebrating it on December 25th, the answer is tradition and it doesn’t hurt anyone. Is that really true?  This is blending paganism into Christian tradition.  The problem with holding onto this tradition is that it keeps the Jewish people from seeing the truth about who Yeshua really is. No one can become a believer in the Messiah by imposition or decree.  It is a personal decision and relation.  The basic principle of the scripture is that G-d reveals to man not man to G-d.  If we do not understand this we are just religious.  A religious person tells G-d what He is.  The true believer receives G-d‘s revelation. If the Jews could see through the eyes of the Goyim Tsaddikim, the righteous gentiles, that the incarnation of the Messiah happened on Sukkoth, today would be the day the Jews and the gentles have the same Mashiach because Yeshua was born on Sukkoth.

On the other hand, Judaism does the same thing when they do not recognize the meaning of Shemini Atzeret. After the 7th of Sukkoth, the Torah says that there is one extra day which we call Shemini Atzeret. The sages do not have an answer for why this 8th day was added but they say that when Messiah comes it will be explained. For Messianic Jews, Messiah has come and we understand that if he was born on Sukkoth, he would have had his Brit Mila on the 8th day. This is extremely important since in Judaism even if both parents are Jews, if their son is not circumcised on the 8th day he is not considered a Jew.  We know that he was since Salvation comes from the Jew.

In Gematria the number 8 is the number of renovation.  When Yeshua was born into the world on Sukkoth, the process of renovation of the world began.  Restoration came to the world beginning with the resurrection of Mashiach. When he rose from the dead, he went beyond the physical and came back with a totally different body, an eternal one; from the temporary dwelling, the sukkah to an eternal one. This is a beautiful picture of how it will be at his second coming. Chazon (Revelation) speaks of the new heavens and new earth. We go from the transitional to the eternal. It is no coincidence that Sukkoth is the time of the birth of the Mashiach and it also represents the time of his return.  In order to get to the Sukkoth you need to go through the terrible days (Yamim Noraim) when you feel that you want to disappear from the face of the earth because of your sins.  We know that there is no hope for us.  The only hope is the mercy of G-d.

G-d gave us a perfect calendar with the Ha Mo’edim  (The Appointed times); each one points to Mashiach in his different roles; Shabbat—Rest, Pesach—The Sacrificial Lamb; Rishonim Bikkurim — First Fruits of Resurrection; Yom Teruah—Repentance ; Yom Kippur —Redemption and  Succoth— Rejoicing! He is the beginning of the end and a new beginning! He came for us, and did everything that he needed to do; now we are waiting for the final return! Are you ready for his coming!

Why is Sukkoth the time of rejoicing?  This is known as the time of the latter rains, the late harvest.  Everything points to the end of the times.  When Mashiach comes, the end times begin.  We can’t always see the times because we have been waiting for two thousand years.  Rabbi Shaul wrote as if his coming was imminent.  But G-d has His own time frame and two thousand years means nothing for G-d.  What about us as believers?  We don’t trust ourselves; we put our trust in our Maker.  We are protected because of our Maker.  We are in His presence not because of ourselves but because of our Maker.  Everything is His responsibility not ours.  We have the joy of understanding that He is the One, that it is through Him that we can be with Him, that nothing is from ourselves.  Everything is from him.  This is the true meaning of the extra day Shemini Atzeret, the day of new beginning.