PROPHETIC CHRISTMAS
AT TABERNACLES
By Matt Leasher
Its that wonderful
and joyous time of
the year again when
we celebrate the
earthly birth of our
Savior Jesus Christ.
Every
December we remember
when God sent His
Son from out of
eternity and into
this world to begin
His ministry of
salvation, although
a careful
observation of the
Gospel of Luke shows
us that Jesus didn’t
actually come into
the world in the
month of December.
If we follow
the sequence of
events leading up to
His birth we find
that Jesus was most
likely born in the
month of Tishri
which is the 7th
month on the Hebrew
calendar and falls
approximately every
year between the
middle of September
and the middle of
October.
We know this
because of the order
of priesthood that
fell to the father
of John the Baptist.
Allow me to
explain.
We know that John
the Baptist was 6
months older than
Jesus because the
angel Gabriel
appeared to Mary to
inform her of her
divine conception
when Elizabeth,
(John’s mother), was
in her 6th
month of pregnancy,
(Luke 1:26, & 36).
So
establishing that
Jesus was 6 months
younger than John we
then need to find
out when John was
born to find out
when Jesus was born.
We begin our
sequence of events
by observing that
Zacharias, the
father of John the
Baptist, was serving
in the temple in the
order of his
priestly division,
which was the
division of Abijah.
About 1000 years
prior King David had
appointed 24
divisions of priest
that would serve in
the temple
throughout the year,
two for every month.
In 1
Chronicles 24:10 it
tells us that the 8th
order fell to
Abijah, which was
the order that
Zacharias belonged
to.
Now the
Hebrew religious
year began in the
month of Abib,
(a.k.a. Nissan),
which is about mid
March.
So the 8th
order of priest
would be due to
serve in the temple
sometime in June or
early July.
The angel
appeared to
Zacharias while he
was serving in the
temple and informed
him that his wife
Elizabeth would
conceive a son even
though she was well
advanced in years.
Now the
difference between
when the angel
appeared to Mary to
inform her of her
conception and when
the angel appeared
to Zacharias to
inform him of
Elizabeth’s
conception is that
Mary was conceived
at that moment by
the Holy Spirit but
Zacharias had to
wait until his
priestly duties were
over and then go
home and consummate
the conception
himself and so it
says in Luke
1:23-24,
So it was, as soon
as the days of his
service were
completed, that he
departed to his own
house. Now after
those days his wife
Elizabeth conceived.
So John the
Baptist was most
likely conceived in
July, (or the 5th
Hebrew month of Ab).
If you count
9 months ahead you
come to the month of
Abib, (a.k.a.
Nissan), which is
near our March for
the birth of John
the Baptist.
Now knowing
that Mary had
conceived while
Elizabeth was in her
6th month
this places the
birth of Jesus 6
months after John in
the month of Tishri,
(which is Sept-Oct
on our calendar).
Had Luke not
informed us that
Zacharias was
serving in the
division of Abijah
then we would never
know where to begin
our sequence of
events to find out
the time of the
birth of our Savior
but God doesn’t
waste any words.
Every single
word is in the Bible
for a reason.
Now that we have
established the
timing of our
Savior’s birth there
may be more than
meets the eye to
this discovery.
The month of
Tishri is the 7th
month on the Hebrew
calendar and the
most holy as it
contains the last
three of the Feasts
of the Lord that are
listed in Leviticus
23.
The first
four Feasts are all
in the spring and
have been
prophetically
fulfilled by Jesus
at His first advent
and they are as
follows:
Passover – Jesus was
our sacrificial
Passover lamb.
Feast of Unleavened
Bread – Jesus was
our sinless bread of
life, (leaven being
associated with sin
by Hebrew custom).
Feast of Firstfruits
– Jesus was the
“first fruit” to be
resurrected in
glory.
Annually the
priests would take a
sheaf of the harvest
during this feast
and wave it before
the Lord to be
accepted before they
could reap the rest
of the harvest.
The unnamed
saints in Matthew
27:52-53 that were
resurrected after
Jesus was
resurrected were
Jesus’ wave offering
to the Lord.
The harvest
represents the
harvest of souls.
Feast of Weeks,
(a.k.a. Pentecost) –
In the Old Testament
this was an
agricultural feast
that celebrated the
wheat harvest just
before summer began.
This Feast takes
place 50 days after
the priestly
offering of
firstfruits.
Fifty days
after Jesus was
resurrected He sent
down the Holy Spirit
to form the Church
and begin the Church
Age that we are
currently living in.
The Holy
Spirit is still
graciously at work
today in the fields
of life harvesting
souls unto
salvation.
(This is just a
brief overview of
the prophetic
significance of
these Feasts as to
go in depth is a
vast study within
itself).
The last three
Feasts, which are
all in the autumn,
are yet to be
prophetically
fulfilled. They are
the Feast of
Trumpets, Day of
Atonement, and Feast
of Tabernacles.
The Feast of
Trumpets, (a.k.a.
Rosh Hashanah), is
the Jewish New Year
but also
prophetically refers
to the regathering
of Israel which is
then followed by the
Day of Atonement,
(a.k.a. Yom Kipper),
and prophetically
this will be
fulfilled when the
prophecy of
Zechariah 12:10-14
comes to pass.
Then on the
15th day
of the 7th
month comes the
Feast of
Tabernacles, (a.k.a.
Feast of Ingathering
& Feast of Booths).
This is a 7
day feast that
celebrates the
gathering in of the
harvest and also
commemorates when
the Israelites
camped out in
temporary shelters
in the wilderness
under the protection
of God during their
exodus from Egypt.
It is during
this Feast that
Jesus may very well
have been born.
While we
can’t be dogmatic
about it there are
some clues that
relate to His birth
and the harvest,
which is what this
joyous Feasts
celebrates.
For one thing the
Gospel of John says,
“the Word became
flesh and
dwelt among us,”
(John 1:14).
The Greek
text translates the
word “dwelt” as
“tabernacle”.
The Greek
word
skenoo literally
means, “to pitch a
tent”.
So that verse
literally reads
“And the Word became
flesh and
tabernacled
among us”.
In
context John is
speaking of the
birth of Christ.
Another hint
that Christ may very
well have been born
on the Feast of
Tabernacles is in
Isaiah 9:1-7.
This
prophetic section of
Scripture is
foretelling the
coming of the
Messiah unto Israel
and in verse 2-3 it
mentions that it
would be during the
“joy of the harvest”
which is precisely
what the Feast of
Tabernacles is.
It should
also be noted that
when Elizabeth heard
of Mary’s pregnancy
she said to Mary,
“Blessed is the
fruit of your
womb”.
The seven Feasts of
the Lord in
Leviticus 23 are
exactly what they
are called, “Feasts
of the Lord”.
They are His
Feasts, (see
Leviticus 23:2),
meaning they all
relate to Him and
point to His coming.
It would only
seem fitting that
Jesus would be born
on a Feast day.
It would also
seem fitting that
Jesus would come
again on a Feast
day, perhaps the
same day He came the
first time?
Perhaps the
Rapture or the 2nd
Coming will be
during the Feast of
Tabernacles? Perhaps
both?
While we
can’t positively
answer these
questions we can
find a clue in the 7th
chapter of the
Gospel of John that
pertains to Jesus
“secretly” attending
the Feast of
Tabernacles during
His first advent
that could be a
foreshadow of the
Rapture.
In John 7:2 it says
that the Feast of
Tabernacles was at
hand and His
brothers being in
disbelief of Him
were coaxing Him to
go to the Feast and
show Himself but
Jesus said:
You go up to this
feast. I am not yet
going up to this
feast, for My time
has not yet fully
come.
Then in verse 10 it
says this:
But when His
brothers had gone
up, then He also
went up to the
feast,
not openly, but as
it were in secret.
Could this
be a prophetic clue
to the timing of the
Rapture when He
comes secretly for
His faithful
followers at the
time of the Feast of
Tabernacles?
In Numbers 10:10 the
Lord commands that
trumpets are to be
blown on Feast days.
The return of
Christ, both the
Rapture and 2nd
Coming are described
with trumpets being
blown.
In 1
Corinthians 15:52 it
says:
in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye,
at the
last trumpet.
For the trumpet will
sound, and the dead
will be raised
incorruptible, and
we shall be changed.
The Feast of
Tabernacles is the
last
Feast of the Lord on
the Hebrew calendar
and the Lord
commanded that
trumpets be blown on
all Feast days.
Could this be
the last trump that
the Holy Spirit led
Paul to write about
in his description
of the coming
Rapture?
The seven
days that make up
the Feast of
Tabernacles could
also represent the
seven years that we
will be under God’s
protection during
the 7 year
Tribulation dwelling
in the rooms that
Jesus has prepared
for us, (John
14:1-4).
See also
Isaiah 26:19-21.
The sound of a
trumpet is also
associated with
Christ’s physical
return at the end of
the Tribulation as
described in Matthew
24:31.
Could it be
possible that the
Feast of Tabernacles
is the timing of
Christ’s first
advent, (birth at
Christmas), Rapture
and His 2nd
Coming?
Tabernacles
is a 7 day Feast so
we still wouldn’t
know the day or the
hour of His return
but we are commanded
to be watching and
to be discerners of
the times. (Matthew
16:3)
It is also
interesting that the
Feast of Tabernacles
will also be
celebrated during
the millennial reign
of Christ,
(Zechariah 14:16 &
Ezekiel 45:25).
Surely
Tabernacles is a
Feast of high
stature in the eyes
of God if it will be
celebrated forever
and He wants us to
know it.
In
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
it says:
“To
everything
there is
a season,
a time for every
purpose under
heaven; A time to be
born and a time to
die.”
God has
pre-appointed times
for everything under
heaven and Jesus was
“foreordained before
the foundation of
the world”, (1
Peter 1:20).
If Jesus’
first advent
fulfilled and
coincided with the
first 4 Feast of the
Lord then it seems
only logical that we
look at the last 3
Feasts of the Lord
for signs of His
second coming.
The Lord
always provides
signs of His coming
before He comes.
Therefore the Lord
Himself will give
you a sign: Behold,
the virgin shall
conceive and bear a
Son, and shall call
His name Immanuel
(Isaiah 7:14)
O’ Come, O’ Come
Emmanuel!
Merry Christmas to
all.