From T.W. Tramm’s Facebook page:
THE most joyous festival on God’s calendar, the Feast of Tabernacles, begins September 29–30 this year.
Tabernacles marks the end of the summer harvest, when crops are gathered in from the fields (Ex. 23:16).
During the festival, which lasts seven days, the Israelites were to take palm branches and rejoice before the Lord. They were also to build makeshift booths, or “tabernacles,” and live in them as a reminder of the temporary shelters they inhabited before entering the Promised Land (Lev. 23:34, 40–43).
While Tabernacles points ultimately to the Millennial Kingdom, when God will dwell, or “tabernacle,” with man, it is also considered an apt time for the Rapture.
Here are 15 reasons why:
1. Tabernacles is when the wheat is gathered in from the threshing floors (Deut. 16:13). Since wheat symbolizes believers, its gathering is a picture of the Rapture: “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him” (2 Thess. 2:1).
2. Tabernacles is when all the people rejoice before the Lord (Ex. 34:22, 23; Lev. 23:40). The greatest rejoicing before the Lord will occur at the Rapture (1 Thess. 2:1, 19; Rev 7:9–12).
3. Tabernacles is God’s chosen time of release or debt forgiveness (Deut. 31:10 AMP). The ultimate release occurs at the Rapture.
4. Tabernacles is celebrated with palm branches (Lev. 23:40). In Revelation chapter 7, the just-raptured saints are seen holding palm branches. Moreover, it is said that God will spread His “tabernacle” over them (vv. 7:9–12, 15).
5. Tabernacles is when the Law, or ‘wedding covenant’ with God, is read aloud before the people (Deut. 31:10, 11). Tabernacles is thus a time of making or renewing wedding vows.
6. Tabernacles is celebrated for seven days, corresponding to the seven-year wedding celebration in heaven after the Rapture.
7. Tabernacles is when the harvest is complete. The Gentile Ruth married the Jewish redeemer Boaz, a picture of the Rapture, when the harvest was complete (Ruth 2:21, 23 DRB).
8. Tabernacles begins at the full moon, signifying the fullness of the Gentiles (Rom. 11:25). The full moon is also when the proverbial “husband,” or “goodman,” Jesus, returns (Prov. 7:19, 20).
9. Tabernacles is the harvest at summer’s end. Summer’s end, after the harvest, is when the Jews lament not being saved: “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved” (Jer. 8:20).
10. After departing Egypt, the first place the Israelites camped was called Sukkoth, the Hebrew word for Tabernacles (Ex. 12:37). The departure from Egypt is a picture of the Rapture.
11. In John chapter 7, Jesus attends the Feast of Tabernacles in partial secrecy because His time had not yet fully come, and even His Jewish brothers did not believe in Him (vv. 5, 6). Similarly, the Rapture is a limited appearance at a time of Jewish unbelief.
12. Tabernacles will be celebrated by all the nations throughout the Millennium, so the festival has special meaning for Gentiles (Zech. 14).
13. The First Temple was dedicated to God at the Feast of Tabernacles (1 Kings 8:65). The ultimate ‘Temple,’ the Church, or Body of Christ, will be dedicated to the Lord at the Rapture (Eph. 2:20–22).
14. Since Tabernacles is the last festival of the year, it is when the “last trumpet” is sounded (1 Cor. 15:52).
15. Tabernacles is the festival with a special eighth day (Lev. 23:36). The number eight signifies a putting off of the flesh, a new beginning, and rescue from judgment (Gen. 17:12; 1 Pet. 3:20).
Finally, with the Tabernacles–Rapture parallels in view, here are some noteworthy things about this year’s Tabernacles:
• Tabernacles 2023 marks one Sabbatical week plus, since a super blood moon eclipse was visible from Israel on the Feast of Tabernacles in 2015. This is significant because a blood moon is a sign of the impending Day of the Lord, and God typically gives a one-week warning before bringing judgment (Joel 2:31; Gen. 7; 41; Josh. 6).
• Tabernacles 2023 will see the last supermoon for an entire year. Two weeks after the supermoon, when the lunar disc is again in its dark (new) phase, it will eclipse the Sun, causing an annular ‘wedding-ring’ eclipse to appear in the left-hand area of the Constellation Virgo.
• The first day of Tabernacles marks 100 years since the Palestine Mandate came into effect on September 29, 1923, making the Jews’ ancient homeland a distinct political entity for the first time in centuries, and setting the stage for the prophetic budding of the fig tree (Matt. 24:32–34).
• The first day of Tabernacles will see an intriguing astronomical alignment. A minor planet named “50 Virginia” (virgin) will meet up with the Sun in Virgo. The meeting of the virgin and the Sun on the first day of Tabernacles is even more interesting when we consider that 50 Virginia was discovered on the same day, the first day of Tabernacles, in 1857. (See notes for details).
• The seventh day of Tabernacles, October 6, will mark exactly 50 years since the Yom Kippur War began on October 6, 1973. Moreover, biblical math suggests that this 50-year period is a jubilee cycle. (See notes for details).
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
The types and themes of the Feast of Tabernacles make it a plausible time for the Rapture. Like the Rapture, Tabernacles is a time of . . .
• Ingathering.
• Rejoicing before the Lord.
• Fullness and completion.
• Gentile celebration.
• Temple dedication.
• Messiah appearing.
• The last trumpet.
• Weddings.
Having made the case for a Tabernacles Rapture, we understand that only God knows the actual timing (Matt. 24:36–44). Still, with the full-moon festival nearly upon us, it is a thrilling prospect.
. . .
NOTES:
1. Tabernacles is the designated time of release or debt forgiveness: “Moses commanded them, saying, ‘At the end of every seven years, at the time of year when debts are forgiven, at the Feast of Tabernacles’” (Deut. 31:10 AMP). It is important to note that the word translated “end” in Deuteronomy, qets, means “farthest border,” or “end in space.” Viewing the 365-day year as one circuit around the Sun, beginning at the spring equinox (Nisan–Passover), Earth reaches the “farthest border” in space at the autumnal equinox (Tishrei–Tabernacles). Thus, Deuteronomy 31:10 is not telling us that the seventh month marks the actual end of the year. The biblical year ends at Nisan (Ex. 12:1, 2).
2. Significantly, the heavenly fulfillment of Tabernacles in Revelation 7 occurs well before the Second Coming, as God’s judgment upon the earth has not yet begun (Rev. 8–10).
3. Curiously, in the Book of Revelation, the fall festivals are referenced in the reverse order of how they occur on the calendar: In Revelation 7, the saints in heaven are seen celebrating Tabernacles with palm branches (v. 9). Next, an angel performs the high-priest ritual of offering up much incense, an allusion to the Day of Atonement (Rev. 8:3, 4; Lev. 16). Finally, a series of judgments are announced by trumpets, an allusion to the Feast of Trumpets (Rev. 8, 9; Lev. 23:24). Seeing how the seven festivals are associated with the seven candles of the Menorah, it is noteworthy that the lighting of the candles at Hannukah occurs in the same reverse order. On the first day of the festival, the candle on the far right, corresponding to Tabernacles, is the first one lit. On the second day, the candle corresponding to the Day of Atonement is the first one lit. On the third day, the candle corresponding to the Feast of Trumpets is the first one lit.
Hanukkah Candlelighting Ceremony. Hanukkah at Home. Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights. Jewish Holidays.
www.myjewishlearning.com
A menorah refers to a candelabrum, usually one with seven branches.
reformjudaism.org
Hanukkah, meaning "dedication" in Hebrew, refers to the joyous eight-day celebration during which Jews commemorate the victory of the Maccabees over the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and "rededication" of the Temple in Jerusalem.
www.latimes.com
4. Coincidentally, the Hebrew word translated “tabernacle,” mishkan, is Strong’s # 4908. The number 49 denotes the Jubilee, and the number 8 denotes the Feast of Tabernacles, the festival with an eight day (Lev. 23:36).
5. More on the biblical signs in Virgo:
September’s Biblical Sign – Comet Nishimura
Asteroid “Child” and the Great Sign
Signs in the Heavens – The Coming Lion
Comet Nishimura – What Are the Odds?
Comet Nishimura and the Month of the Bride
Signs in the Heavens: Asteroid (6000) United Nations
Signs in the Heavens: Asteroid (50) “Virgin”
Signs in the Heavens: Jubilee Confirmation?
6. 2023 Jubilee calculation:
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*Visit the author’s website:
www.theseasonofreturn.com
IMPORTANT MESSAGE: No one knows the day or hour of Jesus’ return (Matt. 24:36). However, a convergence of biblical signs and timelines suggests it is near. To escape the judgment reserved for a God-rejecting world, one must be in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. If you have not yet done so, call on His name and believe that He is the Son of God who died for your sins and was raised from the dead (Rom. 10:13). Do it today. Time is running out.