Out of the Shadows

 The Colossians 2:16-17 scripture informs us that, “a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths… are a shadow of things to come…” In other words, the Shabbats, feast days, new moons etc. are prophetic or have prophetic properties. 

Both Passover and Shavuot/Bikkurim (literally Feast of Weeks and Firstfruits), that is, the first month’s (spring) feasts, have had their fulfillment, respectively, by the Lamb’s atoning sacrifice that has liberated us from the tyranny of sin, and then by the power of the outpouring of the Spirit of Holiness which has inscribed the Torah on the hearts.  

Such fulfilments have not been seen yet in regards to the seventh month’s (fall) feasts. But, it seems that we are ‘inching’ our way also into their completion.

The first of these is the “Day of Remembering the Sound” of YHVH’s voice when He spoke to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Some of the redeemed of today, who have heeded the call of the Shepherd of Israel - Yeshua – are also beginning to hear the voice that resounded on Mount Sinai. While "deep is speaking to deep", they are recalling who they are as the seed of the forefathers who exited Egypt. So perhaps one of the signs of the fulfillment of Yom Zichron Teruah is that the house of Joseph is coming out of its prophesied condition of “not my people” and is starting to remember its/their true identity.  (Hosea 1:10).

Yom Kippur, which follows Yom Teruah, is most likely still waiting to ‘come out of the shadows’ and to be realized in its fullness.   Yom Kippur is also known as the “Great Day of YHVH’s Judgement”. What is it that is being judged?  It is “SIN” as a power, or a kingdom, or as Paul puts it - the body of Sin (ref Romans 6:6), or the ‘evil inclination’. This takes place when Yeshua the High Priest lays His hands on the head of the Azazel goat, “the Satan”, which is sent out to the wilderness to be cast into the dry places. The other goat represents the body of Messiah, being offered up and thrown into the fires of an atoning sacrifice.  Having the power of sin removed will give us the understanding and experience of what the scriptures mean by, “it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me” (Galatians. 2:20). Yeshua’s experience, of giving up His life at Passover, will be experienced by us on Yom Kippur.

Being thus transformed in our inner being will have its effect also on our mortal bodies.  It will allow us to have a different perspective on the next feast, “Succot”.  The seven days of the proverbial Succot means that we, as Messiah’s Body, will still be in our ‘earth-suits’-succahs during the millennial rule, which will be fulfilled when YHVH takes the two sticks of Ezekiel 37:19-28 and will join them together as one Kingdom and one nation in the land of promise. Being free from the power of sin, we will minister as the Messiah did in His first advent and preform even greater works, as He himself announced in John 14:12.  This will last until the “eighth day”, that is Shmini Atzeret* – literally the “eighth of ceasing” – that is, the ceasing of time, when Time is no more.

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away… And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, ‘behold, the Mishkan 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’” (Revelation 21:1-3)….and on and on… these splendid descriptions continue in the concluding chapters of the book of Revelation….

 *Presently celebrated as “Simchat Torah” – the rejoicing of the Torah - which begins the annual Torah reading cycle.