Sukkot - The Pattern and the Promise*

      Both a pattern and a promise come with the Feast of Tabernacles. Two things to keep in mind during this message about Tabernacles are found in Genesis: First: the man and wife were naked and not ashamed. Secondly: They walked with God in the cool of the day.

     The Feast of Tabernacles is commanded by God in Leviticus 23:33-43. The Feast begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and is to last seven days. The first and last days of the feast are to be Sabbaths. Every day of the seven days of the feast, offerings by fire are to be brought to the LORD. It is to be a feast of rejoicing as the fruits of the trees are harvested: "And ye shall take on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before your God seven days....Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." 

     The temporary booths built by the Israelites then and now are a type and shadow. The fruits of the trees and their branches represent parts of the human body: citron: the heart; willow: the lips; (We believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths our salvation); myrtle: the eyes (Seek the LORD); palm: the spine (uprightness of the backbone - Do you have a backbone to stand for the truth of the Gospel?).

     The branches of the trees are waved in the four directions and also up and down, encompassing the whole earth as well as the connection between heaven and earth.

     The Gospel of John takes us back to the beginning of creation and the power of the Word and the Light that darkness cannot overcome. (see Jn. 1:1-5). Genesis 1 also begins with: "In the beginning, God (**Bereshiet Elohim aleph-tav)... The **aleph-tav in written Hebrew is Alpha and Omega in Greek, by which Jesus identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation (see **note below). In John 1, Jesus is again identified as the Word of creation: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt (skenoo - having one's tabernacle, abide or live in a tabernacle/tent) among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (Jn. 1:14). We beheld Christ's glory as He tabernacled in the flesh with us on earth. The glory of God is connected to the tabernacle. (see also Ex. 29:43)

     It is also my belief that Adam and Eve were clothed with the glory of God before they fell to sin. It was only after the fall that they saw their nakedness.

     We are given the promise of the Tabernacle of God descending out of heaven: "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. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle (skene - tent, tabernacle made of green boughs or skins) of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." (Rev. 21:1-3).

     We are also given a description of what is within this city that descends from heaven by which God will tabernacle with His people. It contains a pure river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Jesus). On either side of the river there was a tree of life, which yielded fruits every month and whose leaves were for the healing of the nations. No more curse shall be there because it is the throne of God and the Lamb: "And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads...and they shall reign for ever and ever. The huge tabernacle city is not lighted by natural light, but the LORD God gives it light. The LORD said that all of these things must shortly be done: "Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." (Rev. 22:1-7, excerpt). This tabernacle city reminds us of the Garden of Eden. We see the signs of end time events all around us today pointing to the nearness of this promise.

     As we see above, the presence of the tabernacle comes with the promise that the LORD will walk among us as He walked with Adam in the Garden: "And I will set my tabernacle amongst you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people." (Lev. 26:11-12).

     Ezekiel the prophet was given a Word from the LORD in which two separate sticks were made one in the prophet's hand. One stick represented the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph by his Gentile wife in Egypt, and the other stick, the tribe of Judah. At the time of Ezekiel's prophecy, Israel had been divided into a northern and southern kingdom before their captivity. With this prophecy, the LORD promised to bring them back into their own land from their captivity. (Ezek. 37:15-21). Then the LORD said: "And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all...neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:...I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them....my servant David shall be their prince for ever." (v. 22-25).

     When Ezekiel prophesied this, King David was long dead, so the David that God is promising here is the Son of David, the Messiah, Jesus. The reign of the Messiah on earth is called the Millennial Reign.

     We should not be surprised to find God's tabernacle mentioned also in this promise: "Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore." (v. 26-28, see also Ex. 29:44-46). 

     The temporary sukkah or booth that is built during the Feast of Tabernacles represents the prophetic promise of God to dwell among us. The fulfilment of that promise will cause even the heathens to know that God sanctifies and dwells among and with His people.

     The prophet Zechariah wrote of the nations that would come to battle against Israel and how the LORD Himself would defend them, consuming those that have fought against Jerusalem. His feet will touch down upon the Mount of Olives and that mountain will split in two. (Zech. 14:1-4, 12). We know that there is an existing fault line that runs right through that region. As we read above in Revelation 22, Zechariah prophesied: "...it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem...and the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one...Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. (v. 7-11). Of those surviving nations that had come against Jerusalem, the LORD will require them to come yearly to Jerusalem "to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles." (v. 16). Those who refuse to come will be given no rain, and will suffer plague, "...the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles." (v. 17-19). Everything in Jerusalem, even the most commonplace things shall be called "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD." (v. 20-21). Everything will be set apart as holy. The glory of His tabernacle sanctifies.

     Jesus prayed to His Father that we would have the same glory that perfects as He had in the beginning with God. (see Jn. 17:22-23). The Feast of Tabernacles is next on the prophetic timetable, after the Day of Atonement, the Atoning Blood that covers sins, which has already recently passed. David prayed this: "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple." (Psalm 27:4).

     Come under His atoning blood, seek His face, and have His Word written in your heart. Evaluate the prophetic pattern and reach for the promise within it.

     *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 10/5/25 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on the Facebook page of Kenneth E. Stevenson Jr. Dr. Stevenson's video messages are also found on You Tube at the Kenneth Stevenson channel. To contact or support this ministry, or to request prayer, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. To find out more about the Shroud of Turin, and to receive a free e-book now available in several languages, go to http://www.theshroudofturin.org/freebook. Also the book NAZAH: White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling is available on Amazon. 

     **NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.