There is a blessedness in celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. The joy is so great that it became known as The Feast (John 7:37).

During Simchat Torah (8 October 2004), the day immediately after the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, I was worshipping the LORD alone in a beautiful stained-glass cathedral in our city. As I waited upon the LORD, this Chinese word was impressed upon my heart:

I immediately realized its significance and its meaning especially in this special day. It is going back to the blessedness of tabernacling or dwelling with God in the garden.

The story of mankind began in the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life in Genesis 1 and 2. It ends in the Garden and the Tree of Life in the Holy City of God (Revelation 22:1-5):

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

No more sin, no more disease, no more curse, no more darkness, no more pain, no more sorrow, and no more death! This is the blessedness of tabernacling with God in His presence throughout all eternity!

This is the day of Simchat Torah. It celebrates the completion and the beginning of the Reading of the Torah. It was originated by the Jews in their exile. It is a celebration of the loving relationship between God and His people.

Simchat Torah focuses on the Torah, namely the Five Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). On this day, the annual Torah reading cycle, which is read weekly throughout the year portion by portion, is completed. As soon as the last verse of Deuteronomy is read, the scroll is immediately rolled back to the beginning where the first verse of Genesis is read. This shows that the study of the Torah is an endless cycle like a circle without end.

Simchat Torah is the glorious fulfillment of the New Covenant, which the LORD made with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:31-33)

As I shared this Chinese word with a group of friends during a prayer meeting in the House of Prayer the same day, another Chinese word was impressed upon my heart:

This word means to pray or to invoke a blessing. The right-hand side of this word means the elder brother or the firstborn son.

The firstborn son was normally given the privilege to be the spokesman of the family when he grew up. He would be given the duties to pray or invoke blessings for his family members and people.

Jesus Christ is the Firstborn among many brethren. Right now, He is living to make intercession for us.

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

Jesus is calling us to dwell with Him in intimacy and in love. He is our Elder Brother. We are His brothers. We also have another elder brother, Israel.

For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn. (Jeremiah 31:9)

Jesus has never ceased to make intercession for Israel:

Behold, He Who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:4)

The greatest revival the world has yet to witness is the resurrection of the dead. This will happen when the Jews accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah and LORD! How wonderful and marvellous it will be! When they turned away from God, God turned and offered His salvation to the rest of the nations of the world. Now it is even more wonderful when the Jews come to receive and accept Christ. It will be like dead people coming back to life. Their rejection of the gospel means salvation for the nations, and their acceptance is nothing less than resurrection from the dead!

For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (Romans 11:15)

If we really want to see the greatest revival in our lifetime, we have to:

When we begin to bless and invoke a blessing for Israel, so that they too will come to understand the true meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles and Simchat Torah, we will receive a blessing from God.

God has promised to bless us, to prosper us and give us more wisdom when we do!

In fact, God has promised rain for those who attend the Feast of Tabernacles. Rain is the heavenly blessing from above:

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16-19)

Those who do not celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem when Jesus reigns in the Holy City, will not have any rain of times of refreshing and revival from above! This is the awesome desire of our LORD and KING that all men will tabernacle (dwell) with Him. We abiding in Him, and Him abiding in us. Forever and ever. Amen.

Written on:
12 October 2004