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The double portion of Tabernacles

In the past week it occurred to me that we might see a double Tabernacles celebration similar to what occurred when Solomon dedicated his temple. In past years I figured that this would occur when the autumn feasts were actually fulfilled in their ultimate prophetic application. But last week the thought began to grow in me that we may see a double Tabernacles fulfillment on some level from July 15-29, 2022.

The first 8th day is July 22, and this is also the 1st day of the second week of Tabernacles. That being the case,  today is the 4^th day of the second week of Tabernacles, and July 29 is the 8^th day.

The basic story begins in 1 Kings 8:62, but we will read 1 Kings 8:65, 66,

⁶⁵ So Solomon observed the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days. ⁶⁶ On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.

We see from this that the 8^th day of the second week of Tabernacles was when the people returned to their homes. Normally, they would have returned after the morning ceremonies on the usual 8^th day of Tabernacles.

The text is somewhat unclear as to which 8^th day the glory of God filled the temple. 1 Kings 8:6, 10, and 11 tells us about the glory filling the temple after the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the Most Holy Place. This is dated in general terms in 1 Kings 8:2 (and in 2 Chronicles 5:3) as being in the time of the feast of Tabernacles “in the seventh month,” but we are not given the precise day.

For this we must look to the prophecy in John 7:37, 38, 39, where Jesus spoke on the last great day of the feast about the outpouring of the Spirit. Unfortunately, in the record of the Kings and Chronicles, the account of the outpouring of the Spirit is separated from the text in 1 Kings 8:65, 66. This obscures the timing of events, making it necessary to rely heavily on John 7:37, as well as the biblical purpose of the 8^th day.

Presenting the Firstborn Sons on the 8^th Day

The basic law of the 8^th day says this in Exodus 22:29, 30, 31,

²⁹ You shall not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ³⁰ You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me. ³¹ You shall be holy men to Me…

This is a basic law of sonship, insofar as timing is concerned. Under the Old Covenant, boys were circumcised on the 8^th day and presented to God at the temple. (See Luke 2:21.) Under the New Covenant, the sons of God (collectively) are presented on the 8^th day of Tabernacles.

Cleansing on the 8^th Day

Lepers were to undergo a 7-day time of cleansing, and then they were pronounced “clean” for the third and final time on the 8^th day (Leviticus 14:8, 9, 10, 20). Though the (healed) leper was pronounced clean on the 1^st and 7^th days, he was not fully cleansed until the 8^th day.

Likewise, Tabernacles was a 7-day feast, but that week only set up the conditions for the final 8^th day, “the last great day of the feast” (John 7:37).

Holy Place Preparations

Another detail that also speaks into the prophecy of Tabernacles is found in 1 Kings 8:10,11,

¹⁰ It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

What had the priests been doing? They had brought “the ark” and “the holy utensils” into the temple (1 Kings 8:4), and they sacrificed “many sheep and oxen” (1 Kings 8:5). It appears that the ark was the last to be brought into the temple, because this account was repeated in 1 Kings 8:6. Only after speaking of the ark being placed in the temple do we read in 1 Kings 8:10, 11 about the outpouring of the glory of God that filled the temple.

The Unity Factor

The account in 2 Chronicles 5:12, 13 says that 120 priests “blowing trumpets” came “in unison” with “the singers,” and then the temple was filled with the glory of God. The number 120 is associated with the outpouring of the Spirit, but this also shows the importance of unity.

In the days leading to Pentecost, we find 120 gathered in the upper room (Acts 1:15), “these all with one mind” (Acts 1:14). Then we read in Acts 2:1 KJV,

¹ And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

We see, then, that the preparation for the outpouring of the Spirit involved coming into unity. No doubt this was accomplished by discussions and teachings, searching the patterns of the Old Testament Scriptures. Obviously, much more could be said about this, but we have already done those studies over a period of many years. The story of Solomon’s temple is just one of those patterns that we need to understand.

Knowing the Goodness of God

Another condition for the Spirit’s outpouring is found in 2 Chronicles 5:13,

¹³ … and when they praised the Lord saying, “He indeed is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud.

To recognize the goodness of God, one must go back to the creation story in the book of origins. After each day of creation, God saw that it was good. After the last creation day, we read in Genesis 1:31,

³¹ God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good…

From a biblical viewpoint, matter was created “very good.” Most religions throughout history have taught that matter was evil and spirit was good. Hence, the Bible story shows how God is restoring all things and reconciling creation in the end, based on His lovingkindness. Heaven comes to earth in a great marriage (Revelation 21:2).

By contrast, other religions, believing that matter is inherently evil, think differently. Their solution is to separate spirit from matter—essentially treating the creation as an unclean bride that needs to be divorced. Such a view is the result of not understanding the goodness of God. In fact, those religions believed that the devil (“demiurge”) was the creator of all matter.

The church in the first 4 or 5 centuries provided a huge contrast to the pagan religions. However, the Roman church (in the year 400 A.D.) began to push the doctrine of eternal torment for most of creation. How this came about is recorded in A Short History of Universal Reconciliation.

The point is that the Church began to be swayed by the view that God is not really a good God at all, but that His holy nature demanded eternal torment as a form of “justice.” Over the centuries, this has caused most Christians today to redefine the love of God to be limited to a very few. How then can they be unified in understanding and proclaiming, “He indeed is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting”? In my view, it is not possible.

All of this has been stirring in my heart in the past week. This 2-week period from July 15-29 is only a lesser pattern of things to come, but nonetheless, it appears that it is a parallel to the double cycle of the feast of Tabernacles that was done at the dedication of Solomon’s temple. Today we are monitoring the 5^th day. Friday is the 7^th day. Saturday is the final end of the cycle.