THE HOPE OF PERFECTION by JOHN CORIN - HTML preview

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CHAPTER 4

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

Just by skimming the letter, it is soon clear the author relies heavily on references to the religious rituals (the cultus) of Israel. They provide the all-important ‘types’ or ‘shadows for his thesis. In particular, the last ‘Feast of Tabernacles’ as it foreshadows the ‘harvest’ of grace the church is to reap in the endtimes. Especially the ministrations of the High Priest in the Holy of Holies on the ‘Day of Atonement’ as they provide the typology for the hope of reaching perfection. Hence the numerous references to his sacramental duties on this ‘day’ and unless attention is given to these rituals it is impossible to fathom the true purpose of his ‘letter’. Surprisingly, a ‘marker’

many commentaries fail to notice.

THE FEAST OF PASSOVER (LEV 23.5-14)

Before looking at this Feast of Tabernacles, some explanation of the typology in the other two feasts is in order.

Also of note: besides celebrating the harvests, two of the feasts are associated with major historical events in the life of the nation, with the first, the Feast of Passover, commemorating the ‘exodus’ from Egyptian bondage. (Its name comes from the angel ‘passing over’ their houses.) However, its central purpose was to celebrate the ingathered barley harvest; the first sheaves of grain were waved before the Lord three days after the (Passover) meal—all ‘s hadows of the good things to come’

(Heb 10.1). And fulfilled historically by Christ when He endured the ‘fire’ of Calvary as the ‘lamb which takes away the sin of the world’ (Jhn 1.29), but was then ‘waved’ before God after ‘rising’ from the grave on the third day. Importantly, this feast typifies the first ‘installment’ of salvation received when a believer repents, ‘partakes' of Christ by faith, and is ‘raised up’ in Him from the waters of baptism.

THE FEAST OF PENTECOST (LEV 23.15-22)

This second feast in the third month of the sacred year—

that is, fifty days after the waving of the barley sheaf—

celebrated the more valuable grain harvest of wheat. Its date in the calendar coincided with the historic event when Israel entered into covenant with the Lord God at the giving of ‘the Law’ before Mt Sinai. Two loaves of ground wheat and leaven were baked on the day to be waved before the Lord. And fulfilled historically when the Holy Spirit was sovereignly poured out on the disciples waiting in the upper room—on the exact day it was celebrated (Acts 2.1ff). It is personally fulfilled for a believer when they experience the ‘Baptism with (of) the Holy Spirit’ as the second installment of the ‘great salvation’ in the new covenant.

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES (Lev 23.23-43)

Since it is of special interest, this feast in the seventh month of the sacred year (summer) calls for some extended treatment.

It celebrated the ingathering of the harvest of late summer

‘fruit’—nuts, figs, grapes, pomegranates, and olives—and had three distinct cultic events the nation was to observe. The first of these—the ‘Blowing of Trumpets’—required two silver trumpets to be blown on the first day of this seventh month. To announce the start of a new civil year (as opposed to sacred), and to alert the nation to prepare for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) ten days later. The high holy ‘ day’ when the nation was to ‘afflict its soul’, but more importantly, the ‘day’

when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to offer the crucial sacrifices atoning (cover) for sins committed in the past year . First by sprinkling the sacrificial blood around the furniture of the Holy Place (the first inner sanctuary) before entering the Holy of Holies to sprinkle it before the ‘Mercy Seat’. A ritual he performed only on this one day of the year,

and then only after a cloud of incense protected him from the

‘shekinah’ presence.

Moreover, he entered twice into the Holy of Holies; first to atone for his own sin and then, on his second entrance, for the sins of the nation. After completing these duties and exiting the inner rooms he, therefore, appeared twice to the waiting congregation. But the more significant of these was his appearance for the second time’ (9.28); only then could the congregation be confident the rituals had been properly observed and their sins were covered. Hence, a great shout of jubilation greeted this second appearance as the ‘scapegoat'

could then be sent into the wilderness with their sins. It was the climax of this holy ‘day’.

The third event in this final harvest celebration was an actual feast observed for seven days by the nation while living in tabernacles or booths erected on housetops or in the fields.

Though this time spent in the flimsy shelters was mainly to celebrate God’s goodness for the fruit harvest, it was also a salutary reminder of the nation’s journey through the wilderness. In other words, to always regard themselves as

‘sojourners’ on earth.

THE FULFILLMENT OF THIS LAST FEAST

The church, corporately and individually, has already experienced what is foreshadowed in the Feast of Passover and Pentecost. Not so with this third feast as, in large part, it typifies the installment of salvation yet to come—the final deposit of grace promised. Most expositors misinterpret the complete fulfillment of the typology in this feast by putting off into the next age (heaven or the millennium). They commit the folly of King Jeroboam when he instituted the counterfeit religion in the northern kingdom; he postponed the celebration of this feast into the eighth month—outside the sacred year (1Kgs 12.26-33). Putting into another age what God wants the

church to enjoy in this ‘sacred age’ is to rob the church of its true hope. To sum up: all three feasts typify the ‘great salvation’

the church is destined to receive in this current age (minus the

‘r edemption of the body’ (Eph 1.14)). Hence, believers must be very patient until they receive this final deposit of salvation, the installment ‘ready to be revealed in the last time’ (1Pet 1.5).

THE HIGH PRIEST’S MINISTRY

The feature central to this final feast is undoubtedly the High Priest’s ministry in the Holy of Holies on the ‘Day of Atonement’. The rituals performed then were of inestimable importance to the nation; on that ‘day’, his ministry reached its zenith. Now, by Christ offering His own blood in the true Holy of Holies, this fulfilled the typology of the second sacrifice for sins. (Because He was sinless, the first offering was not needed.) What Paul refers to in a passage (Phil 2.5-8) alluding to Christ divesting himself of the ‘glorious High Priestly garments’ to become a human being in ‘plain linen attire’

fulfilling the requirements for this holy ritual. (See Lev 16.1ff) In other words, it captures the humiliation and condescension of Christ so He could fulfill the duties of the High Priest in the heavenly Holy of Holies.

‘To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation’ (9.28) . The next major event in the divine calendar is Christ’s return to earth to fulfill the High Priest’s appearance for the ‘second time’. The appearance bringing the final installment of ‘ salvation’

propelling believers to full maturity. In fact, this hope is the

anchor for the soul’ (6.19) a believer needs to keep them steady and moored so they don't ‘drift away’ (2.1.NIV) in the tumultuous time ahead. Never doubt, then, the importance of having this hope in your heart.