There are three aspects to the Feasts of the Lord. First, there is the agricultural aspect. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Pesach) comes at the beginning of the barley harvest. The Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) comes at the end of the wheat harvest. Then the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) comes at the end of the olive, grape and other fruits and vegetables harvest. Some people may think, “I’m not a farmer so why should I care about this?” The real lesson of the agricultural aspect of the Feasts of the Lord is that if we trust and obey Him, God gives us what we need.
The second aspect of the Feasts of the Lord is the memorial aspect. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Pesach) memorialized God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt and the saving of the firstborn from the tenth plague. God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery is a metaphor for His deliverance of us from sin.
The third aspect of the Feasts of the Lord is the prophetic aspect. In some way each of the Feasts of the Lord is in some way prophetic of the plan of salvation. Paul referred to this in 1 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV): “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” We also saw in a previous blog that Jews associate Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) with the coming of the Messiah. I also showed a quote from Ellen G. White in Patriarchs and Prophets (p. 541) that states that the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is prophetic of the second coming of Jesus.
Shemini Atzeret is the final event in the Jewish calendar. What would it be prophetic of? I think its position in feasts answers the question. What would be the climactic event in the plan of salvation? God has redeemed us from our slavery to sin in order that we may “dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” Psalm 23:6 (KJV). Once Jesus returns at the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), He will then take us to heaven. This will then be the beginning of us dwelling for eternity with our Creator and Redeemer. What else could Shemini Atzeret represent?
It seems that we can get a clue to what Shemini Atzeret from the meaning of the Hebrew words. The word Atzeret refers to a sacred assembly. Its root word is עָצַר (ʿāṣar, Strong’s H6113). Swanson’s A Dictionary of Biblical Languages says this about the meaning of this word:
עָצַר (ʿā·ṣǎr): v.; ≡ Str 6113; TWOT 1675—1. LN 68.34–68.57 (qal) hold back, restrain, stop, i.e., have a state or condition cease (Ge 16:2; 1Ki 18:44; 2Ki 4:24; 2Ch 14:10[EB 11]; Job 4:2; 12:15; 29:9+); (nif) stopped (Nu 17:13[EB 16:48],15[EB 16:50]; 25:8; 2Sa 24:21, 25; 1Ch 21:22; Ps 106:30+)[1]
Isn’t this what happens when we arrive in heaven? The plan of salvation has now come to its end. Everyone who will be saved will be there. There are no second chances for those who are not there.
When we consider that the Feasts of the Lord are prophetic not only of what will happen, but when it will happen, this also supports the idea that Shemini Atzeret is prophetic of when we arrive to heaven. Revelation 8:1 (KJV) states, “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” With regard to the “silence in heaven,” The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary states:
Some hold that this silence in heaven, following upon the terrible events that take place on earth immediately preceding the second coming (ch. 6:14–16), is caused by the heavenly hosts’ having left the celestial courts to accompany Christ to the earth (see Matt. 25:31).[2]
It goes on to state regarding “space of half an hour:”
Some interpreters have understood this in terms of the prophetic time formula of a day representing a literal year (see on Dan. 7:25). On this basis “half an hour” would be equal to about one literal week (cf. EW 16). [1]
This quote refers to Ellen G. White’s book Early Writings which states,
We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass, when Jesus brought the crowns, and with His own right hand placed them on our heads.[2]
A half an hour in prophetic time would actually be seven and a half days. This means that if Jesus comes on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) we would actually arrive in heaven seven and a half days later. This would be on Shemini Atzeret.
Even if these interpretations of the book of Revelation are incorrect, we are still left with the fact that Shemini Atzeret is the final feast of the Feasts of the Lord. Nothing comes after it. Since the Feasts of the Lord are prophetic of the plan of salvation the final feast should represent the culmination of that plan. May the event represented by Shemini Atzeret come soon.
References
[1] Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1980). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 7, p. 787). Review and Herald Publishing Association.
[2] White, E. G. (1882). Early Writings of Ellen G. White (p. 16). Review and Herald Publishing Association.
[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1980). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 7, p. 787). Review and Herald Publishing Association.
Posted: October 7, 2023 · Leave a Comment
What is Shemini Atzeret Prophetic Of?
There are three aspects to the Feasts of the Lord. First, there is the agricultural aspect. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Pesach) comes at the beginning of the barley harvest. The Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) comes at the end of the wheat harvest. Then the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) comes at the end of the olive, grape and other fruits and vegetables harvest. Some people may think, “I’m not a farmer so why should I care about this?” The real lesson of the agricultural aspect of the Feasts of the Lord is that if we trust and obey Him, God gives us what we need.
The second aspect of the Feasts of the Lord is the memorial aspect. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Pesach) memorialized God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt and the saving of the firstborn from the tenth plague. God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery is a metaphor for His deliverance of us from sin.
The third aspect of the Feasts of the Lord is the prophetic aspect. In some way each of the Feasts of the Lord is in some way prophetic of the plan of salvation. Paul referred to this in 1 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV): “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” We also saw in a previous blog that Jews associate Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) with the coming of the Messiah. I also showed a quote from Ellen G. White in Patriarchs and Prophets (p. 541) that states that the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is prophetic of the second coming of Jesus.
Shemini Atzeret is the final event in the Jewish calendar. What would it be prophetic of? I think its position in feasts answers the question. What would be the climactic event in the plan of salvation? God has redeemed us from our slavery to sin in order that we may “dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” Psalm 23:6 (KJV). Once Jesus returns at the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), He will then take us to heaven. This will then be the beginning of us dwelling for eternity with our Creator and Redeemer. What else could Shemini Atzeret represent?
It seems that we can get a clue to what Shemini Atzeret from the meaning of the Hebrew words. The word Atzeret refers to a sacred assembly. Its root word is עָצַר (ʿāṣar, Strong’s H6113). Swanson’s A Dictionary of Biblical Languages says this about the meaning of this word:
Isn’t this what happens when we arrive in heaven? The plan of salvation has now come to its end. Everyone who will be saved will be there. There are no second chances for those who are not there.
When we consider that the Feasts of the Lord are prophetic not only of what will happen, but when it will happen, this also supports the idea that Shemini Atzeret is prophetic of when we arrive to heaven. Revelation 8:1 (KJV) states, “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” With regard to the “silence in heaven,” The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary states:
It goes on to state regarding “space of half an hour:”
This quote refers to Ellen G. White’s book Early Writings which states,
A half an hour in prophetic time would actually be seven and a half days. This means that if Jesus comes on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) we would actually arrive in heaven seven and a half days later. This would be on Shemini Atzeret.
Even if these interpretations of the book of Revelation are incorrect, we are still left with the fact that Shemini Atzeret is the final feast of the Feasts of the Lord. Nothing comes after it. Since the Feasts of the Lord are prophetic of the plan of salvation the final feast should represent the culmination of that plan. May the event represented by Shemini Atzeret come soon.
References
[1] Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1980). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 7, p. 787). Review and Herald Publishing Association.
[2] White, E. G. (1882). Early Writings of Ellen G. White (p. 16). Review and Herald Publishing Association.
[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1980). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 7, p. 787). Review and Herald Publishing Association.
Categories & Tags Blog Shemini Atzeret
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
Categories