THE FESTIVAL OF THE  EIGHTH DAY

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The seven-day festival of the seventh month is  followed by another  festival that is simply noted as The  Eighth  Day.  It is a  mistake to assume that this day is just an ending to the Feast of Shelters/Ingathering, because it is not. The Festival of the Eighth Day has its own  separate and distinct meaning within God's plan for the salvation of humanity.

"And  the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons  of  Israel, Saying, In the fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be a  feast of shelters seven days to the Lord . . . on the eighth day you shall have a holy gathering; and you shall burn the  offering by  fire  to the Lord; it is a solemn assembly; you shall  do  no work  of service. . . on the first day a Sabbath and on the eighth day a Sabbath" (Lev.23:33-39 Para.).

"And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have  an holy  convocation;  you shall do no servile work, and  you  shall keep a feast seven days:. . . On the eighth day you shall have  a solemn   assembly:  you  shall  do  no  servile   work   therein" (Num.29:12, 35 KJV).

The Eight Commanded Festivals

"And  the  Lord spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the  children  of Israel, and say to them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which you  shall  proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are  my feasts.  Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is  the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; you shall do no work therein:  it  is  the   Sabbath of the Lord  in  all your  dwellings" (Lev.23:1-3 KJV).

The weekly Sabbath is the first of eight commanded festivals  and sacred assemblies listed in Leviticus, chapter 23. Through these festivals, God reveals his plan, purpose, goal, and rewards for those who successfully obtain  salvation and enter the Family and Kingdom of God.

The Eight Festivals:

1. Weekly Sabbath

2. First Day of Unleavened Bread

3. Last Day of Unleavened Bread

4. Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)

5. Feast of Trumpets

6. Day of Atonement

7. First Day of the Feast of Shelters/Ingathering

8. Feast of the Eighth Day

There  are a total of eight festivals that picture  the  plan of God for the salvation of humanity.  These festivals include the weekly Sabbath and the six annual festivals that  follow the Passover observance, which shows the way to obtain  forgiveness of sin and become justified before God.

The Passover Begins the Annual Festivals

Although the Passover is called a feast in Luke 2:41 and John 13:1, it is not a festive occasion. The Passover that occurs on the first day of the first annual festival of the sacred year begins the festival days of the sacred year and is extremely important because it pictures the beginning of God's plan for the salvation of humanity.

It is during the beginning of the evening portion of the first festival day of Unleavened Bread that the elect partake of the Passover rituals through which they acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Savior and renew their covenant with God the Father and show their willingness to serve him, his son, his elect children, and humanity.

It is also during this first festival of the sacred year that the Lift Offering, which symbolized our Savior being offered to the Father as the firstborn of the new creation and the sacrifice for the sins of humanity, was presented to God.

The Mysterious Festival  

The  meaning  of the Sabbath and the first six  commanded sacred assemblies and festival days can be understood from the Hebrew words that are used in each of their titles. Moreover, each of these festivals and observances has  clearly  defined meanings that can easily be found in the scriptures. However, the meaning of the Festival of the  Eighth  Day is difficult to find.

The following questions and their answers will help to  lay a foundation  for  the information that  is presented in our study of the Festival of the Eighth Day. Additionally, these questions focus attention on understanding this festival's importance to God's plan and why this festival's meaning has been hidden until this age.

Q. Does the Festival  of the Eighth Day show God's plan  for humanity like the Sabbath and six of the annual holy convocations?

A. As  we will see, the Festival of the  Eighth Day  does show God's plan for humanity, but its focus is on the totality and  end result of his plan.

Q. Why has so little been understood about  this  festival throughout history and why are there no scriptures that clearly state its meaning?

A. This festival's meaning has been kept secret until the end of the age, just  before the return of Christ as King of kings and Lord  of lords because it reveals the future beyond the return of Christ and the culmination of God's plan for the salvation of humanity. See Dan.12:4, 10; Lk.8:9-10; 1.Cor.2:11-16.

Q. What is the key to finding and understanding the  meaning  of the Festival  of the Eighth Day?

A. Just  as some of the understanding and meaning of  the  other festivals is held within their titles, it is through the Festival of the Eighth Day's title and the festival being the last of the annual celebrations that some of its many meanings can be discovered.

KNOWLEDGE

Long  ago,  God inspired the prophet Isaiah to reveal one  of  the keys  to  discovering and understanding the many  secrets  hidden within the scriptures.

"Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to  understand  doctrine?  them that are weaned from the milk,  and  drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:" (Isa.28:9-10 KJV).

Isaiah  reveals that, in order to be able to fully understand  the teachings  of God, one must first be weaned from the milk of the word (i.e.,  have basic  foundational  knowledge). After acquiring a basic  understanding of God and his way of life, one can progress toward gaining knowledge and understanding into his more complex  teachings.   To do this, one must spend the time and effort  to diligently search out, study, and combine all related information  on a  given subject. In this way, the meaning or concept of  a particular teaching becomes more clear.

It is  through studying the meaning of the title of the Festival of the Eighth Day and the symbolic and prophetic meaning of the many scriptures and events that surround the use  of  the number  eight that much of the meaning and understanding of  this festival is revealed. This study will show the following:

The Prophetic Order

In  the prophetic order of events for the salvation of  humanity, which is  pictured  through the annual observances and  festivals,  the celebration  of the Festival of Shelters/Ingathering signals the  end of the  effort to convert humanity to the ways of God and transform those who are worthy into spirit-beings.

With  the harvest of humanity into the Kingdom of  God completed, there will only be two major prophetic events left to be fulfilled:

1. The  resurrection to death for all  the  incorrigibly  wicked humans  who have  ever lived.  See Ezk.18:4,20;  Matt.25:31-46; Rom.6:23.

2. The coming of God the Father to claim the  kingdom   that  he has   placed under the rule and care of Jesus Christ. See 1.Cor.15:24-28.

Our  studies into the Festival of the Eighth Day show that all of the things  listed  below  are included in the meaning of this festival: