The Magnificent Story of the Fall Holy Days!

 Every year, we eagerly anticipate our Creator’s Holy Days. In the spring, we look forward to Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread above all. In the fall, we look forward above all else to the Feast of Tabernacles. Indeed we should cherish these days!

And now, we’ve finally celebrated this year’s fall Holy Days. Each year, we hear teaching about how these days picture God’s plan for mankind, teaching which may vary from one church group to another, but when was the last time we were told why these days picture what they picture? The “why” is critical, for unless we know why we believe what we believe, how can we be sure it’s true?

So, with fresh eyes, let’s look at the spiritual meaning of God’s Holy Days and see how and why they picture God’s plan! Some of this may differ a little from what you’ve always been taught. If so, then please search the Scriptures further, like the Bereans in Acts 17:10-11, and see whether this is true or not.

The Bible lists all of God’s annual Holy Days in Leviticus 23 and Numbers 28-29. They are these:

1. Passover / First Day of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:5-7; Num. 28:16-18)

2. Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:8; Num. 28:25)

3. Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks (Lev. 23:15-21; Num. 28:26)

4. Trumpets (Lev. 23:24; Num. 29:1)

5. Atonement (Lev. 23:27; Num. 29:7)

6. Tabernacles (Lev. 23:34-35; Num. 29:12)

7. The Eighth Day or Last Great Day (Lev. 23:36; Num. 29:35)

Let’s begin by reviewing the spring Holy Days, for they are the beginning of God’s plan. Without understanding the spring Holy Days, we cannot understand the fall Holy Days either.

 

Review of the Spring Holy Days

The first three Holy Days illustrate the first three steps in God’s plan. They picture the cleansing of God’s people from their sins, and the sealing of His covenant with them.

Everything begins with the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ. About mid-afternoon on Nisan 14, at the ninth hour of the day (Mat. 27:45-50; Mark 15:34-37; Luke 23:44-46), Jesus Christ died as our Passover Lamb. As the Gospel of John explains, this day was “the Preparation Day of the Passover” (John 19:14) and ushered in the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

The apostle Paul wrote, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:7-8). It’s marvelous — at least to me — how that passage mirrors the Old Testament: “On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days” (Num. 28:16-17).

Notice! The Old Testament says, “On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD.” So the New Testament says, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” And when did Christ die as our Passover Lamb? Remember that it was the fourteenth day of the first month, “the Preparation Day of the Passover,” just as God instructed!

The Old Testament says, “And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.” So the New Testament says, “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” And when do we keep the feast? Beginning on the fifteenth day and continuing for seven days!

But we must keep the feast both spiritually and physically, and that’s exactly what Paul was teaching! Just as the Israelites in Egypt were spared by the blood of the lambs (Ex. 12), so we are now spared by the blood of the Lamb. We not only remove leaven from our houses, but we also examine ourselves (1 Cor. 11:28) to repent of any sins — spiritual leaven — in our lives.

After Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread have been completed, the third Holy Day is Pentecost. On that day, God blessed His people with the Holy Spirit, as Acts 2:1-4 describes. Speaking to the assembled multitudes, the apostle Peter told them how they, too, could receive the Holy Spirit: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38).

Repent, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That statement sums up the first three Holy Days. In preparation for Passover, we examine ourselves to repent of our sins, repentance which can only be granted by the blood of Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb. And on the Day of Pentecost, God sent the Holy Spirit. So, “repent” corresponds to Passover and the First Day of Unleavened Bread, while “receive the Holy Spirit” corresponds to Pentecost.

“Be baptized” corresponds to the Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread, because the timeline in the Book of Exodus shows that Israel crossed the Red Sea about that time. And of that Red Sea crossing, Paul told us, “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1-2).

Repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit. That’s Passover / the First Day of Unleavened Bread, the Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost!

A second verse sums them up for us, too: “For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement” (1 John 5:7-8; NASB). Blood (Passover), water (Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread), and Spirit (Pentecost) beautifully line up with the first three Holy Days!

The first three Holy Days also parallel the pattern of the tabernacle or temple, as we’ve studied previously. Space doesn’t permit us to cover that again here, but you’re more than welcome to read that series of posts for more information.

Notice also that the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins with blood and ends with water. But why seven days? As we’ve covered elsewhere, the number 7 symbolizes completeness and sanctification. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, then, pictures the complete removal of sin. Almighty God has sanctified us and cleansed us of our sins through blood and water. In God’s eyes, we are clean: “But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11).

Preparing for the Kingdom

So the first three Holy Days correspond to the first three steps in God’s plan. Once we’ve completed these — once we’ve repented, been baptized, and received the Holy Spirit — our preparation for the Kingdom of God truly begins.

We must, as the apostle Paul instructed, walk in newness of life: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). This means walking with God, contrary to our old way of life: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8).

After receiving God’s law at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites of old began their journey through the wilderness toward the Promised Land. At the end of their journey, Moses reminded them,

2 "And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

3 "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. (Deut. 8:2-3.)

Like our forefathers, we, too, are sojourners and pilgrims on this earth, journeying toward the Promised Land. For us, the wilderness is this earthly life and the Promised Land is the Kingdom of God. As the apostle Peter exhorted, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11). We do not belong to this world, but our homeland is elsewhere: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20).

We seek the same homeland sought by God’s servants throughout history:

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.

15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Heb. 11:13-16.)

That’s what our life is all about right now: preparation for the Kingdom of God. And that’s what is pictured by the nearly four months between Pentecost and the next Holy Day, the Day of Trumpets.

Events to Come

It’s important here that we take a moment to understand the order of future events, especially the events surrounding the return of Jesus Christ, when He comes to establish His Kingdom here on this earth. That’s the Promised Land that we await!

The Book of Revelation lays it out for us. Revelation presents a sequence of seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. The seventh seal ushers in the seven trumpets (Rev. 8:1-2), and the seventh trumpet ushers in the seven bowls (Rev. 11:15-19; 15:1-6). These seven bowls contain “the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete” (Rev. 15:1).

As we’ll see shortly, the seventh trumpet also announces the First Resurrection. At the end of the seven bowls/plagues, Jesus Christ will return to this earth. Here’s the order of events in Revelation 19-22:

• Jesus Christ returns with power and glory (Rev. 19:17-21)

• Satan is bound for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3)

• Jesus Christ and His saints reign on earth for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6)

• Satan is released; Gog and Magog rebel against God and are destroyed (Rev. 20:7-10)

• The Second Resurrection and final judgment, after which death is abolished (Rev. 20:11-15)

• The new heavens and new earth; God’s eternal Kingdom (Rev. 21-22)

This is the order of events at the end of this age, leading to God’s eternal Kingdom. But does this line up with the Holy Days? And if so, how?

The Day of Trumpets

The Day of Trumpets pictures the First Resurrection. This is our hope and goal; it’s what we strive for in this life, symbolized by the months between Pentecost and Trumpets. We’ve made a detailed study of this in the past, but let’s review.

In Lev. 23:24, God said to Moses, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.’” In the original manuscripts, the Hebrew word for “blowing of trumpets” is teruah (Strong’s # H8643). It describes the loud noise made by either shouting or blowing trumpets.

So the Day of Trumpets is a day of loud noise, a day of shouting and blowing trumpets! It’s also a memorial of this, a day of calling this to mind. But why? Where else does the Bible describe such a day of shouting and blowing trumpets?

The apostle Paul tells us this about the First Resurrection: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thes. 4:16-17). The First Resurrection will begin with shouting and blowing trumpets!

Elsewhere, Paul tells us that this will happen at the last trumpet: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52).

And so, we read of the last trumpet in the Book of Revelation: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” (Rev. 11:15). The seventh trumpet is accompanied by loud voices. It also follows immediately after God raises His two witnesses from the dead (vv. 11-14).

So the Day of Trumpets, the day of shouting and blowing trumpets, pictures the First Resurrection. On this day, “the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thes. 4:16-17).

What happens then? After rising to meet the Lord in the air, will the resurrected saints make a U-turn in the clouds and come right back to the earth? Or will Jesus Christ take them to heaven at that moment to stand before the throne of God? Let’s read what God’s Word says! Here’s Rev. 14:1-4:

1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.

2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.

3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

This passage describes the resurrected saints being redeemed from the earth, following Jesus Christ wherever He goes, and singing praises before the throne of God in heaven! They are standing, not here on earth, but on the heavenly Mount Zion! Lest anyone doubt, we read in Heb. 12:22-25,

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,

23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

On the Day of Trumpets, the resurrected saints will not make a U-turn in the clouds and come right back to earth; they will ascend to heaven with Jesus Christ and stand before the throne of God!

We read again, in Rev. 15:2, “And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.” Where is the sea of glass? In heaven! Here’s how Rev. 4:6 describes the throne of God: “Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.”

The idea that those in the First Resurrection will ascend to heaven with Jesus Christ on the Day of Trumpets and stand before God the Father is probably a foreign concept to many in the mainstream Churches of God, although the Living Church of God does also teach this. Nevertheless, the Scriptures are clear on this point.

The Day of Atonement

After the seventh trumpet, the seven last plagues of God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth. This happens during the nine days between Trumpets and Atonement. During this time, the resurrected saints will be in heaven with Jesus Christ and God the Father.

The next Holy Day, the Day of Atonement, pictures the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, accompanied by His saints. It further pictures the banishment of Satan the devil, followed by the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ and His saints.

The Book of Leviticus identifies three major events or rituals with the Day of Atonement that help to reveal its spiritual meaning.

The first, detailed in Leviticus 16, is an atonement ceremony involving two goats. The high priest would cast lots to choose one goat as the LORD’s goat, or YHWH’s goat, and the other as the Azazel, or “goat of departure.” YHWH’s goat would be killed at the altar, the high priest would carry its blood into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it on the mercy seat, and then he would return with the rest of the blood and sprinkle it on the altar. The Azazel would not be killed, but instead the high priest would confess over it all the sins of Israel and then banish that goat into the wilderness.

As our High Priest, Jesus Christ entered the Holy of Holies in heaven: “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12). And when those in the First Resurrection, the bride of Christ, stand before the throne of God, we read that “they are without fault before the throne of God” (Rev. 14:5). Why? Because Jesus Christ has atoned for them with His own blood!

Revelation tells us that the marriage of Christ and His bride will happen at this time: “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Rev. 19:7-8).

Then, Jesus will return with His bride to the earth: “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ... And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses” (Rev. 19:11, 14). These armies in heaven consist of those in the First Resurrection, who were “granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright.” Again, we read that “these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Rev. 14:4). And Zech. 14:5 adds, “Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints with You.”

Notice, too, that just as the high priest returned to the altar with blood after entering the Holy of Holies, so Jesus Christ returns with blood to the earth where He was slain: “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God” (Rev. 19:13).

At His return, Christ will slay His enemies, the armies of this earth which have assembled to fight Him: “And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh” (Rev. 19:21).

Next, Jesus will command for Satan to be bound and banished to an uninhabited place, but not yet killed, just as the high priest banished the Azazel goat on the Day of Atonement: “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:1-2).

The second ritual on the Day of Atonement is found in Leviticus 23, and it’s one that continues to this day: we fast and humble ourselves before our Creator. “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God” (Lev. 23:27-28). This is a day of such gravity that whoever does any work or fails to afflict his soul is to be put to death (vv. 29-30). In fact, God says that He Himself will put such a person to death!

No one who has failed to humble himself before God will be in His Kingdom. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jam. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5). When Christ returns, the humble will be spared; the proud and unrepentant, who failed to afflict their souls, will die.

The third event associated with Atonement — though it’s commonly overlooked — is found in Leviticus 25 and it’s a joyous event! It happened every fifty years:

9 ‘Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land.

10 ‘And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family’ (Lev. 25:9-10).

Notice that the Day of Atonement is a day of liberty! It’s a day when those who have left their lands and families are free to return. A day of setting free the captives and bringing back the exiles, so to speak.

And what will Jesus Christ do when He returns? He will proclaim liberty: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn (Isa. 61:1-2).

“To proclaim liberty” and “to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” are phrases of the Jubilee. That’s what is proclaimed on the Day of Atonement! Yet we’re also told that this is “the day of vengeance of our God” — language connected to Christ’s return! Jesus Christ will return both to slay His enemies and to deliver the oppressed. He will return to banish Satan the devil and to bring unparalleled peace and prosperity to this earth.

And that’s exactly what Isaiah tells us about in the verses which follow those! “And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast” Isa. 61:4-5).

When do the exiles come back, the old ruins get rebuilt, and Christ’s servants reign with Him as priests on this earth? During the Millennium! 

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4-6.)

Thus the Day of Atonement pictures the return of Jesus Christ, the banishment of Satan, and the Millennium. Satan’s banishment lasts a thousand years, the millennial reign of Christ and His saints lasts a thousand years — and those thousand years begin when Christ returns!

The Feast of Tabernacles

At the end of the Millennium, Satan will be released to go out and attempt to deceive the people who have been living under the rule of Jesus Christ. This will be their final test, to see if they will obey God or not. Gog and Magog will choose to rebel and follow Satan, so God will consume them with fire from heaven and cast Satan himself into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10).

Afterward is the Second Resurrection, and that’s what the Feast of Tabernacles pictures. We read in Rev. 20:12-13,

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

It’s commonly assumed in mainstream Christianity that everyone in the Second Resurrection will be judged, condemned, and cast into the lake of fire, but the Bible nowhere says such a thing! It says that they will be judged according to their works, not that they will all be destroyed.

Remember, the First Resurrection is for the firstfruits. Those in the First Resurrection are blessed, but few in number. The Second Resurrection, in contrast, is the whole harvest of humanity. It is the last and greatest harvest, when billions of people will enter the family of God! As we’ve explored elsewhere in great detail, this is when nearly all people who lived and died in this age will be raised from the dead, given physical bodies once more, and taught God’s ways. They will have their opportunity to know the true God and choose to obey Him or not.

And indeed, the Feast of Tabernacles is also called the Feast of Ingathering in both Exodus 23 and Exodus 34: “You shall keep… the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field” (Ex. 23:15, 16). “And you shall observe… the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end” (Ex. 34:22).

Notice, too, that the Feast of Tabernacles, or Ingathering, happens at the end of the harvest. It’s a harvest celebration, and there is no more harvest afterward! Here’s Deut. 16:13-15:

13 “You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress.

14 "And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates.

15 "Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

So the Feast of Tabernacles is a time of rejoicing at the end of the harvest. A time of giving thanks to God for the abundance of that harvest. This is the Second Resurrection!

Now, a tabernacle is a temporary dwelling. It’s called the Feast of Tabernacles because of God’s instruction: “You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths” (Lev. 23:42). The Hebrew word translated “booth” is sukkah (Strong’s # H3427), the plural of which is sukkot. It’s the very same word translated elsewhere as “tabernacles.” This is the Feast of Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths. The Feast of Temporary Dwellings.

What do temporary dwellings picture? Our physical bodies! The psalmist wrote, “As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more” (Psa. 103:15-16). And so the apostle Paul described our bodies as a tent: “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1). The apostle Peter, too, commented near the end of his life, “Shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me” (2 Pet. 1:14).

And in what state will those in the Second Resurrection be raised? To physical bodies! They won’t be raised to spirit like those in the First Resurrection, nor will they have a thousand years like those in the Millennium, but they will have a comparatively short time to learn God’s ways and make their choice. They will be here temporarily, and then either changed into spirit or destroyed, depending on their choice.

The fact that the Feast of Tabernacles is seven days long, too, points to this reality. The Feast pictures the completion, the end, of all things physical. There will be no more flesh-and-blood human beings after the Second Resurrection and the final judgment, but everything physical will pass away.

The Last Great Day

The Last Great Day, or Eighth Day, pictures the grand finale of God’s plan. It is both the seventh of God’s annual Holy Days, and also the Eighth Day. Whereas, the number 7 pictures completeness; the number 8 pictures a new beginning. In this case, the new beginning is the new heavens and new earth.

The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus Christ will reign on earth until all enemies have been destroyed, until He has destroyed death itself:

24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.

26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

27 For "He has put all things under His feet." But when He says "all things are put under Him," it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.

28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. (1 Cor. 15:24-28.)

After the Millennium, after the rebellion of Gog and Magog, after the Second Resurrection, after the final judgment, and after death itself has perished forever, Jesus Christ will deliver the Kingdom to His Father.

The very heavens and earth — everything physical — will dissolve at the presence of God the Father, as we read in 2 Pet. 3:10: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” And so we read in Rev. 21:1-4,

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

This is the end of God’s plan of salvation for mankind, but also a beginning — the beginning of eternity. All the other Holy Days point to this day, the day when God’s plan will be complete. This is the capstone. It is the day that will never end: God’s eternal Sabbath. That’s our destiny, and it’s what we labor for in this life!

Conclusion

God’s seven annual Holy Days paint a beautiful picture of His plan for His people. Here’s a quick recap of everything we’ve covered:

Additional Reading

Why Is THAT in the Bible?! (Part 1 of a series on the tabernacle and the Holy Days)

No U-Turn!!! (Part 1 of a series on the fall Holy Days)

The Path to Eternal Life Through God’s Holy Days (booklet by Nathaniel Griffith)