THE EIGHTH DAY

For God’s people, the fall of the year ushers in the third and final Holy Day Season.  The last, and also the seventh, of these annual Holy days had been commonly referred to as the ‘Last Great Day’. This has been an interpolation of Scripture that obscures the real meaning and purpose of this “Great Day”.  Many in the Church refer to this day as the Last Great Day for three primary reasons, so let’s first review those reasons as we build a foundation for the true meaning of this very special day. The first reason is that we often thought of it as being the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The second is because Christ, through the Apostle John, referred to the day as the “Great Day”. And the third reason is because the Church believed that this represented the last day of God’s salvation timetable for people of the earth. Now to set the record straight, let’s take the first reason listed above. A careful reading of Leviticus 23 reveals that at the Feast of Tabernacles, God’s people were to dwell in booths for seven days, beginning with a Holy Day. There is no instruction to dwell in booths on an eighth day, so that alone set this special day apart from the Feast of Tabernacles.  Mr. Armstrong certainly recognized this Eighth Day as a separate festival. The real meaning of the term “Last Day of the Feast” (jn. 7:37)is that the Eighth Day is the last of the seven Annual Feast Days, which happens to fall immediately after the Feast of Tabernacles. It is also the “Great Day of the Feast” because it is the day that represents the culmination of the plan that is unfolding during the previous six Annual Feast Days of the year and not just because of its placement on the heels of the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

An important element of the real meaning of this Great Day is lost when we think of it as a time of temporary living arrangements, as at the Feast of tabernacles. Have you ever really considered the fact that we were still staying in the same motel on the Great Day as we were on the seven days of the Feast of tabernacles? When we come to understand the real meaning and purpose of the great Day, we will find a way to avoid that, since we are to dwell in ‘Booths’ for only seven days, not eight.  Why is there no instruction to stay in booths on the Great Day? It is because the “Feast of Booths” is over and a separate more important festival has begun, whose meaning is far removed from anything temporary!

 

Now for a real eye opener, remember that the Church has consistently taught that the Eighth day’s events were a picture of resurrections here on earth. To understand the full truth, we must also add to our discussion the significance of the number eight itself. It was on the eighth day after being born that a male baby was circumcised, signifying the cutting off of sinful flesh. Thus if we add the aspect of cutting off sinful flesh on the eighth day after being born to the understanding that the Eighth Day was not celebrated in temporary dwellings, it is soon evident that this special Holy Day has something to do with a time when there will be no more temporary sinful flesh. Therefore the Eighth Day is not about a time of resurrections on this current earth, but something very different.

 

Using a center reference Bible, we are led from Leviticus 23:36 to Jesus’ own words of John 7, and then,  directly to Revelation 22, where we find for the first time in history that men are able to dwell with God the Father at His new headquarters, New Jerusalem. (see also Rev. 21) Since no man can see the Father and live, clearly it is evident even before reading the context, that mankind is no longer dwelling as flesh and blood human beings, but as something more permanent.

 

This is the setting of the “Eighth Day of the Feast”, a time just after our current earth is burned up and a New Earth comes on the scene. This new earth is very mysterious since so little is revealed, so we must use our knowledge of how God works to more clearly see what this new earth is all about. Since it is revealed that this new earth is understood by John as having no ocean, it is evidently a blank slate with no life, since it takes water to support life.

 

At the same time, John sees the New Heaven in his vision. Since no fleshly human is found there, all the resurrections are in the past, thus the Eighth day has nothing to do with any resurrection. This means that the Feast of Tabernacles itself is much more than just a symbol of the Millennium, but also the timeframe of all resurrections, and the end of Man’s journey on this earth. This is perhaps why there are seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, not just one representing the Sabbath rest of the millennium. This author believes that the other six days represent the advent of an orderly set of resurrections.

 

The fulfillment of the eighth Day will be the pinnacle event of all history! There will be no more death, crying or tears. Isn’t that going to be truly a “Great Day”? It is called the Last Day, The Great Day, and the Eighth Day, but in reality it is the “First Great Day” of mankind’s new journey when he is no longer subject to death, and in fact begins his first days of forever in presence of both the Father and Christ.

So what about the new Earth? This author believes that this new Earth is the blank canvas that God will use to teach His new family all about creating a living environment, and then fill it with living things as an example and training ground for His offspring to learn how to go out and recreate the same conditions throughout the ever expanding universe, thus permanent job security!

 

Mr. Armstrong understood that the Angels were originally placed on the earth to finish the creation, but failed to deliver according to God’s design. Thus God began fresh with Adam, starting man down the road of eventually have the opportunity to replace the Angels in the job of putting the finish on the universe. So the Eighth day is really the first day of Man’s wonderful destiny, a truly great destiny celebrated on the “Eighth Day of the Feast” the Great Day!

 

It is also truly significant that the Eighth Day is the seventh and last holy Day of the year, placing it firmly as the final step in bringing mankind to perfection, when he is not only no longer a temporary fleshly being, subject to death, but also no longer living on this present earth, thus all the more reason why the Eighth Day is not intended to be celebrated in “temporary dwellings” as is done during the Feast of Tabernacles. The Eighth Day is all about finally being home, truly home!