Messiah in Sukkot Chapter 14
- When hope is at its highest point in the year
- Sacrifice, call to redemption, and welcoming of the Spirit
- As to the Symbology…
- The witness of the Two silver funnels
- Disrespect for the redemptive work of the Holy One
When hope is at its highest point in the year:
Scripture Reading #1. Scripture readings would include 1 Kings 8, where the Temple was consecrated and the Ark of the Covenant was followed by the Shekinah (Glory Cloud) that came to dwell in the Temple.
Scripture Reading #2. Also read Zechariah 14, which is a prophetic reference to the future Day of the Lord when the Presence of the Holy One and His Messiah will tent (dwell) with men upon the earth. Needless to say on Sukkot the messianic hope of the nation of Israel is at its highest and most emotional level of all the times of the year.
Sacrifice, call to redemption, and welcoming of the Spirit:
Close of the Morning-Sacrifice #1. When the priest with the Gold Pitcher of Water returned to the Temple, he timed it so that he arrived just as pieces of the sacrifice were being laid on the great Altar of Burnt-offering toward the close of the ordinary Morning-Sacrifice service.
Close of the Morning Sacrifice #2. A threefold blast of the “Silver Trumpets” was mandated at this time.
As to the symbology…
Symbol #1. The trumpets are wind instruments. This indicates the breath-life of the Spirit moving through the instrumentation of the Messiah (and us), to manifest Adonai our Father and our God’s (eternal) priestly intentions.
Symbol #2. The Metal of Silver is the metal of redemption, therefore, of blood (the life).
Symbol #3. The blood represents “both” the perfect physical and perfect spiritual life of the Messiah.
Symbol #4. The water is mixed in with the wine. The water is the word of forgiveness that the Messiah asked God for on our behalf that was granted (1, 2, 3, 4) at the time of his sacrificial death (טהרה על-ידי רחיצת מים, בהצהרה-the water of of the word of purification). The wine represents both the redemptive sacrifice of the Messiah our korban Pesach and the gift of the new *life of the Spirit of the Holy One that we receive after we have accepted His Messiah’s sacrifice for sin. The wine represents, therefore, more than the sacrificed (physical) life (blood) of Messiah for our redemption. The wine also represents the *new eternal life of the Spirit that our heavenly Father gives to all who believe (cf. Seder: Cup of Redemption).
*The new life of the Spirit—the Indwelling Presence of the Spirit of the Holy One—is the New Spirit (רוח חדשה) and New Heart (לב חדש) that Adonai Avinu (God our Father) promised us (Israel) through His Messiah and the prophets (cf. “Messiah in Pesach,” Chapter 18).
Symbol #5. The number “Three” is a testimony to the Divine Presence and work of the Spirit of Holiness.
Symbol #6. The Water Gate speaks of governance (administration). This particular gate is of great importance for it speaks of the administration of grace that the Spirit of the Holy One administers to redeemed humanity. This gate was incorporated into the Mid-Slope wall above the Gihon Spring.
Symbol #7. A three-fold blast of the “Silver Trumpets” is a witness that once the Sacrifice of the Messiah (the Sacrifice) was complete the new life of the Spirit was immediately made available (Call to Redemption) at the altar to all who would believe (Welcoming reception of the Spirit).
The witness of the Two silver funnels:
From the Water Gate, Shaar Mayim (near the East Gate, also called the Golden Gate), the priest passed straight into the Court of the Priests. Here he was joined by the priest who carried the wine for the drink-offering. Together, the two priests ascended up “the rise” of the altar and turned to the left. At the altar there were two silver funnels. Both funnels possessed narrow openings that lead down to the base of the altar. One funnel was wider than the other.
Silver Funnel #1. The wine was poured in the wider silver funnel (the funnel to the east).
Silver Funnel #2. At the same time, the water was poured into the narrower silver funnel with the smaller opening (the funnel to the west).
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the people shouted to the priest with the water to raise his hand, so that they might be certain that he poured the water into the silver funnel (i.e. the funnel of the redemptive work of the Spirit). The people required the raising of the priest’s hand as proof. This was due to Alexander Jannaeus, the Maccabean king-priest (about 95 BCE), previously pouring the sacred water upon his feet; rather than through the silver funnel (he did this in a fit of anger at the Prushim; this act caused a riot where six thousand people died).
Disrespect for the redemptive work of the Holy One:
אוּלָם אַחַד הַחַיָּלִים דָּקַר אֶת צִדּוֹ בְּרֹמַח וּמִיָּד יָצְאוּ דָּם וּמַיִם.פ
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Yeshua’s side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. (Yochanan 19:34)
Prophecy #1. Prophetically, this sinful act of the Maccabean king-priest at the altar of the Temple symbolizes a defiling disrespect for Adonai’s (the LORD’s) work of redemption through His Spirit and His Word.
Prophecy #2. The angry high priest’s historic act of sacrilege *prophetically speaks of his and the later priesthood’s continuing “disbelief” in the cleansing ministry of the Spirit of Holiness (the Water of of the Word of purification) and the promised redemptive ministry of the Messiah—the wine is a thank offering representing his redemptive-sacrificed life.
*130 years after this prophetic event the Messiah sacrificed his life at the altar of HaShem (the NAME) to permanently atone for our sins.