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Category: Appointed Times

In the Shadow of the Almighty

Tags:  feast of clouds, Feast of Tabernacles, sukkah, sukkot, Ushpizin liturgy

By D. Thomas Lancaster

The Feast of Sukkot and the Transfiguration

Enter, exalted and holy guests, enter exalted holy patriarchs to be seated...In the shade of the Holy One, Blessed is He...In Sukkot you shall dwell, be seated, exalted guests, be seated; be seated, guests of faithfulness, be seated. (Ushpizin Liturgy for Sukkot)

In the Gospels, the Master tells His disciples that "some will not taste death" before seeing Him come in His glory. This is a problem. Assuredly, all twelve of the disciples tasted death, and the Master has not yet come in His glory.

He told them this just after dashing all their hopes to the ground. Without riddles or parables, Yeshua told them forthrightly that His plan was to go up to Jerusalem, to be arrested, to suffer, to die and to rise again. This news was terribly frightening to the disciples; it didn't seem to make any logical sense. They anticipated the Kingdom of Messiah to come with gratuitous displays of power. They expected Messiah to wrest back the throne of David. In contrast, Yeshua told them to expect arrest, suffering and death.

However, lest they lose heart completely, he spoke of a time yet coming "...when [the Son of Man] comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." (Mark 8:38) Magnificent glory and holy angels are more of what one would hope for from a Messianic advent. Perhaps the disciples asked, "When? When will this happen? How soon?"

Yeshua responded with another cryptic and troubling answer. He said, "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power." (Mark 9:1)

It must be significant that the Gospel narrative immediately proceeds to set apart three disciples from the twelve. The Zavdai brothers (James and John) along with Shimon Peter are taken up onto the high mountain and given an amazing encounter with the Master in His glory. Are we t...

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© 2009 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, This material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission. Adapted from Messiah Magazine #83 .

For more information about this issue, click here.

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