The Eighth Day — A New Beginning in Messiah!

Revelation 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.

John 7:37-38  On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 

Throughout Scripture, the number eight carries profound prophetic significance. It speaks of new beginnings, fresh starts, and divine separation from what was, to embrace what is to come.

Think of Noah, stepping out of the ark with seven others—eight souls total—to restart humanity after the flood. Or Isaac, the first recorded in the Bible to be circumcised on the eighth day, a covenantal sign that marked a new identity and set-apart life before God. And then, Yeshua (Jesus), our Messiah, who was also circumcised on the eighth day, entered into His earthly mission as a Jewish boy set apart from birth.

But the most powerful “eighth day” of all was the day of resurrection. After Shabbat (Sabbath) — following havdalah (Hebrew for separation – a weekly ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat and the ushering of a new week) — Yeshua rose from the grave. In that moment, which coincided with the Feast of Bikoreem (First Fruits), He conquered death and ushered in a new covenant and a new way of life for all who follow Him. Just as havdalah marks the transition from Sabbath to a new week, Messiah’s resurrection marked the separation from the old and the beginning of a new and living way (Hebrews 10:19-24).

The Apostle Paul often wrote of this separation—the old covenant giving way to the new, the law of death replaced by the law of life in Messiah. (2 Corinthians 3:5-18)

This is why the early Church began celebrating the “Lord’s Day” on the first day of the week — not simply as a memorial of Yeshua’s resurrection, but as a weekly reminder of the eighth day. It was a day that pointed beyond time itself, toward eternity — a “time outside of time” — when all things would be made new and God would dwell forever with His people. (Revelation 21:1-6) Every Lord’s Day became a prophetic rehearsal for the age to come, when death would be no more and the fullness of redemption would be complete.

Remarkably, 2,000 years ago, on the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles — on Simchat Torah, Yeshua stood in the Temple and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37-38). On that sacred day, traditionally linked with rejoicing in the Torah, He pointed to Himself as the source of living water. It was a prophetic marker of a new beginning — in connection with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Even today, the echoes of that moment continue. When war broke out in Israel in October 2023, it was on Simchat Torah; it was more than just a tragic coincidence. It served as a solemn reminder that God often initiates new seasons in moments of shaking. The same day that once symbolized joy and the giving of the Word now marks a renewed call to return to the Source — to Yeshua, the Living Water.

Today, if you feel stuck in the past, remember this: the eighth day is coming. In God’s Kingdom, every ending is the doorway to a new beginning. In Yeshua, the end is never the end—it’s a call to rise. His resurrection was not merely a moment in history, but an open invitation to live a resurrected life and walk in the unshakable hope of eternity. Yeshua didn’t rise just to display power — He rose to give it, lifting us from what was and leading us into all that is yet to come.

Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.

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Throughout the United States today, everyone will be celebrating the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — a document through which leaders of the colonies in the New World broke free from the King of England.

The Hebrew expression in this verse from Isaiah is rich with meaning. The root “nus” (from the expression “raise up a standard”) is related to or sounds like numerous words which mean “sign”, “miracle”, “to drive away”, “to flee”, “cause to disappear”, “a waving flag”. This abundance of meanings in Isaiah’s poetic style reveals the multiple dimensions of God’s revelation; in this case, the way he deals with evil. The assertion in this word is that the Spirit of YHVH will be powerfully activated when evil comes.

The word contrite in Hebrew is ‘dakah’ which means one that is crushed to pieces. Paul wrote of being a ‘living sacrifice’ holy and acceptable to God. Being a living sacrifice means we often can walk off the altar. To be a continual living sacrifice we need to renew our minds day to day!

Recently, I’ve been impressed by the Lord to address the anxieties many are feeling about the future– how to be strong in the face of the intense opposition we’ll be facing as believers. One of the founders of the modern state of Israel, David Ben-Gurion once said, “Courage is a special kind of knowledge, the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. From this knowledge comes an inner strength that inspires us to push on in the face of great difficulty. What can seem impossible is often possible with courage.”

For a season, I worked in Washington, D.C., for one of America’s largest Christian political organizations. Sometimes I saw how politics could get ugly and, more often than not, how it changed people — not for the better…but usually for the worse!

Have you ever felt uneasy, unsettled or unstable? Or maybe a better question is — who hasn’t? How do we overcome these feelings?

Is that a trend or something? I don’t know what it is but I’ve heard that phrase said quite a bit. We were even walking down the Wal-Mart isle to pick up a few things and my wife showed me a T-shirt with “I have issues” written across the front! I guess the world is coming to the sad reality that we really do have some issues.