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.

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“Exhausted but still in pursuit…” Well, now we know why the angel of YHVH addressed Gideon the way he did. With his small three hundred man army he had just decimated the army of Midian — but the victory wasn’t complete, and so the Jewish general and his small, exhausted, hungry, band were determined to cross the Jordan and take care of 15,000 additional Midanite enemies and their leaders, Zebah and Zalmunna.

His nightmares began each day when he awoke. James Stegalls was nineteen. He was in Vietnam. Though he carried a small Gideon New Testament in his shirt pocket, he couldn’t bring himself to read it. His buddies were cut down around him, terror was building within him, and God seemed far away. His twentieth birthday passed, then his twenty-first. At last, he felt he couldn’t go on.

On January 1st 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which proclaimed freedom for all slaves in the ten states which were in rebellion. At the time, when U.S. Secretary of State Seward took the document to the President to sign, Lincoln took a pen, and held it for a moment. He then removed his hand and dropped his pen. Lincoln turned to Seward and said, “I have been shaking hands since nine o’clock this morning and my right arm is almost paralyzed. If my name ever goes into history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it.” He hesitated, then took the pen, and without wavering, took the document and boldly signed it!

For nearly 2000 years the Jewish people were scattered across the world without a homeland. In one day, according to the meticulous preparation of God, on May 14th 1948, the nation of Israel was restored. As millions of Jews were returning to their homeland they began rebuilding the ancient cities that were destroyed, restoring the desolations of many generations, and fulfilling Biblical prophecy…

As we celebrated Shavuot last night, we’re looking at the promise given 2000 years ago: that normal people will lead extraordinary lives; that disciples, who were terrified on the night of Yeshua’s (Jesus) death, were transformed into bold saints of God; and that fishermen, tax collectors, and housewives – normal everyday people – became empowered, and turned the Roman Empire inside out and upside down!

The disciples worried — we only have five small loaves and two fishes! What ever will we do?? Five loaves and two fishes could never feed the multitudes in the natural realm! But we have a God who is in the multiplication business! He works on an entirely different mathematical equation than we are accustomed to — He takes the little we offer and turns it into more than we could fathom!

Have you ever heard how the Karen people of Burma were prepared for the gospel? This unique people’s history reveals how the Lord had sovereignly preserved, in their traditions, their yearning for the one true God.