What Does It Mean to Live in the Eighth Day?

“I am existing in the moment, but I am living in the Eighth Day.”

We all exist in the moment. We have bills to pay, decisions to make, problems to solve, prayers that have not yet been answered, bodies that grow older, and circumstances we cannot always change.

Those things are real. Faith does not require us to pretend they aren't.

But faith says that what I see in this moment is not the whole story.

Sukkot reminds us that this present dwelling is temporary. Then Yehovah does something fascinating. After the seven days of Sukkot, He adds another day—Shemini Atzeret, the Eighth Day.

Seven represents the completed cycle of this present creation. Everything we experience takes place within that seven-day cycle. But then Yehovah says, in effect, “There is another day.”

The Eighth Day points beyond this present order—beyond mortality, corruption, and death. It points toward eternity.

And here is where it becomes especially beautiful.

Following the biblical chronology, Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot. Seven days later brings us to Shemini Atzeret—the Eighth Day. Torah required a male child to be circumcised on the eighth day, and Luke 2:21 tells us:

“When eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called YESHUA.”

On the day that signifies eternity, He was given the name that identifies the very thing that secures our eternal state:

YESHUA—SALVATION.

Think about that.

On the Eighth Day, the One who would carry us beyond death was called Salvation.

And then, years later, Yeshua went into the grave—and came out again.

He rose on the first day of the week. But the first day following a completed seven-day cycle is also an eighth day.

Resurrection is an Eighth-Day reality.

When Yeshua came out of that grave, eternity invaded earth. Something beyond our seven-day existence entered our world. The age to come broke into this present age, connecting us to the reality of the Eighth Day.

And that means Eighth-Day living isn't only something waiting for us after we die.

Resurrection life is ours to experience today.

That changes how I look at my circumstances.

My circumstances are here—but my promise is there.

My body is here—but my resurrection is there.

My unanswered prayer is here—but Yehovah's promise is there.

I am existing in the moment, but I am living in the Eighth Day.

This is also why Teshuvah is so important. Teshuvah turns us around. We have dealt with the past. We have turned from the sin that so easily besets us. We have burned the bridges that made returning convenient.

Now stop looking backward.

Reach forward.

Reach by faith into the eternal reality of the Eighth Day and bring Yehovah's promise into this seven-day world of ours.

Yeshua taught us, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

The Father is not limited by the seven-day world in which you presently live. He is eternal. And through Yeshua, He has opened the reality of His Kingdom to us.

So accept His offer.

Bring the reality of the Eighth Day into your seven-day world.

Where there is death, believe for resurrection life.

Where there is darkness, bring His light.

Where there is bondage, receive His freedom.

Where there seems to be no way forward, remember that Yehovah is not limited to what you can presently see.

Faith reaches beyond the moment and takes hold of what Yehovah has promised.

Don't become so comfortable in the temporary that you forget the eternal. The sukkah has an expiration date. The promise of Yehovah does not.

I am standing in time, but I belong to eternity.

I am living in a temporary dwelling, but I have an eternal habitation.

My eyes may see only today, but my faith sees the Eighth Day.

I am existing in the moment, but I am living in the Eighth Day.

There is an Eighth Day.

Yeshua has come.

Yeshua is coming again.

Experience Eighth-Day living today!

Shalom,
David Mattocks
Light of Yeshua Fellowship