As Jesus is the cornerstone upon which the Church is built, so are his teachings the unifying cornerstone of Christian doctrine.

The Last & Greatest Day

In John 7:37 we read of Jesus standing up to speak loudly on the last and greatest day of the festival. That describes the final eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn festival commemorated with small booths made from leafy boughs and observed since the Exodus from Egypt. Traditionally, each morning the High Priest and a procession went from the Temple to the Pool of Siloam and filled a container with water. They re-entered the Temple through the Water Gate. Another priest carried wine for a drink offering. They poured their offerings out at the base of the altar. The water, symbolizing the Holy Spirit poured out upon men, flowed down the Temple steps into the outer courts. This Jewish feast tradition was used by Jesus to illustrate the Holy Spirit’s working as rivers of living water.

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