Feast Days of the God of Israel

God's Holy Days - 2011

Passover - April 18 (Monday)
Unleavened Bread - April 19-25 (Tuesday-Monday)
Pentecost June 12 - (Sunday)
Trumpets - September 29 (Thursday)
Day of Atonement - October 8 (Saturday)
Feast of Tabernacles - October 13-19 (Thursday-Wednesday)
Last Great Day - October 20 (Thursday)

*Note: Passover observed previous evening after sunset

see also  feastdays2  for another detailed analysis

Most of us have been led down the golden path regarding God's feastdays.  When we celebrate Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday, Halloween, etc we do not know it but we are celebrating pagan origin holidays. Celebrating these along with Sunday as the Sabbath is considered by some theologians to be the Mark of the beast.   Go to  here for an explanation of the mark of the beast.  The feastdays mentioned below are Yahweh's days to keep holy and along with keeping a Saturday Sabbath, constitute  God's "seal" on us. God's "mark" is our keeping a Saturday Sabbath as well as these seven feastdays as Sabbaths also besides keeping His ten commandments. 

Many church organizations feel the feastdays of Leviticus went away with the cross as well as God's ten commandments. However, other  theologians including the Stewarton Bible School state that is not true at all; in fact keeping Saturday as the weekly Sabbath and keeping God's Feastdays below is how God "seals" us and by keeping a Sunday Sabbath and man's traditional holidays (Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday, Halloween etc. ) we may be displaying the Mark of the Beast. 

The meanings of God's feasts
It's important to briefly preview all of God's feasts to better understand the significance. God's seven festivals are laid out in Leviticus 23: the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks or Firstfruits (Pentecost), the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day of the feast. These feasts show how God works to bring about the salvation of mankind. Each one pictures a step in this process for individuals and, ultimately, for all humanity.

The Passover represents Jesus' sacrifice for mankind (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7). It pictures the death of Jesus Christ 
for our sins and the opportunity God gives us, on repentance, to have our sins forgiven.

The seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread represents the unleavened life of Christ and shows the need for His disciples to "be holy, for [He is] holy," by ceasing to sin (1 Corinthians 5:7-8; 1 Peter 1:16). It shows that repentant people are to live spiritually pure lives after having sin's penalty removed by the sacrifice of Jesus. Christians are to reject sin (symbolized by putting out physical leaven) and live a new life patterned after Christ's and characterized by sincerity and truth.

Pentecost shows the need for us to receive God's Spirit to empower us to become like God the Father and His Son, Jesus (Acts 2:1-4; Romans 8:9-19). It represents the receiving of God's Spirit, through which God's people become one Church, the unified Body of Christ. Also known as the Feast of Firstfruits, it depicts the first harvest of those who will receive salvation according to God's plan.

The Feast of Trumpets depicts Christ's return to earth "at the last trumpet," at which time God will resurrect His faithful followers to immortality in the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Revelation 11:15). 
Christians will be given eternal life in the first resurrection.

The symbolism of the Day of Atonement represents Satan being  shackled for 1,000 years, allowing mankind to at last be reconciled—at one—with God (Revelation 20:1-3). Only after Satan is bound will the reconciliation of mankind with God that will then be possible.

We then come to the symbolism of the Feast of Tabernacles. Next in God's plan is 1,000 years of unprecedented peace and unparalleled prosperity (Revelation 20:4-6; Zechariah 14:3-4, 8-9). This pictures the first 1,000 years of Christ's reign on earth. With Satan's destructive, deceitful influence removed, humanity can at last learn God's ways and truth and be restored to a right relationship with God. During this time, many more will receive God's gift of salvation.

Finally, the Last Great Day signifies the second resurrection, a time after the millenium when the dead who were not brought back to life in the first resurrection and never had a chance to receive God's Spirit will be resurrected to live again. They will be given an opportunity, over time, to know God, understand His truths, repent and receive His Spirit. They will have an opportunity to be saved. It is their opportunity to choose to become part of the Kingdom of God, to receive salvation.  God will resurrect them from their graves and give them temporary physical life along with revelatory knowledge of God, His truths and their part in His master plan (Revelation 20:11-12; Ezekiel 37:1-14).

These feasts—God's feasts (Leviticus 23:2, 4)—represent the steps in His plan for salvation.

The Biblical Map to Jesus Christ's Return

Maps show the way from where you are to your final destination. The Bible provides the only spiritual map to our ultimate destiny. Doesn’t it make good sense to plan your life's journey by learning how to read the genuine biblical map?

You and I may take ordinary road maps for granted, but the history of mapmaking shows that ancient peoples carefully relied on their relatively primitive maps.

Noted author and professor John Noble Wilford wrote: "Before Europeans reached the Pacific, the Marshall Islanders were making stick charts. Sticks were lashed together with fibers to depict prevailing winds and wave patterns; shells or coral were inserted at the appropriate places to represent islands. When a Tahitian communicated his knowledge of South Pacific geography to Captain Cook by drawing a map, it was clear that he and his people were quite familiar with the map idea.

"Pre-Columbian maps in Mexico indicated roads by lines of footprints. Centuries ago Eskimos carved accurate coastal maps in ivory, the Incas built elaborate relief maps of stone and clay, and early Europeans drew sketch maps on their cave walls" (The Mapmakers, 1981, p. 7).

The map idea

According to Wilford, cartographers agree that there is something fundamental about the map idea: "It is a basic form of human communication . . . Indeed, the term map is often used metaphorically to explain other types of knowing and communicating" (p. 13).

Wilford carefully explored the symbolic values of mapmaking: "In everyday conversation, the word map is used to convey the idea of clarification: someone maps out a plan or maps out his future" (ibid.). Later in this book he wrote, "Maps embody a perspective of that which is known and a perception of that which may be worth knowing" (p. 386). He makes a very good case that maps are excellent symbolic tools, communicating that which is so far unknown by that which is known.

But if an ordinary map can communicate a desired destination, could there also be a map for Christians to use to find their ultimate destiny in this life? Is there a plan already mapped out that would determine a sense of here in relation to there? The short answer is yes.

Would Almighty God, who has created the orderly, harmonious and self-regulating universe, create human beings—the only fully cognitive processing creatures on this planet—without planning and/or mapping out an ultimate destiny for us?

Not only is there a biblical map that can assist you in arriving at your ultimate destination, but that map is also the key to your spiritual survival. The map I speak of is both real and symbolic, a great communication tool in the service of humankind.

The Bible's symbolic map

Remarkably, the Scriptures are filled with basic symbolic maps that can and will lead you to true freedom and immortality. Ironically, millions of Christians have neglected to use the very biblical map that God has so freely given to them.

In fact, many mainstream Christians have ignored the basic biblical map leading to salvation and "penciled in" traditional pagan symbols instead. When you misread a map, a miss is as good as a mile.

For example, though God has clearly mapped out our salvation by way of the Holy Days He reveals in the Bible, religionists from time immemorial have changed God's symbols and replaced them with pagan ones. For instance, they have substituted modern religious holidays like Christmas and Easter for God's revelatory Holy Days.

No wonder humankind has consistently run into biblical dead ends or taken frustrating and confusing religious detours—rather than following the road to eternal life (Daniel 7:25). Let's briefly explore God's symbols, His annual Sabbaths in the autumn that mark out and point the way to immortality in God's coming Kingdom.

Our Creator has revealed seven annual festivals starting in the spring, each one depicting some great event in the ongoing mapping of God's salvation for humankind. However, this particular article will focus on and highlight only the four festivals that occur in the late summer and autumn of the year (in the northern hemisphere).

Each represents a decisive turning point in human history. The previous three spring festivals of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost constitute personal responses to the workings of God in the people He calls and chooses during this age of man. The Bible calls them the firstfruits of God's salvation. (For a fuller discussion of all seven of these annual occasions, request or download our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.)

The Feast of Trumpets maps the arrival of Jesus Christ

The first autumn festival is the Feast of Trumpets. This biblical festival helps us understand why Jesus Christ must return and reveals how and what He will do when He arrives.

It also reveals what happens to His true followers, both those who are still alive and those who are "dead in Christ," at His coming. Both are transformed immediately to immortal children of God (1 Corinthians 15:22-23, 42-44, 50-53). Jesus gathers His elect (see 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), who will afterward follow Christ when He descends on the Mount of Olives (Revelation 19:14; John 18:36).

Historically, the Feast of Trumpets was first given to God's nation Israel (Leviticus 23:24). In that context trumpets were, and still are, symbols that indicated an alarm for war. Israel often blew trumpets to alert its army and regular population that battle was imminent. Consider the trumpets that were blown when God instructed Israel to conquer Jericho (Joshua 6). A blowing of trumpets signaled imminent battle.

The book of Revelation likewise shows blowing of trumpets in preparation for Jesus' return. The fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets is loudly sounded in Revelation chapters 8 through 11 where the seven trumpets of God warn of major cataclysmic events. These trumpet blasts serve as the prelude to the seven last plagues of Revelation 16.

The Feast of Trumpets symbolizes the return of Christ, the most pivotal and well-mapped-out event in all of human history. When Christians celebrate the Feast of Trumpets, they are in a sense acting out in advance a great symbol of their salvation. (If you would like to understand the significance of these biblical prophecies in much greater detail, please request or download our free booklet The Book of Revelation Unveiled.)

The Day of Atonement maps Satan's removal

The Day of Atonement focuses on the future removal of the devil and his cohorts, powerful evil spirits unseen by the naked human eye, called demons. As agents of deception and baleful influence, they have been misleading mankind since the Garden of Eden (see Revelation 12:9).

The fact that many today doubt the existence of evil spirits demonstrates the success of the deception. (For the absolute biblical proof, request or download our free booklet Is There Really a Devil?)

Through the book of Job, Scripture shows that Satan is personally involved with humanity. "And the Lord said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' So Satan answered the Lord and said, 'From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it'" (Job 1:7).

From this and many other biblical passages we see that Satan is intricately involved with humanity at large. Recall that when the devil offered Jesus Christ the kingdoms of the world, Jesus did not counter his rule over mankind. "Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, 'All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me'" (Matthew 4:8-9, emphasis added throughout).

The apostle Paul tells us that Satan is the god of this world and that he has blinded the minds of all humanity (1 Corinthians 4:4). He began his deception with our first parents, Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 5:14-15).

Thankfully Satan's destructive work on humankind will cease. Christ will remove the devil from the human realm for a thousand years at His return (Revelation 20:1-3; compare Romans 16:20). This major event is mapped out or symbolized by the Day of Atonement. Christians observe this unique biblical festival by fasting, drawing close to God and acknowledging their total reliance on Him (Leviticus 23:26-32; Acts 27:9).

The reason God is going to remove Satan and the demonic realm from the human sphere is very clear: They are at the heart of all human troubles, pain, suffering, war and death. Without the destroyer, peace can break out on the earth (Isaiah 14:4-7). Only then can humanity continue on the road to God's peace and prosperity.

The Day of Atonement keeps the path open for all humankind to experience the wonderful world tomorrow, the coming Kingdom of God! That time is symbolized by the joyous Feast of Tabernacles, the next stop on the road map to eternal life.

Feast of Tabernacles maps universal peace and prosperity

The Feast of Tabernacles is strongly symbolic of the great destination for humanity on the road to universal peace and prosperity. Yet that destination cannot be reached before the previous ones. There is a specific and orderly sequence of benchmark events that must take place for humankind to arrive safely at its ultimate destination. There are no shortcuts.

By way of a brief review, the Feast of Trumpets heralds the return of Jesus Christ, where He resurrects the dead in Christ and changes those Christians who are still alive (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15), and begins to remove all tyrannical governments (Revelation 11:15-18).

The next destination in God's master plan of salvation is the Day of Atonement, where Christ removes Satan and incarcerates him (Revelation 20:1-3). Only then can peace break out on earth (Isaiah 14:7; 11). This leads to the next step as represented by the Feast of Tabernacles, when Jesus will rule as the great Sovereign for 1,000 years.

Today Christ's disciples who understand the meaning of the symbols of God's step-by-step map of salvation keep the annual Feast of Tabernacles in anticipation of mankind's great future.

Throughout the earth, humanity will rejoice in unparalleled peace and prosperity. War, violence, deception, famines and all the other insoluble problems that plague mankind today will disappear from the earth (Isaiah 11:1-9; Micah 4:1-7). This war-weary earth will become a new Garden of Eden, beginning at Jerusalem and then spreading to all nations (Ezekiel 36:35; Zechariah 14:16).

Last Great Day maps salvation for mankind

During the autumn festival season, yet one major event follows the Feast of Tabernacles.

This destination on the biblical map that Christ has revealed to His saints has stupendous meaning. It figuratively shows the destination of all human beings who have ever lived from Adam's time to Christ's second coming.

It's called the Last Great Day, or the eighth day of the Feast. "On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation . . . It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it" (Leviticus 23:36).

Keep in mind that as an ordinary road map has the appropriate symbols to depict the reality of destinations, so has God given symbols to show the reality of His major goals for humanity.

God's people are instructed to observe the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days, with the first day being a Holy Day (verse 34). Following is a final festival that represents the opportunity for salvation for all human beings who have ever lived not knowing nor really understanding God's truth. This involves a general resurrection to physical life, at which time Jesus Christ and His reigning saints will reveal the true path to salvation.

Let's notice two significant passages that help us understand this symbolic festival. "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished . . . Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away . . . And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books" (Revelation 20:5, 11-12).

The great white throne judgment described here has several symbolically significant meanings. It's great because of the billions of human beings who will be raised from the dead for their day of salvation. White refers to holiness and righteousness. Throne infers Christ's righteous rule. It's a time of judgment because these human beings are then judged or evaluated by Jesus Christ in mercy and compassion over a period of time (1 Corinthians 11:31-32).

Another notable passage is found in the oft-misunderstood prophecy of Ezekiel 37. The valley of dry bones represents the whole house of Israel, all 12 tribes (not just the Jewish people although they are prominently included), who lived and died with no apparent hope. At this time, Christ will resurrect all human beings, Israelites and gentiles alike, all those who have ever lived and who never really knew God. They will be resurrected to physical life but offered His Spirit and the hope of salvation they never had (Ezekiel 37:11-14).

Though some will ultimately reject God and be lost—destroyed in a lake of fire (Revelation 21:8)—most will embrace Him and His ways, joining the saints in eternal salvation.

Jesus' return symbolized by the fall festivals

John Noble Wilford's quotes about maps certainly ring true when it comes to mapping Christ's return: "Maps embody a perspective of that which is known and a perception of that which may be worth knowing" (The Mapmakers, p. 386). Maps "communicate a sense of place, some sense of here in relation to there" (p. 7).

The four autumn festivals can rightly be compared to great milestones for all of mankind, mapped out in advance by God in His Holy Bible. Each one comes in its own order and proper sequence, just as following an ordinary road map from town to town leads to a physical destination. But with God's map, the end result is the salvation of all humankind.

Most human beings today do not know or understand how to read and study the Bible. During this age of man, God's people are given the understanding to follow His map of the future leading to the coming Kingdom of God and beyond.

The grand ultimate destiny of humanity is to become immortal children of God the Father, younger brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, living and serving in the New Jerusalem and throughout the universe forever and ever (Revelation 21–22; Hebrews 2:8; Deuteronomy 4:19).

Understanding God's plan and purpose revealed in the pages of the Bible constitutes the map that the people of God now follow in earnest. However, responsibility comes with the God-given ability to read His map of salvation. Those who have the knowledge of God, sprinkled throughout a darkened global society, should rejoice in these festivals and help show the world God's way and His path to salvation for mankind. GN

From Stewarton Bible site

Introduction

  1. The Annual Feasts of the LORD God of Israel
    The Passover Service
    The Week of Unleavened Bread
    The Feast of Pentecost
    The Feast of Trumpets
    The Day of Atonement
    The Feast of Tabernacles
    The Last Great Day

    2.The Almighty's Annual Sabbaths in the year 2002 are:

    1. First Day of Unleavened Bread ......... 29th March
    2. Last Day of Unleavened Bread.......... 4th April
    3. Feast of Pentecost............................. 18th May
    4. Feast of Trumpets ............................ 8th September
    5. Day of Atonement............................. 17th September
    6. First Day of Tabernacles ................... 22nd September
    7. Last Great Day of Tabernacles ......... 29th September
  2. To see the exact feast days for the years 2000-2005  go to  here 

  3. The Importance of the Feasts
    The Feast Days - Ordained at the Creation of the World
    The Feast Day Commandments & their Eternal Nature
    The Feast Day Sacrifices
    The Sin of Jeroboam - Israel's Catastrophic Blunder

     

  4. The Feast Days - Times for Spiritual Revival
    Revival under king Hezekiah
    Revival under king Josiah
    Revival under Ezra/Nehemiah
    Revival under the Apostles

     

  5. The Feast Days in the New Covenant
    The Saviour's Advice
    Paul's Example
    The Feast Days during the Millennium
    The Feast Days on the New Earth

     

  6. The Coming Spiritual Election
    Christmas
    Easter
    Sunday Observance
    The Signature of Yahweh
    The Mark of the Beast

     

  7. Summary

Part Two - Questions & Answers

  1. Isn't the law of God abolished and therefore obsolete?
  2. Where does faith and grace come into this matter of keeping the Feast Days?
  3. Please explain Romans 14:1-10, Galatians 4:9-10, Colossians 2:16-17 and Ephesians 2:15-16.
  4. How can we be sure that Saturday is the Seventh day?
  5. How does one keep the Feasts of Yahweh?

 

 

Part One

Introduction

By far the best way to determine the real interests of a person is to note the festivals that he/she attends. Festivals are generally happy events, when people with similar interests assemble to celebrate something.

At a festival all the age-old barriers of race, colour and class are usually swept aside as people give themselves over to the "spirit of the occasion". And so we have music festivals, sports festivals, film festivals, wine festivals, carnivals, fetes, fairs, religious festivals and Feasts of various kinds. Indeed there is a festival to suit almost every taste and they are all normally well attended.

Festivals are often held to commemorate some important event, and in this connection they may be referred to as memorial festivals. Many religious festivals fall into this category; they are 'memorial festivals' held to commemorate the actions of the various Gods people worship.

This study is of the Feast Days of Yahweh the Holy One of Israel, the Creator of the mighty universe, the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the One who is intensely interested in the welfare of every soul on earth. Yes, the Almighty has certain memorials. He calls them 'My Feasts;'   for they are the Sacred Memorial Banquets of His greatest acts in the Programme of Salvation; banquets to which all His subjects are invited.
Leviticus 23:1-4 And the LORD soake unto Moses, saying. "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the the Feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are MY FEASTS! ... These are the Feasts of the LORD, even holy convocationss, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons."

Note the Almighty's words "These are My Feasts" and "These are the Feasts of the LORD."

Undoubtedly Yahweh's festivals were initially given to the people of Israel, for it was His plan that through them salvation was to be proclaimed to the world. But the feasts themselves are the LORD'S, not Israel's or Judah's, but Yahweh's. Remember this vital fact.

Unlike the popular festivals of Ash Wednesday, Easter, Hallowe'en and Christmas, whose observance is nowhere comanded in the Scriptures, the Feast Days of Yahweh are described in the Bible in considerable detail. They are to be proclaimed to and observed by all true believers in the LORD God of Israel. Read about these sacred memorials in Leviticus 23, Numbers 28 & 29 and Zechariah 14. There you will see overwhelming evidence of their divine origin and everlasting nature.

Stewarton Bible School's aim is to draw the church's attention to these appointed feasts of the Most High; to proclaim them to all the world in accordance with this divine direction:
Leviticus 23:4 "These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons."

A holy convocation is a commanded assembly. In other words, you are commanded to attend and join with fellow worshippers of the God of Israel. This publication is part of that proclamation. It outlines the reasons why you should attend the Feasts of the Holy One of Israel.

What do these sacred feasts commemorate?

The answer is: They are the spiritual anniversaries of Yahweh's mightiest deeds; each and every one of them being an eternal memorial of some distinct, divine accomplishment in the great Programme of Salvation. If you read this booklet to the end you will see that statement proved over and over again.

Let us now consider Yahweh's feast days in turn, for there are several, and open our minds to the profound spiritual realities they represent.

The Passover Service

The Passover Service introduces us to the first of the annual memorials in the sacred calendar. It was first kept in ancient Egypt when after four hundred years of slavery the Almighty rescued His people Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. In that well known episode Yahweh "passed over" the houses of the believers who had obeyed His command to apply the blood of a literal lamb to the lintel and doorposts of their houses. The Almighty spared the lives of Israel's eldest sons, but authorized the Destroyer to kill all the firstborn of the Egyptians who had refused to obey.
Exodus 12:29-30 "And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead."

Surprising as it may sound, that awesome experience in ancient Egypt on the night of the 14th Abib (the first month in the sacred calendar) was merely a "scaled-down preview", a "miniature object lesson", a "dramatised prophecy," a "spiritual blueprint" of a far greater deliverance of Jehovah's people scheduled to occur at the midnight of this age. For the real meaning of the Passover is this:
JEHOVAH (Yahweh), the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel plans to deliver from eternal death ALL who express their faith in Him and accept His offer of eternal life made possible by the death of His Son Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.
Yeshua the Messiah's death on Calvary was prefigured by the death of the Passover Lamb. (John 1:29, 1 Cor. 5:7).
Yeshua sacrificed His life on the Passover, at the divinely appointed time, to rescue mankind from the 'slavery of sin' and its tragic consequences - eternal death!
And all those who by express faith in the Almighty and His Son, the 'Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,' will be pardoned, spared and granted eternal life according to His promise.

"And how," you may well ask, "is the blood of the real Passover Lamb, the Son of the Almighty God, applied to a believer in this electronic age?" The answer is: By taking part in a special memorial service called the Passover Service on the evening of the 14th Abib each year, which is the divinely appointed time. The Passover Service is a memorial of the Saviour's death on Calvary and every believer in the Messiah is commanded to keep it. "this do in remembrance of me" said the Messiah, the Lamb of God. Memorial services, incidentally are not observed several times a year; neither should they be observed at any time people fancy. The time to observe the Passover  Service has been divinely appointed; and that time is the evening of the 14th day of the month of Abib. Let all who read, pause and take note.

The new covenant emblems of the Saviour's body and blood are "unleavened bread and wine." (Luke 22:14-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26) These emblems have replaced the need to slay a literal lamb each year, for the Messiah, the real Passover Lamb, has already been slain. But the TIME set apart for this memorial service remains the same. It is the evening of the 14th day of the first month (Abib) in the sacred calendar (Exodus 13:5-11). The date is important and can never be altered, because it is the memorial date of our Saviour's death, when he paid with His life to rescue mankind from extinction at the hands of the Destroyer. When a believer takes part in this service he/she is, figuratively speaking, applying the blood of the Messiah to his/her mind, which is the lintel of the soul. This act of faith is a clear sign to the Almighty that that soul seeks pardon, protection and salvation. That is how the Passover Lamb's blood is applied to the lintel of a believer's mind in this century.

Incredible as it may seem, the fulfilment of the Passover (the day itself , not the Lamb) is still future. According to Scripture that day will be fulfilled in the Kingdom of Heaven. Even the Saviour is awaiting the approaching midnight of this age when the Destroyer will be compelled to spare or passover all those who are displaying the sign of the Lamb's blood.
Luke 22:15-16 "I have longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" said the Master, "because I tell you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God."

Note those words, "until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." This points to a still future fulfilment of the Passover, an event which will take place just prior to our entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. I repeat, the Passover Lamb (Yeshua the Messiah) has been slain; it now remains for believers to symbolically apply his blood to their hearts and minds before the midnight of this age when the Destroyer will once again circle the earth on his mission of death!

Believers in the Almighty who, therefore, celebrate the Passover Service on the appointed evening each year will be greatly blessed; for as they eat the unleavened bread and drink the wine (the new covenant emblems of the Saviour's body and blood) they are, in truth, applying the Saviour's life-giving blood to the lintels of their souls..

Put differently, we may say that Yahweh's main purpose in staging such a breathtaking Passover display in ancient Egypt was His way of giving the entire universe a 'prophetic preview' of His earth- encompassing plan to 'pass over' and deliver His people in the closing days of this age. Yes, the LORD God of Israel is in the near future going to personally visit all the nations of the world, and as before, 'pass-over' (pity, spare and deliver) all those who faithfully display the Sign of His Son's blood on the lintels of their minds and the door post of their supporting actions. Thus we can see that ancient Israel's exodus from Egypt was a "prophetic drama," a "living blueprint," a "meaningful model" of a far greater deliverance of Yahweh's people which is scheduled to take place on a world scale in our day. In view of this, believers in the Messiah should beware of failing to keep this memorial service at its appointed time. (See How to hold the Passover in your own home.)

 

The Week of Unleavened Bread

The week of unleavened bread is often referred to as the Passover Week. The first and last days of this week (15th and 21st Abib) are Sabbath days, on which all believers are commanded to rest from their labours and to assemble to worship the Almighty. (Leviticus 23:5-8)

Leaven (yeast) is a symbol of sin, hypocrisy and false doctrine, a week represents eternity and a house represents the church of God. Thus the week of unleavened bread (when every trace of leaven is cleared from the houses of believers) symbolises the church which is to be purged by God:   of sin, hypocrisy and false doctrine - for all time. Only when that work has been done will the church be a fit "Temple of God," a spiritual home the Almighty will inhabit for all eternity. Yes, before Yahweh's Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in His house (the church) He has scheduled Himself to purge His people of every trace of (leaven) sin. (Matt. 16:6-12, 1 Cor. 5:6-8, Luke 12:1).

I repeat, there is coming a time when the Almighty will purge hypocrisy, false doctrine & sin (leaven) from the minds of His people; and only when that time arrives will the Week of Unleavened Bread have found its fulfilment, not before.

Scripture tells us that this Feast of Unleavened Bread is a Sacred Sign on the believer's hand and mind that the Almighty's law is inscribed therein. This Feast is, in fact, the appointed sign of faithful obedience, as opposed to the Mark of the Antichrist, which is the brand mark of disobedience.
Exodus 13:6: Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. 7: Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. 8: And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.
9: And IT shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. 10: Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.
Note: that specific reference to this Feast being a sign on the hand and a memorial between the eyes (the mind).

 

The Feast of Pentecost

The Feast of Pentecost, also called the Feast of First Fruits, falls on the 50th day after the Passover Sabbath. This feast is a reminder, a guarantee of Yahweh's power to produce spiritual fruit in the field of human salvation. The literal first fruits of the soil are merely the physical types or expressions of the real first fruits of the Holy Spirit.

The first fruits of the Holy Spirit are the true believers won to God by His Son the firstborn. (1 Cor. 15:20&23, James 1:18, Rev. 14:4)

The ancient ceremony of presenting the Almighty with the firstfruits of the earth (Deut. 26:1-11) with two oven-baked loaves, in which the leaven had been de-activated (Lev. 23:15-17), was a figure, a type, a shadow of the spiritual harvest of human souls in whom the yeast of sin will one day cease to exist. There is coming a day when the power of sin will be de-activated in us believers just as the power of leaven is neutralised in an oven baked loaf.

The breathtaking experience recorded in Acts 2 was but the early harvest, a kind of "firstfruits" of an even greater out-pouring of divine power scheduled to fall upon the church in the near future when the main harvest of human beings will be gathered in.

The Feast of Pentecost, in short, prefigures, guarantees and commemorates the early harvest, the first fruits of human souls: and those who celebrate it declare their willingness to be part of that spiritual multitude which will one day be gathered in and presented to the Almighty by His Son - the Firstborn!

 

The Feast of Trumpets

The Feast of Trumpets is celebrated on the first day of Ethanim (Tishri) the seventh month in the sacred calendar. (Lev. 23:24)

Trumpets were used by Yahweh's command in ancient Israel:
To assemble the congregation and to start journeying (Numbers 10:2)
To call the leaders of Israel together (verse 4)
To sound the alarm for war and to signal an attack (verse 9, Judges 3:27, Job 39:25)
To accompany the praises of Israel at the appointed festivals and the days of the new moon (Numbers 10:10)
To proclaim the accession of kings (2 Sam. 15:10, 1 Kings 1:34, 2 Kings 9:13)
And to announce the Jubilee year of freedom (Lev. 25:9)
The Feast of Trumpets is a memorial Sabbath, a day of special significance, designed to bring the faithful into remembrance before the Almighty. The two silver trumpets mentioned in Numbers 10 were types of the great originals in the heavens - the Trumpets of Yahweh & His Son. Those divine originals are mentioned several times in the Scriptures and at their sounding events of awesome importance have and still will take place. We read about the trumpets past and future used in:
The giving of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:14-19)
The world wide warning still scheduled for the future when Yahweh Himself will blow the trumpet. (Zech. 9:14, Isaiah 18:3, Zeph. 1:14-16)
Signalling the events scheduled for the close of this age. (Revelation chapters 8 & 9)
The Second Advent of Jesus Christ; at which the resurrection will take place. (Matt. 24:31, 1 Cor. 15:51-52)
A study of the texts listed above will show how Yahweh Himself has planned to use His heavenly trumpets again. He and His Son will blow them to gather His people as in days gone by; gather them for the climatic events scheduled to take place at the Messiah's return. Did he not say:
Isaiah 18:3 "All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when He lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when He bloweth a trumpet, HEAR YE."
Zechariah 9:14 "And the LORD shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with the whirlwinds of the south."

The prophecy of the Revelation tells of the sounding of heavenly trumpets - possibly starting at a Feast of Trumpets - which will probably coincide with the gathering of Yahweh's people in the last days and the final war in heaven between the forces of good and evil. (Rev 12) See Understand the Revelation, in which the Seven Trumpets are explained.

No one will doubt but that the Feast to Trumpets has still to find even partial fulfilment; and it is because of this fact and the many texts which tell of the use of the Trumpets of God in the future that believers should beware of ignoring this important feast day.

On some future Feast of Trumpets the mighty Trumpet of the LORD will sound. It will be heard throughout the world!   and will reverberate with tones as awesome as the rushing sound which filled Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost some 2000 years ago (Acts 2:2). All of mankind will hear the Trumpet, for the Bible says:
Zechariah 9:14 "And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with the whirlwinds of the south."
Isaiah 18:3 "All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye."

Only when that event happens can we justifiably say that the Feast of Trumpets has found fulfilment. For further information see the Shofar;   herald of the coming kingdom.

 

The Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement is observed on the 10th day of the seventh month of Ethanim (tishri) by abstinence from daily labour, by a holy convocation and by fasting. It is the only commanded fast in the year and is, doubtless, the most solemn day in the sacred calendar. (Lev. 16 also Lev. 23:27-32). On this day the high priest laid aside his official ornaments and dressed in a white linen garment entered the Most Holy place to make atonement for himself, the priesthood and the congregation of Israel. The Epistle to the Hebrews (chapter 9) explains that this annual entry by the High Priest in the Holy of Holies foreshadowed the entrance of the Messiah the High Priest of the Melchizedek Order (Heb. 7:15-17) into Yahweh's presence to secure salvation for His people.

Our salvation, in other words, will only by complete when we are actually brought into the very presence of the Almighty.

The word "atonement" means to make amends for, to reconcile, to restore, to repair, to make at-one again. And that is exactly what the Day of Atonement prefigures. It points to a specific time in the future when the great High Priest of the Melchizedek Order (Yeshua the Messiah) will literally bring the redeemed host of mankind right into the very presence of His Father, in order that we may be AT-ONE with YAHWEH.

That indeed will by a reconciliation beyond compare, when the Almighty's estranged human family - alienated from Him by sin - will actually be brought into His presence to be AT ONE with Him. Can you now begin to see the plan of salvation prefigured in the feasts?

Yahweh's family of true believers:
Ransomed at the Passover and liberated by the blood of His Son - the Passover Lamb.
Purged of sin, hypocrisy and false doctrine during the Days of Unleavened Bread to become a holy Temple of God.
Filled with the power of the Holy Ghost in order to bear fruit for all eternity.
Victoriously gathered and defended at the Feast of Trumpets when the trumpets of Yahweh will sound throughout the earth.
And finally on the Great Day of Atonement, brought into the very presence of the Almighty by his Son the High Priest to be at-one with Him for all eternity.
Oh what a glorious day of reconciliation that will be! Catch a glimpse of it in these words from that famous parable of the Prodigal Son.
Luke 15:11-32 "Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. Give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet. Bring the fatted calf, kill it and let us eat and be merry. For my son here was dead and he has come to life. He was lost and he is found."

 

The Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast of Tabernacles (Booths or Shelters) is celebrated on the 15th day of Ethanim (Tishri) the seventh month in the sacred calendar.

This feast begins a week during which all 'Israelites born' are required to live in temporary dwellings or shelters. (Lev. 23:39-43). It is, at its basic level, a memorial of the time when Yahweh made His people live in tents and temporary shelters in the wilderness when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

At a higher level it is also a reminder or memorial of the fact that the Almighty came down from heaven to live in a Tabernacle (a tent) amidst His people Israel. (Exodus 33:7-11 & chapters 35 to 40)

The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible has this to say about the Tabernacle in the wilderness. "The movable sanctuary in the form of a tent which God directed Moses at Sinai to make, that God might dwell as king among His people." (Exodus 25:8-9) Hence it was called:
"the dwelling" (chs 25:9 margin of RV 26:1) and as the place where Jehovah met His people.
"the tent of meeting" (Exodus 40:34,35 RV), and as the depository of the tables of the Law of testimony,
"the tabernacle of the testimony" (Exodus 38:21, ch 25:21,22, Numbers 9:15)
It was also known by the general designation "house of Jehovah" (Exodus 34:26, Josh. 6:24)"

From these and other passages we can see that the literal Tabernacle which Moses built according to the Almighty's design was merely a type, a shadow, a physical expression of:
Yahweh's real spiritual habitation
His point of contact with His people
His law court or seat of justice, which not only housed his commandments but from where He personally dealt out Judgement.
These three functions of the physical Tabernacle find fulfilment in Yeshua the Messiah the only begotten Son of the Most High, who is, in reality, the true Tabernacle of God.

Consequently, we may say that the Feast of Tabernacles is also a memorial of the Almighty's astonishing condescension to come down to earth to tabernacle or pitch His tent with humanity in the person of His Son. For Jesus Christ is Immanuel, GOD WITH US, God incarnate; that is the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel taking up his abode in the tabernacle of a human body, in order to redeem and enable mankind to obey His eternal law.
Romans 8:3 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Is it any wonder that the profound reality of this fact (that God is going to tabernacle with mankind for eternity) drew from the lips of an angel these amazing words:
Revelation 21:3 "Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men and He will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God."

I repeat, Yeshua the Messiah is the Tabernacle of God!; and on the earth made new he will again dwell in the midst of His people just as surely as He occupied the tabernacle built by Moses in the days of old. That is what the Feast of Tabernacles is a reminder and foretaste of.