True Heart of Worship
Church of God (Seventh Day) Independent
Church of God (Seventh Day) Independent
In Romans 11, the Apostle Paul, corrects the Church of Rome on its understanding of the place that Israel has and still plays in God's plan. The Church of Rome chose to ignore that message and became Anti-Semitic. Instead of seeing its community as branches grafted onto Israel, as Paul says, it chose to see itself as a new tree founded on the Apostle Peter.
One result of this view was that they threw away or changed all of the holy days (or feast days) God had given to Israel. Those they threw away were replaced by new ones like Easter Sunday, Ascension, Assumption of Mary, All Saints Day (Day after Halloween), and Christmas. The ones they kept of God's holy days they renamed and sometimes moved on the calendar.
One of those was Passover. Late in the first century, they moved Passover to the following Sunday. Later they would move it to Friday and call it Good Friday. At that time there was a man called Polycarp, one of the few people alive at the time who had known and worked with the Apostles. He was the Bishop of the Church of Antioch in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He traveled to Rome to scold the Bishop of Rome for their change of the date for Passover.
Polycarp told him that the Apostles had always observed Passover on the same date as the Jews and had taught their churches to do the same. The Bishop of Rome rejected Polycarp's statements. This further increased the split between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch.
Almost all Christian churches in existence now are daughters of the Church of Rome. Therefore the result of these changes to the holy days is that most Christians today don't know God's holy days and don't know the message that God showed through them. The message is a bullet-point description of God's plan for the salvation and restoration of mankind.
God's calendar is divided into two halves, the spring feasts and the fall feasts. The spring feasts were all symbolic of the major events of the First Coming. Each of them symbolized an event in Jesus' life that occurred on the very day of that feast. Likewise the fall feasts are all symbolic of the Second Coming. There are 7 of these feasts, a number you might expect God to use, 4 in the spring and 3 in the fall.
These feasts were very important (see Appendix A). They were even more important than the Sabbath. Therefore they were called Great Sabbaths. It was required of all Israel to make their best effort to attend these feasts. In Jesus' time, Jews from Greece and Rome would come to Jerusalem for the feasts.
The apostles kept the feasts after Jesus' time.
As he [Paul] said, "I must always observe the coming feast in Jerusalem, and if God wills, I shall return again to you." And he left Aqilaus and Priscilla in Ephesaus. (Acts 18:21)
It isn't possible for us to observe the feast days, though, and hasn't been for a long time. Each one of them requires a functioning temple in Jerusalem. That hasn't existed since 70 AD when the temple was destroyed.
The Jews understood parts of the messages of the feasts though not that they foreshadowed what the Messiah would do. Of course the apostles understood the messages of the feasts. We'll see that as we continue on in this study.
Most Christians know of Passover and even understand that it was a shadow or foreshadowing of the Messiah's death on the Cross.
God's instructions for the first Passover were as follows.
"Each Israelite family was to kill an unblemished lamb or goat, collect its blood in a basin, and then apply the blood to the lintel and doorposts of their houses."1 The blood was to be applied using a leafy branch from a Hyssop tree. This would have resulted in splattered blood at arm level on each side and just above the head. Many people believe this prefigured the blood of Jesus on the cross.
"That same evening they were required to eat their lamb, […] without breaking any of its bones, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs."2
The act of sprinkling blood on the doorposts and lintel was an act of faith. The Israelites who believed in God and trusted him enough to obey him were saved from harm.
After that first Passover, they would not sacrifice their lamb themselves. A priest would do that. They would also not put the blood on their doorposts and lintels. The purpose of that was to keep the angel of death away. Also, the following morning, Passover morning, the morning of the fourteenth, there would be an additional sacrifice. The single Passover lamb would be slain by the priests on the Altar of Sacrifice.
Before the sacrifice of the lamb, though, there were some things that needed to be done. First, they needed to choose the lamb that would be sacrificed and eaten. This needed to be done on Nisan 10, 4 days before Passover. The lamb needed to be free of any blemishes or defects.
Before the sacrifice of the lamb, the house needed to be completely free of yeast (leaven). This required searching the house to make sure there was no yeast and nothing made from yeast. This became a family tradition. The head of the house would hide some yeast in the house before the search started, as a test that the family members had thoroughly searched the house.
All of the elements of Passover are symbolic of Jesus death on the cross.
Jesus last meal, commonly called the Last Supper, was the Passover meal. We know there would have been lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs and wine on the menu. He knew that the temple was going to be destroyed and that it would not be possible to observe Passover. So, during that meal he took the main elements from Passover and created a way to remember his sacrifice.
For I have received from Our Lord that thing which I handed to you, that Our Lord Yeshua, in that night in which he was betrayed, took bread, 24 And he blessed and he broke and he said, "Take eat; this is my body, which is broken for your persons; thus you shall do for my memorial. 25 So after they had dined, he also gave the cup, and he said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. You shall be so doing every time that you drink for my memorial."
26 For every time that you eat this bread and you drink this cup, you commemorate the death of Our Lord, until his coming. 27 Whoever therefore eats from the bread of the lord Yahweh and drinks from his cup and is unworthy of it, is guilty for the blood of the lord Yahweh and for his body.
28 Because of this, let a man search his soul, and then eat of this bread and drink from this cup. 29 For whoever eats and drinks from it being unworthy, eats and drinks a guilty verdict into his soul for not distinguishing the body of the lord Yahweh. (1 Corinthians 11:23-29)
Notice something Paul says here, "let a man search his soul." He is referring to searching the house for yeast. He says a man needs to inspect himself before he eats the bread and drinks the wine.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread began at Passover. For 7 days they would not eat anything containing yeast. Yeast is symbolic of something that grows within. Sometimes it refers to the word of God growing in a man but usually refers to sin, as it does here. Therefore this feast is symbolic of our continuing need to keep ourselves from sin.
The Jews of Jesus' time understood this meaning for yeast. This is why in many of his parables Jesus used yeast to talk about sin. The Jews listening to him would have understood what he meant.
Paul uses yeast to refer to both sin and godliness as he speaks to Christians about this in 1 Corinthians 5.
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little yeast ferments the whole lump? 7 Purge out the old yeast from you that you would be a new lump, just as you are unleavened bread. Our Passover is the Messiah, who was slain for our sake. 8 Therefore let us make a feast, not with the old yeast, neither with the yeast which is in wickedness or of bitterness, but with the yeast of purity and of holiness. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)
Paul's message here is that yeast grows and a little yeast in one place soon grows to be everywhere. Therefore, we should be removing the old yeast that was in us before we became followers of Jesus. We should also not be bringing in the new yeast of bitterness and wickedness that comes from boasting. Instead of that yeast, he says, the yeast of purity and holiness should be growing within us.
In Acts, Luke continues to use the feast days as a time reference. In the verse below, it had been the intention of Paul to get back to Jerusalem in time for Pentecost but events conspired against him.
But we departed from Philippus, the city of Macedonia, after the days of unleavened bread, and we went by sea and came to Troas in five days and remained there seven days. (Acts 20:6)
The Spring Feasts come at the beginning of the spring harvest which was barley that had been planted in the winter. The Feast of First Fruits is a dedication of the harvest to God.
A small sample, a sheaf, of the first of the harvest was brought to the priests who would wave it in the air before God. Therefore it was also called the "Wave Sheaf" offering.
It served as a demonstration that a good harvest was the result of good roots or good seed and proof that the rest of the harvest was also good. It was also a recognition that God is the source.
In the same way Jesus' resurrection makes him the first fruit of the harvest of God. He serves as a demonstration that the spiritual seeds and roots are good and that, therefore, the whole crop is good and dedicated to God.
According to Leviticus 23:11, First Fruits is to be celebrated on the first day of the week that follows the Sabbath that follows Passover Day. Therefore its distance from Passover and therefore its date could vary. In the year that Jesus was crucified, First Fruits was 3 days after Passover - the length of time he was in the grave.
This feast marks the day that Jesus' disciples found the tomb was empty and celebrates his resurrection. There is more to it than only that though. Unfortunately most Christians do not understand the meaning behind First Fruits and do not get the full value from the verses that refer to it.
And not only so, but we also who have in us the first fruits of the Spirit; we groan in ourselves and we look for the adoption of sons and the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23)
Perhaps I may make my kindred jealous, and I may save some of them. 15 For if their rejection was the reconciliation for the world, how much greater therefore is their return, if not life from the dead? 16 But if the first fruits are holy, so is the substance. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. (Romans 11:14-16)
In the verse above, Paul is explaining to the church of Rome that the Jews are not to be discarded. His point is not about First Fruits. Instead he uses First Fruits to make a point - the Jews are the branches who are holy because the whole tree is holy and Jesus (the First Fruits) is the proof that the tree is holy. That church ignored Paul.
[…] Invoke the peace of Epentos my beloved, who is the first fruits of Akaia in the Messiah. (Romans 16:5)
But now the Messiah is risen from among the dead and is the first fruits of those who sleep. 21 Just as by a man death came, in this way also by a man the dead come to life. 22 For just as by Adam all people die, in this way also by the Messiah they all live; 23 Each person in his order; the Messiah was the first fruits; after this, those who are the Messiah's at his arrival. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)
Every good and perfect gift descends from above, from the father of lights with whom there is no change nor a shadow of variation. 18 He was pleased and gave birth to us by the word of the truth, that we would be the first fruits of his creation. (James 1:17-18)
These are those who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins who cleave to the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. (Revelation 14:4)
Jesus expresses this same idea without saying the words "First Fruit." If the tree is good then the fruit will be good. If the tree is good the first fruits of it will be good and will be the sign that the tree is good and the full harvest will be good. But if the tree is bad, all its fruits will be bad.
Either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. (Matthew 12:33)
50 days after First Fruits comes Feast of Weeks. The name "Weeks" comes from the counting of the Omer for a period of 7 weeks plus a day. It was also called the 50th day. The word Pentecost comes from the Greek word for 50th. The LXX translation of the Old Testament also contains this word as a reference to the Feast of Weeks.
The Jews were never really clear on the purpose of the counting of the Omer. God had not explained it to them. We have a better understanding in Christianity. It marks off the 40 days of purification that Jesus underwent after his resurrection until his ascension plus another 10 days until the Holy Spirit was given.
The Jews understood part of the meaning of the feast itself. It was the day that the law was given to them at Mount Sinai. That was a written law that they would need to internalize. Christians know it as the day the Holy Spirit was given to believers. This is an internal law.
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:33)
Part of the Feast of Weeks ceremony consisted of the simultaneous offering of two leavened (sinful) loaves before the Lord (Leviticus 23:17) One of these loaves is eaten, leaving only one.
The two loaves symbolized Jews and Gentiles and the separation between them that was created by the Mosaic Covenant. Then remaining single loaf described the consequence of the Holy Spirit being given to Jew and Gentile alike. The wall between the two was torn down and it no longer mattered who was Jew or Gentile. The Spirit was given to baptize believers of two sinful "loaves" into one body.
For we also are baptized by the one Spirit into one body, whether Jews or Aramaeans or Servants or free men, and we are all made to drink the one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
For he is our peace who made the two one, and he destroyed the wall that was standing in the middle. 15 And he has canceled the hatred by his flesh and the law of commands in his commandments, that for the two, he would create in his person one new man, and he has made peace. 16 And he has reconciled the two with God in one body, and in his crucifixion he has killed the hatred. (Ephesians 2:14-16)
The verses above speak about the concepts behind the feast without ever mentioning the Feast of Weeks. The verses below refer to it directly by name
For Paulus was determined to pass by it to Ephesaus, lest he be delayed there because he was hurrying, that if he were able, he would keep the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. (Acts 20:16)
And when the days of Pentecost were fulfilled, as all of them were assembled together, 2 Suddenly there was from Heaven a sound like a mighty wind and the whole place in which they were sitting was filled with it. 3 And tongues like fire that were divided appeared to them, and they sat on each one of them. 4 And all of them were filled with The Spirit of Holiness, and they were going out speaking in various languages, according to whatever The Spirit was giving them to speak. (Acts 2:1-4)
I do not wish to see you now as I pass by the way, for I hope to tarry for a time with you, if my Lord allows me, 8 But I am staying in Ephesaus until Pentecost. (1 Corinthians 16:8)
These days are shown on the calendar above but are not part of God's holy days. They were both created by men.
Purim was created in the time of Esther after God saved Israel from genocide at the hands of Haman.
The reason Hanukkah was created isn't entirely clear. The most common story is of the miracle of the one-day supply of oil that miraculously lasted eight days. The earliest reference to this story comes from the Talmud which was committed to writing about 600 years after the events described in the books of Maccabees. The Talmud says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still sealed by the High Priest, with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, yet it burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah .
Because these were man-made, as are Christmas and New Years Day, they are pagan and there isn't any good reason why they should be part of a Christian's practice.
As we have seen, each of the feasts foreshadowed an event during the First Coming and was fulfilled by that event happening or beginning on that exact day.
Here is a quick review of the spring feasts.
| Feast Days | When | Symbolizing |
| - preparation - all yeast is removed from the home (Exodus 12:15,19) | Prior to Passover | Removing sin |
| - selecting the lamb (Exodus 12:3,5) | Nissan 10, 4 days before Passover | Choosing a flawless lamb |
| Passover | Nissan 14, any day of the week | Sacrifice of the Lamb for sin |
| Feast of Unleavened Bread | 7 day period beginning at Passover | Remaining sinless |
| First Fruits | First day of the week after the Sabbath following Passover. Nissan 17 that year, 3 days after Passover | Resurrection from the grave |
| Feast of Weeks (Shavu'ot) | 7 weeks plus a day (50 days) after the Sabbath following Passover (First Fruits). Sivan 6 that year | The giving of the Holy Spirit as a new form of the law |
Despite the Feast of Weeks being separated from the others by 50 days, it is one of the spring feasts. We know this because The structure of Leviticus 23 organizes them that way.
In fact, the spring feasts are all connected together. They are connected together in their symbolism. The Feast of Unleavened Bread contains Passover and First Fruits. These two are linked to Pentecost by the counting of the omer, which begins in the Feast of Unleavened Bread and ends in Feast of Weeks.
The spring feasts are also connected together by date. The Feast of First Fruits and the Feast of Weeks do not have fixed dates on the calendar. The date for the Feast of Weeks depends on the date for First Fruits, which depends on the date for Passover.
After the Spring feast days comes the summer. But this is not a time for lazing around in the sun.
"In Leviticus 23, God had just completed addressing the spring festivals; and before addressing the fall festivals, He had this to say, seemingly out of the blue:"
When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 23:22)
"Why should God be addressing the providing of food for the needy and the alien at this point? The answer is this: The feasts all have sequential prophetic outworkings, and this admonition also has a prophetic outworking, and perfectly in sequence with the feasts."
"Pentecost has come [and gone], and we are now in the [time of the fullness of the Gentiles3], the summer, and it's the time for laboring in the fields. Jesus said, "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest'" (John 4:35). It's the time in which we all need to be laboring to provide spiritual food for the spiritually needy and the alien to bring in a harvest of souls for the Lord, each of us doing his or her part according to our gifts and callings."4
The fall feast days together make up a 18-day period. The most holy of all these days, as declared by God, comes in this time.
Unlike the spring feasts, the fall feasts have not yet been fulfilled. We expect they will be fulfilled, just as the spring feasts were fulfilled.
The Feast of Trumpets is celebrated by shouting and the blowing of trumpets, both metal and ram's horn trumpets, called shofars. It marks the beginning of the year on one of their calendars and the beginning of the 7th month on another calendar. Because of that, this day is also called Rosh Hashana, which means "head of the year".
The date for this day is Tishri 1 and it is described in Leviticus 23:23-25. Those verses, however, say nothing about its purpose or meaning.
At the start of each month the priests blow the trumpet to warn the people to turn away from their sins. It is also a warning that the king is coming. At the start of this month, on the first day it is Yom Teru'ah, when everyone blows the trumpet. This is a welcome for the king, an announcement that the king has arrived.
Because this is the 7th month on the religious calendar, this is the 7th blowing of trumpets on the calendar. In the Book of Revelation and in many of the epistles there are references to 7 trumpets, or just the 7th trumpet, or the final trumpet. This feast of Yom Teru'ah is the symbolic representation of that 7th trumpet.
Especially from 1st and 2nd Thessalonians we know that the final trumpet is the call to God's people to arise and to ascend to be with him in the event now called the Rapture. Here are the verses from 1 Thessalonians 4
16 Because Our Lord shall descend from Heaven with a command and with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet blast of God, and the dead who are in The Messiah shall rise first; 17 and then we who remain, who have life, we shall be carried away with them together in clouds to a meeting of Our Lord in the air, and in this way, we shall always be with Our Lord.
1 Corinthians 15 says it this way:
Suddenly, like the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet, when it shall sound, and the dead shall rise without corruption, and we shall be transformed. (1 Corinthians 15:52)
And the seventh Angel sounded, and there were great voices in Heaven that said, "The Kingdom of the world has become our God's and his Messiah's, and he shall reign to the eternity of eternities." 16 And the 24 Elders who sit before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 Saying, "We thank you, Lord Yahweh God Almighty, who is and has been, for you have taken your great power and you have reigned." 18 "And the nations were angry and your anger has come, and the time of the dead to be judged, and you shall give reward to your Servants the Prophets and to The Holy Ones and to those who reverence your name, to the small with the great, and you shall destroy those who have corrupted The Earth." (Revelation 11:15)
In Christianity this feast is sometimes called Return of the King, for obvious reasons. This is also one of the two most likely days for the birth of Jesus.
This day was known to Israel as the day that no man knows. This is because the priests determined the exact day by observation of the moon. So no one knew the day until the priests said it was the day. Now we know the lunar cycles with great precision and can predict the day. The Bible has many references to Jesus returning on a day you do not know and the theme of coming unexpectedly like a thief in the night is everywhere. This is the only feast day on the beginning of a month.
"On Rosh Hashanah, we renew the crowning of G-d as sovereign of time and space" - http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday2.htm
"But it is also a joyous day when we proclaim G-d King of the Universe." - https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4762/jewish/What-Is-Rosh-Hashanah.htm
"As we read in the Rosh Hashanah prayers, each year on this day 'all inhabitants of the world pass before G-d like a flock of sheep," and it is decreed in the heavenly court “who shall live, and who shall die ... who shall be impoverished and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise.' - https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4762/jewish/What-Is-Rosh-Hashanah.htm
Despite Leviticus saying nothing about the meaning of this day, the Jews have figured out quite a bit.
The Jews have a prayer they pray on this day which ties back to the voice of God that came as the sound of a Shofar at Mount Sinai, just before the Ten Commandments were given. All of this happened as God came to be with them in the wilderness.
You revealed Yourself in Your cloud of glory to Your
holy people to speak to them. From the heavens You let
them hear Your voice, and revealed Yourself to them in
pure clouds. The whole world also trembled before You,
the beings of creation were in awe of You, when You, our
King, revealed Yourself upon Mount Sinai to teach Your
people Torah and mitzvot. You let them hear the majesty
of Your voice and Your holy utterances from flames of fire;
with thunder and lightning You revealed Yourself to them,
with the sound of the shofar You appeared to them
The Days after Yom Teruah there comes Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. At the end of this day in Israel the final sacrifices were made and sin was symbolically removed completely. All those who had not repented of their sins by that time were "cut-off."
We see from the words "cut-off" that this is also a day of judgment. The believers will be separated from the unbelievers permanently. No longer will salvation by faith be possible. For when the hope is seen, faith is no more.
[…] but hope that is seen is not hope, for if we see hope, why do we look for it? 25. But if we hope for what is not seen, we wait patiently for it. (Romans 8:24-25)
Now faith is the conviction concerning those things that are in hope, as if it were these things in action, and the revelation of those things that are unseen; (Hebrews 11:1)
By his grace, God will have allowed salvation by faith to remain despite the hope being present, though somewhat distant (in the air).
At the end of those days, on that future Yom Kippur, that solemn day, the judgment will fall. Billions will be cut-off from God.
This feast day is actually a fast day. This is such a solemn day, even if it falls on a weekly Sabbath, which is a feast day, the Sabbath becomes a fast day.
In Israel, this feast day involved a complicated set of sacrifices by the priests that show the final disposal of sin. Although Jesus' sacrifice has taken sin away from us, the record of sin still exists. This feast symbolizes the removal of sin the day that Jesus' atoning sacrifice wipes the record clean.
This may be hard for some to understand. We know that we are justified by faith before God because Jesus' paid the debt we owed. This is in the same way as a legal court, where a man is freed or redeemed because his debt has been paid. But the court record still exists. This feast points to a day when even the court records will be destroyed.
We were there for a long time until the day of the fast of the Jews had passed, and it was fearful for a man to travel by sea, and Paulus was counseling them (Acts 27:9)
The Feast of Trumpets begins a 10-day period called the Days of Awe. The Bible does not refer to this period at all. It is man-made, yet it makes some sense. The origin is unclear but it appears many Jewish scholars considered what the purpose and meaning would be for a period between the coming of the king and the day of final atonement. They recognized that it made sense as a period of grace, a last opportunity for repentance.
The generally accepted understanding of the meaning of these days is that this is a time of judgment and a last chance for each person to consider their sins and repent. At the end of this period it will be too late.
This is the Jewish perspective on the meaning. "This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur. One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that God has 'books' that he writes our names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who will have a good life and who will have a bad life […]. These books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe can alter God's decree."5
In the year when the prophetic Fall Feasts are fulfilled, the glory of the Messiah will fill the earth for 10 days. His wrath will also be poured out on the people who remain. Yet during those 10 days there will be a last chance at salvation.
In the New Testament, especially in Revelation, there is mention of a period of time after we ascend to meet Jesus in the clouds and he descends to earth to rule. During this time he will be pouring out his wrath on the people of the earth (Revelation 16). This appears to be the same period as these Days of Awe. What stands out most from Revelation 16 is seen in these verses. Jesus is sending plague after plague on them and how do they respond.
And the children of men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has authority over these plagues, and they did not repent to give him glory. (Revelation 16:9)
And they blasphemed the name of the God of Heaven due to their pains and due to their sores, and they did not repent of their works. (Revelation 16:11)
The Feast of Tabernacles begins 5 days after the Day of Atonement and lasts for 8 days. It marks the period of time when God was with his people, the Israelites, while they wandered in the desert. It symbolizes the coming time when God will again be with his people. It is also associated with temporary dwellings where God kept his people before they were to come into their promise.
A Sukkah (singular of the plural Sukkot) is a tent like structure ranging from simple to elaborate. For the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness these were the places where they lived and took down and set up as they moved about. A Sukkah is essentially a tent, and is associated with the word "tabernacle." Sukkot also talks about these temporary bodies that we live in as we travel through this wilderness. It speaks about the new bodies we will live in on that future Feast of Sukkot.
Revelation talks about this time.
And I heard a great voice from Heaven that said, "Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with the children of men, and he dwells with them and they shall be his people and the same God is with them and shall be their God." (Revelation 21:3)
| Feast Days | When | Symbolizing |
| Yom Teruah - Day of Trumpets | Tishri 1 | Blowing of trumpets to announce the arrival of the King - Second Coming |
| Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement | Tishri 10 | The atoning sacrifice is applied. Evil is thrown out |
| Feast of Tabernacles | Tishri 15, 7 day period | God is with his people |
| Last Great Day | 8 days after Tabernacles. Tishri 23 | ??? |
We saw the spring feasts were connected together. This was indicated in multiple ways. We also know that they were fulfilled in the same year. It seems obvious that the connections between them were an indication that they would be fulfilled in the same year.
The fall feasts, however, are not all connected. Trumpets is separate. So is the Day of Atonement. The Feast of Tabernacles ends in the Last Great Day. That leaves three separate pieces.
We can only guess at the meaning of this. Two possibilities present themselves:
The structure of Leviticus 23 also hints that something odd is going on. Verses 37 and 38 are closing comments about all of the feasts, beginning with the words, "these are the appointed times of the Lord." The reader would expect the topic to change after that. Then verse 39 starts describing a feast that also begins on Tishri 15, which it now calls the Feast of Yahweh. This feast also has people living in booths and an 8th day.
This repetition of the Feast of Yahweh has an additional stipulation about who is to observe it - "all the native-born in Israel." The direct meaning of this is a reference to those people who did not live in tabernacles before.
The direct relationship between man and God was ruptured in the Garden of Eden and sin entered into the world. These are the 7 steps that God has taken and will take to restore that relationship and remove sin.
| 1. Passover | Jesus, the Promised Messiah and Son of God, would become the sacrifice that takes away sin | |
| 2. Unleavened Bread | Jesus kept himself sinless and we are to do the same | |
| 3. First Fruits | Jesus is the first fruit of the new covenant | |
| 4. Pentecost | Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to those who believe | |
| 5. Trumpets | Jesus returns to reap the harvest of the new covenant | |
| 6. Atonement | Jesus atoning sacrifice removes sin from the world | |
| 7. Tabernacles | Jesus comes to stay with his people |
When God gave these feasts to the Israelites they never understood there was a prophetic message in them. Jesus understood the message of course. But it wasn't until the Holy Spirit was given that any man understood that there was a message and what the message was.
The direct relationship between man and God was ruptured in the Garden of Eden and sin entered into the world. These feasts are the 7 steps that God has taken and will take to restore that relationship and remove sin.
When God gave these feasts to the Israelites he never told them they there was this prophetic message in them. There is no evidence that any Jewish scholar prior to Jesus' time understood that the Spring Feasts were about the First Coming of the Messiah. At least in our time there is some understanding that the Fall Feasts symbolize the coming of God as king over the earth, what we call the Second Coming of the Messiah. It wasn't until the Holy Spirit was given that any man understood that there was a message in the feasts and what the message was.
That is amazing when you think about it. Some people claim that the Old Testament was written by ordinary men and is not by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If that's the case how could men write words that were prophecies but they didn't know it?
The law has a hierarchy to it, with the most important things at the top. This illustration shows that hierarchy. Most Christians have some understanding of that hierarchy. For Jews it was necessary to understand it. Observing the feast days (called Great Sabbaths) was near the top.
In Christendom, the Great Sabbaths are largely not understood as a layer above the Ten Commandments. If they are considered at all, they are considered to be in the lowest layer. The general feeling is that they died with the Old Covenant.
We know these days are symbolic of future days. It isn't clear what the Jews understood about that symbolism prior to Jesus. Jews of our time do have a very good understanding of the events behind the Fall feasts. That understanding is only muddled by their misunderstandings about the Messiah.
The Great Sabbaths are listed in Leviticus 23 and specifically described as "Yahweh's appointed times" and "My appointed times." They are not Israel's appointed times, but God's. Therefore there is no reason to think they are tied to Israel or to the Old Covenant.
These are the times that God has appointed for himself to accomplish certain things. In total these feast days map out God's plan for salvation. Therefore they are prophetic in the sense that they tell us about future events. In the First Coming we saw the Spring feasts fulfilled. We expect the Fall feasts to be fulfilled in the Second Coming.
It's important to understand the layout of this chapter in Leviticus. It begins with God's statements about these being his appointed times. Then he refers to the weekly Sabbath. Then, in verse 4, he restates "These are the appointed times of Yahweh" and then describes the feasts that are associated with and describe the appointed times."
The purpose behind this structure is to connect the weekly Sabbath to the Great Sabbaths and to show that it is not a Great Sabbath. The thing they have in common is that they are all days of rest. This connection between them also makes them inseparable. One can't be had without the other. The reasons that might be used to reject one would also reject the other.
From looking at the law itself, we can see that the Great Sabbaths are a separate and superior level in the law. The weekly Sabbath and the Great Sabbaths were all feast days, except one. A feast day is a day for celebration when a person can eat; a fast day is a day for celebration when food cannot be eaten.
The Great Sabbath, Yom Kippor, is that exception. It is a fast day when all the others are feasts. God refers to it as the holiest day on his calendar because it celebrates the day of our final atonement.
Yom Kippor has a specific date on the Jewish calendar but the weekly Sabbath can land on any day of the calendar. Therefore, once every seven years on average, they land on the same day - a feast day and a fast day on the same day. God spells out how this is to be handled - Yom Kippor wins, it's a fast day.
Therefore, Yom Kippor takes precedence over the weekly Sabbath and, because Yom Kippor is part of the appointed days, a separate group from the weekly Sabbaths, we see the appointed days are a higher law.
The Jews of Jesus time understood the appointed days as superior Sabbaths. This can be seen from John 19:31, which is the source of the Great Sabbath terminology used here.
But the Judeans, because it was evening, they were saying, "These bodies will not pass the night on their crosses, because the Sabbath day is approaching", for it was a great Sabbath day. And they sought from Pilate to break the legs of those who had been crucified, and they would be taken away. (John 19:31)
What makes the appointed days different is that they cannot be observed completely at present. Every one of them requires a functioning temple in Jerusalem. They remain though, as Paul says, useful for teaching.
This study can be found at http://trueheartofworship.org/Lessons/LessonP.php?Name=2012-10-28%20RestorationIn7Feasts/RI7F. If you are setup to scan QR codes, this code will take you there.
1 This and similar references in this study taken from http://www.biblestudyproject.org/feasts-of-israel-messianic.htm
2 This and similar references in this study taken from http://www.biblestudyproject.org/feasts-of-israel-messianic.htm
3 Spoken of by Paul in Romans 11
4 http://www.biblestudyproject.org/feasts-of-israel-messianic.htm
