The
festivals of the L-rd found in Leviticus (Vayikra) 23 were
given to us by G-d so His people could understand the coining of the
Messiah (Mashiach) and the role that the Messiah (Mashiach)
would play in redeeming and restoring both man and the earth back to G-d
following the fall of man in the Garden of Eden (Gan Eden).
Although most non-Jewish Bible believers have heard of the feasts, the
deep meaning and the importance of these feasts are almost universally
not understood.
The
apostle Paul (Rav Sha'ul) wrote to the Gentile believers in
Colossae that the feasts of the L-rd, the new moon, and the Sabbath (shabbat)
days were a shadow of things to come to teach us about the
Messiah (Mashiach) (Colossians 2:16-17). Yeshua (the Hebrew
name for Jesus, which means "salvation") was the substance or
fulfillment of the greater plan that G-d revealed and foreshadowed in
these seven important festivals. To all the readers who are familiar
with the festivals, you will be fascinated to discover that the first
four feasts or festivals, which are Passover (Pesach),
Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzah), First Fruits (Bikkurim),
and Pentecost (Shavuot), primarily teach about the significant
events m the first coming of the Messiah (Mashiach) and why
these events were an important part of G-d's redemption of man. In
addition, you will discover that the last three feasts, which are the
Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah; also known as Rosh HaShanah),
the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Booths or
Tabernacles (Sukkot), give fascinating insight concerning
important events that surround the second coming of the Messiah (Mashiach).
WHY STUDY THE FEASTS?
Many
non-Jewish Bible believers wonder why they should study and observe the
feasts. I believe there are two good reasons. First, although all Bible
believers love G-d with all their heart and seek to serve Him daily,
most Bible believers do not have an in-depth understanding of the Bible
and do not understand the deep depth of the personal relationship that
G-d desires us to have with Him. Most Bible believers understand their
personal relationship with G-d the same way I viewed my personal
relationship with G-d for many, many years: Attend the local
congregation of your choice faithfully and regularly, and be a good,
moral, honest, and decent person in living your daily life. Because that
was all I knew, that was what I accepted. However, G-d began to teach me
and show me the deeper things concerning my personal relationship with
Him, and a spiritual understanding of the festivals was a big key to
unlocking this mystery. If you are a Bible believer and you desire to
understand G-d in a greater way than you do today, the festivals will
reveal to you the deeper things concerning your personal relationship
with Him.
Secondly,
the festivals are G-d's feasts and His
appointed times that we are to observe (Leviticus [Vayikra]
23:1-2,4). G-d gave the festivals to teach about the death, burial, and
resurrection of the Messiah (Mashiach); the empowering of the
believers by the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh); the resurrection
of the dead; the coronation of the Messiah; the wedding of the Messiah;
the tribulation (Chevlai shel Mashiach); the second coming of
the Messiah; the millennium (the Messianic age or the Athid Lavo);
and much, much more.
The
Bible provides several powerful reasons for studying and understanding
the seven festivals of the Messiah:
The feasts are in the Bible, and all the Bible is
inspired by G-d (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The feasts are a shadow of things to come that teach us about the
Messiah (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:1).
The feasts are prophetic types and examples foreshadowing
significant events in G-d's plan of redemption (1 Corinthians
10:1-6,11).
G-d gave the feasts so we could learn and understand G-d's plan of
redemption for the world and our personal relationship to Him (Romans
15:4).
The feasts, as part of the Torah (which means "instruction"), are as
a schoolmaster or tutor that leads us to the Messiah (Galatians
3:24).
The feasts will point to the Messiah and G-d's plan for the world
through the Messiah (Psalm [Tehillim] 40:6-8; Hebrews
10:7).
Yeshua (Jesus) came to fulfill all that was written in the
Old Testament (Tanach), which consists of three parts: the
Torah, the prophets (Nevi'im), and the writings (Ketuvim
- personified by the Psalms) concerning Him (Luke 24:26-27,44-45;
John [Yochanan] 5:46-47).
The feasts set forth the pattern of heavenly things on earth
(Hebrews 8:1-2,5; 9:8-9,23; Exodus [Shemot] 25:8-9,40;
26:30; Numbers [Bamidbar] 8:4; Ezekiel [Yechezekel]
43:1-6,10-12).
G-d gives the natural to explain the spiritual (1 Corinthians
15:46-47).
By studying the natural, we can understand the spiritual (1
Corinthians 2:9-13; 2 Corinthians 4:18).
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE WORD FEAST IN THE
BIBLE?
Two
important Hebrew words appear in Leviticus (Vayikra) chapter
23, and each word is translated as feast in English. In verse 2, the
word for feast is the Hebrew word mo'ed, as it is written,
"Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,
concerning the feasts [mo'ed] of the Lord...." The word
mo'ed means "an appointment, a fixed time or season, a cycle or
year, an assembly, an appointed time, a set time or exact time.²
By understanding the Hebrew meaning of the English word feast, we can
see that G-d is telling us that He is ordaining a "set time or exact
time or an appointed time" when He has an appointment with humanity to
fulfill certain events in the redemption. In fact, Yeshua
(Jesus) came to earth at the exact time ordained by G-d (Galatians
4:2,4), and G-d has an exact time or set appointment when, in the
future, He will judge the world (Acts 17:31).
In
verse 6 is another Hebrew word translated as feast, as it is written,
"And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast [chag]
of unleavened bread...." The Hebrew word chag, which means a
"festival,"³ is derived from the Hebrew root word chagag,
which means "to move in a circle, to march in a sacred procession, to
celebrate, dance, to hold a solemn feast or holiday." By this we can see
that G-d gave the festivals as cycles to be observed yearly so that, by
doing them, we can understand G-d's redemptive plan for the world; the
role that the Messiah (Yeshua) would play in that redemption;
and our personal relationship to G-d concerning how we grow from a baby
Bible believer to a mature Bible believer. Although G-d gave us the
festivals to observe, G-d never gave the festivals so we would obtain
salvation from Him by observing them because salvation only comes by
faith (emunah); however, G-d did give the festivals for the
purpose of teaching and instructing His people concerning His plan of
redemption and our personal relationship to Him.
THE APPOINTED PLACE
The
feasts are not only G-d's appointed times, but also were to be observed
at G-d's appointed place. G-d said that He would choose a place and that
it would be a set place where His redemptive plan would be accomplished.
Passover (Pesach), the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Shavuot),
and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) were to be observed at an
appointed place (Deuteronomy [Devarim] 16:2,6,9-11, 13-16).
This place was Jerusalem
(Yerushalayim) (2 Kings [Melachim] 21:4). From this we
can see that Jerusalem
(Yerushalayim) was appointed by G-d to be the place where important
events surrounding the redemptive plan of G-d would be accomplished.
Yeshua (Jesus) died, was buried, and resurrected in Jerusalem. The empowering of the believers by
the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) took place in Jerusalem. Messiah (Yeshua) will
return and set His foot on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (Zechariah
14:4) and Jerusalem will be the center of world attention and
controversy before the coming of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:2-3;
14:2-4).
THREE TIMES A YEAR THEY WERE TO ASSEMBLE
Although
there are a total of seven feasts (the divine number for perfection or
completeness in the Bible), G-d divided the seven festivals into three
major festival seasons. The feasts of Passover (Pesach),
Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzah), and First Fruits (Bikkurim)
are in the Hebrew month of Nisan, which is the first month of G-d's
religious calendar in the spring of the year. (We'll examine this
calendar a little later.) The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), or
Pentecost, is observed in the third month, which is the Hebrew month of
Sivan. The Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), Atonement (Yom
Kippur), and Tabernacles (Sukkot) are observed in the
seventh month of Tishrei, which is in the fall of the year (Exodus [Shemot]
23:14-17; 34:22-23: Deuteronomy [Devarim] 16:16-17). Three is
the number of complete and perfect testimony and witness (Deuteronomy [Devarim]
17:6; 19:15; Matthew [Mattityahu] 18:19-20; Luke 24:44-45; 2
Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19; 1 John [Yochanan] 5:8). So
the feasts are a witness to G-d's divine plan and the role of Messiah (Yeshua)
fulfilling that plan. This is the message being communicated to Bible
believers concerning the three major festival periods in the year.
Traditionally,
non-Jewish Bible believers understand the festivals to be exclusively
Jewish feasts. However, Leviticus (Vayikra) 23:1-2,4 tells us
very clearly that these are festivals of the L-rd . In
reality, G-d in His divine wisdom instructed us that these festivals are
for both Jew and non-Jew, and are to be celebrated jointly with each
other (Deuteronomy [Devarim] 16:10-11, 14-16). In Deuteronomy (Devarim)
16:11, 14, the word translated in English as stranger is the Hebrew word
ger, which means the non-Jew (Bible-believing Gentile) who has joined
himself to the Jewish people. Therefore, the L-rd is the Host of the
festivals and all Bible believers are His invited guests.
THE BIBLICAL CALENDAR
In
order to fully understand and appreciate the feasts being appointed
times given by G-d, it is important to understand the biblical calendar
that G-d gave us. There are two primary calendars in the Bible. The
first is called the civil calendar and is used from Genesis (Bereishit)
1:1 to Exodus (Shemot) 12. The first month in the civil
calendar is Tishrei. Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish New Year), the
first day in the civil calendar, is the beginning of the new year. The
second calendar in the Bible is the religious calendar. The religious
calendar is used from Exodus (Shemot) 12 to Revelation 22. G-d
established the religious calendar in Exodus (Shemot) 12:2, as
it is written, "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it
shall be the first month of the year to you." The month that G-d was
referring to was the month of Aviv (Exodus 13:4), which is now
called the month of Nisan. Prior to G-d's establishing the month of
Nisan as the first month in the religious calendar, it was the seventh
month in the civil calendar. G-d gave the religious calendar so we could
understand that these feasts, which He gave and which are His appointed
times and foreshadow important events in the redemption, would happen on
the days He ordained on the religious calendar. These important days on
the religious calendar are the same days that He gave as festivals in
Leviticus (Vayikra) 23.
Another
understanding for G-d giving a civil calendar and a religious calendar
is that everyone who accepts the Messiah (Yeshua) into his
heart by faith (emunah) experiences two birthdays. Just like
Tishrei 1 is the first day on the civil calendar and Nisan 1 is the
first day on the religious calendar, everyone who accepts the Messiah (Yeshua)
into his life has a physical (civil) birthday when he was born into the
world and a spiritual (religious) birthday the day he accepts the
Messiah into his life. The following chart illustrates both types of
calendars, showing the names of the months in the biblical calendar.
Understand the Festivals Volume 1 contains
four teachings. The first teaching is an introduction to understanding
the Biblical Festivals. It will answer the questions: What are the
Festivals? When are they celebrated? How do they teach us about Yeshua
the Messiah? What is the high sabbath? What is the role of the moon in
helping us to celebrate the Festivals? The last three teachings are the
first three of six lessons on Passover. The Passover teachings will
explain the principles and themes of exile and redemption and how the
historical Egyptian redemption is associated with understanding the end
of days. The events of Passover will explain how Moses encounter with
Pharaoh is associated with the parable of the sower and how the two
signs of Moses teach us about the resurrection of Yeshua and the coming
together of the two houses of Israel. Part 1 of 2 of the spiritual
application of Passover will explain how the events of the historical
Egyptian redemption will teach us about the death of Messiah on the tree
and our personal salvation in Him.
