THE MASTER PLAN OF יהוה
[Yahshua the Messiah fulfilled the Spring Feasts during His first coming. He was executed on Passover, was buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread was raised on the First Fruits and sent the Set-Apart Spirit to His disciple on Pentecost.]
SPRING FEASTS
Passover [Pesach] Nissan 14
Old Covenant meaning: A lamb was sacrificed and its blood placed around the doors of Israelite houses in Egypt, which Yahweh “passed over” when slaying the Egyptian firstborn – Leviticus 23::5.
New Covenant meaning: Pictures Yahshua the Messiah shedding His blood for the sins of mankind – Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19.
Feast of Unleavened Bread [Chag Hamotzi] Nissan 15-22
Old Covenant meaning: A seven-day festival during which leavening (such as yeast, which causes bread to rise when baking) is put out of dwellings and is not eaten – Leviticus 23:6-14.
New Covenant meaning: Pictures the Nazarene’s duty to “put out sin” from a life yielded to Yahshua the Messiah.
First Fruits [Reshit Katzir] Nissan 17
Old Covenant meaning: The Israelites were to bring the first crops of their spring planting and “wave the sheaf” before Yahweh – Leviticus 23:11.
New Covenant meaning: Pictures the resurrection of Yahshua as He, in fact, did resurrect on this day – Matthew 28; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24; John 20.
[Christianity calls this feast Easter after the pagan goddess of fertility Ishtar.]
Day of Pentecost [Shavu’ot] Sivan 6-7
Old Covenant meaning: A day celebrating the gathering in of the first and smaller of the two annual harvests; observed 50 days from a fixed point in the previous Feast – Leviticus 23:15-22.
New Covenant meaning: Pictures the Nazarenes receiving the Set-Apart Spirit of Yahweh – Acts 2
[Yahshua will fulfil the Fall Feasts when He returns again.]
FALL FEASTS
Feast of Trumpets [Yom Teru’ah] Tishri 1
Old Covenant meaning: Called «Rosh Hashana» or «Yom Teru’ah» in Hebrew; a day of rejoicing marked by the blowing of trumpets – Leviticus 23:23-25.
New Covenant meaning: Pictures a time of war and plagues, concluding with Yahshua the Messiah’s Second Coming – Revelation.
Day of Atonement [Yom Kippur] Tishri 10
Old Covenant meaning: A day of fasting and repentance, known in Hebrew as «Yom Kippur» – Leviticus 23:26-32.
New Covenant meaning: Pictures the binding of Satan at the beginning of the Millennium and the world becoming at one with Yahweh – Revelation.
Feast of Tabernacles [Sukkot] Tishri 15-21
Old Covenant meaning: A seven-day celebration of the great fall harvest, observed by living in temporary dwellings for the duration of the Feast – Leviticus 23:33-43.
New Covenant meaning: Pictures the Millennium, when the earth will be ruled by Yahshua the Messiah and His saints – Revelation.
[Adjacent to this feast is The Last Great Day]
Last Great Day Tishri 22
Old Covenant meaning: Adjacent to the Feast of Tabernacles, this eighth day is considered a separate Feast – Leviticus 23:36, 39.
New Covenant meaning: Pictures the coming “Great White Throne Judgement” at which all of humanity not previously called will have the chance to hear the True Gospel and accept salvation – Revelation.
There are two fundamental reasons to study and celebrate the feasts. First, the Almighty wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him, and although believers love the Sovereign and seek to serve Him every day, the great majority does not profoundly understand the Word or the meaning of that personal relationship with the Eternal. If, as a believer, you want to deeply understand what you already know today, the Feasts will help you and reveal to you the profound things concerning that relationship with the Holy Eternal.
Second, these are Elohim’s Feasts, they are Appointed Feasts that we must celebrate as written in Leviticus 23:1-4. In the Feasts He teaches us about the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah; the power that the Set-Apart Spirit (Holy Spirit) gave us as believers; the resurrection of the dead; Messiah’s coronation; Messiah’s wedding; the tribulation; Messiah’s second coming; the millennium (also known as the Messianic Era or the «Athid Lavo» and so many other things, too many to describe.
Actually, the feasts were not only times appointed by Yahweh, but they had to be kept in a place chosen by Him. Passover («Pesach»), the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost («Shavuot») and the Feast of Tabernacles («Sukkot») had to be celebrated in Jerusalem. From the beginning, Jerusalem was chosen by the Almighty for the most important events that signalled the fulfilment of the divine plan of redemption. Yahshua died, was buried and resurrected in Jerusalem. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was in Jerusalem. When the Messiah returns, He will set His feet on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and we know, as it is happening already, that Jerusalem will be the centre of worldwide attention and wars before the coming of the Messiah.
Although traditionally, non-Jewish believers maintain that these Feasts do not belong to them and that they belong to the Jewish people exclusively, Leviticus 23:1-2, 4 establishes that these are the Feasts of Yahweh. The Creator in His divine and perfect wisdom established that the Feasts were to be for EVERYBODY, Jews and non-Jews and it is our duty to celebrate all of them as it is established in Deuteronomy 16. When we read the word “foreigner” we must know that the origin of the Hebrew word means “every one that is not a Jew” (the gentile believer) that has been spiritually joined to the people of the covenant. Therefore, the Creator is the Owner of the Feasts and all of us that belong to HIS people must celebrate them together.
Yahweh gave all of us who believe in the Almighty of Israel and in the Messiah («Mashiach») of Israel eight feasts, seven of them grouped into three large festivals. The eight Feasts are, in chronological order starting from the New Year in March/April: Passover («Pesach»); the Feast of Unleavened Bread («Chag HaMatzot»); the Feast of the First Fruits («Reshir Katzir»); the Feast of Pentecost («Shavuot»); the Feast of Trumpets («Yom Teruah»/of the «Shofar» [the trumpets of ram’s horn]); the Feast of Atonement («Yom Kippur») (the covering by the blood of the Lamb); the Feast of Tabernacles («Sukkot») and the Sabbath («Shabbat»).
Now, signs and times for what? Leviticus 23:2 tells us, appointed times of the Creator which we are to proclaim as set-apart gatherings (Holy Convocations). In other words, they are Holy Days designated and set apart for and by the Creator. And what else does it say? “ I Yahweh established them.” Established since creation! Now, what is to happen during these times and Feasts that we must celebrate to honour the Creator?
The Feasts or times that the Creator has set apart have a triple meaning:
a) The agricultural context of the Feasts; at a physical and spiritual level, give to receive, offerings to the Creator to receive blessings.
b) The relationship between Yahweh and His people: they were given so that Israel would understand the coming of the Messiah.
c) Humanity’s redemption: the restoration of man to the Almighty through the work of redemption of the Messiah.
In other words, the Creator makes a date with us. He separates certain times where He will fulfil humanity’s redemption through the person of Yahshua the Messiah. Therefore, we can say that the Feasts are prophetic because the Messiah has something to fulfil in each Feast.
Since the Feasts are marked by times, we find that the first ones are celebrated during Spring and the following ones during Autumn.
In the Spring Feasts, we find the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of First Fruits and lastly, The Feast of Weeks, known as Pentecost.
In the Autumn Feasts, we find the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.
And what is it that the Messiah has to fulfill in each Feast? Let us see:
SPRING FEASTS – THE MESSIAH’S FIRST COMING:
Feast of Passover – Messiah’s death
Unleavened Bread -Messiah’s burial
The First Fruits – Messiah’s resurrection
Feast of Weeks or Pentecost – the coming of the Set-apart (Holy) Spirit
AUTUMN FEASTS– MESSIAH’S SECOND COMING:
Feast of Trumpets – Messiah’s second coming
Day of Atonement – Judgement Day
Feast of Tabernacles – the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom
There is something very important that we must indicate and it is in the Scriptures after the Creator commands the Feasts he also says:
Leviticus 23:14, they are forever
Leviticus 23:21, they are forever
Leviticus 23:31, they are forever
Leviticus 23:41, they are forever
He tells us that they are forever four times in Chapter 23. What does forever mean? Well, the Hebrew uses the word «OLAM» which means ETERNAL, that is to say forever.
Now, for those who think that the Messiah already fulfilled the Feasts, it is true that He fulfilled the Spring Feasts during His first coming, but He still has to fulfill the Autumn Feasts which He will do during His second coming. But aside from all this, they will continue to be celebrated in the Messianic Kingdom because they are perpetual. (See Zachariah 14:16-17)
While we wait for everything to be fulfilled, the Creator commands us to remember each year, to have a Holy Convocation as a thanksgiving for what the Creator has done for His people, but also to prepare us for what He will do in the future. And our Messiah made it very clear that from now on the Feast of Passover had to be celebrated every year by remembering His sacrifice which opened the door to the Kingdom of the Eternal Yahweh.
The self-called Roman Catholic Church and so many other sects of today have forgotten to celebrate the Feast of Passover and have focused their attention on the Resurrection and we can’t find anywhere that the Creator commands us to celebrate the Resurrection. What has happened? Why do we continue to celebrate the feasts that the Catholic sect established and, to top it all, during pagan festivals? How long shall we turn our backs on the Creator? Does nobody make the decision to obey the Creator and celebrate the Feasts that He commands us to keep and not follow the commandments of men? Let us follow the example of the apostles who, after the death of the Messiah, continued being obedient to the commandment of the Holy Eternal and continued celebrating the Feasts (See Acts 2:1; 20:6, 16; 1Corinthians 16:8.
1) PASSOVER: Feast of Liberation
Exodus 12:14 14 ‘And this day shall become to you a remembrance. And you shall observe it as a festival to יהוה throughout your generations – observe it as a festival, an everlasting law.
The second most important day of the Feasts is Passover (Pesach), followed by seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Hag Matzot). The Hebrew root of «Pesach» means to pass over, because the angel of death “passed over” the children of Yisrael in Egypt, when he saw the blood on the doors and doorposts in the homes of children of the people of Yahweh in Egypt.
Today as well, we recognise that the blood of the Lamb of Yahweh, Yeshua the Anointed One, symbolically extends across the posts and doors of our lives, so that the coming wrath of Elohim “passes over us”. The judgment of Yahweh will come over the earth, in a not too distant future. In that moment, Elohim will again “pass over” His people in Jerusalem and will rescue us.
Isaiah 31:5 5 “Like hovering birds, so does יהוה of hosts protect Yerushalayim – protecting and delivering, passing over and rescuing.”
The coming seven plagues described in Revelation 16 are a reminiscence of the plagues that Yahweh poured over Egypt to free His people. But no matter what happens, brethren, we must have faith knowing that Yahweh is our protection and stronghold and our eternal help.
Psalms 46:2 2 Therefore we do not fear, though the earth reels And mountains topple into the heart of the seas.
2) UNLEAVENED BREAD
Leviticus 23:15-16 15 ‘And from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count for yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths. 16 ‘Until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath you count fifty days, then you shall bring a new grain offering to יהוה.
The day after Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The barley harvest begins; it is time to harvest the products that were sowed during winter. Each and every Feast is the point of convergence between the Torah and Yeshua as the Messiah, so it is with this Feast. The Messiah rose from the tomb on the day of First Fruits. He is the First Fruit, as well, of all who will be raised to a new life as established in 1 Corinthians 15:20.
3) FIRST FRUITS-Resurrection of Yahshua
The Feast of the First Fruits is celebrated on the day after the Sabbath. A Feast that commemorates the day the people crossed the Red Sea, the beginning of a new life. For believers like us, it also represents the resurrection of Yeshua, the Anointed One.
4) PENTECOST: The Fulfilled Promise
Ma’asei (Acts) 2:1-4 1 And when the Day of the Festival of Weeks (Shavuot) had come, they were all with one mind in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from the heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and settled on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Set-apart Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them to speak.
«Shavuot» is a purely agricultural Feast associated (by some) the giving of the Torah [five books of Moses] on Mount Sinai. It is also known as the feast of weeks because it is celebrated seven weeks after the beginning of the Counting of the Omer described in Leviticus 23 15-16. The Hellenistic (Greek) Jews called it the Feast of Pentecost, because it means 50 in Greek, as it falls on the 50th day of «Pesach». On this day, the Set-Apart Spirit descended upon the apostles who were waiting for the fulfilment of the promise of Acts chapters 1 and 2. [See Ma’asei (Acts) 1:4-5]
5) FEAST OF TRUMPETS: The call to repentance or the Feast of Trumpets.
Leviticus 23:23-24 23 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, 24“Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a rest, a remembrance of blowing of trumpets, a set-apart gathering.
Although the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar is celebrated as the Jewish New Year, the Torah calls this day «Zikhron Teruah», a memorial («Zikhron») accompanied by a loud noise («Teruah») of the horns.
The «Teruah» usually indicates an alarm or a call to pay attention to a command, an order. It is also a call to self-examination which leads to repentance. In effect, «Yom Teruah» is the first day of the Sacred High Feasts called Days of Repentance («Aseret Yemei Teshuvah») when the Jews consider their behaviour during the last year and ask for forgiveness from those they have wronged.
These ten days conclude with Day of Atonement(«Yom Kippur») or the Day of Forgiveness.
6) DAY OF ATONEMENT or Day of Forgiveness:
Leviticus 16:29-30 29 “And this shall be for you a law forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you afflict your beings, and do no work, the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. 30 “For on that day he makes atonement for you, to cleanse you, to be clean from all your sins before יהוה.
This day is a «Shabbat Shabbaton», a day of fasting and afflicting our souls. In this case, the term to “afflict” shares the root with the term “humility”. When we afflict our souls by depriving ourselves of food and drink, we identify ourselves with the afflicted of this world and we are driven to a greater «Mitzvah», GOOD DEED towards those who do not have a home, who suffer hunger and poverty. Actually, it is the <fast> that Yahweh commands us in Isaiah 58.
In that day we remember the Messiah who gave His life to cover our sins and through His blood all our sins are forgiven.
Romans 3:23-25 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the esteem of Elohim, 24 being declared right, without paying, by His favour through the redemption which is in Messiah יהושע, 25 whom Elohim set forth as an atonement, through belief in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His tolerance Elohim had passed over the sins that had taken place before,
1 John 2:2 2 And He Himself is an atoning offering for our sins, and not for ours only but also for all the world.
This should cause us to consider this sacrifice very seriously and let us not believe that someone else, who has not suffered for at all, can intercede for us before the Creator, be careful not to take this sacrifice of the Son of Yahweh lightly and bow down to idols!
7) FEAST of TABERNACLES: a prophetic promise:
The narration of the Feast of Tabernacles («Sukkot») is in Leviticus 23:33-34 and will be 5 days after the Day of Atonement («Yom Kippur») and it was designated by the Holy Eternal as a celebration full of gladness and joy. During seven days, starting from the 15th day of the 7th month, the people will live in tabernacles («sukots») which means “temporary dwelling places”, to remember the time when the people of the Creator lived in the desert after Yahweh liberated them from Egypt. It is the image of divine protection and His provision of a place to live. This feast reminds us that even in a boggy desert, Yahweh provides for all our needs.
Psalms 27:5 5 For in the day of evil He hides me in His booth; In the covering of His Tent He hides me; On a rock He raises me up.
The Feast of Tabernacles shows us the Messianic Era.
THE SABBATH: The Foundation
The first “appointed day” is the Sabbath (the seventh day). All the other Feasts are based and constructed on the foundation of the Sabbath.
The word «Shabbat» means to cease, to end or rest. That is what we should do. One day a week, all creative activity should come to a standstill. It symbolizes that all our works have ended. It is the eternal sign created by Yahweh reminding us that in six days He created the universe and rested on the seventh and it reminds us to commemorate the coming out of Egypt – Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 16:23; 31:15-17).
Although in our days we have come to create work week of five days, in the ancient world the concept of having a day of rest was radical.
Exodus 20:11 11 “For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart. Leviticus 23:44 44 Thus did Mosheh speak of the appointed times of יהוה to the children of Yisra’el.
The MESSIAH is the Living Torah!
Vladimir (Senda Antigua)