Prophecy: The Seven Holy Days
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Can Christ return “any day†from Heaven?
How would Christ answer that question?
How would the apostle Paul answer that question?
How would the Old Testament Law answer that question? …
INTRODUCTION
The seven holy days in the Law of Moses foreshadowed major events that pertain to the first and second coming of Christ and reveal God’s plan to save the “Earth†from Satanâ€â€which includes Christ’s return for his church. These holy days make known not only how God would rescue souls, but how God would defeat Satan on the battlefieldâ€â€both in the spiritual realm and in the flesh and blood realm. The prophetic holy days disclose knowledge of God’s visionâ€â€especially as it concerns prophecy and our place in it.
To explore Heaven’s grand plan, this text moves back in time to the first century, to the days when the Messiah walked in the Holy Land and spoke forth this prophecy:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matt. 5:17, 18)
What has been accomplished with the first coming of Christ?
What shall be accomplished with the second coming of Christ?
How did God reveal in the Law the prophetic picture of what Christ would accomplish? Christ answered that question: “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses†(Luke 24:44). What is specifically written about Christ in the Law of Moses? What has to be fulfilled?
What is specifically written about Christ in the Law and what has to be fulfilled are the seven holy days: the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles.
God “wrote†his plan to rescue souls from Satan in the Lawâ€â€in the holy days; in the writings of Moses, God “embedded†the prophecies that Christ would ultimately fulfill, for within the seven holy days, God painted a “hidden†picture: the chronology, content, and significance of major events that pertain to the first coming of Christ, and the chronology, content, and significance of major events that pertain to the second coming of Christ.
It wasn’t until the days of the New Testament, and the revelation given by Heaven, that this divine story was revealed: the holy days are prophetic in nature. Just as Christ had to fulfill the Ten Commandments in his behavior, he had to fulfillâ€â€and has to fulfillâ€â€the prophecies written about him in the seven holy days. This connection between the holy days of the Old Testament and future events of the New Testament was made clear by the apostle Paul: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival [holy day], a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come†(Col. 2:16, 17).
The apostle Paul referred to the prophecies contained in the Old Testament Law: the holy days of the Old Testament “are a shadow [a foreshadowing] of things that were to come [in the New Testament].†Paul wrote this to Christ’s church because the holy days foreshadowed not only the birth of the church, but also the future of the church. In addition, the holy days give Christ’s church a prophetic picture of what is to come for “Israel†and the world.
What is the significance of Paul’s reference to the holy days and of Christ’s reference to the Law of Moses?
If the Old Testament Law foretold what would come to pass in the future, then the Old Testament set God’s precedent: New Testament prophecy must be in agreement with the precedent set in Old Testament prophecy. The Old Testament Law is God’s standardâ€â€not only for behavior but also prophecy. Herein, we as Christ’s church need not be blown about with every wind of doctrine on the subject of prophecy. God already established the irrefutable standard in the Old Testament.
This divine harmony between the Old and New Testaments cannot be broken. Frequently, Christ and his apostles quoted Old Testament prophets to demonstrate the fulfillment of prophecy and, in addition, what shall be fulfilled in the future. In essence, the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
With an understanding of the Old Testament holy days, New Testament prophecy speaks with a clear, unified voice regarding what was accomplished during the first coming of Christ, and what shall be accomplished during the second coming of Christ.
What follows are prophecies given by Christ, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Jonah, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and Moses.
Sit back, relax, and watch the divine harmony of divine revelation speak about you, your future, and what is to come for our world.
The Holy Days
As recorded in the Old Testament Law, Moses received from God seven holy days that the Jewish people were to celebrate every year. These holy daysâ€â€known as feastsâ€â€commemorated deliverance and blessing (among other things) for the Jewish people wrought by the hand of God. These feasts, however, had a dual purpose: they were not only annual days of remembrance for the Jewish people, but also were prophetic symbols that foretold of God’s ultimate plan of deliverance and blessing for all peoples by way of Christ. “The law is . . . a shadow of the good things that are coming†(Heb. 10:1).
Exactly how does the Old Testament Law speak to us in Christ’s church today?
The annual feasts that were marked on the Hebrew calendar were physical celebrations that foretold of future events and their timing. It was by way of these feasts that God marked time: key events that pertain to Christ would occur on the very holy days that God had given in the Old Testament. These ancient holy days not only marked time, but also foreshadowed what Christ would ultimately accomplish by way of his life, death, burial, Resurrection; his sending of the Holy Spirit; his return for his church; his return for Israel; and, finally, his 1000-year kingdom on Earth.
Exactly how did the seven feasts in the Law of Moses foreshadow major events that pertain to Christ?
Hundreds of years prior to the first coming of Christ, God marked the timing of the following dramatic events: Christ’s Crucifixion, burial, Resurrection, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Christ fulfilled the first four holy days: he was crucified on the Feast of Passover; he was in the burial tomb on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, he was resurrected from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits, and, finally, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples on the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)â€â€which was fifty days after the Resurrection. These events occurred as appointed by God, prophesied in the Old Testament Law.
Herein, Heaven established a precedent: If the first four feasts foreshadowed events that pertained to the first coming of Christ, then, logically, it stands to reason that the last three feasts foreshadow events that pertain to the second coming of Christ. There are three major events that have yet to be fulfilledâ€â€Christ’s return for his church, Christ’s return for Israel, and Christ’s 1000-year kingdomâ€â€and there are three feasts that have yet to be fulfilled: Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles.
In essence, God’s plan to save the “Earth†from Satan would be accomplished in seven stages: God’s Son fulfilled the first three stages of the divine plan as the ultimate sacrifice and Savior while here during his earthly ministry; Christ fulfilled the fourth stage as man’s great high priest from the throne in Heaven when he sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and he shall complete the final three stages when he returns as Lord and King.
This divine plan is revealed not only by seeing the prophetic nature of the holy days, but also how the holy days themselves fall on the Hebrew calendar. The first four feasts occur during the “spring season,†forming the first unit of time. The last three feasts occur during the “fall season,†forming the second unit of time. The spring feasts spoke to the first coming of Christ; the fall feasts (celebrated during the time of harvest) spoke to the second coming of Christ.
A long gap in time exists between the spring and fall feasts. On God’s prophetic timetable, this gap in time correlates to the time between the first and second coming of Christ; it is the time known as the “mysteryâ€Ââ€â€the time of Christ’s church. It is the time the world is living in now.
Exactly how did God set all this motion in Old Testament times?
The first four feasts mark key events that pertain to God delivering the children of Israel from Egypt through Mosesâ€â€which includes God dwelling with his people on Mount Sinai. The parallel to our time is the spiritual reality of God delivering souls from Satan through Christâ€â€which includes God dwelling with his people through the Holy Spirit.
This parallel between God’s deliverance of the Israelites, and God’s deliverance of souls, can be seen by looking back at the epic events that took place at the time of Moses. In the known history of this world, few events compare to those that rocked the Egyptian Empire and eventually led to God meeting with Moses and giving him the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
This historical saga begins with the children of Israel being slaves to Pharaoh of Egypt, who, despite nine plagues brought upon him and his people, refused to let the Israelites leave. For the tenth and final plague, the angel of death would “strike down every firstbornâ€â€both men and animals†(Exod. 12:12). The Israelites, however, would be spared if they sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial Passover lamb on the doorposts of their homes. The angel would see the blood and pass over the house.
The parallel to our time is as follows: just as the blood of the Passover lamb would save Israelites from death, so would the blood of God’s Lamb (Christ) ultimately save souls from death. The Feast of Passover marks this historical event for the Israelites. Passover is also referred to as the “Feast of Our Freedom,†for it marked the beginning of the end to slavery; it was the first holy day God gave to Moses.
God spoke to Moses and provided the details associated with this holy day: a lamb was to be killed on the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month called Nisan (equivalent to either March or April on the modern-day calendar). When God gave Moses this revelation, he was setting the stage for what would ultimately occur with his Son, the “Lamb of God†(John 1:29). When God marked the day the lamb was to be slain at the Jewish feast, God simultaneously marked the future day in time his own Son would be crucified.
Here is the Law that God gave Moses:
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month [Nisan] is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. . . . Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight [Hebrew: 3 p.m.].†(Exod. 12:1–3, 6)
This literal feast was also a prophecy that was fulfilled in the first century a.d. by the Lamb of God. While the Jewish religious leaders carried out their ceremony of Passover and sacrificed a lamb on the fourteenth day of Nisan, the Lamb of God was simultaneously sacrificed on the Cross.
According to the Law given to Moses, the sacrificial lamb was to be slain at “twilight,†which is a reference to the exact midpoint between our 12 p.m. and 6 p.m.â€â€which is 3 p.m. This is the precise moment that Christ “gave up his spirit†(Matt. 27:50). Herein, Christ fulfilled the Law given to Moses and fulfilled the prophecy contained within it.
If Christ didn’t fulfill the Law, then he wasn’t the Messiah. There is no doubt that Christ would fulfill the Law of Moses because he was the Messiah. As God’s own Lamb, Jesus had to die at the precise moment in time as originally given by God in the Law. In essence, God had to follow his own Law. The apostle Paul confirmed that Christ fulfilled the Law as God’s Lamb: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed†(1 Cor. 5:7).
Just as God marked the timing of Jesus’ Crucifixion by way of a Jewish feast, he marked the timing of the burial, Resurrection, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost by way of Jewish feasts.
Christ’s burial is marked by the next feast: the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This feast began on the next day, the fifteenth of Nisan, which began at sunset. (Biblical days began at sunset.)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is marked at the fifteenth day of Nisan, for on that day the angel of death struck down the Egyptians before midnight, and the children of Israel left Egypt that same evening. On this very day in ancient history, “Moses said to the people, ‘Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast [nothing leavened]’†(Exod. 13:3). This feast marks the separation from Egyptian life, their gods, and what is sinful (leavened), and invites the believer to feed upon the Word of God. Jesus Christ is the true “bread of life†(John 6:35).
Three days after the Passover sacrifice, on the seventeenth day of Nisan, the Israelites reached the shore of the Red Sea. However, fear, not joy, filled their hearts as an angry Pharaoh sought vengeanceâ€â€chasing after the Israelites with his army. Now, with their backs to the Red Sea, the Israelites could see Pharaoh with his chariots pressing toward them. Yet Moses said, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today†(Exod. 14:13).
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. . . . Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.†(Exod. 14:21–23, 26)
God established a bridge to freedomâ€â€the land bridge formed at the base of the Red Sea. It was the salvation of the Israelites. It saved them from certain death.
Hundreds of years later on the very day that God parted the Red Sea and severed Pharaoh’s hold on the Israelites, he would raise his own Son from the dead. Therein, God would bring about deliverance from sin, sever Satan’s hold on the soul, and usher in immortalityâ€â€and its freedom. This is our spiritual reality that reflects the physical reality of what took place across the Red Sea. The annual feast that commemorates this day of deliverance at the Red Sea is the Feast of Firstfruits.
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest’†(Lev. 23:9, 10). By offering the firstfruits of the harvest, the Israelites would acknowledge the miracle that ushered in their new “life.â€Â
Hundreds of years later, when God raised Christ from the dead on the seventeenth day of Nisan, the Messiah became the firstfruits of the divine harvest from the heart of the Earth. Those who would believe this miracle would themselves become a miracle (by gaining eternal life), and would ultimately witness another miracle: the transformation to an eternal, spiritual body, harvested from this Earth to Heaven. The apostle Paul made specific reference to this truth:
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [died]. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die [the physical death], so in Christ all will be made alive [transformed to immortal, spiritual life]. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes [at Christ’s return], those who belong to him [will also be harvested from the Earth to Heaven]. (1 Cor. 15:20–23)
The key to this transformation is Christ: he is the bridge to move from mortality to immortality.
In the days of Moses, God established the land bridge to freedom that enabled the Israelites to journey forward toward the Promised Land. Along the way, they reached the wilderness of Sinai and camped by its holy mountain. Exactly fifty days after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, God met with them at Mount Sinai.
[T]here was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. (Exod. 19:16–19)
This descent of Godnt Sinai “in fire†foreshadowed the descent of the Holy Spiritâ€â€the sign of which was “tongues of fire†(Acts 2:3). As God communed with his people on Mount Sinai fifty days after his divine intervention at the Red Sea, so God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within the disciples fifty days after the Resurrection of his Son.
The fourth feast that marks this revelation of God on Mount Sinai is the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). (“Pentecost†in the Greek language literally means “fifty.â€Â) The Feast of Weeks is marked fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits, and it completes the season of Passover.
If Christ fulfilled the first four feasts on the exact days required by the Old Testament Law, then, logically, it stands to reason that the final three feasts shall be fulfilled with the same precision.
The “fall feasts†can be found in the following:
“Prophecy: The Seven Holy Days (PT2)â€Â
revel
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Can Christ return “any day†from Heaven?
How would Christ answer that question?
How would the apostle Paul answer that question?
How would the Old Testament Law answer that question? …
INTRODUCTION
The seven holy days in the Law of Moses foreshadowed major events that pertain to the first and second coming of Christ and reveal God’s plan to save the “Earth†from Satanâ€â€which includes Christ’s return for his church. These holy days make known not only how God would rescue souls, but how God would defeat Satan on the battlefieldâ€â€both in the spiritual realm and in the flesh and blood realm. The prophetic holy days disclose knowledge of God’s visionâ€â€especially as it concerns prophecy and our place in it.
To explore Heaven’s grand plan, this text moves back in time to the first century, to the days when the Messiah walked in the Holy Land and spoke forth this prophecy:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matt. 5:17, 18)
What has been accomplished with the first coming of Christ?
What shall be accomplished with the second coming of Christ?
How did God reveal in the Law the prophetic picture of what Christ would accomplish? Christ answered that question: “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses†(Luke 24:44). What is specifically written about Christ in the Law of Moses? What has to be fulfilled?
What is specifically written about Christ in the Law and what has to be fulfilled are the seven holy days: the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles.
God “wrote†his plan to rescue souls from Satan in the Lawâ€â€in the holy days; in the writings of Moses, God “embedded†the prophecies that Christ would ultimately fulfill, for within the seven holy days, God painted a “hidden†picture: the chronology, content, and significance of major events that pertain to the first coming of Christ, and the chronology, content, and significance of major events that pertain to the second coming of Christ.
It wasn’t until the days of the New Testament, and the revelation given by Heaven, that this divine story was revealed: the holy days are prophetic in nature. Just as Christ had to fulfill the Ten Commandments in his behavior, he had to fulfillâ€â€and has to fulfillâ€â€the prophecies written about him in the seven holy days. This connection between the holy days of the Old Testament and future events of the New Testament was made clear by the apostle Paul: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival [holy day], a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come†(Col. 2:16, 17).
The apostle Paul referred to the prophecies contained in the Old Testament Law: the holy days of the Old Testament “are a shadow [a foreshadowing] of things that were to come [in the New Testament].†Paul wrote this to Christ’s church because the holy days foreshadowed not only the birth of the church, but also the future of the church. In addition, the holy days give Christ’s church a prophetic picture of what is to come for “Israel†and the world.
What is the significance of Paul’s reference to the holy days and of Christ’s reference to the Law of Moses?
If the Old Testament Law foretold what would come to pass in the future, then the Old Testament set God’s precedent: New Testament prophecy must be in agreement with the precedent set in Old Testament prophecy. The Old Testament Law is God’s standardâ€â€not only for behavior but also prophecy. Herein, we as Christ’s church need not be blown about with every wind of doctrine on the subject of prophecy. God already established the irrefutable standard in the Old Testament.
This divine harmony between the Old and New Testaments cannot be broken. Frequently, Christ and his apostles quoted Old Testament prophets to demonstrate the fulfillment of prophecy and, in addition, what shall be fulfilled in the future. In essence, the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
With an understanding of the Old Testament holy days, New Testament prophecy speaks with a clear, unified voice regarding what was accomplished during the first coming of Christ, and what shall be accomplished during the second coming of Christ.
What follows are prophecies given by Christ, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Jonah, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and Moses.
Sit back, relax, and watch the divine harmony of divine revelation speak about you, your future, and what is to come for our world.
The Holy Days
As recorded in the Old Testament Law, Moses received from God seven holy days that the Jewish people were to celebrate every year. These holy daysâ€â€known as feastsâ€â€commemorated deliverance and blessing (among other things) for the Jewish people wrought by the hand of God. These feasts, however, had a dual purpose: they were not only annual days of remembrance for the Jewish people, but also were prophetic symbols that foretold of God’s ultimate plan of deliverance and blessing for all peoples by way of Christ. “The law is . . . a shadow of the good things that are coming†(Heb. 10:1).
Exactly how does the Old Testament Law speak to us in Christ’s church today?
The annual feasts that were marked on the Hebrew calendar were physical celebrations that foretold of future events and their timing. It was by way of these feasts that God marked time: key events that pertain to Christ would occur on the very holy days that God had given in the Old Testament. These ancient holy days not only marked time, but also foreshadowed what Christ would ultimately accomplish by way of his life, death, burial, Resurrection; his sending of the Holy Spirit; his return for his church; his return for Israel; and, finally, his 1000-year kingdom on Earth.
Exactly how did the seven feasts in the Law of Moses foreshadow major events that pertain to Christ?
Hundreds of years prior to the first coming of Christ, God marked the timing of the following dramatic events: Christ’s Crucifixion, burial, Resurrection, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Christ fulfilled the first four holy days: he was crucified on the Feast of Passover; he was in the burial tomb on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, he was resurrected from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits, and, finally, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples on the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)â€â€which was fifty days after the Resurrection. These events occurred as appointed by God, prophesied in the Old Testament Law.
Herein, Heaven established a precedent: If the first four feasts foreshadowed events that pertained to the first coming of Christ, then, logically, it stands to reason that the last three feasts foreshadow events that pertain to the second coming of Christ. There are three major events that have yet to be fulfilledâ€â€Christ’s return for his church, Christ’s return for Israel, and Christ’s 1000-year kingdomâ€â€and there are three feasts that have yet to be fulfilled: Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles.
In essence, God’s plan to save the “Earth†from Satan would be accomplished in seven stages: God’s Son fulfilled the first three stages of the divine plan as the ultimate sacrifice and Savior while here during his earthly ministry; Christ fulfilled the fourth stage as man’s great high priest from the throne in Heaven when he sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and he shall complete the final three stages when he returns as Lord and King.
This divine plan is revealed not only by seeing the prophetic nature of the holy days, but also how the holy days themselves fall on the Hebrew calendar. The first four feasts occur during the “spring season,†forming the first unit of time. The last three feasts occur during the “fall season,†forming the second unit of time. The spring feasts spoke to the first coming of Christ; the fall feasts (celebrated during the time of harvest) spoke to the second coming of Christ.
A long gap in time exists between the spring and fall feasts. On God’s prophetic timetable, this gap in time correlates to the time between the first and second coming of Christ; it is the time known as the “mysteryâ€Ââ€â€the time of Christ’s church. It is the time the world is living in now.
Exactly how did God set all this motion in Old Testament times?
The first four feasts mark key events that pertain to God delivering the children of Israel from Egypt through Mosesâ€â€which includes God dwelling with his people on Mount Sinai. The parallel to our time is the spiritual reality of God delivering souls from Satan through Christâ€â€which includes God dwelling with his people through the Holy Spirit.
This parallel between God’s deliverance of the Israelites, and God’s deliverance of souls, can be seen by looking back at the epic events that took place at the time of Moses. In the known history of this world, few events compare to those that rocked the Egyptian Empire and eventually led to God meeting with Moses and giving him the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.
This historical saga begins with the children of Israel being slaves to Pharaoh of Egypt, who, despite nine plagues brought upon him and his people, refused to let the Israelites leave. For the tenth and final plague, the angel of death would “strike down every firstbornâ€â€both men and animals†(Exod. 12:12). The Israelites, however, would be spared if they sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial Passover lamb on the doorposts of their homes. The angel would see the blood and pass over the house.
The parallel to our time is as follows: just as the blood of the Passover lamb would save Israelites from death, so would the blood of God’s Lamb (Christ) ultimately save souls from death. The Feast of Passover marks this historical event for the Israelites. Passover is also referred to as the “Feast of Our Freedom,†for it marked the beginning of the end to slavery; it was the first holy day God gave to Moses.
God spoke to Moses and provided the details associated with this holy day: a lamb was to be killed on the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month called Nisan (equivalent to either March or April on the modern-day calendar). When God gave Moses this revelation, he was setting the stage for what would ultimately occur with his Son, the “Lamb of God†(John 1:29). When God marked the day the lamb was to be slain at the Jewish feast, God simultaneously marked the future day in time his own Son would be crucified.
Here is the Law that God gave Moses:
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month [Nisan] is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. . . . Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight [Hebrew: 3 p.m.].†(Exod. 12:1–3, 6)
This literal feast was also a prophecy that was fulfilled in the first century a.d. by the Lamb of God. While the Jewish religious leaders carried out their ceremony of Passover and sacrificed a lamb on the fourteenth day of Nisan, the Lamb of God was simultaneously sacrificed on the Cross.
According to the Law given to Moses, the sacrificial lamb was to be slain at “twilight,†which is a reference to the exact midpoint between our 12 p.m. and 6 p.m.â€â€which is 3 p.m. This is the precise moment that Christ “gave up his spirit†(Matt. 27:50). Herein, Christ fulfilled the Law given to Moses and fulfilled the prophecy contained within it.
If Christ didn’t fulfill the Law, then he wasn’t the Messiah. There is no doubt that Christ would fulfill the Law of Moses because he was the Messiah. As God’s own Lamb, Jesus had to die at the precise moment in time as originally given by God in the Law. In essence, God had to follow his own Law. The apostle Paul confirmed that Christ fulfilled the Law as God’s Lamb: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed†(1 Cor. 5:7).
Just as God marked the timing of Jesus’ Crucifixion by way of a Jewish feast, he marked the timing of the burial, Resurrection, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost by way of Jewish feasts.
Christ’s burial is marked by the next feast: the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This feast began on the next day, the fifteenth of Nisan, which began at sunset. (Biblical days began at sunset.)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is marked at the fifteenth day of Nisan, for on that day the angel of death struck down the Egyptians before midnight, and the children of Israel left Egypt that same evening. On this very day in ancient history, “Moses said to the people, ‘Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast [nothing leavened]’†(Exod. 13:3). This feast marks the separation from Egyptian life, their gods, and what is sinful (leavened), and invites the believer to feed upon the Word of God. Jesus Christ is the true “bread of life†(John 6:35).
Three days after the Passover sacrifice, on the seventeenth day of Nisan, the Israelites reached the shore of the Red Sea. However, fear, not joy, filled their hearts as an angry Pharaoh sought vengeanceâ€â€chasing after the Israelites with his army. Now, with their backs to the Red Sea, the Israelites could see Pharaoh with his chariots pressing toward them. Yet Moses said, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today†(Exod. 14:13).
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. . . . Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.†(Exod. 14:21–23, 26)
God established a bridge to freedomâ€â€the land bridge formed at the base of the Red Sea. It was the salvation of the Israelites. It saved them from certain death.
Hundreds of years later on the very day that God parted the Red Sea and severed Pharaoh’s hold on the Israelites, he would raise his own Son from the dead. Therein, God would bring about deliverance from sin, sever Satan’s hold on the soul, and usher in immortalityâ€â€and its freedom. This is our spiritual reality that reflects the physical reality of what took place across the Red Sea. The annual feast that commemorates this day of deliverance at the Red Sea is the Feast of Firstfruits.
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest’†(Lev. 23:9, 10). By offering the firstfruits of the harvest, the Israelites would acknowledge the miracle that ushered in their new “life.â€Â
Hundreds of years later, when God raised Christ from the dead on the seventeenth day of Nisan, the Messiah became the firstfruits of the divine harvest from the heart of the Earth. Those who would believe this miracle would themselves become a miracle (by gaining eternal life), and would ultimately witness another miracle: the transformation to an eternal, spiritual body, harvested from this Earth to Heaven. The apostle Paul made specific reference to this truth:
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [died]. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die [the physical death], so in Christ all will be made alive [transformed to immortal, spiritual life]. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes [at Christ’s return], those who belong to him [will also be harvested from the Earth to Heaven]. (1 Cor. 15:20–23)
The key to this transformation is Christ: he is the bridge to move from mortality to immortality.
In the days of Moses, God established the land bridge to freedom that enabled the Israelites to journey forward toward the Promised Land. Along the way, they reached the wilderness of Sinai and camped by its holy mountain. Exactly fifty days after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, God met with them at Mount Sinai.
[T]here was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. (Exod. 19:16–19)
This descent of Godnt Sinai “in fire†foreshadowed the descent of the Holy Spiritâ€â€the sign of which was “tongues of fire†(Acts 2:3). As God communed with his people on Mount Sinai fifty days after his divine intervention at the Red Sea, so God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within the disciples fifty days after the Resurrection of his Son.
The fourth feast that marks this revelation of God on Mount Sinai is the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). (“Pentecost†in the Greek language literally means “fifty.â€Â) The Feast of Weeks is marked fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits, and it completes the season of Passover.
If Christ fulfilled the first four feasts on the exact days required by the Old Testament Law, then, logically, it stands to reason that the final three feasts shall be fulfilled with the same precision.
The “fall feasts†can be found in the following:
“Prophecy: The Seven Holy Days (PT2)â€Â
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