Days of Noah

“Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

[1 Thessalonians 5:1-2]

The early New Testament church primarily consisted of Jewish believers who embraced the Salvation and Lordship of Yeshua of Nazareth and were witnesses to His glory as the Unique Son of God. These Jewish believers were zealous for the law of Moses and were able to understand how the testimony of the Torah and the prophets had been fulfilled in part by the very Person and work of Yeshua.

Yeshua Himself proclaimed that He came not to abolish but rather to fulfill the law and the prophets [Matthew 5:17] and bring greater significance and meaning to the writings of the Old Testament [Luke 24:27]. With this new perspective, the Jewish believers in Jesus would have been able to read their sacred Scriptures afresh with new eyes and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and proclaim with confidence the good news of the Messiah to the whole world!

Unfortunately, as more and more Gentile believers were grafted in by faith and incorporated into the commonwealth of Israel, the Jewish roots of our faith gradually were forgotten, anti-semitism began to poison the church, and the Roman Catholic Church began to dominate the ecclesiastical direction of Christendom. The heretical doctrine of replacement theology (supersessionism) has since infected large segments of the church (especially in reformed circles), which has effectively diminished the essential role of the Old Testament in understanding the New Testament.

Case in point.

Consider the Appointed Feasts of the LORD, which He prescribed and established to be remembered and celebrated by God’s people FOREVER as literal dress rehearsals in preparation for the coming of Messiah. Without a proper understanding of these seven sacred feasts, much of what God intended for us to know has been lost in translation and ignored for centuries.

Yet in returning to a robust study and understanding of these unique feasts, the LORD is willing to reveal the deep truths of His prophetic timeline to all who are paying attention and who seek wisdom in the last days.

For the foreseeable future, my goal is to begin to rediscover the purpose of the appointed Feasts of the LORD and how they unlock the keys to understanding the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The 7 Feasts of the LORD

“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the LORD that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.'”

[Leviticus 23:1-2]

When is the last time your pastor preached a riveting series through the book of Leviticus?

How about never ….

While the book of Leviticus is most often avoided like the plague by modern churches, the Israelites historically have considered Leviticus as foundational to understanding the law of Moses and regarded its teachings as primary among all the writings of Torah.

The book of Leviticus provides in depth details into the purpose and application of the law, the priesthood and the sacrificial system, among other things, but it also provides the comprehensive description of the Feasts of the LORD. These feasts are not the feasts of Israel. They are the appointed Feasts of the LORD, and God intended them to be observed forever, throughout all generations. As we will see in subsequent posts, these feasts were to be made holy by God’s people and meticulously followed in detail.

In essence, the LORD gave the feasts to Israel to serve as a regular rehearsals of things to come. In other words by observing the feasts, God’s people symbolically would act out the very picture of salvation that Messiah would bring in His coming. The great irony is that had the Jews only recognized what they had been rehearsing through the feasts for centuries, none of them would have missed their Messiah, who perfectly fulfilled the spring feasts of the LORD in His first advent.

Spring Feasts

Primarily there are four spring feasts and three fall feasts on the Jewish religious calendar. [We also will later consider Hanukkah, Purim and Tisha B’Av]

All of them are sacred and significant, and I pray that this series of posts will help ignite a newfound appreciation for the Feasts of the LORD and an eager expectation among the church for the return of Christ.

The spring feasts are …

1. PESACH (PASSOVER) — Observed at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month (Nisan)
2. CHAG HAMATZOT (UNLEAVENED BREAD) — Observed on the 15th day of Nisan (the day after Passover)
3.  BIKKURIM (THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS) — Observed on the 21st of Nisan
4. SHAVUOT (FEAST OF WEEKS/PENTECOST) — Observed 7 weeks after Passover in the month of Sivan

Fall Feasts

Likewise, the fall feasts are …

1. YOM TERUAH (ROSH HASHANAH/FEAST OF TRUMPETS) — Observed on the first day of the seventh month of Tishrei, which must be determined by the new moon. This is the first of the year on the Hebrew civic Calendar
2. YOM KIPPUR (DAY OF ATONEMENT) — the most holy day on the Jewish calendar, observed on the 10th day of the month of Tishrei
3. SUKKOT (FEAST OF TABERNACLES) — Observed on the 15th Day of Tishrei

As we will see, these 7 Feats of the LORD are rich with prophetic fulfillment and expectation, and I look forward to rediscovering the intended meaning within these holy days, especially in how they relate to these last days and the return of King Jesus.

Stay tuned for my next installment, as I intend to explore the significance of the Lord’s Passover.