Biblical Feasts

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(Festival Overview)

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Festival Overview

For much of my early Christian walk I was unaware of the Festivals of the Lord that are mentioned in Leviticus 23. They are mentioned in Old and New Testament scripture, but for 30 years of my life I never heard a pastor mention one of them. Why is this?

Church History

When Constantine became emperor of Rome in 300 C.E., he made Christianity the national religion of the state. To some, this might look like a good thing, but let’s look at it a little closer. Constantine removed anything from the church that looked Jewish. He merged pagan symbols and practices into the official state religion (sun and cross) and Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday. Pesach was no longer observed, and Easter was substituted in its place. Christmas was celebrated instead of Hanukkah. Mark 7      8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men...      9 Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. Many Christians see Christianity as "the religion of love" and Judaism as "the religion of law," but looking at Constantine's actions against the Jews could well bring this into question. Within a short time, Jews living in the Empire had lost most of their civil rights. For a Jew to marry a Christian was an offense punishable by death. The Jewish Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin, was forbidden to meet, and sermons against the Jews, often inciting violence, were routinely preached. The idea of presenting Jews as the killers of Jesus originated at this time, though it was not popularized until several hundred years later. For many years, much of the church believed in Replacement Theology – that the church had replaced Israel. There was no state of Israel, so this had to be true. This all changed in 1948 when the State of Israel was reborn from the ashes of World War II. In 1967, Israel finally took control of the city of Jerusalem. Look at what Yeshua had to say about this. Luke 21      24 Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.      27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.      28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.      32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. I must tell you, when I read this in Don Finto’s book, Your People Shall Be My People in 2002, I actually wept. It’s as clear as the nose on your face. Yeshua is coming in this generation! Yeshua is coming back for a bride that is without spot or blemish. Will she look like the traditional church of the past, or will she look more like a young Jewish virgin? God is restoring many things to believers that had been lost to them through Constantine and other early church fathers. As the time approaches, God is making us more aware of the Hebrew roots of our faith.

Festival Basics

Leviticus 23      2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, concerning the Feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. The first thing we notice is that they're God's feasts, not the Jew's feasts. The word "feast" is the Hebrew word "moed" meaning "set time" or "appointment." Convocation is the Hebrew word "miqra" meaning a rehearsal. The festivals all point to Yeshua.  All festivals either have been, or will be, fulfilled in Yeshua.

Shabbat Shabbat is first and foremost of all the Festivals of the Lord.  It's so important that God commanded that it be observed each week. Exodus 20      8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.      11 The LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 32      16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

Spring Festivals

There are three Pilgrim Festivals … Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot.  Each year, the Jews were required to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the Lord in the temple there. There are four festivals that appear in the spring each year...Pesach (Passover), Unleavened Bread, Feast of Firstfruits and Shavuot (Pentecost).

Pesach (Passover) - Nisan 14 Leviticus 23      5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's Passover. Yeshua and his disciples observed Pesach. Matthew 26      17 Now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover?      18 And He said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand : I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples Yeshua died on Pesach (Passover).

Unleavened Bread - Nisan 15 Leviticus 23      6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened bread unto the LORD;  seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. Yeshua was buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Firstfruits - Nisan 16 Leviticus 23      10 Ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfuits of your harvest unto the priest.      11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you      14 It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations Yeshua resurrected on the Feast of Firstfruits.

Shavuot (Pentecost) - Sivan 6 Leviticus 23      15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete;      16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days.      21 It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations The Law / Torah was given on Shavuot. The Church was born on Shavuot. Shavuot is also called the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Harvest.

Fall Festivals There are three festivals that appear in the fall...Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).  Like the spring feasts, these are prophetic but have yet to be fulfilled in Messiah Yeshua.

Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) - Tishrei 1 Leviticus 23      24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. The catching away of the Bride of Messiah (Rapture) will occur on Rosh Hashanah. Also called The Head of the Year, Day of the Loud Shout, Day of the Awakening Blast (Yom Teruah), That Day, Day of Remembrance (Yom ha Zikkaron), Day of Judgment (Yom Hadin), Day of the King (Yom ha Melech), Day of the Hidden Moon (refers to the chupa and marriage of Messiah & His bride), Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, Feast of the Last Trump, Feast of the Born Again; Days of Awe, Jewish New Year. There are some phrases that refer to Rosh Hashanah when you see them in scripture, such as... ...the court was seated ...the books were opened

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) - Tishrei 10 Leviticus 23      27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a Day of Atonement Yom Kippur refers to God's judgment of the earth. Yom Kuppur is also called the Day of Covering.

Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) - Tishrei 15 Leviticus 23      34 The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.      42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days. These would be combined for the third pilgrimage. Messiah Yeshua will Tabernacle with us for His 1000 year reign. Sukkot is also called the Feast of Ingathering, The Feast, The Feast of Booths, Feast of Full Glory, Feast of the Watergate, Season of Our Joy and Festival of the Final Harvest.

Minor Feasts There are two minor festivals that are not mentioned in Leviticus 23.  These feasts are Purim and Hanukkah.

Purim (Feast of Esther) - Adar 14th & 15 Esther 9      21 They should keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly. Purim is the story of Queen Esther and how God saved the Jews from destruction at the hand of Haman.

Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication) - Kislev 25 John 10      22 And it was at Jerusalem the Feast of Dedication, and it was winter. Hanukkah is the story of the Macabees and how God once again saved his chosen people from destruction, this time at the hands of King Antiochus of Syria.  "A Great Miracle Happened There!"

Purposes

There were 5 main purposes for celebrating the Feasts of the Lord: 1. To unify the Nations 2. An opportunity to worship God 3. They illustrate spiritual truths 4. They foretell the Messiah 5. Remembrance

If you're interested in learning more about the Festivals of the Lord, their symbolism and how to observe them, follow the links at the top of the page.