LESSON FIVE

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Scripture to read: Leviticus 23, Numbers 29, Exodus 23&34

According to Leviticus 23, there are seven Jewish Feasts commanded by God to be observed each year.

They are:                    

1) Passover (Nisan 14) Pesach (April or May)

2) Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15)                 

3) Firstfruits (Starts the day after the Sabbath following Passover)     

4) Feast of Weeks (Starts 50 days after Firstfruits) Shavuot (May or June)

5) Trumpets (Tishri 1) Rosh Hashanah -Yom Teruah (Sept. or Oct.)

6) Day of Atonement (Tishri 10) Yom Kippur

7) Tabernacles (Tishri 15) Succoth

Jesus was slain on the cross on Mt. Moriah, the same mountain where Abraham tried to sacrifice his only son Isaac. It's also the same mountain where all the animal sacrifices were offered. The Passover sacrifice had to be a male lamb without blemish to temporarily cover their sins. So, it's quite fascinating that at the exact same time the Jews were slaying their Passover lambs on Mt. Moriah, just a few steps away Jesus was being sacrificed as a permanent covering for our sins.

Jesus is our Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God.

"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:" 1 Corinthians 5:7

There's perfect symbolism in the other six feasts as well.

The second feast, Unleavened Bread, is the day after Passover. Jewish days began at dark, about 6 P.M., so the Feast of Unleavened Bread began in the evening after Passover.

"...Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29

Leaven in the Bible is a symbol of sin. The Jews purged their houses of leaven, in conjunction with what the sacrificial lamb had done--covered sin temporarily. Unleavened bread is a picture of what Jesus had done on the cross...permanently covering our sin.

"I am the Bread of life." John 6:48

The Feast of Firstfruits was to be celebrated on the Sunday after the Sabbath following Passover. The Jews celebrated Firstfruits by offering a sheaf of grain to the Lord for His allowing the first harvest.

"But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." 1 Corinthians 15:20

Fifty days after Firstfruits, the Jews celebrated the Feast of Weeks. Here the Jews offered two loaves of bread, as a second offering to the Lord, but this time they were baked with leaven, which again symbolizes sin. The two loaves could represent either the Old and New Testament, the wheat and the tares, or the Jews and Gentiles being included in the New Testament Church. The leaven represents sin's existence in the church. 

“Wretched man that I am!” Romans 7:24

While the Jews were celebrating the Feast of Weeks, the Holy Spirit came roaring to earth, filling the Apostles (Acts 2) known to Christians as the "Pentecost." 

The symbolism of Jesus and the church in the first four spring Jewish feasts is undeniable. But there's a long summer break between the spring and fall Jewish feasts. The summer break in the feasts may very well represent the Church Age break in God's plan for the Jews.

What is this key? It involves understanding the chronology of the Feasts of the Lord (Leviticus 23) during the ministry of Jesus.

God divinely scheduled the first four major events of the Church Age to land exactly on the Jewish Feast days - Jesus' death, burial, resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it's probable that the next big Church Age event, the Rapture, will occur on the next Jewish Feast in the fall. The next feast in the Biblical order falls in September or October each year.

"Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets" Numbers 29:1

Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) signifies the start of a new year on the Jewish calendar based on the rise of a new moon. That is why it is always scheduled over a 2-day period. It is also a reference to new beginnings in the Bible, like Jesus’ birth. This is a day of gathering and celebration and the Jews are specifically charged to "blow trumpets." The blowing of a Ram's horn from the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount was the signal that it was time to gather in Jerusalem. 

For this feast, the Jews would blow the shofar for 30 days leading up to the feast. Then on the 30th and last day there was one more blowing--three distinct series of 30 blasts each. This was followed by ten final blasts leading up to "The Great Blowing". One last, long blast of the trumpet, proclaiming the beginning of the feast is always referred to as "the Last Trumpet". 

Rosh Hashanah is also known as Yom Teruah, The Day of Shouting and The Day of the Resurrection of the Righteous Dead. The Day of the Wedding of the Messiah (Ha Kiddushin/Nesuin) and The Day of the Coronation or Crowning of the Messiah.

On Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Day of Judgment, He opens and reviews the books of death and life. An unnamed third book is for those who fall between these two categories. Those names that are written in this third book are then given ten days to make atonement for their sins, thus saving them from the latter sentence. They spend their time praying, fasting, and asking one another for forgiveness. 

Yom Kippur marks the end of the Ten Days of Repentance also known as the "Ten Days of Awe". According to the Talmud, this is the day God renders His final judgment on the people for that year. If a person has repented and their good deeds outnumber the sinful ones, their name will be written in the Book of Life. However, if they remain unrepentant, their names will be written in the Book of Death. The books are then closed and sealed. 

When you study all 7 Feasts, you will note that only 5 of the 7 are given names by God.  Feasts 1 and 2 are named Pesach/Passover and Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:4-8; Ex. 23:15).  Feast 4 is called Shavuot/Weeks or Harvest (Ex. 23:16).  Feast 6 is called the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur (Lev.23:26) and Feast 7 is called Sukkot/Tabernacles or Ingathering (Lev. 23:34: Ex. 23:16).  Only Feasts 3 (firstfruits) and 5 (trumpets) are not specifically given names.   

Of all the Feasts only one is not given a specific reason for doing it – Feast 5.  Moses ties Feasts 1 and 2, Pesach and Unleavened Bread, to the Israelites flight from Egypt (Exodus 12).  He lists Feast 3 as a time to remember when the Israelites left Egypt and entered the land where they would reap a harvest (Lev. 23:10).  He then goes on to state that Feast 4, Shavuot, is about celebrating a harvest (Ex. 23:16; Lev. 23:22). Then Moses explains Feast 6, Yom Kippur, as the national redemption of Israel (Lev. 16; 23:28).  Lastly, he explains the meaning of Feast 7, Sukkot, as a celebration of a harvest (Lev. 23:39; Deut. 16:13-15) and when the nation of Israel lived in tents during their wanderings in the desert (Lev. 23:42).

Leviticus 23:24 states that it was a day to hold an assembly “commemorating” with trumpet blasts. The word for “commemorating” (Nwrkz zikrown which comes from rkz zakar) means to remember, to call to mind, or to recall.  Because the passage states this day was to be remembered with “trumpet blasts” it was given the name The Feast of Trumpets. The Hebrew word used in Leviticus 23 and Numbers 29 is hewrt teruah. They were to teruah on this day.  Teruah comes from the word “rua”, which means to shout, to sound the battle cry. 

In Joshua 6:16, the word shofar and rua are mentioned in the context of the Jericho walls coming down. The writer of Joshua states, “And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets (rpwv shofar), Joshua said unto the people, Shout (ewr rua); for the Lord hath given you the city”. Both words are also used in Leviticus 25:9 and 2 Samuel 6:15. So could the Old Testament be teaching us that this is to also be a day of "shouting"? 

Yet the Bible records no meaning for Feast 5.  It appears as if the Spirit of God is drawing attention to two Feasts, 3 and 5 for special attention. They are not given names or a stated purpose. 

"This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Ephesians 5:32

Paul calls the Church a mystery in Ephesians 5:32.  In Scripture, a mystery is something that was hidden in the Old Testament, but is brought to light in the New Testament. Paul calls the fact that Christ would live inside the believer a mystery, something kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now revealed. Based upon that we have Feast 5 described in the Old Testament as having neither name nor purpose (a mystery to be solved); yet it must be remembered, though no reason is given for what is to be remembered. We have Feast 5 that was to be a day that a burnt, sin and grain offering were made along with a great shout. 

Could this Feast have something to do with the Church, which would later be explained?  This shouting and trumpeting mirror another Old Testament example – a Jewish wedding. When the groom came, he let everyone know that he was coming with shouts and trumpets blasts. He is telling us that in order to understand this thing called the “rapture”, we must understand the Jewish foundation of both, which are found in Feast 5 and in a Jewish wedding. 

In Acts 2, Luke points out that Shavuot (Pentecost/Feast 4) is the beginning of the Church/Bride. Could it be that Feasts 4 and 5 deal with the Church—which was hidden in the Old Testament—and serve as a clue as to when the Church age would begin and end? Keep this in mind and continue studying to find out the answer.  

Let’s compare the setup of Rosh Hashanah to the redemption of the church. There's 30 days of trumpets blown prior to the feast of Yom Teruah and a set of trumpets blown before the next Christian event, the Rapture. The rapture of Revelation 10 happens at the "last trumpet" in a point of sequence. The rapture is also going to be a day of gathering after the sound of trumpets and shouting! The two most familiar Rapture verses read:

"Behold, I tell you a MYSTERY; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16

Therefore, following God's pattern of the first four major events of the Church Age landing on the first four Jewish feasts, I can reassure you that end time prophecy confirms that the next big event of the Church Age will occur on the Feast of Trumpets, his final return will be on the Day of Atonement followed by the Feast of Tabernacles in his kingdom on earth. 

The Jews will celebrate at Yom Teruah on earth and Christ's bride will celebrate at the Rapture in the sky. Keep all of this in mind, because it will be important in our study of Daniel prophecy and reveal the timing of events in Revelation.