Prophetic Fulfillment of the Biblical Feasts

you the Old Testament is full of signs that point to the arrival of Jesus the Messiah or in Hebrew Yeshua HaMashiach some of them are obvious such as the well-known prophecies from Isaiah that we read every Christmas but did you know that the seven holy days of Israel contain prophetic significance in regards to the first and second coming of Jesus let's take a closer look leviticus 23 for says these are the appointed times of the lord holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them the rest of the chapter goes on to describe seven annual feasts when God's people were to worship repent celebrate and reflect on his provision observant Jews still celebrate these appointed times today so why is it important to study the feasts of Israel today in Colossians two verses 16 and 17 Paul says that these feasts are a mere shadow of what is to come but the substance belongs to Christ Paul is making the point that these biblical feasts are directly linked to the Messiah and to me that makes them worth studying even though we're not under the law today the feasts can be grouped into two categories the spring holy days and the autumn holidays the spring feasts include Passover unleavened bread firstfruits and Pentecost the autumn feast include the Feast of Trumpets the Day of Atonement and Tabernacles you may have heard these feasts called by other names which will mention later on what do these feasts foreshadow well this is where things get interesting the four spring feast were all specifically fulfilled in the crucifixion resurrection the outpouring of the holy spirit that we read about in the Gospels in the book of Acts but it wasn't enough for God to merely fulfill the prophetic meaning of each feast he orchestrated events so that each one was fulfilled on the exact day of the feast God's Word is incredibly precise and accurate let's look at the spring feasts one by one Passover also called Pesa begins at dusk on the 14th of Nisan and it commemorates the deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt first Corinthians 5:7 says for Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed this holy day pointed to the coming Passover lamb the Messiah who came to shed his blood for our sins the feast of unleavened bread immediately following Passover required that the Jews eat unleavened bread for seven days in the Bible yeast or leaven is a symbol for sin and Jesus's pictured as the bread of life that has no sin or leaven the feast of firstfruits was the day after the Sabbath following the Passover it was a time to dedicate the very earliest part of the harvest to the Lord Pentecost also known as the feast of weeks or chevaux happened fifty days later for Israel this was a celebration of the first full harvest of the year and it also commemorated the first giving of the law on Mount Sinai now let's look at the fulfillment of these four spring holidays and how God ordained them to perfectly align with Christ's first coming Christ was crucified at the same time that the Passover lambs were being sacrificed that evening Christ a sinless offering was buried while the feast of unleavened bread commenced then Christ rose from the grave as the firstfruits of the resurrection in first Corinthians 15 Paul says but now Christ has been raised from the dead the firstfruits of those who are asleep fifty days later on Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out on the new church gathered in Jerusalem remember what this piece celebrated the harvest how fitting that it initiated the harvest of souls in the church age also the Holy Spirit of the New Covenant came on the same day as Moses received the law of the Old Covenant just another sign that our God is a God of order and precision after the spring feast there is a period of three months before the fall feasts this interval corresponds to the church age which were still in now let's look at the autumn feast the Feast of Trumpets starts the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah on their civil calendar on the biblical calendar this started the seventh month Tishri when the priests would blow the shofar the ram's horn trumpet to declare a day of rest and worship traditionally this begins a time of introspection and repentance preparing for the new year in the upcoming Day of Atonement the day of atonement also known as Yom Kippur or the highest of holy days occurs nine days later on the 10th of Tishri this was the only day of the year that the high priest entered the Holy of Holies this day dealt with the sin of the nation making atonement many of the feast days are days of rest worship and celebration this feast is one of mourning and getting right with God the Feast of Tabernacles also known as who caught or the feast of booths starts on the 15th of Tishri in last 7 days it was a time of worship and festivities during which the people lived in temporary booths or tents that they made out of branches God said this was so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt this week-long feast also symbolizes the time of God dwelling with his people these three autumn fees do not have a clear and specific prophetic fulfillment anywhere in history however they strongly correspond to the events of Jesus's Second Coming the Feast of Trumpets has often been seen as a foreshadowing of the rapture the Bible frequently mentions the sounding of the trumpets and descriptions of the rapture also the rapture will be a time when the workers are called home from the harvest to a celebration it's interesting to note that because the first day of the month was determined by the first appearance of the new moon no one knew exactly what Bay the Feast of Trumpets would take place until it happened does that sound familiar the day of atonement for shadows the second coming of Christ in Israel getting right with their Messiah Zechariah 12 and Romans 11 prophesied that Israel will recognize their rejection of the Messiah and come to faith in him moreover the theme of judgment corresponds to Jesus judgment of the nation's upon his return just as the Feast of Tabernacles follows the day of atonement Jesus's judgment of the nations will be followed by an extended time of celebration in which he dwells with us here on earth this time is known as a Millennial Kingdom Zechariah prophesied that during this time period the entire world will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles or booths Zechariah 14:16 says then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the king the Lord of hosts and to celebrate the feast of booths taking collectively the seven feasts of Israel present the picture of God's ultimate plan of redemption it stands to reason that sends Christ fulfilled the spring feast literally and precisely that he will do the same for his second coming during the autumn holy days which have yet to be fulfilled so how does this help us to live strategically it's one more reminder that God has a plan to finish what he started and although we cannot and should not set dates the autumn feasts may be valuable confirmation of endtime events once they actually happen the autumn feasts are signposts for the end times and when God leaves a sign it's wise to pay attention the distinction between the spring feasts in the autumn piece also highlights the contrast between the first coming in the second coming Jesus came first as a sacrifice but next time he'll come as a king first as a lamb next time as a lion also the feasts of Israel are just a small part of Jewish culture in history that can yield extraordinary insights to the serious Bible student I encourage you to spend some time digging deeper into the Jewish roots of our Christian faith

Channel: Living Strategically

Views: 204,604

Rating: 4.8641996 out of 5

Keywords: The Bible (Religious Text), Religion (TV Genre), God, Jesus Christ, prophecy, Yeshua, biblical feasts, Christians, Jewish holidays, Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles, Pesach, Shavuot, Feast of Weeks, Yom Teruah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Feast of Booths, Second Coming, end times, Hebrew roots

Id: BJ_oGL33OKc

Length: 9min 1sec (541 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 01 2015