ANCIENT FEASTS OF ISRAEL
| JESUS' FULFILLMENT OF FEASTS BY HIS EARTHLY MINISTRY | UNBORN BABY'S DEVELOPMENT PATTERNED AFTER FEASTS
|
1] PASSOVER. Passover occurred on the fourteenth day of the first month- the month of Abib or Nisan (Leviticus 23:5). Passover commemorated the salvation of Israelite children from death- through faith placed in the (Passover) lamb's blood- and the beginning of a new life in the Promised Land- as God used Moses to lead His people from bondage in Egypt.
| NEW LIFE. God sent His Son, Jesus, to give all believers eternal life (John 3:16; etc.). Paul called Jesus our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Any person who accepts by faith Jesus' blood sacrifice is given new life- an eternal life with Jesus in Heaven (John 3:1-21; etc.). | OVULATION. If one counts the month a woman becomes pregnant as the first month of pregnancy, ovulation occurs on the fourteenth day of the first month. At ovulation, a new life is readied, requiring only the next step- fertilization. |
2] UNLEAVENED BREAD. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began on the day following Passover (Leviticus 23:6). This feast commemorated the haste required by the Israelites as they left Egypt (the bread did not have time to rise) and also symbolized the need to remove leaven from the homes (leaven, or yeast, was a metaphor for sin).
| THE SEED. Jesus was buried in less than one day after His crucifixion. The Seed (Jesus) was buried- or planted- in the tomb. Seed of any plant must be buried in soil before it can sprout and bear fruit. Our Seed, Jesus, was planted so that He could rise as the Firstfruits of resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-23; etc.), with the proof and promise that those who believe in Him would also be resurrected from death (James 1:18; etc.). Jesus had no leaven (sin) in Him.
| FERTILIZATION. Fertilization of the mother's egg (ovum) with the father's sperm- literally, planting of the father's seed- must occur within one day of ovulation, or that ovum disintegrates and pregnancy cannot occur that month. |
3] FIRSTFRUITS. The Feast of Firstfruits began on Sunday following Passover (Leviticus 23:9-14), and could, therefore, occur on any date between two to six days after Passover. Celebration of Firstfruits involved waving a sheaf of the first harvested grain before God, and was a statement by God's people of faith in Him to provide for all their needs as well as an offering of thanksgiving for all He had provided.
| JESUS' RESURRECTION. Jesus, our Bread of Life (John 6:35), rose from death on the third day after His crucifixion (John 24:7; etc.). The planted Seed literally rose to become the Firstfruits of resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-23), as a sign of His Divinity and a promise that believers in Him would also be raised from death to eternal life. | IMPLANTATION. After fertilization, the fertilized ovum (egg) slowly moves through the fallopian tube into the cavity of the womb (uterus) for approximately two to six days, until it implants into the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) where it will be nourished and will develop until birth. At birth, the "fruit" of pregnancy comes forth- a baby with an eternal soul. |
4] PENTECOST. The Festival of Weeks, Shavuot or Pentecost, occurred fifty days after Firstruits (Leviticus 23:15-16; Deuteronomy 16:9-10). This festival was an offering of new grain to God in thanksgiving for the summer grain harvest.
| HARVEST. The Christian Church- the body of Jesus the Christ- began on the Day of Pentecost following Jesus' resurrection (John 14:16-20; Acts, Chapter 2; etc.). From this day forward, this Church would reap a great harvest of souls for God's Kingdom (Joel 2:28-29), with believers in Jesus being transformed into a new creation (2 Corintians 5:17; etc.).
| NEW CREATION (FETUS). As the implanted ovum continues to develop, he or she becomes recognizable with human-like features at approximately fifty days of gestation. From this time forward, the new creation becomes more human-like in appearance day after day until birth. |
5] TRUMPETS. The Feast (Day) of Trumpets, Yom Teruah, occurred on the first day of the seventh* month, the month of Ethanim (or, Tishri) (Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6). Trumpet blasts on this day acknowledged the presence of God in the land, announced the two major Holy Days to follow in the month, and signalled the finality of God's plan for the year's harvest. (*The number seven is symbolic of the completion of a work of God.)
| BELIEVERS' RAPTURE/ RESURRECTION. Jesus will return in the clouds to resurrect dead believers and rapture (translate, snatch up) living believers, that they may be with Him forever in Heaven (Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; etc.). This event will be accompanied by the sound of God's trumpet and a shouted command for believers to come up to the Lord. | HEARING. The unborn baby's hearing is fully developed by the seventh month of gestation, so that he or she can discriminate sounds, e.g,, the sounds of God's trumpet and the command to come up to the Lord. |
6] ATONEMENT. The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, occured on the tenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:26-32; Numbers 29:7-11). This solemn day for the atonement of the sins of the people through confession and repentance involved the shedding of blood from sacrificial animals. (NOTE: Two goats were sacrificed. Blood from the goat for the LORD was sprinkled on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, the goat for azazel [Hebrew: az-aw-zale']- the scapegoat, the goat of departure- took up the sins of the people and was removed from the community [to take away the sins] and killed [to never bring the sins back]. Thus, the goat for azazel symobolized God's promise to forgive and forget sin, after a sinner's confession and repentance.)
| REDEMPTION. Surviving Zion (Israel) will be saved during the Tribulation, as Jews come to accept Jesus as their Messiah and Savior (Romans 11:26). Redemption from sin- for Jews and Gentiles alike- can occur only through personal acceptance of Jesus' blood sacrifice on the cross (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; etc.). Like the symbolic goat for azazel, Jesus through His crucifixion (blood sacrifice) became the way He could take our sins upon Himself and remove them from us, if we confess and repent of the sins (Isaiah, Chapter 53; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 2:13-15; 1 Peter 2:24; etc.). | BLOOD (HEMOGLOBIN A). Hemoglobin is the iron-containing protein in red blood cells which transports life-sustaining oxygen to the body's cells. During early pregnancy, the unborn baby requires a special hemoglobin, fetal hemoglobin (hemoglobin F), to carry oxygen from the mother's placenta. After birth, the baby requires another hemoglobin, adult hemoglobin (hemoglobin A), to carry atmospheric oxygen from the lungs. The change from fetal (F) hemoglobin to adult (A) hemoglobin occurs during the seventh month of pregnancy. Thus, the change in the baby's blood hemoglobin prepares the baby to live outside of the womb in the world, just as Jesus' blood sacrifice prepares the believer to live outside of Earth in Heaven. |
7] TABERNACLES. The Feast of Tabernacles (Ingathering, Booths, Sukkot) began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:33-43; Deuteronomy 16:13-15). This feast, commemorating the time the Israelites lived in camp huts during their journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land, was a time of joy and celebration for all that God had given His people.
| KINGDOM. Immediately after the Tribulation, Jesus will return to Earth and establish His rule during the Millennial Kingdom (Isaiah 9:7; Revelation 20:4-6; etc.). During this time, Jesus will physically tabernacle (dwell) with His people on Earth. In other words, the Spirit of God will physically live on Earth. | LUNGS. The unborn baby's lungs begin to develop sufficiently to breathe more efficiently after birth, during the seventh month of pregnancy. "Spirit" and "breath" are similar Biblical concepts: God blew His breath into Adam to bring him to life (Genesis 2:7). When the Holy Spirit descended upon believers at the birth of the Christian Church on the Day of Pentecost, one of the Spirit's manifestations was "the sound of a rushing wind" (Acts 2:2). The New Testament Greek word translated "wind" is pno-ay', which comes from the word pneh';-o, which means "to breathe hard."
|
8] CHANUKAH (HANUKKAH). The Feast of Dedication was not a Mosaic feast. This feast, prophesied in Daniel 8:9-14, commemorated the cleansing of the Temple after it was recaptured from the Seleucid Greeks (Antiochus IV, Epiphanes) by the Maccabeans in the Second Century B.C. This feast was celebrated after ten lunar cycles- or, 280 days (40 weeks)- into the Jewish year. Hanukkah today is represented by the nine-lamp Hanukkah menorah, which stands for victory and new life.
| ETERNITY. After the Millennial Kingdom, which will be ruled by Jesus, New Jerusalem (Heaven) will descend to Earth, and here will God the Father and Jesus live with believers forever (Revelation 21:1 – 22:5). NOTE: Appreciate the significance of the Hanukkah miracle. There was only enough sanctified oil to light the Temple lamp for one day, but the oil miraculously lasted for eight days. Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12; etc.). One day to us is like one-thousand years to the Lord (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). Thus, eternity can be considered the "eighth day of creation," as follows: Days 1 through 4 represent the 4,000 years between Adam and Jesus' First Coming. Days 5 and 6 represent the 2,000 years between Jesus' First and Second Comings. Day 7 represents the Millennial Kingdom. Day 8 represents Eternity, which follows the Millennial Kingdom. | ETERNAL LIFE. The baby is delivered (born) after approximately 280 days (40 weeks) of gestation. This baby is eternal because he or she possesses a soul. This soul will live forever- either in joy in Heaven or in torment in Hell. |
