The Netzari Faith

Netzarim, Original followers of Yeshua & His 12

God's Biblical Feasts, in a nutshell

YHWH (Yahweh) commanded anyone who believes in Him to keep and celebrate seven Feasts: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Weeks, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles (Leviticus 23). Man has added some "traditional" celebrations such as Hanukkah which is preserved in the books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees; and Purim from the book of Esther, and more. Some of the more modern historical holidays include Israeli Independence Day, Holocaust

As believers in YHWH and His Son, Yeshua, everyone must observe the seven Biblical feasts. Contrary to popular belief, they weren't just meant for "the Jews" (see Numbers 15:13-16) because there were no "Jews" until after Jacob begat the Tribe of Judah from which the term "Jew" is derived; yet, up until then, every believer was Torah observant, keeping the Seventh Day Sabbath and the Biblical Feasts, etc. Yeshua has so far only fulfilled the first 4 of the 7; and it seems the next one will be what Christians call "the rapture."

Leviticus 23 outlines seven Biblical Feast Days and shows how YHWH wants us to celebrate them. The first four occur in the Springtime and the last three in the Fall, with a harvest time noted in between. As you will see, YHWH commanded a specific and fixed day for the commemoration of each Feast. These days will be found at varying times on our Gregorian calendar because man's timetable/calendar is different from God's. Each of YHWH's Feasts foreshadows not only Yeshua, but also the sequence of events in His "grand Plan":

Quick Overview








Feast
Date
Meaning
Status
1. Passover/Pesach March/April Redemption/Sacrifice/Death of Messiah Fulfilled
2. Unleavened Bread March/April Santification/Burial of Messiah/No decay Fulfilled
3. Firstfruits/Grain Harvest March/April Resurrection/Resurrection of Messiah Fulfilled
4. Weeks/Shavuot May/June Pentecost/Holy Spirit sent by YHWH Fulfilled
5. Yom Teruah (Trumpets)/Rosh Hashana September/October Believers' New Year/Messiah returns to Israel ("Rapture") Future
6. Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur September/October Day of Atonement/Messiah saves Israel Future
7. Tabernacles/Sukkot September/October Wedding Feast/Golden Age/Messiah starts Millennium Future

An indepth study

Passover/Pesach: Passover (Nisan 14) falls in the March/April timeframe on the Gregorian calendar: Leviticus 23:5 tells us: "'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete darkness, comes Pesach for ADONAI."

This Feast celebrates the deliverance of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. It is a tale of redemption through the killing of the Passover Lamb whose blood was to be applied to the doorposts of their houses - an act which would spare their firstborn from the Tenth Curse against Pharoah. YHWH promised that the Angel of Death would "pass over" those houses with the blood on the doorposts, and spare the first born (Exodus 12:1-13). This foreshadowed Yeshua, YHWH's "Passover Lamb" who fulfilled Passover when he was crucified and willingly allowed His own blood to be shed on our behalf in order to become our redemption. In other words, the innocent died for the guilty; and sacrifice not only means death but also life (Isaiah 53.)

Yeshua took our bitterness so that we might be able to live an abundant life. During the celebration of Passover, we remember and identify with the bitterness of slavery by eating bitter herbs and matzah (unleavened bread). For instructions on how to celebrate the Passover, please see The Voice. Be sure to click "Back" at the top left of the page in order to return to The Refiner's Fire.

How do you celebrate Passover? Before Passover (Nisan 14) begins, we must clean all items containing leaven out of our houses, because leaven represents "sin". Don't cheat and put your leavened items in the garage or barn; the purpose of this exercise is to OBEY the command to get "the sin" out of our lives! If you put your leavened items in the garage you are, in essence, hanging onto your sin....

The Feast of Passover (Nisan 14) encompasses a total of 8 days, including the Feast of Unleavened Bread (which is an actual Shabbat/Holy Day), which starts at sunset on Nisan 14 (it is the second day of Passover). On the first day of Passover, Nisan 14, we prepare food to eat that evening (which kicks off the Feast of Unleavened Bread). Note that Yeshua, the Passover Lamb who was without sin, died around 3 pm on 14 Nisan. He to be down off the cross before sunset - because of the Shabbat/Holy Day of Unleavened Bread which was to start at sunset....Nisan 15 and the Seventh Day of the Passover are holy days, so we get two Shabbats during Passover.

Exodus 12:1-13 tells us about the first Passover in which the Israelites in Egypt were told to bring a lamb into their houses on the 10th day and raise it until the 14th day upon which they had to slaughter and eat it - around sunset on the 14th (when it becomes the 15th). Yeshua ultimately was THE PASSOVER LAMB! Halleluyah! This does not mean He abolished the need to celebrate Passover; it simply meant He fulfilled one of the Feasts that YHWH's people are to celebrate each year.

PLEASE NOTE the next two feasts below fall during the Feast of Passover!


Unleavened Bread/Hag HaMatzot which is a SHABBAT/holy day, is celebrated on Nisan 15 and marks the beginning of a seven day period during which the eating of leavened Bread is forbidden as leaven is a symbol of sin (I Cor. 5:6-8). Messiah Yeshua fulfilled this Feast when he was buried and became our righteousness (Rom. 6:4, II Cor. 5:21).

Exodus 23:14-16: "Three times a year, you are to observe a festival for me. Keep the festival of matzah: for seven days, as I ordered you, you are to eat matzah (unleavened bread) at the time determined in the month of Aviv; for it was in that month that you left Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. Next, the festival of harvest, the firstfruits of your efforts sowing in the field; and last, the festival of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in from the fields the results of your efforts."

On 15 Nisan at sunset (which, all day long was the Holy Shabbat of Unleavened Bread) you start counting the omer. (This is sunset from 15 to 16 Nisan that is when you say: "This is the first day of omer...")


Firstfruits/Yom HaBikkurim: Celebrated on Nisan 16, Firstfruits falls during the March/April timeframe. This Feast celebrates the bringing of the firstfruits of the winter harvest to the Temple. This Feast was fulfilled ("fulfilled" does NOT mean abolished!) when Yeshua rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:-20-23). Please note, the first three Feasts were fulfilled through the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Yeshua haMashiyach!


Weeks/Shavuot is a Shabbat/Holy Day: The Feast of Weeks/Shavuot is celebrated during the May/June timeframe. Exodus 34:22 tells us: "Observe the festival of Shavuot with the first-gathered produce of the wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year...."

Counting of the Omer towards Shavuot: (Exodus 34:22.) Torah directs the seven-week Counting of the Omer (which begins on the second day of Passover and culminates after seven weeks (49 days), the next day (50th day) being Shavuot). The counting of the days and weeks convey the anticipation of and desire for the Giving of the Torah. In other words, at Passover, the Israelites were freed from their lives of slavery in Egypt; and 50 days later on Shavuot they accepted YHWH's Torah which made them a nation committed to serving God. This Feast was fulfilled by the coming of the promised Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) on the disciples of Yeshua in the Temple. It represents the beginning of the body of Messiah on Earth, in which ALL believers, redeemed through the blood of Messiah, are lifted up before ADONAI and set apart as holy (Acts 2, John 14:15-18, Ephesians 2:11-22).

The theme of accepting Torah is mirrored by the Book of Ruth, which is to be read on Shavuot. Ruth (King David's great-grandmother and ancestor of Yeshua) is born a Moabite, and becomes the first known convert to Judaism. When her husband dies, she tells her Mother-in-Law Naomi that she will go with her, and accept her people. Ruth says the words, "Your people are my people, and your God is my God." During Shavuot we read Exodus 19:1 thru 20:23; Numbers 28:26-31; Ezekiel 1:1-28, 3:12.

Shavua is week in Hebrew, and Shavu'ot is plural, meaning weeks. YHWH's people have been counting exactly seven weeks from Passover; 50 days. It is also worth noting that the number 50 is the number for the Holy Spirit. Yeshua said He would send the Holy Spirit, and He did it on the 50th day after His resurrection. During this time we generally eat dairy products and favorite dishes are cheesecakes and cheese pancakes. In Israel, Shavuot is a state holiday, and a time for pilgrimage to Jerusalem.


Yom Teruah (Trumpets)/Rosh Hashana (A Shabbat/Holy Day): This Feast on Tishri 1 falls in the September/October timeframe. Leviticus 23:23-25 says: ADONAI said to Moshe, "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI.'"

It is the Jewish Civil New Year; the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve and their first actions toward the realization of man's role in the world; of the first sin that was committed and resulting repentance; a day when YHWH takes stock of all of His Creation, which includes all of humanity.

During this Feast, the blowing of shofars (rams' horns) signifies the bringing together of God's people, warning them to repent during the coming "days of awe" (the 10 days between Trumpets and the Day of Atonement).

According to tradition, during this time the Jewish people concentrate all their efforts into making amends with their brethren and apologizing for past offenses. However, what most traditional Jews do not yet realize is that this Feast is the next one to be fulfilled by Yeshua, because when the trumpets will sound and the true believers in Messiah Yeshua will be gathered/resurrected (I Thess. 4:13-18, I Cor. 15:50-54).

This Feast also signals the call for repentance, for the time is short and Judgment is coming upon the Earth - whether people are read, or not! (See the Book of Revelation.)


Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur - A Shabbat/High Holy Day on which we also fast: This Feast represents the need for the sacrifice/sin offering that must be made for the sins of the nation. Yeshua WAS that Sacrifice and He will be recognized for it at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which will take place immediately after Rosh Hashana/the "rapture" just BEFORE we all return with Him to fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles, wherein Yeshua will "tabernacle" among us for the next thousand years! Celebrated on Tishri 10, this Feast falls in the September/October timeframe. Leviticus 16:29 tells us: "It is to be a permanent regulation for you that on the tenth day of the seventh month you are to deny yourselves and not to do any kind of work, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you. For on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before ADONAI from all your sins. It is a Shabbat of complete rest for you, and you are to deny yourselves. This is a permanent regulation."

This Feast represents the need for the sacrifice/sin offering that must be made for the sins of the nation. As the Bible tells us, YHWH/Yeshua shall descend to put to an end the sins of Israel. At that time they will call for the Messiah Yeshua to return and will mourn for the "One who was pierced". This day will be fulfilled upon the Second Coming of Messiah to the Earth (Matt. 23:37-39, Hos. 5:15 thru 6:1-3, Zech. 13:8,9 Zech. 12:10, Zech. 13:1, Ezek. 16:61-63).

Historical Meaning of Yom Kippur

The Bible does not make any definitive connection between Yom Kippur and any historic event, but one tradition holds that it was on the tenth of Tishri that Moses came down from Mount Sinai to find Aaron and the Israelites dancing and reveling and worshipping the golden calf. (Exodus 32) Moses was so enraged that he threw down the tablets of the Ten Commandments and broke them. He ground the idol to powder, sprinkled it on the water, and made the people drink it. He called for them to repent of their wickedness and went back to God to beg forgiveness for their sins. We find the first inkling of the Book of Life when Moses asks to be stricken from "the Book you have written" (Exodus 32:32) if God would not make an atonement for his people. Whether or not this story really has anything to do with the origin of Yom Kippur, it illustrates the spirit of the holy day, which emphasizes confession of sin and restoration of a relationship with God. The willingness of Moses to be "stricken from the book" on the people's behalf is a powerful illustration of the mediating role of Messiah.

Messianic Symbolism in Yom Kippur

We who believe in Yeshua as Messiah can easily see his ministry reflected in the temple service. The priest begins his day with a special bath, or mikveh, immersing himself in water, just as Yeshua began his ministry by being baptized by John the Baptist, or in a larger sense, by being born into human flesh ("born of water" -- John 3:5). The priest laid aside his usual ornate priestly garb for simple white attire. Yeshua "made himself of no reputation" (Philippians 2:7) but laid aside his divine privileges to accomplish his earthly mission of expiating human sin. The white kittel speaks of sinless purity, as he was pure and without sin. It is also reminiscent of the burial shroud. The high priest made a special sacrifice for his own sin (Leviticus 16:11), in order to be seen by God as a sinless mediator, as Yeshua was sinless by his own virtue. Sprinkling the blood upon the Kapporeth (i.e., the cover of the Ark of the Covenant, which served as a sort of earthly throne for the Almighty) seems to represent presentation of the sacrifice to God the Father. Sprinkling the blood in front of the ark may indicate the opening of a way of approach to the Father. (The Ark was ordinarily unapproachable. The people in general were never allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, where the ark was. Even the high priest was allowed to enter only on Yom Kippur.) The sacrifice "covered" ("Kippur" literally means "covering") the sins of the people and made God approachable to sinful man. The Holy of Holies was closed off by a veil (parokhet). When Yeshua died on Golgotha, the parokhet was literally torn in two (see Matthew 27:51) indicating the beginning of the New Covenant and a new path of relationship between God and humanity.

The high priest had to enter every year with a new sacrifice. The sacrifice of Yeshua - "a high priest forever" (Hebrews 5:6) is good forever. The old high priest entered a symbolic Holy of Holies, made with human hands. Yeshua entered the real Holy of Holies - the very throne of God in Heaven (Hebrews 9:11). The scapegoat carried away the sins of the people. In Yeshua ha-Mashiach, all our sins are carried away "as far as east is from west" (Psalm 103:12). Once all the expiatory (sin-forgiving) sacrifices are done, the priest puts on his priestly robes again. When Yeshua had accomplished his sacrificial mission, he put back on the glory of his divinity. When the priest returned from the tabernacle (as Yeshua will return from Heaven), he offered the festival sacrifice. When Yeshua returns, it will be for the full and final redemption of his people Israel. (Ezekiel 16:63)


Tabernacles/Sukkot (Shabbats are on the 1st and 8th day): The main thing about Sukkot is that Yeshua, our Savior was born during the Feast of Sukkot (not on the 25th of December, which is a Christian myth!) and circumcised on the eighth day. Because there was no room at the inn (Luke 2:7), Miriam and Yosef (Mary and Josef) ended up in a "sukkah" - temporary dwelling. Celebrated on Tishri 15, this Feast falls in the September/October timeframe. It is outlined in Deuteronomy 16:13 - 15, where YHWH tells the Israelites: "You are to keep the festival of Sukkot for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing-floor and winepress. Rejoice at your festival - you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, the L'vi'im (Levites), and the foreigners, orphans and widows living among you. Seven days you are to keep the festival for ADONAI your God in the place ADONAI your God will choose, because ADONAI your God will bless you in all your crops and in all your work, so you are to be full of joy!

Leviticus 23:39-43: "'But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of ADONAI seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate it in the presence of ADONAI your God for seven days. You are to observe it as a feast to ADONAI seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra'el is to live in a sukkah, so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra'el live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am ADONAI your God.'"

Did you notice that all Israel is to live in a sukkah for seven days? While some rabbis believe that only those who physically live in Israel need to live in temporary dwellings, the fact is, all are commanded to keep this Feast, and so the least we can do (unless the family is into camping and wants to live in a sukkah for the whole seven days) is build a sukkah in our back yards and eat a meal there at least once during this festival.

Sukkot serves as a reminder of the days in the wilderness when YHWH's people were forced to reside in tents/huts or temporary dwellings - a reminder of our temporary lives on Earth. It will be fulfilled by the ingathering of the "Final Harvest" of souls just prior to the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah on Earth. Philipppians 2:10-11 tells us in that day Yeshua will reign from Jerusalem and "every knee will bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth - and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua the Messiah is ADONAI - to the glory of God the Father." His Kingdom is to last 1,000 years before the eternal order begins in the "new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21)!

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NO THANK YOU! CARMEN FOR ALL YOUR LOVE AND HARD WORK FOR YESHUA AND THE KINGDOM OF ARE ELOHIM

We would not be this strong with out you.

May Abba bless you in all you do!  

Carmen Welker said:

Jeremiah, thanks for posting this!  I truly wish "the church" as a whole would come out of their slumber and begin to realize the beauty and significance of YHWH's "Appointed Times."  Every one of the feasts foreshadow Yeshua, and so far, He has only fulfilled the first FOUR of the SEVEN.  We are so blessed to be able to partake of the feasts - Halleluyah!!!

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