Credit to Renee M

Feasts of the Lord

Spring Feasts

Spring feasts of the Lord

1. Passover / Pesach

14th Nisan

Towards the end of this day at twilight, a year-old male lamb without blemish is slaughtered and the blood smeared on all the three sides of the doorframe, top, right and left; This is a clear picture of the sacrifice that Jesus the Messiah later made when He died on this day as ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’. The Passover Seder (service) occurs on this evening of 14th Nisan, which then becomes 15th Nisan during the Seder ceremony at sundown. This agrees with the commandment given in the Torah, “In the first month, from the 14th day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the 21st day of the month at evening.” Exodus 12:6, Exodus 12:18, John 1:29

2. Unleavened Bread

15th – 21st Nisan (7 Days)

The meat of the passover lamb slaughtered shortly before sundown is roasted with fire and eaten with unleavened bread (matzah) and bitter herbs (maror) on this evening. The meal is eaten in haste to signify how the Jews were in a rush to ready themselves so as to begin the journey immediately after God smote the firstborns of the Egyptian household on that same evening at midnight. The angel of death ‘passed over’ the Israelite’s household and spared their first borns because they were protected by the ‘blood of the lamb’. Only unleavened bread (matzah) is eaten for 7 days beginning on the 15th day and ending on 21st day at the evening. The removal of leaven (chametz) is a metaphor of sanctification as leaven is symbolic of sin. The first day (15th Nisan) and seventh day (21st Nisan) of this feast are Sabbaths and holy days of assembly in which ordinary work is forbidden. Exodus 12:15, Exodus 12:16-18

3. First Fruits

16th Nisan

This is the day following the first day of unleavened bread and is also called “beginning of the harvest” where a sheaf (omer) of ripened barley (the first grain crop to ripen) is waved by the priest (North, South, East, then West) before the Lord, a year-old male lamb without blemish is sacrificed along with a minchah (unleavened bread mixed with oil) and wine to mark the start of ‘the counting of the omer’ thereby initiating the 49-day countdown to the harvest festival of Pentecost (Shavu’ot). Only after the wave offering is performed, can the crop begin to be used. These first fruits are symbolic of Jesus as He fulfilled this feast when He was raised from the dead by God and became the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Jesus’ resurrection was like a “wave offering” presented before the Father as the “firstfruits” of the harvest to come!
Lev. 23:9-12, Lev. 23:13, Lev. 23:14, 1 Cor. 15:20-23

4. Pentecost / Shavu’ot

6th Sivan

This is the day that God gave Moses the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It is
exactly 7 weeks (49 days) counting from the day after the Feast of First Fruits. This period of 49 days (between 17th Nisan and 5th Sivan) called ‘counting of the omer’ culminates with the feast being observed on the 50th day, hence the name Pentecost (also referred to as the Feast of Weeks). It is a Sabbath and no ordinary work is permitted. Just as a sample of the first crop of ripened barley is waved before the Lord on the Feast of First Fruits, so on Pentecost a sample of the first crop of ripened wheat is brought to the priest, baked in 2 loaves of leavened bread and waved before the altar. This is the only time leavened bread is used by the priests in such a manner. It is on this day that the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) descended from heaven onto the disciples and it is considered to be the day the Church was born. Lev. 2:11, Lev. 23: 15-20, Ex. 19:1

Fall Feasts

Fall feasts of the Lord

5. Trumpets / Yom Teru’ah

1st / 2nd Tishrei

This feast is observed on the first 2 days of the 7th month of Tishrei because of the difficulty in determining the exact timing of the new moon. It is a Sabbath where no ordinary work is permitted. A shofar (ram’s horn) is blown on this day to make Teru’ah (Noise) and the feast is sometimes referred to as Yom Teru’ah (Day of the blowing of the Teru’ah). The shofar is a reminder of the divinely provided ram as ransom for Isaac’s life (the Akedah) and the giving of the Torah to Israel. This feast also marks the beginning of the Jewish civil year and it is sometimes referred to as Rosh Hashanah (the head of the year). It is believed that the gates of Heaven and the books of life and death are opened on this day to mark the beginning of a 10-day period of prayer, self-examination and repentance called the “Days of Awe” (Yamim Norai’m) which lead up to the feast of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Lev. 23:24, Num. 29:1, Psalm 81:1-4, Exodus 19:16

6. Atonement / Yom Kippur

10th Tishrei

This is the holiest day of the Jewish year and is the only time of
the year the High Priest can enter the Holy of Holies and call upon the name of God and to offer blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. It is a Sabbath and solemn day marked by complete fasting, prayer and no ordinary work is permitted. It also marks the climax of a 10-day period of repentance that begins on Yom Teruah called the “Days of Awe”. On this day it is believed that the gates of Heaven, as well as the books of life and death, are closed and all the people whose names are written in either books have their fates sealed for the rest of the year. It is the only feast celebrated for 25 hours (day and hour). It is also the day in which the Jubilee is declared after 49 years from the time Israel enters the land God gives them. During the Jubilee the shofar (ram’s horn) is blown, slaves set free, property returned to its rightful owner and the land observes a sabbath year. Lev. 25:1, 8-13, Lev. 17:11, Hebrews 5:10

7. Tabernacles / Sukkot

15th – 22nd Tishrei (8 Days)

This is an 8-day feast in which the 1st and 8th (Shmini Atzeret) days are Sabbaths where no ordinary work is permitted. A holy convocation / solemn assembly is held and food offerings are presented to the Lord. During this feast, Israelites dwell in hastily built huts (sukkot) for 7 days as a remembrance of how God made them dwell in them when He brought them out of Egypt. Since it follows the days of awe and repentance, Sukkot represents the time of restored fellowship with the Lord. In fact, the Mishkan (and later, the Temple) represents God’s dwelling among His redeemed people. Sukkot is the 7th and last feast that God ordered the Israelites to observe as “His Appointed Times” and from a spiritual perspective corresponds to the joy of knowing that your sins have been forgiven (during Yom Kippur) and also recalls God’s miraculous provision and care after the deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Lev. 23:34-39, Deut. 16:13, Numbers 29:35, Exodus 29:44-45

8. Hannukah / Re-Dedication

25th Kislev – 2nd Tevet (8 Days)

Although this feast was not given to the Israelites by God in the book of Leviticus, it came to be in 165 BC when Judas Maccabees defeated the evil Greek king Antiochus IV (”Epiphanes”) on 25 Kislev (9th Month) and the people cried out “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”. Judas Maccabees re-dedicated the defiled Temple on this same day; hence its name, the feast of ‘re-dedication’. It is said that the only oil that had not been defiled by the Greeks that was needed to light the menorah continuously in the Temple was not enough and was expected to last only 1 day. Miraculously it lasted 8 days. The Israelites took this as a sign from God and decided to observe an 8-day feast in commemoration of this event. This feast is widely considered to be the 2nd Feast of Tabernacles and it is a foreshadow of Jesus returning to to reclaim the earth at His second coming after it has been defiled. Hannukah eve is considered to be the ‘blessed day’. Haggai 2:19, Matthew 23:39, John 10:22-24, Zechariah 14:16-19