The Jewish Feasts, in a Nutshell
The Bible lists seven basic Jewish Holidays or Feast Days: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Weeks, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles (Leviticus 23). Then there are the traditional holidays such as Hanukkah from the book of John, and Purim from the book of Esther, and more. Some of the more modern historical holidays include Israeli Independence Day, Holocaust Remembrance Day, etc.
Leviticus 23 lists seven Biblical Feast Days and the ways we are to celebrate them. The first four occur in the Spring, then a harvest time is mentioned, with the other three holidays occurring in the Fall.
There are three main harvest times in Israel, due to the three climate zones. The winter harvest begins approximately during the time of Passover/Unleavened Bread/Firstfruits, and the Spring harvest comes in around the time of Shavuot (Weeks). Harvesting continues all summer long in Israel, depending on the type of crops and where they are planted. Finally, the last of the abundant summer harvest comes in the Fall around the time of Tabernacles.
It is important to note that each of the festivals represents a future event as God has outlined history in His Calendar. Much prophecy can be found in the Holy Days!
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Passover/Pesach (Nisan 14) celebrates the deliverance of the slaves from Egypt. It is the story of redemption by the killing of the Passover Lamb. The Israelites obeyed God by applying the blood of the Passover lamb to the doorposts of their houses so that their firstborn would be spared the Tenth Curse against Pharoah who refused to let God's enslaved Chosen People leave Egypt. When the Angel of Death passed through the land and saw the blood, he "passed over" those houses and spared the first born (Exodus 12:1-13). This was a picture of Yeshua, God's "Passover Lamb" Who willingly allowed His own blood to be shed on our behalf and thus became our redemption. The Messiah fulfilled this holiday when he was crucified! He took our bitterness so that we might live the abundant life. We remember and identify with the bitterness of slavery by eating the bitter herbs and the matza (unleavened bread) on Passover. The innocent died for the guilty. Sacrifice not only means death - it also means
LIFE (Isaiah 53.)[*]
Unleavened Bread/Hag HaMatzot (Nisan 15) marks the beginning of the eating of unleavened Bread (matzah) for seven days. No leaven (yeast) may be eaten on those days as leaven is a symbol of sin (I Cor. 5:6-8). Messiah took our sins upon Himself and when he was buried, he arose pure and spotless. Yeshua fulfilled this holiday when he was buried and He has become our righteousness (Rom. 6:4, II Cor. 5:21)![*]
Firstfruits/Yom HaBikkurim (Nisan 16) celebrates the bringing of the firstfruits of the winter harvest to the Temple - it is the promise of more to come. The Messiah Yeshua fulfilled this holiday when he rose from the dead - a promise of more to come (I Cor. 15:-20-23)! The first three holidays are fulfilled by the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Yeshua. We identify with him in that we have died with Him on the cross, were buried with Him, and have risen with Him to new life (II Cor. 5:17.)![*]
Weeks/Shavuot - counting 49 Sabbaths from Passover and adding one day - this Holy Day should always fall on a Sunday; however, the modern rabbis have changed it because they did not want it to fall on a Sunday. (This day is also known among Christians as Pentecost - 50 days.) On this day, two loaves of leavened bread are waved before the Lord. This is the only time leaven is allowed in the temple sacrifices. The book of Ruth is then read, the story of a non-Jew who was accepted into the household of Israel and became the grandmother of King David who was an ancestor of Yeshua! This Holiday is fulfilled by the coming of the promised Holy Spirit of God (Ruach HaKodesh) in power on the disciples of Yeshua in the Temple. It was the birth of the "church" - the body of Messiah on earth - Jew and Gentile -both with sin in their lives, but lifted up before the Lord and set apart as holy to Him (Acts 2, John 14:15-18, Ephesians 2:11-22). (Leviticus 23:22 talks of a time of harvesting: this is where we are at the present time in history. Yeshua said,
"Lift up your heads, the fields are white unto harvest. Pray the L-rd of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest." John 4:35)[*]
Trumpets/Yom HaTeruah (Tishri 1): Blowing of trumpets to bring the people together and to warn them to repent because of the coming days of awe (the 10 days between Trumpets and the Day of Atonement). On this holiday a series of trumpets are blown, followed by the great trumpet blast. According to Jewish tradition, much effort is made during this time to make amends and apologize for past offenses. Forgiveness is sought and attempts are made to establish peaceful relationships.
This is the next future event on G-d's calendar because the trumpets will sound and the believers in Messiah Yeshua will be gathered/resurrected to Him and so shall we be with the Lord! This holiday will be fulfilled by the Rapture - the supernatural taking away of all the believers from the face of the earth (I Thess. 4:13-18, I Cor. 15:50-54). However, this event also signals the call for repentance - time is short! Judgment is coming upon the earth - the events of Revelation will begin to unfold. The wrath of God will fall upon the earth and at the same time, many will repent and turn to him.[*]
Day of Atonement/Yom HaKippur (Tishri 10): The Day when sacrifice must be made for the sins of the nation which were committed in ignorance. Again a series of trumpets are blown (Trumpet Judgments of Revelation). The Lord will bring Israel to the point where she says "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord." - a welcome for the Messiah! The Lord Himself shall descend and He will make an end of the sins of Israel. They will call for the Messiah Yeshua to return to them and they will mourn for him. This day will be fulfilled by the Second Coming of the Lord 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).[/ul]
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)
(Borrowed from
AMF International.)
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Tabernacles/Sukkot (Tishri 15) A week-long celebration of the Final Harvest by making small huts in which to dwell, which culminates in a huge celebration on the eighth day. The huts are usually decorated with palm branches, willows and other seasonal branches and fruit. This serves as a reminder of the days in the wilderness when the Israelites lived in tents and huts and the Lord lived among them. It is to remind us of the "temporariness" of life. This holiday will be fulfilled by the ingathering of the Final Harvest of souls and the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah on earth. The Lord will live among us again! In that day He will reign from Jerusalem and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is the Lord of lords and King of kings. It is a prelude to the eternal order. It will last 1,000 years after which the eternal order begins for all of us!
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(The above was borrowed, in part, from Lura Maiman-Beckford's Jewish Holidays.)[/ul]
The Jewish Feast Represent The Messiah
