Observations of the Feasts of the Lord :: By Mark A. Becker

The Seven Feasts of the Lord and Their Prophetic Implications

The Feast of Passover [Pesach]: The sacrifice for sins of the perfectly shed blood of the Lamb of God, Messiah Yeshua (1 Corinthians 5:7).

The Feast of Unleavened Bread [Chag Hamotzi]: Leaven, representing sin, is omitted in The Feast of Unleavened Bread, signifying Messiah Yeshua’s perfect life apart from sin. There is also an allusion to the Last Supper as Messiah broke the bread as symbolic of His broken body upon the cross (1 Corinthians 5:8).

The Feast of First Fruits [Bikkurim]: As we shall see, this is an undated feast that signified Christ as our First Fruits (1 Corinthians 15:23) when He was resurrected. There is more, I believe, to this feast that we will observe within this study.

The Feast of Pentecost [Shavuot]: 50 days after the Feast of First Fruits, when the Holy Spirit was supernaturally poured out upon the disciples, giving them unique power through the Spirit to assist them in carrying out the Great Commission.

The Feast of Trumpets [Rosh Hashanah or Yom Ter’uah]: This joyful feast is generally considered to be an illustrative picture of the rapture of the church.

The Day of Atonement [Yom Ha-Kippurim]: The picture, most believe, is to the Second Coming when God’s people will afflict their souls, accept their Messiah, and cry out to Him, “Blessed is He who cometh in the Name of the Lord.”

The Feast of Tabernacles [Sukkot]: Though Messiah Yeshua tabernacled with Israel at His First Advent, He will tabernacle and rule the world from Jerusalem in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom.

Though not all agree, these are the generally accepted prophetic depictions that the Feasts of the LORD represent.

In this study, we would like to offer some observations regarding these Feasts of the Lord.

Underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.

The Feast of Passover

“In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover.” – Leviticus 23:5

The Passover initially represented the deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt, as outlined in Exodus chapter 12.

The prophetic fulfillment of Passover was the sacrificial offering of our Lord Messiah Yeshua on the cross in atonement and the shedding of His holy and precious blood for the remission of sins for all people.

That atonement for sins, of course, could only bring salvation to those who would accept His free gift offering, putting their faith and trust in Him and His work on the cross, His death, burial, and resurrection, rendering to them reconciliation to the Father and life eternal.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

“And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

“In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.” – Leviticus 23:6-8

The Feast of Unleavened Bread, lasting seven days, would remind the Israelites of leaving Egypt in haste.

“And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.” – Exodus 12:33-34

Leaven, representing sin in the Scriptures, was not to be found in the Israelites’ bread – or even in their houses (Exodus 12:19) – upon their hasty exit out of Egypt.

The prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was that of the sinless life of the Son of God and the lifelong process of each believer to eventually be sinless themselves at death and/or the resurrection/rapture of the church. Seven – being the number of divine completion and fulfillment – signifies our absolute trust in this divine process and eventual realization that began with our loving Savior’s sacrifice on the cross.

Our Redeemer and Savior had to be sinless in order to offer Himself up as an atoning sacrifice, acceptable before the Father, for the sins of the entire world (Ephesians 5:2).

Therefore, the only Mediator between God and man would have to be God in the flesh – fully God and fully man. Messiah Yeshua was that God-man who alone could do the work of saving a desperate people who could never save themselves!

The Feast of First Fruits

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.” – Leviticus 23:10-11

The Feast of First Fruits is a celebratory feast for the innumerable provisions of God for His people.

Most seem to miss – despite when and how this feast is celebrated by the Jews – that the Feast of First Fruits was to be a dateless feast, as it would not be until Israel “shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest.”

As we should know, harvests vary from year to year, dependent upon the harvest being ripe. Therefore, this feast is entirely dependent upon when the harvest is ready.

First Fruit Offering: A Male Lamb Without Blemish

A male lamb without blemish was to be offered to the Lord on the Feast of First Fruits.

“And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Lord.” – Leviticus 23:12

One sacrifice for all:

“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.… For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:10, 12, 14

This is our picture of Messiah as a perfect sacrificial “lamb without blemish” and His resurrection as our First Fruits:

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” – 1 Corinthians 15:20

A General Depiction of the Feast of First Fruits

Here is a general representation of Messiah Yeshua and the feast of First Fruits, based upon the passage above:

Yeshua, as our First Fruits, was presented to the Priests by the children of Israel at The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and the Temple on what is traditionally called Palm Sunday, when the time of the harvest of saved souls was ready and ripe.
Messiah, as our High Priest, was offered up on Passover and presented Himself and the First Fruits of the harvest (the saved souls in Paradise) after His resurrection to the Father as a “wave offering” on the Sunday following the Sabbath (John 20:17).

As noted above, just like the Feast of First Fruits was to be wholly dependent upon when the harvest was ripe and ready, so would the First Fruits of all the saved souls in Paradise be ripe and ready when Messiah Yeshua took Paradise to heaven with Him after His resurrection (Ephesians 4:8-10).

This is our understanding of a dateless Feast of First Fruits – that of waiting for the First Fruits to ripen and be ready for the harvest.

A Rapture Illustration of the Feast of First Fruits

Fascinatingly, we see the same exact picture when we consider the resurrection/rapture of the church! Note what Paul said to the church in Rome:

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” – Romans 11:25

Once the “fulness of the Gentiles be come in” – or the harvest is ripe, if you will – the rapture of the church will take place. This is another harvest that will not be harvested until the harvest is ready!

No one but the Father knows when this will occur. We do know, however, that after the resurrection/rapture takes place, Messiah Yeshua will come to save the remnant of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, all of whom will have, by then, come to salvation in their Messiah!

“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” – Romans 11:26-27

The Feast of Pentecost

The Feast of Pentecost is also a dateless feast in that the countdown is not made until after the dateless Feast of First Fruits has been established. Of course, the date of Pentecost will be known once the date has been ascertained from the ripened fields that initiate the Feast of First Fruits, but that date will not be consistent year to year, as crops ripen at different stages due to many differing agricultural and climate dynamics.

An Allusion to End-Time Chronology?

“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.” – Leviticus 23:15-16

When it comes to the feasts of First Fruits and Pentecost, I have recently noticed an allusion to end-time chronology. Please allow me to explain.

The dateless Feast of First Fruits, when the harvest is ready, is symbolic of the rapture, “when the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25).

There is an indeterminant amount of time – wholly dependent upon when the harvest is ripe – between when Israel presents the first of their crops to the priest and when the sheaf is waved before the Lord on the Sunday after the Sabbath. Again, this is how it reads in Leviticus:

For instance, if the people of Israel present the first fruits of their crops to the priest on a Wednesday, and the priest will offer the wave offering to the Lord on the Sunday after the coming Sabbath, there will have passed three days in between the acceptance of the first fruits and the offering of the first fruits to the Lord by the priest.

[We looked at this same type of representation when Christ was presented to the Priests by the people on Palm Sunday and delivered the “wave offering” to God by offering Himself, as High Priest, and the saved souls in Paradise after His resurrection on the Sunday following the coming Sabbath.]

This indeterminant time (that will fluctuate year to year, dependent upon when the crops are ripe for harvest), lying in between the people bringing in the first fruits of the harvest to the priest and the priest’s waving the sheaf of the first fruits on the Sunday following the coming Sabbath to the Lord is a picture of The Gap of time in between the rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation – a timeframe which no one knows but the Father!

Therefore, the countdown of exactly seven weeks (or 7 7’s) to Pentecost is symbolic of Daniel’s 70 7’s prophecy, in general, and Daniel’s 70th 7, in specific, which is the seven-year (2,520-day) Tribulation. The beginning and the ending of this countdown would be an allegorical illustration to that of the signing of the covenant between Antichrist, Israel, and the many (Daniel 9:27), which begins the Tribulation, and Christ’s Second Coming, which ends the Tribulation, respectively.

Moreover, just as the Holy Spirit came down from heaven at Pentecost upon believers in Jerusalem, so, too, will Messiah and the Kingdom of God come down from heaven to earth in order to save all believers, in general, and Israel, in specific, at the conclusion of the Tribulation!

Pentecost: A Joyous Feast for Israel!

“And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there.” – Deuteronomy 16:10-11

The Feast of Pentecost was to be a joyous feast “with a tribute of a freewill offering… according as the Lord thy God hath blessed” the Israelites.

In addition, every member of the community from the Israelite to the manservants, to the maidservants, the Levite within their gates, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow among the nation of Israel will be “in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put His Name there,” which is, of course, Jerusalem!

Pentecost: The Two Wave Loaves

“Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.” – Leviticus 23:17

The two wave loaves, uniquely, were to “be baken with leaven,” as “they are the First Fruits [of the fall harvest] unto the Lord.” These two wave loaves were to be brought “out of [their] habitations.”

The picture of the two leavened wave loaves seems to be that of the uniting of Jew and Gentile – both people groups are sinners, thus the leaven – making up the body of Messiah, His church. The church, at the rapture, will essentially be brought “out of [their] habitations” when the Lord comes for His bride!

The prophetic fulfillment, as mentioned above, is the beginning of the church during Pentecost at Jerusalem where both Jews and proselyte Gentiles from all over the known world were present when the Holy Spirit was uniquely poured out on the disciples as they spoke in tongues – all people hearing the oracles of God in their own languages – and many were added to the church that day, following the preaching of Peter.

“And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God…. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” – Acts 2:8-11, 41

Pentecost: Making Provisions for the Poor and the Stranger

“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 23:22

In the Parable of the Supper (analogous to The Marriage Supper of The Lamb), Jesus noted:

“… Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.” – Luke 14:21

God always cares for the poor, the downcast, the stranger, the maimed, the halt, and the blind, and many of these will be those who enter the Salvation Kingdom!

The Feast of Trumpets

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.” – Leviticus 23:23-25

Short, sweet, and to the point. One day – not the two days that Israel sets apart for the feast due to evidently wanting to get the moon cycle just right – but one day is this feast to be held on the first day of the seventh month.

[Am I the only one that finds it strange that we can know the lunar cycles with absolute precision in our day, yet Israel evidently has had such a difficult time with these same calculations that, in order to begin this feast, they have extended the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah/Yom Ter’uah) to two days? This appears to be nothing more than a tradition of man, based upon the Talmud, no less.]

The Hebrew word for “of blowing [of trumpets]” is 8643 תְּרוּעָה “teruah” – a feminine noun – and means shout or blast, of war, alarm, or joy.

Most people are unaware, but there is no reference to “trumpets” within this verse! Trumpets could certainly be implied in the “blast” or “blowing” within the definition (if this is indeed what is meant), but this word is very often translated shout or shouting, joy or rejoicing. Leviticus 23:24 could literally be read “a memorial of shouting for joy.”

Does this pose a problem for those of us who see the Feast of Trumpets – Yom Ter’uah – as an illustration of the resurrection/rapture of the church? No. Why?

Because even if the original intent was that of shouting for joy instead of blowing of trumpets, we would still have a picture of the rapture, as both trump and shout are present in Paul’s discourse on the rapture in 1 Thessalonians!

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

[As a quick reminder: Please, dear Saint, never attempt to set a date or day of the rapture and find yourself guilty of Rapture Soothsaying.]

The Day of Atonement

“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.” – Leviticus 23:27

The Day of Atonement is preceded by what is known to Israel as the Ten Days of Awe, which began with the Feast of Trumpets.

These Ten Days of Awe are commonly associated as a prophetic type of the seven-year Tribulation (2,520 days). If one were to try and take this picture literally, we could suggest that there may be a three-year period between the rapture and the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation (Daniel 9:27), known as The Gap, for a total of approximately 10 years representing the Ten Days of Awe.

While I personally believe The Gap will probably be shorter than three years, the illustrative picture should not be missed.

The Day of Atonement, when Israel is to afflict their souls, should bring to mind the mourning of Israel that will follow their Messiah’s coming at the end of the Tribulation to save and redeem them personally.

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

“In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

“And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.” – Zechariah 12:10-14

The Feast of Tabernacles

“Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.” – Deuteronomy 16:13-14 (Leviticus 23:39-43)

The Feast of Tabernacles signifies both Messiah Yeshua’s First Advent and will also be a feast that is celebrated in the Millennial Kingdom as Messiah tabernacles with mankind while ruling the world from Jerusalem.

“Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.” – Deuteronomy 16:15

Prophetically, the Millennial Kingdom will commence 75 days after the seven-year Tribulation (2,520 days). Within this timeframe, Christ conquers His enemies, restores the earth and heavens to pristine conditions, builds the Millennial Temple, and rejuvenates the Sheep from The Separation of the Sheep and Goat Judgment so they may live throughout the 1,000 years when Christ tabernacles with Israel and the world, blessing them all mightily.

Ultimately, though, Messiah will tabernacle with His people forever in the New Jerusalem, on a new earth, under a new heaven, in the Eternal Kingdom!

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” – Revelation 21:1-3

Three Feasts for Israel’s Males to Observe Every Year

“Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.” – Deuteronomy 16:16-17

These three feasts seem to correspond to three major events in the history of Israel’s redemption and God’s plan of consummation for her history. They are:

The Feast of Unleavened Bread – which would include Passover – represents the deliverance of Israel from bondage and slavery in Egypt.

The future prophetic implications prefiguring the sinless Son of God’s sacrifice for deliverance of God’s people from sins.

The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, which begins with the undated Feast of First Fruits, wholly dependent on the harvest being ripe by God’s provision, signifies God fulfilling His promises throughout Israel’s existence as their Provider, Protector, and Sustainer.

Pentecost was the day the Holy Spirit uniquely fell upon the disciples in Jerusalem, and, as we already discussed, the future illustrative allusion to Israel being saved at the end of the Tribulation by her Messiah. This prophetic deliverance will occur when “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26) at Christ’s Second Coming.

The Feast of Tabernacles represented God’s glory tabernacling with Israel in the tabernacle of Moses and then in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.

The Feast of Tabernacles, of course, had prophetic fulfillment in Messiah’s First Advent when He also tabernacled with Israel and within her Temple, but the near to us prophetic fulfillment will be when Messiah sets up His Messianic Millennial Kingdom and rules and reigns in Jerusalem over Israel and the entire world, tabernacling with, and ruling over, His restored creation.

The ultimate prophetic fulfillment, however, will be the tabernacling of God in His fullness with mankind in the Eternal Kingdom in the New Jerusalem, on a new earth, under new heavens.

Judges for Israel

“Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.” – Deuteronomy 16:18

In the Messianic Millennial Kingdom, God says that He will restore His chosen people’s judges and officers, though the officers are now called “counsellors.”

“And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.” – Isaiah 1:26

Just as God appointed judges and officers for Israel in the beginning of their nation’s history, so, too, will Messiah Yeshua appoint His disciples as judges and counsellors judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

“… Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” – Matthew 19:28

Messiah Yeshua will fulfill all of God’s precious promises to His chosen people, Israel!

“… I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” – Luke 22:29-30

The bride of Christ (and resurrected Saints throughout history) will also be helping to administer justice and righteousness throughout the world in their roles as priests and kings in this Kingdom of our mighty Lord and Savior!

“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” – Revelation 1:4-6

We will also have this role in the Eternal Kingdom!

“And there shall be no night there [New Jerusalem]; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” – Revelation 22:5

Three Celebrated Feasts in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom

The three feasts mentioned in Scripture that will be celebrated during the Messianic Millennial Kingdom are Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Tabernacles, as noted in the Scriptures below.

“In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.” – Ezekiel 45:21

“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” – Zechariah 14:16 (Ezekiel 45:25)

These three feasts that will be celebrated in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom seem to be stressing and highlighting our salvation by grace and our joyful tabernacling with the Savior of Israel and the world. This should not surprise us, as this will be a completely different dispensation ruled and reigned over in the physical presence of our Lord and Savior, Messiah Yeshua.

When it comes to tabernacling with our Creator God, Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the future fulfillment will be obtained in the glorious Eternal Kingdom, as we read earlier and contemplate now.

The heart and soul of every believer should anticipate with great eagerness this glorious Eternal Kingdom that God has prepared for them that love Him!

Hallelujah!!!

May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”

Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!

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