Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
Colossians 2:16-17
Once you start to realize that the whole Bible applies to our lives and start to get an appreciation of the Old Testament and also our roots within the Hebrew faith, you start to see the whole Bible coming to life and making sense. Paul is basically saying in Colossians 2 to let nobody tell you not to keep the festivals and the Sabbath, actually the opposite as what is being preached in most churches today (see also how this is taken out of context in another article titled: “Reading the Bible in proper context “).
Because most churches are actually preaching against the instructions God gave on how to worship him, Christians have lost the significance of these events to tell us of the good things to come. The wonderful mysteries of how God’s instructions (Torah) are a shadow of the good things to come:
Hebrews 10:1 KJV For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
In this article, we will just touch the surface of several shadows that we can find in scripture. The deeper you go into the Word of God the more you will discover how God planned everything from the start and that, even though things look scary at times, we can take comfort in the fact that He is in full control!
We will be looking at how Creation is a shadow of God’s plan for mankind plus how God’s instruction on how to worship Him is a reflection of both Jesus first coming and His second coming and basically links Genesis to Revelations.
So, let’s start with the beginning, it is a good place to start.
Isaiah 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
The Creation
A prophecy given by Isaiah sums up perfectly what we are going to look at, Genesis or in Hebrew Bereshit בראשית (“In the Beginning”), the first book of the Bible.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The creation story in itself is a great start to look at the Shadow of things to come. The Hebrew word for ‘the Beginning’ Bereshit בראשית, by itself, has such depth that you can write a whole article on it by itself.
One clue to how the creation is a shadow of things to come is given in the letter of Peter where he quotes the Psalms:
2 Peter 3:8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
We see that for the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and creation took 6 days, and on the seventh day, God rested. So how is this a shadow of things to come?
When breaking down the creation by its days we get the next overview:
Day 1: Light and darkness are separated
Day 2: Sea and Earth are divided
Day 3: The establishment of the seed that bears fruit
Day 4: The bringing forth of the sun, moon, plus stars. The sun rules over the day.
Day 5: Birds and fish are being created
Day 6: Man is created to rule over creation, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the Earth.
Day 7: The Sabbath rest is established and set apart for man.
When looking at each day as a period of thousand years we can see that at least one major event, that occurs during that millennium, corresponds to that creation day.
Day 1 – Years 0-1000:
The key thing we see on Day one is the separation of Light and Darkness. Light is associated with Good and Darkness with Evil or Righteousness vs Lawlessness. This reflects what happened in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of Good and Evil. At that moment both good and evil, righteousness and lawlessness became part of our lives. Also, this is the first time that a prophecy was given of a redeemer through the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). And we start to see the distinction between two different groups of people. Those who believe in the promise and those who put their trust in their own capabilities. Son’s of God (having faith in the promise, see also Hebrews 11) vs Son’s of men (relying on their own strength).
Day 2 – Years 1000-2000:
The key thing we see on Day two is the separation of Land and Water. The key event that takes place in this millennium is the flood of Noah, and literally, the same thing happens again. The earth was flooded and when the waters resided land appeared again. This is another clear match between the millennium corresponding to that creation day.
Day 3 – Years 2000-3000:
What stands out for this creation day is the seed that bears fruit. One key moment in Biblical History that matches this is the promise God gave to Abraham that through His seed all nations will be blessed!
Genesis 22:17-18 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring (in Hebrew זֶרַע -> seed) as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring (in Hebrew זֶרַע -> seed) shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring (זֶרַע -> seed) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Genesis 26:4-5 I will multiply your offspring (in Hebrew זֶרַע -> seed) as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring (seed) all these lands. And in your offspring (זֶרַע -> seed) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
Notice the connection between Abraham’s seed causing all nations to be blessed and the promise that was given to Eve that through her seed the serpent head will be crushed.
Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring (in Hebrew זֶרַע -> seed); he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Day 4 – Years 3000-4000:
The arrival/creation of the Sun to separate the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:14-18 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights–the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night–and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
The major event taking place at the end of the 4th millennium is the coming of our Messiah to bring light into the darkness. One prophetic scripture relating to the coming of the Messiah can be found in Malachi 4:2.
Malachi 4:2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
Also Jesus Himself referred to being the light:
John 12:46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
Noticed that day 1 was the Creation of Light and Darkness (coming of sin into the world) and on Day 4 we have the Creation of that what separates the light from the darkness (coming of the redeemer enabling us to overcome the Darkness/Sin).
Another interesting detail is in verse 13:
And let them be for signs and for seasons H4150
H4150
מוֹעָדָה מֹעֵד מוֹעֵד
mô‛êd mô‛êd mô‛âdâh
mo-ade’, mo-ade’, mo-aw-daw’
From H3259; properly an appointment, that is, a fixed time or season; specifically a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand): – appointed (sign, time), (place of, solemn) assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) season, solemn (-ity), synagogue, (set) time (appointed).
Seasons basically represent God’s Appointed Times. We will discuss later on how God’s appointed times are a foreshadow of Jesus’ first and second coming, but how fitting is the fact that God created the Sun, the Moon, and the stars as signs for God’s Appointed Times that foreshadow Christ coming to this earth both His first and second coming!
Day 4 is the fulfillment of the promise given to Eve about the seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent and to Abraham that through his seed the whole world would be blessed! It represents Christ coming into this world as our redeemer.
Day 5 – Years 4000-5000:
Birds and Fish come into the picture. The 2 things that I have to think about when thinking about fish and birds are:
- Matthew 4:19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
- And the Holy spirit being presented in scripture as a dove. John 1:32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
The two key events that took place at the start of the 5th Millenium and are continuing throughout Millennia are
- The Great Commission that was given to us to go into the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20)
- and, we received the Holy spirit on The Jewish feast of Pentecost that enabled us to do the Great Commission (Acts 2:2-4)
Day 6 – Years 5000-6000:
The sixth day represents the creation of man and its rule over the earth. In the last Millennium, we see how the population and knowledge of men have grown exponentially!
Daniel 12:4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
Truly this millennium is the Millennium of Men. What is striking in Daniels prophesy is that it is linked to the end of times! So basically signaling the end of Man’s rule over the earth for a period of 6000 years! Wow, how this matches in both, representing the 6th millennium and a period of 6 millennia!
Day 7 – Years 6000-7000:
The Sabbath representing a day of rest a set-apart day to God!
Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
I think most of us are aware of the Millennium Kingdom. A period of Thousand years where Jesus will rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the Earth. The day of the Lord mentioned many times in scripture refers to the second coming of Christ at the end of Day 6, where He will wage war on earth against the armies that march up against Israel. Also known as Armageddon. We can read all about it in the book of Revelation, the end of Day 6, and the start of Day 7!
End of Day 6: Revelation 19:16-21 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Start of Day 7: Revelation 20:1-6 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Here we see that the coming of the day of the Lord (His second coming) announces the start of a new period of the Thousand-year rule of Christ on earth. This is what the Sabbath always represented the Shabbat is the shadow of Jesus 1000 years reign on this earth, a time of rest and renewal of Both Earth and those who live on it. It will show how God intended Man to rule over it and also how men suppose to keep His Instruction given to us from the start.
When Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath He literally meant it!
Matthew 12:8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords for the full 1000 Years on this earth. Also, Hebrew 4 start to make a lot more sense
Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
…
Hebrews 4:8-9 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God…
That day as spoken of in Hebrews 4 is for those that are part of the First resurrection as we can read in Revelation 20:6 This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Similar to Paul we have to fight the good fight and finish the Race so we may enter that rest:
2 Timothy 4:7 ESV I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
God’s Appointed Times
We ended with the Sabbath which is a perfect introduction to God’s Appointed Times or His instruction to us on how He wants us to worship Him! We find them in Leviticus 23 and are also known as the Feast of the LORD/YHVH (יהוה).
Just an interesting fact about the word Holidays, the word ‘Holiday’ comes from the word Holy-day and these are the days God declared Holy and are given to us as instructions to follow.
So what do these have to do with the Shadows for things to come? We saw already in Colossians that Paul mentioning the Appointed times as
“These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Colossians 2:17.
So, let’s look at a summary of God’s appointed times as they are mentioned in Leviticus 23:
- The Sabbath
- The Passover + Feast of Unleavened Bread
- The Feast of Firstfruits
- The Feast of Weeks – Pentecost
- The Feast of Trumpets
- The Day of Atonement
- The Feast of Booths/ Feast of Tabernacles + The 8th day
We already discussed the Sabbath on how this is the shadow of the Millennium Kingdom. One important note to make is that Biblical days start with Sunset and end with Sunset the next day, so the Sabbath starts on Friday Sunset and ends Saturday Sunset (see also Leviticus 23:32)!
The others mentioned here can be grouped into 2 different periods:
- The Spring Feast
a) The Passover + Feast of Unleavened Bread
b) The Feast of Firstfruits
c) The Feast of Weeks – Pentecost - The Fall Feast
a) The Feast of Trumpets, Yom Teruah (יוֹם תְּרוּעָה)
b) The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּיפּוּר)
c) The Feast of Booths/ Feast of Tabernacles + The 8th day
So, what is the significance of these 2 periods, and are they a shadow of things to come in themselves?
Similar to having 2 times for the feast we also have 2 comings of the Messiah/Christ. In the Old Testament, we also see 2 types of Messiahs described.
- One Messiah is described as a person who has to suffer and be pierces and pay for our transgressions as we can read in Isaiah 53, this reflects a lot of what happened to Joseph when he was sold into slavery and suffered while he was innocent.
We know this Messiah also as Messiah Ben (son of) Joseph. - The other Messiah is the one that is prophesied about that will come and establish His Kingdom and reign bringing peace to the world, the one the Jews were looking for when Jesus came the first time. This Messiah is also known as Messiah Ben (son of) David
The 2 comings of the Messiah as a Shadow of thing to come, we get:
- The Spring Feast – First coming of the Messiah as Messiah Ben-Joseph
- The Fall Feast – Second Comming of the Messiah as Messiah Ben-David
Having this in mind let’s first look at the spring feast and how they match perfectly with scripture and the feast.
Spring feast
The spring feast starts in the First Month of the Hebrew Calendar named Abib or also know as the month of Nisan (copied from Babylon exile). When we look at the dates for the feast we getting the next list:
- 10 Abib: Shabbat HaGadol – Inspecting the Passover Lamb (Exo 12:3)
- 14 Abib: Passover – Starts with the offering of the Passover Lamb on the 14 of Abib and eating of the Passover Lamb the same evening which is 15 of Abib start of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
- The day after the First Sabbath during the Feast of Passover/Unleavened Bread is called The Feast of Firstfruits
- Pentecost / Feast of Weeks: the countdown for this started with The Feast of Firstfruits, from this day they started to count the weeks hence the naming feast of weeks, the day after the 7 weeks or 7 Sabbaths is Pentecost
So, while the first 2 feasts are fixed the others depend on the actual day the dates fall. It is noteworthy to point that the start of the Month depends on the start of the New Moon. When God said in Genesis 1:14 “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night and let them serve as signs to mark seasons H4150and days and years”, the Hebrew word used for seasons is actually referring to God’s appointed times!
So, let’s start looking at how these days match what Happened to Messiah Ben-Joseph, Jesus first coming.
Shabbat HaGadol (10 Abib)
Before Jesus dies He entered Jerusalem and the people hailed him as the Messiah, most in the Christian world know this day as Palm Sunday, we read about this in Matthew 21:1-11 and it is the best known for verse 9 when the Jews shouted:
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
This actually happened on the 10 of Abib which is the inspection of the Lamb. This would be most likely at the same time all the 1-year old lambs were brought in from Bethlehem to Jerusalem so they could be selected by each family and be taken into their homes as it was commanded in scripture.
Exodus 12:1-8 NIV1 The Passover
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.
So, Jesus coming into Jerusalem on the 10th of Abib represents the Lamb coming to be slain and God bringing His chosen Lamb into His home (Jerusalem) as it was commanded in scripture up to the day it gets slaughtered on day 14 at twilight.
Passover (14 Abib)
The day Jesus becomes our Passover Lamb and gets killed for our transgression on the 14th day at twilight. The meaning of twilight in those days is the time just after the sun reached its highest point and starts the process of going down to the time it sets and it gets dark. Jesus is recorded to have died at 3 PM on the 14th of Abib right in the middle of the twilight.
1 Corinthians 5:7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast–as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
Almost 2 years ago, just before Easter, the pastor did a series on the Jewish feast for several Sundays. When we got to the Passover it suddenly struck me and I realized that Jesus actually died on that Festival day being our Passover lamb! That was kind of the turning point for us and we start to wonder why not celebrate Passover instead of Easter, an actual Biblical Holiday instead of a holiday that has a pagan root and is nowhere to be found in scripture?
Again this event matches exactly with scripture and God’s appointed days.
Passover moves into the Feast of Unleavened Bread and we saw Paul already referencing this in 1 Corinthians 5:7. What is significant about this is that this is the first official feast and it lasts for 7 days, reflecting the creation week. Also, The last of God’s appointed times “Feast of Tabernacles” takes 7 days. So we have a beginning and an end Feast (Aleph א and a Tav ת) both taking 7 days!
Feast of Firstfruits
The next on the list is the Feast of Firstfruits. This date depends a lot on what day the Passover starts because it is the day after the first Sabbath during the Feast of Passover/Unleavened bread.
When we check all scriptures related to the testimony of Jesus’s disciples during and after the crucifixion the only possible day for14th of Abib would be on a Wednesday (see also the Timeline ), so the idea of a good Friday is exactly that an idea and not based on scripture! This would give us the date for Firstfruit being the 18th of Abib. The day of Jesus Resurrection!
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
Also, note that a Biblical day starts at Sunset so the Day of FirstFruit starts just after the Sabbath at Sunset on a Saturday! When we look at the number of days and nights Jesus was in the grave we get:
- 15 Abib, 1st night + 1st day: High Sabbath see also John 19:31
- 16 Abib, 2nd night + 2nd day: The woman bought the spices after the high Sabbath (Mar 16:1) and prepared the spices before the normal Sabbath (Luk 23:56). The Only day this can be is on a Friday where Thursday was a High Sabbath (Joh 19:31) and Saturday the normal Sabbath.
- 17 Abib 3rd night + 3rd day
So, what was the only sign Jesus said he would give the Parasees?
Matthew 12:38-40 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Besides that, we can see that Jonah was a shadow of what would happen to Christ we see that scripture lines up perfectly with God-appointed feast and also with prophecy. Jesus Died on a Wednesday and He rose from the dead on Saturday evening (not on Sunday)!
Jesus presents Himself as First-Fruits to the Father on the day of FirstFruits at the same time as that the priest would be required to do so (Leviticus 23:10-11, this would be on our Sunday). We know this from the encounter Jesus had, at the grave, with Mary Magdalene. Jesus told her not to hold Him for He had not yet returned to the Father (Joh 20:17).
John 20:17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”
Later on, the same day, he told Tomas to touch His wounds (Joh 20:27), this indicates that at the moment with Mary He had not yet presented Himself to the Father as the First-Fruits, while with Tomas he already did! A beautiful picture of what happened on that day!
Pentecost or Feast of Weeks
The last of the Spring Feast is Pentecost or also known as the Feast of Weeks due to the counting of the weeks from the day of Firstfruits. The Jewish feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) was primarily a thanksgiving for the first fruits of the wheat harvest, but it is also associated with the remembrance of the Law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Interestingly, Pentecost is the Day God went into covenant with the people of Israel and gave us His Laws to govern that covenant. It is also the date that God gave instructions on how to build the Earthly Tabernacle which is a shadow of the heavenly Tabernacle Moses saw from Heaven.
Hebrews 8:5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Exodus 25:8-9 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
So how does this day matches Jesus first coming? Most Christians actually know Pentecost very well while at the same time many would not even know that it is an actual Jewish Feast or one of God’s appointed days. They see it as something for Christianity especially if you are Pentecostal.
The key shadow for this feast is the New Covenant God prophesied in Jeremiah and can also be found in Hebrew 8:8
Jeremiah 31:31-34 NIV1 “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new (חָדָשׁ châdâsh) covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law (תּוֹרָה Torah) in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
So, how does this match that what we all know as the event that took place on the day of Pentecost and we read about in Acts 2, the coming of the Holy Spirit? The link with regards to the Holy Spirit can be found in Ezekiel 36:26-27.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Most will associate the giving of the Holy Spirit with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but the key function of the Holy Spirit is to move us to follow His decrees and be careful to keep His Laws (Torah). The Hebrew word for Law used in Jeremiah is the actual Torah (תּוֹרָה)!
God will put His Torah (not a new Law, but the same Law) into our minds and hearts (new hearts of flesh instead of stone) and gives us His Holy Spirit to move us to follow His decrees and to keep His laws! So what is the new part of the New Covenant?
- New hearth of flesh replacing the heart of stone
- He will write His Law (תּוֹרָה Torah) in our heart and our minds instead of on stone
- He will give His Spirit to help us to keep His decrees and His Laws
So, again God’s appointed time reflects exactly what happened during the First Coming of Christ.
We can also see that the sequence of the events seems to be perfectly aligned to the sequence of the first feast which brings us to the start of Jesus coming which is His birth. So, if all the events are in sequence then Jesus’ birth should have taken place before the 10 of Abib. We saw already a few hints with regards to Jesus’ birth in this article and will recap them to paint an awesome picture.
10 of Abib is the day that the 1-year-old lambs were brought from Bethlehem to Jerusalem for the families to select them and bring them to their homes. The fact that the Lambs are exactly 1 year old gives us a clue about the time of year that the Lambs got born. This was in the spring around the month of Abib! Also, Bethlehem is known to be the area to breed the Lambs for the Temple sacrifices and this matches exactly with Jesus’ place of Birth! We know that on Jesus’ birth the shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks at night. The only reason for shepherds to do this is to assist when the sheep are giving birth at night!
The other clue is the Instructions God gave to Moses to make the Tabernacle, let’s look at that verse again:
Exodus 25:8-9 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
We know another scripture that talks about Jesus being the Word becoming flesh and Tabernacles among us:
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
So, it was on Pentecost that Moses received the instructions on how to build it but how long did it take them to build it so God could dwell among them? Actually, we know the exact date for this, and guess how long did it take them to build the Tabernacle?
The time of the conception for the design of the Tabernacle till the completion of the Tabernacle was 9 Months!! We can read when the Tabernacle was finished and God instructed Moses to erect it in Exodus 40:1-2
Exodus 40:1-2 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.
WOW!!! So Mary became pregnant with Jesus through the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and Jesus was born on the First of Abib, on new Year’s day!!! Hope you start to see the pattern. How completely + beautiful does God-appointed times match the First coming of Christ, Messiah Ben Joseph! We can expect the same for His second coming!
The Fall feast
The Fall feasts have not come yet but we are very close to the start of it. As it has not yet happened it is harder to know for sure what each feast exactly represents, but we can get an idea of what will happen.
The Biblical month for the start of the Fall feast is the seventh month called Etanim and is also know after the Exile as Tishri. The feast dates for these are kind of fixed based o the start of the seventh month:
- 1 Etanim – Yom Teruah (יוֹם תְּרוּעָה)
- 10 Etanim – Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּיפּוּר)
- 15 Etanim – The Feast of Booths/ Feast of Tabernacles – Sukkot
Yom Teruah (יוֹם תְּרוּעָה)
We know that Jesus second coming as Messiah Ben David will be announced by shouting and trumpets which match the start of the Fall Feast that starts with the Feast of Trumpets! The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (יוֹם תְּרוּעָה), literally “day of shouting or blasting”!
Leviticus 23:23-25 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD.”
Most of us are aware of the second coming of Christ. As mentioned before that Creation being a shadow of things to come which ended with the Sabbath representing the coming of the Day of the Lord, this is the start of the Day of the Lord!
Most of the Fall feasts are presented in the last few chapters of the book of Revelations and Isaiah, but it all starts with the Seventh Trumpet:
Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.“
This is just the start of the Lord’s day, the start of His second coming.
The key event for this day will be the First Resurrection of the dead and the collection of the saint who kept God commandments and their faith in Jesus:
Revelation 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Revelation 20:4-6 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (5) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Yom Kippur (יוֹם כִּיפּוּר)
Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Its central themes are atonement and repentance.
Leviticus 23:26-32 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”
It is 10 days after the second coming of Christ and might be seen as the day of reckoning/judgment. When Jesus returns He will wage war with the nations that march against Israel. How long this war will last is not known but it will not be a pretty picture. It can end in hours or it can last 10 days. In today’s time, the time between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur is used for self-evaluation, repentance, and reconciliation and those Ten Days of Repentance, as they are known, are seen as an opportunity for change. Maybe Jesus is giving those that march against Israel 10 days to repent before Judgement takes place.
But 2 things we know for sure will happen during this time:
1) The beast and the false prophet get captured and are thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 19:19-20 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
2) Satan will be bound and thrown in a bottomless pit and be locked up for a time of Thousand Years.
Revelation 20:1-3 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
The Feast of Booths/ Feast of Tabernacles – Sukkot
With Satan being bound for a thousand years we get to the start of the Millenium Kingdom, a period of peace and rule of Christ on this earth. One of the reasons given to us for Sukkoth in Leviticus is to be reminded that God made the people of Israel dwell in booths when He brought them out of the land of Egypt
Leviticus 23:42-43
You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your
generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought
them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord (YHWH) your God.”
The feast itself is 7 days and then we have a mystical 8th day which is kind of the key to understanding the meaning of Sukkot. As mentioned early the first Feast (Feast of Unleavened Bread) was 7 days and this last Feast is 7 days. The same period as the shadow for the Creation Week. This is not coincidental.
There is no doubt that The feast of Sukkot is related to the Millenium Kingdom, which is basically day 7 of the Creation.
We also know that during the Millennium Kingdom, the whole world is required to celebrate this festival on Sukkot, we read this in
Zechariah 14:16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.
Further, we know that we will be taught to obey all His commandments
Micah 4:1-2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
So, it looks like the feast is trying to summarize the History of man and reminds them of how He took them out of Egypt (representing the world or those living in lawlessness) and made them dwell in temporary dwellings as a symbol that this all is actually temporary and it will come to an end.
So how does this relate to the 8th Day?
John 7:37-38 On the last day of the feast, the great day (meaning the 8th day), Jesus (Yeshua) stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
It is not coincident that Jesus mentioned this on the 8th Day of Sukkot, Jesus is referring with this to the New Jerusalem
Zechariah 14:7-8 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.
and
Revelation 22:1-2 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
We had 6 millennia of man ruling on earth, turning this earth into a mess, then we get 1 Millennium of Jesus ruling the earth turning it into what it was meant to be, and on the end of the 7 the day we read that both Heaven and Earth will be destroyed after Satan gets released and gathers again an army to march against Jerusalem. (Revelations 20).
Now that the 7th day has ended we enter the 8th-day end we see a completely new beginning with a New Heaven and New Earth, and the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven onto earth. We read about this in Revelations 21:
Revelation 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
The 8th day represents the new creation for eternity, there will be no more night and no more sin, all who are in this new creation have no need to be reminded of how to obey God for it will come naturally to each and everyone completing the New Covenant made with The house of Judah and the House of Israel.
Jer 31:34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Also, note that we are not meant to go to heaven but instead will dwell on the New Earth where God will actually dwell among us as He always intended “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them”!
How beautiful is the Word of God and how perfect is everything planned! We can take comfort in these crazy times with the knowledge that God is in control and things will go according to how He planned it, demonstrated to us through the shadow of His appointed times.
We started with Genisis 1:1 and ended with Revelations 21 and 22, which is I believe a perfect end to this article.
With this said I like to end with the question: Are you keeping God’s appointed times and worship Him as He instructed us, or do you worship God in your own way and follow Pegan feasts that have no foundation in God’s Word?
May God Bless you and don’t forget to test everything!