Why the "Feasts of the Lord" should be of interest to the Christian

Most Christians will tell you that the 10 Commandments are now covered by "grace", that the Old Testament (the Torah and Tanakh) is essentially "done" (except for maybe the book of Daniel), and that any "Jewish practices" have long been abrogated for Christians some 2,000 years or so.

All of us have probably met Christians who don't even own a Tanakh (Old Testament) but rely exclusively on the New Testament (the B'rit Hadashah).

Others will tell us that December 25th is the day we should celebrate Jesus' birth and that He arose from the dead on a Sunday morning and this "Feast day" is now known as Easter.  The Bible says neither, BTW.  Christmas and December 25th is part of pagan sun worship and the time of the resurrection is not precisely given in scripture (It could have been Saturday night, for example).

For those folks who frequent this site you will understand that I have great patience for these kinds of Christians because I was just like them at one time - believing in the lies and deceits my Pastors were telling me!

So, now it's time to venture into another area that Christians ignore - to their own peril.

The Feast Days of the Lord

Why the Feast days? Doesn't the N.T. tell us to ignore Feast days?  Actually, no!  Do a word search using "feast" in the N.T.  It's very obvious that Jesus, His Apostles, and the early church kept the Feast days.  With that in mind, perhaps this brief introduction to the Lord's Feasts will spike your interest to delve deeper.  It is my opinion that the Feast days clarify and enrich your belief in Yeshua (Jesus) and help clarify your knowledge of past and future events.  Because, as it turns out; the Feast Days are prophetic!

For those who would argue that most of the prophetic elements contained within the Feast Days have already been "fulfilled", they would be partially correct.  There are 7 Feasts days - 4 have been fulfilled by Yeshua (these are called the "Spring" feasts) - 3 are left for future fulfillment (the "Fall" feasts)!  This fact alone should make one's eyebrows arch!  To be able to say that history helps verify that 4 out of 7 prophecies concerning Jesus have absolutely occurred should be enough to blow one's mind and solidify his or her belief.

Here's a short list giving the English name, Hebrew name with corresponding Hebrew dates and the pagan month when the Feast occurs:

1.  Passover (Pesach) - Nisan 14-15 (March)

2.  Unleavened Bread (Chag Hamotzi) - Nisan 15-22 (March)

3.  First Fruits (Yom habikkurim) - Nisan 16-17 (March)

4.  Pentecost (Shavu'ot) - Sivan 6-7 (May)

5.  Trumpets (Yom Teru'ah) - Tishri 1 (September)

6.  Atonement (Yom Kippur) - Tishri 10 (October)

7.  Tabernacles (Sukkot) - Tishri 15-22 (October)

For those folks who have never heard, God's year is 360 days long with 12 months of 30 days each.  The Jewish calendar follows the cycles of the moon, not some pagan whimsy as our gentile calendar does and biblical days are from sundown to sundown.  BTW, the Jewish new year starts with the month of Tishrei (on the evening of September 28th), so; Happy New Year!

For most of the holidays it's easy to realize their prophetic significance.  Obviously, Jesus (Yeshua) became our Passover Lamb.  His body is our unleavened bread - the bread of life.  His "first fruits" arose with him and witnessed concerning Him.  And who can forget the Day of Pentecost?  As I'm no expert on these matters I will give you a terrific link explaining further at the end of this blog, for I'm barely scratching the surface here!

The last 3 Feast Days have not happened yet, prophetically speaking.

Trumpets, also called Rosh Hashanah, is the Jewish New Year and is a time for renewal, a time for a re-dedication to the Lord.  A time for repentance and self-examination.  But, it goes much deeper.  In the future sense it is time for "getting right with God" because the Great Day of the Lord is at hand!

Atonement, also called Yom Kippur, is a set day for confession of sins and repentance.  It is a realization that a church or synagogue, or a man, or the blood of a goat, or any organization of any type CANNOT forgive sins and that only the blood of Yeshua is the Atonement for sins!

Tabernacles, also called Sukkot, implying "shelter".  In the last days, the Lord will be our only shelter and refuge against the growing anti-Christian, secular, pagan world.  Chanukah (Hanukkah), BTW, was not given by God on Mt. Sinai, but was prophesied in Daniel 8:9-14.  Who will these persecutors be?  Many of them will be people claiming to be Christian, or Jew, or any other group that opposes the light of truth. (obviously, there will be good Christians and Jews as well)

If you think these Feasts of the Lord are unimportant for Christians I would suggest you study them more.  For they line up precisely with prophecy, past and future, and add significantly to the depth of understanding and faith concerning Jesus (Yeshua).

Here is a link with much valuable information and teaching.  I sincerely believe it is time for Jew and Gentile believers to come together in worship of Yeshua.

The Observer