Holy Days of Israel by Pastor F.M. Riley
The Holy Days of Israel
By Pastor F. M. Riley
Revised July 16, 2013
Text: Leviticus 23:1-44
“Let no man therefore judge you in
meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the
Sabbath days:
Which are a shadow of things to come;
but the body is of Christ,” Colossians
2:15-17.
Introduction
A.
Feasts…..mowadah…..”appointment;
fixed time or season; festival; signal as appointed beforehand; sign; set
time.”
B.
Convocations…..miqra…..”assemblies; to assemble or
call together”
C.
God’s appointed holy days for
Israel
1. “…..He reserveth unto us
the appointed weeks of the harvest,”
Jeremiah 5:24.
D.
Appointed days which foreshadow
prophetic events Colossians
2:16-17
The Appointed Holy Days
[1] The Lord’s
Passover
A.
The 14th day of Abib [Nisan] Leviticus 23:5 Numbers 28:16
B. Abib…..The 1st month of the
sacred year, the calendar year that the Lord gave to
…..The 7th month
of the civil year on the old calendar
[2] The Feast [festival] of Unleavened Bread
A.
The 15th day of Abib [Nisan]
through the 21st day of Abib
Leviticus 23:6-8
[3] The First
Fruits Offering
A.
On the morrow after the first sabbath following Passover Leviticus 23:9-14
B.
In the year of our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection this observance
fell on
the 18th day of Abib
[Nisan], which that year was Sunday
or “the
first day of the week.” .
[4] The Day of Pentecost
A.
50 days from the firstfruits offering Leviticus 23:15-22
1. A variable date yet always occurring in
the month of Sivan.
B. Sivan…..The 3rd
month of the sacred year.
…..The 9th
month of the civil year.
[5] The
Blowing of Trumpets
A.
Rosh Ha-Shanah…..The 1st day of Tishri Leviticus 23:23-25
B. Tishri…..The 7th month of the
sacred year.
…..The 1st
month of the civil year
1
[6] The Day of Atonement
A. Yom Kippur…..The 10th
day of Tishri Leviticus 23:26-32
[7] The Feast of Tabernacles
A.
The 15th day of Tishri through the 22nd day of
Tishri Leviticus 23:33-43
The Added Holy Days
In addition to these Divinely Appointed
holy days set forth in Leviticus 23, over the centuries of
Jewish history two more days were added which the religious Jews consider to be
“holy days.” These two additional days,
and the reason for them are as follows:
[8] Hanakkuh
A.
The 25th
day of Kislev, the 9th month on the sacred calendar, Haggai
2:10; 2:18. This holy day
was
added by the Jews after the Maccabees had thrown off the yoke
of bondage imposed upon
Judah by
King Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria. After defeating the armies of Syria, the Jews
cleansed
the Temple and rededicated it to the God of Israel. They relighted
the Menorah
[lampstand] in the Temple, even though
they only had enough
oil to keep
it burning for
one day, but miraculously, the “servant lamp” on the
Menorah continued to burn for
eight days.
The Jews then added this day to their roster of “holy days” as a day “sanctioned
by
God” to honor and glorify
the God of Israel. Because of how this
day came about, this day is
also referred to in the Scriptures as “the
feast of dedication,” John 10:22. The
religious Jews
also sometimes refer to it as “the Festival of Lights.”
[9] Purim
A.
The 15th
day of Adar, the 12th month on the sacred calendar. This “holy day” was added to
the roster of “holy days”
after the plot of Haman to destroy all the Jews in the Kingdom of
Media-Persia was exposed
and Haman and his ten sons were destroyed, as recorded in the
Book of Esther.
These nine Jewish “holy days”
listed above are not all of the days the religious Jews observe today,
but they are the major “holy days” that appear to be Divinely sanctioned by the
Lord God for the Jews to honor the Holy Name of the Lord God of Israel by
fasting and praying and confession of sin and worship. Now let’s examine these
days in the light of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world…..
The Conception and birth of the Lord Jesus
Hanakkuh…….There are many dedicated
Christian men and women today who have intensively studied everything they can
find in the Scriptures and in recorded history about the conception and birth
of the Lord Jesus Christ. One conclusion
is common in all of their studies…..the Lord Jesus Christ was not born on
Christmas Day, the 25th of December!
Rather, it appears that Christ was likely
conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary on Hanakkuh, the Jewish “Festival of Light.” Since Christ did come into the world as “the
light of the world,” then what better time for Him to have been
conceived than on this particular Jewish Holy Day? Study carefully Matthew 1:18-21, Luke 1:26-35,
John 1:1-8, 1:14, and 8:12.
If this was actually the case, then it is obvious that
the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled this Jewish Holy Day at His first coming
as He came into the world as “the light of the world” and “the
servant” lamp on God’s Menorah.
2
Rosh Ha-shanah…….Then when was
Christ actually born? Many of these same
dedicated Christians believe that Christ Jesus was born on Rosh Ha-Shanah, the Jewish “Feast
of Trumpets,” nine months after His conception on “Hanukkah.” If our readers will carefully notice the institution of
this holy day as given by God in Leviticus 23:23-25, the Lord God explicitly
stated, “…..in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a
memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation,” Leviticus
23:24. As I have read and
re-read this Scripture, I have been made to wonder just what it is that is
being “memorialized” on Rosh Ha-shanah? The Scriptures in Leviticus 23 do not say,
nor anywhere else in God’s Word that I have ever found. So when the Jews blow the trumpets on Rosh
Ha-shanah, what is it a “memorial” of? There are only two things I have ever found
in the inspired Word that appears that they might “fit” this
scenario. Never anywhere in the
New Testament are God’s people ever told to observe the birthday of
Christ coming into the world.
Never! But we are explicitly and
repeatedly told to remember His death for us on Calvary’s old rugged cross, 1
Corinthians 11:23-26. However,
the “memorial”
of His death for us is in observing “The
Lord’s Supper,” or as some refer to it, “Holy
Communion.” This is a well
establishd “memorial” that has now lasted throughout this present
dispensation. So it surely does not
apply to the “blowing of trumpets” on Rosh Ha-shanah.
Since the observing of the Lord’s Supper is the “memorial” of His death,
then again, what is the blowing of trumpets on Rosh Ha-shanah “memorializing?” Is it possible that Rosh Ha-shanah
could be a “memorial” of the birth of Christ? Christ coming into the world to suffer and
die for mankind on that glorious day? I
don’t know! But I do know that the
inspired Word says it is a “memorial.”
So what else could it be?
I am well aware that nothing is
said in the Scriptures about the “blowing of trumpets” on the day Christ was
born. But turn and read Luke
2:8-15 for yourself. It is
obvious that even the angels of Heaven observed the birth of Christ on that
special day. I find it hard to believe
that since the very angels of Heaven were observing the birth of Christ on that
day, that there were not some trumpets sounding in Heaven on that day. Study the subject and draw your own
conclusions.
It should be glaringly obvious that if
Christ was born on Rosh Ha-shanah, then He most certainly fulfilled that
Jewish Holy Day at His first coming.
The Day of Atonement…….However,
there is no question that Christ Jesus fulfilled the Jewish Holy Day of
Atonement, for the Scriptures themselves explicitly state and point out that
Christ gave Himself to make an “atonement” for our sins, and for
the sins of the whole world. Listen and
hear with spiritual ears, “For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we
shall be saved by His life. And not only
so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we
have now received the atonement,” Romans 5:10-11. See this! Past tense!
The “atonement” has already been accomplished by the Lord Jesus
Christ on our behalf, and every true believer has already received it.
This makes it glaringly obvious that
Christ Jesus fulfilled the “Day of Atonement” at His first
coming. Glory to God! Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord!
Tabernacles…….Here is yet another
Jewish Holy Day that the inspired Word makes very clear that Christ Jesus has
already fulfilled at His first coming.
Listen to the Scripture with anointed ears and see with anointed eyes, “And
the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” John
1:14. Now take your Concordance
or Lexicon and look up the Greek words translated as “dwelt among us.” The Greek word is the word, skenos,” and it literally means, “to fix one’s tabernacle; to abide or live
in a tent or tabernacle.” See
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, page 578, Strong’s No. 4637. Some of the “modern” translations today
actually translate this Scripture as, “…..He tabernacled among us.” I see no way to explain this away. I have to accept the truth that the Lord
Jesus Christ fulfilled the “Feast of Tabernacles” at His first
coming. Hello!
3
Passover…….It would take an
absolutely Scripturally illiterate dunce to deny that the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled
the Passover at His first coming, for Christ Himself was the sacrificial “Lamb
of God which taketh away the sin of the world,” John 1:29. In essence, the Lord Jesus Christ was
the Sacrificial Lamb by whom “atonement” was made for the sins of
all who will believe, and who gave
Himself as that sacrificial Lamb on “Passover” in spite of the efforts
of the Jewish religious leaders to prevent it, “But they said, Not on the feast day,
lest there be an uproar among the people,” Matthew 26:5. What those religious leaders of the
Jews did not realize was that Christ Jesus had a “Divine Appointment” to die for the sins of humanity, and no mere
man, religious or otherwise, was able to keep Him from dying on the exact day
God had appointed for Him “before the foundation of the world,”
Ephesians 1:4. Glory to
God! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
Thank you Father God! Thank you
precious Lord Jesus!
It is then glaringly obvious that Christ
Jesus fulfilled the Jewish Holy Day of Passover at His first coming.
Unleavened Bread…….This holy day
began the day following Passover and lasted for seven days. During these days the bread that the Jews ate
was “unleavened.” This literally means
that their bread contained no form of yeast or leavening in it which would
cause the bread to ferment and rise. “Leaven”
is a type of sin, and
is so used throughout the Scriptures.
But Christ Jesus was the sinless Son of God who laid down His life at
Calvary as the sinless, innocent, sacrifice to pay the sin debt of a lost
world. Because He was “obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross,” Philippians 2:5-8, Father God
“raised
Him up,” in a state of sinless perfection. Christ Jesus Himself is the “unleavened
bread” which every true believer is to spiritually feed their soul upon
daily and often, Matthew 4:4, John 6:32-33; 6:35;
6:48-51; 6:57-58; 1 Peter 2:2-3.
“7” is the
Bible number signifying “perfection;
completeness.” Only in receiving the
Lord Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior and “feeding” our soul upon Him
and His Word do we receive eternal life, John 3:16.
It should be glaringly obvious to every
reader that Christ Jesus Himself fulfilled
this Jewish holy day of “unleavened bread” at His first coming.
First fruits…….This holy day was to
always be observed by the Jews on “the morrow after the Sabbath” following
Passover, Leviticus 23:9-14. This
means the weekly Sabbath day following the Passover. The religious Jews do not and have not always
followed this command plainly and explicitly given in their own Jewish
Bible. I can find no reason for their
failure to obey this command other than to avoid the force of what the command obeyed
actually revealed about Christ being their Messiah.
In the year Christ died, the Passover
fell on Wednesday of that week. This is
not just my guess! Any reader, if they
are a careful student of the Scriptures, can study this out for themselves in
their own Bible by comparing all four of the gospel records of the Lord’s final
week. Christ was crucified on
Wednesday! The so-called “Good
Friday” crucifixion is an invention of the harlot religion of Rome, and has no
basis whatsoever in God’s Word.
Since the inspired Word makes it clear
that Christ was crucified on Wednesday, then it is obvious that the following
Saturday was the weekly Jewish Sabbath Day.
But this “feast of first fruits” was to be observed on “the
morrow after the Sabbath.” That
day then would obviously be Sunday, or as the Bible puts it, “the
first day of the week,” Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-2; Luke 24:1-3; John 20:1.
Christ, our Lord, arose from the grave exactly as the Jewish Sabbath Day [Saturday] was ending and “the
first day of the week” [Sunday]
was beginning. Once again, the Saturday resurrection of Christ is an invention
of the Roman whore religious system.
Study and stay with what God’s Word actually and literally states and
teaches instead of following the vain theories of men.
The “first fruits” observance is a vivid
type of the resurrection of
Christ and of those who came out of their graves after His resurrection, Matthew
27:52-53; 1 Corinthians 15:20. On
that same Sunday morning that Christ arose, and was before the Father in Heaven
[John 20:11-18] presenting His
precious blood and the first fruit saints, the Jewish priest was in the Temple
waving a “sheaf of first fruits” of the harvest before the mercy seat, “to
be accepted for you,” Leviticus 23:10-11. Glory to God! Hallelujah!
4
Praise the Lord! Every true
believer has been accepted “in Christ Jesus” by our Father in
Heaven. It then ought to be glaringly
obvious to every reader that the Lord fulfilled this holy day at His
first coming. Glory to God!
The Day of Pentecost…..Because the
Jews calendar is based on a lunar year rather than a solar year, this holy day
varies from year to year. But the Word
of God is very specific that it is to be observed on “the morrow after the sabbath” exactly
fifty days after “first fruits,” Leviticus 23:15-22.
During the
personal ministry of Christ, He explicitly told His Disciples, “And I
will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may
abide with you forever: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you,” John 14:16-17.
Obviously
the Father heard the prayer of His Son to send the Holy Spirit to be the
Comforter of all those who place their faith in Christ, for on the day of
Pentecost, on another beautiful Sunday morning, fifty days after the
resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord’s church as clearly
recorded in Acts 2. Hallelujah! Glory to God!
Praise the Lord!
Therefore, once again Christ Jesus fulfilled
this holy day of Pentecost to the letter at His first coming.
Purim…..This holy day was added on
the occasion of the deliverance from death at the hands of Haman, as recorded
in the Book of Esther. Haman
the Agagite was a type of
every oppressor in the history of the Jewish people who have wanted to
exterminate them as a race from off the face of the earth, but Haman was
especially a type of the coming anti-christ. The numerical value of the words, “Haman”
and “Hammedatha,” assigning the numerical value of “6” to each
letter in ascending order is 666. The day of Purim was established as a day
of rejoicing for the Jews having been delivered from Haman’s plot of genocide
against them. Imagine, if you can, the
rejoicing among the Jews, and even among the surviving Gentiles, when the plot
of Satan and the anti-christ is foiled by the return of Christ Jesus our Savior
and Lord at the end of the Tribulation.
Glory to God!
Dear readers, out of the nine Jewish
Holy Days listed at the beginning of this study, I have given our readers Scriptural
proof that eight of them
were fulfilled by Christ at His first coming. Therefore, the claim that Christ fulfilled the
Spring holy days at His first coming, but must fulfill the Fall holy
days at His second coming is nothing more than human opinion. Christ Jesus fulfilled
every one of these holy days at His first coming as noted in this study.
It is even possible that Christ may have
fulfilled all nine of these holy days at His first coming, if we
consider that all of us were under the sentence of death as the wages of our
sin [Romans 3:23; 6:23], but by His
own death He set us all free to choose life, John 8:31-36. Think about it!
However Israel and the Jews must fulfill the
Holy Days
The Scripture is quite clear that unbelieving
Israel and the Jewish people must fulfill each of these appointed holy
days at some point in their history, Jeremiah 5:24. Due to a lack of serious Bible study,
and Jewish history, here is where some believers get “fouled up” on these holy
days. It is not Christ who
must fulfill the
Fall holy days, since He has already fulfilled all of the holy days at His
first coming. Rather, it is Israel and
the Jewish people who must fulfill the holy days. The careful student of Jewish and Biblical
history knows that Israel and the Jewish people have already fulfilled some
of the holy days in their history. Which
holy days have they fulfilled, and which remain to be fulfilled? Let’s see…..
The Passover…..It should be obvious
that the Jews have already fulfilled the Passover, when they seized the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, and crucified Him with wicked hands, Acts
2:22-24.
Unleavened Bread…..It appears that this holy day was also fulfilled by the Jewish
disciples of Christ, the Jewish “remnant” for that time, as they began
immediately after Passover to feed themselves spiritually upon “the
gospel of Christ,” Romans 11:1-5.
5
First fruits…..It also appears that the Jews fulfilled this holy day, since those
disciples which came out
of their graves
after the resurrection of Christ were obviously Jewish believers who had passed
away.
Pentecost…..On the day of Pentecost
as recorded in Acts 2, Peter’s message was directed specifically towards the
Jewish nation and people. “…Ye
men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto
you, and hearken to my words:,” Acts 2:14.
“Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God
among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst
of you, as ye yourselves also know,” Acts 2:22.
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God
hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts
2:36. “For the promise is unto you, and
to your children, [Jewish people]
and
to all that are afar off, [the
Gentiles] even as
many as the Lord our God shall call,” Acts 2:39.
It then
appears that Israel and the Jewish people may have fulfilled the Day of
Pentecost as a Jewish “remnant” of some 3,000 Jewish people responded to
Peter’s message that day, Acts 2:41.
These are the four Jewish holy days
that may have already been fulfilled by Israel and the Jewish
people. But now let’s look at the
remaining Jewish holy days which it appears have not been fulfilled by
the Jewish people…..
Rosh Ha-Shanah…..Some of God’s
people have convinced themselves that this just has to be the day the rapture
of New Covenant believers takes place.
Why so? It is a Jewish holy day,
so why should it not
be fulfilled by
the Jews? I would point out to our
readers that the resurrection of the Jews does not take place at the
same time the resurrection and rapture of New Covenant believers occurs. A careful study of
Daniel 11:44-45 through 12:1-2 indicates that the resurrection of the Old Covenant Jews
will occur sometime around the middle of the Tribulation period. Is it possible that this might be on or in
connection with Rosh Ha-Shanah, the first day of the 7th month on
the Jewish sacred calendar? I am not
dogmatically claiming that this will be the case, but is it possible? Will the blowing of trumpets on that day
announce the salvation of a Jewish “remnant?”
Compare Psalm 115-116, which correlates with 2015 and 2016,
approximately the middle of the Tribulation.
It is obvious from Psalm 116:1 that a “remnant” of the
Jews have been saved and are giving praise to the Lord God for having heard
their “prayer.” Would the
salvation of that Jewish “remnant” at or near Rosh Ha-Shanah not be an
occasion for blowing trumpets and rejoicing before the Lord? Think about it!
The Day of Atonement……Any reader who
has carefully studied these Jewish holy days knows that there is a seven day
period between the two day celebration of Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur, the
great Day of Atonement. This seven day
period is referred to by the religious Jews as the “Seven Days of Awe.” During
these seven days the Jews afflict their souls and confess their sins before the
God of Israel and ask for His mercy upon them.
These seven days are a perfect type
of the seven year Tribulation period, which is brought to an end by the Great
Day of Atonement. Any reader with
spiritual discernment should then recognize the Day of Atonement as a type of the last day of the
Tribulation period when the Lord returns and the final great battle of
Armageddon takes place. It is more than
“coincidence” that the Lord God Himself refers to this last great battle as “the
day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy
of Zion,” Isaiah 34:8. In other
words, Israel and the Jewish people will fulfill the Day of Atonement as
they fight against their enemies assisted by the Lord God Himself, just as they
have fulfilled other holy days before this one.
Compare Zechariah 14:1-7.
The Feast of Tabernacles…..Five days after the Great Day of Atonement the redeemed Jewish
“remnant” will observe the Feast of Tabernacles by literally building “booths”
to shelter them from the heat of the Sun and to live in until they can rebuild
their homes. Read Hosea 2:14-18. Most of the redeemed Jewish “remnant”
will be in the wilderness at that time, for that will be their location at the
end
of the
Tribulation. To the mountains in the
wilderness is where the Lord instructed them to flee to when they see the “abomination
of desolation” set up during the Tribulation, Matthew 24:15-16; Mark 13:14;
6
Ezekiel
20:33-38. There in the wilderness the Lord God will make a covenant with “the
beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven” so that they will not
harm the redeemed Jewish “remnant” as they lay sleeping in their “booths” in
the woods. Read it for yourself in Hosea
2:14-18. So this Jewish
festival is to be literally fulfilled by the redeemed Jewish “remnant”
at or near the end of the Tribulation.
Hanakkuh…..It should be obvious to
any reader that the Millennial Temple will be rebuilt during the Millennial
Kingdom exactly as described in Ezekiel, chapters 40 –
48. At some point the Jewish
priests will relight the Menorah again in that glorious Temple, never to go out
ever again, thus fulfilling the Jewish holy day of Hanakkuh.
What this amounts to is that Israel and
the Jewish people will ultimately fulfill all of the Jewish holy days exactly
as required by God’s inspired Word in Jeremiah 5:24. Glory to God! Hallelujah!
Conclusion
In
this study I have demonstrated by Scripture that Christ Jesus fulfilled
each of these Jewish holy days at His first coming. The claim then that Christ cannot come
for His New Covenant believers any time other than on one of the Fall holy days
is pure fiction.
Since it is explicitly stated in the
Scriptures that the holy days are “a shadow of things to come,” Colossians
2:16-17, then they obviously are “prophetic,” and the Lord is obviously
working out His great
end-time plan
using the holy days as His outline.
This in no way compels the Lord to come or not to come on or before a
certain holy day. The Lord is the Son of
God, and He can and will come on whatever day has been appointed to Him of His
Father in Heaven, John 5:19; 8:28-29.
As I
write, I am “watching” for the coming of my precious Savior and Lord with
every passing day and night, just as the Scriptures instruct God’s people to
do, Mark
13:35-37. I do not know the “date” when the Lord is coming, and
am not even trying to find a “date.”
Rather, I am “watching” day by day just as the inspired Word instructs God’s
people to do. Are you watching? I suggest that every reader study again Titus
2:11-15 and put into practice exactly what “grace” teaches the true
believer to be doing daily.
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Lord” to help us send forth God’s wonderful Word.
Please address all questions, comments,
and correspondence to: Pastor F. M. Riley, Last Call Gospel
Ministry, 184 County Road 108, Harrisburg, Missouri 65256, or to: fmr7sngn@centurylink.net
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