| Home | "These are a shadow of things to come; the reality is in Christ."Introduction: This is an essay on the OT feasts contributed by Rick Toews who runs another website on Revelation. The feasts play a role in the understanding of Revelation and I have included his essay here. "These are the LORD's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times." (Leviticus 23:2) THE SPRING FEASTS: PASSOVER AND FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD (Leviticus 23:4-8)
The celebration of the Passover included the slaughter of the passover lamb, which typified the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. FIRSTFRUITS (Leviticus 23:9-14) This day was like the American Thanksgiving holiday, which is coming next week: it was not observed on a particular date but always on a particular day. Just as Thanksgiving is always observed on the fourth Thursday in the month of November, the presentation of the Firstfruits was always celebrated on the first day of the week, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. According to Leviticus 23:11, the priest is to wave the firstfruits on the day after the Sabbath. Some understand that the Sabbath mentioned there is not the Sabbath at the end of each week but the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was to be a day of sacred assembly (23:7). When we look at the Feast of Weeks, we will see that this idea is mistaken and that the Sabbath of verse 11 is, indeed, the seventh-day Sabbath. FEAST OF WEEKS (Leviticus 23:15-22) "From the day after the Sabbath [cf. verse 11], the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off 50 days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD." The Feast of Weeks was to be observed on the day after the seventh Sabbath--the seven full weeks (seven Sabbaths) from Dthe presentation of the firstfruits. Thus, the Feast of Weeks was always on the first day of the week. Further, it was to be observed 50 days from the presentation of firstfruits, which indicates that the firstfruits were always presented on the same day of the week as well--the first. THE AUTUMN FEASTS: FEAST OF TRUMPETS (Leviticus 23:23-25) Observed on the first day of the seventh month. The purpose of the Feast of Trumpets is not clearly stated in the Bible, but according to Jewish tradition, it was to warn the people of the impending Day of Atonement, which came nine days later. DAY OF ATONEMENT (Leviticus 23:26-32) Observed on the 10th day of the seventh month. This was the day when the people were to be cleansed of sin. All sin was to have been confessed and transferred into the sanctuary by this time, and the high priest ministered on the Day of Atonement to remove the sins from the sanctuary and have them born into the wildreness by the scapegoat (Leviticus 16). FEAST OF TABERNACLES AND CLOSING ASSEMBLY (Leviticus 23:33-36)
The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated the autumn harvest, just as the Feast of Weeks celebrated the spring harvest. WHAT THE FEASTS POINT TO: "Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or by with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration, or a sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17). Jesus came as the Anoined One, the Messiah, nearly 2,000 years ago; and with that are associated the festivals the Israelites observed around the spring harvest. When he was crucified, Jesus died as the passover Lamb; and he was raised as the firstfruits on the day after the Sabbath. On the 50th day from Jesus' resurrection, the Holy Spirit came on the apostles on the Day of Pentecost, which was the Feast of Weeks. On that day, 3,000 believed the words of the apostles and received salvation (Acts 2). Jesus promised that he would come again (John 14:1-3), and Revelation has much to say about the preparation for his second coming. The spring festivals typified things associated with Jesus' first coming, and the autumn festivals illustrate things associated with his second coming. We can find the fulfillment of each of the three autumn festivals in Revelation. The first of the autumn festivals described in Leviticus 23 is the Feast of Trumpets. Again, though Leviticus doesn't tell us much about the purpose of this day, Jews understand it to be the warning of the approaching Day of Atonement, by which all sin must be dealt with. I believe the Feast of Trumpets is fulfilled by the seven trumpets of Revelation 8-9, 11. Study indicates that the sounding of the trumpets coincides with the messages of the three angels--Worship the Creator God, Babylon is fallen, and Do not worship Babylon. The second of the autumn festivals is the Day of Atonement. This day was the only day on which the ministry of the high priest directly included the ark of the covenant. At no other time was the ark to be seen by human eyes. Revelation 11:19 is the first and--if memory serves--only time the ark is specifically mentioned; and I believe that it refers to the time by which all sin must be confessed and repented of. Notice, in the last few verses of Revelation 11, that the ark is revealed very shortly after the seventh trumpet is sounded. The third of the autumn festivals is the Feast of Tabernacles. This was the celebration of the harvest at the end of the year, just as the Feast of Weeks was the celebration of the spring harvest. The difference is that the Feast of Tabernacles was a much bigger celebration (see Leviticus 23). Revelation 14:14-16 describes the harvest; and Revelation 7:9-15 is another reference to those who are harvested from the earth. The purpose here has not been to go into a lot of detail but to provide an overview of the yearly festivals and to show how they point to Jesus Christ. I believe an understanding of these festivals can help us to get a perspective on his ministry and to develop a cohesive picture of Revelation. God bless you as you continue to study his Word. Books:
|
| Commentary on Revelation | ||||||
| Home | Commentary Contents | Eschatology Articles | Downloads | |||