The Prophetic Feasts of Israel

Related Topics

This page provides an overview of the spring feasts, which are already fulfilled in Christ’s first coming. It also provides the links to the last three fall feasts, which are yet unfulfilled. This should give you the basic understanding and overview of how the Jewish feasts were shadows of things to come, and are therefore an integral part of Bible prophecy. All of their fulfillment is in Christ. The dates for the fall feasts are the result of my study on the woman of Revelation 12. I recommend going to the pages linked in the images above for more detail.

A couple of things to note when speaking of the feast days. Firstly, the Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar and so the first of the month coincides with a new moon and the 15th coincides with a full moon. Secondly, as God labeled the days in Genesis, each new day starts with dusk and ends with dusk. This can make relating difficult for those of us who have lived our lives from midnight to midnight, but it's important to keep these things in mind when studying the topic of the feast days.

Colossians 2:16,17
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Hebrews 10:1
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.

Revelation 19:10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Spring Feasts

Pesach (Passover)

Fulfillment date: [April 4-5, 30 AD | Nissan 14, 3790]

Leviticus 23:4-8
These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’s Passover. 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.

“The first Passover came into holy history nearly 3500 years ago. The family of Israel were captives in Egypt at that time. They were about to embark on their first great adventure as a nation. On the eve of that epic exodus out of the bondage of Egypt they were given their instructions for Passover. They were to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood upon their doorposts.” | Endtime Pilgrim

“Passover occurred on the fourteenth day, first month. This is the month of Abib (Nissan) that was the beginning of their sacred year. It celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, the land of slavery. It also celebrates the deliverance of the world from sin when Jesus died during Passover.” | teachinghearts.org

Deuteronomy 16:1
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God: for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you from out of Egypt by night.

Exodus 12:2-3,6
This month shall be for you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house. And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world.”

John 13:1
Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them to the end.

Passover: Connecting Jews and Christians to Christ

For the Jews, Pesach (Passover) is about the blood on the door to cover their sins. At the end of Israel’s captivity in Egypt, the plague that broke the hold of Pharaoh on the Israelites was the death of the first-born of all families who failed to place the blood of a sacrificed lamb on their doorways. The symbolism that is inherent is only fully realized when viewed from a Christian perspective. As Chuck Missler says, “The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.” How true this is.

The wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23, and that’s what came to the first-born of the families without that blood covering their door in Egypt. Every heart has a door into it that must be opened from the inside. Jesus is at the door of each heart knocking, waiting to be let in. Revelation 3:19-20 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans 5:12.

For all who live, Jew and Gentile, Christ was the offering of God’s only Son, Yeshua (Jesus). Romans 11 Only His blood can cover the door to our heart so that the wages of sin will not separate us from God when all men are judged. Matthew 26:28 Christ was also the ultimate and final sacrifice needed to cover our transgressions from God’s ways. Hebrews 9:18-28 If we love God, then we will obey Him, John 14:23-26, and by obeying God we love God and love our neighbors as ourselves, the Golden Rule. This is the way of the Christian, made possible by the sacrifice of Yeshua the Christ.

However, over time, the spirit of religion has blinded the bride of Christ with pagan terms and traditions. Easter and bunnies dilute the Passover connection and mutes the full understanding of God’s amazing plan. Israel is still the apple of God’s eye. Indeed the past fulfillment of Bible prophecy and the coming fulfillment is a testimony to this. The 70th week of Daniel is prophesied for Israel, so in this, their existence is central and paramount to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and therefore God’s overall plan for humanity. Remember our Jewish roots as we are heirs of the promises of Abraham through faith in Yeshua the Christ.

Galatians 3:6-29
Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Ephesians 3:1-6
For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Let us not forget our root, who is Christ. Born of the Jews to bring salvation to all mankind. Let us focus before the rabbits and eggs to understand more fully the salvation that has been given us through faith in Yeshua the Christ. Let us also understand our connection through Christ to see how we too are connected to Abraham and therefore the Jews remembering the promise to save those who are currently blinded by God. Romans 11

Feast of Unleavened Bread (Pesach Seder)

Fulfillment date: [April 5-6 to 11-12, 30 AD | Nissan 15, 3790]

Leviticus 23:6
And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

“In this period they ate unleavened bread. Bread represents the body and leaven is a symbol of sin because Satan was ‘puffed up’ with pride. So during Passover, sin would be removed from the land.” | teachinghearts.org

“At the time that the Haggadah was written, bread was at the heart of every meal, and anything else eaten at the meal was considered secondary to the bread. Whenever bread is a significant component of a meal, the blessing over bread is recited first and covers all of the food and beverages at the meal (except wine).” | JJudaism 101

Feast of First Fruits (Wave Sheaf)

Fulfillment date: April 8-9, 30 AD | Nissan 18, 3790]

Leviticus 23:9-14
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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. 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. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The spring feasts are fulfilled in the New Covenant

In the three spring feasts we see the redemption story of our Savior as it emerged into history nearly two millennia ago. Our Lord Jesus personally fulfilled all three of those spring feasts. They were accurately fulfilled down to the minutest detail and on the very day of the lunar calendar they were due. Christ was crucified on Passover, in the grave on Unleavened Bread.

In the case of the Feast of Firstfruits on the morrow after the Sabbath of Passover something wonderful and unexpected happened. Our Savior once again fulfilled the feast. He rose from the dead on the first day of the week. This was on the morrow after the Sabbath following Passover. Thus in His resurrection from the dead He fulfilled the Feast of Firstfruits. Resurrection Sunday came on the very day in which the Feast of Firstfruits had been celebrated, (and foreshadowed), in the Old Covenant since the feast was given by YHVH/God through Moses to the covenant people as they gathered at Sinai.

The Feast of Firstfruits was fulfilled by Jesus in His resurrection. He was the “firstfruits from the dead.”

1 Corinthians 15:20-23
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

Jesus is called “the Firstfruits of those that rise from the dead.” Three days and nights after His crucifixion and early in the morning Jesus rose again from the grave. The Resurrection of Jesus came on the first day of the week. That day happened to be the 17th of Nisan, right on the Feast of Firstfruits. Note that the Sabbath or ‘high day” of the first day of the seven days of Unleavened Bread is then followed by a regular weekly seventh day Sabbath, (or Saturday). There were two Sabbaths back to back that year, which was 32 AD” | Endtime Pilgrim

The Transfiguration

Luke 9:28-31
And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his clothes was white and glistening. And, look, there two men talked with him, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure which He should accomplish at Jerusalem.

There are two points to note in this story.

• The word “departure” is “EXODOS” in the Greek. So Jesus began an exodus journey when He officially became the Passover Lamb. The exodus would bring Him to Heaven.
• Moses symbolized the resurrected dead, while Elijah symbolized the translated living. The exodus would begin an exodus of the righteous living and the dead to heaven with the message of these two men.

Teachinghearts.org

Shavuot (“Feast of Weeks” / Pentecost)

Fulfillment date: [May 27-28, 30 AD | Sivan 8, 3790]

Leviticus 23:15-22
And you shall count to you from the morning after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even to the morning after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days; and you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. 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. And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 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.

According to Jewish tradition Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost marks the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai on tables of stone. It began fifty days after the Wave Sheaf . It also marked the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church to write the law on flesh (in our hearts). This is fairly commonly known by Christians because it marked something that is still a part of our daily lives, the Holy Spirit’s presence in us. The Holy Spirit is the “oil” in us that gives us the fuel to shine our lights for Christ. Without the oil, there is no flame, and therefore, no light. And according to Matthew 25:1-13, those without the oil (Holy Spirit) are not a part of the harpazo of the bride. Matthew 7:13-23 Get your oil now, before the door is shut. All you have to do is ask Christ for it, He will answer. Talk to Him like He’s right there, because He is. He’s anxiously waiting for your request. For more detail on Pentecost, visit here.

Fall Feasts

• Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) Fulfillment date?: [Sometime Future]
• Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) Fulfillment date?: [Sometime Future]
• Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) Fulfillment date?: [Sometime Future]