Bible Feasts & Prophecy
The Fall Feasts are just around the corner! I am so excited to get to spend another year partaking in the set apart days of my Father. This will be my family’s second fall feast season; we barely missed them our first year coming to the understanding that they are for us…
These are the appointed feasts of the YHWH, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. Lev. 23:4
They are His! The feasts are not for the Jews only, that just happened to be group of Israel that was able to continue holding them throughout biblical history but even “Jews” are made up of the three tribes of Judah, Levi, and Benjamin who dwelt in the southern kingdom of Judea. However, all of Israel was to come to Jerusalem to keep certain feasts as we see in Acts 2 when various tribes and tongues came to keep the feast of Shavuot/ Pentecost. There has always been a mixed multitude who by faith and belief follow the ways of YHWH- from Siani to the stake, from Pentecost to the resurrection…
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. Gal. 3:28
There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you. Ex. 12:49
I am going to give a little bit of study on WHY we should keep the feasts from the perspective of end times study. I will admit my view on the feasts have changed over the past year and I will explain why but let me first layout how I originally saw them laid out by others in this walk:
4 Spring Feasts fulfilled by Messiah’s first coming:
Passover- Crucifixion
Unleavened Bread- His Burial
First Fruits- His Resurrection
Pentecost- Holy Spirit
3 Fall Feast to be fulfilled by Messiah’s second coming:
Trumpets- His Return
Day of Atonement- Final Judgment
Tabernacles- Millennial Reign
I’m not disagreeing with this layout, but I do want to offer a little bit deeper of a study that will show how they actually overlap and work together to paint the entire gospel story. The feasts are a giant object lesson for all of God’s children. They help us understand Him more and grasp a greater appreciation for His Salvation- Yeshua. While we can’t keep them perfectly according to the commands (there is no temple or Levitical priesthood to make the sacrifices) we can do our best to observe them as a memorial and as a sign of our hearts to follow Him. We can gather as a holy convocation, have a delicious feast (what the sacrifices were for, eating!), and worship the One who was, Who is, and Who is to come! All of the feasts hold incredible historical significance, spell out Yeshua’s work as we see above, and reveal end times prophecy. If you have not already, check out the Revelation Road Map here to see the events we’re about to look at, put on a timeline with 180+ scripture cross-references.
Passover and Trumpets
The common thing you will hear when starting to keep the feasts is that Yeshua fulfilled the Passover at His first coming. However, let's look at a few scriptures that tell of how it is still yet to be fulfilled and how, historically, it points to the greater Passover.
And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22:15-16
The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:13
Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the wrath has passed by. Isaiah 26:20
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.” … The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” Revelation 11:15-18
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1 Cor. 15:51-52
And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:31
Do you see the connection between Passover and Trumpets? Yeshua Himself said the Passover wouldn’t be fulfilled until the Kingdom comes. Why? Because Passover marks the wrath of God passing over those who are covered by Messiah’s righteous blood, and the Day of Atonement is fulfilled for believers. This event is marked by the 7th trumpet- the dead in Messiah are gathered and changed, then the bowls of wrath are poured out. The passing over of wrath happens at the last trumpet.
Trumpets and Unleavened Bread
As we read in 1 Cor. 15, at the last trumpet the perishable will put on the imperishable. Unleavened Bread is representative of sinless Yeshua being buried for our transgressions; it is also representative of taking off the old (perishable) sinful flesh and/ being made new (imperishable) as cleansed from sin. It’s also interesting to note that there are 7 trumpets, 7 seals, and 7 days of eating unleavened bread- perhaps this is another layer to “those who endure till the end shall be saved” and “here is the endurance of the saints, here are those who kept the commandments of YHWH and the faith in Yeshua.” Keeping the commandments is called a seal of YHWH as well as being sealed in the Spirit by faith in Yeshua. I’ll leave that for another study though!
Let’s look at some scriptures that tell of this taking off the old, putting on the new…something we practice now as the Spirit sanctifies and prepares us for the Kingdom.
In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Eph. 4:22-24
Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Romans 6:6
Since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him. Col. 3:10
Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved. Matt. 9:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Cor. 5:17
This idea of being a new creation, of putting off the old, is the transformation that happens when Messiah chooses you. When He calls you out, He is calling you away from the former fleshy walk of life to follow Him, completely! We are to put off sin as we put away leaven during the feast of unleavened bread. We are to walk in the Spirit as we will be changed at the last trumpet, putting on our new spirit bodies which will never be able to sin again.
First Fruits and Shavuot
This I won’t get into here, but you can read this blog post for an in depth break down of how First Fruits and Shavuot are the same feast. Leviticus 23:11-12 gives the explanation of a first fruit offering being waved the first day of the week after Passover- this was prophetic of Messiah’s resurrection as He was “raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Cor. 15:20. However, this first fruit offering was not called a Sabbath or a Holy Convocation; there isn’t a gathering. The gathering was instructed in Lev. 23:15-21 to be on the 50th day also known as The Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. This day there was a Holy Convocation to bring a new grain offering to YHWH where the first fruits were presented.
Shavuot and Trumpets
The seventh trumpet is when the gathering happens (Matt. 24:31, 1 Cor. 15:52). We are gathered as wheat, taken to the barn of Zion, and presented as a new grain offering before YHWH. Shavuot is a marker of covenant, (you can read more about Covenants of Shavuot here and about the New Covenant here). We know from the verses above, that the perishable will put on the imperishable, but what does this mean? Let’s look at some scriptures for how we will be presented to the Father as a new grain offering and what it means for our hearts clothed in a new, imperishable body.
Messiah Yeshua is the high priest presenting the grain offering (us) to YHWH after the first fruits gathering.
His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Matt. 3:12
Knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into His presence. 2 Cor. 4:14
That He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. Eph. 5:27
Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. Col. 1:22
So that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. 1 Thess. 3:13
“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will each man teach his neighbor or 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 iniquities and will remember their sins no more.” Jer. 31:33-34
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.” Rev. 21:3-5 (Hebrew 8:10)
I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. Ezekiel 37:26
The new covenant has everything to do with being cleansed (their sin I will remember no more), having the law inscribed on our hearts and minds, and dwelling in peace with His sanctuary among us. Where the Acts 2 day of Pentecost dropped the deposit of the Holy Spirit, the Day of YHWH will clothe us completely in new Spirit bodies. Where the law was given through Moses on Shavuot, we will have the law written on our hearts and minds at the 7th trumpet resurrection.
Tabernacles and Shavuot
His dwelling place, New Jerusalem/ Zion, on the earth is the primary sign of the New Covenant. This is the Father’s fulfillment of His intention from the beginning- to dwell among His people. He walked in the garden with Adam until sin separated them. He instructed the tabernacle to be built as an exact shadow of the heavenly tabernacle and gave instruction so His presence could descend upon the ark. He sent His only son in the flesh, carrying His complete will and authority, to tabernacle among us. At the end of this age, He will bring down Zion to tabernacle on the earth forever.
His covenant is to be in relationship with humanity that He created and gave His own breath, His Ruach. The Feast of Tabernacles/ Sukkot is the fulfillment of this covenant. That we will dwell in safety with the Father and with Messiah forever.
Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Jer. 3:14-15
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. Heb. 11:10
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. Rev. 21:10
For more on the New Jerusalem being the land of inheritance, click here. Shavuot and Sukkot are both called feasts of ingathering because at each feast there is a harvest. This correlation points directly to the gathering of souls at the last trumpet to enter into the new covenant and tabernacle with Messiah.
Day of Atonement and Sukkot
Sukkot comes from the Hebrew word for shelter. A sukkah is a temporary, lean-to type barn for livestock or a shelter for the wilderness. We see Jacob name a place “Succoth” in Genesis 33:17 because he built shelters for himself and his livestock. In Lev. 23 and Exodus 23 we can read the commands to keep this Feast of Tabernacles to remember the Israelites dwelling in the wilderness- the wilderness where YHWH dwelled among them in the Tent of Meeting and provided every need.
The Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled once during the millennial kingdom when those who take part in the first resurrection will dwell in Zion. Then again when the Day of Atonement is completed at the second resurrection. It is a seven-day feast with one day added, The Last Great Feast. The eighth day is a sign of circumcision, a sign of covenant. In terms of "a thousand years is one day," the 7th day is our Sabbath rest in the millennial kingdom which leads to the 8th day when death and Hades is swallowed up and all is made new. The 8th day is the new beginning, atonement for sin is complete and creation is renewed.
Let’s look at a few scriptures that describe how the Day of Atonement and Sukkot show the first resurrection.
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. Rev. 20:4-6
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. Rev. 21:3
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. Isaiah 26:1
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. Gen. 2:3
Let’s look at a few scriptures that describe how the Day of Atonement and Sukkot show the second resurrection.
For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Col. 3:25
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Rev. 20:11-15
Your [Zion's] people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified. Isaiah 60:21
The second resurrection will include all of the unrighteous that did no partake in the first resurrection as well as those of the nations who lived and learned the law during the millennial reign. This is why the above verse reads “the books were opened; and another book which is the book of life.” Those in the book of life will have atonement before the great white throne but all else will be judged to the lake of fire. After this is when creation is completely restored and the new day begins, eternity of tabernacling in glory!
In Closing
This has not been an all-inclusive study of the feasts, there are many prophetic aspects to each of them, but it was on my heart to hone in on the topic of end times and layout how the feasts as a whole lay out the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. They all hold purpose in teaching us the Father’s overall plan for Salvation. The story is the same from the beginning of the book until the end; it’s a story of redemption and the feasts play an intricate part in reminding us of the importance of fellowship and being set apart for YHWH. There is no way for us to keep them perfectly according to the commands, but there is a way for us to partake in these times with a heart desiring His perfection. They draw us in and reveal His heart year after year. They remind us that this is not our home and encourage us to keep hope for the day of restoration.
I personally, don’t account the times of the feasts to be a timeline for their fulfillments because of how much they overlap and echo each other. Rather, I see them all as aspects of the end times prophecy as a whole.
But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Cor. 15:23-26