Appointed Times

I feel led to share what our family has been studying for the last couple of years which are sometimes called “the Biblical Holidays”. Maybe you will consider looking at them as an addition or alternative to your current annual celebrations. It's been a huge blessing for our family to start to enter into these very rich, appointed times. Maybe it could be for your family as well. We don't know a whole lot about these feasts yet, we are studying and learning as we go. Here's a very brief summary of some of the things we have learned. I've added just a little comment with each festival. They are so much more than my brief comments indicate, this is just a little bit about how they all point to Jesus and our current state of affairs.

Leviticus chapter 23 describes the feasts. In the first few verses of Lev 23, twice, God calls them “His appointed times”. Most people think of them as the Jewish holidays. They are not Jewish holidays, they are His appointed times for us to commemorate His mighty works and “rehearse” for His plans for our future.

Spring Feasts
Passover (Pesach) – Commemorate that Jesus Christ is the passover lamb who died for our sins. Feast of Unleavened Bread (Hag Matzot) – Commemorate our salvation through Jesus Christ that brought us out of our spiritual slavery.
First Fruits (Roshit) – Commemorate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Cor 15:20
Feast of Weeks (Shavout) (Pentecost) – Commemorate the Holy Spirit given to us by Jesus Christ. The day that Moses received the law. 3,000 were lost when the law was given, 3,000 were saved when the Holy Spirit was given.

Fall Feasts
Feast of Trumpets (Hag Shofarim) and Rosh Hashana (1st day of the new year) - Rehearsal for the return of Jesus Christ! We anticipate the return of our Lord.
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) - Rehearsal for judgment day. We are accountable, but atoned by Jesus Christ who paid for our sins. A day of fasting, reflection and repentance.
Feast of Tabernacles – (Sukkot) – Rehearsal for the great wedding feast, when we will tabernacle (dwell) with Jesus Christ!

Winter (late addition, not in Leviticus 23)
Feast of Dedication (Feast of Lights) (Hanukkah) - Jesus Christ is the Light of the World!

As you would expect from our Lord, He has set these times and integrated them into our lives and into the years and months in so may astounding ways that I couldn't begin to describe it in a short blog like this. As a final note, I need to make it clear that I didn't just paste Christ's name on top of these ancient festivals as a way to add a "christian spin" to them. As you study the scriptures you can see that these appointed times have always been all about the Messiah and God's grand plan for all the nations!

Notes:

The information here was gleaned from:

• "Explore the Rich Treasure of The Hebrew Language" - Dr Karl Coke
• "A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays" - Sampson & Pierce
• Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition)