In the first part of our study we discovered that all of God¹s seven feasts (or festivals), as commanded in Leviticus 23, are not only commemorative of specific historical events and annual harvest blessings, but they are also types or shadows of future spiritual redemptive acts of God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I say ³future² because at the time of their conception, it would be hundreds of years into the future before the feasts would begin to be fulfilled.

Part one of this study covered the spring feasts: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. We learned that they were all wondrously and precisely fulfilled by Christ through His death, burial, and resurrection! We also discovered that the last spring feast ³Weeks² (Pentecost), was also fulfilled on the exact day by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and birth of the church, as seen in Acts Chapter 2.

So far in our study we¹ve seen four of the seven feasts already fulfilled by Christ! We ended part one in Leviticus 23:22, at the place in God¹s calendar where I believe we are today: the summer months - ³God¹s Longest Summer² - continuing for almost 2,000 years!

We move on to the fall feasts, which are yet to be fulfilled and will soon come to pass...
 
 
 

³Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ³Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.²     Leviticus 23:23-26

This feast, in Judaism today, is called ³Rosh HaShanah² which means ³The Head of the Year². It is the beginning of a New Year for Israel, and the beginning of the fall feasts, also known as ³the Days of Awe². Observant Jews today believe that God judges the world on Rosh Hashanah, and that it is also the anniversary of the offering of Isaac by Abraham on Mount Moriah (as seen in Genesis 22), and also the anniversary of the creation of the earth. Still others believe that because of the great trumpet blasts in Exodus 19:13,16, and 19, just before God gave Moses the Law, that this feast is actually commemorative of this event more than anything else, which I am also inclined to believe.
 
 

 

As we have seen, no one is absolutely certain as to the reason for this feast. However, this is certain: it was commanded by God for Israel, it involved a great deal of trumpet blowing, and it is still observed today!

Modern Judaism has transformed this feast into a two-day festival with thirty different trumped blasts, some short, some long, all with different tonal quality. The final trumpet blast comes at sundown the evening of the last day. A long drawn-out blast called the ³Tekiah Gedolah² known as the ³Last Trumpet² is made. Sound familiar?

In 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Paul states that ³...the LORD Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.² In the next verse Paul states that we will be ³caught up² to meet the LORD in the air. This is where we get our word ³rapture² (from the Greek word harpazo) which means to be ³caught up².

Another verse linking Christ¹s return and the Feast of Trumpets is 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 ³Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Paul starts off saying that this is a ³mystery² - and then sheds light on it.

Why does Paul specifically state ³At the last trumpet²? This  is not the last trumpet to be blown, as there are many prophesies in the book of Revelation which include the blowing of trumpets. I believe, as do many who study God¹s word, that this ³Last Trumpet² is referring to the ³Tekiah Gedolah² - the last great trumpet blown on the last day of the Feast of Trumpets! We must remember that Paul says in Colossians 2:17, that regarding these feasts/festivals that they are ³a shadow of things to come,
but the substance is of Christ.² Paul goes on to give a warning not to get ³vainly puffed up² by things we¹ve not seen, but to hold fast to Christ who is the Head of the body where real growth comes from. ³Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.² 1 Corinthians 8:1

With that thought and the fact that this is a ³mystery², I will never be dogmatic about the possible day of Christ¹s return. There have been solid, valid arguments regarding what the Bible does and does not say about our knowing the day. For instance, 1 Thessalonians 5:2 says that Christ will come as a ³thief in the night², but two verses later it says ³But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a theif.²! We often hear about the ³thief in the night², not referring to
unbelievers or slothful Christians, but God¹s people: the church, but scripture says: ³If you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.² Revelation 3:3

Do I believe that Christ will return on the Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah? ( which is Sept. 29, 30 this year) All I can say at this time is, IF God continues to be consistent in fulfilling the remaining three feasts, just as He did the first four, and IF our calendars are right, I believe that Rosh Hashanah is the most likely day of His return.

Which year can we expect His return? We don¹t know! Am I absolutely certain of these facts? NO! Christ could return at any moment: we could all have our ³facts² wrong, but based on all these scriptures, and God¹s incredible exact fulfillment of the first four, on the exact day, it is a very good possibility!

The main application is this: let¹s be looking for His soon return by praying, staying in His word, fellowshipping with one another, and being about the Great Commission (Mark 16:15) of going into all the world to preach the gospel - before it¹s too late!
 
 

 

³And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ³Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.¹²  Leviticus 23:26-28

This feast/festival is the most solemn and holiest day for Jews today. It comes seven days after the last feast we discussed; ³Trumpets² or ³Rosh HaShanah², and is today called ³Yom Kippur² which means ³Day of Atonement². this was the one day which came every year when the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle blood of an animal, prepared especially for this ritual, over the mercy seat. The entire nation of Israel waited in hushed anticipation while the high priest completed this ritual: if the high priest survived, and returned, the people knew that God had forgiven them for another year!

The Jews believe that during Rosh Hashanah (the previous feast), the books are opened and the people prepare to be judged by God. During Yom Kippur, God seals the books which were opened that previous week. In order to keep this feast, there must be a Holy of Holies, which requires a temple. As you may know, there is no longer a Jewish temple standing on Mount Moriah.

With no temple how do the Jews observe this feast today? Many adjustments have been made to allow for this observance. The original blood sacrifice system (which pointed to Jesus and the cross) has been replaced with prayer, charity, and penitence.

If you study modern Judaism, you will find that much of it consists of scripture mixed with paganism; which is also a great travesty of many churches in America!

In October of 1984, I witnessed this feast observance first hand as a pilgrim in Tel Aviv. The entire country shuts down for a day with absolutely no businesses open and hardly anyone traveling!
 
 

 

Between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in the temple was and elaborate curtain called ³the veil². As J. Vernon McGee correctly pointed out ³It protected the Holiness of God from the profanity of man: it protected both God and man.² The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that it was four inches thick! In Matthew 27:51-53 we see incredible events taking place at the moment of Christ¹s death on the cross. Earthquakes, rocks split, graves opened with saints rising from the dead, and ³the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom². This was an extraordinary action by God Himself! That veil had been a symbol of Christ, which the high priest had to go through to approach God. When God tore the veil in two (from top to bottom) it was evidence of His acceptance of the ultimate sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. Thus, He opened up access to God for anyone, any time through Jesus Christ! (See Hebrews 10:19-22). There is more spiritual significance in Yom Kippur which is yet to be fulfilled:
 
 

 

As stated earlier, God is presently dealing with the church and the time of the gentiles and has been since Pentecost. However, I believe that after the rapture (Feast of Trumpets in type), God¹s dealing with Israel begins again. The seven days from the rapture (Trumpets) to Yom Kippur is a picture of the Seven year Great Tribulation which is yet to come! This future Yom Kippur will include God¹s wrath upon the earth while His church, true believers in Christ, both Jew and gentile will be gone from the earth and will be enjoying the wedding of the Lamb! (Revelation 19:7,8).

This tribulation time is called ³Jacob¹s trouble² in Jeremiah 30:7. Zechariah 12:10 tells us ³they will look on Me whom they have pierced.² God will again, through much tribulation and suffering, cause Israel to see Y¹shua Ha Mashia - Jesus the Messiah! The people of Israel will find their atonement from sin through God¹s own Son, Jesus Christ, whom most have rejected to this day.

Just as we have seen God¹s precise timing in each of the previous feasts, this one will also be fulfilled spiritually at exactly the appointed time! I believe that it will be on a future Yom Kippur, following the Great Tribulation, and that Zechariah chapters 12 and 14 will be fulfilled - that Israel will return to their God!
 
 

 

³Speak to the children of Israel saying: The 15th day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.¹²  Leviticus 23:34-36

This Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Succoth, or Booths, is an eight day joyous celebration! It was to be commemorative of the LORD delivering Israel from Egypt, bringing them out, and even though they were not in Canaan yet, they were to be thankful for God¹s deliverance. While they were in the wilderness they lived in temporary shelters and tents. During the feast they were to dwell in make shift tents (³booths² vs. 42), to remind them of this time in their history.

Again, I saw this celebrated while in Israel, it was very festive and exciting! There were tents made with palm, willow, and other branches all around their homes and they lived in these tents for eight days in joyous celebration!

Later, rituals were added to this festival, such as pouring water outside the temple to commemorate God giving water from the rock in Exodus 17. In fact, it was at this very feast that Jesus, in context of the water pouring ceremony, called out: ³If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.² (John 7:2, 37)
 
 
 

How does this feast fit into God¹s calendar? Does it also fit prophetically and in God¹s exact time by a work of Christ? We must remember where we are with this last feast in relation to God¹s prophetic calendar. As we have seen, the first four feasts have all seen their fulfillment through a particular work of Christ: Passover = Crucifixion, Unleavened Bread = Burial, First Fruits= Resurrection, and Weeks= Pentecost.  We are now living in God¹s longest summer, awaiting the next feast to be
fulfilled: Trumpets = Rapture, Day of Atonement = Great Tribulation. Now as to this particular feast, Tabernacles, most Bible scholars are in agreement that its future fulfillment is The Millennium: the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth! (See Revelation 20:4-6) Hence, the name ³Tabernacle² - it will be the time when God will ³tabernacle² or ³dwell² with people for one thousand years. It will be a prelude to the ultimate, eternal tabernacle of God with man which is found in
Revelation 21:3 ³And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying ³Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.²

The last day of this feast is called ³Hoshana Rabba² or ³The Great Hoshana² and it is a great day of rejoicing and praise anticipating this eternal tabernacle of God with man! As the Jews even to this day dwell in a tent or tabernacle for a week during this feast, they not only are remembering the days of Israel in the wilderness, but are also looking forward to the day when God will dwell with them and His kingdom is realized on this earth!