Three Times A Year!

“Three Times A Year!”

Festivals and Holy Days—There is a Difference!

Chapter 19 Preview: Anciently, it was crucial to attend these “feasts” of God: Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Are they relevant today? Should these three feasts still be “pilgrimage feasts” Does God expect for us to keep these appointments? Should we observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the same manner as we do the Feast of Tabernacles—from beginning to end? What about those select “Holy Days” from Leviticus 23 which fall during these three feasts of God? What is the distinction between a “Holy Day” and “Feast day” What is required to celebrate a feast of God? Even tho the issues in this chapter are a bit technical due to translational considerations, there will still be an “hour of testing,” at “the end” (Revelation 2:26 & 3:10 WEB).

God commanded ancient Israel to actively “keep” three festivals each year. Attendance was so vital that at least all heads of household (males) were ordered to appear where God placed His name for the full length of each “feast”. Among the “Churches” (off site) today that keep these feasts of God, few, if any, uphold the God ordained summons to fully attend each.

Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles .... (Also see Exodus 23: 14)

Many people are aware of the scripture mentioning “Three times a year”, but few understand the significance of the wording. Why only “three times” instead of seven, and what does “times” mean anyway? The “times” used here means stroke, beat, time, and occurrence. Thus, there are precisely three occurrences within each year when God requires the attendance of His people before Him.

Many of you will realize that a misunderstanding of the “times” scriptures forms the basis that a number of Churches (off site) use to collect an offering from their people seven times a year. These churches have taken it upon themselves to include (extra) “times” (pun intended) in addition to the three Biblical Feast “times”. They collect offerings on each of the seven annual ‘Holy Days’ (mo’ed in Hebrew), three days of which are not even a part of these three Feast times. There is no way around the intent of the Hebrew: The three Feasts [Hebrew: ‘chag’ #2282] are in no way meant to imply all seven annual Holy Days.

The observance of these three chag (i.e. from Deuteronomy 16:16 above) simply cannot be accomplished if we are doing our normal secular activities during these times. There will be more elaboration on this as we proceed.

To “Feast” or not to “feast”

There are actually two different Hebrew words translated into English Bibles as “feast”, but only one of them has to do with specific Feasts of God. “Mishteh” is translated as feast, and it means a “banquet” or “party” or even a “drink”. “Chag”, the second word, translated as feast means a festival, feast, festival gathering, or pilgrim feast.

Genesis 40:20 Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.

Exodus 10:9 And Moses said: We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a ‘feast’ to the LORD.

A chag was not a “banquet”, but banquets may certainly be held during a chag (feast). So, when God requires the presence of Israel before Him during those three times mentioned in Deuteronomy 16:16, just what is expected?

Festivals and Holy Days—There is a Difference!

Thousands of Saints (off site) understand that the Feast of Tabernacles is an annual occurrence involving traveling to a place that they consider to be of “God’s choosing” for seven days. Actually, the last place that God chose was Jerusalem, but we’ll have to make do until we’re back in the land. Yet most do not realize that Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost are in the same classification, being “pilgrimage feasts”, as is the Feast of Tabernacles. It is important to understand the difference between Holy Days and days of the three Festival “times”, if we are to serve God correctly.

Ezekiel 46:11 And in the ‘feasts’ [#2282, chag] and in the ‘solemnities’ [#4150, mo’ed] the meat offering shall be an ephah ....(AV)

There are two places in the scriptures where the “Pilgrimage Feasts” are covered and they do not refer to the seven Annual Holy Days (which are mo’ed) but to God’s Feast times (Festival Events)! Deuteronomy 16:16 is one and Exodus 23: 14 is the other (see below). There are only three feasts (chags) each year and it was mandatory in ancient Israel that “all your males shall appear”, and these three feasts are specified by name. God designating a period of time to be a “feast” (chag) is completely different from His designating a day to be a “Holy Day” (mo’ed). A mo’ed identifies a 24 hour period, one full day, as a day for an appointed time with God. God conveniently listed all of them in one chapter (23) in Leviticus. They are listed as God’s appointed times, not man’s. These mo’ed are: the weekly Sabbath, which occurs every seventh day without fail; the seven annual Holy Days, which are typically known as: The First Day of Unleavened Bread, The Last Day of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Day of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, the First Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and the 8th Day (or the Last Great Day).

But a “feast” (chag) designation carries an altogether different meaning and purpose from mo’ed.

Exodus 23: 14 ... 26 Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); 16 and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD .... 20 Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries .... 25 So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. NKJV

Notice that verse 15 above contains a definition of how to keep the Chag of Unleavened bread—the chag involves “seven days”.

A feast is an event, which can also be called a festival. A feast is a period of time measured by days. The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles are each 7-day long feasts. A chag is not specifically a “day”, but whatever length of time has been designated to feast. Thus, during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is exactly one week long (seven days), the entire week is only one chag. Often, people think of a chag as being a feast day, and then think that there are seven chag days in the Tabernacles feast. There is only one chag in the chag of Tabernacles, and it is seven days long. Please keep this in mind throughout the remainder of this chapter and forever after as it will help to eliminate the confusion encountered by many today concerning feasts and Holy Days.

Times and Seasons

Let’s consider the word “times”. The Hebrew word “reh’-gel” [Strong’s #07272] can imply several different things but it never implies “seasons”, as in “the four seasons”. Some people reason that if you lump the “spring” Holy Days with the “summer” Holy Day, which is supposedly Pentecost—though it also falls in the “spring”, and throw in all of the “fall” Holy Days, then you have covered three “seasons”, and included all seven Holy Days.

There is an assumption here that needs to be addressed. Biblically there are only two seasons. Look in your complete concordance and notice the numerous references to “winter” and “summer”, then try to find “spring” and “fall”. The only “fall” references refer to something falling down under the influence of gravity! The “spring” references refer to something springing up, or places to get a drink! The four-season concept is an Egyptian one.

Ironically, there is a place in the most common versions of the Bible where “seasons” is used in such a way as to completely be lost on most modern readers. To those of us who believe in celebrating God’s Holy Days, this common misconception should be common knowledge. When we understand the actual meaning of Genesis 1: 14, we will understand God’s commitment to the Holy Days from the very beginning, rather than only from the time of Moses. These days were meant for all time! Carefully notice what God said about these so-called “seasons”. This is an important point, so it is well covered.

Genesis 1: 14-19 Then God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs [of things to come] and ‘SEASONS’ [Literally: mo’ed—feasts or appointed times] and for days and years 15 ‘and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. (NKJV unless noted)

The Hebrew word mo’ed used above for seasons really means any of God’s “appointed times”, as can be demonstrated by numerous other usages of the word! The most fundamental way to determine when we should keep these days is by using the “lights ... in the heavens”: the moon and the sun. By the way, there are no mystical mathematical formulas required to determine when a new month begins as long as we use the “lights” that God instituted on “the fourth day” for this very purpose. The first month of the year is also quite simple to determine. A calendar is simply a method of determining when a month and a year is to begin, and then counting individual days.

Leviticus 23 as previously mentioned, specifies all of the holy mo’ed, which are the seven annual Holy Days of God and the weekly seventh day Sabbath. The word rendered “feasts of the LORD,” and “My Feasts” in verse 2, and verses 4, 37, 44 is the Hebrew word “mo’ed”, Strong’s #4150, which means: “appointed place, appointed time, or meeting.” Strong’s references to “solemn feast” and “set feast” are inaccurate renderings as is the use of feasts in the verses just mentioned. The insertion of the word feast for mo’ed in Leviticus 23 has led to much confusion in the minds of many. For example, the translators unilaterally made the “Day of Atonement”, which is a day of complete fasting, into a “feast” day, and this is totally contrary to being “afflicted” on this day. If we just insert “appointed times” into the verses where mo’ed is translated into “feasts” it would become much clearer. The result of this “co-mingling” of the word “feast” for mo’ed has been to blur the lines of difference between a mo’ed and a chag. Thus, in the places where the word “feast” is present in Leviticus 23, the reader cannot readily know or identify whether it is mo’ed or chag. Sometimes our own language leaves much to be desired, and sometimes the translation does.

We see from Leviticus 23 that the seven annual Holy Days and the weekly Sabbath are the mo’ed, or “appointments” with God, which are also holy convocations. These appointed times, weekly and Holy Days were determined by God Himself. It is our obligation to refrain from work during these “appointed times” or moedim (plural of mo’ed). Observance is mandatory. Our destiny will be greatly influenced by how seriously we examine these days and ourselves.

Feasts (Festivals)

There is another term that needs to be clarified in reference to the three Feasts of God, for unless we understand this, we will not fully celebrate God’s feasts. The word is Strong’s reference #02287:

“Chagag” is the root word that chag comes from in the first place.

Notice the occurrences where this word, “chagag”, and chag are both used in the same verse.

Leviticus 23:39 Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall ‘keep’ [chagag] the ‘feast’ [chag] of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a ‘Sabbath-rest’ [07677 shabbathown (shab-baw-thone)’ roughly a Sabbath like day], and on the eighth day a ‘Sabbath-rest’.

Exodus 12: 14 So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall ‘keep’ [chagag] it as a ‘feast’ [chag] to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a ‘feast’ [chagag] by an everlasting ordinance.

Leviticus 23:41 You shall keep it as a feast [chag] to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall ‘celebrate’ [chagag] it in the seventh month.

Numbers 29:12 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work, and you shall ‘keep’ [chagag] a feast [chag] to the LORD seven days.

The use of “chagag” (#2287) in combination with chag stresses the necessity to attend and participate in the chag (Feasts). While chag is a “noun”, the word “chagag” is a verb. The verb expresses the action in a sentence. The verb is telling us what to do to the “noun”, chag. According to Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, the literal Arabic meaning is, “betake oneself to or towards an object of reverence; make a pilgrimage”.... The Hebrew is, “keep a pilgrim-feast”. Thus we find that three distinct “times” a year Israelites would become “pilgrims”, traveling to where God had placed His name for these chag: The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Weeks, and The Feast of Tabernacles. Is there a difference between the “middle days” of the Feast of Tabernacles and the “middle days” of the Days of Unleavened Bread? There is no commandment to hold meetings during these non-holy days of either Feast, as they are not holy mo’ed days (“appointed times”, which are Holy Days) requiring a convocation, yet they are a part of the chag or feast. By definition, God instructs us to be feasting all the days of a feast. What should be strikingly evident is the fact that there is never any indication whatsoever that it was ever acceptable to attend only the mo’ed days within any of the feasts [chag], without celebrating the intervening days of the chag!

Of all 62 Scriptural uses of chag, not one use of the term applies it to the Day of Trumpets, or the Day of Atonement or even the weekly Sabbath. In fact, chag—“festival time”, has a different meaning than holy mo’ed, which covers these other times. Yet a chag can refer a one day event because Pentecost—a pilgrim feast is only one day long.

There are few people who have digilantly considered the distinction between a chag and a mo’ed. Simply put, a chag is an entire pilgrim feast, not just the Sabbaths within a feast.

Is Psalm 81:3 an exception? Could a New Moon be a full moon? Can the year begin in the seventh month? See the footnote at the end.

The Other Days

Abib the 16th-20th (the five non-Holy days between the first and last Holy Days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread), as well as the last six days of the Feast of Tabernacles (the 16th-21st day of the seventh month) are still days within the chag/Feast, but are not Holy Days! Abib 15 and 21, Pentecost, and the 1st, 10th, 15th and 21st days of the seventh month are Holy Days [mo’ed]. Of these seven mo’ed only Abib 15 and 21, Pentecost, and the 15th day of the seventh month also occur during “Feast” (chag) times. The non mo’ed “in between” days of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles are not Sabbaths, nor are they Holy Days (upon which no work or play is permitted). Neither are they days that we should pursue our own ordinary interests. These non-mo’ed days are all still days of the chag in which we can and should truly celebrate, but without the requirement to “assemble” formally. We can exercise our own discretion during these days, doing things that celebrate life itself, making memories as we make meaningful friendships.

Here is more instruction on the when, the where, and the means of keeping the three pilgrimage feasts. Anciently these particular feasts could not be kept at home “within your gates” unless you lived in Jerusalem. Today, every effort should be made to gather in larger groups than is possible during the rest of the year, even if you must have “living room” Feasts.

Deuteronomy 12:11 ... 18 ... then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide ... 17 ... You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand .... 18 But you must eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all to which you put your hands ....

In ancient Israel, God placed His name in Jerusalem (before that it was Bethel) and that was where Israel was to congregate—not once a year but three times—where His name was placed (Deuteronomy 16:5-16). There is no reason to travel to Jerusalem today, for Jerusalem is no better than ancient Sodom and Egypt at this time (Revelation 11:8). If necessary, a feast site may be within your gates. Do budget a tithe just long enough fund your pilgrimages—but not all year long. Any able and responsible person would help defray the expenses incurred with renting festival facilities, when attending a site, but this should not be considered an “offering”. Offerings are no longer applicable since there is no longer a Levitical priesthood or a theocracy. Offerings are not synonymous with contributions or donations; offerings are primarily something to be burned.

In ancient Israel, it would have been totally impractical, procedurally, to have traveled a considerable distance to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as was the custom of Jesus’ (Yeshua, off site) family (Luke 2), and to then to have gone back home—turned around—and then returned for the last day of the feast. Had God wanted to have a two day feast He could have conveniently placed the two holy days back to back! But this was meant to be a seven day long feast.

Today, ease of travel and multiple locations have virtually eliminated any natural deterrent for leaving, and thus “skipping”, the “middle days” of the Feast, but God’s intent should be apparent. God ordained for those present at His Feasts to celebrate for the entire time allotted.

Deuteronomy 16:3 ... 8 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life .... 7 And you shall roast and eat it in the place which the LORD your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work on it.

Compare this with the instruction for Tabernacles from Leviticus:

Leviticus 23:34 Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD.

The full time allotted for each Feast is not really “optional” time, is it? Once we understand God’s mind on the feasts, can we still justify not keeping the feast for the total time decreed by God? So why not commemorate them exactly as they were intended to be. As a side note, the Hebrew word rendered as “tents” in the above Deuteronomy reference can be any kind of dwelling place, not necessarily booths.

1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread for anything less than seven full days would not seem to be keeping it in sincerity and truth, would it?

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 of Christ].

Sabbaths are no different than Holy Days, they all are holy mo’ed with God; special times “appointed” by Him for our benefit and His delight. The only difference between them is in how the actual “appointment day” is arrived at. The Sabbath is every seventh day of every week, without fail! New moons (one of the “lights” of Genesis 1: 14) are used to determine the true beginning of each month, and God had already given instructions from there on how to arrive at each Holy Day. The seven annual mo’ed (annual Holy Days) along with the weekly mo’ed (seventh day Sabbaths) are distinctive because they are associated with holy convocations. On these “Holy Days” work is not permitted. The Hebrew specifically tells us that “all occupational work” is forbidden. The weekly Sabbath, the 15th and 21st days of the first month (during the Unleavened Bread), Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and the 15th and 22nd days of the seventh month (first day of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day) are all Holy Days with mandatory meetings. They are all days of rest.

Leviticus 23:2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts [mo’ed, therefore not a “feast/chag”, but an “appointment day”] of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts

Leviticus 23:4 ... 6 These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times ... 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.

Leviticus 23:37 These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day ....

Leviticus 23:44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

What about the Saints? (off site)

Some may say: “This was all well and good for ancient Israel, but what about today? Are today’s Saints even supposed to celebrate Feasts of God?”

A close look into the New Messianic Scriptures (“New Testament” ), especially Paul’s writings, reveals that quite a number of things that pertained to the Levitical priesthood were suspended for the Disciples. The “washing”, animal sacrifices, and even some of the “statutes and judgments” are all suspended, as was tithing to the priesthood, and circumcision. (Interestingly, all of these things will be resumed when the latter temple’s Levitical priesthood is resumed—Ezekiel Chapters 40-48.)

What about the mo’ed and chag? As far as the mo’ed are concerned, the answer is uncomplicated. Since the Ten Commandments encompass every age of man, which includes “keeping” the seventh day Sabbath (a mo’ed), we can readily see one mo’ed still in force. Now as for the seven annual mo’ed, remember that they are found as far back as creation week (Genesis 1: 14). Next, we find that in Leviticus 23 that God declared that these mo’ed are “His”, not man’s, and He listed all of the seven annual mo’ed along with the weekly mo’ed, thus connecting the weekly to the annual. In addition to this, we find that all of these mo’ed, plus the three “Feasts”, which were presented to ancient Israel, were all kept by Yeshua. Furthermore, as if that were not enough, we also find that these same mo’ed and Feasts were also celebrated by the Apostles and the first century Assembly. Finally, we discover that these mo’ed and Feasts will be celebrated after the return of God and “His Christ” in the Kingdom of God, and that even non-Israelites, or as many think of these nations, “gentiles” are to celebrate or keep the mo’ed and Feasts (See Zechariah 14 and note that if they will be celebrating the entire Feast of Tabernacles, then they will also be celebrating the mo’ed that begins the Feast.) More about this later but note that mo’ed and chag were still in force in the early Assembly as the apostle John mentioned that the 15th of Abib (the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread) was an annual Holy Day. (Note: the Greek does not have distinct words differentiating Holy Days from Feasts.)

John 19:31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a [great] day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

So, what possible reason or excuse can there be for Disciples, presumably followers or imitators of Yeshua, for not celebrating, at this time, those things that Yeshua celebrated while human and which He and His Father will require the world to celebrate in the future?

The early Assembly kept the feasts in local areas such as Phillipi—not even close to Jerusalem.

Acts 20:5-65 These men, going ahead, waited for us at Troas. 6 But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

Acts 18:18-21 When Paul had been there many days, he took leave of the brethren, and departed by sea to go to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquilla, having shaved his head in Cenchrea, because of a vow. 19 They came to Ephesus, and Paul entered the synagogue, and had dialog* [1256, dialegomai] with the Jews. 20 They asked that he remain with them, but he could not be persuaded. 21 For he said, “I must certainly keep the approaching feast at Jerusalem. [the others feasted locally] But, if it pleases God, I will visit you again”. Then he sailed away from Ephesus. YMES

A feast location should be a place where the cares of this life do not interfere with the spiritual nature of the Feast. Brethren should make every effort to meet together to worship God:

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day [of yehovah] approaching.

A few people in Hezekiah’s and Josiah’s time were zealous to obey God. Unfortunately, this was a rare exception to the rule.

Unleavened Bread

2 Chronicles 30:21 ... 26 So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing to the LORD, accompanied by loud instruments. 22 And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the LORD; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. 23 Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness .... 25 The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

Do you think for a minute that these people only kept the two commanded assemblies during the first seven days? More to the point, wouldnt the fact that they decided to “to keep the feast another seven days” indicate that they indeed had already celebrated the feast for seven full days, rather than just two days?

2 Chronicles 35:17-18 And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven [not two] days. There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept ....

Are Unleavened Bread and Pentecost Less Important Feasts?

Are the Three Pilgrimage Feasts of equal value? If so, then why do so many people, when they consider celebrating the Holy Days, only concern themselves with The Feast of Tabernacles, essentially keeping just one Solemn Assembly? Yeshua’s example:

Luke 2:40-42 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. 41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.

Here is one example of the early Assembly keeping a Feast:

Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

These scriptures illustrate that Unleavened Bread and Pentecost were still pilgrimage feasts, as was the Feast of Tabernacles.

John 7:1..37 After these things [Yeshua] walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand .... 10 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said: Where is He? ... 37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, [Yeshua] stood and cried out, saying: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.

Three Pilgrimage Feasts Stand or Fall Together

Thousands of people in the mid twentieth century celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread a full seven days, as a pilgrimage feast. In recent decades, as happened in ancient Israel, most have compromised God’s teachings. There will be a price to pay for this compromise.

Matthew 5:19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For decades, many have been told that it was important to be present for all seven of the days of the Feast of Tabernacles, but not celebrating the “middle days” of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was expected. It was not even thought to be possible to celebrate these days because “the church” had determined that there was no need to continue making provisions for anyone to make such a pilgrimage. Any effort to celebrate the middle days with others would likely have been considered insubordination. It is more than paradoxical that a church would mandate attendance during the entire time at one of God’s Feasts, but not even have a Feast to attend at another, except for the two Holy Days. Yet, there is absolutely no scriptural difference between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Unleavened Bread regarding their status as pilgrimage feasts. The only requirement that is unique to Tabernacles regards the type of housing—dwelling in “booths”. This requirement had nothing to do with “whether or not” one attended all seven days of the Feast, but only pertained to one aspect of the “manner” in which one celebrated the Feast. The Feast of Unleavened Bread has one requirement that is unique to it as well, and that is to eat unleavened bread each day for all seven days of the Feast. This, too, only addresses one aspect of the “manner” in which one celebrates the Feast.

Some may ask why God would put such a burden on His people. Didnt Yeshua say that His burdens were light? Yeshua said that whoever would seek to save his life would lose it. Those who dedicate their lives to serving God will save their lives. How do we enter the Kingdom? Through the sacrifice of Yeshua and His blood, putting sin out of our lives, obeying God, and receiving His Spirit. Let us not forget this scripture.

Hebrews 11:35-38 Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

What Does the Future Hold?

The Day of the Lord is approaching. Who will God spare? The following scriptures provide some insight into God’s insistence that everyone on earth ultimately be properly celebrating the Feasts of God. When Yeshua and the Father come back to earth, they will be quite angry with the people who have opposed their ways. Would you want to be lukewarm toward God’s Holy Days and Feasts when they return?

Isaiah 34:4 ... 8 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. 5 For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; indeed it shall come down on Edom, and on the people of My curse, for judgment. 6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood; it is made overflowing with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom ... [where Petra is] 8 For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance [the Eighth Day], the Year of Recompense for the cause of Zion.

Isaiah 26:19-20 Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 20 Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the LORD comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain.

This is one of scores of scriptures that describe the coming captivity of the modern nations descended from ancient Israel.

Nahum 1:1 ... 15 An oracle concerning Nineveh [A Capital city of Assyria, ancient Germany] ... 2 The LORD is a jealous God and avenging, the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies .... 6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. 7 The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in him .... 12 Thus says the LORD: Though they be strong and many, they will be cut off and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. 13 And now I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds asunder. 15 Behold, on the mountains the feet of Him [Yeshua] who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah, fulfill your vows, for never again shall the wicked come against you, he is utterly cut off”. (RSV)

Zechariah 14:16 ... 19 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to [celebrate] the Feast of Tabernacles .... 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

Why do you suppose that God mentioned the Feast of Tabernacles in the context of punishing the Nations of the world three times in one single chapter? Why does it not mention the other Feasts in connection with them? There is a reason for this. God will be working primarily with Israel during the Tribulation. The nations of Israel will be the victims of the Tribulation/Holocaust. “The nations which came against Jerusalem” will have been responsible for plundering and enslaving Israel. Israel will learn to revere God as a result of the Tribulation on Israel. Following this, the non Israelite Nations will begin to learn to revere God during “the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord”.

Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

The symbolic meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles, as it pertains to the Nations, will be revealed to them in the very presence of God, in Jerusalem, at this time.

The mo’ed, (weekly and Holy Days) remain to be mandatory convocations of God’s people, and so do the God ordained three times a year chag. In ancient Israel, it was mandatory that “all your males shall appear”, during the three times a year chag. This virtually insured that every family in Israel was represented. Today, we would consider a woman’s attendance to be extremely essential as well. In ancient Israel, people were concerned with physical harvests of various crops. Ancient Israel was to be blessed for obedience. Today, we look at the Feasts and the Holy Days and consider the spiritual applications of what the designated chag and mo’ed represent in the Plan of God. We are nearing the time when the promise, resulting from Abraham’s faithfulness, will finally be fulfilled:

Genesis 26:4-5 And I will make your [Abraham’s] descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.

Colossians 2:16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come ....

Hebrews 4:4 & 9 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works .... 9 There remains therefore a ‘rest’* for the people of God.

The promise to us, if we keep the commandments, is eternal life.

Revelation 22: 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Be encouraged now to “keep” the Feast of Unleavened Bread for all seven days this year. Keeping the mo’ed and chag as God has ordained them to be kept will lead to a better understanding of one’s duty to God, country, and neighbor. It will lead to a better understanding of scripture and the “Way” of life befitting a Saint. It will also bring about a fuller insight into the many prophecies of both the Hebrew and New Messianic Scriptures, which have come directly from the mind of God.

One way or the other, you will have your day to “stand before the Son of man”. Will you stand before Him “worthy”

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Special thanks to Richard Fix for his input.

The method of determining when God’s Holy Days has been a controversial issue in recent years. Here are some excellent articles on the topic:

PS (7/29/06)

Modern Judaism claims that Psalm 81 is a justification for their beginning their year in the seventh month. They also agree with the NKJV concerning the supposed translation: “full moon”. The NKJV translates ‘aok kece’ as “full moon” which I believe to be in error. That translation is based upon similarities between the Hebrew word and the Assyrian and Aramaic words for full moon. Actually, the term full moon is not mentioned anywhere in the Scriptures aside from this one place in some modern versions.

Psalm 81:3 Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the [mistranslated] ‘full moon’, on our solemn feast [chag] day. NKJV

The KJV avoids the controversy:

Psalm 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn ‘feast’ [chag] day. KJV

Actually, the Jewish custom of beginning the year in the fall is an idea that they adopted from Babylon. They calculate their calendar from what they term “the Molad of Tishri”, which is not based on the crescent New Moon, or even the invisible conjunction or any other observation. Rather, it is a mathematically estimated or approximate “New Moon” popularized by Rabbi Hillel 2 in 358 AD.

The context of Psalm 81 itself indicates that it is the actual first month (spring) which is being referred to:

Psalm 81:5-10 This He established in Joseph as a testimony, when He went throughout the land of Egypt, [in the first month, Exodus 23:15] Where I heard a language I did not understand .... 10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

God made Abib the beginning of months for Israel. In fact, calendar reform was among the first things that God restored to the former slaves. The Babylonian name for their first month is “Teshritu” which the Jews shortened to “Tishri”. The Babylonian meaning is “the month of beginnings”. But what the Jews term Tishri is the seventh month on God’s calendar!

Exodus 12:1-2 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.

The chag of Psalm 81 does not remotely justify beginning the New Year with the New Moon of the 7th month. Many normally excellent translation sources defer to the Jewish rationalizations about the year beginning in the 7th month—a month allegedly containing a sacred “full moon”. Because a month is not 30 days long, the full moon will not consistently fall on the fifteenth day of every month. But for that matter, there is also a “full moon” feast in the first month!

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

Leviticus 23:34 Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD.

The term mistranslated as full moon, Strong’s 03680, is somewhat obscure, both usages simply being translated in the KJV as “appointed”. Yet the root word definitely refers to a concealed and darkened moon!

I believe the meaning of Psalm 81:3 to be: Blow the trumpet in the new moon, in the conceiled moon, [and] on our solemn ‘feast’ [chag] day.

Without the word “and” above, or some such distinction, it appears that the first day of Abib, the new moon, is itself a chag, and indeed some celebrate it as such. Yet it would seem to be more likely to me that a tie to the Passover of the first month is implied:

I added this info because there are people using this mistranslation as a reason for starting the Feast Days based on full moons—claiming that a new moon must be a “full moon” !

A friend of a friend made a very interesting observation. She noticed that the Hebrew word chag sounds to her like the Arabic word Hajj, which means “to make the pilgrimage”. In Arabic, the G and the J sounds can be interchangable depending on dialect. Also, there are three different H sounds in Arabic. The H in Hajj has a deeper sound, closer to the “ch” in chag.

Another interesting point is that Hajj is a three letter Arabic word—Hjj (no vowels, as in Hebrew). If you change the third letter to b, you get Hjb, or Hijab, which means “to hide, obscure, block off”. My friend asked: Could it be that some kind of word play is used in Psalm 81:3 that we dont understand?

Some scriptures are from the “New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.” “Bible text from the New King James Version® is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 372 14-1000.”