Israel’s Holy Days
Part 1, “A Shadow Of Things To Come” (Colossians 2:16)
Chapter 20 Preview: The apostles never said that the Holy Days were dusty archives of events long forgotten! Rather, they are prophetic signs of “things to come”! The modern Israelite nations have almost entirely lost the knowledge of not only their Biblical heritage but also the truth that we were to have an “everlasting covenant” with God. This chapter explains, via the Holy Days, why it is that only the Israelite nations will suffer the prophesied “Great Tribulation”. The penalty for not keeping our covenant will be inflicted upon Modern Israel by the hands “of the peoples” whom we were supposed to set an example for! (Deuteronomy 4:5-10) The other nations suffer afterward:
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. NKJV
God never explained to ancient Israel what the seven annual Holy Days represented. Can you imagine God instructing you to celebrate special days without your knowing what made them special? Actually, God still requires His people to celebrate these days and He has provided us with numerous indications as to what they have always signified. There has never been a time when these special days have been more relevant! To my astonishment, as I began to study the seven annual Holy Days, I learned that they portray seven phases of apocryphal events soon to occur!
Just as astonishing is the amazing accumulation of historical evidence demonstrating that the twelve tribes of ancient Israel are the forbearers of the modern, primarily English speaking, nations of Israel. These nations are the entire focus of all of Bible prophecy. The other nations are only relative to prophecy as they interact with the Israelite nations. For the most part this site considers the modern Israelite identities to be recognized basic knowledge but overwhelming evidence is available from the Brit-Am website.
Here are a few significant clues to the concept. The information contained with these pages might well create the desire within you to search out these truths if you have not already done so! I’ll begin with three scriptural references to the fact that Israel is not simply a footnote in history:
Genesis 17:5-7 Neither will your name any more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. 7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your [descendants] after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your [descendants] after you. WEB
By the time of the apostle Paul, Israel was already a “multitude of nations” or a Commonwealth in the historic sense of the word as Webster defines it:
“a group of sovereign states and their dependencies linked by common objectives and formally associated by compact”.
The British Commonwealth was a high point in Israelite history. There is much historical documentation concerning this amazing, but little known, story.
Ephesians 2:12 ... that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. WEB
Ephraim, whose descendants settled in the British Isles, has become quite a “mixed multitude”, (as has the U.S. as in Exodus 12:37-38), but the British have already lost Super Power status. (Incidentally, the word Brit-ish is thought to be derived from the Hebrew words “covenant man”. Phonetically it is ber-eeth’ & eesh).
Hosea 7:8-9 Ephraim, he mixes himself among the nations. Ephraim is a pancake not turned over. 9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he doesnt realize it. Indeed, gray hairs are here and there on him, and he doesnt realize it. WEB
The United States, originating largely from the Israelite tribe of Manasseh, continues to be a blessing to the world.
Genesis 18:18 ... seeing that Abraham has surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? WEB
But the blessings are only getting started! A whole new age of never ending prosperity and blessings is about to begin, but there will be a complicated labor preceding the birth of the “age to come”. (Mark 10:30)
It is not the purpose of this chapter to prove that the Saints (off site) should celebrate the seven annual Holy Days of the Bible today. However, by understanding their prophetic significance, I hope to create within you an appreciation of their value to your relationship with God. It is upon the foundational premises of recognizing who Israel is in prophecy and the importance of celebrating the Biblical Holy Days that I am only building. For those who understand that the seven annual Holy Days are for us now, Godly vigilance should urge us to determine the true significance of these memorials in our lives, without “memorializing” imaginary events. This chapter endeavors to explain that the symbolic meanings of these Holy Convocations has been misrepresented. Many articles, particularly concerning the unwarranted changes made by the Pharisees in the fourth century AD, as to when the Holy Days should be celebrated, are also available on this website. Both the timing and the relevance of the Holy Days has been skewed!
[Here are some links to free web books concerning America, Britain & Israel in Prophecy: In Genesis 17, God promised that Abraham would be “a father of many nations”, promising “an everlasting possession” by “an everlasting covenant”. Abraham himself prophesied concerning all twelve of his sons “what shall befall you in the last days”. The chronicle even extends to New Jerusalem, where the very gates mention “the twelve tribes of the children of Israel”. This astonishing compilation of books explains God’s view of this enigmatic topic in a way certain to change your world view forever. Find America, Britain and the rest of the “Lost 10 Tribes” in the pages of your own Bible!]
The fact that the modern Israelite nations have almost entirely lost the knowledge that they were to have an “everlasting covenant” with God is the very reason that only the Israelite nations will suffer the prophesied “Great Tribulation”—and the penalty for not keeping that covenant will be inflicted upon Israel by the hands of the very people whom they were to lead into righteousness! (As explained in The Time After Jacob’s Trouble.)
1 Chronicles 16:15-19 Remember His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations, 16 the covenant which He made with Abraham, His oath to Isaac. 17 He confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, 18 saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,” 19 when you were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners were in it. WEB
The nations of the world were to see the blessings heaped upon Israel and ask:
Deuteronomy 4:7-9 For what great nation is there, that has a God so near to them, as [Yehovah’] our God is whenever we call on Him? 8 What great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? 9 Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children .... WEB
The Holy Days were designed to have different symbolisms for different eras. For example the Passover used to only signify the Exodus:
Exodus 12:26-27 It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of [Yehovah’s] Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’”
Today Passover represents Jesus’(Yeshua, off site) sacrifice in our place:
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out the old [leaven], that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Messiah, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old [leaven], neither with the [leaven] of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Yet in the near future, Passover will call to mind a living “righteous Branch” (Yeshua) and another Exodus, not from Egypt but from “the North Country”:
Jeremiah 23:5-8 Behold, the days come, says [Yehovah], that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His name by which He shall be called: [Yehovah] our Righteousness. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, says [Yehovah], that they shall no more say, As [Yehovah] lives, who brought up [all twelve tribes of] the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 but, As [Yehovah] lives, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the North Country, and from all the countries where I had driven them. They shall dwell in their own land. WEB
With this premise, here is a thumbnail sketch of what the Holy Days will represent at the end of this age, particularly with respect to the Jubilee year that ends the first 6000 years since Adam. Comments are borrowed from the text that awaits you:
Passover, as we shall read about below, is about to have additional new meaning. Yeshua prophesied about the New Covenant:
Matthew 26:28-29 ... for this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until THAT DAY [our first Passover in God’s Kingdom] when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s Kingdom. WEB
[The “New Covenant” is not historic, rather it is soon to be enacted!]
The Days of Unleavened Bread are about the captivity of the modern nations of Israel, eating the unleavened “bread of affliction” (Deuteronomy 16:3) right up until their eventual Exodus toward the New Israel.
Pentecost: I believe that the twelve modern nations of Israel’s reoccupation of their ancient homeland, following their captivity, will begin to take place on Pentecost. Israel will reconquer the land. The resettlement will be finished during the very next Jubilee year. The entire reoccupation occurs between Pentecost and the Day of Atonement. This Jubilee period is when everyone “shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family”.
The Day of Trumpets represents the triumphant return of both The Lord and His Christ to return to claim Their earth. This day commemorates the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 34:8), which overlaps the 120th Jubilee year. The trumpets are the trumpet plagues of Revelation, they declare war! It is referred to in nearly thirty prophecies as The Day of the Lord. At the very same time that Israel is coming out of the Great Tribulation (Isaiah 27:13) the rest of the world is entering the Day of the Lord! It is the final year of the sixth millennia—the Jubilee year, better known as “Judgment Day”! By the way, Trumpets also marks the First Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
The Day of Atonement: The Book of Joel, just three chapters long, is entirely about the latter day fulfillment of the Day of ATONEMENT. The Day of Atonement portrays the prophetic time when Israel is finally reconciled to their God. The context of Joel indicates that the Beast has already, by this time, desecrated the latter day Third Temple, “the holy place” and that God—now actually present on earth—is annihilating all of Israel’s enemy armies who stand in her way, while simultaneously Israel completes colonizing her ancient homeland!
The Feast of Tabernacles, seven days in length, is an overview of the saga of Israel covering the entire seven year journey mentioned in Daniel 9:27 (covered in The Mysterious Seventy “Weeks” of Daniel and Jubilee 2027 AD.) Deuteronomy 31:10-11 directly associates Tabernacles with seven years (a Sabbatical cycle). This period is a trail of tears. Yet this rocky trail leads to the Promised Land! Humanity is about to enter into what Yeshua referred to as the “world to come”. However that momentous event will not be realized until there is a New Heaven and a New Earth punctuating this very Jubilee period! All of God’s people live in temporary shelters—tabernacles. We await our permanent home in New Jerusalem.
The First Day of Tabernacles: The Temple is an integral part of God’s future plans. The nine chapters of Ezekiel (40-48) that deal with it are quite detailed. The restoration of temple services on the first day of this seven year long period, after having ceased to exist for so many centuries is quite significant in the eyes of God. If for no other reason, we should anxiously anticipate this event because we will be able to determine without any doubt when God’s Kingdom will arrive by the dates given to us by God in the book of Daniel.
The Last Day of Tabernacles: The meaning of the Last (7th) Day of the Feast of Tabernacles could not have been understood until Yeshua explained it on the very occasion of the Last Day of the Feast [John 7:37-40]. His discourse on that Feast Day solved the mystery of the significance of the day! This is the announcement of a new beginning. There is some duality here. Yeshua spoke of the Holy Spirit being given, yet is was “not yet given” to His Assembly—in fact there was no Assembly (“Church” (off site)) until the Pentecost after He died. In a similar way, when the announcement to the rest of the world comes that Satan is being removed and that salvation is near, the universal presence of the Holy Spirit will still “not yet” be extant. The earth must still be subdued.
The Eighth Day: The grand finale events of Bible prophecy all occur during this amazing Jubilee year. This is the happily ever after part of the story where Israel begins in earnest to live Gods way of life. This year brings us to the very threshold of the Everlasting Kingdom. It represents “the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord”. The Eighth Day also represents the 120th Jubilee year, ending the sixth millennium. Most people believe that Judgment Day is at the end of this age—unaware that the “awesome” Eighth Day signifies the Judgment Day! Israel’s enemies are being vanquished following the seven painful years that precede this time. God’s truth will soon be flowing everywhere like living water following the preparatory events of this year. Israel is about to become the Bride of Christ. When Zion (Jerusalem) is conquered it will become the world’s Capitol city! The survivors of “many nations” will want to come there and learn about this awesome God.
The Mediator Set This Plan In Action.
In the course of time, Yeshua came on the scene and became the “Mediator” of the New Covenant. The mediation was accomplished by His death. He is no longer mediating, as many assume; that would require Him to die continually!
Hebrews 9:15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the New Covenant, by means of DEATH, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. NKJV
Following His death, His promise of redemption spread beyond the people of Israel. No longer was He dealing directly with humanity on a national level. Today, and for the last nearly 2000 years, God has been dealing with humanity on a person to person basis.
Acts 10:34-37 Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God doesnt show favoritism; 35 but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to Him. 36 The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching Good News of peace by Yeshua the Messiah—He is Lord of all—37 you yourselves know what happened, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached .... WEB
Yet God never abandoned His original intention for the people of Israel. Israel is still destined to be the example for the other nations but she will have to learn some harsh lessons first—and there will be many “born again” (made into spirit) “teachers” there to sustain the advancement. For these two thousand years, much of God’s focus has been with “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:15-16), which is not an ethnic nation but a spiritual one with many non Israelite members “grafted in” (Romans 11:13-21). However, Yeshua, and we His Disciples will not “taste” the fruition of His Passover sacrifice until “that day” when the Kingdom of God is set up “on earth as it is [now] in heaven”.
Matthew 26:28-29 ... for this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until THAT DAY when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s Kingdom. WEB
Yet God will greatly honor the New Covenant with physical Israel:
Jeremiah 31:31-34 Behold, the days come, says [Yehovah] that I will make a NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says [Yehovah]. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says [Yehovah]: I will put My Law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people: 34 and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know [Yehovah]; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says [Yehovah]: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. WEB
“Born again” “teachers” will keep Israel, and soon afterward the rest of the world, on track:
Isaiah 30:19-21 For the people will dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. You will weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the voice of your cry. When he hears you, he will answer you. 20 Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers wont be hidden anymore, but your eyes will see your teachers; 21 and when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it. WEB
A major assumption among every church (most of which are “exclusivist churches”) that I am aware of, which celebrates the seven annual Holy Days, is that they accept the idea that the Orthodox Jewish calendar should be used for determining when the Holy Days are to be observed. Totally ignored is the fact that these same Jews freely acknowledge that their ancestors greatly altered their method of determining when the Holy Days are to occur—under pressure from the Roman Government, in the fourth century. (There is a small stir underway to reverse this within Israel’s Hebrew University.) This can be easily researched within the many volume Encyclopedia Judaica. Abandoned were the Biblical standards of observing actual new moons to determine the first day of the month, and beginning new years in association with the barley harvests to avoid “calendar drift”.
In addition to the in depth information on the Holy Days on this site, I believe that there is a hidden Holy day message in the book of Hebrews explained in The Holy Days of Hebrews 6!
I will only raise one point in this regard: the word translated as “seasons” in Genesis 1, of the more popular Bible translations, is quite misleading—and deliberately, I believe. That Hebrew word is “mo’ed” which is used to signify a Holy Day, as it literally means an “appointed place, appointed time or meeting”.
Genesis 1:14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for ‘seasons’, [This should read “the appointed times”] and for days and years .... WEB
Below the KJV got it wrong with both applications of “mo’ed”.
Leviticus 23:4 These are the set ‘feasts’ [appointed times] of [Yehovah], even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their ‘appointed season’ [appointed times]. WEB
Leviticus 23:4 These are the ‘feasts’ [appointed times] of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. NKJV [NKJV got it right in the second usage of the word.]
“Feast” and “Holy Day” are not synonymous. There are seven annual Holy Days in a year, three of which are feasts.
The next verse actually uses the Hebrew term for “feast”.
Exodus 23:14 You shall observe a feast to Me three times a year. WEB
The Holy Days are a part of God’s ancient plan. They did not just show up haphazardly at the time of the Exodus any more than the other laws of God:
Genesis 26:5 ... because Abraham [whose descendants became Israel] obeyed My voice, and kept My requirements, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws. WEB
When I learned that the scriptural parameters are not remotely considered in the “new and improved” Jewish calendar, and that most of the Jewish and Christian sects do not even care—only offering lame excuses—I made the personal changes necessary to please God. I had only assumed that the days that I was celebrating were acceptable with God. This chapter examines a second assumption about God’s Holy Days: Are the symbolic meanings of the Holy Days centered on the Church (off site). All of the Christian annual Sabbath observing groups that I am aware of assume that the Holy Day symbolism is centered on “the church”. The more exclusivist groups naturally assume that these days solely concern their corporate bodies.
In essence, the Holy Days have been both counterfeited and mystified! Even some of those still making a showing are “full of blood.”
Isaiah 1:9 & 14-15 Unless [Yehovah] of Armies had left to us a very small remnant, we would have been as Sodom; we would have been like Gomorrah. 14 My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They are a burden to Me. I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread forth your hands, I will hide My eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. WEB
Abraham’s Family Tree
The Bible is a book about the family of Abraham. Genesis 49 is a prophecy describing the end time state of affairs of his family, as are the 144,000 of Revelation 7 & 14!
Genesis 35:11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations [Commonwealth] will be from you, and kings will come out of your body. WEB
Genesis 49:1-4 And Jacob called his sons and said: Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: 2 ‘Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father 3 ‘Reuben, you are my firstborn, [take note of who is the firstborn] my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel .... WEB
The chapter goes on to describe identifying characteristics of all twelve of his son’s tribes (now nations).
Revelation 7:2-4 I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Dont harm the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!” 4 I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel .... WEB
It’s the Twelve tribes of Israel!
Virtually every prophecy between this first book of the Bible, and the last one, centers on the physical descendants of Israel. “The church” plays a much smaller part in Bible prophecy than it would have you imagine! Upon close examination of the prophecies, it should be readily apparent that the prophecies have always centered upon Israel, yet virtually every “authority” tries to force “the church” onto center stage, and thwart God’s entire prophetic message! This is comparable to Jacob (who became Israel) stealing the birthright from his brother Esau, except that in this situation Israel is truly the firstborn, and God will not permit “the church” to take that role away from him!
Hosea 9:10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, and separated themselves to that shame; they became an abomination like the thing they loved. NKJV
Firstfruits, like firstborn, simply signifies the first offspring of a living thing. Symbolically, it is usually Israel—not really “the church”.
Exodus 4:22 You shall tell Pharaoh, ‘Thus says [Yehovah], Israel is My son, My firstborn .... WEB
Jeremiah 31:9 They shall come with weeping; and with petitions will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim [Father of the British] is My firstborn. WEB
Note who is “firstborn” now! Even the firstborn status, in reference to national privileges, was prophesied to change over time!
The illustrative or symbolic meanings of the Holy Days are transitional! This is a key point to understanding the prophetic significance of the events that they portray. They really are “a shadow of things to come”! A shadow is inherently connected to something very real. This figurative shadow of things to come is an outline or sketch of the fulfillment of God’s purpose: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”! (Exodus 19:6) This shadow, to Paul, meant that the primary focal point of the Holy Days still pictured future events, rather than pointing backward to things about ancient Israel or even things concerning the Assemblies which were extant as he spoke!
Revelation 5:9-10 They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for You were killed, and bought us for God with Your blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, 10 and made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on earth. WEB
Certainly spiritual Israelites are enjoying God’s blessings, at this very moment, as Paul was explaining to non Israelites in Romans 11, yet even as he was explaining that Israel had blown a great opportunity, he explained that there would be a spectacular recovery.
Romans 11:25-27 For I dont desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you wont be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the ‘gentiles’ [nations] has come in, 26 and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. 27 This is My covenant to them, when I will take away their sins. WEB
Paul went on to explain, in the next verse, that Israel was presently an enemy of the “gospel”, (literally: good news) but that these elect were destined to become “beloved”!
Romans 11:28 Concerning the Good News, they [Israelites] are enemies for your sake. But concerning the election, they are beloved for the Fathers’ sake. WEB
It is time to consider, in context, the “shadow scripture” because some shadowy commentary often accompanies this verse, perpetuated by enemies of the good news. This scripture, emphasizing the merit of the Holy Days, is usually twisted beyond recognition to conceal a very astonishing truth. Green’s Literal Version correctly uses the word “body” instead of the erroneous “substance”, and while still adding the word (is) supposedly for “clarity”, the parentheses he used do indicate that it is an added word.
Colossians 2:16-19 Then do not let anyone judge you in eating, or in drinking, or in part of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of coming things, but the body [not the substance] “is” of Christ .... 19 and not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body having been supplied through the joints and bands, and being joined together, will grow with the growth of God.
The term “body”, in verse 17 above, is tampered with in many translations. Actually, the word often mistranslated, as “substance” in verse 17 is the same word as “body” in verse 19. Also, the word “is” is almost always wrongfully inserted. The meaning, so apt to be lost with this slight of hand, is that you should not let anyone judge you regarding your keeping of God’s Holy Days except for your brethren—literally, “the Body of Christ”! Listen to their input. You may learn even more, but never accept mans opinions when they conflict with God’s word.
Here is a perfect illustration of the fact that the Holy Days will represent different things to different people at different times. Even children will want to understand why they commemorate a “memorial” occasion. Here is a simple explanation that God told Israel to tell their descendants before the first Passover service even happened—it was meant to be a prophecy for their immediate future!
Exodus 12:25-27 It shall happen when you have come to the land which [Yehovah] will give you, according as He has promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of [Yehovah’s] Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’” The people bowed their heads and worshiped. WEB
(Biblically a “service” is accompanied by sacrifices—so if you have “church services” ....)
This is what the Passover meant to ancient Israel. It involved leaving the land of slavery and moving to the Promised Land. Jeremiah spoke of a second Exodus, not from Egypt but from a country or land to the north:
Jeremiah 23:7-8 Therefore, behold, the days come, says [Yehovah], that they shall no more say, as [Yehovah] lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 but, as [Yehovah] lives, who brought up and who led the [descendants] of the house of Israel out of the North Country, and from all the countries where I had driven them. They shall dwell in their own land. WEB
This is a “sea change” so to speak. No longer is the Red Sea Exodus a focal point for Israel. From this point onward the Second Exodus is the major benchmark in time.
There is a statement that Yeshua is the “beginning and the end”, (Revelation 1:8). Could this be a statement that is portrayed within the Holy Days? He was sacrificed from the “foundation of the world”; that would certainly be a beginning. There is no end of the Kingdom (Isaiah 9:7), so what “end” is spoken of? Might it refer to the end of this age?
Matthew 24:3 As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? WEB
This important question prompted a very lengthy response from Yeshua. See The Actual Message of Matthew 24 borrowed from the israelofgod.org website.
Wouldnt the “shadow of things to come” have to refer to things to come before the end of the age? If so, then these things are left for the end time. Of course I think it’s likely that significant events within the coming Kingdom of God will likely occur on these memorial dates as well, but we have very few clues about the next age.
The Passover was the event that separated ancient Israel from Egypt. Ancient Israel had no concept of a Savior who was to die for us. Once the firstborn of Egypt were slain on the night of the Passover, Pharaoh had finally become convinced that they could not endure another plague from God. This event, which was immediately instituted as a “memorial”, initiates the first of seven Holy Days that ancient Israel was to keep annually, as listed in Leviticus 23.
Exodus 12:14 This day shall be to you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to [Yehovah]: throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. WEB
“Memorial”, in Hebrew as in English, literally means “a reminder or remembrance”, so to ancient Israel they looked backward to the meaning of this day. Humans memorialize their special occasions only after they have already happened, but God can “remember” things that we have yet to experience. God’s Holy Days are one of the most important things that He has instituted. God has declared “the end” of this age from “ancient times”, thru many prophecies as well as the Holy Days that commemorate the high points. Those who commemorate the Holy Days are far more apt to be aware of God’s ancient plan, which could even save their lives in years to come.
Isaiah 46:9-10 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me; 10 declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure .... WEB
We know that the Holy Days have an ancient history; you may also know that they have had a relevance concerning the followers of Yeshua. As Paul said—“keep the feast”.
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. NKJV
However, they also fulfill the “things to come” part which will be for this very generation. These seven “memorials” will we covered, one by one, shortly.
The ancient twelve tribes of Israel perhaps never even considered that the Passover would eventually take on an entirely new meaning having virtually nothing to do with the death of the first born. It is common knowledge among the Saints (real ones and pretenders) that Passover has dual meanings: separate symbolic significances for separate ages. Little considered tho is that there is still another fulfillment of Passover, as well as all of the other six Holy Days! The Holy Days represent things past, present, and future—alpha to omega. Nevertheless, there are events in the end time story of Israel that often represent the primary fulfillment of the days because our generation will witness the culmination of the plan of God which has been in the works for untold millennia.
This chapter is a summarized presentation of the “end time”, or “latter day” time line, as I presently understand it—“explained” within the framework of the Holy Days that were mandatory for ancient Israel and are a privilege and duty for us. One thing is certain; I'll see some things differently in the future.
[Yep! As in my 2006 chapters: Did the Lord’s Supper Replace the Passover? And “Christ our Passover”?]
Passover & Unleavened Bread
It goes without saying that the Early Assembly witnessed the staggering events fulfilling the sacrificial nature of the Lord’s Supper/Passover. This makes the previous Passover ceremony of the Exodus serve as a pattern for the ultimate Passover fulfillment. Nevertheless, the event really was a continuation of a plan that will be exactly seven millennia in fulfillment. There is to be another great aspect of the Passover story that will incorporate the physical salvation aspects of the first Passover with the spiritual salvational aspects of Yeshua’s literal sacrifice. The next great Passover will involve the living Passover Lamb, our Redeemer, conquering and ruling the world!
Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship Him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed. WEB
Altho Judaism never expected for the “redeemer” to do the things that He did, and rejected Him, they were nevertheless aware that a redeemer would come because of “their” scriptures:
Job 19:25 But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, He will stand upon the earth. WEB
Psalms 78:35 They remembered that God was their Rock, the Most High God, their Redeemer. WEB
Isaiah 44:6 This is what [Yehovah], the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, [Yehovah] of Armies, says:” I am the First, and I am the Last; and besides Me there is no God. WEB
Yeshua, the “First and the Last”, our Redeemer, will soon give a Kingdom, a “reward”, to His faithful followers who keep the commandments.
Revelation 22:12-14 Behold, I come quickly. My ‘reward’ [literally wage] is with Me, to repay to each man according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. WEB
Contrary to popular thought, Passover is not a day; it is an event that precedes the Feast of Unleavened Bread. I refer to these events together, as is done in the following three scriptures. People often said “Passover” when they meant the Passover event AND the seven days of Unleavened Bread that followed.
Mark 14:1 After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. NKJV
Luke 22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, drew near. WEB
Luke 22:7 The Day of Unleavened Bread came, on which the Passover must be sacrificed. WEB
For anyone wanting to read about the Days of Unleavened Bread, Exodus 12 is the place to begin. The following correlation, unless I’m greatly mistaken, begins a story that is quite fascinating, disturbing and thrilling. This is the very beginning of the story of Israel’s Feasts.
Exodus 12:14-17 This day shall be to you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to [Yehovah]: throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. 15 “‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away [leaven] out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 16 In the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. 17 You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this same day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever. WEB
During the Second Exodus, when God has Israel in the wilderness, He will plead His case with her again!
Ezekiel 20:34-38 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness [As in Revelation 12:6] of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. 36 Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you, says the Lord GOD. 36 Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you, says the Lord GOD. 36 Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you, says the Lord GOD. 37 I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD. NKJV
The following reference highlights the fact that a memorial was already planned out in advance of the Exodus—or was the “same day” occurrence only coincidental?
Exodus 12:40-42 Now the time that the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years. 41 It happened at the end of four hundred thirty years, even the same day it happened, that all the armies of [Yehovah] went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night to be much observed to [Yehovah] for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This is that night of [Yehovah], to be much observed of all the children of Israel throughout their generations. 43[Yehovah] said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. WEB
This “night of solemn observance” or “night of watching”, is the Passover! It commemorated the Exodus. The entire signifigance is about to change!
Watch For The Next Exodus!
Jeremiah 23:7-8 Therefore, behold, the days come, says [Yehovah], that they shall no more say, As [Yehovah] lives, who brought up [all twelve tribes of] the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 but, As [Yehovah] lives, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries where I had driven them. They shall dwell in their own land. WEB
Among those who celebrate the “Lord’s Supper” and/or “the Passover,” there is a great deal of error and confusion. The two chapters mentioned above: Did the Lord’s Supper Replace the Passover? and Christ our Passover? are devoted to unraveling those errors:
When ancient Israel forgot their Savior, God seemingly cast them aside. History will repeat itself. Even watered down Christianity in the modern Israelite nations is in very steep decline and within professing Christianity, Biblical illiteracy reigns supreme! Church members believe whatever they are told.
Exodus 13:3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand [Yehovah] brought you out from this place. WEB
Psalms 106:21 They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt .... WEB
The Great Tribulation
During most of the final seven year period of this age the wicked will dominate the land of Israel. Yet during the later half of that period—3½ years, the Two Witnesses will be personally destroying many of “their” (God’s) enemies (Revelation 11:5) as they present obstacles to God’s work in Israel.
Revelation 11:5 If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way. WEB
During this latter 31/2 year (1260 day) period, the number of the descendants of Israel are greatly reduced due to the unprecedented numbers of people slain by a monstrous dictator known in scripture by among other titles, the the Beast. It begins with the horrors that befall Israel in the following account of the Great Tribulation on Israel:
Ezekiel 7:All Moreover the word of [Yehovah] came to me, saying, 2 You, son of [Adam], thus says the Lord [Yehovah] to the land of Israel, an end: the end is come on the four corners of the land. 3 Now is the end on you, and I will send My anger on you, and will judge you according to your ways; and I will bring on you all your abominations. 4 My eye shall not spare you, neither will I have pity; but I will bring your ways on you, and your abominations shall be in the midst of you: and you shall know that I am [Yehovah]. 5 Thus says the Lord [Yehovah]: An evil, an only evil; behold, it comes. 6 An end has come, the end has come; it awakes against you; behold, it comes. 7 Your doom has come to you, inhabitant of the land: the time has come, the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, on the mountains. 8 Now will I shortly pour out My wrath on you, and accomplish My anger against you, and will judge you according to your ways; and I will bring on you all your abominations. 9 My eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will bring on you according to your ways; and your abominations shall be in the midst of you; and you shall know that I, [Yehovah], do strike. 10 Behold, the day, behold, it comes: your doom is gone forth; the rod has blossomed, pride has budded. 11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth: neither shall there be eminency among them. 12 The time is come, the day draws near: dont let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is on all its multitude. 13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they be yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude of it, none shall return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. 14 They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but none goes to the battle; for My wrath is on all its multitude. 15 The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine within: he who is in the field shall die with the sword: and he who is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. 16 But those of those who escape shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity. 17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. 18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be on all faces, and baldness on all their heads. 19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of [Yehovah]: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it has been the stumbling block of their iniquity. 20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it to them as an unclean thing. 21 I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it. 22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall profane My secret place; and robbers shall enter into it, and profane it. 23 Make the chain; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24 Therefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pride of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be profaned. 25 Destruction comes; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. 26 Mischief shall come on mischief, and rumor shall be on rumor; and they shall seek a vision of ‘the’ [or a] prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders. 27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do to them after their way, and according to their own judgments will I judge them; and they shall know that I am [Yehovah].WEB
Skipping to the happy ending part we find the following summary concerning end of the greatest “day”, or period, in the history of nations—“Jacob’s Trouble”:
Jeremiah 30:7-8 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 8 It shall come to pass in that day, says [Yehovah] of Armies, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds; and strangers shall no more make him their bondservant .... WEB
As we saw in Jeremiah 23:7-8, prophecy indicates that the coming Exodus will entirely supersede the ancient Exodus account which some only view as an ancient legend.
According to the line of reasoning in Jubilee 2027 AD, that Jubilee year will mark the time in which the Israelite nations will be repossessing the Land of Israel. I anticipate, with good reason, that the Second Exodus will be extraordinarily parallel to the First Exodus in many circumstances. More specifically, the parallel would place the Second Exodus during the Days of Unleavened Bread of 2026, toward the end of the Great Tribulation. Israel will fight her way back into The Land (Zechariah 12). This will fulfill the prophetic relevance of the end time Days of Unleavened Bread!
The Beast
There is some symbolism in the next scripture that is worth mentioning in the context of the Exodus that I want to mention because I believe that it alludes to the end time. Is it only coincidental that the eye and hand connection of Exodus so exactly parallels the hand and eye reference concerning the end time Beast?
Exodus 13:8-9 You shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of that which [Yehovah] did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.’ 9 It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the law of [Yehovah] may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand [Yehovah] has brought you out of Egypt. WEB
The same chapter then repeats the hand and eye connection for emphasis.
Exodus 13:16 It shall be for a sign on your hand, and for symbols between your eyes: for by strength of hand [Yehovah] brought us forth out of Egypt. WEB
The Hebrew word for “eye” [Strong’s 5869, ayin], used in Exodus, actually alludes to “mental and spiritual faculties”. The mental perception of the Hebrew word “eye” exactly corresponds to the Greek “forehead” reference in Revelation 13. The Greek word for “forehead” literally means “the space between the eyes” [Strong’s 3359, metopon]. Simply put, the First Exodus and the Second Exodus have to do with a “hand” reference, symbolizing personal actions, and a “forehead”, or mental reference, having to do with an individual’s thought processes! Your thoughts and actions in this life are of the utmost significance to God. This evil age will be brought to a close with a “showdown” between good and evil. May “the LORD’S law” “be in your mouth”.
Revelation 13:14-18 He deceives My own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived. 15 It was given to him to give breath to it, to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldnt worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; 17 and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six. WEB
Yeshua’s Last Earthly Thoughts
Without doubt, Yeshua strongly contemplated the following scripture, as He was about to die.
Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. WEB
Knowing that He would return under better circumstances made the pain more endurable.
Isaiah 64:1 Oh that You would tear the heavens, that You would come down, that the mountains might quake at Your presence .... WEB
Now for PART 2
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