The purpose of this book is to set out answers to the following three questions pertaining to each of the Holy Convocations God ordained for Isreal.
How and when was this FEAST established?
How was and is this FEAST celebrated?
What are the implications of this FEAST under the New Covenant?
The Book of Leviticus gives us a list of the great feasts of the Jewish
religion. There were a total of nine feasts:
The L-rd's Passover (vs. 3-5)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread (vs.6-8)
The Feast of Firstfruits (vs 9-14)
The Feast of Weeks (vs. 15-22)
The Feast of Trumpets (vs. 23-25)
The Day of Atonement (vs. 26-32)
The Feast of Tabernacles (vs. 33-43)
Shemini Atzeret [the eighth assembly (vs. 36)]
The Weekly Sabbath (vs. 3)
We will discuss 1-7 as the seven Levitical feasts, then Shemini
Atzeret, the eighth assembly. Following these we will treat the weekly
and special Sabbaths.
All Evangelicals agree that the feasts are types or pictures of our
L-rd Yeshua- Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, and His redemptive work.
However, the particular prophetic view one holds will have some effect
on the understanding of just how each feast pictures Messiah and His
work.
The very life and worship of the nation of Israel was built around
these feasts. The Levitical feasts were given to the Israelites as a sign
that the daily affairs of their lives were secondary to their fellowship
with their L-rd. To help them strive for holiness, they were to spend these
specific times with their Creator and Sustainer. The feasts were actually
convocations, which meant that the people were summoned to observe
them regularly. The observances of all the feasts were designed by G-d to
take Israel's eyes off earthly things and put them on heavenly things.
The feasts were a precursor to the time when El-him's (G-d's)
true redeemed children would worship Him in "spirit and truth." When
the fulfillment of the truth set forth in these feasts was accomplished,
G-d's people would enjoy the fullness of the Spirit. There would be a
time in the future when their fellowship would not be restricted to mere
stated periods of time, but it would be for all times and in all areas of life.
They would begin a completely new life that would finally consummate
in heaven itself.
