STARS, SEASONS, AND SIGNS

Some believe that the reign of Yeshua actually began on the first day of the governmental or secular New Year, being Tishri 1, Rosh HaShannah, at the blowing of the Trumpets. If King Yeshua chooses to start the first feast on an anniversary of His third millennial reign, then the first day of the first feast would commence on some Tishri 1. The Hebrew calendar has a leap year similar to ours. On their calendar, however, leap year occurs about every three years. In these years, an extra month (rather than an extra day) is added to the calendar to bring it up to date. The extra month is a second month of Adar. Instead of simply having Adar, there is 1 Adar and 2 Adar. In leap years, Purim is celebrated during 2 Adar because the original Purim took place in a leap year during the second Adar. On other years, Purim is celebrated during the single month of Adar. Therefore, IF the feast began on Tishri 1 ON A LEAP YEAR, the 180 days of the first feast would end on 2 Adar 01. The end of the seven day feast then would be on 2 Adar 08. This is when Yeshua would send appeal to the apostate "church" at large and be rejected. Esther 1:12 indicates that Yeshua becomes very "wroth" (angry) when Vashti refuses His command, and the inference is that His anger is unleashed to some degree at this point, before it is appeased in 2:1. There is a short time (possibly a few short days) in which He consults with His "wise" men between Esther 1:12 and 2:1 when he REMEMBERS Vashti. During this time His anger is vented. Could this be when he allows an event of some nature to occur in the Middle East? (Isaiah 17:1 has yet to be fulfilled!) Indeed just seven days after the end of the seven day feast, Jerusalem will celebrate Purim to honor the putting down of the enemy. (While most of the Hebrew people celebrate Purim on Adar 14, there are two days dedicated to its remembrance. The chosen city of Jerusalem honors Purim on Adar 15 rather than 14 because it is a walled city as was Shushan, and the complete victory was not won in Shushan until the 15th.) Esther 2:1 says:

Could it be that shortly after Purim on 2 Adar 15 that the King will send for the fairest of the maidens? A mere 15 days later is Nisan 1, the day Enoch was first taken up! It is in the spring of the year, when the Bridegroom of Song of Solomon 2:13 (another of the few Megillat) says to his prospective Bride:

It is a mere few verses later in 5:6 when a remorseful Vashti awakens to her error in judgment and opens to her beloved, but He had withdrawn Himself and was gone. It would fit the text, but ONLY on a Jewish Leap Year. This year is a Jewish Leap Year.

Could King Yeshua be preparing His feast? In our Esther story, we have that the king's first feast was for the princes and servants. The duration of this feast was 180 days. Then we have a second feast which was 7 days in length. The total days involved here are 187. It is also interesting to note that the number of days from Tishri 22 which concludes the fall festivals to Nisan 1 is exactly 187 days. Again, this can only happen on a year with two Adars. Could King Yeshua call for Vashti in the month of Adar II, and she won't come, so shortly after Purim He sends out His officers (angelic host) to gather the fairest maidens and bring them before the King on Nisan 1?

Again, this is completely speculative, but very interesting and plausible. Am I saying that this is how it will happen? No - I am saying that because I am a watchman and there is potential, I see it as my duty to make you aware of the possibility. There are many other possibilities which have equally good merit. We will discuss other options as we unfold the significance of the other festivals very soon.

I realize that this potential is merely speculative, but whether or not it comes to pass that quickly, we know that the Bridegroom is about ready to call forth for His Bride. Time is short. I just know that I truly desire to give every stronghold of the enemy over to God, to yield every form of self-gratification to Him, and choose to be totally "filled" with ONLY HIS TRUE and BLESSED Holy Spirit as we are told to do in Ephesians 5:18. This world offers nothing to me that I desire when I consider the things of my Beloved. Pleasing Him is the most precious gratification I can ever obtain! How about you? Will we be found ready and worthy when the call goes out, or will we be left behind to greet the destroyer? "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." (Luke 21:36)

As Believers, why should we be concerned with the teachings of the Old Testament, when our covenant is in the New? Well maybe the answer to that question lies in who we really are as Believers. Let's see if the Bible has any answers to that question. In Galatians 3:29 we read:

Later in Galatians we receive more clarification. 11:17-18 states:

You see, as Believers, we are Abraham's spiritual seed, and we have been removed from a wild olive tree and grafted into the natural olive tree. Galatians 11:17 tells us that there is a specific reason and intent for this grafting process. WE ARE TO PARTAKE OF THE ROOT AND FATNESS OF THE OLIVE TREE!!! WE ARE TO RECEIVE OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH FROM THE ROOT AND FATNESS OF THIS NATURAL TREE!!! However, the church has not only neglected this vital root and fatness, it has attempted to sever it. They did not seem to comprehend that to cut off the root would ultimately kill the tree! It seems that that is exactly what has happened to the "church" of the end days. By severing the intended root of their faith, they have jeopardized their very standing with God. It may sound harsh, but some would even say that the "church" has taken on the mantle of Mystery Babylon. There may be some validity to that view, as we will see. Indeed the apostasy of the church of the end days is referenced repeatedly in the Word, and Revelation indicates that extreme judgment lies ahead for this apostate body which has chosen to nourish itself from the root of paganism rather than from the Hebrew root which it was to embrace.

We would note the wisdom of Dr. Daniel Smith Christopher. In a program entitled Jerusalem: Holy Deadly City, he observes that Christianity should have been much more Jewish. It is an important observation. You see, when Constantine became Christian, he uprooted the Jewish portion of the Christian faith with the changes he instituted. He made it mandatory to become a Christian. This sounds good until we look behind the scenes to see how he managed to pervert Christianity. He came from a pagan background, and was not anxious to abandon his prior belief system, so he managed to merge his old beliefs into his new ones. He quickly altered the doctrinal stances of the "church" to exclude the Hebrew roots of the faith and substitute the pagan roots of his prior belief system. This enticed those from his pagan past, and watered down the true teachings of the early church to a doctrinal version that would have been unrecognizable to those who lived in the first and second century after the life of Yeshua. The Roman Catholic religion, and all of her Protestant descendants have never recovered from his adulteration of the true teachings of the Days of Christ, and the doctrinal stance of its instruction is decidedly in opposition to that which was known to the earliest Christians.

We find in Isaiah 44:6 an interesting reference which says that God the Father has appointed a Redeemer. It reads as follows:

Please note that the first reference to Lord is of the Father, and the second reference to Lord is to the Redeemer. Now it is also important to note that in the Hebrew text the word used for Lord in BOTH instances is "yod - hay - vav - hay". The original Hebrew Text of our Bible specifies here in black and white that the One who fulfills the role of Redeemer shares His Divine Ineffable name. Though diverse in roles, they are one in essence - the living God - "yod - hay - vav - hay". The Father identifies Himself here as the first and the last. This is significant, as it points to the Redeemer who shares His ineffable name. Then we find in Revelation 22:13 that Yeshua bears the title of the first and the last:

The virgin birth foretold in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New. Matthew 1:21 speaks of it when the angel of the Lord tells Joseph:

We cannot fully appreciate this verse without using the Hebrew name for Jesus, which is YESHUA. Yeshua means "salvation of God". You see He is the redeemer of Isaiah 44:6 who shares the Ineffable name with the Father. He states in John 10:30:

This is a profound statement, backed by Isaiah.

Yeshua did not come to cut off the Hebrew roots for those who would follow Him, He carefully points out that His role as Redeemer is to fulfill the the typology we were to uphold. Matthew 5:17 says:

The Biblical shadow typing of the Old Testament is never as profound as it is in the teachings of the Sabbath and the Festivals. Within these teachings are truths that we as Believers desperately need to understand today. You see, the very identity of Messiah is embodied within them. It is Yeshua that has fulfilled and in some cases is still fulfilling all of the prophecies and shadow typing of the Old Testament law and the prophets. God's Holy Days as found in the Sacred Text of the Old Testament spell it all out. Maybe that is why the wiles of God's arch enemy wanted so much to destroy the carrying over of these teachings into the "church" of the end days.

The holy days of God are primarily composed of the weekly Sabbath and the seven feasts or festivals as outlined in the Old Testament. We will look first at the sacred Sabbath. We find it as the fourth of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses. Exodus 20:8-11 reads:

Exodus 31:14-17 says:

It seems pretty clear here that God has permanently HALLOWED the seventh day as a covenantal observance. If it was permanently hallowed, why do we not so honor the seventh day today? Did God change something which he permanently hallowed? If so, what other covenantal changes will he make? Is our salvation in jeopardy? I think not. Nor do I think He ever changed this hallowed day.

Let's look for a moment at the life of Yeshua. He was constantly in trouble with the Jews of His day because He was seen by them as breaking the law of the Sabbath. If we look at the manner in which He supposedly "broke" these laws, we see that He was doing the Lord's Work. It was their interpretation of the law that caused them to accuse Him of breaking the law. Yeshua was establishing liberty WITHIN the law, and discouraging all the technicalities that MAN had attached to the observance of Sabbath. He further clarified in Matthew 12:5 that "on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless". Thus we see that doing the Lord's work is exempted from what is considered to be "work" in God's eyes. He was establishing a much needed principle to God's people by overlaying the more staunch Levitical (even Phariseical) letter of the law with the Melchisedekian spirit of the law so they could understand the true intent of it. Nowhere does the Bible indicate that Yeshua did not rightly observe the seventh day Sabbath. We see also Colossians 2:16 which reads:

The next verse emphasizes again that these things are shadows, and says "but the body is of Christ". Does this verse exempt the body of Christ from the perpetual observance of the seventh day Sabbath hallowed by God for ever in Exodus? It was permanently hallowed by God. This verse in Colossians could not do so. We are not to judge. That is not our place. However, it does not say that Yeshua will not do so! It is said in this passage that Yeshua triumphed over principalities and powers, making a show of them openly. Thus, He had freed mankind from the "Phariseical" interpretation of the law, and given him liberty to appropriate it properly. James refers to this type of appropriation as the "law of liberty", and in chapter verse 12, he says that we will be judged by it! This judgment is left to Yeshua, as John 5:22 tells us that God hath committed all judgment to the Son.

Some would say: "The early church met on Sunday." Does the Bible ever INSTRUCT the "church" to meet on Sunday? Does it ever say "I hereby change the day of Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?" If a group of Christians meets on Wednesday to study God's Word or break bread together does that make Wednesday the new Sabbath? The disciples and/or apostles most likely met together on the first of the week because they had been actively preaching at the Synagogues on the Sabbath per Acts 17:1-2 and numerous other references. It would be somewhat like a gathering of pastors to fellowship and commune together when they were not otherwise occupied with their duties in service to the Lord. The Bible NEVER indicates that the disciples STOPPED honoring the seventh day Sabbath, nor does it say that they acknowledge that Sunday had replaced the seventh day Sabbath. There are only three references to such meetings or activities on the first of the week, and each time the word "day" was added to the text (as denoted by italicized print in the KJV). The three references are John 20:19, Acts 20:7, and I Corinthians 16:2. In each one we find "the first day of the week" in the KJV, which actually was "the first of the week" per the Greek. Even if this DID happen to be the first "day" of the week, it would not constitute a change of the irrevocable day designated as Sabbath by God.

Many would say that Christ arose on Sunday, so they worship on that day in honor of His resurrection. They base this on John 20:1, Luke 24:1, Mark 16:9, and Matthew 28:1 because it was on the first "day" of the week when the empty tomb was found. (Actually again the word "day" is italicized in all four instances here as well, meaning that it was added). Does this mean the Christ arose on Sunday? Absolutely not. The empty tomb was FOUND on the first of the week, and He was ALREADY GONE! The reference in Mark 16:9 seems to be the most confusing here. A comma in the text makes it appear that Yeshua actually arose the first of the week, but there WERE NO commas in the original text, and the transliteration of the Greek reads: "Having risen And early on the first of the week, He appeared first to Mary the Magdalene ...." The word "And" here is capitalized, indicating the start of a whole new thought. Thus His having risen PRECEDED it. We will cover this more thoroughly in just a moment, but if we are going to use His resurrection as justification for our choice of Sabbath day, then again, we should be honoring a seventh day Sabbath!

How do we show God we love Him? John 14:15 tells us that we do so by keeping His commandments. What was the fourth commandment? Exodus 20:8-11 says:

Now some would say that the ten commandments were turned into two via Mark 12:29-31, where we read:

Does this three verse passage negate the ten commandments of the Old Testament? No, it simply summarizes them. As we love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we will honor the first four of these ten commandments. AS we love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we will honor the last six. The original ten commandments are never negated in the entirety of God's Word, and they still stand. Maybe it is necessary to think through this issue to its only possible conclusion in order to love God with all of our mind. If we do not engage in an honest attempt to study to show ourselves approved here (as we are told to do in II Timothy 2:15), maybe we have fallen short of loving Him with all of our mind and heart (?). I find it very interesting that the word "ABBA" (as found in Galatians 4:6) is found in the heart of the word "SABBATH". It means Father, and in Galatians 4:6 it says "Abba Father", meaning "Father my Father". The double expression would indicate exaltation. Might we not exalt God more if we kept the Sabbath as we are told to do?

Some would say that the observance of Sabbath is no longer necessary, just as the sacrifice of animals is a thing of the past. The old testament indicates that sacrifices will cease, and Yeshua has already fulfilled the sacrificial shadow. His sacrifice now provides the cleansing these sacrificed animals once provided. The Sabbath, however, is not observed to atone for our sins. It is observed as obedience to honor and exalt our Lord for the provision of a day of rest after the six days of work. It is a shadow of the seventh day Millennial Kingdom rest which we as Believers hope to find awaiting us at the conclusion of the six days of work (life) here in the world, and this has NOT YET BEEN fulfilled! Genesis 1:31 tells us that at the completion of the sixth day "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good". Thus we find in Genesis 2:2-3:

We need to note here His choice to rest on the seventh day seemed to be linked to His satisfaction with what He had accomplished during His work the first six days. Will He be satisfied with our work of the six days, and grant us rest in the Millennial Kingdom? Will He be pleased that we have honored Him through the keeping of the shadow He gave us to keep by observing the seventh day Sabbath? Jeremiah 17:19-27 indicates that to God the keeping of the Sabbath is NOT a light matter. He clearly states that the Hebrew people would be punished for not observing His Sabbath when He states in verse 27:

Exodus 31:14 indicates that God's people who do not keep the Sabbath which He designated defile that which He hallowed. The judgment for those who defile it is severe indeed. We cannot make this choice for anyone except ourselves, nor do we judge those who do not adhere to His hallowed day. However, we would urge all Believers to take a very close look at this matter!

Maybe all the "reasons" given for the Sunday observance today are merely excuses. Again, we look to Constantine as the source of the problem. We have indicated that it was he who was was responsible for the changes which tore away our Jewish roots, and substituted his pagan roots. This is verified in Michael Rood's teachings where we read the following quote: "Constantine forbade the observance of the Festivals and Sabbath, and ordained that all would now 'rest on the venerable day of the Sun'. In 336 AD Pope Leo had the day formally changed to Sunday at the Council of Laodicea. The event is recorded in the Catholic Catechism as follows: Sunday is our mark of authority. This transference of the Sabbath to Sunday as the day of worship is the proof of the fact that we (the Roman Catholic Church) have supremacy over the cannon of Scripture. It is the proof also that the Protestant religions accept our authority, as they all recognize the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and observe the Sunday day of worship."

What they are really saying is that they believe they have supremacy over God, the author of the Scripture. How dangerous is this? Could this be Mystery Babylon? Could all of her descendants fall under the same mantle? However, Michael Rood indicates in this quote that they did not stop with the Sabbath, as Constantine proceeded to defile the Festivals ordained by God in like manner. We will proceed now to take a look at them.

The following will be a VERY brief overview of the Jewish Festivals. God instructs us to observe seven festivals. The menorah of God has seven lamps as depicted in the first three chapters of Revelation, and the lamps symbolize the churches. In the menorah, the center lamp is called the servant lamp, and the three lamps to the left point to it, as well as the three on the right. All of the other lamps are light from the fire of the servant lamp, even as our lamps are lit by Him. Again it is important that the church understand the heritage from which she has come! The Festivals of God are arranged in a type of menorah, symbolic of light, wisdom, and understanding with the three spring feasts on the left symbolizing all that Yeshua fulfilled at His first coming, and the three fall festivals on the right symbolizing those things that He will fulfill at His second coming. He is the servant lamp, the light of the world symbolic of the center lamp in the menorah, and all six of the other lamps point to Him. Bear in mind as we look to these Festivals, that God ordained certain ritualistic procedures to point to Yeshua and/or His fulfillment of Prophecy, though Judaism does not yet understand why they do what they do!

The key passages where Pesach (Passover) can be found would be Exodus 12:1-14, Exodus 34:25, Leviticus 23:5, Numbers 9:2-14, Numbers 28:16, and Deuteronomy 16:18. The symbolism in this festival is so tremendous! When the Hebrew nation was in Egypt, the Lord miraculously enabled Moses to bring about a series of ten plagues in order to convince Pharaoh to let them go to worship. The last and decisive plague was the killing of the first-born of every living thing that did not have the mark of salvation in order to be spared. This mark of salvation was to be blood on the two side posts and the upper door post of the home. The blood was to be of a sacrificial lamb, perfect, (i.e. without blemish). The Lord killed all of the firstborn men and beasts that night, unless the home was marked by the blood of the sacrificial lamb. The Lord's Feast of Passover is celebrated each year on Nisan 14 (on their calendar). The Hebrew calendar fluctuates greatly when compared to our own, but the Hebrew month of Nisan is in the vicinity of March or April on the Gregorian calendar.

We can easily see from the actual Passover as related above that the perfect sacrificial lamb represents Yeshua who came to die for our sins, and if we have the blood of Christ upon all of the door posts of our heart, the death sentence for our sins is bypassed. This symbolism is expanded upon in great detail as the meal progresses. Throughout the Passover meal, it is the man that performs all of the duties except for the lighting of the menorah (candles). The woman of the house does this. (It was woman rather than man who gave birth to Yeshua who was the "light" of the world.) She lights them from right to left just as the Hebrew text is read. (Yeshua was also the "WORD" in the flesh per John 1:14.)

A sedar plate is compartmentalized for tiny servings of various foods which symbolize the bitterness of the trials of the Hebrew people while they were in Egypt prior to their deliverance. During the consumption of these foods and the repeating of the hagadah dialog to commemorate the ordeal of their people, four cups of wine are served to each participant.

The Bible mentions four separate dinners or suppers, which may correspond to these four cups. As I see it, the symbolism of the four cups is as follows: 1) The first cup is the Cup of Sanctification, when it is stated: "I will bring you out of Egypt". This may be significant of the Luke 14:16-23 dinner in heaven after the First Fruits Harvest. 2) At the drinking of the second cup, the Cup of Praise, it is proclaimed: "I will deliver you from bondage". This may match up to the Matthew 22:1-14 dinner, which will likely occur in heaven after the Ingathering Harvest. 3) The third cup is the Cup of Redemption. It would be consumed in heaven as the Millennial Kingdom begins, designating the dinner of Revelation 19:6-21. It is then said: "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm". 4) The fourth cup will probably be consumed in the Father's Kingdom, as relates to the Luke 12:36-40 dinner, where Yeshua will actually serve His people. It is the Cup of Acceptance, and it is said now: "I will take you to Me for a people". This is finally the corporate body of Christ just before I Corinthians 15:28 when God is made All in All, and all of creation is taken back above the final Divide.

A full place setting and a cup of wine is set at the table for Elijah in hopes that he will grace their table before the end of the Passover. They know he was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot, and are told that he will return just before the Messiah comes. (Indeed he may be one of the two witnesses to return prior to the return of Christ as Messiah in Revelation 11:3). During the Feast of Passover, three pieces of matzo are used. These matzos are a cracker style of bread with no leaven, which are now typically made of flour. In some Jewish cultures, however, the original barley matzos are used. Matzos are striped and pierced, due to the baking process. Each of the three pieces of matzo are tucked into a separate compartment of a bag called a unity bag which has three sections. It is then closed and reopened. The center piece of matzo is removed, broken, and one part is wrapped in a linen napkin. It is called the Afikomon, and is hidden away by the father of the house when the children aren't watching. At the end of the meal, the children search the house for the Afikomon. The one who finds it is promised a special gift by the Father. After the Afikomon is found, it is broken into pieces, and a small piece is consumed by everyone present along with the third cup of wine. Now lets take a closer look at the Matzos.

There were three pieces (representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), which were in a bag together, but each in individual compartments (representing their different roles). The center One (the Son) was taken out (sent from heaven to earth), and broken (Yeshua was broken for our sins). The matzo is unleavened, striped, and pierced . Leaven represents sin due to its rising and puffing up, thus unleavened represents the sinless or perfect and unblemished state of Yeshua, who was striped (by Roman whips), and pierced (by the Centurian's spear). It was wrapped in a linen cloth (His burial clothes), and was hidden away (buried). The children search for it (as we are to search to find Yeshua), and the one who finds it is promised a special gift by their father (the gift of eternal life from the Father above). The Afikomon is eaten and the cup is taken as in communion, symbolizing that indeed the Afikomon represents the body of Yeshua and the wine, His blood.

HaMatzot (Unleavened Bread) is found in Exodus 12:15-20, Exodus 13:6-7, Exodus 34:18, Leviticus 23:6-8, Numbers 28:17-25, and Deuteronomy 16:38. It is usually blended together with Passover as it follows immediately after on the next day (Nisan 15), and lasts for seven days. The symbolism of the bread without leaven has already been covered under Passover. However, there is a broader spiritual significance here as well. The day before Passover, the woman of the house is to thoroughly clean the home in preparation for this week, removing any sign or crumb of leaven from the home, and even the property! For this entire seven days, no leaven is to be consumed (or even present) or that one will be cut off from being among God's chosen ones. Now in the early church they realized that there was eternity past and eternity future, but between the two was a space called "TIME" that was to consist of 7,000 years. It was to correspond precisely with the creation of the earth in seven days as related in Genesis, using the 1,000 years being equal to 1 day key given to us in Peter 3:8. (Though we were warned NOT TO BE IGNORANT OF THAT KEY, and it is clearly linked to the end of time, many Believers today still don't see it). His chosen ones were not to partake of leaven (sin) during that seven days (7,000 years called TIME), or they would be cut off as His chosen ones. We will discuss the significance to the Believer in just a moment. The abstinence from leaven for the entire seven days signifies the commitment of God's children to put sin away from them every day of their lives (all seven days of the week). They aren't even to have it in their presence.

Bikurim (First Fruits) is found in Leviticus 23:10-14. We are told that at this time a sheaf of the First Fruits of the Barley Harvest was to be presented in a wave offering before the Lord. Also to be a part of this offering was a lamb without blemish! Many Jews interpret "the morrow after the Sabbath" in Leviticus 23 to mean that Bikurim would always fall on a Sunday (the day after the weekly Sabbath). However, feast days were also considered to be annual days of Sabbath, so many Jews believe Bikurim is always to be celebrated the second day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 16). Curiously, and for no apparent reason related to Jewish tradition many Jews now celebrate First Fruits on Nisan 17, regardless of which day of the week it is. We will see that this is of interest when related to the resurrection of Yeshua.

When we put all of this into focus, I would like to refer to Matthew 12:40. It states:

Our Bibles clearly teach three days AND three nights, so why do our "churches" teach Friday afternoon to Sunday morning? What happened to the third night? Maybe the true story will explain it. In our Biblical text regarding the Passover lamb, we find that it was to be examined to be sure it was free of blemishes and acceptable for sacrifice. In His fulfillment of the Passover Lamb, Yeshua, the Lamb of God was likewise examined by the governmental officials, and they found Him innocent - free of blemish. Then Yeshua was crucified at the time that the lambs were to be slaughtered for the Passover.

Weekly vs. annual Sabbaths has also caused endless confusion to the Believer in reference to the resurrection of Christ. Luke 23:54 mentions that the legs of those on the crosses were being broken so they could be removed from the crosses prior to Sabbath. It is now understood that the Sabbath referenced in Luke 23:54 and the other gospel accounts was not referring to Saturday, but rather the annual Sabbath of Passover. Some Jews celebrated Passover on Nisan 14, but others combined the festival day of Passover with the first day of Unleavened Bread and celebrated it on Nisan 15. The Hebrew day begins at sundown, so some Jews were preparing for their Sabbath of Passover for Nisan 15. It now appears that Yeshua was actually crucified in the afternoon and was buried just prior to sundown on the TRUE, God-ordained Passover of Nisan 14. If we put this on the Hebrew calendar of 30 AD we see that this was a Wednesday.

His body was in the ground three days and three nights (Matthew 12:30) (just prior to sundown on Wednesday, Nisan 14 through the transition to sundown on the Sabbath, Saturday Nisan 17.) In reality, the victory of First Fruits would have been at sundown on Nisan 17, which began the First Fruits celebration of Sunday Nisan 18. It would be the morning of Sunday Nisan 18 when it would be found that Yeshua had been raised from the dead. Further, He appeared before Mary Magdalene that Sunday, and He told her not to touch Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17). He would ascend yet that day to fulfill the typology of the First Fruits Barley Harvest. (When he returned afterwards, he told Thomas to touch Him!) As our High Priest, He still needed to present Himself to the Father as the lamb without blemish, the First Fruits of them that slept per I Corinthians 15:20. But Hebrews 8:3 tells us that as our High Priest, even Yeshua must till present an offering (a First Fruits sheaf offering for the Barley Harvest). But what would He be able to wave before the Father as an offering? Let's examine for a moment those who were resurrected from the dead in Matthew 27:52-53. This reference indicates that many bodies of the saints which slept arose. According to Holman's Bible Dictionary, the early church considered witnesses who were martyred for their testimonies to be saints. We know that people were in fear of persecution for believing upon Yeshua during His ministry from verses like John 9:22. We know that Saul (who later became Paul), among many others, actively persecuted and killed those Jews who viewed Yeshua as Messiah, and we are never told that such persecution was limited to the time AFTER the crucifixion of Yeshua. It is likely that many were killed prior to His crucifixion. Revelation 6:9 tells us that the souls of those that are slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held were given white robes to represent purity. Revelation 20:4 again emphasizes that those in the white robes were slain. Revelation 7:14 explains that these robes were washed and made white by the blood of the Lamb. Thus they were made pure in God's eyes through the witness they bore in their death. Though they may not HAVE BEEN pure (without leaven), they were purified in God's eyes when they died for their testimony of Yeshua, and would be fit to wave before God as the First Fruits barley offering. This would occur on Nisan 18 [the morrow after the weekly Sabbath] just as the Priest was to waive the First Fruits before the Lord on Nisan 18.)

The Feast of First Fruits is the story of the victory of Yeshua over death, but we should also note some unique "quirks of fate" regarding this date of Nisan 17, now observed by most Jews as First Fruits. We find that those spared from death during the flood came to rest on dry ground in the Ark on Nisan 17 (Genesis 8:4), and we find that in the days of Esther, the entire Jewish race in that kingdom was spared form extinction on Nisan 17 (Esther 3:7&12 & 5:1&8). Indeed even the date of the victory to be won by Yeshua over the sentence of death was foreshadowed long before it occurred. The beauty of the way these three festivals interlock to form the picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is awesome, yet the "church" today gives us the Tree 2 "Easter" version painted with a Christian veneer by Constantine.

Note that the only time the term "Easter" is used in our Bible is in Acts 12:4, and it is not specified as a day ordained by God. That is because it was not. Even in the days when Luke penned Acts, Easter was a long-standing pagan holiday named after the fertility goddess Ishtar, which occurred near Passover. That is why we celebrate fertile egg laying rabbits on this day! Constantine discarded God's beautiful patterning of Passover, and put the day we celebrate the resurrection of Yeshua on a pagan feast day. His Friday afternoon to Sunday morning version taught in our churches today doesn't even match the words of Yeshua Himself, who said He would be in the earth for three days AND three nights. There are simply not three nights between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning, no matter how you slice it! Rounding these days to get three is not accurate. Yeshua was specific here. I believe He said "three days AND three nights" PRECISELY so we would know later to reject the false version and embrace the Lord's Biblical Feast Days, honoring Passover, etc. rather than Easter and the other pagan substitutions.

God is so marvelous! He knew that after the fall of man by Adam that we could not walk that path of TIME without sinning (the seven days without leaven as foreshadowed in Unleavened Bread), so He provided the way for us to accomplish it. Yeshua was not only crucified, He conquered death itself. Through His victory over death, Believers are given His power so we can achieve victory over sin. As we choose to be crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), we are raised to new life in this body, so we can live the resurrected life He intends for us to live. Baptism by immersion is symbolic of this very thing, the death and resurrection of Christ, and our commitment as Believers to be figuratively crucified and resurrected in this Present Kingdom to live for Him. Then, we must proceed to fulfill the commitment we made upon our Baptisms! However, we must note that He was not just PARTIALLY crucified, so neither are we to be! It is ONLY by choosing to totally put off the old man, and to put on the new (Romans 6:6 & Colossians 3:6-10) that we can live the resurrected life we are expected to live. Again, in order to do this, we must submit to the Holy Spirit's will and power to accomplish this through us. As we continue to confess (implying also to turn from) our sins (I John 1:9), the Holy Spirit will continue to cleanse us, so we remain spotless before Him.

The first three of the Lord's Feasts listed above all occur within a matter of days in the month of Nisan, and are considered to be the spring feasts associated with the spring Barley Harvest. We will soon see that there are three fall feasts as well.

Regarding the four of the seven major feasts which we have yet to study (Shavuot, Rosh HaShannah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot), the objective of this overview will simply be to familiarize the Believer with the facts and traditions surrounding the feasts. The amazing significances of each will emerge later as we discuss them in view of the present and future of the "church" era. Shavuot (Pentecost) is found in Exodus 34:22, Leviticus 23:15-22, Numbers 28:26-31, and Deuteronomy 16:9-12. Though Shavuot is often associated with the spring feasts, it actually occurs part way between spring and fall in the month of Sivan on the Jewish calendar (May or June on ours). It is often referred to as the Feast of Weeks. Shavuot is to be the day after the completion of seven weeks (or exactly 50 days) from the giving of the omer (a type of measure, but often simply said to be the First Fruits) of the Barley Harvest to the Priest. This period of 50 days is referred to as the counting of the omer thus could be called the "counting of the First Fruits". It is often thought of as the end of the Passover Festival. The counting of the omer serves as the 50 link chain that connects the two together. The date Shavuot is celebrated is dependent upon whether the Sabbath (on which the counting is to begin) is considered to be the weekly or the annual Sabbath (among other factors). Accordingly, there are various dates used to honor Shavuot. However, since many Jews present the barley First Fruits to the Priest on the second day of the Unleavened Bread (Nisan 16), the counting is usually said to begin on that day, thus Shavuot is normally acknowledged to be Sivan 6.

This harvest festival goes by other names as well. It is called Chag HaShavout (Festival of First Fruits) and Chag Habikurim (Harvest Festival). It is also referred to as the "Wheat Harvest", but in reality, only the First Fruits of the wheat are harvested at Shavuot and the harvest will continue to ripen until the ingathering of the Wheat Harvest about the time of the first of the Fall Festivals, i.e. Rosh HaShannah. The First Fruits of the Wheat Harvest are gathered at Shavuot and given to the Priest. He is to use them to offer a "meat" or "meal" offering to the Lord. He was to make two loaves from very finely ground flour from the First Fruits of the wheat crop and bake them WITH leaven, then wave them before the Lord. The entire second chapter of Leviticus is about the meat offerings. The flour is to be mingled with or anointed with oil and baked, then frankincense was to be put upon the loaves. It was expressly stated that no meat offering was to be made with leaven until Leviticus 23:17 when a new type of meat offering was specified that WAS to be made with leaven. (Therefore, the First Fruits meat offering of Bikurim WAS NOT to have leaven, but the new First Fruits offering for Shavuot WAS to have leaven.) Thus the counting of the omer or First Fruit is to link the First Fruit offering of Passover (the barley) to the First Fruit offering of Shavuot (the wheat). The Talmud refers to Shavuot only as Atzeret which means "assembly". It is also associated with the confirmation of loyalty. The Jewish people confirm their thirteen to sixteen year old sons and daughters on this day. The Book of Ruth is read on Shavuot, homes and synagogues are decorated with green foliage, and the most spectacular promenade (parade) of the year occurs in the streets after the midday meal, with everyone in festive attire. In the late afternoon, the celebrants pour pitchers of water on one another, disregarding their festive clothing. Many people stay up all night on Shavuot, (as though waiting for something). This tradition is called Tikkun Shavuot, and means "preparing (perfecting oneself) for Shavuot". There is an emphasis on holiness, reading Scripture, and prayer.

The giving of the Law at Mount Sinai is seen as the marriage of the Jewish people to God. They are thereafter referred to as the wife of God. Exodus 19:1 states that it was the third month and the third day when they came to Sinai. Now they were to prepare for three days to go meet the Lord, which would make this mountain experience occurring on Sivan 6, or Shavuot. During this three day period, they were to wash their clothing and to abstain even from marital sexual activity so they would be ritually clean or "ready" against the third day. The voice of the trumpet sounded long to announce His arrival, then God spoke to Moses and came down to the mount at the "appointed time". Historical sources other than the Bible will verify that the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai occurred exactly 50 days after the crossing of the Red Sea and was indeed on Shavuot. The Law was given to the Hebrew people to direct them. The body of Believers likewise received their source of guidance on Shavuot exactly 50 days after the resurrection of Yeshua, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them (Acts 2:17). This was the date know as the "birth" of the "church".

Historical documentation shows that King David, (a man after the heart of God, per I Samuel 13:14) was born on and died on the same date. By a "quirk of fate" it happens that it was Sivan 6. Now we know from Biblical account in Genesis 5:24 that "Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him". By another "quirk of fate" historical documentation also places his birth and the time of being "taken" on the same date, i.e. Sivan 6. The first of the three great trumpets is blown at this feast. The blowing of the trumpet can signify a number of things, such as to declare war, to confuse and intimidate the enemy, to gather the people for a proclamation, and to petition God not to forget His chosen people. On Shavuot, the shofar that is blown is from the left horn of the ram, and is called the "first trump".

A review of the section on Shavuot (Pentecost) will remind us that this Festival is linked to Passover by the counting of the omer (a measure, pertaining here to First Fruit), and is thought of as the 50 day extension which ends the Spring Festivals. The wheat which composes the two loaves of the Shavuot First Fruit is made from flour that is sifted twelve times to insure that it is extremely FINELY ground flour! This offering was to be made each year to foreshadow the offering which will ultimately be waived before the Lord as a First Fruits offering. It will be composed of Believers who are very finely attuned to the Lord in total submission. The flour was to be mingled with or anointed with oil (the Holy Spirit) and graced with frankincense (a fragrance pleasing to the Lord which symbolizes communion with God through prayer). It is referred to as Atzeret (assembly), and associated with the confirmation of loyalty (this assembly must be composed only of those who confirm their loyalty to Yeshua daily in order to exhibit His righteousness in their lives). The confirmation of Jewish children who are "of age" on this date emphasizes the necessity to accept such responsibility of confirmation of our loyalty to Yeshua as Believers that comes with becoming "of age". The reading of the Book of Ruth indicates the virtuous qualities sought as the standards for the Bride. To expand upon this principle a bit, we'll take a quick side trip.

Along these lines, we refer now to Genesis 24 where Abraham (representative of God the Father) sent the unnamed servant (representative of the Holy Spirit) to secure a bride (representative of the worthy, virtuous portion of the Believers) for Isaac (representative of the Yeshua the Son). The servant was looking for a near kinsman who would offer to do not only as he verbally requested (as in the Word of God), but would gladly and graciously submit to pleasing him even as she could sense the "unspoken" desires of the servant (Holy Spirit). He found such a one in Rebekah. The family of Rebekah pleaded with the servant to allow her to remain with them yet a little while before departing, but he would not, and upon Rebekah's consent she was taken immediately by the servant to meet her bridegroom. Thus we see the prophetic portrait of the earthly family (the world) of today's "Bride to be" striving to keep her from leaving when she is supposed to leave. Since Rebekah's consent was required, we see the "Bride to be" being given a choice to remain with her family for yet a short time, or to go immediately, (trusting in her prompting to face the unknown) and be received by the bridegroom she had yet to meet. As Rebekah chose to do, so we must be prepared and willing to go immediately to meet our Bridegroom, without being lured by our earthly family (the world) to remain behind for a time.

NETHER NUGGETS - Table of Contents > Stars, Seasons, and Signs (Part 2 of 2)