4/8/2005
|
|
Explanation |
2004-5 (5765) |
2005-6 (5766) |
|
Jewish new year; celebrate creation;
self-examination |
Sep
16-17 |
Oct
4-5 |
|
|
Day of Atonement |
Sep 25 |
Oct 13 |
|
|
Pilgrimage, harvest festivals |
Sep
30-Oct 6 |
Oct
18-24 |
|
|
Beginning of raining season |
Oct 7 |
Oct 25 |
|
|
|
Oct 8 |
Oct 26
|
|
|
Jewish Maccabees’ military victory over Greek-Syrians |
Dec
8-15 |
Dec
26-Jan 2 |
|
|
New Year of Trees |
Jan 25 |
Feb 13 |
|
|
Remember how Esther saved the Jews of Persia |
Mar 25 |
Mar 14 |
|
|
|
Apr
24-May 1 |
Apr
13-20 |
|
|
|
May 6 |
Apr 25 |
|
|
|
May 11 |
May 2 |
|
|
|
May 12 |
May 3 |
|
|
Celebrated between Passover and Shavuot (on the
33rd day) |
May 27 |
May 16 |
|
|
Conclusion of the Passover (49 days later) |
Jun
13-14 |
Jun
2-3 |
|
|
Day of mourning over the destruction of the
temples |
Aug 14 |
Aug 3 |
-
Seven
feasts during the year; Feasts divided into two groups – Nisan (~March/April)
and Tishri (September/October~)
-
Purpose
of feasts was to remind and instruct
-
Leviticus
23:1-3 refer to the Sabbath; not a feast or part of the ceremonial year, but a
regular weekly observance.
Divide group into 7 groups. Answer
the following questions:
Q1: At what time of the year was
the feast celebrated?
Q2: What was the purpose of the
feast?
Q3: What activities were involved
in the festival?
The Feast of Passover (Lev. 23:4, 5; Exo. 12:1-13)
Q1: 1st
month of the year, 14th of Nisan.
Q2: Looked
back at what God had done for
Q3: Each
family killed a lamb and sprinkled blood on the doorposts of their home. People
stayed inside the home, roasted the lamb, and ate it without breaking a bone.
Anyone who didn’t participate was to be “cut off from among his people.”
Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:6-8; Exo.
12:31-36)
Q1: Began
15th of Nisan; lasted for 7 days.
Q2: Commemorated
Q3:
Unleavened bread (without yeast) was eaten for 7 days, and they searched their homes to rid them of any
leaven. The 1st
and last days were sacred assemblies when no work was to be done.
Feast of Firstfruits (Lev. 23:9-14)
Q1: When
the grain began to ripen; 16th day of Nisan, 2nd day of
Feast of Unleavened Bread
Q2:
Recognized Lord’s provision for daily life and looked forward to the full
harvest. Waiving of grain demonstrated
blessing of the Lord. Harvest would not begin without offering first sheaf to
God
Q3: Sheaves
of barley from select fields were presented as wave offering to the Lord.
Feast of Wave Loaves, or Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-22,
Deut. 16:9-12)
Q1: 50
days after the Feast of Firstfruits; lasted one day and signified the end of the
wheat harvest. It was also called the Feast of Weeks, because it was observed 7
weeks and one day after wave offering of barley.
Q2: Show thankfulness
for God’s blessings – like Thanksgiving Day
Q3: 2
loaves were waved before the Lord, one in each hand. This showed the full
provision of the Lord.
Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:23-25; Num. 10:1-10)
Q1: Late
September and early October; 4 months between Feast of Wave Loaves and Feast of
Trumpets
Q2: 1st
day of every month, silver trumpets were blown. In the 1st day of 7th
month, the trumpets announced a special holy gathering, which were probably
prelude to the Day of Atonement.
Q3: The
feast was treated as a Sabbath – no work was to be done.
The Day of Atonement (Lev. 16; 23:26-32)
Q1: 10th
day of 7th month
Q2: Day of
sorrow and confession of sin;
Q3: The high
priest went to the tabernacle with a bull and ram to sacrifice for his own sins
and for the sins of his family. He also brought 2 goats and a ram, which were
used on behalf of the people. The high priest alone carried out ritual, and it
was the one day of the year when he went into the Holy of Holies. The 1st
goat was sacrificed as a sin offering, and the sins of the nation were confessed
on the head of the 2nd goat and released where it would not return.
Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-44)
Q1: Also
called Feast of Ingathering (Exo. 34:22); began 15th day of 7th
month
Q2: At end
of harvest, the people were relaxed and happy. It recalled the protection of
the Lord during the wilderness wanderings.
Q3: During
the 7 days, people stayed in tents or booths made of branches. Each family
built a temporary structure called sukkah. The roof was made of slats put
closely together for shade. The entire room was decorated with green branches,
flowers, and fruit.
For Passover, Wave Loaves, and Tabernacle, all males were
required to go to
People would have been able to exchange merchandise and
share worship activities from respective areas.
Have you ever received a blessing
from attending a large conference?
The feasts
typify God’s plan of redemption.
During
the Passover a lamb was killed and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts of the
house. Jesus Christ is the lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world
(John 1:29).
18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or
gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from
your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb
without blemish or defect. 1 Pet. 1:18-19
“7Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast–as
you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore
let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and
wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Cor. 5:7-8
The
Israelites’ eating dough without yeast symbolized getting rid of their sins.
Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians that we who are born again are to break with the
past life of sin and live new, holy lives for the Lord.
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man,
the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in
Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his
own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to
him. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23
Since
Jesus Christ arose, we will also live.
The
Feast of Wave Loaves (Pentecost) took place 50 days after the Firstfruits.
Similarly, 50 days after Christ’s resurrection, the Holy Spirit came.
The
first 4 feasts held in the spring season, and the last 3 were in the fall.
There was a time between the 4th and 5th festivals when
the fruit and grain ripened and the harvest was gathered. After the coming of
the Holy Spirit, we have been in a time of harvest. The next event on God’s
redemptive calendar is the return of Christ (1 Cor. 15:51-52).
The
Day of Atonement found fulfillment in
The
Feast of Tabernacles foreshadows the time when
3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of
God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God
himself will be with them and be their God. Rev. 21:3
|
Passover |
|
|
Unleavened Bread |
New Life |
|
Firstfruits |
Resurrection |
|
Pentecost |
Holy Spirit |
|
|
Church Age |
|
Trumpets |
Rapture |
|
Day of Atonement |
|
|
Tabernacles |
Millennium / Eternity |
What two basic duties are we believers to
accomplish as we wait for the Rapture?
Harvest souls and pursue a holy life