What was Practiced became known – The Fall Feasts

By John B. Metzger

In years past I merely viewed the Feasts of Israel as agricultural feasts that Israel was to practice under the Law of Moses [see manuscript #62].  I had no idea the feasts and Yeshua are intricacy tied together into a beautiful picture of redemption that was laid out in the Hebrew Scripture, fulfilled in the gospels and unveiled in the New Testament.  I was raised in good Bible church and went to a good Bible College yet the significance of these feasts where unknown to me.

We want to examine the fall feasts but let me give some background first.  They were agricultural feasts that were divided into two groupings: The spring feasts of which there are four and the fall feasts of which there are three.  These feasts are given in the Hebrew Scriptures in Leviticus 23 with a brief description of each of the feasts.  Some of these were practiced with more regularity than others such as Passover, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles.  Then historically we arrive at the first coming and ministry of Yeshua the Messiah.

In the gospels Messiah comes to Israel and presents Himself and offers the kingdom to them but they did not recognize Him as the promised Seed (Genesis 3:15; 22:18; Galatians 3:16), the promise King (Genesis 49:9-10; Numbers 24:17; Jeremiah 23:5-6) or the promised Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Numbers 12:5-8), the Son of David.  The national rejection of His Messiahship can be seen in Matthew 12:22-45.  This did not catch God off guard; the Messiah’s rejection is spoken of clearly in the prophets (Zechariah 11:12-13) as well as the psalms (22:1, 14-18).  Yeshua was illegally tried and condemned to death by the very ones who said they were looking for Him, but with uncircumcised hearts (Leviticus 26:41; Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jer 4:1-4; 9:26; Acts 7:51) they rejected Him.  With Yeshua’s death, burial and resurrection the disciples began to recognize something that was not seen or understood by the faithful in connection with these feasts.

Because of the timing of these events in Yeshua’s ministry to Israel, several things began to come into focus in the hearts and minds of the disciples after His resurrection:

• The spring and fall feasts have to do with the two coming plan of Messiah.
• Passover was fulfilled on the day of the feast.
• Yeshua was the Bread of Life that came down from heaven (John 6).  He was the unleavened bread of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
• He was the Feast of Firstfruits of the resurrection which occurred on the day of the Feast of Firstfruits.
• 50 days after Passover at the Feast of Weeks [Pentecost or Shavuot] when the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples.  It was the birthday of the Body of Messiah [Christ], the Church which occurred in Acts 2.

In brief summary, the four spring feasts God fulfilled, what had been unforeseen in the past has now become a picture of God’s redemptive plan for both Jews and Gentiles.  The result of the spring feasts God made Salvation available by the perfect sinless Passover Lamb (John 1:29; Revelation 5:5-6) who was also the Son given (Isaiah 9:6-7) who was resurrected, the firstfruits of the resurrection (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:9-12; I Corinthians 15:3-4, 12-25) and began to build His Body, the Church (Jews – Acts 2:1-13; Samaritans – 8:14-17; Gentiles – 10:44-45).  So God had set in motion on each of the days of the feasts His redemptive plan for the world in the gospels.  Now this information has a direct bearing on the fall feasts in September/October.

The three fall feasts reflect what is yet future in God’s plan redemptive program for the church and for Israel.  The sequential order of fulfillment laid out by God in these spring feasts will be the same pattern in the fall feasts.  Of these three fall feasts one of them is shrouded in some mystery, what did it mean, while the other remaining two are well known.  The three feasts are:

• The Feasts of Trumpets;
• The Day of Atonement
• The Feasts of Tabernacles

Feast of Trumpets [see manuscript #118]

In the Scriptures there are only three passages that give us a description of this feast.  There are located in three passages – Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6 and Nehemiah 8:1-12.  Here we learn five things about the feast:

• first the timing is the 7th month and 1st day of the month of Elul.  
• Second it was a one-day festival,
• third there was to be no work done on that day,
• fourth it was a day of blowing of the trumpets and
• fifthly the shofar and not a trumpet was to be used.  

What is particularly interesting about this feast there is no reason given as to the purpose of this feast, only the points listed above.  There are many rabbinic legends that have grown up around this feast.  Kept in mind it is legend and cannot be proven by Scripture.  

Judaism has two new year’s, first a religious year beginning with the first month of Aviv and according to Exodus 12:2 this is to be the first month of their year.  Second one is known as Rosh Hashanah which means “the head of the year” and has become the head of the civil calendar.  

There are only three things that can be derived from the blowing of the shofar in the Scriptures:

• First in Isaiah 27:12-13 (Matthew 24:31) it has to do with the future regathering of Israel to worship the LORD in the Kingdom.  
• Second it was used to announce the beginning of the feasts and to alert the people of an impending attack.  
• Third in Revelation 8 it is used in connection with the 7 Trumpet judgments.   

In the Feast of Trumpets we are not given precise guidelines to understand the purpose of this feast.  However, we are given two hints by the apostle Paul.  In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 he ties the blowing of the trumpet with the rapture of the church.  He then in 1 Corinthians 15:52 uses a technical term, at the last trump which is a reference of a rabbinic practice that the last trumpet blast on the feast is called the last trump, thus he ties together the gathering together of the Body of Messiah, Jew and Gentile, the living and the dead in the rapture of the Body of Messiah [Christ].  

Now here is the difficult part and I do not want to be misunderstood!  We believe that the rapture of the church is imminent, meaning that it could occur at any time.  If God continues the sequence from the spring feast then this would be a continuation.  The 4th feast (Pentecost) is the establishment of the Body of Messiah, and the 5th feast, the first of the fall feasts would be the calling of the Body of Messiah together in the rapture of the Church.  The Feast of Trumpets will be fulfilled in the rapture of the Church.  Could it happen on the day of the feast?  I do not know, but based on the previous record of the fulfillment of the spring feasts it is possible that the rapture could occur on the feast of trumpets.

Day of Atonement [see manuscript #119]

Leviticus 16 gives the details on the Day of Atonement, [Yom Kippur]. It was a one day fast and it was observed on the 10th day of the 7th month, the month of Elul.  Yom Kippur is a fast that deals with the shedding of the blood of the lamb on the mercy seat between the cherubim in the Holy of Holies once a year (Hebrews 9:11-15, 25-28).  We know that the blood of Messiah offered was a once for all event not to cover sin but to remove sin altogether.  That was accomplished with the death, burial and resurrection of Messiah.  It has not been appropriated by Israel to this day.  It has been appropriated to all who believe, but Israel is in unbelieving and the Day of Atonement has not become a reality for Israel.  It will become a reality for Israel at the end of the tribulation when Israel confesses their sins (Isaiah 53:1-9) and embraces Messiah Yeshua as their Saviour (Hosea 5:15-6:1-3) and they call for Him to come who has been seated on the right hand of the Father (Psalm 80:17) and deliver them (Zechariah 14:3-4).

Feast of Tabernacles [see manuscript #120]

This feast is also called the Feast of Booths or Succoth where religious Jewish people today erect a flimsy building in remembrance of the 40 years of living in the wilderness during the exodus from Egypt.  This feast lasts 7 days and begins on the 15th day of the 7th month [Elul].  This feast is the background for the context of John 7-10.  The Feast of Tabernacles has always been understood to refer to the millennial kingdom when the King comes and establishes the throne of David in Jerusalem and reigns over the whole earth.

In summary these three fall feasts all occur within a one month period.  Once again it is interesting to note that all the feasts have as an agricultural backdrop, harvest time.  The spring feasts promote the first coming of Yeshua to come and die for the sins of the world.  The fall feasts promote the second coming of Yeshua as the King who will come and set up the kingdom promised to David and Israel, regather Israel to the land of their fathers as the Land Covenant promises, and to be a blessing on all the families of the earth in the New Covenant, that will be fulfilled in the heart and life of Israel and enjoyed by the nations as “paradise lost” is regained.  Also the 4th feast of the spring feasts, the Body of Messiah is created and the 5th feast, or the first of the fall feasts the Body of Messiah is raptured.  This is a story of redemption that is unfolded in the person of Yeshua in the gospels.