Page 131 - Advanced Bible Geography ebook

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Leviticus 23:1-2 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto
them, The set feasts of Jehovah, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set
feasts.

Sacrifice is the major feature of the feasts. Believers are not responsible to keep these feasts, but
knowledge of them enhances our faith. Our Lord kept every one of them without fail, even celebrating
Passover on His last earthly night.

It was on Mount Sinai that God gave Moses the dates and observances for the seven major feasts for the
Jewish people to observe. Here are their names:

Weekly Feast
The Sabbath Day (Shabbat, a weekly feast)

The Hebrew word for feast is miqra (mik-raw) and it means “something called out, that is, a public
meeting; a rehearsal for what is to come; an assembly, calling, convocation, reading…

The word rehearsal means to practice in preparation for a public performance. Evidently these feasts
were a way Israel could practice the significance of each feast until GOD performed the truth of the
feast in reality. Each feast can be associated with something God has done historically or is going to do
in the future.

Seven Annual Feasts

The Spring Feasts – fulfilled in the Past TO THE DAY in Christ’s first coming.
1. Passover (Pesach) – Nisan 14: a picture of Jesus’s Death on the Cross.
2. Unleavened Bread (Chag hamotzi) Nisan 15-22: a picture of the burial of Jesus.
3. First Fruits (Yom habikkurim) – Nisan 16: a picture of the resurrection of Jesus.
4. Pentecost (Shavu’ot) – Silvan 6: pictures the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church.

The Fall Feasts – prophetic in nature and may be fulfilled TO THE DAY in Christ’s second coming.
5. Trumpets (Yom Teru’ah) – Tishri 1: a rehearsal for the Rapture of the Church
6. Atonement (Yom Kippur) – Tishri 10: a rehearsal for the Second coming of Jesus Christ and perhaps
the date of the first coming of Christ
7. Tabernacles (Sukkot) – Tishri 15: a rehearsal for the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.

Some Details about those Feasts Practiced in Israel Today
Passover
The most important holiday (Hebrew: Pesach) commemorates the famous event of the exodus of the
Children of Israel from Egypt. Passover eve is called “Leil Haseder”, celebrated in a grand dinner with the
extended family and telling the exodus story, known as the “Haggada”. Other common names: festival
of Matza, festival of spring. It lasts seven days, however, students are off school for up to 18 days and
many Jewish people are on vacation from work as well, thus this a common time of traveling around the
country or abroad.

Symbolic food: regular flour food is not allowed (nor is it sold in public), the Matza (flat unleavened

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