ANSWERS TO YOUR BIBLE QUESTIONS
Feast Days Fulfilled - Part Two
(Be sure to first read Part One - “Why We Should Not Keep the Feast Days”)
In this writing, I would like to point out, first, several reasons why the feasts of the books of Moses should not be kept in our age. And, second, what the spiritual applications are to the three feasts mentioned in Exodus 23:14-17 and Deuteronomy 16:16.
I would suggest that you not cast this aside until you have read it all the way through, and then take your Bible and study to see whether the things that I mention are so. God told Timothy through the Apostle Paul, to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
The only way we can show ourselves approved to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, is through the study of His Holy Word. It is when we have settled our mind, and we close it to the truth, that Satan comes into our lives and causes us to accept falsehood and be satisfied with man-made doctrines.
As we study we need to pray for wisdom and understanding; God will not leave us in the dark but will lead us on into the light of His Word.
Now then, why the three feasts of Exodus 23:14-17 should not be kept, and, what takes the place of them today. In order to come to an understanding as to what these feasts were and what the anti-type of them is, we will have to take each one separately and consider them carefully. Paul, in Colossians 2:14-16, mentions several things by which he tells us not to let any man judge us because they were a shadow of something to come. So we will have to find out what was a shadow, and of what was it a shadow. The Scripture will have to answer these questions for us. Our own answers are worthless when it comes to the Word of God.
As we begin to read with Exodus 23:14-15 we find this: “Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty).”
Here now we have the first of the three feasts, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now then, before we go into the explanation what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is for us today, I would like to also read verse 17. I feel it is important. “Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God.” This now brings something to mind. First, it was only the males who were to appear before the LORD in these feasts. What about the female? I know someone will say that the term males in this Scripture refers to females also simply because male is used instead of the word man. Many times we find man is used to refer to both male and female in the Scripture.
But I ask, does it refer to female also in this verse? If it does then what about Exodus 34:23 where it mentions the same feasts and says, “Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the LORD God, The God of Israel.” Now then, can we say that men children mean female as well as male? Definitely not. It means just what it says, it means males. I have never seen a man-child to be a female and neither have you. It always was a male and will always remain to be so.
So we will have to leave it as it is; we cannot make it mean female. If only the males were to appear before the LORD in these three feasts, what do the women, of those who claim to keep these feasts do at these feasts? Is God a god of order, or does He mean what He says? Does it make a difference whether His voice is obeyed? Most certainly the women have no place at these feasts if these feasts are kept in accordance with God’s word. And here are the reasons.
Read Exodus 13:2, 12; Exodus 22:29-30; Exodus 34:18-20; Luke 2:23. These Scriptures and others, point out why the men-children were to appear before the LORD in these three feasts. You will find no other reasons throughout the laws of Moses. The children of Israel did not only keep these three feasts, they kept all of them as they are recorded in Numbers 28-29. All Israel was to rejoice in all the feasts (Deuteronomy 16:13-14). But only the males were to gather before the LORD in the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of harvest, and the feast of ingathering. For females to appear with the males in these feasts was against the order of the LORD God, and no one was allowed to disobey His orders. He gave the description of how and who was to keep the feast, and if they disobeyed, there was punishment described for them.
Now then, let’s go back to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the first of the three. What we want to note here, first of all, is that this is not a feast of Passover as it is so often referred to. Passover is one thing, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is another. Passover never was a feast, nor was it a sabbath or holy day. It was the death angel passing over the houses with blood on the two side posts and the upper doorpost, or lintel.
Passover ended with Christ for Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:7, “...For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” And then we read in Hebrews 10:10, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Yes, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, not once every year, but once for all time. If we want to hold Passover, we will have to sacrifice Christ once every year.
Turn and read the description how to hold Passover as it is recorded in Exodus 12:3-6 and Deuteronomy 16:1-8. There is no place in all the New Testament that tells us how to hold Passover. If we hold Passover we will have to hold it according to the description in the Old Testament, and that requires a sacrifice of a lamb yearly. If Christ is the lamb, you will have to sacrifice Him once a year. We want to note too, Leviticus 23:5 and Numbers 28:16 tell us the fourteenth is Passover. Then the following verse we find that the fifteenth is the feast, seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. The first day of the feast is a Sabbath and the last day is a Sabbath.
May I also state here that the Lord’s Supper is not part of Passover. It is completely separate from Passover. Passover was to show the death angel going over. The Lord’s Supper is signifying the death of Christ. Neither does the fourteenth day of the first month mean anything so far as connecting the two institutions together. Just because the Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper on the fourteenth does not mean it was a continuation of the death angel passing over. To call the Lord’s Supper “Passover” is just as false as to call Sunday “Sabbath”. They are two different things one from another, and cannot be placed together.
What is the Feast of Unleavened Bread? It is the journey out of Egypt. If you will read Numbers 33:3-9, you will note the seven days of the journey of the children of Israel before they stopped for any length of time. The third verse says they left Egypt on the fifteenth day of the month, and Deuteronomy 16:1 tells us they left at night. This corresponds with Exodus 12:6, 22-23, 31-36, where it tells us they were to keep the lamb until the fourteenth, and also that they were to stay in the house until the morning, and then they borrowed from the Egyptians during the day part of the fourteenth, and then after sunset, which is the beginning of the fifteenth, left on their journey out of Egypt.
Now then, the Feast of Unleavened Bread signifies the journey out of Egypt. That is what it was for the children of Israel. What is it for us? It is the same for us. However, we are not coming out of literal Egypt. We are on our journey out of Spiritual Egypt. Are we out of Spiritual Egypt already? Why no, we are not out of Egypt spiritually speaking. We are yet on our journey, eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:8).
The children of Israel were on their journey to the promised land, the land of Canaan (Exodus 6:4, 8). They finally arrived there. We too are on our journey to the Promised Land but we have not yet arrived there (1 Peter 2:10-12; Hebrews 13:14). They were looking for a land that floweth with milk and honey, the literal land of Canaan. We are also looking for a land that floweth with milk and honey, the spiritual Canaan, the Eternal Kingdom.
So then, when once we arrive at our destination and our journey has come to fulfillment, we will have inherited the land that is promised to us, even as Israel inherited Canaan, which was promised to them. However, eating literal unleavened bread for seven days a year does not get us to the Promised Land. We have to eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth and keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread spiritually. Jesus said, “...I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). He is the true unleavened bread; in Him, we have our feast. “…but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he (Jesus) which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world” (John 6:32-33).
So then, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is not literal for us today but spiritual; not only seven days a year but every day of our Christian walk. The Egypt we are coming out of is the confusion in this world. Jesus said, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” (John 17:15). The world with all its teachings is confusion (Egypt). We are still in it but must be on our journey out if we want to land in the promised land of Canaan, the Eternal Kingdom, which has been prepared from the foundation of the world.
The Feast of Harvest is the second feast of the three mentioned in Exodus 23:14-17. As we turn to Exodus 23:16 first part of the verse we read, “And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field...” In Exodus 34:22 it reads “And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first fruits of wheat harvest...” Then in Leviticus 23:9-21, we find the description of the Feast of Weeks. It is also called the Feast of Harvest and how it was to be observed. In Deuteronomy 16:9-12 we find it again. This same feast is known today as the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost means Feast of Harvest, Feast of Weeks, and Fiftieth, having reference to fifty days after.
Now then, I would like to refer to something here that has often been used as the time for the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. It has been claimed that the Holy Spirit came on the Feast of Pentecost (Feast of Weeks, or Feast of Harvest, whichever you might want to call it) to verify the Ten Commandments anew for the New Testament. This is not so. The giving of the Ten Commandments was not fifty days after Passover.
Read Exodus 19:1 with me carefully. “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.” If you need to, read this verse again and then begin to count with me. The Children of Israel left Egypt on the fifteenth of the first month (Numbers 33:3). Now then, by the fifteenth of the second month, we have thirty days in Bible time. (Bible months are thirty days long.)
Then on the “third month” — the same day they came out of Egypt is the fifteenth — we have sixty days. And we find that Moses was not yet gone up on the mountain, neither was he given the Ten Commandment law. In fact, if we check carefully, we find it was nearly twice fifty days from the time of Passover to the time of the giving of the Ten Commandments. So it brings to naught the thought that Pentecost is the time of the giving of the law.
Now then, as we go to the study of the Feast of Weeks, and what it was a type of, we want to read Exodus 34:22, the first part. The reason we only want to read the first part is that the second part of the verse speaks of another feast. “And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first fruits of wheat harvest...” So then, the Feast of Weeks, or second feast mentioned in Exodus 23:14-17 is the harvest of the first fruits. This corresponds with Leviticus 19:9-10 and 23:22, which states that the children of Israel were not to harvest the entire field. They were to leave the corners and were not to glean the field; it was to be left for the poor and stranger. Who are the poor and the strangers? The answer is, they are the Gentiles.
Now, let’s go to the New Testament to find when the harvesting of the first fruits took place. We want to remember, a type of something is not the real thing; it is something symbolizing the real thing. So then, in the Old Testament, we have the type, which is after the letter, or the natural. And in the New Testament, we have the real, which is after the Spirit, spiritual.
So we want to begin to read with Matthew 9:36-38, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Why does Jesus use the harvest to express Himself here? Is He speaking about a natural harvest? If not, what is the spiritual harvest? And if He is speaking about a natural harvest, why does He have compassion for the multitude? You know, my friend, these are questions that should make you think. Jesus is trying to cause His disciples to see the spiritual harvest that stood before them ready to be harvested. If you would read Mark 4:26-29 and Luke 10:1-2, you will see that Jesus was trying to impress on His followers the readiness of the spiritual harvest of the first fruits.
After you have read these verses, turn to John 4:34-38, “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that repeath receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eterna1: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, one soweth, and another reapeth. I send you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”
Now, let us stop and think a little. Why did Jesus speak of the harvest in four months, and then said, the fields are white already to harvest? Was it not because He was showing His disciples to be concerned about the spiritual harvest? Why of course it was.
As the time of the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of the wheat was approaching, Jesus was making His disciples aware of the true harvest of the first fruits, the spiritual harvest. That is why He said, “I send you forth to reap that which another man hath sown.” He also said, “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.”
The natural harvest did not give life eternal but the spiritual harvest giveth life eternal. You see how Jesus was showing that the shadow of the Feast of Weeks was meeting the real thing. Type was meeting anti-type. The natural, literal keeping of Pentecost cannot give life. But the real, spiritual keeping gives life. In order to better understand this, let’s go to the spiritual harvest of the first fruits, and see who they are.
As we turn to James 1:18, we read, “Of his own will begat he us with the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” We want to note that James was writing this to the twelve tribes of Israel, as stated in verse one. He says it was the will of God that they should be a kind of first fruits. They could not be the first fruits of wheat harvest in the natural, so they are the spiritual kind. James knew what he was writing and he evidently knew what the Scriptures said.
Turn with me to Jeremiah 2:3: “Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the first fruits of his increase...” So then, James did have a right to say what he did when he wrote to his brethren, did he not? The prophet Jeremiah had said, “Israel is a first fruit”, and James understood the prophecy. May I ask, “First fruit of what?” The first fruit of the harvest, of course. Jesus had said, “The harvest is white, ready to gather.”
Now, let’s see what Paul says about this first fruit. We will read Acts 13:46, “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” What does Paul actually say in this verse? He tells us that the gospel was preached unto the Jews (Israel) until they put it from them. Then Paul turned to the Gentiles.
Why was it not preached to the Gentile at the same time it was preached to Israel? Can you think of a reason? Let me give you a reason if you cannot think of one. First, in Daniel 9:27, we read, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease...” This week is prophetical, a year for a day. Jesus was crucified in the midst of the week that was confirmed with many,
the apostles finished out the week before the gospel went to the Gentiles. This week is the time of the sealing of the 144,000; 12,000 of each of the twelve tribes of Israel, the first fruits. Second, the first fruits had to be harvested before the corners of the field and the gleanings were turned over to the poor and the strangers, the Gentiles. Israel is the first fruits, so says Jeremiah. The 144,000 are the first fruits of the gospel.
I know someone will wonder how the 144,000 can be the first fruits of the gospel when the gospel first began with Pentecost. The answer is, the gospel did not begin with Pentecost. The gospel began with Creation. Only the people before Christ were made aware that there was something to come, and since Pentecost, we make the people aware that the thing that was to come, has come. Paul, in writing to the Colossians in chapter 1:23, says that the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven. In 1 Peter 4:6, we find that the gospel was preached to those who were dead. So before they died, they heard the gospel of good tidings.
Let’s go back to see if we can find any more about the first fruits in Paul’s writings. Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Here Paul mentions that the gospel was to the Jew first. Why? Because it was so ordained by God. As we read on in Paul’s writings we turn to Romans 11:7, “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” Why would Paul say, “The election hath obtained it?” Election for what? Someone will say, the Gentiles are the elect. But if you read verses 27-28 of Romans 11, you’ll see that Israel is the elect. When Paul spoke of the “election hath obtained it”, he referred to the 144,000.
In order to prove what I said above, let’s turn to Revelation 7:3-4, as we read the first two verses, we find them making ready for something. There is an angel who cries with a loud voice not to hurt the earth and the sea so the mission could be fulfilled. “Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” Now then, we want to note that these were not sons of God but servants of God. They were to be sealed in their foreheads. Then too, we want to note that they were Israelites, or Jews, as we know them. Why was this sealing necessary? We shall see a little later in this study.
As we turn to Revelation 14:1-5, we find recorded the same 144,000 of the twelve tribes of Israel to be sealed with the Father’s name on their foreheads. We want to note the description of this 144,000, where they come from, and what they are. Let’s read verse 4: “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb withersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb.” Now, as we have this verse before us, let us analyze it for a moment. “They were not defiled with women.” Does this mean they had no wives? No, it means they were not defiled with strange doctrines. They were taught by the Master and His direct followers, His disciples. They had the pure gospel taught to them. “They followed the Lamb withersoever He goeth.” True worshipers of Christ, in other words. “These were redeemed from among men.” Ah, they were the election that obtained what they were seeking for, as Paul tells us in Romans 11:7.
Last but not least, “Being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.” Why not just unto God, or just unto the Lamb? To answer this, I come back to Jesus’ own words: “…that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.” (John 4:36). This 144,000 could not be complete with only God, nor with only Christ. It takes both to bring completion and perfection. The true harvest could not be gathered in until the first fruits were ready, and the first fruits were not ready until the fullness of time had come, and the fullness of time would not come until Christ had gone to the right hand of God the Father and the Father had sent the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, on the day of Pentecost. So then, this makes Pentecost, known as the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Weeks, the harvest of the first fruits.
No, my friend, you cannot hold Pentecost in the natural, literal way. If you do, you are still looking for the fullness to come. In Galatians 4:4-6, we find that the fullness came with Christ and because of that, those who were under the law are redeemed from the law by the Spirit that went forth and now can say Abba, Father. No longer strangers but sons. In Ephesians 1:13, we find that the Holy Spirit is the sealing factor wherewith the servants of God were sealed, and it is the seal wherewith you and I must be sealed if we want to have eternal life. Pentecost is the feast of the first fruits, and the 144,000 are the first fruits.
The Feast of Ingathering is known today as the Feast of Tabernacles. We will again go back and read from Exodus 23:16 and the last half of the verse: “...and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou has gathered in thy labours out of the field.” As we check with Exodus 34:22, the last half of the verse, and Deuteronomy 16:13-16, we find recorded the Feast of Ingathering and that it is also called Tabernacles.
We ask, why is this feast called Tabernacles? Leviticus 23:42 and Nehemiah 8:13-15 give us the answer. However, these verses don’t answer the question as to why they were to dwell in booths, do they? Well now, in Leviticus 23:43, we have the answer. The booths were to show forth the journey of the children of Israel in the wilderness where they dwelled in booths.
Now then, let me sum up a thing or two before going on with the study. The poor and strangers mentioned in Leviticus 19:9-10 and 23:22, for whom the corners and the gleanings were to be left, are the Gentiles. The booths that Israel dwelled in during the time of Tabernacles refer to their journeying in the wilderness. The children of God gathered out of the Gentiles by the gospel still dwell in the wilderness, looking for a home that is promised to them even as the land of Canaan was promised to Israel. We, the Gentile Christians, are not looking for a literal Canaan such as Israel received; we are looking for a heavenly kingdom. So then the tabernacles to us, spiritually speaking, are feasting on the corners of the field and the gleanings as we dwell in booths until we reach our destination.
Now, let’s go to the Scripture and see if we can find something to back this up. First, are we strangers or poor? Ephesians 2:11-12: “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:” So then Paul tells us we were strangers. We had no hope, and we were without God in the world. We were counted as dogs. However, the woman who came to Christ said, “...Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table” (Matthew 15:27). So then, we too get the corners and the gleanings of the field.
Are we strangers and sojourners in this world, or do we have a home? Read Hebrews 13:14: “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” So then, we are so journeying through the wilderness.
Now, we want to go to Matthew 10:5-7. Here we find Jesus commanding the twelve after He had called them, not to go “into the way of the Gentiles” but to only go unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This verse actually fits in with the previous feast, the Feast of First Fruits. But I wanted to bring it to your attention now to help you understand some of the other things along the way. The apostles were to preach that the kingdom of God is at hand. Turn with me to John 4:20-24. Here we find the woman at the well, and she says, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” Now, verses 23-24: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Here we find a turning point after the sealing of the 144,000, the firstfruits of the harvest, had taken place. The feast was turned unto the Gentiles, the poor and strangers, not the Feast of Harvest but the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles). Even as the Feast of the FirstFruits met its anti-type with the gathering of the firstfruits of the gospel, so the Feast of Tabernacles meets its anti-type with the ingathering of the Gentiles taking place spiritually today in our age.
The Scriptures that were used in the Feast of Pentecost are again to be applied in this feast. Read Acts 13:46. After the Jews rejected the gospel, Paul went unto the Gentiles. But note, it was not until the Jews rejected the gospel. We find the vision Peter had on the housetop in Acts 10. Peter was the first one to go unto the Gentiles. This was at least three and half years after Christ. In verse 28 we read, “And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” This points out that it was several years after Christ when the gleaning took place. We are now keeping the Feast of Tabernacles spiritually by gathering in the gleanings of the gospel.
Let’s go to John 10:16 and read, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” So often I have heard it said, this means Christians in these other churches. No, my friend, that is not so. Jesus is speaking of the Gentiles as other sheep besides Israel, the firstfruits. In connection with this, we want to turn to Revelation 14:6-7. Here in Revelation 14, we find in the first five verses the sealing of the 144,000. In the sixth verse, we read of another angel with a message to another people. “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
If the gospel went to everyone at the same time, then why was it necessary for another angel to give the instruction to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people? We want to note, that this angel did not go forth until the sealing of the 144,000 was finished. In other words, the words of Jesus, “...the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father” (John 4:21), came to their fulfillment when this angel went forth. These nations, kindreds, tongues, and people are none other than the Gentiles feeding on the corners of the field and the gleanings. The Feast of Tabernacles is now taking place spiritually. Type has met anti-type, and by keeping any part of the literal, we profess that the fullness is not yet come. Christ profiteth you nothing!
In Colossians 2:17, Paul tells us the things in the verses just prior are a shadow of something to come. But, he says, “...the body is of Christ.” The body has come, and so, therefore, the types that were only a shadow have vanished.
The literal has come to its finish. The spiritual is not of the type but of the body, which now is. Someone will say that they just keep the days. A day is only the time factor; a day is not the institution but a time periodfor an institution. When an institution has come to its end, the day means nothing.
It is often asked, what are the anti-types of the things mentioned in Colossians 2:16. I will give you the spiritual application to each thing mentioned in this verse. Paul says not to let anyone judge you in “meats.” The Colossians did not sacrifice lambs and goats, so meats do not mean flesh but food. It is the food offering that went along with the various feasts.
Let’s turn to John 6:32-35, “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
If you will note, as we read in the verses before, it speaks of the natural bread that the children of Israel ate. Jesus says, “I am the true bread.” Jesus is not a natural bread, a type or a shadow. He is the true bread that giveth life. Read also John 6:48-58 and note carefully how that Jesus is the unleavened bread. That too is the reason He said, when He took bread and broke it at the Lord’s Supper, “...this is my body, which is broken for you...” (1 Corinthians 11:24). He is the true unleavened bread. This is the spiritual meat of Colossians 2:16, and the point Paul was emphasizing was to not let anyone judge you for not eating the literal meat.
Now, the drink offering: If you check back with the description on how to hold the feasts, you will find certain drink offerings were included in the feasts. In John 4:13-14 we read, “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water (the natural) shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” This is the spiritual drink, the anti-type of the type or shadow mentioned in Colossians 2:16.
Now, as to the understanding of a holy day. As we check the different feasts, we find those feasts that lasted only one day. They were never called sabbath days — they were holy days. There is a difference between a sabbath and a holy day. There were things done on these holy days that were not permitted on a sabbath day. Besides, we find the sabbath days of the feasts were to mark the beginning and the end of the feasts. Holy days were the feast itself and not just a mark of beginning and end. So then, let’s see what these holy days are for us today.
These holy days are the holiness that we must be clothed with continually every day of our Christian walk. One of these holy days was the Feast of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was given on this day, signifying the fullness of the old and the beginning of the new. It is the Holy Spirit that makes us holy. Without it, we cannot live a pleasing life for God. The giving of the Holy Spirit marks the beginning of the spiritual life in Christ. It is the beginning of the spiritual harvest and ingathering. 1 Peter 1:16 says, “...Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Hebrews 12:14 tells us, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Our holiness before the Lord is the anti-type of the type or shadow Paul speaks of in Colossians 2:16 when he refers to “holy days.” In other words, we are feasting continually, every day and not only one day or seven days a year.
Next is the new moon: The moon is the creation that rules the night, seasons and so forth. In Revelation 12:1, we find the woman (church), clothed with the sun (light, truth) having the moon (darkness) under her feet. In Ephesians 6:12, we find that we fight against the rulers of the darkness of this world. By keeping the feast of the New Moon spiritually, we have and keep the victory over darkness continually. Again we see anti-type meeting type or shadow as Paul mentions in Colossians 2:16.
Now, we come to the sabbath days. As we check back with the feasts as recorded in the books of Moses, we find those feasts that were longer than one day, have a sabbath to begin the feast and a sabbath to end the feast. These sabbath days are different from the rest of the days of the feast. They were not only holy days but special days. In Leviticus 23:32 we read, “It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.” Some might say that this is the weekly Sabbath.
If you would read the verses before and after, you will find it refers to the feast sabbath days. However, the weekly Sabbath was equally as holy and special as the feast sabbaths. Death was the punishment for breaking the weekly Sabbath and the feast sabbaths. The people were not allowed to do on these feast sabbaths what they were allowed to do on the other days of the feast, as the word sabbath means rest.
The weekly holy seventh-day Sabbath is a divine institution given to us by God as a rest from our natural labors. If we observe it in the literal way today, it will give us eternal rest in the Eternal Kingdom of God. The feast sabbaths do not refer to the eternal rest. But as the children of Israel physically rested and observed these feast sabbaths literally, we consider their fulfillment as a symbolic spiritual rest in Christ Jesus. We have Christ as our Savior, therefore we have rest and peace of soul and mind continually. As we feast on the Lord Jesus (the anti-type of the type or shadow, the literal feasts) we have peace of heart and mind.
It is this kind of peace that gives us rest, rest in Christ. And this kind of rest will finally give us an entrance into the eternal rest with God. If we have no rest in Christ now, we are of all men most miserable. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). How can anyone have greater peace than when he rests in Christ Jesus? It is the rest in Jesus that gives us such great peace. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). In Ephesians 2:14 we read, “For he is our peace.” Then we turn to 2 Peter 3:14 and read, “…be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
What sweet rest we can have in Christ (instead of the feast sabbath days), and this rest brings wonderful peace. Again we find anti-type meets type or shadow as mentioned by Paul in Colossians 2:16-17. The last part of verse 17 says, “...but the body is of Christ.” Yes, friend, the shadow is gone because the body is here. We are to be a part of the body and not a part of the shadow of the body.
I know there are still some questions that I did not get to touch on in this writing. But it is impossible to cover all the questions that might be in the minds of those who read this. However, there are one or two that I will briefly mention. First, what about Matthew 13, that speaks of the world being the field and the end of the world the harvest? The answer is that Matthew 13 is a parable and not a type. We will have to be careful not to get “parable” and “type” mixed up. Matthew 13 has its lesson for us. The fact is Matthew 13 is an object lesson; that is what a parable is. The feasts were neither parables nor object lessons. They were a type or shadow of something to come. Naturally, when that thing came, type or shadow had completed its mission and was no longer needed.
Second, what about the tabernacles in the millennium age? The answer is that we want to note that the millennium age is the anti-type of the Levitical age when Israel was a nation and a special people to God. Even as the age that we are living in now is the anti-type of the Melchisedec age during the time of Genesis. Type will always meet anti-type, and if we leave each thing in its place as the LORD has put it for us, the Word of God draws a beautiful picture for us. The Scripture in Paul’s writing tells us, “...Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the thing which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit: for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
If you will carefully read Zechariah 14:16-21, you will note that we, the saints, are not going to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. It is those WHO are left of the nations that come against Jerusalem in the battle of Armageddon, and the nation of Israel that will keep the Feast of Tabernacles, chiefly Israel. Jesus will be their King and they will be the nation that was foretold even before Jesus was born (Luke 1:31-33). This truly will be another time when type meets anti-type, and then all things will have come to their fullness.
Written by the late Elder Israel Haeger.
Used by permission.
<< Return to Part One, "Why We Should Not Keep the Feast Days"
TRACTS
A Study of the Feast Days Given to Israel
Author: Bible Advocate Press [1950-1970?]
Publisher: Bible Advocate Press, Stanberry, Mo., [1950-1970?]
Pages: 24
"fallacy built upon fallacy is just greater fallacy" (see pg. 7)
The Feasts, Jesus, and the New Covenant Community
Author: Bible Advocate Press [2013]
https://publications.cog7.org
The OLD COVENANT, The NEW COVENANT, And OTHERS
Author: Pastor L. L. Christenson
Pages: 4
Audio Podcasts:
Carl Palmer - "Series on the Law"
Part 1 of 4: Exploring Types of Law
Part 2 of 4: Principles of the Law
Part 3 of 4: We Are Not Under the Law, But Under Grace
Part 4 of 4: The Two Covenants
Elder Israel Haeger - Law or Grace - 7/9/1986
Sermon Videos: Playlist
Questions we might consider... under the new covenant today, is man allowed to either meddle with, attempt to revive, or participate in any way the old sacrificial and ceremonial ordinances, in part or in whole? Were they not done away in Christ, the ONE blood sacrifice and atonement for our sins, for ever? If we even just casually "mention" or utter that we "keep the feasts" when in physical reality we don't (and can't) according to the exact, precise, step-by-step instructions that were given to Israel from the Almighty, then are we not bearing false witness to other human beings in this life, and is that not a sin that will be dealt with by Jesus Himself? Certainly this is something to ponder and "chew" on.
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”2 Timothy 2:15
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”Acts 17:11
“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”Malachi 3:6
Material from the book Answers to Your Bible Questions by Wesley Walker.
More info: http://BibleAnswers.press
