The Feasts of Moses...Does This Point to the Rapture?

Today, I am going to leave Isaiah for a short while and write about the Feasts of Moses. We are nearing the time of the three fall feast of the Jews and it is something we should understand as Christians. These began in Old Testament times after Moses received the Law from God on Mt. Sinai. Many Christians today seem to remain in the New Testament and study the life of Jesus, but the Old Testament is just as important to the growth of a believer. The old adage that most of you should know is that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. What that means is that they are both just parts of the same book with the same theme, the same author and even the same stories. Those stories are more overt when you know and understand the Old Testament. Revelation seems to be an incredibly difficult book to understand, but if you are well-versed in Old Testament prophecy, it fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. So that you can further understand the relationship between the Old and New Testament, I will show one of these stories before going forward with a discussion of the Feasts of Moses.

Let’s look at what God does after the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden:

9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." 11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" 12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." 16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." 17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." 20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Genesis 3:9-21 (NKJV)

You have to read between the lines to see this. Verse 21 says, “God made tunics of skin and clothed them.” Up to this point, there was no death. Sin brought death. The first death was an animal that God killed to make tunics of skin. Most likely, this was a male, unblemished lamb. This is the first example in the Bible of the spilling of innocent blood to cover sin. Another Old Testament story follows up on this when Abraham heeds the words of the Lord and takes his son Isaac to the top of Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him. At the last moment, God allows Abraham not to sacrifice Isaac. Instead, God provides a sacrifice in a male, unblemished lamb—a ram. Once again, that sacrifice is a symbol of the spilling of innocent blood to cover sin. All this points to the revealing of the same theme in the New Testament, when Jesus dies for our sins on the cross. Once again, Jesus is the Lamb of God. He is the male, unblemished ram whose blood is spilled to cover our sins. Now that you understand, you can look for these nuggets throughout the Bible. Yet today, our focus is on the Feasts of Moses, how they fit in to the New Testament and fit in today. First, let’s look at the passage about those feasts:

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.
The Sabbath
3 'Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
The Passover and Unleavened Bread
4 'These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 'On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD s Passover. 6 'And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 'On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. 8 'But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.' "
The Feast of Firstfruits
9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 'He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 'And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD. 13 'Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 'You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
The Feast of Weeks
15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 'Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. 17 'You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD. 18 'And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 19 'Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. 20 'The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 'And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22 'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.' "
The Feast of Trumpets
23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 'You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. "
The Day of Atonement
26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 27 "Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28 "And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 "For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. 30 "And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 "You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 "It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath."
The Feast of Tabernacles
33 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. 35 'On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 'For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. 37 'These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day-- 38 'besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD. 39 'Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 'And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 'You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 'You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 'that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.' " 44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.
Leviticus 23:1-44 (NKJV)

Feast (Starting and Ending Day)
Passover (14th of Nisan)
Unleavened Bread (15th of Nisan -22nd of Nisan)
Firstfruits (17th of Nisan)
Weeks (50 days after Firstfruits)
Trumpets (1st of Tishri)
Day of Atonement (10th of Tishri)
Tabernacles (15th of Tishri -22nd of Tishri)

This chart will give us a basis for our study today. Remember, the Bible tells us that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Consequently, these feasts are just as important today as they were when God began them. Notice the line at the end of the description of each feast, “It shall be a statue forever in your generations.” I don’t see an ending date there.
Here’s where the study gains significance to us, especially those of us who are not Jewish. It is very apparent that the first three feasts point to the first coming of Jesus Christ upon the earth. What significant event happened to Jesus on Passover? Remember, He and His disciples were celebrating the Passover Feast, the Seder, in the upper room the night that He was arrested. Jewish Feasts always begin at sundown, so Passover began just before “the last supper” and continued until after Jesus had died on the cross the next day. As you can see from the chart above, the Feast of Unleavened Bread began at sundown the day Jesus died. He was placed in the tomb on the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Notice when the Feast of Firstfruits begins, two days later, once again at sundown. Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave the morning of Firstfruits. Just in case we have trouble deciphering this, look at the verse:

20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:20 (NKJV)

Jesus was the firstfruits of the first resurrection. This is a little complicated, but He was the first resurrected. We, as Church Age Christians, are also in the first resurrection, though He came before us. Because of Jesus, we can experience physical death, but if we know Him as Lord and Savior, we will never taste spiritual death. We might not have to experience physical death as there will be a generation of Christians who He will rapture. They will do as Enoch did in the Old Testament and “walk with God.” I love this old adage…”if you are born once, you will die twice and if you are born twice, you will die once.” Those of us who have been born again will only die once! There are other instances in the Old Testament where you can see significant events on these feasts. Here are some examples:

Event on Passover Bible Verses
God's covenant with Abraham Genesis 15:18
Passover Supper eaten before Exodus Exodus 12:41
First Passover in Canaan - Covenant renewed Joshua 5:11-12
The Book of the Law found/reaffirmed (Josiah) 2 Chronicles 34:2-3, 14, 31
Dedication of the Second Temple Ezra 6:16-19
The Last Supper Luke 22:19-20
The Crucifixion John 12:23-28


Event on Firstfruits Bible Verse
Noah's Ark rested on Mount Ararat Genesis 8:4
Israel Miraculously crossed over the Red Sea Exodus 14
Israel ate the firstfruits of the promised Land Joshua 5:10-12


Events on Feast of Weeks Bible Verses
The Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai Exodus 19 & Rabbinical teachings
Death of David.--


There are three feasts in the spring and three feasts in the fall, with one on its own between those feasts. That is the next feast to discuss, called “Shavuot” in the Hebrew, or the Feast of Weeks in the Old Testament passage. Oddly, this is the only one of the feasts where the Jews ate leavened bread. Leaven is a symbol for sin in the Bible, but we can look at it another way. Gentiles eat leavened bread. Does this feast point prophetically to the Gentiles? The feast occurred 50 days after firstfruits. Anyone know what happened 50 days after that day when Jesus rose from the dead? The Church began. We celebrate it today as the Day of Pentecost. So once again, the Old Testament feast has a prophetic significance of this future event. It seems logical that if the first three feasts point to Jesus and His first coming and the middle feast points to the birth of the church, then the last three feasts would point to the second coming of Jesus. Obviously, these are events that have not happened yet, so this is only conjecture. Yet, it fits in a very logical way. So let’s look at these feasts and what they could potentially point to.

First comes the Feast of Trumpets. The Jews refer to this as Shofar (the ram’s horn blown as a trumpet) or Rosh Hashanah. It occurs on the 1st of Tishri, which is the first day of the Jewish year. Let me take one sidestep here and remind you that the Jews have two calendars. One is the civil calendar and the other is the religious calendar. This is the first month of the civil calendar while Nisan (in the spring) is the first day of the religious calendar). Here are some other events that happened on this day in the Bible:

Event on the Feast of Trumpets Bible Verses
Joshua brought first offering to the rebuilt altar Ezra 3:6
Ezra read the Law to the returned exiles Nehemiah 8

Many believe that this will be the day that the rapture occurs. How is it possible that anyone could say that, especially after reading these words of Jesus:

36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 "Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 "Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matthew24:36-44 (NKJV)

The word for day (highlighted and underlined in the passage above) is hemera, which means a defined period of time, seen by the context. It means “age” much more distinctly than a 24-hour period. When Jesus said these words, He was letting us know that no one could predict the day, but in the rest of the passage He goes on to tell us that we should look for His coming as a house owner looks for a thief in the night. If you knew He was coming, wouldn’t you be ready? I think we all will know the season, just as when a fig tree has leaves on it, we will know spring is coming. He does not want us to be unaware. I have no clue what year He will return for us, but if it does occur on the Feast of Trumpets, I would not be surprised in the least.

"And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Matthew 24:31 (NKJV)

The next feast is the Day of Atonement, called Yom Kippur to the Jews. It occurs on the 10th of Tishri. It is a day of mourning. The Jews have not had a temple since AD 70, when the Romans destroyed the existing temple and the rest of Jerusalem. Since that time, they have not had the Old Testament sacrificial system in place, for the spilling of innocent blood to cover their sins. On Yom Kippur, the Jews of today spend the entire day in their temple praying. They look at their sins with an accountant’s mentality, trying to look back on the previous year and remember the sins and the good deeds. If they have performed more good deeds than sins, they feel like they have lived a good year. This doesn’t fit with the Old Testament, where we learn that all sin separates us from God. The New Testament tells us that one sin makes us a sinner and deserving of death.

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

And

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

Here are some other significant events that have happened on Yom Kippur:

Events on Day of Atonement Bible Verses
Aaron, the first High Priest, made atonement for Israel Leviticus 16
Israel saved from annihilation when the Arabs overran
their defenses in the Yom Kippur War (October, 1973).--
Possible date when Israel will mourn when they see
their Messiah whom they have pierced.--

As you can see from the above chart, this day could be prophetic of the one at the end of the Great Tribulation when the Jews will have accepted Jesus as their Messiah and according to Zechariah, they will mourn on this day of mourning:

10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 "In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 "And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 "the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 "all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves
Zechariah 12:10-14 (NKJV)

The last of the Feasts of Moses is the Feast of Tabernacles, called “Sukkot.” It begins on the 15th of Tishri. This is an amazing feast where the Jews create booths or tabernacles outdoors. The booths have no roofs, to keep the eyes of the Jews toward God above. They spend the week in these temporary booths, and eat, sleep and relax there. It is reminiscent of the dwellings used by the Israelites during the 40 years in the desert and reminds them that God provides all of their needs. If you are in New York City or Jerusalem, you can see these structures even on the outdoor patio of high-rise condos during the Feast Week. The Transfiguration probably occurred on or near this feast, based on what was in the mind of Peter at the time:

1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." 8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." 10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 "But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
Matthew 17:1-13 (NKJV)

Another verse seems to apply here as well:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth
John 1:1-14 (NKJV)

The verse actually says, “and the Word became flesh and was tabernacled among us.” Immanuel was to be born and the word Immanuel means “God with us.” When Jesus was born, He became “God with us,” and left us His Holy Spirit in the same facet. When He returns in wrath, judgment and glory to reign on this earth for 1,000 years, He once again will be tabernacled among us. This Feast could be prophetically significant of that event, the return of Jesus for the Millennium.
Here are other events that have occurred on the Feast of Tabernacles:

Event on the Feast of Tabernacles Bible Verses
Dedication of Solomon's Temple 2 Chronicles 5:2-3
Dedication of the Second Temple (rebuilt) Nehemiah 8:14-18
Possible ushering in of the Millennium.--

The last thing I will say is that after my awareness that the rapture could occur on the Feast of Trumpets, just be aware that begins Thursday at sundown in Jerusalem. Wouldn’t it be great if our Lord returned for us on that day?