What is Purim?
A minor festival like Chanukah, Purim is about the deliverance of the Jewish people in the Book of Esther. This time deliverance comes through the intercession of Queen Esther who goes into the king’s chambers to ask a favor as his bride. She romances him by holding a banquet of wine where after receiving his love and favor, requests that the enemy, Haman, be hung on the gallows and the execution order to kill the Jews be revoked.
It is a prophetic picture of the theater in heaven during Jacob’s trouble on earth and bridal intercession in a wedding chuppah with Jesus praying for victory over the anti-christ and deliverance for the Jewish remnant in Jerusalem.
What is the feast of Passover?
The first spring feast (appointed time) initiated in Exodus as the time when God delivered the children of Israel out of bondage to Egypt. It is known as the time God came down to begin the courtship with His Bride, Israel. We see in Exodus 6:6-7, the four steps of redemption, (the four cups of wine we drink during the Passover Seder). We see the change in their identity from slaves, to sons and daughters by the blood of the Passover lamb on their dwellings, to priests and then to a Bride. First Moses led the Jewish people through this pattern of redemption and then,1500 years later, Jesus, a Prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15), came down and fulfilled the same pattern to get His Bride…Jew and Gentile.
Passover is a picture of our redemption in Jesus. It is the first of the Jewish festivals listed in Leviticus 23. It marks the beginning of the Jewish religious year during the Hebrew month of Aviv (called Nissan after the Babylonian captivity). In Leviticus 23 it is called a ‘holy convocation, a Hebrew word that means rehearsal. It is to be acted out or “rehearsed” every year so we can remember God’s great work of salvation in our lives. By looking back we see His faithfulness and ways; by looking forward, we see the yet to be revealed and experienced aspect of His love; and, by looking at our hearts and lives in the light of our present circumstances, it allows us to feel His pleasure and ask for His help.
Just as the other festivals listed in Leviticus 23, Passover is an “appointed time”, a “moed”… an appointment on God’s holy calendar that, although He has fulfilled the spring feasts at His first coming, He desires to meet with us every year on these appointed times so we can enter into our own personal story of salvation and deliverance. The feasts are the “blueprint” of His plan of redemption. The former rain festivals like Passover are in the spring and refer to His first coming. The latter rain festivals are in the fall, referring to His second coming. Hosea 6:3 says, “He will come to us like the rain, the former and the latter rain and water the earth”.
What is the Feast of Unleavened Bread?
The feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, though listed separately in Leviticus 23, are linked together when you read about them in the New Testament. When you read, “It was the feast of Passover” or, ” It was the Feast of Unleavened Bread” they are meaning, one day of Passover and 7 days of Unleavened Bread; eight days in all. On this evening, in Exodus 12, the children of Israel roasted and ate the lamb and left Egypt at midnight – 1500 years later, Jesus fulfilled this feast after He was crucified on Passover, He had to be put in the grave before the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread began.
What is Counting the Omer?
Counting the Omer marks the 49-day journey of the children of Israel from the shore of the Red Sea to Mount Sinai – 1500 years later, the Holy Spirit encounters the believing Jews in the upper room.
What is the Feast of First Fruits of the barley harvest?
The biblical day that the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea and came up the other side – 1500 years later, Jesus fulfilled it by being raised from the dead. In ancient Israel during Temple times, the first wave offering of barley was made before the altar by the high priest. Barley is the first spring crop and was the grain eaten by the poor and used as animal feed. Ruth went to Bethlehem Judah during the barley harvest which is very significant!
What is the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot)?
The First fruits of the wheat harvest were harvested on Shavuot. The children of Israel were to count 49 days from the Barley Harvest ( 50 days in all) until Shavuot , and it was at the end of this journey to Mt. Sinai, where God revealed Himself as their Bridegroom and gave them the Torah, or “the instructions to have an abundant life”! Jesus fulfilled this feast in Acts 2, “When the day of Pentecost (Shavuot) had fully come”. Jesus gave a gift to His Bride, the Holy Spirit in them as a promise of His return for us in the future!
What is Teshuvah?
Turning or returning, 40 days of renewing intimacy with the Lord; removing barriers to loving God and being loved by Him; heart preparation for God’s next two appointments: Yom Teruah/RoshHaShannah and Yom Kippur; being found righteous.
What is Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashannah?
This is the first fall feast that is two days long but known as “one long day” because it falls on the new moon during the month of Tishri. There is a 42-hour variance of when the moon is sighted… sometimes on the first day, sometimes on the second… so it is known as he day that, “No man knows the day or hour”. It is on this day that you want your name written in the Book of Life, Why? Because there are many events and idioms attached to this day: The Day of the resurrection; The day of judgement; The Day of the coronation of a king; The Day of Jacob’s trouble; The Day of the wedding of the messiah! (All this is explained further in my book, Watching and Waiting: encountering Jesus in the fall feasts)
What is the Feast of Yom Kippur?
Yom Kippur is the most solemn feast on the Hebrew calendar. It is the last day of teshuvah and the day of atonement. In ancient Israel, the High Priest would offer the blood of a bull and goat for his own sins and the sins of the nation of Israel. During this day of fasting and prayer, the high priest would enter the holy of holies, sprinkling the blood of atonement, for that year, only to be repeated the next year as well.We rejoice in the fact that Jesus became our High Priest and fulfilled all of the required offerings once and forever with His death on the cross.
Yom Kippur is an amazing prophetic picture in the future when “the great trump” will sound and the magnificent, glorious return of our Bridegroom and King will return to the earth!!
What is Sukkot?
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) is the most joyful of all the feasts. It is a week long party with the Lord and in commun ity, dwelling in temporary booths (succahs) like God commanded in Lev.23:42. Once a year we are to leave the security of all we have and remember the days in the wilderness, when He provided the children of Israel with everything. We too, are to remember that all we have, has been given to us by God and that He is the sustainer of our lives. We believe that Sukkot is a prophetic picture of the wedding feast with Jesus in the future and the joy of all people, Jew and gentile, celebrating together! (For a full teaching on this feast, read chapter four of my book, Watching and Waiting.)
What are Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah?
The Festival of the Eighth day called Shemini Atzeret, falls the day after the most joyous, seven day festival of Sukkot. It is said in Jewish writings that after celebrating with His people for seven days, the LORD did not want the party to be over so an additional day was added so He could postpone saying goodbye for another whole year. In Israel it is also the celebration of Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah) because it is the day when the Hebrew Bible reading plan for the year begins again. In synagogue, the Torah scroll is unrolled and the people will dance through the synagogue and streets, with the scroll held over their heads, rejoicing in the Word of God. For Jews outside the land of Israel, Simhat Torah begins the day after Shemini Atzeret. As believers in Jesus we rejoice because He is the Word made flesh.
What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is a minor feast on the Hebrew calendar and is a prophetic picture of end-time events. The story is found in the Apocrypha , (a collection of ancient Jewish writings) in the Book of Maccabees. It celebrates the rededication of the second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century B.C. after the Assyrian leader, Antiochus Epiphanes conquered Israel. Operating in an anti-Christ spirit, he persecuted the Jews, threw out all the holy items from the Temple in Jerusalem and set up an abomination of desolation … a statue of the Greek god Zeus. A small Jewish remnant rose up and defeated the Assyrian army, cleansed the Temple and restored the holy objects. There was only enough oil to light the eternal light for one day but miraculously, the light burned for eight days until more oil could be made. I believe the Hanukkah story is similar to the book of Revelation and an end time picture of the anti-Christ in the battle for Jerusalem before Jesus’ second coming.
Why is the New Moon of Aviv/Nissan special?
In Exodus 121: 1-2 , it says, “Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ‘This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.’ This is the month God came down to deliver His people from bondage to Pharaoh and to begin the courtship with His Bride, Israel . He wanted to consecrate this month as sacred from the civil (or earthly) calendar and started His heavenly calendar of “modedim”, appointed times. These would become the blueprint… the pattern of redemption… that first Israel, and then 1500 years later, Jesus, would fulfill to get His Bride…Jew and Gentile.
Why is the Sabbath special?
The weekly Sabbath is a gift of rest that God gave to man in Genesis 2:1.-3. It is a proclamation and a rehearsal before principalities and powers that a Day is coming when, 1) the world will be perfected, 2) the enemy and all evil will be gone and 3) face to face communion between man and God will be restored. The Sabbath is the destination… “the restoration of all things”(Acts 3:21), when Eden returns to Earth and God is ruling from His throne in Jerusalem.
When is Havdalah?
At the end of the Sabbath, right before sundown that will begin the first day of the week, is a little ceremony called havdalah, meaning “separation”, to savor the joy of His presence and to say goodbye to the Sabbath for another week.