Tag: Holy Days

The Holy Days of Leviticus 23 explain prophecy. They outline the plan of salvation, particularly the first coming of Yeshua, aka Jesus, the Messiah.

Understanding Prophecy

It’s a strange circumstance we find ourselves where most of Christianity yearns to understand prophecy but simultaneously rejects the Torah, which provides the outline of prophecy. This message is about the Holy Days of Leviticus 23 and how they show us the pattern for interpreting prophecy. Please join me as I explain how many of the answers we seek about the future and the afterlife are hidden in plain sight if you just know where to look!

Video with slides above through Rumble. Audio only below through Spotify.

The Sabbath

Slide 2 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of YHVH your Elohim; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. For in six days YHVH made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason YHVH blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exo 20:8-11)

The Sabbath is one of the things that starts brining a person into this walk. It’s the chief sign of Yahweh’s people, resting every 7th day and actually on the 7th day. He did this on the 7th day of Creation and it has been kept and known since. This is where the rubber meets the road – behavior. Our walk, our conversion, has to be accompanied by works. There is no other way to gauge a person than by works. Reciting creeds and academic study are fine, but you know a person by their deeds. When someone changes their lifestyle to obey this commandment, they undergo a change. They start to realize how far society is removed from what was intended.

The Sabbath starts the second cycle of the bible. The first is the cycle of a day. And evening and a morning is one day. The cycle is somewhere very near 24 hours but changes as the earth runs its elliptical orbit around the sun. The weekly sabbath shows us shaping our lives to conform to the example our Creator laid out at Creation. It’s the first “shall” commandment, meaning to do and remember. We do not work, make others work, do commerce, or work animals on this day so everyone gets the chance to rest.

Slide 3 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. (2Pe 3:8)

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. (Rev 20:1-3)

Many of us put these two verses together with the Sabbath (and the Sabbatical year) to come up with the Sabbath being a foreshadowing of the millennium where mankind gets a 1000 year rest from Satan. As you recall from previous messages, we use the different levels of scripture to say the Sabbath is literal, but it is also a metaphor, and hints at a deeper meaning. The deeper meaning being that this world has roughly 6000 years to fulfill its mission, whatever that mission may be, and then 1000 years for a respite.

Slide 4 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; (Rev 21:22-25)

At the end of the 1000 years, the universe is remade, and we no longer have night. That also bolsters our view because this would be the end of Sabbath keeping because there will be no more daily cycle for us to accumulate 6 days of work and a seventh of rest.

Passover

Slide 5 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed. (1Co 5:7)

I have a message devoted to this topic in it’s entirety called The Four Cups of Passover. I recommend digging into that one because the spring holy days are our proof for applying prophecy to the holy days at all!

The holy days of Leviticus 23 are literal. Remember, as we dig deeper, we have to let the literal remain literal. The Sabbath is the first day mentioned in Leviticus 23 but then it goes on to the Passover. Exodus 12 outlines of the first Passover. On the 10th day of the first month, Israel was to select a one year old lamb for each household. On the 14th day of the first month, at sunset, they were to slay this lamb and then drain the blood and cover their doorposts with the blood. Then the household had to stay indoors overnight, and YHVH passed over the homes with blood on the doorposts, but slayed the firstborn son of all the homes that did not complete this ritual. This literally happened, then Israel did it again one year later at the base of Mount Sinai as a memorial. Then they did not observe Passover again until they crossed the Jordan, 39 years later. Once they entered the land, the observance was to be a pilgrimage observance where all the lambs had to be slain at the place YHVH placed His Name, meaning the tent of meaning or later the temple.

There is much meaning here. The part about Messiah being our Passover is the chief. It’s the chief doctrine for all mankind, that Yeshua became the Lamb of God. This was foreshadowed when Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, his chosen son, and Abraham was faithful enough to do it. At the last second, YHVH swapped out a ram, which is equivalent to a lamb. The lambs slain in Exodus 12 were a call back to Abraham and Isaac, that YHVH was willing to even sacrifice His first born Son to redeem His people. Then Yeshua was sent to earth and voluntarily died, like a lamb led to the slaughter, to offer innocent blood to cover the sins of all who accept this truth.

Another meaning I want to touch on with Passover is that it is an observance that we know is coming. We get to plan it out. Even in Exodus 12, Moses told the people well in advance to prepare for the last plague. The holy days show us that Yahweh is giving everyone a chance to prepare for judgment day. There is a plan in plain sight, in every Bible on earth, showing that Yahweh has a 6000 year plan in motion. The Passover shows us that we can prepare and need to, lest we get left out with the weeping and gnashing of teeth. The meaning of Passover is known to almost all Messiahians, the Yeshua is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But the knowledge is not the end of the story. The rubber needs to meet the road and we need to observe these days as a memorial annually. This is how we prepare for the end of time, but showing Yahweh our faith in His Son through our deeds.

First Fruits

Slide 6 For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Messiah the first fruits, after that those who are Messiah’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. (1Co 15:22-24)

The next holy day to cover for meaning is First Fruits. In the Torah, this is the day when all Israel has to bring in the first of their spring grain to be offered by the Kohen Gadol. Annually, we purge all the leaven from our homes prior to Passover and then start a new lump after ULB. The nation was forbidden from using any of the new year’s harvest until it was offered by the priest. On our reckoning, this offering was made on the first day of the week during ULB. This is confirmed by Yeshua’s resurrection on that same day. Our bibles tell us He was resurrected by Yahweh before sunup after Shabbat. We use Passover to know that He was crucified on Abib 14 at sunset, then resurrected on Abib 17 sometime around sunset, thus being 3 days and 3 nights in the tomb. The significance is that Abib 17 at sundown would be the first day during ULB which means the Messiah was resurrected on first fruits, as Yahweh planned from before time, thus fulfilling the hinted prophecy of this day as well. Paul is communicating all this to us in these few sentences. Remember, he was one of the most gifted Rabbis of all time and communicated as such. Paul told us here in 1 Cor that first fruits prophesied the resurrection of Yeshua, and that prophecies the resurrection of the rest of mankind. As we dig deeper into this topic, it becomes irrefutable that these days are meant to be used for understanding prophecy.

There is nothing for us to do to observe first fruits today. This day is not a sabbath, but a workday. We do not have a priesthood to bring offerings, we don’t live in the land, and this is just something we know. You can observe first fruits by bringing in the first of your garden to the assembly or any other number of ways, even monetarily, but those are on the individual. We can’t observe this day literally today.

Pentecost aka Shavuot

Slide 7 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. (Act 2:1-2)

Many of us thought this was the first time Pentecost was observed when we first read the bible. This is a trap we fall into when just focusing on the New Testament. What this shows is that the apostles, fifty days after Yeshua was resurrected, were still observing Torah as the observant Jews they continued to be for the rest of their lives. This day is our proof that Yeshua did not come to abolish Torah, but to fulfill it. To show us the deeper meanings and the hints at future prophecy, but that we need to keep Torah to see those things. Those of us who grew up not observing Torah need to learn it, just as the first converts did in the first century.

Shavuot is a day in Leviticus 23 that means “count 50”. From the day of the first fruit offering, we count 7 weeks and a day. This is also a bolster to first fruits being on the first day, Sunday in common parlance, because weeks start on the first day and end on the 7th. 49 days is seven weeks, then on the 50th day there is a Sabbath and an offering of leavened bread. This is also proof that leaven does not represent sin. The bible doesn’t say that anywhere. It’s an analogy brought in to make illustrations, but if there’s an offering with leaven, we can take it to the bank that is not a sinful offering.

Leavened bread represents peace. In order to have a harvest, you need peace and security to plant, nobody to invade and destroy your crops, rain in due season, and the freedom to go harvest. You can’t do this very well if the men are off in battle. It’s possible, but not optimal. Once the leaven is purged, you need time to make new starter lumps and for the lumps to mature. Shavuot expects the nation to be obedient and at peace. Pentecost in Acts 2 shows that Yahweh is in control. He kept the apostles safe after Yeshua’s death, resurrection, and ascension. They were together obeying the commandment when Yeshua sent the Ruach ha Kodesh, as He promised He would. Trusting Yeshua and His Father, the apostles stayed faithful those ten days after Yeshua ascended, and when the 50 days were completed, they were rewarded handsomely. This day shows that Yahweh’s plan was completed at that stage. That the days, the people, the Messiah, and everything came together in the perfect recipe that was allowed to leaven over 4000-ish years for that moment in time to be fulfilled and the apostles to go forth with the power and confidence of the Holy Spirit. Their faith in Yeshua and obedience to Yahweh was so strong, that it lasts to this day, being illustrated in our common faith.

Yom Teruah

Slide 8 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Yeshua. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. (1Th 4:13-18)

The day of Trumpets is the first day of the 7th month on the Hebrew calendar. This is the beginning of the Fall Holy Days. Up to this point, I’ve been talking about the Spring Holy Days, which have had fulfillments. They may have more fulfillments to come, so we have to be careful not the close the door on learning and be open to the Spirit showing us new things. The fall Holy Days have not yet been fulfilled, or at least that’s how we who observe these things in a NT context generally believe. This also works with the theme of former times and latter times. Christians look at the phrase “latter times” as being the end of the age. That’s not how we look at that. The end of the age is the end of the latter times, but we can generally divide time as former or latter with Yeshua’s earthly ministry being the center point. All time leading up to His sacrifice and ascension being the former times, all time after being the latter times. There can be a whole lot of latter times. I understand ancient Israel marked two seasons vice four like we do today, with the former being somewhat equivalent to spring and summer and the latter being somewhat equivalent to fall and winter. Which makes the scripture make a bit more sense.

When talking about days that have yet to be fulfilled, I have to be careful to make sure you know these are interpretations and speculations. Some of the material is a slam dunk when it comes straight from scripture, but some of what we believe about the future days are extrapolations, thus subject to biases and such. We know for a fact, though, that Yom Teruah, the day of trumpets, is the day that prophecies the return of Yeshua and the first resurrection, which is the scripture on the board. One of the biggest doctrinal disputes of the first century was the resurrection of the dead – is there an afterlife? Yeshua proved this. It is strange to me that this was in doubt because Yahweh used Elijah to resurrect a boy in days of old.

The first day of the 7th month is referred to as “the day no man knows” sometimes in Judaism. This is because we do not have time to prepare for this Sabbath. Unlike Pesach, which happens in the middle of the first month, Yom Teruah happens as the first day of a month. We can still see signs of the times, leaves beginning to change, temperatures lessening, fall crops being ripened, and such, but we still have to watch and be ready. This theme should sound very familiar because it’s how Yeshua spoke about His return. We understand this day to represent the abrupt return of Yeshua, like it says on the screen, and a dramatic change in the world. Mainstream Christianity is obsessed with the end times, always coming up with schemes to predict it, but they are really missing the boat. This day means we need to live our lives in a way that we are not unprepared when the Messiah returns. Granted, it will be shocking and amazing, so we will be surprised, but we know it’s going to happen, just not exactly when. And we’re not supposed to know when, so be prepared.

Yom Kippur

Slide 9 Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. (Heb 9:6-7)

The book of Hebrews tells us an enormous amount about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This day is steeped in Torah, so the more Torah you know, the more you will appreciate this day. Yeshua has fulfilled this day a little. One of His dying words was to forgive those who knew not what they did. His special death attire is also a hint that He was fulfilling Yom Kippur because it was similar to what the Kohen Gadol wears on this day. The other significance is that this happens on the tenth day of the 7th month and the lambs are chosen on the tenth day of the first month. This is a pretty big clue that this day is associated to Pesach.

What I like to focus on here is the inclusion of the “sins committed in ignorance” part. Most of Christianity condemns those who have never heard the gospel, and some even those who don’t accept the gospel in their way, to hell. It’s an awful teaching. They don’t even believe like us, that it’s eternal death (meaning non-existence) but teach eternal torment for those who never heard the WORD. This is an appalling understanding. It’s much better to say “I don’t know” than to condemn billions to eternal torment, as if they were created for such an end. Yeshua’s dying words about forgiving those who actually murdered Him because they did so in ignorance, even thinking they were doing a good thing, is much more hopeful for mankind and more representative of a loving God and His Son.

I also like to focus on the aspect of doing nothing in order to fulfill this day. The commanded observance of Yom Kippur is to fast and do nothing for 24 hours. In the Torah, it was so the Kohen Gadol could make atonement for the sins annually. The people could not do that themselves, they had to have a mediator. Our New Covenant understanding of this day is that Yeshua is our Mediator and we also cannot save ourselves. We have to do nothing, imagining Him on the cross, covering our sins. He’s the only way to the Father, and our only hope of salvation, hence His Name is Yeshua, which means salvation.

Sukkot the Feast of Tabernacles

Slide 10 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (Joh 1:14)

The KJV renders this “tabernacled” among us. To be frank, that’s probably better than dwelt but dwelt is the same connotation in Hebrew. It means to encamp or live temporarily.

The fifteenth day of the seventh month starts an 8 day festival called Sukkot. It has two Sabbaths, one on the fifteenth and the other on the 22nd. This gets complicated but this day is a remembrance of living in Sukkot for 40 years. A sukkah is NOT a tent. It’s a ramshackle structure made from whatever is around. A made tent is a different word, which is an ohel. The meaning here is that our time in this world is temporary and a mess. We have to trust Yahweh to sustain us, as He did the Israelites in the wilderness. Our entire lives are temporary and temporal, but if we trust He is guiding us, we will make it to the promised land.

Yeshua came here to dwell among us temporarily. He knew it was temporary the first time. The significance here is immense, that He knew how it would end but He did it anyhow.

Some liken Sukkot to the millennium because Nehemiah 14 says it will be kept in the future, and the context seems like the 1000 years. I agree with that assessment, but don’t equate Sukkot itself with the 1000 years. That’s more like Shabbat, where we started today’s journey. Now it’s time to come to the end of the journey.

The Eighth Day

Slide 11 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:7-15)

The 8th day is the end of Sukkot. It’s the last Sabbath in Leviticus 23 and unique because it is outside of normal time, hayom ha shamini also called Shimini Atzaret. The Jews even equate this day to the end of the age. Being an 8th day, it is a gateway between things. Boys are circumcised on the 8th day, so they are both gentile and Jew on that same day. This day is understood as the gateway between this work and the one to come, the olam haze versus the olam haba. This is the day that most of Christianity reckons as the day Yeshua comes back. They are wrong. That’s not going to be a pleasant day for most of humanity, but it is not the end. It’s 1000 years before the end of the age, which is on the screen now. We reckon the 8th day as the day Yahweh and Yeshua wrap up all the mess of this age and bring those who are saved into eternity, where they were no longer be any darkness or sadness. This is the day that culminates the Holy Days, and we also believe it to be the day that culminates the end of this age and the beginning of the one that will never end.

Holy Days for Christians

The first century Christians did not observe Sunday, Christmas, or Easter. Whether gentile convert or a Jew who accepted Messiah, they continued to worship as commanded by the Torah. This message shows that Christians should never have stopped that practice and the blessings for those of us who have returned to the observances of the first Christians.

Video with slides above via Rumble. Audio only below via First Century Christianity | Podcast on Spotify.

Tisha B’Av happened August 6 this year. The 9th day of the 5th month. This is not a commanded observance but is a very important date in Judaism and Christianity. There is a list of bad things said to have happened on the 9th of Av on the Hebrew calendar. Some are a stretch. But two things appear to be quite literal, the destruction of both Temples happening, or starting to happen, on or about this date. This is significant for a lot of reasons but having both temples come down on the same calendar date is a big sign that YHVH meant those things happen. The second temple coming down was prophesied by Yeshua. That’s also super significant because it’s another proof of His Messiahship. The down side to this, of course, is the suffering and the time it took for the destruction to be complete.

I bring this up because cultures are formed around events and observances. The Torah establishes what a day is, what a week is, what a month is, what a year is, sabbatical years, and jubilees. The Torah is very much intertwined with times and observances. The culture of this world has observances, too. They are sometimes secular in nature, like sporting events or the signing of key documents, and they are religious in nature. The religious ones are pretty much imposters of the real Holy Days of the Bible. It’s August 27 and can you believe there was a Christmas tree display in Costco yesterday? None of us keep Christmas, but this is absurd to start thinking about it this far out. What’s not absurd to think about are Yahweh’s fall observances, which start a little less than a month from now. Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets, begins sundown on Sunday, September 25th this year. September 26 is the day to take off work, the High Sabbath. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins the night of October 4 and runs through sundown on October 5. We do no work and eat or drink nothing for those 24 hours. Then Sukkot comes on October 10 – October 17, with the 10th and 17th being High Days.

One of the core beliefs we share is to observe the holy days of Leviticus 23. The early church continued to obey Torah and those who were grafted in from the nations in the first century adopted God’s ways. There are a couple of key points to prove this in the New Testament:

Slide 2 When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, (Act 27:9)

This is when Paul was being taken to Rome as a prisoner. This is perhaps 20 years after Yeshua ascended. The fast is Yom Kippur and the author of Acts is using this day to say “it’s fall and the seas are now rough.” The day of Atonement mentioned so casually this late in scripture is solid evidence for its continued observance for the early Messianics.

Slide 3 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. (Act 20:16)

Same theme as above but the day is mentioned by name this time. Well, it’s Greek name.  Pentecost means “count 50” and this is the day that is 50 days from the brining in of the first fruits around Passover time. It’s also the day that Yeshua sent the Ruach to the apostles in Acts 2. Paul is trying to be in Jerusalem for Shavuot, a pilgrimage festival. The context again shows solid evidence the day was known and observed by the early believers. Keep in mind the book of Acts was written about 20 years after Yeshua ascended so if they decided to stop keeping the law, it’s weird behavior for the day of Pentecost to be mentioned at all, let alone showing Paul trying to observe it in the holy land.

Slide 4 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1Co 5:7-8)

Just to make sure we cover all the bases, Paul is instructing the church at Corinth to keep the festivals. These would be gentiles and Jews alike and he is writing as if they are fluent in the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So let there be no doubt that they continued to observe the festivals, and the commandments, long after Yeshua ascended. It was expected the faith would be observed like this forevermore. In fact, we have evidence the faith did continue like this until the early 400s as the councils had to mandate believers to stop observing the Sabbath and even reading the Torah Portions. So this wraps up the apologetic on the early church keeping the holy days.

Slide 5 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Messiah, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Gal 3:24-29)

But I bring it up because of Tish B’Av and how we need to keep the right mindset. Our Messiah was Jewish. He lived as a Jew, attending synagogue, and kept the commandments. That doesn’t mean we have to become Jews or follow the Rabbis, particularly the stuff that came after, but it means we should be mindful, respectful, and somewhat knowledgeable about Judaism, particularly how it was followed in the first century.

Slide 6 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. (Rom 11:1)

But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” (Act 21:39)

But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” (Act 23:6)

These verses are up so we can see that not only were the first believers grafted in to the family of God but those who were already of the family did not have to change. By change, I mean cast aside the Torah and their ancestry, which is what mainstream Christianity teaches. They teach that a new religion was born 2000 years ago, while we know the faith is a continuance of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I watched the movie Risen on a couple plane rides. It was very good until the end when the movie makers showed the Apostles cease being Jews and become something else. That’s just not true. The New Testament doesn’t show God turning His back on the Jews and switching to random gentiles, it shows Jews accepting Messiah and continuing to keep the commandments and gentiles accepting the Messiah and starting to keep the commandments. So while we aren’t to convert to Judaism, we still learn from them and their writings because, for at least 150 years, the Messianic movement was actually a sect of Judaism until it was forced out for a couple reasons.

So with all this said, let’s take a quick look at the Fall Holy Days of Leviticus 23 because they are coming up.

Slide 7 Again YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ‘You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to YHVH.'” (Lev 23:23-25)

In English, this is called the Day of Trumpets. That doesn’t do it justice. In Hebrew it’s called Yom Teruah, which does include Trumpets but also shouting, noise, etc. We have a conflict here with Judaism because they call this “new year’s” when it is the first day of the SEVENTH month. But we also learn something from Judaism about this day that Yeshua cited:

Slide 8 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Mat 24:36)

Judaism has referred to the first day of the 7th month as “the day no man knows” since before Yeshua. Yeshua was hinting His audience that the end, or His Return, or some hugely significant event coming in the future will occur on the Yom Teruah.

Slide 9 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1Th 4:16-18)

And Paul tells us also that Yeshua will return on Yom Teruah, revealing the hint from Yeshua, and that this day is also when the first resurrection will occur. So, you see, keeping the Holy Days isn’t just a commandment, it isn’t just an expectation of the original believers, many of which were already keeping the commandments because they were Jews, but it’s also looking forward to the return of the Messiah!

Slide 10 YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to YHVH. “You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before YHVH your God. “If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. “As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. “You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. “It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.” (Lev 23:26-32)

Now comes the Fast. This day has enormous Messianic meaning. But the crux is to do nothing – no eating, no drinking, no work, nada for 24 hours from sunset to sunset. That’s what we do today. Back in Temple and tabernacle days, the people did nothing except for a couple of the Kohen. The High Priest made atonement for the people. This was the day that the sins of the people were transferred, ceremonially and perhaps literally, to the goats or the curtain. And the High Priest did it for all.

Slide 11 Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. (Heb 9:6-7)

Again, today is just an overview, but the crux of the matter is that Yeshua bore our transgressions. The Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, was a type, Yeshua is the fulfillment. When He died, the curtain was torn in two. And the book of Hebrews goes on in great detail what this day means.

So for us to fast on this day, to observe it the best we can, is to honor our Messiah’s death which paid the price for sins. And those were sins committed in ignorance, which gives us a marvelous hope for all mankind who have committed sins in ignorance, which is everyone.

Slide 12 Again YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to YHVH. ‘On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. ‘For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to YHVH. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to YHVH; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work. (Lev 23:33-36)

Now we get to Sukkot! The Feast of Tabernacles. Or the season of our joy! So after we have the day that foreshadows Yeshua’s return, then we have the day of somber fasting that is for the sins committed in ignorance (among other things), we have an 8 day festival. We analogize this one to representing the 1000 years, but the Sabbath does that to. We also equate the 8th day as the sign of completion and a gateway between the impure and the holy. The 8th day of sukkot is thought to be representative of the bridge between the end of this era and the beginning of eternity, where we enter the olam ha ba. It’s also thought to be judgment day or the second resurrection. For today, Sukkot is a time for us all to fellowship together in peace and harmony, most often at a resort or camping, with just our fellow believers. Scripturally it represents the time the Hebrews were in the wilderness, living in sukkahs, and is a remembrance of that. Which can also relate to how our lives here are temporal, where we live for just a short time, and then at the resurrection are given permanent immortal bodies. But whatever the meanings turn out to be, the feast is just fine as it is!

Slide 13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecc 12:13-14)

The conclusion, though, is to fear God and keep His commandments. For in so doing, we will show ourselves approved and faithful when Messiah returns. Keeping the commandments are not burdensome, as I hope the message today shows. They are a privilege for us to know and do. They are healthy for us. They enhance our lives today. And they show our faith in Yahweh and His Son, Yeshua, while we await Yeshua’s return.

The Feast of Weeks for Christians

“You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.” (Exo 34:21-22)

This Sunday, June 5th, is the Feast of Weeks for 2020. This day goes by many names in scripture including “count fifty” which, in Greek, is Pentecost. Most Christians know this day to be Pentecost because of the miracle of the Spirit (Ruach) descending on the Apostles in Acts 2. The book of Acts was written in Greek and Pentecost was not translated into English. What’s ironic is many Christians don’t realize this day is from the Torah and it shows the Apostles were continuing to observe Torah after Yeshua ascended.

I used the Exodus scripture above vice the many others to illustrate the Feast of Weeks for a reason today. It’s because the commandment is adjacent to the Sabbath commandment. In English, we don’t see an association here that is plain to see in Hebrew. Let me show you:

“You shall work six days, but on the seventh day (yom shebee-e) you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks (Chag Shebua), that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. (Exo 34:21-22)

Yom Shebee-e means seventh day. Chag Shebua means Feast of Weeks. And you can see these words are derived from the word Shabbat, which we know is the weekly holiday commanded by the 4th commandment. The Feast of Weeks is tied to the Hebrew week. We are to count 7 Sabbaths and then a day to arrive on the day to be observed, which is June 5 this year.

I understand there is another counting method to this day that makes it start on a calendar date each year instead of a day of the week. This results in the Feast of Weeks falling on random days of the week fifty days later. Does it make sense to count 7 weeks apart from the week established by Yahweh at Creation? I don’t think so.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. (Act 2:1-4)

I will speak about this day in detail this weekend. The Sabbath before Pentecost is rather special to those of us who believe in Yeshua and the New Testament. Please join us on Zoom at 1pm central to hear more about that specific day in history. On Pentecost, please join at 3pm central. Sorry for the change in times but we share meeting space and couldn’t get in at our normal time. Here’s the link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9833667268

On the day of Pentecost in Acts two, we can know the count started on the 1st day of the week because Yeshua was resurrected on the 1st day. The women arrived at the tomb to find it empty before sunrise on the 1st day. Since a day starts at sunset, we know Yeshua was resurrected sometime Saturday night (using modern words for understanding). Paul later tells us Yeshua is the first fruits of the dead, meaning He was resurrected on the day the wave sheaf was offered as Yahweh’s blessed first fruits of the dead. Yahweh accepted His Son’s sinless death as an offering for all sin and resurrected Him at the proper time. This observance is particularly important as an apologetic to our common Messianic faith. Because it shows the Apostles were still keeping Torah even after the Messiah was resurrected and explained everything to them. And they were rewarded incredibly for displaying their faith through their works. Shalom and I hope to see you online this weekend!

The Bread of Chaos

John 19:31 records that they wanted Yeshua to be off the cross because that Sabbath was a “High Day”. This message explains what that High Day is and how it parallels events around the Exodus as well as events to unfold at the end times!

The Bread of Chaos

1st ULB Welcome. We’re really in the minority observing these days. Not Passover in general, mind you. Most of Christianity and Judaism does something at this time of the year in commemoration of Yeshua’s sacrifice or the Exodus. In both our movement and within Judaism, the ULB days tend to get short shrift. The Seder is such a beautiful observance, it’s common for folks to just do that and no more. But let’s take a look at the mitzvot:

Slide 2 “Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to YHVH your Elohim, for in the month of Abib YHVH your Elohim brought you out of Egypt by night. You shall sacrifice the Passover to YHVH your Elohim from the flock and the herd, in the place where YHVH chooses to establish His name. You shall not eat leavened bread (chamets) with it; seven days you shall eat with it unleavened bread (matzah), the bread (lechem) of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), so that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. For seven days no leaven (seor) shall be seen with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall remain overnight until morning. You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your towns which YHVH your Elohim is giving you; but at the place where YHVH your Elohim chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time that you came out of Egypt. You shall cook and eat it in the place which YHVH your Elohim chooses. In the morning you are to return to your tents. Six days you shall eat unleavened bread (matzah), and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to YHVH your Elohim; you shall do no work on it.” (Deu 16:1-8)

  • Bread of affliction – the topic today, even though I’m calling it the bread of chaos. Oni means misery, poverty, depression, affliction. It’s supposed to be a chore to eat this bread. Unusual and a break from the norm. YHVH using food. Agrarian society.  I’ll get to the bread of chaos later.
  • Different types of bread = English versus Hebrew and Greek.
  • Chamets = zume = yeast or leavened bread
  • Seor = zume = leaven
  • Lechem = artos = bread. Artos alone means leavened bread.
  • Matsah = azumos = unleavened bread, one word
  • In English, we have to have the adjectives which are not necessary in Hebrew or Greek. Greek words are there to help with NT. They ate leavened bread the night Yeshua was betrayed. If we could read Greek, we would just see it.
  • YHVH uses food to teach us lessons. This week begins before hand for us to remove the leavening signifying a renewal. Abib is the beginning of the year, natural for renewing. Removing the leavening to make a new lump teaches lessons. It starts a cycle. It gives us a pattern from which to grow.
  • Using food shows we need to trust YHVH for our sustenance. On a national level, throwing out starter lumps shows we need to rely on peace to grow a new lump.
  • Unleavened bread is a chore. Here in the US in the 21st century, we can have recipes and make tasty treats for ULB. Not so much in first century Judea or ancient Israel.
  • Not in our towns, where YHVH places His Name – no Temple or priesthood, no real Passover. We are doing the best we can, practicing for when this becomes a real thing again in the future. Practicing for the 1000 years.

Slide 3 The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We will all be dead.” So the people took their dough before it was leavened (chamets), with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders. Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread (matzah). For it had not become leavened (chametz), since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves. (Exo 12:33-39)

  • The bread of chaos. Imagine this scene. Imagine the nation of Egypt, then the most powerful empire in the world, laying in waste. All ten plagues have been executed. The Israelites are unscathed. The Egyptians are decimated. All their first born are dead. That means the leadership is gone. A generational disaster – nobody to hand the family farm to, nobody to inherit the royal titles. And the Egyptians have been brought to their knees, begging the Israelites, their workforce to leave. And a mixed multitude joining. Egypt is a wreck. And the Hebrews have a very tight window to get out of town. Despite the commandment, it reads their bread was not risen because of time, leaving in haste.
  • The commemoration is for this. To remember that YHVH saved a people who didn’t really know who they were. Our adopted family. They knew they were different from the Egyptians, but not how much. They were slaves and had to be chased out. They even shirked their identity many times, but YHVH did not give up on them. Well, there was that one time and then Moses interceded. He brought them out in haste and made them a nation.

Slide 4 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (Joh 19:31)

  • Today is that High Day. It’s not the day of the week because it was really a Thursday that year, but you get the picture. Imagine the chaos of the disciples at this point. Imagine their sorrow. They do not know where to turn. Their rabbi, who is the Messiah, was dead. They were surely lost. And He stayed dead for three whole days. Do you know what they were eating then? ULB. The bead of affliction. They were mourning the death of YHVH’s firstborn Son. That’s not a coincidence. The blood of the lambs in Egypt covered the Israelites and whoever else put that blood on the doorposts. Then the blood of YHVH’s Son, shed on Passover, as the Lamb of God, allows for all who accept it to be grafted into Israel and become heirs according to the promise.
  • And when He was resurrected, He would have eaten ULB. Still keeping the commandments.
  • The Apostles remained unscathed after His death. Even though the leaders wanted the movement stopped for good. They were protected in the chaos.

Slide 5 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2Ti 3:1-7)

  • Chaos of the end times – believers unscathed? Maybe, maybe not. Some will be martyred. Some will survive until the absolute end. The chaos will be immense at the end. Keeping Pesach and ULB will be incredibly hard. The world will be incredible violent and godless. Which isn’t too hard to imagine. And what will we be doing?

Slide 6 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of YHVH and hold to the testimony of Yeshua. (Rev 12:17)

  • Well be keeping the commandments the best we can. Even in times of chaos. In Yeshua’s Name!

How to Keep the Holy Days of the Bible

Here’s a basic “how to” for those who keep the Holy Days of the Bible in the context of the New Covenant. This includes the Sabbath, The Night Yeshua was Betrayed, the Passover, Pentecost, The Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

How-to-Keep-the-Holy-DaysDownload

How to keep Yahweh’s appointed times under the New Covenant

We have many, many teachings about what the days mean and how they fit into prophecy, but not so much on how to actually observe the days. Here’s an easy to use chart on what to actually do on each of Yahweh’s Holy Days. These are in chronological order.

Holy DayMain ScripturesHow and What
Shabbat aka The SabbathLev 23:3, Exodus 20:8-11Rest from Friday Sunset to Saturday Sunset. No work, no commerce. Have an assembly.
The Night Yeshua was BetrayedMatthew 28: 26-29, 1 Corinthians 11: 23-34Abib 13, the day before Passover, assemble, wash each other’s feet, sing a hymn, have wine and bread (leavened). A somber assembly. This is not a Sabbath.
Pesach aka PassoverLeviticus 23:5 and many othersAbib 14 at sunset. Have all the leavening removed from your house, car, etc. before sundown. Have a memorial meal with unleavened bread. Prefer to have a Seder (link) that includes Passover from Abraham through to the Kingdom. Meal can be family at home with or without guests or an assembly. Abib 14 is not a Sabbath.
Days of Unleavened BreadLeviticus 23:6-8, 1 Corinthians 5:8Eat unleavened bread for 7 days. Have an assembly on Abib 15 and on Abib 21 which are Sabbaths, but you can prepare food on them. These two days are feast days.  
First FruitsLeviticus 23: 9-14, 1 Cor 15:20The day Yeshua was resurrected. Not a Sabbath. Nothing for us to do except start counting.
Feast of Weeks aka Pentecost aka ShavuotLeviticus 23: 15-22, Acts 250 days from First Fruits (the Sunday during Unleavened Bread). Always lands on a Sunday. This is a Sabbath where you can prepare food, a feast day. Celebrate the giving of the Ruach ha Kodesh or Holy Spirit.
Yom Teruah aka Feast of TrumpetsLeviticus 23: 23-25, 1 Thessalonians 4:161st day of the 7th month. Not Rosh Hashana or “New Years’”. Have an assembly. Blow a shofar if you have one. Many dress in white as this is the day that foreshadows Yeshua’s return. This is a Sabbath where you can prepare food.
Yom Kippur aka Day of AtonementLeviticus 23:26-32, Acts 27:910th day of the 7th month. Fast from sundown on the 9th through sundown on the 10th. No water or food (if able). No work at all. Have an assembly. 
Sukkot aka the Feast of Tabernacles aka Feast of Booths aka Feast of IngatheringLeviticus 23: 33-43Have an assembly on the 15th day of the 7th month and on the 22nd day of the 7th month which are sabbaths that you can prepare food on (feasts). Most celebrate this by traveling to have larger gatherings that are festive with a lot of teachings. Making a communal sukkah (not a tent) is common practice. Dancing and a general festive atmosphere is the way to go!

That’s the most simplified list I think one could make.

YHVH spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:” (Lev 23:1-2)

Now that we’ve gone through the list, let’s talk about having an assembly. The origin of a church service is in the second line of Leviticus 23 where it says holy convocations. This is called a Holy Convocation in Leviticus 23, which is a miqra kodesh in Hebrew, which is represented well by holy convocations. The KJV calls this a feast which isn’t quite accurate. Only some of the appointed times in Lev 3 are feasts. Yom Kippur is obviously not a feast or a festival.


This is what we call “church” in English, but is also called an ekklesia in Hebrew, which is an assembly. These days are assemblies for the purpose of worship. Here lies the problem: the Torah doesn’t tell us what to actually do to have a holy assembly. This means we have latitude. The elements of a holy assembly have evolved over time, but we who have the New Testament can figure out some elements that should be included.

And Yeshua returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding districts. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. (Luk 4:14-15)

The synagogue is not in Torah. This is the foundation for modern day church services and was instituted by the Jews after the return from the exile. Yeshua’s behavior sanctions the synagogue. He taught there often and even told the disciples they would be punished in the synagogues. Paul used the synagogues often, being a high ranking Pharisee, he was welcomed with honor in these houses of worship.  

The synagogue system of the first century is where we get the elements of gathering in a building on Shabbat. Christianity shifted this to Sunday in error but retained many of the same practices. Reading scriptures, having a sermon, and corporately singing hymns are all from the synagogue. A Catholic church even looks like a synagogue, but with the Torah scroll replaced with a chalice and the host bread. The large altar on a Catholic stage is remarkably similar to the large table a synagogue uses for the reading of a Torah scroll. The Catholic church is the foundation for the modern church service, so you can see how easy it is for use to trace these practices back to the synagogue.

“For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” (Act 15:21)

Acts 15 is most often misused by Christianity to show the Torah ended, but the opposite is actually true. The gentile converts were attending synagogue, which is why that council was called. The Messianics didn’t know what to do with these uncircumcised people showing up at the synagogue. And the result was that they would hear Moses read every week and learn. The synagogue system was sanctioned by Yeshua and allowed to flourish so the faith would have a base of operations from which to grow in every city.

As you gather on the holy days, understand there is latitude in how we observe the days. Hopefully you have somewhere nearby to fellowship with, but if you’re on your own, then trust the Ruach and just get started. We cease from commerce and work on all Sabbaths. On the days that aren’t Sabbaths, like Passover and the night Yeshua was betrayed, we follow the example of scripture wherever possible understanding that our actions display our love for Yahweh and His Son, Yeshua.