In Leviticus 23, God set aside feast days for His people. The term feast here is “moed” and can also be translated “appointed times.” These appointments are times God set aside to meet with His people, time for us to remember the mighty works of God on behalf of those who have lived before us.
Sabbath
The first time we read about God setting aside time as special is in regard to the “Sabbath,” in Genesis 2:1-3. “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
Passover
The account of the first Passover is covered in the book of Exodus. About 3,500 years ago, the Creator God saw fit to take the nation of Israel out of captivity in Egypt. Before doing so, God sent 10 plagues upon the Israelites’ Egyptian captors. The final plague was the killing of the firstborn of all who were not protected from the death angel. What protected a household was the blood of a sacrificial lamb, smeared on the doorposts and lintel of each house. With these instructions from God, relayed to the Israelites through His chosen servant Moses, a unique ceremony was instituted on the night of the 14th of Abib (Exodus 12:1-23). God explained further that Passover would become a memorial to be observed forever, not just in that one instance in Egypt (verse 24).
At first, this ceremony might have seemed a little strange to the Israelites. But after their sons were spared from the death angel they began to understand, at least in part, what the Passover really represented! Ultimately, the entire episode was designed to build faith in God’s chosen people and, in particular, it served as an admonition for His spiritually begotten Israelites today (1 Corinthians 10:11). Ancient Israel did not have the ability or character to fully comprehend the meaning of the Passover ceremony at that time (Deuteronomy 5:29). Today, we know this ancient Passover ceremony was literally fulfilled by Jesus Christ, which is why He changed the symbols the night before He was crucified (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Because Christ was sacrificed, as the Lamb of God to die for the sins of this world, it is no longer necessary to sacrifice animals as a reminder of sin (Hebrews 10:3-4, 9-12, 18).
When Jesus was about 12 years of age, we read that it was His parents’ custom to observe the Passover. “Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.” (Luke 2:41). Notice they went every year, and Jesus, the perfectly obedient Son, went along with them. Jesus and His parents also would have kept the seven-day festival of Unleavened Bread. The Bible indicates that Jesus Christ kept the Passover all the years of His adult life (following His baptism—since the non-baptized are, by law, not allowed to partake of the
Passover—see Exodus 12:48; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; 11:27-28), setting us a perfect example. Christ stated Himself that the Passover service will still be observed in the Kingdom when He said He would not drink of the fruit of the vine [wine] again until that time. “I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29). He said this just after drinking the wine with His disciples during His final Passover with them.
On the last Passover He kept just before He died, He changed the symbols from the bitter herbs and lamb to the broken unleavened bread and wine (1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:24). The eating of this unleavened bread signified Christ’s body, beaten and broken for our physical healing, so that we can come to God the Father and ask for healing when we are ill (1 Peter 2:24-25; James 5:14-15). We ask that the penalty of sickness (i.e., the sickness being the consequence of broken health laws-see 1 John 3:4) be blotted out by applying the stripes of Jesus Christ for the forgiving of our physical sins. When we drink of the wine, it symbolizes Christ’s shed blood, which was poured out on the stake for the remission of our spiritual sins against God and His holy law.
As a result, we are able to have our sins forgiven when we repent of them. Christ’s sacrifice fulfilled the killing of the unblemished lamb the Israelites were required to kill (from the time the nation was enslaved in Egypt, about 1500 b.c., until the symbols were changed, in a.d. 31). He fulfilled, spiritually, all that the physical lamb represented. A lamb was no longer required to be sacrificed, as was the case with the Passover rite (Hebrews 9:26). Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice, was willing to be sacrificed so that our sins can be washed away when we repent of them.
During the Passover service, when we eat the small piece of unleavened bread and drink the small amount of wine, we show that we have accepted, and have come under, the shed blood of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins; and that we have accepted His broken body for the healing of our diseases—the result of our physical sins. All through Christ’s earthly ministry, one of the lessons He continually taught His disciples was that He did not come to do away with His Heavenly Father’s law, but rather, He came to magnify it (Matthew 5:17). Thus, in addition to changing the Passover symbols on the eve of His murder, and in addition to commanding that the communion service be kept continually in all future generations, Jesus also instituted a new ordinance of humility—the foot washing ceremony (John 13:4-12). He did this during the Passover meal—mistakenly dubbed the “Last Supper” by many today.
If Jesus had abolish all the laws, statutes, judgments, Holy Days, and everything that God ever gave, then why did He go to such great length and pains to show His disciples how to observe the Passover service from then on? Certainly Jesus ought to have been busily explaining to them that immediately after His death, there would be no further obligation or them to keep the Passover, had He intended to nail God’s law to the stake! Instead, Jesus was taking this last hour opportunity to initiate at the Passover a special rite, which He then commanded His disciples to observe and to teach!
Just as Simon Peter argued with Christ, saying he wasn’t going to have Christ wash his feet, many today argue the same thing. Jesus patiently explained that unless Peter took part in the foot washing ceremony, he could have no part with Christ! In other words, Peter would not qualify to be saved! And neither can we qualify for salvation, as Christ’s disciples today, if we fail to keep the Passover ceremony as Christ commanded. Foot washing in Jesus’s day was a lowly task, which only servants performed when visitors entered a house, since open-toed sandals were the customary footwear of that time and the feet would become very dusty and dirty. Thus, Jesus was illustrating to His disciples that He had come to this Earth to serve mankind! And shortly afterward, He proved the extent of His extreme service for this world when He gave His own life for the sins of all mankind! He suffered the most ignominious and excruciatingly painful death imaginable for us!
By washing the feet of the 12 disciples, Christ symbolically showed to what great lengths and pains He was willing to go in His service to mankind in order to offer salvation to everyone. Jesus explained that if He, being the Messiah, would serve mankind, then His disciples ought to serve each other and the world in the same way (verses 13-14). The New Testament plainly shows that the 12, and many of the other disciples and apostles of Christ, did serve in Christ’s steps. What’s more, most of the original apostles also laid down their lives as martyrs while preaching the gospel of Christ! Yet, many today do not want to humiliate themselves by simply washing the feet of their church brethren. Some argue that Jesus commanded only His disciples to wash one another’s feet. But Christ clearly shows that it is a command (not an option) for all people and all nations! Those who obey Christ’s words by partaking of this meaningful ceremony each year promised a special blessing of lasting happiness (John 13:17; 14:23).
The Days of Unleavened Bread
Immediately following the Passover, God requires us to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread annually. It is commanded for the clear and specific purpose of reminding us of the continual need to become completely sinless. Notice Leviticus 23:6-8 “On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present a food offering to the Lord. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.” During this seven-day festival, God’s clearly stated law commands us to keep two separate holy convocations, or commanded assemblies, on which we are to meet, as God’s people, to receive teaching from God about the meaning of the days. On these two special high days—i.e., on the first and seventh days of Unleavened Bread—we are forbidden to continue in our regular work because our undivided attention during those high days is to be upon God.God also commands a freewill offering to be taken on these days.
God directs us to remove all leavened products from our homes prior to the observance of this particular festival (Exodus 12:15). Failure to remove leavening—a type of the pervasiveness of sin—means we will be cut off from salvation. Besides removing leavening from our homes during this time, we must also eat unleavened bread throughout the week to remind us of the haste in which Israel fled Egypt. “Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 16:3).
The Days of Unleavened Bread begin, officially, at the beginning of Abib 15 (after sunset), just as the ancient Israelites were commanded to do, as their exodus from Egypt began on the same night. This was to be a “night to be much observed” (Exodus 12:42). God’s Church today continues to observe this special “night to be remembered,” as church members around the world gather in small groups, in homes or in restaurants, to typify their spiritual deliverance from the bondage of sin. In Hebrews 11, we see the connection between Egypt and sin; Revelation 11:8 also likens Egypt to sin.
Following the analogy of Israel’s deliverance by godly intervention, we also make our exodus by miraculous intervention. Pharaoh can be equated to Satan. As the Israelites embarked en route to Palestine, they were chased by Pharaoh. So too, for us today: the moment we forsake our sinful ways, Satan is hot on our heels trying to tempt us back into disobedience (1 Peter 5:8). He is a deceiver; he constantly connives to bring us back into slavery (Romans 6:16). His goal is to prevent us from becoming perfect like our Father and thus keep us out of God’s Family.
Just as the Israelites were miserable under conditions of slavery in Egypt, so have we suffered under the influence of Satan’s world, a world of misery, disillusionment, discouragement and frustration. Satan’s way of life is contrary to that of our promised land—the Kingdom of God. So one lesson we learn is that we are on a journey away from the captivity of Satan and his system. The Israelites encountered a multitude of obstacles on their exodus, as we do. God tested ancient Israel to determine their commitment to His law.
He knew they would not live up to this test because they lacked His Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 5:29), but their example is for us today (1 Corinthians 10:11). Along our journey, we are tested by God as He proves our heart (Hebrews 12:6-7). Yet, we should not be discouraged: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
The primary lesson God was teaching ancient Israel, and is teaching us today, is to rely on Him for deliverance (Exodus 14:14). We are not capable of freeing ourselves; we need God. He always provides a way of escape. This is a promise. God’s goal is to prove to us that He is our only hope. By coming to this understanding, and yielding ourselves to Him and His law completely, we enjoy the benefits of coming under His justice system. Our promised land lies just over the horizon in the Kingdom of God. But again, we must learn to live under the law of God. The Days of Unleavened Bread symbolize our exodus and put us in remembrance of our need to remove every act of disobedience to God’s law from our lives.
The apostle Paul wrote extensively about the law of God. Paul understood the Days of Unleavened Bread thoroughly. He used this holy day season to expose a major character flaw in the Corinthian church. Paul said they became “puffed up” with vanity as they presumed they were more converted and merciful than Paul (and even God) as they permitted a sinner to remain in their midst “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)
Paul compared the actions of leaven to that of sin, noting that “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?” (verse 6). How do we correct this problem? “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (verses 7-8). The Corinthians were urged to take the leaven, or sin, out of their own lives. They were to remove the sinful individual from their midst. Again, God commands that Christians abstain from leavened products during this seven-day period. We are to physically remove all leaven from our lives (homes and work). God doesn’t do this for sanitary reasons, but to teach a spiritual lesson.
What are we to replace the leaven with? Replace it with leaven-free, or unleavened bread (Exodus 12:15-20;13:6-7). We know that leaven represents sin and that de-leavening is a symbolic representation of the removal of sin. However, it is not enough to just remove leaven—we must replace it with food that represents righteousness. Consumption of unleavened foods, especially unleavened bread, over the seven-day period of this Feast will symbolize our desire to take in that spiritual diet of pure, unadulterated truth that we are striving to maintain. This is that “bread of righteousness,” the pure Word of God (John 6:31-35).
Christ describes the spiritual analogy further in John 6:48-51 “I am the bread of life.Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” The living Head of God’s true Church reveals that consuming this bread, literally consuming the Word of God, will eventually lead to eternal life.
Pentecost
God’s master plan coincides with two annual grain harvests that took place in the area of ancient Canaan (commonly called Palestine today). These two physical harvests are used by God to picture the two spiritual harvests. In Palestine there are two annual harvest seasons. The first one is a small spring harvest following the winter rains. It begins on the day of the wave sheaf offering, and ends at the Day of Pentecost. In the late summer and early autumn the second harvest season occurred. It followed the late spring or latter rains in Palestine. It ended with the Feast of in-gathering, which is called in the Bible the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Day of Pentecost pictures the very small early harvest. The instructions for the “wave sheaf offering” are in Leviticus 23:10-11. Notice verse 11 especially: “He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.” The high priest had to wave the sheaf of barley before God would accept it. Once God accepted it, the spring harvest began. Now notice Leviticus 23:15-16: ”From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord.” So we are to begin counting on the day of the wave sheaf offering.
The wave sheaf was a special offering administered by the high priest. This event began the 50-day spring harvest which ended on the day of Pentecost. Notice the special instructions God gave for this particular offering: “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.” (Leviticus 23:10-11).
This offering officially began the spring harvest. “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Corinthians 5:7) Jesus Christ was crucified on the same day the Old Testament lamb was killed (Abib/Nisan 14 on the Hebrew calendar). In actual history, this occurred late Wednesday afternoon in a.d. 31.
Most in this world assume Christ was crucified on Friday afternoon, because the Scriptures refer to a Sabbath following the day Christ was killed. The following day, however, was an annual holy day (John 19:31). This was the first day of Unleavened Bread. Jesus died Wednesday afternoon and was buried just before sunset (Luke 23:52-54). He had to be in the grave for three full days and nights to fulfill the prophecy He stated in Matthew 12:39-40. Three full days and nights from late Wednesday afternoon leads us to late Saturday afternoon, which is actually when Jesus Christ was resurrected. Early Sunday morning, when Mary and her companions came to the sepulcher where Christ was buried, Jesus had already risen (Mark 16:2- 6).
Shortly after that, Mary began to cry because she thought someone took Christ’s body (John 20:11). Then Christ appeared before her and before she could touch Him, He said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (verse 17). So while Christ was resurrected late Saturday afternoon, He had not yet ascended to His Father when Mary saw Him early Sunday morning. Comparing this verse in John with Matthew 28:9 “Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him“ shows that Christ ascended to God’s throne later that day, on Sunday. This is all very important because spiritually, Jesus Christ is that wave sheaf offering!
Christ is the first of the firstfruits (1 Corinthians 15:23). He was the first human to actually be born again by a resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). He ascended before God the Father and was accepted as the firstfruits of the spiritual harvest precisely on the morrow after the weekly Sabbath! God’s people called out of this world will make up the rest of that spring harvest which is pictured by the day of Pentecost. The latter harvest, which occurs in the fall, pictures a time when all of mankind will have the opportunity to be saved. But before that is the firstfruits. And before the firstfruits is the first of the firstfruits—or the wave sheaf offering. The spiritual wave sheaf offering (Jesus Christ) occurred during the days of Unleavened Bread in a.d. 31.
Old Testament history and the example of Jesus Christ prove that the wave sheaf Sunday always occurs during the days of Unleavened Bread and after a weekly Sabbath. Just as the spring harvest in Palestine was very small compared to the fall harvest, so will the firstfruits harvest be small in number compared to the great fall harvest when multiple billions of people will be given their first chance for salvation.
Pentecost teaches us that we of the true Church are the “firstfruits” only—the first to receive salvation through Christ. It teaches us that all others are not yet called. This is why the apostles in the New Testament didn’t go out looking for converts! And the same holds true today.“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:44). It was on Pentecost that the early New Testament Church first received the Holy Spirit. The Church began on Pentecost in a.d. 31 with 120 converts. And the Church grew as God called people out of this world (Acts 2:47).
God is calling only a comparative few now. Is that an evil or a blessing? It is a tremendous blessing, for, referring to God’s Church for this Church dispensation only, Jesus says: “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father.” (Revelation 2:26-27) and “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” (Revelation 3:21). Those promises pertain only to those called before Christ’s return. Those who have been called out of this world today do have much to overcome. The experiences from which we learn right now will aid us in teaching the masses in the world of tomorrow.
God has called us out of this world now, so He can later save the whole world, through us! We are not called now to just save ourselves. If God only wanted to get us into the Kingdom, He would not have called us now! He would have called us in the great fall harvest, as He will most of humanity. The “firstfruits” harvest is now, so God can prepare us to help in the great fall harvest! A huge job lies ahead. Then we will help God harvest most of humanity, so they too can become born sons of God.
This world is just waiting on the firstfruits. “that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:21-23) This world is groaning and travailing as it waits for our appearance, because we have the solutions to ease their pain. Notice verse 24: “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?” The firstfruits are this world’s only hope. And yet this world is oblivious to the firstfruits and the fantastic meaning of Pentecost.
The Feast of Trumpets
The Day of Trumpets pictures the greatest day in the history of this Earth: “the day of Jesus Christ’s return and the resurrection of His saints.” Every king is crowned in a coronation ceremony. Jesus Christ is no exception! He too will be crowned as Supreme Ruler—as King of Kings. God planned for Christ to be born a king. He knew only His Son could overcome the present king of this world, Satan the devil. And so He made the following prophecy: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:31-33) Jesus Christ was born to reign over the nations of the Earth. Jesus Christ understood His office.
Just before His crucifixion, He was brought before Pontius Pilate, who asked Him, “You are a king, then!” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37) However, though Christ was born to be king over all, He is not crowned yet! Christ did not, at His first coming replace Satan. He wasn’t crowned king at that time. No—He was crucified! He recognized that His Kingdom was not to be set up at that time. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36). It was not then time to assume the responsibility of that office. Jesus Christ is coming again, as we picture every year on the Feast of Trumpets -this time as King of kings, to bring the world peace and prosperity.
God first introduced the Feast of Trumpets to the nation of Israel after the Exodus, on the first day of the seventh month. God initiated the beginning of the civil calendar, or civil new year. It was, and still is, a high holy day accompanied by the blowing of the trumpets. As in all seven of God’s holy days, there is a commanded assembly (Leviticus 23:23-25). The nation of Israel became quite familiar with blowing the trumpets. They had experienced firsthand the piercing sound of the trumpet as it became louder and louder in their ears at Mt. Sinai. God thundered the Ten Commandments, and the people trembled (Exodus 19:16-18).
The Feast of Trumpets is the key that unlocks the Millennium. It begins the sequence of events that put us at one with our God and removes the destroyer. It ushers in the government of God and His spirit-ruling family. “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.” (Revelation 11:15-17)
The Feast of Trumpets is a vital link in the prophetic fulfillment of God’s plan for His bride and for all who will be born into His family. The Feast of Trumpets is the fourth holy day out of seven for the year. Four is the number of new beginnings. The day of Trumpets sounds the beginning of the new age of the rulers hip of Christ and His wife—the Family of God. All of His great saints of the past will be resurrected on that day (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
On the day of Christ’s return, all of our beloved teachers of the past who taught the Word of God will be there: Moses, David, the prophets, the apostles—and all the loyal saints of God. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). Jesus Christ will return as the fulfillment of this fantastic Day of Trumpets!
The Day of Atonement
Atonement literally means ”at one with”—we are to be at one with God! The Day of Atonement is perhaps the most existence; and now, the Kingdom of God has arrived, and they rejoice! This picture does not equate to a time of drunkenness, partying or gluttony. It is a time of relief from pain, a time of gladness and joy because the earth finally has been given a government of love and mercy, the government of God. A time when families can be together and not have to worry about crime or catastrophe. A time when Satan will be bound for a thousand years. That’s the kind of rejoicing we see here. “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.” (Psalm 97:1). God commands us to rejoice before Him at the Feast of tabernacles. How does He reveal to His servants where the Feast will be? Before the Bible was written, He spoke directly to men. Adam, Enoch and Abraham communicated with God personally. Today, God speaks directly to His servant through His written word—the Holy Bible.
Jesus Christ commands us, personally, to come to the Feast of tabernacles and appear before our God. Attending the Feast where God places His name is a means of developing God’s very character in us. We need to prove to God that obedience to Him is first in our lives! To enable us to appear before Him, God tells us to use the second tithe, which we have diligently saved, on good food and drink in a way that will cause us to rejoice at His Feast. Here, God says, “Do not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own. (Deuteronomy 14:21-27)
And God promises to bless us and all the work of our hands, whatever our source of income might be, if we obey Him in this command. And for this reason we shall rejoice in the Feast knowing that we’re receiving a blessing by keeping it! (verse 25). In ancient times, when travel expenses were of little consequence, the tithe was used to cover food expenses primarily. But today, since the purpose of the second tithe is to enable us to attend the festivals, sometimes much more of it has to be spent for transportation than for food. “Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. (Deuteronomy 14:22-26)
The second tithe is to be used to attend the festivals. Reading further we see: “You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to.” (Deuteronomy 12:17-18).
There is the positive command that those who cannot attend the Feast should not use the second tithe at home. Many prophecies show us that the Feast pictures a time when there will be worldwide obedience to God’s government. “If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.” (Zechariah 14:17-19).
Over and over again, God tells us that the Feast of Tabernacles is a time of rejoicing! It pictures the millennial reign of Chris. “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus,it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.” (Isaiah 35:1-2)
The Last Great Day
The Last Great Day is observed immediately after the Feast of Tabernacles and represents a time called the “Great White Throne” judgment. The Great White Throne Judgment is a term used to describe the time after the 1,000-year reign of Christ, when all who have ever lived and not known God will be resurrected to mortal life and be taught God’s way. The term comes from this passage in Revelation 20:11-13: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.”
Everyone will be condemned for his or her sins, because all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Yet, at this judgment, they will be given the opportunity to repent —to change from their former ways and live a life with the knowledge of God’s ways. This shows the awesome plan and loving mercy of our great Creator God. This world has been cut off from Him for 6,000 years. All mankind has been deceived by Satan the devil (Revelation 12:9), except for the select few God has called out. When Christ returns at the end of the 6,000 years, He will set up His government.
With Satan put away, the world will finally know peace and joy. Christ will rule with the resurrected saints (Revelation 20:4)—those few called out today. Notice verse 5: “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.” At the end of the 1,000 years, two things will happen: Firstly, Satan will be released from his prison (verse 7). After he deceives the nations yet once again and is banished from Earth forever and ever, every other human being who has ever lived throughout the 6,000 years of Satan’s reign over Earth will be resurrected.
This second resurrection is described in Ezekiel 37:1-14. They will then finally have God’s truth revealed to them (verses 13-14) and be given their chance to become a part of God’s Kingdom. The many billions of people who did not learn God’s way during their lifetime finally will be taught it. In His mercy, God will resurrect your loved ones that did not learn the truth. God will also resurrect serial killers, sex offenders and other criminals. Men like Adolf Hitler, Attila the Hun and Genghis Kahn—who simply did not understand God’s truth in their lifetimes -will be given the chance they never had to learn God’s way. They will have their one opportunity along with everyone else who has not yet received this chance. This period of time is called the “Great White Throne Judgment.”
Only one passage reveals the duration of the Great White Throne Judgment: Isaiah 65:17-25. In verse 20, we read, “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.” From this point on, no more infants will be born. There will then be two classes of people: “the child” and “the sinner.”
“The child,” in this instance, refers to a person who is righteous. We are to enter the Kingdom of God as a little child (Luke 18:17). Why, then, does the Prophet Isaiah say that the child will die? Because, at some point, this temporal, physical existence of the righteous will end. Those that fall into the category of “the child” will become spirit-born sons of God, just as those who were Christ’s at His coming did in the first resurrection. “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The “sinners” will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 14:10), ending their existence. Then with God’s plan for this Earth concluded, the development of the entire universe can begin!
China - in His image 