The
Holy Day Shadow's, What Do They Represent?
Page 2 The Day of Atonement: True Christians have
had, in part the Day of Atonement fulfilled in their lives also. On the Day of Atonement in ancient Israel two
very significant things happened to two goats. In
Leviticus 16 the ceremony is detailed for us. The sins of all of Israel were paid for by
the sacrifice of one goat, but the sins were actually placed on the
head of the other goat. Almost
as if one goat paid the price for the sins, but the other goat had
the responsibility for all the sins placed on his head. And
the interesting thing is that this second goat who had the sins of
all Israel placed on his head did not die, but was banished into
the wilderness. We know that Jesus died to pay the high price
for the sins of the whole world (John 3:16). But
who has been responsible for the sins of the world, ultimately? Read Genesis 3 and Revelation 12:9. Isn't it Satan? And we see that Satan is ultimately banished
from our presence and the presence of the world (Revelation 20:1-3,
7-10.) Leviticus 16:1-34 details this ceremony that
the High Priest performed once a year on the Day of Atonement. Jesus was sacrificed to pay the penalty of
the sins of the world. Satan
has yet to be put away and banished, but it will be done (Revelation
20:1-3; Zechariah 12-13). But
even now, for true Christians, Satan no longer has a claim on their
lives. For the world, this event will not occur until
a little after the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. The actual event is depicted in Revelation
20:1-3, just after Revelation 19:11-21 depicts Jesus' 2nd coming. So
in reality, a spiritual reality, if Jesus Christ has already had
his 2nd coming for those who are baptized and have the
Holy Spirit dwelling in them, Satan's influence and hold over them
is gone, he has been banished out of their lives. Then spiritually,
they are already in the Kingdom of God. This
may be a hard concept to grasp, but this is a spiritual reality nonetheless. Again,
the physical observance of the Day of Atonement is a beautiful shadow
for one more thing Jesus has done and does inside us through the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Also
the blood of the other goat, the one which was sacrificed by the
High Priest, symbolized Jesus Christ's atoning blood that covers
all our sins, and the sins of the world. The
banished goat symbolizes Satan, who will be banished along with all
his demon cohorts. The sacrificial goat had his blood sprinkled
on the altar, again symbolizing what Jesus did for us. Read Leviticus 16:1-34 for yourself. Let the symbolism sink in. (Some say that this interpretation of the two
goats can't be accurate because Satan is unholy, spiritually "unclean"
and goats are ceremonially "clean" under the law of Moses. But
that doesn't quite hold water, because if you look up Ezekiel 28:12-15
and Isaiah 14:12-17, especially in Ezekiel 28:15, God said of Lucifer
was
"You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you." Lucifer started out "clean" in God's
eyes. The two goats are a symbolic
picture, where one turned evil and the other one represented Jesus
Christ. One was sacrificed and one was banished.) Also
in Joel 2:1-11 we see the 2nd coming of Yeshua portrayed,
but in verses 12-17 the theme of the Day of Atonement is prophecied
to occur. Again in Zechariah
12 we see similar prophecies that show the coming of the Lord, and
then the Jews "recognizing the one they pierced”, and a great
mourning taking place, which amounts to the calling of all the remaining
surviving Jews to salvation in the Lord (Zechariah 12:2-9, 10-14).
Note
about the meaning of Trumpets: Many
Jews and Christians say there is no significant meaning attached
to the Feast of Trumpets in Leviticus 23:23-25. The
Jews actually call the day Rosh Hashanah meaning first day, because
they made this day the first day of their civil calendar, not knowing
what other significance the day had. But
the actual meaning can be deduced by the meaning Scripture, both
Old Testament and New, attaches to the Day of Atonement found in
Leviticus 16 and the actual event of the banishing of the azazel
goat in Revelation 20:1-3. The Day of Atonement, which by definition of
Leviticus 16 symbolizes the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the banishing
of Satan, the azazel goat. Revelation
20:1-3 shows the literal banishing or locking away of Satan, which
symbolically occurred by this banishing of the azazel goat on the
Day of Atonement. If the Revelation 20:1-3 banishing of Satan,
the azazel goat, is symbolized by the Day of Atonement, and the previous
major prophetic event depicted in Revelation 19 is the 2nd coming
of Jesus Christ, and the Feast of Trumpets is the Holy Day just preceding
the Day of Atonement, then the Feast of Trumpets can be deduced as
representing the second coming of Jesus Christ. The
Jews, not accepting New Testament Scripture, understandably, can't
accept this explanation, Messianic Jewish-Christians clearly see
this day as representing the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ,
by mere simple deductive logic--nothing hard about it.
The Feast of Tabernacles--the Great Fall
Harvest Festival: In
Leviticus 23:34-44 the command is given for the observing of this
great fall festival, taking place just after the fall harvest in
Palestine. Like I pointed out earlier, it pictures prophetically,
the great harvest of souls that will take place during the Millennial
rule of Jesus and the saints in the kingdom age. This takes place after Jesus has returned to
earth and put down all opposition and put Satan away, locked up
for 1,000 years. Revelation
20:4-6, Isaiah 11:4-16; Isaiah 2:1-4; Ezekiel 34:11-31; 36:1-38;
Jeremiah 30-31 all picture this glorious kingdom age Jesus will
usher in. In the New Testament,
Jesus said each of the twelve apostles would be a king over one
of the tribes of Israel. In
the Old Testament prophecies, king David is promised to be the
king over Israel, all 12 tribes (Ezekiel 34:22-23), while
we see Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords, King of the world
(Zechariah 14:9). (Some
discount this saying the big harvest in Palestine is the spring
harvest, but Israel is a land of fruit trees and her major staple
in her historic times was fruit and olive oil--all grown from trees. Some
like to tear the prophetic meaning of these days down for whatever
reason they may have, maybe a motive of no longer wishing to observe
them. Calvary Chapel does not observe them, but recognizes
their deep significance. For
true Christians, with Jesus now dwelling in their lives through
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (John 14), and Satan no longer
having a claim on their lives, they are now spiritually in this
glorious kingdom in a symbolic sense. So says Paul in Colossians 1:13-14. "He has delivered us from the power of
darkness [cf. Revelation 20:1-3] and
translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." [cf.
Revelation 20:4,6.]
For the world, this event will not occur
until a little after the 2nd coming of Jesus. The true kingdom attitude will spread over
the surviving world after Satan and his demons are locked away, no
longer able to broadcast and influence mankind and society, and when
Jesus and the saints start to call and evangelize all who remain
alive at this time. It is these who will repopulate the world,
and a massive harvest of souls will take place throughout this 1000
year period of time. We haven't
been told exactly how, but we do see that the Holy Spirit is promised
to come upon surviving Israel in Ezekiel 36:25-26, as well as in
Jeremiah 31:31-34. Now Paul quoted Jeremiah 31:31-32 in Hebrews,
showing that we Christians now live under this new covenant agreement
with God. The old is passed
away for us. But for Israel and Judah and the world that
survive into the kingdom age, this covenant won't apply to them until
then. The new covenant and
it's blessings do not apply to the unconverted, those who do not
have the indwelling Holy Spirit. They're
still under the old, with all it's penalties and curses for disobedience. And we see those curses being exacted in society
all around us. Read Leviticus
26 some time. So we see the
Feast of Tabernacles truly pictures this time of plenty and peace
which will cover the entire world after Jesus returns. The
ancient Israelites were commanded to save a whole 10 percent of their
incomes to bring to this fall harvest festival. It
was quite a feast, picturing this time of plenty that will come to
pass after Jesus returns, restoring the Kingdom and government of
God to the earth. I have observed this Festival in the past,
spending 10 percent of my income in those 8 days. You truly feel like a king, and put on a few
pounds as well. It pictures
the time when Jesus Christ the King and true Christians now made
immortal and ruling as kings and priests, will lift the burdens of
Satan's corrupt and evil world from off the shoulders of mankind. It
will be a time of glorious abundance and joy. The
central highlight of that Kingdom on earth will be the mercy and
love coming down from it to the subjects of that Kingdom. Jesus Christ, was the Good Samaritan, and true
Christians are a reflection of Jesus Christ, and must be good Samaritans
also--thus reflecting the glorious light of the Kingdom of God onto
those in this evil age and society of man which will pass away.
Zechariah 14:16-19 shows that this festival
will become a commanded observance during the kingdom age. By extension, then, all of Leviticus 23 will
also be in force. That is
what Zechariah 14:16-19 indicates. We'll
learn more about this after Jesus returns. There
are also Scriptures, prophecies, in the Old Testament showing the
Levitical priesthood will be set up in the kingdom age, administering
and serving around the temple. Beyond
that, we don't know much, except we'll be kings and priests in that
temple, the headquarters of Jesus Christ, who will be King over the
whole world (Zechariah 14:9; Revelation 5:9-10).
The actual Holy Days listed in Leviticus
23 are a shadow of good things to come, as well as the good things
Jesus has done for us and currently does for us through the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit. We live
their meaning every day of our lives through the Holy Spirit who
dwells in us if we are Christ's. So you see the
Holy Days and Sabbath day have been transformed inside of us by
the Holy Spirit, not eliminated! A
literal interpretation of Matthew 5:17-19 indicates that all of
the 10 Commandment Law of God--Sabbath day and Holy Days included--must
be observed by Christians. Most
Sabbath-keeping Christian churches, The Worldwide Church of God under
Mr. Armstrong, the Seventh Day Adventists etc, are under this
particular understanding. Proper understanding of what the Holy Spirit
does in us, and what Paul said in Hebrews 4 about these days being
shadows of the reality in us which is Christ, shows that we are
already observing them, internally! But
understand, their rich meaning, the reality of Christ in us, is
already being lived out in us by the Holy Spirit who dwells in
us. The days themselves are just a shadow of what
the Holy Spirit is doing in us, as Paul stated in Hebrews 4, and
a shadow of prophetic events to come.
So what is the real
New Testament meaning that God is trying to convey to us through
these Holy Day shadows? Each
and every one of them is like a particular facet or side of a
precious diamond, and that diamond is Jesus Christ in us through
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit--Jesus Christ covering our
sins (Passover), Jesus Christ continually taking us out of sin
(Days of Unleavened Bread), Jesus Christ writing the precious
Law of God (read Matthew 5:17-48) in our hearts and minds (Pentecost),
Jesus Christ having his second coming in us (Trumpets), Jesus
Christ taking us out of Satan's influence and into his glorious
influence (Atonement), and the effect of all of this takes us
in advance, spiritually into his glorious kingdom of light, the
kingdom of God (the Feast of Tabernacles). [Colossians
1:12-13]
Does
God require that we keep the physical shadows, as beautiful as they
are, if we chose not to, or if they are not a part of our particular
custom of worship? No, not
at all. The new covenant has no such requirement. But neither deny the Messianic Jewish believer
in Yeshua his or her right to observe these days. In some ways, as I have demonstrated here,
these days convey far more than the overly commercialized Christmas. And the early Christian church in Jerusalem
and Asia Minor never called Passover easter, since that word directly
translated from the Babylonian Ishtar, Queen of heaven, a pagan goddess. So give the Messianic Jewish believers in Yeshua
their due, and respect their right to worship according to their
ethnic customs, which as you have just read and seen, carry a whole
lot of Scriptural significance.
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