God’s Holy Day Shadows, What
Do They Represent?
The apostle Paul told us
something very important about God’s Holy Days, something the Jews don’t fully
understand, even though they keep and observe them. But they observe them without this important
understanding. Let’s see what the
apostle Paul had to say about them. It is in Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat [i.e.
food, what you eat or don’t eat] or in
drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath…which
are a shadow of things to come…” Paul
was telling the Colossian church first of all, not to let those outside the
church judge them over their dietary practices, following God’s food laws. Then
he mentions new moons, that is, don’t let those outside the church judge you
because you are observing God’s sacred calendar instead of the Roman one. Paul next tells the Colossian church not to
let those outside the church judge them because they’re keeping God’s Holy Days
and Sabbath. Then Paul tells them why,
and this is important. He tells them
what God’s Holy Days represent, that they are “shadows of things to come.” A shadow of something that hasn’t happened yet is a prophecy, or picture
of a future event. Paul is saying that
the Holy Days are prophetic pictures or shadows of future events. The spring Holy Days are shadow-pictures of
events that have already occurred, Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread,
Pentecost. The fall Holy Days are
pictures of prophetic events which have not happened yet. The Sabbath has its own unique shadow-picture
of a coming event. For a good
explanation on that subject, see http://www.unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/Observe%20His%20Sabbath%20Day.htm. To see what the Holy Days listed in
Leviticus 23 are shadow-pictures of, continue reading.
The
Passover (read
Exodus 12) was a shadow of Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb,
who paid for the sins of the whole world, past, present and
future. He is the real
Passover lamb of Atonement, reconciling man to God. Jesus death and shed blood paid the penalty
for the sins of the whole world.
Just as the ancient Israelites were protected from
the death angel by covering their door-posts with the blood
of their Passover lambs on that fateful night back in Egypt,
so we who are in Christ are covered by Jesus Christ's blood,
and in similar fashion we are protected from the second death. For we have passed from death into life with
Christ. The early Christians
observed this New Testament Passover service on the 14th
Nisan as it was first kept by Jesus as described in Matthew
26:14-30; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:14-38; and John 13 through
18:1 [Evidence of this is recorded in the "Post &
Antinicine Fathers" which
has preserved letters of Polycarp and Policrates, successors
of the Apostle John in Asia Minor, one of them having actually
been trained by John himself.].
This Passover was kept 24 hours before the Jews observed
their Passover Sedar meal. Most Christian denominations now observe this as communion
or the breaking of bread, observed either on a monthly or
weekly basis. The Messianic
Jews and the Sabbatrian Churches of God still observe this service on the 14th Nisan,
which is all right. The Bible doesn't prevent us from observing
these glorious shadows, but we should understand that they
have their ultimate fulfillment in us through the Holy Spirit
who dwells within us. So if we are in Christ, our sins are covered
by his blood and we are saved from eternal death.
Through
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit the Passover is lived in
us 365 days of the year. Let's
look at the next set of Holy Days, which came right on the
heals of Passover. (By the way, this New Testament Passover or
the breaking of bread, along with the ordinance for Baptism
are the only two rituals commanded by Jesus for new covenant
Christians.) The Days of Unleavened Bread (read Leviticus
23:4-8). The early
Christians lived the meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread
as well as observing them. In the New Testament, most of the references
to leaven show it as symbolizing sin.
I think there is only one reference to leaven mentioned
in the New Testament which gives it a good connotation, in
one of Jesus' parables. It's an apt symbol for sin. A little leaven leavens the whole lump as Paul
said, referring to how one habitual sinner allowed to remain
in the group would spread his sinning attitude to the whole
group--just like a very small amount of leaven will spread
throughout a whole batch of bread dough. Satan is called the prince of the power of the
air. He broadcasts
his sinful attitudes around the world, in much the same way
we put radio signals through the air, virtually filling the
atmosphere with them. Leaven spores are to be found everywhere in
the air around us. If
you leave bread dough out for a period of time in the open
air, it will become leavened all on it's own from the leaven
spores in the air. The
Egyptians found this out and leavened their bread this way. The Days of Unleavened Bread were days where
the ancient Israelites were commanded to remove all leaven
from their homes and not consume any leavened product for
a seven day period coming right after Passover.
This was a shadow of how Jesus living in our lives
through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (read all of John
14) continually puts sin out of our lives, convicting us of
sin, revealing it, and helping us put it out.
Jesus is our Unleavened Bread of Life.
That is the other key symbol that is fulfilled by the
indwelling of Jesus in us through the Holy Spirit and by the
reading of the Word of God. Read John 6 where he said, "I am the Bread
of Life. He who feeds
on me will never die." Unleavened Bread symbolizes our Christian walk, where
we are constantly putting the leaven of sin out of our lives
through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and feeding
on Jesus our unleavened Bread of Life.
How is Jesus our unleavened bread?
In John 6 Jesus says that he is the Bread of Life,
and that we must all partake of him, eat his flesh.
If Jesus is the Bread of Life, it is unleavened bread,
for leavened bread represents sin and our sinful life.
There was no sin in Jesus, so he must be the Unleavened
Bread of Life we are supposed to eat and partake of.
What else is Jesus called in Scripture?
In John 1, Jesus is called the Word of God, or in the
Greek, the Logos,
which means the Word. The
Bible is the Word of God in print.
So when we study God's Word, we are also eating the
Unleavened Bread of Life, Jesus in print, the Logos
in print. Our Bible studies can and should be a partaking
of the Unleavened Bread of Life in print, the Word of God. If you look carefully, these wonderful symbols
fill the Bible.
As those know who have
observed the Days of Unleavened Bread, all leaven is put out
before the actual Days of Unleavened Bread are celebrated.
This is symbolic of how we, once baptized in the death,
burial and resurrection of Jesus (i.e. his Passover sacrifice
applied to our lives at baptism), must put the leaven out
of our lives, that is, repent of our habitual sins, before
we can feed upon the Unleavened Bread of Life, who is Jesus
Christ. Didn't we in
Worldwide learn to put the leaven out before the Days of Unleavened
Bread? Then as we grow in the grace and knowledge of
the Lord-feeding on the Word of God we continue to be de-leavened
of sin in a lifelong process of Christian growth.
It all fits! As
I said before, the Messianic Jews and the Sabbatarian Churches of God still observe these days out of custom and deep reverence
for what they picture--how Jesus helps us put the sin, the
leaven out of our lives, and how we partake of putting Jesus
our Unleavened Bread of Life into us. As far as putting the
leaven out of our lives, the reality is lived in us by the
indwelling Holy Spirit who performs the work of putting the
sin out of our lives. It may seem like work to us, but in reality
we could never succeed in putting sin out to the degree that
we do without God's help through his Holy Spirit in us.
Neither could we put on Jesus on our own. John 14 describes how Jesus dwells in us by
the indwelling Holy Spirit he gives to us and places within
us. Our part is the constant daily study of God's
Word, eating, partaking of the Unleavened Bread of Life, the
Logos, the Word of God in print.
And this fits the Days of Unleavened Bread perfectly,
for those observing these days are commanded to eat unleavened
bread for seven days. Jesus
is our Unleavened Bread of Life.
Seven days denotes completeness, i.e. we're supposed
to eat the Unleavened Bread of Life for our entire Christians
lives. Or else?
What does the OT command state?
Or less that soul who fails to eat Unleavened Bread
for seven days will be cut off from Israel. That's a serious command. The spiritual counterpart, being cut off from
salvation is far more serious.
What constitutes eating the Word of God, Jesus?
Study of the Word of God, cf. Matthew 4:4. Prayerful study of the Word of God promotes
a spiritual de-leavening process.
So we see that seven denotes completeness, and seven
days of unleavened bread symbolize a Christian's lifetime
commitment to partaking of Christ both through the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit and the serious daily study of the Word
of God, which is Jesus in print.
The Day of Pentecost: In ancient Israel,
the Law of God was received by the Israelites on Mount
Sinai on the day of Pentecost.
In the New Testament, the Church was born by the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit on the 12 apostles and the 120 gathered
together on this day. Then it was poured out on 3,000 more that very
same day. (Read Acts 2:1-47.)
The Holy Spirit, , now
enabled the Law of Christ to be written on their hearts and
minds, enabling a more perfect Spirit-led obedience.
Matthew 5:17-48 details what law is written on a Christians
heart, which is now under the direct influence and guidance
of the Holy Spirit, putting Jesus in us (cf. John 14). So the Day of Pentecost is another shadow of
God's Holy Spirit dwelling in us and what he does in us. It is also the birthday of the New Testament
Christian Church, which was born on that fateful day in 30
A.D. The Apostle Paul talked quoting Jeremiah 31 when the
Lord said he would make a new covenant between himself and
the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Paul in Hebrews 8 showed that the sign of this
new covenant being active was the writing of God's eternal
law on the hearts and minds of his people.
Right now, Paul showed, those who show this sign of
having the eternal law of God written on their hearts and
minds are already in this new covenant agreement with the
Lord. The way the law
of God is written on the hearts and minds of God's people
is through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
On the Day of Pentecost, then, the new covenant became
fully active in and applicable to Christians.
It won't be for the House of Israel or the House of
Judah until the Lord returns, as Jeremiah 31 indicates.
Pentecost
was also the smaller of the two harvest feasts, which revolved
around the two harvest seasons of Palestine. The smaller winter wheat harvest was wrapped
up just before the day of Pentecost.
The larger harvest feast was in the fall, right after
the fall harvest. God planned it this way for a reason. He designed the harvest seasons in Palestine
to have a deeper meaning.
The early Pentecost harvest symbolizes the harvest
of souls in the church age, spanning from Pentecost 30 A.D.
all the way to Jesus' second coming. The large fall harvest symbolizes the larger
harvest of souls which will occur during the Millennial reign
of Jesus and his kingdom on earth, which will start upon his
return to earth. When the knowledge of God's expanding plan of
salvation for mankind which he revealed in prophecy is taken
into account, we see that the Pentecost harvest of souls is
the smaller of the two.
The Feast of Trumpets: In Leviticus
23:23-25 it says, "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
'Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh
month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest,
a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
You shall do no customary work on it and you shall
offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.'"
If Pentecost is the earlier spring harvest and represents
the harvest of souls up to Jesus Christ's second coming, and
as we'll see, the Feast of Tabernacles represents the fall
harvest and perhaps
the larger harvest of souls, the Feast of Trumpets and Day
of Atonement must represent--prophetically speaking--two events
to come just in front of this great fall harvest called the
Feast of Tabernacles. What
two major events just precede this great fall harvest? The answer is found in Revelation 11:15-18; Revelation
19:11-21--the second coming of Jesus Christ, and Revelation
20:1-3--the putting away of Satan and his demon cohorts, and
more importantly, the application of Jesus' sacrifice on the
whole surviving world. The first event before the Feast of Tabernacles
harvest season can begin--the Millennial rule of Jesus and
the kingdom of God on earth, is the second coming of Jesus
Christ. The second event is depicted right after the
second coming in Revelation 19 and is found in Revelation
20:1-3, the putting away of Satan and by inference (see Zechariah
12-13) all of the demons. The Israelites were commanded to blow the rams'
horn at certain special times in the camp of Israel. One type of trumpet blowing was to warn of impending
attack and war. The
trumpet used was always the rams' horn.
And this is the very trumpet specified to be blown
during this Holy Day found in Leviticus 23.
How fitting that this feast represents the event of
the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet in Revelation 11:15-18,
and the resulting battle which comes on it's heals in Revelation
19 which depicts the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. That's the prophetic meaning of the Feast of
Trumpets that the Messianic Jews understand, and some Jews
understand, as well as some Christian groups. (send for Chuck
Missler's "Feasts of Israel" cassette series.
This series is available online by clicking on http://www.khouse.org). Calvary Chapel and Chuck Missler are one of the major
new Christian revivals that firmly believe the Holy Days of
Leviticus 23 have prophetic meaning or significance.)
But is there a new covenant meaning to
this Holy Day, a shadow of the good things that have been
done in us by the Holy Spirit?
Yes there is. Symbolically true Christians have already experienced
the second coming of Jesus Christ in their lives! How? They
have received Jesus into their lives. For them and all true Christians, Jesus has
already had his 2nd coming in their lives through
the coming of the Holy Spirit into them.
This is a mystery that most of the world and even some
Christians don't understand. John 14:15-18, 21,23 states, "If you love
me, keep my commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another
Helper, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit
of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither
sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with
you and will be in you. I
will not leave you orphans; I
will come to you...He who has my commandments and keeps
them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and manifest myself to him...Jesus answered
and said to him, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word;
and my Father will love him, and
We will come to him and make Our home with him."
The Feast of Trumpets is the Holy Day which symbolizes
the coming of the Messiah to save the world from genocide
and bring the Kingdom of God to physically and spiritually
rule over the entire world in love (Zechariah 14:9). Jesus Christ has done that in the lives of true
Christians everywhere, and they now live under the government
of that glorious kingdom and have actually crossed over into that Kingdom through the indwelling
of the Spirit of God who rules in the minds of true Christians
(whether they be members of one Christian fellowship or another). The world will experience the joy of living
under the government of God in the future after Jesus Christ's
2nd coming--we can now in type through the power
of God's Holy Spirit dwelling in us, giving us peace from
within. Jesus Christ
has taken over the rule of his true followers--Christians--and
rules in their lives, thus he has had his second coming in
their lives. This is the symbolic meaning of the Feast of
Trumpets for those of us living in this present
dimension of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Again, the Feast of Trumpets is a shadow of what
Jesus has done in us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit,
and also a prophetic shadow of how he will return to save
mankind from himself and genocide during a massive world war
the likes of which the world has never experienced, and no
never will again.
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.)
Should a beautiful shadow of such a reality be cast aside? The early Church didn’t.
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, 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, but Christians
should clearly see this day as representing the 2nd
coming of Jesus Christ, by mere simple deductive logic--nothing
hard about it. Some chose not to. That's O.K. too. This is a secondary matter in the knowledge
of Salvation, compared to the gospel of Christ.
But they're overlooking a beautiful facet of God's
Plan as outlined through His ancient Holy Days, given to Israel
to keep in the old covenant.
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).
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.
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 covenant, with all it's penalties and curses
for disobedience. And we see those curses being exacted in society
all around us. Read
Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 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. The
actual meaning of the Holy Days is being fulfilled in true
Christians by the Holy Spirit who dwells inside them every
day of the year. 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 Torah observant Messianic and Sabbatarian Churches
of God, are under this particular understanding. Proper understanding of what the Holy Spirit
does within 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!
You can still voluntarily physically observe them if
you so desire, for the beauty of what they stand for.
Many within those churches I just mentioned, as well
as the Messianic Jewish-Christian churches do, both new covenant
and Torah observant
extractions. It is entirely up to you. 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 within us, as Paul stated in Hebrews 4, as
well as being a shadow of prophetic events to come.
“The 7th Day Sabbath and Holy Days of Leviticus 23 were shadows---as Paul said---for what the Holy Spirit does within us. This in no way means these “days of worship” should be cast off---and the early Christian Church didn’t cast them off, but observed them (see http://www.unityinchrist.com/history2/index3.htm ).”
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