God initiated three Spring feasts, Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Early Firstfruits that foreshadowed Jesus’ first coming. Pentecost, celebrated 50 days after these feasts, marks the release of God’s provision. God also appointed three Fall feasts and it’s important to look at all three together to get an understanding of this season. These feasts foreshadow Jesus’ second coming and the end-times scenario. Therefore, it is vitally important that we understand why God appointed these feasts. This is not about keeping a religious ritual, but about understanding God’s heart and receiving His revelation in our day.
The Fall feasts create a pathway into God’s glory. At the Head of the Year, the trumpet sounds as a wake-up call. The Feast of Trumpets is centered around the blast of the trumpet. The Hebrew name for this day is Yom Teruah, meaning The Day of the Awakening Blast! God is calling His people to come alive.
The next 10 days are called the “Ten Days of Awe.” The Jewish people spent these days in quiet reflection before God. They sought Him and asked for forgiveness for their sins of the past year. These days culminated on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a solemn day of fasting before God for their sins. Two goats were used in the ritual, one was sacrificed to God, the other carried away the sins of the people as the scapegoat. As believers in Jesus, we can rejoice that we no longer have to slay a goat to be forgiven. Jesus atoned for our sins and we know we are forgiven, but God still requires that we confess our sins before Him. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What makes this day different from Passover, a time of personal repentance, is that it was a day of corporate repentance. The people repented together as a nation. This process is for the nations of the earth. God wants us to repent for our national sins and invite Him, the King of Kings, in to rule and reign.
Several days after the Day of Atonement, God scheduled the biggest celebration of the year, called the Feast of Tabernacles, a seven day extravaganza to celebrate the nearness of God. God’s ultimate desire is, and always has been, to dwell with His people. When Adam and Eve were expelled from God’s presence, it was heartbreaking to Him. He set in motion the Plan of Redemption that would bring all people back to Him. This plan is almost complete and when it is, we will have the joy of being with our God forever in unbroken fellowship. It is a picture of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
All of God’s appointed feasts were designed to be a yearly reminder of the totality of His Plan of Redemption throughout human history. God set up these times to encourage us to keep drawing nearer to Him throughout every generation for all time. The last days that we live in are a long ‘season of tabernacles,’ a season when God’s judgments are released to wake us up to His call, when He is calling His people to repent and return, and when He is releasing greater and greater dimensions of His glory in the earth realm.
Let your heart be awakened to hear the sound of Heaven, the Shout of the King is among us!
The Feast of Trumpets begins at sundown on October 2nd this year.