God Is Speaking To This Generation Through The Harvest Feasts Of Israel!

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GOD IS SPEAKING TO THIS GENERATION THOUGH THE HARVEST FEASTS OF ISRAEL

God gave Israel seven feasts to celebrate each year. They are recorded in Leviticus Chapter 23 and Exodus 23. They are sometimes called the “Feasts of Israel” but the Bible calls them “The Feasts Of The Lord” because the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob gave them as feasts for all believers. They are
• Passover (Pesach)
• Unleavened Bread
• First Fruits
• Pentecost (Shavuot)
• Trumpets (Yom Teruah)
• Atonement (Yom Kippur) &
• Tabernacles (Sukkot)

Each of these Feasts has a triple application,
• they commemorate, or point to an event in Israel’s history,
• they point, prophetically, to a dimension of The Messiah, Jesus’ redemptive work,
• they point to a personal dimension of all believer’s’ redemption.
Jesus came to fulfill in history what each of these feasts symbolizes. This was one of the ways He fulfilled the law and the prophets” “Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.” (Matt. 5: 17)

The feasts are divided into two parts: the first four Feasts occur in the spring and early summer, and the last three are at the harvest time of the year. They are a blueprint of the Messiah’s work of redemption. The first four Feasts were fulfilled by Yeshua in His first coming, when He became the Passover Lamb for the sins of Israel and the world and gave His Life - the Holy Spirit - to those who would receive it. The last three Feasts are to be fulfilled by Him at the “end of the age.”

TRUMPETS, ATONEMENT & TABERNACLES

The last three Feasts Of The Lord - the harvest Festivals – are celebrated in the Fall of the year – Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles. These last three Feasts were celebrated each year by Yeshua but He did not fulfill their prophetic meaning on His first coming. When He returns He will fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles – by coming to establish His visible rule over Israel and over all the earth from Jerusalem.

As we enter into the season of Israel’s Fall Feasts – Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles let us examine how they relate to and predict and shed light on the last day redemptive works of Yeshua and how they relate to the events which will precede His triumphant return .
In the cycle of Israel’s feasts, The Feast of Tabernacles is the Feast that foreshadows and anticipates the Return of the Lord and the climax of His redemptive work. This feast is preceded by two others “Feasts” the Feast of Trumpets which is a summoning to the nation to get ready for the Feast of Tabernacles and for the climax of the year and The Day of Atonement, which is not in fact a feast day but a fast - a day of national repentance and purification which prepares the people for the Feast of Tabernacles.
The prophetic pattern of the feasts indicate that before the Lord returns there will be an outward fulfillment of these two preparation days - Trumpets and Atonement. Worldwide events will signal the return of Yeshua is imminent and spiritual cleansing and regeneration will be released on Israel.

The Feast of Trumpets - Yom Turah and is also called as Rosh Hashanah - the head of the year – as it marks the beginning of Israel’s new civic year. It recalls the Trumpets, which were blown when Joshua summoned the people of Israel to enter the Land of Promise. The Feast of Trumpets recalls the entry of Israel into the Land of Promise. Trumpets are also blown to proclaim a new season in time. The present return of the Jewish people, and more specifically the return of Jerusalem to Israeli rule, are the prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets. When Jesus was asked “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” (Matt. 24.3), He answered by saying that His return would be preceded by recognizable public events by which His disciples would know that His return was soon. Chief among these signs is the return of Jerusalem to Jewish control. According to Jesus: “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)
The ‘times of the gentiles’ means the time of gentile domination over Jerusalem. The return of Jerusalem to Israel’s control in 1967 means that gentile domination of Jerusalem is over and “the times of the Gentiles” is fulfilled. This is the sign that His return is near and is the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets which prepares us for Jesus’ return.
Trumpets were also blown as wakeup call, and a call to exercise faith in God’s promises and a call to warfare. The return of Jerusalem to Jewish control is the worldwide sign that we must be ready for the Lord’s return and be active in the work of His kingdom. This can be seen in Isaiah’s prophecy where he describes the return of the Jewish people to their land as the “the great trumpet.” “So it shall be in that day: the great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 27.13)
Many Bible teachers believe that the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets will be “the rapture of the Church” but it is our position that the modern day restoration of Israel fulfills this Feast more accurately. The return of Israel to their land and the return of Jerusalem to Jewish sovereignty are the great events that are a ‘trumpet’ to the whole world to let us know that the return of the Lord to take His throne in Jerusalem is very close.
Our personal entry into the Feast Of Trumpets happens when we respond to the signs of the times, show solidarity with God’s plans for Israel, wake up to the urgency of the times and become filled with hope and anticipation with God’s destiny for us personally and for the earth. When we do this we are like the ‘wise virgins’ in Yeshua’s parable and we enter into our personal awakening and our personal Feast of Trumpets.

The Day Of Atonement (known in Israel as Yom Kippur) recalls the annual Day of Atonement when the sin of the nation was covered and removed through the atoning work of the Temple High Priest. This was accomplished by symbolically confessing the sins of the people on the head of a goat and then leading that goat - the scapegoat – into the wilderness symbolizing the removal of sin. The other goat was sacrifice in the presence of the Lord. (See Leviticus 16)
Jesus is our once-for-all High Priest who shed His blood for the sins for all men. He is our scapegoat who took on Himself our sins and judgements. Atonement signifies that there is an ongoing application of the blood of The Lamb Of God to remove and cleanse us from sin. This is our personal application of Atonement.
Though the death of Yeshua for the sins of Israel and for the sin of the whole world took place two thousand years ago, the benefits of His death have not been accepted by the people of Israel as a nation. But this will happen - there will be a national repentance in Israel before the return of the Lord when they will recognize and put their faith in the atonement provided by Yeshua. This event, foretold by Zechariah, will be the event that paves the way for the Lord’s return to Israel to be their King and King of all nations. “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son.” (Zechariah 12.10) The Feast of Trumpets speaks of Israel’s return to their land and the Day of Atonement speaks of their return to God. Both these events take place BEFORE the return of the Lord

The Feast of Tabernacles recalls that the children of Israel, even when living in tents in the wilderness, were sustained by God’s faithful provision. This Feast expresses the enjoyment of God’s bounty provision in the Land of Promise.
When Jesus came the first time He did not fulfill the last three Feasts. The Feast of Tabernacles anticipates the return of the Lord when He will set up His throne in Jerusalem and becomes the manifest ruler of all the earth. This is the glorious goal of history. At that time the earth will be redeemed from its bondage to war and unjust systems of government. Jesus the King of Israel will come to take the throne of David and rule over His people and over all nations. The believers will rise to meet Him in the air and receive the ‘full payment’ of their redemption - even the redemption of the body. (See. Isaiah 2.2-3; Acts 2.11; I Thess. 4.17; 1 Cor. 15.51-54; Luke 1.32; Romans 8. 20-24)

When we study these Feasts we can see God’s whole plan for salvation and world redemption. The shadow of the Feasts are an anticipation of a great reality that God is unfolding in world history and in the history of Israel. What amazing days we are living in!