The Feasts of YHWH

YHWH's festivals are blueprints which teach us about His overall plan of salvation for both man and the earth as well as the role that the Mashiach Yeshua would play. The feasts are divided into spring and fall festivals. The spring festivals teach about the first coming of the Mashiach Yeshua (Mashiach Ben Yosef) and the fall festivals teach about the second coming of the Messiah Yeshua (Mashiach Ben David). In Hosea (Hoshea) 6:3 it is written, "...His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." This passage can also refer to Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit). This is believed and accepted by many Biblical scholars and is a valid observation as well. It is also interesting to note that in Israel the spring rains or "former rains" are generally light and if it were not for the heavy dews, most of the crops would dry up and perish. It is the fall rains or "latter rains" that are the heavy ones. So, if the first Shavuot (Pentecost) of Acts 2 is the light rain.....then buckle your seatbelt Dorothy, because Kansas is going bye-bye. As we will see in the feasts, and later in a study on the transference of Priesthood, YHWH often uses both the natural and the spiritual to convey important concepts or to reveal His will.

In the NIV, Leviticus (Vayikra) 23: 2 reads: "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: "These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of YHWH , which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies." The Hebrew word translated as assemblies in Leviticus (Vayikra) 23:2,4 is miqra, which actually means "a rehearsal." (The KJV translates it convocations). This sheds a totally different light on the actual meaning of the verse. If you're rehearsing, you are preparing for a future event that has yet to take place. Now we see that Adonai gave us the sacred festivals to be yearly "rehearsals" of the future events involved in the salvation process. If we want to understand those events, then we need to have an understanding about what YHWH was trying to teach us through these "rehearsals". He was teaching us about real events in the redemption process, and the role of the Mashiach (Yeshua) in these events. The festivals not only teach us about Mashiach Yeshua, but they also have both historical and prophetic significance as indicated in the tables below.

The Spring Festivals of Pesach / Passover, Hag HaMatzah / Unleavened Bread and Bikkrum / First Fruits occur in March / April for 2010. See Calendar, or Biblical Feasts Dates for 2010.

Shavuot or Pentecost occurs in May for 2010. See Calendar, or Biblical Feasts Dates for 2010.

The Fall Festivals of Yom Teruah / Trumpets, Yom Kippur / Atonement and Sukkot / Tabernacles occur in September for 2010. See Calendar, or Biblical Feasts Dates for 2010.