On May 9th (at sundown until the following day at sundown), marked the 40th day of the time period between the Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Pentecost.  This day is marked in the pattern of biblical history as the day that the Lord ascended into heaven after instructing the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Promise of the Father (Acts 1:4).

40 days earlier, Jesus had died on the cross on Passover and became the Passover Lamb.  Three days later, Jesus rose and presented Himself to the Father on the Feast of Firstfruits. Afterwards, Jesus returned to show Himself to His disciples, encouraging their faith, and commissioning them to build the Kingdom of God here on the earth (John 19-21).

“to whom He (Jesus) also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts. 1:3).

During the 40 days after Christ’s resurrection, the disciples went through their final training with the Great Teacher as they had the chance to examine the measure of their faith, and use this “probationary period” to solidify their understanding of the Kingdom of God before they graduated to the Lord’s “Apostleship.”

When Christ ascended on the 40th day, the time of “graduation” was upon the disciples. This marked the beginning of the multiplicity of authority of apostleship, from Christ (the Chief Apostle and Prophet), to the disciples.  No longer was this New Covenant going to be executed by Christ alone.  It was now going to include a multitude of “little-Christs” covering the earth with the Father’s message.  However, there would be a ten day period of preparation to get ready for the “Anointed One” to “seal” the disciples with His power, truth, and authority.   This great and powerful transaction would be announced by Christ Himself:

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1: 8).

The disciples had some work to do to get ready for “graduation day.”  First, they had to shift their mindsets to being a student of Christ to becoming “like Christ”  in the community.  It was the disciples turn to now build upon what Jesus had taught them through His WORD and actions, which would cause them to carry His name, “Christ-ian.”

Next, the disciples had to position themselves to prosper in what they were commissioned to do.  They had to GO to Jerusalem and wait.  They had to come together in ONE ACCORD.  They had to pray to seek for God’s provision. And they had some business to take care of which was find God’s replacement for Judas Iscariot.  All of this preparation made way for the “PROVISION” of the Lord.

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13).

Lastly, they had to WAIT, trusting God would perform His Word. 

“But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they all mount up with wings like eagles, they shall RUN and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Is. 40:31)

Even though Jerusalem was a hostile environment for the disciples to gather and wait, it was the “appointed place” that God had already established as His city for His presence to abide in.  It was also the city God’s people would gather together corporately to honor the Feasts “SET TIMES” which He had established to be a sign of fulfillment of His redemption.

People were pouring into Jerusalem all throughout the week to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, without a clue that God was about to take center stage and fulfill this Feast (Feast in Hebrew actually means dress rehearsal). God was about to pour out His glory to make way for the building of the “NEW JERUSALEM.” As the temple would be destroyed 40 years later, the Lord already had His solution for the rebuilding of the temple that would never be destroyed again, and had even prophesied of it:

“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’”(Mark 14:58).

This temple was not going to be made by man, but by God Himself, choosing those whom He knew, to be a home for His presence to dwell in their “temple” (BODY).

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1Cor. 6:19,20).

As Christ, the Master Craftsman, had fashioned 12 “living stones” to build the Kingdom of God, the Apostles were equipped to continue the building process through their faith and obedience (1 Peter 2:5).

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone, in which the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22).

No longer would God’s people need to go to Jerusalem to experience His presence, nor sacrifice animals to make us holy.  God’s new plan was to “tabernacle” IN THE TEMPLE OF THE BELIEVER through the holy sacrifice of Christ.

“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation” (Heb. 9:11).

As the disciples prepared to be ready, let’s follow the blueprint and be ready to honor the Feast of Pentecost this May 20th!

 

On May 5th, the Kentucky Derby celebrated its 144th year, as the beautiful 3 year-old stallion named “JUSTIFY” won the race.  This young horse, wearing the number 7, broke the 136-year “curse of Apollo.”  No horse who went unraced as a 2-year-old has won the Kentucky Derby since a horse named Apollo did in 1882.

“Enduring some 3 inches of rain, Justify’s 2½-length victory also extends the streak of favorites winning the Derby to six straight years, longest in the history of the race. Justify’s first career race was in mid-February, and the California-based horse has defeated all comers since.”

Why is this Kentucky Derby a sign for us that points to God’s Calendar Blueprint?

7 years ago, God gave me a vision that I have shared with many since and has ministered to me personally all these years.  In the vision, I was taken to a scene of the start of the Kentucky Derby.  I saw a couple horses in their gates ready for the start. It looked like they had been in it for awhile and were getting aggitated waiting.

Next, my attention went to this next horse that was being led to its gate. It was beautiful and full of energy and excitement, but when it got to the gate, it had to wait too. There were so many lanes that had not been filled with a horse yet, so it looked like it was going to be awhile.

So I looked behind me and saw some of the owners prepping their horse, others were walking their thoroughbred around, and even one who was masterfully trying to control his horse that had a wild side.

I turned back toward the horses that were already in the gates and they looked like they were about to go crazy waiting. I recall one almost falling asleep because the wait had been so long.  But eventually, the scene changed as the rest of the horses began filing into their gate.  Finally,  they were all in place and ready to go.

I heard the shot fired, and the gates opened for the horses to run the race that was set before them.  The Derby had started and it was beautiful to see the champions race in unison.

God then showed me this was a vision of running the race that was set before us.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).

But this wasn’t a race that was for everyone.  It was for those whom God chose…those He elected as His “firstfruits” remnant.

Paul shared in Phil. 3:14 that he pressed toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  What was that higher call that Paul was talking about?  The prize was to be a part of the first resurrection of the saints who will receive their glorified bodies and reign with Christ in the Millennium.

“But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Rev. 20:5,6).

The vision of the Kentucky Derby was given to me so I could understand why I had been praying for so many Christians who were sold out to Jesus and called to do great things for the Lord, and yet going through trials, rejected, hidden, and appearing as if they missed God somehow:

Some were already at the gate waiting. Some were being groomed. Some were full of anxiety and still needed taming. And some were just YOUNG, like the first being last and the last being first, whom God was waiting for to come into the race. But these elect were chosen for this race, and God had a SET TIME that the gate would be released as these great stallions ran the race. And when it was His SET TIME, it would take ALL to run together with JESUS leading the way on His white horse.

The dream helped me understand how hard the waiting has been for each stallion (remnant) that has been chosen to be a champion for the Lord, to wait for the gates to open.  I then understood that the remnant has been in training, learning patience, trust, integrity, excellence, obedience, and humility.  I understood that the remnant was being groomed to run a race NOT alone, but was connected to a greater purpose beyond themselves.  It was a united effort to move ahead at ONE SET TIME.

This Kentucky Derby was the 144th. 144 is the biblical number for the remnant.

“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads” (Rev. 14:1).

Justify won, but the horse, “Promise Fulfilled” led the race for half the way. We are justified by faith in Christ alone.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1)

Jesus is the “promise fulfilled!”

Justify was number 7; the number of completion and blessings.  

The horse broke the mold for all worldly qualifications.

The horse was from California…the place I got the vision and the state God has chosen to pour out His Spirit in the past that has touched the nations.

AND finally, the most amazing part of this derby is that it rained a record of 3 (trinity) inches, and Justify finished the race with NO MUD ON HIM!  Ahhh, the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit!

This Hebrew Year of 5778 has the meaning, when translated, of new beginnings and year the remnant emerges out of the gate to run His race.  They have been trained in obedience by the things they have suffered.  They have SAT and learned how to REST and TRUST for His release.

God will use events that all eyes are on to get His message across.  We just have to open our eyes and hear with our ears what God is saying to us. This is GREAT NEWS for the OVERCOMERS!  As we honor these SET TIMES of God’s Feast Days, we will find ourselves “in the gate” when the door is opened!

“Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:30)

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14)

In book of Acts, Paul the Apostle and the disciples of Jesus continued to celebrate the Feasts, even moving their ministry schedule around to honor them.

“For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost” (Acts. 20:16).

This isn’t the only incident mentioned in Acts as you read in Acts 18:21 and 20:6 more references of the disciples honoring the Feasts.   Paul even encourages the Church of Corinth to honor these Holy Days, but with New Covenant revelation:

“Therefore, let us keep the FEAST, not with old leaven, more with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” ( 1 Cor. 5:8).

Even Jesus, who did everything the Father told Him to do, honored the Feasts:

“On the last day, that great day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink”(John 7:37).

So why is it that Christians don’t celebrate the Feasts when they are a shadow (reflection) of the substance of Christ, our redeemer? If Jesus Himself is our great example to follow, and not only honored them, but became the substance of them, why are these Feasts discounted today?

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival (FEAST), or a new moon, or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Col.2:16,17).

The quick answer to the question above is that God ultimately allowed this to happen because He had a plan to bring about the “new wine skin” of revelation and celebration of these Feasts in His perfect timing.  This “new wine skin” included NOT having to go to Jerusalem to celebrate.

Because the persecution from the Roman Empire was so fierce in Jerusalem after Christ died, the “Church” was forced to go “underground.  When Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, the disciples scattered abroad and continued to preach the Gospel.  The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD gave way for the “cutting off” of tying these Feast celebrations to the city of Jerusalem and the temple.

Jerusalem, the city God chose to build His temple so that His presence could dwell, had fulfilled it’s earthly pattern the moment Jesus sent the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).  This deposit of God’s glory gave way to the “NEW JERUSALEM.”  No longer was God going to dwell in a temple made of hands, but instead, dwell in the temple (body) of the believer in Christ.  When ALL the believers join together corporately in Spirit and in Truth, this union of worship will display the “New Jerusalem” (John 4:24).

“…you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

Many believers are still looking to Jerusalem as the “City of God” for His glory, when in actuality, the earth is waiting for the “sons of light” to reveal His glory (Rom. 8:19). When they are all joined in unison to the Prince of Peace, the world will see the “New Jerusalem” coming out of heaven (Rev. 21:2).  Honoring the Feasts give way to this formation.

“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name” (Rev. 3:12).

But what caused the early Christians to abandon the Feasts and adopt their own “holy days” they created, such as Easter and Christmas?

Emperor Constantine was a European Roman emperor in the fourth century that “legalized Christianity.” Up until him, Christianity was banned and people were tortured and killed for professing Christianity, which is why all of the original disciples of Jesus were crucified, beheaded, or killed except for the Apostle John.  The Roman Emperor Constantine established himself as the head of the church around 313 A.D., which made “Christianity” the official religion of the Roman Empire.

One would read about Constantine and call him a hero for Christianity, and indeed, he was used to help stop the murdering of Christians.  However, since he was NOT rooted in God’s Word to lead apostolically, but rather adopted “pagan practices,” Constantine created an iniquitous Christian foundation that he tied into the government.  This created a path for a “religion” to oppress and control the people they governed.

Constantine brought together the “Council of Nicaea” in 325 A.D. to attempt to stop people from keeping Passover on the appointed time God set in His calendar. Early Christians had continued observing Passover in honor of Christ’s death. Others began celebrating the Feast on Sunday in honor of Christ’s resurrection.  If they had realized the truth that Passover was the blueprint to honor Christ’s death, and  “Feast of Firstfruits” was the blueprint to honor the Lord’s resurrection, the dispute could have been avoided.

Unfortunately, this division led to a decision by Constantine requiring all Christians to adopt the same day. The Feast Days were not chosen.   This decision furthered the cause to condemn Jews and eradicate the celebration of the Feasts.

The “Council of Nicaea  changed Church history. Christians who observed the Passover on the 14th of Nisan and other “Hebrew” Feasts were branded as heretics. The forthcoming “Babylonian” church structures, coupled with the “doctrines of men,” created a hunger and thirst for power and wealth that eventually ushered in the darkest period of history known to man, properly known as the “Dark Ages” (500-1500 A.D.). Through popes, bishops, and priests, the “anti-Christ spirit ruled Europe, while “biblical” Christianity became illegal, and Jews and Christians grew in opposition to each other.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, “There is no trace of the celebration of Easter as a Christian festival in the New Testament or the writings of the apostolic fathers…The first Christians…continued to observe the Jewish festivals…as commemorations of events of which these had been the shadows. The Passover, ennobled by the thought of Christ the Paschal Lamb, continued to be celebrated…, and became the Christian Easter” ( Ninth Edition, article “Easter” ).

As Christians, we must acknowledge that the Feasts recognized in the Bible are “Hebrew” Feasts and not exclusively Jewish ones.  We are thankful that a remnant of the Jews were able to return to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity and rebuild Jerusalem and honor the Feasts.  We need to recognize that for a brief period of time, Jews, Messianic Jews, and Gentiles all celebrated the Feasts after Christ was crucified.  But the understanding for both the Jew and Gentiles of how and why they were to be celebrated needed a heavenly perspective; not a Jew or Gentile one.  And because they both didn’t have it, it opened up the doors for strife and divison.

Today, God is resurrecting our understanding of these SET TIMES with His heavenly perspective that Christ is the substance of these Feasts.  God is unveiling the relevance of these Feasts to the body of Christ so we can not only honor His Son, but also prepare ourselves to be joined to Christ when He comes back to fulfill the Fall Feasts.  And what is necessary in this moment of time if for our nation, whom God chose to honor Him and to bring His light to the world,join together and honor His calendar of “Holy Days” so we can be seen as ONE NATION UNDER GOD.

“”And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.   God Himself will be with them and be their God'” (Rev. 21:3).

 

The National Day of Prayer in America was established by Harry Truman in 1952, significantly 66 years ago.  This year the theme is “Pray for America; UNITY!”  I believe that theme is God’s heart for sure.  The scripture reference is Ephesians 4:3:

“Make ever effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through peace.”

As our nation’s motto is “In God We Trust”, and “One Nation Under God,”  it is no accident that God chose one of America’s leaders to institute a National Day of Prayer. Our forefathers understood the Covenant God made with Abraham and the amazing fulfillment of that Covenant through the sacrifice of Christ.  Being guided by the Holy Spirit, they landed here in the “appointed place” where Jesus was honored as king at it’s inception, and the Word was the guiding force in establishing this nation’s foundation.

AMERICA means, “the heavenly kingdom,” coming from the root word “amer” meaning “heavenly,” and “rica” meaning “kingdom.” “The United States” is translated as follows: “The” means “God’s or owned by God,” “United” means “greater,” and “States” means “estate.” If you put those all together, they mean “GOD’S GREATER ESTATE OF THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM.” The name of America reveals her identity and confirms this land’s purpose as well found in 2 Sam. 7:10:

“Moreover, I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move NO MORE, nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously.”

Unfortunately, our nation did not adopt ALL of God’s blueprint from it’s conception. Because of the parts we chose NOT to follow, but instead created our “own ways,” we opened up doors for the iniquitous roots system to get a foothold in our government, and for FREEDOM (which is America’s core value) to be redefined with each generation.  Thankfully, God gave us an antidote:

“If My people who are called by My name will HUMBLE themselves, and PRAY and SEEK My face, and TURN from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and HEAL their land” (2 Chron.7:14).

Every Christian praying for our nation and standing in the gap for God’s grace and mercy is a part of the process God has established to see His Kingdom Come and His will be done on the earth (Matt. 6:9-13).  Our nation believed in the atonement of the blood of Jesus from it’s birth, and dedicated it to Him and to God’s service to share His good news.  This alone breaks the cycle of national destruction that caused the Israelites to be “cut off” from the Old Covenant promises God made due to their sin and rebellion (Jer. 3:8).

Through the New Covenant, it not our ability to perform and meet the standards of the Covenant that will save us.  It is in Lord fulfilling the Covenant in Himself.  For this reason, we are so thankful for His grace and mercy, because He will not forsake us, but will return to reign over the nations.

“Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19:15).

Over the years since her birth, America has resembled the characteristics of King Saul’s reign.  Saul was one chosen to lead the nation, but he did it many times in his own strength, way, and timing.  The “fear of God”  was missing from His leadership.  All throughout the Bible, those in leadership who were “lukewarm” led the nation into idolatry and sin, resulting in judgment and consequences.  As a result, the nation would lose their influence and authority over the enemy.

Even America in her best days still fell short of ruling righteously.  But the closer we are getting toward the Lord’s return, we are beginning to understand that we cannot rule in our own strength because we don’t have the FULLNESS OF GOD to do it.  It will ONLY be through Christ coming back to the earth, taking His rightful position as King, will ALL things come into alignment with God’s blueprint. The earth will then begin to experience the fullness of His glory and restoration.

“I will declare the decree:  The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.  As of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession” (Psalm 2:7,8).

BUT, the question today is, is the National Day of Prayer in God’s Blueprint?  

The simple answer to that question is YES!  It is found in the blueprint of the Feast Calendar.  The National Day of Prayer is the heart and purpose of the “Day of Atonement.”

“This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year” (Lev. 16:34).

America has had the right idea in establishing a day set apart for prayer. But we missed the mark by establishing it on a day apart from God “appointed” time.  This is the familiar pattern we see in the Bible through Jeroboam, who became the leader over the ten tribes of the  “House of Israel,” deciding to establish his own date and place to celebrate the Feasts.

“Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month (The Feast of Tabernacles blueprint of celebration is in the seventh month), like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar” (1 Kings 12:32).

Even though we are not following the date God chose to repent as a nation, God has and still does honor our hearts in coming together to pray and seek Him.  It is powerful when the President of the United States stands and declares God’s Word and asks for God’s blessings to come, and to forgive our nation for our sins.  These national moments of prayer have kindled the fire each year of God’s purpose and heart in establishing America’s tapestry, “crowned thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.”

BUT,  the day is coming, that we will come together as a nation to honor the “appointed time” God chose for us to corporately pray and repent because it is a part of God’s governmental blueprint.  And when we shift and line up with His SET time, we will see breakthrough and healing in this land like never before because we will be in UNITY WITH HIS SET TIME AND PURPOSE IN COMING TOGETHER.

The blueprint of the Day of Atonement is the national day of repentance, and the only day of the year God required fasting.   The “High Priest” would go into the Holy of Holies once a year beyond the veil and “atone for the sins of the nation.”

“Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement.  It shall be a holy convocation (dress rehearsal); you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord” (Lev. 23:27).

This atonement of course was already done for everyone though Christ’s sacrifice.  So because we who believe in Christ, we can boldly go into the “Holy of holies” and stand in the gap for our nation who is still being led by many who don’t have Christ, nor follow His ways.

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled for an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the DAY approaching” (Heb. 9:19-25).

Our President, who God selected, is the man God used today to release our nation into the “holy of holies” to ask God’s grace and mercy.  As we usher Jesus back to His Kingdom here on earth to take His rightful position at the HEAD of government of ALL nations, we will ALL fall in line with the blueprint of the Day of Atonement with Christ. But until then, we honor the leader God has put in position for our nation.

“We take this step because we know, that in solving the many, many problems and our great challenges, faith is more powerful than government and nothing is more powerful than God,” (Quote from President Trump today).

 Repentance is a turning away (180 degrees) from what you were doing, thinking, and saying, to what God says to do, think, or say. When the leader humbled himself and chose to follow the path of righteousness, justice, and God’s ways of government, the nation was restored.  Truly, it benefits us all to pray for our leader.

“AMERICA!  AMERICA!  God shed His grace on thee.”  For the blood that was shed, and the mercy that has been extended to us, we cry out to God and thank Him for His faithfulness to restore each of us individually, but also nationally.  And hopefully in our lifetime, we will see this nation adopt the Day of Atonement as our National Day of Prayer.

“GOD BLESS THE USA!”

“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool” (Heb. 10:12,13).

 

 

This Passover (which was on Good Friday this year), many shared that they experienced an overwhelming presence of God.  I believe it was God’s signature to us all that His Calendar Blueprint is relevant for us to abide in. As we honor it, we can better understand the signs of the time and eventually become God’s sign. The Feast of Pentecost will be another SET TIME that the Church will celebrate by default “on God’s appointed time.”

Even though there is a “holy” calendar created by man, which doesn’t match the one God established Himself,  this did not surprise God.  For He did not stop this false calendar, but prophesied of it:

“He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to CHANGE TIMES AND LAW.  Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time, and times, and a half of time” (Dan. 7:7:25).

It’s not my intention in this blog to explain what the meaning of time equates to in this past scripture.  I am merely pointing out that Satan intended to shift our understanding of God’s time and law so he could then strip our dominion and authority here on the earth.  He used these two keys of TIME and LAW to cause disunity amongst the body of Christ, and as a result, produce multiple denominations with differing foundations of truth.  This is one reason why the Church has had no governing influence in the earth right now.  But this year, the calendars have coincided, which is a sign in itself that it’s God’s time to reveal it.  So let’s talk about it…..

There are 7 Feasts in the Bible that represent God’s yearly “Holy Calendar,” that in their totality, share His love story of redemption for mankind.  Individually, each Feast represents a “chapter” in God’s love story of how He is going to execute His redemption plan.  However, the first four chapters (known as the Spring Feasts) focus on individual redemption, while the last three chapters (known as the Fall Feasts) are focused on fulfilling the promise of national redemption.  And in between the fourth and fifth chapter is a 2,000 year intermission for the individual seeds to multiply so a national seed can form (Lev. 23; Ex. 23).

Jesus fulfilled the Spring Feasts during His first coming, and He will fulfill the Fall Feasts at His second coming. Understanding their significance will help the body of Christ to “be ready.”  God’s SET TIME for Jesus to return is soon, so the Father’s focus is forming His national seed into ONE.  God’s blueprint made way for each individual seed to fit perfectly in its identity, function, and position to MOVE in unison with ALL the individual seeds as ONE body (national seed), with the HEAD- JESUS.  Where the Head goes, the body goes!

“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.  He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed’, who is Christ”(Gal. 3:16).

If we look at the state of the Church as a whole today, we have a lot of Christian “body parts” all functioning at their own speed, in their own way, without being connected into the foundation of God’s design on how they fit with rest of the body parts.

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12).

However, God didn’t leave us empty-handed on how to come together as one.  His Word always gives us the solution.  The blueprint of the Feasts calendar is one key in helping the “body parts” come together under the “HEAD” in timing and purpose of heart, but 3 of these Feasts are foundational.  For the sake of simplicity, I am going to refer to these 3 Feasts as PASSOVER, PENTECOST, and TABERNACLES.

These 3 Feasts were “sets apart” to not only use to connect us corporately (into ONE SEED), but also to use as a tool to honor God’s blueprint of sowing and reaping.

“THREE times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Celebration of Passover proceeds it), at the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.  Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you” (Deut. 16:16,17).

“For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year”(Ex. 35:24).

During Passover, the children of Israel were to bring the first of their barley harvest to the Lord.  50 days later at Pentecost, they were to bring to the Lord the first of their wheat harvest.  And finally, during Tabernacles, they were to bring the first of their grape harvest. Those who gave God the “firstfruits” of their 3 seasonal harvests, He promised to bless their land, subdue their enemy, and enlarge their territory of dominion.  Are you kidding?  This is an amazing blueprint of provision, that if we adopted in our hearts, I believe we would not only see fruitfulness in our own lives, but also in our nation.  But that’s not all.  Remember, WE are the Lord’s “firstfruits.”

Why were these 3 Feasts, that required “firstfruits,” “set apart” in the blueprint of God for ALL to come together in? Let’s keep exploring the “pattern.”

It is through these 3 Feasts that God chose to establish a pattern of the 3 stages (harvests) the “firstfruits” Church would be destined to go through individually and nationally in the restoration process with our relationship with God: First, Justified. Second, Sanctified. And third, Glorified.  

The blueprint of the making of the Tabernacle found in Ex.35-40 mirrors these three stages as well, as it too is broken down into three parts; the Outer Court, the Holy Place (Sanctuary), and the “Holy of holies.”

The Lord shares with us in the New Testament that He instructed Moses to establish an earthly “pattern”  that would be a copy of heaven’s redemption plan through Christ:

“Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the PATTERN that he had seen” (Acts 7:44).

The outer court of the Tabernacle was “ground zero” for ALL to come and bring their offerings.  It represents the heart of “Passover,” covering ALL, who by faith, covered their doorposts (hearts) with the blood of the lamb. Jesus became our Passover lamb, and it is our belief in Him as our Savior that we are JUSTIFIED BY FAITH.  This is His free gift of eternal life that we cannot earn.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”(Rom. 5:1).

Being “justified by faith” also grants us access into the Tabernacle and the presence of God:

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.  God Himself will be with them and be their God”(Rev. 21:3).

The second stage is Pentecost, which is tied to the wheat harvest. Jesus spends a lot of time through parables teaching us about the wheat and the tares (Matt. 13).  The Lord’s purpose in teaching the disciples was to help them understand the principles of “becoming “Christ-like,” which can only happen through a process of SANCTIFICATION.  In this process, we learn what it means to be a part of His family, and to become more like “Our Father.”

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”(1Thes. 5:23).

As we accept the Lord’s sanctification process, and learn obedience and truth through the journey, we are accepting His training to become “priests”  unto Him.  Coincidently, the second partition of the Tabernacle, which was called the “Holy Place,” was where the priests alone had access.

The difference between the Old and New Covenant “priests” is that we who have accepted Christ have become “priests;” or in other words, ones “set apart” for God’s service. We do not get “qualified” on our own credentials or merit to be “priests.”  We do so because we have a High Priest, Jesus, who has gone before us and qualifies us through His eternal sacrifice.

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered fro us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 6:19,20).

Our “High Priest” has equipped us for the job of becoming like Him by giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit, who indwells in each of us to teach us God’s truth and power.  This is the process the Church at large is in today:  We are in training to get rid of the tares (our sinful nature that opposes God’s truth and ways), and become like wheat.

“Therefore brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil that is His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:19-23).

The final stage is the place we are all eagerly waiting for, which is Tabernacles, when we are completely abiding in Christ and dwelling in the FULLNESS OF HIS GLORY.  It is in this third stage that we also experience resurrection from the grave and receive our glorified bodies.  We then, form ONE national SEED, and become the “new wine” or the “firstfruits” remnant who are transformed as Christ was into His glorified body.

“For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed (in His glory), that mortality (death) may be swallowed up by life.  Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” (2 Cor. 5:4,5).

Tabernacles is the time frame of the Millennium, when we reign with Christ as priests here on the earth.   This is symbolic of the third partition of the Tabernacle called “The Holy of Holies,” in which the High priest alone was able to go in once a year.  Given that Jesus is our “High Priest,” and presented Himself to the Father as the “Firstfruits,”we who are abiding in Christ will then become His “firstfruits” Bride.

“But each one is in his own order; Christ the firstfruits, afterward this who are Christ’s at His coming.” (1 Cor. 15:23).

We have been learning obedience through the things we have suffered (sanctification process), as we come to rest in a place in our heart that says, “Not my will but your will be done.” We choose to “overcome,” so that at God’s SET TIME, we can enter into the “Holy of Holies” and get glorified bodies as Christ did after He presented Himself to the Father (Heb. 5:8).  In this stage of our relationship, it is like becoming married, when the “two become ONE.”

The question is:  How can the body of Christ become the Bride of Christ IF they are not abiding in His ways?  It is by abiding in God’s blueprint of SET TIME, specifically, these 3 Feasts, which God will use in the earth to form His Bride.  Christ formed the blueprint, because He is the WORD.  Christ manifested Himself as the blueprint, when He came into the earth as the Son of man.  And Christ will come back to govern His blueprint.  It is the SAME BLUEPRINT, but in each AGE, it has gone from glory to glory until one day, the glory of God will fill the earth.

“After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened” (Rev. 15:5).

 

 

 

 

 

In the last blog, I wrote about the 50-day time period between Passover and Pentecost, which is the same time frame we are experiencing today in the Hebrew Calendar.  I feel compelled by the Holy Spirit to keep sharing more regarding this time frame and it’s relevance for us today.

One of the key things the children of Israel experienced during the 50-day period were “testings” to reveal where their trust level was in the God.  They were accustomed to a familiar pattern of provision (even as little as it was) that was given for their performance as slaves to Pharaoh.  They were also familiar with their bondage, which for some, actually brought unconscious comfort to their souls.

This guarantee of provision, as oppressive and little as it was, was at least a “comfort” guarantee.  The ability to count on something that is known, rather than take a chance at trusting something better is one of the reasons why the children of Israel almost aborted what God wanted to do through them.  If not for Moses….

There is a huge test the body of Christ is going through right now.  God has been stretching us to a place “unknown” and “unfamiliar” than what the Church at large has been conditioned to.  We are being called to be God’s risk takers, but the risk is in stepping out in obedience to the places that are unfamiliar to our religious culture.   WE MUST PRESS ON TO THE HIGHER CALL.  That takes a whole lot of uncomfortable, and zero complaining in the midst of the journey which we could not do on our own.  If not for Jesus…..

God is speaking directly to us through Deut. 8:1-3:

“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.

And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and TEST you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”

These 50-days are a part of God’s final exams for those God has hidden for a season.  After studying all these years, taking quizzes along the way as to how to transition and breakthrough into the Tabernacles Age, we are coming toward the finish line called “REST.” The journey has brought us outside the “box” the Church has been in, processing what is truth, standing against rejection, persecution and injustice, and rising above it all in humility.

Jesus is going to be our Commander in Chief and lead us all in one rhythm.  He is drawing us closer to that “SUDDENLY,” when fire is released from heaven, and the landscape shifts us to ONE WITH CHRIST.  But for now, we are in the process of “end of semester” testings to see if we have learned to humble ourselves, choosing to abide in His ways, His timing, and His truth.

Many of us have experienced an excitement in our Spirit about what is about to transpire.  WE are all anticipating something, but cannot see anything anything quite yet.  Sound familiar?  So did the children of Israel in the wilderness.   We are all being tested NOT to grumble and complain as we continue to WAIT for the Promise, the full measure of His glory, to be sent from the Father.

Many have been given a vision to build that seems to have tarried so long.  And our hearts have been revived in that vision because God has poured a fresh anointing on it this Hebrew Year.  But we still haven’t been granted access to the treasury of God’s rich resources.  Are we fighting off discouragement that keeps knocking on the door of our hearts, questioning where we are?  Join the army who are wrestling too!

You may be wondering: What is the hold up?  And the answer is that the release comes in God’s SET time.  The Feast of Pentecost is another SET TIME that will release an increase for sure.  Remember, we are in the seed sowing months that WILL produce a harvest.  But TIME AND PATIENCE must be applied.  Our destinies are tied to a corporate movement that is on a SET time.  And watering those seeds with the Word, prayer, and obedience will produce that harvest to come.

Abraham was told there was a SET time when Sarah would be pregnant and produce a seed that would multiply into nations:  

“But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this SET time next year” (Gen. 17:21).

Jesus had a SET time when He was to die:

“Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these saying, that He said to His disciples, ‘You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified'” (Matt. 26:1, 2). 

Jesus has a SET time when He will return for the nations:

“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30).

And so we wait. But we wait in REST, knowing that God is faithful to perform His word:

“Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.  Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  And let patience have its perfect work, that you would be perfect and complete, lack nothing”(James 1:2-4).

Rest does not mean we don’t do anything.  On the contrary.  This month, we boldly go to the throne and pray so we can receive from heaven instruction from the Father of what He wants to reveal.  This month then is characterized by intercession and reflection of His light.  And so here is our command for these next 30 days of Iyar:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally, and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

But we need to do so like this:

“But let him ask in FAITH, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”

We cannot receive anything if we are in doubt, so we must remain in God’s REST and trust He is in control. Our destiny and circumstances are tied to a much grander picture that connects us to others in the body of Christ, and we are all in the palm of God’s hand.  

“For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is double minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:7,8).

What then comes on the other side of REST and TRUST?  GLORY!  Is this not why the disciples went back into the most hostile environment, Jerusalem, because the Lord directed them so?  And did they not question this command, but waited in the upper room, in one accord?  How can we have one accord if there is doubt?  We cannot.  Because doubt creates a double-minded body of believers.  In the place of rest, faith and trust, THE  PROMISE WAS SENT, and it came SUDDENLY.

We too must have that poise, and our hearts SET ON HIS TIME ….UNTIL…GLORY!

 

Beginning with the Feast of Firstfruits, which is always on the first day of the week following Passover, God instructed the children of Israel to count 50 days (or 7 Sabbaths) to the time they were to celebrate the fourth Feast called the “Feast of Weeks;” most commonly known as Pentecost.

“And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that your brought sheaf of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall be completed.   Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord” (Lev. 23:15,16).

These 50 days were a significant reminder of the timespan between leaving Egypt and coming to the base of Mt. Sinai (Ex. 15-19).  

“In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai”(Ex. 19:1).

Later on in the New Testament, this same 50 day Feast blueprint corresponded to the time frame when Jesus visited His disciples after He was raised from the dead:  

“Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight’ (Luke 24:30,31).

On the 50th day in the Old Testament, God revealed Himself by fire after speaking to the people His proposal of marriage to the Israelites:

“And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at the foot of the mountain.  Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. It’s smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly”(Ex. 19:17,18).

On the 50th day in the New Testament, the disciples were gathered together in the “upper room” when the Holy Spirit came upon them like fire:

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each other them” (Acts 2:2-4).

Within the 50 day blueprint, God chose to “court” the Hebrews in the Wilderness by revealing His love through His provision and protection, meeting their needs and kindling their faith in Him, even while they were complaining.

In the New Testament, Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples intimately after His resurrection, showing them His hands and feet; eating, sharing, and encouraging the disciples He loved.  

So how did God reveal Himself to the Hebrews in the 50 day wilderness journey to Mount Sinai that was reflective of Christ Himself, coming in the flesh to restore that bond of love?  

One of the first ways God revealed Himself is when He performed a miracle by turning bitter waters sweet and releasing water in the desert:

“So Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree.  When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet” (Ex. 15:25).

“Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, so they camped there by the waters” (Ex. 15:27).

Jesus would later reveal Himself in this pattern through the New Covenant.  Those who were thirsty for truth and believed in Him would receive His living water. Christians would then have the ability to use that life flow to reach out to others with God’s love.

“And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely”(Rev. 22:17).

After God provided water in the Wilderness, the Israelites soon complained about being hungry. God revealed Himself again through the supernatural unleavened manna:

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.  And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in MY law or not.”

This  bread that fell from the sky, known as “manna,” would be the tool God would use to introduce the Sabbath rest, prophesying of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, who by His sacrifice, would provide rest for all creation in heaven and earth through reconciliation with the Father.

“Then Moses said, ‘Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.  Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none” (Ex. 16:25,26).

Jesus would later declare that He was the Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5), and that He was our provision, telling us He was the “bread of life” for those who believed in Him:

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever, and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

The third time God revealed Himself intimately in the midst of the 50 day Wilderness journey was when He provided protection and strength when the Amalekites were attacking the Israelites.

“Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.  And Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek.  Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand…….So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Ex. 17:8,9,13).

Jesus would conquer Satan through His death and resurrection, taking dominion over the enemy permanently, and giving us the ability to have dominion over the enemy as well:

“And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His might power, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion” (Eph. 1:19-21).

Jesus perfected the pattern “…which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Col 2:17).

As we can see through the whole wilderness experience and the New Testament disciples, the people God chose lost heart and complained, even after experiencing God’s miracles.  And yet, God still chose them.   If we know Christ, He chose us as well, not because of our faithfulness, but because He loves us, flaws and all.  As we begin to recognize how Christ IS the substance of these Feast blueprints, our hearts are moved to set aside time to give thanks and to honor our Savior.

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruits, and that your fruit” (John 15:16).

Have you ever wondered why we have adopted a 2-day blueprint of the Lord’s death and resurrection by celebrating Good Friday and then Easter Sunday, and yet Jesus prophesied Himself that His blueprint would be 3 days and 3 nights?

“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40).

It is so difficult for Christians to unlearn the idea that Jesus died on a Friday, or that we need to celebrate His death on a Friday.  But God’s calendar is a lunar calendar, and even though Passover is always celebrated on Nissan 14, it doesn’t fall on the same day of the week each year.  So what day of the week was it when Jesus died?

In order for us to follow scriptures to see how Jesus fulfilled the Spring Feast Blueprint, we must first recognize that there were TWO Sabbaths that existed during the week Jesus died and rose from the dead.  The first was the “Sabbath” of the Feast of Unleavened bread (Lev. 23:6), also called a “High Holy Day:”

“Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away”(John 19:31).

The second was the weekly Sabbath:

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb” (Matt. 28:1)

Before both the Feast and weekly Sabbath, the Hebrews had what they called a “Preparation Day” in which all the work was done so they could “rest and cease from work” as the Lord commanded on these “holy days.”   The first Preparation Day was to prepare for the Passover and the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread:

“That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath (First day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread) drew near” (Luke 23:54).

The second Preparation Day they prepared for was the weekly Sabbath that went from Friday night to Saturday night.  It was the weekly Sabbath that the scriptures refer to when the women came to the tomb after their Sabbath and found it opened:

“Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen” (Mark 16:12).

Reviewing the events that transpired, Jesus died at 3PM before the Passover meal, becoming the sacrificial lamb for the Passover (John 1:29). During the day he was crucified, it was considered a “Preparation Day” until sundown.

It became dark for 3 hours between 12-3pm prior to when Jesus died.  

“Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour” (Luke 23:44).

This darkness prevented the priests to kill any of the lambs in preparation for Passover in order to fulfill John the Baptist proclamation that Jesus was THE sacrificial Passover lamb.

“Behold!  the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

The Jewish historian, Josephus, states that the killing of the lamb was between 3-5pm. Joseph of Arimathea offered to use his empty tomb to bury the body before sundown because it had to be done before the “High Holy Day” of the Feast of Unleavened Bread started (Matt.27:57-60). This tomb was in a garden nearby.

Mary, Mary, and Salome went out after the “High Holy Day” on Friday morning to buy spices and oils to put on Jesus body that was in the tomb. That day they prepared the spices. By evening, they had to “rest” because it was the weekly Sabbath. Once the weekly Sabbath was over (Sat, at sundown), they were able to visit the tomb with the spices. They went to the tomb while it was still dark very early on Sunday morning, and discovered the tomb empty.

“Now on the FIRST day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb” (John 20:1).

According to the Law, The Feast of Firstfruits always followed the Sabbath that came after Passover. The Priest was to take a sheaf of the firstfruits of everyone’s harvest and wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on their behalf (Lev. 23:11).

It also goes on to say that when they wave the sheaf offering, they were to also offer a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering (consecration) to the Lord.

Jesus, as the “Firstfruits,” presented Himself to the Father on that FIRST day of the week.

Using the Feast Blueprint, the year Jesus fulfilled these Spring Feasts, Passover was at twilight on Weds, followed immediately by the “High Holy Day” of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Three days and three nights later brings us to the “first day” (Sunday).  But this information doesn’t shift us to celebrate Passover on Weds. now instead of Fridays.  It shifts us to honor it on the day God told us to which is the 14th day of Nisan.  That day changes each year according to the lunar calendar.  But the Feast of Firstfruits is ALWAYS celebrated on Sunday, which just happened to line up with Easter this year.

There is much controversy about what day Jesus actually died.  Some scholars will share that the 3 days and 3 nights was just a phrase used in the culture in those days and was not literal.  But even in the story of Jonah, which the Lord Himself references when speaking, the days and nights are specifically laid out.

“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.  And Jonah was in the belly of the fish 3 days and 3 nights” (Jonah 1:17).

One thing we do know in studying church history is that Good Friday and Easter were introduced in the 3rd and 4th Century.  While the pagan holidays were being celebrated on those days, the leaders of the Church decided to create these holidays to lure some of the people who were following pagan deities toward Christ.  In the end, they created the very thing they were opposing: a man-made holiday.

As significant as this SIGN would be concerning Jesus dying and rising from the dead, it would seem that God would make it plain for all to understand especially since this SIGN separates Jesus from all other “gods” man has formed into a religion.

 

After Passover was celebrated, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread commenced, the children of Israel were instructed to celebrate a third Feast to “set apart” provision in the Lord’s honor.  This was the Feast of Firstfruits, and was celebrated on the day after the weekly Sabbath following Passover (which was the FIRST day, meaning Sunday) of the week.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was a week long celebration, was still in progress while this third Feast was executed. (Today, we can take to heart it’s meaning and celebration as the New Testament scriptures direct us how:

“Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Cor. 5:6-8).

The Feast of Unleavened Bread prophesied to the world that Jesus was the “Bread of Life” as His sinless (unleavened) sacrifice would connect us to the source of life:

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)

However, in order to make way for a harvest (Christians) to become like Him, Jesus had to die as a sinless sacrifice, take the keys of Hades (overcome death because He had no “leaven” in Him) and RISE and present Himself as a “first fruits offering” to the Father. 

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:24).

The resurrection of Jesus was amazing.  But it had to go through the “set apart” process of becoming “holy and acceptable to the Father.”  This completion process happened on the Feast of Firstfruits.

“For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches” (Romans 11:16).

The Gospel of John verifies this timing and fulfillment of the Feast of Firstfruits.  After three days and nights since the crucifixion of Christ, Mary visited the tomb early Sunday morning while it was STILL DARK.  Mary discovered the tomb open and empty, and began weeping.  Two angels appeared and said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”  Mary answered that she didn’t know where Jesus was, and when she turned to speak, Jesus was standing there but she didn’t recognize Him.  When she heard His voice, she knew it was Jesus, but He commanded her this:

“Do not cling to ME, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God'”(John 20:17). 

The reason Jesus had not yet ascended is because He was waiting to offer Himself up to the Father at the EXACT time the Firstfruits Offering was offered up by the High Priest to fulfill the Feast blueprint (Lev. 23:11).  

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20).

Later that evening, when He appeared to the disciples, Jesus showed them His hands and feet, ate and drank, and allowed Thomas to touch him.  He could do this now because He had already presented Himself as the “first fruits” offering, crowned High Priest and King, and transformed into His glorified body. Now Jesus could ascend and descend from heaven to earth to be seen by many witnesses, which He continued to do so for 40 days. He was then taken until the next SET TIME.  But between now and then, Jesus would send us a helper, a “first fruits” deposit of His glory, to comfort us.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO GOD’S NEXT “SET TIME” WHEN JESUS WILL RETURN FOR THE HARVEST. WE TOO WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE FATHER AND RECEIVE OUR GLORIFIED BODIES!  THIS IS OUR “HOPE OF GLORY!”

“But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming” (1Cor. 15:23).

 

 

Passover and the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread basically happen in succession which makes it a bit difficult to discern between the two, but I will attempt to do so very simply.  Passover begins at twilight on the 14th day of Nissan (sundown).  And since the next Hebrew day begins after sundown, the Feast of Unleavened Bread commences after Passover at the beginning of the 15th day of Nissan.  Literally, one rolls into the next.

Both Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were established as a blueprint to remember how God delivered the children of Israel from the hand of Pharaoh and the death plague.  And because of the the rapid exit that the children of Israel made out of Egypt, they didn’t have any time to allow the bread to go through the leavening process.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a week long Feast (Lev. 23: 6).The first day and seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread were considered “High Holy Days, or also referred to as “Sabbaths.” These “Sabbaths” were similar to a weekly Sabbath in that all the children of Israel were to cease from work and rest.  But the “High Holy Days” were specific to the Sabbaths of the Feast days and were SET TIMES God chose to be set apart :

” Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”

Most Christians would read these New Testament scriptures and never know their is a difference between the Sabbaths.  But understanding the distinction helps to break down the truth of the events that happened when Jesus fulfill scriptures and became the sacrificial Passover lamb.

The word “Holy Convocation” actually means “dress rehearsal.”  God Himself tells us that celebrating these Feasts are a “dress rehearsal” for when Jesus arrives on the scene here on the earth to take on the primary role of the purpose of the Feast, which collectively, are all a part of God’s master plan of redemption.

The word “Feasts” means “divine appointment.”  God orchestrated His Feast blueprint to reveal His “SET APART TIME” to reconcile heaven and earth.  Christ Himself knew when it was His time to begin His ministry, and when it was His time to go to the cross.  This is why Jesus went willingly when the Roman soldiers came to take him away.

In thinking about the Feast of Unleavened Bread, I am in awe of a few things.  It is impossible to be righteous without Christ which most of us understand and is why we ask Jesus to be our Savior.  But it is equally impossible to try and be a “perfect” Christian.  If you have ever tried to edit a book, or made sure a room was germ free, or cleaned your house, you know how hard it is to get it completely free of dirt, errors, or invaders.  Getting rid of the leaven in our lives as Christians is all a part of the journey of “sanctification.”

Even though Jesus covers our sins, the wages of sin (death) has not been removed from our bodies as of yet.  We can rest knowing that JESUS was without ANY leaven.  HE alone is perfection.  And in Him, we can abide in His perfection.  But it takes time for our soul to understand this truth.  And it will take Jesus coming back until we get bodies that have NO death in them but are a reflection of His glory.

The greatest difference between the Old and New Covenant is this:  In the Old Covenant, man was trying to work at meeting the requirements of Covenant with God.  But in the New Covenant, man rests in the knowledge that the requirements of Covenant have already been perfected.  The Old Covenant places trust in man’s effort.  The New Covenant places trust in God’s finished work.  When we get to the place in our hearts that we can rest in that knowledge, we have removed the “leaven” from our hearts and are “abiding in Christ alone!”