In this chapter I want to give us “the big picture”
so that we fully comprehend exactly what the Ordained Times of Yahuah (Feast
Days) are and why they were given to mankind. The goal is to mature in our
understanding from the milk of the Word (letter of the Law) to the meat
of the Word (Spiritual Intent).
Hebrews 5:12-14
12 For even though by this time (of keeping the letter of the Law)
you ought to be teaching others (the Spiritual Intent of the Law), you actually
need someone to teach you over again the very first principles (behind the
letter) of Yahuah’s Word. You have come to need milk (physical adherence to the
letter of the Law), not solid food (Spiritual meat which is the Intent behind
the letter). 13 For everyone who continues to feed on milk
(requiring ritual observance to the letter) is obviously inexperienced and unskilled
in the doctrine of righteousness (The Law is not righteousness, it is TRAINING
in righteousness which is found in the Spiritual Intent; Romans 3:21,
Galatians 3:11), for he (who is stuck on the milk/letter of the Law) is
a mere infant (in Spiritual maturity and not ready for Spiritual meat not
understanding Intent) 14 But solid food (Intent behind the letter)
is for full-grown men (Spiritually mature sons/daughters), for those whose
senses and mental faculties (Spiritual eyes/ears) are trained by practice
(keeping the letter) to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally
good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to Divine or human law.
The reason the Jews missed the Messiah is because they never
matured as children of Yahuah. They received the Law and mistook it as
righteousness and became legalistic in their approach outside of love. The
intent was lost as they were never able to comprehend the meaning of these
Ordained Times; they simply went through the motions and worried more about the
“how” than the “why”.
Mark 4:12
11 He replied, “The mystery of
the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside
everything is expressed in parables, 12 so that, ‘they may be ever
seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’” 13 Then Yahusha said to
them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of
the parables?
Isaiah 6:9
And He replied, "Go and tell this
people: 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never
perceiving.'
Isaiah 43:8
Bring out a people who have eyes but are
blind, and who have ears but are deaf.
Jeremiah 5:21
Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
Romans 11:8
as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not
see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day."
Ezekiel 12:2
"Son of man, you are living in a
rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do
not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
Deuteronomy 29:4
Yet to this day the LORD has not given you
a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.
Romans 11:7
7 What then? What Israel was
seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, 8
as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see,
and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”
Here we are 2,000 years later and we are still
ritualistically keeping these Holy Days with no understanding of what they
really mean. Our “teachers” are children in Spiritual maturity, and as
Sha’ul stated above in Hebrews 5, they too need someone to instruct them all
over in the basic Plan of Salvation. Teachers who only instruct the way to
ritually keep the Holy Days are a dime a dozen, as anyone can go read these
step by step rituals in The Torah. But what we are being taught is not even in
The Torah, it is in The Talmud and steeped in Jewish Tradition not the Law
of Yahuah.
We are still doing these rituals the wrong way, the way of
the Pharisees - keeping the pagan Seder on Passover and fasting from food on
Yom Kippur, and totally missing the point of each and every Feast!
Sha’ul faced this 2,000 years ago and, at times, just gave
up! He simply treated the assemblies as “little children” because all they
wanted was “milk”. They then began acting all puffed up as if they were mature
in the faith, even qualified to teach and judge! They were nothing more than
Spiritual babies addicted to milk. Nothing has changed in 2,000 years!
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
1 Brothers and sisters (speaking to the Spiritually immature), I
could not address you as people who live by the Spirit (Intent of the Law) but
as people who are still worldly (carnal minded, slaves to the letter of the
Law)—mere infants in The Yahushaic Covenant (where the Law was transposed from
letter to Intent of the Heart). 2 I gave you milk (the letter of the
Law), not solid food (Spiritually mature Intent of the letter), for you were
not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are
still worldly (in need of keeping the letter of the Law
1 Timothy 1:9). For since there is jealousy and quarreling
among you (proving your immaturity in Spiritual growth), are you not worldly
(bickering and judging based on the letter)? Are you not acting like mere
humans (not mature Spiritual Sons)?
In this book, I am going to keep it simple and focus on why we do these rituals and what our mindset should be on each Holy Day of
Yahuah. I am not going to address you as immature children, but as mature
Spiritual adults in Yahuah. I am not going to give you “milk” per the
ritualistic instructions by the letter, we have all heard those, read those,
and attempted those a thousand times before. Every teacher out there is
pounding the legalistic “how” into our brains and we never mature, because few
teachers are mature enough to teach the real meaning.
My goal is that after reading this book, you will have a
firm understanding of each Holy Day, what it is rehearsing, why we rehearse it,
and what our mindset should be on that day/days. Then I leave it to each of you
to incorporate the ritualistic instructions on those days as laid out in the
Law as you see fit based on your maturity and subsequent liberty.
In other words, I
am going to leave out “how to cook, what time to cook, what to cook” or “how to
rest, what to rest from”, “what is considered work” and “on what specific day
and by what calendar”, “when does the day begin” etc. etc.
Each year, The Plan of Salvation is rehearsed through the
Spring and Fall Feasts. That Plan of Salvation was originally written into the
stars at creation called The Heavenly Scroll. It was in that
Heavenly Scroll that Yahuah gave Glory to Yahusha before the world was.
In that scroll Yahuah promised that Yahusha would be a Bridegroom, would pay
the dowry for his Bride with his life. He would be resurrected into eternal
life and salvation would be through a marriage covenant. Yahusha would be
crowned eternal King and his Bride would be Queen and together they would rule
Creation. That glory (in The Heavenly Scroll) was then further
elaborated in The Spring and Fall Feasts in greater detail, as The Heavenly
Wedding (Plan of Salvation) would be
rehearsed and fulfilled.
·
Passover - the Groom pays the dowry
·
Feast of Unleavened Bread - the Groom presents himself
to the Father of the Bride for approval, the Bride makes herself ready for the
Engagement
·
Shav’uot - The Engagement, the Bride and Groom
commit to the Wedding Vows and get engaged to be married. Then the Groom leaves
to go prepare a place for his Bride in his Father’s estate.
·
Feast of the Blowing of Shofars - The Groom
returns for his Bride and breaks her chains and sets her free from bondage to
sin and death through resurrection.
·
The 10 Days of Awe – the Earth is purged of all
lawlessness as the wheat is separated from the tares and the Wedding Invitation
go out.
·
Day of Atonement - The Wedding Day
·
Feast of Tabernacles - Wedding Banquet where
Yahuah crowns the Groom/Bride to be King and Queen.
In this annual rehearsal of The Heavenly Wedding, we have
Appointed Days we meet our Father. We have a “date” with Yahuah! There are 3
“dates” appointed for us each year.
Our eventual adoption as children of Yahuah is through a
relationship with His Firstborn Son, Yahusha. Each of these 3 “dates” each year
tell the story of how that relationship blossoms into Marriage. These 3 “dates”
were known as pilgrimages in ancient Israel. The children of Yahuah would
migrate 3 times/year to Jerusalem to meet Yahuah for these special dates with
our Father:
·
First Date - The Courtship Pilgrimage - "Festival of
Passover" beginning of courtship
·
Second Date - The Engagement Pilgrimage "Festival of
Weeks" - end of courtship/beginning of engagement
·
Third Date - The Wedding Pilgrimage - "Festival of
Sukkot" end of engagement/beginning of eternal marriage relationship
Source:
· Book of
Exodus: "Offer a sacrifice to Me three times each year. Keep
the Festival of Matzos
[i.e., Unleavened Bread] ... the Reaping Festival [i.e., Shav’uot] ... the
Harvest Festival [i.e., Sukkot]. ... Three times each year, every male among
you must appear before Yahuah ..." (Exodus 23:14–17) and "Keep the
Festival of Matzahs [i.e., Passover] ... Keep the Festival of Shav’uot through
the first fruits of your wheat harvest. Also keep the Harvest Festival [i.e.,
Sukkot] soon after the year changes. Three times each year, all your males
shall thus present themselves before Yahuah the Master, King of Israel."
(Exodus 34:18-23)
· Book of
Deuteronomy: "Safeguard the month of standing grain so that you
will be able to keep the Passover
to Yahuah your Elohim, since it was in the month of standing grain that Yahuah
your Elohim brought you out of Egypt at night. ... Then count seven weeks for
yourself. From the time that you first put the sickle to the standing grain,
you must count seven weeks. You shall then celebrate the Festival of Shav’uot
to Yahuah your Elohim, presenting a hand-delivered offering according to the
extent of the blessing that Yahuah your Father has granted you...When you bring
in the products of your threshing floor and wine vat, you shall celebrate the
Festival of Sukkot
for seven days. ... Three times each year, all your males shall thus be seen in
the presence of Yahuah your Elohim in the place that He will choose: on the
Festival of Matzahs, on the Festival of Shav’uot, and on the Festival of
Sukkot. You shall not appear before Yahuah empty-handed." (Deuteronomy 16)
Each year this relationship would begin with the Bride and
Groom courting each other. Then getting engaged, and finally married.
Just like we prepare ourselves to go on a special date with
anyone else special to us, we are to so prepare for these dates with Yahuah. To
meet a special someone at a specific time/place called a “date”; we prepare our
bodies by taking a bath/shower. We ensure that we are “presentable” to that
special someone! This shows that we care enough for them to make an effort to
perfect imperfections, ensure we smell and look our bests for them.
Meeting our Father for these 3 special dates is no different.
We must prepare ourselves inwardly AND outwardly to meet Him. Then we bring
with a gift to offer our Father on each of these dates with Him, showing that
we love Him. This is called “The Way”! This is the example that
Yahusha literally set during his life on Earth. It is called Mikveh,
Circumcision, and Offering (for more on The Way see my book The
Narrow Gate):
·
Mikveh - is likened to how we would prepare our bodies
before going on any “date”. We take a shower or a bath so that we look and
smell our best for that special someone. Before we meet with our Father on
these 3 special dates each year, we Mikveh ourselves to cleanse our bodies of
sin. This is the ritual cleansing that Yahuah instructed whereby our body is
cleansed outwardly as well as inwardly. Just as outward filth is washed away,
so too is our sin with Living Water through this ritual.
·
Circumcision - is likened to how we would prepare our
attitude before going on any “date”. We think about the things about the
special someone that we love, the things that make them happy, and we
deliberately put ourselves in the frame of mind to please them and be pleasing
to them. Before we meet our Father, we adjust our attitude away from ourselves
and our needs, and we express our desire to please Yahuah and do His Will. We
show our obedience to His desires as laid out in His Torah and our role in The
Plan of Salvation as the Bride of the Messiah.
·
Offering - is likened to how we would bring a gift with
us, such as flowers or candy, when going on any “date”. True love is expressed
through giving, and we demonstrate our love for that special someone by
offering them a gift. Before we meet with our Father on these 3 special dates
each year, we bring a very special gift with us to give to Him as our offering.
Each date we bring a unique “gift” as an offering.
We see Sha’ul the Apostle understood what I am saying here
very clearly as he expresses The Yahushaic Covenant in terms of the Heavenly
Wedding:
Ephesians 5:25-27 – Mikveh,
Circumcision, and Offering
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as the Messiah loved the assembly
(his Bride) and gave himself up for her (as The Passover Lamb) 26 to
set her apart, (ritually) cleansing her by the washing with water according to
the Commandments (of Mikveh), 27 and to present her (consecrated) to
himself (with a circumcised heart) as a radiant assembly, without spot or
wrinkle or any other blemish (as we offer our lives as living sacrifices), but
holy and blameless (as the spotless Bride of Yahusha Hebrews 10:19-23)
19Having therefore, brothers, (Mikveh’d our bodies and sanctified
our minds we have) boldness to enter into the Holy place (and offer our lives
as a living sacrifice on the Altar of Yahuah) by the blood (Sacrifice) of
Yahusha (who consummated the marriage covenant and paid the dowry), 20
by the Way (example) which he dedicated for us (to follow John 3:15),
a new and living (sacrificial) way (a living sacrifice), through the veil, that
is to say, (the veil was torn in two by the Offering of) his flesh (providing
us bold access to the Mercy Seat of Yahuah to make our own Offering in
fulfillment of Exodus 12, we are all to bring our own Offering to
the Altar); 21 and having a great (High) priest (Yahusha) over the
Temple of Yahuah (your body 1 Corinthians 6:1); 22 let
us draw near (to the Mercy Seat of Yahuah to offer our lives as living
sacrifices) with a true (circumcised) heart in fullness of faith (that we have
been granted access to the Altar of Yahuah in The Yahushaic Covenant as His
Priests), having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience (fulfillment of
the Red Heifer), and having our body washed with Living Water (Spiritual Cleansing
through Mikveh), 23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope
(that Yahuah will accept our living sacrifice). For He Who promised is faithful
(to forgive our iniquity and remember our sin no more Jeremiah 31:34).
Romans 12:1 – How to properly
worship Yahuah
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of Yahuah’s Mercy (Who
offered His First Born Son Yahusha as a sacrifice on Passover which tore the
veil giving us all access to the Mercy Seat), to offer your (own) bodies (not just
Yahusha, we too must follow in his footsteps) as a living sacrifice holy (set
apart and prepared through Mikveh) and pleasing to Yahuah (with a circumcised
heart for His Law)—this (Mikveh, Circumcision, and Offering) is your true and
proper worship (on these special dates).
The goal of these 3 “dates” is to perfect us as the Bride of
Yahusha so that we may be adopted as children-in-Law by Yahuah through covenant
of marriage to His Son. We see Yahusha express this desire. The Holy Days are
Appointed Times celebrating the process whereby we become one family with our
Father.
John 17:17-23
"17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth. 18
As You sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19
And for their sake I dedicate myself to You and set an example for them, that
they also may be set apart as Your Bride chosen for me in truth. 20
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will enter into this
marriage covenant with me through their testimony, 21 that they may
all be one family, just as You, Father, are in an adoption covenant with me to
be my Father, and I in covenant with You to become Your First Born Again
Resurrected Son, that they also may be in covenant with us to be begotten as
Your children by becoming my Bride, so that the world may believe that You have
sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me as Your Son I have
given to my brothers, that they may be one family in covenant even as we are
one family, 23 I in covenant with them and You in covenant with me,
that they may become perfectly one with us in your family.
If we desire an Invitation to the Wedding, we must
understand and act like his Bride and keep these Appointed Times properly with
righteous Intent.
With the big picture in mind, let me explain each of these
Appointed Annual “dates”, what they mean, what unique gift we bring as an
Offering, and how we should approach them from a Spiritually Mature mindset.
The Courtship Pilgrimage
Called the "Festival of
Passover" or “Passover Season” it is the beginning of the courtship
between the Bride and Groom
What to do?
Prepare an offering of fire on the
grill, dine, discuss upcoming rehearsals, their Spiritual meaning, and our role
as the Bride in these rehearsals. Remember Yahusha's sacrifice and what the
sacraments represent to us. Express our faith in Yahusha as the Passover Lamb.
Celebrate Yahuah calling us out of bondage to the Gentile nations (Egypt) and
bringing us through the fire of this life (the wilderness) and into the
promised land. Teach this to our children using the story of the Israelites
being led out of bondage in Egypt by Moses.
What to do?
Mikveh ourselves to prepare, demonstrate
a contrite loving heart of obedience i.e. Circumcision, and bring our Offering:
on this date we offer to Yahuah our gift of ourselves and our
lives to our Father as Living Sacrifices (we sacrifice this
life and our own will, to do the Will of the Father).
What to do?
1rst and 7th day of the week-long
celebration is a Sabbath from work; just do what you do on a weekly Sabbath.
The meal each of the 7 days should be without leaven and unfermented grape
juice. We should seriously contemplate the way we live our lives, repent of
"self", and remove sin (leaven) from our lives (the bread) and impose
real life changes going forward to keep that leaven out. Leaven will creep back
in over the coming year, so we repeat this annually unto perfection. Removing
leaven from our homes is a physical to Spiritual training aid to teach us how
diligently we should inspect our lives for sin. If you have never attempted to
obey the letter and actually remove leaven from your home, then you can never
truly appreciate the effort Yahuah expects to see from us to remove sin from
our lives. Try it! Remove ALL leaven from your home and what you cook with.
Once you do, you will realize it is next to impossible! It requires great
attention to detail as “leaven/yeast” is everywhere in everything.
What to do?
This day begins the formal
relationship between the new couple and the countdown the Engagement on
Shav’uot. There is not anything specific we do, but we should understand the
significance of the 49-day count to Shav’uot. This represents the 49 Jubilees
that will transpire before the “Jubilee of Jubilees” which is the 50th Jubilee
when the Kingdom Reign begins. Shav’uot is symbolic of the 50th Jubilee. We
should continue during this period of time to refine our lives, in preparation
for the Bride and Groom to meet together before the Father to commit to the
Wedding Vows on Shav’uot and get engaged to be married.
The Engagement Pilgrimage
Called the "Festival of Weeks"
- it is the end of courtship and beginning of Engagement
Rehearsal Dinner / Bride and Groom give themselves to the Wedding
Vows. Groom goes to prepare a place in his Father's estate for his Bride. Bride
stays behind to extend Wedding Invitations to the Nations.
What to do?
Sabbath from work just do what you
do on a weekly Sabbath. Mikveh ourselves to prepare, demonstrate a contrite
loving heart of obedience i.e. Circumcision, and bring our Offering: on this date we offer to Yahuah our gift of committing to keep
the Wedding Vows which are the Spiritual Intent of the Laws.
The Wedding
Pilgrimage
"Festival of Sukkot" end of
Engagement and the beginning of Marriage
This is when the Groom returns for
his Princess Bride (who is held captive by the Dragon and is in
bondage/chains) to free her from death (through resurrection).
Luke 4:18
"Spirit of Yahuah has come to me (from
among men Hebrews 5:1), because He has chosen me to tell the good news
to the poor. Yahuah has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, to give
sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers,
This is represented in The Heavenly Scroll in the
constellation Andromeda who is the “Princess in chains”. More on
that later in this book.
What to do?
Blow the shofar - Sabbath from
work just do what you do on a weekly Sabbath. Think about what it means to be
begotten through resurrection into the family of Yahuah. This is the “Feast day
of which no man knows the day or hour” and return day of our King. All those
who have died will be raised and those alive transposed to meet Yahusha in the
“air” as our King assembles the Army of Yahuah to liberate this Earth.
10 Days of Awe
Venue of Wedding prepared, uninvited
guests are removed, the Wedding invites go out
What to do?
Reflect on your past life, seek
forgiveness, mentally prepare yourself for the marriage, look forward to the
"Day of Yahuah" when this Earth is purged of all sin and Lawbreakers.
Read Isaiah Chapter 24 which will be fulfilled during this 10-day
period.
What to do?
This is a Feast, not a fast from
food. We 'anah' ourselves (mistranslated as ‘fast’ more later) which
means afflict our soul by humbling ourselves to our Groom on our Wedding Day.
We atone for ourselves, our families, (and this Earth) in prayer and
meditation. Mikveh ourselves to prepare, demonstrate a contrite loving heart of
obedience i.e. Circumcision, and bring our Offering: on this date we offer to
Yahuah ourselves as adopted children when we enter into marriage with His
Firstborn Son as His Chosen Bride. This is the day eternal creation is
liberated from the bondage of sin and death by the Sons of Yahuah and we become
one with Yahuah again i.e. “at-one-ment”.
Feast of Booths/Tabernacles (Sukkot)
Husband & Wife presented as “one” to
the Father (and creation) publicly for the first time. The Wedding Supper of
the Lamb is celebrated for 7 days.
What to do?
1rst and 7th day of the week-long
celebration is a Sabbath from work just do what you do on a weekly Sabbath.
Physical rehearsal is to stay in a temporary dwelling for 7 days - fulfillment
yet future when we all celebrate together the beginning of the Kingdom in New
Jerusalem before going to our homes to begin ruling the Earth.
The Last Great Day
The day
after the 7-day celebration of Sukkot is The Last Great Day of the Feast Cycle
What to do?
We celebrate the Mikveh of the
Earth by Yahusha, the Divine Water Bearer pours Living Water over the Earth and
the Kingdom reign begins. Each year on the Last Great Day after Sukkot, Israel
would gather for a very special rehearsal called The Water Drawing Ceremony. In
this ceremony the High Priest would draw living water from the well and pour it
over the altar to cleanse it. On this day, Yahusha knew it was a rehearsal for
when he fulfills the pictograph of Aquarius at the end of the age:
John 7:37-38
37 Now on the last day, the Great Day of the Feast of Sukkot,
Yahusha stood [up] and cried out in a loud voice, saying, "If anyone is thirsty,
let him come to me and drink. 38 "He who believes in me, as the
Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of Living
Water.'"
With that short introduction, let us dive deeper into the
mature Spiritual Intent of The Heavenly Wedding called the Fall Feasts when the
Wedding Invitations go out.
