Fulfilment of the Spring Feasts

Many people will tell you that the Torah and the Feasts no longer apply, without understanding what the Torah and the Feasts actually are and what they represent. They are spiritually blind to the meaning of the Feasts. The Feasts are dress rehearsals for the Fathers Salvation Plan for mankind separated into the first coming of the Messiah (spring Feasts) and the second coming of the Messiah (autumn Feasts).

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Most denominations will try to distance you from the meaning of the Feasts, seeking to distance you from the Hebrew roots of the Scriptures and understanding of the Salvation Plan. Many church denominations remember a form of the Feasts in the name of pagan rites and witchcraft. But the Torah sets out the Fathers expectations of how we will live and behave to him and to others, and how we worship him. Interestingly, the Scriptures set out that at least one Feast continues after the second coming of the Messiah. This is Sukkot, which is one of the Autumn Feasts

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Zechariah 14:16 And it shall be that all who are left from all the nations which came up against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year to bow themselves to the Sovereign, Yahuah of hosts, and to celebrate the Festival of Sukkot. 17 And it shall be, that if anyone of the clans of the earth does not come up to Jerusalem to bow himself to the Sovereign, Yahuah of hosts, on them there is to be no rain.

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​The Spring Feasts comprise three separate Feasts, the Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread and Feast of First Fruits. The Feasts are contained within the three major harvest seasons: the barley harvest, the later spring wheat harvest, and the great ingathering late summer and fall harvest.  According to the Law of Moses, there are seven annual Sabbaths, known as High Sabbaths, where no servile work is to be done. These Feasts are also termed convocations or Divine Appointments. There is also the weekly Sabbath that we should all keep as this is the fourth commandment, when no servile work should be done.

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The word “convocation” is an interesting word, it is used in Scriptures when referring to the Feasts. The origin of the word in Hebrew is dress rehearsal. This word describes the Feasts perfectly, as they are prophetic in nature.

Yahuah identifies the three major harvest seasons in Deuteronomy 16.

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Deuteronomy 16:16 “Three times a year all your males appear before Yahuah your Aluah in the place which He chooses: at the Festival of Matzot, and at the Festival of Shaḇu’ot, and at the Festival of Sukkot. And none should appear before Yahuah empty-handed,

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These three harvest seasons symbolically portray our salvation in successive stages. The atonement and salvation of mankind is marked by the Spring Feasts while the ongoing and eventual end of this age is marked by the Autumn Feasts which are our dress rehearsal for the second coming of the Messiah. The Messiah, during his time on earth, and his disciples, and the early church, including Paul, kept the Feasts.

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The spring Feasts comprising Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits (Wave Offering) sort of coincide with the pagan festival of e-a-s-t-e-r, due to the intervention of Constantine I in 328 AD, but this is where the similarity between Scriptures and the pagan festivals stop. Refer to the web page "Easter - pagan festival".

 

The table below sets out the Feast days, as well as the high Sabbath days. Note that this table is in the lunisolar  months. To get the actual dates in the Gregorian Calendar is a little more difficult. If you would like the actual dates, email me.

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Fundamental to the understanding of the events

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Torah foreshadows the Messiahs sacrifice for our sins

​​​In two Torah instances, and one Gospels instance, a substitution is offered as a sacrifice.

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Abraham is commanded to sacrifice Isaac

Abraham’s unwavering obedience in preparing to sacrifice Isaac reflects the obedience of the Messiah, who submitted Himself to the Father’s will, even knowing the pain and suffering He would endure (Matthew 26:39). Both father figures and Isaac and the Messiah demonstrate a willingness to follow the Father's command, even when it seems incomprehensible.

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Abraham is stopped at the last moment from sacrificing Isaac, and is provided with a ram to sacrifice instead (Genesis 22:13), symbolising the Father's provision for atonement. According to Jewish tradition, Isaac is over thirty years old at that time, and therefore he was capable of rejecting Abraham. However, Isaac was submissive to his father's action, just as the Messiah is submissive to the Father . The ram represents redemption. Together, they foreshadow the sacrifice of the Messiah.

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However, the Father observing obedience, provides a substitute ram at the last minute as a substitute.

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The Hebrews are commended to sacrifice a lamb and use the blood of the lamb as a covering

Just before the Exodus from Egypt, the Hebrews were commanded to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood of the lamb on their door frame. The lamb was sacrificed as a substitute for the death of the firstborn in each household. The blood of the lamb, applied to the doorposts, served as a sign that the household was under the Father's protection.

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The parallel with the Messiahs sacrifice is further echoed in the Exodus from Egypt, where the blood of the lamb sacrificed was applied to the doorposts, served as a sign that the household was under the Father's protection. In the same way, the blood of the Lamb of God (the Messiah) provides protection from spiritual death, marking those who are obedient to the Father's salvation plan. Just as the Hebrews were spared from death because of the lamb’s blood, believers are spared from eternal separation from the Father through the blood of the Messiah, our ultimate Passover Lamb.

 

In the same way, the blood of the Lamb of God (the Messiah) provides protection from spiritual death, marking those who are obedient to the Father's Salvation Plan. Just as the Hebrews were spared from death because of the lamb’s blood, believers are spared from eternal separation from the Father through the blood of the Messiah, our ultimate Passover Lamb.

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The Messiah is our Passover lamb

Just as Abraham is commanded to sacrifice Isaac, and the Passover lamb was sacrificed, the Messiah was offered up as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. The bond between father and son is central to both Abraham's and the Messiahs narratives, making the sacrifices incredibly poignant.

Location
The place where Abraham took Isaac to be sacrificed is known as Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:2), and it is traditionally believed to be near the site of the Messiah's crucifixion. This region is also significant in biblical history as it is the location where King David built an altar, and later where King Solomon constructed the Temple, making it home to the Temple Mount. It is within this same area that the Messiah was crucified, though outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The precise boundaries of these locations remain uncertain today.

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This geographical connection further emphasises the symbolic link between Isaac’s near-sacrifice and the Messiah's real sacrifice, highlighting themes of faith, trust, and divine provision that point to the Messiah's work on the cross for humanity's salvation.

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The Father provided a substitute

The act of substitution in the story of Abraham and Isaac and the Passover lamb, symbolises the Messiah's sacrifice, where the Messiah took humanity’s place on the cross, offering Himself as the atoning sacrifice for sin. Abraham is stopped at the last moment from sacrificing Isaac, and is provided with a ram to sacrifice instead (Genesis 22:13), symbolising the Father's provision for atonement. Death passes over the firstborn in Egypt, believers are spared from eternal separation from the Father through the blood of the Messiah, our ultimate Passover Lamb and the Father provided the Messiah as the ultimate sacrifice to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

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Interestingly, the ram provided by the Father was caught in a bush by its horns, and the Messiah was given a crown of thorns.

In the New Testament, the Messiah's death is portrayed as a substitutionary sacrifice, bearing the penalty for sin that we deserve (Isaiah 53:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21). Just as the ram took Isaac’s place and the Passover lamb took the first born place, the Messiah took humanity’s place on the cross, offering Himself in our stead.

As we prepare for Passover we need to remember that the Feasts set out in the Torah mirror the life and faith of Abraham, the obedience of Isaac, the exodus from Egypt, and ultimately the sacrifice of the Messiah. We should always respect and remember these Feasts.

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Passover

The Spring Feasts are closely linked and referred to as one feast in some of the Gospels. The Passover is the Israeli celebration of the Father liberating the Israelite's from bondage, slavery and oppression in Egypt. The Israelites were told to remember that important event each year on the 14th day of the Israeli month called Nisan.​ As the Israeli new day started at sunset and ended at the next sunset, the Passover was a supper held at the beginning of Nisan 14. Refer to the page on "Confused calendar dates" for more information.

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The Father gave instructions on how to celebrate the first Passover which include the following.

• Sacrifice: Families selected a one-year-old lamb (or goat) that was perfect and without blemish on the tenth day of Nisan, for the next 4 days, the lamb (or goat) stayed with the family. On the 14th day, the lamb (or goat) was slaughtered. On the first Passover, the Israelis splashed some of the blood on their doorposts and the upper part of their doorway, roasted the animal whole, and ate it (refer to Exodus 12:​3-9)

• Food (which also means the Fathers Word): In addition to the lamb (or goat), the Israelite's ate unleavened bread and bitter greens as part of the Passover meal (refer to Exodus 12:8)

• Education: Parents used the Passover to teach their children about the Father (Exodus 12:25-27)

• Setting ourselves apart from the world: After occupying the promised land, the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover (refer to Deuteronomy 16:​5-7; Luke 2:​41).

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The sacrificial blood was a sign that death passed over that house, when the Father exacted judgement on Egypt. The blood of the perfect and innocent Passover lamb symbolised the blood to be shed by the coming Messiah in the salvation plan, and the passing over of the wrath of the Father and death in the final judgement by those that do not have the covering of the Messiahs blood.

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What is interesting is that once receiving the covering of the sacrificial lambs blood, the Israelites were instructed to be set apart from the rest of Egypt by not going out of their house (Exodus 12:22). When we accept the sacrifice of the Messiah, we accept his sacrifice as both the passing over of death, and the sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. We should then be set apart from the rest of the world, seeking the Father, his truth, and learning his Word.

 

Like the Israelites, we are exiting Egypt for the promised land, our journey has begun but will not be without trials. The Exodus story is so powerful and represents so closely what our walk as believers should be. The story of the Israelites in the desert, disobedience, demands, people wanting to turn back, shows the discipline that we need to accept into our lives from that point. This is the renewed covenant between believers and the Father.Following The The Messiah instructed us to remember the Passover during His last Passover supper. We should solemnly observe the Passover, reflecting on the Messiahs sacrifice for all of mankind and renewing the commitment they made to the Father at baptism (I Corinthians 11:23-29).

 

So to us, the Passover now celebrates our release from the bondage of sin. The Messiahs blood fulfills the requirement of a sacrifice, but we choose to remember the renewed covenant that has released us from a life of slavery to this world and sin and remember the Messiahs sacrifice for our sins and the sins of all people who would ever live.

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Passover is not a High Sabbath day, but the following day is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and that first day is a High Sabbath day (refer Leviticus 23:2; Leviticus 23:6-7). The Passover day was a preparation day for that High Sabbath day, just as it was a preparation day for the Israelis leaving Egypt.

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John 19:31 Therefore, since it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the stake on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high one – the Judaens asked Pilate to have their legs broken, and that they be taken away.

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Feast of Unleavened Bread

The Feast Unleavened Bread was to remind Israel of the speed of their deliverance. It is a period that comes right after Passover and is a period where no leavened bread or leavening is to be eaten. In fact, we are commanded to remove leaven completely from where we live. The reason for that is that leaven is a Scriptural metaphor for sin, and unleavened bread is a Scriptural metaphor for false doctrine. We are again being called to a life without sin, and without false doctrine. It is a time that helps us to focus on replacing sin with righteousness in our lives.

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The Israelis had to leave Egypt very quickly, so quickly that they did not have time to wait for dough to rise or prepare proper provisioning. Instead they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt

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Exodus 12:39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, since they were driven out of Egypt, and had not been able to delay, nor had they prepared food for themselves.

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This Feast along with Passover was instituted as the first two feasts for Israel; they were a reminder of Israel’s redemption story.  They were to be passed from generation to generations for the ages to come.

This is the first feast the men of Israel were required to present themselves beforeYahuah at the Temple, the other two feasts were the Feast of Weeks and Tabernacles (Exodus 23:14-17;34:18-23, Deuteronomy. 16:16;2 Chronicles 8:13)  and both the first day and the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a High Sabbath day.

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Paul kept this Feast and advised the church at Corinth to keep the Feast

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1 Corinthians5:8 So then let us celebrate the festival, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

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The Father gave instructions on how to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread which include the following.

• The Israelite's celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days after the Passover, during which time they did not eat leavened bread (refer to Exodus 12:17-​20; 2 Chronicles 30:21)

• The first day and the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are High Sabbath days, so no servile work can be done

• All the men are to come to worship the Father three times a year at the one place of worship . . . Each man is to bring a gift as he is able . . . (Deuteronomy 16:16 - 17)

 

The Messiah was crucified on the Passover day, but was resurrected during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so to us, the Feast of Unleavened Bread now celebrates our redemption from sin and the start of our journey to the promised land. Just as Pharaoh held the Israelites as slaves in Egypt, Satan held us captive. Just as the Father delivered Israel out of Egypt with the intent that they never return, the Father delivers us from our sinful life and instructs us never to return. Since leaven typically puffs things up, it represents not only the root of many sins, pride, but also malice, wickedness, hypocrisy and wrong teachings.

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Feast of First Fruits

The Wave Sheaf offering is a spring observational Feast day, and is not to be confused with the wave offering at Shavuot. The Wave Sheaf offering is an extremely important part of the Fathers Salvation Plan that many miss the significance of. It links the Hebrews crossing into the promised land, to our crossing into the promised land through the Fathers Salvation Plan. This offering was a key date, as it marked the day the Hebrews could eat the food of the land of Canaan and was also fulfilled by the Messiah, who presented himself as the High Priest in a state of holiness before the Father.

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The Wave Sheaf Offering and the crossing of the Jordan River are symbols that represent not only the Hebrews' physical journey but also their deeper spiritual transformation. These events mark a progression in obedience, faith, and a renewed covenant relationship with the Father.

The Spring Feasts together—Passover, Unleavened Bread, and the Wave Sheaf Offering—symbolise our own transition into a renewed life of dedication, obedience, and fresh beginnings. The Wave Sheaf Offering represents our faith and reminds us of the Father’s provision for a new spiritual life. For the Hebrews, crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land was a physical act of stepping into new life, while for us, under the Messiah, it signifies the beginning of a personal spiritual journey as we step out of the wilderness into the promised land.

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There is a lot of mis-understanding and misinformation about the Wave Sheaf as this is a critical part of the Fathers Salvation Plan, this is the first offering for the new harvest. More detailed reading is in the the Wave Sheaf offering section.

 

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The Messiahs crucifixion fulfilled the prophecy of the Messiahs first coming, and the Spring Feasts exactly

​Is it all coincidence? I think not, the Messiahs death fulfilled the Spring Feasts exactly. This is very different to the understanding I had of these festivals and what I had been taught!

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It is a true story of absolute love and sacrifice that we must not demean by aligning it with pagan festivals.

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By partaking of the, as the Messiah commanded, we are rededicating our lives to walk in His way and live our lives by Him. “The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood is dwelling in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father; so also the one who eats Me shall live by Me” (John 6:56-57).

 

The believers relationship with the Messiah and the Father is renewed each year by participating in the Passover. The true meaning of the Passover goes far beyond understanding the correct day and correct manner for its observance.  In reality, the Passover is the foundation of God’s plan for our lives—now and for all eternity!

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Web page last updated 30 November 2024

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