This is a study of the dates mentioned in the Bible and whether they have any prophetic significance for today.

 

 

Bible Holidays
Names and Dates

As listed in Leviticus 23

Holiday

 Month Day

Sabbath of rest?
Passover 1 14

Yes
Days of unleavened bread 1 15-21 Work allowed on 16,17,18,19 and 20. Rest on 15 and 21
Pentecost 3 variable Yes.
Trumpets 7 1 Yes.
Atonement 7 10 Yes.
Tabernacles 7 15-22 Work allowed on 16,17,18,19,20, and 21. Rest on 15 and 22.

 

Leviticus 23

Comments
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. 		Ask yourself:
Who's feasts are these?

Moses' feast days?
Israel's feast days?
Jewish feast days?
God's feast days?)
   One of the very first objections to these Holidays is "They're Jewish". The next objection is "They are done away at the cross." Above you can easily see that these holidays are not Jewish rather that are Godish. That is, these are God's holidays.
 

Hosea 2:11

I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

Leviticus 23:44

And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

And in the New Testament "a feast of the Jews" means exactly that. A feast NOT of God, but of the Jews. For example. The Jews Passover is not God's Passover. There is more along this line in the following pages.

Hosea 2:11 is used to show that Israel's feast days were done away. Well that's correct, BUT the feast days that ceased were her feast days NOT God's feast days.

Her feast days today are the likes of Easter, Valentines Day, and Halloween. God's feast days are still Passover, Pentecost and so on. .

Hosea 2:11 does not say, "I will take back my feast days, my new moons, and my sabbaths, and all my solemn feasts."

Look at this!

1 Kings 12:32

And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
 

   Hosea 2:11 is talking about feast days such as that in I Kings12:32. Jeroboam was a wicked king. He replaced one of Gods feast days with one of his own.

  To determine if God's feasts were "done away at the cross" we need to see if the Apostles and early church observed them. Also we need to see if they will be observed after Jesus returns.

   And even if they were done away we still need to see if they offer any useful information for us to use today.
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. The first of God's feast days mentioned is the weekly sabbath.

4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

 In the First Season

5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's passover.
 

 Month 1, day 14

Which is it?

(  ) Moses' Passover.
(  ) Jew's Passover.
(  ) Israel's Passover
(  ) God's Passover.

6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day (of seven) ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: (A ritual of the Levitical Priesthood) in the seventh day (of seven) is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. (So the 15th and the 21st of Abib are holy convocations.)

 

 Feast of Unleaven Bread lasts seven days.

From month 1 day 15 till month one day 21

15 - Sabbath
16
17
18
19
20
21 - Sabbath
9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
11 And he (the Levitical Priest) shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.
14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
 		 The 15th and 21st above were yearly sabbaths. The weekly sabbath could fall on any of the above dates. The wave sheif was waved the day following the weekly sabbath during this seven day feast.

Some say the 15th and 21st were always weekly sabbaths. That would make the 16th always the wave sheif day.

But if the 16th was always this wave shief day, then why didn't God just say, "on the morrow after the sabbath 16th day of the first month the priest shall wave it?"

Second season:

 15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.
18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.
19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.
21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute (Statutes are laws.) for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. (Ask yourself this question: Is this special day to be observed just until Christ comes or for ever?)
22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
 

  

 

This next Holiday is called Pentecost. It is fifty days after the wave sheaf offering mentioned above.

Third season:

23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.
29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. ('Cut off' might mean to lose citizenship.)
30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. (Work on this day doesn't seem like a good idea, does it?)

This 1st day of the 7th month would be the fourth holy day.

Two annual holidays in the Passover season.

A 3rd holiday, commonly called Pentecost in the second season.

The 4th annual holiday is on the first day of the 7th month.

The 5th holiday is the 10th day of the 7th month.
31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
 		 Again, ask yourself this question: Is this special day to be observed until Christ comes, as long as the Levitical Priesthood lasts or are we to keep this holiday for ever?

Or is it only for Jews?
32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. "Even to even" might not mean 24 hours. It might mean from sunrise to sunset.
33 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD:  on the eighth day  shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations,  to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
38 Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.
39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel  the feasts of the LORD.		 The 15th day of the 7th month is a holiday. This would be holiday 6 of 7.

 

The next and last holiday of the year is day 22 of the 7th month. A total annual vacation time of 8 days. The first and last days Sabbaths of rest.

The last day of this vacation timeis Holiday 7.

 

 

 

 

 

Again ask yourself this question:

Who's feasts are these?
Moses' feast days?
Israel's feast days?
Jewish feast days?
God's feast days?

Exodus 23:14 -17

14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
FIRST: 15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
SECOND: 16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field:
THIRD: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God.

Deuteronomy 16:1-18

FIRST TIME

1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
2 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there.
3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee:
6 But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.
9 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn

SECOND TIME

10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there.
12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

THIRD TIME

13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.

A portion of the above verses mention some rituals of the Levitical Priesthood. This Levitical priesthood has passed away with Christ's Crucifixion, and it's rituals passed away with it.

For example, the sacrifice of a Passover Lamb is no more. It has been replaced, in most Christian Churches with Communion or The Lord's Supper.

Suggested next subject:

Enoch's prophecy about Israel leaving Egypt.

Main Holiday subjects links

Passover subject links.

First page in this series.

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  Bible Holidays are statutes under the law Thou shalt keep holy the Sabbath day.