LEARNING GOD’S APPOINTED TIMES: THE MOEDIM

LEARNING GOD’S APPOINTED TIMES: THE MOEDIM Most Christians know Jesus fulfilled prophecy, but a lot of people miss how much of God’s plan is sitting right inside Israel’s calendar. Leviticus 23 calls these days “the feasts of the LORD.” God does not call them man’s feasts. He says: “Concerning the feasts of the LORD… even these are my feasts.” Leviticus 23:2 The Hebrew word behind this idea is moedim. מוֹעֲדִים — moedim Appointed times. Fixed seasons. Divine appointments. These were real feast days given to Israel, but they were also prophetic shadows. They pointed forward to Christ and to the order of God’s redemptive plan. Paul said in Colossians 2:17 that these things were: “a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” That is the key. The feast is the shadow. Christ is the substance. Keeping feast days does not save anyone. Jesus saves. But learning them helps you see how deliberate God is. The cross, the burial, the resurrection, the giving of the Spirit, the trumpet, Israel’s future cleansing, the kingdom, and God dwelling with man are all pictured in these appointed times. God has never been making this up as He goes. He has appointments on the calendar. THE TABERNACLE: GOD DWELLING WITH MAN Before the feasts are laid out, the tabernacle already shows the heart of God. Exodus 25:8 says: “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” The desire of God is He wants to dwell with His people. The tabernacle was a picture of how sinful man could approach a holy God. There was sacrifice, washing, priesthood, blood, a veil, and a mercy seat. Every piece pointed forward to Jesus Christ. John 1:14 says: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” That word “dwelt” carries the idea of tabernacling. Jesus came and tabernacled among us. God in flesh. Emmanuel. God with us. The tabernacle showed the desire. Jesus Christ brought the reality. PASSOVER: CHRIST OUR LAMB Leviticus 23:5 says: “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.” Passover is where the plan begins. Israel was in bondage under Pharaoh. Judgment was coming on Egypt. The only thing that protected a house from death was the blood of the lamb. The lamb had to be without blemish. The blood had to be applied. God said when He saw the blood, He would pass over that house. That was history, but it was also prophecy. Paul says: “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7 Jesus is the true Passover Lamb. John the Baptist said: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29 This is where salvation starts. Sin brings death. Judgment is real. Blood is required. Christ shed His blood. The sinner comes to God through the Lamb. UNLEAVENED BREAD: SIN REMOVED Right after Passover came Unleavened Bread. Leaven in Scripture often pictures corruption spreading through the whole lump. Paul said: “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” 1 Corinthians 5:6 Then he said: “Therefore let us keep the feast… with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:8 Unleavened Bread points to sin being removed. It also connects with the burial of Christ. Jesus died without sin. His body was placed in the grave, but corruption had no claim on Him. Psalm 16:10 says: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Christ died for sin, but He had no sin of His own. This feast reminds us that the same blood that delivers a man from judgment also calls him out of bondage. God saves, then He starts cleaning house. FIRSTFRUITS: CHRIST RISEN Leviticus 23 also gives the offering of firstfruits. Israel brought the first sheaf of the harvest to the Lord. That first sheaf was a pledge that more harvest was coming. Paul uses that exact picture for the resurrection. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” 1 Corinthians 15:20 Jesus rose first, and everyone who belongs to Him will rise too. That is the meaning of firstfruits. The resurrection is not just a miracle to admire. It is the guarantee that the rest of the harvest is coming. Christ came out of the grave, and His people will follow. PENTECOST: THE SPIRIT GIVEN Pentecost means fiftieth. It is the Feast of Weeks, counted from the firstfruits offering. Then Acts 2 happens. On Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came. Peter preached. About three thousand souls were added. The Church was publicly launched. Acts 2:38 says: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” God chose that day on purpose. The Lamb had died. The sinless One had been buried. The Firstfruits had risen. Then the Spirit was poured out. Pentecost shows that God does more than forgive sinners. He gives the Holy Ghost, forms a people, and builds His Church. The spring feasts line up clean: Passover ~ Christ died. Unleavened Bread ~ Christ was buried. Firstfruits ~ Christ rose. Pentecost ~ the Spirit came. Those have already been fulfilled. The fall feasts point forward. TRUMPETS: THE SOUND OF GATHERING Leviticus 23:24 says: “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.” Trumpets in Scripture are used for gathering, warning, movement, battle, and announcement. That connects naturally with the future hope of the Church. Paul said: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump…” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 And 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God…” The trumpet is connected with the gathering of the saints. The dead in Christ rise first. Then living believers are caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. That is the blessed hope of the Church. The feast gives the pattern. The trumpet gives the theme. But we still handle dates carefully. The rapture is real. The catching away is real. The trumpet is real. Our job is to be ready, not careless with the calendar. THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE: Between Trumpets and Atonement is a sober stretch, and prophetically it lines up with the weight of the coming Tribulation. Jeremiah 30:7 says: “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble…” Jacob means Israel. The Tribulation is God dealing with Israel, judging the nations, exposing the Antichrist system, and bringing the world to the return of Jesus Christ. Daniel speaks of the final week. Jesus speaks of great tribulation. Revelation shows the seals, trumpets, and vials. The world is not going to fix itself. The King has to return. DAY OF ATONEMENT: ISRAEL LOOKS ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED Leviticus 23:27 says: “Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement…” Yom Kippur was the most solemn day on Israel’s calendar. The high priest entered with blood. Sin had to be dealt with. Atonement had to be made. Leviticus 16 gives the picture with the two goats. One goat was slain. The other was sent away into the wilderness. The whole thing preached sacrifice, cleansing, removal, and judgment. Christ fulfilled the true atoning work by His own blood. Hebrews 9:12 says: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” But there is still a future national dealing with Israel. Zechariah 12:10 says: “and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced…” Zechariah 13:1 says: “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.” That points to Israel’s future repentance when Messiah returns. The Day of Atonement fits the Second Coming with serious weight. Christ returns. Israel sees Him. The nations are judged. The Antichrist and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire. Satan is bound. Revelation 20 says Satan will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. This is not the world slowly improving itself. This is the King taking over. FEAST OF TABERNACLES: THE KINGDOM Leviticus 23:34 says: “The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.” Tabernacles was a feast of booths, harvest, remembrance, abundance, and joy. Israel remembered how God brought them through the wilderness and made them dwell in booths. Prophetically, it points forward to the kingdom. Revelation 20:4 speaks of the saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years. That is the Millennium. Jesus Christ will rule from Jerusalem. The nations will come under His authority. The earth will finally know righteous government under the rightful King. Micah 4:2 says: “for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” Micah 4:3 says: “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks…” That has not happened yet. The nations are still learning war. The world is still full of bloodshed, corruption, deception, and rebellion. But Christ will reign. Tabernacles points to the day when the King dwells among His people and rules the nations in righteousness. Zechariah 14 even connects the nations with the Feast of Tabernacles after the Lord returns. This points straight to the coming kingdom. HANUKKAH: DEDICATION AND RESTORATION Hanukkah is not one of the seven feasts in Leviticus 23, but it is mentioned in the New Testament. John 10:22 says: “And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.” Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Feast of Dedication. Hanukkah remembers the cleansing and rededication of the temple after it had been defiled. It carries the ideas of dedication, light, cleansing, and standing against pagan corruption. That is why students of prophecy pay attention to it. Daniel 12:11-12 says: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” Daniel gives the 1,290 days and the 1,335 days. There is a 45-day stretch beyond the 1,290. Many connect this time with the cleansing, ordering, and preparation connected to the kingdom after Christ returns. Sheep and Goat judgement. The Antichrist defiles. Christ returns. The wicked are judged. The kingdom is established. Worship is restored. Hanukkah reminds us that God does not leave His sanctuary defiled. The false king does not get the last word. The true King restores what was polluted. THE WHOLE PICTURE: When you lay the appointed times out, the order is hard to miss. The tabernacle shows God’s desire to dwell with man. Passover shows Christ slain for sinners. Unleavened Bread shows sin removed and the sinless Christ buried. Firstfruits shows Christ risen as the guarantee of the coming resurrection. Pentecost shows the Spirit poured out and the Church formed. Trumpets points to the future gathering. Atonement points to Israel’s cleansing, judgment, and the return of Messiah. Tabernacles points to the kingdom, when Christ reigns on earth. Hanukkah, though not one of the Leviticus 23 feasts, points to dedication, cleansing, light, and restoration. God wrote the Gospel into Israel’s calendar before most people understood what they were looking at. Jesus came to dwell among us. He died as the Passover Lamb. He was buried without corruption. He rose as the Firstfruits. He sent the Holy Ghost. He is coming for His Church. He will restore Israel. He will judge the nations. He will bind Satan. He will reign from Jerusalem. And the final goal is God dwelling with man forever. Revelation 21:3 says: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them…” That is where the Bible is going. Sin removed. The Lamb exalted. The King reigning. God with man. Jesus said: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Revelation 22:13 The appointed times are shadows. Christ is the body. And once you see Him in the calendar, you realize God has been preaching Christ from the beginning. #MoreJoyMinistries