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The Passover Service introduces us to the first of the annual memorials in the sacred calendar. It was first kept in ancient Egypt when after four hundred years of slavery the Almighty rescued His people Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. In that well known episode YaHuWaH "passed over" the houses of the believers who had obeyed His command to apply the blood of a literal lamb to the lintel and doorposts of their houses. A study of the meanings of the Hebrew words concerning 'Passover' reveal a picture of YaHuWaH leaping ahead of the Destroyer and placing Himself in the doorway of the obedient Hebrew home, not allowing the Destroyer to enter that home. The Almighty spared the lives of Israel's eldest sons, but authorized the Destroyer to kill all the firstborn of the Egyptians who had refused to obey.

Surprising as it may sound, that awesome experience in ancient Egypt on the night of the 14th of Aviv (the first month in the sacred calendar) was merely a "scaled-down preview", a "miniature object lesson", a "dramatized prophecy," a "spiritual blueprint" of a far greater deliverance of YaHuWaH 's people scheduled to occur at the midnight of this age. For the real meaning of the Passover is this:

• YaHuWaH, the Almighty Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Israel plans to deliver from eternal death ALL who express their faith in Him and accept His offer of eternal life made possible by the death of His only begotten Son YAHUSHUA the Messiah.
• YAHUSHUA the Messiah's death on Calvary was prefigured by the death of the Passover Lamb. (John 1:29).
• YAHUSHUA sacrificed His life on the Passover, at the divinely appointed time, to rescue mankind from the 'slavery of sin' and its tragic consequences - eternal death!
• And all those who by express faith in the Almighty and His Son, the 'Lamb of YaHuWaH which taketh away the sin of the world,' will be pardoned, spared and granted eternal life according to His promise.

"And how," you may well ask, "is the blood of the real Passover Lamb, the Son of the Almighty Elohim, applied to a believer in this electronic age?" The answer is: By taking part in a special memorial service called the Passover Service on the evening of the 14th Aviv each year, which is the divinely appointed time. The Passover Service is a memorial of the Savior's death on Calvary and every believer in the Messiah is commanded to keep it. "this do in remembrance of Me" said the Messiah, the Lamb of YaHuWaH. Memorial services, incidentally are not observed several times a year; neither should they be observed at any time people fancy. The time to observe the Passover Service has been divinely appointed; and that time is the evening of the 14th day of the 1st month. Let all who read, pause and take note.

The new covenant emblems of the Savior's body and blood are "unleavened bread and wine." (Luke 22:14-20) These emblems have replaced the need to slay a literal lamb each year, for the Messiah, the real Passover Lamb, has already been slain. But the TIME set apart for this memorial service remains the same. It is the evening of the 14th day of the first month (Aviv) in the sacred calendar (Exodus 13:5-11). The date is important and can never be altered, because it is the memorial date of our Savior's death, when he paid with His life to rescue mankind from extinction at the hands of the Destroyer.

When a believer takes part in this service he/she is, figuratively speaking, applying the blood of the Messiah to his/her mind, which is the lintel of the soul. This act of faith is a clear sign to the Almighty that that soul seeks pardon, protection and salvation. That is how the Passover Lamb's blood is applied to the lintel of a believer's mind in this century.

Incredible as it may seem, the fulfillment of the Passover (the day itself , not the Lamb) is still future. According to Scripture that day will be fulfilled in the Kingdom of Heaven. Even the Savior is awaiting the approaching midnight of this age when the Destroyer will be compelled to spare or passover all those who are displaying the sign of the Lamb's blood.

Note those words, "until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of YaHuWaH." This points to a still future fulfillment of the Passover, an event which will take place just prior to our entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. I repeat, the Passover Lamb (YAHUSHUA the Messiah) has been slain; it now remains for believers to symbolically apply his blood to their hearts and minds before the midnight of this age when the Destroyer will once again circle the Earth on his mission of death!

Believers in the Almighty who, therefore, celebrate the Passover Service on the appointed evening each year will be greatly blessed; for as they eat the unleavened bread and drink the wine (the new covenant emblems of the Savior's body and blood) they are, in truth, applying the Savior's life-giving blood to the lintels of their souls.

Put differently, we may say that YaHuWaH 's main purpose in staging such a breathtaking Passover display in ancient Egypt was His way of giving the entire universe a 'prophetic preview' of His Earth- encompassing plan to 'pass over' and deliver His people in the closing days of this age. Yes, YaHuWaH, the Elohim of Israel, is in the near future going to personally visit all the nations of the world, and as before, 'pass-over' (pity, spare and deliver) all those who faithfully display the Sign of His Son's blood on the lintels of their minds and the door post of their supporting actions. Thus we can see that ancient Israel's exodus from Egypt was a "prophetic drama," a "living blueprint," a "meaningful model" of a far greater deliverance of YaHuWaH 's people which is scheduled to take place on a world scale in our day. In view of this, believers in the Messiah should beware of failing to keep this memorial service at its appointed time.

The week of unleavened bread is often referred to as the Passover Week. The first and last days of this week (15th and 21st Aviv) are Sabbath days, on which all believers are commanded to rest from their labors and to assemble to worship the Almighty. (Leviticus 23:5-8)

Leaven (yeast) is a symbol of sin, hypocrisy, and false doctrine. A week represents eternity and a house represents the church of YaHuWaH. Thus the week of unleavened bread (when every trace of leaven is cleared from the houses of believers) symbolizes the church which is to be purged by YaHuWaH : of sin, hypocrisy, and false doctrine - for all time. Only when that work has been done will the church be a fit "Temple of YaHuWaH," a spiritual home the Almighty will inhabit for all eternity. Yes, before YaHuWaH 's Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in 'His house' (the church) He has scheduled Himself to purge His people of every trace of (leaven) sin. (Matt. 16:6-12, Luke 12:1).

I repeat, there is coming a time when the Almighty will purge hypocrisy, false doctrine & sin (leaven) from the minds of His people; and only when that time arrives will the Week of Unleavened Bread have found its fulfillment, not before.

Scripture tells us that this Feast of Unleavened Bread is a Sacred Sign on the believer's hand and mind that the Almighty's law is inscribed therein. This Feast is, in fact, the appointed sign of faithful obedience, as opposed to the Mark of the Antichrist, which is the brand mark of disobedience.

The Feast of Shavuot, also called the Feast of First Fruits, falls on the 50th day after the Passover Sabbath. This Feast is a reminder, a guarantee of YaHuWaH 's power to produce spiritual fruit in the field of human salvation. The literal first fruits of the soil are merely the physical types or expressions of the real first fruits of the Holy Spirit.

The first fruits of the Holy Spirit are the true believers won to YaHuWaH by YAHUSHUA His Son the firstborn. (James 1:18, Rev. 14:4)

The ancient ceremony of presenting the Almighty with the firstfruits of the earth (Deut. 26:1-11) with two oven-baked loaves, in which the leaven had been de-activated (Lev. 23:15-17), was a figure, a type, a shadow of the spiritual harvest of human souls in whom the yeast of sin will one day cease to exist. There is coming a day when the power of sin will be de-activated in us believers just as the power of leaven is neutralized in an oven baked loaf.

The breathtaking experience recorded in Acts 2 was but the early harvest, a kind of "firstfruits" of an even greater out-pouring of divine power scheduled to fall upon the church in the near future when the main harvest of human beings will be gathered in.

The Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost), in short, prefigures, guarantees and commemorates the early harvest, the first fruits of human souls: and those who celebrate it declare their willingness to be part of that spiritual multitude which will one day be gathered in and presented to the Almighty by His Son - the Firstborn!

The Day of Trumpets is celebrated on the first day of Tishri the seventh month in the sacred calendar. (Lev. 23:24)

Trumpets were used by YaHuWaH 's command in ancient Israel:

• To assemble the congregation and to start journeying (Numbers 10:2)
• To call the leaders of Israel together (verse 4)
• To sound the alarm for war and to signal an attack (verse 9, Judges 3:27, Job 39:25)
• To accompany the praises of Israel at the appointed festivals and the days of the new moon (Numbers 10:10)
• To proclaim the accession of kings (2 Sam. 15:10, 1 Kings 1:34, 2 Kings 9:13)
• And to announce the Jubilee year of freedom (Lev. 25:9)

The Day of Trumpets is an annual memorial Sabbath, a day of special significance, designed to bring the faithful into remembrance before the Almighty. The two silver trumpets mentioned in Numbers 10 were types of the great originals in the heavens - the Trumpets of YaHuWaH and His Son. Those divine originals are mentioned several times in the Scriptures and at their sounding events of awesome importance have and still will take place. We read about the trumpets past and future used in:

• The giving of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:14-19)
• The world wide warning still scheduled for the future when YaHuWaH Himself will blow the trumpet. (Zech. 9:14, Isaiah 18:3, Zeph. 1:14-16)
• Signalling the events scheduled for the close of this age. (Revelation chapters 8 & 9)
• The Second Advent of YAHUSHUA the Messiah; at which the resurrection will take place. (Matt. 24:31)

A study of the texts listed above will show how YaHuWaH Himself has planned to use His heavenly trumpets again. He and His Son will blow them to gather His people as in days gone by; gather them for the climatic events scheduled to take place at the Messiah's return. Did he not say:

The prophecy of the Revelation tells of the sounding of heavenly trumpets - possibly starting at a Day of Trumpets - which will probably coincide with the gathering of YaHuWaH 's people in the last days and the final war in Heaven between the forces of good and evil.

No one will doubt but that the Day of Trumpets has still to find even partial fulfillment; and it is because of this fact and the many texts which tell of the use of the Trumpets of Elohim in the future that believers should beware of ignoring this important annual appointed day.

On some future Day of Trumpets the mighty Trumpet of YaHuWaH will sound. It will be heard throughout the world! and will reverberate with tones as awesome as the rushing sound which filled Jerusalem on the Day of Shavuot (Pentecost) some 2000 years ago (Acts 2:2). All of mankind will hear the Trumpet, for the Bible says:

Only when that event happens can we justifiably say that the Day of Trumpets has found fulfillment.

The Day of Atonement is observed on the 10th day of the seventh month of Tishri by abstinence from daily labor, by a holy convocation and by fasting. It is the only commanded fast in the year and is, doubtless, the most solemn day in the sacred calendar. (Lev. 16 also Lev. 23:27-32). On this day the high priest laid aside his official ornaments and dressed in a white linen garment entered the Most Holy place to make atonement for himself, the priesthood and the congregation of Israel.

Our salvation, in other words, will only by complete when we are actually brought into the very presence of the Almighty.

The word "atonement" means to make amends for, to reconcile, to restore, to repair, to make at-one again. And that is exactly what the Day of Atonement prefigures. It points to a specific time in the future when YAHUSHUA the Messiah will literally bring the redeemed host of mankind right into the very presence of His Father, in order that we may be AT-ONE with YaHuWaH.

That indeed will by a reconciliation beyond compare, when the Almighty's estranged human family - alienated from Him by sin - will actually be brought into His presence to be AT ONE with Him. Can you now begin to see the plan of salvation prefigured in the feasts?

YaHuWaH 's family of true believers:

• Ransomed at the Passover and liberated by the blood of His Son - the Passover Lamb.
• Purged of sin, hypocrisy and false doctrine during the Days of Unleavened Bread to become a holy Temple of YaHuWaH.
• Filled with the power of the Holy Ghost in order to bear fruit for all eternity.
• Victoriously gathered and defended at the Feast of Trumpets when the trumpets of YaHuWaH will sound throughout the Earth.
• And finally on the Great Day of Atonement, brought into the very presence of the Almighty by his Son the High Priest to be at-one with Him for all eternity.

The Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) (Booths or Shelters) is celebrated on the 15th day of Tishri the seventh month in the sacred calendar.

This feast begins a week during which all 'Israelites born' are required to live in temporary dwellings or shelters. (Lev. 23:39-43). It is, at its basic level, a memorial of the time when YaHuWaH made His people live in tents and temporary shelters in the wilderness when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

At a higher level it is also a reminder or memorial of the fact that the Almighty came down from Heaven to live in a Tabernacle (a tent) amidst His people Israel. (Exodus 33:7-11 & chapters 35 to 40)

The Tabernacle in the wilderness.(Exodus 25:8-9) it was called:

• "the dwelling" (chs 25:9 margin of RV 26:1) and as the place where YaHuWaH met His people.
• "the tent of meeting" (Exodus 40:34,35 RV), and as the depository of the tables of the Law of testimony,
• "the tabernacle of the testimony" (Exodus 38:21, ch 25:21,22, Numbers 9:15)
• It was also known by the general designation "House of YaHuWaH " (Exodus 34:26, Josh. 6:24)"

From these and other passages we can see that the literal Tabernacle which Moshe built according to the Almighty's design was merely a type, a shadow, a physical expression of:

• YaHuWaH 's real spiritual habitation
• His point of contact with His people
• His law court or seat of justice, which not only housed his commandments but from where He personally dealt out Judgment.

These three functions of the physical Tabernacle find fulfillment in YAHUSHUA the Messiah the only begotten Son of the Most High, who is, in reality, the true Tabernacle of YaHuWaH.

Consequently, we may say that the Feast of Sukkot is also a memorial of the Almighty's astonishing condescension to come down to Earth to tabernacle or pitch His tent with humanity in the person of His Son. For YAHUSHUA the Messiah is Immanuel, Elohim WITH US, Elohim incarnate; that is YaHuWaH Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Israel taking up His abode in the tabernacle of a human body, in order to redeem and enable mankind to obey His eternal Instructions (Torah).

Is it any wonder that the profound reality of this fact (that Elohim is going to tabernacle with mankind for eternity) drew from the lips of an angel these amazing words:

I repeat, YAHUSHUA the Messiah is the Tabernacle of YaHuWaH !; and on the Earth made new He will again dwell in the midst of His people just as surely as He occupied the tabernacle built by Moshe in the days of old. That is what the Feast of Sukkot is a reminder and foretaste of.

The feast, known as the Last Great Day, occurs just after the week of Tabernacles. It is celebrated on the 22nd day of the 7th month. (Lev. 23:36)

The Last Great Day prefigures the endless cycles of eternity when the life-giving power of YaHuWaH the Almighty Elohim will flow to and through His people on the Earth made new. At the moment the reality of the Great Day of the Feast is an event to look forward to; but in the hereafter, when the saints occupy the new universe, the breathtaking bliss of the Great Day will begin to be appreciated as each anniversary - through the endless ages of eternity - brings unspeakable joy to the ransomed host. The Great Day will have begun - never to end!

A special invitation to this great spiritual banquet of an endless life of bliss is given to you by the Master Himself in John 7:37-39.

Here is an invitation that tells of how the true believer will not only live with the Almighty for all time, but will go on with the Creator to become the channel and co-producer of life everlasting to others, just as a young wife is the potential mother of many generations to come. Oh! the astonishing wonder of that declaration in John 7:37-39. Can you afford to ignore it?

These, then, are the appointed, memorial Feasts in the Almighty's Program of Salvation. As you can see each and every one of them commemorates in a special way a unique accomplishment of the Holy One of Israel.

• Passover - when YaHuWaH Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Israel paid the price for the redemption of mankind by sacrificing His Son YAHUSHUA, the Passover Lamb for the sin of the world.
• The Week of Unleavened Bread - when the Almighty puts sin, hypocrisy and false doctrine out of His church, His house, His Temple - for all time!
• Shavuot (Pentecost) - when the Almighty begins to produce spiritual fruit, the fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, patience, kindness etc.) in the lives of His true followers.
• Trumpets - when He calls, gathers, protects and battles in their defense.
• Atonement - when the ransomed church is brought by the Almighty's Son into the very presence of His Father to be made 'at-one' with Him.
• Sukkot (Tabernacles) - when YaHuWaH takes up His eternal abode and tabernacles with His people in the person of His Son.
• The Last Great Day - when through the power of the Holy Spirit YaHuWaH 's church will become the channel of blessing to the entire universe - for the great day which we call Eternity!

This is the message of the Bible concerning the Feast Days of YaHuWaH the Holy One of Israel. And it is concerning these sacred feasts that He says:

Who are the Children of Israel?

The true children of Israel, astonishing as this may sound, are those who have put their faith in YaHuWaH the Messiah.

Heathen who believe in the Messiah of Israel and join themselves unto Him in obedience to His commandments are, according to the Holy Scriptures, grafted into the Olive of Israel. They become part of the commonwealth of spiritual Israel and thereafter share all the blessings of the chosen race.

All true believers in YaHuWaH Elohim of Israel, and His Son YAHUSHUA are Israelites and are included in this gracious invitation to become part of the Olive of Israel. As Israelites we rejoice greatly and gladly observe the Feasts of YaHuWaH ; the eternal memorials of our salvation!

If you are a believer in the Son of the Most High, then the invitation to keep His Appointed Feasts is extended to you. Accept it without delay.