THE FEASTS OF THE LORD

Due to all the hype about the Rapture of the Church happening on September 23, 2017, said to be on the Jewish Feast of Trumpets, I have been thinking a lot about the Feasts of the Lord.  As I understand them, the Feasts of the Lord consist of:

*  Four Feasts which last a single day:
    - Passover - Nissan 14 (Lev. 23:5).
    - Pentecost - 50 days after the weekly Sabbath in Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:15-16).
    - Trumpets - Tishri 1 (Lev. 23:24-25).
    - Atonement - Tishri 10 (Lev. 23:27-28).
*  Two Feasts which last seven days:
    - Unleavened Bread - Nissan 15 (Lev. 23:6-8).
    - Tabernacles - Tishri 15 (Lev. 23:34).
*  One Feast varies in length and occurs within another Feast:
    - First Fruits - This Feast is not appointed a calendar day.
                         - It always falls in the midst of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
                         - It is the day after the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread.

[Note:  It is interesting that there are seven Feasts of the Lord, and one occurs within another.  It reminds me of the seven dispensations.  The Church Age occurs between Daniel's Sixty-ninth and Seventieth weeks; that is, within the dispensation known as The Age of the Law.  It also reminds me of the six days Israel was to collect manna, with the sixth day requiring a double portion; on the seventh day, Israel was to rest.  Israel will complete the Age of the Law, which begins the Millennial Age, the Age of Rest.  Ironically, two dispensations are occurring at the same time; while we are in the Church Age, Israel is still under the Law!]

*  All Jewish months begin when the "first sliver" of the moon is seen following the New Moon.  That would mean that the two Feast which last a week, begin with a Full Moon.  The first, Unleavened Bread, it provided light for Israel's exodus from Egypt.  The second, Tabernacles, it represents the Light of Whom Israel will worship during the Millennial Kingdom:  Jesus!

*  The only Feast of the Lord that is clearly related to the Church Age is the Feast of Pentecost.  It alone is celebrated with "LEAVENED BREAD."  The two leavened loaves represent born again Jews and Gentiles, both still sinners even as members of the Body of Christ!  And, it began on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47)!  Since no man knows when the Rapture will occur, it could happen today!  As for it happening on any specific day, the Word of God is clear that even Jesus did not know when it would occur.  Mark 13:32 says, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."  Neither did the Apostle Paul; he included the possibility that he, himself, could be alive at the "catching away."  He wrote:  "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Th. 4:17).

My advice is that, like John, we long for the Rapture to come today, for he wrote:

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:  therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:  but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (1 Jn. 3:1-3). 

The hope here is the hope that saves - Rom. 8:24 - "For we are saved by hope:  but hope that is seen is not hope:  for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for it?"  So, our hope is belief, faith, even confidence in the promises found in the Word of God!