A Brief Introduction to the Fall Feasts and Appointed Times of God

Don Meecha

The cycle of God’s Appointed Times as outlined in Leviticus 23 begins with the Shabbat in 23:4.  Yes, the Shabbat is the first of the Feasts to be mentioned in the Bible (check Genesis 1 & 2 for its inauguration).  And, yes, it is celebrated weekly as a sign of God’s creation of man and in response to Him on this day we are to honor Him and fear the Shabbat (Exodus 20:8).  Following the Shabbat in Leviticus 23:5, we find that the month of Nissan is to be the first of the year for the people of God.  Therefore, Passover becomes the first of the annual Appointed Time among festivals on the Biblical calender.” This Biblical calender followed by Israel is also God’s prophetic timetable for the redemtion of mankind in human history. In each of these eight Appoionted Times outlined in this chapter of the Bible, we can note the progression of God’s revelation and the unfolding of His prophetic plan for mankind.  If we also include the two intermediate festival times of Purim (Holocaust), from the book of Esther and Hanukkah (Dedication), from the period of the Maccabees and mentioned in John 10:22, we have the complete cycle of the prophetic calender with two extra sidenotes.

With the Fall Feasts upon us I would like to begin with the major themes of the Fall Feasts.  We discover in the Appointed Time of Rosh HaShannah, or the Feast of Trumpets, God’s call to man to return to Him.  After labouring in the summer fields it is time for man to return to God.  With the sound of the shofar we are reminded of God’s His Messiah and His Torah (God’s instruction).  On Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement we find the themes of repentance, sacrifice, salvation and God receiving His people back as the prophet had called out, “He has told you, O man, what is good;And what does the LORD require of youBut to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” (Michah 6:8).

Sukkot, or the Feasts of Booths is the last of the Appointed Times and it is considered the Greatest of all of the Feasts.  This eight day festival is physically about the second harvest of the land.  The wheat and barley harvest, the harvest of grapes and olive, the big harvest to fill the winter storehouses at the end of the season of growth.  However, spiritually Sukkot parallels the harvest at the end of the age when God will send out His angels following His Messiah to harvest the earth and its fruit (Revelation 19:15-21). This will result in the bloody jugement of mankind and the destruction of the anti-Christ.  However, for God’s people it will be a time of rejoicing in the victorious return of Messiah and His victory over the enemies of God.  We will at that time rejoice in Yeshua as our King and we will rejoice in His Torah. The so called scarlet thread of redemption runs through these Appointed Times and this theme is found to be prominante in the books of the Bible.  In the unfolding of mankind’s history we see it to be a God centered spiral leading up to the final prophetic promises and the fulfillment of the covenants which contain these promises.