Christ in the Old Testament Feasts
The Lord's Appointed Times
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." — Jesus (Matthew 5:17)
Jesus came to fulfill the Law. Not to abolish it, discard it, or do away with it. To fulfill it.
Paul understood this. Writing to the Colossians, he explained:
"Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." (Colossians 2:16–17)
The dietary guidelines, the festivals, the Sabbaths. They all had a purpose. They were shadows, pointing forward to the substance found in Christ. They were prophetic. And in many ways, they still are.
Christ has already fulfilled much of the Law and Prophets through His first coming. He was born, died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, all according to the Scriptures. He has entered into His glory and is seated at the right hand of the Father. But He has not yet returned. Aspects of the Law and Prophets still await their fulfillment at His second coming.
Christ in the Feasts
The Law commanded Israel to celebrate holidays at the Lord's appointed times. These are the "festivals" Paul referenced in Colossians 2:16. While New Covenant believers are not obligated to observe these festivals, we would be wise to see how these shadows point to Christ. They equip us to better understand how He fulfills the Law.
When reading the relevant passages in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, we must note a distinction that is clearer in the original Hebrew: the difference between the Pilgrimage Festivals (Hebrew: chag) and the broader Appointed Times (Hebrew: mow'ed). Missing this distinction creates unnecessary confusion.
Exodus 23:14–17 and Deuteronomy 16:1–17 outline three Pilgrimage Festivals requiring an appearance before the Lord:
- Unleavened Bread
- Harvest of First Fruits / Feast of Weeks
- Feast of the Ingathering / Feast of Booths
Leviticus 23 expands this to eight appointed times:
- Sabbaths
- Passover
- Feast of Unleavened Bread
- First Fruits
- Pentecost
- Trumpets
- Day of Atonement
- Feast of Tabernacles
The weekly Sabbath could be observed wherever you were. The other seven appointed times coincided with the three pilgrimages and were celebrated according to the Jewish calendar:
First Pilgrimage (Month of Nisan)
- Passover — Nisan 14
- Unleavened Bread — Nisan 15–22
- First Fruits — Nisan 16
Second Pilgrimage (Month of Sivan)
- Pentecost — Sivan 6
Third Pilgrimage (Month of Tishri)
- Trumpets — Tishri 1
- Atonement — Tishri 10
- Tabernacles — Tishri 15
When these appointed times were observed, the days became special "Sabbaths." These were holy days distinct from the weekly seventh-day Sabbath. Think of them like a birthday: always the same date, but not always the same day of the week.
Fulfillment in Christ
The New Testament makes it explicit that Christ fulfilled the first four appointed times, covering the first two pilgrimage feasts. The final pilgrimage and its corresponding appointed times remain unfulfilled.
The first pilgrimage, Unleavened Bread, encompassed Passover (Nisan 14), Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15–22), and First Fruits (Nisan 16). This was dramatically fulfilled in Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.
Passover: Paul states plainly, "For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7). John emphasizes the stunning irony that Christ was being crucified while the Passover lambs were being slaughtered (John 19:14).
Unleavened Bread: Christ was buried at the start of Unleavened Bread (John 19:41–42).
First Fruits: On the third day, the day of First Fruits, Christ rose from the dead. Paul uses this language explicitly:
"But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming." (1 Corinthians 15:20–23)
Pentecost: The second pilgrimage was celebrated fifty days after First Fruits. The word "Pentecost" literally means fiftieth. This was the very reason Jews from throughout the Roman Empire had gathered in Jerusalem. On this day, God poured out the Holy Spirit and inaugurated the church in perfect accordance with His appointed times. You can read about this dramatic fulfillment in Acts 2. The outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost is in keeping with God's eternal purpose in Christ to reconcile a people to Himself from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people.
The Final Pilgrimage
The final pilgrimage and its three corresponding appointed times remain unfulfilled. We must exercise caution whenever looking into the future with certainty. However, we can have some confidence by observing that just as Paul used the language of the appointed times to describe Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, he uses the same language when looking forward to Christ's return.
Trumpets: According to the prophetic schedule, the next appointed time is Trumpets. Jesus Himself used this language to describe the gathering of His people:
"And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other." (Matthew 24:31)
Paul echoes this:
"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51–52)
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
Day of Atonement: Following the Trumpets, the Day of Atonement foreshadows the Final Day of Judgment.
Feast of Tabernacles: The final appointed time points to dwelling. Tabernacles. The consummation of all things is when God dwells among His people:
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." (Revelation 21:3–4)
Conclusion
While we cannot guarantee that Christ's return will coincide with the appointed times from the Law, it would be unwise to miss the fact that God has already orchestrated the First Coming of Jesus and the beginning of the church age according to this very prophetic schedule.
Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. These appointed times have been partially fulfilled. We currently live in the time between Pentecost and the Second Coming. Between the birth of the church and the trumpet call of Christ. Whether or not He returns on Tishri 1 of some future year remains to be seen. What we can know for certain is that Christ is coming again to fulfill the rest of the Law.
Are you ready? And if you are, are you proclaiming the glorious truth of the gospel and urging those who are not ready to be reconciled to God the Father through His Son?
This article was adapted from "The Lord's Appointed Times," originally published on Fourth Year Ministries in November 2017.