The Celebration Of Our Faith
The Annual Feast Days
by Rev. Ken Ervin
Many sincere believers
suppose the Feast Days mentioned in the Bible were a temporary feature instituted by God
only till the time of the Saviors death and resurrection; that they were done away
with, nailed to the cross and therefore of little importance to Christians under the New
Covenant. Is this really the truth? Have we been missing important truths that God would
want to teach us through these Annual Feast Days? In this article I hope you will see the
importance of these Feast Days.
These Annual Feast Days were times of religious
joy, when whole families made pilgrimages to Jerusalem to celebrate their faith. In giving
the laws for His people, God set several appointed "Feast of the Lord" for
Israel to observe at specific times during the year (Leviticus 23). The following seven
Feast were to be celebrated annually. Passover; Unleavened Bread; First Fruits; Pentecost;
Trumpets; Atonement; Tabernacles.
The question we have to ask ourselves, "Do
these Feasts have anything to do with us as Christians?" As we are about to enter
into the season of the first three Feast Days, Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First
Fruits, let us see what the Bible teaches us about what we are to understand concerning
these three feast. The Feast of Passover commemorated the deliverance of the Hebrew people
from the "destroyer" that passed over the blood sprinkled homes as he visited
the homes of the Egyptians, taking the lives of the firstborn of every family and cattle.
The blood that the people were told to put on the doorposts was from a sacrificial lamb.
When the blood was seen the destroyer, would pass over and the firstborn would be saved,
no death would come into that dwelling. Thus we get the feast named "PASSOVER".
What does the New Testament say about this feast?
First, the New Testament teaches us that Jesus
is the Passover Lamb. "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as
silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from
your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or
defect."(I Peter 1:18-19) Second, the New Testament teaches that at the Last Supper
Jesus refers to Himself as the Passover Lamb, this was the celebration of Passover.
"When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to
them, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell
you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the Kingdom of God". (Luke
22:14-16) Third, the New Testament teaches us that Passover was observed long after the
death and resurrection of Christ. "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new
batch without yeast- as you really are, for Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been
sacrificed. Therefore let us KEEP the Festival, not with old yeast, the yeast of malice
and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth."
(I.Cor.5:7-8)
As we are now approaching these first three
feast of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits, let us consider how we might
celebrate these Festivals. Let us remember we are celebrating Jesus our Passover Lamb. Let
us remember the day Jesus rose from the dead is First Fruits or Resurrection Day, not
"Ashtarte"; Easter which has its origin from one of the titles of Beltis, the
queen of Heaven. Let us remove the old yeast out of our lives and become a new batch, as
we really are. God bless you as we enter into this great celebration of Passover.