The creation of the Earth is the starting point in establishing the Feasts of God. Within the creation account the week of creation starts on the first day of the week (Sunday) and goes to the seventh day or Sabbath (Saturday). This week is seen as picturing seven thousand years (2Pet. 3:8), with Sunday representing the first thousand years.

Genesis 1:2-3 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. ³ Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (NKJV)

It is important to note that in this structure the commencing week is also seen as being from the First day of the First month in a traditional sense. The first day of necessity had to be the First day of the First month and that is the way it is generally accepted. There are a number of aspects regarding this time-frame that have direct application to the creation in its primary purpose, which is the creation of mankind. This then relates to the lead-up to the first Feasts and the sanctification of humanity.

The First day of the First month was also used by God to re-establish the world under Noah, Moses, and within the Restorations of the Bible (Gen. 8:13). The destruction of the Earth commenced in the previous year on the seventeenth day of the second month after the Ark was closed on the tenth day of the month. (cf. Gen. 7:9-11). This setting aside of the elect was in a symbolic sense for the second Passover, as we will see.

The First day of the First month is the New Moon of Abib from which begins the sanctification of the Temple of God. Whilst this is seen by Judaism in a physical sense, it was never to be the case in the long term or spiritual sense. As explained by Christ, and within Christianity, the structure is symbolic of the Temple of God which is made up of living stones and which Temple we are (1Pe. 2:5; 1Cor. 3:16; 6:19 cf. Sanctification of the Temple of God (No. 241)).

Then dropping down to verse 31:

Genesis 1:31 Then God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (NKJV)

Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ² And on the seventh day God [had] ended his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made. (NKJV)

The word translated rested (SHD 7673) used in Genesis 2:3 has the meaning to cease [from exertion] or stop after completion; to rest.

Weekly Sabbath

The Seventh day of the First month has a number of symbols, which relate to the salvation of mankind. We see that in this first week the Seventh day of the First month was also on a Sabbath.

The week (and the Sabbath) is listed with the Feasts of God in Leviticus 23:1-3. This shows a direct connection between the week and the Feasts.

Leviticus 23:1-3 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are my feasts. ³ 'Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. (NKJV)

God says the Sabbath day is a day of rest. We are to work six days as God did in the creation account, and rest on the seventh day.

The Sabbath, as we are told, is to remind us of the Lord’s rest at the end of the creation week. This is important to the Plan of Salvation. The text shows that the Sabbath pictures God’s rest and the completion of an aspect of His work.

Genesis 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made. (NKJV)

In John 5:17, Christ said that he and the Father are working still. This rest of God is symbolic of a future rest, as is shown in Hebrews.

Hebrews 4:1-4 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them [the Israelites]; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ³For we who have believed do enter that rest, as he has said: "So I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,' " although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For he has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works"; (NKJV)

From here we see that physical Israel did not enter into the rest of the Living God yet it was God’s Plan to have spiritual Israel enter into that rest that was spoken of in verse 8:

Hebrews 4:8-9 For if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹ There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. (NKJV)

From Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, we can see that the Sabbath was to picture the conditional promised rest of Israel from its enemies when it was in the Promised Land. However, it never got its rest because of its rebellion (the Israelites did not obey God’s command). The biblical history of physical Israel is to be used by us to learn lessons, and also as prophecy of the Last Days.

Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (NKJV)

1Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (NKJV)

The Sabbath also pictures the bringing of God’s people out from slavery in Egypt.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. ¹⁵ And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. (NKJV)

Therefore, there is a connection with the first day of Unleavened Bread and the seventh-day Sabbath of the creation week, as the first day of Unleavened Bread also pictures coming out of Egypt.

Exodus 12:47-51 "All the congregation of Israel shall keep it [Passover meal]. ⁴⁸ "And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. ⁴⁹ "One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you." ⁵⁰ Thus all the children of Israel did; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. ⁵¹ And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies. (NKJV)

Dropping down to Exodus 13:3-10:

Exodus 13:3-10 And Moses said to the people: "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. ⁴ "On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. ⁵ "And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. ⁶ "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. ⁷ "Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. ⁸ "And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, 'This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came up from Egypt.' ⁹ "It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ "You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. (NKJV)

The Sabbath in its relation to the Passover, however, is in the second week of the First month. Before we look at the relationship of the Sabbath to the Passover and Unleavened Bread, we must look at the first week of the First month. The First day of the First month was for the Sanctification of the Temple, and the structure of the Temple was prepared for the Plan of Salvation as it was represented in the Passover. The Seventh day of the First month is the day of the Sanctification of the Simple and the Erroneous and is of critical importance to the end structure of the Temple as we see from Ezekiel’s Temple, where the day is commanded for the Sanctification (Ezek. 45:18-20).

Ezekiel 45:18-20 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary: ¹⁹And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. ²⁰And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house. (KJV)

Thus we see there is a preliminary sacrifice to sanctify the House of God, so that it may do its task in the function of sanctifying the nation in the Passover. The Passover is thus in the second phase or week of the creation. Hence, the acts of cleansing the Earth in the Genesis account looked forward to the act of cleansing the simple and the erroneous so they could take part in the process of the Plan of God. See the paper Sanctification of the Simple and Erroneous (No. 291).

This first week of the sanctification shows that the Seventh day of the First month of the Creation account was on a Sabbath. So the concept of the sanctification is not a mandatory fast; but the only effective way to sanctify the congregation is through a fast. Hence the actions of God within the elect make it possible for the entire creation to take part in the Passover. Sabbaths are usually a feast time but the act of fasting for error and ignorance is an overriding factor.

It is the cycle of the individual being brought into the Faith from the activity of the elect as a spiritual entity that is evident from Passover. It would be impossible for the individual to be brought into the Temple of God as a Living Stone from the activities at Passover if it were not made possible by the sanctification process of the spiritual sons of God. This process is symbolised by the sanctification of the first week of the First month on the First and the Seventh days of the month. This symbolism is portrayed by the sacrifice of the she goat for the simple and the erroneous as laid down also in Numbers 15:27-29. This sin of ignorance and the rectification that is made by the sacrifice applies to the whole world.

Numbers 15:27-29And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. ²⁸And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. ²⁹Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. (KJV)

This sacrifice of the she goat is fulfilled in Christ as head of the Church. The sacrifice which is the Church represented by the she goat (with the Red Heifer) is one of the few female sacrifices. Thus, the sanctification is made possible by Christ and the Sons of God as the Host and the elect in the first week of the First month.

The Passover sacrifice applied to the physical creation, which then allowed the chosen to be brought into the Church to take their place in the ongoing sanctification process over the Plan of Salvation.

The Passover was in the second week of the First month. Before we look at the significance of that we shall examine the overall Plan.

The creation week as the Plan of Salvation

We are able to see from this structure an application to us at the end of the age. The weekly Sabbath stems from the creation week. We are then able to apply this overall framework to see that the Plan of God is shown in outline by the creation week.

2Peter 3:8 states that a day is equivalent to a thousand years, and vice versa.

2Peter 3:8But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (NKJV)

Six thousand years are appointed to man under the fallen angels.

2Corinthians 4:3-4 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds the god of this age [Satan] has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (NKJV)

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness [fallen angels] in the heavenly places. (NKJV)

One thousand years are appointed to the Day of the Lord under Christ and his elect (Rev. 20:4).

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (NKJV)

Thus the seven-day week demonstrates the Plan of Salvation. There is, however, an interrelationship with the month and the festivals as they fall within each month, which shows a repetition of the activities of God, demonstrated also by use of the week as it applies in each festival in its respective month.

We might view the creation week as the seven thousand-year period, but in applying it to the Passover we must bear in mind a series of prior activities. The week itself, prior to the week in which the Passover falls, symbolises the creation of the heavenly or Spiritual Host, which was preliminary to the physical creation and necessary to the sanctification of the physical creation. The Seventh day of the First month is for the sanctification of the entire Host and is the central thrust of Hebrews 2:11. Messiah was destined by his activities in the second week to sanctify the entire creation, both spiritual and physical. The sanctification of the Seventh day is the symbol of the spiritual structure of the Host and the elect in the activities as they relate to the physical.

Hebrews 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, (KJV)

Christ, our Passover Lamb, was killed on the Wednesday afternoon of the physical creation week. The 14^th day of the First month is the end of the second week of Nisan, which began on the eighth day of the month. So the eighth day was the first day of the second week of the creation account. Thus the physical sacrifice of the Passover is in the second week, and actually represents the Sabbath rest of the second week, which is Christ.

The actual Passover year, however, was on a Wednesday and the symbolism here has another meaning, which can also be applied to the creation week. (In this account of course we would require the first day of the month to have been on a Thursday. We might view it in an isolated typological sense.)

This day of Messiah’s sacrifice might then be referred to as the end of the 4^th millennial day. If we take this to be 14 Nisan, then he was chosen before the first day of the week (10 Nisan) – by counting back from Wednesday the 14^th, we get the 10^th, which was the Sabbath and the day before the start of the second week of creation. Hence Messiah was prior to the physical week, being set aside spiritually and being also from the spiritual creation.

Exodus 12:3-6 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. ⁴ 'And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ 'Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶ 'Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. (NKJV)

1Peter 1:20 speaks of Messiah's manifestation for us in the Last Days.

1Peter 1:20 He [Christ] indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. (NKJV)

The tenth of Nisan on this account, applying only in the second week in the actual sequence in 30 CE, thus signifies the predestination of the Faith and the elect before the laying down of the physical world.

Christ is the author and forerunner, the prototype, of our salvation (Heb. 5:9; 6:20; 12:2).

Hebrews 5:9 And having been perfected, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him, (NKJV)

Hebrews 6:20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (NKJV)

Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NKJV)

We also know that the resurrection of all from the dead takes place on the Last Day.

John 6:40 "And this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (NKJV)

John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. (NKJV)

John 6:54 "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (NKJV)

John 11:21-26 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² "But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." ²³ Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." ²⁴ Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." ²⁵ Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ "And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (NKJV)

From these Scriptures we can see the resurrection is on the Last Day, which also has application to the Feasts of the Seventh month.

The week of Christ’s death in 30 CE – where the crucifixion was on the Wednesday – demonstrates this typological significance as we apply it to the creation week.

We note that the Temple is cleansed on the First day and the sanctification is done on the Seventh day. In the week of the crucifixion Christ cleansed the Temple himself from the first day of the week, or Sunday, rather than the First day of the month as required for the Temple in the Law.

We thus see a superimposing of the crucifixion week as an indication of the Plan of Salvation over the human and physical structure. This activity again commences with his cleansing of the Temple on the first day (Sunday) just as God renewed the Earth on the first millennial day.

Matthew 21:10-14 And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" ¹¹ So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."¹² Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³ And he said to them, "It is written, 'my house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

¹⁴ Then the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. (NKJV)

Christ died on the Wednesday, as explained in the paper Timing of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection (No. 159):

In accordance with the Sign of Jonah, he spent three days and three nights in the belly of the Earth (cf. the paper The Sign of Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 13)). His resurrection was at the end of the Last Day, the weekly Sabbath.

Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. (NKJV)

Matthew 28:5-6 But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." (NKJV)

(See the Appendix for a full layout of this week.)

Also notice that his triumphant entry into Jerusalem was on the previous Sabbath or Saturday the 10^th (the Lamb chosen before the foundations of the world!).

Taking this to the creation week scenario of a day being representative of the thousand years, we see that the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the Last Days. The Saturday Sabbath is representative of the “millennial rest”. This Last Day is also the day of the resurrection, which then occurred at the end of this day of rest.

Seven-day sequences in the Plan of Salvation

We see that there are a number of seven-day sequences from the cleansing of the first week to the Passover of the second week. This is then followed by Unleavened Bread, which has seven days.

The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (counting fifty) is arrived at after seven Sabbaths. The Feast of Tabernacles also has seven days. These are the three harvests when we must present ourselves before the Lord.

These three harvests of God are required assemblies before God. Each harvest represents a spiritual harvest of God in the Plan of Salvation (cf. Deut. 16:16-17).

Deuteronomy 16:16-17 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: ¹⁷Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee. (KJV)

Passover/Unleavened Bread: first harvest season

We will now look at the days of Unleavened Bread from the perspective of the three harvests of God. These harvests are symbolic of Christ, the Church, and the resurrection of the rest of mankind at the end.

1Corinthians 15:22-25 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³ But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at his coming. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. (NKJV)

Unleavened Bread is the first harvest season out of the three. Pentecost is the second, and Tabernacles is the third (Ex. 34:18-23). Therefore, it follows that this first harvest season is picturing the harvest season of Christ – the first of the first-fruits of the barley harvest.

We will look at Unleavened Bread from the point of view of its picturing of Christ’s roles in the salvation of mankind.

The Unleavened Bread week likewise shows Christ slain before the start of the first day.

Exodus 12:6 'Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight [or between the evenings - the afternoon]. (NKJV)

There are three significant events pictured in the days of Unleavened Bread. The first day shows the completion of Christ’s work as the sinless sacrifice and the High Priest who prepared to enter the Holy of Holies once and for all with his own blood and not that of bulls. The Wave-Sheaf shows God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice and Christ receiving his authority to rule with the new priesthood.

Daniel 7:13-14 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought him near before him. ¹⁴ Then to him [One like the son of man] was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And his kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. (NKJV)

Revelation 1:6 … and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)

The last day of Unleavened Bread pictures Christ’s role at the Last Day as King.

If we overlay the creation week over the Unleavened Bread week and the actual week in 30 CE, the first day shows Christ’s role in creation (Heb. 1:2). The Wave-Sheaf shows Christ’s role as the accepted saviour and High Priest appointed by God on the fourth day (the Sunday of the Wave-Sheaf), which equates to the Wednesday of the creation week and, therefore, the last day of Unleavened Bread is again the rest.

The last day is a Sabbath because of Christ’s role in the Millennium (or seven-thousandth year of the “creation week”, the Sabbath). This is his role in the Day of the Lord. He comes as the King at his second Advent when the Earth gets rest.

The seven days are marked by the lack of leaven, which signifies the removal of sin from our lives. Christ lived a sinless life. As a sinless sacrifice he was able to nail the bill of indebtedness or the chierographon to the stauros or stake. From this event we are redeemed.

Unleavened Bread marks our deliverance from sin, as Exodus 13:3-9 shows, and the removal of sin on an ongoing basis from our lives. The Feast of Unleavened Bread has another primary level of meaning as the first harvest of God. Unleavened Bread is the harvest season of Christ. It does not signify the harvest of the Church but rather points towards the activities of Christ over the period and the preparation of the Church for its harvest. It is thus structurally different from Tabernacles where the eighth day and not the seventh is a Holy Day, as that last day points towards the culmination of the system in God after the Millennium. Thus, the last of the seven days of Tabernacles is not a Holy Day.

There is a cycle within the elect from the sanctification of the Host to the Passover period and Unleavened Bread, which is used to deleaven those predestined to be called and so prepare them for the receipt of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The fifty days symbolises their lives from adulthood at twenty to death at the standard seventy years. When converted, they take their place in the spiritual Host as Sons of God to teach and sanctify the next group of those called out under the Plan of God.

Pentecost or Feast of Weeks: second harvest season

There are seven weekly Sabbaths counting from the Wave-Sheaf, and the day after the seventh Sabbath is Pentecost. This gives us fifty days from the one activity of the Wave-Sheaf to the harvest of Pentecost. The seven weeks to Pentecost have a number of aspects and applications.

They can be looked at as the seven Church eras coming to their rest on a continuous basis.

Hebrew 4:3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as he has said: "So I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. (NKJV)

Hebrew 4:10 For he who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his. (NKJV)

They can also be looked at in relation to the Jubilee system, as we see below.

The count starts with the Wave-Sheaf. The build-up to Pentecost is one of selecting and isolating a new priesthood as a new harvest. This build-up concerns the New Testament Church, which has a new priesthood under the High Priest of the Order of Melchisedek (cf. Heb. 5:6 to 7:21).

Hebrew 6:20 … where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (NKJV)

The Wave-Sheaf pictures Christ’s ascending into the Throne room of God to be accepted after his resurrection from the dead, as shown in Daniel 7:13-14 and John 20:17.

John 20:17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.'"(NKJV)

There are seven sabbatical years; then the year after the seventh sabbatical year is the Jubilee year. Thus, there is a relationship between Pentecost and the Jubilee year as the two structures are the same. The Jubilee system also pictures the life of the perfect person who has fifty years from adulthood to the span of seventy years and “the rest” that is found in God. The Israelites kept forty Pentecosts in the wilderness, also illustrating the span of the activity of God in Messiah. They were lessons for us. We are in the “wilderness” for forty Jubilees (2,000 years) or the Last Days (the Thursday and Friday of the creation week). Pentecost pictures our being the first-fruits and our being “watered” or led by God’s Spirit.

Jeremiah 5:24 They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest." (NKJV)

The appointed weeks of the harvest as stated here are the seven weeks to Pentecost. Thus, the time from the Wave-Sheaf to Pentecost is reserved for God’s people.

Pentecost is the second harvest of God and is sometimes referred to as the Feast of Harvest, as Exodus 23:16 shows.

Exodus 23:16 "… and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labours which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labours from the field. (NKJV)

It shows a continuous spiritual harvest and our being judged on an ongoing basis (waved loaves). It is called the harvest of the first-fruits, thereby implying a later harvest. The waved loaves at Pentecost are leavened.

The original leaven of malice and wickedness is replaced by the new leaven of the Holy Spirit working in the two aspects of Christ and the Covenant of God. Our lives contain sin but we are no longer under its bondage. The offerings at Pentecost show the need for a sin offering, which was made for us in Jesus Christ who paid that price once and for all at Passover. Thus, we look forward to our harvest at Pentecost made possible by the harvest of Christ at Passover. The sin offering points to the elimination of sin in our lives on a progressive basis (cf. the paper The Old and the New Leaven (No. 106a)).

Leviticus 23:15-21 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. ¹⁶ 'Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. ¹⁷ 'You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD. ¹⁸ 'And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. ¹⁹ 'Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. ²⁰ 'The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. ²¹ 'And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. (NKJV)

Notice that there is a goat for a sin offering in verse 19. Also note that the offerings at the Wave-Sheaf do not contain a sin offering, as this pictures Christ who lived a sinless life.

Leviticus 23:9-14 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. ¹¹ 'He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. ¹² 'And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD. ¹³ 'Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. ¹⁴ 'You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (NKJV)

As baptised members of the Body of Jesus Christ we are judged by what we do now.

Job 34:21-23 "For his eyes are on the ways of man, And he sees all his steps. ²² There is no darkness nor shadow of death Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. ²³ For he need not further consider a man, That he should go before God in judgment. (NKJV)

Pentecost pictures this by the waved loaves, which physical Israel kept forty times while wandering in the wilderness. Tying this to the Jubilees as stated before shows our judgment by God on an ongoing basis over the two thousand years. Also note what Peter had to say.

1Peter 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? (NKJV)

The first Pentecost of the Israelites was when they received the Law at Sinai. The first Pentecost of the New Testament Church was when they received the Law written in their hearts, the pouring out of God’s Spirit.

Hebrews 8:10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (NKJV)

Acts 2:17-21 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸ And on my menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out my Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. ¹⁹ I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapour of smoke. ²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. ²¹ And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'(NKJV)

In Acts 2:18 it says “days” (plural) and in verse 17 it refers to the Last Days. Verse 20 puts these days before the last day: “... the great and notable day of the Lord”. Therefore, we are looking at the two days (Thursday and Friday of the creation week) or the two thousand years up to the Millennium. The entire structure of the Last Days is examined in the paper The Day of the Lord and the Last Days (No. 192).

There are seven Sabbaths completed from the Wave-Sheaf (Christ) to the harvest (Pentecost) of the elect. There are also understood to be seven Church eras symbolised by the seven Churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, and they must be completed before the harvest.

The significance of Trumpets

Trumpets were used to warn Israel in times of war. They were blown at the Feasts, New Moons and over the burnt offerings and sacrifices of peace offerings. They were used to gather the leaders or the people together and to direct the movement of Israel in the wilderness.

Numbers 10:2-10 "Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. ³ "When they blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁴ "But if they blow only one, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you. ⁵ "When you sound the advance, the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. ⁶ "When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall begin their journey; they shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. ⁷ "And when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but not sound the advance. ⁸ "The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. ⁹ "When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰ "Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the LORD your God." (NKJV)

Here there were two trumpets. The single trumpet was to summon the leaders. Two were used to summon the nation. Trumpets in the plural relate to the elect and the nation.

The Book of Revelation tells us there are seven trumpets. The seven trumpets are the seventh seal. The seal is concealing part of the scroll, so these trumpets are a revealing. The seventh trumpet marks the return of Christ as King and the gathering of the elect. The seventh trumpet opens out to become the seven vials of the wrath of God. Therefore, the Day of Trumpets pictures a period of time and not just one event. When we look at the taking of Jericho, the Book of Joshua pictures this as well. They marched around the city once and blew the trumpets each day for six days and on the seventh day they marched around the city seven times and blew the trumpets each time around. Then, when they blew the trumpets the seventh time around the people shouted.

Joshua 6:1-20 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. ² And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valour. ³ "You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. ⁴ "And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ "It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him." ⁶ Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD." ⁷ And he said to the people, "Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the LORD." ⁸ So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. ⁹ The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁰ Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout." ¹¹ So he had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. ¹² And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. ¹³ Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁴ And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. ¹⁵ But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: "Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! ¹⁷ "Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. ¹⁸ "And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. ¹⁹ "But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD." ²⁰ So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. (NKJV)

There is an obvious connection here with the seventh trumpet blast of Revelation 11:15,18 and with the last trumpet and the shout of the Archangel.

1Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (NKJV)

1Corinthians 15:51-52 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (NKJV)

Trumpets were blown on all seven days of the siege of Jericho. Again, we might relate this back to the week of creation. Using this analogy then, we see the siege of Jericho representing God’s Plan of redemption of this planet and the warnings through six thousand years. The seventh day is symbolic of the arrival of Messiah and the dismantling of this Earth’s systems. Messiah does this at his coming at the start of the seventh Millennium. This is represented by the arrival of the holy angelic Being early on the seventh day of the siege of Jericho. Notice that Christ is shown to be present as the “Commander of the army of the LORD”.

Joshua 5:13-14 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" ¹⁴ So he said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to him, "What does my Lord say to his servant?" (NKJV)

Notice Christ has now come (v. 14). Also notice the securing of Rahab at this time, having been spared because of the red cord in her window.

Joshua 2:14-18 So the men answered her, "Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you." ¹⁵ Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. ¹⁶ And she said to them, "Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way." ¹⁷ So the men said to her: "We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, ¹⁸ "unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home. (NKJV)

Joshua 6:23-25 And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. ²⁵ And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (NKJV)

This story shows Rahab as the Church at the end time. The Church is spared because of the sacrifice of our Passover Lamb – Christ. The red cord represents his blood as it was used in Egypt on the doors and lintels. This is not a place of safety, as Rahab is in the worst place she could be – in the wall. It also represents the fact that she is protected and is protecting those near her at the overthrow of the nations, because of her relationship with the Army of the Lord through faith. This entire story is examined in the paper The Fall of Jericho (No. 142).

This entire process took place over the Passover period. From the first day of this Feast they ate the corn of the new land that is the stored grain of the old harvest. The manna ceased and they were no longer dependent upon the manna in the wilderness and were able to interact in their own affairs under God’s Laws and system.

As mentioned above, trumpets were to be blown at Feast Days, New Moons, over sacrifices and burnt offerings showing these to be part of this warning system of God. They were used to call and direct the movements of the camp of God’s people (Num. 10:2). The obvious connection with the elect can be seen.

Trumpets, therefore, as used in these biblical stories, picture the Plan of God from the perspective of the directions and warnings of God given over six thousand years. This sequence culminates in the return of Christ together with the collection of his elect at his coming. This is followed by the destruction of this world’s systems shown as the wrath of God in the seven vials or bowls and the battle of the Great Day of God.

Revelation 11:15-19 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever!" ¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying: "We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because you have taken your great power and reigned. ¹⁸ The nations were angry, and your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that you should reward your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth." ¹⁹ Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple. And there were lightning’s, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. (NKJV)

Thus the First Holy Day of the Seventh month is termed the Day of Trumpets and is representative of the Advent of Messiah as conquering King to subjugate the nations.

There is a relationship with the Feasts of the First and the Seventh months that we shall examine below. The next Holy Day we examine in the sequence is the Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement

Leviticus 16:1-31 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; ² and the LORD said to Moses: "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. ³ "Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. ⁴ "He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on. ⁵ "And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. ⁶ "Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. ⁷ "He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁸ "Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. ⁹ "And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. ¹⁰ "But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. ¹¹ "And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. ¹² "Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. ¹³ "And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die. ¹⁴ "He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. ¹⁵ "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. ¹⁶ "So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. ¹⁷ "There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. ¹⁸ "And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. ¹⁹ "Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. ²⁰ "And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. ²¹ "Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. ²² "The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. ²³ "Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. ²⁴ "And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. ²⁵ "The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. ²⁶ "And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. ²⁷ "The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal. ²⁸ "Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. ²⁹ "This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. ³⁰ "For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. ³¹ "It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. (NKJV)

The entire structure of the Atonement sequence is examined in the papers Atonement (No. 138) and Azazel and Atonement (No. 214).

On the Day of Atonement there were two goats for the sin offering for the people. The High Priest was the only one allowed into the Most Holy Place and he was only allowed to go there once a year on the Day of Atonement. He had to have a sin offering for himself – a bull – and he took the blood of the bull and the blood of one of the goats into the Most Holy Place. This we know pictures Christ.

Hebrews 9:11-14 But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. ¹² Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (NKJV)

The High Priest, having made atonement for himself, the people and the Most Holy Place etc., then confessed the sins of the people on the head of the Azazel goat. The goat was then removed from the area occupied by the people by a fit or suitable man.

We are seeing the same reconciliation sequence we see in the First month with the sanctification of the Temple and then the reconciliation of priests and people as the elect. Here the sequence is atonement of the priesthood and then the people, followed by the removal of Satan. The priesthood was atoned for by Christ, symbolised by the bull, to show the change in the priesthood. The removal of the Azazel goat pictures the binding of Satan at the commencement of the Millennium. The people had to fast or “afflict their bodies” – thus showing purification and reconciliation. The rams for the burnt offering for the priesthood and the people are symbolic of the trials we must go through. We know that Christ died for all mankind.

1John 2:2 And he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (NKJV)

This reconciliation extends to include the whole planet. It must take place prior to Christ’s rule. Therefore, Satan must be removed to prevent any influence, as shown in Revelation 20:1-3. Christ was set apart on the 10^th of the First month. He sets the world apart for reconciliation and conversion on the 10^th of the Seventh month.

Tabernacles: third harvest season

The Feast of Tabernacles is made up of seven days, the first being a Sabbath. After the seven days are completed, the next day is a Sabbath. The seven days picture completion but there is not a Sabbath on the seventh day. The normal workday nature of the seventh day depicts the release of Satan and the continuing activities of God in the process. The Holy Day is actually the eighth day or the Last Great Day of the Feast. The seven-day period represents the seventh thousand-year period. The first-day Sabbath shows the resurrection of the elect and Christ’s return. The Sabbath on the eighth day shows the final resurrection occurring after the thousand years have finished and the coming of the City of God (see the papers The Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143) and The City of God (No. 180)).

Revelation 20:4-5 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (NKJV)

From verse 5 we see that the eighth day is the Second Resurrection of mankind. Revelation 20:4-5 shows the First Resurrection to occur at the beginning of the thousand years and the Second Resurrection to follow straight after the thousand years. The Day of the Lord is the entire period of the thousand years and continues on to include the Last Great Day represented by the Last Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles in which all are resurrected.

John 6:39-40 "This is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰ "And this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (NKJV)

John 7:37-38 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸ "He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (NKJV)

John 11:24-26 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." ²⁵ Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ "And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (NKJV)

John 12:48 "He who rejects me, and does not receive my words, has that which judges him; the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. (NKJV)

John 12:48 shows those not called now (He who rejects me and does not receive my words) will have their chance in the Last Day – their day of judgment.

Therefore, the eighth day is part of Tabernacles and is the day of the resurrection of all mankind. The eighth day is also the seventh high Sabbath of the year therefore the completion and rest of God in His work of salvation.

This season is the Sabbath of the creation week, the third harvest of God.

The First Resurrection is stated in Scripture to be a “better” resurrection. It is better because those in it are resurrected to life. They have been judged before the resurrection so the second death is not a worry to them. They are resurrected to life not to judgment or decision, as are those in the Second Resurrection.

John 5:29 "and come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation [judgment or decision]. (NKJV)

They do not have to make a decision or be judged as that is in the past for them. The Second Resurrection is a resurrection to judgment and decision. These people don’t know at the time of their resurrection whether or not they will face the second death. They have to live for a time and be judged on what they do in that time – the decisions they make and the decision made about them.

Hosea 5:14-15 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. ¹⁵ I will return again to my place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek my face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek me." (NKJV)

Hosea 6:1-2 Come, and let us return to the LORD; For he has torn, but he will heal us; he has stricken, but he will bind us up. ² After two days he will revive us; On the third day he will raise us up, That we may live in his sight. (NKJV)

These verses have a connection with Luke 13:32-33. It therefore has significance in the three-year ministry of Christ. It also has a connection with the harvests of Israel, which we have seen in the question of three years of persecution, such as Judah under the Holocaust. However, it also has a wider application in that it relates to the last three thousand years (cf. Hos. 6:2). This period marked the change in the order of the priesthood from Levi to Melchisedek (cf. also Hos. 5:14).

We might thus read Hosea 6:2, where it states “after two days”, as referring to after the Thursday and Friday, the Saturday or Sabbath, and “on the third day” also referring to the same day, the Sabbath. Here it is talking about being “revived” and “raised up” on this third day. Thus we might deduce a sequence in the periods of sacrifice and persecution as three days from the death of Messiah and the Passover week as being related to the three-year sequences and the three thousand year sequences. This period is composed of two thousand years in the wilderness and a thousand years of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. This lines up again with the forty Pentecosts (Jubilees) as our allotted time before the great harvest of God under Messiah (Jer. 5:24).

As stated in Leviticus 23:42-43, the Feast of Tabernacles was also to picture the time Israel came out of Egypt and dwelt in booths. We might then deduce that this festival relates to the new exodus mentioned in Isaiah 66:20.

Isaiah 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. (KJV)

We can thus deduce that the terms relate to physical Israel in the Millennium. This time they will be under righteous instruction and have the Holy Spirit within their hearts and hence they will obey God’s Laws as a beacon to the nations and a yardstick for the final resurrection of the rest of mankind.

There is thus a relationship between the Feasts of the First month and the Feasts of the Seventh month. They have significance to each other in an almost transposed form.

From the First month to the Seventh month

This sequence of the first restoration culminated in Messiah. The sequence of this age is illustrated by the sequence of the First month.

On the First day of the month the sanctification of the Temple of God occurs – which Temple we are (1Cor. 3:16; 6:19).

The Seventh day of the month is the sanctification of the simple and the erroneous. This activity is required for the physical creation now and in the Millennium and is one of two distinctions between Nisan and Tishri, which otherwise mirror the same plan and actions.

The Tenth day of the First month sees the setting aside of the lamb which commences the process of redemption and the capacity for the first-fruits to be offered to and accepted by God.

The 14^th day of the First month is the Feast of the Passover. All restorations in this age commence from and involve the First month leading up to the sacrifice and the partaking of the body and blood of Christ as the second sacrament of the elect. The first sacrament of the elect is baptism, which is the first phase of the sanctification of the Temple. Ideally, this takes place after the Feast seasons and up to and between the 1^st and 7^th of Nisan and prior to the 14^th day of the First month.

The Feast of the Passover and Unleavened Bread is comprised of a single day and a seven-day period. The First Holy Day of both months is the 15^th day approximating the full moon. This sequence reflects the sacrifice and the preparation of the elect with the removal of sin and then the build-up to Pentecost and the Harvest of the elect during the forty Jubilees in the wilderness.

There is a Holy Day at the beginning and end of Unleavened Bread, with the first day or Passover Day of 14 Nisan being a preparation day. Unless the elect are holy they are not permitted to eat of the unleavened bread of the Passover, which we saw with the Restoration (cf. Josiah's Restoration (No. 245)) where the priests of the High Places were not allowed to go to the Temple for the Passover. Thus idolatrous worship precludes the priesthood from the Passover at the Temple.

The distinction between the First and the Seventh months is that the assembly of Trumpets, again on the New Moon or First day of the month, heralds the intervention of Messiah in the activities of the world. He intervenes because of the elect and their existence and persistence as God’s people. They are identified from their activities and duties, imposed and symbolised by the Sabbaths, New Moons, Festivals and activities from the First month up to and including the receipt of the Spirit at Pentecost, and the Feasts and Laws of God generally.

There is no fast on the seventh day of the Seventh month. Nothing that man can do now is relevant. The Lamb has already been sacrificed and so the fast is on the Tenth day of the Seventh month where in the First month it had merely been set aside for sacrifice on the 14^th day. In the Seventh month, the Lamb that had been set aside in Heaven returns as the conquering King, symbolised by Trumpets on the First day of the Seventh month. On the Tenth Day of Atonement the world is reconciled and prepared for the millennial reign.

The nations are dealt with on an ongoing basis. Just as Josiah had restored the Temple and the Law from the Passover and continued on for some thirteen-odd years after 623/2 BCE until he went to Megiddo in 609 BCE to face the nations and died, so too will the kingdom pass from the hands of the kings into the hands of Messiah, whose right it is.

The Feast of Ingathering must take place with the offerings on the first evening of the Feasts. The first day of Tabernacles is a Holy Day, so there is no activity required of human beings other than the ingathering offering, which must not remain until the morning.

The seven days of Tabernacles are the millennial equivalent of the seven days of Unleavened Bread. In the first instance, Messiah died to enable the Passover Feast. The actions of humans are necessary to come out of the world.

In the Seventh month the Feast represents the rule of Messiah on the planet where there is no requirement to come out of the world, as the whole world is under just rule and God’s Law.

Thus the seventh or last day of Tabernacles is not a holy day, as it represents the return of the world to the Adversary and war.

On the other hand, the Last Great Day is the eighth day, which, contrary to Unleavened Bread, is at the end and not the beginning and is a Holy Day. Passover on the other hand is not a Holy Day because it represents the work of Messiah in the salvation of mankind.

The Last Great Day is a Holy Day because it represents the judgment in righteousness of the world and the final elimination of sin. It represents the coming of God to the Earth and the City of God joined in the final restoration.

This final restoration is the end result of the Plan of God.

The Restoration of the planet within the Plan of God as depicted by the Feasts and Holy-Day sequence is covered in the papers Sanctification of the Temple of God (No. 241); Sanctification of the Simple and Erroneous (No. 291); Josiah's Restoration (No. 245) and The Seven Great Passovers of the Bible (No. 107). These Feasts and Holy Days all have significance for the activities in the sequence of the Plan of God.

PO Box 369, WODEN ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA

Weekly Sabbath

The significance of Trumpets

The Day of Atonement

Tabernacles: third harvest season

Appendix to No. 227