YHVH said to Moses: Speak to the Israelites and tell them “These are the YHVH’s appointed times which you must proclaim as Holy assemblies. They are My appointed times.” – Leviticus 23:1-2
The Fall Festivals begin in Israel on the eve of Monday, September 6. The Jewish calendar revolves around the annual Biblical Feast cycle, which is linked to the annual harvest cycle. The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is all about a harvest – YHVH’s plan of redemption, as He prepares to harvest a people who will live forever with Him in His Kingdom. God is in the process of the restoration of all things in preparation for the return of His Son, Yeshua (Acts 3:21) to take up His prophesied role of Messiah, Saviour and King of the Earth. In Psalm 102:16, the Word tells is that the Lord will build up Zion and then He will appear in His glory. When the Bible says Zion, it means Israel, however if the Church is in her correct Biblical position, grafted into the natural Olive Tree (Romans 11:17), then she is also a part of Zion/Israel, and thus is also included in the restoration process. However, because of the effects of the 2nd century separation of the Church from her Biblical roots and the effects of Replacement Theology, the majority of Christian leaders have called them Jewish Feasts, which they wanted nothing to do with and thus have ignored the Feasts of the LORD for most of the last 1900 years. But now we are in the time of the restoration of all things for Israel and the Church (see my Restoration booklet)
Josie and I take this call to advance the restoration of Israel very seriously, and we do our best to teach our non-Jewish fellow citizens (Ep 2:19) in the nations how to keep the Feasts in a Biblical manner. As the Feasts come around, we publish a simple teaching on how the follow the Biblical instructions for each Feast. Josie often says there is a richness and beauty in the Feasts of the Lord, that most Christians are missing out on. We pray that through these teachings you will learn more about the God of Israel and His Anointed One – Yeshua our Messiah and soon coming King. May you also discover the riches and blessings of the Feasts of the Lord.
The reason that I have made the word Feast bold each time it has appeared in this comment so far is that the Hebrew word in the Bible is Moed, which means an Appointed Time. These Appointed Times are the days that GOD has sovereignly Appointed to interact with His people. Of course we can meet with the LORD at any time, but the Moedim are the dates that He has chosen to meet with us in a very special way. From now on I will used the original Hebrew word Moed or Moedim (plural).
The Relevance of the Moedim and Why All Who Love the LORD should live by His calendar.
1. One very important purpose of the Moedim is to teach ourselves and our children about GOD’s nature and character. YHVH is faithful and His faithfulness can be clearly seen in the Moedim and there is a clear prophetic picture of the Messiah in all of the seven. The fact that the Jewish people still exist, in spite of having a 4000 year history of Satan inspired men who have tried their best to destroy us clear evidence of GOD’s faithfulness to keep His promises. The Jewish people are still here, much to the displeasure of our Muslim neighbours and anti-Semites world-wide, and once again are able to celebrate the seven Moedim every year in the Promised Land, which is a clear sign that the Messiah’s return is very close.
2. Keeping the Moedim of the YHVH makes us Holy or sanctified, which really means to be set apart. Keeping the Moedim of the LORD and not the other religious holidays sets us apart from the rest of the World, and sadly sets us apart from many others in our families and in our congregations, who choose not to conform to GOD’s times and seasons. Yes there is a price to pay for those who choose to worship Him in spirit and in truth. And it can be a very high price for some people.
3.The seven Moedim (interesting number) and show a prophetic picture of GOD’s redemption plan for the World, and where we are in prophetic time. Biblical history shows that YHVH only makes strategic moves on these seven dates. The major events in the New Testament have all occurred on the Moedim, and the numerology is strikingly exact. The Moedim of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First-Fruits have been fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Yeshua, and Shavuot was fulfilled by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The final thee Moedim are all about the Messiah’s return and millennial reign from Jerusalem. Imagine that you ask someone for directions from one place to another and they give you seven way-points, and the first four were exactly where the person said they would be, you would be confident that the final three will get you to your destination. In the same way, if we take note of the first four Moedim that have been fulfilled, we can be confident that the last three will be fulfilled exactly, bringing us to our hoped for final destination.
Therefore let us set ourselves apart from the world, and learn how to celebrate the Moedim of YHVH and in doing so we will teach our children about the GOD of lsrael ………. Over the next two weeks I will focus on each of the three Fall Moedim as each one approaches. I believe that we will experience the LORD in a new and more powerful way when we synchronize our lives with His calendar and set ourselves apart on His Appointed times.
If your church or prayer group would like me to bring a teaching on the Moedim on Zoom, please contact me and we can arrange a date and time. May the LORD God of Israel abundantly bless you in a special way at this special season.
The LORD bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on all of the land given to the right Jewish people by the GOD of Israel. Please pray that all Israel will turn back to their GOD. Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Let’s also pray for a breakthrough to the Muslims, and please remember to pray Divine protection for all of the soldiers in the IDF.
This article originally appeared on Out of Zion Ministries and is reposted with permission.