Supplemental Notes:

The
Feasts
of
Israel
The Feasts of Israel, set by God, are not
only commemorative in a historical context,
but are also prophetic.

This briefing reveals the rich background

of these feasts, with many surprises for the
Biblical believer, and yet only scratches the
surface. The first session, by Chuck Missler,
is an overview of all the feasts; the second
session, by Dan Stolebarger, is a detailed
study on the Feast of Passover.

© 2007 Koinonia House Inc.

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 The Feasts of Israel • The Brazen Altar Rev 11:1
• The Ark of the Covenant Jer 3:16
Session 1: “The Appointed Times” • The Mercy Seat Mt 25:31
• The Water from the Rock (2) 1 Cor 10:4
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or • The Manna Jn 6:35
the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to • The Brazen Serpent Jn 3:14
fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and • The Passover Lamb 1 Cor 5:17
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise • The Camp of Israel Num 2
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Matthew 5:17, 18 Manna: Exodus 16
These are the strongest words on verbal inspiration • In need of food, God provided a daily provision of
and infallibility! (Even hidden encryptions depend Manna, a miracle bread from heaven.
upon the precise order of the letters!) • It was provided only on 6 days, with a double portion
on the 6th, to prevent gathering on the Sabbath.
Ultimate Commentary • Note: This was before the Law was given (Ex 20).
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were
The Brazen Serpent: Numbers 21
written for our learning, that we through patience
and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. • In response to murmuring, God sent fiery serpents,
Romans 15:4 which bit the people and they died.
Figures of Speech • Moses interceded and was instructed to place a
brass serpent on a pole on a high hill; all that would
• Simile: Resemblance (Gen 25:25; Mt 7:24-27). look toward it would be spared. Why this strange
• Allegory: Comparison by representation (Gen 49:9; remedy?
Gal 4:22, 24).
• Metaphor: Representation (Mt 26:26). And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
• Hypocatastasis: an implied resemblance or repre- wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
sentation (Mt 7:3-5; 15:13). up: That whosoever believeth in him should not
• Type: A figure or example of something future (Rom perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the
5:14; Gen 22, 24). world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
• Analogy: Resemblance in some particulars between whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
things otherwise unlike. have everlasting life.
Cosmic Codes, Appendix A John 3:14-16
Waters at Meribah
Types
• At Rephidim: water from striking the Rock (Ex 17:6).
Now all these things happened unto them for • At Meribah: water for the asking (Num 20:8f).
examples: and they are written for our admonition, • Type: “The Rock was Christ” (1 Cor 10:4).
upon whom the ends of the world are come. • Moses denied entry into the Land!
1 Corinthians 10:11
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The Camp of Israel: Numbers 2 Hermeneutics
Every detail by Design? What might be hidden behind • Greek (Western) Model:
the details of the Camp of Israel? “The volume of the Prophecy = Prediction → Fulfillment
Book is written of Me” (Ps 40:7; Heb 10:7). • Hebrew Model:
Prophecy = Pattern (Types, et al.)
Rabbinical Precision
Significance of the Feasts
• The Camp of Judah: East of Levites.
• The Camp of Reuben: South of Levites. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or
• Strict obedience denies area Southeast. in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the
• Thus, only cardinal directions ordained. sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come;
• Only width of Levite’s camp allowed. but the body is of Christ.
• Length proportional to population (see below). Colossians 2:16, 17

Each “feast” has an historic, memorial context (not to

be a basis of criticism). Each “feast” is also prophetic!

The Jew’s catechism is his calendar.

Samson Raphael Hirsch
The Heptadic Calendar
52 sabbaths
+ 7 days of Passover (including its related feast days)
+ 1 Shavout, Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)
+ 1 Yom Teruah, Feast of Trumpets
+ 1 Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement
+ 7 days of Sukkot, Feast of Tabernacles
+ 1 Shimini Atzeret, 8th Day of Assembly
70
OX
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament
MAN EAGLE of the heaven to divide the day from the night;
LION and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and
for days, and years:
Genesis 1:14

“Seasons”: ~ydI[]Amh “The Appointed Times”

As an Equidistant Letter Sequence, it appears only
once in Genesis. Statistical expectation: 5 times in the
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 78,064 letters of Genesis. It appears only once, at an Jesus is our Passover
interval of 70. And, it is centered on Genesis 1:14! The
odds against this happening by unaided chance have The Passover lamb was examined on the 10th of Nisan
been estimated at greater than 70,000,000 to one! (Mt 21:23-27; 23) and was to be without blemish (1 Pet
1:18-21). Pilate: “I find no fault in him” (Jn 19:4). It was
The Feasts of Israel offered “between the evenings” (Ex 12:6) on the 14th of
Nisan. “Not a bone to be broken…” (Ex 12:46; Num
The Spring Feasts (1st Month: Nisan) 9:12; Ps 34:20; Jn 19:31-33, 36). Jesus is our Passover
– Passover (Jn 1:29, 36; 1 Cor 5:7): He is introduced as “the Lamb”
– Feast of Unleavened Bread (Jn 1:29, 36). OT details the sacrifice (Isa 53; Ps 22).
– Feast of First Fruits
Four Cups of Passover (Exodus 6:6,7)
— Feast of Weeks

The Fall Feasts (7th Month: Tishri) 1) The cup of the Bringing Out; 2) The cup of the Deliv-
– Feast of Trumpets ery; 3) The cup of Redemption or Blessing; and 4) The
– Yom Kippur cup of the Taking Out. It is the third cup, the cup of
– Feast of Tabernacles blessing (1 Cor 10:16) that Jesus uses. This Passover is
unfinished—it will be finished at the Marriage Supper
of the Lamb.
Passover: 14th of Nisan
Passover is so essential for the Christian that the entire Feasts of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits
next session will be devoted to it.
Feast of Feast of
U n le a v e n e d F irs t
T h e 1 4 th o f N isa n B re a d F ru its

P a s s o ver S a b b a th
“T h e n Je su s six d a ys b e fore th e
P a ssove r ca m e to B e th a n y… ”
Jo h n 12:1
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

P a s s o ver

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

F ri Sat Sun Mon Tu e s W ed Thu F ri Sat Sun Mon

S a t? Sun Mon Tu e s W ed Thu F ri Sat Sun Mon Sun Mon “Three days and three nights” (Mt 12:40). The sign of the
This was longer than a “Sabbath day’s journey” permit- Prophet Jonah: Resurrection at sundown Saturday.
ted; therefore, the 14th could not be on a Friday (erev,
evening + boker, morning = day; each Hebrew “day” “At the End of the Sabbaths…” (Mt 28:1): Sabbath(s) =
spans two days on our Roman calendar...) plural (high sabbath of Feast of Unleavened Bread in-

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 tervenes). The Feast of First Fruits is on the “morning on the first Sunday after the full moon following
after the Sabbath after Passover” = thus, always on a the vernal equinox; and that if the full moon should
Sunday! The Empty Tomb was discovered on Sunday. occur on a Sunday, and thereby coincide with the
Passover festival, Easter should be commemorated
Feast of First Fruits on the following Sunday.
• As result of the Council of Nicea, and amended by
• “The morrow after the sabbath after Passover…” numerous subsequent meetings, the formal church
(Lev 23:11). deliberately attempted to design a formula for “Eas-
• The morning of the ultimate “First Fruits” (1 Cor ter” which would avoid any possibility of falling on
15:20-23; Mt 27:52-53; Eph 1:6; Rom 11:16; Cf. Job the Jewish Passover, even accidentally!
19:25-26) • Quartodecimans were excommunicated.
• When did the Flood of Noah end? (Gen 8:4). Our new
beginning on the Planet Earth was on the anniversary, Calendar Difficulties
in advance, of our new beginning in Christ!
• Jewish day starts at sunset.
Quartodecimanism • Lunar calendar: 11 1/2 days shorter.
• Ancient calendars: 360 days (all change in about 701 B.c.).
• “Fourteenism,” derived from Latin. The practice of • Jewish Intercalary months (leap years of 13 months:
fixing the celebration of Passover for Christians on 3rd, 6th, 11th, 14th, 17th, 19th = leap years).
the 14th day of Nisan in the Old Testament Calendar
(Lev 23:5). Confusion Reigns
• This was the original method of fixing the date of the
Passover, which is to be a “perpetual ordinance” (Ex • About 465, the church adopted a system of calculation
12:14). proposed by the astronomer Victorinus, to reform the
calendar and fix the date of Easter (elements of his
2nd Century Tensions method are still in use, although significant adjustments
to the Easter cycle were made in the 6th century).
• 115-125 a.d.: The Roman church celebrated Passover • Refusal of the British and Celtic Christian churches
on a Sunday at least since the time of Bishop Xystus to adopt the proposed changes led to a bitter dispute
or Sixtus I (Eusebius H.E. 5.24.14). between them and Rome in the 7th century.
• 154 a.d.: Polycarp visited Rome to discuss the dif- • Reform of the Julian calendar in 1582 by Pope Gregory
ference in Paschal calculation with Bishop Anisettes XIII, through adoption of the Gregorian calendar,
and reached an amicable compromise. eliminated some of the difficulties in fixing the date
• Polycrates of Ephesus and Irenaeus wrote in support of Easter and in arranging the ecclesiastical year.
of the Quartodecimans (Eusebius H.E. 5.24.17). • Since 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was also
adopted in Great Britain and Ireland, Easter has
Council of Nicea been celebrated on the same day in the Western part
of the Christian world.
• The council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival • The Eastern churches, however, which did not adopt
should be celebrated throughout the Christian world the Gregorian calendar, commemorate Easter on a

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 Sunday either preceding or following the date ob- Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
served in the West. Occasionally the dates coincide;
the most recent times were in 1865 and 1963. • 10th of Tishri (Lev 16:1-19; 23:26-32; Heb 9:1-16).
• In 1928 the British Parliament enacted a measure • Day of national repentance (Isa 53).
allowing the Church of England to commemorate • High Priest enters the Holy of Holies: God, who
Easter on the first Sunday after the second Saturday “dwelleth between the cherubim,” looking down on
in April. the broken law, is propitiated (hilasterion) by the
• despite these steps toward a consolidation, Easter shed blood (of Christ); cf. Heb 9:1-16.
continues to be a “movable” feast. • The Scapegoat: two goats (Lev 16:20-34; Mt 27:33;
2 Cor 5:21; Isa 53:6; 52:15). [The Lottery box for the
The Fall Feasts (7th Month: Tishri) Third Temple available for viewing at the Temple
Institute in Jerusalem.]
T h e M o n th o f T ish ri
Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)
R osh H a S h a n a h • 15th of Tishri: 5 days (grace) after Yom Kippur (Lev
23:33-44); compulsory attendance (Deut 16:16).
F east of Tru m pets D ay of A ton em en t F east of B ooth s • Temporary dwellings: 7 days + special sabbath. Gaps in
Yom Te ru a h Yom K ip p u r S u kkot sides, roof = wilderness wanderings... They then leave
their temporary dwellings for their permanent one.
Yom m im N oraim D ays of A ffliction • The Millennial Kingdom? (Hos 5:15-6:3; Zech 14:4,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 9). Our permanent habitation? (1 Cor 5:2).
• Transfiguration during Feasts of Booths? Cf. Peter:
build 3 “succoths”? (Mt 17:4).
Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah)
Feast of Weeks (Shavout)
• Coincident with the civil New Year: Rosh HaShanah;
Lev 23:23-25. (Torah = 1 day; 2nd day added ~500 B.c.) And ye shall count unto you from the morrow
• Teki’ah Gedolah, “the great blowing”: 3 series of after the sabbath, from the day that ye
10 blasts each; final blowing of 10 blasts: Not short brought the sheaf of the wave offering;
blasts (= “alarm”), but long blasts = victory! seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto
• “Last Trump?” vs. “7th Trumpet Judgment?” the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye
• “Trumpet of God” (only 2X in Bible): Giving of the Torah number fifty days;
at Sinai (Ex 19:13, 16); the Rapture (1 Thess 4:16). Lev 23:15,16
• Followed by (10) “Days of Affliction” Yomim Noraim.
• Teki’at Shofar: ram’s horn (not the silver Temple trum- • “Counting the Omer” (49 + 1 days). Always on a
pets) Shofar (Isa 58:1; 27:13); Akedah: substitutionary Sunday.
ram (Gen 22). Left horn = “first trump”; right horn • One of three compulsory (Deut 16:16).
= “last trump.” • Only use of Leavened Bread! Two loaves (Jew &
Gentile?)

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• Prophetic: The Birth of the Church—Feast of Pen- heart and with all your soul and with all your
tecost (Acts 2). strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
The Mystery of Enoch Getting To Know Him
• Oldest prophecy uttered by a prophet and it is about • Spend time in conversation – Pray.
the 2nd Coming of Christ! • Spend time with others who know Him – Community.
• Three groups of people facing the judgment of the • Read all you can about Him – in other words, read
Flood: 1) those that perished in the flood; 2) those His Book—ALL of it!
that were preserved through the time of the flood;
and, 3) those that were removed prior to the flood. Caveat
• Was Enoch born on Shavout? Was Enoch removed
prior to the judgment on his birthday? My last name is Stolebarger, not Stolenstein. In other
• The Church was “born” on Shavout (Acts 2). words, to the best of my knowledge I am not Jewish.
• Will the Church be removed on its birthday? Will the I am a Christian believer who wants to be part of a
Jewish “clock” restart on the same feast day that it worldwide Revolution, and who wants to know GOD.
was stopped? And remember, where you have two Jews you have
three opinions!
[Enoch Source: Tosefta Sotah 11. 7-8; Babli 13b; Kiddushim 38a; Seder ‘Olam
10. q.v. Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, 6 vols., Vol5, p.161, Jewish
Publication Society of America, 5728-1968, Philiadelphia PA.] The Role of Tradition
Caveats No two Seders will be the same … “according to Rabbi
etc.” Be sure to review Session 1 of this study. Like the
We should embrace the treasure of our heritage, and Quartodecimans, my desire is to reconnect Passover
the patterns that teach us…However, beware the lure with Easter. Finally, remember the danger in placing
of legalism (The Council in Jerusalem; Acts 15). Abra- oneself back under the Law.
ham was saved before he was circumcised, and before
the Law was given…
The Feasts of Israel
Next Session: A Detailed Review of Passover, by Dan
Stolebarger. Hebrew mo’ed, appointed time, place, sign; chag, cel-
ebrate, a rehearsal. Remember, there is a past, present
and future aspect to all the Feasts and Jesus Christ is
The Feasts of Israel center stage!

Session 2: “The Feast of Passover” Hebrew Hermeneutics

The Sh’ma • PESHAT – the literal / direct meaning.
• REMEZ – a hint of something deeper.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD • DERASH – practical application.
is one. Love the LORD your God with all your • SOD – hidden meaning.

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Views of Prophecy patience and comfort of the Scriptures might
have hope. Now may the God of patience and
• Greek – Prophecy is prediction / fulfillment. comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one
• Hebrew – Prophecy is pattern. another, according to Christ Jesus.
• Christ in the Passover (Remez / Sod) cf. Jn 1:29-30. Romans 15:4-5

Is Passover for Christians? (1 Cor 5:7-8) If some of the branches have been broken off,
and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been
Some fundamentals: This is intended to be a spiritual grafted in among the others and now share in
and not a physical meal. Always remember … Passover the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not
is personal/ Teach your children well … “Father, why boast over those branches. If you do, consider
is this night different from all others?” this: You do not support the root, but the root
supports you. You will say then, “Branches were
Timeline broken off so that I could be grafted in.”
Romans 11:17-19
10th of Nissan: The Presentation and Selection of
the Lamb: The way that God challenged us was by One Book! The New Testament is in the Old Testa-
requiring each family to take a sheep, an important ment concealed and the Old Testament is in the New
symbol in the pantheon of pagan belief that character- Testament revealed.
ized ancient Egypt. Each family tied the sheep to their
bedposts for four days and then offered it as a sacrifice The Seder Plate
to God. The day they took the sheep was Shabbat, the
10th of Nissan. The Seder plate is the focus of the whole Seder service:

• Zeroth – a portion of the shank bone of a lamb to

Feast of Unleavened Bread
represent the paschal offering. Many Messianics do
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is often called Passover not include this because of Hebrews 10:9-14.
because only unleavened bread was eaten during the • Haroseth or Charoses – A mixture of apples,
seven days immediately following Passover. almonds, raisins and cinnamon mixed with a little
wine. This symbolizes the mortar used by the Isra-
13th of Nissan. The deadline for removing all leavened
elites during the Egyptian bondage.
(“inflated”) food from one’s house is the evening, one
day prior to the Seder. • Karpas – either parsley, celery, lettuce, onion or
potato, used to dip in the saltwater, a reminder of
th
14 of Nissan – PASSOVER both the tears of hardship and slavery as well as the
17th of Nissan – FEAST of FIRST FRUITS resolve and intense effort of the Jew.

Why Celebrate? • Hazereth – the green top of a bitter herb. Symbolic

of both lowly origins, suffering and resolve.
For whatever things were written before were
written for our learning, that we through the
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• Baytzh – a hard boiled egg which is the token for Cup 2 – The Cup of Deliverance: “I will take Egypt out
both grief over the destruction of the Temple and, of You.” Becoming the people of God takes work! Know-
at the same time, a symbol of the resurrection. ing what the Lord requires and then becoming like
Him … representing Him to the world around us.
In addition to those mentioned above, more items are
essential to the Passover Table: Unleavened Bread, Cup 3 – The Cup of Redemption: This is the Cup that
Wine and the Haggadah. Jesus used to memorialize His blood. Without this
cup we cannot be completely transformed into His
• Matzo – The Unleavened Bread. These are flat, image! (1 Cor 11:24-26).
bland, cracker-like wafers, which are both striped
and pierced. There are three matzos and usually Cup 4 – I will take you to be My people: Jesus is wait-
are placed in what is called a Matzo Tash, a square ing for the marriage feast before He drinks from this
white silk bag that is divided up into three compart- cup (cf. Mishnah – Pesahim 7:13). Passover wine was
ments for the three matzo wafers. Why “striped and red and mixed with warm water. Why? It reminded
pierced”? (Isa 53:5; Zech 12:10.) them of the blood of the Passover lamb.

Why Three Matzos? Interesting Comparison

• Jewish tradition: The three represent or symbolize But when they came to Jesus and found that he
unity. Here are some theories: was already dead, they did not break his legs.
– The Unity of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side
Jacob. with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood
– The Unity of Worship: Priests, Levites, and the and water.
Congregation. Jn 19:33-35
– The Unity of the Crowns: The crown of Learning, The Haggadah
Priesthood, and Kingship.
• Another Suggestion: The Unity of God …. The Trin- Literal meaning is “telling” or “showing forth.” It is the
ity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. same root used in Exodus 13:8. The Haggadah not only
tells us what to do at the Seder, but also when, how,
Four Cups of Wine and why. The modern Haggadah is based on ancient
writings in the Mishnah and dates back to the second
The Four Cups and their meaning are taken from century.
Exodus 6:6-7:
How the Seder begins
Cup 1 – The Cup of Consecration: “I will take you
out of Egypt.” Simply put … God delivers, He alone The Haggadah book is opened and the Host reads from
intervenes! All the miracles and the plagues were it (we are including one as a separate pdf file for you
part of the plan of God to deliver Israel from Egypt. on the audio CD/DVD versions). Everyone has a pillow
In spite of their hardships, He was with them. The in order to relax and to enjoy the celebration of their
same is true today! being freed from the bondage of slavery. The wife then

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 gets the honor of lighting the white Passover candles for me, when I went forth from Egypt. Thus it was not
and saying a blessing. our ancestors alone, whom the most Holy, blessed be
He, then Redeemed, but us also did He redeem with
Opening Prayer them. As it is said, He brought us forth from thence in
order to bring us in, that He might give us the Land He
Blessed art Thou, O LORD our God, King of the swore to our ancestors.”
Universe, who sanctifies us by Thy commandment
and commands us to light the lights of the Reflection
Passover.
What has God done for you? Remember one of your
Elijah? weapons in witnessing is your testimony—your story!
In general people don’t want to be preached to but they
Two cups at the table are usually larger and more love to hear stories... “ Let me tell you what Jesus has
elaborate than the others. This night they are silver done for me …”
(remember that silver symbolizes blood and thus re-
demption). One sits at the head of the table, the other Summary
at a prominent spot before an empty chair. It awaits
the lips of Elijah. The Prophet is the invited guest to Jesus is: The Lamb of God; The Middle Matzo; The
every Seder and who, according to Malachi, is to an- Afikomen; and The 3rd Cup of Wine. The only Greek
nounce the coming of the Messiah. word in the Haggadah is “afikomen” and its literal
meaning is HE CAME!
The Breaking of the Matzo
Bibliography
Early in the Seder, the Host takes the middle matzo and
breaks it in two, leaving one half in the middle and puts Booker, Richard, Jesus in the Feasts of Israel, Destiny Image Pub.,
the other half under the cloth for the “afikomen.” It is Shippensburg PA, 1987.
always wrapped in linen and hidden in a dark place. Buksbazen, Victor, The Feasts of Israel, Christian Literature
Crusade, Ft. Washington PA, 1954.
Chill, Abraham, The Minhagim, Sepher-Hermon Press, New
The Four Sons York NY, 1979.
Edersheim, Alfred, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services, Wm.
The Wise, Wicked, Simple, and Foolish Sons each play Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids MI, 1958.
a part in the Seder meal by asking questions and get- Fuchs, daniel, Israel’s Holy Days, Loizeaux Bros., Neptune NJ,
ting instruction from the Host. 1985.
Good, Joseph, Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to
It’s Personal Come, Hatikva, Port Arthur TX, 1989.
Hertz, Dr. J. H., Pentateuch & Haftorahs, Soncino Press, London
In every generation each individual is bound to regard UK, 1989.
himself as if he had gone personally forth from Egypt. Kaplan, Rabbi Aryeh, The Living Torah, Maznaim Publishing
As it is said, “And you shall relate to your son on that Corp., Jerusalem, 1981.
day saying, this is on account of what the Eternal did Rosen, Ceil and Moishe, Christ in the Passover, Moody Press,
Chicago IL, 1978.
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