Leviticus 23:2:
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,
Concerning the feasts of the Lord,
which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations,
even these are my feasts.
In today’s Christian world, we don’t often speak of these feasts or holy convocations except as historical practice, now only associated with the Jewish people. But increasingly, gospel scholars are finding connections with events of Christ’s life and death, with the Restoration of the Church in our day and, even more startling, with prophesied events in the Last Days.
What are these “feasts” described in this chapter? The Old Testament was primarily translated from Hebrew (source), while the New Testament mostly came from sources in the Greek language (source). Since the scriptures used in my Church and in many others are the King James version (KJV), its translators were working from the Hebrew in the Old Testament and had to find close matches in the English of their day. The Hebrew for Feast is Moed, and the plural is Moedim. But Moed has also been interpreted as: congregation, appointed time, assembly, solemn day, and holy convocation (source), some of which were also used in the King James Version.
SEVEN FEASTS or moedim are primarily defined in the complete chapter of Leviticus 23 (NOTE: all scriptures below are from this chapter, unless otherwise specified). There are THREE in the spring, ONE in the summer and THREE in the fall. All are founded on an agricultural calendar, and each group is associated with a harvest. Here’s a SUMMARY:
- SPRING: NISAN 1 – Sighting of the New Moon and a ripe Barley Harvest
- NISAN 14 – PASSOVER
- NISAN 15-21 – 7 days of the FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD, the 1st and 7th days are HOLY DAYS
- NISAN ? – FIRSTFRUITS – It occurs on the day after the Sabbath that’s just after PASSOVER, between NISAN 16-22.
- SUMMER: SIVAN ? – PENTECOST, which occurs on the 50th day after FIRSTFRUITS above and is another FIRSTFRUITS, a Wheat Harvest. Since the date of FIRSTFRUITS in the spring varies, so does the date of Pentecost.
NOTE: Many analysts miss the fact that there is both a spring and a summer harvest and just assign FirstFruits to Pentecost in error. - FALL: TISHRI 1 – FEAST OF TRUMPETS, Sighting of the New Moon, A Fruit Harvst.
- TISHRI 10 – DAY OF ATONEMENT or Yom Kippur
- TISHRI 15-21 – 7 days of the FEAST OF TABERNACLES
- TISHRI 22 – the 8th day of TABERNACLES, the Great Day or the Hidden Day
SPRING FEASTS: These three are centered on Passover (Nisan 14), which commemorates the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt, followed by The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15-21), then Firstfruits whose date varies within and near that week because it’s always on the day after the Sabbath, a Monday in ancient times (it was only after Christ’s time that Jewish leaders changed it to Saturday). Here’s their description in Leviticus 23:
4 ¶ These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations,
which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s [1] passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is
the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord:
seven days ye must eat [2] unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation:
ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days:
in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
The timing of Passover and indeed the start of a new Hebrew year are dependent upon two things: (1) the sighting of the New Moon and (2) a ripe barley harvest, which was then part of the “meat offering” at the Temple. These two events mark the start of the first month of the calendar: Nisan (or Abib or Aviv) in the spring. Making barley bread with no leaven symbolizes the need to be as free of sin as possible to partake of these miracles.
The third celebration is FirstFruits:
10 . . . When ye be come into the land which I give unto you,
and shall reap the harvest thereof,
then ye shall bring a sheaf of the [3] firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you:
on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf
an he lamb without blemish of the first year
for a burnt offering unto the Lord.
The “Lamb” that is sacrificed is symbolic of the true lamb, the Messiah, even Jesus the Christ. All 12 tribes celebrated these feasts until they divided into the Northern 10 Tribes and the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Benjamin. Those of us from Ephraim, Manassas and others have these feasts as part of our ancestral heritage and not just of the tribe of Judah or modern-day Jewish people.
SUMMER FEAST: Following the spring celebrations is the Feasts of Weeks, also called [4] Pentacost, and was the Wheat Harvest:
15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath [FirstFruits above],
from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering;
seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days;
and ye shall offer a new meat offering [wheat] unto the Lord.
17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals:
they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven;
they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.
18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year . . . .
Barley and wheat were sown in late fall / early winter, but barley was harvested first, in the spring, and wheat about 50 days later in early summer. Both are the grains used to make these “meat offerings.”
Read more about barley and wheat offerings HERE and HERE.
FALL FEASTS: These three are especially sacred and aligned with great events. It begins on the first day of the seventh month (also determined by a New Moon) in the Hebrew calendar: Tishri 1 and is [5] the Feast of Trumpets. It calls Israel to a period of introspection and repentance in preparation for [6] the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) on Tishri 10: a day of retreat, fasting, and confession to one’s maker. That day the Lord forgives the truly penitent. After five days of preparation, [7] the Feast of Tabernacles is held, commemorating the shelter and provision the Lord provided during the Exodus from Egypt. It’s held for 7 days on Tishri 15-21, closely followed by an 8th day, called the Great Day or Hidden Day. Day 1 of that feast and this last 8th day are high holy days. Still in Leviticus 23:
24 . . . In the seventh month, in the first day of the month,
shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month
there shall be a day of atonement:
it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls,
and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement,
to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.
34 . . . The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord.
35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. 36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord:
on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you;
and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord:
it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
Note the first and last days of the Spring Feasts (Unleavened Bread) and the Fall Feasts (Tabernacles) are Holy Convocations. The other Holy Convocations are: Pentacost, Day of Trumpets and Day of Atonement – 7 in all – as specified in Leviticus 23 with that phrase, Holy Convocation.
Are these ancient celebrations and solemn assemblies to be tossed out with certain practices specified in the Law of Moses? Look at what the Doctrine and Covenants say [EMPHASIS added]:
Doctrine and Covenants 121:25-32:
25 For there is A TIME APPOINTED for every man,
according as his works shall be.
26 God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, . . .
that has not been revealed since the world was until now;
27 Which our forefathers have awaited
with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, . . .
28 A time to come in the which NOTHING SHALL BE WITHHELD,
whether there be one God or many gods, they shall be manifest.
29 All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers,
shall be revealed and set forth upon all
who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
30 And also, if there be bounds set to the heavens or to the seas,
or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon, or stars—
31 . . . ALL THE APPOINTED DAYS, MONTHS, AND YEARS,
and all the days of their days, months, and years,
and all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed
in the days of the dispensation of the FULNESS OF TIMES—
32 According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council
of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was,
that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof,
when every man shall enter into his eternal presence
and into his immortal rest.
So if you read the previous post, The Day and the Hour No Man Knoweth, you might well ask, “Even if we can’t know the final Second Coming in the Clouds, can we know the timing of the other Second Comings?
HINT – evidence to be forthcoming:
Adam-ondi-Ahman in America occurs in the spring feasts.
The Mount of Olives occurs in the fall feasts.
Daniel 8:19:
19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know
what shall be in the last end of the indignation:
for at the time appointed the end shall be. [which end/s?]
Also see Daniel 11:27 and perhaps do a scripture search on www.churchofjesuschrist.org for “appointed time” and “set time” and see what comes up – be sure go to Libraries / Scriptures / Search with the eyeglass symbol, then filter results in the drop down menu that says “All” and go to “Scriptures.”
SPOILER ALERT: Speaking about Last Days researcher, the saying, “many are called, but few are chosen” really applies – widely divergent theories abound! In my experience only ONE has succeeded in identifying an accurate overall timeline – as I determined by study and by faith. After a year of study, I received multiple witnesses from God about this particular timeline. I plan to give a report of how I came to understand it and will share that with you as an introduction to this researcher’s fuller (vastly fuller) research, as soon as I put it together. I want to provide a “skeleton” of it to aid your understanding and make this research more accessible to those truth seekers who don’t/can’t study hours a day, for years on end, as many gospel scholars do. I aim to provide a link or bridge between you, this specific material, and to other researchers, so you can “play in their sand pile,” add to your own research, and be amazed by hidden treasures of knowledge (D&C 89:18-20), prophesied to come forward in our day.
But don’t take my word for it: study, pray for your own revelation, and stay with me as we travel this road together!
© 2023 Janet Kent – all rights reserved