It is my wish that all of you in my network read this. It is my heart, my life, MY reasons for walking this spiritual path I am on. It is NOT meant to put down, bash, or blast others, it is simply an explanation. If you REALLY care to know why I walk on this spiritual path and celebrate or not celebrate the things I do, then read on. My husband and I have been walking in Torah observance for 8 years and have heard all the excuses, reasons and arguments folks come up with to excuse celebration of man-made holidays and none of them can hold up to the ONLY source we use as our reason NOT to, and that is the Word of God. If something does NOT line up with the Word of God, then no amount of good intentions or good will matters. God has appointed times He COMMANDED us to observe and celebrate that directly correlate with Messiahs life and future events. These are NOT the Feasts of Israel as some call them, as in the WORD they are called the Feasts of the LORD: COMMANDED Feasts of the LORD: Passover: Sacrifice and Death of Yeshua. Yeshua is our Passover lamb. His sacrificial blood was spilled for our sins. This holiday reminds us of our need to put the blood of Yeshua over the doorframes of our hearts. Yeshua died on Passover. Unleavened Bread: Sanctification and Burial of Yeshua. Leaven is seen the the Bible as a symbol of sin, decay, degeneration and death. The 7-day feast of Unleavened Bread begins the day after Passover. This was the day that Yeshuas body was placed in the grave. Bikkurim (First Fruits): Resurrection of Yeshua. The firstfruits of the barley harvest were cut on his day and presented to God. Yeshua is described as the firstfruits of the resurrection (1Cor. 15:23) He rose from the grave on this day. Yeshua was the first to be resurrected from the grave and presented to God. Feast of Weeks/Shavuot (Pentecost): Holy Spirit sent by the Father after Yeshuas departure. God told the Israelites that they were to count 7 weeks from Firstfruits (called the counting of the Omer) and then on the day after that, they were to celebrate this fourth feast. This was the 50th day. This feast is also called Pentecost meaning fiftieth. Scriptures tell us that Yeshua rose from the dead and lived on earth for 40 days before ascending into heaven. He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem, and He would send His Holy Spirit. They didnt wait long. The Holy Spirit descended upon the believers in 10 days (40 + 10 = 50). This holiday is also celebrated as a remembrance of the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. It was a day when the word was written not on hearts of stone, but on hearts of flesh. Yom Teruah (Trumpets)/Rosh Hashana: New Year - Messiah Yeshuas return and new beginnings. The shofar is the trumpet associated with this feast. It was used for two purposes: to summon Israel into Gods presence and to sound a battle alarm when God called Israel to war. The prophets speak of this future day when God will intervene in mans affairs. They call it the day of the Lord. Two major themes are associated with this day: 1) deliverance of the righteous and 2) judgment of the wicked. In Thess. 4, it says that the Lord will descend with the sound of the trumpet to call His own to His presence. Chapter 5 describes the time of wrath to be poured out on all of the wicked. The Feast of Trumpets describes the coming of the Messiah to gather His people and judge the wicked. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement): Day of atonement, reckoning, repentance and salvation of Israel after Messiahs return. In ancient Israel, one day a year the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies with blood sacrifices for the sins of the entire nation of Israel. The Day of Atonement is a solemn day of self-examination and repentance. In the future fulfillment of this holiday, when the Messiah comes to establish His throne, Israel will look on Him who they pierced and repent. The nations sin will be dealt with, and the Lord will remember their sins no more. Sukkot (Tabernacles): Wedding Feast/Golden Age/Messiah starts Millennium. Tabernacles commemorates the time when the Israelites dwelled in booths/tabernacles(small huts) in the wilderness as God provided for them, This feast speaks of the Messianic Kingdom when God will tabernacle among men. In ancient Israel it was a most joyous harvest celebration occurring just after the fall harvest had been gathered. This Feast of Ingathering as it is also called in the Bible prophetically speaks to the future ingathering or harvest of souls. No where in the Word are we commanded or told to celebrate Yeshuas birth. If one wants to commemorate it, fine, but NOT the way the world has established on a day designated as the birth of a pagan sun god because that directly violates His Word which tells us clearly not to have anything to do with pagan practices and days. Some celebrate Yeshuas birth during the Feast of Tabernacles, because Yeshua came and tabernacled with us. But it isnt commanded we do so and if one doesnt that does not mean they do not value Yeshuas birth as significant! The feasts we ARE commanded to keep are RICH with meaning, significance, fulfilled prophecy, and prophetic foreshadowing of things to come, so those of us who choose to obey His commands to celebrate as He instructs are not deprived, irreverent, or any other negative connotation the Christian world has labeled us with. Quite the opposite is true - those of us who choose to be obedient to these commands have found deeper meaning, fulfillment, and joy than we ever had following the man-made ways of the world!
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 20:34:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015