The Holy Days: Yearly Reminders of God’s Plan

The Holy Days that God ordained for Israel to keep carry significant meaning for us. We continue to keep them today, not just because they were commanded to be kept “forever throughout your generations” (Lev. 23:41), but also because they help us better understand God’s Plan.

Each time a Holy Day season approaches, it is important to review the meaning of the days you are about to keep. This will ensure you observe them in a way that pleases God and will also help you benefit from them.

Remember also, as leaders in training, we are preparing for roles that involve teaching modern Israel the Law. This includes teaching people to keep the Holy Days!

To assist you in preparing for the coming fall festivals, the following is text from Mr. David Pack’s booklet God’s Holy Days or Pagan Holidays? It explains the importance of the sacred annual festivals and then specifically the meanings of the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day in the context of God’s Plan.

The Holy Day Chapter

Leviticus 23 is often called the “Holy Day Chapter.” It contains a brief description of each of God’s seven annual Holy Days—also called Feasts or Sabbaths, which we will see are interchangeable terms throughout the chapter.

Notice: “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations [commanded assemblies], even these are My feasts” (vs. 1-2). Verse 3 introduces the weekly Sabbath as one of God’s Feasts: “Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.” Verse 4 introduces the rest of God’s Feasts: “These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons.”

With one exception, Feasts and Sabbaths are the same thing.

Verse 5 reveals the first of God’s Feasts: “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover.”

Next, we see that the seven Days of Unleavened Bread are introduced. On these days, beginning the day after the Passover, the Israelites were required to eat unleavened bread: “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days you must eat unleavened bread…in the seventh day is an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein” (vs. 6, 8). The first and seventh days are both Holy Days.

Verses 9-22 give a more detailed description of the next Feast day, called Firstfruits—or Pentecost, because one must count 50 days from the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread to determine when it should be kept. This day is observed in the late spring. Now read: “…it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days…You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord” (vs. 14-17).

Verse 21 explains that the Feast of Firstfruits is a commanded assembly and repeats for emphasis that it was ordained by God forever: “And you shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: you shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.”

This passage includes a second emphasis by God about the permanent establishment of these days so that none can misunderstand what “forever” means. Notice that Israel was to keep these days “throughout your generations” (also repeated twice). There are still generations of Israel alive on Earth today.

The fall season includes the last four annual Holy Days, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets: “In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no servile work therein” (vs. 24-25).

Next comes the Day of Atonement, which is an annual Sabbath, but not a Feast day. This was because no food or drink was permitted: “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 you shall afflict your souls [go without food or drink]…you shall do no work…for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God…it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall you celebrate your Sabbath” (vs. 27-28, 31-32). Once again, the Day of Atonement was commanded to be observed “forever” and “throughout your generations.”

Five days after the Day of Atonement is the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasts seven days and is followed by the Last Great Day, referred to here as “the eighth day.”

Verses 34-36 describe these Feasts: “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein…on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you…it is a solemn assembly; and you shall do no servile work therein.”

This chapter describes seven Feasts and seven annual Holy Days. Passover is a Feast but not a Holy Day. Atonement is a Holy Day but obviously not a Feast day because no food or drink is permitted.

Verses 40-43 further describe the Feast of Tabernacles and what God intended Israel to learn from observing it: “And you shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And you shall keep it a Feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations: you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths [temporary dwellings] seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know that I [God] made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

Let’s take a moment to summarize. Including verse 41, God states four times that His Feasts were ordained forever! Twice He declares they were to be observed throughout Israel’s generations. God is most serious about obedience to them, because verses 29-30 state that anyone who did not obey them would be “cut off”—“destroyed”—put to death!

Verses 37-38 and 44 reiterate, “These are the feasts of the Lord” and “the sabbaths of the Lord.” (Verse 39 explains that the first day of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day are also “Sabbaths.”) These are not the “Jews’ feasts” or “Israel’s feasts,” as some who are dishonest with the Scriptures assert.

Get this firmly in your mind. These Holy Days are God’s Sabbaths—they are Feasts of the Lord!

The Feast of Tabernacles

The seven-day Feast of Tabernacles pictures a phase of God’s Plan when Christ and the saints will reign on the Earth. This Feast is described in Leviticus 23:33-43. Like the Days of Unleavened Bread, this Feast was to last seven days because it pictured a period of time instead of a single event such as Passover or Pentecost.

Leviticus 23:40-41 explains God’s intention regarding how His people should keep this Feast: “…and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.” Verse 41 reiterates that this Feast was commanded as “a statute forever.”

The book of Deuteronomy gives additional overview of God’s instruction for how to keep the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles: “You shall observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that you have gathered in your corn and your wine: and you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within your gates. Seven days shall you keep a solemn feast unto the Lord your God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord your God shall bless you in all your increase, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shall surely rejoice.

“Three times in a year shall all your males appear before the Lord your 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: every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you” (16:13-17). (Notice that a special offering was taken up from all those who kept the Feast of Tabernacles—as well as the other annual Feast Days.)

Again, this festival pictures Christ’s reign on Earth with the saints, under the Kingdom of God. Exodus 34:22 states that this Feast was to be kept “at the year’s end” because it foreshadows some of the latter steps within God’s Plan. Let’s read this verse: “And you shall observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.”

Recall that Pentecost was the early spring harvest of barley and wheat, with the great fall harvest to follow. Notice that the latter is also called “the feast of ingathering.” This is when God will begin to literally gather in the vast billions who have not been part of His Plan up to this time.

The book of Zechariah holds many clues to how certain stages of God’s Plan will unfold. Chapters 12 and 13 describe the world coming to be at one with God.

Now notice Zechariah 14:9, 11: “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one…And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.”

Jerusalem today is one of the most unsafe places in the world! What a total change this will be—and it is a type of how the whole world will one day dwell in peace and safety. Verse 8 describes literal waters, and what must be the waters of God’s Spirit (John 7:38-39), going forth from Jerusalem.

Many More Keep the Feast

At this time, people from many nations will learn to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Notice this plain prophecy: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles” (Zech. 14:16).

Before continuing, we must ask directly, why would God require that the Feast of Tabernacles be kept under His Kingdom if it is not incumbent on Christians today to observe it? Remember, we have seen that He ordained it—and all His annual Feasts—to be observed forever. What honest person can believe that Christians do not now need to do what every human being on Earth will be required to do at that time? However, some will continue to believe that Christ “nailed them to the cross.”

Isaiah 66:23 shows that the weekly Sabbath will also be kept during this time. Yet many who know of this verse, and its plain meaning, refuse to keep God’s Sabbath today. They would rather find excuses to explain why God has no such requirement during the “Christian age” or “dispensation.”

We next ask: What will happen to nations that disobey God’s command to assemble at the Feast? Continue in Zechariah 14: “And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families [nations] of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles” (vs. 17-19).

Some nations will dig in their heels and refuse to obey God. The punishment will be severe for those who think it not necessary to keep the Feast. Eventually, the whole world will learn the benefits and experience the joy that comes from celebrating the wonderful meaning that this Feast represents. They will learn why God instructs His people to rejoice when they observe it.

Christ is training His saints to be kings and priests. Now think for a moment. All of John 7 describes Christ’s observance of the Feast of Tabernacles. Christians are those who “follow His steps” (I Pet. 2:21). All should give serious pause when tempted to believe that they can qualify to teach, with Christ, all nations to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, while ignoring God’s plain commands to keep it themselves now.

The Meaning of the Feast

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived in tabernacles or booths during their time of sojourning in the land that ancient Israel later inhabited. Notice: “By faith he [Abraham] sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise” (Heb. 11:9). These men understood that this life was temporary. They were heirs only, and not yet inheritors of salvation and eternal life. They understood that their body was a physical, temporary dwelling, like a booth or tabernacle.

Leviticus 23:42-43 says this of Israel’s time in the wilderness—and how it relates to the Feast of Tabernacles: “You shall dwell in booths seven days…that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” Hosea adds more to the understanding of how every person is required to go through trials, tests and difficulties to become inheritors of God’s promises. This next verse uses Ephraim as a type of all the Israelite tribes: “And I that am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt will yet make you to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast” (12:9).

During Israel’s time in the wilderness, they had no permanent home. They wandered for 40 years before entering the Promised Land of what is now Palestine. This carries important symbolism. When the Kingdom is established on Earth, the nations of the world will all remain mortal human beings, and therefore merely heirs of salvation, not yet inheritors. Inheritance will come later. Paul wrote, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption” (I Cor. 15:50).

The goal of all human beings on Earth is to one day “inherit the kingdom.” It starts by receiving the Spirit of God at baptism and repentance (Acts 2:38), is followed by a lifetime of growing, overcoming and qualifying, and culminates in hearing Christ say the words “inherit the kingdom” (Matt. 25:34).

When properly understood, God’s Holy Days are marvelous, wonderful blessings given by a loving God to His people. They are full of rich, inspiring meaning, and observing them year by year keeps this meaning alive and real for those who do it!

Ponder these words as you consider what you will do!

The Last Great Day

Finally, there is one last Holy Day in God’s Plan—the seventh festival—which is called the Last Great Day. It pictures the single most important prophetic event found in the Bible—the coming of the Father to Earth to dwell with mankind. At this time, Christ also establishes Himself in Jerusalem, and a massive resurrection of all who have ever lived occurs—truly the “great harvest.” This is also the time at which the New Heaven and New Earth replace the old, and New Jerusalem comes down from heaven.

What Is Next?

Beyond this day, the period reflected by the Last Great Day includes the 1,000-year period commonly known as the Millennium: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years…they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4, 6).

Also within this timeframe is the event called the Great White Throne Judgment, described in verses 12-15: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Ultimate Purpose

Beyond this, the Bible does not show exactly what lies ahead for those in God’s Family, other than what Paul wrote to the Corinthian congregation: “…eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him” (I Cor. 2:9).

Billions of God Beings will at that time receive those things which God has prepared!

Keep God’s great purpose for mankind in mind as you enjoy the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.