The general consensus today is that the feasts of God are not for the New Testament church. The most common reasons cited are that they are Jewish feasts and that Jesus fulfilled the feasts so we don’t have to observe them. But are either of those reasons true? Scripture has the answer.
Leviticus 23:37 “These are the appointed feasts of YHWH, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to YHWH food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day.”
God declared that they are HIS FEASTS. To call them Jewish feasts is to dishonor God and His declaration. And if they are God’s feasts, then that begs the question of who are the feasts for? The answer is simple. God gave them as gifts for His people. Notice that He called them the APPOINTED feasts of YHWH. An appointment is an arrangement to meet someone at a particular time and place. In this case, it’s a time to meet with God. Why wouldn’t His people want to meet with God at the appointed times?
Consider this, if you have an appointment for a doctor’s visit and you miss it, you can always reschedule. If you have an appointment for a job interview and you miss it, you are not likely to be a candidate for the job. Now, what happens if you have an appointment with God and miss it? I’d refer you to the parable of the 10 virgins and what happened to half of them.
But, you might say, the feasts were fulfilled by Jesus’ coming. That’s only partially correct, or in today’s parlance, “Fact-checked, false: Missing context.” (Sorry, I just had to.)
If you read through Leviticus 23, you’ll be able to count eight appointed times of YHWH. Not all of them are considered feasts. The very first one mentioned is the weekly Sabbath. That’s a whole topic in itself, but for the purpose of this post, it is to note that this has not been fulfilled. Contrary to popular belief, this won’t be fulfilled until the Miliennial Kingdom. Some like to say that Jesus is our Sabbath rest today, but there are no verses that say this. To avoid making this post forever long, I’ll just point out that Hebrews 4:1 says that the promise of His rest STILL STANDS. It’s not here yet.
That leaves seven appointed times which can be divided in two parts depicting His first coming and His second coming. The first three are Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. Over the years, all three were combined to be known as Passover. These three coincide with His death, burial, and resurrection. The fourth is Pentecost, and today is known the time when the Spirit was poured out in Acts chapter 2. All four of these have been fulfilled by His first coming, but does that mean we no longer need them? What does Scripture show?
In 2 Corinthians 5:8, Paul says that we should keep the Feast of Passover, and in Acts 20:16, Paul desired to be in Jerusalem for Pentecost. And we know from history that the apostles Philipp and John the beloved taught new believers in Asia Minor how and when to keep the Passover1. It sounds like they were still observing those days more than 150 years after the ascension. To be clear, today’s churches do observe the days of His death, burial, and resurrection, and even Pentecost. They just follow the designated times of the Catholic church rather than the appointed times that God set. For more information, read about the Quartodeciman controversy2.
The three appointed times that remain are The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, and The Feast of Tabernacles. These all point to future events, so to say that Jesus has already fulfilled them is to say that His second coming has already happened. And, if the only reason for not keeping the feasts is that Jesus already fulfilled them, then the question is, why not observe these three since they haven’t been fulfilled?
The Feast of Trumpets points to His actual returning. Whether that is going to happen on the actual day of Trumpets or just the announcement of His imminent return is a matter for a different discussion. The point is, it hasn’t happened yet.
There is a caveat with The Day of Atonement when saying that it isn’t fulfilled. Hebrews 9 says that by His blood He entered into the Holy Place in heaven. As the new High Priest without sin, He doesn’t need to be cleansed to enter in, and by His sacrifice for our sins, He’s already paid the price for the Day of Atonement sacrifice. But, the Day of Atonement points to the coming Day of Judgement where all will be judged before God. That hasn’t happened yet.
Finally, The Feast of Tabernacles, points to the wedding Feast of the Lamb. This won’t take place until after the Milennial Kingdom, so it hasn’t been fulfilled. Zechariah 14 speaks of the Milennial Riegn and says that all the nations will come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. Even after the second coming of the Messiah, the Feast of Tabernacles hasn’t been fulfilled and everyone will still be keeping it. Coincidentally, the weekly Sabbath points to the Milennial Kingdom AND will be observed in the Milennial Kingdom.
In conclusion, the appointed times that the Messiah fulfilled were still being observed after His ascension, and after His return, the Sabbath and Feast of Tabernacles are both specifically mentioned as being observed in the Milennial Kingdom. Why don’t most believers observe them today?
subnote: for clarity, Leviticus 23:37 says “These are the appointed feasts of YHWH, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to YHWH food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day.” Because there is no Temple and the priesthood is inactive, the appointed times cannot be kept as prescribed in Scripture. But that doesn’t mean we cannot observe them and celebrate God at His appointed times (on its proper day). When the Messiah returns, the Law will go out from Zion and all peoples will learn His Ways.
1Eusebius, The Church History (Kregel Publications, 2007), 179
2Eusebius, 178-181