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Great Week of Time, Jewish Economy, choosing the Passover Lamb, antitypical meaning of Feast, Ezekiel 46, Feast of Trumpets, east and second coming of Jesus Why Jesus Is Coming Soon The Great Week of Time Part 4 Inside the Jewish Economy – Clues Were There All the Time – The Sabbath was given to man – before sin entered. It was the model for rest, reflection and remembrance. It was the appointed time to be with God. It was a period set aside to look backward at man’s origins – creation with the sovereign God as its originator. When sin came new worship engagements were given to man that looked forward. Beginning with the sacrifice of a lamb to finally a whole system of ordinances and sacrifices within the great Jewish economy. That theocracy was Christocentric. Its rituals and routines served three great purposes. 1. To create a setting where God’s presence could perpetually be with them. 2. To engage in ordinances that drew their attention to the first advent of Jesus – the Lamb to be slain. 3. To participate in ritual ceremonies, regulated by detailed statutes, which looked forward to the restoration of everything back to the original creation. The pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day (Exodus “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11. Before we look at the forward-looking message of restoration, which has the Great Week of Time (GWT) built into it, there is another amazing issue that God opened up to the students of ancient Jewish ritual. God told them, before the time of Daniel, when that first advent would be. The Amazing Timed Message of the Passover The Passover recalled the deliverance from Egypt but also looked forward to Christ as the Passover sacrificed for us (I Corinthians 5:7) – the Lamb of God which would take away the sin of the world (John In the Passover ritual great restorative themes were presented: 1. The Lamb was prepared whole without a bone being broken, representing the completeness of Christ’s sacrifice (Exodus 2. The flesh was eaten, symbolizing the eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood of Jesus (John 3. The Lamb was eaten with hyssop, representing the purification of the heart (Psalm 51:7). 4. All was eaten with unleavened bread, showing that the leaven of sin was purged from them. 5. The Lamb’s blood was sprinkled on the door post, showing that the divine/human Lamb’s blood to be sacrificed protected the portals of their heart. “The first of these festivals, the Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, occurred in Abib, the first month of the Jewish year, corresponding to the last of March and the beginning of April. The cold of winter was past, the former rain had ended, and all nature rejoiced in the freshness and beauty of the springtime. The grass was green on the hills and valleys, and wild flowers everywhere brightened the fields. The moon, now approaching the full, made the evenings delightful.... “On the fourteenth day of the month, at even, the Passover was celebrated, its solemn, impressive ceremonies commemorating the deliverance from bondage in Egypt, and pointing forward to the sacrifice that should deliver from the bondage of sin. When the Saviour yielded up His life on Calvary, the significance of the Passover ceased, and the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was instituted as a memorial of the same event of which the Passover had been a type.”2 Central to this great festival was “the Lamb.” This was by regulation a male of either a sheep or a goat of one year of age (Exodus 12:5). It was to be without blemish (Exodus 12:5). This was important because it represented Christ (Leviticus On the 14th day of Abib, between Here, now, is the fascinating instructions given. The Lamb was chosen four days before on Abib 10. The chosen Lamb waited and was ready four days before it was slain. Jesus was the Lamb slain from the very foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Many Christian scholars and rabbinic traditions have tried to explain what those four days symbolize. The views are diverse, some being very liturgically creative. Here, a day represents a thousand years. Though the decision for the Lamb was made from earth’s very foundation, Jesus would wait until the fulfillment of time (Mark 1:5) when the “Christ was standing at the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals. He, the spotless Lamb of God, was about to present Himself as a sin offering, that He would thus bring to an end the system of types and ceremonies that for four thousand years had pointed to His death. As He ate the Passover with His disciples, He instituted in its place the service that was to be the memorial of His great sacrifice. The national festival of the Jews was to pass away forever. The service which Christ established was to be observed by His followers in all lands and through all ages.... “The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was given to commemorate the great deliverance wrought out as the result of the death of Christ. Till He shall come the second time in power and glory, this ordinance is to be celebrated. It is the means by which His great work for us is to be kept fresh in our minds.”3 That happened nearly two thousand years ago. The GWT once again is given to us. Hosea 6:1-2 says, “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight” (emphasis added). After four days, or four thousand years from Adam, would be the Crucifixion of Christ. There will be another two days, or two thousand years, before the third day or one thousand years when we are raised to be in God’s glorious kingdom. Seven days or seven thousand years are once again accounted for in the Bible. But there’s more, much more, GWT information within God’s sacred Word. First, let’s look more deeply at the Jewish economy. There is another remarkable picture of 6000 years, then the end in the great festival sabbaths given as statutes to Israel. The Messiah Lamb Is Chosen The Jewish Passover was on Friday, Abib (Nissan) 14, of the passion week. It is of significance that Jesus observed the Passover meal with His disciples the evening before to “commemorate the deliverance wrought out as the result of the death of Christ.”4 The type of celebration and its meaning changed when Jesus instituted the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. This was done the evening before the time it was to be normally celebrated. Thus Jesus not only sets aside, in advance, that feast day but its liturgical timing was broken. Yet Jesus was to die on the traditional Passover Day, fulfilling His roll as the Passover Lamb. “These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time. On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which for fifteen long centuries the Passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passover with His disciples, instituted that feast which was to commemorate His own death as ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ That same night He was taken by wicked hands to be crucified and slain. And as the antitype of the wave sheaf our Lord was raised from the dead on the third day, ‘the first fruits of them that slept,’ a sample of all the resurrected just, whose ‘vile body’ shall be changed, and ‘fashioned like unto His glorious body.’ Verse 20; Philippians 3:21.”5 Jesus would have to be set apart with a space of four days before the Passover. Would it be from the Friday Passover or the time on Thursday, the night before? Jesus rested on the Sabbath at Lazarus’ home in Bethany. Either that evening or the next morning He was guest at the home of Simon, the man Jesus healed from leprosy. At that feast Mary anointed His feet with expensive ointment. Jesus said that “she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial” (Matthew 26:12). Some expositors claim that that was the “choosing of the Lamb.” It was for the burial. It is not clear exactly where that feast took place. Insightful commentary is given to us by E. G. White: “It was on the first day of the week that Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Multitudes who had flocked to see Him at Bethany now accompanied Him, eager to witness His reception. Many people were on their way to the city to keep the Passover, and these joined the multitude attending Jesus. All nature seemed to rejoice. The trees were clothed with verdure, and their blossoms shed a delicate fragrance on the air. A new life and joy animated the people. The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up.”6 This was five full days before Friday, Abib (Nissan) 14 or four full days before the celebration Jesus had of Passover with His disciples. Then comes this thought: “While the people were assembling at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, He, the antitypical Lamb, by a voluntary act set Himself apart as an oblation. It would be needful for His church in all succeeding ages to make His death for the sins of the world a subject of deep thought and study. Every fact connected with it should be verified beyond a doubt. It was necessary, then, that the eyes of all people should now be directed to Him; the events which preceded His great sacrifice must be such as to call attention to the sacrifice itself. After such a demonstration as that attending His entry into Jerusalem, all eyes would follow His rapid progress to the final scene. “The events connected with this triumphal ride would be the talk of every tongue, and would bring Jesus before every mind. After His crucifixion, many would recall these events in their connection with His trial and death. They would be led to search the prophecies, and would be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah; and in all lands converts to the faith would be multiplied.”7 The Messiah, Savior, Redeemer – the Lamb – set Himself apart for the ordinances of the Lord’s Supper four full days before that Thursday evening with His disciples and for the great festival day of His crucifixion to come on Friday. The great antitype of the Paschal sacrifice was set as a blood offering. Jesus was raised from the tomb on the third day (I Corinthians 15:4). Jesus also gave other helpful clues when in Matthew 12:39-40 He noted a sign of the prophet Jonas would be His entombment for three days and three nights. In the great typology of this Passover feast of Thursday night, He would accomplish that prophetic declaration. His being, therefore, in the tomb for two days and raising on the third, a great while before dawn, fulfills the symbolism of Hosea 6:2 again and looked forward to the two thousand years ahead when in the third millennium we would be with Him in heaven. The Spring and Fall Festivals – Restoration Themes The Jewish calendar began in the month of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. “And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the Land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exodus 12:1-2). The Bible called that Abib and later the term we relate to was adopted as Nissan. That was when the Passover was celebrated – the first sacred typical feast that was set aside, pointing forward to an antitypical fulfillment of one part of redemption’s history. The names of the months of the Jewish calendar were adopted during the time of Ezra after the return from exile in Babylon. They are Babylonian month names. (See those divisions in table, next page). It is of interest that of the twelve months (13 periodically to make up for the shorter Jewish length of days over time), seven only are set aside as a calendar of times appointed. Those seven months are fixed and are unaffected by the makeup time occurring every two to three years. Collectively, these seven months are a metaphor for the final period of earth’s history. Six sacred times of preparation and holy presentation and one for the time of Jesus’ return and our tabernacling with Him (Feast of Tabernacles or Booths). Individually, they have a final antitypical fulfillment at the end for God’s people. Spring Feasts Passover – justification – deliverance from sin – 144,000 Unleavened Bread – sanctification (I Corinthians 5:8) – cleansed from sin – 144,000 First Fruits – 144,000 – firstfruits of those who will be translated Summer Feast Pentecost – Latter Rain, Sealing – purified from sin Fall Feasts Trumpets – Final call – Loud Cry (Acts 3:19-20) Day of Atonement – Sanctuary cleansed and judgment Tabernacles – Coming of Jesus
The Seven and the New Moon God instituted those seven holidays that would cover a seven-month period. Leviticus 23 is the only place in the Bible where they are listed in chronological sequence. All these holidays were called feasts unto the Lord (Leviticus 23:4). They were “appointed times” of meeting the Lord. All were based on a lunar calendar cycle. The month began with a new moon (the dark unseen phase). The days were counted from these new moons. The phases of the moon were signals or points in time during that cycle for the feasts. Ezekiel is full of detailed apocalyptic prophecy. One fascinating verse that is often passed over is: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.” Ezekiel 46:1-2. The seven-day week is not based on lunar cycles. This verse notes a Sabbath on a new moon, preceded by six days. This is symbolic language for one of the appointed times of the Lord. The only “Feast of the Lord” that has a new moon on a Sabbath is the Feast of Trumpets. There is no Levitical precedent of a preceding six then the Feast of Trumpets. This is another apocalyptic end-time GWT-message. The “prince” is Michael or Jesus (Daniel The “Feast of Trumpets” setting is the end-time Loud Cry to repent for the hour of His judgment is come. Probation is soon to close and the Day of the Lord is about to come – ending with the Feast of Tabernacles. The six days here represent the Great Week of Time – six thousand years of earth’s history is about to come to an end with the Sabbath millennial rest of the land. The prince comes by the way of the porch – thought by some to be Orion.8 “The slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadow of the death of Christ. Says Paul: ‘Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.’ 1 Corinthians 5:7. The sheaf of first fruits, which at the time of the Passover was waved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrection of Christ. Paul says, in speaking of the resurrection of the Lord and of all His people: ‘Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.’ 1 Corinthians 15:23. Like the wave sheaf, which was the first ripe grain gathered before the harvest, Christ is the first fruits of that immortal harvest of redeemed ones that at the future resurrection shall be gathered into the garner of God. “These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time. On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which for fifteen long centuries the Passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passover with His disciples, instituted that feast which was to commemorate His own death as ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ That same night He was taken by wicked hands to be crucified and slain. And as the antitype of the wave sheaf our Lord was raised from the dead on the third day, ‘the first fruits of them that slept,’ a sample of all the resurrected just, whose ‘vile body’ shall be changed, and ‘fashioned like unto His glorious body.’ Verse 20; Philippians 3:21. “In like manner the types which relate to the second advent must be fulfilled at the time pointed out in the symbolic service.”9 These two verses in Ezekiel announce the beginning of the Fall Feasts. This occurs during the last 1260 days of earth’s history and coincides with the beginning of the seven Trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9. The first four relate to God’s judgments still mingled with mercy. Trumpet five is the appearance of Satan acting against his own people to enrage the wicked against the saints. The sixth ties to the seven last Plagues. The seventh is at the time of Jesus’ coming. “My imagination anticipated what it must be in that period when the Lord’s mighty voice shall give commission to His angels, ‘Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.’ ... “Revelation ... [8 and 9] are full of meaning. Terrible are the judgments of God revealed. The seven angels stood before God to receive their commission. To them were given seven trumpets. The Lord was going forth to punish the inhabitants of the earth.”10 “The time of God’s destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have no opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His heart of mercy is touched; His hand is still stretched out to save, while the door is closed to those who would not enter. Large numbers will be admitted who in these last days hear the truth for the first time (RH July 5, 1906).”11 A Jubilee Day of Atonement has been waiting to be completed for nearly 2000 years. The Feast of Trumpets is the announcement that the seventh month has come. It is the last call to repent before the final judgment or Jubilee Day of Atonement. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.” Exodus 32:32-33. Even today, Jewish tradition calls this day Rosh Hashanah: A call to Repentance before Wrath. Again, the GWT is alluded to in this end-time imagery. Revelation 10 ties together many of these apocalyptic thoughts. We are currently in a tarrying time. At the “appointed time” (Hebrew word is moed – the same used for the solemn feasts) that will cease – “it will not tarry.” Habakkuk 2:2-3. Jesus made a declaration during a trumpet interlude that time would be no longer delayed (Revelation 10:6 – the same thought as Habakkuk). To make sure this issue was not missed, in the next verse Jesus said at the time of the seventh trumpet, the “mystery of God should be finished.” Revelation 10:7. When the destructive judgments are complete – He comes. Inherent in our understanding of the GWT is a deepening understanding of the end of time. By what has been reviewed thus far, that “appointed time” is about to begin. In our next issue we will look into the myriad of other GWT allusions in the Bible. Plus the great jubilee cycle that has built into it a final restoration message at the “seventh,” which comes when that final appointed time begins. References 1Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 282. 2Ibid., pp. 537, 539. 3Desire of Ages, pp. 652-653. 4Ibid. 5The Great Controversy, p. 399 (emphasis added). 6Desire of Ages, p. 569. 7Ibid., p. 571. 8Drake, Melody and Richard; God’s Holidays (Last Generation Ministries; Ridgecrest, CA). 9The Great Controversy, pp. 399-400 (emphasis added). 10Maranatha, p. 284. 11Seventh-day Adventist Commentary, vol. 7, p. 979.
Christian Heritage Foundation, CS © 2004-2005 – Franklin S. Fowler Jr., M.D., Director
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