What Is the Annual Festival Calendar?

Short Answer: When YHVH created the sun, the moon, and the stars He made them to be for signs and seasons and days and years. He also established the harvests and their related festivals as days we are to observe and remind us of the work that He has done. These signs not only have meaning in the physical world by telling us what part of the day or of the year we are in, but they tell us what is happening in our relationship with the One Most High as well.

"And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD." Is. 66:23 KJV

The Moon Declared During the act of creation, Elohim did not just speak, but rather He declared that that something should occur. In the fourth day, Elohim was not creating just any light to exist, but He was declaring for His lights to exist in the Heavens. These lights were to serve His purposes that include separating light from darkness, acting as a calendar, as signals for the festival meetings, and as signs of the time. The sun, moon, and stars were made to act as a calendar. The sun and moon separate the day and the night. The moon is also used to measure the months of the year. The moon is also used as a reference to the timing of the three annual feasts: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths.

Understanding Agriculture If we had grown up in an agricultural society, we would be familiar with many things. We would know the times of planting and harvesting, how to watch the direction the wind blows to know what weather will soon be, and how to recognize different soil conditions or plant pests. Instead, we have grown up in a society that dwells primarily in the city and have lost touch with the cycles of nature and their impact on farming. For us, food comes from the supermarket and we do not have to think about all the signs and cycles that effect crops. We do not know what is happening around us in the natural. Speaking symbolically, do we recognize and know the signs and prophecies given to us in the Scriptures? They are happening around us whether we pay attention or not.

Harvests and Festivals The harvest of the crops of Israel are related to the feast times. The barley crop must come in during springtime before Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread occurs. The wheat harvest comes in before the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). The full harvest of all crops and fruit comes in by the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles). The harvest and festival times are rich with meaning. Basically, the harvests represent the ages of man and that these ages represent the Eternal's relationship with mankind. Likewise, the festivals are guidelines to our future because they show the redemption of mankind in them. Thus as we go through the High Days as found in the Scriptures, we are looking at our relationship with Him in its past, present, and future states. As we go through the growing season, He is continually drawing us closer to Him.

Yahshuah's Appearance and Return Yahshuah's early and latter appearances are also contained in the Spring and Autumn festivals. In the Scriptures, two pictures of the Messiah are presented. The first is the suffering servant and the second is the conquering king. The role of Suffering Servant, described so well in the latter chapters of Isaiah, were fulfilled when Yahshuah came to earth, suffered, and died in our place so that we could become sons and daughters of YHVH. These events were symbolized and foreshadowed by the spring harvests and high days of Passover (Pesach), Feast of Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzot), and Feast of Weeks / Pentecost (Hag Shavuot). It takes little effort to see the fulfillment of the role of Conquering King in His return symbolized by the fall high days. The fulfillment of these days includes (but is not limited to) the millenial kingdom, final judgment, and the new Heavens and Earth which are found in the Autumn Festivals of Day of Shouting, Day of Redemptions, Feast of Booths, and Eight Day Assembly.

Celebrating Our Savior We are separated from the Eternal because of our sin and rebelliousness to His authority. That is why we need the perfect atoning sacrifice which is found in our Savior Yahshuah's death. Without this, we would be nothing. With it, we become sons and daughters of the One Most High with the promise of being with Elohim through eternity. Is not this show of favor and love not something to celebrate? Is not Elohim, the One who does all this, not worthy to be worshiped and praised and remembered at the time that He does these things? The Scripturally commanded High Days ask us to do just that. They act as a wonderful reminder each season and each year of what He has done for us.