What are the Appointed Times, the Feasts, or the Moedim in Hebrew?
The Feasts of YHVH – or His appointed times are not just quaint, religious festivals of a bygone Biblical era. They are specific, appointed times (moed’im – Gen 1:14) when we pause to remember, celebrate, and rejoice on those very same special Biblical calendar dates set out and detailed through Moses over 3500 years ago.
Each feast/mo’ed is a way-point and signpost in our understanding of the character of Yhvh, and:
1. WHAT He will do and more importantly.
2. WHEN he will do it – a dress rehearsal if you will, for the first and second coming of Yeshua with each feast illustrating a certain essential truth relating to the the everlasting covenant as it unfolds into the history of this earth.
DISCLAIMER:
Many Hebrew Roots, Messianic and Messianic Jewish believers are under theimpression that the modern Rabbinical calendar tabulated by Hillel II is the same as the Biblical calendar. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It is true that the modern Rabbinical calendar is very close, but since the two calendars are calculated using entirely different methods, minor and major variations do exist.
Why is this important? Yahweh has commanded us to follow His feasts according to His calendar, not a calendar that merely approximates it. The modern Rabbinical calendar rarely has feast days at the same time as the Biblical calendar, thereby leading even conscientious followers of Yeshua to observe days that have not been divinely ordained and neglecting days that have been divinely ordained.
The Feasts, the Appointed Times.
In order to understand the advents of our Saviour, we MUST understand the feast days, the appointed times (mo’edim) given to us in the Torah and are all prophetic rehearsals and allusions to the First and Second coming of Christ, his Death & Resurrection, the provision of the Torah and the Ruach haKodesh, the Day of Wiping Away & the Resurrection, His Reign on Earth and the Eternal Kingdom as on earth.
There are a total of seven (7) feasts ordained by the Lord through Moses in scripture. The church, as a whole, do not celebrate these days but have mixed and blended them with pagan festivals even using pagan names. Many reasons have been given by the church as to why it does not observe these days, (please see here – Colossians 2:16 According to the ancient Greek & Aramaic) but are happy to celebrate contrived mixtures of set-apart dates and pagan holidays, but we’ll save that for another teaching.
SPRING FEASTS:
1. Passover and First Day of Unleavened Bread (Pesach) – a High Sabbath
2. Last Day of Unleavened Bread – a High Sabbath
3. Pentecost (Shavu’ot) – a High SabbathFALL FEASTS:
4. Trumpets (Yom Teruah) – a High Sabbath
5. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) – a High Sabbath
6. Tabernacles (Sukkot) – a High Sabbath
7. Last Great Day – a High Sabbath
It must be understood that though these are all referred to, in a broad sense, as feast days, only three (1, 3 and 6 above) are truly feast days where we are instructed to actually celebrate with a feast and go on up to Jerusalem, Deuteronomy 16:16-17, Ex 23:17 and Exo 34:23. Yet, they are ALL generally referred to as feast days. These are known as ascension occasions.
Editor’s Note: As we are in diaspora (NOT in The Land of promise), with no current temple, no priesthood, and no Levitical system, this pursuit remains impossible to conduct.
But aren’t these all just Jewish Feasts? How do they apply to us today?
Leviticus 23:2
“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are MY appointed feasts, the appointed feasts OF the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.” (KJV).
2 “Speak unto the sons of Yisra’ēl, and you will have said unto them, ‘The appointed times of Yăhwēh, which you shall proclaim them, these are holy convocations. They are my appointed times.’ (EHSV).
They were given to all twelve tribes of Israel and all those who were non-Hebrew but who left Egypt with the twelve tribes and who also stood united at Mt Sinai in Arabia. The Scriptures also tell us that they are always to be observed. Always. Zechariah tells us that Tabernacles, Suku’ot (6) will even be observed throughout the Millennium.
Zechariah 14:16
“Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.” (KJV).
16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. (NAB).
Leviticus 23:4 explains how these feast days are to be observed at their appointed times, . The Hebrew word for appointed times is “mô‘êd.”
Leviticus 23:4
“These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:”
4 ‘These are the appointed times of Yăhwēh, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim them, at their appointed time.’ (EHSV)
“Appointed times” – mo’ed. The singular of “Mo’edim” is used in Genesis 1:14.
Genesis 1:14
“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons וּלְמ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים and days and years,”
14 Then the Almĭghty said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens, to make a division between the day and between the night. And they will have been for signs, and for appointed times, and for days and years. (EHSV).
“Seasons” …Mo’edim. Strong’s Hebrew 4150, see here
We have to ask ourselves, “Do we really need the sun, moon and the stars to tell us what season we are in?” Doesn’t Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall speak for themselves? Or do we need the sun, moon and the stars to inform us of when the leaves are falling from the trees? Doesn’t it make more sense that these are to be used in referring to the Lord’s appointed times and feasts as mentioned in Leviticus 23?