What are God's Appointed Times?

What are God's Appointed Times? How are they significant to Christians? Do you know that major events in Jesus's life occurred on these Appointed Times or festivals of God? And did you know that they all point to Christ? We are not required to keep these days for our salvation, but having an understanding about their purpose, significance, and fulfillment is important for Christians so we can tie the new and the old together and see the full depth and richness of God’s plan outlined in the bible.

God’s Appointed Times are the biblical holidays set forth by God and are summarized in Leviticus 23, but are also seen elsewhere in the bible, even in the New Testament. God instituted these days with Israel as a reminder of what He had done for them and His promises to them. However, these Appointed Times also possess a deep prophetic significance as they foreshadow Jesus Christ and God’s plan for ALL of mankind. Let’s look at each of God’s festivals:

The first festival season is in the Spring and begins with Passover and Unleavened Bread. Passover commemorates when the Israelites smeared lamb’s blood on their doorposts to protect their first born. The next day, they escaped the bondage of Egypt and packed unleavened bread for their journey. This special season foreshadowed the sacrifice of our Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, who died for all mankind, freeing us from the bondage of sin and death. The Days of Unleavened Bread, which follows Passover, remind us to put sin out of our lives as Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 5:7-8,

“Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”

On the Sunday after Passover, the Israelites celebrated the firstfruit of their harvest. This foreshadows Christ’s Sunday resurrection as he was the firstfruit of all mankind to be resurrected, overcoming death. As we read in I Corinthians 15:20, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

From this day of “firstfruits”, we count 50 days and this takes us to the next festival of God, the day of Pentecost. 50 days after the Israelite’s departure from Egypt, the 10 Commandments were given to Moses at Mount Sinai. These commandments were a contract which God gave to Israel to invite them to be His “chosen people” as long as they obeyed Him. They figuratively entered into a marriage with God.

Now let’s fast-forward to the days of Christ. After Christ was resurrected, he instructed his disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5) Then in Acts 2:1 we read that “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place... All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit”

With the gift of the Holy Spirit, God put his seal, his guarantee, of our union together with Him as His Bride as we see in II Corinthians 1:22, “He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

The next set of God’s festivals occur in the autumn season. While the spring biblical festivals were prophetically fulfilled at the first coming of Jesus, the fall festivals are awaiting their fulfillment at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

We begin these days with the Feast of Trumpets. In Leviticus 23, the Lord instructs the Israelites to commemorate the day with trumpet blasts. In ancient Israel, the people blew the trumpet, also know as the shofar, for several reasons: to warn of incoming danger, to announce the release of captives, to announce a victory, to announce the coronation of a king, and at celebratory events. The prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets is the final trumpet call of God that will be sounded at the return of Jesus Christ as we read in I Thessalonians 4:16-17,

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

The next fall festival follows 10 days later, the Day of Atonement. On this day, the Israelites fasted and the high priest made atonement for the sins of all of Israel. The future fulfillment of this day concerns the repentance and redemption of ALL the nations when they will look upon the one they have pierced and recognize Jesus as the Messiah which we find in Zechariah 12:10.

God’s next festival is The Feast of Tabernacles, during which, the Israelites were instructed to live in temporary shelters to remind them of how God provided for all their needs during their wandering in the desert and God established this festival to be a time of rejoicing the ingathering of the year-end harvest. This parallels our earthly journey during which God provides for all our needs and in the end there will be great rejoicing when we too will enter the Promised Land.

And we will have company from ALL nations.

This is because Tabernacles is unique from the other festivals in that ALL nations were invited to join the Jewish people to worship the Lord in Jerusalem. When Solomon later dedicated the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, he also called on the Lord to hear the prayers of ALL the foreigners that would come there to pray. This foreshadows the promised Kingdom of God when ALL nations will flow to Jerusalem to worship the Lord as we read in Zechariah 14:16. It will be a time of great rejoicing as the Lord gathers in His great harvest.

Understanding the prophetic and spiritual meaning of God’s Appointed Times helps us to see God’s plan more clearly and it is exciting to know that plan! There is a reason why God included these festivals in His word.

II Timothy 3:16 tells us “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”

This tells us that EVERY word of the Bible is there for a purpose... to teach, to show God's plan, to lead us to Christ. Nothing should be ignored. Every book, every chapter, every verse has significance. God does nothing by accident.

As Psalm 18:30 tells us “As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless.”

So let us give special remembrance of these Appointed Times from our Heavenly Father. At the beginning of each year, look up the dates of God’s festivals and mark them on your calendar. As they approach, dig into scripture and review their significance to God’s plan. Discover more of God and the blessings He has for us. They will enrich your spiritual life by bringing greater understanding, wisdom and revelation.