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God's Prophetic Calendar: How the Jewish Feasts Tell the Story of Jesus' First and Second Coming
If someone asked you where the gospel begins, what would you say? Matthew? The manger in Bethlehem? The cross? The empty tomb?
The Bible's answer takes us much earlier.
Long before there was a nation called Israel, a Temple in Jerusalem, a king named David, or a stable in Bethlehem, God had already begun establishing the framework through which He would reveal His plan of redemption. One fascinating part of that framework is Israel's calendar.
The Jewish calendar is more than a method of keeping dates. Its appointed feasts continually reminded Israel of God's covenant, His provision, His deliverance, and His promises.
Looking backward from the New Testament, Christians can also see remarkable connections between these appointed times and the work of Jesus.
The first group of feasts corresponds strikingly with events surrounding His first coming. That naturally raises an intriguing question: Could the remaining feasts point toward His second coming?
God Established Appointed Times
Genesis 1:14 says:
"Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens... and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years."
The Hebrew word translated "seasons" is moedim (moh-eh-DEEM), the plural of moed. It can mean appointed times, appointed meetings, or fixed occasions.
That becomes especially interesting when we reach Leviticus 23, because the same terminology is used for the feasts God gives Israel: "These are the appointed times of the LORD."
Before Abraham, Moses, the Tabernacle, or the Temple, God had already established the heavenly bodies by which days, years, and appointed times would be marked. Israel's feasts would eventually operate within that created order.
Why the Calendar Begins with Abib
Today, the first month of the Jewish religious calendar is called Nisan (nee-SAHN), but that isn't the name we first encounter in the Torah. Exodus repeatedly refers to the month of Abib.
"You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib..." — Exodus 23:15
Abib refers to young or ripening grain, particularly barley. This connected Israel's calendar to the agricultural cycle of the land. After the Babylonian exile, the name Nisan, derived from the Babylonian calendar, came into Jewish usage. We actually see Scripture itself make this identification in Esther 3:7: "the first month, which is the month Nisan."
So:
Abib is the earlier biblical designation associated with ripening grain.
Nisan is the later name that became standard in Jewish usage.
Passover occurs during this first month.
The month generally falls during March or April on our Gregorian calendar.
That brings us to the real significance of the calendar: the feasts themselves.
Seven Feasts, One Redemptive Story
Leviticus 23 lays out the appointed times of Israel. Christians have long recognized that the New Testament gives several of these feasts profound Christological significance.
The spring feasts are particularly remarkable.
Passover — The Lamb Is Sacrificed
Passover commemorates Israel's deliverance from Egypt. A lamb was sacrificed, its blood marked God's people, and judgment passed over them.
Jesus was crucified in the Passover season, and the New Testament deliberately uses Passover imagery to explain His death. John the Baptist calls Jesus "the Lamb of God," while Paul writes, "Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Passover wasn't merely an interesting parallel Christians discovered later. The New Testament itself connects Christ with the Passover sacrifice.
Unleavened Bread — The Sinless One
Immediately following Passover came the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days Israel removed leaven from its homes. Scripture frequently uses leaven symbolically for corruption or sinful influence, although not universally.
During this feast, Jesus, the One the New Testament describes as without sin, was in the tomb. Christians therefore see a natural connection between the removal of corruption represented by unleavened bread and the sinlessness of Christ.
Firstfruits — The Resurrection
At Firstfruits, Israel presented the beginning of the harvest to God. The first portion represented the greater harvest still to come.
Paul explicitly uses this imagery for Jesus:
"But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." — 1 Corinthians 15:20
Jesus' resurrection isn't merely His victory over death. It is the beginning and guarantee of the resurrection still to come for His people.
Shavuot/Pentecost — The Spirit Is Given
Fifty days later came Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, which Christians generally call Pentecost from the Greek word associated with fifty.
Acts 2 deliberately places the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Thousands hear the gospel, believe, and are baptized as the Spirit empowers the disciples.
Put the spring sequence together:
Passover: Christ is sacrificed.
Unleavened Bread: the sinless Christ is in the tomb.
Firstfruits: Christ rises from the dead as the firstfruits of resurrection.
Pentecost: the Holy Spirit is poured out and the gospel begins exploding outward.
The connections become difficult to ignore. And then the calendar gets quiet.
The Long Gap
After Pentecost there is a substantial gap before the fall feasts begin. During that time, the harvest continues.
Many Christians—particularly within dispensational and some premillennial traditions—have seen this as a picture of the present age: Christ has risen, the Spirit has been given, the gospel is spreading among the nations, and the harvest continues while the world awaits Christ's return.
Scripture never explicitly tells us that the summer interval represents the Church Age, so we shouldn't turn a pattern into a doctrine. But if the spring feasts correspond with events surrounding Christ's first coming, it is understandable why Christians have looked carefully at what comes next.
Trumpets — The King Is Coming
The seventh month begins with what Leviticus 23 describes as a memorial proclaimed by trumpet blasts. In modern Judaism, this observance is associated with Rosh Hashanah.
Trumpets throughout Scripture can:
Gather God's people.
Announce important events.
Sound warnings.
Accompany God's appearing or royal activity.
That becomes especially interesting when we turn to the New Testament.
Paul says the dead will be raised "at the last trumpet" in 1 Corinthians 15:52. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the Lord descends from heaven "with the trumpet of God." Jesus says in Matthew 24:31 that His angels will gather His elect "with a loud trumpet call."
Because of these passages, Christians have proposed several interpretations. Some associate Trumpets with Christ's second coming, others with the resurrection of believers, and some dispensational interpreters specifically associate it with the rapture.
But Scripture never explicitly says, "Jesus will return on the Feast of Trumpets." That's an important distinction. The connection is intriguing; the date-setting is speculation.
The Day of Atonement — Repentance and Reconciliation
Ten days later comes Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Under the Mosaic covenant, this was the extraordinary day when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and made atonement for Israel.
Many Christians connect its themes with prophecies concerning a future turning of Israel toward the Messiah. Zechariah 12 speaks of people looking upon the one they pierced and mourning, while Romans 11 describes God's continuing purposes concerning Israel and declares that "all Israel will be saved."
Whether those events will occur specifically on Yom Kippur isn't stated in Scripture. But the themes certainly fit:
Recognition of sin.
National repentance.
Atonement.
Reconciliation.
Restoration.
And then comes the final feast.
Tabernacles — God Dwells With His People
Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, commemorates God's provision for Israel during the wilderness journey. Israelites lived in temporary shelters as a reminder of their dependence upon God.
But the theme of God's dwelling runs much deeper.
John describes the incarnation by saying the Word became flesh and "dwelt among us." The Greek verb carries the idea of pitching a tent or tabernacling among us. Then Revelation brings the biblical story to its climax:
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them..." — Revelation 21:3
Zechariah 14 makes the connection even more interesting because it describes surviving nations going to Jerusalem to worship the King and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Bible begins with humanity dwelling in God's presence in Eden. It ends with God's dwelling restored among redeemed humanity.
Tabernacles, then, gives us an extraordinary picture of where the entire biblical story is heading.
Put the Whole Calendar Together
When viewed through this Christian interpretive framework, the pattern looks like this:
Passover → Christ's sacrificial death
Unleavened Bread → Christ's sinlessness and burial
Firstfruits → Christ's resurrection
Pentecost → Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Long harvest period → Possible picture of the present age
Trumpets → Possible picture of Christ's return, resurrection, or gathering of believers
Day of Atonement → Possible picture of repentance and reconciliation involving Israel
Tabernacles → God's ultimate dwelling with His people
Notice the distinction between the two halves. The New Testament explicitly connects Christ with Passover, Firstfruits, and Pentecost-related events. The prophetic significance assigned to the fall feasts is more interpretive.
That's why we should be fascinated by the pattern without becoming dogmatic about details Scripture hasn't revealed.
Does This Mean We Can Predict Jesus' Return?
No, and this is where Christians have occasionally taken a beautiful biblical pattern and pushed it beyond what Scripture allows.
Jesus says:
"But about that day and hour no one knows..." — Matthew 24:36
After His resurrection, the disciples ask Jesus about restoring the kingdom to Israel. His answer in Acts 1:7 is equally important:
"It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority."
Prophecy wasn't given so Christians could circle a date on the calendar every September and announce that they've finally cracked the code.
It was given to produce watchfulness, endurance, holiness, and hope.
God's Appointments Have Not Failed
This is what makes the Jewish calendar so compelling for Christians. It isn't that we can use it to determine when Jesus will return. It's that it reminds us of how faithfully God has acted throughout redemptive history.
Consider what has already happened:
The Passover Lamb has been sacrificed.
Christ has been raised as the Firstfruits.
The Holy Spirit has been poured out.
The gospel has gone to the nations.
The harvest continues.
Christ has promised to return.
The same God who kept His promises surrounding Christ's first coming will keep every promise surrounding His second.
Whether Jesus returns during Trumpets, Tabernacles, or on a completely different day isn't something Scripture allows us to declare. But the final destination is not uncertain.
The same God who kept His promises surrounding Christ's first coming will keep every promise surrounding His second.
And that's what makes the Jewish calendar so fascinating.
The spring feasts have already given Christians extraordinary reasons to pay attention. Passover, Firstfruits, and Pentecost don't merely provide interesting parallels to New Testament events. The New Testament itself connects these appointed times with the death and resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Then the calendar moves toward the fall feasts:
Trumpets — a gathering announced by the blast of a trumpet.
The Day of Atonement — repentance, atonement, and reconciliation.
Tabernacles — the King reigning and God dwelling among His people.
And the New Testament's descriptions of what is still to come contain those same themes: a trumpet, resurrection and gathering, Israel's future within God's redemptive purposes, the return and reign of Christ, and ultimately God dwelling with His people.
Does that mean Jesus must return on the Feast of Trumpets? No. Does it mean we can calculate His return by examining the Jewish calendar? No. Scripture simply doesn't give us permission to make those claims.
But after seeing what happened with the spring feasts, I don't think Christians should ignore the fall feasts either.
Maybe the point isn't that God gave us a calendar so we could figure out when Jesus is returning.
Maybe He gave us appointed times that continually remind us that He is returning.
The first coming demonstrated that God's timing is exact. The remaining promises give us confidence that His timing will be exact again.
So study the calendar. Study the feasts. Pay attention to the patterns. Look for Christ in the appointed times God established thousands of years before Bethlehem.
Just don't turn the pattern into a prediction.
We don't know whether Christ will return during one of Israel's fall feasts. We don't know whether Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles will receive future fulfillments as precise as Passover, Firstfruits, and Pentecost.
But we do know the next great event Christians are waiting for, the King who fulfilled the spring feasts has promised to return. And if the first half of God's appointed calendar teaches us anything, it's this, when God makes an appointment, He keeps it.
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