The Watchman discusses the first month of God's Ecclesiastical Calendar presenting the Holy days of Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of First Fruits and what these Holy Days mean to the End of Times believer in Jesus Christ.
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The Watchman discusses the first month of God's Ecclesiastical Calendar presenting the Holy days of Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of First Fruits and what these Holy Days mean to the End of Times believer in Jesus Christ.
The Old Watchman Website
The Old Watchman - Facebook
The Watchman Speaks - Facebook
The Old Watchman - Twitter
012 Rosh Chodesh and the Feasts of Nisan
Welcome to The Watchman Speaks! I’m your host, Lonnie Richardson
Today I want to discuss some things that may sound foreign to most of you. I want to discuss the first of the month, the middle of the month, and the biblical Feasts. Having said that, I assure you that I am not a Jew nor am I a Jewish Proselyte. I am a redneck American protestant who is more concerned with what God actually said than what some denominational leadership or church leader has to say. Yes, what God said and what leaders of men say are often times vastly different things. Yes, I said that and No, I don’t make any apologies for having said it. I spent fifty six years living by what men told me about God. I’ve spent the last four and a half years living by what God actually said in His word and, believe it or not, life has been infinitesimally better from my perspective. I have found that God is faithful to His Word. Man and his word? Not so much
Now at sunset on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 is Rosh Chodesh Nisan. Rosh Chodesh means, “New Month” and Nisan is the name of the month being ushered in. Adar is the month being ushered out. Why is that important?’
Let me ask you a question. Why is the church in America, for the most part, not experiencing the promises that God made in the Bible? The answer to that question is really very simple. We are not doing what the Bible instructs us to do. And before you jump on your high horse about salvation comes by the blood of Jesus, which I agree with one hundred percent, I’m not talking about salvation. Salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ as the Resurrected Son of God. I’m talking about simple obedience to God’s instructions. Salvation and obedience to God’s Word after the fact of salvation, are two completely different things.
Rosh Chodesh is the first of the month that occurs every new moon. Incidentally, the words “month” and “moon” are both obtained from the same Hebrew root. Biblical scripture sometimes refers to this event as “new moon feasts” or “festival”. It was a festive occasion. Why?
It is a time to gather together to seek God. God placed the Sun, moon, stars, and constellations into place, moving them to act in accordance with His time. The heavenly bodies are a massive time piece. I’m not talking about astrology mind you. Astronomy and astrology are two entirely different things. Scripturally speaking, there is nothing innately evil about the existence or the movement of the heavenly bodies. Namely, the sun, moon, stars, or constellations. The devil perverted the interpretation of the movements of those heavenly bodies and you have astrology.
Consider Psalm 8:1 “O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, who have displayed You splendor above the heavens?”
Psalm 8:3 “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained.”
Psalm 8:9 “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”
Psalm 19:1 “The heavens are declaring the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”
Job 9:8-10 “Who alone stretches out the heavens and tramples down the waves of the sea; Who makes the Bear (Ursus), Orion and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; Who does great things, unfathomable, and wonderous works without number.”
That is God’s creation. The devil has taken such knowledge and perverted it into what is known as astrology. Christians have been so set against observing the heavenlies to avoid astrology (or have they?) that they forget Genesis 1:14:
And God Said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.”
The heavenly bodies are a big clock in the sky. Notice the word “signs” which means “a signal”, “an omen”, or “a warning”. Note as well the word “seasons”. The Hebrew word of seasons is
“Mo’ed” which is where the word “Mo’edim” comes from. What is “Mo’edim”? It’s the Feasts!
The Feasts are presented in the Bible as a means of navigating the three courts of the Tabernacle. The outer court, the inner court, and the Holy of Holies.
The outer court was a place of redemption and cleansing. It was the place of the bronze alter and laver. To approach God, you had to be cleansed and purified. This is what Jesus accomplished for us at the Passover.
The inner court was a holy place and a place of celebration for God’s provision. Here was the table of show bread as well as the Golden Menorah which is a picture of God’s provision of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Between the inner court and the Holy of Holies was a barrier, a veil or curtain. Only the high priest could enter through the veil once a year to make an offering for the sins of a nation. When Jesus was crucified, the temple veil was torn giving us direct access to God the Father through Jesus. After the Feast of Trumpets there was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter to make atonement for Israel every year. It is when Jesus entered into the Holy of Holies not made by the hands of man, ONE TIME to atone for the sins of mankind.
The Feasts are not merely Jewish Holidays. They are God’s Holy Days. As end time believers in Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach, the Feasts have meaning for us as well. I’ll say it again just so that there is no misunderstanding. One is not saved or receives salvation by remembering the feasts or the seasons in God’s Word. However, when we do remember those feasts and align ourselves with God’s time, in His seasons, I believe that God the Father is pleased and that brings me great joy.
The Passover happens in the spring, on the fourteenth day of Nisan. It is when God’s angel of death took the first born of Egypt and Israel was brought out of Egypt. It is the same Passover season, on the exact same date, that Christ died on the cross. By the cleansing of His blood, we are redeemed and purified. We have entered into the outer court. After Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Leavening, or yeast, is an impurity that causes bread to rise. All products containing leavening was forbidden as a means of turning from one’s sin and putting one’s house in order. Israel was put on notice that they would leave Egypt at a moment’s notice. And such was the case. Now consider the state of the unbelieving lost soul. Jesus has come to offer them the redemption and cleansing that would allow them into the outer court. Without accepting his redeeming blood for cleansing, they cannot enter into the outer court. Upon the return of our Lord and Savior it will be too late for any of that to happen.
Then there is the Feast of First Fruits. The First Fruits were the season when Israel entered into the Promised land and ceased to eat manna and eat the fruit of the land. Jesus was the first fruits of this same season. He was God’s own offering and sacrifice that we may have eternal life. Therefore, the first fruits that were offered at the beginning of each month at the new moon festivals were a reminder of the first fruits enjoyed by Israel in the promised land as well as a reminder of the First Fruits of Salvation provided through Jesus’ crucifixion.
Now in case some of you are screaming that the Feasts are the Law, and I know that many of you have some aberrance of the Law, Passover was established before the Law was handed down.
Speaking of the Passover: Exodus 12:24
“And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.”
How long is forever? And don’t tell me it’s just for Israel or the Jews. Remember, according to Romans 11:17-21
17. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,
18. do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you
19. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”
20. Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;
21. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either.
If it were not for the Jewish root that we have, whom we call Jesus, and the fact that we are a wild olive branch grafted into the olive tree that is the Jewish believers, we wouldn’t have a snow ball’s chance in Hades of making it out of this world alive. The Jewish believers are the branches of the tree that we were grafted into and Jesus, a Jew, is the root.
Jesus observed the Feasts. Jesus wore a tallit or what we would call a “Jewish prayer shawl”. It did not begin as a Jewish prayer shawl since the tallit or “little tent” was ordained by God before Jews existed, at a time when there was only Israel. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say, “We are to become more Christ like? Jesus observed the Feasts. Yet the Feasts are neglected as being “Jewish holidays.” When in fact, they are God’s Holy Days. The Feasts are God’s appointed times to meet with man and the Feasts occur during harvests times.
Still don’t believe me? Let’s look at what GOD SAID.
I am going to give you what God said concerning The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First fruits specifically and what God Said about the Feasts in General. So get a pencil and piece of paper and write some of these passages down. I don’t have time to spoon feed it all to you. Go and look these passages up and read them carefully. I’m just going to hit the high spots for now.
The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread is mentioned first in Exodus 12:1-13. Basically, this is the beginning of the first day of the first month of Abib. It begins God’s Ecclesiastical Calendar. On the tenth day of the month a sacrificial lamb was selected for each household. On the fourteenth day the lamb was slaughtered and instructions were given as to how to prepare the lamb and eat the meal. Instructions were given as to how to distribute the blood of the lamb on the doors of Israel’s dwellings. Judgement was coming for Egypt.
In Exodus 12:14-22 God gives instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days they would unleavened bread. No leavening was to be found in any of the homes.
Exodus 13:1-16 God ordains that the first born of people and livestock shall be His. It is the Feast of First Fruits. Also, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is re-iterated.
Now I direct you to the book of Leviticus. Most folks dislike Leviticus because it is a book of laws. But let’s look at what God said.
Leviticus 23:2
Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The Lord’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations – MY APPOINTED TIMES ARE THESE:
23:4-6
4. These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them.
5. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover.
6. Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
Leviticus 23 continues to describe the Feast of First Fruits to be ordained and practiced when Israel enters into the land that God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who would become known as Israel. It is when Joshua led Israel into the land that the Feast of First Fruits was established. It goes on to say that from the first sabbath of First Fruits that they would count fifty days, seven sabbaths or seven weeks. This is the Feast of Weeks. The Jews call it Shavuot. We refer to it as Pentecost. Pentecost in Greek means fifty days. Along about verse twenty four of the 23rd chapter of Leviticus God gives instructions for the Feast of trumpets in the Seventh month.
Beginning in Leviticus 23:26 God gave instructions for Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement. By the time the 23rd Chapter of Leviticus is concluded we have received instructions for the Feast of Tabernacles.
Now in Exodus 23:14-19 three feasts are mentioned. Unleavened bread, First Fruits, and Tabernacles. However I’m going to share verses 14-17 with you particularly with you for they bear much weight.
Exodus 23:14–17
14 “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.
15 “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 Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.
16 “Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.
Now how do we in the modern church fit into all that? Well, we do and we don’t.
Ephesians 2:11 Paul writes:
11. Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision”, which is performed in the flesh by human hands—
12. remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13. But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
What is Paul saying?
Paul is telling the Gentiles, that’s most of us, that we were once separated from Christ. We were not part of the commonwealth of Israel and that we were strangers or non-partakers of the covenants of promises that God made. We had no hope. But by the blood of Jesus we are no longer separated from Christ. We are now a part of the commonwealth of Israel, we are partakers in the covenants of promises, and we have everlasting hope.
Now Paul himself referred to the feasts.
1st Corinthians 5:7-8
7. Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you in fact are unleavened. For Christ our Passover lamb also has been sacrificed.
8. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread with sincerety and truth.
Now what is Paul saying? He is speaking to the church at Corinth as though they have knowledge and understanding of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. He’s saying cast away the sin in your life and be a new being. Christ, the Passover Lamb of God has been sacrificed allowing us to do so. Therefore, CELEBRATE the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened bread not with the sin of malice or wickedness (Maybe antisemitism?) but with purity and sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 15:20–23
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
Paul is speaking as though the church at Corinth as though they have knowledge and understanding of the Feast of First Fruits.
Now am I saying that we must acknowledge the Feasts in strict Jewish fashion? No, I’m not saying that at all. I am certain, however that we as Christians should not bypass the Passover altogether. Would God be pleased if we did? Perhaps. But if observing the Feasts is an undertaking that you feel as though you “have to do it” I’d advise against it. Celebrating and remembering the Feasts should be something that we want to do. It should be something that we can’t wait to do!
Let me break it down like this.
The Passover is the time of remembrance of when God remembered His promises of His covenants in Exodus Chapter 6 (sanctification, deliverance, redemption, joy, and inheritance) and brought the sons of Israel out of Egypt in chapter 12 using a sacrificial lamb as a meal and the blood of the lamb as protection against the killing of the first born or first fruits of Israel. On the same date, Jesus died as the sacrificial lamb of God and began fulfilling the promises of Exodus Chapter 6 again, only this time we, the gentiles got the benefit of the promises of covenant in Chapter 6 of Exodus. The difference is that we do not get an inheritance of land, but an inheritance of a Kingdom when the Messiah returns. I’ll celebrate that.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread indicates that there was no time to allow the bread to rise. The impurities of leavening, or yeasts, took too long. It was a symbol of impurities of life that need to be cleansed. Remember, when God commanded them to eat unleavened bread the law had not as yet been given. It was a means of cleansing, purifying, and setting one’s house in order to protect the first fruits. I’ll celebrate that. I’m partial to my first fruits and I see to it that God get’s my first fruits joyfully.
That brings us to the Feast of First Fruits. Cheryl and I pay the tithes and we do so gladly and joyfully. I’ll get into that in a later episode. But the first of every month we bring forth an additional offering for the first fruits of each month. This is what we call our “First Fruits” offering. It is the first of our increase for each month. We pray over our offerings and our tithes that God would use them and multiply them as Jesus multiplied the five loaves and two fish when He fed 5000. We give expecting miracles and blessings. Here’s the catch. We do not ask for the miracles and blessings that we want. We are quite happy to receive the miracles and blessings that God chooses to provide. Just as the first born of Israel from their children and livestock were dedicated to the Lord, Jesus was the first fruits of God’s ultimate redemptive plane. We celebrate that. What can I say? It works! God is faithful to His word. We are faithful.
I am The Old Watchman, Ezekiel. Holy days are coming soon. I’ll dig deeper next week. You have been warned.
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