Ecclesiastes 1:9 – “What has been is what will be, what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”
You have heard it said, history repeats itself, and that is true to some extent. Previous happenings in history tend to happen again and again, but not in exactly the same way. The same holds true for scriptural events. Each event in scripture, prior to its final fulfillment, may repeat more than once, but is only a shadow of the real event prophesied.
God Of Order
1 Corinthians 14:33 – “God is not a God of confusion, but of shalom.”
1 Corinthians 14:40 – “Let all things be done decently and in order.”
Yahweh is not a god of chaos, confusion, or disorder. He is a god of peace and order. In other words, Yahweh don’t do random! He establishes a pattern and in him “there is no change” (Psalm 55:19). He is the God who has determined the end from the beginning.
Shadows
Numbers 21:9 – “Moshe made a bronze serpent and put it on the pole; if a snake had bitten someone, then, when he looked toward the bronze serpent, he stayed alive.”
The bronze serpent, for instance, was a shadow of Yeshua being hung on the cross. John 3:14 affirms that the serpent is merely a shadow: “Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” The reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (Daniel 11:31) is merely a shadow of the real event, the reign of the future antichrist (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14). There are many more examples of shadows throughout the scriptures.
It Only Happened Once
Colossians 2:17 – “These are a shadow of the things to come.”
Hebrews 10:1 – “The Torah has in it a shadow of the good things to come.”
There are many events which only happen once, even though they are also a shadow of future events. Eleazar only went to Paddan-Aram once to get a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24:4), a shadow of Yeshua coming to get his bride. Lot was only taken out of Sodom once (Genesis 19:15), a shadow of the rapture. The Hebrew slaves were only taken out of Egypt once (Jude 1:5) and Lazarus was only resurrected once (John 11:43), each event a shadow of the future one-time only event of the resurrection of the dead in Yeshua.
The Moedim – One Time Events
1 Peter 3:18 – “Yeshua himself died for sins, once and for all . . . He was put to death in the flesh but brought to life by the Spirit.”
There is a pattern of dress rehearsals that are represented by the Moedim of Yahweh. The pattern is: death, burial, resurrection, giving of the spirit, rapture, judgment, millennial reign. Some scholars teach that the Moedim of Yahweh are repetitive, but I say the moedim are one-time events that do not repeat. True, they are rehearsed many times before the real event, but those dress rehearsals are mere shadows.
For instance, the actual Pesach (Passover), Yeshua’s crucifixion, only happened once. The same holds true for Chag Ha’Matzah (Unleavened Bread) and Reishit Katzir (Firstfruits) – Yeshua was only buried once, and was resurrected only once (1 Peter 3:18). But what about Shavuot (Pentecost)? Peter states very clearly that the giving of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Holy Spirit) fulfilled Joel 2:28-32 (Acts 2:16-21). Luke states very clearly that the day of Pentecost was fully come (Acts 2:1).Again, this only happened once, and today are celebrated as memorials to what Yahweh has already accomplished.
Simply put: The first four moedim have already been fulfilled. What, then, can we say about the final three: Yom Teruah (Trumpets), Yom Kippurim (Atonements), and Sukkot (Booths)? Will they, too, be one-time events? Indeed they will. There will only be one resurrection of the dead in Yeshua and rapture of the Bride, fulfilling the Yom Teruah moed. Likewise, there will only be one seven year Tribulation Period, and only one millennial reign of Yeshua, fulfilling the Yom Kippurim and Sukkot moedim.
The Moedim Patterns:
Leviticus 23:1-ff – “Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, The set feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season. They shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations’.”
The seven moedim are: Pesach, Chag Ha’Matzah, Reishit Katzir, Shavuot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippurim, and Sukkot. There is a pattern of dress rehearsals that are represented by the Moedim of Yahweh. The pattern is: death, burial, resurrection, giving of the spirit, rapture, judgment, millennial reign. The first four have already been fulfilled.
The moed of Pesach always takes place on the 14th of Nissan. Chag Ha’Matzoh always takes place the next day, and Reishit Katzir always takes place on the following Sabbath. Shavuot follows exactly 50 days after Chag Ha’Matzoh. The moed of Yom Teruah always takes place on the 1st Day of 7th Month, Yom Kippurim always takes place on the 10th Day of 7th Month, and Sukkot always starts on the 15th Day of 7th Month.
Some may imply that Yom Teruah is random, since it can only be declared when two witnesses see the edge of the moon, hence, the expression Yeshua used: “You do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 24:36). But this two day period does not indicate a random event – not in the least.
Again, Yahweh doesn’t do random!
The Seven Moedim
Pesach (Passover), Chag Ha’Matzah (Unleavened Bread), and Reishit Katzir (First Fruits)
Romans 6:4 – “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
Pesach, Chag Ha’Matzah, and Reishit Katzir sets the pattern: death precedes burial, which precedes resurrection. We are to put to death sin in our lives. This sin is to be buried with Yeshua in his burial. This burial, called repentance, leads to new life, to our becoming a new creation, a form or type of resurrection.
Shavuot (Pentecost)
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 – “Now he who establishes us with you in Yeshua, and anointed us, is Yahweh; who also sealed us, and gave us the down payment of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh in our hearts.”
Shavuot sets the pattern for the receiving of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, the Holy Spirit. Repentance leads to a new life in Yeshua, a form of resurrection. Upon repentance and acceptance of Yeshua as Lord and Savior, the Ruach Ha’Kodesh is given as a guarantee of that action.
Yom Teruah (Trumpets)
1 Thessalonians 4:16 – “For Yeshua, himself, will descend from heaven with a loud shout, the voice of an angel, and the sound of Yahweh’s trumpet.”
Yom Teruah sets the pattern for the rapture. It announces Yeshua’s wedding day, his coronation as King, the Day of the Resurrection and the Rapture (Harpazō) of Yeshua’s Bride – our Blessed Hope. Yom Teruah is the next moed to be fulfilled on Yahweh’s Daytimer! And it precedes the last two moedim on that calendar.
Yom Kippurim (Day of Atonements) and Sukkot (Tabernacles)
Yom Kippurim sets the pattern for judgment or tribulation, and Sukkot sets the pattern for Yeshua’s millennial reign. Both of these moedim follow the dress rehearsal for the rapture. Tribulation, on Yahweh’s Daytimer does NOT precede rapture. The Millennial reign does NOT precede judgment or tribulation. Just the opposite, the Rapture happens first in order, followed by the tribulation and the reign of Yeshua.
Conclusions
Leviticus 23:2 – “The moedim of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.”
Yahweh is a god of peace and order, not a god of chaos, confusion, or disorder. The patterns evidenced by the dress rehearsals, by the Moedim of Yahweh, clearly establish an order of events. That pattern is death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua, giving of the spirit, resurrection of the dead in Yeshua and the rapture, judgment, millennial reign. The first four have already been fulfilled.
The moedim are one-time events that do not repeat. Yeshua was crucified, was buried, and was resurrected only once, fulfilling the Pesach, Chag Ha’Matzah, and Reishit Katzir moedim. The giving of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, allowing the apostles to speak in other languages, only happened once and fulfilled the Shavuot moed. Each of these moedim only happened once in history, and will not be repeated.
The Resurrection of the Dead in Yeshua and subsequent Rapture of the Bride will fulfill the Yom Teruah moed. The Tribulation Period and Millennial Reign of Yeshua will fulfill Yom Kippurim and Sukkoth. These, too, will only happen once and will not be repeated again (Daniel 12:1; Joel 2:2; Matthew 24:21).
The coming of Yeshua for his bride is not a random event. It was planned before the foundations of the earth were laid. The imminent return we should be looking for is the Resurrection of the Dead in Yeshua.
Final Thought
Luke 21:28 – “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near!”
We are always to be ready for Yeshua to return. Are you ready? If not, then get ready. Exercise whatever time you have to repent and trust Yeshua for your eternal salvation. Do not test Yahweh’s patience and wait too long – the dress rehearsals will not continue much longer. May Yom Teruah this year be fulfilled in the resurrection of the dead and the rapture of Yeshua’s Bride.
Rapture Party 