There are three principal feasts: Passover (which includes the Feast of Unleavened Bread), Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks or Firstfruits), and at the end of the year a combination of feasts including the Feast of Trumpets (Shofar), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth).
Each of the feasts is an observance of an historical event, but it also represents a spiritual event and a personal spiritual experience. All of these feasts have been fulfilled in the past and yet they are also being fulfilled currently. Let me explain.
The Passover was an historical event that took place as the Israelites were coming out of Egypt. It is a spiritual event in that Christ, our Passover, was crucified for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). It is a personal experience inasmuch as our salvation is literally an appropriation of the Lamb of God. When we appropriate the blood of Jesus Christ, judgment passes over us personally and we enter into a salvation experience.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread represents the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit who sweeps out the leaven of our life.
Fifty days after Passover, we observe the Feast of Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit was poured out. Pentecost originally celebrated the opening of a covenant with God’s people. It became a spiritual experience as the whole realm of the Spirit was opened up on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Pentecost becomes a personal experience to us when we receive the Holy Spirit, even as they did in the early Church.
The Feast of Trumpets is an end-time feast. In 1 Corinthians 14, which is the chapter of prophecy, we read in verse 8, “If the trumpet shall give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for battle?” The trumpets were to herald the Year of Jubilee which set the people free, trumpets were blown to proclaim war, and trumpets were also blown to summon the people to the feasts. This is a type of what God is doing today in a flow of revelation and of predictive and creative prophecy. Have you entered into your Feast of Trumpets? Do you have words from the Lord? To have a personal revelation of prophecy over you is to enter into an experience as distinct as receiving the Holy Spirit was originally.
Notice that these experiences can be collective. Pentecost was a collective experience for the house of Cornelius when the Holy Spirit fell on all of them and they all began to speak in tongues (Acts 10:44–46). When God speaks by prophecy, whole congregations can come into a revelation of the Lord for this end time.
Immediately following the Feast of Trumpets is the Day of Atonement. The significance of the Day of Atonement is not to be confused with that of Passover. The Passover symbolizes the sacrifice of the Lamb who was slain for us, causing judgment to pass over us.
Many people who have had a salvation experience still have not had an atonement experience. In atonement, the sins of the people were confessed over two goats. One goat was slain and the blood taken into the holy sanctuary, into the holy presence of God. The other goat, called a scapegoat, was led out into the wilderness, carrying away the sins of the people. When someone is made a scapegoat, it means that he must take the blame for someone else’s mistake. This is not an accurate description of the purpose of Christ’s atonement for our sins. We read in Matthew 1:21: “Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for it is He that shall” (what shall He do?) “save His people from their sins.”
This is a day in which we understand that the Lord will rain righteousness upon us. Why does this end-time move of God’s Spirit place so much emphasis on repentance? Why is so much said about righteousness? Because this is a distinct experience.
You cannot compare this walk with previous movements that emphasized legalism. This walk is so liberated in God that it is without legalism, yet at the same time there is a striving for the righteousness and the holiness of God.
This atonement experience must become very real. Not only do we praise the Lord, rejoicing and thanking God for the victory we have, but we know that we are going to be more than conquerors. We are going to come into entire sanctification, so that our whole spirit, soul, and body is preserved blameless to the coming of the Lord. Faithful is He that calleth you; He will also do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24).
The Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes the presence of the Lord. As an historical event it was observed by the Israelites in the wilderness. They built a booth (like a little shanty, with one side open) that would give them some protection from the sun. That is why the Feast of Tabernacles is also called “Succoth” (which means booth). At night the opening in the booth faced the pillar of fire which provided illumination for their little booths. And in the morning they could look out and see that the cloud was hovering over them to furnish shade. In the absence of electricity and air conditioning, God provided a practical arrangement for His people.
You might think, “I’d hate to march around in the wilderness like that.” But God made certain miraculous provisions for them. Their shoes and their clothes didn’t wear out and their feet didn’t swell. No doubt the Israelites even murmured about that. Some of the women probably protested, “Forty years in the same style? Oh, I wish this old rag would wear out!” But no doubt the husbands quickly reminded them that there were no stores around where they could buy new clothes.
The Feast of Tabernacles is the third main feast. Before that I had not given it much thought, nor had I seen a Jewish calendar that year. Our first observance of the feast was preceded by an eight-month period of constant waiting before the Lord. At that time the Lord directed that we should not only keep the Feast of Tabernacles, but that we were to mark our years from one Feast of Tabernacles to another. This we have done. At each Feast of Tabernacles God reveals to us certain goals and objectives for the coming year, and we see them come into fulfillment.
Each of the feasts is a personal experience for us. In salvation we have our Passover experience, in the baptism of the Holy Spirit we have our Pentecost experience, but what is our Tabernacles experience? It is the return of the glory of God. He tabernacles among us and we behold His glory (John 1:14). As a personal experience, it has not been possible until now.
It will happen as we walk with God through the wilderness of tribulation which is coming. Once again God is returning to literally dwell among us. This is called the “Parousia,” which means “presence.” His presence now will be more real than it was to the people in the wilderness. The greatest of all experiences is coming: the return of His glory. And the glory of the latter house will be greater than the glory of the former (Haggai 2:9).
This will be the time of release which God has planned for His children. God is revealing in this hour that they have had too many limitations imposed upon them, which are not of His design or intention. At least they should not remain valid any longer, but should be lifted off of us. Satan rages against this release. Of course, if I were the devil, I would be upset about it too. He is raging because his time is short; he knows that he has but a little season.
As we recognize the spiritual significance of the feasts, we see that this is a time when all of these old feasts and rituals should have a special meaning for us in our walk with God.
Every time we take the Communion we could look upon it as an observance of the Passover. However, when Passover time comes, we keep it on the exact days for one reason: in God’s calendar, He is turning things loose on those days.
Every year at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles He sets goals before us, and then we watch them unfold and come to pass in the course of the following year. We don’t observe the feast with the building of booths as they did in Old Testament times, but as we worship the Lord, we recognize the significance of tabernacling with Him. It is the spiritual significance of the feast which is real to us, not the observance of the physical requirements. Spiritual reality is what we are looking for.
Sometimes our critics set themselves up as profound Bible teachers, and without knowing a thing about what we are doing, they say, “It’s not Scriptural to keep those feasts.” I wonder which Scripture would support such a statement. We are keeping these feasts because the Lord told us to. He also told us to observe their spiritual significance. We haven’t killed any bullocks or lambs or goats, and we don’t intend to.
We are also criticized because we keep the Sabbath. We are keeping it because of the revelation the Lord has given that the Sabbath will be restored during the Kingdom. We read the Scriptures and hear the prophecies and realize that this will come to pass. It doesn’t mean that we are keeping the Sabbath in the Old Testament sense, for we probably wouldn’t please any of the Jews in our observance of the Sabbath. I doubt if we would please any Seventh Day Adventists either. But we don’t keep it to please either the Jews or the Adventists. We do it because there is a hope and an expectancy in our hearts that God will restore that great seventh day of rest in our generation. In anticipation of this, we are beginning to observe, by faith, something which we and our children will walk in. This is what God has laid upon our hearts.
We come together for almost an ordinary service on Saturday morning, yet it is unique in the fact that no service is more blessed than the Sabbath morning service. The flow of revelation and the ministering quality of the Word is unusual. Some people travel over a hundred miles to be in the Sabbath service. It is something which God is making very real to us. Don’t let anyone tell you, “Oh, they’re going back under the Law and keeping the Sabbath.” We are doing this in faith, in the anticipation of embracing that which is coming to pass.
Unless people understand this, they become quite critical. Some people’s understanding is very limited when it comes to spiritual things. This Walk reaches into a revelation of both the Old and New Testament that is very profound, and yet extremely simple. If you do not read the Scriptures, you won’t know what this is all about. You must get into the Word until you grasp what is behind everything that is happening now.
This Walk is ideal for those who are hungry for God and have a thorough background in the Word. It takes the cream of the crop of Bible students to grasp the deep truths found in this Walk. You may be one who was not the cream of the crop, who came in here “cold turkey,” and now you wonder where you fit in. Just realize that you can find out what is happening to you by going to the Word of God. As you read the Scriptures, you will discover more revelation than others who have sought revelation for many years outside of this Walk.
As an illustration, suppose a good fundamentalist, who is interested in interpreting Bible prophecy and is familiar with the various types and shadows of the Old Testament, were asked, “What is the significance of the anointing in the high priest’s thumb and his ear and his great toe on his right foot” (Exodus 29:20–21)? He might give a long, elaborate answer, but he doesn’t actually know because it isn’t within the scope of his experience. On the other hand, if someone in this Walk were reading that Scripture about the priest being anointed, he would say, “Ah, that explains the anointing I’ve been getting in my ear and in my thumb. The Lord is telling me that He is giving me an anointing to be one of His kings and priests and to minister before Him.” He can understand it because he has experienced it. Just because you have not been a great Bible student, do not consider that a deterrent in this Walk.
How do you figure out certain signs? Suppose your hip is hurting one day and it isn’t even raining. It just so happens that you have been reading about Jacob and how the angel smote his thigh and caused him to limp until the day he died. God gave him a new name, “Israel” (meaning “prince of God”) and when the sun came up in the morning after the long wrestling match, Jacob limped away, a beautiful loser (Genesis 32:24–32). As you read this account, you realize what is happening to you. The Lord is smiting you. He is going to make you one of His princes.
This Walk is unique because it has a mystical quality to it which takes everything of the Old and New Testaments and makes it a reality to you. Some of the signs that we observed in the early days of this Walk do not seem to be repeated anymore. I remember days when we stood and worshiped the Lord and the anointing was so great on our hands that they were dripping with oil. When we laid hands on the sick, we didn’t get our oil from a bottle; it was oozing from our hands. Then we would read about it in the Word. “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick” (James 5:14).
In this Walk we come into an understanding that everything in the Scriptures has a significance and there is reality in its meaning. We don’t have to use rituals that are without meaning. When we do something, it really works. I wonder where some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church originated? How much came from paganism and how much actually came from divine revelation? For instance, I wonder if some of the Gregorian chants might have been based on the early Church psalms and singing in the Spirit.
Some of the experiences we are now entering into are probably the purest manifestation of Christianity to come up in many centuries. You may say, “What about all the pomp and ceremony we see in many churches?” They didn’t have pomp and ceremony in the early Church. There was no ritualism. All of these practices have crept in by tradition and now the Lord is taking them out.
We realize that it is not enough to have only experiences. We not only sing in the Spirit and have personal ministry, but we constantly have the Word—anointed, living and Scriptural—to guide us. We must have it. Not only is this Walk oriented in the Holy Spirit, but the students in the Word who are coming forth are exceptional. Our young prophets study and discuss the Scripture every spare moment. Their memory is keen, and not only do they remember what is preached but they memorize long passages of Scripture. As long as they are prophesying and moving in the Spirit, this is a healthy balance.
More and more, our experiences will be strongly undergirded by the knowledge of the Word of God that is brought to us. Because we have the Living Word, don’t get the idea that we no longer need the Bible. Actually, the opposite is true. If we did not have the Living Word, often we would not have the anointing of prophecy to direct us in the Word. We have become real students of the Scripture. After people come into this Walk, they invariably find themselves intensely interested in searching the Word. Some have had a very limited life in the Scriptures, but as they begin to read the Living Word and the printed messages, their lives become centered in the Word of God. Anyone can criticize, but truly, this is the most sound and Scriptural movement ever to come forth in the Church. It should be, because every step of the restoration leads us that much deeper into the faith which was once delivered to the saints (Jude 3).
Many times we are accused of being way out, because a few of our people see auras. Actually, there are Scriptural examples of this too (Ezekiel 1:22, 27–28; 8:2; Acts 5:15). Why should they reject us because of their lack of ability to see auras? Just because they can’t see auras doesn’t seem a reasonable basis for rejecting us because we do. Some will reject us because we speak in tongues. Why? Because they haven’t spoken in tongues. Those who reject what we have just because they don’t have it, should start praying and searching the Word to find these truths for themselves.
THE END OF THE OLD YEAR—AND SHOFAR
In Leviticus 23:24 we read: “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month, you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.’ ” The blowing of trumpets heralded a new year. Although the Scriptures say “the seventh month,” you must understand that this was according to the Jewish calendar. According to the civil calendar, which the Jewish people follow now, Tishri is the first month of the year. The book of Joel talks about the outpouring of the Spirit, and Joel 2:15 says, “Blow the trumpet in Zion; proclaim the solemn assembly.” This is speaking about the Feast of Trumpets. Then it goes on to say that in the seventh month he will bring the rain, the former and the latter rain (Joel 2:23).
The Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes the ingathering: the great finishing up of the harvest in this age and the beginning of a new one. The feast begins with the blowing of the trumpets, then the Day of Atonement, and a few days after that, Tabernacles. The horns were used to call the solemn assembly, to proclaim the Year of Jubilee. During the wanderings in the wilderness, metal was a rare commodity; therefore the ram’s horns were used for trumpets. These were eventually replaced by trumpets of silver.
Every fifty years, on the day of Shofar, the Feast of Trumpets opened up the Year of Jubilee. Then every man went back and reclaimed his heritage which he had lost, the prisoners were set free, and debts were cancelled. When Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18–19), He was speaking of the Year of Jubilee.