Spring Feasts of Yahuweh – Part 1: Purim

This blog will discuss Purim and introduce Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread/First Fruits, along with answering the following questions:

• Should we celebrate the Feasts/Festivals?
• If yes, what has been mandated by Father versus traditions of man?
• When are they on the world calendar?

Should we celebrate the “Feasts of the Lord (Yahuweh)” of Leviticus 23 when they are in the “Old” Covenant/Testament? 

When Messiah came, He came to show us how to live out the Torah (teachings and instructions); to fulfill the sacrifices and live the teachings and instructions in front of us, so that we might understand fully…not to forsake all of the “Old” Covenant (Old Testament). If He did away with the “Old,” then why do we follow the 10 commandments? See Matthew 5:17-30. We cannot pick and choose what we want to follow and what we do not.

Whether we are “Jewish” or not, He never promoted a religious system of man. That is why He was so abrupt to point out to the Pharisees and Sadducees, that their “religiosity” was no good. He pointed out that they “looked” like they followed His teachings, rules, and instructions, but they only did lip service. He also pointed out that they added traditions of man to what He said to do. He tells us to do as Moses said to do. It is right there in Matthew 23 if you go back and do some research on the passage. The translators messed up a little on the word ‘they’ which made the passage sound as if Messiah was contradicting himself. If you go to the Hebrew Matthew and oldest transcripts, you find that it says, “Then Yahushua spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore, whatever he (Moses) commands you to observe, that observe and do – but do not do according to their (Pharisees/Sages) works; for they say (they follow Moses), and do not do (what Moses said to do).”

Because the Old Covenant did not account/have atonement for purposeful, intentional sin, Messiah had to divorce the House of Israel (Hosea 11, Jeremiah 3) in order to be able to remarry her. All who have sin, have consequences. These consequences have always been curses (see Deut. 28 and Lamentations 3:65 and chapter 5) which until they are repented for, restoration cannot come.

Now in light of this, all Jewish and non-Jewish people, who accept Messiah as the Son of Elohim and believe He came to die/atone for our sins, and then rose again so that we can have the hope of eternal life in the Kingdom when our life here is done, ARE ALL GRAFTED INTO the RENEWED Covenant (New Covenant)! What does this mean? Romans 11 makes it clear that all ‘natural’ and ‘wild’ branches have been broken off and will be re-grafted into the good Olive Tree (Who is Messiah). This means if we are “grafted in,” we become citizens of His Kingdom. When we become citizens of His Kingdom, we agree to follow His rules, commandments, teaching and instructions. (Ephesians 2:19; Romans 11).

One site said it well: “The Old Testament is foundational; the New Testament builds on that foundation with further revelation from God. The Old Testament establishes principles that are seen to be illustrative of New Testament truths. Because God’s revelation in Scripture is progressive, the New Testament brings into sharper focus principles that were introduced in the Old Testament. The book of Hebrews describes how Jesus is the true High Priest and how His one sacrifice replaces all previous sacrifices, which were mere foreshadowings. The Passover lamb of the Old Testament (Ezra 6:20) becomes the Lamb of God in the New Testament (John 1:29).”

If you want more information on how Messiah fulfilled the Spring Feasts and will fulfill the Fall Feasts in His 2^nd coming, we recommend Michael Rood’s “Spring Feasts of the Lord” and “Fall Feasts of the Lord” series. You can buy the whole set on his website or you can watch free on YouTube.

As mentioned above, the only thing that “went away” when Messiah came is the sacrifices. He is the final sacrifice until He returns again. In light of that, if Father mandated us to celebrate a feast/festival FOREVER, we are to do it forever. He didn’t/doesn’t change. He remains the same (Malachi 3:6). I am amazed at the people who think Easter is Father’s holiday. Recently, I asked someone a question. If Father made Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits as mandatory feasts forever…for us to remember Messiah as the final sacrifice, to remember Messiah’s death/resurrection, to remember the Exodus (being brought out of pagan gods and a foreign land to the Promised Land), why do we need a new holiday called Easter? Why has man changed what Father designed? Again, this is a form of Phariseeism. We don’t celebrate the feasts because all of us are “Jewish”. We celebrate them because we are grafted in and He told us to, because we are His…because we are part of and citizens of His kingdom! And most of all, because we have a desire to obey Him and a great fear of Him if we do not.

I often hear the “WWJD?” Well—He and His disciples kept all the feast/festivals. See Mark 14 and Luke 22 just for an example. Yahushua “walked out” as an example before us, how He wants us to live. If you say you are “picking up your cross/stake, and following Him,” then, wouldn’t you do what He did?

There are mandatory feasts and non-mandatory festivals. I believe many out there need to know what these are for and when to celebrate them WITHOUT the additions added through traditions of Judaism or any other man-made religious system. Here is a summary of Purim and an introduction to Passover, straight from the Scripture so you can honor what He said to do and when He said to do it. We will send out part 2 of this blog when the “new” moon is sighted near the end of March so we can give you dates for Passover/Unleavened Bread/First Fruits and Shavu’ot (Feast of Weeks/Pentecost).

(Side Note): To know when to celebrate the feasts/festivals, we have to go by Father’s Calendar. This requires knowing when the new (renewed) moon is sighted in Jerusalem and when the barley is in the Aviv stage (March/April) to determine when the ‘new’ festival calendar for that year begins. This is the reason why we do not follow the Rabbinic dates as those dates were predetermined in the 4^th Century by Hillel.

To make this easier for everyone, just go to our calendar, posted and updated monthly, and bookmark it so you can keep up with His calendar.

Click <here> for our calendar

Purim 2015 (non-mandatory per Leviticus 23)

Purim is the celebration of the victory of Father’s people over the evil plan of Haman in the story of Esther/Hadassah. As Israel365 said on February 27^th, “In ancient Persia (which is modern-day Iran) Esther approached the king uninvited in a breach of protocol… She called on all the Jews to fast and pray for her success, as she appealed for the annulment of the first planned genocide against the Jewish people. On Purim we celebrate Esther’s courage in interceding and saving the Jewish people.”

All through the Scripture, we are told that those who bless Israel, will be blessed and those who curse her, will be cursed (Genesis 12:2-3; Numbers 24:9). We are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). Isn’t that part of what Purim is focusing on? This holiday gives us an opportunity to celebrate with our Jewish brothers and sisters, remembering how they have preserved the Scriptures, remembering to pray for them and pray for Israel/Jerusalem. Here are some key Scriptures about Purim from the Book of Esther (chapter 9):

V20-22 “And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorry to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending portions (food) one to one another and gifts to the poor.”

V26-28 “So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur (that is, the lot). Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them, the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.”

Purim this year begins on the evening of March 5^th at sunset and ends at sunset on March 7^th. Purim is always the 14^th and 15^th day of Adar, which is the last month of the festival calendar unless there is an extra month due to the barley not being in Aviv. Adar began this year at sunset of February 20^th according to two witnesses sighting the new moon from Jerusalem. The only thing mandated in Scripture to do on this holiday is to have a feast (meal with family and/or friends) filled with joy, give food portions to each other, give gifts to the poor, and remember “these days” of Purim so the memory of them will not perish for all generations (this is usually accomplished by reading the book of Esther over the Purim holiday).

Passover/Unleavened Bread/First Fruits 2015 (mandatory per Leviticus 23)

Passover will be in the beginning of April as long as the barley is in the Aviv stage before the sighting of the “new” moon somewhere around March 21^st. These three feasts are mandatory because it states, “So this (Passover) day shall be to you a memorial: and you shall keep it as a feast to Yahuweh throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance (Exodus 12:14) …so you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.” (Exodus 12:17)

To prepare for these feasts, remove all “leaven” products from your home (use them up or donate them before Passover begins). This means all products with yeast (breads, cookies, some crackers, etc.) and anything that causes bread to rise like baking soda (a chemical leavening agent) must be removed from your home for 8 days. Yeast extract is not a leavening agent so triscuits are ok. We are to eat unleavened bread for seven days as a commemoration and to get all leaven (sin) out of our lives! We will give more details in our next blog. Prepare for the Spring Feasts by cleaning out your home (oven, refrigerator, microwave), buying unleavened bread/Matzah, and searching yourself before Him (Psalm 51), repenting of any sin found or known.

Note: You may also make your own Matzah (unleavened bread) which we have done many times using the recipe found here. It is a very simple recipe and is fun to make!

We pray you will celebrate Purim with us this year, and in addition to the requirements, we will pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for Israel and for the leaders of the nations to do His Will to quickly bring about the return of Messiah!

Shalom,

Derek and Rivkah