83. What the Bible Says About the Feasts (pt2)

What The Bible Says.

Fortnightly Bible Study.

Episode 83 - 15/08/25

This week we conclude the study on the feasts of Israel.

1. Introduction to the Autumn Feasts

The Bible describes three autumn feasts in Leviticus 23: the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). Just as the spring feasts were fulfilled in Christ’s first coming, it is understood that these autumn feasts point forward to His second coming. These feasts are a time of reflection, repentance, and renewal, and they serve as prophetic pictures of God’s plan for Israel and the nations.

2. The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah)

Held on the first day of the seventh month (Lev. 23:23–25; Num. 29:1–6), this feast is marked by the blowing of the shofar as a call to repentance and a reminder of God’s coming judgment. Spiritually, it is associated with the “last trumpet” that signals the Lord’s return (1 Thess. 4:13–18; 1 Cor. 15:52). The trumpet in Scripture is often linked with God’s voice (Exod. 19:16–19; Rev. 1:10). Typologically, it points to Christ coming for His bride, echoing the Jewish wedding custom where the trumpet announced the arrival of the groom.

3. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

Ten days after the Feast of Trumpets comes the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27; Lev. 16). On this day, Israel was commanded to fast and repent while the high priest offered sacrifices. Two goats were central: one sacrificed, its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat, and the other—the scapegoat—sent into the wilderness, bearing the people’s sins (Lev. 16:20–22). This prefigures Christ’s atoning work: His blood cleanses us, and our sins are removed “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps. 103:12; Heb. 7:27; Heb. 10:17). Yet the ultimate fulfilment will come when Israel looks upon the One they pierced (Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7).

4. Typology of Atonement

The imagery of the two goats foreshadows Jesus and Barabbas at the crucifixion—one released, the other sacrificed. Jesus is the true scapegoat who carries away sin, and at the same time the final sacrifice whose blood brings complete atonement (Isa. 53:5–6). Unlike the repeated sacrifices of the Old Covenant, His offering is once for all (Heb. 10:10–14). Believers today live in the “already but not yet”: Christ has paid for sin, yet the full consummation of redemption will be realized at His return, when sanctification gives way to glorification (Rom. 5:9; 1 John 3:2).

5. The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)

Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, this feast lasts seven days and commemorates Israel’s forty years of wilderness wanderings (Lev. 23:33–43). Families lived in temporary booths to remember God’s provision. It is both a harvest festival and a time of rejoicing—the only feast where joy is commanded. Jesus connected Himself to this feast when He declared, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37–38), showing that He is the source of the living water symbolized in the ceremonies.

6. Prophetic Fulfilment of Tabernacles

Tabernacles points forward to God dwelling with His people. John wrote that “the Word became flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among us” (John 1:14). Ultimately, it foreshadows the time when Christ will reign from Jerusalem and nations will go up yearly to celebrate this feast (Zech. 14:16). Revelation 7:9–17 portrays its heavenly fulfilment—God’s redeemed, from every nation, worshiping before His throne with palm branches, sheltered under His tabernacle presence.

7. The Eternal Hope in Christ

Together, these autumn feasts reveal God’s redemptive plan: the trumpet announcing Christ’s return, the atonement completed in Him, and the eternal joy of dwelling with God in His kingdom. They also teach that salvation is past, present, and future—we have been saved, we are being sanctified, and we will be glorified. The law was given to reveal sin (Rom. 7:7), but Christ has fulfilled its demands and provided a better covenant (Jer. 31:31–34; Heb. 8:6). The feasts remind us that though this life is temporary, the word of the Lord endures forever, and one day He will tabernacle with His people forever (Rev. 21:3–4).