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What is the purpose of life? Why were we born? What is man's destiny? What happens after death? God's annual festivals portray events that answer these big questions of life.
In so many ways, we attempt to answer the big questions of our existence in what we do with our lives. Humanly, we seek value. We want to know that we have meaning and make a positive difference. Too many of the world's problems are really wayward attempts to answer the big questions without looking to God for the truth.
The Bible-God's written instruction for mankind-reveals the purpose of life that evolution, humanism, secularism and virtually every other philosophy of man completely misses. In His Word, God outlines His plan and purpose for humanity through a series of holy festivals. The meaning of His festivals provides a constant rehearsal of events in the divine plan for mankind.
God cataloged in one Bible chapter (Leviticus 23) His festivals or feasts for the nation of Israel. But are these days only for Israel? To Moses God said, "These are My feasts." Lest there be any confusion, God stated His ownership four times (verses 1,4,37,44). These are His festivals-not those of any one nation or people.
Note also that the word translated "feasts" here is moedim , a Hebrew word meaning "appointed times." These are occasions for meeting with God . The weekly Sabbath and seven annual Sabbaths or Holy Days among the feast days are even designated convocations (commanded assemblies) for instruction in holiness before God. These are all calendar appointments God expects us to keep.
Likewise, God keeps His appointments with us on a weekly and annual basis-and in a broader sense over the span of human history in the unfolding of His great plan. God's weekly and annual Sabbaths lay out His plan of salvation for all humanity. He created mankind with the potential to be part of His divine family-a destiny to be realized through salvation from former ways of sin and the death and misery that have resulted.
King David of Israel asked, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" (as quoted by the apostle Paul in Hebrews 2:6). In other words, why did God create mankind?
And while he pondered the matter, David really knew the answer. He understood that God made man "a little lower than the angels" (verse 7) or, as this could also be translated, " for a little while lower than the angels" (New American Standard Bible, emphasis added throughout)-showing that this lower status is only temporary.
Paul then comes to the crux of the matter, stating of Jesus Christ, "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory . . ." (verse 10). Jesus came and died not only for our sins to be forgiven, but so that we could become divine sons (or daughters) sharing in divine glory-to live forever on God's level of existence!
Let's return to God's list of holy festivals in Leviticus 23 and consider in overview how they show mankind becoming part of God's family. In the first of this two-part series we addressed the weekly Sabbath day, Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (verses 3-8).
As we saw, the weekly Sabbath demonstrates God's sovereignty in declaring holy time. The annual Passover represents the sacrifice of Christ to redeem us from sin and its penalty. And the Feast of Unleavened Bread, requiring the putting out of leaven and the eating of unleavened bread for the next seven days, shows how we are, with God's help, to remove sin from our lives and take in His righteous character.
It was also during the Feast of Unleavened Bread that a special ceremony was enacted in Israel's agricultural life-the wave offering of a sheaf of the firstfruits of the barley harvest, the first of the crops of the year to mature (Leviticus 23:9-14). This represented the presentation to and acceptance by God of Jesus Christ as the first of those in God's spiritual harvest of mankind, the forerunner in God's salvation plan (see 1 Corinthians 15:23).
Then 50 days later comes the Feast of Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks due to the counting of seven weeks from the wave sheaf offering just mentioned (Leviticus 23:15-21). This Holy Day is also known as the Feast of Firstfruits, being the time that the first of the wheat harvest was presented in offering to God (Exodus 34:22).
In a spiritual context, this represented the first of those God calls to begin the salvation process of entering His family. God is choosing only a few to work with during this age of man's misrule. And Scripture notes that God views those called at this time as "a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:8).
A vital aspect of Pentecost was demonstrated on this festival day in Acts 2. It was on Pentecost that God gave to His fledgling Church His Holy Spirit, which made those early believers God's spiritual sons and daughters. God has called His Church to proclaim the gospel of His coming Kingdom and serve as an example of His way of life, which is possible only by the Holy Spirit working in its members.
The Feast of Trumpets is the first of the Holy Days of late summer or autumn in Israel (Leviticus 23:23-25). It pictures the calamities at the end of this age leading up to the triumphant return of Jesus Christ to this earth and the resurrection of His true followers-the firstfruits foreshadowed by the Feast of Pentecost-at the supernatural sounding of the seventh and last trumpet (see 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 11:15-18).
On His return Jesus will act to establish God's government on the earth. Mankind is incapable of solving his problems apart from God, and Christ will set about to work with His resurrected firstfruits to show mankind how to live. The resurrection of the firstfruits, the firstborn of mankind into the family of God, is called "the first resurrection"-showing that the rest of mankind will be resurrected later (see Revelation 20:4-6).
Next in the overview of God's plan of salvation is the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-32). This day shows us that the major source or influence for sin in the world, Satan the Devil, will be removed from the presence of God and man (see Revelation 20:1-3).
Since the Garden of Eden, this great deceiver has sought to draw mankind into opposition to God's way of life (see Genesis 3; Revelation 12:9). In fact, Satan is the current ruler of this world (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4) and is on borrowed time. With His perfect life and sacrifice (commemorated by the festival of Passover), Jesus Christ qualified to replace the devil, enabling mankind to be reconciled or made "at-one" with God.
The seven-day Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-43) then anticipates the millennial reign of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God on earth (see Revelation 20:4). With Satan removed, Jesus will proceed to undo the damage done to all of God's creation-physically and spiritually.
Mankind will be taught right government, true servant leadership, how to love one's neighbor as oneself-in essence, how life was meant to be lived from the beginning. All who live during the 1,000 years of this festival's fulfillment will experience their time of salvation.
The last holy festival in God's list, which immediately follows the Feast of Tabernacles, is the Eighth Day (Leviticus 23:36,39), portraying the resurrection of all of those who have ever lived and died without the knowledge of true salvation. God is fair. Those who died without fully knowing Him and His truth will be given physical life again to have their opportunity to choose between life and death (Deuteronomy 30:19).
The Eighth Day also anticipates the final destruction of the incorrigibly wicked who choose to knowingly reject God's salvation. They will not live forever in fiery torment but will simply die the second death (Revelation 20:14-15).
Once all people have chosen to either embrace and live according to God's Word or not, then God the Father will bring His magnificent throne down to earth and we will move forward into eternity as His divine family-the Kingdom of God (see Revelation 21-22).
What a glorious future is shown to us through God's Holy Days! The big questions of life are answered in His festival plan. Will you chose to follow Jesus Christ and become part of God's divine family? The choice is yours to make. Choose life!
For a more thorough discussion of this topic, we recommend our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind along with What Is Your Destiny?
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Keywords: purpose of life holydays appointments
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