The Church at a very early stage divorced itself from Biblical festivals in order to define an identity separate from Israel. The impact of this action has resulted in spiritual poverty in the Church. The reason for this is that the festivals rehearse God's plan of redemption, i.e., the sequence of festivals spread through the year portrays the sequence of godly activities leading to redemption.

The festivals set forth in Leviticus 23 include: Shabbat, Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot

The festivals are set forth in Leviticus 23. They include: Shabbat, Passover (Festival of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits), Shavuot, and Sukkot (ushered in by Trumpets and Yom Kippur). The Bible gives us little interpretation of these festivals so we are left to discover their meaning. The interpretation derived by the Tzemach Institute include:

Shabbat — The celebration of the Lord's Shabbat (rest on the last day of the week) identifies us with the Lord (Exodus 31:11-17) and identifies the God that we serve. The universe was created in six "creation days" and God rested on the seventh. When we follow the same pattern, we declare that we serve the God of creation. We believe that redemption follows the same pattern. Most likely, the transgression (man under Satanic influence) will last six "prophetic days" of 1,000 years each. According to our calculations, this year is 5932 (see Biblical Prophecy and Y2K?). There is some uncertainty as to this specific date but at a minimum, it indicates just how late the hour is. The seventh "prophetic day" will most likely be 1,000 years of restoration that we call the millennial reign of Messiah. By celebrating the weekly Shabbat, we declare that we serve the God of creation and of redemption.

Thus the celebration of the Biblical festivals rehearse the plan of redemption throughout the year.

Passover — Passover is the story of the purchase of redemption and the resulting deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. This is the beginning of redemption and so the Lord established Passover as the beginning festival to be celebrated in the first month of the year. From a New Testament perspective, Messiah Jesus has become our Passover lamb (I Corinthians 5:7). Each of us can understand the awesomeness of what God did when our deliverance is considered against the backdrop of the Exodus story. During the week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrated with Passover, comes the festival of First Fruits. First Fruits points to the resurrection which is the end product of redemption.

Shavuot — The atonement and deliverance accomplished at the Passover makes possible the calling of an elect people to serve God in the redemption process. The number seven in the Scriptures signifies the completion of God. Therefore, seven complete periods of seven (week or Shavah) following First Fruits, the festival of Shavuot is celebrated. It is the anniversary of God's calling of Israel as His elect nation in the world (Exodus 19). It is also the anniversary of God's calling of the early Jerusalem Church to be the bride of Messiah (Acts 2). God's elect vessels are called to be an instrument for the completion of redemption.

Sukkot — The final festival is Sukkot which is celebrated in the seventh month. Because of the timing in the seventh month, we believe this festival indicates the completion of the redemptive process. The week-long festival is announced by Trumpets (hence, the last trump of God spoken of by Paul — I Corinthians 15:52) and preceded by Yom Kippur (final judgment spoken of by John — Revelation 20:11-15) and is prophetic of God's New Creation .

Thus the celebration of the Biblical festivals rehearse the plan of redemption throughout the year. It is for this reason that the Tzemach Institute focuses much attention on the festivals.