Home > Overview of God's Annual Holy Days

The Sabbaths and Holy Days of God teach mankind of the plan and purpose God the Father has for us. In keeping them, not only do we see past events fulfilled as God prescribed, but we also see future events that are yet to unfold. Below is a quick overview of God's weekly and annual Sabbaths and what they picture and prophecy.

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Note: In this overview, the block quotes below are from Fred R. Coulter of the Christian Biblical Church of God. The information is derived from Coulter's June 12, 2006 newsletter word-for-word because of the quick, accurate and detailed explanations of each Holy Day.

The Weekly Sabbath

"From the beginning the Sabbath has been a memorial of God's creation of the heavens and earth. It is thus continually being fulfilled, week by week, as we observe the Sabbath -- a day wherein God the Father and Jesus Christ fellowship with us and teach us through their Word and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As a prophecy, the Sabbath pictures the coming Kingdom of God --'the rest of God.'"

-- (ibid., pg. 1)

Passover

"As the initial step in God's plan, the Passover was foreshadowed in Genesis fifteen -- and is thus a memorial of God's covenant with Abraham, promising physical seed through Isaac and spiritual seed through Jesus Christ our Savior. It is a memorial of God's sparing if Israel's firstborn and His judgment against all the gods of Egypt (Ex. 12:12, 27). For Christians, Passover commemorates the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (God manifested in the flesh) as the Lamb of God -- Who died, as recorded in the gospel accounts, on the Passover day in 30 AD, as a propitiation for the sins of the world. It is continually fulfilled each year when we partake of the Passover and renew our Covenant of Eternal Life with God the Father and Jesus Christ."

-- (ibid., pg. 1)

New Covenant Significance: At the beginning of the 14th day of Abib, at sunset, as commanded in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ celebrated the Passover showing God's truthfulness of His word and the precision of His appointed times. Christ, the Lamb of God, is now our Passover sacrificial lamb, and we look back at Christ's broken body for our healing and His shed blood for the atoning of our sins. The Passover is also the time we individually reconfirm the new covenant made with God the Father and Jesus Christ through the foot washing, unleavened bread, and wine instituted by Christ during His last Passover in 30 A.D.

Genesis 3:14-15

Exodus 12

Leviticus 23:5

Mathew 26, 27

Mark 14, 15

Luke 22, 23

I Corinthians 11:17-34

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

"The first day of Unleavened Bread (a holy day) is a memorial of God's promise to Abraham to bring the children of Israel out from Egypt -- on the 'very same day' after 430 years of captivity. Thus, this night is called by God 'a night to be much observed' (Ex. 12:42). It commemorates the beginning of the exodus of the children of Israel as God personally directed Moses and Aaron to lead them out of Egypt (Ex. 12:40-42). The last day (a high day) is a memorial of God's final deliverance of the children of Israel -- as they passed through the Red Sea on dry ground and witnessed the destruction of Pharaoh and his armies who drowned in the sea (Ex. 14 and 15). The Wave Sheaf Offering -- held on the first day of the week during the feast -- was first performed when the children of Israel entered the Promised Land (Lev. 23:9-14; Josh. 5:10-12). This day initiated the barley/wheat harvest and was the first day in the count toward Pentecost. Wave Sheaf was a prophecy of Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven to God the Father to be accepted as the Savior of the world.

"In the New Testament, the first holy day is a memorial of Christ being put into the tomb. He remained there for three days and three nights and was resurrected near the end of the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On the first day of the week, the Wave Sheaf Offering day, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the wave sheaf of Leviticus 23:10-11.

"The entire seven-day feast pictures our deliverance from Satan the Devil through the power of God, and our deliverance from sin through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ. It is continually being fulfilled as we come out of this world, grow in grace and knowledge, and develop the character and mind of Jesus Christ -- that we might be unleavened in Christ."

-- (ibid., pg. 1)

New Covenant Significance: Through the salvation offered by our Lord's death and the help of God's Holy Spirit in our individual lives, the Days of Unleavened Bread pictures our deliverance from sin and the hold Satan the devil has on us. During the days of this feast, all leaven, typified as sin, is removed from our homes. In addition, unleavened bread, typified of Christ, is commanded to be eaten. By doing these physical actions, we are reminded of the necessity to remove sin from our lives and to live by every word of God through Christ Jesus daily. By keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread as God commanded, He is reminding us of the necessity to overcome the world through Christ and be unleavened spiritually as He is.

Exodus 12:18-51

Leviticus 23:6-22

Deuteronomy 16:1-8,16

John 6

I Corinthians 5

The Feast of Pentecost

"In the Old Testament, Pentecost is a memorial of God audibly giving the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai (Ex. 20 and Deut. 5). Later, in the land of Israel, Pentecost was also a memorial of the firstfruit harvest of the barley/wheat crops (Lev. 23:15-21). In the New Testament, God used the day of Pentecost to send the Holy Spirit in power and thus begin the Church -- spiritual Israel -- at the temple in Jerusalem in 30 AD. It is a memorial of that tremendous event recorded in Acts two. Most importantly, Pentecost is a prophecy of the first resurrection -- the resurrection of the firstfruits to God the Father, also called the Church of the Firstborn (I Cor. 15:22-23; Heb. 12:22-24; Rev. 14:14-16)."

-- (ibid., pg. 1-2)

New Covenant Significance: In the Old Testament, Pentecost is a memorial of the spring harvest crops. It was on this day in 30 A.D. that the New Testament Church began at the Temple in Jerusalem with the giving of God's Holy Spirit to His Church. This spring festival pictures the future "harvest" for the Kingdom of God in the resurrection (Church of the Firstborn) upon Christ's return to this earth. Pentecost is also known as the Feast of Weeks, Feast of Sabbaths, or Feast of Firstfruits.

Leviticus 23:10-22

Deuteronomy 16:9-12,16

Joel 2

Acts 1, 2

I Corinthians 15

I Thessalonians 4

Hebrews 12:22-24

Revelation 14:14-16

The Feast of Trumpets

"For the children of Israel, the Feast of Trumpets declared that God would fight their battles if they obeyed Him. It is also a memorial of the day of Trumpets in which God placed His presence into the Temple Solomon built (II Chron. 5:12-14; 7:1). In the New Testament, Trumpets pictures the direct intervention of Christ via the trumpet plagues of Revelation 8-10. Ultimately, Trumpets is a prophecy of the destruction of Babylon the Great, and of the final, great battle which will take place as Jesus and the saints return to the earth from the Sea of Glass to stand on the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:1-9) -- from which they will destroy the armies of the nations led by the beast and the false prophet."

-- (ibid., pg. 2)

New Covenant Significance: The Feast of Trumpets is a war feast. It is a specially appointed time by God that holds much importance to His plan for mankind, not only marking the time of Christ's birth but also His glorious return. This feast symbolizes the seven last trumpet plagues God will pour out immediately before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It is also a time that marks the destruction of Babylon the Great and the great, terrible Day of the Lord.

Leviticus 23:23-25

Zechariah 14:1-7

Revelation 8, 9, 10

The Day of Atonement

"In the Old Testament, this high day focused on God's yearly atonement for the sins of the priesthood and of the children of Israel. The removal of the goat for Azazel (Lev. 16) is shown in the New Testament to be a prophecy of the binding of Satan in the abyss for a 1,000 years and of God's final judgment on Satan and the demons (Rev. 20:1-3; 10-11)."

-- (ibid., pg. 2)

New Covenant Significance: The Feast of Atonement in the Old Testament was God's reconciliation, or atonement (meaning "at-one-ment"), with that of the priesthood and the nation (children) of Israel. Upon Christ's return, this day prophesies the binding and sealing up of Satan the Devil and his demons and the atonement God will administer to the whole world.

Leviticus 16, 23:26-32

Romans 5

Hebrews 9, 10

Revelation 20:1-3, 10-11

The Feast of Tabernacles

"This festival was initially a memorial of the children of Israel's dwelling n tents/tabernacles when they came out of Egypt, after which it commemorated the inheritance and rest God gave Israel in the Promised Land. Primarily, Tabernacles was a celebration of the great harvest of all crops at the end of the year. In the New Testament, Tabernacles is a memorial of Jesus having temporarily 'tabernacled' with men as God manifested in the flesh. It also pictures the reality that true Christians are actually a tabernacle/temple of God with the Spirit of God dwelling in them. Prophetically, Tabernacles pictures the Kingdom of God on earth under the rule of Jesus Christ and the saints for a thousand years -- at which time the great spiritual harvest will begin to take place, with sons and daughters born into the kingdom of God (Rev. 20:4-6). Finally, it is a prophecy of the time when God the Father and Jesus Christ will dwell with all the saints in the New Jerusalem -- to which the nations that are saved will come (Rev. 21 and 22)."

-- (ibid., pg. 2)

New Covenant Significance: In the Old Testament, Israel dwelt in temporary booths, called tabernacles, for forty years before attaining the promised land. The Feast of Tabernacles reminded them of the temporary dwelling in the wilderness God caused them to endure. In the new covenant, the lesson learned from the keeping of this Feast is that we are momentarily dwelling here on earth in temporary tabernacles known as our physical bodies, awaiting the first resurrection and the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ, our Savior, who tabernacled among us while He was here in the flesh, taught that our bodies serve as a tabernacle for God's Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us. This joyous feast also depicts entering into the coming Kingdom of God here to this earth.

Leviticus 23:33-44

Deuteronomy 16:13-17

Zechariah 14

John 1:1-14

Hebrews 11

Revelation 20:4-6

The Last Great Day

"In the Old Testament, the Last Great Day was an extension of the Feast of Tabernacles as a memorial of all the blessings of God. In the New Testament, it pictures the completion of the great spiritual harvest through the second resurrection -- wherein Israelites and Gentiles alike are raised to life during the Great White Throne judgment period to be given the Holy Spirit and an opportunity for eternal life (Lev. 23:36, 39; Rev. 20:5, 11-12; Ezekiel 37:1-14; John 7:37-39)."

-- (ibid., pg. 2)

New Covenant Significance: The Last Great Day prophecies the great, spiritual harvest by God after the millennium. It is an appointed time when individuals, both Israel, and gentile, are resurrected in the second resurrection who were not called by God in their previous lives. At this time, God gives them their first genuine opportunity for eternal life. If God's rule is accepted, they will be judged as righteous according to God's mercy and obtain eternal life. If God's rule is not accepted, they, along with those who committed the unpardonable sin during their first calling, will be judged as unrighteous according to God's judgment and receive the second death. This is the final judgment for all who commit the unpardonable sin.

Leviticus 23:36, 39

Ezekiel 37: 1-14

John 7:37-39

Romans 9, 10, 11

1 Timothy 2:1-6

Revelation 20, 21, 22