And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.  Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.’ ~ Leviticus 23:1-3, NKJV

These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. ~ Leviticus 23:4, NKJV

o   Feasts of God: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Feast of Firstfruits (the first Sunday after Nisan 15^th), Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles ~ see Leviticus 23:4-44, NKJV

In some English translations of the Holy Bible (e.g., AKJV; ASV; DARBY; EXB; JUB; KJ21; KJV; NKJV, WEB; YLT), the Hebrew word miqra (pronounced mik – raw) is translated as convocation, but miqra also means a dress rehearsal.  So, it is funny how so many of today’s professed Christians believe that their life is NOT a perpetual dress rehearsal, when it most definitely is, and God confirms this very Divine Truth through His commanded and ordained Feasts and Holy Convocations. For sure, the life genuine Christians are living now is one continuous dress rehearsal—a concentrated practice in preparation for the life they will live with their Bridegroom (Jesus Christ) and Father God!

Miqra, as it is used in the Old Testament, almost always is in the context of the Sabbath and the Feasts of God. Miqra also predominately is used in the context of God’s moed, which means appointed time. Moreover, in the above listed English translations, in every one of the Old Testament verses in which the English word convocation is mentioned, the main theme is “dress rehearsal”—the act of practicing in preparation for the main event; or the act of practicing for the real thing; or the act of re-hearing what has been taught. The verses which mention convocation and/or feast are, in chronological order: Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23:1-4, 7, 8, 21, 24, 27, 34-37; Numbers 28:17-18, 25-26; and Numbers 29:1, 7, 12.  In all of these verses, the future main events being rehearsed are Jesus Christ’s first and second comings, as well as His life and ministry.

For years after Moses first received God’s Law (The Torah), God’s chosen Jewish people gathered together (assembled) during God’s appointed times (Feasts) to participate in God’s Holy Convocations (holy rehearsals), by practicing (rehearsing) God’s Law, which Moses and the Aaronic priesthood first taught. God’s Law provides instructions not only on how to become a future priest in the Kingdom of God (how to be in the “right” place, at the “right” time, wearing the “right” or righteous clothing, and doing the “right” or holy and righteous things), but also the Law of God provides instructions on how to teach His Law to future generations.

So then, it is in The Torah that God Himself scheduled appointments (Feast Days) according to His Holy Calendar, and these planned appointments are all about future events the omniscient God foreknows will happen.  That’s why the Law of God requires that during these set appointments (Feast Days) Father God’s chosen people are to participate in thoroughgoing dress rehearsals (convocations), which are times of learning, teaching, as well as times to perform God’s dramatic overall Redemptive Plan and His Prophetic Plan, in preparation of these main events.  The dress rehearsals, thus, are really visual aids (revealed pictures) that help God’s people “see” the complete image of the coming Messiah and His Life and Ministry—the same complete picture, which the Word of God and His Holy Spirit have revealed to and then formed in the spirits of every born again, saved, justified, and being sanctified follower of Christ. That complete picture is of the true Messiah who is Jesus Christ.

For the above-stated reasons, Father God primarily made His seven major Feasts (appointed times) and His Holy Convocations (holy dress rehearsals) His teaching tool—a teaching tool God gave first to His chosen Jewish people and then to His believing Gentiles. Moreover, as a teaching tool, these seven major Feasts of God and His Holy Convocations intentionally have been meant to prepare ALL of His sons and daughters (Jews and Gentiles) for the celebration of the Feasts’ fulfillments.

Of the seven major Feasts of God, the four Spring Feasts were fulfilled with the first coming of Jesus Christ, who came as the sacrificial Lamb:

• 1. The obedient Jesus Christ died on the Feast of Passover, completing the biblical picture of the slaughtered Passover Lamb.

• 2.  The crucified Jesus Christ was then buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, completing the biblical picture of true holiness, purity, and sinlessness. Unleavened bread represents Jesus Christ, who is the only human worthy to be sacrificed as the Lamb that is without spot or blemish.

• 3. The buried Jesus Christ arose from the grave (was resurrected) on the Feast of First Fruits, completing the biblical picture of the firstfruits of the barley harvest offered before God on the first day of the week that came after Nisan 15 (Unleavened Bread). Thus, the risen Jesus Christ became the firstfruits’ wave offering presented before God—the firstfruits of the larger Harvest of souls yet to come.

• 4. The resurrected Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven 10 days before the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, completing the biblical picture of God pouring out His Holy Spirit, who personifies Father God’s long anticipated New Covenant given to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Ironically, God began His New Covenant with believers in Christ on the same Feast Day that Jewish people were commanded to gather in Jerusalem to reiterate their commitment to the covenant of Moses.

The last three Fall Feasts (Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles) are the Feast Days that represent the conclusion to God’s Sovereign Redemptive Plan and His Prophetic Plan. They will be fulfilled with the second coming of Jesus Christ, who will come as the conquering Lion. At His second bodily return, Jesus Christ will pour out the wrath of God upon this Earth and upon all of the people who will be living on this Earth who have rejected Father God’s Salvation Plan, His Son (Jesus Christ), His Grace, His Mercy, and His Love.

Since Jesus Christ not only celebrated God’s seven major Feasts but also lived as the consummate spiritual reality of these Feast Days, and since every fulfilled major dress rehearsal event in His life happened on these Feast Days, wouldn’t these truths mean that it is important for all followers of Christ (Jews and Gentiles) to know and understand the significance and richness of what God’s scheduled appointments and His planned Holy Convocations mean to them? After all, the Divine Truth is that the Holy Bible’s Holy Convocations (holy dress rehearsals) and seven major Feasts (appointed times) are God’s Holy Convocations and God’s Feast Days—not Jewish convocations and Jewish feasts for only Jewish people, BUT convocations and feasts for any and everybody who belongs to the Lord, Jesus Christ. Now, although God neither commands Jewish nor Gentile followers of Christ (a.k.a., Christians) to celebrate these Holy Convocations and Feast Days; that is to say, there is NO New Testament Law that says believers in Christ are obligated to observe them, it is evident that God does want all believers in Christ to understand their spiritual and prophetic meanings.

Lastly, God says:

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children. ~ Hosea 4:6, NKJV

While this above Scripture does not apply to New Testament believers in Christ who are saved by Grace, primarily because God’s Love for them, His Son’s Redemption of them, God’s Grace in them, and God’s covenant with them have guaranteed them that they will not experience everlasting destruction, their lives still can be temporarily destroyed. Then too, even though at times believers can be just as ignorant about God’s Ways and His Divine Truths, as are unsaved, unbelieving, and doubting men and women, still because believers in Christ are saved by Grace they also cannot want for knowledge.  For sure, it is God’s Perfect Will that His Holy Spirit inside believers in Christ would bring ALL saved individuals to the knowledge of God’s Ways and His Divine Truths, as well as bring ALL believers in Christ to the knowledge of ALL Spiritual Treasures, and yet there are way too many believers who still remain ignorant about the knowledge of God’s Ways, Truths, and Spiritual Treasures.

For these reasons, no one who professes to be a Christian should continue to be ignorant about and/or unresponsive to the Holy Spirit’s teachings and leadings concerning God’s Holy Convocations and His seven major Feasts. Without doubt, God’s Holy Convocations (dress rehearsals) and His seven major Feasts (appointed times) contain valuable information about the Bride of Christ’s dress rehearsals for these future events—the Rapture of the Bride (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), the Bride and Bridegroom’s consummation of their marriage vows (cf. Isaiah 26:20, Matthew 25:10, John 14:2-3), and the Bride’s place at the Wedding Table during the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (cf. Revelation 19:7-10).

A word to the wise should be sufficient. Shalom . . . .