"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." -Matthew 5:18
The Old Testament points us to Jesus. The law shows us we are sinners, and that we need a Saviour. Jesus fulfills the law that tells us that the wages of sin is death. Jesus took on death for us, so that we can live. When we believe on Christ, our sins are forgiven, and we walk in newness of life.
"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." -John 19:30
'It is finished.' Jesus died as the Lamb of God, paying the law's requirement for our sin. Non-Christians are under the law, in a sense. They can only go to heaven if they have NEVER broken any of the 600+ laws of the Old Testament - ever. The Bible tells us that EVERYONE has sinned; therefore, no one is going to heaven, unless they accept Christ's sacrifice on the cross to atone for their sins. Once one embraces Christ, they die to the law of sin and death, and are spiritually resurrected unto life under Christ, freed from the law.
"And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent" -Matthew 27:51
The curtain that separated people from the Holy of Holies in the temple was there to remind people that they had no direct access to God. Jesus' death made that curtain null and void. Now we all have direct access to God through Christ. I praise Him for this.
You may have heard the saying that "the Old Testament points to the New, and the New Testament explains the Old." That saying is so very true. :-)
WHY were all of the Jewish feasts instated? WHY were the Old Testament sacrifices instated? WHY was there a Sabbath? Every single jot, tittle, and portion of the Torah shows us Jesus, and God's plan for salvation; that is why. Jesus fulfilled and fulfills it.
There are over 600 laws in the Old Testament. Could you imagine memorizing and keeping those laws? I have shown multitudes of Scriptures in previous articles in this series, to show that Christians are no longer under the law. If you have missed the previous articles in this series, you can see them in the left hand sidebar, under the heading "Christians and the Torah."
Jesus fulfilled all of the sacrificial laws. He also fulfilled (and will fulfill) the feasts. A quick reading of Leviticus chapter 23 shows us the seven Jewish feasts. The seven feasts are:
The Passover
Jesus is the Passover Lamb of God:
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." -John 1:29
"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" -1 Corinthians 5:7
The Days of Unleavened Bread
Jesus is the Unleavened Bread of Life:
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."..."It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." -John 6:51 and John 6:63
"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." - 1 Corinthians 5:7-8
The First Fruits
Jesus is the First Fruits:
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." -1 Corinthians 15:20
Pentecost
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Weeks (Which is also known as Pentecost).
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." -Acts 2:1-4
The Feast of Trumpets
The Feast of Trumpets future fulfillment - the seventh trumpet (mid-tribulation) rapture of the church:
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." -1 Corinthians 15:51-52
"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." -Revelation 11:15
Atonement
Definition of atonement - "satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury." The Day of Atonement future fulfillment - Christ's second coming during the end of Armageddon:
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." -Revelation 19:11-21
Tabernacles
The Feast of Tabernacles future fulfillment - The Establishment of New Jerusalem:
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. " -Revelation 21:1-4
The Christian fulfills all Torah feasts via being in Christ. Love and faith in Christ fulfills the Spirit of the Law, which is not the letter.
The Christian is not under the law.
"What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." -Romans 9:30-33
The born again Christian is "born again," because they die to their old self, and rise anew under a New Covenant, not being under the law anymore:
"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." -Romans 7:4-6
Jesus also fulfilled the Sabbath, as shown in one of my previous articles in this series. Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 reveal to us that Jesus is our Sabbath rest. Jesus taught this as well:
"For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day." -Matthew 12:8
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." -Matthew 11:28
This meshes wonderfully with the following:
"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. -Hebrews 4:1-6
If you want to have a most amazing time reading the Old Testament book of Leviticus, which showcases the Torah Levitical laws, then read it in a Scofield Bible, and read the Scofield notes. Mr. Scofield did an excellent job of showing how Jesus fulfilled every point of the Levitical ceremonial law.
You can read these Scofield notes for free, HERE. It is so worth your time, so jump over to the above link and take a gander. :-) Please note that you'll want to have your King James Bible open, if you go to the above link, as it has the correct Scofield notes, but not the correct Bible text.
Next in this series - "The Christian's Relationship to the Law After Jesus Comes Back"
