Biblical Feast Days 2024

“The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.” – Leviticus 23:2

WHEN are the Feasts of the LORD?

All festivals begin at sunset the evening before the date on the Roman Calendar (Genesis 1:5; Leviticus 23:32).

When Jesus, the apostles, and the early Church of God kept the feasts, they used the same calender as the Jews to determine the dates of God’s feast days. Those who follow the example of Jesus continue to use the Hebrew Calendar to determine the date of the holy days.

WHY Should We Keep the Biblical Feast Days?

Jesus Kept the Feast Days

You probably know that Jesus faithfully kept God’s feasts (Luke 2:42; 22:15; John 2:23; 4:45; 5:1; 7:10, 14, 37; 12:2; etc.). But did He keep the feast for you, so you don’t have to? Or did He keep them as an example to follow?

Consider what Jesus said about God’s Law:

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19, NKJV)

If you have been told that Jesus abolished God’s law (or that He kept the law for you so you don’t have to), you should carefully read the all of the scriptures about this for yourself to see what they really say.

Here is a guide that shows how many false teachers misrepresent Bible scriptures about God’s law: “How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law?”

The Original Church of God Kept the Biblical Feast Days

Here are a few scriptures that show which feasts the the apostles and early Church kept:

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” – Acts 2:1, NKJV

(Paul) “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” – Acts 18:21, NKJV

“But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days….Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost.” – Acts 20:6, 16, NKJV

Were these feasts just for the Jews? No! Paul also instructed the Gentile Christians in Corinth to keep them:

“Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” – 1 Corinthians 5:8, NKJV

So why does everyone celebrate Christmas, Easter, and Halloween, when they aren’t commanded anywhere in the the Bible?

As Jesus said, “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men… All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.” – Mark 7:8-9, NKJV

Soon the Whole World Will Keep the Feasts of the LORD

Read it for yourself:

“And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” – Zechariah 14:16-18, NKJV

Ezekiel 45:17 is another prophecy about the future, and it mentions “all the feasts.”

They Are God’s Feasts

When God gave Moses instructions for the feasts in Leviticus 23, He did not call them “the feasts of the Jews.” He said, “The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.” (Leviticus 23:2, NKJV)

The Feast Days Reveal the Future

Consider this widely misunderstood scripture about the Sabbath and God’s feasts:

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17, New International Version)

If you think this scripture says that God’s feasts are no longer important, because they were mere shadows of Christ, I don’t blame you. I blame the translators for lying to you when they added all the words in bold.

Here is a correct translation of Colossians 2:16-17, without the extra words:

“Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day—which are a shadow of the things to come—but the body of Christ.”

What Paul was actually saying is that we should not let anyone judge us about how we keep the Sabbath and feast days except for “the body of Christ.” The body of Christ is the Church (Colossians 1:18, 24). So only the true Church of God should guide us on how to keep the Sabbath and feast days—not unbelievers (including any church that does not actually follow the teachings of Jesus Christ).

The problem in Colossae was that some ascetics were telling the disciples, “do not touch, do not taste, do not handle” (Colossians 2:21). Paul told the disciples to ignore these man-made rules and enjoy eating and drinking in the proper way on the Sabbath and feast days.

This scripture actually shows that the Gentile Christians at Colossae were keeping the Sabbath and feast days, and that people were judging them for feasting on those days.

But there is another hidden truth here. When Paul says that God’s feasts “are a shadow of thing to come,” it doesn’t mean they are unimportant. Rather, it means that the feast days reveal the future! They are a prophetic shadow of a future reality, as I will explain in the next section.

WHAT Is the Meaning of God’s Holy Days?

God’s feast days reveal God’s plan of salvation for all humanity. Each feast reveals one step of God’s plan.

Here is a quick overview of the meaning of all seven feast days: The Meaning of God’s Holy Days

Study guides:

• The Meaning of the Feast of Trumpets (study guide)
• The Meaning of the Day of Atonement (study guide)

Sign up here to get detailed articles explaining the meaning of each God’s feasts:

HOW To Celebrate the Biblical Feasts

Here is an overview of How to Celebrate God’s Feasts.

How to Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles

To learn more about how you can celebrate God’s feast days, enter your email below, and I will send you information about how to keep each feast in advance.

If you have any questions about the feasts, just reply to the first email you get from me after you join the list.