In a recent post Aviv was referenced as the Hebrew season of spring.
The name of the Month in Hebrew is called Nisan.
(There is a wealth of information contained in this season and it can be overwhelming if it’s all new to the reader, so the beautiful story is examined, slowly unfolding it in small bite-sized portions.)
This year it is in April on our calendar and according to scripture it is the time of the beginning of the Spiritual New Year in Israel.
Shemoth (Exodus) 12:1 And YHWH spoke unto Moses/Mosheh and Aaron/Aharown in the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt) saying, 2. This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
The seasons are literally the appointed times of the Lord. They are the scriptural seasons that Jesus and all the New Testament authors celebrated.
This was to fall every year, 14 days before Passover (Pesach) in the month of the Abib (Aviv). In Nehemiah 2:1 & Esther 3:7, this first month on the Hebrew calendar began to be called “Nisan” while the House of Judah were in Babylonian exile.
Today, the rabbinic calendar still uses the Babylonian name of “Nisan” for the month of “Abib.”
The word “Abib” in the Strong’s Hebrew Concordance has the following definition: # 24 ‘abiyb aw-beeb’ from an unused root (meaning to be tender); green, i.e. a young ear of grain;
hence, the name of the month Abib or Nisan:–Abib, ear, green ears of corn (not maize).
Nisan The Appointed Time Of The Lamb BEGINS WITH
Jesus like all the sacrificial lambs had to be examined by the Priests. Luke 22:54
It was at the same time that the shepherds were herding the 1000’s of lambs into the Temple area ready for their examination over 4 days.
The seasons are literally the appointed times of the Lord, they are the scriptural seasons that Jesus and all the New Testament authors celebrated.
On Palm Sunday Jesus rode the donkey
in a procession from Bethphage, (the home of Lazarus), and entered the Old City of Jerusalem,
through St. Stephen’s Gate (Lion’s Gate).
The Lion’s Gate is located near Mount of Olives (seen through the gate in the picture above) and the Via Dolorosa.
This is one of the seven gates that were created in the wall of the old city,
and the only one that is open towards the east.
On Palm Sunday,
Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem at the SAME EXACT TIME the lambs were to be selected for the Passover sacrifice!
Matt 21:1-11 Mark 14:1,2 Luke 22:1,2 John 12:12
The crowd was loudly calling out Hosanna
Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.
Ps 118:26
In John 12:13, we are told this crowd including the disciples, thought He was the reigning Messiah as they understood from the Old Testament book of Zechariah in chapter 9:9
“behold your king is coming being seated upon the foal of a donkey”
This is significant as Messiah was being associated with a donkey rather than a horse ready for battle, because He is not depicted as a warrior but as a man of peace Who represents spiritual prosperity, (as was shown in the metaphor of the vineyard). His wars will be won by divine power not through force of arms.
Hoshea-na as in (Ps 118:25) means ‘Deliver us now’ or ‘Save us now’.
This comes from the same root as Yeshua, the Hebrew name of Jesus.
The ending ‘na’, is something we do not have a translation for in English. It’s a demanding ‘NOW’, that is neither rude nor impertinent. It is properly translated ‘Please’ or ‘I pray you’ or ‘Behold’.
The greeting and waving of palm fronds and branches were traditionally done on the 6th day of the feast of sukkot welcoming the reigning Messiah to assume the throne in Jerusalem. All those shouting Hoshea-na knew this and believed Yeshua was the Messiah who had come to claim His throne then and there.
See Matt 21:8,9 Mk 11:8,9 Lk 19:37,38 Jn 12:12,13
From Luke 19:35, the Greek word used for ‘garment’ is ‘imatia’, meaning, ‘cloak or outer garment’, it is used here and in vs. 35 and 36. The ‘cloak’ of a Jewish man was his prayer shawl, as can be seen in the picture below.
These were the ‘garments’ laid on the road before Him as he passed by 1000’s of people gathered in Jerusalem for Passover. One of three annually appointed times, that every Israelite was expected to attend.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem on Palm Sunday
because Israel did not know the time and importance of that day.
What will Jesus find when He returns soon on the next scheduled feast day?
LEVITICUS 23 is the single chapter of the entire Bible /Tanakh that sums up everything. God’s eternal plan — from chaos to eternity — is ingeniously revealed through the nature and timing of the Seven annual Feasts of the LORD.
Why do we need to look at what the feasts are called, when they happen and why they remain significant?
Sacrifice is the major feature of the feasts and knowledge of them enhances our faith.
“The Lord’s APPOINTED TIMES which you shall proclaim as HOLY CONVOCATIONS- MY APPOINTED TIMES ARE THESE. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord’s PASSOVER.” (Leviticus 23:1,5)
It was on Mount Sinai that God gave Moses the dates and observances of the seven feasts. Here are their names:
Passover (Pesach) – Nisan 14
Unleavened Bread (Chag Hamotzi) – Nisan 15-22
First Fruits (Yom habikkurim) – Nisan 16
Pentecost (Shavu’ot) – Sivan 6
Trumpets (Yom Teru’ah) – Tishri 1
Atonement (Yom Kippur) – Tishri 10
Tabernacles (Sukkot) – Tishri 15
When do they happen? God’s calendar is based on the phases of the moon. Each month in a lunar calendar begins with a new moon.
Pesach falls on the first full moon of Spring.
The first three feasts, Pesach/Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits fall in March and April.
The fourth one, Shavu’ot, Pentecost, marked the summer harvest and occurs in late May or early June.
The last three feasts, Trumpets, Yom Kippur and Sukkot happen in September and October.
The first 3 Spring Feasts occur all very close together. These are the ones that are happening right now and next post will shed a little more light on them.
In a recent post Aviv was referenced as the Hebrew season of spring.
