THESE ARE MY APPOINTED TIMES… The Lord God Almighty has been reaching out to us continuously during the last two months. Day by day, His perfect plan for the redemptive restoration of mankind has been brought to the forefront of our lives. We have literally been “counting the days”, looking forward to the mind-boggling events and revelations He has included in each one of these “appointed times” of Leviticus 23: “These are my appointed times, the times of the LORD that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies.”

Appointed by God Almighty on His calendar for mankind, these incredibly special festival times of sharing with His people are introductions to the ministry of Messiah Jesus, anointed as the Incarnation of God Himself, destined not only to dwell with mankind on earth and fulfill God’s appointments, but also to rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What could be more important than this incredible calendar filled with earth-shattering events that only the Son of God could accomplish!

The Almighty’s first “appointed time” began 3500 years ago under a Spring full moon, when He made His presence known to a world power that had a stranglehold over the people who worshipped Him. God announced His intention to free them through a series of plagues which rearranged their daily lives, decimated their national economy, wracked them with disease, disrupted weather, devastated their food supply, increased insects to unbearable swarms, and plunged them into darkness for days. Finally, with the 10th plague of death, even people who didn’t worship Him were brought to their knees.

“On the 14th day of the month when all the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs…The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” Exodus 12

The blood of the sacrificial lamb marked 600,000 households who were “passed over” from certain death that night in Egypt. It was to be celebrated forever on the 14th day of God’s first month as a reminder that He alone delivered His people from their bondage. Those who believe in Jesus, our Passover Lamb, literally stand as the continuing generations of those “passed-over”. The death angel cannot claim us. “Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. 1 Corinthians 5:7

The Day of Passover on the 14th gave birth to the week-long festival known as Unleavened Bread beginning the 15th on the weekly Sabbath. Its unusual name is a reminder of the night when Pharoah urged them to leave so quickly they didn’t have time to even properly prepare their bread, the mainstay of their diet. They just packed the lump of raw, unleavened dough and headed out into the desert, depending on God's promises and His provision! “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.” Exodus 12:17-18

From this scripture we understand why this festival to the Almighty came to be known as Passover and the following 7 days as Unleavened Bread, collectively recognized as the Passover season. “Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”1 Corinthians 5:7-8 https://www.facebook.com/fontanacommunitychurch/posts/pfbid02DmTMRDDQKyptCa42RjYbJXB3aWWhjZboUnppc4xPK8acgrgfj2wghXskEmuzwXyjl

God’s appointed festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread also begat the Almighty’s next festival of “Firstfruits”, a “wave-offering” unto Him forever in Leviticus 23:10,14: "...When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; ... it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings."

Incredibly, when Jesus was raised from the dead on the 16th, the day after the Sabbath following the Passover feast, but had not yet ascended to the Father, He was on His way to God's Throne as the “wave offering” “Firstfruit” of the resurrection of mankind, an event also marked on God’s calendar 1500 years prior. “…Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20 https://www.facebook.com/fontanacommunitychurch/posts/pfbid02ko8S6D8amfuECyYSqzDPrWY7fdjb9hmwdd8X6qtzEWyNyi3rD7fBCtm1ZCHh2X7Vl

“‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord...This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.” Leviticus 23:15-17, 21

The beginning counting of Weeks in the New Testament started when Jesus was raised from the dead, “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20) The gifting of the Holy Spirit to Christians, 50 days later, known today as Pentecost, empowered His followers to not only keep His Commandments, but teach them, to ALL nations, massively increasing their number and influence.

“When the Day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4

The Hebrew translation of verse 1 says “Shavuot” since this appointed day came to be known as Pentecost following the gift of the Holy Spirit on those gathered. “Shavuot”, the spoken and written Word of the Almighty on Mount Zion destined to reach the ends of the earth as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:14. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” https://www.facebook.com/fontanacommunitychurch/posts/pfbid0yz9SftJubFJ9mBCxLDxH9DkmnBEY2eAEAeYK4yUW4qqyuubQXKDtb3YJaxfJeaNLl

Jesus was the plan all along. And He has been spiritually right beside us all this time, even during the Exodus. “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-2

GOD'S APPOINTED FALL HOLY DAYS HAVE YET TO BE FULFILLED BY JESUS! When He returns to earth, it will be by Divine Appointment to fulfill the remaining 3 Holy convocation times on God's calendar. The first of these, the anointed Day of Trumpets, is appointed by the rising of the new moon, beginning God's 7th month, as appointed in Leviticus 23. In ages past, as soon as the sliver of the new moon was observed by two witnesses, they blew the trumpet 100 times: 11 series of nine brief blasts followed by one long powerful blast, known as "the last trumpet.” (September 12 on 2026 calendar)

On the 10th day of the same month (Begins eve of September 21-22 on our 2026 calendar) the Almighty appropriated a blood sacrifice to cover the sins of His people: the Day of Atonement. Appointed during the wilderness Exodus of the Israelites, the covering or atonement was the blood sacrifice of an innocent animal. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement (covering) for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11

Hebrews 9 points us straight to Jesus as the Perfect Blood Sacrifice. “That first plan contained directions for worship, and a specially designed place of worship. A large outer tent was set up…Then a curtain was set up. This was called "the Holy of Holies…Only the high priest entered the smaller, inside tent, only once a year, offering a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people's accumulated sins…But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven's "tent"—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all.”

The last holy day to be fulfilled by Jesus is appointed to begin the 15th day of the same 7th month, (September 26 eve on 2026 calendar) the first of God’s 7-day Feast of Tabernacles, culminating in the 8th Last Great Day. The future fulfillment of the Festival of Tabernacles will occur when ALL nations on Planet Earth will come together in peace to worship Jesus Christ as Lord! "The Lord will be King over the whole earth. On that day, there will be one Lord and His name the only name…Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles." Zechariah 14:9,16.

John the Revelator adds the crowning touch to this final glorious festival appointed by God Almighty for all humanity. “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’”

“THESE ARE MY APPOINTED TIMES…”