Appointed Times, Set Times, and the Feasts of the LORD*

     There is much speculation about the timing of the Rapture and the return of the Lord. While we do not know the day nor the hour, we are expected by the Lord to pay attention to the signs of the times. What are His appointed times, and how are we to consider them?

     The prophet Habakkuk was given this command from the LORD as the prophet waited for what the LORD would say to him: "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, so that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." (Hab. 2:1-4). "Appointed time" used here is the Hebrew word, mo'ed, which means "appointed time, set time, feast." It also refers to the tent or tabernacle of meeting, where the people of God assembled before Him. In general, the Church has not been taught the Feasts of the LORD and does not understand their meaning. The first feast day named to be set aside and observed by God's people is the Sabbath. Do we understand the importance of the Sabbath?

     The appointed times of the LORD have been set from the beginning in Genesis: "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs (signals, warnings, appearing signals), and for seasons (mo'ed, see above), and for days, and years...And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also...to give light upon the earth...to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good." (Gen. 1:14-18). This is the first mention of mo-ed in scripture. Understanding the signs in the heavens that were created by God is NOT the same as astrology, which was practiced at the Tower of Babel and has nothing to do with the worship of God. God called His creation and His purpose in His creation, good, so it is good. The LORD warned in Isaiah not to call good, evil.

     The mo'ed feasts are not the feasts of Israel, but they are the feasts of the LORD: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. (Lev. 23:1-4). The LORD fulfilled His feasts to confirm His Word. On the Feast of Passover, for example, God's Son Jesus was slain as the Passover Lamb that takes away the sins of the world by His blood. His blood is far better than the blood of bulls and goats. There is power in the blood of Jesus, as the song proclaims. The feasts, the appointed times and the set times are of the LORD and not of the ideas of men, but of God.

     The prophet Daniel was given a vision that was for an appointed time, and Daniel understood the vision: "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) thing (dabar), and had understanding of the vision... And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves...Yet heard I the (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) voice of his words: and when I heard the (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground...And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) word unto me, I stood trembling...Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words." (Dan. 10:1-12, excerpt). It is vital that the people of God, who are called by His name, understand the importance of the repentance of 2 Chron. 7:14 , seeking God's face, and gaining the aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega heart that Daniel had above.

     The understanding of the vision had been withstood by a spiritual principality called "the prince of the kingdom of Persia", and the great archangel, Michael, had to join the battle in order to bring the understanding of the vision to Daniel (v. 13). Finally, the understanding of the vision was brought to him. The vision concerned "what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days." (v. 14). The vision that came to Daniel was for an appointed time, a set time. Today, we see, as a sign of the latter days, the threat of Persia/Iran, and their alliance with Magog Russia as Ezekiel prophesied.

     The vision of Daniel for the appointed time in the latter days involved a king who would have indignation against and make war against the holy covenant. This king will "pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such that do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall be the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed." (Dan. 11:27-34, see also God's answer to the prayer of the afflicted in Ps. 102:16-21). God is revealing His secrets regarding appointed times to us through His prophets. His temple will be rebuilt but then desecrated by an abomination deliberately placed there. We know that the antichrist will stand there and declare himself to be God. Many will fall during this time. We are already seeing the persecution and even the martyrdom of the tribulation even now taking place in certain parts of the world. Even so, this appointed time of Daniel's vision will see the people who know their God rise up and do miracle exploits in His name.

     Mo'ed, the Hebrew word mentioned above as meaning appointed time, set time, and feast, also means the tent of meeting for God's people. It is an appointed time for the people of God to assemble themselves together as a holy convocation. After the resurrection of Christ, He showed Himself and spoke to His disciples for forty days regarding the kingdom of God: "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which...ye have heard of me." (Acts 1:4). Jesus told them, "...ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." As His disciples who had come together asked Him about the specific time when the He would restore the kingdom to Israel. He answered: "...it is not for you to know the times or the season (kairos - time, fixed or definite time), which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (v. 5-8). Here also are the people of Daniel, who know their God and do exploits in the latter days after the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit which the believers first experienced as a fulfilment of the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. We may not know the exact time, as Jesus said, but this is a sign of the approach of God's appointed time.

     Jesus spoke about the signs that would mark the end of the age, and His return. Those signs would occur in the sun, moon and stars (see Gen. 1:14 above), and the seas and its terrifying waves, in death by violence, captivity, and the treading down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles until "the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (see also Rom. 11:25-27 when all Israel shall be saved). We saw the end of the time of the Gentiles regarding Jerusalem in 1967 when Israel captured the city and then again when they gained control of the Temple Mount recently. This was the set time of the LORD. Seeing these signs, Jesus said that men's hearts would fail them for fear: "And they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh...So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." (Lk. 21:24-32).  I believe Jesus was speaking of the generation that would see these signs, even our generation. Jesus said that our awareness of the appointed time is like the knowledge of when we see a fig tree, also a symbol associated with Israel, producing shoots, we understand that summer is near. We should understand that His return and kingdom are at hand in the same way. As we see these signs, we are not to be caught up in fleshly behavior or worldly cares of this life "so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (v. 34-36).

     The prophet Zechariah said that there was a set day that the LORD would make (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Jerusalem a "burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (Zech. 12:1-3). And in that day, the LORD will destroy the nations that come against Jerusalem (v. 4, 9). At that time, a spirit of grace and supplications will be poured out upon the house of David and Jerusalem: "...and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn...In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness ...Behold, the day of the LORD cometh...all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) feast of tabernacles...the LORD will smite the heathen that come not to keep the (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) feast of tabernacles." (v. 10, Zech. 13:1, Zech. 14:1, 16, 18). In that day, even the most common items in Judah and Jerusalem will be "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD", and in that day there shall be no more Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts. (Zech. 14:20-21). 

      The fountain that is opened up for sin and uncleanness is the fountain of Messiah/Christ Jesus' blood, the blood of the One who was pierced. In that day, the LORD's house will be established, and holiness will be on the earth. Our God is holy, and He is looking for a people to come together in holy convocations, to covenant with Him and walk with Him as Adam and Eve walked with Him in the cool of the day in the Garden. I am looking for that day, are you?

 *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 8/4/24 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on Dr. Stevenson's Facebook page. To contact or support this ministry, or to request prayer, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. To find out more about the Shroud of Turin, and to receive a free e-book now available in several languages, go to http://www.theshroudofturin.org/freebook.

**NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.