God’s Appointed Times: Why the Fall Feasts Matter to Every Christian

From Elul to Sukkot, Discover How Our Jewish Roots Reveal Jesus, God’s Covenant Promises, and the Return of the King

There is a powerful truth many Christians have never fully discovered: the Bible is a Jewish book, Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, and the biblical feasts reveal an extraordinary picture of God’s plan of redemption.

From Genesis to Revelation, God unfolds His promises through the people of Israel. Jesus was born into a Jewish family. He studied the Torah, worshiped in the synagogue, celebrated the biblical feasts, and fulfilled promises God had spoken through the Hebrew prophets generations before His birth.

When we begin to understand the Jewish roots of our Christian faith, familiar Scriptures come alive with new meaning.

This is why Pastor Larry Huch has taught for decades about the importance of restoring the Jewish roots of Christianity. We are not becoming Jewish or placing ourselves under the Law. We are discovering the biblical foundation that helps us better understand Jesus—Yeshua—our Jewish Messiah.

And there may be no better time to make that discovery than during the Fall Feasts of the Lord.

These Are God’s Appointed Times

Leviticus 23 introduces the biblical feasts with an important distinction. God doesn’t simply call them the feasts of Israel. He calls them “the feasts of the LORD”—His appointed times.

Think of the biblical calendar as a divine roadmap.

The Spring Feasts give us an extraordinary prophetic picture of Jesus’ first coming. Passover points to Jesus, our Passover Lamb. Unleavened Bread reminds us of the sinless Messiah. Firstfruits points to His resurrection, and Shavuot—Pentecost—was the appointed time when the Holy Spirit was poured out.

We can look back and recognize how God’s appointed times prophetically pointed toward the Messiah.

But then God’s calendar moves toward the Fall Feasts, and the prophetic picture becomes especially important for believers today.

Elul: Return to God

Before the Fall Feasts arrive, there is a season of preparation.

The Hebrew month of Elul leads into the High Holy Days and is traditionally a season of reflection, prayer, repentance, and returning to God.

The Hebrew word teshuvah means “return.”

That one word beautifully captures the heart of this season.

Before the trumpet sounds, before the Day of Atonement, and before the rejoicing of Tabernacles comes God’s invitation:

Return to Me.

Joel 2:13 says:

“So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.” — Joel 2:13 NKJV

Elul gives us an opportunity to examine our hearts.

Where have we drifted from God? Is there something we need to surrender? Someone we need to forgive? Have busyness, fear, disappointment, or distraction weakened our relationship with Him?

This isn’t simply about religious observance.

It’s about returning to the heart of God.

And as Elul comes to an end, that quiet call to return gives way to a very different sound—the shofar.

Rosh Hashanah: Wake Up—the King Is Coming!

The first of the Fall Feasts is the Feast of Trumpets, commonly associated with Rosh Hashanah.

God commanded:

“In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.” — Leviticus 23:24 NKJV

Throughout Scripture, a trumpet announces something significant. It calls God’s people together. It sounds an alarm. It prepares people for what is coming. It can announce a king.

Spiritually, the shofar carries a message that is just as important today:

Wake up!

Don’t sleep through this season. Don’t become spiritually numb. Don’t allow the noise of the world to keep you from hearing what God is saying.

For Christians, the trumpet has tremendous prophetic significance because the New Testament connects the return of Jesus with the sound of a trumpet.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:16 NKJV

This is one of the most exciting reasons Christians should understand the biblical feasts.

We can look backward and see the prophetic pattern surrounding Jesus’ first coming.

But the story isn’t finished.

The Feast of Trumpets points us forward toward the return of Jesus—the King whose return we are still awaiting.

We don’t know the day or the hour. The purpose isn’t to calculate a date. It is to prepare our hearts.

Elul says: Return.
The shofar says: Wake up.
Jesus says: Be ready.

The same Jesus who came as the Lamb of God will return as King.

Our King is coming!

Yom Kippur: The Blood That Made a Way

Rosh Hashanah leads toward Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day on the biblical calendar.

It is a season of examining our hearts, repentance, reconciliation, and making things right.

Under the biblical system, Yom Kippur was the one day each year when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies with sacrificial blood to make atonement.

Then Jesus came.

For Christians, the picture becomes incredibly powerful.

The book of Hebrews reveals Jesus as our great High Priest. He didn’t enter with the blood of goats and calves.

He entered with His own blood.

Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for sin.

Because of His blood, our sins can be forgiven. The separation between God and humanity has been overcome. We can come boldly into God’s presence because our Messiah has made the way.

Understanding Yom Kippur doesn’t take us away from the Cross.

It helps us understand the Cross more deeply.

And then God’s calendar makes a beautiful transition.

After repentance and atonement comes rejoicing.

Sukkot: God Is Our Provider

Just days after Yom Kippur comes one of the most joyful celebrations on God’s calendar: Sukkot—the Feast of Tabernacles.

There is a beautiful progression in the Fall Feasts:

Return. Awaken. Repent. Remember the atoning blood. Rejoice!

Sukkot reminds God’s people how He protected and provided for Israel in the wilderness. The temporary dwelling—the sukkah—carries a simple but powerful reminder:

God is our covering.
God is our provider.
God is faithful.

But there is even more for Christians to discover.

Sukkot: An Appointed Time of First Fruits

As Pastor Larry teaches, Sukkot is also the third and final First Fruits season of the biblical year. LHM’s current teaching describes this season as both thanksgiving for God’s past faithfulness and a declaration of faith for the harvest still ahead.

Deuteronomy 16:16–17 describes three appointed times when God’s people were to appear before Him: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. They were not to appear before Him empty-handed but were to give according to the blessing God had given them.

This First Fruits principle is called bikkurim in Hebrew.

It carries a beautiful message:

We thank God for what He has already done while putting our faith in Him for what is still to come.

We remember how He provided yesterday. We thank Him for His provision today. And we trust Him with tomorrow.

Sukkot: God Wants to Dwell With Us

There is another extraordinary dimension to Tabernacles.

From Genesis to Revelation, one of the great themes of Scripture is God’s desire to dwell among His people.

John 1:14 says:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” — John 1:14 NKJV

Jesus came and “tabernacled” among us.

The God who dwelt among Israel in the wilderness came to earth in the person of Jesus and dwelt among humanity.

But even that isn’t the end of the story.

Revelation 21:3 declares:

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them.”

The Bible begins with God dwelling with humanity and ends with God dwelling with His redeemed people forever.

Sukkot points us toward that magnificent promise.

Why Christians Need to Know Their Jewish Roots

This is why understanding the biblical feasts matters.

The Old and New Testaments aren’t two disconnected stories. They are one story.

One God. One unfolding covenant plan. One promised Messiah. One plan of redemption. And one coming Kingdom.

Jesus didn’t suddenly appear in the New Testament disconnected from everything that came before Him. His life, ministry, death, resurrection, and promised return are woven into promises, covenants, and prophetic pictures God had been revealing for generations.

Understanding our Jewish roots isn’t about becoming more religious. It is about becoming more biblically grounded.

Our Jewish roots give us context for the symbols, covenants, prophecies, and promises throughout Scripture. They help us understand God’s appointed times. They reveal the faithfulness of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Most importantly, they help us see Jesus more clearly.

Paul gives Gentile believers an important reminder in Romans 11:

“Remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.” — Romans 11:18 NKJV

We have been grafted in.

We do not replace Israel. Through Jesus the Messiah, we have been graciously brought into God’s redemptive plan.

When we understand Passover, we understand our Passover Lamb more deeply. When we understand Yom Kippur, we better understand our great High Priest and His atoning blood. When we hear the shofar, we’re reminded to prepare for the King. And when we understand Sukkot, we discover God’s provision, harvest, presence, and desire to dwell with His people.

Our Jewish roots don’t take us away from Jesus. They lead us deeper into understanding Him.

Understanding Our Roots Should Move Us to Action

But learning our Jewish roots shouldn’t end with knowledge.

As Christians, we have received an incredible spiritual heritage through the Jewish people. The patriarchs, prophets, apostles, Scriptures, and our Messiah came through Israel.

That should move our hearts.

It should deepen our love for God’s Word, strengthen our gratitude for His covenant faithfulness, and inspire us to stand with Israel and the Jewish people in meaningful ways.

And right now, Larry Huch Ministries has an extraordinary opportunity to do exactly that.

LHM is preparing for additional Project Aliyah flights intended to help bring 600 or more Bnei Menashe from northeastern India home to Israel. Many have waited years—and sometimes decades—for the opportunity to make aliyah and reunite with family members already in the Holy Land.

As LHM’s September ministry update explains, these families have maintained their connection to the Jewish people across generations. Through LHM’s partnership with Israel’s Keren Hayesod, support helps fund Project Aliyah flights and immigration assistance for these families.

What a powerful opportunity during the Fall Feasts.