The appointed times of Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles both take place at the full moon, in the middle of the Jewish month: the fifteenth of Nissan and the fifteenth of Tishri respectively. Of course in Jewish tradition the day starts the evening before, but the point is that the moon is full. The fact that we celebrate these feasts at full moon is not insignificant.
The appointed times and celestial signs
Unlike the Christian or Gregorian calendar, months in the biblical calendar follow the waxing and waning of the moon far more closely with a “leap month” inserted occasionally to keep the biblical year in sync with the seasons. The Islamic calendar tracks with the moon alone and so Ramadan moves all over the place as their calendar cycles around, independent of the agricultural year, but the Jewish people always celebrate Passover in the Spring and Tabernacles in the fall.
The connection between God’s appointed times and the celestial hosts begins way back in Genesis:
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:14-18)
The Hebrew for “signs and seasons” ( “otot and moedim” לְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹעֲדִים) uses the word “moed” which means appointed time, the same word God uses when talking about the Feasts of the Lord.
As we say in our free book about the Feasts of the Lord, the word for “feast” is moed (מועד), based on the root word, יעד. That is, something with an end goal, with a fixed time, and designated for a certain purpose. Each feast (or holy day) marks an aspect of God’s plan of salvation for mankind, through Messiah Jesus. They all point to events that happened in the past, and also to real events that will happen in the future. In other words, each appointed time has a double meaning—both immediate and prophetic. Just as the earthly tabernacle was built according to the pattern of the heavenly one, so the feasts in the Torah are like shadows, pointing to real future events.
These important fixtures are likened to the times and seasons marked by the sun and the moon, since God’s calendar points to His prophetic plan.
The people of Israel and the moon
And it’s not just the feasts that are linked with the moon. God has also linked the people of Israel themselves with the celestial beings, saying that His covenant with Israel will continue for as long as the sun and the moon are in place:
Thus says the Lord,
who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name:
“If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever.”
Thus says the Lord:
“If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,
declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 31:35-37)
There’s another interesting passage in Psalm 89:
I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne as long as the sun before me.
Like the moon it shall be established forever,
a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
(Psalm 89:34-47)
Israel will be a nation forever, God says, like the signs in the sky. The moon is a witness.
Pharaoh was unable to destroy or even contain Israel, and the people walked free in the light of the full moon.
It’s impossible to wipe out Israel
It’s hard to keep track of all the annihilation attempts Israel has been up against over the years. Yet none of these attempts will succeed according to the Bible. Israel is indestructible according to God’s promises. However, the people of Israel have undergone centuries of suffering, and been decimated in genocidal attempts like the Holocaust. The Bible paints a picture of extremely dire days to come in the future, but still God’s promise is that as long as the sun and the moon are there, so the people of Israel will be too.
I have a friend here, an Arab pastor, who says that those wanting to get rid of Israel should fire at the sun and the moon instead, because as long as they’re still in place, Israel isn’t going anywhere.
Now Israel is yet again fighting against enemies that have vowed to wipe us off the map, but those guys should read the Bible. They will not succeed. The Islamic regime of Iran will just become another fallen enemy, and the people of Persia will be free. A new day is coming.
Funnily enough there have been a couple of blood moons over the Feast of Purim, the feast that celebrates yet another escape from annihilation – in Persia! The Jewish people were in exile and despite all the plans to exterminate them, the tables were turned and the bad guys were the ones who didn’t make it.
What is coming?
Signs in the sky like solar and lunar eclipses are very dramatic, and cause us to look up in wonder. They can be part of God speaking to us, but these natural phenomena don’t necessarily have spiritual significance and blood moons are not so rare.
In ancient Mesopotamia a lunar eclipse was considered a bad omen: “a direct assault on the king”, a portent signifying their imminent downfall.
Blood moons were a taken as sign that the leader’s time was up, and it turned out to be the case in this war with the Islamic Regime. The Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in the very first strike on February 28, 2026. In fact, all the leadership of the Islamic Regime were taken out and any replacements find themselves immediately top of the hit list.
The moon turning to blood is mentioned in the Book of Joel as a harbinger of the “Great and terrible Day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31). When that day comes, we will most certainly get a new King!
We long for an end of war and for God’s peace to rule and reign on earth — something that has been established in the heavenlies for us when Yeshua, the Lamb of God, took away the sins of the world and redeemed us from death. He taught us to pray: “Let Your Kingdom come, let Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” and we long to see His peace here on earth. We know that any peace that comes by human endeavor will not last, but it could open up some great opportunities for freedom of travel and gospel proclamation. The only true peace, the lasting peace, will come only at the glorious return of Messiah.
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars,” Yeshua Himself tells us.
“And on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”(Luke 21:25-28)
And then all Israel will finally greet Him as their Savior, the Messiah, saying: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 23:39)
