Restoring the Feast of Yeshua
By
Rabbi Robert O. Miller
There is an amazing and important Holy Day which was first mentioned in the 3rd Book of the Maccabees that was called the Feast of Yeshua (Salvation) which had been lost and had not been observed for 2,000 years because of the close tie to the name YahShua and because this festival was very important to the Netzarim. Since we are living in the times of the restoration of all truth, one of the things that we need to restore is the lost, biblical Festival of Yeshua.
What is the background of this festival? At the Battle of Gaza during the Syrian Wars, which was one of the largest battles of the Hellenistic kingdoms, between Ptolemy IV Philopator, Pharaoh of Egypt and Antiochus III of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria, that would determine the sovereignty of the land of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, Ptolemy was victorious, and Egypt took control of the land of Israel that had been dominated by the evil House of Antiochus.
One of the first things Pharaoh Ptolemy sought to do was ride to Jerusalem and forcibly enter the Holy of Holies of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
“After he had arrived in Jerusalem, he offered sacrifice to the supreme Elohim and made thank offerings and did what was fitting for the Holy Place…he marveled at the beauty of the Temple, and desired to enter the Sanctuary. When they said that this was not permitted…only the High Priest.once a year [could enter] –the Pharaoh was by no means persuaded… ‘why should not I at least enter, whether they wish it or not?’
Then the priests in all their vestments prostrated themselves and entreated the supreme Elohim to aid in the present situation and to avert the violence of this evil design, and they filled the Temple with cries and tears…” (3 Maccabees 1:9-16)
“Thereupon Elohim, Who sees all things, the supreme Father of all, Holy One among the Holy Ones, having heard the lawful supplication, scourged him who had exalted himself in insolence and audacity. He shook him on this side and that as a reed is shaken by the wind, so that he lay helpless on the ground and, besides being paralyzed in his limbs, was unable even to speak, since he was smittenby a righteous judgment. Then both friends and bodyguards, seeing the severe punishment that had overtaken him, and fearing that he would lose his life, quickly dragged him out, panic-stricken in their exceedingly great fear. After a while he recovered, and though he had been punished, he by no means repented, but went away uttering bitter threats.” (3 Maccabees 2:21-24)
Upon returning to Egypt he sought to punish all the Jews living in Egypt for his humiliation he had experienced in Jerusalem by the hands of Yahweh. “[Pharaoh] set up a stele on the obelisk in the courtyard with this inscription: ‘None of those who do not sacrifice (to pagan deities) shall enter their sanctuaries, and all Jews shall be subjected to a registration involving poll tax and reduced to the status of slaves. Those who object to this are to be taken by force and put to death; those who are registered are also to be branded on their bodies by fire with the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus… But if any of them prefer to join those who have been initiated into the mysteries, they shall have equal citizenship with the Alexandrians.’” (3 Maccabees 2:27-30) Pharaoh tortured and killed those that refused to renounce the Faith of Yahweh. An elder priest named Eleazar prayed for the deliverance of his people (3 Maccabees 6:1-25).
“Then the most glorious, almighty, and true Elohim revealed his holy glory and opened the heavenly gates, from which two glorious angels of fearful aspect descended, visible to all but the Jews. They opposed the forces of the enemy and filled them with confusion and terror, binding them with immovable shackles. Even the king began to shudder bodily, and he forgot his sullen insolence. The animals turned back upon the armed forces following them and began trampling and destroying them.
Then the Pharaoh‘s anger was turned to pity and tears because of the things that he had devised beforehand. For when he heard the shouting and saw them all fallen headlong to destruction, he wept and angrily threatened his Friends, saying, ‘You are committing treason and surpassing tyrants in cruelty; and even me, your benefactor, you are now attempting to deprive of dominion and life by secretly devising acts of no advantage to the kingdom. Who has driven from their homes those who faithfully kept our country’s fortresses, and foolishly gathered every one of them here? Who is it that has so lawlessly encompassed with outrageous treatment those who from the beginning differed fromall nations in their goodwill toward us and often have accepted willingly the worst of human dangers? Loose and untie their unjust bonds! Send them back to their homes in peace, begging pardon for your former actions!Release the children of the almighty and living Elohim of heaven, who from the time of our ancestors until now has granted an unimpeded and notable stability to our government.’ … the Jews, immediately released, praised their holy Elohim and Savior, since they now had escaped death.” (3 Maccabees 6:18-29)
The Jews declared an annual festival called “The Feast of Yeshua (Salvation).” “Then they feasted, being provided with everything by the king, until the fourteenth day,on which also they made the petition for their dismissal. The king granted their request at once …they kept the day as a joyful festival, since they had destroyed the profaners.” (3 Maccabees 6:40, 41; 7:15)
The festival enacted from the 8th to the 14th of the Egyptian month of Epeiph corresponding to 19 -25 of August 217 BCE on the Julian Calendar and 12 – 18 of Elul 3544 on the Hebrew calendar. This festival should begin on the 12th of Elul each year.
[This year beginning at sunset, Sept. 7th, 2022]
How did they observe the Feast? “…they kept the day as a joyful festival…crowned with all sorts of very fragrant flowers, joyfully and loudly giving thanks to the one Elohim of their ancestors, the eternal Savior of Israel, in words of praise and all kinds of melodious songs.” (3 Maccabees 7:15, 16)
How did the Netzarim see this festival? Once again wicked Pharaoh tried to destroy Israel by profaning the Faith of Yahweh and enslaving the remnant of Israel. And once again Yahweh delivered them miraculously. The Hebrew word for “deliverance” is YESHUA. The deliverance of the remnant of Israel from the hand of Pharaoh points us forward to the deliverance of Israel by King Messiah YAHSHUA (Yahweh is our salvation), the express manifestation of “the eternal Savior of Israel”.
What do we do on the Feast of YahShua?
- A meal called “The Banquet of Salvation” or “The Banquet of Yeshua” akin to a barbecue. (3 Maccabees 6:31)
- “shout(ing) the HalleluYah…joyfully,” “singing song of their ancestors, praising Elohim, their Savior and worker of wonders.” Particularly appropriate are songs about “Salvation” or which speak of Yahweh’s defense as our shield. (3 Maccabees 6:32)
- “arranged the…Dance.” (3 Maccabees 6:35)
- Obviously the festival should involve recounting the Story of Salvation.
“The Feast of YAHSHUA” is now again being kept by a remnant of Israel
Originally written by Rabbi Robert O. Miller on August 28th, 2010
(Robert Owen Miller 1957-2021)
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