Of all the teachings 119 Ministries produces, this one contains the most genuine theological beauty. The typological connections between the biblical feasts and the person and work of Christ are real, rich, and worth knowing. The Passover lamb pointing to Christ as the Lamb of God. First Fruits pointing to the resurrection. Pentecost pointing to the outpouring of the Spirit. These are not invented connections - they are woven into the fabric of the New Testament, confirmed by apostolic teaching, and celebrated by the church from its earliest days. This article does not dispute the typology. It disputes the conclusion drawn from it - because the conclusion runs in precisely the opposite direction to what the typology actually requires.

The Church Has Always Known This

Before engaging the conclusion, the typological content deserves full acknowledgment. The church has always seen Christ in the feasts. The Passover lamb pointing to Christ is not an HRM discovery - Paul states it explicitly in 1 Corinthians 5:7: "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." First Fruits pointing to the resurrection is not new - Paul states it explicitly in 1 Corinthians 15:20: "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." Pentecost pointing to the Spirit is not an innovation - Acts 2 is deliberately set on the feast day. These connections are in the New Testament, confirmed by apostolic authors, and celebrated by Christians who have never observed a single feast day in their lives.

The typological richness of the feast calendar is real and beautiful. The question is what it means for present-day observance. And on that question, the logic of typology itself gives a clear answer - one that points in exactly the opposite direction to what 119 intends.

The Direction Typology Actually Runs

The argument 119 makes is: the feasts point to Christ, therefore observe the feasts. But this gets the logic of typology backwards. Typology works like this: a shadow points toward a reality that is coming. When the reality arrives, the shadow has served its purpose. You do not need to keep pointing at the destination once you have arrived there.

Paul states this explicitly - and he states it specifically about the feasts. Colossians 2:16-17:

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." - Colossians 2:16-17

Paul acknowledges the typological connection - these are shadows pointing forward. And then he uses that very connection as the reason not to insist on observance. The shadow pointed to Christ. Christ has come. Therefore the shadow has served its purpose - and no one should be judged for not observing it. The typology argument for keeping the feasts actually runs in the opposite direction to what 119 claims. Paul uses the same typological relationship and draws the opposite conclusion.

This is the logic of shadow and substance applied directly to the feast calendar by an apostle. The shadow was not abolished - it was fulfilled. And arriving at the substance is precisely what makes the shadow's ongoing observance a matter of freedom rather than obligation. As our article on fulfilment theology argues, this is not the removal of something good. It is the arrival of what the good thing was always announcing.

Their Own Pentecost Argument Proves the Point

There is a moment in 119's own teaching where their argument proves the opposite of what they intend. On Pentecost/Shavuot they say: "The coming of the Holy Spirit on Shavuot made it possible for God's law to be written on our hearts, empowering us to keep it."

Read that carefully. The Spirit came. The law is written on hearts. The New Covenant promise of Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 was fulfilled. If the feast of Pentecost was pointing to the outpouring of the Spirit - and it was - and the Spirit has been poured out - which 119 affirms - then the feast has been fulfilled. The reality has arrived. The shadow has done its work.

By their own account, every believer who has received the Holy Spirit is living in the fulfilment of the feast of Pentecost. Which means the feast pointed to something that has already happened. Which means the feast's typological purpose has been accomplished. Which is precisely the argument for why it is no longer obligatory - not because it was bad, but because it arrived at its destination.

The Shadows They Do Not Mention

Here is what makes 119's feast-focused typology theologically incomplete: the feast calendar is not the only shadow in the Mosaic law. The entire Mosaic system was shadow - every element of it pointing forward to Christ with equal or greater clarity than the feast days. And yet 119 does not observe any of these other shadows. Which means they are already applying the very principle they are arguing against - they are already living in the reality rather than the shadow in multiple areas. They just have not applied it consistently.

Consider what the Mosaic law contains that they do not observe:

The Levitical priesthood. The entire priestly system - the high priest, the ordinary priests, the Levites, the divisions of service, the ordination rites - was a shadow pointing to Christ's eternal priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews devotes four chapters to this typology. The high priest entering the Most Holy Place once a year pointed to Christ entering the true sanctuary once for all. This is as typologically rich as any feast. Does 119 maintain a Levitical priesthood? No - because Hebrews is clear that Christ has superseded it.

The animal sacrifices. Every burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering and guilt offering was a shadow pointing to the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ. Hebrews 10:1 says it explicitly: "the law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities themselves." 119 acknowledges this. They do not offer animal sacrifices because Christ fulfilled what they pointed to. This is the principle they refuse to apply to the feasts.

The scapegoat. On the Day of Atonement two goats were presented. One was sacrificed, its blood brought into the Most Holy Place. The other had the sins of Israel laid on it by the high priest and was sent into the wilderness - bearing sin away from the camp. Together they picture what Christ accomplished: bearing the penalty and removing the guilt. One of the most vivid shadows of substitutionary atonement in the entire Old Testament. Does 119 observe the scapegoat ritual? No.

The bronze serpent. In Numbers 21 Israel was bitten by serpents and Moses erected a bronze serpent on a pole - anyone who looked at it lived. Jesus explicitly interprets this in John 3:14: "just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up." This is one of the clearest Old Testament types of the crucifixion, identified by Jesus himself. Does 119 erect bronze serpents? No.

The cities of refuge. Six cities in Numbers 35 where a person who accidentally killed someone could flee for protection from the avenger of blood. A beautiful shadow of Christ as our refuge - the one we flee to when the law's just accusation pursues us, where we are safe within his protection. Does 119 maintain cities of refuge? No.

The kinsman redeemer. The go'el - the closest male relative with the right and responsibility to redeem a family member from slavery, to buy back lost land, to raise up a name in Israel. Ruth and Boaz is the most beautiful narrative expression of this. Christ is the ultimate kinsman redeemer - taking on our humanity to have the right to redeem us. Does 119 practice kinsman redeemer laws? No.

The stoning laws. Capital punishment in the Mosaic law carried a profound shadow: sin requires blood payment and judgment has real and final consequences. Hebrews 2:2 notes that "every violation and disobedience received its just punishment." The execution of sinners under the law pointed to the ultimate judgment that Christ absorbed on the cross - the full weight of divine consequence falling on him so that it would not fall on us. Does 119 observe the stoning laws? No.

The tabernacle architecture. Every element of the tabernacle was a shadow. The veil separating humanity from the presence of God - torn at the crucifixion. The ark of the covenant as the mercy seat where God and humanity meet. The table of showbread pointing to Christ as the bread of life. The lampstand pointing to Christ as the light of the world. The altar of incense pointing to intercession. Hebrews 9 walks through the entire structure as typology. Does 119 build tabernacles? No.

The manna. Bread from heaven, given daily, sufficient for each day. Jesus explicitly identifies himself as the fulfilment in John 6: "I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die." Does 119 practise manna observances? No.

The Jubilee. Every fifty years - debts cancelled, slaves freed, land returned to original owners. A shadow of the ultimate liberation Christ brings - freedom from the debt of sin, release from bondage, restoration of what was lost. Jesus explicitly quotes the Jubilee announcement of Isaiah 61 in Luke 4 as describing his own ministry. Does 119 observe the Jubilee year? No.

The Abolished or Fulfilled Distinction

119's argument is: Christ's work was not abolished, therefore the feasts were not abolished. But this conflates two different things. Nobody claims the feasts were abolished in the sense of being declared worthless or erased from history. The feasts were fulfilled - brought to their intended completion in the person and work of Christ. Fulfilled is not the same as abolished, as our article on Matthew 5:17 and our article on the Greek word pleroo examine in detail.

The Passover lamb was not abolished when Christ died. It was fulfilled - the reality arrived that the lamb was always pointing to. You do not sacrifice Passover lambs anymore not because God abolished the Passover but because the Passover arrived at its destination. 119 agrees with this entirely. They just refuse to apply the same logic to the feast calendar as a whole.

On Zechariah 14 and the Millennium

119 closes with Zechariah 14 - all nations required to keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the Millennium - as confirmation that the feasts are not abolished. We have addressed this argument in full in our article on God's law in prophecy. The short version: using Millennial prophetic description to establish present covenant obligation is a hermeneutical method that has no precedent in either Testament. Prophetic literature describes what God will do. It does not prescribe what believers must do now on the basis of future events. And as that article shows, applying this method consistently to Ezekiel 40-48 requires reinstating animal sacrifice and the Levitical priesthood - which 119 does not do.

Celebrating the Typology Without Being Bound by the Shadow

There is a positive vision worth ending on. The typological richness of the feasts is a treasury for any believer who wants to go deeper into what Christ has accomplished. Understanding that Christ is our Passover lamb enriches communion. Understanding that First Fruits points to the resurrection enriches Easter. Understanding that Pentecost points to the outpouring of the Spirit enriches the whole doctrine of the Spirit's work. Christians who study these connections are not wasting their time - they are finding Christ throughout the Old Testament, which is exactly what the Old Testament was designed to produce.

What the typology does not require is the ongoing observance of the shadow now that the substance has arrived. The feast calendar was a magnificent signpost pointing toward Christ. Christ has come. The signpost has done its work. We do not keep staring at the signpost when we have arrived at the destination it was pointing toward. We celebrate the destination - and we find, in the signpost's rich imagery, an inexhaustible treasury of what that destination means.

That is not abolishing the feasts. That is understanding what they were always for.

These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. - Colossians 2:17