As we intermittently consider the 3 fall feasts of Israel through the writings of the prophet, Zechariah, it’s important to keep in mind that the Jewish feasts are exactly that. They were ordained by God, described in Leviticus 23, and relate specifically to the Jewish people.

Layered behind that truth, though, is the fact that Jesus fulfilled each of the first 4 feasts and will most certainly fulfill the last 3 in due time! That means, as Christians, we celebrate the substance of the feasts while our Jewish friends wrestle with the shadow.

¹⁶ So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 
~Colossians 2:16-17 (emphasis mine)

One day, Jewish eyes will be gloriously opened to the reality of the substance, Jesus Christ! That is what the final 3 feasts of Israel are all about. Therefore, the more we understand the substance of the feasts, the better we understand the restoration of Israel as a nation.

Amir Tsarfati describes it well in a Telegram post from September 15, 2026:

If fallen humanity was never capable of perfectly keeping the Law, and Messiah Yeshua came into the world to become the sacrifice for our sins, then why do so many so-called Christians have a problem with the Jews? 

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3 

No other nation could have kept the Law either. Even the apostles acknowledged this: “Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Acts 15:10 

Yeshua’s death was not an accident, nor was His life taken from Him against His will. He came to lay it down willingly, exactly as the Scriptures foretold. [He was the Passover Lamb!] Had He not died for our sins, His own words, along with the writings of many biblical prophets, would have been proven false. 

“No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. [He rose again, becoming the First Fruit, that we might rise to newness of life as well!] This command I have received from My Father.” John 10:18 

When will people finally understand that Israel is not to be blamed, but that God’s work through Israel is to be celebrated for the way He has used this nation, is using it, and will continue to use it? 

Used for what? 

To reveal His character. 
To demonstrate His love. 
To display His faithfulness. 
To show His patience. 
To prove His unchanging nature. 

If Israel’s role was only temporary, then why do so many prophetic passages that have yet to be fulfilled deal specifically with that nation and its restoration? 

How wonderful it is to celebrate Israel’s promised restoration rather than focus only on its temporary fall! 

“I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!” Romans 11:11–12 

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29

Friends, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is right around the corner (beginning at sundown on Monday). What better time to pray for Jewish eyes to see the Substance, Jesus Christ, as they march toward that Day of Atonement! Jesus is their atoning sacrifice, just as He is for every one of us who call Him our Savior! God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable, and national salvation will happen (Romans 11:26) when Jesus fulfills Yom Kippur.

However, individual salvation doesn’t have to wait! May the Spirit of the Lord move among our Jewish friends, and on this day of mourning and repentance, may many look upon the Substance, not merely the shadow!