Convocation

Convocation – A large formal assembly by summons or decree.

God used this word 19 times in Scripture: All to Israel in their Masoretic Text Old Testament.

All convocations in Scripture are by decree, and are holy events. 

The first holy convocation that God decreed for Israel was the Sabbath, which did not exist until Exodus 16:23-36. 

  1. It was designed as a continual reminder of who God is and what belongs to Him
  2. It occurs every week, on the last day; Saturday (which begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday)
  3. It is a Required time of rest: It was illegal to do any servile labor on a sabbath; the penalty is death (Numbers 15:32-36, Exodus 35:2-3)

The second holy convocation that God decreed for Israel was the Feasts.  In Leviticus 23, God decreed, detailed, and codified Israel’s 7-feasts.

  1. The feasts are a celebration, like a holy carnival.  It is so important that God required one of Israel’s 3 tithes to be devoted to them (Deuteronomy 14:21-27)
  2. Their celebrations (convocations) begin on a sabbath, which makes them a High-Sabbath
  3. Each season has a feast (Leviticus 23:3); 6 of the feasts are divided into 2 groups
    • Passover, which includes Unleavened Bread and First Fruit
    • Pentecost
    • Trumpets, which includes Atonement and Tabernacle (Booths).

God decreed the Passover group in Exodus 12:1-20, and codified them in Leviticus 23:5 and Numbers 9:5

  1. Israel’s first group of convocation begin
    • Passover starts on the evening of the 14th day of the first month (Abib/Nisan – “Green Ears”; the evidence of fruit) which is a Friday evening and lasts for 1 day; on the new moon of March-April, which is Spring; it includes
    • The feast of Unleavened Bread, which begins the following day, the 15th, which is Saturday evening, and lasts for 7 days, and ends on the 21st of Abib/Nissan (Leviticus 23:6)
      • It is a required attendance feast, a convocation (Deuteronomy 16:16)
    • The feast of First Fruit begins the day following, on the 16th of Abib/Nissan, which begins on Sunday evening (Leviticus 23:11); a celebration of the evidence of fruit.
  2. Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-21) begins 7 weeks after the beginning of First Fruit: a 50-day separation; the 26th of Zif / Iyyar (new moon of April-May)
    • It is a required attendance feast, a convocation; it does not begin on a natural-sabbath day, it begins on a Sunday evening, a declared-sabbath day
    • Pentecost is the harvest of first-fruit (new moon of April-May) to make bread; two loaves.
  3. Then 4-months after Pentecost, Israel’s second group of feasts begin.
    •  Trumpets occurs on 1st day of the 7th month (Ethanim/Tishri), which is Fall, a natural sabbath – Friday evening (Leviticus 23:24): Trumpets are used to call the assembly to the final harvest
    • Atonement begins 9-days later, on the 10th day of the 7th month (Leviticus 16:29-34, 23:27)
      • It is the final gleaning of the harvest and the burning of the chaff
    • Tabernacle begins 5-days later and lasts for 7-days; it begins on the 15th and ends on the 22nd (Leviticus 23:34)
      • The first and 8th days are declared sabbaths (Leviticus 23:35-36); they do not start on a Friday evening

Israel’s Masoretic Text Old Testament (Mosaic Law), the oracles of God, were given to Israel for instruction in righteousness, which even today they cannot understand (II Corinthians 3:13-16).

The purpose and meaning of Israel’s feasts are explained by God through Paul as a shadow of things to come, which has nothing at all to do with us today (Colossians 2:16-17).

God’s Revelation of the Dispensation of Grace with the Gospel of Grace, and His formation of the Body of Christ, is strictly in line with and according to Israel’s timeline, but to see it you have to understand Israel’s feasts and observances.

God did not interrupt, stall, or delay prophecy.  Everything in prophecy is still on-track and on-time according to God’s plan.

See also Church, Congregation, Dispensation, Gospel, Holy, Sabbath

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