The key to unlock the Book of Revelation is found in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus. In it we read of Israel’s seven feasts, from the Feast of Passover to the Feast of Tabernacles. In understanding the essence of each feast, we can understand how the Book of Revelation unfolds.
The first three feasts are that of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits. These three feasts were fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. He was the Passover Lamb that was slain for us (1 Corinthians 5:7), He was the unleavened Bread that the Father sent down from Heaven (John 6:51), and He was the firstfruits of the resurrection, for after He came back to life, then came the resurrection of the Old Testament saints (Matthew 27:52-53), and will come the resurrection of the New Testament saints (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
The Feast of Pentecost was fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits. Since Pentecost is not given a fixed date of observance in the scriptures, it is impossible to know when to observe it unless the Feast of Firstfruits and the forty-nine days that follow it are taken into account, thus one could not keep the second without keeping the first. The Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Pentecost are therefore to be examined collectively and together form “Shavuot” or Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks) because the seven weeks (Leviticus 23:15) begin with a waving of the barley sheaf and climax with the waving of the two wheat loaves.
The seven weeks of Pentecost represent the seven church ages wherein God is calling out a Gentile Bride to Himself. The seven church ages of which the Feast of Pentecost represents are written about in the first three chapters of Revelation, and then after it comes the Feast of Trumpets which is the gathering of Israel. But when we read the Book of Revelation, before the seven trumpets sound (Revelation chapter eight, Revelation chapter nine, and Revelation chapter eleven), there are seven seals written of in Revelation chapter six and Revelation chapter eight.
Although there are no seven seals written of under the Feast of Pentecost in Leviticus chapter 23, yet the Book of Revelation shows that the seven seals are written of after the seven church ages because they hold the mystery of what was going on in the church ages and that they pertain to the church ages. So then, the seven seals are injected between the seven church ages and the seven trumpets in the Book of Revelation to show us that there was a mystery taking place inside the church ages.
There was a space of nine days between the Feast of Trumpets (the gathering of Israel) on the first day of the seventh month, and the Day of Atonement (Israel recognizing the true Atonement, Jesus Christ) on the tenth day of the seventh month. The mystery of what is taking place in that nine-day interval is found in the Book of Revelation, for between the sounding of the first six trumpets (Revelation chapter eight and Revelation chapter nine) and Israel recognizing the true Atonement under the seventh trumpet (Revelation chapter eleven), there is the secret coming of the Mighty Angel (Jesus Christ) with an open Book in His hand in Revelation chapter ten. So then, the seven seals that pertained to the seven church ages were revealed under the Son of Man ministry after the seven church ages (the Feast of Pentecost) had run out.
The Feast of Tabernacles was the seventh of the feasts and began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. It was the great harvest festival to celebrate the ingathering of the barley and wheat, and of the olives, figs and grapes (the vintage harvest). When the year’s labors were finished and everything in the field had been gathered in, then the people entered into a time of rejoicing and thanksgiving for the LORD’S goodness and provision toward them. This hearty feast of merriment represents the Millennium (the honeymoon of the Bride and Bridegroom) that follows Israel’s Day of Atonement.
But as the seven seals were the mystery inside the Feast of Pentecost, and the descent of the Son of Man with an open Book in His hand was the mystery between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, so the seven vials (Revelation chapter sixteen) are the unwritten event in Leviticus chapter 23 of what is taking place between the Day of Atonement (Revelation chapter eleven) and the Feast of Tabernacles (Revelation chapter twenty). The seven vials are the wrath of God that destroys the kingdoms of man so that the Kingdom of the Son of David can be set up on the earth.
It is only by understanding Leviticus chapter 23 that we can unlock the Book of Revelation and see how the seven church ages, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven vials are all connected together, and how they fit into God’s great plan of redemption for man and the earth.