A past generation was brought up on ministry from the Old Testament types and shadows. They were teethed on weeks of ministry meetings on the Seven Feasts, the Offerings, and Egypt to Canaan. They became so familiar with Old Testament imagery, with its foreshadowing, that they instinctively read the New Testament in light of these wonderful subjects from the Old.
In his book, The Seven Feasts of Jehovah (A Study of Leviticus 23), John Stubbs has provided us with a rich unfolding of these festival times in Israel. He deals with his subject from several standpoints. There is the typical understanding and the fulfillment of the first four Feasts as seen in the work of Christ, the holiness expected in the believer’s life (The Feast of Unleavened Bread), the Resurrection of Christ (The Feast of Firstfruits), and the day of Pentecost (The Feast of Weeks); then there is the anticipation of the fulfillment of the final three in the future in Israel’s history.
In keeping with this, our brother Stubbs shows the dispensational history which is unfolded in the Feasts, and how beautifully this synchronizes with the prophetic program of God as outlined in the writings of the prophets.
There is a devotional aspect to his writing which endears Christ to every believing heart. The beauties and perfections of Christ as seen in the Passover are detailed and should lead to worship. As well, there is the practical application of truth to the lives of each of us.
One added benefit of the work is that, from time to time, the writer will suggest lines of study for those who wish to delve deeper into the beauty of these Feasts and the truths which they unfold. While the work is not exhaustive, it nevertheless covers each of the Feasts in such a way as to clearly exposit the meaning and significance of each.
The work from the pen of our beloved brother is seen as a labor of love. With failing health hindering his ability to travel, and despite the limitations to which he has so graciously bowed, he has been enabled to give us a short, but rich volume of typical teaching, without which, a current generation and future generations would be poorer spiritually, were it not available.
Reading of this work should stimulate the believer’s appetite to know more of the Scriptures and of the One to Whom they all point – “Christ our Passover (who) was sacrificed for us” (1Cor 5:7).
