What are "Shadows" and "Foreshadows"?
In the book of Colossians, the Apostle Paul
speaks of the annual biblical Holy Days. (See the article
What is a Holy Day? elsewhere on this Times of
Refreshing website for an explanation of this term.):
Colossians 2:16-17
Let
no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or
of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come;
but the body is of Christ. (KJV)
Some Bible commentators have
made the assumption that the use of the term “shadow” here implies something
“worthless.” And thus they interpret this passage to be saying that these Holy Days have no relevance for Christians. But that is mistaking the
concept of what a shadow is. Here’s how the Amplified Bible puts verse 17:
Such
[things] are only the shadow of things that are to come, and they have
only a symbolic value. But the reality (the substance, the solid fact of what is
foreshadowed, the body of it) belongs to Christ.
This does not say that these
things have “no” value … but that they have “symbolic value.” And that value is
in what they “foreshadow” … the reality of Jesus Christ.
A shadow is not the same as a
“pale imitation,” or a “ghostly apparition” of some sort. A shadow is tangible
evidence of something in the real world. If I am walking along in a field with
my head down, looking at the ground, and suddenly notice that I have entered a
large area of shadow, I will know that there is something up ahead of me that is
casting that shadow, perhaps a tree. If I continue walking in that shadow, it
will actually lead me to the tree.
The foreshadows of the Feasts
and Holy Days of God do just that. In the example below, the tree represents the life of
Christ. During the years “BC,” that tree is casting a shadow leading up to
Christ. During that period in Bible history, the Feasts were pointing forward
to (foreshadowing) Jesus.
BC
The Feasts of God point
FORWARD to Jesus.
After Jesus died, was
resurrected, and returned to heaven around 30 AD, the “shadow” of the Feasts now
pointed back to Jesus. And they still continue to do so.
AD
The Feasts of God point BACK
to Jesus.
Some may understand that it is
useful to have shadows pointing forward to an event in the future, so that
people know what to look for. But many Christians seem to ask, in reference to
the Feasts and Holy Days, how there can be any value in shadows that point to the past.
This approach is a bit
puzzling. Most folks participate in a number of observances in their “secular”
lives that have customs that “point to the past.” The Fourth of July is a
commemoration of an event in the past, that focuses the attention of Americans
on the freedoms that were won with the Declaration of Independence and the
Revolutionary War. And most happily-married couples celebrate the anniversary of
their wedding, and use the day to reflect on the blessings of their marriage. It
wouldn’t occur to most to say that it is the marriage itself that is the
reality, the anniversary is only a shadow of that reality, and thus the
anniversary celebration can just be dispensed with as of no value!
The ANNIVERSARY itself isn’t
the reality
It is the SHADOW of the
reality, reminding us of that reality.
Yet in that pointing and
reminding, there is much of value.
And the choice
of when to do that reminding is on the annual "anniversary" of
when the marriage began.
That
is the way it is with the Feasts and Holy Days of the Bible. They are not a “reality” in
themselves. They are shadows pointing to and reminding us of the reality
of the salvation of God that became available through Jesus. In the celebration
of them, there is a far greater pointing and a far greater reminding than there
is in human wedding anniversaries.
Many people who
accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, whether they refer to
themselves as "Christian" or "Messianic," observe the biblical
Feasts and Holy Days as times of worship, fellowship, and celebration. They
believe that these observances are shadows pointing to the reality of
Jesus. And they believe that there are valuable spiritual
lessons to be learned year by year through actually physically
setting aside these Times of Refreshing as "appointments with God."
For more about the
biblical Feasts in general, see the article
Theme Times elsewhere on this Times of Refreshing
website.
For an explanation
of the Christian observance of each of the Feasts as they come
in their seasons, explore the links on the navigation bar above.
For sources of the
Hebrew, Greek, and English definitions in this and articles on
this website, see the Information page.
For sources
of the Biblical quotations in this and other articles on this
website, see the Information page.
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All of the articles on this Times
of Refreshing website were written by Pam Dewey, with
the support and sponsorship of Common Ground Christian
Ministries. For more of Pam's inspirational and educational
writings, visit The Oasis website at
www.youall.com/oasis
All website content
© 2006, Pam
Dewey and Common Ground Christian Ministries
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