Things to Come. Colossians 2:17. What is coming, anyway? Are more bad events on the horizon than what we are experiencing in the world today? Or is this a reference to past times, when temporary shadows of lasting realities appeared? Those shadows and earlier generations were given so that people living then might recognize a future when God would reveal His love, grace, and redemption through Christ.
In those shadows of offerings, altars, feast days, and similar events that He told them to participate in, people were reminded that God was constantly aware of all they were doing, what it was, and why they were doing it. The goal of those things was to point to why the Lord Jesus would suffer and die. The Tabernacle in the wilderness was a visible shadow of the Person of Christ, the holy things of God, and His holiness. Whenever the people came to the Tabernacle, there was a sense of awe that God intended to be reflected by what they saw and did there.
The Passover Feast would have reminded them of their deliverance from captivity. Christ, our Passover, who was sacrificed, is the true fulfillment. This applies to every shadow and type revealed through Christ’s coming. Today, we see a few shadows. Baptism symbolizes my death, burial, and resurrection with Christ—my substitution—so I can come to God. The bread and wine on the Lord's Day morning serve as reminders of the One who was fully able to save us because He offered Himself “without spot” to God.
We are no longer judged by the food we eat or drink, nor by whether we participate in special religious days and festivals that others believe make them more sacred. Monthly observances are often linked to worshiping idols, animals, the moon, and the sun. Some immoral practices took on a religious meaning because they were seen as a "celebration of life." Christian believers who personally know the Lord Jesus Christ are free in Christ. "Let no man judge you" does not mean we should act aggressively against legalism. It means we are no longer bound by the law or the efforts to keep it. The shadows fade because of the reality we have in Christ. Eating special foods or abstaining from food is connected to the natural man, not the spiritual. Such bondage foreshadowed the greater blessings we receive through God's grace.