End Time Church of God - God's Feasts and Holy Days Have Not Been Done Away

Have God's Feasts Been "Done Away?"

By Tara Chapman

Black: Nicholas from remnantofgod.org

Purple: Tara from endtimecog.net--November 2004

This is a rebuttal to show the ERROR in thinking God's feasts have been abolished.

* Should we keep the Feast Days?

* Answers to the Feast Day question

* To feast of not to feast

* Is there only one name for God?

Should we keep the Feast Days?

1 Corinthians 5:7-8, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Truth is, we no longer need to sacrifice a Passover lamb according to this passage. This is actually common knowledge among most Christians of today. The exact same principle therefore applies to all the Jewish feasts as they are indeed fulfilled already, just as the sacrifice of the Passover lamb was fulfilled.

This scripture shows that the apostles indeed were keeping God’s feasts. Jesus Christ is our Passover lamb. The feast days were kept for many years by the early Christians. Since Jesus’ sacrifice replaced the animal sacrifices, and He is now our High Priest, replacing the priesthood, sacrifices on these days are no longer necessary. These days are NOT Jewish feast days; they are God’s feast days.

As for those who feel they are convicted to keep these feasts, I am not seeking to change your minds. At the same time, I feel I stand justified in that I see no reason for you to seek to change mine.

Very inconsistent! This man told us that by keeping the feasts, we were mocking God! I guess it just depends on his mood on a certain day. And he’s quite incorrect; by observing His holy days, we are obeying Him. They’re His days that He commanded to be observed forever. Satan has made people believe God hates His own feasts. Satan has cunningly replaced God’s holy days with the unholy holidays, such as Easter, Lent, St. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Christmas, etc. His weekly feast has even been altered, from the seventh day to the first day. Satan counterfeits everything. We can trust God’s Word. Sunday is the weekly rest day of this mainstream false Christianity, but the Sabbath is the day of the LORD.

Christmas, New Year's, Easter, and other pagan holidays have come directly from Babylon, but the seven annual holy days are the HOLY DAYS OF THE LORD! Let us forsake Babylon’s holidays (the world’s holidays) and observe the true holy days OF THE LORD!

For it is also written...

* 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."

By the way.. the "sabbath days" mentioned here are ceremonial feast days, and not the weekly Sabbath.

First of all, the word “days” in this verse is added. The King James bible shows this fact. The words in italics were not in the original text. Sometimes, these italicized words are needed in order for a sentence to make sense in the English language. There are a few places, though, that the added words are not needed and totally changes the entire meaning of the Scripture. Where it says, “but the body is of Christ,” the word “is” is italicized, too. Read the verses without the added words. It completely changes the meaning. Only the body of Christ should judge how we should keep the holy days. This Scripture, in fact, is a major PROOF that the early Christians still kept the holy days of God. In most bibles, a footnote is included where it says, “in meat, or in drink,” which says “for eating and drinking,” which is the correct translation. You’ll also see that “or in respect,” it will say “in part.” So, the verse would read, “Let no man therefore judge you in eating and drinking in part of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath: Which ARE a shadow of things to come, but the body of Christ.” At the time Paul wrote this letter, there were people known as Gnostics. They believed one must “punish” the flesh. They believed one could not allow themselves any pleasure. This verse has nothing to do with judging whether one keeps the feast days, but rather letting no one judge you eating and drinking (having a good time) on these days. It’s ironic how this Scripture is one of the major proofs that Christians are to still keep the feast days, yet this is one of the first verses mainstream Christianity uses to try to justify profaning God’s feast days! The Gnostics were also into angel worship. We see that in the next verse (18) If you read on, it will become even clearer. Verses 20 and 21 criticize the Colossians for being subject to ordinances, “touch not, taste not, handle not”. This backs up the “eating and drinking” on the feast days. Paul was letting these people know that it’s okay to enjoy God’s feast days! He didn’t want them to let people deceive them and judge them for eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves on those days. Now notice verse 22: “Which all are to perish {talking about the ordinances};) after the commandments and doctrines of men?” AHA! This is even MORE evidence that we should still keep God’s feast days. This backs up even further that verses 16-17 are not against the feast days. Paul has been criticizing the Colossians for following “commandments and doctrines of men.” We know that the feast days are God’s commandments. Then verse 23 says, “Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.” Paul is saying that these things appear to show a humble person by that person neglecting their body, but these things truly do not do anything to restrain fleshly indulgence. In other words, it’s useless for them to put themselves in misery by not enjoying God’s feast days by eating and drinking and having a festive mindset about them. Anyone can do an Internet research on Gnosticism, and they will quickly get a better understanding of what Paul was dealing with here. Furthermore, notice in verse 17 that these things are a shadow of things to come, meaning something in the future. Just one more shred of evidence that the Sabbath and holy days are still in effect!

Many Sabbath keepers know the weekly Sabbath rest foreshadows the 1000 year millennial rest in the future when Christ returns. The annual Holy Days/Feast Days FORESHADOW the whole of God's plan of salvation, step-by-step. It is very clear that these Scriptures SUPPORT the observance of these days; they do not do away with them.

See Leviticus 23:23-38 on this. Specifically verse 38 where it declares these "sabbath days" are BESIDES the Sabbath of the Lord. Another easy to see reality in this passage is. MANY like to claim that this passage is speaking of the "Ten Commandments" because the "sabbath days" is mentioned. But when looking at the ENTIRE verse, one realizes that it is impossible for these "sabbath days" to be the same as the weekly Sabbath day. Why? This passage is lumping both the "sabbath days" together along with the "meat, drink, holy days, and new moons." Where in the Ten Commandments does it speak of meat, drink, holy days, and new moons?

Leviticus 23:37-38 says, “These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: Beside the Sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.” This is very simple English. I really don’t see how anyone would think these verses show that the Holy Days are no longer valid. What these verses are saying is that the previous 36 verses laid out God’s feasts, which are holy convocations, and that each person is responsible for making his required offerings on each given feast day (holy day), IN ADDITION TO, or BESIDES the sacrifices required each weekly Sabbath, and IN ADDITION TO, or BESIDES the gifts, vows, and freewill offerings that each person gives to the LORD. Say, for example, a holy day fell on the weekly Sabbath: a person would be required to make the holy day offerings IN ADDITION TO or BESIDES the regular weekly Sabbath offerings and sacrifices, and in addition to any gifts, vows, and freewill offerings. Now, back to the Colossians scripture: of course the “Sabbath” in this verse is the weekly Sabbath! Would it make sense to say, “Let no man judge you in eating or drinking in respect (or in part) of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of a holy day?” Would it make sense for me to say, “My favorite foods are tomatoes, okra, and tomatoes?” I would simply say, “My favorite foods are tomatoes and okra.” The terms, “holy days,” “feasts,” feast days,” and “Sabbaths” (annual Sabbaths), mean the same thing. Since holy days were already mentioned, Paul wouldn’t mention it again! He wasn’t an idiot! And as far as the Ten Commandments are concerned, where in the ten commandments is the condemnation of eating unclean meats, or homosexuality, or bestiality, or rape, or kidnapping? All these things are sin, and they are covered in the many statutes of the Ten Commandments. Unclean meats are covered under, “Do not murder,” homosexuality, bestiality, and rape are covered under, “Do not commit adultery,” and kidnapping is covered under, “Do not steal.” Well, in the same way, the holy days are covered under the fourth commandment, the Sabbath commandment. The Ten Commandments are simply a summary. We also have a simple two commandments that sum up the Ten Commandments: Love God and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself. If something in the law shows love to God, your neighbor, or yourself, then it STILL APPLIES!

The Jewish feast days were a shadow of things to come. They pointed forward in a prophetic manner as to what Christ would do when He came to this Earth for us. I ask, why should we embrace or seek to keep feast days that speak of things already done? My faith alone in the "Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world" [John 1:29] already proclaims that which the feast days looked forward to as fulfilled at Calvary.

Jewish feast days??? They are God’s feast days, for ANYONE who chooses to obey him to observe. Even when they were outlined in Leviticus, they were given to ALL TWELVE TRIBES of Israel, and the bible continually records that God’s laws applied to any Gentile who feared God, including the weekly Sabbath and the holy days.

In fact, some of the feast days required the believer to offer sacrifice in the Jerusalem Temple did they not? How is that possible today? How was that possible in fact since 70ad when the Jerusalem Temple was completely destroyed by Rome?

With this reasoning, why is this man observing the Sabbath??!! Numbers 28:9-10 says, “And on the Sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof: This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.” Oh, hey look, there’s that word “beside” again. There was a daily sacrifice (see previous verses), and this is saying they were to do sacrifices and offerings each Sabbath in addition to or beside the daily offerings. In other words, the Sabbath offerings didn’t cancel the daily offerings; they were to do both. Anyway, the man who wrote this article observes the Sabbath. He says he doesn’t keep God’s other feast days (Sabbath is the first feast day….look in Lev. 23), because they require sacrifices! Well, he has a dilemma here! Each weekly Sabbath feast day, sacrifices and offerings were required. Secondly, who said the Jerusalem Temple HAD to be used? God knows some people live too far from Jerusalem to travel there each holy day. Deuteronomy 12:21 says, “If the place which the LORD they God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in they gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.” Just because, under the old covenant, people did sacrifices on the Sabbath and other holy days doesn’t mean we are required to today. Remember, Jesus’ sacrifice replaced animal sacrifices, and He’s our high priest, replacing the priesthood. Read Hebrews, Chapters 7-9. Jesus did NOT abolish any of the feast days: the Sabbath or any of the others. So sacrifices have nothing to do with what we are to do today. The Jerusalem Temple has nothing do to with our responsibilities to obey God, either. That’s shown by Deut. 12:21, and also by John 4:19-24. Jesus told that woman that a time was coming that people would not worship in that mountain or in Jerusalem. They would worship him in Spirit and in truth. It really doesn’t matter WHERE a person is. Read Jeremiah 7:21-23. God says he said nothing of sacrifices when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt. He just wanted them to walk in His ways. They started learning his Sabbaths and holy days before sacrifices. David said in Psalm 51:16-17, “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” David understood that God wanted him to obey God’s commands. This includes the Sabbath and other feast days. See also: I Samuel 15:22; Isaiah 1:11-17; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13; Micah 6:6-8; Psalm 40:6; Hebrews 10:5-9; Proverbs 21:3; Mark 12:33; These scriptures and more like them clearly show that God never desired sacrifices, but obedience. Yes, this includes obedience to his holy feast days. He never asked us to worship him the way we want to. He wants us to worship him his way.

Scriptures openly declare these feast days "nailed to the cross" in the following passage...

Colossians 2:14, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;"

The feast days are against us??!! I don’t think so! How could they be? They outline God’s plan of salvation for us! How could they be against us? Let’s look at Colossians 2:14. When Jesus died, he was suffering what should be our death penalty. When a criminal was crucified, a certificate of debt was usually nailed to that person’s execution stake (cross). Remember what Jesus said? “It is finished.” The Greek word is TETELESTAI. Papyri receipts for taxes have been recovered with the word TETELESTAI written across them, meaning "paid in full". He paid our death penalty, available to anyone who truly repents and starts obeying God. This verse is very easy to understand, because it’s truly a common sense thing. Also, the preceding verse alone explains it all. Never take anything out of context. It says, “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. Aha! Right there, it says that he died for our trespasses! What was trespassed? God's law was trespassed, and Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice so that we would not have to die for our own sins. Remember, the sacrificial law was added for transgressions. He became the ultimate sacrifice, paying our debt for us.

These feast days / laws of Moses were ORDINANCES penned on paper by Moses himself. Unlike the Law of God written in STONE by His very finger. The ripping of the temple veil in Matthew 27:51 declares in mountainous tones that these feast days were indeed no longer needed. The Temple itself was no longer the residence of the Shekinah glory of the Lord's presence when that Temple veil ripped. Before the rip, no man could enter into the Most Holy Place but the High priest. Anyone else walking in there would most assuredly DIE. Now however, any man can come before the Lord, for the Temple is now YOU, the Christian!

No, no, no. The ripping of the temple has NOTHING to do with feast days. The temple was used for sacrifices and offerings and had priests. Jesus is our high priest and our sacrifice, but this has NOTHING to do with feast days. Sacrifices were made in the temple on the weekly feast day, the Sabbath, so does that mean the man who wrote this article is going to stop keeping the weekly Sabbath?

* 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"

Want it prophetically BLUNT? Daniel the Prophet declares the Feast Days as something that was to STOP the moment Christ died on the cross...

* Daniel 9:27, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."

The only things Daniel 9:27 says would STOP are sacrifices and oblations (offerings). Where does it say that feast days, (including weekly Sabbath) would stop? WHERE? If the holy days are abolished simply because sacrifices were done on them, then the weekly Sabbath is abolished, too, along with every day of the year! (Numbers Chap. 28)

Prophecy itself confirms the feast days CEASED at the time of the cross. In the "midst of the week" (3.5 yrs after Jesus was baptised) the Temple veil RIPPED completely in two. At the exact moment the "Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world" spoke from His very lips, "IT IS FINISHED"-John 19:30

It is finished, tetelestai, paid in full. What does this have to do with holy days? His sacrifice replaced animal sacrifices, but that has absolutely nothing to do with God’s holy days.

Picture this... You are looking for your friend who is said to be behind your house working on your car. You look outside and all you see is your friends shadow protruding from behind the house. You can see your friend working on the car by watching the shadow. So you wait patiently for him to finish. Suddenly your friend cry's out that, it is finished. You then walk to the back of the house, and follow the shadow to your friend that eventually leads directly to him. The feast days are no different. They illustrated to the believers a glimpse of that which Christ was to do in the future, and when He cried out, "it is finished" on Calvary, IT WAS!

Think about this as well...

There we NO Jewish feast days BEFORE the Exodus from Egyptian bondage. And according to prophecy as well as Scripture speaking of the time of fulfillment, they ended perfectly when Jesus "finished" what He came to do for you and me, as well as all those that kept those feast days in faith BEFORE Calvary.

Read Colossians 2:16-17 again. This was written years after Jesus died. They ARE a shadow, not WERE. The weekly Sabbaths, the monthly new moons, and the annual/yearly holy days ARE all shadows. Remember, also, that these are God’s feast days, not Jew’s feast days. They were given to all the tribes of Israel, and Gentiles who knew the truth were expected to also keep them. Saying that Jesus said the holy days are finished is adding to God’s Word. He didn’t say that. None of the Fall holy days have been fulfilled, and all of them are still to be kept. The spring feasts and holy days had their main fulfillment during Christ's first coming, and He fulfilled them on their exact dates. The fall feasts and holy days will be fulfilled during His second coming. There’s another fulfillment of Passover in the future, which is a Spring holy day. Jesus clearly said to continue to keep Passover, but I guess people tend to overlook that. (Luke 22:19-20) Notice in verses 16-18, Jesus said he would not eat thereof or drink the fruit of the vine again, until it’s fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. That hasn’t happened yet. Look at Revelation 19:9. It says, “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb…” Christ died as our Passover Lamb, but HE says that it will also be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God, and it will be at the marriage supper. Most prophecies have dual or more fulfillments.

Another thing, the feasts DID exist before the Exodus. When the Israelites were in Egypt as slaves, over the years, they lost God’s laws. They worked seven days a week, and they had to go by the calendar that Egypt used, instead of God’s calendar. God had to remind His people of His laws. When they were still in Egypt, God told Moses the true first month of the year. He then gave instructions for the Passover. Chapter 12, verse 14 says, “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.” This was the first fulfillment of Passover. God saved the Israelites. Then Jesus came later and became the Lamb to save us. It was memorial for being saved from Egyptian bondage, and now we celebrate it as a memorial of Jesus saving us from sin. He told us to remember him when we keep the Passover each year

Could there be prophetic reasoning for such an end time movement?

Is it not being "prophesied" all over the world by false prophets that a "third temple" must be rebuilt? Has it not already been reported that the Roman Catholic church is performing "animal sacrifices" on their altars in Africa? Are we to start offering sacrifices again regardless of the fact that prophecy as well as the reality of Calvary declares it is finished?

Now he seems to get it. Sacrifices have ended. Not God’s holy days.

Does not the "keeping of the feast days" denote a "possibility" that Christ has NOT yet arrived, therefore we need to look for another? Will this be used by Antichrist to gather some of the flock into his camp? That I believe is the main issue here.

This is said by someone who doesn’t understand God’s holy days and what they mean. They show God’s plan of salvation. Each step of God’s plan of salvation is pictured by his feast days. Passover: Christ died for our past sins as our Passover Lamb. Feast of Unleavened Bread: Shows a Christian putting sin out of his/her life and obeying God’s commandments. Pentecost/Firstfruits: Jesus was resurrected as the first of the first fruits and made His Spirit available to all. Feast of Trumpets: Trumpets are sounded with plagues, when the last trump sounds, the dead in Christ shall rise. Day of Atonement: symbolizes the reconciliation of God and all humanity. Feast of Tabernacles: pictures the millennium of peace on Earth. The 8th Day: pictures Great White Throne Judgment, right after millennium ends. Jesus died on the exact day of Passover, died for our sins, the Holy Spirit came down on the disciples as they were celebrating Pentecost, and now we’re in the summer, so to say.

All I can see coming from keeping the feast days is a faith that may eventually learn to embrace the "old leaven" of the Pharisee's. All the world knows, they do indeed proclaim with boldness that Messiah has not yet come. And all of Christendom can read for themselves...

* 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

This Scripture shows that the early church, who were true Christians, understood the meaning of the holy days and kept them. They knew that Christ was our Passover Lamb, and they knew the meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, that it signifies removing sin from one’s life. How anyone would get from this Scripture that the early church did not keep God’s commanded feasts is beyond me.

ANSWERS to the Feast Day Question...

Below is an answer to a question I sent "BibleInfo.com" regarding the feast day question. As soon as I received it I felt it would be a good addition to this page as it covers all I shared here and more regarding the Feast days.

In order to understand why Christians don't keep these feast days we need to know what they represent and the reasons God had His people keep them.

I'll present below the five major festivals of the Jewish calendar year. Then I'll discuss their meanings and the reasons why Christians don't keep each one.

There were three festivals to which all Israelite men were required to go up to the tabernacle (later to the temple at Jerusalem). These are marked with a ‡. The months are given according to the Hebrew calendar. I deal with each in the order that they came during the yearly calendar.

(1) ‡Unleavened Bread, a week-long event (which immediately followed the Passover supper held the preceding night) in the middle of the 1st month, at the beginning of the barley harvest (Lev 23:5–14) (about the time of our Easter)

(2) ‡The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), fifty days after the first sabbath of Unleavened Bread, celebrating the season of the wheat harvest (Lev 23:15–21; Ex 34:22)

(3) The Feast of Trumpets on the 1st day of the 7th month, the civil New Year's day.

(4) The Day of Atonement on the 10th day of the 7th month, the cleansing of the Temple.

(5) ‡The Feast of Ingathering, or the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles, in the middle of the 7th month, at the close of the olive and fruit harvest (Lev 23:34–44; Deut 16:13) (This occured only a few days after the Day of Atonement which was celebrated on the 10th day)

What did these festivals mean and why do Christians feel that we should not keep them.?

(1) ‡The Feast of Unleavened bread:

The night before this feast every family celebrated the Passover in their homes.

The Passover ceremony was celebrated in this way:

Each family (or if the family was a small one, several families) slew the Passover lamb and ate it along with bread that was made with no yeast (leaven). Yeast, in Bible times, represented sin because sin, like yeast when put in dough, fills the entire person.

John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) and Paul points out that "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." (1 Cor. 5:7). Since Christ is the Lamb who was sacrificed and His sacrifice has already taken place, then there is no need to celebrate the Passover feast that pointed forward to the coming of God's Lamb who would take "away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

Unless you want to obey Christ. Christ said to observe Passover in remembrance of Him. See Luke 22:19-20 and I Corinthians 11:24-25, where Paul repeats what Christ said, perhaps to make sure people would have no excuse to say there is no need to observe the commanded feast of Passover.

In fact, the exact hour that Jesus died was the time for the slaying of the Passover lamb in the Temple. Matthew 27:51 describes how the "curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split." Tradition has it that the Passover lamb escaped from the grasp of the priest and ran away.

Jesus gave us the communion service of bread and wine to commemorate His death (Matt. 26:26-35). For Christians, the Lord's supper has taken the place of the Passover.

Now as far as “communion service,” Jesus didn’t give it. Man’s traditions have taken the place of Jesus’ commanded yearly memorial of His death. Christ’s disciples and true Christians of the early church kept Passover. In 135 A.D. the Romans took over Jerusalem and the Church, and they started substituting the pagan festival of Easter for God’s Passover. In about 154 A.D. Polycarp, a disciple of John, who had kept the Passover with John and the other apostles, left Asia and went to Rome to discuss the apostasy of replacing Passover with the pagan Easter. Then Polycrates, a disciple of Polycarp (who was apostle John’s disciple) wrote toward the end of the second century:

"We for our part keep the day scrupulously, without addition or sub- traction. For in Asia great luminaries sleep who shall rise again on the day of the Lord's advent, when He is coming with glory from heaven and shall search out all His saints -- such as Philip, one of the twelve apostles . . . Again there is John, who leant back on the Lord's breast, and who became a sacrificing priest wearing the mitre, a martyr, and a teacher; he too sleeps in Ephesus. Then in Smyrna there is Polycarp, bishop and martyr . . . and Thraseas, the bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who also sleeps in Smyrna. Need I mention Sagaris, bishop and martyr, who sleeps in Laodicea, or blessed Papirius, or Melito the eunuch . . . . ALL OF THESE KEPT THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH AS THE BEGINNING OF THE PASCHAL FESTIVAL, IN ACCORD- AND WITH THE GOSPEL, NOT DEVIATING IN THE LEAST BUT FOLLOWING THE RULE OF THE FAITH. Last of all, I too, Polycrates, the least of you all, act according to the tradition of my family, some members of which I have actually followed; for seven of them were bishops and I am the eighth, and my family have always kept the DAY WHEN THE PEOPLE PUT AWAY THE LEAVEN. So I, my friends, after spending sixty-five years in the Lord's service and conversing with Christians from all parts of the world, and going carefully through all Holy Scripture, AM NOT SCARED OF THREATS. Better people than I have said: 'We must obey God rather than men'" (Eusebius, The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine, p.231). In the fourth century, Constantine put an end to the controversy, and along with instituting Sunday as a counterfeit substitution for God’s Sabbath day; he instituted the pagan sun festival Easter in place of the Lord’s Passover.

The Greek word for "supper" is dipnon. The verb form is dipneo. In every case, this refers to a festive meal, not a small piece of bread and a little wine, but a large filling meal. Satan has deceived the whole world (Rev. 12:9). If a person would just follow the simple Word of God, then there would not be any confusion. Never did Christ say to have “communion” weekly, monthly, quarterly, or any other time but the 14th day of the month of Nisan (Greek) or Abib (Hebrew) at twilight. The only way a person could get anything else out of the bible is if he or she added and twisted and took out of context.

The day after the Passover–the very next day–was the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The prohibition of the use of yeast, as practiced the night before at the Passover celebration, continued for seven days after the Passover. The first day was a ceremonial sabbath. (When this sabbath fell on the weekly Sabbath, the Pharisees of the time of Christ called it a "high day.") Just as with the weekly Sabbath, no one was allowed to work on this day.

This sabbath (first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread) was a sabbath of rest, pointing forward to the rest that the Lamb of God experienced in the grave on the day following His crucifixion.

On the day after this ceremonial sabbath the priest waved a sheaf of barley–the first fruits–before the Lord. This symbolized the beginning of the harvest season. This action pointed forward to the resurrection of Christ after the Sabbath, and His brief ascension to His Father to receive His approval of the sacrifice of His Son.

1 Cor 15:3, 4 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

1 Cor 15:20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

There is no need for Christians to participate in this festival because the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ to which it points have already taken place. The feast has become obsolete.

Christ never abolished this festival, either. We are to continue to celebrate this feast to remind ourselves to remove sin out of our lives and to obey God’s commandments. Christ was the first of the firstfruits. True Christians will be raised in the first resurrection and will be the remainder of the firstfruits. After the second resurrection, all who have not been called will be given God’s Spirit and shown the truth (Revelation 20:12; Ezekiel 37:14; Isaiah 65:20) and be given a choice to obey God. All who reject the truth will be thrown into the lake of fire.

(2) ‡The Feast of Weeks, later called Pentecost, took place 50 days after the waving of the sheaf. This festival celebrated the beginning of wheat harvest.

The day of Pentecost, 50 days after Christ's resurrection, marked the beginning of the harvest of Christ's work. It was preceded by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17, 18). There's no need for Christians to celebrate this feast because the reason for the feast came to pass when the disciples began the harvest of souls in earnest.

The disciples were certainly ignorant that this feast was abolished. They were keeping this feast in Acts 2, and the Holy Spirit was given to them, and the church was born. This day reminds us that this is not the only day of salvation. God is working with a small group of people that He calls the "firstfruits."

(3) The Feast of Trumpets

A feast celebrated on the 1st day of the 7th month (Ethanim, or Tishri), the beginning of the civil year. This 1st day fell on the "new moon" of September or October. This month was always numbered the 7th (see Lev 23:24), according to God’s instructions to Moses to begin the year with the Passover month of Abib (Nisan), as the 1st month (see Ex 12:2); yet the year was still reckoned as beginning with Tishri for civil matters. Tishri 1 was marked by extra sacrifices in addition to the new-moon sacrifices of the other months (Num 29:1–6). It was a ceremonial sabbath, and was celebrated by the blowing of trumpets (Lev 23:24, 25). The tradition of the Jews is that on New Year’s Day (celebrated to this day as Rosh Hashana) everyone is judged for his deeds of the past year, but that one’s doom is not settled until the 10th, on the Day of Atonement, apparently after 9 days of grace (Talmud Rosh Hashanah, 16a).1

Christians don't celebrate the Feast of Trumpets for two reasons: 1) The first day of Tishri is not our New Year's day. 2) This day's intimate attachment to the Day of Atonement.

We can’t go about making our own rules, adding, and taking away from God’s commandments. The Romans have their own pagan solar calendar, with pagan names for months and days of the week. True Christians still recognize God’s calendar. He never gave man permission to replace his calendar. That’s just another one of Satan’s accomplishments. I would much rather celebrate God’s New Year’s Day than man’s New Year’s day, with all its drunkenness and immorality. Of course, God's new year's day is the first day of Abib. It just so happens the Jews today start their civil new year on the feast of trumpets, which is the first day of Tishri, but this has nothing to do with God's purpose of the holiday. Number 2, the Day of Atonement is also one of God’s feast days, and it’s a sad shame that there are some who hate it.

(4) The Day of Atonement.

This day occured on the tenth day of the seventh month, the most solemn day of the year. On it all were not only to refrain from work but also to afflict their souls (make sure that all their sins were confessed) (Lev 23:27–32). This probably included fasting, since in NT times it is evidently this day that is referred to as "the fast" (Acts 27:9). On the Day of Atonement all the sins of the preceding year were finally disposed of in the ceremony of cleansing the sanctuary (Lev. 16). All who did not afflict their souls on that day were cut off from Israel (Lev 23:29). The Day of Atonement was to the Jews a day of judgment.1

On this day two goats were brought before the High Priest. He cast lots over them to chose which one would be the Lord's goat. The other goat was called the scape goat and was put aside. The Lord's Goat was killed and sacrificed on the altar. Some of it's blood was taken into the innermost room, called the Most Holy Place. The High Priest sprinkled some of the blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant and some on the ground in front it.

As the High Priest left the Most Holy Place he wiped some of the blood on the horns of the altar of Incense which stood before the curtain which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. In effect, he was taking upon himself all the sins that the Israelites had confessed throughout the year by bringing their animals for sacrifice in the Temple.

Coming out of the Temple, the High Priest placed his hands upon the head of the scape goat and confessed all the sins of Israel upon him. Then the scape goat was led by a strong man out into the wilderness, where he was let go—a fitting symbol of the removal of all sin from the nation.

The Lord's goat represented Christ who died upon the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of everyone who has ever lived. The High Priest represents Christ in His role of our great Intercessor in Heaven. He brings our names before the Father and proclaims that we have accepted Him as our Savior. In effect, just like the Day of Atonement was a day of judgment, so the great Day of Atonement in Heaven is a day of judgment for the people of God (read the judgment scene as depicted in Dan. 7: 13, 14 ff). Christ will decide whom, of all who have professed to be His disciples, has really accepted Him and let Him reign in their hearts.

When the judgment is finished, then Christ will come and reward His servants for their faithfulness.

Rev 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

This annual "day of judgment" prefigured the cosmic judgment of all of God's people. Whoever refrains from, neglects, or refuses to repent of his/her sins at that time will be cut off from God's people.

The first part of the Day of Atonement has already taken place—the Lord's Goat (Christ) has already been sacrificed for the sins of His people. The second part—Christ, as our High Priest, entering the Most Holy Place of the Temple in heaven, presenting His blood before the Father—is taking place right now in Heaven. Christ is investigating the lives of all who have professed to be His followers. Those who have been true to Him will be marked as His people. Those who have not been faithful will be rejected.

Soon Christ will finish this work and return to reward those who were faithful to Him, by taking them to His eternal Kingom.

So Christians don't celebrate the Mosaic Day of Atonement because we are actually passing through the Great Day of Atonement right now.

Perhaps mainstream Christians don’t celebrate this feast day of the Lord’s, but law-keeping Christians do keep this day. A scapegoat (the goat in the previous passages quoted that was let go) modernly means someone who is unfairly responsible for the mistakes of others. Satan is NOT (Although some Bible versions use the word "scapegoat," Green's Literal Translation more accurately calls it the "goat of departure.") Satan will be held responsible for deceiving mankind into sinning. The Day of Atonement will be fulfilled when Jesus Christ comes back to judge the Earth. When we fast on the Day of Atonement, it reminds us that God supplies our needs.

(5) ‡The Feast of Ingathering (the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles) celebrated the ingathering at the end of the harvest, particularly of the grain, olive, and grape harvests. It also reminded the Jews of the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

This was the last feast of the religious year and usually came during our month of October, after the autumn harvest was over and the fruit had been gathered in. It was a joyous occasion for all. The Day of Atonement was past; all misunderstandings had been cleared up, all sins confessed and put aside. The Israelites were happy, and their happiness found expression in the Feast of Ingathering (Booths, or Tabernacles)

Since the antitypical* Day of Atonement takes place before the coming of Jesus, then this joyous feast, which comes at the end of the harvest, would most likely represent the joy of God's people as they take their places in the New Jerusalem. Their wandering in the wilderness of sin is past. Eternal life in the heavenly Canaan will be the reward of God's people.

*An object casts a shadow when standing in sunlight. The shadow is the type, the object itself is the antitype. The Day of Atonement in the ceremonial year is the type; the "investigative judgment" that takes place before Jesus comes is the antitype. Another way to say the same thing is: the Day of Atonement prefigured the judgment in the last days.

1Horn, Siegfried H., Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary, (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association) 1979.

The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the millennial reign of God’s Kingdom that Christ will set up when he returns.

Then, there’s the last feast, which has been neglected. The Eighth Day, as the bible says in Leviticus 23:36, “the eighth day.” The Feast of Tabernacles is seven days. This eighth day is another feast day. As the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the millennial reign of Christ, this day comes immediately afterward. This pictures the Great White Throne Judgment. See Revelation 20:11-15.

Below is a sermon taken from "Let There Be Light Ministries" It is indeed a blessing to read. (You can view it here as well... http://www.lightministries.com/id321.htm

To Feast, Or Not To Feast?

Christ was the foundation and antitype of the whole Jewish economy of sacrifices, ceremonies, feasts, etc. All these symbols or types pointed, as a shadow, to Christ.

According to Paul, in Colossians 2:17, they ARE a shadow (not were).

When He was crucified in 31 AD or "cut off" in the midst of the last week--3 1/2 years after He had begun His gospel ministry--type met antitype. Thus Christ caused the sacrifice, oblation, feasts, and all the other types in the Jewish economy to cease to be literally kept and performed.

We must be very careful in adding to God’s Word! My bible says Christ caused the sacrifices and oblations to cease. He didn’t say anything about ending the His feast days! We can’t add to God’s Word to suit our own interests. There is plenty of New Testament evidence that the apostles kept the holy days/feast days. Shouldn’t someone have told them they were mocking God, as we were told we were doing by the man who wrote the article?

These ceremonies and types were given to point forward to Christ as being the Messiah. But since Christ has already come, and type has met antitype, these types would only possess spiritual significance, and not the command to be literally kept; they would continue pointing to Christ, but would not bear the penalty of sin if not literally kept. And any today who advocate that God's people must literally resume keeping any of the Jewish economy's types, are actually denying that Christ is the Messiah, the antitype of all in the Jewish economy!

I am not denying that Christ is the Messiah. I just understand his commands and God’s plan of salvation, and some do not.

Christ realized He was the antitype of the Jewish feasts, etc., and hence, during His ministry, He did not keep many of the feasts; yet Christ was not a commandment breaker--He was "without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

Whoa! He DID keep the feasts. It's all to be found in the bible.

"As the sons of Joseph made preparation to attend the Feast of Tabernacles, they saw that Christ made no movement signifying His intention of attending. They watched Him with anxiety. Since the healing at Bethesda He had not attended the national gatherings." Desire of Ages, p 450.

I notice this person chooses to quote an uninspired book, instead of quoting the bible, the word of God.

"Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy, which was a symbol prescribed in type for the religious faith and obedience of all people" Manuscript 130, November 27, 1901 (Manuscript Release #499, p 1)

"We have yet to learn that the whole Jewish economy is a compacted prophecy of the gospel. It is the gospel in figures..." Manuscript 130, November 23, 1897 (Manuscript Release #313, p 1).

I don’t see the relevance of this in trying to abolish God’s feasts.

"They (Jews) did not realize that type met antitype in the death of Jesus Christ....they could not see the perfect fulfillment of the Jewish economy, instituted and established by Christ and pointing to Him as the substance." Fundamentals of Christian Education, p 398.

The Jews, in general, rejected Jesus as the Messiah, but what does that have to do with the feast days? Christ kept them, and His apostles and all early Christians kept them.

"Judaizing teachers were opposing the work of the Apostle (Paul), and seeking to destroy the fruit of his labors....

"Thus the emissaries of Judaism succeeded in alienating many of the Christian converts from their teacher in the gospel. Having gained this point, they induced them to return to the observance of the ceremonial law as essential to salvation....Christ, the true foundation, was virtually renounced for the obsolete ceremonies of Judaism." Life of Paul, p 188-90.

I’ve read in my bible that they had a fit over Christian adults not becoming circumcised; as that was always the way proselytes started worshiping the God of Israel. Also, they wanted converts to follow the Oral Law. This has nothing to do with God’s feasts.

There were also differences between the feast sabbaths and the seventh day Sabbath. On the feasts sabbaths booths of tree branches (during the feasts of tabernacles) could be built (Leviticus 23:39-42). Or you could prepare or cook your food (Exodus 12:14-20). But on the seventh day Sabbath not even sticks were to be gathered (Numbers 15:32-36). Also on the seventh day Sabbath all of you food was to be prepared and cooked on the sixth day, or the preparation day, before the seventh day Sabbath (Exodus 16:33). Also the feast sabbaths were written by the finger of Moses and placed in the side of the ark of the testimony (Deuteronomy 31:26) showing that these were temporary. While the seventh day Sabbath was written by the finger of God and placed in the middle of the ark of the testimony underneath the mercy seat (Exodus 30:5 and Exodus 40:20) showing that these were eternal. So clearly the feast sabbaths and the seventh day Sabbath are not the same. The feast sabbaths were a shadow or type to be done away with at Christ's death, while the seventh day Sabbath was not a shadow but was to continue on after Christ's death.

The law for an unmarried man raping an unmarried woman was not on the stone tablets. Does that mean it has been done away? Bestiality is not mentioned in the Ten Commandments, either. Neither are the dietary laws. Have they been done away? Of course NOT. The Ten Commandments are a summary. They have statutes. True Christians will follow them. Yes, indeed God is merciful in allowing cooking for some of the feasts. It sure would be difficult to prepare your meal seven days ahead of time! It’s wonderful that we have a loving, understanding God. They are indeed shadows. ARE is the key word. But, then again, so are the weekly Sabbaths. Every true Christian knows the weekly Sabbath foreshadows the 1,000 year rest. God’s plan is laid out over 7,000 years. We’re in the six-thousandth-years-period now. God’s week is seven days (seven is the number of completion). The seventh-day Sabbath foreshadows the millennial rest. The weekly Sabbath, monthly new moons (month comes from moon), and annual holy days ARE all shadows (Colossians 2:17).

And yes Paul did state, "Let us keep the feast" (1 Corinthians 5:8). But keep it, how? Literally or spiritually? It was not literally but spiritually because he continues, "Neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would come and magnify the law and make it honorable (Isaiah 42:21). He came and did just that. We see in Matthew that Jesus magnified the law, clarifying it. He said to lust after a woman is committing adultery. To be wrongfully angry at one’s brother is murder. Keeping the letter (keeping it literally) would be a man not having sexual intercourse with a woman other than his wife. Keeping it spiritually would be not lusting after a woman other than his wife. Now, could a man keep that law spiritually without keeping it literally? Could a man cheat on his wife by having sex with another woman, and be keeping the law spiritually by not lusting after that woman with his mind? Could a person beat his friend to death and still be keeping the law spiritually to do no murder?The feasts are commanded by God to help remind us of his plan! When we celebrate Passover, we remember that Jesus died and shed his blood for us. When we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, we keep in mind that Jesus is coming back to set up his Kingdom during the millennium.

And yes Sister White writes that well would it be for the people of God at the present time to have a feast of tabernacles (Patriarchs and Prophets, p 540). But was she stating that we should keep this feast today literally or spiritually? The whole context here is the great benefit that the children of Israel received because they associated together. So she said, "We sustain loss when we neglect the privilege of associating together to strengthen and encourage one another in the service of God and we decline in spirituality." Patriarchs and Prophets, p 540-541.

Ellen White did not advocate keeping the feast days literally today, but advocated not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together on other days than just the Sabbath day. She referred to the blessings received when God's people associated together anciently as an example. That is why she states in Testimonies, vol 6, p 39-40 that the holy convocations today for God's people are not the literal convocations or feast days of ancient Israel but are the camp-meetings. So camp-meetings for God's people today are the equivalent of the feast days, or the holy convocations, of ancient Israel.

I think this is what it all boils down to here. It doesn’t matter what Ellen G. White said or did! It doesn’t matter whether she advocated feast days! What does matter is what God says. God DOES advocate the feast days. Are we following Ellen G. White, who only part of the time knew what she was talking about, or are we following God and what HE says? People who align their religion after people are not going to understand what the bible teaches! People who are following God with all their hearts and have repented of their sins (transgression of the law-- I John 3:4) and are daily reading their bibles (Ellen G. White didn’t write any of it, by the way), while putting aside preconceived notions and traditions of men, will understand.

Now some will then state that it was only the animal sacrifices or offerings that were done away with and that is why we still keep the feast days today. But circumcision was not an animal sacrifice, nor was it an offering. It was a law or type to be performed just like the feast or other non-sacrificial types until the anti-type came. And after Christ's death circumcision then took on a spiritual meaning, meaning to circumcise your hearts. And the same with the feasts. They are very important spiritually today, pointing to Christ as the Messiah and His ministry, but are not literally to be kept under the penalty of sin.

Wrong again! Circumcision did not take on a new meaning after Christ’s death. Deuteronomy 10:16 states, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked.” This was nothing new. See also Deut. 30:6.

So just like with the law of circumcision being advocated anciently, if any come unto you today telling you that, Ye must keep the feasts and keep the law, they are only troubling God's people with words, and are trying to subvert and Judaize souls. And you can quote to them the same words in Galatians 5:1, 2 that you are to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free and that you are not to be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. "And behold I say unto you that if ye keep the feasts Christ shall profit you nothing." There is no harm in transposing the word feasts for circumcision because it's the very same principle found in Galatians 5:1, 2.

If any one today keeps the feasts Christ shall profit you nothing, and your spiritual exercises are an affront and insult to God!

Judaize nothing! There is one law for everyone. Read Numbers 9:14; 15:15, 16, 29; Levitcus 16:29; 17:8, 10,12,13; 20:2; 22:25; 24:16, 22; Isaiah 56:1-7

It shall profit me nothing? When a person who is rebellious against God’s feasts, that person will not undertand. I’m insulting God by obeying his commands??? Rather, I think those who obey are trying to be made to feel bad for obeying by those who do not want to obey. They’d rather twist God’s Word and totally ignore it than to risk losing friends, family, and jobs when they start obeying God by keeping his feast days.

"...Christ discharged His disciples from the cares and burdens of the ancient Jewish obligations in rites and ceremonies. These no longer possessed any virtue; for type was meeting antitype in Himself, the authority and foundation of all Jewish ordinances...

"It was Christ's desire to leave to His disciples an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed--that would serve to disentangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they had hitherto engaged in as essential, and which the reception of the gospel made no longer of any force. To continue these rites would be an insult to Jehovah." Bible Commentary, vol 5, p 1139-1140.

I suppose God’s wonderful feast days would be a burden to someone who wants to use that time for their own pleasures, but to those who love God and keep His commandments, they are a blessing.

Anciently, each feast day occurred at a specific time each year, and corresponded to the work of the high priest in either the first or the second apartment of the sanctuary. There was to be no feast day which overlapped onto another feast day (i.e. the feast of Tabernacles being celebrated during Passover), but each had their specific set period corresponding to the sanctuary service. Since Christ, our High Priest, has entered into the second apartment, or the most holy place, in the heavenly sanctuary, signaling that we are now in the antitypical day of Atonement, then for anyone to advocate that we should keep any other feast day during this antitypical day of Atonement, are seeking to overlap feast days.

This all must come from Ellen G. White’s writings or some other man’s (or woman’s) writings. It certainly is not found in the bible.

Thus they are actually denying that we are in the antitypical day of Atonement, and are declaring that Christ is no longer interceeding in the most holy place! So today, there are to be no feast days celebrated while Christ is interceeding in the most holy place during this antitypical day of Atonement! But after Christ's ministerial work is ended, and the antitypical day of Atonement is ended, and we are living on the new earth, there is recorded that we will resume keeping certain feast days--such as the feast of the New Moon (see Isaiah 66:23).

Isaiah 66:23 indeed show that the weekly Sabbath and new moons are still in force. How could they not be? God’s calendar hasn’t been abolished. There are still weeks, months, and years. However, I see that the prophecy of Zechariah 14:16 has been neglected. This prophecy shows that anyone who does not keep the feast of tabernacles during the millennium will be PUNISHED. Also, countless verses in the New Testament have been neglected that show that Jesus kept the feasts and the apostles kept the feasts, even after Christ’s death. Furthermore, historical evidence shows that the early church continued to keep God’s feasts, until Satan had weeded them out, including the weekly Sabbath. Now, mainstream “Christianity” keeps Sunday, Christmas, Easter, etc. instead of Sabbath, Passover, Feast of Tabernacles, etc.

Besides, we are in captivity and strangers in this world until Christ comes to free us and take us to heaven, and then give us the new earth after the wicked are forever destroyed by the cleansing fire of God. Anciently, the Jews could not keep the feasts while under captivity, but resumed after they were freed and in their promised land. The same today!

No one has gone to heaven but Christ, and no one else is going! We shall inherit the earth. There is countless Scriptural proof of this, and not one verse that says anyone is going to heaven. This is a deception from Satan! What apostasy!

"During the captivity of the Jews, they could not be observed; but when the people were restored to their own land, the observance of these memorials was once more begun." Desire of Ages, p 447.

Here we go again, quoting Ellen G. White. The bible is totally neglected. God’s word is what matters.

Do you want to be held in bondage to the types in the Jews religion and continue hindering the gospel of Christ, or do you want to be free in Jesus Christ--the Antitype--and work to spread the true gospel and hasten the coming of our Saviour?

How could keeping God’s feast days put anyone in bondage? How could it hinder the gospel? It outlines the gospel by picturing the plan of salvation, starting with Christ and ending with the Judgment!

"Some in the church were still striving to mold Christianity after the old customs and ceremonies that were to pass away at the death of Christ....They saw that they had been held in bondage by the Jewish customs and traditions, and that the work of the gospel had been greatly hindered..."

Life of Paul, p 211

The Jewish Christians were following God’s laws, like they were supposed to. This “bondage of customs and traditions” sounds more like what was going on with some of the Gentiles, rather than Jews. The Galatians (Gentiles) had gone back to their pagan festivals. Galatians 4:8 says, “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. (9)But now after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage?” In other words, Paul is asking this group of Gentiles why they desire to turn back to their pagan customs that they kept before they knew God, the services they did unto their (pagan) gods. Before they knew God, would they have been keeping God’s feasts? No, of course not. They didn’t even know the God of Israel. Verse 10 says, “Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” Notice what God says in Deuteronomy 18:14: “For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.” Also see Leviticus 19:26, Deuteronomy 18:10, II Kings 21:6, and II Chronicles 33:6. When Jesus commanded us to observe God’s commandments in Matthew 23:3, the Greek word for observe is tereo. The word for observe that Paul used is paratereo. Para means, “false or alternative.” We use the prefix in our English language. For example, paralegal is not a real lawyer (they assist the lawyer), a paramedic is not a real doctor (they assist the doctor), and paranoia is a false feeling of suspicion. Christmas time is an example of a “time.” An example of a day is All Saint’s Day (Halloween), an example of a month is January is the month of the pagan god Bacchus, and an example of a year is the Olympic games, which fall on certain years.

We must remember that Paul is twisted more than any other person’s writings. Peter warned us of this. II Peter3:16, “…which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (twist), as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Paul kept the holy days, just as all the other apostles did, and he taught others to do so. Jesus kept the holy days, and we are to walk as he walked (I John 2:6).

Feast Days/Holy Days outlined in Leviticus 23.

Observed by Jesus Christ, the apostles or the Church in the New Testament:

Passover:

Matthew 26:2, 17-19

Mark 14:12-16

Luke 2:41-42; 22:1, 7-20

John 2:13, 23; 6:4; 13:1-30

1 Corinthians 11:23-29

Feast of Unleavened Bread:

Matthew 26:17

Mark 14:12

Luke 2:41-42, 22:1,7

Acts 2:3-4; 20:6

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Pentecost:

Acts 2:1-21; 20:16

1 Corinthians 16:8

Feast of Trumpets:

Matthew 24:30-31

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Revelation 11:15

Day of Atonement:

Acts 27:9

Feast of Tabernacles:

John 7:1-2, 8, 10, 14

Acts 18:21

The Eighth Day:

Revelation 20:11-12

I Is there only ONE name for God?

Of course NOT! Sacred Namers are deceived, and this has NOTHING to do with God’s Feast Days. In the future, God will have one name. Zechariah 14:9. Sacred Namers are in a completely different bucket. True Christians will observe God’s feasts, once they learn of them. Just because most sacred namers observe them doesn’t make them right. Jehovah’s Witnesses know Christmas and Easter are pagan and don’t celebrate them, but does that mean they are right? They teach false doctrines among the truth. There are some Sunday-keeping Protestants who are sacred namers, and some Sunday-keepers don’t celebrate Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. Seventh-Day Adventists teach a lot of truth, they worship on the seventh day of the week and keep it holy, they do not eat unclean meats, and so on, but they teach errors as well. God’s true believers are part of His Church of God, the Body of Christ. They understand that the law has not been abolished. They understand that part of the law has CHANGED, namely the sacrifice and priesthood. Jesus is our sacrifice, and He’s our High Priest. None of His laws have been done away. Not one. Not one jot or tittle will pass away until heaven and earth pass away. How hard is that to understand?