Bible study on the Feasts of the LORD in the New Testament

God recently gave me the opportunity to lead a Bible study at church on the Feasts of the LORD in the New Testament. As I prepared for the Bible study, I approached it with an open mind, seeking just to find the facts and draw conclusions only based on facts. As such, I present in this post what I found and my conclusions on what I found.

First, let me begin by indicate the scope and limitations of this post and Bible study. It is meant to be a mere overview of the feast days in the Bible, particularly as they are mentioned in the New Testament Scriptures. My study does not cover all possible mentions of the feats. Further I present the feasts in the order that they appear in the Jewish calendar.

1. Passover/Pesach and Unleavened Bread
From my study, Passover and Unleavened Bread observance are the only feasts commanded in the New Testament for Christians. Jesus first commanded it, that the Passover feast should commemorate his sacrifice (Luke 22:19). Then Paul, speaking to Gentiles in Corinth, declare that they must keep the feast, not in the old Jewish way, but with the new meaning infused into the feast by Jesus (1 Cor. 5:6-8).

Finally it is clear that what apostle Paul refers to as the Lord's Supper is different from what we call communion and celebrate today. The Lord supper according to Paul was an activity that involved more eating than just bread and more drinking than just a small cup or sip of wine (or grape juice). So abundant was the feasting at the Lord's supper that some people were drunk, while others came expecting to have food and were hungry (1 Cor. 11:17-34).

Finally in Acts 20:6, we see that Luke (a Gentile) also use

2. Pentecost/Shavout
Unlike Passover, there is no explicit command for the keeping of Pentecost. Despite that, the apostles were obviously together on that day (Acts 2:1). Paul made special arrangements to keep this feast in Jerusalem, despite other Gentile Christians wanting him to minister to them (Acts 18:18-21;20:16).

However, I would be hard pressed to state that Christians are commanded to observe the festival.


3. Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah
Unlike the previous festivals, Feast of Trumpets is not explicitly mentioned. In fact, the feast is only referred to in the New Testament implicitly through symbolism. Perhaps the best way to identify symbolic references to this feast is to browse the New Testament scriptures for allusions or references to the blowing of a trumpet or trumpets (See Matthew 24:31; Revelations 11:15-19; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:51-52).


4. The day of Atonement/Yom Kippur
This feast is the only one that I consider not a "feast" as it is actually a fast. In Acts 27:9, the feast may be alluded to as "the Fast". The symbolism of this feast is mentioned through Hebrews Chapters 9 and 10 (Hebrews 9:6-14,24-28; Hebrews 10:1-3,11-13).

5. Feast of Tabernacles/Booths/Sukkot
Like the fellow fall festivals, Feast of Tabernacles is not explicitly mentioned in the New Testament, except for the references to the observance of these Festivals and events in the life of Jesus. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast, even though he was risking his life in doing so (John 7:1-14). On the Last Great Day of the feast, Jesus announces the promise for living water for those who are thirsty (John 7:37-39). The symbolism of this feast is also alluded to in Revelations 21:1-6, where God comes from heaven to dwell with human beings and establishes a living stream that quenches the thirst of all the inhabitants living in God's earthly residence.

Concluding points
From these findings, I conclude that

1. The festivals/feast days were as much a part of the Jewish calendar as they were of the Gentile Christian calendar. Gentiles like Luke use the calendar to mark times and significant events in his account and retelling of the history of the early church and the biography of church leaders and apostles such as Paul.
2. One feast observance is explicitly commanded, both by Jesus and apparently even by Paul. This one feast explicitly commanded for Christian observance is not tied to the ceremonial laws nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). Passover and Unleavened (Exodus 12) comes before the Sabbath in Exodus 16 and the giving of the 10 commandments in Exodus 20. The very first Passover was kept before a tabernacle or temple was instituted. 
3. There is no evidence that Jesus commanded the discontinuation of the observance of these festivals or feasts. Rather, the feasts continue to be alluded to throughout the New Testament Scriptures.

I will hopefully in my next blog post thoroughly analyse why Christians should keep the feast of Passover and Unleavened bread.

Supporting Wednesday Crucifixion theory

A friend of mine sent me a forward from a person arguing against the Wednesday Crucifixion theory. To the e-mail I had to respond, giving my thoughts.

I believe that the Wednesday crucifixion theory is a more solid one than the theory of Jesus being crucified on a Good Friday. In this blog entry, I will give the foundation for my view, without reference to the argument of inclusive reckoning, which I believe has to be dealt with by itself. For Christian background on the inclusive reckoning and Wednesday Crucifixion, check the following URLs: http://www.remnantofgod.org/wedcruci-fiction.htm or http://biblelight.net/pasover.htm. For some thoughts about how an Orthodox Jew sees inclusive reckoning see http://en.allexperts.com/q/Orthodox-Judaism-952/Inclusive-Reckoning.htm

However, in this blog entry, I would like to examine three ideas. First the concept of preparation day, as I believe that this concept requires more deliberation. Secondly, I would like to defend the view of two Sabbaths intervening between crucifixion and resurrection. Finally, I want to further consider and further raise some issues regarding the relevance of the annual Sabbaths beyond just what Christ did, but the relevance extending to the future of Christianity and the world.

While preparation is needed for the weekly sabbath, especially as it relates to meals, as cooking was forbidden on the Sabbath (Exodus 35:3), there is indication from the scriptures that the preparation was not for a weekly sabbath.

John 19:14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour.

With this said, perhaps you would argue that the weekly sabbath and the annual sabbath would be occuring on the same day. If you take that view, then that view cannot be refuted unless the idea of inclusive reckoning is dealt with. As mentioned before that will be outside of the scope of this blog entry.


However, what I can address is the idea of two Sabbaths between the crucifixion and the resurrection. It is generally accepted that Jesus rose on a Sunday, which when interpreted Biblically is refered to as the first day of the week. The first day of week in the Bible begins after the evening of the Sabbath (Saturday evening) to Sunday evening. Hence, when the scriptures speak of Jesus being raised on the first day of the week, everyone understands this to mean Sunday (even though I think Jesus rose in midnnight on Saturday night as the women went to the tomb early Sunday morning to find Jesus already gone).

Since the firstday is a Sunday, people generally take the preparation day to mean Friday. Unfortunately, the majority of Christianity does not realise that Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread requires preparation too. Since, it is less accepted that Passover and Feast of Unleaven Bread requires preparation, I must declare that Passover preparation (which also entails preparation for the Feast of Unleavened Bread) required more preparation than that for the weekly Sabbath. This is because, not only were they to prepare food for a day, but for a week, as they had to prepare unleavened bread, plus remove unleavened products (yeast) from their houses (13:7). Further, they had to have the Paschal or Pesach supper with a special lamb and with other special food items.

Further, John records in:

John 19:31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Clearly, there were two Sabbaths after the crucifixion. Whether they intersected or not is the question. However, from John's records it is clear that Jesus did not die on any ordinary day. It was the same season as the type given to the children of Israel. G-d had never intended that Jesus would die on any ordinary Friday before the Sabbath. He gave Israel a special time to signify what the Messiah would go through, which is the Passover ceremony.

If you accept this premise then we can move into the final argument or issue to be raised.

The annual Sabbaths marked God's seasons of intervention in human affairs. In Genesis 1:14, God declares that he made the sun and the moon to mark seasons and signs. Hence sunset marks the start of a day, including the weekly Sabbath. However, the annual Sabbaths are marked by a lunar calendar. Hence, in Olivet prophecies, Jesus again mentions of the sun and moon being signs. Jesus also mentions that he came "not to destroy the law or prophets", but that "heaven and earth" would have to pass before the law is changed, until all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-18).

Yet, many in Christendom, including the Advent movement, ignore the new moons and lunar calendar, and keep only days that they deem holy. Yet, God said that these signs would be sign forever, which in Isaiah 66:23, all humanity will worship him in these seasons.

In fact, the annual Sabbaths signify steps that God takes to execute the plan of Salvation. God used the Passover as the appointed time for his son to die. Later he used the Feast of Pentecost to send the Holy Spirit and bring in the first fruit of his harvest for the kingdom.


Hence, based on how G-d works, these appointed times and seasons were not just given to symbolically represent the salvation work. They also marked literal times and days that G-d would use to effect his plan for humanity's redemption. Hence in Leviticus 23, God calls them not feasts of the Jews, but in Leviticus 23:2, God says "feasts of the LORD...even these are my feasts". Among them, the first is the weeklu Sabbath, but the rest of the annual feasts are outlined. Hence, the Seventh-day sabbath is not holier than the annual Sabbaths.

Based on these arguments, without considering the weakness of man made ideas such as inclusive reckoning (a phrase which is not even literally found in the Bible), it is quite likely that God chose a Passover Day for Jesus to be slain, and in the middle of the Feast of Unleavened bread, Jesus rose again. If this is accepted, it is highly likely that there were two sabbaths between crucifixion and resurrection.


Further, if God's pattern is to use Jewish holy days to do things for humanity, I don't believe that he will change this approach. Hence, the other annual feasts (the fall festivals) that have not yet been fulfilled will be literal days and times when Jesus will return and when God will do things to intervene in humanity's redemption.


Even Jesus made mention that the Feast of the Passover will be continued when he returns (Matthew 26:29). This indicates that these festivals are far from abolished, but will be reinstated to the entire earth, when the LORD returns. Hence Zechariah 14:16-19 records that there will be international celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. And much more could be said in support of the future observance and significance of these seemingly Jewish holy days.

The Christian Passover

This week in the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, the question is asked by Frank Holbrook:

"How are the followers of Jesus to commemorate the Passover today? Luke 22:15, 19, 20. What is this service to remind us of?"

To this question, I would like to voice my own views. I must begin by stating that I believe that the current Christian Passover service is woefully inadequate because we divorce it from its Jewish context.

We keep it when we feel like and justify the time that we keep it by saying that Jesus said - "whenever you do this, do it in remembrance of me." Or " For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come" (1 Cor. 11:26).

I believe that we should keep the LORD's supper on the LORD's chosen time period. Not 4 times a year. Or any amount of times that we choose. God has already set up his calendar in Leviticus 23, of his appointed times and seasons. The Christian Passover should be observed in keeping with that calendar.

Also, I want to raise another controversial point. The Christian's Passover utilises real red wine and not grape juice. Otherwise Apostle Paul would not state that "For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken." (1 Cor 11: 21). People do not get drunk on grape juice.

Finally, I believe that Christians must also observe the Passover by focusing on its dual meeting. The historical deliverance of Israel from Egypt and the present day meaning of the new covenant.

How beautiful this service would be if it was once a year, and the format of church services were different.

1. We watch a video clip of Moses and Pharaoh, then we pause to reflect and discuss in small groups the spiritual truths that have come home to each of us individually.



2. Then we proceed to watch a video clip of the Passion of Christ or the Lord's supper and his death.



3. Then we gather in small groups to discuss the spiritual truths that have come home to us.



4. Then we partake in Matzah - unleavened bread and red wine with the normal liturgy.

This I believe would be a more spiritually meaningful and truthful observance of the Christian Passover.

May I also shock you by suggesting that there will be a future observance of the LORD's Passover in the New Jerusalem (or new earth).

See: Matthew 26:29 (King James Version):

"But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

In fact, Jesus made a promise that he will no longer partake in the Passover supper "until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God" (Luke 22:16), implying therefore that there is a future meaning to the Passover that we have not yet come into.

God's love and blessings.

Reference:

Holbrook, Frank B. "In Remembrance of Me."Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide October - December 2009, p. 31.

Finding Meaning in Sabbath: Part 2

Last week Sabbath, in the general spirit of meditating on what spiritual benefit I could attain from Sabbath observance, I reflected on Exodus 35:3 (New International Version)

"Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day."

From this I drew the conclusion that fire represents destruction. However, on the Sabbath day, God wants us to reflect on creation. Destruction is obviously creation's opposite.

I also pondered a secondary meaning. Fire represents anger, wrath or rage. I believe God also wants us to observe a spiritual principle of avoiding anger on that day or avoid making others angry especially through our words.

I also see a third principle in this text of scripture. Wrath or anger came after sin was introduced into the earth. Thus by not lighting fires on the Sabbath, we get to really focus on the state of the earth before sin.

Another thought

My daughter and wife has 24 hours access to me on the Sabbath, except when I am sleeping or they are sleeping. The Sabbath is a time that I make myself fully available to them.

I concluded that because of my position as male and head of the house, this must reflect something about God and his relationship with humanity. I concluded that the Sabbath at creation allowed humanity to have 24hour access to God. After sin, we lost physical access to God. However, the Sabbath in picturing future reality (see Hebrews 4:9 and 11) represents a time when all humanity will have restored 24 hours of access to God, as he will be our God and dwell in our midst.

As Isaiah 66:23 states:

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one SABBATH to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

Finding meaning in Sabbath: Part 1

I did not get to attend Sabbath convocation last week. Nevertheless, I sought to be observant in spirit and meditate on the meaning of Sabbath.

God has made the Sabbath to give us a reminder of his creative works. This is seen in Genesis 2:3 where it says:

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it
he had rested from all his work which God created and made

In other words, God made the Seventh day more special and set apart more than any other day. In Exodus 20:11, God tells us what is special in the day:

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

As such, on each Sabbath day period, I seek to be Torah compliant, if not Torah observant in meditating on the spiritual meaning in this holy convocation.

Just last week, I was telling a friend of mind that in Jamaica, about the meaning that I pondered of in a previous Sabbath. I told him that I find that the Sabbaths are not as necessary in Jamaica to remind you about God as they are in prosperous Canada. In Canada, you need a reminder about God. In Jamaica, God consciousness occurs everyday. In explaining I mentioned that because of the problems in Jamaica, plus the fact that there are so many professing Christians who mention God in their conversations, one will not forget about God in Jamaica.


In Canada by contrast, people do not talk about God as much. Yet they are so discipline and problem-free.


My friend then asked

"So, what's the benefit of the Sabbath for people in Jamaica (or in one of the "good" periods of ancient Israel for that matter)?"

I responded by suggesting that the observance of the Sabbath in Jamaica makes us realise that our problems will not last for ever, as it points to the rest to come in the promised land.

In the contrast, for someone in prosperous Canada, experiencing peace and rest...Sabbath becomes an identity issue - it preserves your knowledge about God and your spiritual identity and connection with that God.

My friend replied that

"i dunno.... i never been to Canada, but... prosperity doesn't always = peace"

I replied:
Yes..but I am saying - the whole time being there, I saw no police...the people were orderly, obeyed rules and regulations. There were no mad people, street people or drug addicts on the streets. [Violent] crimes hardly reported on the local newspapers. [In fact the only crime reported during my stay was committed by a priest and it was a sexual crime - dealing with the possession of child pornography on his computer.]

[Otherwise, Canada] seemed to be a place without problems. That is what I meant by peace!

My friend replied:

"Ah!...So; how then, would you get a people in that situation to see the need for God?"

I replied:"Exactly...when you understand this, you know why churches decline in prosperous countries, and why churches abound in countries like Jamaica and Africa and Latin America."

I further went on to suggest that the "Sabbath was originally intended to help us focus on purpose. The purpose for which we were created. Thus, it is good to focus on purpose every week. This will help you to realise that there is more to life than just living comfortably."

Holy Convocation

Holy Days of God

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

The above slideshow is very interesting. They have replaced G-d's holy days in Leviticus 23 with their own version.

Anyway, I want to share with you a message I received on the Leviticus 23 passage. You can determine for yourself what to make of it. Below are the details.

Name of Fellowship: United Church of God
Location: Olympia Crown Hotel on 53 Molynes Road, Kingston 10
Date: November 22, 2008
Messenger: Lee Burke

Topic: Holy Convocation

"Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap."

Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let not your hands be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.

(NIV): Ecclesiastes 11: 4 & 6
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecc%2011:4,6&version=31

There are no excuses for missing the holy convocations of God. In fact you are to make ample provision and preparation each week in order to attend.

The LORD has a requirement of us, but we attempt to make excuses. He requires us to meet at certain times of the year, but we excuse ourselves from those meetings. We do not attempt to plan and prepare to make those appointments.

When it was first given to Israel, G-d sought to teach the people that they need to prepare in advance for the Sabbath (Exodus 16).

G-d has ordained a purpose in the convocations. He has designed them for us to get right perspective on life.

The Psalmist in in Psalm 73 - if he did not go into the sanctuary (in verse 17), may have given up on the way of G-d. But because of how G-d designed holy convocation, the Psalmist gained understanding and right perspective from attendance.

In Acts 15:21, the apostles in deciding what requirements were necessary for the new Gentile converts, expected them to attend the sabbath readings at the synagogues in whatever town they were. At the sabbath holy convocations, the Torah or the Law was read, and people would learn G-d's law and requirements through these readings.

The holy convocations provided training in the Law of G-d and his requirements. Missing those convocations, meant missing out on the lessons that G-d would have us know that day. The Law is read on Sabbaths to keep us informed. When we are informed we can better do what G-d requires of us. On judgement day, we will have no excuses for disobedience, as we had ample opportunities to attend the holy convocations to be informed of G-d's requirements.

It is very important that we study the Torah/Law. JESUS taught that the Law spoke about salvation and about him (Luke 24:44-47). In fact, the scriptures (Law, Prophets and Psalms) contain the basic tenets of the Christian's gospel:

• The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
  
• repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

The Holy convocation or assembly provides opportunity for the believer to be meet others who can encourage the believer to do good and love. The believer also is required in the assembly to encourage others to do good works and to love (Hebrews 10:23-25).

There are those with the habit of missing the assembly, which G-d has designed for us to know the ways of life and to understand our purpose for existence and his purpose for our lives.

These convocations are where G-d wants us to be at the appointed time - to work upon us (Exodus 31:13). G-d uses these appointed times to set us apart and to sanctify us, making us different from the world.

When we miss the Sabbaths as a people and a nation, we miss the opportunity for G-d to work on us and we open up our world and our nation to evil (Ezekiel 22:24-31).

It is for our benefit that the Sabbaths were instituted, and as such we have a great responsibility in making it a delight (Isaiah 58:13-14). We must look forward to it, plan for it and prepare for it, and ensure that we take the time to make it a delightful day.

Conclusion:

There are no excuses for disobeying G-d in not observing the Sabbath and attending the holy convocations.

In fact, G-d expects that we will prepare for it each week, putting in place provisions and preparations to keep the appointments. G-d expects us to make the effort to meet the appointments. In addition, we must see to it that we make the effort to make the appointment interesting and delightful.