A Fresh Look At A Long Misunderstood TRUTH
or
An Inconvinient TRUTH
In scripture the festival of freedom is Passover. Passover was the time of
deliverance from bondage and slavery and is symbolically the time to celebrate
our deliverence
from sin and the slavery sin causes. However, Easter is an old tradition
from the pagan religion of Ashtheroth where the mythical resurrection of
Tammuz was
celebrated every spring at sunrise on Easter Sunday morning. The Sunday morning
resurrection of Tammuz was celebrated for 500 years before Jesus was born
in Bethlehem. Easter is not biblical. The enemies of God have taken this
traditional
pagan festival and replaced the story of Tammuz with a twisted version of
the death and resurrection of Jesus. This distorts and misrepresents what
Jesus actually
accomplished.
Passover is the first of the Lord's annual festivals that are to be kept forever.
See Leviticus 23:4 and Exodus 12:14. Contrary to Christian tradition, the triumphal
entry into Jerusalem was not on Sunday, Jesus was not crucified on Friday, nor
was He resurrected on Sunday morning. All of those traditions are the result
of twisting the words of scripture for the purpose of deception. Read John 12:1-12
and tell me how Jesus could arrive in Bethany six days before Passover and have
the triumphal entry on what is called Palm Sunday. If Jesus was in the tomb only
on the weekly Sabbath, then He had to arrive in Bethany on Sunday, and the triumphal
entry would have to be on Monday, the second day of the week. If one insists
on believing in a Palm Sunday, then Jesus had to be crucified on Thursday and
in the tomb on both Friday and Sabbath as his resurrection was on the first of
the week.
The only sequence for these major events that complies with everything scripture
says about when these events took place is that Jesus attended the dinner at
Simon's house on Friday night, the triumphal entry was on Sabbath (both of these
events taking place on the 10th day of the month, the correct day for the Passover
lamb to be selected pursuant to Exodus 12:3). This was Palm Sabbath, not Palm
Sunday. The Lord's Supper was the Passover meal eaten without the Passover lamb,
since the Passover lambs could only be sacrificed at the Temple on the 14th day
of the month and eaten on the 15th, and this meal was prepared on the 13th of
the month and eaten on the 14th. He was arrested in the middle of the night on
the fourth day of the week on what we call Wednesday. He was crucified in mid
to late morning, the sun became dark at noon until He died at 3 pm. He was taken
from the cross and laid in the tomb before sundown that began the Passover Sabbath.
According to scripture, the annual Sabbaths are every bit as holy as the weekly
Sabbath and have an enduring nature that lasts forever. They will all be kept
in the New Earth. Isaiah 66:22-23. He rested in the tomb for three days and three
nights just as He told the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 12:40 that this would
be the sign that He was sent from heaven. He was resurrected on the first of
the week, just after sunset of the weekly Sabbath. Unfortunately, the traditions
men have created cause the masses to gloss over the real time and significance
of these events.
Everything in scripture regarding these events confirms that the triumphal entry,
the Lord's Supper, the trial, crucifixion, time in the tomb, and the resurrection
of Jesus happened in perfect harmony with the Lord's plan for worship given by
God to His people in the Old Testament. The plan for worship God gave to His
people is an everlasting plan for strengthening the bond between Himself and
His people. Just as Jesus rested in the tomb on both an annual Sabbath of Passover
and a weekly Sabbath, so we are to keep the annual festivals of the Lord as well
as the weekly Sabbath. Only an enemy would think to interfere in that plan and
obfuscate the story to make it something it isn't. If Christian tradition is
correct that Jesus was not in the tomb for three days and three nights, then
by His own testimony Jesus was not sent from heaven and is not our Savior. Now,
who do you suppose is the real driving force promoting the celebration of Easter?
Passover this year begins at sundown on Monday evening, April 2. Celebrate the
glory of Passover and the feast of unleavened bread just as Paul taught his converts
to do. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. Obey the Lord and enjoy your freedom from sin in
Him.
Jerry
Hi Jerry,
I really appreciated your comments this morning.
I have been aware of your stance on the Feast Days for some time and today, I dedicated some time to research this further, because I do not wish to be on the wrong side of an issue if I have an opportunity to study it
Yet, even as I write, after looking at the texts that you provided, I am still not convinced in light of what Apostle Paul has told us. I found this little blurb from a book by Joe Crews (Yes, I also know where he stood on the issue of the Passion Week...)
"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; And
having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly,
triumphing over them in it. 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."A certain law of ordinances was nailed to the cross. This was the ceremonial
law of types and shadows that pointed forward to the death of Jesus and that
had no further meaning beyond the cross. This is why Paul said it was
contrary to the Christian. The rent veil in the temple at the death of
Christ (Matthew 27:51) indicated the end of that ordinance of animal
sacrifices, and Ephesians 2:15 says that Jesus "abolished ... the law of
commandments contained in ordinances."This is why Paul wrote in Colossians 2:16,17 that we are no longer judged by
the meat offerings, drink offerings, and sabbath days "which are a shadow of
things to come." Take note that these are yearly and not the weekly Sabbath
of the moral law. These shadowy sabbaths are described in Leviticus
23:24-37. They fell on certain set days of the month--a different day of the
week each year, yet they were called sabbaths. But please observe in verses
37 and 38 how they were distinguished from the weekly Sabbath: "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."Now the mystery of Colossians 2:16 is completely cleared up. The law of the
yearly sabbaths, with all its meat and drink offerings, was nailed to the
cross, but the great Ten Commandment law with its weekly Sabbath was not
affected by that "blotting out" of ordinances.
(Answers To Difficult Bible Texts, Crews, Joe; pg. 69)
The matter is that regardless of how I slice it, I still have those words before me. I am sure that in your studies, you have also come across many words that are metaphors, that say one thing but really mean something else, I believe that is behind your reasons for getting into the Hebrew and Greek to try and discover the true meanings of certain words.
On top of all this, we find little if any support for this belief in the SOP and when you consider the wide area of doctrines that she did cover, this one is noticeably absent. While I have read your article, "Lord's Education Program" several times,I'm still not convinced by it. Would you mind educating me a bit further on this?
Shalom
Bob
Hi Bob,
I'd be happy to.
The problem is that you're reading the beginning of Colossians 2:16 through
the lenses of traditional Christianity instead of through clear lenses of the
text. (Christians have the same problem with certain passages in Galatians.)
The text says: "Allow no one, therefore, to be your judge in regard to
eating and drinking, or the observance of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath." Paul
is encouraging these new converts from paganism that because of what he has
just instructed them on in the preceding passage, they are to pay no attention
to anyone who criticizes them for having adopted the dietary habits (eating
and drinking) or the worship patterns given by God (observance of a festival
or a new moon or a Sabbath).
It is important to understand that these converts of Paul, just like his converts
in Galatia, were Gentiles and not Jews. They were pagan worshipers keeping
Easter and Saturnalia and all the other pagan festivals before they were converted
to Jesus through Paul's preaching. Most of their family members and friends,
neighbors and co-workers continued to be worshipers of Mithra, Baal, Ashtheroth,
or some other pagan religion after they were converted. These religions all
had their special festival days and holidays with their special rituals for
eating and drinking and blood -- always different from the Lord's plan for
worship. These new converts had given up observing the pagan holidays in favor
of keeping the Lord's plan for worship. Paul is warning them to pay no attention
to the peer pressure they will inevitably feel from their family, friends,
neighbors, and co-workers. "Allow no one, therefore, to judge you in regard
to eating and drinking, or observance of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath." The
fact that Paul mentions the new moon and Sabbath tells us that this involves
more than just the weekly Sabbath. Isaiah 66:23 includes every Sabbath, not
just the weekly Sabbath, but from "Sabbath to Sabbath".
What was nailed to the cross in Colossians 2:15 is the record of our debt,
not any part of the Lord's plan for worship or instructions from the Lord that
He said we are to keep forever. If keeping the annual festivals was nailed
to the cross, then why did God tell His people to keep these festivals forever,
in all their generations wherever they might live? If this is true, then I
must conclude that either the Lord didn't know these annual festivals would
one day come to an end or that He didn't mean what He said when He told them
to keep them forever, in all their generations wherever they might live. I
cannot accept either conclusion as accurate. I believe the scriptures are an
accurate record of the Lord's instructions for His people and that He meant
what He said.
You quoted Joe Crews as having written: "This is why Paul wrote in Colossians
2:16,17 that we are no longer judged by
the meat offerings, drink offerings, and sabbath days "which are a shadow
of things to come." Take note that these are yearly and not the weekly
Sabbath of the moral law. These shadowy sabbaths are described in Leviticus
23:24-37."
The text of scripture does not say that we are judged by the meat offerings,
drink offering, and sabbath days. It says to not let anyone judge you because
you practice them or keep them. Neither does the text say anything about "shadowy
sabbaths". The "shadow of things to come" is the shadow of a
greater future reality when we are joined together in His presence face to
face after the sin problem of this world has been resolved. Just as any great
object casts a shadow during sunlight hours from which you can tell a few things,
so, too, the life and teachings of Jesus regarding the kingdom of God casts
a shadow from which we can tell a few definite things. The shadow of things
to come hints of a greater future reality with Jesus, the Father, the holy
angels, and all the faithful universe. All these together make up the body
of Christ, the Messiah sent from heaven, to reveal the character of the Father
and win us back to loyalty to Him.
Regarding the claim by Joe Crews that the annual Sabbaths are not part of the
Sabbath command given in the Ten Commandments, he needs to read Exodus 34.
Here the Lord tells Moses to hew two new stone tablets like the first ones
He wrote on and He will write on them what he wrote on the former tablets that
Moses broke. By this statement, we can know that what we find written here
in Exodus 34 regarding the Ten Commandments is what was written on the first
set of tablets. Exodus 34 is not an addition to what was written on the first
set of tablets, but is exactly the same as what was written on the first set
of tablets. In Exodus 34:11 the Lord tells Moses to "mark well what I
am commanding you today." This sounds as though Moses left something out
of the record of what they heard the Lord say when He spoke the Ten commandments
to them in Exodus 20 and the Lord wants to make certain that Moses doesn't
leave it out of his text or fail to mention it this time.
The first commandment is stated in verse 14. The second commandment is stated
in verse 17. The third commandment is not stated. Then the Sabbath command
is stated in Exodus 34:18-23. In this rendition, the Sabbath command has four
parts. 1) Verse 18: Observe the feast of unleavened bread; for seven days eat
unleavened bread as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib;
for in Abib you came out of Egypt. 2) Verse 21: Labor six days and rest on
the seventh day; even in plowing and in harvest time have your rest. 3) Verse
22: Observe also the feast of weeks at the first harvesting of wheat, and 4)
the feast of ingathering at the end of the year. Thus we read in Exodus 34
that the Sabbath command includes the Feast of Unleavened Bread (the first
day of which is the Passover Sabbath), the weekly Sabbath, the Harvest Festival
(also called Pentecost in the New Testament), and Ingathering (or what is usually
called the Feast of Tabernacles). This is what the Lord wrote on the tables
of stone for the Sabbath command according to Exodus 34:1.
The fact that none of the other commandments are stated here tells me that
what the Lord wrote on the tables of stone for most of the commandments and
what Moses reported in Exodus 20 were the same; but not so for the Sabbath
command. Moses had left off a significant portion of the Sabbath command in
his report in Exodus 20. The Sabbath command in Exodus 34 is significantly
expanded from the weekly Sabbath identified in Exodus 20. Did Jesus keep these
annual festivals or not? If He kept them, then why don't we? The purpose of
resting from the bus-i-ness of our work and engaging in community worship pursuant
to the instructions of the Lord is to strengthen the bond between God and His
people. If we desire to be bonded with the Lord, we will want to take advantage
of every opportunity He has designed to spend time with Him. In the Hebrew
text, the Sabbaths associated with the annual festivals have exactly the same
degree of holiness as the weekly Sabbaths.
Joe Crews would also make a distinction between the annual festivals and the
weekly Sabbath by incorrectly explaining Leviticus 23:37-38. Keep in mind that
Leviticus 23:2-3 calls the weekly Sabbath the first of the appointed feasts
of the Lord. So it makes no sense that verses 37-38 are an attempt to distinguish
the annual festivals from the weekly Sabbath festival. These verses are right
in the middle of the explanation of the Feast of Tabernacles which continues
all the way through verse 43. Moses is certainly not making the distinction
that Joe Crews makes.
The passage you focus on really begins with verse 13.
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and your lack of physical circumcision,
He made alive together with Him, as He forgave us all our trespasses, canceled
the record of debt that stood against us, with its requirements, and took it
out of the way when he nailed it to the cross. Disarming the rulers and authorities,
He publicly exposed them to disgrace as He triumphed over them by means of the
cross.
Allow no one, therefore, to be your judge in regard to eating and drinking, or
the observance of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are shadows of
things to follow, but the body is Christ. Let no one defraud you of salvation's
prize.
What is the requirement for the debt that stood against us? The requirement for
having sinned is death. Since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of
God, we are all subject to death. In Romans 6:23, Paul refers to this requirement
as the wages of sin, but goes on to state that the gift of God is eternal life.
Paul gives us a parallel statement in Colossians 2:13-15 that Jesus takes away
the death we deserve when we claim newness of life in Him. He forgives us and
cancels the record of our sins when we choose to follow Him and grow into His
likeness. Growing into His likeness includes listening to everything He instructs
us to do with the intent to comply with His instructions. When this is our motivation
for life, the death we all face in this era is only a sleep from which the faithful
will be awakened to eternal life with Him.
There is no question that the sacrificial system came to an end with the death
of the Messiah. I have not been able to find a single verse where the Lord instructs
His people that the sacrifices are to be followed forever, in all their generations
wherever they live. The sacrificial system was temporary. But the plan for worship
is one of the central issues in the great controversy between Christ and Satan.
If you were God so that you knew the end from the beginning, you knew Adam and
Eve would sin and all the rest, how many different plans for worship would you
design and teach people to keep?
Shabbat Shalom,
Jerry