Feast Days in Modern Times
Are you an observer of the Holy Feast Days? Are we still under the Feast Day Laws today? Can we be under the Feast Day Laws as well as accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the true Sacrificial Lamb at the same time? According to the Holy Scriptures you cannot be partakers of the Feast Days ordinances, the ordinance of the law, and still accept the atonement of the blood of Jesus Christ. You will see the sacrificing of animals, going through a high priest, and having to go to Jerusalem three times a year for the feast days has come to an end, been fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
Observing the Feasts Days has become quite a controversy among Christians in today’s society. There is no record of the Church of God 7th Day ever keeping the Feast Days. All those that profess to keep the Feasts today of any church or denomination you wish to name have started to observe them in this century, and most of them in the last 50 years. The World-Wide Church of God was the first Church that started the act of observing the annual feasts, and other churches and organizations followed them, but it has no part in the plan of Salvation.
The feast days are a question that seems to make some people wonder and become confused concerning God’s plan for eternal life. It is my intention to prove without a doubt, that we as Christians are not required to observe the Holy Days, that was part of the Old Covenant, and they would become obsolete if and when that covenant was abolished.
There were three feasts during the year that had to be kept at Jerusalem by all males, Exodus 34:23. “Three times a year then, every male among you shall appear before the Lord, your God, in a place which He chooses,” (Deuteronomy 16:16). Where? At Jerusalem, men that live in other countries had to travel to Jerusalem to keep those feast days. The three feast that were to be kept were: The Passover and Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, and The Feast of Tabernacles. These feasts came into existence with the Levitical Priesthood and ended with the Priesthood, Christ. Christ canceled the bond that stood against us with all its claims, nailing it to the cross, "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;" Colo. 2:14.
First, at Passover in the spring, in the month of Abib, (April), the first green ears of barley were cut, and was a favorite food, prepared as parched corn, but first of all a handful of green ears of corn were presented to the Lord, The First Fruits of Harvest plus an animal sacrifice for a sin offering. According to Exodus 12:12-14 the Passover came into existence as well as the Feast of the Unleavened Bread
The Passover commemorated the deliverance out of Egypt when the death angel passed over Israel, protecting them from the destroying angel and so achieving for them the first step of independent national life as God’s covenant people. The Passover was the first in pointing or time of the entire annual feast, and historically and religiously it was the most important of all. It was called both the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the two really forming a double festival. It was celebrated on the first month of the religious New Year, on the 14th day of Nisan, (April), and commemorated the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt and the establishment of Israel as a nation by God’s redemptive act.
The Passover was the time when the Israelites were to put the blood of the lamb on the post of their home so the death angel would not destroy the first born of each family. The blood of the Lamb, symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ that shed his blood for us who believes. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a memorial of Israel being forced to leave quickly and was told to make the Unleavened Bread due to the haste. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread was kept along with the Passover celebration in the month of Abib, (Nisan), the first month of the New Year, on the fourteenth day at even, (Exodus 12:18). The leaven represents sin, the only way to rid yourself of sin is through the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus became the bread of life: "And Jesus said unto them, I am the Bread of Life," John 6:35. The feasts were carnal ordinances, which pointed to spiritual fulfillment in Christ. It was the first point or time of the entire annual feast, and historically and religiously it was the most important of all.
The Passover ended at the death of Christ--which was carnal not spiritual. The institution by the Lord in connection with the Passover is recorded in Matthew 26:10-30; Mark 14:16-26; and Luke 22:13-20. Christ was sacrificed once for all for our redemption, never to be offered again. We now keep the Lord's Communion not the Passover, Christ is now our Passover and we take the Lord's Communion after the sun sets on the 14th day of Nisan. The Lord’s Communion came into existence the day Christ died. It is now a memorial of His death that we celebrate only once a year.
Second, Fifty days, (as Pentecost means), the new ripe wheat, before being cut, was sanctified by its first fruits, namely two loves of fine flour, being offered to Jehovah. This festival was also called “Feast of Weeks, (Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:10), the Feast of Harvest,” (Exodus 23:16), and the Feast of First Fruits, (Numbers 28:26) and it was celebrated on the 50th Day after Passover. The Feast lasted only one day, (Deuteronomy 16:9-12), and marked the completion of the wheat harvest. It was the anniversary of the giving of the Law of Moses on Mt. Sinai, (Exodus 20:1-17) fifty days after they left Egypt. In addition to these offerings, the people were enjoined to give the Lord an offering of their first fruits of their produce besides the animal’s sacrifices for their sin offering. “And none shall appear before Me empty, (Exodus 23:15).” Offerings are required on the first and last Holy Days, (Deuteronomy 16:16).
This was the day that Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. “Then after I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions. Even upon the servants and the handmaids, in those days, I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28-29).
That day came about on the Day of Pentecost when Jesus told His Disciples to gather into one place, in Jerusalem, and wait for the Spirit to come upon them. Suddenly from up in the sky there came a noise like a strong driving wind, which was heard all through the house where they gathered. All were filled with the Holy Spirit. They all began to express themselves in foreign language. And that was the day the Disciples were baptized by the Holy Spirit that was spoken by Joel. That is when the Carnal Feast met its Spiritual Fulfillment when the Holy Spirit was poured on His followers that day described in Acts 2.
The Third Holy Days consisted of two, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. First, “And the Eternal spoke unto Moses, say on the tenth day of the seventh month there shall be a Day of Atonement: it shall be holy convocation onto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, (fast) (Leviticus 23:7), and make an offering.” Atonement is a “Sabbath of Sabbaths” because on it no work of any kind may be done, (Leviticus16:29; Numbers 29:7). On the other Holy Days, “no servile work” other than each individual preparing “that which every man must eat,” (Exodus 12:4) may be done.
“This day was observed on the 10th day of Tishri the seventh month, (October). On this day the High Priest made confession of all the sins of the people, and entered on their behalf into the most Holy Place with the blood of reconciliation. It was a solemn occasion, when God's people through godly sorrow and atonement for sin entered into the rest of God's mercy and favor, so that as partakers of His forgiveness they might rejoice before Him and carry out His Commandments. We now no longer go through a Levitical High Priest but to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, "Seeing then we have a great High Priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession" (Hebrews 4:14).
Now the important one, the Feast of Tabernacles, in the end of the common year and in the seventh month of Tishri, (October), on the fifteenth day of the religious year, was observed five days after the day of Atonement, (Leviticus 23:34; Deeronomy16:13). There was a feast of ingathering when all the fruits of the field had been gathered. Each of the three marks a step in the historical progress of Israel.
“The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be a Holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein," Lev 23:34, "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are “Israelites” born shall dwell in booths," Lev 23:42. Why? That your generation may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God,” Remember these feasts came into existence with the Levitical Priesthood, when the Lord brought them out of Egypt. The flimsy booths were a reminder of how they lived during the 40 years in the wilderness, and how the Lord provided for them. Today we are not wandering in the wilderness, the Holy Spirit of our Lord is with us daily, a spiritual guidance, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed until the day of redemption," Eph. 4:30.
Therefore, the added laws of Moses consisted of laws governing the priesthood, blood sacrifices. They were rituals was the prophecy of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. "If, then, perfection had been achieved through the Levitical Priesthood, (on the basis of which the people received the law), what need would there have been to appoint a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, instead of choosing a priest according to the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the laws,” (Hebrew 7:11-12). All the feast days focused on Jesus!
The Ten Commandments nor the animal sacrifices didn't come into existence with Moses, but the feast days did. The feast days were a definite part of the law. “Wherefore then why serveth the law? It was added because of transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator,” (Galatians 3:19). In verse 24 and 26: Paul says, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster, for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, this added law was to last until Christ came, therefore the feast days were a definite part of the added schoolmaster law. Till the seed should come was Jesus Christ! The first animal sacrifice was performed by Jesus Christ when Adam and Eve sinned, the Lord covered them with animal skins, symbolic again of Jesus Christ covering our sin with His blood atonement. The Commandments were kept before Moses, the Lord verbally spoke to Adam and Eve and the prophets, then our Lord wrote them on stone at Mt. Sinai, then Jesus came and wrote them on our hearts.
“These three great feasts had a threefold bearing. (1) They marked the three points of time as the fruits of the earth. (2) They marked three periods in Israel’s past history. (3) They point prophetically to three grand events of the gospel kingdom. The Passover commemorated the deliverance out of Egypt, Pentecost marked the given of the law on Mt. Sinai and the Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the establishment of God’s people in the land of the promise, their pleasant and peaceful home, after the 40 years of wondering in the wilderness.
The Feast of Tabernacles will be kept during the reign of Christ, so why shouldn’t all Christians be required today? This is the verse most people quote: Zechariah 14:16-19 which says “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King the Lord of hosts and keep the feast of Tabernacles.” This will happen during the one thousand year reign with Christ, Christ will then be ruling all nations with a “rod of iron" (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 19:15) because of their defiance. The Saints won't be keeping them, but the ones that are living after the Battle of Armageddon, those that didn't make into Christ Kingdom. Christ will force the defiant nations to come to Jerusalem, because of their disobedience, as a punishment, to teach them His ways, and once again to focus on Him. The Saints will be ruling with Jesus Christ during this time, (Matthew 25:21).
Did our Lord Jesus Christ keep the Feast Days? Yes, because He was born a Jew and He was required to go to Jerusalem with His father to keep the three Feasts, (Luke 2:40-42), and He observed all the Feast Days according to the Levitical Priesthood Laws, until it came to an end at His Crucifixion. That is when the Bible says that Christ became our Passover that was sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7-8), so, the Passover Feast pointed to Christ; therefore, it ended with Him, Carnal met Spiritual. That is when the Lord's Communion came into existence and the Feast of Passover ended, that is when the old covenant or law and all carnal ordinances were abolished. The apostle Paul stated, “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent His Son, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the law,” (Galatians 4:4-5). Paul goes on to say “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 again to be in bondage,” (Galatians 4:9)? “God sent His Son “to pay the price” for all mankind, that we might receive the adoption of the Son, an adoption we could not obtain by the law, for it is only through the death of Jesus Christ that we can obtain eternal life.
But did Paul keep these festivals? Remember, they were to go to Jerusalem three times a year. “Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which Apostles before me, but I went to Arabia, and return again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days,” (Galatians 1:17-18). “Then after fourteen years, I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, this time taking Titus with me. I was prompted by a revelation, (not to keep the feast) and I laid out for their scrutiny the Gospel as I present it to the Gentiles"—all this in private conference with the leaders, Galatians 2:1-2. In verse 2 Paul says he went up to Jerusalem “by revelation” he indicated that God had revealed to him that his view of the Gentile converts would be vindicated. Acceptance of Titus “a Gentile as an equal among the believers was proof." Titus was a Greek, a son of a gentile parent.
Did the festivals merely typify and foreshadow Christ? Yes, (Galatians 3:24).
Does God really "hate" the feast days He originated? Yes, (Isaiah 1:13-14; Amos 5:21).
Can the Feast Days be a stumbling block to the Gentiles? Yes, (Romans 14:13).
Should we return to observing the Feast Days? No, (Galatians 4:9-11)
The Laws, (Levitical laws of Moses), was a schoolmaster to teach the way of God and how He wanted them to live, a schoolmaster, (Galatians 3:23-26). Carnal commandments, (Hebrews 7:16), was a yoke of bondage, (Galatians 5:1), abolished the law containing ordinance, (Ephesians 2:14-15), was against us, (Colossians 2:15), shadow of good things to come, (Hebrews 10:1), disannulled the Levitical laws, (Hebrews 7:18-19). The law spoken to by Moses, (Deuteronomy 1:3), written by Moses (Deuteronomy 31:24-26), was not good, (Ezekiel 20:25), made nothing perfect, (Hebrews 7:17-19), nailed to the cross, (Colossians 2:14), was added, (Galatians 3:19), gave no such commandment, (Acts 15:24), Cursed are the ones that continueth in the Law, (Galatians 3:9-12), why tempt ye God to put a yoke on the neck, (Acts 15:8-11), except ye be circumcised, (Acts 15:1), debtor to the whole law, (Galatians 5:2-3), justified by the law, ye have fallen from grace, (Galatians 5:4), was added because of transgressions, (Galatians 3:19).
The Feast Day festivals were part of the added law given by Moses but the Ten Commandments were instituted in the beginning, not at Mt. Sinai, there were no feast day celebrations until after the Israelites came out of Egypt. The laws of Moses were added because of the Israelites disobedience to God’s laws, but the Ten Commandments was part of the creation week when God created the heavens and earth in 6 days and rested on the seventh day called the Sabbath. “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” (Genesis 2:2-3). Yes, “there still remaineth a weekly rest (Sabbath) to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). The Sabbath (Saturday) was not part of the laws of Moses but it was a day set aside by God for His people to come together to give Him praise and glory. Jesus said, “If you love me keep my Commandments (John 14:15). “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city,” (Revelation 22:14).
Are you an observer of the Holy Feast Days? Are we still under the Feast Day Laws today? Can we be under the Feast Day Laws as well as accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the true Sacrificial Lamb at the same time? According to the Holy Scriptures you cannot be partakers of the Feast Days ordinances, the ordinance of the law, and still accept the atonement of the blood of Jesus Christ. You will see the sacrificing of animals, going through a high priest, and having to go to Jerusalem three times a year for the feast days has come to an end, been fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
Observing the Feasts Days has become quite a controversy among Christians in today’s society. There is no record of the Church of God 7th Day ever keeping the Feast Days. All those that profess to keep the Feasts today of any church or denomination you wish to name have started to observe them in this century, and most of them in the last 50 years. The World-Wide Church of God was the first Church that started the act of observing the annual feasts, and other churches and organizations followed them, but it has no part in the plan of Salvation.
The feast days are a question that seems to make some people wonder and become confused concerning God’s plan for eternal life. It is my intention to prove without a doubt, that we as Christians are not required to observe the Holy Days, that was part of the Old Covenant, and they would become obsolete if and when that covenant was abolished.
There were three feasts during the year that had to be kept at Jerusalem by all males, Exodus 34:23. “Three times a year then, every male among you shall appear before the Lord, your God, in a place which He chooses,” (Deuteronomy 16:16). Where? At Jerusalem, men that live in other countries had to travel to Jerusalem to keep those feast days. The three feast that were to be kept were: The Passover and Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, and The Feast of Tabernacles. These feasts came into existence with the Levitical Priesthood and ended with the Priesthood, Christ. Christ canceled the bond that stood against us with all its claims, nailing it to the cross, "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;" Colo. 2:14.
First, at Passover in the spring, in the month of Abib, (April), the first green ears of barley were cut, and was a favorite food, prepared as parched corn, but first of all a handful of green ears of corn were presented to the Lord, The First Fruits of Harvest plus an animal sacrifice for a sin offering. According to Exodus 12:12-14 the Passover came into existence as well as the Feast of the Unleavened Bread
The Passover commemorated the deliverance out of Egypt when the death angel passed over Israel, protecting them from the destroying angel and so achieving for them the first step of independent national life as God’s covenant people. The Passover was the first in pointing or time of the entire annual feast, and historically and religiously it was the most important of all. It was called both the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the two really forming a double festival. It was celebrated on the first month of the religious New Year, on the 14th day of Nisan, (April), and commemorated the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt and the establishment of Israel as a nation by God’s redemptive act.
The Passover was the time when the Israelites were to put the blood of the lamb on the post of their home so the death angel would not destroy the first born of each family. The blood of the Lamb, symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ that shed his blood for us who believes. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a memorial of Israel being forced to leave quickly and was told to make the Unleavened Bread due to the haste. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread was kept along with the Passover celebration in the month of Abib, (Nisan), the first month of the New Year, on the fourteenth day at even, (Exodus 12:18). The leaven represents sin, the only way to rid yourself of sin is through the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus became the bread of life: "And Jesus said unto them, I am the Bread of Life," John 6:35. The feasts were carnal ordinances, which pointed to spiritual fulfillment in Christ. It was the first point or time of the entire annual feast, and historically and religiously it was the most important of all.
The Passover ended at the death of Christ--which was carnal not spiritual. The institution by the Lord in connection with the Passover is recorded in Matthew 26:10-30; Mark 14:16-26; and Luke 22:13-20. Christ was sacrificed once for all for our redemption, never to be offered again. We now keep the Lord's Communion not the Passover, Christ is now our Passover and we take the Lord's Communion after the sun sets on the 14th day of Nisan. The Lord’s Communion came into existence the day Christ died. It is now a memorial of His death that we celebrate only once a year.
Second, Fifty days, (as Pentecost means), the new ripe wheat, before being cut, was sanctified by its first fruits, namely two loves of fine flour, being offered to Jehovah. This festival was also called “Feast of Weeks, (Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:10), the Feast of Harvest,” (Exodus 23:16), and the Feast of First Fruits, (Numbers 28:26) and it was celebrated on the 50th Day after Passover. The Feast lasted only one day, (Deuteronomy 16:9-12), and marked the completion of the wheat harvest. It was the anniversary of the giving of the Law of Moses on Mt. Sinai, (Exodus 20:1-17) fifty days after they left Egypt. In addition to these offerings, the people were enjoined to give the Lord an offering of their first fruits of their produce besides the animal’s sacrifices for their sin offering. “And none shall appear before Me empty, (Exodus 23:15).” Offerings are required on the first and last Holy Days, (Deuteronomy 16:16).
This was the day that Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. “Then after I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions. Even upon the servants and the handmaids, in those days, I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28-29).
That day came about on the Day of Pentecost when Jesus told His Disciples to gather into one place, in Jerusalem, and wait for the Spirit to come upon them. Suddenly from up in the sky there came a noise like a strong driving wind, which was heard all through the house where they gathered. All were filled with the Holy Spirit. They all began to express themselves in foreign language. And that was the day the Disciples were baptized by the Holy Spirit that was spoken by Joel. That is when the Carnal Feast met its Spiritual Fulfillment when the Holy Spirit was poured on His followers that day described in Acts 2.
The Third Holy Days consisted of two, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. First, “And the Eternal spoke unto Moses, say on the tenth day of the seventh month there shall be a Day of Atonement: it shall be holy convocation onto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, (fast) (Leviticus 23:7), and make an offering.” Atonement is a “Sabbath of Sabbaths” because on it no work of any kind may be done, (Leviticus16:29; Numbers 29:7). On the other Holy Days, “no servile work” other than each individual preparing “that which every man must eat,” (Exodus 12:4) may be done.
“This day was observed on the 10th day of Tishri the seventh month, (October). On this day the High Priest made confession of all the sins of the people, and entered on their behalf into the most Holy Place with the blood of reconciliation. It was a solemn occasion, when God's people through godly sorrow and atonement for sin entered into the rest of God's mercy and favor, so that as partakers of His forgiveness they might rejoice before Him and carry out His Commandments. We now no longer go through a Levitical High Priest but to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, "Seeing then we have a great High Priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession" (Hebrews 4:14).
Now the important one, the Feast of Tabernacles, in the end of the common year and in the seventh month of Tishri, (October), on the fifteenth day of the religious year, was observed five days after the day of Atonement, (Leviticus 23:34; Deeronomy16:13). There was a feast of ingathering when all the fruits of the field had been gathered. Each of the three marks a step in the historical progress of Israel.
“The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be a Holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein," Lev 23:34, "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are “Israelites” born shall dwell in booths," Lev 23:42. Why? That your generation may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God,” Remember these feasts came into existence with the Levitical Priesthood, when the Lord brought them out of Egypt. The flimsy booths were a reminder of how they lived during the 40 years in the wilderness, and how the Lord provided for them. Today we are not wandering in the wilderness, the Holy Spirit of our Lord is with us daily, a spiritual guidance, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed until the day of redemption," Eph. 4:30.
Therefore, the added laws of Moses consisted of laws governing the priesthood, blood sacrifices. They were rituals was the prophecy of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. "If, then, perfection had been achieved through the Levitical Priesthood, (on the basis of which the people received the law), what need would there have been to appoint a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, instead of choosing a priest according to the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the laws,” (Hebrew 7:11-12). All the feast days focused on Jesus!
The Ten Commandments nor the animal sacrifices didn't come into existence with Moses, but the feast days did. The feast days were a definite part of the law. “Wherefore then why serveth the law? It was added because of transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator,” (Galatians 3:19). In verse 24 and 26: Paul says, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster, for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, this added law was to last until Christ came, therefore the feast days were a definite part of the added schoolmaster law. Till the seed should come was Jesus Christ! The first animal sacrifice was performed by Jesus Christ when Adam and Eve sinned, the Lord covered them with animal skins, symbolic again of Jesus Christ covering our sin with His blood atonement. The Commandments were kept before Moses, the Lord verbally spoke to Adam and Eve and the prophets, then our Lord wrote them on stone at Mt. Sinai, then Jesus came and wrote them on our hearts.
“These three great feasts had a threefold bearing. (1) They marked the three points of time as the fruits of the earth. (2) They marked three periods in Israel’s past history. (3) They point prophetically to three grand events of the gospel kingdom. The Passover commemorated the deliverance out of Egypt, Pentecost marked the given of the law on Mt. Sinai and the Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the establishment of God’s people in the land of the promise, their pleasant and peaceful home, after the 40 years of wondering in the wilderness.
The Feast of Tabernacles will be kept during the reign of Christ, so why shouldn’t all Christians be required today? This is the verse most people quote: Zechariah 14:16-19 which says “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King the Lord of hosts and keep the feast of Tabernacles.” This will happen during the one thousand year reign with Christ, Christ will then be ruling all nations with a “rod of iron" (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 19:15) because of their defiance. The Saints won't be keeping them, but the ones that are living after the Battle of Armageddon, those that didn't make into Christ Kingdom. Christ will force the defiant nations to come to Jerusalem, because of their disobedience, as a punishment, to teach them His ways, and once again to focus on Him. The Saints will be ruling with Jesus Christ during this time, (Matthew 25:21).
Did our Lord Jesus Christ keep the Feast Days? Yes, because He was born a Jew and He was required to go to Jerusalem with His father to keep the three Feasts, (Luke 2:40-42), and He observed all the Feast Days according to the Levitical Priesthood Laws, until it came to an end at His Crucifixion. That is when the Bible says that Christ became our Passover that was sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7-8), so, the Passover Feast pointed to Christ; therefore, it ended with Him, Carnal met Spiritual. That is when the Lord's Communion came into existence and the Feast of Passover ended, that is when the old covenant or law and all carnal ordinances were abolished. The apostle Paul stated, “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent His Son, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the law,” (Galatians 4:4-5). Paul goes on to say “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 again to be in bondage,” (Galatians 4:9)? “God sent His Son “to pay the price” for all mankind, that we might receive the adoption of the Son, an adoption we could not obtain by the law, for it is only through the death of Jesus Christ that we can obtain eternal life.
But did Paul keep these festivals? Remember, they were to go to Jerusalem three times a year. “Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which Apostles before me, but I went to Arabia, and return again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days,” (Galatians 1:17-18). “Then after fourteen years, I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, this time taking Titus with me. I was prompted by a revelation, (not to keep the feast) and I laid out for their scrutiny the Gospel as I present it to the Gentiles"—all this in private conference with the leaders, Galatians 2:1-2. In verse 2 Paul says he went up to Jerusalem “by revelation” he indicated that God had revealed to him that his view of the Gentile converts would be vindicated. Acceptance of Titus “a Gentile as an equal among the believers was proof." Titus was a Greek, a son of a gentile parent.
Did the festivals merely typify and foreshadow Christ? Yes, (Galatians 3:24).
Does God really "hate" the feast days He originated? Yes, (Isaiah 1:13-14; Amos 5:21).
Can the Feast Days be a stumbling block to the Gentiles? Yes, (Romans 14:13).
Should we return to observing the Feast Days? No, (Galatians 4:9-11)
The Laws, (Levitical laws of Moses), was a schoolmaster to teach the way of God and how He wanted them to live, a schoolmaster, (Galatians 3:23-26). Carnal commandments, (Hebrews 7:16), was a yoke of bondage, (Galatians 5:1), abolished the law containing ordinance, (Ephesians 2:14-15), was against us, (Colossians 2:15), shadow of good things to come, (Hebrews 10:1), disannulled the Levitical laws, (Hebrews 7:18-19). The law spoken to by Moses, (Deuteronomy 1:3), written by Moses (Deuteronomy 31:24-26), was not good, (Ezekiel 20:25), made nothing perfect, (Hebrews 7:17-19), nailed to the cross, (Colossians 2:14), was added, (Galatians 3:19), gave no such commandment, (Acts 15:24), Cursed are the ones that continueth in the Law, (Galatians 3:9-12), why tempt ye God to put a yoke on the neck, (Acts 15:8-11), except ye be circumcised, (Acts 15:1), debtor to the whole law, (Galatians 5:2-3), justified by the law, ye have fallen from grace, (Galatians 5:4), was added because of transgressions, (Galatians 3:19).
The Feast Day festivals were part of the added law given by Moses but the Ten Commandments were instituted in the beginning, not at Mt. Sinai, there were no feast day celebrations until after the Israelites came out of Egypt. The laws of Moses were added because of the Israelites disobedience to God’s laws, but the Ten Commandments was part of the creation week when God created the heavens and earth in 6 days and rested on the seventh day called the Sabbath. “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” (Genesis 2:2-3). Yes, “there still remaineth a weekly rest (Sabbath) to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). The Sabbath (Saturday) was not part of the laws of Moses but it was a day set aside by God for His people to come together to give Him praise and glory. Jesus said, “If you love me keep my Commandments (John 14:15). “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city,” (Revelation 22:14).