The ongoing blagging and hacking scandal surrounding Rupert Murdoch and his British subsidiaries, threatening the very survival of Britain’s power structure, including Prime Minister David Cameron, has shocked the British public and the world. How did we get there, and more importantly, why is it happening? Why are some saying that Great Britain’s entire democratic system is rotten and a farce? How can the Bible help us understand why we are plagued with these kinds of crimes?
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Could Jesus Return Tonight?
A strong minority of Americans believes that we are living in the End Times, while 52 percent disagree. Some believe and teach that Jesus could come back tonight, while others say that He won’t return at all. What does the Bible tell us?
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A look at the origin of the Sabbath and what it points to, as part of the creation week. Also, how Christ and the apostles kept the Sabbath and how we will keep it in the millennium since it is a perpetual covenant between God and His people forever, and points to the true God of the Bible.
Common Misconceptions – Part 1
There are many controversies and misconceptions the world is confused about when it comes to certain holidays such as Christmas, Easter, New Years, Halloween, and when it comes to commandments such as idol worship, taking God’s name in vain, murder, and also things like voting, jury duty, unclean meats, smoking and tattoos. What does the Bible have to say about such practices?
Would you please explain Mark 2:27-28? In what way is Jesus “Lord of the Sabbath?” Since man was not made for the Sabbath, can we therefore work on the Sabbath?
To answer these and related questions, it is important to explain some of the background and to look at the context of the Scripture.
Jesus said that He did not come to do away with the Law of God (Matthew 5:17). He told a young ruler that he was required to keep the commandments of God if he wanted to enter into eternal life (Matthew 19:16-17). He then listed many of the Ten Commandments, so that there could be no doubt what “Law” he was referring to (verses 18-19). James, half-brother of Jesus Christ, later stated that we are a transgressor of the entire Law of God, if we violate just one of His commandments (James 2:10). He clearly identified the “Law” as the Ten Commandments, quoting two of the Ten (verse 11). In the letter to the Hebrews, we find the express confirmation of the ongoing validity of the Sabbath commandment, when we read: “It is therefore the duty of the people of God to keep the Sabbath” (Hebrews 4:9, Lamsa Bible).
Whatever the meaning of Mark 2:27-28 may be, we can already safely state from this overview that Jesus did not teach the abolishment of the Sabbath—the fourth of the Ten Commandments.
Since Christ said that He did not come to abolish, but to fulfill the Law, He did not at the same time come to abolish the rules and regulations defining how to keep the Sabbath. The Fourth Commandment says very clearly that we are not to do servile or customary work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). As God rested on the seventh day from His ordinary work of creating plants, animals and men, so we are to rest from our ordinary labor and to be spiritually refreshed on the Sabbath.
Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man. It was God’s gift to man. It was not supposed to be a burden, but a blessing. As God blessed and sanctified for holy use the seventh day (Genesis 2:3), He did so for man, so man will be blessed when he properly keeps and enjoys the seventh day.
However, the Pharisees at the time of Jesus Christ had made a burden out of the Sabbath. Their motives might have been good, but the result was catastrophic. They remembered that the Assyrians and Babylonians had enslaved the ancient houses of Israel and Judah because of their idolatry and Sabbath-breaking. They wanted to make sure that the people would not again break the Sabbath. In trying to accomplish this, they added many rules and restrictions to God’s Sabbath commandment, reasoning that one had to break first those restrictions, before reaching the core of the Sabbath Law, and that it would be very difficult to peel off the layers of their man-made rules to ever reach the substance of the Law.
They felt that these additional man-made rules constituted a “fence” to protect the substance of the Sabbath. They reasoned that no one would violate the heart and core of the Sabbath Law if they were prevented from breaking certain provisions that “fenced in,” and thereby “protected,” the Fourth Commandment. As stated, their motives might have been laudable, but they had in effect placed a yoke on the people which they were not able to bear.
To give you a better understanding as to the nature of these burdensome pharisaical rules and regulations, we are quoting a brief excerpt from our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days”:
“The Pharisees totally misinterpreted the prohibition against carrying burdens on the Sabbath. They decreed that a person was guilty of breaking the Sabbath if he carried a sheet of paper, or any food that weighed as much as a dried fig, or if he carried more than one swallow of milk, or enough oil to anoint a small part of the body. If a fire broke out in a person’s home on the Sabbath, he could carry out only the necessary food to be consumed on the Sabbath. This meant that if the fire broke out at the beginning of the Sabbath—right after sunset—the person could take out enough food for three meals; but if the fire broke out on the afternoon of the Sabbath, he could only take out enough food for one meal. The rest could not be carried out and had to be left behind, to burn with the building. Further, only necessary clothes could be taken out of a burning house on the Sabbath.”
Jesus came to make God’s Law great and honorable (Isaiah 42:21) —to show the spiritual intent of the Law. He confronted the Pharisees on many occasions regarding their restrictive interpretations of the Sabbath command. He chided them for transgressing the Law of God to uphold their own traditions (Mark 7:8-9). As stated, God intended the Sabbath to be a blessing for man, not a curse or a burden. In light of this understanding, Christ healed many sick people on the Sabbath—but the Pharisees condemned Him for that, claiming that He should heal them during the six days of the week, but not on the Sabbath. Their idea was that a sick man could not be freed from illness on the Sabbath—preventing him from really enjoying the intent of the Sabbath Law. But Jesus declared to them powerfully and unequivocally: “… it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:12).
At the same time, the Pharisees’ interpretation and practices lacked in consequential teaching and application. They would allow a baby to be circumcised on the Sabbath—if the eighth day after birth fell on the Sabbath–but they would not allow a sick person to be healed on the Sabbath. They would also allow an ox which had fallen into the pit to be rescued on the Sabbath, or to water their animals on the Sabbath, but they would not allow the healing of a human being on the Sabbath, who was created in the image of God.
In addition, they criticized the disciples of Christ for plucking the heads of grain on the Sabbath, to satisfy their hunger (Mark 2:23-24; Matthew 12:1-2). It was their position that they should rather go hungry than to pluck a few heads of grain, falsely interpreting such conduct as prohibited “harvesting.”
It was this kind of environment and philosophy that Jesus was addressing, when He made the profound statements in Mark 2:27-28: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
In the parallel account of Matthew 12, He adds the following: “Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (verses 6-8). As an aside, the word “even” is not in the original Greek and was added by the translator.
Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man—the One greater than the Temple—the Lord of the Sabbath. As we have seen in a previous Q&A [“Did Jesus Exist Prior to His Human Birth?”] it was He who created the Sabbath. We read that God the Father created everything through and by Jesus Christ—and that includes man and the Sabbath. Jesus created the Sabbath for man, and as the Lord of the Sabbath, He can tell us with authority how to keep it. The discussion did not evolve around whether or not to keep it—Jesus kept the Sabbath, as was His custom (Luke 4:16). Later, Paul kept the Sabbath, as was his custom (Acts 17:2), and he told Gentile converts in Corinth to follow or imitate him as he followed Christ (compare 1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1). Christ never allowed or authorized man to change the Sabbath to Sunday. In fact, He condemns this kind of religious worship (compare Matthew 5:19). Those who think they can worship God the Father and Jesus Christ on Sunday, instead of the Sabbath—thereby upholding their own traditions, while transgressing and abolishing the commandments of God—are engaging in a kind of worship which is NOT acceptable to God (Matthew 15:7-9, 13-14).
Christ placed mercy over strict pharisaical restrictions, pointing out that David ate from the showbread of the temple, when he was hungry, although it was not “lawful” for him to eat it (Matthew 12:3-4). But Christ did not condemn David for this. He also taught that the priests in the temple had to fulfill their responsibilities on the Sabbath, which—according to pharisaical consequential reasoning–would have been tantamount to “breaking” or “profaning” the Sabbath, but Christ said they were “blameless” in doing so (Matthew 12:5). When today God’s ministers “work” on the Sabbath in preparing and delivering sermons, they are equally blameless and guiltless.
On the other hand, Christ did not teach that we can violate God’s Sabbath by just trampling it under foot—by working in our jobs to earn a living and by pursuing our own pleasures and hobbies. Isaiah 58:13 states to you (according to the New International Version) that you are to “keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day” and to “call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable” and to “honor it by not doing as you please or speaking idle words.” The Living Bible clarifies that “doing as you please” refers to “your own fun and business.”
Yet, in emergencies, we can and should take care of our personal needs, but this does not mean that we should create emergencies in the first place, so that we can then “break” the Sabbath in order to take care of them. We are not to throw a sheep into the ditch on Friday so that we can rescue it on the Sabbath day.
Jesus is the LORD of the Sabbath. He tells us with authority that we must keep it—and how to do so. Jesus made the Sabbath for MAN (not just the Jew), to be a blessing for man. The Sabbath was not made to be a curse or a burden for us. Man was not made for the Sabbath, to be under a cruel and merciless pharisaical yoke. The Pharisees, through their legalistic approach, had placed undue restrictions on the Sabbath, teaching in effect that man was made for the Sabbath. But Jesus came to show that the Sabbath was made FOR man, to be joyfully observed and to be called “a delight.” In keeping the Sabbath properly, we draw closer to God and are reminded of His great love for us, who created us in the first place with the potential of entering His very Family. See our recent Q&A, “Why was man created?”
None of His commandments are to be viewed as a burden for us (1 John 5:3). Rather, God’s love in us enables us to keep all of His commandments properly and from the heart (2 John 6). God’s entire Law is an expression of His love, and God IS love (1 John 4:8).
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
Would you please explain the meaning of Colossians 2:16-17?
We have explained this passage, in detail, in our booklets, “Is That in the Bible?–Man’s Holidays or God’s Holy Days,” and “God’s Commanded Holy Days.” In these booklets, we show from Scripture that Colossians 2:16-17 does not teach–as many have erroneously concluded–that the weekly Sabbath and the seven annual Holy Days are no longer binding; in fact, correctly understood, that particular passage teaches the exact opposite.
First, we want to quote from our booklet, “Is That in the Bible?–Man’s Holidays or God’s Holy Days,” which contains a more general discussion of the passage. This will be followed by a very specific discussion of, among other concepts, the grammatical structure of the passage in the original Greek, as quoted from our booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” revealing in much detail the intended meaning of that Scripture.
To begin with, please note the following excerpts from our booklet, “Is That in the Bible?–Man’s Holidays or God’s Holy Days“:
“In the New King James Bible, Colossians 2:16–17 reads as follows: ‘So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival [margin: ‘feast day’] or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ’…
“Let’s first look at the phrase, ‘the substance is of Christ.’ The word ‘is’ is not in the Greek. It was added by the translator in an attempt to make the meaning clearer; however, this addition has, to the contrary, confused and perverted the meaning. Without the word ‘is’ in that particular phrase, it simply states, ‘…but the substance of Christ.’ What is the substance of Christ?…
“The literal meaning for the word ‘substance’ is ‘body.’ The Greek word here is ‘soma’ and is otherwise translated as ‘body’ throughout the New Testament, and especially in the letter to the Colossians… With that understanding, let us turn again to Colossians 2:16–17, where Paul says: ‘Let no one judge you… regarding a festival or Sabbaths… but the body of Christ.’ In other words, let no one, except the body of Christ—the Church—judge in those matters. The Church—the body of Christ—the preserver of the truth—CAN, and should, judge in that regard.
“The Colossians were criticized by their opponents, not by Paul, when they kept the Sabbath and the Holy Days (Note that Paul refers to ‘Sabbaths’; that is, to both the weekly and the annual Sabbath or Holy Days.) Paul is essentially saying to them: I am speaking on behalf of the Church when I tell you that you should continue keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days, as this is what the Church has judged and resolved to do, based on the Scriptures.
“Colossae was a predominately Gentile city, although some Jews undoubtedly lived there as well. The Christian converts in Colossae had begun to keep the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days, and Paul essentially told them: ‘Don’t listen to your former friends and your relatives who try to convince you not to keep those “Jewish traditions”—but rather, listen to what the Church is telling you’…
“What did Paul mean when he described these things as being a shadow of things to come? The weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days have tremendous meaning for us today. They foreshadow events to occur in the future at a time when the whole world will be ruled by Christ and taught by Him to keep God’s Law—including the weekly and annual Sabbaths—as God’s people already do today.
“Rather than doing away with the keeping of the Sabbath and Holy Days, Colossians 2:16–17 teaches the exact opposite. It teaches us not to worry about people who say that we should not do so, but rather to concern ourselves with the truth of the matter, which is being taught by Christ’s Body—the Church…
“Some tried to convince the Gentile Christians in Colossae to cease from keeping the weekly and annual Sabbaths. Others went to the opposite extreme—they tried to convince the Gentile Christians in Colossae that they had to fast on the weekly and annual Sabbaths.
“Since both the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days are Feast days, the Christians in Colossae kept them, of course, as FEAST days. They would eat and drink on those days (except, of course, during the ‘Fast’—on the Day of Atonement). Some, though, apparently criticized them for that, teaching that no eating and drinking should take place on any of those days.
“Colossians 2:16, correctly translated from the Greek, states: ‘Let no one judge you regarding eating and drinking.’ Paul is addressing here the ACT of eating and drinking, not the KIND of food and drink being partaken of. Some critics felt, however, that Christians should fast on those days, rather than eating or drinking anything. Notice Paul’s reference to this kind of self-imposed ascetic, or austere, religion in Colossians 2:20–23 (‘…why… do you subject yourselves to regulations—”Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?’).
“Paul told the Colossians to continue keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days in the same way as they were doing it, rather than listening to those who were trying to tell them not to do it at all, or not to keep them as feast days…”
As mentioned, our booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” discusses the passage of Colossians 2:16-17 in greater detail. For the spiritual benefit of our readers, we would like to quote from this more detailed, albeit perhaps somewhat technical discussion, to destroy any doubt as to what Colossians 2:16-17 is REALLY teaching:
“Colossians 2:16–17 reads, in the New King James Bible, as follows: ‘So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival [margin: ‘feast day’] or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ’…
“If you have a New King James Bible, you might want to check the margin. It says there that the literal meaning for the word ‘substance’ is ‘body.’ That is correct. The Greek word here is ‘soma,’ and it is otherwise translated as ‘body’ throughout the New Testament.
“Limiting this discussion just to the letter to the Colossians, the New King James Bible has translated the word ‘soma’ consistently as ‘body.’ Only here, in Colossians 2:17, it is translated as ‘substance.’ Why? Simply because the translators did not, and do not, understand the meaning of the passage.
“Notice it for yourself. Notice, too, what is being referred to when the phrase ‘body of Christ’ is used elsewhere in the following passages:
“Colossians 1:18: ‘And He is the head of the body [‘soma’ in Greek], the church.’ Christ is identified here as the Head of the body, which is the Church.
“Colossians 1:24: ‘I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body [‘soma’ in the Greek], which is the church.’ Again, we see that the body of Christ is identified here as His Church.
“Colossians 2:19: ‘… and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body [‘soma’], nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.’ Again, the reference is to the spiritual body of Christ, the Church.
“Finally, let’s notice Colossians 3:15: ‘And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body [‘soma’].’ We all belong to that one body—the Church, of which Christ is the Head.
“These Scriptures clearly show that the references in that letter to the body of Christ is to the Church of Christ. With that understanding, let us turn again to Colossians 2:16–17, where Paul says: ‘Let no one judge you… regarding a festival or Sabbaths… but the body of Christ.’ In other words, let no one, except the body of Christ—the Church—judge in those matters. The Church, the body of Christ, the preserver of the truth, can and should judge in that regard…
“It is interesting that Greek scholars recognize—in simply looking at the Greek structure of the sentence—that the first part of the statement, ‘Let no one judge you…’ requires a second statement to explain who should do the judging.
“Professor Troy Martin wrote an article entitled, ‘But Let Everyone Discern the Body of Christ (Col. 2:17),’ which was published in the Journal of Biblical Literature in the Summer of 1995. In that article, he confirms—based on the Greek structure of the sentence—that the second part of the statement in Colossians 2:16–17 explains who is doing the judging.
“He first points to a parallel passage in 1 Corinthians 10:24 that states: ‘Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well being.’ In order to understand this passage correctly, one has to repeat in the second phrase the opposite of the beginning of the first phrase. In other words, the clear and intended meaning of this passage is: ‘Let no one seek his own, but let each one seek the other’s well being.’
“This Scripture is grammatically structured in the same way as Colossians 2:16–17. Therefore, according to Professor Troy in regard to both 1 Corinthians 10:24 and Colossians 2:16–17, ‘The verb judge determines the action that is forbidden [by the first phrase = let no one judge you…] and then enjoined [or commanded, by the second phrase].’
“With this understanding, the sentence in Colossians 2:16–17 has to read this way: ‘So let no one judge you… regarding a festival or Sabbaths…, but let the body of Christ judge you.’
“Professor Troy gives a second example to prove this conclusion, namely Romans 14:13, which reads: ‘Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.’ In the Greek, the word for ‘judge’ and ‘resolve’ is exactly the same, namely ‘krino.’ This word is used in Colossians 2:16–17 and translated there as ‘judge.’
“Romans 14:13 tells us that we must not judge one another, but that we must judge how not to become a stumbling block for others. This statement in Romans 14:13 is identical in structure with the structure used in Colossians 2:16–17. No one is to judge the Colossians regarding the Sabbath and the Holy Days, except for the body of Christ, the Church. This means, then, that Colossians 2:16–17 says exactly the opposite from what critics of the Sabbath and the Holy Days want us to believe. The Colossians were not criticized for NOT keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days, but rather, they were criticized for KEEPING them.
“Comparing Romans 14:13 with Colossians 2:16–17, Dr. Troy concludes that Paul is telling the Colossians in Chapter 2 that they should not let a man judge them for keeping the Holy Days and the Sabbath, but that the Church—the Body of Christ—should judge this matter. The Colossians were criticized by their opponents, not by Paul, when they kept the Sabbath and the Holy Days. Paul is essentially saying to them: I am speaking on behalf of the Church, when I tell you that you should continue keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days, as this is what the Church has judged and resolved to do, based on the Biblical Scriptures.
“The Church [of God] has understood the correct meaning of this passage in years past. In 1976, Herbert Armstrong, late Pastor General of the Church of God, wrote a booklet entitled, ‘Pagan Holidays or God’s Holy Days—Which?’ On page 35 he writes: ‘So these little-understood verses ought to be translated clearly: “Let no man therefore judge you… but [rather let] the body of Christ [determine it].” Let Christ’s body judge these church matters. Greek scholars recognize that the last clause “but [rather] the body of Christ” demands that a verb be added, but have often not seen that the missing verb should be supplied from the most logical and grammatical parallel clause so as to read properly, “Let the body of Christ judge [these matters].”‘
“Unfortunately, a few years after Mr. Armstrong’s death in 1986, the wording of this section in the same booklet was changed. A new and unauthorized explanation was given regarding Colossians 2:16, paving the way, of course, for subsequent drastic [erroneous] changes. The revised wording was: ‘Therefore the Christians at Colossae were not to let themselves be taken to task by heretical teachers concerning matters such as eating, drinking, holy days, new moons and Sabbaths… After all, how could such matters possibly transcend Christ? He is the body, the substance, the very center of God’s plan of salvation. All else is a mere shadow that holds no value as a replacement for him’…
“What did Paul mean when he described these things as being a shadow of things to come? Let’s review once again the insightful comments of Prof. Troy in the above-mentioned article. He states: ‘These Christian practices may comprise the shadow, and they are not presented negatively except by the opponents…The tense is present [Note carefully that the text reads, ‘these ARE,’ not ‘WERE’ ‘a shadow of things to come’], and affirms that these things are now shadows. [Some] commentators translate the past tense and conclude that these stipulations have ended now that the true substance has arrived since they were only shadows… In spite of this…, the text affirms a present… validity to the shadow.’
“The weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days have tremendous meaning for us today, foreshadowing events to occur in the future, when the whole world will be ruled by Christ and taught by Him to keep God’s Law—including the weekly and annual Sabbaths—as God’s people already do today.
“Rather than doing away with Sabbath and Holy Day keeping, Colossians 2:16–17 teaches the exact opposite. It teaches us not to worry about people who say that we should not do so [or who try to convince us of their personal ideas as to HOW and HOW NOT to keep these days], but to concern ourselves with the truth, as taught by Christ’s Body—the Church…”
In conclusion, Colossians 2:16-17 teaches without a shadow of a doubt that true Christians are obligated and commanded to continue keeping the weekly Seventh-Day Sabbath and the seven annual Holy Days.
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
Self Examination
The importance of a thorough self examination prior to the Passover using the ten commandments as the criteria to do so.
The Sabbath
The Sabbath was made for man and was instituted by God on creation week as a day of rest and worship to Him. It is also the only sign given to true Christians that we are worshipping the one and true God . No other day has been designated for true Christians to worship God.
Were the Holy Days given at the time of Moses actually observed before—including even in the times before the flood?
The most complete summary of the Holy Days given by God and to be observed by His people is found in Leviticus 23. Carefully note how the first two verses introduce these special days:
“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying. ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “THE FEASTS OF THE LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are MY FEASTS”’” (Leviticus 23:1-2).
In this record, we see that God revealed to Moses the specific feasts, and Moses was to, in turn, teach the nation of Israel about these observances. Earlier, as He began to intervene and deliver Israel from Egyptian captivity, God very specifically established a calendar system to be used by His nation (Compare Exodus 12:1-2). At the same time He also established the observance of the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread as recorded in chapters 12 and 13 of the book of Exodus.
In addition to establishing this unique yearly calendar, God also reminded Israel of the proper way to mark the weekly period by setting apart the seventh day—the Sabbath—as a time in which the nation of Israel was to rest, because the Sabbath was holy to the LORD (Compare Exodus 16, especially verses 23-36). This observance was also subsequently included and re-emphasized in the proclamation of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11).
WHY did God do this with Israel—why were they given knowledge of the Holy Days?
Part of the answer is found in Exodus 19:5-6: “‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’…”
This people of Israel were the descendants of Abraham, and God had chosen Abraham to serve Him for a great purpose. Note this promise given by God to Abraham: “‘In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice’” (Genesis 22:18). The “seed” refers to Jesus Christ–the Savior of mankind (compare Galatians 3:16). This far reaching commitment by God to Abraham provided the key for the rest of mankind to eventually be reconciled to God.
The assurance and knowledge of this plan of God is revealed in the Holy Days given to the nation of Israel. We have written extensively about this and much more detailed information is available on our websites—especially note the following booklets: “God’s Commanded Holy Days“; “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days“; “The Meaning of God’s Fall Holy Days“; and, “The Sacrificial System and the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.”
The Bible reveals that it was to Israel that God revealed His Feasts and commanded the entire nation to observe them from that time forward. However, let us also note what is the FIRST of the “feasts of the LORD” mentioned in the summary found in Leviticus 23:
“‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings’” (Leviticus 23:3).
The very first—and only—pre-Moses biblical record of an observance of this particular Feast (or any of the Holy Days) is mentioned in Genesis 2:2-3: “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
What is revealed is that it was God who rested, and it was God who established and set apart the weekly Sabbath for special observance. We may infer that Adam and Eve were taught about the Sabbath, as it is clearly revealed that God’s Ten Commandments were in force and the Sabbath is a part of those commandments. However, it is also evident that following the disobedience of Adam and Eve, their descendants—with only the fewest exceptions—rebelled against God and did not walk in ANY of God’s ways. That disobedience brought on the terrible global destruction of the flood as punishment.
There is no biblical evidence of any other of God’s commanded Holy Days being observed, or, for that matter, even being revealed or established, prior to Moses. After all, God’s annual Holy Days were given to the nation of ancient Israel–the “church in the wilderness”–which came into existence at the time of Moses, when God made covenants with the nation.
Let us also point out that God established the Sabbath as a “Holy Day” in conjunction with the events surrounding His creative work that culminated in the creation of man. Later, He told Israel to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth… THEREFORE the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8, 11). We see that the weekly Sabbath was to be kept as a MEMORIAL of God’s creation. (Later, God added another reason why Israel was to remember to observe the Sabbath, compare Deuteronomy 5:12-15).
When God first established the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, their purpose was revealed in association with God’s separation of the people of Israel and their deliverance from the bondage of Egyptian servitude (Compare Exodus 12; Exodus 13:9). The Passover season was to be observed by Israel in memory of what God did in Egypt. Exodus 12:26-27, in referring to the Passover service, points out: “And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover service of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households….'” Likewise, Exodus 12:14, 17, in referring to the Days of Unleavened Bread, states: “So this day shall be to you a MEMORIAL; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations… So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, FOR ON THIS SAME DAY I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. THEREFORE you shall observe this day…”
As the weekly Sabbath was to be kept in memory of God’s creation, so Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread were to be kept in memory of what God did in Egypt. The difference is this: While the weekly Sabbath began when God made man (remember that God made the Sabbath for man, Mark 2:27)–and was clearly revealed to be kept from the very beginning–the events surrounding the first Passover did not occur prior to Moses and Israel in Egypt. Therefore, there is no biblical evidence that individuals kept the annual Holy Days prior to Moses.
Likewise, the other Holy Days mentioned in Leviticus 23 have a specific association with events of the time when Israel came out of Egypt to possess the Promised Land God was giving them.
It is for these reasons that the Church of God has taught for many years that the ESTABLISHMENT of the annual Holy Days and their observance by God’s people began at the time of Moses–and not prior to that time. Herbert W. Armstrong, the late human leader of the Worldwide Church of God, wrote in his booklet, “Pagan Holidays or God’s Holy Days-Which?” (emphasis added):
“The Sabbath is a WEEKLY MEMORIAL OF CREATION…. Now in like manner, when God GAVE HIS CHURCH seven annual Sabbaths, God, in His wisdom, had a great purpose… The [first] day [of unleavened bread] ESTABLISHED as a Sabbath, or holy convocation forever, is the feast day, the selfsame DAY on which they WENT OUT OF EGYPT… This day is a MEMORIAL… A MEMORIAL OF DELIVERANCE FROM EGYPT, which pictures to us deliverance from sin! Observe that the days of unleavened bread are a period, having two high-day Sabbaths. And this period is ESTABLISHED forever WHILE the Israelites were still IN EGYPT.. Why did God ordain these feast days? What was His great purpose? Turn now to Exodus 13, verse 3: ‘And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt. . . .’… Verses 6, 8-10: ‘Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and the seventh day shall be a feast unto the Lord . . . This is done because of that which the Eternal did’ (a MEMORIAL) ‘and it shall be for a sign’… God’s purpose in GIVING HIS CHURCH His annual holy days was to keep His children constantly in true understanding of God’s great plan.”
That great Holy Day PLAN of God is far more encompassing in its intended meaning.
(1) For instance, Jesus Christ came into the world to become the Passover Lamb of God (John 1:29), and His sacrifice paid the penalty of sin for all who would believe and accept His offering by turning to God in humble repentance and obedience. In addressing the keeping of the first of the three seasonal feast periods—Passover and Unleavened Bread—Paul states: “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
(2) In the Book of Hebrews, the significant meaning of the Sabbath is revealed in an even greater scope: “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (NASB Study Bible; Hebrews 4:9). This points to a future fulfillment in a time when Jesus Christ will establish the Kingdom of God on this earth and reign for 1,000 years with the firstfruits–the saints of God and Jesus Christ–who will be the first to be resurrected to immortality (Compare Revelation 20:4-6).
(3) These firstfruits are also pictured by the keeping of the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, as revealed in Leviticus 23:15-22. Again, we see that more than what was then revealed about this Feast occurred following the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this context, it is important to note that Jesus Christ pointedly told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem for a dramatic and very specific purpose: “‘Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high’” (Luke 24:49).
What followed is recorded in the Book of Acts, and it involved the disciples doing exactly what they were commanded to do by Jesus—that was to stay in Jerusalem, and in doing this, they also observed the Day of Pentecost (Feast of Weeks): “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).
In addition to the summary of the Holy Days of God described in Leviticus 23, God also describes His Feasts as three seasons within the year (Compare Exodus 23:14; 34:23). We have already seen that for the first two “times” that the Feast Days were observed, there has been additional fulfillments revealing even more about God’s plan of Salvation as contained in the outlined observance of these holy times.
(4) Other elements of God’s plan are revealed through His Fall Holy Days. Symbolically observed in accordance with God’s instructions, these Feasts point to and foreshadow awesome future occurrences that will lead to the completion of God’s great plan—that is, to increase His Family, the God “kind,” by giving eternal life to obedient men and women as sons and daughters of God and members of the spirit-composed and eternal Family of God!
Addressing the question at hand, we again need to focus on what role these Holy Days actually played in the period before Moses.
Perhaps the closest narrative that might hint at some kind of a seasonal observance is found in the account of the offerings that were brought to God by Cain and Abel, as recorded in Genesis 4. However, it would be supposition and unfounded speculation to go beyond what is written and to then try and ascribe this offering as occurring on, and in celebration of, a particular Holy Day.
This is not to say that God did not cause certain events to take place–prior to Moses–which foreshadowed the later observance of the annual Holy Days. It is even possible that some of these events occurred on days which would later be observed as annual Holy Days. It has been speculated, for example–and there exists some Jewish “tradition” to that effect–that events surrounding Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Abraham’s “sacrifice” of Isaac, might have taken place during the days which would later be known and observed as Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread–but even though this might be interesting conjecture, it cannot, of course, be proven from Scripture.
The Bible simply does not clearly reveal or support the idea of people observing God’s Holy Days in times earlier than Moses—with the notable exception of the weekly Sabbath Day which was kept by Noah, Abraham and other servants of God, as part of the Ten Commandments which were in force and effect prior to Moses (Compare our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound“).
Nonetheless, there is evidence that the Holy Days have been a part of God’s intentions and PLANNED FOR even before the creation of the physical realm in which we now exist!
There are Scriptures that clearly reveal that God’s plan—a plan pictured by His Holy Days—was in place even before God created the earth! Even the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was planned for far in advance (Our booklet, “Are You Predestined to be Saved?”, provides insightful explanations about this misunderstood subject). Please note the following Scriptures:
Matthew 25:34: “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…”
Ephesians 1:4: “… just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…”
1 Peter 1:20: “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you…”
Revelation 13:8: “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
While it is obvious from the Word of God that an awesome plan of staggering proportions is being carried out by God the Father and Jesus Christ, the fact remains that only certain elements have been revealed! Also, God has revealed information as He deemed it appropriate and necessary for His purposes.
The annual Holy Days were clearly revealed in conjunction with Moses and the establishment of the nation of Israel as God’s people. We don’t read in Scripture that they were revealed or established prior to that time. But it is clear that true Christians–spiritual Israelites–are to keep all of God’s Feasts today–the weekly Sabbath AS WELL AS the annual Holy Days. As has been the case throughout man’s history, knowledge of the annual Feast Days has been lost or simply ignored. Our challenge remains to neither take away from this priceless knowledge nor to add to it, but rather to faithfully observe these very special days set aside by God.
Lead Writers: Dave Harris and Norbert Link
Sabbath Rest
The Bible tells us to keep the Sabbath. But what day are we to keep the Sabbath? How can we know and what does the Bible have to say on this particular subject?