I came across an interesting article on Torah Connections which explores “Why Christians Stopped Celebrating Passover”. In a nutshell, it began with an anti-Jewish bias that developed after 70 AD and culminated in Emperor Constantine’s verdict, “Let us have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd.”
Yet, there were those who continued to be “Quatrodecimans”, that is, they observed the 14th of Nissan, known as Passover. The above article outlines how Polycrates continued in what was passed down to him from John and Polycarp.
Paul had something interesting to say about the night of Jesus’ death:
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
~ 1Co 11:23-24 (NIV)
Paul said, “I received”, but we must remember that he was not present with the other apostles on the night Jesus was arrested. This was years later. Instead, he learned directly from Jesus, apparently when he went to Arabia for about three years (Gal 1:17-18). Paul was doing this “in remembrance” of Jesus’ death “on the night he was betrayed”, i.e., on the anniversary of His death, which is Passover.
There are Christians today who partake in the bread and wine commemorating Jesus’ death on Passover. This Sunday evening, thousands will do so in memorial of Christ’s sacrifice.
Where will you be on that night? Will you be following God’s commandments and keeping the days He set aside (Lev 23)? Or, will you wait and keep a day instituted by a pagan emperor, using symbols borrowed from pagan religions, held on a day that honors the sun god and was never commanded nor condoned by God?
Interesting notes that you make about keeping a day instituted by a pagan (i.e. Gentile) emporer, using symbols borrowed from pagan (i.e. Gentile) religions that honors the sun god and was never commanded nor condoned by God.
Ironically this turning by God from Israel to taking the Gospel to the Gentiles was clearly prophesied in the Old Testament and played out in the New, especially in the book of Acts. The mirth (joy) of these religious days would be radically changed into a relationship with Him through His Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ.
Malachi says clearly, “From the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles (pagans); In every place incense shall be offered to My name , And a pure offering For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts.”
Question: Is God’s name (the great name of Jesus Christ) great among the nations due to God’s working in the 7th Day Churches of God?
Question: Does the sun never set on the name of Jesus Christ amongst the Gentile (pagan) nations today around the world because of God’s work in the 7th Day Churches of God?
Where was this move to the pagans prophesied? Isa 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles (pagans) shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”
Interestingly Jesus says in the New Testament for all those who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest – the glorious resting place.
Isa 42:1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles (pagans).
Isa 42:6 “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles (pagans), (v 7) To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
Question: How has God worked through the Churches of God have prison ministries? I know two powerful Gentile prison ministries: 1) Prison Fellowship (Chuck Colson); and 2) The Gideons. There are many, many stories of changed lives and fruit resulting from God’s work in the Gideons and Prison Fellowship. You can read how Jesus changed the life of “The Son of Sam” through a Gideon Testament at http://www.ariseandshine.org/Testimony-&-Translations.html
Isa 49:6b I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles (pagans), That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'” – Interesting that Jesus said that the Gospel will go to the ends of the earth.
Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles (pagans) shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things.” (v 20) Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods? (v 21) “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD.
What is the most preeminent thing in Christianity today? The NAME of Jesus.
Ezek 4:13; Ezek 11:16; Ezek 39:23 “The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.”
We (Gentiles) know today that Israel went into captivity for their iniquity. The Gospel has now (according to Acts 10 and the rest of the book of Acts) gone to the Gentiles.
Paul’s ministry: “So when they had appointed (Paul) a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying,
‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”’
“Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles (pagans), and they will hear it!” And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. (Acts 28:23-29)
Yes, God called the Feast Days of Lev 23 “His days” but He also referred to those days as “your appointed feasts in Num 15:3, Num 29:39, Hosea 2:11, Nahum 1:15 and Isa 1:14.
God has turned His face from Israel and from the Holy Days:
He prophesied in Hosea that the joy of those Feasts, Sabbaths and New Moons would be changed when He turned to the Gentiles with salvation (and the pagan rejects would listen). He prophesied in Amos your feasts will be turned into mourning.
Isaiah 1:13-15 God said, “The New Moons, the Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies – I cannot endure inquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
Days matter not to God, but rather the heart and lives of His people.
Question: How many lives of the outcasts, prostitutes, inmates, drug addicts, worshippers of witchcraft, Islamists, etc. has God radically changed to become a fully devoted believer in Jesus Christ? Not one who boasts that the Sabbath and Holy Days changed their lives, but one in whom Jesus lives powerfully NOW? The delight is no longer the Sabbath and Holy Days. The real delight is a full blown relationship with Jesus Christ who changed a person’s heart and life!
Question: Ever wondered why Jesus is emphasized in the New Testament and the Sabbath is so quiet?
Let the TRUE worshippers, worship Him this Passover (Jewish) and Easter (Gentile) season.
Peaceful Thinker wrote: “God has turned His face from Israel and from the Holy Days:”
That’s not true. Those who worship on pagan holidays and do not keep the seventh day Sabbath are not Christians. Period. None of your Scripture twisting changes that.
It doesn’t matter that Jesus’ name is known because they do not worship Him nor do they know Him.
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” ~ Lk 6:46
Yes, God hated their feasts because He would not claim them as His because of how they kept them.
“Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
Appropriate quote, that.
Bottom line is changed lives, man. Not outwardly religious, but deep to the core changed lives. Mirth is no longer days, but the living relationship with the God of the Universe, Jesus Christ. Miracles that Jesus is still performing today. Changed lives, period. In the quote from Isaiah / Acts with the Jews it was the heart that became dull, and the outward performing of religious duties and keeping of days continued. How do you know your heart is not dull, because you now don’t watch TV on the Sabbath?
True healing is deep, deep, deep – drug addicts, prostitutes, porn addicts, changed Pharisees not superficial, shadow-keeping of days. Changed lives or stagnation? A deeper meaning in the days or a deeper understanding of God?
Question: who is attending your churches and where does your growth come from? Legitimate question. Your leadership needs to be asking that.
Is it coming from people whose lives have been radically changed (like those around Jesus) from deep, besetting sin to living for Jesus Christ and then taking on the Great Commission to disciple others?
FRUIT! You’ll know them by their FRUIT. Peach trees produce other peach trees. Briars, thorns and thistles – the work of man according to Gen 3:18 produces more briars, thorns and thistles (curses).
I’m not talking about outward religiosity. I’m talking about keeping the commandments of God. Yes, the lives change because they keep the Law of God in spirit and in truth. If they do not desire to keep the Laws of God to the best of their ability, they are not converted and therefore they are liars.
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” ~ 1Jn 2:4
Yes, God hated their feasts because He would not claim them as His because of how they kept them.
I agree, that is a very concise analysis of the scriptures in question.
PT wrote, “Isaiah 1:13-15 God said, “The New Moons, the Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies – I cannot endure inquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
Days matter not to God, but rather the heart and lives of His people.
One thing people who read the Bible become aware of, in many cases the same scriptures can be interpreted very differently by people using Christ’s name.
The JPS version of Isaiah gives a more precise translation, especially starting with verse 10, “Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the LORD; I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more vain oblations; it is an offering of abomination unto Me; new moon and sabbath, the holding of convocations–I cannot endure iniquity along with the solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed seasons My soul hateth; they are a burden unto Me; I am weary to bear them.”
When reading that passage it speaks your new moons and your appointed seasons My soul hateth; they are a burden unto Me; I am weary to bear them
It does NOT speak, MY new moons and My appointed seasons My soul hateth; they are a burden unto Me; I am weary to bear them
To come to the lesson that it means, “Days matter not to God, but rather the heart and lives of His people“, is that the lesson the prophet Isaish spoke of?
Indeed it is true that the heart and lives of His people matter to God (Is 66:2), but are His new moons and His appointed seasons something His soul hates and have become a burden to Him, that He is weary to bear them?
I believe those verses speak more to the concept that God cannot endure iniquity within His courts on solemn assemblies, when people are only fictiously imagining the Lord of the Sabbath accepts their meaningless offering. And that’s what the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are still doing today, they bring in their iniquity to trample on God courts, offering meaningless things and then even using Jesus’ name to do so.
John said, “Those who worship on pagan holidays and do not keep the seventh day Sabbath are not Christians. Period.”
Tell me, John, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither (the Jewish) fathers nor (the Jews) were able to bear?
For God who knows the heart, acknowledged (the Gentiles and pagans) by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us – notice: God did not acknowledge them by their Sabbath Keeping as you state. He purified their hearts by faith and made no distinction between the Jews and Gentiles! We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.
Miracles and wonders God has worked amongst the Gentiles such as Nate Saint’s testimony of God’s power to win the Waodani people (can there be any more pagan, Gentile kind of people?) to Jesus Christ. The Waodani people (a deeply animistic people) are CHANGED by a miracle of the Holy Spirit through the Lord Jesus to repent, believe and accept Jesus as their Savior. Did you watch the movie, “The End of the Spear”?
Miracles and wonders such as “The Son of Sam” coming to Jesus Christ and rejecting the powers of darkness and hate.
Or the story recently on the National Geographic channel about a tribe in Africa who are still cannibals. The tribe chose a person to be killed and eaten, usually a person who had done wrong, but not always. The way the tribe determined who the person was that would be eaten was through the local witch doctor. He would smoke a very heavy tobacco, get high and a beautiful woman spirit would come from the jungle to give him the name of the person to be eaten. Interesting thing happened when missionaries came in to the tribe and settled in that the witch doctor admitted the spirit would not come around anymore.
Or EE-tauo story in Paupa New Guinea where an entire tribe came to accept Jesus as Savior, parts of which are documented on video at YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVd4u1Xt7Lc&feature=PlayList&p=348B16F84EA1D84F&index=14 No one can say Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
Or Chuck Colson, one of the Watergate 7 who was imprisoned for his crimes and accepted Christ for the atonement of his sins and now is a changed man with a great prison ministry.
New Tribes Missions website has many other stories. There are literally thousands of stories today of God working miracles in the lives of the Gentiles: drug addicts, pornography addicts, wife beaters and abusers, murderers, etc. Time and space limit me from telling you many others.
The early church accepted these pagans and rejoiced before the Lord for His great miracles and works.
Norbert: Yes, those days were “the Lord’s.” He gave those days to Israel, which is clear in Lev 23 and those days became theirs – Israel’s – as is clear in the verses I quoted above as well as New Testament scriptures. But that does not make those days binding on Gentiles as the very early church decided not to bind the Gentiles with such laws burdens (Acts 15, which is quoted in various paragraphs above).
The Scriptures referring to the Gentiles I quoted in the first comment didn’t even include the Amos 9 quote that James used in Acts 15. Moses was preached in the synagogues for many generations on the Sabbath. Now Jesus is proclaimed throughout the world with many miracles, life-changes, repentance and wonders on Sunday, the Sabbath and many other days.
Praise His Holy Name!
One other interesting fact. Did you know according to Messianic Jewish ministries only 3%-4% of Jews come to accept Jesus as Savior? God is not calling many Jewish people today and is clearly working with the Gentiles who love the name of Jesus of Christ because it is the name by which they are saved. We are clearly in “The Times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). Jesus be praised.
PT wrote: “Tell me, John, why do you test God…?”
I am not, but you certainly.
None of those examples are real Christians, so they are immaterial. They do not keep God’s Law and have no desire to. They worship a false Messiah. End of story.
Acts 15 was about circumcision, BTW. Once again, you are engaging in selective reading.
“For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.”
Selective reading is calling Acts 15 a conference about circumcision, which was part of the original reason for the conference (v. 1, 5 and 24). The context clearly says in v. 5 and v. 24 “circumcision and the law of Moses” as well as all these wonderful stories about Gentiles coming to Christ.
According to Acts 13:39 you cannot be justified by the Law of Moses. Can you keep the 7th Day Sabbath? Absolutely if you so choose for conscience sake or if you believe you are led by the Holy Spirit to do so. Where you err is tacking that burden onto God’s Holy Spirit of Liberty.
“For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” Point being, from the context, Moses and his law has been preached over and over for generations and change in people’s lives have not been made like the preaching of Jesus.
You sin gravely and grieve the Holy Spirit, John, by restricting the work of God to the Law of Moses. I am warning you with all sincerety as a brother in Christ, you must repent of this sin prior to taking the Passover tonight. You are eating and drinking judgment to yourself. With deep concern.
PT wrote,
Yes, those days were “the Lord’s.”
CoG literature explains and has proven that those day’s still are the Lord’s.
Try starting here and perhaps help out the new UCG beta site while your reading about some better interpretation about the word of God, rather than your own.
http://beta.ucg.org/holidays-and-holy-days/gods-holy-days
The LCG also has some good info here on Holy Days:
http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/booklets/the-holy-days-gods-master-plan
But if you’re more of the mind of discussing try http://www.christianforums.com/ That place has a forum for just about any subject.
This is not a brush off, I post on CF too. Just a few forums to mention; they have MJ forum, a SDA forum, a RCC forum, EO forum, Protestant forum, a non-denominaltional forum and a General Theology forum some people humorously refer too with a pinch of salt as the General Heresy forum. There are even more forums than those but I’m just guessing which ones you might like.
I find it like visiting a modern day Areopagus when I have the time.
No, I am not in error. You are twisting Scripture because you love your sin too much. You are carnally minded and against the things of God.
Point blank, you are not a Christian because you have not repented of your sins. If you had, you would not be standing against God.
” 17Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
” 18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
Heaven and earth still stand. So does God’s Law.
Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to do what God commands me to do.
I’m fairly new to your blog. I’ve been tracking it for a couple of months now, trying to get the lay of the land, so to speak. I’ve been a COG member for some time. At any rate, I had to comment on this post.
It constantly amazes me how mainstream denominations of “traditional” Christianity turn everything upside down. Keeping the holy days of the Bible is sinful, but keeping pagan holidays is good. Keeping God’s law is sinful, but turning grace into license is good. It’s astounding.
Peaceful Thinker needs to study his Bible a little more. He probably has a list of scriptures to cite, out of context, to “prove” God’s law was done away with. Well, he needs to keep reading. I had a guy quote me a verse out of Romans. I asked him to keep reading, where Paul says, ‘do we then make void the law… God forbid… we establish the law…”
Peaceful Thinker? Stop thinking of counter arguments for a moment, and pay attention. It works like this:
You’re a convicted felon on death row. There’s no hope for you. You’re dead, and that’s it. But let’s say that the governor grants you a pardon for your crimes and releases you. You are now a free man! But does that mean you can return to your old life? You can steal, murder, and rob as much as you want? And your excuse is that “the law was done away with”? That kind of behavior will just earn you the death penalty all over again. When you get a pardon, you try to become a decent person, and that means keeping God’s law. John D was trying to tell you that.
Growth? Yeah, it’s true. The big mainstream churches have a lot more followers. Because they offer a sugar coated, cotton candy religion where you can keep being the same person you always were. Just talk about how cool Jesus was. You really don’t have to do anything.