He Shall Change Times and Laws

By Garrick D. Augustus

September 26, 1998

This study will focus on the meaning of the “times” and “laws” that were changed by the papacy. As a Seventh-day Adventist, I have been taught over the years, that the “times and laws” of Dan. 7:25 refer to the change of the Sabbath by the papacy in 325A.D. And yes, there were historical data to sustain such a claim. One, for example says: “We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church in the Council of Laodicea, transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, Third edition, p. 50. After several years however, I started reading Daniel again, not through the lenses of someone else, but through the super lenses of the Holy Spirit, and the words of Daniel 7:25, especially as they relate to the times and laws that were to be changed, appeared with deeper significance, and left a lasting impression upon my mind. I reasoned, there must have been more, much more than just the Sabbath that was changed by the papacy. The very plurality of the words times and laws forced this conclusion.

A Special Appeal To The Reader

What I am about to share with you, dear reader, is my discovery of Yahweh’s times and laws, specifically His “feast days” that were never changed by Him, but by the very same power (the papacy) which tampered with His ten commandments. Indeed, it will be shown that at the same time when the seventh-day Sabbath was changed, Rome made a broad sweep with her ecclesiastical broom, and swept away not only the Sabbath day, but every divine institution that Yahshua had given to His people centuries before. My only appeal to you, is that you approach this subject with prayer, and with the attitude of a learner. Let not spiritual prejudice, and pride of opinion bar your mind from reading further, and finally, do not prematurely make the claim that the “ceremonial law” was nailed to the cross with all those ordinances and statutes. As you will discover, Rome has split and dissected Yahweh’s laws for the sure purpose of confusing, misleading and deceiving to the extent that “if it were possible, they [would] deceive the very elect.” Matt. 24:24. Simply put, the artificial division of the Torah into moral and ceremonial codes of law was not done by the Law Giver of Israel, but by the Law Changer— the very power which prophecy declared would “wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws” (Dan. 7:25). More will be said on this point later.

Foundation For Analysis

In our contemplation of Yahweh’s “times” and “laws” that have been abolished by Rome, what is really at stake here? Whose authority will we ultimately give allegiance to? Is it the Pope’s or the Creator’s? Rome has literally challenged the entire Christian world to produce biblical support for their keeping of Sunday as the Sabbath, and it will not be long hence before she makes the like challenge with respect to all the divine institutions given to Israel The time is ripe for all professing present truth believers to squarely stand on the platform of the Bible in support of all their theological positions, and to recognize that the festivals were never “nailed to the cross,” only the “Sacrifice” was, and thus be able to prove that it was Rome who tampered with, and abolished from the Christian Calendar the Sabbaths(festivals) of our Creator

Here is Rome’s challenge in the following question: “Have you any other way of proving that the church (Roman Catholic) has power to institute festivals of precept? Answer:– Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her – she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is not scriptural authority.” A Doctrinal Cathecism, by Stephen Keenan, p. 174. Note carefully that the question was with regard to the institution of “festivals,” and not holydays. When the whole truth is made known, it will be discovered that these “festivals” are integral to the “festivals” which the Lord of Glory gave to His people in days of old, and repeated to Israel for a perpetual covenant. These festivals were contained in the “statutes” given Israel, of which the prophetess to the remnant declares:

“Christ gave to Moses…precepts which were to govern the every day life. These statutes were explicitly given to guard the Ten Commandments. They were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ. They were to be binding upon man in every age as long as time should last.” E.G. White Comments, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol.1, p. 1104. Thus, Ellen White has made it quite clear that Yahweh did not intend to, nor did He abolish (nail to the cross) the divine statutes given Israel, but that they are “binding upon man in every age, as long as time shall last.” As this subject climaxes, it will be discovered that these “statutes” including the “festivals” will be kept not just in this life, but even in the new heavens and the new earth–throughout eternity!

That the reader may quickly see the forces in contest, please give note to the following extract from the Catholic Cathecism: “The new law has its own spirit…and it’s own feasts which have taken the place of those appointed in the law of Moses. If we would know the days to be observed…we must go to the Catholic Church, not to the mosaic law.” From the Catholic Catechism as published in The Signs of the Times, Nov. 4, 1919. This should be a wake-up call to Christians in general, and to Present Truth believers in particular, for the boast has already been made that with respect to holy days, or festivals, “we must go to the Catholic Church, not to the mosaic law” for direction. Clearly therefore, Rome is already claiming right to the modern festivals celebrated by Christians world wide. Friend, ask yourself the question: Have I any biblical support for the festivals of St. Valentines day, St. Patrick’s day, Lent, Easter, Halloween, Christmas and the myriad others? If your answer is no, ponder this statement from the Church of Rome: “The Catholic Church abolished not only the Sabbath, but all the other Jewish festivals.” T. Enright C.S.S.R., Bishop of the St. Alphonsus’ (Rock) Church, St. Louis, Missouri, June 1905.

A Closer Look At Daniel 7:25

“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Dan. 7:25 As Adventists, we have very narrowly interpreted the “times” and “laws” to mean simply “the Sabbath” that was changed by the Papacy. A closer look at the passage however, comprehends much more than the seventh-day “Sabbath,” singular. Since the words “times” and “laws” are all pluralized by Inspiration, it is clear that Rome tampered with much more than the seventh-day Sabbath, rather she has tampered with every Divine institution, thereby bringing in a system of false worship that for nearly 1,900 years have swept across, and captivated the Christian church in her erroneous clutches. It is of interest to note that the key note message of the Three Angels (Rev. 14: 6-12) is directed toward the restoration of true “worship.”

Indeed the Three Angels Message, in one way or another denounces false worship in preference for the true. Says the first angel: ” And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear Yahweh, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of Yahweh, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of Yahweh, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14: 6-12. In contrast to the false worship of the Beast and Babylon, the true worshippers are identified as those who “keep the commandments of Yahweh, and the faith of Jesus.” The real question to be answered at this juncture therefore is, “what are these commandments of Yahweh?”

As Seventh-day Adventists this question prompts an automatic response, namely, “the ten commandments of Exodus chapter 20.” While this answer is correct, it is not the whole truth. The commandments of Yahweh include all the statutory commands given Israel contained in “Statutes and Judgements.” Essentially then, we are dealing here with the whole Torah (Law). Thus saith Yahweh, “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh.” Mal. 4:4-5. The reader will note that the commandments are practiced “with” the statutes and judgments—this completes the Law. The fact that we are called upon “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh,” evidently in the latter days of earth’s history, to remember the law of Moses with the statutes and judgements, is clear evidence that in the Revelation, the keeping of the commandments of Yahweh, comprehends the whole Law, save for the sacrifices which perfigured “the faith of Jesus,” the Lamb of Yahweh.

The Greek word for “commandment” as used in Rev. 14: 12 carries Strong’s Greek Entry No. “1785: entolh, entole, en-tol-ay’ 1) an order, command, charge, precept, injunction; a precept relating to lineage, of the Mosaic precept concerning the priesthood; ethically used of the commandments in the Mosaic law or Jewish tradition.” Hence, the truth is clear that the commandments to which the saints of the latter days give allegiance are “of the commandments in the Mosaic law or Jewish tradition.” As stated above, the ten-commandments cannot be divorced from the statutes and judgments, for they give relevance and practicality to the ten commandments, thus to borrow Ellen White’s words, “These statutes were explicitly given to guard the Ten Commandments.” E.G. White Comments, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol.1, p. 1104. To have the ten commandments without the statutes, is to have the commandments without their guardians. It is important to dwell on this point for a while, because if the statutes were intended to “guard” the ten commandments, in observing the commandments, we will need a working knowledge of the statutes—these give the broader application of the commandments. The equivalent is seen in the institutions of mankind. Take for example, the government of the United States, though imperfect, we have the Constitution—the bedrock law of the land, and then there are other laws made (Federal, State and Local) which cannot be inconsistent with the tone, temper and spirit of the bedrock law—the constitution, but only serve to “guard” its sacred worth. In like manner, the eternal Creator has his bedrock law—the ten commandments, but buttressing those laws are the statutes and judgments which serve to “guard” the sacredness of the Decalogue—ten commandments. This is why it is as much a sin to violate the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal” (Ex. 20:15),—commit robbery, as it is to withhold from Yahweh his own finances—tithes and offerings—this is called “robbery” in the Scriptures (Mal. 3: 8-9). So while one might live his or her whole life claiming allegiance to the “ten commandments,” it requires the knowledge of the “statutes” to broaden our understandings, and the practice thereof. Every bible-believing Christian knows that the word “tithe” is never once mentioned in the ten-commandments, yet all believers will maintain the claim of Yahweh on our finances, and our spiritual obligation to return these gifts unto our Creator. This goes to show, that was we call the “ceremonial law” is in reality the explanation of the ten-commandment law in more practical, day-to-day terms.

Of the Papacy, prophecy declares, “he shall speak great words against the most high [Yahweh], and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change the times [of sacred feasts and holy days] and the law.” Amplified Bible (Braces belong to quote.) The word Times has truly been amplified to reveal Yahweh’s “sacred feasts and holy days.” This word, “times” in the Hebrew is rendered “zem-awn’ :– an appointed occasion:–season, time.” Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, Entry No:., 2165 & 2166. The word “law” in the Hebrew is rendered “dawth:– a royal edict or statute:–commandment, commission, decree, law, manner.” Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, Entry No:., 1881 & 1882. Combined then, the phrase “times and laws” reveal exactly what was actually tampered with during those dark ages. Clearly then there are two Divine edicts that Rome has tampered with, namely the “appointed seasons (times)” as well as the “royal law”—the ten-commandments. Thus the Bible declares, “If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.” James 2:8. Strange as it might seem, this command is found in the statutes, as recorded in Leviticus 19: 18.

It is of special interest to note that the Hebrew word for “appointed time” is “môw’êd (mo-adé):–a fixed time or season; specifically a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly as (convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting…assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) season.” Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary No., 4150. This being so, should make the truth clear in every mind that Rome has actually tampered with the Divine Code of “commandments, statutes, and judgments,”—the holy mowed—the festivals of Yahweh, and has replaced them with her own holidays. Our Creator is now calling us out of false worship into the true. The great issue to be resolved in these last days will revolve around the authority of man versus that of the Divine Creator’s.

The early New Testament church was not ignorant to the truth of the Divinely Appointed Times, they actually kept those times as required by the Scriptures, in tandem with the Israelites (Jews). Even historians of recent times observe that, “in order to understand the origin of Christian festivals, we must realize that in the first part of the first century Christians and Israelites shared the same religious tradition. They even worshipped together in the same synagogue. Christianity was in its earliest state a ‘sect’ or group among the Israelites…. Part of this general tradition is formed by the festivals and the calendar. Of all parts of the liturgy the feasts are perhaps the most enduring: it is practically impossible to change the date and form of old festivals…We shall see that in general Christianity continued to observe these old feasts.” J. Van Goudoever, Biblical Calendars, p. 151, also quoted by Samuelle Bacchiocchi, God’s Festivals in Scripture and History, p. 72. Since the Christian Church of the first centuries kept all the “appointed times,” while most of modern Christendom declares them to be null and void (nailed to the cross), the question is clear: When did this change occur? The answer should be self evident to the reader that neither Jesus nor the Apostles abolished these festivals, therefore a power both alien from, and subversive to the Christian creed, has somehow managed to take control of the Church of Yahweh; and sat in the place of Yahweh, masquerading itself as “divine authority” over the people of the saints of the Most High Yahweh. This alien and subversive power is none other than the Roman papacy.

From Yahweh’s Holy Days To Rome’s Festivals Of Sun Worship

“This was the official sanction of the old custom of addressing a prayer to the rising sun. In determining what days should be regarded as holy, and in the composition of a prayer for national use, Constantine exercised one of the rights belonging to his as Pontifex Manimus; and it caused no surprise that he should do this.” Drury’ History of Rome, Chap. 57, part I, par. 4 from the end, Quoted in A.T. Jones’ The Two Republics, p. 319. This passage of history clearly defines who, in the Christian era possessed the right to institute festivals and holy days. A careful analysis of the so called Christian festivals in modern times, will reveal them to be a revival of sun worship. It behooves all true worshippers to turn away from obedience to the authority of Rome, and follow the Bible implicitly. From our research thus far, it is now quite evident that Rome has changed not only the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, but she has tampered with every divine institution contained in the Law of our Creator. “Only by changing Yahweh’s law could the papacy exalt itself above Yahweh; whoever should understandingly keep the law as thus changed would be giving supreme honor to that power by which the change was made. Such an act of obedience to papal laws would be a mark of allegiance to the pope in the place of Yahweh.” E.G. White’ The Great Controversy, p. 446.

With the historical evidence of Catholic rather than Divine institutions mounting before our very eyes, it behooves all to study deeper into the Scriptures and sacred history, that we may all discover the truth of the matter. We have been told by the Chief Shepherd, “Yahweh is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24. Yes friend, we must worship the Creator “in truth,” and not in heathenestic customs and traditions that have been baptized into Christian fellowship and nurtured into Church life by the clergy for nearly 1,700 years. Since age will not turn error into truth, it is imperative that all Present Truth believers seek the truth, that error in all its satanic disguises might be exposed and gotten rid of.

With regard to the festival of Passover, it was celebrated by the Christian church for over 300 years after the cross, however in the year 325 A.D., the Council of Nice issued the following decree which created no small protest among the true believers: “The question having been considered relative to the most holy day of Easter *[Passover], it was determined by common consent that it would be proper that all should celebrate it on one and the same day everywhere. …And in the first place it seemed very unsuitable in the celebration of this sacred feast, that we should follow the custom of the Jews; a people who, having imbrued their hands in a most heinous outrage, and thus polluted their souls, are deservedly blind. … Let us then have nothing in common with that most hostile people the Jews. … Surely we should never suffer Easter to be kept twice in one and the same year. But even if these considerations were not laid before you, it became your prudence at all times to take heed, both by diligence and prayer, that the purity of your soul should in nothing have communion, or seem to have accordance with the customs of men so utterly depraved. …*[Supplied– the Jews kept only the Passover, not Easter. To “have nothing in common with …the Jews,” clearly shows that the subject at hand was the Passover, which is here erroneously called Easter, by the heathen Constantine. In Acts:12:4, we read, “And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” This word “Easter,” is incorrectly translated, instead it should have been “Passover”–further evidence of Papal tampering.]

“Since then it was desirable that this should be so amended that we should have nothing in common with that nation of parricides, and of those who slew their Lord; and since the order is a becoming one which is observed by all the churches of the western southern, and northern parts, and by some also in the eastern. …Reflect, too, that not only is there a greater number of churches in the places before mentioned, but also that this in particular is a most sacred obligation, that all should in common desire whatever strict reason seems to demand, and which has no communion with the perjury of the Jews.

“But to sum up matters briefly, it was determined by common consent that the most holy festival of Easter should be solemnized on one and the same day; for in such a hallowed solemnity any difference is unseemly, and it is more commendable to adopt that opinion in which there will be no intermixture of strange error, or deviation from what is right. These things therefore being thus ordered, do you gladly receive this heavenly and truly divine command; for whatever is done in the sacred assemblies of bishops if referable to the divine will.” Socrate’s Ecclesiastical History, Book 1, Chap. 9, Quoted in A.T. Jones’ The Two Republics, pp. 319-320.

It was this “divine command” from “Constantine Augustus to the Churches” of the Roman Empire that has today robbed the Christian Church of the sacred festival of Passover and substituted it with Easter, the festival of Sabbath on Saturday and substituted it with a Sabbath on Sunday. She (Rome) has also appointment a myriad of other festivals in substitution for the Divine appointed times (festivals), as instituted by our Creator. Christians today who prefer Easter celebration above Passover, Sunday sacredness above Sabbath (Saturday), Christmas above the Feast of Tabernacles, Halloween above the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), are yielding obedience to the authority of the Rome in the perpetuity of sun worship in place of Son worship! Here again follows another attempt in the bulldozing away of the historic Christian faith: “We have also gratifying intelligence to communicate to you relative to unity of judgement on the subject of the most holy feast of Easter, *[Passover–see note above]: for this point also had been happily settled through your prayers; so that all the brethren in the East who have heretofore kept this festival when the Jews did, will henceforth conform to the Romans and to us, and to all who from the earliest time have observed our period of celebrating Easter.” Socrate’s Ecclesiastical History, Book 1, Chap. 9, Quoted in A.T. Jones’ The Two Republics, p. 319.

Through the prophet Hosea Our Heavenly Father declares: “I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them. And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Almighty. Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.” Hos. 2:11-14. This passage of Scripture is speaking of the New Testament Church, quite sometime after the cross. (For a detailed study of Hosea Chapter 2, see V.T. Houteff’s The Latest News for “Mother”.) From the context, it is clear that the church by her own “lewdness,” backslid from her Lover. To win her back to His embrace, the Divine Lover has decided to withdraw His constant beneficence. Thus He declared, “For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.” The reader should take note that “Baal” worship is sun-worship in all its forms. Essentially then, what our Saviour is here telling us is that the Christian Church turned to her “lovers”–the pagans, and followed after sun-worship, thereby adopting all varying forms of heathen worship into fellowship, posing them as Divine worship.

“Just as Yahweh chastened her in olden time by permitting Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to abolish the ceremonial system by destroying ancient Jerusalem and its temple, just so did He chasten her in the Christian era by permitting Rome to gain control over her and to supplant her true religious system by a counterfeit–a pagan priesthood and a pagan sabbath. Then was His word fulfilled: “I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.” Since these ordinances (her feast days, her sabbaths, etc.) were part of “a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption” (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 14), and since Hosea’s symbolization has brought us into the Christian era, the ceasing of the ordinances therefore typifies Rome’s supplanting the Truth.” V.T. Houteff’s, The Latest News for “Mother” pp. 25-26. “[Hos. 2: 8-12 quoted] From these verses we see that it was just such a departure from Yahweh that caused the church in her early Christian era to lose her path and all her possessions, including her feast days, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. This is exactly what happened when the ‘Dark Ages’ of religion began. The pagans in whose clutches the church fell were no more to blame for the church’s going into darkness than were the Chaldeans of destroying Judah and her temple. The real blame falls on the church herself. And this should be a lasting lesson to each of us, that we should never again have illicit connection with the world, should never depart from Yahweh.” V. T. Houteff, Timely Greetings, Vol. 2 No. 6, pp. 20-21. From both the pen of prophecy and history, we have thus far discovered that the change of the Creator’s Commandments and Statutes is an act owneable solely to the Church of Rome, and perpetuated by the papacy through the various brands of Protestantism.

That the truth of this apostasy, from Divine Festivals to Rome’s appointed feasts, might burn deep on the eye of the reader’s soul, further historical documentation bolsters the fact that: “The first Christians being mostly Jews, continued to celebrate the Passover in remembrance of the death of Christ, the true Passover; and this was continued among those who from among the Gentiles had turned to Christ. Accordingly, the celebration was always on the Passover day,—the fourteenth of the first month. Rome, however, and from her all the West, adopted the day of the sun as the day of this celebration. According to the Eastern custom, the celebration, being on the fourteenth day of the month, would of course fall on different days of the week as the years revolved. The rule of Rome was that the celebration must always be on a Sunday—the Sunday nearest to the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish year. And if the fourteenth day of that month should itself be a Sunday, then the celebration was not to be held on that day, but upon the next Sunday. One reason of this was not only to be as like the heathen as possible, but to be as unlike the Jews as possible; this in order not only to facilitate the ‘conversion’ of the heathen by conforming to their customs, but also by pandering to their spirit of contempt and hatred of the Jews. It was upon this point that the bishop of Rome made his first open attempt at absolutism.” The Great Empires of Bible Prophecy, A.T. Jones, p. 383.

As the historical record is incontrovertibly clear, it bears repeating that Christians who today celebrate Easter and or any of the papal appointed festivals in place of Yahweh’s “appointed times” are merely surrendering homage to the Roman papacy. Again from the historian’s pen we read: “Judaic Christianity survived for five centuries in a little group of Syriac Christians called Ebionim (‘the poor’), who practiced Christian poverty and the full Jewish Law. At the end of the second century the church condemned them as heretics. …Till 70 [A.D.] Christianity was preached chiefly in synagogues among Jews. The form, ceremony, and vestments of Hebrew worship passed down into Christian ritual. The Paschal lamb of sacrifice was sublimated in the Agnus Dei—The expiatory Lamb of God—of the Catholic Mass. …Many Judaic festivals—e.g., Passover and Pentecost—were accepted into the Christian calendar, however altered in content and date.” Caesar And Christ, Will Durant, pp. 577, 578-579.

Pagan Holy Days Baptized Into Christianity

One might wonder, Why is there not the widespread worship of Baal, Isis, Osiris, Horus, Ishtar, Ra, Hermes, Tammuz, amongst a host of other gods and goddesses? The simple answer is, they are still being worshipped, only in christianized garb. They have been baptized from Egypt into Christianity, and immortalized into Church worship through the false doctrines of Roman Catholicism. (Please read The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop, pp. 90-128, for deeper insights into this mystery of iniquity.)

Christmas

The very name of this day “Christ-Mass” carries its signature. It is indeed a “Mass” of Christ, or a Mass for Christ, but certainly not His birth date. Few Christians know that the Roman Catholic “Mass” is the transubstantiation (changing of substance) of bread and wine of the Eucharist (Holy Communion) into the real and actual body of Jesus Christ. Thus the Mass is a mock crucifixion of Christ. In a recent encyclical, the pope spoke to the world church stating that: “The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith, but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church. In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences the constant fulfillment of the promise: ‘Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age’ (Mt 28:20), but in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and wine into the body and blood of Yahshua, she rejoices in this presence with unique intensity.” Eucharist: Heart of the Church, John Paul II’s encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia in condensed form, Catholic Updat,e October, 2003. The Roman Catholic Mass is tantamount to a celebration of “cannibalism,” not Christianity, and the celebration of Christ-Mass, rather than a celebration of “birth,” by Roman Catholic’s own definition is a celebration of “death.”

The historical data is clear that this festival (25th of December) is of heathen origin, and predates Christianity by millennias. This pagan festival was in honor of the birth of the “Sun God,” to welcome the warmth which was expected, yea, even prayed for, after the cold of Winter closed in. In short then, this festival of the Winter Solstice, was in honor of the birth of the “Sun God”–Tammuz, which was later baptized into Christianity by the Church of Rome, and became the festival in honor of the Son of Yahweh! Today, Christmas is the one festival recognized by almost all the heathen and Christian religions world over, to the extent that some of the most diabolical religions against Christianity do patronize the festival of Christmas.

“The festivals of Rome are innumerable; but five of the most important may be singled out for elucidation–viz., Christmas-day, Lady-day, Easter, the Nativity of St. John, and the Feast of the Assumption. Each and all of these can be proved to be Babylonian. And first, as to the festival in honor of the birth of Christ, or Christmas. How comes it that that festival was connected with the 25th of December? There is not a word in the Scriptures about the precise day of His birth, or the time of the year when He was born. What is recorded there, implies that at what time soever His birth took place, it could not have been on the 25th of December. At the time that the angel announced His birth to the shepherds of Bethlehem, they weere feeding their flocks by night in the open fields. Now, no doubt, the climate of Palestine is not so severe as the climate of this country [England]; but even there, thought the heat of the day be considerable, the cold of the night, from December to February, is very piercing, and it was not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October. It is the last degree incredible, then, that the birth of Christ could have taken place at the end of December.”

“…’At the birth of Christ every woman and child was to go to be taxed at the city whereto they belonged, whither some had long journeys; but the middle of winter was not fitting of r such a business, especially for women with child, and children to travel in.. Therefore, Christ could not be born in the depth of winter. Again, at the time of Christ’s birth the shepherds lay abroad watching with their flocks in the night time; but this was not likely to be in the middle of winter. And if any shall think the winter wind was not so extreme in these parts, let him remember the words of Christ in the gospel, ‘Pray that your flight be not in the winter.’ If the winter was so bad a time to flee in, it seems no fit time for shepherds to lie in the fields in, and women and children to travel in.’ Indeed, it is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties that the day of our Lord’s birth cannot be determined, and that within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance. How, then, did the Romish Church fix on December the 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honor of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ.”

“… ‘Oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians.’ Upright men strove to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts, the apostacy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition. That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, proves its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, ‘about the time of the winter solstice.’ The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves–Yule-day–proves at once its Pagan and Babylonian origin. ‘Yule’ is the Chaldee name of r an ‘infant’ or ‘little child;’ as the 25th of December was called by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, ‘Yule-day,’ or the ‘Child’s day,’ and the night that preceeded it, ‘Mother-night,’ long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character. Far and wide in the realms of Paganism, was this birth-day observed.”

“…Even where the sun was the favorite object of worship, as in Babylon itself and elsewhere, at this festival, he was worshipped not merely as the orb of day, but as Yahweh incarnate. It was an essential principle of the Babylonian system, that the Sun or baal was the one only God. When, therefore, Tammuz was worshipped as God incarnate, that implied also that he was an incarnation of the Sun. In the Hindoo mythology, which is admitted to be essentially Bablyonian, this comes out very distinctly.”

“… The candles, in some parts of England, lighted on Christmas-eve, and used so long as the festive season lasts, were equally lighted by the Pagans on the eve of the festival of the Babylonian god, to do honor to him: for it was one of the distinguishing peculiarities of his worship to have lighted was-candles on his altars. The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt that tree was the palm-tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm-tree denoting the Pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith. The mother of Adonis, the Sun-God and great mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and when in that state to have brought for the her divine son. If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognized as the ‘Man the branch.’ And this entirely accounts for the putting of the Yule Log into the fire on Christmas-eve, and the appearance of the Christmas-tree the next morning. As Zero-Ashta, ‘The seed of the woman,’ which name also signifies Ignigena, or ‘born of the fire,’ he has to enter the fire on ‘Mother-night,’ that he may be born the next day out of it, as the ‘Branch of God,’ or the Tree that brings all divine gifts to men.”

“…Therefore, the 25th of December, the day that was observed at Rome as the day when the victorious god reappeared on earth, was held at the Natalis invicti Solis, ‘The birth-day of the unconquered Sun.’ Now the Yule Log is the dead stock of Nimrod, deified as the sun-god, but cut down by his enemies; the Christmas-tree is Nimrod redivivus–the slain god come to life again.”– The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, pp. 91-98.

“There are few other questions that should be considered while we are studying the introduction of Sunday observance. How did Easter and Christmas get into the church? Who introduced the use of holy water, the worship of the virgin, etc? We look in vain for these at the time of the apostles. It is a well-attested fact that the Christian church today has many practices, ceremonies, and beliefs that were foreign to the church at the time of Christ and the apostles. Therefore they did not come from the apostles. From where did they come? Professor Sayce answers, ‘We are the religious heirs of the builders and founders of the Egyptian temples. Many of the theories of Egyptian religion, modified and transformed no doubt, have penetrated into the theology of Christian Europe, and form, as it were, part of the woof in the web of modern religious thought. Christian theology was largely organized and nurtured in the schools of Alexandria.’”–Origin of Sunday Observance, Walter E. Straw, Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1939, p. 89.

“There was no Christmas celebration in the early church. ‘The Roman winder solstice, …as celebrated on December 25 in connection with the worship of the sun-god Mithra, appears to have been instituted in this special form by Aurelian about 273 A.D., and to this festival the day owes its apposite name of the ‘Birthday of the Unconquered Sun.’ With full symbolic appropriateness, through not with historical justification, the day was adopted in the Western Church, where it appears to have been generally introduced by the fourth century, and whence in time it passed to the Eastern Church as the solemn anniversary of the birth of Christ, Christmas Day. As a matter of history no valid or even consistent early Christian tradition vouches for it.’ Chrysostom says that Christmas was introduced into the East about 378 A.D.”– Origin of Sunday Observance, Walter E. Straw, Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1939, p. 90.

“Chrysostom (Monitum in Hom, de Natal. Christi), writing in Antioch about A.D. 380, says: ‘It is not yet ten years since this day was made known to us’ (Gieseler, Vol. II, p. 352). ‘What follows,’ adds Gieseler, ‘furnishes a remarkable illustration of the ease with which customs of recent date could assume the character of apostolic institutions.’ Thus procedes Chrysostom: ‘Among those inhabiting the west, it was known before from ancient and primitive times, and to the dwellers from Thrace to Gadeira [Cadiz] it was previously familiar and well-known,’ that is, the birth-day of our Lord, which was unknown at Antioch in the east, on the very borders of the Holy Land, where He was born, was perfectly well known in all the European region of the west, from Thrace even to Spain!”–The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, pp. 92-93 footnote. And this festival of “Christmas–Nativity,”was “well known” from ancient and primitive times because it was a heathen festival from the days of antiquity, yea from the days of Nimrod, the great rebel against Yahweh.

As for the celebration of Christmas with the tree and all the trimmings, there is explicit Biblical condemnation of this “heathen” practice. “Thus saith Yahweh, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men. But Yahweh is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” Jer. 10: 2-11. Since the Creator has warned us to “Learn not the way of the heathen,” then those professing Christians who continually “teach” these “vain” heathen customs to the people of Yahweh as tinseled truth, even they “shall not be able to abide his indignation.” Friends there is great safety in keeping all the Festivals of Yahweh, He will not condemn you for heartfelt obedience to all His Statutes Judgements and commandments–the Torah.

“While to a multitude of Christmas-observers, Christ means scarcely more than any ordinary man of fame, to an even greater Christmas-observing multitude of ‘not-at-all-Christians,’ He is but a storied figure by which to conjure holiday revelry; although they meaninglessly lip His name in conventional acknowledgment of the supposed origin of the religious occasion of the season! Thus to many, like a light in the darkness, stands out the fact that Christmas is not, in reality, observed to the honor of the Saviour, but to the glorification of a heathen custom and to the gratification of the carnal heart. Consequently, ‘altogether-Christians’ cannot therefore consistently participate in celebrating the Christmas myth. Indeed, to do so is openly to set at naught the Word of God, for ‘thus saith Yahweh, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.’ Jer. 10:2-5.

“And the traditional gift-exchanging which is part and parcel of the spirit of Christmas observance, is a jealousy-breeding custom, all too often only cankering the receiver’s heart and emptying the buyer’s pocketbook. Thus while it goads one multitude to display of pride, even luring them into revelry, debauchery, and immorality, it drives another, the multitude of poor, either to envy or discouragement, or to both, also not infrequently to despair, and sometimes to insanity — even to committing murder and suicide.

The whole Christmas institution consequently being but a species of heathen worship that is demoralizing the nations, Yahshua’s servants will invariably shun the exchanging of Christmas gifts, shun the evil attendant upon the occasion’s pretentious spirit and spurious humanitarianism. Christians cannot, indeed, take part in its unholy traffic of gift-trading and reveling, and at the same time be ‘altogether-Christians.”–Christ’s Greetings, V.T. Houteff, pp. 6-8.

“‘And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?’ (Rev. 13:4.) The question may be asked, How can professed Christians worship the dragon? The answer is easy, and the worship of the dragon can be clearly seen. The present system of worship by so-called Christian institutions is unquestionably pagan. Sunday, Christmas, and Easter keeping, etc., originated in ancient Babylon, from the old pagan religion in honor of the sun god. Christians, in modern times, assume to honor the most High God with pagan customs calling them ‘Christian Doctrines.’ Protestantism has taken a grip on these pagan festivals as a leech on a human body. As the sluggard sucks the blood unaware that his satisfaction brings him to destruction, just so with Protestants and their pagan commemoratives, even daring to call them by the name of Christ. Blasphemy indeed! Every student of ancient history knows this to be true; likewise every Bible student knows these so-called Christian festivals are unbiblical as well as unchristian. If these institutions were Christian, or Biblical, they would certainly have been spoken of in the Bible. But since they are not found in the Word of Yahweh, Christians had better leave them alone lest they be found worshiping the dragon.”

“Jeremiah, looking forward to this time of apostasy, says: “Thus saith Yahweh, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.” (Jer. 10:2-4.) Though the Word declares, “Learn not the ways of the heathen,” professed ministers of the gospel will cut a tree from the forest and deck it with silver and gold, then dare call it by the name of Christ — Christmas tree. What greater blasphemy can one do? Are ministers and religious teachers ignorant of these things? Jesus said, “Yahweh is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”– The Shepherd’s Rod, Vol. 2, V.T. Houteff, pp. 98-99.

The reader should think of the idea behind the “Christmas tree” as it relates to the customs of the nations during Bible times to see its similarity. The Bible speaks of the pagan worshippers as having “groves” and high places. “But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves.” Ex:34:13. Groves are arrangements of trees which were closely attached to the temples of worship. Israel was forbidden to have groves-trees around their temple sites to discourage this temptation. The placing of the Christmas tree in the Church of Yahweh, is nothing short of placing Baal worship, “groves” in the Church. This is what Elijah had to fight against in his days, it stands to reason therefore, that the antitypical Elijah will have somewhat to speak against Christmas tree–”grove” worship. “Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.” 1Kgs:18:19. “In the religions of the ancient heathen world groves played a prominent part. In the old times altars only were erected to the gods. It was thought wrong to shut up the gods within walls, and hence trees were the first temples; and from the earliest times groves are mentioned in connection with religious worship.”– Smith’s Bible Dictionary, 1948 Edition, p. 224. Grove worship also had to do with the origins of Asherah or Astarte, from which we also get the word Easter. Suffice it to say at this point that the 25th of December was the birth date of the Pagan Messiah, and Easter (spring solstice) celebrated his death.

Easter

Easter, simply stated is the worship of the “East-Star”–the Sun. It should therefore not be surprising to the reader to see the various “sunrise worship services” around the world at this time of year, even by professing “Christian Churches.” Easter, is therefore, at its core, the complete act of Sun worship.

“In the time of the apostles there was no Easter service such as we have today. The early church celebrated the Passover of the Jews, but not Easter. The very name ‘Easter’ indicates a foreign and heathen ancestry. In those early times there was celebrated in the empire a great heathen festival in honor of spring, personified by Attis, very similar to the Easter of a later time.

“Professor Franz Cumont says, ‘The emperor Claudius introduced a new cycle of holidays that were celebrated from March 15th to March 27th, the beginning of spring at the time of the revival of vegetation, personified in Attis….On March 25th there was s sudden transition from the shouts of despair to a delirious jubilation, the Hilaria. With springtime Attis awoke from his sleep of death, and the joy created by his resurrection burst out in wild merrymaking, wanton masquerades, and luxurious banquets….Under a constant rain of flowers the silver statute of Cybele was taken to the river Almo and bathed and purified according to an ancient rite.’ This ceremony many believe, had a profound effect on the establishment of the Easter season, coming as it did about the time of the Jewish Passover and the resurrection of Christ.”–Origin of Sunday Observance, Walter E. Straw, Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1939, pp. 89-90.

“One of the strict observances a follower had to keep in the worship of Baal, often with the pain of death if broken, was a (Day) to give honor, and to recognize the Sun God as the Creator and Lord of Heaven. This day was to be kept Holy, and the people were commanded by law not to do any servile work on this Holy Day. This day was to be a Holy Convocation; a day to be set aside from earning a livelihood. It was a day to give Thanks to the Sun God for the Bounties from Heaven. On this day, the pagans would face the east at sunrise as the sun appeared, and they worshipped the Sun toward the east, on what was called ‘Sun-day,’ which is the first day of the week. However, during the New Year Festival, Sunday had a double observance at this time of the year. It was the day Tammuz was resurrected from the dead. This was the time of Tammuz’a appearance with the Sun, and the Moon, who were believed to be the homes of Baal, and the Queen of Heaven. Tamuz’s star was the East Star (Venun).”

“This Sunday was the Holiest of Holy to the pagan. This pagan observance was called ‘Easter,’ and on this special day the followers of the gods would hold what modern Christian Churches call today ‘Sunrise Services.’ The same New Year Festival that was held in Mesopotamia, was also held in Western Asia and Greece under the name of ‘Adonis.’ He too was mourned, with bitter wailing, and the East Star was his symbol.”–Beware it is Coming–The Antichrist 666, Roy Allan Anderson, DD, p. 44.

“Not only does the Roman Catholic Church observe this heathen custom, but it was the Roman Catholic Church who promoted the pagan festivals, Easter, Christmas, Good Friday, and Sunday sacredness which we will study later. None of these pagan festivals were kept at the time of the apostles of Christ. As a matter of fact, they were shunned by both the Jews and Christ’s followers.”–Beware it is Coming–The Antichrist 666, Roy Allan Anderson, DD, p. 173.

“Sunday sacredness, Christmas, the Christmas Tree, Easter, the Easter egg, and Bunny, Hot Cross Buns and Good Friday, are not Holy days and ordinances to be kept sacred from the bible; but were sacred to the ancient Babylonian gods; Nimrod (Baal) 1 Kings 16:30-33, Semiramis (Ashtaroth) Judges 2:13 and Tammuz (Adonis) Ezekiel 8:14.”–Beware it is Coming–The Antichrist 666, Roy Allan Anderson, DD, p. 29.

It is believed amongst those who proclaim the “Three Angel’s Messages” of Rev. 14:6-12, that the “mark of the Beast,” is Sunday sacredness, but when the whole truth is made known, it will be found that the mark of the beast is “sun worship” in all it attractive and varied forms. “The mark of the beast is exactly what it has been proclaimed to be. Not all in regard to this matter is yet understood, nor will it be understood until the unrolling of the scroll.” Testimonies for The Church, Vol. 6, E.G. White, p. 17. Those Christians therefore, who keep the Bible Sabbath, yet give obeisance to the other festivals of “the Beast” will learn too late that they were not keeping “feast days” but “Beast days,” in honor of his Satanic majesty! It should be little wonder that all three angels denounce Babylonian worship as false, and simultaneously call for true “worship” of “Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev. 14: 7. That will be the final and decisive issue my friends, whether we will worship Yahweh and Him alone or worship the “dragon.” Thus saith Yahweh, “they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast.” Rev. 13: 4. Friend, we worship “the beast” when we worship any institution of the Papacy-The beast!

“O Judah, Keep Thy Solemn Feasts”

As opposed to beast days, Yahweh has appointed for His worship, “feast days,” thus He urges us to “keep” the “solemn feasts,” at a time when “the wicked” shall no more dwell in the congregation of the righteous, evidently this must be the period of time declared as The Judgement For The Living. More will be said on this subject later.

“Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.” Nah. 1:15. In this passage of Scripture, the church of Yahweh (Judah) is admonished to “keep her solemn feasts,” at a time when the “good tidings” of the Kingdom is being preached! The Apostle Paul looking forward to this experience proclaims: “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Rom. 10:15. It is during the preaching, “proclaiming” of the gospel of salvation that the people of Yahweh are admonished to “keep” the solemn feasts. And this experience also looks forward to the time when there will no longer be the hypocrite commingled with the true worshippers of Yahweh. With regard to Nahum’s prophecy, the specific proclamation of the “good tidings” of the Kingdom, was during the period of time when the nations of Assyria (English speaking Christian world) and the rest of the world were engaged in the bloody battle of World War II. Since those evil days, the Eternal One has been calling the attention of His church (Judah) to “keep” her solemn feasts that had been supplanted by the arch deceiver, the “Devil and Satan.” Rev. 12:9. In summary therefore, we are here learning that in the Christian dispensation, during the time when the “gospel of peace” is being preached, that Almighty Yahweh of heaven and earth calls His church to “keep” the solemn feasts, in preparation for the time when the sinners shall be “cut off” from her midst, and she shall evermore keep them, only then as a holy nation, separate and apart from sin and sinners.

Consistent with the admonition given through Nahum, Paul also charged the Believers of his day to “keep the feast” (1 Cor. 5:8) of Passover many years after the death of Christ. Again forcing the conclusion that the believers of the First Centuries did not abandon Yahweh’s appointed times (mo’eds). Says the prophet, “He shall speak against the Most High, thinking to change the feast days and the law.” Dan. 7:25, New American Bible. This passage again clearly declares that the “appointed times” (mo’eds) would, sometime in the Christian era be tampered with, and it identifies that the Roman papacy will be the agency through the change will be enacted. “He will speak against the Most High and oppress His saints, and try to change the set times and the laws.” Dan. 7:25, New Internal Version. The reader should compare this verse with as many translations of the Holy Scriptures as are available, then compare those renditions with the New Catholic Translation published by Thomas nelson, Inc, and be amazed to see that it says, “…thinking to change the feast days and the law.” V.T. Houteff observed that, “In fulfilment of the prophecy contained in [Hosea 2] verse eleven, God permitted the little horn of Daniel seven to change times and laws, and permitted the saints of the Most High to be in his hand until ‘a time and times and the dividing of time.’ Dan 7: 25″. Timely Greetings, Vol. 2 No. 6, p. 21. The truth is inescapably clear that it was not Christ, rather it was the Papacy that tampered with, abolished and “nailed to the Cross,” the Divinely “appointed times” of the Eternal. It becomes us even now to gather again that which has been trodden under feet of men, “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” Isa. 58: 12.

Friends, a “breach” has been made in the Law of the Eternal “I AM.” He is calling upon you and me to be the “repairers,” and “restorers” of paths to dwell in. Why not be a witness for His today? The foundation of truth has been in rebuilding since the days of the Reformation, but that work in not finished yet, and must be continued through us, the true believers of this age. Light is shining from the Sacred Book of Yahweh, let us “arise and shine,” for our light is come. (Isa. 60:1.)

Why Are Yahweh’s Festivals Important to Seventh-day Adventists?

The Seventh-day Adventist Church was founded on a unique passage of Scripture written by Daniel. This passage directed the attention of Yahweh’s people to a time of coming judgement, a day of atonement. Specifically it declares: “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14. It is understood that these 2300 days are actual “days of atonement.” These being anniversary, that is to say each day of atonement occurs only “once per year,” therefore the 2300th day of atonement will have completed 2300 years! The commencement of this period dated back to the time when the Temple was being rebuilt, for thus saith the Angel of the Most High Yahweh, “Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” Dan. 9:25. The commencement of this decree “to restore and to build Jerusalem” occurred in the Fall of 457 B.C. Simply adding 2300 years to this date (457 BC) traverses us through time to the Fall of the year 1844 A.D. A detailed study of this subject of 2300 “evenings and mornings” can be found at your local Adventist Book Center, or in any book detailing the fundamental beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists.

If indeed our Creator intended for the “feasts” to have been abolished at Calvary, why then would he predicate a prophecy on the application of these so-called “dead forms of worship” descending deep in the Christian era, the very time during which these feasts were to have been abolished? This is both inconsistent with, and contradictory to the nature and character of Truth’s Author. The reader should further ask the question. Since the 2300-day prophecy ended in 1844, at the very time when the Jews were celebrating the typical festival, are there any other days of atonement succeeding that time? Why would the Creator predicate a prophecy on the enumeration of a festival which had long since been abolished over 1,800 years prior to the terminus of that prophecy in 1844? Just think of it: Did time stop chronicling after 1844? What about the 2400th day of atonement, or the 2305th such day of atonement? The simple truth of the matter is that these days punctuated every year since the dawn of time, and will continue through to the consummation thereof. Since the 2300 days of atonement stretches down to our day, namely 1844 and beyond, what of the other festivals of Yahweh? Simple logic would dictate that all those “times” are still intact on the calendar of the Eternal, though ripped from the Gregorian calendar by the same power which prophecy declares would think to change “times and laws.” The day of atonement has been kept intact as to event and time throughout the roaring centuries, and will still continue to be, for eternity to come.

“To Every Thing There Is A Season, And A Time To Every Purpose Under The Heaven”

It is important to note that the events of the Levitical system when fulfilled in antitype did not occur at some out of season , and random “time” or condition. The typical system was not only to be fulfilled in antitype, but also at the appointed “time” and “season.” For example, our Saviour Yahshua (Jesus) came at the “fullness of the time.” Gal. 4:4. Declares the Spirit of Prophecy in our day, “These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time.” Great Controversy, E.G. White, p. 399. It is clear then, that these festivals when fulfilled must occur at the very time when the annual events would have convened in type.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost did not happen at some spasmodic moment, rather the Scripture record is clear that “when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1. The reader will note that the day of Pentecost here mentioned is one of the appointed feasts of Yahweh for His people Israel, and it was fulfilled as to time, event and season. On this very day, when the unbelieving Israelites were celebrating the feast of Pentecost in its dead forms, the Almighty One of Creation poured out His Spirit in power, though moderately, to fully ripen the First Fruit evangelists of that day, in preparation for the proclamation of the “everlasting gospel.” It should not be surprising to us today that the Divine Author will act similarly in the pouring out of His Holy Spirit abundantly during the manifestation of the Latter Rain. The prophet declares, “Ask ye of Yahweh rain in the time of the latter rain; [so] Yahweh shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.” Zech. 10:1 Like the former rain in power, the Latter Rain can only come at the appointed “time” when it should be fulfilled in antitype, indeed, it will occur on the very day of the celebration of the typical event-feast of Pentecost. There are therefore many who are praying for, and looking forward to that dynamic manifestation of the Spirit of Yahweh upon His people in large measure, but they are not doing so at “the time” appointed for such an event, and such out of season praying and tarrying will yield either nothing, at worst, or a crafted counterfeit at best. You may rest assured, dear reader, that when the “latter rain,” of power is finally poured out, it will occur at the time of the antitypical Feast of Pentecost. Indeed, the antitypical feast will have “fully come” when such a dynamic manifestation of Divine Grace and Glory are realized in His Church on earth in these last days. Be sure to have your vessels clean and right site up that the Heavenly Rain might fall and fill you abundantly.

The crucifixion of our Lord Yahshua occurred at the very time and season when the Passover lamb was to be offered. Indeed, He was the very antitype of the Passover Lamb. The Spirit of Truth recording the circumstances that lead up to the death of our Redeemer declares: “When the loud cry, ‘It is finished,’ came from the lips of Christ, the priests were officiating in the temple. It was the hour of the evening sacrifice. The lamb representing Christ had been brought to be slain. Clothed in his significant and beautiful dress, the priest stood with lifted knife, as did Abraham when he was about to slay his son. With intense interest the people were looking on. But the earth trembles and quakes; for Yahweh Himself draws near. With a rending noise the inner veil of the temple is torn from top to bottom by an unseen hand, throwing open to the gaze of the multitude a place once filled with the presence of God. In this place the Shekinah had dwelt. …”

“All is terror and confusion. The priest is about to slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has met antitype in the death of God’s son. The great sacrifice has been made. The way into the holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all. No longer need sinful, sorrowing humanity await the coming of the high priest. Henceforth the Saviour was to officiate as priest and advocate in the heaven of heavens. It was as if a living voice had spoken to the worshippers: There is now an end to all sacrifices and offerings for sin.” The Desire of Ages, E.G. White, pp. 756-757. From this inspired historical record, it is clear that at “the hour” when the Passover lamb was to be slain, the Redeemer of Man hung on a cross on Calvary’s lonely hill, and the would be sacrifice was never slain, but escaped with its life. Nevermore would a lamb be slain for the symbolic remission of sins, for the True Lamb of Yahweh, had indeed come and gave Himself a ransom for the inhabitants of this earth. What love and divine precision!

Just as the ceremonial types relating to the first advent of Christ were fulfilled as to the event, and as to the time, so also will those pointing to the second advent of Christ be fulfilled not only to event but to time as well. Thus saith the Spirit of Prophecy in our day, “the types [events] which relate to the second advent must be fulfilled at the time pointed out in the symbolic service.” The Great Controversy, E.G. White, pp. 399-400.

Did The Early Church Keep The 7th Day Sabbath And All Other Festival Sabbaths?

By way of cultural custom as well as theological distinction, the Early Disciples for the first several centuries were faithful 7th day Sabbath keepers. They were in the main Israelites (Jewish), which in and of itself dictated their custom from the earliest of times. Indeed while the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, even then they kept the Sabbath of Yahweh, much to the contempt of Pharaoh! “And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest [Sabbath] from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof: for they be idle [Sabbath]; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice [Worship] to our Mighty One.” Ex. 20:5-8. (Brackets added.) The Egyptians saw in the “rest” that Israel observed, “idleness,” thus Pharaoh made their burdens more rigorous by increasing their tasks. From this passage, it is clear that Israel kept the Sabbath way back during their Egyptian Slavery, decades before their liberation from bondage. (Another proof that the seventh-day Sabbath was not given to them first at Sinai [Horeb]).

It has been handed down through the years as a matter of fact and Christian custom that the annual Sabbaths and their statutory rights have been “nailed to the cross.” Closer analysis will unveil, however, that the primitive church never did away with those Hebraic forms of worship,—the “appointed times.” These appointed times are special times of Universal, and Cosmological importance. For while the believers on earth are worshipping, at those “set times” the believers in Heaven, and on all the unfallen worlds are at the same time meeting in Divine fellowship. It is remarkable to see this played out in the book of Job. “Now there was a day when the sons of Yahweh came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan came also among them.” Job 1:6 We are told that, “the sons of Yahweh, the representatives of the unfallen worlds.” The Desire of Ages, E.G. White, p. 834. This event of presenting themselves before Yahweh, is one of those such “appointed times” that Heaven enjoys. Satan, being a former inhabitant of Heaven is quite familiar with those “appointed times,” and thus conveniently presented himself to oppose the government of Yahweh, to shame Him as it were, in order that he might gain sympathy of more of the restored inhabitants of Heaven. These “set times” were special times of worship. They were not mere conferences to discuss organizational structure and to vote in office those whom they deem most capable of leading the universe. This was celestial worship in the raw, friends. Indeed, we have been told that at those seasons “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of Yahweh shouted for joy!” Job 38:7 Can any on earth imaging that celestial assembly in antiphonal praise, when Seraphims and Teraphims, Angels and Cherubims, all join together in heavenly harmony of praise. Choirs on earth can only stand aghast at such melodious praise. Friends, when we worship on earth our Creator that Heaven be at worship at the same time, thus the entire universe will be bowing before the throne of the Eternal King. Thus, what is done on earth will be done in Heaven, and what is done in Heaven will be done on earth!

The bible record is clear that the New Testament Believers all kept the Sabbath as a day of worship and spiritual communion:

“But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.” ACTS 13:14

“For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.” ACTS 13:27

“And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” ACTS 13:42

“And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of Yahweh.” ACTS 13:44

“And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures.” Acts 17:2.

Since apostolic times Saturday was always commemorated as the Sabbath of creation. This tradition would not last much longer however. Silently with the death of the aged apostles, a new theology raved it way throughout the New Church, to the extent that Christianity gave way to paganism, and the ten commandments gave way to Roman Catholic cannon laws. (A complete overview of the demise of Sabbath and the birth of Sunday in Christendom can be seen in the following works: Origin of Sunday Observance, Walter E. Straw, Review and Herald Publishing Association; National Sunday Law, Jan Marcussen, Amazing Truth Publications; Beyond Pitcairn, Vance Ferrel, Pilgrims Books; and The Great Controversy, Ellen G. White, Pacific Press Publishing Association, to name a few.)

It is worth providing historical footnote on the demise of the Bible Sabbath in preference of Sunday that the reader might see the forces in conflict:

“Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles.. From beginning to end of scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first.” Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August, 1900.

“Ques.–Have you any other way of proving that the [Roman Catholic] church has power to institute festivals of precept? Ans.–Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her.–She could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the Seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.”–A Doctrinal Catechism, Stephan Keenan, 1846, p. 176.

“Ques.–Which is the Sabbath day? Ans.–Saturday is the Sabbath day. Ques.–Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Ans.–We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”–The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, Peter Geiermann, 1957, p. 50.

“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodist, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.”–Priest Brady, in an address at Elizabeth, New Jersey, on March 17, 1903, also reported in the Elizabeth New Jersey News of March 18, 1903.

“Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the New Law, that He Himself has explicitly substituted the Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is now entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His [Catholic] Church the power to set aside whatever day, or days, she would deem suitable as Hold Days. The [Catholic] Church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days, as holy days.” Forbidden Sunday and Feast-Day Occupations, Vincent J. Kelly, 1943, p. 2.

“Protestants..accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change..But the Protestant mind does not seem to realize that in accepting the bible, in observing the Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope.”–Our Sunday Visitor, February, 5, 1950. [One of the largest U.S. Roman Catholic magazines].

“Reason and common sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday, or Catholicity and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible.”–The Catholic Mirror, December 23, 1893.

“For ages all Christian nations looked to the Catholic Church, and, as we have seen, the various states enforced by law her ordinances as to worship and cessation of labor on Sunday. Protestantism, in discarding the authority of the Church, has no good reason for its Sunday theory, and ought logically, to keep Saturday as the Sabbath. The State in passing laws for the due Sanctification of Sunday, is unwittingly acknowledging the authority of the Catholic Church, and carrying out more or less faithfully its prescriptions. The Sunday as a day of the week set apart for the obligatory public worship of Almighty God is purely a creation of the Catholic Church.”–The American Catholic Quarterly Review, John Gilmary Shea, January, 1883, p. 139.

“Protestants often deride the authority of the [Catholic] Church tradition, and claim to be directed by the Bible only; yet they, too, have been guided by customs of the ancient Church, which find no warrant in the Bible, but rest in Church tradition only! A striking instance of this is the following:–The first positive command in the decalogue is to ‘Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy,..But the Sabbath Day, the observance of which God commanded, was our Saturday. Yet who among either Catholics or Protestants, except a sect or twh, ever kept that commandment now? None. Why is this? The bible which Protestants claim to obey exclusively, gives no authorization for the substitution of the first day of the week for the seventh. On what authority, therefore, have they done so? Plainly on the authority of that very Catholic Church which they abandoned, and whose traditions they condemn.”–Rebuilding A Lost Faith, John L. Stoddard, p. 80.

The above stream of quotations from the Roman Catholics themselves should cause great concern amongst Bible Believing Protestants, to ascertain that their practices and customs are found within the pages of the Scriptures. The days are not far distant when Rome will again challenge the Protestant world to produce Biblical validity for their festivals of Easter, Christmas day, Halloween, St. Valentine’s day, St. Patrick’s day, Lent, Birthdays, the Wedding Ring (band), the usage of the Cross as a Christian symbol among a host of other pagan customs and practices, that are enshrined into Church life.

“Prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic church alone. The Bible says ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The catholic Church says, No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic church.”–Priest Thomas Enright, CSSR, President of Redemptionist College, Kansas City, Mo., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, and printed in the Hartford Kansas Weekly Call, February 22, 1884, and the American Sentinel, a New York Roman Catholic journal in June 1893, page 173.

It is a foregone fact that the Old Testament Church kept and observed all the “appointed times” of the Creator, however, it is a little known fact that the early Christian Church for over 300 years was actually nurtured by the “set times” of the Eternal. To see this in full focus, requires our taking another look at the New Testament Scriptures, and a breathtaking travel through the history of those troubled times.

The Feast Of Passover

“And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the Passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. …And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Matt. 26: 19-29. It will be observed that the feast here mentioned is that of the Passover (Last Supper). During this most sacred moment, our Redeemer gave a new meaning and relevance to the annual festival of Passover. He demonstrated that the bread represented His broken body, and the “fruit of the vine” his shed blood. Looking deep into the climax of the ages, the Messiah declared to His disciples then, and to His followers of all time, “I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Matt. 26:29. The fact that the Messiah said “henceforth,” clearly depicts that He would be absent from the body of believers, however, the very fact that He declared, “until that day” forces the conclusion that when “that day” shall have come, He will find His Church so doing (keeping the feast of the Passover), and will then rejoin them again. The word “until” gives continuance to the subject of the Passover. Indeed, it clarifies to one’s mind that this festival was not merely a shadowy type meant to pass away at His crucifixion, but was meant to be continued throughout the ages until He comes to reign in His forthcoming Kingdom of Glory, and beyond, throughout the ceaseless rhythms of eternity.! Simply stated then, while our Redeemer Himself kept the festival of Passover, He by no means nullified it, rather He gave relevance to its continuance and observance in the New Testament economy, and perpetuated it for eternity, and for this reason He assures us of His not eating this feast with us until he comes again in His Kingdom of Glory, and rejoins us to partake of this feast forevermore!

“And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of Yahweh. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of Yahweh shall come.” Luke 22: 15-18. Friends, do you now realized that the Passover feast is not “nailed to the cross,” as Rome would have us believe, but will be fulfilled in the Kingdom of Yahweh, wherein Yahshua will serve at that home-coming meal? It must be stated that the sacrament of the Passover has been changed. Rather than offering a slain lamb, the Messiah has substituted it with the “bread and the wine (grape juice)” which both emblematizes His broken body and His shed blood for the fallen race.

For many years after the Cross, we find the new converts to the Messianic Faith still being admonished to “keep the feast” in “sincerity and truth.” (I Cor. 5:7-8). Another name given to the feast of Passover is the “days of unleavened bread,” or the “feast of unleavened bread.” Passover is marked by removing all “leaven” from one’s diet and dwelling, to signify our liberation from sin. In 58 A.D., nearly thirty (30) years after the death of the Messiah, the Apostle inscribed this historic record, “And we sailed away from Phillippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.” Acts 20:6. Thus Paul and his travelling companions in the faith, celebrated the feast of Passover (“days of unleavened bread”) with the Phillippian brethren, many years after the death of the Messiah. “At Philippi Paul tarried to keep the Passover. Only Luke remained with him, the other members of the company passing on to Troas to await him there. The Philippians were the most loving and truehearted of the apostle’s converts, and during the eight days of the feast he enjoyed peaceful and happy communion with them.” The Acts of the Apostles, page 390-391, paragraph 4. If Passover were done away with, then here is the perfect opportunity for Paul to admonish the new “converts” with a better way, but instead, we find him celebrating Passover with them in a most “peaceful and happy communion.”

When Paul visited the newly established body of believers in Corinth, he declared: ” Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1Cor. 5:7, 8. The only difference with the festival of Passover amongst the New Testament believers is that there is no longer the need to slay a lamb, for “Christ our Passover [Lamb] is sacrificed [once and forever] for us.” The present tense of the verb “is” carries with it the constant freshness of the Messiah’s sacrifice. He did not say “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us,” but rather the definite ever-present and eternal freshness of the sacrifice of “the Lamb of Yahweh.” (John 1: 29). Henceforth and forever, whenever the body of believers gathers together to “keep the feast” of Passover, they have in their presence, yes, in their very midst, the Lamb that “is sacrificed for us.” There is therefore no more need for sacrificing a lamb at these “appointed times,” as such an act would betray one’s belief in the Messiah Who has come and sacrificed Himself as “the Lamb of Yahweh” for the sins of the world.

“Then look at Easter. What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar. The worship of Bel and Astarte was very early introduced into Britain, along with the Druids, ‘the priests of the groves.’ … If Baal was thus worshipped in Britain, it will not be difficult to believe that his consort Astarte was also adored by our ancestors, and that from Astarte, whose name in Nineveh was Ishtar, the religious solemnities of April, as now practiced, are called by the name of Easter–that month, among our Pagan ancestors, having been called Easter-monath. The festival, of which we read in Church history, under the name of Easter, in the third or fourth centuries, was quite a different festival from that now observed in the Romish Church, and at that time was not known by any such name as Easter. It was called Pasch, or the Passover, and though not of Apostolic institution, was very early observed by many professing Christians, in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ. That festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish Passover, when Christ was crucified, and a period which, in the days of Tertullian, at the end of the second century, was believed to have been the 23rd of March.” The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, pp. 103-104.

There is a remarkable segment of Church History which details the controversy surrounding the feast of Passover. Many of the faithful believers in our Saviour Yahshua have been murdered, robbed and otherwise dispossessed of their possessions, all because Pope Victor decreed that Passover must be celebrated always and only upon the venerable Day of the Sun–Sunday. If Church History can be trusted, we are given the following unbiased account of those times:

As an historical omen to this truth of the relevance of the Passover in the Gospel dispensation, we now turn attention to the believers living in those troubled times: “A question of no small importance arose at that time. For the parishes of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the Saviour’s Passover. <!– [1] –>It was therefore necessary to end their fast on that day, whatever day of the week it should happen to be. But it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at this time, as they observed the practice which, from apostolic tradition, has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of the resurrection of our Saviour. ” Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History Book V, Chapter 23.

“In the books On the Passover he indicates the time at which he wrote, beginning with these words: ‘While Servilius Paulus was proconsul of Asia, at the time when Sagaris suffered martyrdom, there arose in Laodicea a great strife concerning the Passover, which fell according to rule in those days; and these were written.’ <!– [22] –>And Clement of Alexandria refers to this work in his own discourse On the Passover, <!– [23] –>which, he says, he wrote on occasion of Melito’s work. But in his book addressed to the emperor he records that the following events happened to us under him: ‘For, what never before happened, <!– [24] –>the race of the pious is now suffering persecution, being driven about in Asia by new decrees. For the shameless informers and coveters of the property of others, taking occasion from the decrees, openly carry on robbery night and day, despoiling those who are guilty of no wrong.’ And a little further on he says: ‘If these things are done by thy command, well and good. For a just ruler will never take unjust measures; and we indeed gladly accept the honor of such a death. But this request alone we present to thee, that thou wouldst thyself first examine the authors of such strife, and justly judge whether they be worthy of death and punishment, or of safety and quiet. But if, on the other hand, this counsel and this new decree, which is not fit to be executed even against barbarian enemies, be not from thee, much more do we beseech thee not to leave us exposed to such lawless plundering by the populace.’ Again he adds the following: <!– [25] –>’For our philosophy formerly flourished among the Barbarians; but having sprung up among the nations under thy rule, during the great reign of thy ancestor Augustus, it became to thine empire especially a blessing of auspicious omen. For from that time the power of the Romans has grown in greatness and splendor. To this power thou hast succeeded, as the desired possessor, <!– [26] –>and such shalt thou continue with thy son, if thou guardest the philosophy which grew up with the empire and which came into existence with Augustus; that philosophy which thy ancestors also honored along with the other religions. And a most convincing proof that our doctrine flourished for the good of an empire happily begun, is this – that there has no evil happened since Augustus’ reign, but that, on the contrary, all things have been splendid and glorious, in accordance with the prayers of all. Nero and Domitian, alone, persuaded by certain calumniators, have wished to slander our doctrine, and from them it has come to pass that the falsehood <!– [26a] –>has been handed down, in consequence of an unreasonable practice which prevails of bringing slanderous accusations against the Christians. <!– [27] –>But thy pious fathers corrected their ignorance, having frequently rebuked in writing <!– [28] –>many who dared to attempt new measures against them. Among them thy grandfather Adrian appears to have written to many others, and also to Fundanus, <!– [29] –>the proconsul and governor of Asia. And thy father, when thou also wast ruling with him, wrote to the cities, forbidding them to take any new measures against us; among the rest to the Larissaeans, to the Thessalonians, to the Athenians, and to all the Greeks. <!– [30] –>And as for thee – since thy opinions respecting the Christians <!– [31] –>are the same as theirs, and indeed much more benevolent and philosophic – we are the more persuaded that thou wilt do all that we ask of thee.’ These words are found in the above-mentioned work. ” Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History, Book IV, Chapter 26.

But the bishops of Asia, led by Polycrates, decided to hold to the old custom handed down to them. <!– [1] –>He himself, in a letter which he addressed to Victor and the church of Rome, set forth in the following words the tradition which had come down to him: <!– [2] –>”We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the day of Yahweh’s coming, when he shall come with glory from heaven, and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who fell asleep in Hierapolis; and his two aged virgin daughters, and another daughter, who lived in the Holy Spirit and now rests at Ephesus; and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of Yahshua, and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate. He fell asleep at Ephesus. And Polycarp <!– [3] –>in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, <!– [4] –>bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who fell asleep in Smyrna. Why need I mention the bishop and martyr Sagaris <!– [5] –>who fell asleep in Laodicea, or the blessed Papirius, <!– [6] –>or Melito, <!– [7] –>the Eunuch who lived altogether in the Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis, awaiting the episcopate from heaven, when he shall rise from the dead ? All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. <!– [8] –>And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people <!– [9] –>put away the leaven. I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in Yahshua, and have met with the brethren throughout the world, and have gone through every Holy Scripture, am not affrighted by terrifying words. [These “terrifying words” are from Victor’s decree to plunder those who would honor the Biblical Passover as espoused by the Apostles ] For those greater than I have said ‘ We ought to obey Yahweh rather than man.’ ” <!– [10] –>He then writes of all the bishops who were present with him and thought as he did. His words are as follows: “I could mention the bishops who were present, whom I summoned at your desire; <!– [11] –>whose names, should I write them, would constitute a great multitude. And they, beholding my littleness, gave their consent to the letter, knowing that I did not bear my gray hairs in vain, but had always governed my life by the Lord Jesus.” Thereupon Victor, who presided over the church at Rome, immediately attempted to cut off from the common unity the parishes of all Asia, with the churches that agreed with them, as heterodox; and he wrote letters and declared all the brethren there wholly excommunicate. <!– [12] –>But this did not please all the bishops. And they besought him to consider the things of peace, and of neighborly unity and love. Words of theirs are extant, sharply rebuking Victor. Among them was Irenaeus, who, sending letters in the name of the brethren in Gaul over whom he presided, maintained that the mystery of the resurrection of Yahshua should be observed only on His’s day. He fittingly admonishes Victor that he should not cut off whole churches of God which observed the tradition of an ancient custom and after many other words he proceeds as follows

“For the controversy is not only concerning the day, but also concerning the very manner of the fast. For some think that they should fast one day, others two, yet others more; some, moreover, count their day as consisting of forty hours day and night. <!– [14] –>And this variety in its observance has not originated in our time; but long before in that of our ancestors. <!– [15] –>It is likely that they did not hold to strict accuracy, and thus formed a custom for their posterity according to their own simplicity and peculiar mode. Yet all of these lived none the less in peace, and we also live in peace with one another; and the disagreement in regard to the fast confirms the agreement in the faith.”

He adds to this the following account, which I may properly insert:

“Among these were the presbyters before Soter, who presided over the church which thou now rulest. We mean Anicetus, and Plus, and Hyginus, and Telesphorus, and Xystus. They neither observed it <!– [16] –>themselves, nor did they permit those after them to do so. And yet though not observing it, they were none the less at peace with those who came to them from the parishes in which it was observed; although this observance was more opposed to those who did not observe it. <!– [17] –>But none were ever cast out on account of this form; but the presbyters before thee who did not observe it, sent the eucharist to those of other parishes who observed it. <!– [18] –>And when the blessed Polycarp was at Rome <!– [19] –>in the time of Anicetus, and they disagreed a little about certain other things, they immediately made peace with one another, not caring to quarrel over this matter. For neither could Anicetus persuade Polycarp not to observe what he had always observed with John the disciple of our Lord, and the other apostles with whom he had associated; neither could Polycarp persuade Anicetus to observe it as he said that he ought to follow the customs of the presbyters that had preceded him. But though matters were in this shape, they communed together, and Anicetus conceded the administration of the eucharist in the church to Polycarp, manifestly as a mark of respect. <!– [20] –>And they parted from each other in peace, both those who observed, and those who did not, maintaining the peace of the whole church.”

Thus Irenaeus, who truly was well named, <!– [21] –>became a peacemaker in this matter, exhorting and negotiating in this way in behalf of the peace of the churches. And he conferred by letter about this mooted question, not only with Victor, but also with most of the other rulers of the churches. Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History, Book V, Chapter 24. [Supplied].<!– [22] –>

Those, therefore, who keep Easter in preference of Passover, and pour Christian meaning into this festival, are literally playing mental gymnastics, or spiritual rullet. For the one, Easter, is of Pagan origin and Divine disapproval, while the other, Passover, is both of Divine origin and approval. Friend, we cannot worship the Creator on an altar dedicated to Baal (Satan). It does not work. It is tantamount to offering strange fire before the Most High Yahweh. It behooves all Present Truth believers, to make the necessary changes and “keep the feast” (1 Cor. 5:8) in sincerity and in truth, rather than turn to Astarte, the queen of heaven, the Satanic goddess of antiquity!

“Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” Acts 12: 1-4. The reader can clearly see that the word “Easter” does not belong to the text, for the mere fact that verse three declares, “then were the days of unleavened bread”–Passover. The Greek word used in verse four for Easter is “pascha or the Passover.”–Strong’s Greek Dictionary, Entry #3957. This shows the great inroads the Enemy of Truth and Righteousness has made on the Messianic faith, even transforming the holy feast of Passover to the demonic festival of Easter, and then tried to give biblical sanction to it.

From one of the pioneers of the Advent faith we read, “The work typified by the Passover extends on down through the ages, and will not have fully met its antitype until the children of Yahweh are forever freed from the power of the enemy of all righteousness. It was at midnight that the destroying angel passed throughout Egypt, and manifested his power in delivering the people of Yahweh from bondage; so it will be at midnight that Yahweh will manifest His power for the final deliverance of His people.” The Cross and Its Shadow, Stephen N. Haskell, p. 98.

“No more, so He told them, would He speak the benediction over the fruit of the vine–not again utter the thanks ‘over the day, that they had been ‘preserved alive, sustained, and brought to this season.’ Another Wine, and at another Feast, now awaited His–that in the future, when the Kingdom would come. It was to be the last of the old Paschas; the first, or rather the symbol and promise, of the new. And so for the first and last time, did He speak the twofold benediction at the beginning of the Supper.” The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, 1883, p. 817.

The below discussion is taken from the website: http://www.cornerstone1.org/easter3.htm

The early church kept the Passover, and all scholars acknowledge this truth. Illustrating this, the Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition states: “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers. The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed. Thus the Passover, with a new conception added to it, of Christ as the true Paschal Lamb and the first fruits from the dead, continued to be observed.” (P.828)

The Encyclopedia Britannica Explains: “In the second century of our era there were many churches in Asia which kept the fourteenth day (Passover). They were called Quartadecimans, which means the keepers of the fourteenth day of the lunar month. Among the observers of the quartadeciman festival are counted Polycarp …it is (also) incontrovertibly clear that the quartadeciman Christians celebrated Passover. The name and the date of the festival are the same as in the Israelite calendar… The quartodeciman Christians commemorated only the Death of the Lord Jesus, and not his Resurrection.”

Before the apostle John died, prior to 100 A.D., he personally taught a younger disciple named Polycarp. By 159 A.D., the observance of Easter had become the predominate observance in the western churches, and Polycarp traveled to Rome to counteract this pagan practice which had arisen there. In the Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers Irenaeus writes: But Polycarp also was not only instructed by the apostles, and acquainted with many that had seen Christ, but was also appointed by Apostles in Asia, bishop of the Church of Smyrna…he was also in Rome in the time of Anicetus and caused many to turn away from the heretics to the church of God. While at Rome, Polycarp discussed the matter of Easter with the Roman bishop… Anicetus (could not) persuade Polycarp not to observe it (The Passover) because he had always observed it with John the disciple of out Lord, and the rest of the apostles, with whom he associated; and neither did Polycarp persuade Anicetus to observe it, who said that he was bound to follow the customs of the presbyters before him.

Because Rome was the capitol city of the empire, the Roman church began to view itself as the headquarters for all Christianity. Over time, the Roman church also had patterned itself after the Roman civil governmental system. Having set themselves up to be the leaders, the church in Roman began to demand that all the churches in the empire submit to their rule – even when their decisions seemed unbiblical. Finally, approximately 40 years after Polycarp’s visit to the capital city, Rome was convinced she now had the power to demand that the churches in the east eliminate the observance of the Passover. The faithful Polycarp had long since been martyred, but he had trained a man named Polycrates to replace him. This new leader of the churches in the east carried on the fight to hold fast to the original teachings. Consequently, Polycrates also traveled to Rome to contest the new Roman bishop on the issue of Easter or Passover. The Encyclopedia Britannica records the result: That province (John’s Pastorate) was the only portion of Christendom which still adhered to the Jewish usage, and Victor demanded that all should adopt the usage prevailing at Rome. This Polycrates firmly refused to agree to, and urged many weighty reasons to the contrary, whereupon Victor proceeded to excommunicate Polycrates and the Christians who continued the Eastern usage. (P. 828)

Eusibius is considered to be the most authoritative church historian for the first three centuries. In his famous book, Ecclesiastical History, He writes of this famous controversy, stating that: “The Asian bishops who insisted that they must observe the custom transmitted to them long ago were headed by Polycrates”.

Eusebius then records the letter written to Rome by this courageous man of God, Polycrates. He writes:

“We for our part keep the day (Passover) scrupulously, without addition or subtraction. For in Asia great luminaries sleep who shall rise again on the day of the Lord’s advent, when He is coming with glory from heaven and shall search out all His saints – such as Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who sleeps in Hierapolis … Again there is John, who leant back on the Lord’s breast…he too sleeps in Ephesus. Then in Smyrna there is Polycarp, bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, the bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who also sleeps in Smyrna. Need I mention Sagaris, bishop and martyr, who sleeps in Laodicea, or blessed Papirius, or the eunuch, who lived entirely in the Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis waiting for the visitation from heaven when he shall rise from the dead? All of these kept the fourteenth day of the month as the beginning of the Paschal festival, in accordance with the Gospel, not deviating in the least but following the rule of the Faith. Last of all I too, Polycrates, the least of you all, act according to the tradition of my family, …for seven of them were bishops and I am the eighth, and my family have always kept the day when the people put away the leaven. So I, my friends, after spending sixty-five years in the Lord’s service and conversing with Christians from all parts of the world, and going carefully through all Holy Scripture, am not scared of threats. Better people than I have said; ‘we must obey God rather than men.’” (P. 232)

The famous writer, Irenaeus persuaded the Roman bishop Victor not to excommunicate all the churches in the east. Still, the controversy raged on for many years after this. This division over the Easter issue was not solved until it was formally ruled upon by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine in the council of Nicea in 325 A.D. Centuries before this famous council, the prophet Daniel had foretold of a “little horn” that was to come. This little horn symbolized a leader who, while limited in power, would think to change times and seasons (Daniel 7:25). Constantine fulfilled this ancient prophecy of Daniel. It was this man who was responsible for the union of church and state. Constantine realized that because of rampant immorality amongst his subjects, the empire was degenerating. On the other hand, within the empire there was an outlawed movement called Christianity whose adherents were highly moral and who would die before they would abandon their faith. Constantine seized upon the growing Christian faith to unite and strengthen his fracturing kingdom. The pagan emperor decided to legalize Christianity. He issued the edict of toleration, and throughout the empire believers rejoiced because the new law halted the persecution. But this joy was short lived. Eventually, Constantine outlawed any religion but Rome’s version of the faith. Regarding the issue of Easter or Passover, Constantine’s concern was for unity in his empire. The observance of Passover by some of the churches was a threat to the solidarity he needed to cement his failing empire. Consequently, the emperor called the bishops to Nicea to resolve this question and end the division. At this famous council, the emperor ultimately declared that he would outlaw the Passover, and make Easter the official church holiday. After his monumental decision, he wrote a letter to all the churches in the empire explaining his reasoning on the subject. The following is an excerpt from that letter: “When the question relative to the sacred festival of Easter arose, it was universally thought that it would be convenient that all should keep the feast on one day; …it was declared particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of all festivals, to follow the custom of the Jews, who have soiled their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and whose minds were blinded…. We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews,… in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews, for it is truly shameful for us to hear them boast that without their direction we could not keep this feast… They do not possess the truth in this Easter question; a Divine Providence wills that this custom should be rectified and regulated in a uniform way; and everyone, I hope, will agree upon this point. As, on the one hand, it is our duty not to have anything in common with the murderers of our Lord; and as, on the other, the custom now followed by the Churches of the West, of the South and of the North, and by some of those of the East, is the most acceptable….You should consider not only that the number of churches in these provinces make a majority, but also that it is right we should have nothing in common with the Jews.”

In the Nicene council, the decision was made to universally adopt the observance of Easter. This law then became binding for all who professed Christianity. From that time forward, those who were a part of the Roman Empire celebrated Easter, and those who held fast to the teaching of Christ and the apostles went underground to keep their faith. In this context, it is very important to consider why this decision was made. Was this judgment legitimate? Did it have God’s approval? The Emperor’s letter outlines four main reasons for his historic decision. They are listed below:

1. Three Reasons Why Emperor Constantine Changed the Passover to Easter

2. It was convenient for all to keep the same day.

3. The majority were already keeping Easter

4. To have nothing in common with the Jews

When it came to the decision regarding the Passover, there was no mention of what the Holy Scriptures said about God’s feast, no reference to what Christ practiced, and no allusion to what the apostle John had taught. There was no regard for what Paul taught the Gentile churches. There was certainly no reference to the verse that states that the Jews were given the unique role in all human history to preserve the sacred scriptures (Romans 3:1-3). The church was now made part of the Roman empire. The Roman church leaders influenced the emperor, and he, rather than God, dictated what the church was to believe and practice – all based on political reasons, not on Scripture.

The True Church Continued To Keep Passover

The council of Nicea was a defining moment in the history of all western civilization. The growing church which called itself “Christian” became inextricably joined together with the Roman political system in the prophesied unholy alliance. The “little horn” of Daniel did his work, and the woman (a church in prophetic terminology) began to ride the beast – the Holy Roman empire (Revelation 17:3,7). From this moment in time, the church shifted from being persecuted, to being the persecutor! The leaders of what would one day be called the Roman Catholic church began to kill, imprison, and confiscate the property of those who did not comply with the new “Christianity.” As Christ had prophesied, they began to kill God’s people thinking they were doing God a service (John 16:2). But these attacks by the great church on those who kept the Passover did not stop the true believers from worshiping as Christ had taught. Jesus had promised that His Church would not die out. He said the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Therefore, the church continued to exist, and God’s people persisted in keeping the Passover. In his book, The Apostolic Community to Constantine, Karl Baus traces the history of the faithful from the third century through the fifth:

The quartodeciman minority remained faithful to their previous practice throughout the whole of the 3rd century,…(later) the council of Nicea expelled the Quartodecimans from the ecclesiastical community. Thereafter, their numbers continually declined, though even into the fifth century the great church had to deal with them on occasion. (P. 271)

By the 7th century A.D., the church became visible again. During this time, the mountains in Asia Minor and Armenia hid a people named Paulicians. The church historian Broodbent describes these people in The Pilgrim Church:

The persecutions to which they were subjected, and the systematic destruction of their literature, hide from us all but occasional glimpses of their history, though what remains is sufficient to show that there were in those wide regions of Asia Minor and Armenia,…churches of baptized believers, disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, who kept the teachings of the apostles received from Christ and contained in the scriptures, in an unbroken testimony from the first.

Fred Coneybear found and translated the Paulician book, Key of Truth. In it, he explained that he had finally understood that these people were the remnant of the original church:

All who had written about them had been misled… I now realized (he said) that I had stumbled on the monument of a phase of the Christian Church so old and so outworn, that the very memory of it was lost. The Sabbath was perhaps kept. Wednesday and Friday were not kept as fast days, and of the modern Christmas and of the Annunciation, and of the other feasts connected with the life of Jesus prior to his thirtieth year, this phase of the Church knew nothing. The general impression which the study of it leaves on us is that in it we have before us a form of Church not very remote from the primitive Jewish Christianity of Palestine.

The Paulicians remained visible until about the 10th century. Following Christ’s example, they kept the Passover for centuries before they finally became lost to history. By the 13th century, the church reappeared, this time identified as the Waldenses. The New Schaff Herzog Religious Encyclopedia states of them that:

They were determined to celebrate the Lord’s Supper yearly, and that in France it had been the custom of these people to celebrate it yearly from an early time…in Germany as well as France the Waldenses celebrated the Lord’s Supper yearly… (p. 243).

The noted historian, Mosheim explains that remnants of this same group were called Passaginians in Italy. They professed to keep God’s Ten Commandments in their part of the world during the years 1100-1200. Mosheim explains their beliefs, saying:

In Lombardy, which was the principal residence of the Italian heretics, there sprung up a singular sect known, for what reason I cannot tell, by the denomination Passaginians… they had the utmost aversion to the dominion and discipline of the church of Rome; but they were at the same time distinguished by two religious tenets which were peculiar to themselves. The first was a notion that the observance of the law of Moses, in everything except the offering of sacrifices, was obligatory upon Christians; in consequence of which they…abstained from those meats, the use of which was prohibited under the Mosaic economy, and celebrated the Jewish Sabbath. (Eccl. Hist.,Cent, 12, part2, chap.5 sec14,p.127)

During the 17th century, the church reappeared once again, this time in England. The London Public Library contains this excerpt recorded in the History of the True Church:

A complaint is entered on certain people for celebrating the Lord’s Supper in the morning, when it is said it should be celebrated in the evening. The name ‘church of God’ is mentioned twice referring to people holding the Passover in the evening.

In the book, The History of the True Church, Dugger describes the church in America. He writes:

The church in Rhode Island was founded the year 1671, and Ephreta, Pennsylvania, May 1725, with numerous other congregations throughout the eastern states… During these early colonial days congregations were at first isolated because of distance and a lack of means of travel with no roads between them. Thus being isolated from fellowship with one another, we find companies in one place called the Church of Christ, in another place the Church of God, while in other communities they were simple called ‘Sabbatarian Congregations’ but the belief was practically the same. They stood for the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, observing the true Sabbath, keeping the lord’s Supper yearly on the 14th of the first month. (p. 252-253)

In his book, History of the Sabbatarians, Clarke records the Church keeping Passover a hundred years later. He writes:

Some of these (western Virginia) churches, believe in the washing of one another’s feet, at appointed times,… but the Sabbath and Baptism are their distinguishing tenets… Concerning the Passover, or the Lord’s Supper, in at least one assembly of the early Sabbatarians in West Virginia, the following is illustrative; ‘March 21, 1853, it was voted that communion service be held once in twelve months on the fourteenth day of the first Jewish Month, ie., on the evening of the Passover.

From the past, throughout the more recent history of the 19th and 20th centuries, thousands of congregations of the Church of God around the world have continued to faithfully observe the Passover. The Eternal Church of God is one of those assemblies who is committed to keeping this sacred day that memorializes the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Church teaches that even when Christ finally returns in glory, it will not spell the end of this observance. Instead, His return will herald a time when all people will observe the Passover.

The Passover is an Ordinance Forever

The Passover was to be observed forever. Therefore, God told Moses to record the following words:

And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. (Exodus 12:14)

The Passover is a permanent ordinance. It was not done away when Christ died, and it will not be eliminated at His return. Jesus clearly stated that He would celebrate the Passover in His kingdom. At the last supper, Christ talked longingly with His disciples and He made the following promise:

With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide [it] among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come (Luke 22:15-18)

Jesus spoke to His followers about His return, explaining that He would again eat the Passover and drink the wine with them. He reiterates this in Matthew’s gospel, saying:

I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom (Matthew 26:29)

Few have grasped this truth. When Christ came the first time, He did not change the Holy Days. Instead, He kept them His followers continued their commemoration. Further, Christ will keep them in the millennium. When Christ comes the second time, He promises to take a much more aggressive approach, literally enforcing the observance of His holy days. He will literally exact a penalty upon those who refuse to keep His commanded days. The prophet Zechariah reveals that Christ will require those who survive the battle of Armageddon to observe His commanded feasts. He writes:

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 to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, upon them shall be no rain (Zechariah 14:16-17)

After Jesus Christ returns, He will set up His kingdom. It will be the literal government of God on this earth. He will bring scattered Israel back from her captivity to the land of promise a second time. There he will begin to rebuild Jerusalem. He will construct a magnificent temple, set a prince over it, and require His holy days be observed. In the book of Ezekiel, several chapters discuss this new temple which will be the headquarters for the government of the entire world. In chapter forty five, Ezekiel records various offerings that will be given then, and then he addresses the Passover. Ezekiel explains that the prince of the temple will teach people to keep God’s Passover. He writes:

In the first [month], in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. (Ezekiel 45:21)

Christ will enforce observance of His Holy Days during the Millennial rule, and eventually all will come to know God and His ways. Habakkuk writes these encouraging words:

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14)

This wonderful time is coming soon. Jesus will rule the earth for a thousand years. During this period, all will come to know God. People will no longer keep Easter. All will observe His sacred commanded ceremony, the Christian Passover. All will come to understand the love of God and the magnitude of the sacrifice that He made for each one of us as we keep God’s Passover from year to year.

Faced With A Choice

Like the ancient Israelites who fell away, losing all awareness of God’s Holy Days, many professing Christians today have lost the knowledge of God’s Passover. They do not realize that God will require keeping His Passover in the future, that His faithful have always kept this ceremony, or that God planned the Passover observance from the very beginning. The scriptures reveal that Christ was actually slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). This means that the Passover was planned before man existed. Days before creating man, God set the astronomical calendar in the heavens with a specific purpose in mind. God said:

Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: (Genesis 1:14)

On the fourth day of creation, God set the great astronomical bodies of the sun and moon in their respective orbits for “signs,” and for “seasons.” The word “sign” is “owth” in the Hebrew, and means a mark or beacon. Owth is the same word God uses when He states that His Sabbaths are a “sign” (Exodus 31:13). The Eternal then created the Sabbath on the seventh day, and that weekly celebration continues to this day. The other word that God uses to describe His purpose for placing the sun and moon in their respective positions is “seasons.” This word is “mowdah” in the Hebrew, and it literally means days for “assembly,” or “Holy Day observance.” This truth gives us incredible insight. God actually set the astronomical calendar in motion before He created man, and these vast bodies were to serve as a lunar-solar calendar to signal the time His Holy Days are to be observed. This is of great significance! It means that God planned to atone for man’s sin before the foundation of the world, and therefore He set the Passover, picturing His atoning death, in the creation calendar to be on the first full moon of the first month of every year as a memorial. God later revealed this celebration to His people when He freed them from their bondage in Egypt. When God’s people were faithful to Him, they kept the Passover. When they fell away from God, they celebrated Easter. In the New Testament, Jesus kept the Passover as an example for us to follow (I John 2:6). His Apostles observed it, and Paul taught the Gentiles to keep it (I Corinthians 5:7). Further, historically the church of God through the centuries has faithfully kept this ordinance. And, today there exists around the world thousands of congregations of the Church of God keeping the commandments of God rather than the traditions of men. Finally, when Christ returns He will teach all mankind to observe His Holy Days, including the Passover.

A Decision to Make But what about you?

And what about now? What will you do with the knowledge that you have been given? Your decision is of the utmost importance. To be a son or daughter of God, you must keep His Passover. John records Jesus’ words stating the following:

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (John 6:53).

When Jesus made this statement, He did not mean to take communion every Sunday as many churches do today. Jesus never did that, neither did the twelve Apostles, nor did the apostle Paul. Christ’s words mean that we must keep the Passover as He commanded. Furthermore, Jesus’ words mean we must literally take Him inside us, as the Passover symbols picture. We must surrender our will to His and allow Him to live in us (Galatians 2:19-20). This is the true meaning of the Passover. Knowing this, you now have a choice to make. Are you going to celebrate Easter or will you obey your Creator and observe Passover? Some will argue that they do not believe they are worshiping false gods when they celebrate Easter. They believe that they can worship Jesus using the symbols of Easter no matter the source of those symbols. Before you make your decision, reflect on and carefully weigh the example of Aaron and the golden calf. For hundreds of years Israel had been in bondage in Egypt. There they had lost the knowledge of God’s way, but became very familiar with the worship of false gods. Shortly after their deliverance from Egypt, when Moses was gone for a time, the people demanded a god to worship. Aaron then made them a calf such as they were accustomed to. When Aaron made the calf, did Israel think they were worshiping a false god? Absolutely not! They believed they were using the symbols to worship the true God. As Moses writes:

And when Aaron saw [it], he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, tomorrow [is] a feast to the LORD. (Exodus 32:5)

Aaron made a feast to the LORD using the familiar pagan Egyptian symbols of a golden calf. He thought the people could worship the true God with man made symbols. Many people hold a similar belief today. Do you think that you can worship God with the false, pagan symbols of bunnies, eggs, and lilies? In the case of the ancient Israelites, notice God’s reaction:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed there unto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: (Exodus 32: 7-10).

Moses was also furious when he saw the idol they had made. He burned the golden calf in the fire, and he ground it to powder. Then he made the children of Israel drink of the powder with water. After this he went to God and petitioned Him saying:

Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. (Exodus 32:31)

The Israelites had sinned a GREAT SIN by using false symbols to worship the true God. Celebrating a feast to God with Easter symbols is a great sin! If Moses did not intercede, God would have destroyed the people for their sin. When God brought the people into the promised land, the land was filled with idolatry including the worship of the sun god and fertility goddess Ishtar. At that time, God told Israel to destroy all the remnants of such worship. He also gave His people a warning. He commanded them not to adopt any of the ways that these people worshiped their gods. Moses records Gods warning:

When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee,…Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, …and that thou inquire not saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: (Deuteronomy 12:29-32)

Notice that Israel was not to look to the pagan practices of worship, and use their customs in any way. God did not consider it acceptable to worship Him using the various pagan symbols. He did not tolerate such worship. He hated it! God’s words echo to us down through the age as He thunders His warning to mankind:

Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God.

God does not approve of using pagan symbolism to worship Him! If we use false means of worship, it will pervert our perspective of God, and over time we will lose sight of His greatness, and purpose. Israel forgot God’s command and began to use the symbols of Ashtoreth, the goddess of fertility, to worship. God sent them into captivity for doing so, and He will send this nation of professing Christians into captivity for the same abominable practices before He returns. So important is this issue, your very eternal salvation is at stake. When Christ returns He will have to address a group of people who believe themselves to be Christians, but who will be absolutely shocked to find they are not! Jesus states:

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:22-23)

These will be individuals who call Jesus their Lord. They will have even preached in His name. They will have done many good works for Him. Yet, He tells them to “depart.” Why? Haven’t they accepted Him? Isn’t that all we have to do? The reason Christ gives is that they work “iniquity.” This word “iniquity” simply means “lawlessness.” These are people who do not obey God’s law. They believe they are worshiping Christ, but He states they are doing so unlawfully. They are worshiping Him according to what they think, and what they feel, not according to His command in scripture. Grasp the eternal lesson from these verses. We cannot worship God in any way that we desire. We cannot worship.” http://www.cornerstone1.org/easter3.htm

The Feast of Pentecost

From the earliest of times, the true worshippers of Yahweh have celebrated the feast of Pentecost exactly fifty days after the first paschal Sabbath. This feast, also known as the feast of weeks marked the real commencement of the annual harvest. The first fruits of the harvest were presented to the Lord of Harvest in a symbolic offering of two baked loaves, before the Creator. Like the feast of Passover, the feast of Pentecost is a matter of common historical occurrence. What is not well known however, is that the feast of Pentecost has been celebrated throughout the first centuries of the early Church, and deep within the hearts of the true worshippers of the Messiah. It is of interest to note that exactly fifty days after Yahshua’s resurrection, that the disciples were in the “upper room” celebrating the feast of Pentecost. Their LORD did not condemn them for the practice, but instead encouraged them to “wait” (tarry) in prayer until the promise of the Spirit is given them, “not many days hence.” Acts 1:4,5 & 8. Nor was this the only account of the New Testament believers ever coming together to celebrate the Feast. Sacred history bears the faithful record that the early Disciples, for up to more than 300 years after the crucifixion of the Messiah, faithfully kept all the “appointed times” of the Creator, including the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath.

Ponder the thought. Since Christ remained on earth with the early disciples for forty (40) days after his resurrection, if indeed the feast of Pentecost was “nailed to the cross,” would he not have told them? Moreover, if in the fact of this fact, they continued to recognize this “abolished” custom, would they not be in gross violation of the scriptures, and the commands of Christ? And since this was not the last, but rather the first Pentecost in the experience of the Christian church, would this not show outright rebellion and rejection of Yahshua as the true Messiah as long as they kept this and all other festivals which they perpetuated beyond the cross? The answer to these questions is a resounding “YES!” The fact though that they kept these feast days, in spite of the cross, should stimulate the investigative mind for Truth to dig deeper into the Word of Yahweh to see if the Christian church was keeping the feasts with all the ritual sacrifices and customs, or with new relevance to the Christian experience. In as much as this thought will be amplified in later sections of this article, it is worth mentioning at this juncture that that which “nailed to the Cross” was not the feast days, but rather the “sacrifices and oblations.” Of the Messiah’s work the prophet declares, “and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Dan. 9:27. As Christians we are in general familiar with the Old Testament’s usage of the word “sacrifice,” to mean “an offering by blood”–the slaying of an animal to atone for sin. However the word “oblation” is not that customarily used in our theology, and for this reason we will turn to the Hebrew Dictionary.

The Hebrew word for oblation, is “minchâh, min-khaw´; mean to apportion i.e. bestow; a donation; euphemism [for] tribute; specifically a sacrificial offering (usually bloodless and voluntary):–gift, oblation, (meat) offering, present, sacrifice.” Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, entry Nos. 4503 & 4504. Therefore the word “oblation” though used in the ceremonies of a “feast day,” does not refer to that day, but rather a ceremonial service (gift) that was offered on any day, including the Sabbath. What has been nailed to the cross therefore, were not the “feast days,” but just as the Scriptures declare, “the sacrifice and the oblation”– the gifts which pointed the Hebrew mind to the Lamb of Yahweh to come. This law (of ceremonial sacrifices and offerings) is done away with and nailed to the Cross in the person of Yahshua, the Messiah.

“Then, said the angel, ‘He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years].’ For seven years after the Saviour entered on His ministry, the gospel was to be preached especially to the Jews; for three and a half years by Christ Himself; and afterward by the apostles. ‘In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.’ Dan. 9:27. In the spring of A. D. 31, Christ the true sacrifice was offered on Calvary. Then the veil of the temple was rent in twain, showing that the sacredness and significance of the sacrificial service had departed. The time had come for the earthly sacrifice and oblation to cease.” The Desire of Ages, page 233, paragraph 2. That’s all that was nailed to the cross friends, only the sacrifices and the oblations, not the Sabbath or the “feasts,” Rome did the latter, not Christ.

Of the Apostle Paul, the record declares that, “When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if The Almighty will. And he sailed from Ephesus. Acts 18:20-21.

“For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.” Acts 20:16

“But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” 1 Cor. 16:8, 9. Here was an opportunity for Paul to correct the believers from their supposed error of commemorating the “feast days,” however we see him here celebrating the festival of Pentecost with them.

From the above arrangement of Scriptural passages on the feast of Pentecost, it is clear that this Feast was kept not only at Jerusalem, but throughout the Gentile regions with Gentile converts as well. We are here reading about events occurring nearly thirty (30) years after the crucifixion of Christ. One would think that if these feasts were “nailed to the cross” that the Disciples including Paul, would certainly have known about it. However, the very fact that the Christian Church perpetuated this festival rite, is clear evidence that the Lord of Glory wanted it as such. After all, these are the very ones upon whom the Holy Spirit fell in magnanimous “power” on that memorable day of Pentecost. It will also be noticed that since these occasions brought Israelites from all regions together, and since also, many of these attendees only came to celebrate the festival in type, it afforded a most opportune moment to proclaim the Gospel of the Messiah, as the Son of YAHWEH, the Redeemer of Israel, the King of the world. One cannot help but to feel the sense of urgency in his voice as Paul exclaims, “I must by all means keep this feast.” This was an important occasion for the proclamation of the everlasting Gospel to the unbelieving Jews, as well as its being the set time when the entire inhabited loyal Universe of YAHWEH, was in assembly for the same purpose.

From one of the early church fathers writing on the death of Constantine Manixmus in 337 A.D., we read: “All these events occurred during a most important festival, I mean the august and holy solemnity of Pentecost, which is distinguished by a period of seven weeks, and sealed with that one day on which the Holy Scriptures attest the ascension of our common Savior into heaven, and the descent of the Holy Spirit among men.”–Eusebius, The life of Constantine, also quoted in God’s Festivals, Samuele Bacchiocchi, p. 207.

Here for over 300 years after the Cross, we find the true hearted believers in Yahshua, celebrating the feast of Pentecost. Something must have transpired throughout the centuries which has mockingly “nailed” to the cross this and all other festivals appointed by Yahweh to His people.

The Feast of Trumpets

The typical feast of trumpets was a day of the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn). This event marked the commencement of the Judgement for the Living of that day. It was imperative that everyone examined their lives which would, in nine days hence, come in review before the Mighty One of Israel–Yahweh. This event was marked by the passing of the sheep under the rod, to separate Yahweh’s portion. This passing under the rod was a kind of numbering process that took place every year. A similar event was done to mark the Jubilee. “And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto Yahweh.” Lev:27:32.

“The Sefer HaChinuch explains that Rosh HaShana is the day on which the whole world is judged. Each individual creature is judged as an individual. This judging has been compared to sheep passing in single file under the watchful eye of the shepherd. Just as each sheep is scrutinized alone, separate from the flock, so too are we judged on Rosh HaShana, as individuals, separate from everyone else.”

“Why do we have a day of judgment? The Sefer HaChinuch explains further that this holiday on which we are judged is truly a kindness of Hashem. Hashem, because we have this yearly holiday, reviews our deeds yearly, thereby preventing our sins from amassing. As we “only” have to deal with our sins one year at a time, there is still room for repentance and atonement. Furthermore, as Hashem judges us with kindness, if there are few sins, they are pardoned. If there are sins for which punishment is needed to cleanse the person, the punishment is exacted in small doses, bit by bit. If the accounting of our deeds did not take place on a yearly basis, our sins would accumulate until the point that Hashem would decide to end the existence of the world, because of all the evil and disregarding of His words.” YomTov, Vol. I, # 36 Rosh HaShana: The Epitome of G-d’s Kindness; By: Rabbi Yehuda Prero, learn@torah.org, Project Genesis, Inc., 6810 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore, MD 21215, (410) 358-9800 at: http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-14/Npnf2-14-28.htm.

The Name Hashem, appears, from the context, to be speaking of Yahweh, the Almighty God of Israel. There seems to be a great lesson being taught here. From both Scripture as well as contemporary Jewish customs, there is the teaching of “individual” Judgement upon the Living, as well as passing the flock “under the rod.” What could these mean in the New Testament context? There is clear lesson being drawn here. That the Almighty Yahweh will, in the latter days, again cause his people to “pass under the rod,”in a message of judgement upon the living.

“Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Almighty GOD. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am Yahweh.” Ezek. 20: 36-38. This prophecy written by Ezekiel deep in the times of Babylonian captivity, could not be speaking of the Mosaic Theocracy of antiquity, rather, it speaks of another “wilderness” experience for the people of Yahweh, during which time He will “purge out from among” them the “rebels, and them that transgress against” Him. There is therefore continuance and relevance of the feast of Trumpets to the Israel of Yahweh, in the New Testament dispensation. There is therefore continuance and relevance to a message of judgement–numbering and selection–of the antitypical Israel of Yahweh, so that like then, the Israel of Yahweh will in these days also be required to “pass under the Rod.”

Since, as we have seen, the feast of Trumpets requires the passing under the Rod, and since also, the trumpet is emblematic of a message of judgement upon the living, it is clear that there must be a message of impending judgement upon the living, and the necessity for the antitypical Israel of Yahweh to pass under such a message of the Rod. Indeed, this very truth has been unfolded many years ago (1929), by one Victor T. Houteff. In that message, The Shepherd’s Rod, he declares:

Ezek. 20:37 — “And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.” This verse is somewhat involved and needs to be elucidated with the help of another scripture. Let us turn to Leviticus. “And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto Yahweh.” Lev. 27:32.

To determine Yahweh’s part, the tithe, Yahweh’s lambs, goats, or sheep, were made to pass under the rod. Each tenth then was taken and set aside for the Almighty. The statement of Ezekiel twenty, verse thirty-seven, “to pass under the rod,” therefore, means to separate His very elect from among the multitude, from among the “tares,” (Matt. 13:30) or from among the “bad fish” (Matt. 13:47, 48). And being thus separated, they are counted. So it is that the 144,000 (Rev. 7:3-8; 14:1) are a separate and numbered company.

Now we see that Ezekiel twenty contains a prophetic history from the time of their sojourn in Egypt to the time of the sealing of the 144,000, and of the gathering of the people. When Yahweh causes His people to thus pass under the rod, He will then bring them into the bond of “the covenant which He made with Abraham, and of His oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.” 1 Chron. 16:16-18.

The promises which they failed to realize, the Almighty reassures that He will now let His people have them.

Ezek. 20:38 — “And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Almighty.” Here we are plainly told that only the elect will He bring “into the bond of the covenant.” Them only will He bring into the land of Israel. The sinners (tares, bad fish or goats) that are now among Yahweh’s people shall be taken out and be no more.

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net, saith our Saviour, “that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 13:47-50. The separation, the Judgment for the Living, you note, brings the end of the world.

Ezek. 20:39 — “As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Almighty Yahweh; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto Me: but pollute ye My holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.” Yahweh has now made clear His “clean work” which He is to do, both for the penitent and for the impenitent. It is now up to them to decide whether to serve Him or to serve their idols — they are now not making their decision ignorantly. If they wish to perish they may continue to serve their idols. V.T. Houteff, Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 7-9. http://www.shepherds-rod.org/TGvol2/2tg01.htm.

“Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that published peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee, he is utterly cut off.” Nah. 1:15.

Thus you have it from the Almighty, through His prophet Nahum, that the one who announces that the time has come for the wicked to be cut off from among Yahweh’s people, and that the Judgment for the Living (which, as we have already seen, is “the great and dreadful day of Yahweh”) is about to take place, is to make the announcement of these events by his publications. Further concerning this timely truth this “meat in due season,” Isaiah declares that it will be dispensed to all without their having to pay for it — “without money and without price.” He urges them, moreover, to stop wasting their money in purchasing “that which is not bread” (Isa. 55:1, 2) — that which is not inspired of Yahweh.

What is Yahweh’s counsel concerning the Voice of Elijah’s publications? And what is the title of them? The answer comes through Micah the prophet: “Yahweh’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the Rod, and Who hath appointed it.” Micah. 6:9.

Here is a Rod which speaks; and its voice, the scripture points out, is the voice of Yahweh to His people. And since “The Shepherd’s Rod,” the publications which contain the message of “the great and dreadful day of Yahweh,” is the only Rod that has ever spoken, then it is the “Rod” publications which Yahweh demands all to hear. Some may call the publications “offshoot,” others may call them “rubbish” (“Counsels on Sabbath School Work,” p. 29), but the Almighty titles them the “Rod,” and His counsel is that we hear Its voice. In truth, since the Rod is a symbol of authority, correction, and deliverance, then what other title could more fittingly signify that It is to deliver the penitent and do away with the impenitent? It was the Shepherd’s Rod that freed ancient Israel, and Yahweh has chosen “The Shepherd’s Rod” to deliver modern Israel. It was a Rod that led the first Exodus, and it is now seen that a Rod is making ready to lead the second Exodus (Isa. 11:11; Micah. 7:14, 15; Ezek. 20:36, 37).– V.T. Houteff, General Conference Special, pp. 34-35 . http://www.shepherds-rod.org/Misc/GCS.html.

“The time of the Judgment is a most solemn period, when Yahweh gathers His own from among the tares.” — “Testimonies to Ministers,” p. 234.

“The third angel’s message” in its former phase, the Judgment for the Dead, was unfolded to the Denomination by one person, the founder of the Denomination, and that one directed other co-laborers. So must it be with respect to the message in its latter phase, the Judgment for the Living. Moreover, since the first part of the third angel’s message, the Judgment for the Dead, neither comprises the last message nor ends the Judgment, but instead covers only the first phase of it, then the last part of the third angel’s message, the Judgment for the Living, is necessarily the last message and the final phase of the Judgment. In fact, the Three Angels’ Messages are applicable to the Judgment for the Dead only indirectly, for the Judgment for the Living is the all-important event; that is, the angel is not sent particularly to explain what the Judgment does to the dead, but what it is to do to the living. …

So we see that the more we consider the subject, the more obvious becomes the truth that the Third Angel’s Message in its final phase is the Judgment for the Living, the harvest. Plainly, then, the work of Elijah is to give light on the Judgment for the Living. Hence “…Those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ, are represented by faithful Elijah, as John came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ’s first advent….” — “Testimonies,” Vol. 3, p. 62.

Very obviously the Laodiceans cannot possibly prepare the way for Christ’s second advent without the message of the Judgment for the Living, the last, and besides they themselves, declares Yahweh, are on the verge of being spued out. Necessarily, then, the Laodiceans themselves are if possible to be awakened by the prophet Elijah, lest while dreaming of being rich without his message, they perish in their sin, and thus abide not in the Judgment.–V.T. Houteff, General Conference Special, pp. 38-39.

http://www.shepherds-rod.org/Misc/GCS.html

“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Yahweh cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.” Joel 2: 1, 2.

“And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil. Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of Yahweh is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of Yahweh: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” Zeph. 1: 12-18.

It should now be quite evident to the reader that the message of the Trumpets is a message of judgement, and necessarily and logically, such a message must precede the “great and dreadful day of Yahweh.”

The Day of Atonement

“Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.” Acts 27:9. The Day of Atonement is the only feast day that is actually a fast—hence the only fasting day throughout the Mosaic dispensation, was the Day of Atonement.

“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto Yahweh. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before Yahweh your Redeemer. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.” Lev. 23: 27-32

The Feast of Tabernacles

“And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith Yahweh will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.” Zech. 14:17-19.

“And I that am Yahweh thy Redeemer from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.” 12 Hosea:12: 9.

“The Feast of Tabernacles was not only commemorative but typical. It not only pointed back to the wilderness sojourn, but, as the feast of harvest, it celebrated the ingathering of the fruits of the earth, and pointed forward to the great day of final ingathering, when the Lord of the harvest shall send forth His reapers to gather the tares together in bundles for the fire, and to gather the wheat into His garner. At that time the wicked will all be destroyed. They will become “as though they had not been.” Obadiah 16. And every voice in the whole universe will unite in joyful praise to Yahweh.”– Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 541, paragraph 2.

“Well would it be for the people of God at the present time to have a Feast of Tabernacles–a joyous commemoration of the blessings of God to them. As the children of Israel celebrated the deliverance that God had wrought for their fathers, and His miraculous preservation of them during their journeyings from Egypt, so should we gratefully call to mind the various ways He has devised for bringing us out from the world, and from the darkness of error, into the precious light of His grace and truth.”– Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 540-541.

The feast continued for seven days, and for its celebration the inhabitants of Palestine, with many from other lands, left their homes, and came to Jerusalem. From far and near the people came, bringing in their hands a token of rejoicing. Old and young, rich and poor, all brought some gift as a tribute of thanksgiving to Him who had crowned the year with His goodness, and made His paths drop fatness. Everything that could please the eye, and give expression to the universal joy, was brought from the woods; the city bore the appearance of a beautiful forest.

This feast was not only the harvest thanksgiving, but the memorial of Yahweh’s protecting care over Israel in the wilderness. In commemoration of their tent life, the Israelites during the feast dwelt in booths or tabernacles of green boughs. These were erected in the streets, in the courts of the temple, or on the housetops. The hills and valleys surrounding Jerusalem were also dotted with these leafy dwellings, and seemed to be alive with people.

With sacred song and thanksgiving the worshipers celebrated this occasion. A little before the feast was the Day of Atonement, when, after confession of their sins, the people were declared to be at peace with Heaven. Thus the way was prepared for the rejoicing of the feast. “O give thanks unto Yahweh; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever” (Ps. 106:1) rose triumphantly, while all kinds of music, mingled with shouts of hosanna, accompanied the united singing. The temple was the center of the universal joy. Here was the pomp of the sacrificial ceremonies. Here, ranged on either side of the white marble steps of the sacred building, the choir of Levites led the service of song. The multitude of worshipers, waving their branches of palm and myrtle, took up the strain, and echoed the chorus; and again the melody was caught up by voices near and afar off, till the encircling hills were vocal with praise.

At night the temple and its court blazed with artificial light. The music, the waving of palm branches, the glad hosannas, the great concourse of people, over whom the light streamed from the hanging lamps, the array of the priests, and the majesty of the ceremonies, combined to make a scene that deeply impressed the beholders. But the most impressive ceremony of the feast, one that called forth greatest rejoicing, was one commemorating an event in the wilderness sojourn.–The Desire of Ages, p. 448.

The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated to commemorate the time when the Hebrews dwelt in tents during their sojourn in the wilderness. While this great festival lasted, the people were required to leave their houses and live in booths made of green branches of pine or myrtle. These leafy structures were sometimes erected on the tops of the houses, and in the streets, but oftener outside the walls of the city, in the valleys and along the hill-sides. Scattered about in every direction, these green camps presented a very picturesque appearance.–Ellen G. White, Redemption Or The First Advent Of Christ With His Life And Ministry, p. 89.

“At the time of Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary had gone to Bethlehem to be taxed (Luke 2:1-5). There are no records to indicate that the middle of winter was the time of taxing. A more logical time of the year would have been in the fall, at the end of the harvest. If this was the case, it would have been the season for the feast of Tabernacles at Jerusalem which could explain why Mary went with Joseph (cf Luke 2:41). This would also explain why even at Bethlehem ‘there was no room in the in’ (Luke 2:7). According to Josephus, Jerusalem was normally a city of 120,000 inhabitants, but during the feasts, sometimes as many as 2,000,000 Jews would gather. Such vast crowds not only filled Jerusalem, but the surrounding towns also, including Bethlehem, which was only five miles to the south. If the journey of Mary and Joseph was indeed to attend the feast, as well as to be taxed, this would place the birthe of Jesus in the fall of the year.” Babylon Mystery Religion, Ralph Woodrow, 1981, pp. 150-151. (Italics included with quotation).

The most compelling information though, comes from the internal evidence in the Scriptures themselves, for the Messiah was but six months younger than His forerunner John-the-Baptist. From our understanding of the 2300-day (year) prophecy in Dan. 8 – 9, we are told that the Messiah should be “cut off in the midst of the week” of years. This being true, and the known fact that he died at Passover when He was but 33 ½ years old, gives us clear count to his birth. Here’s how: Counting backwards from Passover, which occurs on the 14th day of the first month–Abib, going six month’s backwards takes us to the 14th day of the 8th month—our October! However, since our Saviour ate the Passover meal on the 14th day, he was not slain on that day, but two days later, on the 16th, that Friday. So then, we should look for his birth during the fest of Tabernacles, just as we find His death during the week of the feast of Unleavened bread—Passover. Indeed when Immanuel came the Apostle John declared him to be “the Word” of Yahweh. Thus “the Word became flesh and tabernacled” (John 1:14) among us during the festival known as “tabernacles.” To rightly commemorate his birth, therefore, requires us to observe the festival (feast) of tabernacles, according to the Scriptures. Thus we see that every major event in the history of the Church and of our Saviour occurred on a feast day—a divinely “appointed time.” We look at the birth of our Saviour at the feast of Tabernacles—a feast day, we review his baptism at the Feast of tabernacles (he was thirty years old at his baptism)—a feast day, and we stand in awe at His ignominious crucifixion and glorious resurrection during the feast of Passover—a feast day!

Now pause and look in the future with your eyes fixed on the pages of history and prophecy, and you will see, as I have, that the time of the establishment of the Kingdom will take place at Passover, when the “sealed” ones—typified by the hyssop-marked blood stain over the lintel of the door post of every Israelite—will be liberated from the bondage of antitypical Assyria into the pre-millennial Kingdom of our Redeemer. And I dare say it with every fiber in me, we look forward to his panoramic Second Advent on a feast day—the great antitypical Jubilee of Jubilees, when the slaves of earth will be delivered from the shackles of sin (sinful world) into the glorious liberty of our Messiah and Saviour—Yahshua our Redeemer and King—into the Kingdom Eternal! What a glorious day that will be! “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of Yahweh is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and Yahweh himself shall be with them, and be their Father. And Yahweh shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Rev. 21: 3-5