God's Holy Days Bible Study

It's a common misconception that God's holy days have been done away with. However, you have been learning they each represent a step in God's plan for all mankind.

  In Study Unit 20 you learned a tabernacle is a temporary dwelling place, the first one being a temporary dwelling place for God during the wilderness journey of the Israelites.

  But as God lived in a temporary dwelling, a tent, so the Israelites also lived in tents. In both cases they lived in tabernacles.

  Then you learned, when the Jews returned from captivity they were instructed to build succoths, or booths, to live in for the days of the feast of tabernacles. Today's booths or tabernacles are hotel or motel rooms, or motor homes or tents. Some young people have even tried their hand at building succoths.

In Study Unit 22 you learned the feast of tabernacles is a time for the entire family to rejoice, as it represents the ingathering of the true followers of Jesus Christ in the coming kingdom of God.

  Then in Study Unit 23 you learned of the great ingathering of the rest of the dead after the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ and the saints, pictured by the feast without a name.

As I said at the beginning, "It's a common misconception that God's holy days have been done away with." But Zechariah 14:16-19 tells us there will be a great feast of tabernacles in the future. "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be that whoever will not come up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord 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 the Lord 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."  

THE LORD'S DAY IS YET TO COME

To determine the time frame we must return to the beginning of Zechariah 14. The day of the Lord (verse 1) is a prophecy for a time yet ahead of us. The day of the Lord is also known as the Lord's day (Revelation 1:10). 

God said (verse 2), in the day of the Lord he would gather every nation (including Great Britain and the United States) to battle against Jerusalem. Although several nations have fought against Israel, both past and present, never have all nations come together for such a battle.

  Then Jesus Christ will do battle against those nations (verse 3). Revelation 19:11-16 describes Jesus' return, from heaven, as King of kings and Lord of lords. Verse 19 indicates the nations' forces will turn on Jesus to fight against him, but verses 20-21 show they will be the losers.

Zechariah 14:4 tells us in that day Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives, and the mountain will split in two, leaving a huge valley between to the two parts. Visitors to the holy land know the Mount of Olives is still in one piece, three-thousand years after Zechariah wrote his prophecy.

Then verse 8 says pure water will flow year round from Jerusalem, part to the Mediterranean Sea and part to the Dead Sea.

  "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one (verse 9)."

  Do rivers of pure living water flow from Jerusalem today? Has there ever been a time when the Lord reigned as king over all the world?

  It becomes evident that these events are all yet to occur. So when God speaks of the nations going to Jerusalem for the feast of tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16), we are left with only one conclusion: the feast of tabernacles has not been done away with.

And for those who believe in a go-to-heaven theory, it's important to realize all these events will take place on the same earth we live on today.

There are people who say the holy days have been done away with for now, but the feast of tabernacles will be reinstated at Christ's return. From what you have learned during the past six months, would you agree with them?

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If you wish to obey God and keep the feast of tabernacles this year it will begin at sunset Monday, October 1, and continue to the end of the last great day at sunset Tuesday, October 9.  

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You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.   

Unit 25 - THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR MAN

Copyright August 2000 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org

In the first study unit you questioned why you should observe a mid-winter festival as the time of Jesus' birth. Now, after 24 study units learning about the meaning of God's holy days to Christians, you must also look at why you observe Sunday.

Leviticus 23:3 indicates the sabbath is also among the holy days. To God, to the Israelites, and to Jesus Christ and the apostles, the sabbath was the seventh day of the week. Who changed it, and why? 

ANTI-SEMITISM

Difficult as it may be to accept, traditional Christianity has been one of the most racist religions in history. During the second, third, and fourth centuries A.D. the Roman church rejected anything Jewish. For example, the entire Easter scenario is set around obliterating the passover and anything Jewish.

  The Encarta 97 Encyclopedia states, "Constantine the Great, Roman emperor, convoked the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. The council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout the Christian world on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox; and that if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and thereby coincide with the Passover festival, Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following. Coincidence of the feasts of Easter and Passover was thus avoided."

  The Roman Catholic church attempted to erase passover from Christianity so decreed, through Constantine, that Easter must never be held on the same day as passover.

When one considers Jesus was likely born on the feast of trumpets, it becomes evident that the choice of a mid-winter Christmas also smacks of anti-semitism.  

SUNDAY

Throughout this series of bible studies you've learned that Jesus was crucified late Wednesday, not Friday as traditional Christianity teaches (study unit 10), and that he rose from the grave late Saturday, not as the sun came up on Sunday.

  This information was known to the disciples -- they were there. Why, then, did the Roman church adopt Sunday as its day of worship?

  Once again it comes down to anti-semitism. Since the Jews observed the seventh day sabbath, the Roman church decided another day would be necessary. What better day than the first day -- the Roman day of the sun -- to represent the son of God?

It's ironically significant that the Romish church fathers saw a major problem with having their events coincide with days that were considered Jewish, yet saw no problem converting pagan holidays to their use and calling them Christian.

In his world-renowned treatise From Sabbath To Sunday Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi describes in great detail, from the records of the Vatican, how the change was made. It's valuable reading for sabbath- and Sunday-keepers alike.

  About 1910 a Roman Catholic cardinal, James Gibbons, wrote, "There is absolutely no biblical authority for Sunday worship. The only authority is the Roman Catholic church. You protestants bow down to us every Sunday morning."

  And J A Soggin, professor of Hebrew language and literature, Universita di Roma, Italy, tells us it was the end of the first century A.D. before Sunday observance replaced the sabbath as the day of the Lord.

We're told in the last days perilous times shall come. Paul told Timothy men shall be lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:1-4). Most people prefer the pleasures of Christmas and Easter to the true joy of observing God's holy days. Of course, Sunday is a great day of pleasure even for those who go to church. One hour on Sunday morning then it's time to hit the beach, or picnic, or relax with a beer and a ball game on the tube.

  Many of those who attend church have a form of godliness, but deny the power of it. Even though they may study the scriptures they never seem able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:5-7). Why? Because it's easier to go along with the crowd than to turn against the tide. In today's parlance it is politically correct.

  But you have invested the past twenty-four weeks coming to the knowledge of the truth from God's holy word. 

WILL YOU HEED GOD'S CALL TO ACTION?

One of the most important verses in the bible is "The sabbath was made for man..." Let's change that to The sabbath was made for (insert your name). Now ask yourself what you will do with the sabbath God made for you.

Finally, recall that each of God's holy days are sabbaths. What will you do with them? Will you accept what God says or will you continue to perpetuate the anti-semitic holidays of the world?

The choice is yours, as God said in Deuteronomy 30:19-20, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live, that you may love the Lord your God, and that you may obey his voice, and that you may cleave unto him for he is your life, and the length of your days..."  

May you better understand the truth of God's word day by day.

Bro. Leslie A Turvey

Serving the only true and living God

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