Are God's Holy Days Still Holy Today?

Thank you, Mr. Martins. Welcome to this Kingdom of God seminar. I believe this is our sixth segment in a series of Kingdom of God seminars. We don't know how many we're going to have, but we're going to keep giving Kingdom of God seminars for the foreseeable future. So I'd like to welcome you here. We're glad to have you. Today's seminar topic has to do with God's Holy Days, as Mr. Martins already pointed out. In this first section, we will discuss what the Bible means when it speaks of Holy Days. Just what are the Biblical Holy Days? What does it mean when it says these days mentioned in the Bible are holy? What does that mean? Are they indeed still holy today? Why do we in the United Church of God continue to keep what some people consider old Jewish days? Will these days be observed during the millennium? And should we really be keeping them today? Why should a true follower of Jesus Christ keep these Biblical Holy Days? So these are important questions, and we will answer those questions today. Now, in America today, we observe a number of holidays. And it's easy to see that the word holiday is closely related to the two words I've used a few times already, holy days. But there's a big difference between God's Holy Days and man's holidays.

God's Holy Days were instituted long before man's holidays. In America, some of our holidays have a religious tone to them, such as Christmas and Easter. Two days that are revered above all other days on the Christian calendar.

And even Halloween and Valentine's Day have a supposed religious flair to them, All Hallowed Eve and Saint Valentine.

The origins and history of these days, however, that is Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Valentine's Day, actually reveal days that originated first from celebrations of the pagans and of the heathens, people who did not believe in the one true God of creation.

In fact, they worshiped a number of gods, gods from nature and various sun gods and gods of fish gods and different types of gods, forest gods.

They did not really worship the one true God of creation. God says very clearly that we should not learn the way of the heathen.

But that's exactly what we're doing when we keep these days. We've learned the ways of the heathen.

Christ clearly said, how be it in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men?

These holidays, these religious holidays, are frankly commandments of men. They are not commandments of God. They're not found anywhere in the Bible.

They originate, frankly, from ancient origins. If you look up these holidays in the Encyclopedia Britannica or World Book Encyclopedia, if you can still find them today because most people just use Google, they don't bother with books anymore.

But if you were to look them up, even on Google, you would find that these are pagan heathen days steeped in pagan origins and really something that God never ordained at all.

Every nation observes various patriotic holidays. In fact, we have a national holiday Thanksgiving coming up, and that's fine. It's a good thing to observe Thanksgiving Day.

We should be thankful to our God who provides all things. We should count our blessing. We should spend time with our family. So we're not against holidays unless they have a pagan heathen religious bent toward them.

Now those of us who have been in the Church of God are also used to observing certain Holy Days. We observe them every year, and we also observe a weekly Holy Day.

And that's why we're meeting today on the seventh day, as opposed to the first day of the week. We believe that God has sanctified and set apart the Sabbath Day, the seventh day of the week, for us to worship upon. It's a special day. It's a commanded assembly.

So we find the origins of these days in the Bible. God's Holy Days are in the Bible. The Bible and the Revelation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit also give us clear reasons for keeping these days today.

But that's the primary topic for our next session, where we will see the deep spiritual meaning behind God's Holy Days, and we'll see why God wants us to keep these days. In this particular session, this first session, we will see that these days are indeed God's Holy Days for all mankind, not just the Jews or the Israelites, but they are commanded by Almighty God for all mankind.

And in this session, we will see that these days are still in effect, and should be observed today.

Now, the Biblical annual Holy Days, or Festivals, fall during three seasons of the year.

The early spring harvest, which includes the Passover, and the Days of Eleven Bread, the late spring harvest, which is Pentecost, and the early autumn harvest in the land of Biblical Israel, which would include the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day.

Of course, we also find these days mentioned in the Old Testament, first of all, and we find the weekly Sabbath to be the first one mentioned over in Genesis 2.

Genesis 2. Now, it's interesting, in Genesis 1, we find that in the very beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and it says in verse 2 that the earth actually became without form and void. It became chaotic and confused. So, this is actually talking about a recreation after what we suppose was damage done by Satan the Devil and his rebellion along with one-third of the angels. The earth became chaotic and confused at that time, but initially it was created perfectly because that's the God that we serve. He is a perfect God. He didn't make it chaotic and confused. It became that way. But we go on here and we see a recreation where God created the earth. Well, he actually recreated things over the course of seven days. And on the seventh day, after he had created mankind on the sixth day, God made the Sabbath day.

And he rested on this day. Let's see this in Genesis chapter 2.

Oh, good. I've got my glasses with me. I was worried there for a second. Genesis chapter 2. Genesis chapter 2 verse 1.

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. That means he set it apart for a holy purpose and a holy use. Because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made. So it was the seventh day, beginning in the evening, from sunset to sunset. That was the day that God made holy. He didn't make the first day holy. He didn't make any of the other days holy. But he made the seventh day holy. And he set it apart for the use of mankind.

So this happened again just after Adam and Eve were created, clearly showing that the Sabbath day is not primarily a Jewish day. There weren't any Jews at that time. But a day for all of God's children, starting from the very beginning.

Now in Exodus 16, we find God's Sabbath clearly reinstituted in a sense because the Israelites had no doubt lost track of the Sabbath day. They were not keeping it the way they should. They were in bondage and in slavery in Egypt. They had strayed away from observing the Sabbath day properly. But God is going to show them very clearly that this is a day that He expects them to keep. And notice that this is before the Ten Commandments are given.

So in Exodus 16, we find God sending manna from heaven.

And again, we see that this was on the seventh day that God did not send any manna because God was resting, again setting an example for mankind. He told them to gather twice as much on the sixth day. And normally it would stink if they gathered too much. I mean, it would spoil. And it would begin to stink. But on the sixth day, the preparation day, they were to gather twice as much and it would not spoil because it was a miracle from God that it would last over. God would provide. They wouldn't have to go out and gather any manna on the seventh day.

However, as man often does, they don't listen to God and they went out looking for manna on the seventh day. So notice here in Exodus 16 what God says to Moses about those who were out looking for manna on God's Sabbath day.

In verse 28, Now it wasn't Moses that was doing this, however. It was the people Moses was guiding and serving. But he didn't have complete control over all the people, obviously. They went ahead and did what they wanted to do. And God says, So again, it shows clearly that these were commandments and laws. These were laws that God had put into effect. In fact, we might ask ourselves, why did God choose the children of Israel? Why was Israel to be the chosen nation?

Well, do you remember that Israel is a name for someone else? I mean, it's a name for another... I mean, it's the same person, but it's a different name. Jacob. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are forefathers. And it was because Abraham obeyed my voice, kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

That's why God chose the children of Israel, because Abraham was already keeping these days. The seventh day Sabbath was a commandment. And no doubt Abraham kept that day. No doubt he also kept the annual holy days, because those holy days are statutes. And so it says, because Abraham obeyed my voice... This is Genesis 26, verse 5. God said he would pronounce a blessing upon Abraham and upon his seed, because Abraham obeyed my voice, kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. So again, we clearly see that the Sabbath is a commandment. In Exodus 20, verse 8, the ten commandments are given. And the fourth commandment in verse 8 of chapter 20 is, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you nor your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, even your cattle or your stranger, you're not supposed to go out and plow the fields with your cattle on that day. Nor your stranger who is within your gates, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth.

Notice that God points them back to creation. God is a God of creation, and the Sabbath is a reminder. Every week when we observe the Sabbath day, we remember our Creator. We remember who God is, and we should also remember who we are. Every Sabbath, when we observe this day, we should remember who we are and who God is.

In fact, in Exodus 31, we see that the Sabbath is actually a covenant between God and His true children. Exodus 31, verse 12, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, Surely, my Sabbath, you shall keep. For it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death. For whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest. It is holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. This clearly shows how important this day was to God.

Therefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. Someone just went by the window back there. I don't know if we should check and see if someone's trying to find us or not. Okay. But anyway, this was to be a perpetual sign between God and his children. Verse 17, it is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. And when he had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the very finger of God. So it is important, again, to remember that the Sabbath is actually a sign. It is a covenant sign between God and his people. When we observe the Sabbath, we show that we honor God and we see him as our God, and he sees us as his children. So it's a very important sign between God and his people. In Leviticus 23, this is a very important chapter because it outlines not only the annual Holy Days, but it also outlines God's Holy Sabbath day, the weekly Sabbath. And notice here that God says, these are my feast days. They're my feasts. They're not feasts of the Jews. They're God's feast days. They're his holy days. Leviticus 23, verse 1, And the Eternal spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations. A holy convocation is a commanded assembly. Again, it's an appointed time that God has with his children. God is the one that makes the days holy. It's our job to worship on those days and to keep those days and to convene with God and to meet with him on those days. They are commanded assemblies. These are my feasts.

Notice in verse 3, The sixth day shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest. It is a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it. It is the Sabbath of the Eternal in all of your dwellings. So wherever you live, wherever you go, the Sabbath goes with you. The Sabbath is there. The seventh day Sabbath is to be observed no matter where you are on this earth, in all of your dwellings. And then, he goes into the annual holy days. Now, there are a number of people who do keep the seventh day Sabbath, but many of them do not keep God's annual holy days. We are to live by every word of God. You know, it isn't enough just to observe the Sabbath. The annual holy days are every bit as important because God says, keep them. Now, the weekly Sabbath is extremely important because it's a weekly reminder. But the annual holy days are annual reminders, and they also reveal God's plan, which we'll talk about in the next session. So they're both very, very important. It isn't enough to just observe the Sabbath. You should go on to also keep the annual holy days. So getting back to Exodus 23 and verse 4, these are the feasts of the eternal holy convocation, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.

So you can't decide when the appointed times are. God is the one who decides the appointed time. On the 14th day of the first month, now this is talking about God's sacred calendar, the first month, not January. That's a Roman calendar. That's not what we go by when we keep God's holy days. We go by God's sacred calendar.

So on the 14th day of the first month at twilight is the eternal Passover. And on the 15th day of the same month, beginning the next evening, on the 15th, that is the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord. Seven days you must eat unleavened bread. So we are to eat unleavened bread. We are not to eat leavened bread during this time. And we'll go into more of the symbolism in the next session.

On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. So the first and the last day of unleavened bread are to be holy days. And the Passover is to begin on the 14th. The days of unleavened bread begin on the 15th day, which is a holy day.

And on the seventh day is another holy day.

Now the next holy day is called the Feast of First Fruits or the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Pentecost. It actually bears all three names. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give to you, and you reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.

He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord. Now this is important because this is a symbol of the first fruits, the very first crops that would be harvested.

You are to wave a sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it, and you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year without blemish. Now some of these offerings, you know, we realize that Christ is the ultimate sacrifice or the ultimate offering. Some of these sacrifices find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, but others will actually be instituted during the millennial reign of Christ, when there's a temple, when there's a place to worship. Because we can still learn from some of these sacrifices and some of these offerings. We don't observe these things today. We don't have a temple in Jerusalem. And again, some of these offerings are symbolized and they are met in Christ. Christ is our sacrifice, ultimately. And of course, we look to Him. Again, it shows how to count the Feast of Weeks. Seven weeks is 49 days, and one more day is the 50th day. Pentecost in the Greek means to count 50. So from the time when the wave sheaf offering is waved on the Sabbath during the days of 11 bread, you already count 50 days. So 7 times 7 is 49. The next day would be a Sunday. That's when the day of Pentecost would always fall on the 50th day after the Sabbath during the days of 11 bread.

So that's when we observe the Feast of Pentecost or the Feast of First Fruits. And then if we drop down to verse 23, The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath rest, a memorial blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. So on the seventh month in the sacred calendar, on the first day of the month, the first day of the month is to be a blowing of trumpets, is to be a holy convocation, a commanded assembly you shall do no work on that day. We call it the Feast of Trumpets. And again, we will talk about the symbolism of the Feast of Trumpets in the next session. I'm just establishing that these are days that God says to observe, and frankly He says to observe them throughout all your generations. Now, the children of Israel were representative of God. They were a chosen nation, a chosen people. If you are to be a child of God, then you are a spiritual Israelite. God is calling you out of the world to be different, and you should be observing these days, because I'll also clearly show you that they will be observed during the Millennial reign of Christ. And if they're going to be observed then, should we not be keeping them today as God's children?

Alright, the Day of Atonement. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Also the tenth day of the seventh month shall be the day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you, you shall afflict your souls. Now, this is speaking of actually fasting during this, on this day. So, for a 24-hour period from evening till evening, from sunset to sunset, it's to be a day of fasting to afflict your soul, to not eat food and not drink water, but to look to your Creator and to realize that God is the one who sustains us.

If we continued to drink no water and eat no food, we wouldn't last long. We need God, who is the one who provides for us. So, we humble ourselves on the Day of Atonement. And that's when we look to God to sustain us and we draw close to Him.

We also realize that Christ is the atoning sacrifice that God has given us. The Father has given His Son on our behalf. And we'll talk about the Day of Atonement in the next session as well. Then we come to the Feast of Tabernacles. And here in verse 34, On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You do no customary work on it. And you are together together for seven days. Now, we actually meet in Branson in this area to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. And the vast majority of us end up going for the entire period. Where we meet every day. We worship God every day. We worship Him every day. We honor God during the Feast of Tabernacles. The first day and the last day are holy days. They are high days, so we certainly don't do any work or partying or sightseeing. And when I say party, I don't mean any kind of bad kind of partying. But, you know... Alright, so that's the Feast of Tabernacles. And we'll be back in a minute.

Alright, so that's the Feast of Tabernacles. And it is a day of rejoicing. It's a time to get together in temporary dwellings or booths. We call them motels for the most part these days, or condos. And we meet together. Back in the old days, they met in tents. They were temporary dwellings. But it is a very meaningful time when we all get together and worship God. In verse 44, so Moses declared to the children of Israel the Feast of the Eternal. So these are God's feasts, and they're clearly outlined in the Old Testament.

Now, I think everyone here knows that the children of Israel were not always faithful. They didn't always keep God's commandments. In fact, they rarely kept God's commandments. And eventually, they went into captivity in Babylon and also in Assyria. God allowed them to go into captivity, and they suffered greatly. And do you know the two main reasons that God gives for them having to go into captivity? One of their great sins was idolatry. They worshipped other idols. And God is a... He's a jealous God. He wants us to worship Him. He's the Creator. No one else. When people bow down to the created, they dishonor God. They don't look to Him. So that's a problem with God. God doesn't appreciate that. He wants us to worship Him in sincerity and in truth. He doesn't want us to worship Him in vain. So it is very important how we worship. So idolatry was the first and one of the primary sins, but there was another sin that was largely also a problem with God, and that was profaning the Sabbath, breaking the Sabbath. These days are very important to God. Let's go to Ezekiel 20. And this is a very important chapter in the Old Testament because it outlines the many rebellions of the children of Israel against God, rebellion that God did not take lightly. God hates rebellion. He wants us to learn to serve Him and to serve Him willingly and not to rebel against Him. In Ezekiel 20, notice in verse 12, God says, Moreover, I also gave them my Sabbath, what we were just talking about in Leviticus 23. I gave them my Sabbath, which were to be a sign between them and me that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. Yes, the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes. They despised my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. And they greatly defiled my Sabbath days. They greatly defiled them. Then I said I would pour out my fury to them in the wilderness to consume them. So God again points out that it was idolatry and also Sabbath breaking. If we go down to verse 18. But I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, those who were going astray, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord your God. Walk in my statutes, keep my judgments, and do them. Hallow my Sabbaths, this means keep them holy, hallow my Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes. They were not careful to observe my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. God clearly showed that there would be blessings for obedience, but there would be curses for disobedience. And this is exactly what happened to the children of Israel. They disobeyed, and so they were cursed. He says, But they profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my fury on them, and fulfill my anger against them in the wilderness. So they had to wander in the wilderness for forty days, or I'm sorry, for forty years, a day for every year that the spies spied out the land, and then came back with a bad report, basically saying God isn't strong enough to take care of you. So God, again, wants us to look to Him. He wants us to have faith in Him. He wants us to trust in Him, and know that He will deliver us. God is the great deliverer. He is the God who delivers, and we should put our faith and trust solidly in God.

If you notice down in verse 43, it shows here that the children of Israel will eventually repent. The Bible tells us in Revelation and in Daniel and in various other places like Isaiah that there will come a time of God's wrath just before Christ returns. There will be a great day of the Lord. When God will pour plague upon plague upon this earth, God is going to get the attention of the children of Israel and, yes, of all mankind at that time. Notice verse 43, and this is in the context of restoring the children of Israel to Him.

He says, And there you shall remember your ways, when you go into captivity in the last days before Christ returns, there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled, and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of the evils that you have committed.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel, says the Lord God. He says that they will come to loathe themselves because they will realize that they trampled all over God's Sabbath days and they worshipped idols, they kept holidays instead of God's Holy Days. And they will realize at that time that they need to repent of that type of behavior.

So we clearly see God's Holy Days established in the Old Testament, but what about the New Testament? So often we hear that the Old Testament done away, the law was done away, it doesn't really matter what's in the Old Testament. But a student of the Bible knows better than that.

A student of the Bible realizes that God's laws are still in effect today. They were not nailed to the cross. They're still in effect. God doesn't want you to go out and murder people. He doesn't want you to lie to each other and steal and commit adultery. He doesn't want you to dishonor your parents or to dishonor him by taking his name in vain and by worshiping other idols. And he also doesn't want you to profane his Sabbath.

Because the fourth commandment, again, that's one of the ten commandments. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. And if you're not keeping it holy, you are disobeying God. And you will bring a curse upon yourself. And this is what the Scripture says. You know, there are blessings for obedience. There are curses for disobedience. And God changes not. So it is important to know the truth. In Luke 2, verses 27 and 28, we see that Christ is indeed the Lord of the Sabbath day.

Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. In actuality, we learn that, really, the one who became Christ was the creator of all things. And it says that clearly in Colossians and Ephesians and in a few other places, that nothing was made except through Jesus Christ. All things that were made were made through the one who became Christ. In many respects, Christ is indeed the God of the Old Testament. He's actually the one that brought the ten commandments on Mount Sinai, the one who became Christ.

A lot of people don't understand that. They're in darkness when it comes to the truth about who Jesus Christ even is. Christ clearly existed before he came as a human being, before he divested himself of his divine nature and was born of a woman. So he was really the one that we read about in the Old Testament, primarily. And he was the one that created you and me and created Adam and Eve. And he is the Lord of the Sabbath because he created the Sabbath. And that's clearly said here in Luke chapter 22.

Let's go to Luke chapter 22. They were giving Christ a hard time because they said his disciples were breaking the Sabbath. But who's the one that can set the rules for the Sabbath? Is it not the one who created the Sabbath? Is it not the Lord of the Sabbath? Luke chapter 2 verses 27 and 28.

That's not the right place, is it? I think it's Mark 2, isn't it? Let's look at Mark chapter 2. I think I wrote that down incorrectly. Mark chapter 2, yes, that's correct. Mark chapter 2 verses 27 and 28.

Christ would actually heal on the Sabbath day because he clearly showed that it is wonderful to do good on the Sabbath. To help your fellow man that's in need, not to work on the Sabbath, except in a very rare instance when someone, a life-or-death matter where you might need to help somebody on the Sabbath, or a real emergency where you might, again, help someone, but certainly not to be gainfully employed, not to be working on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. He is the master of the Sabbath. He makes the rules. We should follow His rules. And again, He was the one that instituted the Sabbath in the first place. In Luke chapter 2 verse 41, we see here that Christ's parents kept the Holy Days. Mary and Joseph kept the Holy Days. They were observant Jews of the house of Judah. And they certainly did keep the Sabbath day, and they taught their Son, of course, to keep the Sabbath day. Luke chapter 2 verse 41. Luke chapter 2 and verse 41.

His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And then it goes on to talk about when He was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast. So it was Christ's practice to keep the Feast days. He kept all of the annual Holy Days. He also kept the Sabbath day. Christ's parents kept the Holy Days. Joseph and Mary kept those days. And Christ kept the Holy Days as a child. In Luke chapter 4, 16, it shows that it was His custom to observe the Sabbath. It was something that Christ did regularly. Luke chapter 4 verse 16. So Jesus came to Nazareth where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, as His practice was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read. And He taught on the Sabbath day. It was His custom. It was His practice. In John chapter 2, we see that Jesus kept the Holy Days. He kept all the annual Holy Days that we already talked about. Notice John chapter 2 verse 23. John chapter 2 verse 23.

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. So Christ was up there. He was observing the Sabbath day. He was keeping the feast days. In chapter 4 verse 45, we see that, He did not want to walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill Him. Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. Now it does refer to it as the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles, but we know that it is truly God's Feast of Tabernacles. The reason it's referred to as the Jews is because they were the only ones keeping them at the time. They were God's chosen people. They were observing these Feast of Tabernacles, so it only makes sense that they might be referred to as the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles. But it's a huge mistake to think that these feast days were not made for all of mankind. They were clearly made for all of mankind. They were made at creation when Adam and Eve were created. So it's a huge mistake to try to use that rationale and say, we don't have to keep them today. In John 7, verse 14, But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given. Actually, the Holy Spirit would be given on the day of Pentecost after Christ died, after he was resurrected. He would send the Comforter. He would send the Pericletos. He would send the Holy Spirit. It had not yet been given at this particular time, but it would be given later.

So clearly, Christ kept these holy days as a child. He kept them as an adult. In 1 John 2, verse 6, it says clearly that anyone who says that he abides in Christ ought himself also to walk even as Christ walked. To me, that means if you want to call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, you should do what he did. Christ kept the annual holy days. Christ kept the Sabbath day. If you want to call yourself a true Christian, a follower of Christ, if you want to say that you abide in Christ, then you ought to do as he did and keep his holy days. Now, in 1 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul says, Imitate me as I also imitate Christ and as I keep the traditions and as I keep the traditions as I deliver them unto you. Paul taught these holy days to everyone he saw, Jew and Gentile alike. He taught them all the truth about God's holy days and about God's Sabbath. Notice Acts 13. Now, some people will say, again, the holy days are not for the Gentiles. But notice Acts 13. This is somewhere around 55 AD. Some 20 years after Christ had died, had been crucified, and had been resurrected and risen to the Father. So, if the holy days were nailed to the cross or nailed to the stake, then why are they being kept here? Why is the Sabbath being observed by Gentiles as well as Jews? Acts 13.42 So, when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Because Paul, frankly, was teaching the words of life, words of eternal life through Jesus Christ the Savior. So, he was teaching the Jews about Jesus Christ and who he truly was. Just like Peter, on the day of Pentecost, told them that you have crucified your Savior. So, Paul is teaching these same words of life, and the Gentiles hear about it, and they want in on it. They want in on eternal life, wouldn't you? Of course, we all do. So, when the Jews went out of the synagogue, of course, it was on the Sabbath day, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them on Sunday. Wait a minute. That's not what it says, is it? It doesn't say on Sunday, it says, to them the next Sabbath. The Gentiles wanted Paul to preach to them the next Sabbath. So, when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God, and on the next Sabbath, a week later, almost the whole city came together to hear the Word of God. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! You know, they were all coming out to hear the good Word of God, and they were coming on the Sabbath day to be edified and to be taught and to worship God.

Now, when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy. And, you know, that's exactly what happens. The religious leaders of the day become envious when they see that they are not getting the acclaim that they would like. You know, they become envious. They begin to persecute, and that's exactly what they were trying to do now to Paul. It says, they were filled with envy and contradicting and blaspheming. They opposed the thing spoken by Paul.

So these were words that were powerful, and they brought persecution.

Excuse me. Excuse me. It was necessary that the Word of God should be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. Now, obviously, there were some Jews who were accepting Christ as their Savior, but the majority of Jews were not. The vast majority weren't. God was then going to call some Gentiles out. The truth is, most of the Gentiles wouldn't either. Most of the Gentiles wouldn't come either, but some of them were being called, and God was beginning to work with the Gentiles. So, this is a very clear passage of Scripture that shows that the Sabbath was being kept by Gentiles long after Christ was dead, buried, and resurrected. In Acts 18, notice that Paul is also keeping the feast days. He's clearly observing the Sabbath. He's also observing the annual holy days, and he's setting an example for everyone to follow. Acts 18, verse 21, in verse 21, he says, I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you, God willing, and he sailed from Ephesus. Now, Ephesus is a Gentile city. I've actually had an opportunity to be in Ephesus some years ago. My wife and I had an opportunity to go to...we went on a Mediterranean cruise, and we went to Corinth and to Ephesus. It was really very, very inspiring to be where so many servants of God...Paul certainly had been there in Corinth and in Ephesus. These were Gentile cities. They were pagan cities. There were some very stark reminders of their paganism. They had red light districts that were well marked, anciently, 2,000 years ago. It was clear that God was calling a few out of those pagan areas, Gentiles that were being called of God.

So Paul is here. He's teaching the people in Ephesus. He's teaching the people in Antioch and in Corinth to begin keeping the laws of God, to keep the Sabbath and to keep the Holy Days of God. He was clearly keeping them. He wanted to be in Jerusalem on that particular Holy Day. In 1 Corinthians 5, we see that he kept the days of 11 bread. Now, I really don't want to take too much time here, but let's see that this is the church at Corinth, again primarily a Gentile city in Greece, in the Greek Isles.

In 1 Corinthians 5, verses 6 and 7, he says, "...your glorying is not good, do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened, for indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast." That means, let us observe the feast, speaking about the days of 11 bread. Not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Paul was keeping these days, and those around him were learning to keep these days as well.

So the example that Christ said, and the example that the Apostle Paul said, and all the apostles, was to observe God's Holy Days. In Acts chapter 20, I'm not going to go there, but you can check it out later, it shows the days of 11 bread and Pentecost are being kept by the disciples. It shows that the day of Pentecost in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 8, the day of Pentecost is being observed.

In Acts 27, verse 9, it shows that the day of Atonement is being observed. Again, these are days long after Christ had already been crucified and nailed to the stake. So these days were not done away with, they were being observed. And these are days that we all, frankly, need to be observing today.

Now, in Zechariah 14, it shows that the Feast of Tabernacles is going to be kept during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Zechariah chapter 14, verses 16 through 19 shows that the Feast of Tabernacles will be kept during the Millennium. And what's going to happen to those who will not keep the Feast of Tabernacles? It says here that God will not give them any reign. God means business. What happens when you get no reign? Eventually you die, don't you? You know, famine sets in, and before long, with no reign, the crops wither and die, you have nothing to drink. The animals all die, and you eventually die. So what do you think the people of Egypt are going to start doing? They're going to start keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, you have an opportunity to have a head start. You don't have to wait until Christ returns. In fact, you better not wait until Christ returns, because if God's calling you now, now is the time for you to respond to God's calling. It's like playing Russian roulette, only a lot worse.

You wouldn't stick a gun to your head and twirl the thing and hope the gun doesn't go off. You probably wouldn't want to do that. Well, if God's calling you now, now is the time you should respond. The Bible says many are called, but few are chosen. Why is it that they're not chosen? Because they refuse to respond. What does it mean to respond? It means to start doing these things, start keeping these days.

If you've known about them for 30 or 40 years, and you're still not doing it, that's a problem.

That is a problem. It's time to start keeping them. If God is still working with you after 30 or 40 years, and you're here today, that tells me He wants you to start doing something about what you've been reading and studying for so long.

So God's going to have the Egyptians come up and keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Everyone will come up and keep the Feast, or they're going to die. In Isaiah 66, and we don't have time to turn there, but it shows that the Sabbath will be observed during the Millennium. During the reign of Christ on the earth, they will go up Sabbath to Sabbath. They will observe it. They will go up to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on the Sabbath day. In Nehemiah chapter 8, it shows—actually, I don't have time to go through all this— but it shows in Nehemiah 8 that the children of Israel had lost sight of God's Feast of Tabernacles. They weren't keeping it. They weren't keeping the Law of God. A book of the Law was found, and Nehemiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah, they began to read the Book of the Law.

The people began to rejoice because they saw why they were having so much trouble. It's because they had strayed from God and His Law, and they began to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. They rejoiced. That's what we should do today. If we come to realize that we haven't been doing what God said we should, all we have to do is start doing it.

And then the blessings will come through obedience of observing God's Holy Days and keeping the Feast. And then you will truly rejoice in observing God's Feast Day. So read Nehemiah 8 when you have a moment. We clearly are told to walk by faith and not by sight. If we look around us in the world, we see in this community several hundred thousand people who live here.

But only a few are here today. Only a few are keeping the Sabbath. And even fewer are keeping God's annual Holy Days. Why is that? Because people are walking not by faith, they're walking by sight. If you follow everyone else, if you do what the crowd's doing, then there's a problem here. Because you're not supposed to walk by sight. If you walk by sight, you're going to do what everyone else is doing. If you walk by faith, you'll do what God tells you to do. And that's going to be a small group. It's not going to be a huge crowd that's doing what God says to do. It is important to begin keeping these days when you learn of them. Observing these days will strengthen your faith in their importance. So these Holy Days are God's Holy Days. They are God's Feast Days. God has commanded them for His children to observe throughout all their generations. It says that repeatedly in Leviticus 23, throughout all their generations. Well, they still live today. You're alive. I'm alive. You know, we've got some generations still going on here. Christ Himself observed these days. His disciples observed these days. It's important that we, too, observe God's weekly Sabbath and also His annual reminders of His love and His concern for us. Because these days picture God's wonderful plan of salvation for all mankind. That's what we're going to talk about in the next session. So at this time, we'll take about a 10-minute break. And we'll come back and we'll talk about God's Holy Day plan revealed in His annual Holy Days.