Are God’s Holy Days Still Holy Today?

We're all very glad to be here today on God's Sabbath. It is a very special day for all of us. Today's seminar topic has to do with God's annual Holy Days, but also the weekly Sabbath. In this first session today, we'll 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?

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? In America today, we observe a number of holidays.

It's easy to see that the word holiday is closely related to the two words I've mentioned a few times already. Holy Days. But there's a big difference between holidays and Holy Days. 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. You've heard that. It's anything but that, for sure. And also, Saint Valentine's Day. The origins and history of these days, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day, actually revealed days that originated first from celebrations of the pagans, of the heathen people who did not believe in the one true God of creation.

But they worshipped a number of different gods. They worshipped the sun. They worshipped Baal. They worshipped Mithra. These days clearly do not have godly origins. You can look them up in the Encyclopedia Britannica or World Book Encyclopedia, if you can still find one these days. I don't know if they still sell those big volumes of encyclopedias anymore or not. I know you can get your phone.

Many of you in Google these days and ask for the origins, and you won't find much information about how these days are actually steeped in pagan heathen origins. Every nation we know also has patriotic holidays. We won't be long, and we'll all be observing Thanksgiving Day.

There's nothing wrong with these patriotic days that mark certain events in history. Thanksgiving Day is a time to certainly reflect on God and His blessings, to count our blessings, and to be grateful for all that God does for us. Now, those of us who have been in the Church of God are also used to observing certain holidays, or I'm sorry, not holidays, but Holy Days each year. We obviously have reasons for keeping these days. They are indeed very important to us. And we find the origins of these days not in pagan tradition, but from the Bible. The Bible and the Revelation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit give us clear reasons for keeping these days today.

But actually, that's the primary topic for our next session, where we will see the deep spiritual meaning behind God's Holy Days, why we keep those days. Today, in the first session, we're going to see that they clearly are commanded, that God does want us to keep them, but we're not going to go into so much the meaning, but just the reality that God commands us to keep these days. So in this session, we'll see that these days are indeed God's days, not just for the Jews, but for all of mankind. They are commanded by Almighty God, and in this session, we'll find that these days are indeed still in effect today and ought to be observed.

The biblical Holy Days, or festivals, come during three seasons of the year, basically. There's the early spring harvest, which includes the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. And then we have the late spring harvest, or Pentecost, and then the early autumn harvest in the land of biblical Israel. So, of course, we find these days first mentioned in the Old Testament. So let's go back to the book of Genesis for a moment, and let's see that God did sanctify the Sabbath day.

He made it holy, and it is a day that we should be observing today. So let's go to Genesis 2, if you have your Bible with you. Genesis 2. And again, we welcome you here to the Kingdom of God seminar. We're glad to have you with us. In Genesis 2, verse 1, it says, "...the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished." So God had gone through actually recreating the earth after it had become chaotic and confused when Satan rebelled. Then it says in the Hebrew that it became tohu and bohu, or chaotic and confused.

God doesn't make things that way, so this was a condition that transpired because of the cataclysmic events that followed Satan's rebellion. So in seven literal days, God recreated the earth, and on the sixth day he made man, he made Adam and Eve.

And on the seventh day, it says in verse 2 that God ended his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. Then God blessed the seventh day, and he sanctified it. That means he made it holy. He set it apart for holy purpose, for holy use. Because in it he rested from all his work, which God had created and made.

So the great Creator God himself rested on this day, not because he needed rest, but because he was making a day for mankind. The Sabbath was to be a delight for man. It was to be a day of rest and a day of worship.

So he made it holy. He sanctified it, and he set it apart. He didn't set the first day apart as holy. He sets only the seventh day apart as holy. He sanctified the seventh day, which of course is Friday evening until Saturday evening from sunset to sunset, is the actual biblical Sabbath day.

And of course this happened just after Adam and Eve were created. It was for their good that they would be able to rest one day in seven, and that they would also worship in a special way.

Now we know that because of Adam and Eve's sin, they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. They did not have access to the Tree of Life. And clearly they had many offspring, and those children, as we know Cain rebelled against God and even killed his brother Abel.

So they drifted away from God and his commandments in God's ways that undoubtedly he had revealed to Adam and Eve in the first place. And we see that in due time, the children of Israel actually, who were descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Jacob's name was changed to Israel. We know that they were taken captive in the land of Egypt. And we'll pick up the story in Exodus 16 now, because this is a very important part of the story, because God is going to show clearly that the Sabbath day is still in effect.

And this was hundreds of years later, hundreds of years after he first created the Sabbath day by resting. In Exodus 16, the children of Israel had come out of Egypt. God had poured plague upon plague upon the land of Egypt. And God had finally convinced Pharaoh to let God's people go.

And so they were in the wilderness, and they were beginning to complain because they had very little to eat. So God sent them manna from heaven to sustain them and to provide for them. So in verse 23, Moses is giving them instruction from God. So in verse 23, we read that Moses said to them, this is what the Lord has said, tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord, to the Eternal.

So this was being spoken on a Friday, on the preparation day. He says, Bake what you will bake today and boil what you will boil and lay up for yourselves all that remains to be kept until morning. So they laid it up until morning as Moses commanded. And the manna, or this bread that he gave from heaven, it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Then Moses said, Eat that today for today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.

Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for the Lord has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day, bread for two days, that every man remain in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day, so the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called its name, Manna.

This was bread from heaven. So in this account, we see that the Sabbath is indeed still in effect. We see clearly that God showed them, had they no doubt lost track of which day even was the Sabbath, but because there was no manna on the seventh day, it was very clear that this was God's Sabbath day.

This was the day that was made holy. And that time has never been lost since then. There's always been somebody from the Jewish people, the Israelites people, who have taken notes of the Sabbath day and when it occurred. And so we know which day is the Sabbath today. In fact, even in our Roman calendar, it indicates that the seventh day is the Sabbath day. It's Saturday from sunset to sunset. So again, Israel was the name that God gave Jacob.

Jacob was descended from his grandfather, Abraham. Abraham is known as the father of the faithful. Specifically, why did God choose the descendants of Abraham to be his chosen nation to the world? You know, there's a reason why God chose this particular people. We find the answer to that in Genesis chapter 6, 26. Genesis chapter 26.

Let's look at this together here. It says in verse 3, God, it appeared to Abraham. He said, Dwell in this land and I will be with you, and I will bless you. For to you and to your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham, your father. This was actually given to Isaac, his son. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven. I will give to your descendants all these lands, and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. And why is that? Because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Now, this is obviously before God's commandments are given on Sinai. The truth of the matter is that God's law was known by the patriarchs, by the patriarchs, by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It had been passed on through Noah and others like Enoch and others who were faithful to God.

So there was some knowledge of God's truth, and there were those who were keeping the commandments and the statutes of God. Now, the annual Holy Days are actually statutes, whereas the Seventh Day is a commandment of God. It's the Fourth Commandment in Exodus 20.

It clearly says in verse 8, Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

Six days shall you labor and do all your work.

But the Sabbath is a day sanctified and set apart, and it points to creation.

In fact, if we look at Exodus 20, verse 8, it shows very clearly that the Sabbath day reveals the Creator.

In the last part of it, in verse 11, For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth. There's only one Creator God, and the Eternal made the heavens and the earth, and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested the seventh day.

Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath, he blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it, or made it holy. He sanctified it, he set it apart for a holy purpose.

In Exodus 31, we see that actually the Sabbath was to be a sign between the true God and the true children of God.

And not just the children of Israel, not just them, but all their descendants to follow them.

And anyone, frankly, who would embrace God's truth and God's way of life.

Let's see that in Exodus 31.

Exodus 31, verse 12.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Surely, my Sabbaths, 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.

So God also sets apart His children. He sets us apart for a holy purpose and a holy use.

It is important how we live our lives because we are sanctified and set apart by God.

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, to the Eternal. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Therefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.

And today we know that we are considered spiritual Israel, anyone again who will accept Christ as their Savior, and begin to keep the commandments of God and to keep his laws.

We are considered a part of spiritual Israel, whether we're Gentiles or actually descended from the children of Israel.

It is a sign between God and his people.

And we'll see very clearly that God calls these festivals My Days. He says these are My Days. These are My Feasts.

And they are for all of God's people. The children of Israel were simply a model nation.

They were to set an example for everyone else. Everyone else was to eventually come in to obeying God and following the God of Israel. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The God of Abraham who is the father of the faithful. Anyone that is going to be faithful will follow in Abraham's footsteps.

So again, the Sabbath was to be a sign between the true God of creation and the true children of God.

Now, in Leviticus 23, this is where we read that these are My Feasts, sayeth the Lord.

Leviticus 23.

Leviticus 23. We'll start reading in verse 1.

We notice very clearly that the Sabbath is the first one of the Holy Days that is mentioned.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, The peace of the Lord, the eternal which you shall proclaim to be holy convocation.

Now, a holy convocation is simply a commanded assembly that's set apart and ordained by God. It's a day that God is set apart, and a convocation is a call to worship.

It's a time to assemble together.

He says, These are My Feasts.

He doesn't say, These are the Jewish Feasts.

He says, These are My Feasts.

Jews were really only basically one tribe from the tribe of Judah. When it comes to the children of Israel, there were certainly other tribes of Israel.

He says, These are My Feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of solemn rest. It is a holy convocation.

You shall do no work on it. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all of your dwellings.

I recently talked to someone who said they would like to come to church, but they lived a ways off, but they also had to work every other Sabbath.

Now, did they really have to work, or was it their choice to work? I mean, that's the question we should ask ourselves. Do you really have to?

It's a choice. It's not something that you have to do, because God promises to provide for us.

But you do have to step out in faith if you're going to obey God. Sometimes people lose jobs because they won't work on the Sabbath. You know, they refuse to do it, but I've never known of anyone to starve to death because they kept the Sabbath. In fact, the Bible says that, and David says, that he never saw a righteous man baking bread.

And as someone who was truly righteous and obeying God, God provided for them.

So, continuing on here in verse 4, these are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. Now he's going to go into the annual Holy Days.

The first day, the first Holy Day is the Sabbath Day. That comes once every week, one day a week on the seventh day. And then these are annual Holy Days, or feasts. These are holy convocations, commanded assemblies which are to be kept at their appointed times. He's going to tell us when those times are. On the 14th day of the first month at twilight, again in the evening, is the Lord's Passover. That's on the 14th at the beginning of the evening. As the sun is setting, that begins the 14th day of the first month. It is the Lord's Passover. And on the 15th day, the next evening, of the same month, is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord. Seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 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 day of unleavened bread is a holy day, and the last day is a holy day. The days in between are important days as well, but they're not holy days. If a person, you know, you could do certain things during the holy days, that would be acceptable. If you had to do some kind of work that was important, you could do that, but not on the high days, not on the first and the last day.

The next annual holy day is the Feast of Firstfruits. 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 sheath of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheath before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. So it's talking about the day after the Sabbath that falls during the days of unleavened bread. Okay, that's when a person is to wave, or when the priest is to wave the sheath offering. And that's when the counting begins, because Pentecost means count 50. So you count 50 days from the the morrow after the Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread, and you'll always come up on a Sunday, and that's when the day of Pentecost will be. Seven weeks later, it says seven complete weeks. Notice in verse 15, and you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheath of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Seven Sabbaths count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. So you've got 49 days. Seven times seven is 49, and then the next day is the 50th day on Sunday, and that would be the day of Pentecost. And if we drop down to... I'm not going to read every single verse because I've got too much material to read at all. Verse 20 says, and you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all of your generations and all of your dwellings throughout all of your generations. So God expects us to keep the Feast of Weeks, or the Day of Pentecost, or the Feast of First Fruits. It all refers to the same exact day, which is to be 50 days after the Sabbath during the days of the 11th bread.

So He gives us an appointed time. He tells us when we're supposed to keep the day.

And then the next annual holy day is the Feast of Trumpets. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, speak to the children of Israel, in the seventh month, on the first day of the seventh month, you shall have a Sabbath rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, again a holy convocation of commanded assembly. You shall do no customary work on it. You shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And then the next day is the Day of Atonement. Also, the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall afflict your souls. Now, it doesn't say this about any of the other holy days. This is referring to afflicting our souls through fasting. In fact, in the New Testament, it is called the fast. It's referred to as the fast, because this is the day that we afflict our souls by fasting from sunset to sunset for a 24-hour period, no food or water. And we do so because God tells us to. We afflict our souls on that day. It is the Day of Atonement. You shall do no work, verse 28, on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For any soul who is not afflicted and in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall do no matter of work, for it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations and all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls. So again, it gives us the appointed time when these times are to be kept. Again, from evening to evening, the Feast of Tabernacles is the next holy day that is given. Again, it shows here that there will be a holy day on the 15th day of the seventh month. That's when the Feast of Tabernacles begins. It is a holy convocation.

And then, as it says in verse 36, on the eighth day, you shall have a holy convocation. At the end of the Feast, there will be another high day. Actually, the Feast of Tabernacles lasts for seven days. The first day is a holy day, and then the eighth day is another holy day. But it is actually a separate Feast. It is called the Last Great Day, or the Eighth Day. It's another high day.

Verse 41, it says, You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year.

Speaking of the Feast of Tabernacles, and it shall be a statute forever in your generations, you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days.

All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths for temporary dwellings.

That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in the booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

So Moses declared to the children of Israel the Feast of the Eternal. So these are God's feasts. They're not my feasts or your feasts. They are made for us for our benefit. Just as the Sabbath is made for our benefit, the annual Holy Days are also made for our benefit. And if people don't keep them, there's no way they can really appreciate the benefits that come from observing God's Holy Days. You have to observe them in order to really comprehend it and to have the blessings. So, again, God says these are His feasts. We saw earlier that Abraham kept God's charge, His commandments, His statutes, and its laws. It's certainly something that I believe that Abraham also kept these Holy Days, not just the weekly Sabbath, but also the annual Sabbath. They were statutes. The seventh day was a commandment, and Abraham, no doubt, kept these days as well. It's very likely that Noah kept these days. And others, like Enoch and others who were God-fearing people, kept these Holy Days of God.

Now, there's a chapter in the Bible that shows that it was because of Sabbath breaking and also idolatry. Those were the two primary sins that the children of Israel did, which caused them to go into captivity. Because the children of Israel had agreed to do whatever God said, whatever He told them to do, they said they would do. In Exodus 20, they said, whatever it is God you want us to do, we're going to do it. You know, you brought us out of the land of Egypt. You've taken us out of bondage and slavery. You've rescued us from the Red Sea, the Pharaoh's armies were after us. It looked like we were going to die in the Red Sea, but you protected us, you brought us through whatever it is you want us to do, we're going to do.

But the fact of the matter is, they didn't do what they promised to do, and they quickly went astray. In fact, the Golden Calf incident happened just shortly after that. Moses wasn't even down from the mountain yet, and they were already sinning with the Golden Calf. But let's go to a very important chapter. It's in the book of Ezekiel, and it's a chapter that we should all remember when it comes to these Sabbath days, Ezekiel 20. Because it clarifies very clearly that it was Sabbath-breaking, and it was also idolatry. Because the first commandment is, you shall have no other gods before me. God is a jealous God in a right sense, because the only way we're ever going to be happy is to worship our Creator, to worship God, and to put Him first in our lives. So that's a very, very important commandment, and Sabbath-keeping is also a very, very important commandment. Let's go to verse 12 and read a little bit here in the book of Ezekiel 20.

Moreover, I also gave them my Sabbaths. So God says, I gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between them and me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them, yet 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 Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my fury on them in the wilderness to consume them. But I acted for my namesake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, at whose side I had brought them out.

So again, God was using them as a sample nation to all the nations of the world, to the Gentiles.

He wanted them to set a good example and show the others that there would be great blessings in obeying God, in keeping God's commandments. But the children of Israel did not obey God.

He says in verse 15, So I also raised my hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all the lands. And why? Because they despised my judgments, they did not walk in my statutes, but they profaned my Sabbaths. In other words, they did not keep those days holy.

They profaned them. They did not keep them holy. They trampled all over the Sabbath day.

They did their own thing. They worked on the Sabbath. For their heart went after their idols.

Nevertheless, my eyes spared them from destruction. God had mercy upon them. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness. They wanted in the wilderness for 40 years that God allowed the children to come out and to eventually go into the Promised Land. But they were being punished because they would not obey God. They would not follow Him. They were bowing down before other idols. And they were breaking God's Sabbath day. And not just the seventh day, but also the annual days. Verse 19, I am the Lord your God. Walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and do them.

Hallow my Sabbaths. In other words, make them holy by observing them. 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. But they profane my Sabbaths.

Excuse me. Then I said I would pour out my fury on them and fulfill my anger against them in the wilderness. Nevertheless, I withdrew my hand and acted for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles and whose side I had brought them out. These were God's children. Supposedly, the children of Israel, they were God's people. And it would be a profaning of God's name to completely wipe them out. So God didn't do that. I mean, He had every right to.

The wages of sin is death, and they sinned against God. They broke His commandments, His statutes, His judgments. Verse 24 again, it says, they profane my Sabbaths.

Their eyes were fixed on their Father's idols. He says, Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live. And I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, and that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate, and that they might know that I am the Lord. They were so steeped in pagan practices, they were even, in some cases, offering their children at sacrifice.

That's how far they had gone. And it was horrible. They were worshiping Baal and Molak and Mithra and various gods, Ishtar. And so God was very, very displeased with them, and He allowed them to go into captivity. First, the house of Israel went into captivity in Assyria, and then later the house of Judah went into captivity in Babylon. So this is all recorded in the Bible. We don't have time to go through all the history today. But it was because of idol worship, and also because of profaning God's Sabbath days, that they primarily went into captivity. God was very displeased with them. Notice in verse 43 and 44, the same chapter here, and it does show that God will restore Israel when Christ returns and establishes the government in the kingdom of God.

They will be restored. And in verse 43, after God brings them out of their captivity and brings them into the Promised Land, so to speak, and in the Millennial reign of Christ, He says in verse 43, And 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 all the evils that you have committed. In other words, they're going to come to repentance for what they've done.

They're going to finally repent and actually loathe themselves for what they had done.

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, that God is going to be merciful to them, and will eventually restore them. So here we clearly see that it was it was because of not respecting and not honoring God by seeking other idols and also by worshiping idols on different days and at wrong times.

Now, Sunday was the biggest day of worship there was for the pagan gods. You know, the sun god, that's how that's how the name even began is Sunday. And that's what people do today. They go to church on Sunday for the most part, not because there's any command in the Bible that says they should, but because they've learned, as it says again here, that God gave them over to statutes that were not good. These were laws that they made unto themselves. These were laws that were not good. And frankly, observing Christmas and Easter, you know, even though a lot of people think they're good, they are very deceived. They are not good because they're steeped in pagan ungodly ways and frankly need to come out of Babylon and no longer observe those pagan days.

Now, let's go to the New Testament and we'll see that Christ himself kept these holy days. These holy days were not done away with in the Old Testament. They are also kept in the New Testament.

Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2 verse 41. We'll see here that Christ's parents kept the holy days. Joseph and Mary kept God's holy days, both the weekly Sabbath and the annual Sabbath.

In verse 41, his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when it says Feast of the Passover, it generally also includes the days of unleavened bread in that.

They happened together, Passover and then the days of unleavened bread. So it's talking about the whole festival season of Passover and unleavened bread. And when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the Feast. And Christ was actually found in the temple, teaching actually grown men things that were amazed them because of the knowledge that Christ had.

So Christ was keeping these holy days as a child from the earliest beginnings. In John 2, we'll see that as he became an adult, he continued to observe these days and to set an example for all of us. John 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 had started his ministry.

He was performing miracles and healing people.

And here we see he's observing the Passover and the days of unleavened bread.

And people were beginning to believe in him and to see that he was someone very, very special.

In chapter 4, verse 45, in John 4, verse 45, So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the Feast. For they also had gone to the Feast. So Christ had been there during the Feast and had kept the Feast days.

In chapter 7, it shows that Christ also continued to keep the Feast days. This time, the Feast of Tabernacles.

After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now, the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at a hand.

And it was Christ's custom to keep the Holy Days. So he was there in verse 7.

He said, The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify of it that its works are evil.

You go up to this Feast. I am not yet going up to the Feast, for my time has not yet fully come, because they wanted to take Christ. Some wanted to kill him. Some actually wanted to set him up as king.

But neither time was right for that, not yet.

And then in verse 14, now, about the middle of the Feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. So he was teaching during the Feast of Tabernacles here. In verse 37, on the last day, that great day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. So Christ did observe these annual holy days. All of them, he kept them.

In 1 John 2, verse 6, a principle is given to us. 1 John 2, verse 6.

It's speaking of people who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. It says, He who says he abides in Him, in Christ, ought himself also to walk even as he walked. In other words, it's just saying that we should do the same things that Jesus did. If Jesus kept the holy days, the Sabbath, the annual holy days, then as followers of Christ, we also should keep them. The Bible reveals that Christ was actually Lord of the Sabbath. And when you really understand the truth, we know that the one who became Christ was actually the Creator. As it says in John chapter 1. I'm not going to take the time to go through John, but the Bible clearly says that all things that were made were made by Jesus Christ. So Christ pre-existed. Before he came and was born of the Virgin Mary, he had lived before that. In fact, he had lived for eternity with the Father before all that.

So he was the one that actually gave the Ten Commandments. It was the one who became Christ, who was the God of the Old Testament. He clearly said that no one has seen the Father, that he came to reveal the Father. So he was the God of the Old Testament, primarily only. There's only a couple of cases where it's actually talking about God the Father in the Old Testament. It's primarily speaking about the One who became Christ. Now, that's a message for another day.

It's not something I want to go into any further today, but it does make it more meaningful when we realize that Jesus Christ was actually the Creator. He's the one that created all things. He was the God of the Old Testament, and he divested himself of his divine nature when he came down here and was born of the Virgin Mary and lived as a human being, and suffered as a human being, suffered for us.

So the Bible tells us that Paul's writings are difficult to understand, that people twist Paul's writings to their own destruction. The Apostle Peter said that it was really no big surprise to anyone. It's not really a big surprise to us.

Some of Paul's writings are difficult to understand, but at the same token, Paul also gave some very explicit, easily understood statements, and also actions that contradict any notion that he taught the Gentiles that they should not observe God's holy days.

That's one argument that a lot of people will use, that Paul did away with this or taught that the Gentiles didn't have to keep God's holy days, or the Sabbath, or even the commandments.

But we'll see some very clear instances where Paul does keep the Gentiles to observe the Sabbath day.

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul says in verse 1 and 2, Paul says that Paul must keep the Gentiles to imitate me as I also imitate Christ, imitate Christ, and as I keep the traditions that I have delivered unto you.

So we are to follow Paul as he follows Christ. Paul says in Acts 18 verse 21, I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem. Paul was keeping these holy days long after Christ had already died. Christ was dead and buried and resurrected. He was at the right hand of God at this time, but his disciples are keeping the holy days here on the earth.

Paul says I must by all means keep this coming feast. This word keep means to observe, to actually observe the day. Paul understood this day was holy and he was observing this day. He was worshiping on the day. He was assembling with other people who were of like mind as they worshiped God.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, we see that Paul kept the days of unleavened bread.

1 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 6 and 7.

1 Corinthians chapter 5. Now, the church at Corinth was a Gentile church.

1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 6.

1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 6.

Your glorying is not good, he says to the church here at Corinth. Do you not know that 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. Again, let us keep the feast. Let us observe the feast, not with old leaven. Paul is talking to a Gentile church. Primarily, these were Gentiles. He's telling them, let us keep the feast. Let's keep it together, all of us. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 6.

2 Corinthians chapter 6. In Acts chapter 20, again we see that Paul is observing the days of 11 bread and Pentecost. Acts chapter 20.

Acts 20 verse 6.

But we sailed away from Philippi, again a Gentile church.

In the city of Philippi, we sailed away from Philippi after the days of 11 bread.

And in five days, joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. So they were in Philippi after the days of 11 bread. They observed the days of 11 bread there.

Paul observed them with the church at Philippi, and then he moved on from there.

And then in verse 16 of the same chapter, For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. That's what he wanted to observe, the day of Pentecost, with his friends and with followers of Christ in Jerusalem.

So he had about 50 days to get there. He had been keeping the days of 11 bread.

So you can follow the chronology if you'd like. But Paul was obviously keeping the days of 11 bread. He was keeping them in the Gentile churches. He was teaching the Gentiles to keep the annual holy days. And we'll go to one place in Acts 13 that clearly shows he was instructing them on the Sabbath day. They were assembling together on the Sabbath, not on Sunday, but on the Sabbath. In Acts 13, verse 42, Paul had been preaching the truth about Christ, about Christ being our sacrifice, about Christ being our Savior. And then in verse 42, So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them, the next Sabbath. So there were some Jews here that were followers of Christ and followers of Paul. They were at Antioch. But the Gentiles also got word of what Paul was preaching. And they begged that these words might be preached to them, the next Sabbath. They didn't say they wanted to get together the next day on Sunday. Sabbath for the Jews, Sunday for the Gentiles, that's not the case at all. Now, when the congregation had broken out, 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, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. Now, this was in the city of Antioch. They came on the Sabbath. Again, they didn't come on Sunday.

In fact, in verse 45, it says, When the Jews saw the multitudes, they saw these multitudes of Gentiles. And these were not converted Jews, obviously. These were Jews who were not converted. Maybe they were hanging out with Paul for a while. Maybe they were intrigued by Jesus Christ. And some of them may have been marginal followers. But most of, probably many of them, never, you know, they were just against Christ. They were supportive of having killed Christ. And they saw the multitudes, and they were filled with envy. And contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things that were spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first, to the Jews. But since you rejected and judged yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. So Paul went to the Jews, but he also went to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life, believed. In other words, as many as God was calling at that time, believed. And they became followers of Jesus Christ. They followed His example. They kept the Sabbath and the Holy Days right along with Paul. In 1 Corinthians 16, verse 8, again, it shows that Paul was keeping the day of Pentecost. I don't think I'll go there and turn there for sake of time. Acts 27, 9 shows that they were keeping the day of atonement. Let's go to Colossians chapter 2, because a lot of people will turn to Colossians and say that the word of God is nailed to the cross, that the commandments were nailed to the cross, they were done away. But that's not at all what these passages are saying here in Colossians. Colossians chapter 2, verse 8. Colossians 2 and verse 8.

Paul says, Be aware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Verse 11. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands.

Speaking of a circumcision of the heart, which is what's necessary today, not circumcision of the flesh, but circumcision of the heart. By putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, they were putting sin out of their life, buried with him in baptism, in which you also were raised with him through faith, in the working of God who raised him from the dead. And you being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made a life together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against you, or that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Now, some people will say that the Sabbath day was nailed to the cross, that the commandments were nailed to the cross, they were all nailed to the cross, but evidently God instituted all of them except the Sabbath day. That's how some people approach it. But that's not the case at all. It's not talking about God's law being nailed to the cross. It's talking about a handwriting of requirements, which was actually a recording of guilt or a debt that someone might have. When it comes to God and Christ, our debt is our sins.

That's what's against us. God's commandments aren't against us. In fact, Paul says the commandments are holy and just and good. It's our sins that are against us. The wages of sin is death.

That's what's going to kill us, not keeping God's laws. That's what's going to keep us in good stead with God. It won't save us because we've all fallen short. Salvation is a gift. We are saved by grace. We're not saved by keeping the law, but if we don't keep the law, we can certainly lose out on salvation. God wants us to observe His laws, His commandments, His statutes, His judgments, just like Abraham did. So it was actually our sins that were nailed to the cross when Christ died for us. Christ forgave our sins. We have access to God the Father through our Savior of Jesus Christ, and our sins are forgiven through Christ. Now, we could go on and read further here, but again, we won't take the time to do that. It does show that these festivals are a shadow of things to come, and that's certainly true. We will see that in the second installment, the second session today, that these holy days picture something very beautiful. They point to something very real in the future. So we will cover that in the next session. There's again, there's a lot more that could be said. We could go to Zachariah, where it shows that the Feast of Tabernacles is going to be kept during the Millennium. Now, why is that? Why would the Feast of Tabernacles be kept during the Millennium if Christ did away with the law? Does that make any sense? You know, the Bible shows that God is going to withhold the rain from the nations that will not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. That's in Zachariah chapter 14.

Right now, rain goes on the just and the unjust. The Bible says that, but in the future, when God establishes His kingdom, the rain won't fall on the unjust. God's not going to allow any rain.

They're going to be forced to come up and keep the Feast of Tabernacles. So, if they're going to keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the Millennium during Christ's reign here on earth, then why would we not keep them today? It's not logical at all to do away with these very beautiful laws today and then reinstitute them later on. It doesn't make any sense. So, these laws are still in effect. There are people in this room that have kept the Feast of Tabernacles for 40 years and longer, 50 years. It is possible to keep God's annual Holy Days. There are people here that have kept the Sabbath for 50 years. We continue to keep God's Holy Days. It can be done in today's society.

Also, in Isaiah 66, it shows that the Sabbath will be observed during the Millennium. Isaiah 66, verses 1 and 2, and then again in verses 17 and 18 and verses 23 and 24, it shows the Sabbath will be observed during the Millennium. God's Sabbath isn't done away. It's going to be observed.

The fact is that we need to learn to walk by faith and not by sight. We need to read the Bible and do it. That's walking by faith. If we look at the world, we see people walking in a different direction. They're actually following the God of this world. The Bible says clearly that Satan is the God of this world. It's not God the Father, for the most part, has hands-off on this world. That's why there's so much heartache and suffering and pain here on the earth today, because people rejected God. So God's allowing them to learn the lesson of rebellion against Him. There are curses for disobedience. So there are many curses upon the land today.

But thankfully, Christ came to die for us to pay the penalty the first time.

And He's coming back a second time. He's bringing salvation with Him, and we'll talk more about that in the next session. It is important to begin keeping these days walking by faith, not by sight.

So when you know of these days, if you will keep them, you will begin to see how wonderful and how beautiful they really are, and that they bring a blessing with them. Observing them will strengthen your faith in how important these days are. If you don't ever keep them and start observing them, you're never going to experience that. So these holy days are God's holy days. They are God's feast days. And God has commanded that His children observe these days throughout all their generations.

Christ Himself observed these days. Christ's disciples observed these days, long after Christ was crucified. It is important that we too observe these weekly and annual reminders of God's love and God's concern for us. God's holy days, both the weekly Sabbath and the annual Sabbath, reveal to us more clearly God's wonderful plan of salvation. That's what we're going to cover in the next session. These days are indeed holy. They're sanctified and set apart for a holy purpose and design. And we will see God's love more clearly as His love is revealed in the special holy days which reveal His plan of salvation for all of us. Actually, it speaks to our destiny, why we were called, and what our future holds. So at this time, we'll take about 10 minutes to start.