Are God’s Holy Days Still Holy Today?

So I would like to welcome you to this Kingdom of God Seminar. We're very glad, again, that you are with us here today. Today's seminar has to do with God's Holy Days. In this first session, we're going to 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, during the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ?

And should we be keeping them today? Why should a true follower, a true Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, keep these biblical Holy Days? In America today, we observe a number of holidays. We're all very aware of that. Again, it's easy to see that the word holiday is closely related to Holy Days, but there's a big difference between Holy Days and 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 that was just celebrated, and Valentine's Day that comes in February have a supposed religious flair to them, all Hallowed Eve and Saint Valentine.

The origins and history of these days, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day, actually reveal days that originated first from celebrations of pagans, of heathens, of people who did not believe in the one true God of creation. These days, these holidays that I've mentioned, clearly do not have godly origins. You can even look them up in the Encyclopedia Britannica or World Book Encyclopedia if you can find one anymore, or you can simply Google them, and you will find very easily that these days are steeped in pagan heathen origins. Too bad they weren't all here to hear that, right?

Every nation also observes patriotic holidays. These special days are reminders of a nation's history. They mark certain important events. Thanksgiving Day is coming very soon, and it is fine to observe Thanksgiving Day, to spend quality time with your family, to give thanks to God who provides every good gift for us. Those of us who have been in the Church of God for a number of years are also used, we're very used to observing certain holy days each year.

We obviously have reasons for keeping these days. They are very important to us. We find the origins of these days in the Bible, not in pagan and heathen practices. The Bible and the Revelation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit also gives us clear reasons for keeping these days today. But that is the primary topic for our next session, where we will see the deep spiritual meaning behind God's holy days. In this first session, we're going to see that these days are indeed God's days for all of mankind, not just the Jews, not just the Israelites, but they are commanded by Almighty God for all mankind.

And in this first session today, we will see that these days are still in effect, and that they should be observed today. The biblical holy days, or festivals, fall during three seasons of the year. The early spring harvest, which is the Passover in the days of 11 bread, the late spring harvest, the day of 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, or the Eighth Day.

Now, of course, we find these days first mentioned in the Old Testament. In Genesis 2, in verse 1, it shows clearly that God rested on the seventh day of creation, and He sanctified this day. This is the first holy day. I'm not just going to talk about the annual holy days, but also the Sabbath. So God rested on the seventh day of creation, and He sanctified.

That is, He set it apart. He made it holy for a special purpose. Genesis 2, verse 1, Thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished. That is, after the six days of creation that are described in chapter 1, and on the seventh day, God ended His work, which He had done, and He rested on the Sabbath day, or the seventh day, from all His work, which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work, which God had created and made.

So God did rest on the seventh day of creation. He sanctified and set apart this day. And again, remember, the evening and the morning were the seventh day. So the Sabbath begins at sunset, and it ends at sunset. It begins Friday evening at sunset, and it ends Saturday evening at sunset.

Now, this happened just after Adam and Eve were created, showing clearly that the Sabbath day is not primarily a Jewish day, but a day for all of God's children. That should be quite clear and should mean a great deal to those of us who really want to follow the Bible and to do as God says. Now, in Exodus 16, after the children of Israel had gone into captivity in Egypt, they were slaves. But, of course, they were brought out of Egypt. God brought them out. He poured plague upon plague upon Egypt. He even killed the firstborn of Pharaoh.

Before Pharaoh let God's people go. In Exodus 16, we see that God's Sabbath rest is reinstituted here. Exodus 16. Let's look at verse 23. Then he said to them, that is, to the children of Israel, this is what the Lord has said. Moses is speaking to the children of Israel. He says, this is what the Lord has said. Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil, and lay up for yourselves all the remains to be kept until morning. So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Now, this was the manna that God had brought down from heaven, to feed them and to sustain them. Verse 25. 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, you shall gather the manna, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none, there will be no manna on that day.

Now, it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day together, but they found none, just as God had told them. 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, that is the bread that God had provided.

So here we see that the Sabbath is reinstituted, because undoubtedly the Israelites had lost sight of the Sabbath day. People had lost sight of the Sabbath day after Adam and Eve sinned, and were cast out of the Garden of Eden. But God was showing them that indeed the Sabbath day is still holy.

It's still sanctified, and it's still set apart, and it is a day to be observed.

Now, we might ask, Why the children of Israel? Why did God choose the children of Israel? Because Israel was the name that God had given Jacob. Remember that?

And Jacob was the grandson. He was the seed, the descendant of Abraham, who we know as the father of the faithful.

And specifically, why did God choose the descendants of Abraham to be his chosen nation to the world?

Well, in Genesis 26, if we'll turn there for a moment, we'll see it was because Abraham obeyed God.

Genesis 26.

Now, there weren't that many who really obeyed God. There were some, like Noah.

There were a few others, like Enoch.

Abraham was one who obeyed God.

Genesis 26, verse 1.

There was a famine in the land. Besides the first famine that was in the day, Abraham, and Isaac went to Abimelech, the king of the Philistines in Gaurar. And the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land which I shall tell you. Dwell on this land, and I will be with you and bless you. For to you and your descendants, I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham, your father. 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.

Because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Abraham was one who truly loved God and feared him in a right way.

Abraham obeyed God. He kept his commandments, his statutes, and his laws. Now, of course, the seventh day Sabbath is actually a commandment. It's one of the Ten Commandments. We don't need to go there, but Exodus 20, verse 8, where it gives the Ten Commandments shows clearly that the Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week, is one of the Ten Commandments. We are to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh is sanctified. It is made holy, and we're not to work on that day.

But that is the day of worship.

It's a day set aside for a holy purpose and reason, and that's why we're gathered together here on the Sabbath.

In Exodus 31, it shows clearly that the Sabbath was to be a sign between the true God of creation and the true children of God. Remember that the children of Israel are just to be a representative of what God wants, what God desires. They were a holy nation set apart because of the faithfulness and obedience of Abraham. Just about the whole world was just going off doing their own thing. They weren't obeying God. They weren't following God. So God picked a people, the descendants of Abraham, and He used them to set an example for the rest of the world. The Sabbath was to be a sign. Exodus 31, verse 12.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak also 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. God also tells us that we ought to become holy even as He is holy. So God is calling certain ones. He's sanctifying them, setting them apart. That's what He was doing to the children of Israel here. He says, 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, holy to the Lord, sanctified and holy to the Lord. 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, for in six days the Eternal made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. And when He had made an end to speaking with Him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God, speaking of the Ten Commandments. So here we see this as a Sabbath law, a Sabbath covenant that is made between God and His people. So anyone who wants to be considered a child of God frankly needs to observe the Sabbath day.

The Sabbath was sanctified at creation. God is our Creator. We look to Him, He sustains us, He provides for us, and we honor Him by observing the Sabbath day that was sanctified and set apart and that reveals Him as the God of creation.

In Leviticus 23 verse 1, God clearly says, these are my feasts. He says they are His feasts.

They were not just simply made for the children of Israel. They were ordained and instituted long before that. The annual Holy Days are statutes. The Sabbath day is a commandment of God. Remember, what did Abraham do? Abraham obeyed my voice, kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

It's my personal belief that Abraham certainly kept these days long before God reinstituted these days after bringing the children of Israel out of slavery and bondage in Egypt. Now, it's my personal belief because I believe that's what the Bible strongly indicates.

It may not say it in so many words, but if we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we will realize what God is saying to us. God is saying, these are my feasts. They are holy days. They are sanctified. They are set apart. And you honor me, and I am revealed to you when you observe these days. Leviticus 23, verse 1. Leviticus 23, verse 1.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, the feasts of the Lord, the Eternal, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations.

That means a commanded assembly. A convocation is a commanded assembly. These are sanctified days wherein we are to meet, we are to fellowship, we are to get together and to worship God.

These are holy convocations. So he's speaking about all of his holy days here, and he begins with the Sabbath. Notice verse 3. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all of your dwellings. I spoke to someone recently that talked about coming to church, but they mentioned they had to work every other Sabbath. Well, frankly, they just don't really understand the importance of keeping this commandment of God.

These are my feasts. We honor him by observing these days, not by leaning to our own understanding.

Verse 4. These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. God has given appointed times for these days to be observed. On the 14th day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. In the evening on the 14th, as the day is beginning, we are to observe the Passover day. And on the 15th day, the next day of the seventh month, or the same month, is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So the next day at evening, on the 15th is when we observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord. We keep it to the Lord.

We don't keep it to any Jewish nation or any peoples. We keep it to the Lord.

Seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

On the first day, you shall have a holy convocation. That's speaking of the 15th. On the first day of unleavened bread, there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. You shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. So these are what we call high days, the first and the last day of unleavened bread. We worship on those days. We meet together because those days are sanctified and made holy. So here we see the Passover and the days of unleavened bread instituted. And then in verse 9, 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 reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheath of the first fruit of your harvest to the priest.

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. Now it's speaking about the day after the Sabbath, during the days of unleavened bread. And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheath, a male lamb of the first year without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah, a fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord, for a sweet aroma and its drink offering shall be of wine one-fourth of a hen. You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain, until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

So it's speaking about the Feast of First Fruits. That's one of the names that's used because the first fruits were waved, the sheath was waved, on the morrow after the Sabbath, during the days of 11 bread. 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. So another name for the day of Pentecost, or the day of the Feast of First Fruits, is also the Feast of Weeks, because seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Seven weekly Sabbaths shall be completed. Count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath.

Then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. That is the day of Pentecost. 50 days, it means count 50. That's what Pentecost means in the Greek, is to count 50.

You shall bring from your dwellings two waved loaves of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be a fine flower. They shall be baked with leaven. They are the first fruits to the Lord. And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year without blemish, one young bowl, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering, their drink offerings, and an offering, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord.

I think we'll notice verse 21. And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. The day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day, is a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field. When you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaming from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God, and God takes care of the poor and the stranger. He expects us to do likewise. So here we see the latter spring harvest, the feast of weeks, the day of Pentecost, the feast of firstfruits, is instituted here. Again, it is a commanded assembly. Verse 23, Then 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, a blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation, and again, a commanded assembly. You shall do no customary work on it. You shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It doesn't say a lot about the feast of trumpets here, but it clearly shows that it is to be a holy day. It is to be a day that we gather together in a commanded assembly and we worship God. Verse 26, Then 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. You shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. You shall do no work 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 in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. Now, this is speaking of afflicting ourselves through fasting, through not drinking or eating for this 24-hour period, from evening until evening. We afflict our soul. We certainly realize that it is God who sustains us. We need the food that God has created to keep us alive. And, of course, the water.

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. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations and all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest. You shall afflict your souls. So this is the day that we are to afflict our souls. Again, speaking of fasting.

Then it goes into the Feast of Tabernacles. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of the seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. So here, the Feast of Tabernacles is instituted. I'm not going to take the time to read it all, but again it shows there will be a holy convocation on the first day.

It says in verse 39, And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days. On the first day there shall be a Sabbath rest, and on the eighth day a Sabbath rest. Again, a holy convocation of commanded assembly. Verse 41, You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths, in temporary dwellings or tabernacles for seven days. All who are a native Israelite shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in 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 Lord. So these are God's holy days. These are God's feast days. Now, it's important to realize that Israel claimed they would follow God, that they would obey Him, that whatever He said they would do. But unfortunately, they did not keep God's commandments. They didn't keep His statutes. They didn't keep His laws. They did not follow the example of their father Abraham. So Israel strayed from keeping God's weekly Sabbath and His annual Sabbath. Idolatry and Sabbath breaking were two of the main sins for which Israel went into captivity. Now, do you remember what chapter we're going to go to next? I gave a similar sermon before the Feast a few months ago, and there's a particular chapter that is better than anywhere else in the Bible that shows that it was Sabbath breaking as well as idolatry that caused the children of Israel to go into captivity. So go ahead and turn there, if you would. All of you. Turn there quickly, immediately. I shouldn't tell you where it is, should I? You're supposed to know this. It's in Ezekiel chapter 20. Ezekiel chapter 20.

We need to be able to give an answer for the reason we do things. This is an important chapter.

Ezekiel chapter 20, starting in verse 12. Ezekiel chapter 20 verse 12, Moreover, I also gave them my Sabbath 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. God knows what he's doing. When he makes a judgment, we should follow it. We will be blessed for doing so. Again, which if a man does, he will live by them, and they greatly defiled my Sabbath.

The children of Israel trampled all over God's Sabbath days on the weekly Sabbath and also on the annual Sabbath.

Then I said I would pour out my fury on them in the wilderness to consume them.

Notice, well, let's read a little bit further. But I acted for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, in whose side I had brought them out. Again, they were supposed to set an example for the Gentiles, because eventually God was going to bring the Gentiles in. And they would keep these days. And they would serve only God. They wouldn't serve a polytheistic amount of gods, a number of different gods, but they would come to serve the true God. That's what God had in mind. That's what he intended. That is what God is doing.

So I also raised my hand and 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. Because they despised my judgments, did not walk in my statutes, but profaned my Sabbaths. For their heart went after their idols. They were idol-worshippers. They didn't follow the true God. They didn't keep his commandments. Instead, they followed gods like Baal and Mithra. And that's where we get these holidays, Christmas and Easter, that are observed today. From these pagan practices, people worshiping other gods. And of course, they were doing it long before the children of Israel.

They were doing it from the very beginning, frankly. It didn't take long at all. After Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, people were looking for something to hold on to. God had cast Adam and Eve out of the garden. And as they had children, there was a void these children had. They were looking for something to worship, but they had rejected the true God.

And so, they made up their own gods. And that's oftentimes why they would look to the sun, the sun god, which kept them warm.

And various other gods of nature and so forth, you know, just multiple gods. It was because of idolatry and breaking the Sabbath. Notice again, here in Ezekiel 20, verse 19, I am the Lord your God, walk in my statutes, keep my judgments, and do them. Hallo my Sabbath. That means keep them holy. That's what hallo means. Keep them holy. Hallo my Sabbath, 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. He will be blessed by them. But they profane my Sabbath.

They defiled God's Sabbath days by not observing them. Then I said I would pour out my fury on them and fulfill my anger against them in the wilderness. And God did allow them to go into captivity.

It was horrible what the children of Israel had to suffer in Babylon and also in Assyria. Assyria first and then later Babylon. They suffered greatly because, as it says again in verse 24, because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, had profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers' idols. Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good and judgments by which they could not live. In other words, God allowed them to come up with their own plans, their own holidays, to do their own thing.

And people are still doing it today, aren't they?

Following pagan practices and trying to say they worship God on these days. But God clearly said, do not learn the way of the heathen. God does not want to be worshipped on the days of the heathens and the pagans.

God despises those days. He gave them over to those types of things because they were not obedient and they were not faithful. But to us, He has revealed His truth. We observe the true Holy Days and we reject man's pagan religious holidays.

There's much more that could be read here in Ezekiel 20. I don't have the time to read through it, but you can check that out later.

God's children, it says later on in here, will come to loathe that they have profaned God's Sabbath. In fact, I do want to show you that in verse 43 and 44.

And there you shall remember your ways. That is, after you go into captivity, after you are imprisoned, after you have to suffer, 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. God is going to bring them to repentance. They're going to have a godly sorrow for what they have done. How they disrespected and dishonored God by keeping their own days and not God's true holy days. 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. Otherwise, they would have been dead. The wages of sin is death. God was still very merciful, even though He allowed them to go into captivity and allowed them to be imprisoned. What they truly deserved was death.

The Bible says that God is the Lord. So now let's go to the New Testament where we see that Jesus Christ kept these days. We'll see that the apostles kept these days, and they kept them actually long after Christ had died and was resurrected.

Luke 2, verse 41.

Luke 2, verse 41. Luke 2, verse 41.

Speaking of Joseph and Mary, speaking of Christ, it says, His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. Now, when it says the Feast of the Passover, it's also including the Days of the Eleven Bread. The Passover is at the very beginning of the Days of the Eleven Bread, so it was customary to refer to it as the Feast of the Passover. So when He was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the Feast.

And so Christ's parents kept the Holy Days.

Notice Mary observed these days as well. Jesus kept the Holy Days from a child. Joseph and Mary kept them. So from the very beginning, Jesus Christ set an example of keeping God's Holy Days.

In John chapter 2, let's go there, we'll see that Jesus kept the Holy Days also as an adult.

As He grew up, He did not reject His Father's commandments and His Father's ways. He embraced them and He observed them and He kept them.

So in 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 this was during Christ's ministry.

Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. Yes, because we know that Christ was actually the one who created man. Nothing was made that was made except through Jesus Christ. That's what the Scripture tells us.

A lot of people don't get that either. They don't comprehend what that really means.

Chapter 4 verse 45.

So when He came to Galilee, when Christ 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. They had gone up to keep the Feast here, to observe it.

In chapter 7, again, we're just showing that Christ kept all of God's holy days. He kept all of the Feast days. Again, they were God's days. They were actually His days.

He's the one that actually established them. The one who became Christ, who divested Himself of His divine nature and was born of a virgin, actually pre-existed. He lived before that. And He was the one that actually brought these days initially. It was the one who became Christ. Of course He kept these days. He's the one that established them. They were His feasts. They were His days.

Chapter 7, verse 1, 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 hand. It's referred to the Feast of Tabernacles as the Jews' Feast. That's simply because they were the only ones deserving these days at the time. The Jewish nation still to be an example of sorts to the world.

So the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to Him, depart from here and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing. So Christ was keeping the Feast of Tabernacles here, and His brothers were keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. If we drop down to verse 7, it says, The world cannot hate you, but it hates me. Speaking of Christ here, because I testify of it, that its works are evil. You go up to this Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, for my time is not yet fully come. And when He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee. In verse 14, now about the middle of the Feast, Jesus did go up into the temple and taught.

So He did go there. He did observe the Feast days. He kept these days as well.

Verse 37 now, if we'll drop down to 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 waters. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. So Jesus kept the Holy Days as an adult. He kept the fasts over. He kept the Feast of Tabernacles. And He kept all of the other Holy Days. In 1 John 2, verse 6, He who says He abides in Him, whoever says He abides in Christ, ought Himself also to walk even as He walked. Now, Christ clearly kept these Holy Days. If we call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ, should we not also be keeping these days? Again, these days are a sign that we are God's people. When we observe them, we show that we honor God, we see God as He truly is, we accept Christ as our Savior. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man. Christ is the one who made the Sabbath by resting on the Sabbath on the seventh day. But the Sabbath was made for us. It was for our benefit. And Christ set an example for us. When He was here in the flesh, He observed the Sabbath day. He rested on the Sabbath day. He gained inspiration and rejuvenation and rested on the Sabbath day because in the flesh He certainly needed it because we all need a day of rest. So we ought to walk even as Christ walked. We should keep these days.

Now, although admittedly difficult to understand at times, the Apostle Paul has some very explicit statements and actions that contradict any notion that he taught Gentiles that they ought not observe God's Holy Days. That is one of the things that some of our detractors will say is that Paul was the one who basically showed very clearly that these days were done away, that we didn't have to keep them, the Gentiles didn't have to keep them. But that's not what the clear words of Paul tell us. And that's not what his clear actions tell us. So we're going to look at a few things here in the Bible. First of all, 1 Corinthians 11.

Here Paul says to imitate me as I also imitate Christ and as I keep the traditions as I delivered them unto you. So Paul clearly says, follow his example. Do as he did because he was striving to obey God and to please Christ. So we are to imitate and follow him. So in Acts 18 verse 21, and this is long after Christ had died and was buried and resurrected, Acts 18 verse 21, Paul says, I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem. Keep means to observe. Paul was still keeping these days. He was still observing them.

But I will return again to you, God willing. So he certainly didn't believe that these days were nailed to the cross, that these days no longer needed to be observed and kept after Christ's death or he would have stopped keeping them himself. He saw the importance of these days. He saw them as a sign between him and God. So Paul kept these days in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 6, 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. Let us again observe the feast. That's what this word means, to observe it, to keep it. Not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. So these days were being kept around 55 AD to 60 AD, somewhere in that time frame, well over 20 years after Christ had died. Paul nowhere tells us to stop keeping these days. It was his example to keep them. And this was written to a church in Corinth.

Brethren, Corinth is in the Greek islands or in the isles of Greece. It's a gentile people. Primarily, yes, there would have been some Jews there, but there were many gentiles in the church at Corinth. And Paul was telling them to keep these feast days. Let us keep the feast. It's very, very clear that Paul kept these days that the gentile Corinthian church kept these days. And we'll see other proof of that as we continue on.

Acts 20. We'll see the days of unleavened bread and Pentecost are being observed by Paul. Acts 20.

We are to be students of the Bible, aren't we? It means we have to read every word of God from Genesis to Revelation if we're to understand God's plan for us.

Acts 20, verse 6.

But we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread. Again, this was a church at Philippi, again a gentile church, sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread. After they had undoubtedly observed the days of unleavened bread. That's why it's referred to here. And in five days, joined them at Troas where we stayed seven days. So the church at Philippi was observing the days of unleavened bread, as Paul was observing these days.

And then we go to verse 16, 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. And why was he hurrying, if possible, to be there on the day of Pentecost? To keep the day of Pentecost some 50 days after he had observed the days of unleavened bread. Paul's clear example is that of keeping these holy days.

He wanted to be in Jerusalem on the day of Atonement.

In 1 Corinthians 16, again, the Corinth church shows they were keeping the day of Pentecost here. The day of Pentecost. 1 Corinthians 16, verse 8.

1 Corinthians 16, verse 8.

He says, But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. In this case, he was going to observe Pentecost in Ephesus. Ephesus is a very Gentile city. I've been to the city of Ephesus.

They have a very pronounced red light district that people were doing this type of thing thousands of years ago. They were immoral people. They were Gentiles that were immoral.

But there was a small group of people that God had called out to represent him in Ephesus.

They, too, were keeping God's holy days. Just as we live in a sea of people who are, frankly, astray, gone astray from God and are immoral people in many respects. Not everyone, of course, but there are many people in the world who are becoming more permissive all the time.

But we will keep God's holy days just as Paul was keeping them in the ancient city of Ephesus.

Long after Christ had died. Acts 27, verse 9, again, it shows the day of atonement as being observed here by Paul and those who traveled with him. Acts 27, verse 9.

Now when much time had been spent and sailing was now dangerous because the fast was already over, the fast is referring to the day of atonement because, again, they fasted on this day. So it was referred to as the fast. It was already over. They had already observed it.

So, again, clearly, Paul was keeping these days. He was keeping the Passover, the days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Day of Atonement. He was keeping all of God's holy days. He was keeping the feast days, every last one of them. Now in Colossians 2, verse 8, Colossians 2, verse 8, Colossians 2, verse 8, here it says, Beware lest anyone cheat you. This is Paul speaking to another Gentile church at Colossae. Beware 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. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit. Satan is the great deceiver who has deceived the whole world. Now, if we go down to verse 11, Now this is speaking of Jesus Christ, who did come the first time to die for the sins of mankind, to pay the ultimate sacrifice, to lay his life down, to have his blood shed for us. So Christ died, and in doing so, blood was shed, and there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. It was so that your sins and my sins and the sins of all of mankind could be forgiven. And it was our record of guilt, of debt, of sins that was actually nailed to the cross. It was our sins that were nailed to the cross. The law of God was not nailed to the cross, but it was the breaking of that law. The sins, our record of sins that are nailed to the cross. When we accept Christ as our Savior, when we repent of our sins, then our sins are forgiven through the blood of Christ. That's what this verse is telling us. That's what this verse means, and yet people have twisted these verses to say that God's commandments, that God's law, is done away. That it's nailed to the cross. The world is in great deception, in great error.

Now, if we could continue on reading, but I'm not going to take the time to do that here.

It does talk about the feast days, the Sabbath, and so forth being a shadow of things to come. Well, that's certainly true. These things point to Christ. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. Christ is our Savior. Christ is the one who died for us.

These days point to Christ. They are a shadow of things that are yet to come, and we will talk more about that in the second session today, what these holy days mean, what they picture, what they shadow.

Now, I'm not going to take the time. I think everyone here knows Zechariah, where it speaks of the Feast of Tabernacles being kept during the millennium.

When Christ returns and establishes His government, those who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles will not have any reign. God is going to withhold the reign from them. That's in Zechariah 14 verses 16 through 19. Clearly, this is talking about during the time of Christ's Second Coming, when Christ returns, some people will not keep the Feast. They will refuse, as people do today. And God will at this time withhold reign from them. He's not doing that now. Reign still falls on the just and the unjust. But during the Millennial reign of Christ, God's going to withhold the reign upon the unjust. They are going to learn to obey God and to keep His commandments and to come up and keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

In Isaiah 66 verses 1 and 2, verses 17 and 18, and also verses 23 and 24, it shows that the Sabbath will be observed during this Millennial reign of Christ. From Sabbath to Sabbath, people will worship God. They will worship Christ.

They will gather together. Isaiah 66 verses 1 and 2, verses 17 and 18, verses 23 and 24, the Sabbath will be observed during the Millennium.

We could go to many more scriptures.

We are to rejoice. We are to keep God's Feast days.

God's Holy Days are sanctified and set apart for our purpose, for our use.

Brethren, we are to learn to walk by faith and not by sight. The whole world is walking, frankly, in the ways of the God of this world. Satan is revealed as the God of this world. They are walking in His ways. They are following His footsteps. They are keeping His holidays.

We must learn to walk by faith and not by sight.

Brethren, it's important to begin keeping these days when we learn of them.

Observing them will strengthen our faith in their importance today. Those of us who have kept these days, we see the power in these days. There is great strength in observing God's Holy Days. They give us strength. They empower us. They embolden us with faith.

When we observe these days, every Sabbath is a weekly reminder of who we are.

We are being called out today at this time. We are the called out ones. We are the elect of God. We'll talk more about that in the second part of today's Kingdom of God seminar. So, these Holy Days are God's days. They are His feast days. 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, buried, and resurrected. It is important that we, too, observe these weekly and annual reminders of God's love and 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 for us.

These days are indeed holy. They are sanctified. They are set apart for a holy purpose and a holy design. We are going to see God's love more clearly as His love is revealed in His special Holy Days.

Which reveal His loving plan of salvation for all of mankind. So, that's where we're going to cover in the next part of today's Kingdom of God seminar.