Would you be willing to spend a couple more thousand dollars a year in addition to Feast of Tabernacles expenses just so you can spend 7 days at a "feast" location for Unelaveend Bread? Some Sabbatarian groups think you will.
Not content with living in grace and new covenant freedom, those entrenched in legalism seek to even further impact members' wallets.
Prior to the great Worldwide Church of God upheaval that spawned hundreds of splinter groups, some WCG members were getting wrapped up in the sacred name and Messianic Judaism groups. Given that many COG members felt that they were better "Jews" than regular Jews, it made sense for some of these people to venture into Messianic Judaism and sacred name groups. The more Jewish they could pretend to be the more righteous they felt.
COGNews reports:
The Forgotten Seven Day Feast
Some smaller churches will be observing the Festival of Unleavened Bread in 2023 for the full seven days – but for most people, particularly those who were in the Worldwide Church of God, going to “The Feast” means Tabernacles. Very few are aware that the Church, under its former name, the Radio Church of God, also celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for the full seven days – not just the two annual high days as now.
When my mother first joined the church in 1959 people still looked fondly back at the items that they got to gather together for 7 days during Days of Unleavened Bread. Some of the people in our church area did attend these sites, but far too many could not get off work for this. By the late 1960's the church was spreading around the country and these "feast" locations were not feasible for people to drive long distances to, take more days off work, and spend more money.
In 1952 Herbert and Loma Armstrong travelled to Gladewater, Texas, for Passover and the 1st holy day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. They were overwhelmed by the large numbers who came, not only from Texas, but as far afield as Wisconsin and Michigan.
As they were returning home to Pasadena, Herbert Armstrong wrote:
“We know now – God has shown us plainly and unmistakably – that we must have an adequate place of our own in this central location for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread EVERY YEAR.
The proper place for meetings of this kind is not an expensive brick or stone or concrete church building on a main corner of a city in all the traffic and noise of the world – but to get CLEAR AWAY FROM THE WORLD – out into God’s own open beautiful nature, utterly secluded from the world!
Next Spring, we shall plan a full eight-day festival, to last thru the entire seven days of unleavened bread following the Passover, and all who plan to come are urged now, with a year ahead to plan, to start laying plans to come for the entire eight days …
Yes, this opens up AN ENTIRE NEW PHASE of God’s great work. This will provide a place for annual great conclaves of God’s people, where many who cannot come as far as Pasadena can meet together at God’s great festivals.
Roderick Meredith reported in the May, 1962, issue of The Good News magazine that,
“In SEVEN major Festivals here in America, plus others in England, Australia and around the world – a glorious season was observed this year! “THEREFORE let us KEEP THE FEAST …” (I Cor. 5:8).
In obeying this inspired New Testament COMMAND to Christians, over TEN THOUSAND brethren of God’s Church assembled this spring to observe the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. All reports indicate that there was GREAT JOY in this observance.”
Why then in 1968 (the year the church was renamed Worldwide) were all the festival sites discontinued?
According to the article Days of Unleavened Bread – How Should They Be Observed? [p.4] by the Church of God the Eternal (supporting the change to observing the 2 high days only):
“… the receipt of income for “the Gospel” was appreciably reduced each Spring, because most of the members did not receive any salary or wages during the week they attended the seven Days of Unleavened Bread. Consequently, tithes and offerings dropped off alarmingly in the Spring …
It was felt by Mr. Armstrong that if the Gospel were to continue to go forth with growth and power, the membership would have to be in a financial position to contribute heavily. The observance of the Days of Unleavened Bread for the full seven days was thwarting this effort.”
Like everything in Armstrongism, money was the common denominator.
Greed is the only reason for adding more days to be kept. This will allow two more "Holy Day offerings for the sheeple to dish out more money. It's not about pleasing God.
ReplyDeleteZec 7:5- and Zec 8:19-.cover the feasts/fasts. ULB and FOT are not religious but cultural rest times held at the equinoxes, the best time to enjoy a break the world over. the Sabbath also is cultural. Shadows of things to come in the Kingdom. Çheers.
DeleteMy parents joined around my birthday in May of 61. I don't ever remember a 7 day FOUL.
ReplyDeleteEze 45:21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
ReplyDeleteOne minister thinks the verse refers to two feasts but that is impossible b/c there are only three feasts (Hebrew chag) listed in Ex 23:14-16. Lev 23 lists moeds (Hebrew, translated "feasts" in verse 2-KJV) which are both chags (feasts) and sabbaths. A better translation is "fixed times" as in the Tanakh or "appointed times" as in the NASB - Lev 23:2. All of God's times are moeds but not all are chags (feasts).
The feasts: DUB-Nisan 14-20; Pentecost; FOT. The sabbaths not in the feasts: weekly, and Tishri 1,10,22.
By the time my parents got scammed into the cult, the extended Days of Unleavened Bread were already past history. By the way the old timers talked, I had thought it was associated with Belknap Springs.
ReplyDeleteWho remembers what they learnt during the FOT sermons? Looking back, it was non stop spiritual baby milk. I've learnt more from one good self help book than years of listening to church sermons.
ReplyDeleteNew covenant freedom ? Living in grace ? Is that how these blog writers live ? How does that look in real life ?
ReplyDelete10:38 asked how does living in freedom and grace look.
ReplyDeleteIt looks the way it is portrayed in the Bible - those parts of the Bible that the COGs rebelliously refuse to preach.
Good point Trooista. The COGs are in rebellion. They claim it of others, but avoid many scriptures.
DeleteIf everyone is to gather together for all seven days of Unleavened Bread, how do we explain the two disciples walking AWAY from Jerusalem toward Emmaus in Luke 24?
ReplyDeleteThey only returned after Jesus talked with them. And Jesus didn't directly tell them to go back.
Feastgoer 2/21 7:27 AM said: “If everyone is to gather together for all seven days of Unleavened Bread, how do we explain the two disciples walking AWAY from Jerusalem toward Emmaus in Luke 24?
DeleteThey only returned after Jesus talked with them. And Jesus didn't directly tell them to go back.”
They way I understand it is that Sunday when Christ was resurrected wasn’t a holy day, but the wavesheaf day and 2nd day of UB (or 3rd day if you count PO). So there was no need for them to be in Jerusalem as it wasn’t a holy day.
Also, I believe these festivals were kept by Judeans at the time like Jews do now and like most keep Xmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc that is some stay home and might go to their local synagogue or church to celebrate it while some go away to celebrate it. Or some don’t go to synagogue or church at all.
Unfortunately the Armstrongist tradition of compelling members to go to church services every day during a festival and twice on a holy day is just that an Armstrongist invention and tradition more than likely as a form of control.
Oh, yes, days of unleavened bread was a full seven days of church attendance. It was absolute nightmare for a kid who had to miss school for another entire week. It was never an excused absence, the ridiculing and persecution we kids endured was terrible. Parents had it bad enough for sure, many lost their jobs over it. But to be a child who didn't know what the heck it was all about anyway? Awful just awful.
ReplyDelete