Get Ready: The Fall Holy Days Are Almost Upon Us!
Lonnie Hendrix
It’s September, and the ACOGs are all busily preparing to celebrate the fall Holy Days. Never mind that most Christians will NOT be celebrating them, they will wear their uniqueness in this regard as a badge of honor – as proof that they are the REAL Christians, and all of those other folks are just pretending! Never mind that those festivals were clearly part of the terms of the covenant between God and Israel, they will tell anyone who will listen that Christ and his apostles observed them. Never mind that festival observance undermines the ACOG contention that the “moral” commandments of Torah were carried forward into the terms of the New Covenant and obligates them to explain why these clearly ritualistic commandments should not be ignored by Christians.
HWA and most of the groups who follow his teachings regularly quote the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus to bolster their case for Christian observance of God's festivals. They point out that these events are referred to as “the feasts of the Lord” – that God calls them “my feasts." They are quick to point out that these festivals are God’s appointed times. They also like to point out that the phraseology of "a statute forever" and "throughout your generations" is employed over and over again in this chapter. The implication is clear: These are God's festivals, and they are to be observed forever.
However, when one digs a little deeper into these passages from Torah, such dogmatic assertions do not hold up under scrutiny. In fact, an independent study of what Scripture has to say on the subject reveals that HWA and his followers have either left out and/or twisted a great deal of what is revealed there. For instance, in the opening verses of this chapter (Leviticus 23), we read: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them..." Doesn't that indicate that this message was clearly for the children of Israel? Likewise, in the final verse of this same chapter, we read: “Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the Lord.” (Verse 44, ESV) So, yes, they are the Lord’s festivals or appointed times
which he gave to the children of Israel as part of his covenant with them!Another item which they typically gloss over or ignore is found in the sixteenth chapter of Deuteronomy and is referred to as the "Law of the Central Sanctuary" by many theologians. Simply put, it is made clear here that there would only be one acceptable place for the Israelites to observe these festivals. Notice the phraseology which is repeated over and over again in this chapter concerning them observing the festival in the place "which the Lord shall choose." Indeed, in the summary of these festivals, we read:
"Three times (or seasons) in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose..." (verse 16).
This concept is made even clearer in the twelfth chapter of Deuteronomy. After instructing the Israelites to destroy all of the places of worship which the previous inhabitants of the Promised Land used (verses 1-4), we read:
"But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come" (verse 5). The following verses make plain that this encompassed all of their religious observances, including the feasts (verses 6-7). And then, just so there wouldn't be any room for misunderstanding, we read: "Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you. But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit...Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there...Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:
But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee" (verses 8-14).
Of course, most students of the Bible know that there was only one place which God chose to place his name - one place for the central sanctuary: The Temple at Jerusalem. This is made clear in the books which cover the kingdom period. After Solomon completed the temple in Jerusalem and prayed that God would recognize it as his house (I Kings 8), we read of God's response in the following chapter: "And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there forever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually" (verse 3). Compare this scripture to II Chronicles 7:12-16.That the temple at Jerusalem was the place which God had chosen is made plain throughout these histories of the kingdom period. It is evident in Jeroboam's decision to create two places of worship at Bethel and Dan to prevent the people from returning to Jerusalem to worship after the ten tribes abandoned David's dynasty and kingdom (see I Kings 12:25-33). It is also clear from these accounts that festival observance as outlined in the Torah was a rare occurrence during this period. This is demonstrated by the fact that Hezekiah and Josiah were reported to have held festival observances in accordance with God's instructions (see II Chronicles 30 and 35).
Notice too, that ALL of the festivals required a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, not just the Feast of Tabernacles (as practiced by most Armstrongites). This understanding is critical to a proper comprehension of the entire subject going forward.
Now, as all good students of the Bible are also aware, the Israelites and the Jews (Judah) were carried into captivity. Moreover, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated and dethroned the last king of Judah, we are told that he destroyed Jerusalem and the temple (see II Kings 25 and II Chronicles 36). What happened to festival observance when that happened?
We read in the book of Lamentations: "The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness" (Lamentations 1:4). In the following chapter, we read: "And he (God) hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary..." (Lamentations 2:6-7). Without the temple in Jerusalem, festival observance as specified by God came to an end! To be sure, festival observance was later re-established - after some of the Jewish exiles were allowed to return to the Promised Land and rebuild the temple; but there is no escaping the fact that festival observance ended for a time.
What about the fact that festival observance is prophesied for the future - in God's Kingdom? (See Zechariah 14:16-19) Notice that this is speaking of the FUTURE. This passage clearly refers to the time when the Lord of Hosts shall be headquartered in Jerusalem. And, once again, everyone will be required to attend the Feast of Tabernacles at JERUSALEM (verses 16-17) - NO Mt. Pocono, Wisconsin Dells or Jekyll Island!
Didn't Jesus and his disciples continue to observe the festivals? Yes, Christ continued to observe the festivals. Remember, he had to fulfill all of the particulars of the Law in order to rescue us from the penalty of breaking its provisions. Notice, however, that Christ always attended the festivals at Jerusalem! In the Gospel according to Luke, we read: "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast" (Luke 2:42-42). Likewise, we read in the Gospel according to John that he attended the Feast of Tabernacles (Chapter 7) and Feast of the Dedication (Hanukkah) at Jerusalem (10:22-23). Of course, we all know that Christ celebrated his final Passover with his disciples in Jerusalem (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22 and John 13). There is also scriptural evidence that his followers continued to observe these rituals after his death, burial and resurrection (see the book of Acts).
Doesn't this demonstrate that Christians are still obligated to observe these days? NO! Remember, the early church was Jewish. The apostles had failed to follow Christ's instructions to "teach all nations" (Matthew 28:19) and had focused instead on Palestine. Hence, it is quite natural that Jewish Christians would have continued to observe these Jewish festivals. However, when the church finally began to expand into Gentile countries where there was no tradition of keeping the Mosaic Law (including festival observance), festival observance was practiced by a smaller and smaller portion of the Church (as the number of Gentile converts grew).
Finally, when the Romans captured Jerusalem and destroyed the reconstructed temple in the year 70 A.D., ALL festival observance ceased (just as it had when the first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians). Yes, history informs us that new traditions eventually developed regarding these festivals, and that the Jews began observing them in their homes and synagogues around the world. In similar fashion, many Christians eventually began observing them again after a fashion in later years. Nevertheless, it is apparent in both the Jewish and Christian observances of these days that they are following man-made traditions with regard to their celebrations and do not observe the scriptural formula for keeping them (indeed, it is currently impossible to do so)!
Hence, while we can all cheerfully wish our ACOG brethren happiness and blessings as they attempt to celebrate festivals which foreshadowed the work of Jesus Christ, we must NOT let them judge our decision to NOT participate in their celebrations. The PLAIN TRUTH is that New Testament Christians are NOT obligated to observe these provisions of the Old Covenant.
