"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ... In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Heb. 8:10,13)
They were feast days that were observed only by the Jewish nation, but not by the universal Christian church, since they were tied to the temple which was destroyed.
"After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem."
"Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near."
"Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand."
Paul never encouraged anyone to observe these days as part of an ongoing new covenant tradition.
What passed away under the new covenant is specified in the new testament. Among these things are the Levitical priesthood. However, scripture does not say that God's Holy Days are passed away. On the contrary, God's feast days were actually instituted before the old covenant was ratified (Passover and Unleavened bread were revealed before Israel left Egypt) which means they fall outside of any covenant. This is evident because end time prophecies specifically say they will be observed in the future:
Zec 14:16 And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:17 And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up of [all] the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
And indeed since God takes great pains to call them "HIS" feast days it's clear that they don't belong to any covenant or even any one nation.
They were feast days that were observed only by the Jewish nation, but not by the universal Christian church,
They were cetainly observed by the early church...i.e. the church of scripture and by many Christians throughout history. You're argument is correct in that the traditional Christian church has by tradition not observed them but that is due mainly to the anti-semitism that became prevelent early in, and throughout, church history.
since they were tied to the temple which was destroyed.
The holy days were not specfically tied to a temple in Jerusalam. In fact, Israel was a nation and observed the holy days forr 500 years before there was a temple. In addition, scripture never specfies that the holy days can only be kept in Jerusalem in a temple.
"After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." "Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near." "Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand."
Paul never encouraged anyone to observe these days as part of an ongoing new covenant tradition.
It was the normative practice of the new testament church to observe the holy days. The new testament church was began on a holy day (Pentecost). Christ was crucified on Passover.
In addition, Paul specifically instructed the Christian churches to keep the feast of unleavened bread, albeit with a new understanding due to the new covenant:
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.
Paul also kept them:
Act 20:16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
And of course Christ kept the holy days..no surprise since he is God and they are God's holy days.
topcat54; DouglasKC
The old covenant feast days were part of the levitical system that passed away at the coming of Jesus Christ.
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ... In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Heb. 8:10,13)
They were feast days that were observed only by the Jewish nation, but not by the universal Christian church, since they were tied to the temple which was destroyed.
"After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem."
"Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near."
"Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand."
Paul never encouraged anyone to observe these days as part of an ongoing new covenant tradition.
17 posted on 12/20/2004 5:04:34 PM MST by topcat54
The New Covenant began earlier with
NAsbU Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Why did Y’shua choose to enter Jerusalem on a an ass
on the exact day predicted by Daniel?
Why did He celebrate the Passover Seder as the unblemished Lamb ?
Why did He die for our sins on the day that all sin(pride) is removed ?
Why did He rise from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits ?
And why did the Ruach haKodesh come to the Jews on the feast of Shavuot?
In His Forever Grip
chuck