Posted on 04/08/2006 7:12:48 AM PDT by DouglasKC
Easter is one of the most popular religious celebrations in the world. But is it biblical? The word Easter appears only once in the King James Version of the Bible (and not at all in most others). In the one place it does appear, the King James translators mistranslated the Greek word for Passover as "Easter."
Notice it in Acts 12:4: "And when he [King Herod Agrippa I] had apprehended him [the apostle Peter], he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people."
The Greek word translated Easter here is pascha, properly translated everywhere else in the Bible as "Passover." Referring to this mistranslation, Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible says that "perhaps there never was a more unhappy, not to say absurd, translation than that in our text."
Think about theses facts for a minute. Easter is such a major religious holiday. Yet nowhere in the Bible—not in the book of Acts, which covers several decades of the history of the early Church, nor in any of the epistles of the New Testament, written over a span of 30 to 40 years after Jesus Christ's death and resurrection—do we find the apostles or early Christians celebrating anything like Easter.
The Gospels themselves appear to have been written from about a decade after Christ's death and resurrection to perhaps as much as 60 years later (in the case of John's Gospel). Yet nowhere do we find a hint of anything remotely resembling an Easter celebration.
If Easter doesn't come from the Bible, and wasn't practiced by the apostles and early Church, where did it come from?
Easter's surprising origins
Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, in its entry "Easter," states:
"The term ‘Easter' is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pasch [Passover] held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast . . . From this Pasch the pagan festival of ‘Easter' was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity" (W.E. Vine, 1985, emphasis added throughout).
That's a lot of information packed into one paragraph. Notice what the author, W.E. Vine—a trained classical scholar, theologian, expert in ancient languages and author of several classic Bible helps—tells us:
Easter isn't a Christian or directly biblical term, but comes from a form of the name Astarte, a Chaldean (Babylonian) goddess known as "the queen of heaven." (She is mentioned by that title in the Bible in Jeremiah 7:18 and 44:17-19, 25 and referred to in 1 Kings 11:5, 33 and 2 Kings 23:13 by the Hebrew form of her name, Ashtoreth. So "Easter" is found in the Bible—as part of the pagan religion God condemns!)
Further, early Christians, even after the times of the apostles, continued to observe a variation of the biblical Passover feast (it differed because Jesus introduced new symbolism, as the Bible notes in Matthew 26:26-28 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
Moreover, Easter was very different from the Old Testament Passover or the Passover of the New Testament as understood and practiced by the early Church based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles.
And again, Easter was a pagan festival, originating in the worship of other gods, and was introduced much later into an apostate Christianity in a deliberate attempt to make such festivals acceptable.
Easter symbols predate Christ
How does The Catholic Encyclopedia define Easter? "Easter: The English term, according to the [eighth-century monk] Bede, relates to Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and spring, which deity, however, is otherwise unknown . . ." (1909, Vol. 5, p. 224). Eostre is the ancient European name for the same goddess worshipped by the Babylonians as Astarte or Ishtar, goddess of fertility, whose major
celebration was in the spring of the year.
The subtopic "Easter Eggs" tells us that "the custom [of Easter eggs] may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter" (ibid., p. 227).
The subtopic "Easter Rabbit" states that "the rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility" (ibid.).
Author Greg Dues, in his book Catholic Customs and Traditions, elaborates on the symbolism of eggs in ancient pre-Christian cultures: "The egg has become a popular Easter symbol. Creation myths of many ancient peoples center in a cosmogenic egg from which the universe is born.
"In ancient Egypt and Persia friends exchanged decorated eggs at the spring equinox, the beginning of their New Year. These eggs were a symbol of fertility for them because the coming forth of a live creature from an egg was so surprising to people of ancient times. Christians of the Near East adopted this tradition, and the Easter egg became a religious symbol. It represented the tomb from which Jesus came forth to new life" (1992, p. 101).
The same author also explains that, like eggs, rabbits became associated with Easter because they were powerful symbols of fertility: "Little children are usually told that the Easter eggs are brought by the Easter Bunny. Rabbits are part of pre-Christian fertility symbolism because of their reputation to reproduce rapidly" (p. 102).
What these sources tell us is that human beings replaced the symbolism of the biblical Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread with Easter eggs and Easter rabbits, pagan symbols of fertility. These symbols demean the truth of Christ's death and resurrection.
Easter substituted for Passover season
But that's not the entire story. In fact, many credible sources substantiate the fact that Easter became a substitute festival for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. (To learn more about what this Feast represents, see "What Does the Feast of Unleavened Bread Mean for Christians?".)
Notice what The Encyclopaedia Britannica says about this transition: "There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers . . . The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals foreshadowed . . .
"The Gentile Christians, on the other hand, unfettered by Jewish traditions, identified the first day of the week [Sunday] with the Resurrection, and kept the preceding Friday as the commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of the day of the month" (11th edition, p. 828, "Easter").
Easter, a pagan festival with its pagan fertility symbols, replaced the God-ordained festivals that Jesus Christ, the apostles and the early Church observed. But this didn't happen immediately. Not until A.D. 325—almost three centuries after Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected—was the matter settled. Regrettably, it wasn't settled on the basis of biblical truth, but on the basis of anti-Semitism and raw ecclesiastical and imperial power.
As The Encyclopaedia Britannica further explains: "A final settlement of the dispute [over whether and when to keep Easter or Passover] was one among the other reasons which led [the Roman emperor] Constantine to summon the council of Nicaea in 325 . . . The decision of the council was unanimous that Easter was to be kept on Sunday, and on the same Sunday throughout the world, and ‘that none should hereafter follow the blindness of the Jews'" (ibid., pp. 828-829).
Those who did choose to "follow the blindness of the Jews"—that is, who continued to keep the biblical festivals kept by Jesus Christ and the apostles rather than the newly "Christianized" pagan Easter festival—were systematically persecuted by the powerful church-state alliance of Constantine 's Roman Empire .
With the power of the empire behind it, Easter soon became entrenched as one of traditional Christianity's most popular sacred celebrations. (You can read more of the details in our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep? )
Christianity compromised by paganism
British historian Sir James Frazer notes how Easter symbolism and rites, along with other pagan customs and celebrations, entered into the established Roman church:
"Taken altogether, the coincidences of the Christian with the heathen festivals are too close and too numerous to be accidental. They mark the compromise which the Church in the hour of its triumph was compelled to make with its vanquished yet still dangerous rivals [the empire's competing pagan religions].
"The inflexible Protestantism of the primitive missionaries, with their fiery denunciation of heathendom, had been exchanged for the supple policy, the easy tolerance, the comprehensive charity of shrewd ecclesiastics, who clearly perceived that if Christianity was to conquer the world it could do so only by relaxing the too rigid principles of its Founder, by widening a little the narrow gate which leads to salvation" ( The Golden Bough, 1993, p. 361).
In short, to broaden the appeal of the new religion of Christianity in those early centuries, the powerful Roman religious authorities, with the backing of the Roman Empire, simply co-opted the rites and practices of pagan religions, relabeled them as "Christian" and created a new brand of Christianity with customs and teachings far removed from the Church Jesus founded.
The authentic Christianity of the Bible largely disappeared, forced underground by persecution because its followers refused to compromise.
Easter does not accurately represent Jesus Christ's suffering, death and resurrection, though it appears to do so to those who blindly accept religious tradition. In fact, it distorts the truth of the matter. Easter correctly belongs to the Babylonian goddess it is named after—Astarte, also known as Ashtoreth or Ishtar, whose worship is directly and explicitly condemned in the Bible.
The ancient religious practices and fertility symbols associated with her cult existed long before Christ, and regrettably they have largely replaced and obscured the truth of His death and resurrection.
When confronted with these facts about Easter, many professing Christians might raise this question to justify its continuance: With hundreds of millions of well-meaning Christians observing Easter, doesn't this please Jesus Christ? Yet He has already answered this question in Matthew 15:9: "In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." How will you choose to worship Him—in spirit and in truth, or in fraud and in fable? GN
Fine, then you are also of the house of Israel whether you like it or not. I am a Christian BECAUSE I entered the house of Israel and into the new covenant through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way to be a Christian because there is no way you can enter into the new covenant without being of the house of Israel or of the house of Judah.
Do you understand the difference between spiritural and physical children? Why do you have a problem with just calling yourself a Christian? Why do you feel a need to bind an obsolete law on Christians? I would imagine that you want to also impose Sabbath worship. Is that correct?
Do you believe in the Trinity, i.e. that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that these Three Persons are truly distinct from one another, and yet there are not three Gods but one God?
There is also the matter of the cups of wine that Jesus used in His Feast, which aren't mentioned in Exodus 12 or 13.
Then, there's 2 Chronicles 30, especially verses 18-20.
Let's all pray for one another.
Yes.
Clearly you're not even reading my responses or else you would not have to ask the question.
Why do you have a problem with just calling yourself a Christian?
I don't. Why do you have a problem accepting that God said that the new covenant is only made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah?
Why do you feel a need to bind an obsolete law on Christians?
This is where you have a major misunderstanding of just what the new covenant and old covenants are. I'm formulating a response. Better yet, first reference:
I would imagine that you want to also impose Sabbath worship. Is that correct?
Impose? If you love God you would be honoring his sabbath commandment, the same as you would be honoring his commandments not to lie, cheat, steal or use his name in vain.
The bible teaches that the Godhead in heaven is composed of the father and the son. The holy spirit is the active presence of the father and son in our reality. None of the first (biblical) Christians believed that the holy spirit was anything but God working on earth...God's spirit. That's what I believe.
Why am I not surprised. Like those in the first century, you are wanting to impose the ordinances of an obsolete law on Christians. Well, this Christian rejects your attempts just a Paul and the other Apostles did. Glad, however, that you did finally, under questioning, reveal your true motivation. For those interested in a furthur discussion of your beliefs there is a great website dedicated to that purpose.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/sda.htm
Ah, here we are. This is why you're not getting it. You think that the "law", not the "covenant" is obselete.
Let's look at why you're not getting it:
Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
God found fault with "them", Israel and Judah.
Heb 8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
God did nothing wrong in the "old" covenant. Israel and Judah did. They broke the covenant.
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Under the "new" covenant, God's laws are written into the hearts and minds of the house of Israel and Judah. This is done through the indwelling of the holy spirit.
The old COVENANT, the agreement between the house of Israel and Judah is obselete. The new covenant is not. The terms are EXACTLY the same. The only difference is that the laws are written into the hearts and minds of believers.
Now here is where you are making a huge mistake: The laws regarding the covenants have not been obseleted. None of them. All are in full force.
In fact, nothing BUT the ten commandments were part of the old covenant.
Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Now the "ark of the covenant":
1Ki 8:9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
Note: the "ark", the bearer, of the "covenant" contained ONLY the ten commandments.
So where were all the other things put? The levitical laws, the civil penalities, etc.? In a book beside (not in) the ark:
Deu 31:24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
Deu 31:25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
Deu 31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
God wrote the ten commandments, the terms of the old covenant, with his own finger. He told Moses to write down everything else.
The ten commandments, under the new covenant, are written on the hearts and minds of believers. But as Christ made clear, this makes them spiritual AND physical. Under the new testament, it's a sin both to commit adultery physically, OR to commit sin adultery in your mind:
Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Luckily God's spirit, over time and if we continue in it,conforms us to his standards.
Now the holy days (among other things) are special. They fall OUTSIDE of any covenant which makes them still binding. After this is absorbed I'll get into it.
My true motivation is to...gasp...let people know that the ten commandments ARE commandments of God!!!
Thanks for exposing me.
By not observing the holy days of the Lord who dwells in you, you are not living in the spirit.
And it is this type of judgementalism ... which lies at the root of your problem.
I have been living as a christian for 40 years, ... faithfully serving the Lord and maturing in the faith for 40 years.
I have read the entirety of the scriptures and have sought the Lord for understanding and guidance in so doing.
And ... the Lord has been gracious unto me.
He has and continues to visibly (and not-so-visibly) ... use me in the accomplishment of His will.
He has been faithful to me ... and my family ... and to the other believers with which I have acquaintance.
The fruit of God's Spirit has increased in me ... and in those that I serve alongside of ... bringing forth more love, more joy, more peace, etc.
But here suddenly ... Doug comes along and tells me that I am not living in the Spirit.
And all for the reason that I do not celebrate the Jewish feast days.
Doug, ... you might have a scrap of credibility ... if their was anything from the scripture that supported your judgement ... but there isn't.
There isn't a single scripture that says that ... to not celebrate the Jewish feast days ... is tantamount to not living spiritually.
And not only that ... but you are, hypocritically, picking and choosing which of the Lord's commands for the Israelites ... you keep ... for you don't keep them all.
I mentioned a few of those parts of the Jewish Law ... which you don't follow ... in a previous post.
But no ... you continue to be hung-up on the observance of feast-days, ... even to the point of ignoring the Lord's explicit command ... to not judge your brother.
Doug ... you observed, rightly, in a previous post ... that the walls of separation between believing Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slave and free, etc. ... have been torn down ... to the extent that we're all ... just christians now.
Even so ... those partialities which distinguished us, as different peoples ... have passed away ... as the shadows that they were.
And so it is even as the Lord said that it would be ...John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.The hour is here, Doug.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
The shadows have passed.
The Lord has come.
Time to lose the log.
OK, I'm following you now.
Let's see: WE're supposed to "keep" the OT feasts, but the feast days were changed, except for the parts that weren't changed. And Jesus came to remind us to keep the feasts. But don't celebrate His resurrection, because that is "pagan".
Riiiiiiiight.
You sure have an airtight grasp of the essence of the Gospel.
Oh, also, there's the little point that you don't believe in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.
I did not say that you were not a Christian. I've been very careful to NOT make that judgement. That is not my place. In fact, I'm assuming you are a Christian and I'm sure that you are a fine person. I'm equally sure that you're not perfect. I know I'm not. I know that I have sins that I am not aware of and that God will reveal to me in good time. I know that I do not always live in the spirit and neither do you.
I have read the entirety of the scriptures and have sought the Lord for understanding and guidance in so doing.
Have you ever considered that the Lord may be trying to get your attention right now?
And all for the reason that I do not celebrate the Jewish feast days.
Doug, ... you might have a scrap of credibility ... if their was anything from the scripture that supported your judgement ... but there isn't
You can't make it go away by denying it. They are NOT Jewish holy days. They are the LORD's holy days:
Lev 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
This one verse answers both objections. The Lord commands his followers in scripture to observe HIS feast days.
But no ... you continue to be hung-up on the observance of feast-days, ... even to the point of ignoring the Lord's explicit command ... to not judge your brother.
I'm happy to be "hung up" on observing God's feast days. You should be "hung up" on it too. I am ASSUMING that you are a brother. I'm telling you that you're in error and admonishing you for it:
Rom 15:14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
I'm attempting to use scripture to correct you:
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
I won't and can't compromise on this. It's the word of God. The history behind the change is clear. The biblical record is clear. You keep trying to object based on nothing more than tradition. You disregard scripture where God tells you to observe his holy days and then say that you can't find a spot in scripture where God says to observe his holy days. God never said NOT to observe his days. Nobody in the bible says NOT to observe them. In fact Jesus Christ observes them (reason enough as pointed out earlier!) and Paul instructs his followers to observe them AND observes them himself:
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.
1Co 16:8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.
Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 18:21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
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.
Simply put, you're wrong on this. Absolutely wrong, yet you would rather argue about it and come up with convulted logic in order NOT to observe the days that God said to. Why? Because you don't want to stick out. You don't want to be a "weirdo". You want other Christians to accept you. You want to fit in. You have a great time at Easter and Christmas. You're scared of the unknown. You're arrogant. You can't be wrong. The church can't be wrong.
Pick a reason.
Simply put, you're wrong on this. Absolutely wrong, yet you would rather argue about it and come up with convulted logic in order NOT to observe the days that God said to. Why? Because you don't want to stick out. You don't want to be a "weirdo". You want other Christians to accept you. You want to fit in. You have a great time at Easter and Christmas. You're scared of the unknown. You're arrogant.
You're clearly judging me (not my actions) ... but my motivations, ... which you cannot possibly know.
I have already explained my reasons for believing as I do ... but you will, obviously, have none of it.
You'd rather accuse me of lying, ... rather than accept that we might have a disagreement as to our beliefs.
You are the one who is in error ... for the very same reason the NT Judaizers were in error.
You wish to take your judgement ... and impose it upon the entire christian church.
Well ... the Lord wasn't having any of that then ... and He's not having any of it, now.
The Jerusalem council decidely conveyed the wishes of the Holy Spirit ... as regarding what elements of the Jewish commandments were binding upon the Gentiles, ... and observing the Jewish feast days were not any part of that.
Further, the feast days established by the Lord in the OT ... were specifically commanded of the Israelite people of that time.
Such commands were wholly a part of the Mosaic covenant ... and were binding upon no other peoples.
As for those portions of the Mosaic covenant which christians are to continue to observe ... the NT teachers were very clear as to which ones those were ... and all of them weren't included.
Not even you, Doug, ... can claim to uphold all of the practices commanded of the Israelite people in the Mosaic covenant.
But what really gets me ... is how you violate the clear command of Christ Himself (this one is not even debatable) ... that you not judge your brother ... particularly over shadows which have passed.
All to set yourself up as some sort of judge ... over the rest of the christian church.
Well .. sorry Doug, ... but you don't have the authority to judge me.
I have a judge ... and He will judge me rightly.Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
...
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Douglas, on the other hand, has given us many scriptural quotes to back up his theology. Why don't you do that...instead of just accusing him of something he is not doing? If you do not believe the "Feast Days of The Lord" should be observed, please provide scripture which will support that position.
And I agree with his statement that no one is doubting your sincerity or your Christianity.
Not even you, Doug, ... can claim to uphold all of the practices commanded of the Israelite people in the Mosaic covenant.
I have never seen anything written by Douglas that would remotely claim the above. This is no where given to us to obey in the New Testament.
You are the one who is in error ... for the very same reason the NT Judaizers were in error.
The word "Judaizer" does not appear in the scriptures.
I assume you're referring to this:
Act 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Now ask yourself. Is it realistic that these are the ONLY things that were expected of gentiles?? It says nothing about gentiles NOT taking the Lord's name in vain. Were they free to curse using God's holy name? It says nothing about stealing. Were gentiles free to steal from their neighbor? It says nothing about coveting. Were gentiles free to covet? Of course not. It's because this is NOT an all inclusive list. This list is for STARTERS. This is for pagan gentiles who come straight from idolatrous worship into the church. Do this, gentiles, for starters:
Act 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Because you'll learn the rest when you go to the synagogues EVERY sabbath day. By the way, God's holy days are also sabbath days.
Further, the feast days established by the Lord in the OT ... were specifically commanded of the Israelite people of that time.
Not correct. They are given to the "children of Israel". As proved in several posts above, you are child of Israel if you are a Christian. Further, this phrase appears in one way or another when God's feast days are discussed:
Lev 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Forever.
Now look at this prophecy of the future from Zechariah:
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.
Ziechariah says that after Christ returns and establishes his kingdom, ALL that is left of the nations will keep the feast of tabernacles. And what is the judgement of those who refuse to observe God's holy days?
Zec 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
This shows that the feast days are NOT part of any covenant. They fall outside of the new covenant and the old covenant. They ARE important. Satan knows this. That's why he has managed to mitigate their importance to most professing Christians. That's why they've been replaced by idolatrous, pseudo holy days. Satan
Oh, and the "you're judging me" thing has been dealt with. And by the way, quit judging me for keeping the holy days. YOU came on this thread and told me why I'm mistaken in keeping them and for teaching others about them. Clearly you feel it's wrong or else you wouldn't be so active in the thread. So stop judging me. :-)
Now ask yourself. Is it realistic that these are the ONLY things that were expected of gentiles?? It says nothing about gentiles NOT taking the Lord's name in vain. Were they free to curse using God's holy name? It says nothing about stealing. Were gentiles free to steal from their neighbor? It says nothing about coveting. Were gentiles free to covet? Of course not. It's because this is NOT an all inclusive list. This list is for STARTERS.
This is for pagan gentiles who come straight from idolatrous worship into the church. Do this, gentiles, for starters:
It is just as clear that 'all' of the commands to the Israelite nation were not binding upon the Gentiles.
Indeed, this was the reason for the ruling from the Jerusalem council.
As I said in the previous thread, those commands to the Israelite people which the Gentiles are to keep ... are re-emphasized in the NT. There is ample NT teaching admonishing christians not to steal, murder, revel, get drunk, covet, etc.
Now look at this prophecy of the future from Zechariah:
Zechariah 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.
Zechariah says that after Christ returns and establishes his kingdom, ALL that is left of the nations will keep the feast of tabernacles. And what is the judgement of those who refuse to observe God's holy days?
Zechariah 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zechariah 14:19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The time for the fulfillment of this prophecy is not yet.
Note that when this prophecy comes to pass ... that the nations shall go up to Jerusalem ... to keep the feasts of tabernacles.
Even the feast-keepers are not currently doing this.
Oh, and the "you're judging me" thing has been dealt with. And by the way, quit judging me for keeping the holy days. YOU came on this thread and told me why I'm mistaken in keeping them and for teaching others about them.
You're wrong.
I believe that I said in my first post to this thread ... that you have the liberty to observe the feast days if you wish.
All to set yourself up as some sort of judge ... over the rest of the christian church.
Well .. sorry Doug, ... but you don't have the authority to judge me.
I have a judge ... and He will judge me rightly.
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
234 posted on 04/13/2006 9:58:11 AM MDT by Quester
Explain to me Y'shua's command during the Feast of Booths to all of his followers:
b'shem Y'shua
John 7:24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
Have a Blessed Passover season.
Where do you find this theory expounded upon in scipture?
Where in the NT does it say "Thou only hast to do what it says to do in the old testament if it is remphasized in the the new testament"?
And if that's your theory, then here:
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.
Here:
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.
1Co 16:8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.
Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 18:21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
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.
The feasts of God are "reemphasied" in the NT. You should be keeping them if that's your criteria.
The time for the fulfillment of this prophecy is not yet.
Your position is that the holy days were part of the old covenant and not valid for Christians. So why exactly do you suppose God would require ALL nations to observe the feast of tabernacles in the future?
That's a rhetorical question. The answer is that you have a flawed understanding of scripture. God shows that this holy days are kept in the future BECAUSE they are to be kept here and now. God didn't invent pagan inspired holidays to supplant his holy days. Man did. That's why they were kept by all those who believe in God in the old testament, the new testament, today and tomorrow.
Note that when this prophecy comes to pass ... that the nations shall go up to Jerusalem ... to keep the feasts of tabernacles.
Even the feast-keepers are not currently doing this.
That's exactly right because feast keepers have not yet been commanded to come to Jerusalem to keep the feast.
As I said in the previous thread, those commands to the Israelite people which the Gentiles are to keep ... are re-emphasized in the NT. There is ample NT teaching admonishing christians not to steal, murder, revel, get drunk, covet, etc.
Where do you find this theory expounded upon in scipture?
Where in the NT does it say "Thou only hast to do what it says to do in the old testament if it is remphasized in the the new testament"?
The Jerusalem council is a prime example.
Also ...Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: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:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
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.
I've taken a look at the context of these verses, ... and it is clear that Paul is speaking on keeping one's life pure from sin, and full of the characteristics that God calls us to (i.e. sincerity and truth).
The context does not speak to physical feasts.
Note that when this prophecy comes to pass ... that the nations shall go up to Jerusalem ... to keep the feasts of tabernacles.
Even the feast-keepers are not currently doing this.
That's exactly right because feast keepers have not yet been commanded to come to Jerusalem to keep the feast.
And the church has not been commanded to keep these feasts.
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