Posted on 04/10/2009 10:32:45 AM PDT by DouglasKC
Consider these important facts. First, Easter Sunday is traditionally revered as the day of Jesus' resurrection—although the Bible clearly states that He had already risen before Sunday dawned in the city of Jerusalem.
Second, even though Good Friday is generally observed as the traditional day of His crucifixion, Christ Himself told the disciples that He would be in the grave for all of three days and three nights. How can three days and three nights possibly fit between a Friday-afternoon crucifixion and a Sunday-morning resurrection?
Third, the word Easter is not found in the Greek New Testament. Nor is there biblical mention of or instruction to observe Lent.
Finally, unlike the specific instruction to commemorate Christ's death, there is absolutely no commandment in the New Testament to observe the date of Jesus' resurrection. Yet today's religious customs are so ingrained in the church calendar that many would consider it heretical to question them.
Most of the world is scarcely aware that the original apostles did not institute or keep these customs, nor were they observed by the early Christian Church. Try as you might to find them, Lent, Good Friday and Easter are not so much as mentioned in the original Greek wording of the New Testament. (The word Easter appears only once in the King James Version of the Bible—in Acts 12:4—where it is flagrantly mistranslated from the Greek word pascha, which should be translated "Passover," as most versions render it.)
The justification for the Lenten 40-day preparation for Easter is traditionally based on Jesus' 40-day wilderness fast before His temptation by Satan (Harper's Bible Dictionary, "Lent"; Matthew 4:1-2; Mark 1:13). The problem with this explanation is that this incident is not connected in any way with Jesus' supposed observance of Easter. The 40-day pre-Easter practice of fasting and penance did not originate in the Bible.
Many people still follow such practices, assuming that such activities honor God and are approved by Him. But, we should ask, how does God regard such extrabiblical customs? Consider God's instructions to those who would worship Him:
"Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:30-32, emphasis added throughout).
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia notes: "The term Easter was derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'Eostre,' the name of the goddess of spring. In her honor sacrifices were offered at the time of the vernal [spring] equinox" (1982, Vol. 2, "Easter").
Many battles were fought over its observance date, but the Council of Nicea finally fixed the date of Easter in A.D. 325 to fall on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the vernal equinox (March 21).
Not generally known is that "the preparation for Easter season, beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing for a week after Easter Day, was filled with pagan customs that had been revised in the light
of Christianity. Germanic nations, for example, set bonfires in spring. This custom was frowned on by the Church, which tried to suppress it . . . In the sixth and seventh centuries [monks] came to Germany, [bringing] their earlier pagan rites[,] and would bless bonfires outside the church building on Holy Saturday. The custom spread to France, and eventually it was incorporated into the Easter liturgy of Rome in the ninth century. Even today the blessing of the new fire is part of the Vigil of Easter.
"Medieval celebrations of Easter began at dawn. According to one old legend, the sun dances on Easter morning, or makes three jumps at the moment of its rising, in honor of Christ's resurrection. The rays of light penetrating the clouds were believed to be angels dancing for joy.
"Some Easter folk traditions that have survived today are the Easter egg, rabbit and lamb. During medieval times it was a tradition to give eggs at Easter to servants. King Edward I of England had 450 eggs boiled before Easter and dyed or covered with gold leaf. He then gave them to members of the royal household on Easter day. The egg was an earlier pagan symbol of rebirth and was presented at the spring equinox, the beginning of the pagan new year.
"The Easter rabbit is mentioned in a German book of 1572 and also was a pagan fertility symbol. The Easter lamb goes back to the Middle Ages; the lamb, holding a flag with a red cross on a white field, represented the resurrected Christ [rather than the sacrifice of His life, as a fulfillment of the Passover lamb, that paid for the sins of the world (John 1:29)]" (Anthony Mercatante, Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, 1988, "Easter").
Easter traditions are embraced by many who profess Christianity. Yet none of these practices are found in the Bible or the customs of the early Church. Jesus and His apostles did not establish or perpetuate such practices, which obscure the true biblical meanings and observances of this time of year. In fact, a fourth-century church historian, Socrates Scholasticus, wrote in his Ecclesiastical History that neither the apostles nor the Gospels taught the observance of Easter, nor did they or Jesus give a law requiring the keeping of this feast. Instead, "the observance originated not by legislation, but as a custom" (chapter 22, emphasis added).
Even as early as the close of the second century, the theologian Irenaeus bore witness in his letter to Victor, bishop of Rome, that some early Roman bishops forbade the observance of Passover on the 14th of Nisan. This was the date of the biblical observance practiced each spring by Jesus and the apostles. At the time that the Nisan 14 Passover observance was banned, ecclesiastical authorities introduced Lent and Easter into Christian practice.
A century later the Syriac Didascalia recorded the attempts of teachers in Rome to reconcile Jesus' words that He would be entombed "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40) with a Friday-afternoon crucifixion and a Sunday-morning resurrection. According to their reasoning, Jesus' sufferings were part of the three days and three nights of Scripture. Friday morning from 9 to noon was counted as the first day, and noon to 3 p.m. (which was darkened) was considered the first night. Three in the afternoon to sunset was reckoned as the second day, whereas Friday night to Saturday morning constituted the second night. The daylight part of Saturday was the third day, and the night portion to Sunday morning was the third night.
In other words, the three days and three nights in the grave that Jesus said would be the sign that He was indeed sent from God were transformed into a period of two days and two nights, or a total of no more than 48 hours. This has subsequently been reduced even further in modern times by figuring from late afternoon Friday to early Sunday morning, which takes away another 12 hours or more. Such reasoning has to discount or somehow explain away Jesus' clear promise that He would be entombed three days and three nights.
Easter and Lent are nonbiblical and were not observed by the apostles or the first-century Church. The biblical record shows, however, that the early Church diligently kept other observances, the New Testament Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, just as Jesus and the apostles had done (Matthew 26:17-19; Acts 20:6; 1 Corinthians 5:8; 11:23-26). These were supplanted in later years by the customs and practices of Easter and Lent.
Passover is an annual reminder of Jesus' sacrificial death to pay the penalty for our sins (Matthew 26:26-28). The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a celebration that focuses on a Christian's need to live in sincerity, truth and purity (1 Corinthians 5:8). The nonbiblical festivals of Lent and Easter, added decades after the time of Jesus Christ and the apostles, only cloud the true significance of Christ's life, death and resurrection and the purpose of His coming.
The Passover, instituted in Exodus 12, continues by Jesus Christ's example and command—but with a change of symbols. Jesus' death fulfilled the symbolism of the sacrificial Passover lamb (Matthew 26:17-28; John 1:29). However, the New Testament Passover has been improperly replaced as an annual memorial of the death of Christ by Easter. We are commanded to commemorate Christ's death, not His resurrection (1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
Jesus Christ's promise was fulfilled exactly as He said, a fact that is made clear when we study and compare the Gospel accounts. These records give a clear, logical explanation that is perfectly consistent with Christ's words. Let's focus on Jesus' last days on earth to gain the proper perspective and understanding of how and when these events occurred.
Jesus said that, like the prophet Jonah, He would be entombed three days and three nights and that He would be raised up the third day after His crucifixion and death (Matthew 12:39-40; 17:23; 20:19). Putting these scriptures together, we see that He was resurrected at the end of the third day after His death. Luke 23:44 shows that He died around the ninth hour (Jewish reckoning), or 3 p.m. He would have been buried within the next few hours so that His body could be entombed before the approaching Sabbath (John 19:31).
Jesus' resurrection could not have been
on a Sunday morning because John 20:1-2 shows that He had already risen before Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, arriving "while it was still dark." Therefore, neither could His death have occurred Friday afternoon, since that would not allow for His body to be in the grave three days and three nights. Clearly, the Good Friday-Easter Sunday explanation and tradition is without scriptural foundation.
Notice also that John 19:31 mentions that the Sabbath immediately after Jesus' death was "a high day"—not the weekly seventh-day Sabbath (from Friday evening to Saturday evening), but one of the annual Sabbaths, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (see Leviticus 23:6-7), which can fall on any day of the week.
In fact, two Sabbaths—first an annual Holy Day and then the regular weekly Sabbath—are mentioned in the Gospel accounts, a detail overlooked by most people. This can be proven by comparing Mark 16:1 with Luke 23:56.
Mark's account tells us, "Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him" (Mark 16:1). However, Luke's account describes how the women who followed Jesus saw how His body was laid in the tomb. "Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils" for the final preparation of the body. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56).
Mark tells us that the women bought the spices after the Sabbath, "when the Sabbath was past." Luke, however, tells us that they prepared the spices and oils, "and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment." How could the women have bought spices after the Sabbath, yet then prepared them and rested on the same Sabbath?
That is obviously impossible—unless two Sabbaths are involved, with a day between them. Once we realize this, the two accounts become clear (see "The Chronology of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection," p. 18). Christ died near 3 p.m. and was placed in the tomb near sunset that day—a Wednesday in the year 31. That evening began the "high day" Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which fell on Thursday that year. The women rested on that day, then on Friday purchased and prepared the spices and oils for Jesus' body, which could not be done on either the Holy Day or the weekly Sabbath. They then rested again on the weekly Sabbath before going to the tomb before daybreak on Sunday morning, at which time they discovered that Christ had already been resurrected.
The fact that two Sabbaths are involved is confirmed by Matthew 28:1, where the women went to the tomb "after the Sabbath." The Sabbath mentioned here is actually plural in the original Greek and should be translated "Sabbaths." Some Bible versions, including Alfred Marshall's Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, Ferrar Fenton's translation, Green's Literal Translation and Young's Literal Translation, make this clear.
Once we realize that two Sabbaths were involved—first an annual Holy Day, which was observed from Wednesday evening until Thursday evening, and the normal weekly Sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening, the fulfillment of Christ's words becomes clear.
The Savior of all humanity died near 3 p.m. on Wednesday and was buried shortly before sunset that day. From Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset is one day and one night; from then until Friday sunset is two days and two nights; and from then until Saturday sunset is three days and three nights. Jesus Christ was resurrected at the end of this three-day and three-night period, near sunset on Saturday. Thus He was already risen long before the women came to the tomb before daylight on Sunday morning.
Jesus Christ's words were thus perfectly fulfilled, as verified by the Gospel accounts. He was not crucified on Friday afternoon, nor was He resurrected on a Sunday morning. The biblical evidence shows the Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition to be a fabrication.
A correct harmonization of all the facts demonstrates that Jesus died near 3 p.m. that Wednesday afternoon, was entombed near sunset and was resurrected near sunset on Saturday, exactly three days and three nights later—just as He had stated. These are the facts, the correct biblical chronology that verifies the identity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
The chart on page 18 gives a day-by-day chronology of these events as described in the Gospel accounts.
Actually, the principal festivals and holidays observed by mainstream Christendom are a poor and pale reflection of true biblical teachings. Easter and Lent are a poor substitute for the wondrous truths revealed by keeping God's feasts.
The New Testament Church continued to observe the annual Passover to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ, but used the new symbols of bread and wine that He instituted (1 Corinthians 11:23-28). Today the members of the United Church of God commemorate this eminently important event in the same manner, in accordance with Christ's instructions. Again, the Bible contains no record of the Church observing Easter or Lent during the time of the apostles, nor any biblical command to observe Good Friday or Easter Sunday, especially since Christ did not die on Good Friday and was not resurrected on Easter Sunday. Instead, the apostles faithfully followed Christ's instructions to observe the biblical Passover "in remembrance" of Him (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). GN
"Levitical ceremonial laws—of which holidays were a part" is simply a nonsequitur. YHWH's appointed times predated Israel, and date at least back to Abraham. The epistles show clearly that all of the early church came together on those days, not just the Jews. They are, in fact the only days mentioned in the entire NT where they came togther.
Sometimes, but not necessarily. The real name is not Easter, but "First Fruits," and its timing is relative to Passover, which is a Lunar event, rather than a calendar event.
Deut 16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he (God) shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
Now if you bother to study these, they involve offering sacrifices at the only place authorized for such - at the temple, and the only temple was in Jerusalem. Now if you read the passages carefully, you will see that it is a requirement of GOD, not man’s traditions. Since the destruction of the temple in AD 70, many changes were necessary to all the feasts, but in the Book, there was a pilgrimage required by the above for all males three times a year.
Tell me where does it say Jerusalem? Where does it say temple? You keep saying the same thing. That's why I keep shouting. I ask you to show me scripture. You show me scripture and THEN you tell me about Jewish tradition. I'll shout until you "get" it. THERE IS NO SCRIPTURAL REQUIREMENT FROM GOD THAT HOLY DAYS MUST BE OBSERVED IN A TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM. IT WAS A JEWISH TRADITION.
And furthermore, these commands were given BEFORE there was a temple and BEFORE Israel was anywhere near Jerusalem.
Are you honestly NOT able to tell the difference between Jewish tradition and scripture? Do you believe them to be one and the same???
Again, there is NO scriptural command from the Lord to say his holy days must be observed in the temple at Jerusalem. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. After Paul became Christian he wasn't obligated to follow Jewish tradition. He knew scripture.
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.
You, us, the children of Israel. WE are to proclaim WHERE we have our holy meetings, our convocations.
Paul knew this. He knew scripture. He proclaimed where the feast is to be kept.
I'm sorry....you are mistaken. The Feast Days were never part of the Levitical Priest's responsibility.
[Jeremiah 7:22-23] For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
What did Israel do?????? (Verse 24) But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
Within a year of Pentecost God instituted the Levitical Priesthood with its regulations and sacrifices, but the Feast Days and Sabbaths were given to the children of Israel between Passover and Pentecost. The sacrifices were to remind them of their sin [Acts 15:10][Hebrews 10:3].
[Exodus 19:1] In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. This is where the Children of Israel received the Ten Commandments.
[Exodus 40:1-17] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle. And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein. And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate. And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy. And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats. And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he. And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.
Why did God add this sacrificial law? [Galatians 3:19] Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
[Hebrews 7:11-14] If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. This was the law that was done away with. The sacrificial law with its ceremonial washings and regulations [Hebrews 9:10].
Thank you for that excellent post. You explained the issue much clearer than I did. I love your posts because you always support your statements with scripture.
I came out of Babylon [Revelation 18:1-4] fifty years years ago (Eisenhower was still President).....and I am constantly amazed that people have such a hard time discerning [Galatians 3:19].
How long was this priesthood to remain? "till the seed should come to whom the promise was made."
During those fifty years I have continued to wonder..... just why don't people see what the mainstream church has done?
Here's an example: Clement of Rome (A.D. 95); "The high priest has been given his own special special services, the priests have been assigned their own place, and the Levites have their special ministrations enjoined on them. The layman is bound by the ordinances of the laity."
Continue: Ignatius (A.D. 110); "Your Reverend presbytery is tuned to the Bishop as strings to a lyre. Let us be careful not to resist the Bishop, that through our submission to the Bishop we may belong to God. We should regard the Bishop as the Lord Himself."
And: Tertullian (A.D. 200); The supreme priest (that is the Bishop) has the right of conferring baptism. After him the presbyters and the deacons, but only with the Bishop's authority. Otherwise the laity also have the right."
I can go on and on: Cyprian (A.D. 250); "If Christ Jesus, Our Lord and God is himself the High Priest of God The Father, and first offered Himself as a sacrifice to The Father, and commanded this to be done in remembrance of Himself, then assuredly the priest acts truly in Christ's place when he reproduces what Christ did, and then offers a true and complete sacrifice to God The Father, if he begins to offer as he sees Christ Himself has offered."
Within a short three centuries of the crucifixion/resurrection mankind saw fit to give us back the very thing that Our Lord eliminated.......The Priesthood!
My scripture: [Deuteronomy 2:14-15] And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them. For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.
The Levitical sacrifices were instituted one year after the Exodus [Exodus 40:1-17].
In all your scriptures the Children of Israel have been wandering in the desert for a generation......and the Levitical priesthood has been offering sacrifices for their sins during that time. The priesthood was still offering sacrifices when they entered the Promised Land.
What Douglas and I are maintaining is that the sacrificial law had nothing to do with God's commands to obey and observe his Feast Days and Sabbaths. They were not part of the Levitical sacrificial law.
A statement of fact is often in past tense. For example, Lk 24:2 - "found" is in the indicative mood, which is a simple statement of fact. But then you seem to like to look at verses separated from their context.
Mat 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
As the sun was rising - "to dawn" (epiphōskō , lit., "to make to shine upon")
Not if you have been following this thread E-S. For some here, it verifies a requirement to continue to follow the Law of Moses as a condition of our salvation and walk with Christ.
All of Gods events happen on the days of his feasts; that is what their meaning is. Each feast is a "dress rehearsal" and a prophecy of a coming event. Passover, First Fruits, and Pentecost are fulfilled, and we are now to celebrate them as "remembrances" as the Lord commanded ("this do in remembrance of me"). The feast of Trumpets, and Tabernacles are yet to have their ultimate fulfillments at his second comming.
I will agree with your assessment to a point - and that point is when the legalism steps in to mandate these celebrations within the context of the Law of Moses as has been advocated here. And remember, the Lord commanded one specific act to be done in rememberance of Him - not the whole Law of Moses.
A big chunk of what you dismiss as 'legalism' redounds to our personal benefit. God's appointed times are for our benefit, not limitation, nor punishment. That is why the original church respected them, and why we will to if we are wise. Do we have to do it? No! But it is to our benefit.
Your protestations on this are sad Doug. Under the Law of Moses - where was the only place sacrifices were authorized to be conducted at for those feasts? What place did God chose (Deut 16:16)? 2Chron 7:12. Then show me from scripture where under the Law of Moses any other location was authorized to fulfill the command of Ex 17 and Deut 16:16, that is a command of the Law of Moses - not a tradition.
IT WAS A JEWISH TRADITION.
My this must touch a real nerve. Heaven forbid that the people should actually follow the command of God of Ex vs 17 and Deut 16. Until you can cite for me why/where this thrice yearly command could be fulfilled at a location other than the temple, I will not believe you Jewish tradition arguement.
And furthermore, these commands were given BEFORE there was a temple and BEFORE Israel was anywhere near Jerusalem.
Oh, so now you are telling me that the Law of Moses changed for the Israelites over time - that it's mandates changed over time? You hold that the Law must still be observed - my further question is WHICH LAW?
Are you honestly NOT able to tell the difference between Jewish tradition and scripture? Do you believe them to be one and the same???
Far be it for me to say exactly what you believe. Suffice it to say that three times you have failed to show me or anyone here WHY the command for all males to assemble on THREE specific feast days - in the bible - ordered by God is some how a tradition. Show from your scriptures that any alternative location was acceptable but the temple?
Again, there is NO scriptural command from the Lord to say his holy days must be observed in the temple at Jerusalem. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch.
The Law of Moses specified three (3) feasts to be observed at the temple, I've cited them for you. Tell me otherwise where all the men of Israel were to assemble as commanded by God on those three feasts.
After Paul became Christian he wasn't obligated to follow Jewish tradition. He knew scripture.
Ah, getting tradition mixed up with law I see. Well as soon as you can answer the Law questions then we can further sort out the traditions ones, ehhh?
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.
You, us, the children of Israel. WE are to proclaim WHERE we have our holy meetings, our convocations.
You violate the Law of Moses by taking that authorization upon yourself. That is not granted by God
Deut 16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he (God) shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
If you study those feasts Doug, there is only one place they can be properly celebrated - in the place God chooses, not us. :)
In the grand scheme of things, claims concerning the day of the week the resurrection occurred might only be of historical interest, but rebuttal of certain of these claims is certainly not out of place in a Judaizer thread entitled, "The Good Friday-Easter Sunday Question".
Cordially,
That cannot be done without violating the integrity of the scriptures Diego. On those feast days special offerings and sacrifices were commanded of Israel. They were an interigral part of observing them and cannot be simply waved away as you try to do. Passover required the families to sacrifice a lamb - it is not something they could ignore. The Levitical sacrifical law specified the Hows of the sacrifice, the Law of Moses (of which the Levitical sacrifical law was a component of) specified the whys. It was an integrated system.
'What does this rite mean to you?' 27 that you shall say, 'It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.' [Ex 12.26]
Passover - God instructed each family to take an unblemished year-old male lamb to their home on the tenth day of the first month, Nisan. This corresponds to the months of March and April. They were to examine the lamb for four days to see that it was perfect. On the fourth day at twilight (the beginning of the fifth day), they were to kill the lamb and take some of the lamb’s blood and place it on the two doorposts and the lintel of their house. That is how God commanded this feast to be celebrated under the Law of Moses - do you celebrate it this way - if not why not?
Pentecost - the main activity on the Feast of Pentecost was the presentation of a wave offering to the Lord at the temple, two loaves of baked bread with leaven (Lev. 23:15-21). Did you bring your lamb for sacrifice? Do you observe this in the way commanded in the Law of Moses? If not, why not.
Tabernacles - do you build a shelter (Sukkah) and live in it for the week? Offer your burnt offerings as commanded by the Law of Moses? If not, why not?
Thank you for recognizing that believers are not obligated to celebrate them. Once again, respect is a world separated away from celebrating them as obligated by the Law of Moses. Paul makes it quite clear in several places in the NT that believers are no longer under the Law of Moses, and that includes the obligations of the Feasts and festivals. A study of those show that they are tied inseparably. The NT is also very clear that ALL the Law of Moses if fulfilled and completed in Jesus Christ. Remembrance of those Jewish festivals by the early Church reflect that God changed them - Unleaven bread -> the Lord's supper; Passover ->Crucification of Christ. First Fruits - > Resurrection of Jesus, Pentecost -> the outpouring of Spirit and the start of the Church. They are type. Why celebrate that which has already been accomplished?
LOL!
If the reading of the word has not answered that question for you, what hope have I of accomplishing that?
Do you participate in Communion? I'm sure that you have, but just not in the way, or at the time that was appointed by the Lord. Passover is when the Lord, and his disciples and Apostles did. Does that help?
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