In Exodus 20 we read about the Ten Commandments which God gave to His people. The first four commandments deal with our relationship between us and God while the last six deal with how we get along with our fellow man. The fourth commandment introduces us to the Sabbath which is described in this verse as a weekly “anniversary” of the day when God rested after renewing the face of the earth 6000 years ago at the time that He created Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:1-3). In Exodus 20:8-11 we read:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it”.

Why is setting apart one day a week so important that God included it as one of His Ten Commandments? We read the following answer in the UCG booklet “The Ten Commandments”:

“Relationships take time. Every successful association demands time. No close relationship can succeed without it—no courtship, no marriage, no friendship. Our relationship with God is no exception…

“The Sabbath is a special day to concentrate on developing our spiritual relationship with God. Although it is a day of rest from our normal routines and we do need even physical rejuvenation, it is not a day for doing nothing, as some assume. On the contrary, the Sabbath is a special day on which we dramatically change the focus of our activity. God intended that it be a delightful period during which we busily draw closer to Him” (p.34, 33).

By keeping the Sabbath holy we celebrate God's creative work at the time of Adam and Eve. It reminds us on a weekly basis that we worship the great Creator of the Universe. Keeping God's seventh-day Sabbath every week reminds us that God is the Creator of all that exists, including all of humanity.

The word "Sabbath" means rest in Hebrew. Exodus 31:17 says that “on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” That word refreshed is an interesting one. It comes from the idea of a cool breeze that comes across your face and makes you feel rejuvenated. Well the Sabbath is just like that. It's a day to be refreshed. It's a day to be renewed. It's a day that reminds us of God's purpose for our life.

All of God's feast days are listed together in Leviticus 23, starting with the seventh-day Sabbath, a weekly feast day. In Leviticus 23:1-4 we read: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings'”.

An intimate part of keeping the sabbath holy is assembling for a holy convocation. A convocation is a commanded assembly or gathering of people. God commands our presence each sabbath in the same way that a court can command our appearance to be a witness in a court case unless we have a genuine reason such as sickness or distance.

God has commanded it because He knows we need regular encouragement and to regularly hear God's truth being taught to us to help us stick close to God. Without our minds being fed by God's values on this regular basis we quickly drift into following our natural desires and the ways of this world which are often the path of least resistance.

We may believe that it's important to set aside a whole day to devote to drawing closer to God but some may ask “Why not any day we choose to? Why does it have to be a specific day?” There are two reasons why only the seventh day of the week can be the true Sabbath day.

The first is that only the seventh day of the week is the weekly “anniversary” or memorial of when God rested from His creative work at the time that He created Adam and Eve. To keep it on any other day such as Sunday would be like a married couple celebrating their anniversary two months later [much like Queensland having its Queen's birthday holiday two months after the Queen's real birthday – April 21]. It loses its meaning when kept on a different day.

The second reason is that God specifically says that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:10). To truly honour God properly we have to worship Him the way that He wants us to worship Him, not the way that we choose (Deuteronomy 12:30-32).

In Leviticus 23:32 it says "from even unto even you shall celebrate your Sabbath." The Hebrew word for “even” in this verse is “ereb”. Deuteronomy 16:6 defines when even or "ereb" in the Hebrew is. "At the place which the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at even (Heb. ereb), AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN". In the Bible we see that God begins and ends days at sunset, not midnight or sunrise (like in ancient Egypt). At the end of each day in Genesis 1 we read: “So the evening and the morning were the first day.” The seventh-day Sabbath begins at Friday sunset and ends at Saturday sunset.

The Sabbath day is a test. How we react to this day and how we feel on this day reflects whether or not we love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our might and all our soul. In Exodus 31:13 we read: “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths [both the weekly Sabbath and the seven annual Sabbaths] you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”

“The Sabbath was also given as a sign to identify who are the people of God…The word 'sanctify' means to set apart for a holy use or purpose. On the seventh day of creation week, the Eternal sanctified—that is, He set apart for a holy use—the Sabbath day. The special Sabbath covenant also reveals that the Sabbath is a sign that the Eternal sanctifies His obedient people—sets them apart from other people—for His holy purpose” (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course – Lesson 24, p.4).

The Sabbath is an important sign identifying those who are true christians today. It is a real test command. The people of the world are willing to acknowledge the other nine commandments but the Sabbath command is the only one they positively rebel against. It is a test of obedience. It identifies those who have surrendered their will to God, who obey God regardless of persecution or cost! When we keep the Sabbath we understand that. Many have stood up for the Sabbath willing to leave jobs which required them to work on the Sabbath. It separates and identifies us and gives us an understanding of who God is and what God is doing on this earth.

In Isaiah 58:13 the Sabbath is called a delight. The word delight originally comes from a Hebrew word where you get the word luxury from, you get the word pleasant or soft or delicate. Now God is telling us that the Sabbath is something that brings a softness, a pleasantness or delight in our lives. The Sabbath is a luxury to the people of God.

This day is not a day that we establish our own righteousness on like the Jews. They became embroiled in their own do's and don'ts and they made the Sabbath a burden by their own traditions and not properly observing it as God intended. This is a day we seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

It is a day that God has given to us so we can withdraw from the treadmill and the distractions and the hassles and begin to realize there is meaning to life. We should make sure in our Christian life that we do understand why we were called and what it means to be a Christian in God's church and be refreshed in the clarity of that vision and that purpose. It is a day to be physically refreshed and to be refreshed in God's way of life and the purpose of human life.

After a long, hard week how refreshing and wonderful it is to sit down and relax on the Sabbath from all the hassles of the job. The Sabbath is a law of good health because it gives us a chance to rest from the stress and worries of life and one of the greatest problems today in health is the emotional stress and anxiety that people have.

By keeping the Sabbath holy we celebrate God's creative work at the time of Adam and Eve – “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11).

When Moses re-iterated the Ten Commandments to Israel shortly before they were to go into the Promised Land he said: “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God…And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:13-15).

Another meaning that was connected to keeping the Sabbath was for Israel to remember coming out of slavery in Egypt. As slaves they had no rest like the Sabbath. For the christian we can celebrate coming out of spiritual Egypt and the slavery of sin (Romans 6:16-18). It's good to share our stories of how we came out of the world and into the church. Everyone's story is different and interesting. If you grew up in the church make some effort every now and then to ask others in the church how they came into the church and learned about God's truth.

A third important meaning attached to the celebration of the Sabbath on a weekly basis is that is pictures the millennium when God's Kingdom will be brought to earth and mankind will finally experience “rest” from war, poverty and suffering. “God marked out six millennial days to allow man to indulge in the spiritual labour of sin, followed by a millennium of spiritual rest, under the enforced Government of God (The Wonderful World Tomorrow - What It Will Be Like, p.45-46).” Those born into God's family at that time when Christ returns will no longer have to labour any more fighting against the pulls of sin.

The apostle Paul used the analogy of the seven day week in explaining God's plan when in Hebrews 4:1-9 he said that there is a promise of a future rest or Sabbath for God's people. The last day of the week represents the rest at the end of man's rule - the millennium.

2] How do we keep the Sabbath holy?

We are told in Exodus 20:8 to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” We are to remember it and not to forget how important it is. Holy means something that has been separated to be used for God's purpose, whether it's a fallible human being called into the church or time in the case of the Sabbath. Herbert W. Armstrong wrote the following regarding God's Sabbath:

“The Sabbath is a space of TIME. God set it as that space of time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Whenever that time comes to us, we are in holy time! It is GOD's time, not ours!…We honour God by keeping holy those things that He has made holy!…

“[Like Moses being asked to take his shoes off when he came near God's presence in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-5)] God commands: 'Take your foot off My HOLY TIME! Quit trampling all over that which is HOLY and SACRED TO ME! Quit profaning MY HOLY THINGS -- whether it be MY name, My tithe of your income, or MY holy day'… You cannot KEEP a day HOLY, unless God has first made it holy, any more than you can keep cold water hot -- unless it has first been made hot! God made this space of time HOLY -- He commands you to keep it that way!” (Which Day is the Christian Sabbath, p.27).

One of the first points to keep in mind as to how to keep the Sabbath holy is to properly prepare for it. In Mark 15:42 we read, “Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath.” The day before the Sabbath was known as the preparation day where the Jews would do what needed to be done ahead of time before the Sabbath arrived.

“God told the Israelites to prepare ahead by doing any heavy cooking or baking the day before the Sabbath [Exodus 16:23]. Christians today should plan to have their work completed before sunset on the evening of the sixth day (Friday). The house should be cleaned, the dishes washed, and any heavy cooking or baking done before sunset so that the entire family can begin the Sabbath in an atmosphere of rest and worship—that it may be a day truly kept HOLY to God!” (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course – Lesson 24, p.14).

There are many other practical things that we can do beforehand so we won't be caught out on the Sabbath because we haven't done them, from filling up our petrol tank so we have enough fuel to get to church, buying basic groceries we'll need for the Sabbath such as milk and bread, etc., to ironing the clothes we'll need for the Sabbath.

Do we psychologically and mentally prepare for the Sabbath? Do we switch off from our worries, job problems and our own things when the Sabbath comes? It's not an easy thing to do at times but we need to treat God and His Sabbath with the proper respect that they deserve and make this day different and special. We should be conscious of the fact that it is holy time and not our time to do with as we please.

In Mark 2:27 we read: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” The Sabbath was made to be a blessing to benefit and help man. “[Jesus] acknowledge[d] that it was proper to rescue an animal that had fallen into a ditch on the Sabbath, and thus by implication handle other genuine emergencies that cannot wait until after the Sabbath to be resolved…(Luke 14:5, Matthew 12:9-13)…God wants us to use honest, sound judgment in applying the spirit and intent of what we can or should not do on His Sabbath day. Christ taught balance and wisdom and having the right attitude in observing the Sabbath.

“The Jews, steeped in physical rituals, could not understand the spiritual application of the Sabbath commandment. They would rescue an animal from a ditch on the Sabbath, but condemned Christ for healing an unfortunate human being on that day [Luke 14:1-6]! By adding their own traditions and interpretations, they had made the Sabbath a burden to keep” (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course – Lesson 24, p.14).

“The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, in its article on the Sabbath, describes how extreme these measures had become by Christ's day. The religious code regarding the Sabbath listed '39 principal classes of prohibited actions: sowing, ploughing, reaping, gathering into sheaves, threshing, winnowing, cleansing, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking...Each of these chief enactments was further discussed and elaborated, so that actually there were several hundred things a conscientious, law-abiding Jew could not do on the sabbath. For example, the prohibition about tying a knot was too general, so it became necessary to state what kind[s] of knots were prohibited and what kind not. It was accordingly laid down that allowable knots were those that could be untied with one hand'” (Sunset to Sunset - God's Sabbath Rest, p.15)

In Isaiah 58:13-14 we read the following principles on how to keep the Sabbath holy: “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath from doing your pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honourable and shall honour him not doing your own ways, nor finding your pleasure, nor speaking your own words. Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord.”
Notice that the emphasis is on God. There are three categories of things that we are to strive to avoid on the Sabbath – 1) Doing your own ways 2) Finding your own pleasure 3) Speaking your own words.

Our own ways has to do with our employment, studies and those things involved in helping us make a living or our physical maintenance. Finding our own pleasure involves our hobbies, sports and other personal interests while our own words means the everyday things we talk about that don't involve God.

“Should we pursue our own interests and pleasures on the Sabbath? He made this 24-hour period holy time! Employment, shopping, mowing the lawn and home maintenance are to be done on the previous six days of the week. Neither is the Sabbath the appropriate time for indulging in hobbies, sports and other special interests. Such activities take our minds away from God and the entire purpose for His Sabbath” (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course – Lesson 24, p.14).

Do we make a conscious effort to control what we talk about on the Sabbath or do we just talk about whatever comes naturally? God wants us to make some effort to control our conversation on the Sabbath. To truly keep the Sabbath in the spirit we should strive to focus our minds on God and the things of God on the Sabbath.

God wants us to delight in the Sabbath. We shouldn't focus on the things that we can't do but on the things we can do. The Sabbath allows us time to think more about God, to pray and to study the Bible and learn more about God's awesome purpose for our lives and how to achieve it! A walk through a natural setting is a wonderful way to get in touch with the great God who made the beautiful creation we see. Many families have special Sabbath traditions like having a special meal each Sabbath. Developing Sabbath traditions are a great way to help make the Sabbath a delight as God intended it to be.

When the Pharisees were trying to catch Jesus and accuse him of breaking the Sabbath by healing someone Jesus asked them this question: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” (Mark 3:4). By healing the man who had a withered hand Jesus answered the question by saying that it's lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Aside from service opportunities at church services, what other ways can we do good on the Sabbath? We can do things to encourage and cheer people up. We could visit those who are sick or members who might not get many visitors. If we put our minds to it we can think of many ways to brighten up people's day and help other people.

The Sabbath is a day which we focus on the values, the standards, the character of God we are to develop in our lives. We seek the character of God on this day. It also is a day in which we experience that which is talked about in Psalm 133:1: “Behold how good” - how delightful, how pleasant, how wonderful - “it is for brethren to dwell together in unity”. Isn't it wonderful to meet the love of God flowing when we meet one another at church services.

The Sabbath is a day on which we hear inspiring sermons from the ministry and a day in which we spend time with one another talking and enjoying one another's company and getting to know one another better. It's a day of wonderful, enjoyable fellowship. It's a day for considering God's works and His character of love. It's a day to be positive and it is one of the most wonderful blessings God has bestowed on mankind.

3] Why do the churches of the world keep Sunday?

The world's churches keep Sunday as the “christian” day of worship. Where did this practice come from? Did it come from the Bible? Notice this frank quote from a Catholic priest by the name of Cardinal Gibbon:

“Now the Scriptures alone do not contain all the truths which a Christian is bound to believe, nor do they explicitly enjoin all the duties which he is obliged to practice. Not to mention other examples. Is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday, and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify” (Faith of our Fathers).

If we look through the New Testament we see that he is correct in stating that the Bible says nothing about observing Sunday but instead supports the seventh-day Sabbath as the christian day of worship.

In Mark 2:28 Jesus said: “Therefore the Son of Man [Jesus] is also Lord of the Sabbath.” Luke records that Jesus kept the Sabbath and that it was His custom to do so. “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read” (Luke 4:16).

The apostle Paul also kept the Sabbath. We read the following in Acts 17:1-2: “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures.”

In Acts 13:42 we read: “So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged [Paul] that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” In Acts 18:4 we also read: “And he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.” Jesus, the apostles and the early New Testament church all kept the Sabbath.

Long before the birth of Christ the pagans were worshipping the sun on the first day of the week – Sunday. The move towards adopting Sunday by the Catholic Church was motivated by two things. The first was to distance themselves from the Jews. In the second century A.D. strong anti-Jewish persecution swept through the Roman Empire. The other thing that motivated the adoption of Sunday by the Catholic Church was to increase their numbers by mixing christian beliefs with pagan practices such as worshipping on Sunday. The change was justified by emphasizing that Sunday was the true Lord's Day, being the day they taught that Christ was resurrected on.

Historian Jesse Hurlbut in his book “The Story of the Christian Church” writes: “As long as the church was mainly Jewish, the Hebrew sabbath was kept; but as it became increasingly Gentile the first day GRADUALLY took the place of the seventh day” (p.45). Notice that it happened gradually. It wasn't by any command of Jesus Christ that the change took place and it should be noted that all the apostles were Jewish. Will Durant writes: “The serious temper of the Jewish Sabbath was transferred to the Christian Sunday that replaced it in the second century” (The Story of Civilization, p.599).

"The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D., enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday… with an exception in favour of those engaged in agricultural labour" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, art. 'Sunday'). The Emperor Constantine began his decree with the words “On the venerable day of the sun let all magistrates and people rest and let all workshops be closed.”

John Romer writes the following about the pagan infiltration into Christianity: “Similarly, 25 December, now Christ's birthday, was also the day of Sol Invictus' festival and Constantine's birthday. This festival was celebrated by cutting green branches and hanging little lights on them and presents were given out in the god's name. Sol's weekly festival Sol-day – Sunday – became the Christian Sabbath” (Testament: The Bible and History, p.231).

“About 365 A.D. the Council of Laodicea was called to settled among other matters, the Sabbath question! One of its most famous canons was the twenty-ninth, which reads thus:

"Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath but must work on that day, rather, honouring the Lord's Day if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ" (Nicene Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. XlX, 148).

“The force of the Roman State had already been utilized in 325 A.D. - after the Council of Nicea - to confiscate property and destroy the lives of any who obeyed God's command to keep the Passover. So now, in 365 A.D., the heavy hand of the State fell upon any who would be faithful in resting on the Sabbath and worshipping God as commanded in the Bible. Why give such a command if there were no true Christians observing the Sabbath?” (The Ultimate Source of All Supernatural Phenomena, p.84).

The Catholic Church believes that it had the authority to change the day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday based on Matthew 16:19 where Christ said to Peter: “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” They feel that the Pope, who is supposedly the successor to Peter (the first pope according to the Catholic Church), has the authority to change one of the Ten Commandments based on this binding and loosing power.

The Protestant churches never did properly “contend for the faith once delivered” (Jude 3) when they broke away from the Catholic Church. Sunday observance was just one example of following the pagan practices and beliefs of the Catholic Church. Catholic Monsignor Segur wrote: “The observance of Sunday by Protestants is a homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] Church” (Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, p.213).

In Isaiah 66:23 we read what will happen after Jesus Christ returns: “'And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,' says the Lord.” That binding and loosing power obviously doesn't include changing the Sabbath to the Sunday since the Sabbath will be kept in the millennium.

Since “Creation Week” was nearly 6 000 years how do we know that time hasn't been lost and that Saturday is truly the seventh day of the week? For starters, God is perfectly capable of keeping track of the weekly cycle. By the miracle of controlling when the manna fell during the Exodus, He revealed which day was the sabbath (Exodus 16). If the weekly cycle had been mixed up by the Jews after that then Jesus would have straightened things out when He was on earth but there was no need. He kept the same day as the Sabbath as the rest of the Jews.

“But could time have been 'lost' between then and now? After the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the Jews eventually migrated to all parts of the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Jews in China had no way of communicating with the Jews in Africa. Nor could the Jews in Europe communicate with other parts of the world. If the weekly cycle had been changed or mixed up, the Jews in one part of the world would be observing one day for the Sabbath, while the Jews in another part would be observing another day. But everywhere, in every nation on earth, we find that the Jews have always been observing the same day Jesus kept—the seventh day, Saturday!” (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course – Lesson 24, p.10).

4] What's wrong with Christmas and Easter?

Two of the world's biggest religious holidays are Christmas and Easter which are supposed to celebrate the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Are these festivals mentioned in the Bible, and, if they are not, is there anything wrong with keeping them?

Where did Christmas comes from? Most encyclopaedias will plainly show that Christmas was not celebrated by the early church but originated from pagan festivities that were given a “christian” veneer. Herbert W. Armstrong writes the following on the origin of Christmas:

“The word 'Christmas' means 'Mass of Christ', or, as it came to be shortened, 'Christ-Mass'…Since the celebration of Christmas has come to the world from the Roman Catholic Church, and has no authority but that of the Roman Catholic Church, let us examine the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, published by that church. Under the heading 'Christmas', you will find: 'Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church...the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt…Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas.'

“'Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1946 edition, has this: 'Christmas (i.e., the Mass of Christ)...Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church.' It was not instituted by Christ or the apostles, or by Bible authority. It was picked up afterward from paganism. The Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 edition, says: 'Christmas...It was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church A feast was established in memory of this event [Christ's birth] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ's birth existed'…

“How did this pagan custom creep into the Western Christian world? The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge explains it clearly, in its article on 'Christmas': 'How much the date of the festival depended upon the pagan Brumalia (Dec. 25) following the Saturnalia (Dec. 17-24), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the 'new sun'...cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence...The pagan festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner…Again from the Encyclopaedia Britannica: "Certain Latins, as early as 354, may have transferred the birthday from January 6th to December 25, which was then a Mithraic feast...or birthday of the unconquered SUN”…

“Jesus was not even born in the winter season! When the Christ-child was born 'there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night' (Luke 2:8). This never could have occurred in Judea in the month of December. The shepherds always brought their flocks from the mountainsides and fields and corralled them not later than October 15, to protect them from the cold, rainy season that followed that date” (The Plain Truth About Christmas, p.2-5, 3).

The implications from the Bible are that Christ was born around the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles. Some traditions say that He was born on the first day and circumcised on the Last Great Day (“the eighth day”) and that Jesus began to tabernacle with us (John 1:14) during the Feast of Tabernacles. We are told that there was no room at the inn in Bethlehem (Luke 2:7). Much of the accommodation in Jerusalem and nearby Bethlehem was possibly filled by people going to the Feast of Tabernacles.

In Egypt, Babylon, Rome and other places there was a seven-day festival celebrating the death of the old sun-god that occurred around the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) and following it was a great festival which celebrated the rebirth of the sun (as the days started to get longer again). Just as there is duality in much of God's plan there is often duality in Satan's counterfeit religion. Not only did they worship the sun-god in the heavens (celestial) but they also worshipped someone who was on the earth (terrestrial).

We read in Genesis 10 and 11 about Nimrod who was a great hunter, a powerful black man (son of Cush) and was the first great dictator after the Flood. He was the one responsible for building the Tower of Babel. He married a beautiful white woman named Semiramis. They exerted great influence over the ancient world and they and their son Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14) became the great trinity of the pagan religious world.

In Egypt they were known as Osiris, Isis and Horus. In India they were known as Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. In Rome they were known as Saturn, Venus and Jupiter (The Two Babylons, Chapter 2). They were worshipped by many names in the ancient world. Semiramis was known as the “Queen of Heaven”, Diana of Ephesus, and Ishtar (Easter) of Babylon. It would have been perfectly natural for Nimrod, to appropriate the title of the ancient sun-god, to himself to bolster his power.

Osiris (Nimrod) was said to have been hunted down and killed by Seth (possibly Noah's son Shem) and his wife Isis (Semiramis) claimed that he was reborn through their son Horus. This is the origin of the Mother (Madonna) and Child worship of the ancient world. Osiris' birthday was around the winter solstice and Isis claimed that Osiris would visit an evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it on his birthday.

"In midwinter, the idea of rebirth and fertility was tremendously important. In the snows of winter, the evergreen was a symbol of the life that would return in the spring, so evergreens were used for decoration” ( and Pa Del Re, p. 18).

“The Christmas tree, as we know it, only dates back a few centuries, though ideas about sacred trees we very ancient. An old Babylonish fable told of an evergreen tree which, sprang out of a dead tree stump. The old stump symbolized the dead Nimrod, the new evergreen tree symbolized that Nimrod had come to life again in Tammuz! Among the Druids the oak was sacred, among the Egyptians it was the palm, and in Rome it was the fir, which was decorated with red berries during the Saturnalia! The Scandinavian god Odin was believed to bestow special gifts at yuletide to those who approached his sacred fir tree.

“In at least ten Biblical references, the green tree is associated with idolatry and false worship (1 Kings 14:23, etc.) Since all trees are green at least part of the year, the special mention of 'green' probably refers to trees that are evergreen. 'The Christmas tree...recapitulates the idea of tree worship...gilded [gold] nuts and balls symbolize the sun...all of the festivities of the winter solstice have been absorbed into Christmas day...the use of holly and mistletoe from the Druidic ceremonies; the Christmas tree from the honors paid to Odin's sacred fir.'

“Taking all of this into consideration, it is interesting to compare a statement of Jeremiah with today's custom of decorating a tree at the Christmas season. 'The customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not' (Jeremiah 10:3-4)” (Babylon Mystery Religion, p.152-153).

Before we look at what the Bible has to say about using such customs to honour and worship Him let's look at where the festival of Easter comes from:

Notice what Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words says about Easter: "Pascha...mistranslated 'Easter' in Acts 12:4, KJV, denotes the Passover...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" (1985, p. 192, "Easter").

The Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us: "As at Christmas, so also at Easter, popular customs reflect many ancient pagan survivals - in this instance, connected with spring fertility rites, such as the symbols of the Easter egg and the Easter hare or rabbit" (15th edition, Macropaedia, Vol. IV, p. 605, "Church Year").

"The origin of the Easter egg is based on the fertility lore of the Indo-European races...The Easter bunny had its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. Hare and rabbit were the most fertile animals our forefathers knew, serving as symbols of abundant new life in the spring season" (Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, 1958, pp. 233)

According to James Bonwick: "Eggs were hung up in the Egyptian temples. Bunsen calls attention to the mundane egg, the emblem of generative life, proceeding from the mouth of the great god of Egypt. The mystic egg of Babylon, hatching the Venus Ishtar, fell from heaven to the Euphrates. Dyed eggs were sacred Easter offerings in Egypt, as they are still in China and Europe. Easter, or spring, was the season of birth, terrestrial and celestial" (Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought, pp. 211-212).

"Associated with Ishtar was the young god Tammuz, considered both divine and mortal...In Babylonian mythology Tammuz died annually and was reborn year after year, representing the yearly cycle of the seasons and the crops. This pagan belief later was identified with the pagan gods Baal and Anat in Canaan" (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, "Gods, Pagan").

Notice what The Encyclopaedia Britannica says about the early New Testament Church of God keeping the biblical festivals in a new and different way: "The sanctity of special times [such as Easter and Christmas] was an idea absent from the minds of the first Christians... [who] continued to observe the Jewish festivals [of Leviticus 23], though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed" (vol. 8, p. 828, 11^th edition).

Polycarp taught observance of the Passover as the early Church had observed it. Eusebius said Polycarp did so because this was the way "he had always observed it with John the disciple of our Lord, and the rest of the apostles, with whom he associated" (Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, 1995, pp. 210-211).

Does it really matter if we follow some of the traditions associated with Christmas and Easter? Yes, it does matter to God. It isn't that God is annoyed with evergreen trees, rabbits and eggs. After all, He created them but when traditions and customs become substitutes for the truth they lead people away from true understanding.

Some might say, “Well, I'm not doing it for a pagan god, I'm doing it to honour and worship the true God.” Can pagan customs honour God? God makes it very clear that He doesn't want His people mixing their worship of Him with pagan ideas. In Deuteronomy 12:29-32 He says:

“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 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.”

Jesus said in John 4:24 that “those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” We can't worship Him anyway we want to. He has given us seven great festivals on which to worship Him along with the weekly sabbath which are much more enjoyable than the world's cheap substitutes of Christmas and Easter.

5] When was Christ crucified and resurrected?

Does it seem strange to you that mainstream Christianity believes that Christ was resurrected three days and three nights after His crucifixion yet at the same time they believe He was crucified on Friday afternoon and rose on Sunday morning? Any second grader could tell you that there is only one day and two nights between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning.

When asked to give the people a sign that He was the Messiah, Jesus gave this sign as the only proof that He was the Messiah: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:39-40).

In Jonah 1:17 we read: "And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." It wasn't three day and/or night periods (36 hours), it was three days AND three nights. Ralph Woodrow writes the following about when Christ was resurrected:

“Since there are twelve hours in a day and twelve hours in a night (John 11:9-10), if we figure a full 'three days and three nights', this would equal 72 hours. But was the time element exactly 72 hours? Jesus was to be in the tomb for 'three days and three nights' and rise 'after three days' (Mark 8:31). We see no reason to figure this as any less than a full 72 hours. On the other hand, if he was to be raised from the dead 'in three days' (John 2:19), this could not be any more than 72 hours. To harmonize these various statements, it does not seem unreasonable to assume that the time period was exactly 72 hours. After all, God is a God of EXACTNESS. He does everything right on schedule. Nothing is accidental with him…

“If the resurrection took place at the same time of day as when Jesus was buried - only three days later - this would place the resurrection close to sundown, not sunrise, as is commonly assumed. A sunrise resurrection would have required an extra night - three days and four nights. This was not the case, of course. Those who came to the tomb at sunrise, instead of witnessing the resurrection at that precise time, found that the tomb was already empty (Mark 16:2). John's account tells us that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb when it was yet DARK on the first day of the week and Jesus was NOT there (John 20:1-2). The gospel writers tell of several different visits made by the disciples to the tomb on that first day of the week. In EVERY instance, they found the tomb EMPTY!” (Babylon Mystery Religion, p.136-137).

If we work back three days and three nights from just before sunset on Saturday when He was resurrected we have to conclude that He was crucified on Wednesday afternoon and buried just before sunset on Wednesday.

In John 19:30-31 we read: “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”

The Sabbath the day after Christ was crucified was a high day – it was an annual Sabbath – the first Day of Unleavened Bread (The 15^th of Nisan, the first month). The night before Christ was crucified He kept the Passover (Luke 22:8-20). This was the night part of the 14^th of Nisan, the first month. Later during the day part of the same day that they ate the Passover meal He was crucified, becoming the Passover lamb slain for us so that God might pass over our sins (1 Corinthians 5:7).

In the year that Christ was crucified, 30 A.D., the Passover, when He was crucified, fell on a Wednesday and the first Day of Unleavened Bread (the high Sabbath) fell on a Thursday. The women bought and prepared spices for His burial on the Friday after the annual Sabbath (Mark 16:1) and then rested on the weekly Sabbath (Luke 23:56) before going to the tomb on the first day of the week to find that He had already risen.

Since Christ died and was resurrected three days and three nights later why did the Catholic Church make the move to teach that Christ was crucified on a Friday? It goes back to the spring fertility festival which became Easter in the western world. Friday comes from “ ” day. was the Norse name of the ancient fertility goddess known as Venus in Rome and Ishtar in Babylon (The worship of this mother goddess was transferred by the Catholics to Mary which is why she is so worshipped by them).

Friday was the sacred day of Ishtar/Venus. Because of the large number of eggs they lay, the fish was the symbol of this sexual fertility goddess and this is why Catholics have the tradition of eating fish instead of red meat on Good Friday (Babylon Mystery Religion, p.142-143). Now that we have seen through the paganism attached to the festivals of Christmas and Easter let's move on and look at the God's true Holy Days and how they teach us about God's great plan of salvation for all mankind.

6] What are God's Holy Days?

God gave to Israel His Feast days recorded for us in Leviticus 23. These festivals to Israel celebrated their national deliverance at the time of the Exodus by God's hand and also showed gratitude to God for the two major seasonal harvests each year.

As with many things of God the lessons of the Holy Days are dual in nature – they teach both physical lessons as well as spiritual lessons. They also teach us tremendous lessons about the great master plan God is working out here on earth through mankind.

“They reveal the framework that organizes the major events of God's plan in a logical order…When God freed the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, He revealed to them, in addition to the weekly Sabbath, His seven annual festivals. The apostle Paul tells us these observances are 'a shadow of things to come' (Colossians 2:16-17) - that is, they foreshadow and reveal the basics of His plan of salvation.

“God originally gave them as harvest festivals - and for an appropriate reason. The writers of the Bible often compare the spiritual harvest of human lives to the agricultural harvests that physically sustain life. Therefore we find harvest analogies and parables to represent aspects of God's plan to bring humanity to repentance. God's goal is to harvest human beings - you and me - into His Kingdom.

“Jesus compared the work God began through Him to a harvest. Christ told His disciples: 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together' (John 4:34-36)” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – 'God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p.2).

In Leviticus 23:2 God says about these seven festivals (as well as the weekly sabbath): “The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.”

Notice that they are the Feasts of the Lord – they are not just Jewish feasts. These are the Lord's feasts!

He then proceeds to give the details of each of God's feasts starting with the weekly feast of the sabbath and then proceeding on with the seven annual feasts of God.

In Colossians 2:16-17 the apostle Paul to the primarily Gentile church at Colosse tells them to not let anyone hassle them about the way that they observed the sabbath, new moons and festivals and then he goes on to say that these "are a shadow of things to come."

The sabbath and many of the annual feasts (particularly the latter feast days) picture future events in the plan of God when God will intervene in world events and bring His kingdom to the earth. There is great symbolism to the sabbath, the new moons and the festivals of God.

We've already covered the three major meanings behind the sabbath day. We will soon go deeply into the great symbolism behind each of the Holy Days. Before we do let's look briefly at the symbolism of the new moons.

We are told in Genesis 1:14 that God set the sun and moon in the heavens to divide time. We are told in Leviticus 23:5 that the Passover is held at the beginning of the 14th day of the first month. This first month on God's sacred calendar is not January as it is on our calendar which came from the Romans. The first month on God's calendar is the month of Nisan or Abib (meaning green ears) which starts in spring in the northern hemisphere. God's calendar starts around March / April on our Roman calendar.

The word month comes from the moon and originally a month was the time that it took for the moon to go through all its phases and revolve around the earth (from new moon to new moon).

Originally this period was 30 days when the length of the year was exactly 360 days. In the book of Genesis we read that the Flood lasted 150 days and went from the 17th of the second month to the 17th of the seventh month ? 5 months of exactly 30 days each (Genesis 7:11, 8:3-4). The length of the prophetic year in nd Revelation that is used is 360 days and not our current 365 ¼ days. The number of degrees in a circle (360) is also another remnant of that earlier time in man's history when there were 360 days in the year.

Currently the time it takes for the moon to go through all its phases and revolve around the earth (from new moon to new moon) is 29 ½ days and so the months on God's calendar alternate between 29 and 30 days each.

Now because 29 ½ doesn't evenly fit into 365 days, an extra month (Adar 2) is added about once every three years so the months keep up with the seasons. This is why the Feast of Tabernacles alternates each year between mid October, early October and late September. The Roman calendar we use today was invented much later and does not follow the phases of the moon.

What is the symbolism behind the new moons? Also, why start the month at the new moon and not the full moon which might, at first, seem more logical given it is easier to see?

In the church we have often taught the analogy that the Sun can be compared to God (Malachi 4:2) while the moon, which has no light of its own but can radiate a lot of the Sun's light, can be compared to the church.

If we follow that analogy further then the new moon would symbolize the time when those of us in the church were in darkness without God. Just as over the course of the month the moon takes on more and more of the brightness of the Sun, we too, in our christian walk must take on more and more of the light of God's word and character.

The lesson of this analogy helps to explain why God starts the month at the darkest period (new moon) and also why God's day starts at sunset (Genesis 1:5, 8, Leviticus 23:32) with the darkest part (night) before the daylight half.

On the new moon two silver trumpets were blown in ancient Israel (Numbers 10:10). The trumpets are a symbol of alarm and war (Numbers 10:9). The new moons are never listed as sabbaths in the Bible and there is no clear directive stating the new moons are a holy convocation. The closest thing to it is that Israel, when they were on the move in the wilderness, would assemble at the tent of meeting when they heard the trumpets being blown (Numbers 10:3).

Even though the primarily Gentile Colossian church wouldn't have kept the new moon as a sabbath, it appears as if they were still carrying on the Jewish tradition of assembling together on the night of the new moon, though officially they are never referred to as holy convocations. This tradition will gain a resurgence in the millennium (Isaiah 66:23) when the millennial temple is built.

At the very least now, the new moon is a regular reminder to us and a good time to reflect on the time when we were in darkness without God and when we answered the call (symbolized by the trumpet) that alarmed us of our sins and our need for God's light in our lives. It reminds us of the need to rededicate ourselves to taking on more and more of the light of God's word and character in our christian walk just as moon gets brighter as it takes on more of the Sun's light over the course of the month.

Let's now move onto God's annual Holy Days and explore the symbolism of each of them which cover the great plan of salvation that God has for mankind.

“Seven annual festivals are listed in the Scriptures:

“(1) the Passover, (2) the Feast of Unleavened Bread, (3) the Feast of Firstfruits (Pentecost), (4) The Feast of Trumpets, (5) the Day of Atonement, (6) the Feast of Tabernacles and (7) the Last Great Day. Each focuses on a specific aspect of God's plan.

“Occurring during the physical harvests of life-sustaining food products, God's festivals all point to aspects of His spiritual harvest of humanity to eternal life. As is so often the case in the Scriptures, God uses physical things to help us better understand spiritual truths. Jesus Himself frequently drew physical analogies to teach spiritual principles” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – 'God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p.3).

PASSOVER

Leviticus 23:5 - “On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover.”

Exodus 12:3, 6-8 - “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb…Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.'”

The Passover was to be a yearly reminder of God's intervention in delivering the Israelites' firstborn from death at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 12:26-27). It also pictured, in advance, the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the sins of all mankind who is called "our Passover" lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7 and 1 Peter 1:18-19.

The sparing of the Israelites' firstborn from the death angel through the shed blood of lambs on that first Passover is a symbolic type of us being spared today from the eternal penalty of sin (Romans 6:23) through Christ's sacrifice.

“What did the Passover service mean to the ancient Israelites? - "And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians'" (Exodus 12:26-27, NIV)...

“Should Christians continue observing the New Testament Passover service? – 'For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy [irreverent] manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord' (1 Corinthians 11:23-27, NIV).

“Paul shows that the earliest Christians not only observed this festival annually - with its new symbols of bread and wine that Christ instituted to represent His suffering and death…Since it is a memorial, this God-given event should be observed only once every year as God has commanded (Numbers 9:2-3) - not at our discretion nor on some weekly or monthly schedule. This festival should be observed on the exact annual date that is the anniversary of Christ's death for our sins - the annual Passover festival…and in the proper manner as described above” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – 'God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p.3, 5-6).

The Passover is held at the beginning of the 14^th day of the first month. This first month is not January. It is the month of Nisan or Abib (meaning green ears) on God's calendar which starts in spring in the northern hemisphere.

The Israelites were told to pick out a lamb on the 10^th day and hold it for four days (Exodus 12:3). During those four days it was very easy to become attached to it with it in their household. To have to kill it after those four days was to be an emotional experience to help them to feel what it was like for God to give up His only Son (John 3:16) in order to pass over our sins.

We are told not to take the Passover unworthily but to examine ourselves beforehand (1 Corinthians 11:27-28) and make sure we are doing our best to follow God's ways. A great price was paid to make forgiveness available to us and God wants us not to take it lightly. In Israel no uncircumcised person was to take the Passover (Exodus 12:48). We saw in the last lesson that circumcision, as a sign of God's covenant people, has been replaced with baptism and so only those who have been baptized take the Passover today.

Before Christ ate His last Passover before He was crucified He washed the disciples feet (John 13) and said: “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). By washing their feet, Jesus was illustrating to His disciples that He had come to earth to serve mankind. Shortly afterward, He proved the extent of His extreme service to this world when He gave His very life for the sins of all mankind. The foot washing ceremony that takes place before the bread and wine is taken depicts the attitude of humility and service to others that Christ wants all of us to have plus it is symbolic of our being cleansed from our contact with the world over the past year (John 13:9-10).

When Christ kept His last Passover before He was about to be killed He changed the symbols from the Passover lamb, which was an Old Testament type of Christ's sacrifice to the new symbols of the bread and wine which picture Christ's body and His blood which was sacrificed for us.

The bread pictures four things -:

·   The literal body of Christ which was broken for us (Matthew 4:4, John 6:48). We need to use God's Word, the Bible, to grow in grace and knowledge and be more like God.
·   The Word of God which is the bread of life (Matthew 4:4, John 6:48). We need to use God's Word, the Bible, to grow in grace and knowledge and be more like God.
·   The church - "We, being many, are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread" (1 Corinthians 10:17). We should be thankful for the body of the church - our brethren who we are called together with. We should have a renewed sense of dedication to serve our brethren and strive to resolve any differences we might have and be unified with one another in the church.
·   The mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-8) and having the same love and concern that Christ showed when He was here on earth.

We are told that "by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). The Passover also reminds us of the blessing of healing and the forgiveness of our breaking the physical laws which cause sickness and disease. Following on from that, we should examine ourselves and how we treat our bodies and be determined to glorify God in our bodies by living a healthy life (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

We know that Christ's flesh was torn and broken but why did God make sure that none of His bones would be broken (John 19:33-36), as is pictured by the Passover lamb being roasted whole with no bones broken (Exodus 12:43-46)? Now, our bones make up our inner framework and picture our inner strength. I suspect the importance of God ensuring His bones weren't broken is a type of Christ's inner strength of character, through God's spirit, not being broken through the ordeal that He went through. He did not compromise an inch with sin through all that He went through (1 Peter 2:21-23). By doing so He left a very powerful example for us to follow in not compromising with God's way of life as we go through trials.

By symbolically ingesting Christ we focus our minds also on allowing Him to live His life in us. It takes self-discipline to submit to God's will and not live our own way, especially when our will clashes with God's will. Ultimately the meaning of Christ's sacrifice to us should be to "purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14).

The wine pictures Christ's shed blood (Luke 22:20) to cover all our horrible past sins which gives us a fresh start. We are then forgiven of our past sins, though mindful we have to change our life from here on. The wine is also called the cup of blessing in 1 Corinthians 10:16. It reminds us of the many blessings we are to be thankful to God for in this life and the loyalty He has shown us in blessing us with all we have, including His forgiveness. It reminds us of our need to show that loyalty in return to Him in heartfelt obedience.

The shed blood of our Saviour, the cup which we drink, symbolizes sharing in His suffering in this life with the many trials we go through (Matthew 20:23). We are to be living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) poured out like a drink offering in service and sacrifice (Philippians 2:17) for God and others as Christ has done for us. As God has forgiven us through Christ, we need to forgive others for their faults (Matthew 6:14-15) and even forgive ourselves for our own sins as well.

Christ said that He would not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom comes (Matthew 26:29). This is a type of the High Priest, which Christ is for us now (Hebrews 4:14-15), not drinking wine when he is serving in the Temple of God (Leviticus 10:8-11). Wine is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

For those who weren't able to keep the Passover through sickness or distance or other reasons there was the second Passover which was kept on the fourteenth day of the second month. We read of it in Numbers 9:9-12:

“the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, saying: If anyone of you or your posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the Lord's Passover. On the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.'”

FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

Leviticus 23:6-8 - “And on the fifteenth day of the same [first] month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.”

Exodus 12:15-17 – “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread anciently symbolized the exodus of the Israelites and their deliverance by God out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:17). For those of us in the church it pictures putting sin out of lives as well as developing the character of God (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

Leaven or yeast is what is put into bread to make it rise. Leaven is compared to sin (1 Corinthians 5:8) because just as leaven puffs up bread so does sin puff us up spiritually. God does not want us puffed up with our own importance but humble and willing to serve others. Once we have repented of our sins and been forgiven by God, we must strive to forsake sin completely. We must come out of this world's ways of sin (Revelation 18:4) - just as Israel left Egypt which is also a type of sin (Hebrews 11:25-26, Revelation 11:8). We must be striving to put all sin away from us. That is our part in God's Master Plan for us.

In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul had to deal with a problem in the church at Corinth. They allowed a man who was continuing to committing a terrible sexual sin and not trying to deal with it to continue attending church. Most of the church knew about the problem and Paul knew it would send the wrong message to the rest of the church that it is OK to sin like that. By not putting out the sinner from the congregation He realized that others in the church might also commit such sins and think they could get away with it. He connected an important lesson from the Passover and Unleavened Bread festival season that they were in to the problem that they had in their church. He wrote:

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven [put the sinner and their own sins out], that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened [they had physically deleavened their homes but they needed to also be spiritually unleavened and not puffed up]. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

“Paul commanded the Corinthian Christians - mostly gentiles (non-Israelites) - to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. His instructions show that Christians from non-Jewish communities and cultures kept the Days of Unleavened Bread. Setting an example for all Christians today, these Jews and non-Jews observed these days in accordance with God's laws” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p.6).

“The church at Corinth was obviously and unmistakably keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread, to which Paul repeatedly alluded. However, Paul used the Corinthians' faithful obedience in keeping the feast physically (removing leaven from their homes) as a basis to encourage them to celebrate this feast with proper understanding of its spiritual intent.

“Today removing leaven from our homes for seven days reminds us that we, too, through prayer and God's help and understanding, must recognize, expel and avoid sin. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is thus a time of personal reflection. We should meditate on our attitudes and conduct and ask God to help us recognize and overcome our shortcomings” (God's Holy Day Plan, p.22).

We have to remember that it is not called the Feast of not eating Leavened Bread but the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Not only do we need to put sin out of our lives but we also have to put on God's character. We need to develop all of the fruits of God's spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

In 1 Corinthians 5:8 Paul talks about the unleavened bread of sincerity of truth and sincerity. Here are two specific qualities we can look at in our own lives at this time. Do we really speak and live the truth and with sincerity and not hypocrisy (saying one thing but doing another)?

In Deuteronomy 16:3 we read about two other reasons why God told Israel to eat unleavened bread and abstain from leaven. Firstly we are told that they didn't have leaven because they left in haste and secondly, it was called the bread of affliction in the same verse reminding them of the bitter affliction of slavery that God had delivered them from.

What are the lessons for us today? Just as Israel left in haste from Egypt, which is a type of sin, we have to put sin out of lives with urgency. We can't fool around with sin. If we stay in a sinful environment too long it will overtake us and enslave us. Paul tells us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). If we let Satan and sin to get a foot in the door they will push open the whole door. That's why we cannot afford to compromise even a little. We are also told to beware of the spiritual leaven of false teachers (Matthew 16:6-12).

There are three lessons that we can learn from the meaning of the bread of affliction. Firstly, it pictures the trials that we have to suffer in this life (Acts 14:22) to have eternal life. That reminds us that if we want anything worthwhile, such as eternal life, we have to work hard and even suffer for it.

Secondly, it pictures what Christ had to suffer for us (1 Peter 2:21) and the last profound lesson of the bread of affliction is the lesson that SIN HURTS! That is something we have to believe not just in our minds but deep in our hearts as well. How much we believe deep in our heart that sin hurts is shown in the choices that we make each day. Sometimes we love our sins a lot more than we should.

There are lessons that we learn from the rituals of de-leavening our homes, abstaining from leaven and eating unleavened bread. Do we think about them as we go through them? Obviously de-leavening our homes shows we have to thoroughly put sin out from every nook and cranny we can get to. It teaches us that God's way of life is not a smorgasbord. We can't pick and choose. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). We can ask ourselves, "What areas am I still holding back from God?"

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether certain things contain leaven or not. This can teach us the lesson of avoiding the grey areas. Sometimes we accidentally eat something leavened. This shows us how easy it is to sin (Hebrews 12:1) and how much we need God's help to avoid sin.

Sometimes we find leaven during the feast we missed when de-leavening just like we find hidden sins in our life which have to be put away immediately. We have to eat unleavened bread every day - seven days shall you eat it (Exodus 12:15). This teaches us our need to come to God seeking His help and power every day and be renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Seven is the number of completeness, teaching us that we need to put sin out of our lives completely.

“[In 1 Corinthians 10:1-4] Paul compares a Christian's deliverance from sin through the sacrifice and assistance of Christ to Israel's deliverance from the Egyptian army at the Red Sea [which probably occurred on the final day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread]…

“After we are justified by Christ's sacrifice at the time of baptism, we must be led out of sin and into a righteous pattern of life just as Israel was led out of its bondage during the same Days of Unleavened Bread. This festival represents the work of the living, resurrected Christ directly leading and assisting us in overcoming sin” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p.6)

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread the Israelites commemorated the wave sheaf offering on the first day of the week that fell during the Feast. In Leviticus 23:10-11 we read: “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.'”

The wave sheaf was the very first sheaf of wheat that was harvested in Israel during the early harvest which concluded at the feast of Pentecost seven weeks later. The first harvest was the smaller of the two annual harvests. Pentecost is also known as the Feast of Firstfruits. The wave sheaf was the first of the firstfruit harvest. Those of us in the church are the firstfruits of salvation before the later greater harvest of souls in the millennium. Christ is called the firstborn from the dead in Colossians 1:18. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 we see that Christ is the first of the firstfruits and the wave sheaf that was waved at the very beginning of the early harvest represented Jesus Christ.

The Sabbath before the wave sheaf offering is the memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ who rose near the end of the Sabbath. He rose to heaven and was accepted as the true wave sheaf offering - the first of the firstfruits - on the day after.

Jesus said to Mary Magdalene after she recognized Him: “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” (John 20:17). Later on the first day of the week, after He beamed up to heaven and back and was accepted by God, He allowed the disciples to touch him (John 20:19-29). On the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread it's worthwhile to take time to remember the resurrection of Christ which occurred on that day and all that it means for mankind.

PENTECOST

Leviticus 23:15-21 – “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath…And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.”

Pentecost was a celebration of thanksgiving for the first small harvest for Israel. In the plan of God we, in the church, are the first small harvest of souls of all humanity (James 1:18).

“Earlier we saw Passover symbolizing Christ's giving of Himself for us so our sins could be forgiven. We also learned how the Days of Unleavened Bread teach us that we must remove and avoid sin, whether in actions or attitudes. The next Holy Day, Pentecost, builds on this important foundation.

“This festival is known by several names, which derive from its meaning and timing. Also known as the Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16), it represents the firstfruits (Numbers 28:26) gathered as the result of the labour of those who completed the spring grain harvests in ancient Israel (Exodus 23:16). It is also called the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22), with this name coming from the seven weeks plus one day (50 days in all) that are counted to determine when to celebrate this festival (Leviticus 23:16).

[Pentecost is seven weeks (49 days) FROM the day after the Sabbath when the wave sheaf was offered (Leviticus 23:15, Deuteronomy 16:9-10) AND fifty days TO the day after seventh Sabbath – a Sunday (Leviticus 23:16). Recall that Christ was resurrected on the Sabbath AND He ascended to heaven to be accepted by God the Father on a Sunday.]

“Similarly, in the New Testament, which was written in Greek, this festival is known as Pentecost (Pentekostos in the original), which means 'fiftieth' (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 'Pentecost')…

“God chose the first Pentecost after Jesus Christ's resurrection to pour out the Holy Spirit on 120 believers (Acts 1:15). 'Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues [languages], as the Spirit gave them utterance' (Acts 2:1-4)…

“From this pivotal point, God's Spirit has been available to all who truly repent and are properly baptized. The Day of Pentecost is an annual reminder that God poured out His Spirit to establish His Church, the group of believers who are led by His Spirit…

“Humanly speaking, no matter how hard we try not to, we still sin (1 Kings 8:46; Romans 3:23). Acknowledging this inherent weakness of humanity, God lamented in Deuteronomy 5:29, 'Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments that it might be well with them and with their children forever!'

“Here God explains that humankind has a heart problem. Academic knowledge of the law does not enable us to think like God. Becoming godly in our thoughts, attitudes and actions is beyond the comprehension and ability of men and women without an additional ingredient: God's Spirit…

“God's Spirit within us identifies us and sanctifies us - sets us apart as Christians. 'If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,' wrote Paul, 'he is not His', and 'as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God' (Romans 8:9, 14).

“Paul also referred to the brethren as those 'who have the firstfruits of the Spirit' (verse 23). He alluded to several first-century Christians as the firstfruits of God's calling (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15)…Few people understand that God follows a systematic plan, symbolized by His Holy Days, to save all humanity by offering all people eternal life in His Kingdom. In this world we are simply at the beginning of the harvest for the Kingdom of God…When God founded His Church by imparting His Spirit to certain beli the Day of Pentecost in A.D. 31, He was expanding His spiritual harvest. It was the beginning of what Joel prophesied, that God will ultimately pour out His Spirit on 'all flesh' (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:14-17).

“This divine power allows us to be 'led by the Spirit of God' (Romans 8:14). It was this same power that transformed the lives of the early Christians and is the power working in the Church today. Paul told Timothy that God's Spirit is a 'spirit of...power and of love and of a sound mind' (2 Timothy 1:7). Pentecost serves as an annual reminder that our Creator still works miracles, granting His Spirit to the firstfruits of His spiritual harvest, empowering them to carry out His work in this world” (God's Holy Day Plan, p. 24-29).

We read in the New Testament that on at least two occasions, Paul carefully arranged his schedule according to where he wanted to be on the Day of Pentecost. In Acts 20:16 we read: "For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost" and in 1 Corinthians 16:8 Paul wrote: "But I [Paul] will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost."

The church in Ephesus was primarily a Gentile church. Just as Paul told the Gentile Christians in Corinth to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, here is another indication that early Christians, Jew and gentile alike, kept God's annual festivals.

At Pentecost we focus on how much we need God's spirit and what it does for us as God's down payment or deposit to us of eternal life (Ephesians 1:14). Pentecost is a day to reflect on developing the many qualities of God's Holy Spirit. Various analogies used for the Holy Spirit in the Bible help us to better understand some of those qualities. Christ saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove when He was baptized (Matthew 3:16) symbolizing the gentleness of God (Matthew 10:16). On the Day of Pentecost when the church began the Holy Spirit manifested itself in the form of fire (Acts 2:1-2) which is a symbol of zeal and energy (Revelation 3:19). At the same time it came as a mighty rushing wind. Wind is another symbol of power.

Jesus also described the Holy Spirit as living water (John 7:38-39). Water is something that cleanses and soothes us. Do people feel refreshed when they come in contact with us? Light is another symbol of the Holy Spirit (Revelation 4:5). We are to shine as good examples – lights in a darkened world (Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:15). The Holy Spirit is symbolized as the breath of life (John 20:22) or spiritual life. The Holy Spirit is also symbolized as oil (Matthew 25:8). Oil is a healing or soothing agent. Do we hurt or do we help and soothe others with our words and actions?

According to Jewish tradition God gave Israel the Ten Commandments on the Day of Pentecost and made the old covenant with Israel who became His holy people. Israel is called His firstfruits in Jeremiah 2:3 – “Israel was holiness to the Lord, the firstfruits of His increase.” Pentecost is also a time to think of how God is going to first use the physical nation of Israel as a model nation in the millennium to teach the rest of the world God's ways (Zechariah 8:23).

The Jews traditionally read the book of Ruth on this day, a book that is a type of the future marriage of the church and Christ. Just as the apostles had to wait in Jerusalem to receive power from God's spirit (Luke 24:49) it teaches us that we have to wait on God to help us and deliver us from the trials of sin and the world.

The new covenant is being made with spiritual Israel – the church – where God's laws are not written on stone but on the hearts of those God is calling today (2 Corinthians 3:3). Pentecost was the birthday of the church (Acts 2) when the Holy Spirit was given and the new covenant began with spiritual Israel. It is a time to think of how we can contribute to unity in the church and be of one accord (Acts 2:1) just like the church was at Pentecost. It's also a time to think of how we can each support the church and it's Work of reaching the world with the good news of the Kingdom of God and salvation.

Even though the Church of God had its birth on the Day of Pentecost, the Feast of Pentecost was held at the end of the first harvest after beginning seven weeks earlier when the wavesheaf was offered. The seven weeks probably also represent the seven eras of God's church over the last 2000 years.

“The festivals that follow Pentecost point to God's plan for bringing the rest of humanity to repentance. The aspects of God's plan represented by the [first three] festivals - Passover, Unleavened Bread and Pentecost - have already occurred. But the prophetic implications of the last four festivals…are yet to be fulfilled” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p. 7-8).

FEAST OF TRUMPETS

Leviticus 23:24-25 – “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it”

The Feast of Trumpets pictures the time known as the Day of the Lord when the seven trumpet plagues of the Book of Revelation will occur (Revelation 8, 9, 16) and to the return of Jesus Christ at the seventh trumpet to rule all nations (Revelation. 11:15-18). It also points us to the joyous time when Christians, living and dead (1 Corinthians 15:51-53, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), will receive eternal life at the first resurrection and be born into the Family of God.

The Feast of Trumpets represents that pivotal time in God's plan when He will bring this present evil age to an end and establish His rule and government over humanity. It is the Feast of Trumpets (plural) picturing the whole of the Day of the Lord and how God is going to discipline this world and bring this world to repentance.

“The Feast of Trumpets is observed on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar - falling in the autumn in the northern hemisphere, in September or October. This festival, today known as Rosh Hashanah by Jews [meaning head of the year], also begins the Jewish civil year. In ancient times Israel celebrated it with an emphasis on the blowing of trumpets, the primary method of announcing a gathering of the people or warning them of impending danger or war” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p. 9).

“God instructed ancient Israel in the appropriate use of trumpets to communicate important messages. The sounding of one trumpet meant a meeting of the leaders of Israel. Two trumpets sounded to call a gathering of all of the people (Numbers 10:3-4). God also used a trumpet to herald His meeting with Israel when He descended upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16).

“Trumpets could also sound a warning. Numbers 10:9 states, 'When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets.' In this case the trumpets resounded a warning of impending danger and imminent warfare.

“Trumpets could also furnish a festive sound: 'Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets...and they shall be a memorial for you before your God' (Numbers 10:10). With their ability to transmit sound over great distances, trumpets were excellent instruments for attracting people's attention” (God's Holy Day Plan, p. 34).

Trumpets were used for sounding a warning people of danger and this day reminds us of our job, as a church, to warn this world of the impending great tribulation (Ezekiel 33:1-9, Amos 3:6, Isaiah 58:1). Trumpets were also blown as a sound of peace or end of strife (2 Samuel 2:28). When Christ comes back there will finally be peace on earth and not only that an end to the struggle in our lives against sin when we will be resurrected to immortality.

“Notice Paul's description of the return of Jesus Christ: 'For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air' (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

“Paul also spoke of the day when the firstfruits pictured by Pentecost will be resurrected to immortal life. In 1 Corinthians 15:52 he says this will happen 'in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed'" (God's Holy Day Plan, p. 34-35).

Trumpets were also blown signifying the crowning of a king (1 Kings 1:34). This day pictures the crowning of Christ as king over all the earth (Revelation 11:15). Israel will also be re-gathered at the sound of the trumpet (Isaiah 27:12-13). According to Jewish tradition the re-creation of the earth culminating with Adam 6000 years ago also occurred on this day.

The message of the Feast of Trumpets is that we should repent and rend our hearts to God (Joel 2:1-13). The day reminds us of man's utter hopelessness to live in peace and harmony without God and our utter need of Christ's intervention in world affairs. On this day we should reflect on all that this world will go through in the future and sigh and cry over all these terrible things that humanity is bringing upon itself (Ezekiel 9:4).

“We see that, even though tragic events lie ahead, the good news is that God will intervene to save humanity and guide mankind into His way of life. Jesus Christ will return to establish God's millennial rule, bringing His perfect government to earth. This is the wonderful, inspiring meaning of the Feast of Trumpets. Christ taught us to pray 'thy kingdom come' (Matthew 6:10, KJV). How urgently we need the answer to that prayer!” (God's Holy Day Plan, p. 37).

DAY OF ATONEMENT

Leviticus 23:27-28 – “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.”

The Day of Atonement pictures the banishment of Satan and his influence over mankind when Christ returns (Revelation 20:1-4). It also pictures mankind being reconciled or made at one with God (at-one-ment) through the banishment of Satan and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Leviticus 16).

“The Day of Atonement and Passover both teach us about the forgiveness of sin and our reconciliation with God through Christ's sacrifice. However, although the Passover is personally and (for the time being) individually applied to Christians whom God has called in this age, Atonement carries immediate universal implications.

“Moreover, the Day of Atonement pictures an essential additional step in God's salvation plan not to be found in the symbolism of the Passover. This step must take place before humanity can experience true peace on earth. All people suffer the tragic consequences of sin. But sin doesn't happen without a cause, and God makes this cause clear in the symbolism associated with the Day of Atonement.

“The Day of Atonement involves not only the forgiveness of sin; it pictures the removal of the primary cause of sin - Satan and his demons. Until God removes the original instigator of sin, mankind will simply continue to fall back into disobedience and suffering. Although our human nature has a part to play in our sins, Satan the devil bears great responsibility for influencing mankind to disobey God…

“Paul…teaches us that Satan has influenced every human to walk in the ways of disobedience. He notes that those called into God's church "once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2)…

“Leviticus 16 describes God instructing ancient Israel to observe the Day of Atonement. Although, since the sacrifice of Christ, no need remains for animal sacrifices, this chapter adds significantly to our understanding of God's plan” (God's Holy Day Plan, p. 38-40).

“On the Day of Atonement each year the nation of ancient Israel was figuratively cleansed from its sins. This figurative cleansing was only a type of a spiritual cleansing that will occur first for the people of Israel, and then for the rest of the world, after Christ returns.

“Two goats were figurative bearers of guilt. Both had all the sins of the people symbolically placed on them. One goat was left alive but banished to a wilderness. The other, representing Jesus, was killed as a sacrifice for sins (Leviticus 16:6-10, 15-16). In this drama the banished live goat represented Satan's part in the people's sins. The slain goat, picturing Christ, represented Him taking on Himself the penalty for the people's sins” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p. 10-11).

The High Priest had to cast lots to decide which goat would represent Christ and which goat would represent Satan. This teaches us that we need God's help to tell what is of God and what is of the devil in our lives. The sins were symbolically laid upon the Azazel goat's head representing Satan. The goat was then driven by a fit man out into the wilderness representing the angel binding Satan in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-2) after Christ returns.

“Leviticus 16:15-19 describes a solemn ceremony that was carried out only once each year, on the Day of Atonement. The high priest was to take the blood of the slain goat into the Holy Place - the most sacred part of the tabernacle - and to the mercy seat. The mercy seat was symbolic of the very throne of Almighty God. The high priest acted out the function Christ performs for repentant Christians. Having ascended to the very throne of God by the blood of His sacrifice, Christ intercedes for us - as He has since His resurrection - as our High Priest. The book of Hebrews makes this symbolism clear. 'But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this [physical] creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption' (Hebrews 9:11-12).

“Because of Christ's sacrifice, we enjoy direct access to the true mercy seat - the throne of our merciful, loving Creator. This was dramatically and miraculously demonstrated at the moment of Christ's death, when 'the veil of the temple', covering the entrance to the Holy Place, 'was torn in two from top to bottom' (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38). This massive curtain over the entrance to the Holy Place was torn asunder in a dramatic testimony to the access we now have to God's throne.

“Many verses in Hebrews mention Christ's role as our High Priest and intercessor. Because of His sacrifice for us, we can 'come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need' (Hebrews 4:16). The Day of Atonement thus pictures the loving reconciliation we have with God, made possible through Christ's sacrifice. It also shows the remarkable truth that Satan, the author of sin, will eventually be removed so that humanity can at last attain reconciliation with God on a universal basis” (God's Holy Day Plan, p. 43).

“The Day of Atonement is perhaps the most unusual Holy Day, as far as what God expects us to do. It is the one day of the year on which God commands us to fast—to abstain from food and water (Exodus 34:28; Esther 4:16)--for 24 hours…(Leviticus 23:32)” (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course – Lesson 23, p.12).

“Fasting for spiritual reasons at any time of the year should be for the purpose of humbling ourselves—to draw closer to God and His righteous way (Isaiah 58:6-11). Fasting helps us remember how temporary our physical existence is. Without food and water, we would soon perish. Fasting helps us realize just how much we need God as the giver and sustainer of life” (God's Holy Day Plan, p. 42).

This day reminds us of the incredible gap between man and God and that we need Christ to bridge that gap, who was both man and God. Fasting pictures drawing close to God as we seek to put away those sins that distance us from God. Atonement drives home that sin is a real offence to God, that God is merciful to pardon our sins and that we have do something to receive the gift of pardoning - rending our heart with fasting.         

Sin separates us from God so that is why we need an atonement (Isaiah 59:2). The Day of Atonement is a day that reminds us of God's mercy which is always available upon genuine repentance though we cannot use mercy as an excuse to break God's law (Hebrews 10:26-31). The Jews consider the Day of Atonement, which they call Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year and of all the Holy Days. This is because Atonement is a solemn day of national atonement for their sins. They celebrate Passover as a day of national deliverance from the death angel when Israel was in Egypt rather than for personal atonement of their sins like true christians do today.

The Jubilee Year began on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 25:8-17). The Jubilee is a year of freedom - freedom from debts and a return to one's inheritance - a fresh start. Atonement pictures our freedom from sin.

“The early Church kept the Day of Atonement. More than 30 years after Christ's death, Luke still referred to the time and seasons by mentioning this day, stating that 'sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over' (Acts 27:9). Almost all Bible commentaries and dictionaries acknowledge that 'the Fast' refers to the Day of Atonement…

“The Day of Atonement, as a Christian festival, reminds us that the atoning sacrifice of Christ is not only for individual Christians in this age but for the forgiveness and reconciliation of all people. This atonement paves the way for Christ to gather all people - as many as are willing - into God's Kingdom during Jesus' 1,000-year reign after Satan's banishment” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p. 11).

FEAST OF TABERNACLES

Leviticus 23:34-35 – “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it.”

Deuteronomy 16:15 - "Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice"

The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the greater harvest of souls that will occur during the millennium (Isaiah 25:6-8) when Jesus Christ will bring the Kingdom of God to this earth and rule all nations and set His hand to save all of mankind with the saints of God – those christians who overcome in this age (Daniel 7:27).

“The Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes the restoration process, which will start with the return of Jesus Christ, pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, and the banishment of Satan, depicted by the Day of Atonement. Once these events have taken place, as represented by the previous Holy Days, the foundation is in place for the restoration of the creation to peace and harmony with God.

“The seven-day Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:27, 34) pictures the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ over the earth after His second coming (Revelation 20:4). This period is often called the Millennium, which simply means '1,000 years'. This Feast also reflects the 'rest' symbolized by the weekly Sabbath (Hebrews 4:1-11) that celebrates the great harvest of humanity when all living people will learn God's ways…

“The name of the Feast of Tabernacles derives from God's command to ancient Israel to build temporary 'tabernacles', sometimes called 'booths', to live in during the festival. The Israelites left their houses and built temporary dwelling places (Hebrew succah, meaning 'hut of woven boughs') to live in while rejoicing before God. These reminded them of their release from slavery and their dwelling in booths when God brought them out of Egypt (Leviticus 23:34, 41-43). In stark contrast to the hardship of slavery, this festival emphasizes rest, peace and prosperity as it meets the needs of all people, including strangers, widows and the poor.

“The Bible emphasizes that, as with booths or temporary dwellings, our physical life is transitory. The apostle Paul's writings reflect this theme: 'For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven' (2 Corinthians 5:1-2, KJV). Hebrews 11 recounts the examples of many of God's faithful servants down through the centuries. It then concludes that 'these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth' (verse 13).

“The Feast of Tabernacles is an annual reminder of our temporary state and that we also 'seek a homeland' (verse 14). This lesson is reinforced when we travel to a site of the Feast of Tabernacles and stay in temporary dwellings such as hotels and campgrounds. This festival reminds us that, in spite of our material possessions, we are still mortals in need of a literal transformation so we may possess eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:50-54)” (God's Holy Day Plan, p. 44-45, 48).

The Feast of Tabernacles reminds us of the stark contrast between us and God and our ultimate destiny. Just as Abraham dwelt in tabernacles and looked forward to the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 11:9), we look forward to that city and the Kingdom of God. According to Jewish tradition Abraham kept the Feast of Tabernacles. "And Abraham built Succoth for himself and his servants in the seventh month and he was the first to celebrate the festival of Succoth in the Holy Land"(Jubilees 16:26).

“The first time the Bible mentions the Feast of Tabernacles it is called the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16). It was the great autumn harvest festival that people from every corner of Israel came together to observe. All during the harvest season they set aside animals and produce for this special week of rejoicing. Everyone enjoyed an abundance of food, drink and fellowship.

“Jesus Christ will give those same blessings even more abundantly to the whole world when He returns and establishes His reign on earth. What ancient Israel could enjoy for one week at the end of the fall harvest merely represented what He will bring to all mankind when He assumes the role of King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p.12).

In Isaiah 25:6-8 we read: “And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.”

Jeremiah 31:34 also speaks of this time when this great harvest of souls in the millennium will occur: “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Isaiah 11:9 says the following about this time: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

After this world will have been humbled during the Great Tribulation the people of the world will finally be willing to allow God to help them turn their lives over to Him. The Spirit of God will influence people to willingly and enthusiastically obey God from their hearts. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Not only are christians still obligated to keep the Feast of Tabernacles along with the rest of God's Holy Days, all nations will keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the millennium. Even Arab nations such as Egypt will have to keep these so-called “Jewish” holy days. In Zechariah 14:16-19 we read:

“And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”

The Feast of Tabernacles is a seven day feast which is a type of the seven day wedding feasts of ancient Israel. There will be great joy after the marriage of Christ and the church when, together, we will help bring joy to the whole world and many more sons and daughters of God will be brought to glory (Hebrews 2:10).

“These are days of continuous, genuine Christian fellowship and just plain good fun! Tens of thousands of God's people and their families gather at dozens of festival sites around the world. Christians at the Feast demonstrate now, by the way they live together in harmony, what today's sin-filled, unhappy world will become like after Christ returns.

“But just as the Feast of Tabernacles is a physical feast filled with rejoicing, it is also a spiritual feast of education and preparation. Members of God's Church receive instruction from God's ministers through inspiring sermons to help them further prepare to rule and teach with Christ during the Millennium” (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course – Lesson 23, p.14).

There are two important lessons that God connects to the Feast of Tabernacles. The first is to learn how to fear God. In Deuteronomy 14:22-23 we read: “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.”

The nations of the world in the millennium will learn to fear God (Zechariah 14:16-19, Isaiah 2:2-4). Initially this fear will be primarily motivated by fear of punishment God brings on those who don't keep His laws but in time this will develop into a true godly fear which is motivated out of love.

True godly fear is a proper sense of awe and deep respect where one fears to displease God because of the great love that they have for Him. Through the sermons that are given throughout the Feast we learn more about how to have this proper fear and respect for God. Our example at the feast, which doesn't go unnoticed by people in the communities where the feast is held, also gives us a chance to show the proper fear of God in action by the way that we live our lives.

The other important lesson connected to the Feast of Tabernacles is to learn to rejoice. Life can be tough at times but during the Feast God commands us to make a conscious effort to be joyful and rejoice. In Deuteronomy 14:26 we read: “And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.”

Regardless of how tough life is at times we have so much to be thankful for – we have this great calling to be among the firstfruits. We have the knowledge of God's wonderful way of life and God's great plan to save all mankind. We also know that there is a far better world coming when Christ returns. God wants us to put our worries aside during the Feast and be thankful and rejoice in these wonderful blessings and share that joy with as many people as we can.

Ever since Christ tabernacled with Israel (1 Corinthians 10:4) and tabernacled with mankind (John 1:14) when He became flesh He has always desired to return. The Father can hardly wait until He can tabernacle and live with man for all time (Revelation 21, 22) when the heavenly Jerusalem will come to earth.

The Father has remained separate from mankind for all this time. We read in 2 Peter 3:10 that sometime in the future that the earth will be cleansed by fire. The great meaning behind this is to teach mankind that God cannot live with sin and that it is utterly repugnant to Him. Living in tabernacles is also a type of being under God's protection in time of trouble and eventually living in God's house (John 14:1-3).

“Eventually thousands of millions will be spiritually converted! The great 'autumn harvest' of humans will be gathered into the Kingdom of God—born again as divine members of the ruling Family of God during the Millennium. By the end of the thousand years, the great Family of God will be ready for the final step in God's Master Plan. Even greater joy and accomplishments lie ahead after the Millennium!” (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course – Lesson 23, p.14).

LAST GREAT DAY

Leviticus 23:39 – “Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest.

The Last Great Day pictures the Great White Throne Judgment period which we read of in Ezekiel 37 and Revelation 20 when all the dead who haven't been saved up to Christ's coming will be resurrected and be given their first real chance at salvation.

“As Christ's 1,000-year reign on earth (Revelation 20:4) is followed by other prophesied events, the Feast of Tabernacles is also followed by a concluding festival that represents the conclusion of those final events - the final aspects of God's purpose and plan for humanity on our physical earth. The book of Revelation reveals that all people who have ever died without hearing of Christ or learning God's way of life are to be resurrected and given their opportunity to receive eternal life. This brings us to the concluding aspects of God's plan” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p. 14).

“Paul tells us that God 'desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth' (1 Timothy 2:4). Peter adds that God is 'not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance' (2 Peter 3:9). This is God's overriding goal in dealing with mankind: He desires as many as possible to repent, come to the knowledge of the truth and receive His gift of salvation!

“Jesus explained how this will come about on the last day, called 'that great day of the feast.' He appeared publicly and stood in the midst of the people. 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water' (John 7:37-38). Jesus apparently spoke these words on the 'eighth day', described in the last part of Leviticus 23:39. This day immediately follows the Feast of Tabernacles but is a separate festival with its own distinct meaning.

“In Christ's time, according to tradition, during the Feast of Tabernacles the priests would bring golden vessels of water from the stream of Siloam that had flowed from the temple hill and pour it over the altar. Joyous celebration along with the sounding of trumpets marked this ceremony as the people sang the words of Isaiah: '...With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation' (Isaiah 12:3).

“Jesus stood where all could hear Him and drew a lesson from the water, revealing that all who wore thirsty could come to Him and be refreshed forever. In Christ's analogy, the water represented God's Holy Spirit, which those who believed in Jesus would receive (John 7:39). He showed that the basic wants of spiritual thirst and hunger could he satisfied only by Him as 'the bread of life' and the source of living water.

“In Revelation 20:5 John writes that 'the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.' Here John makes a clear distinction between the first resurrection, which occurs at Christ's second coming (verses 4, 6), and the second resurrection, which takes place at the end of Christ's millennial reign. Remember that the first resurrection is to eternal life. By contrast, God raises those in the second resurrection to a physical, flesh-and-blood existence…

“The dead who stand before their Creator are all those who died never knowing the true God. Like Ezekiel's vision of dry bones coming back to life, these people emerge from their graves and begin to know their God. The books (biblia in Greek, from which we get the word Bible) are the Scriptures, the only source of the knowledge of eternal life. Finally all will have an opportunity to fully understand God's plan of salvation.

“This physical resurrection is not a second chance for salvation. For these people it is a first opportunity to really know the Creator. The resurrected are 'judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books' (verse 12). This judgment will involve a period during which they will enjoy the opportunity to hear, understand and grow in God's way of life, having their names inscribed in the book of life (verse 15). During this time thousands of millions of people will gain access to eternal life…

“God will see His plan through and bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). God's promise to 'pour out My Spirit on all flesh' (Joel 2:28) will find its fullest manifestation. The thirst-quenching waters of the Holy Spirit will be available to all in the time depicted by 'that great day of the feast.' What a marvellous plan these biblical festivals portray. How great would be our lack of understanding without them!” (God's Holy Day Plan, p. 52-57).

There is an interesting parallel between the first 3 and the last 3 feasts. Passover and Atonement both focus on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and coming as close to God as possible. We usually fast and examine ourselves before Passover so we can take it worthily just as we fast on the Day of Atonement.

There are often multiple layers of understanding in many of the things that God has given us. Along with those primary meanings for those Holy Days there are some interesting parallels between the first three festivals and end-time events.

For the ancient Israelites Passover pictured when God passed over their houses and they were saved from the plagues of Egypt, having being "sealed" by the blood on the lintel and doorposts of their homes.

End-time Israel will also be in captivity during the Great Tribulation (Jeremiah 30:1-8). Those Israelites who repent in that captivity will be sealed at the seventh trumpet (Revelation 7) so they will be spared from the plagues that will come upon their captors, the beast power based in Europe (Revelation 16:10).

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated as the time when Israel came out of captivity when they were led out of Egypt. End-time Israel will also be freed from captivity by the beast power and there will be an Exodus greater than the original exodus of Moses' day (Jeremiah 23:7-8).

Pentecost was celebrated as the time when Israel received the law at Mt Sinai. After Christ's return to earth God's spirit will finally be poured out on all flesh which Peter spoke about on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-21). The law will then go out from Zion to the whole world through Israel which will fulfill its destiny as a model nation to the rest of the world (Isaiah 2:1-4).

The two seven-day festivals of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles both picture our life of tabernacling in this world and focus our attention on the gap between us and God and what we have to do to bridge that gap with God's help – to put sin out of our lives and learn to fear God always.

Finally Pentecost and the Last Great Day picture the two great harvests of souls - the church now and then the rest of the world when God's spirit is poured out to all mankind (Acts 2:17).

God's Holy Days also picture freedom –:

Freedom from death – Passover
Freedom from sin – Unleavened Bread
Freedom to live within the law – Pentecost
Freedom from death – Trumpets
Freedom from Satan's influence – Atonement
Freedom from the unrighteous rulers of the world - Tabernacles

“By keeping His festivals we remain focused on what is important in our view of the future and our role in it. Each time we keep them we deepen our understanding of prophecies throughout the Bible that fill in the details of God's wonderful plan” (UCG Bible Study Course - Lesson 12 – God's Festivals: Keys to Humanity's Future, p. 15).