FESTIVALS

In our celebration of traditional religious holidays, the biblical Holydays should not be excluded. This is confirmed by the New Testament.

Here is perhaps the most compelling statement in the New Testament as to the continued influence and recognition of the Biblical Holydays by the body of Christ even among the Gentile Christian churches of the first century.

"....For even Christ our PASSOVER is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast,....." I Cor. 5:7-8

Further evidence of this is found in the book of Acts.

"....I must by all means Keep this FEAST that cometh in Jerusalem.. .." Acts 18:21 KJV

"For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of PENTECOST...." Acts 20:16

Nearly thirty years after the death of Jesus (a time when many believe the importance of these celebrations had ceased) the Apostle Paul is still highly motivated with Christian zeal to return to Jerusalem and celebrate the day of PENTECOST. Obviously Paul's spiritual value system included the honoring of biblical feast days. Would he discourage the practice today? The Biblical feast day celebrations were instituted by our God as a system for remembrance and served as a liturgical calendar. They identified special times in the year for offering praise, thanksgiving and honor unto our heavenly Father for specific acts on behalf of His people. Indeed every major move of God in Biblical history occurred on a feast day as is recorded in both Old and New Testaments. The precise dates of Noah's Ark landing on Mt. Ararat, the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai, the dedication of Solomon's Temple, the birth of Jesus, His death, burial and resurrection, the coming of the Holy Spirit, all give evidence of God's strict adherence to times and seasons. Recognition of these special days of memorial is now being restored to the church by the Holy Spirit as a vital part of worship. Their complete restoration is not a matter of "if" but only a matter of time.

Historically Christians have not given formal recognition to the Biblical memorial days such as Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles (Ex.23:16). The preference has been to continue the honoring of such traditional holidays as Christmas, Easter and All Saints Day (Holy Evening or Halloween). Interestingly, these are calendar days for which there is no biblical support even though the events so honored may be biblical. How did this condition come about and who is responsible? There is certainly no record that the first century church ever celebrated the traditional holidays as we know them. They were an "invention" of the subsequent church leadership. There is, however, abundant evidence to confirm that the early church continued to celebrate the biblical feast days.

History indicates that the cessation of biblical Feast Day celebrations by the followers of Jesus Christ was brought on by a growing anti-semitic spirit (resentment of Jews and things Jewish) that had invaded the church by the second century. Regrettably, this spirit has resulted in almost total deletion of everything Jewish from the doctrine and liturgy of the church, replacing it with alternative forms and titles of celebrations adopted from other religions and introduced by the church fathers. By the beginning of the fourth century, Constantine, who had become both head of the church and Emperor of Rome, forbade the recognition of anything that remotely smacked of Jewishness to the point of imprisonment and even death. An example of this can be seen by the actions taken at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. The Church, which had been commemorating the death and resurrection of Christ on the Passover day, changed the date for observing the resurrection to make it correspond with the pagan carnival called Easter instead of the Jewish feast of Passover. Today we are victims of that orchestrated effort and therefore the Christian's sense of value for Biblical memorial day celebrations is almost non-existant.

A better understanding of the festivals in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ must be restored to the church as they once again become a vital part of our worship system. However, when such a suggestion is made the question invariably arises; but what about the New Testament scriptures which seemingly discourage the practice of observing "special days"? Such conclusions are often drawn as a result of misinformation, faulty interpretation of scripture, unbelief, fear and to some degree hypocrisy. For example, the following scripture is often cited as a pretext for non- observance of Biblical feast days by the Christian:

"Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." Gal.4:10-11

Here is a classic example of faulty interpretation of scripture. This reference has nothing to do with Biblical memorial days. Paul's statement to the Galatians is concerning their returning to former pagan or heathen practices. Clearly he is not speaking of Biblical celebrations, which is borne out in the very structure of the letter itself. Notice that this was something they were reinstituting which they had been practicing when they worshiped false gods (see verse nine). The Galatians had never celebrated Biblical (Jewish) holy days, because they were Gentiles. Therefore, they could not be returning to Jewish festivals.

The fact is, few Christians actually believe this scripture to be absolute or if they do, their actions are inconsistent with their beliefs. If taken at face value, we would simply have to refrain from celebrating or memorializing any "Days", religious or secular. As it now is, we often goto great lengths and great expense both at home and in church to celebrate such times as Christmas, Easter, birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, etc. To be sure, we "observe days" and they are often accompanied with great pageantry and extravaganza. One may contend that this verse of scripture does not specifically mean the kind of celebrations which have been enumerated here and perhaps it doesn't. The point is that many have concluded that we are free to celebrate any holidays except Biblical ones, they are somehow forbidden and viewed as being strictly Jewish and therefore anti-Christ, non-Christian and indeed dangerous. Yet the ones we have arbitrarily created for ourselves which have little or no Biblical support are somehow "safe" and honorable, even sacred. The intent here is not to cast reflections on or to denigrate the non-biblical times of celebration but rather to expose the duplicity inherent in the Galatians 4:11 stance of non-observance of Biblical feast days while proceeding to devise our own. Again, Paul's reference here is concerning pagan holidays and not the God ordained memorial days which the same writer had encouraged the Church to "therefore keep" (1 Cor. 5:7-8).

Here is another example of faulty exegesis of scripture concerning special days.

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:" Colossians 2:16

This is not a statement about celebrations and observances but about judgmental attitudes. One would be hard pressed to find anyone who practices this as is commonly interpreted. The truth is, there are on-going judgmental attitudes manifested in the church about meats, drinks, holydays and Sabbath observance. Those who don't observe such things tend to reflect on those who do as "legalists" (adherents to the Law). Those who observe them quite often view those who don't as unrighteous or at best, second class citizens of the Kingdom. Simply stated, "those who do judge those who don't and those who don't judge those who do" and on it goes. Yet the Christ-like attitude is "Judge not" (Mt. 7:1). The Apostle Paul gives similar advice to the church in Rome.

"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. ...But why dost thou judge thy brother?" Romans 14:5, 6, 10

No one's righteousness should be judged on the basis of these issues, any more than one should be judged as to whether or not he is a Christian on the basis of his church attendance. Righteousness is simply not of works. If one is "persuaded" that celebrating feast days enhances his worship of God, he should not be judged for it. All judgment of men's hearts is best left in the hands of God.

There is also a third group who are selective in their interpretation of some aspects of Col.2:16. They arbitrarily select the particular things they are for or against and proceed to categorize them as a do or don't. For example: some who would extend liberty for one to eat any and all kinds of meats might well be the first to place restrictions on what is acceptable to drink, then proceed to preach and teach that judgment. In our zeal for righteousness we must guard against the possible distortion of scripture. Paul is simply trying to avoid the pharisaical attitudes of judgment and nothing more.

Now, let us establish some proper motivational factors. The Biblical memorial days were instituted by God as an integral part of the divine worship system in the church (both O.T. and N.T.). They are not a matter of salvation or acceptance before God. Therefore our motive in celebration should be as God originally intended; remembrance and honor for what He has done. God said his feasts were "Forever Feasts" and times of memorial (Ex. 12:14, Lev. 23:21, Lev. 23:41). If God never changes, and we have His word on that He does not (Mal. 3:6), it is obvious that He still desires to be honored in this manner. Jesus said that the time has come to worship the Father "In spirit and in truth". Surely He is worthy. Indeed prophecy indicates that the feast days will continue to be celebrated even after the coming of Christ in the Kingdom age (Zech. 14:16). The feast days retain a deep abiding meaning for the Christian, especially since their fullness (not termination) is found in Jesus the Messiah. It is safe to say that the Christian has as much reason for celebrating these feasts as does the Jew, perhaps more (1 Cor. 5:8). The feast days contain more divine information of spiritual and prophetic value than perhaps any subject of scripture. It is through our deliberate recognition and celebration of them that the riches of truth contained in them is released for our understanding.

The things that are done to celebrate these days are not so important as the acknowledgement of the day itself. We need not be concerned with ancient ritualism from which we were liberated in Christ (Heb. 9:10) but focus on the basic principle of their prophetic and spiritual meaning as is revealed under the New Covenant. The Apostle Paul called it serving in the "...newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter" (Ro. 7:6). Since it is not a matter of salvation but one of worship, there is liberty and flexibility in what we can do as a remembrance practice.

The spirit of praise and worship simply demands the recognition of the Biblical feast days. No other conclusion can be drawn. The celebration of these memorial days is being restored to the Church as Biblical worship becomes more complete.

The question before us is; should Christians celebrate the feasts? Clearly we should. Why? Because they are Biblical, Christ-centered and God ordained. While feast celebrations may not be essential to salvation, they are certainly essential for a more perfect worship order in the church. Reason simply dictates this conclusion.

Feast days are not Jewish in an ethnic sense. They are divine in a Biblical sense and therefore eternal.