You SHOULD keep the Feast of Tabernacles!

Indeed, if you are convinced that God commands Christians to observe the Feast of Tabernacles, well then you should keep the Feast of Tabernacles.  

So let’s start examining the Feast from the premise that God requires Christians to keep the portion of the Law that contains the Feast of Tabernacles.  Please be patient as we review familiar material and come to a point that every person attending the Feast of Tabernacles right now may wish to consider.

As I write this many of my friends are at designated “feast sites” keeping the Feast of Tabernacles.   I did the same for 28 years and had many good times and experiences with my family and friends.  In this day and age it is rare for families to be able to travel to different locations every year, some even international, and stay in high-class hotels and resorts together while enjoying the sites, food and activities of the local tourist areas.   Just to name a few, my family’s been to Niagara Falls, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Panama City, Hawaii, Bahamas, Tucson, Branson, Palm Springs, Gatlinburg, and even a resort on the Mediterranean sea in Italy.   My family has been able to enjoy the many tourist areas, Disney World (three times), Dolly World, historical sites, mountains, beaches, jet-skis, museums, (we even toured the Vatican), boating, horseback riding, and so on.   We even enjoyed the feast on a cruise ship one year.  So yes, the Feast of Tabernacles has been a great time for the family; it has been like an annual family vacation.

It's true, in many ways keeping the Feast of Tabernacles has been a lot of fun!

And sermons?  Yes, we heard many sermons didn’t we?  If you are attending a feast site, then as you read this you are getting a steady diet of “spiritual meat” as we would say.  But back in the day, the pinnacle of the Feast of Tabernacles was the satellite link-up in which Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong spoke to all of us together.  I remember getting goose bumps believing that I was witnessing God’s apostle speaking the end time message to all of the church at once.  Time was drawing near, we only had a few years left and the end was coming, “surely within the next 10 to 20 years!"   We were going to need to “tighten our belt” and be ready to support “the work”.   It really was exciting to feel like I was part of something special.  

Things didn’t work out the way we thought at the time, but the Feast of Tabernacles continues on because the churches of God teach that “true Christians” keep God’s commandments.  And many believe sincerely that the Feast of Tabernacles is commanded.   Let’s review the passages regarding the Feast and list a few of the commanded instructions.

Four Feast of Tabernacles Instructions

We find in Leviticus the instruction to Israel to observe the Feast of Tabernacles.  Of course, those of us with a history in the Church of God are very familiar with these passages, probably more so than most.   I remember hearing that we were to appear before the Lord in the place that the Lord would choose and that we were to stay in temporary dwellings and have an offering ready to give to the church.    Those instructions are derived from the instructions given to Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 16 and Leviticus chapter 23. 

For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.  “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.  Deut 16:15-17

Let’s notice a few things here.  First, we see that they were to keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the place that the Lord would choose.  Where was that?   It was the tabernacle, the tent of testimony.   God’s presence was clearly in the tabernacle; his glory filled the place as the cloud of the Lord covered it during the day and fire at night (Ex 40:34-38).  And once Israel finally crossed the Jordan, Jerusalem became the place that the Lord chose to place his name.

But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. Deut 12:10-11

So Jerusalem became the place that the Lord chose to place his name, the tabernacle and later more specifically the temple became that place at which the burnt offerings and sacrifices were carried out. 

Deuteronomy chapters 14 and 16 describe the Feast of Tabernacles as one of three “pilgrim feasts” to which citizens of Israel were to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate and eat of their tithes.  That is why so many people were in Jerusalem for Passover and Unleavened bread when Jesus was arrested.  And that is why so many people had traveled to Jerusalem for that first Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the church.   And that is why so many traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles as described in the gospels.  And yes, this is why the Jews and Hellenistic Jews who became Christians traveled to Jerusalem for these feasts in the early days of the church before the temple was destroyed.

There can be no doubt that the place that the Lord placed his name at that time was Jerusalem and that the people were to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the pilgrim feasts including the Feast of Tabernacles.

1 - The Feast of Tabernacles was to be celebrated where the Lord placed his name in Jerusalem.   

We also see the instructions to bring the tithe, but I’m not going to go down that path in this review.  Let’s just focus on the command to keep the Feast of Tabernacles and how they were instructed to keep that festival.

These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day.  Lev 23:37

We read here in Leviticus that each day of the feast there were specific offerings, daily there were to be food offerings and the first and eighth day were to be holy convocations (verse 36).  So let’s list our next basic instructions for the Feast.

2 – There were specific offerings required each day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

3 – There were holy convocations on the first and the eighth days of the feast.

Let’s take a look into the instruction for dwelling in booths.

And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days.  Lev 23:40-42

So here we see that they were to dwell in booths made from the branches of specific trees.   The Jews built these booths on the flat roofs of houses, in the streets or in the fields.  And it is commonly understood that these four trees were the citron, the palm, the myrtle, and the willow.   Nehemiah chapter 8 also addresses this and specifically identifies the trees and instruction to dwell in booths.

The Hebrew word for booth is sukkâ, which means a crude temporary shelter made of woven branches.  They were to construct these crude shelters to be reminded of when they had to dwell in crude shelters following their exit from Egypt.

“that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” Lev 23:43

4 – God instructs his people to dwell in booths made of the branches of four specific trees.

Once again, the purpose stated in the Law for these booths was to remind Israel of the time that God brought them from Egypt.  They were to be annually reminded that they dwelt in crudely constructed booths when they left Egypt on their way to the Promised Land.  There is no mention of the Messiah’s coming or the future fulfillment of the Kingdom of God in these instructions.    However we are not questioning the Church of God interpretation of imagery here, simply looking at the instruction in the law to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

To those with a history in the Armstrong churches of God, none if this is new.  So let’s summarize our four instructions:

The Feast of Tabernacles was to be celebrated where the Lord placed his name in Jerusalem.   

There were specific offerings required each day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

There were holy convocations on the first and the eighth days of the feast.

God instructs his people to dwell in booths made of the branches of four specific trees. 

I wrote earlier that if you believe that a Christian needs to observe the commandment to keep the Feast of Tabernacles then you should keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 

But after reviewing the commandment that we are all so familiar with, I ask you plainly, are you actually keeping the Feast of Tabernacles?   Are you really observing the Law as it was instructed?

If the answer is yes then great, consciences are clear.  But if the answer is no, or uncertain, then could you be judged by our own words?   If you believe that “true Christians” keep God’s Law including all the Holy Days of the Old Testament, then you need to be certain that you are indeed keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, right?

Let’s look at the commands in the Law that we have just reviewed.  First, let’s just make the assumption that any offerings and sacrifices are no longer required as they have been fulfilled in Christ.   This is the assumption that all the Armstrong Churches of God make.   But how do we know where the Lord has placed his name?  According to the Bible that place was Jerusalem.   If you are keeping the Feast of Tabernacles then ask yourself:

Why don’t the Churches of God go to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles?

That is what the Law instructs.  So how do you know where God has placed His name for the feast if it is not in scripture?  Each Church of God organization has its own feast sites in different locations; did God choose all these places to put his name?  I attended the feast in Panama City one year during which there were concurrently feast sites from eight different Church of God organizations in the same general area. Think about it, does this make sense to you?  

One might argue that in today’s society it is not possible to go to Jerusalem.  Well, why not?  I traveled to Italy for the feast.  Besides, the Law is the Law and if God says to go to Jerusalem then we should do it, right?  Let me remind you of a favorite scripture of the Churches of God.  It is the proof, they say, that the Christian church should observe the feast because the Feast of Tabernacles is identified as being observed after the return of Jesus to the earth.

Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. Zech 14:16

But notice that they are keeping the feast in Jerusalem.  It is so important to travel to Jerusalem that the surviving people of the nations who do not come to Jerusalem at that time will not receive rain.   If these verses prove that the church should be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles today, then why do not the Churches of God observe it in Jerusalem as commanded?

And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. Zech 14:17

The Law commands that the Feast of Tabernacles be observed where the Lord has placed his name.  The scriptures identify Jerusalem clearly to be that location.  And yet, the Armstrong churches observe their feasts in various cities that they choose.  I recall being in meetings in which we discussed which cities would be chosen based on special rates given to the church, activities for families, cost and size of convention centers, parking, and so forth.  That is how feast sites are chosen and there is no biblical authority for doing so.

Another question for feast goers to ask themselves:

Why do we have church services every day of the Feast of Tabernacles?

Over the decades that I attended and taught in the Armstrong Church and its splinter churches, I many times heard it stated that a “holy convocation” was a gathering of the church; a church service if you will.   Not that I necessarily agree with that interpretation, but let’s assume that to be the case.  According to the Law there is a holy convocation on the first day and the eighth day.   So why do the churches of God have church services every day of the feast?   Don’t misunderstand, we could have church services every day and that would be just fine, there’s nothing wrong with that.  But I distinctly remember the feelings of shame and guilt if I were to miss a service due to any reason other than extreme illness.  If you are a feast goer you must admit that missing a church service is tantamount to not properly keeping the Feast of Tabernacles.  No doubt we were made to feel like we were sinning if we missed church.  And missing opening night, that was really frowned upon too.  A lot of judging goes on regarding church attendance.   But why is that?   A church service every day is nowhere to be found in the Law even if we accept the Church of God interpretation of a holy convocation.   If you are attending the feast this year try telling your pastor that you are only going to attend on the first day and the eighth day since that is what the Bible commands.  I doubt they will find humor in that statement.

The final and perhaps most important question for feast goers to ask themselves:

Why do we not dwell in booths when we keep the Feast of Booths? 

Dwelling in booths made of the four trees was central to the commandment to keep the Feast of Tabernacles; there is no way around that fact.   Please read this excerpt from a blog appearing on the United Church of God website. 

In 2013, United Church of God members and families will travel to dozens of Festival of Tabernacles sites around the world to take part in this biblical assembly… However, proper biblical observance of the Festival of Tabernacles requires that members reside in temporary quarters as outlined in Leviticus 23:42 (Peter Eddington, “United Church of God to Celebrate Coming Kingdom of God in Eight-Day Christian Festival of Tabernacles”, September 16, 2013)

Mr. Eddington explains that the “proper biblical observance” of the feast requires that one dwell in booths.  We know that the leaders of these churches understand what the Law states.   That is why he carefully changes the wording to “temporary quarters” in order to make hotels and resorts appear to be equivalent to the “booths” commanded in the Law.  Please do your own research into the word for booth, it’s meaning, and how it is used.  Do expensive hotels and resorts fulfill the instruction in the Law to dwell in crudely built booths of woven branches?  Do hotels somehow remind us of being brought out of Egypt?

No.  There is no biblical authority for this change or for the imagery used to support the change.

In the same blog article, we read the following explanation,

members typically stay in nearby hotels to fulfill the temporary nature required by the biblical command. "Staying in a temporary dwelling such as a hotel underscores the transitory nature of this present world and illustrates how it will be replaced by the prophesied Kingdom of God," noted Mr. Kubik.

Where does the Bible give the authority change booths to hotels, rented houses, cruise ships, cabins on the lake, and so on?  Where is “transitory nature of this present world” identified in scripture with booths?  There is no biblical authority for this change in the Law.

Church of God members often like to quote Matthew Chapter 5 in which Jesus states, “until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.  Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven”.    Ah but you must be intellectually consistent.  If nothing in the Law can be changed, and that is your argument for requiring Christians to observe the Old Covenant Holy Days, then how can you change the Law that instructs us in how to keep those Holy Days?  

Okay?  Let me ask that again.  

If nothing in the Law can be changed, and that is your argument for requiring Christians to observe the Old Covenant Holy Days, then how can you change the Law that instructs us in how to keep those Holy Days?  

This is cognitive dissonance!  The reasoning goes like this: "The Law cannot be changed. You must keep the Law.  The Law instructs us to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.  But we’ve changed the Law in order to keep the feast in the church age according to the direction of a man.  But the Law cannot be changed.  Therefore we keep the holy days because they are commanded in the Law.  Other churches are false because they do not keep the Law like we do…"

You who observe the feast claim to be keeping the commandments.  And yet you do not observe the feast in Jerusalem, you go to church every day when this is never mentioned in the Law and make people feel guilty if they miss a service, and you do not dwell in the booths instructed very clearly in the Law you claim to keep. 

The New Testament writers make it clear that if one is going to keep a point of the Law then they must keep all of the Law.  Why put out leaven during the Feast of Unleavened bread but not dwell in booths during the Feast of booths?   Why do you fast on the Day of Atonement but do not blow trumpets or shout on the Feast of Trumpets?

So if you believe that you should be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, then by all means go to Jerusalem, build a booth, and keep the festival as it is commanded.  But what the Worldwide Church of God splinter churches are doing is keeping a tradition unique to that church.  And the sole authority for making these changes to the Law of God is none other than Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.    Are you sure that Herbert Armstrong was given authority by God to redefine these festivals and change the Law of God?  

There simply is not one passage in scripture that connects the Feast of Tabernacles with Jesus’ millennial rule on earth.  There is not one scripture that states that crudely made booths should be replaced with hotels and resorts that picture “quality” living in the millennium.  There is not one passage in the Bible that indicates that Christians should spend large amounts of money on themselves and their own entertainment and send the rest in to their corporate organization leadership.  And there is not one passage of scripture that grants the authority to the church to annually decide where God has placed his name for their own rendition of the Feast of Tabernacles. 

I have a business associate whose father is a rabbi.  Back when I was a faithful follower of Herbert Armstrong I explained to this friend that I kept the Feast of Tabernacles just as he did.  When I explained that we went to hotels, beaches and amusement parks while attending church every day in a convention center he looked at me bewildered.  I thought we had something in common, but we didn’t. The Feast of Tabernacles “observed” by the churches of God has absolutely nothing in common with the Feast of Tabernacles commanded in the Law.  Really.  It is common for the Churches of God to claim that the early church kept the feast just as they do.  But the Church of God feast tradition would not be recognizable by any of the apostles. 

No, the Feast of Tabernacles tradition in the churches of God is a creation of Herbert W. Armstrong.  It is a “tradition of men”, if you will.  If you believe that Mr. Armstrong was given the sole authority by God to change the law then your conscience is clear.  But if you’re not so sure, then I suggest you look into the Law that you claim to be observing to make sure that you are indeed keeping the feast and the other holy days according to God’s instruction.   I'm confident that such a study done honestly will lead you to God's grace.

Those of you who are convicted to keep the Old Testament holy days, you really should keep the Feast of Tabernacles according to the commandment.   

But are you really keeping it?    

************ It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; ) Acts 17:11 ************

Must Christians Observe The Old Covenant Passover?

Today I would like to see the Bible's answer to the question, "Must Christians observe the Old Covenant Passover?".

And the answer is - No, Christians are not commanded to keep that observance.

Let’s look at why not.

(EXO. 12: 43, 48-49) 43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.

48 And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.

What’s the very first thing we see? All non-Israelites are forbidden from eating it. Gentiles may not observe Passover. That’s the law. End of story.

THE MEANING OF CIRCUMCISION

Foreigners and even servants had to be circumcised to observe Passover. All the males had to be circumcised. Is it possible that circumcision just meant nothing for those people? Is it possible that the Gentiles would say, “Hey, we would like to eat that fine unleavened bread and lamb roasted with bitter herbs with you,” and the Israelites would reply, “Let’s get you circumcised and then we’ll have dinner”?

Hardly.

Genesis 17 makes it clear that every male was expected to be circumcised in order to enter the covenant with Abraham. Verse 12 indicates that anyone wishing to join Abraham’s family must be circumcised. Anyone not circumcised was cut off from the people. That’s a bit more serious than just a quick trim and off to supper, wouldn’t you say?

In Genesis 34, circumcision as a condition of joining Israel was misused in order to take advantage of Hamor and Shechem. This should also demonstrate that the circumcision required to observe Passover was no light undertaking. This was a commitment!

In Exodus 4, God sought to kill Moses for neglecting to circumcise his firstborn son. In Joshua 5, all Israelite males had to be circumcised before they entered the land of Canaan and before God would take away the reproach of Egypt from the people. Uncircumcised became an idiomatic expression meaning unclean (LEV. 26: 41; JER. 9: 26; EZE. 44: 7-9). Like the word "Gentile", "uncircumcized" was an epithet.

Many of Paul’s statements indicate that circumcision was understood in his day as a sign of being part of Israel (GAL. 2: 7-8; PHP. 3: 5; COL. 3: 11).

It became part of the understanding of some Jews that no Jew could be saved if they went uncircumcised.

Simply becoming circumcised was not good enough. If all one needed to do was be circumcised, then several of the surrounding cultures had circumcision and all of those people would therefore be Israelites. Egypt practiced circumcision long before circumcision was adopted as a sign for the covenant with Abraham, yet they would never have been seen as anything other than Gentiles. The other half of the equation was the requirement to join the physical nation of Israel and participate in its Covenant. If you haven't done that, then it doesn't count.

Hopefully this gives us a better look at the importance of the act. It was no light matter. To require circumcision before Passover was not the same as requiring clean hands before supper. The only way a Gentile could eat it was to be circumcised, cease being a “Gentile”, and join with the nation of Israel. They were "as natives of the land". There is one law for all people for Passover. If the law is unchanged, and binding on all, with not one jot or tittle removed, then this is the law of Passover.

THREE MAIN WAYS PEOPLE BIND THEMSELVES TO THE LAW

Some people refuse to accept this, however. There are many views within the various Church of God splinter groups on how this can be circumvented. I want to mention three of the main ones.

First is the claim that the law is eternal and binding.

The point is to simply bind us all to the Old Covenant law.

The base assumption is that all of the law of Moses is just somehow binding on all people. As Bereans Did has many articles on why this is impossible. I recommend you start by familiarizing yourself with what the Law of Moses is.

More later, but for now I won’t bother with it. Suffice it to say if the law is eternal then so is the condition that Gentiles cannot participate. If the law is unchanged then the Pharisees were right in Acts 10, Paul and Barnabas were wrong, and physical circumcision is a requirement. The only alternative is that the law has been changed, which means the law is not eternal nor binding on everyone.

So option #1 in circumventing the law in order to bind yourself to the law is self-defeating.

Second is the classic teaching of Herbert Armstrong; specifically I refer to British-Israelism (BI).

The point was to convince people that they are genetically Israelite, and therefore the Old Covenant applies to them.

BI is the belief that the English are descendants of the mythical “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel”. A Brit named Richard Brothers is generally credited with inventing BI around the turn of the 19^th century. Most of the “proofs” of BI are nothing but fantasy and nonsense. BI has been convincingly refuted again and again. Here is just one example from the Bible.ca website.

There are many variations to BI. Herbert Armstrong taught that England is Ephraim and the United States is Manasseh. We would like to present to you an interesting alternative to Armstrong’s interpretation of the Genesis Prophecies. Ephraim and Menasseh might represent something wholly other than what you were told. Herbert Armstrong came to his variation by plagiarizing a book written by J. H. Allen (see Allen.Armstrong.org for details). At the end of the day, the Old Covenant is still abrogated and gone; it is binding on no one.

So option #2 in circumventing the law in order to bind yourself to the law is a plagiarized bit of fantastical pseudo-history.

Third is the oft-repeated claim, “New Testament Christians are Spiritual Israel.”

The point in this claim is to say that Gentiles have become Israelites by becoming Christians.

Notice how this claim flies in the face of Acts 15. The desire to undo the law has now undermined the authority of the Apostles and the very Holy Spirit of God. This is not something I recommend!

There are flaws in this claim. Have you ever tried to find the phrase “Spiritual Israel” in the New Testament? It’s not there. Being “Spiritual Israel” would not somehow grandfather anyone into the abrogated Old Covenant anyhow. We do not somehow all stand at the foot of Mt. Sinai. You don’t want to be at the foot of that Mountain anyway, in bondage (GAL. 4: 24-25), where 3,000 people died and Moses wore a veil to cover the glory of God. That Covenant is gone! Its terms and its blessings/curses are no longer an option for anyone.

The claim assumes that all Christians are Israel, when that is not what the Bible says. The two loaves of the Wave Loaf ceremony, in our understanding, represent the Jewish and the Gentile converts to Christianity. Not one loaf, but two; distinct but together. Paul speaks of only one metaphorical olive tree, but the tree isn’t Israel. The tree is Christ. He is the root. He is the Vine. He is the Seed. He is the cornerstone. We are His body. It is in Christ that we receive the promises of Abraham, not in Israel. The metaphorical tree spreads into Israel, many of whom rejected the Gospel and were cut off so the Gentiles could be grafted in. Gentiles are not grafted into Israel but into Christ.

Throughout Romans Paul contrasts the Gentiles and Israel. Know that Romans 9: 6 does not make a single Gentile into an Israelite; rather it disqualifies physical Israelites who reject the Gospel. Paul isn’t adding people in, he’s pruning people out until only a remnant is saved. These rejected Israelites are blinded until the full number of Gentiles are grafted into Christ alongside of the Israel of God. This cannot be so if we are suddenly all Israel.

So option #3 in circumventing the law in order to bind yourself to the law is to misapply scripture and contradict the Apostles and the Holy Spirit.

There are others ways than these three. There are many assumptions people make and string together with proof-texts in order to reach the desired outcome of binding themselves to a host of cherry-picked laws. But these are three of the most popular options. We can see they don't quite work.

MUST WE BE JEWS IN ORDER TO BE CHRISTIANS?

Acts 15 should have settled this issue forever. 

The Jewish converts were demanding that Gentile converts had to be circumcised (thus ceasing to be Gentiles) and keep the law of Moses. Paul and Barnabas opposed them. A Council was called to settle the matter. The decision of the Holy Spirit was no, they do not have to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.

Acts 15 was towards the beginning of Paul’s ministry; Acts 21 was towards the end. Acts 21: 25 solidifies that the Council’s decision remained in force and was never changed. No further expectation was left out. No later training in the law was implied.

It is preached from the pulpit in the Armstrong splinters that the Jews only complained about circumcision and that is the only issue the Council took up. Not so!

(ACT. 15: 5) But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

So as we can see the Council was not just called to decide about circumcision. If you took my advice earlier and read our article on the law of Moses, you would see what the claim of the Jewish converts really was. It entailed the whole law.

Hear the words of Trypho, a Jew of the early second century. Justin Martyr the Christian was having a conversation with Trypho the Jew, when Trypho made it clear what the Jews expected:

“If, then, you are willing to listen to me (for I have already considered you a friend), first be circumcised, then observe what ordinances have been enacted with respect to the Sabbath, and the feasts, and the new moons of God; and, in a word, do all things which have been written in the law: and then perhaps you shall obtain mercy from God.” -Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho, chapter VIII

The expectations of the Jewish converts in Acts 15 and the expectations of Trypho are the same: circumcision, Sabbath, new moons, annual holy days. As Paul put it, “Days and months and seasons and years” (GAL. 4: 10). In other words they expected a return to the Old Covenant. To put it plainly - physical circumcision brings the whole law with it, and to reject one is to reject the other.

(GAL. 5: 3) And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.

The decision of the Council was not that Gentiles should keep a little law now and a lot of law later on, but that no other burden would be laid on the Gentiles (v. 20, 29). That decision was not amended later, as Acts 21: 25 demonstrates.

Yes the “necessary things” expected of the Gentiles can be found in the Old Testament. This does not somehow negate the decision of the Council, however. These necessary things were also found in the Noachide Law, which all Jews would accept. These necessary things were expected of the Gentiles so that the Gentile converts wouldn’t be a complete offense to the sensibilities of the Jewish converts. It was a compromise in love, reminiscent of Romans 14.

Think about it. Why would Paul and Barnabas dispute with the Jewish converts if they really agreed with them the entire time? What sense is it to call a Council to decide whether the Gentiles had to keep the law of Moses and then say “yes, they do” but only in some linguistic loophole? If the answer was “yes, they do” then why not just come out and say so? Why hint? Why leave things unsaid? Worse yet, why go out of your way to make it look like the answer is "no"?

The reasonable explanation is plain – they said precisely what they meant and they meant precisely what they said. The answer really was "no". They never came to the conclusion of changing the law in order to bind the Gentiles under the law. Law was not added later because when we look at later we see the original decision unaltered. The Gentiles were strangers to the Old Covenant and never under the law, and that wasn’t going to change.

TWO CHOICES

This leaves us with two choices: Passover is forbidden to Gentiles, or the law was changed.

If you believe the law must be unchanged, and if you quote “not one jot or one tittle”, then Passover remains forbidden to people who are not physically Israelite. If you wish to observe any of the law without changing it then you must be circumcised if you are a male, or marry an Israelite if you are a woman (like Ruth), and thus join yourself to the physical nation of Israel. Only after you have joined and become like one of the natives of the land is there any expectation of observing the law of Moses. That is the law.

If you believe this law was changed, then there are far-reaching consequences for you. I know that Herbert Armstrong taught that only the sacrificial laws and the national laws of Israel were changed; this is not one of those. This is law regarding Passover, which Armstrongism demands is binding. Ergo, if one demands Passover then one admits the law itself was changed; the "eternal and unchanging law" is neither eternal nor unchanging. "Not one jot or one tittle" becomes fulfillment in Christ. And that is tantamount to admitting precisely what Mainstream Christianity claims.

Choose wisely.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, no, Christians are not expected to be Jews in order to be Christians, nor are they expected to observe the Old Covenant Passover.

And now, for the rest of the story regarding the Days of Unleavened Bread in the New Covenant, please continue on to read this fine article from Caleb: Were Gentiles in Corinth Observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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The God’s Law Controversy

The controversy began immediately in the 1st century and has continued. What is the eternal God's law? Is it that which came down from Sinai through Moses or is it something else that came through Jesus apart from the former law. This divide has been a central issue facing the believers in Jesus, and remains so. It goes back and forth with passion and often recrimination. One side argues: “the law of God is found in the New Testament” the other says “The law of God is that which is found in the book of Exodus and it is incumbent upon us all to submit to this law to be right with God.” This is the argument that is made in the Koran. The Muslims believe that they are keeping the law once delivered by Moses in it's uncorrupted wholeness. This divide is the central issue that is currently drawing the planet ever nearer to the brink of self inhalation because Islam has commanded that all other belief systems be eradicated and all unbelievers in the authority of Mohammad be placed under the dominion of Islamic masters by any means.

Not long ago an ABD comment pointed out that "the law of God will be written on the hearts of believers, so the law of of the Old Covenant was still in affect," end of story. No further investigation would be tolerated. No questioning if the law that was to be written on the heart was a law that God himself would keep. Since God alone is eternal both forwards and backwards, an eternal law would need to be pertinent both forwards and backwards or it would hardly be eternal.

The Decalogue (Ten commandments) is oriented to the human spiritual condition, to a nature that is drawn to evil. How could such a law have existed when God, who is love, was all their was? God's way is love, so then must be his law, and isn't it logical to conclude that this is the higher law? Ideally, this is the law I'd want written on my heart. What wonderful thing can I imagine that God cannot do? Can I imagine an ideal that could top what God has imagined? Not at all. I can imagine a better law written in one's heart than one of 'thou shall nots'. How can anyone believe God would settle for "thou shalt not" being written on one's heart instead of "I want to love"? When God writes on the heart, he is writing the code for the operating system of the mind, and there will be no need for a "thou shall not." I have frequently commented that there is no law against jumping out of an airplane without a parachute as only an insane person would have such an impulse. There is no need for a law against something that is contrary to the nature of human beings, and normally self preservation is very pronounced in that nature, that is, in the operating system of the mind.

Jesus said that 'love toward God and Love toward man' is the basic principles upon which the Law and the prophets were based. This too is said to prove the contention that the law of the Old Covenant is the Eternal law of God; but no real change was produced in the keepers of the law except in a few through God's spirit. it wasn't a result of the law itself.

The heart is in need of a re-creation. The first 10 books of the bible demonstrates that this external law is no final solution for a deficiency that can not be filled from the resources of a human being. I frequently divide law into internal and external varieties. An internal law is one that we follow because it is part of our being as apposed to an external law that has rules that contradict our internal law. We find ourselves struggling with those arias where our hearts have the greatest conflict with the external laws requirements.

The OC law does point to this more fundamental law which is love. The question is how? "The ten Commandments teaches us how to love" goes the rationalization. This statement sounds logical but it is twisting reality to conform to the preconception of the the Decalogue's eternal significance. In other word it is just a rationalization. In reality there is no example of anyone learning to love through a list of things that must be performed. The bible simply doesn't state that this is the case. In fact, the Old Testament’s lessons distilled down to their most potent concentration screams the fact that an external prescription of do's and don’ts does nothing to change the heart. This is the lesson of the entire history of Israel. What the law does is provide a line in the sand, that is, a point of reference so that sin can be identified and the resulting penalties demonstrate a little of what is truly deserved by the sinner; and the penalty was taken for all sinners by Jesus on the cross. This is the love that the law points to. Without the law there would be no means of comprehending the over arching love of our creator.

The results God desires is encoded in law, yet as already pointed out, this goal was not achieved and clearly not achievable via the enforcement of the OC (Old Covenant) law. Mat 22:37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' V38 This is the first and greatest commandment. V39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' V40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." The goal God set for these qualities to become a part of human character was not achievable until they could be written in the very nature of man. You might say, in the operating system of man. How can God accomplish this? Through the New Covenant? By adding something unavailable to the people of the old: Col 1:27 “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ, like the prize vine of a wine maker is the rootstock of the entire vineyard. Gal 4:19 “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,”

When the very nature of the human being is changed there is no longer a need for a law to curb tendencies that don't exist. The law was made to control the evil nature of man; 1Ti 1:9 “Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,”

God knew from the beginning that Israel would fail and yet proceeded with the demand of obedience upon them until they fulfilled the course he had predicted,that being their failure. Deuteronomy 31:16-17 (NIV) 16 "And the LORD said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’"

Stated differently; why would God put in motion the epic national journey of Israel through rebellions and it's contrite repentance that repeated over and over until they were cast out of their land when he knew this was to be the outcome? Either God enjoys watching human suffering or God was making a demonstration as to the futility of this external law. The Ten Commandments is an external law that was put in place as a remedy for a problem, as a means of controlling a nature that has desires to do the things that the law prohibits. It did not change the heart nor did it succeed in bringing peace and order except when it was remembered. How much easier would it be to remember something that is not foreign to one's makeup?

A little side note I'd like to add here is how the above verse reflects on peoples view of God when they say things like:"I'm afraid I'll make God angry with me." the Universe makes the earth look like a microscopic dust particle, and God is far bigger. The idea that something that is like a microbe (man) on a particle of dust that is relatively microscopic is an absurdity. God chose to become angry in advance to fulfill the requirements of his demonstration Deut 31:17 “And in that day I will become angry with them.”

The apostle Paul pointed out some of the behaviors that the nature of man is predisposed to that the Old Testament law was designed to control. Galatians 5:19-26 (NIV) “The acts of the flesh (often translated sinful nature) are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Paul then relates the predispositions of an entirely different nature.
“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

Paul juxtaposes these two groups that might represent two pathways to correct behavior. With the first group a control mechanism is required and the second one is not. These are our two choices. When Jesus returns, according to Zech 14:16, those who attack Jerusalem are placed under the Old Testament law. Paul said in Romans 3:31"we uphold the law". Why would he discount one of the means to assure correct behavior when there are those who have not accepted option two. This can be simplified to: there is no vacuum in law, either you will be controlled by an external law or you will be self controlled by the inner law of God's love. 'Written on your heart' is clearly an idiomatic phrase meaning the core of one's being. This phrase is indicative of a new nature. Using the computer as a metaphor we might say that God has replaced the operating system.

These two groups, one of negatives and one of positives represent two possible paths to correct behavior. Focus on the evil and demand that it not be done, or focus on the good and let it crowd out the evil, for bitter water and sweet cannot come from the same source.James 3:11 (NIV) “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?”
Romans 8:5 (NIV) 5 “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
Romans 11:32 (NIV)32 "For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. Whatever things are good and noble, think on these things." This is where I want to put my attention. It's one thing to point out what is wrong, but it must at least be balanced out by what is good and right or it poisons the soul. God has given us a weak nature to demonstrate a point. The sentence:”For God has bound” makes this clear. It is incorrect to presume that an eternal law of do this and don't do that is necessary to deal with an eternal weakness in the nature of a sentient being.

Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” The renewing of your mind can only be the new nature growing crowding out the old as water displaces the air in a vessel. It may not happen all at once, but eventually the gas is removed. A gas is what leavening produces to puff up bread which symbolizes vanity, so I like the metaphor of the gas being replaced by the water since water is a metaphor for the Holy Spirit of the Almighty.

It's often pointed out that this earthly creation is so imperfect that it demonstrates that a holy and perfect creator is a myth. This short sighted thinking is similar to that of one who criticizes a building while its scaffolding is still covering its walls and bulldozers and cement trucks are crowding its grounds. God is creating through education and by providing experience instead of just downloading information. Layer by layer the pearl of great price is formed, and that pearl that the Lord sold all he possessed to purchase is you.

A treasure is rare and is formed with difficulty or it acquires no value; And so our lives are not easy and filled with heartache, but God is forging his treasure. The weak nature leading to our experience with sin is a temporary scaffolding needed during construction. This scaffolding seems like a part of natural reality to us, but it isn’t; and to form our perspective of eternity based on presumptions gleaned from our temporal reality will only result in the grievous error of clinging to the scaffolding God must remove to reveal his finished work.

It may not always make sense to us how God works, but we can interfere with our shortsighted presumptions. We need to trust totally. If there is beauty, it is from the mind of God; if there is goodness, it is from the mind of God. This is what faith is; knowing that God is good, that his will is better than we can imagine, that his desire is for better results than we could conceive of. Here's a truth you can tell yourself: “God already knows what I need and his will for me is better than my own.”

How much better to give thanks for a work God sees as completed than to limit God by focusing on trying to fix the building we have no power to build, or for that matter, telling God what we think is wrong and what we think should be done about it, which is to presume that Gods will needs our assistance. I can state what I see as wrong, but faith says that I should seek his solution because his solution will always make mine look like road kill. In all ways God is beautiful, his will is refreshing like white water of the mountain headwaters, rumbling and tumbling over boulders glistening in the bright sunshine of summer. Every trouble is dwarfed by the majesty of his works and the fruition of his desires, that which we commonly call his will. What can I possibly add to it.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; ) Acts 17:11

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