If Jesus Christ were here in person, He would still be observing the same customs He observed when He was on earth as the “Son of man.” Believe it or not, He would keep the Passover just as He kept it with His disciples, observe the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles!
For decades the Church of God has been keeping the annual holy days ordained by God in the time of Moses. It is another unique practice, clearly setting God’s Church apart from all others. But why are these festivals still observed in this modern age of space travel and advanced technology? Here is the answer, made plain, from your Bible.
When I was only a small boy in the 1930s, and the Western world was struggling out of the worst depression in economic history, I remember so well my father, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, and my mother observing God’s annual holy days alone. Though my memories are vague concerning the beginning years of Church attendance –– I remember very vividly the annual trips to a nearby Oregon resort for the observance of the “Feast of Tabernacles” every fall! To me, it was a marvelous opportunity for fishing along one of the most beautiful of Oregon’s mountain streams, walking along thickly forested paths in Oregon’s mountains, and experiencing joy and excitement as only a nine, ten, or eleven-year-old boy can know. When I was discharged from the Navy in 1952, a small group of approximately 400 of God’s people were observing the Feast of Tabernacles at a mountain resort in Northern California. By the next year (1953), I had been converted and baptized, and I attended my very first Feast of Tabernacles as a member of God’s Church.
Why Holy Days?
One of the most unsettling and shocking biblical revelations to my father, in his very early research, was the discovery that God’s Sabbath day is still holy, and must be observed by God’s people today! Obedience to God is the perfect example Jesus set. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the SAME yesterday, today and forever! (Heb. 13:8.) He set us an EXAMPLE that we should walk in His steps (I Peter 2:21). Jesus KEPT the weekly Sabbath, and called Himself the Lord of the Sabbath day (Mark 2:28). He plainly said He had kept His Father’s commandments (John 15:10), and commanded His true disciples to teach all nations to observe all things whatsoever He had commanded them (Matt. 28:19-20).
Jesus kept the Passover throughout His entire life. One very beautiful and meaningful passage of Scripture (Luke 2:41-47) relates the account of Jesus astounding the doctors of Levitical law in the Temple following the observance of the Passover with His parents in Jerusalem. A great deal of space is used by the Gospel writers recounting almost moment by moment the events surrounding Jesus’ final Passover, where the changing of the Old Testament Levitical symbols into bread and wine as the symbols of His broken body and His shed blood took place. The Apostle Paul clearly commanded Gentile Christians to DO exactly as Jesus had said: “…This DO in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Compare with I Corinthians 2:24 where the exact same scripture is repeated.
It is plain from MANY scriptures that Jesus Christ of Nazareth observed the annual holy days as well as the weekly Sabbath! It is very clear that the Apostle Paul observed such annual holy days, and urged Gentile Christians to do so.
My father was stunned to find that his pet argument –– “But all these churches can’t be wrong” –– made no sense whatever! When he discovered there was no biblical authority whatsoever for Sunday observance, it was only a matter of a few years before his thorough Bible studies naturally led him in direct confrontation with Jesus’ plain example of the observance of God’s ANNUAL Sabbaths, as well as the weekly one. God’s annual holy days reveal the full scope and depth of God’s great purpose for all of mankind.
“Feasts of the Lord”
The “festival chapter” of the Bible is Leviticus 23. Here the ANNUAL Sabbath days are listed right after the weekly Sabbath. This chapter is absolutely vital in understanding just which days God intended man to keep holy –– in fact, it’s the only chapter where all of God’s festivals are listed! Notice carefully the wording in this important chapter: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts” (Lev. 23: 1-2). These are not the “feasts of the Jews” as some have mislabeled them. They are God’s feasts! Like the weekly Sabbath, they were made for man (Mark 2:27), not just a single nation. The annual holy days of God are seven in number.
There is no evidence that the festivals were ever rescinded. On the other hand, there is abundant evidence that the first-century Church kept these very same annual holy days. God and Christ are just as alive today; the Church is alive and the Bible is a living witness.
Jesus Observed the Passover
Jesus Christ of Nazareth –– who was and is our perfect example –– observed these annual festivals throughout His earthly life. For instance, He was in the habit of observing the Jewish Passover from infancy. Luke preserved the vital details: “Now his [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the the days [plural] …” (Luke 2:41-43). Here is the important proof that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus also observed the Days of Unleavened Bread following the Passover. So Jesus had been keeping the Passover all His life.
But the Passover was far from the only annual festival that Jesus continually observed. Notice Jesus’ example during the Feast of Tabernacles –– the last one of His earthly ministry. “Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren [physical brothers] therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. … Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come… Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he [Jesus] also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret” (John 7:2-3, 6, 8-10).
Because of continually mounting persecution, Christ wisely chose not to travel openly in Judaea (verse 1). But verse 10 does definitely show that He did risk His life to keep God’s Festival of Tabernacles. Verse 37 tells of yet another festival that your Saviour observed: “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying…” This Last Great Day is a one-day festival (Lev. 23:39).
The Acts of the Apostles
The Apostle Paul wrote: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Cor. 11: 1). One way in which Paul continuously and consistently imitated Christ’s example is by observing (and teaching others to observe) the very same set of festivals Jesus did. He wrote in verse 23: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you [this is exactly how Paul followed Christ], That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread…” And then follows a repetition, a reiteration, of just exactly how Jesus taught His disciples to keep the Passover with the New Testament symbols (verses 24-28). So the Apostle Paul taught Gentile Christians to observe the Passover in a New Testament manner. The Apostle Paul not only FOLLOWED every example of Jesus Christ he humanly was able to, but powerfully and insistently taught all of those who would listen to his preaching (or who read his moving letters) to do the same!
Paul plainly commanded Gentiles to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread immediately following the Passover! Notice 1 Corinthians 5:7: “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.” How could they be “unleavened” and yet still be commanded to “purge out the old leaven”? This would be a complete contradiction of terms, unless the obvious meaning is understood: the Apostle Paul is urging them spiritually, to get rid of sin still dwelling in their lives, EVEN AS they already had swept out the bread and the crumbs containing leaven from their homes! “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast [of Unleavened Bread], not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (verses 7, 8). These Gentile Christians were clearly keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread according to the literal instruction given in Leviticus 23:6 and Exodus 12:18-20.
Pentecost and the Day of Atonement
Only fifty days after Jesus’ ascension, God sent His Holy Spirit to a select few repentant men during a New Testament annual holy day (Acts 2:1). Later, the Apostle Paul “…hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost” (Acts 20:16). Now notice yet another New Testament festival connected with the historical account of Paul’s activities in taking the gospel to the Gentiles. Concerning Paul’s perilous sea voyage to Rome, we read: “…When sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past…” (Acts 27:9).
Directly adjacent to verse 9 in some editions of the King James Version, there is a marginal reference which reads: “The fast was on the tenth day of the seventh month (Lev. 23:27; Numbers 29:7).” Almost all biblical scholars (conservative and liberal, ancient and modern) agree that “the fast” spoken of in Acts 27:9 is the Day of Atonement. But perhaps even more important than just the proof of the first-century observance of God’s holy days is the poignant meaning that is packed into each and every one of them.
The Meaning of God’s Holy Days
The New Testament states that “Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us.” Jesus was the Lamb of God (John 1:29). The Passover, originally commanded in Exodus 12 before the Ten Commandments were given at Mt. Sinai, pictures in advance the great sacrifice of Christ. After A.D. 31, it became a memorial of Christ’s death. It depicts the shed blood of Christ on behalf of all human beings.
It is also obvious, from a study of I Corinthians, that the Days of Unleavened Bread picture the putting away of sin. Leaven is a type of sin (I Cor. 5:7, 8). Other scriptures come clear as the pattern unfolds. The Festival of Pentecost or Firstfruits pictures the first small “spring” harvest of lives for God’s Kingdom. James likens Christians of this age to firstfruits for the Kingdom (James 1: 18). It was on the Day of Pentecost, A.D. 31, that God first gave His Spirit to the original apostles and disciples (Acts 2). Thousands were then added to the true Church as God called them. This was the very first typical harvest of God’s children.
The Feast of Trumpets depicts the triumphant return of the powerful, living Christ to set up the Kingdom of God on earth. Following Jesus’ return, the world will be united with God. He will put His Spirit into people’s hearts and minds and the world will be at one with God – reconciled to the Father through the blood of Christ. Satan will be bound and his evil influence removed from the face of the earth. He will be cast into the lake of fire, as a symbol of his unrepentant condition. Then he will be banished to outer darkness for a thousand years, after which he will be released for a short time. Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day picture this period, from the setting up of God’s kingdom to the Great White Throne Judgment.
The Feast of Tabernacles
My father and mother had kept these annual holy days by simply observing them as they would the weekly Sabbath. They did no servile work, but would study God’s Word, especially those sections which applied to the days which they were observing. Several years later, during the fall festival – Tabernacles – they would often go off to a desert place such as Siegler Springs in California for the full eight days of the feast. Only the first and last days were Sabbaths, but the whole festival period was eight full days.
The word “tabernacle” means a “temporary dwelling place.” Since the festival pictured the world of tomorrow, it seemed logical that that feast should be kept at some temporary site away from the home environment. In ancient Israel the people had made temporary “booths” of leaves and other materials as a means of shelter for the eight days of the fall festival. But how did they finance the trek to Jerusalem from all the distant borders of Israel? God had provided a way! (See Bible Correspondence Course Twenty.)
As we think of the approaching Feast of Tabernacles, and the wonderful opportunity of visiting and fellowshipping with others in whom is the very Spirit of God; attending inspiring, uplifting, dynamic services and hearing meaningful sermons; attending the many special activities scheduled; participating in Bible studies, family occasions, recreational activities such as boating, water skiing, picnicking, hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, fishing, or just relaxing with one’s family around the pool with a group of friends –– it fills us with a combination of nostalgia for the many past festivals that many of us have known, and sharpens and hones our anticipation of looking forward to this coming Feast of Tabernacles and season. By the way, even if you are not yet a baptized member of the Church of God –– you are most welcome to attend the Feast of Tabernacles with God’s people, and see and observe with your own eyes all that happens there!
