Feast Days Are Still Binding

[MachiEl Malachi]

Dear friends, 

We have held onto error for so long, but YaHuWaH (Jehovah) has forgiven us. But now light is coming and we need to keep up with it. 

I will make my point very plain and clear, because the Bible makes it that way. There is no need to beat around the bush for for large explanations. The truth is becoming self evident

The Torah (Law) still stands. Babylon tried to change it and take it away, but the only thing in Scripture that says will cease in the 70th week of prophecy is "sacrifice and oblation" (DaniEl 9:27). How can we continue to hold, with a clear conscience, that the Appointed Times of the Torah are ended? In Leviticus 23 they are called 'Holy Convocations', just like the Seventh-day Sabbath. That is their primary purpose. The animal sacrifices are shadows pointing to the Sacrifice of YaHushua (Jesus). Therefore, the purpose of these days are of convening together in remembrance of His Sacrifice and the plan of redemption associated with it. There is no need to guess on this matter. If we continue believing a lie (that the Feast Days are ceremonial and not moral), then we are denying both the Torah (Law) and the Messiah, and unless we repent we will receive the mark of the beast, which will include holiday laws (such as Easter and Christmass) in place of the Holy Days of the Bible. Come out of her My people!

Is this important? Yes!
Is this salvational? Yes! 

For more info.: www.seekbibletruth.org 

[Kevin H]

These were the feasts of the land. They were tied to the agricultural system of that piece of geography. They were held by the Canaanites long before Abraham was born. God used the natural agricultural system that the Hebrews would have to follow to not only grow their crops but to draw lessons about himself.

As the church went to the gentiles and no longer focused on that geography, while there are still the lessons to study from the feasts; we are unable to really keep the feasts and they will not have quite the same meaning for those of us who do not live on that land.

Also, there is one of the feasts that was not one that came from Moses and it would not have been a Biblical feast except that Jesus made it a Biblical feast: That of Hanukkah. Jesus' treatment of Hanukkah shows how he is open to newer holidays and will work with us where we are.

[8thdaypriest]

Isaiah 66:23 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. (Isa 66:23 NKJ)

7th Day Sabbath keepers like to quote this verse, but they ignore the "new moon" which was also an appointed time.  This verse includes MORE than just the rest of the 7th day. 

CJB  Leviticus 16:29& 31 "It is to be a permanent regulation for you that on the tenth day of the seventh month you are to deny yourselves and not do any kind of work, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you.  It is a Shabbat of complete rest for you, and you are to deny yourselves. This is a permanent regulation."

There were 7 sabbaths during the year, BESIDES the 7th Day Sabbath. 

The first and last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, (First month - 15th and 21st day)

Pentecost,

The Day for the Blowing of Trumpets  (7th month - 1st day)

The Day of Atonement, (7th month - 10th day)

The first and last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, (7th month - 15th and 21st day)

It's worth noting that all Israelite males were to go up to worship the LORD at these appointed times. 

While I completely believe that the sacrifice of animals and the presentation of animal blood has been rendered "obsolete" by the death of Jesus, I also believe that the "appointed times" will continue thru eternity, in the earth made new. 

Zechariah 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. (KJV)

[Sojourner]

You cannot do the feasts of the Old Testament without the Temple and the Levites being in existance. Likewise the feasts require Animal Sacrifice in the Temple which is also obsolete. The only way the COG movement and others can do it is by adding to or taking away from Scripture.

What I find interesting is how the majority of the groups that keep the feasts of the Old Testament go with the belief that they alone are the true church and that all the other COG groups are in error and are unsaved and so forth. Many of them still follow the practice established by the Jehovah's Witnesses of giving each initial member a number until they reach the magic 144 000 and the door is shut and Christ is activated to return.. The sheer hatred and animosity that many of the COG groups with the exception of the Church of the Great God branch have towards each other is a real concern and a sign to me that if there is a perfect church, they are not it..

[Aliensanctuary]

You cannot do the feasts of the Old Testament without the Temple and the Levites being in existance. Likewise the feasts require Animal Sacrifice in the Temple which is also obsolete.

I believe that the system of old points us to the system of the future. The old system was based on agriculture and animal husbandry, not technology, and so will the future system, for us humans, anyway. There will be technology in the cities and for transportation, but for humans, the servant class, there will be work for us in raising gardens and livestock. Like in the days of old, there will be feasts and Sabbaths and jubilees in the future Kingdom of YHVH. Tithe will be contributed, not in money, but in crops and animals, aka sacrifices. These tithes and offerings and sacrifices will be used to feed those who do not work the land or tend the flocks and herds.

Whether or not we keep those feasts and Sabbaths and jubilees today may not be as important as following the teachings of Christ, which is far more critical than our lame attempts to observe the feasts in a world of technology, industrialization, and large cities. Internalizing and practicing Christ's teachings are far more important than the outward displays of feasting and resting.

[Scuba]

The Feast days still teach us God's plan and timeline. Some have been fulfilled but some are still yet to come. Since Jesus has now become our sacrifice, that aspect of the Feats day has been fulfilled but the Feast days themselves still teach us God's plan and timeline. Since Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial portion of God's plan for dealing with sin we are not to judge anyone in how they honor the Feast days or anything thing else that has to do with the sin offering of the Old Covenant. Nothing is done with a meritorious mindset under the New Covenant.

Edited July 7, 2015 by Scuba

[Aliensanctuary]

Jeremiah 31:31

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts.

Hebrews 10:16

“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 

Ezekiel 36:26

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.  

The New Covenant is a contract not written on stone or paper, but is download into the minds of those who join the Kingdom of YHVH. We might suspect that Feast Days of the future are a part of the laws that will be obeyed without question or resistance. Only by a memory wipe and the programming of YHVH's laws into our minds can the future be safe from human rebellion, war, and death.

Those who attempt to observe the Feast Days of the scriptures today may have their hearts in the right place, but their true observance might be difficult to achieve until the Kingdom of YHVH is here.

[8thdaypriest]

You cannot do the feasts of the Old Testament without the Temple and the Levites being in existance. Likewise the feasts require Animal Sacrifice in the Temple which is also obsolete. The only way the COG movement and others can do it is by adding to or taking away from Scripture.

What I find interesting is how the majority of the groups that keep the feasts of the Old Testament go with the belief that they alone are the true church and that all the other COG groups are in error and are unsaved and so forth. Many of them still follow the practice established by the Jehovah's Witnesses of giving each initial member a number until they reach the magic 144 000 and the door is shut and Christ is activated to return.. The sheer hatred and animosity that many of the COG groups with the exception of the Church of the Great God branch have towards each other is a real concern and a sign to me that if there is a perfect church, they are not it..

Wow!!  Sounds like you suffered some rejection at one or more of those congregations.  Sorry. 

I'm NOT a member of any of the ones you mentioned.  I'm NOT a member of ANY denomination.  I just study my Bible. 

You'd agree that "all flesh" will go up to worship the LORD on the Sabbath of the 7th Day.  Right?  So - why not at His OTHER "appointed times" ?  (New Moon is specifically mentioned.) 

The LORD visited Abraham on what would later be called the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

It appears the survivors will go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 

Why CAN'T we celebrate those Feasts without animal sacrifices?  We go up to Jerusalem, and we have great camp-meeting type gatherings, to worship and praise the LORD, and to fellowship with one another, AND to remember the work of our Savior. 

I don't say (presently) that I "keep" any Feast.  I just say that we commemorate them.  The Israelites did NOT keep the Feasts during their 40 years wandering, or during their captivity in Babylon.  That didn't mean the Feasts WENT AWAY.  It just meant they could not be kept - just then.    And they cannot be kept just now - not until Jesus restores the Temple in His kingdom. 

We try to teach what the Feasts taught.  It's better than doing Christmas (pagan origin) or Easter (pagan origin). 

Paul wrote, "Christ our Passover was slain for us.  Therefore let us KEEP THE FEAST."  (I Cor 5:8)  What Feast???  Passover - would be the logical answer. 

I was 40 years old when I REALIZED that the "last supper" was a Passover Feast.  What does THAT say about my education......

I CERTAINLY don't say that I commemorate any Feast in order to be saved.  I do it because - in those Feasts - is the story of our salvation. 

 

 

You cannot do the feasts of the Old Testament without the Temple and the Levites being in existance. Likewise the feasts require Animal Sacrifice in the Temple which is also obsolete.

 

The same thing could be said for the 7th Day Sabbath.  Sacrifices were offered at the Temple, thru the Aaronic priests ON THE 7th DAY SABBATH ALSO. 

[Sojourner]

Again, there is no instruction in the Bible to "commemorate" any feast outside of the Scriptural instructions on how to commemorate that feast which in most cases calls for an animal sacrifice, temple rites and the sanction of the Levites.

In terms of the embittered hatred that exists between the COG’s and other movements, simply go to Google and look at what they have to say to one another.. There are no shortage of essays and other content about which is the correct group and how the others are the failed groups rejected by Christ in the book of Revelation and so on. Outside of the Church of the Great God, I would be interested to hear of any Feast Keeping denomination that does not do that, nor does not consider that they alone are the true church and that the others are frauds. What then is the pattern here?

If you would like to, you can go along to a Liberal Synagogue and keep the feasts with them, they often welcome Christians and anyone else to join in with them at those times. They also keep those feasts in a reconstructed manner without animal sacrifice, a temple or Levitical priesthood. What they do is no different to what the Philadelphia Church of God or anyone else might do to make a reconstruction of a commemoration those feasts. Yet what realistically is the point? Do Christians really need to be repointed back to the first coming of the messiah? Have we not been given the three angels message to look forward to the second coming of the messiah as opposed to being made to commemorate the first in the pattern of the feasts of the Old Testament?

As for the Seventh Day Sabbath, I keep the Sabbath based on the command in Genesis to all creation, not the Jewish law. G-d consecrated and made the Seventh Day Holy at Creation for all of His creation for all of time. If we need to use the Jewish law to enforce the Sabbath then we need to keep it in the same manner as an Orthodox Jew and their motivation for doing that was fulfilled on the cross by Jesus.

[JoeMo]

Everyone here has some valid points. I don't "keep" the feast days; but I do "commemorate" or "remeber" them. History shows that important things have happened o nor around those days.  It was around Pentecost that God decended on Sinai to meet with Israel.  It was around Passover that the Hebrews passed over into the Promised Land.

We should also be aware of the longer-term cycles of the Jewish calendat.  The "disasters" at the end of the past several Shemitahs (Sabbatical Years) all occured on the eve of Rosh Hashana (Elul 29) - example - 9/11/2001 was Elul 29.  The stock market crash of 2008 was Elul 29.  What will be in store for us on Elul 29 ( Sunday Sept. 13) this year?  Could the next Jewish year be a Jubilee year? If 1967 (the year Israel regained Jerusalem and much of its lost territory) was a Jubilee Year, 2016 will be as well. (We have lost track of which years are Jubilee Years; but we are still able to track Shemitahs.)

Whether we "honor" or "keep" the Jewish feasts or not is a matter of conscience.  If we want to be "awake", we need to at least track them because of their significance on God's timeline.  Spring feasts were fulfilled real-time when Jesus was here.  could Fall feasts be fulfilled real-time upon Jesus' second coming?

[8thdaypriest]

Again, there is no instruction in the Bible to "commemorate" any feast outside of the Scriptural instructions on how to commemorate that feast which in most cases calls for an animal sacrifice, temple rites and the sanction of the Levites.

In terms of the embittered hatred that exists between the COG’s and other movements, simply go to Google and look at what they have to say to one another.. There are no shortage of essays and other content about which is the correct group and how the others are the failed groups rejected by Christ in the book of Revelation and so on. Outside of the Church of the Great God, I would be interested to hear of any Feast Keeping denomination that does not do that, nor does not consider that they alone are the true church and that the others are frauds. What then is the pattern here?

If you would like to, you can go along to a Liberal Synagogue and keep the feasts with them, they often welcome Christians and anyone else to join in with them at those times. They also keep those feasts in a reconstructed manner without animal sacrifice, a temple or Levitical priesthood. What they do is no different to what the Philadelphia Church of God or anyone else might do to make a reconstruction of a commemoration those feasts. Yet what realistically is the point? Do Christians really need to be repointed back to the first coming of the messiah? Have we not been given the three angels message to look forward to the second coming of the messiah as opposed to being made to commemorate the first in the pattern of the feasts of the Old Testament?

As for the Seventh Day Sabbath, I keep the Sabbath based on the command in Genesis to all creation, not the Jewish law. G-d consecrated and made the Seventh Day Holy at Creation for all of His creation for all of time. If we need to use the Jewish law to enforce the Sabbath then we need to keep it in the same manner as an Orthodox Jew and their motivation for doing that was fulfilled on the cross by Jesus.

"All creation".  Hmmmmm.  So birds stop gathering sticks to build their nests on the Sabbath, and bees stay in the hive on a sunny Sabbath morning. 

Genesis just says that God rested from His work of creating, and blessed the 7th day, and declared it holy.  From that, one could infer that it was only the ONE 7th day - the one that followed the creation week, that was set apart as "holy" - not EVERY 7th day. 

I don't see any command - in Genesis - that says every 7th day is to be a non-work day - for human kind.  For that you have to go to Mt Sinai.  And THERE you find commands for sacrifices to be offered ON THAT DAY. 

Don't get me wrong.  I do REST on the 7th Day.  I believe we can remember the Feast days WITHOUT offering animal sacrifices.  After all - that's what we do with the 7th Day Sabbath.  The 4th commandment says, "remember".    I'm just remembering the other appointed times as well. 

I certainly do NOT say that anyone who does not remember the Feasts is "lost".  Every person must follow his/her own conscience. 

I think the Feasts are a GREAT teaching tool, to remember what God has done, and will do - for mankind.  To remember the prophecies that were fulfilled by Christ when He came as a man, and to think about the prophecies (the Feasts WERE prophecy) that will be fulfilled - soon. 

If we "remember" birthdays, and anniversaries, and 4th of Judy, and Thanksgiving,  and Memorial Day, etc. etc. etc. - why not "remember" HIS days as well. 

Colossians 2:16 says, "Therefore let no one judge you in food (meat offerings), or in drink (drink offerings) or regarding a Feast or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." 

Paul could be saying, "let no one judge you .. regarding the new WAY in which you celebrate the Feasts or the Sabbaths (without a trip to Jerusalem or animal sacrifices). 

I won't judge you - if you don't judge me.  OK? 

[Ron Amnsn]

the  feast  days   were MOSES  LAWS----MOSE  LAWS  were  nail at the..... CROSS   when  JESUS  CHRIST  FULLED  THEM

The idea that God's Law of Moses was nailed to the cross apparently comes from a mistranslation of Colossians 2:14.  The word for ordinances that the apostle Paul used in that verse was the Greek word dogmasin a form of the word dogma.  When Paul wrote the epistle to the Colossians there was a Greek version of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) that had been around for well over a century.  It was commonly used by the Greek-speaking followers of God.  If you look in the Septuagint to see how many times the word dogmasin (or any of the other forms of dogma) are used to refer to God's laws or instructions, you'll find that those words never refer to God's laws, and they never refer to laws or instructions given by Moses either.  In the Septuagint the Greek words dogma and dogmasin always refer to man-made decrees or regulations or documents.

If Paul was wanting to say that God's Law of Moses was nailed to the cross, he could have used any of several Greek words that are used hundreds of times in the Greek Old Testament to refer to the laws, statutes, regulations, and instructions that God gave to Moses. But Paul chose instead to use a word that was never used to refer to the Law of Moses.

[phkrause]

Ron your assuming that Paul used the Greek Bible! If I know anything about my fellow Jews, at least the observant ones, they would never open the Greek Bible. If you go to Jewish websites all of them translate from the Hebrew Bible. I remember one time discussing something with one site and I mentioned something and the Rabbi asked me if I was a Jew. I told him was was a SDA Christian and the first thing he said to me, was we don't read or translate from the Septuagint. We read and translate only from the Old Hebrew transcripts.

[Ron Amnsn]

Ron your assuming that Paul used the Greek Bible! If I know anything about my fellow Jews, at least the observant ones, they would never open the Greek Bible. If you go to Jewish websites all of them translate from the Hebrew Bible. I remember one time discussing something with one site and I mentioned something and the Rabbi asked me if I was a Jew. I told him was was a SDA Christian and the first thing he said to me, was we don't read or translate from the Septuagint. We read and translate only from the Old Hebrew transcripts.

It is true that Hebrew-speaking Jews have no respect for Greek documents, which could be strong evidence that Paul probably did not write his epistles in Greek.

I'm assuming that if Paul wrote his epistle in Greek, he would have at least read the Greek Scriptures that were used by those Greek-speaking Israelites who would actually accept and respect a letter written in Greek, so he would know whether that Greek translation would support his counsel and arguments.  I'm also assuming that if Paul wrote in Greek, the Holy Spirit would have inspired him to use the correct words to refer to God's Law of Moses, and the correct words to refer to other documents.  I am also assuming that Paul was telling the truth about his own scholarly training, and I am assuming that as a scholar Paul would have an interest in whether the Greek translation correctly conveyed the truths of Scripture, and would be interested in communicating effectively with people who relied on those Greek Scriptures.  (When I worked with an indigenous tribe in Central America, I was very interested in the accuracy and wording used in the local Bible translation that was read by the people.)

I'm also assuming that Jesus was speaking the truth when he said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."  (Matt. 5:17-19)

Notice that Jesus said, "shall in no wise pass from the Law".  He did not say, "shall only pass from the law if it be nailed to the cross".

We know that Jesus himself was nailed to the cross, and we know that being nailed to the cross gave Jesus greater importance, not less importance.  Jesus did not become obsolete by being nailed to the cross.  So if the Law of Moses had actually been nailed to the cross we should expect that process to result in the Law of Moses also gaining greater importance just as Jesus himself gained greater importance by being nailed to the cross.   However, there is no record of a Torah scroll being nailed to the cross.  The Gospel record says that the only document that was nailed to the cross was the handwritten, man-made placard that proclaimed the "crime" of the condemned Jesus-- "The King of the Jews".  

What Colossians 2:14 is saying is that Jesus chose to take the placard on which my sins are recorded -- the document that would be nailed above my own head if I were to get the punishment that I deserve -- and nailed my placard to his own cross, paying the penalty that those sins deserved under the Law.  The Law has been satisfied, not abolished. Jesus chose to take your placard too. That is awesome good news.  We have been redeemed and Jesus has vindicated God's word and has proven that God and his word can be totally trusted.      That message is so different than the popular anti-law interpretation of Colossians 2:14 which claims that part of God's word is no longer valid, but can't really decide which parts of God's word has been affected and which parts of God's Word can no longer be trusted. 

If Paul was actually the Jewish scholar of Scriptures that he claimed to be, and if Paul had actually been intending to say that a portion of God's Law of Moses had been rendered obsolete by being nailed to the cross, Paul would have known that such a message would be utterly rejected by the God-fearing Jews and Gentiles who trusted the Scriptures as the word of God.  And Paul would have known that if some God-fearing people somehow miraculously accepted such an anti-Scriptural message, that they would be much distressed and confused -- not knowing which parts of the Scriptures that Jesus had endorsed had [supposedly] been made obsolete and which parts could still be trusted. If Paul was who he claimed to be, he would have carefully explained exactly which parts of the Law were still "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" and which were not.  But instead we see Paul teaching that, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2Tim 3:16-17)  That certainly applies to the Scriptures that tell us about God's feasts.

[Ron Amnsn]

These were the feasts of the land. They were tied to the agricultural system of that piece of geography. They were held by the Canaanites long before Abraham was born. God used the natural agricultural system that the Hebrews would have to follow to not only grow their crops but to draw lessons about himself.

If the Bible is true and all mankind is descended from Adam and Noah (with the Canaanites probably descended from Noah's grandson Canaan) we would expect that the Canaanites would still possess and practice some fragments of what God had taught Adam and Noah about His appointed times.  The Bible first mentions "appointed times" (moedim in Hebrew) in Genesis 1:14, where it has been translated inaccurately as "seasons".

We know that somebody was keeping track of the date of Passover at least 430 years before Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. Scripture tells us, "Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.  And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt." (Exo 12:40-41)  Scripture also tells us a bit about what had happened 430 years earlier.  The beginning of Genesis 46 records that Jacob stopped in Beesheba to offer sacrifices on his way to Egypt.  Beersheba was the last stop before Egypt.  Those sacrifices offered by Jacob as he left Canaan could very well mark "the very day" of God's appointed time that later became Passover.

If on the other hand you believe the Bible is a fable and that the Canaanites evolved from cave men and ape-like ancestors, then what you say about God adapting the "feasts of the land" would be true.  I'm not saying that the Canaanites didn't celebrate the same sort of feasts that God gave to Israel.  I'm just saying that the Canaanites probably got those feasts from their ancestors who got them from God originally.

 

[Kevin H]

I believe in our decent from Noah. Paganism has many truths that they got from Noah but corrupted. In Canaan it became especially corrupt. The Bible corrected these corruptions. The Canaanites used these truths as they were learning the agricultural cycle of the land. Thus Ron I don't see it as an either/or situation. There is a little bit of both.

[Guest]

interesting topic - not one that has occured to me before.

i do know as christians that we can get caught up in debates like this arguing points back and forth which takes us away from the focus on Christ and love of God (thinking about Christ/God, drawing closer to him)

for me and this is going by memory - i think the feasts were designed to be a reminder as what God has done for us, i don't have any problem with people wanting to do it for this purpose and i think it is good to remember.
someone saying "it's important for our salvation" doesn't sit well with me - "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no-one comes to the Father except through Me"

[LifeHiscost]

interesting topic - not one that has occured to me before.

i do know as christians that we can get caught up in debates like this arguing points back and forth which takes us away from the focus on Christ and love of God (thinking about Christ/God, drawing closer to him)

for me and this is going by memory - i think the feasts were designed to be a reminder as what God has done for us, i don't have any problem with people wanting to do it for this purpose and i think it is good to remember.
someone saying "it's important for our salvation" doesn't sit well with me - "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no-one comes to the Father except through Me"

God is Love!  Jesus saves! 

[LifeHiscost]

If the Bible is true and all mankind is descended from Adam and Noah (with the Canaanites probably descended from Noah's grandson Canaan) we would expect that the Canaanites would still possess and practice some fragments of what God had taught Adam and Noah about His appointed times.  The Bible first mentions "appointed times" (moedim in Hebrew) in Genesis 1:14, where it has been translated inaccurately as "seasons".

We know that somebody was keeping track of the date of Passover at least 430 years before Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. Scripture tells us, "Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.  And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt." (Exo 12:40-41)  Scripture also tells us a bit about what had happened 430 years earlier.  The beginning of Genesis 46 records that Jacob stopped in Beesheba to offer sacrifices on his way to Egypt.  Beersheba was the last stop before Egypt.  Those sacrifices offered by Jacob as he left Canaan could very well mark "the very day" of God's appointed time that later became Passover.

If on the other hand you believe the Bible is a fable and that the Canaanites evolved from cave men and ape-like ancestors, then what you say about God adapting the "feasts of the land" would be true.  I'm not saying that the Canaanites didn't celebrate the same sort of feasts that God gave to Israel.  I'm just saying that the Canaanites probably got those feasts from their ancestors who got them from God originally.

 

Simple solution for assurance and future and present peace and security.

12But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. 13The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.…Ecclesiastes 12

God is Love!  Jesus saves! 

[Ron Amnsn]

interesting topic - not one that has occured to me before.

i do know as christians that we can get caught up in debates like this arguing points back and forth which takes us away from the focus on Christ and love of God (thinking about Christ/God, drawing closer to him)

for me and this is going by memory - i think the feasts were designed to be a reminder as what God has done for us, i don't have any problem with people wanting to do it for this purpose and i think it is good to remember.
someone saying "it's important for our salvation" doesn't sit well with me - "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no-one comes to the Father except through Me"

It bothers me when people say "People need to do this for salvation." And the title of this thread, "Feast days are still binding," bothers me as well.  Both of those seem to be looking at God's feasts from a legalistic viewpoint-- the viewpoint that says, "What's the least I can do and still squeak into heaven?"  That doesn't sit well with me. That viewpoint is not the viewpoint that Jesus taught. 

Jesus taught (in agreement with what Moses taught) that His followers would want to do the maximum for God, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."  If God asked his people to keep certain appointments at specific times, why would someone not want to participate? If Jesus celebrated those appointed times (and He did), why would his followers not want to celebrate those appointed times as well?

Have you ever considered that when Jesus was showing us what "the Way" is, and what "the Truth" is and how to live "the Life" Jesus was keeping all of God's Law of Moses including the feasts?  If Jesus is the Way, then wouldn't we want to live like Jesus lived?  When our focus is on Jesus, wouldn't we want to do as Jesus actually did?

Why would someone even consider debating against doing as Jesus did?  Why would a person view God's instructions as "binding" rather than freeing?  Is it because we don't view the instructions of God in Scripture in the same way that Jesus did?

 

[Kevin H]

I like the lessons we can learn from the feast days. If people want to celebrate them that is fine. However we need to be aware that while the Sabbath was universal and treated thus by the ancient Hebrews, that the feast days were localized and they needed communications from Jerusalem about when they were happening.

But the other issue that really concerns me is that people use the feast days to build their sinful nature. Our sinful nature is a disposition to think we are for ourselves by making less of the outside world. To esteem ourselves more highly than our breathern. Too often those who keep the feast days look down upon and pour contempt on those who celebrate events such as Christmas or the holidays of our culture. This was not the role of the feast days. And we see Jesus' attitude in how he included Hanukkah as a valid festival, even though it was not found in the Old Testament.

[phkrause]

I'm in agreement Kevin. I know of no Jewish/Adventist pastor that doesn't agree with what you have stated in your post.