Duane A. Garrett is a professor of theology at the Southern Baptist Seminary. This is an outline he wrote concerning the OT Festivals:
https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/feasts-and-festivals-of-israel.html
With that said, I will now share my controversial opinion: (I am not a Southern Baptist, nor did I graduate from any Southern Baptist Seminary!)
The idea of carrying over the Festivals into the New Testament was one that was embraced by those who embraced BI/Sabbatarian Theology. Herman Hoeh was one of the masterminds of carrying the belief and theological interpretation of the Festivals into the New Covenant through his own exegesis of scripture. While one is free to observe such days if they choose so - the problem came with the baggage tied in with the Armstrong version of the Festivals. For instance:
1. The idea that your salvation is incumbent upon the observance of these festivals.
2. The idea that the carry-over of the Festivals reveals some mystery plan of God. The mystery has already been revealed to NT Christians.
3. The idea that somehow you can even keep these festivals properly in the hope of pleasing God.
4. The idea that anything you do(also, related to Law-Keeping) is good enough for any kind of brownie points with God. It is not.
The mystery plan of God is revealed in the Bible as Christ in you, the hope of Glory. (Col. 1:27), which was made possible by the fulfillment of the Law in Jesus Christ, who reconciled us all to the Father, thus allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, who compose the New Testament Church today.
The Holy Spirit does not require a Calendar. The Holy Spirit does not need an on/off switch as to when we can be Christian and do good works or not. Christ in us does not require the concept of mortal time. And doing good works and showing faith and love does not run on a physical timetable, and is not dependent on the moon, or the sun, or any astronomical/astrological events as it relates to life here on Earth.
The one thing Herbert Armstrong, and Armstrongism was not able to do was to look beyond the physical to the reality of the spiritual realms - beyond time, space, matter, and the calendar. The festivals were given to those who, before the fulfillment of Christ, were cut off from God, and were reliant on physical representations of the spiritual realm and the Law with it's sacrificial commands.
What Herbert Armstrong did was simple and horrific: He ignored everything Christ fulfilled at His first coming, continued with the idea that everyone was cut off from God except for he and his church for the full 6,000 years from "Adam" to the 2C, and with that concept and misinterpretations of the Law/Christ relationship, maintained the Law was still in effect until the second coming of Christ. This concept is what was behind his version of the Festivals running into and through the New Testament.
Yes, they were God's Festivals. He ordained them. But he ordained them for a time and a place before the Holy Spirit's ministry, and before the reconciliation of God with Man through Christ, who is Who the entire Old Testament pointed to - the law, and the prophets. Now that the reality the OT pointed to has come through Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit can minister in us, and through us, the freedom we have in Jesus Christ does not bind us to a physical calendar. It binds us as representatives of Jesus Christ in actions of love, faith, hope, and charity to all through the Spirit's lead.
Thanks form posting this here. I hope others join us.
ReplyDeleteMy studies show the Old Covenant was the 10 commandment. Other commands, judgments, and statutes were separate.
I am reviewing all my beliefs, but I am comfortable with the festivals still being required and outlining God's plan.
I think pretty much everyone agrees with some form of Passover ceremony and everyone with an annual Pentecost.
Paul in Corinthians writes about them being unleavened. In Acts they reference the Fast - not proof in itself, but an indication they are still keeping Atonement.
With Tabernacles - obviously almost noone keeps it as described. I wonder how they kept it in Jesus' day - were there enough trees around Jerusalem or did the non-Jerusalem visitors keep it in temporary dwellings?
All my comments are my opinion only With that said:
ReplyDeleteI think one of the biggest things to do is to look at the context of the festivals - what their purpose was - and more than anything, what they pointed to.
You raise the root issue. What is the Old Covenant? A statement in Wikipedia answers this in a wide representative view:
"Most Christians believe that only parts dealing with the moral law (as opposed to ceremonial law) are still applicable, others believe that none apply, dual-covenant theologians believe that the Old Covenant remains valid only for Jews, and a minority have the view that all parts still apply to believers in Jesus and in the New Covenant. "
Obviously, there are various opinions on this issue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_the_Old_Covenant
Pertaining to the Festivals in relation to the Old Covenant:
The Ten Commandments were the letter of the Law in the Old Covenant. They dictated the elementary principles of the Law which were bound to Israel. Exodus and Deuteronomy (whose actual definition means second law) outline the applications of the whole letter of the Law - and also go into why the Festivals were existent in the first place.
The first command in Deuteronomy is specific to the observance of the Festivals:
4:1 Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.
The very first command is that one - if one is attempting to keep the Law as commanded in the OT Second Law - is to NOT add, or not to subtract. It must be kept precisely. Why? Verse 5:
"so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?"
That's probably a good start to talking about the application of the Festivals of the Old Testament - required for Israel, so that when they enter the land they were to be given other nations would recognize that God is with them (God with us). This is important, because this represented Jesus Christ in the New Testament and foreshadowed Him - Emmanuel, God With Us.
It is my belief that all of the Festivals pointed to the reality that came in Jesus Christ. The Festivals were a physical shadow where God was working with one nation - Israel - a chosen people - where now, through the Spirit, God is working with all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and live by His Spirit.
"Paul in Corinthians writes about them being unleavened. In Acts they reference the Fast - not proof in itself, but an indication they are still keeping Atonement."
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely many still kept Atonement. And Unleavened Bread, and the Feast. There is absolutely no disputing that many of the Christians of the early Church did keep the Festivals and the Holy Days.
The observances of the Festivals were a huge point of major contention within the early Church, which was comprised of two major groups: The Judaizers, or the group of the circumcision. They believed that the Law and the Commands were continued in effect, and attempted to squash the teachings of the ministry of Paul and his teachings to the Gentiles - especially because Paul believed that since the Holy Spirit was now given to the Gentiles, they too, were now a part of the People of God - a shock and an offense to the Jews, who believed they were God's special people, identified by the signs of the Sabbath and the keeping of the Law. This was a huge, contentious shift with them.
Then we have the Gentiles, who were Paul's specific ministry. They were given the Spirit without having the observance of the Law or of the circumcision - much to the surprise of the Apostles. The Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 was a major debate in the early Church as to what parts of the Law were to be kept or what parts were not to be observed. They settled on the four key points we are all aware of.
The Apostles had their opinions. Paul and Peter had quite the kerfuffle about it.
The debate isn't about if they kept the Holy Days or if they did not. They've done that their whole lives - remember - they were Jews. The difference is that they welcomed those who never did as Gentiles - and the council decided that they did not have to keep them as they did, and they would still be welcome as the people of God as evidenced by the inclusion that they were given by the Holy Spirit.
Paul goes into this in great depth of scripture - and tries to tell the church what is important - and what the Festivals represented - and that the reality was met and fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Many did not accept this.
I found 2 books to be extremely helpful in understanding the ew covenant. They are WHAT GOD WISHES CHRISTIANS KNEW ABOUT CHRISTIANITY by Bill Gillham and CLASSIC CHRISTIANITY by Bob George. Since reading these books, my relationship with God is much more meaningful and free, and loving. I wish you the best in your efforts to learn about true Cristianity.
ReplyDeleteWith Tabernacles - obviously almost noone keeps it as described. I wonder how they kept it in Jesus' day - were there enough trees around Jerusalem or did the non-Jerusalem visitors keep it in temporary dwellings?
ReplyDeleteMy response:
There is a book I'd recommend you get in regards to answering this question that details everything about the laws and customs of Jesus time in absolute historical detail - the author leaves nothing out. I have it somewhere in here in my book collection but I have to leave soon. I'll look and I'll see if I can find it because the name of it evades me right now. But I highly recommend it and as soon as I locate it I'll source it. It puts a lot of detail into answering these types of questions.
The book is called "THE WORLD JESUS KNEW" by Anne Punton. You can get it online easily.
ReplyDeleteI ordered the book you recommended. I have read some other authors who delve into this, but the approach in this book is different.
ReplyDeleteI do have a different opinion on what is included in the Old and New Covenant - just the 10 commandments.
The other statutes and judgments were given to Israel - while some should be applied today, others would be impossible to keep today and some - the physical reminders are not necessary.
Interestingly, the prohibition on eating blood goes back to Noah's time. (Gen 9 v 4)
I am interested in how you came to the conclusions in your studies about your belief in the covenants and the appication in the post-Christ, post-resurrection age of the Holy Spirit after His death and resurrection, especially as to how one interprets the dividing line between applicable and impossible.
ReplyDeleteThere are several covenants in the Bible. The one we refer to in the Bible as the old covenant between God and Israel is documented in Exodus 20 to 24 and Deuteronomy 5 - verse 22 states 2 tables of stone. Deut 4 v 13 declares the covenant was the 10 commandments.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He cited 2 different summaries - love God and love your neighbor - on these hang all the law and the prophets.
The other statutes and judgments were given to amplify the law and also provide the national laws.
The festivals are not mentioned as part of the covenant. Circumcision is a separate covenant which was replaced by being circumcised spiritually - which is also an OT concept (Deut 10 v 16).
My current project is to document all the laws then go back and research them - this will take a while.
Another project is to research which areas of the Bible the typical church of God groups are not observing, but should (like helping the poor).
After all these years, I still have a lot to learn, and am keeping an open mind - even if it does not seem like it at times.