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Are Feast Days the Final Test?

Presenter:   Dennis Priebe

Location:    Internet

Delivery:    2006-08-07 01:03Z

Publication: GreatControversy.org 2006-08-07 01:03Z

Type:        Study

URL: http://www.greatcontroversy.org/gco/rar/pri-feasts.php

Over the past decade, a small, vocal contingent have produced and distributed an increasing number of papers, open letters, and booklets on one theme—the necessity of observing the national festivals or feasts given to the Hebrews, along with the sabbath days connected with those feasts. This movement has been gathering momentum among some who are seeking a preparation for final events.

Much has been been said with reference to this subject, and it will be impossible to cover everything in a short article. Advocates of the pro feast-days position produce a fair amount of technical material, based on language usage and alleged historical practices. Nevertheless, these modest pages will address the major issues, so that informed decisions can be made.

As usual, there is truth at the basis of the claims for the feast days. God gave Israel a marvelous sequence of observances throughout the year to teach major lessons about the plan of salvation, especially about how God was handling the great controversy. Every year Israel was to repeat these lessons, so that every new generation would understand the issues in the great controversy, and the torch of truth would be passed on. It was an outstanding teaching tool for God’s people.

But because of apostasy in the Christian church and an animosity to everything Jewish, these observances were completely forgotten, and were replaced with Christmas, Easter, and even Halloween. If Christians would have remembered the Hebrew feasts, it would have been easy for them to understand the dual aspects of the atonement, the reasons for a final judgment, and Christ’s new work since 1844. If Seventh-day Adventists would have studied the feasts more carefully, we would not be in such confusion today about righteousness by faith, the judgment, and the purpose of the last generation. The feasts were and are a tremendous teaching tool for God’s people, and they can be very useful today.

But make no mistake, those promoting the feasts today are saying much more than this, and it is these new claims that we here shall address. Consider the claims made in the following pro feast-keeping assertions:

• Those who go through the end, and are translated, will be teaching the statutes and judgments.
• The law is the Ten Commandments and the statutes....It is also the fundamental teaching which the 144,000 must embrace if they are to give the loud cry.
• The antediluvians were destroyed for not keeping the statutes and this will be the ultimate factor which brings the end destruction upon mankind.
• The 144,000 will teach the statutes in the last days....The statute message is...the very heart of the message carried in the loud cry to the world.

Since the feasts are part of the statutes, we are being told that only feast-keepers will be translated; that keeping the feasts is necessary to be part of the 144,000; that the feast days are the heart of the final message to the world. This is proposing much more than a teaching tool. To its advocates, it has become the final test issue by which the 144,000 will receive the seal of God.

We now proceed to examine twelve issues relating to the feasts and statutes of the Old Testament period.

1. The claim is made that the feasts were part of the heavenly sanctuary before Lucifer fell, and that they were part of the creation of this earth before sin. This claim is based on the Hebrew word mo’ed. But this word can have a number of meanings, such as “appointment, festival, assembly, congregation, appointed time.” It is completely improper to assume that wherever mo’ed is used, it refers to the feasts. The meaning varies according to the context and the subject discussed.

   The claim is made that since the plan of redemption was laid at the foundation of the world, and the feasts are an unfolding of the plan of redemption, therefore the feasts were established at creation. This is an interesting logical deduction, but there is one problem. There is no inspired evidence that the feasts existed before Sinai. The word mo’ed cannot be used to prove their existence. The Passover began with the tenth plague in Egypt and its purpose was to commemorate their deliverance from slavery. The Day of Atonement began with the yearly cycle connected with the tabernacle and the high priest. The Feast of Tabernacles pointed to their rest in Canaan after their enemies were destroyed. All the feasts were connected with the Hebrew chosen people after Sinai, and there is no evidence of their existence before Moses.

2. Many statements are quoted from Ellen White to prove feast-keeping. “In these last days there is a call from heaven inviting you to keep the statutes and ordinances of the Lord” (Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, p. 184). “I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes” (Review and Herald, October 13, 1904). The most famous statement is found in the Review and Herald, May 6, 1875:

   In consequence of continual transgression, the moral law was repeated in awful grandeur from Sinai. Christ gave to Moses religious precepts which were to govern the everyday life. These statutes were explicitly given to guard the Ten Commandments. They were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ. They were to be binding upon men in every age as long as time should last. These commands were enforced by the power of the moral law, and they clearly and definitely explained that law....[Please note that the moral law was repeated from Sinai, and the statutes were given to Moses at that time].

   The statutes and judgments specifying the duty of man to his fellow men, were full of important instruction, defining and simplifying the principles of the moral law, for the purpose of increasing religious knowledge, and of preserving God’s chosen people distinct and separate from idolatrous nations. The statutes concerning marriage, inheritance, and strict justice in dealing with one another, were peculiar and contrary to the customs and manners of other nations, and were designed of God to keep His people separate from other nations. The necessity of this to preserve the people of God from becoming like the nations who had not the love and fear of God, is the same in this corrupt age, when the transgression of God’s law prevails and idolatry exists to a fearful extent. If ancient Israel needed such security, we need it more, to keep us from being utterly confounded with the transgressors of God’s law. The hearts of men are so prone to depart from God that there is a necessity for restraint and discipline.

   In the complete article from which this excerpt is taken, Ellen White introduces the moral law in the first two paragraphs. Next she introduces the ceremonial law and points out that it is distinct from the moral law. Then she describes a third category of laws—the statutes and judgments. She tells us that they are not part of the moral law nor part of the ceremonial law. They have an explaining, applying, and enforcing relationship to the moral law. They were to govern the everyday life. They were for the purpose of protecting life. They specify the duty of man to God and to his fellowman. They define and simplify the principles of the moral law. They applied to marriage, inheritances, and justice in business affairs. They were to keep the people from following the customs of other nations. They were to be binding upon all men in all ages as long as time should last. Ellen White is very specific about the content of these statutes, and it is important to note that she said nothing at all about the three feasts in which all Hebrew males were to come to the tabernacle.

   Nowhere does Ellen White make the connection between the statutes and the feasts. This is an interpretive deduction made by some today.

   Let us take a quick look at some other statutes and commandments. In Leviticus 7:34 the priests were to receive parts of the animal sacrifices for their sustenance. In Exodus 30:19-21 the priests were to wash their hands and feet when they went into the tabernacle. In Leviticus 19:27, 37 the people were not to cut the corners of their beards. In Numbers 15:38, 39 the people were to wear a ribbon of blue on the borders of their garments. These were all statutes of the Lord. It has been suggested that we are not to follow the specific commands here but to look for the principles behind the commands. This seems like a reasonable conclusion and should be applied equally to the feasts. We should look for the principles behind the specific feast day commands, and learn the lessons of the feasts and practice those principles.

3. Ellen White stated, “Well would it be for us to have a feast of tabernacles” (Review and Herald, November 17, 1885). “Shall we not gather our forces together, and come up to the feast of tabernacles?...Therefore come to the camp-meeting, even though you have to make a sacrifice to do so” (Bible Echo, December 8, 1893). She was referring to a camp meeting in December (not in the fall), and called it a feast of tabernacles. It was not a commemorative event, but an evangelistic thrust. On another occasion she said, “Then shall your life henceforth be a continual Feast of Tabernacles, a continual thank offering” (Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, p. 270). James White wrote about a particular camp meeting, “These annual feasts of tabernacles are gatherings of the greatest importance” (Signs of the Times, June 8, 1876). Clearly, for James and Ellen White, the Feast of Tabernacles found its meaning in present-day camp meetings, held at various times during the year.

4. Since it is very clear that Ellen White did not observe the feasts and the annual sabbaths, some explanation is necessary as to why God’s end-time prophet did not understand something necessary for translation. One has suggested, “The Holy Spirit did not allow Daniel to fully understand what he wrote....The same happened to Mrs. White with God’s festivals.” Now Daniel was dealing with sealed prophecies to be understood 2300 years later, while Ellen White was explaining those prophecies at the end of time, and writing much about the statutes and ceremonies. For Ellen White the feasts were the same as holy convocations and camp meetings (Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 70). She said nothing about appointed times for these convocations.

Another suggests, “Like Luther was not given the Sabbath, Ellen White was not given all the light on God’s feasts.” Here we have a clear admission that evidence is lacking for the feasts in the Spirit of Prophecy. Now Luther was in great darkness and did not have the light on many subjects. Is Ellen White, a prophet of God for the final generation, as blind as uninspired Luther regarding tests for the seal of God? The claim is made that Ellen White just did not understand; that we have more light than she; that we must go farther than the inspired mouthpiece for God to learn God’s will for us today; that we know more than the prophet—a dubious proposition.

5. The claim is made that Jesus kept the annual feasts. “Jesus traveled up and down the breadth of the land, giving His invitation to the feast” (Review and Herald, July 7, 1896). But this clearly has reference to the gospel feast, the gospel invitation. In fact, we are told just the opposite from what the feast-keepers claim. “Since the healing at Bethesda, He had not attended the national gatherings....His apparent neglect of the great religious assemblies....He Himself seemed to be indifferent to the service which had been divinely established” (The Desire of Ages, p. 450).

We are told about the last Passover supper, “The national festival of the Jews was to pass away forever” (The Desire of Ages, p. 652). It is suggested this refers only to the sacrifices on Passover day, not to the feast of unleavened bread following. But we find that “Paul tarried to keep the Passover....during the eight days of the feast” (Acts of the Apostles, pp. 390, 391). Luke 22:1 tells us that “the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.” The entire feast was called the Passover, although the Passover meal was only on the first day. In common usage Passover means the feast of unleavened bread, and it covered eight days. This was the national festival which was to pass away.

6. The claim is made that only the sacrifices ended, while the feast days are to continue. “After the crucifixion, it was a denial of Christ for the Jews to continue to offer the burnt offerings and sacrifices which were typical of his death” (Signs of the Times, July 29, 1886). Clearly, no sacrifices were acceptable after Christ’s death. Commenting on the Jerusalem council, we are told, “The council had...decided that the converts from the Jewish church might observe the ordinances of the Jewish law if they chose, while those ordinances should not be made obligatory upon converts from the Gentiles” (Sketches From the Life of Paul, p. 121). This could not refer to the sacrifices and the ceremonial law, which were not allowable for Jewish or Gentile Christians, but only to the other ordinances of the Mosaic law (including the feasts). The Jewish converts could continue those if they chose, but they were not necessary. At this council surely something would have been said about the feasts if they were still binding upon Christians.

7. Paul did keep the Passover with his converts at Philippi (Acts 20:6), and he mentions Pentecost also. Why did he do this? For the same reason that he took the purification vow in the temple, that “all may know...that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law” (Acts 21:24). He did it to reach the hearts of faithful Jews. Remember that the council had decided that Jewish converts could keep the Mosaic law if they chose, so Paul kept the Passover with Jewish and Gentile converts as a sign of unity. The years 34-70 A.D. were a transition period between Jewish laws and customs and Christian observances, and Paul kept some Jewish laws which were not mandatory after Christ’s death. “Paul did not bind himself nor his converts to the ceremonies and customs of the Jews, with their varied forms, types, and sacrifices” (Sketches From the Life of Paul, p. 105). Paul explained his rationale very well in 1 Corinthians 9:19, 20. “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law.”

8. Our Adventist pioneers understood clearly that feast day observance had ceased. “When that city...was destroyed...the complete cessation of their feasts, and, as a consequence, of the annual sabbaths, which were specified days in those feasts, must occur....The Jewish feasts were utterly extinguished with the final destruction of Jerusalem” (J. N. Andrews, The History of the Sabbath, p. 90). “When their feasts ceased to be binding on them, these Sabbaths must also” (Joseph Bates, The Seventh-day Sabbath, p. 14). “The feast days, new moons, and ceremonial sabbaths...were to cease at the cross” (Uriah Smith, The Biblical Institute, p. 139). “New-moons, feast days, and Sabbaths of the Jewish law ceased” (James White, Review and Herald, March 7, 1854).

9. The three primary feasts were required to be observed at the temple, so they could not be observed in captivity. They were closely tied to the Israelite agricultural calendar, with a thirteenth month added when needed, which again meant that they could not be kept in captivity (Hosea 9:3-5). How then can we keep them in the United States?

10. There is a distinction between the sabbaths and the Sabbath in Leviticus 23. Verse 2 refers to the mo’ed, the appointed times, and verse 3 includes the Sabbath as a holy convocation. But on the Sabbath “no work” is to be done, while on the feast sabbaths “no servile work” is to be done. In verses 37-38 the mo’ed are separate from “the sabbaths of the Lord,” which phrase is never used to refer to the feast sabbaths.

11. The claim is made that the feasts can be separated from the sacrifices. The Hebrew word chaq is one of the words by which all the feasts are called, and it literally refers to the sacrificial victim (Exodus 23:18). This implies that the feasts were extensions of the sacrificial animals, and could not exist without the sacrifices.

12. Some feast keepers have drawn faulty conclusions regarding our preparation for the close of probation. Consider these statements: “Our old natures are taken away and our new natures are given to us....during the Great Tribulation.” “Our new nature is given to us when our sins are blotted out...during the Latter Rain,” referring to the condition of sinlessness in which Adam lived (Melody and Richard Drake, God’s Holidays, p. 26). “Our very nature and being is still sin....Even when we are not willfully sinning we are in a state of sin” (Ibid., p. 39). “Our sinful nature has to be changed before...probation closes forever.” “Our sinful natures have to be changed or we will not be able to stand for one moment after the close of probation without sinning” (Ibid., p. 42). “We must reach Adam’s pre-fall nature before the Second Coming” (Ibid., p. 43). “The only way they can be holy is if He has given them their new nature” (Ibid., p. 44). “As long as we have a sinful nature, we are defiled; therefore, when God’s people are sealed the sinful nature must be removed from them” (Ibid., p. 46). “They are no longer tempted by evil” (Ibid., p. 48).

    The statements offered in the previous paragraph are clearly the teachings of original sin and holy flesh. Although they deny that they teach holy flesh, compare the above teachings with Ellen White’s warnings. “All may now obtain holy hearts, but it is not correct to claim in this life to have holy flesh...No human being on the earth has holy flesh. It is an impossibility” (Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 32). “When human beings receive holy flesh, they will not remain on the earth, but will be taken to heaven” (Ibid., p. 33). “Let this phase of doctrine be carried a little further, and it will lead to the claim that its advocates cannot sin” (Ibid., p. 32).

    The phrase “holy flesh” refers to the removal of the sinful nature with which we are born, and Ellen White is clear that this will not happen until we go to heaven. A result of this teaching is that those with holy flesh cannot sin, but the holy flesh teaching itself means that we will no longer have to live with our sinful natures. Are we here seeing a revival of the early Brinsmead teachings of the 1960’s, which led him directly to the Ford apostasy of the 1970’s?

In summary, while a study of the feasts will teach valuable lessons about the plan of salvation, and our time would be well spent in studying them carefully, to make them a test of obedience on the same level as the seventh day Sabbath is placing man-made rules above the law of God in the same way that the Sunday tradition usurps the authority of the Lawgiver. Any human rule which is not clearly stated in inspiration is stealing glory from God and exalting human reason. Life or death issues do not need inferences drawn from words and possible meanings. God always makes these issues crystal clear. Ellen White warns, “They were pressed beyond measure to receive the message of error; it was represented to them that unless they did this they would be lost” (Selected Messages, vol. 2, pp. 34, 35).

Final Thoughts

Faithful Adventists are frustrated at the long delay in final events and with the continuing decline in the visible remnant church. There must, they think, be some new light which will hold the key to revival and reformation and will begin the final countdown to the Second Coming.

But just like with all the things that are happening around us these days, God foresaw and warned us to be careful about how we are thinking.

Very many will get us some test that is not given in the word of God. We have our test in the Bible—the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ‘Here are they that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.’ This is the true test, but many other tests will arise among the people. They will come in in multitudes, springing up from this one and that one. There will be a continual rising up of some foreign thing to call attention from the true test of God (1888 Materials, p. 1752).

Erroneous ideas will be brought into the work, and presented as a part of the truth to the people, but everything that God has not connected with the truth will only serve to weaken the message and lessen the force of its claims....They choose to follow their own course, until the third angel’s message becomes a thing of minor importance, and finally it loses all its value....The doctrine of truth will be mingled with error, and the result will be that those who are taught will cherish error as they do the truth....It will be more difficult to reach and correct their errors, than to bring a company into the truth from the darkness of complete ignorance of the truth. It would have been better if they had not heard this mingling of the truth with falsehood....More harm can be done by one who has a mixture of truth and error, than many who teach the whole truth can undo and correct....There were those in Paul’s day who were constantly dwelling upon circumcision, and they could bring plenty of proof from the Bible to show its obligation on the Jews....Instead of catching up every new and fanciful interpretation of the Bible, cling to the message....It is the third angel’s message that bears the true test to the people. Satan will lead men to manufacture false tests, and thus seek to obscure the value of, and make of none effect, the message of truth. The commandment of God that has been almost universally made void, is the testing truth for this time. The Sabbath of Jehovah is to be brought to the attention of the world....But all man-made tests will divert the mind from the great and important doctrines that constitute the present truth (Review and Herald, May 29, 1888).

Satan doesn’t care how he traps God’s people, whether in worldliness, Laodiceanism, or foreign things to take our attention away from the real test for the remnant. There is only one test in the Bible: obedience to the commandments and the faith of Jesus; in other words, righteousness by faith. This may not be as glamorous as feast day keeping, but being part of the 144,000 is really about surrender of the heart, victory over all sin, and daily walking with God as Enoch did.

Becoming one of the 144,000 is more about character than knowledge. God will continue to teach us where we have made mistakes. But let us keep our focus clear. Let us not be sidetracked with new light which isn’t new and isn’t light. GCO

This article is adapted from a more comprehensive article by Dennis Priebe titled “New Light for Adventists? on http://www.dennispriebe.com.

Appendix

There are a number of significant reasons for differentiating the Sabbath from the festivals.

In conclusion we must reject the idea that the seventh day Sabbath is in anyway equal to the festival days.

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Dennis Priebe Dennis Priebe is a Seventh-day Adventist minister with 40 years experience as a pastor, a teacher, and seminar speaker. Eleven years were spent as a theology professor at Pacific Union College, and 20 years as a seminar speaker for Amazing Facts. Recent years have seen him as a featured presenter at a number of Youth Conferences. He has been married for 40 years to Kay Buzzard, and they have one son, Matthew. Over 500 seminars have been held in churches and schools around the U.S. He has written several books and booklets, as well as appearing on many audio and video tapes concerning Adventist and righteousness by faith topics. His one desire is to prepare people for what he believes to be the very soon return of Jesus to this world.