“Other Days” on a declining level or hierarchy of importance

Level I. Salvation by Faith in Christ Alone - Justification

Level II. Religious Practice as Evidence of our Faith in Christ within the liberty we have in Christ

A. Additional Areas of choice NOT ADDRESSED in this Study.

B. ALL  DAYS

l. The Unique Sabbath of creation (already covered)

2. ALL “Other Days” – Having stated my premise that I believe we have the right to observe days “unto the Lord” clearly for such benign reasons as fasting, I will from this point consider the ramifications of observations from various basis. If I stop at this juncture to allow only the clearly mandated universal observances, I am left with the Seventh Day Sabbath of Creation alone. However, once I open the door through something as simple as celebrating the “Lords Supper” on the eve of the Jewish Passover the fun and freedom begins, freedom to celebrate and freedom to become entangled with mere religion.

a. Those of Clear Biblical Origin

(1.) Israel’s Holy Days. The Holy Days given to Israel are not ACTUALLY observed by anyone today according to Scripture. Because the scripture in Leviticus 23 clearly states that the burnt offerings are to be made and also the Law states that they are to be kept in a particular place as well. Everyone therefore claiming to be “keeping” the feasts is taking liberty with the Law. Furthermore, according to the Law given to Israel you are not given the right to take away or add to these things[ See Deuteronomy 4:1,2] and actually “KEEP” them,  NO ONE keeps them today not even the JEWS. The best they can do is to observe them “more or less” on the days that they think that they fall upon and there is disagreement even among the Jews on this issue.  From a global perspective, a literal application would be impossible because the harvest sequence demanded for celebration is completely out of sync with the seasons in the southern hemisphere, for instance.  

The particular problems with the Holy Days of Israel are;

1. No one keeps the Feasts according to the book (Bible)… they don’t sacrifice, or meet in Jerusalem, etc. according to scripture

2. The principle governing our adding and subtracting in “Keeping” them in Deuteronomy and Revelation say that we can’t add or subtract from the words in the book and truly be obedient to it. We don’t live by the words in the book we agree with or like and throw away the rest. We must live by “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” that’s what Jesus told that old liar the devil but Satan continues to convince people that God doesn’t mean what he says. So, they continue to play with the words!

3. We seek a relationship based upon the two pillars of God’s word; the written word the Bible, His Commandments in it’s entirety,  and the living Word, Jesus Christ. The commandments of God, all of them NOT just the main ten, and the Law of God written in human flesh Jesus Christ that takes the law to it’s fullest, God Himself! The WHOLE of God’s word finds it’s magnification in Jesus Christ alone. Only Christ fills the Law to it’s fullest and only a personal relationship with the living Jesus IN US can make us what God wants us to be as well. If we EVER think our “keeping” something has saved us we are surely in jeopardy before a God that demands PERFECTION.

4. The written Law of the Hebrew religion was inadequate in it’s priesthood from the beginning. God’s plan reveals that the lamb of God, His solution was slain, before the foundation of the world. Our High Priest is NOT a Levite but a Jew and thus a change in the law is operative as we live by faith in Jesus, who is our rest, who is our Passover, who makes us unleavened, who blew trumpets of both of feast and War, who tabernacled among us, and whose is the last great day… the day of the Lord.

5. As Jesus taught the woman at the well in John... God is no longer seeking people who will worship him in this mountain or that one but in Spirit and in Truth. Rebirth, through which we become the sons of God, not Religion is the solution by the indwelling of God’s Spirit within us!

6. The prophecies in Zechariah and elsewhere in prophecy reflect the reality that there will come a change for those that live on planet earth upon Christ’s return. These are those that have NOT been changed in the twinkling of an eye at the return of Christ. They do NOT live by faith but live under the reality of Christ’s rule when he comes during the millennial reign. The question is how they will view this system then in the light of King Jesus. When Christ returns in person “faith” in the unseen God will no longer be operative for he will personally be seen on this planet. Then they will have to revert to the weak and beggarly elements of religion that He employed when he walked personally among us in the garden demanding obedience to maintain our relationship and then later with the children of Israel to show the inescapable failure of religion to redeem us from our fallen condition even when the religion is designed by God himself. He will rule with a rod of iron and as the vessels of a potter shall this world be broken into submission to Him. The RELIGION of added law is necessary when, like in ancient Israel, God is not someone you worship apart from his actual presence by FAITH but He is appearing to you in person and working miracles. Then the day of faith will have passed into the reality of sight and demand the same protocol when He was actually walking with the people of Israel once before. God’s elect will then be resurrected in a perfection that I don’t think we can but speculate upon but we will be holy and perfect.  Today, thank God, we, like Abraham, walk by faith and NOT by sight! We are called to a relationship by faith in the living God who promises to make of us something perfect because of His work in Christ. IN the millennium physical mankind will once again walk by sight and NOT by faith! Praise God! We live by faith in the law of Christ, who not only shows us perfection but who alone can affect it in our lives for eternity!

7. These “Holy Days” now being observed are only another step beyond our observance of “Lords Supper” attached to the Passover. It is a natural progression but unfortunately without taking the time to consider the implications of exercising such liberty in our religious practice, it can be a dangerous one. Without understanding our right but NOT OUR OBLIGATION in such observances we open ourselves up to the shipwreck we have seen among many in our movement. When people get confused about the basis of their relationship with God the Father through faith in the work of Christ many terrible things can happen. It starts in small ways at times. I am often afraid and disappointed that some through a misguided Zeal become mixed up by keeping the "holy days" of Israel. Some in our history began saying they were "keeping" the feasts, then they thought they would observe the New Moons, then they start speaking ONLY in Hebrew... and then finally they converted to Orthodox Judaism and NOW NO LONGER BELIEVE THAT JESUS is even the Messiah. Beware of falling from God's grace, like the grandchildren of one of our famous leaders, and those that Paul warns in Galations 3:1-9, that could lead to your separation from Christ, YOUR ONLY hope of salvation. This isn't theory or something in a history book. This is a fact. Actually a little known fact is that some of the grandchildren of A. N. Dugger, founder of what has come to be known as the "Jerusalem Church of God (Seventh Day)", actually somehow began getting deeper and deeper in Judaism and some actually  became Orthodox Jews. The Church in Jerusalem basically died except to keep the post office box open to receive offerings and family members distributed reprints of old literature to keep the farce alive. 

    Having stated briefly my own rationale, I would recommend that anyone refer to “The Feast Days of Israel” published by the Bible Advocate Press for an interesting study into these days. However, the aforementioned booklet does not begin to deal with the recognition that we would have the liberty to observe any of these “other days” at all even though we are currently tracking the observance of the Lord’s Supper with the Jewish Passover celebration. This is quite a contradiction in my view. This “Lord’s Supper” practice of our church clearly opens the door to “other days”. It is the observance of the “Lord’s Supper” that we practice in taking symbolically of His flesh and blood as the ONLY basis for our salvation. I recognize that most of us wash feet that evening as well. However, the idea that the title appropriated and communion meal we take as “Lord’s Supper” somehow washes our observance clean of “Passover” implications is weak to say the least.

    The facts of the first century church and the battle over the “Passover” Quartodeciman observance, in contrast to the “Lord’s Day”, Sunday observance, are a historical reality that must be addressed at some juncture. They reveal two distinct observations but BOTH saw the celebration in terms of being “Passover” regardless of where you land on the day of observance. No Lord’s Supper “word games” being played with here. This is especially true in light of the clear Biblical record of Paul (See 1 Cor. 5:7,8) and the historical record of Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, from the Ante-Nicene record that refers to the observation in terms of Christ being our Paschal or “Passover” reality in the celebrations under discussion;

“But nothing was difficult to them with whom it was lawful to celebrate the Passover on any day when the fourteenth of the moon happened after the equinox. Following their example up to the present time all the bishops of Asia—as themselves also receiving the rule from an unimpeachable authority, to wit, the evangelist John, who leant on the Lord’s breast, and drank in instructions spiritual without doubt—were in ₁₄₉ the way of celebrating the Paschal feast, without question, every year, whenever the fourteenth day of the moon had come, and the lamb was sacrificed by the Jews after the equinox was past; not acquiescing, so far as regards this matter, with the authority of some, namely, the successors of Peter and Paul, who have taught all the churches in which they sowed the spiritual seeds of the Gospel, that the solemn festival of the resurrection of the Lord can be celebrated only on the Lord’s day. Whence, also, a certain contention broke out between the successors of these, namely, Victor, at that time bishop of the city of Rome, and Polycrates, who then appeared to hold the primacy among the bishops of Asia. And this contention was adjusted most rightfully by Irenaeus, ^IV-1-21 at that time president of a part of Gaul, so that both parties kept by their own order, and did not decline from the original custom of antiquity. The one party, indeed, kept the Paschal day on the fourteenth day of the first month, according to the Gospel, as they thought, adding nothing of an extraneous kind, but keeping through all things the rule of faith. And the other party, passing the day of the Lord’s Passion as one replete with sadness and grief, hold that it should not be lawful to celebrate the Lord’s mystery of the Passover at any other time but on the Lord’s day, on which the resurrection of the Lord from death took place, and on which rose also for us the cause of everlasting joy.”[i]

    As Far as the Holy Days of Israel go, we should approach the keeping of these “other days” with an openness and caution recognizing the fact that no one is actually “Keeping” them biblically and never CAN DO SO as a means of salvation. We have the right to observe the days on which they are kept but we should not, therefore, ever mandate them as a basis or obligation for fellowship because these “other days” are based upon our personal preferences, unlike Sabbath. The basis would be for the purpose to edify those choosing to observe them to the glory of God. I therefore believe that our observance of the Lord’s Supper on the evening before the Jewish Passover is a proper application of this approach at this level. I also see that there are other times when this could be done as well. The question is could we stand this much diversity officially even though I know it already exists?

                                    b. Days of Memorial – Biblical and Non-Biblical

(1.) Historical - Those to memorialize important events in God’s working through history. A classic example is Hanukkah memorializing the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after it had been defiled by Antiochus, King of Syria, by forcing the Jews to worship the pagan Greek Gods and commit blasphemy. It is significant that we see Jesus in the temple(John 10:22) at this time with others remembering this blessing from God. In my mind this is precedent for adding to our observance days that would memorialize God’s redemptive works in history. We might consider taking into consideration such observance for similar reasons ourselves. On the Sabbath following the Lord’s Supper we have had Resurrection Sabbath in the small churches I have served for years to consider the vital importance of the resurrection. Also, sometime in the fall or winter we have an Advent Sabbath Celebration talking about the miracle and FACTS of Jesus’ incarnation and birth. I also put other “Personal Worship Days” in this category. These would be days dedicated for fasting and prayer or worship on another OPTIONAL day OTHER THAN the Sabbath of creation. I believe that God can be worshipped in special service on any of the days of the week when the situation calls for it but we must be careful not to allow these to supplant God’s Sabbath as revealed in His word. We must also be careful not to become so “religious” in our liberty that we forget the basis of our relationship by God’s grace either.

i. Conjectural “Christian” Historical Observance – It would be inappropriate and denying all of the history of Christianity to deny the existence “other days” reportedly instituted by Christianity by practice over time, the primary one being the “Lord’s Day” or Sunday observance. Do we really have the freedom to observe a day weekly to celebrate the resurrection though nowhere spelled out in scripture? Is the event of the resurrection of so great historical significance that it would warrant such treatment? If Hanukkah can be celebrated then surely a day to celebrate the resurrection would be within our liberty? What if all the fuss over “Lords Day” observance began with nothing more than just such a simple freedom that some in the early church exercised and which was taken to an extreme by those that later felt they were saved by keeping it? Even the historical documents from the first centuries of Christianity reflect the battle between Sabbath and Sunday. Here we have a classic example of how something adopted by one generation or group had to be validated through their own FORCING of their traditional practice. It goes so far that many denominations feel they cannot go beyond the writings of their historical councils or tradition to be cleansed of the tradition that no one really understands today. Maybe they need to understand the value of an open creed depending on the Word of God and His Spirit to get us on base in every generation. Hollow religious practices could have begun with sincere Christian fervor that could not be transported through time without the implementation of mere religion. The “other days” could then overshadow the simplicity of a worship pattern set forth from creation, if we are not VERY careful!

(2.) Ethnic, Cultural, and Familial. I feel that it is within our liberty to celebrate our ethnic, cultural and familial holidays so long as their traditions do not run counter to God’s will and lead us into sin by denying God or disrespecting our fellow man. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, even days respecting different segments of our society can be very positive so long as they are not idolatrous. Thanksgiving would be a positive example. Independence Day or Emancipation Day or any other cultural or ethnic remembrance would be applicable at this level as long as it does not directly contradict scripture in it’s observance. In my family we have celebrated the birthdays of our children NOT by cutting off someone’s head but by celebrating joyfully their addition to our lives and our family as a whole. Anniversaries and even banquets of honor are other examples of this level of practice. Many of the cultures around the globe have many such observations on varying levels with only societal or familial connotation. These too are rights within biblical bounds but NOT obligatory in any manner.

                                    c. Days of PAGAN origins

    The choice to add times of observance based on pagan practice are the most dangerous because of the dangers of syncretism and transfer of non-biblical pagan concepts being incorporated into our lives. I am familiar with the historical concept of “Historical” Christianity that suggests overcoming the evil or conquering the paganism within a pagan system by injecting Christ to overcome the evil but I do not see any clear biblical precedent to ever warrant the risk involved in such syncretism. This is particularly because of what I call the “generational amnesia syndrome”. In this scenario one generation might decide to use a pagan practice for “Christian” purposes to teach their culture about Christ but the historical influence of the paganism is always a liability to become confusing to subsequent generations. There are many examples of the logical fallacy of this approach. I believe that modern “Christmas” and “Easter” are the classic examples of this syndrome. You cannot completely divorce the pagan aspects from the “Christian” ones and over time it reverts back to becoming a purely pagan or at least secular experience for a large part of the participants in the end. Halloween is another example of the fallacy of mixing the systems of thought as well. I see no evidence that it has ever worked looking back in history. Some might suggest that in today’s modern world the pagan practices are NOT the focus of these favorite holidays but I find it more than interesting that the most powerful religion of our day has taken these celebrations over. It is the driving force for the popularity of those observances NOT Christianity. That religion is Materialism where everyone is worshipping the works of their own hands in nothing less than idolatry. More importantly, I think we see the clear biblical mandate NOT to mix the revelation of God with the pagan practices of mankind. THIS DOES NOT PROHIBIT GOD’S PEOPLE FROM TAKING THE TIME ANNUALLY TO REMEMBER CHRIST”S BIRTH OR RESURRECTION. I personally celebrate and teach on the birth and resurrection of Christ on a particular Sabbath throughout the year but I don’t personally want anything to do with secular Christmas or Easter observances. They are examples of why God told us not to mix the issues up to begin with.  They have for the most part become empty excuses used to drive the economy or to perpetuate the secularized religion of our day… materialism.

    The only concession I can make in this area would refer to the allowance of God for someone knowing better to attend a pagan service in the case of the leper Naaman.  Here God’s word reveals mercy when the participation is NOT voluntary but mandatory to stand by the side as the captain of the Syrian Army with the King. He clearly asked for God’s forgiveness in his necessity to be involved on this level in a pagan government that requires him to bow before an idol but which he KNEW was inappropriate for Him to do having experienced the mercy of the true God of Israel. In this singular exception we should listen to the words of Elijah; “Go in Peace”(2 Kings 5:19a).

   Perhaps the mercy shown Joseph in Egypt or Daniel in Babylon would be another example but clearly the few exceptions show the severity of the circumstance allowing for ANY mixing of the pagan with the holy. Therefore these practices should be avoided at ALL costs.