God's Holy Day Plan (truth about easter, christmas, sunday worship)

Regrettably, the Israelites failed to permanently heed God's warning. Time and time again they let their fascination with the religious practices of those around them get the better of them as they lapsed into idolatrous worship.

Around 600 B.C. God gave three more warnings against this kind of behavior. First, through the prophet Jeremiah, God said, "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them" (Jeremiah 10:2). Here God cautioned His people against following the gentile (non-Israelite) practices of worshiping the heavenly bodies (like the sun on Dec. 25) and against astrology in general.

In the following verses (3-5), God describes some of their idolatrous customs. They cut a tree from the forest, shaped it with an ax and overlaid it with precious metals.

Although this account is specifically referring to the making of an idol (verses 6-8), God's command, "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles," applies to all pagan customs. Christmas trees, mistletoe and colorful lights that come from pagan winter-solstice celebrations, rabbits and Easter eggs as fertility symbols, and demonic concepts at Halloween, all fit this prohibition. In giving this instruction against learning the way of the gentiles, God wanted His people to avoid the type of sin their forefathers had committed with the golden calf.

A few years later God again expressed His anger with His people. "For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths. For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house" (Ezekiel 23:37-39).

Here it appears that Israel practiced one of the customs like those associated with the Saturnalia and worship of Saturn—the sacrificing of children—and then came to worship God on one of His Sabbaths!

Through the prophet Zephaniah God decried "those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, but who also swear by Milcom" (Zephaniah 1:5). God is not pleased when people are double-minded (James 1:8, 4:8) in their worship—accepting false religions and customs while professing to worship Him.

Consistent message throughout the Bible
Some people wrongly assume that Old Testament instructions that condemned mixing paganism with godly worship were annulled during apostolic times. Nothing could be further from the truth.

To prove the continuity of God's teaching in the New Testament, let us consider the city of Corinth. Here we find one of the most instructive examples about incorporating paganism into Christianity.

Strategically located just south of the narrow isthmus connecting central Greece with the Peloponnisos, this city sat on an important trade route. Its inhabitants grew rich by transporting goods across the four-mile isthmus, which saved them a 200-mile trip by ship. Worship of Aphrodite (the Greek goddess of love) had long been part of the city's history. It also boasted a temple to Apollo, the Greek sun god.

What was Corinth like in the first century? "[Here] the apostle Paul established a flourishing church, made up of a cross section of the worldly minded people who had flocked to Corinth to participate in the gambling, legalized temple prostitution, business adventures, and amusements available in a first-century navy town ...

"The city soon became a melting pot for the approximately 500,000 people who lived there at the time of Paul's arrival. Merchants and sailors, anxious to work the docks, migrated to Corinth. Professional gamblers and athletes, betting on the Isthmian games, took up residence. Slaves, sometimes freed but with no place to go, roamed the streets day and night. And prostitutes (both male and female) were abundant. People from Rome, the rest of Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor—indeed, all of the Mediterranean world—relished the lack of standards and freedom of thought that prevailed in the city.

"These were the people who eventually made up the Corinthian church. They had to learn to live together in harmony, although their national, social, economic, and religious backgrounds were very different" (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, "Corinth").

Paul's instruction on other practices
Writing to this diverse group, primarily gentiles with a tradition of idol worship (1 Corinthians 12:2), Paul addressed the issue of whether outside religious customs and practices had any place among God's people.

". . . What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'

"Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.' Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 7:1).

Instead of renaming some of the pagan customs as Christian or allowing the new converts to retain some of their former practices, the apostle Paul commanded them to leave behind all of these forms of worship. He condemned the sexual immorality that was a common part of the fertility rites in honor of the goddess Aphrodite (1 Corinthians 6:13, 18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). No doubt the new church did not participate in winter-solstice celebrations to the sun god, Apollo.

Christianity that is faithful to the Bible teaches its followers that "our old man was crucified with Him [Jesus Christ], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin" (Romans 6:6). If someone is strongly committed to following Christ, "he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Paul explains that we are not to retain our favorite past religious traditions. Indeed, "all things have become new"! As part of the "old man" (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9), our former styles of worship must go. As Jesus taught, we simply cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). We cannot simultaneously embrace two competing systems of worship.

We see the obvious continuity between the Old and New Testaments of the Bible; the new forbids mixing pagan tradition with the "worship in spirit and truth" God commands (John 4:23-24).

Authority from man or God?
Since God is so strongly opposed to altering His revealed days of worship (Deuteronomy 12:32; Revelation 22:18-19), by what authority did human beings change the days we observe? Here is what the Encyclopaedia Britannica says about some early Christians: "Though many of [Jesus'] disciples continued to observe the special times and seasons of the Jewish Law, new converts broke with the custom because they regarded it as no longer needful or necessary" (15th edition, Vol. IV, p. 601, "Church Year"). Notice the lack of divine authorization. The people decided to make this change.

One of the first humanly devised changes was to worship on Sunday rather than the seventh-day Sabbath, the day authorized in the Bible. The same source acknowledges that "the New Testament writings do not explain how the practice began" (ibid., p. 603). Though some have theorized this change occurred in honor of Christ's resurrection, we have already seen that this rationale is flawed because Christ was resurrected near sundown on Saturday rather than on Sunday.

Replacing God's annual feast days with pagan holidays was also done in the same spirit. This same encyclopedia article also makes this frank admission: "Unlike the cycle of feasts and fasts of the Jewish Law, the [modern] Christian year has never been based upon a divine revelation. It is rather a tradition that is always subject to change by ecclesiastical law. Each self-governing church maintains the right to order the church year" (p. 601).

When the kingdom of Israel divided after Solomon's death, King Jeroboam of the northern 10 tribes soon changed the date of the annual autumn festival from the seventh to the eighth month of the Hebrew calendar (1 Kings 12:32-33). So the first king of the new northern Israelite dynasty established a corrupting pattern in the nation's religious life, one that eventually helped lead to the northern tribes' destruction at the hands of the Assyrian Empire.

Throughout the northern kingdom's history, the political and ecclesiastical leadership stubbornly persisted in "the sins of Jeroboam" (1 Kings 13:34; 15:30; 16:2-3, 19; etc.), one of which was his unauthorized alteration of the date of a God-ordained religious festival.

Time to leave traditions behind
As creatures of habit, we can find ourselves following traditions that are contrary to God's instructions. Almost 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ pointed out that a devoutly religious group, the Pharisees, was in just such a situation. Christ told them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men ... All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition" (Mark 7:6-9).

Just proclaiming that something is Christian does not make it so. No matter what our traditions have been or what rationalizations our reasoning may employ, the Bible is clear that we must follow our Creator's directions on His days and forms of worship.

In Colossians 2:8 the apostle Paul warns, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ."

Similarly, one of the last messages in the Bible reveals this warning for people caught up in a great worldwide system that established itself in opposition to God: "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities" (Revelation 18:4-5).

We have a choice. We can choose the feast days instituted by God or the holidays substituted by men. The choices we make affect our destiny and impact our relationship with our Creator.

We can take great comfort in the meaning of God's days of worship, since they represent the magnificent plan of God, who will give every human an opportunity to understand and accept His way of life either now or, for the majority of human beings, in an age yet to come.

The Delights of Obedience
A joy and peace of mind come from making right choices, from knowing you are conscientiously obeying God's instruction in the pages of the Bible.

Before the time of King Josiah of Judah, the scroll containing the book of the law had been lost, along with the knowledgeof God's festivals. but hilkiah, the high priest, found that scroll, and Shaphan the scribe read it in the presence of young Josiah. The repentant king quickly restored the true worship of God according to the instruction he found in the scroll.

One of Josiah's first steps in restoring proper worship of God was observing the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. For a time the whole country caught the righteous fervor of the youthful king, and a national festival observance ensued such as had not been since the days of Samuel the prophet (2 Chronicles 34-35)

Later that same spirit of obedience and joyful festival-keeping swept the Jewish settlements in the Holy Land during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Not only did the people enjoy the physical aspects of these days, but the nation gained renewed understanding of God's Word as well (Nehemiah 8:9-12)


If You'd Like to Learn More

If you've finished reading this booklet, you've probably been surprised to discover thereal origin of today's popular holidays. But what about the days of worship defined in the Bible? Does God expect us to keep them today? When and how should we observe them? To discover the festivals of the Bible, be sure to request Sunset to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest and God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.

This is the completion of the booklet "Holidays or Holy Days: Does it Matter Which Days we Observe?" I did leave out a portion pertaining to Halloween because I think most people know that it's pagan in origin and I felt it was just a waist of thread space on here. Some here refuse to acknowledge the fact that these holy day feasts were never done away with and that christmas or easter are not true christian holidays but one thing that I wanted was for people to read and at least take home some kind of further understanding about the origins of these beloved holidays. My mission with my family right now is to start celebrating the 7 holy day feasts. Christmas and easter are a hard tradition to break from so that will take a while if it ever even happens knowing my family. I will celebrate them under protest for now. Like I said before, I am a new discoverer of these things and I'm in that transition period where I'm testing the waters to see how other people take in this info. So far I've had good positive feedback and a small amount of negative or debateable feedback. Either way it goes, I'm happy that you guys have taken the time to read through this lengthy thread to contribute to it. Now let's get on with the debate of the subject matter at hand.

I am now rejecting any pagan-origin holidays. Christmas, Easter, Valentines Day, St. Patty's Day, April Fools Day, Halloween, New Years Eve, etc. I will, however still celebrate birthdays, Independence Day, any president days, historic american days like MLK Jr. day, Thanksgiving, etc. I am now going to implement the 7 holy day feasts. We shall prepare for Passover and the days of Unleavened Bread. Just thought I'd share that with you all. God bless.

reply to post by Locoman8


You say Christians do not even celebrate passover anymore...how can you say that? The catholic, orthodox and eastern and anglican church reenacts Christ's celebration of passover with the apostles every single day of the year (except Good Friday) at the Mass, the Eucharistic prayer is the reenactment of Passover. As we remember God kept his promise and delivered the jews from egypt, he has delivered us again thru the Paschal (passover) lamb, Jesus the Christ. This is Eucharist.

reply to post by Missing Blue Sky


What you're explaining is called "communion of the saints" and is falsely practiced to reenact the passover. How do you explain good friday and easter sunday as the death and resurrection of Christ when the bible states Passover and Feast of Unleavened bread? It's a false date with false practices.

reply to post by Missing Blue Sky

As we remember God kept his promise and delivered the jews from egypt, he has delivered us again thru the Paschal (passover) lamb, Jesus the Christ.

This is a principle of interpretation which is "type meets anti-type". One is the shadow of the other, which is the actual "thing". Jesus is our actual salvation and the lamb is the symbol of that salvation. We are not at the foot of Sinai, but at the foot of the cross. We are in a new dispensation of grace and have the real items that the old dispensation had only the symbols of.
Jesus established a new institution of ordinances for this time, which is what you are alluding to. I agree with the broadest concept of it, as you spoke of it, but have my personal disagreement with the particulars of how it is practiced. To be specific, that there was to be established a priesthood to administer it, because the Holy Spirit is the administrator of the ordinances.


[edit on 24-5-2009 by jmdewey60]

reply to post by jmdewey60


Thanks for the help. We disagree at times but you are still a good egg my friend. don't forget that.

reply to post by jmdewey60


I suggest Paschal or lamb is a pre-figurement and not so much a symbol. The Passover at Egypt was the pre-figurement of the institution of the Eucharist. The celebration of the Mass is a direct decendent of the sacrifice offered at the temple by the high priests, but in the manner of Priest Mechizadek. "Communion of the Saints" is but a small part of what happens at the Eucharist. The only next logical step to discuss is transubstantiation versus consubstantiation and I am sure that will get us no where so I will not elaborate on that.Suffice it to say I believe in transubstantiation.

As a christian, the passover changes from a promise of how God will provide salvation and becomes historical. Once that threshhold is crossed we can not go back. What we celebrate now we must do as a remembrance of the Salvation Christ provides thru his passion, death and resurrection. It is done. Coincidentally Jewish sacrificial offerings stopped 40 years after Jesus resurrection when the second temple was destroyed in AD70. But we know the temple was no longer needed because Jesus had become the new holocaust or burnt offering in atonement for our sins. (Revelation 21-22)

But the truth is we are brothers and sisters in Christ and we must not try to trip each other up with rituals, dogma or paradigms. For each of us it is a personal journey, whoa I am getting way too close to moral relativism. I do believe there is one way...what I am trying to say is I want to be respectful of others views, but kindly disagree. My disagreement is that the passover is now a memorial and Jesus asked us to remember him when we recreate it in the mass. We no longer have to have the

bitter herbs (because Christ suffered the bitterness one and for all for us in his passion)
or the sweet mortar,(beacuse we will never be slaves again , we are free and we are redeemed)
parsly dipped in salt water (becase Jesus was drenched in the salt of his own suffering at His passion)
egg (because we do not need to remeber the poor widows offering at the temple, because Jesus has made the offering of all offerings)
shank bone(because we will consume the body of Christ at Eucharist...no literal pasch necessary)

But we will partake int he the unleavened bread (Which IS Jesus' Body)
But we will drink one cup, not four (Which is His precious Blood-cup of salvation)

Peace.

reply to post by Missing Blue Sky

we are brothers and sisters in Christ

Here is the key to it, in my way of thinking. Jesus invited his closest friends to share the supper with. We reinforce our status as friends when we commemorate his death. I am glad to read your message of brotherhood and it is nice to hear it and wish there were more people with that point of view. Unfortunately there is dogma that gets in the way of real brotherhood. That goes along with what I said earlier about this priesthood of officialdom, that in my mind, interposes itself between us.

reply to post by Missing Blue Sky

But the truth is we are brothers and sisters in Christ and we must not try to trip each other up with rituals, dogma or paradigms. For each of us it is a personal journey, whoa I am getting way too close to moral relativism. I do believe there is one way...what I am trying to say is I want to be respectful of others views, but kindly disagree. My disagreement is that the passover is now a memorial and Jesus asked us to remember him when we recreate it in the mass. We no longer have to have the

bitter herbs (because Christ suffered the bitterness one and for all for us in his passion)
or the sweet mortar,(beacuse we will never be slaves again , we are free and we are redeemed)
parsly dipped in salt water (becase Jesus was drenched in the salt of his own suffering at His passion)
egg (because we do not need to remeber the poor widows offering at the temple, because Jesus has made the offering of all offerings)
shank bone(because we will consume the body of Christ at Eucharist...no literal pasch necessary)

But we will partake int he the unleavened bread (Which IS Jesus' Body)
But we will drink one cup, not four (Which is His precious Blood-cup of salvation)

Interesting point you make about the tradition of passover. My question to you is, did you even read through the whole thread? If so you would know that the new ways of the passover (bread and wine) are what we use for the basis of the passover. We no longer have to use bitter herbs or any of that stuff. The point I'm trying to make is that most christians celebrate good friday/easter for the death/resurrection of Christ when in fact the bible plainly shows the death of Christ on Passover and His death three days later in the middle of the feast of Unleavened Bread. God commanded the holy days to be honored forever, and not just for the Jews. In fact, God commanded ALL Israelites... not just the Jews, to follow His holy days on the given dates in Leviticus 23. As christians, we celebrate them in a different manner with a clearer meaning than the symbolism the Jews celebrate. Why set a false date like Easter sunday or Good Friday to honor what acutally happened on Passover?