7136 - Should we Keep the Feasts / Bible Answers - Walter Veith

Oh I'm Walter fight welcome to Bible answers today we have a very intricate question and there are many many ideas regarding this question so let's go right into it should we keep the feasts I've been hearing that we should be keeping the feasts of the Old Testament should we be the question of law in the Bible the question of feasts in the Bible these are complicated questions perhaps we should start with a verse let's go to Colossians chapter 2 verse 14 now this verse reads having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us which was contrary to us and he has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross verse 15 and 16 read having disarmed principalities and powers he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it so let no one judge you in food or drink or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbath's which are a shadow of things to come but the substance is of Christ this verse has been used in many ways in the world some have claimed that the whole law structure has been done away with and has been nailed to the cross including the moral law but as we see it deals with issues such as festivals food and drink new moons and Sabbath's in the plural now what is this issue of law in the Bible before we go there we first have to look at law in general there were a number of laws in the Bible there was the moral law which was written with the finger of God placed on two tablets of stone and placed inside the Ark then there was the ceremonial law which was written by Moses a handwriting and it was placed beside the ark but then there were civil laws because when God ruled Israel as a theocracy there were civil laws and civil laws are laws as when you would find in in any country in the world and sometimes these laws overlapped so for example today civil laws will also have laws which which are moral laws thou shalt not kill is a law in virtually every single nation in the world thou shalt not steal so those laws are immutable but there are many many other laws in civil laws which are not directly in the moral law now in Israel chose a king those laws fell away but it didn't touch the moral law or any of the others because they continued with their systems then there were health laws now the health laws they're fascinating because people will say that they were also nailed to the cross but it doesn't make any logical sense that you would nail health laws to the cross for example if an Israel touch the corpse he had to wash his hands now that's a very logical law of cleanliness would that ordinance be nailed to the cross after the death of Christ of course not it's just as necessary to wash your hands if you're dealing with with disease and issues of that nature as it was before the cross so how laws there are logical principles are still binding today so the issue really is the ceremonial law versus the moral law and what was part of the moral law and what was part of the ceremonial law that's really the issue where this whole thing comes to a head now if we look at the parallel text will find that in Ephesians chapter 2 14 and 15 it reads for he himself is our peace who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of Commandments contained in ordinances so as to create in himself one new man from the two thus making peace we are definitely talking about two separate laws here two separate entities in Colossians it was in the handwriting of Ordinances and Ephesians was the parallel text now if we look at this issue of law it says in the Bible the law was added after transgression will he read that in Galatians chapter 3 verse 19 the law was added after transgression but at the same time the Bible in Romans chapter 4 verse 15 says where there is no law there is no transgression now let's unpack that where there is no law there is no transgression so there must have been a law in order for transgression to be possible which law was that must have been the moral law so which law was added after transgression of the first law must be the ceremonial law and the ceremonial law was placed beside the ark as a testimony against us so when we read in Colossians chapter 2 verse 14 that no one should judge you in terms of then it mentions food and drink which is part of the ceremonial law you won't find that in the moral law or the festivals or any of these issues then it is these that were nailed to the cross and then it says the substance being Christ the shadow made its substance so they pointed towards a greater reality now if we unpack this then it means that all these shadow laws including their sacrificial system including their festivals pointed to a greater reality and that substance was Christ now if we look at the festivals and we unpacked them the feasts that the Jews had to keep the first one the Passover the name in itself is interesting because the angel had to pass over the houses where the blood of the Lamb had been painted on to the doorposts and so the plague the tenth plague only struck the Egyptians so when it comes to the final judgment to be passed over it is essential that we partake in the sacrificial system which was the lamb without blemish not a bone was to be broken this land had to be eaten by the family and it had to be eaten with bitter herbs which is an interesting point so it wasn't exactly palatable so each one took a ceremonial portion and the entire extended family was involved because nothing had to be left over the symbolism is is beautiful cannot partially internalize Christ it's all-or-nothing I have to take the whole thing I have to incorporate the whole plan of salvation his whole character the transformation that has to take place so the land pointed to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ became the path over for us so it symbolized his death we're not a bone was broken now the next feast that we come across is of course the feast of unleavened bread now the feast of unleavened bread represents Christ's body in the grave the leavin represented sin his body was without sin Lee's person was without sin there was no synonym and it is the body that was broken for us and there it lay in the grave and the very next day you have the Feast of the firstfruits where there was a wave offering from the barley offering and it represented that resurrection that took place when Christ rose from the grave because as he rose from the grave other souls came out and the Bible says that when he finally went to heaven he took captives in his train which means that these people that were resurrected went with him to heaven so there are some people in heaven the Bible talks about Enoch who's in heaven the Bible talks about Elijah who was taken up to heaven without seeing death the Bible talks about Moses who was resurrected so there are people in heaven what precisely they are doing there and what their role is the Bible doesn't tell us so no need to speculate on that issue so at the Feast of the firstfruits when these people rose from the dead and witnessed in Jerusalem and then were taken up into heaven this was foreshadowed so the first three feasts are represented in the death the grave and the resurrection now my question is if we were to keep these feasts then what would it symbolize would we have to keep the whole feast some people say well all we have to do is separate the sacrificial portion from the feast but the feasts were always well associated with literal Jerusalem but Jesus said to the woman at the well that the time is coming and has come when they will no longer worship at the temple in Jerusalem or at the counter feet Cimmerian temple but they will work worship in spirit and in truth so how much of that feasts can still be kept here is another question before Jesus died on the cross he instituted a ceremony which was to take the place of the Passover ceremony and in that ceremony the bread and the wine that he used symbolized his body that was broken for us and his blood that was shed for us so in other words he replaced the ordinance with a simple ordinance of remembrance which was to be continued until the second coming added to that there was the ordinance of humility the foot washing which was to bring brothers and brethren and sisters together into one you of one mind now keeping those fees would then negate the replacement of the feasts we read in the spirit of prophecy and desire of Ages on page 652 653 Christ was standing at the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals he the spotless Lamb of God was about to present himself as a sin offering that he would thus bring to an end the system of types and ceremonies that for 4000 years had pointed to his death as he ate the Passover with his disciples he instituted in each place the service that was to be the memorial of his great sacrifice the national festival of the Jews was to pass away forever the service which Christ established was to be observed by his followers in all lands and through all the ages so forever these festivals were replaced and what had a local application became a universal application because the substance had met the shadow and Christ being the substance fulfilled the shadow now people will say well I can still follow that argument I can still believe that the first three festivals were fulfilled in Christ but what about the other festivals what about 50 days later was the Feast of Pentecost which of course was a memorial regarding the law well is that festival still binding or has it been fulfilled what happened at that festival the Holy Spirit was poured out in full measure and what was the function of the holy spirit of the Pentecost well the function of the spirit of the Pentecost was to preach Christ as the Messiah and does that mean that the Holy Spirit didn't exist before Pentecost of course not the Spirit was there from the beginning hovered over the water at creation David says do not remove your Holy Spirit from me so what was the difference the difference was that the spirit was now going to empower the preaching that Christ was the Messiah the fulfillment of all the types and shadows that pointed to him now that is a reality then my question is as follows if the Holy Spirit was to preach that Christ was the Messiah do we commemorate it with the day or is it a process that was started at Pentecost and is still active today in other words is the anti-type greater than the type the day that was celebrated was to announce a great event and that event has been an and is still being announced from that day forth to today and will continue until probation closes so can I keep a feast for something that is an ongoing process the answer is obviously no because it's been fulfilled the Spirit is doing its work so some say very well then the first four feasts have been fulfilled in the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the feast of Pentecost is the empowering of his followers to preach Christ as the Messiah then that has been fulfilled but what about the last ones have they been fulfilled what about the Feast of Trumpets what about the great day of atonement what about the Feast of Tabernacles surely we should still be keeping those feasts because these events surely haven't been fulfilled well if Christ is the substance of all the shadows then these must also be in Christ him being the substance of all of them and when he died on the cross justice and mercy kissed each other and the standard of righteousness was upheld it didn't do away with the moral law it established the moral law and it in a sense didn't do away with a ceremonial law either it was fulfilled in him he being the substance of the shadow so all the feasts are incorporated in him even the feasts of the judgement even the heralding of the homegoing at the second coming but in a particular sense isn't it interesting that the final message to the world is one of judgment the righteousness of Christ and a heralding of the second coming to make straight the path for the Messiah now when we look at those these messages have been in the world since 1844 and the first angels message says the time of his judgment has come and judgment was heralded by the blowing of the trumpets and then in the Jewish economy there was this time of preparation which was seen as changement which was the typical day of atonement pointing to a greater reality the gathering of the people who incorporate the lifestyle and the philosophy of the day of atonement it was a time of preparation it was a time of severing yourself from everything that degrades it was a time of fasting it was a time of spiritual renewal and binding yourself to the sacrificial system which set you free from sin in other words since 1844 haven't we been living in the anti-typical day of atonement in other words isn't the day of atonement not a day to be commemorated but a whole lifestyle which has to be demonstrated to the world you might ask the question well why wasn't it kept from the day of Christ to this time now well the answer was it was fulfilled in Christ already because he was the righteousness of Christ but the final heralding thereof is a special event and what is the message that is attached to it homegoing we will Tabernacle with the Lord and He will Tabernacle with his people it is the fulfillment of the sanctuary message though all the feasts have been fulfilled in Christ and in a special sense being carried out in anti-type through his representatives empowered by the holy spirit to preach this message so all the festivals are embodied in that substance which is Jesus Christ now it's interesting we read in the spirit of prophecy in this ordinance Christ discharged his the sciples from the cares and burdens of the ancient Jewish obligations in rites and ceremonies these no longer possessed any virtue for type was meeting anti-type in himself the authority and foundation of all Jewish ordinances that pointed to him as the great and only efficacious offering for the sins of the world he gave this simple ordinance referring of course to the last supper or communion that it might be a special season when he himself would always be present to lead all participating in it to feel the pulse of their own conscience to awaken them to an understanding of the lessons symbolized to revive their memory to convict of sin and to receive their penitential repentance he would teach them that brother is not to exalt himself about brother that the dangers of disunion and strife shall be seen and appreciated for the health and holy activity of the soul or involved this ordinance does not speak so largely to man's intellectual capacity as to his heart his moral and spiritual nature needs it if his disciples had not needed this it would not have been left for them as Christ lost established ordinance in connection with and including the Last Supper it was Christ's desire to leave to his disciples an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed they would serve to disentangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they had hitherto engaged as essential and which their reception of the gospel made no longer of any force to continue these rites would be an insult to Jehovah eating of the body and drinking of the blood of Christ not merely at the sacramental service but daily partaking of the bread of life to satisfy the soul's hunger would be in receiving his word bird and doing his will so it seems that the issue is that shadow has met substance we have to incorporate Christ we have to incorporate his character that is no longer a question of a festival that is a daily walk with Jesus that's why when we read in Colossians where we started off having disarmed principalities and powers he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it so let no one judge you in food or drink part of the ceremonial law not part of the health law part of the ceremonial law the festivals also had particular instructions as to eating and drinking all with regard to a festival or a new moon or Sabbath's plural those were the ceremonial Sabbath's which are a shadow of things to come but the substance is of Christ so make up your own mind with regard to all of these issues whether one can keep a festival if shadow has made substance my personal view is not well this has been Bible answers thank you for watching

Channel: Amazing Discoveries

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Keywords: Walter Veith, Bible Answers, Amazing Discoveries, The Bible (Religious Text), Gospel (Written Work), Should we Keep the Feasts, Feasts, Old Testament, Immutable Laws, Mutable Laws, Moral and Health Laws, Vital Laws, Festivals

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Length: 26min 35sec (1595 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 13 2014