The fall feasts of the Bible – Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot – are around the corner and that means two things for our family: a sweet, intimate time with the Lord, and alienation from friends and family.
Several years ago we learned that God’s appointed feasts are a picture and pattern of Messiah Yeshua’s first and second coming. We observe the fall and spring feasts simply and humbly in the privacy of our home, teaching our children the prophetic fulfillment of Messiah in them. We no longer celebrate Christmas and Easter, which has raised eyebrows of Christian friends and relatives. When we explain that these church traditions have pagan roots and are offensive to God, they look at us funny and change the subject. Alisa and I are very social people, but this topic can bring a conversation to a grinding halt. We've learned to keep quiet unless the Holy Spirit opens a door to share the truth.
God gave His prophetic calendar to point us to Yeshua. He never abandoned His appointed feasts, nor did He give man permission to replace them with pagan holidays. Deuteronomy 12:32 says, "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it." When Messiah establishes His millennial kingdom on earth, the nations will come to Jerusalem each year to worship the King and keep the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot (Zechariah 14:16). No one will be hanging Christmas lights or coloring eggs.
During his earthly ministry, Yeshua was a Torah-observant Jew who kept the Biblical feasts. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:15:16, "For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers . . . therefore I urge you, imitate me." Paul, one of the most brilliant Torah scholars of his day, did not abandon God’s set times when he became a follower of Yeshua. We are to follow his example, not the early church fathers who compromised and allowed pagan practices to creep into Christianity.
A holiday like Christmas is so ingrained into our culture that to separate yourself from it can invite suspicion and ridicule. December 25 is not the birthdate of Messiah, but is for nearly every pagan deity. Yeshua was born during the fall feasts, most likely on Rosh Hashanah. My 13-year-old stepdaughter politely explained this to her church youth group last Christmas but the leaders refused to acknowledge her. Mainstream Christianity has lost its way and no one seems to notice or care. Yeshua says narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and few find it (Matthew 7:14). God's calendar is a narrow gate.
Posted by Jeff King at August 27, 2003 10:14 AM