Are
the appointed times relevant and applicable to Gentiles?
Anyone who truly knows Jesus Christ should know that, He is the One who created the heavens, the earth, the seas and all that are in them, Who gave His laws to Moses, chose the children of Israel as His chosen people, became flesh and blood and dwelt among men and remains the same yesterday, today and forever.
Gentiles
we know at one time "were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having (at
that time) no hope, and without God in the world, but now, in Christ Jesus,
gentiles who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. For
He (Christ) Himself is our peace, who has made both (Jews and gentiles) one,
and has broken down the middle wall of division between the two. Giving
gentiles now the opportunity to rejoice and glorify God (not in isolation or in
opposition to the Jews but rather) together with the children of Israel (Ephesians 2:12-14),
Therefore,
we are told to, "Receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to
the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the
circumcision for the truth of God (to preserve and perpetuate God's truth), to
confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the gentiles might glorify
God for His mercy, as it is written: "For this reason I will confess to
you among the gentiles, and sing to Your name". And again He says;
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!" (Romans 15:7-10, Deuteronomy 32:43).
Therefore,
the current situation right now is that, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all
one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:8-29).
And
if we have been born in the spirit then, we have put on the new man who is
renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there
is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian,
slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Colossian
3:10-11).
The
appointed times to have fellowship with the Father and the Son therefore, are
specifically for those who are living in the spirit whether Jews or Gentiles
because Jesus said plainly; “You worship what you do not know; we know what we
worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when
the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father
is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth" (John
4:22-24).
The
rationale for the appointed times which the Lord has ordained for His people to
appear before Him and have fellowship with Him, is more profound in the New
Testament dispensation than they were in the Old Testament dispensation. For
example, in the Old Testament the feast of Unleavened Bread was to commemorate
Israel’s deliverance from the captivity of slavery. In our New Testament
dispensation it is to commemorate our deliverance from the bondage of sin and
death.
The
feast of weeks was to commemorate the first fruits of the Lord and the day the
law was given to Moses. In our New Testament dispensation, this day
commemorates the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and the feast of Tabernacles was a
reminder to the Jews of their temporary dwellings, but in our new dispensation
this feast is to commemorate the Word Who became flesh and dwelt among us and
became our permanent dwelling. The Eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles
commemorates His circumcision by which Gentiles became joint heirs of the
commonwealth of Israel.
The
true significance of the Sabbaths therefore, is to make us aware, or to remind
us that the Lord is the sovereign God and we express and demonstrate this
belief and appreciation by observing His Sabbaths as we have been duly
admonished saying; "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His
judgment has come: and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and
springs of water" (Revelation 14:7).
The
Sabbaths is the only sign the Lord God gave to identify Himself as the Creator
of heaven and earth for thus He said, "The children of Israel shall keep
the Sabbath throughout their generation as a perpetual covenant: It is a sign
between Me and the children of Israel forever: "For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was
refreshed" (Exodus 31:116-17).
The
crux of the matter is, the Sabbaths are blessed, sanctified, hallowed, a time
of refreshing, rejoicing, and celebration of the Lord’s sovereignty, ascribing
to Him the glory due to His name as instructed saying; "I am the Lord your
God; walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths,
and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the
Lord your God" (Ezekiel 20:19-20, 44:24, Isaiah 58:13-14,
Jeremiah 17:21-22. 27).
Although
one has the freedom to observe or not to observe, this freedom nevertheless,
does not relegate the rationale and objective for the Sabbaths which the Lord
ordained as times of holy convocation.
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To be continued
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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