The Lord said to Moses; “These are
the Feasts of the Lord, holy convocations [sacred assemblies] which you shall
proclaim at their appointed times.” Moses announced to the Israelites the
appointed [ordained] Feasts of the Lord beginning with the Seventh Day weekly
Sabbath, the Passover/Unleavened Bread, First fruits, Feast of Weeks/Pentecost,
Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles. (Leviticus
23:1-4).
You may have been deceived or
misled in believing that these Festivals were designated only for the Jews, and
are not relevant to the Gentiles, but I write and speak to sensible people;
judge for yourselves what the scriptures say in regards to salvation for the
Gentiles.
For this is what the Lord says:
“Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is close at hand and My
righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man
who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his
hand from doing any evil. Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the Lord
say, ‘The Lord will surely exclude me from His people.”
“For this is what the Lord says: To
the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose what pleases Me and hold fast to My
covenant – to them I will give within My temple and its walls a memorial and a
name better that sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that
will not be cut off.’
‘And foreigners who bind themselves
to the Lord to serve Him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship Him, all
who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My covenant –
these I will bring to My holy mountain [kingdom] and give them joy in My house
of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar;
for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah
56:1-7).
Gentiles are instructed to glorify
God together with His people, and not in isolation. They are instructed to,
“Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise
to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf
of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the
Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: ‘Therefore I will
praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.” Again, it says,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you
Gentiles, and sing praises to Him, all you peoples” (Romans
15:7-11).
Our God is not a God of confusion.
“Jesus Christ is our peace, who has made the two (Jews and Gentiles) one and
has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His
flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create
in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body
to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death
their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace
to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by
one Spirit” (Ephesians
2:14-18).
It is unequivocally clear that the
times which God ordained for sacred assemblies are still in force. The bible is
replete with evidences where both Jesus Christ and the apostles kept the
seventh Day Sabbath.
The apostle Paul admonished the
brethren to celebrate the Feast of the Passover/Unleavened Bread by saying;
“Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the
Festival not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with
bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth” (1Corimthians 5:7-8).
It is quite evident that the
disciples kept the Feast of Pentecost, because it is written; “When the day of
Pentecost came, they were all together in one place” (Acts
2:1).
The Apostle Paul who, became
converted fourteen years after the original apostles also kept the Feast of
Pentecost. It is stated that, “Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid
spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem,
if possible, by the day of Pentecost” (Acts 20:16).
On another occasion Paul said, “I
will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective
work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me” (1Corinthians16:8).
Jesus Christ kept the Feast of Tabernacles. It is written: “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John.7:37-38).
During the millennium survivors
from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will have to go up year after
year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of
Tabernacles. Those who refuse to keep the Feast will be severely punished. (Zechariah14:16-19).
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