YAHWEH's TRUE Set Apart Feast Days

by John V. Cordaro

(This article was written to a Seventh Day Adventist audience)

Since you are a Sabbath keeper there is no need to explain to you the importance
of Yahweh's laws and obedience to them. You also should be aware of Yahshua's
statement in Mt.5:17,18,"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till
all be fulfilled ." The "law" referred to here is not only the ten commandments, but
any other law that has not been totally fulfilled yet. Examples would include dietary
laws, and laws forbidding bestiality, relations with relatives, tattoos, etc.

Among those laws that have not been totally fulfilled are the annual "Feast days"
or "Holy days" that were commanded as "statutes forever" (Lev 23:21,31,41).
Concerning these Holy days, Ellen G. White wrote, "If the children of Israel
needed the benefit of these holy convocations in their time, how much more do we
need them in these last days of peril and conflict!" - 6 Testimonies 39,40

Having said that and having a knowledge of the continued existence of the weekly
Sabbath, the question must be asked, "Why don't you also keep Yahweh's seven
"High Sabbaths" also known as His Holy Feast Days?" The answer lies on page
243 of "Seventh-day Adventists Believe ... A Biblical Exposition of 27 Fundamental
Doctrines." The book quotes Col 2:16,17 and Eph 2:14-16, as well as Gal 4:10,11
on page 254, as proof texts that the so-called ceremonial law, including the seven
yearly Holy days, have been "nailed to the cross." Those days, incidentally, are
the first and last days of the Feast of Unleavened, the Feast of Weeks
(Pentecost), the Day of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the first day of the
Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day. These Holy days are spoken of in
Lev 23.

The following is the true scriptural understanding of these Holy days, which reveal
to Yahweh's people His entire plan of salvation.

Let's begin this study by quoting a passage from the book mentioned above. On
page 252 we read,"While the weekly Sabbath was ordained at the close of
Creation week for all mankind, the annual sabbaths were an integral part of the
Jewish system of rites and ceremonies instituted at Mount Sinai, ...which pointed
forward to the coming of the Messiah, and the observance of which terminated
with His death on the cross."

First, the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai takes place in Ex 20 whereas the institution
of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened takes place in Ex 12. The same false
reasoning is used by Sunday keepers to discredit the weekly Sabbath. They say
that it was part of the "Jewish" law given at Mt. Sinai and therefore Christians
don't have to obey it. However, just as we can show that the Sabbath existed in
Ex 16 before the law was given, so too, can we show that Passover and
Unleavened existed in Ex 12 before the giving of the law.

We also know that the annual Sabbaths are not Jewish laws just as the weekly
Sabbath is not a Jewish law. They are Yahweh's holy laws.

The statement quoted mentions that the annual Sabbaths "pointed forward to the
first coming of the Messiah." This can be said about Passover and the Day of
Atonement but what about the other five Sabbaths? In what way did they point to
Messiahs coming? Yes, they had animal sacrifices on those days that pointed to
Messiah but so did the weekly Sabbath (Nu 28:9,10). Just as we don't do away
with the weekly Sabbath because of its' associated sacrifices, we shouldn't do
away with the annual Sabbaths because of their associated sacrifices. A truth not
yet understood by many is that each high sabbath has a future fulfillment at
Messiah's second coming.

The statement quoted also states that the annual Sabbaths ended at Yahshua's
death. If that is true, why were the Disciples observing the Day of Pentecost
(Feast of Weeks) in Acts 2? Were they ignorant of the fact that that Holyday was
nailed to the cross over fifty days earlier? Hardly likely. Why do we also see Paul
and other brethren observing these days in I Cor 16:8; Acts 27:9 (the fast was on
the Day of Atonement); Acts 20:6,16; and Acts 18:21? Sunday keepers will
discredit the weekly Sabbath by saying the disciples went to the synagogue to
witness to the Jews, not to observe the Sabbath. Will you use the same erroneous
logic to discredit the feast days? Were they there only for the purpose of
witnessing to the Jews? In Acts 20:16 Paul was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for
the Day of Pentecost. Acts 24:11,12 show us that Paul went to that feast to
worship, not to witness to the Jews.

The truth is, these days were not nailed to the cross. That false teaching arose
because people didn't understand Col 2:14-17; Eph 2:15; and Gal 4:10. The
Apostle Peter was correct when he said that Paul's epistles contained certain
things which were hard to understand (II Pet 3:15,16). Couple that difficulty with
the erroneous translations of the KJV and it becomes even more difficult to discern
the truth.

The following analysis will hopefully enlighten you concerning the true meaning of
those verses so that you may understand Yahweh's ways and walk in them.

Galatians 4:10

A Sunday keeper will say that this verse proves that Paul was condemning the
continued observance of the weekly Sabbath as a form of bondage. Adventist
theologians will say that this verse proves that Paul was condemning the continued
observance of the annual Sabbaths as a form of bondage. Neither belief is true
because both groups take this verse out of context. Paul himself said that all of
Yahweh's laws are holy, just, and good (Rom 7:12). If that is true, can it be said
that any part of Yahweh's holy law was not good? Even the law of animal
sacrifices was good in that it pointed the Israelites to Messiah. So what did Paul
really mean when he wrote verse 10?

If Paul was writing to the Gentile converts in Galatia, who had been heathen
worshipers of pagan deities before their conversion to Yahshua, then his meaning
is as follows. He says in verse 8," . . .when you knew not God [Yahweh], you did
service unto them which by nature are no gods." In other words they were
idolaters who neither served Yahweh nor walked in His laws. They knew nothing
of His commandments and laws except what they had heard from Israelites living
in their city. But then verse 9 states that after they were converted they began to
be known of Yahweh, which prompted Paul's question,"Why do you want to return
to the way you were before you were converted? Why do you continue to observe
days, months, times, and years that were ordained by pagans? Why do you wish
to be slaves to the weak and beggarly elements of pagan so-called holy days?

The holy days that they were returning to are comparable to the false holy days
we have today such as Sunday, Easter, Lent, Christmas, Goods Friday, Holy
Thursday, Ash Wednesday, all of which were declared holy by the "mother church"
in Rome and not by Yahweh. Yahweh declared in Lev 23 which days were His
holy days.

If Paul was writing primarily to the Jewish converts in Galatia, then his concern
would have been with the attempt to gain favor in Yahweh's sight through the
observance of such days. Paul warned them several times not to seek justification
by the law or to attain salvation through works. To do so would be to place
oneself "under the law" again. The entire epistle is an admonition against such a
perverted view as justification by law. So Paul is warning the Galations not to
observe these times for the wrong reasons. He is not telling them to forsake
observing them altogether. Incidently, the weekly Sabbath would have to be
included among the "days" Paul mentions if he was writing primarily to Jewish
converts.

Think about it; Why would Paul tell us to keep the Feast of Unleavened in I Cor
5:7,8 and then tell us not to keep any days in Gal 4:10? Why did he desire to keep
the upcoming feast in Jerusalem in Acts 18:21(KJV) and then tell the Galatians
that they were not permitted to keep any feasts?

Colossians 2:14-23

Sunday keepers will use these verses to prove that the weekly Sabbath has been
nailed to the cross. Adventist theologians will use these verses to prove the annual
Sabbaths have been nailed to the cross. Neither view is correct based on several
mistranslations, added words not found in any Greek texts, and poor Bible
exegesis (study).

Let's first determine the context of chapter two. In verses 4 and 8 Paul warns the
Colossians about deceivers. Then again, in verse 18, Paul gives his final warning
about these same deceivers. In what way were they trying to deceive the
Colossians? Verse 8 tells us that they were trying to exalt the traditions of men
over the Messiah (verses 8 & 19).

Notice carefully the context; the traditions of men in verse 8, 18, and 22. The
verses that occur between 8 and 22 must be understood based on the context of
the traditions of men .

Now we can understand the key word in Col 2:14, "ordinances." The Greek word
for ordinances here is a form of the root word "dogma" which means man-made
rules, laws, commandments, precepts, etc. Paul is not talking about Yahweh's
ordinances in this verse. He is talking about mans ordinances or traditions. This
same word is used in Col 2:20 pertaining to the doctrines and commandments of
men; in Lu 2:1 pertaining to a decree from Caesar Augustus; in Acts 17:7
pertaining to a decree from Caesar; and in Eph 2:15, which we will look at later. It
always pertains to mans commandments, not Yahweh's. Compare the word
dogma with the Greek word that pertains to Yahweh's ordinances, "dikaioma."
This word dikaioma was used in Lu 1:6 pertaining to the ordinances of Yahweh
and in Heb 9:1,10 pertaining once again to Yahweh's ordinances.

Therefore, Paul is saying in verse 14 that the traditions and commandments of
men are the issue, not Yahweh's laws. But what was nailed to the cross? The
Greek construction shows that the "handwriting" was nailed, not the ordinances. At
this point I would like you to read an excerpt from the noted Adventist theologian
Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi's book entitled, "From Sabbath To Sunday," page 348.

"What did Paul mean by the cheirographon (a term used in antiquity in the sense
of a "written agreement" or a "certificate of debt")? Was he referring to the
Mosaic Law with its ordinances, thus declaring that God nailed it to the cross? If
one adopts this interpretation, there exists a legitimate possibility that the Sabbath
could be included among the ordinances nailed to the cross. There are indeed
certain authors who hold this view. But besides the grammatical difficulties, "it
hardly seems Pauline," writes J. Huby, "to represent God as crucifying the 'holy'
(Rom 7:6) thing that was the Mosaic Law."

As Dr. Bacchiocchi stated, the handwriting or, in Greek, the cheirographon was a
certificate of debt. Whenever a man sins against Yahweh his sin is imputed
against him. When men exalt the traditions of men over the commandments of
Yahweh, as the Pharisees did (Mt 15:3,9) for example, they sin against Yahweh.
The Messiah became sin for us and when He was nailed to the tree so were the
sins that were imputed against us. Yahweh's holy ordinances were not nailed to
the tree, the certificate of debt resulting in our death sentence was nailed to the
tree. That is why Paul said the Colossians were "dead in your sins" in verse 13.
The principalities and powers of verse 15 caused the people to sin by their
man-made laws but Messiah was victorious over them.

This brings us to the crucial verse 16. It was the deceivers of verses 4,8, and 18
that were judging the Colossians regarding the things mentioned in verse 16. They
had been imposing their man-made commandments and traditions upon the
Colossians. Paul told them not to allow anyone to judge them concerning those
matters. An important addition was made in the KJV that does not appear in any
Greek manuscript. The word "is " in verse 17 was added, which changes the
meaning of Paul's statement. Retaining the word "is" implies the thought of
shadow vs. reality. In other words, Messiah fulfilled the shadow of the things
mentioned in verse 16. However, if you remove the added word "is", it implies that
we should not let any man outside the body of Messiah judge us in respect to
these things. Indeed that is in line with the context of Paul's previous statements.
Notice Col 1:18 & 24 and Col 2:19, all of which teach us that the body of Messiah
is the church or all true believers.

There are several other points worthy of mention concerning verses 16 & 17.
Verse 17 states that these things "are" a shadow of things "to come" not that they
"were" a shadow that was now fulfilled. Paul wrote this epistle approximately 30
years after Yahshua's death and yet he still spoke of them as unfulfilled shadows.
Notice also that the word "days" in verse 16 is in italics. This means it was also
added as was "is" in verse 17. The sabbath in this verse is the weekly Sabbath
since the word "holyday" refers to the annual sabbaths. The proper Greek
translation of this word is "feast day."

Adventists always use Is 66:23 to show that the Sabbath is not done away with
because it will be kept in the new heaven and new earth. However, this verse also
mentions the New Moon in the new heaven and earth. Using the same logic it
would mean that the New Moon of Col 2:16 is not done away with as well.
Almighty Yahweh created the moon for the very purpose of keeping His Holydays.
Ps 104:19 says, "He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going
down." The Hebrew word for seasons is "Moed" meaning "an appointed time." It is
the same word used in Gen 1:14 for "seasons" and Lev 23:2 for "feasts." Each of
Yahweh's Holydays are appointed times whose keeping is determined by the New
Moon.

One more point about verse 16. If you believe verse 16 does away with the
feastdays and new moons then you also must believe that it does away with
eating and drinking to be consistent.

The correct translation of Col 2:16,17 is, "Let no man therefore judge you in
eating, or in drinking, or in respect of a feastday, or of the new moon, or of the
sabbath (which are a shadow of things to come) but the body of Messiah."

Ephesians 2:15

The final "proof text" to be considered is Eph 2:15. Again we see the Greek word
"dogma" (ordinances) meaning man-made commandments. Having that in mind
let's begin in verses 11-13. Paul explains that before one accepts Messiah as his
Savior he is separated from the commonwealth of Israel, he is without Yahweh,
and he is uncircumcised. However, once he accepts Messiah he becomes an
Israelite, circumcised in the heart, and at one with Yahweh. Notice what is
abolished in verse 15. It is the enmity or the hatred between the Israelite and the
Gentile that was abolished. This hatred was caused by the commandments and
traditions of men. For example, Paul alludes to a "middle wall of partition" between
Jew and Gentile. This was a literal wall that Paul uses in a figurative sense to
make his point. The Jews decreed, ( they made a dogma), which stated that if a
Gentile crossed over the wall separating the Court of the Jews from the Court of
the Gentiles surrounding the temple, that they would be immediately killed. This
was not a commandment of Yahweh. In fact, Yahweh never even commanded
such a wall to exist. That dogma created a hatred between the two peoples which
Messiah destroyed creating one new man and so, making peace.

I cannot impress upon you enough the importance that Yahweh places on the
observance of all His Holy days. Each has a very special meaning, for example,
not only does the Feast of Unleavened picture the putting away of sin from our
lives, but it is also a memorial of Yahweh's great deliverance of Israel from Egypt
(Ex 13:6-9). Can we, with a clear conscience, say that such a great event no
longer needs to be memorialized by observing it in honor of Yahweh's great
mercy? We continue to memorialize the Creation by observing the weekly Sabbath
don't we?

It is often said by opponents of the annual Sabbaths that they are a "yoke of
bondage." Can that be true in light of the following verses: Deut 16:11,14,15; 2
Chr 30:21-23? These days were for rejoicing. They were treated the same way
the pagan world treats Christmas. It was something that every Israelite couldn't
wait for. The "yoke of bondage" referred to in Gal 5:1 concerns becoming a slave
by trying to be justified by law instead of by faith through grace (Gal 5:4).

Is 1:14 is another verse used to abolish these Holydays. The context shows that
Yahweh hates the appointed feasts of Israel ("your appointed feasts") because
they keep them hypocritically with evil in their hearts (verses 10,16-20). If verse 14
abolishes the feast days, then verse 13 abolishes the sabbath and verse 15
abolishes prayer.

The prophecy of Zechariah reveals that the Feast of Tabernacles will be kept by
"everyone that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem" (Zech
14:16-19). In other words, after the battle of Armageddon mentioned in verse 2,
Yahweh will destroy those that were directly involved (verse 12). However, after
their destruction their will still be people all over the world that did not fight against
Jerusalem. They will be obligated to keep the Feast during the millennium or be
punished (verse 19).

Spiritual Israelites also face major punishment if they don't keep Yahweh's
appointed Feasts. Whoever has leaven in their house or eats leavened food during
the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened, "that soul shall be cut off from Israel"
(Ex 12:15,19) "whether he is a stranger (Gentile) or born in the land." Anyone who
does not afflict his soul (by fasting 24 hours) on the Day of Atonement, or does
any work on that day, will be "cut off from among his people" (Lev 23:29,30).

This study is by no means all there is to know about the Feasts. It only supports
the continued observance of these days. You have yet to hear of the tremendous
importance and prophetic meaning of each Feast.

Time is running out for us to remove the blemishes from our worship of Almighty
Yahweh. Please do not put off studying this issue for the cares of this world can
easily distract us.

YAHWEH's TRUE Set Apart Feast Days