Dear friends and readers,
The HIGH HOLY DAYS are here!
So why should followers of Christ care about the High Holy Days? (Comment often heard), "I mean after all they are just some Old Testament--dusty old tome writings and WE are after all saved by grace, not the law"! Well, who could possibly argue with that?
However in that argument there are several shades of grey and a fair amount of confusion. Let's take the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) for example. If you ask most Christians about the Ten Commandments you will find a very "hot button" issue. As Christians we become highly incensed because the Commandments are being ripped off the walls of school hallways and the fronts of the nations court houses. All in the name of "POLITICAL CORRECTNESS"! HOW DARE THEY!!!
And most Christians will say that most indubitably, YES, the Ten Commandments still apply to us as followers of Christ. Hruuuumph! Take your filthy Philistine hands off OUR Ten Commandments.
Well---except for the fourth Commandment because after all, we ARE saved by grace and everybody knows that "Doing no work on the Sabbath and keeping it Holy?" is just so much Jewish legalism. I mean gee whiz, God can't really be serious about THAT. Who would drive the bus to Disneyland next Saturday for our church youth day?
So does that mean that we also don't need to take literally the Commands to honor our father and mother, refrain from murder, committing adultery, stealing, lying or lusting after our neighbors stuff?
Ok so Pastor Rance, why did you have to bring up all this confusing theology? I mean why make us think about THAT stuff?
SHADES OF GREY and confusion.
And for the record, we most definitely should be outraged about degrading the Ten Commandments and what you personally believe about the fourth Commandment is entirely your business. But can you see my point? It is so easy to "cherry pick" what we want from scripture and ignore what we don't.
Well my friends, the HIGH HOLY DAYS are another example of exactly that. In fairness, for generations long since past many of the "church fathers" taught that we do not need to take seriously the High Holy Days because they have zilch to do with us as followers of Christ.
Of course somehow you do have to explain away why Jesus Himself "secretly" attended the High Holy Day feast of TABERNACLES (John chapter 7) or why Jesus chose 4 of the other Biblical Spring time feast days to EXACTLY accomplish the prophesied events of His death and resurrection. But hey, why split hairs, right?
The truth is that ALL of the seven Biblical feast and days of repentance do very much apply to us as followers of the Lord. Unfortunately over the eons, the richness of these Biblical days has in most part become lost to us but that does not mean they do not have application for us.
So for review, Leviticus 23 Begins with GOD telling Moses "AND THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES, SAYING, SPEAK TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND SAY TO THEM: THE FEASTS OF THE LORD, WHICH YOU SHALL PROCLAIM TO BE HOLY CONVOCATIONS, THESE ARE MY FEASTS"!
Ah yes but God---and Moses were speaking to Israel, not to us as Christians. Fair enough. But if you stand upon that argument, how do you handle the New Testament book of Romans chapter 11 in which the Apostle Paul clearly teaches that it is the root of Israel that supports our faith in Christ? Does that make us Jews? No. Does that lash us to legalism? No. We are in fact saved by grace. But we also cannot explain away why it was that JESUS THE CHRIST OF GOD, chose 4 of the Spring time feasts to EXACTLY fulfill seminal events of His first coming.
Leviticus 23 lists the Sping time feasts as 1). PASSOVER 2). UNLEAVENED BREAD 3). FIRST FRUITS 4). PENTECOST.
FACT: These feast days were decreed by GOD HUNDREDS OF YEARS before Christ walked the earth. Yet He chose to give His life on the cross of Calvary precisely on PASSOVER! He chose to be buried PRECISELY on UNLEAVENED BREAD. He chose to be resurrected from the grave PRECISELY on FIRST FRUITS and 50 days later PRECISELY on PENTECOST came the Holy Spirit to the fledgling church that Jesus founded, (Acts chapter 2).
Coincidence you say? Don't think so!
So, the question is simple; If Jesus chose to fulfill these monumental events of His first coming precisely on feast days that God Himself declared in Leviticus, is there a possibility that Jesus might at some point in future years also choose to fulfill seminal events of His second coming on the last three High Holy Days, each of which (in order) were also decreed in Leviticus as 1). TRUMPETS (ROSH HASHANA). 2). DAY OF ATONEMENT (YOM KIPPUR) 3). TABERNACLES (SUKKOT)?
CAUTION HERE!!!
We know exactly what happened in the past but we cannot know for certain anything about the future. So please, if you are tempted to think that what I am about to SPECULATE ABOUT will happen with 100% assurance---DON'T! But we do have to remember that God NEVER changes and
that also may mean that when it comes to the first and second coming of Christ, God may well follow the exact order we see listed in Leviticus for all 7 Biblical feast days and days of repentance.
If nothing more---EXTREMELY provocative possibilities!
So could that mean that at some future point in time 1). TRUMPETS might equate to the Rapture of the church? 2). DAY OF ATONEMENT equate to the Second Coming? 3). TABERNACLES might equate to the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ upon this earth?
In fairness to other writers and scholars, some folks like to reverse TRUMPETS/RAPTURE with ATONEMENT/RAPTURE. But I don't see that myself but then again I am not God and neither are they. That argument gets into the PRE/MID/POST fiasco so lets not even go there shall we? Only time will tell.
The point is that after reading this, I will have failed miserably if you cannot recognize that that High Holy Days (and in fact all of the seven decreed Biblical days) are in fact extremely significant to both the Jews and to the Gentile followers of Christ.
And I would be remiss by not reminding that the "CHURCH" of Jesus Christ is made up of both Jew and Gentile who have repented sincerely for their sins and placed their faith in the Jewish Messiah, JESUS!
God bless you all,
Pastor Rance.
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