Lesson 30
What the Bible says about God’s Annual Festivals
AMBASSADOR CHRISTIAN COLLEGE‐ Dr. Keith Slough
INTRODUCTION
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HAT YOU ARE ABOUT to read in this Bible lesson is shocking! The first century true Church of God continued to exist even after much apostasy had occurred. Most of the apostasy had gravitated to Rome. But some of the Asiatic or Middle Eastern congregations retained the true faith "once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3) BY THE APOSTLES. You will see proof in this lesson that the early true church continued to observe the Biblical Passover believe it or not! The true Christians of the early church never kept Easter! They never kept Saturnalia on December 25th (called Christmas today). They never kept any pagan devil‐ worshipping holiday such as "Halloween." Rather the early true Christians kept the Festivals re‐ vealed in the Scriptures. The Biblical record shows the New Testament church observed all the Feast days of the Bible. They observed all three Feast seasons of Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. These festivals were first given to Israel and ordained "forever" (see Exodus 12:14, 24; Leviticus 23:21,31,41 where God commands that His people observe these festivals "FOREVER"). Ask yourself: Has "forever" ended? Did "forever" end at the cross? Did "forever" end when apostate men apparently thought God's Law was "done away" at the Council of Nicea in A.D. 321? Of course not! Therefore these Festivals are still binding upon Israel today ‐but what about Gentiles? The Old Testament word for Gentile people was "stranger." Notice Exodus 12:49. "One law shall be to him that is home born [the native Israelite], and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you." Of course to eat the physical Passover lamb both Israelite and Gentile had the exact same requirements. The Gentile also had to be circumcised. God is no respecter of persons. Numbers 15:15‐16 adds, "ONE ORDINANCE shall be both for you of the congregation [of Israel], and also for the stranger [the Gentile] that sojourneth with you, an ordinance FOREVER in your generations: as ye are [required to obey], so shall the stranger be before the Eternal. "ONE LAW and one manner shall be for you, AND for the stranger [the Gentile) that sojourneth with you"! God did not have two separate laws ~ one for Jews and a different set of Laws for Gentiles. He is the same God to all peoples. His festivals were commanded to be observed not just for those who were native Israelites ‐ but for GENTILES ALSO!!! Notice Zechariah 14:1, 4, 9 and especially verses 16‐19. Jesus Christ is returning in "the Day of the LORD" to rule the nations as King of kings. Since He is the same forever (Hebrews 13:8) therefore He will still require the Gentiles to keep His Festivals even 2000 years after the cross! Notice verses 16‐19. Even the Gentile nations (such as Egypt) and "ALL the families of the Earth" (verse 17) will be forced in that day to obey God by keeping these Old Testament Festivals which the Gentiles in the New Testament period also were taught to keep! Yet you
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have been taught that in any Protestant church! But the New Testament proves it! Notice verse 19 says that "all nations" ‐yes, even Gentiles ‐will be punished if they do not keep God's Feasts. Those Feasts are all mentioned in Leviticus 23 and are explained in this Bible lesson. These Biblical Festivals were kept by Jew and Gentile alike by the New Testament Church of God. The apostle Paul commanded the Gentile Christians to KEEP THESE FESTIVALS!!! Will you obey your New Testament and begin keeping them also? Or will you reject God's call on your life to know and accept His Truth?
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Should Christians Observe
Passover, Pentecost, and The Feast of Tabernacles? Believe it or not there is a New Testament command for Christians ‐ including GENTILE Christians ‐ to keep the annual BIBLICAL Festivals. While not required to observe manmade "Jewish" days, nevertheless Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, commanded Gentiles to observe the BIBLICAL Festivals! And the TRUE saints of God continued celebrating them decades and even centuries after the cross! WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT to read is astonishing! Few historians and other researchers have ever been able to put the true story together! But you are about to read historical documentation proving that the first century and early second century Christians continued to keep the Passover and the other annual festivals found in the Bible! Early Church Kept the Holy days! Believe it or not, the early true Church kept the annual Festivals or Holy days given in Leviticus 23. They observed the seven day feast of Passover each spring. They observed the Holy day of Pentecost in late spring or early summer, and the annual Holy days of God that were commanded for the autumn. Why? How can we know this for certain? Because the apostles continued to follow Christ! And He kept the whole Law never having offended in so much as one point, lest He transgressed the Law, which is SIN! (James 2:10 and 1 John 3:4). Paul said he followed, or "imitated" Christ (I Corinthians 11:1). And he commanded the Gentile churches to follow that example! Yet today few churches obey this New Testament command! Now let's notice where the early true Church of God continued to observe these annual holy days. Acts 2:1 shows the disciples continued to keep PENTECOST (called the "Feast of First Fruits" in the Old Testament). Had they not done so, they would not have received the Holy Spirit, for only those believers in attendance to this annual Holy day received God's Holy Spirit! But did they continue to keep this Holy day? Yes they did! Notice the apostle to the Gentiles even mentions this annual Holy day and his observance of it to a Gentile Church! Read it in First
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Corinthians 16:8! Paul was writing from the city of Ephesus and told them, "I will tarry at Ephesus until PENTECOST." How did these Gentiles even know what this Holy day of Pentecost was except that they had been taught about God's Holy days from the apostle Paul? Easter or Passover? Did the early church observe "Easter," the festival of the Babylonian fertility goddess by that same name, or did they keep the Old Testament PASSOVER? Notice that the Passover is also called the "Days of Unleavened Bread" due to the fact that during this seven day festival unleavened bread was eaten (see Luke 22:1). In Acts 12 we read where Herod killed John's brother James in the persecution. Herod then had Peter arrested awaiting his planned execution. Notice that the Holy Spirit inspired Luke, the writer of the book of Acts and himself very possibly a Gentile, to record that this occurred during "THE DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD" (verse 3)! Why would God inspire this to be recorded if these Holy days, (also called "Feast days") which had been ordained in the Law, had been abolished, "made void" (Romans 3:31) or "destroyed" (Matthew 5:17) by Christ and the Gospel? Rather we see the true Church still observing these Holy days of God! The King James Version is a very accurate translation yet it is not perfect. Notice that we read in the KN that Herod intended to bring Peter forth to the people "after Easter." Check the margin of your Bible. There you will read "the Passover" as the proper translation. Most modern Bibles will properly translate this verse. Even the Roman Catholic Bible translates this verse as "the Passover" rather than "Easter" which was a mistake of the KJV translators. This whole seven day period then was considered "Passover" (See Ezekiel 45:21). The Church obviously kept the entire Feast! Another reference to the Passover feast is Acts 20:7 where we read: "And we sailed away from Philippi [a Gentile city!!] after THE DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days"! Notice the apostles waited until Passover was completed before leaving the Church in this Gentile city! They were observing God's Holy days with these Gentiles. Seven weeks after Passover is the FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS (better known in the New Testament as the Day of Pentecost). Notice verse 16 of this same chapter where we read, "For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the Day of Pentecost"! Notice our English translations read "to be at Jerusalem." The Greek word translated here as ''to be" is the word genes thai from the root word genesia and is defined by the Greek lexicon as "a birthday feast" (Thayer's Greek‐English Lexicon, page 112). The Feast of First Fruits (Pentecost) was an annual Holy day commanded by God in the Old Testament, upon which God
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Founded the New Testament Church. It was the birthday of the Church of God. The word implies Paul was going to "feast" there; to keep or celebrate the Day of Pentecost. Yet how many churches today ignore this important Biblical Holy day? This verse could therefore be paraphrased to read: "...for he hastened, if it were possible for him, to celebrate at Jerusalem the Day of Pentecost"! Paul was still celebrating, keeping or observing, these Old Testament Holy days which God had commanded to be kept "forever" (Leviticus 23:21). They were not "done away" at the cross or when the New Covenant came to the Church! The New Covenant (or New Testament) Church of God continued to celebrate these Holy days! The Day of Atonement! In Acts 27:9 we read that Paul and the others were on a ship when sailing was now dangerous because "THE FAST was now already past"! What was this "fast" that the early church observed? Check the margin of your Bible. Nearly all Bible margins read (as does mine): "The Fast was on the tenth day of the seventh month. Lev. 23:27, 29"! This reference is to the scriptural DAY OF ATONEMENT! Again we must ask, since this was inspired by the very Holy Spirit of God, why was this mentioned, except to show future generations that the apostles continued to keep these Holy days of God! The Feast of Tabernacles While we cannot be absolutely positive which festival is being depicted in Acts 18, we see that Paul himself, did in fact keep God's Feasts. Theologians have been of the opinion that this Festival appears to have occurred in the autumn. And since Paul felt the need to be there, it must have been the week long Feast of Tabernacles! Manmade festivals can be celebrated anywhere. The Jews had invented some of their own national holidays such as Hanukah, Purim, and certain others. However the Faithful Christians who continued to keep the Feasts com‐ manded by God in the Law tried to be at the "Headquarters" congregation of the Church in Jerusalem to observe them. Notice Acts 18:21 where we read that Paul" ...bade them farewell, saying, 'I must by all means KEEP this FEAST that cometh in Jerusalem: but 1 will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus"! Notice this remarkable scripture shows he was saying this to GENTILE Christians whom he commanded to follow his example! (I Corinthians 11:1). In fact this verse so strikingly proves that the apostle to the Gentiles kept God's Holy days thereby creating controversy among theologians that the new Bible translations have decided to leave it out!! There is only one reason why they would deliberately leave this verse out of their new translations! It shows that
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WE should, along with the Apostle Paul, be keeping these HOLY DAYS!! We cannot escape this inevitable conclusion! The early true Church kept the annual Holy days or Biblical Festivals of God! Not only did the Jews keep them, but so did the Gentile Christians as well! "Let us KEEP the Feast"! In writing to the Greeks, the Gentile Christians at Corinth, Greece, the Apostle Paul, writing from the Gentile Church at Ephesus, tells the Corinthian Christians that Christ is their Passover Lamb! (Remember the name "Passover" also referred to the lamb that was killed at the beginning of the seven days Feast of Unleavened Bread. (See Mark 14:12). This is also the time when the first century church took "communion." For Christ is our "Passover" lamb! Because "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us," Paul said, "Therefore LET US KEEP THE FEAST"!!! Here is a New Testament Command to GENTILES to keep the seven day Feast of Passover! Notice Paul did not say "let the Jews keep these Festivals." Rather while writing to Gentile Christians he commanded, "Let US keep the Feast"! Will you now "come out" of Babylon? Mystery Babylon of Revelation 17 is the apostate counterfeit "Christian" religion, called the mother ''whore'' and "harlot" daughters, and proved to be the Roman Catholic Church and her daughter churches that came out of her in Protest. Jesus commands us to "come out of her"! (Revelation 18:4). This command must not be taken lightly! Let No Man Judge You If you repent of following apostate Rome in keeping their Roman days of Saturnalia (called Christmas today) and Easter, etc., and begin keeping God's Holy days, your Gentile neighbors will "judge" you! They will condemn you and persecute you! In Colossae where there were few Jews, the unconverted Gentiles were now 'Judging" the new converts among themselves who had come to Christ because they were keeping the Holy days found in the Law of God! Paul wrote to them to encourage them. He wrote: "Let no MAN [these were Gentiles and not Jews in this Gentile city of Colossae!] JUDGE you in meat, and in drink [the Greek literally reads, "in eating or in drinking"] or in respect of a HOLY DAY, or of the new moon [considered the first day of the month, on the Biblical Calendar], or of THE SABBATH days"! (See Colossians 2:16). Notice the word "days" here is in Italics and was supplied by the translators. The Greek simply says "or the Sabbath." So here we see Paul urging the new Gentile converts to not be discouraged by their JUDGMENTAL and unconverted Gentile neighbors! And why were these pagan Gentiles judging
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GOD’S ANNUAL FESTIVAL In Leviticus 23 we have each of the annual Festivals of God listed in order. Read the entire chapter to learn what they are. God was giving this book of Leviticus to the Levites to give to all the people of God, along with their own prescribed priestly duties of offering up "offerings made by fire" (which only the priests could do). These three major Festivals contained a total of seven annual Holy days (called "Sabbaths") which not only Israel of old were commanded to celebrate, but the apostles themselves continued to observe God's commanded festivals - and they commanded the Gentile converts also to keep them. Today the world is deceived into thinking that the Gentiles NEVER kept God's commanded Festivals! They couldn't be more wrong! The early true Church kept God's Feasts until the Roman government under Constantine made it illegal under threat of imperial persecution! Here is a list of all of God's commanded annual festivals and Holy days: 1) The Passover Feast (or Days of Unleavened Bread). The first day of this seven day festival is a "Sabbath" day (when no "servile work" can be done) and occurs on the 15th of the first spring month of the year. 2) The seventh day of the Passover Feast is also called an annual "Sabbath" (a Holy day) and occurs on the 21st day of the spring month. 3) The Feast of First fruits (called "Pentecost" by the Greek Christians) observed as a one day Festival Sabbath, seven weeks after Passover. 4) The Feast of Trumpets, a one day annual Sabbath on the first day of the seventh month (occurring in early autumn). 5) The Day of Atonement, a one day annual Sabbath on the 10th day of the seventh month and the only Holy day where God commands us to fast (see Acts 27:9 with margin). 6) The Feast of Tabernacles, a week long festival which actually was a commanded "Camp meeting" for God's people, observed the 15th through the 21st days of the seventh month (corresponding to our October). The first day of the Feast was a Holy day (or "Sabbath") (See Acts 18:21 where Paul kept God's Feasts). 7) The Last Great Day (the Holy day at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, and separate from it), sometimes simply called "the Eighth Day", (see where Jesus observed it in John 7:37).
these Christians? For one reason only! It was because these new Christians were now observing THE HOLY DAYS, THE NEW MOONS AND THE SABBATH! Can anything be plainer? For had these Gentile Christians not been keeping these Holy days their Gentile neighbors would have had no reason to ''judge'' them! Has your Gentile neighbors ever "judged" you for not keeping the annual Holy days of the Law of God? No! Of course not! Such a thought is utterly preposterous in the extreme! But wait until you begin keeping God's annual Holy days. Then notice what your non Jewish neighbors then have to say to you! You will be "JUDGED" (or condemned) most severely! You will be mocked, laughed at, persecuted, ridiculed, scorned, made fun of ‐they will "JUDGE" you for obeying the Old Testament ‐just as they ''judged'' these true Christians among the Gentiles, who now, for the first time in their lives, were keeping these Holy days of God! In the Roman Empire, they used the Roman calendar that we use today! Yet the Jews had always followed God's calendar till long after the time of Christ, which began each month with the New Moon ‐the visible new crescent of the moon seen just after sundown in the west! Which calendar were the Gentile Colossian Christians now using? They were now going by the Sacred Biblical Calendar starting the months with the new moons. However had they not been observing God's Feast days there would have been no reason to have known when the New Moon even occurred! You now have absolute PROOF that the early true Church kept God's annual Holy days. Will you now join us in keeping these Feasts until Christ returns? I believe you will! May God bless you as you begin obeying His LAW!
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“Let Us
KEEP THE FEAST”! Few Christians know that God commanded even the Gentiles to keep the Feast of Passover! Have you assumed that the Jews were to keep Passover but Christians were allowed to keep pagan Roman festivals (such as Easter) instead? In this article, you will learn where the Apostle Paul commanded Gentiles to "keep the Feast" of Passover! THE EARLY TRUE CHURCH OF GOD observed the annual observance of the PASSOVER FESTIVAL! This is not only proven from the Bible but from secular historical sources as well! Few today know that early the first century Christians continued obeying the Law of God including the 10 Commandments, the Statutes and His Judgments. The Law of God (sometimes called the Law of Moses) includes the annual Festivals of God which He ordained forever! (See Exodus 12:17,24). Never did God tell us that He had changed His mind about having His people observe His annual Festivals! For God never changes! (Malachi 3:6). Jesus Christ came to fulfill (or obey) the Law of Moses (or Law of God) (Matthew 5: 17) to set us an Example! (I Peter 2:21). Yet few professed followers of Christ even attempt to follow His example. Rather they follow the traditions of Rome instead. The Apostle Paul followed Christ! And he commanded us to imitate him (Paul) even as he also imitated Christ (I Cor. 11: 1 see margin where "followers" is better translated "imitators"). Do you imitate your Lord and Saviour by keeping the same doctrines, laws, statutes, and commandments that He observed, or do you rather imitate the Pope of Rome observing the same holidays he and the ''whore of Babylon" observe? Who do most churches imitate? God ordained not only a weekly Feast Day where His People could fellowship and be spiritually nourished, but He also ordained three major Festivals containing seven annual Feast Days where His people could come together for fellowship and spiritual refreshment. After a cold winter we see the budding of the trees and blossoms, flowers and lime‐green leaves being birthed on the trees. The birds begin singing again as if they also feel excitement of "new life" dawning. It is at this time of the year that God says begins the first month of the true Biblical Calendar (not to be confused with the Jewish calendar which starts in the autumn or the Roman calendar which begins in the dead of winter, on January 1st). As the year is renewed or "born again" as it were, God decided to give His people a Festival to celebrate for spiritual refreshment. It is to be observed in our month of April which corresponds with the first month on God's calendar. He ordained a Festival not just for the Israelites, but for all nations to be observed at this time called the PASSOVER.
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It was at this time of the year when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. He died on the 14th of the first month of the sacred calendar, the very day when the Passover LAMB was sacrificed. It was at this time that He ordained what the world's churches refer to as "the Lord's Supper" or "Communion." Jesus called this only by one name: "the PASSOVER" (See Matthew 26:18, Mark 14:1,12,16, Luke 22:1,8,13,15‐20). This was an annual event. It occurred in our month of April. The Hebrew name for this first month is Abib and always begins with the first new moon of Spring. The day prior to the seven day Feast is the 14th of God's month and is the day when the Passover Lamb was killed. While we cannot kill a physical lamb outside the environs of Jerusalem (prescribed by the Law of God, see Deuteronomy 16:5‐6) we are commanded to observe the entire Passover Festival beginning with the New Testament Passover as Jesus instituted it: "eating" the TRUE Lamb of God Jesus Christ ‐by observing the symbols of the Passover Bread and the Wine (see also John 6:53‐54). Now rather than eating a physical lamb at Passover which cannot be legally done outside of Jerusalem, the Apostle Paul commands even the Gentiles to keep the Passover as Christ instituted it. In I Corinthians 11, Paul who was writing the Greek (Gentile) Christians in the spring of the year, instructed them in the observance of the Passover "'Memorial" (or, "Communion") for Christians. Paul tells us the correct TIME for observing this "communion" ordinance. He stated it was instituted on the night in which He was betrayed. This was on the beginning of the 14th of Abib. The Bible shows that the 24‐hour days begin and end at SUNSET ‐not at "midnight" as inherited from ancient Rome. Therefore when the 13th day of the month came to an end at sundown, the 14th day began. It was at this special time Jesus instituted the New Testament Passover Memorial ‐ or what most today refer to as "Communion" (I Corinthians 11:23). It was the New Covenant ordinance of the Passover and was to be observed annually! Paul then tells us we should continue to observe this Passover Memorial, or "Communion" showing "the Lord's death" ‐for how long? "TILL He come"! (verse 26). But are we to continue to observe the whole Passover Festival or only this first night? Paul commands Gentile Christians in this same epistle: "Christ our Passover [Lamb] is sacrificed for us, therefore LET US KEEP THE FEAST"! (I Cor. 5:7‐8). How long is this feast? The Bible itself tells us that, "In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the PASSOVER, a feast of SEVEN DAYS; Unleavened Bread shall be eaten"! (Ezekiel 45:21). All scholars agree. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, commands us "Let us keep the Feast"! Are you preparing to obey God this coming spring by keeping God's Passover Feast following the Example of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul? Believe it or not, the early church continued to keep the Passover until Constantine in the 4th century made it illegal! Due to Rome's well known racism against the Jewish people, he commanded all professing Christians to refrain from "Judaizing" in keeping Passover and the Sabbath and then instituted Sunday and Easter as Roman substitutes!
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This is a matter of historical record Constantine was not a converted Christian in the Biblical sense of the term. He was a sun worshipper till the day of his death but for political expedience had embraced the current form of "Christianity" then being practiced in Rome by apostates who had rebelled against the Jerusalem Church Headquarters. Both in Rome and Alexandria, Egypt apostasy had taken a firm stronghold. In these two cites these Gentiles professing "Christians" had forsaken the annual Biblical Festivals in favor of the days of the Roman Empire; noticeably the weekly day of the Sun, and Roman holidays such as the Babylonian Easter and the Saturnalia occurring on December 25th. So under threats from Rome the entire Christian Church was forced into subjugation to the APOSTATE CHURCH at Rome which assumed itself to be the new headquarters of the Christian church. This is how the church was forced to give up God's Festivals. But a tiny remnant remained faithful to the true apostolic Religion as practiced by Jesus Christ and the early church. But they were persecuted for their continued faithfulness to the Word of God! All down through the last 19 centuries a faithful remnant has remained true to the early apostolic religion of the first century church. Will you be a part of that faithful remnant this year? God has ordained His festivals "forever." When Christ returns all nations will be forced to keep His Festivals. Today a tiny remnant exists who continue to obey God by keeping His Festivals. Read the amazing history of such true Christians down through the centuries in the book A True History of the True Religion, by Keith Slough. It is the most fascinating reading of a lifetime! Determine to be part of God's End time Church who "keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ"! (Revelation 12: 17).
God’s Festivals in the Millennium! Ezekiel, chapters 40 through 48 deals with conditions during the millennial Kingdom of God which
will be set up at Christ’s return (see Scofield Reference Bible, marin, page 885, first edition, and any
available commentary). God tells us through Ezekiel that a temple will be built for the 1000 year period Jesus rules the Earth (chapter 41). God promises that all nations will worship on His Sabbaths (Ezekiel 46:1,3,9). And the solemn Feasts, such as Passover, and also the Feasts in the seventh month, will be kept –all of God’s festivals will be observed by all nations (Ezekiel 45:21,25). [The priesthood will also be restored but that does not directly concern us, as today there is not temple]. Read Zechariah 14:1,4,9, 16‐19 very carefully. Notice that God wills that all nations –including Gentiles –observe His commanded Festivals! Read especially verses 16‐19 slowly and thoughtfully. When Christ returns YOU will keep God’s festivals (such as the Feast of Tabernacles). God will at that time PUNISH all nations that rebel. Today even most churches revel and refuse to obey! But in that day they will obey. Will you be one who forces Christ to punish you for not keeping His festivals, or will you begin today to obey God and keep His commanded Festivals? God is waiting on your answer.
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Did the Early True Church Continue to
Keep God’s Feast Days? Read here of the surprising discovery revealed from the pages of history which proves that Christians in the earthly true church in the first few centuries after the cross even among the Gentiles, continued observing the Passover and other Feasts of God that were commanded in the Old Testament. They never kept Easter or Christmas; rather they continued to keep the days that were observed by the First Century New Testament Church! God is calling a people TODAY to "earnestly contend for the Faith ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS"! (Jude 3). Will you heed that call and be counted among God's chosen few at the End Time?
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HAT HAPPENED TO the early Church after the apostles died? Did the entire Christian Church enter apostasy giving up the true Faith as delivered by Jesus Christ and His called and chosen apostles? Or did God's true church retain the true Religion? Did Christ always maintain a Faithful Remnant who remained true to the first century Faith as He and the early apostles taught? And how did ROME enter the picture? Through the Apostle Paul's ministry, a true Church of God was raised up in the city or Rome, the capitol of the Roman Empire and also the leading city of all false PAGAN religion! Nero in A.D. 64 severely persecuted God's Church in Rome and charged the Christians with burning the city. Eventually the Apostle Paul was brought to Rome and martyred! One by one the apostles of the first century were being put to death. Before very long most of the leading ministers of the true Church of God in Rome were gone, probably through persecution and martyrdom and without proper leadership, apostasy began to creep into the church there. After A.D. 70 the true Church was now being led by the few remaining apostles at Pella and Antioch. Peter was soon crucified. James, the leading apostle of the headquarters church, now in Pella, was martyred shortly thereafter. Only the Apostle John was left. Though he traveled around extensively, preaching the Gospel of Christ, he was eventually sentenced to be burned in boiling oil. According to record, God supernaturally spared him and so the Roman authorities decided to let him live and banished him to the isle of Patmos where he wrote the final book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. Sometime later, John was allowed to leave Patmos and spent his remaining days in Ephesus. Now that all of the original apostles had been martyred, only John was left to lead the Church of God where he alone assumed the leadership of the true Church from Ephesus! However before God had allowed John to die of old age (the only original apostle who was not martyred!) he had trained and ordained a man to replace him as leader of the church: POLYCARP.
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The True Church AFTER the Apostles When John died that was not the end however of the true Church of God on Earth. Jesus said He would build His church and the gates of hell (the specific Greek word translated "hell" here is the same Greek word translated "grave" elsewhere in the New Testament) ‐death itself ‐would never prevail against it! It would never die! But since John closed the New Testament with the Book of Revelation around A.D. 96 we now must turn to secular history for the continuation of the history of God's true church after the apostles! There is a curious statement found in Acts 24:5 concerning the true Church shortly before Paul's martyrdom. While the true people of God called themselves The Church of God, the world called them by pejorative nicknames. Here is a historical record found in the Bible itself as to the leading nickname the world had given the true Church. The unbelievers referred to God's true Church as a religious "sect." They did not understand this was the only true Church of God on Earth! Notice that they recognized Paul as a leader of the true Church. Notice the world's nickname for the true Church at this time toward the end of the book of Acts: "For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the NAZARENES: who also hath gone about to profane the temple..." (Acts 24:5). Of course their accusations were unfounded. Yet notice this historical fact that God's true church was being called by the term NAZARENES a decidedly dysphemistic term since Nazareth was not a well respected city. Its usage was intended to be derogatory since Jesus had been called "the Nazarene” and these were HIS followers. So as the New Testament History of God's true people close with the Book of Revelation, and we enter the second century, the true church has the distinctive publicly ridiculed name of being called Nazarenes! Secular History Picks up the Record The Encyclopedia Britannica contains an article about the true Church of God at the close of the first century and the beginning of the second, under the article "Nazarenes" ‐believe it or not! NAZARENES, an obscure Jewish Christian sect [notice God's true Church at this time was still considered to be a "sect" ‐the same word used. by unbelievers in Acts 24:5!] existing at the time of Epiphanius' (fl.A.D.370) in coele‐Syria, Decapolis (Pella) and Basanitis (Cocabe). [Notice their main church congregation lived in Pella, the headquarters for a time of God's true Church!]. According to that authority (Panarion xxIx.7), they dated their settlement in Pella from the time of the flight of the Jewish Christians from Jerusalem, immediately before the siege in A.D. 70;
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he characterizes them as neither more nor less than Jews pure and simple [because he saw them keeping God's feast days ‐which the Bible also calls "Sabbath days" ‐he considered them to be "Jewish"!], but adds that they recognized the new covenant as well as the old, and believed in the resurrection, and in the one God and His Son Jesus Christ"! Notice the "sect of the Nazarenes" which continued pass the days of the apostles were NOT of the Jewish religion, even though they continued to keep the commandments of God in‐ cluding God's outward identifying sign of His Covenant people (see Exodus 31:12‐17) of observing His Feast days ‐ also referred to as "Sabbaths." For this ancient historian plainly tells us they believed and professed faith in the one God "and His Son Jesus Christ"! Therefore this is a description not of Jewish people but of the true Church of God after the apostles!! The Encyclopedia Britannica continues: "He cannot say whether their Christological views were identical with those of Cerinthus and his school, or whether they differed at all from his own. But Jerome (Ep. 79, to Augustine) says that they believed in Christ the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, and rose again, but adds that, 'desiring to be both Jews and Christians, they are neither the one or the other'''! (Emphasis mine). Notice how Jerome observing the true Church in his day saw plainly that they obviously were not of the new and apostate Roman Catholic Religion as he was! From the Roman Catholic viewpoint, he could hardly consider these "Nazarenes" to be Christians as they did not keep the days of pagan Rome as does the Roman Church to this day but instead they continued keeping the same days JESUS CHRIST observed. Thus he considered them to be "Jewish," yet knew they believed in Christ. Yet, the Nazarenes (as the world then called God's true Church) were clearly NOT CATHOLIC!! ‐the only "Christianity" poor Jerome knew anything about! Continue: Jerome continues his personal description of the NAZARENES by saying that, "while adhering as far as possible to the Mosaic economy as regarded circumcision, SABBATHS, foods and the like they did not refuse to recognize the apostolicity of Paul or the rights of heathen [Gentile] Christians (Jef., Comm. in Isa., ix.I). These facts taken along with the name (cf. Acts xxiv.5) and geographical position of the sect, lead to the conclusion that the NAZARENES of the 4th century are, in spite of Epiphanius' distinction to be identified with the Ebionites (q.v.)." (From the article, "Nazarenes," The Encyclopedia Britannica, eleventh edition, Volume 19, page 319). Did you catch that? The true Church continued in existence at least until "the 4th century" ‐ into the 300s ‐and CONTINUED their distinctive doctrines they had inherited from the original Jerusalem Church before A.D. 69. Because they continued to practice the same beliefs, the nickname "Nazarene" remained also all the way until the fourth century! God's true Religion did not die out as a result of Roman Catholic apostasy from the truth. There were still true Christians who held fast to the same beliefs we find the early church be‐ lieved in the New Testament! Toward the end of the 4th century we see a new nickname gradually coming into vogue for those who remained steadfast to the true Religion: Ebionites! There were about three different groups among those who were called "Ebionites." Only
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one of these three maintained the true doctrines inherited from the true New Testament Church, yet the Catholic Church classified two heretical groups in with the true church and called them all "Ebionites." Thus we see the true Church of God was now grouped together with other groups that indeed were heretical and had perverted the true Faith. From this point on God's true saints were grouped together with "heretics" from the Christian Faith, many of whom were indeed extremely unorthodox in their beliefs, even farther astray than the increasingly powerful Roman Catholic Church! Jerome was a Roman Catholic and therefore did not fully understand what God's true Church had always believed. We learn from Acts 15 that the early church did not think circumcision necessary. Why then did Jerome think they still did? It was because he saw plainly their outward observance of SABBATH‐KEEPING! Notice he mentioned "Sabbaths" ‐in the plural sense. Had they not been observing the annual Sabbaths ‐the annual Feast Days or Holy days of God, he would have hardly considered them to be "Jewish." And notice also he mentions "foods." The true church continued to keep the commandments of God including the dietary laws regarding the Clean and the Unclean found in Leviticus II and Deuteronomy 14. Nowhere does the New Testament abolish the food laws. The early church understood this. Do you? Does the Protestant church you were raised in under‐ stand this? Probably not! Yet the early church did! And here we have historical documentation that they continued these truths at least until the fourth century A.D.! POL YCARP, the Next Leader of the Church After John Let's go back now and get the transition from the last original apostle who had been personally ordained by Jesus Christ to the next generation of God's true Church. History records that Polycarp was "consecrated" (ORDAINED) by the Apostle John personally (See The Ante‐ Nicene Fathers, Volume I, page 416). Polycarp was ordained therefore by the apostle John as "Bishop" (a word meaning Overseer and referring to the Pastor) of Smyrna, yet he was also looked upon as the leading or chief apostle of that day, after John had passed from the scene. Also we read that Polycarp had met others who had seen and known Christ personally! (Ante‐Nicene Fathers, page 416, in "Irenaeus Against Heresies "). Polycarp and those true Christians who now followed him after the Apostle John's death were also known to the world, in the early to mid‐second century after Christ, as Quartodeci‐ mani because they continued to teach and cling to the original true Faith which was once delivered to the saints (Jude 3) ‐the apostle's doctrine now repudiated by Rome. The early true Church continued on into the second century earnestly contending for the true Faith once delivered, which included the observance of the annual Holy days beginning with the Passover on the 14th. This word "Quartodeciman" means "fourteenth." The Church of God never observed the Roman Catholic "Easter" (the name of a pagan Babylonian goddess of
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sex, hence the bunnies and eggs representing fecundity and procreation). Rather they contin‐ ued to observe the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first Biblical month (called Abib) and therefore were given the additional nickname Quartodecimani. Eusebius the famous and very early Roman Catholic historian admits: "But Polycarp also was not only instructed by the apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia [Asia Minor], appointed bishop of the Church of Smyrna ... He it was who, coming to Rome in the time of Anicetus" ‐ who was bishop (or pastor) of Rome around the middle second century ‐"caused many to turn away from the aforesaid [previously mentioned] heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received this one and sole truth from the apostles..." This must have been extremely persuasive. Here was a minister who had been personally ordained by the Apostle John and perhaps other true ministers of God in Asia Minor who taught only the truth of God according to "the Faith once delivered to the saints." Notice Eusebius admits Polycarp was successful at turning back many of the heretics or apostates to "THE CHURCH OF GOD"! Polycarp, the true leader of God's Church still attempted to bring the apostates at Rome back into the Fold and back into the Truth of God. However he was not successful with the leader of this apostasy, the bishop of Rome. "For neither could Anicetus (the bishop of Rome) persuade Polycarp not to observe it" ‐ the Passover on the 14th ‐"because he [Polycarp] had always observed it with John the disciple of our Lord, and the rest of the apostles, with whom he associated; and neither did Polycarp persuade Anicetus to observe it [the Passover], who said that he [Anicetus] was bound to follow the CUSTOMS of the presbyters before him" (in apostate Rome who had long since abandoned the truth in the prophesied APOSTASY!). This amazing quotation can be found in Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History book V, chapter 24, in the Nicene and Post‐Nicene Fathers, Vol. I! Notice that, Anicetus did not submit to the Authority God had placed in His Church and repent of his apostasy and submit to Polycarp, the successor to John as the Leader of God's TRUE Church. Instead he was committed to only following the "customs" of men rather than the LAW of God! God tells us that ''the customs of the people are vain" (Jeremiah 10:3a). Jesus said if we put man's traditions ahead of the commandments of God, we worship Him in vain! (See Mark 7:7‐9,13). Thus the leader of the apostasy at Rome was leading the whole Roman church and those associated with Rome, to worship Christ IN VAIN! The "customs" Anicetus referred to was the universally celebrated "Easter" eventually "christianized" and transformed into a supposedly "Christian" (Catholic) holiday, but never observed by the early true churches to repentance. But rather than repent, the leader at Rome threatened this true apostle of Jesus Christ with "excommunication"! But so strong were the Christians of the Mid‐ dle East that the apostate Victor was persuaded to leave them alone. At this time the Roman church was not yet influential or powerful enough as they would be in centuries to come, to en‐ force their decision. Yet the apostasy now in Rome was totally out of control, and apparently
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God's true ministers from the area around Jerusalem, Pella, and Asia Minor (modern Turkey, where Ephesus and Smyrna were), the only true Church of God left on Earth, had given up hope of ever seeing the apostasy in Europe turned back around to the true Faith. Just as Polycarp was not merely the bishop of Smyrna but the ruling apostle over the entire Church of God, so Polycrates appears to also have now taken this position in his generation as the ruling apostle over the true Church. From the Ante‐Nicene Fathers, Volume 8, page 773, we read the following commentary on an actual epistle written by Polycrates and preserved all these years! "He [Polycrates] had doubtless known Polycarp and Irenaeus also. He seems to have presided [as president or chief apostle] over a synod of Asiatic [Middle Eastern] bishops (A.D. 196) which came together to consider this matter of the Paschal feast [the true Passover]. It is surely noteworthy that nobody doubted that it [the "Paschal" or Passover Feast] was kept by a CHRISTIAN and APOSTOLIC ordinance "!! Notice. It was an "ordinance" ordained by the first century apostles. That is to say, an apostolic COMMAND! What an amazing admission! Here the editors of the Roman Catholic Ante‐Nicene Fathers admit that the observance of the Paschal feast (or Passover) on the 14th day of the first Hebrew month, was kept by a Christian and apostolic "ordinance"! Notice the Catholics admit that nobody doubted that the apostles had "ordained" the Passover as a Christian Feast! Why then do they refuse to obey the commandments given by the apostles of Jesus Christ? History Proves the Passover Feast was Continued After the Apostles! Today the whole "Christian" world is deceived into believing that these Biblical Festivals which the apostles commanded us to observe have been replaced by the pagan Roman holidays. Yes, the whole world has indeed been deceived! (Revelation 12:9). But continuing with the very next sentence of this ancient work: "So St. Paul argues from its Christian observance in his rebuke of the Corinthians. They were keeping it 'unleavened' ceremonially [that is, LITERALLY, by putting the leavening out of their homes!!] The Christian hallowing of Pentecost [another of God's annual Sabbaths] connects with the paschal argument. The Christian Sabbath hinges on these points"! (The Ante‐Nicene Fathers, Volume 8, page 773, preface). What an amazing admission! Next let's examine the actual epistle of Polycrates written in the late second century! Polycrates wrote: "As for us, then, we scrupulously observe the exact day, neither adding nor taking away. For in Asia great luminaries have gone to their rest, who shall rise again in the day of the coming of the Lord. I speak of Phillip, one of the twelve apostles... John, moreover, who reclined on the Lord's bosom... Then there is Polycarp, both bishop and martyr at Smyrna [he then continues to mention other great leaders in the true church of the second century
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such as Sargaris, Papirius, and Melito] THESE ALL KEPT THE PASSOVER ON THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH, in accordance with the Gospel, without ever deviating from it, but keeping to the rule of Faith! This extraordinary letter can be found in Volume 8 of the Ante‐Nicene Fathers, pages 773‐ 774. Notice that the true Church of God still kept the Passover throughout the second century, as Christ and the Apostle Paul had commanded the church to do. They called themselves "The Church of God" but the world referred to them as ''the sect of the Nazarenes" (See Acts 24:5 where the Apostle Paul was known to be a leader of this so‐called "sect"). It is obvious then that this specific church of second century Christians is a continuation of the TRUE New Testament Church of God of the Bible! They never did join the apostasy at Rome! ‐but remained separate from it, keeping themselves pure to the original true Faith. Yes the true Church continued observing the annual Holy days of God right on through the second century! They knew these Festivals were not "done away" at the cross!! Now notice something important. Polycrates, the late second century leader of the true church stated 1hat he and the others from the Jerusalem area churches observed the "exact day.' What did they DO on that day, the 14th? How did they observe it? Since the destruction of the temple they obviously could not kill a real Passover lamb on that day. How then, did these true Christians of the second century observe the "exact day" of the 14th of Abib? In the next to the last paragraph of Poly crates' epistle he further admits: "Moreover I also, Polycrates, who am the least of you all, in accordance with the traditions of my relatives [what "Tradition" was he speaking of?] ...seven of my relatives were bishops, and I am the eighth, and my relatives AL WAYS observed the day when the people PUT AWAY THE LEAVEN"!! That day was the 14th of the first month of Spring called Abib on the Sacred Biblical Calendar! And notice carefully, that the true church did not merely partake of the unleavened bread and wine on the 14th in a mere New Testament Passover Memorial (commonly called “Communion” or “the Lord’s Supper) but rather on the 14th the “put away the leaven” out of their houses in order to “keep the Feast” –the seven day Passover Festival or, “The Feast of Unleavened Bread” –as the apostle Paul instructed in First Corinthians 5:7‐8. Paul said, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us KEEP THE FEAST”! The Passover Festival is also referred to as the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Luke 22:1. Ezekiel 45:21 describes the length of the Passover. It states: “Ye shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten”! This is what Polycrates was referring to when he said he and his relatives and seven other bishops (Elders or ministers of God’s true Church) before him, all the way back to the New Testament period, “put away the leaven” on the 14th in order to observe this week long Passover Feast (or Feast of Unleavened Bread! –see Acts 12:3 and 20:6). The early true Church kept this week long Feast of Passover, by literally putting the
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leavening out of their homes on the exact 14th day. Do you have the same True Religion that the early true New Testament Church of God had? Or have you been deceived by Romanism? The Bible commands us to earnestly contend for the Faith (the true Faith) which was ONCE delivered to the saints! (Jude 3). Today the true Religion as taught by the original apostles is not being delivered to modern day “Christendom” yet through each century; a remnant of the true Religion has survived all the way down to the modern day! There has been in every generation a “small flock” who has earnestly contended for the true Faith once delivered by Christ and the apostles. You are now being shown what that true Faith is. What will you do with it? The choice is yours.
WILL YOU OBEY CHRIST THIS YEAR? Some years ago I met a minister who knew of God’s Festivals. He knew what all of them were, and also agreed that it was God’s will that we keep them. He understood that Christ would enforce “all the families of the Earth” (who are not already obeying God) to keep these commanded Festivals. His response was interesting. He said publicly to a church audience: “I will keep those festivals when Christ MAKES me but not before!” Well you can be sure of one thing. God’s Word is true. And this man will keep the festivals one day. Christ will indeed force his rebellious will to conform to His Law! But it will not be pleasant! It will be even worse for this minister who admitted he knew God’s will, but refused to obey it! The Bible teaches it is better for people not to have known the will of God than to know it and then “turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (II Peter 2:21). Personally I have kept God’s annual feast days now for more than 30 years! And I have never at any time regretted my obedience to God. These festivals are times of GREAT HAPPINESS to the church! (if the church would obey them). The truth is, today there are THOUSANDS of Christians who actually do observe them. They are scattered around the world. They are in most cases few and far between. But there are Christians who are indeed beginning to obey God and keep His commanded Feast days. Will you be one of them this year? Will you “bow the knee,” in obedience to Christ and keep His commanded Biblical festivals? Or will you, like this rebellious preacher, wait until God forces you to bow the knee? The Bible says every knee will bow! (Philippians 2:10). You can bow in obedience voluntarily today, or if you are in rebellion like this minister, you may have your knees broken then. But all us will obey. You are being presented with an opportunity to know REAL HAPPINESS in the worship of Jesus Christ, knowing you are in His will, obeying His true Religion. And if you will obey Him today, you will have a great reward in the Kingdom of Heaven. God is calling many, but only a few will be chosen! Because only the few will repent and accept His precious TRUTH! If you are ready to begin obeying Christ by keeping His Feast Days, call us to see if there is a church in your area with whom you can keep God’s Festivals. Don’t put it off, do it today.
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You Shall Know the Truth and
The Truth Shall Make You Free Jesus COMMANDS us to come out of Babylon (Revelation 18:4) and to be separate from the world (II Corinthians 6:17). How do we obey this plain command from Christ? We obey Him by accepting the Truth. When we accept and begin obeying the Truth of God as revealed in the Bible, the Truth itself separates us from the world and makes us FREE!
G
REETINGS TO ALL OUR BIBLE STUDENTS! I want to write this personal to you to talk to you about the truths you are learning in this Bible Study Course. It's different isn't it? Probably not what you expected. Yet if you have followed the rules to understanding the Bible you studied in lesson 8, you know to pray before opening each Bible lesson, and before opening your Bible. You know that one of the rules of Bible understanding is to study the context of the verses you are studying. So you have done that. And also you know that the Bible commands you to prove all things ‐not take anybody's word for anything! You have been doing that. You have diligently been STUDYING to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed! (II Timothy 2:15). And in doing all these things you have indeed seen proved from the Bible the amazing truths you have been learning. But, the next question is a difficult one for most of you. The next question is, will you have the courage to repent of the sin of not obeying the Bible and begin keeping God's Festivals and other truths you have learned? Are you still eating unclean animals, such as squirrel, rabbit, catfish, snails, snakes, oysters, shrimp, lobster, shellfish, and swine? Believe it or not there are people in the world who eat every one of these detestable things ‐meats which God forbids us to eat in the Bible. In some countries they even eat dogs and mice. God's Laws are for Our Good God lovingly warns us that these animals are "unclean" ‐filthy and unfit for human consumption. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be healthy and to live a long life. But it is hard to give up the lusts of the flesh and stop eating those things God forbids us to eat! –especially when "good Christian people" we know and respect violate these Biblical health laws and eat them! Even "men of God" whom we all know and respect violate these health laws. The reasoning is usually that since these commandments of God are found in the pages of the Old Testament then we don't have to pay any attention to God in those matters. We are free to ignore God's
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commandments if they are found in the Old Testament. That is what is commonly taught. What then did Jesus mean when He commanded that men are to "live by EVERY Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God"? (Matthew 4:4). That certainly includes the Word of God found in the Old Testament, doesn't it? How do you understand Paul's plain teaching (that cannot be misinterpreted) in n Timothy 3: 16 that all Scripture is inspired of God (and remember Paul was actually referring to the OLD Testament as the New Testament had not as yet been "canonized" or put together for people to read) and is profitable for doctrine" ? If all scripture is profitable for doctrine how can we then deny the Old Testament? We can't. Isn't that obvious? All scripture ‐that includes the Old as well as New Testament scriptures ‐is profitable for doctrine to the Christian! Yet how many churches pay any attention to the Old Testament? The early true Church did! In fact they continued obeying God and the Old Testament Scriptures from the time of Christ all the way up to the time when the apostate whore of Babylon began persecuting those who held fast to the Faith "once delivered" to the saints of God! (Jude 3). It was sun worshipping, pagan Emperor Constantine who threatened the eastern churches with "tribulation" if they did not stop observing the Passover and the other Laws of God! This is a matter of history. Most of them under threat of government punishment obeyed the emperor and gave up God's precious first century Religion ‐ the very Religion taught by Jesus Christ and the apostles! But today few people know what that religion was. Jesus calls His people out of Babylon ‐the apostate whore of Rome and her harlot daughters ‐to come out of all false religion and accept the Truth of the Bible. Paul was inspired to write that we are to come out from the world and be separate (ll Corinthians 6: 17). How do we do that? Jesus explains that it is the Truth that separates us. In His prayer to the Father, Jesus said, "Sanctify them through thy truth" (John 17:17). The Greek word translated "sanctify" means to "set apart" ‐to separate. Notice it is the truth that sanctifies us from the world that separates us and sets us apart! But what is "Truth"? Jesus said God's Word is Truth (John 17:17). We must get our doctrine from God's Word, not from the traditions of the world's "Churchianity" which came from Mother Rome and from which God commands us to come out. I know the Truth of the Bible that you are reading in these lessons seems strange. The Law of God seems strange to those who did not grow up knowing it (Hosea 8: 12). But if it comes from the Bible, then Jesus calls it Truth! Will you obey the Truth? Or will you continue worshipping Christ in vain by obeying the traditions of men not found in the Word of God? (Mark 7:7‐9, 13).
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Personal Testimony I learned about God's annual Festivals when reading literature about the Millennium ‐ the 1,000 year Reign of Christ on the Earth ‐back in the 1960s. I learned how all these festivals would be observed by all nations of the world when Christ rules for 1,000 years. I then remembered having read about these festivals earlier when reading the Old Testament. As a boy I thought, "I sure wish we did these things today. It sounds like fun!" At the time I didn't know that God did in fact want us to still keep His commanded festivals. But I didn't just start keeping them because I read about them in one book or article. I spent several years studying the annual festivals until one by one, all my questions were answered. I wanted to KNOW. I wanted to be sure. Do YOU Love the Truth? The Bible commands us to "prove all things." Since I knew very little about the Bible in the 1960s, I had to start afresh, picking up my Bible daily and reading and studying it to learn what God's will is. I can remember my father asking me one time, "Do you remember how many hours a day you spend reading the Bible?" Actually I hadn't counted. But during the summer months when I was out of school I spent day and night in the study of the Bible. He had watched me for weeks and months. I sat up nearly every night till 4:00 AM studying the Bible and arose at 10:00 AM the next morning to continue my studies. I did very little of anything else. The Bible became my all absorbing passion in life. I had an obsession to learn the Truth of God. Nothing was more important than that! Yet today I have known many people that do not have a deep LOVE for the Truth. They have heard it, but don't truly love the truth they are learning. These are the very people prophesied in II Thessalonians chapter 2 who will be deceived by the Antichrist at the End Time!! Those in the Last Days who learn the Truth of God but will not receive it because they don't really have a passion for Truth ‐do not really love the truth of God ‐will PERISH! Notice verses 9‐10: "Even him [the Antichrist], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish BECAUSE THEY RECEIVED NOT THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH, that they might be saved'! (II Thess. 2:9‐10). This word "saved" also means "delivered." You can be spared the horrors of the Tribulation ‐ be delivered and saved out of it ‐ and also from the deception of the Antichrist if you love God's Truth today! But if you refuse to really love God's Truth, to diligently study to show yourself "approved"
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in order to know God's Truth and OBEY it, then YOU will be deceived when the Antichrist comes! Remember, the Bible promises no "rapture" before the coming Great Tribulation! You learned in lesson 16 that Jesus is coming to "gather together His elect" not before the Tribulation as so many hope He will do, but rather "immediately AFTER the tribulation"! (Matthew 24:29). Therefore the only way to be saved or delivered out of the horrors to come is to come out of the world and separate from it by embracing the Truth of God today. Let me be perfectly plain about this. If God commands us in His Law to keep these Festivals forever, then if we transgress His Law by neglecting to keep them, we are sinning! (I John 3:4). God not only commanded the Israelites to observe these Feasts and Holy days, but He also commanded the Gentiles to observe them under the New Covenant (the New Testament‐see I Corinthians 5:8). Now many of you reading this may indeed be Gentiles. I certainly am. My ethnicity is German. Yet read carefully Zechariah 14 which shows us that God's will is that "all the families of the Earth" keep His Festivals. And that certainly includes all Gentile nations! Notice this is at that second coming of Christ ‐yet future! "Behold, the Day of the LORD cometh and His feet shall stand in that day [the Day of the Lord] on the Mount of Olives" (Zechariah 14:1,4). This is also what we learn from the New Testament. Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives. "And the LORD [the Eternal] shall be king over all the earth. And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES"! Notice this is not a time period in the Old Testament, but a time yet future of us today ‐ and it is at the time Christ returns to this Earth! God says all nations will worship the Lord of hosts ‐ Jesus Christ ‐ by keeping His Feast of Tabernacles! Are you worshipping Christ today by keeping His festivals? If you are still a part of this world's "churchianity" which is a part of the spiritual whore of Babylon, then no! ‐you are not!!! Jesus commands His people: "COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE"!!! (Revelation 18:4). Read Zechariah 14:17‐19 about those who refuse ‐who rebel against Jesus Christ by ignoring His commanded festivals. In the 1,000 year Millennial Reign of Christ the devil will be bound so the nations can no longer be deceived by false churchianity ‐the whore and her harlot daughters who teach that God's Law is "done away"! All false religion will be destroyed. Only the true Religion of Jesus Christ ‐the same religion taught by the apostles in the true Church of God ‐will be allowed. You can read here what that religion is! Therefore you are now without excuse. God has shown you His truth in His Word! Will you now begin to joyfully obey Jesus Christ and keep His commanded Feast days? If you will, you will see how much joy there is in the true Worship of God. It is time to stop keeping the "holidays" such as Halloween, Christmas, and Easter ‐the pagan holidays from Rome, the spiritual whore condemned in Scripture and to start keeping the HOLY DAYS of the Bible. If you do, you will then be "sanctified" ‐set apart ‐by the Truth, and the Truth will make you free ‐ from this world. Are you willing to really obey God? Let me hear from you today!
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