The first feast commanded by God
was the Passover. This feast was instituted in Egypt on the night before
the Jews exodus (freedom) from Egypt.
The feast of Unleavened
Bread was celebrated for seven days and it began on the evening after
Passover. It is significant that the first and seventh days of the feast
of Unleavened Bread are annual Sabbaths or High Days.
The third
feast day was the feast of Firstfruits, and it occurred during the same
eight days as Passover and Unleavened Bread. The day of its celebration
was the day after the weekly Sabbath, and it was celebrated by waving
one sheaf (bundle) of the Firstfruits before the Lord.
The forth
feast is known as the day of Pentecost is also called the feast of Weeks
because it takes place seven weeks after the feast of Firstfruits. It
always occurs on the “morrow after the seventh sabbath” so it always
occurs on Sunday.
The fifth feast is known as the Feast of
Trumpets (i.e., Rosh Hashanah) it is the first of the three feasts that
occur in the fall of the year. The Feast of Trumpets is a memorial of
the grace extended by God to Abraham when God substituted a ram to be
sacrificed in place of Abraham’s son, Isaac.
The sixth feast, the
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), is the most revered of Israel’s holy
days.
The feast of Tabernacles is the seventh and final feast
ordained by God for Israel to celebrate, the feast of Tabernacles was a
time of rejoicing and thanksgiving for the harvest that had been
gathered and the forgiveness that God had extended to the people.
The reason I brought up these holy days is to show that many of the
religious feast days of yesterday are reflections of what religious
feasts we enjoy today, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Resurrection
Day (Easter). There is no mention of any observances or feast days in
the New Testament, except for Pentecost, but that does not mean that we
cannot celebrate and observe what Christ did for us just as they
celebrated what God did for them before He came.
It is my
intention to create a page detailing some of the well known Christian
and non-Christian holidays, to show their true meaning, not what the
secular world has come to know. Christians can observe holidays without
destroying the meaning of the holiday or our dignity as Christians.
Today's Holy Days
As I was doing this research,
something began to disturb me, I noticed many Christian sites linking
many holiday's and observances to paganism, worshiping dead people, the
devil, or immorally wrong practices. Who actually associates Halloween
and Valentine's Day with Christianity anyway? This left me questioning
whether or not I truly had the right to even celebrate Christmas and if
I did would I be dishonoring God and committing sin.
After lots
of procrastinating, which is a sin, contemplating, and prayer I have
come to one conclusion, the devil. All this talk about how holiday's and
observances being pagan, devil worshiping, etc., is nothing other than
the work of the devil. Of course, there are many, many pagan holiday's,
but we must not forget that the has corrupted the world with these
secular holiday's and took the holy out of the holy day, making us look
bad for even saying Merry Christmas to someone if we are a Christian.
Now, keep in mind that any holiday calls us to be Christian’s first,
that means no wicked or immoral acts.
There are two types of
people on this earth, those who believe in Christ and those who do not,
and the way we observe these holiday's has to do with which type we
choose to be, regardless of whether or not it is a holiday specifically
centering around Christ or one that does not. Those who follow Christ
will see a holy day centered around Christ and use it to observe and
reflect on Christ and to give thanks to God for all that He has done for
us, just as in the Old Testament. Those who do not will find a worldly
way in which to celebrate these as holiday's. The same thing goes for
holiday's that are not Christ centered, (New Years, Valentine's Day, St.
Patrick's Day, Halloween, etc).
Even worldly people do not know
the true origin of secular holidays, many of which changed when brought
to America, and while there may be some who have no morals, most of them
follow them in a way that appeals to the modern world. Now, how many
people of the world today do you suppose worship the devil on Halloween
or choose to gratify every lust of the flesh with as many people as they
can find on Valentine's Day? In a wicked and corrupt world, some may,
but no person in their right mind ought to be, if they are than they
have other issues.
Naturally, if one were a true Christian,
celebrating these holiday's as the world would not even come to mind. I
am a member of one of the most conservative churches out there, yet we
provide a place for the kids to have fun on Halloween without being
corrupted by the world, known as Harvest Day. Also, those who follow
Christ (and stay close to Him) will not be corrupted by the holiday's of
the world or any other things that the world has to offer. For weeks I
did research on evolution and false religions and if I was not following
Christ I could have easily been corrupted by what I have learned, but my
foundation is on Christ and as long as I stand on Him I will not fall
into the worlds view on things.
Now, I will be the first to admit
that the world has definitely screwed up the Christian holy days,
Christmas and Resurrection Day have been taken over by the world to
represent them as something frankly ridiculous with Santa Claus and the
Easter Bunny, but to the true Christian we know what they are all about,
but to say that we are dishonoring God because we have a Christmas tree
in our house is just plain ridiculous also. God knows who we are and
what our intentions are, He will tell us right from wrong. To say that
any of these holiday's are pagan related does not say much for the
people coming up with idea, so, the pagans have their own holidays, big
deal, let them have their holidays so we can enjoy our holy days. It is
the secular world and our wonderful so called Bible scholars whom
decided to combine the two and ruin it for all of us in the first place.
What it all comes down to this, "Train up a
child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart
from it." - Proverbs 22:6. If we teach our kids what is truth
then they will not question what the Christian holy day's are all about
and when they see something of the world they will not be corrupted by
it. If we teach them the truth and place them around people who follow
Christ they will not get corrupted by the world's view on these things.
We need to get back to celebrating and observing any day with
Christ in mind and I mean the true Christ, not some person people claim
Him to be. Like I said earlier, God knows your heart and when you follow
Christ you will not follow the traditions of the world, but follow Him
and observe every days as He would. With lots of good food, fellowship,
thanksgiving to God, and all in honor or God.
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