real eyes realize
Scarlet_Teardrops
So what holidays would you suggest Christians celebrate, then? The Jewish holidays?
We can celebrate anything which doesn't give the appearance that we adopted traditions from other pagan gods into the worship of YHWH/Jesus. You could include Jewish holidays but we're not limited to them. For example, observing Independence Day and Pocky Day would not convey that we copied the pagans because said holidays did not originate from (nor are associated with) other deities (I don't quite care for those days either; I'm not the celebratory type to begin with). But my point: if you were to observe it, no one would say: "oh, Christianity is false. Look at this tradition, it clearly originated to worship
New Years I do not feel comfortable with; it's not even the New Year according to YHWH and his calendar. It's honoring Janus (unsurprisingly, where we get January from. I don't need to honor Janus, whether he's a non-existent God or a fallen angel's baby [lol] by commemorating this day as special. That said though, I don't think you would receive accusations that Christ is false if you did partake). Secondary reasons why I personally don't celebrate New Year's: the traditions that accompany the festivity, the way my family celebrated/celebrates it, involves (1) getting drunk and (2) idolatry in the form of trusting in creation/trinkets to bring you luck and good health (e.g. eat 12 grapes @ 12:00 am and invite good luck; wear yellow underwear to welcome the new year, it'll bring you money. It's just totally full of superstitious beliefs). Ultimately though, the biggest turn off is how it's not in accord with God's truth: it's not the beginning of the year according to YHWH. For similar reasons, I don't celebrate Valentine's, all Hallow's eve / all Saint's Day / Halloween or "bunny-egg-hunt" flavored Easter. If it isn't a case of (A) a pagan deity getting associated with the holiday, then it's (B) in disaccord with a biblical truth (either about death, sexual behavior, animals not coming after its own kind, etc...) or both (belonging to another "deity" + contradicting biblical truth in some area).
But do not assume YHWH approves of all things Jewish either. Reading through the book of Esther, I question if every holiday passing off as holy/religious/dedicated solely to YHWH should be enforced on par with what YHWH commanded and gave as part of his calendar. They're not the same. I'm not aware of all Jewish holidays, but of the ones recorded in scripture, I would say are safe to keep, but to enforce it the way Esther and Mordecai did, I do not agree with. For example, Esther and Mordecai made Purim into law, that it must be observed by everyone, Jew and foreigner (living among them) alike, though YHWH never commanded it. As soon as I read that, I instantly thought they were making the yoke heavier than it needed to be.
Quote:
Esther 9:20-32 (NIV)
20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
23 So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. 25 But when the plot came to the king’s attention,[a] he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. 26 (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.
29 So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. 30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance— 31 to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. 32 Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.
Footnotes:
a. Esther 9:25 Or when Esther came before the king
20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
23 So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. 25 But when the plot came to the king’s attention,[a] he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. 26 (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.
29 So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. 30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance— 31 to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. 32 Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.
Footnotes:
a. Esther 9:25 Or when Esther came before the king
I think once they started doing that, it got the ball rolling for what we find the Pharisees steeped in, all those generations later:
Quote:
Mark 7:8 (NIV)
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
i.e you need to wash your hands a certain way even though YHWH never commanded it, declaring they've become undefiled when YHWH doesn't say so. Adding on those kinds of self-imposed traditions as if they were law, over time makes the yoke more burdensome than YHWH ever intended.
As for what YHWH commanded, some observances cannot be (or aren't being) kept by the book—Jews included: passover for instance: if you were following it by the letter, you would set apart a lamb days before passover, spend some time with it, caring for it, then come passover, you would sacrifice that lamb; plus, the men who weren't circumcised in the flesh couldn't participate, whether Jew or Gentile (living amongst them). Technically, we could keep that one literally, but it's definitely not what the Jews are doing: they're keeping a seder, and I don't know if they're tucking in their clothes the way it's commanded (I'm not Jewish), but YHWH never commanded the four different kinds of cups that are a part of the passover seder. In any case, the instructions for this holy day (passover) do not necessitate a temple, not even an altar, ergo, they technically could keep this one, no need to wait for the third temple to be rebuilt. They just aren't doing it (that I'm aware of). Why? I don't know. I guess tradition? the same kind of behavior the Pharisees were guilty of falling into :l
Quote:
Exodus 12:1-11 (NIV)
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
Footnotes:
a. Exodus 12:3 The Hebrew word can mean lamb or kid; also in verse 4.
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
Footnotes:
a. Exodus 12:3 The Hebrew word can mean lamb or kid; also in verse 4.
Quote:
Exodus 12:43-50 (NIV)
43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal:
“No foreigner may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, 45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.
46 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it. 49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.”
50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal:
“No foreigner may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, 45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.
46 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it. 49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.”
50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
inb4: if a Gentile wanted to keep it, circumcision isn't really an issue for them because Paul circumcised Timothy (who had a Gentile dad).
Quote:
Acts 16:1-3 (NIV)
1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
Timothy wasn't denying Jesus for getting circumcised as an adult under the new covenant. So, it's not like how some people interpret it: "if I get circumcised as a Christian, I'm denying Jesus / the faith"; no, if you try to get circumcised to GET saved / justified / sins atoned for in the eyes of God, yeah you are denying the faith at that point. No work of the flesh will get you saved unlike some sect of Pharisees wanted to impose upon new covenant believers, who on top of getting circumcised said Gentiles needed to keep Moses as a requirement for Salvation. They got the order totally wrong: you get saved, and out of love you can do all those things, it shouldn't be imposed for Salvation. That said, adhering to what YHWH said for the observance of a feast is different; it's not a salvation issue, it's a holy day observance issue. YHWH wanted to represent something specific, that's why he gave regulations even for how you cooked the meat, and how you wore your clothes to eat the meat.
But this is the bigger issue for the other holy appointments YHWH commanded, that can without a doubt NOT be kept by the book with our current circumstances: forget the whole temple being built, what we really need, at the very least, is the altar (I would say, going by the example of Ezra 3:1-6);
Quote:
Ezra 3:1-6 (NIV)
1 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. 4 Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. 5 After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. 6 On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.
1 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. 4 Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. 5 After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. 6 On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.
...so, without that altar at least, festivals like Pentecosts/Feast of Weeks, First Fruits, Day of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, the Festival of Tabernacles, really cannot be kept by the letter, the way Paul kept them. Offerings are involved. When Paul continued observing Pentecosts/Feast of Weeks, Passover, etc... the temple hadn't been destroyed yet, that's why he made his every effort to go back to Israel/Jerusalem to observe the feast, and yes he did keep observing them (Acts 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8), even the Corinthian Gentiles were keeping passover (1 Corinthians 5:7-8) but like I said no altar or temple is needed for passover (or the weekly Sabbath. I haven't mentioned all of them: you can read Leviticus 23 for that). But Paul clearly was making offerings / at least scheduling them to be made in Acts 21:26; ergo, the temple was still up in his time.
Side note: something I found interesting, we can all agree that David was a righteous Yehudi/Judean/Jew, right? King David and Solomon, thus the first temple, came before the rebuilding of the second temple (which Ezra and Nehemiah were tasked with) yet it says, that during Nehemiah's time, the people hadn't celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in that way since the days of Joshua son of Nun (that's exodus-journeying-across-the desert-obedient-believers-reaching-the-promised-land times). And King David came before Nehemiah's time, so what does that mean? That David never fully celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles that way? That's what I see communicated. So, it's very easy for the Jews as a society to not be celebrating correctly in full truth or with wholehearted gusto if that's what it means.
Quote:
Nehemiah 8:16-17 (NIV)
16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
We have neither altar nor temple. So the way I see it, no Jew or Gentile can actually keep some of the holy days appointed by YHWH in truth. At least the altar needs to be rebuilt. And that's what the third temple prophesied by Ezekiel is all about: earthly priesthood reestablished. Sacrifices starting up again. Descendants of Zadok as priests. Table for the sacrifices and all.
At most, as far as biblical holy days are concerned, of the ones that require sacrificing, this is what we can do: acknowledge the day when those appointed times fall on our calendar and remember their significance, what they symbolized in the past and their prophetic significance speaking of what Jesus would do (and still has yet to do). I'm sure the practice of abstaining from leavened bread could still be done in remembrance of the feast of unleavened bread. On the day Pentecosts/Feast of Weeks falls on, we could remember when Moses received the law on Mt.Sinai and when the Holy Spirit descended on the rest of the believers (side note: the apostles had already received their portion of the Holy Spirit before the day of Pentecosts/Feast of Weeks, while Jesus was still with them John 20:22; what happens in Acts 2 is after Jesus' ascension on the exact day of Pentecosts/Feast of Weeks). And he never said such days were exclusively for Jews (people of the tribe of Judah or of the southern Kingdom of Judah, however it is that you're defining "Jewish"). YHWH said the appointed times were His. Again, I'm not the celebratory type to begin with, so looking for ways to party is not my concern. I don't know if that's what you meant? or want help with? I can't help you there. But this doesn't mean you must relinquish observing any and all things that have nothing to do with YHWH; we should abstain from the ones that make people think we copied other pagan religions. And don't let your guard down just because something is considered Jewish, but may or may not be accurately reflecting what YHWH commanded.
I see.
I'm still not sure I agree that celebrating Christmas and Easter is wrong, though I see your point. Thank you for taking the time to post all of this, sister, and with such a solid case.
