Monday, November 12, 2012

The Cross Foreshadowed the Second Coming

Often we study the Scriptures and have a good knowledge of what they say, but like the pieces of a puzzle, we sometimes don't see how they all fit together. In many cases, I have found that the pieces of information that we have to fit together to get an understanding of prophecy not only make a big picture, but that within that picture the same pieces make smaller pictures. That is the case of the example that is in this article. I have known the information for years, but never saw the small puzzle that was formed when certain pieces of information were joined. My friend Janine can be credited with showing me this smaller puzzle, and I have to say that of all the hundreds of articles, books, and prophecy teachers that I have heard and read over the years, I never, ever saw that anyone had seen this puzzle other than her. If so, they never shared it. So what is found below is not actually the result of my study, but of her brilliant observation. I merely added the Scriptures to prove her point.

Throughout the Scriptures we can see that especially in the prophecies, there seems to be a first and second fulfillment. In fact much of Scripture has dual meanings. We can see that most of the Old Testament prophets, while they were prophesying about events that would happen to the people in their own day, were also prophesying about the end times. The first event or fulfillment foreshadows the second. We can see this in passages such as the one in Daniel where Antiochus Epiphanes set up an abomination of desolation in the temple. Christ references this event and passage in Matthew to tell us that this was a foreshadow of what antichrist will do. He will repeat many of the same actions.

Is there any event that foreshadows the Second Coming of Christ that helps us to understand the events of the latter better? Yes, there is. It is Christ's death on the cross. There is a pattern that exists between the events of the cross and the Second Coming that shows us how we must interpret the events of the Second Coming. The Scriptures essentially speak for themselves.

The cross:

Matthew 27:50 “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.”

Mark 15:37 “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.”

Luke 23:46 “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

The Second Coming:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Revelation 10:1,3 “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:.. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.”

Revelation 14:14-16 “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.”

At the crucifixion we see that Christ cries out with a loud voice. Then we see that at the second coming, Christ will cry out with a loud voice, plus an angel will shout with a loud voice. So the shout of the Lord and an angel was foreshadowed by the crying out of the Lord on the cross.

Now we see that in both events, the holy place in the temple, where the ark is housed (although it is missing from the temple during Christ's time) is open to everyone's view. In Revelation we see that this opening occurs after the seventh angel sounds his trumpet. This is the last trump of God.

The cross:

Matthew 27:51a “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom;

Mark 15:38 “And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.”

Luke 23:45b “ and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.”

The Second Coming:

Revelation 11:19a “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament

Revelation 15:5 “And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:”

At both events, the earth will shake.

The cross:

Matthew 27:51b “and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”

The Second Coming:

Revelation 11:19b “and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”

Revelation 16:18 “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.”

Darkness covers the land.

The cross:

Matthew 27:45 “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

Mark 15:33 “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.”

Luke 23:44-45a “And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened.”

The Second Coming:

Revelation 16:10 “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness;”

When Christ died, He announced that this portion of the plan of salvation was complete. At the end of the age when He returns, He will announce that the entire plan of salvation is complete, for not only has man been redeemed, but all of creation has been redeemed from Satan's hands.

The cross:

John 19:30 “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

The Second Coming:

Revelation 16:17 “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.”

Revelation 21:6 “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”

At this point you may say, well that's nice but what is your point? The point is, the events as laid out in the crucifixion were a foreshadow of the Second Coming, so what happens there gives us a chronology of what to expect. What happens at the cross will also happen at the Second Coming.

When Christ arose, the graves were opened. When Christ returns, at the Second Coming, the graves will be opened. Plus this time, the living saints will be transformed.

The cross:

Matthew 27:52-53 “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

The Second Coming:

John 5:28-29 “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, (the voice of Christ crying out as mentioned above) And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's AT HIS COMING.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto THE COMING OF THE LORD shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

2 Thessalonians 2:1 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, and by OUR GATHERING together unto him,”

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

If there is any doubt that the resurrection/rapture occurs at the Second Coming, we have the further testimony that the resurrection will occur on the last day of this age, in fact at the last trump.

John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 11:24 “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Revelation 11:15a, 19:8-9 “And the seventh angel sounded....And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth....And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Christ's death initiated the mystery of God which is the gospel, the church, and the eventual rapture of the church at which time all Israel will be saved, when they see Him whom they have pierced coming in His glory. Christ's Second Coming at the seventh and last trumpet will finish the mystery of God.

The initiation of the mystery:

Mark 4:10-12 “And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.”

Romans 16:25-26 “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.”

1 Corinthians 2:1-2,6-7 “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified....... Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.”

1 Corinthians 15:51 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”

Ephesians 3:3-6,9 “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:..... And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Ephesians 5:32 “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

Ephesians 6:19 “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,”

Colossians 1:26-27 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

1 Timothy 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

The mystery is finished:

Romans 11:25-26; Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7 “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.......... And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn......Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. ”

Revelation 10:7 “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.....”

Christ's kingdom is at hand. First the spiritual kingdom upon His death, and then He takes back the kingdoms of this world at His coming.

The cross:

Luke 23:42 “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

The Second Coming

Revelation 11:15 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

Clearly the relationship between the cross and the Second Coming can be seen. The first is a foreshadow of the events of the latter. As such we see that it is at the Second Coming that the mystery of the church is finished, the resurrection and rapture occurs, and the kingdoms of the world finally become the kingdoms of the Lord. This all occurs at the last or seventh trump. At that time, God's wrath will be poured out on an unbelieving world.

Revelation 10:7; 11:15-19; 15:8, 16:1 “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail......And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled........And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.”

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Are Dreams and Visions Scriptural? Should We Trust Them?

If one goes to Youtube, or sometimes to various blogs and websites, one finds that there is an inordinate amount of people who claim to be having visions and dreams from the Lord. In each case, the person is absolutely sure that they are hearing from the Lord, even though the visions and dreams never agree with each other on subjects like the rapture, nor in 99.9% of the cases, do they line up with Scripture. Yet these people would stake their lives,(and in some cases I think they stake their salvation) on the fact that they have been given a special revelation from God. To date, out of a bizarre sense of curiosity, I have listened to or read quite a number of these dreams and visions. To date, I have yet to see one person say that they have applied the tests God has given us to test these things.

The latest revelation that I read was from someone who was commenting on a blog I follow. She declared that God had given her (and her alone) confirmation that the rapture is going to occur seventy-five days before the abomination of desolation, which God has told her will happen on April 10, 2013. This would, I believe place her rapture on January 26, 2013. She “knows” that this was confirmed by God, because God confirms her responses to questions He talks to her by actually moving inside her belly. She said that she feels Him move in different ways and parts of her belly for different messages He intends for her to understand. 

I can't even begin to comment on how deceived this woman must be. As much as she might love the Lord, her lack of knowledge of the Scriptures that would tell her this is so wrong, is setting her up for major deception. And it is ruining any testimony she has, for when this does not happen, and it will not according to the Scriptures, she will look like a fool and nobody will take her seriously from that point on.

One thing wrong is her lack of understanding of the seventy-five days, which she put in front of the abomination. She got these seventy-five days from Daniel 12:12 “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” The seventy-five days are the difference between the 1335th day, and the 1260 days that encompass the second half of Daniel's 70th week. The entire passage reads as follows: Daniel 12:8-12 “And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”

We know from other Scriptures that there is a period of 1260 days in which the two witnesses will prophecy (Rev. 11:3) and during that same time, for 42 months the city of Jerusalem and temple courtyard will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles (Rev. 11:1-2). We are also told that the woman will be hid in the wilderness for 1260 days or 3 ½ years (Rev. 12:6,14) and that the beast will reign for 3 ½ years or 42 months (Dan. 7:25, Rev. 13:5). So we know that there three different ways of expressing the time period of the second half of the 70th week of Daniel, in days, months, and years. Then as shown above, Daniel is told there is a further period of thirty days from the abomination that will bring things to a close. Then the person who waits a further period of forty-five days after that will be blessed. The seventy-five days are the thirty days, plus the forty-five days after the 1260 days are complete. The seventy-five days come after the 1260 days are over, not before the abomination. Clearly the first thirty days are tacked on after, as it undeniably states that the counting of these days start at the abomination of desolation. Had this woman even understood this passage, she would have immediately suspected that it was not God speaking to her, for this is in opposition to what the Bible teaches. This is the first thing that should clue someone in to a false spirit. The message is not Scriptural.

As to when the rapture occurs, I have written much on this subject in both my endtimes blog and my Bible conundrums blog. It is not pre-tribulational.

The next problem is with the way she says God tells her these things. He moves in her belly? When it comes to theology, God tells us things via His Word, not via movement in our belly. Everything we need to know about eschatology and what is going to happen was already given in a vision to someone – by Christ Himself. It was given to John. To add anything to that is to risk the punishment that God warned us would occur should we add or delete from the words of His prophecies. Revelation 22:18-19 “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

This woman is just one of many, many people who have these sort of “interactions,” for lack of a better term, with an entity which they believe to be God. A dear friend, or I should say former friend for she no longer talks to me, emphatically declared to me that God had definitely confirmed to her that the rapture was happening on May 25, 2011, as predicted by Harold Camping. I told her that when this did not happen, she should realize that whoever might be speaking to her, it was not God. This is why she is now a former friend. She was not pleased with what I had to say. And as I predicted to her at the time, the rapture did not occur on May 25. I knew my Scriptures, and I knew Camping was wrong. While she admitted that she did not know the Scriptures all that well, rather than consider the Scriptures I laid out for her, she chose to believe a false prophet and an entity that was not God.

I saw one Youtube video where a girl was saying that God had given her either a dream or vision, I cannot remember which, in which He confirmed for her that the rapture was going to happen sometime last spring. I also told her that it was not going to happen, and that when it did not, she should realize that it was not God speaking to her. The day after the predicted date, she yanked her video from Youtube.

In all of these cases none of these people ever questioned the spirits and made them make the confession that is required for us to believe them. 1 John 4:1-3 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

Another way to test the spirit is to see if the vision or dream comes true. If it does not, then obviously it was not God speaking. Any prophecy from God is always going to be true. And even if it does come true, one has to judge, is it in line with Scripture? For Satan and his minions will give prophecies, then go about making sure they come true. It must not only come true, it must be Scriptural.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.”

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”

Notice above that when a prophet speaks something that might even come true, if it is against God's Word, such as the above where he told them to go after other gods, one must realize that it is not a word from God, but a test from God to see if you love the Lord with all your heart and will follow Him alone. This is what these people are not understanding. God is allowing them to be tested to see if they really love Him and His Word, or if they have itching ears and want to think they have been specially singled out by God for new revelation. They love pride more than they love Him. They are ignorant of His Word and have no discernment to realize they are being duped. And they do not test the spirit to see if it confesses Christ, as a godly spirit would.

God has told us that we need to be studying His word for several reasons. The first being able to know what is true doctrine and what is not. 1 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The second is to be able to defend yourself against those who try to teach false teachings and to explain to people who are seeking answers why Christ is the way. 1 Peter 3 :15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” The third is to instruct, reprove, and correct others. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26 “ And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

Lastly studying God's Word brings knowledge, wisdom, and discernment. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 5:12-14 “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”

There are also consequences for not knowing God's word. Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” The consequences are more far-reaching than just affecting the person who is not studying. The consequences are passed on to the children. This may be seen in the results of people who have followed these false prophets and charlatans. Their children, seeing their parents' error, turn from the Lord and go the way of the world. They reject the faith of their fathers, (and mothers) because they see that their fathers believed lies. Their fathers believed lies, because they did not study the Scriptures.

Does this then mean that all dreams and visions are from the devil? No, not at all. We are told in Acts 2:17-18 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” This quote is also found in Joel. In the last days before Christ's return, God will pour out His spirit and there will be prophesying and dreams and visions. What is important is to verify the source, and to check everything against Scripture. So far I have only come across one prophecy that I found to be most likely true. It was completely Scriptural and the person giving it had a humble spirit that was not looking to be special, but was overwhelmed with grief at the message. This too will probably be a mark of a person who has been given a true vision or dream.


*Update on the woman above who believed the rapture would occur on 1/25-26/13.  The morning after the dates passed with the rapture not occurring, the woman posted to the website where I had first read her claim of knowledge of this event.  I am happy to report that she behaved in a way that shows that while she may have been deceived in all this, that she truly has a heart for the Lord and was willing to humbly admit that she had been deceived. This takes enormous courage.  She has not, as some before her have, tried to rationalize her mistake and twist Scripture even more (like Camping) to try to cover her error and say that she was still right, but that misunderstood how the event would occur. She simply readily admitted that she was wrong and had been deceived.  She does not understand why or how this happened, although as listed in the problems above, had she been a more mature Christian (years of study and analysis),  she might have had the discernment to realize she was being duped by Satan, but she is seeking to understand why and has a heart open to correction, which is the most important thing.  We all make mistakes along the way, especially as we are first learning.  Even after years of study, we still make mistakes.  It is just important that we acknowledge them (as she has done) instead of defending them, so that God can teach us through our mistakes.  I have had to change my understanding and interpretations many times over the decades that I have been studying.  I have been wrong myself. 

This is a powerful lesson to all of us.  It does not matter how much we love the Lord, we are all open to deception, and to not think that you are is the first open door that gives Satan the means to deceive you.  If you think you are above it and that God will not allow it, think again.  These are the tests He allows to separate the chaff from the wheat. How you respond to that test is very important.  Nobody is so secure that it is impossible for Satan to find a way to deceive them. We are all vulnerable.  The only available means to avoid this is to study, study, study God's Word and check everything others tell you against it, praying for wisdom, discernment, and the truth.  One thing that I had not mentioned above was that she was approached in a parking lot by a man who apparently told her, or insinuated in such a manner so that she would draw the conclusion, that he was Elijah, and then he spouted a lot of Scripture at her. She unfortunately took this as a sign that God had singled her out, never questioning this guy's veracity, because he was giving her Bible verses.  This is a common deception that Satan uses.  He can also quote Scripture very well, and he does so to deceive.  She did not stop to think about that.  A lot of people don't.  They think if Scripture is being used, it must be from God.  Not so.  Satan tried to use Scripture against our Lord Himself when he tempted Him.

This incident right there should have made her question things, for Elijah is coming to Israel, (not some other country) within a few days, or on the day of, the Abomination of Desolation according to Scripture. Had she understood the Word better, she would have immediately dismissed this guy regardless of the Scriptures he was quoting.  While I do not believe her idea that the A of D will be in April, (because again that is not according to Scripture) even if it were, the fact that this guy was showing up months before he should, and in the wrong place, for he should appear in Israel, should have clued her in to the fact that there was something wrong.  And as I also said above, God does not speak to us through our stomachs, He speaks to us through His Word, through other godly people, and sometimes through circumstances (although one must analyze the circumstances to determine that).  There is nothing Scriptural about the idea that God would speak to someone through their stomach.  This very idea shows that she needs to spend much more time in the Word, learning how God does speak to us.

Also, I noticed from her comments that she often spiritualizes Scripture, completely disregarding the literal meaning of it.  While many passages may have a secondary level of understanding in a spiritual sense, we should always begin with the literal interpretation and then layer the secondary level over that to be sure that it is in agreement with the literal interpretation. After all, remember that the first method of deception Satan used was to make Eve question that God literally meant what He said. "Yea, hath God (really?) said?"  He wants us to question that God literally means what He says, for once we do that, Satan can twist the Scriptures to mean anything he wants us to believe.  We must always take God at His word and believe He means what He says.

She seems to have a heart open to correction, and a great love for the Lord and His truth, so hopefully God will be able to show her where she went amiss and she will mature in wisdom and discernment.  Unfortunately Satan does go after those who are not mature in the Word, (which unfortunately does not necessarily have anything to do with how long they have been saved) for they are so much more easily deceived.  That is why we are told to disciple new Christians, to prevent this very thing.



Sunday, October 14, 2012

What Do the 2300 Days of Daniel Mean?

One of the great mysteries of eschatology seems to be the passage in Daniel that speaks about the 2300 days. Nobody seems to be able to come to a consensus as to what it is referencing. Generally everyone tries to spiritualize the verses making them mean everything from 2300 years to 1150 days, but few if any people simply take the verses at as much face value as possible, to see if it simply makes sense as written. As I always try to interpret Scripture in the most literal way whenever possible, I would like to take a look at this passage to see what can be made of it. First let us just read through the passage.

Daniel 8:1-8 “In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had there seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

Verses 9-14 “And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

Verses 15-26 “And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.”

I divided the chapter up into three sections. The first being prophetic history (meaning prophecy that has already come to pass), the second being somewhat prophetic history, but actually more future prophetic, and the third section being the explanation given to Daniel by the angel as to what the vision meant. In the first eight verses we are told of the history of Medo-Persia (the ram with two horns) and its falling to Greece under Alexander the Great. This is not in question, as the angel actually tells Daniel that this is Medo-Persia and Greece with its first “king” who was Alexander the Great. When Alexander died, his empire was divided up into four empires. (Actually five at first, but the other four quickly ganged up on the fifth and divided his lands.) These four empires were Macedonia or Greece under Cassander, Egypt under Ptolemy, Thrace (in Asia Minor) under Lysimachos, and the area of Mesopotamia and east (the area now known as Iran) under Seleucis. This part seems to be (from our perspective) merely historical.

In the second passage we are told that out of one of these empires comes a little horn (symbolically for a new powerful leader) which becomes exceedingly great, moving to conquer south, east, and to the pleasant land. From a historical standpoint and interpretation, this is speaking of Antiochus Epiphanes, who came out of the Seleucid Empire, and who waged war against Egypt, moved against the countries to the east of the empire (Persia for one), and then overran Judea desolating it. (the pleasant land). Continuing the passage as an historical event, metaphorically the host of heaven, stars, and prince of the host can refer to the priests and rulers of Israel, whom he destroyed. And indeed A.E. took away the daily sacrifice, slaughtered a pig on the altar and set up a statue of Zeus in the holy place desecrating the temple, killed many people and looted the temple of its treasures. This is the historical interpretation of this passage, as this is what actually happened. There is an even darker and future interpretation of this passage though, which we will cover below.

Before we go on to this darker and yet to happen interpretation, let us look at what Daniel is told in explanation of this vision. The first very important thing to note is what Gabriel tells Daniel. “Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.” Gabriel is telling Daniel (and us) that the main interpretation of this vision has to do with the time of the end. In other words, the end of the age, the time of Yeshua's Second Coming, even though when this vision was given, Christ has not come the first time yet. So now we know that we must consider that the information contained about this horn that grows to heaven and what he does, has to do with the events of Daniel's 70th week. Next Gabriel tells him “Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.” Again we are told a second time that this has to do with the end of the indignation, or the time of the end when God's wrath will come. So this is reiterated twice, so that there will be no mistake that this information has to do with the end times. Then Daniel is given the explanation of the ram and goat, which to him was future, but to us is history. Because the countries are mentioned and the fulfillment is so specific, we can see that that section of the prophecy has been fulfilled. But then Gabriel makes it clear that the rest of the prophecy is in the very distant future, at the time of the end. We at told that “in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full,” some events will occur. This is speaking of the end times, when the world's transgressions have reached their fullness and God's patience will run out. From here we need to go back and look at this darker interpretation of which I spoke earlier.

If we take this passage not symbolically but literally, it tells us that this little horn reaches even to the host of heaven, or the angelic realm. Only Satan and other fallen angels can reach into that sphere. The antichrist will be empowered by Satan, so this can apply to him too. This horn actually casts down some of the host and stars of heaven. Now in Scripture, the host of heaven is the angelic host, and the word star is often used to reference an angel, so this is telling us that this horn is responsible for casting some of the angelic realm down to the ground and stamping on them. This is exactly what Satan did when he convinced fully a third of the angels in heaven to follow him. Revelation 12:4 “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven.” So this passage is speaking of Satan, and by extension the antichrist, as he is empowered or possibly possessed by Satan. In fact that is what the angel says. “a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise.” Practicing dark sentences is basically saying that he is an occult practitioner or worships Satan. Gabriel tells us a second time that he is an occultist. “And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand,” “craft” being witchcraft. So this little horn or king of fierce countenance will be the antichrist, empowered by Satan.

As Antiochus Epiphanes was a foreshadow of the antichrist we should expect to see the AC's actions as a magnified mirror image of what AE did, and we do. We are told that this fierce king, or antichrist, takes away the daily sacrifice, and we know from history, although it is not mentioned directly in this passage in Daniel 8, that AE also set up a statue of Zeus causing an abomination of desolation. These sacrifices which this fierce king takes away would have to be the sacrifices that go on daily at the temple. For there to be sacrifices, there must be a temple or sacrificial altar set up. So as this is future and there presently is not temple, it is telling us that there must be a restored temple, or at least a restored area for sacrifices on the temple mount. These sacrifices must be ongoing before antichrist can stop them. And as AE set up a statue of Zeus in the holy place, so antichrist must commit an abomination that desolates the temple in the holy place. And indeed we are told in other verses that there will be sacrifices that are stopped, and a holy place which he abominates and desolates.

Daniel 9:27 “ And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: (this is the verse from where we get Daniel's 70th week) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

Daniel 11:31 “And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.”

Daniel 12:11 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

Matthew 24:15 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand.)

Mark 13:14 “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains.”

AE set up a statue of Zeus, but what does antichrist set up? This king mentioned in Daniel 8 magnifies himself to be as high as the Prince of the host. “he magnified himself even to the prince of the host,” Gabriel again reiterates the information a second time (which he does with several pieces of information in this passage), “he shall magnify himself in his heart, he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes” This Prince would be Yeshua which virtually means God Himself. And this is exactly what Satan tries to do, make himself to be God. And we are told the antichrist, who is Satan's “son” or “incarnation” just as Yeshua was God's, does this also. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” Like father, like son. He sets himself up as God in the holy place.

Now we are also told, because of transgressions (against God) a host (not a host of heaven, but simply a host – a great multitude of people) is also given to him. We know that God will hand over His people to antichrist to purge and refine them, as there is great apostasy in the church.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”

Daniel 7:21 “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.”

Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

Revelation 12:17 “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Revelation 13:7 “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.”

Matthew 24:15-16, 21-22 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains..... For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Mark 13:14,19-20 “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains.... For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

He casts truth to the ground. The truth of God and His Word will be cast aside as he spins lies and delusions to make people follow him. God allows this to happen.

2 Thessalonians 2:11 “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”

Revelation 13:13-14 “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”

And for a time (42 months) he does prosper in his goal, but as Gabriel tells Daniel, “he shall be broken without hand.” We know that antichrist will be destroyed by Christ at His coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”

Now we get to the part that has everyone in a conundrum. Daniel hears one saint ask another “How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” And then Gabriel in his explanation of the vision tells Daniel “And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.”

We already know that this is speaking of the last or latter days. So these 2300 days or as it is in Hebrew “dusk/dawns” or as some prefer “evening/mornings” has something to do with the last days. So what is the criteria of what falls into these 2300 days. We are told that this 2300 days have to do with the daily sacrifice, the transgression (or abomination) of desolation (which happens at the mid-point of Daniel's 70th seven year week), the host and sanctuary being trodden underfoot, and the time period until the sanctuary is again cleansed. So all of these events start with the daily sacrifice, and end at the cleansing of the temple. So we have a starting event and an ending event.

Now for some of these things we actually have a time frame. We know that the host and courtyard of the sanctuary are trodden underfoot for 42 months, and that antichrist reigns for 42 months and the saints are given to him for 3 ½ years.

Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Revelation 13:5 “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

Revelation 11:1-2 “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

So these two time periods are equated as being the same. Forty-two months are three and a half years. We know that 42 months and 3 ½ year are also 1260 days, as there are two other events going on at the same time which are given to us in length of days. The first is the ministry of the two witnesses.

Revelation 11:3 “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”

This event is given alongside the 42 months of the trampling of the temple courtyard, so that we see that they are the same length of time. The second is the one which ties the others together by telling us how long 3 ½ years are in terms of days. That is the woman in the wilderness who is given two different lengths of time.

Revelation 12:6 “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

Revelation 12:14 “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” so between all of these verses, we see that 3 ½ years is 42 months or 1260 days.

Now we are told in Daniel 12:11-12 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”

From the abomination of desolation at the mid-point of the seven years, when the sacrifices are stopped, we are told that there will be 1290 days until all is completed (at Armageddon) in Daniel's 70th week. Then we are told that the one who makes it to the 1335th day will be blessed. As Yom Kippur is the Feast which foreshadows the Second Coming and God's wrath beginning (the vial judgments), the way Passover foreshadowed the crucifixion, and as antichrist's reign ends at the Second Coming (day 1260), we know that there are still 75 days to go after Yom Kippur to reach the 1335th day. The first 30 days take us to day 1290 when all is finished according to Daniel, and so we know the vial judgments fall in those 30 days after Yeshua returns at Yom Kippur. (He comes at the last trumpet, which starts the vial judgments). We now see there are 75 days from Yom Kippur until the 1335th day. The first 30 are taken up with the vials, then there are 45 more to go. It so happens that 75 days after Yom Kippur is Hanukkah. The day the sanctuary was cleansed from Antiochus Epiphanes abomination of desolation. So we can assume, knowing that God reuses dates to commemorate events, that He will have Hanukkah have a dual fulfillment. A cleansing of two temples, not just the one. This would then give us the time when the 2300 days would end or as said to Daniel, the sanctuary would be cleansed.

So we have our ending date of the 2300 days, which is 1335 days after the abomination of desolation. Many people like to claim that because the Hebrew for days in this verse is actually “evening mornings” that this is speaking of evening and morning sacrifices and therefore we should cut the 2300 in half to figure out the meaning. But this will not work. Half of 2300 is 1150, which is already less than the 1335 days from the abomination to the cleansing of the temple. And we are told that the counting of these days does not start with the abomination, but earlier with the sacrifices ongoing. As the sacrifices will be stopped, the evening/mornings cannot refer to 2300 sacrifices, as they will not be ongoing during all of this. So this must be referring only to days. God in Genesis refers to a day as an evening and morning, while in the Law He talks about a morning and evening sacrifice in that order. It seems He is referring to a 24 hour day here, not the morning and evening sacrifices.

Now if the seven years of Daniel's 70th week is 84 months (42 being the second half so the whole being 84) we have a period of 2520 days. That would mean that approximately 220 days into the 70th week of Daniel, sacrifices would have to start being made in a temple for this vision of 2300 days to be true, as sacrifices are the first event listed as happening within this time frame of 2300 days. And Gabriel is emphatic about that point. “And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true.” So we should expect that once the covenant (no matter to what that covenant refers) is confirmed at the beginning of the seven year period, that roughly seven months into the first year of Daniel's 70th week we will see sacrifices being made. Possibly it will be the beginning of them.

Oddly enough, or maybe not oddly, in doing some calculations backwards seven years from Hanukkah on various years in the future, it seemed that counting back 2300 days sometimes ended up on a holy day. In fact one time I found that counting backward ended up on Rosh haShanah. What better day to begin sacrifices than on the New Year, on the ten days of awe before Yom Kippur. This does not happen every year, in fact it only happened once in my calculations, and I will not mention on what year it will occur, as many factors may affect the calendars as they now stand that will change them. But it is interesting that it could possibly line up that way.

Is this then the meaning of the 2300 evening mornings? That we are told when the sacrifices begin, that seven months or so earlier the covenant will have been confirmed? We cannot be sure that this covenant is something that will be public, so all we have to go by for a sign that we are in Daniel's 70th week is the temple sacrifices. By knowing how long it is from the time they start, we can estimate where we are in the 70th week. It may really be that simple.


*As an added note, it was brought to my attention that some say that the 2300 days have nothing to do with the future as they were fulfilled by Antiochus Ephiphanes. From all of my research that would seem to be impossible, as none of the time lines give would us either the 2300 days or 1150 morning and evening sacrifices (for those who feel the number should be cut in half). Most sources say that the records say that the time span from the abomination until the temple was cleansed was exactly three years from Kislev 25 to Kislev 25 three years later. One sight said that it was three and a half years. Neither of those time frames would provide us with either 2300 days nor 1150 days, whether you use a Jewish length of year of 360 days, the Jewish year with the leap year thrown in on a second or third year, or the 365 day year. In all cases one must use the cut in half time, meaning counting each morning and evening sacrifice each as one (which I do not think was meant by God) and the amount of days that result are either too many or too few to qualify. God is very specific about this length of time, so as it does not seem that this time refers to Antiochus's abomination, it must therefore refer to the future.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Should Christians keep the Entire Law of Moses, the Ten Commandments, or Are We Stricly Under Grace?

I have been in a debate lately about whether or not the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law of Moses have any relevance for Christians. Some were of the opinion that they are not relevant to Christians as we have been “freed” from the Law. They took the stand that the Law was essentially eliminated when Christ died, and therefore it is not beholden upon us to keep not only the entire Law of the Torah, but we do not need to keep the Ten Commandments, as they are no longer applicable.

First it must be determined whether or not the Ten Commandments are on a par or the same as the rest of the judgments and laws that God gave the people. God gave the Ten Commandments directly to the people at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20). He wrote the Ten Commandments upon two tablets and had Moses put them in the ark when it was built. Deuteronomy 5:22 “These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.” Moses broke the first tablets in anger when the people built the golden calf, but God wrote another set. Deuteronomy 10:2 “And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.” Only the Ten Commandments or the testimony as God calls it were put in the ark.

God gave four titles to the laws He gave. He called some commandments, which by definition are “divine laws”, some were statutes, which by definition are either “written laws by a legislative body (or in this case God)” or “the rules of an organization or institution (or in this case, a nation)”. Judgments, are defined as “a divine sentence (punishment) or decision by a court.” and ordinances are "authoritative orders, customs established by long practice, rites, or regulations".  Exodus 15:26 "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee."  Leviticus 18:4-5 "Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD."  It can be seen that indeed when one looks at all the laws that they more or less do fall into these four categories. The ones which are divine laws or commandments are the ones we know as the Ten Commandments. They are divine laws. Eternal laws of a perfect spiritual state, not rules or regulations of an organization (or nation), court judgments, or customs or rites. Christ in fact was able to divide and reduce these ten commandments into two categories - love of God, and love of neighbor. Matthew 22:36-40 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Notice that first Christ is not referencing all the laws as being commandments - for example the hygiene laws do not really fall into the love your neighbor category. He is clearly referencing the Ten Commandments. And according to Him, all of the laws and prophets can be summed up and hang upon these Ten Commandments, which can really be reduced down to two, love God and love your neighbor as yourself. So when Christ tells us “If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15, He is not speaking of all 613 laws, He is speaking of the Ten Commandments.

The first four commandments have to do with loving God. We are not to have any other Gods before Him, we are not to make any graven images, we are not to take His name in vain, and we are to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. The last six have to do with loving our neighbor. We are to honor our fathers and mothers, we are not to kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness or covet. These six things cover most any sin that we can commit against other people. When Christ reduced these down to just love God and love your neighbor, He was not eliminating the Ten Commandments. Matthew 5:17-18 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Christ was fulfilling the commandments. In other words, He was keeping them perfectly, something we cannot do. He fulfilled the obligation to keep the Law (meaning the Ten Commandments) perfectly for us. Now, some might say, it wasn't just the Ten Commandments He kept, He kept the entire law perfectly. No. He did not. He did not stone the adulteress woman, thereby breaking that law, and not only that He incited others to break it too. The only Laws He kept perfectly were the Ten Commandments, thereby verifying that these are the only Laws that are still in effect as something we are to try to keep. Now, because Christ kept them perfectly, and He lives in us, we are free to be able to keep the Law, not under obligation, but by love. Do we keep it perfectly? I don't know anyone who can claim to have, 1 John 1:10 “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us,” but we find it much easier to try to keep it while we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And we have God's forgiveness awaiting us when we ask for it, after committing a sin. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

In Matthew 5:19 Yeshua said, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” He is speaking of the commandments, the Ten Commandments, not the entire body of law of the nation of Israel. We are to continue to teach the Ten Commandments. Should we not want to teach these commandments? What do they teach? They teach us to love God and neighbor. So why would people want to abolish them by saying we are now free in Christ and do not need to worry about them. We are free to what – hate God and neighbor? That is the alternative to these commandments. They are about love. We are not under the threat of God's retribution to keep them, what we are free to do is keep them out of love. That is what our freedom is all about. Not being released from keeping the laws, but free from the burden of sin that comes from not being able to keep them. We are now free to keep them through Yeshua. Christ gives us a new heart so we can keep them and not have the burden of sin and God's wrath hanging over our head.

Let's take a further look at the law to see why we cannot, not just do not, keep it. Many of the 613 laws have to do with the temple, (including those about the priesthood) and without a temple it is impossible to keep these laws. When God destroyed the temple, He knew these laws could no longer be kept. So right off the bat, we can eliminate the hundred and some laws right there. Other of the laws are geared toward government and civil law keeping and the judicial system. When Israel was a nation, these were the laws of the nation, but we are told by God that we are to obey the laws of our own nation, so these laws are not incumbent upon us. Romans 13:1-7 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” A perfect example of this truth is the fact that we legally cannot go out and kill adulterers (there would be a great decrease in the population) or false prophets (although we might be better of if the latter were disposed of) or our rebellious children (yes, that was what you did with a wayward son who was rebellious, a drunkard, and glutton – do you want to do that, all ye lawkeepers? We would be killing a lot of children in this day and age.) Were we to do that, we would most rightfully find ourselves in jail at best (and executed at worst) for premeditated murder. We could not use the excuse that this is God's Law, so therefore we must obey it. We would be in disobedience of the clear teaching in Romans. These two things are in direct opposition to each other unless you realize that the civil laws of Moses were for a nation only as their governmental law, and not a spiritual mandate for the sake of obedience to God. Jesus Himself broke the law mentioned above when He did not stone the adulteress with the crowd, and in fact got them to not stone her also. So He not only broke the law, He incited others to do the same, which is an added sin if these laws are non-negotiable. Instead He offered a better way. He offered her love and forgiveness.  Further He showed that these laws were not always God's desire, and that He would sometimes prefer we not keep them.  For instance the law on divorce.  God gave a law allowing divorce and how it should be handled, but what did Christ say? Matthew 19:3-8 "The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so."  God prefers that this law never be used.  He gave it to them not because He wanted them to keep it, but because they were so hardhearted that He had no choice, as He had to protect the women.  Many of the laws were given for that reason.  Do you really think God likes people enslaving other people?  Or do you think He wanted to exercise some control over a bad situation that was going to exist whether or not He approved it? 

So the laws concerning the temple are impossible to keep,  some of the laws imposing court sentences are not viable or legal for us to keep, and some laws God does not really want us to keep. He prefers that we act in love. What about the other laws? The laws of kosher were lifted by the Council of Jerusalem, although the mandate to not eat blood or animals that are strangled is still in effect for all of God's people. Acts 15:19-20 “Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.” As Gentiles did not have kosher laws, since kosher was not specified along with the other restraints, there is no reason for them to only eat kosher animals. They were used to eating any animal. The argument is often made by lawkeepers that they already understood that kosher was required, because they were taught the law. If that was true, then why the need to specify not eating blood or things strangled? Those things automatically are included in the laws of kosher. This is picking out just a few requirements out of the kosher laws for them to observe. This clearly indicates that they are not keeping kosher, and that they need not keep kosher.

Further we are told in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” This passage speaks of the “latter times” which is now. It is telling us that people will depart from the faith and embrace doctrines of devils. We can certainly attest to that having come to pass today. Forbidding marriage is a big deal in one denomination. This also mentions people who say you should abstain from meats. There are only two ways to interpret this part. Either this refers to vegetarianism, as that is popular today, or it may be referring to people who say you must abstain from non-kosher meats, as it makes no sense for anyone to say that you should abstain from kosher meats. Who would have a problem with that? So this either refers to all meats or non-kosher meats. How does Paul respond to their doctrines? He first calls these mandates doctrines of devils, which means he is against them. Then in regard to meats, he says that every creatures is good and nothing to be refused, as long as we receive it thankfully and sanctify it by prayer. Torah law advocates would tell us that this is referring to every kosher animal, not actually every creature. But that is not what it says and it would not make sense. If people are saying you are not supposed to eat or abstain from non-kosher, and Paul is calling that a doctrine of devils, then when he says all creatures are good, he means all non-kosher animals. If taken the other way, that this refers to vegetarianism, then one can twist it to read into it that this is speaking of kosher animals, but then one is adding to the Scriptures, which would be breaking one of the Laws that lawkeepers are so adamant about keeping. 

Noah was given permission to eat any animal he wanted to eat. And this is in spite of the fact that Noah did know about clean and unclean animals, as God had him take seven, not two of every clean animal on the ark. Genesis 9:3 “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” Clearly Noah was not given the restriction of kosher, as he could eat anything that moved. Unclean animals move. But just as the mandate was given that we are not to eat blood, so Noah was given this mandate. Genesis 9:4 “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.” From Noah until Moses, people could eat any creature, just as again we are allowed to eat any creature. As Jesus said in Matthew 15:11-18 “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” God is far less concerned with what goes into our stomachs, as it comes out the other end, than He is about what is in our hearts.

I have left the most controversial passage for last. In Acts10:11-16 we read “And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.”

For years this has been taken literally and used as a text to say that God was giving Peter permission to eat any food. Others take the spiritual stand on it and say that it was not referring to the animals, but to the Gentiles as being unclean and now God would make them clean through Christ's blood. The only problem I have with that is a Scripture that backs up the first literal interpretation. And as anyone who reads my blog knows, I always go with the face value interpretation whenever I can. The problem is this passage. Galatians 2:11-14 “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?” Paul was clearly accusing Peter of forsaking the Torah laws. He was living and eating as a Gentile. The difference between Gentile and Jewish eating was that one is kosher and one is not. Peter was no longer observing kosher laws. He understood, just as said in Acts, that we are no longer under the laws of Moses, including the kosher laws. He was simply afraid of being judged and criticized when the Jews came to town.

What about the holy days – the new moons, feast days, etc. As the new moon had to be declared by two witnesses to the temple, before that holiday could be announced, again we have a problem. We may know through science when that new moon begins (and even that we have changed. To them the new moon was the first sighting of the moon, not the lack of it), we cannot do it according to the law, for there is no temple. But further, we are given a better way, just as Christ gave us a better way with forgiveness instead of getting retribution or execution. Paul tells us in Romans 14:5 “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Colossians 2:16 “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.” Here we have another verse that tells us that we should not let others judge us in what we eat or drink, but we are also told this about holy days also. We are told that as long as we do it through conscience, whether we observe these holy days or treat every day alike, it is unimportant with respect to obeying God. It is what you determine to do, as long as you are persuaded that what you are doing is Biblically correct.

Now comes the tricky part. Some people believe this mention of sabbaths is speaking of observing the weekly Sabbath, and some people believe that this is speaking of the feast sabbaths, as it is used in the plural sense. Equally some believe the idea that it is acceptable to esteem every day alike means that you can ignore the weekly Sabbath (not just the feast sabbaths) and treat every day the same if you wish. Is that what these verses are really saying? Have even the Ten Commandments been lifted by these verses? No. Christ made it quite clear that we are to keep His commandments, and the weekly Sabbath is one of them. The weekly Sabbath preceded the giving of the Law by over 2000 years. Some like to debate this as it is not given as a law to Adam, but it can be shown otherwise. This is because the weekly Sabbath was established at creation. Genesis 2:2-3 “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” These verses tell us that God established the weekly Sabbath in the first week of creation. He sanctified it or set it apart as holy. Was it just for Himself that He did this, or did He also include man in this sanctification process. Yeshua tells us in Mark 2:27 “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.” The Sabbath, the weekly Sabbath, was made for man. If it was made for man, would not God have informed Adam of this and expected him to enjoy taking the day off? The argument is given that this law was not given until Moses, so nobody was expected to keep it. None of the laws were given before Moses. Is this exactly true? What about sacrifices? Were not those laws about clean and unclean animals and sacrifices given at the time of Moses? Well, let us look and see.

Genesis 4:3-7a “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?

Genesis 7:2 “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.”

Genesis 8:20 “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Genesis 22:2,8, 13 “And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of....And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together....And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”

But we know from the Cain and Abel story that people only offered animal sacrifices, which explains God's rejecting Cain's sacrifice, right?

Genesis 35:14 “And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.”

It seems that the problem was not necessarily Cain's offering, but his attitude of a rebellious heart. God told him in Genesis 4:6-7 “And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” It wasn't necessarily the sacrifice, as God wanted other sacrifices as well as blood, it was his sinful rebellious heart.

So people knew not only to give God burnt animal sacrifices, but to offer drink and oil oblations. But this only came with the giving of the Law didn't it? Obviously not.

Well, how about Moses? He didn't know about sacrifices until God told Him when He gave Him the commandments, right?

Exodus 10:25 “And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God.”

Wait a minute. This was before the last plague was poured out on Egypt. That was before the giving of the Law. They had been sacrificing to God?

Well, what about tithing. That law surely only came with the giving of the Law. Not necessarily.

Genesis 14:18-20 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”

So far we have discussed other laws that were not part of the Ten Commandments, sacrifices and tithes. What about another one of the commandments? Thou shalt not kill. Cain broke that commandment, and he knew he had done wrong, because he tried to pretend he knew nothing about it. And on top of that God punished him for it and made it clear that if someone were to kill Cain they would be punished. In other words, thou shalt not kill. Genesis 7:8-15 “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.”

Clearly there were rules that God gave mankind that preceded the Laws of Moses, but were reiterated when God gave Moses the laws. It is not just their actions above that show it, God tells us this.  Genesis 26:5 "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Abraham was given a charge, commandments, statutes, and laws long before Moses, which is why he knew to tithe. God had been telling His people what He expected of them, even though it was not written down in the Bible for us to see. He tells us this. So what about the Sabbath? Was it not a new thing to the Hebrews? They only first heard about it from Moses, didn't they? Well, let's see what God says.

Exodus 20:8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Wait a minute. Remember? How do you remember something that has not existed before this and of which you have had no knowledge? You do not. The argument comes, but remember can mean memorialize. Okay, let's say it does, for indeed that is also what is meant here. They are both to remember that God had declared the seventh day sanctified at creation and to memorialize the Sabbath by doing what? Keeping it holy, just as had been explained right from the beginning. They knew about the Sabbath, just as they knew about sacrifices and tithes. In fact the rule about not gathering manna on the Sabbath preceded the giving of the law, so they knew what the Sabbath was. It is just that it was not written down as a law that they must observe until God gave it at Mt. Sinai. Just as the other things had not been written down. How can we know that they knew about it? First God tells us that Abraham knew His commandments, laws, and statutes, so it is safe to assume that He told others as well.  Then it so happens that we know ancient Babylon and Sumeria observed a seven day week. Why? There is no reason under the sun, except to memorialize the creation week, that there should be a seven day week. It was brought over from before the Flood by Noah, who knew about it. God gave Noah one week, seven days, in which to load up the ark and get things ready to go once it was completed. Genesis 7:4 “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.” What happened on that seventh day? Noah got to rest. He got a Sabbath. Genesis 7:10, 16 “And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth..... And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

If it is not enough that it has been shown that the Sabbath preceded the law and it has always been God's intention that it be observed by people, and that Yeshua told us that if we love Him we should keep His commandments, of which the fourth is to remember the Sabbath (the original one of creation) and keep it holy, we have Yeshua telling us that He expects that those of us that will go into the tribulation to be observing it. What? Yes, there is no pre-trib rapture (see my articles on that if you espouse a pre-trib belief, it may open your eyes), and those of us that are still alive when the tribulation begins are told that we should pray that it not start on the Sabbath. Matthew 24:20 “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.” But Yeshua was talking to Jews in Judea, not to us. It is true that it will be those in Judea that will have to flee to the mountains, but who is He speaking to? He is speaking to believers in Him. His disciples or followers, not unbelieving Jews. Of course, you say, the Messianic Jews are observing the Sabbath, they are Jews. Okay, and what did God say about us? Galatians 3:7, 29 “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham......And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” So we are Abraham's seed and are spiritually grafted into spiritual Israel. If Messianic Jews are observing the Sabbath, why are we not? We should be. I have an entire article telling the history of how the Church came to worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath. It is something that requires serious consideration if you are not keeping the Sabbath and say you love the Lord. I would recommend reading it.


When it comes to the Feasts of God, I believe everyone is aware of the fact that the resurrection is celebrated on the pagan goddess Eastre's holy day, not on God's holy Feast day of Firstfruits, which was the Feast that Christ fulfilled when He arose on that day. Christianity does not celebrate Passover, which was His crucifixion, nor does it celebrate the Feast of Firstfruits as God created these feasts to be celebrated. The church has pre-empted God's holy day and substituted a pagan one instead, putting the event of God's fulfillment of His holy day on a pagan goddess's day. As for Christmas, it has been found through studies that Christ was born at the time of the Fall Feasts, not on the birthday of the pagan bull-headed god Mithras, which is the day everyone celebrates Yeshua's birth. Nor do we celebrate the Fall feasts, of Rosh haShanah (Feast of Trumpets – Yehsua crowned King) Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, Second Coming, Day of the Lord, Resurrection/rapture) and the Feast of Tabernacles (The Wedding Feast – OUR wedding feast). Since we still await the fulfillment of these feasts in Christ's Second Coming, would it not be appropriate for us to at least consider that they are more relevant for us to celebrate as a Christian holy day than the day of a pagan god's birthday?

As for it being mandatory to celebrate these feasts and sabbaths, we were already told by Paul that if you do it and are persuaded that you should, great. And if you don't and are persuaded it isn't necessary, great. Just be convinced in your own mind and don't judge others. As these feasts are, by law, supposed to be celebrated in Jerusalem and require temple sacrifices, unless you live in Israel, you cannot even keep half of the requirement in keeping it correctly. Nobody can keep it correctly, for there is no temple and no sacrifices. God destroyed the temple, because the sacrifice of a Lamb at Passover had been finally and ultimately made for all mankind. Any more sacrifice at this time would be redundant. The gospel had to go out into the world, Israel had to be punished for her rejection of her Messiah, and sacrifices, which had never taken away the sins of people, were no longer necessary. Neither were the many civil laws of the nation. Until Israel lives under a theocracy again, these laws will not be effective. When they do, then God's government will enact His laws again. Every nation needs laws and justice and that is what these many laws are about. The temple will again be rebuilt and the religious laws can be met. The world will be a wasteland, and the population small, so probably the kosher and hygienic laws will be necessary to keep the people healthy. There is no saying if God will change some of the existing laws of the Torah, but that is not necessary for us to know now.
Having shown that we are expected to live by the Ten Commandments, (including the Sabbath) not under the obligation of legalism, but as Christians freely living out our lives by loving God and loving our neighbors through Yeshua ha Mashiach, I now want to say that if someone freely wants to observe as many of the laws and Feasts of God as possible, because they want to express their love for God this way, go for it. There is no prohibition against doing this, as long as you do not make it an obligatory thing for either yourself or others. It is not the means of salvation, and it does not guarantee more blessings (as some insist) than merely living a life of love for God. As you cannot keep them according to the law in many cases, keep them in spirit as much as possible, but do not insist that others keep them or they aren't “good” Christians. The only laws that do matter are the Ten Commandments, so that is something we need to try to teach others. Other than that, we do, as those who are against law keeping say, have freedom in Christ. Not as a license to sin, but as having freedom to keep the Commandments.

Romans 3:31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”

Romans 6:1-2, 12-22 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?.....Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

We are free from sin to follow righteousness or in other words, the Ten Commandments in which righteousness is encapsulated. If we want to be servants of righteousness, the Commandments are our guide and we need to follow them. God has told us how He feels about sacrifices and all of this law keeping. Hosea 6:6 "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."  God wants us to show mercy and love, and study to know Him rather than just blindly obey a list of rules, many of which are not even possible to keep.  These laws were given to keep a hardhearted people in line, because without them they would not show each other love or compassion,  but we now have been given a better way. We have Yeshua living in our hearts and His love can change us. It writes the spirit of the law on our hearts, so that we don't need a list of rules if we abide in Him.