Thread: Why Christians Celebrate Biblical Memorial Days
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Why Christians Celebrate Biblical Memorial Days
Posted : 25 May, 2012 11:24 AM
Why Christians Celebrate Biblical Memorial Days
In our celebration of traditional Christian holidays, the Biblical Holydays should not be excluded. The motive for the Christian to celebrate Biblical holidays is neither to masquerade as quasi -Jews nor to plunder Jewish customs and traditions, but to honor what our Lord has instituted.
"And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts." (Lev 23:1-2)
Notice, He did not say these were the feast of the Jews or the feasts of the Christians but "the feast of the Lord". They are memorial days that both Christians and Jews have good cause to celebrate. These festivals were institute by our Father God (Yahweh) in the first Testament and reaffirmed by Jesus (Yeshua) in the New Testament.
Sense the apostle Paul tells us that "Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:11), these feast days find their deepest meaning in Jesus the Messiah. Here is perhaps the most compelling statement in the New Testament as to the continued influence and recognition of the Biblical Holydays by the body of Christ in the first century, even among the Gentile Christian churches.
"For even Christ our PASSOVER is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast" (I Cor. 5:7-8)
It could not be said more clearly, "Therefore, let us keep the feast [of Passover]." Further evidence of first century Christians celebrating the feast days is found in the book of Acts. "I must by all means Keep this FEAST that cometh in Jerusalem" (Acts 18:21 KJV)
"For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of PENTECOST " (Acts 20:16)
"But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost." (1 Cor 16:8)
Nearly thirty years after the death of Jesus (a time when many believe the importance of these celebrations had ceased) the Apostle Paul is still highly motivated with Christian zeal to return to Jerusalem and celebrate the day of PENTECOST. Would he discourage the practice today? Clearly, he would not! The Biblical feast day celebrations were instituted by our God as a system for teaching and served as a liturgical calendar. They identified special times in the year for offering praise, thanksgiving and honor unto our heavenly Father for specific acts on behalf of His people. Every major event in Biblical history occurred on a feast day. The precise dates of Noah's Ark landing on Mt. Ararat, the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai, the dedication of Solomon's Temple, the birth of Jesus, His death, burial and resurrection, the coming of the Holy Spirit, are all prime examples of God's faithfulness to His appointed times and seasons. Proper recognition of these special days of memorial is being restored to the church as a vital part of worship and celebration.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Traditionally, Christians have not given formal recognition to the seven Biblical feast days (Leviticus 23). The preference has been to continue the honoring of such traditional holidays as Christmas, Easter and All Saints Day (Holy Evening or Halloween) etc. Interestingly, these are calendar days for which there is no biblical support even though the events so honored may be biblical. How did this condition come about and who is responsible? There is certainly no record that the first century church ever celebrated the traditional holidays, as we know them. They were an "invention" of the subsequent church leadership. There is, however, abundant evidence to confirm that the early church continued to celebrate the biblical feast days.
The historical record confirms, that the cessation of celebrating biblical Feast Days by the followers of Jesus Christ was, brought on by a growing anti-semitic spirit (resentment of Jews and things Jewish) that invaded the church by the second century. Regrettably, this spirit has resulted in almost total deletion of everything Jewish from the doctrine and liturgy of the church, replacing it with alternative forms and titles adopted from other religions and introduced by various church fathers. By the beginning of the fourth century, Constantine, who had become both head of the church and Emperor of Rome, forbade the recognition of anything that remotely smacked of Jewishness to the point of imprisonment and even death. An example of this can be seen by the actions taken at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. The Church, which had been commemorating the death and resurrection of Christ on the Passover day, changed the date for observing the resurrection to make it correspond with the pagan carnival Easter instead of what they considered to be the Jewish feast of Passover. Today we are victims of that orchestrated effort and therefore the Christian's sense of value for celebrating Biblical Memorial Day became almost non-existent but that is changing.
RESTORATION ISSUES
A better understanding of the Biblical festivals in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ is being fully restored to the church. Still the question invariably arises, but what about the New Testament scriptures, which seemingly discourage the practice of observing "special days"? Such conclusions are often drawn as a result of misinformation, faulty interpretation of scripture, unbelief, and fear and with some degree of hypocrisy. For example, the following scripture is often cited as a proof text for non-observance of Biblical feast days:
"Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." Gal.4:10-11
Here is a classic example of faulty interpretation of scripture. This reference has nothing to do with Biblical memorial days. Paul's statement to the Galatians is concerning their returning to former pagan or heathen practices. Clearly he is not speaking of the Biblical celebrations. This is borne out in the very structure of the letter itself. Notice, this was something they were reinstituting that they had been practicing when they worshiped false gods (see verse nine). The Galatians had never celebrated Biblical (Jewish) holy days. They were Gentiles, therefore, they could not have been returning to the Jewish festivals as some might claim.
The truth is, few Christians actually believe this scripture to be absolute or if they do, their actions are inconsistent with their beliefs. If taken at face value, we would simply have to refrain from celebrating or memorializing any "days" religious or secular. As it now is, we often go to great lengths and great expense both at home and in church to celebrate such times as Christmas, Easter, birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, etc. To be sure, we "observe days" and they are often accompanied with great pageantry and extravaganza. The point is that many have somehow concluded that apparently we are free to celebrate any holidays except the Biblical days; these are somehow forbidden and viewed as being strictly Jewish and therefore anti-Christ, non-Christian and indeed dangerous. Yet the ones we have arbitrarily created for ourselves which have little or no Biblical support are somehow "safe" and honorable, even sacred. The intent here is not to denigrate the non-biblical times of celebration but rather to expose the duplicity inherent in the Galatians 4:11 stance for not honoring the Lord's appointed feast days while proceeding to devise our own. Again, Paul's reference here is concerning pagan holidays and not the God ordained memorial days, which the same writer had encouraged the Church to "therefore keep" (1 Corinthians. 5:7-8).
Here is another example of faulty interpretation of scripture concerning special days.
"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:" (Colossians 2:16)
This is not an indictment against feast day celebrations but a caution about judgmental attitudes. One would be hard pressed to find anyone who practices this as is commonly interpreted. The truth is, there are on-going judgmental attitudes manifested in the church about meats, drinks, holydays and Sabbath observance. Those who don't observe such things tend to reflect on those who do as "legalists" (strict adherents to the Law). Those who observe them quite often view those who don't as unrighteous or at best, second-class citizens of the Kingdom. Simply stated, "those who do judge those who don't and those who don't judge those who do" and on it goes. Yet the Christ-like attitude is "Judge not" (Mt. 7:1). The Apostle Paul gives similar advice to the church in Rome.
"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. ...But why dost thou judge thy brother?" (Romans 14:5, 6, 10)
No one's righteousness should be judged on the basis of these issues, any more than one should be judged as to whether or not he is a Christian on the basis of his church attendance. Righteousness is simply not of works. If one is "persuaded" that celebrating feast days enhances his worship of God, he should not be judged for it. All judgment of men's hearts is best left in the hands of God.
There is a third judgmental group who are selective in their interpretation of some aspects of Col. 2: 16. They arbitrarily select the particular things they are for or against and proceed to categorize them as a do or don't. For example: some who would extend liberty for one to eat any and all kinds of meats might well be the first to place restrictions on what is acceptable to drink, then proceed to preach and teach that judgment. In our zeal for righteousness we must guard against the possible distortion of scripture. Paul is simply trying to avoid the pharisaical attitudes of judgment and nothing more.
A MATTER OF WORSHIP
Now, let us establish some proper motivational factors. Out celebration of the Biblical memorial days are not a matter of salvation or acceptance before God. Therefore our motive in celebration should be as God originally intended; remembrance and honor for what He has done. God said his feasts were to be celebrated "forever" (Ex. 12:14, Lev. 23:21, Lev. 23:41). If God never changes, and we have His word on that He does not (Mal. 3:6), it is obvious that He still desires to be worshiped in this manner. The feast days retain a deep abiding meaning for the Christian since their fullness (not termination) is found in Jesus the Messiah. It is safe to say that the Christian has as much reason for celebrating these festivals as does the Jew and perhaps more (1 Corinthians. 5:8). The feast days contain more divine information, spiritual lessons and prophetic reflections than perhaps any subject of scripture. Subsequently, It is through our deliberate recognition and celebration of them that the riches of truth contained in them is released for our understanding.
The things that are done to celebrate these days are not so important as the acknowledgement of the day itself. We need not be concerned with ancient ritualism from which we were liberated in Christ (Heb. 9:10) but focus on the basic principle of their prophetic and spiritual meaning as is revealed under the New Covenant. Since it is not a matter of salvation but one of worship, there is liberty and flexibility in what we can do as a remembrance practice. The spirit of praise and worship simply demands the recognition of the Biblical feast days. No other conclusion can be drawn.
The question before us is; should Christians celebrate the feast days? Clearly we should. Why? Because they are Biblical, Christ-centered and God ordained. While feast celebrations may not be essential to salvation, they are certainly essential for a more perfect worship order in the church. Reason simply dictates this conclusion.
REMEMBER
Feast days are not Jewish in an ethnic sense or Christian in a religious sense but they are divine in a Biblical sense and therefore eternal and universal.
THEREFORE, LET US ALSO KEEP THE FEAST!
by: Robert Somerville ~ awarenessministry.org
*** :bouncy:...Have a GOD HolySpirit Filled & Blessed Memorial Day weekend Yall�xo
I wasn't aware some were not celebrating passover?? All my Jewish friends do.
****The preference has been to continue the honoring of such traditional holidays as Christmas, Easter and All Saints Day (Holy Evening or Halloween) etc. Interestingly, these are calendar days for which there is no biblical support even though the events so honored may be biblical.
Jesus' Birth and Resurrection should be celebrated even though there are no dates for those in the Bible they did in fact happen. However I think Christians celebrate, Praise, Pray to God for their Salvation everyday.
:waving: KHW...you shared ~ I wasn't aware some were not celebrating passover?? All my Jewish friends do.
*** This article isn't refering to Jews not celebrating the Passover or the Feasts of he LORD...it is refering to "Christians" replacing or substituting the LORDs HOLYdays & Feasts with man made holidays...just wanted to clarify that for you and others that might read...xo
Godsjude ***For even Christ our PASSOVER is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast" (I Cor. 5:7-8)
Where does this say Passover? My Bible doesn�t say that?
6 Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Corth 6-8
Godsjude****Nearly thirty years after the death of Jesus (a time when many believe the importance of these celebrations had ceased) the Apostle Paul is still highly motivated with Christian zeal to return to Jerusalem and celebrate the day of PENTECOST.
IT doesn�t say Paull went to celebrate Pentecost?
6For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; he was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
Christians don�t celebrate Passover because that was before Christ who was the Lamb slain for our deliverance from death not a earthly animal. Jesus is our reason to celebrate that is why we celebrate Christmas the day he was born and Easter His Ressurection.
Shalom kind hearted woman: you should read this. here is the origin of your ishtar feast, please hear my words in love, my FATHER is calling out HIS people, HE is saying come out of her MY people, so come out now sister, stop the pagan traditions and open your heart to the truth, i am sorry if it seems like i am being mean, i truly do not wish to be mean. you are a sister of mine and i love you i care for you and pray that you will hear the VOICE of YEHOVAH in this post. don't just read it thinking the whole time what you are going to say to argue, read it and then pray before you respond, i probably won't read it anyway , i stopped with this type of outreach. it is pointless most of the time, but tonight i was lead here for a reason and that reason is you, it must be you. i love you sweet sister. let your path be the LIGHT that is YESHUA and may the FACE of YEHOVAH shine on you all your days, may YEHOVAH be with you and keep you
Thus says YEHOVAH, "Don't learn the way of the nations, and don't be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them.
KJV Jeremiah 10:2-5
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a TREE out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4They deck it with SILVER and with GOLD (SOUND FAMILIAR LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE???); they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
Deuteronomy
When thou art coming in unto the land which YEHOVAH thy God is giving to thee, thou dost not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations: Deuteronomy18:9
sister the Feast are to for you to rehearse what YESHUA did and to see the prophecy revealed. these Feast are important.
Zechariyah 14 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. this Feast is Sukkot. it is translated as Tabernacles, this one of those Feast that most christians think they do not need to keep or know and as you can see in the end all will keep them or they will have no rain? what does that mean? i think it means we keep them still today as they are forever
Origins of ishtar feast, do not learn their ways and do it to YEHOVAH
Easter is a day that is honered by nearly all of contemporary Christianity and is used to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The holiday often involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an "Easter Ham", decorated eggs and stories about rabbits.
Those who love truth learn to ask questions, and many questions must be asked regarding the holiday of Easter.
Is it truly the day when Jesus arose from the dead? Where did all of the strange customs come from, which have nothing to do with the resurrection of our Saviour?
The purpose of this tract is to help answer those questions, and to help those who seek truth to draw their own conclusions.
The first thing we must understand is that professing Christians were not the only ones who celebrated a festival called "Easter."
"Ishtar", which is pronounced "Easter" was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz", who was believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god.
In those ancient times, there was a man named Nimrod, who was the grandson of one of Noah's son named Ham.
Ham had a son named Cush who married a woman named Semiramis.Cush and Semiramis then had a son named him "Nimrod."
After the death of his father, Nimrod married his own mother and became a powerful King.
The Bible tells of of this man, Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10 as follows: "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad,and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."
Nimrod became a god-man to the people and Semiramis, his wife and mother, became the powerful Queen of ancient Babylon.
Nimrod was eventually killed by an enemy, and his body was cut in pieces and sent to various parts of his kingdom.
Semiramis had all of the parts gathered, except for one part that could not be found.
That missing part was his reproductive organ. Semiramis claimed that Nimrod could not come back to life without it and told the people of Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the sun and was now to be called "Baal", the sun god.
Queen Semiramis also proclaimed that Baal would be present on earth in the form of a flame, whether candle or lamp, when used in worship.
Semiramis was creating a mystery religion, and with the help of Satan, she set herself up as a goddess.
Semiramis claimed that she was immaculately conceived.
She taught that the moon was a goddess that went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full.
She further claimed that she came down from the moon in a giant moon egg that fell into the Euphrates River.
This was to have happened at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox.
Semiramis became known as "Ishtar" which is pronounced "Easter", and her moon egg became known as "Ishtar's" egg."
Ishtar soon became pregnant and claimed that it was the rays of the sun-god Baal that caused her to conceive.
The son that she brought forth was named Tammuz.
Tammuz was noted to be especially fond of rabbits, and they became sacred in the ancient religion, because Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like his supposed father, became a hunter.
The day came when Tammuz was killed by a wild pig.
Queen Ishtar told the people that Tammuz was now ascended to his father, Baal, and that the two of them would be with the worshippers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as Father, Son and Spirit.
Ishtar, who was now worshipped as the "Mother of God and Queen of Heaven", continued to build her mystery religion.
The queen told the worshippers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree, and the stump grew into a full new tree overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz.
She also proclaimed a forty day period of time of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the death of Tammuz.
During this time, no meat was to be eaten.
Worshippers were to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the sign of the "T" in front of their hearts as they worshipped.
They also ate sacred cakes with the marking of a "T" or cross on the top.
Every year, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration was made.
It was Ishtar's Sunday and was celebrated with rabbits and eggs.
Ishtar also proclaimed that because Tammuz was killed by a pig, that a pig must be eaten on that Sunday.
By now, the readers of this tract should have made the connection that paganism has infiltrated the contemporary "Christian" churches, and further study indicates that this paganism came in by way of the Roman Catholic System.
The truth is that Easter has nothing whatsoever to do with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We also know that Easter can be as much as three weeks away from the Passover, because the pagan holiday is always set as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.
Some have wondered why the word "Easter" is in the the King James Bible.
It is because Acts, chapter 12, tells us that it was the evil King Herod, who was planning to celebrate Easter, and not the Christians.
The true Passover and pagan Easter sometimes coincide, but in some years, they are a great distance apart.
So much more could be said, and we have much more information for you, if you are a seeker of the truth.
We know that the Bible tells us in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
The truth is that the forty days of Lent, eggs, rabbits,hot cross buns and the Easter ham have everything to do with the ancient pagan religion of Mystery Babylon.These are all antichrist activities!
Satan is a master deceiver, and has filled the lives of well-meaning, professing Christians with idolatry.
These things bring the wrath of God upon children of disobedience, who try to make pagan customs of Baal worship Christian.
You must answer for your activities and for what you teach your children.
These customs of Easter honor Baal, who is also Satan, and is still worshipped as the "Rising Sun" and his house is the "House of the Rising Sun."
How many churches have "sunrise services" on Ishtar's day and face the rising sun in the East?
How many will use colored eggs and rabbit stories, as they did in ancient Babylon.
These things are no joke, any more than Judgement day is a joke.
I pray to God that this tract will cause you to search for more truth.
We will be glad to help you by providing more information and by praying for you.
These are the last days, and it is time to repent, come out and be separate.
David J. Meyer
i love you
thank you Jude you are amazing i was glad to see such knowledge in your post, you are still fighting the good fight and May YEHOVAH be with you sister and May HIS FACE look upon you all your days, May the peace of YESHUA be with you , i love you all goodnight
I have never had so many � I Love Yous� !!! I love you too brother in Christ!!:glow:
I do know the Pagan meanings for Easter. I have read books on Easter Celebrations. However I don�t believe in those meanings. I celebrate Easter for the Resurrection of Christ!  My teens have learned that also and they know why we celebrate it. This year we started saying Happy Resurrection Day!! Our focus has always been Christ. We do however color Easter eggs and have a ham dinner. I grew up with those traditions but I also knew we weren�t celebrating for the Easter Bunny. Those things are fun for the kids. That is the extent of that though. We attend a church service, rejoice, pray, worship God and then do some fun activities. This year my teens made stained glass crosses.
Christmas-
We celebrate Christmas for the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Prophet Jeremiah condemned as Pagan the ancient Middle Eastern practice of cutting down trees, bringing them into the home and decorating them. Of course, these were not really Christmas trees, because Jesus was not born until centuries later, and the use of Christmas trees was not introduced for many centuries after his birth.
I put up a Christmas Tree with a star on top and next to it a Manager. We have lots of good food and gifts to Celebrate. I do however think everyday is important in the life that God has given us.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. (10) And the angel said to them, �Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.� Luke 2:9-12
Like I said I put a star on top of the tree symbolizing the Northern star that lead the Kingsmen to the baby Jesus.
We also Celebrate �Little Christmas� Little Christmas in Italy and elsewhere is January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men showed up in Bethlehem with their gifts.
9) After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. (10) When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. (11) And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:9-11
We used to sing Christmas songs in public school when I was young. Oh how I miss those days.
