The Holy Days & The Church
By Pastor F. M. Riley
Dear __________,
I too agree that the Jewish Holy Days are
extremely important, for they foreshadow and outline prophetic events of great
importance to God’s people. However, I do
not agree with most prophecy teachers that Christ only fulfilled the Spring
holy days.
The truth is, the Scriptures themselves
plainly teach that Christ fulfilled every one of the Jewish Holy Days. It is believed by many of God’s people that
the Lord Jesus Christ was conceived in the womb of Mary on Hanukkah, which
occurred on or near December 25th that year. Hanukkah is the Jewish “Feast of
Lights.” The Lord Jesus Christ is “the
true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” John
1:8. Christmas of course, is the
day the pagans observed as “the birth of the new Sun god,” which would bring
light into the world throughout the new year.
The parallel appears to be more than just coincidence.
Then Christ is believed by many to have
actually been born the following Rosh Ha-Shanah, the 1st day of the
year on the Jewish civil calendar [1st
day of the 7th month on the sacred calendar], and the
Jewish Holy Day on which there was to be “a memorial of blowing of trumpets,”
Leviticus 23:24. We know that
the day He was born the angels of God broke forth into singing [Luke
2:8-14], and the very heavens pronounced His birth by a “star
in the east,” Matthew 2:2. How
very fitting that His birth should then occur on Rosh Ha-Shanah.
I will not debate these dates with anyone,
for it is obvious that the Lord did not want His people to celebrate His birth,
but rather His death. It was His death
that was important. Getting all
emotional about “the babe in the manger” is an exercise in futility. We are not saved by the “babe in the
manger.” We are saved by the shed blood
of the crucified and risen Christ. This
is why the Lord gave to His people the Lord’s Supper; “For as often as ye eat this
bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come,” 1
Corinthians 11:26.
It is also obvious that He fulfilled the
Day of Atonement following Rosh Ha-Shanah, for it cannot be denied that He is
our High Priest who entered into “the holiest of all” and made
atonement for us with His own precious blood.
This is clearly stated in the Book of Hebrews.
The Lord also fulfilled the Feast of
Tabernacles, for the Scriptures are quite plain that He came down from Heaven
and “tabernacled” with men for 33 years, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father,) full of grace and truth,” John 1:14.
Now folks, there is all three (four including Hanukkah) of the Fall
holy days fulfilled by the Lord. It is
also quite clear in the Scriptures that the Lord has already fulfilled all of
the Spring holy days; Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost. There are no more Jewish Holy Days for the
Lord Himself to fulfill. He fulfilled
them all.
Does this leave some of you in a “hard”
place? Well let’s see if God’s Word can
help. What many of God’s people have
overlooked is that unbelieving Israel and the Jewish people
have to fulfill these Jewish Holy Days.
Who says so? God’s Word says
so! It is explicitly stated in Jeremiah
5:24, “Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that
giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks
of the harvest.” Folks,
Christ has already fulfilled the Jewish Holy Days, but in order to turn the
heart of the Jewish people back to Him, He is going to make them fulfill these
holy days.
It is unbelieving Israel, dear people, who fulfilled Passover when
they crucified the Lamb of God on Calvary’s
old rugged cross. They fulfilled the
Feast of Unleavened Bread the week following the crucifixion of Christ, when
they continued to feed their “religious nature” on literal unleavened bread,
having rejected the true “bread of life” that “
came down from heaven,” John 6:32-35;48-51; 58.
They fulfilled the “firstfruits” offering when one of
their priests stood before a wide open
veil and waved the “omer” of barley before the Lord on “the
morrow after the sabbath” following the Passover on which Christ was
crucified.
And on the Feast of Pentecost as recorded
in Acts
2, they were given one last opportunity to nationally receive Christ as
their Messiah and Savior. But even
though 3,000 of them turned to the Lord on that Pentecost, the nation of Israel and the masses of Jewish people assembled
in Jerusalem
that day rejected the Lord. Therefore unbelieving
Israel
and the Jewish people still have to fulfill the Feast of Pentecost and the
three Fall holy days. Pentecost marked the
end of the barley harvest, and the beginning of the wheat
harvest. In Hosea 6:11 it is
explicitly stated, “Also, O Judah,
He hath set a harvest for thee,
when I returned the captivity of My people.”
Folks, Israel’s
“captivity” was returned in 1948 when they became a nation again. They are still facing the “harvest”
prophesied in Hosea 6:11, and it is coming very
soon. I am emphasizing this point,
because the fulfillment of this prophecy is going to resume on the Day of
Pentecost, whether some want to believe it or not. Proof of this statement is only 33 days
away.
Sister, I also do not believe that
the Lord’s church was “born” at Pentecost.
The Lord Himself set up the entire structural organization of His church
during the three years of His personal ministry. What some of God’s people miss is the “legal aspect” of what the Lord
was, and is, doing in the establishment of His church. God’s people need to remember that Almighty
God is first the God of “judgment and justice.” This is stated many times in the
Scriptures. He is the One who
established the laws by which the whole universe functions and is governed.
Old Testament [covenant] Israel as an organized entity operating under the Law had
totally failed to reveal the glory of God to the whole world as the Lord
commissioned them to do way back at the time of the exodus, Exodus
19:5-6; Deuteronomy 26:18-19. So
during the three years of the Lord’s personal ministry, He set up the
structural organization of a new entity, choosing those that He would have to
serve in His new organization [His church],
bringing them forth out of the old organization. Folks, we see such “legal” changes taking
place in the business world around us every day. Why then is it so hard to understand the
“legal” process of the Lord establishing His church?
At the end of the Lord’s personal ministry,
the entire structural organization of the Lord’s church was in place, including
the “board of directors” [the Apostles],
and the number of “share holders” [the
120] needed. The Lord’s church was
ready to take up the very same commission the Lord had given to Israel many
centuries previously. But even though,
the structural organization was there, they did not yet have “legal authority”
to take on the business of representing Almighty God on earth. Therefore the Lord told them, “And,
behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued
with power [dunamis…legal
power and authority] from on high,” Luke 24:49. But on the Day of Pentecost ten days after the
Lord has ascended back to the Father [the
CEO at Universal Headquarters] the “legal authority” came down from Heaven
for the Lord’s church to become the “legal” representative of Almighty God upon
the earth before all of mankind.
Previously that “legal” authority had been in custody of Israel. On the day of Pentecost it was transferred to
the Lord’s church, and the church began to exercise that authority that very
day.
Now whether some like to be reminded of it
or not, there was only a “remnant” of ancient Israel and the Jewish people who
truly sought to fulfill the commission given to them by the Lord. Israel, as an entity, because of
their unbelief, utterly failed to properly represent the Lord on earth, and
to fulfill their commission. But such is
also true of the churches and people today.
Today we see “Christianity” as an entity being swept by the wicked
spirit of unbelief. There is only a
“remnant” of the Lord’s churches and people today who are truly seeking to
fulfill the commission given to them by the Lord. The “church” is just as much a failure at
taking care “of the Lord’s business” among men, as was ancient [and modern] Israel. Folks, this is exactly why
the Lord referred to Himself as “the faithful and true witness” in
the letter He wrote to the apostate Laodicean church. The Laodicean church represents the very
“church period” we are living in today.
But
carefully notice on which Jewish Holy Day the Lord chose to transfer
“the Family business” [the business of the Godhead] from one
entity to another. This day is swiftly
approaching again, and whether some want to believe it or not, another transfer
is going to occur. I say again to you, the
proof of it is only 33 days away.
God bless you dear sister. I’ll see you soon in glory.
<<<<<<<
0
>>>>>>>
Last Call Gospel Ministry
Pastor F. M. Riley
3900 Clark Lane Lot 178
Columbia, Missouri
65202
Email: fmrglbd5@yahoo.com
<<<<<<<
0
>>>>>>>