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WHICH CAME FIRST - RITUAL OR the day?

Fred Coulter - August 7, 1999

Now I have this letter sent to me from a man out of the country, and he is a Sabbath-keeper.  Now let me just read you the letter and put a couple things here.  He says, I won’t read the whole thing.

He says, “I’m almost overwhelmed by the quantity of the material you have sent me, and my duties in my church group as well as my personal activities have not allowed me to fully analyze all the material sent.  There is much that can be of benefit to me, and only last Friday I received the video cassettes about the Jesuit Agenda and Seventh-day Adventist church.”

Now if you haven’t received those you need to be sure and receive them, because it’s going to be profound if you do.

“I must thank you for all that you have sent so far and also urge you to have me on your mailing list.  I am not one who is aligned to a person but I do seek to claim to what is true.  And even in the church group in which I fellowship that is well known.  I am therefore enlightened by your revelation of the problems that existed long ago in Worldwide Church of God, and Church of God International, and I’m not offended by any criticism of anyone as long as it is just.  As I said before…” And he gives the name of the church that he is with.  “…We have doctrines similar to the Church of God 7^th Day but still there are vast differences.  I was once in a discussion with CGI brethren about tithes and feast days, and we could not be convinced that these were for the New Covenant.  Can you provide a presentation on these topics?”  Well, I just did one on tithing here recently - “To Tithe or Not To Tithe”.

“So I will do this…”, he says, “…I hope to address some of the differences that may exist in what we both believe at a later date.  Keep seeking after God’s truth and always be open to correction.”  Well, that has to be that we’re always open to correction to God.

Now, let me just state here something that’s very, very important.  That, what a person believes of and by himself separate from the word of God is really not relevant.  Or when a person may believe by an improper interpretation of the scriptures is not truth though the scriptures have been used.

Now, let’s go to 2 Corinthians 4, because there are a lot of people out there who can use the scriptures.  A lot of them use them carnally.  I mean, Sunday-keepers.  Now these people here keep the Sabbath, so I can say that you have it halfway right.  But if you think you have everything when you have half of it then you need to really expand your thinking beyond it.

Now I’m also dealing with some Seventh-day Adventists, and they are the same way.  They say, well after being discouraged with the Seventh-day Adventist church they use the same excuse that came out of Worldwide.  “Well, Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath for me.  Therefore every day is holy to me.  And the only difference about Sabbath anymore to me is that I don’t work on it.”  Well pretty soon that will be gone.  Because that’s just how Satan works.  He likes to get you into things where they are not handled by truth, and they’re not handled properly, and what he does then he gets you into discussion and concern about it and then he misinterprets the scriptures.  Now we’ll look at some of those.

Here, 2 Corinthians 4:1.  “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty…” Now that’s a very important thing to do because the human heart is desperately wicked above all things, who can know it?  So you have to renounce that.  “…Not walking in craftiness…” Now walking in craftiness means walking with a hidden agenda that other people don’t know that you will craftily spring on them at a later date.  “…Nor handling the word of God deceitfully…” That is by taking the word of God and applying it to things which are not true or to things which are not true and saying they are true.  “…But by manifestation of the truth [comparing] commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ Who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Cor. 4:1-4).

So any part of the gospel that you have hidden from you or blinded from you, then you need to understand that it falls into several categories here.

1.     You’ve misinterpreted the word of God.

2.     You’ve blinded your eyes to it.

3.     It may be a tradition.

4.     Satan has blinded your mind to that part of it, because Satan is trying to get all those who truly have the Spirit of God and are Christians to give up on something somewhere along the line because he knows that a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

Now, let’s also understand something here.  Let’s come to Matthew 7, and this is profound.  Some of these scriptures are very basic because this is a very basic topic.  As a matter of fact, so basic that I have not given a sermon on proving keeping the holy days in years, and years, and years, and years because I’m basically dealing with all of those who keep the holy days.  But now when we come into contact with people who do not keep the holy days nor understand the holy days then we do need to go back and we need to reconfirm the truth as to why we do it, and so forth.  But I’m going to approach this a little bit differently.

Here, Matthew 7.  Let’s understand this.  Now we’ve applied this to false prophets, haven’t we?  Cause Matthew 7 talks about false prophets.  And there can be a prophet who is a half-false prophet by preaching half-truth.  So you need to understand that too.

Verse 21, “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that [is doing] doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).  That is the key.  Are you doing the will of the Father?  And was it the Father’s will that Christ created the Sabbath?  Was it the Father’s will that Christ gave the holy days to the children of Israel?  Was it the Father’s will in these things?  Now, was it the Father’s will that what Christ did and what He observed part of what God wanted?  Yes, absolutely.  So if you are not doing the will of the Father, which is in heaven, though you use the name of the Lord, though you may belong to a church, though you may have a group which really is a group that you really like, you see.

“Many will say to Me in that day; Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name?”  Now that means “preached in Your name”.  And I’ve heard some stinging sermons against the holy days.  And there are very tremendous errors in their way of thinking.  We’ll cover that a little later.  “And in Thy name have [we not] cast out [demons] devils?  And in Thy name done many wonderful works?”  So you see you can have part of the fruits there.  You can have some of the things that look like they come from God.  You can have some of the truth of God, but unless you have the whole truth of God and you are willing to live by all the truth of God, and if when you come to understand the truth of God, which you have previously not understood, you’re willing to keep it.  If you’re not doing those things then you’re going to end up in this category, verse 23.  “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity [or lawlessness].”  Now that means being against law.

So since the holy days are part of the law of God you need to make yourself very sure that you are not against the law of God as respecting the holy days.  Because you see the only thing you have different then, other than the Sabbath, you have nothing different than the Protestants.  So you might as well put yourself in the same category of the Protestants if the only thing you do is keep the Sabbath.  Now if that offends some people well then you might take your offense to God and find out from His word what you need to do.

Now we have to keep the will of God.  Now this is the attitude that we need, Psalm 143.  Let’s go back there.  The will of God is contained in His word.  And the will of God is here for us that we are to keep.  And we are going to see that it is the will of God that we keep the feasts of God, and as a matter of fact we are going to see that the apostle Paul no doubt, no question what so ever, absolutely commands the keeping of the feast.

Psalm 143:10, “Teach me to do Thy will…” So God is the One Who is going to have to teach you from His word and with His Spirit.  “…For Thou art my God: Thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.”  And that is to be righteous before God.

Now here is a New Testament expression of that very same Psalm.  Let’s come to Romans 12.  This is important for us to realize.  Because the will of God is what we’re all going to be held accountable for, right?  Didn’t Jesus say that?  Didn’t Jesus say to those who were not doing the will of the Father in heaven above, that they were going to be cast into outer darkness?  Yes, He did.  And believe me, after the experience in the lake of fire it will be outer darkness.  There will be nothing left.

Now here, Romans 12:1.  “I beseech you therefore, brethren…” So Paul here is sincerely asking the brethren, “…by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your [spiritual] reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2).  And so that’s what we have to do.  That’s why the holy day issue becomes very important.  So as we go through this ask yourself, “Am I keeping all the will of God?”

Now let’s notice here, very important.  It says “prove”, see.  Renewing of your minds.  You are to use your mind.  Rightly divide the word of God, as Paul told Timothy.  Rightly divide it, see, not handle it improperly.  “That you may prove…” Now how do you prove something?  You prove something by the facts.  God is fact.  His law is fact.  His word is fact as well as truth.  Now what’s important here is this.  You don’t go on what you feel.  You don’t go on what you personally believe, because a lot of personal beliefs then become idols before God.  They are idols in your mind.  So you have to prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  How?  As defined by His word.  That’s how you do it.  You don’t prove it by an emotion or a feeling.  See, God’s word is here.  You have the whole thing.  It’s impartial.  The problems come when people interpret things.  And the problems come when they interpret them incorrectly.

So let’s go here and look at some of these things and see how these are handled and what is done.  Now let’s go to Luke 16, and let’s see one of the scriptures which has been misinterpreted almost universally by the Catholics, by the Protestants, and by some in the Churches of God.  In particularly the Sabbath-keeping non-holy day keeping Churches of God, which also then includes the Seventh-day Adventists.

Luke 16:13.  This becomes very important for us to understand.  “No servant can serve two masters [that’s true]: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”  Meaning that there is only one way to serve God, and that is through His word and through His truth, and with His Spirit.  “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided Him.  And He said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men…” And that’s exactly what happens with all of these false doctrines.  They justify themselves before men.  “…But God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:13-15).  Now that can apply to all the religions of men.  They’re very highly esteemed, aren’t they?  Yes.

Now here is the verse that He’s leading up to here.  And this is something that almost everyone universally does not understand.  “The law and the prophets were until John…” Therefore from the time of John the Baptist the laws of God have been done away.  That is the conclusion.  Let’s read the whole thing and see what it says.  “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man [is] pressing into it” (vs. 16).  Showing that to enter the Kingdom of God is a difficult situation.

With the Kingdom of God being preached, does that do away of the laws and commandments of God including the holy days?  What does it mean “the law and the prophets were until John”?  Now there’s also another misconception that people are under, which is this: is that Jesus was under the Old Covenant.  Not true.  Jesus was under a special covenant between Him and God the Father so He could establish the New Covenant.  The New Covenant is the Kingdom of God.  The law and the prophets were the authority for preaching up to that time.  Now then, Christ comes and the Kingdom of God is preached.  But notice He wants to make it very clear concerning the laws of God.  He wants you to understand that the laws and commandments of God have not been done away because there is a different emphasis in preaching.  Verse 17, “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.”

Now let’s look at another scripture.  Let’s come to Matthew 5:17.  Now especially for those who are Sabbath-keepers, you believe in the commandments of God.  You believe in the Ten Commandments, and you’ve probably read this scripture.  Well you have to apply it correctly to all the rest of the scripture as well.  So let’s read it here.

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets…” Now that means don’t let it enter into your mind.  Don’t even think this thought.  Now destroy means abolish, or do away.  “…I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”  Now here’s where the other miscommunication and twisting of the scripture comes, which is this: If Christ fulfils it then we don’t have to do it.   Which is where people get into the false doctrine of saying, “Well, Christ fulfilled the Sabbath for me, therefore I don’t have to keep it.”  Or, “Christ fulfilled the holy days, therefore I don’t have to keep them.”  Or, “Christ fulfilled you shall do no murder, therefore I can murder.”  Or, “Christ fulfilled, do not commit adultery, therefore it’s alright to commit adultery.”  See.  No, because then you have abolished the law.  Let’s find out what Jesus fulfilled, and let’s find out what is yet to be fulfilled, or is still being fulfilled.

Now notice again, verse 18.  “For verily [that means truly], 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.”  That means everything be fulfilled.  And then of course when that is fulfilled then if you read Revelation 21 and 22 then you have a new beginning with other things which are going to be fulfilling to a greater degree than the ones we’ve had in the past.

Now, let’s come to the book of Hebrews and see, first of all, what did Jesus fulfill, because I know that the doctrine of not keeping the holy days for those who keep the Sabbath is that, the holy days were part of the ritual.  Well we will see Jesus did away with the ritual, but did He do away with the days?

Now let’s come here to Hebrews 9 and let’s see what it is that Christ did.  Verse 11, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this [physical] building.”  And Paul was referring to the physical building of the temple in Jerusalem at the time.  “Neither by the blood of bulls and of goats, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:11-12).

Now let’s come all the way down here to verse 28.  “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”  Now then Paul goes on to explain what Christ did with His sacrifice to fulfill.  And when He fulfilled it, we will see, that He added to it a greater sacrifice, that is being His sacrifice.  So we’re going to find that He fulfilled the animal sacrifice and the temple ritual for a special purpose.

Hebrews 10:1, “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrificed which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.”  It is the goal of God to have everything perfected.  These animal sacrifices could not do it.  “For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the [offerers] worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins.  But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Heb. 10:1-4).  Because that’s a lesser being than a human being.  How can a goat atone for a human sin?  How can a bull atone for human sin?  No, those things were just to cover them at the temple so they could continue functioning under the Old Covenant.

“Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me.”  Now that’s referring to Christ.  “In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure.  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God” (vs. 5-7).  God’s will in the proper worship of God, the proper forgiveness of sin before God is what He’s talking about here.  Ties right in with what we talked about, the will of God.

“Above when He said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law” (vs. 8).  But is that the whole law?  Let me ask you this question: do the animal sacrifices constitute the whole law of God, or are they part of the law of God, as we find in the Old Testament?  No, the animal sacrifices were a small part of the law of God.  And we’re going to see that when we get into it.

“Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.  He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second” (vs. 9).  The first covenant with the second covenant.  But understand this: the covenant does not do away with law.  The covenant is your relationship with God.  And in every covenant there are always laws.

“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:  But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” (vs. 10-12).  What are we talking about here?  We’re not talking about doing away law, we are talking about doing away with sin.  The way to do away with sin, and the way to worship God is what has been changed.

Now, stop and think of this: what is sin?  New Testament doctrine.  Sin is the transgression of the law, see.  So the New Covenant is how to do away with sin, and your relationship with God.  So Jesus’ one sacrifice fulfilled all the animal sacrifices and all the temple ritual, and replaced it with His sacrifice and with the temple in heaven above.  So it was done away with only in respect to that it was obsolete and not effective and never could do away with sin and now we have a new way of worshipping God under the New Covenant.  So far having nothing to do with the Sabbath.  Having nothing to do with the holy days.  Let’s continue on.

“For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.  Whereof the Holy [Spirit] Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that He had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, said the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them” (vs. 14-16).  Now that is the exact opposite of doing away with anything.  That is the exact opposite of fulfilling them for you as a person.

“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”  Whereas the animal sacrifices were what?  There’s a remembrance of sin every year, correct?  Yes.  “Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin [of animals and other rituals].”  Because the one offering for sin was Christ.  “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, His flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)” (vs. 17-23).  So what we have here is a whole new way of worship.  A new temple in heaven above.  A new high priest Who is Christ, Who is at the temple in heaven above at the right hand throne of God, which is superior to the earthly temple, superior to the earthly priesthood, superior to the earthy sacrifices of the goats and the bulls and the turtledoves and so forth.

So that is what has been changed.  And it has been changed with the fulfillment of those things by Christ.  Now, Jesus said until everything be fulfilled.  So far the only thing that has been fulfilled is the replacing of the temporary animal sacrifices, and the temporary temple tabernacle on earth with the permanent eternal one in heaven.  So whenever any thing has been done away, it is replaced with something of a higher standard.  And you can understand that when you read Matthew 5, 6, and 7 where Jesus said, “You’ve heard it said of old time, but I say to you…, You’ve heard it said of old time, but I say to you…”  So whenever He brought the fulfillment of the law He gave it a higher standard.  He didn’t do away with anything.  Christ came to do away with sin.

Now, let’s ask another question.  Let’s come back to Genesis 2.  And I know those of you who believe in the weekly Sabbath turn here all the time to prove that Sabbath was a day which was created.  So what I want to do is ask the question: which came first, the day by creation or the ritual of animal sacrifice?  The day came first.  No doubt, see.  The slight of hand, the deceitful handling of the scriptures is when you claim that the ritual sacrifices and the ritual temple things done at the temple, when those were done away with they also did away with the Sabbath and did away with the holy days.  That’s where the slight of hand comes in.  So therefore we have to ask the question: which came first?  Now we’re not talking about evolution the chicken or the egg.  We’re talking about which came first, the creation of the day or the sacrifices?  The answer obviously is the creation of the day.

Now let’s pick it up here in Genesis 2:1.  “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day…” That means just as the sixth day ended and the seventh day was beginning.  “…God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work with 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” (Gen. 2:1-3).   So we know that God made the seventh day.  He sanctified the seventh day.  We all understand that.  But is that all that God made?

Let’s come over here to Genesis 1:14.  The truth is God created all days, right?  But He especially made the seventh day of every week the Sabbath, correct?  Now, let’s understand something else that He did here.  “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.”  Now how do we govern the weekly Sabbath?  From sunset to sunset, correct, don’t we?  Yes.  But God also created seasons, didn’t He?  Yes, He did.  Let’s come along here.  Let’s ask a couple of other things.

Let’s come to Genesis 15.  Now you’ll have to write for the tapes concerning the covenants of God with Abraham, and we’ll send them to you, because long before the Old Covenant was ever given, Genesis 15, the covenant was given to Abraham.  Now we do not have the time to go through the technical explanation of it, so I will just tell you.

Let’s pick it up here in verse 4.  “And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir [that is Eliezer of Damascus]; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.  And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be.  And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:4-6).  This was given on the 14^th day of the first month at night, the same day in which the Passover, if you believe in the Sabbath and Passover.  So we have the day first.  Then the significance of the day.  Then the next day, in which He made the covenant to take the children of Israel out of Egypt, was the 15^th, which became the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Now let’s see that by going to Exodus 12.  Let’s ask the question: which came first - the day or the sacrifice?  We will see the day came first.  The sacrifice came as later instruction.

Now here’s the instruction that they were to do concerning the lamb.  Exodus 12:5, “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month…” So the day came first, correct?  He designated the day first.  “…And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening” (Ex. 12:5-6).  Now I’m not going to go through any technical explanation on it except to say that this is after sunset between sunset and dark.

So God named the day, the 14^th, verse 11 last sentence.  “…It is the LORD’S passover.”  Now I assume that most of you keep the Passover.  But you see if you keep the Passover and you don’t keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread then you’re cutting something off.  You’re not following through on the commands of God.  You are throwing the commands of observation, which God has commanded to be holy days, you are throwing that into the same category as the animal sacrifices.  And they were never in the same category.

Now He says, verse 13, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, which I smite the land of Egypt.  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and he shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever” (vs. 13-14).  So the day was chosen first.  The sacrifice was put on the day, and God says you are to keep the day forever.  Later when Christ came when was He sacrificed?  He was sacrificed on the 14^th day and now that becomes the sacrifice which replaces the lamb which the Israelites killed.  Christ is the Lamb of God.  And it’s on the 14^th day, that’s why the Passover day is to be kept.

Now notice here verse 15, speaking of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  This becomes very important because again we are going to see that the day was there before the offering.  “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall [have] put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day unto the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.  And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation…” Now that is the same weight and force of command as in Genesis 2 of blessing the Sabbath day.  Holy convocation.  “…And in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever” (vs. 15-17).  So the day came first.

Now, let’s come to Exodus 20.  Here’s where the giving of the Ten Commandments was.  But in the chapter preceding it we have a special event which took place.  The preparing for the giving of the Ten Commandments.  Now you can write in for the tape concerning the Ten Commandments were given on the day of Pentecost.  So the day came first.  Now the trick is this: if you believe in the Ten Commandments, which you do, then why do you not celebrate or keep or observe rather, the Feast of Pentecost on which the Ten Commandments were given before any animal sacrifices were offered, you see.  You need to understand that.  That’s a question you need to ask.

Now, let’s come to Leviticus 23.  And Leviticus 23 is the chapter in the whole Bible where all the holy days are listed.  Now again we’ve established:

1.     The Sabbath day was before any sacrifice.

2.     The Passover day was established before any sacrifice.

3.     The first and last day of Unleavened Bread were established before any sacrifice.

4.     The day of Pentecost was established before any sacrifice.

And those are holy convocations.  Now let’s read it here.

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD…” Now I want to make this very clear.  They are not, never have been, never will be the feasts of the Jews though other people have called them the feasts of the Jews, and though for particular reasons which John knew he labeled the feast of the Jews concerning the Feast of Tabernacles, but it’s the feasts of the LORD.  “…Which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My feasts” (Lev. 23:1-2).  All of them.

Then He starts out with what?  “Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings” (vs. 3).  Now the other holy convocations are Sabbaths of the LORD in all your dwellings too, just as well.  Now we’ll see that here in just a minute.

Verse 4, “These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.”  God created the time, as we saw in Genesis 1:14, for seasons.  If you believe that you are to proclaim the seventh day as a feast of God every seven days and that you’re obligated by God to keep the Sabbath and to keep it holy, then what gives you the right to go against God and proclaim that His feasts, even holy convocations which you shall proclaim in their seasons, you disobey that command and do not proclaim them.  Now what is your reason for not proclaiming them?  Well, we’ll look at some of them.  And your reasons are going to fall apart because it hasn’t been a proper rightful dividing of the word of God.

“In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.”  Notice in every case He gives the day first and then the offering for that day.  Every one of these.  “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.  In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.  But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days…” (vs. 5-8).  The sacrifices at the temple, then, were added to the days.  The days came first.

Likewise with Pentecost and how to count it.  If you don’t know how to count Pentecost you can write in for it.  We have three booklets which explain in depth the whole thing of counting Pentecost.  But verse 21 which says, “And ye shall proclaim on the self-same day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you…”

Then we come down here to verse 24.  “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.  Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD” (vs. 24-25).  Again, the day is proclaimed first and then the sacrificial offering.

Verse 27, “Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.  And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God” (vs. 27-28).

Now let’s come down to verse 32.  “It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye [observe] celebrate your sabbath.”  Now we gotcha, because this is the verse that all Sabbath-keepers turn to, to show that you must keep the Sabbath from sunset to sunset.  But this is defining the Day of Atonement.  So if this defines the Day of Atonement and you keep the Sabbath but not the Day of Atonement, why do you take your definition from the Day of Atonement and apply it to the Sabbath if it is not equally applicable to the Sabbath and the Day of Atonement and all the other holy days?

Then we come down here to verse 34.  “…The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.  On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.”  Same way with the eighth day, verse 36, holy convocation.  You have day one, day eight, then the sacrifices and so forth.

Now notice, verse 37, becomes very important.  “These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim…”

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