A Response to Some Claims of Literal Last Day Feast Keepers

What Statutes are we to keep today?

(for Part 1 of this series, please click the following link: “How Do We Keep the Feast Days Today?”)

Going through the section of scriptures, which embody the statues and judgments (Exo. 21-23), the portion that feast keepers claim is still literally binding is found in verses 14 to 19. However they fail to recognize that the statutes and judgments that are designed to guard the Ten Commandments end at verse 13 of Exodus 23. Verses 14 to 19 change to the keeping of the three annual feasts, which are part of the ceremonial law.

(14) Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. (15) Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) (16) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, [which is] in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. (17) Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. (18) Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. (19) The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.”—Exo. 23:14-19

If we take the reading of these texts literally, as the feast keepers advocate, then several problems arise which can be enumerated as follows.

• Where are all the adult males supposed to go when the scriptures say, “Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD”?
• What about the women and children, how are they to be involved in these feasts?
• What does one bring for their “ first of the first fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God.”?
• How does one calculate when “in the time appointed of the month Abib” is to begin the feast of unleavened bread?
• What do people do for offerings that do not grow wheat, barley, or other crops?

At the time when these ceremonial laws were literally kept, as in the type, in the Old Testament up until the cross, the all the adult males were required to go to the temple in Jerusalem (Desire of Ages, pp. 75.2, 447.1). Is this possible today when there is not even a temple in existence today in Jerusalem and Adventists are scattered around the four corners of the globe? This presents a logical absurdity which some feast keepers try to reason around by suggesting that the believers should attend their special meetings held at the appointed times of the year. By their own admission this shows that the feast laws are typical since there is no longer a literal temple to go to, then we must obviously follow the work of the High Priest (Jesus) in the temple in heaven in antitype. Why is this necessary? Because the law of types and shadows was done away with at the cross! This serious dilemma of the literal feast keepers is easily solved if one follows the admonition from the scriptures and inspiration…

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”—I Cor. 10:11

“This law [sacrificial law, the law of types and shadows], of course, we today must not observe, except in antitype,”—Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 37, p. 15 [brackets added]

Much of the confusion that arises from the feast keepers arguments results from their misapplication of the phrase “statutes and judgments” as applying to the feast days. This is one of the principle arguments used to say that we should literally keep them today. Either they do not realize it, or they intentionally fail to make the point clear that there are statutes, which are connected with the Ten Commandments and there are statutes connected with the ceremonial system. It is crucial to rightly distinguish the two or else confusion will result. Before we examine the different uses of these terms in the Bible, it is important to remember that human language is imperfect, thus Sis. White reminds us that “different meanings are expressed by the same word: there is not one word for each distinct idea.”—1 Selected Messages, Vol. 1, p. 20.

This is particularly true of the Biblical uses of the words “statute” and “statutes.” Strong’s Concordance lists 165 entries of these words in the Old Testament (there are none recorded in the New Testament). Examining this list it becomes apparent that the words “statute” and “statutes” are used in four quite different ways in the Scriptures. (For a useful discussion on the different definitions of the words “statute” and “statutes” see: Ralph Larson, “Types and Shadows” Steps to Life Special Report.)

• The majority of scriptures use these words in a general and all-inclusive nature having reference to any and/or all of the instructions God has given to His people.
• The second largest occurrence is in reference to specific details of the ceremonial law. The instructions for the ministry of the priests is detailed in Exodus, chapters 27-30, Leviticus, chapters 3-24, and Numbers, chapters 18-19; they are frequently accompanied by the phrase “It shall be a statute for ever.”
• The third largest use of these words is in reference to the explanations and applications of the moral law. The best example is given in Exodus, chapters 21-23:13, which immediately follow the Ten Commandments in chapter 20. In these cases the word “statutes” in often connected with the words “judgments, commandments, laws, testimonies” and any combination thereof.
• There are a few references in which the word “statutes” is used to refer directly to the Ten Commandments, in whole, or in part (e.g., Neh. 9:12-14, Psalms 19:7, 8).
• Lastly, there are a few references which “statute/statutes” refers to a man-made decree or law (see, 1 Sam. 3:35, 2 Kings 17:8, Eze. 20:18, Dan. 6:7, 15)
• The writings of Ellen White reflect these first four uses of the words “statute” and “statutes,” though with slightly different emphases. She applies the word “statutes” to the moral law more frequently than the Bible writers do, often adding the words “divine” or “sacred.” The Ten Commandments are often called God’s “divine statutes” (see, GC 285, 668).

Sister White follows the example of Bible writers in referring to the explanations and applications of the moral law as “statutes and judgments” (see in particular an article written in the Review and Herald entitled “The Law of God”, May 6, 1875). A good example is given in the following statement.

“If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved in the ark by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity of the ordinance of circumcision. And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, which circumcision was a token or pledge of, they would never have gone into idolatry, and been suffered to go down into Egypt, and there would have been no necessity of God’s proclaiming his law from Sinai, and engraving it upon tables of stone, and guarding it by definite directions in the judgments and statutes given to Moses.

Moses wrote these judgments and statutes from the mouth of God while he was with him in the mount. If the people of God had obeyed the principles of the ten commandments, there would have been no need of the specific directions given to Moses, which he wrote in a book, relative to their duty to God and to one another. The definite directions which the Lord gave to Moses in regard to the duty of his people to one another, and to the stranger, are the principles of the ten commandments simplified, and given in a definite manner that they need not err.”—Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3, pp. 299-300

As inspiration informed us that the same word could have different meanings (Selected Messages, Vol. 1, p. 20), this is certainly the case with the words “statute” and “statutes.” Both the scriptures and Ellen White use these words in a least four different ways with very different meanings. Therefore it is apparent that serious errors can result if the words are not used in proper context according to the author’s original intent. As an illustration, consider a statute given that requires the “wave breast” and “heave shoulder” from the peace offerings to be set-aside for the Levites for food (Leviticus 10:14-15). If we take this reference and apply it beside one of Sis. White’s many references to the moral law as “divine statutes” which will endure throughout eternity, then we would be led to the conclusion that throughout eternity there will be priests eating the flesh from animal sacrifices. It should be obvious that these are two different uses of the term “statutes” which do not belong together. To bring them together would result in serious error.

Upon careful examination of the writings of individuals advocating the literal keeping of feast days today reveal a serious disregard of the principle to examining the proper context of the use of the words “statute” and “statutes.” They find in the Bible the word “statutes” used in reference to the feast days and then place beside it a usage of the same word in reference to the moral law, which will endure for eternity. In this misguided way they arrive at the conclusion that the feast days are for all eternity. They do a similar injustice by taking Sis. White’s discussion of the “statutes and judgments” that were given to explain and apply to the moral law and place them together with references to the feast days as “statutes” and come to the conclusion that it is the feast days that are binding upon man as long as time shall last! The following statement is a particular favorite one used severely out of its intended context to justify their claims.

“These statutes were explicitly given to guard the ten commandments. They were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ. They were to be binding upon man in every age as long as time should last.”—Review and Herald, May 6, 1875

These writers evade the plain truth that the various usages of the word “statutes” in both the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy are in four distinct categories and should not be used interchangeable without careful regard to their proper context. They also ignore the fact that the feast days are an integral part of the ceremonial system, which is by definition shadowy types that passed away at the cross. In the landmark Review and Herald article of May 6, 1875 Sis. White makes no reference to the feast days, except when she faults the Jews for still observing them, in the last paragraph of the article. Perhaps it would be wise for us to do the same when speaking of the law of God.

In order to maintain a sharp and clear distinction between the moral and the ceremonial law the Bible sets forth many differences between both the giving and the use of the two legal systems as summarized in the chart below.

The Moral Law	The Ceremonial Law
Written by the finger of God (Deut. 5:22, Ex. 24:12, 31:18, 32:16)	Written by Moses (Deut. 31:9-11, 24)
Written on two tables of stone (Deut. 4:13, 10:4)	Written on parchment
Kept inside the ark of the testimony (Ex. 25:21-22, 40:20; Deut. 10:1-2)	Kept on the side of the ark (Deut. 31:24-26)
Deals with morality	Deals with ceremony and rituals
Defines sin and points it out (1 Jn. 3:4, Jas. 2:9-10, Rom. 7:7, 3:20)	Was added because of sin (Gal. 3:17-19)
Is as eternal as God Himself (Matt. 5:17-19)	Was for a limited time only (Col. 2:14, Heb. 8:13)

 

A summary table distinguishing the Sabbath day from the Jewish Festivals is provided below.

The Sabbath Day	Festivals or sabbath days
Sabbath was created at creation in a perfect and sin-free environment. Gen. 2:2-3	The Passover was created at the time of the Exodus and was a memorial of the passing over of the death angel. How could the Passover exist before this Exo. 12? Without sin there is no need for a Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement could not possibly exist in a sin-free environment.
The authority and reason given for keeping the Sabbath is because of creation. Exo. 20:8-11	The authority of Passover is for the exodus Exo. 12
God Blessed the Sabbath day Gen. 2:3	God never blessed any other day
God hallowed the Sabbath day Gen. 2:3	God never hallowed any other day
The Sabbath day is at the heart of the 10 commandments	No other days are mentioned in the 10 commandments
The 4th commandment God wrote himself Exo. 31:18	Moses wrote the laws for festivals
The 4th commandment was written in stone signifying its permanence.	The festival laws were written on papyrus.
The 7th day Sabbath is a “sign” between God and His people that is the Sanctifier and Creator. Exo. 31:12-17	There is no proof that the festivals or anything else for that matter were a sign of sanctification and creatorship.
The 7th day Sabbath will be kept in heaven. Isaiah 66:23	There is no proof that the festivals will be kept in heaven.
The frequency of observance says a lot about how important a day is. The weekly observance of the Sabbath does more for the spiritual, physical, and mental rejuvenation of humans than any other time.	There is no proof that the festivals will be kept in heaven.
All work was forbidden on the Sabbath	Only the day of atonement had these same stipulations. Naturally. It was the day of judgment.
The Sabbath was given to refresh man and animal. Exo. 31:17	The festivals were not given to refresh man or animal. In fact lambs probably were not refreshed by the Passover.
God himself was refreshed by the Sabbath Exodus 31:17	No such statement is made about any other day.

Are the Feast Days Part of the Moral Law?

One of the most shocking claims that feast keepers assert is that the feast days — Passover (Feast of Unleavened Bread), Pentecost (Feast of Weeks), and the Harvest festival (Feast of Tabernacles) are actually part of the moral law! It should be noted that God wrote Ten Commandments in the tables of stone, not thirteen (Deut. 4:13). They are specified in the following scriptures.

“And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, [even] ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.”—Deut. 4:13

“And He wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments…”—Deut. 10:4

“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.”—Deut. 5:22

This represents the moral law although the Bible does not use either of the terms, “moral” or “ceremonial”, God’s servant Ellen White, does in order to make the issue clear and distinct between the two systems.

“He [God] would remove all possibility of misunderstanding, of mingling any tradition with the ten commandments of the moral law, or of confusing the divine requirements with the practices of men; and to do this He not only spoke the ten words of the moral law, but He wrote them with His own finger on tables of stone.”—Signs of the Times, May 6, 1886 par. 3 [bracket added]

“In addition to the tables of testimony that were given to Moses in the mount, he received the ritual or ceremonial law…It is this law of ceremonies, which was to find its fulfillment in the death of Christ, when type should meet antitype, that is so frequently in our day confounded with the moral law of ten commandments, which was engraven with the finger of God upon the stone, and which is as enduring as the throne of Jehovah.”—Signs of the Times, July 15, 1880 par. 1, 2

“These laws were to be recorded by Moses, and carefully treasured as the foundation of the national law, and, with the ten precepts which they were given to illustrate, the condition of the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel.”—Patriarches and Prophets, p. 311

Furthermore, in view of many Ellen White statements that the moral law was known by the unfallen Adam and Eve as well as by the unfallen angels, (see: Patriarches and Prophets, p. 363 and Mount of Blessing, p. 48) we are required by the feast keeper proposition to imagine the feast days as having been observed in Eden and in heaven itself!

What are “the sabbath days” in Colossians 2:14?

Contradiction: According to Colossians 2:14-16 “the sabbath days” is referring to the 7th day Sabbath and “the handwriting of ordinances” that was nailed to the cross was not the ceremonial feast laws but the record book of our sins.

Response: The arguments justifying this reasoning are long-winded and tedious. It is important to note that this teaching from the Apostle Paul, along with Eph. 2:15, are the most clear cut references showing that the ceremonial laws including the feast days got nailed to the cross, so it is not surprising that feast keepers resort to a great amount of maneuvering and reinterpretation to get around the obvious meaning. Looking at the verses in question, we will simply let the Bible interpret itself by defining what each of the key terms or phases (italic) means backed up by appropriate inspired statements for clarification and emphasis.

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (15) [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (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]: (17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.”—Col. 2:14-17

As shown at the beginning of this chapter, the “handwriting of ordinances” are specifically referring to the feast days, an integral part of the ceremonial system (Exo. 12:12-14, 17, 13:10; Num. 9:14). In closer inspection the following two verses makes it quite certain that the sabbaths, new moons, and solemn feasts of the LORD are ordinances. It is also apparent that the sabbaths referred to here are ceremonial sabbaths and not the 7th-day Sabbath of the moral law. This is to plain to require further comment.

So whom do we believe here, God’s inspired messenger, or Samuele Bacchiocchi and his followers?

Festival	Typical Application	First Antitypical Application	Complete Antitypical Fulfillment (Future)
Passover	Freedom from Egypt	Christ the Passover	Ezekiel 9 (See Jer.16:12-15 & 23:5-8)
Unleavened Bread	Began to be Eaten On Eve of Freedom	Last Supper	Solemn Assembly: Joel 2:15
First Fruits	Beginning of First Fruit Harvest	Wave Sheaf (Resurrection)	Wave Sheaf (Translation)
Pentecost	End of First Fruit Harvest	120, Upper Room (Jerusalem) Acts 2:1-21 (Early Rain Period)	144,000 in Kingdom (Jerusalem) Eze. 36, Joel 2:28, Rev. 14 (Latter Rain Period)
Trumpets	Announcing Second Harvest	Gospel to the World. Matt. 28:19, 20; Rom. 2:9, 10; Acts 9:15; 10:34, 35; 11:18	Loud Cry Isa. 11:10; 27:13, Rev. 18:1-4, EW 277
Day of Atonement	Judgment	1844 Judgment of Dead in the heavenly sanctuary commences	Judgment of Living, 2nd. Fruits Harvest, Rev. 7:9, Isa. 66:15-21; 60:11,12
Feast of Tabernacles	End of Harvest Year	None	All Ingathered to Kingdom Zech. 14:13-21, PP 541:2

Tagged as: feast days, feast keepers, John VanDenburg