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God commanded Israel to keep His 'feasts of the LORD.' What is their relevance for Christians - and mankind - today?
by Roger Foster
ew Testament Church.
Old Testament Holy Days. Incompatible? Absolutely not!
Why? How can festivals observed by ancient Israel be valuable to Christians today?
Simple! They reveal God's master plan of salvation.
The Holy Days unveil for us the crucial keys to salvation. They give us a step-by-step explanation of how God plans to reconcile all human beings to Himself. They reveal the big picture - the spiritual harvest of the whole world. They give vivid meaning to the gospel of the kingdom of God. Their value to the Church of the living God is incalculable!
How can we be sure that the Holy Days reveal God's plan of salvation for all mankind? After all, millions don't understand, or they simply disagree. How can we be certain that we are right? The key is in Paul's letter to the Colossians. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, speaks about these Holy Days to a Christian church. What he says-and does not say-carries immense weight. Let's examine what Paul says and understand what he means.
He says, "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ" (Colossians 2:16,17).
This passage, probably more than any other in the Bible, is interpreted by those who reject God's festivals as confirmation that the Holy Days are unnecessary observances for Christians. Their reasoning is not only false; it is based on poor scholarship. Paul, while countering a local heresy, pinpoints the real value of these Holy Days to Christians. They foreshadow "things to come," he says. They focus our attention on the future. They connect the plan of God directly to the commission Christ gave His Church.
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