Why I choose not to celebrate Holidays part 1
There comes a time in your life that you question things around you. For me it started when the Pastor started teaching on the Sabbath. Hmm wasn't that Sunday? Aren't we keeping it by going to Church and worshiping God? As it turns out NO! It's actually Saturday - the day the world considers "Me day". When everyone goes and does what they want.
You see the Roman Catholic Church divorced themselves from everything Jewish/Hebrew. They created their own religion that Christianity today would branch off from. They wanted to convert pagans so they changed the 7th day Sabbath to Sunday the 1st day of the week.
No Change Documented in the Bible
In both Old and New Testament there is not a shadow of variation in the doctrine of the Sabbath. The seventh day, Saturday, is the only day ever designated by the term Sabbath in the entire Bible. Not only was Jesus a perfect example in observing the weekly seventh-day Sabbath, but all His disciples followed the same pattern after Jesus had gone back to heaven. Yet no intimation of any change of the day is made. The apostle Paul, who wrote pages of counsel about lesser issues of Jewish and Gentile conflicts, had not one word to say about any controversy over the day of worship. Circumcision, foods offered to idols, and other Jewish customs were readily challenged by early Gentile Christians in the church, but the weightier matter of weekly worship never was an issue. Why? For the simple reason that no change was made from the historic seventh day of Old Testament times, and from creation itself. Had there been a switch from the Sabbath to the first day of the week, you can be sure the controversy would have been more explosive than any other to those Jewish Christians.
History Gives Some Clues
If the change did not take place in the Scriptures or through the influence of the apostles, when and how did it happen? In order to understand this, we must understand what happened in that early church soon after the apostles passed off the stage of action. Paul had prophesied that apostasy would take place soon after his departure. He said there would be a falling away from the truth. One doesn’t have to read very far in early church history to see just how that prophecy was fulfilled. Gnosticism began to rise up under the influence of philosophers who sought to reconcile Christianity with Paganism. At the same time, a strong anti-Jewish sentiment became more widespread. Very speculative interpretations began to appear regarding some of the great doctrines of Christ and the apostles.
The Conversion of Constantine
By the time Constantine was established as the emperor of Rome in the early fourth century, there was a decided division in the church as a result of all these factors. I think most of you know that Constantine was the first so-called Christian emperor of the Roman Empire. The story of his conversion has become very well known to students of ancient history. He was marching forth to fight the battle of Milvian Bridge when he had some kind of vision, and saw a flaming cross in the sky. Underneath the cross were the Latin words meaning “In this sign conquer.” Constantine took this as an omen that he should be a Christian, and his army as well. He declared all his pagan soldiers to be Christians, and became very zealous to build up the power and prestige of the church. Through his influence great blocks of pagans were taken into the Christian ranks. But, friends, they were still pagan at heart, and they brought in much of the paraphernalia of sun-worship to which they continued to be devoted. We mentioned in a previous broadcast about the adoption of Christmas and Easter into the church. At the same time, many other customs were Christianized and appropriated into the practice of the church as well.
Sun Worship
You see, at that time the cult of Mithraism or sun-worship was the official religion of the Roman Empire. It stood as the greatest competitor to the new Christian religion. It had its own organization, temples, priesthood, robes—everything. It also had an official worship day on which special homage was given to the sun. That day was called “The Venerable Day of the Sun.” It was the first day of the week, and from it we get our name Sunday. When Constantine pressed his pagan hordes into the church they were observing the day of the sun for their adoration of the sun god. It was their special holy day. In order to make it more convenient for them to make the change to the new religion, Constantine accepted their day of worship, Sunday, instead of the Christian Sabbath which had been observed by Jesus and His disciples. Remember that the way had been prepared for this already by the increasing anti-Jewish feelings against those who were accused of putting Jesus to death. Those feelings would naturally condition many Christians to swing away from something which was held religiously by the Jews. It is therefore easier to understand how the change was imposed on Christianity through a strong civil law issued by Constantine as the Emperor of Rome. The very wording of that law, by the way, can be found in any reliable encyclopedia. Those early Christians, feeling that the Jews should not be followed any more than necessary, were ready to swing away from the Sabbath which was kept by the Jews.
Catholicism Takes Credit for the Change
Now a quote from the Catholic Press newspaper in Sidney, Australia. “Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. From the beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first.”
(article was taken from the website http://www.sabbathtruth.com/sabbath-history/how-the-sabbath-was-changed)
So after find out this information and scripture on "Holidays" (I'll elaborate on each holiday in another post) "When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations". - Deuteronomy 18:9. See Yah hates mixture "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth". Revelation 3:15-16.
Yah has set aside 7 feast days that we are to celebrate. 4 Spring feasts, Pesach (Passover), Feast of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Shavuot (Pentecost). 3 Fall feasts, Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippurim (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). Yah says that if you love Me keep My commandments (John 14:15). To love Yah is an action. We are to walk as Yeshua walked and do as Yeshua did. It's not hard, He showed us how to do it by example.
I'm not saying saying its a easy road to take emotionally. I have 30 years of traditions attached from my past. Many wonderful memories. My emotions were tied into the holidays, but knowing the truth makes it easier to break off the traditions of man. It is my responsibility to either take this knowledge and apply it to my walk and life including how I raise my children or disregard the Word and keep the traditions that don't please Yah. I can't try to "justify" my actions in order to keep them. I can't use the excuse "Yah knows my heart" "And so the Lord says, "These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote" Isaiah 29:13
The question we need to ask not what our carnal minds think or what we "think" Yah feels or thinks, but go to His Word and see what IT says.
So I hope that whoever reads this searches out scripture and truth and see what Yah says. It many not be the easiest path, but its the most rewarding.
