Truth Magazine

By Ron Halbrook

“Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, where-unto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain” (Gal. 4:8-11).

We must distinguish days God forbids us to observe from days he permits us to observe. Galatians 4 forbids imposing upon the church special days of religious observance, but does not forbid what we commonly call holidays. A holiday appointed by custom or government celebrates some person, event, or season, often including cessation from work. National, seasonal, secular, and family activities are emphasized. God may be recognized, as he should be in all phases of life, but the day’s activities are not the function of the church. A holy day is appointed by a church or other religious body to be observed as a religious festival, often including cessation from work and special worship activities. The following chart summarizes the distinction between the two kinds of days:

Holy Day Holiday

Set by church of other Set by custom or

religious body government

Special religious services National, seasonal,

and activities not secular, and family

authorized by God activities

Bind as church function, Recognize God, but not

claim to honor God bind as church function

Some holy days are recognized only within a certain religion, such as Hanukkah by the Jews (commemorating the rededication of the Temple at Jerusalem after its defilement by Antiochus of Syria) or Ramadan by the Muslims (commemorating Muhammad’s first so-called revelation). Other holy days have developed into national holidays with both religious and secular elements and activities, such as Christmas or Easter. Separation of church and state has diluted some holy days into holidays of national, seasonal, and family significance.

God has set aside no holy days involving religious festivals and exemption from work in the Gospel Age. God ordained that Christians worship him on the first day of the week, but otherwise there are no special instructions or limitations defining what can or cannot be done on that day. Holidays should be limited to national, seasonal, and family oriented activities and not imposed upon the church.

Authority to Appoint a Holy Day

Only God has the authority to appoint a holy day. Under the Law of Moses, God commanded the Jews to “remember the sabbath day (our Saturday), to keep it holy” by abstaining from work and reflecting on their deliverance and rest from Egyptian bondage (Exod. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15).

God ordained three annual feasts requiring all Jewish males to come to Jerusalem (Exod. 12; 23:14-17; 34:18-23). The Passover Feast or Feast of Unleavened Bread in the spring commemorated their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. God’s blessings in the first fruits of the harvest were celebrated as the Feast of Harvest or of Weeks, also called Pentecost because it occurred fifty days after Passover (thus on our Sunday). The Feast of Ingathering came at the conclusion of the year’s harvest.

The Annual Atonement involved sacrifices offered “for all their sins once a year” (Lev. 16). Every seventh year was to be “a sabbath of rest unto the land,” when no crops were planted, and every fiftieth year was proclaimed The Jubilee, when all debts were cancelled (Lev. 25). Holy days were to be observed exactly as God commanded to the detail.

The Law of Moses made man more conscious of sin and of God’s provision for forgiveness which ultimately would come in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When Christ died, he removed the Old Law, “nailing it to his cross, ” thus ending all of its holy days (Col. 2:14-17). Christ arose “on the first day of the week” and his church was established on Pentecost Sunday (Mark 16:2; Acts 2). Through his Apostles, Christ ordained that Christians meet for worship “on the first day of the week,” especially to eat the Lord’s supper in remembrance of his death and to give a portion of their financial prosperity for the work of his church (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). Christians may meet any time, even daily, to teach his word, sing, and pray (Acts 2:46).

Christ ordained his church to worship on Sunday but authorized no holy days, feasts, or festivals requiring exemption from work or other special observances. The Holy Spirit warned that when Christians teach people to “observe days, and months, and times, and years,” they return to “the weak and beggarly elements” of false religion (Gal. 4:8-11; 5:1). Weak Christians may feel compelled in con-science to set aside a certain day for special devotion to God on a personal and private basis, which God permits until growth removes the scruple, but to bind such scruples on others is “contrary to the doctrine” of Christ (Rom. 14:1-6; 16:17-18).

Holy Days Appointed by Men

As prime examples of what the Holy Spirit forbad, Holy Days in Roman Catholicism are festivals honoring God, Jesus, or dead people declared “saints” (Mary, the Apostles, and others). Such observances were borrowed from Judaism and pagan-ism in an effort to “convert” people by adopting and adapting their false practices. Easter began as Pasch when apostate Christians of the 2nd-4th centuries revived the Jewish Passover as a festival of Christ’s death and resurrection each spring. The celebration gradually absorbed pagan concepts and practices associated with Estera, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility in the 8th century (with roots back to Astarte, an ancient Chaldean goddess of heaven). Christmas began in the 3rd-4th centuries as a festival of Christ’s birth, absorbing Roman celebrations for the sun gods Mithra and Saturn in December. God has always warned his people not to borrow or copy pagan practices (Deut. 12:29-32; 2 Cor. 6:14-18). Such compromise with error is the work of “the man of sin,” the spirit of all who “depart from the faith” (2 Thess. 2:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1).

Many such days have been designated by Catholicism through the centuries. Holy Days of Obligation are feast days other than Sunday on which Catholics are obligated to attend mass and abstain from unnecessary servile work. There are ten such days but the number in force varies from one country to another: Circumcision (of Jesus; Jan. 1), Epiphany (first manifestation of Christ to Gentiles, the Magi; Jan. 6), Saint Joseph (earthly father of Jesus; Mar. 19), Ascension (of Christ to heaven; 40 days after Easter), Corpus Christi (Christ’s body offered in the Eucharist; Thursday after Trinity Sunday), Saints Peter and Paul (June 29), Assumption (Mary taken bodily to heaven; Aug. 15), All Saints (Nov. 1), Immaculate Conception (Mary not inherit original sin; Dec. 8), and Christmas (birth of Christ; Dec. 25). God authorized none of this.

Holidays, Not Imposed Upon the Church

Holidays are not necessarily holy days, but some holy days have a dual status as holidays involving seasonal, secular, and customary activities not imposed upon the church. A number of these activities had their roots in religious associations which largely have been lost (just as the names of the days of the week originally honored ancient gods). Common U.S. holidays include New Year’s Day (first day of calendar year; Catholic holy day focused on events of infancy of Jesus; Jan. 1), Valentine’s Day (token of affection sent to one of opposite sex on anniversary of third century Christian martyr; Feb. 14), Easter (resurrection of Christ; first Sunday after first full moon occurring on or after Mar. 21), Mother’s Day (memorial honoring mothers began in West Virginia, then in churches of Philadelphia on May 10, 1908; proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914; second Sunday in May), Father’s Day (memorial honoring fathers began in Spokane, Washington in 1910; third Sunday in June), Independence Day (American colonies declared independence from England on July 4, 1776), Halloween (British tradition developed from All Saints’ or All Hallows’ Eve, the evening before Catholic “saints” are honored, originating 600’s-800’s to replace night druids feared god and spirits of wicked dead; Oct. 31), Thanksgiving Day (day to thank God for blessing families and nation, began in Plymouth Colony in 1621; proclamation by President George Washington in 1789, made legal holiday by Congress in 1941; fourth Thursday in Nov.), and Christmas (birth of Christ; Dec. 25).

Guidance From God

What does God teach us to do about holy days and holidays?

1. For the church to observe holy days not authorized by God dishonors God. We cannot obey God’s word by adding to or diminishing from its commandments (Deut. 4:1-2; Rev. 22:18-19). God’s faithful prophet cried out against King Jeroboam when he “ordained a feast” not ordained by God himself (1 Kings 12:32-13:2). One of the marks of men who “pervert the gospel of Christ” is that they teach men to “observe days, and months, and times, and years” such as Christmas and Easter (Gal. 1:6-9; 4:9-11; Col. 2:16-23). The church honors God by worshipping as he directs in song, prayer, and Bible teaching, and on the first day of the week giving and the Lord’s supper (Col. 3:16; Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).

2. Christians must avoid compromising with error by participating in holy days. God teaches us not to be “unequally yoked together with unbelievers” by supporting their error but rather to “come out from among them, and be .. . separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing” (2 Cor. 6:14-18; Rev. 18:4). Holy days ought not to be brought into a true church of the Lord, and Christians ought not go into digressive and denominational churches to participate in their holy days. Neither should Christians compromise by allowing their children to sing religious songs with instrumental music in school holiday programs, or to sing songs promoting holy day error even without instruments (such as songs teaching Christ was born on Christmas, Christmas honors Christ, worship of Mary, etc.). Rather than having fellowship with such activities, we should lovingly and firmly reprove them (Eph. 5:11).

3. Civil rulers, families, and individuals can acknowledge God without imposing holy days on the church. After King Darius saw Daniel delivered from the lion’s den, he proclaimed that all men should “tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever,” but he did not propose a new feast day be added to God’s pattern of worship for the Jews like Jeroboam did (Dan. 6:25-26). We should pray that all rulers today will acknowledge and honor God both privately and publicly (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

Jewish families banded together to form synagogues to teach God’s word in a setting similar to family devotions, but did not compete with the Temple worship by offering sacrifices or by calling Jews to Jerusalem for a new feast day. God approved the synagogue system, just as God approves of families providing religious training today without intruding on the work and worship of the church (Deut. 6:4-9; Luke 4:16; Eph. 6:1-4). Governments and families can thank God for his blessings on such occasions as Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day without imposing any of the trappings of a holy day on the church.

4. Christians must use caution in authorized liberties. Holy days are not authorized for the church, but most holidays in America can be observed on an individual basis where national, seasonal, and family activities are involved. Some people may confuse liberties with obligations. The scruples of new converts and weak Christians may make them feel obligated to offer special devotions to God on an individual basis on certain days until they learn better, but such acts must not involve sin or be imposed on the church (Rom. 14:1-6; 16:17-18). A person converted from Judaism or from a sabbatarian denomination might feel conscience bound to offer God certain devotions on Saturday. Those who understand such liberties should not compel the weaker Christian to violate his conscience.

We must remember the rule, “Let not your good be evil spoken of’ (Rom. 14:16). That is, we might do something that is technically right, but do it in a way which misleads others. We could violate that rule by causing someone to violate his conscience, or even by doing something that suggests approval of sinful error. It is right to eat meat, but if someone makes a point of saying the meat was used earlier to honor an idol, Paul said do not eat it lest people think we honor idols (1 Cor. 10:25-29). It is right to sing songs about the birth or resurrection of Jesus, but if young people are asked to sing such songs in Christmas or Easter programs at school, they should decline lest people think we honor such days as holy. Songs like “Frosty the Snowman” and “Jingle Bells” are simply seasonal and leave no such impression.

5. Sin is still sin on holidays. Holidays do not justify willful absence from worship services, failing to give as prospered each Sunday, drinking intoxicants, or wearing immodest dress (shorts, swimsuits, tank tops, and other revealing attire in the presence of the opposite sex). Drinking parties, beach parties, extravagant spending, and other sins are very popular on certain holidays. Christians should stand out as beacon lights of purity in a world darkened by sin (Matt. 5:14-16).

Conclusion

God is not honored by perverting the gospel to add holy days but by obeying his word in worship as in all things (Col. 3:17). If we are in a church which observes holy days, we are not in a church approved by God. We leave sin and error by accepting the gospel of Christ. When our faith in him leads us to repent of our sins, to confess him as God’s Son, and to be immersed in water by his authority, our sins will be washed away in his blood. Then, we will learn to observe all things he commanded and to abstain from all other things (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 3:19; Rom. 10:10). Christians who err confess their sins and pray for forgiveness in order to be cleansed by Christ’s blood (1 John 1:7-9).

Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 16-18
April 4, 1996

By Steve Wallace

Many of us have probably been to a funeral where an unsaved person was “preached into heaven.” By this we usually mean that, at the service for the deceased, a denominational “Pastor” or “Reverend” spoke of how the person had somehow come into a saved state shortly before death or spoke of them as if they were now in heaven. There are several lessons that the living can learn from such events.

1. One must act one’s own behalf to get to heaven. The preacher or teacher’s work is to exhort others to “save them-selves” or “repent” (Acts 2:40; 8:22). Christians should be good examples and “shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15). However, the lost person also has something to do. If he has never come to Christ, he must hear the gospel, believe it, repent of his sins, confess Christ as the Son of God and be baptized for the remission of sins (Mark 16:15-16; Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 2:38). If an individual has once become a Christian and then later fallen away, such a one must repent and pray to God (Acts 8:22; 2 Cor. 7:10). If such people do not act in obedience to Christ’s word it is meaningless to “preach them into heaven” after they die. (It is equally meaningless to try to “fellowship an erring brother into heaven”!) The lost and erring must come out of their sinful state.

2. “Care giving” at the expense of preaching the gospel. In my opinion, one of the main reasons behind the practice of preaching the unsaved dead into heaven is obvious: It is to comfort the grieving loved ones of the deceased. Such sermons are designed to show sympathy and care to those who remain behind. While God’s people are told to “weep with them that weep” (Rom. 12:15), the practice under discussion is obviously an extreme we must avoid. Many a gospel preacher has used the opportunity of preaching someone’s funeral to teach the truth to those who might otherwise not hear it. While not neglecting the comfort and consolation found in the word of God (2 Cor. 1:3-6), the preacher must balance his preaching to meet the spiritual needs of his listeners (2 Tim. 4:2). The main aim of a sermon should always be to bring people closer to the Lord. If we change the focus of our preaching to that of “care giving” or making people feel good, we will have to come up with another message (Gal. 1:9), just like the denominational preachers do when they “preach the lost into heaven.” It is this writer’s conviction that the current trend of preaching lessons which lean heavily on human psychology or books on counseling for their support is a manifestation of this problem (2 Tim. 4:4).

3. Feigned love. The Christian is to love without dissimulation or falseness (Rom. 12:9; 2 Cor. 6:6). An obvious question arises with regards to the one who would claim to be a Christian and then try to preach a lost person into heaven: Is this really showing love for lost souls? Who benefits from his message? Neither the living or the dead. But he seems so loving as he stands there putting forth his message! Though most such preachers may be unaware of it, they are not showing true love to anyone in “preaching the lost into heaven.” Using opportunities given us for “speaking the truth in love” will help us avoid such false displays of affection (Eph. 4:15).

Conclusion

Helping others get to heaven involves instructing them in the ways of righteousness and encouraging them in that way (e.g., Acts 2:38-40). If we are truly concerned about the needs of our audiences we will base our message to them on what the Bible says about their state and needs, and encourage them to apply God’s word to their lives.

Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 19
April 4, 1996

By Nell Kercheville

Have you ever learned a foreign language just for the express purpose of preaching the gospel to those in another country? Have you ever left your home and the surroundings you are so accustomed to and comfortable with to go to another land and preach to a humble and sincere people? Have you ever been blessed to stay in the home of one of these people and sleep on the floor with the rest of the family, all in their one-room house? In the middle of the night you awaken so sick that you have to get up and tread your way through the sleeping bodies to get outside since there is no indoor plumbing.

Have you ever repeatedly chosen without hesitation to travel into a country where you know that at some point you have a good chance of being sick? Have you ever been in a hotel room alone in that country and been so sick you think you might not live until morning? Because of your sickness you purposely do not lock the door for fear some-one will not be able to get to you to help. The next day the local preacher finally becomes worried and comes to see about you. You pray, “0 Lord, thank you for this good man.” He goes home and has his wife make “atole” (a rice drink) for you. How soothing it is! By the time evening services come you are so weak you can’t imagine being able to preach. But you must and you do. Too weak to stand, you have to sit while you preach. The thought occurs time and again in your mind, “Can I make it?” But then you look at all those eager faces. They have come to hear the gospel, but not as an American would hear, they have come to hear that which they have never heard before. As you preach you hear them exclaiming, “Que precioso!” (“How precious!”). Suddenly all your weariness is forgotten and you could preach all night to these who so desire to hear the Good News.

Have you ever traveled to another country to preach and found that the brethren have secured a huge tent for a meeting place? “Wonderful!” you think. But then you find out that the tent has to be moved, not once, but three more times. The tent has to be taken down and moved to another town and put up again, ready just in time for the next services. Your job? You are to crawl under this dusty dirty tent and put the poles in place while the men on the outside have several “business meetings” on how it should be done. (Ever attended a business meeting?) By the end of the day you are tired, dirty, and hungry. You have just enough time to get cleaned up and start preaching. The thought runs through your mind repeatedly, “Is this worth it?” But all those thoughts are soon erased when you see over 500 souls from the community who have gathered hungry to hear the pure gospel of our Lord. “Que precioso!” they say. “Que precioso!”

Have you ever had your ribs broken just before leaving on one of these trips? You travel over rugged bumpy dirt roads to reach a community where you arrive with your ribs in worse condition than when you left. The bed you sleep on is hard and when you roll over on one of those ribs  wow, the pain! But on this trip you have a real treat. They have built a room for the visiting preacher. How nice, but then it strikes again, the “revenge.” This time you don’t have to climb over bodies because the men of the community have built the “little house” on the hill. You think, “What a relief, better than last time when there was nothing and the outhouse was just “out.” But then comes the negative side. Walking up that hill hour after hour in a weakened condition is no picnic. And then there is the little house. The men dug the hole too big for the house. Dig another hole? Naw, throw a couple of logs across the hole and set the little house on the logs. Have you ever tried to sit in a privy with a canvas for a door and the west wind blowing? You have to hold the canvas with one hand and steady yourself with the other so that you do not get thrown over by the rocking of the little house on the logs. But still you must preach as you hear the voices of hungry souls, “Que precioso!”

Have you ever been invited to the humble home of one of these Christians to eat? You tremble as you realize you may be taking food from their children. But you cannot refuse because they would be so hurt. How glad you are that you have come! The graciousness with which they serve you is so heartwarming that it often brings tears to your eyes. No matter what the obstacle, no matter the hardship, they serve you and give to you what they have. These people are so grateful for the precious words of life you have brought them. How precious the word of God! And now it is you who say, “Que precioso!” You go away knowing you have received much more than you have given.

After over fifty years of this work, you come to the evening of your life. Your steps are slower and your health fails. But you press on. The love of Christ constrains you. You work as long as there is breath and one more soul to save. As you reflect on your life you know that materially you have little and the hardships have been many. But oh what riches you do have. Would you change your life if you could do it over? No! “Que precioso!”

Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 9
April 4, 1996

By Thomas Bunting

In 1918 the Jehovah Witnesses preached and published a book, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” Ever since then they have, on several occasions, predicted the coming of Christ and the establishment of an earthly kingdom. The date from which their calculations were made was 1914.

I remember well that in conversation with Jehovah Witnesses, they told me that something big was to happen in 1967. That would have been fifty-three years since 1914, those millions living then were beginning to get old. If Jesus was to come in their life time, then time was getting short. Nothing happened in 1967!

The next prophecy I recall was 1975. That was sixty-one years after 1914. Infants in 1914 were then more than sixty years old in 1975, not to mention the age of the those who were adults in 1914. If Jesus was to come while those millions lived then it had to be very soon! Nothing happened in 1975 either!

Time was running out on those millions who were alive in 1914. There were fewer and fewer of them as time passed.

But it didn’t seem to discourage the Jehovah Witnesses, they continued to preach their false doctrine.

We have now come to the year 1996, eighty-two years since 1914! Everyone knows, including the Jehovah Witnesses, that there can’t be very many of those millions from 1914 left. Even those born that year are now over eighty if they are still alive. As we approach the year 2000 the millions then living are now dead, and the prophecies for the Jehovah Witnesses is proven false both by the Bible and by history!

Time has necessitated that they change their doctrine. There was an article, “Apocalypse Later,” in Newsweek magazine, December 1995 telling how they have now changed their teaching.

What Bible students knew all along, and Jehovah Witnesses denied, they have now been forced to admit  “no one knows when Christ will come.” They have been forced to abandon their doctrine about the coming of Christ be-cause time simply ran out on them. The millions living then are now dead!

Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 23
April 4, 1996