Hates your feasts

Just what do you think about this idea? Do you think this might be a thought we should also add to the "full gospel"? Is it right? Is it wrong? Is this being addressed in the true church? What do you think?

WHY Does Almighty God Say,
"Your Feast Days My Soul Hates!"?

But why would God say such a thing? Why would He tell His people that He abhors and despises the New Moons, and Sabbaths -- including the annual Feast Days? Is there more to this enigmatic prophecy of the end-times than meets the eye at first glance? What has been done to the annual Holy Days and New Moons that warrants such a declaration? Could it involve some action the Jews have taken involving the sacred calendar?

Almighty God declares in His Word, "The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies -- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them" (Isaiah 1:13-14, NASV).
Isa 1:12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
Isa 1:13 "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
Isa 1:14 "I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me. I am weary of bearing them.

Why in the world would He say such a thing about the New Moons and Annual Festivals which He Himself appointed for Israel to observe?

Furthermore, He says through the prophet Amos, "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. . . " (Amos 5:21-26, NKJV). Isn't this remarkably strange? Why would God feel this way?

The prophet Isaiah quotes God as saying, "Stop bringing meaningless offerings! New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations -- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moons, festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen" (Isa.1:13-115, NIV).

There must be something about the way most of God's people, who claim to celebrate His holy days, do it that is not pleasing in the sight of God. What is it? God calls them "evil assemblies," and says that they are a "burden" to Him, and He is weary of bearing them. He says that His very "SOUL" HATES THEM!

The rest of this chapter points out that there is something hypocritical and wicked about the way many of God's people conduct their lives, and then celebrate His holy festivals. God thunders, "Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.' For the mouth of the LORD has spoken" (Isa.1:15-20).

Isa 1:15 "So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you, Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
Isa 1:16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,
Isa 1:17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.
Isa 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
Isa 1:19 "If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land;
Isa 1:20 "But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword." Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Does God Hate His Own Holy Days?

Just what it is that God abhors about the way His people celebrate His holy days? It seems so strange -- people just take for granted that they are righteous in God's sight, and assume that they are observing His holy days properly.

Many people just assume they have a good relationship with God, but all the time they are living in a dreamland -- a spiritual fantasy-land of make-believe.

In the last chapter of Isaiah's prophecy, God explains further about what He hates concerning the offerings and celebrations of His people -- notice! "But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig's blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol. They have CHOSEN THEIR OWN WAYS, and their souls delight in their ABOMINATIONS" (Isa.66:3).

What is God saying here? It is simple. His people have PERVERTED HIS TRUTH, and corrupted His laws, and their religious practices are closely akin to PAGANISM -- whether they know or realize it or not! Their worship practices are related to idolatry. They have chosen their OWN ways -- instead of God's clear commandments. And the result is that they do things that God hates and detests!

This is very serious in God's sight -- not something to take lightly, or to brush off with nary a thought. God says: "So I also will choose HARSH treatment for them and will bring upon them WHAT THEY DREAD" (v.4). What most religious people dread is suffering the pangs and sorrows and anguish inflicted by the wrath of a jealous, holy God! -- the Great Tribulation and the Lake of Gehenna fire -- and unless God's people "get real" with their faith and obedience, and repent of their sins, which causes God to even hate their "New Moons, Sabbaths, and Sacred Assemblies" -- that is exactly what they are going to have to experience with unmitigated horror and undiminished pain and agony -- the results of their callous disregard of His divine laws and commandments!

"But how have we disobeyed God?" many wonder, and, "How is it that the way we observe the annual holy days is wrong and displeasing to God?" There are many ways the Christians -- and the Jews -- have both forsaken the original laws and commandments of God!

But why does God even say He hates something about the way many of His people observe His holy days -- which He calls THEIR New Moons, Sabbaths, and Festivals??

The Oracles of God

The apostle Paul declared boldly: "What advantage, then, is there is being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, THEY have been entrusted with the very words of God" (Romans 3:1-2).

The Jews have preserved the very oracles -- the very words -- of God, even though some of them haven't believed in the Messiah or held to the true faith. They still preserved the Old Testament Scriptures, and the knowledge of the laws, commandments, and words of God faithfully. They have preserved the knowledge of the sacred calendar, as well. However, as Paul declared, even though they preserved the oracles of God, THEY HAVE NOT OBEYED THEM! Paul wrote, "Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar" (Rom.3:3-4, NKJV).

But in spite of the fact the Jews have preserved the oracles of God, the Scriptures still declare that they have not obeyed them! What happened? Where did the Jews, and others who follow their lead, go wrong? WHY does God Himself say that He "hates" their New Moons, Sabbaths, and annual Festivals and sacred assemblies?

"Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge"

God warns in the prophecy of Hosea, "Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; for your people are like those who contend [argue with, fight with] with the priest. Therefore you shall stumble in the day; the prophet [minister] also shall stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have REJECTED KNOWLEDGE, I also will reject you from being a PRIEST for Me" (Hosea 4:4-6, NKJV).

LIVING BIBLE : Hosea 4:4 "Don't point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! Look, you priests, my complaint is with you!
Hosea 4:5 As a sentence for your crimes, you will stumble in broad daylight, just as you might at night, and so will your false prophets. And I will destroy your mother, Israel.
Hosea 4:6 My people are being destroyed because they don't know me. It is all your fault, you priests, for you yourselves refuse to know me. Now I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.

It would seem that for some reason the people of God -- including the Jews, and their descendants today -- the Rabbis and their followers -- as well as Christians and ministers of the various churches of God -- have become guilty of great sin, in the sight of God. What have they done? For starters, they have rejected the knowledge of GOD -- the truth of the Bible, and the Scriptures! They have all been guilty of replacing God's law and His truth with what? With their own TRADITIONS, and commandments of MEN!(Witness their Sundays, Holidays & Meetings)

Because they have forsaken God and His laws, He says through Hosea: "We will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths -- all her appointed feasts" (Hosea 2:11, NKJV). But why is God so upset? Why is He so angry?

Hosea 2:11 (LIVING) I will put an end to her annual festivals, her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days--all her appointed festivals.
Hosea 2:12 I will destroy her vineyards and orchards, things she claims her lovers gave her. I will let them grow into tangled thickets, where only wild animals will eat the fruit.
Hosea 2:13 I will punish her for all the times she deserted me, when she burned incense to her images of Baal, put on her earrings and jewels, and went out looking for her lovers," says the LORD.

Jeremiah, looking into this end time generation, as well as describing previous generations of God's people, begins to describe the sin of God's people. He declared under divine inspiration:

"Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD. How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us'? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD; so what wisdom do they have?" (Jeremiah 8:7-9, NKJV).

The Hebrew word for "appointed times," here, is moadim. It is the very word used for God's "festivals," which are also called "appointed times" (Lev.23:4). This Scripture is warning us that even migratory birds know the appointed times for their migrations, but God's people have forgotten and rejected their own "appointed times" to meet with God on HIS Holy Days, and

New Moons!

Why? Because their religious leaders have led them astray! Christian ministers have led Christians astray -- and Jewish rabbis and leaders have led the Jewish people astray!

Malachi makes this perfectly plain. He declares, in the final book of the Old Testament:

"'For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you [you priests and rabbis] have departed from the way; you have CAUSED MANY TO STUMBLE at the law; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,' says the LORD of hosts. 'Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways but have shown PARTIALITY IN THE LAW'" (Malachi 2:7-9).

How have the priests and rabbis caused many to stumble at God's Law? Don't they teach the law of God? What about the Orthodox rabbis? Don't they teach us God's laws? Haven't they preserved the "oracles" of God? Don't they obey them? Haven't they preserved the holy calendar, and the knowledge of all God's annual holy days, and when they are to be observed? -- at the "appointed times"?

Those are very important questions! Because most people who observe God's annual holy days, as God commanded, tell us that the JEWS preserved the calendar and the knowledge of the Holy Days!

Isn't it time we look into this matter carefully? The apostle JUDE tells us in no uncertain terms:

"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to CONTEND EARNESTLY for the faith which w was once for all delivered to the saints For certain men have crept in unnoticed . . . ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 3-4, NKJV).

Brethren, and people of God, let's face it! IF the Jews have made errors and mistakes concerning the HOLY CALENDAR, then we must determine what they were, and correct them, if we are to observe God's annual holy days at the right time, and on the God-appointed and God-sanctioned day!

Rather than take it for granted, as thousands and millions do, that the Jews have correctly preserved the Hebrew calendar, down through the ages, let's examine this issue -- this question -- once and for all -- without fear, favor or prejudice!

The WARNINGS of Jesus Christ

In the time of Jesus Christ, the Jewish religious leaders were already departing from the Torah and laws of God. The Pharisees, the religious leaders most highly respected and followed by the masses, were already adding many additional rules and restrictions regarding holy day and Sabbath day observance, dietary rules and personal cleanliness laws. At one point they accosted Jesus and asked Him why His disciples didn't wash their hands according to the "traditions of the elders" before eating (Matt.15:1-2). (LIVING)

Mat 15:1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to interview Jesus.
Mat 15:2 "Why do your disciples disobey our age-old traditions?" they demanded. "They ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat."
Mat 15:3 Jesus replied, "And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?

Jesus saw through their smokescreen of hypocrisy, and responded, saying: "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother; and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. But you say, 'Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God' -- then he need not honor his father or mother. Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition" (Matt.15:3-7).

Christ went on, saying of the Pharisees, and their religion of strict rules and burdensome regulations, called the "traditions of men":

"Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matt.15:13-14).

In the gospel of Mark, who mentions either the same or a similar encounter, Jesus said to the Pharisees of that time:

"Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And IN VAIN do they WORSHIP Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- Have the Jews added more "traditions" to the laws of God, since the time of Jesus ............... washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. He said to them, All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your TRADITION" (Mark 7:6-9, NKJV).

Jesus Christ and the first century? What about the calendar of the Jews, preserved down through the centuries? Have ungodly and unholy "traditions" been incorporated into the very calendar itself, the calendar the Jews follow today, and which they use to determine the beginnings days -- or New Moons -- of each month of the year, and the dates for the annual holy days of Passover, Pentecost, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles), and Shemini Atzaret (the Eighth Day)?

If the Jews at some point in history DID change the calendar in some basic, tangible way, then that would be VERY SERIOUS IN GOD'S SIGHT!

What does the record of history tell us? What about the Jewish or Hebrew calendar which we have today? How and when did it originate? How accurate is it?

A Brief Overview of the Jewish Calendar

According to the record of history, the Jewish Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman armies under Titus and Vespacian. The Jewish nation was destroyed in the Bar Kochba rebellion in 135 A.D. The Jews were driven into exile, into every nation under heaven. They were banished from Jerusalem, and the Jewish Sanhedrin was abolished. The Jewish leaders, in the lands of Arabs, survived with many of the Jewish people, and managed to keep their religious faith intact. But in those trying years, the calendar became a serious problem, because widely scattered Jewish people no longer had a central authority to sight the New Moons, and to report the correct days of the Holy Days. Different systems began to develop.

To put an end to this confusion, Rabbi Hillel II, in 358 A.D., made public the secret calendar calculations carefully maintained from ancient antiquity, and he and his colleagues decreed the "fixed" or "permanent" Hebrew calendar, based on those ancient calculations. So far, so good. By this means, they managed to maintain the unity of the Jewish faith through the unified observance of the Holy Days, no matter where Jews resided around the world.

Says Arthur Spier in The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar, the calendar and Holy Days were determined by sightings of the New Moon, from Jerusalem, and proclamation from the Sanhedrin, in ancient times. He goes on:

"This method of observation and intercalation was in use throughout the period of the second temple (516 B.C.E.- 70 C.E.), and about three centuries after its destruction, as long as there was an independent Sanhedrin. In the fourth century, however, when oppression and persecution threatened the continued existence of the Sanhedrin, the patriarch Hillel II took an extraordinary step to preserve the unity of Israel. In order to prevent the Jews scattered all over the surface of the earth from celebrating their New Moons, festivals and holidays at different times, he made public the system of calendar calcu lation which up to then had been a closely guarded secret.

It had been used in the past only to check the observations and testimonies of witnesses, and to determine the beginnings of the spring season. "In accordance with this system, Hillel II formally sanctified all months in advance, and intercalated all future leap years until such time as a new recognized Sanhedrin would be established in Israel" (p.1-2).

So far, so good. This was an honorable achievement and desire. With the threat of persecution driving the Sanhedrin "out of business," as it were, it was necessary for the Jews to resort to unusual and remarkable methods to preserve their unity and the unity of their faith and holy days, so all could observe the holy days and New Moons at the same time.

Oops! There's the Rub"

If this were all the Jewish leaders did at that time, we would have no problem, today. But having done this, Hillel II and his compatriots went a huge step further. They added to the calendar rules NEW RULES dealing with and permitting "postponements" to the calendar. That is, they added a set of rules that caused the Holy Day of Rosh Hashanah to be "postponed" in certain cases from the actual day of the New Moon, or "Molad" (the "Molad" is the actual moment of conjunction of the Moon and the Sun). The new "Dechiah a" was added in order to prevent Yom Kippur from falling on a Friday or a Sunday, and to prevent Hoshana Rabbah from falling on the weekly Sabbath.

Says Arthur Spier in The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar:

"a. When the Molad Tishri occurs on a Sunday, Wednesday,

or Friday, Rosh Hashanah is postponed to the following day.

"b. When the Molad Tishri occurs at noon (18h) or later,

Rosh Hashanah is postponed to the next day. (Or, if this day

is a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, to Monday, Thursday, or

Sabbath because of Dechiah a.)" (p.15).

The first part of Dechiah "b" is understandable and acceptable. If the Molad occurs after noon of a particular day, then the first faint crescent of the New Moon -- visible to the naked human eye -- would not be seen until the day following the actual Molad. This would cause a justifiable "postponement" of the New Moon (first day of the month) until the following day. The last part of Dechiah "b," however, reverts back to Dechiah "a," and causes another postponement, causing the beginning of the month to be TWO days after the actual Molad!

Why would the Jewish leadership do such a thing? Can it be justified? Or is messing around with the calendar of God in this manner similar to "messing with Mother Nature" -- a grave and unjustifiable offense -- a blatant and insubordinate attempt to rebel against God's Torah and to "change times and laws" to substitute human ideas or laws for the inspired God-given laws of His divine Word?

Why was Dechiah a added in 358 A.D. by Hillel II? Says Spier:

"Dechiah a mainly fulfills the following three religious require-

ments: Yom Kippur (Tishri 10) shall not occur on the day

before or after the Sabbath and Hoshana Rabbah (Tishri 21)

shall not occur on the Sabbath" (ibid.).

But why are these three religious requirements added to the law, causing a literal CHANGE in the day of Tishri 1, and therefore postponing Rosh Hashanah one day, and setting the whole sequence of the days of the month of Tishri one day later -- causing Yom Kippur to be delayed one day, as well as the whole Feast of Tabernacles to be delayed one day, and Shemini Atzaret, as well?

The "why" of postponements is explained more in another volume, Understanding the Jewish Calendar, by Rabbi Nathan Bushwick. He writes about this particular Dechiah:

"The second dechiah prevents Yom Kippur from falling the day before or the day after Shabbos.

This is avoided so that there will not be two days in a row on which it is forbidden to pre-

pare food or do the other sorts of work that are permitted on Yom Tov. Since Yom Kippur is

one week and two days after Rosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashanah cannot fall on Wednesday or Friday

in order that Yom Kippur not fall on Friday or Sunday. The second dechiah also prevents

Hoshanah Rabbah from falling on Shabbos, in which case we would not be able to perform the

custom of Arava and the seven hakofos. In order to prevent this, Rosh Hashanah is not permitted

to fall on Sunday.

There are therefore three days, Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, on which Rosh Hashanah can

never fall. If the molad falls on one of these days, then Rosh Hashanah is nidcheh -- pushed off

-- until the next day. In case the molad falls after noon on Shabbos, Tuesday or Thursday, Rosh

Hashanah is pushed off one day because it is a molad zoken, and since that would put it on one of

the three days on which it cannot fall, it is pushed off yet another day. In such a case we find

that Rosh Hashanah has been postponed two days from the molad (Understanding the Jewish

Calendar, p.80-81, bold emphasis mine).

But wait a minute, here! Who says it is wrong to have two days in a row in which it is forbidden to prepare food? Since when? The Word of God nowhere says such a thing! Where did the Jewish leaders get this idea?

Also, who says it is wrong to perform the custom of marching with the lulav, and beating the willow branches, on the weekly Sabbath day? Where did this Sabbath "prohibition" come from? It most certainly did not come from Scripture!

Sincere critics of the "postponements" point out that it seems ridiculous and unnecessary to have these "postponements." Particularly, it would make no difference if Yom Kippur occurs on a Friday or Sunday, or whether Hoshanah Rabbah occurs on a Sabbath. It would be perfectly all right to fast on Friday, the "preparation day" for the weekly Sabbath. In such a case, preparation for the Sabbath meals could be done on Thursday! Also, there is no reason you cannot begin a fast on the day after the weekly Sabbath! Therefore, the new innovation of "Dechiah a" is pure nonsense -- just one more Jewish "tradition" which conflicts with Scripture and leads directly to DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD'S OWN WORD!

In the Eyes of God

People have on occasion mentioned to me that they have noticed in some years that the Feast seemed to occur later than normal. That is, the full moon of Tishri, which normally falls on Tishri 15, in some years occurs a day or two BEFORE the 15th of Tishri, according to the Jewish calendar! This was caused, of course, by adherence to the "postponements."

But are these postponements really valid in the eyes of God? Where they ever allowed or sanctioned during the time of Christ, or the second Temple period? Or do they fall into the category of those "traditions of men" which were added by the Rabbis, which actually negate and nullify the LAWS of God Himself?

Did the Jewish leaders under Hillel II actually cause a CHANGE in the law of God CONTRARY to God's original instructions? Was this a case of men "thinking to change times and laws" (Dan.7:24)?

For years, I could not answer this question. I did not know the answer. Therefore, with no proof to the contrary, I assumed that the Jewish authorities may have been allowed to add the postponements. So I gave the Jewish rabbis -- and Hillel II -- the benefit of the doubt. But now I have learned that such was definitely not the case at all! In actual fact, they usurped God's authority, and replaced it with their own "rabbinical" authority! They changed God's laws by inserting their "postponements" under Dechiah "a"!

According to this rule, the reason Yom Kippur cannot fall on a Friday because that would add burden to preparation for the Sabbath, if Yom Kippur -- a fast day -- came on the day before the Sabbath. Also, it would -- the rabbis declared -- be a burden to keep Yom Kippur properly as a fast day, if it came right on the heels of the weekly Sabbath, a "Feast" day! Also, the rabbis said, Hoshana Rabbah -- the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles -- could not fall on the weekly Sabbath, because celebrating that day involved marching around the synagogue seven times, waving the lulav branches, and thrashing the floor with the willow branches -- and these things were considered to be "work," a violation of the seventh-day Sabbath.

Would Jesus Christ have "approved" of these postponements, added to and changing the Jewish calendar, from 358 A.D. till the present time? The answer should be obvious! He did not approve of the ridiculous Jewish restraints on the Sabbath day, and all their minutiae rulings about its observance, during the first century (Mark 2:1-28; John 5:1-18). He rejected their "traditions of men" instituted to be a "hedge" around the Sabbath, but making it a burdensome yoke instead!

How much less would He have "approved" of the new laws and restrictions they added three hundred years later!

These new rulings to hedge about the Sabbath -- the postponement of "Dechiah a" -- causing Holy Days to be delayed a whole day due to Jewish "traditions" on how to keep the Sabbath -- were not inspired of God, and were not followed during Temple times, and in the time of Christ and the apostles! Let's look into the Jewish source of legal religious authority -- the Mishna itself -- and prove this fact, once and for all!

Did you notice? The Day of Atonement, during Temple times, could and did occur on the "eve of the Sabbath" -- that is, FRIDAY! Therefore, Dechiah "a" forbidding the Day of Atonement to occur on a Friday was not observed in Temple times, and is null and void, as far as the Law of God is concerned! It was only added about three hundred years AFTER Temple times because of unjustified concerns about having two days in a row in which no food was to be prepared!

Here is another example from the Mishnah, showing that the ruling concerning Hoshana Rabbah was also a new invention by Hillel II and was not observed in Temple times. Again, in the section of the Mishnah titled "The Second Division: Appointed Times," under "Sukkah," we read the following:

"4:1 A. [The rites of] the lulav and the willow branch [carried by the

priests around the altar, M.5:5] are for six or seven [days]. . . .

"4:3 A. The willow branch rite is for seven days: How so?

B. [If] the seventh day of the willow branch COINCIDED WITH

THE SABBATH, the willow branch [rite] is for seven days . . .

"4:5 F. And on that day [the seventh day of the willow branch] they walk

around the altar seven times. . . .

"4:6 A. As the rite concerning it [is performed] on an ORDINARY DAY,

SO THE RITE CONCERNING IT [IS PERFORMED] ON THE

SABBATH" (page 286-287).

Notice! This is talking about the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles, or "Sukkoth." The seventh day is known as Hoshanah Rabbah. During Temple times, this day could and often did coincide with the weekly Sabbath! When it did so, the rites of the willow branch and lulav were performed AS THEY WERE ON AN "ORDINARY DAY"!

So states the authoritative Mishnah itself!

Clearly, then, the changes wrought in the calendar in the days of Hillel II concerning the postponement of "Dechiah a" were an innovation not supported by Scripture, nor were they observed in Temple or Biblical times. They constituted a DEPARTURE FROM THE LAW of Almighty God! They were unholy, unwarranted, and sacrilegious! Because of them, millions have been keeping God's annual Holy Days on the wrong day, for centuries, and even down to this present time!

No wonder God says He hates them! No wonder He says:

"The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies

-- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New

Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a

trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them" (Isaiah 1:13-14,

NKJV).

"I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred

Many people, perhaps, think that they are unable to "prove" or "test" the calendar. It is too erudite and sophisticated. But such is not the case at all. The basic principles a CHILD can be taught, and understand! All it takes is a little patience, instruction, and a willingness to LEARN!

Most of the great laws of science, can be reduced to simple equations. The laws of motion, the laws of thermodynamics, the principle of gravity, even the famous E = mc² of Albert Einstein states a basically simple premise, the energy of an object equals its mass times the speed of light squared.

How did we get into such a pickle? How did the Jewish leaders make such a "mess," in 358 A.D., when they could have preserved the true calendar without making any arbitrary changes? The answer lies in one word: ATTITUDE!

Where Men Always Go Astray

God says in His Word: "Whatsoever I command you, be careful to observe it: you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:32; see also Deut.4:1-2).

Duet 4:1 "And now, Israel, listen carefully to these laws and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.
t 4:2 Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you from the LORD your God. Just obey them.
Human nature, however, seems impelled to rebel. Paul tells us about the unregenerate heart of man: "Because the CARNAL MIND is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Rom.8:7). Jeremiah adds: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: Who can know it?" (Jer.17:9).

Solomon wrote in wisdom: "There is a way that SEEMS right to a man, but its end is the way of DEATH" (Prov.14:12). This precept is so important that God inspired it to be repeated word for word in Proverbs 16:25!

But doing what may "seem right" isn't doing what IS "right"! And although making certain changes to the calendar by adding "postponements" to accommodate religious sensitivities about the weekly Sabbath may have SEEMED right to Hillel II and his colleagues, that did not make it right at all! The end result, God says, is DEATH! And DEATH is the wages -- the payment earned -- for SIN (Romans 6:23). And what is "SIN"? "Sin is the transgression of the LAW" of God (I John 3:4). To nullify God's law, to reject God's law, for the sake of a few human TRADITIONS, is SIN -- lawlessness!

I am providing a New Moon and Holy Day chart for the years 2000-2002, for your study. I am also giving you a month by month comparison of the TRUE New Moons and Holy Days, and the dates the Hebrew calendar gives, to show you the dramatic difference in many cases. Although the Jewish dates are usually off by only one or two days, to miss the mark is to SIN!

As an old adage goes, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades"! People who observe the wrong day, in ignorance, can be forgiven. But to refuse to repent, and change, when proven wrong -- that is tantamount to willful and deliberate SIN! It is very serious presumptuous transgression of God's Law, His holy Word! Remember, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge," Solomon wrote (Proverbs 1:7), "but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

If you know to do it and you don't, You are sinning!

"Therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:17).

Jesus Christ warned: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops" (Luke 12:1-2, NKJV).

Isn't it time we stop following the treacherous teachings of hypocrites, and serve God in sincerity and truth? As Jesus said,

"You worship what you do not know; we know what we

worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming,

and now is, when the TRUE WORSHIPERS will worship

the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such

to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him

must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:22-24, NKJV).

The time has come to repent, and to obey God and serve Him and Him alone in sincerity, in spirit and in truth -- according to the truth of His Word.

How important is repentance and true obedience?

"And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose

that these Galileans [whose blood Pilate had mingled with

their sacrifices] were worse sinners than all other Galileans,

because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless

you REPENT, you will all likewise perish."

The time has come to REPENT of tinkering and messing with the Holy Calendar of Almighty God, which He gave to His people! Jesus the Messiah went on, saying:

"Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that these were worse sinners than all other men who dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but UNLESS YOU REPENT, you will all likewise PERISH" (Luke 13:3-5, NKJV).

It is a shame that so many of God's people are so deceived, and bewitched, and so ignorant -- so trusting of their religious leaders that they will follow them into the jaws of death and the gates of Hell, before they would think of ever questioning them or their teachings!

It is up to each one of us to prove these things, and then do what is RIGHT! Don't let men -- human leaders -- make excuses for sins, and lead you astray!

God says, "Bringing oblations is futile, incense is offensive to me. New moon and Sabbath, proclaiming of solemnities, assemblies with iniquity, I cannot abide. YOUR new moons and fixed seasons fill me with LOATHING; they are become a burden to me. I cannot endure them. And when you lift up your hands, I will turn my eyes away from you; though you pray at length, I will not listen. Your hands are stained with crime -- WASH YOURSELVES CLEAN; put your evil doings away from my sight. CEASE TO DO EVIL; learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; defend the cause of the widow.

"'Come, let us reach an understanding,' -- says the LORD. Be your sins like crimson, they can turn snow-white; be they red as dyed wool, they can become like fleece.' If, then, you agree and give heed, you will eat the good things of the earth; but if you REFUSE and DISOBEY, you will be DEVOURED [by] the sword. -- For it was the LORD who spoke" (Isaiah 1:13-20, Tanakh).

This is the truth of God. Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, Himself told us just how important the TRUTH is, for He said: "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will KNOW THE TRUTH, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). Is it not high time that we cleanse our hands of all the filth of error and lawlessness, and man-made human traditions, which ignore the Laws of God? Is it not high time that we turn to the LORD our God, in sincerity and in truth, and worship Him according to HIS WORD and His commandments, faithfully, loyally, and whole-heartedly?

These matters are indeed serious business. As Paul said to the Athenians, "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but NOW he commands all people everywhere to REPENT. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed" (Acts 17:30-31).

God challenges us, "PROVE ALL THINGS; hold fast that which is GOOD" (I thess.5:21). God declares many are going to be deceived and led astray, and loose out on salvation, during these last days, "because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie" (II Thess.2:10-11, NKJV).

2 Th 2:10 He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them.
2 Th 2:11 So God will send great deception upon them, and they will believe all these lies.
2 Th 2:12 Then they will be condemned for not believing the truth and for enjoying the evil they do.
2 Th 2:13 As for us, we always thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation, a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and by your belief in the truth.
2 Th 2:14 He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
------------

Do you LOVE the truth?

Isn't it time we stop following the treacherous teachings of hypocrites, and serve God in sincerity and truth? As Jesus said,

"You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the TRUE WORSHIPERS will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:22-24, NKJV).

The time has come to repent, and to obey God and serve Him and Him alone in sincerity, in spirit and in truth -- according to the truth of His Word.

How important is repentance and true obedience?

"And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans [whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices] were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you REPENT, you will all likewise perish."

The time has come to REPENT of tinkering and messing with the Holy Calendar of Almighty God, which He gave to His people! Yeshua the Messiah went on, saying:

"Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed

them, do you think that these were worse sinners than all other

men who dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but UNLESS

YOU REPENT, you will all likewise PERISH" (Luke 13:3-5,

NKJV).

It is up to each one of us to prove these things, and then do what is RIGHT! Don't let men -- human leaders -- make excuses for sins, and lead you astray!

God also tells us: "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2, NKJV).

Is this for REAL! ???? It is up to each one of us to prove these things, and then do what is RIGHT! Don't let men -- human leaders -- make excuses for sins, and lead you astray!