Preface How This Book Came About

N MY FIRST PERSONAL encounter with some dedicated feastkeepers, I soon realized that I was rather ill-prepared to adequately discuss several of the Bible passages and Ellen White quotations they employed to explain the reasons for their promotion and practice of observing the annual appointed seasons. It was only after visiting a spring feast-keeping camp meeting that I began to do much more serious scriptural research on this biblical topic. At a subsequent fall feast-keeping camp meeting, in a different location, I became personally acquainted with a couple who have been active in putting their beliefs into print, both electronically and in book-form. As we chatted about the festal calendar, the husband shared with me his top biblical reasons for observing these annual feast days. He told me that, as far he knew, I was the first theologian and first administrator in the Seventh-day Adventist Church who had taken time to actually sit down with, and carefully listen to, those who are actively involved in keeping and promoting the festal calendar. As such, be urged me to meticulously examine the matter of the observance of the annual appointed seasons. In addition, he invited me to go to his website, to carefully read through, and scripturally respond to the more than 90 challenging questions he has raised concerning these set times, especially as outlined in Leviticus 23.1 Also, he gave me a free copy of a small evangelistic book on the feast days, which he had produced. Incidentally, at that same camp meeting I received three additional free books from a different prolific festal calendar supporter, which includes further

Feast-Keeping and the Faithful

arguments in favor of the continued observance of these annual set seasons. Obviously, if my investigation of the multiple passages utilized by feast-keepers would validate and vindicate their present practice, they would be pleased with such results. However, they assured me that their primary aim was to live as committed Christians, faithful to the Word of God. Hence, if the use of proper Bible study would demonstrate that the festal calendar is no longer to be observed, they would likewise appreciate knowing the results of my scriptural analysis. This openness and willingness to listen to and live up to the light from the Bible is the right response, for anyone who professes to be a Christian. I promised my new-found friend as well as others that I would do my very best to seriously study these matters, as soon as I could, and would be willing to follow wherever the evidence of accurate biblical examination would lead.

Providential 3ABN Rebroadcast of Feast Days

Little did I know that the very weekend I had set aside as the time to begin seriously writing this book on the matter of feastkeeping would be the same weekend that Three Angels Broadcasting Network [3ABN] would decide to again globally rebroadcast the Today Live interview I had done on July 29, 2010, months before, on the very same topic! Before the final showings were even done being rebroadcast on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, I tried to call Dee Hilderbrand at 3ABN. She told me that in the 15 years she had served at 3ABN, they had never done such a thing as rebroadcasting a Today Live program twice. We briefly discussed the obviously Providential nature of this error, since it was clear that God had brought this about, at just the right time, especially because this question of the observance of the festal calendar is a matter deserving careful attention at the present time. Needless to say, this Providential confluence of events spurred me on in the task at hand.2 While I was slowed down a bit, in that I tried to respond to the many emails and voicemails from various

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countries around the world, I was encouraged by the overwhelming support and appreciation for the materials that I had presented in that 3ABN Today Live interview, titled Feast-Keeping and the Final Crisis. It appears that there is a growing interest in the question of the literal observance of the annual appointed seasons, as well as the precise meaning of the term sabbath/s mentioned in Colossians 2:16.

My Introduction to Annual Feast Days

Perhaps I should begin this decades-long journey right at the beginning. Back in 1989 I was attending classes at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, where I was studying towards a doctorate in Systematic Theology with an emphasis in Ethics. One of the classes I took was titled Doctrine of the Sabbath. To fulfill part of the class requirements I decided to write a paper on The Sabbath in Colossians 2:14-17 with Implications for Salvation. It turned out to be quite an intriguing journey, as I researched and typed up a 100-page document. I must admit that up until that point in time I had accepted the basic Adventist interpretation of the passage in Colossians 2:16, which reads: Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath.3 In brief, the standard Adventist interpretation is that the final term sabbath/s refers to the ceremonial sabbaths of the ancient Jewish religion, which together with the other annual feast days and new moons, are no longer to be observed, since they have found and met their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.4 However, as I delved deeper and wider into this entire issue, I found myself floundering in a field filled with veritable linguistic landmines! As I tried to traverse the textual territory, I tripped over explosive explanations that simply shattered my earlier sense of satisfaction concerning this controverted passage of Scripture.

Feast-Keeping and the Faithful

Fast forward with me over a dozen years. A concerned medical student came to talk with me, having heard about my doctoral class research on the sabbath/s in this short epistle to the Colossians. Spurred on by several emails, and encouraged by a fellow theologian, I decided to personally publish the results of my research in a small 80-page booklet. Desiring to dig deeper into this passage on a more formal level, I was also able to register at the University of the Western Cape, in my home country of South Africa, for a PhD in New Testament Studies, on the meaning of the term sabbath/s in Colossians 2:16. It was in January 2007 when Ronald Knott, the Director of the Andrews University [AU] Press, invited me to meet with him to discuss this material, since he had read through my 80-pages of research. At his request, and as later officially voted by the AU Press board, I agreed to submit a rewritten and expanded manuscript on this topic of the sabbath/s in Colossians 2:16, specifically seeking to share this significant information with pastors and professors not of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. After going through the rigorous academic process of being refereed by other scholars, and then being carefully worked over by several others, this volume was eventually published at the end of 2008, as Judging the Sabbath: Discovering What Cant Be Found in Colossians 2:16. About a couple of months after that initial contact by AU Press, Shelly Quinn of 3ABN called and asked if I would be willing to be interviewed regarding my research on Colossians 2:16, on their Today Live program. The goal of this specific presentation was to reach out to Christians who worship on Sunday, so as to share with them the amazing new discoveries on this topic, which provide an abundance of textual, inter-textual and contextual evidence to show that this passage is actually dealing with the ceremonial sabbaths, and not the seventh-day Sabbath at all.5 In this manner, I hoped to clearly demonstrate that the above text, which has been used for about 1,800 years against the weekly Sabbath, does not in any manner remove the sacred obligation of observing this memorial to

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creation, as enshrined in the Ten Commandments, located in Exodus 20:8-11. Thus, on August 16, 2007 I was interviewed by Pastor John Lomacang regarding the research I had been involved in concerning the sabbath/s in Colossians 2:16. After the one-hour interview, we continued the Live presentation, during which time people sent in questions related to the subject. And it was at that point in time, as well as subsequently, that I first truly became aware of the growing interest in the larger question of the annual festal calendar. Frankly, I was initially surprised at the amount of materials I received in the mail, almost all of it from professing Seventh-day Adventists, who challenged me regarding some of the statements I had made on that 3ABN Today Live presentation.6 In a nutshell, virtually all of the documents that I received claimed that Bible-believing Seventh-day Adventists need to faithfully observe, not only the seventh-day Sabbath of the Decalogue, but also all of the annual set times, especially as identified in Leviticus 23 Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. Moreover, the personal letters sent to me, accusing me of teaching heresies, deception of the most dangerous kind, and of misleading thousands in that 3ABN broadcast, contained some rather strong condemnation. In fact, one writer even stated that, if I continued in rebellion against these set times, I would be in danger of capital punishment!

Personal Involvement with Feast Issues

Over the past few years, as the teaching and practice of feastkeeping has grown (through written materials, electronic media, as well as one-on-one contacts), various committed spiritual leaders of congregations and conferences have contacted me, requesting that I come and assist, or send materials to help, in understanding and adequately addressing this developing movement. As a result, I have had the opportunity of meeting and fellowshipping with many feast-

Feast-Keeping and the Faithful

keepers. They have been very gracious with their time and materials, and have been truly hospitable as well. In addition, as already briefly mentioned, I have personally traveled to the locations where some feast-keepers meet for these festal occasions. I have spent multiple hours in listening to formal presentations, as well as personal explanations as to why these appointed seasons are being kept. I have watched many pro-feast videos, read through many documents, carefully gone through approximately a dozen books (mostly by those promoting the festal calendar), and have spent untold hours in searching the Scriptures in order to better understand the importance and relevance of this matter. Frankly, I must admit that, as my festival observing friends and acquaintances have aptly pointed out, far too many of the vital questions they have been asking and are continually raising do not generally appear to have been thoroughly investigated or comprehensively addressed in the literature currently available, especially within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.7 True, some of these church members have been observing the festivals for many years, even decades, and have been discovering more and more materials that seem to strengthen their case for the restoration of these annual set seasons. More recently, at the request of a conference administrator, I had the opportunity of presenting a six-part series on the festal calendar, at the Michigan Conference camp meeting in 2010. This was followed shortly afterwards, at the end of July, by the earlier mentioned Today Live presentation at 3ABN, focusing on the set times. In addition, I have been invited to speak at Adventist churches where feast-keeping has now become an issue. In short, this has indeed been an interesting and insightful journey! While I deeply treasure many friendships I have made among the feast-keepers, my only real ultimate interest has been to discover whether or not faithful, Bible-believing Christians ought to be observing these annual set seasons. But, before we go any

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further, consider for a moment the seriousness of the festal calendar, from the viewpoint of feast-keepers themselves.

Challenges Made by Some Feast-Keepers

Various serious challenges and some rather radical claims are being made by feast promoters, who are still officially members of the Adventist Church. These include the following: The annual festal calendar is not part of the ceremonial system of the Jews, but rather is a part of the moral law of God and is binding upon us; therefore, these annual appointed seasons must be faithfully observed. The seventh-day Sabbath together with all the other annual feast days and sabbaths stand and fall together.8 When the Sunday law is passed, Adventists will finally see that their position on Colossians 2:16 has been defenseless. There will then be only two choices open to them: Join the SDA feast-keepers and embrace all of Gods holy days; or, join the evangelicals, who do not keep any of these festivals, and give up the seventh-day Sabbath. Feastkeepers then declare: We predict that they will . . . give up the Sabbath. If we do not observe these annual set seasons we will receive the Mark of the Beast; for Armageddon is a battle over whose Holy Days you are going to keep. The skeleton in the closet of the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session is that the festal calendar was removed and replaced; and that is why the Latter Rain has not been poured out. In a nutshell, if Adventists really desire to experience the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we need to begin to observe all of the annual appointed seasons again!

Feast-Keeping and the Faithful

Opportunity to Share the Results of Research

What is one to do with these serious challenges made to nonfeast-keeping Adventists, especially in view of the claim that there are literally thousands in the SDA Church keeping the feasts? If there is any validity to the challenges made, then it is imperative that the matter of the observance of the annual festal calendar be brought before Gods people as vital new light, to be faithfully followed. However, if the above charges prove to be invalid and illegitimate, from the perspective of appropriate and accurate methods of biblical interpretation, then it is the sacred duty of watchmen on the walls of Zion to alert as many as possible to the dangers of following cunningly devised fables! This is especially so, when one realizes the grave danger of mingling truth with error, as Ellen White so strongly warned: The doctrine of truth will be mingled with error, and the result will be that those who are taught will cherish error as they do the truth. . . . It will be more difficult to reach and correct their errors, than to bring a company into the truth from the darkness of complete ignorance of the truth. It would have been better if they had not heard this mingling of the truth with falsehood, for then the truth in its purity would be more effective in reforming their lives and characters. More harm can be done by one who has a mixture of truth and error, than many who teach the whole truth can undo and correct (RH, May 29, 1888, par. 4). After getting to know many feast-keepers, after assessing the practice of the observing of these annual appointed seasons, but more vitally, after digging deeply into the inspired Word of God, and having carefully studied the writings of Ellen White, I am convinced that it is time to put into writing the many significant biblical truths that can be found from a responsible and proper use of Scripture, in regard to this important matter. The reader will notice that, in addition to extensive and intensive personal research done on this topic, the results of various other Bible scholars will be referred to. However, these will only be used, as and when their concepts

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articulate in an accurate manner what can be clearly derived from Scripture. Obviously, the materials presented here may prove to be quite stimulating for some. However, as Ellen White reminds us: Real peace can never be secured by compromising principle. And no man can be true to principle without exciting opposition (DA, 356). So, if you are open to the serious searching of the sacred Scriptures, with a willing heart, read on. And, you will be convinced by the critical clarity of the Written Word, as it points to the Living Word, Jesus Christ! While this book by no means claims to be exhaustive, the material presented here, in a popular question-and-answer format, seeks to provide a ready resource for those looking for biblical answers regarding the most vital questions raised on this matter of Feast-K eeping and the Faithful.

Ron du Preez Endnotes

1. I did accept that challenge; and have carefully gone through all of the arguments he has made. This book is a sincere attempt to adequately respond to the questions raised on that website. Obviously, this volume also addresses many additional issues raised by other feast promoters. 2. As noted in the final paragraph of this chapter, this book by no means claims to be exhaustive. Why then, even though there may be more issues to explore on this topic, is this book being published now? As already noted, the Providential events at the very time of beginning to write this book spurred me on. But, additional significant factors, which precipitated the production of this book, include the following: (a) It has become crystal clear that a growing number of Adventists are being challenged by the matter of observing the annual festal calendar; hence, it seems that there is an urgent need to provide some handy resource for this issue. (b) Personal interaction with feast-keepers indicates that there is a desperate need to fairly deal with the actual questions currently being raised. (c) Finally, a lesson needs to be taken from the counsel given by Ellen White to John Andrews, in connection with his desire and practice of trying to thoroughly deal with every possible issue and objection even before

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publishing the results of any of his research. Discussing Andrews research on the history of the seventh-day Sabbath, Ellen White stated that Elder Andrews is Gods chosen servant to do a special w ork; but he made a mistake in keeping the Sabbath History from the people in order to present a perfect work, and in allowing his mind to be diverted from the work God would have him do. He should have given this important work much sooner, and then improved it as he could do so (RH, November 4, 1875, par. 12). 3. This is from the Revised Standard Version (RSV), which, of all generally available English Bible versions, proves to be the most accurate translation of this specific text, as will be demonstrated in the book, Judging the Sabbath (see endnote 4 below). Normally, unless otherwise indicated, the New King James Version (NKJV) will be used when referencing the English Bible. The use of the NKJV (similar to that of the RSV) is not done as a blanket endorsement of this translation, but merely since it provides a ready and most reliable rendition of the passages being addressed here. 4. This standard Adventist interpretation is found, for example, in Seventh-day Adventists Believe. . . : A Biblical Exposition of Fundamental Doctrines (Silver Spring, MD: Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2005), 274, 287. 5. This material is currently available in the scholarly book produced at the request of the Andrews University Press: Ron du Preez, Judging the Sabbath: Discovering What Cant Be Found in Colossians 2:16 (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2008). 6. Although I have been somewhat aware of Adventist feast-keeping for more than 30 years, though I have published some related materials almost 20 years since I began my research into Colossians 2:14-17, and even though I am currently w orking on a PhD dissertation on the sabbata in Colossians 2:16, I do not claim to have all of the answers to the significant questions being raised by the growing number of feast-keepers inside the SDA Church. However, I trust that this volum e will provide a ready resource to adequately address many, if not most, of the key biblical questions often raised by festal calendar promoters. 7. The only known published official booklet, is that by ngel Manuel Rodrguez, Israelite Festivals and the Christian Church, Biblical Research Institute Releases 3 (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2005). Two other booklets have attempted to address this m atter: Herbert E. Douglass, Feast Days: Shadows of Our Faith (Roseville, CA: Am azing Facts, 2006); and, Jacques B. Doukhan, Should We Observe the Festivals? A Seventh-day Adventist Perspective (Berrien Springs, MI: Shabbat Shalom Publications, 2009). While these three booklets do address a variety of matters regarding the festal calendar, none of them has addressed (at all, or even somewhat

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adequately) several of the key questions legitimately raised by feastkeeping Adventists. Since appropriate biblical answers seem to be rather difficult to find in any published resources, I have decided to attempt to provide carefully reasoned, scripturally-sound materials on this issue. 8. Interestingly, this very concept, that the Sabbath and the other sacred appointed times (moed) [sic] stand and fall together, appears to be borrow ed directly from the doctrinal beliefs of people such as The Assembly of Yahweh, headquartered in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. (See, for example, their booklet Feasts of Yahweh: The Sacred Appointments, 10; note that the above-quoted statement comes directly from page 15 of this booklet).