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The New Testament contains a good deal of symbolism. Why is so much symbolism imbedded in the NT? The character of the ancient church was Judeo-Christian. The vast majority of the very first Christians were of Jewish ancestry. This symbolism helped them transition from the Mosaic Covenant to the New Covenant and grasp the continuity in God's plan of salvation. For these early Christians the feast days (Annual Sabbaths) and weekly Sabbaths took on new meaning in bringing them as the new congregation of God, the Church of God, to the eternal rest in the Kingdom of God.
The normal pattern of corporate worship illustrated in the New Testament included meeting on the seventh day Sabbath, beginning sunset Friday through sunset Saturday, and related to the Christian Passover and the seven annual Sabbaths (Acts 13:14; 13:42; 13:44; 16:13; Hebrews 14:9). The occasion of other meetings in the New Testament are incidental exceptions not the rule. The seven annual Sabbaths, in the apostolic hermeneutic, provided the early Church of God a symbolic outline of God's plan of salvation (Colossians 2:16-17).
Annual Festival Calendar and Its Symbolism |
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The Sinaitic Covenant |
The New Covenant |
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Feast or Festival |
Type |
Antitype |
Feast
of the Passover
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Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage with redemption through the blood of the slain lamb. About 3:00 p.m. on Nisan 14 the high priest kills the first Passover lamb, by slitting its throat and allowing it to bleed to death. |
The deliverance of the Church from the bondage of sin through Christ, our passover sacrificed for us (I Corinthians 5:7), as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Jesus, the lamb of God, dies on the cross about 3:00 p.m., from loss of blood. The Passover for Christians was transformed into an annual reminder and symbol of Christ's sacrifice for us. He will again take the Passover with all his followers in the Kingdom of God (Mark 14:24-25; Luke 22:15-16). |
Feast of Unleavened Bread
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The wave sheaf, the first of the first fruits of the early barley harvest, offered the first day of the week (Sunday morning), symbolizing the dedication of the whole year's crops (Leviticus 23:10-14). The second annual Sabbath celebrates the crossing of the Red Sea on their way to the Land of promise. |
Passover Sabbath, the first of the Annual Sabbaths and the days of unleavened bread, represents....Christ, the first of the first fruits of the spiritual harvest, appeared before God the Father on the first day of the week (Sunday morning). The second annual Sabbath celebrates Christian freedom from sin and its effects upon believers on their way to the rest of God's kingdom. The shadow of this feast and its two holy days or Annual Sabbaths, was fulfilled in the Resurrection and freedom form sin in Christ. |
Feast of
Firstfruits
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Always on Sunday, the dedication of the early wheat harvest, the firstfruits, to God. Sanctify Israel and clean her anew for the season's work and rejoicing. |
On Sunday, the founding of the Church of God, the firstfruits of the spiritual harvest, when God gave the Holy Spirit as the "Spirit of Truth" (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13) and as a "Helper" (John 14:16, 14:26; 15:26). On that day the shadow of this Annual Sabbath became a reality. The day now commemorates the Ch8rch of God's anniversary of the receipt of the Holy Spirit. |
Feast of Trumpets
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A day for the blowing of trumpets (Numbers 29:1). There is no emphasis on the fall Feast of Trumpets in the Torah or in the balance of the Hebrew Scriptures. |
The Feast of Trumpets symbolizes the return of Jesus the Messiah and the resurrection of the saints (I Thessalonians 4:16). It remains a shadow of what is to come�the sounding of the trumpet of God and Christ's second coming. |
Day of Atonement
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A day of fasting, where people were to remain in their houses and recall that their high priest was to enter the Most Holy Place and reconciling them with God. |
The reconciliation of God with humanity. The atoning work of Christ (Hebrews 2:14f.; 6:19; 7:27; 9:24; 13:12) for those who would turn to God in sincere repentance. |
Feast of
Tabernacles
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Celebrated the completion of the great fall harvest. |
The Feast of Tabernacles the one thousand year reign of the Messiah where many will follow God (Revelation 20:3-4). |
Last Great Day
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Marked the conclusion of the festival year. |
The resurrection of the dead for final judgment (Revelation 20:5, 20:12). |
Consider the meaning of Paul's statement in Colossians 2:16-17. Many clerics and laity are quick to remind us that in this verse Paul held that Christians are not to let any man judge them in regard to food, drink, new moons, festivals and Sabbaths. This much overworked scripture, however, is problematic. The NASB rendering of Verse 17 reads "things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; the substance belongs to Christ." This rendering disregards the context of the epistle.
Paul wrote his epistle, ca. CE 58, from his prison cell in Caesarea Maritima on learning of a raid by Essene Jews disrupting the Colossian congregation. The apostle Paul cautioned the Colossian brethren not to allow these intruders judge the congregation with respect to holy days, that is, Sabbath days which are a shadow of things to come (Colossians 2:16). It is important to take note that the Essenes significantly differed with the leadership of the early Church of God regarding the issues outlined in Colossians 2:16�eating, drinking, festivals, new moons, and Holy Days. The calendar used by the Essenes was not that followed by the early church (see Essene Calendar), nor was the New Covenant emphasis on the redemption of humanity the teaching of the Essenes, nor did it abide by the dietary practices advanced by the Essenes (vegetarianism), nor did it observe the Essene annual Sabbaths.
At issue were the "Sabbath days which are a mere shadow of what is to come" [annual Sabbaths with prophetic symbolic meaning for Christians] not the weekly Sabbath. At that time the weekly Sabbath was the common day of worship for traditional Jews, Essene Jews, and the Church of God. This day of corporate worship for all three groups was the weekly Sabbath extending from sunset Friday night to sunset Saturday night. The point made by the apostle Paul was that in these matters the congregation was not to let anyone, and in particular the Essenes, judge them except "the body of Christ" (Colossians 2:17, see marginal notes in the NASB). He was claiming the right of the apostolic church to be the judge not the Essenes. Now, in the immediate context of Colossians and the greater context of all the apostle Paul's writings, what does the metaphor the "body of Christ" refer too?
The apostle Paul consistently utilizes the metaphor of the "body of Christ" being the qehal'el, Church of God, in his epistles. See I Corinthians 12:12�28; Ephesians 1:22�23, 4:12; 5:30; Colossians 1:18; 1:24; 2:17�19; 3:14; cf. Acts 26:23. How can we understand this phrase in any other way without violating the text? We can't. In context, specifically in Colossians itself, the rules of exegesis dealing with context require the metaphor or symbol "body of Christ" in Colossians 2:16-17 to refer to the apostolic church under the leadership of the apostles themselves.
The apostle Paul�s passing reference at Colossians 2:16 to the practice of observing new moons in his ca. CE 58 epistle infers that a controversy had arisen concerning the time the new moon would have been observed. The evidence suggests that for the first time signal fires were set by the Samaritans to disrupt the signaling of new moons around CE 50. If the Samaritans were closer to the Jews at the time of Christ, for example, the Jews didn�t object to baptizing Samaritans ca. CE 31 the way they did the Gentile Cornelius ca. CE 35, there may have been another flare up. Paul pointed out that it was not men who judged doctrinal matters but the Church of God. To which church was Paul referring? The apostolic church. Its standard, now set forth in the New Testament, is the pattern for Christians today and the basis of judgment. Accordingly, the apostles left no minister, priest, rabbi, imam, or other religious leader with the authority to set the standard for Christian conduct. The New Testament, for all Christians for all time, sets that standard.
Page last edited: 11/28/04 08:44 AM
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starting web/internet resource by the
