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Chapter Three

HOLY DAYS

Two Facts of Interest Regarding the
Establishment and Elimination of
Holy Statute Days

FIRST, THE TIME OF THEIR ESTABLISHMENT

“Then God commanded, let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin.” Genesis 1:14 Good News Bible

“God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days, and years.” Genesis 1:15 Jerusalem Bible

Festivals are determined by the moon, day and night by earth’s rotation, and years are determined by the sun.

“God said, let there be lights in the vault of heaven to separate day from night, and let them serve as signs both for festivals and for seasons and years.” Genesis 1:14 New English Bible

“And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” Genesis 1:14 KJV

Note: Regarding the KJV: The Bible Commentary says under “seasons”: “Yearly returning festival periods and other definite times were to be regulated by the movement of the celestial bodies.” 1BC 213

The word “seasons” comes from the Hebrew word “mo’ed.” Strong’s Concordance #4150 gives the English translation of mo’ed as “feasts = appointed times.”

At the time of creation, at the same time the foundation of the Seventh Day Sabbath was laid, so also were the other mo’eds [appointed times] given by God for His religious festivals.

SECOND, THE TIME OF THEIR REMOVAL

Now, what about fact number two? When were God’s festivals removed from the custody of the saints? By whom and when were they removed? Some say by Jesus, others say by Paul, but still others say by the little horn power of Daniel chapter 7. Let’s explore this last idea regarding Daniel chapter 7. To be consistent, we will read Daniel 7:25 from several Bible versions:

“He will speak against the supreme God and oppress God’s people. He will try to change their religious laws and festivals, and God’s people will be under his power for three and a half years.” Good New Bible

“He shall vaunt himself against the Most High, and harass the saints of the Most High: he shall plan to alter the sacred seasons and the law, and for three years and a half year the saints shall be handed over to him!” Moffatt Bible

“Boastfully he shall challenge the Most High, and do His servants despite; calendar and ordinance he shall think to set aside.” Knox Bible

“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” KJV

“He shall speak against the Most High, thinking to change the feast days and the laws.” New American Bible

It is interesting that the New Catholic Translation published by Thomas Nelson, Inc., says the same thing:

“...thinking to change the feast days and the law.”

When studying the “mark of the beast” Adventist often quote a letter from T. Enright, C.S.S.R., Bishop of St. Alphonsus Church, St. Louis, Missouri, from June, 1905, offering $1,000.00 dollars:

“To anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound under grievous sin, to keep Sunday holy.”

But, the letter contains a good deal more. The Seventh-day Sabbath is not all the letter contains in regard to this matter. It goes on to say:

“The Catholic church abolished not only the Sabbath, but all the other Jewish festivals.”

Now we know the rest of the story. Another source states this truth more simply:

“The new law has its own spirit...and its own feasts which have taken the place of those appointed in the law of Moses. If we would know the days to be observed...we must go to the Catholic Church, not to the Mosaic law.” From a Catholic Catechism as quoted in the Signs of the Times, November 4, 1919

Speaking of the mark of the beast Ellen White writes:

“The mark of the beast is exactly what it has been proclaimed to be. Not all in regard to this matter is yet understood, and will not be understood until the unrolling of the scroll...” 8T 159, CH 520, LDE 17, 6T 17

If God’s holy time is the exact issue, then what unrolling of it will be made plainer near the end of time? What if it is the extension of holy time into the other seven Sabbaths commanded by God at Mount Sinai? If this were the case, surely the language of the mark and the seal would be carried over into those holy times.

In fact, there is a direct mention of such a sign in verse nine in the following text:

6. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.
7. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all they quarters.
8. And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.
9. And it (Unleavened Bread) shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.
10. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. Exodus 13:6-10 KJV (parenthesis inserted/italics mine)

Surely God’s saints will have the sign/seal of God on them and the law of the Lord plainly in their mouths as they witness to a rebellious mark-of-the-beast world. (For the statutes in one’s forehead and hand, see Deuteronomy 6:8, 11:1, 18).

There is no question that the Seventh-day Sabbath is the stop-gap regarding the Mark of the Beast as given in Revelation 14:7; but it may also be significant that all the commandments of God are incorporated into the characteristics of those who escape the Mark of the Beast in Revelation 14:12.

Time of Trouble and the Sabbath More Fully

Merwin Abbott’s thoughts on Ellen White’s Early Writings statement are worth pondering. First he quotes Ellen White, and then uses her words as an explanation.

“At the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully.” Early Writings p. 33 (underlining mine)

“As a child I read this statement from Early Writings realizing something special was to be understood about the Sabbath and proclaimed during the ‘commencement’ of the time of wrath. When I asked my mother, ‘What was the Sabbath more fully?’ She did not know. In the years since then, I have heard various views. Sister White explained herself.”

“The minds of the people, blinded and debased by slavery and heathenism, were not prepared to appreciate fully the far reaching principles of God’s ten precepts. That the obligations of the Decalogue might be more fully understood and enforced, additional precepts were given, illustrating and applying the principles of the Ten Commandments.” Patriarchs and Prophets p. 310 (emphasis mine)

“Again, the people were reminded of the sacred obligation of the Sabbath. Yearly feasts were appointed, at which all the men of the nation were to assemble before the Lord, bringing to Him their offerings of gratitude and the first fruits of His bounties.” PP 311 (underlining mine)

Then Mr. Abbott adds in capital letters: “READ THE CONTEXT!” Paul the Sabbath Keeper? And the National Easter Sunday Law, by Merwin H. Abbott, p.15

The Great Statute Book

The Torah is written in the first five books of the Bible. It contains the story of Satan’s deception of mankind in the Garden of Eden and it also contains the horrendous ruin of humanity in the devastation of the flood. The Torah contains much more than just the statutes and judgments. The Torah also contains the story of good and evil from the very beginning of this world.

Actually, Ellen White takes us further back in history to a pre-world era to let us know who the original guilty party really was that began trampling on heaven’s code of ethics. By now you have probably figured it out by yourself, but she leaves no room for doubt as to when the problem started and who started it.

“The great statute-book is truth, and truth only; for it delineates with unerring accuracy the history of Satan’s deception, and the ruin of his followers. Satan claimed to be able to present laws which were better than God’s statutes and judgments, and he was expelled from heaven.” 2RH 370, 6/17/1890

Today, in this final generation, men and women are hearing a call to study deeply into the original commandments, statutes, and judgments. Heaven’s original code of ethics is becoming a thing of beauty to them. They are not willing to be swayed by tradition, peer pressure, social status, or even job security, in their determination to “restore every divine institution” (PK 678). They are also willing to be counted among those who will be a “clean and holy people to declare His statutes and judgments” (1T333). Many among this final generation believe that “the words of Moses to Israel, concerning the statutes and judgments of the Lord, are also the word of God to us” (ST 3/21/1895). Talk about Excitement!

Malachi and the Elijah Message

In the context of the final saints being “purged as gold and silver” to “abide the day of His coming,” Ellen White counsels:

“The closing words of Malachi are a prophesy regarding the work that should be done preparatory to the first and the second advent of Christ. This prophecy is introduced with the admonition, “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Southern Watchman 3/21/05 (italics mine)

Surely then, those who present the Elijah message against the beast and his image will respect the law of Moses with the statutes and judgments. We will examine the law of Moses and the final Elijah message more closely later in the book.

The feast days [Hebrew: “Mo’ed” appointed times] were given as a gift from God. Since seven of them are observed only once a year, they should never be considered a burden. Quite the opposite, they were designed to be a rich blessing, something to lighten the load and aid in a person’s walk with God.

In many of the new Bible versions, the word “statutes” is often not there. Could it be that an influence from the same horn power that Bible prophecy predicted would change them has influenced these word changes?

In the next section, the reader will find it profitable to adventure into some of the New Testament’s record regarding these very holy times. So get ready to enjoy a discovery of the feast days starting with the one we know and love the most, the Seventh-day Sabbath. And why not? It will soon be used as a badge of honor in front of a decaying civilization.

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