Blog name and purpose

Just because I have not been writing for a couple weeks doesn't mean I haven't been thinking. This is the first blog I have kept in which I have no recent readers, and I am learning that readers motivate me to write. I think the readers I had here got discouraged during my very long absence, with good reason.

I've been thinking on the name of this blog. At first, several years ago (when I had readers) it was Yeshua Is My Salvation, then I changed it to Morning by Morning, from a favorite text, "Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will." Isaiah 50:4. For a short while it was Christians and Feast Days, then it was Appointed Times, for a short while it was Salvation Timeline, then Appointments, and now it is These are My Feasts! Perhaps some day I'll find exactly the right title.

The reason for all the changes is that I've been looking for a name that depicts the purpose of the blog, not just part of it, but is not too bland. "Appointments," I think, is on the bland side and not descriptive enough.

I've been studying topics that are of interest to me and that have come up as issues among some of my friends. I've seen some of these topics cause a lot of friction between people, causing distance between friends and family members, and even loss of church membership. The topics I've approached so far are the true name (must use, or not?), the trinity (yes or no), and the appointed times (feast days). It's not just hearsay that these topics have caused friendships to end. I've experienced it myself. I told a friend who called me regularly, a couple times a week, that I was studying about the trinity, that I had doubts as to whether it was a biblical doctrine. That was all, just one sentence. That friend asked me no questions, didn't ask me to explain myself, and never called or spoke to me again. I was astounded! This is the main reason for my current anonymity, though I may change that soon, for we are to give the trumpet a certain sound, and hiding behind a blur doesn't help.

People often ask me, "Do you think you have to believe these things in order to be saved?"

My answer is, "You only have to believe on Jesus to be saved. That's what the Bible tells us." A major emphasis on commandments and what we should and should not do in order to be saved is a false focus, because what we do does not save us. It is legalism. When Jesus enters us through His spirit, He lives through us, and our lives become what He wants us to be. It's His job, not ours. We invite Him in; He lives in us.

I have thought that it would be great if I could include Love in the title somehow. Still thinking.

Jesus said,

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. - Matthew 22:37-39

So why do I bother about some of these other topics?

The Bible is here for us to learn more, to show God's hands-on approach to loving and saving humanity, to make our spiritual lives deeper and richer.

New learnings that have made my journey more meaningful include knowing that Jesus' given name was Yeshua, which means Salvation. It sent a delicious chill down my back when I learned that our Creator is the embodiment of Salvation! I still use the common name, Jesus, because in conversation everyone will know who I mean.

Another deepening of my Christian walk was learning the significance of the Feasts, also called Holy Days, God's Holidays, Appointed Times, or Moedim. These annual sabbaths are God's Salvation Timeline.  I don't mean that they are a schedule of date and time of Jesus' return, but they show how we have been saved, from His death on Passover, to His spirit being given to His followers at Pentecost (and will be again), to the last Trump when He returns and takes us home to tabernacle with Him. The Jews had this gift for centuries, but only in hindsight were they able to recognize the significance of the yearly rites and ceremonies of the tabernacle. I believe that the rites and ceremonies came to an end at the death of Jesus, but that significance of the timeline remains. I plan to study and share this topic in a future post.

He built the timeline when He planned the salvation of the world before it was created. At creation He put lights in the heavens to signal the object lessons (tabernacle services) that the people would participate in yearly -- of His work of Salvation.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years. Genesis 1:14

The object lessons of the appointed times were further enhanced by events He put into place to happen exactly at the times He scheduled. These historic events, -- Jesus' death at Passover, for example -- don't mean they are fully fulfilled or that a partial fulfillment means they no longer have significance to those of us who look forward to His reappearing.

As I learn of His love for me through participating in celebrating His Holy Days, I am so much the richer for having put that focus on Him!

Nine texts that use the term "sabbath days"

If all agree that the first eight texts refer to the weekly Sabbath, why should they interpret the ninth instance differently?

1. Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? Matthew 12:5
2. And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. Matthew 12:10
3. How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Matthew 12:12
4. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. Mark 3:4
5. And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. Luke 4:31
6. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? Luke 6:2
7. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? Luke 6:9
8. And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Acts 17:2
9. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Colossians 2:16

What are the Sabbath days?

The whole purpose of these Colossians 2 posts has been for myself, to understand what is being said, and to clear up the inconsistencies of the various explanations that have not made sense to me. I've come to see that the common interpretations stem from 1) The desire of Sunday keepers to nail the Sabbath commandment to the cross, and 2) The desire of seventh-day Sabbath keepers to nail the "Ceremonial Law," including the Holy Days, to the cross.

My studies have shown me that none of God's law was nailed to the cross. When our Saviour died for our sins, what was nailed to the cross was the handwriting of the ordinances that were against us, the declaration that we are guilty. Understanding this point is basic, and once understood really leaves no need for the believer to defend the rest of the text. However, because the rest of the text has been influenced by the belief that the Ten Commandments or the Ceremonial Law has been nailed to the cross, the interpretation of the remainder of the text is skewed toward bolstering that incorrect understanding, so we are left to deal with it. It is certainly an interesting study.

I'm addressing interpretations that have come about due to a certain mindset brought to these few verses. Each phrase has deep importance, and each phrase has been interpreted at least two ways, sometimes more. I've put each section in a different post as I work through them. I'm not addressing the topics exhaustively (compared to others who have written entire books on the topic), but I suppose that once I get as near to finishing as I can get, I should summarize. I'll work on that.

The explanation given to me as a questioning pre-teen was that the phrase, "the Sabbath" always refers to the weekly Sabbath, and "sabbath days" refers to annual sabbaths, feasts, or holy days.

One interesting point is that the word days in Colossians 2:16 has been italicized in the KJV, indicating that the word days has been supplied, or added to the original translation. This is also the case in verse 17, where the word is has been supplied, changing the meaning of the verse. I will look at is another day.

I grew up with the incorrect understanding that "sabbath days" referred to the holy days, not only because of the claimed chiastic structure, discussed on a previous post, Colossians and Chiasmus, and because of the phrase that follows, "which are a shadow of things to come," but because of the phrase, "sabbath days." I'll address shadow later, as well.

Because it is clear that Colossians 2:16 is not a chiasmus, that it parallels other scriptures that speak of the holy days, new moons, and Sabbaths, there is no question as to the meaning of "sabbath days" in this verse. It is referring to the weekly Sabbath.

None of God's law was nailed to the cross, and understanding that, the rest of the text makes sense. Phrase-by-phrase explanation may not be necessary in order to defend the Law of God, but I do like to know what is really being said.



For further study:

I have been told the following: "The phrase“sabbath days” is found nine times in the King James Bible, and it always refer to weekly Sabbaths." Since being told something is not proof, I will be checking on this for myself. If it is true, Colossians 2:16 should be interpreted the same way.
Later: I looked up the texts and have shared them on this page (it's short).

I have also been told, "The Greek word for “sabbath” appears 53 times in the New Testament. There is agreement that 52 of these refer to the weekly Sabbath, and many say only one (Col. 2:16) refers to yearly sabbaths." I will need to research for myself, because sometimes people make blanket statements that are no accurate.My first step has been to go to the Blue Letter Bible and search for all verses that contain the word sabbaton, the Greek word used in Colossians. The Blue Letter Bible link in the line above contains that search result. I will look at them more carefully