The REAL Holidays of the Biblical Calendar

The following information on this page summarizes what the Biblical record has to say about holidays and festivals that God has ordained each year.  Much more can be written to expound the details and intricacies of what God has revealed to us in his written word.  However, since this site is primarily to explain our views on the celebration of the Christmas holiday, this summary serves as an excellent introduction to the topic.  It was written by David B. Loughran of the Stewarton Bible School of Stewarton, Scotland.

THE SABBATH
In the Scriptures the seventh day of the week is called the Sabbath. The word Sabbath is synonymous with rest, repose, restoration, refreshment, calm, tranquillity, freedom, peace, harmony, holiness and sanctification. It is, therefore, a fitting sign of the Creator's character and aims. The divine record of the creation is brief; but it leaves one in no doubt that the Creator rested on, blessed and sanctified the seventh day of the week at the creation of the world. Notice what His Word says on this matter in:

Genesis 2: 1

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2: And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3: And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Many people will be surprised to learn that the true Sabbath day is not Sunday but Saturday. Sunday is the first day of the week. Saturday is the seventh and in Scripture is called the Sabbath of the LORD. In other words Saturday is the true LORD'S's Day. The Sabbath starts at sunset on Friday evening and ends 24 hours later at sunset on Saturday evening. Lev 23:32 "From evening unto evening shall you celebrate your Sabbath." The Sabbath commandment is part of the Ten Commandments, which were written with the finger of God!

Exo.24:12	And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
Exo.31:18	And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. (See also Deut.9:10)

The 4th Commandment 

Exo.20:8

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9: Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

You may read the Bible from cover to cover and you will not find a single verse which cancels or amends the Sabbath commandment. That is a fact. You will, instead, find many texts which call for the observance of Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, commonly called Saturday.

Yahweh's Sabbath Day
In view of the above facts, it is a mistake to refer to the Sabbath as the Jewish Sabbath; or that it is only to be observed by Jews. The Sabbath is Yahweh's Sabbath; or, as the Scriptures put it: the Sabbath of the LORD thy God! To be sure it is kept by Israel and the Jews; but it is not for Israel alone, any more than the Ten Commandments are for the Jews alone. According to the fourth commandment, even'strangers' (Gentiles) are expected to keep the Sabbath day. If they obey this royal command, Gentiles will also be greatly blessed. Notice the word 'stranger' in the following texts:

Exo.20:8-10	Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy...in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Isa.56:6:	Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; 7: Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer…

Yes, the Sabbath belongs to the LORD and, like all the other nine commandments, He made it to be remembered and kept holy by all nations. In obedience to this commandment the seventh day Sabbath was kept by all the great and holy personalities mentioned in the Bible:

• By all the Old Testament Prophets of the LORD God of Israel.
• By the early Christian Church long after the death and resurrection of the Saviour.
• By all the early Apostles, including the Apostle Paul.
• By Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)
• And by Jehovah (YAHWEH) Himself.

Neither is there any evidence in the New Testament to suggest that the Saviour or his Apostles changed the Ten Commandments and transferred the sanctity of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. Instead, Jesus kept his Father's commandments (John 15:10). If he hadn't done so he would have been classified as 'a sinner.' But we read that the Saviour kept the Sabbath day as it was meant to be kept, much to the annoyance of the Scribes and Pharisees who had burdened the day with many petty, man-made restrictions. These the Master brushed aside. Commenting on the eternal nature of his Father's law the Saviour said these words:

Matt. 5:17

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18: For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Moreover the Master advised his followers, who were mostly Jews at that time, to pray to God that He might allow them to keep the Sabbath at the destruction of Jerusalem: which was to take place in AD70, some 40 years after the resurrection.

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter,
neither on the sabbath day. (Matt.24:20)

Pause and consider this text and see how pointless it would have been for the Saviour to have given this advice to his predominantly Jewish followers if the Sabbath commandment was going to be abolished at Calvary. The truth is, the Saviour had absolutely no intention whatsoever of doing away with or changing the Sabbath commandment. He had an extremely high regard for his Father's law; which he was instrumental in giving to Israel in the first place. (James 4:12) In short, the true Sabbath day is still the seventh day of the week, the day commonly known as Saturday! 
This unequivocal fact means that those who break the Sabbath commandment are guilty of sin, whether they realise it or not; for '…sin is the transgression of the law.'(1 John 3:4) For further proof of this astonishing fact, see SBS article Is Sunday the Christian Sabbath?


THE FEAST DAYS
Hanging from the Sabbath commandment in the law of the Almighty are the seven annual Sabbaths of Jehovah the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Unlike the popular holidays of Christmas, Easter, Hallowe'en etc., which have absolutely no scriptural backing whatsoever, the Feasts of the Almighty are the sacred memorials of the Creator's mightiest acts in the Plan of Salvation; each and every one of them being an appointed anniversary of a distinct, decisive achievement in His plan. Yahweh's Feasts are the high days in His Diary. He looks forward to them in much the same way as we would some special anniversary or event. At this moment in time, most of them point to realities that are still future. But all through eternity the redeemed host will look back at these days and will then - year by year - commemorate the mighty deeds the Most High and His Son performed on them for the salvation of the human race. "What" you may well ask, "are the Almighty's Annual Sabbaths?" There are six Feast days and one Fast day. I list them:

1. The First Day of Unleavened Bread which falls on 15th day of Abib, the first month in the sacred calendar.
2. The Last Day of Unleavened Bread which falls on 21st day of Abib.
3. The Feast of First Fruits (Pentecost) which occurs 50 days after the Passover Sabbath.
4. The Feast of Trumpets which falls on the 1st Ethanim (the 7th month)
5. The Fast of Atonement which falls on the 10th Ethanim.
6. The Feast of Tabernacles which falls on the 15th Ethanim.
7. The Last Great Day which falls on the 22nd Ethanim.

These are the seven annual memorial Sabbaths of the Almighty; which all peoples, Jew and Gentile alike, are commanded to observe. These days do not belong to any particular race or religion. They are not Jewish festivals. They are the Almighty's'appointment times' and all nations are required to keep them. The Most High refers to them as 'My Feasts, My Sabbaths.'

Lev.23:1

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2: Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

For further information about these divinely appointed memorial Sabbaths of the Most High see the SBS booklet entitled: The Feast Days of the God of Israel.