Gentile believers should observe the Feast of Trumpets!

What is the Feast of Trumpets (a.k.a. Yom Teruah)?

The Feast of Trumpets is one of seven annual Sabbath days which God commanded His congregation to keep. In addition to the weekly Sabbath observance required by Exodus 20:11, God (in Leviticus 23) revealed seven of His annual appointed times or feast days which He commanded His congregation to observe. Though two of these seven feast days are not Sabbaths (i.e. Passover & the Feast of Firstfruits), the other five feast days express themselves as seven annual Sabbaths. In relation to God’s religious calendar (Exodus 12:2), the Feast of Trumpets is the fourth of God’s seven annual appointed times. However, with respect to the Jewish civil calendar, the Feast of Trumpets is the first, for it coincides with the beginning of the Jewish new year known as Rosh Hashanah (i.e. the head of the year) which begins on the first day (at the new moon) of the seventh month (i.e. Tishrei).

Does Colossians 2:16 render the Sabbath irrelevant?

[UPDATE 12/27/2016 – This article was recently modified to reflect a more accurate and thorough exposition of Colossians 2:16-17]

A friend of mine forwarded me a daily devotional email from Compass International called “Good Morning Lord” (or GML). In the past, I was actually subscribed to the same GML devotional based upon a recommendation from the same friend, but after receiving a couple of questionable emails from them, I decided that I had read enough. It’s not that I simply unsubscribed; I actually sent an inquiry email trying to engage GML in what I thought would be a fruitful dialogue but alas I received no response. Anyway, my friend thought this email would peak my interest since he knows that in our circle, I am a Sabbath-keeping oddity. Boy was he right! My response (in red) to the GML for October 28th 2015 follows:

Good Morning Lord email for October 28, 2015

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Rest from your work one day a week, any day you choose.

ChristPlusZero.org:
The folks at Good Morning Lord (GML hereafter) have in the past had one or two heretical ideas about the bible and this GML “Bible study” on Colossians 2:16 is no exception. Not only is the idea that we can keep the Sabbath any day we choose a heresy, virtually everything that GML has mentioned in this “Bible study” about the Sabbath is in error. Where shall we begin? First of all, persons who wish to teach others about the Bible should strongly consider taking a course in logic before proceeding. The logical blunders in this “Bible study” are many. For instance, the GML Thought For The Day contains an unsustainable hermeneutic which falls under the logical fallacy known as Reductio ad Absurdum. Such an approach to understanding Scripture is irrational because it employs a form of reasoning which fails when applied to similar scenarios within the Bible. For example, if Christians can rest (i.e. observe the Sabbath) “any day [we] choose” despite Scripture clearly and repeatedly telling us that the Sabbath is the 7th day (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 16:22-23, Exodus 20:11, Exodus 31:15, Exodus 35:3, Leviticus 23:3), then it follows necessarily that we can also claim Jesus rose from the dead on “any day [we] choose” despite the biblical assertion that Christ actually rose on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). In other words, the rationale behind GML’s Thought For The Day also allows us to redefine a core tenet of the Gospel. How many Christians are willing to live with the consequences of this rationale?

A Defense of the Sabbath’s Perpetuity

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The Perpetuity of the Sabbath

In the section entitled: “The Perpetuity of the Sabbath” of his book, The Sabbath, Dr. Fruchtenbaum tries to undermine the meaning of certain words in the Bible which are commonly used to describe time-unending so that he can make a case for the cessation of the Sabbath ordinance. Since the Bible uses words like forever, everlasting and perpetual in conjunction with the Sabbath ordinance (Exodus 31:16, Exodus 31:13, Exodus 31:17, Leviticus 24:8, 2 Chronicles 2:4), and since these words are all translated from the Hebrew word olam, Dr. Fruchtenbaum has therefore chosen to undermine the primary meaning of the word olam in order to argue that olam does not support the English meaning of the word forever.