The End Time Church: From the Cathedrals to the Catacombs

By Dan L. White

Copyright ©2018 by Dan L. White, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB) which is in the public domain.

Chapter 53

Time with God, on God’s Time

How can common soil – dirt! – be made holy?

Just have God stand on it. Presto! Divine dirt.

At the burning bush, Yahweh told Moses to take off his sandals — because the ground was holy.

Exod 3
5) “Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place you are standing on is holy ground, [quodesh, Heb]”

Why was that ground quodesh?

Because Yahweh was there.

In the same way, Yahweh appointed certain times as holy.

First of all, the Sabbath day.

Exod 20
8) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Then, annual holy days and times.

Lev 23
1) Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2) “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The set feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy [quodesh] convocations, even these are my set feasts.

After that comes the listing of the Feasts, including the weekly Sabbath. Notice that all these feast days are “quodesh”, not just the high Sabbath days when no work is to be done, but also the lower Feast days. All these days are set apart days.

Some make a distinction and call only the annual Sabbaths “holy days.” That’s not what the Bible says. They’re not all Sabbaths, but they’re all quodesh.

That’s repeated in verse 4.

Lev 23
4) “‘These are the set feasts of Yahweh, even holy [quodesh] convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season.

All the feast days are quodesh gatherings, both high days and common days.

Why are the weekly Sabbath and the annual Feasts holy?

Because Yahweh God is there.

God is holy.

His appointed times are holy.

And His people are to be holy.

1 Pet 1
15) but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior;
16) because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”

Yahweh’s people are to be holy, not just by having sins forgiven, but by overcoming sinful human nature and taking in the nature of God.

2 Pet 1:4
4) by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Yahweh’s holy convocations help Yahweh’s people to be holy. By spending time with the holy God on his holy times, God’s people become more like Him. By being with Him on Feasts and Sabbaths, taking time for Him instead of the everyday world, they can partake of His nature.

Look what happened to Moses.

Exod 34
28) He was there with Yahweh forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread, nor drank water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
29) It happened, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mountain, that Moses didn’t know that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him.
30) When Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come near him.

Moses glowed.

He became more like Yahweh — even in appearance — just by being around Him.

One writer said that children are like stem cells. They become what they’re around. We’re God’s children. When we’re around Him, we become more like Him.

You must spend time with God to become more like Him. That includes time every day, and it also includes weekly Sabbaths and annual festivals, which God specifically and purposely appointed as His special times. Like Bible study, prayer and fasting, the practice of truly visiting with God at His appointed times will change who you are.

Yet Christians often look at Sabbaths and Feasts only as something to do, instead of Sabbaths and Feasts doing something to them. Seeing these days as a commanded burden instead of a golden opportunity is the main reason that Christians as a whole reject God’s holy days.

It’s also the main reason that Feast keepers themselves want to pull back on their observance.

And Feast keepers do continually want to pull back on these holy times, forsaking them in whole or in part.

Why?

So they can do what they really want to do.

Whenever Israel fell away from God, one of the first things they did was to abandon Sabbaths and Feasts.

For instance, Jeroboam, the first king of the ten tribes of Israel after they rebelled against Solomon’s son Rehoboam, is infamous for changing the feast of the seventh month to the eighth month.

1 Kgs 12
26) Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.
27) If this people goes up to offer sacrifices in the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28) Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look and see your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
29) He set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
30) This thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even to Dan.
31) He made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
32) Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; he did so in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.
33) He went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up to the altar, to burn incense.

Jeroboam created his own feast because going to Jerusalem was ‘too much of a burden for the people.’

‘Those old feasts are such a burden!’ Did you ever hear that argument?

But when Israel backed off from Yahweh’s feasts, they backed off from Yahweh! Forsaking the Feasts was part of Jeroboam’s package of perversion from which Israel/Samaria never recovered.

In another example, Hezekiah’s father Ahaz shut up the Temple.

2 Chr 28
24) Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of Yahweh; and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.

When Ahaz shut the doors of the Temple that meant closing down the weekly Sabbath and annual festivals. Leaving those holy times separated Judah from their holy God. That meant trouble!

2 Chr 28
25) Therefore Yahweh his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they struck him, and carried away of his a great multitude of captives, and brought them to Damascus. He was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a great slaughter.

And in a third example, Josiah’s father Amon was the only Jewish king named after a pagan idol. The name fit.

2 Kgs 21
21) He walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them:
22) and he forsook Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and didn’t walk in the way of Yahweh.

Like Ahaz, Amon trashed and closed the Temple, so much so that Judah didn’t even know where the book of the law, with its knowledge of the Sabbath and festivals, was.

Reprobates like Jeroboam, Ahaz and Amon quickly forsook the weekly Sabbaths and annual Feasts. On the other hand, Israel was closest to God at His Sabbaths and Feasts. Look at a few examples when God’s people drew closer to Him at His appointed times.

Lydia was praying by a river on the Sabbath.

Act 16
(12) and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city.
(13) On the Sabbath day we went outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down, and spoke to the women who had come together.
(14) A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.
(15) When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay.” So she persuaded us.

Why did Paul suppose there was a place of prayer outside the city by a river? He didn’t actually know that Sabbath keepers were out there, but he did know there was a beautiful river there, and he figured that God-fearers might be in that peaceful place seeking God on His Sabbath.

That’s what God’s people do on the Sabbath. They seek Him, partaking of His holy nature. That’s what the Sabbath is for, to be close to Yahweh God. It’s not a burden to seek the One who keeps you alive. Au contraire – such time is a great blessing. “The Sabbath was made for man,” (Mark 2:27), Christ said. Why was it made for man? To spend time with his Creator.

And Christ should know! He was that Creator, of all creation and of the Sabbath.

So what happened with Lydia, who was praying by the river on the Sabbath? The Lord opened her heart to hear Paul – whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.

As mentioned, Hezekiah’s father Ahaz shut up the Temple and abandoned the Feasts. But what did Hezekiah do when he became king?

2 Chr 29
1) Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
2) He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done.
3) He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Yahweh, and repaired them.
4) He brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place on the east,
5) and said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filthiness out of the holy place.

As quickly as possible after getting the Temple functioning, Hezekiah and Judah kept the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. First things first!

2 Chr 30
1) Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel.

25) All the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly who came out of Israel, and the foreigners who came out of the land of Israel, and who lived in Judah, rejoiced.
26) So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.
27) Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even to heaven.

They sought Yahweh during His Feast. And they found Him, in His holy time – their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even to heaven.

And as mentioned, Josiah’s father Amon, also shut up the Temple, so that the people and the priests even forgot about the Book of the Law, which teaches the Sabbaths and Feasts. But when Josiah took over as king and they began to clean out the Temple, they found that book.

2 Chr 34
12) The men did the work faithfully: and their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and others of the Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music.
13) Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and set forward all who did the work in every kind of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.
14) When they brought out the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Yahweh given by Moses.
15) Hilkiah answered Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

Then they took that Book of the Law to Josiah, and when Josiah read it, he ripped a stitch.

2 Chr 34
19) It happened, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he tore his clothes.
20) The king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,
21) “Go inquire of Yahweh for me, and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of Yahweh that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of Yahweh, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Josiah was right. The wrath of Yahweh was great upon Judah for not keeping the word of Yahweh, including the holy times. So Josiah made this covenant.

2 Chr 34
31) The king stood in his place, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.

Right after making that covenant to obey with all his heart, Josiah sought Yahweh at His Feast.

2 Chr 35
17) The children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.
18) There was no Passover like that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did any of the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Again, Christians tend to see Sabbaths and Feasts as just something for them to do, instead of seeing Sabbaths and Feasts as doing something to them. They only see the “burden” of taking off from work or school or recreation. They do not see the blessing of visiting with God on His holy times.

And as with Israel, pulling back from these times is one of the first things that Christians do when they begin to pull away from God. Notice this present day example.

A church denomination was known for keeping the annual Feasts and spreading the knowledge of them. The “apostle” of that organization saw himself as the ‘Peter’ of the modern church, in much the same way that the Roman Catholic Church views the pope, based on the same Petrine doctrine. After 37 years of keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, that “Peter” changed the Feast of Unleavened Bread, from keeping it seven days to only keeping the two high days. He did not have Bible reasons to do that. He did not need Bible reasons to do that. After all, he was the ‘Peter.’ So that ‘Peter’ simply made a “church administrative decision.”

This pattern of not keeping the spring Feast – amazingly! – was then followed by basically all successor groups of that denomination. They claim to follow the Bible, but there are no Bible examples of keeping a bookend feast. They’re simply following the ‘Peter.’

The largest annual gathering of any of these groups, larger than any of their Tabernacles feast sites, is at Christmas time, when thousands of their people gather for games and festive activities. The obvious irony here is that these people skip the spring feast week, which they claim to observe, yet have their largest single gathering at Christmas, which they claim not to observe.

Why do they do that?

The obvious answer is that they’re off from work at Christmas, anyway, so they use that chance to get together.

What, then, is the obvious reason that these people do not keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

Because they’re not off from work. And they’re simply not willing to take that time from their daily lives to spend seeking God.

Yes, they will come up with theological reasons why they don’t keep the Feast. However, every single example in the Bible shows the Feast of Unleavened Bread is kept for the whole week, not just two days. Every single example! That means there are no theological reasons not to keep that Feast, only human nature reasoning. Unleavened Bread pictures coming out of Egypt, yet their reasoning leads them to conclude that they are better off staying in Egypt — the world — for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

So these ‘feast-keepers’ get together at Christmas because they’re off from work and school. They don’t get together for the spring feast week, because they’re not off from work and school. And they’re not going to take off!

But they don’t ask themselves what they lose by skipping that Feast week.

By keeping the Sabbaths and Feasts, people may see themselves only as losing time instead of gaining spiritual strength. They feel that the holy times are something they have to do instead of times that do something to them. Even some of the most diligent observers of these times fail to see the great benefit. Therefore they are constantly seeking to do something else on those days instead of just seeking God, repeatedly searching for what they can get away with and still be obedient Sabbath or Feast keepers. Sure enough, at some point they find ‘new truth’ that allows them to do what they really want to do, which invariably is something other than seeking God.

Hey – that’s not new truth! Most other Christians have been doing that, anyway, ever since the murderer Constantine took over as spiritual leader of Rome.

In Isaiah 58, Yahweh condemned Judah for the way they fasted.

Isa 58
3) ‘Why have we fasted,’ say they, ‘and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you take no knowledge?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exact all your labors.

Israel saw fasting only as something they should do, and not as something that would bring them closer to God. So God told them how to fast, if they wanted to get closer to Him.

Isa 58
6) “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?
7) Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8) Then your light shall break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh shall be your rear guard.
9) Then you shall call, and Yahweh will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you do away with the yoke among you, and pointing fingers and malicious talk;…”

Right after that, Yahweh also told Israel how to keep the Sabbath, if they would be close to Him.

Isa 58
13) “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words:
14) then you shall delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father:” for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.

The Pharisee rabbis came up with reams of rules for the Sabbath. God Himself really gave no rules for the Sabbath, but He did give this principle. Don’t do your own ways, or business; or your own pleasure, or recreation; or your own words, or self focus. Instead, you delight yourself in Yahweh, and on the Sabbath you make Him your business, your recreation and your focus. His holy days, Sabbaths and feasts, are different than regular days. All those other things you can do on weekdays, but on His Sabbath days, you do Him.

Fasting with obedience draws people closer to God: Then you shall call, and Yahweh will answer. The same principle applies to the Feasts. They are to draw people closer to God. Holy times with a holy God make a holy people.

Throughout the Bible, the times when Yahweh’s people were closest to Him were during His festivals, as shown by all the following examples.

1. When Yahweh made the covenant with Abram to give his family the land of Canaan.
2. When Israel was rescued from Egypt at Passover/Unleavened Bread.
3. When Israel was taught the Ten Commandments at Pentecost time.
4. When Israel, after 40 years of wilderness wandering, entered the Promised Land at Passover/Unleavened Bread.
5. When Solomon dedicated the Temple at Tabernacles.
6. When Hezekiah led Judah back to Yahweh and kept Passover for two weeks.
7. When Josiah led Judah back to Yahweh and kept Passover as none had ever been kept.
8. When Ezra and the Jews, just returned to the land of Israel, kept the Feasts of Trumpets and Tabernacles.
9. When Ezra and the Jews kept Passover and Unleavened Bread at the dedication of the second Temple.
10. When Yeshua was born at the time of the feasts of the seventh month.
11. When Yeshua was sacrificed at Passover.
12. When Yeshua began His flock with the holy spirit at Pentecost.

Does all that tell you something?

God’s people are closest to Him at His holy times! God’s people fall away from Him when they get away from those times.

Even Feast keepers often fail to realize the full value of the festivals. The Feasts they do keep are often so busied with social swirling that the real value is overwhelmed. And the fact that they almost unanimously neglect the Feast of Unleavened Bread shows they do not understand the value of that week.

A young man was infatuated, enamored and enraptured with his young bride to be. She had already graduated from college; he still had a year to go. His college studies were pressing on him, but something else was more pressing. He had to spend time with his beloved. So they spent hours sitting in campus open areas, talking, laughing, being together. What did they talk about? Nothing memorable, nothing remembered. To the young man, it was not so much what was being said as who was saying it. He loved her. He really wanted to be with her.

If people want to be with God, they will find reasons to keep the Feasts, instead of finding reasons not to. If you refuse to take that quodesh time to come out of the world, either in whole or in part, then ask yourself this question —

If you were Moses, standing on quodesh ground, would you have kept your sandals on?

The Feasts are times to be closest to Yahweh God, the Father and Son. The great mistake that observers of the Sabbath and Feasts make is looking at those times as something to do, instead of as doing something to them, changing them with the glow of God.