The End Time Church: From the Cathedrals to the Catacombs

By Dan L. White

Copyright 2020 by Dan L. White, all rights reserved.

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

Chapter 76

The Leaven of Hypocrisy —
Taking a Monkey Wrench to “God’s Calendar”

Many who follow the Pharisee-Jewish calendar for setting God’s Feasts don’t realize they may be following the Pharisees in another way —

Hypocrisy.

What is hypocrisy?

Hypocrisy is a lie.

But hypocrisy is not just telling a lie. Hypocrisy is living a lie.

Hypocrisy was a hallmark of Jewish religion in the Bible. For instance, they fasted without humbling themselves.

Isa 58:3-11
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.
4) Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to strike with the fist of wickedness: you don’t fast this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.

They used the third commandment name Yahweh to sound religious — “As Yahweh lives!” — while ignoring what Yahweh wanted from them.

Jer 5:1-2
1) “Run back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places of it, if you can find a man, if there are any who does justly, who seeks truth; and I will pardon her.
2) Though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives;’ surely they swear falsely.”

They made a show of honoring the Temple of Yahweh while worshiping Baal.

Jer 7:4-10
4) Don’t trust in lying words, saying, The temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, are these.

8) Behold, you trust in lying words, that can’t profit.
9) Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known,
10) and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered; that you may do all these abominations?

All that was hypocrisy.

Nobody personified hypocrisy more than the Pharisees. No wonder that Yeshua repeatedly called them hypocrites.

Matt 22:15-18
15) Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.
16) They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you aren’t partial to anyone.
17) Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18) But Yeshua perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites?

The Pharisees pretended they wanted an answer to their question, while they were just trying to trap Yeshua. Their pretense — their hypocrisy — was wickedness.

Repeatedly Christ condemned the Pharisees not only for their other sins, but for their hypocrisy.

Matt 15:7-9
7) You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8) ‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9) And in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’”

They pretended to worship God but actually followed doctrines of men, which ultimately meant they worshiped themselves.

In Matthew 23, Christ pronounced eight woes against the scribes and Pharisees, including this one.

Matt 23:27-28
27) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
28) Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Along with the eight woes, seven times the Son of God called the Pharisees hypocrites. Since seven is the Bible number of perfection, that seems to make them perfect hypocrites, full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

So those rabbis who created the Pharisee-Jewish calculated calendar, with its Pharisaic rules and regulations, were the height of wicked hypocrisy.

Many who observe Feast days set by the Pharisee calculated calendar also fall into the trap of hypocrisy.

This is how.

• They say that the Pharisee calendar is a divinely inspired oracle from God.
• Then they throw away half of it.
• That is hypocrisy, pretending to follow a calendar from God, then disregarding it and actually setting their own calendar.

How can you take something that is “divinely inspired by God,” then pick it apart, throw parts of it away and keep only those parts you like?

Many Christians do that with the Ten Commandments.

They say that the Ten Commandments are God’s law, then they totally drop this one, change that one, and mostly ignore the rest of them. In fact, most Christians who claim to honor the Ten Commandments can’t even remember what they are.

That’s hypocrisy, just as taking a monkey wrench to the “divinely inspired Jewish calendar” is hypocrisy.

If something is divinely inspired by God, you better not monkey with it.

Like the Bible.

The Bible is unequivocally divinely inspired by God.

“Every scripture is God-breathed,” 2 Timothy 3:16, World English Bible.

Since the Bible is God-breathed, God says don’t add to it or take away from it.

Deut 4:2
2) You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.

Deut 12:32
32) Whatever thing I command you, that you shall observe to do: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Rev 22:18-19
18) I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, may God add to him the plagues which are written in this book.
19) If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, may God take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.

If something is inspired by God, you don’t take a monkey wrench to it. God made it so you better leave it alone. You don’t touch the Ark of the Covenant, you don’t go into the Holy of Holies, and you don’t rewrite the Bible. It’s God-breathed.

So then, if the Pharisee-Jewish calendar is also God-breathed —

Of course, the Bible does not remotely say that the Pharisee-Jewish calendar is God-breathed —

But if the Pharisee-Jewish calendar is inspired by God as many say, then you better not take a monkey wrench to it. You can’t add to or take away from the Bible. So the same principle would have to apply to “God’s inspired Jewish calendar.” You can’t change it because you can’t add to or take away from what God purportedly made.

Many Christian Feast keepers, though, do monkey wrench the Jewish calendar. They say ‘Yep, it’s inspired by God.’ Then, as most Christians do with the Ten Commandments, they keep the parts they like and dump the rest.

How is the “divinely inspired Jewish calendar” changed by those who claim to follow it?

Let me count the ways.

1) The rabbi rules about the Sabbath and the festival high days are totally ignored.

If the rabbis have the authority to set the feast days, then surely they have the authority to set what can and can’t be done on those days.

2) Different Passover.

Yeshua observed the Passover with His disciples at a different time than the Jews. In Matthew, Mark and Luke He repeatedly said He would eat the Passover with His disciples, and that was the night before the Jews did and do.

3) Different wave sheaf offering day.

The Jews observe wave sheaf offering the day following the first high day of Unleavened Bread, but many Christians view it as the day following the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread — on the day when Yeshua was accepted as the wave sheaf sacrifice by the Father in heaven. This day also begins the count toward Shavuoth or Pentecost.

4) Different Shavuoth or Pentecost.

Since Jews and Christians count to Pentecost from a different day, their Pentecost day is different. By counting from a fixed date, the Pharisee-Jewish calendar always counts to a fixed date, the sixth day of the third month, on whatever day of the week. Many Christians observe Pentecost on the fiftieth day following the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread, on whatever day of the month that comes.

5) The Pharisee-Jewish calendar keeps the high days for two days outside of Israel, except for Atonement.

This points back to the time when the Feasts were set by observation of the moon, and distant locales were unsure of the new moon in the Holy Land, so they kept two days except for Atonement. Few Christian Feast-keepers follow this part of the Pharisee calendar.

So in all those points and more, many of those who accept the concept of the inspired Pharisee calendar turn around and reject much of it.

That’s hypocrisy and that’s a serious sin. Hypocrisy sears the conscience.

1Tim 4:1-2 KJV
1) Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2) Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Hypocrisy is bearing a false witness. Saying that the Pharisee-Jewish calendar is divine, then rejecting much of it is bearing a false witness. If it is divinely inspired – God-breathed like the Bible – then you have to take it all. If it’s not God-breathed, then you don’t have to take it at all. It’s just the work of men.

Christ warned to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy,” Luke 12:1, Modern King James Version.

Those who follow the divinely inspired Pharisee-Jewish calendar and then take a monkey wrench to it must beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Beware!

In the list of parts of the Pharisee-Jewish calendar that Christians often reject, did you notice a pattern?

Many Christians keep Passover on the night before the Jews do. The Jews do not accept the Passover that the Messiah kept, because they do not accept Him as the Messiah.

Christians observe the wave sheaf offering on the day that Christ was accepted by the Father in heaven as that offering. Jews do not accept Yeshua as that offering, so they keep another day.

Jews do not observe the same Pentecost or Shavuoth as the Christians. Jews miss the Christian Pentecost, because they missed the Christ. As a whole, they are not part of the Messiah’s flock, which began on Pentecost.

You see, it seems that the Pharisee-Jewish calendar is so wrong, as agreed by most Christian Feast observers, because the Pharisees did make and do make the biggest mistake possible. They reject the Messiah, the King of the Jews, the Son of God.

Most Christian Feast-keepers see that the Pharisees are wrong in multiple parts of their calendar. If they are wrong in those things, then their calendar is not inspired by God Almighty. It is hypocrisy to say that it is and then act like it isn’t.

In these end times, God is pointing His people back to the first times, when the physical Temple still stood, when the first flock began, and when the spirit of Christ flowed through it. This means going back to the original Feast days, before the Pharisees changed them with their Jewish calendar. This means waiting and watching for God’s Feasts, the times when God is closest to His people. Most of all, this means waiting and watching for the return of the Messiah whom the Pharisees still reject.