The Roman Church uses the Roman calendar, in which the day begins at midnight. In contrast, the Hebrew day begins at evening. For example, Genesis 1:31 tells us:
B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:31
31 And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Leviticus 23 verifies this, telling us that the Hebrew day lasts from evening to evening.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:32
32 “On the ninth day of the month, at evening, from evening to evening, you shall observe your Sabbath.”
The Roman Church justifies their worship on Sunday, Christmas, and Easter by misquoting certain passages in the Renewed Covenant (New Testament). One such passage is Acts 20:7-12.
Ma’asei (Acts) 20:7-12
7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Shaul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
8 There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together.
9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Shaul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.
10 But Shaul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.”
11 Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.
12 And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.
According to the church, the disciples met on Sunday morning for breakfast, listened to Shaul (Paul) until midnight (when Eutychus fell out the window), ate a meal after midnight, and then continued their meeting until daybreak (Monday). This might sound like it makes sense, until we ask why there were so many lamps in the upper room during daylight hours, as well as why they skipped lunch and dinner.
In contrast, if we realize the apostles still kept the original Hebrew calendar, suddenly everything makes sense. Jewish custom is to worship at the synagogue (or at the temple) on the Sabbath, and then to meet at a friend’s house after sundown. When gathering for this after-Sabbath festivity, the Jewish people usually share a communal meal. This is called breaking bread. If the disciples gathered after the Sabbath ended (just after sundown) and ate a communal dinner together, this would explain why they needed so many lamps. It would also make it clear that they were enjoying a traditional Jewish time of worship and celebration.
This same kind of post-Sabbath fellowship is also recorded in the book of John.
Yochanan (John) 20:19
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the [Orthodox] Jews, Yeshua came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Yeshua was put to death at the feast of the Passover. Jerusalem can already be hot then—and if it was hot, the logical thing would have been to leave the doors open. However, since there was persecution, the disciples closed their doors.
Why should the Christian Church use these passages to justify Sunday worship, when the book of Acts says the Apostle Shaul’s custom was to go into the Jewish synagogues on the Sabbath?
Ma’asei (Acts) 13:14-16
14 But going through from Perga, they arrived to Antioch-Pisidia, and going into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath, they sat down.
15 And after the reading of the Torah and of the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent to them, saying, “Men, brothers, if there is any word of exhortation to the people, speak!”
16 And rising up and signaling with his hand, Shaul said, “Men, Israelites, and the ones fearing Elohim, hear!”
The church teaches that Shaul went throughout the known world, pulling Jews out of the synagogues, and planting Sunday churches. But how do they support this claim? Shaul did start a new assembly when he got thrown out of the (Pharisaic) synagogue in Corinth, and he established a Nazarene assembly next door—but they also met on the Sabbath.
Ma’asei (Acts) 18:5-8
5 When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Shaul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Yeshua is the Messiah.
6 But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
7 And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped Elohim, whose house was next door to the synagogue.
8 Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on Yahweh with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were immersed [baptized].
Although Shaul founded a new assembly at Corinth, it would not have been called a “church”—it was probably called a synagogue, or a kehillah (assembly). More importantly, this assembly met on the Sabbath, just like the Nazarene they followed had done.
Luqa (Luke) 4:16
16 So (Yeshua) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
The King James Version (KJV) uses the word Easter in Acts 12:4, simply because the King James translators incorrectly rendered the Greek word Pascha (Passover) as “Easter.”
Ma’asei (Acts) 12:4
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter (sic) to bring him forth to the people.
All major versions since the King James Version have since corrected this error.
There are several other references to the Passover in the Renewed Covenant. All these demonstrate that the apostles were still keeping the Hebrew calendar even many years after Yeshua’s ascension.
Ma’asei (Acts) 20:6
6 And we sailed away after the Days of Unleavened Bread [i.e., Passover].
Numerous references also tell us that the apostles continued to observe the Pentecost.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 16:8
8 But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost.
This was still Pentecost on the Hebrew calendar, because Shaul was hurrying to observe this festival in Jerusalem (rather than Rome).
Ma’asei (Acts) 20:16
16 For Shaul had decided to sail by Ephesus, so as not to spend time in Asia, for he hastened if it was possible for him to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
The apostles also kept the Day of Atonement at Acts 27:9. It is here called “the Fast,” because the Jews traditionally observe it by fasting.
Ma’asei (Acts) 27:9
9 And much time having passed, and the voyage already being dangerous because the Fast had now gone by….
Even though the word “Fast” is translated perfectly from Greek to English, one can easily miss the fact that the apostles were still using the Hebrew calendar, if one does not realize the apostles were writing in the vernacular.
It is not okay to change the calendar like this, because the calendar is part of the Torah—and Yeshua said not to think he had come to destroy either the Torah, or the Prophets.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:17-19
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah, or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy [them], but [only] to fulfill them.
18 For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, nothing at all will pass from the Law, until all is fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Yet while Yeshua clearly said not to think He came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets, many Christians believe He did just that. They say that because He kept the festivals, He fulfilled the festivals, and therefore the feasts are now done away with. But if you find your marriage fulfilling, does that mean it is now done away with? That does not even make sense.
There are other problems with the Christian version. In Luke 4:18, Yeshua stood up in the synagogue and said He had come to fulfill the first part of the prophecies in Isaiah 61.
Luqa (Luke) 4:16-19
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah). And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of Yahweh is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and
19 “to proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh….”
However, He stopped short of saying that He had come to fulfill the Day of Vengeance. The part He has not fulfilled yet is in Isaiah 61:2.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 61:2
2 And the Day of Vengeance of our Elohim.
So if Yeshua came to fulfill the first part of Isaiah 60-61, will He never fulfill the second part? Also, what about the rest of the prophecies, and the Torah?
The Torah and Prophets all speak of Yeshua’s return—but if the Torah and the Prophets are now destroyed (as the Christians say), then how will He return for His bride?
If the Christians are right, and the Torah and the Prophets were annulled, then why does Shaul tell us that the festivals are prophetic shadows of things still to come? That is what Colossians 2:16-17 says, although most people do not realize it because of errors in most English translations. For example, the KJV supplies two words (days, and is) in bold:
Colossians 2:16-17, KJV
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moons, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
With the addition of these two italicized words, the KJV makes it sound like we should never let a brother judge us according to what we eat or drink, or what days we keep for worship. It makes it sound like it makes no difference whether we keep the same days of worship the apostles kept, or whether we keep Sunday, Easter, Christmas, Ramadan, or the Chinese New Year, because (after all) the body is of Messiah. However, Scripture tells us we are not supposed to add or take away from His words—and that if we change His words, then we are not obeying His commandments, but our own. For example:
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:2
2 “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, which I command you.”
Since we are not supposed to add to His word, let’s take the words days and is back out, and see what difference it makes. Here is the same passage with those two words omitted.
Colossians 2:16-17 (KJV, no added words)
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moons, or of the sabbath; which are a shadow of things to come; but the Body of Christ.
If we read this passage closely, we will see that there are three main ideas mentioned here (1-2-3):
- Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moons, or of the Sabbath
- which are a [prophetic] shadow of things [still] to come
- but the Body of [Messiah]
If we rearrange the clauses to make the English read better (3-1-2), we find that Shaul really said to let the body of Messiah judge us in meat, in drink, or in respect of a Sabbath or festival day, because the festivals are prophetic shadow pictures of things still to come.
Qolossim (Colossians) 2:16-17 (Re-ordered)
16 Let no man but the Body of Messiah judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moons, or of the Sabbath; for the festivals are shadows of things [still] to come.
Rather than telling us that the festivals do not matter anymore (and that we can do what we want), Shaul is actually saying that we should keep the Sabbath, the festivals, and the new moon days, because they are prophetic shadows of future events. This meaning is not at all reflected in the New International Version (NIV), which reads:
Colossians 2:16-17, NIV
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
The NIV says that these prophetic shadows of future events are all irrelevant now because they were only shadows of things that “were to come.” It seems to suggest that Messiah’s coming did away with all of these things—so as long as we believe Yeshua is the Messiah, it makes no difference what we eat and drink, or what days of worship we decide to keep (if any). But what sense does this make? The apostles had to be in Jerusalem during the feast of the Pentecost on the appointed time, so they could receive the outpouring of the Set apart Spirit.
Ma’asei (Acts) 2:1-2
1 And in the fulfilling of the Day of Pentecost, they [the faithful] were all with one mind, in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Christian theologians say that the Torah and the Prophets were not abolished immediately. They say that Yeshua’s death ushered in a 300-400 year time of transition in which the church fathers had Yahweh’s permission to make any changes they wanted to the faith—changes which Yahweh had never prophesied, and which are in complete contradiction to Scripture.
Amos 3:7
7 Surely Yahweh Elohim does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
The prophecies say nothing about Yahweh changing the festival days, which is why the apostles were still keeping them. They knew the festival days were prophetic shadow pictures of things still to come. For example, when the Spirit was poured out in Acts 2, this was a prophetic fulfillment of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai—and since Shaul wrote Colossians 2:16-17 after the outpouring in Acts 2 took place, we know that there will be other prophetic fulfillments as well.
While some prophecies are fulfilled only once (such as Yeshua’s birth), others can have multiple fulfillments. This pattern of repeat fulfillments is easily seen in the example of the Feast of Tabernacles, also called the Feast of Booths, or Sukkot. This was fulfilled when the Israelites dwelt in tabernacles (or booths) in the Sinai wilderness, and then it was fulfilled again when Yeshua was born. While the Christians tell us Yeshua was born on December 25, the truth is that He was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is why John tells us:
Yochanan (John) 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us.
Other versions read “and pitched His tent among us,” which gives essentially the same meaning.
Christianity teaches that Yeshua was born in a manger on December 25, with donkeys and horses looking on. They claim He was swaddled and laid in a crib of hay. As romantic as this version sounds, it is far from the truth. Since Christianity does not value the Hebrew language, most Christians do not realize that in Hebrew, the word for a manger is the same as the word for a tabernacle, booth, or stall. Thus, the account of Yeshua’s birth actually tells us that He was laid in a tabernacle.
Luqa (Luke) 2:7
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a tabernacle, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Yeshua’s parents had come up to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festival, in keeping with the command.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:41-43
41 You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 You shall dwell in booths [tabernacles] for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths,
43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yahweh your Elohim.
Joseph and Miriam (Mary) originally intended to stay at an inn. The rabbinical ruling in that time was the same as it is today: any person who is pregnant, old, or sick did not actually have to sleep in a tabernacle. Rather, for reasons of health and safety they could rent a room at an inn. However, Luke 2:7 tells us that there was no room at the inn, therefore Joseph and Miriam had to dwell in a tabernacle (booth/manger). All of this came to pass so that Yeshua might be born in a tabernacle on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, in prophetic fulfillment of the command.
While the church tells us that the feasts are all done away with, and that there will never be another fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, Scripture shows this to be a lie. There are at least two more prophetic fulfillments of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Zecharyah (Zechariah) 14:16-17
16 And it shall be, everyone who is left from all the nations which came up against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts; and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
17 And it shall be, whoever will not go up from the families of the earth to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, there shall even be no rain on them.
A fourth fulfillment is also prophesied in Revelation.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 21:3
3 And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying, “Behold, the Tabernacle of Elohim is with men!” And He will tabernacle with them, and they will be His peoples, and Elohim Himself will be their Elohim.
In contrast, the church tells us “Jesus” was born on December 25. However, this is a pagan Roman festival day called Saturnalia (Bacchanalia). It takes place four days after the winter solstice, in honor of the rebirth of the sun. The gods Saturn and Jupiter are alternate names for Lucifer, so December 25 is essentially Satan’s birthday in disguise.
The Roman Church renamed Saturnalia in honor of the Messiah, but Yahweh warns us not to honor Him with the things of the pagans, or to add or take away anything at all from the covenant that He gave.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 12:30-32
30 “Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’
31 You shall not worship Yahweh your Elohim in that way; for every abomination to Yahweh which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
If the apostles had kept Christmas on December 25, it would have been recorded in Acts. However, the word Christmas is not found anywhere in Scripture. Further, December is not a month in the Hebrew calendar, so why would the apostles have kept a pagan festival?
Yeshua tells us that He went to prepare a place for His bride in His Father’s house.
Yochanan (John) 14:2-3
2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
If Yeshua is a good son, and He wants to honor His Father, why would He even consider taking a Christian bride who worships on pagan festival days which His Father always said not to keep?
Why indeed, when there are Nazarene maidens He could marry, who do keep His Father’s commands?
[For more information, please see The Torah Calendar study.]
