“MAN MADE TRADITION"
HAVE INFILTRATED GOD'S CHURCH!
“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth: they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil” (Isaiah 1: 1, 13 - 14, 16).
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We are admonished to "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thes. 5:21). We also read from Christ' conversation with Satan, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4).
Jesus Christ was God's Word in the flesh. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). We have the Bible, God's word in print. Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong said many times, "Don't believe me, believe your Bible."
If we believe the Bible truly is inspired by God to be our instruction book, and His Sabbaths are a sign between Him and His people as Moses was told in Exodus. "Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people" (Exo. 31:13- 14).
The weekly Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths are the distinctive sign of loyalty to God. Its violation is an offence of the gravest character--an act of treason against God's divine Laws!
Jeremiah, who was sanctified and ordained a prophet before coming out of his mothers womb, was inspired to write, "Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know Mine hand and My might; and they shall know that My name is The LORD" (Jer. 16:20-21). "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars" (Jer. 17:1). The sins of Judah" is deeply stamped upon the table of their hearts. Jeremiah continues to write, "Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is" (Jer. 17:5,7).
To trust in man brings a curse, to trust in the Lord brings blessings. Does God know mans deceitful heart? "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. 17:9-10). Jeremiah found himself being further instructed to "Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; And say unto them, Hear you the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do you any work, but hallow you the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction" (Jer. 17:19-23).
Judah's disobedience to follow God's instructions are still being practiced today! Satan has used them for his tool to pull apart the Churches of God! HOW? By counterfeiting God's Holy Days, postponing them for man's conveniences, which God's calls the "traditions of men." "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias [Isaiah] prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things you do. And He said unto them, Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition" (Mark 7:6-9). The Jewish Hebrew calendar, which incorporates the postponement rules, are the traditions of men. What are these rules? And why do they use the first day of the seventh month to establish the calendar? When reading "Rosh Hashanah" in these dehioth [postponement rules] take note; the Churches of God interpret this to be the "Feast of Trumpets," first day of the seventh month of the year! Judaism interprets it to be the first day of the first month of THEIR JEWISH CIVIL YEAR!
"Molad Tishri" is considered the rebirth of the new moon on the opening month of their civil new year." The book "All About Jewish Holidays and Customs" by Morris Epstein states, "The Bible calls Rosh Hashanah the day of the sounding of the rams horn," [Page. 21]. AN EXPLANATION OF ROSH-AH-SHANAH by Michael Strassfeld in his book called, "Jewish Holidays, a Guide and Commentary," page 96, give us a better understanding of Rosh Hashanah [Jewish New Year]. "Rosh-ha-shanah is referred to in the Torah as the day of sounding the shofar. It was not called Rosh- ah-shanah the New Year until Talmudic times, [around 200 A.D.]. The nature of the festival is unclear. The notion of Rosh-ah-shanah as the year may have come later in the tradition. Rosh-ah-shanah as the new year is tied to the creation of the world. Thus in the Talmud there is a debate as to whether the world was created in Nisan [the month the Passover falls] or in Tishri. In fact the bible's silence about the fall new years and its celebration is hardly accidental. Celebration of this festival were so fraught with pagan association that the rather Puritanical Biblical authors probably opposed the festival altogether, much as later rabbis fraught against too much paganism and magic for their comfort. Only in the Talmud does Rosh- ah-shanah emerge as a major Jewish Festival, showing that the fold, then as later, did not always listen to their more purist religions leaders. It is likely that especially the first Diaspora Jews, those of Babylonia did much to support the acceptance of this festival and gave it a legacy that is in many ways reminiscent of the ancient Babylonian new year."
If God's Church keep the Jewish Rosh-ah-shanah for the Feast of Trumpets, they are keeping a pagan Babylonian new year! They are not keeping God's true Holy Day, the Feast of Trumpets!
James Russell
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