James Russell, Elder:
The study of God’s true Holy Days began for us in 1992. We learned after 25 years of being in God’s
Church, that the Worldwide Church of God had been keeping the Holy Days according to the Pharisees teaching,
the “Jewish Hebrew calendar,” which the church called the “Sacred Calendar” as established by Mr. Herbert W.
Armstrong in 1934.
When looking into the Jewish Hebrew calendar we found that the “postponement rules” were incorporated
into it, starting officially in 358-359 A.D. by the Pharisee Hillel II. These postponements caused God’s true Holy
Days to be put off or changed by one or two days and sometime by a whole month, like next year 2016.
While looking into these postponement rules we found that even the meaning of the Holy Days had been
changed. Not only had time been changed by the Jews, but also the Romans had changed the Holy Days into pagan
holidays. All nations have been deceived by the false teaching of Judaism and Catholicism. Later the Protestant
reformation accepted the change of the Sabbath to Sunday by the Catholics in 325 A.D. and followed the pagan
holidays, Christmas and Easter! This is the same scenario as changing or postponing God’s Holy Days by Judaism.
From early on we were taught, the Sabbaths and Holy Days picture God’s plan of Salvation.
When reading God’s instruction book for human behavior and the guide for a happy life, we find that God
set in motion His calendar from the very beginning. Genesis 1:1 sets the start of the re-creation. On the first day,
God divided the light from the darkness that was upon the face of the deep. “And the earth was without form, and
void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God
said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from
the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning
were the first day” (Gen 1:2-5). Following that first day, came the rest of God’s week days. The second day” (Gen
1:6-8). The third day” (Gen 1:6-13). The fourth day” (Gen 1:14-19). The fifth day (Gen 1:20-23). The sixth day,
(Gen 1: 24-31). And the seventh day, (Gen 2:2-3,1).
Notice what God said on the fourth day,“ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven
to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them
be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great
lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them
in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide
the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day”
(Gen 1:14-19).
“And on the seventh day God ended His work which he had made; and He rested on the seventh day from
all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested
from all His work which God created and made. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
them” (Gen 2:2-3,1).
The reason we went over God’s creation in these seven day is to prove that the first day of the first week, of
the first month, of the first year started in darkness, with the beginning dark moon (Gen 1:1,3-5) as the new moon!
If we start our count for the first day of the calendar with the light of the crescent moon [on the fourth day], we
would not have come to a seventh day Sabbath! We, in God’s Church know that the seventh day of creation is God’s
true Sabbath, on the Gregorian calendar it is called Saturday. We do not keep the pagan Sunday as God’s Sabbath
day.
By keeping God’s true weekly Sabbath day, we are kept in the remembrance of the seven days of creation,
designed to keep us in the true worship of God on the seventh day. God gave this seventh day as a true day of
rest for His children to keep them reminded of the knowledge and true worship of the true God and a memorial of
His creation. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the
seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days
the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD
blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Ex 20:8-11).
We are told to open our Bible and prayerfully study God’s word for truth. “Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). We are not
to argue or refute God’s word, but to learn and act on God’s will!
We are commanded as Christians, to grow in Knowledge as well as grace. “But grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).
We are to honor and glorify Christ and the Father by learning and living the words of the Bible. The Bible is to
inspire us into changing and overcoming our human nature, so we can be in the Kingdom of God with Christ and
the Father. God’s word is to correct and reprove so that false teachings, error and prejudice are cleaned out of our
lives. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim
3:16-17).
Most Sunday keepers object to God’s Sabbath, because they contend that at the death of Christ the laws of
God, the Ten Commandments was nailed to the cross. To them this means we do not have to keep God’s
commandments, statutes or judgments!
The weekly Sabbath and God’s annual Holy Day Sabbaths stand and fall together. If the preachers of the
world can do away with God’s weekly Sabbath, then they can certainly do away with God’s Holy Day Sabbaths.
They argue that the annual Sabbaths were a part of the law of Moses. They say, “What came in with Moses, went
out with the death of Christ.”
As we study through scripture, we can see that God does not change His plan and purpose for mankind to
obtain eternal life. “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the
days of your fathers ye are gone away from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will
return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?” (Mal 3:6-7). To “return” to God
is to repent of sin, and make a through reformation in ones life!
CHURCH OF GOD, IN TRUTH
P.O. Box 1120 Kimberling City, MO 65686 Tel: 417-338-0033 Fax: 417-338-0031
James Russell, Elder Tel: 417-338-0033 E-mail: cogit@flash.net
Pete Fleming, Elder Tel: 830-885-5502 E-mail: pmf06@gvtc.com
Spanish
M Martinez, Deacon Tel: 787-786-5856 E-mail: marty@ucsint.com
Phillippines
Romeo Samudio Rep Tel: 090-8536-4415 E-mail: romesamudio@yahoo.com