James Russell, Elder:
Dear Brethren and Co-workers;
In this issue of the Prove All Things magazine will be addressing some of the commonly asked questions about
the calendar’s Postponement rules.
When my wife and I first heard about the "Postponement''rules, 25 years age, we searched in the Bible to find
them. We wanted to prove to our selves that we should follow them, but we could not find any postponement
rules in the Bible. We try to follow the Bibles teachings as close as possible trying not to add to or take away
from what God's Word says. "You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish
ought from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you" (Deu 4:2).
Finding no Sabbath postponement in God’s Word . We have been trying to enlighten God's scattered, called out
ones and their Leaders to be aware of the serious flaws that are taught and followed in the Hebrew calendar. In
1993 we sent our booklet “Postponements, Another Mystery of the Age” to over 800 addresses and 25 scattered
Churches of God and their ministers. Their general reply was, they did not feel they could change from following
the Hebrew Calendar that was taught, accepted, and practiced by the Worldwide Church of God.
As God's spiritual called children we are to love and defend God's Truth that sets us apart. The first time we find
the word "sanctify" [set apart] in the New Testament is in John17, where Jesus Christ was praying to His and our
Father in heaven. "Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth" (John 17:17). "Sanctify them" means
to "Set them apart," "Separate them from error," or untruths and false doctrines. "Truth," in this context, denotes
what is true in things - especially pertaining to God and the duties of man.
Many "religious" people today and many we may know, do not understand the importance of following the truth,
although nearly everyone understands the importance of “keeping oneself unspotted from the world.” Almost
everyone realizes that such things as stealing, murder, lying and committing adultery are wrong, but not many
understand that following false teaching of adding too and taking away from God’s word is also wrong.
Many of God's called out one's today, are confused about which calendar doctrines are truly Biblical.
Consequently, a growing number of them are becoming disillusioned with their church group and do not know
where to attend God’s Sabbath services or God's true annual Holy Days!
Satan has succeeded in leading most of God's called today to believe that the oral doctrines one believes and
practices outside of scripture, Is OK! By using this kind of human reasoning, they believe it's OK to attend
Postponed annual Holy Day services with those groups that teach unscriptural oral fables [myths] and the
traditions of men.
Read what the Apostle Paul told Timothy would take place at the end of this age - the end of six thousand years
of man's misrule. "I charge you therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and
the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their
ears from the truth, and shall turn to fables [un-truths - false doctrine-lies]'.' (2 Tim. 4:1-4). Paul continued this
thought in his letter to Titus "This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the
faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth" (Titus 1:14). ☜
Questions To Ask
When considering the Jewish calendar and whether it is the vehicle God wants His people to
use to meet with Him at His appointed times, you may want to consider these questions!
==============================================================================
1. Where in scripture is the authority to change the Holy Days as instructed by God in the book of the Law, when
fashioning the Jewish Calendar?
2. Why did God give in scripture, specific instructions as to the month and day; and tie them to the Seasons if they were
to be altered for the convenience of a preparation day?
3. Why were there no instructions for the inconvenience of back to back Holy Days written in Scripture?
4. How does the term "unto them (the Jews), were committed the Oracles of God," evolve into changing, moving,
delaying, or altering the commands of God, for keeping His Holy Day's, as Given in the book of The Law?
5. Why would God use the very people who constantly disobeyed Him, did not believe Moses and rejected Jesus as
their Messiah, to establish the calendar that would direct the spiritual body of Christ down through history?
6. If God truly commands a "preparation" day before each Holy Day, why do we observe Pentecost each year on the
day after the Sabbath without concern?
7. If the Jewish leadership has the responsibility for setting the calendar; and we have only to follow it, why do we keep
a different day of Pentecost than their calendar shows?
8. Ifwe do not consistently follow the Jewish Calendar, are you then saying we are really not bound to follow it at all?
9. The religious Jews have shown they do not know how to properly count the day of Pentecost. Why then do we trust
them to properly set the other six Holy Days?
10. The Church has taken great pains and meticulously shown that the Sabbath we keep today, is the exact seventh day
God rested after He created the heavens and the earth. Why do some in the Church of God, have little or no concern that
the same care has not been taken in keeping holy the exact days God has made annual Holy
Days; by incorporating postponements into the calendar?
11. Isn't it true, man cannot keep holy what God has not made holy? The very term postpone
means to delay something. In this case, it's God's Holy time! Therefore, are we not in error?
12. Does it sound reasonable that God would use the Jews, who fit the definition of
"anti-Christ" [1 John 2:22, 4:3, 2 John 1 :7] to oversee the Holy Day Calendar?
13. "Thy Word is Truth" [John 17:17], are the words of Christ, which limits where inspired
spiritual truth is found. God spoke to Moses and the Prophets and in time, truth was recorded
in scripture through the Holy Spirit. It was not left to be handed down orally. In John 15:15,
all things were given to Christ from the Father and passed on to the disciples. Why was
something as important as when and how to keep the Holy Days, or whether we are to postpone them, not recorded in New
Testament scripture?
14. Where in scripture are we told to determine the beginning of God's year by counting backwards 177 days from the
seventh month, Tishri? ☜