8Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 9But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 10Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 11I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
(Galatians 4:8–11)
Under the old covenant which God made with the people of Israel in the time of Moses, God Himself descended and took His place within our physical reality. Initially, this was accompanied by great physical phenomena when God descended upon Mount Sinai. Later on, God took His place within the entirety of worship by taking up residence in the Holy of Holies, first in the Tabernacle that Moses was commanded to build, but later also in the Temple built by Solomon. First, just a few relevant passages:
16And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. 17And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up
(Exodus 19:16–20)34Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
(Exodus 40:34)
1Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.
(2 Chronicles 7:1)
What we must understand is that the way to God was closed off; the Spirit of God had not yet been poured out. Everything associated with the Old Covenant took place in the physical realm. The entire temple service, including days, months and appointed times, played a part in this. Paul compares these things to a shadow—something which, in the physical reality of that time, revealed something of who Jesus is and will be, and which is also a reflection of the spiritual reality of heaven.
16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
(Colossians 2:16–17)
8the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
(Hebrews 9:8–10)1For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
(Hebrews 10:1)
A defining feature of physical reality is that it is constrained by space and time; this means that everything is temporary and localised, and this therefore also applies to the temple service and everything associated with it. The term ‘ rudiments of the world’ is best understood as the elements from which this reality is composed. In the Greek of Galatians 4:3, the phrase στοιχεια (stoicheion) του (tou) κόσμου (kosmos) appears, which is best translated as ‘elements or rudiments of the physical world’; this can be interpreted broadly to refer to the entire universe, but also to the elements from which the temple service and its associated practices are composed.
20Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(touch not; taste not; handle not; 22which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
(Colossians 2:20–23)
In this passage, Paul compares the rudiments of the world with Jewish traditions. From the very beginning, the church has been under pressure to make elements of the Law and the temple service compulsory for those who have come to faith from among the Gentiles.
5But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
(Acts 15:5)
This could refer to all the ceremonial aspects of temple worship under the leadership of the Sadducees and synagogue practice under the leadership of the Pharisees. It was therefore not just a matter of circumcision but of the whole of the Law and thus also of temple worship. And indeed, we see from the outset that the Christians in Jerusalem continued to observe these things.
Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
(Acts 21:20b)
It only became strictly impossible for them when, in the year 70 AD, Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed; without the temple, Old Testament worship no longer exists. If we believe that we ought to join the Jews in celebrating their festivals, then we must understand that, under the leadership of Rabbi Akivah at the end of the first century and the beginning of the second century AD, an alternative form of worship was established, rendering the Temple service obsolete. They thus claim that the synagogue liturgy could serve as an alternative to Temple worship until such time as a Temple were to be rebuilt in Jerusalem and worship restored to its original form. Jewish worship without the Temple is idolatry.
16Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty…
(Deuteronomy 16:16)
The place God had chosen was the Tabernacle of Moses and later the Temple in Jerusalem. To assume that this could also be transferred to the home or the synagogue is in direct contradiction to what is stated in Deuteronomy 16.
Under the New Covenant, the Temple is no longer a physical place but a spiritual one.
19Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21But he spake of the temple of his body.
(John 2:19–21)
15But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
(1 Timothy 3:15)
4To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
(1 Peter 2:4–5)
Jesus Christ and his church together comprise the temple or dwelling place of God. According to Paul, we have been brought into the spiritual reality of God, and this reality is not bound by space and time; it is heavenly and therefore eternal.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
(Ephesians 1:3)
Although we remain in the world, we are no longer citizens of this world; in Christ, we are citizens of heaven. Space and time no longer matter to us in any significant way. We no longer gather in a predetermined place, nor are we bound by calendars and the festivities associated with them.
20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
(Matthew 18:20)20Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.21Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
(John 4:20–24)
23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
(1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
The desire to reintroduce specific places, such as buildings—and this also applies to the physical city of Jerusalem—and specific times, including calendars to which we feel we must connect our feasts, is at odds with the general spirit of the New Testament and carries the risk that we will overlook the completed work of Christ. The Day of Atonement was fulfilled by Jesus; the consequence of this was that, during the final forty years of the Temple’s existence, the signs that were customary to indicate that God had accepted the sacrifice no longer took place. This illustrates the fact that the Old Testament temple service and feasts have been replaced by the completed work of Christ; the Passover has been replaced by the Lord’s Supper, which is no longer observed just once a year but frequently, and is therefore not bound to a calendar.
To return to the beginning of this argument and the passage from Galatians 4, we must understand that the reintroduction of calendars and the festivals associated with them detracts from the breadth, height and depth of what we have received in Christ.
11I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
(Galatians 4:11)
The riches of the new covenant surpass everything that the old covenant could ever reflect, for it is merely a shadow, whilst the true reality is Christ.
5who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. 6But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second…
13In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
(Hebrews 8:5–7; 13)8Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
(2 John 1:8)
In conclusion, we can state that we have been brought into the spiritual reality in and of Christ; this reality is eternal and therefore timeless. The observance of days, months, fixed times and years belongs to the old covenant and is not part of the new and better covenant. We no longer celebrate the biblical feasts prescribed by the Law because we are privileged to walk in the true reality to which the shadow, the Sabbath and the feasts point—and that is Christ in us, the hope of glory.
25whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
(Colossians 1:25–27)
