Topical Bible: Truth: Keep Religious Feasts With

◄ Truth: Keep Religious Feasts With ►

Jump to: Nave's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical context, the concept of truth is deeply intertwined with the observance of religious feasts, which serve as both a commemoration of God's historical acts and a prophetic foreshadowing of future fulfillment. The feasts are not merely ritualistic observances but are imbued with profound spiritual significance, reflecting the truth of God's covenantal relationship with His people.

Old Testament Foundations

The Old Testament lays the groundwork for understanding the connection between truth and religious feasts. The feasts of Israel, as outlined in Leviticus 23, are divinely instituted appointments that reveal God's truth to His people. These feasts include the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Passover, for instance, is a celebration of God's deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, symbolizing the truth of God's redemptive power. Exodus 12:14 states, "This day is to be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD. You are to celebrate it as a permanent statute for the generations to come." The truth of God's salvation is thus enshrined in the observance of the Passover.

New Testament Fulfillment

In the New Testament, the feasts take on additional layers of meaning as they are fulfilled in Christ. Jesus Himself is the embodiment of truth, as He declares in John 14:6 , "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." The feasts, therefore, point to the ultimate truth found in Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 , draws a direct connection between the Passover and Christ: "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Here, Paul emphasizes that the truth of the feast is realized in the purity and sincerity of a life transformed by Christ.

Spiritual Significance

The observance of religious feasts is a means by which believers can align themselves with the truth of God's word and His redemptive plan. The feasts serve as reminders of God's faithfulness and His promises, encouraging believers to live in accordance with His truth. In Colossians 2:16-17 , Paul writes, "Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ."

The feasts, therefore, are not ends in themselves but are shadows pointing to the greater reality found in Christ. They invite believers to participate in the truth of God's ongoing work in the world and in their lives.

Practical Application

For contemporary believers, keeping religious feasts with truth involves more than mere ritual observance. It requires a heart posture that seeks to understand and live out the truths these feasts represent. This involves a commitment to holiness, a recognition of God's sovereignty, and a celebration of His grace and mercy.

In summary, the biblical concept of truth is intricately linked with the observance of religious feasts. These feasts are not only historical commemorations but also prophetic symbols that reveal the truth of God's redemptive plan, culminating in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Through these observances, believers are called to live in the light of God's truth, reflecting His character and purposes in the world.

Nave's Topical Index

1 Corinthians 5:8
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

Political and Religious Life of the Jewish Dispersion in the West ...
... Similarly, they could easily keep out of view, or they may ... It was a religious principle,
a spiritual hope ... No truth more firmly rooted in the consciousness of all ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter vi political and religious.htm

Worship
... least to set us thinking seriously, and to make us fit to keep Christmas in spirit
and in truth. ... What does Isaiah, then, tell the religious Jews of his day? ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/the good news of god/sermon vi worship.htm

The Romance of Orthodoxy
... the startling difference in their type of religious art ... The truth is that the western
energy that dethrones tyrants ... fact that it helps the Indian to keep an eye ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/orthodoxy/viii the romance of orthodoxy.htm

Thought, Deed, Word
... Besides the annual Passover feasts, inscriptions on the door-posts ... is traced; and
not only to keep up its ... All religious truth flows from and is wrapped up in ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/thought deed word.htm

None Greater than John the Baptist, Yet. . .
... Keep looking steadfastly up to Him, that He may teach ... attire of the soul in meekness
and truth, purity and ... a chair is set for him at their religious feasts. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/meyer/john the baptist/xii none greater than john.htm

God's Law Immutable.
... Lord there will exist a state of religious declension similar ... their nature to hush
up the truth, and bow ... above God; whoever should understandingly keep the law ...
/.../white/the great controversy between christ and satan /25 gods law immutable.htm

God's Law Immutable
... Lord there will exist a state of religious declension similar ... their nature to hush
up the truth, and bow ... above God; whoever should understandingly keep the law ...
/.../white/the great controversy/chapter 25 gods law immutable.htm

Servants and Stewards Here and Hereafter
... the nourishment which, of course, means the religious instruction, of ... as it seems
to me, the truth which many ... more earnestly to give heed that we keep that end ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/servants and stewards here and.htm

Christmas and the Aesthetes
... The strange truth about the matter is told in the ... as leisure and larkiness should
always have a religious origin ... is just possible that they do not keep Christmas ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/heretics/vi christmas and the aesthetes.htm

The Time of the Evening.
... Hence Jesus commands us to keep in the ... socialism, and rejection of divine truth in
the ... vividly descriptive of the present-day religious denominations, commonly ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/the gospel day /chapter ii the time of.htm