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Most
evangelical churches no longer observe the annual Biblical Festivals
today, partly as a result of the radical anti-feasts attitude of the
Puritans, who swept away all religious holy days except the Lord’s
Day. The Puritans viewed the church calendar, which was filled with
saints’ days and Marian feasts instituted by the Roman Catholic
Church, as indicative of the apostasy into which the church had
fallen. To rid the church of all the pagan superstitions which had
become part of the popular piety, the Puritans in Colonial America
did away with all the annual holy days. In doing so, however, they
left Christians without a religious calendar to commemorate the
great saving acts of God.
In God’s Festivals in Scripture
and History Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi challenges
Christians to bring about worship renewal by developing a church
calendar patterned after the religious calendar God gave to Israel.
Such a calendar would focus during the course of the year on the
redemptive accomplishments of Christ’s first and second Advents as
typified by the annual Feasts. We cannot preach the whole Bible in
one sermon. We cannot celebrate the whole story of redemption in one
Sabbath. A church calendar patterned after the calendar of Israel
can help to do justice to all the great saving acts of God.
The first volume deals with The Spring
Festivals, focusing especially on Passover and Pentecost.
The study traces the origin, meaning, and observance of Passover and
Pentecost in the Old Testament, New Testament, and early
Christianity. Two of the chapters offer practical suggestions on how
to observe Passover and Pentecost today. |
