Many in the Christian world also have a veil before their eyes and heart. They do not see to the end of that which was done away. They do not see that it was only the ceremonial law which was abrogated at the death of Christ… {1SM 239}
There are many who try to blend these two systems, using the texts that speak of the ceremonial law to prove that the moral law has been abolished; but this is a perversion of the Scriptures. The distinction between the two systems is broad and clear. The ceremonial system was made up of symbols pointing to Christ, to His sacrifice and His priesthood. This ritual law, with its sacrifices and ordinances, was to be performed by the Hebrews until type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Then all the sacrificial offerings were to cease. It is this law that Christ “took . . . out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” Colossians 2:14…{PP 365}
Since we are told in the above quotation that only the ceremonial law was abrogated at the death of Christ, it is important to know what is contained in the ceremonial law. Let’s see what the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy says is contained in this law.
Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Gal 5:2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Heb 9:10-11 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.
So, here is a list of the things which these verses mentioned as being done away at the cross:
- The temple
- The priesthood
- Sacrifices and oblations
- Meat and drink offerings (Numbers 28:9-10 – meat and drink offerings were commanded on the Sabbath, the feasts, and the new moons)
- Circumcision
- Washings
Following are some quotations from Spirit of Prophecy on the subject.
Under the Mosaic law, strangers and eunuchs were excluded from the full enjoyment of the privileges granted to Israel. But the prophet declares that a time is coming when these restrictions will cease… {ST, February 28, 1884}
The same light and glory that was reflected upon the circumcised Jews shone also upon the faces of the uncircumcised Gentiles. This was God’s warning that Peter was not to regard one as inferior to the other, for the blood of Christ could cleanse from all uncleanness. {AA 193}
Again, we see that circumcision is no longer binding:
In this instance James seems to have been chosen as the one to announce the decision arrived at by the council. It was his sentence that the ceremonial law, and especially the ordinance of circumcision, should not be urged upon the Gentiles, or even recommended to them. James sought to impress the minds of his brethren with the fact that, in turning to God, the Gentiles had made a great change in their lives and that much caution should be used not to trouble them with perplexing and doubtful questions of minor importance, lest they be discouraged in following Christ. {AA 195}
It is impossible for human minds to understand the meditations of the Son of God as He looked with interest upon the Temple for the first time. As He walked its courts, and His eye discerned the work of the ministering priest, the altar with its bleeding victim, the holy incense arising to God, and the mysteries of the Holy of Holies behind the veil, and comprehended the reality which these ceremonies prefigured, what thoughts were awakened within His breast we cannot conjecture. Christ Himself was the key to unlock all these sacred mysteries which were indefinitely understood by Joseph and Mary. These were all instituted to represent Christ, and were fulfilled in His death. {LHU 31}
The temple, the priest, the sacrifice, the incense, and the ministry in the Holy of Holies were “ceremonies” which prefigured Christ’s life and ministry, and were fulfilled in His death.
A soul corrupted by sin is represented by the figure of a dead body in a state of putrefaction. All the washings and sprinklings enjoined in the ceremonial law were lessons in parables, teaching the necessity of a work of regeneration in the inward heart for the purification of the soul dead in trespasses and sins, and also the necessity of the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit [Haggai 2:14 quoted] (RH Dec. 19, 1907) {4BC 1176}
Note: the washings and sprinklings were mentioned also in Hebrews as no longer binding.
Removing the shoes from the feet when entering the house of worship is not a duty required of us. Anciently those who ministered in sacred office were required, upon entering the sanctuary of God, to remove their sandals, and wash their feet on which dust has accumulated. But there is not the least occasion for this to be done now. . . .
To ensure cleanliness God required many ceremonies from ancient Israel. These ceremonies were to illustrate the necessity of carefulness in all their actions, that they might be preserved from all the impurity that it was possible for them to avoid. But these outward ceremonies have not the least bearing upon the people of God at this time. When Christ, our Sin-bearer, died upon the cross, these ceremonies lost their force; for in His death type met antitype. {3MR 55}
All is terror and confusion. The priest is about to slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has met antitype in the death of God’s Son. The great sacrifice has been made. The way into the holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all. No longer need sinful, sorrowing humanity await the coming of the high priest. Henceforth the Saviour was to officiate as priest and advocate in the heaven of heavens. It was as if a living voice had spoken to the worshipers: There is now an end to all sacrifices and offerings for sin. The Son of God is come according to His word, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the Book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God.” “By His own blood” He entereth “in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Heb. 10:7; 9:12. {DA 757}
The children of Israel, after they were brought out of Egypt, were commanded to have a simple ribbon of blue in the border of their garments, to distinguish them from the nations around them, and to signify that they were God’s peculiar people. The people of God are not now required to have a special mark placed upon their garments. But in the New Testament we are often referred to ancient Israel as examples. If God gave such definite directions to his ancient people in regard to their dress, will not the dress of his people in this age come under his notice? Should there not be in their dress a distinction from that of the world? Should not the people of God, who are his peculiar treasure, seek even in their dress to glorify God? And should they not be examples in point of dress, and by their simple style rebuke the pride, vanity and extravagance of worldly, pleasure-loving professors? God requires this of his people. Pride is rebuked in his word. {2SM 473}
So, let’s take a second look at the things which are no longer binding requirements:
- The temple
- The priesthood
- Sacrifices and oblations
- Meat and drink offerings
- Circumcision
- Cleanliness laws/washings and sprinklings
These things are rights, ordinances, types, shadows, and ceremonies that passed away.
This isn’t part of the ceremonial law, but you may be wondering about the penalties for sins. Spirit of Prophecy answers this question:
It is true that the rule, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Leviticus 24:20), was a provision in the laws given through Moses; but it was a civil statute. None were justified in avenging themselves, for they had the words of the Lord: “Say not thou, I will recompense evil. ” {MB 70}
Another common question that some people have regarding civil penalties is how the statutes and judgments can be kept today, since their violation was punished with death or other penalties in the days of the judges and kings of Israel, and such punishment is no longer possible. Here Spirit of Prophecy answers this question as well:
The sins of blasphemy and willful Sabbathbreaking received the same punishment, being equally an expression of contempt for the authority of God. In our day there are many who reject the creation Sabbath as a Jewish institution and urge that if it is to be kept, the penalty of death must be inflicted for its violation; but we see that blasphemy received the same punishment as did Sabbathbreaking. Shall we therefore conclude that the third commandment also is to be set aside as applicable only to the Jews? Yet the argument drawn from the death penalty applies to the third, the fifth, and indeed to nearly all the ten precepts, equally with the fourth. Though God may not now punish the transgression of His law with temporal penalties, yet His word declares that the wages of sin is death; and in the final execution of the judgment it will be found that death is the portion of those who violate His sacred precepts. {PP 409}
There is one last thing that we’re told has passed away:
1 Cor 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.
Christ was standing at the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals. He, the spotless Lamb of God, was about to present Himself as a sin offering, that He would thus bring to an end the system of types and ceremonies that for four thousand years had pointed to His death. As He ate the Passover with His disciples, He instituted in its place the service that was to be the memorial of His great sacrifice. The national festival of the Jews was to pass away forever. The service which Christ established was to be observed by His followers in all lands and through all ages. {DA 652}
The Passover was a one-day feast involving a ceremonial meal of lamb with bitter herbs, and this institution was exchanged at Christ’s death for the Lord’s Supper. However, the feast of unleavened bread which immediately followed the Passover meal was never mentioned as having passed away, and continued to be kept by the disciples after the death of Christ. Therefore this quote does not imply that the feasts were done away at the death of Christ, but rather that a material change was made in the ceremonies of Passover.
Now, we are going to see that while Paul was very zealous about giving the Gentiles freedom from the ceremonial law, he also kept the feasts.
Gal 5:1-11 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law… And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
He had been taught by God regarding the binding of unnecessary burdens upon the Gentile Christians; thus when the Judaizing believers introduced into the Antioch church the question of circumcision, Paul knew the mind of the Spirit of God concerning such teaching and took a firm and unyielding position which brought to the churches freedom from Jewish rites and ceremonies. {AA 200}
Although Paul “took a firm and unyielding position which brought to the churches freedom from Jewish rites and ceremonies,” yet he kept the feast of unleavened bread with his gentile converts, the Philippians. The only way we can understand this seeming contradiction is that the feasts are in fact not a part of the ceremonial law.
Acts 20:6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.
At Philippi Paul tarried to keep the Passover. Only Luke remained with him, the other members of the company passing on to Troas to await him there. The Philippians were the most loving and truehearted of the apostle’s converts, and during the eight days of the feast he enjoyed peaceful and happy communion with them. {AA 390}
Here the word Passover is used to apply to the feast of Unleavened Bread, which Paul kept with his gentile converts.
So, we have observed that although the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy are clear that the above list of requirements passed away at the death of Christ, the feasts themselves were actually never included in that list. Here is what Spirit of Prophecy has to say about the benefits of keeping the feasts:
At these yearly assemblies the hearts of old and young would be encouraged in the service of God, while the association of the people from the different quarters of the land would strengthen the ties that bound them to God and to one another. Well would it be for the people of God at the present time to have a Feast of Tabernacles–a joyous commemoration of the blessings of God to them. As the children of Israel celebrated the deliverance that God had wrought for their fathers, and His miraculous preservation of them during their journeyings from Egypt, so should we gratefully call to mind the various ways He has devised for bringing us out from the world, and from the darkness of error, into the precious light of His grace and truth. {PP 540}
Anciently the Lord instructed His people to assemble three times a year for His worship. To these holy convocations the children of Israel came, bringing to the house of God their tithes, their sin offerings, and their offerings of gratitude. They met to recount God’s mercies, to make known His wonderful works, and to offer praise and thanksgiving to His name. And they were to unite in the sacrificial service which pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Thus they were to be preserved from the corrupting power of worldliness and idolatry. Faith and love and gratitude were to be kept alive in their hearts, and through their association together in this sacred service they were to be bound closer to God and to one another.
In the days of Christ these feasts were attended by vast multitudes of people from all lands; and had they been kept as God intended, in the spirit of true worship, the light of truth might through them have been given to all the nations of the world.
With those who lived at a distance from the tabernacle, more than a month of every year must have been occupied in attendance upon these holy convocations. The Lord saw that these gatherings were necessary for the spiritual life of His people. They needed to turn away from their worldly cares, to commune with God, and to contemplate unseen realities.
If the children of Israel needed the benefit of these holy convocations in their time, how much more do we need them in these last days of peril and conflict! And if the people of the world then needed the light which God had committed to His church, how much more do they need it now!” {6T 39-40}