How I Began Keeping the Feasts

I am a hard-to-convince person who requires lots of hard evidence before I will accept something. I fought against keeping the feasts long and hard – for about ten years! But one by one I realized my arguments against the feasts were not solid.

In fact, most of my arguments were very similar to the arguments that Protestants bring against keeping the Sabbath. I began to realize that my answers to the Protestants in defense of the Sabbath would also answer many of my own objections to the feasts.

For years, I studied and studied in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. I did many exhaustive studies in the Spirit of Prophecy, trying to find evidence to back up my arguments that we didn’t have to keep the feasts. I searched diligently, trying to find at least one place where Sister White said that the feasts were all part of the ceremonial law. But I couldn’t find any. That was frustrating!

What I did find, though, were many places where Sister White talked about what a wonderful blessing the feast days were to ancient Israel and how much they needed them. The feast days were necessary for their spiritual growth. She described them as wonderful days of celebration, fellowship, and rejoicing. Strangely she seldom mentions the sacrifices offered on those days.

I had been trained to think that the sacrificial system was the hub around which the feasts revolved. But I was seeing a different picture as I studied. Slowly my concept of the feasts changed from “days filled with sacrifices and offerings” to “days of wonderful fellowship, celebration, and rejoicing.” In fact, in Ministry of Healing Sister White starts the chapter entitled “Rejoicing” with a description of what a wonderful time of rejoicing the feasts were for God’s people. She even seems to be including the feasts as part of the health laws God gave to His people. And in Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6 she talks about how much ancient Israel needed the feasts and then she says, “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!” {6T 39-40}

The feasts sure sounded like a good thing. I knew Paul kept them all through his lifetime, even with his gentile converts far away in Asia Minor so it must be fine to do. And I knew the Bible said, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) If the feasts were such a good thing for Israel, and if I was truly part of spiritual Israel maybe I could benefit from them too?

Finally the last piece fell into place when I began researching the history of how many of the faithful Christians all through time have been keeping the feasts and the Seventh-day Sabbath. For days I poured over history books about the churches of Asia Minor, the Irish Missionaries, the Waldensians, and others. I began to realize that many of the heroes of history I had always admired for their faithfulness in observing the Seventh-day Sabbath under fierce persecution, had also kept the feast days and suffered great persecution from Rome for them as well.

Finally I had enough evidence. My arguments had crumbled one after another. It took about 10 years, but I was now convinced that the feasts were indeed still supposed to be kept.

I just want to testify what a wonderful blessing it has been to me celebrating the feast days. I look forward to them all through the year, just like we look forward each week to the Sabbath. They are wonderful days to lay aside our daily toil and spend time fellowshipping with others and communing with God. They have indeed been the blessing to us that sister White describes they were to Israel.

And the feasts have been like a door that has opened to me so many new truths that I never saw before. The plan of salvation has taken on such new meaning. When I celebrate the Lord’s Supper on Passover evening, Christ’s words, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God,” have taken on a whole new meaning. On Day of Atonement I spend the day searching my heart and drawing close to God so I can be prepared when Christ steps out of the Most Holy Place and says, “It is done.” I look forward so much to the final feast of Tabernacles when all the ransomed righteous will stand on the sea of glass before the throne of God.

I just want to testify that the feasts can be a wonderful blessing for those who want to keep them. They have been like a catalyst that has propelled me forward in my spiritual growth and my understanding of the Bible.