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The Bible tells us that in order to escape the wicked
king Herod, Joseph fled from Judea, taking Mary and
Jesus with him to Egypt. An angel appeared to
Joseph while in Egypt and instructed him to return again
to the land of Israel, but the angel warned Joseph
against re-entering Judea: he was instead to enter the
northern region of Galilee and settle in the city of
Nazareth – this, even though the ancestral roots of both
Mary and Joseph were in Judea. Why Galilee?
The answer to this question is instructive in
understanding the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Before answering the
question, why Galilee, it is helpful to understand who
the Galileans were. The Galileans referred to in the New
Testament were Jews by race and religion. Because
they dwelled in the most northern province of Israel,
they were considered different from the southern Jews of
Judea. John, in his gospel, distinguishes between
these two groups. In John 7:2, 11:55 and 19:42 the
term “Jews” is used by John to refer to the Jews of
Judea and their religious practices. In referring to
them separately from the Jews of Galilee, John pointed
to the fact that the Jews of Judea, and especially
Jerusalem, were not as exacting in the practice of their
religion as were their cousins to the north.
Commentators on Judaism in Christ’s time are all in
agreement that it was difficult to define an organized
religion called Judaism. In Judea there were many
differing sects with many competing divisions within
them. Among the best-known sects were the
Pharisees, Scribes, Sadduccees, Zealots and Herodians –
all mentioned in the New Testament. Besides the
religious sects, much like Christianity today, most Jews
in the Judean province of Palestine were marginally
religious. They paid little attention to the
wrangling between these different groups. The
annual feast days of the Old Testament (see Leviticus
23) were still practiced by some of the Jews during
Christ’s day, but in Judea they were treated by most as
nothing more than annual patriotic holidays: they were
times for celebration, family gatherings, marriage
matchmaking and eating good food. That does not
mean there were not religiously serious Judeans who were
careful in how they celebrated the annual Sabbaths, but
even these individuals did not agree on many aspects of
how or when these days should be celebrated.
The
Jewish inhabitants of the Galilee, on the other hand,
tended to be much more serious about their religious
celebrations. This does not mean they were more
moral, but they tended to be more conservative and
nationalistic than their southern cousins. To the
Galileans, the religion of Moses was considered sacred
in much the same way American patriots revere the flag,
the Constitution, and the 4th of July.
Also,
the province of Galilee was more rural than Judea and
not as heavily influenced by the Greek culture.
Thus the ideas of “modern Greek philosophy” did not
leave its mark on their culture. These differences
between the Galileans and the Judeans came about after
the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon,
as written about in the book of Jeremiah and elsewhere.
Upon
their return from their captivity, the Jews settled in
three provinces of Palestine. These provinces
were, from south to north, Judea, Samaria and Galilee.
As the Bible makes clear, the middle province of Samaria
was hardly considered a Jewish province at all.
The population of this region was largely made up of the
descendents of people brought Into the province by
Nebuchadnezzar to replace the Jews taken into captivity
by him. Judea, on the other hand, remained
ethnically Jewish during the time of Christ, while the
two northern provinces had mixed populations. In
Galilee the Jews had actually become a minority, and
were not considered as sophisticated as the Jews of
Judea.
Because of their ethnically mixed region and their
distance from Jerusalem, the dialect of the Galileans
differed markedly from that of the Judeans (see Acts
2:7). They also, in contrast to their southern
cousins, were known to be good soldiers. They
tended to be vigorous in fighting and were determined in
their convictions. In fact, as Roman rule
developed in Palestine, many Galileans became
characterized as Zealots and Patriots, and were extreme
in the exercise of their ideals. It was the
rebellion by these two extreme groups that eventually
led to the Romans destroying Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
The passionate nature of these northern Jews developed
partly because they were in the minority in Galilee and
thus had to struggle to maintain their culture and
religious beliefs.
Because of their regional differences, there was a
natural lack of mixing between the Jews of Galilee and
the Jews of Judea when they gathered in Jerusalem to
keep the pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Feast of
Weeks (Pentecost) and Feast of Tabernacles. Over time,
there had also developed differences among them as to
when and how these Festivals should be observed.
The Jews of Judea were much more influenced by the Greek
and Egyptian cultures brought by occupation and the
resulting international flavor of Jerusalem. Their
religious beliefs and practices evolved from a mixture
of Old Testament scriptures, oral tradition, apocryphal
writings, the Talmud, and Greek Philosophy; which were
much different from their northern cousins’ who focused
their beliefs solely on the writings of the Pentateuch
and prophets. The political, economic, and
social/religious control over Israel were the concerns
of Jerusalem, which was far removed from the major
concerns of the northern Galilee region. Also,
Galilee was distant enough from Jerusalem that it was
largely free from the influence of the competing
Pharisees and priestly Sadducees, the dominant religious
sects in and around Jerusalem.
There
is much more that could be said about the society in
which God the Father dictated that his son live and be
brought to manhood. The things that have been
mentioned thus far, however, give a basic understanding
of the temperament of the two regions during Christ’s
day, and will provide insight into the Ministry of Jesus
Christ.
As
mentioned earlier, Galilee was a rural but prosperous
agricultural province populated by Jews who by and large
tenaciously held to the religious practices as spelled
out by Moses in the Pentateuch. The Jews of Judea,
on the other hand, were steeped in Greek and Egyptian
culture and philosophy and had lost much of the
instruction found in the early books of the Bible.
Seen in this light, Christ’s words, “had you believed
Moses, you would have believed me…but you believe not
his writings” (John 5: 46-47), become much more
meaningful. While the Jews of Judea still claimed
the authority of Moses, they did not adhere to the
things he wrote. Further, Jesus accused them of
“teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”
(Mark7:7), referring to their practice of placing oral
tradition above scripture.
An
overview of Christ’s ministry will demonstrate what he
meant by these remarks The statement from Mark
mentioned above occurred when the Pharisees from
Jerusalem were both dogging and persecuting him.
The atmosphere in Jerusalem was rife with division,
competition, power mongering and fear. Naturally,
those in position over the Jewish community both
resented and feared anyone who taught differently from
them, viewing such as seditious and dangerous.
Their concerns over maintaining the political balance in
Jerusalem that would maintain peace with their Roman
occupiers caused suspicion and anger to erupt whenever
anyone opposed them; and, no doubt, a perceived enemy
from without their circle could unite even the most
divided among them. Being from an area to the
north that was rife with zealots and patriots, the Jews
of Jerusalem had cause to suspicion Jesus Christ and his
“new” ideas. Thus, while Christ visited Jerusalem
and Judea, his ministry by and large took place in
Galilee, far distant from the religious boiling pot that
was Jerusalem.
It
is not only the geographical location of Galilee that
was important to Christ’s ministry, however. The
people of Galilee played a central role in Christ’s
ministry and the beginning of the church. What
follows is a short list of scriptures with comments
demonstrating the prominence of Galilee in Christ’s
ministry:
Mark
1:14: Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came
into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of
God, KJV
Comment:
Christ began his ministry by introducing the Gospel of
the kingdom of God in Galilee.
Matthew 4:18-21: And Jesus, walking by the sea of
Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and
Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they
were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and
I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway
left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from
thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee
their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
KJV
Comment:
Christ first called these fishermen of Galilee to be
numbered among the eleven Galileans called to be his
apostles.
Matthew 5:6-7: Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be
filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall
obtain mercy. KJV
Comment:
Christ delivered his most famous sermon, the sermon on
the Mount, from an area overlooking the sea of Galilee.
Matthew 8 and 9 (see entirety of both chapters):
Comment:
Christ moved throughout Galilee performing many
miracles.
Matthew 14:22-25: And straightway Jesus constrained his
disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto
the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23
And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up
into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was
come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the
midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was
contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus
went unto them, walking on the sea. KJV
Comment:
Christ performed the astounding miracle of walking on
water on the Sea of Galilee.
Matthew 28:16: Then the eleven disciples went away into
Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
KJV
Comment:
Christ told his disciples to meet him in Galilee after
the resurrection.
The
Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are, by-and-large,
accounts of Christ’s ministry in Galilee. In
contrast, the Gospel of John centers on the conflicts
among the Jewish authorities in Judea that led to
Christ’s death. As part of this contrast, John referred
to the Passover of the “Jews” (see John 2:15 and 11:55)
to set it apart from the Passover observance of the
Galileans, which Christ confirmed by his example.
Christ’s ministry exposed the oral traditions and false
doctrines of the Judeans and typed them as corrupting
leaven – a metaphor for sin. The chief priests and
Pharisees could not believe a prophet could come from
Galilee, even though the Scriptures plainly foretold
Christ would come from that region:
Isaiah
9:1-2 …by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in
Galilee of the nations. 2 The people that walked in
darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the
land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined. KJV
While
the Galileans were not a deeply spiritual people, they
did have one aspect of their religious practice that was
very important to Christ. That is, they remained
true in their observance of the annual festivals
outlined in Leviticus, chapter 23. The following
is a listing of those holy days and a discussion of
their significance to Jesus Christ.
THE PASSOVER
Leviticus 23:5 In the
fourteenth day of the first month at even (or between
the evenings or at twilight) is the LORD's passover.
KJV
Comment: The
Galileans observed this important Feast at precisely the
time mentioned in the scripture above. Christ followed
this tradition. The proper timing of the observance of
Passover was especially important to him as it served to
point to him as being the perfect “Lamb of God”.
The four gospel accounts tell us that prior to being
crucified, he ate the traditional Passover meal with his
disciples, then he established new memorial rituals that
included the drinking of wine and eating unleavened
bread. These new rituals, when annually observed,
were to remind his disciples of the significance of his
having lived the perfect, sinless life, which when later
offered as an offering for sin, was found sufficient to
pay the penalty for the sins of all repentant believers
for all time. Having initiated the new memorial
rituals for observing the Passover, Christ left the
house where he had eaten the meal with his disciples and
went to the Garden of Gethsemane where he was arrested,
then unlawfully forced to undergo the ordeal of being
tried, beaten, tormented, and scourged, then nailed to
the stake where he died at the 9th hour when
the sin offering was traditionally slain in Jerusalem.
Unlike the Galileans, the
Jews of Judea had lost the true Passover by combining it
with a festival that immediately followed it, the Feast
of Unleavened Bread: the Spring festivals, which
normally covered an 8-day period, were condensed by the
Judeans into a 7-day observance. Having lost the
appropriate time to observe the Passover, the wayward
Jews of Judea were found busily slaying their erroneous
passover lambs at the very time Christ died on the
stake, having already pictured for them the previous
evening what it meant to be the perfect, sinless “lamb”
of God – his life was the fulfillment of the symbolic
“spotless” lamb that was consumed at the traditional
Passover meal.
Christ’s death as a sacrifice for sin, which occurred at
the time the daily sin offering was slain in Jerusalem,
ended the need for any future ritualistic sin offerings
among the Jews. Unfortunately, the Jews of Judea
were blinded to the identity of their savior, and
continued making their ritualistic sacrifices.
THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD
Leviticus 23:6-7: And on the fifteenth day of the same
month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD:
seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. 7 In the first
day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no
servile work therein. KJV
Comment:
This festival is a separate festival that immediately
followed the Passover and was to picture for observant
Jews (and Christians today) the need to put sin,
pictured by leavened bread, out of their homes and
lives. Then they were to eat unleavened bread, which
represented the righteous life, throughout the seven
days of the festival. This festival pictures for
modern-day Christians the need to live a life of
overcoming sin and putting on righteousness in an effort
to become perfect, as Christ was perfect. The idea
of overcoming sin was a central theme in the teachings
of Christ, and is only made possible because he paid the
penalty of sin in our stead.
THE FEAST OF WEEKS OR PENTECOST
Leviticus 23:9-17, 21: And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say
unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give
unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye
shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest
unto the priest: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before
the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after
the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And ye shall
offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without
blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the
LORD. 13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two
tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering
made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the
drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part
of an hin. 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor
parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day
that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall
be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all
your dwellings. 15 And ye shall count unto you from the
morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought
the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be
complete: 16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh
sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a
new meat offering unto the LORD….21 And ye shall
proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy
convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work
therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your
dwellings throughout your generations. KJV
Comment:
The error of most who read the Bible is to assume that
the Pharisees and other Jews in Judea were practicing
the religion of Moses. That is a false assumption.
As stated earlier, there were many stripes to Judaism,
which incorporated many errors and traditions of men
that had no foundation in scripture. However, the
Galileans, who were Christ’s fellow travelers, did keep
all of the festivals of God in their right order and
time. The majority of the Jews of Judea,
unfortunately, only kept five of the annual festivals on
the right days. As a result, they had lost
critical details concerning the symbolism of God’s
festivals.
As discussed already, the
Judean Pharisees had the erroneous tradition of
observing the Passover on the wrong day -- at the
beginning of the 15th of Nisan[vi],
but when Christ said to his fellow Galileans that they
should prepare the Passover meal at the start of the 14th,
one day ahead of most Judean Jews, his disciples did not
question him because it was their tradition to follow
Leviticus 23:5 exactly. By his example, Christ
ended all argument, for all time, as to when the
Passover was to be observed.
But
the confusion that existed among the wayward and
confused Jews of Judea did not end there.
Earlier, it was stated that the Jews of Judea kept only
five of the annual festivals on the right day, and at
the right time. Besides the Passover, they also
failed to adhere to the instructions given by Moses
concerning the Feast of Weeks (Deuteronomy 16:10) or
Pentecost (Acts 2:1).
During
the Feast of Unleavened Bread there was a ceremony
called the waive sheaf offering. This ceremony consisted
of the priest waving the first sheaf of the spring
barley harvest in the air on the Sunday following the
weekly Sabbath that fell during the days of unleavened
bread. This ceremony, unbeknownst to the Jews of
his day, foreshadowed the event and marked the exact day
Christ was to ascend to his father. Beginning with
that Sunday, the Israelites were to count 50 days (seven
full weeks – thus the name Feast of Weeks – plus one
day), and celebrate the Feast of Weeks on the 50th
day.
The
Feast of Weeks is referred to as Pentecost in the New
Testament. During Christ’s time there was a
controversy as to how the counting for this festival
should occur. Instead of following the Scriptures
and counting fifty, the Pharisees decided to set the
time of the festival on the sixth day of the third month
each year. This particular day was the day when
the old covenant between Israel and God was established,
as spoken of in Exodus 19, and forward. Setting
the date as they did made it convenient to celebrate the
start of the Israelite nation at Mount Sinai on the same
calendar day every year – much as Independence day is
celebrate on July 4th
in the United States – without regard to the particular
day of the week on which the event occurred. This
celebration became known as Shavout on the Jewish
calendar.
Because Shavout occurs on the 6th day of the
Jewish month of Sivan, it no longer correlates with the
waive sheaf offering. But that is not what God
commanded. God had more important reasons for
establishing the annual holy day of Pentecost (which
means count fifty) than to celebrate the birth of a
nation. His intent was to use the day to
foreshadow and later memorialize the exact date the New
Testament church was begun. In order to be in the right
place at the right time for celebrating this particular
festival, the Scripture directing the counting of 50 had
to be followed exactly. Once again, who was there
at the right place on the right day? The
Galileans. Christ’s disciples knew when to keep
this Feast.
In
Acts chapter 2 we find the account of the coming of
God’s Holy Spirit to begin the New Testament church.
It defines the start of the Christian era:
Acts
2:1-7: 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,
they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues
like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews,
devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when
this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and
were confounded, because that every man heard them speak
in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and
marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all
these which speak Galilaeans? KJV
Once
again the natives of Galilee were used by God to bring
his message of salvation to mankind. If they had
been counting the days as their southern cousins, they
would not have observed Pentecost on the right day.
But following Christ’s instructions, they were found
observing the holy days in accordance with the
Scriptures given to Moses. Had they not, they would not
have been in the right place at the right time to
receive the holy spirit.
THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS
Leviticus 23:23-25: And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying,
24
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the
seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye
have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an
holy convocation. 25 Ye shall do no servile work
therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire
unto the LORD. KJV
Comment:
Christ began his ministry in the region of Galilee, and
his message was the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God
(Mark 1:14). Throughout his ministry he continued
to preach about the kingdom, offering many parables to
describe various aspects of it. Christ later
revealed himself to be the one who would bring the
kingdom (see Revelation 19:10-16). The Feast of
Trumpets is the festival that points to the day of
Christ’s return and the establishment of the kingdom of
God on the earth. Both Galileans and Judeans alike
celebrated this festival at the correct time, but
without the proper understanding; for even though the
Galileans observed the festivals in their proper time
and sequence, they did not understand their meaning
unless Christ revealed it to them, and neither did the
Judeans. Much of Christianity suffers from a
similar lack of understanding today.
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
Leviticus 23:26-32: 26 And the LORD spake unto
Moses, saying,
27
Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall
be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation
unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an
offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28 And ye
shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of
atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD
your God. 29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall
not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off
from among his people. 30 And whatsoever soul it
be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul
will I destroy from among his people. 31 Ye shall
do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever
throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall
afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at
even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your
sabbath. KJV
Comment:
This day marks a future day of victory for Jesus Christ.
One of the great moments described in the New Testament
is the day Christ overcame Satan after his 40-day fast
in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan had come
to tempt Christ to sin, but Christ did not yield to
Satan’s temptation, though he was in extreme duress
following his long fast. Thus Christ qualified to
replace Satan as ruler (see John 14:30) over the earth.
The Day of Atonement points to a future time when Christ
will return to this earth to take the reigns of
government from Satan, and banish him to a place called
in the Bible, the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1).
While he will not be destroyed, he will be restrained
from troubling the earth. Just as Christ fasted to
gain the spiritual strength needed to overcome Satan,
Christians today who observe the Day of Atonement also
fast. As they fast, they acknowledge Christ’s
victory over Satan, and celebrate Satan’s future
banishment from the affairs of mankind. Both Galileans
and Jews celebrated this festival at the correct time,
yet without true understanding of its meaning.
THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES
Leviticus 23:33-43: And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying, 34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,
The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the
feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. 35 On
the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do
no servile work therein. 36 Seven days ye shall offer an
offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day
shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall
offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a
solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work
therein. 37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye
shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an
offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering,
and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings,
every thing upon his day: 38 Beside the sabbaths of the
LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows,
and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give
unto the LORD. 39 Also in the fifteenth day of the
seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the
land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on
the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day
shall be a sabbath. 40 And ye shall take you on
the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of
palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows
of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your
God seven days. 41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the
LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for
ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the
seventh month. 42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days;
all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: 43
That your generations may know that I made the children
of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of
the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. KJV
Comment:
Both Judeans and Galileans celebrated this very popular
feast. While they did not understand its future
application, those who could gathered in Jerusalem to
keep this 7-day festival. For them it was a
national celebration during which much wining and dining
occurred. Marriages were arranged and contracts
were signed as part of this happy occasion. The
festival celebrants rented houses or constructed booths
from materials they carried with them. To the
feast-goers this festival pictured the time of Israel’s
wandering in the wilderness before they entered the
promise land. Christ appeared at this festival in
Jerusalem as a child, and later during his ministry.
For
Christians today, the Feast of Tabernacles points to the
future establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Christ taught much about the kingdom; and later, in the
book of Revelation, he revealed that this period would
last a thousand years. He also revealed that
during his millennial reign Satan is to be restrained,
and the knowledge of God’s way of life is to be
disseminated throughout the world (Review Revelation 19
and 20). Modern-day Christians continue to
celebrate this feast as a foreshadowing of Christ’s
return to this earth, and a reminder they are to live
their lives as pilgrims, as they await the establishment
of the Kingdom of God. Following this feast there
remains yet one more festival.
THE LAST GREAT DAY
Leviticus 23:39:
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye
have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a
feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall
be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
KJV
Comment: Following the 7 days of the Feast of
Tabernacles, a final feast comes right on its heals.
The Jews of Christ’s day observed this festival, but
again without any real understanding of its meaning.
This Feast is mentioned in the above scripture as an 8th
day that was to be observed as a sabbath or high day
immediately following the Feast of Booths or
Tabernacles. Christ observed this day, and was
found in John 7:37 preaching loudly on this feast day,
crying out to his listeners, proclaiming the way to
salvation. This was a general call for all those
who could hear him to receive the holy spirit.
While those who heard at that time could not understand
the import of what he was saying, this incident pointed
to a future time when all humanity will be offered
salvation. Because this festival immediately
follows the 7-day Feast of Tabernacles, it points to a
period right after the millennium when all those who
have never truly known Christ will be resurrected to
physical life in what the Bible calls the Great White
Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-12). These
people will be given an opportunity to come to
repentance, receive the holy spirit, and qualify for
eternal life. Christians today celebrate this
festival as a foreshadowing of what is yet to come, and
the culmination of God’s plan for his physical creation.
Conclusion
The
men and women of Galilee were no different when it came
to spiritual matters than anyone else who has ever
walked this earth. Their one outstanding
characteristic was that they adhered, in the face of a
corrupt society, to the Scriptures given by Moses
regarding celebrating God’s Holy Days. They did not
follow Christ in great numbers. There were only
120 followers of Christ who came together on the day of
Pentecost to receive God’s holy spirit. But the
example of the Galileans does provide a valuable lesson:
strict adherence to the Scriptures does make it possible
for God to use human beings for his purposes, and the
reward to those who remain loyal to the scriptures will
be that God will make sure they are where they need to
be, at the right time.
You may want to find out when and where you should be
keeping God’s holy days. Please be sure to request
your free copy of our booklet, The Gospel According To
Christ, and also request your copies of our Bible
Studies on the Holy Days. Better yet, download
your literature from our website today! It’s
available 24/7 from the Wonderfulworldtomorrow.org.
Author’s Comment:
In writing this
article numerous books and articles were
reviewed on the history of Judaism. One
fact became clear. From the time the
reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah lost their
strength, the religion of Judaism fractured into
so many strains of belief and practice, they are
too numerous to count.
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