Matthew 15:7-9 This people draweth nigh unto me with his MOUTH, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
But in VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, teaching for DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.

Yahshua spoke these words to the Pharisees, which contrary to popular belief, did not observe many of the commandments of Yah, and they even created laws to offset Yah's commandments. Yahshua's Gospel was about KEEPING the COMMANDMENTS. He was never about giving man an excuse to why they shouldn't and can't keep them. Yahshua's life was to show us that we CAN walk in the laws and statutes of Yah. This is why when he was asked what it took to get eternal life, his answer was;

Matthew 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS.

And again he states in

Matthew 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these LEAST commandments, AND SHALL TEACH MEN TO DO SO, he shall be called the LEAST in the kingdom of heaven:

(that's the Lake of Fire y'all)

but whosoever SHALL DO AND TEACH THEM,

the same shall be called GREAT

(This is at the Throne of the Lord y'all)

in the kingdom of heaven.

Sadly, most churches and people that profess to be Christian do not take heed to Yahshua's words nor the words of John as written in 1 John 2:2-6.
In fact, most of them take heed to the same "seducing spirit" that the Pharisees followed when they created traditions to offset Yahweh's commandments.

For all of you that think that all you have to do is "believe," ... you are serving the Lord in vain if you're not backing that belief with Yahweh's commandments! Unfortunately, MANY people are in this category that Yahshua is speaking about here concerning those who reject the Commandments of Yahweh, and replacing the commandments with the...

teaching for doctrine the commandments of MEN.

Which ones are YOU following???

The Commandments of Yahweh?

Or the commandments and the traditions of men?

Let's now look at the Holy Days.

Which holy days?

Well...let's first take a quick peek at the SO-CALLED holy days that are actually the commandments and TRADITIONS of Man, which are also contrary to Yahweh.

We've already seen how man has changed the weekly day of rest from the Lord's Sabbath, to the Pagan observance of the Sun's day, (Sunday) the first day of the week.
Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, "Hallow"... (HUH?!) ...een, are NOT holy days that Yahweh gave us to observe. They have not now, nor have ever been hallowed and sanctified by the Most High. We won't even dwell on them because this page is about

Let's start in the beginning. ..

Genesis 1:1-5 ...God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the EVENING and the MORNING were the FIRST day.

Two things to note here is that the light we just read about was not the sun being that the sun was created on the fourth day. This light, as we can see from the next verses which I won't post, are on the other side of the waters.
The second thing, and the reason why we read this passage, is to note that Yahweh begins a day in the evening and THEN the morning. If you continue reading you'll see that he created the greater light (the sun) and the lesser light (the moon,"moon = "months") to be for SIGNS and SEASONS. As a matter of fact:

Genesis 1:14-19 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

These lights that God put in the firmanent/heaven allow us to discern when days, months, and years begin and end and also when the seasons and holy days arrive. A day according to Yah's calender begins when the sun goes down. That's why it says

"the evening and the morning was the first day".

Yahweh does not acknowledge 12:00 midnight as the beginnng of the day. You need a watch everytime you have to figure out when the day begins according to man's calender. But that's what Yahweh created the lights in the heavens for as we just read.

Because of the fact that Yahweh gave us ordinances of his holy days according to the lunar (moon) calender, and also because he prophecied that the Gentiles would "think to change TIMES and laws" (Daniel 7:25) he gave us an ordinance to observe so that we may be able to continually keep track of the beginning of the months, and that is with the observance of the new moon.

Numbers 10:10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.

Psalms 81:1-4 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.

Isaiah 66:22-23 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

Leviticus 23:1-4 And the Lord spake unto Moses saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are MY feasts.

This chapter reveals the days that Yahweh has deemed to be holy. We will go in and out of this chapter, but before we continue, let's turn our attention to

Exodus 12:1-2 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
THIS month shall be unto you the BEGINNING OF MONTHS: it shall be the FIRST month of the year to you.

Here, we see that Yahweh has shown us when the year begins. It is not in the dead of winter as the world observes but it is around the time of the vernal equinox which is better known as Spring.

Remember an old Bartle and James commercial (those old dudes that promoted wine coolers) when Ed Bartle (I think that was their names, the other one, Frank James never said anything) noted that the calender had a day on it listed as "Vernal Equinox." He said some thing to the effect of "Me and Frank are sitting here looking at the calender and we see here that March 20th is the Vernal Equinox. We knew Vernal since he was a little boy and we thought he'd never amount to a hill of beans, and now he has his own national holiday. So, here at Bartles & James we'd like to wish you all a Happy Vernal Equinox day."

Hmmm... never mind,...I thought it was funny.

At anyrate, the Vernal Equinox is always around late March according to the appearance of the new moon (moon = month) in Jerusalem. The Passover is in this first month of the year.

The whole world used to observe this calender. If you take March to be the first month of the year, then what would the seventh month be?
The answer of course is September. Notice that the word
"September" means "7" just as
October means "8",
"November" means "9"
and "December" means "10"
of course, just as everything else, this world we live in is backwards and contrary to the will of Yahweh. Incidentally, someone tell me where in the Torah did Yah state that the new year begins in Autumn as those in modern "Judaism" observe it.

The first holy day ("holiday" is a corruption of the phrase HOLY day) of the year is Passover.

Leviticus 23:5-6 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover. 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.

Deuteronomy 16:8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: AND on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.

On every single holy day of God there is one constant and that is, we do not work. We also neither buy nor sell on these days. Each holy day have a meaning and in their meaning they clearly show the kingdom of God. Let's look a bit into the Passover. Exodus 12 shows us when Yahweh instituted the Passover and what it meant. Now let's look at

Luke 22:13-20 And they went, and found as he said unto them: and they made ready the PASSOVER.
...And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this PASSOVER with you before I suffer:

Why the Passover?
We shall see.

For I say unto you, I will not anymore eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, UNTIL the kingdom of God shall COME.
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is MY body which is given for you: this do in the remembrance of me.
Likewise the CUP after the SUPPER, saying, This is the new testament in MY BLOOD, which is shed for you.

Yahshua has now become the Passover lamb whose blood was shed for all that believe.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 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:
Therefore let us KEEP THE FEAST, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the UNLEAVENED BREAD of sincerity and truth.

Acts 20:6 And we sailed away from Phil'-ppi after the DAYS of UNLEAVENED BREAD, ...

It is really simple to see that the first century Christians observed the Passover. The next holy day of the year is a day that many "Christians" KNOW that the apostles and disciples observed. They have even named churches for this holy day. But they don't even think twice about it being sanctified as one of God's holy days. This is the Feast of Pentecost, or as it was originally called, The Feast of Weeks. Bishops/Elders/Evangelists think that Pentecost was something that just happened, or began, in the New Testament. This is what Pentecost is. Pentecost means "50" referring to the amount of days between the sabbath after the Passover, to the actual holy day of Pentecost. They took seven weeks (49 days, hence the feast of weeks) or seven sabbaths, and added the extra day to get fifty. This is why the Pentecost is always on the first day of the week.

Deuteronomy 16:9-10 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
And thou shalt keep the FEAST OF WEEKS unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

Leviticus 23:15-16,21 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:
Even unto the MORROW AFTER the SEVENTH SABBATH shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord...
...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 statue FOR EVER in ALL your dwellings throughout your generations.

Read Acts 1 and you will see the significance of Yahshuah having been seen of his disciples and preaching to them forty days after he rose and then poured out his spirit on the Feast of Pentecost as mentioned in the next chapter. Also, in Acts (why do you think it's called Acts? It shows how the apostles ACTED, hence the title "Acts of the Apostles.") you can see how the apostles continued to keep Yahweh's laws, statutes, and ordinances well after Yahshua took his seat on the right hand of the Father.

Acts 20:16 For PAUL had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

Alrighty then.....now here's the next holy day of Yahweh.

Leviticus 23:23-25 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
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 the BLOWING of the TRUMPETS, a holy convocation.
Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

Because Yahshua became the ultimate sacrifice, we no longer offer up animals for offerings and sacrifice. This particular sabbath is a memorial reminding us that when Yahweh appeared before Israel and when he went to war before Israel against our enemies, he went before us at the sound of trumpets. Trumpets have historically been the instrument used to announce the coming of a king or an army. Do you remember in Aladdin the Disney animated movie when Prince Ali rode triumphantly into Agribba and......ummm,......the TRUMPETS sound and you here those guys sing, "Make way for Prince Ali" ...ummm........never mind.
{:o)

But at anyrate, Revelation reveals to us that when Yahweh returns in wrath AFTER the seven seals of the tribulation, he shall come with the seven trumpets of his wrath which shall "be poured out without mixture."

Leviticus 23:26-32 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a DAY of ATONEMENT: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
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.
F or whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same SOUL WILL I DESTROY from among his people.
Ye shall do NO MANNER OF WORK: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls:

(to "afflict your souls" does not mean to beat yourself up and slap yourself around. It simply means to fast. That is, to refrain from food and drink for that day.)

in the ninth day of the month at even, (evening) from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your SABBATH.

A lot of people would say, "Well, Jesus paid it all." Sure, he paid for the sins which you repented from, (if you repented) but he also made an atonement for you having become the High Priest.

Leviticus 16:29-34 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a STRANGER that sojourneth among you;

For on that day shall THE PRIEST MAKE AN ATONEMENT FOR YOU, TO CLEANSE YOU, that ye may be clean from ALL your sins before the Lord.

So here we see it is not the afflicting of our souls that is the atonement, but rather, it is our High Priest Yahshua that had afflicted his soul for us.

Romans 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now RECEIVED THE ATONEMENT.

Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great HIGH PRIEST, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

Leviticus 23:33-34,39 And the Lord spake unto Moses,saying,
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.
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast of the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

John 7:2,14-19 Now the Jews FEAST of TABERNACLES was at hand...
...Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.
And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
If any man will DO HIS WILL, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

Here is an end-time prophecy concerning the Feast of Tabernacles when God sets his kingdom upon the earth.

Zechariah 14:1-2,8-9,16 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
For I will gather ALL nations against Jerusalem to battle; ...
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them from the hinder sea: in summer and winter it shall be.
And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one...
...And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to you to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the FEAST OF TABERNACLES.

Deuteronomy 16:13-16 Thou shalt observe the FEAST of TABERNACLES seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
And thou shalt REJOICE IN THY FEAST, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord God shall choose;

In case you can't be in the place the Lord shall choose, then definitely read the last verse below

because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt REJOICE.
Three times a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the FEAST of UNLEAVENED BREAD, and in the FEAST of WEEKS,
(PENTECOST)
, and in the FEAST of TABERNACLES: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty:
For every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.

Deuteronomy 14:24-26 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, ...
And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God have blessed thee:
Then shall thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and thou shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:
And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for WINE, or for STRONG DRINK, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household.

Before we conclude this chapter, I want to make mention of a tradition that people observe the world over on the day that they regard as the most holiest day of the year, December 25. Many go out and buy Christmas trees and put them in their houses, but most people do not know that not only is this a pagan custom, but it was a tradition that God warned us from keeping.

Jeremiah 10:2-8
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.

Now I ask you, did the tree mentioned in that chapter have a name. It doesn't matter what you call that tree, or WHO you sanctify it to, you cannot mingle heathen practices that Yah have commanded against with the worship of Him. The heathens worshipped this tree, which is why God marvelled at the fact that even though YOU chop it down, then YOU set it up in your house and YOU decorate it. YOU place gifts under it so that on that "most holiest day of the year" YOU can BOW DOWN and receive the gifts that this treegod gave you.

HUH?!

Doesn't make much sense does it? Neither do many of the other traditions that are observed all over the world.

I hope that your understanding has been increased concerning

Grace & Peace in Yahshua