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The lack of explicit instructions in the New Testament regarding the time and manner of observance of the Fall Feasts of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles is often interpreted as proof of their termination with the death of Christ. It is widely assumed that the meaning and function of the annual feasts terminated at the Cross because they were associated

The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament 88 with the sacrificial system of the temple which came to an end with the death of Jesus.

This prevailing view rests on the assumption that the coming of Christ brought about a radical discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments, Law and Grace, Judaism and Christianity. The abandonment of the Jewish religious Holy Days and the adoption of a new Christian liturgical calendar is seen by many as the most obvious evidence of this radical discontinuity.

Continuity Between Judaism and Christianity. This traditional understanding of Christian origins is grossly inaccurate and misleading. The New Testament recognizes that Christ’s coming brought about a certain discontinuity by fulfilling Old Testament typological institutions, but this discontinuity is never interpreted in terms of abrogation of the Mosaic law, in general, or of Holy Days, in particular. The meaning of the discontinuity is defined in the light of the sense of continuity in God’s plan of salvation that is evident in the New Testament.

In chapter 3 of the first volume of God’s Festivals in Scripture and History, we discussed at some length the continuity between Judaism and Christianity that is present in the writings of Luke and Paul. We found that Luke, for example, emphasizes the continuity between Judaism and Chris-tianity in his portrayal of the apostolic church. Again and again he reports the mass conversion of thousands of Jews (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 9:42; 12:24;

13:43; 14:1; 17:12; 21:20). To a modern reader, “conversion” implies a radical change in religious practices. This, however, was not the case with the earliest converts. The “many thousands” of Jews who “believed” (Acts 21:20) did not view their acceptance of Jesus of Nazareth as their expected Messiah as representing a breaking away from their Jewish religion and the joining to a new religion, Christianity. They simply viewed themselves as

“believing Jews.”

Jews could be converted by the thousands because their acceptance of Jesus of Nazareth as their expected Messiah did not entail a rejection of their religion, but the realization of their Messianic expectations. Luke describes the thousands of Jewish converts as “zealous for the law” (Acts 21:20). Paul is described in his speeches as a “Pharisee” (Acts 23:6) who believes everything written in the law and the prophets (Acts 24:14) and who has done nothing “against the law of the Jews, nor against the Temple” (Acts 25:8; and 28:17). To prove that he lived “in observance of the law,” Paul agreed to undertake a ritual purification at the Temple (Acts 21:24-26) during his last visit to Jerusalem, about A. D. 58. It is evident that if Paul and the Jewish converts lived in the observance of the law, they could hardly have abandoned an important aspect of the law, namely, their religious calendar.

The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament 89 Continuity of the Jewish Religious Calendar. If the primitive Chris-tian communities had abandoned the Jewish religious calendar, they would have been left with only two options. The first would have been to adopt the pagan calendar which named the days and the months after pagan deities and marked out the seasons by pagan rites.¹ This option was rejected not only by Paul (Gal 4:10) but also by early Christian teachers (Fathers) who denounced as idolatry the adoption by Christians of the planetary week which names its days after planetary gods, as well as the adoption of pagan feasts.² It must be admitted that eventually most Christians did adopt not only the pagan planetary week but also the pagan seasonal feasts. This, however, is a later development that cannot be traced back to New Testament times.

The second option would have been for Christians to avoid time-keeping altogether. Some commentators uncritically assume this position by appealing to the Pauline notion of Christian freedom.³ Unfortunately, they ignore that Paul’s concept of Christian freedom did not entail the abandon-ment of the Jewish religious calendar and the adoption of an unstructured life-style without time-keeping.

Paul’s time references clearly reflect his adoption of the Jewish reli-gious calendar, though modified and transformed by the coming of Christ. For example, in 1 Corinthians 16:2, Paul recommends a fund-raising plan for the Jerusalem church consisting of laying aside at home some money kata mian sabbaton, that is, “every first day from the Sabbath.” The fact that Paul refers to the first day of the week, not by the prevailing pagan name dies solis–Day of the Sun, but by the Jewish designation “first day from the Sabbath,” reveals that he taught his Gentile converts to regulate their lives by the Jewish calendar.

In his article “Pagan and Judeo-Christian Time-Keeping Schemes in Galatians 4:10 and Colossians 2:16,” published in New Testament Studies (1996), Troy Martin rightly observes that “The references to time in Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians exclusively reflect the adoption of a Jewish calendar. Even in a place like Corinth, Paul speaks of the first day from Sabbath (kata mian sabbaton; 1 Cor 16:2), and not of the day of the sun. He builds an elaborate argument based upon the festival of Passover and unleavened bread (1 Cor 5:6-8) in order to exhort the Corinthians, ‘Let us keep the festival’ (1 Cor 5:6-8). Although the temporal references in Paul’s letters are sparse, 1 Corinthians provides strong evidence for the Pauline adoption of the Jewish practice that marked time by festivals and Sabbaths.”⁴ The Christian adherance to the Jewish calendar is especially evident in the book of Acts. Repeatedly, Paul proclaims the Gospel in synagogues and in the outdoors on the Sabbath (Acts 13:14, 44; 16:13; 17:2). In Troas, Paul

The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament 90 speaks to the believers on the first day from Sabbath (mia ton sabbaton) (Acts 20:7). “The portrayal of Paul in Acts,” as Troy Martin points out, “supplies clear evidence that Christians mark time by segments of festivals and Sabbaths.”⁵

Concerning the feasts, we are told that Paul sails from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread (Acts 20:6) and that he intends to arrive at Jerusalem by the feast of Pentecost. The Western and Byzantine text of Acts 18:21, which is accepted by the King James Version, reads: “But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return unto you again, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus” (KJV).

Paul’s statement “I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem” is generally regarded as an addition of the Western and Byzantine texts, because it does not appear in other early manuscripts. This may well be the case, yet the fact remains that in two very early textual traditions Paul is portrayed as very eager to keep a festival in Jerusalem. Such an interpolation, if indeed it is one, reflects a concern to show Paul’s eagerness to keep Jewish feasts, presumably to justify their observance within certain Christian churches.

It is difficult to tell for how long Christians continued to use the Jewish religious calendar. The Passover controversy of the late second century indicates that it was still widely used at that time. In A. D. 186, Pope Victor excommunicated the entire church in Asia Minor for observing Passover on the fourteenth of Nisan, rather than on Easter-Sunday. The continued use of the Jewish religious calendar is presupposed also by the sense of continuity between Judaism and Christianity that we find, for example, in Matthew, Hebrews, and Revelation. To these books we briefly turn our attention.

Continuity in Matthew. In Matthew, the major events of Christ’s life, such as the conception, the birth, the massacre of innocent children, the announcement of Christ’s ministry by John the Baptist, the baptism, etc., are all presented as the direct fulfillment of Messianic prophecies.

Not only the life but also the teachings of Christ are presented as the continuation and confirmation of the Old Testament. The “golden rule” in Matthew 7:12 is presented as being in essence “the law and the prophets.” In Matthew 22:40, the two great commandments are viewed as the basis upon which “depend all the law and the prophets.” In Matthew 19:16-19, Jesus tells the rich young man who wanted to know what he should do to have eternal life: “keep the commandments.” Then He proceeds to list five of them.

Perhaps Matthew’s most emphatic affirmation of continuity is found in the passage where Jesus affirms to have come not “to abolish” but “to fulfill”

the law and the prophets (Matt 5:17-20). In the light of the antitheses of verses

The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament 91 21-48, “to fulfill” appears to mean “to clarify,” “to explain” the meaning of the law and the prophets. Repeatedly in Matthew, Jesus acts as the supreme interpreter of the law who attacks external obedience and some of the rabbinical (Halakic) traditions (Matt 15:3-6; 9:13; 12:7; 23:1-39).

“To fulfill” could also refer to the prophetic realization of the law and prophets in the life and ministry of Christ. This would imply an element of discontinuity which has led some to conclude that the law and the prophets came to an end in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This interpretation goes too far because verse 18 explicitly affirms that the law would be valid

“till heaven and earth pass away.” This expression clearly goes beyond the earthly ministry of Christ.

In the light of the foregoing considerations, we conclude that Matthew sees in Christ not the termination of the law and the prophets, but their realization and continuation. We might say that in Matthew the law and the prophets live on in Christ who realizes, clarifies and, in some cases, intensifies their teachings (Matt 5:21-22, 27-28). The Christological realization and continuation of the Old Testament law has significant implications for the New Testament understanding of how the Feasts of Israel relate to Christ’s first and second Advents. This Christological understanding is found espe-cially in the books of Hebrews and Revelation.

Discontinuity in Hebrews. The book of Hebrews provides valuable insights into the manner in which the tension between continuity and discontinuity was being resolved in the New Testament times. The book suggests that the sense of continuity with the Old Testament was so profound that some Christians (Hellenistic Jews according to F. F. Bruce)⁶ actually returned to the practice of their “ancestral Jewish faith” and “Jewish Liturgy.”⁷

To counteract the influence of Jewish sacrificial cultus, the author shows the superiority of Christ over the angels, Moses, and the priesthood.

The last of the three is discussed at great length in chapters 7 to 10, apparently because the Jewish sacrificial cultus still exercised a great attraction upon these Christians.

The author of Hebrews emphasizes the discontinuity brought about by the coming of Christ, when he says: “If perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood” (7:11), there would have been no need for Christ to come. But because the priests, the sanctuary, and its services were “symbolic”

(9:9; 8:5), they could not in themselves “perfect the conscience of the worshipper” (9:9). Consequently, it was necessary for Christ to come “once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (9:26).

The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament 92 The effect of Christ’s coming is described as “setting aside” (7:18), making

“obsolete” (8:13), “abolishing” (10:9) all the Levitical services associated with the sanctuary.

Some have interpreted these affirmations as indicating a radical abro-gation of the Old Testament law, in general, and of the Holy Days, in particular.⁸ Such an interpretation ignores that the statements in question are found in chapters 7 to 10, which deal with the Levitical, sacrificial regula-tions. Though the author uses in these chapters the term “law” (10:1) and

“covenant” (8:7, 8, 13), he mentions them with reference to the Levitical priesthood and services. It is in this context of the Levitical ministry that they are declared “abolished” (10:9). But this declaration can hardly be taken as a blanket statement for the abrogation of the law in general.

Continuity in Hebrews. Note should be taken of the fact that Hebrews teaches not only discontinuity but also continuity. The latter is expressed in a variety of ways. There is continuity in the revelation which the same God

“spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets” and now “in these last days has spoken to us by a Son” (1:1-2). There is continuity in the faithfulness and accomplishments of Moses and Christ (3:2-6).

There is continuity in the redemptive ministry offered typologically in the earthly sanctuary by priests and realistically in the heavenly sanctuary by Christ Himself (chs. 7, 8, 9, 10). By virtue of His death and resurrection, Christ became “a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord” (Heb 8:2).

There is continuity in the cleansing of the Day of Atonement which is accomplished in the heavenly sanctuary by Christ with “better sacrifices”

(Heb 9:23). “For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Heb 9:24). As the Israelites waited for the reappearance of the high priest on the Day of Atonement, so Christians await the return of Christ from the most holy of the heavenly sanctuary. There is continuity in faith and hope, as New Testament believers share in the faith and promises of the Old Testament worthies (chs. 11-12).

More specifically, there is continuity in the “sabbatismos”—a term used in a technical way by Plutarch, Justin, Epiphanius, Apostolic Constitu-tions to designate Sabbath observance—which “remains” (apoleipetai), literally “is left behind for the people of God” (Heb 4:9).⁹ It is noteworthy that while the author declares the Levitical priesthood and services as “abolished”

(Heb 10:9), “obsolete” and “ready to vanish away” (Heb 8:13), he explicitly teaches that a “Sabbathkeeping is left behind for the people of God” (Heb 4:9).

The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament 93 The above examples show that Hebrews endeavors to clarify both the continuity and discontinuity brought about by the coming of Christ. The Levitical priesthood, the temple, and its services are proclaimed to be terminated by the coming of Christ, but other aspects of the law, such as “the Sabbath rest,” are declared to be “left behind for the people of God” (4:9).

The continuation of the Sabbath as a faith response to Christ is indicative of how the Hebrew calendar had been transformed in the Christian community in the light of the Gospel. This transformation of the Hebrew calendar is evident, especially for the Day of Atonement whose antitypical fulfillment is explained at great length in chapter 9. The fact that the author labors to show the correspondence between the annual purification of the earthly sanctuary with blood by the high priest and the purification of the heavenly sanctuary with “better sacrifices” (Heb 9:23) by Christ Himself, reveals that the Day of Atonement was still significant in the religious experience of that Christian church. It is evident that its meaning had been transformed by Christ’s atoning sacrifice.

George Buchanan rightly observes that “Christian and Jews have been slow in changing liturgy and worship patterns, and many Jewish practices continued into Christianity without analysis. The author of Hebrews argued strongly that Jesus’ sacrifice made further sacrifices on the Day of Atonement unnecessary, but if the temple had not fallen, Jewish-Christians might have continued to share with Jews this sacrifice in Jerusalem. Faced with this new crisis [i. e., the destruction of the Temple], however, Christians found in the Book of Hebrews a justification for discontinuing this practice.”¹⁰

There is no question that the destruction of the Temple in A. D. 70 caused not only the Jews and also the Christians to re-evaluate their obser-vance of the Holy Days, since sacrifices could not longer be offered. But as the Jews developed a non-sacrificial observance of their religious calendar after the destruction of the Temple, so Christians transformed the Jewish calendar in the light of the Gospel.

In his book The Primitive Christian Calendar, Philip Carrington, Archibishop of Quebec, concurs with Buchanan. He writes: “The Epistle to the Hebrews makes use of the old Hebrew liturgical tradition as it has been transformed by the Christian gospel. It would be natural to ask whether it is not a megillah (or roll) for the Day of Atonement, the ritual of which it interprets in a Christian sense; Hebrews 12:22 is distinctly reminiscent of the

‘Shofarot’ [blowing of shophar] of Tishri 1 which is the Day of Trumpets.”¹¹ The passage in Hebrews to which Carrington refers speaks of the festal gathering of thousands of angels to which believers have come: “You have

The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament 94 come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.

You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men” (Heb 12:22-23, NIV).

The reference to “thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assem-bly” reminds us of the judgment scene of Daniel 7:10, where “ten thousand times ten thousand” of angels stood before God when the judgment books were opened. The reference to the “names written in heaven” and to God as

“the judge of all men” adds support to the possible connection between the festal gathering of angels and the Feast of Trumpets, because we found in the previous chapter that the feast inaugurated the heavenly judgment which terminated ten days later on the Day of Atonement.

The Continuity of the Hebrew Calendar. The study of the literary structure of certain New Testament books has led scholars to conclude that the apostolic church adopted a Christianized form of the Old Testament religious calendar.

Philip Carrington finds indications of the observance of the Old Testa-ment Feasts in the liturgical use of some New TestaTesta-ment books. For example, regarding the Corinthian epistles he wrote: “The rich liturgical material of the Corinthian epistles, which is closely connected with a gospel tradition, makes it perfectly evident that a Christianized form of the Hebrew Calendar was then in existence, so that it would have been possible and even quite natural for Mark to have arranged his gospel for the liturgical year with a view to having it read in the churches. This Christianized Calendar was of course merely a simplified form of the Hebrew Calendar as used by Jewish Christians in Palestine where the whole Christian tradition had received its primitive form.

There is no reason to think that there ever was a form of Christianity anywhere

There is no reason to think that there ever was a form of Christianity anywhere