God's Festivals in Scripture & History #1 / Bacchiocchi, Samuele / (PB/1995-2002/B+/USED)

Condition note: Book is gently used and clean.

The Christian faith is rooted in the belief that God has acted in human history by creating, redeeming, and ultimately restoring His creatures. These redemptive acts of God are commemorated in the Bible weekly through the Sabbath and annually through the Spring and Fall Festivals. The Spring Festivals of Passover and Pentecost commemorate the redemptive accomplishments of Christ's first Advent, namely, Christ's atoning death. His resurrection, ascension, inauguration of His heavenly ministry, and sending of the Holy Spirit. The Fall Festivals of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles point to the consummation of redemption, namely, the judgment, the final disposition of sin, the second Advent, and the restoration of this world.

Most evangelical churches no longer observe the annual Biblical Festivals today, partly as a result of the radical anti-feasts attitude of the Puritans, who swept away all religious holy days except the Lord's Day. The Puritans viewed the church calendar, which was filled with saint's days and Marian feasts instituted by the Roman Catholic Church, as indicative of the apostasy into which the church had fallen. To rid the church of all the pagan superstitions which had become part of the popular piety, the Puritans in Colonial America did away with all the annual holy days. In doing so, however, they left Christians without a religious calendar to commemorate the great saving acts of God.

In God's Festivals in Scripture and History, Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi challenges Christians to bring about worship renewal by developing a church calendar patterned after the religious calendar God gave to Israel. Such a calendar would focus during the course of the year on the redemptive accomplishments of Christ's first and second Advents. We cannot preach the whole Bible in one sermon. We cannot celebrate the whole story of redemption in one Sabbath. A church calendar patterned after the calendar of Israel can help to do justice to all the great saving acts of God.

A church calendar is more than an annual cycle of recurring festivals. It provides an opportunity to experience afresh what God has done in the past, is doing in the present, and will do in the future. It enables us to take the time which God has created and offer it back to God through Jesus Christ who has redeemed it.

CONTENTS

A Preview of the Book
The Story behind the Book
Objectives of the Book
Surprising Discoveries
A Way to enrich Christian Worship
God Revealed in Human Time
Three Basic Functions of Biblical Festivals
An Overview of the Book
Acknowledgements

1. Passover in the Old Testament
Passover in Jewish History
The Origin of Passover
A Prophetic Feast
Passover: God's Object Lesson
The Permanent Passover
Importance of Passover
Passover: Temporary or Permanent?
The Witness of the New Testament
Internal Indicators
Conclusion

2. Passover in the New Testament
The Nature and Meaning of the Lord's Supper
The Date of the Last Supper
An Early Passover Meal
The Last Supper and the Paschal Lamb
Passover Meal with the Lamb
The Meaning of the Christian Passover
Passover Symbolism in the Book of Revelation
The Observance of Passover in the Apostolic Church
Passover Taken for Granted
Passover and the Lord's Supper
The Influence of Passover in the Christian Life
Conclusion

3. Passover in the Early Church
Arguments Against the Observance of Holy Days
Paul and the Holy Days in Colossians 2:16
Paul and the Holy Days in Romans 14:5
Paul and the Holy Days in Galatians 4:10
Passover in the Early Church
Passover Kept as a Night Vigil
The Passover Controversy
Easter-Sunday and Anti Judaism
Easter-Sunday and Paganism
Reformers and Easter
Conclusion

4. The Observance of Passover Today
The Continuity of Passover in the Christian Church
A Prophetic Festival
The Paschal Nature of the Last Supper
The Observance of Passover in the Apostolic Church
The Observance of Passover in the Postapostolic Church
The Date for the Observance of Passover Today
The Jewish Lunar Calendar
Quartodeciman Dating of Passover
Sunday Dating of Passover
Passover on Full Moon
The Manner of the Observance of Passover
The Lord's Supper and the Agape
Reflecting on the Lamb
A Night Vigil
A Passover Service
Conclusion

5. Pentecost in the Old Testament
The Reckoning of Pentecost in the Old Testament
Counting from the Omer
Two Methods of Reckoning
The Wave-sheaf Offering
The Meaning and Ritual of Pentecost in the Old Testament
Significance of the Sheaf of First Fruits
Prophetic Fulfillment of First Fruits
Pentecost: A Symbol of Remission
The Ritual of the Feast of Pentecost
The Giving of the Law
Conclusion

6. Pentecost in the New Testament
The Meaning of the Christian Pentecost
The Timing of Pentecost
The Manner of Pentecost
The Inauguration of Christ's Heavenly Ministry
The Founding of the Christian Church
The Bestowal of Spiritual Gifts
The Observance of Pentecost in the New Testament
Indirect Indications of Pentecost's Observance
Hastening to be in Jerusalem
Conclusion

7. Pentecost in the Early Church
The Meaning of Pentecost in the Early Church
Pentecost: A Fifty-day Period of Rejoicing
Christ, the Frist Fruits of Redeemed Humanity
Pentecost as a Feast of Forgiveness
Pentecost as the Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Observance of Pentecost in the Early Church
Season of Rejoicing
Standing in Prayer as an Emblem of the Resurrection
Special Scripture Readings for Pentecost
Later Developments
Conclusion

8. The Observance of Pentecost Today
The Continuity of Pentecost in the Christian Church
A Prophetic Festival
The Observance of Pentecost in the New Testament
The Observance of Pentecost in the Early Church
The Date of Pentecost Today
Ambiguity in the Dating Method
No Controversy over the Date of Passover
A Word of Caution
A Tentative Proposal
The Meaning of Pentecost Today
The Resurrection of Christ
The Ascension of Christ
The Inauguration of Christ's Heavenly Ministry
The Bestowal of Spiritual Gifts
The Birthday of the Christian Church
The Observance of Pentecost Today
The Season to Be Thankful
First-fruits Thanksgiving Offering
"Pentecost Renewal Week"
Pentecostal Sermons
Conclusion