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It sometimes seems as if there is no hope, but what is God's plan?
Has God forgotten this world? The Word of God, which includes both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, contains the earliest written records of man. No other book can prove its authority from God by its righteous laws, verifiable truths, science, history and prophecies. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
No other book reveals the truth about the spiritual realm of God or of the origins of life and the physical universe. No other book reveals the causes and solutions for all this world's evils. It was written by holy men of God, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:16-21).
The Bible, as recorded in its original languages of Hebrew and Greek, is God's complete handbook for humanity. It is the book of the law of God; the book of life written for mankind (Nehemiah 8:1-8; Mark 12:24; Revelation 20:12). God uses it to teach man the way of peace and prosperity and unselfish love. In it the Eternal God says, "Now…listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live…You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:1-2).
We are warned to follow God above all else. "You shall not at all do as we are doing here today - every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes…Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good in the sight of the Eternal…Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:8, Deuteronomy 12:28, Deuteronomy 12:32).
The Holy Scriptures alone reveal the truth about God and the purpose He is working out on this earth and how man can live together in peace, prosperity and joy. The Scriptures reveal God's plan for the salvation of all mankind--everyone who ever lived in the past, present and future--through a succession of eight prophetic "feasts" (holy days and the weekly Sabbath) that are to be kept weekly and annually as briefly outlined in Leviticus 23.
The prophetic feasts of the Lord are all about teaching God's law of love (Romans 13:8-10), peace and prosperity; about judgment, mercy, faith, freedom, salvation and the family and Kingdom of God (Isaiah 61:1-3, Isaiah 61:10-11; Matthew 7:12; Matthew 23:23). They proclaim the Gospel, or good news, of the soon coming Kingdom of God and God's plan of salvation for all mankind.
At the creation of man, God ordained the six-day weekly cycle and seventh day Sabbath as a time of rest to learn God's way (Genesis 2:1-3; Mark 2:27-28).
The seven annual Feasts are appointed times to come and assemble before God. They reveal the details of God's great plan of salvation. The first two annual feasts - the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread - graphically portrayed by the exodus of Israel from Egypt, reveal the need for deliverance and redemption from evil through Christ's intervention and sacrifice in order to be freed from the bondage to sin. They show our need for repentance (turning away from sin and to God) to be reconciled to God and to one another.
The third annual holy day ordained by God and revealed in the Bible is called Pentecost in the New Testament (Acts 2:1). In the Old Testament, it corresponded with the spring harvest. Without repentance and redemption from sin by turning to God, pictured by the first two holy days, there would be no spiritual harvest of the firstfruits pictured by Pentecost.
These are but the first of God's holy days. I encourage you to look into the rest of them. Their meaning for your future may surprise you.
The truth is, God does care greatly about His creation and has not forgotten this world, but this world has forgotten God! In not keeping His Word as recorded in the Bible, people have pushed God away. His written Word was given as a guidebook for the benefit of man, but they do not take it seriously. Do you?
For a more in depth study of God's Feasts, request the free study aid, " God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope For All Mankind ."
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Keywords: God's word God's plan holyday meaning God's care
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