Feast Days by Vance Ferrell review

D

The tone of the book is clearly seen in the author’s commercial for it: “The Feast Days by Vance Ferrell. 128 pp. Everything in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy on this subject. Christ fulfilled them.”

Wow. “Everything”?! This sense of superiority/arrogance is abundantly evident thruout the book. The reason i give it a “D” instead of a “F”, is that it gives the standard Seventh-day Adventist stance towards the feasts, and is useful in that regard as a reference.

Main points:
1. The feasts are part of the ceremonial law – finished
2. The feasts have blood sacrifices – finished
3. The New Testament and Ellen White did not tell us specifically to keep the feasts
4. The feasts are just for the nation of Israel starting with the Exodus
5. The feasts, if kept, must be carried out in every detail, even must be done in physical Jerusalem with animal sacrifices
“(Elsewhere, the Spirit of Prophecy speaks about some of the feast days as part of the ceremonial laws.)”

He writes regarding the statutes: “These commands were enforced by the power of the moral law, and they clearly and definitely explained that law .” But then he writes “Next, as quoted above, we are told that these statutes help explain some details about the moral law.” However, Ellen White wrote in Important Facts of Faith, History of the Holy Men of Old” (SG3) “there would have been no necessity of God’s proclaiming his law from Sinai, and engraving it upon tables of stone, and guarding it by definite directions in the judgments and statutes given to Moses.” The statutes are not “some details”, but according to inspired word “definite directions”.

He makes 3 classes:
1. Moral law
2. Ceremonial laws
3. Statutes and judgments

“The lengthy chapter (Psalm 119) seems to be referring exclusively to the moral law of Ten Commandments.” Psalms 119 uses the word “statutes” 22 times in the KJV Bible. If his assertion is correct, he must show that the translators mistranslated the original Hebrew word here, something which is impossible to do. There are 15 verses in the Bible with “commandments” “statutes” and “judgments” listed together, and they are properly translated individually.

“The tithe is specifically named in the New Testament as of continued obligation. But there is no such obligation – no definite requirement – that we must keep the feast days after Calvary.” This is the same argument used by Sunday-keepers to diss the 7th day sabbath. Actually, just as in the case of the 7th day sabbath, you can find abundant evidence to keep the feasts in the NT also, mostly by just looking at the example of Jesus and the apostles who kept them!

“Careful study into the matter reveals that God’s covenant with mankind is founded solely on the Ten Commandments and obedience to them.” This is a strange assertion, as God’s covenant with Abraham mentions nothing of the 10 commandments, and totally on God’s grace in calling him. As a sign, Abraham had to do circumcision.

“The feasts cannot be separated from their specified offerings.” Be very, very careful here. This type of thinking will eventually lead to throwing away the 7th day sabbath, as it also had “specified offerings” and sacrifices. (1Chronicles 23:31)

“Does God require that we keep any or all of these feast days today? Here is the answer:”
“First…. There is no definite passage, either in the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy, which tells us we should keep any of the feast days.” Leviticus 23:41 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. The SOP is clear that the statutes of the Lord are still binding, but it is true that there is no definite passage in the SOP to keep the feasts. I submit that it may be possible that this may have not been present truth in Ellen White’s day (and perhaps it is not truth at all, which is why i’m still studying it out). This idea of “don’t believe it if your pioneers didn’t” has ruined many a people of God, as they never rise beyond their forefathers – witness the Lutherans, Baptists, Jews etc.

“Second, the regulations for the feasts required that each one be kept at the Temple in Jerusalem.” True only of 3 of the 7 feasts.

“Third, observance at the feasts requires blood offerings during the feasts at the Temple.” Noticed above that the 7th day sabbath did also.

“Sixth, the feasts were closely tied to the special Israelite agricultural calendar,” The calendar given them was the MAIN impetus for the rise of the Seventh-day Adventist church!! Our forefathers used that calendar to figure out October 22, 1844.

“Seventh, by special command of God, each feast day could only be held at a certain time in the year.” And the 7th day Sabbath is only held at a certain time of the year (each week).

“Eighth, Christ has freed us from the obligation to keep the Jewish ceremonies, so why should we return to them?” No proof is given. This assertion is entirely supposition, maybe true, maybe not.

“Ninth, if you choose to return to a position of obedience to those laws, you must obey them fully.” Same thing we SDAs tell the Sunday-keepers (don’t just keep 9, but keep all 10).

“Tenth, Gentiles are not under the Ceremonial Laws.” Are the feasts part of the ceremonial laws? No evidence is given. I used to believe that too, before studying this subject deeply. It appears that the feasts are part of the “Statutes of the Lord”. And is he saying here that if you are a natural born Jew, that you must still keep the feasts? God is trying to bring the two houses together into one branch, isn’t he?

“Seventeenth, we are clearly told that the “sabbath days” were blotted out and nailed to the cross (Col 2:14-17). If we are supposed to keep the feast days today,?what were the “sabbath days” which were blotted out and nailed to the cross?” Now the author is in a minefield. This passage has been used to overthrow the faith of the 7th Day Church of God in the 7th day sabbath, because it is clear in this passage that the “holy days” “new moons” and “sabbaths” are a set. We SDAs say “Look, the holy days and new moons were nailed to the cross, but not the 7th day sabbath”. This is not rightly interpreting the text. A careful study of this passage shows very clearly that all 3 of these things are good and to be observed, but don’t worry about what wicked men think about you who follow God’s words.

“In contrast, the weekly Sabbath is never referred to as a “feast.”” What about Leviticus 23? Granted, it may be a heading to the section on the feast days, and not directly connected with them, but the straight reading of the text makes it appear that the 7th day sabbath is not only a feast of the Lord, but the greatest of them.

“Nineteenth, we are elsewhere told that those Mosaic laws were “carnal ordinances,” with “divers washings,” which were only required of God’s people “until the time of reformation.” Where in this text does it say the feasts are carnal ordinances or divers washings?

“Twentieth…. John mentions the feast days only four times in all his writings. Every passage speaks derogatorily of them as belonging to “the Jews.”” “Derogatorily”? Perhaps that is the impression the author gets from those texts, i do not. The Lord Jesus gave those feast instructions himself from the pillar of cloud, so it is highly unlikely that anyone who loves Jesus would derogatorily refer to anything he said!

“Moral Law: Is “perfect” (Psalm 19:7). / Ceremonial Law: “Made nothing perfect” (Heb 7:19).” Are the feasts “ceremonial”? No proof is given. Actualy, the author should have continued to verse 8 in Psalm 19, as it says “8 The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes.” The feasts are called “statutes” in Leviticus 23, but i never see them being called “ceremonial”.

“I suggest that the above statutes do not amplify on the Ten Commandments, as do the moral statutes in Exodus 21-22” The author must have forgotten what he wrote earlier, saying that “These commands were enforced by the power of the moral law, and they clearly and definitely explained that law”.

“This (circumcision) helps us understand why other Mosaic ordinances – which did not appear to foreshadow Christ’s death – were also abolished at Calvary.” I’m not sure what the author is trying to say here, as the entire Old Testament foreshadowed Christ’s coming to this earth and his work and death and resurrection.

“Yet it, (circumcision) and a large number of other Mosaic ordinances, were “nailed to the cross.”” Where is the proof?

“As a result, Satan tempts believers to think that their feast keeping is partially saving them.” Same words used by Sunday-keepers against 7th day sabbath keepers.

“The statutes and judgments included regulations requiring people to kill their gluttonous sons, and stone to death certain other people. If you are going to “keep the ceremonial laws,” you must do this also.” Again, where is the proof that the Statutes of the Lord are “ceremonial laws”? The author is also repeating the words of Sunday-keepers who say “Look, the Lord had the Israelites stone a man to death for picking up firewood on the Sabbath, so you must do the same today”.

“Third, in order to keep the Passover spiritually, we would need to do something at that gathering which symbolized the offering of the Passover lamb.” Jesus kept the Passover with his disciples just before his crucifixion. Is it bad to do as he did?

“Fifth, if we are going to “spiritually” keep the feast days now, for their supposed “religious benefits,” we should attend all of them each year. But this would add another burden of religious duties to our lives, and keep us from our work of giving the Third Angel’s Message to the world.” Same words as used by Sunday-keepers to get out of keeping the 7th day sabbath. And what does the author know but perhaps the whole feast issue is to give power and force to the 3rd Angels’ Message, which simply put is “Keep the Sabbath”?

“You must begin your year in the spring by sighting, from a mountain top, the first moon after the winter solstice.” There is nothing in inspired words that say this.

“Error: 2 – False teachers are declaring that the seventh-day Sabbath is one of the feast days!” As noted above – please read Leviticus 23.

“Error: 9 – It is claimed that only the sacrifices ended, but all the feast days are to continue to the end of time; and then all will continue to be kept in heaven. Not one Inspired statement is given in support of that claim.” Isaiah 66:23 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. Granted, this may not be directly referring to a feast-related event at all. This assertion may be correct, but the word “forever” is used of the feasts (see below).

“Our people are well-aware of the fact that “forever” in the Bible should very often not be translated “forever” but, instead, “as long as a certain situation exists.”” Yes, agreed that the English “forever” normally carries different baggage than the Hebrew/Greek words do. This should be studied out more by all of us interested in this topic.

“Error: 13 – It is claimed that the feasts are included in the “Statutes and Judgments.” This is not true.” This is the number one point in this whole discussion. This is the crux of the matter, because the Statutes of the Lord are said by the Bible and Ellen White to still be binding on us today. So my big question is – What ARE the statutes and judgments of the Lord? I want to know, so i can follow the Lamb wherever he leads 🙂 Leviticus 23 seems to be clearly saying the feasts ARE Statutes of the Lord.

“There is no historical evidence anywhere that the early Christian church kept any of the feast days!” Totally false. The NT mentions them keeping the feasts several times, and then the early church fathers mention keeping the feasts (research “Polycarp” and “Polycrates of Ephesus”), and the very first big split between the western (Roman) church and the eastern churches was directly over the keeping of Passover. Please research what happened at the Council of Nicea. Wikipedia says one of the accomplishments of this Council held in 325AD was ” settling the calculation of the date of Easter”. The Roman church started flexing her muscles, and changed the times and laws for the date of Easter. The eastern churches kept closely to the Biblical date for the Passover, but the western churches would not abide by God’s rules, instead creating her own rules. Just the fact that the eastern church adhered closely to the true date for Passover so long after the time of the apostles should be food for thot.

“Second, there is no evidence anywhere in history that the Catholic church abolished the Old Testament feast days.” There is abundant evidence, as shown above. The Catholic church even boasts about its authority to change the feast days.

“The first six feasts of the types have been fulfilled, but the seventh has not.” No, all the Fall feasts are still to be fulfilled. Yes, on October 22, 1844, one of them was partially fulfilled, giving a great clue that these days are still important centuries AFTER the cross!

“Yes, it is true that two of the seven feasts have not yet received their final antitypical fulfillment,” Yes, this is true (i believe 3 feasts), but it is interesting to note that this quote by the author directly contradicts what he wrote above!

“Only the 144,000 hear the Voice of God announcing the day and hour of Christ’s return, for all the rest of the redeemed are still in the graves.” Chapter 37 of the 1858 Great Controversy clearly shows that there will be a special resurrection just before God announces the day and hour of Christ’s return, so all those who died under the 3rd Angels’ Message will come forth to hear this. “The streams ceased to flow. Dark, heavy clouds came up, and clashed against each other. But there was one clear place of settled glory, from whence came the voice of God, like many waters, which shook the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. The graves were shaken open, and those who had died in faith under the third angel’s message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was to make with those who had kept his law.
The sky opened and shut, and was in commotion. The mountains shook like a reed in the wind, and cast out ragged rocks all around. The sea boiled like a pot, and cast out stones upon the land. And as God spake the day and hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivered the everlasting covenant to his people, he spake one sentence, and then paused, while the words were rolling through the earth.”

“There is nothing more about the 144,000 that you and I need to know. That which has been revealed to us has been explained here.” Wow! What arrogance!!!!

“Paul called this reversion to ceremonies and feasts “weak and beggarly.”” This is a very wrong way to twist Scripture. To even imagine that Paul would call something given by the mouth of the Lord “weak and beggarly” is very difficult. Even a slight study of this text will show that the Holy Spirit is not calling the Statutes of the Lord “weak and beggarly”, but referring to the human traditions of the cultures those newly converted Christians had come from, and to which they were pulled to return to.

“Paul had given up those customs for two reasons: They led to legalism, and they were only “shadows” of the glorious light shining from Calvary.” Acts 18:21 “But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.” Paul had not given up those customs. Please notice, this argument is also used by Sunday-keepers to say that we don’t need to keep the 7th day Sabbath anymore, as you don’t see the apostles keeping it after the cross (of course totally false).

“It is claimed that Paul faithfully kept the ceremonial laws, even after the Jerusalem Council meeting in Acts 15. But this is not true. The one exception was at Philippi, where he kept a Passover”. Shown to be false above.

He tries to disassociate the 7th day Sabbath from the feast days in Leviticus 23, but it cannot be done. The word for Sabbath used in verse 3 to refer to the 7th day Sabbath, is the exact same word used to refer to the Day of Atonement Sabbath in verse 32. And the word for convocation to refer to the 7th day Sabbath in verse 3 is the same word to refer to the other 7 convocations in verse 4. He says that the 7th day Sabbath enjoins no work, while the other feasts say no servile work, thus showing the 7th day Sabbath is not a feast, but he missed verse 28 where no work at all is allowed on the Day of Atonement either.

Many quotes are repeated in the book, making it quite tedious reading.

I have known Br. Vance for many years, and have had some personal contact with him. He helped me very much in the mid 1980s by printing the 1884 Great Controversy book which really helped wake me up. Before i came to Japan in 1989 i personally gave him my Ellen White on lazer-disc collection, for which he was grateful. He has given the warning of sins in the SDA church, fulfilling the injunction to “sigh and cry” perhaps better than anyone i know. Yet, i started to see that he would attack some things, just to be attacking them, no doubt to drum up support for his “ministry”. His personal life was a wreck too, with many close contacts (and wife) finally fleeing his presence. He personally attacked me in his newsletter in 2003 for promoting the 1858 Great Controversy book, and used many strange arguments and some outright lies to disparage my work with that book.