1 King 12:26-33 “And Jeroboam (whose name means: “the people will contend”) said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David (whose name means “loving”): if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem (the “city of peace”), then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold (which was the symbol of Marduk, the solar calf deity), and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem (too difficult, too inconvenient, to keep the feasts that Jehovah ordained): behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt (a reference to the golden calf when Israel first broke God’s Covenant). And he set the one in Bethel (“House of God”), and the other put he in Dan (“Judgment”). And this thing became a sin (“transgression of the law”): for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places (a counterfeit Sanctuary), and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi (not the ones chosen by God and consecrated for the ministry). And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah (a counterfeit feast), and he offered upon the altar (a counterfeit sacrifice). So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves (images of the sun god) that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart (a manmade holy day); and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel (the true holy days are called “a feast unto the Lord”, but this was “a feast unto the children of Israel”): and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense (making himself an intercessor).”
Now we will turn to the story of Amos the prophet (who name means “burdensome” – i.e. “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?”):
Amos 7:10-15 “Then Amaziah the (false) priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court. Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: and the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.”
Amos 8:4-12 “Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? (They’re not keeping the New Moons or the Sabbaths properly anymore) That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: (Doesn’t this sound like an end-time prophecy similar to Rev. 6:12?) And I will turn your (counterfeit) feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.” (This is definitely an end-time prophecy – see GC 629)
It has happened today just as it happened in the days of Jeroboam. A contentious king was jealous against a loving King, and intended to keep the people from worshiping Him in spirit and in truth and entering the city of peace. In order to accomplish these purposes, he set up his own counterfeit system of worship centered around the day of the sun, including his own priests, intercession, sacrifices, and holy days (holidays). Therefore God’s holy days and His true worship have been neglected.
Like Amos, some of us will be called from our secular work to carry a message of warning to those who profess to be God’s people. We may be called “burdensome” – “troublers of Israel”, but we must carry on our work, whatever the cost may be.
Worship is the central issue at the end of time – who will you worship, and when will you worship. Will you worship on the day consecrated to the sun? Or will you worship Jehovah on His set-aside day of worship?
Notice in the above story that the keeping of counterfeit holy days is what paved the way for the transgression of the Sabbath! (They apparently didn’t discard the Sabbath altogether – they probably still professed to be keeping it, but were observing it carelessly.) In this story, we observe that Satan first attacked the feasts because he knew that would pave the way for bringing down the Sabbath. This is a method he has used many times throughout history. For example, Constantine outlawed Passover in AD 325 and then outlawed the Sabbath in AD 364. Queen Margaret used the same method to bring down the church in Scotland.
“How little does the public suspect that religious legislation to enforce Easter and Sunday has often been the method of choking the life out of a liberty-loving church.” (B.G. Wilkinson, Truth Triumphant, p. 112)
The feasts and new moons are the guardians of the Sabbath. Truly keeping them helps ensure that we will probably be truly keeping the Sabbath as well – which is the Seal of God. Notice the similarities between the following passages in the law and in Revelation:
Ex 13:6-10 “Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. (Unleavened bread represents cleansing from all sin – cleansing from all transgression of the law – preparation for translation.) And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt (came out of the bondage of sin). And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt (out of the bondage of sin). Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season (Heb. “moedim” – appointed time – see Lev. 23) from year to year.”
Exod 31:13 “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you (make you holy – cleansing you from all sin – bringing a complete stop to all sin in your life).”
Deut 5:12-15 “Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. . . . And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt (bondage to sin), and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm (He delivered you from all bondage to sin): therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”
Rev 7:1-3 “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”
Rev 20:4 “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast (by worshiping on his holy day), neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
The book of Revelation was given to reveal what is going to happen in the very last days of earth’s history, and here in its pages we find that the most pressing issue in the end of time will be whether or not we have individually been consecrated to God and sealed as His sons and daughters through the keeping of His law. And His law is of course found primarily in the first five books of the Bible. We know that the laws recorded in these books are the true laws acknowledged by God, because Jesus pointed us back to these books when speaking about the requirements of God. He told us very plainly that we must give heed to Moses and the prophets, and that He did not come to destroy or alter any of it.
This law referenced by Christ tells us exactly what God expects of His people, and in order to be sealed by God, we must cherish its instructions. We must not be found more loyal to the counterfeit system of worship set up by another king than to the true worship ordained by our Creator. No, in these last days God is going to have a people who are obedient and loyal to Himself. This is the only way that we can safely be transported to heaven and join in its perfect peace and harmony.
Matt 5:19 “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Rev 15:2-4 “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
Isa 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.”