Can you keep the festivals outside of Jerusalem and the temple?

David Roberts. The Israelites Leaving Egypt (oil on canvas), c. 1830.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England.

In Lev 10.1-5, Nadab and Abihu found out the hard way that they could not change the services from the blueprint Yahuwah had commanded. It was the eighth day of their consecration as a priest and offered “strange fire” before Yahuwah. They tried to offer incense at an unauthorized time that was not part of the service Yahuwah gave, and Yahuwah never said two people could do it, either. Did they consult their teachers, Moses and Aaron? Independent thought and inspiration must be channeled through the Word of Yahuwah. The ordinances of Yahuwah, like the services in Temple and the festivals, cannot be changed by any human authority, not even the sons of the High Priest.

They did what was right in their own eyes and they died. What should have been a happy occasion became a day of grief. Aaron had lost two of his sons in one day because they did not “keep and observe” what Yahuwah commanded them to do. What makes people think they can “keep and observe” the festivals outside of the Temple, a functioning priesthood and Jerusalem today! It is “ground zero” for all of the festivals.

Deut 12.13-14 says they were not to bring their offerings to just any place they “see” but to where Yahuwah has put his name. In King Solomon’s prayer of dedication in 1 Kings 8.22-53, he said that place was the Temple, the covenantal center, and Jerusalem. Isa 33.20 says, “Look upon Zion (Jerusalem), the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes shall see Jerusalem an undisturbed habitation.”

In another example, we know the Philistines returned the Ark to Israel by placing the Ark on a “new cart” in 1 Sam 6.7. In 2 Sam 6.3, David is bringing the Ark into the city and the Ark is put on a “new cart” following the example of the Philistines. But the Ark is to be carried by Levites with poles on their shoulder (Num 7.9; 1 Chr 15.2). What is strange about this is there were priests and Levites around who knew better and did nothing about it. They were not “keeping and observing” the Torah but followed what the non-Jews did, or they thought that because other items were carried on carts this could be applied to the Ark as well (Num 7.1-8). Who really knows why they did what they did, but it was not what Yahuwah had told them to do. Yahuwah was very specific on how this was to be done.

When the Ark returned from the Philistines it was eventually brought to the house of Abinadab, which was on a hill, and his eldest son Eleazar was set apart to care for the Ark (1 Sam 7.1). We learn later that Abinadab had two other sons named Uzzah and Ahio (2 Sam 6.3). The Scriptures are silent about where Abinadab and Eleazar were, perhaps they were dead, but it was up to his remaining two sons to bring the Ark to David. They drew the cart along with oxen, with Ahio leading the oxen (2 Sam 6.4). When they reached the threshing floor of Nachon, Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark because the oxen nearly upset it (the road was rough) and he touched the Ark, killing him instantly (2 Sam 6.7).

The lesson is clear. If they had followed and “kept” the Torah (the tavnit, pattern, blueprint) this would have never happened. But they may have followed what the Philistines did and Uzzah died. David finally realized what they did wrong and corrected it, following what Yahuwah said to do by doing certain things at certain places at certain times by certain people.

In 1 Sam 15.22 it says, “And Samuel said, ‘Has Yahuwah as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Yahuwah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams.'” Sadly, this is the problem today with people who think that they can keep the biblical festivals and to ignore what Yahuwah has said about them. Israel still refuses to listen to Yahuwah and keeps certain festivals, like Passover, while ignoring the fact that there is no Temple, holy vessels or functioning priesthood. But Israel hasn’t followed Moses for over two thousand years.

The Book of Deuteronomy will refer to the Temple as the place that Yahuwah will select to establish his name. When the Torah refers to the Temple as the place where Yahuwah’s name will be established, it is a telling statement of the Temple’s purpose: the Temple is a house for Yahuwah’s name and symbolizes a public declaration of Yahuwah’s sovereignty (“The Temple: Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now” by Joshua Berman, p. 63).

Deut 12.26-27 says, “Only your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings you shall take and go to the place which Yahuwah chooses and you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of Yahuwah your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of Yahuwah your God, and you shall eat the flesh.” This verse clearly states that the offerings can only be brought to the place where Yahuwah chooses to place his name, and that became the Temple in Jerusalem.

Deut 12.5-8 says, “But you shall seek Yahuwah at the place which Yahuwah your God shall choose from all of your tribes, to establish his name there for his dwelling, and there you shall come. And there you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.” Again, that became the Temple in Jerusalem.

Every festival involved these offerings (Lev 23) and if you can’t have the offerings because there is no Temple, altar, and priesthood, then there is no festival as Yahuwah prescribed. For example, why don’t people kill a lamb for Passover today or offer any of the korbanot? They will say, “Because there is no Temple.” Exactly! So if you can’t have a lamb because there is no Temple, how can you keep any of it? The lamb WAS Passover, and even called “the Passover.” . . .

Deut 16.1-7 says that the Passover lamb can only be slain “where Yahuwah chooses to establish his name” and they could not keep the Passover in any of their towns. We know his name was at the Mishkan once they entered the land (Lev 23.10; Josh 4.19 through 5.11), and eventually in Jerusalem at the Temple. Deut 16.16 says that all males were to appear before Yahuwah “in the place which he chooses” three times a year, at the festivals of Hag Ha Matzah (Unleavened Bread), Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Booths). When a person could not keep the Passover at the time prescribed by the Torah, you could do it a month later (Num 9.10-11). But they still had to come to Jerusalem and the Temple, and this included the believers in the first century.

One of the reasons given for being able to do this a month later was that you were “on a distant journey” and could not be in Jerusalem. However, if you could keep the festival in some other place like people do today, there would have been no reason to give this commandment, they could just keep it wherever they were. But Yahuwah said they could not do that. Why do people think they can do it today? Because they are doing what is right in their own eyes. They spiritualize everything and say “Things are different in the New Testament. Yeshua is our lamb and we can keep it anywhere.”

If that was true, why wasn’t it true for the people who wrote the Gospels and Epistles? They were believers but came to Jerusalem and the Temple for the festivals. ... There is no biblical evidence that Israel ever kept any festival outside of the land, in Babylon, or anywhere else without a Mishkan/Temple, a functioning priesthood, holy vessels, or korbanot.

This not only applied to Passover, but the three pilgrim festivals (three “foot” festivals called the Shelosh Regalim because you walked to Jerusalem to keep them) of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot (Weeks), and Sukkot (Tabernacles) as well (Exo 23.14-17; Deut 16.16). If you could keep the festivals anywhere, why would Yahuwah tell them to walk to Jerusalem and the Temple? But you can’t keep them outside of Jerusalem and the Temple so they walked to get there. Why do people think they can keep them anywhere today? The Torah observant in the Scriptures didn’t think so. . . .

The book of Ezra tells the story of the second aliyah of exiles back to Jerusalem. In Ezra 8.31-32 the delegation departed on “the twelfth day of the first month” or Aviv/Nisan 12. Passover is on Nisan 14. There is no indication in the scriptures that they kept Passover on the road to Jerusalem and it would have been highly unlikely that they did, in fact, it would have been impossible. Why? Because they did not keep the festivals outside of the land!

In the Book of Esther, Esther calls for a three-day fast. The fast went from Nisan 13 through Nisan 16. Her first banquet was on the 16th, and the second one was on the 17th. Now, that means they fasted through Passover (Nisan 14) and the first day of Hag Ha Matzah because they were not keeping Passover or Unleavened Bread outside the land, Jerusalem, or the Temple. Daniel fasted for 21 days, beginning on Nisan 3, and that meant he fasted through Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Bikurim (Dan 10.2-4,13). There is not one verse that says Daniel or captive Israel kept the festivals in Babylon. . . .

In Acts 18.21, Paul said “I must by all means keep the feast that comes in Jerusalem” and we know that feast was Shavuot (Pentecost) because it says in Acts 20.16 that “he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.” So, even Paul understood that he could not keep the festivals outside of the Temple in Jerusalem. Why didn’t he just stay where he was and keep it like people do today? He was a “temple” like people say they are today wasn’t he? Why the big hurry to get to Jerusalem for the festival? Can you keep the festivals outside the land? Can you keep the festivals with no Temple, altar, or priesthood? Paul didn’t think so because it is impossible to fulfill, and it was contrary to the Tanak so he came to the place Yahuwah had chosen.

The Torah requires that the people go to the place where Yahuwah chose to place his name (Deut 16.16). Not only must there be a place where he put his name (Jerusalem), but there must be a functioning Temple, altar, and priesthood there (Lev 23.1-44; Ex 12.24-25; Deut 12.5-9; 14.22-23; 16.2-6; 2 Chr 30.1-27). If you were in Jerusalem and there was no Temple, altar, or priesthood, you still couldn’t keep the festivals. If that is true, why do people think they can keep the festivals outside of the land (Lev 23.10)! If there was a functioning Temple, altar, and priesthood and you were outside of the land, you still could not keep the festivals where you were, like in the case of Paul. You would still need to come to Jerusalem where the Temple was.

Gathering together in far-off places to keep any festival was never allowed, and if you did, you were not fulfilling the commandment. A “memorial” is acceptable as long as it is not an attempt to keep the festival, so don’t dress them up in those terms. People can begin to think they are doing the right thing when in fact they are disobeying Yahuwah, as Saul did. We would try and “keep the festivals” in the past and after a while, Yahuwah began to show us this was right in our own eyes, but not right in the eyes of Yahuwah. . . .

Many believers in Yeshua follow man-made rabbinical traditions and they are making the same mistake Jeroboam and the Samaritans did. You cannot celebrate and keep the festivals outside of the land, outside of Jerusalem, and outside of the Temple with a functioning priesthood. The Temple, an altar, and a functioning priesthood does not exist today, so one cannot keep the festivals. End of story. We have seen some rationalize that they can, but that is how men think, not Yahuwah.

Hopefully, we have presented some new things for you to consider on this issue, and how you can apply them in your life.

This is a non-WLC article. Source: https://whitefeatherministries.com/can-you-keep-the-festivals-outside-jerusalem/

We have taken out from the original article all pagan names and titles of the Father and Son, and have replaced them with the original given names. Furthermore, we have restored in the Scriptures quoted the names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. -WLC Team