St. Louis, MO<\/p>\n
June, 1905<\/p>\n
Dear Friend,<\/p>\n
I have offered and still offer $1000 to any one who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound, under grievous sin to keep Sunday holy. It was the Catholic Church which made the law obliging us to keep Sunday holy. The church made this law long after the Bible was written. Hence said law is not in the Bible. Christ, our Lord empowered his church to make laws binding in conscience. He said to his apostles and their lawful sucessors (sic) in the priesthood “Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be binding in heaven.” Mth. 16:19. Mth. 18:17. Luke 16:19. The Catholic Church abolished not only the Sabbath, but all the other Jewish festivals. Pray and study. I shall be always glad to help you as long as you honestly seek the truth.<\/p>\n
Respectfully,<\/p>\n
T. Enright CSSR<\/p>\n
It was long ago that the Catholic church changed these days. Surely they are acceptable now. They are not “observing times” or witch craft now, are they? Here is a quote from a modern-day person who was involved in the occult. Let’s see what he says:<\/p>\n
“Witchcraft is very real but greatly misunderstood. I know because witchcraft goes back on the paternal side of my family for over five generations to Chesterfield, Massachusetts in 1770. My great grandmother became a well-known witch in Wisconsin in the early days of this century . . . By the time I was 19, I had reached my first goal. I was a powerful witch . . . I did not know it at the time, but a dear old woman had been praying for me every day for a long time . . . a friend . . . persuaded me to come to church with him. One week late, I was baptized . . .”<\/p>\n
“Eight times each year, the witches celebrated a sabbot . . . I also learned that the Roman Catholic Church copied and renamed all of the eight sabbots . . . the winter Solstice became Christmas . . . the vernal equinox was celebrated as Easter.”<\/p>\n
“Raised with the occult, . . . I wanted real magic. The so-called Christians were cursing themselves and their children by copying the craft that their tenets forbade. I knew full well that so-called Christians were coping what my ancestors had done for many centuries.” (from an article “What’s Wrong with Halloween” by Pastor David J. Meyer)<\/p>\n
Many times I have heard the idea presented that the days, times, and years mentioned in Galatians 4 were the seven Biblical Feasts given in Leviticus 23, namely the Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. But if we look at the texts carefully we will see that this interpretation is impossible! First, I would like to remind you that 7 is the number of perfection.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Now let’s look at what Paul himself tells us he was talking about.<\/p>\n
Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Galatians 4:8-11.<\/p>\n What does this text tell us?<\/p>\n 1. These “days, and months, and times, and years” were associated with the worship of “no gods.”<\/p>\n 2. The Galatians were returning to what they had left before becoming Christians.<\/p>\n 3. It was bondage to return.<\/p>\n 4. Paul was afraid for their eternal salvation.<\/p>\n Now, let’s look at this logically. How could Paul, in his right mind, call the God of Heaven a “no god?” It was the God of Heaven who gave the Feasts in Leviticus 23. If we Christians say those Feasts are what Paul is referring to, then we are guilty of calling the Creator God a “no god.” This seems to me to be a grievous sin which I would not wish to answer for in the Judgment.<\/p>\n These converts from paganism were not Jews and never had been. They had not observed God’s Holy Days prior to becoming Christians. How could they return to something they had never kept?<\/p>\n To say that these former heathen would be in bondage by keeping the joyous Holy Days that the Lord had given Israel is absurd. Could a Christian really conceive in his mind that to participate in days reminding him of what God has done for him could in any way bring him into the bondage of Satan? Why would God have ever given the Jews such days if they would only bring bondage? I have personally participated in those God-given Holy Days and received the greatest spiritual blessings in my life! It has broadened my understanding of the scriptures, the Plan of Salvation, and the eternal destiny of the saved. I have experienced wonderful fellowship and the Lord has put in my heart the promise of His renewal of the Everlasting Covenant with me. What a blessing it has been!<\/p>\n Going back to heathenism would bring bondage and endanger anyone’s salvation.<\/p>\n With these understandings, I would like to conclude with a promise from our Father in Heaven.<\/p>\n Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. \u00a0<\/em>Revelation 14:12<\/p>\n The Biblical Feasts were given by God. Easter and Christmas are the product of heathenism. Which would God want you to observe?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Linda Hoffman Nine-year-old Walter sat quietly at the window, looking out at the sky. His younger brother sat close by, busily playing with some homemade wooden cars on the floor. Grandma was working in the kitchen, preparing a meal for the hungry children. Walter looked longingly toward the road. “I wonder when Mom and … <\/p>\n