WHAT ARE THE "ORACLES"?

 

Some point to Rom. 3:2, regarding the "oracles" having been given to the Jews, as a proof that the Jewish calendar and it's associated "postponements" are binding upon Christians today. The assumption is being made, that the Jewish calendar and its postponements are part of those "oracles." Is there any basis in scripture for this assumption?

Acts 7:37-38 explains, "This is that Moses, ...in mount Sinai, ...who received the lively oracles to give unto us." Stephen is speaking here. He is neither a priest, nor a member of the Sanhedrin. The "us" he refers to, would be all of the descendants of Abraham, whom he mentions first in verse 2. He is including the spiritual descendants of Abraham, those accepting Christ as the Messiah, as opposed to his (Stephen's) audience, those who had rejected Christ, (verses 51-53).

 

SECRET ORACLES?

Did the Eternal give any "secrets" to Moses, or to anyone else at mount Sinai? Was secret information regarding the calendar and postponements given to Moses or Aaron and his sons for the priesthood to preserve as secrets, until approximately 300 years after Christ's death? The words of Moses show us exactly what happened at Mt. Sinai.

Ex. 19:3, "And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;...." Moses was to speak to ALL Israel, not just to the priests. In fact, there were no priests at this time (Ex.28:1). It's ironic that Aaron was helping the Israelites construct an idol while Moses was on the mountain receiving instructions about Aaron's priesthood (Ex.32:1-7). It took Israel nine months to construct the Tabernacle (Ex. 35-43). It was completed and erected by Moses before Aaron and his sons were sanctified for their jobs (Ex.40:1-33, especially. 12-17, 33).
Continuing now with the sequence of events, in Ex. 19:7, "And Moses called for the elders of the people (the heads of the families, not priests) and laid before their faces ALL THESE WORDS which the Lord commanded him." The elders then took the "words" to all the people, who then respond in verse 8. [Please note, the use of caps in this article does not indicate yelling.]

Ex.19:8, "And ALL THE PEOPLE ANSWERED together, and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the WORDS OF THE PEOPLE unto the Lord."

This was a public contract or covenant made between God and all of the descendants of Abraham. There were no secret protocols here. There were no side agreements with leaders, with the future priests of Levi, or with special interest groups. There were no secret parts to this covenant. Withholding information concerning the fulfillment of contract requirements or
contracting separately with an involved party would amount to fraud or lying, and God cannot lie (Tit.1:2).

The openness of this meeting between God and ALL Israel continues throughout the book of Exodus.

Ex. 20:1,"And God SPOKE ALL THESE WORDS SAYING, . . . "

Ex. 21:1, "Now these are the judgments which you shall SET BEFORE THEM."

Ex. 24:3,"And MOSES came and TOLD THE PEOPLE ALL THE WORDS OF THE LORD AND ALL THE JUDGMENTS; AND ALL THE PEOPLE ANSWERED WITH ONE VOICE, AND SAID, ALL THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD HAS SAID WILL WE DO."

Ex. 24:4,"And MOSES WROTE ALL THE WORDS OF THE LORD, . . . "

Ex. 25:12, "And the Lord space unto Moses, saying, SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN of Israel, . . . " At this point, the details of the offerings, the ark, the furniture and the Tabernacle are given to all Israel, not just to the heads of families or elders. Even at this point, the priesthood had not yet been designated. We must read three more chapters of details before priests are mentioned and they will not assume any duties until the following year.
Notice the sequence of events in Ex. 40:17-18, 30-33, 2, 12-16.

PRIESTHOOD OF AARON AND HIS DESCENDANTS

Israel arrived at Mt Sinai in the third month of the year (Ex. 19:1). The last instructions given to Israel pertained to the priests. Ex. 28:1,"And take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office . . . "
Notice that the terms of the first covenant and it's acceptance by all Israel was accomplished before the priesthood was mentioned and nearly a year before it was established. Even the Tabernacle, a type of the Temple, was specified before God mentions the priests. God gave the Law first, the Tabernacle (Temple) second, and the priests last. All the details of the temple, its furnishings and the offerings were given to all Israel because the physical sacrifices were to reconcile Israel to the Eternal. It was not the priesthood that did the reconciling. The priests were simply servants "set aside" to carry out the ceremonies.

Today, under the new covenant, Christ is our "High Priest" (Heb. 2:17). We, as spiritual Israel, comprise the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Cor. 3:16), and He has put his Law in our minds and hearts, (Heb. 8:10). The physical, Levitical priesthood became obsolete when Christ, born of Judah, became our High Priest (Heb. 7:12-17) and the Temple veil was rent in two, allowing all men direct access to the Eternal (Mat. 27:51, Heb. 10:19-21). The Levitical priests accepted animal sacrifices. Our High Priest accepts only the sacrifice of a "broken and contrite heart"(Psa. 51:17), a living sacrifice (Rom.12:1), a "spiritual sacrifice" (1 Pet. 2:5). He receives our spiritual sacrifices at the throne of the Eternal, not in an earthly "temple" (Heb. 10:21).

The terms of the first covenant, which included the Sabbath and the Holy Days (Ex. 23:12-17) preceded the priesthood (Ex. 28), and were given to ALL the people (Ex.24), prior to any discussion of the priesthood (Ex.28). While the Sabbath and the Holy Days are listed by God with the first covenant, they also existed prior to that covenant (Ex. 12, 16) and were observed after the New Testament change in the covenants (Acts 2; 12:2; 20:6-7, 16; 27:9). The Sabbath and Holy Days are not linked to the Levitical priesthood. They were in effect nine months prior to the existence of the Levitical priests and are still in effect nearly 2,000 years after that priesthood was made obsolete.

That human priesthood never had authority to make days Holy, nor to determine which days should be kept. Several scriptures are quoted to imply that the priests "determined" the days. These include Lev. 23:2, 4, 21, 37 in which the priests are instructed to "proclaim" feast days. But the Hebrew word used here is "Qatar" meaning "to call out to, in the sense of addressing by name".
They were told to "announce" the Holy Days, not "determine" or "calculate", words which are not to be found in the books of Moses.

God said the purpose of the Levite priests was to "minister unto (God)" (Ex. 28:1), to serve God in the Tabernacle (later in the Temple), not to "rule over" or "administer over" the people. They were also to "teach". "And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, saying,". "And that you may teach the children of Israel ALL the statutes which the Lord has spoken unto them (Israel) by the hand of Moses." (Lev. 10:8,11).Nothing had been kept secret from the people of Israel.

The priests were to teach only what the Lord had "spoken" unto all Israel, not some imaginary secrets known only to the priesthood as is common to pagan religions. The priests were to teach what was spoken to them by the "hand" (the writings) of Moses.
The laws, statutes, judgments and ordinances given by God were not "subject to" any man or by priesthood (Deu. 4:2, 12:32).
All Israel was forbidden to add or to take away anything from the laws given by God. This includes Moses and the priesthood as they were after all, only "men".

Ex. 34:32, "And afterward ALL OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL came nigh: and HE GAVE THEM in commandment ALL THAT THE LORD HAD SPOKEN with him in mount Sinai."

Ex. 35:1, "And Moses gathered ALL THE CONGREGATION of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, THESE ARE THE WORDS which the Lord has commanded, that you should do them."

Heb 9:19,"For when Moses had spoken EVERY PRECEPT TO ALL THE PEOPLE according to the law . . ."
How plain it is that everything was publicly said and recorded for them and for us.

NOT IN VAIN

Isa. 45:18-19,"For thus says the Lord...I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I SAID NOT unto the seed of Jacob, SEEK ME IN VAIN: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right."

Note that God could not command Israel to keep the Holy Days without giving directions to know when those days occur. IF the Eternal had told us to worship on specific days without telling us how to identify those days, then we would be seeking Him in vain. If He had only revealed those days to the priests, then we would still be seeking Him in vain, since the only valid priest available for the past 2,000 years, is at the throne of God. Hillel II, in publishing the "The Secret of Intercalation" in 358 A.D. when the Roman rulers made proclamation of Holy Days illegal, had neither the spiritual authority nor the civil authority of the priests of Christ's time, 300 years earlier.

The Jewish people, in their own history, record that Hillel's calendar contained errors and it was repeatedly modified by rabbis, in the absence of a Sanhedrin, over the course of the next 400-1000 years. It has evolved into its present form as used by the Jews and by many Sabbath-keeping churches of God today. (See the Jewish Encyclopedia, "Calendar", "Hillel II".)

SECRET THINGS, NOT SPOKEN IN SECRET

Isa. 48:1,16, "Hear you this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel,... Come you near unto me, hear you this; I HAVE NOT SPOKEN IN SECRET from the beginning; ..."

"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those THINGS WHICH ARE REVEALED belong UNTO US AND TO OUR CHILDREN FOREVER, THAT WE MAY DO THE WORDS OF THIS LAW." (Deu. 29:29).
This says that everything we need to obey the Eternal, which would necessarily include the schedule of the Holy Days is contained in scripture. But why do so many say it is not there? Perhaps it is because of the way spiritual understanding is given to man.

How do we understand any of the spiritual truths of God? "....GOD HAS REVEALED THEM UNTO US BY HIS SPIRIT: ..."(1Cor.2:10). Notice that the revealing is not attributed to men or a church or an organization but to the Holy Spirit. ( See also verses 9-16.) Just as the "world" cannot understand the things which some have long understood, neither have some among us yet come to the understanding of the Holy Day schedule contained within scripture.
That understanding does not come from man's knowledge of astronomy, or of Jewish history. Nor does it come from mere human reasoning.
It comes only by His Spirit otherwise the "wise" of the world would also understand all these things. He is not limited in giving understanding by our lack of education, but we can limit ourselves by having vanity in our education and knowledge (Rom.1:22).

Christ repeatedly emphasized the need for our humility and our becoming as "little children". To the extent we accomplish that, He can teach us and give us additional understanding of all things. He is not limited to working through men or organizations although some teach that concept. The secrets of God are in plain sight of all (Pro. 1:20-21), but the world is spiritually blinded.
And so were we, at one time. Some have had their eyes opened to some extent, but not all to the same extent that we are all seeing the same thing.
The secrets of God were known to Job and his friends. "What know you, that we know not? What understandest thou which is not in us?" (Job 15:9). Those secrets were also known to the patriarchs before them. See verses 10-11, 17-19.

Are these secrets limited to certain people? "THE SECRET of the Lord IS WITH THEM THAT FEAR HIM, and he will shew them his covenant."(Psa. 25:14)."...but his (the Lord's) SECRET IS WITH THE RIGHTEOUS." (Pro.3:32). So righteousness is the only limiting factor.

Isa. 45:19,"I have NOT SPOKEN IN SECRET...".
Isa. 48:16,"Come you near unto me, hear you this; I HAVE NOT SPOKEN IN SECRET from the beginning;...".
Dan. 2:22,"He (God) REVEALS the deep and SECRET THINGS: ...", but He reveals them only to the righteous.

Amos 3:7,"Surely the LORD GOD will do nothing, but he REVEALS HIS SECRET UNTO HIS SERVANTS the prophets."

Matt. 13:35,"...I (Christ) WILL UTTER THINGS WHICH HAVE BEEN KEPT SECRET from the foundation of the world."Christ spoke publicly, in parables, which He also explained for us.

Mk. 4:22, "For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad." Verse 11,"...Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables;".
Jn. 18:20,"JESUS ANSWERED him, I spoke openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and IN SECRET HAVE I SAID NOTHING.

Rom. 16:25-26,"...the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began. But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, MADE KNOWN TO ALL NATIONS FOR THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH:".

The secrets referred to above, have to do with God's plan of salvation for all mankind, His covenant with Abraham and his spiritual descendants. Through Christ's sacrifice, salvation is available to all mankind. These secrets are in public view of all nations.
But not everyone can understand, as God calls whom He will and He is the One who gives understanding to men.

Notice that Christ taught openly, in public places. The only things "hidden" now are those things "hidden" from the world by a lack of understanding of what was said and written in scripture. Mat. 13:11 says that the understanding of salvation is given to us. None of these scriptures refer to a secret calendar or secret calculations. The priests are not even mentioned in the context of understanding these secrets.

TRADITIONS

According to Christ, the traditions of the elders conflicted with the commandments of God. (See Mat. 15:2-3,6.)

In Col. 2:8, Paul warned against the traditions of men. He did say to "hold fast" the things taught by the apostles in person and by letter (2 Ths. 2:15). There was a conflict between the traditions of men and the gospel of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19). That gospel of Christ was the only tradition that the apostles taught (2 Ths. 3:6). The statements of Christ and of the New Testament formed an oral tradition of the apostles until they were written down.

Everything God gave to Israel was public. The Holy Days predated the Levitical Priesthood and survived it's demise. Christ did not teach anything in secret. The only secret is the understanding of salvation being withheld from the "world" at this time. God could not command us to keep the Holy Days without revealing how to identify them. Otherwise, He would have been commanding us to worship Him in vain. The true schedule of the Holy Days could not have been part of the traditions condemned by Christ, as Christ's teaching did not conflict with the Law of God, only with the traditions of men.
The calendar of Hillel II was an oral tradition of men at the time that Christ and Paul condemned human traditions.

CONCLUSION

The Oracles Are Clearly Identified In The Old Testament And Defined In The New Testament As: "Every Word Spoken to Moses And Written Down By Moses".

They consist of "every word" spoken by the Eternal to Moses which he in turn spoke to all Israel. "Every word" was written down, and again spoken to all Israel. There were no secrets at Mt. Sinai!

The Levitical priesthood was a temporary physical institution set up nine months after the Sabbath and the Holy Days were explained and commanded. (The Sabbath was already in existence.) That human priesthood was made "obsolete" by Christ's sacrifice. It was superseded by a spiritual priesthood, of which Christ is High Priest and of which we are to become a nation of spiritual priests. That temporary human priesthood was never given authority to declare days as holy, nor to reschedule their observance. No human can claim to have authority over a spiritual aspect ordained by the Eternal much less an organization coming into existence after the fact and being later stripped of all responsibility.

Modifications to the Word of God were specifically prohibited. Not even Moses, nor the prophets could add anything, nor take anything away from the word of God.

The "secret things" are secret only to those, to whom God has chosen not to reveal understanding at this time. Everyone is free to ask for it, as there are "many ... called", but only a few are chosen at this time (Mat. 20:16). Understanding is still a gift, not something available just for anyone to take at will.
Jewish traditions apart from scriptures, were generally condemned by Christ (Mat. 15:2-6).

Some corporate "ministers" have stated that "If the Jewish calendar and postponements are not the right calendar, then we (they) don't know what it is." Obviously, for them, that statement is true. What is implied in that statement is that spiritual understanding can come only through a hierarchical organization of humanly ordained men. Yet scripture shows that understanding is a gift from God (Pro.2:6) and that we are to ask Him for it (Pro.1:20-23), not men. In fact ALL of the scriptures concerning trust, show that we are not to trust any man, including ministers or brethren (Jer. 9:4).

All those who have come to understand, through the Holy Spirit, the truths of the Eternal and the plan of salvation, have found those truths to be simple and easy to understand. We are told that it is imperative that we become as "little children" (Mat. 9:4) in order to inherit the Kingdom of God. The "truth" is considered by the "world" to be foolishness. God has chosen the "weak and base things" (or simple things, things considered by the world of little value) to confound the "wise" of the world (1 Cor. 1:28).

If we lack understanding of any thing, we are to seek it of our Father (Jas. 1:5). Yet the typical approach toward the schedule of Holy Days is to first, attempt to reconcile solar and lunar calendars. Nowhere in scripture are we told to do this. Perhaps that's because it isn't necessary. Even a brief study of astronomy, Jewish calendar history, and relevant scriptures can lead one into a never-ending circle of unanswered questions, contradictions and an apparent need to make assumptions regarding what is required and what is of greater or lessor importance to God. This is where many people are today.

Corporate "ministers" say that "any humanly devised calendar requires some assumptions." It should be apparent then, that we should not be using humanly devised calendars, one of which is the Jewish calendar of 358 AD.
There are many scriptures directing us to "seek understanding" ( Pro. 1-12). There are none directing us to make assumptions.
There is no 11th commandment stating that you shall make assumptions or that you shall let others make assumptions for you. We are to seek knowledge, understanding and wisdom from the Eternal (Jas. 1:5).

Sometimes we may feel there is no choice but to make an assumption. Whenever we do that, we must admit that we lack understanding. Christ explained the source of all understanding and wisdom,"Howbeit when (it), the Spirit of truth, is come, (it) WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH: for (it) shall not speak of (itself); but whatsoever (it) shall hear, that shall (it) speak: and (it) shall show you things to come. (It) shall glorify me: for (it) shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." (Jn. 16:13-14).

We do not receive all understanding all at once. Not all of us received it at the same time. It is something that we grow in, or toward as a goal. As Paul said,"...we...pray for you, and ... desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in ALL wisdom and spiritual understanding;" (which would include the Holy Day schedule) "That you might walk worthy
of the Lord unto ALL pleasing,(which would include observing the Holy Days properly) being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the work and INCREASING IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD: (I Cor. 1:9-10). If we have the Holy Spirit, spiritual knowledge is not just something we either have or don't have, it is alsosomething we are to "increase in".

Organizations and men may attempt to convey their understanding; and the Eternal does use men to accomplish His will. He once used an ass (Num.23). He said He could use rocks (Mat. 3:9). Whatever the medium used, the understanding comes not from the men or from the organizations just as it did not come from Baalim's donkey. Understanding comes from the Eternal, to us, through the Holy Spirit. He may choose to give it to us through men or through secular materials.

If we lack understanding of anything, including the schedule of the Holy Days, we should be seeking it, in prayer and in study, not from men, and not just by our own human reasoning, but only from the One True Source through His Spirit.

The scriptures quoted above show that the Oracles did not include any "secret calendar calculations." Since Christ promised that the Spirit would lead us into "all truth" we must look elsewhere for the answers regarding the scheduling of the Holy Days. Since every word given at Mt. Sinai was written down, we must consider that the instructions are in scripture even though we may not understand them yet. At some previous point none of us understood any of the truths we now have. Is it inconceivable that our process of being "guided" by the Spirit isn't over yet? Are we going to assume that we already understand all there is to know? That nothing more can be or will be revealed? If we limit the Eternal, those assumptions can be self-fulfilling prophecies.

We should be rejoicing in all things. While we are frustrated at the divisions over the calendar, this situation has placed us all in the position of demonstrating the basis of our faith. Will we study and prove the knowledge we hold, asking the Eternal for understanding and relying on Him in faith? Or will we just give up, saying, "It's too hard, it's too confusing.", or will we ignore scriptures warning us to not trust men and say "Isn't it nice that we can just trust others to work out our salvation for us?"

The instruction is for us to "study" not to merely rely on what someone else "studied".
So let us rejoice that the Eternal has made Himself accessible through the sacrifice of His Son, and that He has given us His Spirit, a Spirit not of fear or of ignorance, but of power and of confidence in Him to lead us into all truth. He has not abandoned us to fend for ourselves or to depend upon other fallible humans but has promised to never leave us nor to forsake us but to finish what He has begun in us. We do sometimes stumble in the dark, searching for more understanding, but our confidence is in the One who guides us by His Spirit in us.

Please see related, scripturally-based articles on various elements of the Holy Day schedule which show the simplicity of truth in this aspect of worship.

May the Eternal lead us all into greater understanding.

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Copyright M.H. and G.H. 1996. All rights reserved.