As longtime readers of this blog know, I have been highly critical of Herbert W Armstrong, his teachings and the organization which he founded. Many of my posts have underscored the things of his which I have rejected, and I have described in some detail the hurts and damage which I and others have endured as a consequence of our affiliation with the church that Armstrong founded. Even so, it may interest some of my readers to know that I believe HWA made at least one positive contribution of note to modern Christian theology.
It is the thesis of this post that Armstrong did contribute to the phenomenon of the modern Christian Church taking a fresh look at their Hebrew roots, though most of us would say that the role he played should be placed in the context of a larger trend and was very imperfect in its understanding of that heritage. Nevertheless, I believe an objective evaluation of the evidence forces us to conclude that HWA did contribute to the impulse to reexamine the Old Testament and its meaning for Christians. Moreover, I would argue that that impulse was a very positive development and has the potential to generate a greater appreciation for (and a deeper understanding of) the spiritual foundations of Christianity.
In particular, HWA's insistence that Christians were obligated to keep the Sabbath and observe the Hebrew festivals forced many within the Church to take a fresh look at these fixtures of the Old Covenant. After all, it was impossible to refute Armstrong's observation that Christ had kept the Sabbath and observed these days (this served to remind many folks that Jesus was a Jew). Likewise, Armstrong insisted that these observances still had symbolic meaning for Christians, and that all of them pointed to God's great plan for humanity. And, although mainstream Christianity largely rejected Armstrong's conclusions and regarded him as part of a cultic fringe, it did force Christian leaders to confront a part of their past that many of them had previously ignored and/or dismissed as unimportant/insignificant.
Like many others who have studied this topic before me, I came to the conclusion some years back that Christians are NOT obligated to keep these institutions of the Old Covenant. However, just as others who have examined these issues and celebrated these festivals, I came away from my experiences and studies with a profound sense of the symbolic spiritual meanings/implications of them. In short, it has led me to a greater appreciation of the fact that the only Scriptures that the early Christians had available to them was the Hebrew Old Testament. This knowledge has reinforced the conviction that Christ was and can be preached from the Old Testament. In short, studies of this nature serve to reinforce the Christian doctrines of salvation through Jesus Christ and underscore a theological consistency within Scripture that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Although I have personally pointed out many errors and inconsistencies within the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, I have also noted on numerous occasions that there is a legitimate basis for the faith we profess encapsulated within them - that there is also a high degree of intellectual and spiritual harmony contained within those disparate writings. Fortunately, even some of our most vociferous Fundamentalist/Evangelical brethren have begun to discern the value of these writings and have slowly incorporated them into their messages. Indeed, some of them have even attempted to observe these fixtures of the Old Covenant in an effort to better understand/appreciate their significance to the Christian faith.
As I have posted about the continuing significance of the Sabbath for Christians in the not too distant past, I will not address that festival here. Nevertheless, as has already been suggested, the other festivals have tremendous significance for the Christian religion and can be employed in gaining a better understanding of Jesus Christ, his teachings and the work which he accomplished on our behalf.
Although the Hebrew perspective of the coming Messiah was focused on his role as the savior of the Hebrew NATION/People, the notion that the penalty for sin must be paid (if not by the blood of the guilty, then with the blood of the innocent) is also firmly rooted in the writings of the Old Testament.
Abraham told Isaac that God would provide himself with a lamb (Genesis 22:7-8). Moses instructed the Israelites to take for themselves a lamb (one for each household) without blemish and kill the Passover (Exodus 12). The Gospel of John refers to Jesus as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Peter called Jesus "a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Peter 1:19).
Likewise, although Armstrong contradicted many scriptures in his attempt to interpret/explain the significance of these days, the Scriptures themselves make very plain that all of them pointed to Christ and his work. The connection to the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5-8) were not only implicit in the events surrounding Christ's death - they were also elegantly attested to by the Apostle Paul in one of his letters to the saints at Corinth (I Corinthians 5). Firstfruits and Pentecost (Leviticus 23:9-21) did not go unnoticed by Paul (I Corinthians 15:20, 23). The Feast of Trumpets is similarly tied to Christ through Paul's commentary on the events surrounding his return to earth (I Thessalonians 4:16). The Day of Atonement (HWA had virtually zero understanding of this one) outlined in the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is expounded upon in the ninth chapter of the book of Hebrews. And, finally, the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34-43) takes on new meaning when we understand that John wrote that "the Word was made flesh and tabernacled (look at the original Greek) among us" (John 1:14). By the way, for those who are interested in exploring the symbolism of these days in more detail, Ron Dart's The Thread is an excellent treatise on this subject.
There is an old saying about giving the devil his due. I hope that I have done that with this post.
It is the thesis of this post that Armstrong did contribute to the phenomenon of the modern Christian Church taking a fresh look at their Hebrew roots, though most of us would say that the role he played should be placed in the context of a larger trend and was very imperfect in its understanding of that heritage. Nevertheless, I believe an objective evaluation of the evidence forces us to conclude that HWA did contribute to the impulse to reexamine the Old Testament and its meaning for Christians. Moreover, I would argue that that impulse was a very positive development and has the potential to generate a greater appreciation for (and a deeper understanding of) the spiritual foundations of Christianity.
In particular, HWA's insistence that Christians were obligated to keep the Sabbath and observe the Hebrew festivals forced many within the Church to take a fresh look at these fixtures of the Old Covenant. After all, it was impossible to refute Armstrong's observation that Christ had kept the Sabbath and observed these days (this served to remind many folks that Jesus was a Jew). Likewise, Armstrong insisted that these observances still had symbolic meaning for Christians, and that all of them pointed to God's great plan for humanity. And, although mainstream Christianity largely rejected Armstrong's conclusions and regarded him as part of a cultic fringe, it did force Christian leaders to confront a part of their past that many of them had previously ignored and/or dismissed as unimportant/insignificant.
Like many others who have studied this topic before me, I came to the conclusion some years back that Christians are NOT obligated to keep these institutions of the Old Covenant. However, just as others who have examined these issues and celebrated these festivals, I came away from my experiences and studies with a profound sense of the symbolic spiritual meanings/implications of them. In short, it has led me to a greater appreciation of the fact that the only Scriptures that the early Christians had available to them was the Hebrew Old Testament. This knowledge has reinforced the conviction that Christ was and can be preached from the Old Testament. In short, studies of this nature serve to reinforce the Christian doctrines of salvation through Jesus Christ and underscore a theological consistency within Scripture that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Although I have personally pointed out many errors and inconsistencies within the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, I have also noted on numerous occasions that there is a legitimate basis for the faith we profess encapsulated within them - that there is also a high degree of intellectual and spiritual harmony contained within those disparate writings. Fortunately, even some of our most vociferous Fundamentalist/Evangelical brethren have begun to discern the value of these writings and have slowly incorporated them into their messages. Indeed, some of them have even attempted to observe these fixtures of the Old Covenant in an effort to better understand/appreciate their significance to the Christian faith.
As I have posted about the continuing significance of the Sabbath for Christians in the not too distant past, I will not address that festival here. Nevertheless, as has already been suggested, the other festivals have tremendous significance for the Christian religion and can be employed in gaining a better understanding of Jesus Christ, his teachings and the work which he accomplished on our behalf.
Although the Hebrew perspective of the coming Messiah was focused on his role as the savior of the Hebrew NATION/People, the notion that the penalty for sin must be paid (if not by the blood of the guilty, then with the blood of the innocent) is also firmly rooted in the writings of the Old Testament.
Abraham told Isaac that God would provide himself with a lamb (Genesis 22:7-8). Moses instructed the Israelites to take for themselves a lamb (one for each household) without blemish and kill the Passover (Exodus 12). The Gospel of John refers to Jesus as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Peter called Jesus "a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Peter 1:19).
Likewise, although Armstrong contradicted many scriptures in his attempt to interpret/explain the significance of these days, the Scriptures themselves make very plain that all of them pointed to Christ and his work. The connection to the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5-8) were not only implicit in the events surrounding Christ's death - they were also elegantly attested to by the Apostle Paul in one of his letters to the saints at Corinth (I Corinthians 5). Firstfruits and Pentecost (Leviticus 23:9-21) did not go unnoticed by Paul (I Corinthians 15:20, 23). The Feast of Trumpets is similarly tied to Christ through Paul's commentary on the events surrounding his return to earth (I Thessalonians 4:16). The Day of Atonement (HWA had virtually zero understanding of this one) outlined in the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is expounded upon in the ninth chapter of the book of Hebrews. And, finally, the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34-43) takes on new meaning when we understand that John wrote that "the Word was made flesh and tabernacled (look at the original Greek) among us" (John 1:14). By the way, for those who are interested in exploring the symbolism of these days in more detail, Ron Dart's The Thread is an excellent treatise on this subject.
There is an old saying about giving the devil his due. I hope that I have done that with this post.
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