It is the honor of kings to search out a matter and there is no greater mystery than seeking to know Him by honoring his appointed times and Sabbaths. Most assume the calendar and Sabbath day is a settled matter, but few have actually tested this assumption against history, physics, and the rest of scripture, instead history is mercilessly twisted to fit preconceived conclusions — traditions inherited from our fathers in which there is no profit.

This book is written to those who value truth over tradition and are willing to test everything to show yourself approved, a workman that need not be ashamed. The biggest hurdle to discovering the truth is our own unavoidable cognitive biases that blind us to truths that are obvious in hindsight. We get anchored to the first thing we hear, to the things that are most familiar, and the ones that are most socially acceptable. For teachers and pastors, even considering a teaching that would instantly cause you to lose your following, your congregation, or your job is enough for your subconscious to go into overdrive to defend what you already believe over an inconvenient truth.

God is truth and he seeks those who will humble themselves, because the fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. We must first humble ourselves before our eyes can see and our hears can hear new wisdom. The ideas presented in this book are the result of years of study in which every effort was made to seek the truth over what is comfortable, familiar, and widely accepted; and, while I believe the conclusions are conclusive enough to justify writing this book, they are not guaranteed to be infallible.

Then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. Even though a man should seek laboriously, he will not find it out; and though the wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.

— Ecclesiastes 8:17

Though it may seem impossible to know anything with certainty, we are still expected to seek truth and obey our understanding with all of our heart, mind, body and soul.

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.

— Proverbs 18:15

What knowledge could be of greater value than to learn God's appointed times, the days He has set aside to meet with man kind, and the shadows pointing us to the substance of Yeshua? Without this knowledge we are lost, walking in darkness, and stumbling without the light of His truth. And while we may have good intentions in keeping the Sabbath and feasts on popular days, our good intentions done in ignorance still constitute unintentional sins.

God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

— Acts 17:30

Many are tempted to remain ignorant, to avoid knowledge, and trust in God's mercy on the ignorant; however, willful ignorance leads to destruction.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

— Hosea 4:6

Sin always has consequences, even if we are ultimately forgiven; therefore, we should seek the Truth in all things and once discovered we should obey the Truth because Yeshua is the Truth. Let us not make a habit of practicing lawlessness and always remember this warning from Yeshua:

Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'

— Matthew 7:22-23

We are not saved by our obedience to his law, but our effort at obeying is the evidence of a renewed heart. Obedience can never repay the debt we owe; however, continued disobedience will continue to defile and willful, unrepentant disobedience is tantamount to the rejection of Yeshua and the Spirit of Grace. It is only by the blood of Yeshua and his mercy that we are forgiven and the debt of our sins is paid.

The Name of our Lord

God, the creator of the universe, has a name and the Hebrew texts call him: YHWH. Most English Bibles translate this as "the LORD" and "Jesus". I choose to use the name Yeshua as a closer transliteration of the Hebrew name for Jesus. God and Lord are titles like President, Master, or King and do not identify any specific "god".

It shall come about in that day, says YHWH, That you will call Me Ishi (my husband) and will no longer call Me Baali (my Lord), For I will remove the names of the Baals (lords/false gods) from her mouth, So that they will no longer be mentioned or remembered by their names.

— Hosea 2:16-17

There is great debate about how to pronounce these names, and He will reveal the truth to us in His time, but since there is no need to pronounce these names in this book I will simply use YHWH any time I need to refer to Yahuah, Yehovah, Yahweh, the great I AM, the creator of Heaven and Earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Heavenly Father of Yeshua. If it is good enough for the original texts of the Bible then it is good enough for me!

Quotes

Throughout this book I quote scripture, but occasionally I annotate that scripture to provide context or alternative understandings of the underlying word in Hebrew or Greek. My clarifications are placed in "(…)" and insertion of context are "[…]". I also substitute "the Lord" with YHWH in translations that are otherwise from other English translations. Where possible I use KJV, NKJV, ESV, and AMP versions of the Bible in that order based upon my understanding of which version is most accurate to the underlying Hebrew and Greek and which reads the best without distorting the meaning of the text.

I view all translations as evidence of the underlying Hebrew and Greek and not proof. Each translator brings their own perspective when resolving ambiguous cases and only those with the greatest context can truly resolve all ambiguity in an accurate way. When in doubt look up the verses for yourself.

Structure

This books length stems largely from the need to refute an abundance of misconceptions, rationalizations, and the like.

How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo that work again!

— Mark Twain, Autobiography of Mark Twain

O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.

— Jeremiah 16:19

The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

— Proverbs 18:17