Growing up as a Protestant in rural America, I took it for granted that everything we did as Christians were essentially Christ-centered. It was taught to me that gathering colored eggs on Easter Sunday was Christ-centered. Typically, the day after Thanksgiving, we would go out to find a suitable evergreen tree to cut down and erect in our homes. And thus began the preparations and the decorations leading up to the Christ-centered festival following the Winter Solstice.

I was surprised to learn, as a young man, that these supposed Christ-centered celebrations were not found in the Bible. Instead, what I discovered is that the God of the Bible revealed a system of celebrations which he called His feasts. (see Leviticus 23) For a Christian to make the decision to give up the holidays of Mainstream Christianity in favor of the holy days found in Leviticus, one criticism they might face is that they are observing Jewish holidays. And those holidays are, therefore, not Christ-centered. Is that the case?

The Spring holy day season is ushered in with something called the Passover. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5 that “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” (vs.7) That’s a surprising statement that clearly implies the Passover is a Christ-centered event. The Day of Pentecost is mentioned in Acts 2, and it was on this day that God poured out his Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus Christ. Is the Day of Pentecost a Christ-centered celebration? It would seem so.

That brings us to the biblical holy days of the fall harvest season. The first of those days is called the Feast of Trumpets. The day itself is not mentioned in the New Testament scriptures. But anyone who has taken the time to read the Book of Revelation cannot help but to see the striking connection between the second coming of Jesus Christ and the blowing of trumpets that ushers in those apocalyptic end-times. Notice what the Apostle Paul says, in 1st Thessalonians, about Jesus Christ’s triumphal return:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thess.4:16)

The events surrounding these blowing of trumpets is a central and pivotal moment in the history of mankind. And, yes, Jesus Christ is at the center of it all.

The Feast of Trumpets falls on Thursday Oct 3rd this year. The United Church of God has congregations in Plano and in Fort Worth, TX and we will be gathering to celebrate this momentous Christ-centered event. To learn more about the Christ-centered holy days of the Bible, request your free hardcopy or download God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope For All Mankind available on the United Church of God website.

By Lynn Leiby

Sep 24th, 2024