PAUL AND THE HOLY DAYS
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Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.,
Professor of Theology and Church History,
Andrews University


	One of the most difficult Bible text for Adventists to explain is
Colossians 2:16-17. Throughout the centuries this passage has been
interpreted as a Pauline condemnation of the law in general and of the
Holy Days in particular. The reason is that the passage warns against
paying heed to regulations regarding several things: "Therefore, let no
one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to
a festival or a new moon or a sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is
to come; but the substance belongs to Christ" (2:16-17).
	I have devoted over 20 pages to an analysis of this text in my
dissertation FROM SABBATH TO SUNDAY. But in view of the length limitations
of this forum, I would like to share the brief summary that I prepared for
my latest book on God's Festivals. It may come as a surprise to many
Adventists that this crucial passage, which has historically been used to
negate the validity of the Sabbath and Holy Days, when properly understood
IT provides one of the strongest support for their observance.
	The statement "Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you . . ." 
has been interpreted as a Pauline condemnation of the observance of Old
Testament Holy Days. In spite of its antiquity and popularity, this
interpretation is totally wrong, because in this passage Paul is not
warning the Colossians not against the observances of the five mentioned
practices (eating, drinking, feasts, new moon, and Sabbaths), but against
"anyone" (tis) who passes judgment on how to observe them.
	Note should be taken of the fact that the judge who passes
judgment is not Paul, but the Colossian false teachers who impose
"regulations" (2:20) on how to observe these practices in order to
achieve "rigor of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body"
(2:23).
	D. R. De Lacey, writing in the symposium From Sabbath to Lord's
Day, rightly comments: "The judge is likely to be a man of ascetic
tendencies who objects to the Colossians' eating and drinking. The most
natural way of taking the rest of the passage is not that he also imposes
a ritual of feast days, but rather that he objects to certain elements of
such observation."10 Presumably the "judge," that is, the false teachers,
wanted the community to observe these practices in a more ascetic way
("severity to the body"-2:23, 21); to put it crudely, the false teachers
wanted the Colossian believers to do less feasting and more fasting.
	By warning against the right of the false teachers to "pass
judgment" on how to observe Holy Days, Paul is challenging not the
validity of the Holy Days as such, but the authority of the false teachers
to legislate on the manner of their observance. The obvious implication is
that Paul in this text is expressing not a condemnation but an approbation
of the mentioned practices, which included Holy Days.
	It is noteworthy that De Lacey reaches this conclusion in spite of
his view that Paul did not expect Gentile converts to observe the Holy
Days. He writes: "Here again (Col 2:16), then, it seems that Paul could
happily countenance Sabbathkeeping . . . However, we interpret the
situation, Paul's statement 'Let no one pass judgement on you,' indicates
that no stringent regulations are to be laid down over the use of
festivals."11 In the light of these observations, we conclude that in
Colossians 2:16, Paul expresses not a condemnation but an implicit
approbation of the observance of Holy Days. 

	Condemantion of Perversion. Paul gives us only a few hints of how
false teachers promoted the observance of food and festivals. He mentions
that they insisted on "self-abasement and worship of angels," "rigor of
devotion . . . severity to the body" (2:18, 23), and that they taught:
"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (2:21). These catch phrases
indicate that the regulations did not derive from the Levitical law, since
nowhere does the latter contemplate such an ascetic program. Though the
nomenclature of the festivals is Jewish, the motivation and manner of
their observance stems from syncretistic ideologies.
	In the ancient world, there was a widespread belief that ascetism
and fasting enabled a person to come closer to a deity and to receive
divine revelation.12 In the case of the Colossian "philosophy," the
dietary taboos and the observance of sacred times were apparently regarded
as an expression of subjection to and worship of the cosmic powers
(elements) of the universe (Col 2:8, 10, 15, 20).
	Paul's warning against the "regulations" of the false teachers can
hardly be interpreted as a condemnation of Mosaic laws regarding food and
festivals, since what the apostle condemns is not the teachings of Moses
but the perverted use of them promoted by the Colossian false teachers. A
precept is not nullified by the condemnation of its perversion. 

	Shadow of the Reality. Paul continues his argument, saying: 
"These are the shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to
Christ" (Col 2:17). To what does the relative pronoun "these" (ha in
Greek) refer? Does it refer to the practices mentioned in the previous
verse or to the "regulations" (dogmata) regarding these practices
promoted by the false teachers?
	Most likely it refers to the latter. First, because in verse 16,
Paul is warning not against the merits or demerits of the Mosaic law
regarding food and festivals, but against the "regulations" regarding
these practices advocated by the false teachers. Thus, it is more
plausible to take "the regulations" rather than the actual practices as
the antecedent of "these."
	Second, because in the verses that immediately follow, Paul
continues his warning against the deceptive teachings, saying, "Let no one
disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement . . ." (2:18); "Why do you
submit to regulations, 'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch'"
(2:20-21)? Since what precedes and what follows the relative pronoun
"these" deals with the "regulations" of the Colossian false teachers, we
conclude that it is the latter that Paul describes as "a shadow of what is
to come" (2:17).
	Presumably, the proponents of the false teachers maintained that
their "regulations" represented a copy which enabled the believer to have
access to the reality ("fulness," Col 2:9). In such a case, Paul is
turning their argument against them by saying that their regulations "are
only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ"
(2:17). By emphasizing that Christ is the "body" and the "head" (2:17,
19), Paul indicates that any "shadow" cast by the regulations has no
significant value.
	In the light of the above indications, we conclude that what Paul
calls a "bygone shadow" is not the Holy Days but the deceptive teachings
of the Colossian false teachers which promoted dietary practices and the
observance of sacred times as auxiliary aids to salvation.
	This brief excerpt is taken from pages 89 to 92 of my book on
GOD'S FESTIVALS. The study continues with an analysis of Romans 14:5 and
Galatians 4:10. The book can be ordered ($15.00 postpaid) from BIBLICAL 
PERSPECTIVES, 4990 Appian Way, Berrien Springs, Michigan 49103.

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Christian regards

Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.,
Professor of Theology and Church History
Andrews University
4990 Appian Way
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
samuele@andrews.edu