Had it not been for the Messiah, this statement would be true. However, according to Romans 11:17, we the wild branch have been grafted into the olive tree (Israel). Shouldn't we resemble the olive tree, instead of the olive tree resembling the wild branch?

• Acts 6:13-14
• Acts 21:28 (looks like the lie followed Paul as well)

His work of redemption was finished on Golgotha. However, it has also been prophesied that Messiah will restore the kingdom. Note the question asked in Acts 1:6. This is also mentioned in Luke 1:33.

Isaiah 2:3 says, “‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (NASB) This passage is yet to be fulfilled. You may also enjoy reading Ezekiel 37. It is a wonderful promise of how the Messiah will be restoring the fallen tent of David.

The message is that we are saved by grace and not by the works of the Law. They “The Circumcision” (see Acts 15) were attempting to deceive the new believers into thinking that the atoning work of the Father’s Passover Lamb on Golgotha was insufficient when it came to salvation. They were attempting to place the traditions of men on these new believers. Please refer to Colossians 2:8.

May I suggest that you read Genesis chapter 2:17. In the garden there was only one law: “but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (NASB) The curse involved physical death, but spiritually speaking it also meant separation from the Heavenly Father. Our Savior died in our place as the ultimate Passover Lamb setting us free from the curse!

No, but the folowing is a wonderful teaching on the subject:

If the Christian hypothesis is true (that the Law and the Prophets were annulled), then why does the Apostle Shaul (Paul) tell us (below) that the festivals are shadows of things still to come? That is precisely what Colossians 2:16-17 says, although most people do not realize it, because of major errors in most of the English translations. For example, the King James Version reads:

16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moons, or of the Sabbath (days): [17] Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body (is) of Christ. [Colossians 2:16-17, KJV]

The King James makes it appear as if we should never let anyone judge us according to what we eat or drink, or what days we keep in worship. It also seems to suggest that it makes no difference whether we keep the same days of worship the Apostles kept, or whether we keep the Sun-day and Easter, because (after all) the Body is of Messiah. However, this rendering has some problems.

When we take this back to the Greek Texts, we find that the words in parenthesis, (days) and (is) do not appear. They appear in the King James only because the translators added these words, in order to make the passage harmonize with the popular view that the Law and the Prophets had been abolished.

However, since we are not supposed to add to the Word (Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:6, etc)., once we realize that the words (days) and (is) do not belong in this passage, we need to take them out, and see what kind of difference it makes.

Here is the exact same passage, but with the supplied words (days) and (is) taken out:

16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moons, or of the Sabbath; which are a shadow of things to come; but the Body of Christ. [Colossians 2:16-17]

If we read this passage closely, we will see that there are three main ideas mentioned here (1-2-3):

1. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moons, or of the Sabbath;
2. which are a (prophetic) shadow of things (still) to come;
3. but the Body of [Messiah].

If we rearrange the clauses to make the English read better (3-1-2), we find that Shaul (Paul) was actually telling us that the festivals are still prophetic shadows:

16 Let no man but the Body of Messiah judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moons, or of the Sabbath; for the festivals are shadows of things (still) to come. [Colossians 2:16-17]

Rather than telling us that the festivals do not matter, Shaul (Paul) is actually telling us that we should keep the Sabbath, the Festivals and the New Moons, because they are prophetic shadows of future events. Shaul's (Paul's) true meaning, however, is not at all reflected in the New International Version, which reads:

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. [Colossians 2:16-17, NIV]

The NIV tells us that these prophetic shadows of future events are now all discarded, or irrelevant. The NIV further suggests that as long as one believes that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah, it no longer makes any difference what one might eat or drink, or what days of worship one might decide to keep (if any). However, the idea that the Festival Days are important prophetic shadows of future events did not originate with Shaul (Paul). Yeshua (Jesus) came in prophetic fulfillment of the Passover; and it was important for the faithful to be in the Temple in Jerusalem on the Day of the Pentecost, even after Yeshua's (Jesus') Ascension:

- Norman B. Willis, Nazarene Israel, p. 52-54

Please read the prophetic passage found in Isaiah 66:22-23. (With anticipation we look forward to the day when all the world observes His ordinances.)

"In the church today, one often hears the mantra, 'God is doing a new thing.'...I believe that God is doing an old thing. God, who never changes, is pouring out the same message He has always delivered through His holy prophets; 'Return to My Torah. Obey My commandments.'...Around the world, spontaneously and simultaneously, believers are rediscovering the Torah. They are asking questions. They are seeking answers....For the first time in almost 2,000 years, believers are taking on the Master's easy yoke. It is not a matter of legalism or heavy bondage; it is a matter of love. "

- D. Thomas Lancaster, Restoration, p. 163