About this book

This book is written primarily for Seventh-day Adventist readers.

If you’ve grown up in the Adventist church, you’ve likely heard the standard answers when the Festivals come up. They were nailed to the cross. Colossians 2 settles it. Ellen White made it clear they don’t apply anymore. The question is closed.

Tom Stapleton’s argument in Restoration of God’s Festivals is that those answers don’t survive close examination — and more importantly, that Ellen White herself, read in full context rather than in fragments, anticipated the restoration of God’s Festivals in the time of the end.

The book’s central argument runs like this:

If every divine institution is to be restored at the time of the end (which Ellen White stated plainly), and if the Festivals were divine institutions (which she also affirmed), and if they did not meet their fulfillment in the cross (which the book demonstrates), and if they were changed at the time the Sabbath was changed by man (which the historical record confirms), then we can come to no other conclusion than that — in the time of the end — they will be restored.

The book makes that case point by point. It engages Scripture, Ellen White’s writings, contemporary Adventist scholarship, early Adventist insight on the Festivals, and the standard objections head-on. It is rigorous, respectful, and grounded throughout in the conviction that truth suffers nothing from investigation.

This is not a book that attacks Adventism. It’s a book that takes Adventism’s own commitments seriously — to Scripture, to Ellen White, to the unfolding of present truth — and asks where those commitments lead when followed all the way through.

The two festival books — which one is for you?

Tom has written two books on God’s Festivals, and they serve different audiences and purposes:

Restoration of God’s Festivals (this book) is for Adventist readers who want to engage the Festivals question from within their own tradition. It uses Ellen White’s own writings and contemporary Adventist scholarship to make the case for restoration. It engages the Colossians 2 objection head-on. It is rigorous, respectful, and built for readers who bring Adventist commitments with them.

Reclaiming God’s Festivals is for readers from any background who are simply new to the Festivals and want to understand them from Scripture. It doesn’t engage Adventist-specific objections — it just walks through what the Festivals are, why the early church kept them, why most Christians stopped, and why they still matter. [Learn about Reclaiming →](link to Reclaiming page)

If you’re an Adventist, Restoration is the book Tom wrote with you in mind. If you’re not, or if you’re an Adventist who simply wants the foundational case before engaging the SDA-specific arguments, Reclaiming is the gentler entry point.

What’s inside

The book moves through 16 chapters in roughly four arcs:

Foundation: Why this matters

1. Guiding Us Into Truth — Including Tom’s personal story and the principle that “truth suffers nothing from investigation”
2. Festivals to Restore — The Easter controversy and why the Festivals matter today
3. Foretold in the Bible — Scripture’s foretelling of the restoration
4. Shadows of Things to Come — Bible typology and how the Festivals work prophetically

The Festivals themselves

5. The Festivals — Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles
6. Fulfilling the New Moons and Sabbath
7. More than Just Sacrifice
8. Heavenly Timing — How God’s Festivals align with prophetic events

Engaging the objections

9. Colossians 2: Verses 14, 16 & 17 — The most-cited objection, examined carefully
10. It’s in the Scriptures — The biblical case for ongoing observance
11. The Jerusalem Council: Acts 15 — Including what Paul did after the Council

The Adventist conversation

12. Ellen White: Understanding New Light & New Truth — Including “every divine institution is to be restored,” “glorious truths to come,” and “truths still to be added”
13. Contemporary Adventist Scholar — Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi’s work on the Festivals
14. Celebrating the Holy Days, not Holidays
15. Early Adventist Insight — The call to return to God
16. Learning from God’s Festivals

Appendices

• God’s Festival Calendar
• Relevant Ellen White Quotes
• Key Bible Readings

A note from the author

In the foreword, Tom writes:

“All are invited to join the discussion on the restoration of God’s Festivals, but please note that this book is primarily written for a Seventh-day Adventist audience. After 33 years of study, I am amazed at how my understanding has developed on the subject of God’s Festivals and their purpose in our faith today. Keep in mind that the information presented here is a work in progress and is intended to stimulate the reader’s interest and personal study on the subject. I have tried to ‘test all things’ and ‘hold fast what is good.'”

That posture — test all things, hold fast what is good — runs through every chapter. Tom isn’t asking Adventist readers to take his word for anything. He’s asking them to bring their Bibles, bring their copies of Ellen White, and weigh the evidence for themselves.

About the author

Tom Stapleton came to Yeshua at the age of 25 through Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic meetings in 1983. He spent decades studying within the Adventist tradition before his prophetic and scriptural studies led him to teach independently. His ministry, based at Camp Tamiyd in British Columbia, weights the words of Yeshua above all other sources, and reads Scripture through the prophetic framework of the Biblical Feasts.

Tom is the author of “The Wise Shall Understand”: Daniel and Revelation, Reclaiming God’s Festivals: Understanding God’s Holy Ways Through God’s Holy Days, A Better Understanding of The Character of God, and (with his wife Judy) Re-Examining 1844: A Better Understanding.

Available in two formats: 1) printed copy by mail, and 2) instant PDF download. Both formats include the same content. The soft cover ships from Canada — US and international readers, please allow extra time and shipping.

A note on suggested donations

All prices are suggested donations. We trust the Spirit to lead readers to give what they’re able. If the suggested amount is out of reach, give what you can — we’ll do our best to fill your order.

Bulk orders

Many readers want to share this book with Adventist friends, family, or study groups. Contact us about discounted suggested donations for larger quantities.