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Topic: Sabbath of YHWH
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barrykind
Advanced Member
Member # 35
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posted
ENOUGH SAID !
![[thumbsup2]](graemlins/thumbsup2.gif)
![[hug]](graemlins/hug.gif)
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by WildB:
quote:
Originally posted by Carol Swenson:
Let no one judge you with regard to meats, drinks, holy days, new moons, and sabbath days (Col. 2:14-17; Romans 14:5-7).
This works both ways. We should not dishonor people who keep the 7th day Sabbath.
Is that what this daily spamming is, Keeping? or the force feeding of others!
You're welcome barrykind.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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barrykind
Advanced Member
Member # 35
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posted
Again thankyou Sister Carol for being kind.
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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posted
This is barrykind's topic. If you don't like it then don't read it.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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WildB
Moderator
Member # 2917
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Carol Swenson:
Let no one judge you with regard to meats, drinks, holy days, new moons, and sabbath days (Col. 2:14-17; Romans 14:5-7).
This works both ways. We should not dishonor people who keep the 7th day Sabbath.
Is that what this daily spamming is, Keeping? or the force feeding of others!
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That is all.....
Posts: 8775 | From: USA, MICHIGAN | Registered: Mar 2004
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
Let no one judge you with regard to meats, drinks, holy days, new moons, and sabbath days (Col. 2:14-17; Romans 14:5-7).
This works both ways. We should not dishonor people who keep the 7th day Sabbath.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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WildB
Moderator
Member # 2917
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by barrykind:
Betty states:
quote:
You got that right. Sometimes I think the name of this board is the Barry Board.
Betty
Worshiping of Sunday is not rebellion. We have discussed that we can worship 7 days a week.
We are free in Jesus. JESUS IS OUR SABBATH.
Betty your free to answer or not:
Your free to start any threads...
worshipping YHWH and HIS SON Yahushua should be accomplished 7 days a week, even to "pray" without "ceasing" also.
The subject at hand is to "REMEMBER" The Sabbath..
barry
And what do you "REMEMBER" about The Sabbath?
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That is all.....
Posts: 8775 | From: USA, MICHIGAN | Registered: Mar 2004
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barrykind
Advanced Member
Member # 35
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posted
Betty states:
quote:
You got that right. Sometimes I think the name of this board is the Barry Board.
Betty
Worshiping of Sunday is not rebellion. We have discussed that we can worship 7 days a week.
We are free in Jesus. JESUS IS OUR SABBATH.
Betty your free to answer or not:
Your free to start any threads...
worshipping YHWH and HIS SON Yahushua should be accomplished 7 days a week, even to "pray" without "ceasing" also.
The subject at hand is to "REMEMBER" The Sabbath..
barry
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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Betty Louise
Advanced Member
Member # 7175
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posted
WildB,
You got that right. Sometimes I think the name of this board is the Barry Board. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Betty
Worshiping of Sunday is not rebellion. We have discussed that we can worship 7 days a week.
We are free in Jesus. JESUS IS OUR SABBATH.
Betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Posts: 5051 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: May 2008
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WildB
Moderator
Member # 2917
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posted
Barry why don't you let one of the baseball fans bump "your" post?
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That is all.....
Posts: 8775 | From: USA, MICHIGAN | Registered: Mar 2004
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barrykind
Advanced Member
Member # 35
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posted
Sabbath Day Timeline History
The following timeline is for general information only and has been used here with kind permission from LLT Productions. Its primary value is in showing the chronological relationship between various individuals and events. The dating of many historical persons and events, particularly those earlier than 1000 BCE, is subject to ongoing debate and research. Most items on this timeline are directly related to the content of The Seventh Day television documentary series. Others are included for points of reference.
Dates BCE (BC)
? Creation Week
2450 The Flood (see Genesis 7)
1950 — 1775 Abraham keeps God’s commandments, statutes, and laws (Genesis 26)
2000 Seven-day week in Sumerian civilization prior to this date
1450 The Exodus
1011 — 971 David rules Israel
626 — 586 Jeremiah, the prophet - years of ministry
620 — 530 Daniel, the prophet
605 — 536 Jewish nation in exile
600 Birth of Zoroastrianism in Persia
551 — 479 Confucius, Chinese wise man
500 Birth of Buddhism
445 Nehemiah returns to rebuild Jerusalem
331 Alexander the Great overthrows the Persian Empire
170 Antiochus IV persecutes Jews who won't give up their religion
30 Roman Emperor Octavian dedicates Egyptian obelisk to the sun god
4 Birth of Jesus
Dates CE (AD)
31 Crucifixion of Jesus
64 Nero burns Rome, persecutes Christians
70 Jerusalem destroyed by Roman army under Titus
79 Vesuvius erupts
115 Epistle of Barnabas written in Alexandria
120 Christians in Alexandria replace Sabbath observance with Sunday worship
135 Jerusalem destroyed again - Jewish religion banned
144 Marcion, first great “Christian” heretic
150 Justyn Martyr reports on Sunday observance in Rome
218 — 222 Elagabalus, emperor of Rome - brings Syrian sun worship to Rome
270 — 275 Aurelian, emperor of Rome - establishes sun worship as the state religion
284 — 305 Diocletian, emperor of Rome - worships the sun and persecutes Christians
306 — 337 Constantine emperor of Rome - first “Christian” emperor
313 Constantine legalizes Christian religion
314 — 335 Sylvester I is pope - promotes anti-Jewish Sabbath fast
321 Edict of Constantine - first law concerning Sunday observance
343 — 381 Council of Laodicea - condemns Sabbath observance
364 Ambrose (Bishop of Milan) - observes the Sabbath without fasting
389 — 461 Patrick - Celtic Christian missionary to Ireland
521 — 597 Columba - Celtic Christian missionary leader to Scotland
570 — 632 Muhammed, founder of Islam
590 — 604 Pope Gregory I (the Great) identifies Sabbath keepers with the anti-christ
692 Quinisext Council (Council in Trullo) - condemns the Sabbath fast
800 “Epistle of Jesus” arrives in Ireland - warns against desecration of Sunday
867 Patriarch Photius denounces Roman Catholic promotion of Sabbath fast
1054 Roman Catholic - Eastern Orthodox Schism
1070 Margaret becomes queen of Scotland - tries to reform Sunday observance there
1201 Eustace of Flay takes “Epistle of Jesus” to England to reform Sunday keeping
1231 Pope Gregory IX establishes the medieval Inquisition
1350 Strigolniks in Novogorod, Russia, observe the seventh-day Sabbath
1414 — 1418 Council of Constance - orders burning of John Hus
1428 John Wycliffe's bones dug up and burned
1431 Pope Eugenius IV
1431 — 1445 Council of Basel - condemns Sabbath keeping by Jewish converts
1435 Forced conversion of Jews in Spain
1435 Church council in Bergen, Norway, condemns Sabbath observance
1469 Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella unites Aragon and Castille into one nation
1480 — 1502 Novgorod-Moscow reform movement - includes Sabbath observance
1478 Pope Sixtus IV authorizes Spanish Inquisition
1481 First “auto de fe” (public trial) of Spanish Inquisition
1482 Pope Sixtus IV protests against Spanish Inquisition
1492 Expulsion of Jews from Spain
1492 Christopher Columbus “discovers” America
1497 Forced conversion of Jews in Portugal
1497 — 1499 Vasco da Gama opens the sea route from Europe to India
1504 Ivan Kuritsin and other Russian reformers are burned in cages in Red Square
1517 Luther nails his 95 Theses to chapel door, thus starting the Reformation
1525 Anabaptist Movement begins
1529 Andreas Fischer, Anabaptist Sabbatarian preacher, miraculously survives hanging
1536 Portuguese Inquistion begins
1540 Andreas Fischer is murdered in Slovakia
1542 Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary, arrives in Goa
1544 Christian III of Denmark prohibits Sabbath keeping
1545 — 1563 Roman Catholic Council of Trent
1546 Oswald Glaidt, one-time proponent of the Sabbath, is executed in Vienna
1541 Christavao da Gama and 400 Portuguese come to the aid of the Ethiopian Emperor
1551 Russian Orthodox council authorizes Sabbath worship in Russian churches
1560 Branch of the Portuguese Inquisition is established in Goa
1560 Constantino Ponce de la Fuente dies in prison under the Spanish Inquisition
1617 John Traske, an early “Seventh Day Man,” is arrested in London
1628 Theophilus Brabourne publishes first English book promoting seventh-day Sabbath
1622 Emperor Susenyos declares Ethiopia a Catholic country; civil war ensues
1650 Parliament orders burning of Ockford's book advocating the seventh-day Sabbath
1684 Charles Dellon publishes his Account of the Inquisition at Goa
1684 Francis Bamfield, prominent “Seventh Day Man,” dies in his London prison cell
1720 Conrad Beisel, Sabbath-keeping founder of Ephrata Cloister, arrives in Pennsylvania
1722 Count Lugwig von Zinzendorf permits Moravian refugees to settle on his estate in eastern Germany
1742 Count Zinzendorf proposes Sabbath observance to Moravian community in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
1830 — 1895 Life of Maniilaq, the Eskimo prophet who learned about the seventh-day Sabbath from one he called “the Grandfather”
1844 Millerite Adventists disappointed when Christ did not return during this year
1844 A handful of Millerite Adventist preachers and lay people begin to observe the seventh-day Sabbath; this leads to the eventual establishment of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination
1851 — 1864 Taiping Revolution in China; the Ten Commandments and observance of seventh-day Sabbath were at the heart of the movement
1859 Charles Darwin's On the Origin of the Species published
1888 Senator Henry Blair calls for a national Sunday law; his proposal never makes it out of committee for consideration by the US Congress
1896 William Saunders Crowdy founds Church of God and Saints of Christ, a Sabbath-keeping denomination
1900 Owkwa, Amerindian village chief, learns about Sabbath, monogamy, etc., from supernatural messenger
1926 Herbert W. Amstrong accepts the seventh-day Sabbath as authentic biblical doctrine; goes on to found the Worldwide Church of God
1986 Herbert W. Armstrong dies; new leaders of the Worldwide Church of God eventually renounce the seventh-day Sabbath
1988 Pope John Paul II issues apostolic letter, Dies Domini, upholding essential nature of the Sabbath but claiming the Roman Catholic Church's authority for the Saturday-Sunday change
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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barrykind
Advanced Member
Member # 35
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posted
What is the Sabbath Day truth?
One very controversial subject among Christians today is God’s Seventh Day Sabbath. Some Christians are not even aware that the Sabbath is Saturday.
The Bible tells us clearly in Daniel that a persecuting power would change God’s laws which it did – the Seventh Day Sabbath became the first day sabbath without God’s approval. The book of Daniel also refers to this change of God’s law by the antichrist power as reaching to the host of heaven and trampling the heavenly sanctuary under foot. We find the same expression used in Hebrews chapter ten in reference to wilful sin.
Hebrews 10:26-29 “For if we sin WILFULLY after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth NO more sacrifice for sins, … He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
This passage warns us that there remains no sacrifice to cover wilful sin and to continue in wilful sin is to trample the Son of God under foot and to treat Christ's work on the cross as an unholy thing despite being under grace. This is a warning we should take very seriously.
The change to the Sabbath day came about over hundreds of years and by the death of millions of Christians. This is another fact that most Christians are unaware of. Select the following to watch a typical true story of the death of a Sabbath keeper by burning.
Why is the Sabbath Day truth not taught?
If these points are true, why don’t we hear more pastors teaching them? If the Sabbath is Saturday, then why don’t the majority keep the true Sabbath day? How could the majority be wrong and even more to the point, do we still have to keep the Seventh day Sabbath at all? Revelation 13 tells us that Satan would give position and authority to the persecuting power described in Daniel that changed God’s law. Why do you think Satan did this? This power that persecuted the saints for 1260 dark years murdered anyone found keeping the Seventh day Sabbath according to the Commandment of God. Anyone that had a different view to this persecuting power was considered a heretic and heretics were to be burned. As a result, the Sabbath truth was nearly murdered out of existence and since most Churches originated from this persecuting power, most Churches now ignorantly keep the wrong day they instituted. The final change to the Sabbath day was in the fourth century but note that the change originated from Satanic and pagan Sun worship as early as 2000 B.C. Remember that Satan was responsible for all of this and did not go to all this effort for no reason.
Since the majority grow up with Sunday worship as their custom, it becomes very much a mind set and people are also very reluctant to accept change or alter their lifestyle. Saturday is also a day that is not convenient for most Christians and so sadly, most would rather not know truth and go into denial. Because of these factors, even when a pastor is presented with the Sabbath truth, it becomes difficult to both accept and see. This instantly gives the enemy the upper hand as he now just whispers in your mind, “the day does not matter. If it mattered everyone would know about it and would be keeping Saturday.” Sadly, all too many listen and never investigate and Satan continues to be victorious in keeping Christians ignorantly breaking one of the Commandments of God. Billy Graham was said to have acknowledged the Sabbath truth but stated, “If I were to teach this truth, I would lose most of my listeners.” Jesus said we are to both obey and teach the law and one cannot sacrifice truth at any cost. The enemy has gone to extreme lengths to make sure the Sabbath truth is not taught or believed and continues to go to extreme lengths and deceptions to keep us ignorant of this truth. Knowing he has done this, Christians should realise that it is very relevant and extremely important we know why. For example, how important is sin to God?
Many say the Sabbath was changed to Sunday in honour of the resurrection and others say it was nailed to the cross. Others will tell you any day can be kept as the Sabbath day as long as you keep one. And still others say as long as you do everything to the glory of God the Sabbath is as good as kept. And yet still others will say it is legalism. Worst of all, and this is becoming more popular by the decade, some say the Ten Commandments are gone. Never underestimate the enemy’s ability to slowly and subtly bring heresy into the Church and make those with the most Biblical truth to get labelled falsely as cults or legalists. It should be obvious that Satan will always attack truth the hardest and sadly he has no trouble finding those he can deceive to accomplish his task very convincingly. The fact of the matter is that what is popular is not always truth and what is truth is not always popular.
Since the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments that defines what sin is, why wouldn't Satan attack this one Commandment that is the easiest one to attack and do everything in his power to ensure that it does not get recognized or taught so he can get many to live in lawlessness? If one truly studies this and checks it with unbiased history, you will in fact find that Satan has achieved this goal and because most Christians do not study the Word and tend to rely on what their friends or pastor tells them, the lie continues to perpetuate.
What is the Sabbath Day all about anyway?
Our Creator God starts off the fourth Commandment with the word “Remember.” This is because He knew it would be lost and forgotten. God asks that we keep the Sabbath set apart for Holy purposes so we can draw nearer to Him. The Fourth Commandment to remember the Sabbath concludes the section of the Ten Commandments that specifically helps define a proper relationship with God, how we are to love, worship and relate to Him. It explains why and when we need to take special time to draw closer to our Creator. It is also a special sign between us and God forever, that it is Him that sanctifies us; Him alone who we belong to and worship. The Sabbath, the Seventh day of the week was set apart by God as a time of rest and spiritual rejuvenation. So why is this Commandment so frequently ignored, attacked and explained away by so many Christians? Could it be because the challenges to the Sabbath Commandment are views generated by the ruler of this present evil world? After all, this being wants us to accept these views because he hates God’s law. He does all he can to influence us to ignore, avoid and reason our way around it. On our calendar the Sabbath begins at sunset Friday evening and ends at sunset Saturday evening.
Those that keep the true Sabbath day say that it is a blessing and their favourite day of the week. The Sabbath is quality time with family and relaxing and fellowshipping with God and other Christians. Jesus said we are to not only obey the Ten Commandments but teach them also yet some people are doing the opposite. Why are these people so determined to take this blessing from those who keep the Sabbath properly, and in the way Jesus intended and not like the Pharisees who turned it into a legalistic burden? What spirit is behind this? Why do so many professed Christians try so desperately hard to avoid this special time with their Creator God on His Holy day? The Sabbath should be our favourite day of the week and it is for those who have searched for the Sabbath truth and found it. God says we are to find this day a delight and a blessing. God did not say we should call it legalism or a burden!
Isaiah 58:13-14 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a DELIGHT, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shall honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shall you delight thyself in the LORD...”
Like all the other nine Commandments, IT IS a Commandment of love and thus loving God with all your heart includes all the first four Commandments. We know this for a fact because right after the second reading of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy chapter 5, we are shown in Deuteronomy 6:5 that LOVING God with all our heart, might and soul is to keep ALL the Ten Commandments that had just been read in the previous chapter only 17 verses earlier. That of course makes ALL Ten Commandments eternal. Our God is not a God of confusion that mixes a law that defines what love and sin is with something that is not love or not sin. Whether we understand it or not, to try and find reasons as to why the Sabbath is changed or ended is no different from trying to find excuses as to why it is now acceptable to worship idols or commit murder etc. There is another law found in the Old Testament that was only for the Jews and had ceremonial sabbaths but God did not place His Sabbath in this law. He placed it in the Ten Commandments because that is where it belongs.
The Ten Commandments were written in stone while the ceremonial law was written in a book and hence it was also called the “Book of the Covenant.” Have you ever heard the expression “it is not written in stone?” Written in stone means forever. On paper and in a book is temporary. So basically God had two specific laws. One was temporary, written in a book, was not love, only for the Jews, practised because of sin before Christ and why it was nailed to the cross. The other was eternal, written in stone, was love, for everyone, was sin to break and hence was NOT nailed to the cross. Now consider this question very carefully. If the Sabbath of the Lord was temporary and only for the Jews, which law would you place it in? In the temporary law or the eternal law? And is that where God placed His Sabbath? No! God placed His Sabbath exactly where it belonged. He placed it in the law that was love and eternal and for everyone along with the other Nine Commandments that obviously will never and can never end. Since God is not a fool or the author of confusion, then this alone reveals the truth. God makes a distinction between the ceremonial sabbaths and His Sabbath found in the Ten Commandments by exhorting, “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God:” (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14). It is the Lord’s Sabbath! It did not belong to Israel. God further clarifies this by calling His Sabbath, “My Sabbaths,” as in His weekly Sabbaths, (Exodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:20) while calling the ceremonial sabbaths that were only for Israel, “Her Sabbaths.” Her as in Israel. (Hosea 2:11, Lamentations 1:7)
If God sent an Angel to tell you that He loves you and sent His only Son to die for you and that He wants you to spend quality time with Him on a specific day that He blessed and sanctified, would you send the Angel back to God with the message, “sorry God, that day is not convenient for me” or “no God, I can't spend that time with you on your Holy day, that's legalism” or even, “tell God that it does not have to be on His Holy day and I will spend time with Him on that day that was used for Sun worship that He detested instead.” Is that what we would really say? Why is it so hard for us to rest in Jesus on His Holy day?
Many believe that there are only one or two denominations or groups that keep the true Sabbath day when there are in fact over five hundred different denominations of Sabbath keeping Churches that that keep the true 7th day Sabbath and the count is growing. Whole chains of Churches are changing back after attending Prophecy seminars run by people that have not been deceived by Satan's attempt to keep Christians in the dark on the Sabbath truth or Bible prophecy believing it cannot be understood. Do these hundreds of different Church denominations with millions and millions of members know something that we don’t?
Why is the Sabbath Day so important to God?
We have already noted that God intended the Sabbath to be a blessing to us and has asked us to call His Sabbath a DELIGHT, but what else makes the Sabbath so important to God?
Most people understand that it is morally wrong to lie, steal, murder and to worship idols or take the Lord's name in vain etc, but the reason Satan is so successful in keeping so many from the Sabbath truth is because it is easy for him to convince the multitudes it is not important. Sadly, most do not see the Sabbath as important as on the surface breaking the Sabbath does not appear to be morally wrong. The question is; does God see the Sabbath day as being important? If it is important to God then it has to be important to us. Since God made His Sabbath part of the Ten Commandments, it becomes sin to break the Sabbath as sin is breaking any of the Ten Commandments. Sin is the reason Jesus died on the cross for us and it does not get more serious than that. We should know how much God detests sin but what are some other reasons that make the Sabbath so significant?
Exodus 31:13-17 “Speak you also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths you shall keep: for it is a SIGN between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am the LORD that does SANCTIFY you. … 15 Six days may work be done; but in the Seventh is the Sabbath of rest, Holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a PERPETUAL covenant. 17 It is a SIGN between me and the children of Israel FOR EVER: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the Seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”
Ezekiel 20:20 “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a SIGN between me and you, that you may know that I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD.”
The Sabbath is a special SIGN that defines that we are God’s children and He is our God that sanctifies us and makes us Holy. It also defines therefore that it is God who we worship and love and give our allegiance to. It is not a SIGN when we keep a secular day and profane God’s Sabbath. There is a lot more that could be cited but this should be enough to help you understand why this day is important to God and why it is a sin against God for us to not keep His Sabbath day Holy. Is there anyone who does not want to be part of this SIGN?
Some will say that this perpetual covenant that is a SIGN forever, (Exodus 31:13-17) applies only to the Israel of God and this is correct. The question is; who is the Israel of God? Today there is an Israel of the flesh (1 Corinthians 10:18) and an Israel of God, Galatians 6:16. The Israel of the flesh consists of those who are Jews by birth. The Israel of God is anyone who belongs to Christ and is under the New Covenant. Many do not understand that if we are Christ’s then we are spiritual Jews and the Israel of God. If we reject this truth then we cannot be under the New Covenant. Observe who the New Covenant was ONLY made with. This came into effect when the Jews rejected God’s message from Stephen (Acts 6:8-7:60) and stoned him. See also Romans 2:28-29, Romans 9:6-8 and Galatians 3:28-29. See also Daniel's 70 weeks or 70 weeks of Daniel.
Hebrews 8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:”
Since the Sabbath is a SIGN that we are God's children, if we reject His Sabbath, then aren’t we rejecting God as our Father? And since the Sabbath is a SIGN that it is God that sanctifies us, if we reject His Sabbath, then aren’t we also rejecting His sanctification? All God asks from us is one single solitary day in seven. We still have the other six secular days to do as we please. Is one day an unreasonable request from our Creator God? Christians claim to love God with all their heart, might and soul, yet how do most respond? The number seven represents completion and perfection to God and this is the only reason we do have a seven day week. If not for this very special Sabbath day God has given us, we would only have a six day week. If we do not use this Seventh day Sabbath which God blessed and sanctified for this one and only use, what point is there in having this Seventh day of the week? God added this one and only day with this one and only purpose, so we could spend Holy time with our Holy God that is a most beautiful SIGN that He is our God and we are His children. Again, despite this blessing, how do most respond? Believe it or not, I have had enough excuses now to fill an entire book. An appropriate name for this book would be, “The book of excuses for not having to spend time with your Creator God on His Holy day.”
How God must grieve every time someone chooses one of these 1001 excuses. Does God know our heart? If we use one of these excuses will God know? Does God know if we don’t want the truth about His day because it would be an inconvenience to us? If we use one of these 1001 excuses, can we truly say we love God with all our heart, might and soul? If we do not love God with all our heart, will God accept us into His kingdom?
What are the consequences for not keeping the Sabbath Day?
The book of James tells us if we break one Commandment we have broken them all. So if the Sabbath is Saturday and if we are supposed to be keeping the true Sabbath day then most Christians are guilty of breaking God’s law. The Bible tells us that only a few will find the straight and narrow gate. Was this referring to Christians specifically?
Noah preached for 120 years that a great flood was coming and only 8 were saved. Jesus said that at the time of His second coming it is going to be like in the days of Noah. Why do we only acknowledge what we want to see? God pleads with us as to why we would perish.
Hosea prophesied that God’s people would perish for a lack of knowledge which does not sound fair but then he explains it is because they would reject knowledge in regards to the Commandments of God, so He in return would reject them. Considering how many people have rejected knowledge on the Sabbath Commandment, this sadly makes perfect sense.
Hebrews 10:26-29 says there is no sacrifice to cover wilful sin and it is to trample the Son of God underfoot and count the blood of the New Covenant as an unholy thing despite being under God’s grace. Jesus says to those who practice lawlessness, He will deny access to the kingdom. So if we are supposed to keep the Sabbath day and are ignorant of this fact, how will we be judged? Would God burn someone in Hell for being ignorant? What about denial?
It appears that everyone has a different idea about this issue of the Seventh day Sabbath truth. When there is so much confusion and conflicting information you know that deception reigns and one seriously needs to investigate to find what the truth really is and especially when the consequences for deliberate sin is to be left out of the kingdom.
Are all the Ten Commandments still valid?
If something as important as the Ten Commandments were to change by even the smallest amount we would be told with crystal clear scriptures. Most Christians will not debate that nine of the Ten Commandments need to be obeyed but so many freely sweep one under the carpet that becomes too much of an effort for them. Denial of truth of any of the Ten Commandments has only one outcome as far as God is concerned and we do not want that path. Unless black and white scriptures can be produced that says the day has changed or been abolished, then the Sabbath is just as valid as the other nine Commandments and the consequences are the same for deliberately breaking any one of them. Does anyone believe they can freely murder as they please and still enter the kingdom of God?
So do all the Ten Commandments still stand or does the Bible indicate that we can live in wilful deliberate sin? We certainly are saved by God’s Grace through faith in Christ, but is this a license to continue in sin? Did Jesus die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin or so we could go on living in sin? What does the only source of truth that we can trust have to say on this very important topic that nailed our loving Saviour to the cross? Here are the answers put simply by scripture alone while covering the main areas of confusion.
What is the Bible definition of sin? 1 John 3:4. So where there is sin, there has to be a law. Romans 4:15. If there is no law then there can be no sin and if there is no sin then there is no need for a Saviour.
Did Paul say we can sin now that we are under Grace which would therefore show the law had ended? Romans 6:1-2, Romans 6:14-15.
Paul taught on the law and Galatians in chapters 2, 3 and 4 and Romans 3 that no flesh is justified by the works of the law and that righteousness comes by FAITH. Does this therefore mean that the Ten Commandments are made null and void through FAITH? Romans 3:31. So who is justified before God? Romans 2:13.
Did Jesus say He came to do away with the law? Matthew 5:17. Did Jesus say He was going to change the law by even so much as one single letter? Matthew 5:18, Luke 16:17. Did Jesus say we have to teach the law as well as obey it? Matthew 5:19.
Does Jesus say that those who practise lawlessness, which is the breaking of the Ten Commandments, will enter the kingdom? Matthew 7:21-23, 1 John 2:4. So what does Jesus say that one has to do to inherit eternal life? Matthew 19:16-19.
Can we keep just nine of the Ten Commandments and are we judged by obedience to the law? James 2:10-12, Matthew 5:18, Luke 16:17.
So what are the consequences for wilful sin, which is wilfully disobeying even ONE of the Ten Commandments? Hebrews 10:26-29, Ephesians 5:3, 5.
What are the blessings for not living in wilful sin, which is obeying the Ten Commandments in loving obedience? Revelation 22:14.
The passage in Matthew chapter 5 alone proves that not one letter of the law has changed which means that all scriptures used as arguments for ending or changing the Sabbath truth are being abused or misunderstood. The answers are indisputable and any other arguments would be in total contradiction to the words of Jesus, Paul and James just to name a few. I think Solomon summed it up well with his final conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.
Did Jesus and the early Church keep the Sabbath Day?
If the Sabbath is an unchanged Commandment, then we should find Paul and the early Church keeping the Seventh day Sabbath. If this can be demonstrated, this would also prove that the Sabbath was not changed or abolished. So can we demonstrate this? We can of course and do in fact find Paul keeping the Sabbath as his CUSTOM was since childhood in a Jewish Synagogue.
A custom is something you do religiously and without failure. What was Paul’s CUSTOM and EXAMPLE while establishing the early Christian Church? Notice in the following verse that this is a Jewish synagogue and that Jews have all through history, without change, worshipped on Saturday as they still do today. Acts 17:1-2. The Jews and Pharisees which Paul was since CHILDHOOD have ALWAYS kept Saturday as the Sabbath. Acts 26:4-5.
This is proof conclusive of Saturday Sabbath keeping AFTER the cross and undoubtedly applies to both Jews and Gentiles if wondering. Acts 13:42-44; Acts 18:4. It was not only Paul’s custom and example but that of Jesus also and He is our perfect example. Luke 4:16. And unless Jesus is into making meaningless and nonsensical statements, He also clarified beyond all doubt that the Sabbath would definitely NOT end at the cross by His reference to the future destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when he said, “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath” Matthew 24:20. See also New Testament Sabbath.
What Day is the Sabbath – Who changed the Sabbath to Sunday?
Below are statements from the Roman Catholic Church which give the simple answer as to why most Churches now keep Sunday as the Sabbath. Most Christians have no idea that this even happened or how it happened. Revelation 13 tells us that Satan gave his power and authority to the Catholic Church. Why? It was Satan's plan to have this Church change the Sabbath to Sunday. Why did Satan do this? The Sabbath is about who we give our allegiance to. If we obey God and keep His Sabbath day Holy, we give our allegiance to God. If we obey the Commandment of the Catholic Church and keep their day Holy, who do we give our allegiance to then? The Catholic Church answers this question below with two of their quotes. But looking deeper, who gave this Church power so God’s true day of worship could be changed? Read Catholic Church Statements about the Sabbath or Sabbath Statements by the Catholic Church for more quotes.
Does the Bible support the change to Sunday?
“Most Christians assume that Sunday is the biblically approved day of worship. The Catholic Church protests that it transferred Christian worship from the biblical Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday, and that to try to argue that the change was made in the Bible is both dishonest and a denial of Catholic authority. If Protestantism wants to base its teachings only on the Bible, it should worship on Saturday.” Rome’s Challenge
www.immaculateheart.com/maryonline Dec 2003
“For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible.” Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, p. 9, article “To Tell You the Truth.”
Who Made Sunday Holy?
“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. ‘The day of the Lord’ was chosen, not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the (Catholic) Church’s sense of its own power...People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy.” St. Catherine Church Sentinel, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995.
“Question - Which is the Sabbath day?
“Answer - Saturday is the Sabbath day.
“Question - Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
“Answer - We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50, 3rd edition, 1957.
Whose Day of Worship is Sunday?
“They [the Protestants] deem it their duty to keep the Sunday holy. Why? Because the Catholic Church tells them to do so. They have no other reason...The observance of Sunday thus comes to be an ecclesiastical law entirely distinct from the divine law of Sabbath observance...The author of the Sunday law...is the Catholic Church.” Ecclesiastical Review, February 1914.
“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.” Priest Brady, in an address reported in The News, Elizabeth, New Jersey, March 18, 1903.
Who Do We Reverence by Keeping Sunday Holy?
“It was the Catholic church which...has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the (Catholic) church.” Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, p. 213.
“I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.” father T. Enright, C.S.S.R. of the Redemptoral College, Kansas City, in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, printed in History of the Sabbath, p. 802. Hover here for a document clip or select for full original image.
Who was really behind the change of the Sabbath Day?
We know the Sabbath was changed by the Roman Catholic Church, but who was really responsible and why? Many of you have probably already worked this out but let’s go through it anyway. Beginning with the early Church, Satan failed in his attempt at stopping the son of God so he turned his attention to the Church. He initially tried to destroy the Church by having all Christians killed, but martyrdom just made the Church grow faster and stronger. Satan soon realised that he could do more damage from within the Church, so he gave the Papacy its power, seat and position. Even though most Christians do not know the importance of the Sabbath day, Satan knows the Sabbath truth all too well and he also knew that it was the easiest of the Ten Commandments to attack, and so put his long term plan into effect. How successful was his plan and who is responsible for his success?
Satan fell from his position because of pride and because he wanted to be worshipped as God. Since no one in their right mind would worship Satan, he knew he could only obtain this worship from within the Church. The Seventh day Sabbath is about whom we worship and it is not a sign that we worship God or belong to Him when we keep the wrong day. Satan’s goal was therefore to have his own day of worship instituted in place of God’s and while achieving the primary goal of getting Christians away from a very significant Commandment and living in lawlessness. Using the Papacy as his agent, Satan changed God’s Seventh day Sabbath to a day in honour of pagan Sun worship, hence the pagan name Sunday. Satan also knew that sun worship was something that God detested and was one of the reasons why God allowed His people to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. Satan no doubt had great pleasure in this accomplishment as he would have Christians breaking God’s law and not fulfilling the sign of the Sabbath, as well as further upsetting God by taking away His day of worship in place of Satan’s and in favour of sun worship which is idolatry. How Satan must clap his hands in glee over this victory that so many people have given him.
Christians now assume that Sunday is the correct day and it becomes a mind set as this is what their custom was growing up, and anything different does not feel right and seems foreign. This was Satan’s plan from the beginning and sadly, he has been very successful. Today the ruler of this world works very hard at feeding our minds with thoughts that this Commandment is insignificant and Christians who are not wanting to be inconvenienced by change are all too happy to listen. It’s time for Christians to stop being deceived and wake up to the fact that Satan was responsible and return to all Ten Commandments of God and this precious SIGN that we are His children and it is our Creator God that we worship. Jesus laid down His life for you, how much of a sacrifice is it for you to change your day of worship?
For a very detailed account of the Sabbath to Sunday change, and how it actually begun 2000 years B.C. with the worship of Satan and the sun, and involves the origin of that mysterious number 666, see who changed the Sabbath to Sunday.
The Sabbath Day truth from creation to eternity
The Sabbath has existed since creation when God added the Seventh day to the week with the one and only purpose of a Sabbath rest. This is the only reason we have a seven day week today. God also blessed and sanctified this day for Holy use. This was done before sin had entered the World and was part of God’s perfect plan. Most Christians do not know that the word translated “rested” in our English Bibles in Genesis 2:3 is actually “shabath” in the Hebrew and means Sabbath. Here is the word Sabbath right at creation. In reference to the future destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, Jesus states in Matthew 24:20, “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.” This ONE statement alone PROVES that Jesus expected the Sabbath to be kept subsequent to His death. The gospel of Luke states in Luke 23:56 that when the body of Christ was being prepared, “they rested the Sabbath day according to the Commandment.” Luke’s gospel was written 30 to 50 years after the cross and Luke still shows that the Commandment is unchanged. If it were changed, Luke would have undoubtedly told us since it is one of the Commandments. Isaiah also prophesied in Isaiah 66:22-23 that, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make … and from one Sabbath to another, shall ALL flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”
In Genesis 4:3-7, Cain brought an offering from the ground which represents righteousness by works and so God was angry with him but Abel brought the firstborn of his flock as a sin offering which represents righteousness by faith. You cannot have a sin offering unless there is a law. (1 John 3:4) In verse 7, we also see God speak to Cain about sin lying at the door. The Bible also says where there is no law there is no transgression (Romans 4:15) so the Commandments although not yet codified had to exist from the very beginning or Cain could also not have been guilty of murder. See also Genesis 26:5. Besides the Seventh day being called the Sabbath in the Hebrew in Genesis 2:3, God also said the Sabbath “is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever” because “in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” Exodus 31:17. Here God further confirms that the Sabbath existed from the beginning when it was added as the Seventh day of the week at creation. For even more proof, we also know that the Sabbath existed back in Genesis chapter 11. In over 105 languages in the world where the Sabbath has not taken on the Pagan name Saturday, it is still called the Sabbath in each of these languages as it was named at creation. This proves that when these 105 languages originated at Babel in Genesis 11, Saturday was recognized as the Sabbath day and was incorporated into the very name of the day. Since the Sabbath was sanctified and made Holy before sin at creation and the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments which is also seen being kept before the giving of the Commandments, it had to be kept by Adam and Eve.
It was also kept by Abraham, it was kept in the exodus from Egypt before the Ten Commandments were given when God tested His children to see if they would keep THE Seventh day as per the Commandment. It was kept by the Jews, it was kept by Jesus, it was kept by Paul, it was kept by the Apostles, it was kept by the early Church by both Jews and Gentiles, and this is also verified by Jesus who showed it would be kept in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed. History also further proves this by the fact that reliable unbiased history sources show that it was still being kept at 120 AD where some Christians first changed to Sunday to avoid persecution for Judaism. History shows the day was finally changed by Constantine in 321 AD in favour of Sun worship. The Sabbath was almost murdered out of existence through the dark ages when the Roman Catholic Church ruled as Church and state for those terrible 1260 dark years, and Revelation 12:17 speaks of a remnant of God’s original Church that would arise after these dark ages that Satan would hate and make war with because it would start keeping all of the Ten Commandments of God once again. To finish this all off, God showed Isaiah that we will still be keeping the Sabbath in the new Heaven and the New Earth. Here is the Sabbath being kept from creation beginning and throughout all eternity. The Sabbath is eternal as the other nine.
We should desire the truth about the Sabbath Day
Would it surprise you to know that Jesus never once even mentioned the first day of the week? As Christians, we should always be seeking after the truth, as Jesus is the truth. If we really love Jesus with all our heart, soul and might, we will always strive to find what the truth is at absolutely any cost.
However, with so many people saying so many different things, how can we possibly know what the truth really is? There is only one guaranteed way, and that is the inspired Word of God – The Holy Bible. The Bible is and should always be our final authority and not the advice of our Pastor or our most trusted friend. If we can find unbiased information on man’s knowledge of History on the Seventh day Sabbath truth, that can also be used to help us determine the truth but ultimately, we need to go by the Word of God.
The intention of this web site was not to cover all the excuses and truth about the Sabbath but to point you to a choice of sites that will help you find more on what the truth really is. In the top left column and at the bottom of this page, you will find links to many good web sites, not only on the Sabbath, but also on other topics that relate to the Sabbath day such as the ceremonial law and the Ten Commandments. If you want all the facts on the Sabbath, select God’s Sabbath Truth or Sabbath Truth. Select to find the proof of Who is the Antichrist. For real eye-opening information that reveals that sun worship started with Satan worship, see the full history of Sun-Day worship and how it entered the Church.
The Top Ten excuses used to avoid the Sabbath Day truth
It is absolutely incredible how many excuses are given by Christians who claim to truly love God come up with to justify why they do not need to obey one of the Ten Commandments that defines what sin is, and is a precious SIGN and blessing from God. As stated earlier, I have been given enough excuses to write an entire book. This is extremely dangerous and the many Christians who have deliberately sought out an excuse as to why they can disobey God are in for a very rude shock. Jesus says that to even those that do miracles in His name and call Him Lord but break any of the Commandments, He will say, “depart from me I never knew you.” Can you imagine the shock of so many Christians in the end that thought they could make excuses to disobey one of God’s Commandments and get away with it?
The words of Jesus on fulfilling the law are all we need to know the Sabbath truth. Jesus said that not even a letter of the Ten Commandments will pass as long as heaven and earth are still here. On the words of Jesus alone it is Ten unchanged Commandments and it is just as serious to worship idols or murder as it is to not keep the Sabbath Holy. This is far too serious an issue not to fully investigate. It is one thing to be ignorant of the truth but to not want to investigate if you are ignorantly living in sin will still condemn you. We must have a love of the truth as Jesus is truth and the Word is truth. Jesus means what He says and says what He means and we are not free to manipulate the words of any of the Ten Commandments to suit ourselves and still enter the kingdom. The Sabbath Commandment says we have six days to do our work but THE Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord and we are to keep THE Seventh day Holy. The other six days are secular and are not Holy and the Commandment is very clear that we cannot choose our own day. See also Exodus 16.
Here are fifteen of the most popular excuses used that all contradict the words of Jesus. Select each link to find the real Sabbath truth for each excuse or misunderstanding.
1. The Sabbath was changed in honour of the resurrection.
2. The Calendar was changed.
3. We don't know which day is the true Sabbath.
4. We keep the Sabbath everyday.
5. We keep the Lord's day.
6. The Sabbath was only for the Jews.
7. The Sabbath was Made for Man.
8. The Ten Commandments were abolished.
9. Jesus is our Sabbath rest now.
10. The Sabbath was abolished.
11. We are not under Law but under Grace.
12. Jesus broke the Sabbath.
13. You are Placing us under the Old Covenant.
14. The majority can't be wrong.
15. The Sabbath was changed to Sunday. Part two.
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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barrykind
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Member # 35
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posted
ill try to look up more of his comentaries ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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Hi barrykind
I like Thomas Ice very much. Thank you.
You must have missed the link I posted with my question. Some sites state that they don't allow people to copy their articles onto other websites, so then I just post the link, as I did in this case.
Anyway, the answer in my article is very similar to the Thomas Ice article, I think. There will still be sin in the Millennium Kingdom, and the sacrifices and holy days are a memorial of the sacrifice of Christ.
But the Body of Christ, the Church, will have been raptured before the Millennium and will be living in glorified bodies by then. We will be His Bride. We will reign with Him.
Rev 1:5-6(KJV) “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
I honestly don't know what the specific duties of the Bride will be during the Millennium.
I do know that there will be no temple or sacrifices in the New World, the eternal state.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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barrykind
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Member # 35
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Carol States:
quote:
Why will there be animal sacrifices and Feast days and the Sabbath reinstituted in the Millennium period?
are you speaking of thses scriptures Carol?
Eze 34
15So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.
16And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.
17And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.
18And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
19And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.
20And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.
21Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.
22And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.
23When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.
24And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
25Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.
26Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.
27And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.
I found this, dont know the author and i certainly do not understand much about your post above:
But here is the article:
Why Literal Sacrifices in the Millennium
Dr. Thomas Ice
A common objection to the consistent literal interpretation of Bible prophecy is found in Ezekiel’s temple vision (Ezekiel 40-48). Opponents argue that if this is a literal, future temple, then it will require a return to the sacrificial system that Christ made obsolete since the prophet speaks of “atonement” (kiper) in Ezekiel. 43:13, 27; 45:15, 17, 20. This is true! Critics believe this to be a blasphemous contradiction to the finished work of Christ as presented in Hebrews 10.
Hank Hanegraaff says that I have “exacerbated the problem by stating that without animal sacrifices in the millennium, Yahweh’s holiness would be defiled. That, for obvious reasons, is blasphemous.” He further says that such a view constitutes a return “to Old Covenant sacrifices.”1
“Is it heretical to believe that a temple and sacrifices will once again exist,” ask John Schmitt and Carl Laney? “Ezekiel himself believed it was a reality and the future home of Messiah. Then, it becomes not heresy to believe that a temple and sacrifices will exist; rather, it is almost a heresy to not believe this, especially because it is a part of God’s infallible word. The burden on us is to determine how it fits — not its reality.”2 At least four other prophets join Ezekiel in affirming a sacrificial system in a millennial temple (Isaiah 56:7; 66:20-23; Jeremiah 33:18; Zechariah 14:16-21; Malachi 3:3-4), which supports a literal and thus futurist understanding of Ezekiel.
NEW COVENANT SACRIFICES
We do not believe that reinstituting sacrifices in a future dispensation will be a return to the Mosaic system of the Old Covenant. The Mosaic Law has forever been fulfilled and discontinued through Christ (Romans 6:14-15; 7:1-6; 1 Corinthians 9:20-21; 2 Corinthians 3:7-11; Galatians 4:1-7; 5:18; Ephesians 2-3; Hebrews 7:12; 8:6-7, 13; 10:1-14). The millennium will be a time in which Israel’s New Covenant will become the ruling jurisdiction (Deuteronomy 29:4; 30:6; Isaiah 59:20-21; 61:8-9; Jeremiah 31:31-40; 32:37-40; 50:4-5; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 16:60-63; 34:25-26; 36:24-32; 37:21-28; Zechariah 9:11; 12:10-14). Therefore, it will not be a time of returning to the old but of going forward to the new. “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also” (Hebrews 7:12).
The new millennial law will contain a mixture of Mosaic-type laws with totally new non-Mosaic laws not found in the 613, under the jurisdiction of the New Covenant. Jesus the Messiah will be physically present instead of the Shechinah glory presence in conjunction with the ark of the covenant; a new priestly order from the sons of Zadok (Ezekiel 40:46; 43:19; 48:11) instead of the Levites; a new temple measuring one mile square (Ezekiel 40:48-41:26) instead of the much smaller Solomonic model. Randall Price tells us:
The previous section concerning the design of the altar of burnt offering (43:13-27) introduced the reinstitution of the sacrificial service, which continues in the subsequent chapters (44-46) with regulations for the Levitical priests and the various sacrifices to be offered for Israel’s atonement. Although detailed instructions concerning the institution of the sacrificial system appear for the first time in these chapters, frequent references to the practice have been made since the beginning of the prophecy (40:38-43, 46-47; 41:22; 42:13-14).Moreover, these references are not incidental, but intrinsic to the entire presentation of Ezekiel’s vision in chapters 40-48. For example, there is a statement concerning the sacrificial system in every chapter but one (chapter 47). These references include: “new moons and Sabbaths . . . all the appointed feasts” (Ezekiel 44:24; 45:17; 46:3, 11-12),“daily offerings” (Ezekiel 46:13-14), “burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the libations” (Ezekiel 45:17; 46:2, 4, 11-15), “blood sacrifices” (Ezekiel 43:20), an “altar” for burnt offering (Ezekiel 40:47; 43:13-27), an “altar” for incense offering (Ezekiel 41:22), “boiling places” to “boil the sacrifices of the people” (Ezekiel 46:23-24); a “Zadokite” priesthood to “offer Me the fat and the blood” (Ezekiel 40:46; 42:13-14: 43:19; 44:15-16; 48:11), a “Levitical” priesthood to “slaughter the burnt offering” (Ezekiel 44:10-11;48:22). Furthermore, the offerings are stated to be for “a sin offering” (Ezekiel 43:22, 25; 44:24, 29) and to “make atonement” (Ezekiel 43:20; 45:25). Since the sacrifices and sacrificial personnel are so prominent throughout these chapters, the treatment of the sacrifices cannot be avoided.3
WHY A TEMPLE AND SACRIFICES?
The purpose for a temple throughout Scripture has been to establish a location upon earth—which is under the curse of sin—for the presence of God that reveals through its ritual God’s great holiness. God’s plan for Israel includes a relation to them through a temple since He wants to dwell in the midst of His people. Currently the Church is God’s spiritual temple made of
living stones (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:19-22). The millennium will return history to a time when Israel will be God’s mediatory people but will also continue to be a time in which sin will be present upon the earth. Thus, God will include a new temple, a new priesthood, a new law, etc., at this future time because He will be present in Israel and still desires
to teach that holiness is required to approach Him. This is contrasted with the fact that no temple will exist in eternity (Revelation 21:22) because God and the Lamb are the temple since there will be no sin in heaven, thus no need for ritual cleansing.
The painstaking detail in Ezekiel 40-48 is similar to the instruction given to Moses for building the tabernacle and then to others for building the Solomonic temple. Such detail is meaningless unless taken literally as were the tabernacle and first two temples. If the detail was intended to be symbolic, the symbols are never explained, as is usually the case with genuine biblical symbolism. Because no textual basis exists for a non-literal interpretation, those attempting such explanations become subjective in their many and various guesses about the meaning of the passage.
It must be remembered that the levitical sacrifices of the Mosaic system are said by the Bible to “make atonement” as well (for example, Leviticus 4:20, 26, 31, 35, etc.). If these sacrifices in the past actually atoned for the people’s sins, which, of course, they did not, then they would be equally blasphemous in light of Christ’s perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 10:4 says, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Furthermore, there would have been no need for Christ’s once and for all atoning sacrifice if these past acts did the job.
So what do both past and future sacrifices accomplish if they don’t actually remove sin? These sacrifices provide ritual cleansing of the priests, sanctuary, and utensils. Only Christ’s sacrifice on the cross actually removes one’s sin. Jerry Hullinger provides a solution that:
...deals honestly with the text of Ezekiel, and in no way demeans the work Christ did on the cross. This study suggests that animal sacrifices during the millennium will serve primarily to remove ceremonial uncleanness and prevent defilement from polluting the temple envisioned by Ezekiel. This will be necessary because the glorious presence of Yahweh will once again be dwelling on earth in the midst of a sinful and unclean people.
Because of God’s promise to dwell on earth during the millennium (as stated in the New Covenant), it is necessary that He protect His presence through sacrifice... It should further be added that this sacrificial system will be a temporary one in that the millennium (with its partial population of unglorified humanity) will last only one thousand years.4
Critics of future millennial sacrifices seem to assume that all sacrifices, past and future, always depict Christ’s final sacrifice for sin. They do not! There were various purposes for sacrifice in the Bible. Many of the sacrifices under the Mosaic system were purification rituals. This is why atonement can be said in the past to be effective, yet still need Christ’s future sacrifice, because many of the sacrifices did atone ceremonially, cleansing participants and objects in temple ritual. In Ezekiel 43:20 and 26, the atonement is specifically directed at cleansing the altar in order to make it ritually clean. The other uses of atonement also refer to cleansing objects so that ritual purity may be maintained for proper worship (Ezekiel 45:15, 17, 20).
A MEMORIAL
Many who take a literal interpretation of these sacrifices also believe that they will serve as a memorial to Christ’s once-for-all atoning work. Yet, critics believe this to be a flawed conclusion. Support for a future memorial aspect can be seen in the fact that our current observation of the Lord’s Supper includes this aspect (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Under the Mosaic system — which looked ahead — many times various temple sacrifices are specifically called “memorials” (Exodus 30:16; Leviticus 2:2, 9; 5:12; 6:15; 24:7; Numbers 5:15, 18, 26). Such terminology could in fact be the basis for our current Church Age understanding of remembering the Lord’s death adopted by Paul. The Mosaic memorial aspect clearly supports viewing future Temple sacrifices in this way, as millennial believers look back upon Christ’s sacrificial provision.
CONCLUSION
The presence and purpose of millennial sacrifices neither diminish the finished work of Christ, nor violates the literal interpretation of these prophetic passages. Nothing in Ezekiel 40-48 conflicts with the death of Christ or New Testament teaching at any point. The supposed contradictions between a literal understanding of Ezekiel and New Testament doctrine evaporate when examined specifically and harmonized. Although there will be millennial sacrifices, the focus of all worship will remain on the person and work of the Savior. The millennial temple and its ritual will serve as a daily reminder of fallen man’s need before a Holy God and lessons about how this same God lovingly works to remove the obstacle of human sin for those who trust Him. Maranatha! ENDNOTES
1 John Schmitt and Carl Laney, Messiah’s Coming Temple: Ezekiel’s Prophetic Vision of the Future Temple (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997), p. 181.
2 Hank Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007), pp. 268-69.
3 Randall Price, Unpublished Notes on The Prophecies of Ezekiel, (2007), pp. 70-71.
4 Jerry Hullinger,“The Problem of Animal Sacrifices in Ezekiel 40-48” Bibliotheca Sacra (July-September 1995, Vol. 152,No. 607), pp. 281, 289.
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
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barrykind
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The Sabbath will be observed in the Millennium when Christ sets up His world government. Notice Isaiah 66:23. “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.” The context of this verse in Isaiah 66 is just after the return of Jesus Christ (vv. 15-23). The Sabbath is a memorial of Creation, and God will not allow mankind to continue ignoring it. The prophet Ezekiel foretold the same thing. We read: “Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons” (Ezek. 46:3). It makes little sense to believe the Sabbath, which was kept for thousands of years before the Christian era, was “done away” by Christ, and then reinstated by Him during the Millennium. The Sabbath instituted at the beginning is to be observed today and will be observed to the end of time.
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
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Carol Swenson
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quote:
Originally posted by barrykind:
YHWH said: "REMEMBER" the Sabbath Day, it was for mankind; not just for the Jew or Israel.
The scriptures make no mention of observing the Sabbath before Moses, nor do the scriptures command observance after the death of Christ.
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barrykind
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YHWH said: "REMEMBER" the Sabbath Day, it was for mankind; not just for the Jew or Israel.
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
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barrykind
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I do not think that someone is saved because they Worship on the Sabbath....
But rebellion will send a person to HELL!
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
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Betty Louise
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Again, Barry, I ask you if you think worshiping on Saturday is a salvation breaker. Please answer.
betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
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barrykind
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45 scriptures that Proves 7th Day Sabbath
There are controversial subjects that the main stream Christian churches, have ignored
for over 1500 years. One of them, is The Ten Commandments, including The Seventh
Day Sabbath. Many believe that they have been done away with, or changed. You may
decide after reading this.
In the fourth century A.D. The Christian Church took a left turn. King Constantine changed
The 7th Day Sabbath worship to the first day of the week.
Keeping The Sabbath and The Ten Commandments is NOT unto salvation. Modeling
your life after them, will show your love, and obedience to Elohim. Your rewards in
heaven, maybe based on that. Yahshua said “ If you love Me, Keep My
Commandments“. (John 14:15)
This document is not linked to any one, denomination, although some do adhere to The
Ten Commandments. The writings here, will prove the validity of The Commandments
and The Sabbath. This will be done by showing scriptures that don’t have to be
interpreted, which will stand on their own.
Vague scriptures they choose, are for people who are inclined to put their own spin on
them. Most of the scriptures given, are after Yahshua was crucified. The reason is: many
are taught and believe that The Commandments, and The Seventh Day Sabbath,
were symbolically nailed to the cross. If they were, the following scriptures would not be
in the Bible.
(Luke 23:56) The women rested on The Sabbath, according to The Commandment.
(After His death.) (Mark 16:1) When The Sabbath was past, the women brought spices
to the tomb.
(Acts 13:14,15) Paul went into a synagogue on The Sabbath. The Law and the
Prophets were read. (Acts 13:27) The Prophets were read Every Sabbath.
Acts 14:42 The Gentiles begged the Apostles to preach to them on the next Sabbath.
Acts 13:44 Almost the whole city came to hear the word of Elohim on The Sabbath
(Acts 16:13) The Apostles went out of the city on The Sabbath, and preached to the
women. (Acts 17:2) Paul went into a synagogue and preached for Three Sabbaths to
the Thessalonians.
(Acts 18:4) Paul preached in Corinth’s synagogue Every Sabbath to the Israelites and
Greeks. (Acts 18:11) Paul continued there for a year and a half, teaching the Word of
Elohim. (That would amount to 78 Sabbaths.)
(Mark 2:27) Yahshua said “The Sabbath was made for Israel, and not Israel for The
Sabbath. “Oh!! excuse me,” Yahshua Messiah said “The Sabbath was made for
MANKIND.”
(Matthew 12:8) Yahshua said, “He is Master of The Sabbath Day.”
(Hebrews 13:8) “Yahshua Messiah is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. ”
(Acts 1:12) The Apostles returned to Jerusalem, from a Sabbaths Day journey.
(Isaiah 58:13,14) Elohim said, “If you turn away your foot from The Sabbath. From
doing your own pleasure on My Holy Day, and call The Sabbath a delight. The Holy Day
of Yehovah Honorable, and Shall honor Him, not doing your own ways. Nor finding
your own pleasure, nor speaking your words. Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord.”
(Romans 10:12) There is no difference between Israelites and Greeks. (Gentiles) The
same Lord Over all, is rich unto all that call upon Him.
(Heb 4:9,10,11) “Therefore, there remains A Rest for the people of Elohim. For he who
has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works, as Elohim did from His.
Therefore be diligent to enter That Rest, lest anyone fall after the example of
disobedience”
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike”
(Romans 14:5) It doesn’t say anything, about The Sabbath, 10 Commandments
resting, or The law. These are the type of vague scriptures that people use, to put on
their own spin. They will try to refute, all the many scriptures, that prove the truth.
The Apostle Paul said “For I speak to you Gentiles; in as much as I am an Apostle to the
Gentiles. I magnify my ministry” (Romans 11:13) The Gentiles were mentioned about 100
Times in the New Testament. Most of the people, Paul preached to were Gentiles.
Would it not make sense, that he would have taught them, that The Law and The
Sabbath were done away with? As it was, the Gentiles craved his preaching on The
Sabbath.
Today’s church reasoning for changing to Sunday worship is: The Apostles came
together on that first day of the week to break bread, and Paul preached to Them. (Acts
20:7) Paul said nothing about change, that was ever noted in the Bible. As far as we
know, the scriptures show that Paul preached on Sunday only once.
Theologians say, “ We keep Sunday because, Yahshua rose on that day.” Again, no
authority to change it. In Daniel’s prophesy (Daniel 9:26,27) This was a double prophecy.
In 26 it talks about the 70 weeks (plural) Prophecy, when Yahshua was to be cut off
(killed). In 27 it talks about the sacrifices ending in the middle of the week (singular) The
Messiah was the Sacrificial Lamb.
The Bible week has always been seven days, and the middle of the week we now call
Wednesday. Do the math, Wednesday afternoon: to Saturday afternoon, is three days,
and three nights, just as Messiah predicted. (Matthew 12:40) The Israelites wanted
Yahshua taken off the cross that afternoon, after He died. It was preparation day for the
High Sabbath. The first day of Passover is a High Sabbath, (John 19:31) and no work
is to be done.
There were Two Sabbaths in that week: Thursday, Saturday and a preparation day for
each one. The Apostles and the women, didn’t visit the tomb again, until Sunday
morning. It was dark when they arrived, and no one witnessed the Messiah’s resurrection.
(John 20:1)
That morning: two people were walking, when Yahshua came upon them and asked, what
they were talking about? One said: “Are you a stranger? The Messiah was crucified, and
this is the third day this was done.” (Luke 24:17-21)
Remember, a day, is still a day and a night, which is 24 hours. The following explanation
ties it all together. “ When Yahshua was risen, early the first day of the week, He
appeared to Mary.” (Mark 16:9) Punctuations were not added to the Bible until the 9th
century A.D. In the 1611 Bible edition, the comma was put after early.
In the modern day Bible, it was put after the word week. Apparently those translators
weren’t inspired of Elohim. When the comma is put after the word risen. This proves
that all the factual evidence shows. Yahshua Messiah had already risen just before sun
down on Saturday night. In the Bible and Israelite tradition, sun down to sun down is a
day.
Would the Messiah be resurrected in the dark, when the Bible compares it to evil? (John
3:19,20) Would the Messiah be resurrected on a day that the pagans were worshiping the
sun god on pagan Easter? Or would Yahshua be resurrected on a day that was
Sanctified, Blessed, Hallowed, and written in stone by our Creator Elohim? Not a difficult
choice.
The Sabbath is the Fourth Commandment, and the last book of the Bible says. Keep
Elohim's 10 Commandments, (Revelations 12:17- 14:12- 22:14) Yahshua and the
Apostles kept them. There are no scriptures or authority in the Bible, that changes the 7th
Day Sabbath for another, or eliminates it.
They say, the days of the week have been changed over the centuries. Not so, only the
dates have been changed. An example is the leap year, we change only the date and not
the days of the week. The Israelites have never lost sight of The 7th Day Sabbath.
(Romans 3:2)
Some say: “We can keep any day we want for The Sabbath. Elohim was very emphatic
on which day, and how The Sabbath is to be kept. Elohim said. “Remember THE
Seventh Day, not A seventh day. “There remains a rest for the people of Elohim: for he
who has entered His rest, has also ceased from his works, as Elohim did from His” (Heb
4:9-11)
The following can’t be emphasized enough.Elohim said three times in the Old Testament,
and three times in the New. “If you love Me. You will Keep The Commandments.”
(Exodus 20:6) (Deuteronomy 5:10) (Nehemiah 1:5) (John 11:15) ( 1 John 5:2,3)
Some won’t accept all Bible teaching, you have to make a decision. The Big problem for
most, is That Sabbath. “Why should I give up: Friday night T.V, or the movies, Saturday
swap meets, shopping, or the beach after? I have work, and things to do on Saturdays. I
would have to change my whole life style. Just because the CREATOR of the universe:
inspired words to be written down, in a book thousands of years ago, called the Bible.
“Be doers of the WORD, and not hearers, only deceiving Yourselves.” (James 1:22)
Why do I keep the Sabbath? Because it's a day that I can show Elohim that I love Him.
You May say that you can love Him everyday, which is true. Elohim said "If you love Me,
keep the Commandments", and Honor Him on the Sabbath Day.
There are people that honor Elohim on Sunday, Which is wonderful, as any day you
honor Him. The one problem is that Elohim did not sanctify it or make it Holy. It is not
that it's evil to keep Sunday for the sabbath. It is just that Elohim did not make it a Holy
Day unto Elohim.
People want to keep the sabbath on Sunday, because their preacher told them to. When
you get right down to it. It started at the seminary, but even before that, it started around
the fourth century. We all know that the Catholic Church changed the Sabbath to the first
day of the week.
What I can't figure out is why they don't believe the Bible. The apostle Paul in Acts
preached over 80 times on the Seventh Day Sabbath. The Protestants have protested
the Catholic churches doctrines, so why do they keep following their doctrines? I wish
that someday they would wake up and smell the roses. Actually, I mean when they start
reading the Bible.
In the past I have given my email at the top of the page. I received hate emails from
people I knew, didn't read the document, by their comments. I assume you have, and if
you will give constructive criticism without hate, I would gladly reply. bottomlinez@yahoo.
com
Proverbs
Do not withhold good from those whom it is due. When it is in the power of your hand to
do so. Do not say to your neighbor go and come back, and tomorrow I will give it when
you have it with you. The Lord said to give attention to my words incline your ear to my
sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes keep them in the middle of your heart,
for they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Put away from you, a
deceitful full mouth and put perverse lips far from you, let your eyes look straight ahead.
And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways
be established do not turn to the right or the left. Remove your foot from evil.
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
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barrykind
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The Seventh Day Sabbath – What Every Christian Should Know
What has troubled many Sunday-keeping Christians is the fact that Christ kept the seventh-day Sabbath. Not only did Christ keep the seventh-day Sabbath, He kept it habitually. “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day. . . ” (Luke 4:16). Christ even went so far as to say He was the Lord of the Sabbath. “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). And why should He not make this claim? He was the one who created the Sabbath (John 1: 1-3). Christ’s disciples were also Sabbath keepers. See, for example, Luke 23:54-56 and Mark 16:1. These texts show that even during the crucial time of Christ’s crucifixion and burial, the disciples were observing the Sabbath.
The book of Acts gives us several examples of Sabbath keeping. Acts 13:14, 42, and 44, clearly show that the Apostle Paul kept the Sabbath and that the Gentile proselytes did the same. The Sabbath observance recorded in this chapter took place around 15 years after Christ’s ascension into the heavens. Paul did not believe for one moment that the death of Christ “did away” with the Sabbath. We read in Acts 13, “But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. . . . And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. . . . And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.” There is another example in Acts 16:13. “And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.” And yet another example. “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures” (Acts 17:2). We see the same thing in Acts 18:4. “And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.” What these texts prove, is that many years after the sacrifice of Christ, both Jews and Christians attended the synagogue where they worshiped on the Sabbath. None of these worshipers assumed that the Sabbath no longer existed.
Sabbath Given at Creation
Christ said He was the Lord of the Sabbath. It is the day He gave mankind at Creation. Sabbath observance does not rest on any historical church tradition. It rests on biblical authority and was created at the beginning. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made” (Gen. 2:1-3). “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Ex. 20:11). Christ, the Creator (Col. 1:16), gave the Sabbath for the benefit of man (Mark 2:27).
The Bible describes the Sabbath as a memorial of Creation. This is found in Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:11, Exodus 31:15-17, and Hebrews 4:4. Therefore, there is no credibility to the Jewish argument that the Sabbath was given by Moses for the exclusive use of Israel alone. While it belonged in the domain of Israel for many years, the New Covenant expanded the Law of God to include Gentiles. The Creation recorded in Genesis, chapter two, implies the Sabbath rest was intended for all mankind. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “the Sabbath was made for man.” The Jewish argument that the Sabbath was given by Moses was a result of the struggle between the rabbis and the radical Hellenists who were trying to coerce the abandonment of Judaism. The preservation of the Jewish identity was accomplished by the adoption of this exclusive and nationalistic view. The result was that the Sabbath was reduced from a Creation ordinance to a Mosaic ordinance. Church Fathers and later Reformists, as well as modern theologians, have utilized this same argument in order to challenge Christians who defend the obligation to keep the Sabbath in the Christian dispensation.
The fact that the Sabbath is to be “a day of delight” (Isa. 58:14) is taken from the Creation Sabbath which was a day of joy, harmony, and peace. This example was for all future times. The weekly Sabbath in the Old Testament period embraced the national aspiration for a resting place in the land of Canaan. But this is only a type of the future age of rest and peace during the Millennium. The idea that the Sabbath represented rest and prosperity led the school of Shammai to forbid the giving of contributions to the poor on the Sabbath. They viewed such acts as negating the prospects of future material prosperity typified by the Sabbath. Later, Jesus countered this notion by healing the sick on the Sabbath, which embodied the Messianic expectations which the Sabbath certainly depicted. The coming of Christ did not negate the Sabbath. Rather, it emphasized the redemptive nature of the Sabbath. Jesus was a habitual Sabbath keeper (Luke 4:16). Matthew 24:20 proves the permanence of the Sabbath.
Benefits of the Sabbath
The world today is filled with tension. Millions of people are restless and fearful. Stress-management programs of one type or another, meditation groups, and health clubs attempt to help people cope with the need for inner rest and peace. Pills, alcohol, and drugs are used as forms of escapism. Many others indulge in sports, vacations, TV, etc., to find relief from the stress and worry of modern life. But it is the Sabbath that truly provides the experience of inner rest, the release from the pressures of society, and the job. The Sabbath allows us to experience the reality of God’s presence and His peace and rest. It is not an abstract theological notion; Sabbath keeping is a tangible demonstration of the practice of one’s faith. One who ignores the Sabbath, more than likely, ignores God every day. One who is indifferent toward the Sabbath-who regards it as a workday or holiday-is harming his own best interests.
The fourth commandment reads:
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it (Ex. 20:8-11).
We have the instruction both to work and to rest in this fourth commandment. This is an imitation of the pattern God established during the Creation week. In Genesis 2:2-3 the word “rested” sums up how God felt about His creation. He said it was complete and perfect. When He rested from His perfect work, He was acknowledging His perfection.
Aside from receiving the physical benefits of rest, one who keeps the Sabbath acknowledges God’s total claim over his life. The bestowal of one’s time in obedience to God’s commandment regarding the Sabbath is an act of worship which acknowledges God as the possessor of the sum of human life-time itself! Human life is time. When time is used up, life itself ends. Sabbath keeping acknowledges God as the Creator of all things. The time He has set aside for worship designates the weekly Sabbath as a time period for holy use. Since He is our Creator we owe God the respect His creation calls for. The weekly Sabbath is the memorial of His creation, a reminder week by week of His sovereign power and creativity. It is the “day of delight,” the Bible reminds us.
Many are unaware of God’s instruction to keep the Sabbath. Those who know, but refuse to do so, indicate their distrust for God and His providence. If their disobedience hinges on the quest for pleasure, they are failing to recognize the true pleasures of life. If they worry about financial security and success on the job, they limit God’s power to help and bless them. The Sabbath command restricts the amount of time man can apportion for his weekly labor. It counteracts the temptation to deify work. We are given six working days which are fulfilled by rest on the seventh day. The idol of work is demolished when man rejects the lifestyle of financial success and status that often leads him to break the Sabbath. Activities on the Sabbath such as the quest for material pleasures, pursuing sports, attending amusement parks, the beach, the dance hall, the restaurant, or the ski resort cannot fulfill the longing man has deep in his soul. These are all forms of evasion-a temporary illusion which hides men from reality. In the end man is left with spiritual emptiness. This spiritual emptiness is what is behind the exhaustion and tension suffered by so many. The tyranny of materialism can be broken by means of keeping the Sabbath. There is great spiritual value in the Sabbath and the fellowship that comes about by meeting with those who are like-minded. True values are revealed to those who obey God and keep the Sabbath. When not balanced by rest, work becomes an oppressive and relentless taskmaster. It degrades the personality and destroys the balance between the body and the mind. The idol of work turns men into mere brutes.
The Sabbath exemplifies the ideal of God’s love and care-the method He has given to bestow human freedom at the physical level. The Sabbath grants man the freedom from the tyranny of work, from heartless exploitation, from the over- attachment to people and things, and from man’s greed. It refreshes and energizes man with renewed zeal for the coming week. Even when circumstances seem to be unfavorable, the man who observes God’s Sabbath has renounced the greed and selfishness brought on by the quest for material things. The Sabbath protects both man and animals from the abuses of greedy employers. It teaches the selfish-at least for one day a week-to resist the temptation for the continual accumulation of wealth. It teaches man to gratefully acknowledge the blessings of God. When work is completed at the end of the week, one can look forward to a day of rest. God’s plan for the week is completed in our lives when we experience the meaning and sense of direction that the Sabbath brings. If not, then our lives become a continuous, meaningless, linear existence.
When Israel was in slavery, the people could not keep the Sabbath. When God delivered them, they were told to remember the Sabbath. Sabbath keeping was to be a concrete experience even involving a future consideration for the more unfortunate (Deut. 5:15). Among other things, the Sabbath was given because it demonstrated a genuine concern for the rights and needs of others. But it anticipated, not only a personal rest and liberation from social injustice, but the future rest and peace to be realized at the return of the Messiah.
One who accepts the Sabbath, accepts what God has created. One who truly accepts God as the Creator, accepts the day God created for the Sabbath. One who accepts the Sabbath does not attempt to change the day to any other day than the day God commanded. The Sabbath, unlike the Temple of ancient Israel, is incorruptible. Men may corrupt what they do on the Sabbath, but they cannot alter the incorrupt nature of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is immaterial because it occupies time rather than space and matter. Ideas and concepts attached to material objects and things tend to deteriorate along with the objects they represent. Monuments grow old and fade. But not the Sabbath. It is incorruptible, universal, accessible to all men.
Many polls indicate Sunday keeping is losing ground and on the wane. Could it be that Sunday keeping has neither biblical nor apostolic authorization? Can one expect to take Sunday keeping seriously when it is regarded as a convenient time to appear in church, and then to be free the rest of the day for any other activity? Sunday keeping is essentially an hour of worship, not 24 hours devoted to God as the Bible instructs. Indifference toward Sunday worship is of vital concern to many theologians who view this indifference as a threat to the survival of Christianity itself. Sabbath keeping rests on explicit Bible commands. Sunday keeping rests on the edict of a human king. The vast majority of Christians today regard Sunday as a holiday rather than a holy day. Keeping a day holy to God rests on a strong theological conviction. Those truly convicted of God’s commands will not hesitate to keep the Sabbath holy from “even to even” as the Bible instructs.
The Sabbath “Regiven” to Israel
Exodus 16 reveals that Sabbath breaking was a violation of the fourth commandment. The command to rest on the seventh day of the week was a part of the Law of God. In the Exodus account, God miraculously revealed which day was the Sabbath (Ex. 16:4-6, 27-28). But this was not when the Sabbath was ordained. It was ordained at Creation. Israel’s long years in slavery had not only caused the people of Israel to lose sight of the significance of the Sabbath, but of the correct day as well. Moses said, “Six days ye shall gather it [the manna]; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none” (Ex. 16:26). “So the people rested on the seventh day” (v. 30).
The fourth commandment specifically states: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8). Later, Nehemiah wrote, “Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant” (Neh. 9:13-14). While Moses gave Israel the Sabbath, the fact is that it was “regiven” at that time. It can be demonstrated that all ten of the Ten Commandments were in force long before the time of Moses. Aside from that, the command to observe the Sabbath is found in several places in the Pentateuch. See for example, Exodus 23:12; 34:21; 35:2-3, Leviticus 19:3, 30; 23:1-3, and Deuteronomy 5:12-15.
Abraham was faithful to God. He was called out of his own country in order to serve God. “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. . . . And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (Gen. 17:1, 7). Why did God choose Abraham? Notice Genesis 18:19. “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Gen. 18:19). God promised to multiply the seed of Abraham “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Gen. 26:5). We can rightfully assume Abraham kept the Sabbath. Why? Because it was revealed at Creation and is a part of the Law of God. We should not assume that because the Sabbath is not mentioned between Genesis 2 and Exodus 16, that it was not kept. For example, based on 2 Kings 4:23, it is presupposed that the Sabbath was kept during the Old Testament period This text indicates the custom of visiting a prophet on the Sabbath, even though little about the Sabbath is mentioned during the Old Testament period.
Weekly Cycle Remains the Same
The notion that we cannot be sure which day is the seventh day of the week is disproved by both the Bible and history. Jesus kept the Sabbath. Since He was sinless (Heb. 4:15), He kept the correct Sabbath. So, the seventh day of the week was known in His day. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). Historically, it has been easy to trace the Sabbath since that time. The seventh day sanctified at Creation, and kept by Christ, is the same seventh day of the week today. Time has not been lost and the weekly cycle remains the same. Chapters one and two of Genesis delineate the weekly cycle. The heavenly bodies were given to designate the years, months, and days (Gen. 1:14-18). Jeremiah records, “Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever” (Jer. 31:35-36). “Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season. . . . Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. . .” (Jer. 33:20, 25-26). The Psalmist adds, “Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. . . . He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass” (Ps. 148:3, 6). These texts candidly tell us the weekly cycle cannot be broken.
But what about the argument that the principle of Sabbath keeping means it is permissible to observe one day in seven rather than the seventh day of the week? This notion is a fiction. It is based on the idea that the seventh-day Sabbath is a ceremonial law given to Moses in order to teach Israel about the spiritual rest that is to be manifested in Christ. The Sabbath of Creation does not give the slightest hint of one day in seven. It specifically states the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week (Gen. 2:3). Both the Creation account and the Bible command tell us the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, not the first day nor sixth day, nor any other day of the week. Had any other day of the week been designated, God would have made this plain to the priests and Levites who labored on the Sabbath. Also, the notion that “every day of the week is a Sabbath to the Lord” is fatuous. This notion is merely an attempt to repudiate worshiping God on any day of the week. This attempt to repudiate the Sabbath is intended to eventually turn men from both belief in and the worship of God.
A Perpetual Covenant and an Everlasting Sign
The perpetuity of the Sabbath as an identifying sign is emphasized in Exodus 31.
God commands:
. . . Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. . . . Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed (Ex. 31:13, 15-17).
This same thing is emphasized in Ezekiel 20. “Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. . . . I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God” (Ezek. 20:12, 19-20). The main reason the modern Jews are recognized as the descendants of Israel today is because of their faithfulness to the Sabbath law.
The word “forever” needs as explanation. As used in the Bible it means as long as the factors involved continue to exist. This is illustrated by an example given in Exodus 21:1-6. After seven years a Hebrew bondman could exercise the option to be free, but if he chose to remain with his master we read, “Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever” (v. 6). What are the factors here? As long as both the servant and the master were alive the factors continued to exist, but if either died the factors were no longer in force. With respect to the perpetuity of the Sabbath, the factors are: 1) Day and night continue to exist, so that the weekly cycle continues to exist; and 2) men exist on this planet who can observe the Sabbath. The factors continue to exist. The Sabbath is, therefore, a perpetual sign, an everlasting covenant-forever. These factors will continue on into the Millennium (Isa. 66:23).
Christ-a Sabbath Breaker?
Some say the Sabbath is no longer in effect because Christ broke the Sabbath. This is cited for “proof” that it is no longer necessary to keep the Sabbath. Matthew 12:1-8 is the text used. Christ’s disciples were criticized for plucking a few heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath. Jesus quickly dismissed this criticism by citing David’s example of what his men had done when they were hungry. He then pointed out how the priests worked on the Sabbath and were not censured for doing so. Next, he told the Pharisees that had they known who He was, they would not have been so quick to condemn. For, as the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), He fully understood that the Sabbath was given for the benefit of man. Therefore, it was not wrong for His disciples to eat a few heads of grain on the Sabbath.
Matthew 12:10-13 is another text used to support the argument that the Sabbath is done away. In this incident Christ healed a man who had a withered hand. This was done on the Sabbath. Jesus anticipated the criticism of the religious leaders. He told them that if it were permissible by the law to rescue an animal on the Sabbath, it was certainly permissible to deliver a man from physical bondage. Another example of healing is found in Luke 13:10-17. Here the Pharisees were shamed by Jesus’ reply and quickly silenced.
A more detailed account of a Sabbath healing is found in John 5:1-9. Jesus miraculously healed a man who had been bedridden for 38 years. The religious leaders hurled their customary abuse. Jesus’ reply was, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (v. 17). What did He mean by this? Is it all right to work on the Sabbath? “Hitherto” means “unto now,” or “even unto now.” The meaning is that both the Father and the Son were working “even unto now.” Yet, the Bible tells us the Father rested from all His physical work (Gen. 2:2-3, Heb. 4:4). The work to which Jesus referred could not, therefore, be referring to any kind of physical work on the Sabbath. What did Jesus mean? In John 6:29 Jesus said the work of God is to believe on Him whom the Father had sent. If the people refused to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, then they would surely reject the works He had performed-miracles, such as the healings on the Sabbath. These works were the work of God-the work to which Jesus referred. See John 10:37-38 and John 14:11. Jesus said His meat was to do the will of the Father and to finish His work (John 4:34). He emphasized, “If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father” (John 15:24).
Jesus’ works were of a spiritual nature. Both He and the Father had been working “even unto now” to bring to fruition the plan of salvation. The saving mission of Christ is implied in the statement, “I am working even unto now.” The physical work of God ended in the Creation as recorded in Genesis, chapter two. The spiritual work of God continues “until now”-the redemptive work of Christ. What Christ did, or did not do, on the Sabbath is a part of the redemptive nature of the commission given Him. He ministered to both the physical and spiritual needs of the people-the redemption of the whole man. Healing on the Sabbath was a part of that redemption. There were physical needs as well as spiritual needs. Notice the redemptive aspect of Jesus’ healing. He told the man in John 5:14, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” After the blind man was healed, we find in John 9:35-38 this statement: “. . . Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him” (John 9:35-38).
In every case where Jesus or His disciples were criticized for the manner in which they kept the Sabbath, Jesus showed how wrong and vindictive the accusers were. He appealed to the Scriptures, proving that His activities were in harmony with the plan and purpose of the Sabbath. If, for example, to avoid breaking the law, it was permissible to circumcise on the Sabbath, it was certainly permissible to make a man whole by healing him on the Sabbath.
What Was the Penalty for Sabbath Breaking?
The children of Israel were obedient to God but only for a short time. This obstinance was apparent even before the Old Covenant was ratified. Notice this example. “Six days ye shall gather it [manna]; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none” (Ex. 16:26-27). Later, this rebellious spirit was dealt with severely. “And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses” (Num. 15:32-36).
Much later during the time of Jeremiah we read, “Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction” (Jer. 17:21-23). Because of this refusal God warned, “But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched” (Jer. 17:27).
While in the wilderness, even before the Israelites reached the Promised Land, they polluted the Sabbath. God said through the prophet Ezekiel:
But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. . . . Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. . . . Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols. Wherefore I gave them [up to] also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live” (Ezek. 20:13, 15-16, 24-25).
That first generation of Israelites who refused to obey God died in the wilderness. They were not permitted to enter the Promised Land, while they doted on their own man-made laws that were not good.
In Ezekiel, chapter 23, Israel and Judah are likened to two women-Aholah and Aholibah. What did God say to them? Read it in verses 46-48.
The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah [Israel] and Aholibah[Judah]? yea, declare unto them their abominations; That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. What punishment did God prophesy? For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled. And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire. Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness” (Ezek. 23:46-48).
A national punishment for Sabbath breaking is war and captivity.
We find the fulfillment of this punishment recorded in 2 Kings 17. Because of their continued obstinacies and Sabbath breaking, we read, “Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. . . . Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day” (2 Kings 17:18, 23). What about the people of Judah? Did they fare any better? “And the city [Jerusalem] was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. . . . And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. . . . And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land” (2 Kings 25:2, 7, 21). Some 70 years later a remnant of the Jews returned to Palestine and set up their own nation again. But not Israel. The ten tribes never returned and were lost from sight. Today they are referred to as “the lost ten tribes of Israel.”
God grants blessings for obedience but curses for disobedience. In Leviticus 26 He says, “Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD” (Lev. 26:2). Then follows a series of blessings which fall upon the obedient. But notice also the curses for disobedience. “And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it” (Lev. 26:33-35).
Did Paul Preach Christian Freedom?
We are assured there is no need to observe the seventh-day Sabbath because the Apostle Paul detached Christianity from its Jewish cocoon. We are told that only in the Gentile world could Christianity find its full expression. It is now liberated from the shackles of the law. Is this true?
In his epistles Paul uses the word “law” in a number of differing ways. Law sometimes refers to the Mosaic law (Gal. 4:21); sometimes to the entire Old Testament (1 Cor. 14:21); it refers to the will of God written in the minds of the Gentiles (Rom. 2:14-15); to the evil inclinations of man (Rom. 7:21); and sometimes to the influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:2). In the context of justification (i.e., right standing with God) Paul says the law is of no avail (Rom. 3:20). But, in the context of sanctification (right living before God) Paul tells us of the validity and value of the law (Rom. 7:12; 13:8-10, 1 Cor. 7:19). Man, born a sinner, transgresses the Law of God almost from birth (Ps. 51:5). When man comes to the realization that he must live right before God, his righteousness cannot clear him from past guilt, that is, for the sins he has already committed. Only his acceptance of the shed blood of Christ can justify or remove his guilty past. But, after being justified, can he continue to break the Law of God? Absolutely not, says the Apostle Paul! (Gal. 2:17-18). Right living requires obedience to the law. Paul upholds the law in the context of sanctification.
Did Paul observe the seventh-day Sabbath? Yes, indeed! See Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4. Paul did not preach a message of “Christian freedom”? This idea is an interpretation read into Paul’s writings. The Apostle Peter referred to Paul’s epistles when he wrote, “. . . even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:15-16).
The Sabbath and Acts 15
Some would have us believe that the decision made at the Jerusalem conference, as recorded in Acts 15, did away with the Sabbath. Is this the truth? The account shows that Jewish teachers came from Jerusalem to Antioch, located in Syria, and taught the brethren that in order to be saved they must be circumcised. This caused such an uproar that it was decided to take the matter to Jerusalem to be settled. A conference took place which included the apostles and elders, held at Jerusalem where the Church was made up of believing Jews who were zealous for the law (Acts 21:20). Some of the elders present at the conference had been Pharisees who had not yet recognized the error of the Pharisaic exclusiveness. They were the ones who insisted the Gentiles should be circumcised (Acts 15: 5). Peter quashed this notion by showing how God had used him to first take the gospel to the Gentiles and that circumcision was not required. Both Barnabas and Paul attested to God’s work among the Gentiles, also showing that circumcision did not enter into the picture.
The decision made was that the Gentiles should not be required to be circumcised-that it was not a requirement for salvation. However, it was decided there would be four things Gentiles would be required to do in addition to keeping the spiritual Law of God. They must refrain from pollutions of idols, from fornication, from animals that had been strangled, and from the eating of blood (Acts 15:20). This was because these prohibitions had been taught in all the Jewish synagogues around the world, having been an integral part of the Mosaic teaching from the beginning. These four practices were very much a part of the Gentile way of life and to permit this lifestyle by those Gentiles who attended Church would have been offensive to the Jewish Christians and sinful in the eyes of God. The Sabbath was not even a matter of consideration in this Acts 15 conference. To insist the Sabbath was abolished by the council in Acts 15 reveals the desperation of some who hate the Sabbath and would like to see it banished from the Christian way of life. There was no radical distinction made between the Old and New Covenants in this Jerusalem conference. The idea that the Sabbath was done away by this conference goes back to second and third-century theologians who viewed the Sabbath as a “temporary” ordinance derived from Moses, but which was to be abolished by the coming of Christ. The idea, carried down to our day, purports that the Sabbath was a “social institution” initiated after the Israelites entered the Promised Land, but later annulled by Christ. Sunday is regarded as the Christian innovation which celebrates Christ’s resurrection. Christ transcended the law. Therefore, His followers had a right to select Sunday as a day of worship. We have already seen that the Sabbath did not begin with Moses. It was given by God at the Creation. The entire argument falls flat in the face of that fact.
A concept that developed during the Middles Ages was that, while there is a basic unity between the Old and New Testaments, the decree by Constantine to require Sunday as a day of worship is theologically binding. Thomas Aquinas refined this idea by differentiating between the moral and ceremonial aspects of the fourth commandment. He said the moral aspect was made up of the principle of setting time aside (one day in seven) for rest and worship-this in accordance with natural law. The ceremonial consideration was comprised of a specific day (the seventh day) set aside for the purpose of commemorating the Creation, as well as the present and future rest in God. This reasoning was referred to as the “transference view” and accepted by most of the churches, including those who broke away from the Catholic Church during the Reformation. This “transference view” depends on an artificial distinction between the moral and ceremonial aspects of the fourth commandment. Luther added the view that there was a radical separation between natural law and the law of Moses, and between the Law and the Gospel. Many churches of the Reformation followed along and now believe Christians are free to observe any day. Calvin accepted the view of Thomas Aquinas and regarded the ceremonial aspect of the fourth commandment as abolished. The fact is: There is no biblical authority for the artificial and arbitrary distinction between the moral and ceremonial aspects of the fourth commandment, supposedly “done away” by Christ. Christ kept the seventh-day Sabbath and so did the Apostle Paul. Some today probably feel it is unfortunate that Christ and Paul did not understand the distinction between the moral and ceremonial aspects of the law. But there is only one consistent view that is compatible with both the Old and New Testaments. The Sabbath was not transferred to Sunday. It was established permanently and reveals the continuity between the Law of Moses and Christianity. The Jerusalem conference had nothing to do with the so-called abolition of the Sabbath for this very reason.
The Long Day of Joshua
The Bible clearly tells us the weekly cycle cannot be broken. Yet, some insist that Joshua’s long day disrupted the weekly cycle and that we cannot know for sure which day is the seventh day of the week. Joshua’s long day is recorded in Joshua 10:12-14. Israel was winning at war with the Amorites and needed more time to make the victory complete.
Joshua said to the Lord in the sight of Israel:
. . . Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel (Josh. 10:12-14).
The text states that the sun did not hasten to go down “about a whole day.” So, the daylight portion of the day was lengthened about 12 hours. In the Bible a day is reckoned from “even to even,” that is, from sundown to sundown. This lengthening did not result in an additional day; sundown to sundown simply included a period of time longer than usual. The weekly cycle was not disrupted because no new calendric day was added. The Bible specifically states, “there was no day like that before or after it.” Regardless of the length of the day, it was one day only.
The Sabbath that Joshua and the children of Israel observed was the same Sabbath Jesus Christ observed. The Sabbath Jesus observed is the same seventh day of the week that Sabbath-keeping Christians observe today. It is the true Sabbath given at Creation, the day we call Saturday, the seventh day of the week.
God’s Law Does Not Change
Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament (1 Cor. 10:1-4). He does not change (Mal 3:6). He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). In Matthew 4:4 He said, “. . . Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” The command to keep the seventh-day Sabbath proceeded out of the mouth of God (Ex. 20:1, 8-11). Jesus said His words are the words of life (John 6:63). His words, therefore, are the pathway to salvation. What was Moses inspired to write about God’s words?
Read it in Deuteronomy 4:1-2.
Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Christ was the God of ancient Israel who spoke to Israel face to face. “The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. . . . The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire” (Deut. 5:2, 4). But God knew the weaknesses of men. He said to Moses, “. . . I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!” (Deut. 5:28-29).
God repeated this instruction to Moses:
Go say to them, Get you into your tents again. But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left (Deut.5:30-32).
There is no other command in the entire Bible, Old or New Testament, that instructs any other day of worship except the seventh-day Sabbath. The New Testament is an expansion of the Old. The Ten Commandments now live in the hearts and minds of spiritual Israel-the New Testament Church. Because the Law of God does not change, this includes the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath.
Texts That Are Questionable
Paul’s writings have been misinterpreted by many. We have already seen from the book of Acts that Paul kept the Sabbath. Would he practice one thing and preach another? Of course not! Let us now examine a number of texts written by the Apostle Paul to see what he really said.
Romans 3:20
This text is often quoted to “prove” Paul invalidated the law, and thus the Sabbath. The text is as follows: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” What is justification? Justification takes place when the sinner is declared innocent or guiltless. Justification for sin comes only by accepting the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He gave His life for our sin. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Every human being is under the death penalty because every person has committed sin. These sins and the death penalty are erased once we accept the sacrifice of Christ. Therefore, keeping the law cannot remove sin. Why? Because man is unable to keep the law. Once we repent of past sins (Rom. 3:25), we come under the blood of Christ. But, we cannot continue to sin after that. Doing so places us under the death penalty once again. Paul does not nullify the Law of God by this text. He simply points out that in the context of justification, keeping the law is of no avail. Only the shed blood of Christ is.
Romans 14:5
This text reads: “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” This text has been interpreted to mean that it makes no difference which day one observes as the Sabbath. The day one keeps is a matter of personal choice.
Let us take a look at the context. Verses one and two state: “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.” Paul instructs the brethren not to exclude from fellowship a spiritually weak brother who is a vegetarian. Verses three and four enjoin the brethren not to judge or find contempt for such a one because of his weakness or lack of understanding. In verse five Paul introduces the subject of certain days that are esteemed or regarded higher than other days. In verse six Paul brings up the matter of regarding or not regarding, or eating or not eating, on these days. Verse five cannot be referring to the Sabbath because the Sabbath is always a feast day (Lev. 23:2-3). Paul goes on to say that we will all be judged as individuals. Therefore, we have no right to judge those who are spiritually weak. We must, therefore, be careful not to place a stumbling block before our brother (verse 13). Why? “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy [Spirit]” (Rom. 14:17). What is the subject of this chapter? We are not to judge others for certain scruples they may have about eating, and for certain days on which they may choose to exercise these scruples. Attaining to the Kingdom of God is not a matter of meat and drink, but righteousness, and joy, and peace in union with the Holy Spirit. This chapter does not concern itself with the Sabbath day. Rather, it involves certain days on which some may choose to fast, or on which to refrain from eating certain foods. Christians are not to judge those who have such scruples.
2 Corinthians 3:7
Some believe this text says the Ten Commandments are now abolished. Is this the case? Beginning in verse six Paul writes: “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away. How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?” (vv. 6-8). Does this passage say the Ten Commandments are done away?
Notice carefully. The text refers to “the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones.” The Ten Commandments were not written and engraved in stone. They were written by the finger of God upon two tables of stone. Was there, however, a ministration of death that was written and engraved in stones? In Deuteronomy 27:1-4 we read:
And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister: And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee. Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.
What was this law Moses talked about? The answer is found in Joshua 8:30-32.
Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal, As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.
Iron tools for building the altar were forbidden. This ministration of death was engraved upon this altar of whole stones, but the stones first had to be plastered. What, then, did Paul say was to be done away? The answer: The ministration of death-the curse for disobedience (Deut. 27:15-26).
The civil law required the death penalty for many infractions. A comparison of the proscriptions in Deuteronomy 27 with other Old Testament passages makes it clear to see the penalty was death for many of these. This was to change with the establishment of the New Testament. Paul explains to the Corinthian Christians: “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:2-3). New Testament obedience does not require a letter-of-the-law enforcement. An inward change in the heart and mind enables Christians to live according to the spiritual intent of the law. The Ten Commandments now become a part of the heart and mind. The ministration of death was not the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were written on two tablets of stone by the finger of God (Deut. 9:9-11, Ex. 34:27-28). The civil law was written on plaster over whole stones and contained the ministration of death. The ministration of death was done away, not the Ten Commandments.
Galatians 3:10
The Sabbath is said to be abolished based on what Paul wrote in Galatians 3:10. The text reads: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Gal. 3:10). Paul warned the Galatians that righteousness cannot be attained by the works of the law (Gal. 2:21). Righteousness comes by faith in the sacrifice of Christ, acceptance of that sacrifice which was made in man’s stead, and repentance. Repentance means to change, to turn around and go the other way, not to sin any longer. Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). One who repents no longer habitually breaks God’s Law. But certain of the Galatians were attempting to attain righteousness by performing the “works of the law.” They failed to understand the importance of the sacrifice of Christ, that they could not attain righteousness except by means of this sacrifice. In their minds circumcision was the sign of this righteousness (Gal. 3:2, 5; 5:1-6). Paul tells them they are under a curse for not doing all things written in the law. They were not under a curse for obeying the law; rather, they were under a curse for not obeying all things written in the law. Why did Paul say this? Notice what Peter said in Acts 15:10-11. “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” Peter says in Acts 15 that even the Israelites were unable to live according to the law, so now why try to burden the Gentiles with it?
This is why Paul tells the Galatians, “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith” (Gal. 3:11). Galatians 3:10 does not say the Law of God is abolished. It says that the man who tries to use the law as a method of justification is under a curse. Why? Because few, if any, have been able to keep all of its requirements. Faith in the sacrifice of Christ is what leads to justification. Rather than abolishing the Sabbath, Galatians 3:10 upholds the requirement to obey the Ten Commandments.
Galatians 4:10
Many take Galatians 4:10 to mean the Galatians, who had been delivered from Judaism, were reverting back to Jewish practices. These practices included Sabbath keeping. Paul warns them, “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain” (Gal. 4:9-11). Days, months, times, and years, it is believed, include the Sabbath. But is this true?
The epistle to the Galatians was written to Gentiles. While the Churches in Galatia were made up of both Jews and Gentiles, Galatians 4:10 clearly addresses the Gentiles. How do we know? Because verse eight could not apply to the Jews. God had committed the oracles to the Jews, and Gentile converts came into the New Testament Church as a result of their contact with the Jewish synagogues. The Gentiles were the ones who had not known God, not the Jews. Gentile religion was made up of forms of idolatry, which Paul calls the “weak and beggarly elements of the world.” The notion that “weak and beggarly elements” refers to the law of Moses is far-fetched. Arndt and Gingrich inform us that the meaning of “weak and beggarly elements” is much disputed. Some scholars take it to mean elements of learning, fundamental principles-applied to elementary forms of religion, both Jewish and Gentile (which have been superseded by the new revelation of Christ). Other scholars believe it means elemental spirits associated with the physical elements. Still other scholars understand it to mean heavenly bodies (signs of the Zodiac), since these bodies were regarded as personal beings and were given divine honors (A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 776). The fact is: No one completely understands the meaning of the expression “weak and beggarly elements.” Galatians 4:10, therefore, cannot be used as proof that Paul was referring to the Sabbath.
The word “again” is found two times in Galatians 4:9. What were these Gentiles doing? They were turning again to the “weak and beggarly elements.” Are the Laws of God ever called “weak and beggarly elements” in the Bible? Of course not! The Gentiles were turning back to what they had accepted and believed before they came into contact with the Truth of God. Prior to this time had they understood the Truth? Not at all. They had come into contact with the Truth via the synagogue, and then by the preaching of the Apostle Paul. The oracles of God are never called the “weak and beggarly elements.” What was this bondage they were in? It is common knowledge that the Gentile world offered sacrifices to a myriad of pagan gods. Go back to verse eight. Paul states that when these Gentiles did not know God they did service to them which are no gods. Clearly, this could not be referring to the Jews.
Also, take a look at the word “observe” in verse ten. Most people assume “observe” means “to celebrate,” or “to keep.” This is not the case. Arndt and Gingrich tell us “observe” means “to watch closely,” “to observe carefully,” “to watch someone to see what he does.” See A Greek-English Lexicon, page 627. In every place where the Greek word paratereo is used, except in Galatians 4:10, it means to “watch closely.” See also The Word Study Concordance, page 593; The Analytical Greek Lexicon, page 306; The Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Volume 2, page 153. This last reference states that paratereo means “to lie in wait,” “to watch,” as the modern English versions translate it. What Galatians 4:10 is really saying is that these Gentiles were closely watching these days for various signs of one kind or another. The word paratereo does not signify a religious observance. These superstitious inclinations of the Galatians were the weak and beggarly elements Paul warned them about.
What, then, were the “days, months, times, and years”? Are these referring to the weekly Sabbath? Notice what Arndt and Gingrich say regarding Galatians 4:10. “The meaning of eniautos in the combination kairoi kai eniautoi is not clear. It could be an allusion to the so-called ‘sabbatical years’ (Lev. 25), but may also means certain days of the year. . . as the New Year festival” (Arndt and Gingrich, 266). When an authoritative work, such as Arndt and Gingrich, admits the meaning of the Greek is not clear in this phrase, those who insist it means the weekly Sabbath are simply interpreting. The fact is: The meaning of “days, months, times,” and “years” is wide open to speculation. There is no proof Galatians 4:10 refers to the weekly Sabbath. It is a known fact that these Gentile nations observed many special days, set aside for pagan celebrations of one type or another. It is this superstition Paul is censuring.
Ephesians 2:15
Some refer to Ephesians 2:15, insisting this verse proves the Ten Commandments are done away. The text reads: “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.” What did Paul mean when he wrote this? Does it refer to the Ten Commandments?
The Gentile Churches that Paul raised up in Asia Minor were made up of both Jews and Gentiles. A look at the context of Ephesians, chapter two, tells us that the Gentiles had not been given the opportunity to participate in the promises and covenants made to Israel (vv. 11-12). Without the true God, they had no hope. But Christ changed all this (v. 13). The Gentiles have now been brought into a spiritual relationship, and Christ broke down the wall of partition that separated the Jews and Gentiles (v. 14). Then, in verse 15, Paul states that Christ abolished the enmity-the law of commandments-contained in ordinances. Peace and harmony between Jews and Gentiles had now resulted in a single new spiritual body-the Church. Both Jews and Gentiles are now reconciled to God by the sacrifice of Christ, and in Christianity the separation between Jews and Gentiles had now ceased.
Some would have us believe that the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles was accomplished by the abolition of the Ten Commandments. Is this so? Notice the word “ordinances.” In the Greek language it is the word dogmasin which means “decrees.” Arndt and Gingrich tell us on page 200, that Ephesians 2:15 should read, in part, “law of commandments consisting in (single) ordinances.” The word “decrees” is used in Acts 16:4 to define the requirements laid upon the Gentiles in the Jerusalem conference of Acts 15. These decrees of Acts 15 were decidedly not the Ten Commandments. The Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Volume 1, page 330, states that Ephesians 2:15 uses the plural to denote the individual statutes of the commandments of the Mosaic Law. Were there any commandments in the Mosaic Law that forbade social and religious contact with the Gentiles? Yes, indeed! Notice Exodus 34:12-16, Deuteronomy 7:2-6, Joshua 23:11-13, and Numbers 1:51; 3:10; 18:4. To these laws the Jews added many other regulations, so that eventually Gentiles were considered to be as unclean as dogs. These are the “decrees” or “dogmas” to which Paul refers in Ephesians 2:15.
Paul now instructs the Ephesians that these decrees are nullified, and that Gentiles who accept Christ are permitted complete social and religious intercourse with the Jewish Christians. This approval had been given many years before when Peter went to the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:28). The remainder of Ephesians, chapter two, instructs the Christian brethren how unity should prevail in the church.
Colossians 2:14-17
The above text is a favorite of those who wish to repudiate the Law of God, and hence the Sabbath day. The usual interpretation is that Christ nailed the Law of God to the cross, thus doing away with the Sabbath. The text reads: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. . . . Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
Notice Arndt and Gingrich. They tell us on page 889 that “handwriting of ordinances” means “a (handwritten) document, specif. a certificate of indebtedness, bond. . . the bond that stood against us.” Paul tells us in Colossians 2:14 that the bond or debt against us was nailed to the cross. But the bond or debt of what? Notice, “ordinances” is the same Greek word-dogmasin-found in Ephesians 2:15. It is used in Colossians 2:20 where it is also translated “ordinances.” What ordinances? The word “ordinance” means “decree,” “ordinance,” “decision,” “command.” But what decree, ordinance, decision, or command? Paul gives us the answer in verses eight and twenty-two: philosophy, vain deceit, traditions of men, rudiments of the world, commandments and doctrines of men! “Ordinances of men” brought about the debt or bond that was against us. For example, how many traditions, philosophical ideas, rules of men, or man-made laws have caused us to walk contrary to the Law of God? By following these man-made “ordinances,” we have brought upon ourselves the death penalty-the debt we owe for breaking God’s commandments. This was the debt Christ blotted out when He died on the stake for us. He paid the penalty we owe. Christ, not the Law of God, was nailed to the cross.
Paul continues, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days” (Col. 2:16). The phrase “in respect of” should be translated “part.” See under meros (Greek Analytical Lexicon, by Harper, page 264). Bullinger points out in The Companion Bible that “part” means “in taking part.” Thus, the text should read: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in taking part of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.” Verse 17 goes on to say: “Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” The word “is” is not found in the original text. Translators added it to the English in order to make the meaning clear. But it does not make the meaning clear. It confuses what Paul said. What Paul is stating in verses 16 and 17 that it is not man’s right is to judge the above matters. The only judge in these matters is the Body of Christ-the Church. The word “judge” is from the Greek word krino. Besides meaning to judge or condemn, it means to “consider,” “to prefer.” (See Arndt and Gingrich, 452-453). Paul instructs the Colossians that one should be careful not to offend a brother on those public occasions of worship (Sabbaths, holy days) by what one eats or drinks. See 1 Corinthians 8:8-13; 10:31-32. Keep in mind there were false teachers in Colosse attempting to impose regulations on “touch not, taste not, handle not” as a means to achieve humility (Col. 2:23). Paul prohibited these teachers from instituting any kind of legislation (man-made rules) regarding the Sabbath or holy days. Paul pointed out that the Sabbath and holy days are shadows of things to come. Therefore, they should be observed today. The Sabbath was not done away. This letter, written about 30 years after the crucifixion of Christ, shows it should be kept or it would not be called a “shadow of things to come.” Colossians 2:14-17 does not say the Sabbath was nailed to the cross. It says the debt we owe for breaking the Law of God was nailed to the cross.
Hebrews 9:10
This text actually explains what was done away by the sacrifice of Christ. Referring to those things that were temporary, Paul wrote: “Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.” In the verses preceding verse ten, Paul describes the service of the Tabernacle. In verse nine he points out that this Old Testament system was of a temporary nature and not intended to bring about perfection in the worshiper. Then in verse ten Paul says this Old Testament system consisted of “only meats and drinks, divers washings, and carnal ordinances imposed upon them until the time of reformation.” What were these carnal ordinances? Were they the Ten Commandments?
Arndt and Gringrich tell us on page 197 that “carnal ordinances” should be translated “regulations for the body.” Clearly, “carnal ordinances” does not refer to the Ten Commandments. “Regulations for the body” had to do with various rules for ceremonial purity. These included washings regarding cleanliness and uncleanliness. These ceremonial laws were temporary in nature. The Temple, which was central to the entire ceremonial system, was destroyed in AD 70. During the Old Testament period one who was ceremonially impure or unclean could not participate in many of the biblical requirements. But he could be cleansed at the Temple. Someone today who fails to wash properly may be physically unclean, but he is not ceremonially unclean. Jesus disputed with the Pharisees over this very issue (Mark 7:1-9). This was why Paul could write: “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:11-12). The physical system of the Old Testament pointed to Christ. Paul says, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Heb. 9:14-15).
Hebrews 9:10 does not say the Ten Commandments were done away. Rather, it says the sacrificial system, with its attendant regulations for the body, were done away. The Law of God will never be done away. It is everlasting. “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness” (Ps. 111:7-8).
Hebrews 4:9
This Scripture, in fact, teaches us to keep the Sabbath. The problem is that it is mistranslated in the Authorized Version. The Authorized Version reads: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” The chapter itself describes the physical rest Israel received upon entering the Holy Land. This rest is a type of the rest Christians will receive when they enter the Kingdom of God. The rest that the nation of Israel received when they entered the Holy Land under Joshua was not the fulfillment of the rest God finally intends to give His children. There is another rest coming. This rest is salvation in the Kingdom of God. This is why Paul wrote in Hebrews 4:9: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Throughout this chapter the word for “rest” is katapausis. It means “a place of resting down.” But when we come to Hebrews 4:9 the word for “rest” is sabbatismos which means “a keeping of the Sabbath.” The text should read: “There remaineth therefore a keeping of the Sabbath to the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). A variant of this would be “a Sabbath rest is left behind (or remains) for the people of God.”
What Paul says in Hebrews, chapter four, is that since the Sabbath is the type of the coming Millennium, and Israel’s entry into the promised land was only a type of this, Sabbath observance remains for the people of God. The Millennium will be the time when the world will rest from sin. This great event will not take place until the return of Jesus Christ and the ushering in of the Kingdom of God. The Sabbath represents that coming time. It is a shadow of things yet to come. Paul made it plain in this chapter that the Sabbath should be kept.
Revelation 1:10
Revelation 1:10 has been taken by many to refer to Sunday, the first day of the week. This is the day customarily kept by the vast majority of professing Christians. According to verse ten, the writer of the book of Revelation-the Apostle John-is supposedly worshiping on the “Lord’s Day.” Does the Lord’s Day in the book of Revelation refer to Sunday, the first day of the week?
The book of Revelation was written around AD 100. Historically, Sunday was not called the “Lord’s Day” until the end of the second century-about 100 years later. In the Gospel of John, which was written about the same time as the book of Revelation, John refers to Sunday as the “first day of the week.” Therefore, the “Lord’s Day” in the book of Revelation cannot be referring to Sunday. If it is not referring to Sunday, to what then is it referring?
The book of Revelation is a detailed outline of many unfulfilled prophecies. Most of these prophecies occurred after the time of the Apostle John. They will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. John says he was “in the spirit” on the Lord’s Day. The Greek word for “on” is en, meaning “in” or “into.” The text should read: “I was into the Spirit on the Lord’s day. . . .” The text tells us that by God’s Spirit, John was taken by means of a vision into the Lord’s Day. What is the Lord’s Day? There are over 30 prophecies in the Old Testament which describe the Day of the Lord, or Lord’s Day. You can find a list of these Scriptures in any Concordance. This is a future time period when God will take a direct hand in the affairs of this world-a time of world-shaking catastrophic events, a time when the sun will turn black and the moon will turn to the color of blood, a time when the entire Earth will reel back and forth like a drunken man, a time of cataclysmic disaster and death. Those who think Revelation 1:10 refers to Sunday as a day of worship had better take another look. A look at the Old Testament passages which refer to the Lord’s Day will quickly dispel this notion.
Is Sunday Keeping Authorized in the New Testament?
Let us take a look at the New Testament Scriptures which mention “the first day of the week” to see if any of them authorize Sunday observance. There are eight texts to examine. If we are to observe Sunday, at least one of these texts will surely instruct us, or show by example, that we should do so.
Four of these Scriptures refer to the same event-early Sunday morning following the crucifixion and burial of Christ. This was when the disciples came to prepare Jesus for burial. These Scriptures are: Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, and John 20:1. In each of these Scriptures we find that Sunday was a work day, not a day of rest. The disciples would not have come to embalm Jesus, which took some time to do, if Sunday were a day of worship. Another one of the eight texts which mention the first day of the week is Mark 16:9. This Scripture refers to early Sunday morning also. In this case Christ appeared to Mary early on Sunday morning, but not for the purpose of worship, as she immediately left His presence to report the event to the disciples. John 20:19, another text which mentions the first day of the week, informs us the disciples were hiding for fear of the Jews. They were in a “safe house” for the purpose of personal security, not for the purpose of worship.
Now over to the book of Acts. We see in Acts 20:6-7 that Paul was in Troas. On the first day of the week the disciples gathered to “break bread.” Paul had been preaching to them and continued his speech until midnight. Verse eight tells us there were many lights in the upper chamber. Could this have been Sunday night? Biblical days are from sundown to sundown. If Paul preached to them until midnight, there is only one period of time that could be within the first day of the week. This would have been Saturday night, because had it been Sunday night, the Bible would have called it the second day of the week. This is because the first day of the week would have ended at sundown Sunday evening. Since the Sabbath ended at sundown and Paul continued preaching to them until midnight, he was preaching on into the beginning of a new biblical day-Sunday, which began at sundown on Saturday night. Notice they had gathered on the first day of the week (after sundown on Saturday) to “break bread,” that is, to eat a meal. Paul, because of the need, continued speaking after the Sabbath on into the first day of the week. Then, what did he do the next morning during the daylight portion of Sunday? He walked from Troas to Assos, a distance of 19 miles. Clearly, he was not observing Sunday as a day of worship. To Paul, Sunday was a day of work.
The last of the eight texts which refer to the first day of the week is 1 Corinthians 16:2. This Scripture tells us the Corinthians were instructed to “lay by him in store” on the first day of the week. This was intended as a collection for the needy saints. Paul specifically stated “that there be no gatherings when I come.” This offering was to be taken to the saints at Jerusalem. The Corinthians were Sabbath keepers; they did not keep Sunday (Acts 18:4). They were instructed to set this offering aside on Sunday, which was a work day, and to hold it until his arrival. We are not told where it was being held. It could have been in their homes, or it could have been in some central location. He would then be able to collect it upon his arrival and then quickly be on his way to Jerusalem. 1 Corinthians 16:2 shows Sunday to be a workday, not a day of worship.
The fact is: Every one of the New Testament Scriptures that refer to the first day of the week make it clear that Sunday was a workday, not a day of worship.
The Future of the Sabbath
Those who oppose the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath may be in for a surprise. The seventh-day Sabbath has a bright future ahead. It will be observed in the Millennium when Christ sets up His world government. Notice Isaiah 66:23. “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.” The context of this verse in Isaiah 66 is just after the return of Jesus Christ (vv. 15-23). The Sabbath is a memorial of Creation, and God will not allow mankind to continue ignoring it. The prophet Ezekiel foretold the same thing. We read: “Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons” (Ezek. 46:3). It makes little sense to believe the Sabbath, which was kept for thousands of years before the Christian era, was “done away” by Christ, and then reinstated by Him during the Millennium. God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). The Sabbath instituted at the beginning is to be observed today and will be observed to the end of time.
How Should the Sabbath be Kept?
One who is converted will quickly come to understand the purpose of the Sabbath. He will recognize that a list of do’s and don’ts is unnecessary-that obedience to God’s Sabbath law is from the heart and his desire will be not only to please God, but to derive the benefit from the Sabbath that God intended. Here are some general principles:
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it (Isa. 58:13-14).
Sabbath activities should be God-centered, not man-centered. On this day we are granted freedom from the drudgery and routine so often encountered in work. It is a day of spiritual rejuvenation, a day that is intended to refresh us mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. This kind of activity avoids the exhaustion and dissipation so often associated with weekend pleasure. The Sabbath is a day when benevolent services to others can be rendered. Activities which do not accomplish these goals, or which deprive us of the spiritual and physical benefits of the day, are not the kind of activities in which Christians should participate. When we realize the joy and the spiritual and mental rest that God intended for us to experience, we can truly appreciate the beneficence of God in giving us the Sabbath. This day has been set aside as holy time. No other day can give us the kind of benefits God intended.
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
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barrykind
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Colossians 2:14-17
The above text is a favorite of those who wish to repudiate the Law of God, and hence the Sabbath day. The usual interpretation is that Christ nailed the Law of God to the cross, thus doing away with the Sabbath. The text reads: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. . . . Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
Notice Arndt and Gingrich. They tell us on page 889 that “handwriting of ordinances” means “a (handwritten) document, specif. a certificate of indebtedness, bond. . . the bond that stood against us.” Paul tells us in Colossians 2:14 that the bond or debt against us was nailed to the cross. But the bond or debt of what? Notice, “ordinances” is the same Greek word-dogmasin-found in Ephesians 2:15. It is used in Colossians 2:20 where it is also translated “ordinances.” What ordinances? The word “ordinance” means “decree,” “ordinance,” “decision,” “command.” But what decree, ordinance, decision, or command? Paul gives us the answer in verses eight and twenty-two: philosophy, vain deceit, traditions of men, rudiments of the world, commandments and doctrines of men! “Ordinances of men” brought about the debt or bond that was against us. For example, how many traditions, philosophical ideas, rules of men, or man-made laws have caused us to walk contrary to the Law of God? By following these man-made “ordinances,” we have brought upon ourselves the death penalty-the debt we owe for breaking God’s commandments. This was the debt Christ blotted out when He died on the stake for us. He paid the penalty we owe. Christ, not the Law of God, was nailed to the cross.
Paul continues, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days” (Col. 2:16). The phrase “in respect of” should be translated “part.” See under meros (Greek Analytical Lexicon, by Harper, page 264). Bullinger points out in The Companion Bible that “part” means “in taking part.” Thus, the text should read: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in taking part of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.” Verse 17 goes on to say: “Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” The word “is” is not found in the original text. Translators added it to the English in order to make the meaning clear. But it does not make the meaning clear. It confuses what Paul said. What Paul is stating in verses 16 and 17 that it is not man’s right is to judge the above matters. The only judge in these matters is the Body of Christ-the Church. The word “judge” is from the Greek word krino. Besides meaning to judge or condemn, it means to “consider,” “to prefer.” (See Arndt and Gingrich, 452-453). Paul instructs the Colossians that one should be careful not to offend a brother on those public occasions of worship (Sabbaths, holy days) by what one eats or drinks. See 1 Corinthians 8:8-13; 10:31-32. Keep in mind there were false teachers in Colosse attempting to impose regulations on “touch not, taste not, handle not” as a means to achieve humility (Col. 2:23). Paul prohibited these teachers from instituting any kind of legislation (man-made rules) regarding the Sabbath or holy days. Paul pointed out that the Sabbath and holy days are shadows of things to come. Therefore, they should be observed today. The Sabbath was not done away. This letter, written about 30 years after the crucifixion of Christ, shows it should be kept or it would not be called a “shadow of things to come.” Colossians 2:14-17 does not say the Sabbath was nailed to the cross. It says the debt we owe for breaking the Law of God was nailed to the cross
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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barrykind
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Yahshua said: “Sabbath was made for man…”(Mark 2:27)
Did He say ‘For the Jews’? No, He said it was for mankind. The word ‘man’ in this scripture is from the greek word, Anthropos, which means, human beings, or mankind. This was not an Old Testament comment either, but a comment made by Yahshua Himself, when He was talking to the religious leaders of the day. Yahweh has one, not two peoples in the earth. He is returning to a perfect bride, made up of Jew and Gentile. Israel was always open to Gentiles, read how the ‘strangers’ have always been considered and included by Yahweh and cared for by Him, and adopted into His Israel, His bride to be. Gentiles are called to be ‘partakers’ of the Olive tree and its root
(Romans 11) Isaiah 56:2,6,7 “Blessed is the man…that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it.” “Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to Yahweh…every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer…for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.”
Things haven’t changed, Yahweh does not change. His laws and commandments still stand, for all people who desire to be a part of His holy Kingdom. Yahweh set up the Sabbath day as a ceasing from work and labour day long ago. He rested on and blessed the seventh day, and that blessing has never been removed or changed onto any other day. Keeping His Commandment of honouring the Sabbath day will bring a unique blessing into our lives. The following link is for those desiring to read about when and how the Sabbath was inaugurated by Yahweh in His Covenant. The inauguration of the Sabbath Day.
"Well, every day is a rest now!"
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This is another argument against keeping Saturday Sabbath. (Why do Gentiles insist on having it their own way? Jewish people flood into Israel every year from all points of the globe, and no-one ever disputes which day should be kept as Sabbath!)
Every day being a Sabbath is a popular Christian doctrine. It means that no special day needs to be kept, as Yahshua has procured a rest for the people of Yahweh because they have ceased from their own works and now do His (if only...) This is a daily rest some people propagate as a reason not to observe any particular day. Of course we understand that this means that the finished work of Calvary invalidates the self effort once needed to keep the Commandments. We now, in Yahshua, having sins forgiven and the holy Spirit residing in us no longer depend on 'our own works' but on His grace and power to give us victory over sin, thus enabling us to keep His instructions and Commandments.
In Hebrews 4:2 Paul talks of the rest for the people of Elohim (God). This word ‘rest’ means to ‘settle down,’ ‘to colonise’ ‘to repose down’. It is a play on words. He is using their understanding of the restfulness of Sabbath to make a point, not to invalidate the Sabbath day!
Not to instruct others not to keep the day which He obviously kept! (For his activities on the Sabbath see: Acts 13:14: Paul and Barnabas observed the Sabbath in the synagogue in Antioch. See also Acts 16:13, Acts 17:2, Acts 18:4 )
The Greek here for rest (Strongs 2663) means the same as the Hebrew (Strongs 4520) meaning the repose of believing in Yahshua like a type of heaven. Of course there is this kind of rest in Yahshua, as we have indeed ‘ceased from our own works’ Paul would be horrified if he thought he had misled us on this point, to break the Commandments of Yahweh!
Yahshua’s activities on the Sabbath
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Yahshua kept the Sabbath. Yahshua showed what kinds of activities were acceptable on the Sabbath. He always made a point of teaching by example. On the Sabbath day He visited and taught in the Synagogues where the Law was being read and expounded, healed people and explained to them about doing good on the Sabbath day. The only qualification or comment He made about the Sabbath was to show people not to be in bondage to the religious teachings of the day. Yahweh made the Sabbath day for man, and in healing and teaching people on this day Yahshua qualified His comment. Nowhere do we hear of Yahshua disannulling the day. He encouraged His followers through example to continue to honour the day, and after His death Miriam and the other ladies honoured the day by ‘resting on the Sabbath’ before visiting the tomb. ("according to the commandment" the writer added to make a point.)
If Yahshua had desired to change the day or abolish it, He did not get through to His dearest friends, did He? After His death His disciples continued to observe the Sabbath and teach others both Jews and Gentiles to do the same. See Acts 13:42,44 and Acts 18:4 “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” “ And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of Yahweh” “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.”
In Matthew 24:20 Yahshua, warning the people about the coming destruction of Jerusalem said that they should pray that their flight would not be on the Sabbath day. Would He have said this if He had wanted to abolish it? I think not. Also, He instructed and showed by example what was lawful on the Sabbath. He said, ‘The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day’ (Mk 3:4) and He also said that it was alright to do good, to loosen our donkey, visit friends and to heal on the Sabbath day. (Mk 2:27, 2:28, 3:4, 4:31, Luke 4:31, 6:1, 14:1, ) If He had abolished the Sabbath day would He have qualified what was allowed? Of course not. In Luke 6:1 the writer (Luke) mentions that the Sabbath they walked through the corn fields was the second Sabbath after the Feast of Passover (look at ‘second’ in Strongs 1209 explains this) Yahshua not only kept Sabbath, but the Feasts too. If He did not, then surely Luke would have not mentioned it in this account.
Paul, who came later, observed the Sabbath. He did not begin another group, worshipping on Sundays instead… He preached in the synagogues on the Sabbath day just as he probably always had. (Acts 13:14) He also advised others to go and listen to Moses being read and taught on the Sabbath day, even Gentiles! (Acts 13:27 and 15:21)The point is not whether or not Gentiles should keep the Sabbath, the Commandments are Universal Laws set down in stone for mankind. If you or I ignore the seventh day Sabbath we are in fact ignoring Yahweh (God). It is nothing to do with if we are Jews or Gentiles, the moment we turn to Yahshua we begin to commit ourselves to Him and to His Commandments. Yahshua said, "I keep My Father's Commandments..." We as His followers have an obligation to do the same. Salvation is for everyone, and Yahshua said "Strait is the gate and narrow the way to Life, and few there be that find it." There is an enemy who has spread numerous lies and deceptions both inside and outside of church in order to prevent a clear understanding of this subject. May we be humble enough to receive the true Torah of Elohim. There is no scriptural evidence for changing the day from Saturday (seventh day) to Sunday (first day) whatsoever. Read this link to see who changed the day and how. Yahshua certainly never changed it and neither did His disciples before or after the resurrection. Why is it that Gentile believers want to do so? You could answer that for yourself.
It’s not easy to go against the grain of rebellion, not easy to forge a new way ahead, go against the ways of the crowd, but I do know that you will be great in the Kingdom if you keep the Commandments of Yahweh, (Matthew 5:19) and this includes keeping the Sabbath day. As Elijah of old, you will not be the only one not ‘bowing the knee to baal’ there will be others who will desire to join you. We have learned a great deal on our journey and will happily share our findings and understanding with you. We find it a great joy and of huge benefit to keep the correct day holy. After all, the scriptures say, ‘Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day…” You will find a unique blessing in your life as you walk in obedience to His word.
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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barrykind
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The Inauguration of the Sabbath Day
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The day of the Sabbath is not a disputable matter, it is a Commandment of Yahweh which has never been questioned by the Jews, including Yahshua. There has never been any evidence that Yahweh or Yahshua ever changed the day or abolished it.
• Genesis 2:2-3: Here we read that Yahweh rested on the seventh day, which is Saturday, after He had spent six days creating the world and its environment. He blessed the day and made it holy.
• Exodus 16:23-30: When in the wilderness Yahweh instructed Moses that the people should rest on the seventh day, collecting manna on Friday morning for two days so that they would not have to go out on the holy Sabbath day to gather food.
• Exodus 20:8-11: This scripture of course is the apex of teaching on the subject, as the seventh day Sabbath is one of the Ten great Commandments written on stone. This commandment is emphasized and explained perhaps more than any of the others. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt you labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Yahweh your Elohim (Heb)/God(Greek): You shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your man-servant, or your maid-servant, or your cattle, or the stranger(there is no circumcision required to keep the Sabbath) that is within your gates: for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Yahweh 'nailed it down' pretty tightly!
Yahweh feels so strongly about this commandment that He instructs His people that even strangers visiting their homes should be subjected to the Sabbath day instructions and not work.
• Leviticus 23:3: In the famous 'Feast' chapter, Yahweh again emphasises that the seventh day Sabbath should be regarded as holy and as one of the Feast days to be kept forever by His people.
• Isaiah 58:13-14:In this chapter more light is shed on how we are to keep the day holy unto Yahweh. It is both helpful and illuminating: "If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of Yahweh, honorable; and shall honour it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: then you shall delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will make you to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of Yahweh hath spoken it."
• Luke 4:16: Yahshua regularly taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath day. It was a day for hearing the scriptures being expounded by the rabbis which of course included Him. The people often called Him 'Rabbi' and so He was. Other examples can be found in: Mark 1:21, Mark 6:2, Luke 4:31, Luke 6:6, Luke 13:10, and John 5:14.
• Acts 13:14: Paul and Barnabas also observed the Sabbath and taught as Yahshua did in the synagogues. See Acts 16:13, Acts 17:2, Acts 18:4 Decisions about changing the Sabbath day have been purely a 'gentile' thing, and the nations will one day answer for the changes they have made. According to the end of the Book of Revelation, we are instucted not to add or take away from the Word of Yahweh found in the Torah and the New Testament (Covenant).
For when YHWH wrote the TenCommandments with HIS finger he stated:
"REMEMBER" the Sabbath..........Remember
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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