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Topic: The Sabbath Day And The Feasts Of Yahweh
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Carol Swenson
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Each of the feasts have both a historic and prophetic significance. They celebrate an historical event in Israel's past, [ISRAEL'S past - not my past or your past or just anybody's past - but ISRAEL'S past, i.e., the Feasts of Israel], but also are a prophecy of future events which have been, or will be, fulfilled. The first four feasts were fulfilled by Jesus Christ during the actual celebration of those feast days. The last three will be fulfilled at His second coming.
Should Christians celebrate these Levitical feast days of Israel today? Whether or not a Christian celebrates the feast days would be a matter of conscience for the individual Christian. Colossians 2:16-17 tells us “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Christians are not bound to observe the feasts the way an Old Testament Jew was, but we should not criticize another believer who does or does not observe these special days and feasts (Romans 14:5).
While it is not required for Christians to celebrate the feast days, it is beneficial to study them. Certainly it could be beneficial to celebrate these days if it leads one to a greater understanding and appreciation for Christ’s death and resurrection and the future promise of His coming. As Christians, if we choose to celebrate these special days, we should put Christ in the center of the celebration, as the One who came to fulfill the prophetic significance of each of them.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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becauseHElives
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significance of the Jewish feasts
they are the "Feast of Yahweh" not the Jewish feast!
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
Posts: 4578 | From: Southeast Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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Carol Swenson
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The Feasts of Israel
In order to understand the significance of the Jewish feasts, we must comprehend their purpose and timing. The most complete description of the feasts is found in Leviticus 23. Each of the feasts have both a historic and prophetic significance. They celebrate a historical event in Israel's past, but also are a prophecy of future events which have been, or will be, fulfilled. The first four feasts were fulfilled by Jesus Christ during the actual celebration of those feast days. The last three will be fulfilled at His second coming. The feasts are as follows:
1. Passover: [Ex. 12:1-14 & Lev. 23:4,5] On the 10th day of the first month, Nisan, [roughly equivalent to April on our calendar], every family of Israel was to take a lamb, without blemish, and separate it from the flock. On the evening of the 14th the Passover lamb was killed, cooked, and eaten during the night. The blood was applied on the door posts and lintel. This feast celebrates the Exodus from Egypt. But, like all of the feasts, it also has a prophetic meaning. It looked forward to the sacrifice of the "Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world." This was clearly demonstrated by Paul when he wrote, "For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." [1 Cor. 5:7]. Not only did Jesus fulfill this feast symbolically, but also quite literally. On the 10th of Nisan, Palm Sunday, Jesus rode down the mount of Olives on a colt. He was crucified four days later on Passover.
2. Unleavened Bread: [Lev. 23:6-8] The day following Passover, the 15th of Nisan, began the feast of Unleavened bread. This feast covered seven days, from the 15th to the 21st of Nisan. The first and last days, [15th & 21st], were "High Sabbath" days, although they do not necessarily fall on the weekly Sabbath. "High Sabbath" days are mandatory rest days which occur during some feast days. They are identified in Lev. 23:7, 8, 21, 24, 27, 28, 32, 35, 36, 39. Just as with the weekly Sabbath, the day before any "High Sabbath" is a "preparation day." This means Passover, the 14th, is also the "preparation day" for the "High Sabbath" on the 15th, [see: John 18:28, 19:14,31]. The feast of Unleavened Bread celebrates the journey of the children of Israel through the wilderness, when God fed them with manna from heaven and supplied water out of the rock. This feast was fulfilled by Jesus during the Feast of Unleavened Bread when He said, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." [John 6:51]. Jesus was crucified on Passover. His body [His flesh] was laid in the tomb just before sunset, when the "High Sabbath" of the Feast of Unleavened Bread began. His body laid in the tomb for the first three days of this feast, from the 15th through the 17th of Nisan.
3. Firstfruits: [Lev. 23:9-14] During the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread fell a Sunday. In the year of the crucifixion, Sunday fell on the 18th of Nisan, three days after Jesus was put in the tomb. On this Sunday, called the Feast of Firstfruits, each Israelite family brought a single bundle of barley to the Temple. The priest would then wave it before the Lord. This bundle represented the very first of the harvest. It was gathered at the beginning of the harvest and given to the Lord. Jesus fulfilled this feast as well. He rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. The Apostle Paul said, "But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept."..."For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." [1 Cor. 15:20,23]. The resurrection of Christ is the guarantee of our resurrection.
4. Pentecost: [Lev. 23:15-21] From the feast of Firstfruits, the Jews were to count seven Sabbaths, [49 days]. The Sunday following the seventh Sabbath, was the Feast of Pentecost, [which means "fiftieth"]. This feast commemorated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. On that day God himself came down in a cloud on Mt. Sinai in fire and smoke and a blast of God's trumpet, to establish His covenant with His people. This feast was also a prophecy of the coming of the New Covenant which was consummated on the same day, the Day of Pentecost, with a mighty rushing wind, tongues of fire and miraculous demonstrations of the Holy Ghost. Even though the disciples were trained by Jesus for their task of world evangelism, Jesus instructed them to remain in Jerusalem until they received the power of the Holy Spirit which came on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost.
The first four feasts were fulfilled by Jesus both symbolically and literally at His first coming. The last three will be fulfilled by Jesus at His second coming. Since the first four feasts were fulfilled on the very days God commanded His people to celebrate them, it is reasonable to conclude that the remaining three feasts will also be fulfilled on the actual feast days as well.
5. Feast of Trumpets: [Lev. 23:23-25] God commanded Israel to keep a "High Sabbath" on the first day of the seventh month, by blowing a series of trumpets. Although the Scripture does not specify what this feast represents, it possibly looked forward to the fall of Jericho. In the days of Joshua, they were instructed to march around the city of Jericho seven days. Each day the trumpets were blown by the priests, but the people kept silent. On the last day, they marched around the city seven times with the seven priests blowing seven trumpets. When the last trumpet sounded, the people raised a great shout, and the walls of the city fell flat. Is it a coincidence that Paul said we will be raised at the "last trumpet?" [1 Cor. 15:54]. Is it also a coincidence that at the rapture there will be a great "shout?" [1 Thes. 4:16].
6. The Day of Atonement: [Lev. 23:26-32] The Feast of Trumpets is followed by ten days called by modern Jews, "the days of awe." This is a time of national repentance for Israel. The 10th day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement. On this day the priest entered the Holy of Holies into the presence of God to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. The Passover clearly represents personal salvation, [each family had their own lamb, and celebrated Passover at home]. But the Day of Atonement represents national salvation for Israel. Only one sacrifice was offered for the whole nation. The Bible makes it clear that at the second coming of Christ, the surviving Jews will look upon Christ and be saved in a day. [cf. Zech. 12:9,10 & 13:1, Rom. 11:25-27, Rev. 1:7] If there is any day on the Jewish calendar which is a prophecy of the second coming of Christ to overthrow the world kingdoms and deliver His people Israel, this is it.
7. The Feast of Tabernacles: [Lev. 23:33-43] Five days after the Day of Atonement is the Feast of Tabernacles. From the 15th to the 22nd of the seventh month was a time of the greatest rejoicing. It was the festival of all festivals. Israel was commanded to build tents [tabernacles] and live in them during the feast days. This commemorated how God brought them out of Egypt, through the wilderness into the promised land. Secondly, they were to cut off branches of palm trees and wave them, rejoicing before the Lord. Even the Jews today recognize that the Feast of Tabernacles looks forward to the Kingdom of the Messiah. Zechariah 14:16-21 states clearly that after Christ sets up His Kingdom the people will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles as a yearly memorial. Also, Revelation 7:9-17 describes the saints who have come through the "great tribulation." This scene takes place at the inauguration of Christ's Kingdom. It depicts a grand celebration with the saints waving "palm branches." Why are they waving palm branches? Obviously they are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. The marriage supper will likely take place during this feast, [Isa. 25:6-8].
There is another day that is celebrated by Israel, Channukah. It begins 75 days after the Day of Atonement [the 25th day of the ninth month - or in our December] and lasts for 8 days. Channukah is not mentioned in the Old Testament, because it began to be celebrated during the period between the Old Testament and New Testament. Basically, it is a celebration of the cleansing of the Temple after the Jews defeated Antoichus Epiphanies. Antiochus was a Syrian King who invaded Jerusalem, defiled the Temple by placing an image of Zeus in the Temple, and offering a pig on the altar. He persecuted the Jewish people terribly, and they began a gorilla resistance against him. Eventually, they recaptured Jerusalem, and immediately set about to cleanse the Temple. So, in essence, this is the celebration of the cleansing and rededication of the Temple to God. It is referred to one time in the New Testament, where Jesus was present in Jerusalem for Channukah.
John 10:22-23
22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
(KJV)
That Channukah is always 75 days after The Day of Atonement may be related to an interesting prophecy in Daniel.
Dan 12:12
12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
(KJV)
1,335 days is exactly 75 days more than the 1260 days that Antichrist will reign. So, if the Antichrist is destroyed on the Day of Atonement, then the extra 75 days lands us directly on the first day of Channukah. It seems likely this has to do with the rededication of the Millennial Temple, from which Christ will rule.
Since Jesus fulfilled the first four feasts on the actual feast days, we can conclude that He will fulfill the last three in the same manner. This means that the battle of Armageddon will likely be on the Day of Atonement, the 10th day of the seventh month.
(Tim Warner)
http://www.pfrs.org/jewish/hr01.html
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
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Sabbath or Sunday, the Biblical Evidence
Sunday is not a pagan holiday any more than Saturday is a pagan holiday. Sure, "Sunday" was named for the "sun god," and ancient pagans who worshipped the sun worshipped on Sunday. The Romans and Greeks worshipped the celestial bodies, and thought they were gods. So, they named the days of the week after these gods. Sunday is named for the sun, monday for the moon, etc. Saturday is named for Saturn. And pagans who worshipped Saturn worshipped on Saturday. Does this make the Sabbath a pagan holiday? And are Jews idolaters for worshipping on the Sabbath? Are they worshipping Saturn? Then neither are Christians idolaters for worshipping on Sunday.
The clear teaching of the New Testament is that believers have freedom to worship the Lord, or to honor any day they choose, or none at all.
Rom 14:4-14
4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
(KJV)
Likewise, Paul told the Colossian church not to be intimidated by the Judaizers and Sabbath keepers.
Col 2:16-17
16 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:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
(KJV)
The practice of meeting for worship on Sunday comes from the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The disciples met on two consecutive Sundays, beginning with the day of the resurrection.
John 20:19-29
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."
20 Now when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"
27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
(NKJ)
This first gathering described is really the very first meeting of a Christian church. Even though the disciples were not fully aware of what was happening, their eternal salvation and inheritance had just been accomplished by Jesus Christ. Luke gives us more information about the first appearance of Jesus on Sunday afternoon. Notice that Jesus took this occasion to give a lengthy exposition of Scripture to His Church. The account picks up with the two disciples, who had spoken with Jesus on the road to Emmaeus, hurrying back to Jerusalem to announce their encounter to the rest of the disciples.
Luke 24:32-49
32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"
33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,
34 saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."
37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.
38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."
40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"
42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.
43 And He took it and ate in their presence.
44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."
45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 "And you are witnesses of these things.
49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
(NKJ)
Seven weeks later, again we find the disciples assembled on Sunday. The Feast of Pentecost was always on the Sunday after the seventh Sabbath following Passover [Lev. 23:15,16]. The word "Pentecost" means "50th" because it was the 50th day after the Passover Sabbath. According to Scripture, it must always fall on a Sunday. It was on this Sunday that the disciples' assembly was interrupted again, not with the physical presence of Jesus as twice before, but with the coming of the Holy Spirit. Peter then took the occasion to preach to the crowds outside who had come to Jerusalem for the Feast. And what a sermon it was! Three thousand Jews from the Diaspora were saved, baptized, and added to the Church on that seventh Sunday after the resurrection.
The next indication we have of the day Christians met, comes from the following passage.
Acts 20:6-7
6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.
7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
(KJV)
Verse seven seems to indicate that it was the practice of this church to meet on Sunday. Here is a reference to the "love feast" which was commonly practiced by the early Christians. They would meet together on Sunday to eat, and then worship [1 Cor. 18-34 & Jude 1:12]. The expression "break bread" is thought by some to refer to a normal meal. But, the term most often appears in Scripture in reference to Jesus' "breaking the loaf" at the Last Supper.
Matt 26:26
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
(KJV)
The next occurrence of "breaking bread" is found in Luke's account of the two disciples on the road to Emmeaus on resurrection Sunday [Luke 24:30]. They did not recognize Jesus until he took the loaf of bread and broke it, just as He had done three days earlier at the Last Supper. Luke says immediately they recognized Him, and he vanished from their sight. When they reported back to the other disciples, they said that Jesus was known to them because of His "breaking of bread" [v. 35]. This implies that there was something unique here.
Also, Paul informs us that Christians placed a special significance on "breaking bread" that was associated exclusively with keeping the Lord's Supper.
1 Cor 10:16
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
(KJV)
Even if the term "breaking bread" was common in the first century, it took on a different meaning for Christians.
1 Cor 11:24
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
(KJV)
Notice Jesus' "breaking" the bread was an act symbolizing the broken body of Christ on the cross for us. Notice also, that Jesus told the disciples to repeat the practice of "breaking" the bread as a part of their Communion. He did not merely tell them to eat little crackers. He told them to take a loaf, to brake it, and then to partake of it. That is most significant to the latter usage of the term, "breaking bread" in Acts.
The next time "breaking bread" is mentioned is in reference to the new converts continuing in the "Apostles' doctrine."
Acts 2:42
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
(KJV)
It seems to me that this "breaking of bread" is not simply eating ordinary meals. Of course they continued to eat meals after conversion! It would be rather redundant to tell us they continued eating, because no one supposes that Christians stop eating after conversion! Also, the other things listed in this verse have to do with godly living, not with the needs of the body. This was more than just an ordinary meal. It became the practice of the early Christians to meet together to eat, and to observe the Lord's Supper. Such gatherings were called "love (agape) feasts."
Jude 1:12
12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;
(NKJ)
Paul had to rebuke the Corinthian church because of their abuse of the "love feast." Some of the wealthy members had taken to bringing quite an elaborate meal for themselves, and did not share with those who were of meager means, embarrassing them (1 Cor. 13:18-34). He basically told them, "if you're that hungry, eat at home! Don't defile the Lord's supper." At any rate, we see that it was common practice for the churches to meet together regularly for this "love feast" and to observe the Lord's Supper, the "breaking of the loaf."
Therefore, when Acts 20 tells us "upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread," Luke was indicating something that was common practice among the churches. Now, it is certainly possible that they called together a special meeting because of Paul's imminent departure, as Sabbatarians usually claim. But, one wonders why? If they normally met for the "love feast" on Saturday, and if Paul was departing on Monday, there is no logical reason to call the church together on Sunday. They could have their normal meeting on Saturday, and Paul could preach to them, and could then have time to rest before his trip on Monday morning. Since they met for their love feast on Sunday, and Paul preached till midnight, he actually was rather inconvenienced and sleep deprived having to catch his ship on Monday morning! There is simply no logic to their moving the love feast to Sunday as a special meeting, since this would cause Paul inconvenience, and there was no benefit.
Next, Paul wrote to the Corinthian church regarding a special collection to be taken up for the poor saints at Jerusalem.
1 Cor 16:2-3
2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
3 And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.
(NKJ)
Here, Paul told them to set aside their offering on Sunday. One must ask, why Sunday unless this was when they gathered together? Sabbatarians claim that the words "lay aside" simply mean to set their gift aside at home. But, then why Sunday? If Paul was supposing that they do this weekly (as mention of Sunday indicates), then he would be under the impression that they received their wages weekly. If so, it would seem that Fridays would be the day to set aside one's gift. Furthermore, this interpretation ignores Paul's real point. He didn't want to have to deal with collecting the gifts when he came. He wanted them already collected before he arrived. How would setting aside a gift at home each Sunday help Paul's collection of the gifts? It would not! The collection must be done prior to Paul's arrival. That is the whole point. Therefore, "laying in store" is a reference to bringing your gift on Sunday, where they would be collected and stored until Paul's arrival. By telling them to do this on Sunday, Paul was supposing that they would be meeting together on Sundays.
Our final evidence comes from John's use of the expression "the Lord's day." This phrase is a reference to Sunday, the day of Jesus' resurrection. Sabbatarians claim it means the Sabbath. However, the Greek word for "Lord's" in this verse is used only one other time in Scripture, in reference to "the Lord's supper" [1 Cor. 11:20]. This is clearly referring to Jesus. "The Lord's supper" is Jesus' supper, the "breaking of the loaf" practiced weekly by the early Christians. So, "the Lord's day" would most likely refer to "Jesus' day," Sunday, the day of the resurrection. There is really no question that John meant Sunday. We know this from other Christian literature also written in the latter part of the first century by those who knew John personally, which shows that the term "the Lord's day" was a common expression for Sunday. (See our article: Sunday and the Early Church).
There is no example in Scripture of a New Testament local church meeting on the Sabbath. We are not claiming that all Jewish Christians immediately abandoned the Sabbath. Many continued to observe the Sabbath as well as meeting on Sunday. Paul himself said that he was innocent of the charges leveled by the Jews about breaking the Law. However, we get a glimpse into Paul's practice from his own words.
1 Cor 9:18-23
18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law.
22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
(NIV)
Paul was "observant" of the Law when with the Jews. But, when with the Gentiles, he did not follow the requirements of the Law, including Sabbath observance. Neither did Paul teach the Gentiles to be observant of the Law. In fact, Paul's teaching to the Gentiles became the noose whereby the Jews attempted to hang him at his arrest in Jerusalem. His teaching the Gentiles that they were not under the Law of Moses gave rise to even the Jewish believers in Jerusalem mistakenly assuming that he was teaching the Jews of the Diaspora also that they must forsake the traditions passed down by Moses. And they were not very happy about it. The Apostles in Jerusalem warned Paul of this, and launched a plan to avoid a conflict. However, the plan was ill-conceived and backfired, and Paul ended up being arrested.
Acts 21:18-30
18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.
19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;
21 "but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.
22 "What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.
23 "Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow.
24 "Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.
25 "But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality."
26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.
27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,
28 crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place."
29 (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
30 And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.
(NKJ)
In conclusion, the evidence from Scripture indicates that Christians worshipped on Sunday from the very beginning. That some of the Jewish believers also rested on the Sabbath is clear, from the above passage which describes them as "zealous for the Law." But, Sabbath observance was never imposed on the Gentile believers. The Gospel message that was consistently preached by Paul, the "Apostle to the Gentiles," emphasized the fact that the Law, which was given exclusively to Israel, had been superseded by the New Covenant. That Christians continued to worship on Sunday is perfectly clear from the earliest extra-biblical Christian literature as well.
(Tim Warner)
http://www.pfrs.org/jewish/hr03.html
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becauseHElives
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“The Perpetuity of the Law of God”
A Message Delivered on May 21, 1882 by
C. H. Spurgeon
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18)
It has been said that he who understands the two covenants is a theologian, and this is, no doubt, true. I may also say that the man who knows the relative positions of the Law and the Gospel has the keys of the situation in the matter of doctrine. The relationship of the Law to myself, and how it condemns me; the relationship of the Gospel to myself, and how if I be a believer it justifies me--these are two points which every Christian man should clearly understand. He should not “see men as trees walking” in this department, or else he may cause himself great sorrow, and fall into errors which will be grievous to his heart and injurious to his life. To form a mingle-mangle of law and gospel is to teach that which is neither law or gospel, but the opposite of both. May the Spirit of God be our teacher, and the Word of God be our lesson-book, and then we shall not err.
Very great mistakes have been made about the law. Not long ago there were those about us who affirmed that the law is utterly abrogated and abolished, and they openly taught that believers were not bound to make the moral law the rule of their lives. What would have been sin in other men they counted to be no sin in themselves. From such Antinomianism as that may God deliver us. We are not under the law as the method of salvation, but we delight to see the law in the hand of Christ, and desire to obey the Lord in all things. Others have been met with who have taught that Jesus mitigated and softened down the law, and they have in effect said that the perfect law of God was too hard for imperfect beings, and therefore God has given us a milder and easier rule. These tread dangerously upon the verge of terrible error, although we believe that they are little aware of it. Alas, we have met with authors who have gone much further than this, and have railed at the law. Oh, the hard words that I have sometimes read against the holy law of God! How very unlike to those which the apostle used when he said, “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” How different from the reverent spirit which made him say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” You know how David loved the law of God, and sang its praises all through the longest of the Psalms. The heart of every real Christian is most reverent towards the law of the Lord. It is perfect, nay, it is perfection itself. We believe that we shall never have reached perfection till we are perfectly conformed to it. A sanctification which stops short of perfect conformity to the law cannot truthfully be called perfect sanctification, for every want of exact conformity to the perfect law is sin. May the Spirit of God help us while, in imitation of our Lord Jesus, we endeavor to magnify the law.
I gather from our text two things upon which I shall speak at this time. The first is that the Law of God is perpetual: “Til heaven and earth pass, one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” The meaning is that even in the least point it must abide till all be fulfilled. Secondly, we perceive that the law must be fulfilled. He who came to bring in the gospel dispensation here asserts that he has not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.
I. First: THE LAW OF GOD MUST BE PERPETUAL. There is no abrogation of it, nor amendment of it. It is not to be toned down or adjusted to our fallen condition; but every one of the Lord's righteous judgments abideth forever. I would urge three reasons which will establish this teaching.
In the first place our Lord Jesus declares that he did not come to abolish it. His words are most express: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” And Paul tells us with regard to the gospel, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31). The gospel is the means of the firm establishment and vindication of the law of God.
Jesus did not come to change the law, but he came to explain it, and that very fact shows that it remains, for there is no need to explain that which is abrogated. Upon one particular point in which there happened to be a little ceremonialism involved, namely, the keeping of the Sabbath, our Lord enlarged, and showed that the Jewish idea was not the true one. The Pharisees forbade even the doing of works of necessity and mercy, such as rubbing ears of corn to satisfy hunger, and healing the sick. Our Lord Jesus showed that it was not at all according to the mind of God to forbid these things. In straining over the letter, and carrying an outward observance to excess, they had missed the spirit of the Sabbath law, which suggested works of piety such as truly hallow the day. He showed that Sabbatic rest was not mere inaction, and he said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” He pointed to the priests who labored hard at offering sacrifices, and said of them, “the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless.” They were doing divine service, and were within the law. To meet the popular error he took care to do some of his grandest miracles upon the Sabbath-day; and though this excited great wrath against him, as though he were a law-breaker, yet he did it on purpose that they might see that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, and that it is meant to be a day for doing that which honors God and blesses men. O that men knew how to keep the spiritual Sabbath by a easing from all servile work, and from all work done for self, The rest of faith is the true Sabbath, and the service of God is the most acceptable hallowing of the day. Oh that the day were wholly spent in serving God and doing good! The sum of our Lord’s teaching was that works of necessity, works of mercy, and works of piety are lawful on the Sabbath. He did explain the law in that point and in others, yet that explanation did not alter the command, but only removed the rust of tradition which had settled upon it. By thus explaining the law he confirmed it; he could not have meant to abolish it or he would not have needed to expound it.
In addition to explaining it the Master went further: he pointed out its spiritual character. This the Jews had not observed. They thought, for instance, that the command “Thou shalt not kill” simply forbade murder and manslaughter: but the Savior showed that anger without cause violates the law, and that hard words and cursing, and all other displays of enmity and malice, are forbidden by the commandment. They knew that they might not commit adultery, but it did not enter into their minds that a lascivious desire would be an offense against the precept till the Savior said, “He that looketh upon a woman to lust after her committeth adultery with her already in his heart.” He showed that the thought of evil is sin, that an unclean imagination pollutes the heart, that a wanton wish is guilt in the eyes of the Most High. Assuredly this was no abrogation of law: it was a wonderful exhibition of its far-reaching sovereignty and of its searching character. The Pharisees fancied that if they kept their hands, and their feet, and their tongues, all was done, but Jesus showed that thought, imagination, desire, memory, everything, must be brought into subjection to the will of God, or else the law was not fulfilled. What a searching and humbling doctrine is this! If the law of the Lord reaches to the inward parts who among us can by nature abide its judgment? Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. The ten commands are full of meaning--meaning which many seem to ignore. For instance, many a man will allow in and around his house inattention to the rules of health and sanitary precaution, but it does not occur to him that he is trampling on the command-- “Thou shalt not kill,” yet this rule forbids our doing anything which may cause injury to our neighbor’s health, and so deprive him of life. Many a deadly manufactured article, many an ill-ventilated shop, many a business with hours of excessive length, is a standing breach of this command. Shall I say less of drinks, which lead so speedily to disease and death, and crowd our cemeteries with untimely graves? So, too, in reference to another precept: some persons will repeat songs and stories which are suggestive of uncleanness--I wish that this were not so common as it is. Do they not know that an unchaste word, a double meaning, a sly hint of lust all come under the command, “Thou shalt not commit adultery”? It is so according to the teaching of our Lord Jesus. Oh, talk not to me about our Lord’s having brought in a milder law because man could not keep the Decalogue, for he has done nothing of the kind. “His fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor.” “Who may abide the day of his coining? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap.” Let us not dare to dream that God had given us a perfect law which we poor creatures could not keep, and that therefore he has corrected his legislature, and sent his Son to put us under a relaxed discipline. Nothing of the sort. The Lord Jesus Christ has, on the contrary, shown how intimately the law surrounds and enters into our inward parts, so as to convict us of sin within even if we seem clear without. Ah me, this law is high; I cannot attain to it. It everywhere surrounds me; it tracks me to my bed and my board; it follows my steps and marks my ways wherever I may be. No moment does it cease to govern and demand obedience. O God, I am everywhere condemned, for everywhere thy law reveals to me my serious deviations from the way of righteousness and shows me how far short I come of thy glory. Have thou pity on thy servant, for I fly to the gospel which has done for me what the law could never do.
“To see the law by Christ fulfill’d,
And hear his pardoning voice,
Changes a slave into a child,
And duty into choice.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ, in addition to explaining the law and pointing out its spiritual character, also unveiled its living essence, for when one asked him “Which is the great commandment in the law?” he said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” In other words, he has told us, “All the law is fulfilled in this: thou shalt love.” There is the pith and marrow of it. Does any man say to me, “You see, then, instead of the ten commandments we have received the two commandments, and these are much easier.” I answer that this reading of the law is not in the least easier. Such a remark implies a want of thought and experience. Those two precepts comprehend the ten at their fullest extent, and cannot be regarded as the erasure of a jot or tittle of them. Whatever difficulties surround the ten commands are equally found in the two, which are their sum and substance. If you love God with all your heart you must keep the first table; and if you love your neighbor as yourself you must keep the second table. If any suppose that the law of love is an adaptation of the moral law to man’s fallen condition they greatly err. I can only say that the supposed adaptation is no more adapted to us than the original law. If there could be conceived to be any difference in difficulty it might be easier to keep the ten than the two; for if we go no deeper than tile letter, the two are the more exacting, since they deal with the heart, and soul, and mind. The ten commands mean all that the two express; but if we forget this, and only look at the wording of them, I say, it is harder for a man to love God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind, and with all his strength, and his neighbor as himself than it would be merely to abstain from killing, stealing, and false witness. Christ has not, therefore, abrogated or at all moderated the law to meet our helplessness; he has left it in all its sublime perfection, as it always must be left, and he has pointed out how deep are its foundations, how elevated are its heights, how measureless are its length and breadth. Like the laws of the Medes and Persians, God’s commands cannot be altered; we are saved by another method.
To show that he never meant to abrogate the law, our Lord Jesus has embodied all its commands in his own life. In his own person there was a nature which was perfectly conformed to the law of God; and as was his nature such was his life. He could say, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” and again “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” I may not say that he was scrupulously careful to keep the law: I will not put it so, for there was no tendency in him to do otherwise: he was so perfect and pure, so infinitely good, and so complete in his agreement and communion with the Father, that he in all things carried out the Father’s will. The Father said of him, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Point out, if you possibly can, any way in which Christ has violated the law or left it unfulfilled. There was never an unclean thought or rebellious desire in his soul; he had nothing to regret or to retract: it could not be that he should err. He was thrice tempted in the wilderness, and the enemy had the impertinence even to suggest idolatry, but he instantly overthrew the adversary. The prince of this world came to him, but he found nothing in him.
“My dear Redeemer and my Lord,
I read my duty in thy Word;
But in thy life the law appears
Drawn out in living characters.”
Now, if that law had been too high and too hard, Christ would not have exhibited it in his life, but as our exemplar he would have set forth that milder form of law which it is supposed by some theologians he came to introduce. Inasmuch as our Leader and Exemplar has exhibited to us in his life a perfect obedience to the sacred commands in their undiminished grandeur, I gather that he means it to be the model of our conversation. Our Lord has not taken off a single point or pinnacle from that up-towering alp of perfection. He said at the first, “Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart,” and well has he justified the writing of the volume of the book. “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law”; and being for our sakes under the law he obeyed it to the full, so that now “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.”
Once more, that the Master did not come to alter the law is clear, because after having embodied it in his life he willingly gave himself up to bear its penalty, though he had never broken it, bearing the penalty for us, even as it is written, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” If the law had demanded more of us than it ought to have done, would the Lord Jesus have rendered to it the penalty which resulted from its too severe demands? I am sure he would not. But because the law asked only what it ought to ask--namely perfect obedience; and exacted of the transgressor only what it ought to exact, namely, death, as the penalty for sin--death under divine wrath, therefore the Savior went to the tree, and there bore our sins and purged them once for all. He was crushed beneath the load of our guilt, and cried, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,” and at last when he had borne--
“All that incarnate God could bear,
With strength enough, but none to spare,”
he bowed his head and said, “It is finished.” Our Lord Jesus Christ gave a greater vindication to the law by dying, because it had been broken, than all the lost in hell can ever give by their miseries, for their suffering is never complete, their debt is never paid; but he has borne all that was due from his people, and the law is defrauded of nothing. By his death he has vindicated the honor of God’s moral government, and made it just for him to be merciful. When the lawgiver himself submits to the law, when the sovereign himself bears the extreme penalty of that law, then is the justice of God set upon such a glorious high throne that all admiring worlds must wonder at it. If therefore it is clearly proven that Jesus was obedient to the law, even to the extent of death, he certainly did not come to abolish or abrogate it; and if he did not remove it, who can do so? If he declares that he came to establish it, who shall overthrow it?
But, secondly, the law of God must be perpetual from its very nature, for does it not strike you the moment you think of it that right must always be right, truth must always be true, and purity must always be purity? Before the ten commandments were published at Sinai there was still that same law of right and wrong laid upon men by the necessity of their being God’s creatures. Right was always right before a single command had been committed to words. When Adam was in the garden it was always right that he should love his Maker, and it would always have been wrong that he should have been at cross-purposes with his God; and it does not matter what happens in this world, or what changes take place in the universe, it never can be right to lie, or to commit adultery, or murder, or theft, or to worship an idol God. I will not say that the principles of right and wrong are as absolutely self-existent as God, but I do say that I cannot grasp the idea of God himself as existing apart from his being always holy and always true; so that the very idea of right and wrong seems to me to be necessarily permanent, and cannot possibly be shifted. You cannot bring right down to a lower level; it must be where it always is: right is right eternally, and cannot be wrong. You cannot lift up wrong and make it somewhat right; it must be wrong while the world standeth. Heaven and earth may pass away, but not the smallest letter or accent of the moral law can possibly change. In spirit the law is eternal.
Suppose for a moment that it were possible to temper and tone down the law, wherein would it be? I confess I do not know and cannot imagine. If it be perfectly holy, how can it be altered except by being made imperfect. Would you wish for that? Could you worship the God of an imperfect law? Can it ever be true that God, by way of favoring us, has put us under an imperfect law? Would that be a blessing or a curse? It is said by some that man cannot keep a perfect law, and God does not demand that he should. Certain modern theologians have taught this, 1 hope, by inadvertence. Has God issued an imperfect law? It is the first imperfect thing I ever heard of his making. Does it come to this that, after all, the gospel is a proclamation that God is going to be satisfied with obedience to a mutilated law? God forbid. I say, better that we perish than that his perfect law perish. Terrible as it is, it lies at the foundation of the peace of the universe. and must be honored at all hazards. That gone, all goes. When the power of the Holy Ghost convinced me of sin I felt such a solemn awe of the law of God, that I remember well, when I lay crashed beneath it as a condemned sinner, I yet admired and glorified the law. I could not have wished that perfect law to be altered for me. Rather did I feel that, if my soul were sent to the lowest hell, yet God was to be extolled for his justice and his law held in honor for its perfectness. I would not have had it altered even to save my soul. Brethren, the law of the Lord must stand, for it is perfect, and therefore has in it no element of decay or change.
The law of God is no more than God might most righteously ask of us. If God were about to give us a more tolerant law, it would be an admission on his part that he asked too much at first. Can that be supposed? Was there, after all, some justification for the statement of the wicked and slothful servant when he said, “I feared thee, because thou art an austere man”? It cannot be. For God to alter his law would be an admission that he made a mistake at first, that he put poor imperfect man (we are often hearing that said) under too rigorous a regime, and therefore he is now prepared to abate his claims, and make them more reasonable. It has been said that man’s moral inability to keep the perfect law exempts him from the duty of doing so. This is very specious, but it is utterly false. Man’s inability is not of the kind which removes responsibility: it is moral, not physical. Never fall into the error that moral inability will be an excuse for sin. What, when a man becomes such a liar that he cannot speak the truth, is he thereby exempted from the duty of truthfulness? If your servant owes you a day’s labor, is he free from the duty because he has made himself so drunk that he cannot serve you? Is a man freed from a debt by the fact that he has squandered the money, and therefore cannot pay it? Is a lustful man free to indulge his passions because he cannot understand the beauty of chastity? This is dangerous doctrine. The law is a just one, and man is bound by it though his sin has rendered him incapable of doing so.
The law moreover demands no more than is good for us. There is not a single commandment of God’s law but what is meant to be a kind of danger signal such as we put up upon the ice when it is too thin to bear. Each commandment does as it were say to us, “Dangerous” It is never for a man’s good to do what God forbids him; it is never for man’s real and ultimate happiness to leave undone anything that God commands him. The wisest directions for spiritual health, and for the avoidance of evil, are those directions which are given us concerning right and wrong in the law of God. Therefore it is not possible that there should be any alteration thereof, for it would not be for our good.
I should like to say to any brother who thinks that God has put us under an altered rule: “Which particular part of the law is it that God has relaxed?” Which precept do you feel free to break? Are you delivered from the command which forbids stealing? My dear sir, you may be a capital theologian, but I should lock up my spoons when you call at my house. Is it the command about adultery which you think is removed? Then I could not recommend your being admitted into any decent society. Is the law as to killing softened down? Then I had rather have your room than your company. Which law is it that God has exempted you from? That law of worshipping him only? Do you propose to have another God? Do you intend to make graven images? The fact is that when we come to detail we cannot afford to lose a single link of this wonderful golden chain, which is perfect in every part as well as perfect as a whole. The law is absolutely complete, and you can neither add to it nor take from it. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.” If, then, no part of it can be taken down, it must stand, and stand for ever.
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
Posts: 4578 | From: Southeast Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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“Let No One Judge You” (Col. 2:16-17)
This warning exposes the danger of the legalism of the gnostic teachers in Colossae. Their doctrines were a strange mixture of Oriental mysticism, Jewish legalism, and a smattering of philosophy and Christian teaching. Apparently, the Jewish legalism played a very important role. This is no surprise, because human nature thrives in “religious duties.” The flesh is weak when it comes to doing spiritual things (Matt. 26:41), but it is very strong when it comes to practicing religious rules and regulations. Somehow, adhering to the religious routine inflates the ego and makes a person content in his self-righteousness. In discussing this problem, Paul presented three important truths.
The basis for our freedom (v. 16a).
It is found in the word therefore, which relates this discussion to the previous verses. The basis for our freedom is the person and work of Jesus Christ. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him (Col. 2:9). On the cross, He canceled the debt and the dominion of the Law (Col. 2:14). As believers, we are under grace as a rule of life and not under Law (Rom. 6:14ff).
The believing Gentiles in Colossae never were under the Law of Moses since that Law was given only to Israel (Rom. 9:4). It seems strange that, now that they were Christians, they would want to submit themselves to Jewish legalism! Paul had the same problem with the Gentiles in the churches of Galatia, and he refuted Jewish legalism in his letter to the Galatian believers (Gal. 3:1ff).
The person who judges a believer because that believer is not living under Jewish laws is really judging Jesus Christ. He is saying that Christ did not finish the work of salvation on the cross, and that we must add something to it. He is also saying that Jesus Christ is not sufficient for all the spiritual needs of the Christian . The false teachers in Colossae were claiming a “deeper spiritual life” for all who would practice the Law. Outwardly, their practices seemed to be spiritual; but in actual fact, these practices accomplished nothing spiritual.
The bondage of legalism (v. 16).
Let no one tell you otherwise: legalism is bondage! Peter called it a “yoke upon the neck” (Acts 15:10). Paul used the same image when he warned the Galatians: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1).
These legalistic regulations had to do with foods and with eating and drinking (partaking or abstaining). Under the Old Testament system, certain foods were classified as “clean” or “unclean” (see Lev. 11). But Jesus made it clear that, of itself, food was neutral. It was what came out of the heart that made a person spiritual or unspiritual (Matt. 15:1-20). Peter was reminded of this lesson again when he was on the housetop in Joppa (Acts 10:9ff) and when he was rebuked in Antioch by Paul (Gal. 2:11ff). “But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do” (1 Cor. 8:8, niv).
It is likely that God’s instructions about foods given through Moses had physical reasons behind them as well as spiritual. This point that Paul brings up is a different matter. If a man feels he is healthier for abstaining from certain foods, then he should abstain and care for his body. But he should not judge others who can eat that food, nor should he make it a test of spiritual living. Romans 14-15 is the key passage on this subject.
But the legalistic system not only involved diet; it also involved days. Once again, this was borrowed from the laws given through Moses. The Old Testament Jew was commanded to keep the weekly Sabbath, which was the seventh day of the week (Ex. 20:9-11). It is wrong to call Sunday “the Christian Sabbath” because it is not so designated in the New Testament. It is “the Lord’s Day” (Rev. 1:10), the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2), the day that commemorates the victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (John 20:1, 19, 26).
The Jews also had their feast days (Lev. 25) and their special “new-moon” celebrations (see Isa. 1:13). Their religion was tied to the calendar. Now, all of this had its proper function under the old dispensation; but it was not meant to be a permanent part of the faith under the new dispensation (see John 1:17). The Law was a schoolmaster that helped to train and discipline Israel in the childhood of the nation, preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah. Now that Jesus had come, the schoolmaster was no longer needed to perform the same functions (Gal. 3:24-4:11).
Does this mean that the Old Testament Law has no ministry to New Testament Christians? Of course not! The Law still reveals the holiness of God, and in the Law Jesus Christ can be seen (Luke 24:27). “We know that the Law is good if a man uses it properly” (1 Tim. 1:8, niv). The Law reveals sin and warns of the consequences of sin—but it has no power to prevent sin or redeem the sinner. Only grace can do that.
The blessing of grace (v. 17).
The Law is but a shadow; but in Christ we have the reality, the substance. “The Law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming” (Heb. 10:1, niv). Why go back into shadows when we have the reality in Jesus Christ? This is like trying to hug a shadow when the reality is at hand!
People who religiously observe diets and days give an outward semblance of spirituality, but these practices cannot change their hearts. Legalism is a popular thing because you can “measure” your spiritual life—and even brag about it! But this is a far cry from measuring up to Christ! (Eph. 4:13)
(Wiersbe)
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becauseHElives
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Member # 87
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The Sabbath Day And The Feasts Of Yahweh
My People are destroyed for a lack of knowledge - Hosea 4:6
The Sabbath Rest.
The Sabbath was instituted by Yahweh long before Moses and the Covenant of Siniai. The Sabbath is first mentioned in Genesis 2:2.
And on the seventh day ELOHIYM ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Genesis 2:2
It is again mentioned prior to the 10 Commandments in Exodus 16:23:
This is that which YHVH hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto YHVH:
Exodus 16:23
All of the Churchianity churches keep the last 6 commandments, namely
* Honor Thy Father and Mother
* Thou Shalt Not Kill
* Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery
* Thou Shalt Not Steal
* Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness
* Thou Shalt Not Covet
These last six Commandments show how we love our neighbor as ourselves, and all of the false religions keep these as well.
But the first four Commandments show how we love Yahweh, and that we are a Covenant People dedicated and betrothed in marriage to Him alone.
It is these first four Commandments that are reduced in importance by the "Churches", because the deceiver knows the importance of these Commandments. The Fourth Commandment of the Sabbath is especially under attack by the AntiChrist.
The Fourth Commandment is for the Rest Day, and is the easiest and most pleasing thing Yahweh ever asked us to do to show our love for Him:
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:
But the seventh day is the sabbath of YHVH thy ELOHIYM: 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 YHVH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore YHVH blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exodus 28:8-11
The Seventh Day is Saturday. There is no one that calls Sunday the Seventh Day. We are told to rest on the Seventh Day, as it is the sign that we are in Covenant Relationship with Yahweh:
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, 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 YHVH that doth sanctify you.
Exodus 31:13
The Sabbath is perpetual. It has no end, because Yahweh said it had no end.
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Exodus 31:16
The Sabbath Rest is still in effect today, as quoted in the "New Testament" book of Hebrews:
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of ELOHIYM.
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as ELOHIYM did from his.
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Hebrews 4:9-11
Yet, many of the "churches" today teach against the sabbath. Likewise, many in the "churches" try to "spiritualize" Israel and say that the "church" is Israel.
If Israel is the "church", or if the "church" is "spiritual" Israel, then how come the "churches" do not keep the Sabbath? The "churches" cannot possibly be "Israel", and the Sabbath is still in effect.
The Sabbath is clearly a perpetual Sign between Yahweh and Israel. Yahweh should know what "perpetual" means even more than we do. Yet we disallow the plain words He has spoken, so that we can "fit" the "churches" into Israel. There is a Christian Israel, but it is not the same as the "church".
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
Posts: 4578 | From: Southeast Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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