Sabbath or Sunday, what does
Holy Scripture say?
Sabbatarians, the sects which hold to the Sabbath, are 7th Day
Adventists, Seventh Day Baptists, Seventh Day Pentecostals, Seventh Day
Armstrong World Wide Church of GOD, and a few other small Sabbath keepers, and
of course, the Jews.
Sabbath: (Shabbath in Hebrew), a Day of
Atonement, a week, as defined in Hebrew sources, is Saturday the seventh day of
the week in Jewish (Mosaic Old Covenant) religious law, and Sunday, the day of
rest for most Christians, as defined in secular dictionaries. The day of rest
for Christianity is defined as Sunday, the Lords day, because Jesus Christ was
resurrected on Sunday. The word "Sabbath" is not a synonym for Saturday, just
because it is practiced on Saturday by some.
I have been told repeatedly that there is no
Biblical evidence for moving the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday, and
these people invariably quote Old Testament verses while at the same time
denying New Testament verses which are contrary to their
teaching.
Sabbatarians refer to the ten commandments of Ex 20:1-17, but
ignore Matt 22:34-40, where Jesus is asked what is the great commandment
IN THE LAW. Jesus grouped all ten commandments as listed in the law,
into only two. Love GOD, which are in commandments 1-3, and love your neighbor
which are in 4-10. Love of GOD includes keeping a "day of rest" which is the
real meaning of Sabbath. Not one word did Jesus say that this day would continue
to be a Saturday.
I will deal with the demise of the Old Covenant first,
which negates all Old Testament verses regarding worship on the Sabbath.
The Old Testament beginnings of the
Sabbath:
And immediately, hints of its ending:
Exodus 31:13, "You must
also tell the Israelites: Take care to keep My Sabbaths, for that is to be the
token between you and Me throughout the generations, to show that it is I, the
Lord, who makes you holy."
Exodus 31:16-17, "So shall the Israelites observe
the Sabbath, keeping it throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
Between Me and the Israelites it is to be an everlasting token for in six days
the Lord made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested at His
ease."
Did you notice that the Sabbath is referred to as a "token" and
that it was binding between GOD and the Israelites, and not between GOD and the
rest of the world?
Compare this verse:
Genesis 17:11, "You shall
circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; it shall be a token of the covenant
between you and Me (Hebrews only)."
Is circumcision binding in the New
Covenant of Jesus Christ? No, as that practice, "being only a token" was
replaced by Baptism. See Colossians 2:11-14
Some Bibles use the words
"symbol" or "sign", instead of token, but the meaning is the same.
A symbol,
or a sign, or a token, or a shadow, or a Type, or a prefigurement, all
used in Holy Scripture, are not the end result, but merely signs of the end
result. Read Hebrews 10:1.
Many Old Testament verses portray a "Type" of
an eighth day on which to worship or to make a special offering.
"Ezra read
from the book of the law of God day after day, from the first day to the last.
They kept the feast for seven days, AND THE SOLEMN ASSEMBLY ON THE EIGHTH DAY,
AS WAS REQUIRED ."
Nehemiah 8:18
Doesn't "Solemn Assembly on the EIGHTH
DAY" sound like Sunday worship in a Church?
See also, Leviticus 9:1-2, 14:23,
15:14-15,29-30, 22:27, 23:36-39, Numbers 6:10-11, 29:35, and
Ezekiel 43:27
One of the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20 states, "Remember to keep holy
the Sabbath day". All of the commandments are binding upon our day to day, or
minute to minute existence except for one, and that one is, keeping of a weekly
Sabbath. All of the commandments dwell upon one word. They are "Moral" laws. The
Sabbath, being a weekly obligation, falls into the same category as "New Moons"
(monthly), and "Festivals" (yearly). Keeping of the Sabbath is not a moral law
but a "Ceremonial law", and is therefore subject to change, as was completed in
Colossians 2:16-17, which clearly states that the Sabbath is but a "shadow" of
things to come.
The Old Testament prophesies of the demise of the
Sabbath:
Isaiah 1:13, "Offer sacrifice no more in vain: incense is an
abomination to Me. The new moons, and the Sabbaths and your festivals I will not
abide."
Compare this prophecy with its fulfillment in Colossians 2:16-17.
Jer 31:31-34, "...and I will make a New
Covenant...not according to the covenant which I made with their
fathers...the covenant which THEY MADE VOID..."
Lam 2:6, "And he has
destroyed his tent as a garden, he has thrown down his tabernacle. The Lord has
caused feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and has delivered up king
and priest to reproach, and to the indignation of his wrath."
Hosea 2:11, "And I will cause all her mirth to cease, her
solemnities, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her festival times."
Jesus Christ rebuked those who criticized Him for doing things on
the Sabbath:
Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28,3:1-6, Luke 13:14-17.
In
John 5:5-18, an infirmed man was cured by Jesus on the Sabbath, and Jesus told
the man to take up his pallet and walk, two clear violations of Sabbath keeping.
In verse 10 the man is admonished by others for being in direct violation of
carrying his pallet on the Sabbath. Why do you suppose Jesus Himself broke the
Sabbath twice? After all didn't He Himself write the ten commandments? Clearly
He has prefigured the demise of the "ceremonial" Sabbath here.
The Old Covenant, and with it the Sabbath, was obsoleted by the New Covenant. It
was fulfilled and replaced by the Law of Christ and the Lord's Day:
The
Mosaic Covenant and with it the stone tablets with the 10 commandments were
inseparable.
Ex 34:28, "So Moses stayed there with the Lord for forty
days and forty nights, without eating any food or drinking any water, and he
wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten
Commandments."
Deut 9:11, "Then, at the end of the forty days and forty
nights, when the Lord had given me the two stone tablets of the covenant..."
1Kings 8:21, "And I have set there a place for the ark,
wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when they
came out of the land of Egypt."
2Chron 6:11, "And I have put in it the
ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with the children of
Israel."
2Cor 3:7-8, "Now if the ministration of death, which was
engraved in letters upon stones, was inaugurated in such glory that the children
of Israel could not look steadfastly upon the face of Moses on account of the
transient glory that shone upon it, shall not the ministration of the spirit be
still more glorious?"
2Cor 3:13-17, "We do not act as Moses did, who used
to put a veil over his face that the Israelites might not observe the glory of
his countenance, which was to pass away. But their minds were darkened; for to
this day, when the Old Testament is read to them, the selfsame veil remains, not
being lifted to disclose the Christ in whom it is made void. Yes, down to this
very day, when Moses is read, the veil covers their hearts; but when they turn
in repentance to GOD, the veil shall be taken away."
Heb 9:4, "In the ark
was a golden pot containing the manna and the rod of Aaron which had budded, and
the tablets of the covenant."
Heb 4:3-7, "We then who have believed shall
enter into his rest, even as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath: They shall
not enter into my rest. And indeed his works were completed at the foundation of
the world. For somewhere he spoke of the seventh day thus, And GOD rested the
seventh day from all his works; and in his place again: They shall not enter
into my rest. Since then it follows that some are to enter into it, and they to
whom it was first declared did not enter in because of unbelief, HE AGAIN FIXES
ANOTHER DAY TO BE TODAY, saying by David after so long a time, as quoted above,
"Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
What does "He again
fixes another day to be today" mean? It means a day other than
Saturday.
2Cor 5:17, "If then any man is in Christ, he is a new creature:
the former things have passed away; behold, they are made new!"
Eph 2:15,
"The law of the commandments expressed in decrees he has made void, that of the
two He might create in Himself one new man and make peace."
Gal 4:8-11,
"Formerly, when you did not know God, you were in bondage to beings that by
nature are no gods; but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be
known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental
spirits, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days (sabbaths), and
months, and seasons, and years! I am afraid I have labored over you in
vain."
Compare these verses with Col 2:13-19 below. Observing days is
observing Sabbaths, observing months is observing new moons, observing years
is observing festivals. And what does St. Paul have to say regarding this? He
said he has labored in vain for those who continue to observe these
things!
Col 2:13-19, "(13) And you, when you were dead by reason of your
sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh (failing to follow the Old Covenant),
He brought to life along with Him, forgiving you all of your sins (bypassing the
O.C.), (14) canceling the decree against us (the O.C.), which was hostile to us.
Indeed, He has taken it completely away, nailing it to the cross(the O.C. was
nailed to the cross, effectively ending it, and with it the Sabbath)... (16) Let
no one call you to account for what you eat or drink or in regard to a festival
or a new moon, or a Sabbath."
That says, just what it says, do not account
for a Sabbath.
Verse (16) clearly says it, yet no Sabbatarian can explain
this verse. It is ignored by them, as it is not in line with their teaching. One
tried to say that it applied only to certain Sabbaths, not most, but he could
not prove what he said.
Here, the Sabbath is ended, and further on in this
file you will see where Sunday worship begins.
A 'type' is a Biblical person, thing, action, or an
event, a 'prefigurement', or a 'shadow', in the Old
Testament, of a new truth, a new action, or a new event in the New Testament.
For example, in Rom 5:12-14, Adam is shown to be a figure or 'type' of Christ (vs14). The New testament
'antitype' or 'reality' is always greater than its Old
Testament 'type'. Now in Col 2:17, "These are a 'SHADOW OF THINGS TO COME, but
the substance is of Christ." The Old Testament 'SABBATH' is
a 'TYPE' or 'SHADOW'
(foreshadow) of the New Testament 'REALITY' of the
Eucharistic Celebration, the Mass. These verses could not be any clearer that
the Sabbath 'type' has ended, being replaced by its vastly superior 'antitype'.
Read 2Cor 3:7-8.
Hebrews 8:6-13, "But now he has obtained a SUPERIOR
MINISTRY, IN PROPORTION AS HE IS MEDIATOR, OF A SUPERIOR COVENANT, enacted on
the basis of superior promises. For had the FIRST BEEN FAULTLESS, PLACE WOULD
NOT OF COURSE BE SOUGHT FOR A SECOND. (so the O.C. was
faulted, through our fault, not GOD's, and there was a need for a
N.C.)....(vs13) Now in saying 'A NEW COVENANT,' HE HAS MADE OBSOLETE THE FORMER
ONE; AND THAT WHICH IS OBSOLETE AND HAS GROWN OLD IS NEAR ITS
END."
Romans 7:4-6, "...you also, through the Body of Christ, HAVE BEEN
MADE TO DIE TO THE LAW, SO AS TO BELONG TO ANOTHER WHO HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD,
IN ORDER THAT WE MAY BRING FORTH FRUIT UNTO GOD...... BUT NOW WE HAVE BEEN SET
FREE FROM THE LAW, HAVING DIED TO THAT BY WHICH WE WERE HELD DOWN, SO THAT WE
MAY SERVE IN A NEW SPIRIT AND NOT ACCORDING TO THE OUTWORN LETTER."
Hebrews 7:11-12, "...what further need was there that
another priest should rise, according to the order of Melchisedech, and said not
to be according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, IT IS
NECESSARY THAT A CHANGE OF LAW BE MADE ALSO ."
Hebrews 7:18-19, "On the
one hand there is THE REJECTION OF THE FORMER COMMANDMENT, BECAUSE OF ITS
WEAKNESS AND UNPROFITABLENESS FOR THE LAW BROUGHT NOTHING TO PERFECTION, AND ON
THE OTHER HAND A BRINGING IN OF A BETTER HOPE, THROUGH WHICH WE DRAW NEAR TO
GOD."
I do not see how Scripture could be any plainer than that. The Old
Covenant, and with it the Sabbath, circumcision, bloody sacrifices and a
multitude of other Jewish laws was ended and replaced by the New Covenant of
Jesus Christ. The Sabbath is ended, finis, kaput... But there is a lot more.
Read Hebrews 9 and 10, about the New Covenant.
Hebrews 10:9-10, '"Behold, I come to do thy will,
O GOD," HE ANNULS THE FIRST COVENANT IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH THE
SECOND.'
The Sabbath along with the Old Covenant is dead, the last nail
driven into the coffin, and it is buried.
Galatians 3:10-29, "For those who rely on the works of the
Law are under a curse...BUT THAT BY THE LAW NO MAN IS JUSTIFIED BEFORE GOD IS
EVIDENT, BECAUSE HE WHO IS JUST LIVES BY FAITH....CHRIST REDEEMED US FROM THE
CURSE OF THE LAW.....BUT BEFORE THE FAITH CAME WE WERE KEPT IMPRISONED UNDER THE
LAW, SHUT UP FOR THE FAITH THAT WAS TO BE REVEALED. THEREFORE THE LAW HAS BEEN
OUR TUTOR UNTO CHRIST, THAT WE MIGHT BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. BUT NOW THAT FAITH
HAS COME, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER A TUTOR"
The Old Covenant (the Law of Moses,
and with it the Sabbath), has been a good tutor, but is no longer needed. It has
been fulfilled.
Have you noticed in Matthew 19:16-30, when the man asked
Jesus how he could have eternal life, that Jesus said "Keep the Commandments".
When the man responds in verse 18, "Which?", Jesus recounts the moral
commandments but He does not even mention that the Sabbath must be kept. The
Commandments are listed again in Rom 13:8-10, but nothing is said about
Christians are to keep the Sabbath.
In summary for this segment:
1.
The Old Mosaic Covenant and the stone tablets with the writings are
inseparable.
2. The Old Covenant has been made void and has been replaced by
the New of Jesus Christ.
3. St. Paul condemns keeping of the Sabbath in the
books of Galatians and Colossians.
4. There is no mention whatsoever in the
New Testament that Christians are bound to keep the Sabbath of the Old Mosaic
Covenant.
Sabbatarians insist that St. Paul preached to the
Jews on the Sabbath, and therefore, the Sabbath is still the day of
worship:
They are right about his preaching to the Jews on their Sabbath as
shown in Acts 13:14, Acts 13:44, and Acts 18:4. What they fail to realize is,
since that was the day when the Jews were gathered in the Synagogue, as it was
their Sabbath, he could preach to the maximum number gathered in one place, all
at one time. That was the only reason for his preaching to the Jews on their
Sabbath.
He preached to the Jews first on their Sabbath, while they were
gathered in one place and then after he preached to the Gentiles as shown in
Acts 13:46.
Also, they fail to see that St. Paul was not
under the Law of the Old Covenant, but under the Law of Christ, "And I have
become to the Jews a Jew that I might gain the Jews; to those under the Law, as
one under the Law, that I might gain those under the Law; to those without the
Law, though I am not without the Law of GOD, but am under the Law of Christ."
1Cor 9:20-21
To break this down, in easier terms:
St.
Paul said he was not under the Law of the Jews (the Old Covenant).
However,
he said he was not without the Law.
He said his Law was a different
Law.
He said his Law is the Law of Christ (the New Covenant).
Sabbatarians insist that it was the Catholic
Church which changed the day of worship to Sunday, the first day of the week.
They say there is absolutely no Biblical evidence for doing this:
Well, they
are wrong again. The Catholic Church is the protector of Sacred Scripture as
well as Sacred Tradition, and as protector, it abides by what Holy Scripture,
Tradition, and the Holy Spirit tells it. The day of worship was moved from
Saturday to Sunday because the Lord rose on Sunday, and it is a celebration of
the Resurrection. Christians wanted to get on with the New Covenant and separate
themselves from the Old Jewish traditions. The Catholic Church had the full
authority given by Jesus Christ Himself to do this. See Matthew 16:19 where
Peter, and Peter alone, is given the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (the Church),
and he is given the power of binding and loosening. In Matthew 18:18, Jesus
Christ gave the other Apostles the power of binding and loosening, but He did
not give them the keys.
The Apostles did this as shown very plainly in
Scripture in Acts 20:7,
"And on the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, WHEN WE HAD MET
FOR THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD, Paul addressed them..."
Right here is the
beginning of Sunday worship.
Thank you for insisting it was the Catholic
Church which changed the day to Sunday, for since the Apostles made the change,
all you did was to confirm that they were all Catholic.
The first day of
the week is Sunday and the 'breaking of the bread' is the Catholic Mass.
So
translated, that verse reads, "WE MET ON SUNDAY FOR MASS."
Seventh Day
Adventists have told me that the 'first day of the week' mentioned in this verse
is really the 'seventh' day or the 'Sabbath'. This is a 'twisting' of Scripture
by them to fit their teaching. Twisting Scripture is something the cults do to
try and make Bible verses conform to their beliefs. Please, someone tell me how
the "first" day means the "seventh" day? What wording would Luke have to use in
order to convince you that he was talking about Sunday and not Saturday?
To
use the same argument that Sabbath keepers use regarding Acts 20:7, I will have
to refer you to Gen 2:2-3, where it says GOD rested on the seventh day. Using
the same logic as Sabbath keepers use, then GOD really rested on the sixth day.
Is that not true?
In Acts 20:7, St. Luke did not say they met on the morning
of the first day, or at noon, or in the evening. He merely said "on the first
day". Acts 20:8 does mention that there were "many lamps" in the upper room
which indicates it was evening of the first day. Acts 20:9-11 support that it
was indeed evening. It was customary to meet in the evening for the "Breaking of
Bread", since Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist in the evening during the Last
Supper. As I have said before, Sabbath keepers insist that the Catholic Church
changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. By using the very same
arguments that they do, I am forced to conclude, by using Acts 20:7 and
1Cor
16:2 as proof, that since it was the work of the Apostles that did this, they
will also have to admit that Scripture shows that all of the Apostles were
Catholic as mentioned earlier. This fact of course has been known by all
Catholics for centuries.
Yet a different argument used by Sabbath
keepers to "try to disprove" Acts 20:7, is that they say (using the underlying
Greek) the verse cannot be interpreted that the disciples gathered to celebrate
the Lords Supper that Sunday evening, as the Greek words used for "breaking of
bread" are different from the Greek words used for the "Lords Supper" in 1Cor
11:20. Well, they conveniently omit the fact that the Lords Supper was first
instituted in Matt 26:26 where Jesus "broke" bread. The same Greek word for
"broke", used in Matthew 26:26, is a variant of the Greek word for "breaking",
in Acts 20:7. Trying to prove a difference between "Lords Supper", and "Breaking
Bread", has no validity whatsoever. The meaning is the same, but the wording is
different.
If that wasn't enough, then they go on to say the verse does
not mention the wine, therefore it cannot be the Eucharistic celebration or
"communion". This is simply not true, as there are many verses which refer to
the Eucharistic celebration, or the Mass, which do not mention the wine. Read
this prime example:
"And when it came to pass when He reclined at table with
them, that He took the bread and blessed and 'broke' and began handing it to
them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him; and He vanished from
their sight (Luke 24:30-31)." Not one word about the "wine" is in this famous
Emmaus encounter. Have you noted that they recognized the "true presence" of
Jesus Christ at the breaking of bread?
Here is another good verse for this
subject:
"And they continued steadfastly in the teaching of the Apostles and
in the 'communion of the breaking of the bread' and in the prayers (Acts 2:42)."
Here, "communion" and "breaking of bread" are conveniently tied together. Notice
also that "wine" is not mentioned here either. Just because Scripture does not
mention the word does not mean wine was not used.
See these other verses
which support what I have put forth here, Acts 2:11, and Acts 27:35.
Here is
one which supports that "breaking of the bread" means the "Eucharistic
celebration", and of taking "communion":
"And the 'bread that we break', is
it not the partaking of the Body of the Lord (1Cor 10:16)?"
Sabbath
keepers, try to explain this one?
In 2Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if any
one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new
has come". The "New Creation" began at the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
In Luke 24:30, Jesus took bread and broke and handed it to them. The
same Greek word (klah-o) is used in this verse for "breaking of bread", as in
Acts 20:7. Jesus did this on the same day as His Resurrection. The first
breaking of the bread of the "New Creation" was on Sunday and it was done by
Jesus Christ Himself.
Please do not say Sunday worship is not Scriptural,
since Acts 20:7 clearly shows that it simply is Scriptural when the verse is correctly interpreted. And the
Saviour Himself was first to "Break Bread" after His Resurrection and He did it
on Sunday.
Why did He not wait until the following Saturday to to this?
Sunday is called "The Lord's Day", as shown in
Revelation 1:10.
There are many documents written by early Church Fathers
which attest to the demise of worship on the Sabbath, replacing it with Sunday,
"The Lord's Day". The earliest document, that I know of, is on this website.
Please read the "Didache", the teaching
of the Apostles, written between 70-95 A.D.
Not only have SDA's 'twisted' Holy Scripture to fit their false
teachings, but now, just as Jehovah's Witnesses have done with their corrupted
"New World Translation" (NWT), SDA's have re-written the Holy Bible into yet
another corrupted version called, "Clear Word Bible" (CWB). Now in this
abomination, they have re-written Holy Scripture to reflect more pointedly their
false teaching. Here are just a few of the hundreds of changes they have made to
the Word of GOD in a comparison between the King James Bible (KJ) and the
CWB:
"Revelation 1:10 as read in the
KJ, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice,
as of a trumpet..."
Revelation 1:10 as read in the CWB, "One Sabbath morning
when I had gone..."
See, when in the past they resorted to twisting this
verse to try to show that it really meant the Sabbath, now they "legitimized it"
(in the minds of SDA's) by changing the wording to 'Sabbath' instead of 'the
Lord's day'.
Colossians 2:16 as read in the KJ, "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."
Colossians 2:16 as read in the CWB, "Don’t let
anyone control your life by giving you a set of ceremonial rules about what to
eat, what to drink and what monthly festivals or special Sabbaths to keep."
See, the previously 'twisted' words of this verse are now "legitimized also"
by the addition of the word "special", referring to Sabbaths."
Acts 20:7
as read in the KJ, "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."
Acts 20:7 as read in the CWB,
"After sundown on Saturday night, the believers got together for a fellowship
meal and to say good-by to Paul. That evening he spoke to them until midnight,
after which he hoped to get a few hours sleep before leaving early Sunday
morning."
See, the SDA 'twisting' of the first day of the week in the KJ to
really mean the Sabbath, is now "legitimized" by making it appear to the
uninformed to be the Sabbath instead of Sunday. However, 'after sundown on
Saturday' is the next day, Sunday in the Jewish counting of days. Did you notice
also that 'to break bread' has been changed to read 'fellowship meal'? That is a
deliberate attempt to downplay the Communion or 'breaking of bread' of early
Christians.
I could go on and on reciting the hundreds of abominations in
the CWB, but I think you see the point. You can purchase the CWB and read it for
yourself. It is obvious that SDA's ignore all of those verses which say not to
add to or subtract from Holy Scripture.
So now do you believe Seventh-Day
Adventism is of GOD...or of Satan?
Contrary to the denial by
Sabbatarians that the seventh day, the Lord's day, Sunday, is Biblical, I offer
the following:
Biblical references to happenings on Sunday, the first day
of the week...
1. Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Sunday, Lk 24:1-12
2. Christ appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and
celebrated the Eucharist on Sunday, Lk 24:13
3. Jesus appeared to the
disciples behind closed doors, Jn 20:19
4. Jesus appeared to the
disciples with Thomas one week later, Jn 20:26 NAB
5. Jesus opened the
minds of the Apostles to the Scriptures, Lk 24:45
6. The Apostles
received their 'Great Commission' to go and teach all nations, Mt 28:1-20.
7. The Apostles were given the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive
sins, Jn 20:19-23.
8. Jesus told the Apostles to wait in the city
until they were to be clothed with power from on high, Lk 24:49.
9.
On the seventh Sunday after the resurrection, the Holy Spirit descended upon the
Apostles, Acts 2:1-4.
10. Immediately after receiving the Holy Spirit,
Peter gave a powerful address on the Gospel resulting in 3000 conversions, Acts
2:41.
11. The Apostles met for the Holy Eucharist on the 'first' day,
Acts 20:7.
12. The Apostles set the 'first' day of the week for the
Churches to take up the collections, 1Cor 16:1-2.
Has any Sabbatarian ever seen the close connection between the sun and
the Son?
"In that day there will be five cities in the land of
Egypt which speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of
hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun. In that day there
will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to
the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in
the land of Egypt; when they cry to the Lord because of oppressors he will send
them a savior, and will defend and deliver them."
Isaiah 19:18-20
"But
for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with
healing in its wings."
Malachi 4:2
"For the Lord GOD is a sun
and shield, he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly."
Psalms 84:11
"It was now about the
sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,
while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in
two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!" And having
said this he breathed his last."
Luke 23:44-46
Did you see the message
here? The sun's light failed...The SON, the light of the world,
died.
"And very early on the first day of the week they went to
the tomb when the sun had risen."
Mark 16:2
In this verse is yet
another connection which many miss. The sun had risen, and on a
Sunday...
The SON had risen, and on a
Sunday.
From the connections in these verses, it looks as if the
spelling of Sunday could also be SONday.
Many early converts from Judaism
continued for a while to attend the synagogue or temple on the Sabbath, as it
was the house of God, and the Old Covenant fulfilled by the New was proclaimed
and preached in the synagogue and temple.
At first there was little or no
thought given to separating from the Jews, as many Jews were converting to the
new faith. But this attendance in no way signified that the Apostles or their
flock subjected their faith to the requirements of the Old Covenant as
interpreted by the Jews. To the contrary! These Jewish converts, as well as
their gentile brothers, gathered often daily, but especially on Sundays, for
"the apostles' instruction and the communal life, ...the breaking of bread and
the prayers." (Acts 2:42).
Many Jews however, refused to convert and the
salvation of GOD was sent to the Gentiles and so went the Sabbath, Acts
28:23-29. The New Testament does not provide any evidence that the Apostles
instructed believers to continue observance of the weekly Sabbath. But it does
show that there were explicit teachings regarding the Eucharist and the Agape,
both of which were especially celebrated on Sundays.
As history testifies,
Christians more or less gradually abandoned the synagogue and temple because of
the pre-eminent place given every Sunday by that first, glorious Easter Sunday.
Much independent historical evidence is available to demonstrate that beginning
very early, the early Church gradually replaced the Sabbath observance with
Sunday worship.
Here are a few questions for
Sabbatarians to answer...
1. Since GOD rested on the seventh day in Gen
2:3, did He impose the Sabbath on Adam and Eve?
2. Did Noah and his family
observe the Sabbath? How about Shem?
3. Did Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob, or
Joseph observe the Sabbath? These people came thousands of years after the day
of rest for GOD. Show me in Holy Scripture where all of these people observed
the Sabbath?
4. The Adamic covenant ended when the Noahic began. Then came
the Abrahamic, followed by the Mosaic, and Davidic covenants, with each one
superseding the one before it. Finally the covenant of Jesus Christ was begun,
as the Old Covenant was fulfilled. Why do Sabbatarians still practice only parts
of the Mosaic Old Covenant and reject the Sunday worship of the covenant of
Jesus Christ? If you want to follow one of these GOD given covenants, then why
do you pick part of this one and part of that one and then reject parts of each?
The evidence I give here is overwhelming that the Sabbath is ended and along
with it, the Mosaic Law. Read on for more proof.
5. Show me the verse(s) in
the New Testament where anyone commands Gentiles (those who are not a Jew) to
observe the Jewish Sabbath?
6. If you are a member of SDA, or
another Sabbatarian sect, are you a Jew?
Well if you are not, then here are two very important verses
from Holy Scripture which I mentioned earlier in this page, that you either have
not seen or have deliberately ignored.
Exodus 31:16-17:
"Therefore
the people of Israel shall keep the sabbath, observing
the sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. (17) It is a sign for ever between me and
the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made
heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was
refreshed."
Holy Scripture clearly and plainly stated that the people of Israel, the Jews, are to keep the Sabbath.
Scripture is silent for keeping of the Sabbath by
Gentiles.
Therefore if you are not a Jew, you are not
bound to keep the Sabbath.
Answers
please???
"To be deep in history is to cease to
be Protestant."
That is what Cardinal John Newman said. Cardinal Newman was
an Anglican priest until he studied the writings of the Church Fathers. In those
writings, he found the true Church which Jesus Christ founded, and he converted
to the Catholic Church. The statement that
he made above is the real reason why Protestant ministers and teachers tell
their flocks not to read the writings of the Church Fathers. They are afraid of
what they will find in the history of the Church. They are afraid of the truth.
Historical facts cannot be denied. Read the Church Fathers and decide for
yourself. Interestingly, when I receive mail regarding this file, not once has
there ever been any mention of the writings of the Church Fathers. This leads me
to believe that Sabbatarians are doing exactly what they have been told, "Avoid
the writings of the Church Fathers, as they will corrupt you".
No my
friends, they surely will not corrupt you. They instead, will teach you the
truth, and knowing the truth will set you free, John 8:32. If you deny the truth
you will perish, 2Thess 2:8-12.
WHAT DID CHURCH FATHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT
THE SABBATH?
Note! I have been told by a Seventh-Day Adventist that
Church Fathers will not be read because of their title of "Fathers", an obvious
reference to Matt 23:9, "Call no man on earth your
Father..." This is simply an excuse on
their part, to avoid the truth, and a very flimsy excuse at that. For hundreds
of years, the Church Fathers and Ecclesiastical Writers faithfully recorded the
history of Christianity.
The real reason that these people refuse to read
these historical writings is
a quote from a convert from Protestantism, John Cardinal Newman, which I have
listed above, "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant". I dare to
say that these same people, therefore, cannot read the history of George
Washington, the "Father" of our country, or of the "Fathers" of the
Constitution, or of anyone else who is the "Father" of something or other.
However, I will bet that they do read of those "Fathers".
The truth of the
history of Christianity
is found in literally hundreds of writings and by scores of authors. To ignore
this vast treasure of writings is to ignore the truth of GOD.
"For the wrath
of GOD is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those
men who in wickedness hold back the truth of GOD." Romans 1:18
"And his
coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and LYING
WONDERS, and with all wicked deception to THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING. FOR THEY HAVE
NOT RECEIVED THE LOVE OF TRUTH THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAVED. THEREFORE, GOD SENDS
THEM A MISLEADING INFLUENCE THAT THEY MAY BELIEVE FALSEHOOD, THAT ALL MAY BE
JUDGED WHO HAVE NOT BELIEVED THE TRUTH, BUT HAVE PREFERRED WICKEDNESS." 2Thess
2:9-12
I challenge all of you to read the writings of the Church Fathers and
the Ecclesiastical writers of the Early Church.
The Didache... This was the
teaching of the Apostles.
Therefore, it was the Apostles who first began
Sunday worship...
"But every Lord's day... gather yourselves together and
break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions,
that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his
fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may
not be profaned." Didache 14, 70-100
A.D..
The Letter of Barnabas... "We keep
the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again
from the dead."
Letter of Barnabas 15:6-8, 74 A.D..
Ignatius of Antioch... "Those who
were brought up in the ancient order of things [i.e. Jews] have come to the
possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the
observance of the Lord's day, on which also our life has sprung up again by him
and by his death."
Letter to the Magnesians 9. 107 A.D..
Justin Martyr... (100-165) "We too
would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the Sabbaths, and in short all the
feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined on you, namely, on
account of your transgressions and the hardness of your heart... How is it,
Trypho, that we would not observe those rites which do not harm us, I speak of
fleshly circumcision and Sabbaths and feasts?... God enjoined you to keep the
Sabbath, and impose on you other precepts for a sign, as I have already said, on
account of your unrighteousness and that of your fathers."
Dialogue with
Trypho the Jew 18, 21, 155 A.D..
Justin Martyr... "We all gather on
the day of the sun, for it is the first day (after the Jewish Sabbath, but also
the first day of the week) when GOD, separating matter from darkness, made the
world; and on this same day, Jesus Christ our Savior, rose from the dead."
1
Apol 67, Pg 6: 429 and 432.
Tertullian... "Let him who contends
that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of salvation, and
circumcision on the eighth day... teach us that, for the time past, righteous
men kept the Sabbath or practiced circumcision, and were thus rendered 'friends
of God'. For if circumcision purges a man, since God made Adam uncircumcised,
why did he not circumcise him, even after his sinning, if circumcision
purges?... Therefore, since God originated Adam uncircumcised and unobservant of
the Sabbath, consequently his offspring also, Abel, offering him sacrifices,
uncircumcised and unobservant of the Sabbath, was by him (God) commended Gen.
4:1-7, Heb. 9:4... Noah also, uncircumcised, yes, and unobservant of the
Sabbath, God freed from the deluge. For Enoch too, most righteous man,
uncircumcised and unobservant of the Sabbath, he translated from this world, who
did not first taste death in order that, being a candidate for eternal life, he
might show us that we also may, without the burden of the law of Moses, please
God."
An Answer to the Jews 2, 203 A.D..
The Didascalia... "The apostles
further appointed: On the first day of the week let there be service, and the
reading of the Holy Scriptures, and the oblation, because on the first day of
the week our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of the
week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week he ascended up to
heaven, and on the first day of the week he will appear at last with the angels
of heaven."
Didascalia 2, 225 A.D..
Origen... "Hence it is not possible
that the day of rest after the Sabbath should have come into existence from the
seventh day of our God. On the contrary, it is our Savior who, after the pattern
of his own rest, caused us to be made in the likeness of his death, and hence
also of his resurrection."
Commentary on John 2:28, 229 A.D..
Victorinus... "The sixth day
[Friday] is called parasceve, that is to say, the preparation of the kingdom...
On this day also, on account of the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we make
either a station to God or a fast. On the seventh day he rested from all his
works, and blessed it, and sanctified it. On the former day we are accustomed to
fast rigorously, that on the Lord's day
we may go forth to our bread with
giving of thanks. And let the parasceve become a rigorous fast, lest we should
appear to observe any Sabbath with the Jews... which Sabbath he (Christ) in his
body abolished."
The Creation of the World, 300 A.D..
Eusebius of Caesarea... "They (the
early saints of the Old Testament) did not care about circumcision of the body,
neither do we (Christians). They did not care about observing Sabbaths, nor do
we. They did not avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard the other
distinctions which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be observed as
symbols; nor do Christians of the present day do such things."
Church
History 1:4:8, 312 A.D..
Eusebius of Caesarea... "The day of
his (Christ's) light... was the day of his resurrection from the dead, which
they say, as being the one and only truly holy day and the Lord's day, is better
than any number of days as we ordinarily understand them, and better than the
days set apart by the Mosaic Law for feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths, which the
Apostle (Paul) teaches are the shadow of days and not days in reality."
Proof of the Gospel 4:16:186, 319 A.D..
Athanasius... "The Sabbath was the
end of the first creation, the Lord's day was the beginning of the second, in
which he renewed and restored the old in the same way as he prescribed that they
should formerly observe the Sabbath as a memorial of the end of the first
things, so we honor the Lord's
day as being the memorial of the new
creation."
On Sabbath and Circumcision 3, 345 A.D..
Cyril of Jerusalem... "Fall not
away either into the sect of the Samaritans or into Judaism, for Jesus Christ
has henceforth ransomed you. Stand aloof from all observance of Sabbaths and
from calling any indifferent meats common or unclean."
Catechetical Lectures
4:37, 350 A.D..
Council of Laodicea... "Christians
should not Judaize and should not be idle on the Sabbath, but should work on
that day; they should, however, particularly reverence the Lord's day and, if
possible, not work on it, because they were Christians."
Canon 29, 360 A.D..
John Chrysostom... "When he said, 'You shall not kill'... he did not add,
'because murder is a wicked thing'. The reason was that conscience had taught
this before hand, and he speaks thus, as to those who know and understand the
point. Wherefore when he speaks to us of another commandment, not known to us by
the dictate of conscience, he not only prohibits, but adds the reason. When, for
instance, he gave commandment concerning the Sabbath, 'On the seventh day you
shall do no work', he subjoined also the reason for this cessation. What was
this? 'Because on the seventh day God rested from all his works which he had
begun to make', Ex 20:10. And again: 'Because you were a servant in the land of
Egypt', Deut 5:15. For what purpose then, I ask, did he add a reason respecting
the Sabbath, but did no such thing in regard to murder? Because this commandment
was not one of the leading ones. It was not one of those which were accurately
defined of our conscience, but a kind of partial and temporary one, and for this
reason it was abolished afterward. But those which are necessary and uphold our
life are the following: 'You shall not kill... You shall not commit adultery...
You shall not steal.' On this account he adds no reason in this case, nor enters
into any instruction on the matter, but is content with the bare
prohibition."
Homilies on the Statues 12:9, 387 A.D..
John Chrysostom... "You have put on Christ, you have become a member of the Lord
and been enrolled in the heavenly city, and you still grovel in the Law (of
Moses)? How is it possible for you to obtain the kingdom? Listen to Paul's
words, that the observance of the Law overthrows the gospel, and learn, if you
will, how this comes to pass, and tremble, and shun this pitfall. Why do you
keep the Sabbath and fast with the Jews?"
Homilies on Galatians 2:17, 395
A.D..
The Apostolic Constitutions... "And on the day of our Lord's resurrection, which
is the Lord's day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the
universe by Jesus, and sent him to us, and condescended to let him suffer, and
raised him from the dead. Otherwise what apology will he make
to God who does
not assemble on that day... in which is performed the reading of the prophets,
the preaching of the gospel, the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy
food."
Apostolic Constitutions 2:7:60, 400 A.D..
John Chrysostom... "The rite of circumcision was venerable in the Jews' account,
forasmuch as the Law itself gave way thereto, and the Sabbath was less esteemed
than circumcision. For that circumcision might be performed, the Sabbath was
broken; but that the Sabbath might be kept, circumcision was never broken; and
mark, I pray, the dispensation of God. This is found to be even more solemn that
the Sabbath, as not being omitted at certain times. When then it is done away,
much more is the Sabbath."
Homilies on Philippians 10, 402 A.D..
Jerome... (342-420) "The Lord's Day, the day of resurrection, the day of
Christians, is our day. It is called the 'Lord's Day' because on it the Lord
rose victorious to the Father. If pagans call it the 'Day of the Sun', we
willingly agree, for today the 'Light of the World' is raised, today is revealed
the 'sun of justice' with healing in his rays."
Pasch CCL 78, 550
Augustine... "Well, now, I should like to be told what there is in these Ten
Commandments, except the observance of the Sabbath, which ought not to be kept
by a Christian... Which of these commandments would anyone say that the
Christian ought not to keep? It is possible to contend that it is not the Law
which was written on those two tables that the apostle (Paul) describes as 'the
letter that kills', 2 Cor. 3:6, but the law of circumcision and the other sacred
rites which are now abolished."
The Spirit and the Letter 24, 412 A.D..
Pope Gregory I... "It has come to my ears that
certain men of perverse spirit have sown among you some things that are wrong
and opposed to the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the
Sabbath day. What else can I call these (men) but preachers of Antichrist, who
when he comes will cause the Sabbath day as well as the Lord's day to be kept
free from all work. For because he (the Antichrist) pretends to die and rise
again, he wishes the Lord's day to be had in reverence; and because he compels
the people to Judaize that he may bring back the outward rite of the Law, and
subject the perfidy of the Jews to himself, he wishes the Sabbath to be
observed. For this which is said by the prophet, 'You shall bring in no burden
through your gates on the Sabbath day', Jer 17:24, could be held to as long as
it was lawful for the Law to be observed according to the letter. But after that
the grace of almighty God, our Lord Jesus Christ, has appeared, the commandments
of the Law which were spoken figuratively cannot be kept according to the
letter. For if anyone says that this about the Sabbath is to be kept, he must
needs say that carnal sacrifices are to be offered. He must say too that the
commandment about the circumcision of the body is still to be retained. But let
him hear the apostle Paul saying in opposition to him: 'If you be circumcised,
Christ will profit you nothing', Gal. 5:2."
Letters 13:1, 597 A.D..
Isn't it strange that there are absolutely no
writings by the Fathers of the Church in support of Saturday worship instead of
Sunday, even from the very first ones? Isn't that the real reason why Sabbath
keepers refuse to read them because they cannot find support for Saturday
worship? What about the Apostles? Where did they say, "we will continue to
worship on Saturday"?
The Fathers did not write that Christians should keep
the Sabbath simply because the New Testament of Jesus Christ has not one single
verse which says we must do so. There are several verses to the contrary as I
have previously pointed out, but not one word to hold to the Sabbath. As proof
of what I say, read Romans 13:8-10 where the commandments are listed and note
verse 9, "...and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this
saying, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Show me where it says for
Christians, 'Thou shalt keep the Sabbath'?
You cannot make something go away
simply by ignoring it, and you cannot read into Scripture something that is
simply not there.
How do the Sabbath keepers explain this?
Sabbath
keepers;
Where in the New Testament does it say that Christians are required
to worship on Saturday?
Where in the New Testament does it say that the
Sabbath must be kept by Christians?
Summary of what I have shown:
1. The
Mosaic stone tablets and the Old Covenant are inseparable.
2. The Sabbath was
but a "token" of things to come.
3. The Sabbath was but a "shadow" of things
to come.
4. The Old Covenant and with it the Sabbath, was replaced by the New
Covenant.
5. Where the commandments are listed in the New Testament, nothing
is said about the Sabbath.
6. All of the commandments are moral laws save
one, the Sabbath. It was a ceremonial law.
7. Ceremonial laws are subject to
change.
8. Jesus Christ gave His Catholic Church the authority to make the
change.
9. The Mosaic moral laws were carried over into the New Testament and
are listed.
10. The Mosaic ceremonial law of the Sabbath was not carried over
into the New Testament.
11. There is no verse in the New Testament which
binds Gentiles to keep the Jewish Saturday Sabbath.
12. There are verses
which admonish Christians NOT to hold to the Jewish Sabbath, as I have
listed.
13. There are verses in the N.T. which show that the Apostles
worshiped on Sunday, not Saturday.
14. Since the Apostles worshiped on
Sunday, and since SDA's insist that the Catholic Church changed the day of
worship from Saturday to Sunday, then I must thank the SDA's for admitting that
the Apostles were Catholic.
15. Jesus Christ broke bread on Sunday the day of
His Resurrection, the first "breaking of bread" of the "New Creation".
Some final notes: The Old Covenant was fulfilled,
being replaced by the New. The only ones refusing to let go of the Old Covenant
are the Jews and a few Sabbatarians.
I must point out to the latter group,
that you cannot be pickers and choosers.
If you insist on the Saturday
Sabbath, then you have to accept and practice ALL of the Old Law, such as
circumcision, bloody sacrifices, and all those 'good' things in Leviticus. You
cannot have it both ways. You cannot have part of the old and part of the new.
It is an all or nothing situation. True Christians abide by the laws of the New
Covenant, as New Testament Holy Scripture commands.
Not one SDA has ever
been able to show me where the words "Sola Scriptura" (SS) and its meaning are
found in Holy Scripture. According to the SDA definition of SS, how can anyone
believe in "Bible Only" if it cannot be found in the Bible itself? I have
searched for years for the verse(s) and have asked so many non-Catholics to show
me where it is in Scripture, and not one has been able to. Maybe you will be the
first...but only AFTER you read and study this.
A letter to all Sabbatarians:
If you refuse to
believe the Holy Bible, the teachings of the Apostles, the Didache, the
teachings of the Church Fathers, as shown here (and I trust you did not believe
what I have posted and researched the files for yourselves), then I say, I have
sympathy for you. The evidence against you is overwhelming. You are following
the false prophet. I will not listen to you as you continue to beat the dead
horse. Show me in the New Testament where true Christians are to keep the
Sabbath?
The Old Covenant is FULFILLED. The Sabbath is DEAD, ENDED, FINISHED,
KAPUT. We are in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, and no matter how sincere you
are to try to come across in your beliefs, you are sincerely wrong. I have heard
all of your baseless arguments over and over again. Less than 1% of all
Christianity believes as you do.
©
Compiled on
December 9, 1997
Updated on August 3, 2004
Updated April 6, 2007
Updated July 2, 2009
"Have I then become your enemy, because I told you the truth?"
Galatians
4:16
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