COME AS A CHILD LESSON 143 THE JOY THAT COMES FROM THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

KNOWING THE JOY OF KEEPING SABBATH

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Up to this point, we have been studying the Exodus from Egypt.  Last week we discussed how Moses received the ten commandments straight from the mouth of God up on Mt. Sinai; specifically we have discussed the fourth commandment in detail.  This is the commandment that admonishes us to keep Sabbath. 

God has called the Sabbath holy; He has sanctified this day and set it apart from all other days. 

As soon as the creation was finished God rested and began to celebrate a Sabbath that occurred every seventh day forward from that point.   It is amazing to think that this 24 hour period of sacred time has happened right on schedule every seven days just like clockwork since the world first began spinning.   Every seventh day since creation has been holy, set-aside and sanctified in time provided by God.  God intended for the Sabbath to be a very special day of rest and worship. 

The Sabbath isn't the only thing or time that God has sanctified and made holy.  He often does this act of sanctification for His people.  

The Ark of the Covenant was also sanctified by God, as we will note later in this study.  

Another thing we will study later is the sanctification of the Tabernacle.  The Tabernacle was set apart as holy by God.  

The holy scriptures have been sanctified and blessed as The Word of God.  

God gave us special holy days inside each year of our alloted time that He made holy and sanctified.  They are set-aprat days for rest, another form of Sabbath besides the weekly Sabbath.  

Most of all God set aside His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ as a holy, sanctified offering for the world for remission of sin.  

Usually when God sanctifies a person, a thing, or a time it is done to draw people closer to Him. This is true with the sanctification of the Sabbath Day.  God wishes for His people to set everything aside on the Sabbath and draw closer to Him in worship and rest.    

When God gave Moses the ten commandments; thirty percent of the time that God and Moses talked together up on that mountain was spent specifically discussing the ins and outs of keeping Sabbath.  The commandments are written down into 322 words in the scriptures.  98 of those words specifically refer to keeping Sabbath. 

Though the Jewish people are widely known for keeping the 7^th Day Sabbath, the Sabbath was created almost 2,000 years (at creation) before any Jewish nation ever existed.  This would mean the Sabbath commandment would apply to everyone on earth; and not just those who are natives of Israel.    

Adam and Eve and their children knew and kept Sabbath.  

All of God’s people right up through to Abraham and Sarah knew about and kept Sabbath.  

The giving of the commandment on the mountain to Moses was a refresher course, not a first time teaching. 

The Sabbath is tied to many of the facts concerning God’s resting after creation and also to many of the facts concerning God’s deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. 

The Sabbath is all about freedom, and it is definitely NOT a yoke of bondage as some worldly scholars would have you to believe.  To understand this fact in fullness; you must dig deep into God’s ordination and establishment of this most sacred day. 

Typically, the Sabbath Day should always be a day of joy, rest, eating, study of the scriptures, fellowship with God and fellowship with other believers.  Unfortunately many seem to see this day as a legalistic burden instead of what God originally intended.  Try thinking of it this way:  What if the person who employed you full time came to you in the middle of a work shift and said he wanted you to take a break tomorrow in which you would have a whole day off to read, rest, relax and enjoy time with those that you love?  

How would that make you feel? 

He might even suggest that you don’t even think about work at all, not one tiny little bit, on this extra day off.  

Would you complain about that?  

Well, that is exactly what God has suggested for us to do on the Sabbath.  He wants us to put our daily work aside for one whole day and concentrate on rest, leisure and loving Him and one another.  

What could be hard about this? 

It should actually be our greatest joy! 

The Sabbath was designed by God to give us relief from the day-to-day stress of making a living. 

It is a holy time for worship and rest. 

Keeping Sabbath honors God and unifies families.  

This set apart time gives us time for reflection, something that we might not otherwise have during our normal work day.  

Keeping Sabbath also helps us to keep our priorities straight.  It refreshes us both physically as well as spiritually. 

Leviticus 23:32 gives us the time frame for celebrating Sabbath.  It is to happen from sunset on Friday evening till sunset on Saturday evening.  

The world typically makes most things start early in the morning; but God created this space of holy time to begin in the evenings as the sun is setting.  This aspect of Sabbath is patterned after the passages in Genesis where creation is spoken about and the scripture states:  “the evening and morning were the first day; the evening and morning were the second day; the evening and morning were the third day; etc..”  Each day is complete from evening (sunset) to morning (sunrise), then sunset again. The Sabbath is measured the same way.  A whole day would take you from one sunset to another sunset, from one rising of the moon to another rising of the moon. The calendar days of the Hebraic calendar are always counted from sunset to sunset rather than from sunrise to sunset.   

Hence, in order to be authentic, the Sabbath and our observance of it should always begin when the sun sets on Friday evenings.  

Genesis 2:2-3 states how God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that was the day that HE rested from all of HIS work of the creation.  

When we follow the seventh day Sabbath we are patterning our lives in rhythm with the time of God’s clock.  He works six days a week, starting on the first day of the week and working through the sixth day until sunset.  God rests on the Sabbath; the seventh day.  When we do this too; we are living in sync with God’s patterns.  

Life with God is like a beautiful dance, and the dance is better if we are in sync and in rhythm with the one leading us.  Of course we know that God is outside of time and we are inside of time.  He created time just for us.  Our time should be kept in perfect rhythm with our Creator.

God re-emphasized this pattern of keeping Sabbath with the children of Israel when he rained down the Manna from Heaven for six days and the Manna did not fall on the seventh day, because God was resting.  

On that seventh day God was not feeding the people; He was resting.  It is appropriate for us to rest on this day too.  This is how God re-set the clock for the Israelites who had lost track of sacred time during their slavery and bondage.  Now while living in the wilderness and following God they would be keeping the right Sabbath day space in time from that point forward.

 From that time forward we all have been able to continue tracking sacred time, with the keeping of our clocks staying in sync with God’s timing.  

Whenever the people tried to gather manna on the Sabbath Day God noted that they were refusing to keep His commandments and laws.   It mattered to God that they keep Sabbath in this same sacred seven day period that He had started so long ago.  

The day wasn’t to be just any day that the people chose; God chose the specific day, and the people were to keep the day that God chose, and not just any day that they wished to keep.  Again we see this in the way the manna fell from the sky.  

 

The New Testament did not do away with God’s laws in the Old Testament; it simply became the fulfillment of the law.  

The New Testament is the rest of the SAME story that resulted in and from the Old Testament.  It is a further continuation of what God had already begun with mankind; but with the sacred blood of Jesus now given as a sacrifice to confirm the fact that we are free under the new covenant because we are sealed with the blood of Christ.  

The Sabbath day of the Old Testament is still the Sabbath Day of the New Testament.  No scripture ever changed the date, time or space of the Sabbath day.  

1 Corinthians 11:1 confirms that the New Testament Christians were also called out to keep the 7^th Day Sabbath.   This was The Apostle Paul stating that the Christians were to follow his example; as he was following the example that Christ had lived out before us.   

Some stood their ground in keeping Sabbath even when men later tried to change the day of worship and rest from Saturday to Sunday.  

A man named Bar-Kokba organized a revolt against the Romans in 132 A.D.   In a terrible war that resulted in fifty percent of the population of Judea being killed; thousands of the Jewish people living back then (keeping Sabbath) were again sold into slavery.  Jews were forbidden to ever live in Jerusalem again, and the province was renamed and called Palestine. 

These days were very dangerous times to be living as a Jew and observing the Sabbath.  It was during this very dangerous time that the day of worship among the Christians began to change from Saturday to Sunday.  People were afraid for their lives, so this was easily enforced upon the land.  This change was partly due to the Romans needing to be able to tell the  Christians of that day apart from the Jewish people as they were all living in the same nation.  Up until that time, those who had been following the ways of Christ had all worshiped together on the seventh day Sabbath.

Later in an attempt to stop the people from conforming back to Jewish ways again, the Council of Laodicea made this statement:  “Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, the Sabbath, but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s day (Sunday) they shall honor, and as being Christians, they shall, if possible, do no work on that day.  If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ.”

These were pretty strong words, and the acts that were used to reinforce the edicts of these words were even stronger!   

To make matters even worse, many could not read during those days.  The majority of the common people were uneducated.  They just accepted that everything the church fed them was scriptural.  Some changed their day of worship out of ignorance; because they did not know any better.  Hence, their descendants lived in a different kind of ignorance; that of blindly trusting in the ways of their parents and those who had gone before them more than listening to God and educating themselves with the truth of scripture. 

Can you imagine living through a time like this?  

Let us hope we never have to do so! 

Education and knowledge do not always free people.  Things are going on in the modern world even as we ponder these points that would suggest we may come to the same day in our own lifetimes.  It is so important to know where you stand in relation to the things that God has commanded we carry out for living our best life before Him here on earth.  

This very prejudiced statement by the ancient Romans was a very bold and horrible thing for the church to proclaim.  Mere men tried to take on the role of God and change what God had proclaimed to be true.  

Why would God ask certain people to shut other people out from knowing His Son, Jesus Christ, simply because they were following the ten commandments that God had given to Moses?  

Is there anything truly logical about that?

This was the beginning of or the unraveling of unity among brethren that had shared their hearts even when they had differences, and the divisions have lasted up until and through this present day.  

Many, many Christians still follow along with the results of this same path without really knowing or realizing the history behind what they do; or without realizing what or why they do certain things in certain ways.  God did not leave us in ignorance.  The scriptures make this clear.  Many no longer care about the words of the scriptures; they simply conform to the teachings of men.

Unfortunately the Jewish rejection of Christ was triggered and made worse by the Christian acceptance of Sunday worship.  

The Jews look at Sunday worship as a form of abandoning the law of God.  It has often been said "to ask a Jew to reject the law is like asking them to tear our their hearts."  If only Christians today could have the laws of God written so firmly upon their hearts; our whole world would be a better place.  When you keep a law rotely; you do it in vain.  When you keep a law from your heart based on the fact that you love and honor God; it is never a legalistic act; it is an act of love and devotion to God.

It is also true, on the other hand, that asking a Christian to strictly observe the Jewish rituals could become a stumbling block to salvation.  Grace does not abound.  We must find a balancing act somehow between grace and law.

  

Thist balancing act must begin with love.  Love is the key to everything in God's Kingdom.  It opens doors that have been shut tight for ages.  The essence of all love is truth.

 

And so how should these historical acts be interpreted by the people of God today? 

Historical knowledge is easy to obtain and widespread across the world.  There is presently no good excuse to ignore the truth.  I can only give you the words of The Apostle Paul found in Romans 6:15; “What then?  Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?  God forbid!”

Yet we do!  We do not keep the REAL set aside time for the seventh day Sabbath. There is no real scriptural basis for the Sabbath Day changes.  It is all a work of man.

How ironic; since Jesus Himself once said that the Sabbath was made for man!  Every day is to be holy unto God.  Our God does not want us to be divided over the issue of focusing on a day; but He wants us united by focusing on Christ.  

What a wonderful world we would be living in if everyone decided to return to following the commandments and worshiping God once again on the Seventh Day Sabbath as God originally designed for men to do.  This probably will not happen until Christ returns.

Yet; some people HAVE opened their eyes and seen the truth of this matter and are already reaping the fruit that follows from obeying God and keeping a seventh day Sabbath.  Their Sabbaths have given them rest and restoration and brought true joy into their homes and families, just as God intended. 

These people will quickly point out to you that their peace and harmony amidst a chaotic world comes from keeping Sabbath and remembering God’s Holy Days.  Something about this act of obedience just puts everything into focus and brings about the proper order.  This rich and wonderful blessing of true Sabbath keeping gives true perspective to the rest of your week.  It helps us to maintain a proper balance in our thinking and our doing.

 God's own model of work and rest demonstrates how much of our own lives are to be spent in labor and how much of our own lives are to be spent in worship.  This is NOT a yoke of bondage but a joyful rest.  

It is a time for families and friends to share meals together and be in a time of fellowship that isn't ruled by the ticking of a clock.  

It is a time to ponder the meaning of the scriptures and discuss them among ourselves.  

It is a time for holy prayers to be lifted up and for sacred worship to be carried out.  

Those in the habbit of observing this Seventh Day Sabbath have learned to use the day of preparation to get ready.  

They try to get the cooking done ahead.  

They try to get the cleaning done during the week days after work; before the Sabbath arrives.

They try to have their clothes prepared and ready and every little last minute bit of personal business taken care of before the Sabbath arrives.  

They take care of their common everyday business transactions during the working week.

They plan ahead.

This allows them freedom and comfort during the special day.  It keeps them from being distracted from what they should be focused on during the Sabbath.  

It is customary for families to share a dinner after sunset.  

In many homes Sabbath candles are lit and a blessing is recited by the woman of the house. 

 The rituals that women go through to welcome in the Sabbath are said to reflect the fact that women bring light into the home.  

On the beginning and ending of the Sabbath day it is traditional to light candles.  

The Sabbath dinner is accompanied by wine and the man of the house recites a prayer over the wine sanctifying the Sabbath.  From the symbols of this Sabbath tradition we get our patterns for communion and the using of bread and wine in our community services.  

It is also traditional to serve a sweet, eggy bread called Challah on Sabbath.  These Sabbath loaves of bread are often covered by a fine white linen cover for the Sabbath meals.  

Some people are fond of using fresh floral arrangements on their Sabbath tables; this is all in sync with the celebratory mood of welcoming God into the new upcoming week and worshiping Him with your family in your home as the first act before the beginning of the working week.

There are many traditional blessings that can be recited around your table on the Sabbath.

You are also free to offer up your own blessing; one straight from your heart to God.  
The short ceremony at the end of Sabbath is called The Havdalah.  The Hebrew word "havdalah" means separation or distinction.  This is the line that "separates" the sacred time from the "ordinary" time in our week.  Six ordinary days are for work and taking care of our needs.  One day is sacred and set aside.  

The Havdalah ceremony uses a cup of wine, a braided candle and a box of sweet-smelling spices.  Participants stand close together in a circle.  Blessings are said over each item.  The wine is poured until it overflows and then the cup is lifted up again.  Psalm 116:13 is recited:  "I will take the cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord."  Then the braided candle is lit.  It is customary for a child to hold the candle.  A blessing is said over the wine.  The spices are shaken and passed around for all to enjoy the aroma.  A blessing is said over the spices.  The wine is passed around for everyone to take a sip.  The candle is extinguished in the remaining wine as the final blessing is said and the Sabbath is ended with a song.   These things are all symbolic and have interesting meanings for anyone who wishes to study further. A new week begins.  We come into seven more days of living in God's protection and blessing.  

Is all of this commanded or necessary?  

No!  

It is just a beautiful tradition that many have chosen as a way to follow because they find it honors God and draws the Sabbath to an orderly close.  

The things we have found on the Sabbath in our hearts live on inside of us all through out the new week and they comfort us and guide us in all that we do as we go through our ordinary days. 

Of course it is more imiportant to focus on the messianic significance of the Sabbath.  Joyful homes do  carefully incorporate the recognition of Christ as Messiah!  

The Sabbath reminds us that God created the world and that God delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt just as Christ delivered us from the penalty of sin at Calvary and assures us that God living in our hearts will make us holy, just as He made the Sabbath holy.  It reminds us all that God will finish His work in our lives, just as He finished HIs work of the creation and our redemption.  It reminds us that God is our Lord and that it is in God that we have rest through Christ.  

But.....even if you believe all that I have said, you probably will not find a Christian church practicing all of these things together.  

How do you deal with that?  

What if you have found a church that worships on Sunday but truly keeps the ways of God in all other areas?  

I know exactly how you feel.  I've been dealing with these aspects of KNOWING and DOING all of my life.  I too have found churches that are ignorant of God's true Sabbath yet worship God with their whole hearts in all other ways.  

We live in a broken world.  The devil has wreaked havok on the earth for thousands of years. We are all victims of our culture and our society.  

It is a type of spiritual bondage that is just as sad as the physical and spiritual bondage the Israelites went through in Egypt.  

What did they do when the whole culture was against them?  They kept the Sabbath as best they could in their own homes.  Sometimes they were FORCED to work.  Our society tries to force this on us too.  Whenever possible they did not work on Sabbath, but kept a day of rest unto God.  They were people in bondage.  

This is what I have come to accept as a standard way of living for now; until the LORD returns and corrects the ways of the world we too live in a type of bondage. However, you can still keep Sabbath in your home by doing the things I have described above.  

There is no excuse for you not to do so.  It is perfectly acceptable to go to a building and worship on the other days of the week yet still keep the seventh day Sabbath in your home.  The more worship you put into your life the happier you will be.  Just remember to stop and set aside the Sabbath in your home and teach your children while they are young to do so too.    Perhaps when they grow up; we will see a different world!  We can always hope that our children will grow up to be more authentic and more faithful than our generation has managed to be.

It will not do any good to fret or try to change others, let God handle their salvation.  Simply work on your own heart and your own little family inside your own home.  Let the light of Christ reflect out from you own home's windows.  This is where all things begin.  This is another way that God uses to make all things new.  Teach your children the truth.  Show them what the Sabbath is by honoring the day.  Rest and plan family fellowship on the seventh day and worship God together around your table at sunsets on Friday evenings.  

I promise you once you step up and honor God in the way that He has requested in this fourth commandment; He will begin to fill your heart with joy all throughout the week. You will see a change!   

Here's to the blessings of a million happy Sabbaths!  

May the whole earth be filled with His Glory!

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 142 - THE SEAL OF GOD FOUND IN THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

SET ME AS A SEAL UPON YOUR HEART

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Moses and God are still out there on the mountain talking about the ten best ways to live.  There is a lot to say, and it is taking quite a while to discuss things!  Amidst the thunder and lightning and smoke God is now bellowing out the fourth commandment:

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all of your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.   On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”  (Exodus 20:8-11)

Do you realize that the Sabbath commandment is a commandment that confirms God’s mark and seal upon His people?

A “seal” is an official stamp that claims something for a specifically described owner.  In ancient times whenever a ruler made a law it was written down by an official on paper, and it was placed inside an envelope with the seal of the ruler melted and waxed over the edge of the envelope.  The seal would usually be made by the use of a signet ring dipped in hot wax and stamped over the flap sealing the envelope.  It would dry and harden and that way no one but the intended person would be able to open the message.  The wax would make a distinctive impression on the outside of the envelope that portrayed something unique to the owner of the message in the envelope.  Seals were completely original and they were always unique and very descriptive of their owners so there was no doubt who wrote the message within the envelope.

 

When the wax dried it sealed the message up until it was put safely into the hands of the proper receiver.  The seal was then broken and opened and read aloud to the person or people who would be listening for instructions from their king and/or ruler.  The ruler’s seal was the way that everyone had of knowing that these words within the envelope were the EXACT words and wishes of their leader.  The seal assured that the words belonged to no one else, but came directly from the ruler in charge of the kingdom.

The seal (made from a signet ring) usually contained three things:  The name of the owner of the seal, the title or description of the owner of the seal, and a description of the domain of the Owner of the seal.    

As one begins to read the exact words God gave to Moses, you begin to see that it is a clear statement containing the name of God, His official title, and a description of His dominion over the universe.  All of these things are spelled out in the words of Exodus 20: 10-11.  We hear His name; “The LORD.” (Yahweh)  We hear his title:  The Maker of The Heavens and The Earth, The Sea and All That Is In it.  (Creator.)  We hear of the description of God’s domain in the same words that describe who He is as Creator.  He is LORD over the Heavens and earth, the sea and all that is in it.  These are the three things we need to know that describe the fact that God has put His seal and signet upon the words of the fourth commandment.  It is as if He is highlighting this commandment saying; “draw close to me and listen to this; it is VERY important!”

 Why not pull out your own bible and read Exodus 20:10-11 with your own eyes.  Is this not plain to you?

Think about the exact words of the holy scriptures that are given to us by God as He speaks to us about keeping Sabbath.

 

Someone’s “seal” could also be called their “mark.”  The “seal” worked about the same way as a legal signature that we might use on important documents today.  It legally set the terms that made certain things official.

 

It is said in the scriptures that during end times people will be “marked” either for God or for the enemy of God.  The Antichrist will have an identifying mark placed on his people; and God too will have an identifying mark placed over His people.  The way you live out your life will determine the mark that is placed over your heart.

This brings to mind the words of The Song of Solomon, verse 6:8 that says: “Place me like  a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm, for love is a strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.  It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.”  These words of a passionate lover describe God’s love for Israel.  It is a jealous love; and He has come to tell Israel how to live before Him. 

 God used the nation of Israel to show people how to live before Him and how best to love Him.  If you belong to God you will honor him by keeping the fourth commandment and observing Sabbath faithfully.  That was God’s passionate commandment sealed with his signet to Israel.

Keeping Sabbath on the 7^th Day was important to God.  It was sacred time that He made holy and set aside for His people.  The act of Israel keeping Sabbath meant the faithfulness of His bride to Him.

 

Please don’t misunderstand or misinterpret any of my further comments and personal thoughts regarding the aspects of keeping Sabbath.  Keeping Sabbath is not something to be done “legally” but something to be done out of love and faithfulness.

There are relationships that thrive out of duty, and there are relationships that thrive out of a deep, passionate love.  God’s love is not out of duty; it comes from a passionate, heart-felt love.  He expects the same passion and love in return.  A passionate lover always knows how to communicate what it takes to make them feel happy and well loved.  God is communicating something to Israel that truly matters, to the depths of His heart.  He wants Israel to know His deepest desire from them.  He desires that they keep Sabbath with Him.

    

As I have already expressed; don’t misunderstand.  I’m not implying you must always go to a certain building and worship a certain way, like other certain groups of people are worshiping (though sometimes this is the thing you SHOULD do.)  The ancients often kept Sabbath right inside their own homes with their own immediate families.  They could not always get to the Temple.  They went to the temple on sacred holy days and whenever else it was possible, several times a year; but not every Sabbath.  Still, they kept Sabbath wherever they were at the time.   

For today’s people, I am saying in order to observe this commandment, you should be keeping the seventh day Sabbath that God has commanded inside your heart in a respectful way that will honor and worship God wherever you are.  God DOES state in these scriptures that this worship should be done in a holy convocation; which would mean that you should be open to worshiping with other believers.  This could happen right inside your own home, with your own family; or inside a church full of a million people.  A convocation is simply a group of people; not a specific number – it could be a number of between two to one million or more.  Where ever two or more are gathered in His Name; God is always there.

You can form a convocation anywhere; in a house, in a prison, in a hotel, in a crowd walking down the street – it doesn’t HAVE to be inside any building; but it is also JUST as appropriate to do this worship inside a building with many other believers.  God will be looking at the intentions of your heart, your honest desire to worship and serve Him, and your love for your fellowman that reflects this.

It is the addition of God into the crowd that makes the convocation real and holy.  God inhabits the prayers and praises of His people; so I would say anywhere there is prayer and praise to God being lifted up, that is a holy convocation.

 

The place isn’t important; but the day IS important.  The scriptures clearly say the “seventh” day.  Following the ancient calendar back to the days of Moses; the seventh day was always on the day we now call Saturday.  It was the day after the sixth day that the manna rained down from heaven in which NO manna could be gathered.  God had already shown this day to the people, even before he called Moses up to the mountain.  He was already raining down the manna and expecting them to gather up enough to last through the seventh day in which God rested and expected the people to rest also.  They were to gather ahead of this time before the Sabbath so that they would not be working on the Sabbath.

God set the calendar by the way the manna fell from heaven.  The people always knew the day in which they gathered twice as much was their “preparation day” for the Sabbath, and the next day, the 7^th day, was the Sabbath.

 

This “seventh day” was the day of worship that was observed by the early churches even during a long period of time after the death and resurrection of Christ.  The observance wasn’t changed by the actions of people, or in the writings of the church congregations until A.D. 321 when an edict from the ruler known as Constantine was declared and this edict was accepted 16 years later by the Catholic Church through the Council of Laodicea.

 

Here; I have to argue with the right of the Catholic Church to change the decree of God.  It doesn’t matter to me how many councils meet.  This signed, sealed and delivered commandment was still the recorded words of God to His people as He drew up their wedding vows.  God never changes.  He is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be the same forever into the future.  I have to question an emperor’s right or a council’s right to change the word of God, especially after all of the Apostles who walked and talked with Jesus were dead and gone and not there to defend the scriptures that proclaimed otherwise.

 

Think about this:  why would God go down to a mountain top to proclaim the best ways for us to live before Him and then change the wording later?  I think not.

There were no changes made to the understanding of this commandment during the lives and times that Jesus walked the earth, or even during the time and the lives of the Apostles.  It was after the death of every Apostle that this day’s observance evolved into the time of another day called Sunday.   I think that is because the Apostles would not have approved.  I highly suspect this change was more about the government of mankind than the spiritual growth of mankind.  I also think it was made in order to change the thinking of the people from their very Jewish roots into a more Roman/Greek way of thinking.  It seemed to also be very helpful in uniting people and forming a world empire from which Constantine would rule the world.  On hindsight; it seems very self serving for the still highly revered ruler.

 

In other words, I suspect this changing of the day of worship was more about Constantine’s rule than God’s direction for the church.  However, it did happen and the seventh day Sabbath has not been observed by many of the faithful since that time.  Perhaps God will consider those who changed his dates on judgment day instead of blaming the blind sheep who followed them without question.  I would rather not have to find out.

Over the years I have listened patiently to many who believe other than what I am stating here, and I have heard them defend Sunday worship in a million different ways.  Satan has used this tool over and over for dividing and conquering God’s faithful.  I have tried to keep an open mind; but my heart and spirit will not let me accept that what God uttered on the mountain to Moses wasn’t the whole truth that will last throughout eternity.  All of the other laws seem to be playing out to be true in the universe.  Why would this one be different?

I do not feel that Sunday worship is wrong; quite the contrary.  EVERY day is fine and acceptable for worship.  We must worship with every breath we take.  That doesn’t change the fact that God set aside one special day of the week and called it the Sabbath.  This day was the seventh day.

None of the other commandments were changed over time; why would we think it would be acceptable for this one to change?

Please don’t think I’m a Seventh Day Adventist.  I disagree with many of their teachings as being not scriptural; but the keeping of the Sabbath day is one point in which I DO agree with them.  There is no denying the scriptural evidence portrayed both in the new and the old testaments for this argument.

 

As in all things, I look to Jesus for an example of accuracy.  All of his life Jesus kept the seventh day Sabbath.  If he intended for this to change after his resurrection; don’t you think He would have discussed it with at least one Apostle?  There is no evidence of this ever happening.

I have many friends which I highly respect that are Catholic and Presbyterian and other forms of Protestant.  They strongly disagree with me.  I can agree with them on almost every other issue but this one.  This saddens me; but my first allegiance is to God.  It would be even sadder for me to find that I deliberately and defiantly disobeyed God knowing what He has taught me personally and through the scriptures.   Perhaps that is why I do not believe in denominations any more.  Every little splintered group, including even the Catholics who splintered off from the original church (though they don’t seem to recall this) have some issue with which I cannot claim complete loyalty because I find scriptural discrepancies. 

However; I do accept that we are now living under grace, and I do believe these people all to be faithful and sincere Christians and I realize it is not my place to judge them anymore than it is their place to judge me.

 

On the other hand; it is my job to proclaim what I consider to be the unflawed theology of the scriptures as humbly as possible, never thinking for one moment that I too cannot fall into the traps of the enemy of God.  I too am human and very capable of making huge mistakes.  Hence; it all boils down to the fact that we all have to answer for our own decisions. 

No thing, interpretation or organization will ever be completely perfect until Christ returns; but as for me; I chose to stand outside of most of these highly structured organizations and simply claim to be a Christian following God’s word as closely as I know how from the power and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit living within me.  That is why I often proclaim that I belong to no other group other than those who are saved by Christ and covered in His blood.  This would include people from all denominations and all walks of life; and it would also release me from any doctrines that I consider wrong in practice.  It would make me simply an imperfect sinner within a sea of other imperfect sinners who have faith in the perfect blood of Jesus to save them from their sins.  We all live humbly under the grace of God.  It is the blood of Jesus that makes us all brothers, and it is out of love for him that I speak out of what I know as truth. 

Getting back to the subject; some hold that Sunday is The Lord’s Day and the first day of the week and the day of the Resurrection of Christ; so they find Sunday an acceptable day of worship for those reasons.  With reverence and respect to them as brothers and followers of Christ, I have to speak the truth in love and say that I think every point in that statement is flawed. 

I will start by saying I don’t think the resurrection was on Sunday, but late on Saturday evening.  Do the research; I dare you.  I’m not going too far into that here – but I will try to give a brief description of what I have come to believe:

After growing up in the Baptist church and observing and loving the celebration of Good Friday, and Easter Sunday for years; I discovered the significance of the Jewish Holy Days in relation to Messiah.  In my early twenties I began celebrating Passover and Unleavened Bread and Early First Fruits, which relates to the Jewish festivals and Holy Day celebrations; but with the significance of Christ being our Messiah.  I have done this now for forty years of my life. 

Through celebrating the holy days, careful and prayerful reading of the scriptures and thinking about how God laid out the Holy Days and considering the various ways mankind has changed the Sabbath from Saturdays to Sundays on their own accord after the Apostles and Christ walked the earth, I have come to accept the following scenario as to how the resurrection must have really happened:

I believe that on the year Christ was crucified for my sins and yours, the Passover occurred on a Tuesday evening through a Wednesday evening.  On Tuesday evening Jesus celebrated the Passover Seder meal with his disciples.  This was on a Tuesday night.  He then prayed at Gethsemane, and was later arrested and led away to be crucified.  He was crucified at 9 a.m. on Wednesday (the traditional time of the Passover lambs being slain) and died at 3 p.m. that same day and was hastily buried at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening (Nissan 14 on the Hebrew calendar.)  At sunset (after 6 p.m.) on Wednesday began the high Sabbath of Passover which lasted until sunset (after 6 p.m. on Thursday).  Wednesday night and Wednesday day would have been the first night and day in which Jesus lay in the tomb.  (Nissan 15.)  From sunset on Wednesday to sunset on Thursday was also the First Day of the Seven days of Unleavened Bread.  The First Day of Unleavened Bread is considered a holy day on God’s calendar.  The Second Day of Unleavened Bread would have been from sunset Thursday till sunset Friday.  This would have been Jesus’ second night and day in the tomb. (Nissan 16.)      From Friday at sunset till Saturday at sunset would have been Jesus’ third night and day in the tomb.  (Nissan 17)  This day, as well as being the WEEKLY SABBATH, is known also in the seven days of Unleavened Bread as the day of Early First Fruits.  It is the THIRD DAY OF UNLEAVENED BREAD DURING PASSOVER WEEK.  It was the day Jesus rose from the tomb.  Three nights and three days in the tomb on that particular week would have ended at 3 p.m. on Saturday evening, so I believe Jesus rose from the dead between 3 p.m. and sunset on that Saturday (the 7^th Day Sabbath and the Third Day of Unleavened Bread – often called The Day of Early First Fruits, which is symbolic of the first fruits of the harvest, both physically and spiritually.  Jesus is the First Fruit of the harvest of God’s Kingdom.  He was the first One to rise from the dead in Resurrection.    

I’ve looked carefully through the scriptures with this scenario in mind, and I do not find any contradictions, especially if you look at things from a Messianic/Hebraic perspective.  So I do not believe that the “First Day of the Week” or “Sunday” could be considered the day of the Resurrection, which takes away all logic for calling Sunday the Day of The Lord.

 

The Day of The Lord is actually described in Revelation 1:10 in a vision of John, and it is far from a Sabbath.  It actually relates to the Apocalypse and it is a day of God’s wrath, not a weekly day of worship.  It is one day at the end of time that should be seen for, what it truly stands for.   Calling Sunday The Day of The Lord seems to create confusion here; which again; I attribute to being a major trick of Satan.

 

I’m sure I’ve lost many of you at this point; it always happens.

 

We are all like little robots programmed to believe whatever others have fed us all of our lives.  All I can ask is that you sincerely pray and study the scriptures and ask God to reveal the truth of His Sabbath to you, because the experience of keeping Sabbath is one that is unbelievably awesome and one of the best practices you will ever put into your days. 

Search the scriptures and see if you can make Friday evening through Sunday morning into three 24 hour periods; or if you can take the Holy Days of Passover and Unleavened Bread into consideration where these days are also called “Sabbaths” in the scriptures and not make another assumption about when the resurrection actually took place.  There are about a million arguments for the late Saturday resurrection; but I will not belabor the point; I’ll just say in relation to it making Sunday become The Lord’s Day; that it doesn’t hold water with me.

Another big argument  presented for Sunday Sabbath is that the resurrection of Christ was the beginning of all new things.  Long before the death, burial and resurrection of Christ we hear him say:  “I make all things new.”  I ‘ve always loved that truth.  He DOES make us new.  He transforms us into something better.  I have to say I think of this and the Resurrection as the “fulfillment” of all things, not the “changing” of the old but the “transformation” of the old.  We do not actually have an old thing changed to a completely new thing, but an old thing transformed, improved and made better.

 

Even with this point given, it isn’t the DAY that is changed, or fulfilled; it is the PEOPLE that Jesus died for that are changed.  The day is still the same sacred, holy point of time that God created from the beginning of creation.  From the beginning God set aside the seventh day. 

So not only do I think the Resurrection of Christ happened on the Sabbath (the 7^th day) but I also think it brought about a “transformation” of God’s people’s hearts; not a change of a date on the calendar.      

One commentary I read gave words like this as logic for Sunday Sabbath: 

“In this light we can see the significance of the practice of the New Testament church in its meeting on the first day of the week, beginning with the disciples and Jesus (John 20:1,19,26) and continuing on in the life of the church (Acts 2:1, 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). The first day of the week is observed as the continuing Sabbath because it is, by virtue of the Lord's rising on that day, "the Lord's Day."

I have already addressed my thoughts on the resurrection on Sunday theory being wrong.  Now I will examine the above scriptures quoted as logical reasons for Sunday worship:

(John 20:1)  Early on the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

  

It is highly possible and probable that Jesus could have risen from the grave and left the tomb late on Saturday (the 7^th day of the week) right before Mary rose early and went to the tomb on Sunday (the 1^st day of the week).  Exactly what is the argument here for the resurrection being on Sunday?  The tomb could have been just as empty toward the end of the Sabbath as it was on Sunday morning.  It is simply not good logic to use this scripture as a reason for Sunday.

(Acts 2:1)  When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

The Resurrection and Pentecost were two separate occasions.  The Resurrection made Pentecost possible and both days are to be celebrated; but this isn’t comparing apples to apples.  It says nothing about the resurrection of Christ being on a Sunday.  It is saying that PENTECOST occured on a Sunday.  They are two different times and two different subjects, though.   It doesn’t seem logical to use this scripture reference as proof for a Sunday Sabbath either.

(Acts 20:7)  On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.  Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.   This passage is neither about the resurrection nor Sunday or the Sabbath either.  It is simply naming the day of the week that they met with Paul while he was visiting in the area.  It doesn’t seem logical to use this scripture in reference to calling Sunday the Lord’s Day.

(1 Corinthians 16:2)  On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will not have to be made.  Some have suggested this verse was Paul telling the church who had started worshiping on Sunday to take an offering on that day.  I don’t think that is what it means at all.  I simply think Paul was reminding the people to start on the first day of their labor to set aside a portion of money for the offering all during the week.  By the Sabbath (the seventh day) they would have a weeks worth of money set aside and would not have to calculate it or go find it when he arrived.  It seems just that simple; and nothing about this suggests a logical way to say Sunday is the day of worship to me.

We all have our own opinions.  I have given you mine.  I hope and pray that I am right; but that should not matter to you.  Everyone should offer their time up to God and allow God to direct how it is spent.  Pray for God to reveal the truth of the Sabbath to you and follow exactly what God says to you.  Search the scriptures to these things even further.

This lesson has been the basic foundation for thoughts on keeping Sabbath according to God's commandments.  Next week we will dig deeper into this and expand these thoughts into two parts.  The next part will explore all the joy that comes to one who decides to follow God's specific instructions and set aside the seventh day to keep it holy.  This can truly change your life in an amazing and powerful way.

The Church is the Bride of Christ.  We should be found keeping Sabbath when He returns.  This is the very thing that God has put His seal upon for us to know to do.  Let us be found worthy; and let us be following this commandment straight from the passion of our hearts.