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IMPORTANT NOTES re: THE SABBATH QUESTION

Dr. V. Streifling

 

1. Gen 1:5, 16+18 Since day and night describe a 24-hr day, then the words evening & morning aren't a 24 hr day, but the end and start of a period of light which God called "day". Or "day" may be an undefined period of time as Gen 2:4, & 5:2.

 

2. So too, the 7th day (Gen 2:1-3) wasn't a 24-hr day, but the time between God's ceasing creating (Gen 2), until Adam & Eve sinned (Gen 3), when He began work (creating) again. So this 7th day at Creation, was not a Sabbath (Heb shabbath).

 

3. God's resting (Heb shahvath; Gen 2:2+3) wasn't a Sabbatizing (shabbathohn), but simply ceasing from creating, as shown by the Hebrew Nuach (Ex 20:11); Greek katapauo (Gen 2:2+3; Heb 4:4, 10).

 

4. God blessed & sanctified the 7th day after "he had rested (ceased) from all He had created and made". So His resting (ceasing) was finished and complete before He ever set the day apart. So God, Adam & Eve did not keep a Sabbath in Gen 2:2+3. Nor did God give a Sabbath to them, as the Clear Word Bible adds in Heb 4:4 to support Ellen White. (Prov 30:6).

 

5. Neither did the Patriarchs keep any Sabbath in Genesis. (Deut 5:2+3). Gen 26:5 does not speak of the 10 commands of Ex 20 & Deut 5 (400 yrs after Abraham in Gen 26), but the commands for All Gentiles given to Noah in Genesis 9.

 

6. Nor did the other nations (Gentiles) know about the Sabbath. (Psalm 147:19+20) It can't have come from Hamarapi.

 

7. God first made the Sabbath known to Israel, in their Exodus from Egypt. (Nehemiah 9:13; Ex 16). It remembered His delivering them from slavery (Deut 5:14+15); and was God's sign for them that He set them apart from the nations, to be His Chosen People (Exodus 31:12-17). So it was only for the Jews, and to last as long as they were God's chosen people.

 

8. In Lev 23:1-4 & Num 28+29 the Sabbath is among the Feasts of Israel--Thus only a Ceremonial Ordinance, not a moral precept. So it was waived for ceremonial ordinances as Circumcision, (Jn7:22) and for Aggression (war) (Joshua 16:15-25)

 

9. There was only One Law, not two (a ceremonial and a moral) (Ex 12:49; Lev 7:7; 24:22; Num 15:15, 16, 29; 9:14). So 1Chr 16:40; 2 Chr 31:3 & Neh 8:14 show animal sacrifices in the Law of Jehovah, and the Book of the Law is "the book of the Law of God (2Chr 17:9; Ez 7:12; Neh 8:1, 18; Neh 9:3).

 

10. Christ said that the Law was only intended to last until He came (Matt 11:13; Lk 16:16). Paul confirmed this (Gal 3:19; Gal 3:23-25; Rom 10:4). "since then the Kingdom of God is being preached".

 

11. Thus He taught His New Laws of the Kingdom of God (Matt 5+6) "You've heard it said "But I am telling you".

 

12. In the OT God promised that the Sabbaths and New Moons would END (Cease to exist). It would happen before Titus' destruction when the Sun would become Dark at Noontime. (Hosea 2:11; Amos 8:5, 9+10; Mal 2:3; Dan 9:27).

 

13. After #11 (Matt 11:13) Jesus offered His Yoke and His Rest for our souls (11:28-30). Then in Matt 12 the Sabbath encounters began, proving the Sabbath was ended so far as the Kingdom of God is concerned (Jn 5:17-19; 9:16).He worked on the Sabbath, and commanded others to as well. (Jn 5:8+9).

 

14. Christians considered the Sabbath as secular after the resurrection as seen from Matt 28:1 & Jn 20:19 (The first day began at dawn and continued after dark); and Acts 20:7,11 (in vs 5 Paul sails on the Sabbath, they worshipped on Sunday).

 

15. Paul confirms the Sabbath was abrogated Col 2:14-17 (sabbatwv from Ex 20:8); Rom14:5-7; Gal 4:10; 2 Cor 3:3-13).

 

16. The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) also confirmed that "keeping the law of Moses" isn't valid for Christians, or practiced or endorsed by the Apostles. Instead they specified what from the Law was to be continued, excluding the Sabbath.

 

17. So Jew's Sabbath rites, were foreign to Christians, needing explanation in the Gospels (Mk 15:42; Jn 19:42, 31, 14).

 

18. Christians by Apostolic norm, celebrated the First day of the Week as "the Lord's Day (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:1+2; Rev 1:10). Acts 20:7 defined by Didache written 2 years earlier "On the Lord's Day, gather "break bread". This was part of the Apostles Doctrine from Penecost (Acts 2:42, 46). I"s shown by Barnabas, 75 AD "Wherefore we keep the 8th day with rejoicing, in which our lives arose with Him. NB. Acts 20:7 the perfect participle means "began and continually gathered" and 1 Cor 16:2 Gk "kata mia sabbatwv" means "EVERY first day of the week". Was universal "to all churches"

 

19. This is included in the "Traditions taught by Word" (2 Ths 2:15) that they were to "hold to" and "continue steadfastly in" as seen in 1 Cor 11:1+2, that necessarily includes the Lord's Table vs 17-34, that they tool on the Lord's Day (Acts 20:7).

 

20. Christ had taught His disciples about this Lord's Day celebration, the night of His resurrection (Lk 24:27, 44-46). He used Psalm 118:24 ("mawhaw" means appointed to keep as a festival); Ps 111:4 "Zeker" means commemorate. Both used of the Sabbath in the OT, now applied to His Resurrection day for Ps 118:21-28 is all Messianic prophecy of passion week.

 

21. Christians began and continued worshipping Christ from that first Lord's Day (Matt 28:9+17; Lk 25:52+53; Jn 20:20+ 28; Acts 2:46+47; 20:27; 1 Cor 16:1+2). This, plus Heb 13:15; Eph 5:20; Ps 34:1, etc proves worship on Sundays is not the Mark of the Beast as Sabbatarians teach!

 

22. So too, Not Keeping the Sabbath is NOT breaking God's NT Commands or Law of the Spirit. Its Not listed among sins bringing damnation (Rom 1:21-32; Gal 5:19-21; Rev 21:8; 2 Tim 3:1-4, etc). Its not among essentials for elders & deacons while 110 times the moral principles of the Decalogue are reiterated in the NT-never once is the Sabbath enjoined upon Christians. In the New Covenant didactic writings, it is only named as abrogated or immaterial.

 

23. This is because the Sabbath was a Shadow, physical rest (Col 2:14-17; Heb 10:1) that pointed to our Reality Spiritual Rest in Christ. He offered this in Matt 11:28-30, and Paul showed Israel never received it (Heb 3:7 to 4:11) though keeping Sabbaths for 1,500 years! We now enter into this rest, having left a covenant of Works and entered into a New Covenant of Faith in Christ's Finished Work on our behalf (Eph 2:8+9; Rom ch 3 to 5; 8:1-17). It comes on another day of the Lord's day (Heb 4:7+8)


Anti-Thetical Notes Resolved

 

1. Mk 2:27 "Sabbath made for man doesn't mean "all mankind", but man-distinct from God, angels, nature, etc. God's always worked since Gen 3 when man fell, so He's never kept Sabbath since then "My Father's worked until now (Jn 5)

 

2. Matt 5:17-19 does not prove the Law would never pass away, Rather it would pass away for Christ came to fulfill it and He did just that! (Lk 24:46, etc). Therefore see #10+11 above. He fulfilled all the Law, the Prophets and Psalms re himself.

 

3. Matt 24:20 does not prove the Sabbath will still be obligatory before Jesus returns, but that at 70 AD, the Jews would yet be keeping it (Lk 21:20-24) and would close the gates to the city, preventing a hurried escape (Neh 13:19).

 

4. Acts 13:14,44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4 do not show the Apostles kept Sabbaths, but rather used that day to preach Christ to the Jews, when given opportunity to speak. To assume otherwise requires the "Sabbath Day's Journey" is still required as in Acts 1:12; or Unleavened bread and Passover are required (Acts 12:3+4; 20:6), Nb Paul sailed on the Sabbath. Must we still offer animals for purification as did Paul (Acts 21:24-26), or be circumcised as Timothy? (16:3) contrary to Galatians!

 

5. Isa 66:22+23 do not show Sabbaths in the New Heaven and New Earth. Then, "time shall be no more" and There will be "no night there" and "no sun by day or moon by night" (Rev 10:6; 22:5). So no 24-hour days, weeks, or months for New Moon Feasts and Sabbaths with Animal Sacrifices to offer (Ezek 46). Reference to New Heaven and New Earth (66:22) is to say how long ISRAEL will continue to exist. Vs 23 speaks of the Church Age, followed by vs 24 looking on carcasses of those destroyed by Jesus coming. Speaking of Church age it literally says "from new moon to HIS new moon, and from Sabbath to His rest, for in the LXX the "another" is heteros meaning "another kind". Thus this shows going from shadows to the Realities, as seen in Isa 66:1 "His RESTî (Heb 3+4); and "His PEACEî in 66:12 (Rom 5:1; Eph 2:14-18).

 

6.Ex 5:5 Moses doesn't ask Pharaoh for Sabbath (Shabbath), but to "cease" work (shahvath) to go hold a Festival. This shows how wrong the Clear Word Bible is in adding this to the text, to uphold Ellen White!

 

7. Ex 20:11 does not give reason "Why" to keep Sabbath. Rather it says "Why God chose the 7th day", and its the same reason as the "7th year for Sabbath for the land". The REAL reason for Israel to keep it was in Deut 5:14+14.

Nb. Ex 20:11 is an interpolation from 31:17 and Gen 2:2+3 made by Jewish Scribes after returning form Babylonian exile. It was NOT in the Original Sabbath Command, as seen from Deut 5:12-15, as Moses said in vs 22 "These are the words Jehovah God spoke from the Mountain, He ADDED NO OTHERS! This negates the "seal of God" = Sabbath claim.

 

8. Ex 31:16 does not teach the Sabbath for "endless time", but for an undefined time, just as all the other Jewish rites and ceremonies and offerings, etc, including the feasts these were associated with (Galatians; Col 2; Rom 14; 2 Cor 3:2-13).

 

9. Gen 26:5 does not say Abraham kept Sabbaths! God's speaking of the commands, etc given to Noah for all Gentiles, and special commands he gave Abraham. These are "mitzva", but NOT "Ha Torah (the Torah, meaning "the Law" or the Decalogue! Nowhere in Scripture did any Patriarchs keep Sabbaths, until Exodus 16. (Deut 5:2+3; Ps 147:19+20).

 

10 Dan 7:25 doesn't predict the Catholic Church changing the Decalogue. Rome HAS NOT Changed the 10 commands, but rightly teaches them and Divides the 10 according to the Hebrew Masoretic Text of Deuteronomy-for that's original as given (#6 above). Rome did not change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, as falsely claimed. Rather she teaches that Christ and the Apostles dropped the Sabbath, to begin celebrating the First day when He arose-the most important event in Salvation History. (1 Cor 15:1-22; Eph 2:1-10; Lk 24:44-48;Ps 118:24; 111:4; Zech 3:9; 13:1+6; Ps 24:7-9; Eph 4:8-10).

 

11. Scripture nowhere speaks of "Two Laws"; "a moral law"; or "a ceremonial law". Sabbath Teachers have to invent these terms, and try to teach them to give a basis whereby the Sabbath may be continued, contrary to Col 2:14-17.

 

 


For more information and documentation on the SDA church visit these webs.

http://www.exadventist.com

http://www.Bible.ca/sabbath.htm

http://www.truthorfables.com/

http://www.ratzlaf.com http://

www.servant@ellenwhite.org

http://members.tripod.com/~Help_for_SDAs/index.html

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