God's test Commandment
1—The Sabbath was made from Creation week, over 2000 years befo
The
Sabbath was made from Creation week, over 2000 years before the
nation of Israel, or the Tribe of Judah existed (from whom the Jews
are descended). See Genesis 2:1-3, 16-17. God Himself rested on
the first Sabbath and intended Adam and Eve (and by implication
their offspring, meaning all humans) to observe every seventh
day of the week as holy to Him.
About
the last thing the most eloquent Hebrew prophet, Isaiah, prophesied
was that all nations will observe the weekly Sabbath after the
Messiah comes in the endtime to establish the Kingdom of God on
Earth, (Isaiah 66:23).
Virtually
the last thing the last book of the New Testament states is “Blessed
are they that do his Commandments”—only they will be allowed
into the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:14-15).
Jesus
confirmed that the Sabbath was made for mankind--not just for Jews
(Mark 2:27).
When
God later gave the Law to Moses after the Exodus, He said “Remember
the Sabbath day…” It wasn’t a new Commandment. It had
existed since Creation. Israel—and the rest of the world—had
forgotten or neglected God’s Sabbath, as is still the case.
(See Exodus 20:).
God
promised to send the final Elijah who would “restore all
things” in the context of His command to “Remember the
Law of Moses” which includes the Fourth Commandment to
observe the seventh day of the week Sabbath. (See Malachi 4:4-6).
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God
confirmed that the Sabbath was to be observed on the seventh day of
the week by
an ongoing miracle lasting 40 years. He fed the Israelites in the
wilderness with manna
in those years except on His weekly Sabbath. A double-portion was
gathered on
Fridays so that no work was done on the Sabbath. (See Exodus
16:13-36; Deuteronomy
8:2-4).
Sunday
is the first day of the week, or the exact opposite end of the week
from the weekly Sabbath God commands be observed. In the Bible sin
is shown to be the exact opposite of righteousness. Sin is the
transgression of God’s Law (1 John 3:4). Whereas light symbolizes
truth, darkness symbolizes heresy. the truth “fall away”.
Anything that is the exact opposite of the truth is error and sin.
The
penalty for transgression of the Law, including profaning the
Sabbath Law, is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God only gives His
Holy Spirit to those who obey Him (Acts 2:38; 5:32).
None
of the Old Testament prophets and faithful God-fearing people
observed Sunday as the weekly Sabbath. Neither Jesus nor any of the
New Testament apostles or prophets observed Sunday as the weekly
Sabbath. They all kept the seventh day of the week, Friday-evening
to Saturday-evening Sabbath, which God had instituted from Creation.
Jesus
not only observed the seventh-day Sabbath, it was His custom to do
so. See Luke 4:16.
Christ’s
disciples observed the Sabbath even after he died (Matthew 28:1;
Mark 16:1-2). “…on the Sabbath they rested according to the
Commandment” (Luke 23:56).
There
is no Bible evidence that the Sabbath Law was changed after Christ’s
death.
Jesus
clearly stated: “Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law
or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill”
(Matthew 5:17-48). In other words, Jesus came to keep the Law to
its full intent. This is obvious from His teaching that adultery
included mental lust by a man for a woman, even if the physical act
is never carried out. This is a far stricter demand of the Law than
God required in Old Testament times. It means that to even want to
work on the Sabbath is a sin.
The
Apostle Paul declared that he “believed all things which are
written in the Law and the Prophets”, (Acts 24:14). Therefore, he
had to be an observer of the seventh-day of the week Sabbath.
Jesus
is the Lord of the Sabbath, not of Sunday (Mark 2:27-28).
The
Sabbath Commandment is not specifically commanded again in the New
Testament because it was taken for granted it had to be observed.
It was an integral part of the Law of God given to Israel through
Moses.
Christ’s
argument with the Pharisees wasn’t about when to keep the
Sabbath, but how to observe the Sabbath. They had added many
humanly devised restrictions that made Sabbath observance a burden.
Since
accepting the Mark of the Beast is a sin, meaning disobedience to
the 10 Commandments, it has to involve breaking one of them. The
most likely one is the Sabbath Commandment, because it involves
buying and selling that are not allowed on that day. The Mark of
the Beast probably refers to enforced Sunday worship--and thus
true-Sabbath breaking--which the unholy Roman Empire historically
forced on those under its control with death threats. Those who
accept the Mark of the Beast will suffer the excruciating 7 Last
Plagues of God unless they repent. By way of contrast, God’s
servants obey His Law, including the weekly seventh-day Sabbath.
(See Revelation 13:17; 14:9-12).
Catholic
Archbishop James Gibbons of Baltimore summarized this subject well:
“You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will
not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday.
The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day
which we never sanctify. The Catholic Church teaches that…the
Scriptures alone cannot be a sufficient guide and rule of faith”.
(“The Faith of our Fathers”, John Murphy Company, Baltimore
1917, page 89). In other words, the largest Church on Earth
claiming to be Christian, has no Bible authority for replacing God’s
Sabbath with Sunday observance at the opposite end of the week.
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Most people have so far failed to pass the test of keeping God's weekly Sabbath holy as He commanded.
Geoffrey
R. Neilson
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