Dd-24. Matthew 24:20 FUTURE SABBATH KEEPING! DOWNLOAD to SAVE as a PDF Doc to read OFFLINE. Dd-24. Matthew 24:20 FUTURE SABBATH KEEPING! SABBATH KEEPING IN THE FUTURE! Does Matthew 24:20 prove that all Christians must keep the fourth commandment of keeping the Sabbath as the Jews under the Old covenant from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday? Matthew 24:20. “But pray YOU that YOUR flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:” Some Christians argue that this verse is absolute proof that Christians must keep the Sabbath day as the Jews because this verse proves that Christians will be keeping it in the FUTURE during the time of great tribulation. As I have said many times that any verse when viewed ALONE and apart from the REST of God's word may SEEM to say, or be MADE to say something that it is NOT TRULY saying when it is correctly interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God. So then, in the LIGHT of Jesus warning his disciples that if they are in Judea to FLEE to the mountains if and when they see the abomination of desolation, then we know that it is a GOOD thing to FLEE as Jesus WARNS. And it is also a GOOD thing to WARN the JEWS about this FLEEING as well. BUT the Jews will NOT want to break the Sabbath day and that is why Jesus said to PRAY that your flight or fleeing from the land of Judah to NOT be on the Sabbath day. Jesus knew that the JEWS would not be willing to flee on a Sabbath day for their fear of breaking the Sabbath command that God gave to the children of Israel for THEM to keep throughout THEIR GENERATIONS. In other words, Jesus taught all through the four gospels that it was GOOD to do GOOD on the Sabbath day, and you are found BLAMELESS when doing GOOD on the Sabbath day. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made FOR man and NOT that man was made FOR the Sabbath. Thus if obeying the Sabbath would CAUSE the DEATH of a person, then the Sabbath could be broken and that person would NOT be found guilty of breaking the Sabbath. But again, some Jews may not agree with the teachings of Jesus. So, the best thing would be that for the sake of the Jews is for Christians to PRAY that the fleeing from the land of Judah to NOT be on any Sabbath day and NEITHER in the WINTER. So what does the winter have to do with the Jews or the Christians except for making it more difficult to flee. Sothen, in the LIGHT of what Jesus teaches us about the Sabbath, then Jesus is NOT teaching us that his disciples will be keeping the Sabbath rest as the Jews under the OLD covenant. Jesus loves the children of Israel ALSO. And Jesus understands that some of the Jews would NOT obey this WARNING of Jesus to FLEE into the mountain. You see Jesus is warning EVERYONE that may be living in or near Judea when she is surrounded with armies to FLEE Judea and the surrounding countries. You see, the non-saved Gentiles are not given the Law of Moses to keep the Sabbath days, but Jesus still wants us, as Christians, to WARN them to flee as well. Obeying the teachings of Jesus to FLEE the land of Judah when she is surrounded by armies is a GOOD thing. But Jesus understood that some of the Jews will not believe the Christians warning them to flee. They may think that Christians are just trying to get them to break the Sabbath day. So it makes NO sense to INTERPRET this verse in Matthew 24:20 to dogmatically demand that this verse means, without fail, that Jesus is teaching us, his church, that we are to KEEP the Sabbath day as the Jews under the OLD covenant and to rest from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday lest we SIN. And since the seventh day of the week Sabbath keeping Christians interpretation of this verse contradicts other parts of the Bible, I myself interpret these words of Jesus also as referring to the JEWS in Judea somehow hindering or preventing anyone from leaving Judea on the Sabbath day. Even under such CIRCUMSTANCES as being surrounded by armies threatening to wipe Jerusalem and every last Jew off the face of the earth. You see, Marshall Law may be enforced where no one is allowed to leave. Or the Jews, at that time in the future, may SEEK God with every fiber of their being and ENFORCE the Sabbath law to the strictest of the letter of the law making it a great hindrance for anyone trying to flee Judea in a hurry and to break THEIR Sabbath. So any Christian in Judea would be hindered from fleeing as well. And certainly, no true faithful Jew would FLEE, but rather they would fight to the death. Some may think that this is not likely to happen, but we know at least 144,000 Jews will seek God in the last days. And it may not be that Christians will wait to FLEE at all at the last minute. But rather, we will know this danger in advance. And thus, the wise Christians will ALREADY be out of that area, BUT Jesus is asking us to pray for ISRAEL so that day will NOT be in the winter or on any Sabbath day. For you see, the JEWS do NOT believe the teachings of Jesus that it is perfectly alright to do GOOD on the Sabbath day and thus be found blameless if they FLEE the area on a Sabbath day. Keep in mind that Jesus ALSO said to pray that the fleeing to not be in the WINTER. And their fleeing the land of Judah in the WINTER has nothing to do with breaking the Law of Moses. So then, the subject is that we, as Christians, would pray FOR Israel or those IN Judea and surrounding countries that THEY would FLEE to the mountains on that day. Let us read the WHOLE context to discern its true meaning. Please read Matthew 24:15-20. “When you, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whosoever reads, let him understand:) 16. Then let THEM (Referring to the ones) which be IN Judea (Whether THEY be Jews, Christians, or Gentiles) FLEE into the mountains: 17. Let HIM (Or let the ones, whether THEY are Jew, Christians, or Gentiles) which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: 18. Neither let HIM (The ones whether they be Jew, Christians or Gentiles) which is in the field return back to take HIS (The ones whether they be Jews, Christians or Gentiles) clothes. 19. And woe unto THEM (The ones whether they be Jews, Christians, or Gentiles) that are with child, and to THEM (The ones in Judea whether they be Jews, Christians, or Gentiles) that give suck in those days! 20. BUT pray YOU (Who KNOW about the days of the coming of great tribulation and destruction in Judea) that CONCERNING that FLIGHT that it (Speaking of the day of the fleeing the land of Judea) be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:” The word translated as “YOUR” does indeed mean your, but ALSO its core root meaning is that of CONCERNING and refers back to the SUBJECT. The subject is the FLEEING from Judea. And Christians should be PRAYING FOR the Jews so that THEIR flight is NOT in the winter, nor on any Sabbath day so that THEIR flight is NOT hindered or slowed down in any way. It does not say YOUR flight, but rather it says THAT flight. It says, so that IT, referring to the FLEEING, be not in the winter or on a Sabbath day. So then, neither this verse nor ANY verse in the NEW Testament under the NEW covenant proves or even HINTS that Christians MUST keep ANY day of the week lest we SIN. We as Christians ARE KEEPING the fourth commandment of the Sabbath rest by our FAITH in Jesus as OUR Sabbath the same as Jesus has become OUR Passover and OUR circumcision not made with hands. This will be proven to you by the word of the living God if you are truly seeking the truth of the WHOLE word of God to hear the WHOLE matter. The above was just one interpretation, which does agree with the rest of God's word without any contradiction. Below are some other interpretations that also agree with the WHOLE word of God without any contradictions. Also, another more obvious meaning to ME is simply that Jesus had NOT YET PERCEIVED that he would fulfill the Sabbath rest in such a way that believers in him would no longer KEEP the Sabbath day as the Jews under the OLD covenant. Or Jesus did indeed know, but he also knew that the Jewish Christians would not be able to bear such teaching as YET. You see, Jesus was yet TEACHING the church AFTER his ascension into heaven THROUGH the Holy Spirit. More on this in a moment, but first let me explain what I mean that Jesus had not yet perceived that believers in him would no longer keep a day of the week as a mandatory obligation lest we would sin against the fourth commandment or any new commandment. Remember that ONLY the Father knows the day and the hour of the return of Jesus and the end of the world. But Jesus said THIS MUCH I can tell you or this much I HAVE PERCEIVED. Please read Matthew 24:36,37. “But of that day and hour knows no man (The Greek word translated as “knows” means that no man has PERCEIVED as yet), no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37. BUT (Or but for now at least know and understand this much that I have PERCEIVED. Or this much I DO KNOW and that is) as the days of Noah were, so shall ALSO the coming of the Son of man be.” Jesus was NOT ALL KNOWING as some Christians wrongly teach. And thus, to ME, it is possible that Jesus had NOT YET PERCEIVED that Christians would NOT keep the Sabbath day as the Jews after the cross. Now it MAY be that BEFORE God turned to the Gentiles that the JEWISH Christians still kept the Sabbath day as the Jews UNDER the OLD covenant. It is NOT crystal clear either way. In other words, it is a matter of INTERPRETATION as to whether or not that the ALL Jewish church kept the weekly Sabbath day or not. All we know with absolute certainty is that BEFORE God turned to the Gentiles the Jewish Christians had NOT YET been TAUGHT by Jesus through the Holy Spirit that HE is their Passover lamb, that HE is their TRUE circumcision, that HE has become their SABBATH REST, and that God cleansed all manners of meat at the cross. It may be that Jesus knew SOME of these things before his ascension and he kept back these NEW things because he knew his disciples could not or would not bear them until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, I say MAY HAVE kept the Sabbath day as the Jews under the OLD covenant because Peter did indeed FIGHT against God. You see when God told him in a vision to slay and EAT ALL manners of MEAT and call NOT that unclean any longer which God has CLEANSED. Peter refused to hear what God was trying to teach him. But we know that AFTER this point in time that Peter ate with the Gentiles and stood up to defend the TRUTH at the first church council and said the following words in Acts 15:10. Acst 15:10. “WHY TEMPT YOU GOD to lay on the disciples a YOKE which neither WE nor our fathers before us were ABLE to BEAR?” Please read the CONTEXT of verse 20 in Acts 15:7-30. “And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, (Keep in mind that this is PETER speaking. So if you claim that Paul is a false teacher, then you must also claim the Peter is a false teacher as well) and said unto them, Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8. And God, which knows the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9. And (HE, Almighty God the Father) put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10. Now, therefore, WHY TEMPT YOU GOD, to put a YOKE upon the neck of the disciples, which NEITHER our fathers NOR WE were ABLE to BEAR? 11. But we believe that through the GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. (Now, by this point in time, Peter was eating meat with the Gentiles. But because of the PEER pressure from the Judaizing Jewish Christians, he played the HYPOCRITE for a while by going back to not eating with the Gentiles. And Paul rebuked him openly for he was to be blamed for causing others to return back to the bondage of the law to eat according to the OLD Covenant. But the point of this study is not about eating meat that was called unclean in the OLD Testament. But rather, if the keeping of the FOURTH command is TAUGHT anywhere in the NEW Testament. The CONTEXT of this passage of Scripture is the MATTER brought to the apostles of whether or not that GENTILE Christians must keep the law of MOSES, which INCLUDED the keeping of the Sabbath day. And Peter said NO, do NOT tempt God by laying the Law of Moses upon the Gentile Christians, and ALL the church AGREED. So the MATTER was SETTLED and agreed upon that ONLY FOUR things would be laid upon Gentile Christians that were under the law of God in the OLD Testament. And the keeping of the fourth commandment was NOT one of those four things listed as being NECESSARY) 12. Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. 13. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: (Now Peter seemed to be on the side of trusting the HOLY SPIRIT to write HIS law on the hearts of the Gentiles as to what the Holy Spirit wanted the Gentile Christians to do or not to do. BUT James on the other hand was not convinced and he felt that SOMETHING from the Law of Moses must be laid on the Gentile Christians for them to keep. But his MOTIVE seems to be for the gentiles to keep only FOUR things in order that the Jews would not KILL them. In other words, one would have to “INTERPRET” James’ INTENT. Was James laying just four things on the Gentiles to keep lest the SIN? Or did James lay just four things on the Gentiles to keep so that the unsaved Jews would not KILL them? Keep reading and you will see what I mean by this) 14. Simeon (Or Peter) has declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. 15. And to THIS agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 16. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 17. That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, says the Lord, who does all these things. 18. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. 19. Wherefore, MY SENTENCE is, that we trouble NOT them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20. BUT that we (Speaking of the Apostles of Jesus Christ as the leaders of the church and NOT Almighty God Himself) write unto them, that they #1. abstain from pollution of idols, and #2. from fornication, and #3. from things strangled, #4. and from blood. (NOTICE that there is no mention of keeping the FOURTH commandment. No mention of TRYING their best to keep the Law of Moses. But rather, just those four things that might cause a Jew to stone them to death if the Gentiles did any of these FOUR things) 21. For (Or BECAUSE) Moses of OLD time has in every city, them (Referring to NON-Christian JEWS) that preach him, (Speaking of lifting up Moses) being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day. (James seems to be concerned with the JEWS persecuting the Gentile Christians. So as a means of at least some protection, he decides that it might be best if they abstained from the above FOUR things. I mean if they went around eating meat that was offered to IDOLS they do not stand a chance to survive the persecution of the JEWS) 22. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: (Everyone in the WHOLE church at Jerusalem seemed pleased with this decision of only these four things be placed upon the Gentiles and the Holy Spirit would teach them the rest of what HE wanted the Gentile Christians to do or not do) 23. And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: 24. For as much as we have heard, that CERTAIN which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, You must be circumcised, AND KEEP THE LAW: to whom WE gave NO such commandment: 25. It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26. Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27. We have sent, therefore, Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. 28. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; (Not necessary lest they SIN, but necessary so that they will not be stoned to death by the unsaved Jews) 29. That you abstain #1. from meats offered to idols, and #2. from blood, and #3. from things strangled, and #4. from fornication: from which if you keep yourselves, you shall do well. Fare you well. 30. So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:” Or you can dismiss the MATTER of whether or not Christians must keep the Law of Moses for it has been SETTLED by the Holy Spirit. And we the Apostles of Jesus agree with the Holy Spirit and the WHOLE church here at Jerusalem that no such commandment is to be given to the Gentile Christians to keep ANY of the Law of Moses other than these FOUR necessary things. Now, if so be, that it is NECESSARY for Christians to keep the FOURTH commandment as the Jews under the OLD covenant from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday in order to receive ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come, then Jesus, the Apostles of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit failed miserably to TEACH us this NECESSITY clearly. To say this another way, IF the INTERPRETATION of Sabbath-keeping Christians is correct, then the New Testament, Jesus, his Apostles, and the Holy Spirit have failed to CLEARLY teach us so that ALL Christians would know beyond any shadow of a doubt that if they FAIL to keep Saturday, the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath rest as the Jews under the OLD covenant, resting from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, then they will LOSE their reward of eternal life in the world to come. But I do NOT believe that Jesus nor the Apostles nor the Holy Spirit have failed us even in the smallest of matters. And thus, we as Christians, are NOT required to keep ANY DAY of the WEEK as a day of obligation lest we SIN, clearly seeing that no day is taught or commanded to be kept in the NEW Testament under the NEW covenant. The reason we can be so sure that we are NOT to keep the Sabbath day as the Jews under the OLD covenant is that NO day of the week is TAUGHT to us, as a MUST be kept a day of the week, lest we SIN, in the NEW Testament under the NEW covenant. It is the wrong INTERPRETATION of the Sabbath-keeping churches of COMBINING the Old Covenant WITH the NEW COVENANT to make them just ONE and the same covenant. Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear can understand that a NEW Covenant REPLACES the old covenant. Please read Galatians 4:3-11. “Even so WE, when WE were children, WERE in BONDAGE under the elements of the world: (The Greek word translated as the world also means the system and the context here speaks of the ceremonial system of Judaism or the elements of worldly service to God under the OLD covenant. And one of those elements of the Jewish system of worshiping God is the OBSERVING of DAYS, the monthly festivals and the yearly feast days) 4. BUT when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5. To redeem them that were under the law, that WE might receive the adoption of sons. (The law was added UNTIL the SEED came. Jesus is that promised seed that was prophesied to come) 6. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7. Wherefore, you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. 8. Howbeit then, when you knew not God, you did service unto them which by nature are no gods.(Paul starts out including himself saying WE, speaking of the Jewish Christian, but here in this verse seems to be including the Gentile Christians. The main point is that NEITHER the Jews nor the Gentiles perceived or truly understood the TRUE God before coming to believe in Jesus. But now some from both the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians want to go back to the keeping of the feast days, the monthly festivals, and weekly Sabbaths) 9. But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, where unto you desire AGAIN to be in BONDAGE? (This means that the Pagan Gentiles that are NOW Christians who used to serve their false gods in the PAST with ceremonial elements of the world which they stopped doing altogether. But then, the Judaizing Jews came along and TROUBLED them saying that they MUST keep the Law of Moses which ALSO has ELEMENTS of the world. And being subverted with fear, these Gentile Christians began to desire to RETURN to the beggarly ELEMENTS of ceremonial service. NOT to their false gods but rather to their now TRUE God. There is no evidence in the context that these Gentile Christians went back to keeping PAGAN days. The CONTEXT is about the LAW of Moses. And Paul was afraid of them for keeping the SABBATH days written in the Law of Moses) 10. You OBSERVE DAYS, and months, and times, and years. 11. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in VAIN.” Paul teaches the same thing in Romans 14:5 and in Colossians chapter 2, which we will cover shortly. Romans 14:5. “One man esteems one day ABOVE another: another esteems every day ALIKE. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” The main point is that some Christians were and still are OBSERVING days, while other Christians were and still are NOT observing days. And thus, the Christians who were observing days were COMPELLING Christians who were NOT keeping days that they were sinning. But yet, the Apostle Paul told those who WERE keeping days were weak in FAITH desiring to be in bondage to the Law of Moses. Now, they themselves may not see that keeping the feast days and the weekly Sabbath day as being bondage, but that is what Paul calls it. Paul seems to mellow out from being fearful that he preach the gospel to them in VAIN, to let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, to work out your OWN salvation with fear and trembling and back around to standing firm in the gospel of the TRUTH that all but the MORAL law was NAILED to the CROSS including the keeping of the weekly Sabbath day. Again, we will cover Colossians 2:8-15 in a moment, but for now, let us see if the church kept the Sabbath day after Acts chapter 15. The word “Sabbath” is mentioned only FIVE times after this first church council that settled that matter that NO YOKE of the Law of Moses is to be placed upon the Gentile Christians except for FOUR NECESSARY things, which it seemed to James to be necessary at that time. Paul disagreed, but that is another study, which I cover in the study called Dd-39. MUST CHRISTIANS KEEP THE DIETARY LAWS? Acts 15:29. “That you abstain #1. from meats offered to idols, and #2. from blood, and #3. from things strangled, and #4. from fornication: from which if you keep yourselves, you shall do well. Fare you well” Here are the remaining five times the word “Sabbath” is found after the matter was SETTLED. Acts 15:21. “For Moses of OLD TIME has in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.” We already discussed this as being ONLY the JEWS, who were NOT Christians, that were persecuting the Christians both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. And it seemed to James that it would be best for the safety of the Gentile Christians if they did not eat meat offered to IDOLS. So this verse does NOT teach us, as Christians, that we must keep the Sabbath day as the Jews under the OLD covenant. Also, notice that Luke used the wording Moses of OLD TIME to show us that the law of Moses was NO LONGER taught to be kept as the Jews under the OLD covenant. I will post a list of what the early church writers wrote about Judaizing the church at the end of this study. Acts 16:13. “And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spoke unto the women which resorted thither.” Obviously, even the Gentiles knew that Saturday was called the Sabbath day. So these Christians were merely IDENTIFYING what day it was that they went OUT of the CITY to go down by the river to have a prayer service. It would be a stretch to INTERPRET this verse to mean that we are being taught to keep the fourth commandment. The early church went out of their way to NOT keep the Sabbath as the Jews. READ what the early church writer wrote, this is HISTORY. One quote is from a NON BIAS non-Christian source in History that proves that the early church meet EARLY in the MORNING before the light of day, which agrees with all the other writing that the early church would meet on SUNDAY mornings, the FIRST day of the week that they called the EIGHTH day and the Lord's day, the day which the Lord was raised from the dead. I have the whole list of these quotes of the early church writers at the end of this study, but I will give a few of them within this study. Acts 17:2. “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days REASONED with them out of the Scriptures,” It was the manner or habit of Paul to go WHERE the JEWS were assembled together to PREACH the GOSPEL to them and REASON with the JEWS about Jesus being their MESSIAH. Acts 18:4. “And he REASONED in the synagogue every Sabbath, and PERSUADED the Jews and the Greeks.” This would be no different than a NON-seventh day of the week Sabbath keeper going INTO a Sabbath keeping church ON the Sabbath day to REASON and PERSUADE them from the SCRIPTURES the ERRORS of their interpretation of God's word. These verses no more prove that the early Christians kept the Sabbath, like the Jews, any more than a NON-Sabbath Christian going into a Sabbath keeping church ON the Sabbath day and thus would make that NON Sabbath keeping Christian be a Sabbath keeping Christian just because he or she went into a Sabbath keeping church ON the Sabbath day. Colossians 2:16. “Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, (Referring to the YEARLY Sabbath days) or of the new moon (The monthly day of obligation), or of the Sabbath days:” The Sabbath days here in Colossian 2:16 are speaking of the WEEKLY Sabbath days. I have heard every argument there is TRYING to REASON AWAY this verse by Sabbath-keeping Christians. And no matter how hard they try this ONE verse proves beyond any shadow of a doubt to those, who have eyes to see and ears to hear, who are TRULY seeking the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God that the WEEKLY Sabbaths, the YEARLY Sabbaths, and the MONTHLY festivals were ALL shadows pointing to JESUS. And we, as Christians, no longer keep the SHADOW, but rather we keep the TRUE of what the shadow is pointing TO. Here is what Justin Martyr wrote in AD. I will post all the other early church writing quotes at the end of this study. #11. 155 AD Justin Martyr: "[W]e 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. . . . [H]ow 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 [Jews] 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). So again all Christians ARE keeping the fourth commandment by our FAITH IN Jesus being our SABBATH REST in the same way that Jesus is our Passover and our CIRCUMCISION not made with hands because we KNOW THE REASON of WHY these SIGNS were given to the children of ISRAEL for THEM to keep throughout THEIR generations. Let us take a look at the other verses that Saturday, seventh day of the week Sabbath keeping Christians dogmatically CLAIM teaches us that WE, as Christians, MUST keep the Sabbath day as the Jews from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday lest we SIN. Please read Isaiah 58:12-14 and Isaiah 66:21-24, which seventh day of the week Sabbath keeping Christians claim proves that the keeping of the Sabbath is eternal. And, therefore, according to their INTERPRETATION, all Christians must keep the Sabbath day for all eternity lest they sin. Isaiah 58:12-14. “And they that shall be of you shall build the old waste places: you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 13. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing you pleasure ON MY holy day; (Speaking of the SEVENTH 1000 year DAY of the LORD'S rest) and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shall honor HIM, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your OWN words: 14. Then shall you delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.” Please notice that this is a PROPHECY referring to the SEVENTH 1000 year long DAY of the Lord, in which Jesus, who is OUR Sabbath, shall rule and reign FOR Yahweh while he RESTS in or during the SEVENTH 1000 year long day of the Lord, speaking of HIS holy day. Then notice that God calls the Sabbath a HIM, speaking of His SON Jesus whom the children of Israel REJECTED as their TRUE Sabbath for nearly 2000 years. So, Yahweh is saying to the children of Israel that this is your LAST chance to repent and call your Sabbath a DELIGHT and honor HIM, speaking of honoring the Lord of the Sabbath, my Son Jesus as your MESSIAH, your Sabbath REST and stop speaking your OWN words. And if you do, then I will give you eternal life as I have already given the Gentiles to provoke you to jealousy. Now let us read Isaiah 66:22-24. “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all FLESH come to worship before me, says the LORD. 24. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all FLESH.” Again this takes place in the world yet to come, which is the SEVENTH 1000 year long day of the Lord, the Millennium, in which Jesus will rule and reign FOR Yahweh during his rest in the Seventh day. One day shall be as a 1000 years and a 1000 years shall be as one day. Now WE, as faithful Christians, will be given eternal life AT the second coming of Jesus, just prior to the beginning of this Seventh 1000 year long day, and we will rule and reign with Jesus over the remnant of Israel and those left alive of the nations, who will remain in their MORTAL bodies to live and die from generation to generation for a 1000 years. So, THEY are the ones in the FLESH who will keep the weekly Sabbath and the feast of the tabernacle throughout THEIR GENERATIONS just like it was prophesied in Exodus 31:12-18. The second death will have no power over us so there is no abhorring for us of the dead carcasses that they must clean up. They are the ones in the FLESH or their MORTAL bodies wishing that they would have BELIEVED our words instead of their OWN words. Please read Exodus 31:12-18 and pay ATTENTION to WHOM God gave this commandment of the Sabbath for THEM to keep throughout THEIR GENERATIONS and let it sink into your brain that WE, as Christians will NOT have any GENERATIONS in the world to come. Exodus 31:12-18. “And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, 13. Speak you also unto the CHILDREN of ISRAEL, saying, Verily my Sabbaths YOU shall keep: for it is a sign between me and YOU throughout YOUR GENERATIONS; that YOU may know that I am the LORD that does sanctify (Or make holy) YOU. 14. YOU shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto YOU: every one (Of YOU of the CHILDREN of ISRAEL) that defiles it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever (YOU who) does any work therein, that soul (Of YOU) shall be cut off from among his people. (The CHILDREN of ISRAEL) 15. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever does any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16. Wherefore the CHILDREN of ISRAEL shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout THEIR GENERTATIONS, for a perpetual covenant. 17. It is a SIGN between me and the CHILDREN of ISRAEL forever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the Seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 18. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” I highlighted the children of ISRAEL in several different colors so that you can see that the OLD Covenant was given ONLY to the children of ISRAEL. This covenant was NOT given to anyone EXCEPT the CHILDREN of ISRAEL to keep throughout THEIR GENERATIONS. It is IMPOSSIBLE for OUR GENERATIONS to keep the Sabbath DURING the SEVENTH 1000 year long day of the Lord like Isaiah 58:12,13 and Isaiah 66:22-24 prophesied, because we are NOT given in marriage in the world to come. We will NOT be having generations during the Millennium like the remnant of Israel and those left alive of the nation in their MORTAL bodies. We will already have been given IMMORTALITY at the second coming of Jesus BEFORE that seventh day of the Lord begins. BUT the CHILDREN of ISRAEL will go into the Millennium, in their MORTAL bodies of FLESH to live and die from GENERATION to GENERATION for a 1000 years and it is THEY who will keep the weekly Sabbath. And then they will LEARN what they SHOULD have learned in this PRESENT world, which is that the Sabbath was a SIGN pointing to JESUS their TRUE SABBATH REST. I will PROVE to you that the Sabbath was NOT given to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or ANY of the fathers of the CHILDREN of ISRAEL before Mount Sinai. Please read Deuteronomy 5:1-22. “ And Moses called ALL ISRAEL, and said unto THEM, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that YOU may LEARN them, and keep, and do them. 2. The LORD our God made a covenant with us (ALL the CHILDREN of ISRAEL) in Horeb. 3. The LORD made NOT THIS COVENANT WITH OUR FATHERS, but with us, EVEN us, who are ALL of us here alive THIS day. (This ONE verse of Scripture proves that the keeping of the weekly Sabbath DAY was NOT given to Adam at creation week. It also proves that the keeping of the weekly Sabbath DAY was NOT given to ANY of the children of Israel BEFORE God led the children of Israel out of bondage in the land of Egypt) 4. The LORD talked with YOU face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, 5. (I stood between the LORD and YOU at THAT time, to show YOU the word of the LORD: for YOU were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying, 6. I am the LORD your God, which brought YOU out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7. You shall have none other gods before me. 8. You shall not make you any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9. You shall not bow down yourself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10. And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 11. You shall not take the NAME of the LORD God in VAIN: (This is a PROPHECY of Jesus becoming the NAME of the Lord, being the ONLY NAME given among men whereby we MUST be saved and most of the children of ISRAEL took the NAME of the Lord in VAIN by REJECTING the NAME of Jesus, which means the SALVATION OF Yahweh) for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes HIS NAME in VAIN. 12. KEEP the SABBATH day to sanctify it, (Or make holy HIM,speaking of Jesus) as the LORD your God has commanded you. (Remember the Sabbath is a SIGN and a sign is like a red flag waving in your face to pay ATTENTION. God wanted the Children of Israel to REMEMBER who DELIVERED them out of BONDAGE so they would NOT miss seeing their DELIVER, their Messiah JESUS when he came. The LITERAL translation of this verse continues as one thought with the previous verse of NOT taking the Lord's NAME in VAIN BY OBSERVING or TO OBSERVE the DAY OF the SABBATH or to OBSERVE when the DAY of REST will come and hallow HIM. This word “hallow” means to honor HIM. And if any who do NOT HONOR the SON does NOT honor the Father. So are YOU HONORING the SON by keeping a DAY of the WEEK that was given ONLY to the children of Israel to point THEM to the SON OF God, their TRUE Sabbath REST, to CEASE from their OWN works of righteousness that are filthy rags to God because of their BOASTING. The keeping of a DAY of the WEEK was a SIGN or SHADOW pointing to JESUS that was given ONLY to the CHILDREN of ISRAEL for THEM to keep throughout THEIR GENERATIONS) 13. Six days you shall labor, and do all you work: 14. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God: in it YOU (The CHILDREN of ISRAEL) shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you. 15. And REMEMBER that YOU were a servant (Or SLAVE held in BONDAGE) in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: (God wants the CHILDREN of ISRAEL to keep a day of the week to REMEMBER that HE is their DELIVERER so that they will call on the NAME of their MESSIAH and NOT take his NAME in VAIN any more) THEREFORE, (Or for that very reason is WHY) the LORD your God commanded YOU (Speaking of ONLY the CHILDREN of ISRAEL) to keep the Sabbath day. (Now we, as Christians, who KNOW the REASON of the SHADOW do not KEEP the shadow. But rather WE keep the TRUE SABBATH, which is to REST in Jesus and CEASE from our OWN works of righteousness where there is NO BOASTING) 16. Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you; that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 17. You shall not kill. 18. Neither shall you commit adultery. 19. Neither shall you steal. 20. Neither shall you bear false witness against you neighbor. 21. Neither shall you desire your neighbor's wife, neither shall you covet your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. 22. THESE WORDS (The words of the OLD Covenant) the LORD spoke unto ALL YOUR assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.” So then, clearly seeing that THESE words of the OLD covenant were given ONLY to the CHILDREN of Israel and NOT to ANY OTHER human being on the face of the earth BEFORE that day in Mount Sinai for THEM to keep throughout THEIR GENERATIONS, while WE as Christians in this present age will CEASE having any more GENERATIONS at the second coming of Jesus, then it should be made blatantly clear to all, who have eyes to see and ears to hear that WE, as CHRISTIANS, will NOT keep the weekly Sabbath as the JEWS during the Millennium. Now please read Isaiah 11:1-12, which is a prophecy for Israel to understand that Jesus is their MESSIAH of REST. Isaiah 11:1-12. “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2. And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. (This shows the time in which this prophecy will be fulfilled because they MISSED their Messiah’s first coming and took the Lord's NAME in VAIN by NOT RESTING in Jesus as their savior) 7. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 10. And in THAT DAY (The SEVENTH 1000 year long DAY of Yahweh's REST) there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign (Or a SIGN, a banner, a flag waving in their face for rejecting HIM) of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his REST shall be glorious. (For those who obey him unto the end of that age yet to come) 11. And it shall come to pass in THAT DAY (Or DURING the SEVENTH 1000 year long day of the Lord), that the Lord shall set his hand again the SECOND TIME to recover the REMNANT of his people, (ISRAEL) which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12. And he shall set up an ensign (SIGN, a banner, a FLAG perhaps saying Jesus the King of kings and the Lord of Lords) for the nations, and shall assemble the OUTCASTS of ISRAEL, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” So then, ONLY those of us RESTING in Jesus as our SABBATH REST, to CEASE from our OWN works of righteousness, wherein there is BOASTING will be given ETERNAL LIFE to rule and reign WITH Jesus in the world to come over the OUTCAST of Israel and those left alive of the nations to TEACH them the ways of the Lord. The second death will have NO power over us, but it will have power over all those in their MORTAL bodies of FLESH during the 1000 years. In other words, not everyone will be saved during the 1000 year reign of Jesus. Please read Revelation 14:12-15, which is the harvest of the earth at the SECOND coming of Jesus BEFORE the SEVENTH 1000 year long day of the Lord. Revelation 14:12-15. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, AND the FAITH of Jesus. (Quit INTERPRETING the word COMMANDMENTS of God as ALWAYS being the LAW of Moses and the TEN Commandments. The commandments of JESUS are the NEW commandments of God to have FAITH in Jesus, walk in LOVE and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit and the teaching of Jesus under the NEW Covenant written in the New Testament.) 13. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, says the Spirit, that they may REST from their labors; (Or works) and their works do follow them. 14. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in your sickle, and reap: for the time is come for you to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” This is the FIRST harvest other than Jesus and the LAST harvest will take place at the END of the SEVENTH 1000 year long day of the Lord. And only those RESTING IN Jesus now, in this present world, will be given eternal life in the FIRST harvest. The outcasts of the children of Israel, outside of the CITY of God, along with those left alive of the nations will remain in their MORTAL bodies to live and die from generation to generation, to generation for 1000 years. The age of man will be 100 years old and they will not die prematurely because Satan will be BOUND during that SEVENTH day of the Lord's REST. One last verse to show that God has never rested one single day from the first day of creation and will NOT rest until HIS SEVENTH day comes. Please read the LITERAL translation of Genesis 2:1-3. “And they ARE BEING FINISHED the heavens and the earth and all the host of them. 2. And he is FINISHING Elohim in day the SEVENTH work of him which he did and he is CEASING in day of SEVENTH from all work which he did. (And God has not stopped working a single day from when He created Adam and Eve) 3. And he is blessing the day of SEVENTH and he is MAKING HOLY HIM that in HIM he CEASED from all work of him which he Elohim created to do of.” We were created in Jesus Christ to become God's NEW CREATION to DO good works of righteousness being HIS work of creation to CEASE from our OWN good works by RESTING in Jesus as our TRUE SABBATH REST. God had not rested a single day since he created mankind. God is still WORKING, conforming us every day of the week into the image of His dear Son. God’s rest is yet in the future DURING the seventh 1000 year long day reign of Jesus when Jesus will reign as the Lord of the Sabbath while Yahweh RESTS. Yahweh the Father’s rest will come on the seventh 1000 year long day of the Lord which is when Jesus will rule FOR Yahweh for 1000 years. Some Christians CLAIM that the early church kept the Sabbath as the Jews, but I assure you that the early first-century church was accustomed to gathering together BEFORE the light of daybreak on the FIRST day of the week that THEY called the Lord's day. Please read all the studies linked within this study and all the studies linked below. This study was just the TIP of the iceberg of exposing the ERRORS of interpretation made by the Saturday seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping churches, and the Sunday first day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians. All of the studies listed below can be sent to a brother or sister caught up in the Hebrew Roots Movement or a Sabbath-keeping church by sending them this one link >>>Dd-0. WHAT is the TRUE SABBATH?<<< Also, please read Dd-20. DID THE EARLY CHURCH KEEP THE SABBATH DAY? Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to read ALL the studies that I gave links to throughout this study concerning this subject on Sabbath TRUTH. My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
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If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com. Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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