Now let’s take a closer look at the ceremonial ordinances that Moses wrote in the book. They were to repose in the “side of the ark ... for a witness against thee.” It is interesting to note that the curses and judgments of this law spelled out penalties for transgression which were totally missing from the Ten Commandments.
This SDA statement is absolutely NOT true! Both the THIRD and the FOURTH commandments do indeed contain ORDINANCES that were FULFILLED by Jesus. And thus, those ordinances were nailed to the cross that are most definitely AGAINST the children of Israel. Have you not heard of the “STUMBLING-BLOCK”, the stone that the builders rejected? Have you not heard that God “blinded” the eyes of the children of Israel that they can see with DISCERNING and hear without UNDERSTANDING? Are those things AGAINST the children of Israel? YES! Jesus speaking in PROVERBS and all the SHADOWS hidden in the LAW and the prophets are AGAINST the children of Israel.
Please read Romans 11:7-12.
“What then? Israel has NOT obtained that which he seeks for; (Speaking of Israel as a nation of the people of God seeking for their Messiah have not discerned as yet that Jesus IS their Messiah) but the election HAS obtained it, and the rest were blinded. (Or the rest of the children of Israel are partially blinded for the benefit of the Gentiles to be saved)
8. (According as it is written, God has given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. (In other words, God prophesied His coming Messiah in SHADOWS, types, figures, and allegories to the children of Israel so some would stumble for the purpose of God turning to save the Gentiles. To say this another way, the law and the prophets, as in, the HIDDEN shadows that are IN the law of commandments CONTAINED in ORDINANCES are AGAINST the children of Israel. And ALL of the CEREMONIAL commandments, including the weekly Sabbath have ORDINANCES contained in them. Please read the study Dd-5. What Does Contained in ORDINANCES Mean?
But for now, please understand that until the children of Israel OBSERVE or DISCERN the Sabbath, as in, the TRUE MEANING of why the weekly Sabbath was given to them to keep throughout their generations to KEEP for the very purpose to OBSERVE or to PERCEIVE the SIGN of the Sabbath rest then they will NOT be SAVED. Please read the study Dd-15. THE WEEKLY SABBATH REST is a SIGN! )
9. And David said, Let their TABLE be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them: (Interesting word! The literal meaning is four legs which carries the meaning of walking. For some reason, I saw the word “TABLE” and I thought immediately of the four TABLES of the TWO sets of stone tables given to the children of Israel to WALK in)
10. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always.
11. I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather, THROUGH their fallSALVATION is come unto the Gentiles, FOR to provoke them to jealousy.
12. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?”
And also, how can anyone say that NO judgments whatsoever were written on the two stone tablets? The FIRST two stone tablets no longer exist because they were thrown down by Moses and BROKEN. And the second set of two stone tablets that were placed IN the Ark of the Covenant are no where to be found, according to my knowledge. Also, keep in mind that there was writing on BOTH Sides of each of the two tablets of stone. So who is to say that the TEN Commandments themselves were NOT written on ONE side of the two stone tablets while the ORDINANCES for the CEREMONIAL FOURTH commandment were written on the other side of the two stone tablets along with the JUDGMENT? Have you seen the two stone tablets? I do not think so. So then, to argue that the ceremonial fourth commandment had NO ordinances and no judgment is totally misleading. Let us continue with the SDA Church arguments.
For this reason, the ceremonial law was considered to be a law which was “against” them. Even in the New Testament we read the same descriptive language in reference to that law. “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Colossians 2:14).
And is not the weekly Sabbath DAY a ceremonial commandment UNTO Yahweh? YES! That is what the Scriptures say in Exodus 16:23,25, Exodus 31:15, and Exodus 35:2. The Sabbath DAY was TO and UNTO Yahweh as opposed to all SIX of the MORAL laws being unto or toward our fellow man.
Certainly, there was nothing in the Ten-Commandment law that could be defined as “contrary” to Paul and the church to whom he was writing.
Again, it is MISLEADING to say that there is NOTHING in the TEN Commandments that is contrary to us and then SWITCH from the “ceremonial” law to the MORAL law and use ONLY the moral law in the TEN Commandments to show that the MORAL law is not against us. We are not talking about the MORAL law being against us, but rather, we are talking about the ORDINANCES contained in the FOURTH commandment that are contrary to us and against us, no matter WHERE those ORDINANCES were written.
It was not “against” those early Christians to refrain from adultery, theft, lying, etc. On the other hand, that moral law was a tremendous protection to them and favored every interest in their lives.
I totally agree that the SIX MORAL law of commandments were NOT blotted out and nailed to the cross. And for any Christian to say that the MORAL commandments were nailed to the cross is a gross error of interpretation of the Scriptures. But the FOURTH commandment is NOT a MORAL commandment. And it is NOT the commandment ITSELF that Jesus nailed to the cross. But rather, it is the ORDINANCES contained IN the CEREMONIAL commandments that are against us. Please understand that the pronoun us is referring to the Jews, the children of Israel and not to the Gentiles who had no covenant with God. Paul is talking about the Old Covenant that was against the children of Israel. Paul was a Jew before he became a Christian. So the handwriting of ordinances were against the JEWISH Christians BEFORE they became Christians. There is NO law against the fruit of the Spirit.
We have only to read Paul’s exalted description of the Ten-Commandment law to recognize that those eternal principles were never blotted out or nailed to the cross. After quoting the tenth commandment of the decalogue in Romans 7:7, Paul wrote these words, “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (verse 12). Then he continued in verse 14, “For we know that the law is spiritual ...”
Did you notice that the Apostle Paul did NOT quote ALL TEN Commandments? Paul only quoted the SIX MORAL commandments in the TEN Commandments. And thus, it is sly devilish trickery to use wording such as “After quoting the TENTH commandment of the Decalogue” because that is misleading your followers to wrongly assume that Paul quotes all ten of the TEN Commandments. Be HONEST with your congregation and show them that Paul only quotes the SIX MORAL commandments the SAME as Jesus did in Matthew 19:16-19 as the REQUIREMENT to receive eternal life in the world to come.
Also, notice that they did not quote the whole verse of Romans 7:14 and they did not include Romans 7:6. Please read the CONTEXT of Romans 7:14 by reading Romans 7:6. We must interpret verses of Scripture from their CONTEXT.
Romans 7:6.
“But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and NOT in the oldness of the letter.”
Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15:46 that the NATURAL comes FIRST and THEN comes the SPIRITUAL.
1 Corinthians 15:46.
“Howbeit, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.”
So then, the keeping of the NATURAL literal DAY of a week is a SHADOW pointing to the SPIRITUAL just like Paul said the law is SPIRITUAL but we are carnal sold under sin. Paul is teaching us about the Law of God that God writes only on the hearts of His new creatures created IN Jesus Christ. So then, with our new hearts that God puts in us who are saved, we serve God after the Spirit but our carnal flesh wars against our inner man of the spirit. And IF the flesh wins there is condemnation of sin but if we abide or remain IN Jesus by following after the Holy Spirit to NOT do what our flesh begs us to do then there is NO condemnation. This is the law of Christ and there is no need for the old law under the old covenant including the keeping of the weekly Sabbath DAY which is the NATURAL. And we ARE keeping the newness of SPIRIT that the SIGN of the weekly Sabbath points to which is RESTING in Jesus for HOLINESS and obeying the TWO commandments under the New Covenant written in the New Testament.
If the Ten-Commandment law had been blotted out at the cross, would Paul have spoken in such glowing language of its perfection and spirituality? He did not speak of a past law. He said, “the law IS holy ... the law IS spiritual.” In other words, it was very much alive and operating when Paul wrote to the Roman church. In contrast he described the handwriting of ordinances in the past tense: “WAS against us ... WAS contrary to us.” It is certain he was not speaking of the same law. One was present and one was past.
Now to me, this is twisting the Scriptures to fit what the SDA Christians need the Scriptures to say lest their whole SDA Church doctrine falls apart. As I said before, it is NOT the commandment ITSELF that was abolished and nailed to the cross. But rather, it was the ORDINANCES of all the ceremonial commandments, including the FOURTH commandment, that were nailed to the cross so that the NATURAL keeping of the ceremonial commandments were taken away. In other words, the natural services to Yahweh contained in ORDINANCES WERE against the children of Israel but NOW they have been abolished so we, both the Jews and the Gentiles can NOW keep the commandment UNTO YAHWEH in SPIRIT and in TRUTH which is how God desires to be worshiped.
The SDA Church knows full well that the ORDINANCES of the feast of the Passover lamb in the NATURAL points to the TRUE Passover Lamb which IS Jesus. And, therefore, serving the “LETTER” of the commandment of the feast of Passover in the old NATURAL way that was in the PAST is nailed to the cross and taken out of the way. And NOW, in the PRESENT under the New Covenant written in the New Testament we serve the “SPIRIT” of the law of commandment of the feast of Passover BY our FAITH IN Jesus as our TRUE Passover Lamb. It was in the way of the children of Israel because they had to travel to Jerusalem every single year in order to keep the feast of the Passover lamb.
But we as Christians ARE keeping the COMMANDMENT ITSELF but in a DIFFERENT WAY. We keep the commandment of the feast of Passover by keeping the SPIRIT of the law and NOT the OLDNESS of the letter of the law. And the Spirit of the law is having FAITH in the MEANING of why that law was given in the first place. The law is a SHADOW pointing to Jesus as the TRUE Passover Lamb. And in the SAME way, Christians ARE keeping the COMMANDMENT of Sabbath REST but in a DIFFERENT WAY which is by FAITH IN Jesus as our TRUE Sabbath REST for HOLINESS. Please read the study Dd-13. Is JESUS OUR TRUE SABBATH REST?
Interestingly enough, Paul spoke of the fifth commandment as being in effect when he wrote to the Ephesians. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:1-3). Again, we find the great apostle affirming that this commandment “IS” not “WAS.” Had it been a part of the ordinances described by the same writer in Colossians, he would have said, “... it WAS the first commandment with promise.”
Again, NONE of the six MORAL commandments were nailed to the cross. And we are ONLY talking about the FOURTH commandment as to whether or not the weekly Sabbath DAY , the LETTER of the law of commandment contained in ORDINANCES, is still binding? So ALL of the arguments about the MORAL commandments still being binding are meaningless to prove the keeping the “LETTER” of the law of the fourth commandment by keeping the weekly Sabbath DAY in the NATURAL is still binding. Of course we must keep the SPIRITUAL meaning of why the weekly Sabbath was given in the first place to the children of Israel.
In the New Testament Church there was a lot of contention over the subject of circumcision, which was a major requirement of the ceremonial law. In Acts 15:5 we read, “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” As all recognize, this could not be referring in any sense to the Ten Commandments. They do not even mention circumcision. Yet Paul declared, “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God” (1 Corinthians 7:19). If the law dealing with circumcision was now NOTHING (abolished), then what “commandments” was he exalting as being still binding? One would have to be blind not to see two laws here. The moral law remained, while the law of circumcision (ceremonial law) was abolished.
That is a good and valid question. What “commandments” was Paul exalting? The answer is simple if you look at what is being said here that all the ORDINANCES OF the CEREMONIAL law of commandments were ABOLISHED. The answer is that NONE of the commandments “themselves” have been abolished, but rather, the ORDINANCES contained as SHADOWS in the commandments of the ceremonial commandments UNTO Yahweh have been abolished and CHANGED.
Can you not see that the keeping of the Sabbath DAY IS a CEREMONIAL commandment UNTO God? Whereas, all the SIX MORAL commandments in the TEN Commandments are unto or towards our fellow man. So by their own words the SDA Christians admit that the CEREMONIAL laws are ABOLISHED. They admit that the CEREMONIAL laws are NOT binding on Christians because all the ceremonial commandments have been FULFILLED in Jesus. And by our FAITH IN Jesus we are NOT obligated to keep the CEREMONIAL laws of God because we know and understand the TRUTH that what Jesus fulfilled is NAILED to the cross.
But what the SDA Christians have failed to see is that the “ceremonial commandments THEMSELVES” have not been abolished, but rather, the ORDINANCES contained in the ceremonial commandment have been abolished so that the WAY we NOW keep the ceremonial commandments has CHANGED to keeping the SPIRITUAL meaning of the ceremonial commandments. And the SDA Church knows full well the “spiritual” meaning of the ceremonial commandment of the feast of Passover IS that Jesus IS the TRUE Passover Lamb that all the ORDINANCES of the LETTER of the law point to.
So NOW, under the New Covenant, we as Christians, ARE keeping the SPIRIT of the commandment of the feast of Passover. And, therefore, the carnal natural, letter of the law OLD way of keeping the commandment of the feast of Passover, has CHANGED to the NEW way of keeping the commandment of the feast of Passover which is our FAITH in the TRUE MEANING that the feast of Passover points to. And the FOURTH commandment is the SAME way. We are keeping the commandment ITSELF but NOT in the OLD way of the letter of the law. But rather, we are keeping the TRUE MEANING that the SIGN of the Sabbath rest POINTS to the PERPETUAL COVENANT. When you truly BELIEVE the words of Exodus 31:16,17 as they are written without changing the words “children of Israel” to mean the entire human race, then you will understand that the “us” in Colossians 2:14-17 is NOT referring to the Gentiles who had NO covenant with God BEFORE the New Covenant came. In other words, the handwriting of the Law of Moses was never against the Gentile Christians. But IF a Gentile Christian or a Jewish Christian KEEPS that which Jesus FULFILLED then their KEEPING what Jesus abolish at the cross will be held against them. Let us go ahead and read Exodus 31:16,17.
Exodus 31:16,17.
“Wherefore, (Or for this very reason of working six days and RESTING on the seventh day) the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, (Or the children of Israel shall obey Yahweh’s commandment to REST on the seventh DAY) TO OBSERVE the Sabbath (Or the very reason why the children of Israel were commanded to REST on the seventh DAY of the week was for them to OBSERVE or DISCERN why they were commanded to REST on the seventh day) throughout THEIR generations, for a PERPETUAL COVENANT. (NOT a perpetual COMMANDMENT, but rather, the reason that the seventh DAY of REST was given to the children of Israel to keep was for them to OBSERVE or discern why the commandment to REST on the seventh DAY was given to them in the first place as a SIGN for a PERPETUAL COVENANT)
17. IT (The LETTER of the law of the FOURTH commandment) is a SIGN between me and the children of Israel for ever: (A SIGN pointing to the PERPETUAL COVENANT, God's New Covenant that would be established in the shed blood of His Messiah when the prophecies came to pass) for (Or because) IN six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day HE rested, and was refreshed.”
To all SDA Christians and all of the other seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians, I implore you to stop trying to FORCE your interpretation of the Scriptures that God INSTITUTED or gave the commandment to keep the weekly Sabbath DAY to Adam at creation week. Genesis 2:1-3 is a PROPHECY of Yahweh Himself resting IN the seventh day in the future. Yes, God ceased from all His work that he DID at creation but God is NOT FINISHED with creating us as NEW creatures of HOLINESS and RIGHTEOUSNESS IN Jesus Christ. And thus, God IS FINISHING His work IN the seventh day which is a PROPHECY of the Seventh 1000 year long day of Yahweh’s REST while the highly exalted Son of MAN, Jesus rules FOR Yahweh in the world to come for 1000 years. Please read the LITERAL translation of Genesis 2:1-3 so you can see the future tenses that it is written in.
Here is the LITERAL translation of Genesis 2:1-3.
“And they are BEING FINISHED heaven and 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 of him which he did.
3. And he is blessing Elohim (Aleph Tav) day of seventh and he IS MAKING holy him that IN him he ceased from all work of him which he created Elohim to do.”
This is a prophecy of Yahweh making Holy His human Son Jesus and IN Jesus Yahweh will be ceasing IN the Seventh 1000 year long day while His highly exalted human Son, Jesus, will rule FOR Yahweh as the God of the whole earth in the NAME of Yahweh while Yahweh RESTS IN or during the 1000 year long day of the Millennial reign of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. When you understand that Jesus was MADE Lord and God of the world to come BY his God and Father then you can understand that all the SHADOWS, types, figures, and allegories TESTIFY of Jesus and the NEW PERPETUAL COVENANT established in the shed blood of the HUMAN Jesus who offered himself unto Yahweh THROUGH the power of the Eternal Spirit dwelling in him. And the ceremonial service TO Yahweh on the seventh DAY of the week is a SHADOW pointing to Jesus as our TRUE Sabbath REST. For you see, unless we FIRST ENTER into our REST in Jesus for HOLINESS we will NOT rest in or during the Seventh 1000 year long day of Yahweh’s Sabbath REST in the world to come. So the “LETTER” of the law points to the “SPIRIT” of the law, and God seeks us to worship Him in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. Are you getting this? I pray that you are!
The truth is that there are numerous references in the Bible which prove that the law of types and shadows, because of its temporary application, was never considered on an equality with the eternal moral law.
I absolutely agree with ALL of the MORAL laws being eternal, but the SDA Church as well as all seventh day of the week LETTER of the law Sabbath-keeping Christians are deceiving their followers by making them wrongly THINK that the keeping of the Sabbath DAY is a MORAL law. For you see, in TRUTH, the fourth commandment is a CEREMONIAL law TO Yahweh. And the SDA Church openly admits that the ceremonial laws ARE abolished.
Its system of sacrifices, human priesthood and feast days were instituted after sin entered the world and always pointed forward to the deliverance from sin which would be wrought through the true Lamb and Priest who was to come—Jesus.
Again, another deception. First of all, the SDA Church contradicts itself by saying that the feast days were instituted when sin entered the world. Further on in this SDA article, the SDA Christian writer states that the CEREMONIAL laws we ADDED and we all agree that there were NO ceremonial commandments given BEFORE the Law of Moses was ADDED at Mount Horeb which is also called Mount Sinai. Here are a few quotes that I have taken out of THEIR context which we will closely examine when we get to that part in this SDA article. “ making it necessary to add the ceremonial law.”,(And the fourth commandment IS a CEREMONIAL law UNTO Yahweh) “It is very obvious that the law which Abraham faithfully obeyed was not the law of Moses, because that law was not given until 430 years later.”, and “Whichever law it was, it is designated as the handwriting of ordinances.”
And the fourth commandment CONTAINS ORDINANCES that are written IN the handwriting of Moses IN the BOOK of the Law which IS the Law of God according to Deuteronomy 30:10,11. BOTH the commandments AND the statutes or ORDINANCES are written IN the book of the law that was placed in the side of the ark as a WITNESS AGAINST the children of Israel.
Deuteronomy 30:10,11.
“If you shall hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments AND his statutes which ARE written in this book of the law, and if you turn unto the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.
11. For THIS COMMANDMENT which I command you THIS DAY, (Speaking of ALL the commandments that God commanded Moses to command to the children of Israel after they came out of bondage in the land of Egypt) it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off.”
Before the Law of God was written down in the Book of the Law the children of Israel and the Gentiles as well only had the MORAL law in their CONSCIENCE. I explained this earlier in this study but I will explain it again until it sinks in. Adam and Eve had NO consciousness that they were naked BEFORE they ate from the tree of KNOWLEDGE. Get it? The tree of KNOWLEDGE to be ABLE to know good and evil. In other words, do NOT eat from the tree of CONSCIOUSNESS of the LAW of God to KNOW SIN because without the law of being CONSCIOUS of the law, then sin itself is not imputed.
Now, the SDA Church argues that Paul MUST mean that the TEN commanded HAD to have been given to Adam at creation week. They argue that there is NO OTHER WAY for Cain to have KNOWN that murder is a sin if God did not given the TEN Commandments to Adam at creation week.
Can you not see, that jumping to conclusions in order to try and prove an already preconceived belief can lead to more and more error of interpreting the Scriptures?
Of course there is ANOTHER way that Cain knew that murder is a sin other than the SDA interpretation that the TEN Commandments MUST have being given to Adam and then handed down to Cain verbally. And that other way is that God gave EVERY human being a CONSCIENCE when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of KNOWLEDGE of good and evil.
Please read Romans 2:14,15.
“For when the Gentiles, which have NOT the law, do by NATURE the things contained in the law, these, having NOT the law, ARE a law unto THEMSELVES:
15. Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their CONSCIENCE also bearing witness, and their THOUGHTS the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)”
The God given CONSCIENCE that God gave to every man, even before the children of Israel even existed, was the LAW of God that bore witness to their heart and mind KNOWING right from wrong. In TRUTH, God did not give the TEN Commandments to Adam at creation week. God did NOT give the commandment of the Sabbath to rest on the seventh day to Adam at creation week. Those ASSUMPTIONS are the SDA Church “INTERPRETATIONS” of the Scriptures being taken OUT of their CONTEXT and their reading into the Scriptures their already preconceived belief that God MUST have given His TEN Commandments to Adam at creation week. For how ELSE could Cain had KNOWN that murder was a sin? We will cover this SDA Church argument and ERROR of interpretation further on in the study when we get to the SDA argument in this SDA article. The very reason why we are closely examining this SDA article is to see if what SDA Christians are being taught in this SDA article is the truth of the WHOLE word of Almighty God, or if the SDA Church has perverted the truth by incorrectly interpreting the Scriptures. Let us continue taking a close look at the SDA article.
The writer of Hebrews spends much time proving that the law of the Levitical priesthood would have to change in order to accommodate the priesthood of Jesus. He did not spring from the tribe of Levi, but from the tribe of Judah. Therefore, we have reference to Jesus “Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life” (Hebrews 7:12,16).
And that is what I have been teaching you all along. The carnal or the NATURAL came FIRST and then the SPIRITUAL came after the natural as the TRUE meaning of WHY the natural was given in the first place.
This “carnal commandment” dealing with a human priesthood is found in the handwritten law of Moses. It contrasts sharply with Paul’s description of the Ten Commandments as “spiritual” and “holy” and “good.”
Stop right there! This is the SDA Church’s OWN personal INTERPRETATION that the “LAW” Paul is talking about in Romans 7:12 is the TEN Commandments. IF SDA Christians demand that Paul IS talking about the TEN Commandments in Romans 7:12 then they must be CONSISTENT in their “interpretation of the Scriptures”. And, thus, they must also insist that in Romans 7:6 that Paul is referring to the “LAW” as being the TEN Commandments as well. Can you not see that the SDA Christians are reading INTO the Scriptures the meaning that THEY NEED to be true in order to prove their own SDA Church doctrine that the keeping of the Sabbath DAY is binding on Christians?
In Romans 7:6, the SAME CONTEXT of Romans 7:12, Paul says that we are DELIVERED from the LAW. So then, IF SDA Christians “interpret” the word “law” in verse 12 to mean the TEN Commandments, then Paul is saying that we are DELIVERED from the TEN Commandments in Romans 7:6. Can you not see that the SDA Church is deceiving the SDA Christians who follow the SDA teachings that Paul says is VAIN JANGLING because they desire to be teachers of the LAW?
Nothing could be carnal and spiritual at the same time.
Yes, I agree, not at the SAME time, but the carnal can come first and POINT to the SPIRITUAL which is EXACTLY what the FOURTH commanded does. Please read the study Dd-15. THE WEEKLY SABBATH REST is a SIGN!
Neither could anything be “good” and “not good” at the same time. Yet in Ezekiel we read these words:
“Because they ... had polluted my sabbaths,
And the Sabbaths here INCLUDE the WEEKLY Sabbath DAYS according to the CONTEXT in Ezekiel 20:12.
Ezekiel 20:12.
“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.”
And their eyes were after their fathers’ idols. Wherefore, I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live” (Ezekiel 20:24, 25). Observe carefully how the prophet identifies the Sabbath law, and then immediately says, “I gave them ALSO statutes that were not good.”
I agree, OBSERVE CAREFULLY how ALL the ceremonial laws are good and holy because they all point to or TESTIFY of Jesus as the true SPIRITUAL meaning of why they were given to the children of Israel in the first place which was to LEAD them to Jesus. Have you not read that the Sabbath commandment is a TESTIMONY or a WITNESS? Discern what and who the fourth commandment TESTIFIES or WITNESSES of. And when you see that the CARNAL, natural, letter of the law of the FOURTH command contained in ORDINANCES or statutes TESTIFY of Jesus as our REST then you will understand the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ. For you see, we MUST enter in to REST in Jesus for holiness FIRST before we can enter into the Seventh 1000 year long day of rest that REMAINS in the world to come. One you truly see this TRUTH, then you will see why resting on the 24 hour Sabbath DAY is NOT binding on Christians.
So then, it is the ORDINANCES that are NOT good because the children of Israel POLLUTED the ordinances by rebelling against them.
Keep in mind that the Ten Commandments were called “holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12).
Again, Romans 7:6 says we are DELIVERED from the LAW. So then, IF Paul intended his words to mean that the LAW is the TEN Commandments then Paul is saying that we are DELIVERED from the TEN Commandments.
Because of its curses and judgments against their continual disobedience, the law of Moses was “against” them and was “not good.”
That is true but it is only a PARTIAL truth. The HARSH judgment of being put to DEATH by the hands of the children of Israel was indeed CONTRARY to the children of Israel. It was not good that the children of Israel were commanded by Yahweh in those ORDINANCES to stone one of their own people to death simply for picking up STICKS on the Sabbath DAY. I explain the meaning of this ordinance contained in the fourth commandment in the study called Dd-5. What Does Contained in ORDINANCES Mean? But for now, please know and understand that the weekly Sabbath day of rest given in the fourth commandment IS, INDEED, a SHADOW pointing to Jesus. So, for the SDA Christians to insist that the fourth commandment is NOT a CEREMONIAL law and that the weekly Sabbath DAYS are NOT a SHADOW is to DENY the clear, plain, simple word of Almighty God by twisting the words of Paul to their own destruction.
Please read 2 Peter 3:16-18.
“As also in ALL his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are SOME things hard to be understood, which they that are UNLEARNED and UNSTABLE wrestle with, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction.
17. You, therefore, beloved, seeing you know these THINGS before, (The things that some Christian find hard to receive because they are still LEARNING. But while they are yet not rooted and grounded in the TRUTH, they wrestle with the teachings of Paul in ALL of his letters as well as other Scriptures not understanding their true meaning) BEWARE lest you ALSO, being led away with the error of the wicked, FALL from your own steadfastness. (Now WHO does Paul say were FALLEN from Grace in Galatians 5:1-5? It is the teachers of the letter of the law and those Christians who are led away from the TRUE gospel by their ERROR in interpretation of the Scriptures. Who does Paul say have SWERVED from the TRUTH, according to 1 Timothy 4:1-9? Again, it is the Christians desiring to be teachers of the LAW and those Christians who are being led astray by their ERRORS of interpreting the Scriptures and ALL of Paul’s letters to the churches)
18. But grow in GRACE, and in the knowledge OF our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”
This concludes part 3 in this series of studies to expose the errors of interpretations made by this SDA Christian in this SDA Church article. In part 4 of this study in God’s word called Dd-40. Were the 10 Commandments Given To Adam?, we will cover the SDA Church “interpretation” of the Scriptures that the TEN Commandment law was given to Adam at creation week.
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.
To learn more TRUTH, then please return to
AMatterOfTruth.com
If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me.
My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com.
Some Sabbath-keeping 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 under the subject heading >>>Dd-0. What is the TRUE Sabbath?<<< And also read Dd-20. Did The Early Church KEEP the Sabbath day to learn the truth of what the early church believed.
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.
RETURN to HOMEPAGE at
AMatterOfTruth.com
The end.
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Always be faithful to share, to preach, and to teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ!
