` SPELLING EDITED Dd-1. SABBATH TRUTH! REMEMBER the SABBATH!
Remember the Sabbath to keep IT HOLY! This is one of the most widely used verses among the Saturday, seventh day of the week, Sabbath-keeping church denominations. They use this verse of Scripture found in Exodus 20:8 to teach that all Christians must keep Saturday, the seventh day of the week, HOLY in order to please God. Some Sabbath-keeping Christians even teach that Christians are sinning by NOT keeping Saturday, the SEVENTH day of the week, Holy by RESTING from works that can be done on the six other days of the week. And yet other Sabbath-keeping Christians even teach that Christians must keep the fourth commandment in the same way as the Jews under the old covenant, resting from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. And then the Seventh Day Adventist Christians teach that Sunday worshiping Christians have taken the mark of the beast. But what does that Bible ITSELF teach us? Does Exodus 20:8 teach us, as Christians, that WE must REMEMBER to keep Saturday, the seventh day of the week, HOLY in order to please God? They also teach that Exodus 20:8 proves that ALL of mankind were ALREADY keeping the Sabbath to rest on the SEVENTH day from Adam because God sanctified the SEVENTH day in Genesis 2:1-3. So then, does Exodus 20:8 prove that all of mankind KEPT the seventh day holy all the way back to Adam because this verse says REMEMBER the Sabbath day inferring that they had to have already been keeping the Sabbath day from Adam in order for them to REMEMBER the Sabbath? They say things like, “I mean HOW can you REMEMBER something that you have never been taught?” So then, in the minds of Saturday, the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keepers, this verse means to them that all of mankind kept the Sabbath all the way back to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Please read the study “WHAT DOES EXODUS 20:8 TRULY MEAN?” Now, IF the words REMEMBER the Sabbath to keep IT Holy does NOT mean that we, as CHRISTIANS, are to remember to keep a DAY Holy, then what does the Bible ITSELF teach us that this verse means when it is correctly interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God? Before we get into the Scriptures, please know and understand that Jesus did NOT abolish the FOURTH commandment ITSELF. But rather, Jesus abolished ONLY the ORDINANCES contained IN the Ten Commandments. And under the New Covenant written in the New Testament, we, as Christians ARE keeping the fourth commandment BY our FAITH in the TRUE MEANING of why the keeping a DAY of rest was given in the first place. Exodus 20:8.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep IT HOLY.”
When we interpret Scripture in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God we understand that the Sabbath was given as a SIGN to the children of Israel for THEM to REMEMBER something. What does the word “SIGN” mean? One of the meanings of the word “sign” is that it is a signal, as in, a flag or a beacon. In other words, God is waving a flag in front of the children of Israel every time they kept and still do keep the Sabbath day saying to them.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep IT HOLY.”
Now, this does not make much sense to us English-speaking Christians as to what God is saying because WE do not speak Hebrew or Greek. So it does not make sense to us until we read the LITERAL translation of Exodus 20:8.
“TO remember DAY of the SABBATH to to hallow HIM.”
Now when I first read this verse in the literal I thought it ODD to say “TO remember”, and then called the Sabbath day by the pronoun “HIM”. So I read again the verse before verse 8 and then it all made sense to me. You see verse 7 and verse 8 are connected and they go together as one single prophecy of Jesus. We will get into this in a moment, but first, I want to expound some more on verse 8. The word “hollow” means to HONOR as being HOLY, pure, clean, without sin. Let us now read the literal translation with this definition of the word hollow inserted into the verse in place of the word “hollow”.
“TO remember DAY of the SABBATH to to HONOR HIM as being HOLY, pure, clean, and without sin.”
So WHO is the HIM that God wants the children of Israel to HONOR as being the Holy one of Yahweh? I want you to now think of the Sabbath as being a SIGN pointing to JESUS, the Son of MAN, as our true SABBATH rest, as being HOLY and without sin. Let now us read verse 8 with this in mind.
“TO remember DAY of Jesus the Son of MAN to to HONOR HIM as being HOLY, your Passover Lamb without spot of blemish.”
Now, with all of this in mind, let us now read verses 7 and 8 together as a prophecy of Jesus being the NAME of Yahweh, as in, Jesus came in the NAME OF Yahweh.
Exodus 20:7,8.
“You shall not take the NAME of the LORD your God in VAIN; (Or for FUTILITY) for the LORD will NOT hold him guiltless that takes his NAME in VAIN (Or for FUTILITY) 8. TO remember DAY of Jesus the Son of MAN to to HONOR HIM as being HOLY, your Messiah whom I have raised up.”
The NAME Jesus or Yeshua means the SALVATION OF Yahweh. Jesus came in the NAME OF Yahweh. And most of the Jews took Yahweh's NAME in VAIN by rejecting the ONLY NAME given among mankind whereby we MUST be saved. The NAME of Jesus did NOT profit them NOT being mixed with FAITH. The word vain means without effect, to no avail, not producing the intended purpose, futile, ineffectual, having no useful result, of no profit, and untrustworthy. In other words, the NAME of Jesus is indeed TRUSTWORTHY, but to take the NAME of Jesus in VAIN is the same as saying that the name of Jesus is NOT thrust-worthy ENOUGH, so you have to ADD works to make your OWN self holy and pleasing to God. The Roman Catholic Church ADDED many traditions of MEN as works in order to be saved that are taught NOWHERE in the Bible ITSELF. And SOME in the early church were ADDING the LAW of Moses as being required to be kept in order to be saved. Jesus said to the Jews, who were searching the Scriptures THINKING that they would find ETERNAL LIFE in the LAW and the prophets, and was basically saying to them that they did not remember the DAY of Jesus, the Son of MAN, to HONOR HIM as being HOLY. Jesus said to them that the Scriptures spoke of HIM. Many or most of the Jews took Yahweh's NAME in VAIN by NOT recognizing their Messiah and thus NOT believing and trusting on the ONLY NAME given among mankind whereby we MUST be saved.
Isaiah 30:27,28.
“Behold, the NAME of the LORD comes from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: (This is speaking of the second coming of Jesus) 28. And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.”
Blessed is HE who comes in the NAME of the Lord! The disciples and followers of Jesus, who did, indeed, believe in the NAME of the Lord and did NOT take Yahweh's NAME in VAIN, laid palm branches down for their King to ride upon. Matthew 21:7-9.
“And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set HIM (Jesus their Messiah, their DELIVERER) thereon. 8. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is HE that comes in the NAME of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”
BUT to those Jews, who did NOT believe and trust in the NAME of the Lord, as their Messiah, and thus, THEY took Yahweh's NAME in VAIN, Jesus said to THEM.
Matthew 23:36-39.
“Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto YOU, how often would I have gathered YOUR children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and YOU would NOT! (Or you would not believe the prophets who spoke of ME, and thus, you take the NAME of Yahweh in VAIN by rejecting the Lord of the SABBATH sent to give you REST!) 38. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39. For I say unto you, You shall not see me (Or truly understand WHO I am) henceforth, TILL you shall SAY Blessed (Or say Holy) is he that comes in the NAME of the Lord.”
Or until you HALLOW HIM who comes in the NAME of Yahweh as your Messiah. Jesus was saying to these Jews that they have taken the NAME of Yahweh in VAIN and that they need to REPENT and HONOR the NAME of Jesus or Yeshua as HOLY unto the Lord. Jesus is the HOLY one of Yahweh whom HE has given as the ONLY NAME under heaven whereby mankind MUST be saved. So unless a person keeps the TRUE MEANING of the FOURTH commandment they cannot even be saved. But a person does not need to KNOW what the SIGN of the fourth commandment points to before they can be saved. Rather, when a person believes that Jesus died for their sins and that God raised Jesus from the dead after three days and three nights then unknowingly they are KEEPING the fourth commandment. And that is why the Holy Spirit Himself will NEVER convict a Christian for NOT keeping ANY DAY of the week, month, or year Holy unto Yahweh. The Holy Spirit knows that all the ceremonial laws are SHADOWS pointing to Jesus. And even the THIRD commandment points to Jesus as being the NAME that we are NOT to take or receive by FAITH in VAIN.
Please read Isaiah 52:6,7.
“Therefore, my people shall know my NAME: therefore, they shall know in that day that I am he that does speak: behold, it is I. (This verse is NOT saying that Jesus is Yahweh Himself. But rather, this verse is saying that the doctrine or teaching that Jesus taught IS Yahweh's doctrine or teaching whom Yahweh HIMSELF is speaking through His human anointed Son Jesus. Now, the Jews THOUGHT that they had eternal life by obeying the Law of Moses contained in ordinances. And thus, they did not SEE or understand that the law and the prophets spoke of JESUS, the NAME of Yahweh's SALVATION, the ONLY NAME that can SAVE them and they took the Lord's NAME in VAIN by rejecting Jesus or Yeshua and their Messiah. And even some of the Jewish Christians kept on keeping the Law of Moses contained in ordinances because they did not yet understand that Jesus ABOLISHED the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES on the cross, according to Ephesians 2:8-15 and Colossians 8-17. So they also were taking Yahweh’s NAME in VAIN and they were fallen from grace, according to Galatians 5:4) 7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of HIM that brings good tidings, (Good news, the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ, who gave us Yahweh's WORDS, all the words we need to obtain eternal life in the world to come) that publishes peace; that brings good tidings of good, that publishes SALVATION; that says unto Zion, Your God reigns!”
The Hebrew word translated as “REMEMBER” the Sabbath also means to CONSIDER, to recount, to THINK ON this day as to WHY the children of Israel were taught to work six days and the REST on the seventh day. Moses told the children of Israel to REMEMBER this DAY, the day that you came OUT of BONDAGE from the land of Egypt. Exodus 13:3.
“And Moses said unto the people, REMEMBER THIS DAY, in which you CAME OUT from Egypt, OUT of the house of BONDAGE; for BY strength of hand the LORD brought you OUT from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.”
God wants the children of Israel to REMEMBER, or call to mind the DAY that HE brought them out of BONDAGE and not so much a day of the year. But rather, Yahweh wants them to remember WHO their DELIVERER was. God wants Israel to see that THEY cannot SAVE THEMSELVES by the OWN good works of righteousness. According to Galatians 3:19, the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES was ADDED because of their transgressions of the MORAL law of God UNTIL Jesus came. And, according to Romans 10:4, the Law of Moses contained in ordinances ENDED at the cross of Jesus Christ for righteousness. So the keeping of the fourth commandment was a SIGN for THEM to REMEMBER that Yahweh is their DELIVERER. And the method that Yahweh CHOSE to deliver the children of Israel from the bondage of sin was His human Son, Jesus. The Law of Moses contained in ordinances was a schoolmaster leading the children of Israel to their Messiah who FULFILLED the Law of Moses CONTAINED in ORDINANCES. Jesus did not fulfill the MORAL laws of God FOR us as some grace alone Christians wrongly teach. With all of this in mind let us now read Exodus 20:8 being left in its CONTEXT to see WHAT God desires the children of Israel to REMEMBER.
Exodus 20:1-8.
“And God spoke all these words, saying, 2. I am the LORD your God, which have brought you OUT of the land of Egypt, OUT of the house of BONDAGE. 3. You shall have no other gods before me. 4. You shall not make unto 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 water under the earth: 5. You shall not bow down yourself to 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; 6. And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 7. You shall not take the NAME of the LORD your God in VAIN; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes His NAME in VAIN. (Remember that verse 7 and 8 go together, as in, ONE commandment to NOT deny or reject the NAME of Yahweh, who is Jesus, the Messiah) 8. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it (HIM) holy.”
Remember the LITERAL translation along with the meanings or the words hollow and vain that I gave to you.
Here is the LITERAL paraphrased translation of Exodus 20:7,8.
“You shall not take the NAME of the LORD your God in VAIN; (Or for FUTILITY) for the LORD will NOT hold him guiltless that takes his NAME in VAIN (Or for FUTILITY) 8. TO remember DAY of Jesus the Son of MAN to to HONOR HIM as being HOLY.”
This is what God wants the children of Israel to REMEMBER, to CONSIDER, to THINK upon, to REALIZE, to make of, to figure out, to OBSERVE as to WHY they keep the seventh day of the week holy by RESTING or by CEASING from their works. God desires Israel to see HIM as their DELIVERER, who would deliver them OUT of the BONDAGE of SIN to CEASE from their OWN works of righteousness by keeping the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES in the DAY that the Messiah would come. God desires Israel and all seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians to HALLOW Jesus as being their TRUE Sabbath rest. Let us read Deuteronomy 5:12, which teaches us of the REASON of WHY God gave the Sabbath to the CHILDREN of ISRAEL for THEM to keep throughout THEIR GENERATIONS.
Deuteronomy 5:12.
“And REMEMBER that you were a servant (Or a SLAVE 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: THEREFORE, (Or for this very REASON of the Lord your God DELIVERING YOU out of BONDAGE) the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”
In other words, God is saying to the children of Israel, I have commanded you O Israel to keep my Sabbath to OBSERVE my Sabbath for you to THINK upon WHY I gave you the SABBATH. God is saying to them that He wants them to OBSERVE or to MAKE OF TO WHOM the SIGN of the Sabbath is pointing. The word “OBSERVE” means to pay close attention to something. The LITERAL translation of Exodus 31:16 reads.
Here is the LITERAL translation of Exodus 31:16a.
“And they KEEP the sons of Israel the Sabbath to to MAKE OF the Sabbath...”
Now to most all Christians who are not Saturday the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians, we clearly see that Paul teaches us that the weekly Sabbaths were SHADOWS pointing to JESUS as the body or the substance of the reason of WHY the Sabbath was given to the children of Israel for THEM to keep throughout THEIR generations, according to Exodus 31:16,17. Please notice the UNTRANSLATED Aleph Tav before the word Sabbath. The Aleph Tav is a hidden prophecy pointing to Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus. Exodus 31:16,17.
“Wherefore, (Or for this reason) the children of Israel shall keep the (Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) sabbath, to observe the (Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) Sabbath throughout THEIR generations, for a perpetual covenant. (This means that the Children of Israel that REJECT Jesus as their Messiah will go into the seventh 1000 year long day in the world to come in their MORTAL bodies to LEARN that Jesus is their Aleph Tav Sabbath rest. And like the Apostle Paul, I am concerned that all the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians have FALLEN from grace and they have taken the Lord’s NAME in VAIN by KEEPING the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES. They are not TRULY resting in Jesus as their Messiah by their keeping of the weekly Sabbath day) 17. It (The weekly Sabbath day) 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.”
But the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians try and REASON AWAY the clear, plain, and simple meaning of Colossians 2:8-17 by arguing that the Sabbath days in verse 16 do NOT refer to the weekly Sabbath but refer to the YEARLY feast day Sabbath days. In other words, they read INTO Colossians 2:8-17 what they NEED those verses to say or mean in order to try and support their teaching that all Christians must keep SATURDAY, the seventh day of the week as the Jews to rest from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset lest they SIN by breaking the FOURTH commandment. They have failed to DISCERN that the Sabbath was a SHADOW pointing to JESUS, who has become OUR SABBATH REST under the NEW covenant by our FAITH in Jesus as our DELIVERER from the BONDAGE of SIN. And that we who KNOW the REASON of the SHADOWS do not KEEP the SHADOWS, but rather, we keep the TRUE in which the SHADOWS were pointing. The feast of the Passover pointed to JESUS and by our FAITH in Jesus, we no longer keep the SHADOW. Jesus IS our PASSOVER. The law of circumcision in the FLESH point to JESUS cutting away SIN out of our flesh. So by our FAITH in Jesus setting us free from sin, we no longer keep the SHADOW. Jesus IS of CIRCUMCISION not made with hands. The keeping of the Sabbath, the fourth commandment, was a SHADOW pointing to JESUS as the ENTRANCE into the TRUE seventh day of our ETERNAL REST. So now that we know the REASON of why the Sabbath was given we do not keep the SHADOW, we keep the TRUE SABBATH by our FAITH in Jesus that we have ENTERED INTO HIS REST by our CEASING from our OWN works of righteousness to become HIS workmanship to do good works. Jesus IS our SABBATH REST. To us, it makes NO sense for Paul to list FOUR things or five things depending on how you count what he listed, and then to interpret the FOURTH thing to be the exact SAME thing as the SECOND thing on the list of those FOUR things Paul listed. Here is what I mean by this. Paul listed FOUR things that we who believe that Jesus is our Sabbath rest are told to not allow others to judge us for NOT keeping.
Please read Colossians 2:16,17.
“Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat, or in drink, (#1. The dietary laws written in the Old Testament under the OLD covenant) or in respect of a holy day, (#2. The YEARLY feast day Sabbaths) or of the new moon, ( #3. The MONTHLY festivals) or of the Sabbath days: (#4. The WEEKLY Sabbath days which is the ONLY thing left on the LIST of DAYS that the children of Israel were commanded to keep throughout THEIR GENERATIONS) 17. Which are a SHADOW of things to come, but the BODY (Or the substance of the TRUE to which the shadow is pointing to) is of Christ.”
In other words, to most Christians, it makes NO SENSE to us that Paul word LIST FOUR different things that are SHADOWS pointing to Jesus and then to INTERPRET that #4 is actually #2 and Paul really meant to list only THREE things. Now, every HONEST seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christian will tell you that the Sabbath DAYS that the children of Israel were commanded to keep LISTED in the Old Testament ALWAYS spoke of the WEEKLY Sabbath days and NOT the YEARLY Sabbath days as they CLAIM that Paul is teaching us in Colossians 2:8-17. Please consider these seven Old Testament passages of Scripture giving us the SAME LIST of three different things that Paul gave to us in Colossians 2:8-17 minus the dietary laws. But what some Sabbath-keeping Christians CLAIM is that the Sabbath days do NOT mean the WEEKLY Sabbath days. And thus, they dogmatically demand that the Sabbath days mean the YEARLY Sabbath days. Keep in mind that these following five Old Testament verses do not LIST the DIETARY laws so they will have only THREE things listed.
1 Chronicles 23:31.
“And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the Sabbaths, (#1. The WEEKLY Sabbaths) in the new moons, (#2. The MONTHLY festivals) AND on the set feasts, (#3. The YEARLY feast day Sabbaths) by number, according to the order commanded unto THEM, continually before the LORD:”
So then, does 1 Chronicles 23:31 teach us that #1 is NOT the WEEKLY Sabbath days and is the exact same as #3 the YEARLY feast days? Be HONEST with yourself and with God!
2 Chronicles 2:4.
“Behold, I build a house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths (#1.The WEEKLY Sabbath days) and on the new moons, (#2.The MONTHLY festivals) and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. (#3. The YEARLY feast days) This is an ORDINANCE forever TO ISRAEL.”
So then, does 2 Chronicles 2:4 teach us that #1 is NOT the WEEKLY Sabbath days and is the exact same as #3, the YEARLY feast days? Be HONEST with yourself and with God!
2 Chronicles 8:13.
“Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbaths, (#1.The WEEKLY Sabbath days) and on the new moons, (#2.The MONTHLY festivals) and on the solemn feasts,(#3. The YEARLY feast days) three times in the YEAR, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.”
So then, does 2 Chronicles 8:13 teach us that #1 is NOT the WEEKLY Sabbath days, and is the exact same as #3 the YEARLY feast days? Be HONEST with yourself and with God!
2 Chronicles 31:3.
“He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, (#1.The WEEKLY Sabbath days) and for the new moons, (#2.The MONTHLY festivals) and for the set feasts, (#3. The YEARLY feast days) as it is written in the law of the LORD.”
And again, the law of Yahweh here in these passages of Scripture are the law of commandments CONTAINED in ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross and taken out of the way, according to Ephesians 2:8-15 and Colossians 2:8-17. So then does 2 Chronicles 31:3 teach us that #1 is NOT the WEEKLY Sabbath days, and is the exact same as #3 the YEARLY feast days? Be HONEST with yourself and with God!
Nehemiah 10:33.
“For the show bread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the Sabbaths, (#1. The WEEKLY Sabbath days) of the new moons, (#2. The MONTHLY festivals) for the set feasts, (#3. The YEARLY feast days) and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.”
So then, does 1 Chronicles 23:31 teach us that #1 is NOT the WEEKLY Sabbath days and is the exact same as #3 the YEARLY feast days? Be HONEST with yourself and with God!
Ezekiel 45:17.
“And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, (#1. The YEARLY feast days), and in the new moons, (#2. The MONTHLY festivals) and in the Sabbaths, (#3. The WEEKLY Sabbath days) in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.”
So then, does Ezekiel 45:17 teach us that #3, is NOT the WEEKLY Sabbath days and is the exact same as #1 the YEARLY feast days? Be HONEST with yourself and with God!
Hosea 2:11.
“I will also cause all her mirth to CEASE, her feast days, ( #1. Israel's YEARLY feast days) her new moons, (#2. Israel's MONTHLY festivals) AND her Sabbaths, (#3. Israel's WEEKLY Sabbath days) and ALL her solemn feasts.”
Speaking of ALL of Israel's CEREMONIAL observances contained in ORDINANCES including the observing of Saturday, the seventh day of the week will, I, Yahweh, cause to CEASE. So then, does Hosea 2:11 teach us that #3, is NOT the WEEKLY Sabbath days and is the exact same as #1 the YEARLY feast days? Be HONEST with yourself and with God! I emphasize this because I have heard every way possible as to how Sabbath-keeping Christians try to explain away the clear, plain, and simple teachings of the Apostle Paul to TRY and prove that Christians MUST keep the weekly Sabbath day lest they sin. SOME Sabbath-keeping Christians understand that Paul is clearly teaching us to NOT keep the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES but they failed to see that the WEEKLY Sabbath day is ALSO one of those ORDINANCES written in the Law of Moses that was nailed to the cross. Now if you are honest with yourself and with God, then you will agree that in all seven of these Old Testament verses that the term Sabbath days ALWAYS refers to the WEEKLY Sabbath days and NOT to the YEARLY feast day Sabbaths. Paul was simply QUOTING these Old Testament verses in Colossians 2:8-17 calling them SHADOWS that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Yahweh caused ALL these solemn observances to CEASE at the cross just as he prophesied in Hosea 2:11. Now after some of the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keepers came to realize this TRUTH and finally admitted to themselves that the Sabbath days in Colossians 2:16 do indeed refer to the WEEKLY Sabbath days, SOME of them still yet tried to REASON away this TRUTH by arguing the phrase “ARE shadows of things TO COME” saying that it is YET FUTURE. And, therefore, to them, they rationalized that Christians must still keep the WEEKLY Sabbath because the shadow is pointing to sometime in the FUTURE that we will one day no longer have to keep the seventh day of the week. But then, they turn right around and argue that since the children of Israel will keep the weekly Sabbath day during the Millennial reign of Jesus then that means, to them, that Christians must keep the weekly Sabbath day in this present world and in the world yet to come. So WHEN is the 1000 year-long Sabbath rest for us as Christians? THINK this through for YOURSELVES my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul was NOT teaching us to not allow others to judge us for something in the FUTURE that is YET to come. Paul said that these SHADOWS were nailed to the CROSS. Jesus is not going to die on the cross again in the future. This argument by some Sabbath-keeping Christians is their last desperate attempt to cling to what their church denomination has WRONGLY taught them to believe. Even though some of them SEE the TRUTH, they all can not readily accept it as the truth. For you see, their church denomination has dogmatically demanded that they must keep the weekly Sabbath DAY if they want to receive eternal life in the world to come. FEAR keeps them in BONDAGE to the OLD covenant that God REPLACED with HIS NEW covenant written in the NEW Testament. Let us read the whole CONTEXT of verse 16,17 with you keeping in mind the five Old Testament verses you just read KNOWING that the Sabbath days in those verses clearly speak of the WEEKLY Sabbath days and NOT the YEARLY Sabbath days as some wrongly teach so that they can teach their followers to keep the WEEKLY Sabbath day but NOT any of the other Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES. It is HARD for them to grasp that Jesus FULFILLED the WEEKLY Sabbath day in the same way that Jesus FULFILLED all the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES.
Please read Colossians 2:8-17.
“BEWARE (Paul starts out with a strong WARNING to BEWARE) lest any man spoils (Or ruins) you through philosophy and VAIN deceit, (Or deception that will profit you NOTHING) after the tradition of men, (Speaking of man-made teachings COMBINING the OLD covenant with the NEW covenant CLAIMING that we must keep BOTH covenants at the same time) after the rudiments of the world, (Speaking of the worldly services to God, the ceremonial services contained in ORDINANCE) and NOT after Christ. 9. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (In other words, everything we need to know and obey, Almighty God gave to His Son Jesus to give to us to believe and OBEY under the New Covenant written in the New Testament) 10. And you ARE COMPLETE IN HIM, which is the head of all principality and power: 11. IN whom ALSO you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (Being circumcised to some Jewish Christians early on in the first-century church was a MUST in order to be saved and it took much disputing before some of those Judaizing Christians saw the TRUTH that Jesus became our TRUE CIRCUMCISION not made with hands. The law of circumcision given to Abraham and then it was repeated again in the Law of Moses under the first covenant that God made with the children of Israel. The law of circumcision was a SHADOW pointing to JESUS as being our true circumcision not made with hands. And thus, we as Christians ARE KEEPING the law of circumcision BY our FAITH in Jesus as are TRUE circumcision not made with hands. For you see, the very REASON for WHY the law of circumcision in the flesh made with hands was given in the first place was to show that the ones circumcised were in a COVENANT relationship with God. And we, as Christians, are in the New Covenant BY the circumcision OF Christ) 12. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the FAITH of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead. 13. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14. BLOTTING OUT the handwriting of ORDINANCES that was against us, which was contrary to us, (Which neither our fathers nor we were able to BEAR, according to Acts 15:10-12) and took it (The law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES) OUT of the WAY, NAILING it (The law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES) to his CROSS; (ALSO according to Ephesians 2:8-15 which are the WORKS that we are NOT saved by lest there is boasting) 15. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16. Let no man THEREFORE judge you in meat, or in drink, (#1. Therefore, or for this very reason that the Law of Moses contained in ordinances concerning all of the DIETARY laws written in the Old Testament under the OLD covenant let no man judge you for NOT keeping that which God has taken out of the way and nailed to the cross of His Son Jesus) or in respect of a holy day, (#2. Therefore, or for this very reason that the Law of Moses contained in ordinances concerning all of the YEARLY feast days written in the Old Testament under the OLD covenant let no man judge you for NOT keeping that which God has taken out of the way and nailed to the cross of His Son Jesus) or of the new moon, (#3. Therefore, or for the very very reason that the Law of Moses contained in ordinances concerning all of the DIETARY laws written in the Old Testament under the OLD covenant let no man judge you for NOT keeping that which God has taken of the way and nailed to the cross of His Son Jesus) or of the Sabbath days: (#4. Therefore, or for this very reason that the Law of Moses contained in ordinances concerning all of the WEEKLY Sabbath days written in the Old Testament under the OLD covenant let no man judge you for NOT keeping that which God has taken out of the way and nailed to the cross of His Son Jesus. Again, the WEEKLY Sabbath days here in #4 here is NOT #2 above that has already been listed. To INTERPRET the #4, the WEEKLY Sabbaths as being #2, the YEARLY Sabbaths is TWISTING the Scriptures to fit one’s OWN private interpretation. ALL the Sabbaths, yearly, monthly AND the WEEKLY Sabbaths has Yahweh caused to CEASE at the CROSS) 17. Which are a SHADOW of things to come, but the BODY (Or the reality of the TRUE SPIRITUAL purpose of the physical keeping of DAYS) is of Christ.”
Paul was concerned that he might have preached the gospel to some Christians who were in Galatia in VAIN because they went back to observing or keeping DAYS by esteeming one day above other days whether they were a day of the week, month, or year. And those Jewish Christians were subverting and compelling the Gentile Christians to also keep all the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES.
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 world here also means system. And the context is speaking of the BONDAGE of the OLD Covenant SYSTEM of observing the elements of service to God keeping the weekly Sabbaths, the monthly new moon festivals, and the yearly feast days) 4. BUT when the fullness of the time has come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (The law was added UNTIL the promise of the SEED came. Jesus is that SEED. The Law was a schoolmaster leading the children of Israel to their Messiah, Jesus the Son of the living God.) 5. To REDEEM them (Or to purchase or buy back them) that were under the law, that WE might receive the adoption of sons. (Now, the Gentiles were never UNDER the law, but some of the Gentiles Christians were bewitched, beguiled, subverted, deceived by vain deceit, and even compelled to keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. And this is what Paul was fighting against contending for the TRUTH that was given to him by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.) 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, ((Or for this very reason that God adopted you as His sons and daughters you are to NO MORE remain under the OLD covenant contained in ORDINANCES in the LAW of Moses written in the Old Testament) but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (To serve the law of righteousness through the law of FAITH under the NEW covenant where the SPIRIT of the law is kept and the LETTER of the law is NO LONGER kept) 8. Howbeit then, when you knew not God, (Or when you read the Old Testament being VEILED speaking to the Jews they did services to God not knowing the reason of those services, and speaking to the Gentiles who did not know God at all he says) you did service unto them which by nature are no gods. (Paul is talking to both Gentile and Jewish Christians. He started out including himself saying WE were in BONDAGE and in verse 8 he seems to be addressing the Gentile Christians as well) 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, (Wherein WE were in BONDAGE) whereunto you desire again to be in BONDAGE? (Then in the next verse Paul tells us WHAT that bondage was so there is NO INTERPRETATION needed to know that the BONDAGE Paul is speaking about here is:) 10. (#1.) You observe DAYS, (Referring to the WEEKLY Sabbath days. #2) and MONTHS, (Or and #2 you observe the MONTHLY festivals of the new moons) and (#3 you observe) times, and YEARS. (Speaking of the YEARLY feast days). 11. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in VAIN.”
Plain and simple, the Apostle Paul was in fear that the Christians who were keeping the Law of Moses were fallen from grace and that all the labor that Paul did in leading them to Jesus to be saved was all done in VAIN. But even after all this SOUND Biblical evidence some seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians still argue that God gave the keeping of the Sabbath to ALL of mankind BEFORE the LAW of Moses and therefore Paul could not possibly be speaking of the WEEKLY Sabbath. Please my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord do not take the NAME of Jesus in VAIN by rejecting his COMPLETE work of salvation. Jesus IS our SABBATH rest and you are COMPLETE IN him. The WHOLE of Scripture points to JESUS, the ONLY NAME under heaven given among mankind whereby we MUST be saved. I implore you to read Deuteronomy 5:1-22 with OPEN eyes and allow the Holy Spirit to show you the TRUTH that God gave the keeping of DAYS including the Sabbath day, the seventh DAY of the week to the CHILDREN of ISRAEL ONLY for THEM to keep throughout THEIR GENERATIONS. God did NOT give the keeping of the weekly Sabbath day to Adam in Genesis 2:1-3 like your church denomination has dogmatically demanded that you believe lest you be dis-fellow shipped if you question their authority and man-made church doctrine.
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 IN Horeb. (Or on Mount Sinai) 3. The LORD made NOT this covenant with our fathers, but with us, EVEN us, who are ALL of us here alive THIS DAY. 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. (And this is the WHOLE point of WHY the law was added or given only to the children of Israel for them to keep throughout their generations. God wants them to see that HE is their DELIVERER and that He will deliver them again by His right ARM. The ARM of Yahweh is speaking of His SON Jesus or Yeshua that means the SALVATION OF Yahweh the NAME of the Lord, which most of the children of Israel took in VAIN at the first coming of Jesus by rejecting the only NAME given to mankind whereby we MUST be saved) 7. You shall have none other gods before me. (Or no Gods ABOVE Yahweh Himself. Yahweh MADE Jesus Lord and God after the cross and we are to honor Jesus even AS we honor Yahweh, the Father. So under the New Covenant, Yahweh is commanding us to honor Jesus as Yahweh's God the He SET to be a God saying, MY God, MY King, MY Lord, MY Christ, and MY SON whom I have anointed and appointed as your deliverer. My highly exalted Son is your Messiah who is to rule over you in MY name FOR me during MY day of REST the SEVENTH 1000 year long day of the Lord. The commandment is to have no other false gods ABOVE Yahweh. The word translated as BEFORE also means in front of or above Yahweh. God is the God OF gods that He Himself SET or made to become gods under and subject to Him. But Lucifer rebelled against Yahweh and deceived the children of Israel to worship him and the other fallen angels before Yahweh. In other words, Satan wants to take the GLORY or the credit instead of Yahweh receiving all the glory. But we worship Jesus TO the glory OF Almighty God the Father in obedience to the Father’s Will to honor His Son even as we honor Yahweh, the Father) 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. (The early church and most all Christians today are KEEPING Yahweh's commandments to HONOR His SON Jesus to NOT take Yahweh's NAME in VAIN. Jesus is the workmanship OF Yahweh and it is Yahweh’s Will that we worship Jesus to the glory OF Almighty God the Father. For you see, Jesus came in the NAME OF Yahweh which is the reason for the third commandment that follows) 11. You shall not take the NAME of the LORD your God in VAIN: for the LORD will NOT hold him guiltless that takes his NAME in VAIN. (Are you taking Yahweh's NAME in VAIN by NOT RESTING in his NAME, his SON Jesus as your SABBATH REST by desiring to be in BONDAGE of observing or keeping DAYS?) 12. Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, (Speaking of honoring him, the Son of Almighty God. In other words, sanctify him, my Son Jesus) as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work: 14. But the seventh day (Referring to the seventh 1000 year long day, the Millennium, the next age, the 1000 year reign of Jesus ruling and reigning FOR Yahweh during HIS 1000 year long SEVENTH day of REST) is the Sabbath of the LORD your God: in it (Or IN him, your Messiah Jesus) you 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 REMEMBER that you were a SLAVE 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: THEREFORE (Or for this very REASON that I Yahweh want you to REMEMBER that I am your DELIVERER is WHY) the LORD your God commanded YOU (The CHILDREN of ISRAEL) to keep the Sabbath DAY. (The Sabbath was a SIGN of keeping this OLD covenant pointing to Jesus as the SIGN of keeping the NEW covenant) 16. Honor your father and your mother, (Or honor Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus as your father and 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 your 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 as a SCHOOLMASTER to lead you to my Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) 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 in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.”
Deuteronomy 5:1-22 proves to all Christians with eyes to see and ears to hear God gave the Sabbath ONLY to the children of Israel for the FIRST time. And before this time that God delivered the children of Israel out of bondage in the land of Egypt no man ever kept the Sabbath day. This ONE fact should raise a RED FLAG to you that you have been LIED to by your Sabbath church denomination. Perhaps they did not lie to you deliberately or intentionally, but nonetheless, you were taught a LIE when they taught you that God gave the Sabbath to Adam in order for them to wrongly teach that the weekly Sabbath came BEFORE the Law of Moses. 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. I will post them again below under the one heading >>>WHAT IS THE TRUE SABBATH?<<< Also, below are some quotes from early church writers that prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that the early church did not keep the seventh day of the week as the Jews. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT Again, some Christians make the 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. Here is a NON BIAS historical account found in a letter from Pliny the Younger to Trojan concerning the Christians. Pliny was a Roman who persecuted and killed Christians, so again this is a historical NON BIAS account of WHEN Christians gathered together. Here is what Pliny says in his letter to Trojan. The EMPHASIS and comments in parenthesis are my own: “That they were WONT (Or as they were ACCUSTOMED and USED to do, or in the HABIT of doing), on a STATED day (Or on a CERTAIN preset day), to meet together BEFORE IT WAS LIGHT, and to sing a hymn to Christ, as to a god, alternately; and to oblige themselves by a sacrament [or oath], not to do anything that was ill: but that they would commit no theft, or pilfering, or adultery; that they would not break their promises, or deny what was deposited with them, when it was required back again; after which it was their CUSTOM to depart, AND to meet AGAIN at a common but innocent meal,(So after they had worship service early morning beginning before day light, they would depart and they come back together later that same day to share a common simple meal together and most likely break bread together as other early church writers give more detail) which they had left off upon that edict which I published at your command, and wherein I had forbidden any such conventicles (Or religious meetings).” Below are some quotes of early church writers that clearly teach us that the early church did NOT keep the Sabbath day, as in, on SATURDAY, the 7th day of the week, but rather the early church throughout history from it's beginning worshiped God on SUNDAY the FIRST day of the week, which is sometimes referred to as the EIGHTH day of the week or the day AFTER the Sabbath day, or the LORD'S DAY. (The emphasis is mine in these quotes given below): The year AD or date is given first and then the source is given at the end followed by the quote from that historical source. The Apostle John was still alive until 100 AD. #1. 90 AD DIDACHE: "Christian Assembly on the Lord's Day: 1. But every Lord's day do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. 2. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned. 3. For this is that which was spoken by the Lord: In every place and time offer to me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, saith the Lord, and my name is wonderful among the nations." (Didache: The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter XIV) #2. 100 AD BARNABAS: "We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead" (The Epistle of Barnabas, 100 AD 15:6-8). #3. 100 AD BARNABAS: Moreover, God says to the Jews, 'Your new moons and Sabbaths I cannot endure.' You see how he says, 'The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but the Sabbath which I have made in which, when I have rested [heaven: Heb 4] from all things, I will make the beginning of the eighth day which is the beginning of another world.' Wherefore we Christians keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven. (15:8f, The Epistle of Barnabas, 100 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, pg. 147) #4. 110 AD Pliny: They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath not to (do) any wicked deeds, never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of good food—but food of an ordinary and innocent kind. (About three years after the death of Ignatius in 250, an important official communication was sent from one Pliny to Trojan the Roman emperor. Pliny, the Roman governor of Bithynia, wrote of the Christians who had been congregating there probably from at least A.D. 62 onwards. In this remark, it is explicitly stated that these early Christians observed the substance of most of the Ten Commandments, and it is implied that they observed all ten as far as they were able to do so. As far as they were able, for as most of the early Christians were of slave stock or from other lower classes'-, and those who had heathen masters or employers—the vast majority—would be forced to work on THEIR day of rest, which was, unfortunately, an official working day throughout the empires' until Constantine's "Sabbath" Edict in 321 A.D. gave them some measure of public protection. Hence one reads that after meeting "on a certain FIXED day before it was light", the first century Bithynian Christians had "to separate"—many of them having to labor for their masters and/or employers from dawn to dusk—"and then reassemble to partake of . . . food". The "certain fixed day" [stato die"'] on which the Christians met, is regarded by Seventh-day Adventists as Saturday'-. Certainly, the expression would seem to indicate a regular day of the meeting, probably each week. But Sunday is FAR more likely to have been the "certain fixed day" than Saturday. For if Pliny had been referring to the old Saturday Sabbath, as a Roman he would doubtless have referred to the "later" meeting first and only then to the morning meeting on the day after the "certain fixed day", seeing that the old Saturday Sabbath was demarcated from the evening of one day to the evening of the following day. But Pliny makes no such reference. Instead, he mentions that the pre-dawn meeting took place first—and only afterward, the later meeting; and that both meetings took place on the SAME "certain fixed day". This rather points to the Roman (and—more importantly!—New Testament) midnight to midnight demarcation of modern Sunday-keepers than to the evening to evening demarcation of the Jews and the Seventh-day Adventists.) (The Covenantal Sabbath, Francis Nigel Lee, Pg 242) Also, I myself will further add to the comment of the writer above that mere common sense plainly teaches us that Pliny was clearly speaking of SUNDAY because the LAW that Constantine passed was not to mandate work on SUNDAY so that these Christians could worship God on SUNDAY. So the CLAIM by the Seventh Day Advent church that the fixed day of worship for Christians was a Saturday is FALSE. Otherwise, Constantine would have made it a law that employers allow Christians off for work on a Saturday rather than on a Sunday. This PROVES beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Christians were ALREADY worshiping God on SUNDAY, the FIRST DAY of the week from the very beginning of the church on the day of Pentecost. The truth of the matter is that Constantine only made it easier for Christians to worship God on Sunday without being persecuted by their employers or owners by the passing the EDICT making it a LAW to force heathen employers to let their employees have at least some time off from work so that they could worship God on SUNDAY. Every Sabbath keeper will AGREE that Constantine's “SABBATH” is referring to SUNDAY as the day of the week and NOT as Saturday being the REST for Christians. Again, all that Constantine did was to pass a law making it EASIER for Christians to worship on the DAY that they had ALREADY been worshiping on since the very beginning, at the DAY of PENTECOST, which is on SUNDAY the FIRST day of the week that Christian called the LORD'S day, the day our Lord rose from the grave. Open your EYES dear children of God and read what these early church writings are teaching us about the EARLIEST believers as to which day the early church worshiped God. SUNDAY has ALWAYS been the Sabbath or the day of REST of the early church and the church throughout its entire history. #5. 150 AD EPISTLE OF THE APOSTLES: -I [Christ] have come into being on the eighth day which is the day of the Lord. (18) #6. 150 AD JUSTIN. "He then speaks of those Gentiles, namely us, who in every place offer sacrifices to Him, i.e., the bread of the Eucharist, and also the cup of the Eucharist, affirming both that we glorify His name, and that you profane [it]. The command of circumcision, again, bidding [them] always circumcise the children on the eighth day, was a type of the true circumcision, by which we are circumcised from deceit and iniquity through Him who rose from the dead on the first day AFTER the Sabbath, [namely through] our Lord Jesus Christ. For the first day after the Sabbath, remaining the first of all the days, is called, however, the eighth, according to the number of all the days of the cycle, and [yet] remains the first." (Justin, Dialogue 41:4) #7. 150 AD JUSTIN: ...those who have persecuted and do persecute Christ, if they do not repent, shall not inherit anything on the holy mountain. But the Gentiles, who have believed on Him, and have repented of the sins which they have committed, they shall receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs and the prophets, and the just men who are descended from Jacob, even although they neither keep the Sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts. Assuredly, they shall receive the holy inheritance of God. (Dialogue With Trypho the Jew, 150-165 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, page 207) #8. 150 AD JUSTIN: But if we do not admit this, we shall be liable to fall into foolish opinion, as if it were not the same God who existed in the times of Enoch and all the rest, who neither were circumcised after the flesh, nor observed Sabbaths, nor any other rites, seeing that Moses enjoined such observances... For if there was no need of circumcision before Abraham, or of the observance of Sabbaths, of feasts and sacrifices, before Moses; no more need is there of them now, after that, according to the will of God, Jesus Christ the Son of God has been born without sin, of a virgin sprung from the stock of Abraham. (Dialogue With Trypho the Jew, 150-165 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, page 206) #9. 150 AD JUSTIN: Moreover, all those righteous men already mentioned [after mentioning Adam. Abel, Enoch, Lot, Noah, Melchizedek, and Abraham], though they kept no Sabbaths, were pleasing to God; and after them Abraham with all his descendants until Moses... And you [fleshly Jews] were commanded to keep Sabbaths, that you might retain the memorial of God. For His word makes this announcement, saying, "That you may know that I am God who redeemed you." (Dialogue With Trypho the Jew, 150-165 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, page 204) #10. 150 AD JUSTIN. There is no other thing for which you blame us, my friends, is there than this? That we do not live according to the Law, nor, are we circumcised in the flesh as your forefathers, nor do we observe the Sabbath as you do. (Dialogue with Trypho 10:1. In verse 3 the Jew Trypho acknowledges that Christians 'do not keep the Sabbath.') #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). #12. 180 AD ACTS OF PETER: Paul had often contended with the Jewish teachers and had confuted them (Or refuted them completely), saying 'it is Christ on whom your fathers laid hands. He abolished their Sabbath and fasts and festivals and circumcision.' (1: I)-2 #13. 180 AD GOSPEL OF PETER: Early in the morning when (the Sabbath dawned, a multitude from Jerusalem and the surrounding country came to see the scaled sepulcher. In the night in which the Lord's day dawned, while the soldiers in pairs for each watch were keeping guard, a great voice came from heaven. [There follows an account of the resurrection. Early in the morning of the Lord's day Mary Magdalene, a disciple of the Lord .... came to the sepulcher. (9:34f.; 12:50f.) #14. 190 AD CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: (in commenting on each of the Ten Commandments and their Christian meaning:) The seventh day is proclaimed a day of rest, PREPARING by abstention from evil FOR the Primal day, our TRUE rest. (Ibid. VII. xvi. 138.1) I will add that the meaning of the word “Primal” means an “ARCHETYPAL” which means an original TYPE pointing to the TRUE. So this early church writer is saying what Paul teaches us in the Scriptures that the things in the OLD Testament are TYPES and SHADOWS or the TRUE which was to come. Jesus became our SABBATH, and we have entered into our REST being in Jesus Christ. The SABBATH was an ARCHETYPAL pointing toward our TRUE REST which was to come being FULFILLED in the ATONEMENT of Jesus. #15. 190 AD CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: He does the commandment according to the Gospel and keeps the Lord's day, whenever he puts away an evil mind . . . glorifying the Lord's resurrection in himself. (Ibid. Vii.xii.76.4) #16. 190 AD CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Plato prophetically speaks of the Lord's day in the tenth book of the Republic, in these words: 'And when seven days have passed to each of them in the meadow, on the eighth they must go on." (Miscellanies V.xiv.106.2) #17. 200 AD BARDESANES: Wherever we are, we are all called after the one name of Christ Christians. On one day, the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together (On Fate) #18. 200 AD TERTULLIAN: "We solemnize the day AFTER Saturday in contradistinction to those who call this day their Sabbath" (Tertullian's Apology, Ch 16) In other words, Tertullian is saying that we Christians DISTINGUISH us from the JEWS who hold Saturday as THEIR Sabbath by solemnizing or referencing the day AFTER Saturday as our day of worship and rest. #19. 200 AD TERTULLIAN: It follows, accordingly, that, in so far as the abolition of carnal circumcision and of the old law is demonstrated as having been consummated at its specific times, so also the observance of the Sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary. (An Answer to the Jews 4:1, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. 3, page 155) #20. 200 AD TERTULLIAN: Let him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eighth day because of the threat of death, teach us that in earliest times righteous men kept Sabbath or practiced circumcision, and so were made friends of God. .. ...Therefore, since God originated Adam uncircumcised, and inobservant of the Sabbath, consequently his offspring also, Abel, offering Him sacrifices, uncircumcised and inobservant of the Sabbath, was by Him commended... Noah also, uncircumcised - yes, and inobservant of the Sabbath - God freed from the deluge. For Enoch, too, most righteous man, uncircumcised and inobservant of the Sabbath, He translated from this world... Melchizedek also, "the priest of most high God," uncircumcised and inobservant of the Sabbath, was chosen to the priesthood of God. (An Answer to the Jews 2:10; 4:1, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. 3, page 153) #21. 200 AD TERTULLIAN: Others . . . suppose that the sun is the god of the Christians because it is well-known that we regard Sunday as a day of joy. (To the Nations 1: 133) Keep in mind that this was well BEFORE Constantine SUPPOSEDLY CHANGED the day of rest and worship to Sunday as the Seventh Day Adventist church CLAIMS. But in TRUTH, Christians had ALREADY been worshiping God on Sunday, the FIRST day of the week that they also called the Lord’s Day, the day that our Lord and Savior Jesus rose from the dead. So, as early as Tertullian in 200 AD there were groups of JEWS and Christian JEWS who ASSUMED or who SUPPOSED, or who FALSELY ACCUSED Christians of worshiping God on SUNDAY that they were worshiping a sun god and not the true God. #22. 200 AD TERTULLIAN: To us Sabbaths are foreign. (On Idolatry, 14:6)4 #23. 220 AD ORIGEN: "On Sunday none of the actions of the world should be done. If then, you abstain from all the works of this world and keep yourselves free for spiritual things, go to church, listen to the readings and divine homilies, meditate on heavenly things. (Homil. 23 in Numeros 4, PG 12:749) #24. 220 AD Origen: "Hence it is not possible that the [day of] rest after the Sabbath should have come into existence from the seventh [day] of our God. On the contrary, it is our Savior who, after the pattern of his own rest, caused us to be made in the likeness of his death, and hence also of his resurrection" (Commentary on John 2:28). #25. 225 AD The Didascalia: "The apostles further appointed: On the first day of the week let there be service, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures, and the oblation, because on the first day of the week our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of the week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week he ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week he will appear at last with the angels of heaven" (Didascalia 2). And I add further that the church BEGAN on the day of Pentecost, on a SUNDAY, the FIRST day of the week. The early church evidence and the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, make it quite clear that the early church worshiped God on SUNDAY the FIRST day of the week, called the LORD'S day and that they did NOT KEEP the Sabbath day as the JEWS. #26. 250 AD CYPRIAN: The eight day, that is, the first day after the Sabbath, and the Lord's Day." (Epistle 58, Sec 4) #27. 250 AD IGNATIUS: "If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death-whom some deny, by which mystery we have obtained faith, and therefore endure, that we may be found the disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Master-how shall we be able to live apart from Him, whose disciples the prophets themselves in the Spirit did wait for Him as their Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly waited for, being come, raised them from the dead. If, then, those who were conversant with the ancient Scriptures came to newness of hope, expecting the coming of Christ, as the Lord teaches us when He says, "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me; " and again, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad; for before Abraham was, I am; " how shall we be able to live without Him? The prophets were His servants, and foresaw Him by the Spirit, and waited for Him as their Teacher, and expected Him as their Lord and Saviour, saying, "He will come and save us." Let us therefore NO longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness; for "he that does not work, let him not eat." For say the [holy] oracles, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread." But let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law, NOT in relaxation of the body, admiring the workmanship of God, and not eating things prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, and walking within a prescribed space, nor finding delight in dancing and plaudits which have no sense in them. And after the observance of the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days [of the week]. Looking forward to this, the prophet declared, "To the end, for the eighth day," on which our life both sprang up again, and the victory over death was obtained in Christ, whom the children of perdition, the enemies of the Saviour, deny, "whose god is their belly, who mind earthly things," who are "lovers of pleasure, and not lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." These make merchandise of Christ, corrupting His word, and giving up Jesus to sale: they are corrupters of women, and covetous of other men's possessions, swallowing up wealth insatiably; from whom may ye be delivered by the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ! (Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians, Chapter IX) #28. 250 AD IGNATIUS: "On the day of the preparation, then, at the third hour, He received the sentence from Pilate, the Father permitting that to happen; at the sixth hour He was crucified; at the ninth hour He gave up the ghost; and before sunset He was buried. During the Sabbath He continued under the earth in the tomb in which Joseph of Arimathaea had laid Him. At the dawning of the Lord's day He arose from the dead, according to what was spoken by Himself, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man also be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. "The day of the preparation, then, comprises the passion; the Sabbath embraces the burial; the Lord's Day contains the resurrection." (The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians, chapter 9) #29. 250 AD IGNATIUS: If anyone fasts on the Lord's Day or on the Sabbath, except on the paschal Sabbath only, he is a murderer of Christ. (The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philippians, chapter 8) #30. 250 AD IGNATIUS: "This [custom], of not bending the knee upon Sunday, is a symbol of the resurrection, through which we have been set free, by the grace of Christ, from sins, and from death, which has been put to death under Him. Now this custom took its rise from apostolic times, as the blessed Irenaeus, the martyr and bishop of Lyons, declares in his treatise On Easter, in which he makes mention of Pentecost also; upon which [feast] we do not bend the knee, because it is of equal significance with the Lord's day, for the reason already alleged concerning it." (Ignatius, Fragments) #31. 300 AD Victorinus: "The sixth day [Friday] is called parasceve, that is to say, the preparation of the kingdom. . . . On this day also, on account of the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we make either a station to God or a fast. On the seventh day, he rested from all his works, and blessed it, and sanctified it. On the former day, we are accustomed to fast rigorously, that on the Lord's day we may go forth to our bread with giving of thanks. And let the parasceve become a rigorous fast, lest we should APPEAR to observe ANY Sabbath with the Jews . . . which Sabbath he [Christ] in his body ABOLISHED" (The Creation of the World). #32. 300 AD EUSEBIUS: "They did not, therefore, regard circumcision, NOR observe the Sabbath NEITHER do we; ... because such things as these do NOT belong to Christians" (Ecc. Hist., Book 1, Ch. 4) #33. 300 AD EUSEBIUS: [The Ebionites] were accustomed to observe the Sabbath and other Jewish customs but on the Lord's days to celebrate the same practices as we in remembrance of the resurrection of the Savior. (Church History Ill.xxvii.5) I will also add that the Ebionites were Christians who were seduced by the Jews to keep the Jewish customs. In other words, the Ebionites were Judaized Christians. The Ebionites also taught the need to be circumcised in the flesh in order to be saved. Some today would not even consider Ebionites as being true Christians since they went back to trusting the Law of Moses to be saved. #34. 300 AD Eusebius of Caesarea: "They [the pre- Mosaic saints of the Old Testament] did not care about circumcision of the body, neither do we [Christians]. They did not care about observing Sabbaths, nor do we. They did not avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard the other distinctions which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be observed as symbols; nor do Christians of the present day do such things" (Church History 1:4:8). #35. 300 AD Eusebius of Caesarea: "The day of his [Christ's] light . . . was the day of his resurrection from the dead, which they say, as being the one and only truly holy day and the Lord's day, is better than any number of days as we ordinarily understand them, and better than the days set apart by the Mosaic Law for feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths, which the Apostle [Paul] teaches are the shadow of days and not days in reality" (Proof of the Gospel 4:16:186). #36. 345 AD Athanasius: "The Sabbath was the end of the first creation, the Lord's day was the beginning of the second, in which he renewed and restored the old in the same way as he prescribed that they should formerly observe the Sabbath as a memorial of the end of the first things, so we honor the Lord's day as being the memorial of the new creation" (On Sabbath and Circumcision 3). #37. 350 AD APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS: Be not careless of yourselves, neither deprive your Saviour of His own members, neither divide His body nor disperse His members, neither prefer the occasions of this life to the word of God; but assemble yourselves together every day, morning and evening, singing psalms and praying in the Lord's house: in the morning saying the sixty-second Psalm, and in the evening the hundred and fortieth, but principally on the Sabbath-day. And on the day of our Lord's resurrection, which is the Lord's day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent Him to us, and condescended to let Him suffer, and raised Him from the dead. Otherwise what apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day to hear the saving word concerning the resurrection, on which we pray thrice standing in memory of Him who arose in three days, in which is performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the Gospel, the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food? (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, book 2) #38. 350 AD APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS: "How We Ought to Assemble Together and to Celebrate the Festival Day of Our Saviour's Resurrection. On the day of the resurrection of the Lord, that is, the Lord's day, assemble yourselves together, without fail, giving thanks to God, and praising Him for those mercies God has bestowed upon you through Christ and has delivered you from ignorance, error, and bondage, that your sacrifice may be unspotted, and acceptable to God,..." (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, book 7) #39. 350 AD Cyril of Jerusalem: "Fall NOT AWAY either into the sect of the Samaritans or into Judaism, for Jesus Christ has henceforth ransomed you. Stand aloof from ALL observance of Sabbaths and from calling any indifferent meats common or unclean" (Catechetical Lectures 4:37). #40. 360 AD Council of Laodicea: "Christians should NOT Judaize and should NOT be idle on the Sabbath, but should work on that day; they should, however, particularly reverence the Lord's day and, if possible, not work on it, because they were Christians" (canon 29). #41. 387 AD John Chrysostom: "You have put on Christ, you have become a member of the Lord and been enrolled in the heavenly city, and you still grovel in the Law [of Moses]? How is it possible for you to obtain the kingdom? Listen to Paul's words, that the observance of the Law overthrows the gospel, and learn, if you will, how this comes to pass, and tremble, and shun this pitfall. Why do you keep the Sabbath and fast with the Jews?" (Homilies on Galatians 2:17). #42. 412 AD Augustine: "Well, now, I should like to be told what there is in these Ten Commandments, except the observance of the Sabbath, which ought NOT to be kept by a Christian . . . Which of these commandments would anyone say that the Christian ought not to keep? It is possible to contend that it is not the Law which was written on those two tables that the apostle [Paul] describes as 'the letter that kills' [2 Cor. 3:6], but the law of circumcision and the other sacred rites which are now abolished" (The Spirit and the Letter 24). #43. 597 AD Gregory I:
Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to read ALL the studies I gave links to at the beginning of this study concerning this subject on Sabbath TRUTH. I have ALL the studies concerning the errors of interpretation made by the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians listed with LINKS under the heading >>>WHAT IS THE TRUE SABBATH?<<< That way you can send just one LINK to the Sabbath-keeping Christians you know to help them come out from the Sabbath-keeping church denominations Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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