Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Sign of God: My Rebuttal

THE SIGN OF GOD.

by Rodney A. Brown Sr.

Rebuttal by Patricia Allen

10/17/2010

3/23/2011

 "Thought Nugget" #99
by Rodney A. Brown Sr.

(For your understanding and convenience, the words to Rodney's article is in black and my response is in red)

My rebuttal is based on the Bible premise that the Gentiles never had the written law. Therefore, the law that was given to the children of Israel was exclusively for them. The Bible Says in Ephesians 2:11-13…

"Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."

The Bible Says in Romans 2:14-15…

14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)

We cannot take another nation's laws and apply them to us. Everything in the Bible is not written specifically for all people although we can benefit and learn from their experience.

The Sabbath has always been God's sign! It is the one true thing that identifies Him as being able to create something from nothing!

The Sabbath was a sign of the Old Covenant God made with the Israelites. The Sabbath and the Old Covenant had their origin in the wilderness. Any information other than this is 'adding' to the Scriptures.

It sets Him apart from every other god! None other can boast of this!

God as Creator sets Him apart from every other god, not a day!

This is why it is so important that we commemorate it in honor of Him.

When understanding the true meaning of the Sabbath, you begin to realize that God would never remove this sign!!!

As God, He can and will do as He pleases and we don't have to understand it. We cannot place boundaries around Him like 'God would never."

Why would He? Why & how could Jesus replace the sign that says that God is the true God?

Why would He? Because He had something better in mind for all people and not just the Israelites. He fulfilled the Old Covenant and after His death and resurrection, He introduced the New Covenant which is for ALL who believes (no exclusivity clause).

 Notice how these are phrased...

 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."

'them' is referring to the children of Israel.

Exodus 31:16-17 reads:

16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.'"

Take note that Sabbath is singular in the above text.

Exodus 31:13 "Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you."

This text reiterates the fact that God was speaking to the Israelites regarding the Sabbaths He gave them. Please note that even though this text says Sabbaths, it is referring to the weekly Sabbath because the weekly Sabbath is the sign. Sabbaths and Sabbath can be used interchangeably.

Ezekiel 20:20 "And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God."

Hebrew #7676 Shabbath as a noun means 'the Sabbath." (11) The prophets rebuked Israel for their neglect of the sabbath (Isa. 1:13; Jer. 17:21-27; Eze. 20:12-24; Amos 8:5) Again, Sabbath and Sabbaths are used interchangeably.

Exodus 31:17 "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

Hebrew #7673 Shabath is the verb meaning "to rest, cease." Shabath first occurs in Genesis 2:2-3: "And on the seventh day God ended His work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had made….." Genesis 2 only says that God rested (the verb Shabath) and it does not refer to the noun Shabbath (#7676), meaning 'the Sabbath."

Even if the Sabbath were still effective, according to the Bible it is for the children of Israel. Also the Bible says HE RESTED; nothing about Adam, Eve and the animals joining Him. To say otherwise is 'adding' to Scripture.

The Sabbath is about God being God! And for us to recognize that!

The Sabbath is about recognizing day of rest for people who had been in slavery for over 400 years. According to Deut. 5:12-15 says….

12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

We, Gentiles were not Egyptian slaves so there is no need for Christians to recognize it.

 Jesus did not & could not replace that particular sign!

Jesus as Sovereign God has, can and will do anything He chooses. We are subject to Him. He in fact did change the sign in the New Covenant to the Lord's Supper. Instead of remembering the Sabbath, He said 'this do in REMEMBRANCE of me".

 Why would He want to? What would be the purpose of that?

He wanted to make a change because He had a mystery that in due time He would reveal. The Israelites knew that one day the Gentiles would be invited into the fold but what they didn't know is that the Gentiles would be on equal footing with them because of the Cross. So before the rest of the world would be allowed to become a part of the fold, Jesus had to fulfill all of the laws given to Israel because Gentiles would not be subject to them. Gentiles never had the written law and God did not want to subject them to stone that could only point out sin but couldn't save. The New Covenant is about believing the Gospel and having faith in God.

Creation is the only physical evidence that mankind has that proves God's supremeness!

NOTHING that Christ did while living, dying, or rising from the dead, was applicable, or able to take this honor from His Father! 

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are supreme.

Think about it friends!... 

The Sabbath is not about rest alone! It is much more than that! It is about worshiping & honoring the only God that can create something from nothing!

The Sabbath, when given to the Israelites, was all about rest. In fact, initially they were told not to even leave their tents on the Sabbath.  The Sabbath was a day of worship as well as a day of refreshment for man.

Furthermore, God makes it plain that the Sabbath will NEVER end!... 

(KJV) Isaiah 66:22-23 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD."

In Hebrews 4:7 (NLT), the Sabbath or day or rest was changed to TODAY! "So God set another time for entering His rest and that time is today."

That means continuous rest. According to the above text it says 'from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD." From one thing to another means all the time in between. Example: from one Sabbath to another means all the days in between (Monday – Friday) until you reach Sabbath again.

(NIV) Isaiah 66:22-23 "As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the Lord, "so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the Lord."

The Bible also says in Rev. 22:5 NIV, "5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." This means there will be no separation of day and night, therefore, no ability to keep or need to keep track of a literal seven day week. According to 1 Cor. 13:13 (NLT) only three things will last forever: faith, hope and love.

Does this sound like Jesus did away with the Sabbath? Absolutely NOT!

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30: 28: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Jesus is giving us spiritual rest – no need to work for our salvation by trying to keep laws that He kept for us; No need of trying to measure up and be perfect. Don't know about you but that is rest for my soul and better than physical rest any day.

Jesus is now our Sabbath rest and it is our privilege to worship and commune with Him every day. It's not about a day like under the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant, it's ALL about a person, Jesus! 

As a matter of fact, Jesus prophesied concerning the destruction of Jerusalem which was to take place almost 40 years after His death, by saying in Matthew 24:20 "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:"

NOTE: Remember! Jerusalem was not destroyed until AD 70. But yet, Jesus was still calling respect to the Sabbath day!

Bear in mind that Jesus is talking to the Jews. There's nothing in Matthew 24:20 that promotes 7th day worship. All Jews did not become Christians so those that didn't still worshipped on the Sabbath. Back then, it is my understanding that the gates to the city were locked on the Sabbath to prevent merchants from bringing their goods in to sell on the Sabbath. If the destruction of Jerusalem came on the Sabbath, the gates would be locked and the people could not escape. This verse is not giving the Sabbath a plug to keep it holy.

Also, keep in mind that out of all the years that Jesus preached & taught, He never once spoke of the Sabbath being changed, or done away with in the future! And why, if the Sabbath had been no longer in existence, did Paul and others even refer to a day as Sabbath?

The Law or Torah, which included the Ten Commandments were given UNTIL the seed came and the Seed was Christ. He came and fulfilled the law and the prophets. The law had its beginning at Sinai and ended when Jesus died and rose again. He said He came to fulfill which says that once it was fulfilled, its no longer effective. Just like a marriage vow 'until death do us part'. If one partner dies, the contract didn't change but was fulfilled and the other person is no longer bound to that covenant and is free to remarry or remain single. UNTIL is an important word.

When the Apostles referred to the Sabbath, it was always when addressing a Jewish audience. Sometimes they used the law (Torah) to remind them that if they insisted on keeping the law, they were obligated to keep it in its entirety. If they broke one law, they were guilty of breaking them all.

Clearly, it still remains! Without being changed, or taken away, God's Holy Seventh Day Sabbath STILL REMAINS!!!

The Israelites 7th day Sabbath has never been binding on Gentiles. For the Israelites it was the 7th day; for Christians it is TODAY!

Hebrews 4:4-10 NIV

4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." 5 And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." 6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his."

Notice the word AGAIN in verse 7. He set the 7th day at first and now He is changing it to TODAY!

Ecclesiastes 3:14 "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him."

'Forever' means until fulfillment. The only thing that will last forever is faith, hope and love.

 1 Chronicles 17:27 "Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O LORD, and it shall be blessed for ever."

 Note same as above.

Most who attempt to prove it done away with, use the text in Colossians 2:16 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]:"

This is referring to the Jewish Sabbath days (that were held on dates, and not on a day of the week) involved & included in the ceremonial law of Moses that was nailed & abolished on the cross of Jesus!

There is no difference between the Law of Moses and the Law of God. They are used interchangeably because God is the author of the entire law, the Torah. Exodus 24:12 reads: "12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."

As noted in previous comments, Sabbath and Sabbaths can be used interchangeably. The weekly Sabbath and the other Sabbaths are all ceremonial in nature. The Bible says, "Remember the Sabbath day to KEEP IT holy." The word 'Keep' means: to mark (a day or event) with ceremonies or respect, festivity, or rejoicing; celebrate, commemorate, observe, solemnize.

Please read Leviticus 23.  According to Leviticus 23, the weekly Sabbath was the first of the feasts mentioned. All the Sabbaths following were also called holy days or convocations and the people were instructed to not do any work. The weekly Sabbath had its rituals just like the other Sabbaths mentioned. It's interesting that you say the weekly Sabbath isn't considered ceremonial like the other Sabbaths when it is ceremonial in nature as the others. Also Samuel Bacchiocchi, the Sabbath champion for the SDA church and known by prominent scholars all over, has proven that Col. 2:16 is indeed referencing the weekly Sabbath, thereby going against the teachings of his church.

Also earlier Exodus 31:13 was quoted as saying, "12 Then the LORD said to Moses, 13 "Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy."

Colossians 2:16 in The Greek Dictionary of the New Testament says: (10a) Col. 2:16, 'sabbath days', where it is listed among things that 'were a shadow of the things to come". (i.e., of the age introduced at Pentecost) and in (10b) Heb. 4:4-11, where the perpetual sabbatismos is appointed for believers.

In the early church, the new believers worshipped and communed DAILY! Acts 2:46-47 reads: "46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Barnes Commentary:

Or of the Sabbath days - Greek, "of the Sabbaths." The word Sabbath in the Old Testament is applied not only to the seventh day, but to all the days of holy rest that were observed by the Hebrews, and particularly to the beginning and close of their great festivals. There is, doubtless, reference to those days in this place, since the word is used in the plural number, and the apostle does not refer particularly to the Sabbath properly so called. There is no evidence from this passage that he would teach that there was no obligation to observe any holy time, for there is not the slightest reason to believe that he meant to teach that one of the ten commandments had ceased to be binding on mankind. If he had used the word in the singular number - "the Sabbath," it would then, of course, have been clear that he meant to teach that that commandment had ceased to be binding, and that a Sabbath was no longer to be observed. But the use of the term in the plural number, and the connection, show that he had his eye on the great number of days which were observed by the Hebrews as festivals, as a part of their ceremonial and typical law, and not to the moral law, or the Ten Commandments. No part of the moral law - no one of the ten commandments could be spoken of as "a shadow of good things to come." These commandments are, from the nature of moral law, of perpetual and universal obligation." 

Nowhere in the entire Bible does it state that God's Holy Sabbath day was done away with!!!

OTHER BIBLICAL CONSIDERATIONS RELEVANT TO COLOSSIANS 2:14-17

Sabbatarians attempt to discredit the fact that this Sabbath is the Weekly Sabbath by saying that Paul used  the  plural form of the word, which would signify the numerous ceremonial sabbaths.  This attempt to evade the plain meaning of  the passage doesn't work because  there are about 20 other places  in Scripture where  the plural form  of  the word Sabbath, Sabbaton,  is used where  context demands  the meaning be  the Weekly Sabbath.  The Greeks didn't have the same concern over plural versus singular forms of words that is found in the English language.

The sentence structure FESTIVAL, NEW MOON, SABBATH is a phrase used in the Hebrew to imply the three aspects of Jewish  festival structure and designates  the order of ANNUAL, MONTHLY, WEEKLY.   This same annual, monthly  and  weekly  sequence  appears  five  times  in  the  Septuagint—i.e.,  2  Chron.  2:4;  31:3;  Neh. 10:33; Ezek. 45:17; Hosea 2:11.   All  through  the history of  the  Israelites we have Annual Sabbaths, Monthly Sabbaths, and Weekly Sabbaths.  If the word Sabbath as used here (Colossians 2:16) means monthly Sabbaths, the sentence would read, "Annual Sabbaths, Monthly Sabbaths, and Monthly Sabbaths."   If it were an annual Sabbath Paul meant here, the sentence would read, "Annual Sabbaths, Monthly Sabbaths, and Annual Sabbaths.

Whenever  the Old Testament  links  the New Moon  celebration with  the Sabbath,  as  in Colossians  2:16,  it  is referring to the Weekly Sabbath (2 Kings 4:23, 1 Chron. 23:31, 2 Chron. 2:4; Neh. 10:33; Isa. 1:13; 66:23; Ezek. 45:17; 46.1: Hosea 2:11: Amos 8:5). 

In the Old Testament, annual Sabbaths are always called  "a Sabbath of  rest"  in  the Septuagint.  This Greek version  of  the  Old  Testament  always,  or  nearly  always,  translates  this  as  Sabbata  Sabbaton—  not  simply Sabbaton— as here in Colossians 2:14-17.

Paul clearly states that these four things—diet, annual feasts, monthly feasts, and the Weekly Sabbath—are not to be made a test of Christian belief and practice because they are merely shadows of things that were to come, whereas Christ is the Reality.  To try to salvage Sabbatarianism, the Adventists say that Paul could not possibly have meant  a Weekly Sabbath  here  because  the Sabbath was  a memorial  pointing  backwards  to Creation.  This SDA approach fails miserably because the most significant Jewish memorials pointed both backward and forward at the same time.  In Colossians, prior to this passage, Paul refers to Adam as a symbol of Christ.  In fact, it is possible that all the major Jewish ordinances point both backward and forward at the same time.

(This excerpt was taken from an article written by Kerry B. Wynne entitled Lying for God.)

When Christ died on the cross, the Sabbath along with the other 612 laws died also.

That has never been proven throughout the history of the world!!!

If the Sabbath were still in effect after the resurrection, why is there no record of Jesus keeping it? He was on earth for six weeks (minus two days) after resurrection and there is no record of Him even entering the synagogue? There is a record of Him speaking to about 500 people and a record of Him meeting with James but no mention of Him preaching in the synagogue or worshipping there. Was He making a statement saying He is our rest now?

Most honest Sunday Pastors will admit that to you.

 I've heard people say..."were not under the bondage of the Sabbath anymore"!

 HOW CAN "REST", BE BONDAGE???

Bondage is setting special dates and times to worship God and making it necessary for salvation. Freedom is the privilege of worshipping God any time, any day and any place because God never sleeps nor slumbers and He is with us wherever we go, which is His promise to us. The Holy Spirit is our constant companion now and believers live by the Spirit. A person can experience physical rest and still be in spiritual bondage by trying to work his way into the Kingdom by law keeping and trying to be sinless and perfect and not seeing any improvement. That's pure misery!

 SHOULD WE EVER STOP HONORING GOD FOR CREATING US & THIS WORLD???

 God is ALWAYS due honor, praise and worship because of Who He is and what He has and is doing for us. One day out of the week just isn't enough.

Isaiah 58:13-14 "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on MY holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

The Israelites are being addressed in this text. Remember Gentiles did not have the law.

Some say that the lord's day is "Sunday". Referring to Revelation 1:10 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,"

Every day is the Lord's Day! 'Today, if you hear my voice, harden not your hearts."

THAT'S NOT WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS!... 

Exodus 20:10 states "But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God:..."

Again, His audience is the Israelites. "I am the Lord thy God which brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." 

And again...Isaiah 58:13-14 "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on MY holy day..."

Addressing Israelites.

Leviticus 23:3 says "Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings."

Addressing Israelites.

Matthew 12:8 "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day."

Notes for 12:8

When Jesus said he was Lord of the Sabbath, he claimed to be greater than the law and above the law. To the Pharisees, this was heresy. They did not realize that Jesus, the divine Son of God, had created the Sabbath. The Creator is always greater than the creation; thus Jesus had the authority to overrule their traditions and regulations. —Life Application Bible Notes

 And as Lord and Sovereign God, He has the right to 'Again set another day, calling it Today!" God is not bound by our logic and the box we attempt to place and keep Him in.

Mark 2:28 "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."

 Again Jesus is addressing the Jews. The law had not been fulfilled as yet because He had not died. I would like to include verse 27 which reads, 27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

The Bible Says in Romans 5:12-14: "12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come."

The Sabbath was not here prior to the existence of man. The Sabbath was made for man (the Israelites were men, women, boys and girls: man ). To say that this text applies to all mankind is unbiblical. Deut. 4:8 reads: "And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?" God was speaking to the Israelites (man).

Luke 6:5 "And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."

Same answer as above.

I believe the message is clear! 

This day belongs to GOD!!! It is HIS Holy day!!! And He has never chosen another!!!

Yes, it belongs to the Lord but so does Sunday – Friday! He has AGAIN set Today! 

The Lord's Holy Sabbath has been established since the very first seventh day! Though some struggle to think that is was established at Mt. Sinai. But that is not true! The Holy rest of God (the shâbath) was with Adam & Eve!

This statement is not biblical and is adding to Scripture. The Bible says, 'He rested."

Genesis 2:2-3 "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

This statement IS biblical and notice it says 'and he rested' – no mention of Adam and Eve.

God Blessed, and Sanctified the Seventh day of the week, BECAUSE He had rested from all creation!

True!

It is the ONLY time God rested in the history of the world!

On the cross, Jesus declared, "It is finished"! After He rose from the grave, He ascended to His Father. According to the Bible, He sat down next to the Father because His work was completed. Sounds like rest to me.

The word rested means: 

H7673

שׁבת

shâbath

shaw-bath'

A primitive root; to repose, that is, desist from exertion; used in many implied relations (causatively, figuratively or specifically): - (cause to, let, make to) cease, celebrate, cause (make) to fail, keep (sabbath), suffer to be lacking, leave, put away (down), (make to) rest, rid, still, take away.

' to repose, that is, desist from exertion'.

Yep! Sounds like what Jesus is doing now. Just waiting on word from the Father to come get us!

The Sabbath, simply means "REST"! And this was the establishing of it.

As a matter of fact, the children of Israel kept the Sabbath far before it was given to them in stone at Sinai!...

Not biblical. This statement is adding to Scripture. The first mention of a Sabbath is found in Exodus 16.

Exodus 16:28-30 says "And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day."

This text is taken out of context. To understand it, one must begin reading Exodus 15:22-Exodus 16:4.

Exo. 16:4: Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

Here the Sabbath is introduced to them for the first time (430 years later. Gal. 3:17). God said to Moses that He was going to test them by raining down bread from heaven and He gave Moses the instructions to pass on to the people. They were to gather double on the 6th day because (See Exodus 16:25-26):

25 "Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."

When God said, 'How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws', He was speaking about the command to gather enough for one day but double it on the 6th day. All did not obey and He got angry and made that statement. Prior to this, Exodus 15:25 reads…

"Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them."

Again Exodus 16:4 says, "4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions."

The commandments and laws spoken of here were not the Ten Commandments. They weren't given until Exodus 20.

Also, I'd like to make the point that a minimum of four 7th days (a month or more) had passed before the Israelites kept their first Sabbath after leaving Egypt. And when God gave it to them He never mentioned how their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had kept it. Also when the world was completely destroyed by a flood and God was starting all over again with Noah. God gave Noah and his family oral commandments to keep but no mention of a Sabbath and no warning from God to remember to keep it. The simple truth is that the Sabbath did not exist until after the Israelites were freed from Egypt and then not immediately.

This was before the declaration of Exodus 20.

This is true, but again this statement is being misrepresented as explained above.

And so, not only has the Sabbath of the Lord existed from the beginning, but it will NEVER have an end!!!

The Sabbath did not exist from the beginning. This is unbiblical and a teaching of Ellen White. The law came AFTER sin came into the world. We will be worshipping God every day even in heaven. There will be no light there because the Son will be our light which disables us to keep track of days. Everyday will be Sabbath just like it is now. We rest in Jesus! He is our Sabbath rest!

Remember what God Himself said... 

Isaiah 66:22-23 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD."

Remember, " from one new moon and from one Sabbath to another' means ALL the moons and ALL the days in between – every day, today! Acts 2:46 reiterates the fact that the Christians worshipped and communed daily!

Dear friend, if you are not a Sabbath keeper, and you love the Lord & His truth,...Here is your challenge today!...

Dear friend, the Sabbath was the sign of the covenant with Israel ONLY! Under the New Covenant it is about the Person of Jesus, your Sabbath rest, Who came to suffer, die and rise again just for you. IF you believe the Good News of the Gospel (summed up in 1 Cor. 15:1-4), you have eternal life NOW because Jesus paid the price and has done a completed work just for you. He is waiting to take your burden of trying to keep the law and feeling ashamed and guilty because you can't. The price has been paid so accept Him and give Him glory daily. He simply wants you to rest in Him. TODAY if you hear His voice, please don't harden your heart. Jesus is all you need and He really did pay it all.

Stand up for that truth! For surely, the 7th Day Sabbath is TRUTH!!!

Stand up for TRUTH! JESUS is the way, the TRUTH and the light, not the Sabbath!!!

Why continue to miss out on the sweet peace that the Sabbath brings? It was made for man's benefit! :-)

Why continue to miss out on the peace, rest, security and joy you can experience every day – not just one out of seven. It's about a Person and a daily relationship – not a day! 

Blessings!

God bless you today and always

~RABS~ 

Patricia Allen

 

2 comments:

  1. Hi Patricia,

    I have been following you on allexperts. I enjoy your posts. My wife is a former sda and I was raised as a JW and now witness to JW's in the JW category of allexperts. My name is Ben Erdman. I would like to be friends with you on facebook but I can't find you. Can you help me with this?
    Ben

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  2. Great work! The way you narrated and explained the post is awesome. I read the whole post and loved it the way its written. The message you conveyed is very strong and clear.

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