Blog : The Sabbath a deep look

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12/17/2008 4:30 am

The Sabbath a deep look

160 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SABBATH

By Russell Earl Kelly, PHD

BEFORE CREATION

1. John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Why would God's own 'residence' have night and day?

2. If the Sabbath is part of the eternal moral character of God, was it observed in heaven in eternity past before creation?

3. Does heaven have a rotation of night and day?

4. Does heaven have a seventh-day Sabbath?

QUESTIONS ON THE CREATION SABBATH

5. Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23 and 31 describe the first six days of heaven having an evening and the morning.

Why was this sequence omitted concerning the first Sabbath in Genesis?

6. Genesis 2:2 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.

How long was the first creation Sabbath?

Note: Theory #1: One 24 hour day.

Theory #2: Unknown. It lasted until Adam and Eve sinned. It could have been thousands of years. As long as sin did not exist every day was in the presence of God.

Theory #3: Still continues. God is still resting from his finished creation and has not created new kinds since then. Only speciation occurs now. The text focuses on God's rest and not man's rest.

7. Genesis 2:3 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.

Did God bless the seventh day because he rested on that day and not because he was the Creator?

8. Where in Genesis is man commanded to rest on the Sabbath day?

9. Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

Does the Hebrew word for day, yom, always refer to a 24 hour day?

10. Did not Adam join God in that rest 7 days a week 24 hours a day until he sinned?

11. Is the first sinless creation rest a perfect type of salvation rest in Christ in which God imputes perfect sinlessness and returns the believer to where Adam was before he sinned?

12. Does the believer walk 7 days a week 24 hours a day in God's perfect rest?

13. Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest …

Which rest is a better type of salvation ---the one-day-a-week rest of the Sabbath Day? or the every-day rest of creation?

14. Genesis 2:17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.”

Is not spiritual death a separation from God's perfect sinless rest?

15. Genesis 5:3 “Adam lived a hundred and thirty (130) years” before Seth was born. Genesis 5:5 “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty (930) years: and he died.”

Did the 930 years of Adam's life begin when he was created or after he sinned?

16. Genesis 2:3 to Exodus 16:

Is it true that no rest day or Sabbath is mentioned in God’s Word from Genesis 2 until Exodus 16 (at least 2000 years)?

17. Is there any evidence that the seven-day weekly cycle was universally known through general revelation before Exodus 16?

18. Did the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians have a seven-day (7) week because they worshipped 7 heavenly bodies such as the Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Saturn?

19. Did the frequency of market days determine the length of the week in many nations?

Note: West Africa adopted four-day (4) intervals between market days. The Assyrians adopted five-day (5) intervals. Ancient Rome adopted eight-day (

intervals. And the ancient Egyptians adopted ten-day (10) intervals. It was not until the first century B.C. that Rome adopted the seven-day weekly cycle.

QUESTIONS ON THE WEEKLY SABBATH DAY

20. Ex. 16:23 Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath to the LORD: bake that which you will bake today, and boil that which you will boil; and that which remains over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

Is not this at least 2500 years after Genesis 2:3?

21. Do SDAs eat meat which has been fried or roasted? Why?

22. Ex. 16:26 Six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.

Is it evident than even Israel had not been observing any Sabbath day and that the day had been lost in history?

23. Ex. 16:28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?

Ex. 16:29 See, for that the LORD has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

Ex. 16:30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

Is it not evident that the Sabbath was a law designed for only the Hebrews to observe? Does not the "you" only refer to the Hebrews?

24. Was this first Sabbath day for Israel NOT a day of corporate worship? Does that mean that the Sabbath has been changed by God to become a day of corporate worship?

25. Was this "rest" only a physical rest at that point in Israel's history?

26. Ex. 19:3 And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel.

Is not the Law to be given only to Israel?

27. Ex. 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself.

Did God separate Israel from Egypt in order to only give Israel his covenant and law?

28. Ex. 19:5 Now then, IF you [Israel] will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, THEN you [Israel] shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine.

Ex. 19:6 and you [Israel] shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.

How can the Law with the Sabbaths be the standard for all nations if it was only given to Israel?

29. Were every commandment, every statute, every ordinance, and every Sabbath in this covenant to end (as a covenant) if its conditions were not met by literal Israel?

30. Ex. 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

Ex. 20:2 I am the LORD your God who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

To whom did God give the Law and Ten Commandments?

31. Is Yahweh the sole covenant God of the nation he redeemed from Egypt?

32. Deut. 5:1 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.

Forty years later was the Law still only for Israel?

33. Deut. 5:2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

Did God make the Old Covenant with any other nation?

34. Deut. 5:3 The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

Did God make the Old Covenant of Law with the patriarchs of Israel?

35. Deut. 5:6 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Did God redeem any other nation out of Egyptian bondage?

36. Ex. 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.....

Did God command any other nation to do this?

37. Ex. 20:10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God C

in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your , nor your , your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates.

Did God command Israel to worship on the Sabbath day?

38. Does the Sabbath commandment imply that slave ownership is acceptable?

39. Does the Sabbath commandment command Israel not to be the cause of others working on the Sabbath?

40. Why do SDAs ignore this?

41. Deut. 5:14 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God ---

in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your , nor your , 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 yourself.

Ex. 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

When the Sabbath commandment is first given is it a memorial of creation or of the "rest" of creation?

42. Is the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments a 24-hour type of a much longer Sabbath of creation?

43. Deut. 5:15 And remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out from there through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

44. When the Sabbath commandment was repeated forty years later, was the reason for rest changed from creation rest to rest from Egyptian slavery?

45. Is not this a 'change' of the reason for resting on the Sabbath?

46. Since Jews give more importance to Deuteronomy than Exodus, should the Sabbath commandment in Deuteronomy be emphasized more?

47. Is the every-day rest from Egyptian slavery a better symbol of the gospel than the weekly Sabbath day which is only a type of that rest?

48. Ex 23:10 And six years you shall sow your land and shall gather in the fruits thereof:

Ex. 23:11 But the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie still; that the poor of your people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner you shall deal with your vineyard, and with your olive yard.

Is the 7th year rest of the land less important than the seventh-day rest?

49. Ex. 23:12 Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest: that your ox and your ass may rest, and the of your handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

Should true Sabbath-keepers stay home on the Sabbath and not cause others like policemen, firemen, utility workers and medical workers to rest?

50. Ex. 23:32 You shall make no covenant with them [other nations] or with their gods.

Ex. 23:33 They shall not live in your land in case they would make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.

Does this forbid Israel from missionary work to the Gentiles and from expecting them to observe the Sabbath day of their unique covenant?

51. Do Sabbath-keepers live in their own communities and forbid others from living among them?

52. Deut. 7:2 And when the LORD your God shall deliver them before you; you shall strike them, and utterly destroy them; you shall not make any covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them:

Deut. 7:3 Furthermore you shall not inter-marry with them....

Deut. 7:6 For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Do SDAs kill outsiders who move into their communities? Why not?

53. Does the SDA church strictly forbid intermarriage with non-SDAs? Why not?

Does not Deuteronomy 7:6 reinforce the idea that the law was only given to Israel?

54. Ex. 31:13 But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, You shall surely observe My sabbaths: for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

Is this the most clear verse in the Bible which states that the Sabbath is to be a special sign of the Old Covenant between God and national Israel?

55. How can it be a sign of distinction if it is also supposed to be for everybody else?

56. Ex. 31:14 Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Every one who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

Is the Sabbath to be holy only to Israel?

57. Are only Sabbath breakers who are Israelites to be put to death for violating it?

58. Do SDAs advocate putting their own members to death when the Sabbath is broken? Why?

59. Do SDAs advocate putting to death non-SDAs for violating the Sabbath? Is this the SDA rebuttal to the teaching of the 'mark of the beast'?

60. Ex. 31:15 For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of [NAS: complete; RSV: solemn] rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath shall surely be put to death.

Does the Sabbath "of complete rest" dictate against many church activities on the Sabbath? Is not the Sabbath the busiest day of the week in SDA communities?

61. Ex. 31:16 So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

How can the "sons of Israel" also mean that everybody is supposed to observe the Sabbath?

62. Is the "perpetual covenant" the Old Covenant?

63. Ex. 31:17 It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.

Since the "sign to Israel" has been repeated twice, is it not of double importance?

64. Ex. 31:18 And when He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.

How can the Ten Commandments be for all nations but the seventh-day Sabbath only for national Israel?

65. Second Corinthians 3

“But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses...

…..

Second Corinthians 3:10 For indeed what had glory in this case has no glory on account of the glory that surpasses it.”

Does the covenant symbolized by the Ten Commandments have “no glory” in comparison to the surpassing glory of the New Covenant of the Holy Spirit. (Also compare Romans 8:1-3.)

66. Ex. 34:21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shalt rest.

Exodus 34:21 is surrounded by various judgments and statutes such as the firstborn and yearly festivals. Do they not all have the same value?

67. Ex. 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever does work therein shall be put to death.

Ex. 35:3 You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day.

How can the Sabbath commandment itself still be valid but the death penalty for violating it not be valid?

68. Does the prohibition against lighting a fire on the Sabbath prove that Israel was not to inhabit cold regions?

69. Does the commandment also prohibit placing more firewood on a fire during the Sabbath day?

70. How can SDAs teach that the Sabbath is for all people and all nations if those in cold regions are not allowed to keep warm on the Sabbath day?

71. Lev. 23:2 Speak to the of Israel, and say to them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

Lev. 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

Lev. 23:4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons.

Is this not a discussion of all feasts, including the Seventh-day Sabbath?

72. Is the seventh-day Sabbath only the first of many equally important feasts and holy convocations which the LORD (Yahweh) had given only to Israel?

73. Since the other Sabbaths were determined by the new moon, is it true that they could fall on any day of the week?

74. Numb. 15:32 And while the of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day.

…..

Numb. 15:35 And the LORD said to Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.

Seventh-day Adventists would rather not discuss these texts. They prefer to talk about how wonderful the Sabbath is and how God wants everybody to observe it. Yet Israelites did not expect those outside their covenant to be put to death for Sabbath-breaking. Why is the penalty of Sabbath-breaking ignored by SDAs?

75. Ezek. 20:12 And also I gave them My sabbaths to be a SIGN between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

Ezek. 20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, by which if a man observes them, he will live; and My Sabbaths they greatly profaned...

Is the Sabbath sign only for national Israel?

76. How can SDAs justify teaching that the statutes and ordinances no longer apply but the Sabbath does?

77. Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you sealed for the day of redemption.”

Whereas all of the Sabbath days and Sabbath years in Leviticus 23 and 25 were “signs” of God's Old Covenant promises to national Israel, the Holy Spirit is the “sign,” or “seal” of God’s promises to the church. Is that true?

78. Neh. 9:2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

Is it true that Israel did not attempt to convert Gentiles to its covenant and its Sabbath?

79. Neh. 9:13 You came also upon mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:

Neh. 9:14 And made known to them your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses your servant.

Again, is it true that the judgments, laws, statutes, commandments and Sabbaths had the same value as part of the indivisible law?

80. Neh. 10:31 As for the people of the land who bring wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. NASU

Do the Ssbbath, other holy days and holy years have the same moral value?

81. Neh. 13:19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath: and I placed some of my servants at the gates, that there no burden should be brought in on the Sabbath day. (See context 13:15-22.)

If Nehemiah would not allow any traffic in or out of the Hebrew community on the Sabbath day, why do not SDA college communities shut their gates on the Sabbath?

QUESTIONS ABOUT SHADOW SABBATHS

82. Isa. 1:13‑14 “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable New Moons [monthly], Sabbaths [weekly] and convocations [seasonal]‑‑I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.” NIV

Lev. 23:2 Speak unto the of Israel and say to them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

Lev. 23:3 (the weekly Sabbath convocation is first on the list)

Lev. 23:4-44 (seasonal Sabbaths and convocations)

Did not God equally reject all Sabbaths in Isaiah 1 above?

83. Is it not clear that weekly, monthly and seasonal Sabbaths all had at least equal value?

84. 1 Chron.23:31 “...in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts...”

2 Chron.2:4 “...on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts”

2 Chron.8:13 ... on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts...

2 Chron. 31:3...for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts

Neh. 10:33... of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts...

Ezek. 5:17...in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths...

Hos. 2:11... her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts..

Do these seven additional texts make it clear that the seventh-day Sabbath was not greater than the other Sabbaths?

85. Col. 2:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances [Greek: dogma] that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way -- nailing it to his cross;

Col. 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Col. 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in food, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday [seasonal], or of the new moon [monthly], or of the sabbath days [weekly]:

Col. 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Is it clear from Colossians 2:16 that the seventh-day Sabbath is included in the list of ordinances which have been blotted out?

86. Is it clear from 2:16 that the sequence is from seasonal to monthly to weekly holy days?

87. Heb. 10:1 “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.”

Is the weekly Sabbath rest also a shadow of the future return to perfect sinless rest of Christ's righteousness?

88. Gal. 4:9 “But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage?

Gal. 4:10 You observe days [weekly], and months [monthly], and times [seasonal], and years [yearly].

Gal. 4:11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.”

Is it not clear that the sequence is from weekly to monthly to seasonal to yearly Sabbaths?

89. Does this sequence not include the weekly Sabbath day?

90. Heb 4:3 “For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: ‘So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,’ although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Heb 4:4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works’;

Heb 4:5 and again in this place: ‘They shall not enter My rest.’

Heb 4:6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience.”

Heb 4:11 “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” NKJV

Does not verse 4 lower the importance of the Sabbath day in favor of the rest of faith in verse 1?

91. Was the one-day-a-week seventh-day Sabbath a shadow of the seven-days-a-week twenty-four-hours-a-day perfect sinless rest of believers?

92. Is not the rest of faith from verse 11 a return to sinless creation rest?

93. Although the word “rest” occurs eleven times in Hebrews 3:11, 18; 4:1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11, the Sabbath day is not prominent. Is that not significant?

94. Deuteronomy 12:9 “For you are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God will give you.”

Although Israel had been observing the Sabbath day for almost forty years in the wilderness, did not God make it clear that weekly Sabbath day rest was inferior to every day Canaan rest?

95. Do not the phrases “it remains that some must enter it” and “let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest” give one more reminder that God’s true rest comes, not to the Old Covenant Israelite Sabbath-keeper, but to every New Covenant believer?

96. Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Luke 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Did Jesus compare His message to the Jubilee Sabbath year instead of the weekly Sabbath day?

97. Luke 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

Luke 4:21 And he began to say to them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

98. Is the fulfillment of the Jubilee rest greater than the fulfillment of the weekly Sabbath rest?

99. Was the Jubilee Sabbath the highest pinnacle of all Sabbaths?

100. If the Jubilee Sabbath is more important than the weekly Sabbath why would the "greater" be removed and the "lesser" retained?

101. Rom. 1:19‑20 “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has shown it to them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

Rom. 2:14‑15 “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.”

Do natural law and the conscience reveal that a man should worship God?

102. Do natural law and the conscience reveal that man should worship every seventh day?

103. Do natural law and the conscience reveal that man should worship on the Saturday Sabbath?

104. If not, then how can God be just and condemn those who have no special revelation of the Saturday Sabbath?

105. If not, then how can the Saturday Sabbath be an eternal moral law?

106. In order to keep orderly time on a round globe man has been forced to set the limits of an International Date Line in the most uninhabited zone in the middle of the Pacific. Does this not prove that the seventh-day Sabbath cannot be observed equally on a round earth?

107. Parts of the round earth at the north and south poles have very long periods of daylight and darkness. Without watches and calendars they could not have a weekly cycle of 24 hour days. Does this not prove that the seventh-day Sabbath cannot be observed equally on a round earth?

108. Astronauts circling Earth of traveling to the Moon or Mars do not experience 7 day weeks of the earth and normal sunset or sunrise to change days. Does this not prove that the seventh-day Sabbath cannot be equally observed by all mankind?

QUESTIONS ABOUT OTHER SABBATHS

109. Ex 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

Did failure to observe the Passover and its two Sabbath days carry the same punishment as failure to observe the weekly Sabbath?

110. Ex. 12:16 And in the first day [of the third month] there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day [of the third month] there shall be a holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.

Was the Passover given to Israel before the weekly Sabbath day? Exod 16.

111. On what day of the week did the Passover begin?

112. Did the Passover have Sabbath days?

113. Ex. 13:9 And it [the Passover] shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

Was the Passover equally important as a sign and a memorial to national Israel as the weekly Sabbath?

114. Booths/Ingathering: Numbers 28:13-38; Lev 23:39-44

Day of Atonement: Numbers 29:1-12; Lev 23:25-36; Lev 16 all

Weeks/Pentecost: Numbers 28:26-31; Lev 23:15-21

Passover: Numbers 28:16-25; Lev 23:5-14

Monthly New Moon: Numbers 28:11-15

Weekly: Numbers 28:9-10

It is true that as the importance of the Sabbath day increased beyond the weekly Sabbath day, so did the sacrificial offerings?

115. Is it not logical to conclude that the weekly Sabbath was the LEAST important Sabbath?

116. Jubilee Year: most rest; Lev 25:10-12

Sabbath Year: more rest; Lev 25:1-7

Weekly Sabbath: least rest

Is it true that the weekly Sabbath provided less rest and release than the yearly and Jubilee Sabbaths?

117. Why have SDAs emphasized the least important Sabbath and ignored the more important Sabbaths?

QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS AND THE SABBATH

118. Galatians 4:4 “But when the foulness of time was come, God sent forth his , made of a woman, made under the law” (Gal. 4:4).

Did Jesus live under the jurisdiction of the Law?

119. As a Jew was Jesus expected to teach the Law and worship on the Sabbath?

120. Matt 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Did Jesus teach Jews to only observe the Ten Commandments or all 613 commandments of the Law?

121. Matt 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Did Jesus tell his Gentile disciples to go to the temple?

122. Matt 8:4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Did Jesus tell Gentiles whom he healed to show themselves to the priests?

123. Matt 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Did Jesus tell his Gentile disciples to tithe?

124. If Jesus did not teach Gentiles to observe Jewish Law, did He command them to worship on the Saturday Sabbath?

125. Phil 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

Is the believer's righteousness based on obedience to the Law?

126. Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the GOSPEL to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at LIBERTY them that are bruised,

Luke 4:19 To preach the acceptable YEAR of the Lord.

Did Jesus compare his message to the weekly Sabbath or to the Jubilee Sabbath?

127. Mark 2:27 The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.

Mark 2:27 (Greek) Ta sabaton [the Sabbath] dia ton anthropon [for the man] egeneto [came to be], kai ouch [and not] ho anthropos [the man] dia ton sabbaton [for the Sabbath].

Seventh-day Adventists insist that “man” means “man in general,” “all men” or “mankind.” Therefore, (to SDAs) the text means, “The Sabbath was made for all mankind, not all mankind for the Sabbath.”

Is it true that the only time the Sabbath was for all mankind was when "all mankind" was only Adam and Eve?

128. How can all mankind be expected to observe the Sabbath while specifically being only a sign of the Old Covenant for national Israel in Exodus 31:13-17?

129. Why does the Greek contain the article "the" in front of man? Is not this a reference to a specific man rather than to mankind in general?

130. Is it true that, whenever anthropos means "mankind" there is no article associated? (Compare Mt. 4:4; Rom. 1:18; 5:12).

131. Is it true that anthropos is never translated as "mankind"?

132. Is the Greek word phusei translated “race,” “species” or “mankind” in James 3

?

133. Did God command Israel NOT to share its covenant with other nations in Exodus 23:32 and Deuteronomy 7:1-6?

134. Did the command not to share its covenant with other nations include the Sabbath as a wall of separation? (Ex. 19:5, 6; 20:2; 31:13-18; Deut. 5:12-15).

135. Since “they” were Jews, then, the question concerned only the Hebrew man who is under the Law! The Pharisees would not have asked Jesus this question if “they” were Gentiles who were not under the Law! If this is the correct logic, then the answer would be: “The sabbath was made for the Hebrew man [who is under the law], and the Hebrew man was not made for the Sabbath.” This answer would be honest both to the question and to the Greek syntax. Whether of not the Sabbath day was a day of rest since the creation is irrelevant because it had been forgotten. Beginning in Exodus 16, God clearly pointed out the day only for the observance of the Hebrews. Does this make sense?

136. A third possible interpretation of Mark 2:27 is that “the man” refers neither to mankind in general, nor to the Hebrews under the Law, but to Jesus Himself! When the Greek article “the” and “man” are combined in a word search, 13 of 21 times in Mark it refers to Jesus Christ as “the of THE man.” There is an article in front of anthropos! Jesus was THE Second Adam (which means man), THE Messiah, and THE Representative Man. He was the One who first rested on the first Sabbath and all things were created by Him and FOR Him (Col. 1:16). This would make Mark 2:27 say “The Sabbath came into existence for THE MAN [Jesus Christ] and [Jesus Christ] THE MAN did not come into existence [as a man] for the Sabbath.” Does this make sense?

137. Perhaps Jesus' concluding statement, recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke holds the key to the correct understanding of Mark 2:27. Matthew 12:8 concludes, “For the of man is Lord {even} of the sabbath day.” Mark 2:28 and Luke 6:5 conclude, “Therefore, the of man is Lord ALSO of the Sabbath” with the additional Greek word for “also.”

The Greek word for “made,” is egeneto, the passive form of “to be” and is better translated as “was being” or “came into being.” Keeping this in mind, we compare the four possible interpretations:

“Because the Sabbath was made for all mankind....

“Because the Sabbath was made for THE Hebrew man who is under the law...

Because the Sabbath was made for THE MAN, Jesus Christ...

...THEREFORE, the of man is Lord also of the Sabbath!”

Does this make sense?

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SABBATH IN ACTS

138. Acts 13:5 CYPRUS: And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. Also 13:14-15 ANTIOCH; 14:1 ICONIUM; 16:13 PHILIPPI; 17:1-2, 10 THESSALONICA; 18:4 CORINTH,18:19 EPHESUS.

As a Jewish man Paul had an open pulpit in any Jewish synagogue. Is not this the primary reason he began his initial work in new cities in the synagogues on the Sabbath?

139. Acts 13:39 And through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

What did Paul mean here? Why did he say it?

140. Acts 13:42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.

SDAs argue that Paul still honored the seventh-day Sabbath because he did not tell the people to meet him on Sunday. Could it be that the Gentile God-fearers and Paul wanted to keep using the open pulpit as long as possible?

141. SDAs argue from the false assumption that most churches worship on Sunday as a replacement for Saturday. In fact many churches who worship on Sunday do not teach that Sunday has replaced Saturday but that the wording of the Old Covenant law was only for national Israel. Is that true?

142. 1 Cor 9:20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

1 Cor 9:21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

Rom 14:5 One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Rom 14:6 He that regards the day, regards it unto the Lord; and he that regards not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he that eats not, to the Lord he eats not, and gives God thanks.

Is it clear that Paul was no convicted about any holy day?

143. Acts 13:43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

Acts 13:44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

Is it clear that the synagogue was still available to Paul for public meetings at this time?

144. Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas became bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Is this the turning point in Antioch of Psidia? Did Jews organize after this to try and keep Paul from using the synagogues?

145. Acts 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judea [TO ANTIOCH IN SYRIA] taught the brethren, and said, Except you become circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.

Did the Pharisees emphasize circumcision, tithing and Sabbath-keeping as necessary for salvation?

146. Acts 15:10 [Peter said] “Now therefore why do you tempt God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

Is not the entire Law being discussed here and not merely the Ten Commandments?

147. Was Peter against forcing Gentile Christians to be circumcised and to observe the Sabbath?

148. Acts 15:19 [James the leader said] Wherefore my sentence is, that we do not trouble them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

Acts 15:20 But that we write to them that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood.

Did not James and the entire church in Jerusalem agree not to place Gentiles under the entire Law of Moses, including Sabbath-keeping?

149. Acts 16:4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered the decrees to keep that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

Did Paul reveal the letters from the Jerusalem church to all churches and ask Gentiles NOT to be circumcised or keep the Sabbath?

150. Acts 16:5 DERBE, LYSTRA, ICONIUM: And so were the churches established in the faith and increased in number DAILY.

When Paul was not preaching in the synagogues what day of the week did he preach on?

151. Acts 16:17‑18 PHILIPPI: The same [possessed woman] followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show to us the way of salvation. And she did this many days......

Does the "many days" imply that Paul preached every day of the week?

152. Acts 17:11 BEREA: These ... searched the scriptures DAILY, whether those things were so.

Does this suggest Paul worshipped and preached every day of the week?

153. Acts 17:17 ATHENS: Therefore he disputed in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons and in the market DAILY with them that met with him.

Being consistent with his convictions as stated in First Corinthians 9:20-22, Paul worshiped with the Jews in the synagogue on the Sabbath and worshiped with the Gentiles in the marketplace every other day of the week. Is this not evident?

154. Acts 18:4 CORINTH: And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

Afterwards (verse 7) Paul left the synagogue and preached in the house of Crispus where many believed and were baptized (verse

. Paul stayed in Corinth for eighteen months (verse 11). Is not Paul's pattern clear?

155. Acts 19:8 EPHESUS: And he [Paul] went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for three months disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.

Acts 19:9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing DAILY in the school of one Tyrannus.

Is not the pattern still clear: first to the Jews in the synagogue until being rejected and second to the Gentiles daily?

156. Acts 21:20 And when they [the Jerusalem church leaders] heard it, they glorified the Lord and said to him [Paul], You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe and they are all zealous of the law:

Acts 21:21 And they are informed about you that you teach all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses saying that they ought not to circumcise their , neither to walk after the customs.

Is there any indication that Gentile converts were being told to observe all 613 commandments of the Law?

157. Acts 21:25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, except that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood and from strangled and from fornication.

Is it clear that 30 years after Calvary Gentile Christians were still not being told to observe the law including circumcision and Sabbath-keeping?

THE NEW EARTH AND ETERNITY

158. Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Rev 21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

Rev 21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Does the picture of eternity seen in Revelation 21-22 indicate any weekly rotation of night and day?

159. Is the Sabbath day found in Revelation 21-22?

160. How do SDAs define "law"?

Note: Most of the biblical occurrences of "law" either mean "the entire law of 613 commandments" or "God's revelation of Himself to mankind." Extremely seld in God's Word does "law" mean only the Ten Commandments. Have you researched this word?

Russell Kelly

Tropical_Man 68M

6389 posts
12/17/2008 12:59 pm

Jesus is the sabath.

Tropical_Man 68M

6389 posts
12/18/2008 4:15 pm

The sabbath was nailed to the cross as Jesus is the sabbath

Col 2:13

Your copy and paste is refuted scripturally

Tropical_Man 68M

6389 posts
12/22/2008 3:17 am

sorry truth... you are wrong and he explained why above.