The Lord’s Day

There is a lot of confusion and a lot of divisions in what is called the church today, and in the area of the Lord’s day, Sabbath keeping, whether to keep a day or not, you get many responses.

And there are even many sincere Christians who love the Lord , who come to various conclusions, but in the end, God has just one view on the issue, it is his view, and if we are in tune with his view on this issue, then we will be seeing the truth of thisissue.

And if we see the truth of this issue, then we should walk in the truth of this issue.

And as a Christian, we should be striving to go on unto perfection, going from faith to faith, allowing God to sanctify us, thus being conformed more and more unto the image of God.

None of us have attained unto total perfection, and that will only come at the rapture of the church.

And as we go on with the Lord, we begin to realise how perfect we really ain’t, and how much we really need the Lord.

So the first question is this, is there such a thing as the “Lord’s day” to begin with ?

Well let us go unto our first scripture.

Revelation 1:9-10 (9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,) Now there are 3 prominent views on this issue that I know of: 1. is that the Lord’s day refers to the old testament “7th day Sabbath”,2. is that the Lord’s day refers to “the first day of the week” gathering,3. is that the Lord’s day refers to “the Day of the Lord”, the time of the coming destruction that climaxes in the return of Christ. Well first of all, we can very easily refute the 3rd view, simply by just reading the text for what it says. It shows in Revelation 1:9-10 that “John… was in the isle… called Patmos, and while on the isle (emphasis added), he was in the Spirit on “the Lord’s day”. He was in the Spirit, while on the isle of Patmos, and it happened to be on a day called “the Lord’s day” !!!!!!! It was a day that was called the Lord’s day back in John’s day, at the time that he presently lived, while on the isle of Patmos ; which if it would be referring to events that should take place at the second coming, then the secondcoming should have taken place while John was on the isle of Patmos, which it is obvious that it did not, for Christ would have already reigned on earth for a thousand years, and thus we should be on an new earth today, but weare not. And some claim that the word “the Lord’s day“, should be translated as “the day of the Lord”; I do not agree with this, but say it is so, what would that mean ? Would that mean that it automatically means that this day, mentioned in Revelation 1:10, refers to the “day of the Lord”, mentioned in Isaiah 13:6, and Amos 5:18 ? Well first of all there are many days of the Lord: 1. there is the day of the Lord, which climaxes in the second coming of Christ (Amos 5:18, Isaiah 13:6),2. there is the day of the Lord, the rapture (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18),3.there is the day of the Lord, the great white throne of judgment, which the heavens and the earth shall melt with fervent heat, as this takes place (2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 20:11).

Now the actual words of “the day of the Lord” appear in Amos 5:18 , Isaiah 13:6 , 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 and 2 Peter 3:10.

So if it “the Lord’s day” of revelation 1:10, refers to “the day of the Lord”, then which day of the Lord does it refer to ???????

Well it is obvious that it refers to none of these “days of the Lord”, for then either the second coming, the rapture or the great white throne of judgment would have taken place in John’s day, which obviously it did not.

So then this view of “the Lord’s day” is debunked, and debunked in a very easy way.

So you can scratch off view 3 from the list.

3. is that the Lord’s day refers to “the Day of the Lord”, the time of the coming destruction that climaxes in the return of Christ.

Now we go unto view 1 , which is : that the Lord’s day refers to the old testament “7th day Sabbath” . Does the Lord’s day refer to the 7th day of the week Sabbath ??? Well before we answer this question, let us cover things which concern the Sabbath, such as when it was first given, what was it all about, what was to be done and not done on that day, and was it completely done away withunder the new covenant. And one important scripture that I love to emphasize on, is this next scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:13 (13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.) We need to compare spiritual things with spiritual things, which is comparing the word of God with other parts of the word of God, in order to get the full picture of the matter. And I have noticed that some do this, but not many. Well right now let us cover the question of, when was the Sabbath first given ?????? Well what I will do right now, is compare 2 scriptures side by side so we get a clearer picture on the matter, because I have seen one of these scriptures, used in a way to almost deny the other scripture ; sometimes it seems that Christians want toshow preferences of scriptures. It is important that we seek to have a heart that is open to all scriptures, whether it fits with our thinking or not. Ok here are the 2 scriptures, side by side.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 (12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do anywork, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.)

Exodus 20:8 -11 (8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not doany work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all thatthem is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbathday, and hallowed it.)

Now these are 2 accounts of the Sabbath when it was given on mount Sinai.

Now God gave the Sabbath even before Moses received the 10 commandments on mount Sinai, as we will see, but here it talks of 2 accounts of when it was given on mount Sinai.

And in both of these accounts, it refers to when Moses received the 10 commandments, and God wrote them on tables of stone, the first time.

And of course upon seeing the Israelites with a golden calf, and worshipping it, Moses broke the two first tables of stone, therefore needing to go up a second time, so that the 10 commandments could be rewritten once again on tables of stone.

So the argument that I have heard, says this: “that God gave the Sabbath only to the Jews, because of their slavery in Egypt, and that is the only reason why he gave it”.

Well ok let us first deal with the Deuteronomy scripture, now what does the Deuteronomy scripture say ?

Well it says in verse 15 that: “…thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day”.

So yes it does show that as a result of God seeing their state of slavery, and him bringing them out by a stretched out arm, God therefore commanded them to keep the Sabbath.

And yes in this case, it is talking about the Israelites, that God set free from Egypt, having to keep the Sabbath, but was the Sabbath keeping, just for the Jews, to keep, or was it for all men to keep ???

And was it only for the reason of God setting them free from Egyptian bondage, that he wanted them to keep the Sabbath ???????

Well then what about the Exodus scripture ???????

Well first of all verse 8 says to keep the Sabbath holy, and afterwards it explains stuff concerning the Sabbath, and then we get to verse 11, which says: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth….and rested on the seventh day: whereforethe Lord blessed the Sabbath day , and hallowed it”.

Now notice the word “for”, and the word for here means ,” as a result of” , but as a result of what ???

Well it is saying that the commandment of keeping the Sabbath day, and keeping it holy, came or was given to man as a result of God creating the world in 6 days ,and resting on the seventh.

So it is showing us that, as a result of God making heaven and earth etc. in 6 days , and resting on the 7th , in like manner we should keep the Sabbath, which we are given 6 days to labour, and one day of rest.

Man should be doing as God did.

So there are 2 reasons given here for keeping the Sabbath, one is as a result of God creating the world in 6 days, and resting on the 7th, and the other is as a result of God setting the Israelites free from Egyptian bondage.

So the question is this: Was the Sabbath only given to the Jews ? Or was it given for all men to benefit from ???

Actually the answer might surprise some, and in more ways than one.

Well first let us go unto Mark 2:23-28.

Mark 2:23-28 (23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.) So what is it saying here ??? Well first let us deal with the corn fields part, and then later we will get back to the issue of whom the Sabbath was given to; and what happened here, was that Jesus’ disciples began plucking the ears of corn, and the Phariseessaid to Jesus, why do the disciples do what is not lawful on the Sabbath ? What the Pharisees were doing here, is falsely accusing the disciples of doing that which is not lawful on the Sabbath, so what the Pharisees were saying is that the disciples were breaking the Sabbath. But was this accusation true about the disciples breaking the Sabbath ? Was there an old testament law that forbade the plucking of corn on the Sabbath ? Well the truth is no. And here is an old testament verse that allowed, the plucking of corn. Deuteronomy 23:25 (25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.) Now it may not be specifying, that they could also do this on the Sabbath, but also it is not saying that they could not, in fact no old testament verses say that they were forbidden to pluck the ears of the corn on any day. And here are, a few comments from other people on this issue, of the Pharisees falsely accusing the disciples of breaking the Sabbath , which this account in Mark 2:23-28 , is also mentioned in Matthew 12:1-4. (Clark) (Deuteronomy 23:25 Thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand - It was on the permission granted by this law that the disciples plucked the ears of corn, as related Mat_12:1. This was both a considerate and humane law, and is no dishonor to the Jewish code.)

(Jimmy Swaggart)

(This was a law they (Pharisees) had made up themselves; the law of Moses permitted them to do what they were doing [Deuteronomy 23:25])

Now some may say, well then what about the scripture that forbade the Jews to pick up manna on the Sabbath, doesn’t that show that whether you pick manna or corn, that it is wrong to do, on the Sabbath ???

Well how about we compare the scriptures of the corn and manna side by side, so we get the whole picture of the issue, and so we truly understand what is going on.

Mark 2:23-28 (23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as theywent,to pluck the ears of corn.24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and theythat were with him?26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is notlawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.)

Exodus 16:25-29 (25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they foundnone.28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of twodays; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

So the Mark verses , are talking about the disciples plucking the ears of corn , which the Pharisees falsely accused them of breaking the Sabbath as a result , but the Exodus verses , speaks of something different , it does not say that it was wrong togather manna (the bread), on the Sabbath , but rather it says that God would not pour out the manna on the fields that day, so therefore it would be useless to go out to get manna, when none would be on the ground. And you notice that some still went out, even though they were told that there would be none that would fall to the ground that day, so what was God against here ??? Was it the fact that they went out to pick manna on the Sabbath, that God was against ??? Or was it for the fact that he told them that no manna would fall, and they did not believe God and they still went to check, so to gather manna ??? What God was not happy with, is that they did not believe his report, of there not being any manna falling to the ground on the Sabbath, and in this case, even though God was not happy with their unbelief, they did not receive a judgment of beingput to death, as others did when they disobeyed God under certain conditions, as this man that gathered sticks on the sabbath (Numbers 15:32-36) , as we will see later. And this specific commandment, was given specifically to Israel while they were in the (desert) wilderness, and it was a commandment for that time and moment, that is in the time of when they received manna, which they received manna for fortyyears (Exo 16:35). And as you go on, in the rest of the old testament, that is if you read events that happened, after the 40 years, you no longer see such a commandment ever given again. So it was a specific wilderness commandment, and it was given so to try the hearts of Israel, to see if they would obey or not , and also to reveal their unbelief. Exodus 16:4 (4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.) So there is absolutely no relation to the disciples plucking corn, and the Israelites picking manna on the Sabbath, which in and of itself , picking manna on the sabbath was not the source of wrong doing , but rather the source ofwrong doing was why they went to go pick up manna, when God said there would be none. It is important that we read the context of a thing, and not read into things, just so to try to defend our doctrine. Also some will claim that Jesus was changing the laws of the Sabbath, by now allowing them to pluck corn on the Sabbath, and by him healing on the Sabbath etc. Well let’s get into this issue, so to see if it is really true. Now did Jesus heal on the Sabbath ??? Luke 6:7-11 (7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.)

Now in truth, there is not one place in the whole entire bible that forbade healing on the Sabbath , not one place, and here the Pharisees, had made up a rule that says that it was wrong to heal on the Sabbath, but just because the Pharisees say it iswrong does not mean that God thinks it is wrong. And there is no old testament rule that forbade this, so if there is no rule that forbade this, then obviously it was not forbidden. And the bible says of Jesus that, he came to fulfil the law and the prophets, and not to destroy the law. Matthew 5:17-20 (17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.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 ofheaven.20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.) Some think that Jesus came to change the rules of the Sabbath, and they will quote things such as the disciples being able to pluck corn, yet the Israelites not being allowed to pick bread, and I will show forth other scriptures that may beused for this argument. And of course, we had just seen that the part that God was not happy with, was not the picking of the bread , but he was not happy with them because he said there would be none that would fall on the Sabbath , so if there wouldbe none, then why go and pick some ??????? He was angry at their unbelief !!!!!!! Now the arguments, that will be shown next , will include silly arguments , which involve David eating the showbread , and the priests supposedly breaking the Sabbath, and these parts are used, for the sake of saying that Jesuswas changing the Sabbath’s rules. So let us go to these scriptures. Mark 2:23-28 (23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.) Our focus here is on verse 25 and 26. So first of all the Pharisees falsely accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath or of doing that which is not lawful on the Sabbath, then Jesus’ response was this:” Have ye never read what David did, when he had need,and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for thepriests, and gave also to them which were with him?” Here is a quote of Jimmy Swaggart, on this issue of David taking the showbread which only the priests could do so. (Jimmy Swaggart) (David was not a Priest , so by the law , could not eat one of these special loaves in the Tabernacle ; however , he wisely judged that a positive law forbidding the laity to eat this bread. Which it did , ought to yield to a law of necessity and of nature ,which it did!) So even though it was not lawful for David to eat of the showbread, God allowed it because of the sake of the need, and he allowed it, in old testament times !!!!!!! David was, I do not doubt, extremely starving, to a point that it may have been of immediate need, and it does say that God shall supply for all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. So this is not at all a sign of Jesus changing the Sabbath here, he was just showing here that in certain cases, certain laws give way to the law of need, and God was a provider of needs in the old testament, and still is today, for he is the same

yesterday, today and forever. Now we get to this other scripture, that someone might try to use, so to say that Jesus was changing the rules of the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:5

(5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?)

Now this scripture, is talking of the same event as the one in Mark 2:23-28, of when the Pharisees falsely accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath. And then Jesus responds in Mark 2:25-26, and mentions how David did something that was not normally lawful for him to do, that how he ate the showbread, which only the priests were allowed to eat, and here he was not saying that people shouldbe breakers of God’s law, but rather, what he was trying to show the Pharisees , was this , that as the Pharisees falsely accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath through plucking corn , which was a need for them and never broke the Sabbath, soJesus was doing a counter claim , which was to show the Pharisees that no you should not be breakers of the law of God, that is the true law of God, but in certain cases, God allows certain laws to be broken, for the sake of the law of need, and thePharisees’ laws certainly could be broken, because their laws were not of God, that is why later in Mark 2:27-28 , Jesus says this: “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath”.

The Pharisees tried to add to the Sabbath their own laws, but it was not man’s laws that govern the Sabbath but rather God’s laws !!!!!!!

So now let us comment on Matthew 12:5, which in Matthew 12:3-4 , it talks of the issue of David eating the priests’ showbread.

Now what is this scripture meaning of “the priests in the temple profaning the Sabbath, and yet are blameless” ??????

Well here, were they really profaning the Sabbath ? or did Jesus just use a counter attack measure here and answered the Pharisees, according to how they gave an answer to his disciples ????

For they blamed the disciples of breaking the Sabbath, no doubt because they considered it working on the Sabbath, well the priests did all kinds of work on the Sabbath, as we will see, yet it was not work that was against God’s prohibition of work under hisSabbath commandment.

So Jesus was answering them according to their own foolishness, and showing them that the priests did work on the Sabbath , but according to the Pharisees' rules, this also “should” have been considered profaning the Sabbath , and yet Jesus says here that theywere blameless.

Here is another quote from Jimmy, which this one is on Matthew 12:5.

(Jimmy Swaggart) (The Priests did as much work, if not more, on the Sabbath Day in their preparing the Sacrifices, plus other duties, than possibly any other day! And yet they were not accused of breaking the Law.) So we could see that the Pharisees were very legalistic, for they added all kinds of laws to God’s law, which was never part of God’s law. So now that we have covered this , let us go back to this question , that I asked earlier on in this study , which was when was the Sabbath first given and also to whom ?????? So now we get to Mark 2:27-28.

Mark 2:27-28

(27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.) So we had concluded, earlier on in this study, that, the Sabbath was given for 2 reasons , one was as a result of God creating the world in six days and resting on the seventh, and the other was as a result of God delivering theJews out of Egyptian slavery. Now some say, as we said before, that the Sabbath was only given to the Jews , but what does Mark 2:27 say ? It says that “The sabbath was made for man”. It says “for man”, not just the Jews, but for just simply man, or mankind, period !!!!!!! And the first time it was ever given, was at the beginning, which was as a result of God creating the world in 6 days and resting on the 7 th, and God hallowed the 7th day and made it holy, holy, holy !!!!!!!

Now did Adam obey the Sabbath ??????? Well it was given to man as a result of God himself doing so, and no there is no concrete evidence, word for word, in the book of Genesis of people keeping the Sabbath, that is until we come to the time of Moses, but that does notmean no one at all kept the Sabbath back then. And now I will give proof of why I truly believe that Adam, at least before the fall, kept the Sabbath. And remember, it was first given to man as a result of God doing so himself. And first of all, we have to remember in what state Adam was before the fall, he was in a state of perfect love !!! Adam knew no sin, and was full of intelligence at the very beginning of him being created as a man. Adam loved his Father, which was God, and what God had did, is he just finished creating his creation, and then proclaimed the seventh day as being holy, for he sanctified it. Adam knew that his Father proclaimed the seventh day as holy, so what would Adam do, being in state of perfect love ? He would have cared about what his Father thought about things, for love cares, and if his Father proclaimed a day as being holy, Adam would have followed suit, for why wouldn’t Adam hallow the Sabbath if his HeavenlyFather did so ??? It is not a matter of would he, but rather it is a matter of, why wouldn’t he ?????? And remember that Adam was in a perfect state of love, Adam would have just naturally, have honoured his Heavenly Father !!!!!!! And notice something very neat, and the neat thing is, that right now, I will show forth what the 4 th and 5 th commandments are, of the 10 commandments. Exodus 20:8-12 (8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: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.12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.) Now of course all men are called to honour their physical father and mother, but also we are called to honour our Heavenly Father, and Adam before the fall would have naturally honoured his Father, in more ways than one, and is it a coincidencethat the commandment of honouring your mother and father comes right after the commandment of the Sabbath ??????? I believe that there is no coincidences here. Now some might say, then if Adam obeyed the Sabbath, then why did not God give it more as a commandment, rather than just as an example to follow ??? Well , Adam, in a perfect state of love, did not need any prompting, in order to obey the Sabbath, all he needed to know, is how important it was to his Father, thus he would have automatically followed suit, for he honoured the Father !!!!!!! And here is another scripture to think upon. Galatians 5:22-23 (22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.) Adam was in a perfect state of love, so he did not need a law to prompt him to obedience here, for he loved the Father !!!!!!! WOW !!! WOW !!! WOW !! Now did Adam need to keep the Sabbath, knowing that he was in a perfect state ??? Well, even though he was in a perfect state, and did not get tired like us when he worked, does not mean that he did not need any rest of some kind, which in his state of perfect love, probably still would have needed rejuvenation to his body, in someway or form, and now under sin, we definitely need a physical day of rest, why ??? So to rejuvenate our bodies, and even the land needs rejuvenation, for God says to rest the land every 7 years. Do not tell me that the Sabbath is not a need !!!!!!!

For it is !!!!!!! Well others might say that, well maybe Adam before the fall may have kept the Sabbath, but what about after the fall , we hear of nothing concerning the Sabbath, that is until the time of Moses ??? Well what I believe happened, was this, is that Adam kept the Sabbath before the fall, and who knows maybe even after the fall, but as time went on, people began to forget about the Sabbath, for a man’s conscience can be seared, and eventually itwas wholly forgotten, therefore God needing to bring it back again to man, which his first reason for man to keep the Sabbath, was as a result of him doing so, and when he brought it back to man, it took Israel to go into slavery, deep slavery, in orderfor God, to be able to bring it back to them, which his second reason, for bringing the Sabbath back to man, was because he had compassion on them, and saw the need, thus set them free from Egyptian bondage, and God wanted them to rememberthis, and of course we have to also remember the promises that God had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So God at first said it verbally about him sanctifying the Sabbath, and then he brought it in writing, which he wrote the 10 commandments on tablets, so that men would not forget, and so that men would have a reference to go to, and of course theyalso wrote God’s laws on parchments back then, or whatever the paper of the day was. Man needed God’s law in writing, so that he does not forget what his law is, for a conscience can be seared. So another thing men might say, concerning the Sabbath, is of course, as we said before, that God only gave the Sabbath to the Jews, as a result of God delivering them from Egyptian bondage, but I have a question concerning this, so are you saying,that under the old covenant, that the Gentiles were not required to keep the Sabbath ??? Because what I am about to show, will surprise some. Exodus 12:48-49 (48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised personshall eat thereof.49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.) Gentiles , which in this case is called a stranger, if he wanted to serve God, he had to become as a Jew, and follow all the laws of God, there was no exception. So obviously the Sabbath was given for all men, and not just to the Jew, otherwise, the stranger who came to God under the old covenant, should not have been bound to obey the Sabbath, but the truth is, he was bound to keepthe whole law, under old covenant times. God shows no preferences. And God has never shown preferences. Men of every nation, under old covenant times, had to look to Israel, for they had the covenant of God, and was given the sacrificial system of God, etc , etc ,etc. So we can clearly now say that, all doubts, concerning who the Sabbath was given to , and when ; have all been vanquished, and if not in your case, then you need a miracle, and nothing will convince you of anything. So now we get to the next question concerning the Sabbath, what was it all about ? Well this question won’t take very long to answer. Well here is a scripture. Exodus 20:8-11 (8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: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.) So what was the Sabbath day all about ? Well it was to be a day of physical rest, but also a day to be kept as an holy day, and if it is to be kept as an holy day, than obviously there shall be a type of holy activity that peoplepartake in, which it is a day of whole heartedly adoring, worshipping, and seeking the Lord’s face through prayer and such like things. And here is one of the things which Jesus did on the Sabbath. Luke 4:16 (16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.) So on the Sabbath, it was Jesus’ custom to read the word.

And it is important for us, to hear the reading of the word, and also hear it being preached and expounded. Leviticus 23:2-3 (2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.3 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.) So on the seventh day there was to be an holy convocation, what is an holy convocation ??? Here is a comment, from this person named Gill on the program called E-Sword. (Gill) (an holy convocation; when the people were called to holy exercises, to pray and praise, and hear the word, and offer sacrifice:) Now this is what the Strong’s concordance says: (Strong’s concordance) (H4744 מקרא

miqra'

mik-raw'

From H7121; something called out, that is, a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the palce); also a rehearsal: - assembly, calling, convocation, reading.)

It was a time of seeking God’s face and of blessing the Lord, to were a time is fully set aside for the Lord, and isn’t God worth setting aside some time for ???????

Now some say that the Sabbath is only a day of physical rest and not a day of assembling to worship the Lord, but here in the scripture we have quoted, it disproves that and if that is not enough, then let us go unto our next scripture.

Isaiah 66:23 (23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.) Now this is talking about the millennial reign, which is when the 7 th day Sabbath shall be reinstituted (by saying this , you are probably seeing more of what my view on the subject is) , and notice God calls all men to come andworship him on the Sabbath, and notice it says : “all flesh” !!!!!!! Where do all these views come from, of the Sabbath not being for all men, and the Sabbath only being a physical day of rest and so forth ??? I truly believe, whether the person means well or not, that it is coming forth from the works of the flesh, often times provoked by something a person may not like in the scriptures. So now that we have covered what the Sabbath is, now let us get to our next question. What was to be done and not done on that day? Well, let us go back to the book of Exodus. Exodus 20:8-11 (8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

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.) Well the word Sabbath means: “rest”, and the Sabbath was a day of rest, but also, it was a day to be kept holy , which resulted in having holy convocations, therefore coming before God in worship, adoration, prayer etc. And as we have seen in Luke 4:16, it was also a day were the word would be shared, which it was Jesus’ custom to read the word every Sabbath. Now how about we get into this Luke scripture, but mentioning Luke 4:16-29. Luke 4:16-29 (16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty themthat are bruised,19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.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.21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.) Now notice what it says, it says for one thing that, Jesus stood up for to read , and it was delivered unto him the book of Isaiah , and he read a scripture, in the book of Isaiah, then closed the book and gave to the minister, and afterwards Jesus beganto expound on that scripture and then while preaching mentioned other scriptures, and the people of the synagogue got so angry that they wanted to throw him off a hill, so they might cast him headlong. Now notice how it says that, he gave the book back to the minister. Now the word minister in the bible means many things, it refers to someone ministering through the preaching and teaching of the word, it refers to ministering to people by meeting a person’s need, also it refers sometimes of someone being aminister in the realm of being an apostle or pastor, and it also refers to someone ministering in the gifts that God has given them, and of course serving other people etc. But in the case of Luke 4:29, it refers to a minister, in the sense to where he was a keeper of the books of the bible; he took care of these documents. And here is a comment on this: (Barnes) (Luke 4:20 And he closed the book – That is, he rolled it up again. See the notes at Luk 4:17.And he gave it again to the minister- That is, to the one in the synagogue who had charge of the books. The word means “servant”, and the office was not much unlike that of a sexton now.It was his duty, among other things, to take charge of the books, to hand them to the reader of the law, and then return them to their place.And sat down- This was usual in speaking in their synagogues. See the notes at Mat 5:1.Were fastened on him- Were intently fixed on him, waiting to see what explanation he would give of the words.) So now we will mention a scripture concerning God commanding holy convocations on the Sabbath. Leviticus 23:2-3 (2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.3 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.) Now I know we already covered this scripture, but I am just reiterating it. And of course it shows in Isaiah 66:23, which is in the millennial reign time, that all flesh shall come to worship God on the Sabbath. So we have covered what was to be done , as concerns holy activity on the Sabbath, so now let us cover the work that could be done via the physical realm on the Sabbath and the work that was notallowed to be done on the Sabbath.

And, let us first cover things we already covered in this study, in order, so we can lay these issues aside, and then get unto other issues. And we already talked about the issue of the manna (Exodus 16:25-29), which was a commandment given for forty years (Exo 16:35), to were God had said that he would pour out manna for 6 days but on the 7 th there wouldbe none, and this commandment was given so to try their hearts, so to see if they would obey him or not (Exodus 16:4) . It was not a commandment given for all time, but just for that time, and it was not that God was against them picking manna on the Sabbath, but rather the issue God had with them, was with their unbelief, to where they didnot trust God’s report of not pouring manna on the Sabbath, therefore going on the Sabbath to pick some, for absolutely no reason. God was not against the Israelies picking food on the Sabbath, for in the new testament, he allowed Jesus’ disciples to pluck ears of corn on the Sabbath, and showed that it was not against his Sabbath, even though the Pharisees falsely accused themof going against the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28). So picking or plucking food, itself was not against God’s Sabbath. And also we have already covered the fact that healing someone on the Sabbath, was not against God’s holy Sabbath (Luke 6:7-11). So here are 2 issues covered concerning things not to do and things to do on the Sabbath, which in these cases it is false rules that men tried to add to the Sabbath. Now let us go on. Now at this moment, I want to cover more scriptures , side by side.

Exodus 16:23 (23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbathunto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that whichremaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.) Numbers 15:32-36 (32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon thesabbath day.33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone himwith stones without the camp.36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORDcommanded Moses.) Exodus 35:3 (3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day

Leviticus 24:3-9 (3 Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening untothe morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.4 He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offeringmade by fire unto the LORD.8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel byan everlasting covenant.9 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of theofferings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.) Numbers 28:9-10 (9 And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meatoffering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof:10 This is the burnt offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.)

Now the scriptures from Exodus 16:23 , Numbers 15:32-36 and Exodus 35:3 , which are on the left side, point to things that the Lord did not want the people to do on the Sabbath, yet the scriptures of Leviticus 24:3-9 andNumbers 28:9-10, point to things that the Lord wanted the Levitical priests, in their respective roles, to do on the Sabbath. Now let us go unto a certain scripture, which would go along with the priestly work verses. Matthew 12:5 (5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?) And here is a commentary on this scripture, which would go along with Leviticus 24:3-9 , and Numbers 28:9-10. (Barnes)

(Matthew 12:4-5 How he entered into the house of God - That is, the “tabernacle,” the temple not being then built.Have ye not read in the law? - In the law, or in the books of Moses.Profane the Sabbath - He referred them to the conduct of the priests also. On the Sabbath days they were engaged, as well as on other days, in killing beasts for sacrifice, Num_28:9-10. Two lambs were killed on the Sabbath, in addition to thedaily sacrifice. The priests must be engaged in killing them, and making fires to burn them in sacrifice, whereas to kindle a fire was expressly forbidden the Jews on the Sabbath, Exo_35:3. They did that which, for other persons to do, would havebeen “profaning” the Sabbath. Yet they were blameless. They did what was necessary and commanded. This was done in the very temple, too, the place of holiness, where the law should be most strictly observed.) So the priests , surely could kindled a fire in the tabernacle of that time, for they needed a fire, so to burn the lambs as a sacrifice, but not only for that, they also needed a fire for the sake of baking twelve cakes, and some fires in the temple, had tobe kept in a continuous burning state . So fires in the temple of back then (the tabernacle), could be kindled, and if they would have ran out of wood, they would have had no choice but to get some, in order to keep some fires in a continuous burning state. And notice what Exodus 35:3 says, it says that ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath , notice it says: “ throughout your habitations” !!! habitations !!! habitations !!! It says nothing about kindling a fire outside your habitations or in the tabernacle, just throughout your habitations. Now concerning the baking or seething issue, it mentions in Exodus 16:23 , that, to bake and seethe the day before the Sabbath and not on the Sabbath, yet in Leviticus 24:5 , it permited the priests to bake twelve cakes on the Sabbath. Why were the priests permitted, yet the people in general were not ??? Well there may be many reasons.

And I will get into these reasons, right after I talk about the stick man. Now this is what it says about the stick man.

Numbers 15:32-36 (32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.)

Now some Israelites found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day, and they brought him to Moses and Aaron and unto all the congregation, and they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him, and God saidto put him to death. So upon first catching him picking sticks , they did not automatically know what to do with him , maybe it was because they did not know why he did so, and of course if a priest ran out of wood or sticks for the sake of the tabernacle fires, he wouldhave had no choice but to gather sticks , so to keep the fires continually burning , which he would have been guiltless, but this most likely was not a priest, and obviously his motive in picking the sticks was wrong , and God who knows all hearts, sawthe reason, so therefore God gave a declaration to kill him. God sees the hearts and remember the commandment was only given to not kindle a fire throughout their habitations and nowhere else !!!!!!! I truly believe that, there was a spiritual meaning behind the habitations vs the tabernacle (the temple of back then). And I believe there was also a spiritual meaning behind the work in the habitations as regarding the fire and baking, and the work done in the tabernacle. The work in the habitations regarding the fire and baking represented man’s works (works of the flesh, sin nature) , and the work in the tabernacle represented God’s work (what he presently does in us , under the new covenant). The habitations represents us trying to save ourselves by our works, but the tabernacle represented for us to become a new creature in Christ Jesus, and that is what the work of the tabernacle represented in big , what Jesus was going to do for us,

and in us. The fire in the habitations, represented a strange fire, such as the vineyard movement of today, which they laugh theirs heads off, barks like dogs, howl like wolves etc, but the fire in the tabernacle, represented the fire of God , the fire of the HolyGhost !!!!!!! Which God’s fire brings regeneration, revival fires, repentance etc. And here is another interesting point, let us go to a scripture.

Exodus 40:34-38 (34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.) I read in other scriptures, that the Jews had this cloud by day and fire by night, at the very beginning of their exodus from Egypt , even before the tabernacle was made, and it shows that they had this cloud and fire throughouttheir journeys, and of course later on, as Joshua conquered lands, you eventually no longer hear about this fire and cloud anymore. This cloud by day and fire by night, was only for a time, as the manna was for a time. Now is one of the reasons why God did not want them to kindle fire throughout their habitations, on the Sabbath, was because they would have had enough fire, through God’s fire at the time, which could have lit up all theirhabitations, and of course was there to lead them by night as well ??????? One thing I do know is this, that God shall provide for all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. And I believe that at the time, God’s fire and the tabernacle fires, and any fire that could have been made outside the habitations, would have been enough, and who knows, maybe God’s fire by night would have even beenenough to warm them up, if need be, and I do not see why not ??? So knowing that there are all these fires, what need is there for other fires ??? Is not God enough ??????? And maybe that is what God’s fire by night represented, which was God being enough !!!!!!! Spiritually speaking, under the new testament, we do not need strange fires, we only need God, which he pours his fire in us, and through us. And under the new covenant, we are now all priests, and under the old covenant, priests were able to bake, keep fire burning and so forth, which they were doing the work of the Lord, so therefore does that apply for us todayalso, as being priests ??? Well one thing is certain, is that God’s fire and the other fires were sufficient for all their needs back then, which showed that they did not need fires in their habitations on the Sabbath, which would have possibly been too muchanyways , and remember that God provides for our needs and not our greeds. And another thing we have to consider is this, what happened after God took away his fire by night ??????? What then ??????? Something would have been missing, wouldn’t it ??????? And you no longer hear about these fire, baking , seething , no picking manna on the Sabbath because of their not being any, commandments any longer. These commandments are no longer mentioned, after the Exodus, now I do not say that remnants of these commandments aren’t still in effect, such as if you pick sticks for the sake of work, and if you bake goods for the sake ofselling them on the Sabbath, as we will see, but as far as not kindling fire throughout the habitations, when at that time God’s fire and the other fires would have been enough, no doubt would no longer apply to it’s fullness,because when God’s fire by night was gone from them, then what fire would have replaced this fire ??????? If this fire is gone, then you obviously need a replacement, thus obviously some fires would have had to be burning throughout their habitations, after that God removed his fire by night , or else they would not have been able tosee, and they would have had a hard time seeing were they were going at night !!!!!!!

Remember that God meets every need, when it is needed, and not when it is not needed. And another interesting point, concerning the stick man is this, first let us go back to that scripture. Numbers 15:32-36 (32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.) Like I said before, Moses etc, did not know what to do with this stick guy, yet God who sees the heart, did know what to do with him, which was to have him killed, and could his reason of picking sticks on the Sabbath be becausefor one thing, he wanted to kindle a fire in his habitation, and thought that God’s fire and the other allowed fires was not enough ??? The stick guy wanted more, thus it would have resulted in more than what was needed, thuslust and greed was creeping in, and the next scripture, will show us an example of this. Numbers 11:30-34 (30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.31 And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it weretwo cubits high upon the face of the earth.32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.) So here God caused for quail to be brought to the Jews, but some took way more than was needed, in fact way too much, to where they got greedy and were full of lust, and God got so angry at them that he smote them with avery great plague, and as a result the Israelites buried the people that lusted. So the commandments of not kindling a fire in the habitations, not picking manna on the Sabbath ,because of none being fallen on that day, not seething or baking, and the stick commandment which was really intertwined withthe not kindling fire commandment,was mainly for that period of time, while they were in the desert. And now of course we are priests, and the priests back then baked, kindled a fire, and were doing the work of the Lord, well what are we doing today ??? We, as priests are doing the work of the Lord, so why couldn’t we bake,kindle a fire etc. ??????? And remember that when God’s fire by night, was removed, they needed fire in their habitations, for they needed some light in order to see. And if you understand God’s heart, then you will know that God always provided every need, when needed, and not when not needed. And of course the commandments that God gave to the Levites concerning the tabernacle, were to remain throughout the old covenant, because it was the Lord’s work. So now what about our next scripture ??? Exodus 20:8-11 (8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: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.) Now it says in verse 10 “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy strangerthat is within thy gates:” This commandment for the Sabbath no doubt has always been in effect, throughout the old covenant , and is it under the new covenant ? Well we will get to that later. Now what was the not doing any work commandment all about ??? Well it did not include the work that God had the priests do, nor did it include the disciples plucking corn on the Sabbath, nor did it include Jesus healing, but it does include things such as for one thing, letting the people rest fromtheir usual labour they normally do during the week, and it also says to let your cattle , or animal rest from their work, which the cattle was used for plowing the land, through pulling these type of carts I guess, so the land can befertile, and another example of resting animals would be to letting cows rest from being milked for a milk factory, or business purposes etc. , and as concerning the manservant or maidservant, it would be to let them rest fromthe up keep of the house, or the usual house hold chores they would daily do, and for the fact also that they need to rest from their paid work, and concerning people in general, it could be resting from mowing the lawn, whetherfor a business or not for a business, and resting from doing the laundry, or picking blueberries for the sake of selling them. And the next scriptures will define things in a greater way.

So let us get into commandments, that do not have an opposite to it, to where they are commandments that are part of the Sabbath, in a very defined way, which were commandments to be kept throughout the old testament. Nehemiah 13:15-18 (15 In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbathday: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.) So these peticular people here, were treading wine presses, bringing in sheaves and lading asses etc, for the sake of bringing their stuff on the Sabbath to sell, and later in these scriptures, we read that they sold victuals and menof Tyre brought fish and all manner of ware and sold on the Sabbath, and Nehemiah which was a man of God, testified against them, and called what they were doing a burden, and told the nobles of Judah, what evil thing is thisthat ye do, and profane the Sabbath ? What the children of Judah were doing is buying the stuff the people sold on the Sabbath. And in Nehemiah verse 18 , we read an interesting phrase of , did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us. I have looked at many commentaries concerning this phrase, and could find no satisfactory answerconcerning an example of this, but obviously, their fathers of past time did like wise, to some degree. Now was it wrong to buy victuals etc. on the Sabbath ??? Nehemiah 10:31 (31 And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of everydebt.) Yes it was, for Nehemiah says not to buy from the people who sell ware on the Sabbath, why ??? Well for one thing it is encouraging them to work on the Sabbath, plain and simple. The Sabbath is a day of physical rest from the labour we do during the week. So now let us cover other verses which show things which could be done on the Sabbath which is not considered work, according to God. John 7:22-23(22 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.23 If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?) So a person under the old covenant, could be circumcised, and it would not be against the Sabbath. Luke 13:14-16 (14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not onthe sabbath day.15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?) Of course it is always right to let your animals go get a drink of water, and feed them on the Sabbath, for God provides for their need as well. 2 Kings 11:4-9 (4 And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in thehouse of the LORD, and shewed them the king's son.5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house;6 And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.7 And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.8 And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.9 And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came toJehoiada the priest.) Now people guarding certain places, such as the King’s house and the Lord’s house, was not against God’s commandment of not doing any work, and spiritually speaking it could represent us doing spiritual warfare, but in aphysical way, in our modern times, it would point to policemen, and people who have such like jobs, in the realm of keeping things in check, otherwise if there would be no cops, things would be chaotic, so on the Sabbath,policemen are needed for it is an emergency on any day, for to keep the peace in our public places etc.

So someone who has a policemen job, would not break the Sabbath , for we need guard like people, to keep the peace, otherwise everything would be imbalanced and chaotic. Now to one who is a cop and a Christian, I believe that they should work part of the day in their cop job, but look to have some part of the day off, because the Sabbath is an holy day, and what holy day Sabbath do I believe in ???Well you will see later on. So obviously, it is becoming more clear that I do believe in a Sabbath, but which Sabbath ??? Well as I said, we will see. Luke 6:9-10 (9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.) The Sabbath day is a day of doing good, of saving lives, and examples of saving lives, is of course saving a life ourselves if need be, but in the realm of jobs, it would be referring to doctors, nurses, firemen, policemen, and in somecases search and rescue, things that concern an emergency. So we need emergency services to be open on the Sabbath, for the sake of lives being saved, but as a Christian, your goal should not be to work for money on that day, but if they pay you, then that is them, but your goal shouldnot be making money, but rather saving lives. And you should still seek to assemble on that day, on some part of that day, if you are a nurse, fireman etc. , for it is an holy day. Now things concerning buying and selling , should not be open on the Sabbath, such as corner stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, for Nehemiah says not to sell or buy on the Sabbath. Some might say, well I do not have much food in my house, on the day of rest, therefore I have to go to the grocery store. Well first of all what is one day, with not much food, you won’t die, and the grocery store will be open the next day, and even so what ever happened to neighbourly love, which when I was a kid, grocery stores were closed butcorner stores were still open, and my mom and her neighbour would exchange items, such as borrow eggs etc. , and not long after, while still being a kid, groceries eventually opened, on what the Roman calendar calls Sunday. And these neighbourly exchanges, gradually faded to were today, it is practically non-existent, what happened ??? A day of rest is actually good for many things, which it rejuvenates the body, and provides an opportunity to show neighbourly love. So now we have seen what the work that is against the Sabbath is, and what the work that is not against the Sabbath is. So now we get into our final question, concerning the 7 th day Sabbath, and afterwards we will get into our final question as regards the Lord’s day.

Was it completely done away with under the new covenant?

Is there still a day of rest under the new covenant ??? Was it done away with , and if not , then , what was done away ??? Well, let us go unto scriptures. Here is our first scripture. Mark 10:17-20 (17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.) Some people try to use this, so to say that, because Jesus only mentioned 6 of the 10 commandments here, and never mentioned the Sabbath, therefore the Sabbath no longer being needed under the new covenant. Well first all, people, why are you trying to delete one of God’s 10 commandments anyways ??? Is one of the reasons, because you do not want a day of rest !!!!!!! Is money more important to you than God !!!!!!! And anyhow, if you start using this argument, then you have to apply this argument to the 3 other commandments, Jesus did not mention , such as thou shalt have no other God’s before him , Not to make any idols etc., whichwould be ridiculous. And the bible says this:

Matthew 7:2 (2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.) Now I know that these are strong words, but when we judge a matter, we have to make sure that we are judging according to the word, or according to righteous judgment (Joh 7:24), and not according to the flesh, or our ownformulated mindset. And I know that some might say, well the Matthew scripture is talking about judging a person and not matters, and yes this is true, but often times, when you judge a matter in a certain way, it will eventually show up as a judgment upon a person,for you will eventually proclaim this belief or thought, and it will either be according to righteous judgment, or according to the works of the flesh, and in the case of Matthew, it is referring to judging according to the flesh. And anyhow, concerning our main issue here, this is what Jesus said “thou knowest the commandments”. This rich young ruler as he is often called, knew the commandments, so Jesus did not have to mention all of them, why??? Because he already knew them !!!!!!!! Jesus was only mentioning a few, so that the rich young ruler, would know what he was talking about, Jesus was not going against any of his Father’s 10 commandments here, for if he would have, he would have said so. And anyhow, at this point, Jesus still hadn’t fulfilled the law yet, and here he was bringing the people from law to grace, while still yet being under the law. Jesus obeyed the Sabbath, while under the law, and the law required to keep the Sabbath. Galatians 4:4-5 (4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.) So Jesus was born of a woman, yet made under the law. And during Jesus’ time it was a transitional period, from law to grace. Jesus during his lifetime, even mentions the Sabbath. Mark 2:27-28 (27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.) He says that he, not man is Lord of the Sabbath, he did not deny the Sabbath, he just showed that he was Lord of it !!!!!!! And now we go to our next verse. Matthew 5:17-20 (17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.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 ofheaven.20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.) Jesus did not come to destroy any of God’s laws, but rather he came to fulfil his laws, and he came to fulfil the prophets. Now in what way did Jesus come to fulfil the law and the prophets ??????? Well he came to fulfil these things in many ways, and first of all, let us deal with the prophets side of things. How did Jesus fulfil the prophets ??? He fulfilled the prophets, by being a fulfilment of their prophecies, such as the virgin birth (Isa 7:14) , Christ receiving stripes (Isa 53:5) , being born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2) , pierced through hands and feet (Psa 22:16) , etc. Now how did he fulfil the law ???

Well for one thing, in order for him to be a fulfiller of the law, he first had to be obedient to the law, he had to become a perfect law keeper and not a law breaker, otherwise he would not have been a perfect lamb upon the cross.He had to be a perfect law keeper, in order to become a perfect sacrifice on the cross, otherwise he would have sinned against his Father’s law, therefore would not have been a perfect sacrifice. And upon dying on the cross, for the sin of mankind, and being a perfect sacrifice on the cross, because of being a perfect law keeper ; he was then able to be the fulfiller of the law, in the sense of what all the feast days pointed to,which he became the atoner for sins (day of atonement) , he became the passover lamb (the day of the Passover) , etc. , but in a living way. And yes in a sense he became our Sabbath, which means rest, for our spiritual rest is in Christ, but in saying this, does that mean that this automatically means that there is no physical day of rest ??? Is the rest, just a spiritual rest ??? Or is it a complete rest, a complete rest for the whole man, body , soul and spirit ??????? See a lot of people use the argument of, that if Jesus is our spiritual rest (our Sabbath), then that automatically means that, there is no day of rest, but why does it have to automatically mean this ??? Why can’t there be both ??? It is almost like they do not want a day of rest, which is very strange !!! As I said before, Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfil, and we have to remember that the Sabbath was part of the 10 commandments, but the other feasts, such as Passover, day of atonement etc. , were not part ofthe 10 commandments. God says that not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the law till all be fulfilled ,and the truth is, is that, that is totally true, and yes the overall feast days, are no longer for the new testament church, but that does “not” mean thatthey will be gone forever, as we will see. And also God says that if we break one of these least commandments, and teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven ??? Do you want to be the least in the kingdom of God ??? And remember that the least means, like the last people, but what if you break more than one of the least of the commandments, and teach men so, were will you be then ??? People do not mess around with God’s word, when you know a truth, stand on it, and remember who your righteousness is, which it is Christ Jesus. And now we go to verse 20 , which says :”… That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Well you know what, the Pharisees righteousness was actually as filthy rags, but on the other hand, they added so many laws to God’s law, that it was extremely burdensome, and they tried to obey the law to the letter, but withtheir own additions to it, well we do not need their form of righteousness, for our righteousness does exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, for our righteousness, is the perfect law keeper, which is Christ Jesus. So now, we will go unto another scripture, which people try to use so to say that the Sabbath day commandment, is no longer. Romans 13:8-10 (8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in thissaying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.) Now here, because it only mentions 5 of the 10 commandments, which did not include the Sabbath, they say that this automatically means that there is no longer a Sabbath. But why does it have to automatically mean that ??? Because this argument, in and of itself, absolutely makes no sense. Well then ok then, let’s use this argument. So if it automatically means that there is no longer a Sabbath, then you should include the commandment of honouring your father and mother, and also you should include, not taking the Lord’s name in vain. Some will say, well we cannot remove these commandments, well if you cannot remove these commandments which are not mentioned in Romans 13:9, then why remove the Sabbath ??? I got to ask you a question, do you hate the Sabbath ??? Is it because it would interfere with your life style, that you show so much disdain for it, wouldn’t you want to honour God, in this fashion ??? And what was Paul doing here ??? He was simply mentioning only some of the 10 commandments, because most knew what they were. Now we go to our next scripture that is used to try to demolish the Sabbath. Acts 15:24-31 (24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:31 Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.) So there was certain people, who were telling others, that “they must be circumcised, and keep the law of Moses”, which in response was said that: ”to whom we gave no such commandment”. So a declaration was made, which it says to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things ; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which ifye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. No notice something, is that a lot of what is covered here, is talking about things forbidden in the realm of eating, such as the eating of meats offered to idols, from blood, and things strangled. And under the law, there was laws of only eating clean meats and not unclean meats (Leviticus 11:1-47), but under the new testament, all meats have been cleansed, so no meat is forbidden (1 Timothy 4:4-5). And it makes it clear here, that the only things under the new covenant, forbidden in the realm of eating, is what it says here : “ meats offered to idols, blood, and things strangled”, and nothing else, so the ones trying to put thelaws of only certain meats being able to be eaten, on people, were wrong in doing so, for it is very clear here, even clear as crystal. So the part of eating, was covered here, and then we get to the other thing that they said to abstain from, which was fornication. Here is what the word fornication here, means in the Greek. (Strong’s concordance) (G4202 πορνεία

porneia

por-ni'-ah

From G4203; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively idolatry: - fornication.

Total KJV occurrences: 26)

So we can see that, the word fornication has many meanings, and one meaning is the word adultery, which is part of the 10 commandments ,and this word fornication would really fall under 4 of the 10 commandments, which is : “thou shalt notcommit adultery”, and also: “thou shalt not covet”, but also in the definitions up above, it mentions the word “idolatry”, which another of the 10 commandments is “thou shalt have no other God’s before me”, and to not “make any idols”.

So this word fornication, in it’s full meaning, would cover 4 of the 10 commandments, and as concerning the commandment of “not having any other gods before him”, well if you “do” have another god before you , then it is an idol to you.

So the word fornication here, covers sexual sins, and spiritual sins, in the sense of one’s heart departing from the living God, unto something else.

So the argument would be, that, so the Sabbath was not mentioned here, therefore we do not have to obey the Sabbath.

Well the commandment of honouring your father and mother, was not mentioned here, so does that mean that we no longer have to honour our father and mother ??? And the commandment of “thou shalt not murder” was not mentioned here,therefore does that mean we can murder now ???

This argument itself, is really silly, and it is used as a preference of commandments argument, which we should love all of God’s commandments.

And if you abstain from fornication in the sense of spiritual fornication, nothing will be an idol unto you, and you will love God, you will want to honour him, and if he wants you to honour a day, you will honour that day, that is what love does, is itcares about the things of God.

Now what a lot of these certain people, were trying to do, is to influence the people of the church, to obey all the ceremonial laws, such as having to be circumcised, the laws of unclean and clean meats, the feast days, and possibly even the Leviticalpriest laws.

And that there was salvation in these things, which in truth there is no salvation in these things, and neither is there salvation, in the 10 commandments.

Salvation is in a person, which is in the person of Jesus Christ.

And under new covenant times, circumcision as a form of binding law, is no longer.

Galatians 5:2-4 (2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.) Circumcision under the old covenant was a sign of separation, that is being separate unto God, and now it is no longer a physical circumcision, but rather a spiritual circumcision, for Christ fulfilled the law for righteousness, andunder the old covenant, they could not be completely cleansed of their sins, in their consciences, but now you can, and physical circumcision pointed to the one, which would eventually bring a spiritual circumcision, which was thetrue circumcision. It is like this, one was the emblem, and the other was the reality of that emblem. And it is also the same with the feast days, one was an emblem, and the other was the reality of that emblem. Romans 2:28-29 (28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.) I think this verse explains things quite well concerning circumcision. So is the 10 commandments still for today, do we still need to know what sin is ??? Romans 7:7-12 (7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.) The law is not sin, for we still need to know what sin is, and it says that the law is holy just and good. Obviously this is talking about the moral law of God, which is the 10 commandments. These 10 commandments were not the ceremonial laws of God, but rather the moral laws of God. Now let us go unto something interesting as regards the ark of the covenant. The Ark of the Covenant Now concerning the ark, there were cherubims on it, and below the cherubims was the mercy seat, but inside the ark itself, was Aaron’s rod, some manna, and the 2 tablets which contained the 10 commandments. Hebrews 9:4-5 (4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.)

Notice what was put in the Ark, it was the manna, Aaron’s rod, and the tables of the 10 commandments, and nothing else was put therein, why only these things ??????? Why not all the parchments which contained all the feast days, and the Levitical duties etc. ??? Well for one thing, the feast days and Levitical duties were part of the ceremonial laws of God, which would be fulfilled in Christ, and of course on the parchments, there were also all types of different ordinances. But what was put in the ark, it was not laws written by the hand of man on parchments or scrolls (even though still given by God) , but rather it was the moral law of God, directly written by his hand, which showed how muchgreat importance there was to these commandments. I may not know every reason why only these things were put in the ark, but man, there are great significances to these things. The 10 commandments, were the moral laws of God, which showed man what sin was, and the manna pointed to Christ, which he is our bread of life, and Aaron’s rod which budded, pointed to the priesthood, which under thenew covenant we are all priests, and our high priest is Jesus Christ, and no longer some man of the Levitical priestly order. And there were times were the high priest would pour out blood, on the mercy seat, which pointed to the blood of the lamb. The cherubims were on top of the mercy seat looking down, and when they looked down, it pointed to them seeing the law, but when the blood was poured on the mercy seat, the cherubims would see the blood, so the bloodwashes all our sins away, and covers us from the 10 commandments, or our short comings thereof, that is all the 10 commandments, for it was all the 10 commandments that were in the ark, and the representations of the arkitself shows this, it does not show any deleted commandments, it shows the blood covering them all !!!!!!! So now that we have covered the ark of the covenant, let us go unto other issues. Let us go unto our next scripture. Romans 14:2-6 (2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord heeateth not, and giveth God thanks.) First, we will deal with what it says in verse 2. It says that one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs, then it goes on to say, let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not, and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth, for Godhath received him. Now notice, it says that he who is weak, eateth herbs. So it is showing that one believeth that he may eat all things, and in truth, we can eat of any meat, for all meats have be cleansed under the new covenant. 1Timothy 4:1-5 (1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.) And there are other scriptures concerning this, but I specifically chose this scripture for a reason. And it shows that commanding to abstain from meats, is actually a doctrine of devils, under the new covenant, and it is not that the law of clean and unclean beasts, of the old covenant, was not good, but rather that it was a lawfor back then, until Christ would come and fulfil the law, and yes there may have been a type of dietary law, to these laws, but under the new covenant, they are no longer binding. And also the clean beasts in a sense pointed to righteousness, and the unclean pointed to sin, which in Christ Jesus we are free from sin, and he is our righteousness. So now we get unto the weak brother, who has a type of belief or mindset, to where he only eats herbs. Where does this weak brother get his mindset of only eating herbs ??? Well it is possible that he may have read how Adam and Eve only ate herbs, vegetables and fruit at the beginning, or he may have read of the clean and unclean beasts, and gotconfused, and just opted to have a mindset of only eating herbs, but whatever the case, it says to the weak brother, to not judge him that eateth.

So notice the different terms, it says to the strong brother, to not despise him that eateth not, and to the weak brother, to not judge him that eateth.. To not despise, and to not judge, are two different things. Now in both, it is talking of a form of judgment, and on the strong brother’s side, it is talking about looking down at a weak brother, who only eats herbs, and having resentment towards him or her, because they do not eat meat like you do, whichwould produce a type of pride and self-righteousness, and you would be judging their hearts’ motive, of why they do so, which is not right to do. Now on the weaker brother’s side, it is the weaker brother judging the stronger brother in a way, to where they would impose, their mindset of not eating meats, on the stronger brother, which would be wrong, for the bible shows that all meats havebeen cleansed under the new covenant, and if these weaker brothers keep on pushing things, then they would eventually fall under our next scripture, which says: Galatians 5:4 (4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.) But if the weaker brother, just observes his law, unto himself, and does not try to bind it on others, then there is nothing wrong with that, but in the end, stronger brothers in the Lord, should seek to share, with them gradually,verses which show that all meats are cleansed, and nothing to be refused, under the new covenant, for that would be the right thing to do, and in time, I believe that the brother or sister, would follow suit. Otherwise, if they (the weak) go unto trying to bind it on others, they (the weak) would eventually, themselves, fall from grace. So do not despise your brother, but love him, encourage him, be patient with him, but also show him the truth, amen!!!!!!! So now let us go back to our scripture in Romans, which talks about the weaker brother that eats herbs, but this time we will cover the part, that talks about days. Romans 14:2-6 (2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord heeateth not, and giveth God thanks.) So it says that one man esteemeth a day above another. What is esteeming a day above another ??? It is just simply, adding more importance to one day, over the other day, saying that that day is superior to another, and in truth, no day is superior to another, all days themselves, are equal with God,for God has made every day, and every day is a day unto the Lord. Now, did not God have all kinds of specific holy days, under the old covenant ??? Of course he did, and they were not negative days, but are no longer binding under the new covenant. And here, it is obvious, that it was dealing with issues, that concerned, the holy days of God under the old covenant, for people were transitioning from law to grace, and probably had a hard time with not keeping the feast days,because of being use to keeping them, and in and of themselves, keeping God’s holy days was not wrong to do, and why would it be ??? Keeping them, in a way to remember what they pointed to, was not what was wrong, what was wrong, or would have been wrong, is the imposing of these days on people, when they are no longer to be kept as a must, any more. So the weak person made certain days (the holy days of God, such as Passover, day of atonement etc.) , to be superior over other days, and the strong, esteemed every day alike, which means every day was a day unto the Lord, and we serve Godevery day !!!!!!! Now yes the weak should serve God every day, and I do not doubt they do, but they put extra importance concerning certain days, which in truth, there is no extra importance on certain days, in and of themselves. Are not God’s holy days, important to God ??? Absolutely yes, and in the millennial reign, he will reinstate them, but for now, under the new covenant, we just look to him who became these days, in a living way, which is Christ. So the weak count certain days superior to others, and regard or observe those days, and the strong know that they do not need to observe the holy days of the old covenant, for he is under grace, and yet both can glorify God in doing so, or not doingso, and as long as the weak do not impose it on others, then they are fine, and that is why it says, let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. It says in his own mind, and not in someone else’s mind, which would show to keep it unto yourself, or for yourself only. So the weak keep it unto themselves, and the strong do not observe these days, but cannot judge the weak if they do, for the weak have the right to observe these days.

Were the weak would get into trouble is if they bind it on other people, which would eventually cause them to fall from grace. And the strong should show the weak, the scriptures that show that these days have been done away with. So Romans 14:5-6, was dealing with regarding days, which of course God would have approved to regard, which concerned his old covenant holy days. Now is Romans 14:5-6, saying that we no longer have an holy day, under the new covenant, or a Sabbath ??? Well it was specifically dealing with the holy days of the old covenant, including the 7th day, as we will see in another scripture, but was it dealing with us no longer having any day, or that the 4th commandment of the Sabbath, was no longer binding??? Well the thing we have to do, in order to find this out, is to compare scriptures with scriptures, in order to get the whole story. 1 Corinthians 2:13 (13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.) This is one thing that many people do not do, and often times, people are what I call, one verse Charlies. They hold on to one verse, without comparing other verses, for if other verses show that we still have a spiritual day of rest, under the new covenant, then it would be obvious what Romans 14:4-5 is referring to, which is just simply the holy days ofthe old covenant, including the 7th day, which if there is a Sabbath, under the new covenant ; then that would mean that, it has been established on a new day under the new covenant. And here is an interesting quote, from Gill. (Gill) (another esteemeth every day alike; that is, one that is strong in faith, and has a greater degree of the knowledge of the Gospel, and of evangelical liberty, knows that the distinction of days, as well as of meats, is takenaway, since the word was made flesh, and tabernacle among us, Christ the passover is sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of the Spirit have been received, and light by the church from the sun of righteousness, and Christ the truesabbath and rest is come; and therefore, being firmly persuaded there is no more holiness in days than there is in places, has the same regard for one day as another.The difference between these two lay here, the weak brother regarded a day for the sake of a day, as having by a positive law, he supposed to be in force, a superiority to another, and he regarded worship for the sake of thisday; the stronger brother, though he also observed a day for divine worship, which is the Lord's day, since there must be some time for it as well as place, yet he observed the day for the sake ofworship, and not worship for the sake of the day:) Now does God still command us to gather, under the new covenant ??? Hebrews 10:25 (25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.) Yes we are still commanded to assemble ourselves together, under the new covenant, and yes we can gather any day of the week, for we are not limited, but that does not mean that there is no longer a weekly gathering, which is also to be a Sabbathrest, under the new, and there is scriptural proof of this, both in the old and new. And before we go on, I want to show forth a few examples of what I mean, of people being one verse Charlies. The One Verse Charlie Syndrome

Syndrome #1:

Exodus 35:3 (3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.) Interpretation: ‘Do not kindle fire , period on the Sabbath’ !!!!!!!

Now is this interpretation accurate ??? Well the truth is no !!!!!!!

And for one thing is, is it does not simply say to kindle no fire, but rather it says to kindle no fire throughout your habitations.

The key words are :”throughout your habitations “ !!!!!!!

And also it shows that Priests were allowed to keep a fire burning, and there was no restrictions to kindling fires, outside the habitations, nor in the tabernacle or outside the tabernacle, which I do not doubt that there would have been torches lit uparound the tabernacle.

Now here is the verse of the priest, continuing to kindling a fire, on the Sabbath.

Leviticus 24:5-8 (5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.) Here it talks of an offering made by fire unto the Lord, on the Sabbath. Now what does the word kindle mean, in the Hebrew, which concerns Exodus 35:3 ??? (Strong’s concordance) (H1197 בער

ba‛ar

baw-ar'

A primitive root; to kindle, that is, consume (by fire or by eating); also (as denominative from H1198) to be (become) brutish: - be brutish, bring (put, take) away, burn, (cause to) eat (up), feed, heat, kindle, set ([on fire]), waste.

Total KJV occurrences: 94)

It not only means to set or start a fire, but also to feed, or continue to burn a fire. It has both of these meanings. So the people could not kindle a fire throughout their habitations, but the priests could do so, in the tabernacle, which shows that, this interpretation of not kindling fire at all, anywhere, is false. And here are a few more thoughts, I have been getting, about this kindling fire stuff. First of all, any other day, they were allowed to kindle fire throughout their habitations, which would mean that they had an abundance of light, especially for the night time on the other days, for they had the lights in the temple,the lights which could have been made outside the habitations, and also the light of God, which he led them by a cloud by day, and a fire by night. So on the other days, they had abundance of light, but on the Sabbath, there were no fires to be kindled throughout their habitations, I mean no fires, but nevertheless, even though they had no fires throughout their habitations,they still had the fires outside the habitations, and the fires of the temple, and also the fire of God by night, for on the Sabbath, that is all they needed. And it makes me think of something, which is how they would have abundance of light during the week, but on the Sabbath, they were conserving light, which they would not have to use as much wood on the Sabbath, thereforethey would have saved on wood. Could God also be trying to shows us a lesson on conservation, here ??? It is very, and likely possible !!! And another thing, concerning the no kindling fire throughout their habitations, during the Exodus, is this, first of all, back then, they travelled to the place God told them, and during the Sabbath they would stay in place, andwhat they lived in, was in tents, big tents mind you, but nevertheless tents, and these tents were placed close or around the tabernacle; which on the Sabbath the lights of the tabernacle, and lights which may have been lit,outside the habitations, including the fire of God by night, would have lit their habitations, but during the times of when Joshua finally conquered all the land and divided it, and Israel finally became as a nation with their ownland, and Kings began to be appointed, and people eventually lived in houses, and the temple was eventually erected; during those times, they no longer had the fire of God by night, and they no longer lived in tents (which wereclose to the tabernacle), but lived in houses which for many may have been quite far from the then erected temple (Solomon’s temple). So during these times, especially the times of the kings, and the temple erection, they now, would have needed to kindle fires in their houses, during the Sabbath, for they would not have been able to see, and remember they no longer had the fire of

God by night, and also they were much more dispersed , than during the time of the tents, which would mean that some houses, would have been far from the temple, or it’s lights. So for the most part, the no kindling fire in their habitations commandment, was especially in effect during the Exodus. But after the time of the Exodus, even until now, if someone is kindling a fire, for the sake of work, such as baking for a bakery, and the work of a smith, then, definitely it would go against the moral law of the 4th commandment of doing no worktherein. So now we go unto our next one verse Charlie syndrome.

Syndrome #2:

2 Corinthians 5:21 (21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made therighteousness of God in him.) Interpretation: ‘ Jesus died as a sinner for us ’ !!!!!!!

Now this doctrine is referring to this doctrine that is very popular in the faith movement, which people like Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyers etc., proclaim.

They declare that Jesus died as a sinner for us, and use this scripture to prove this.

So the question we must ask, is this, did Jesus die as a sinner for us ? And if not, in what way did he die for us ?

1 Corinthians 15:3 (3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;) For who’s sins did he die ? Was it for his own sins ? No, it was for our sins. So then if it was for our sins he died, then how was he made to be sin for us, on the cross ? Ephesians 5:2 (2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.) He was made sin for us, in the sense of becoming a sin offering and sacrifice for us. It was in this sense, he was made sin for us, that is why, it is very important to compare scriptures with scriptures, so you know the whole truth. And in 2 Corinthians, it shows us, that he knew no sin, and he had to remain sinless, in order to be a perfect and acceptable sacrifice to God, otherwise if he would have died as a sinner, on the cross, then he would not have beenan acceptable sacrifice to God. And if all it required was a sinner, to die on the cross, then anyone could have died on the cross for someone’s sin, thus not really needing a messiah, which makes absolutely no sense, with the rest of the scriptures. So if Christ would have died as a sinner, then he would have died in vain, but thank God, he did not die as a sinner, but rather as a sinless sacrifice, which was acceptable unto God. So now unto our next, one verse Charlie syndrome. Syndrome #3:

Luke 6:37 (37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:)

Interpretation: ‘Do not judge at all’ !!!!!!!

Most people who tend to use this argument, of do not judge at all, do not know the scriptures very well, and if the person is a Christian, or so called, in a lot of cases, they lack an extreme amount of discernment, or perhaps aren’t Christians at all.

They tend to defend a worldly lifestyle, but along with the scriptures saying, do not judge, and you shall not be judged, the bible also says, what is found in our next scripture.

John 7:24 (24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.) So if it says, judge righteous judgment, and to not judge according to appearance, then it is showing us that, there is a right way to judge, and a wrong way to judge. So you see how they do not compare scriptures with scriptures !!!!!!! Now let us go to our next one verse Charlie syndrome.

Syndrome #4:

Luke 22:19 (19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is mybody which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.) Interpretation: ‘This is referring to the literal body of Jesus’ !!!!!!!

The one’s who are big on this argument, is the Roman Catholic church.

They say that because Jesus says that this is my body which is given for you, that, that means that the bread is the literal body of Christ.

It is known as a doctrine called transubstantiation.

But the question I would ask someone, is this, “when you eat the bread, does it taste like bread or does it taste like Jesus’ body ???

And anyhow, we can disprove this, just by quoting the last part of this scripture, which says, “this do in remembrance of me”.

Basically what Jesus is doing, is this, he is showing the bread, and says that this is his body, but he is doing so, in a way that the bread is showing a representation of his body, which that is why it says, do this in remembrance of me.

So it is basically saying “do this to remember me by “, and really that is all that it is saying.

And if people want to argue, further, then I would ask them, well then maybe Jesus is a literal lamb, for he calls himself the lamb God ???

Which of course, this is silly.

Now unto our next syndrome.

Syndrome #5:

Exodus 16:23 (23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest ofthe holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye willseethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.)

Interpretation: ‘Every man is forbidden to bake on the Sabbath , period’ !!!!!!!

Is this really true, about every man being forbidden to bake on the Sabbath ??? Well one things is, is that we need to compare the word with the word, in order to get the full picture, and often times people just go by one scripture, and say “see it says so”, not knowing that other scriptures show differently. And what gets often produced, is a zeal, but without knowledge. Is it right that we be zealous for the word of God ??? Of course it is, we should be, but always being careful of how we take the scriptures. So yes God here, is saying to not bake or seethe on the Sabbath, but, there is another scripture that shows, that he allowed certain other people, to do so. Now let us go unto this scripture. Leviticus 24:5-8 (5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.) Here it was talking of the priests being allowed to bake cakes on the Sabbath, so obviously, the saying of “every man is forbidden to bake cakes on the Sabbath , period”, is actually a false statement. So the people in general were forbidden, but not the priests. Now the priests were of course, doing the Lord’s work, and why would God allow one to bake and not the other ??? Is it really because he was against baking on the Sabbath ???Or was it for another reason ??? If God was really not for baking on the Sabbath, then he would have not allowed anyone to bake on the Sabbath, but the fact that he did, showed that, that itself, was not the issue, then what was the issue ??? Well I had read that, during that time of the Exodus, it was really time consuming to bake, which would have taken valuable time away, from the things of the Sabbath, so no wonder God commanded them to not bake and evenseethe. Now did they observe this not baking and seething rule, during king David’s day, and even during Jesus’ day ??? Well yes I believe that to some degree they did, because, in the new testament, we read of a day called “the preparation day”, and I am sure they did many things to prepare for the coming Sabbath, on that day, but one thingalso they would have done, was that they would bake and seethe, on the preparation day , because it took a lot of time to do so, therefore having more time to enjoy the Sabbath. Mark 15:42 (42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,) So under the new covenant, am I against people baking or seething on our Sabbath day of rest ??? Well no I am not, for God allowed the priests to do so, and today we are spiritual priests, but not only for that reason, simply because, who are we to choose who can and who cannot ??? Now does that mean that I am in complete agreement in just baking and seething on the Sabbath, no matter how much time it takes, well absolutely not. So my judgment, would be this, if what you are baking, is too time consuming on the Sabbath, and takes away from the focus of the Sabbath, then, no do not bake, but if it is not too time consuming, then why not ??? Some people might say here, well you are making up your own rules, well then ok, I will ask you another question, who should I allow to bake on the Sabbath, the people in general ??? Or just the priests ??? And then againaren’t we all spiritual priests ??? And why was God not totally against baking on the Sabbath ??? I think that the real issue, was the time consumption, rather than the baking or seething itself, and I do not want to be legalistic, such as do not bake at all, but also, I do not want to be liberalistic, in the sense of, oh it does notmatter about baking or not, if it is time consuming, then who cares. Well the truth is, God cares, and therefore I care, Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, and he should be the ultimate focus. And some might say concerning other things that I say such as saying it is ok for doctors to work on the Sabbath, but still seeking to gather on that day ; and the thing they might say, is this, well there, you are making a rule formedical doctors to being allowed to work on the Sabbath, you are making a law unto yourself.

Well if that is the case, then I will answer you, the same way that Jesus, answered the Pharisees (Luk_6:9), is it lawful to save life or to destroy life, on the Sabbath days??? Or another way I can say it, is in this way, should adoctor save his patient’s life ??? Or should he let him die ? You tell me. Please don’t be like a Pharisee. So now that concludes the one verse Charlie segment, so now we will get into our next scripture, which involves things that have been done away with. Colossians 2:14-16 (14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.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:) Now notice something here, it says blotting out the “handwriting of ordinances”. Now this is talking about, ordinances which were handwritten, now we know that the 10 commandments, were written by the hand of God, and they were the only commandments written by the hand of God, which eventually,as well, was written in parchments, but specifically, the handwriting of ordinances here, is talking about things which were not written by the hand of God, but strickly written by the hand of man, yet inspired by God. Now it says blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, now yes these were laws of God, but how were these laws of God against men ??? Well it is obvious, that in and of themselves, God’s ordinances were not against men, in the sense that they were wrong, but rather they were against men, in the sense that these ordinances, no matter how good they were, couldnot save anyone. So it is in this sense, that the ordinances were against men, for they could not save, but the one these ordinances, as a whole, pointed to, could save, which is Jesus Christ. So the handwritten ordinances, were taken out of the way, and were nailed to the cross. And also through the cross, he spoiled principalities and powers (demons, evil spirits, the devil), and made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. So now we must ask, which written ordinances did God do away with on the cross ??? Well let us go unto verse 16, which says, 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. Now notice the word “therefore”. The word therefore, is referring to, things that was just mentioned, in verses 14 and 15, that is what therefore means, it is like saying well because of. So because of God blotting out the handwriting of ordinances etc., as a result of that, and nailing these things to the cross, as a result of these things, don’t let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, orof the new moon, or of the Sabbath days. So it was talking about the ordinances of God, which also they have been called, the ceremonial laws of God, which were handwritten by men, but inspired by God. So it is talking about meat ordinances, drink ordinances, holyday ordinances, new moon ordinances, and the Sabbath days (plural and not singular) ordinances. An example of a meat ordinance, was that of the clean and unclean meats (Lev 11:1-47), and an example of a drink ordinance, was that of the Nazarite vow (Num 6:1-4) , and of course an holy day ordinance, was referring to aday that was established by God as being holy, under the old covenant, or at the time of the handwriting of ordinances, which could have been a day of rest and a non-day of rest that God had established as holy. Now in the N.I.V bible , it says this : “with regard to a religious festival”, which a religious festival, can be anything , for it can even be baal worship, or pagan days such as Christmas, and there are some who interpretColossians 2:16, as saying to not judging concerning Christmas (which the word Christmas is not even in the bible), which this interpretation is false, for it referred to ordinances written under the old covenant, and Christmas wasnot one of them, and the King James Bible, says it correctly, for it says “not to judge in respect of an holyday”, there is no mistaking of what is mentioned here, for it is an holyday. How is a day considered as truly being holy ??? Well it has to be made holy, by the only one who is truly and perfectly holy, and that is God. Men try to make certain days holy, but only one can truly declare this to be, and that is God. It is talking about the holy days of God, and not just simply a religious festival, and I could tell that God would never say to not judge concerning baal worship festivals, God would totally forbid men to participate in such things. And what God was saying, was this, since the handwriting of ordinances were blotted out and nailed to the cross, as a result of this, ordinances such as drink ordinances, meat ordinances, holydays, and Sabbath days (plural), areno longer binding to the people of God, so if someone wants to observe them, which is not binding, do not put a judgment on the others who do not, for it is no longer binding.

And in truth, it is probably better not to observe these days. So the last part of verse 16, talks of not judging concerning the Sabbath days, now notice what it says, the Sabbath days (plural), and not the Sabbath day (singular). Now the N.I.V , says it this way: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you …….with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. “ , it says the word a Sabbath day (singular) , or of just simply observinga Sabbath day, period. Now no wonder, that there is so much confusion in the church today, and bible translations do not help in this. But what is the context of Colossians 2:14-16 ??? It is for one thing, talking about blotting out the handwriting of ordinances, and I believe that the King James bible has it right, in saying Sabbath days (plural), and we will see that it harmonises, with what other scriptures say,and the way scriptures flow together. So it says :” 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”.So it says :” 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”. It says the Sabbath days (plural), now what are the Sabbath days ??? Is it just one day ??? Or is it referring to many days ??? Well, in truth, there were many Sabbaths, under the old covenant, and not just the 7th day of the week, Sabbath. Now before we cover, these Sabbaths, I want to go back unto our Colossians’ scriptures. Colossians 2:14-16 (14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.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:) As I said before, it was the handwriting of ordinances, that was blotted out, which these handwritten ordinances, more specifically referred to, the ceremonial laws of God. Now was the ten commandments part of, the ceremonial laws of God ??? Well as a whole, none of the 10 commandments were part of the ceremonial laws, with the exception of one, which was the 7t h day of the week Sabbath. Now the 7t h day of the week Sabbath, is in the moral law of God, as well as the ceremonial laws of God, which we will prove. So now I will show the ceremonial laws section, of what were God’s Sabbath days, and also some holydays which were not Sabbaths or days of rest. It is found in the book of Leviticus. Leviticus 23:1-44 (1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.3 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.4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover.6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offeringmade by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.

20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger:I am the LORD your God.23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.33 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and yeshall do no servile work therein.37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:38 Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be asabbath.40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.) So verse 3, covers the original 7t h day of the week , weekly Sabbath. And right now, we will show forth, the feast days, proclaimed in these scriptures, which were Sabbaths, and non-Sabbaths.

Sabbaths 1.Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-7 , “…feast of unleavened bread…In the first day …ye shall do noservile work therein”) 2.Last day of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6 .” seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.” , Leviticus 23:8 , “in theseventh day… ye shall do no servile work therein.” 3.Pentecost, 50t h day (Leviticus 23:16 , “shall ye number fifty days” , Leviticus 23:21 , “proclaim on the selfsameday, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein”) 4.Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24-25 , “…shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets … Yeshall do no servile work therein”) 5.Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27-28 , “…shall be a day of atonement … And ye shall do no work in thatsame day…”) 6.Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34-35 , “…feast of tabernacles for seven days … On the first day shall be anholy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.” 7.Last day of Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:36 , “…the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; …ye shall do no servile work therein.”)

Non-Sabbaths 1.The Passover (Leviticus 23:5 , “…fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover”) 2.Wave sheaf (Leviticus 23:9-11 , “…he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrowafter the sabbath the priest shall wave it”)

Now I have heard of people saying that, the seventh day of the week, weekly Sabbath was held from even to even, but the truth is, that is not true, for if you look at the ones that it says to observe from even unto even, it is

referring to other feasts, and some are other Sabbaths, and not the original seventh day of the week Sabbath. Its says of the Passover, to start observing it, at even (Leviticus 23:5), which the Passover was not a Sabbath, but concerning a Sabbath, it says this of the day of Atonement, that it is on the 10th day of the month (Leviticus23:27), yet there was an observation to be observed starting on the 9th day at even, unto the next day (10th day) at even (Leviticus 23:32), which shows that this observation hit 2 days. But there is no such observance from even to even, that is mentioned for the regular 7th day of the week Sabbath, nor the day of Pentecost, nor the feast of Trumpets etc. So just because the word Sabbath, may appear beside words that say to observe it, from even to even, does not mean that it is talking about the 7th day of the week Sabbath, that is why, it is very important, to read the contextof what it is talking about. So now, let us go back unto our Colossians scripture. Colossians 2:14-16 (14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.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:)

So we can see, that the 7th day of the week Sabbath, is both written in the moral law of God (10 commandments), but also in the ceremonial laws of God, which we seen in Leviticus 23:1-44, which talks of God’s holy feasts. Now some die hard 7th day of the week, Sabbath keepers, might say that the original Sabbath, was only part of God’s moral law, therefore all of it, including the 7th day is still for today, and yet, on the flip side, some of thepeople, who do not believe in having any Sabbath day, today, may say (which a lot actually do), that even though, you see the Sabbath under God’s moral law, because it is also part of the ceremonial law of God, that means thatthere is no moralness to this commandment, and therefore there is no more day of rest. It is like people want to take sides, rather than accept all of the truth. Well the truth is, is this, the reason why the 7th day of the week Sabbath, is mentioned under the 10 commandments, is because there is moralness to this law, and the reason it is mentioned under the ceremonial laws, isbecause, that there is also a ceremonial part, to this law, it is not all one or the other, but rather, it is both. So now, what we have to figure out is, what part of it, is moral ??? And what part of it , is ceremonial ??? Well I believe, we have our answer , in Colossians 2:16 , which says:” 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”. So what was blotted out ??? It was the handwriting of ordinances ??? Which ordinances ??? well verse 16, describes a whole wack of them, which one of them, was the “Sabbath days” !!!!!! Notice, it says the Sabbath days (plural) !!!!!!!! It says it in plural, which it is talking about the days of the Sabbath, or the days Sabbaths were held on, under the old covenant. It is talking about it’s days. It is not talking about the Sabbath day (singular), to where there is no Sabbath, but rather it is talking about, the days, they held their Sabbaths on. So we know that all of the ceremonial laws, have been taken out of the way, and all of the feast days were part of the ceremonial laws, but there is one day, which has an exception to it, which is the 7th day of the week Sabbath,for this Sabbath was both in the ceremonial laws, and the moral law. And what was done away with , concerning this 7th day of the week Sabbath, was it’s day (the Sabbath days), and it was this commandment, revolving around the 7th day, that was done away with, and not the commandmentitself, of doing your work on the 6 days, and having a day of rest, that itself, was not done away with. The ceremonial part, was the 7th day, which on this 7th day, they would remember how God created the world in six days, and rested on the 7th (Exo 20:11), and also they would remember, how God delivered the Israelites,from Egyptian bondage (Deu 5:15). Now the moral part of the law, was to do the work you do, on the 6 days, and having a day of rest , wherein you do no work. Now can a weekly work week, with a day of rest, be observed, without the seventh day ??? Well absolutely, for one can rest the 1rst day of week, and do their work the other 6 days, or someone can rest the 2nd day of the week,and do their work the other 6 days, so yes it can be observed without, the 7th day. Some will say, well there is no moralness to the Sabbath commandment, for working is not wrong, yet lying would be wrong any day. Well ok then, I will also ask you a question, well is it wrong to eat ??? And of course the person would answer, no. Well then is it wrong to over eat ??? Well the person, would have to admit, yes it is wrong to over eat, and the bible shows that it is (Deu_21:20).

Well then, I must ask a similar, question, is it wrong to work ??? No, of course , not. But is it wrong to, over work ??? Yes it is, for just like gluttony, over working our bodies, is not good for our bodies, and God created us, to work in a 6 day work week time frame, and provided for us, rest from our work week, why ??? Because it is good for our bodies, and just like the bible says that if we have worked the land, through things like agriculture, that we should, let the land rest, the 7th year, so it can rejuvenate itself, so also, we need our bodies torest themselves, so they can rejuvenate themselves. And there are a lot of people becoming burn outs, because of a 7 day work week. It’s not moral or right, to not let your body rest and rejuvenate itself, for it does harm to your body, whether you think so, or not. I must ask, is your life only about making money ??? Or is having a day of rest, not only to rest your body, but also it being a day to bless the Lord, important to you ??? Because the day of rest, is not only a day of physical rest, which we need, but it is also a day of sanctification, to were we set time aside strickly to bless the Lord, and edify one another. Isn’t worshipping God, with, most of the body of Christ, you gather with, a need ??? I must ask, how is the Sabbath commandment, not a moral law ??? Here is a good scripture. Romans 13:10 (10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.) Love worketh no ill to his neighbour, for love cares, and cares about God and what he values, and it cares about people, not becoming burn outs, and also it cares about the spiritual need of the person, and cares about honouringGod. So we can see that, we still need a day of rest, under the new covenant, for it is a need, the only thing is, is that the day it was held on, under the old covenant, which was the seventh day, is no longer binding, therefore, if we havea day of rest under the new covenant, then it would have to be on a day, that did not exist in old testament times. And we have seen that yes, the seventh day, has been done away with under the new covenant, therefore this concludes, our question of was it completely done away with under the new covenant? Now we will get to the questions of : 1. is that the Lord’s day refers to the old testament “7th day Sabbath” ,2. is that the Lord’s day refers to “the first day of the week” gathering, But before, we get there, I just want to cover a few more things on the Sabbath, and what was done away. I will call this part, of my study, the Sabbath round up, and things that are done away with.

The Sabbath round up , and things that are done away with

First of all, I just want to clear up, a few things concerning the Sabbath. Right now I will cover this issue, that we have not yet, covered in this study, which is known as, a Sabbath day’s journey. Acts 1:12 (12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.) Now here is a comment, from Barnes.

(Barnes) (A sabbath-day’s journey - As far as might be lawfully traveled by a Jew on the Sabbath. This was 2,000 paces or cubits, or seven furlongs and a half - not quite one mile. See the notes On Mat_24:20. The distance of alawful journey on the Sabbath was not fixed by the laws of Moses, but the Jewish teachers had fixed it at 2,000 paces. This measure was determined on because it was a tradition that in the camp of theIsraelites, when coming from Egypt, no part of the camp was more than 2000 paces from the tabernacle, and over this space, therefore, they were permitted to travel for worship. Perhaps, also, some countenance was given tothis from the fact that this was the extent of the suburbs of the Levitical cities, Num_35:5. Mount Olivet was only 5 furlongs from Jerusalem, and Bethany was 15 furlongs.But on the eastern declivity of the mountain the tract of country was called, for a considerable space, the region of Bethany; and it was from this place that the Lord Jesus ascended.) Now it is said that Luke, wrote the book of Acts, and why did Luke mention this Sabbath day’s journey rule, if it was not part of God’s law, under the old covenant ??? Maybe it was just to show forth, that there was this type oflaw, back then, and I have also read about these scriptures used for this, but in those verses, which yes refers to what Barnes is talking about concerning the Israelie camp which was round about the tabernacle, there was notravel limit rule. And here is a verse, concerning Jesus, going from village to village, on the Sabbath. Mark 6:2-6 (2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that evensuch mighty works are wrought by his hands?3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.) So Jesus on the Sabbath taught in the synagogue, but also went round about many villages, teaching. Now how far were those villages (plural) ??? I do not know, but it does show Jesus travelling to many villages, on the Sabbath. So there is no real law, as concerns the law of Moses, about a travel limit, but of course if you do travel, on the day of rest, you would not want to travel the whole day, because that would be wasting the Sabbath, and not keepingit holy. So it is important to use our judgment. So I just wanted to mention this Sabbath day’s journey rule, which was not part of the Mosaic law, so people be aware of it, and what it was. So now we get to our next scripture. Exodus 20:8-11 (8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: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.) Now the way people, can sometimes use the commandment, of labouring 6 days, and doing all thy work on those days, can be very legalistic, for some may think that it is referring to someone having to have a job, that is for 6days strait, and in truth, you can have a 6 days a week job, but the commandment, is not only talking about a job, but also it is talking about household chores, and any other work for that matter. God is not against a job that is 5 days a week long, or a job that is 4 days a week long, it does not have to be 6 days a week long. And also a note to mention, is this, is that in the old testament, there were other Sabbaths, which would fall under one of these 6 day work days, which was said to do no work therein, what about those days ??? So there are times God allows, on the 6 day work week, for restful days, or as we would call, vacation days, today, and also doing the work of the Lord is also work to God, which can be done even on the Sabbath. I just wanted to mention these things, because I know how people can get into extremes at times, and do not really think things through, with the whole counsel of the word. And to the lazy, I say, yes we are called to work, and seek the Lord’s face to what he wants you to do. Now I just want to mention, one more thing, about the Sabbath, is that, even though the 7th day itself was ceremonial, there were also other ceremonial laws, observed, under the Sabbath, which was the priestly duties, and otherthings. So that covers the extra things, I wanted to cover concerning the Sabbath, and now, we will define specific things, that the new testament, shows has been done away.

Done away

1. Physical circumcision , as a law , has been done away with (Gal 5:6 , Rom 2:28-29) 2. The days of the Sabbath ,and other old testament holy days , have been done away with (Col 2:14-16 , Rom 14:5-6) 3. The unclean and clean meat ordinances , have been done away with (Act 11:8-9 , 1Ti 4:4-5 , Col 2:14-16 , Heb 9:9-10) 4. Drink ordinances , such as the Nazarite vow , have been done away with (Col 2:14-16 , Heb 9:9-10) 5. The priesthood , and it’s duties , have been done away with (Heb 7:11-19 , 1Pe 2:5-9) 6. Stoning , and such like , has been done away with (Mat 5:38-39 , Luk 9:53-56) 7. Sacrificing animals , has been done away with (Heb 10:8-12 , Heb 9:8-15 , 1Pe 3:18) 8. Divers washing , ordinances , have been done away with (Heb 9:9-10)

Now there may be more, but these are the ones, that I was able to think about, to show clearly, what was done away with. Now some that do not know, the bible very much, might say, well then none of the old testament, is for today, now be very careful when you make, a statement like this, for this statement, is not true, and in the Old covenant,there were also, civil laws, and agriculture laws, and all kinds of laws for that matter. And today we are still called to obey the government (Rom 13:1-7), but as long as they do not go against God’s laws. And also a good agriculture law, that would be good to obey today, would be, that if you work the land to grow wheat etc., to rest the land every 7 th year, so it rejuvenates itself (Lev 25:1-7). So that completes, our Sabbath round up, and that which has been done away with. The Lord’s day

So now we are back, to our Lord’s day question, is the Lord’s day, referring to the seventh day of the week , or is it referring to the first day of the week ??? Let us go back, to our Lord’s day, scripture. Revelation 1:9-10 (9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,) Well we know, that the Lord’s day, refers to a day, that John referred to as “the” Lord’s day. The word “the” means, the definite article. And it was a day, in his day. It was a day, under the new covenant, for when John was on the isle of Patmos, Jesus had already died, and resurrected, a long time ago, and the Holy Ghost was already sent back to people, in order to fill them with the HolyGhost. So it was talking about, a day, already known to John, which happened to be, under the new covenant. Now, we know that, under the new covenant, the 7th day of the week Sabbath, was done away with, so because of this, it is very doubtful, that the Lord’s day, was referring to this. It was obviously a day, that John observed, and John did not mention, the Lord’s day for nothing. Now the question, I will ask, right now, is this, is there a Sabbath for the believer, under the new covenant ??? Well let us go to scriptures.

Now what we will do concerning, our next scriptures, is we will cover them, one by one. Isaiah 56:1 (1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.) Here is a quote from Jimmy Swaggart, concerning this scripture. (Jimmy Swaggart) (“Judgment” and “Justice” have to do with the Word of God. In essence, Christ is all of this and more. He is the Salvation which would come, and in fact did come, and the Righteousness which was to be revealed, and in fact wasrevealed.) So first it talks about, keeping judgment and justice, and then it says: for my salvation is near to come, which this salvation which was near to come, was referring to Christ Jesus, and he is also the righteousness which was to berevealed. And Jesus, became man’s salvation, on the cross, when he died for man’s sin. So now we go unto our next scripture. Isaiah 56:2 (2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.) Here is a quote from Gill, concerning this scripture. (Gill) (Isaiah 56:2Blessed is the man that doth this,.... That does justice, and keeps judgment; he hereby exercises a good conscience both towards God and men; he enjoys communion with God in his ways, worship, and ordinances, he attends unto, and has anevidence of his right to eternal happiness:and the son of man that layeth hold on it; on the salvation of Christ, and his righteousness; which supposes a sense of the insufficiency of a man's own righteousness, a view of the excellency and suitableness of Christ's righteousness; and isexpressive of a strong act of faith upon it, embracing and retaining it as a man's own:) So the part that says : “Blessed is the man that doeth this”, refers to what it says in part 1 of Isaiah 56:1, which says: ”Keep ye judgment, and do justice”. Now the part that says: “and the son of man (any man, in this case) that layeth hold on it”, refers to what it says in the 2nd half, of Isaiah 56:1 , which says: “for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed”. So it is saying, blessed is the man that doeth this, that is judgment, and justice, and the son of man that layeth hold on it, that is that layeth hold on the salvation of God, Christ Jesus, and right after it talks about keeping the Sabbath !!!!!!! Interesting isn’t it !!!!!!! Right now, before we go on, I want to show things, which concern the Jimmy Swaggart Expositor’s study bible, and how Jimmy has put topical titles on each chapters of the bible books, so to give us an idea, what this or thatchapter, is talking about, and we will show certain chapters, of the book of Isaiah, concerning this. -Isaiah 53 (The Suffering Servant: The Messiah, Jesus Christ)-Isaiah 54 (God’s Everlasting Love For Israel)-Isaiah 55:1-5 (God’s Promise To All)-Isaiah 55:6-11 (Repentant Sinners Told To Seek The Lord)-Isaiah 55:12-13 (The Redeemed Will Live In Joy)-Isaiah 56:1-9 (Do Justice; Keep God’s Judgments; God’s Concern Includes The Gentiles)-Isaiah 56:10-12 (Blind Watchmen Reproved) So here is an outline of these chapters, so to get a better idea, of what it’s talking about. So let us move on. Isaiah 56:3 (3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.) Here is a quote from Gill, concerning this scripture.

(Gill) (Isaiah 56:3Neither let the son of the stranger,.... A Gentile, that is so by birth, the son of one that is an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, a stranger from the covenants of promise, and so had no right to come into the congregation of the Lord underthe former dispensation; but now the middle wall of partition being broken down, in the times to which this prophecy belongs, such are encouraged to expect admission: that hath joined himself to the Lord; who, having a spiritual knowledge of him in Christ, loves him, believes in him, gives up himself to him, to walk in his ways and ordinances, and cleaves unto him with full purpose of heart; see Isa_44:5 suchan one should not speak,) Now of course, under the law, a Gentile would have to be proselytized, and thus get circumcised, and follow God’s ways, but now, under the new covenant, he just needs to repent, and receive Christ as Lord and Savior, and gets full access to him, andhis presence. Praise God !!! So let us go on to our next verse. Isaiah 56:4 (4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;) Right now , I just want to mention a quote from Jimmy, which talks a lot about the eunuchs in this scripture. (Jimmy Swaggart) (certain individuals, such as “eunuchs,” were denied certain privileges in the official life of Israel, because those in positions of leadership were to be types of Christ [Deut. 23:1]; however, this did not preclude their Salvation, butonly their service. Under the New Covenant, no such restrictions is allowed, because Christ has already come! As well, in the coming Kingdom Age, when the law of Moses, at least to a certain degree, will be reinstituted, the oldrestrictions will not be binding, because Christ is present) Now it says 3 things for the eunuchs to do, which it says to “keep my Sabbaths, choose the things that please me, and to take hold of my covenant”. What is take hold of my “covenant”, referring to ? Well it is referring to, what we have been talking about, all along. Now here are the connecting words. Isaiah 56:1 (for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed) , Isaiah 56:2 (that layeth hold on it) , Isaiah 56:4 (take hold of my covenant) . It is to lay hold, and take hold, of God’s covenant, which is salvation in Christ, which points us, to the new covenant, so it is basically saying, to take hold of his new covenant. Now the words: “my covenant”, appears quite a few times in the bible, which a lot of times, it refers to the old covenant, though not always. Now in the case of the book of Isaiah, the specific words of: “ my covenant”, appears only 3 times in Isaiah, which is found in Isaiah 56:4, Isaiah 56:6 and Isaiah 59:21, and the Isaiah 56, verses, refer strictly to the new covenant,and the Isaiah 59, verse, does refer to the new covenant, but specifically of Israel receiving Christ as their salvation, at Christ’s second coming. Now we will deal with, the words of “the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant”. Now God is mentioning here, for the eunuchs to keep his Sabbaths, choose the things that please him, and takes hold of his covenant. He is mentioning them, doing all 3 of these things. And can you keep the Sabbaths, choose things that please God, and yet partake of the new covenant ??? Because, we have learned that, under the new covenant, that the Sabbath days, have been done away with, yet here God says something good about, if the eunuchs keep his Sabbaths, while holding on to his new covenant. Can we make sense of all this ??? Yes we can. First, let us go to, 2 test scriptures. 1 Corinthians 2:13

(13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.) Titus 1:9 (9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.) One thing we must do, is compare the word with the word, in order to get the full picture of the issue. And if we compare the word with the word, and allow the Holy Spirit, to reveal the word to us, it will flow together, it will be sound, it will be in harmony with each other, that is if we see things in the right way. Now if we are trying to set up a doctrine, and it does not flow with the rest of the word, obviously there is something wrong with that doctrine, and you should check out why that is the case, of how come it is not sound. Right now, we will check things for soundness, via there being a Sabbath, under the new covenant, and via the Sabbath days, being taken away, and also via some N.I.V verses, which I will show how the N.I.V verses, are notaccording to sound doctrine. So let us start, our soundness test, and later we will cover, more scriptures, to strengthen our position, on a new covenant Sabbath, and when and what is this new Sabbath. Soundness test Let’s start with the Colossians scripture.

King James Version Colossians 2:14-16 (14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out ofthe way, nailing it to his cross;15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or ofthe sabbath days:)

New International Version

Colossians 2:14-16 (14 having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtness, which stood against us and condemned us; he hastaken it away, nailing it to the cross;15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by thecross.16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, aNew Moon, or a Sabbath day.)

What it says in the N.I.V is strange indeed, it talks of cancelling the charge of our legal indebtness, and really this can have all kinds of meanings, but in the King James, it is clear, what it is talking about, it’s talking about thehandwriting of ordinances, and in the old covenant, there were a whole bunch of handwritten ordinances, which were the laws of God. And the N.I.V, talks of letting no one judge you in regard to a religious festival , or “a” Sabbath day. Well like I said before, a religious festival, can mean anything that is considered a religious festival, and God would not allow his children to partake in just any religious festival, but the King James version, is clear, and makesmore sense, and flows with the rest of the scriptures, and God’s mind. For it says to not judge in respect of an holyday, and these holydays, were part of the handwritten ordinances of God, under the old covenant, for that is what the handwritten ordinances, is talking about, and God is the only onewho can establish true holydays, and even though the old testament holydays are not binding, God would definitely allow someone to observe them, in a right way, under the new covenant, if someone wanted to. And then, we get to the Sabbath issue. The N.I.V, says to not judge concerning “a” Sabbath day, but the King James version, says to not judge concerning Sabbath “days” (plural). So according to the N.I.V, there no longer should be a Sabbath day (singular) period, under the new covenant, but the King James version, is specifically talking of the days of the Sabbath, which were contained in thehandwritten ordinances, of the old covenant. So the King James, does not totally exclude, a Sabbath, under the new, the only thing it does, is exclude all the days, they kept their Sabbaths, under the old covenant, which were part of the handwritten ordinances. So with that in mind, let us go to Isaiah 56:2-4. Isaiah 56:2-4.

(2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. 3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;) Verse 2, talks of laying hold to salvation in Christ (the new covenant), and keeping the Sabbath (singular). It is saying to keep the Sabbath, while holding on to the new covenant. Which would show that, God wants us to keep the Sabbath, while under the new covenant, which shows that there is a Sabbath that remains under the new covenant. And it emphatically states the word, “the” Sabbath. Well under the old covenant, “the” Sabbath would have referred to the 7th day of the week Sabbath, but under a new covenant Sabbath, it no doubt would refer to “the” Sabbath, under the new covenant, or “the” Sabbath that isobserved now. So it talks of one Sabbath, in verse 2, but now we go unto verse 4, which says for the eunuchs to keep my Sabbaths (plural), and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant. It is talking of the eunuchs keeping Sabbaths, while taking hold of the new covenant. Now I know that in the millennial reign, all the Sabbaths will be reinstated, but in this scripture of Isaiah 56:4, it is not talking about the millennial reign, and when God, does talk of the millennial reign in scripture, he alwaysshows something hinting towards that, in one shape or form, but in this specific scripture, there is none of that. So if there is to be only one Sabbath, to be observed in the new testament (which we will see that there is only one), then what is it meaning here, about the eunuchs keeping God’s Sabbaths ??? Well I believe that it is saying this, in the sense, that the one Sabbath, that is kept, is continual, and it is to be kept continually, under the new covenant, therefore because of that, and it being weekly (which we will see), it getsobserved on many days, therefore you can call them God’s Sabbaths (plural). So his weekly Sabbaths, are to be kept, under the new covenant, that is, God’s new testament weekly Sabbath, which has to fall on another day, a day not established, under the old covenant, and which was not part of thehandwritten ordinances of the old covenant. So we can see that, this scripture would not contradict, what the King James version says, of the Sabbath days (plural), being done away with, but it would contradict, the N.I.V version, of there being no Sabbath, period. So the King James, is in harmony with this. So now we get to a scripture, I have been wanting to get to. Isaiah 56:6 (6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;) This is talking about the sons of the stranger, or of the Gentile, keeping the Sabbath, and taking hold of God’s covenant. Here it mentions, the Sabbath (singular), and the word covenant, together. So we finally have the words “Sabbath” in a singular form, and the word “covenant” together. Before, concerning the eunuch, it was the words “Sabbaths” in a plural form, and the word “covenant”. So this is showing, a keeping of the Sabbath, with the holding on of the new covenant, putting them together, in association with one another, for it says : “ keepeth the Sabbath… .and taketh hold of my covenant” !!!!!!! Now this reminds me of a new testament scripture, of how it says “there remaineth a rest to the people of God”, which I would not be surprised, if it comes from this Isaiah scripture (Isaiah 56:6). Now let us go to new testament scriptures, found in Hebrews. Hebrews 4:1-11 (1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.) Now the word rest, in the Greek, concerning verses 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10 , 11 , means this: (Strong's concordance) (G2663 κατάπαυσις

katapausis

kat-ap'-ow-sis

From G2664; reposing down, that is, (by Hebraism) abode: - rest.

Total KJV occurrences: 9)

Now concerning verse 8, the word rest, means this:

(Strong;s concordance)

(G2664 καταπαύω

katapauo

kat-ap-ow'-o

From G2596 and G3973; to settle down, that is, (literally) to colonize, or (figuratively) to (cause to) desist: - cease, (give) rest (-rain).

Total KJV occurrences: 4)

And concerning the word rest, in verse 9, it means this:

(Strong’s concordance)

(G4520 σαββατισμός

sabbatismos

sab-bat-is-mos'

From a derivative of G4521; a “sabbatism”, that is, (figuratively) the repose of Christianity (as a type of heaven): - rest.

Total KJV occurrences: 1)

Now it mentions that the word sabbatismos is a derivative of G4521, what is G4521 ???

(Strong’s concordance)

(G4521 σάββατον

sabbaton

sab'-bat-on

Of Hebrew origin [H7676]; the Sabbath (that is, Shabbath), or day of weekly repose from secular avocations (also the observance or institution itself); by extension a se'nnight, that is, the interval between two Sabbaths; likewise the plural in all theabove applications: - sabbath (day), week.

Total KJV occurrences: 68)

So now that we have covered the definitions, let us go unto covering our verses. Ok let us start with the first three verses. Hebrews 4:1-3 (1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.) The “rest” it talks of, in these verses, is us ceasing from our own works, and resting in the finished work of the cross. For Christ is our salvation, and we draw everything from him, from his life, from resurrection life. And the rest it talks of here, I believe, is talking of a complete rest, body, soul and spirit. Now here is a comment from Darby, concerning verse 2. (Darby) (Hebrews 4:1-16 The apostle goes on to apply this part of Israel's history to those whom he was addressing, laying stress on two points:1st, That Israel had failed of entering into rest, through unbelief; 2nd, That the rest was yet to come, and that believers (thosewho were not seeking rest here, but who accepted the wilderness for the time being) should enter into it.)

Now I only mentioned part of Darby’s comment, which mainly pertained to verse 2.

And back in old testament times, most Israelites did not enter the promised land during the Exodus, because of unbelief. They did not come in to the rest that God gave to Joshua, but now under new covenant times, the rest is much greater, and it isno longer a physical battle against nations, but rather a spiritual battle.

Was there a type of rest, given to Joshua, in old testament times ???

Joshua 21:44 (44 And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.) Yes there was, the Lord had gave them rest round about, for he delivered all their enemies into their hand. So there was 2 main types of rest, under the old covenant, which was the 7th day Sabbath rest, and rest from their enemies. Now let us go on, to our next verses. Hebrews 4:4-6 (4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:) They to whom it was first preached, is of course referring to the people of the Exodus, and most of them, because of unbelief, entered not into the then rest ; but Joshua and some of the people born in the Exodus, did enter intothis rest, they got from God, from their enemies, which back then it was physical warfare, and there was also an aspect of spiritual warfare.

Now the certain place, spoken of, here, is referring to Genesis 2:1-3, which is when God created the heavens and the earth, and rested the 7th day. And God wants us to rest as he rested, which we rest in the finished work of the cross. So let’s go on. Hebrews 4:7-9 (7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.) Ok first, let us comment , on verse 7. It begins with the word “again”, so how do we know, what the word again, is referring to ??? Well verse 5 , talks of entering into his rest, and verse 6, says this “it remaineth that some must enter therein”, enter into what ??? Enter into his rest, so now we get to verse 7, which says “again”, which is saying something else about rest. So the word “Again”, is saying, well once more concerning rest. It’s talking about another issue, about rest. And then it continues, and says:” he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts”. I think the message here, is simple, that if you hear his voice, listen to it, and do not wait. For this is the day of salvation !!!!!!! And rest of course is in Christ, and there must have been a partial rest, in David’s day as well, but now it is a full rest. So now we get to verse 8. Let us quote, verse 8. Hebrews 4:8 (8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.)

Now some bible versions use the name of Joshua here, but I believe, that the King James version people, had it right, when they put Jesus’ name here, simply because of how it harmonizes, with the rest of scripture.

And I know that most commentators say that it should be interpreted as Joshua (though not all), but I do not agree, for a lot of reasons, which one of them, is how that the word of Jesus in this case, brings things in accordance to sound doctrine, andit harmonizes with the rest of scripture.

I think that the King James men, which knew Hebrew and Greek, had a great insight on this verse.

Now it says “For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterwards have spoken of another day”.

Here it is not speaking of many days, or even many days of triumph, but rather to a specific day.

One day.

Did Jesus speak of another day ???

Yes he did.

Let us go unto this scripture.

John 16:7 (7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.) Who is this Comforter ? John 14:26 (26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.) So the Comforter, is the Holy Ghost. And in John 16:7, it is talking of a day that the Comforter shall come on. So it is talking of a certain day. Now what does that Hebrews' verse say again ??? Hebrews 4:8 (8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.) Now did not Jesus give rest to the people, or his disciples ??? Yes but not in a permanent way, and for them to have permanent rest, Jesus would have to die, resurrect from the dead, ascend to heaven on the right hand of the Father, and then send back the Holy Ghost. When was the Holy Ghost sent back ??? Acts 2:1-4 (1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.) Why was the Holy Ghost sent back here ??? Well for many reasons, and one was for the sake of indwelling believers so they can be born again, and also to baptise them in himself (the Holy Ghost). On what day of the week, was the day of Pentecost ? Leviticus 23:16 (16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.) They had to count 50 days to get to the day of Pentecost, and the day of Pentecost, was on the day after the Sabbath, which is the first day of the week. So the Holy Ghost was sent back, on the first day of the week. Now is there an old testament verse, that connects this day, to a type of rest ??? Isaiah 28:10-13 (10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.) I believe that, here (verse 10) it was talking of men, such as the Jews, and Pharisees, to were the word, had just become lines and precepts unto them, and they failed to see that Christ was the Messiah, and failed tocomprehend, what was happening with these people with stammering lips and another tongue, which were proclaiming the wonders of God, in the book of Acts. They failed to see what the scriptures were saying, and what the scriptures were truly pointing to, therefore the word had become line upon line, precept upon precept, for they were spiritually dull of hearing. And it was not a positive thing, in the case, about precepts and lines for in verse 13, it says:”But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept , precept upon precept; line upon line , line upon line; here a little , andthere a little;” , and for what reason ??? So that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. Falling backward, being broken, snared, and taken, is not a positive thing, but rather negative !!! Actually they refused God’s testimony, through the people in the upper room, who had receive the Holy Ghost in the form of indwelling them, but also, in the form of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And it resulted in them speaking in other tongues. Acts 2:4 (4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.) So verse 11 and 12 say this. Isaiah 28:11-12 (11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.) It calls this thing of stammering lips and another tongue (which is the infilling or baptism of the Holy Ghost) , a “rest” wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and it also calls it “the” refreshing. And when did this rest, and refreshing take place ??? On the first day of the week, on the day of Pentecost !!!!!!! So let’s go back to Hebrews. Hebrews 4:8 (8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.) Jesus while alive, surely gave rest to the people, in some form, but could not give permanent rest, until he died on the cross, was resurrected on the first day , and ascended to the right hand of the Father, therefore, sending back the Holy Ghost. And Jesus did speak of another day, wherein he would send back the Comforter. And this other day, was none other than the first day of the week, which is when the Holy Ghost was sent down to men to indwell them. So it mentions a day here, another day, wherein rest would be established, that is rest through the Holy Ghost. But also, is it mentioning this other day, for the sake of having a Sabbath rest, as well ??? Well let us go unto our next scripture. Hebrews 4:9 (9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.) Now this word, “rest”, is distinct from the other words “rest”, found in this chapter, which it’s Greek word is sabbatism, which is a derivative of the word sab'-bat-on, which refers to the Sabbath. So it says the word: “therefore” here, which is a huge word.

And the word “therefore” is talking about the previous verse, which talks about Jesus mentioning another day, which is the first day of the week, and as a result of the mentioning of this day, there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God, arest in God ??? Absolutely, but also a Sabbath of rest, or a day of rest. Now it says the words: ”there remaineth”. The word remain, is referring to something that was in the past, but still is today. What was in the past, but now remains ??? And we must remember, that the context is about rest. Well under the old covenant, there was rest from the enemies through Joshua, but also there was the 7th day Sabbath rest. Well under the new covenant, there remaineth a rest to the people of God, through Christ (our spiritual conqueror) and his finished work, and the sending back of the Holy Ghost, and also as there was a Sabbath rest under the old, there is one underthe new covenant, for rest (a sabbatism) remaineth to the people of God. As I said before, if the Sabbath days of the old covenant, were done away with, and there remaineth a Sabbath, under the new covenant, then it would no doubt be observed on a different day than the old covenant, which here, it would refer to ourSabbath that remaineth, as being on the other day, which is the first day of the week. Now some may say, well the day of Pentecost, existed under the old covenant, and was a Sabbath, and this verse talks of the day of Pentecost, which is the first day of the week ??? Well, when it says there remaineth a rest, yes it is talking about resting in Christ, but also it is talking of a Sabbath of rest, and the Greek derivative word, for rest here, means the Sabbath day. It’s referring to the weekly Sabbath, which under the old covenant, they never had a weekly Sabbath, on the first day of the week, and we have to remember that Pentecost was only once a year, not every week. So this weekly Sabbath, could not have been done away with, for it never existed, under the old covenant, and it started from the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts, and onward. Also another thing to remember, is that the Sabbath, was part of the moral commandments of God, and this moral commandment, was a weekly Sabbath, and God’s moral commandments, cannot change, they always remain, and the only thing thatchanged, under the new covenant, was the day. So now it is a new day, that is under the weekly Sabbath, moral law. So now, let us compare Hebrews 4:9, with Isaiah 56:6.

Hebrews 4:9

(9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.)

Isaiah 56:6 (6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be hisservants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;)

Do these 2 scriptures, harmonize with each other??? Well of course they do, all scriptures do of course. And in what way do they harmonize with each other ??? Well one talks of a rest remaining to the people of God, and the other shows a Sabbath being kept, while taking hold of the new covenant. So both show a rest being established, under the new covenant. And the only way we can know, what Sabbath God has established under the new covenant, is if we have details of it, and Hebrews 4:8-9, shows us details of it. Hebrews is talking about a full rest, including a day of rest, and not a partial rest. And remember that God provides for all our needs, even in the New, and I mean all our needs, and not half of our needs !!!!!!! And a day of physical rest, and of meeting with the body of Christ, is an immense need !!!!!!! So you can see how the puzzle fits together, because if you remove the fact, that we have a day of rest under the new covenant, then there would be confusion amongst scriptures, for Isaiah is speaking of a Sabbath day, and says that there is one to

be kept under the new covenant, so if you say there is none, then you confuse this verse, and the harmony of verses, gets disharmonized, therefore also sound doctrine gets removed, and that is where you start to get people deleting things fromtheir bible, whether they realize it or not. And the truth is, is Hebrews 4:9, actually harmonizes with Isaiah 56:6. It does not disprove Isaiah 56:6, but rather complements it. And frankly why don’t you want a day of rest ??? Why is your money, your God ??? Or maybe it is because, you do not trust for God to provide for all your needs !!!!!!! Are you afraid, of a few trials ??? Now let us do a kind of a recap. Hebrews 4:1-10 (1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.) So first of all, verse 2 pointed to of how the word preached did not profit them, which is referring to the people of the Exodus, which then they would have, had rest through Joshua. Secondly, it mentions in verse 3, how God rested the 7th day from his works. Thirdly, it mentions in verse 7, a type of rest in David’s time, through the word “again”. Fourthly, it mentions in verse 8, and says the word “for”, which is talking about what it said about David’s time, how there was a rest, and in in like manner, Jesus was mentioning a rest,which concerns another day. And fifthly, it mentions in verse 9, how there remaineth a rest to the people of God, which is a threefold rest, in the realm of the full man, body, soul and spirit, which includes a day of physical rest. It is a complete rest. So now let us get into more evidence of this new, first day of the week Sabbath. Which yes, there is more evidence ; I still have quite a bit to go. So is there evidence, of the church, gathering on the first day of the week ??? Well, yes there is, here are the scriptures. Acts 20:7 (7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.) It shows here the disciples gathering together on the first day of the week, and it mentions that they came together to break bread, which I believe points to the Lord’s supper. Here is a comment from John Wesley. (Wesley) (Acts 20:7To break bread - That is, to celebrate the Lord's Supper; continued his discourse - Through uncommon fervour of spirit.) 1 Corinthians 16:1-3

(1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.) The collection for the saints, referred to a collection of money, so to help out saints who were in need. And as we continue, it says : “upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store , as God hath prospered him.” Now it says the words lay by him in store, which I believe, it was just showing to have it ready, to bring on the first day of the week, to set a certain amount aside basically. So on the first day of the week, which was a weekly gathering, which the church would meet on that day, they took an offering, so that when Paul came, whenever he came, that there would be no gatherings of money. So that everything would be ready upon his coming, and whomsoever the Corinthians approved, Paul would send to bring their liberality unto Jerusalem. And of course the only way, they could get all the collection, is of course, if they met. So here are the verses, that show the church gathering, on the first day of the week. Now before we go on, I want to cover, a few things concerning the millennial reign, and answer a few questions concerning the feast days, then we will get back into the issues of the first day of the week Sabbath. Millenial reign and feast days

Now a question, that arises, especially, from people who keep all the feasts, is this : “Aren’t the feast days, perpetual ,or to be kept for ever” ??? Well first let us see what the word perpetual means. (Webster’s dictionary) (PerpetualPERPET'UAL, a. [L. perpetuus, from perpes, perpetis; per and pes, from a root signifying to pass.] 1. Never ceasing; continuing forever in future time; destined to be eternal; as a perpetual covenant; a perpetual statute.) So now, let us go unto these verses. Exodus 31:16-17 (16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.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.)

Now this is talking of the 7th day Sabbath, as a perpetual covenant. Exodus 12:11-14 (11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.) Here it is talking of the Passover as an ordinance to be kept forever. Exodus 12:17 (17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.) Concerning this verse, it is talking about the feast of unleavened bread, as being an ordinance forever.

Leviticus 16:29-31 (29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger thatsojourneth among you:30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.) Now here it is talking of the day of atonement, as being a statute forever. Leviticus 23:16-21 (16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offeringmade by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.)

And this is referring to the day of Pentecost (50th), as being a statute forever. And there are more verses concerning other days, regarding this issue, but I found these scriptures to be sufficient, in covering this issue. So now the question, must be, how can these days be done away with, if they are to be observed, for ever ??????? Well they are done away with today, under the new covenant, but will be reinstituted during the millennial reign, which shows that they will be as a statute forever. And under the new covenant, Paul warned a certain church, about them observing days, months , and years. Let us go unto this scripture. Galatians 4:9-11 (9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.) Under the new covenant, the observation of the Jewish feast days, months (counting 50 days), times (New moons) and years (year of Jubilee ), were considered weak and beggarly elements, simply because they could not save,and the true one was here, the one who became these days, in a living way was here, therefore not needing to observe these days. And we seen in Romans 14:2-6, that one who would regard these days, was considered to be weak. And of course, Colossians 2:14-16, shows us that the handwriting of ordinances, such as the holydays, and Sabbath days of the old covenant, were blotted out. So yes these feast days will be, and observation for ever, but it will be in a sense, that they will be reinstituted under the millennial reign, so they can be a perpetual ordinance. These feast days will only be reinstituted, when Christ comes back, and reigns on earth. It will be reinstituted, in a true time of peace, and not in a time of chaos, when men are leading the world, which is right now. Only Christ can bring everything in true order, so it will take Christ, to bring everything in true order, but until then, we have him inside of us, and under the new covenant, we just have the first day of the week Sabbath, inhonour of Christ, so we will honour him, until he comes back, and fixes everything. So another scripture of something being perpetual, is found in our next scripture. Exodus 29:9 (9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.) So the Levitical priesthood is perpetual, yet did not Christ abolish the priesthood , under the new covenant ???

Yes he did (Heb 7:11-19 , 1Pe 2:5-9). So how is then the priesthood perpetual ??? Well it is perpetual, in the same sense as the feast days, in that it will be reinstituted, during the millennial reign. So now we will quote scriptures that show some of these things, being reinstituted, under the millennial reign. Isaiah 66:23 (23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.)

Here it is talking about the 7th day Sabbath, being observed, under the millennial reign. Zechariah 14:16 (16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.) This is talking about the feast of tabernacles, being observed, in the millennial reign. Ezekiel 46:3 (3 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons.) This is referring to the many Sabbaths held during the old covenant, which gets reinstituted, in the millennial reign. Ezekiel 45:21 (21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.) Here it mentions the passover, during the millennial reign. And the list goes on and on, and we will just show forth one priesthood verse, during the millennial reign. Ezekiel 43:24 (24 And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD.) There are many verses concerning the priesthood, during the millennial reign, but this will suffice, and they will be doing things, from a different point of view, than under the old covenant, and there will be some rules, that willbe vastly different. So this concludes our millennial reign segment. Now on with the first day of the week. First day of the week stuff

Now a claim that I have heard, concerning some of the people who are 7th day of the week, Sabbath keepers, is that some claim that Constantine, instituted the first day of the week Sabbath, and they say it was a pagan day, because of beingobserved on Sunday ??? Is that true ??? And there are also some, who will say that, because a Sabbath is observed on Sunday, that, that automatically means, that you are observing sun god worship.

Well, I will say this, because you observe the Sabbath, on Saturday, does that mean you are observing worship towards the god of Saturn ???

Because the truth is, is that most, if not all, of the days of the week, in the Roman calendar, refers to another god.

So the day itself, does not dictate, which God you are worshipping, or not, for that itself, is irrelevant, for that would mean that, maybe when they observed the day of Pentecost, they worshipped the sun god.

God does not establish days, on the basis, of avoiding to establish a day, on a pagan day, God establishes his day, irregardless to the pagan day, and when God establishes a day, he establishes a totally different day, than thepagan day, even though it may fall on the same day.

And God does not Christianise pagan days, he never has, and never will.

Now it does show in history, of how this cult of Mithraism, was observing a type of sun god worship, on Sunday, but just because they were, does not mean that a totally different day, which is holy, cannot be established, on thesame day, and it would be, irrespective to the word Sunday, which I like better calling the day, the first day of the week, which in truth that is what it truly is.

So is the claim of Constantine true ???

Well no it is not, and we will show historical proof of that, before the time of Constantine, were they observed, the Lord’s day, with some proof of it being a Sabbath.

And we will mainly deal with people who lived, in the 2nd century.

Now first, let us cover, a man by the name of Ignatius , which we will give a little back ground concerning him, then show forth quotes of his, concerning the Lord’s day.

The 2nd century church

Ignatius

Ignatius of Antioch (Born c.35 , Died c.107) was an Apostolic Father and student of John the Apostle and was the third bishop of Antioch.Ignatius converted to Christianity[4] at a young age. Later in his life he was chosen to serve as a Bishop of Antioch, succeeding Saint Peter and St. Evodius (who died around AD 67). Ignatius is claimed to be the first known Christian writer to argue in favor of Christianity's replacement of the Sabbath with the Lord's Day.

This info comes from Wikipedia, and in the info concerning when Ignatius was born and died, it also shows this (AD c.  35 or 50 – 98 to 117), but the info up above I got on the side section of the page, so there may have been a bit of confusion of whenIgnatius died and was born. So now we get to 2 quotes, concerning Ignatius and the Lord’s day.

(http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ignatius-magnesians-longer.html)(IgnatiusBut 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 lukewarmdrinks, 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, theresurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days)

Now I have read, that how some people, think that Ignatius concerning the words: “not in relaxation of the body”, that he was talking about the Lord’s day, but that is not so.

We have to read this very carefully. For he first started with the Sabbath itself, that is the seventh day of the week Sabbath, saying to keep it after a spiritual manner, which would be resting spiritually in Christ of course, then he goes on to say, not to keep the seventh day, in therelaxation of the body, or as a day of physical rest, and later he goes on to say: “ and after the observance of the Sabbath”, which goes to show that he was talking about the seventh day Sabbath, which was no longer a day of rest.

After the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ keep the Lord’s day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all days.

So here, Ignatius was not defining whether the Lord’s day, was a day of rest or not, he was just defining that the Sabbath was no longer one, and that is all, and that that day (the former Sabbath) should be kept in a spiritual manner, and no longer asbefore. So now let us go to our next quote.

(http://www.ukapologetics.net/early.htm) (The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 8-10 (c. 110 A.D. If, then, those who had lived in antiquated practices came to newness of hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath but living in accordance with the Lord's day, on which our life also arose through Him and His death (which some deny), themystery through which we came to believe,)

So Ignatius, here is just confirming that men ought to no longer keep the Sabbath but live in accordance to the Lord’s day.

So in both quotes, he puts high emphasis on the Lord’s day.

Now let us go unto Irenaeus.

Irenaeus

Irenaeus (Born 130, Died 202), also referred to as Saint Irenaeus, was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (now Lyon, France). Church Father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. He was a hearer of Polycarp,[1] who in turn was traditionally a disciple of John the Evangelist. Irenaeus was born during the first half of the 2nd century (the exact date is disputed: between the years 115 and 125 according to some, or 130 and 142 according to others). Irenaeus wrote a number of books, but the most important that survives is the Against Heresies. This info of course is from Wikipedia , and now we get to a quote from Irenaeus. (http://www.covenanter.org/JChrystie/lordsdayischristiansabbath.htm)

(Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, the friend of John, says: "On the Lord’s day every one of us Christians keep the Sabbath, meditating on the law, and rejoicing in the works of God.")

Here Irenaeus, mentions the Lord’s day, as a Christian Sabbath !!!!!!! Or you can say, that when you keep the Lord’s day, you are observing the Sabbath.

Now let us go unto Justin Martyr.

Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr, also known as Saint Justin (100 – 165 AD), was an early Christian apologist, and is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century.Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. The First Apology, his most well known text, passionately defends the morality of the Christian life, and provides various ethical and philosophicalarguments to convince the Roman emperor, Antoninus, to abandon the persecution of the fledgling sect. Of course this info was derived from Wikipedia. Now let us go unto Justin’s quote.

(http://pastorhistorian.com/2005/09/13/quotes-from-the-early-church-fathers-on-the-sabbathlords-day-issue)

(2nd Century A.D. 140Justin Martyr: “But Sunday is the day which we all hold our common assembly, because Jesus Christ, our Saviour, on the same day rose from the dead.” Apology, Chapter LXVII. )

Here Justin, confirms that Sunday, was the day which we all hold our common assembly, because Jesus, our Saviour, on the same day rose from the dead.

And of course this points us to, the first day of the week.

So let us go unto Clement of Alexandria.

Clement of Alexandria

Titus Flavius Clemens (Greek: Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; c. 150 – c. 215), known as Clement of Alexandria to distinguish him from the earlier Clement of Rome, was a Christian theologian who taught at the Catechetical

School of Alexandria.Neither Clement's birthdate or birthplace is known with any degree of certainty. It is conjectured that he was born in around 150.[3] According to Epiphanius Scholasticus, he was born in Athens, but there isalso a tradition of an Alexandrian birth.

During the Severian persecutions of 202–203, Clement left Alexandria. In 211, Alexander of Jerusalem wrote a letter commending him to the Church of Antioch,[10] which may imply that Clement was living in Cappadocia orJerusalem at that time. Besides the great trilogy, Clement's only other extant work is the treatise Salvation for the rich, also known as Who is the Rich Man who is Saved?. Having begun with a scathing criticism of the corrupting effects of money andmisguided servile attitudes towards the wealthy, Clement discusses the implications of Mark 10:25.[71] The rich are either unconvinced by the promise of eternal life, or unaware of the conflict between the possession of materialand spiritual wealth, and the good Christian has a duty to guide them towards a better life through the Gospel. The holding of material wealth in itself is not a wrong, as long as it is used charitably, but men should be careful not to let their wealth dominate their spirit. This info was taken from Wikipedia. Now here is a quote from Clement of Alexandria, concerning the Lord’s day.

(http://pastorhistorian.com/2005/09/13/quotes-from-the-early-church-fathers-on-the-sabbathlords-day-issue)

(2nd Century A.D. 194 Clement of Alexandria, Egypt:“He, in fulfillment of the precept, according to the gospel, keeps the Lord’s Day, when he abandons an evil disposition, and assumes that of the Gnostic, glorifying the Lord’s resurrection in himself.” Book 7, Chapter XII.)

Clement, mentions here that, we ought to keep the Lord’s day.

So now we go unto Tertullian.

Tertullian

Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian (/tәrˈtʌliәn/; c. 155 – c. 240 AD),[1] was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa.[2] He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature.

He also was a notable early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy, including contemporary Christian Gnosticism.

Though conservative, he did originate and advance new theology to the early Church. He is perhaps most famous for being the oldest extant Latin writer to use the term Trinity (Latin: Trinitas).

This info is from Wikipedia ,and now we go unto Tertullian’s quote.

(http://www.sounddoctrine.net/Nick/sabbath1.htm)

(Tertullian, of the same period, says: "The Lord's day is the holy day of the Christian church.")

So Tertulian, mentions the Lord’s day as being “the” holy day of the Christian church.

Now unto Tertullian’s last quote.

(http://www.zianet.com/maxey/Study4.htm)

(Tertullian (160 - 220 A.D.) was the first writer to urge the cessation of labor on Sunday. "We, on the day of the Lord's resurrection, ought to.....defer even our businesses lest we give any place to the devil.")

So Tertullian, here mentions of how to defer even our businesses, during the Lord’s day, which is ceasing from our usual, labour or business, that is usually done, on other days.

Now I have read many things concerning this 2nd century, and there was a lot of various beliefs.

And on one hand, there was this man named Polycarp, which in the overall seemed to have good beliefs, and was a disciple of the apostle John, and of course, it is said of Ignatius that he was a student of the apostle John.

Now concerning Polycarp, I could not find anything of him, concerning the Lord’s day, but he would promote, the keeping of the Passover, and claimed he got this revelation from John.

Now could have John been really referring to the Lord’s supper, and Polycarp got confused ??? It is possible, but we know by the word of God, that, the handwritten ordinances of the old testament, which concerned holy days, and Sabbath days,were blotted out, so by this we can know, that the teaching of keeping the Passover, was not biblical concerning, new testament observances.

Then I also read of another, that said to keep the day of Pentecost, which again was blotted out, and nailed to the cross.

Now the one thing that, Tertullian, Ignatius, Irenaeus , Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and of course many others in the 2nd century church had, is that they all agreed that the observance of the Lord’s day, was a must to keep, especially as atime of worship, and gathering together, even through the reading of the word etc.

Now concerning Justin Martyr, and Ignatius, it seems, through the many things I read of them, that, they seemed more to consider the Lord’s day, as a time of worship, rather than a day of rest, but through people like Irenaeus, and Tertullian, theydid consider the Lord’s day, a time of worship, but hinted, at a Sabbath aspect to it.

Tertulian, even mentions, of deferring your business on that day, and Irenaeus, calls the Lord’s day, the Christian Sabbath, or specifically, that if you observe the Lord’s day, you’re keeping the Sabbath.

So there was various thoughts on the subject, but in the overall, there was unanimous agreement, in the fact of keeping the Lord’s day, or observing it, which was on the first day of the week.

So I do believe that the apostles would have observed, the Lord’s day as a Sabbath, because of what the word says in Isaiah, concerning this issue, but in the second century, it seems that the prevailing thought was that, the Lord’s day, was simply aday of worship to be kept , and not a day of rest, but yet the thought of it being a Sabbath was there, and I believe that some would of observed it, as a Sabbath, and remember the thought of it, was already there, through Tertullian and Irenaeus,and possibly many more that we do not know of.

And as I read, concerning many church people of the time, it showed many times of some of their writings, being gone, or missing, and was some of their writings, just simply destroyed or burnt, because of the heavy persecution ???

I do not doubt that this would be yes.

And anyhow, there was tons of confusion during that time.

Here is what the apostle Paul said.

Acts 20:29-31 (29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.) So that was one of the Apostle Paul’s concerns. And I know that the people that I mentioned, such as Justin Marty , Tertullian ,in some areas of their beliefs, had strange beliefs, and it seems that all the people I mentioned, had a bit of beliefs, that were either a bit off, or a lot

off.

My goal here, was not to focus on these areas, in this peticular study, but rather to point, to the fact, that there was unanimous agreement, in observing the Lord’s day, the first day of the week.

So we can see that the Lord’s day, was already being observed, before the time of Constantine, and even hints of it being a Sabbath were already there.

And yes, I thank God that we still have 2nd century, writings that prove the Lord’s day observance, especially so to refute, the claims of Constantine, but in the end, what is the standard ??? These men, or the bible ???

Well of course, it’s the bible.

And what does the bible say, about keeping a Sabbath, under the new covenant ???

Isaiah 56:6(6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;)

Well it shows to keep a Sabbath, while taking hold of the new covenant, and that’s good enough for me.

So now I want to cover, things, concerning, people in church history, who are known to be men of God, of how they believed in keeping the Lord’s day, as a Sabbath.

Church history , men who believed the Lord’s day as a Sabbath

John Bunyan

John Bunyan (/ˈbʌnjәn/; baptised 30 November 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher best remembered as the author of the religious allegory The Pilgrim's Progress. In addition to The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyanwrote nearly sixty titles, many of them expanded sermons.

The religious tolerance which had allowed Bunyan the freedom to preach became curtailed with the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The members of the Bedford Meeting were no longer able to meet in St John’s church, which they hadbeen sharing with the Anglican congregation.

That November, Bunyan was preaching at a farm in the village of Lower Samsell in the village of Westoning, thirteen miles from Bedford, when he was warned that a warrant was out for hisarrest. Deciding not to make an escape, he was arrested and brought before the local magistrate Sir Francis Wingate. Further allegorical works were to follow: The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680), Pilgrim’s Progress Part II, and The Holy War (1682). Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, a spiritual autobiography was published in 1666, when hewas still in jail. This info is from Wikipedia, and now we go unto a quote from Bunyan, about the Lord’s day Sabbath.

(pastorhistorian.com/2005/09/13/quotes-from-the-early-church-fathers-on-the-sabbathlords-day-issue)

(From, John Bunyan's Dying ThoughtsHave a special care to sanctify the Lord’s day; for as thou keepest it, so it will be with thee all the week long. Make the Lord’s day the market for thy soul; let the whole day be spent in prayer, repetitions, or meditations; lay aside the affairs of the other partof the week; let thy sermon thou hast heard be converted into prayer: Shall God allow thee six days, and wilt not thou afford him one? )

It think it is pretty clear what John Bunyan is saying here, and this was written just before he died, and this is talking of the Lord’s day, which if you do more research, you will know that it was talking of the first day of the week, which John Bunyanwas known to believe.

And one thing that is very touching to me in his words, are the words:” Shall God allow thee six days, and wilt not thou afford him one?”.

How selfish we can be, it seems that people, want it all to be about them.

Now let us go unto Matthew Henry.

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry (18 October 1662 – 22 June 1714) was a Welsh[1] or British Non-Conformist minister and author.

Matthew Henry's well-known six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (1708–1710) or Complete Commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the Bible.[5] covering the whole of the Old Testament, and theGospels and Acts in the New Testament. This info is from Wikipedia. Now unto quotes of Henry, about the Lord’s day Sabbath.

(pastorhistorian.com/2005/09/13/quotes-from-the-early-church-fathers-on-the-sabbathlords-day-issue)

(“The Streams of all religion runs either deep or shallow according as the banks of the Sabbath are kept up or neglected.”)

(Henry)

(Revelation 1:10Surely this can be no other than the Christian sabbath, the first day of the week, to be observed in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ. Let us who call him our Lord honour him on his own day, the day which the Lord hathmade and in which we ought to rejoice)

You can see that Henry calls the Lord’s day, the Christian Sabbath, which is the first day of the week, and he mentions in his first quote, a Sabbath that should be kept.

So now unto Jonathan Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703 – March 22, 1758) was a Protestant preacher, philosopher, and theologian. Edwards "is widely acknowledged to be America's most important and original philosophical theologian," and one ofAmerica's greatest intellectuals.

Edwards delivered the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", a classic of early American literature, during another revival in 1741, following George Whitefield's tour of the Thirteen Colonies.

Info from Wikipedia. Now unto a quote from Edwards, on the Lord’s day Sabbath.

(http://www.biblebb.com/files/edwards/sabbath.htm)

(Therefore, I design now, by the help of God, to show that it is sufficiently revealed in the Scriptures, to be the mind and will of God, that the first day of the week should be distinguished in the Christian church from other days of the week, as aSabbath, to be devoted to religious exercises.…JI shall speak upon this subject under these two general propositions.I. It is sufficiently clear, that it is the mind of God, that one day of the week should be devoted to rest, and to religious exercises, throughout all ages and nations.

II. It is sufficiently clear, that under the gospel-dispensation, this day is the first day of the week.....Third, there is another thing which confirms it (that the fourth command teaches God’s resting from the new creation, as well as from the old), which is that the Scriptures expressly speak of the one as parallel with the other: i.e. Christ’s resting from the work ofredemption is expressly spoken of as being parallel with God’s resting from the work of creation. Heb. 4:10, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”Now Christ rested from his works when he rose from the dead, on the first day of the week. When he rose from the dead, then he finished his work of redemption. His humiliation was then at an end: he then rested and was refreshed. — When it is said, “Thereremaineth a rest to the people of God;” in the original, it is, a sabbatism, or the keeping of a Sabbath: and this reason is given for it, “For he that entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” — These three things atleast we are taught by these words:1. To look upon Christ’s rest from his work of redemption, as parallel with God’s rest from the work of creation. For they are expressly compared together, as parallel one with the other…)

I think Jonathan’s first remark up above, says it all, which it says: “that the first day of the week should be distinguished in the Christian church from other days of the week, as a Sabbath”.Now he goes even more into detail than this, in the comments up above, but this will suffice.

Now we will go unto Adam Clarke.

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke (b. 1760-1762, d. August 28, 1832[1]) was a British Methodist theologian and biblical scholar. He was born in the townland of Moybeg Kirley near Tobermore in Northern Ireland.He is chiefly remembered for writing a commentary on the Bible which took him 40 years to complete and which was a primary Methodist theological resource for two centuries. As a theologian, Clarke reinforced the teachings of Methodist founder John Wesley. He taught that the Bible provides a complete interpretation of God's nature and will. He considered Scripture itself a miracle of God's grace that "takes awaythe veil of darkness and ignorance.

This info was taken from the encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Now unto quotes from Clarke, concerning the lord’s day Sabbath.

(Clarke)

(Revelation 1:10 The Lord’s day - The first day of the week, observed as the Christian Sabbath, because on it Jesus Christ rose from the dead; therefore it was called the Lord’s day, and has taken place of the Jewish Sabbath throughout theChristian world…. Acts 20:7 Upon the first day of the week - What was called κυριακη, the Lord’s day, the Christian Sabbath, in which they commemorated the resurrection of our Lord; and which, among all Christians, afterwards took the place of the Jewish Sabbath.)

In Adam Clarke’s comments, we see the Lord’s day (first day of the week), as a Christian Sabbath, and how that this Christian Sabbath, took the place of the Jewish Sabbath.

You cannot get any clearer than this.

Now we go to Spurgeon.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Charles Haddon (CH) Spurgeon (/ˈhædәn ˈspɜrdʒәn/; 19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was a British Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince ofPreachers".

It is estimated that in his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people. Spurgeon produced powerful sermons of penetrating thought and precise exposition. His oratory skills held his listeners spellbound in the Metropolitan Tabernacle and many Christians have discovered Spurgeon's messages to be among the best in Christian literature.

Info from Wikipedia. Now let us go unto a quote of Spurgeon , on the lord’s day Sabbath.

(pastorhistorian.com/2005/09/13/quotes-from-the-early-church-fathers-on-the-sabbathlords-day-issue)

(We gather together on the first rather than the seventh day of the week because redemption is even a greater work than creation and more worthy of commemoration and because the rest which followed creation is far outdone by the rest whichensues upon the completion of redemption. Like the Apostles, we meet on the first day of the week and hope that Jesus may stand in our midst and say, “Peace be unto you.” Our Lord has lifted the Sabbath from the old and rusty hinges where on thelaw had placed it long before and set it on the new golden hinges which His love has fashioned. He has placed our rest day not at the end of a week of toil but at the beginning of the rest which remains for the people of God. Everyfirst day of the week we should meditate on the rising of our Lord and seek to enter into the fellowship with Him in His risen life. --- C.H. Spurgeon)

Now we have to read this very carefully, which it shows to gather on the first day rather the 7th, and then later it goes on to say:” Our Lord has lifted the Sabbath from the old and rusty hinges where on the law had placed itlong before and set it on the new golden hinges”.

See Spurgeon did not say that God removed the Sabbath from the hinges completely, but rather he shows that it has been put on new hinges, which is the hinges of the new covenant.

So if it has been put on new hinges, it means that it has not been removed.

And then still later he mentions how our rest “day” was placed not at the end of a week of toil but at the beginning.

And of course the beginning of the week refers to the first day of the week.

So now we go unto H.A Ironside.

H. A. Ironside

Henry Allen "Harry" Ironside (October 14, 1876 – January 15, 1951) was a Canadian-American Bible teacher, preacher, theologian, pastor, and author.Ironside was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to John and Sophia (Stafford) Ironside, who were both active in the Plymouth Brethren. Along with others such as Cyrus Scofield, he was influential in popularizing dispensationalism among Protestants in North America. Despite his lack of formal education, his tremendous mental capacity, photographic memory and zeal for his beliefs caused him to

be called, "the Archbishop of Fundamentalism."[6]

Ironside was one of the most prolific Christian writers of the 20th Century and published more than eighty books and pamphlets, a number of which are still in print. He also wrote the popular hymn Overshadowed.[7] One editorial reviewer wrote of a 2005

republication that, "Ironside's commentaries are a standard and have stood the test of time."[8]

This info comes from Wikipedia.

Now we go unto Lord’s day, Sabbath quotes.

(http://www.wholesomewords.org/etexts/ironside/care8.html)

(…— the Lord Jesus Christ — declared Himself to be Lord even of the sabbath day. Now, that is a very significant expression, particularly when we find that after the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ another day comes little bylittle to the front and the seventh-day sabbath of Israel recedes more and more into the background. Why was that? Because the Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath day, and under the new dispensation He had authority to set aside the seventh-daysabbath of Israel and bring in an altogether new day with an altogether different message…

…It would be a sad thing for us as Christians, because we are no longer under the law but under grace, if we should reason something like this: "Well, since the Jewish sabbath has been done away in the cross of Christ, and the Word of God says, 'Let no mantherefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days,' (Col. 2:16) that therefore Christians may be utterly indifferent as to how to use the day that has taken the place of the Jewish sabbath." If itpleased God of old to have His people occupied with spiritual verities one day in seven, we can thank Him that we have such a privilege under this new dispensation, and the righteousness of the law is thus being fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but afterthe Spirit…

…I believe one of the outstanding evils of our day is the growing disregard for the Lord's Day. On every hand we find the world using that day just for pleasure and folly. And you here in America, who perhaps are tempted to be careless about cherishing itsprivileges, only need to take a trip across the sea to France, or any of the countries of Europe after you leave Great Britain, with the exception of Scandinavia and Holland, and see how men and women use the first day of the week in pleasure and folly with norecognition whatever of its sacred character, and I think you will realize then the privileges we have here. We can thank God that there is set aside, generally by rulers and authorities, one day as a day of rest, but it is up to us as Christians to make it aday of worship and a day of Christian service….

…. One other thought: The sabbath of old had a backward aspect. It looked back to creation and God's covenant on Mount Sinai, and to the deliverance of Israel from the land of Egypt; but it also had a forward aspect. The sabbath was typical. It was a type of thatwhich now through grace has been brought in by the finished work of the Lord Jesus, for we read, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Heb. 4:9) — a rest, or a sabbath-keeping. That sabbath of old came in after six days of toil. The Lord'sDay is rest before you begin the week of toil…)

This guy seems to have a lot of interesting quotes, and I have heard of him, but never read his stuff, and I find it really good stuff, very inciting.

He mentions interesting stuff about, Jesus being the Lord of the Sabbath, and he mentions a new day, which of course is the Lord’s day.

Also he mentions a day of rest, and says this:” The Lord's Day is rest before you begin the week of toil”.

I am glad I found him, concerning one of the preachers that stood up, for the Lord’s day as a Sabbath, and he was born in Canada, and I am a Canadian, I find that neat.

Now we go unto David Wilkerson, which I never knew that he believed in the Lord’s day Sabbath ; I was very surprised, and glad, to find that out.Now we go unto David Wilkerson, which I never knew that he believed in the Lord’s day Sabbath ; I was very surprised, and glad, to find that out.

And this is info from his own pulpit series website, that is concerning his quotes.

David Wilkerson

David Ray Wilkerson (May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011[1]) was an American Christian evangelist, best known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He was the founder of the addiction recovery program Teen Challenge, and founding pastor of the non-denominational Times Square Church in New York.

Wilkerson's widely distributed sermons, such as "A Call to Anguish", are known for being direct and frank against apostasy and serious about making the commitment to obey Jesus' teachings.

Info from Wikipedia.

Now let us go unto, David’s quote, on the Sunday Sabbath, which really is the Lord’s day, for I do not like to call it the Sunday Sabbath, but rather the Lord’s day Sabbath.

(http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/1990s/ts971215.html)

(By David WilkersonDecember 15, 1997 __________

I'm an old-fashioned preacher who believes in honoring the sabbath. And one reason behind my conviction is that I was raised in a preacher's home, where the sabbath was honored religiously.… In those days, "blue laws" were in effect. This meant no businesses were allowed to operate on Sunday, except vital ones such as hospitals or gas stations. Very few stores were open at all. In fact, if a shopkeeper opened his store for somereason, people would whisper, "That man has lost his religion!"Even the rankest sinner didn't think of buying anything on Sunday….… A century ago, the great evangelist D.L. Moody preached a fiery message deploring every form of sabbath-breaking….… To Christians living today, this all may sound extreme. But the fact is, Moody voiced the deep feelings and opinions of a multitude of believers of his day. The sabbath was the Lord's day - and it was not meant for pleasure orself-gratification. It was a day to worship God and to rest from all other activities.)

It is pretty clear as crystal to what David is saying here, and he mentions it as being Sunday, which is the first day of the week.

So here is a lot of proof of preachers, even well known ones, of how they believed in the Lord’s day, as a Sabbath.

So you can see that there is many, although in these days, not so much.

And notice what kind of a day we live in, we are living in a time of a great falling away.

Now was there revivals in the past, to where it resulted in people honouring the Lord’s day as a Sabbath ???

Well let us go see.

Revivals which honoured the Lord’s day as a Sabbath

So the first revival, we will cover, is the Second Great Awakening, through Charles Finney.

Second Great Awakening, through Finney (1825–1835)

Now here are quotes, concerning the Finney revival. (http://www.godsgenerals.com/person_charles_finney.htm)

(…Finney’s revivals sparked the Second Great Awakening and unified the country around the Bible and the power of prayer, while his moral stances for social justice laid the foundations for everything from abolition totemperance to the civil rights movement. His teachings on Christian perfectionism inspired the Holiness Movement of the latter half of the nineteenth century and the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements in the twentieth century. Finney’sevangelistic style and methods - include prayer meetings before and during the event, nightly meetings for weeks at a time, altar calls, and pushing for decisions before listeners leave the auditorium…

…When Mr. Finney and I began our race, we had no thought of going amongst ministers. Our highest ambition was to go where there was neither minister or reformation and try to look up the lost sheep, for whom no man cared. We beganand the Lord prospered. . . . We go into no man’s parish unless called. . . . We have room enough to work and work enough to do. 6

For the next seven years until his death, Nash became a key part of every meeting Charles led. Together, they learned a great deal about “praying down revival.” Nash was not timid in prayer - it was said his prayers could sometimes be heardup to half a mile away. When Father Nash died on December 20, 1831, Charles gave up his itinerant ministry within four months to take a position as a pastor.

100,000 SavedThe greatest outpouring of Charles’s life came in Rochester, New York, starting in September 1830. Lyman Beecher, one of Finney’s harshest critics in his early years, would eventually call the revival in Rochester “the greatest work of God, and thegreatest revival of religion, that the world has ever seen, in so short a time. One hundred thousand . . . were reported as having connected themselves with churches.” 7 It was recorded that as many as eighty-five percent of those convertedremained Christians years later.

It was a revival that touched all social classes - from civic and business leaders to schoolteachers, physicians, shopkeepers, farmers, and migrant workers. Bars closed for lack of patrons. Crime rates dropped dramatically andstayed low for years, even as the population grew. At one point, the teenagers in the local high school were so distraught about the condition of their souls that they paid no attention to their lessons, so the director invited Finney to come and

speak. Nearly the entire student body was saved, including the director, who had originally thought it was a ploy by the students to get out of their work. Forty of the students went on to become ministers. One of these later wrote:

The whole community was stirred. Religion was the topic of conversation, in the house, in the shop, in the office and on the street. The only theater in the city was converted into a livery stable; the only circus into a soap and candle factory. Grogshops were closed; the Sabbath was honored; the sanctuaries were thronged with happy worshippers; a new impulse was given to every philanthropic enterprise; the fountains of benevolence where opened, and men lived togood….)

Now there are a lot of awesome things, as we can see that happened in this revival, and one awesome thing was when 100 000 people got saved, but also it mentions bars closing , crime rates dropping, and Grog shops closing , and the Sabbathbeing honored !!!

Now we get to our next quote on the Finney revival.

(http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/the-2nd-great-awakening-11630336.html) (…Finney himself was a strong abolitionist and encouraged Christians to become involved in the antislavery movement. Christians became the leaders in many other social concerns such as education, prisonreform, temperance, Sabbath observance, and women's rights. The large numbers of Christian workers for social reform became so influential they and the organizations they founded became known as the BenevolentEmpire. The Second Great Awakening had a greater effect on society than any other revival in America….)

In this quote, it shows how that the revival affected the society, and it brought social concerns towards Sabbath observance.

Now unto our next quote.

(The Early Republic and Antebellum America: An Encyclopedia of Social ...

By Christopher G. Bates) (…In the midst of the fervor created by the Second Great Awakening of the 1790 s to 1840 s, even more groups formed in support of the Sunday Sabbath….…they did succeed in passing many state laws further restricting Sunday activities.…)

And here, in our last quote, I just wanted to show this article, for the sake of showing that the Sabbath that they supported, was the Sunday Sabbath, which was on the first day of the week, and in these quotes, it shows laws restricting Sundayactivities.

So now we get to our next revival, which is the Straid revival in Ireland, which a man named James Bain, was greatly used.

Northern Ireland revival, Straid (1859)

Now here are quotes from this revival.

(http://www.gospeltidings.org.uk/library/17/6/6.htm)

(…The Rev. James Bain, Pastor of the Independent Church.

Straid is a mountainous district in the county of Antrim - the people mostly small farmers and weavers. For some time previous to the commencement of the work of revival in this part of the country, the spirit of prayer became deep and manifestamong the people of my congregation. This was evidenced by the enlarged attendance on the services of the sanctuary, and the fervency with which petitions were presented at the mercy-seat for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In the early part of April 1859, tidings reached us of the strange things that were being experienced in other parts of the country, with varied conflicting opinions. We desired to see those things with our eyes of which we had heardso much. I felt a deep interest in what I had heard; but it required the evidence of facts to be fully impressed with its divine character. To see the proud sinner stricken down in his pride of heart, and constrained to cry for mercy before an assembled

multitude, was such an evidence of the heavenly origin of the work as to convince the gainsayer, and to give confidence to the sincere inquirer after truth. It was truly a wonderful manifestation of Divine power.

Slow at first to permit the interests of the revival to be recognised, I waited the evidences of its all-pervading power, that I might see my way in the path of duty. In this I was perfectly satisfied ere I took a singlestep in it; but since then I have thrown my whole soul into the great and godlike work, so that night and day I have been engaged in labouring for the spiritual benefit of souls. The general effect upon society is most wonderful andimportant. Profanity, Sabbath profanation, and drunkenness are set aside. Many public houses are closed, a cock-pit has become a preaching station, and families, where nothing but vice in its worst forms could be seen, havebeen brought to love and to adore the Lord with a zeal and a fervour which withstand all efforts of the enemy of souls to overcome; while the desire for the preaching of the gospel is everywhere pervading society. Indeed, the most of the people arefull of desire to hear the gospel, and attend in large numbers wherever it is preached, and the good done is very great. Many are now rejoicing in Jesus, to whom it seemed impossible to bring the truth, such was their unwillingness to hear and theirhatred to the gospel….)

This revival, also brought many changes, which profanity, the profaning of the Sabbath, drunkenness were set aside.

And now we go unto our next quotes.

(http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=2563 )

(…In the center of the village, there was a Congregational church that was led by an able pastor named James Bain. For some time prior to the commencement of the revival, the spirit of prayer among the members of the church hadintensified. Prayer for an outpouring of the Spirit of God was fervent, resulting in growing congregations….

… Long and Busy SabbathsBain described a typical Sabbath during those revival days:

Our Sabbath services are continuous, from nine in the morning until ten at night. We are engaged from nine to twelve in prayer meetings for the young, from twelve to two in public service, from two to four in prayer meetings, from five toeight in the evening service, and finally in our evening prayer meeting.The evening services at the church became so well attended that the only suitable place to assemble was outdoors. At one of these evening gatherings, some of the new converts gave testimony, and Bain preached two sermons. The whole audiencewas gripped with a sense of intense spiritual anxiety. Numbers cried for mercy, and not a single soul departed from that scene until morning….)

Here it shows that, that there Sabbaths were continuous.

And the Sabbath they were talking about here was also Sunday, because that is what the Congregational church holds on to, which James Bain was a pastor of a Congregational church.

So now we go unto our last revival, which was said to have started with two old ladies praying, and one of the main ministers used in this revival, was Duncan Campbell.

Isle of Lewis revival (1949-1953)

Now here are quotes from this peticular, revival.

(http://www.born-again-christian.info/scottish.hebrides.revival.htm)

(The Lewis Awakening 1949 - 1953 by Duncan Campbell: …Perhaps the greatest miracle of all was in the village of Arnol. Here, indifference to the things of God held the field and a good deal of opposition was experienced but prayer, the mighty weapon of the revival, wasresorted to and an evening given to waiting upon God.Before midnight, God came down, the mountains flowed down at his presence, and a wave of revival swept the village: opposition and spiritual death fled before the presence of the Lord of life. Here was demonstrated thepower of prevailing prayer, and that nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God. There are those in Arnol today who will bear witness to the fact that, while a brother prayed, thevery house shook.… …Some time ago, while passing through this village, I was met by an old man whose salutation was in the following words, 'I am glad to be alive to witness this day'. Then, pointing to a particular house, he said, 'Do you see that

house? That was the 'drinking house' of this village,where our young men met in utter disregard of God, His word, or His day. Today it is closed and the men who frequented it are praying in our prayermeetings'. What a joy it is now to see such numbers going to the house of God on the Sabbath, or looking forward with joyful anticipation to the weekly prayer meetings. Some time ago I remarked to a friend: 'Thatis surely a wonderful sight', referring to the large numbers of people going to church. 'Yes', he replied, 'but before the revival one seldom saw more than four from this village going to church on Sabbath morning'. One young man,speaking for the youth of the district said, 'We did not know what church going meant until the revival came, now the prayer meeting is the weekly attraction, and the worship of God in His house on the Sabbath ourchief delight'…) Really mighty things happened in this revival, such as a house shaking, while a brother prayed, and how a drinking house closed down, and men started to regard the Sabbath, rather than disregard his day, lots of prayer meetings, and worship.

So now we go unto our next quote.

(When God Breaks In: Revival Can Happen Again By Michael Green)

(…By far the majority who were converted during the revival had never come near a church for a meeting. They were simply overwhelmed by the presence of God Wherever they happened to be on the island, and responded wholeheartedly to it.Work stopped. The pubs closed for lack of business.The ferries were discontinued on the Sabbath, and crime almost disappeared. This revival affected the whole community on the island, not just the church…. …The main thrust of the Lewis revival lasted for four years, but it’s affects are still remaining sixty years later. And the key to it, as far as anyone can tell, was these two old women praying that God would revive his work on Lewis. Onceconvinced that he would, they began to pray, ‘God, send us your man.’ That is where Duncan Campbell came in. But it was a sovereign work of God, and it was brought about by passionate, persistent prayer. The results wereremarkable.…) It shows here, in our quotes, that the revival affected the whole community on the island and not just the church, and also it shows that the pubs closed and the ferries were discontinued on the Sabbath, and also that crime almost disappeared. So it shows of ferries, which was a type of service, being discontinued. And this Sabbath was referring to the first day of the week Sabbath, (Sunday) as we will see, in our next section of “Things that has blessed my heart, and other thoughts”. So we have covered these 3 revivals, which showed a drawing back of honouring the Sabbath, and many revivals had such results, in fact of the 7 men we covered in this study such as Spurgeon, Edwards etc, may have all experienced revival, and allbelieved in hallowing the Lord’s day Sabbath.

So now we go unto our next part.

Things that has blessed my heart , and other thoughts

So of the things that has blessed my heart lately, one is of course the fact that in the Isle of Lewis, even today, to some degree, though it seems to a lesser degree, still observe the Sabbath , that is the first day of theweek Sabbath, as we will see in our next quotes.

(http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29708202)

(…The isle of Lewis in the outer Hebrides is said to be the last place in Britain where the fourth commandment - Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy - is still strictly observed. But how has modern life changedattitudes to the Lord's Day on this island of 20,000 people?

They used to talk of the Scottish Sabbath, then it was the Highland Sabbath and now it is just the Lewis Sabbath, as the number of places keeping Sunday free for God has dwindled….)

Now in this quote, it shows that their Sabbath day, is the Lord’s day or Sunday, which is the first day of the week , and what blesses me here, is not the fact that the Sabbath is gradually dwindling, but rather that , they still to some degree observethe Lord’s day Sabbath.

Now we go to our next quote.

(http://www.isle-of-lewis.com/general-information/sundays-on-the-isle-of-lewis/)

(…‘Sundays are a very special day on both The Isle of Lewis and Harris, in that, virtually all commercial activity ceases and a large proportion of the population attends church. This makes the character of the islands very‘different’ from the hustle and bustle of most mainland areas on a Sunday, when a trip to the hypermarket or garden centre is becoming the norm. The quiet and calm of Lewis and Harris on a Sunday is something worth observing, oreven taking part in….)

I find this awesome, to have a place that to some degree observes the Lord’s day, and it shows the place having a nice quietness and calm to it.

Praise God !!!

At least there is somewhere in the world that still has some honour towards God and his day.

Now here is another thing that I have read, which blesses me.

It concerns a company called Chick-Fil-A.

(http://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-a-is-overtaking-kfc-2014-3)

(Chick-fil-A has surpassed KFC as the top chicken fast food chain.

Chick-fil-A's sales in 2013 passed $5 billion, compared with KFC's $4.2 billion, reports Venessa Wong at Bloomberg Businessweek. Chick-fil-A has 1,775 U.S. stores, while KFC has 4,491. Despite a smaller footprint, Chick-fil-A's average sales are more than triple those of its larger competitor, Wong writes. And Chick-fil-A achieves these results despite being closed on Sundays for religious reasons….)

Here it is showing a company that has their stores closed on Sundays, yet do not even have half the stores of KFC, yet make more money, really that is pretty impressive, and no stores do not have to be opened on the Lord’s day, in fact theyshouldn’t be, and people do not realise the blessing that there is in the Lord’s day as a Sabbath.

(http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Company/Highlights-Sunday)

(Why We're Closed on Sundays

Our founder, Truett Cathy, made the decision to close on Sundays in 1946 when he opened his first restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia. He has often shared that his decision was as much practical as spiritual. He believes that all franchised Chick-fil-AOperators and their Restaurant employees should have an opportunity to rest, spend time with family and friends, and worship if they choose to do so. That's why all Chick-fil-A Restaurants are closed on Sundays. It'spart of our recipe for success.)

The founder decided to have their stores closed on Sunday, and what a blessing it would be, if we had Chick-Fil-A stores, here in Canada.

I can truly say that there is care in this decision, towards employees.

What a blessing, praise God !!!

So these articles of Chick-Fil-A, and the isle of Lewis, has blessed me.

And before we go on unto other things, I just want to mention a few things.

I have read many articles concerning, the Lord’s day, and some rules people put to it. Now some truly seem to be really extreme, and are extreme, and some are actually the opposite, which are wishy washy, in their stance of the Lord’s day, but one thing we have to do, is to be careful what we attribute to theLord’s day, and that we just go by the word, and trust God.

So now, let us go on.

Now we go unto the last part of our study.

Which we will cover more scriptures, and do a type of comparison and somewhat of a recap.

Now first let us go back to our scripture, of John being on the Isle of Patmos, on the Lord’s day.

Revelation 1:9-10

(9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,)

Of course here it was showing that John, while on the Isle of Patmos, was in the Spirit, and he was in the Spirit, on the Lord’s day.

Now we have seen a lot of evidence, through another day, through the 2nd century church, through the church gathering on the first day of the week in the bible, through a rest (sabbatism , complete rest) remaining to thepeople of God, and Isaiah showing us that a Sabbath is to be kept under the new covenant, that the whole evidence, pointed to a first day of the week Sabbath.

And many famous preachers believed in the Lord’s day Sabbath, and referred to the first day of the week as the Lord’s day, we have biblical evidence, and church history evidence.

And now we will go unto verses, found in Isaiah 58.

Isaiah 58:1 (1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.) Here it is saying to show God’s people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yes it is talking to Israel of old, but also it is speaking to the church. Here it is twofold. Isaiah 58:6 (6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?) I believe that even though, there was a certain type of freedom under the old covenant, it was nowhere near the freedom we now have in Christ, for now we can be totally set free from bondages, even in regards to theconscience. Now in Christ, the bands of wickedness, the heavy burdens, and oppression, can be obliterated from a person’s life, and I believe that even though Isaiah 58:6, can refer to some things concerning the old testament, that it is evenmore true as referring to the new covenant, which is a better covenant. And our next scripture, which goes along with the Isaiah scripture, will show a type of connection, here. Luke 4:18-19 (18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set atliberty them that are bruised,19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.) Here is a comment from Barnes on this scripture, especially on the “set at liberty them that are bruised” part. (Barnes) (To set at liberty them that are bruised - The word “bruised,” here, evidently has the same “general” signification as “brokenhearted” or the contrite. It means those who are “pressed down” by great calamity, or whosehearts are “pressed” or “bruised” by the consciousness ofsin. To set them “at liberty” is the same as to free them from this pressure, or to give them consolation.) So the word “bruise” can refer to someone being pressed down, or as Isaiah says: “oppressed”. So Isaiah says this: “let the oppressed go free”, and Luke says: “to set at liberty them that are bruised”. Both are referring to someone, being released from their bondage, to where they are free or at liberty. So now let us go on with Isaiah 58, which we will now go on to Isaiah 58:13-14. Isaiah 58:13-14 (13 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 findingthine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14 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.) Now what does it mean here, by saying “if thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day” ??? Well it is referring to, turning away your foot, in a way to were your refraining from doing of your pleasure, of your ways, if you refrain from these ways, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, and honourable, notdoing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, then you’re going to delight yourself in the Lord. Now all of Isaiah chapter 58, refers to both the old covenant and the new covenant, and even more so the new covenant, in the things it says ; and every part of it, is for the new testament church today. Now the Sabbath here, is referring to both the main Sabbath that was held under the old covenant, which was the seventh day, and of course the main (and only) Sabbath under the new covenant, which is the first day of theweek. It may be that, it was this scripture, that brought the statement to John, of their being a day called : “the Lord’s day”. Notice the specific words, it says: “my holy day” , ‘the holy of the Lord”. Which shows that, it is a day unto the Lord, which you can call “the Lord’s day”. I do not doubt that the words : “the Lord’s day” was gotten from this verse. Now the main holy day for God, under the old covenant, was the seventh day of the week Sabbath, and under the new, well it is the first day of the week, which is a day under the new covenant, which is called “the Lord’s day”. So we have established, in many ways, that the new covenant day, called the Lord’s day, refers to the first day of the week, Sabbath. So now we get to the question: “1. is that the Lord’s day refers to the old testament “7th day Sabbath” ”. Well we have shown that this view of the Lord’s day, mentioned in Revelaton 1:10, is false, so then let us cross out this view. “1. is that the Lord’s day refers to the old testament “7th day Sabbath” ”.

Now let us continue with our verses in Isaiah 58. Isaiah 58:13-14 (13 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 findingthine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:14 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.)

Now even though, the 7th day of the week Sabbath, was a day unto the Lord God, under the old covenant, there was no day specifically called the Lord’s day, but under the new covenant, there is. So it shows to refrain from doing of thy pleasure on his holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable. Notice what it says: “honourable” !!! “honourable” !!! “honourable” !!! Is the Lord’s day “honourable” to you ??????? Or do you honour yourself, more than God ??? Is God really worth, honouring a day for ??? Or would you just rather honour father’s day or mother’s day ??????? We are just so selfish !!!!!!!! Some might say, well I want to go to the restaurant on the Lord’s day, who cares about people working, I will do what I please on that day, for I am the Lord of the Sabbath. And in truth, most people won’t say this, but will act this.

Most Christians will say that, yes, Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, but in the back of their minds, it is saying, well Jesus changed the Sabbath, so I can do what I want on that day, there is no more Sabbath, therefore I am free. Free from what ??? Well the truth is, is this, they are free to be selfish, and dishonour God, because that is what this attitude shows, it shows no concern for God, and what he thinks. They want to be the Lord of the Sabbath, and the Sabbath was talking about a physical day of rest, but many want to change every word that says Sabbath, to just resting in Christ, and in truth we do rest in Christ under thenew covenant, but just because we do, does not mean that the day of rest has been eliminated. And it seems that many Christians, actually rejoice in not having a day of rest, but were does this rejoicing come from ??? Does it come from a heart that loves God ??? Or does it come from a selfish heart ??? Why is having a physical day of rest, and having a day set aside to honour and worship God, so undesirable to you ??? Why is it such a burden to you ??? Now I can see it being a burden to the world, for they do not know God, but why is it to you ??? Is there areas of your life that you have not yet surrendered to God ??? Many people of revivals of the past, enjoyed having the Lord’s day, it was no problem to many of them, why is it to us ??? Well I know, for the most part, many are not in a revival state today. We need a badly needed revival. Let us go back to our verses. Isaiah 58:13-14 (13 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 findingthine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:14 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.) So it says: “not doing thine own ways”, “nor finding thine own pleasure”, “nor speaking thine own words” . But notice what it says before these words are mentioned, it says : ”and shalt honour him”. It talks about honouring the Lord, and we have seen that on the Sabbath, there was to be held an holy convocation ; so it is a day of gathering with the brethren, so to honour the Lord, through our worship, prayers, and also tobe fed the word of God, and do as the Lord leads. It is a time of meeting with the church, so to meet with the Lord. So this has to be the attitude, of God being the preeminent focus of the day, and not our work that we usually do during the rest of the week, nor even recreation. If recreation comes before the Lord, and you neglect your assembly, that is totally selfish and wrong. It shows that your recreation comes before the Lord. It is a day of physical rest, and not a day of physical work, your work cannot come before the Lord. So God does not want us to work like we do during the rest of the week, such as working at a job (with the exception of emergency services, as we already covered (though still seeking to gather)), or even cutting the grass, andsuch like stuff. Now I do not say that we cannot go for a bike ride, on that day, for you can go for a bike ride, and still fellowship, or you can go for a walk and minister to someone, etc ., but recreational activities, which require you, to pay forthings, such as bowling, amusement parks, zoos, and such like things to where you cause someone to work (Nehemiah 10:31), on that day, should not be done at all. God has to be preeminent, and not our work, our pleasures, recreations etc. Now I know some take it to another extreme at times, such as you cannot ride a bike on that day etc, but I do not subscribe to this thought. Now I do not know everything, but one thing I do know, is that God has to be the preeminent focus, of the day. Now we go to part of verse 14 which says:

“Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD”. Is that one of the reasons, why many Christians are not delighting themselves in the Lord, as they should, because they do not honour God, in his day, and what he wants ??? I truly believe, and know, that it is so. People need a revelation of this. And then there are people, who say well I have to work on the Lord’s, or else I will get fired ??? Well I will say, have faith in God, and do not have faith in the world, do you truly believe that God will provide for all our needs, according to his riches in glory, by Christ Jesus ??? Or is your faith, in your job, or in the world ??? Now I do understand that we need to pay our bills, but at the same time, who is more important ??? God or our job ??? And don’t you believe that God will provide, without us having to compromise the word ??? He did for many Christians in church history, over and over and over again. Have faith in God !!!!!!!! Some might say, or your just too legalistic, what I will say to this, is this : “have faith in God” , that’s all !!!!!!! And if you do not want to have faith in God, well then, have faith in the world ! Now having faith in the world, will require you to abandon the Lord, and I am not encouraging this at all, but in the end, it is your choice who you want to serve, money or God !!!!!!!! The world or God !!!!!!! Who is Lord !!!!!!! So now we will recap a bit.

The term the Lord’s day

Revelation 1:9-10 (9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,)

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

We can see that, in Revelation 1:10, it mentions the Lord’s day, and in Isaiah 58:13, it mentions a holy day unto the Lord, and under the new covenant, the new Sabbath is the Lord’s day, praise God !!! And should we honour Christ ???John 5:23 (23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.) Even the Father wants us to honour Christ, yes to honour him in all things, but also in observing a day unto him.

Another day

Hebrews 4:8-9 (8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.) John 16:7 (7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not

come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.)

Isaiah 28:11-12 (11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they

would not hear.) Acts 2:1-4 (1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were

sitting.3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them

utterance.)

Of course in Hebrews 4:8, it speaks of Jesus mentioning another day, wherein there would be a total abiding rest, and we see Christ speaking of this day in John 16:7, which spoke of the Comforter coming, which is the Holy Ghost, and Isaiah 28:11-12, and Acts 2:1-4, show a prophesy concerning this and the fulfillment of this scripture. Which the Holy Ghost was poured out to abide within men, and baptised them into him, on the day of Pentecost, which was the first day of the week, which Isaiah calls what happened on this day a “rest”. Then we get to Hebrews 4:9 which says:” There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God”. As we have covered before, the word rest, in this verse; a different word is used, than the other words,” rest “, in Hebrews chapter 4. It is the word: “sabbatism”, which is a derivative of the word sabbaton, which means: “the Sabbath day”. Now the word sabbatism itself, I believe is referring to a complete rest, or a complete sabbatism !!!!!!! The word sabbatism, makes me think of a state of rest, a type of rest you are living in, which provides a complete rest, and includes a day of rest. It is a complete rest, and not a partial rest , it is a sabba----tism. Something you enter in, which in turn, provides something complete. And Hebrews says that there remaineth a rest to the people of God, which under the old covenant, there was the rest from the enemies under Joshua, and a day of rest, and under the new covenant, these same rests (in a similarbut different manner) remain, which as we rest in Christ’s salvation, it affords us a ceasing from our own works, and also brings us to a day of physical rest, and an holy day, in were we honour the Son.

A Sabbath remaineth

Hebrews 4:9 (9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.)

Isaiah 56:6 (6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be hisservants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;)

So Hebrews 4:9 shows us that there remaineth a rest to the people of God, and Isaiah confirms for us, that there is a Sabbath to be kept under the new covenant. Every thing concerning the new testament Sabbath, is covered in the word, it’s day, it’s name, the fact that it is a Sabbath, and the fact that there remaineth a Sabbath under the new covenant, and we have shown this through many verses and notjust one, the word complements the word, and fits just like a puzzle. So now unto our last question. It is a question I mentioned at the beginning of this study. And here it is: “Now there are 3 prominent views on this issue that I know of : 1. is that the Lord’s day refers to the old testament “7th day Sabbath” ,2. is that the Lord’s day refers to “the first day of the week” gathering,

3. is that the Lord’s day refers to “the Day of the Lord”, the time of the coming destruction that climaxes in the return of Christ.” Well we have debunked views 1 and 3 , so then that leaves us just with one view which is view 2. So does the Lord’s day, refer to “the first day of the week” gathering ??? Absolutely yes !!!!!!! So then let us check mark view 2. √ 2. is that the Lord’s day refers to “the first day of the week” gathering . So now we will leave this study, with some of our quotes from preachers, in this study.

(John Bunyan's dying thoughts)

(Shall God allow thee six days, and wilt not thou afford him one?)

(H.A Ironside)

(I believe one of the outstanding evils of our day is the growing disregard for the Lord's Day. On every hand we find the world using that day just for pleasure and folly. And you here in America, who perhaps are tempted to be careless about cherishing itsprivileges, only need to take a trip across the sea to France, or any of the countries of Europe after you leave Great Britain, with the exception of Scandinavia and Holland, and see how men and women use the first day of the week in pleasure and folly with norecognition whatever of its sacred character, and I think you will realize then the privileges we have here. We can thank God that there is set aside, generally by rulers and authorities, one day as a day of rest, but it is up to us as Christians to make it aday of worship and a day of Christian service)

(Matthew Henry)

(“The Streams of all religion runs either deep or shallow according as the banks of the Sabbath are kept up or neglected)

Amen !!!!!!!